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Update

Shannon — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 01:14:00 GMT

It's been awhile since we posted anything here. Sorry about that, but I'm sure you understand how we'd be busy since having a baby. Addie is two and a half months old now, and getting prettier and prettier. :) She gets pretty fussy some days, but it's really a joy taking care of her. I'm so thankful that I get to stay home with her. Scott has the week off, so we'll get to have a lot of family time. Addie is happy; she hates when Daddy goes back to work every Monday. Addie...(read more)

Doctor's Appointment

Scott — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 22:36:00 GMT

We went and saw the doctor today, but before we saw the doctor we were scheduled for an ultrasound.

First the ultrasound... we got to see Addie move her feet, and wiggle around and be generally babyish. They measured her and then estimated her weight by the circumference of her head. She should weigh right at about 5lb 1 oz... that puts her at the 50th percentile, right on target! Then they did some baby movement test whose name escapes me right now ... bio-physical something ... but whatever it was addie got full points on it - we have one healthy baby on our hands.

Next up the doctors visit, she was very nice as always. Shannon's blood pressure was right at normal and the doctor was very happy about that; there was some concern early on that it might get too high, but that seems to be all cleared up. Shannon continues to amaze both the doctor and me - since she got pregnant she has only taken on two extra pounds. Every time we see the doctor she says how remarkable it is that Shannon has done so well. I am really very proud of her.

That's about it - I've uploaded the ultrasound pictures and you should be able to find the in the usual media gallery. Email me if you can't find them.

Green, But Not With Envy!

Scott — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 15:54:00 GMT

Well, we finally got a little bit further with Addies room, so I thought it warranted an update.

First of all, we got both coats of primer on the wall, and it really did make quite a difference. The walls were actually white again, and so any color we put down after that was going to look that much brighter just for having a good base, so I was very happy with how that turned out. There were several places on the wall where the paper had come up off of the sheet rock ... various reasons there - cats, old paper, you name it... and so I had to patch those before we primed. Well, after the first coat of primer I was still a bit nervous about how they were going to turn out. With the second coat, you could barely see them at all... mission accomplished! A few places were still sticking up where the paper was peeling away a bit, so I got some general purpose glue, and glued them right back... most of them were on the old border, which definitely had to stick down or we were never going to be able to put the new border up.

So with two coats of primer and a glued down surface, we decided for sure to use the Freshaire VOC-free paint in the Arbor Vine color that I talked about in the last post. It is just a bit pricey at $38.95 a can, but the difference in smell level even while painting is huge. The first coat is now applied, and although we will definitely need another coat, we are very happy with how the first coat looks. It took 2/3 of a can to paint the first coat, so we're going to need to buy another can, knowing we won't use 2/3 of it, which is a bit disappointing given the price, but it will also be very good to have some left over for any touch up work... kids are prone to putting marks on walls.

Well, I think it looks great... I uploaded a few photos of it to the Scott Shot media gallery, but the light levels were terrible, so the photos are a) Not color correct, and b) Grainy. Both attributes that will kill the usefulness of a photo.

This week we were very fortunate, we received a huge blessing. We have been looking for a new dresser or tall chest of drawers for Adelaide for about a month now. The cheapest thing we could find was an Ashley 3 drawer "chest" for $160 at Mathis Brothers... it felt cheap, and we were very disappointed. Still, we thought that it would probably be enough, and we could always buy something later. Knowing that Grant works there, we called to find out if he would mind bringing it home one afternoon. Grant had a different idea. Basically, there have been a certain kind of dresser being brought back frequently that we happen to very much like the look of. Without any impropriety involved, Grant suggested that we wait until the next one came back, and he would hold it for us (with permission from his boss) instead of taking it to the As-Is showroom. The tall chest normally sells for $400, but had typically been getting marked to $160 because of minor damages.

We thought that being able to get one of those tall chests would be fantastic. We liked the dresser more, but if we could get the tall chest, we would be extremely happy. Besides which, the dresser costs $800, and would probably get marked at $400 for As-Is... and we didn't have that kind of money for a dresser, even if it was a great deal.

About a week later (last Friday) we got a call from Grant. They had not had a single tall chest come back, when previously they had been getting back 3 a week... but he had just gotten back a dresser and wanted to know if we were interested. Shannon and I talked about it and decided if they could price it at or below $350 we could probably afford it somehow... so we said sure, find out, and we'll see. A few hours went by... and finally a call back. The merchandiser had looked at the dresser and set an as-is price for it. With the damage considered, they were willing to sell it for $200!

I left work and was at Mathis Brothers in under 20 minutes despite Grant's protestations that it could probably wait until after 4 when I got off work. No way was I letting that dresser sit there any amount of time without being paid for!

So we are very grateful... to Grant for getting us such an amazing deal on a very beautiful piece of furniture that we could never have afforded otherwise, and foremost to God who saw fit for us to receive it.

