Hilary's New Car

Not being able to justify any more money going into Hilary's Cavalier we set out today to find her a "new" car. Of course on a limited budget it is hard to find one that is going to be reliable. We started at 10 this morning and decided we needed about $1000 more dollars before we could get something that would work well for her. We came home, settled in and got a phone call from one of the salesmen we spoke with earlier. He said they just got this trade in and it fit into our budget. Better yet, he said it was well taken care of, in great shape and would be great fit for Hilary. New brakes, new manifold (muffler), and new tires. The previous owner had great records of all maintenance. We battled around if we should go or not, we went. We got there and found the car to be in fantastic shape for being 11 years old. It's a 1997 Buick LeSabre. It is super clean in and out. It seems to run well, it's quiet and it has heat! I pray that this car turns out to be as good as it seems. With used cars you never know but I do have a really good feeling about it.

We Finally Met :)

This is my future grand daughter, Therisa. She is turning 3 on March 3rd. We finally had the privilege of meeting her this past Wednesday. She was a little shy for the first 5 minutes. Thank goodness for play dough, crayons and color books. That's all it took to get her to open up. We had so much fun playing and getting to know each other. I can't wait to do it again.

We also made chocolate chip cookies together. She loved measuring and mixing. She caught on very quickly on how to work my Kitchen Aid. Our cookies tasted good but they didn't look very good. I am not sure what went wrong with them but I will say this, it was the most fun I have had making cookies in a long time.

So Proud

Hilary competed in a Skills USA competition yesterday. It was on the local level and there were 18 Cosmetology students who competed. They all had to go in and see a picture of the hair style they were to create. They had to cut an style the mannequin head just as the picture showed. They had 1 1/2 hours to do this, they only took about 1 hour. Then they each had to do one up-do, of their creation. They had 1 hour to complete it. They all did a great job. Eight of the girls were chosen to move on to the regional competition. Hilary was one of those chosen. She not only made it to regional competition but she place 1st in the local portion. She is truly loving what she has chosen to do. Not only that, she is really doing a great job! I am so proud of her!

Bombshell: Part 2

Now that is official I can share what the bombshell is! Evan proposed to his girlfriend, Amanda, yesterday! This is the young man who said, "I am not getting married until I am at least 23". This is also the young man who said, "I am never having kids". I have always told him, you will change your mind. Well, he did. Amanda has a soon to be 3 year old daughter, Tarissa. So not only will he be taking a wife, he will be taking a daughter. They aren't really planning on getting married for at least a year so they do have some time to continue to let their relationship develop.

I guess that this will also make Bob and I grandparents! What?!!! I will be a VERY young and hopefully most awesome grandma! Okay, that just sounds weird!

Bombshell

Today it feels like I had a bombshell dropped on me. It is one of those moments in life that you know is coming but you think, not yet. It's funny, right before it happened the Holy Spirit prepared me for it. I knew it exactly what the next text would be and that's exactly what it was. For a moment I truly thought I might be sick but it passed quickly. Then there was a moment of excitement, fear and anything else you can think of. I can't share the bombshell just yet but soon (as far as I know anyway).

Snowball: Zach and Monica

Aren't they cute!

Baby it's Cold Outside

The pictures say it all...she was so cold she let me put her sweater on her with no fight...she really doesn't like it but it matches her eyes so well!

Before and After

Before going into the kids rooms :)



After going into the kids rooms :(

It's a Hard Dilemma

I am always telling my children that with each choice we make there are consequences, whether they are good or bad. I know we all make poor choices at times, some people choose to make horrific ones. Bob works for a counseling center. He does the billing there. They handle all kinds of issues but their counselors specialize in dealing with sexual abuse cases. They are different because they not only treat the abused but they also treat those who abuse. Most centers will only handle one or the other. It's not a poor you treatment for the abuser, the counselors hold up the mirror and help to make them accept responsibility for their actions and also try to help them not to abuse again. This is a life long battle to fight the "sickness" within themselves, I really don't know how else to say it. There are some counselors who believe so deeply in on going treatment that they meet with a group each week to help keep them on at a safe level, for themselves and those around them. Did I mention that they do the majority of this group for free? They do, that is how important it is to keep the support going.

