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Peace that Surpasses Understanding

noreply@blogger.com (ruelkie) — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 04:29:00 +0000

It never ceases to amaze me how God can bring upon me such an overwhelming peace in the mist of my darkest moments. In that moment when it seems like the waves are gonna overtake me and swallow me up.... I look up and see the rock. He is my stronghold. He is steadfast. He is unmoving, unwavering, even among the violent waves. In his parent like nature he never completely removes me from the storm.. but just lifts me up high enough to see the shore. Enough to remind me in whose hands I lie. What an amazing God I have.

Why can't I ever keep up with this Blog?

noreply@blogger.com (ruelkie) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 22:18:00 +0000

Once again it's been like a year since I've blogged. Craziness! We've had another kid since my last post.. that's how long its been. Well, we had David Patrick Kiernan on the 6th of January. He's pretty cute. After a month of being born he ended up in the hospital because of a blood infection he got from the hospital... don't get me started on military doctors.

Let's see. Josh is deploying this July and we're going on vacation to Florida in May. We are going to be at Disney for a week, thanks to Uncle Sam. See... being military has it's pros and cons. "Hey.. our medical personnel isn't all that great.. but you get a good deal at Disney, wanna join."

What else.. Washington isn't all that bad. I kinda like it here. If Josh doesn't sign another 2 year contract we just might stay here. I am starting my Master's Degree in the fall. MA in MFT. I can't wait to get started. I truly miss being in school.

Maybe this is why I haven't blogged in about a year... there's not much to report. All is going well with us. We are healthy.. thank God, and we have established ourselves here in Olympia. We love our church... Capital Christian Center (go2ccc.org) and we have met some pretty cool people here. I am glad we were stationed here.

The Subject of Waiting

noreply@blogger.com (ruelkie) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 14:49:00 +0000

I went through Jack in the Box drive through the other day getting my Bacon Ultimate fix and I happened to order a fruit cup for Caleb (I know that seems hypocritical that I eat a fattening burger but I order my kid fruit, but in my defense he doesn't like burgers, he prefers fruit). The window girl (I don't know what to call her, worker) starts getting my order together and I see her looking for the fruit cup and when she can't find it she yells in back, "where are the fruit cups"... no response, but she keeps putting things together. I get my order, my drink, and she tells me, we're just waiting on the fruit cup. I'm like okay, whatever, I look at the clock, it's been like 3 mins since I drove up to the pick up window, so, no big deal. Then I see her putting together other orders and I look behind me and there are like 3 people waiting for their food. She has all their bags up and then she looks up at me and says, "oh, your fruit cup" and starts to look for one in the same place she looked before. Okay it's only been like another 2 mins, so a total of like 5 mins but, for some reason, I'm getting frustrated. "My fries are getting cold," I think...so she yells in back again, "where are the fruit cups"..."we're out," was the response from in back. So then, with out even telling me their out and if I want something else, she calls for a manager to come and refund me the money, but, my kid still needs to eat and we all know I wasn't going to make him food, so I ask if I can just get a kids meal since they're like the same price. The manager is like, um.. okay, but can you pull over so we can keep the line going. So, by this time, I'm pretty upset. Not only did she waist time by not really finding out where the fruit cups are, but now they are gonna push me aside and make me WAIT longer...it's been like 6 mins now. Reluctantly, I pull over and wait. I look at the clock and say, "I'll give you one minute before I go in and complain." After 2 mins, I decide to get out and go up to the counter and tell them what I think. "I shouldn't have to get out, it was a drive through order," I think to myself. I was about to shut my car off when the girl came out with my kids meal. I'm thinking, "finally." Happy to have what I need I make the drive home and I start to think, man...8 mins to get my food and I'm upset! LOL What is it that makes us feel we shouldn't have to wait, or that we shouldn't have to get out. Lord forbid I do some exercise! The crazy part of it all is that I am most positive I will be back next week and do it all over again..