OK, I know what you are thinking ... what was the damage that could knock six hundred dollars off of the price??? So I will tell you.

One of the screw-in legs broke. Not to be repaired. Oh well, I like it better without the feet anyway.
One of the drawers refused to close all the way.

Woah... that drawer ... that could be a deal breaker, right? So we get it home expecting to have to buy new drawer runners, and decide hey, let's change out the color panels on the front of the drawers to green like the room is, and change the handles to the bear ones instead of the concentric circles. We do that, and then decide to look at the drawer to see what is wrong with it. We pull the drawer out of it, and what do you know ... two of the feet are sitting behind it and are the reason it wont close all the way. We pull the feet out, and the drawer closes all the way. Amazing.

There are no dents on it, no scratches, no breakage ... nothing except the feet had to be taken off.

We are trully blessed.

The Art of Construction

Scott — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 11:18:00 GMT

No updates for a while... so I'll put one up before work today.

We've got a bit of Addie's room done. There's a base coat of primer up on all the walls, although we have another coat of primer to go before we can put on a coat of color (light green!). We'll probably end up putting two coats of the color on though, so there is still a serious amount of work left just in the painting. We're going with a VOC-free paint called Freshaire from The Home Depot. Supposedly you could paint a hospital room with the paitients still in it if you use this stuff... very odor free, and apparently good for the environment. Maybe, I guess... all I know is that it's good for Home Depot's bottom line, at $35 a gallon!!! It's been taking about a gallon per coat. So we still have $70 worth of paint to buy. If you want to see the color we're using, go to the Freshaire Website and select the Colors tab. We're using Arbor Vine.

We picked up a new air conditioner, because the one in Addie's room wasn't working well. We're going to move the 8,000 BTU one in our room to Addie's room, and we got a 12,000 BTU Frigidaire for our room. The 8,000 didnt quite get cold enough in our room, but Addie's room is significantly smaller, so it should do fine in there. Also, Addie doesn't need the room to be a freezer... so that will help.

We had a good fourth of July. Didn't do much, just cooked out. Didn't spend a bunch of money on fireworks, mostly just watched everyone elses... good times. Why pay money just to light the fuse, eh? We did get some firecrackers, which I'm sure we didn't use inside city limits. Not sure what happened to that orange in my driveway

Oh, I ordered a new remote for MythTV from NewEgg. Several posts online about it being compatible with lirc for use in conjunction with MythTV. Looking forward to putting the keyboard away again... it was much nicer just with a remote to access MythTV. Gonna have to match one of those buttons to a script that kills any instance of mythfrontend and restarts it though... had a bit of trouble needing that lately. Yes, I did just geek out a bit... I'm sure you'll survive.

Other than that, not a whole lot going on, I'll leave you with a nice link to what is probably the smallest bluetooth adapter I have ever seen! That's almost as good as built-in.

Already

Shannon — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 21:32:00 GMT

It's been quite a busy month! I can't believe that it's already July, and there's less than 10 weeks until Addie's due. We went to Falls Creek the second week of June, and it was great. Before we went, I didn't have the best attitude about going. I was worried about getting comfortable in the bunk beds. I was worried about getting enough sleep. And I just didn't want to leave my comfy couch. But once we got there, it was great. I didn't get enough sleep, but that made...(read more)

More Mouse Mishaps (Madness!)

Scott — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 03:37:00 GMT

This is almost getting to the point that this is a mouse review site or something... seriously, I must have tainted hands, because my MS mouse died again! So I sided with the unholy maker again because of a very tempting $30 mail in rebate. I ordered it from NewEgg right before I left for falls creek and it got here while I was gone. Well, the package arrived, and since I just got home today I only just opened it. Turns out, somebody else had opened it before NewEgg sent it to me! So I didn't install it ... I have no idea why someone else returned it, but I'm not willing to risk it was just because they didn't like it... there are too many manufacturing defects that could be slow to reveal themselves with mice to take the chance; even when they manifested themselves quickly to the previous buyer.

I've emailed NewEgg to see if they can rectify the problem. I'm sure given my previous outstanding experience with their customer service that things will go well.

Falls Creek ... I'm sure I'll write my usual book and a half, but not yet. This much I can say though... it was different this year; I realize that sounds kind of obvious ... but it was different in non-obvious ways. I'll have more on that after our morning service tomorrow.

I should be working...

Shannon — Fri, 23 May 2008 14:48:00 GMT

Well, I guess it's been awhile since I wrote a blog. It seems like a lot has been going on, but I can't seem to remember what. Guess I'll blame that one on pregnancy. We're doing fine. Addie's getting more active all the time. She must be getting big, too; I know my belly's starting to. I had to order some new clothes this week because my pants are all getting a little snug. We're going to be starting on Addie's room this weekend, so you're welcome to come over...(read more)

Laptop Hunting

Scott — Tue, 20 May 2008 02:06:00 GMT

I started a laptop fund with my birthday money, and with a small bonus that I got from work for completing a project. I'll add to it the money that I'll get for selling my existing laptop (the stand-alone built in DVD player still works, making it a great portable DVD player) which will mean that I'll have $205 towards that tasty new Dell Inspiron 1720 that I've been dreaming of.

