Where did the first month go?

WOW! Time flies! I can't believe we are getting ready to enter February already! I had over a month off of official classes at school. I was supposed to write two 10-12 page papers and didn't get one word down on them. So that leaves me scrabbling this semester to squeeze those in on top of my course work!

January has been an interesting month for us, full of ups and downs! I am hoping that February will bring brighter days. It seems right now that it is going to bring us a bunch of snow! So we'll see what's in store.

And the airbags didn't deploy???? What????

You be the judge! Should the airbags have deployed??????

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Well, the car is a TOTAL LOSS! Especially for us, since we will have to pay a whole lot for something we don't even own anymore. Some have told us to contact a lawyer - so we did and they can't do anything about the loss of the car. That's how insurance works - I guess we'll live and learn!

The insurance company has documented that the airbags didn't deploy and were concerned that they didn't. But they can't do anything about it other than document it. Rob will be talking to the dealership tomorrow about why they didn't and what they plan on doing about it. Had he not been wearing his seatbelt, he would have gone through the windshield!

My History of Christianity II class started today! It looks like it is going to be interesting. This week we are doing the Reformation. Learning about Luther, Calvin and many more! Wish me luck!

Saturday, we took the kids to Build-a-bear. We had been promising them since Christmas! We used their gift certificates from Best Buy from Uncle John and gave them cash for Build-a-bear! So thanks Aunt Barb and Uncle John! They loved it! Rowan made a dinosaur, that goes "ROAR!" Nadine made a pink bear! Betcha you would have never guessed that! Jourdyn made a bunny rabbit.

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Media Frenzy Superstar

Rob has made it to the newspaper!!! Of course, read the article because apparently a Ford 500 is a pickup! And no one ever called to see if he was hurt - they must have assumed that since there was no ambulance called - he must not be hurt! (Hold onto your pants because, surprisingly, it wasn't the Blade!!) I know it shocked me to - I thought only the Blade was known for blantant mistakes and mistruths.

http://www.portclintonnewsherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008801240304

Still No Answer....

and so we wait! The total damage to our car is $17,000. The blue book value of the car is between 15,000 and 20,000. So we are really looking at the insurance company just totaling it. They have heard the amount and have requested a Vehicle Inspection report (VIR). The VIR is the first step in their determination of what to do.

This has panicked me for several days now. I was in complete tears yesterday because we still owe a lot more than that and we don't have Gap insurance because we thought that our insurance would pay off our car (isn't that why you buy car insurance?). But it doesn't. So I was completely stressed. Because the reality is we will most likely be paying for a car we don't even have anymore.

The amount of stress is hard to even explain. Our friend, Chuck asked us to go last night with him and Charlene for her birthday. We decided that we (and when I say "we", I mean "I") needed a break, sometime to just not think about all the crap going on at home. So we went. It was Char's 35th birthday. We went to dinner and met their friends that also adopt, her name was Caroline and I am really crappy with names but I think his was Keith. They have 14 kids. (Chuck and Char have 9) After that we went to the Comedy club with them and Crystal. It was a great night. I was actually able to laugh and I didn't even think about the car (most of the night!)

(Top picture: From left to right, Crystal, Charlene and me)

Well, this also allowed Rob and I time to talk this whole thing out. And here's what we came up with. Even though the amount of money is crazy, it is probably better for us if they total the car. We owe alot more than it is worth and that would leave us with a debt for something we don't have. But the car, if it is fixed, will never be able to be traded in or sold. So we will have it until it dies and continue to pay for it. Financially, we would be better off just paying of the remainding amount after the insurance payment and then finding another realiable but cheap car to drive.

I feel much better about the whole thing. We will be okay!

But again we are in a holding pattern until State Farm decides what they want to do.

Here's what we know...

so far... as of 4:30 today Matthew's has the initial repair costs at $15,500. That does not include an engine work and there is frame damage and also could be other things majorly wrong underneath. This also doesn't include figuring out why the airbags didn't deploy. The side curtain bags deployed but the front and side bags didn't,which should have before the curtains did. In fact, the curtains probably shouldn't have deployed at all since it wasn't a side impact.

They said if the car was a 2005 or 6, they would stop with this value and total it. But since it is a 2007 with only 10000 miles they have to dig deeper to justify totalling it. So we are still in a holding pattern. They aren't sure of all the damage but it's not good. They've said Rob isn't just lucky to not be hurt worse, but lucky to be alive since the airbags didn't deploy.

Well, Rob is really hurting today. We almost went to the ER tonight but decided it's pointless. They don't do anything for whiplash...best case scenario, if not just told to go home and rest, after paying them $75 deductible they would give him Tylenol 3 or something that we would just have to pay another $50 deductible for - all of which we don't have the money for. So he took some more tylenol at home and went back to bed.

