The holidays

This seems like it's going to be a nice holiday season. Yes, we don't have much money, and I don't have a job, but God has given us peace, good friends and a very helpful family. He is taking care of us, and that's more than enough to be thankful for.
My kids, who were never into big Christmas lists, gave me a list of what they want. Without us even saying anything, they all decided to only choose 3 or 4 things.
Bri's list:
A pair of cute heels
A new digital camera
One of the new Guitar Hero games

Renee's list:
Ice skates (unlikely!!)
Some type of MP3 player
Demi Lavato's 'Don't Forget' cd (or Jonas Bros., Twilight soundtrack etc.)
Sim City Creator (a game)

Nate's list (it keeps changing):
Spore Creatures (a game)
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (a game)
Alvin and the Chipmunks Undeniable (unlikely!!)

I'm praying that I can get a job before the holiday so I can at least get a couple of these things.

My interview for IKEA is tomorrow. There was alot of people interviewing today, and they're going to be interviewing for the next few days. I hope I get the job - I really like IKEA. About 75% of my bedroom is IKEA stuff.

Bri is in Philly for Thanksgiving, and her dad is going to take her to visit other family. I hope she has a good time.

Well, pray for me tomorrow.

Thanks, and God Bless!
Leslie

Why Type

Hi I have'nt blogged until now because I don't really like typing. Everyone else obviously likes to type but, don't blame me typing is just too boring for me. I don't understand why people type so much. Is it even a hobby? Someone needs to tell me because I'm clueless. Anyway you'll at least hear a little more from me from now on.

Well, I finally did it.

After over 7 years, I finally got a relaxer. I needed to do something to my hair. I'm doing alot of job hunting, and I want to be able to just run out the door if I get a good lead. With my locs, I had to make sure I touched them up, meaning washing and twisting them. After my locs, I had to straighten my hair with the comb, then use the flat iron, and it was still poufy. Nothing worked. So, here it is:

Nicole is a great hairdresser. She does Bri's hair as well, and it comes out very nice. It feels very different. I wonder how I'm going to get to sleep...

Anyhow, have you guys looked at facebook yet? It's a great spot to 'reconnect' with people. Lawrence and I have been on there alot in the past couple of weeks.

On to the kids: Nothing much is going on, Bri is definitely going to Philly, thanks to her father. He paid for her flight, and she's leaving Friday. She's excited. Renee's upset, but if she goes, I don't think she'll come back! She likes it down here, but she misses her Philly friends.

Well, I hope I have another interview before Sunday. I feel like I'm applying for EVERYTHING, but not getting called for much. I'm still praying and looking.

Renee wants to make a different dessert, when she does, I'll post it with pictures.

That's all for today. Thanks, and God Bless!

Leslie.

Job hunting sucks!

Especially in this economy. I had an interview today (I was given the appt. yesterday), but I was rejected. I wasn't there long, and they did the "we'll call you" routine. I'll find something.

Anyway, just wanted to vent a little. Will blog later.

Thanks, and God Bless,
Leslie

So I'm healthy and looking

I need a job badly. As I know many of you know, money is tight. Well for us, money is like a size zero jeans that I'm trying to jump around the room and pull up over my fat thighs. Nate poured himself some cereal, then realized we didn't have any milk. He wasn't happy.
Anyway, I do have an interview, but it's not until 11/23. Yes, a Sunday. It's a retail job. In the meantime, I'm looking hard and praying harder. Please pray too.

I've been getting health questions. Sorry I haven't updated anything. I had several tests come back, and all but one are normal. The only one that's not normal was one that says I have inflammation. Well, of course I have inflammation, that's what was wrong with my eye in the first place! So we're back to square one. Crazy. I'll go to the psychologist soon, I have a number.

So, I started a facebook profile after hearing 'Sign up on my facebook' about a BILLION times. It's kinda fun, so I think I'll keep it up for a while.

Nate and Bri started blogging more. Did you read it? Renee said she doesn't like typing, so unless I move her hands or type for her, you won't see anything from her.

I'm done. Don't have much else to talk about. Please pray for our physical and financial health.