Since this is my blog, I'll also take the chance to do a little advertising. I'm looking for some development opportunities that could net me some extra cash too, so if you hear of something someone wants... send them my way. I have very reasonable development rates for small projects when I want something bad enough.

Seriously though, no project is too big or too small. For small projects I can complete the task myself at rates you wouldn't believe, and for larger projects or projects where time is of the essence, I can have the project fully managed with a dedicated resource team to complete the work. I give a full estimate of work, cost and project duration before I begin so that there are no surprises. Please contact me for more details if you or someone you know are interested in retaining my services.

Jealousy, I have known thee

Scott — Sun, 18 May 2008 03:38:00 GMT

Everyone knows I love my Victorinox Swiss Champ. I've carried it by my side for about ten years now. In fact, it is so useful that I have two of them... just in case! But tonight, I saw the mother of them all. Jealousy, have I known thee, and thy name is XAVT. At a MSRP of over $400, I think I'm not going to have one... but if anyone feels generous... I could be REALLY grateful

Again with the laptop...

Scott — Fri, 16 May 2008 03:19:00 GMT

My laptop has stuck out AGAIN! Second time in under a month that pushing the power button to turn it on has no effect at all. The power light indicates the thing is fully charged, and the built-in DVD player still works. But it straight out refuses to boot up. I priced a nicely configured Dell Inspiron 1720... it cost $1338. Dell has a coupon right now until May 29th that gives 30% off (code is H873GJC2846CV5), which makes it $936. Add tax and that brings you to about $1016. That is really cheap, but still... might as well be ten thousand for all it matters. Until it gets to about half that, I can see it's not going to happen any time soon. The only thing that sells for half that would a little 15.4" integrated graphics number ... I'm not interested in that, that's the same as what I have now (although yes, I do concede it would at least boot). What I'm saying is that those things about my current laptop already irritate me, so I see no point in spending that much money on main features that I already know will irritate me.

About the only thing I can say is that I hope the google ads start getting very interesting to you folks. I'd never say for people to click things just because I need money, I'm sure that would be against AdSense's policies... but maybe you need Printer Ink, maybe you need to buy a new Dell Laptop too, or maybe you're suffering from Asbestosis... and today is the first time you see an ad and you think "Wow! I should click that!". I mean, if that is the case... I'd be a sorry person to tell you not to click it .... wouldn't I? :)

Things That Go Bump...

Scott — Thu, 15 May 2008 01:48:00 GMT

Exciting stuff... just this week I got to feel Adelaide kick for the first time. We've found she's quite contrary, she will kick a few times to get Shannon's attention, but the moment that Shannon tells me that Adelaide is being active, she stops moving! It's infuriating! In other news, we made a trip to Lowe's the other day to look at paint. We picked up about a half million swatches in varying shades of pink and green. We haven't decided exactly how the colors will go on the walls yet, but we're working on it. Shannon has exceptional taste in color and layout, so I'm sure we can't go wrong. So you can see the kinds of colors we are working with though, just look at the ladybug crib set on our Babies R Us registry... they pink and green are a perfect match!

A Little Resurrection?

Scott — Fri, 09 May 2008 03:09:00 GMT

Last night my Averatec 6235-EE laptop decided to give up the ghost. It didn't power on at all. The built-in DVD player feature was still working, but nothing else would. I removed and reseated both the memory, and the hard disk drive... to no avail. I charged it for hours, no dice. I tried powering it up with the cord in, with the cord out, with the battery in, with the battery out ... nothing helped. And I was just a little bit upset about it all. Shannon might recall it a little differently.

I tried it again this morning for no particular reason, and got the same result... oh well. I left it plugged in all day, and went to find out exactly how much it would cost to replace it... knowing full well that I wouldn't be able to anyway. I priced out a Dell Vostro 1700 for about $1150, which was a good price for the config... but it might as well have been a million... you know? Well, this evening before we took Bri out for dinner I decided to push the button one more time. No idea why, but I did it. And what do you know... it powered up.

I don't think there's a moral or a point to the story except ... I'm very happy that my laptop works again!

Dale Dug a Hole...