1st Duty Station

noreply@blogger.com (ruelkie) — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 03:14:00 +0000

So, the army finally gave Josh his orders and he's been stationed at Fort Lewis, WA. It looks like we'll be there for at least 2 years. The possibility of deployment is still there, but, we're just gonna take one day at a time. Moving back across country is step number one. The best part about making a military move is the movers that come and pack up your house and load up the moving truck for you. It was pretty nice. They got to our house at 8 AM and were done packing and loading up the truck by 12:30PM. It was pretty nice. I felt weird just sitting around watching them pack up our stuff. Don't get me wrong, I got used to it real fast, but, it feels kind of weird at first. Another cool fact is that the military also contracts pet movers to come and take your pets and they move them for you. We found out too late and we are moving our Beta fish whose name is none other then Caleb Fish, our selves. He's doing pretty good so far, we'll see if he lasts the trip. So, I'll keep you all posted on our moves and our fun military adventures as we go along.

Bored

noreply@blogger.com (ruelkie) — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 17:13:00 +0000

I'm watching FRIENDS, waiting for 1:30 to come so that I can pick up Caleb from school. It's so weird not having anything to do. House is clean, I'm not working, Caleb is at school, Josh is at work, and well, I have no one to tend to, or anything to complete. Weird. I suppose I should catch up on my reading, or start re-packing the boxes with stuff I opened when I moved here, but I really don't want to use while I'm here. I also started a project sanding down this little bookshelf I got. I plan to paint it when it's all sanded down. I cut myself with the sander about a week ago, so, I am kind of having a hard time getting back to the sanding. At any rate, I'm bored...

Driving Incidents

noreply@blogger.com (ruelkie) — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:33:00 +0000

Let me just start by saying that I have always been a fast, but safe, driver. I am quick and I know my limits when it comes to weaving in and out of traffic, or driving with my knees as I file my nails, or put lotion on. I have never gotten a speeding ticket nor have I ever been in an accident. I was pulled over once for an "illegal lane change", but, considering I had a good excuse (my son who was 2 at the time was screaming his lungs out and I had one hand on the wheel and the other hand was looking for his chupe somewhere in the back seat when I realized I was kind of in the other lane, so, I decided I might as well switch lanes, and I just so happened to be switching lanes in front of a police car, oops) the officer let me off with a warning. Most likely because Caleb was still screaming his lungs out due to the fact that he's stubborn and I still hadn't found his chupe, which by the way was lodged underneath the seat. Anyway, I say all of this to tell you about my first car accident and ticket. A double whammy.
Josh got to Fort Gordon safely and upon arrival found out he had the weekend off. So he calls me late Friday night to ask if I would drive down the next morning. Well, my car had been having some problems, so, I really didn't want to drive it 4 hours when it needed to be worked on. Josh, not being able to take no for an answer, called up a friend, and within 20 min I had a car I could borrow for the weekend. It was a little two door pick up that had a grip of papers stuck in the visor so I couldn't use it or all the papers would fall out. So, there I go, Caleb is in his car seat up front with me and we go off on our trip. I am in a hurry because I want to spend as much time with Josh, but I got up late and I ended up in major traffic in Atlanta. They have these "traffic bases" where the cops slow down a whole portion of the freeway to a stand still for about 20 min and then slowly let them go. But, not being from the area, I thought there was a major accident or something. About the time that I was cursing at myself for not getting up sooner, Josh txt me to see where I was at. It was like the 100th txt he had sent me that morning trying to hurry me up. I was pretty upset, the sun was in my eyes, and we weren't moving, so, I decided to txt him back while I was driving. Something I have done a million times, especially with this new phone I have that is like a computer. Well, needless to say, as I was txting, the traffic slowly moved, and I let up on the brake. I thought I had enough space to roll to a stop, but as I looked up into the sun, I slammed on my brake too late, I hit a little red car. At this point, I was so upset at myself, I am sure my blood pressure was up 3 times the normal amount. I was red (if possible for being brown) and I felt my chest hurting. We pull over and I get out to see that my truck was fine, but the front licence plate of my truck left a dent in the little red car. I try to talk the guy into letting me pay him for the damage with out our insurance getting in on it because it isn't my car and not my insurance. But, he was a real peace of work, and he said he wanted a police report. Well, we waited for the police, but with the traffic base, it took an hour. As I'm sitting in my truck, cursing under my breath so that Caleb doesn't hear, I see the traffic move surprisingly quick. And I think, well, that's good, at least the traffic is gone. But about 30 min later, it all comes to a stand still again, it is at this point that the cops show up, and not only give me a ticket for "following too close" (I'm sure they don't have a "txting while driving" ticket), they put the accident on my friends insurance, and, he tells me I'm gonna have to wait for the next traffic base to pass in order to get back into traffic. BOOOOOOOOO that's all I had to say.
The only good thing about this story is that I made it to Fort Gordon and I had a great time with my family, all together again, and, let's be honest, thank God it wasn't a terrible accident.

