Planes, Busses, and Shampooers

Hey everyone,

 

I was planning to sit down and write a quick post but I got distracted and already a half hour has gone by and it's getting late. Let's see how much I can get done before my body says, "All done."

I bought a large carpet shampooer for work a couple weeks ago and when it came, it wasn't as advertised. So I've spent the last week trying to get this thing shipped. Not an easy task: all the emails and phone calls, little details, the paperwork... yesterday UPS packed it back up and today the shipping company picked it up. Hallelujah! I was so glad to see that thing go.

I bought a new tunic. I don't know about you but I could live in these things. I love the length, the colors, and the collar (sometimes the collar is too wide and low, and I feel... exposed.)

 

I caught a picture of Beth going out to the DART bus last week. She was headed to All Aboard for Karaoke and Art classes. You can tell because she always takes her Disney backpack filled with lined paper and gel pens. 

I spent some time at the waterfront on Sunday. I talked with the youth group about volunteering in Special Connections, and afterward headed down there for a while.

My eyes are getting tired but I want to tell you that Diana went to London over the weekend. Can you imagine? She hadn't been there in a few years so she booked a flight and was there for three days and four nights. It's the first time she was away from Adelaide for that long. I wonder how she reacted when Diana got home. I'll try to get some photos from her.

And, Sharaya has been learning how to drive a school bus and she passed her test on Friday! She now has a CDL. My dad always had one. Chuck has one. I just love that. Just one more thing she knows how to do at the school district! I'm so proud of her.

 

Well, I'm done. Does this happen to you? The end of the day your body is just like, "Okay. I'm finished." I hope you get a good night sleep tonight!

 

London and Paris!

Sharaya and Allie have spent the last two weeks in Europe. Sharaya just decided to go one day, began saving up for it, planning all kinds of activities and adventures and then... off they went!!

Oh my word, the pictures she's been posting have been phenomenal! I thought I would share some here but then was saving more and more so I'll try to choose just a few!

Just some of the places they've visited:
The Tower Bridge
Westminster Abbey
Science Museum
Buckingham Palace
Hyde Park
Arc de Triomphe
Eiffel Tower
Sacre Couer
Notre Dame
The Seine....

Such an amazing trip! These are in no particular order, just a drop in the bucket of some of my favorites!

They took an Afternoon Tea bus ride!

Sharaya is such an amazing mom to make the sacrifices needed to be able to go on a trip like this. I'm so proud of you Sharaya and can't wait to hear all about your adventures!

Where Does The Time Go?

I'm still here. It's amazing how my calendar is not very full yet we seem to be so busy.

Beth is now helping with our kids choir. And she is volunteering at an elementary school. She helps out in a special ed class, doing filing, shredding, copying and she loves it!

Her job coach nominated the Little Caesars she works at as Store of the Year for employing adults with special needs... and they won!! She'll be attending the banquet next week.

Ryan was in a rehab center for almost a month when he failed their drug test. He first went to their weekend detox, then made the decision to check into their year-long rehab center. He seemed to be doing well, enjoying the job they gave him, reconnecting with family members... then failed the drug test. They told him he had to leave. He can go back after a month but in the mean time... it hasn't been pretty. He's still angry, blaming others...we're ready for him to step up, say no to drugs, get a job and grow up.

There was a situation with someone at our church that caught us by surprise. Nothing immoral, just some poor decisions. A staff member has chosen to leave. Leave the church, leave their family... we're still in shock. Our church is hurting right now.

My last post was about Diana in London. There was so much stress with that! We're so grateful that week is over.

Thanksgiving day - we helped at our church again, serving about 1200 people. I remembered to bring my camera this year! Forgot to take a single picture! Spent the day before Thanksgiving helping to set up rooms. Then Thursday, Chuck drove the buses and Beth went with him as a ride-a-long. She really enjoyed that! I was on my feet for 11 hours. Didn't sit down once. But it. was. amazing. The presence of the Lord was so strong at times. The guests were overwhelmed with the amount of food, the love they felt. It was an incredible day.

