Welcome to the world little one. Laila Celine was born today weighing in at 6lb 13oz and 19 1/2 inches long. The proud parents, Kendrie and Josh are doing good and all is well.
It is hard to believe I have five grandchildren and I wish I could be with them all. Children are truly a gift from God and I love each one of these precious children. I feel so blessed. I hope to be able to see her soon.
There always seem to be this issue with having a birthday around Christmas time but what a great time to be born! It is the season for joy and happiness and what better time is there to celebrate the birth of a new baby? After one has waited for nine long months to finally meet this new little person, any time is a good time.
Welcome Laila!
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Moving On
For those who may not know, I have moved from Kansas to Oklahoma (where the wind blows....) Yes it is true. I am finding out that home is where the Army sends you. Now I am not directly in the military but when the family received orders for Fort Sill OK, I saw no real purpose in staying in Kansas, so I moved on with the family.
We are about 5 hours due south of where we lived and things are pretty much the same as in Kansas, flat. There are some "mountains" not too far away called the Witchita Mountains, but of course not mountains in the strictest sense of the word. We have chosen to live in a small community outside the city called Fletcher, once home of Frank James (that would be Jesse James' brother). There are a number of churches and businesses, school, a gas station/quick mart, a bank and post office. Four miles away is another small town, Elgin in which there are even more shopping opportunities including a grocery store. We still go to the city for most shopping but at least one doesn't have to run all the way in for a gallon of milk. For the most part, I usually go in on Saturdays to attend garage sales and do any shopping or meandering.
As of late, in our search for a new church, we have also been driving in on Sunday to attend a church called Dayspring. It is fairly new, I think around 10 years old or so, and has contemporary worship and a pretty good kids program. This Sunday was our third Sunday so it may be a go. We have attended another church in Fletcher but it didn't really offer all that we wanted in a church although we have continued to attend on Wednesday night for now.
It is always a little difficult for me to move to a new community and church. Meeting new people has never been my strong point. My days are mostly spent with work followed by spending the evening with the kids. Not too exciting but ok. We are actually closer here to Josh and Kendrie in Memphis so that is nice. They have been over once and I have gone there once as well. It does appear with a new baby coming in December, that I may be going to Memphis more frequently. Love those grandbabies.
Jeremy and Lisa bought a house three miles down the road in the "country" with about 2.5 acreas. It is a lot of room for the dogs and kids. I keep teasing Jeremy that he needs to get a little petting zoo going with some goats and minature donkeys. Well who knows. Stranger things have happened. I am living in a four-plex apartment which is a change for me but I am adjusting. Again, living in Oklahoma means less rain by a mile. In fact it seems we may get one rainy day a month so far. It is now cool in the mornings but warms up to around the 60 degree mark, making it quite pleasant during the day. The downfall is that the wind blows most days so forget any kind of hairdo, kind of like Ketchikan in a way.
Well, that pretty much sums up my life since August. We miss our church in Junction City and the people there and now we find ourselves in a new place with new faces starting all over again. I guess there is something to be said for fresh starts and when I get it all figured out, maybe I could write a book.
We are about 5 hours due south of where we lived and things are pretty much the same as in Kansas, flat. There are some "mountains" not too far away called the Witchita Mountains, but of course not mountains in the strictest sense of the word. We have chosen to live in a small community outside the city called Fletcher, once home of Frank James (that would be Jesse James' brother). There are a number of churches and businesses, school, a gas station/quick mart, a bank and post office. Four miles away is another small town, Elgin in which there are even more shopping opportunities including a grocery store. We still go to the city for most shopping but at least one doesn't have to run all the way in for a gallon of milk. For the most part, I usually go in on Saturdays to attend garage sales and do any shopping or meandering.
As of late, in our search for a new church, we have also been driving in on Sunday to attend a church called Dayspring. It is fairly new, I think around 10 years old or so, and has contemporary worship and a pretty good kids program. This Sunday was our third Sunday so it may be a go. We have attended another church in Fletcher but it didn't really offer all that we wanted in a church although we have continued to attend on Wednesday night for now.
It is always a little difficult for me to move to a new community and church. Meeting new people has never been my strong point. My days are mostly spent with work followed by spending the evening with the kids. Not too exciting but ok. We are actually closer here to Josh and Kendrie in Memphis so that is nice. They have been over once and I have gone there once as well. It does appear with a new baby coming in December, that I may be going to Memphis more frequently. Love those grandbabies.
