Merry Christmas...and a very busy New Year

Christmas was here and gone and I was still looking at the Black Friday papers...so what else is new? It seems that it snuck up on me this year for sure. Seth had all his shopping done and presents wrapped by the beginning of December and I had bought a few drill bit sets and a pack of gum. Thankfully, I went back to third shift on December 13th, which meant I had Fridays off to do my shopping while Seth was working. That didn't happen until last Thursday because yes, I am a slacker and didn't even know what I wanted to get. I finished my shopping on Thursday and was still wrapping on Christmas Eve with the help of my dear husband.

Christmas Eve, we went to Seth's dad and stepmom's for dinner and gifts. We draw names with them and I got a new sweater and some rain boots that I really needed. Seth got a nice knife set for fish, a new button up flannel shirt (his fave) and a new work shirt. Then, the big surprise! We gave his parents a frame that said something about grandkids on it (I have no idea what) and put a baby picture in it...our baby's picture. Our 9 week old baby. We are having a BABY! They died when they saw it. They are very excited! We have known since the Monday after Thanksgiving and haven't been able to tell anybody! We were about to burst!

Christmas Day, we went to my parent's house after we did our little family Christmas at home. Seth is just a wonderful shopper. I got 2 new sweaters, a paisley print long sleeved shirt, a new flannel shirt, and all kinds of new crafting stuff. I can't wait to *cough*clean out my craft room and*cough* PLAY! We are off ALL week so I may do just that. Maybe. Seth got a kinds of new tools and I am sure some of them may have to be taken back because, let's just be honest, Home Depot is not my number one store. I can function but I don't thrive there. A new pair of work pants, some tool bags (no toolbox yet because we are still looking for a house), a book, a gift card for more books, etc. We are so BLESSED!

At my parent's, we piddled around for almost an hour before we started opening gifts. I wanted to get this show on the road because I was DYING to tell my parents. Luckily that day, I had a small reprieve fromthe queasy yucks that I have been having so I could act semi normal (whatever that is). After we got all our gifts open, I asked Seth where that one with the gold paper was. I must have laid it to the side when we got there...silly me. We had put the book "What to Expect When You're Expecting" in a box and Seth had put a piece of paper over "You're" and had written "Katie's" on it. My dad was trying to take his stuff to the garage and it was all I could do to try ot keep him there without giving it away. Sheesh! Anyway, when she opened it, she cried, I cried, my dad was confused and Seth was jittery as usual. This is perfect though because next Christmas is my sister's year to come to TN so not only will her baby be here, but so will ours. My mother is so excited to have 2 babies next year. I'm sure they won't be spoiled AT ALL...yeah right!

Lori came over shortly thereafter, we Skyped with Jennie and Ben and told them, we ate lunch, laid around, played a game and went home about 9ish because it was really snowing. Overall, we had a pretty good Christmas and are already looking forward to next Christmas.

Black Friday 2010 Buying Guide!!!

Click on the link below to see the sale papers for Black Friday. They are safe and hosted on Google Docs. I'm SOOO excited!

Don't Tread On Me: Black Friday 2010 Buying Guide

Once Again...

Once again tragedy has struck our small town. I know that all deaths are sad but I guess we would somehow think it is easier to accept when we are "planning" on it. No one knows what tomorrow will bring but we have a vague idea of how the day should go and the timing of things. Unfortunately, plans get changed and sometimes things go happen as we would like them to.

Today, 2 young women lost their father and an amazing woman lost her husband. It was a surprise to say the least. I remember when I was little, Molly and I would have "slumber parties" at her house after my T-ball games. Her dad would always play with us and tell us stories. He and his wife used to babysit my sister and me and I do believe that the famous "Checkers" story occurred at their home. I remember him being at all the important events in his children's lives up until the time they started attending another church. I remember him always being encouraging and humorous and always having something good to say. He was an amazing and Godly man. He was a role model for fathers and husbands everywhere and I am proud to say that I knew him.

I would like to ask that you please keep the Tipton family in your prayers as they transition into a new and unexpected time in their lives. I ask that you pray for a healing that will only come through time and trust in Jesus.

Good News...

So some of you may have already heard but .......

My hubby started his JOB this week!!!

He is working for Resto-Pro in Erwin. They go out and at least bandaid your roof if a tree fell through it. Not only do they do damage control, they also help repair water and smoke damage. They are also working on a house here in town across from the Country Depot. Pretty handy huh? Today Seth went to Erwin, Limestone Cove and Bristol to work. He has been in Telford and Jonesborough earlier this week so he is moving moving moving!!!

While I am sure that this is not his "career dream job", we are so blessed that he was able to find something and only the Master Planner could orchestrate the timing so the job would be in Seth's field. Anyway, currently Mr. Jones is working 8-4 (approx) and Mrs. Jones is working (3-11) While this arrangement is not ideal, it is only temporary. I should be going back to 3rd shift at least by the end of November (keep praying). Then, I can be his alarm clock and he can be mine!

