It is the end of March!

Ok just a few more hours of this horrid month are left.
Got word last night- a friend of mine that was diagnosed with cervical cancer last year is going to Hospice sometime this week. She is in her mid 30's and has a boy that is 8 and another one that turned 2 on Friday. That totally sucks!!! But from what I've heard from everyone- she is ready to go.
She helped me start the Scrapbookers group at the church. We are supposed to have an overnight crop the 11-12th of April- I currently have it on hold until we hear more. I suspect they may need the church for a funeral instead.
I hate this!!!! I really really do- why did God create us to live and build relationships with people and have connections with one another only to have those connections break down or to collapse completely?
I just don't know anything anymore.

The new nurse started at work on Sunday working nights- so I am no longer doing overtime at KSD. Which stinks- money wise but I am home a bit more with Nathan. Bud even let me read and put Nathan to bed the past two nights.
Tomorrow is my last sign class for the school year. I will be home on Tuesday nights!!! Thursday is my study group for the RID exam.
Took Nathan to the grocery store tonight after picking him up- he saw the flowers outside and said he wanted some at our house. So this weekend I think we will go get some flowers to plant outside. Kinda spruce up the place a bit. Maybe that will get me out of this deep funk I am in?
Anniversary was ok. Nothing too spectacular. We got out of babysitting on Friday night- so we ate a mexican restaurant- and then we saw Be Kind Rewind - at the theatre. I thought it had already been shown and was gone!! It was not your typical Jack Black movie at all! It has a sweet and feel good ending.
Saturday went to the Kansas Interpreters Conference at the Doubletree Hotel in OP. I connected with a few interpreters in the area and saw 3 of my new boss's there!! I only stayed till about 2 since it was our actual anniversary! Came home- my blackberry wasn't working right- tried to get it up and running- and then we headed to Crown Center.
Changed clothes- walked around Crown Center looking for our supper. Ended up at the Kabuki restaurant. Ate tempura and then went to the play. The actors were raising money for the AIDS Walk too!!! Went back to the room for a bit of romance but we were too tired. Slept in till after 9am!!!!
Went to Columbia MO to see Nanny in the hospital. They were getting ready to release her. We ate lunch at Hooters in Columbia too.
Slept in the car on the way home. Went to work at midnight.
It is nice having the family at home together again.

-gonna end it here....

It's almost the end of March!

Had Monday off from KSD. I finally got my 2 back tires replaced- they were BALD! I then hopped over to Sorenson to fill out new employee paperwork, and started working on my receptive skills as an interpreter. I was there till about noon.

While I was there-Bud emailed me and said - We are going to the American Heartland Theatre and spending the night at Westin Hotel at Crown Center in KC. WHY? We are celebrating our 5th Anniversary on Saturday. I have to attend the Kansas Interpreters Conference most of the day on Saturday. But when I come home we are to "dress real nice" and go to dinner and then check into our room and head over to the Theatre by 8pm.

Bud can be a romantic sometimes. He was all worried about our anniversary. He never worries about any other event?

Nathan is being carted off on Wednesday to Grammy and PaPa's in Wentzville till Sunday.

Here I was thinking it would be a good weekend to get the carpets cleaned- ha ha ha!

SUNDAY- was Easter- and I was presiding at Bonner. I did the worship on Power Point and used some Youtube.com worship videos. The service ran a bit long- but most of my services end early so it all evens out in the end. ha ha ha!

Oh- this stupid laptop is dying a slow death. The jack to the battery does not keep the power cord plugged in- it keeps slipping out and then it squeaks and then it dies. The laptop died during the offering- AAAAAA! Finally got it back up and going.

Anyway- I am back at work. I made a banner for the new nurse that starts on Tuesday. Her name is Myrna. I should be reading for my Certification exam- but I am dawdling.

Supposed to be working on a phrase wall for the nurses that don't sign. I'm not doing it very well. I am down to two more sign classes. One later today- and one more next week. We will see who shows up tonight.

The Easter Bunny arrived after nap on Sunday. He went a bit overboard this year. Nathan got moon sand- and 6 matchbox cars, a new Bigfoot truck, Bee Movie, 2 books (Curious George and I Spy) and a little Curious George doll, and a small Spongebob Squarepants candy thingy, and a bunch of Hershey miniatures inside plastic eggs which were in the hallway, bathroom and living room leading him to his chair with his collection. Oh- he also got a Cars sticker book and some velour color pages with markers. We watched the Bee Movie after he played with his Bigfoot and then he got out the moon sand and made a big mess.

Well- my battery is about to go again- will post more later I guess.

Final Day of Spring Break in Iowa

Ok- I am posting this one early. Today we slept in till 8:30 and we didn't do much until this afternoon. I went shopping at Target and got Nathan's Easter stuff and got some stuff to decorate the worship center for church on Sunday. Then we went to Steve and Jeanie's place. Nathan played with his cousins Mickey and Forest. He got a bit rambunctious and he even did some breakdancing!!! Too funny!!!