Jeremy and Lisa bought a house three miles down the road in the "country" with about 2.5 acreas. It is a lot of room for the dogs and kids. I keep teasing Jeremy that he needs to get a little petting zoo going with some goats and minature donkeys. Well who knows. Stranger things have happened. I am living in a four-plex apartment which is a change for me but I am adjusting. Again, living in Oklahoma means less rain by a mile. In fact it seems we may get one rainy day a month so far. It is now cool in the mornings but warms up to around the 60 degree mark, making it quite pleasant during the day. The downfall is that the wind blows most days so forget any kind of hairdo, kind of like Ketchikan in a way.
Well, that pretty much sums up my life since August. We miss our church in Junction City and the people there and now we find ourselves in a new place with new faces starting all over again. I guess there is something to be said for fresh starts and when I get it all figured out, maybe I could write a book.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Missed Connections
On my recent trip to Ketchikan, I had quite an interesting time. A series of "missed connections". My airport shuttle to Kansas City was uneventful but it went downhill from there. We boarded the plane bound for Chicago on time, only to find out that the radar was down in Chicago so we waited. While my connections were not terribly close, losing time, even minutes, can change everything. We finally departed and arrived in Chicago, even later and I missed my flight by a mere couple of minutes. I mean the plane was still at the gate but they had closed the flight, meaning, they filled all the seats. I was told to go to rebooking a couple of aisles over. If you are familiar with Chicago airport, the distance is quite long. After talking with the agent my choices were to wait until the following morning for the next Alaska Airline flight or book on American for a flight that left in three hours to Seattle. Well, of course I opted for the earlier flight. While waiting I chatted with a family (turns out the father is a Nazarene Paster from Seattle) and they were just returning from a missions trip in Russia. In the course of the conversation, a few names were dropped and to my surprise, they knew our pastor's (in Junction City) father who lives in Denver. Wow! Small world.
I arrived in Seattle very late and surprisingly, so did my checked bag. I tried to find a cheap hotel for a few hours of sleep and found no rooms at the inns. In desperation, I called one more only to find out on arrival that the rooms were $135 a night for a single. Too rich for my blood, seeing as I was only going to be there for about 5 to 6 hours so I started to leave and a young woman with a three year old daughter approached my and asked if I would be willing to split a room. Now let me say that I have never done anything like that in my entire life but at 2:30 in the morning my time, I threw caution to the wind and agreed. It turns out she grew up in Sitka. We got a room with two queen beds and basically dropped because we were so tired.
The next morning, or I should say later in the morning, we had continental breakfast together and went our separate ways.
I rented a car and drove to Portland and surprised my sister with a visit. She had no idea I was coming and it turned out to be a pleasant day and I was also able to see my nephew as well. I then drove to Washington and spent Friday night and all day Saturday with my cousin out on his little farm. He has 5 miniature donkeys, one a brand new baby that was sooooo cute, nine cows and some chickens. It was a great visit and I left Sunday morning to finish my trip to Ketchikan which went smoothly.
There is a second chapter to this little tale but I will save it for later. The trip home was also a series of missed connections.
Now onward to Oklahoma!!
I arrived in Seattle very late and surprisingly, so did my checked bag. I tried to find a cheap hotel for a few hours of sleep and found no rooms at the inns. In desperation, I called one more only to find out on arrival that the rooms were $135 a night for a single. Too rich for my blood, seeing as I was only going to be there for about 5 to 6 hours so I started to leave and a young woman with a three year old daughter approached my and asked if I would be willing to split a room. Now let me say that I have never done anything like that in my entire life but at 2:30 in the morning my time, I threw caution to the wind and agreed. It turns out she grew up in Sitka. We got a room with two queen beds and basically dropped because we were so tired.
The next morning, or I should say later in the morning, we had continental breakfast together and went our separate ways.
I rented a car and drove to Portland and surprised my sister with a visit. She had no idea I was coming and it turned out to be a pleasant day and I was also able to see my nephew as well. I then drove to Washington and spent Friday night and all day Saturday with my cousin out on his little farm. He has 5 miniature donkeys, one a brand new baby that was sooooo cute, nine cows and some chickens. It was a great visit and I left Sunday morning to finish my trip to Ketchikan which went smoothly.
