Windows XP XP-N

That would be Windows XP N-atalie for those of you who are between cups of coffee...

My husband is currently reading a book called “For Men Only” . It is a book that is written to help men understand their women & how we think, what our needs are etc… One example that the book gives on how women think is that we are like a desktop computer with many programs running in the background, many windows open and being bombarded with “pop-ups” all the time.

THAT SO DESCRIBES ME!

Anyway – he just called from work and asked how my day was going. “Ok, I’m just feeling a little overwhelmed by stuff…” Then he dared to ask, “What stuff?” Here’s what I was able to rattle off in a matter of a couple of minutes while simultaneously making his head implode:

“Well…

1. I need to decipher my new homeschool curriculum and organize it in a notebook.

2. I need to photocopy about 400 pages of homeschool stuff. [Sadly, that is NOT an exaggeration!]

3. I need to figure out what supplies I need for the next month of homeschool projects

4. I was just going to use a standard math book for Maisie but I’m now so sold on the “Math-U-See” curriculum maybe I should start looking for that on ebay in her level.

5. I think Georgia is going to breeze through the “Math-U-See” level I got for her, and I think I need to buy the next level & be ready with that instead. Which happens to be on ebay right now, which means I need to watch that auction.

6. I need to figure out what classes the kids are signing up for with the homeschool place we go and try to coordinate 3 kids’ classes at the same time with classes that they are all interested in.

7. I need to check on ballet/tap/gymnastics for Maisie & Georgia, soccer for Georia & Zane and basketball for Zane. I also need to look into a homeschool swimming class in the middle of the day for all of the kids.

8. And do I want to sign Dach up for anything? Maybe a sports class??

9. Awanas starts in 2 weeks and we need to get them signed up for that but I won’t be there the first night because I have a Homeschool Mother’s Tea that night so you need to make sure that when you pay – they give you the multiple kid discount. DON’T FORGET THAT!!!

10. We also need to buy the next level of AWANAS book for each kid and Georgia who WAS going to be able to continue in last year’s book can’t because it’s discontinued and we have to buy a new one. But – she was going to finish last year’s book this year to win a free scholarship to camp this summer so we need to find out if she has to start all over & complete this year’s entire book to get the free week at camp.

11. I haven’t started putting together my stand up bit for the retreat I’m headlining in 4 weeks! I have all the material – I just need a few hours to piece it together & work on it.

12. I need to keep checking the airlines to see if we can afford to fly to Disneyland. I found tickets for $179/rt each yesterday but the same tickets are now $229 today *ARGH!* So, I need to be checking that hourly daily and figure out when to buy! Oh yeah – and while we’re at it, we need to pray about where the $1100 is going to come from to pay for those tickets.

13. I need to put together the teaching I’m going to be doing at Jen’s church’s Women’s Breakfast (the Saturday after we get back from Disneyland).

14. I need to gather all the paperwork & photocopy receipts to mail in $316 in rebates and optical reimbursements.

15. We need to figure out when our Home Fellowship is starting, what book we are going to be going through for it, and what nights we are going to be meeting on – we could meet every week (although I think that is too overwhelming), every other week (sometimes too disjointed when someone misses a week) or the first 3 weeks every month with the 4^th Friday off.

16. I need to write out a weekly homeschool schedule for each kid (and chore chart while I’m at it)

17. We have 3 hefty sacks of toys from the kids’ rooms that they want to garage sale for Disneyland money. It all has to be priced & we have to figure out what Sat we are having a garage sale.

18. We really should sell the stereo speakers & other stuff in the basement before we go to Disneyland - maybe we could make $ for Disneyland with that stuff.

19. I have 5 rubbermaid bins of stuff to either sell on ebay OR take to the consignment store. They are all fall/winter stuff and I have to do it before I miss the seasonal window like I did last year!

20. I have a $5 off coupon for K-Mart that expires tomorrow that I need to use.

21. We have to call the life insurance guy to get life insurance for both of us.

22. We need to look into “Price is Right” tickets for when we are in LA because I’ve wanted to be on that show since I was 7 years old. I kick serious booty on those games.