I have also been told by my niece that once car seats have been in car accidents, whether a child is in them or not, they have to be replaced. You can't use them anymore, especially if they were thrown around the car...anybody know about this????? I need to find out so I can tell the insurance agency and try to get them to spend $240 to replace the one I had in the car.

A Bad Day

Well, as you can see, we didn't have such a great day! Rob was in an accident on his way home from work today! He is okay. He has whiplash in his neck and back. We don't know if the car is fixable yet. I guess we'll find out tomorrow.

The side airbags deployed but the front didn't. The rear bumper had to be ziptied on so it could be towed to the body shop. It was just hanging there and there is damage underneath of it. Rowan wasn't with him but his carseat was and it was thrown all over the backseat. The front tire is pretty much ripped off - the axle broken, as well as a lot of other stuff under the hood.

We are just thankful and praising God that Rob was not injured more seriously. Had the telephone pole not stopped the car, it would have flipped end to end after going into and out of the ditch before hitting the pole. Rob is a little shaken up about the whole thing. And he says he feels stupid. But he isn't bleeding and nothing major happened to him. Praise God!!!!

Sanctity

sanc·ti·ty /ˈsæŋktɪti/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[sangk-ti-tee]
–noun, plural -ties.

1. holiness, saintliness, or godliness.
2. sacred or hallowed character: the inviolable sanctity of the temple.
3. a sacred thing.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

This is the definition of "sanctity". You might ask why I would be bringing that up today! Well, this week is Sanctity of Human Life week!

I'm not one to protest at a clinic or demand that my beliefs have to be yours, but I do believe in the sanctity of human life, not only as pertaining to life inside the womb but also in cases like Terry Schiavo, a few years back.

Life is such a gift from God. Having been blessed with the gift of pregnancy three times in my life, I have felt first hand new life stirring inside of me. It is the most amazing thing to know that my body, as broken and as sinful as it is, has been used as a sanctuary for 3 precious gifts from God to this world and to me.

Being pregnant changes a woman...no matter how short that pregnancy is...it changes us. We are never the same once our wombs have held a life in them. Abortion isn't a viable escape route, there is emotional, spiritual and physical scarring done to the woman and the life of the child within her is tragically taken. Women who have had abortions live lives full of regret, sorrow and hopelessness. It doesn't have to be this way! Jesus Christ forgives and heals, if He's asked to!

Another thing that always struck me as odd about abortions is that we are told that it's a choice, however most women report that the reason they have had an abortion is because they feel they had no other choice. They felt backed into a corner. There is another choice! I know many families who are desperately trying to adopt, longing for the opportunity to be great parents. Check out my favorites to the right.

In high school, I used to write poetry. I wasn't Edgar Allen Poe or Emily Dickens or anything great. But I did it and I remember loving it. I wrote this at some point in high school and I thought I would share it with you. Maybe I'll share more with you later...

Silent Screams

Their silent screams

that echo through their little bodies

never to live

never to give.

Their silent screams

the tears in their eyes

knowing that people kill to cover up

their lies.

They have no chance

to sing and dance

no chance to rejoice

because it was someone else's choice

to kill

so she can fulfill

her dreams

in exchange for those silent screams...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JOHN

Today is my brother's birthday!

"Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday, Dear John, Happy Birthday to you!"

I have heard that mom and Jim are getting together with John's family to celebrate, along with my cousin Dan who's birthday was yesterday. (I may be a little off on that - but Dan's birthday is within days of John's) So Happy Birthday to Dan too!

Wish we could be there too!

So here's a cute birthday message I found! You'll have to scroll to the bottom pause the music in the purple box before you watch this.

Scrapbooking

Crystie invited me to go scrapbooking with her tonight at her church. So dad came over and watched the two little ones for me and Jourdyn and I went with Crystie for the night.

I haven't scrapbooked for a long time. Tonight I think I got a lot accomplished. Here's some of my work. It's a little on the non-creative side, compared to some of my scrapbooks but after not doing it for almost a year. It's pretty good!

It was nice to just sit around and free up my mind a little bit. Just hard to have creative ideas! I've decided I am not going to scrap our trip to Idaho this past summer. I am going to put some pictures in our family scrapbook and some individuals of the kids in theirs, but not the whole trip in it's own album. Primarily because Rob wasn't there. This summer when we go out I will scrapbook that entire trip!

Connie and Tim came up for a little while. They brought pizza and pop! It was fun. A great night of fellowship!

It's been a few days...

so I've decided to give you an update on everything.