There is a second chapter to this little tale but I will save it for later. The trip home was also a series of missed connections.
Now onward to Oklahoma!!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
On the move again
Well, the Mutart family in "on the move again".
Jeremy finally received his orders and it "appears" that our get out of town date is September 1st. Wow! This is all great except that I am leaving for K town and will be gone for three weeks during which time the Army movers come to pack and load. I am running around like a wild banshee trying to pack my house in order to have it done before I leave tomorrow in addition to attempting to put in an eight hour work day. If that were not enough, it is hot, hot, hot and no one really wants to work. We would rather be at the pool cooling off. My house has no air conditioning except for a window cooler which does keep my bedroom/office comfortable, but hardly does anything for the rest of the house. Jeremy comes in last night to take a load of boxes to his garage and he exclaimed, "Mom it is hotter than blazes in here". Well duh!!! I live and work here everyday. I guess I have adjusted as I don't seem to notice it as much. I hear Oklahoma is a tad warmer than here so we will see how we adjust.
Other Mutart news reports that Josh and Kendrie are having a girl! The ultrasound lady said she hasn't been wrong in thirty years so I guess I will have to believe her. We are excited of course. It looks like I will be doing a little more traveling. Thank goodness Tennessee is a little closer to Oklahoma than Kansas.
I must get back to work so I will have time to pack my bags for Ktown as well as a few more boxes.
Jeremy finally received his orders and it "appears" that our get out of town date is September 1st. Wow! This is all great except that I am leaving for K town and will be gone for three weeks during which time the Army movers come to pack and load. I am running around like a wild banshee trying to pack my house in order to have it done before I leave tomorrow in addition to attempting to put in an eight hour work day. If that were not enough, it is hot, hot, hot and no one really wants to work. We would rather be at the pool cooling off. My house has no air conditioning except for a window cooler which does keep my bedroom/office comfortable, but hardly does anything for the rest of the house. Jeremy comes in last night to take a load of boxes to his garage and he exclaimed, "Mom it is hotter than blazes in here". Well duh!!! I live and work here everyday. I guess I have adjusted as I don't seem to notice it as much. I hear Oklahoma is a tad warmer than here so we will see how we adjust.
Other Mutart news reports that Josh and Kendrie are having a girl! The ultrasound lady said she hasn't been wrong in thirty years so I guess I will have to believe her. We are excited of course. It looks like I will be doing a little more traveling. Thank goodness Tennessee is a little closer to Oklahoma than Kansas.
I must get back to work so I will have time to pack my bags for Ktown as well as a few more boxes.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Updates
My how time flies when you are busy! We just finished Vacation Bible School. A week of craziness for sure. I took on the task of crafts which is always a bit of a challenge to come up with things that are appropriate for all ages when the groups are mixed. I had six great helpers which was wonderful and made the job so much easier. We finished Saturday with a big bash, hot dogs, salads, chips and of course lots of water. The church has a nice hill in the back which makes for a great water slide when water and a little soap are added. There were also lots of water balloons and when those ran out, everyone resorted to just buckets and yes I got a bucket on me too. Thank you Jeremy. A good time was had by all but I am so glad it is done for another year.
I am just working, spending time with the kids and helping with the gardening. The gardens is growing and we have already harvested our first zucchini of the season with more to come. The tomatoes are coming on and will be ripe soon. The cucumber plants are looking great with many babies. We also tried broccoli this year and have had one head already with another soon to be cut. The fresh lettuce and veggies are so good. We harvested quite a few strawberries as well from all the plants we put in last year.
The weather has been pretty warm as of late with a number of severe thunder storms. We actually had a tornado that touched down in a small town not far from here and it destroyed about 65% of the buildings and homes. There is a lot of cleanup going on there and in fact our Bible School offering is going to help in that community. It is a town of about 1300, just a bit larger than our own community and quite a few people from our church know people there and even some people from there, attend our church so it is for a good cause.