23. I need to call my Dr about getting an RX for a “motion sickness patch” so I can actually GO on rides at Disneyland!

And that doesn’t even include figuring out what I’m cooking for dinner, the fact that I have 7 loads of laundry to do, and all the housework and grocery shopping that needs to be done…"

So, I apparently am able to run 23 programs at once (although I think a lot of those were “pop-ups”). I think my RAM is running at about 800 megabytes… That poor man – I don’t think he was prepared for me to articulate a list of that magnitude!

If you even made it through that neurotic list – congratulations, go take a valium! Excuse me now as I minimize all 23 windows and open:

C://Natalie_Johnson/homemaker/daily_tasks/meals/dinner/what_the_heck_am_I_cooking_tonight?!

A surreal week of sadness...

[The song you hear streaming is sung by my dear deceased friend Gavin . To hear it again, just refresh the page. He was an AMAZING children's worship leader! See below for details on his death.]

The past 9 days have been incredibly difficult. A dear, dear friend of almost 20 years was killed in a tragic accident leaving behind a pregnant wife & 4 children. Hubby became the "air traffic control" for the church receiving & sending non-stop emails & fielding phone calls.

I don't think I've ever had more headaches & stomach aches in 1 week. There are more details than I have the energy to even write about. The wonderful thing is that our church and many others have come around this grieving family to show their support. About 15 of the women went over to the family's house on Friday during the family viewing of the body and we cleaned the house from top to bottom and made lunch for 50 family members that would be there that afternoon. It was really great to see how all of these women were so anxious to help.

Hubby & I went to the viewing later that evening. It was an experience unlike any other. The viewing of course was optional - but I just really felt like I needed the closure. It took my breath away when I walked in - it didn't even look like him. His skin was so, so pale. He looked more like a wax statue than anything. I can now see what people mean when they say that after a person dies - you can just see that their spirit is gone. There are several verses in the bible that talk about our earthly body being a "tent" and this really drove it home. He had definitely packed up camp and gone home!

It really made me reflect on how much importance we put on our appearances and for what? My spray-on tan and silver jewelry addictions are "fun while they last" but really have no value in the scope of eternity. It's amazing how caught up in (and how much $ I spend) on fashion etc. And what difference it would make if I turned my energy & $ elsewhere: "Do I really need to spend the $20 on the make-my-butt-look-slightly-smaller jeans to cram in my already over-stuffed closet or could I spend that $ on something of lasting value? It just really got me thinking...

It was HARD to see his body. *grabs kleenex* His is the 1st dead body I've ever seen and it is a painful thing to see of someone you love. All of the pastors & their families were invited to the burial yesterday morning. Oh, the pain of this. It was truly the saddest thing I have ever experienced. Ever. Ever. To see my newly widowed pregnant friend in pain & shock and sobbing was unbearable. Unbearable. And the kids. OH, the kids - it was unreal.I can't imagine their pain. I can't even imagine. I don't think I will ever forget the scene of my dear friend uncontrollably weeping while laying her head on her husband's casket. I was asked to photograph the burial and I kept having to stop because I was sobbing so hard I couldn't even see through the lense.

The memorial was in the afternoon and about 1400 people attended. (This man was DEARLY loved and touched the lives of hundreds.) We left the memorial around 9pm and dropped off leftover food at the family's house. They looked so exhausted when we arrived.

Dear sweet Jen ended up watching the boys all afternoon during the memorial yesterday after child #2 PUKED all over a friend's van and a friend's *gulp* suit. [Sorry about that!] While she was at my house she did all of my dishes and cleaned the TRASHED living room. Now, if that's not a lean-on-me friend, I don't know what is!

It's 9:10pm and my kids all still up and playing somewhere downstairs while I'm sitting here writing an entry in the dark (the sun set & I just sat here typing watching the room get darker - laziness prevents me from walking over to the lightswitch.) Hubby is at a prayer meeting and I just don't have it in me to cope with the bedtime routine alone. *sigh* And so they play while time ticks on...

Did I mention I'm tired?

