The wearer of many hats...

Okay. Here I am, at least briefly :) I have been gently reminded by several fellow bloggers/lurkers(you know who you are) that I am WAY behind on blogging. It's true. I'm guilty. So tonight I stayed home from prayer meeting to blog. There. You happy now? haha....just kidding about WHY I stayed home from church. My grandma had a procedure today, and was still pretty tipsy. Someone needed to stay home with her, and I was glad to do it.

This will be a blog sans pictures...sorry to all you folks who like the pictures! I just don't have the energy right now to download pictures off my camera, and then search for just the right one to satisfy you, my readers. But I did decide to post a brief update on life as I know it.

My sister, Diane, had her 4th surgery on 2/27, and seems to be doing well. The surgeon said he wouldn't know until early summer if it was going to heal okay. She now has 2 plates in her arm, as well as part synthetic/part donor bone grafting material. She has been going to Occupational Therapy for a couple of weeks, and is even driving again! Yay! She still has to be very careful, and is not allowed to lift anything heavier than a telephone receiver. That's pretty challenging when you have small children to deal with, hot meals to take out of the oven, etc. But she is managing well, and is in pretty good spirits. She has so many sets of exercises she has to perform daily, and wears a bone stimulator so many hours. You can sometimes see her walking around church with a small machine attached to her arm. I tell her she's very cool :) She also has a special made gadget(for lack of a better word) that is helping her learn to lift her hand up again, like to wave at people. She currently can't do that. So overall, things are good in that department. She stayed with us for 2 weeks, and it was nice to have her and the boys here.

As for me...well, I'm busy. I keep telling you people that! Honestly... :) Here is what my current schedule looks like. Sunday: Play for 2 services, accompany whoever may need to sing, including extra practice with them, etc. Monday: Work 8-12noon in Cardiac Rehab, then drive 25 miles to Shoals to teach 11 piano lessons. I am hoping to get off the am shift as soon as I'm completely done with my orientation in that department. Tuesday: teach band, junior high chimes, 5th and 6th grade, 3rd and 4th grade music, go to Curves, etc. Wednesday: teach high school chimes( I was grumpy with them today)and then teach 12 piano lessons( I have 2 students that flip-flop every other Wednesday, making my grand total each Wed 12). Then I have either prayer meeting or youth meeting that evening. On Thursday, I teach band, honor chimes, 1st grade, and 2nd grade music, and then one piano lesson, go to Curves, etc. On Friday, I work Cardiac Rehab 8-5:30pm, and then the family comes over for the evening. On Satuday, I get up earlier than I want in order to make it to Curves, go to the grocery store, shower my grandmother, set up her meds for the next week, and then try to get caught up on laundry, cleaning, etc. I also like this day to do something with friends. Yes, I am the wearer of many different hats. But I am enjoying life. I never dreamed that I would love teaching like I do, even though I was grouchy with HS chimes today. Well, seriously people, we are less than 1 month from the Recital. We meet once a week, and they were just playing around today. We had 2-3 people absent, so I filled on one part, and had to move a couple people to semi-cover the bases. What aggravated me was that not only could they not read music, they couldn't seem to count today. I had to stop them over and over, and make substitutions until I found someone who could get it right. Even a couple of the students commented today "Wow, people, where is the melody?" Well, I'll tell you where it wasn't...it wasn't being played. So I'm afraid they got more than they bargained for from this spinster school marm :) They took it well, and were playing better by the end of class. Tough love and all that stuff you know. But overall, the teaching is wonderful. And I enjoy the variety in my life. I am learning a new job, Cardiac Rehab, and it is going to work out really well for me. I will be working every Friday, which is a plus when you need a consistent paycheck :) So that was a real answer to prayer. It is fairly fast-paced, but not real stressful. Most of my patients are really nice, though there is an old geezer or two who enjoy hitting on me. If I can just learn to not let them get on my nerves, and handle them gracefully, I'll be okay. One guy was telling me that I was probably looking for a "sugar daddy" like him...uhhh...I think not. He's in his 80's and married. So pray for me that God will give me wisdom in that regard. I guess that's one difficult thing about being single. Sometimes you get some very unwelcome attention, and you can't exactly say " Bug off, I'm married." And of course the attention you would welcome, you seldom get. Go figure :) Anyway....overall, life is very good.

I have been having a great time with some friends/relatives. Steve, Mark B., Kristin, Randy, and I have been playing some Rook, and some of our games have lasted late into the night. Man it's fun, though! Even if some of the aforementioned are dreadful losers :) You know who you are. On Friday this week, several friends/family are going to a Booth Brothers concert! Yeah!!!! I can't wait. I am actually going to get off work early so we can head for the Indianapolis area. I'll have to let you know how it goes.

As for Snickers, he is cuter than ever. He is continuing to adjust to our home very well, and has learned to sit, lay down, stay, watch me, touch my hand, and we're currently working on "drop it." Also, when I put him to bed, he takes a treat from my hand, I say goodnight, and he goes into his crate. It's the cutest thing in the world, I promise! He goes for a little trim tomorrow, so I'll have to post more pictures soon. He's my little baby cuddle-bug! I'm going to miss him like crazy when we're gone for IHC next week, but my great aunt Marjorie is going to keep him for us. She's crazy about him too.

Well, in closing, the Lord is really working in my life, and in the lives of several of my family members. It's so good to have peace in my heart, knowing that I'm doing what He wants for this season of my life. Who knows what tomorrow will hold, but for right now, I'm right where He wants me. That is an awesome feeling, believe me! I'm slowly working my way through Beth Moore's Bible Study, "90 Days with Jesus, the One and Only." There is some great stuff in that book, and it's taking me alot longer than 90 days to get it done. But I am mining some wonderful truths from His word.

Well, my brother and family are here, so I gotta go. Want to tell them hello, and hug my babies. So until a later time....I bid you goodnight!