Time Gets Away From Me

Wow! I cannot believe that the last post was the last day of school for Seneca and here we are.....July 2nd!! Where does the time go?

Earlier this summer, we had a baby robin on our back deck. We thought it was injured because it was not scared of us but it turned out it wasn't injured. It was awesome to see Seneca pet the bird. Seneca LOVES birds so this was an awesome site for us.

The first week in June we had VBS at our church. The theme was "SonRock Kids Camp". Our church is truely amazing when it comes to all activities for both young and old. There were well over 100 kids and the whole week just was awesome. The decorations, the kids, the adult volunteers......I have never seen such a production. I took the mornings off to voluteer with the 3 year olds. We had close to 20 all week. Now that is work.......

Seneca absolutely loves VBS and anything that involves music and singing. She takes her performing very seriously!!

Paul has been working very long hours. Up to 15 hour days M-F and some Saturdays. We haven't seen much of him this summer. Fortuneately, the weather has been nice (not too hot; 80's) and not many storms like we had last summer. We will hope that will continue the rest of the summer.

Seneca started at her new daycare after school ended. She seemed to like it for the month she was there but then the daycare ended up closing due to them moving out of town. So the search was on once again for a new daycare. For awhile, a friend of mine took Seneca in and she hung out with her kids. If it was up to Seneca, I think she would have lived with the Buchholtz family. She LOVED it there. Monday, we will start with what we hope to be our permanent daycare. She will continue to go with the Buchholtz family on Thursdays, just to break up her week a little bit and be able to get out and do some other activities such as the library, the City pool, or whatever the Buchholtz family plans for that week.

That is our last month in a nutshell. I am sure there is something I am missing.....hopefully nothing too big!!

Field Day

Last Friday was Senecas last day of Kindergarten. It is so hard to believe that she is going to be in 1st grade!! She had an amazing year, a wonderful teacher and she is excited for 1st grade to begin.

For their last day of school they had Field Day. They broke up into groups and did different activities at each station (i.e. hoola hoop toss; run bases; shoe kick; shuttle run; 100m dash, etc.). For all of this they got a star (gold, silver or red). It was really fun to be able to go and watch. Afterwords, we got to have a picnic lunch with the kids.

It was a very bittersweet day for me. Awesome to see Seneca finish her first year of school but then after words, I arrived back to my office for some very sad news. My former boss and also the gal who took our wedding photos, & Senecas baby photos; her husband passed away. He was 41 years old and left behind his wife Suzy and their twins, Nathan and Lexi (same age as Seneca). They also just finished their first year of school.

More of our last few months.....

I was going to post a little bit here and there until I was caught up with Spring Activities but then realized that I am now getting a SECOND set of photos and happenings to get caught up with.

So here goes the Spring Marathon......

In March, Pauls mom had her 60th birthday. We headed to the farm for the party but were concerned that we may not get there. That Monday, Seneca ended up with Influenza A. Nothing you can do but wait for the fever to break for a good 24 hours......thankfully, the day before we were to leave, Seneca was feeling better and no sign of a fever.

This is the Hertel March Birthdays: Niece Camry (March 5); Betty (March 6); Paul (March 7)

Seneca had her Kindergarten Spring Concert. She had practiced for days! She sang non-stop around the house and was so excited for her Spring Concert. The Kindergarteners were asked to wear gardening and spring clothes. All their songs were around gardening and spring. She did wonderful and you could tell that she knew her stuff.

Easter was a rainy, cold day. After church we headed to the Governors Mansion for the Annual Easter Egg hunt. Thinking that there wouldn't be as many people due to the cold and rain, much to our amazement, we were wrong. Once again, there were hundreds of kids, ready to get the candy, eggs (with prizes) snatched up from the Governors lawn!! Seneca did well as usual and got plenty of loot!!

This was Senecas 3rd year in dance. She always struggles mid-year of not wanting to be in dance and then the recital arrives and we can't wait until Fall again for dance. She did wonderful, as usual, and enjoys looking like a princess!!

The end of April, Seneca finished her first year of Awana at church. It is a wonderful program that kids are able to due memory verses from the Bible and they receive "jewels" for their vests throughout the year and at the end of the year they have an awards program. Seneca received a ribbon for completing her first book of the year. She made it 1/2 way through her second book so she will complete that one next year and go from there.