Words to the song (II Timothy 4: 7&8):

I have fought the good fight

I have finished the race

I have kept the faith

Now there is in store for me

the crown of righteousness

Which the Lord, the righteous judge

will award to me on that day

And not only to me, but also to all

who have longed for His appearing

I have fought the good fight

I have finished the race

I have kept the faith

[This song is so appropriate, it's as if he's singing these comforting words from heaven. Who would have known when he recorded this song 12 years ago for children's ministry - it would be comfort to his loved ones today?]

Just when you think it can't get worse...

Unbelievably enough - we found out today that the person who caused the accident goes to our "parent church" and is actively involved in the college group there.

He is one of our own.

This is just agonizing. I can't imagine what he is going through - over just this simple thing of not tying a shelving unit down in his truck. Gavin was the children's minister at our parent church for years and that is where the memorial service is going to be held. I cannot imagine how he feels having caused the horrible death of a former minister of his church. Hundreds of people in that church are grieving.

Everyone just wept through church today. We had brought in about 60 extra chairs and filled every chair in the place. We had to scrounge together more chairs. People I hadn't seen in 10 or more years were there today. Our pastor gave the entire church offering today to Gavin's widow. It was triple what it normally is. The outpouring of love is amazing but there is still so much raw pain.

I'm going to take a nap.

Oh, the agony of all this...

A Tragic Loss...

Yesterday at noon I got a terrible call from my husband: "Pastor John just called me and he was talking to Gavin on his cell phone when he suddenly heard Gavin say 'WHOA! WHOA!' and then he heard a terrible crash. He started screaming Gavin's name but he didn't respond. Then he heard people in the car saying 'He's losing too much blood - I don't think he's going to make it!!' Then he heard EMTs working on him. He heard fragments like '...severed carotid artery...WE'RE LOSING HIM! WE'RE LOSING HIM!...Wait - I've got a pulse...' He listened for over 20 minutes until it went silent." Pastor John had no idea if they had saved him or not.

Gavin helped found our church. Gavin has been a children's minister for 20 years. Gavin was one of our church elders for years. Gavin had 4 children, with another baby on the way (due in Dec). Gavin had the most friendly, exhuberant, infectious 'larger-than-life' personality you could ever imagine! If you were ever in a room with him - you knew who he was.

Pastor John immediately called Gavin's wife and they met and drove to Seattle's trauma hospital to wait for them to bring Gavin in. Meanwhile, Pastor John's wife called every other hospital in Seattle to try to locate him. He never showed up at any of the hospitals. Pastor John & Gavin's wife decided to drive to the scene of the accident. The freeway was backed up for miles because 3 lanes were closed due to the accident.

Meanwhile, I was scouring news websites for news of the accident. I found video & photos of the accident - 3 blue cars, 1 white car and 1 demolished red car were involved. We called all over the church to see if anyone knew what kind of car he was driving. We found out he was driving a red Honda.

Pastor John & Gavin's wife finally made it to the scene of the accident 2 hours after it had occured to find that Gavin was dead. His body had been taken to the medical examiners. *sobs*

Our entire church is reeling. We are all totally numb. This was not even just a "loved man". It's hard to describe - this was a man who was DEARLY loved by literally hundreds of people. Hundreds. Hundreds. I think he said to every single person in our church every single week! He & his wife left Sundays open for "ministry". After church they would look for ways to spend their Sundays blessing people in the church. They were always the first to volunteer to help anyone with anything. "Let us take your kids for you...let us bring you a meal...let us pray for you...come to our home for dinner..." Truly the ultimate example of love & service to others.

Hubby is the point person for the church and he has become the hub for phone calls, emails, sending email updates etc... Our home phone & both of our cell phones have been ringing off the hook. It is exhausting but encouraging to see the outpouring of love to this family. We have gotten emails from all over the country & even as far as Germany. Gavin ministered to several hundred children for many, many years. Everyone who grew up in our church - from my kids all the way up to twenty-something year olds - were affected by Gavin's amazing way of showing the love of Jesus.

Georgia asked me "But who will lead worship? He's the best worship leader ever!" She has been pouring over our family photo albums ever since we got the news. I think she is dealing with it by really focusing in on our family.