We had our family Thanksgiving today. We're putting everything on the table: mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing, cranberry sauce, black olives and then Chuck realizes the turkey isn't done yet! So it went back in the oven and we had a Thanksgiving dinner without the turkey! But it was all still SO good! And we're looking forward to all those turkey sandwiches!! YES!!!

Tomorrow... Allies birthday party. She's turning 4.

Where does the time go?

Safe and Sound But Feeling a Little Betrayed

Diana's been in London for the last week. (Hi Caz!) Traveled alone again. I didn't sleep well... again.

She arrived in London on Friday. She knew she wouldn't have the extra finances so she canceled her final night at a different hotel from where she'd be spending her week. She'd done this before and just hangs out at the airport instead. It also guarantees she won't miss her flight!

On Saturday she was walking along the busy sidewalks of London getting bumped around when she felt a tug on her scarf. She immediately put her hands in her pockets and her debit card was still there. Feeling a sigh of relief she kept walking. A moment later she remembered her phone was also in her pocket... but now was gone.

Her cell phone, her only form of communication, was gone. She went back to Primark where she had shopped earlier but no one had turned it in.

Getting back to her hotel, she learned that their phones were out of service and they expected them to be working by Monday. (We tried calling them all week but they never were restored.) She's alone in London and has no convenient way to reach anyone.

She walked to the mall where she found an internet cafe and sent us an email telling us of her situation: "My phone has either been stolen or misplaced and as a result I have no way of getting in touch with anyone. As of tomorrow at 11AM I will be in Leicester Square waiting in line for the Catching Fire Premiere. In 45 minutes I will be unreachable."

With the 8 hour time difference, this arrived in our inbox at 5AM.

We made contact with her a couple days later and were relieved to hear she was doing okay. She ended that email with "Tomorrow I'm hanging out here then will be heading to the airport to sleep there. I'll see you guys at home on Thursday!"

This was early on Tuesday morning Seattle time.

Early Wednesday morning my cell phone rang. It was Chuck. He had checked his email on his way to work and told me to get on the computer. (Our cell phones are very old and don't have internet.) This is what was waiting in our inbox, "I just checked my bank account and it seems that the hotel I canceled, charged me anyway and now I don't have the money to get to the airport! I only have 7 minutes left of the internet and then I don't know what is going to happen. HELP!! I don't know what to do!"

She sent this at 1:00AM our time. It breaks my heart every time I think of her writing that email, knowing we wouldn't be seeing it for hours. Her walking back to the hotel, not knowing how she was going to get home.

She ended up walking more than 12 miles that day between the mall and the hotel that charged her, trying to get them to refund her money. She went back to the mall about the time we would be waking up and after we connected by email, we transferred money into her account and she was able to get a train ticket that would get her to the airport. We sent her a little more than she needed so she could eat. Due to the hotel charger her, she didn't even have money for food.

"Thank you SO much! I'm heading straight to the airport! I will see you guys on Thursday!"

Thursday morning I was at work when Chuck emailed me. (That man is an angel!) He told me that Diana's flight was going to be 2 hours late and she was going to miss her train. (She found it was cheaper to fly into Vancouver, BC and take the train here to Seattle.) Did I want to go on a road trip?! Uh, yea!!

We got off work early, picked up Sharaya (Beth had to work) and headed to Canada! Of course we ran into construction and at one point the traffic was completely stopped. I kept thinking of Diana coming off that plane knowing she had missed her train, having no money for a ticket home and trying to find a way to contact us. I felt sick. I could only imagine how she was gonna feel!

I was SO relieved when we got there before her plane landed. Sharaya, Allison and I stood in the airport, hoping, praying she would come to baggage claim before trying to find a computer to find another way home. Remember, there was no way for us to tell her we were there! 

Finally my cell phone rang. "Are you guys at home?"

"No, we're at at the airport." "Which airport?" "Vancouver." She literally sighed. She said her plane had been late and she missed her train. I told her that we knew and that's why we were there. I told her to get her luggage and some down because we were there waiting for her. Another huge sigh and "Thank you."