Scott — Tue, 06 May 2008 04:10:00 GMT

Well, the hole from the plumbing is finally filled in. I have three shiny new cleanouts just barely peeking their tops over the soil level. Once the rain settles the soil in a bit more I'll trim them to be just beneath the soil level... we had a Bobcat to push the dirt back in and thank goodness for it ... it would have taken FOREVER without it. Although I'm really tired now, having this burden removed is actually very relieving for me. It had been causing a bit of stress waiting for the hole to dry out again after each rain. It took about two weeks to go from full of water to fully dry... and we had been getting drenched every two weeks lately. It's supposed to T-Storm again tonight, but all that will do now is make that dirt settle in better... isn't life great? :)

Dreaming of (a) Malibu

Scott — Sun, 04 May 2008 19:28:00 GMT

So today while we were running errands out in Bixby (we went to Conrad Farms Market) I stopped in at WestLake Ace Hardware to get another key cut for our new (old) '06 Malibu. Turns out that despite the small key size, and the car salesman's protestations to the contrary, the key actually does need to have a transponder key. We'd been thinking lately of trying to pick up another remote anyway, so I did a bit of eBay trawling... a fond pastime. I found a reputable trader that was selling both the blank key, and the remote start keyfob... so I was even able to save a bit on the shipping!

Well, of course it's always hard to just buy the one thing on eBay, it seems that no sooner do you click the buy it now option, and something else grabs your attention. Well, Shannon and I had also been talking about putting in a home security system that would monitor the doors and Adelaide's window. So I found the model I wanted, and we were going to wait a bit to pick it up ... but wouldn't you know it ... eBay had one of those there for $139... normally sells for $250. So who can stand to miss out on that kind of bargain? Shannon also found a couple of puzzles she wanted, and before you know it we've made bids or won at least five auctions. Yikes. [Edit] Well, at least we didn't get the home security kit yet... turns out the kit normally sells for $186, and the eBay item was $140 + $16 shipping... that's not quite enough savings for a "like new in box" item for me. Oh well.[/Edit]

So while I love eBay, it's also a little bit evil. I think I better stay out of there for a bit. Also thought I'd mention that we've decided on Adelaide's room colors... light sage green and light pink. You can see the colors best in the crib set. It's easier to see in the store at Baby's R Us. Speaking of Baby's R Us, we registered there the other day... that was kind of fun. But only because I got to play with a laser gun, you know? :) Anyways, for those interested, here is our baby registry.

It's a girl!

Scott — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 02:53:00 GMT

First of all, make sure you go to the Peanut Gallery, we posted the new ultrasound pictures that we got on Wednesday... but before you do, you probably want to finish reading this post!

So... Wednesday... what an experience! What can you say about it? It was really awesome (yes... awesome) to be able to meet our daughter, and to see the first glimpses of personality. We were totally not expecting that. We kind of just expected to see the baby laying there, in a fetal position... but instead, she was really active, and moved a lot. At first we thought it was just the technician's style/movement ... but it became evidently clear that this was our daughter moving, and it was awe-inspiring ... so yes ... awesome is a good word to describe the feeling.

When we were trying to get a good profile picture of her (well, the technician really, but we'll claim some involvement!) we got a view of her, but not profile! As the technician moved the wand, our daughter moved too ... and "next thing you know" ... we were being mooned. By our unborn child. Amazing. Unfortunately, the technician neglected to print that one out... we would have really liked to have that one! Although truth be told ... it was kind of difficult to tell it was her butt... mostly you can just see the bones, but the way she moved, and by the technician's reaction we knew we had just been shown baby butt.

We do also have a picture to show the gender ... but we didn't upload it. It's not exactly nice, you know? But the technician assured us (as much as they can, I suppose) that our baby "looks very much like a girl".

Aside from that, we had a good long think about what we wanted to name our daughter. Most of you know we had been thinking about a couple of names; well, today we finally decided which to use. we want you to know we REALLY appreciate all the suggestions you gave... it was very helpful to have some outside input to the process. It was hard to decide, and we know that most of you had a distinct preference for Hannah out of the names we were considering...in the end, for a multitude of reasons (and a lot of 'yelling testing sessions') we've chosen Adelaide Renae Blomfield. Yep, the last one was the easiest. But for the naysayers ... you can name your child anything you want, including Poopersmella Tiddlywinks Pieface. Really. And the doctors won't stop you. And the law has no problem with it. Or Consuela Banana-hammock. Ask Phoebe from friends about that one, I have no idea why you'd chose it. Poopersmella on the other hand ... that's a wonderful name. Even if Shannon says not...

So go have a look at Pooper--- aaah ... Adelaide's new pictures... I scanned them, so somebody should at least look at them and let me know by way of a comment or something!

A Rose By Any Other Name...

Shannon — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 02:17:00 GMT

Well, now that you've met Peanut, we had a bit of an idea that we thought you might like. Obviously we can't call the baby Peanut forever... so why don't you leave us some suggestions for names? We tend to like more traditional names, but we're open to anything. We're not saying that we'll pick one from this list, but we'd like to know what other people think....(read more)

A matter of introduction

Scott — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 02:04:00 GMT

Almost everyone makes them... I'm talking about New Years Resolutions. Maybe you made one to lose weight, to lose a vice, just to enjoy life a bit more, or maybe even to make an important life decision. Shannon and I decided our NYR would be to have a child this year... so what a surprise it was when January 2nd we found out that we were pregnant!