I love technology!

noreply@blogger.com (ruelkie) — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 03:02:00 +0000

My cell phone bill for the last 3 mths has been outrageous. So, I decided it was time to get a house phone. Charter has this offer for unlimited long distance and local calls for 29.99 a mth with free installation. So, I wanted to set it up, but, I didn't want to waist minutes calling the company and setting it up over the phone. And the last time I tried looking for a pay phone, I spent more money on gas than I would have on my cell phone bill. So, I noticed that they have this online chat option. Yep, I ordered a phone line and they did a background check and installation date over a chat conversation. Crazy, huh? It was kind of scary because of all the identity theft issues, but, it all looked and seemed legit. I guess we'll find out, huh? If they don't show up to install my phone and all my bank accounts are wiped out, I guess I goofed.

Okay, so I really don't know what's going on!

noreply@blogger.com (ruelkie) — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 02:57:00 +0000

So, this past weekend I got a call from my hubby. He said he felt like leaving the army now would be a huge mistake. He knows he has a lot ahead of him training wise, but, he really thinks he should stick it out. So, we are back to the original plan....for now. After basic, which should be March 15, he goes to AIT (advanced individual training) in GA for 17 weeks, and then, where ever they send us. I suppose I should say, where ever God sends us, because, let's face it, with us, everything is subject to change. :)

What's really going on

noreply@blogger.com (ruelkie) — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 06:07:00 +0000

Have you ever wanted something so bad, but you weren't sure if you would really enjoy it like you think you will, but you know that if you don't try it you'll hate yourself? Well that's were the Kiernan family is at. Josh really thought he wanted to go military. It has been something he's wanted since he was young but he never got around to actually going for it. Well, last fall we finaly decided that if he never tried it, he would never really know wheather or not it was for us. So he did. It has been 5 months and the verdict is in. He didn't like the military lifestyle. Besides having a hard time completeing the requirements, he felt like he was missing out on too much of Caleb's life. Based on failure to solderize he is going to be discharged hopefully by the end of March. For us this is a good thing. The discharge is not a dishonrable one and now he knows for sure that this was not something he really wanted.
The biggest question for us now is, what's next? I heard a Pastor say recently that when things happen in your life, wheather good or bad, as Christians we should be asking God for the purpose of these circumstances. Not to question God's authority, but so that He can give us wisdom in how to proceed. I do not believe it was a mistake for Josh to join the Army, I believe it is just another part of our journey with Christ and we are just waiting for God to tell us how to proceed.
However, like any human being, major changes in life are hard to face and can at many times be overwhelming. We have moved across country several times now, and have changed jobs even more than that. Therefore, the stress of changes and the anticipation of "what does God want from us next" is a constant struggle. I pray daily that God would give us the wisdom to know which step to take.
At this point, I am working part time as an ABA therapist. Josh is still at Fort Knox and for now this is where the Lord has us. By this fall, once Caleb is in school, Josh hopes to be completely phased back into civilian lifestyle and starting a new chapter in his career. As for myself, I hope to have a full time job as well as be enrolled somewhere to complete my Master's in Psychology. So there you have it folks. The newest Kiernan Family Update.