Spring Is Here

What seemed like a REALLY long winter this year finally turned to Spring. Even though I thought I probably killed all my flowers, since in March, when we had a 70 degree day, I cleaned out all the dead stuff out of my flower beds hoping it would bring on Spring, and then it got bitterly cold again until mid-April, my tulips did REALLY well this year!! More than usual came up and they stayed in full bloom for a long time before slowly withering away! I was really proud of my tulips this year!

Now hopefully, my back flower perennial bed that I planted last year will start taking off. I am not a green thumb as you can see by Senecas "Mothers Day" poem that she wrote AND read in front of the entire class AND their moms!!

O-well, I try......

Mothers Day was a great day. Paul and Seneca took care of the house work that was left AND cleaned the inside and outside of my car. I think Paul was a little annoyed with me though as I found a few spots here and there that he missed. I am very OCD and when it comes to my car, every spot on the inside and outside drive me nuts for days!!!

The funniest part was as we were walking in the house from church, Seneca says, "When is it Childs Day?" I am thinking to myself, isn't everyday childs day!???

Thanks for making it a wonderful Mothers day!

Nikkis Wedding

Nikki and Cristina

Last post, I didn't post any pictures of any of our "happenings" and I have now had a little time to sort through the photos since February. So I will post a few things in the next few weeks until I am caught up.......

In February, Seneca and I flew to Tucson, AZ for my brothers wedding. I of course, was scared to death to fly. I have never liked flying yet alone NOT without another adult. Seneca absolutely loved the whole experience. I was very blessed to have a brave little girl with me to help me out.

We had a 3 1/2 hour layover at the Minneapolis airport. They had a very nice play area for the kids which was a great way to occupy our time.

Seneca was the flower girl and totally loved being dressed up!!

My mom, my step-mom LouAnn, Seneca, My Aunt Crystal and my Grandma Kusler (Great Grandma Kusler)

Seneca was also fortunate to have her first limo ride! She thought all the lights in the limo were pretty cool!! I was in High School before I had my first limo ride! Lucky little girl!!

My dad and Seneca!

Four Generations!

Don't Give Up On Me!!!

OK, so it has been 2 months since I posted. The past two months have been emotionally hard, extremely exhausting and entirely too busy!! I have not had the energy or the motivation to post. Alot has gone on. This post will not contain photos as I am not that organized as of yet. I WILL post photos later.

From the last post, we lost our daycare provider and were on the search for a new one. After much prayer, we are very blessed to have found Brooke. One of the daycare moms from our previous daycare that decided after losing Kristi, she wanted to stay home with her two little ones and take on other kids. There is a great need for daycare in Pierre. I always say, before you tell your spouse you are pregnant, get daycare! LOL Seneca hasn't been to Brooke a lot yet since she is still in school. The few times she has been there she has liked it. We just know that it has been a huge adjustment for our family to lose Kristi!!

So many other things have happen since the last post. In February, Seneca and I flew to Tucson for my brothers wedding. Me, who does not like to fly, yet alone with no other adults did OK for the most part. I did shed a few tears landing in Minneapolis!! We had a long layover in MN both coming and going but found plenty to do in the airport. Seneca LOVED flying!! She thought is was just awesome and she was very comforting to me. It was nice to be in the warm weather of Arizona but found that I do not miss the Big City Life. I am quite content here in the small town atmosphere of Arizona. Nikkis wedding was beautiful and it was nice to meet his new bride Cristina. Now, he needs to bring her to the mid-west to see what the real world is really like. LOL

When we arrived back to SD, work was in full swing with State Tournaments. It is very hard to vacation during the months of February and March in my office. You come back and are overwhelmed. Thank goodness for co-workers who are willing to help a person out!! I was suppose to head to Yankton for State Debate the first weekend in March but due to Seneca having Influenza A and the threat of bad weather, I did not make it. Debate is one of the two activities that I have to travel for each year. I do not like traveling, even though I am getting better, but when you throw the threat of snow into the mix, I am not game to be traveling in town, yet alone out of town.