Yesterday we finally got to do what I think every purposeful new parent anticipates most... go for the first ultrasound. It's quite an overwhelming feeling when they show the baby for the first time. We were lucky enough to catch the baby on a day where we got a good profile view, and you can very clearly make out the head, body and even the arm buds. It was amazing to hear the baby's heart beat, it was quite fast, but very steady.

I'd like to introduce you all to Peanut:

Many people are very insistent that Peanut is a girl. I honestly have no preference (I'm just thrilled to be a Dad) but I think it just might be a boy. Of course, if it isn't I'm going to come back here to edit this blog post though!

We've uploaded all three of the ultrasound pictures so that you can look them over.

Elizabeth Rose

Shannon — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 02:26:00 GMT

Our new niece, Lizzie, was born today at 3:05 pm. She's a pretty little girl and, so far, I have yet to hear her cry. Maybe she'll be a laid-back girl. We have several photos and a video; I've just got to figure out how to upload them to the site. Both Karin and Lizzie are doing great. And Jason couldn't be happier....(read more)

Blessings From God...

anthony — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 03:27:00 GMT

We had to call Scott and Shannon tonight to see how Kristi was.We were so glad to hear that God has healed her.The power of prayers sure are wonderful.

Now we just need to say a prayer for Shannon.She hasn't felt well for a couple days .The high fever is scarey.Bed rest lots to drink Scott to pamper her...Don't you be mean Scott Blomfiled!!!! LOL Yeah Right!!!!

I can only imaginose boys that all you b oys have a bit of your dad in you.And he spoils me rotton.Talk about pampered.It's hard to get breakfast in bed each morning .And be so well taken care of .he most Not just after surgery but all the time.I am a blessed woman to be married to such a man! And before a worry crosses my mind he does the most romantic things. Like a few nights ago we crawled in bed...It's ok these aren't bed time stories honest. Shhhh listen now...I'm gonna teach men about romance. There's so many ways to share it ...show it. Tony surprised me with some of the most romantic music and sang them all to me. See I told you all my only tears are happy ones.I just pray you all get a bit of the same.I married the most wonderful man in all the world.

It's always nice to talk to the kids and hear the news from Oklahoma. I still want to purchase a small town where all our friends and family can live.We miss all those far from us and many many are far from us.

Ok it's bed time now so may God keep you all well and safe til we meet again.

Love and hugs for everyone.

Bonnie and Tony

Kristi isn't well... :(

Scott — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 22:05:00 GMT

Kristi was having chest pains Friday and went to the emergency room at Hillcrest in a hurry. They've ran all kinds of tests (cat scan, MRI, EKG, EEG, heart cath) and they can't seem to find what the problem is. We're all really worried about it, and Kristi could really use your prayers. Pray that the doctors would be open to the voice of God to receive the wisdom needed to diagnose the problem, or to know that He has healed her completely of whatever was ailing her... His Will be done.

Another adventure worth sharing!

anthony — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 00:37:00 GMT

Wow this is becoming a habit ...Kinda fun too .A bit like an on going journal that we share with friends and family.

Our return trip from Hershey this week was yet another adventure.Tony won't ever let me live down my "Senior Citizen Discount" hahaha ...I guess it's the white hair. I haven't dyed my hair in a seven or eight weeks .So it's really showing. What I call the reverse skunk look.But hey we saved 5 dollars from our favorite food chain...so I can live with the senior discount. As usual the trip home seemed long. And being "OLD " I fell asleep while Tony drove. I have been a bad influence on him however ! I taught him to be a risky driver.I tend to have a heavy foot So when I woke and told Tony he was going 15 miles an hour over the speed limit he commented "I'm just driving like you"...LOL .But thank God he became a good boy as I drifted back to sleep.About 15 miles from home I woke to Tony pulling off the road in a place I didn't think seemed logical.I said "what's the matter hon, are ya sick the of driving".He spit and sputtered ..."no for some damn reason a cop has pulled me over. I don't have a clue why.I wasn't going any faster than the car ahead of me".Being the state of Pennsylvania and knowing the reasons for being pulled over I said oh I probably have a light out . Poor Tony was so upset.But it turned out to be no real big deal.One of our tale lights had blown.We sure made history in small town USA with the State Police.They now have to do research to find out if everything was legal.... My car is registered and insured in NYS because it's in my ex husbands name as well as mine and he had agreed to keep it licensed and insured for 1 year past our divorce.I have lived in the state of Pa over 7 years so I have a Pa drivers license.And because Tony is waiting on immigration he only has his Australian drivers license.The officer wasn't sure he can legally drive here with his license so he had us switch places .Making sure we knew he was going to research that.This will be interesting to know for sure.However I think it must be ok because I have many friends that have visited the USA from England and Australia that rent cars and drive all over .Tony only got a warning citation ...which means we had to get the tale light fixed and have an inspection station or police officer fill out the back of the ticket to say we had it fixed within 5 days.

