Merry Christmas Eve!

Poor Dad is far away. Everybody over here doesn't have him but we have each other. Poor Dad only has Eric, which is better than nothing.

In other news, Claremore might actually get a white Christmas.

I know it's rude to brag about your own cooking, but the soup I just made smells really, really good. Can't wait for supper. Maybe I should make biscuits to go with it.

The weather here has been absolutely beautiful!! I just got back from a brisk 30 minute walk and my chest feels the better for it.

Vernise passed away Sunday, late. Her funeral was Wednesday in Fayetteville. Samuel and I house sat for the Kelleys while they went. I got a lot of reading and journaling done. It feels good to have some of my thoughts sorted out.

Hebrew classes are picking up speed. The rest of the class is beginning to understand phonics. I can tell that, for a lot of them, this is the first foreign language they've tried. They're still asking why questions, as if language has any kind of rhyme or reason to it. I told them they had to have faith like a child to accept things just as they are. :)

We continue to be amazed by how many people are praying for Dad so constantly. Thank you everyone! I know they're a help!

Farewell summer!

Fall is arriving here in Oklahoma. It's been in the 80s and very wet. Today was down right cool. I'm sad. I don't dislike fall, but it always comes before winter and I hate winter. Winter is cold, ugly, bare, and dead. I have a hard enough time staying warm in the spring and fall---winter is misery. I'm going to enjoy fall just as much as I can, even if the impending winter is coming. But I hope it takes its time.

103

That's the current temperature here in sweltering NE OK. Yuck.

The Rogers County Republican "Government Serves the People" Cookout was a success! We raised over $400 net profit--that is more than what we've had in the past 3 years!

Poor Joshua has poison ivy. It was so bad this morning that his eyes were swelling shut. Mama packed him off to the doctor this morning where he got a steroid shot and cream. He's already looking better much.

We have had baptisms the last 3 Sundays!! Praise God! I'm so excited to see God working!

Also on a church note--I'm helping with the Missions room at VBS this year. Shawn Hines will be in charge of it. I did the missions room 3 years ago and just loved it, so I'm excited to get to do it again. Mama has already said she'll help me with posters for each country.

I get to go shopping with Mama this evening--fun!

  And the saga of Anna's life continues...

  Tuesday was my first day back at school and it went great!  My foot swelled some from being up and around that much, but that's to be expected.  Mama graciously drove me around all day.  We're going to have to do some creative thinking to figure out painting class.  It's not a handicap accessible room.  I'm sure we'll figure something out, though.

  Wednesday was my first day back at work.  I got pretty tired around 2, but still got stuff done.  My bosses are so flexible--bless them!  The foot did fine.

  Wednesday night I unwrapped my foot all the way for the first time to take a shower.  The shower really helped, but having to mess with it that much really hurt.  I went straight to bed afterwards, just exhausted from the shower.  I slept through the night, but the pain has kept up today.  Anytime I put my foot down to crutch anywhere it starts hurting, in extreme waves or throbs.  So, I've skipped my two morning classes to keep it elevated.  I wonder if we didn't wrap it well enough after the shower.  I also wonder (Mama's idea here) if there was still some of that local anesthestic from the nerve block still in my foot.  When I unwrapped it and massauged it in the hot shower, did it increase the circulation enough to get rid of that last bit so now I'm just finally feeling what it's been like all along?

  It's thundering and raining right now, but it's cold.  By tomorrow they say it's going to turn to snow.  Weird March weather.

  I'm gonna catch a few winks before my 2:30 class.  Thanks for praying everybody!

Ice!

  We're all home today, staying off the icey roads.  We lost power for about 6 hours last night, but it's back.  Even if it does go out, we have a generator so we're all set.

  I love reading Chera's blogs and her notes on facebook!  I wish she was here today.  We could bake cookies or snuggle on the couch with fleeces and watch a chick flick and do other wintry-no-school days activities.

