Fall is too good to be over so soon!

The weather went from nice, warm, and feeling like fall to cold, raining, and miserable all too quickly. Today we are stuck inside freezing (my toes are numb) and trying to get the house straightened up. My good friend Carmel is arriving tonight, and I'm so excited! She gets to be here a week, so I'm hoping it clears up soon. Maybe a trip to Boston, or NYC or something.
My little sister, Joanna, is sick, so she, Zachary and I had to postpone our camping trip to the cabin. It would have been a challenge getting things up there anyway ahead of time, so it worked out, but it's still very disappointing. We played games yesterday afternoon instead.
It's been a busy few weeks, so I'm hoping to slow things down this next week. With Carmel being here, I cancelled all my doctors' appts for the week, so there will be nothing we actually HAVE to do. On Tuesday we are having my birthday party at my parents' house, but even that will be pretty laid back. A movie night I think. Then again, whenever I think one thing, pretty much the opposite usually happens, so we'll see.

Fall in NY is a beautiful time! And oh, the joys of kids!

Hello, friends! Oh, I love the fall, with the gorgeous colors, the leaves on the ground to be raked up and jumped into, and the cool evenings while still keeping the warmth through the days. Wait...the weather part isn't exactly the way it's been - sort of cold, colder and coldest is more like it! I know it will get colder, and yes, there are still a few days where a light jacket is enough, but for the most part, it is chilly. We've had a few rainy days, but tomorrow is supposed to be the beginning of a sunny stretch, and I am excited! Particularly because it is Gabe's birthday, and we are having some of his friends over for a small party. I made chocolate cupcakes for him to take to school today, and apparently they were a hit, since he didn't bring any back home. :)
I may be heading to the Adirondaks with a friend some day soon to see the colors up there (I can only imagine! They are supposed to be way better than around here even!). I'll be taking a lot of pictures I'm sure.
God has been blessing my SS class, as we started the year with 5 kids, and now we have 3-4 kids from the community that have started coming as well! Their parents are telling me they talk about our lessons at home through the week, so I know they are reall getting what we talk about.
I am still looking for work, but times are tough, and I haven't found anything so far. Most places won't even give out applications anymore since so many people are out of work and asking for them. But guess what?! The gas prices are going down a bit, and for us, every bit counts! It's now at $2.42/gal. I'm curious what the rest of the country is at. :)
I am currently helping take care of a very precocious 3yr old, Isabeau, who is adorable and drives me insane! Don't get me wrong, I love her, but she doesn't stop talking! However, she is very sensitive to when people are having a bad day, and does try to help. For instance, this afternoon I had a headache, my shoulder was sore from the injections I got this morning, and my leg is throbbing now whenever I go up stairs, drive, etc. I flopped down on the couch after a couple hours, and she was calling her mom on her play phone. I heard her close the conversation with "I have to go mom, Miss Lisa's head is hurting and I have to go give her a hug to help fix it, and then I'm going to read her a book." She proceeded to climb up on the couch beside me, give me a hug, and then sit by my head and 'read' me a story. I was touched by her concern, and it makes all the time we've spent with her so worthwhile.
Yesterday her brother Gabe (11) was working on cleaning his room, and I was keeping him on task pretty regularly, but I had received some mail that made things look a little bleak, and though I was hiding it pretty well I thought, he came out and asked if I would let him give me a hug. After the hug as he went back to cleaning his room, I was in tears because of the compassion of an 11yr old boy. They're both good kids.

Dental work and a Missionary Conference

This has been one of those weeks where I do not understand why God is making me go through this, and can't He see that I can't handle it? I have a lot on my plate right now. Last week I had the pleasant responsibility of taking Isabeau to the dentist to have some cavities filled. Well, the pleasant part ended right about when I picked her up from school. The appointment was supposed to be next week, but they had a cancellation and called me at noon, asking if she could be there by 3:45, oh, and not to eat or drink anything for 4 hrs prior. No problem, the school was great about holding her to that. I attempted to get my things done before we had to leave, but most of it ended up getting shoved into tomorrow's workload. She was slightly cranky, thirsty, and hungry, which made our 50min drive somewhat stressful for me. The appt went well - they sedated her, and once that had kicked in, they wrapped her up like a papoose and went to work. The normally 1/2 hr ordeal turned into over an hour as she kept kicking herself free of the blanket and straps that bound her. I had to hold her arms and knees down, while others held her feet and head. She screamed pretty much the whole time, though we had brief moments while we rewrapped her and scooted her back up the bed each time. A root canal and 10 cavities filled, complete with silver caps, and we were done. Unfortunately, my work was only half over. Every time her head started to hang forward (at least once or twice every 5min or so) I had to pull the car over and prop her up again. She screamed, cried, howled, etc the entire drive home (almost 2 hrs). She was still under the sedation the whole trip home, so the next day she remembered nothing. I, however, was exhausted, and quite willing to hand her over to her mom when we arrived home.
There is also a lot of stress within my family, which only adds to everything else.
We had a missionary from Bosnia in town this weekend for a conference. He seemed like a great guy, and very much a family guy. He had no qualms about playing with the kids, hiking up the Phippens hill, and talking with anyone and everyone. One evening during the service the nerve in my neck acted up, and I went in the other room, hoping it would go away. It didn't, only got worse, and when Sue came in, she went and asked the pastor to come pray for me. I ended up going home, but there was no relief until almost 5am. At church in the morning the missionary made a point of coming to ask how I was doing, and wanted to know more about it. I didn't know it, but apparently he had also come in to pray for me the night before. He's a very caring and compassionate guy, and I can see how he and his wife would be perfect for the Bosnian people. He loves them so much - it's obvious in how he talks about them.
So no, I have no idea what God has in mind, but I know He's with me, and He will carry me through every step.