Yesterday we drove Al to the Mall to do some school shopping.Today is our recovery day from our trip.I am happy to say my friends father whom we went to visit in the hospital is doing much better. I was so relieved to see him .He still has a long way to go but I'm confident he's going to be with us for a while. What a relief!!! The power of prayers sure are amazing.

Til our next adventure or entry We wish you all a good night and Gods many Blessings !

LOVE

Bonnie and Tony

Bonnie and Tony...Oh How fast life goes by

anthony — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 04:24:00 GMT

Bonnie here...Since I suffer from crss I have decided if we are ever going to create a blog on this site Scott and Shannon made for us I'd just use Tony's sign in LOL.

Life has passed so quickly since Tony arrived in April. It's hard to believe it's already mid August.

May 12 of course the most important day of our lives Our wedding! In Eureka Springs Arkansas .Thanks to Tony's boys and wive's for making it so beautiful as well as others who attended. What a lovely surprise to have my friend Mary come all the way from Nebraska and Jutta and Martin from Australia for sending best wishes and letting us know they were there in spirit.Our reception which followed the day after was so special because of the cakes specially made for us by a friend of Chele's .Thank You so much Chele ,Grant and David ! Not only tastey but beautiful! A lovely wedding picutre all framed as well as many other gifts and A mothers Day Basket too.And so many lovely wedding photos special thanks to Scott and Shannon! And everyone else that took pics for us! Sarah's father Charles and Mary gave us a lovely bottle of wine to share.We have saved this for our anniversary since we couldn't save our cake. It was wonderful to have met Rita as well .Sorry we missed Perry and Gail.We were late! We got lost AGAIN !

But that was the last time we will be able to use that excuse. We purchased a GPS .Wow I never realized how much easier travel can be. I yell at it now and then , but I love it. I also like confusing it when I know where I am.Allen thinks it's just funny when I do that.

Anyhow on with the days since Our Beautiful Wedding Day. Everyday is a blessing for us. I laugh everyday and have never been happier. My only tears have been in my dreams or happy ones! Tony says he's happy I sure hope so cos if I can make him even half as happy as he does me then I'm pleased.

Oh yes....and PLEASE forgive me for any thank yous I've not sent out yet.I have good intentions and will try to get them all out.

We finally had a wedding reception with my family and friends July 7th .My youngest sister and oldest brother came as did their families. I was so pleased my son and daughter and grand daughter could be there .As well as wonderful friends Rhonda Jen and Richard. It was a great day of food and fun lots of laughter and pictures at my favorite Finger Lake Cayuga Lake in Ithaca, NY at Stewart Park.

We spend every other weekend with my youngest grand daughter Isabel cos Mama has to work .So this is our Isabel time. She's always a treat. Full of life.Play with me.... Ok Tony it's your turn to hide now. Ut oh Gramma Isabel has gone have you seen her? Hahaha Tony I ate all your cheese! There's none left !

Then there's Allen time! Mom can we go crusin tonight or a coffee house date. Hey there's a car show Saturday can we go? Thanks for spending the day with me mom. HEEEEY ALLEN !!!! Tony just scared him out of his computer chair !!! Al had the headset on and didn't here us come in from the store.

I try to think where have the months gone?

We had our first immagration meeting in Syracuse NY for finger prints and photo.And the next is already scheduled for August 28 in lower PA near Harrisburg.This is a biggy! Poor Tony...he has to have all the shots required because there are no records of the ones he had in Australia and the blood work physical and tb test will all be done then . We have made out forms for Australia to send his birth certificate.

Ahhh and surgery ...I had my third sinus surgery August 10th .It went well .Though they found more than they expected. As well as the huge polyp that was blocking the entire left sinus cavitey they found two smaller ones in the right . I was home at 2:30 the day of surgery. Sunday night we were in Syracuse and now we are in Hershey Pa .My best friends dad is in the hospital here and I knew today we had to come.He had a heart transplant here ten years ago. Now is suffering from CHF they have removed 60 pounds of fluid since his arrival.

I just relized I am writing this as randomly as my thoughts! Hahaha but that's me! About three weeks ago Tony and I went for a short drive thru lower Pennsylvania. I wanted to take him to dutch country...Lancaster. Guess what? We ended up in Virginia .LOL Every drive we take is an adventure. We never really know how far we'll go .We only have a plan to go and return normally by Tuesday because Allen comes home from Norm's then. We do plan some trips... such as immigration appointments.But we even turn them to an adventure. We went on a search on our way home from Syracuse for the biggest thrift stores we could find. We found two...both crappy holes in the wall.But wow the countryside was so lovely. Lots and lots of farms .We try to determine all those fresh country air smells.Dead skunks....cow poo or yuck that surely was a pig farm .Man' do they stink!