We went over to Gavin's house today to visit with his wife. I got out of the car and his 13 year old daughter came walking down the driveway. As soon as we locked eyes - we both burst into tears. I hugged her forever and ever. It just breaks my heart beyond words. How do you cope with losing your father? Your husband? His wife looked almost dazed. Forlorn. She's trying to deal with finances, insurance, memorial planning all in the midst of being 5 months pregnant and holding her 4 children together.

I can't even imagine what church will be like tomorrow. We aren't having children's ministry - the whole church is going to be together. Mourn together. Heal together. Pray for us. Pray for this family - I can't even imagine the road they have ahead of them. I perpetually feel like I'm going to throw up. I've had a 34 hour headache.

You can read about the details of the accident at one of our local news sites:



http://www.komotv.com/stories/45022.htm

Summer Photo Parade part 4...

And finally, we ended our family fun day with a dip in the International Fountain at Seattle center! Too bad we didn't bring swim suits...

Dach walking around (in the orange shirt).

Zane is directly in front of the fountain in the jean shorts.

He got nailed by the suprise nozzles shooting out of the ground!

He was the bravest of all the kids!

Okay - so that is my month's summary in photos! I am mourning the end of summer as I'm realizing I have ONLY TWO WEEKS to get all of my homeschool stuff figured out for the year!!! YIKES!!! Also - the pressure is on for Disneyland - can I lose 20 lbs and save/make $1500?? Time to "craigslist" everything in the basement!! Perhaps I could find someone to pay me $100 for every pound I lose - I do believe that would motivate me...

And with that thought...dishes, laundry and clutter await me!!

Summer Photo Parade part 3...

Hubby with Zane at a parade. I love this pic except for the giant sun ray slicing

through the Zane's head!

The ever-fearful "red streak" a la blood poisoning. Apparently Georgia's bug bite packed a punch.

We've got her on antibiotics & she is fine now. You know it's serious when the Dr. looks at you very somber and says "I'm VERY glad you brought her in, if you had waited she would have ended up in the hospital!"

We spent Monday at the Seattle Center having a "family fun day". We saw an IMAX film in 3D which was TOTALLY cool. I now want to see all movies only in 3D! I told Hubby that I want to get 3D glasses and wear them all the time. "I love 3D!!! It's so COOL!!! I want to live in 3D!" Dear sweet Hubby "You DO live in 3D, sweetie!" Ah yes, I suppose I do! Somehow it just looks cooler in a movie...

The family in front of the Space Needle. I really DO need to start asking

strangers to take our picture so I can be in them! If only I trusted stranger's

photo taking abilities... "Might I see your credentials...?"

An oversized table & chairs at the Science Center. For some reason it amuses me greatly.

TALL & THIN, BABY!!! TALL & THIN!!! I'm gonna buy me some "tall & thin" mirrors!!!

Anything that makes my butt look flat deserves praise & adoration! My butt is so big (even when I was thin) that in high school all of my black girlfriends always said "Girl, your butt fits right in!"

"Thank you - it's the "B______ Bubble Butt" passed down from generation to generation!"

But not today folks...not today!!

And rather than post 10 pics per page, we will continue...Dial up, do you feel the love?

Summer Photo Parade part 2...

Again with the beloved dog!

I just want you to know that my freezer never runs out of ice. E-V-E-R!!!!
(If you really know me then you know how close to winning the lotto that is for me!!)

I did a photo shoot with my 10 month old neice who was not totally thrillled with the idea.

I did manage to get a couple of good ones though! I love this one!!

Ah yes - can't forget this one! A perfect picture ofhis personality!

Do you see a theme here...?

Again for the dial ups...

Summer Photo Parade part 1...

Thought I'd post a photo parade of the past month since I have a couple of extra hours thanks to the "59 minute clock"...

*aside* Shame on all of you for not jumping on board with my clock idea and affirming my delusions. For the first couple of minutes it sounded brilliant! *end aside*

In the past month we...

Went on our all-church retreat where my husband played "Franz" (of Hans & Franz, that is) in some skits. I was amused:

Why yes that is an underwear band he's wearing around his head while he pumps toilet plungers iron! Thank you dollar store!!

