Where did the month go?

I am so sorry I have not posted in such a long time, but it has been such a hectic month. I was sick for almost 3 weeks with what the doctor thinks are allergies, and then when I finally got over that, I started a new job. So, we have been busy getting our new routine down, and I'm still working my home based business, so that doesn't leave a lot of time for anything else.
I do have a lot of new photos and stories to share with you from the past month, so I promise to start posting those tomorrow. :)

We will Remember...

I thought I would take this day to remember

9-11-01. I have collected numerous photos and poems over the years, and I thought this would be a perfect time to share a couple of my favorites.

Calling All Angels

Written by Lea MacDonald

SFFD-Captain-227
Submitted 10/5/05

As a firefighter, I decided I'd send along a poem I wrote to help folks understand what might have happened that horrific day. There are several layers of meaning marbled within it; words of healing as well. It is written in iambic pentameter, the preferred style of Robert Service - you'll find the rhythm.

"Calling All Angels! Calling All Angels!" Went out his thunderous plea.

"I am thy Lord beseeching my horde to assemble in front of me!"

In a flash the angels did dash to gather at His feet,

And hear His plan to help all man by use of Heaven's elite.

"The Devil's made a play this September day to hurt the ones I love,

He's loosed upon earth his demonic worth now push has come to shove.

I'll not stand by and have good men die without awareness in their heart,

So this day in my plan-full way a battle I'm going to start."

"Gabriel old friend to this end welcome every woman and man,

That'll come our way this fateful day who died by Satan's hand.

And before you go you need to know a few you'll bring straight to me,

Firefighters all now standing tall known as The Three-Forty-Three."

With Gabriel gone and quiet the throng they wondered at His plan,

To send and quell the flames of hell by use of mortal man.

All manner of doubt filled the strongest and stout of Heaven's holy array,

And fear fell upon the heavenly throng at the plan the Lord set this day.

"I can sense in thy hearts hesitation to start a battle you don't understand,

But confused as you Satan is too and that is the heart of my plan.

Fear yea not for what I've wrought I'll ask none here to face his fork,

But I'll send into hell those who fell the firefighters from New York!"

Then Lord raised his staff and began to laugh in roaring thunderous glee,

And in a booming blaze they stepped from a haze The Angelic Three-Forty-Three.

They fell into line in very short time making perfect formations of rows,

And the Lord caused to slip onto every man's hip a golden heavenly hose.

"The gravest mistake Satan did make when he struck down these men so brave,

Thinking idle I'd stand not extending my hand and their souls I would not save.

Have no fear for the men standing here the way to his place they know well,

For verily each day they've collected their pay by stepping into hell.

These men know their task now angels I ask that you hasten straight to earth,

Then comfort their friends when the tally begins and they start to question their worth.

Console them with wings and all heavenly things on their shoulder your head is to rest,

Send whispers of thanks from our heavenly ranks, say: 'God knows you did your best.'"

Are you ready for some football?!?!

Well, it's that time of year again. Time for Some Orioles football. Unfortunately, I think someone forgot to tell the football team. They played the Haysville colts, rather the colts played them, as the score was Haysville 26, Augusta, 0. I am so hoping that they can get it together, and get that first touchdown. Sometimes, that's all it takes to turn a team around. Of course when the opposing team look like 12th graders instead of 6th graders, it can be pretty intimidating. They grow their boys big down in Haysville!!

The cheerleaders, and the football players, were lucky enough to get new uniforms this year. The cheerleading uniforms are a vast improvement over the old ones. The girls call themselves the Oreos instead of the Orioles because the uniforms are black and white with a little orange, but they are cute none the less.

I only snapped a couple of photos, and one video from this game, because I wasn't feeling well, and it was cold and rainy on top of that. I promise to add more photos and video from future games. :)

God has truly blessed our family...

I am so happy to announce that I have a job! I have been trying to get on with the school district for a couple of years now, and it finally happened! I am a para-professional, and I will be working with special needs children in the elementary school that Hannah attended here in Augusta. I had my TB test and physical today, and should start next Monday. I am so excited!! This is such a blessing for us, as the hours are perfect. I will be working 8-2:55 M,W,F, and 8-2:15 T,Th. This will give me 5 minutes to get to Dawson's pre-school on M,W,F to pick him up by 3, and will allow me to be at home on T & Th, so that Dave can get to work on time. As many of you know, my college major was elementary education, and I have about 40 credit hours left to complete it. I am planning on going back to school once Dawson starts kindergarten next year.
I also rented a small space at our local antique's mall, so we can have an extra outlet for all of our auction finds. I have so many glass pieces, that I just don't have the time to list them all on Ebay. Besides, Ebay isn't the best place to sell anything these days. It is only $27.50 per month for the space, so it is incredibly reasonable. And most importantly, it gives me a new excuse to go to an auction every weekend. :)
I am also going to keep my business going, I'm just going to scale the advertising back a bit. Since I will be working a school schedule, I will need to have some sort of income coming in over the holiday, and summer vacations, so hopefully, these avenues will work out. :)

When in Doubt, Look Up

Here are a few photos I took in the Dillons parking lot Tuesday night, of a gorgeous sunset.

Little Man on Campus

Well, today was the big day. Dawson started preschool, and he has been excited about it for weeks. He was up at 9am this morning, dressed, and ready to walk out the door. The only problem was, it is very cool here today, and he was in shorts, and school didn't start until 12:30. So, we spent the next 3 hours counting down the time, and listening to a lot of "I can't wait".

Once we arrived at the school, I snapped a few photos of the mementos occasion, and took him in to find his coat hook, and his cubby. We then had to wait about 10 minutes for the teacher to open the room, and during that 10 minutes, his shyness kicked in again. He wouldn't let go of my hand, and was glued to my side. When it was finally time to go in, I had to push him in, find the necklace with his name on it, and tell him several times to go sit in the circle. I backed out of the room, and he was looking all over the place for me. The teacher finally got him to sit down, and Dave and I left. I'm not sure if it was harder on me or him.

Jake strikes again...

Wow, it's been awhile since I posted. I've been so busy this past week, I just couldn't find the time, or the quiet, to sit down and concentrate.

A couple of weeks ago, I talked about our not so little puppy Jake, and his chewing problems. Well, he struck again, and almost became a pound puppy again. Apparently, Jake missed the memo on what a complete fanatic Dave is for the Nebraska Huskers. That, or he just doesn't care. Either way, it doesn't matter.

Dave and I have had the discussion time and time again that you can not leave anything that might make a good chew toy at eye level of the dog. That means regular eye level, or standing on his hind legs eye level. I guess he thought I was being ridiculous, and not learning from his past mistakes, he left his beloved Nebraska Huskers hat on the coffee table. The result is a Nebraska Huskers hat, with free A/C. I told him you could barely notice, but for some reason, he didn't buy it.

Poor Jake. He ended up spending a couple of hours in his pet taxi, and was a hop, skip, and a jump away from a car ride to the pound.

Now, one would think that after losing 2 hats Dave would have learned his lesson, right? Wrong. Over the weekend, Dave left his leather boots laying in the middle of the laundry room floor. He always puts his boots up, and out of reach of the dog, but for some reason, he neglected to do it this afternoon. The result is one funny looking boot, that he wouldn't let me take a picture of, but I will take one while he's sleeping. He's still wearing the boots, but part of the back is missing on one of them. I tell you, there is never a lack of humor in our house.