Hard Headed

noreply@blogger.com (ruelkie) — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 23:29:00 +0000

So I was looking over my old posts and I found this Draft that I never posted... it is really old but I thought I'd post it anyway since it was a very significant thing in the Kiernan Family..I'm sure I shared this story with you all already but here it goes.

Jan 28, 2008

You know how you tell your kids something over and over and over and over again and for some reason they still don't get it? Well, ever since we moved into the new town home I have been telling Caleb he needs to HOLD ON TO THE RAIL when going down the stairs. I constantly have to remind him NOT TO PLAY ON THE STAIRS. So, after a while it just gets old. Well this weekend Josh and I were rearranging furniture in our upstairs bedroom while Caleb was playing in his room. I was having Josh move the treadmill to every corner of the bedroom until I found the right place for it. Josh was just about to start getting upset when we heard, thump, thump, thump, thump, all the way down the stairs. I was hoping it was one of Caleb's toys, but, his cry was a definite, there's something seriously wrong, cry. Needless to say Josh and I ran down the stairs to meet him. By the time I got to the bottom of the stairs, Caleb had already lifted himself off the floor and was grabbing his forehead. I immediately start looking for signs of broken bones or internal bleeding while still managing to freak out. As Josh and I are still trying to decided whether or not we need to make a run to the emergency room, Caleb (already calm) asks if he can watch a veggietales movie and have a snack. I look him straight in the eye and say, "DO YOU KNOW YOU JUST FELL DOWN THE STAIRS?" He says, yeah mom but my head doesn't hurt anymore. I of course was still freaking out, so, I tell him he needs to strip down so I can see if he has any bruises or if he's bleeding anywhere.

He's stripped down to his underwear and standing in front of me and I say, okay, tell me what hurts. He says, nothing mom, see, and he starts hitting himself all over. He literally starts punching his sides and legs to show me that he doesn't hurt anywhere. After about 10 minutes of this and 15 minutes since he decided to dive off the second floor, he's still standing in his underwear in front of me, trying to figure out why I'm bawling. I finally pull myself together and want more questions answered, so, I get Curious George and I ask Caleb to reenact his swan dive. And of course, Caleb had to add all of these sound effects and colorful expressions as he shows us how he tripped and fell down the flight of stairs. Apparently he was at the top of the stairs and went to go down when he skipped a step and fell forward. Some how in his falling he turned onto his side and because of his small height ended up just rolling down the stairs on his side. Kind of like rolling down a hill, only, a lot bumpier. He is just the right height that his head and legs were not affected. I still can't believe it. You know, people don't just get up and walk away from tumbling down the stairs. I had to sit down and thank God for this miracle.

Old Town, New habits

noreply@blogger.com (ruelkie) — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 02:43:00 +0000

Okay, so, by now you all know I'm back in Cleveland, TN. It's nice to be back in town and see all of my friends. It is also nice to know that I'll be close to my sister who is studying at Lee. However, this time around I am having to acquire new survival skills. My husband is in the beginning stages of Army training which requires him to be away from me and Caleb until he completes AIT (advanced individual training). Sooo, that puts me in a single mom position. It really isn't too bad because, thankfully, we only have one kid. However, it does complicate every other aspect of our lives.

Having to re-train myself to not discuss everything with someone else before I make a decision is hard. You know, when your single you don't have to discuss every financial decision with someone else, or you don't have to see what others think about your dinner decisions. But, when you're married, you kind of learn to think out loud so that you get some kind of feed back from your spouse. You know, when talking to them through out the day you might say, hey, I was thinking about Panda for dinner, what do you think? And depending on how positive or negative their response is, you make your decision. So, after 5 years of thinking out loud it has become a habit. Now that Josh is gone I find myself thinking out loud to my 4-year-old, which, let's face it, is NOT a good idea. I actually heard myself ask him today what he wanted to eat for dinner. In some, rare, special occasions that's cool. But any parent knows that when you let your kids make decisions once, they get drunk with power and think they can start making ALL decisions. It was at that moment that I realized what I was doing. I was thinking out loud as if there were another adult present who I needed to consult.