Yesterday was a hard day for my honey. For two years now they have been receiving a grant to help with the sexual perpetrators treatment. One of the things the grant has been able to do is to help subsidize their rent. It wasn't just to help provide housing but to be able to know where they are. Bob was informed yesterday, by those that provide the money, that this can no longer happen. He tried to argue the point but was in the end asked, "do you want the money or not?" Of course they want the money, this grant does so much more than help to provide housing. It helps to provide treatment which in turn helps to reduce the risk of re-offending. He even tried to get them to agree to helping subsidize rent for one more month, no luck.

He had to inform two of the recipients of this change yesterday. It did not go well. Normally Bob has many walls put up to help deal with clients. He typically doesn't let things get to him, especially when it comes to those who made such horrific choices. Normal response for him is, "you made these choices now these are your consequences". The walls were broken down yesterday. He had to let them know they could not help with the rent subsidy any more. This ultimately will mean that they will be homeless. That in itself is not good for anyone but for a sexual offender it is worse. They can't go to the Center for the Homeless because there are women and children there. They used to be able to go to Hope Rescue, not anymore. Hope Rescue has expanded to allow women and children there as well. They really have no where to go...no where.

I know these people have made the choices that have led them up to this point. My human response, let them deal, let them suffer the consequences. Others are suffering because of their actions. My Jesus response, the one I am more inclined to lean towards, pray. Pray that there will be some solution that will help all those affected. Ultimately, pray, pray that they find Jesus so they can know the hope He offers, even when it seems that there is none.

Who Knew

Bob took Hilary's car to have the adjuster look at it from the accident she was in before Christmas, it was not her fault this time and no one was hurt. We were hoping that it would be totaled and with the value of her car we were pretty sure it would be. She has no heat and it is loud, not muffler loud but loud, we don't know what's wrong with it. All I can say is, it runs. Well, it is better than totaled. There was a little over 1400.00 worth of damage and they are just sending us a check and we can either get it fixed or not get it fixed. We are not getting it fixed. We also get to keep the car with a clear title because it is not totaled therefore we can sell it. We are not fixing the damage because it's all cosmetic, and we are selling Hilary's car (not for a lot but enough). Between the two she will recoup all the expenses this car has cost. She is ecstatic!

When the accident first happened she was actually grateful that she had been hit as opposed to someone else. Sounds weird I know but she said if the van had hit someone else they would have been further on the bridge, which was a sheet of ice, and at 40 mph someone could have ended up in the river. I am still not used to my children driving (4 years later), I pray more when they are on the road and am so thankful that God keeps His loving arms around them.

Who knew what a blessing this would have turned out to be!

Just a Thought

I am convinced that my friends help to make me a better person. I love them!

Random

I love being able to read my friends and family's blogs and facebooks so I can keep up on what's happening in their lives even though I may not get to see them as often as I would like!

A New Year

I am believing that 2009 is going to be a great year! 2008 held a lot of sadness, sickness and hardship in our family. Not this year...I believe in speaking it into being. Our year has started off with a few ups and downs but all in all so far so good. God blessed us in a big way this week. We have been in limbo with our property taxes, as was everyone else in Indiana, but this week all is well. Last year our exemptions kicked in from when we purchased our house 2 years ago but due to the indecisiveness of our legislature to decide our tax rate our exemptions were put on hold and our taxes were doubled. Our house payment was increase dramatically to make up the "shortage" that was supposed to be there. We knew there would not be a shortage since our exemptions were to take effect, our mortgage company knew this as well but their hands were tied by the lack of action by the state. So for 5 months we have been paying way to much money for our home. Bob called our mortgage company right after Christmas in hopes of straightening things around. He found out that our property taxes went down $2400.00 a year! That is HUGE! This week we received a nice check from our mortgage company refunding us most of the extra money we had paid. After accessing our account online I found that our mortgage payment went down 280.00a month! It is now less that when we first closed on our house. Only God can do that! I truly expected this would take several more months to straighten out. I am so grateful I was wrong.