Yes folks, these are the pastors of our church! They are here to "PUMP *clap* YOU UP!!!"

And what's camp without a bonfire & smores?? Special guests: Hans & Franz. And I quote: "If yah feahl yah muscles bahning...yah too close to da fiyah!!"

We also had Hubby's sister & family visit for over a week. They brought their RV & parked it out front. We had great fun during their visit! Our kids highlight was that they brought their dog with them!

Sitting around after a BBQ singing worship songs one evening.

This was the weekend it got up to 100 degrees in Seattle. We hooked up the hose on their RV canopy & had it misting in the yard all day.

A boy and his dog! As you can see - my children wish-oh-wish they had a pet!!

Let's be kind to dial-up and continue on the next page...

Tick Tock, Tick Tock...(not so much)

I did the spray-on tan...again.
It turned out terrible...again.

I can't resist it - I'm addicted. It's like crack to me! It seems like such a good idea at the time "This time it'll be different! It'll be better!" It looks great for a few hours till it darkens up & I see the gianormous streaks where I missed spots. Then of course there is the "wearing off" period about 5 days into it. *shudder*

*sing it with me now* "...Might as well face it - I'm addicted to tan..." (2 points & a free clock if you can guess the tune)

We leave for Disneyland in 56 days. I have 56 days left to save up for the $750 it'll cost us for 3 days of park admission for a family of 6. *a moment of silence please* Chuck E Cheese seems more like a bargain with each passing day.

Remind me to sell an ovary in the next 56 days. [Oh, stop it - like I need it! Did you SEE how many kids are in my photos that share my last name?!]

I'm feeling cheeky with just a pinch of snarky.

Came up with a new invention a few hours ago:

"The 59 minute Clock"

*TA-DA!!!!*

You gain a minute every hour without even realizing it. It's like getting -->FREE<-- time. You think an hour has passed, but nay, only 59 minutes! You have not lost an hour - you've gained a minute. You'd gain an extra 24 minutes a day - on me! No really - it's my gift to you! You've worked hard - take a few extra minutes for that cup of coffee! By the end of the day, it'll even out! This would be perfect for chronically tardy people. Hey - if I apply this to my Disneyland trip - I actually have an extra 22.4 days to save up for it! *Is it 1am or is it me?*

I haven't worked out the kinks yet - like at what point do you sync back up with "real" time. I guess it could become confusing if you gained 24 minutes a day for several weeks. You'd be showing up for work on Monday morning at 3am Friday morning.

This all came about because my van clock runs fast and gains a minute every week or so and is currently 27 minutes ahead of "real time". Hubby keeps telling me to set it back to "real" time but I think that would only confuse me. This way I "think" it is 27 minutes ahead - but by next week it is 28 minutes ahead and I'm still only deducting 27 minutes and lo and behold I've gained a minute! I'm one minute less late than I thought I was!

Well, off to bed now as I do believe I cannot not top such sheer genius at work...

A Glowing Report...

I keep thinking about sitting down to write an entry, but it has been SO busy the last few weeks: visiting family, church retreat, VBS, swim team etc... that I never seem to get to it. I have to write this one out though - before I forget any of the hideous details...

We were on our All Church Retreat a couple of weekends ago and of course (because it's -->US<--) there are stories to tell...

All the staff arrived on Thursday evening to set up for camp and FIRST thing Friday morning (8am to be exact) Zane managed to chip his best friend's/our senior pastor's son's PERMANENT ADULT FRONT TOOTH while playing bumper ball. I don't really know what the game is except for the fact that it has something to do with rolling pool table balls down lanes on a table. Well, his buddy was laying on the table and wouldn't move so Zane throws (rolls?) a ball at him to get him to move and it catches air & hits him straight in the front tooth and breaks off the bottom third in a nice jagged shape! Poor kid!

Zane was so mortified he didn't even want to come into the dining hall for breakfast. He just stood depressed outside the window and stared in at his friend.