Fall Favorites

As I am eating yet another piece of pumpkin roll (let's not discuss the addiction today, ok), I decided to list the top 15 favorite things about Fall… in no particular order

1. Tasty treats such as a pumpkin roll, pumpkin cookies & Kettle Korn
2. When the leaves change colors
3. Beauty Spot rides when the leaves change
4. Hunting season
5. Pumpkin carving
6. Jeans and sweatshirt weather
7. Random warm days
8. The smell of the heat kicking on for the first time
9. Apple Festival
10. Football
11. Decorating for Halloween
12. Halloween
13. Changing light summer bedding back to heavy winter bedding
14. First fire in the woodstove
15. Operation Christmas Child- this is a really neat project and if you have never heard about it, you should definitely contact me. It is so much fun and a great to help children in need. It is also a great way to encourage your children to help.


Feel free to leave a comment of your favorite things about Fall

Apple Festival

I just finished my first piece of a pumpkin roll that I bought this weekend. We had our 33rd annual Apple Festival this past weekend and as usual, they had way too many things that were tasty…and of course, I had to try some of them. Like I said, I got a small pumpkin roll (no, I’m sorry but I will NOT share) and I bought some Kettle Korn (it’s my favorite), a funnel cake (Seth wanted it) and 2 homemade donuts. Let’s talk about those donuts, shall we? They were HUGE and they could be a serious competitor for Krispy Kreme. They were $2 apiece but sooo worth it. I got one for myself and one for Seth (he was in VA hunting). I ate a few bites of mine when I got home and it was still warm but we ate the rest of them this morning for breakfast. My advice; eat them when they are still warm.

Also this weekend, we parked cars at the church. We are right at the end of the Festival and we have a HUGE field in the back of the church so we have plenty of room to park cars. While we weren’t as busy as I can remember us being a few years ago, we still were able to raise about $1400 for the youth group. That’s not too bad for 2 (10-12 hour) days of parking cars. Seth and I worked on Friday afternoon/evening until about 7. At that point, not many people are still looking to park so we just went on home. Seth left for VA about 8 and I spent the evening with leftover pizza and John Cena (rawr…)

Anyway, I have decided that I HATE sleeping by myself at night (hence, the reason I LOVE 3rd shift) and I don’t know what I would do if Seth got a job where he had to work 3rd shift while I stayed at home. I would probably DIE! I think I had a mini panic attack Friday night when I woke up to strange (aren’t they always) noises. I tried to listen but all I could hear was my heart beating and a roaring sound in my ears. Also, I could hear someone (apparently myself) breathing like they had just come up from 2 minutes underwater. CRAZY! I eventually feel back asleep but not before I ran through about 87 different scenarios where I always ended up dead! Apparently my imagination activity goes into overdrive after midnight :)

Busy weekend. Long weekend. Looking forward to a boring regular week…yeah right. Seth has a birthday on Thursday so that means we will have at least 2-3 separate dinners to celebrate and then I have to sleep at some point so he and I will probably wait and celebrate on Saturday. Maybe next week…keep on dreaming Kate :)

Welcome Back!

First of all, I know it has been almost an entire month since I posted anything and even longer since I posted anything of value. Does my last post even count? Cleaning? Seriously, Kate. Although, a guy at work told me that he tried the magic cleaner in his tub and he doesn't think he has ever had it this clean :) Success stories make my heart happy. Anyway...

Tonight was a BIG night for me. Tonight was....drumroll..... my LAST night on 2nd shift!!!! I am going back to 3rd on Sunday night and I can't wait! I have really enjoyed working with the people that I have for the last 3 months but I am ready to go back to my old department and my shift. I know, what kind of weirdo LIKES 3rd shift? This one!!! I prefer it to 2nd but not to my shift of choice, 10am-2pm :) If anyone knows of a place that has those hours, please let me know. Thanks

No doubt that next week will be rough and I will probably not be the nicest person you have ever met but just bear with me...it will get better. It will take me about 8 or 9 days to get adjusted and then I will be fine. Hopefully, my next post will involve pictures. Anyone know what tomorrow is? It's a BIG day in the Jones household and we have been counting down to September 25th for a while now. Guess away and if you know the answer, feel free to make a comment!

Magic Bathroom Cleaner...seriously

So lately I have shared this advice with quite a few people and everyone seems so surprised so...

You know all that nasty bumpy yuck known as soap scum that accumulates on your fiberglass bathtub that requires all kinds of scrubbing to get rid of? I have found a mixture that seems to work quite well and does not require a ton of scrubbing with a brush. Here it is:

1) Close the curtain and let the shower run HOT for about 3 minutes, just enough to get it really hot and steamy in the tub

2) Spray the entire tub, walls, sides, bottom with Scrubbing Bubbles. A can usually lasts me about 6-7 cleanings.


3) Let it sit on the surface of the tub for about 1-2 minutes.

4) Take a Magic Eraser (they really are magic) and start scrubbing/wiping. You still have to put some muscle into it but not nearly as much as using a brush with a useless cleaner.