Paul and I have been very active with church activities. Since the last post, we have attended a Focus on the Family Marriage Simulcast. It was a full Saturday of different speakers, lunch and good fellowship. We have really enjoyed attending these type of things. Paul has been doing a bible study with a few guys he knows on Tues. mornings at 6 am. That seems to be the only time that works for him. I do know at that hour, I just wouldn't be able to do it. I just finished a 10 week bible study on Sunday afternoons. It was Beth Moores Esther. I truely love the Beth Moore studies. She is an amazing woman who has lived quite the life and is so easy to relate to. She is full of energy and really knows her stuff. I am hoping to start a new study sometime this Spring. Just not sure what it will be. Paul and I started a couples Bible Study about 3 weeks ago. It is on the 2nd and 4th Tues. each month. We are very thankful for our friend Kerri who is willing to watch Seneca and get her to bed during that time. I am still very actively involved in our local MOPS group. I have been the finance coordinator for the past two years and thought I would be done after this year since I will no longer have any children that qualify under the birth - Kindergarten age. I was beginning to be a little sad that MOPS was going to end and not sure what my next venture would be. Then, I was approached to be Coordinator for next year. I guess they can get by with people with no children in the MOPS age to be Coordinator for one year. So I gladly accepted the position. This will be a challenge for me and I hope will be able to do the position well. Since our group is still new (finishing up our 2nd year), I am hoping to add some great things to keep it growing and serving woman who want to know more about Christ.

Aside from mine and Pauls activities, and work, we have Seneca to run around to various activities. She is still involved in dance and is winding down into the last 3 lessons before recital at the end of April. She took a four week Mini Mighty Mites Basketball classes. We really didn't know how the whole "team" sport thing would go for Seneca since she is very competitive and it is all about winning but decided to sign her up. She LOVED basketball and is actually quite good. She was sad when they had their last week but I am hoping to have her in summer rec. basketball this summer. We also decided to sign her up for gymnastics for a session. She is two weeks into it and seems to like it. She is nervous when they work on the bars, but that will come with time. We are winding down this session of swimming lessons also. She is getting better and better each lesson. She doesn't always care for lessons, but living next to the Missouri River, swimming lessons are NOT an option in our house.

School has been doing well with Seneca. She loves school and loves to learn. Her conferences are always good and we were proud to hear that she is actually in the first grade level in all her classes. Makes me wonder why they just don't move her up to 1st grade!

She is still attending our Wed. night Church Awana program. She REALLY loves going to Awana and learning her versus. I was very proud to hear from her the other day that she is ministering to other kids in school too. She said that a girl in her class was scared one day so she started to tell her about Jesus and the 10 commandments. Do we have a future minister on our hands?

I am sure there are many other activities that I have forgot to mention but you know, it has been two months. I am hoping when I get through my photos that will trigger more things that we have done and will then start posting photos from the above activities and the other things in which we have done.

Very Hard Week

I know it has been awhile since I have posted and what I am about to post, I hope I will never have to experience myself in any way, shape of form.

Seneca has been at our daycare lady (Kristi) since she was 6 weeks old. There is not a person, other than ourselves I trust more with my child or any other children that we would have more than Kristi. She has been a 2nd mom to Seneca, a wonderful friend to me and just a remarkable women all around.

I have referred several of my friends to Kristi and they have had nothing but respect for Kristi. She is well known in town as one of the best daycare providers.

Tuesday morning, a 4 month old baby passed away in Kristis care. The "official" reports are not back but speculation is SIDS. The couple whose baby it was are some very dear friends of ours, Mark and Bria, one of the friends we had referred to Kristi. Saturday night, our family had babysat for Brady while his parents went out to dinner and a movie. He was the cutest little thing and just smiles. We received the second wave of bad news on Wednesday, when Kristi announced she will no longer be doing daycare. It was to be expected under the circumstances but a very huge loss for our family and many others who have trusted their children in her care.