In late May, we took a week vacation to Branson MO which is in the Ozark Mountains (hills for those of us who know mountains). It is a town with lots of touristy stuff, entertainment, shows, theme parks, water parks etc. We had a nice time with miniature golfing, go carts, the waterpark and a theme park, a little fishing, pedal boats and swimming. Josh and Kendrie came and joined us for about three of the days so it was nice to all get together. Last weekend, we went camping at a state campground a few miles down the lake. It was nice. Very pleasant weather, and the kids played in the lake and Jeremy fished. We cooked over the fire and ate smores. The bugs were bad and in spite of spraying we still managed to get bitten. I can tell you from personal experience, you don't want chigger bites. If you don't know what they are look them up. Painful I say and very itchy. We still plan to do some more camping this summer and hope to actually get out on the lake.
Well that should be enough for now. The move to Oklahoma is....I don't know when. I will be in K town in July for three weeks to cover a co-worker's vacation so hope to see some Ktowners while there.
I am just working, spending time with the kids and helping with the gardening. The gardens is growing and we have already harvested our first zucchini of the season with more to come. The tomatoes are coming on and will be ripe soon. The cucumber plants are looking great with many babies. We also tried broccoli this year and have had one head already with another soon to be cut. The fresh lettuce and veggies are so good. We harvested quite a few strawberries as well from all the plants we put in last year.
The weather has been pretty warm as of late with a number of severe thunder storms. We actually had a tornado that touched down in a small town not far from here and it destroyed about 65% of the buildings and homes. There is a lot of cleanup going on there and in fact our Bible School offering is going to help in that community. It is a town of about 1300, just a bit larger than our own community and quite a few people from our church know people there and even some people from there, attend our church so it is for a good cause.
In late May, we took a week vacation to Branson MO which is in the Ozark Mountains (hills for those of us who know mountains). It is a town with lots of touristy stuff, entertainment, shows, theme parks, water parks etc. We had a nice time with miniature golfing, go carts, the waterpark and a theme park, a little fishing, pedal boats and swimming. Josh and Kendrie came and joined us for about three of the days so it was nice to all get together. Last weekend, we went camping at a state campground a few miles down the lake. It was nice. Very pleasant weather, and the kids played in the lake and Jeremy fished. We cooked over the fire and ate smores. The bugs were bad and in spite of spraying we still managed to get bitten. I can tell you from personal experience, you don't want chigger bites. If you don't know what they are look them up. Painful I say and very itchy. We still plan to do some more camping this summer and hope to actually get out on the lake.
Well that should be enough for now. The move to Oklahoma is....I don't know when. I will be in K town in July for three weeks to cover a co-worker's vacation so hope to see some Ktowners while there.
Friday, March 28, 2008
SPRING
Spring in Kansas?? Well it hasn't quite arrived yet. We have had a few days when we were teased by the seemingly arrival of the allusive spring type weather, but no, the cold wind blows in from the north and it chills us to the bone. We actually had a day when it was 70 degrees but then we have days like yesterday when it was supposed to get to 45 degrees and the wind came and it was like 20 degrees. The kids are trying to play soccer but I have to say they looked a little funny running up and down the field with puffy winter coats, wool hats and mittens. The parents were all standing around with hoods pulled up trying to keep warm. Needless to say, practice was only 30 minutes.
There are the usual signs of spring, like trees starting to bud, tulips pushing up from the ground, the green returning to the grass and birds chirping in the trees. There are the not quite so obvious signs such as the pelicans are back and there is more road kill in the form of nocturnal creatures who were too slow to cross the roads, possibly from their winter slumber and the return of thunder and lightning. Tis the season. All of the signs of spring are here, but the weather is just not cooperating. I long to be warm and not have to sit at my desk with a sweatshirt on and a blanket wrapped around my legs to keep the chill off. The days of flip flops and shorts and the warm morning sun as I sit and sip a cup of coffee. I suppose spring will come eventually, followed by the hot days of summer and then I will be saying it is too hot but for now I just want to be warm. Beside we have little plants that are just waiting to be planted in our garden and kids that want to ride their bikes for longer than 10 minutes. Enough of winter already!!
There are the usual signs of spring, like trees starting to bud, tulips pushing up from the ground, the green returning to the grass and birds chirping in the trees. There are the not quite so obvious signs such as the pelicans are back and there is more road kill in the form of nocturnal creatures who were too slow to cross the roads, possibly from their winter slumber and the return of thunder and lightning. Tis the season. All of the signs of spring are here, but the weather is just not cooperating. I long to be warm and not have to sit at my desk with a sweatshirt on and a blanket wrapped around my legs to keep the chill off. The days of flip flops and shorts and the warm morning sun as I sit and sip a cup of coffee. I suppose spring will come eventually, followed by the hot days of summer and then I will be saying it is too hot but for now I just want to be warm. Beside we have little plants that are just waiting to be planted in our garden and kids that want to ride their bikes for longer than 10 minutes. Enough of winter already!!