5) You know the nasty is gone when your hand and the Magic Eraser runs smoothly over the tub surface with no bumps. If there is scum, the Eraser gets stuck and hard to push

Let me know how it works out for you. Do you have a better method that you use to clean your tub?

PS~ Don't lean into the tub and inhale while spraying the tub down. Pull your shirt over your mouth or hold your breath, spray and walk away a few times. That stuff will give you a headache in a heartbeat.

Lions, Tigers and...Giraffes?

Check out this link to my friend Sarah's blog...

http://plemmonsfamily17.blogspot.com/

The top picture is the bulletin board she and I made for my mom's classroom for the first week of school.

The second picture is all the animals that I made for my sister's bulletin board. They are doing a jungle theme at her school this year and her hubby made her a background and then she will have all the animals to decorate around her posters and things.

While you are there, feel free to look at all the other wonderful things Sarah has made. Is she not the most talented/craftiest/creative person EVER? I love her!

Thinking of the Stamper Family

One year ago today, the lives of some friends of ours were changed forever. They (my minister and his family) found out that Aaron, their son and brother, had leukemia. Aaron was 13 at the time and full of life. No one knew what the next days, weeks or months would hold but we prayed hard and supported the family as best we could from across the state.

After a long, courageous fight with this terrible disease, Aaron went to be with Jesus on June 4th this year. 2 months is not much time before a day such as today occurs, it is just another anniversary that will forever be in their minds. If you think about it, please take a moment today to say a prayer for this family as they mark the one year anniversary of when their lives changed forever. We continue to lift them up and ask that God shows them what is next and how He is going to use their lives and their healing for His glory.

Jeremiah 29

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart ~ Jeremiah 29: 11-13

This verse was brought up and discussed in our Sunday morning class this week and it keeps following me this week every time I wonder where we (Seth & I) are going to be in the next year, if we will have jobs, if we will still be in TN. Many of you know that Seth is still searching for a job and I am still hoping to complete my student teaching in the Spring. If he cannot find something by December, I will not be able to student teach and therefore I may have to forfeit the credit hours I have accumulated so far. I can only take one semester off in this program and this (Fall) is going to have to be that semester. The classes I need are only offered on Thursday nights from 4:30-9:30 and I work second shift (3-11). My job doesn't make exceptions or allow us time off for things like this. In case you are wondering, I have to keep working because I carry our benefits (which are EXCELLENT) and that is one thing that I would rather not be without (I mean, really...have you all met my husband? :)) Anyway, his job search has been slow and not successful thus far. He sends out resume after resume and puts in application after application. No one seems to be hiring and I know it has to be very frustrating. It is also frustrating for me because I need to be able to see into January and know whether or not I can be unemployed.

Anyway, after all that, I know that the Lord has plans for us and they are probably better than anything we can even imagine. Seth and I talked last night about not worrying about wordly things and focusing on the task God has given us. While I don't think God wants us to be irresponsible and just up and quit everything to be available for His purpose, I do think He desires for us to be open and willing for what He has planned, even if it isn't what we want. The past few weeks in our Sunday morning class, we have been discussing listening to God (obviously I am still a work in progress) and knowing that He sometimes doesn't always answer right away and sometimes He even tells us NO. We need to learn to ask for and follow His will and not always wait for what we want to happen.

Please keep us in your prayers as we wait for what He wants us to do next. Maybe Seth will find something that has nothing to do with what he went to school for; but if it is something that will glorify Him, please pray that the opportunity is clear and we are not too blind/selfish/otherwise occupied to recognize it.

Late night adventures with my boyfriend...

If any of you are my friends on Facebook, you have probably noticed that sometimes (ok, maybe 99% of the time), I refer to Seth as my boyfriend. I'm pretty sure some people that don't really know me think that I openly cheat on my husband but we all know that they are WRONG!

Anyway, my boyfriend and I have been on the same schedule (for once) for the past few months. He isn't working on a set schedule and I am on second shift. He waits up for me and we are both wide awake until 1:30 or 2:00ish. Since we are here together...alone...(oh, sorry), we decide to make the most of our time and go on little adventures together. Recently we have gone to Hampton (40 minutes away) to look at a house that I saw online. It is on a main road, is over 100 years old and seriously needs some TLC. The perk? It is pretty cheap and has 4 fireplaces! Anyway, we don't get up early in the morning so we didn't have time to go look before I went to work. While you can't see much at night, I figure if it looks bad in the dark, I probably wouldn't be too impresses when the sun is out.

Another night we went across the street to the cemetery. That was strictly business...a search and destroy mission. Seth and my dad mow the cemetery and they had discovered and marked 5 yellow jacket nests. We went over, at night while the little bugs are sleeping, and eliminated them. We had to take the baby though...she chased rabbits for 20 minutes. She loved it!

The night we went to Hampton, we came back through Limestone Cove and drove through our favorite little stretch of deer territory. We saw a TON of deer and the prettiest buck, still in velvet and so beautiful. Since we had such luck that night (@ 1:30 am), we decided to go back. We have been twice this week and we have seen 15 deer both nights. They are so pretty and most of them are so "used to people" that they just stare at us as we creepily drive by. Unless we stop, then they freak a little bit and get skittish.