Oh wow check out the Amish farms.They are so neat .It's nice how they all work together and they use horses for planting and harvesting crops all with the very basics. The Hay is stacked so drifferently They look like small indian teepees .

Oh and then there was the trip home from Virginia...Some where on a back road .I have no idea where we were.I lost my favorite pair of new blue jean shorts! Who took my shorts?!

We were driving late at night the darn gps got confused ...so we only know somewhere between Canton and Troy Pa ...I THINK!!! my shorts went missing.Tony opened the trunk to get out the laptop because the GPS battery was low and we needed to find our way home so I could take my sister to a Dr appt. the following morning. We think they may have been on top of the laptop case and fell out on the road when Tony pulled it from the trunk.I made him hurry cos it was dark country side in the middle of no where and I seen a fairly large attack kitty coming down the road towards the car!!!

Anyhow My very favorite shorts are gone gone GONE! We even took an eight hour trip to look for them they following weekend.No Shorts I guess someone else needed them.

In between all our fun trips time with the kids and Isabel we watch a few movies ...lots of crime shows court tv and comedies. Amoung our favorites Ellen, Everybody loves Raymond,Forensic Files, The Queen,Breach,Will and Grace,Ratatoullie,Anything Adam Sandler, Diane Keaten and of course James Bond! Oh And Frazier don't forget Frazier! Our favorite weekly's are Heartland, Saving Grace, and The Closer. These are nearly done for the season. But we have our favorites in the autumn line up as well.ER, Grey's Anatomy, and I have to see American Idol.I don't make Tony watch! We record it and I watch it later.Or I go upstairs to watch that while he watches something he likes downstairs.

In the mean time we try to keep in touch with our families from here to Australia . We sure do appreciate when the kids call us too. We miss everyone and can't wait to see you all again.We've yet to decide where our home will be . Allen still has school to complete and I don't feel it's good to move them around in the final grades. And I have a friend that is going to watch over him and his furture desire to be a machanic.The guy is excellent and nobody on earth can tell you as much or has a love for cars like Allen does. Forget geometery trig and modren history but if you want to know anything about any car call 1 800 Allen !

Well here it is nearly 2 am .My husband is going to fall asleep without me again if I don't get in bed.

We have lots of dreaming to do and share ....so for now I'm outta here.God Bless All our Friends and Families,please keep them safe and well til we can be with them again . Thank so much for our adventures and love and such a beautiful family to share it all with.Thanks for the ability to travel and enjoying life so much, We are truly Blessed.

Amen

Microsoft Hardware

Scott — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 03:14:00 GMT

A while back I wrote about a certain mouse manufacturer whose (at the time) very expensive mouse went belly up. At the time I made the bold claim:

Here's the moral of this story: If you want a mouse, feel free to buy Logitech. They're great mice, and usually reasonably priced. If you're relying on that nice warranty they put on it... don't bother. Buy a Microsoft mouse. Microsoft will ship a replacement mouse the same day the first time you call. And Microsoft mice are usually cheaper for the same product. I guarantee the Microsoft mouse will fail sooner, they are not as solid of a product, but when it does, at least you will get a replacement in under six months.

During the course of this week, I was forced to put that claim to the test.

A few months ago after my MX1000 laser mouse gave up the ghost, I bought a Microsoft Wireless Laser Mouse 8000 to replace it. It operates over bluetooth, as the name implies it is a laser mouse, and it recharges on a docking station. It's a great value at about $80 since you get a bluetooth dongle as well. I've been mostly happy with it, and while it does have a few detractors, overall it does the job and does it well.

This week, the mouse stopped charging. I was a little nervous about calling Microsoft, mostly on account of the bold faced claim I had made in my previous blog entry. No, I didn't really think that surely everyone at Microsoft must read my blog ... but you know how it is. No sooner do you put something down on paper, and the opposite tends to happen.

I am pleased to say that Microsoft's hardware support is stellar. They didn't make me jump through hoops to prove that the mouse was broken. They didn't make me feel like a jerk for asking (nicely) for a replacement. They acknowledged the problem, listened to my assessment, ran a few diagnostics to verify their own hypothesis, and then informed me they were shipping a replacement mouse out. The new mouse was scheduled to arrive 10 to 14 business days later.

It arrived 5 business days later.

So I stand by my claim:

If you want a mouse, feel free to buy Logitech. They're great mice, and usually reasonably priced. If you're relying on that nice warranty they put on it... don't bother. Buy a Microsoft mouse. Microsoft will ship a replacement mouse the same day the first time you call. And Microsoft mice are usually cheaper for the same product. I guarantee the Microsoft mouse will fail sooner, they are not as solid of a product, but when it does, at least you will get a replacement in under six months.