We are very thankful that Seneca is in school at the present time and daycare is not that critical at the moment. We are a little aprehensive about summer time. We have made phone calls yesterday to find new daycare and out of 10 called, one has an opening that we will meet with next week. Paul and I are praying for the sign from the Lord on who and what will be the best for Seneca. Seneca not only lost a friend (baby Brady) but a 2nd mom this week. She has been asking some questions about her "new" daycare and Brady. We have been doing the best we can to answer all her questions.

Tonight we will attend the visitation for Brady and the funeral for him tomorrow morning. Please keep both families (Bradys parents and Kristis family) in your prayers during this tragic time.

Need to get caught up!!!

OK, I know I have been a horrible blogger lately. I don't really have an excuse other than, I have been EXTREMELY lazy. I have had time off of work since the 23rd of December. I have done MOST of my "To Do" list in that time but have not had the motivation to sit down and blog. So today, I am going to tackle this blog.

December was full of lots of activities. It started out with Senecas Dance Open House. Every year, they invite their parents in to watch their dance class. This is always so much fun. It is a great way to see how they progress from December to recital time in April.

That same week we had her School Christmas Program. She did wonderful!! She practiced for weeks before because I recognized many of the songs that she sang because she sang them non-stop through out the house. You can tell that she really loves music!!

Seneca took part in our churches Christmas Program. They had 4 practices over several weeks and they did a wonderful job!! Seneca was an animal at the manger.

The same day of her Church Program, we celebrated her birthday. It is so hard to believe that she is 6 years old!! It just seems like yesterday when we brought her home from the hospital. She invited some of her friends to the bowling ally and we let them bowl for awhile. Seneca enjoyed being with her friends and celebrating her Birthday!

The 22nd was Senecas actual Birthday. She had school and took treats to school and then when we got home we said that she could have whatever she wanted for dinner. Seneca chose, PB&J and applesauce. I should have guessed. She would live off of that if we let her!!

Santa came a day early to our house since we were going to be going to the farm in McLaughlin for Christmas. He delivered all kinds of toys, clothes and fun stuff for Seneca and the rest of the family. After all the gifts were open the first thing she headed towards to play with was........the box that one of the gifts came in. We decided, we could have saved a bunch of money and just got her a bunch of boxes!!

Paul thought he was pretty cool in his new bathrobe and "KU Championship" cap!!!

Christmas Eve we went to church for Candlelight Service. That is always my favorite part of Christmas. Seneca loves dressing up for church and looked wonderful!!

New Years Eve was spent at our house with some good friends of ours! We enjoy having our friends over to play cards, games, and now.....the Wii!! We bought a Wii for the family as our Christmas gift and have been spending many long hours, bowling, playing tennis, etc. And the latest addition is the Wii Fit which Paul and I have been having fun with. So, if you don't hear from me for awhile, you will know I am preoccupied with the Wii!!

Happy New Year to you all!!

50 Random Things

I have been tagged....well kind of.....but thought this would be fun so play along....

50 random things about you! If you opened this, FILL IT OUT! Learn 50 things about your friends and let them learn 50 things about you!

1.Do you like cheese? yup....all kinds

2.Have you ever smoked? yes, but hated it

3. Do you own a gun? My husband does.

4. Do you like listening to Christmas music? Depends on my mood.....

5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Nope

6. What do you think of hot dogs? I just can't think about what they really are........

7. Favorite Christmas song for all time? No certain favorite

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? I big glass of water and then a cup of coffee

9. Can you do push ups? like 2 maybe

10. Who is your favorite Grey's Anatomy Character? Definately McSteamy and Issie

11. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? My wedding ring

12. Favorite hobby? Reading....just wish I could get through a paragraph or two without interruption

14. Do you have A.D.D.? No

15. What one trait do you hate about yourself? My O.C.D.

16. Middle Name? Marie

17. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment? Is it lunch yet, is is snowing and gosh, I am bored

18. Name 3 things you bought yesterday? soup at Country Kitchen......hmmmm that was it! I am doing pretty good.

19. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? Water, coffee and iced tea

20. Current worry right now? driving home in this crappy weather

21. Current hate? cold weather

22. Favorite place to be? in my house, relaxing

23. How will you bring in the New Year? Not sure yet. Think we are having people over.

24. Where would you like to go? Jamaica......or someplace warm

25. Name three people who will complete this? ?????

26. Do you own flip flops? Yup, a few pair

27. What shirt are you wearing? thermal henley

28. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? nope....my calloused heals get caught!! LOL