Thanks, and God Bless!
Leslie

AMAZING! That's all I can say!

I'll blog more tomorrow.

comunity service

Community service good and bad. Community service can be good when you have friends to talk to or friends to make. Also, it can be good when you actually have things to do . It starts getting bad when you and your new friend talked about everything you could possibly think about and then you don't have anything to do and on top of that everyone is tired because they've been up since 4:00 in the morning. Also, when you are supposed to be getting food and it comes two hours late and its cold when it gets to you.

Today for ROTC I helped out at a Kids Voting station. That's when the kids get their voices heard in the election. The votes don't count towards the actual votes it's just to see what the future of America thinks. So many children came in today. Students from k-12 came to vote. The kindergartners were so cute. This one little boy came in and wrote his school code numbers backward so it look like E4p(349). Then we asked another kindergartner what grade he was in and he said Obama it was so cute.

This weekend, Saturday and Sunday, I am going to volunteer at a Renaissance fair. I have to direct cars of where to park. I did this one time and it was fun until people didn't want to listen or even just look at where the flag is being pointed.Sometimes people can be mean, but the important thing is to just pray for them and keep going on about your business and don't let them spoil your day.
Well I have to do dishes and get ready for school goodbye, i'll blog later.

I VOTED!

I hope you did! If you didn't, don't complain when the person you want to win doesn't. I'm not going to tell you who to vote for, but I did vote, and hopefully my vote was for change.

Renee and Nate had report card conferences today. Nate got 4 B's and 3 A's. His teacher's only complaint is that he missed 2 or 3 homework assignments. Otherwise, everything is great. He's quieter, and he likes being part of the newscast. Renee got 3 B's and one C. Her teachers had the same complaint - she needs to get her notebook organized, and she missed a couple of homework assignments as well. We're going to work on both of those. The great news, and what almost had me crying in the classroom, is all of Renee's teachers beamed about her! They all said how she is a delight, she does exactly what she's told, she participates, works with groups, and one teacher even said she's the most trustworthy person in the class!! If you know the challenges I've had with Renee since she was born, you know that I am extremely proud of her now! I told her as much when we were in the classroom, to which she asked, "So can we move back to Philadelphia now?"

Bri wants to go to the DMV soon, but I want her to study the book more before she takes her permit test. Maybe next week, we'll see.

Well, I'm going to be glued to the tv tonight - like everyone else, I guess.

Thanks, and God Bless AMERICA!
Leslie

Movin' on now

Ya know the hard thing about living a new life in a different place? What you can do to take advantage of the new chance you earn. I still have yet to find out what I may do with it, but I will soon. Life just gets so wild living in a new land, like the pilgrims, do you think they knew what to do when they came to America? I had no idea what to do, what to say, or where to go. I just thought "I'm a new kid in town, and I don't want to say anything stupid to ruin my chance to be accepted into the community." Although I have friends anyway, I miss my friends back in Philadelphia; Josh ( who has been my best friend from fourth grade),Travis ( who has been my best friend from kindergarten), Emmitt & Leo (twins who have been my best friends from first grade),and Trixi & Qudsiyyah (who have been my best friends from second grade). Those were my school, I also have church but that's a subject I'll get to later. I'll still be going strong throughout years.

School

Hi its Bri I haven't blogged in about two months. School is fine. I have a lot of friends now and I am doing good in all of my class. I have all "B's". Midterms were last week and I got my grade back for 2/4 of my classes. English I got a 85 which is a ''b', and in Spanish, my worst class, I got a 90 which is a high b, not an 'a'. I still have to get my grade for Civics and Economics and my grade for ROTC.

I just got done behind the wheel in drivers education. My teacher was nice. My partner was better than me, but I could parallel park better than him and control my speed better than him. When I go back to school My mom or dad has to get a paper from my guidance counselor and then I can go t the DMV to get my permit, yay.

My friends Amber, Brianna, Kyre, start their behind the wheel next week. I am happy for them. a lot of my friends are in ROTC also, but a lot of us don't have the same class.