Thanks for reading!

Youth Is Back!

Scott — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 22:21:00 GMT

Well, the youth Wednesday night program started back up at church tonight. Pizza and games for tonight... and the games wore me out! I must be a bit more out of shape than I thought, either that or my asthma has come back a bit. Not a huge turn out, but enough to get the pizza eaten, and considering it was the first night back it was pretty reasonable. As the program moves on the numbers will move up to what we were used to prior to summer break.

I'm really looking forward to this next year with the youth. We're in a really good growth position, and I feel like if we can all be responsible in our tasks (especially me!), we can keep the kids we have, get some new ones in, and grow our existing kids into the kind of kids that bring others in. We have some really kids with real potential to start filling leadership roles now, and a few more that with a little growth could get there before too long.

We're trying to encourage them to build a sense of identity as a group. Something that would really help that is if we could get them to give themselves a name. All previous attempts have ended in futility, but I think with the group we have right now we could potentially eke it out of them.

We feel like God is ready to do great things here... we have a really strong, diverse team and I think we are strong enough to rise to the challenge.. pray that God gives us to strength, and diligence to not just rise to the challenge, but rise above.

Falls Creek Fallout

Scott — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 00:44:00 GMT

We got back from Falls Creek yesterday. Wow. For those that don't know, Falls Creek is the largest youth camp in the world. Falls Creek is located in Davis, Oklahoma, and runs for eight weeks, and has an average attendance of five thousand children per week. Last year, over forty-four thousand children visited Falls Creek, and over five thousand made public decisions for Jesus Christ.

What an amazing experience to be fully immersed in God for a week... I feel so privileged to have been chosen to go with the youth from our Church. We took 44 children and 11 adults. We were lucky enough to stay in the cabin owned by Healdton First (cabin 601 on the map), which is right next to the tabernacle. This is a good thing, because as you can see from the map, some cabins are quite far away from the tabernacle... so it can be quite a hike and hard to get seats close to the front.

I had seven children that I was responsible for leading through bible study every day. We had written material to prepare from each day, and a video that went with each to help us prepare. Even still with all this help, I was still nervous. I felt a tremendous amount of responsibility in what I was preparing for ... but in the end, everything went very well. We rarely got through more than half of the lesson, but we always hit the important points and sometimes a few additional important issues too.

One of the children was not saved, and at the beginning of the week brought a lot of "discussion" to the study. I tried everything that I could to reach through to them, and try to argue for Christ, but nothing would work. After the first lesson I went to our youth minister and explained the situation. The child had told me that they wanted "proof" that Jesus existed. Our youth minister put everything so simply... he asked me what proof the child wanted. I hadn't asked yet. Such a simple oversight, but it made the helping the child so much simpler.

Teaching is such a new thing to me, and I feel like I have so little to offer these kids. People tell me that I'm really connecting with the kids and to be honest I do feel that... it's just hard to know whether or not the kids are got anything useful out of the lessons I gave. I sincerely hope so. So back to the child that wasn't saved... the absolute coolest part of the week was seeing them respond to an alter call in the middle of the week! And when they came back to the cabin later ... they told us that they had accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. The feeling is indescribable... I am so happy that they were saved at Falls Creek.

So I have a little faith in being able to respond to God's direction. I really hope to one day be as sensitive to His will as Rodney and John. They're both so in tune with God, and they both give such powerful messages. I know that we all have our own individual callings, and I don't believe mine will ever be to preach. Still, I know in the past week that I have been convicted of not having as close a walk with God as I should. Specifically, with regards to The Great Commission... I haven't shared His word and plan for salvation, and that is really eating at me.

In light of that conviction, I am trying to put together a way for our youth to have an online community. They currently hang out on MySpace, or LiveJournal, and they upload their pictures to flickr, and who knows where they all are participating in online forums. J.L. does a great job keeping up with our kids accounts on MySpace, but they're all separated there... some of them are linked, but not all of them. I'd really like to create a "safe" place for them to grow and hold each other accountable in their daily lives online.

One of the Lutheran churches in Tulsa is doing a similar thing and being constrained by upstream bandwidth, and I am trying to find out if they are interested in doing this as a joint (although not necessarily associated) venture. If it works out successful, then I see this growing on a regional scale. Who knows, it could even catch on at a state-wide or nation wide level. Don't get me wrong, I know that I'm hardly an early mover for this, but I am becoming more convinced that this is a direction the church must move in if we want to retain, and retrain our students to live a Christ-like life.

So that's a little bit about my week. It was amazing, and I saw our students grow so much. Oh, and our cooks were the best! No words can describe the servant hood they exhibited... it was truly inspiring.