Anyway, while our dates are not hours long and don't always involve gourmet meals (although we typically hit up the BP for a snack), we still have a good time and are so blessed to be able to spend these special times together. These are the moments that we will look back on one day when we are up at 1:30 am with a screaming baby and we might even soothe that baby by taking a midnight ride...

Fire Fire!

Monday night was one of those nights where everything just falls into place and works out a certain way.

Background: May 2002...My grandma, two aunts and cousins were in town for my sisiter's graduation. One evening a dominos game was going on and one of the houses down the road caught on fire. It ended up burning to the ground with a woman inside.

Fast Forward: Sunday night, July 2010...while playing dominos with the same people, the story of the burning house is brought up and comments are made about fires and playing dominos.

Fast Forward: Monday night, July 2010...I, Katie, am allowed to leave work early, excused, because our fire suppression system was not working correctly (it worked, just the announcement/warning to get out was broken). Since we could not be in the building (duh!), the company decides to give us the option to go home excused (no points given), unpaid (I am ok with this for 4 hours). I, of course, take the gift and go to my mom's since my whole family is there and my sister and her hubby will be leaving the next day. I surprise everyone (yay!) and we decide to play another rousing game of Mexican Train Dominos. My Aunt Patty was not feeling well so she decided not to play. We start the game at approximately 7:40 pm on the patio.

About 8:00, my Aunt Patty decides to go inside to watch TV with my Grandma, who is obviously not into Mexican Train Dominos. About 10 minutes later, we hear someone banging around in the "stove drawer". We give the "weird" glance but continue our game. About 5 minutes later, a bloodcurdling scream comes from the kitchen "KAAA-TTTHY!!!!" (For those of you that are not aware, that is my mother's name).

Well, from here all I can tell you is my side of the story. I look up and can see into the kitchen. All I see are flames and ALOT of smoke...I mean, we are talking like 50 cartons of Marlboros ALOT.
The first thing that pops into my little brain is, "Oh, there must be a fire! I should get some water to put it out." Good thinking, Kate. As everyone runs in to see what the problem is, I run over to where a 5 gallon bucket is sitting, full to the brim with water. My parents keep them for flower watering. I pick it up (adrenaline does some STRANGE things) and run into the house with it. In the process, I feel the need to tell my brother-in-law to turn on the hose (obviously, we have firefighting skills HA!)

When I get in the house, my mother is beating the burner with a tea towel trying to put out the fire. Everyone is screaming and yelling. My sister yells at me to not put water on the stove because it's an "electrical" fire. My dear husband, who many of you know, has never yelled at me EVER! We have been together 7 years and he has never YELLED at me. He is trying to get my mother's attention to ask her where the flour is. She is busy beating the burner so he finally gets her attention and YELLS, " WHERE IS THE FLOUR!!!!???" She goes about trying to get it while I reach over and turn the burner off...as if it matters at this point. She unrolls the bag of flour and starts pouring it on the burner. Can we say stinky? At this point, I have water all over myself, the kitchen floor and the living room floor. I decide to remove my bucket to the outdoors and may I just say that even though I lost about a quart of water on the way in, my bucket weighed quite a bit more on the way OUT the door. Funny how that works.

After the fire is completely out, we start the task of cleaning up. Apparently, my grandma had been looking for a pan to heat some water for her tea. Since she couldn't find the little pan my mom had laid out for her, she looks in the stove drawer for one (which we heard). She pulls out this item.

This is a plastic micro cooker...for the microwave! She fills it with water and puts it on HIGH! About 3 minutes later, this terrible scent goes rolling into the living room where my aunt just happened to be because she felt bad. She smelled it and went to go see what was wrong. Good thing! My grandma said she never even smelled it. After the cleanup was completed and we were still in the kitchen attempting to slow down hearts and mop up all the water (sheesh), my aunt says that we are no longer allowed to play dominos because everytime we do, there is a fire.



Fortunately, no one was hurt and the only items ruined were the plastic pot (obviously), a tea towel and the one burner. Too bad there was no video footage of this ordeal because I am pretty sure we could have made a killing.







Moral of the story: Don't be around (without a water hose) when the Knupp family is playing dominos!

Rumor has it...

There has been a rumor spreading and I just wanted to make everyone aware that I am going to be an aunt, AGAIN, in January! My sister (Jennie) and her husband (Ben) were in this weekend and brought my parents their Mother and Father's Day presents. My mom received a frame that says I Love Nana with a little ultrasound photo in it and my dad got a Grandpa coffee travel cup that had a picture inside the plastic liner. Just FYI, they didn't have anything that said " My Poppa is the best". Nana & Poppa, Aunt Katie & Uncle Seth...sigh :)

I am so excited! This will be my fourth niece or nephew. I "inherited" my 3 nephews when I married Seth but I have been there for 90% of all their lives. Kristian was 2 when Seth and I started dating, Aiden was 2 months old and Kalin wasn't born until 2005 so I have been there for all of his life (bless his heart).