This is one of many changes that I need to make in order to survive Military lifestyle. The only other really major change, or acquired habit, I need to master is learning to be okay with not knowing what's ahead of me. The military is not at all efficient. They really are the most disorganized group I have ever been in contact with. They don't know how long it's going to be, they don't know where you're going to be, they don't really know anything. They tell you one thing, and a week later, A WEEK, not just the next day, or later on that day, a week later they find out they were wrong and things have changed. Do you know how much planning goes into motion within a week that has to be un-planned? Anyway, this of course poses a problem for me because I am super planning woman. I have to know what's coming around the corner before I move in that direction. I suppose, by some divine chance, this could be God teaching me to rely on Him alone. He just seems to always hit me where it hurts the most, my need for control.

So, beyond these points, and the most obvious, not having my hubby around, there really isn't too much to complain about. I am proud of what Josh does, and I can't lie, I enjoy the pay. I only pray that whatever God has planned for us, He really keeps His promise of not giving us more than we can handle.

Just hanging out

noreply@blogger.com (ruelkie) — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 03:34:00 +0000

So, it's a Wednesday night, not much to do. I thought maybe I'd write a blog. So, call me technologically challenged, but, I just found out about limewire.com. Did you know you can download music to your itunes for free! Yeah, well, thanks for not letting me know. I've been spending unnecessary money downloading music. Anyway, I love it. I have so much new music now, it's insane. The only thing I need now is to get some type of hook up where I can listen to my shuffle in the car. They have all kinds of hook ups for Nano's and the ipod, but, non for the shuffle. Sucks. I have been thinking. Ofcourse, you all already knew that because that's all I do, think and think and think, but, anyway, I've been thinking about life and how short it is and how we miss so much because we're too afraid to make that leap of faith into the unknown. I am the prime example of how fear can keep one idle. I have decided not to be the person that when I'm old, talks about all that I wanted to do in life but never accomplished because I was too afraid, or concerned with what others might say. So, I am determined to complete all my life goals, regarless of what others might say, or what obsticles might face me. To me, Josh is that example. He did what he longed to do, regardless of what others said. It might sound insane to most people to enlist in the military when we are at war as a country, but he didn't care. So, I guess what I'm saying is that, I no longer care what others may think, I have decided to do what I belive is best for my family. :)

The scoop

noreply@blogger.com (ruelkie) — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 05:25:00 +0000

Hey guys,
It has been 30 days since Josh left for BCT and he has only completed one week of actual Boot Camp because the facilities where they train people were over crowded. He spend three weeks doing nothing. He was pretty frustrated about it. He has eight weeks left and his graduation is Dec. 14. I would be lying if I said it's been easy, but, I am so proud of my hubby. I know I'm being biased, but, come one, he lost over 40 pounds for this! I can't even lose 5 pounds. If your wondering how he did it, he was on the Lemonade diet for one mth. Anyway, chubbs and I are trying our best to stay busy. While he's in school I work, and when we're not working and at school, we distract ourselves with Larry Boy video games and Friends. We are also helping my parents out with their church and have been working on several projects. We are getting ready for Christmas here at the Salvation Army. For those of you who don't know, Christmas is the busiest time of year for the Salvation Army. I am in charge of the Adopt-a-Family, which is a program for families and companies who want to pay for another families' food, clothes, and toys. I have to screen all of the applications and decided who gets who. Anyway, four times a week chubbs and I go to the YMCA to workout, (they have a daycare where they let the kids workout too). And, we go to Boise often to walk around the mall and window shop. So, we're doing pretty good. After Josh finishes boot camp he gets transferred to Fort Gordon, GA for Advanced Training which is 4 hrs from Cleveland and that's when I move back out there. So probably after Christmas I'll be moving back to TN. Crazy I know. But I'd rather be close to Josh so I can see him over the weekends instead of far away like this. Overall, I am glad that he is doing what he's always wanted to do and I have peace that we are where God wants us to be at this point in our lives.