*aside* Did I mention that 1 week previous to this (at a swim meet) my husband's elbow accidentally made contact with our senior pastor's 7-year-old daughter's front tooth and knocked it loose. It had to be pulled a couple of days later! (Luckily THAT tooth was a baby one!) *end aside*

[You'd think we owned stock in local dentistry!]

Then...later that night:

All the staff was having dinner in the senior pastor's cabin and the kids were playing outside when Dach barges in screaming, "SHANNA [the babysitter] IS NOT THE BOSS OF ME!!" Then he repeated it like 5 times in a screaming loud voice.

"Actually dear, EVERYONE is the boss of you!!"

Then within minutes after a scuffle over a ball with the senior pastor's youngest daughter Dach looks angrily at the senior pastor and screams "I HATE _____" *insert his daughter's name* Nice. Can you say pink slip? Let's scream hate language at Daddy's boss/your pastor. Aren't our children wonderful examples. That is the --sucky-- thing about the whole pastor's kid thing: when they act hideous it's on display for everyone! And people expect them to be the "good examples" because they are pastors kids! Thankfully our pastor was very gracious to him and said something about "Looks like he's going through a phase..." Um yeah - if he lives through it..."

Then...even LATER that night:

Picture the scene...

It's between 10:30-11pm. Another couple with their 3 year old niece are asleep in one of the bedrooms of the cabin we are staying in. I walk in the front door and find Dach screaming at the top of his lungs with a HIGHLY agitated Hubby hissing at him to be quiet. Maisie is crying because she wants her friend to have a sleepover in our cabin and Georgia is BEGGING and on the verge of tears because SHE wants to spend the night in her friend's cabin and Zane (ironically enough, the only compliant one in the bunch) is putting his pj's on in the other bedroom. I walk into the bedroom and immediately smell barf "Who barfed in here? Did you barf?!" I look at Zane and he is gagging and scraping his tongue frantically! "WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU?!?!" I demanded. He holds up a glow stick in one hand which is oozing purple glow in the dark gel down the side! "YOU ATE A GLOW STICK?!?!?!?!?! YOU CAN'T EAT THAT, THAT STUFF COULD KILL YOU!!!"

I grab him by the arm & race him into the little kitchenette area and shove his head in the sink. I start splashing large cups of water at his mouth. So he is choking on glowing purple goo, choking on gallons of water being thrown in his face all while I yell at my husband "THIS COULD BE TOXIC!!! THIS COULD KILL HIM!! WE HAVE TO FIND OUT IF THIS IS TOXIC RIGHT NOW!!!!" Hubby bolts out the front door to find the head of the children's ministry so she can locate the packaging & check the toxicity. He runs at top speed to her cabin and is out of breath & wheezing when he gets there. He pounds on the door & when her autistic son opens it - he sees the panicked (wheezing) condition of my husband & starts to hysterically flap his arms in front of his body from fear!

Meanwhile, I decide hubby is taking too long so I run out of the cabin for help from our senior pastor's wife (whose cabin is about 50 feet away from us). My pastor opens the door & I yell "Zane just ate a glow stick & I don't know if we need to have his stomach pumped!!!" He directs me to his wife in the other room and when I tell her she says "Oh, my son ate one of those last fall - he'll be fine. They aren't toxic." WHEW!

I stay to chat with her for a couple of minutes about which kids are having sleepovers where and then I realize: ZANE IS BACK AT THE CABIN -WITH NO PARENTAL SUPERVISION- THINKING HE MIGHT DIE!!

I run back over there and find Zane sitting on the couch crying "Am I...*sob*...going to-to-to-*sob* die?!"

Poor kid! Do you see how panicky I am in crisis? I am not to be trusted in emergencies. Hubby arrives back a couple of minutes later. His whole head is beet red & sweating and his vein is bulging from stress as he announces:

"He is not going to die!"

He starts trying to get kids off to bed when the other assistant pastor comes to the door. I open it (apparently somewhat flustered & wild-eyed). He looks at me for a moment & asks "Is everything ok?" I stare at him "Um...uh...not completely." "Is there anything I can do to help?" I look around "Um...uh...actually yes! My husbands brain is about to explode - could you speak calming words to him?"

Needless to say, it was a while before anyone got to sleep that night...