29. Can you whistle? Yep

30. Favorite color? depends on my mood

31. Would you be a pirate? Nope

32. What songs do you sing in the shower? Normally what ever cartoon Seneca was just watching

33. Favorite girl's name? Can't tell because someone might steal it and I like "unusual" names that no one else has.

34. Favorite boy's name? Diddo from above....what if we have another child......? I will need these names.

35. What's in your pocket right now? Not a thing

36. Last thing that made you laugh? Senecas christmas program at school

37. Bed sheets as a child? twin

38. Worst injury you've ever had? probably......hmmmm.....don't know

39. Do you love where you live? I like my house, dislike Pierre

40. How many TV's do you have in your house? 2

41. Who is your loudest friend? ????

42. How many dogs do you have? none and it will remain that way

43. Does someone have a crush on you? Hopefully my husband

44. Do you get embarrassed easily? I do but I cover it well

45. What is your favorite book? Anything I can actually sit down and read

46. What is your favorite candy? Oh, anything with white chocolate....white chocolate kit cats

47. Do you know all the words to the Fresh Prince theme song? probably

48. What song do you want played at your funeral? I haven't thought that far and hopefully won't have to for awhile

49. What were you doing at 12 AM last night? in dream land

50. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? Why do I always have to pee when I am sleeping so well?

Long time since my last post.....

It seems to be with the hustle and bustle of the Holidays, I have neglected our blog!! I never think about posting or even have a clear head until my head is ready to hit the pillow lately.

Thanksgiving was a wonderful time with some great friends. This year, we decided to stay in Pierre and spend the Holiday with some dear friends of ours, the Reisigs. Dan and Heather and their children, Madi and Ethan came over to help us stuff our faces and play some cards. Paul and I figured since Dan and Heather were moving at the end of January to Washington D.C. we were going to try to spend some quality time with them. There was lot of food for everyone and the kids enjoyed a day and evening playing together as us adults visited and played cards.

Seneca has been busy with school and Awanas (Church). She had a Thanksgiving play that her Kindergarden class did for the parents. It was so nice to watch. She was so excited about her play that she knew everyones lines. When it came time to perform, you could tell she was nervous since her voice was quite shaky.

I have been busy with work. We got our last tournament (State Oral Interp) out the door this week before the Christmas Holiday. I of course, ended up sick and home for a few days. Sinus cold and just plain not feeling well. It seems to be that I always get sick around the Holidays.

Paul has finished up the construction season (FINALLY). He is very glad to be done with this season as am I. It is great to have him be able to pick Seneca up from school and start dinner at night. It really gives me a break and helps to relieve alot of the stress.

Now, we are preparing for Christmas. Still need to do our Christmas photo card and normally, my shopping is done by the end of October. I am quite behind this year since I have alot of shopping to do yet. Senecas birthday party is planned so that is one less thing on my list.

Today, Seneca and I baked cookies and will probably do some more next weekend. This was my first year of truly baking for the holidays.

In a nutshell, that is what we have been up to. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and have a great time preparing for the Christmas holiday.

Miss America 2009

The time is slowly arriving for my cousin Hollys daughter, Alexandra (Alex) to compete in the 2009 Miss America Pagent in Las Vegas on January 24, 2009.

Just got the word about the reality TV show "Count Down To the Crown" which airs January 2nd on TLC. Involved in this reality TV show is the opportunity for America to judge and place four girls into the Pageant finals!!! PLEASE, all of my blog followers, get on board, watch this reality show and VOTE FOR ALEX; Miss South Dakota!!! Spread the word to all of your friends also....lets get them on board to VOTE FOR ALEX!!!

You can find more information at these two links:
http://misssd2008.blogspot.com/ (Alexandras Blog Spot)
http://www.missamerica.org/ (Miss America Web Site)

Tune in on January 24th, to watch Alex compete in the 2009 Miss America Pageant!!