I chose health

I was fired last Thursday. The day after posting about the struggle of work and my eye issue, I went to work. By 12:30, I couldn't read anymore. I had to leave. There was nothing else I could do. So I let them know, and they kindly advised me that they were going to end my assignment. I went to the opthamologist, and he gave me a prescription for drops to put in my eye every hour, as well as use my other drops 3 times a day, instead of 2. He asked me to get tested for lupus. I'm doing that today.
Yesterday, I went back to him and he is weaning me off of the every hour drops (they're steroid drops), and told me I don't have to take the other drops anymore. Yay! Keep praying for us.

Bri had her first 2 driving lessons, and she's doing pretty good! Lawrence and I were at the school to pick her up on Monday when we saw her drive in, make a turn, and park at the corner. It was very good for her first time ever making a real car move! Yesterday she said she went on the main road and did very well. Monday, she wasn't making the best left turns, but yesterday she said she did great. I tried to take a picture, but it's hard when you can't see. She has today and tomorrow to do more, then she can take her permit test. Then, she's going to want to get in our car to practice. Please pray for us!

I may be travelling to Philly next month. My mother is having ankle surgery, so I want to be there to help a little. Don't know if I'll have the funds, because I'm not working now. We'll see.

Nate was asked to participate in this 'Math Superstars' program, so he'll be getting more math homework every week. Not sure how he'll like it, but I signed him up. He needs the extra work.

School pictures: Renee has school pictures back, Bri took some, but they're not back yet, Nate forgot, so he didn't get any pics. I'll let you guys know.

Well, I'm off. Lawrence has an appt. today.

Thanks, and God Bless!
Leslie

Work vs. health

Ok, so last week I said I had pink eye, but it wasn't crusty or draining pus (I was about to use a different way to describe pus, but I was going to spell it wrong, and I would have offended lots of people!), so I was concerned that it wasn't pink eye. On top of that, my eye was hurting badly, and it hurt even worse when I looked into any type of bright light. So I went to WebMd, and I found my exact symptoms! I went to the emergency room, and I was correct - I have iritis. Another inflammatory issue. The reason my eye was red and painful is because my iris was inflamed, and every time light hit either eye, it caused my pupil to contract. So now I have to take drops to keep my eye dilated, and I have to go to the opthomologist. That's where the problem comes in.
At work, we are in the last part of our training, and we can't take any time off. If we do, we'll get fired. They let 3 people go for that last week. The opthomologists that I call to make an appointment with only have appointments until 5pm, and will only take new patients no later than 4pm. I don't know when I can get to an appointment, and I don't know the damage that's causing to my eye. I have to wear sunglasses everywhere - even in the house - and everything's fuzzy. I can see, but it's annoying. I can't drive in the dark at all. And I need my job. Please pray with me for my health.

Anyway, so you don't feel so bad about me - I'm doing better at work. Next Monday we'll be out of training, and taking live calls. I can't wait - tired of training. Also, Bri starts her behind-the-wheel training next week. That's going to be interesting. She's excited. I am too, just a different type of excited.

Well, I have to go. Just wanted to update you guys. I'm trying to get Lawrence to blog, but that's like pulling teeth!

Thanks, and God Bless!
Leslie

Here it is!

Well, we've all been praying, and God has provided! It's our car!


Lawrence and the two younger one's decided to wash it yesterday. We went and got gas and air in the tires, and picked up Bri from school; she was doing JROTC service last night.

It's definitely not anything fancy, but it runs, and that's what we needed. We're now able to have one parent home earlier, and we don't have to wake up so early in the morning. I can get more stuff done, and with Lawrence going further away to work next week (with no public transportation in the area), it was what we needed, when we needed it. God always does that!

So what else happened - job has been getting much better. I've gotten into training that I don't know, so I'm not so bored. They moved this lady that was irritating, so that was good, too. Today I was also asked to work on a special project, so I know they see my potential. I'm happy. Happier, anyway.

Also, now that we have a second car, I think I'll go to help Bri get community service points, and also Renee and Nate will get to go to the fair. As soon as I find out how much it costs.