Oh we did play baseball and hit the ball about 80% of the time!!! With his left hand!

Just finished up the ol' UNO championship- We wagered on the score a bit. David and I went bowling tonight- I totally beat him- which I never do at bowling!!! My scores kept getting better!!! He pretty much gave up. So we decided that my bowling scores tonight would be subtracted and his scores would be added... So we started tonight with

Nathan watched Spongebob while David and I went bowling and while we played UNO.


David 1065 and me- 1718 after the bowling score plan was implemented David-1231 Sherry 1454. So we begun to play ol' school Uno - not Uno attack.

Nathan begged to have some cards so we let him play a bit too.

The boys thought it would be funny to hide from the camera!!!

We played and DW won small hands like 4, 12, and finally we got to the score of David 1676 and Sherry at 1678.

Sherry won a hand with a score of 12 and then the next hand David won with a score of 63!!! He won the CUP!!!!!

So that is all from Johnston and the Spring Break adventure 2008.. we head back to Kansas in the morning. Thanks for reading!

It's Still Spring Break!

Ok- Uno update--- David 1065 Sherry 1718 He is catching up!! We will add our scores from tonight and our bowling scores to get a final Spring Break total- I will post before I leave Iowa.

Went to Tania's place and they have a Wii, so Nathan tried bowling on the Wii... yes, he didn't fare as well. He is definitely left handed too.

We also saw Kaelyn (not sure on the spelling!)

Poor Nathan wants a baby sister or brother so bad! He keeps asking where his is... I tell him he is our one and only... but he and David can pretend they are brothers cuz both of them are single children.

We came home to Gram's and took David to the Merle Hay Mall and he exchanged some games and got a new one. We ate lunch at the food court- and came home. Mom was gone till almost 8 for church. She called out for pizza - Papa John's... it just didn't taste good... anyway- played Uno late and slept in today.

Today- gonna go get some Easter stuff- and then tonight going to see my brother's place and take DW bowling!!!!

Till tomorrow!!!!

More Spring Break Antics

UNO UPDATE!!! Played last night till midnight again- SCORE - David=625 Sherry=1303!

I made a trophy too. We have decided to add all the scores of all our games- bowling and Uno combined to get a final score on Saturday morning.

Here is our trophy-

Sorry they are a bit blurry I will get better pictures later. Still learning how to use my new camera.

Took Nathan to see Horton Hears a Who and then went to Big Lots! Then got back to Mom's and David wanted a hair cut- so here are his before and after pics.

um.....

Next went to IHOP for WhoCakes..

and there is a sucker that is on the top... we saved that for after...

Will post more later- today we head to Tania's to play with Cael.

Spring Break

I made it through the visitation and celebration service of Joan. It was a wonderful tribute to her. I also got reconnected with a few people from my past that I hadn't had contact with since leaving Mission Road.

I headed to Iowa. As you can see it was a pretty dreary day. I had torrential rains leaving Kansas. With 2 back tires that are getting pretty bald it was quite a ride. ha ha ha!!!

It was so nice to come home. I love coming home! I hardly get to anymore because of work and family. It does bother me that we see Darren's family a lot more than mine but there really isn't much I can do about it, especially now.

So- it is Spring Break!!! WOO HOO!! Even though the weather outside doesn't agree it is nice to just sit back and breathe.

We arrived here on Monday. Went to Famous Dave's!!! My favorite!!!! I also began the beatings of my nephew at Uno Attack!! We love this game! We play everytime I come up now. At Christmas we played and had a bet on it, and poor David lost and had to roll around in the snow in his pj's. HA HA HA HA!!!

So we decided this time- we would play again and we would play everyday and whomever is the winner on Saturday morning- gets bragging rights- I am still trying to get him to wager something a bit more- but he is a bit skiddish about it- because he knows who the real winner is!! ha ha ha!!!

Here is the update- We played Monday night- score: David 133 Sherry 180. Tuesday night David-479 and Sherry-626 (see a pattern here?) ha ha ha!!!

We also went bowling yesterday. We took Nathan with us- he was so cute- people were watching him bowl. His first game was 79 and his second one was 47. His second game we let him roll the ball on his own.

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That's my little bowler!

We came home and he was tired. He laid down for about 30 minutes and then it was time for Monster Jam. I made meatloaf and we had salad and Nathan ate a whole container of cottage cheese for supper. I introduced David to the world of Jericho and poor Nathan crawled up on the couch and leaned against my shoulder and fell asleep. Took him to bed and then proceeded to beat David at Uno Attack.

Today we are going to see Horton Hears a Who and I am going to take David for a haircut. Then I think we might go bowling again- just David and I. maybe...

Yep-- it is Spring Break!!!

Life- what is it really?

