So long, Benji

A couple of months ago I started a post that I never finished about how chaotic it had been to have 3 animals in our tiny house. I had Deja before I even met Jason. Then about a year and a half ago, I was working at Town & Country Elementary and three little kittens were found. We were told that they would probably be euthanized if they were brought in without their mom. Jason urged me to bring one home, which surprised me, since he didn't really like Deja then. So, then we had two cats, Deja and Benji.

Benji was so cute and liked to cuddle. But he often terrorized Deja. He grew so big, and he was just always getting into things. By August, we got our miniature schnauzer, Desmond. For most of that time since then, I was always having to keep Desmond and Benji separated, or I had to get onto Benji for pouncing on Deja. It really was driving me crazy.(This picture was a constant sight) But, when Jason said he was ready to give Benji away because he was constantly getting into everything, I resisted. I'm very sensitive about animals, and I probably assume too much feeling on their part. Like, I thought he would feel rejected (even though I know that as long as he's fed, he's probably content). But I hate seeing them at the pet store or in shelters, because I always feel bad for them.

Anyway, I had asked one of my friends to take him. I thought that he'd be great as an only cat. But, on New Year's Eve, he (not on purpose) scratched my hand. He had been sitting on my lap minding his own business. Desmond had gone after Deja, who cried, which perked Benji up. He went to jump off of me to get in on the action, and his claws scratched me. It was a pretty bad scratch. But that did it for Jason. So, the next day I contacted my friend, but she wouldn't be able to take him for a couple of weeks (plus, I think she was just being nice). She suggested St. Francis animal shelter, because they don't euthanize the animals. They foster them before adopting them. I told Jason that he had to do it, I couldn't. So, that was it for Benji.

I cried. It was a little traumatic for me, especially on New Year's Day! But, I told myself that Benji would be fine, and he would go to a family that would love him. And, I had to admit, I saw the difference in the other two that night. Before, Deja always had to sneak around, watching out for an attack by Benji. And like I said earlier, he and Desmond were constantly after each other. (Jason thinks Benji was giving off some sort of vibe to Desmond.) But now, I could tell Deja felt more freedom, and Desmond has been a lot calmer. And, of course when we have kids, I wouldn't want them to get scratched up by Benji, whether on accident or on purpose. Because that wasn't the only scratch from him. I have two scars on my foot from one time he ran past me, and his claws sliced my foot. So, I'm sure most people are wondering why it was so hard for me to get rid of him, but I felt like one of those people who adopt a child and then give them back. I'm a lot better with it now, though. It's the best thing for us.

It's funny, though, Deja seems to sometimes like being chased by Desmond. Yesterday Jason and I were both in the kitchen. Desmond was in there with us, and I saw Deja in the living room walking by the kitchen doorway. I saw her act like she was going to take off running, stop, look over at Desmond, act like she was going to take off, stop, look at him, and so forth like three times. I laughed, because I knew she wanted him to chase her, so I said, "Hey, Deja!" knowing that Desmond would run after her. Sure enough, Deja shot off, then they ran around for a couple of minutes. Cute.

The thing I miss the most about Benji is that he would come sit on my lap or sit on the arm of the couch and put his paws on my shoulder. Deja doesn't do that. I wish she did. But, I don't miss all that chaos and constant scuffling between them. So I have to say, it's a lot better. (Even though I still love Benji)

It's 2010!

I always love to read back through my journal at the end of the year, and reflect on everything that has happened in the year. I also write a review, highlighting important things that happened, for my own remembrance. So, this year I did the same thing. I always find it enlightening and exciting. It reminds me that no matter what bad happened, there were some good times, too. And in the bad, I usually find lessons to remember as well.

For me, 2009 was a year of a lot of changes. I went from having 3 niece/nephews to 5. Jason's brother had a baby in January and my sister had a baby in October. I went from singing on the praise team at Idlewild to singing in the Blend service at Grace. I went from working at Crestwood Elementary to working at Woodbridge Elementary. I went from having all of my immediate family living in Florida to having a sister who lives in Germany. But, despite the changes, it was a good year. From my journal, I can see that it was a big lesson for me in contentment. I still haven't mastered that, but I definitely think it's gotten better. A lot of what I wrote in my journal was prayer for being in a different situation (financially or with work) than I was in. Thankfully, I haven't felt that way at work in the fall. And, financially...well, I'm just trusting God. We're doing OK. Sure, our house is small, but it's enough for us for right now. And I'm thankful to call it our own.

But, I'm looking forward to seeing what 2010 holds this year. A facebook friend said it yesterday, so I'll repeat it...I don't know what it holds, but I do know God is there. That's reassuring.

I had a great Christmas season, I'll write more with pictures later.

Ice, Ice, Baby.