  I'm going to go listen to Mama tell us a story.

Lazy ramblings

This is a meandering post of my random thoughts. Proceed at your own risk.

I want to learn how to play this.

I had such a lovely time yesterday! I don't really care for baby showers (they're just so feminime and trivial) and this was a very stereotypical baby shower. So I played with my cousin Sarah's baby Zoey most of the time. I wish I could have taken her home. The good part came after the shower when we just got to visit with Sam, Samantha, Tobin, Erica, Kent, Linda, Adam, Matthew, and Nathan (it gives me warm fuzzies just to write their names out!)

Erica has gained 32 pounds and it's almost all entirely in her baby bump. She's as gorgeous as ever! It still freaks me out to think that she's actually having a baby! I'm insanely excited, too! If it's a boy, his name will be Blake Cameron. I don't care for the name Blake, but if she has a boy I will instantly love the name Blake. If it's a girl, she'll be Molly Jean, carrying on the family name of Jean. :)

Adam went against all of our advice and bought a pick up truck--a huge truck. It's a Dodge Ram, double cab, really nice bed liner, silver, seats 6. I don't think he should have gotten in debt for it, but it is pretty awesome. I forgot to ask him what he named it. He's working two jobs and going to school--typical overachiever Sutherland, I love it. I like his girlfriend Sam more every time I see her.

While we girls were in Texas, Samuel, Ethan, and Joshua went with a bunch of other karate people to the Murrow's Children Home in Muskogee. The famous Zip Taylor was there! Erica, I hope you realize what I unknowningly sacrificed for you! Zip Taylor is old, old school ABKA, and THE kata man. He's helping out at Vicki Rutledge's dojo in Lawton. I think that's a good thing--their kata needs help and Vicki's health isn't going to be getting better. Vicki asked him to help out because she's been having trouble with gangs at her dojo.

I LOVE driving on the Indian Nation Turnpike. It's relatively flat and straight and almost desserted. I went 85 the whole way--Mama wouldn't let me hit 100, even though I really wanted to. Next time, I'm not gonna ask, I'll just wait until she falls asleep. I had a moment of pure joy when I came over a rise, got hit with a lovely view of pasture land and straight road all to Josh Groban singing Panis Angelicus on the I-trip.

I've come down with some kind of throat infection and left my voice in Texas. Poor thing, it's probably cold and confused, trying to hitch it's way North along highway 69. I'm sure it will eventually find me. I still have Whisper with me.

I'm reading Blue Like Jazz right now. I'm really enjoying it. It has deep truths, but it's still very readable.

There are a lot of CDs I need to get, which is rather unusual. Usually I just want specific songs, not the whole album. I want Dark Horse by Nickelback, Fearless by Taylor Swift, Anti-Meridian by Brave St. Saturn, Weezer: The Red Album by Weezer, And Winter Came by Enya, Peace on Earth by Casting Crowns, and the Twilight and Prince Caspian soundtracks. I think I'll space it out throughout my yearly budget, one CD a month. So I should have all of these in a year!

I need to make a point to read some poetry over my break. If you read well, you write well and I'm already nervous about my poetry class next semester.

It's sleeting right now and the low tonight will be 19. Yuck.

Starting tomorrow, I'm job hunting. Jia-o!

Facebook etiquette is confusing. Is it rude to peruse someone's wall? Does anyone read my notes that are a feed from this blog? Do people only read notes in which they are tagged?

Uncle Evan fell off a ladder after Thanksgiving and broke his pelvis. He's home now. Mama called Esther this evening, but I haven't debriefed her yet.

I finished reading Mort by Terry Pratchett. It was stunningly clever. I think I'll read The Color of Magic next, also by Pratchett.

I think I'm going to go play a mindless computer game, read my Bible, and hit the sack. Love y'all!

I should be in bed

so of course I'm writing a blog post instead.

  I have turned in almost everything for Internship II.  I only have two forms left to turn in and I need Julie's signature for one of them.