After getting in the car she said that as the plane was pulling away from the gate in London, the pilot told them they'd be making a 2 hour refueling stop. She spent most of the flight trying to figure out how she was going to get home.

We stopped for dinner, she said it was the first real food she'd had in days. We got home and she crawled into bed, exhausted and feeling a little betrayed by the city she loves so much.

Where Has The Time Gone?

The time has flown by. I'm sorry I haven't written.

The three days of Beth's treatment went very well. Every time I'd go down to check on her she'd be smiling, singing, watching TV... it really wasn't difficult at all. Over the weekend we washed her bedding and her clothes. I also scrubbed the bathroom she used. I don't know how much I was supposed to do so I washed the walls and the floors and everything in between. :) She sees the doctor at the first of next month for lab work so he can make sure this radioactive iodine treatment worked. Then they'll prescribe her new medicine. I'm hoping and praying it's better then what she's been taking. She's been eating healthier plus has been off this medicine for over a month and she's lost 20 pounds already!!

Diana was at the European premier of Les Miserables today. (Her reason for going to London.) I watched it live on Yahoo Movies and got to see her in the crowd. Helena Bonham Carter was walking the red carpet signing autographs and passed right in front of Diana. The cameras were there to capture it all! A short time later I got a text saying she received a free ticket and was in the theater waiting for the movie to start! I guess you could say she had a pretty good day today.

We bought our Christmas tree. It's not decorated and there are no lights on it, but it's up!

This Sunday we're going to Ryan and Sharaya's to celebrate Allison's 3rd birthday! Sharaya has been working for weeks to create a Rapunzel party theme. She even painted this:

 

I still can't believe Allie is three. Time is going way too fast.

 

I've been working on our Christmas card but it just doesn't look right. I think I need to start over. We haven't taken a family photo this year so I've been trying to get pictures from our facebook pages. It hasn't been as easy as it sounds.

There will be some changes coming at work in the new year. It's something I've expected for a few months, but we're still gonna have to make some changes here at home to accommodate. 

So that's what we've been up to this week. I hope you're doing well!

Tradition

We woke up earlier than usual this morning so we could take Diana to the airport. Beth decided to stay home but she did come upstairs to tell her goodbye. (Isolation ended this morning!)

SeaTac Airport is about 40 minutes from our house and Diana needed to be there 3 hours early because it's an international flight. Traffic was heavy but we were able to use the carpool lanes, I'm so glad Chuck was driving!

He dropped us off, then went to get gas. I always like to get out and walk with her into the airport. We went up to the counter and she printed her own tickets from the kiosk. She had a small bag but decided to check it. She didn't want to carry it through the airports and I can't say I blame her. It only weighed 16 pounds, but it felt more like 30!

We stopped at a store to look at some magazines. She didn't bring anything to read but ended up not buying a magazine either. It's so hard to get her to spend money. She'll find something that she likes, something that's she's wanted for a long time and has saved enough money to buy, but then goes home and thinks about it for a week or two. Finally decides to buy it; goes back to the store and will ask me, "Do you think I should?"

Just before we got to the security check point, I took her aside and we prayed. For safety, for peace of mind and for God's protection to be around her. We found the entrance to the line, and I stood back and watched as she got closer to the metal detectors.

She took off her coat, took her laptop out of her purse, removed her shoes... you know the drill. She stepped through the detector... and it was quiet. She went to the conveyor belt to get her shoes, purse and jacket, then turned around to look at me. I was quite a few yards behind her, behind all the people in line, behind the security guards directing the long line of people, but we had a straight view of each other.

She raised her hand and waved. I waved back... and that's when I started to cry.

Have you seen the movie Ever After with Drew Barrymore? (It's a retelling of Cinderella.) There's a scene at the beginning where her dad is leaving and he gets to the end of the driveway. Everyone else is going back inside but Danielle says, "Wait! It's tradition! He always waves at the gate." Danielle continues the tradition as she grows up.