I haven't written in a while. Thanksgiving was good. It was so nice to be off for the whole week, and I was able to get some things done with my scrapbooking, including organizing some of my files. Poor Jason had to work the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving, so I just stayed in, which wasn't too bad since it was cold those days. I am not one of those who wake up when it's still dark to get in the crowded stores and malls. Sure, I may get some good deals out of it, but I like my sleep and don't love crowds. It was hard to go back to work, even though it's only for 3 weeks, and then I get another 2 weeks off. That's just going to make it even harder to go back, though!

We went to the ICE exhibit at the Gaylord Palms in Orlando last night with Jason's parents and his brother and his wife. It was fun and very cold! I didn't realize that they'd give us parkas, but it's a good thing they did, even though they weren't that attractive, because the temperature is only 9 degrees. You're not really in there very long, though. I thought there would be a little more to it, but after you go through the exhibit, they have free hot chocolate and there was a little Christmas show. It was a nice little deal to go to, and we got some good pictures from it. Our nephew, Judah, is so cute. He's just learned to walk, so that's fun to watch. It's hard to believe that he's almost 1. They had an ice slide that Jason and Justin slid down. The rest of us decided not to because at that point we were so cold and there was a good line.

This week is going to be a busy week, since I'm singing in Idlewild's Christmas presentations. I think it is fitting that this will be my last offiicial thing with Idlewild, seeing as that was what brought me there 22 years ago. I never look forward to the lack of time during this week, but really, I love the singing and I'll get to hang out with some of my friends :)

I usually have lots of topics to blog about running through my head, so I hope to get on here a little more in the upcoming weeks.

It's Christmas! (And Thanksgiving)

I've heard a lot of people complain about the time change and about hearing Christmas music in stores already. I have to say, I love it. Now, I don't particularly like that it gets dark so early, except for the fact that I associate it with the coming holidays, and have since my childhood. Once Christmas has passed, though, I'm ready for the longer day again, but until then, love it.

And hearing Christmas music so early...I'm fine with it. This is my absolute favorite time of the year. I know there's a lot of talk about the commercialism of Christmas, but for me, I just associate it with all the positives of Christmas, the true meaning of Christmas, so I don't mind even that. Now I don't want to skip right over Thanksgiving, either, just enjoy both at the same time, in a way. I guess for some people that seems ridiculous, but not me. I've heard it said before that Christmas time is probably a taste of what heaven will be like. So don't we want this feeling as long as possible? But, show me almost anything related to Christmas, and I love it. I have so many good childhood memories of Christmas, of the anticipation of it, the Christmas musicals I did in children's choir and at school...as I got older, the Christmas presentations at Idlewild became one of my favorite things to do. I actually find it fitting that this will be the last thing I'm officially involved with at Idlewild.

But, like I said, I don't want to skip over Thanksgiving. For the first time ever, Hillsborough County school district is off for the whole week of Thanksgiving. I remember when I was a kid, we just got Thanksgiving Day and the next day off. Some time while I was teaching, they added the day before as a conference day (which we worked on another night in exchange for that day off), so that was always nice. You just had a 2-day week. The last couple of years, I've known people who worked in other counties, and they had the whole week off. I thought it was odd, but I was a little jealous. Now, our county is doing that, and I am so excited! It's like another spring break, then we go back for 3 weeks and get 2 weeks off at Christmas.

I look forward to Thanksgiving day, not just my week off. Of course watching some of the Macy's parade, doing the family thing, and eating. A lot of people on facebook have been posting things that they are thankful for. It's a good practice, and I wouldn't want to ignore the whole purpose for the holiday. I am thankful for my husband, my family, my home, my job, and that God has provided what I need. What things are you thankful for? Make sure you take time out to think of this and thank God for what He's given you.

Fall Fun

This year, we sort of got into the festivities for Halloween by getting a costume for Desmond. We were at PetSmart at the beginning of September, and saw the cutest little dragon costume. We thought that would be so great, but we weren't sure how much he would grow by the end of October, so we didn't buy it. Of course, when we did go to buy something, it wasn't there in his size. So I picked a Tigger costume, which was the cutest thing they had left. It only cost $5 by that point, so that was good. We didn't take him anywhere with it on, because he didn't really love it, and the hood didn't stay on well. But we got cute pictures.

 I also put it on Benji, just for a picture. He looks thrilled. I thought it was cute, though.

We didn't make Desmond wear the costume for long, though. Maybe next year.

I also went to the pumpkin patch with my sister-in-law and my nephews. I probably take more pictures of my nieces and nephews than any other aunt. Kid pictures are just so cute, and since I don't have any of my own, that's what I have to do. Besides, I love my nephews and nieces so much--they're so cute!

So, this was the beginning of the fall festivities this year. I love this time of year. Especially once November gets here, and we have Thanksgiving and, of course, the Christmas season. Love it.