  I'm working on the group historical analysis project for Research Methods II right now.  It's going very well.  we each take a court transcript and identify categories and types of evidence.  So far I've found three in Samuel Wardwell's trial: confession, physical affliction, and eyewitness testimony.  I hope the rest of my group is making progress as well.

  I really like the songs we're doing in church on Sunday.  I'm not much into listening to Christmas music, but I sure love to play it.  I actually get a solo part on Three Kings this Sunday.  I'm nervous already.

  The weather keeps getting colder here.  I've rediscovered my black trench coat the last couple of days.  Today the wind was really strong.  I felt very dramatic striding purposefully across the campus with my black trench coat billowing out behind me.

  We're doing another church directory and we're having the same company do it as last time.  I'm really excited.  The pictures they did last time were incredible.  Our's was the best family portrait we have ever had done.  Which reminds me that JC asked for a copy of it...

  I only have three major school assignments left: journals for Social Systems and Problems, and the two final papers for Campaigns.  Minor assignments left are the historical analysis and final for Research Methods II, finals in Public Policy, Literary Traditions, and Social Systems and problems (which all be in class), and one presentation for Public Policy.

  I love Mama's cream cheese icing!

  I need to start thinking about Christmas shopping.

  Ok, now I'm going to bed.  Love y'all!

I hate

the cold!  I get cold once and I feel like I'm never ever going to raise my temperature again.  Drat my lazy thyroid.  I think I need to move somewhere tropical.

Dad's impeccable timing

Among the many remodels my amazing father has done, I can only remember two roofing projects.

One, was November '04 (I think). Dad re-roofed the house. We had had a very mild fall. The two days we ripped shingles off, the weather was gorgeous. I might exaggerate some, but the moment we took the last shingle off, the sky turned dark, the wind picked up, the air turned cold and a miserable drizzle ensued. This continued for almost 3 weeks. The wind was so strong that it actually ruined one of our tarps. We had leaks everywhere, some of which made it through the attic to stain our living room ceiling. When it wasn't raining, we worked like maniacs on the roof in the (almost) hurricane strength wind and (almost) sub-zero temperatures. Finally, it was done. The weather turned nice again, of course.

The second roofing project is Dad's tool shed. He first started this project in early '08--right before his FEST got called to Iraq.

Not to be deterred, he took this project up again this week. He got in two days good work in good weather before the remnants of Gustav made their work to Northeastern Oklahoma.

Poor Dad. He really wants his shed back. Who cursed him with bad roofing luck?

Dad will be home Wednesday night!

I have some kind of bug--everything wears me out. I thought it was walking pneumonia, went to an urgent care place today and he said my lungs are clear. He wants to run a thyroid test tomorrow.

I'm really enjoying the creative writing course I'm taking. Poetry is not as dreadfully hard to write as I thought it was. :)

Scottie had a wonderful sermon this morning about love and truth and confronting sin. Scott and Sammi Marsh sang a song called "Slow Fade" that went with the sermon perfectly.

I start fiddle lessons tomorrow. I'm so nervous and excited!

It's lightning so I'd better close this down. Love y'all!

Hey! Sorry not to update in so long. I have a million things to do before I leave for Tennessee and Rachel's house in the morning, so I'll zip through the news really fast.

I've ordered my books for summer classes, but they're not here yet. I really hope they're here by Tuesday. I handed over an arm and a leg today for summer tuition. While I was up there I turned in my acceptance letter for a pell grant of $690 a semester starting in the fall (Praise God!). I asked the lady about when I would hear about the rising junior scholarship. She could see what I had gotten on her computer screen but she couldn't tell me--there was a lady who looked like a boss standing behind her reminding her. So all I know is that the award and rejection letters will be sent out next week. Oh, the uncertain anticipation!

I love my job. Taking care of Donna is so much more fun and fulfilling than any old job as a clerk or anything else. Granted, I'm a little tired from having just worked 11 days straight, but it's cool.