A Visit From the Tooth Fairy

Last Wednesday, we had to visit the dentist. Seneca was growing "shark teeth". These are a second row of teeth. Since her permanent teeth were growing in but not pushing her baby teeth out, it resulted in a second row of teeth (I tried to get a photo of this but the flash didn't want to cooperate in her dark, little mouth).

So we scheduled a dentist appointment. I thought they would only pull one tooth since we could only see one permanent tooth coming up but he said that the other one was starting to come up so he pulled both her front bottom teeth.

I didn't go back with her while they pulled them. I literally sat in the waiting room and was sick to my stomach. I felt so bad that I had to do this to her. I thought at one time I was going to need to find the rest room, that is how ill I was feeling. When she came out with her mouth full of gauze, the front desk lady said she did wonderful. Didn't even flinch when they gave her the shot.

Paul MADE me put a coin of some kind by the teeth to show how big the root was on the one tooth.

She did tell us later that night that the dentist just "pinched" her and then pulled her tooth. So in reality she DID feel the shot.

She was quite excited to wake up to two shiny Susan B. Anthonys the next morning. I asked her how that Tooth Fairy came without me hearing (I hear every little noise ALL the time) and she just smiled and shrugged her shoulders and off she went to deposit the coins in her piggy bank.

Halloween

Last weekend, Paul and Lonny (Pauls brother) and Tammy (Lonnys wife) headed to Lemmon to pheasant hunt at Pauls Uncles place. Seneca and I decided to stay home and spend some time together. During our weekend, we carved a pumpkin and painted two little ones. I am not creative so we just did a normal jack'o'lantern. I think it turned out just perfect.

Last night, we just went to a few houses for Trick or Treating. We had signed Seneca up for "Dining with Daniel" at church. We were instructed that only costumes of animals or people from the Bible were acceptable to wear. It just so happen that the last time we were at Pauls parents house, they gave Seneca an Angel costume......so it was perfect. It was really a neat and fun evening. They had dinner set up and the kids and the parents had dinner with King Nebekaniezer and Daniel. They went through the story of Daniel and the Lion Den. They did a craft, did pinates, played games and just had a wonderful evening. Seneca during dinner asked, "How many nights are we going to do this?" I replied, "Just tonight". "Awww, I wish we could do this every night", she says. She really had just a great night and she got some Awesome treats!! I personally think it was MUCH better than Trick or Treating!!

Fireproof

Our church that we have been attending for several months now got Pierre to bring the movie "Fireproof" to town. In order to get the movie to town, they had to guarantee 1000 tickets, so Pastor Harvey bought 1,000 tickets (put them on his credit card) and then prayed that we could distribute/sell 1,000 tickets. There were several churches and business in town that promoted and sold the tickets and much to everyones delight, it has been a hit!! They even held the movie over for a week. Remember, we live in a small town that shows 3 movies and most of them are only here for a week unless they are a hit!! So what a blessing to have this movie here for two weeks!! Pastor Harvey is just a wonderful man! Thanks so much for bringing this movie to Pierre.

Paul and I went to the movie on Tuesday night. Heather and Dan watched Seneca for us (we are watching their kids for them tonight) and we had two hours of peace to watch a very wonderful movie with a wonderful message. Granted, it is lower budget, all of the actors except Kirk Cameron are volunteer and Kirk gave his portion back but the message it promotes and gives is worth so much more!!

Fireproof is the story of a firefighter, Captain Caleb Holt, who lives by the old firefighter's adage: Never leave your partner behind. But, after seven years of marriage to his wife Catherine, their own relationship is failing. Neither one understands the pressures the other faces. Caleb claims that Catherine is too sensitive and "doesn't show me respect." Whereas she tells her hospital co-workers that he is "so insensitive" and that "he doesn't listen to me" and "doesn't understand my needs." Caleb's addiction to Internet pornography is what sets the marriage over the edge, however. As they prepare to file for divorce, Caleb's father challenges his son to commit to a 40-day test called "The Love Dare." Caleb starts it, but more for his father's sake than for his marriage.
When Caleb discovers the book’s daily challenges are tied into his parents' newfound faith, his already limited interest is further dampened.
Even though he wants to stay true to his promise, Caleb becomes frustrated time and time again. He finally asks his father, "How am I supposed to show love to somebody who constantly rejects me?" When his father tells him that this is the love God shows to people, Caleb makes a life-changing commitment to love God. And, with God's help, he begins to understand what it means to truly love his wife. But, he is unsure if it's too late to "fireproof" his marriage.