1) Rowan's fingers are healing great - he's finally leaving htem alone!
2) Family pics - Rob and I didn't jump in because I'm fat and 30 and I don't want my picture taken :) No seriously we are going to have family pics taken for Easter. By then hopefully I will have lost more weight.
3) Update on Lifestyles - I have lost only 2 pounds since I have joined - this is not surprising to me. My body has always turned fat into muscle very quickly and generally when I work out I gain weight because muscle weighs more than fat. But I have lost 2 inches in the chest, 2 inches in the waist, 1 1/2 inches in the hips and 1/2 inch in one of my upper arms. Here's the weird thing and I am going to blame it on improper measurement because I have supposedly gained an inch in each thigh. However, I disagree because all of my pants that were tight are now not tight. And I can visibly see a difference in my legs. So I believe I was standing in a different position than my first weigh in. (or least that's what I'll keep telling myself.) So that all said, I only have about 35 more pounds to go!!! But I am ecstatic that I have already lost over 4 inches in a matter of about 11 workouts!!!
4) being discouraged - I praise God every day for the calling He has put on my life! Knowing that that calling isn't easy! I love it! I have been praying a lot (Jeremiah 33:3) and doing my Bible Studies. I have also received so much encouragement from my ladies that I serve. I know that God is doing something great! I just have to hang in there. (Jeremiah 29:11)

So what have I been up to in the past couple of days??? working out, driving kids to and from school, and sleeping. I have been so tired lately - which is strange because exercise is supposed to make you have more energy! Rowan hasn't been sleeping well though - I believe we have started the nightmare stage! Or something!

One more thing: I wanted to make sure I said "Hi" to Vale. I received an email from her this week and she is reading! So "Hi, I love you! And I miss you! Keep your head up! Hopefully, I will see you soon!"

Valentina (or Vale) is my long time friend - let's see my freshman year we started corresponding as pen pals so that would be 1991 (I'm old) so 16 years. (WOW! Vale can you believe it's been that long?!?!). Vale is from Slovenia (part of the old Yugoslavia) between Croatia, Italy and Austria and Hungary. Anyways, it's an absolutely beautiful country! Well, now she lives in Spain with her boyfriend, Jose! (Vale, email me a picture of the two of you so I can post it on here!)

Quiz Kidz

Jourdyn participates in Children's Quizzing at our church. Today was their first quiz meet of the year. And, boy, did all of the kids do a great job! Especially Jourdyn! Here's some pics of her today. They have practice once a week on Sundays. And then they have about 3 meets per year and then it's on to district. There was one question today that we kind of objected to the wording of it. It was "What did Noah take on the ark with him? A) Every wild animal and all livestock B) Every Bird C) 2 of all things with living souls or D) all of the above." Jourdyn answered C which I believe is right. But their answer was D because the Bible says that he took "Every wild animal according to it's kind..." That is not what the question says, the question appears that every single animal in the world got on that ark and they didn't.

So anyways, nothing changed - she got it wrong. This is only practice for the invitationals anyways, so she wasn't too frustrated with it.

In the picture above are her friends, Madelene (not spelled right), then Paige, Jourdyn and Katie. She spent the night last night with Paige and has spent the day with Katie today.

They are coming into that age where three's a crowd and they are all feeling very torn between each other. Oh...the preteen years! God help me!!!! :)

Need I Say More...

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ER Visit

So my week has ended with an ER visit for Rowan. Nadine let him out of his high chair this morning. He immediately headed for the bathroom. He opened the door, reached in and grabbed a razor. One of those triple blade razors! And OUCH!!!!!

His right hand middle finger and ring finger were lacerated! Pretty good too! Being fingertip wounds they bled incessantly. We called the doc's office. They said go to the ER to have it surgibonded.

So we did. It was off to St. Charles. We weren't there very long. The nurse cleaned out the cuts and the doctor dermabonded his fingers.



This picture isn't very good - there are two cuts on each finger. The middle finger is the worst. The skin between the two cuts was just hanging by a thread. It was the bad bleeder.


Rowan is so precious though! Even at only 22 months, he kinda had that "ah, man, it's all good, just a battle scar" attitude. He, of course, didn't appreciate being held down to have them glued but other than that, he did very well!

I am learning more and more everyday just how different from the girls he is.
The girls would have been screaming hysterically. Rowan just cried for a few moments when it happened. Then we where playing with it to see the damage.

The girls don't even care about what's in the bathroom drawers. Rowan thinks that any drawer is his business, especially if there is something he can take apart in it. (Like tampons - he thinks they're dynamite or something!)

The girls for the most part don't want anything to do with the vacuum cleaner or household mechanical things. Rowan stands in front of the vacuum to wait for his feet to be suctioned. And laughs.

The girls ask for dvd's and tv stuff to be done for them. Rowan says get out of my way, I know how to do it.

He is mechanically oriented, it's amazing! If it can be taken apart - he does it. If it can be plugged in - he does it (even if it's not supposed to be plugged in - he's learning though!)