Dad, I'm going to be gone on Saturday night when you call once again! We need to figure out an alternate time....Also, if we read your itinerary right you'll be getting home on the 17th (only 19 days from now!)--do you know yet what time?

Samuel and Dad, I apologize for not emailing more often.

Mama is recoating the boys' room floor and possibly repainting the walls this weekend. She's amazing.

The weather is warming up here--low 90s with 80% humidity the next couple of days. We've had a couple days break from rain, but it's starting again Saturday. I think we could qualify as having a wet season or at least being tropical.

Love y'all!

I'm still alive

I had a wonderful spring break. Nashville was awesome--worked a foodline at a homeless shelter, did repairs and maintence for a minitry called Feed the Children and painted the BCM at Tennessee State. Oh, and we went to the Grand Ole' Opry and heard Rhett Atkins, Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town and Randy Travis among others.

I have used up all my penalty-free abscences in all my classes in order to go to training classes for work. I have the time-limited, two-day classes done with so hopefully Christine can schedule all the rest on Fridays and Saturdays. If not, I'll have to quit until June, which I really don't want to do.

School is going well. I'm a little behind in U.S. Courts (he doesn't count off for late work, but I'm just going to have to knuckle down and get it done) and worried about my math class, but I think it'll be ok.

The weather has been absolutely gorgeous here. I think I'll live outside from now on.

Dad is doing well. I don't know if he'll have time to write back but I'm sure he would love an email. james.j.bavido@us.army.mil

I get to sign up for classes on the 2nd. I'm going to take 2 intersesson classes (Cinema and Art Appreciation) and 2 summer classes (creative writing and a science-probably earth) and then 18 hours in the fall (Social Systems and Problems, Research Methods II, Internship II, Election 2008, Black&White Photography and Literary Traditions). Busy, busy. Then I'll only have to take 13 my last semester.

I need to get back to the salt mines. Love y'all!

Today it's 50+ degrees outside. Ahh...Feels good.

I think I did ok on the math test this morning, but no telling until I get the score back.

Dad made it to Virginia. He doesn't leave the country tell Friday.

I'm going to try to get a book comparison paper written before 5 so i can go to miller's tonight.

Love y'all!

Ice

Quick little update on us Okies.

--Freezing rain started Saturday night.

--We lost power Sunday morning, as did most the state.

--We lost the phone line Sunday night.

--There's no telling when either of those will come back. I'm betting the weekend.

--There's a good possibility that we'll loose our water as well because the water tower pump is electrical. No telling how long the water already in the tower will last.

--We are all very thankful to our wonderful Dad who bought a gas generator last year and has kept it running since Sunday for us.

--We've been declared to be in a state of emergency. I was disappointed to find out that that did not mean that I was instantly enstated as dictator. :(

--It's above freezing today, so it's safe to drive for now.

--Freezing rain might start back up tonight and continue tomorrow.

--We've lost two trees completely and all the others are damaged in varying degrees.

--There was no school yesterday, so my Latin and Greek final and soc final are bumped to Friday.

--God is being very good to us.

We're managing to have a ton of fun being stuck in the house with limited electricity and water. I'm typing in some final papers now that RSU has power again, but I have to be home before dark. Love y'all!

Jack Frost

made his first visit of the season to Claremore last night. Katie, I thought of you fondly, but not fondly enough to take my shoes off and walk barefoot through the frost.

My brain hurts

This article review exercise for my Perspectives class is a little more complicated than I thought. It's not due until Thursday morning so I'm glad I didn't start working on it Wednesday night.

It got down into the 50s here. I think I might go into mourning for summer.

Dad took this week off. It's nice to have him around. We kinda like him. :)

I finished Monstrous Regiment yesterday. It's by the same fellow who wrote Going Postal. Monstrous Regiment wasn't nearly as good or entertaining, unless you're really into cross-dressing.

Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday.--Don Marquis

Another blog post from another rainy day

But this time, not only is it raining, it's also very cold. I got an earache just walking across a very small parking lot. I vote that we all go back to summer.

I had a good fall break, despite fighting sinus trouble (which I am still battling, BTW.) I slept in, went to see a movie, read for pleasure, rented Jeeves and Wooster videos, babysat Stirling, went to church, and generally relaxed.

I need to get a violin piece together for church. Any suggestions?

I think I'll go home and take a nap. I love afternoon naps.

From The Point.

"We live in a dark world. Our hearts long for goodness, beauty, justice, and peace, but they are often hidden behind the shadow cast by evil and sin. This is why preaching is so necessary. Whenever the kingdom of God is proclaimed, it is like a bright burst of light. In those brief moments, the shadows recede and we are given a glimpse of a world behind the darkness. It is a sublime vision that reorders our perception of reality and leaves us hungry for more.--Skye Jethani at Out of Ur.

"I say that imagination is a Christian duty for two reasons. One is that you can't apply Jesus' golden rule without it. He said, "Whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them" (Matthew 7:12). We must imagine ourselves in their place and imagine what we would like done to us. Compassionate, sympathetic, helpful love hangs much on the imagination of the lover.The other reason I say that imagination is a Christian duty is that when a person speaks or writes or sings or paints about breathtaking truth in a boring way, it is probably a sin."--John Piper

I'm such a political junkie. I'm already trying to plan what campaigns I want to work on in '08.

I dreamed that I was at Lucy's last night. I miss her.

Mama and I used the new raspberry syrup this morning to make raspberry ice tea. I think we need to add a little more sugar. The syrup is more of a strong flavor than sweetner.

Yesterday was a lot of fun. It was a rainy Sunday afternoon so I did nothing but read, sleep, eat, and play games in my pajamas, all wrapped up in my fleece.

I really like my new headphones.

Beth, when are we finally going to get to see you? We've been home for over 2 weeks now. :)

I'm going to go exercise while exploring the sundry weight machines here at school and then go home and clean my desk. Love y'all!

This morning we went with Jennifer to the cultural village. The Wong family that made it rich in SE Asia (Malaysia, Indonesia, someplace in there) and came back built 18 very fancy traditional houses. Only members of that family live there. It's a great place for pictures and I took a ton. We also got a Wilbur Register shot.
Afterwards we had pizza at Jennifer's house and she taught us a game that's like a complicated version of spoons with Chinese dominoes. I don't think I quite understood it. Jennifer's niece was there and had a friend over who is the most gregarious 5 year old I've met over here. Her name was Bing-Wan and she has a sister in jr. high and a sister in elementary and she doesn't know what grade they are. "How am I supposed to know? They've never told me." She had had pizza once before in Taipei when she was a baby and she likes it. She was amused by us pretending her pig tails were moped handles and then ran around the house making moped noises.
We had the most luscious fish tonight. Way-Ling fryed it in a skillet and then squeezed lemon over it. I'm not sure what kind of fish it was but I sure liked it.
Did anybody read today's Breakpoint about the Episcapolian priest who considers herself Christian and Muslim? You should and then please tell me what you think.
Today the inspector came to look at the new parsonage. I haven't heard how it went. Pray, pray, pray!
I'm drawing up a list of good English names to have on hand for the church's camp. They don't start English in school until the 3rd grade so probably 2/3 of the kids won't have English names. Please be praying for us and Kuyu as we're planning and for God to prepare the hearts of the kids.
It rained just a tad today but it sure looks like it will storm soon. There's a storm front that we can see with magnificent thunderheads, it's been really still, and there's been an abundance of a certain kind of bug that always shows up before a rain. I really hope it does storm but not tomorrow evening because we're having team meeting on the beach with pizza delivered. I'm really looking forward to it.
I'd better see about my laundry, take a benadryl so I don't scratch myself raw tonight, and get to bed.
Love y'all!