Secretly I hope it's a girl only because we have all boys on my side and Jennie's husband's(Ben) sister (keep up) just had a little boy in Novemeber and his (Ben's) brother just had TWIN boys in February. Well, he didn't but his wife did. I didn't want to cause anymore confusion. All those boys need a little girl to keep them straight :) As long as he/SHE is healthy, it doesn't really matter but a girl can always hope. She was 12 weeks this weekend so we shall find out soon enough. Too bad they are keeping the names a secret until the baby gets here. Oh, and by the way, they live in FL so I guess I will be having to make "visits" to the "beach" more often, yes?

2 years down...

Today was our 2 year anniversary! It's hard to believe that we have been married for 2 years much less been together for 7! The first year anniversary is always the most important (I guess). I stressed FOREVER about what to get him and he got me a pretty awesome gift too. This year, well, shall we say that I didn't even make it to get a card. I know that sounds terrible but if it takes a card to tell him how much I love him then we must have some major issues. I decided to take 4 hours of vacation tonight so I could spend a little extra time with my hubby yet here we are, me on the computer and him reading in the recliner.

That is us though. Here is how our special day went...

We got up a little earlier than usual today and went out to Unicoi to load some wood in the truck for Seth's brother. Seth has been cutting up a tree at a friend's house and had some wood that he is trying to sell. Anyway, we went and did that and then he took me out to breakfast. We went to Maple Grove and had biscuits and gravy. Then we had to come home and lay back down because we were so full. I started a load of clothes and we lounged for about an hour. Then we had to water our flowers and while we were out we decided to weed our garden. Whew! It was so hot. My mom came by for a few minutes, then I had to go to work. I left work at 7pm and went down to the church to help the new youth minister and his family unload their moving truck. I got there just in time to carry about 5 boxes and then take a break :) Afterwards, we went to McDonald's for dinner since it was so late, came home, killed some bees and ate an ice cream...and here we are.


It was a lovely day and did I mention that my boyfriend bought me some beautiful irises and had them waiting for me when I got home? He's a nice guy like that. I guess I will keep him around for a few more years.

Seth's Graduation Party

Here are some pictures from Seth's graduation party. His degree was in Construction so of course we needed to do a construction theme. My friend Sarah was such a doll in helping me make the invites....ok, she did the work, I just mailed them. My friend Lori was kind enough to pick up all the balloons and bring them to Erwin so I wouldn't have to go to Johnson City just for them. Both girls scoured Erwin with me looking for two little dump trucks (which we FINALLY found) and of course we all helped finish off the cake :)

Seth and Diana (she graduated that day in KY and made it back for some of the party)

What is a party without food?


Yes, Seth had to grill at his own party. I know, I'm a bad wife

The construction cupcakes. I love these little picks.

All my pictures are on my Facebook page.

Seth's Graduation

Here are a few pictures from Seth's graduation. He graduated May 8th of this year with his bachelor's degree in Construction Engineering Technology. I had class that morning and had to leave early but, what can a girl do? Priorities, priorities. Anyway, most of his family was able to come and see him walk across the stage...go to my Facebook page for some better pictures during the ceremony.

My dad, me, Seth and my mom

Seth at the bell tower at ETSU

The famous left handed photo

The GRADUATE!!!

Congratulations Seth!

Elementary School?

Sometimes, I think it would be nice if I wanted to teach elementary school age children. The parents still kind of care and like you when their kids are this age...



Then I realize that this is one moment out of 180 FULL days. Sorry, I just can't do that

Prayer Request

I am asking you to say a special prayer tonight for the Stamper family. As many of you know, their son and brother Aaron has been fighting leukemia since August of 2009. He lost his battle tonight and went to his eternal home. While he will be missed greatly, we rejoice in the fact that he is no longer suffering. You can read about his journey here...the posts are written by his sister Andrea who truly has a way with words. Thank you for taking the time to read this and for saying a prayer for the family.



There will be a day with no more tears, no more pain, and no more fears. There will be a day when the burdens of this place, will be no more, we'll see Jesus face to face ~ Jeremy Camp

My Cup Runneth Over

One month has passed and I have yet to blog about anything that has happened. I will, I promise. This post though, is one that I just feel compelled to write because I am overcome at the moment with joy. Joy because I am so blessed.

I am blessed to be the daughter of a King! A King that will always love me and be there to comfort and protect me no matter what I do.

I am blessed to be the daughter of the most wonderful earthly father and mother I could have ever asked for. If you ask my parents, they will tell you I was a definite surprise but they have loved me from day one and have never stopped doing what was best for me, even when I didn’t think so.

I am blessed to have a husband that loves the Lord. I am blessed that he loves me and can look beyond my flaws and see me as his wife, his partner and his friend. I am blessed that he always kisses me goodnight.

I am blessed because I am part of the wonderful family at First Christian Church that has helped raise me since I was a baby. This church has been there for me to celebrate my joys and hold me and my family through our sorrows and for that I love them all.

I am blessed because I have good health. Sure, I have aches and pains on a regular basis but that is nothing compared to what others go through every day.