Discouragement

I have been lately so discouraged in my calling. 90% of my time that is not spent with my family, I spend in thought, prayer, preparation, etc for Women's Ministries. And Rob would tell you that even 50% of my family time is really spent with my mind on the women I serve. I don't want anyone to misunderstand me at all - I love serving the Lord and the women that I do. It is such a privilege to do so and most of the time I am so joyful about it.

Lately, I have just been so discouraged and I can't pinpoint one exact thing that is causing it. It's a lot of things. I believe that Satan knows that God is doing something GREAT in my life and he is just trying to tear that down any way he can. There's a new song by Brandon Heath called "I'm not who I was", I'm really loving it lately - not so much for the story that it tells but for the line, "I wish you could see me now, I wish I could show you how, that I'm not who I was." I am not who I was because of what God is doing in my life. I have been really just praying and recalling the Lord and that He is the reason that I serve. I was emailed this today and it was really at a moment that I just needed to hear it:

The Lord is my Shepherd

That's Relationship!
I shall not want

That's Supply!
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.

That's Rest!
He leadeth me beside the still waters.

That's Refreshment!
He restoreth my soul

That's Healing!
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness.

That's Guidance!
For His name sake

That's Purpose!
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.

That's Testing!
I will fear no evil.

That's Protection!
For Thou art with me

That's Faithfulness!
Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me,

That's Discipline!
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

That's Hope!
Thou anointest my head with oil,

That's Consecration!
My cup runneth over.

That's Abundance!
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.

That's Blessing!
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord.

That's Security!
Forever

That's Eternity!

Pictures of our home

Barb wants to see some pics of our home. They have not been home to Ohio for almost two years. So they have never seen it.

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Fun Pics of our day

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This is a day in the life of almost four year old and an almost 2 year old.

Nadine got herself all dressed up! Jourdyn's jammies, her sweater from her sunday dress, her rain galashes, her green sunglasses and her pink shell bracelet that gramma got her in McCall, ID. The outfit is perfect!!! :)

Praising God evening in the Storms!

I always like to check out http://www.godtube.com/ just to see if their is anything cool or inspirational! Today I found this. When I think about all the storms that I go through in my life, most of them have never compared to what an American Soldier has been through. Then to see that many of those soldiers are turning to God for strength and comfort just fills me so deeply with an indescribable peace. I can imagine the peace God touches them with. (don't forget to mute the music in the purple box at the bottom before you try to watch this video)

My brother's NEW blog

Happy Sunday! John has started a blog!!! YEAH! And he has put some awesome pics on it. Check it out!
http://www.clankrempa.blogspot.com/

Here's one of the pics on his blog - I think it is so awesome. My cousin Mark took it and had them all pose like the monument. Of course, I know am kicking myself in the butt - because I didn't think to do that. Since Derek & Jackie were there weeks before me - they probably are thinking the same thing as they see it. It's quite cool!

Greenwald's New Puppies

So Here are the puppies names
Angus (the black one)
Shaemus (the yellow one)
(ya bunch of Scottish freaks!) And isn't it cute that Ainsley is hold Angus (both A's) and Stirling is holding Shaemus (both S's).


Derek, Jackie and the girls have gotten new puppies. Teddy, their old dog passed away a couple months ago. So here are some pics of the puppies but more importantly of my precious girls and Derek too! (Okay, he's precious too!) Aren't they getting so big. Derek and Jackie are our friends, who live in Virginia. Derek was our best man in our wedding. Stirling (yellow puppy) is Jourdyn's age and Ainsley (black puppy) is 10 months younger.

Back to School

Well, Christmas vacation is over for Jourdyn - not for me, I don't go back until the 28th. We were up bright and early and of course, with bickering! I haven't been up to much over the past couple of days.

New Year's we stayed home. Julie came over, we watched Amazing Grace and then the ball drop. I think I like Ryan Seacrest hosting...not sure, I guess I'll have to watch next year to form my opinion. American Idol is starting up though very soon! YEAH! (I know, I'm a dork!)
Jourdyn's friend Paige stayed the night. They were lost in her room for the evening.

On Wednesday, I had some friends over for a girls night. We watched Anita Renfroe DVD's and laughed a whole lot!

I have been working out most days - not the holidays. I am really liking it. I have confiscated Rob's mp3 player to use and loaded it with all my music! :) I don't know if I have lost any weight yet but I do know I look different - I'm losing my well...my upper body! And we'll leave it at that! :) I feel different too! I feel pretty good nowadays! And it's only been a couple of weeks!

So what else can I tell you?? Well, I have spent the last couple of days trying to figure out this new computer. My laptop is missing keys, cracked in various places, etc. So we broke down and bought a desktop. Other than that - we haven't done much!

We are getting are pictures taken next Saturday - so be watching for those! I didn't make any resolutions this year! I always break them in about 3 weeks - so I am trying it different this year.