Car Trouble

I had a pretty scary experience the other day on my way to work--my car completely shut off while I was driving. Now, I had some warning signs, even though I didn't realize it. First, my battery light was on. Jason had said we'd take it to Autozone to check it out that afternoon. But as I was driving, I noticed the lights on my dashboard were dimmer than normal. I also ran the windshield wipers, and they went really slow. Then my radio started going in and out, and my airbag light and seatbelt lights started flashing. At that point, I should've known to pull over, but I called Jason. It seemed to be driving fine, but I figured I wouldn't be able to start it once I got to school. As I was talking to Jason, all of a sudden, I could feel that the car was starting to go slower, even though I was pushing the gas pedal. I said, "I think my car's about to die!" Jason urged me to pull over, but I was in the left lane and couldn't. I got to a left turn lane, planning to turn into an empty parking lot. Now, if I had had full power, I would've been able to make this turn in front of these cars. As I was starting to turn, I realized since I didn't have full power, I may stop right in the middle of the street, in front of these approaching cars. So I stopped my turn, and right then, dead. I was a little freaked out, and I couldn't even find my hazard lights for about 5 minutes. AAA came and towed my car, and Jason sent his father to take me to work since he couldn't and my parents are in Germany. It was just my alternator, and it was easily fixed. The funny thing is, I had missed the street I needed to turn on and didn't even realize it. Guess I was so preoccupied telling Jason and figuring out what was going on. I kept thinking, how did I pass Hanley and not even realize it? But, I figure if I had turned there, I would have been right in the intersection when my car died, and that would really have been bad. So, thank you, Jesus, that everything turned out OK.

October

It's been a while since I've been able to update my blog. This is mostly because I've been busy on my normal Tuesday/Thursday "free" night when Jason has class. When I last wrote, I had just met the music pastor at Grace, who is friends with Ron. A couple of weeks after that, I got an email about coming to choir practice on Tuesday nights. Now, the choir sings during the Sunday services. We've been going on Saturday nights, where they have a band with a couple of singers. So I wasn't sure what to do, because we liked the schedule of going on Saturdays, but I wanted to get involved somehow. So I knew it would all work out somehow. I went to choir practice, and it was good. But I was encouraged to also contact the guy who leads Saturday nights. So I figured I would, and just see what happened. He scheduled me for the Blend service, which is a lighter, acoustic service that also meets on Sundays. I sang with them this past Sunday. I was nervous, because it's not what I'm used to in being able to read and learn my part. I had to basically create my own harmony part. They post the songs as mp3s so I was able to listen to it all week. I had to call on my previous experience in the Metro band. Of course, there I had Scott and Wendy to help me come up with parts. But I have to say, it's not as hard to do as I was thinking...I've even found myself doing that more with any song I'm listening to. But yesterday, the guy emailed me and said for now he wants to put me on a regular rotation at the Blend...maybe 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off. So Jason and I have decided to continue going on Saturdays, and I'll go back on the weeks I sing. Pretty cool!

I've been wanting to mention one of the great things about my new elementary school. There is a group of people who meet to pray every day before school starts. Of course, since I'm doing good to get there on time, I really have to work at getting there to pray. But, what a great way to start the day! And what a great way to get to know people.

Our pastor has been doing a series about loving others...truly loving with your actions. He's challenged us to share God's love with others in practical ways, meeting their needs. I hate to say it, but that hasn't been something that I've thought a lot about before. But now, I've been thinking about it a lot more. How can I show love in practical ways? That's one of the greatest things. "If you see your brother in need, but have no pity on him, how can the love of God be in you?"

The most exciting thing that has happened in the last few weeks is that I became an aunt again! Amy gave birth to Ava Grace on October 8 in Germany. In Germany (sniff). I'm not sure when I'm going to be able to see her, when we'll be able to make it to Germany, so this is the one thing that dampens my excitement about this. But she is adorable, and seeing pictures of my 4-year-old niece, Jordan, holding her is almost just as good as being there. But not quite. So maybe God will bless us with a trip to Germany. Of course, we want to be wise with our money, but I feel like we need to just go while they're there. I'm sure we will at some point in the 3 or more years that they'll be there, but will I be able to see Ava as a baby? I hope so, but I guess we'll see.

Aren't they cute?

Last for now, I'm so excited about the time of year that it is. It was really nice to have such cool weather this weekend. It really felt like fall (or winter for Florida)! But, we're into my favorite time of the year...Thanksgiving and into Christmas. I'm starting to feel ready to listen to Christmas music. It may sound early, but when you're in a choir learning Christmas music since September, there's nothing strange about putting your Christmas playlist on your iPod in October. I'm feeling the urge to scrapbook, too. I haven't done any layouts since the summer. I'm sure as the holidays get here, I'll get some done.