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
UPDATES
I realized I have not given any updates of late. So much is going on and we are constantly on the move.
Weather - It is still cold in Kansas. Although the temperatures are cold, we have been blessed with many sunny days and little rain here and there and some snow sprinkled in for interest. The wind that blows across the plains feels like it is straight out of the Arctic. It brings the wind chill factor down to the minus degrees. The weatherman last night on the news informed us that we might want to think about going to Alaska as it was warmer than it is here. Who knew??
Kids - Busier than ever of course. Playing outside is at a minimum with short bursts of 10 minutes or so. They are growing like crazy. Kaylin is almost potty trained and talking up a storm. She seems to like to sing and is nuts about Dora. Kegan is a sweety pie most of the time. I just love his smile with his little dimples. Kyran is busy planning everything and loves doing art projects. It is time for daddy to come home so he can instruct in the more "manly" things.
Jeremy- It is getting close to when Jeremy will be home. It is looking like around the 6th of April now. Of course nothing is in concrete but at least we have a tentative date. We are all excited.
Move - Some may know by now that Jeremy has orders to move to Fort Sill Oklahoma. Yes that is where the wind blows ...... I can't remember the rest of the words. That will probably be at the end of summer or early fall. Am I going? Well what else do I have to do?? I am hoping to get back to the west at some point as I think we all are hoping but for now I may have to find contentment in Tornado Alley.
Josh and Kendrie - They are getting ready to move to Memphis around the 1st of March. He has been commuting from Mississippi and it is a little rough. It will be closer to us when we all move. He has been flying and also sitting on reserve which is not too fun but eventually he will be doing more flying than sitting.
Lisa - Has taken on child care for three other kids, all pre-school age. It is a challenge but I think she is doing a good job with them and they never seem to want to go home. She also had her wisdom teeth pulled and came through that quite nicely.
So between church activities, keeping track of kids and working we have passed the time and Jeremy's deployment seems to have gone fairly quickly. We passed the one year mark on February 9th.
That is about the long and the short of the last month or so.
Weather - It is still cold in Kansas. Although the temperatures are cold, we have been blessed with many sunny days and little rain here and there and some snow sprinkled in for interest. The wind that blows across the plains feels like it is straight out of the Arctic. It brings the wind chill factor down to the minus degrees. The weatherman last night on the news informed us that we might want to think about going to Alaska as it was warmer than it is here. Who knew??
Kids - Busier than ever of course. Playing outside is at a minimum with short bursts of 10 minutes or so. They are growing like crazy. Kaylin is almost potty trained and talking up a storm. She seems to like to sing and is nuts about Dora. Kegan is a sweety pie most of the time. I just love his smile with his little dimples. Kyran is busy planning everything and loves doing art projects. It is time for daddy to come home so he can instruct in the more "manly" things.
Jeremy- It is getting close to when Jeremy will be home. It is looking like around the 6th of April now. Of course nothing is in concrete but at least we have a tentative date. We are all excited.
Move - Some may know by now that Jeremy has orders to move to Fort Sill Oklahoma. Yes that is where the wind blows ...... I can't remember the rest of the words. That will probably be at the end of summer or early fall. Am I going? Well what else do I have to do?? I am hoping to get back to the west at some point as I think we all are hoping but for now I may have to find contentment in Tornado Alley.
Josh and Kendrie - They are getting ready to move to Memphis around the 1st of March. He has been commuting from Mississippi and it is a little rough. It will be closer to us when we all move. He has been flying and also sitting on reserve which is not too fun but eventually he will be doing more flying than sitting.
Lisa - Has taken on child care for three other kids, all pre-school age. It is a challenge but I think she is doing a good job with them and they never seem to want to go home. She also had her wisdom teeth pulled and came through that quite nicely.
So between church activities, keeping track of kids and working we have passed the time and Jeremy's deployment seems to have gone fairly quickly. We passed the one year mark on February 9th.
That is about the long and the short of the last month or so.
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