Thinking outloud

noreply@blogger.com (ruelkie) — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 04:38:00 +0000

It has been two and a half weeks since Josh left for BCT. It is a strange feeling that has been hard to explain to people. I don't hear from him often, I pretty much raise our son on my own, and I have to make all of the family decisions by myself, but, for the first time in our married lives, I feel that we are finally doing what we really want to do. I know it's weird, but it works for us. I found it was too difficult to take care of Caleb and still keep a job, so, I put in my notice at work. I am strangely okay with this. I have always wanted to work, but, now, with there not being a huge financial burden for us, I think that I need to spend more time with Caleb. He only has one year left at home, and for the rest of his life he has to go to school and work. Poor kid. So, I've decided to make this last year at home a memorable one. Since Josh left, every time I leave for work he kind of freaks out. He asks me over and over again when I'm gonna come back for him. So, I feel peace about that decision. The other decision is weather to stay here until Josh is done with all of his training which would be May, or move to Fort Gordon, GA or Cleveland, TN when he gets transferred to GA in January. After being apart these couple of weeks, I think the best think for our family is for me to move to TN because it is 4 hours from Josh's base in GA and he will only have weekends off. So, I won't be too far from him, but, I won't have to move to a completely different city and start all over again. I still have to figure out all of the logistics of moving across country again, but, I'm pretty confident I will be able to figure it all out. So, I guess thanks for letting me process my thoughts with you all. I need to bounce my ideas off someone! Anyway, we are doing pretty good and I know that things can only get better as time goes by and we get used to our new lifestyle.

I'm a working woman now!

noreply@blogger.com (ruelkie) — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 23:51:00 +0000

So I started working, finally. I work for a company that does Therapy, Intensive Behavioral Intervention, Case Management, and PSR or Psychosocial Rehabilitation, which is what I do. Basically, people who are mentally ill will come to us, get a complete psych-evaluation and once they are diagnosed, usually with one of the big 6 (bipolar I and II, schizoaffective, schizophrenic, major depressive disorder, borderline personality, and for all of those they can't figure out, delusional and psychotic disorder not otherwise specified). Once they have figured out what they have, they write up a treatment plan that goes to their therapist, developmental day treatment, and PSR. The therapist works on deep issues, the DDT works on their disorder development, and it's my job to help them become functional in society. So I go to their houses and discuss daily routines for cleaning house, cooking, hygiene, as well as help them learn their meds and help them keep taking them. I help them learn how to cope with their disorder, basically, I'm a glorified babysitter. But, I'm not complaining cuz, I get 14 an hour, so, it's not that difficult. I love working with people, I love the experience and exposure to mental health, but I have decided that I want to be the one diagnosing the disorder, not the one socially helping them back into society. So, I have to go back to school and get my master's, but, that was a goal for me anyway, this job just really helped me understand why one should get their master's. I have some really crazy stories to share, but, for the sake of privacy and the fact that I'm on a public website, I'll save those for phone conversations.
I'm doing okay here. It's really not somewhere I want to stay. But, working most of the time helps me pass the time here and hopefully by the end of the year we will have a better idea of where we're going in life.

Somewhere in the NorthWest of the Country

noreply@blogger.com (ruelkie) — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 04:31:00 +0000

Okay, so, I'm now in Caldwell, Idaho. It is a small town like Cleveland, the only difference is that Caldwell is actually growing, they are doing a lot of construction around here, new roads and houses. The transition wasn't as difficult for Josh and Caleb as it was for me. Go figure, the one who didn't want to move there, (me) was the one who had a harder time leaving. Well, like most of you know I found some good friends. And, well, like you all know, good friends are hard to come by. So here I am again, far away from all of my good friends, you guys are all scattered all over it's pretty hard to imagine ever seeing all of you at once. Well, I just wanted to write a new blog and let you all know that I'm thinking of you all and I'll try to keep you all more updated on our lives here somewhere in the NorthWest of the country.

