New Year's Youth Girls

Had my girls over again Sunday night and we had a great time! We used a lesson my friend David loaned me and reflected on the last year and on what we desire to be and do for 2009. We had a cool activity of decorating bricks, which was a definite hit and I really enjoyed decorating my brick as well, and I made the most wonderful brownies ever, if I do say so myself. It was good night of fun and open, honest discussion.

A Gathering of Groves

Over the weekend we kept my mom's boss's kids, who are also family friends of ours. They have 9 children and one on the way. The 4 older boys stayed with our neighbors, also family friends, and the younger five stayed with us. Although, we were all together at different points and time. We watched Disney movies and ate cheetos and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and went to my dad's school (where I work as well) and played in the gym and pretty much did fun kid stuff. Sunday morning, I got up way early in order to get myself ready and dress 5 children and do 4 little girls hair. So fun, but I don't think I will be having 9 children, now 5 maybe, 9 oh my.

Sweet Home Siloam

MLK Jr. Day gave me the chance to have a Monday with no school, always exciting. So last Friday I decided to run away to Arkansas for a three day weekend. My friends put me up, took care of me, took me out, bought me dinner, made me dinner, made me baked outmeal, hugged me, shopped with me, and entertained me with wonderful conversation. It was lovely.

One of the highlights was my evening spent at the Huebert household. Oh my, if you ever need cheering up, or just a recharge to your battery of life, call me and I will give you their number. Frank (Student Ministries Director at JBU) and Coleen had me and Jake over, made us wonderful homemade pizzas and let us play with their daughters to our hearts content. Brinley and Addison have been favorites of mine since I met Brinley when she was 5 months old and Addison from the day I went to visit her in the hospital. They are 3 and 2, beautiful, wild, fun, dance machines, dress up experts, imaginative, and just full of bursting joy. We danced, dressed them up as "mermaids", tried to ward off Brinley's offers (commands) to marry Jake and I right then and there, and giggled alot.




I was also super excited that I got to hang out with another friend of mine--Sweet Tea, otherwise known as Ryan. We enjoyed the cafe, he indulged me by letting me visit his super fun family out at the Ranch, and enjoyed going to the Gathering together. It was awesome to visit a JBU chapel service again, so good for my heart. Ryan--we certainly should have taken a picture together because I found that we don't really have very many recent ones, so this would be the spot where I would stick a picture of us......but not until we take one.

Then I topped off my weekend by heading to Bentonville to the Compound and my Teeny. We shopped, slept, ate Thai food, ate Mimi's.......see I had a wonderful indulgent weekend in the Natural State, something everyone should do at any chance they get.

*Sigh*

Well, I've been reluctant to post more information about my medical/dental catastrophes but here we go again.....
I was released from my surgeon right before Christmas. He was very pleased with how my mouth looked and said the bone was almost completely graphed together, which is very good.
However, though I have not wanted to admit or come to terms with it, for the past couple weeks the right side of my mouth/jaw has been really hurting me. I finally broke down and went to my dentist last week and he took lots of xrays and found some puzzling things. I have perplexed my dentist yet again with my jaw. There was lots of things he wanted me to have checked more extensively by my specialist, so I am currently trying to push through an aching jaw until my specialist appointment in 2 weeks.
But today I had to go back to the dentist at around 8 am, trying to get done in an hour so that I could be at school and ready to teach by 9 am. That definitely didn't happen. It ended up being about 2 hours of terrible stuff happening to my already worn out mouth! It is honestly so frustrating for me because I feel like I've done so many things and here we go again doing more terrible things to my poor mouth/face. Ok, I'm done complaining about it.
I would like to say that I am extremely thankful for my wise doctors. I have a dentist that has seen me since I was toddling around and always tells me he tries to think about me as if I was his own daughter when making decisions about what to do with me, and I know he really means it. My surgeon also happens to be a national leader in his field but was also the most hands on and loving doctors I've ever had. He gave me a huge hug before I left the day he released me. That is not very common.
So now I am in bed, where I've been all day, taking pain killers, and waiting for the swelling and pain to go away. Hopefully it will very soon because I have lots of little school children I missed today and want to be back in action with bright and early in the morning!

New Years/Nye Time Reunion

Our annual "Nye Time", a weekend retreat a group of us JBU friends did throughout college to the Nye's house in Joplin and has now become a reunion, was hosted at my house this year. As it is every year it was a great time of catching up on each other's lives and fellowshipping together for a few days. I am never ceased to be amazed at my wonderful friends and their lives they desire to lead. I love them and look forward to when we will all be together again!