I am blessed to have a job. No matter how frustrating it is sometimes, I am grateful that I bring home a paycheck every week and can go to the doctor if I need to.

I am blessed because I live in a country where I can express my opinion. A country where I can fly my flag and praise my God without worry of being persecuted. A country that comes with benefits and privileges that I have done nothing to deserve. Someone gave up their life so I could have these freedoms and I will always remember that, regardless of my personal opinions about war.

I am blessed because I have a house to live in. I have electricity, hot water and food to eat. That may seem quite obvious but turn on the news sometime. Too many people in this world do not even have clean water, much less a place to sleep (safely) at night.

I am blessed because I can laugh.

I am blessed because I have the ability to write this post and share with you my blessings.

Just writing this fills my heart with joy because it makes me realize that I have more on this page that most people have in their lives and this isn’t even a smidgen of what I have to be thankful for. Thank you for sharing in my joy!

12 days to go...

I suppose my ability to blog on time and consistently leaves much to be desired but what can I say? I have been extremely busy completing all the end of semester items that seem to lurk all year and then show up the last 30 days of class. Seth has been MIA ever since he and his group members were assigned an estimating project 6 weeks before the end of the semester. And when I say group I don’t actually mean all the people that show up, I just mean he and another girl that have done about 99% of the work on the “Food City”. I’m done

May 8th is looming and we only have 12 days left, not that I am counting or anything. I have one more paper to write and turn in and I will officially be done with my class work for my teaching certificate. All I have left now is student teaching…oh and I decided to get my Master’s because it’s only 15 more hours. I know…that’s what I said too. Seth will be GRADUATING in 12 days and I am so excited. I think I am more excited than he is but that is not a huge surprise. I typically overreact to any and all things remotely exciting. He on the other hand, is a laid back southern gentleman.

In the midst of turning in all the final things that have to be completed by the end of the month (as I sit here blogging and facebooking…) I am also planning a party for Seth. Did I mention he is GRADUATING?! We are having a party for him on the evening of his graduation and one of my best friends, Sarah, has been such a doll helping me make the invitations…ok, I’ll be honest, she made them herself. I on the other hand, sorted the pieces as she cut them and put them in plastic bags. I do what I can

Anyway, I’m afraid I have gone slightly overboard (imagine that) for this party. The other day I bought these little cupcake picks that have hard hats, drills and saws on them. By the way, his degree is in construction engineering technology. Duh! Why else would it be a construction party? But in an effort to keep it toned down, I will not be purchasing a dump truck cake. That would just be taking it too far wouldn’t you say? I shall post pictures once the invites are finished and mailed. I should probably go do that now.

Please say a prayer...

I would like to ask that if you pray, please pray for this family. This is a terrible tragedy and I know that your prayers are very much needed now. Thank you.

Happy Birthday Diana!

Today I would like to say Happy Birthday to one of my good friends, Diana. Today, Diana is turning 21 years old. She and I have been good friends since the summer of 2004. That was the summer we went to Mexico on a mission trip and I learned a lot about her that I never knew. Diana is a SENIOR at Campbellsville University in Kentucky and she is getting ready to graduate this May! I am so proud of her and I hope she has a wonderful birthday!

Second Shift is... going

This is my first week on second shift and for those of you who have never had the pleasure of working 2nd shift, let me tell you… you are LUCKY! I’m just kidding, it isn’t that bad, it just really stinks to have to go into work at 3pm when the sun is shining and the temperature is 60ish. It isn’t as bad as I thought it would be for sure.

I am getting up with Seth around 7:30ish and working out. After that I eat breakfast and start my daily stuff. I figure out what I could make for dinner so Seth will have something to warm up (not that he can’t cook himself dinner), what I am going to take for dinner and what to have for lunch. Usually I will try to clean something whether it be clothes, the bathroom, the floor, etc. One thing a day is 5 things less to do on the weekend. Then I try and get on the internet to get anything for school that I need and email it to myself at work. We do not have internet access at work so I have to send in anything that I need. I try to work on my homework during my breaks and right now, we are not running yet so I can reply to emails and group stuff during the evening too.

One thing that really stinks about this week is that Seth is on Spring Break. I have 6 days of vacation that I can use but we are planning on going to the beach for a few days after he graduates (May 8th, 2010) so I am saving them. I was hoping that we could just hang out in the mornings until I had to go to work but for the past 2 days, he has been helping my dad trim trees. He usually goes up there about 11 or so and stays until 5-6. Luckily, my parents live 2 minutes from my job so I can go by on my way to tell him bye. Today, he just stayed up there for about 2 hours and he came home in time to have lunch with me. I made a homemade pizza (because it’s Wednesday) and we got to spend a few minutes together before I went to work and he left for a haircut.