And that's what I thought of this morning as she turned around and found me through that crowd. It wasn't the official gate to her plane, but it was close enough. This is her 5th trip by herself and it really has become tradition for us. 

She always waves at the gate.

Trips And Trials

Beth begins her thyroid treatment tomorrow. The closer it gets, the more I realize how many details have to be worked out. I'm so glad we have two bathrooms because we can't use the same bathroom as Beth this week. We have a big bathroom and a little bathroom. Beth prefers the big bathroom for various reasons so we'll be moving our stuff to the little bathroom. We're planning how to do meals and drinks, dishes and trash. I think at this point, I'm more nervous than she is!

And early Friday morning Diana flies out to London! This will be her 4th visit, she loves that city. She'll be going to the premier of Les Miserables. She is beyond excited and actually screamed when she found out they might get snow next week!!

Radiation Treatment

I got home from work, put dinner in the oven, started a load of laundry and now I have just a few minutes before everyone else arrives home.

Let's see, what have we been up to?

Yesterday I painted 'phase 2' of the kitchen. I'm hoping to get it done before the end of the year. No guarantees.

Diana leaves for London in just two weeks! She's going to the premier of Les Miserables. She'll be going alone but plans to meet some friends there. I'm a little jealous.

On the 27th of this month, Beth starts her radiation treatment for Graves Disease. Chuck has taken that whole week off so we'll both get to be there with her. I'm glad Chuck is coming. We always feel stronger and more brave when he's around.

I don't know if I told you that I was asking a lot of questions in the doctors office about side affects, things we should watch for, etc. when he told me that the government looks at this the same way they look at a nuclear reactor. To them, it's all radiation so a lot of the same rules have to be followed. But he said there's such a small amount of radiation in this pill, it's not gonna hurt any of us. It's just a tiny amount to kill her thyroid. But because it's r-a-d-i-a-t-i-o-n, the government puts all these restrictions and guidelines in place. He said by law, we have to follow the rules he gives us, but medically there's not enough radiation to do any harm.

I felt so much better after that! It was like, "Okay. We can do this."

It's Been a Week?!

A week?!

I knew it had been a while since I was on here, I didn't realize it had been a whole week. Things have been busier than usual and I just haven't had the time to sit down at this computer. Can anyone else relate? :)

Work - crazy. Extra hours. Physical work. Love it. Grateful to be working.

Chuck - work is crazy for him too. At home he's cleaning out the garage. Looking forward to our road trip!

Beth - bad attitude lately. Poor choices. Gaining weight. Excited about a special Prom!

Diana - discouraged about not hearing from publishers. Planning a trip to London this winter.

Ryan and Sharaya - praying they give Ryan more hours at work. Enjoying their new car!

Allison - not behaving. Kicking, talking back. Loves to play in her pool!

That's about it from here. I'm headed to church to help paint our preschool rooms. I have a few posts in my head that I hope to put 'on paper' in a few days!

Kind of a Disaster

Well... we started experimenting with Beth's hair today.

I got out the scissors and took off a few inches. 

Then I started teasing it.

Diana watched for a few minutes then asked if she could try it. She was a receptionist in a hair salon for a few years so she had a better idea of how to do it. (I was a little girl in the 60's and never teased my hair!) She pulled up a section of hair, then sprayed it and blow dried it then teased it. She only did a little because she was babysitting for Ryan and Sharaya tonight so I finished working on it. The teasing did work, because it did make her hair poofier but Beth's hair is so fine it wasn't poofy enough. And by the time I got done it looked more messy, like it was full of snarls, rather than a bouffant. There's no way I'm showing you pictures of that though! No, I brushed it out and we'll try again.

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Chuck and I were in the bedroom talking this morning when I heard something out in the hall. I peeked around the corner and saw the bathroom light was on so we knew Beth had come upstairs. But the noise didn't really sound the way Beth does when she comes upstairs. We can usually hear her on the stairs and this time we didn't. Oh well, no biggie. We continued getting ready to go to our meeting and I walked out to the kitchen. I stood there for a second because the person standing there wasn't Beth. She wasn't looking right at me so I just stared at her. After about 7 seconds I realized it was Diana!!! Last we had talked with her she was in London  thinking about heading to Belize!!! And here she was, standing in the kitchen!!!

