Highlights

This week was better. I'm glad. I was so bummed for a while there.

Highlights from this week include a big one, Matt got a promotion at work. If you read my blog, then you probably read his, but the story is there.

He was so happy when he came home from work last night. He told me he didn't know how much he really wanted it until he thought they were going to offer it to someone else (he had himself pretty well convinced by the time they called him up to the office to talk to him). I thought it was a lot like a pregnancy test, but he didn't get the connection.

Xander only had 3 days of school this week, thanks to Martin Luther King on Monday (NOT replaced by a Native American holiday in SD this time), and teacher inservice on Tuesday. One of his friends called and invited him to the indoor ice skating rink on Monday and Tuesday. We couldn't make it on Monday, but we went on Tuesday and had a lot of fun. Xander's never been ice skating before, so I figured it would be a day of a lot of falling down and frustration and anger for him. I tried to warn him ahead of time, but then they had these cool "walkers" there, which are just what they sound like: an iron construction with a wide base that slides along on the ice in front of the skater, helping them get comfortable (and stay upright) on the ice. I had rented skates for myself in an effort to help Xander learn the ropes, but he hardly needed me at all. I probably went around the rink 3 or 4 times total, and once or twice to help him up when he collided with his friend (who is a very aggressive skater who plays hockey and takes no notice of the fact that he's only half Xander's height). He had a great time, and I even remembered to take my camera, but alas! The batteries were dead. So, no pictures.

On a less interesting front, got the paperwork rolling to get our house in Marion refinanced. It is currently on a 15-year loan, so the payments are ridiculously high for such an inexpensive house, but we're working on getting it stretched out to a 30-year loan so that we can save about $150 a month. Oh, and of course, be saddled with the house for 30 years in the event that it never sells.

We got our Aztek back this week after about a week's worth of repairs at the body shop. It looks and runs as good as new, though the "Change Engine Oil" light is on about 2 1/2 months prematurely. Have to check into that and hope it's nothing more than an oil change.

I started 2 new students in my home studio in the last couple of weeks. They're both going to be fun to work with. I'm up to 12 students at home, and either 10 or 11 at USF (classes start in 2 weeks- they had a January-term) so I'm pleased about those numbers. And enjoying teaching. I really only dread one or two lessons a week. That's way better than dreading all of them!

My new job at Good Shepherd (see previous post) started last weekend. I was warmly welcomed by all 23 people there, and they were very appreciative of someone up front singing the hymns into the microphone. I was told that my speaking needs to slow down. SURPRISE! This week I get to play piano and lead, so I've been practicing my hymn playing and attempting to sing all the right verses at the right times. I woke up this morning with "Oh For A Thousand Tongues To Sing" stuck in my head. Can't say that's happened to me very often! I've spent a little time organizing my thoughts and getting things figured out, then we'll start visioning for direction with Pastor Shel and making modifications in the service to make it better. It's an interesting challenge, because I know how to do the "contemporary" worship service thing, but the traditional service is a little different, and I want to do it justice.

This is not interesting, but our toilet broke this week, and it was fixed within 48 hours. I like that part of not being a homeowner. Actually, I like a lot of parts about not being a homeowner so far. Especially things like not having to scoop snow or mow the lawn or pay for repairs. Nice.

We're just going to have a lazy Saturday here with the kids. Probably try to get out of the house at some point, but the 3 of us are still in pj's at 9:30, while Matt took the Aztek in for the final part to get replaced (it was a slightly wrong color). We had praise team practice Thursday night, which meant 4 late nights in a row for the kids. We need a lazy day.

Oh! Today is my Grandma Leigh Anne's 90th birthday! She's not having the party until August because she figures that's a better time to travel in SD. I'd worry about her optimism if she wasn't so spunky! Happy birthday, Grandma Leigh Anne!