Hopefully, I will learn to like 2nd shift but I have a feeling that it is only going to get worse before it gets better. Summer isn’t even here yet and the past two days have been days that I would have taken off if I would have had enough vacation. Since Christmas, they were letting us take Excused, unpaid time off because we are not running and they hate to pay us to sit around (do you blame them?). The beginning of this month saw that come to an end so we are no longer allowed to leave early or not come in without being issued a point. 10 points and you’re gone! Anyway, if they do ever let us do that again, you can be sure that I will at least go home early (2 hours) on Fridays. Not every Friday though, that makes for a poor paycheck and a grouchy little girl.

Doggie Diet

This week we started Nattie on a new diet. She is now getting a chicken based diet with absolutely NO BEEF. We are testing this to see if it help with her itching. The vet said last time I was there that Nattie may have a food allergy and she could supply me with KANGAROO meat! No thanks. Instead, we are testing the dog for allergies. One problem…she weighs over 70 pounds! For those of you with small dogs, we go through about 44 pounds of dry dog food a month. That is not including any treats, snacks or leftovers she eats.
SOOO… buying chicken and rice dry dog food would be okay if Ol’Roy had any. They have cans of it but no dry. Unfortunately, the only one I could find was made by Purina I think. I got 18 pounds for $12!!! Holy COW! Since she would go through that in no time, I, being the thrifty person that I am (or cheap, whatever works), decided that I could supplement my dogs meals with people food. I went home and made 8 cups of rice and mixed in 3 cans of the Ol’Roy canned chicken and gravy dog food. My sister-in-law’s hubby is a K9 officer and he said that rice wouldn’t hurt her. So now Nattie gets one cup of dry food with 2 ice cream scoops of warmed rice and chicken in the morning. It is also weight control because let’s just be honest, she could stand to drop a few pounds. Then, if we want to give her something at night we can because she hasn’t had 50 cups during the day. I think it’s a great plan and we will see how it goes.



Oh, by the way…Did I mention that a guy I work with told me that a common food allergy in dogs is due to the RED DYE in the food? Grrr…I just found this out last night. Would have been nice to know oh, SUNDAY!

Date night :)

Wednesday nights are homemade pizza nights. I have recently been going to ETSU at 5:30 on Wednesdays because Seth has class ALL DAY that day. I can make our pizza on my Pampered Chef stone (which is THE BEST), put Aluminum foil on it and drive to ETSU and it is still hot by the time I get there. I usually pack 2 cans of Mountain Dew, and Jell-O pudding cups for dessert. A couple weeks ago, Seth got some leftover birthday cake from his sister and we shared a piece of it. It was AMAZING! I think it’s ironic that we sit in the parking lot of the Center for Physical Activity and stuff our faces with pizza while we watch people run. Haha. I love my pizza dates with my boyfriend and I am definitely going to miss them.

Back to Work...

I went back to work this Monday after being laid off for 3 weeks. I was glad to go back because I sure missed my check but I also had gotten used to being off and piddling and getting things accomplished. I had made a list for myself before I got laid off of things I wanted to accomplish while I was off. 21 things, 21 days. I think I accomplished 12 or 13 of them. Not too bad. I am slowly working on the last 8 or 9 things but some of them take lots of time (organizing ALL of our pictures into albums or onto CDs)

Work greeted me early with a phone call Friday night. It was my building manager calling to let me know that I ws being moved to a different department. My job title would still be the same but instead of being in her department (BPF), I would now be in Fuel. Just in case you don't know what NFS does, click here. Now, instead of going back to 3rd shift like I had hoped, I will go through a long training session on dayshift. After that, I will continue to train for my job on the floor on dayshift. The bad news is....once I complete my training, I will be going to 2nd shift. YUCK! We are a union so shift preference is determined by seniority. I have only been there a little over a year and I cannot "hold" 3rd shift on Fuel. I could in BPF but Fuel is different.

I am grateful to have a job but I am going to miss my friends in BPF and 3rd shift. "They" (whoever that may be) have said that they hope to get us (me and 2 others) back to BPF when we are ready to run again (our area is shut down for re-engineering) but with as much training, time and money that goes into this, I doubt we will get moved back. Oh well, I have never had a desire to work 2nd shift but we will give it a go and see how it works for me. I just keep telling myself that this isn't permanent and I am almost done with my classes. Greater things are yet to come for this chica!

Haiti $!

Yesterday was our big collection Sunday for our Haiti offering. We showed a quick slide show and took up an offering after the service was over. They counted it for us really quick and we were hoping for at least $10,000. We didn't get $10,000 but that's ok....we over $13,500!!!!! God is so good! We are also matching $ for $ what the community contributes but as of right now, they have only sent in $300. If anyone would like to donate to this worthy cause (all the money goes through IDES), we are continuing to take money to send. Contact me or the church and let us know that you would like to help Haiti and we will let you know who, what, and how. Thanks so much for all the prayers and the donations!

Excuse me...how much?

Our poor dog has some serious issues with her ears. Summer 2008 she started digging and scratching them so much that they became extemely infected. We took her to the vet and $200 and my heart attack later, they cleared up. She took her antibiotics and we put the cream and everything else in them. Fast forward to summer 2009...the digging and scratching begin AGAIN. We clean them, put cream in them, put her flea medicine on her, clean and BLEACH her pen, and everything else we could do to help kill whatever it is. Bless her heart, nothing helped. I finally took her to the vet yesterday. Once again, they gave me the same antibiotics (more because she has gained 11 pounds!!!), a different cream and instructions to bring her back in 2 weeks because it might not be bugs....it might be a FOOD ALLERGY!!!