She spent this passed Wednesday at the European Premiere of The Hunger Games. Camped out overnight, took pictures of the stars on the red carpet and saw the movie. She said it was one of the most surreal experiences of her life.

After spending time in Florida, Ireland and London she was running low on money so decided  to come home but didn't tell Chuck or me! Instead she called Sharaya and had her pick her up from the airport! Diana got to the house at about 2:30 this morning. We never heard a thing! I was so shocked! I gave her a big hug and I cried, of course. It was such a surprise to see her!

Guess Who's Coming to Visit?!

Next weekend, Steve, Becca and Samantha from The Bates Motel are coming for a visit! I'm so excited, I've been thinking about them almost every day. I can't wait to meet Sammi. And I can't wait for Beth to meet Sammi!

We haven't heard anything yet about Beth's job interview at Marshalls. It sounded like it went well, but since we haven't heard anything.....

Beth called me at work yesterday. She over slept and missed her bus to job class. She was crying and quite upset. I told her it would be okay. She called WVS (Washington Vocational Services) and told them she wouldn't be in. She hates to stay home. She'd rather be out shopping or doing anything. Mondays are her 'days off' and Sunday nights she'll always ask me, "What am I gonna do?" Usually when she's home she'll do chores for me, empty the dishwasher, vacuum or clean the bathroom. She also loves to do 'paperwork' as she calls it. Math papers, spelling, writing. She loves to be doing something.

On a little different subject, Diana is doing well. Right now she's in London. Started in Florida, then spent a few days in Dublin, Ireland and now London. She absolutely loves London. I think it's her favorite city in the world. This Wednesday is the premiere of The Hunger Games and she really wants to be one of the 200 that get to see the movie that night! I guess they go in with the stars of the movie and they all watch it together. She is beyond excited! 

Almost Turned Around and Came Home!

Diana has spent the last 10 days traveling in Paris and England. She's been planning this since last year and has been so excited about it! She's been to London once before, plus Australia. Did I mention she goes by herself? Doesn't meet anyone there, doesn't travel with a group. Completely alone. As you can imagine, I don't sleep well while she's gone. We wait anxiously for texts and emails and try not to panic when we don't hear from her. :)

The last two trips were fun and basically stress free. This one, not so much. Let me just give you lighlights, then I'll add some pictures.

• Flew out of Seatac Airport, 4 hour layover in Philadelphia
• After 3 1/2 hours, told there was mechanical problems. More waiting
• Once in the air, passenger had medical emergency
• Landed on tarmac, took a bus to the terminal
• Security in Germany, taken aside and questioned about curling iron
• Taken to a separate room, had to demonstrate use of curling iron
• Doesn't speak German
• Loses drivers license in airport.
• Arrive in Paris late, hotel says sorry, now they are full
• Found different hotel. Missed Cannes Film Festival
• Phone stops receiving texts. No internet service
• Disneyland Paris - hit head on restraint on Space Mountain
• Spends rest of day with ringing in ears, not able to hear
• Finally arrive in London. Loves hotel and city!
• Volcano erupts
• Flight delayed. For hours.
• Lands in North Carolina
• Has one hour to get through customs and catch connecting flight 
• Gets to counter. Told she is booked for following day
• Almost bursts into tears
• Attendant gets her on plane.... and upgrades her to first class!

And now for the pictures!

Her hotel room in Paris.

Her view.

Disneyland Paris

You enter the park through the Disneyland Hotel

Fantasyland

She said the park seemed to be geared toward the architecture and restaurants, more than the rides.

It's a Small World

Their image of the good 'ol USA

Notre Dame

Buckingham Palace

She was in London at the same time as President Obama

And what is a trip to London without a picture of Big Ben!

She said it was 9:00 and the clock was chiming!

What an adventure! SO glad she's home!