I was sitting here at home today- watching "Dan in Real Life" and having a pretty decent day. I noticed my blackberry light changed from green to red. I looked at my caller list and my Mom had called. I checked my voice mail and heard that my mentor- in the church Joan Strom-Millard had passed away yesterday. I was crushed- so was my mom.

Joan and I shared several spiritual highs while I was at Mission Road. I really counted on her a lot and I became a sounding board for her and she the same for me. She was my boss while I was there, but her spirit, her own self- never treated me as a subordinate EVER! At my recent job interview with Sorenson- I mentioned her a lot. She had been on my mind all week and Thursday I was thinking I needed to get her address and send her a card. I never did. I guess it wouldn't have gotten to her in time anyway. Joan was the one that called me to my role as Elder in the church, she ordained me. She and I had great spiritual talks and when she came to me and told me about her diagnosis of breast cancer I was hurting with her. She was determined to beat it, but as time went on the cancer spread. I got married- I left Mission Road and occasionally I would check in with her- but not as much as I should have. I sent Christmas letters and she did the same. I lost her address this year- and so I did not send her one. I thought I will get it when she sends hers out to me. I never received one.

I am giving a sermon at Bonner Springs tomorrow morning- it is Palm Sunday. It really is a somber day. It is the day that Jesus goes to Jerusalem to be betrayed, arrested, hung and die. I am reminded of my dad's death once again. I am reminded of my sister's death- my best friend's daughter death at 19 months... my sister and my friend's baby died 5 years ago THIS MONTH! I hate feeling so somber, so down. It doesn't help that we hardly see the sun here in Kansas right now because of this stinkin' weather. I was really looking forward to going to Iowa tomorrow. Now I have to wait until Monday- after Joan's funeral.

Today is Bud's birthday- he begged me all week to go to On the Border- I HATE ON THE BORDER!!! I think it is too spicy- desserts are great- but main dishes are not my kind of tastes. I also thought our meal would cost well over $40.00 there and with gas prices and buying books for my exam prep I am getting tapped out... Anyway- we had a fight- we ended up at On the Border. I swallowed my tacos- they do taste better with ranch dressing on them! I got the staff to sing to Bud too.

Yesterday we (Nathan, Paula and Riley and Taylor) all crashed the men's breakfast at IHOP and we brought balloons and gift bags and carrot cake to him. I called him up later and we went to lunch at a smokey bar and grill since Nathan was at school. I hope he feels like he had a good birthday. I just can't help but be sad right now.

That is Joan ordaining me (the one on the right)

That's all for now.

-SBL

Doors opening!

I can't believe that I forgot to post to this last week? !!! I got the job at Sorenson VRS!!! http://www.sorensonvrs.com/ I had my 2.5 hour interview. I got to the building about 30 min early. I sat and prayed and gave my interview to HIM- that I would accept whatever transpired. When it came time to "terp" I had phone calls that were related to a pharmacy and a dentist visit- HELLO!! I am working in the med field!! I was told I was the first one that could spell Ibuprofen and Tylenol correctly. They were very impressed.

I am a bit weak in the vocabulary area. I have been accepted into a Language Mentorship Program there to refresh my vocabulary. I will then be phased into the phones. I am also getting to go to Salt Lake City Utah to get a week of training- PAID!!! I am also getting prepped and assisted in preparing for my Certification exams. I will then be reimbursed for the tests too!!! I am so excited!

I start prepping for my exam this Thursday. I can't wait for this "Genesis Moment" to emerge!!! Who knew that I would once again be in this field?!!! Interpreting and being able to express myself through sign- and even better- being able to assist others through that skill is such a life high! I can't wait till I am done with the overnights.

Speaking of overnights--- I have decided that I am going to stay at KSD until Christmas break. This new job is 29 hours a week at the most. I will probably be sticking to 15 hours a week for the next 6 months or so. I will then try and get on with an Interpreting service or even branch out on my own and have my own Interp business- possibly getting in touch with hospitals and doctors offices to work there- since I have some medical background.

I can't wait to see and be with my family again! I am counting the days till May 21st. That is my last day for this school year at KSD. After that is when I will fly out to Salt Lake City and June is my 20th High School class reunion and July is Sertoma Camp, Spectacular, and CLW and then it is back to work.

I feel so blessed for life. For the past 5 years this ol' month of March has been so hard to get through. 5 years ago it came in like a lion and ended like a lion. 5 years ago... My mother went into a coma. My best friend's 19 month old daughter died, and the day after my wedding my sister died. The only good thing to come of it- was my wedding- my marriage and my family with Bud.

I am so thankful for that event. I am thankful for a man that supports me in all I do- and I have been all over in the past 5 years! He still is there waiting for me when I do come home from wherever I have been. I love ya Bud!!!

Well- it is 4am and that means it is time to take the garbage out here at work. Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Bud- my forever hero and scoundrel!