Well, if you know us at all, we do not spend a million dollars on our pets. They are ANIMALS! I love my dog and I will do anything to prevent something from happening to her but I will not buy kangaroo based food products from the vet. Sorry but I won't. If she is allergic to beef, I will head down to the river, catch as many fish as I can and make her fish for dinner. If it's chicken she is allergic to, I will cook pork, beef or whatever else to make her happy but I will not spend that much money on my dog. They said that if she bites at her rump, which she does, that it is more than likely she has an allergy. When I take her back in 2 weeks which is probably going to cost me another $200 just to walk in the door, they will take another sample of her ears and see if we have killed the source of the problem. If not, we will begin a strict new diet. We will try fish first, we have some dented cans of tuna, some old frozen shrimp and a river full of trout. It seems to me to be the cheapest route. If that doesn't work then we will try something else.

The worst part about all this is that if she is allergic to something, she cannot even have a Milkbone while we test her. She takes her heartworm pill with peanut butter and gets a piece of cheese when she does something good or just because. I don't know if we will have to cut those out too. Anyway, I hope that it is jsut bugs and we can eliminate the problem with medicine and a good scrubbing.

Might I add, that she fell in love with a 6 week old Rottie when we were there yesterday? It whined and cried and she just sat there watching it and whining because she wanted to play. Apparently, the man with the dog was slightly intimidated by my whiny, 74 pound German Shepherd so he wouldn't put his dog down. Oh well, his loss.

Hope for Haiti!

If you have 2 extra minutes that you can take to read this short post and click on the link, please do so. My church, First Christian Church in Erwin, TN, is participating in a $ for $ matching challenge to bring funds to the people of Haiti! As you know, they were affected by a large earthquake on January 12th. Please click on this link to read how you can get involved. It will only take 2 minutes, I promise. Thank you so much!

In 2010 I will...*sigh*

Seth went back to school last Thursday but being the amazing wonderful husband that he is, he kindly cleaned out our "junk room" before he went back. Don't judge, I know you all have one :) He wanted me to help but I told him that "if I try to go through all that stuff, I will find an excuse to keep it." He knows me so he went through it first.

By the time I got home from work that day, he had a box of stuff for me to go through and a pile ready for the trash and a pile ready for Goodwill. It's unreal how much STUFF two people can accumulate (FYI: it wasn't ALL mine). Anyway, I went through the box, kept about 10 items out of it, and put the rest in the Goodwill box and kept a few items to sell on Ebay or at a yard sale (they still had the tags on them). The next day, we took the boxes to Goodwill and dropped them off and went by the dump and trashed all the "trash". The room looks completely different now and we can actually leave the door open when people come over. All that leads me to my typical yet probably unachievable "resolutions". Why do I do this to myself?

In 2010 I will...

* Keep the room Seth worked so hard on clean and organized

* Organize all my scrapbook stuff and keep my desk free of clutter (let's see how long that lasts)

* Keep all of my school books and papers together and in order

* Do all schoolwork ahead of time so I don't panic the night before

* Keep all church bookwork organized and on time

* Stop eating out so much...

* Therefore, I will cook more often

* Lose 25 pounds before June (6 down as of today)

* Get exercise on a regular basis (no, apparently once a month is not regularly enough)

* In general, I will use my spare time to accomplish productive things

* Not wear laundry from the basket. I will put clothes away when they are dry

* Eat yogurt at least 5 times a week and take my multi-vitamin everyday

Once again, chances are I won't do ALL these things but if I don't try I am not any better off. Maybe if I can just make myself do them until May or so, it will just become habit. Cross your fingers for me. Happy New Year everyone!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to everyone! With the exception of being a few days late, I guess that is not too bad for an update :)

Some of the highlights of 2009 consist of:

Seth starting his last year of school!

Katie deciding to go BACK to school (one semester down, 2 to go)

Celebrating our one year anniversary! It has flown by

Seth joining First Christian Church (where Katie has been a member since birth) and rededicating his life

Discovering the state of TN was willing to pay for Seth's last year of school!

Our church going to a full-time blended service (contemporary and traditional)

Katie got a Cricut (Google it if you don't know) and went WILD at Christmas

We got a Wii!!!! Katie's first video game ever!

We got to go to Dollywood 3 times this year!

We also had some not so wonderful moments in 2009:

Katie received a chemical burn at work

Seth had surgery on his ankle (again) in August

Seth lost both his grandmothers in September and December

We hope 2010 will be wonderful year with new opportunities to grow and learn new things. Seth will be on the hunt for a job very soon and has already started updating his resume. Hopefully by graduation, he will have secured a job. Katie is currently starting her last semester of "classwork" with the hope of student teaching in the fall. We have been so blessed this last year and we hope that you have also.

Happy New Year!