What truly spoke to me was when Caleb says "How am I supposed to show love to somebody who constantly rejects me?" His father then tells him that this is the love God shows to people......and then Caleb makes a life-changing commitment to love God.

Wow!! Some of us may not go through this "rejection" in our marriage but in our everyday lives whether at work, home, with friends, activities we are involved in, etc. And what a thing to remember......we so many times reject God over and over but he is constantly there with open arms, forgiving us over and over. We need to ourselves remember to live as God lived and open our hearts over and over again.

I recommend this movie to anyone, single, married, whether you have problems in your marriage or are happily married. Each one of us WILL encounter the troubles at some point in our lives. Marriage is a hard thing, one of the hardest things I have done but it IS all worth while!! We just have to believe in Him, he will bring you through each hard moment and there will always be a reason and a lesson in every hard time.

Most Important Part of Convention

In our registration bags, we were given a while button with the following black letters:

SDWSC

Through out the few days, we were to see if we could come up with what these letters stood for.

During the last General Session, Elisa Morgan filled us in on what the letters stood for and gave an amazing talk on each word.

It stood for "She did what she could" based on Mark 14: 1-9. It was so amazing how the story in Mark is just what each of us as mothers go through each and every day. "She did what she could"......as mothers, wives, friends, leaders, we do just that each and every day.

MOPS International Convention 2008

Wow, what else can I say!! What a truely blessed event that 11 of us from Pierre and 5000 from across the US were able to attend. It truely helps to show you what MOPS really does for a woman as a mom, wife and individual.

11 women left Pierre, Wednesday, Oct. 1st at 7 am. Some where novice travelers and others were just going to be happy when the plane arrived at our designated location. I was one of them who was just happy to be back on the ground safely.

Michelle, Sara, Beth, Tia, Val, Deb, Kris, Verda, Heather, Leigh and Cindy

Our plane arrived in Dallas around 2 pm on Wednesday and the MOPS International Convention didn't start until Thursday at 1 pm so we had plenty of time to check in to the hotel and then head to the Grapevine Mills Outlet Mall for some heavy shopping. Most of us accomplished the task of "heavy shopping" and felt the need to go back again on Thursday morning since we didn't get through the entire mall on Wednesday. Me being on of them.

The convention consisted of 4 General Sessions, 4 breakout workshops (13-15 to choose from each workshop hour), a resource fair and MOPS Shop.

The 1st General Session was Thursday evening at 7 pm. Elisa Morgan (CEO of MOPS), Naomi Cramer Overton (President of MOPS International), Julie Barnhill (Author of One Tough Mother and many more), Kim Hill (recording artist and worship leader) and none other than Go Fish (kids music that won't drive parents bonkers) were speakers and entertainers during this session. It was wonderful!! Go Fish got us off our feet and got us moving and Julie Barnhill of course is crazy and got us laughing with her crazy sense of humor. Elisa and Naomi were just plain wonderful! They are both wonderful speakers and do a wonderful job as leaders, mothers and the most important, their values to serve God! It was a late night but an absolutely fun night!!

Leigh and Sara with Go Fish

Sara, Leigh, Heather and I with Julie Barnhill

General Session II started at 9 am on Friday morning. The General Sessions were nuts. To get great seats up front, you had to wait at the doors at least 1 hour prior to the doors opening and then it was a mad dash as 5,000 women ran to get the best seats. Our group did pretty good for all the sessions but the last session. We had the same seats each time and they were wonderful seats. Due to a unfortunate event, we did not have our same seats during the last session, but that is OK. It was all good.

Our Group with Kim Hill

During General Session II, Patrick Lencioni (President of The Table Group and author of books such as The 3 Big Questions for a Grantic Family), Naomi Cramer Overton, Nic Gonzales and Jaci Velasquez (Nic is lead singer and co-founder of Christiain musics Salvedor and Jaci, Nics wife is a Christian/Latin/pop singer), and Kim Hill were the speakers and entertainers for General Session II.