What are we really teaching our kids!!

noreply@blogger.com (ruelkie) — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 21:43:00 +0000

So, I'm driving down the street with chubbs to get to the main road, I have no stop sign, but there are two stops signs to each side of me. I see a car stop at the sign to the right of me so I keep going because, I have the right of way, and then the idiot (young driver) pulls out in front of me not realizing that I was coming. So I honk my horn and slam on my break just in time to not hit the guy. As I'm blowing my horn I say, "learn how to drive!" Well, what Caleb said next is what really blew me away, "yeah, cuz you old people don't know how to drive!" Well, needless to say, I was pretty shocked, fully aware of the fact that he got the idea from me. For some reason when my three year-old says things like that it sounds worse then when I say it. So, I tried to level with the kid and in doing so pointed out that the idiot driver who almost killed us was a young guy and not just old people can't drive, but many people can't drive. Yeah, I'm proud of my parenting skills, at least he'll be well prepared for if and when we ever go back to down town Oakland and he has to drive in china town.

Life maps

noreply@blogger.com (ruelkie) — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 20:44:00 +0000

Just when you think you've crossed a path in your life that you've memorized and you think you'll never have to worry about getting lost in it again, someone comes along and does some construction on the road.

Lessons from Pre-school

noreply@blogger.com (ruelkie) — Sat, 10 Feb 2007 01:31:00 +0000

It is amazing how every time I teach my son a new principle, I can hear God whispering in my ear, "When will you learn that principle yourself?" Recently I have been trying to get Caleb to understand that bedtime is necessary for our well being. I say things like, "If you don't sleep you'll be cranky and you won't be able to have any fun, so, you might as well sleep." The usual response is, "I know God made rest, but I just don't want to go to bed." My next statement sounds something like this, "Well, it's not always about what you want, but about pleasing God in everything that we do." Spitefully he gets into his jammies and thus begins the bedtime ritual of prayer, a drink of milk, potty, then, another drink of milk, then, a million, "mom, my sheet is crooked, Mom, I want the door open, Mom"...and well the list goes on and on. By this time my tone of voice is angrier and more irritated, (especially when we're trying to watch CSI) and I say something like this, "Caleb, the real issue here is not that your thirsty or that you need to go potty, the truth is that you don't want to go to bed and you are making excuses." Well, to make the long night shorter, he eventually gives in to his sleepiness and knocks out.
Me, however, I sit in the next room thinking, "Wow, Lord, how many times do I argue with you about wanting my way and not yours. How many times do I say, "I know this is what you want of me, but I just don't want to do it." How many excuses do I come up with to delay doing what I know I should be doing, pleasing you."
So, the moral of the story, if you want to learn more about relationship with God, have a kid.

Three inches of Snow

noreply@blogger.com (ruelkie) — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 14:17:00 +0000

All of Cleveland was closed today because of three inches of snow. I hope this happens tomorrow too because I have classes on Fridays. Lee and the Seminary are closed until 12:00pm which for me means no school because I have classes from 8 - 12. Anyway, Caleb and I went out to play in the snow.

Update

noreply@blogger.com (ruelkie) — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 21:14:00 +0000

I'm glad to see this site works, anyway, Dawn I got everything at Lee to work by the way. They finally approved my request and I now have 131 credits. Also, Caleb is sick, he has some type of congestion that is affecting his eyes, it looks like pink eye. Josh is working BOTH starbucks and chickfila, and school just started for him. And me, well, my school work is stacking up so high, I'm about to freak out. But, the good news is that I'm done this semester and I'm going to take a break for a while. Also, I think I'm going to have to cancel my trip to Cali. Tickets are ridiculous and I can't afford to go to more than one place, and well, my sister's graduation is more important, so I'm going to Idaho May 25-27. Lizette, sorry I forgot about your anniversary in my planning :) okay, well, I just wanted to write you all and say hi and that I miss you guys. I really wish I could go see you all, Josh is still trying to save up the money (that's why he's working the two jobs). You don't have to get accounts here, I can just send invites when I write. Okay, God bless you guys, pray for Caleb, we don't have insurance so I haven't taken him to the doctor yet.