After the Friday morning General Session we did three breakout sessions. I had signed up for "Speaking Your Mans Language" with Rick Johnson (founder of Better Dads) and "As You Go, Go Deep With Jesus" with Dr. Sue Edwards (professor at Dallas Theological Seminary) and Grace Based Parenting with Dr. Tim Kimmel (Author of Grace-Based Parenting; Raising Kids for True Greatnesss and Raising Kids Who Turn Our Right).

The session with Rick Johnson was very much like the Bible Study "Love and Respect" that Paul and I are doing through our church. It was quite informative and really makes you think about your marriage and your actions and reactions.

The session with Dr. Sue Edwards was very intersting. If you have ever wished you could "find your quiet time" with the Lord and wondered how your friend Sally does it and gets it. This was the session for you. It explained that there are 9 different spiritual temperments (sacred pathways) to the Lord and you need to find yours to know what works for you. I did find that I am a combination of two; The Sensate (learn through my senses) and The traditionlist (learn through ritual, structure and consistency). You don't need to focus on the rules but focus on your relationship with the Lord.

Grace-Based Parenting with Dr. Tim Kimmel was probably my favorite. What a dynamic and energetic speaker with wonderful, informative information. He could have spoke for hours and kept my attention. He had 4 points to raising children:
1) Create and maintain a daily atmosphere of Grace

2) Focus on meeting their inner needs

3) Build character into their hearts

4) Aim them at true greatness (rather than success)
I could go on and on about his message. This is a MUST read book that I will be reading soon!! I encourage you to read it if you have not already!!

Friday night, our group headed downtown to take in some authentic Texas mexican food. We ate at a restaurant called Esparzas. It was absolutely AWESOME!! That is one thing I miss about the south is the mexican food!! You just don't get that in the mid-west. Three of us shared a pitcher of Swirl Margaritas (margaritas swirled with Sangria). That was great too. The menu says on the margarita section that after 3 margaritas you MUST order food. There is a reason that they state that!! Trust me.......

General Session II started Saturday at 9 am. Plumb (Mother and recording artist); Erwin Raphael McManus (Lead Pastor and Cultural Architech of Mosaic in Los Angeles) and Kim Hill were speakers and performing artists during this session. I, of course, was on an emotional high forever with Plumbs music. I left the session early to grab my lunch and stand in line to purchase her CD, get an autograph and a photo with her. She is just an amazing artist and so inspiring!! You can just feel the love that she has for both the Lord and her children.

Me with Plumb

We had our last workshop session Saturday afternoon. I had signed up for the Finanace positional since I am the Finance Leader for our MOPS group in Pierre but instead took another gals ticket to take in the "June Cleaver Meets Desperate Housewives" with Karen Marchant. It was an OK workshop. It was about the influence of television on moms over the last 50 years and discussion on how motherhood has envolved. I think in the end, I should have stuck with my Finance Positional.

We ended the convention with General Session IV on Saturday afternoon. Elisa Morgan, Naomi Cramer Overton, Kim Hill and Avalon (Christian Music Group), closed out the convention. There is so much more to each of these sessions than those that I have hi-lighted. During each session, they had several "everyday women" who gave their testamonies about MOPS and shared what MOPS has done in their lives. These are women just like you and I. Women who found Christ through MOPS and how MOPS has changed their lives and their families lives. It was amazing to hear from these women and very emotional as well. Women who have lived with husbands with alcohol problems, a teen mom who was in prison for drug use and has found Christ, a MOPS leader whos MOPS member and her family was lost to a horrible accident, a wife who lost her husband in a church shooting, a MOPS leader who ministers to moms in prison. The list could go on and on of the inspirational stories and real stories of women just like you and I who have found the Lord through MOPS.

All in all, this was an amazing trip that I was truely blessed in taking. It was great to strengthen the friendships with the ladies from Pierre and to learn more about MOPS and the opportunities that MOPS has for mothers.

I am in the process of putting together a DVD for our group. When I get it finished I will post it....it could be awhile.

Here is a link of another "Blog Spot" on the MOPS Convention. Gives a little different perspective of the Convention.

http://mopsconvention.blogspot.com/