Renee wants me to braid her hair again - she's out of her curly bush phase. It was cute, and easy for her to manage, but the other day she asked me to braid it. So, I'm off. Want to get that done before I get too tired.

Thanks, and God Bless!
Leslie

Who is this person...

...going through the trash? Oh, it's BRI!

Bri's school is having homecoming this week, and they have several themed days, and Nicole's daughter came over and helped Bri put this little outfit together for Tacky Day. Retro day is tomorrow, but she just told me today. We don't have the stuff ready for that, so she won't be participating.


In other news, Nate made his pie, and it was very good. Here's some of the pictures:



I'll have more pictures and more news tomorrow. Make sure you tune in!

Thanks, and God Bless!
Leslie

This past week:

I've had pink eye! I don't remember ever having pink eye before - not as a kid, not ever! Now I don't have the best memory, but I really don't remember having pink eye. So I stayed home Thursday and Friday. Renee hurt her back; we're suspecting her backpack. She was out of school Thursday and Friday as well.
Nate's school called to say he was missing a Polio vaccine. Don't understand how this happened, because this is a vaccine he was supposed to have by 6 years old. Why didn't anyone catch it before? I think there was just an error in the recording. He had all of his other shots, and I remember he received his last immunizations on his 6th birthday, so what happened. Anyway, Nate, who is terrified of needles, was a champ when he went on Friday. Unfortunately the doctor we saw was near the dreaded speedway, and there was a race this weekend! There was so much traffic, and I hate traffic!! Other than that, things were pretty good.

We don't have a car yet, but it's getting closer and closer! There should be an update sometime this week.

Today we're probably going to just clean. I have to clean my room - it's starting to get junky. I've been doing good with clothes washing, cooking, and other cleaning, I've just been neglecting my room.

Also, on Tuesday, we'll have a new couch. If you've seen recent pictures, you did see a sofa and love seat. We were renting that. It was supposed to be for 2 months, but when our car started having problems, and then Lawrence went into the hospital, it drained us. When I got this job, I said I would get a couch with my first check. We'll get the love seat later. We sent the rental back on Friday, and we now have empty space again. The kids love it, because we received a shipment of exercise balls, courtesy of Lawrence's sister. THANKS, AUNT SHIRLEY! Lawrence and the kids were exercising Friday while I walked the dog, then the kids and I were bouncing from room to room with them. My legs hurt now!! The kids also found out they make great weapons. Renee and Nate hit each other with them, and Renee kicked one from under me. We'll see how long the fun lasts.

Well, my laundry stopped, I have to fold and iron. I'll post pics later.

Thanks, and God Bless!
Leslie

Pie Pictures

So, this was supposed to be posted two days ago, but I asked Lawrence if he wanted to do it, and you see how fast it got done!
Anyway, These pictures are from my phone, so they're not the best. The pie, however, was great! We all enjoyed it, as you can see in the pictures:




So in other news, we may have a car! We're still praying that this is the right one. We went to see it today. Keep praying for us.

My job is stressful. I can't wait to start actual work. I know I said this before, but I have to repeat things at work, so I'm used to it. Lawrence however, likes his job. If it wasn't for the fact that we would both end up working second shift, I would probably work there. I am actively looking for something else, because the job I have is temporary, and if they offered full time, I may not accept. I think I want to stay at the temp agency, but not at the company they have me at now.

The debate is on. I don't like this town hall stuff, and Tom Brokaw is very biased. It's sad when you can see it. I think the last two moderators were pretty fair, although you can see that Gwen Ifill was pretty chummy with Joe Biden. They were fair however with the questions and answers, even when Sarah Palin didn't answer, and said she wasn't going to answer.

I'm mad at Lawrence. I turned from the debate, and he said turn back. Now I'm watching it, and he's interrupting with his snoring! I'm going to join him now, we can have a duet.

Thanks, and God Bless!
Leslie

SNL Debate Skit

If you couldn't watch it Saturday night, you missed a GREAT ONE! It was too funny not to post here!

Just a couple of updates:

If you haven't noticed, I've not been able to keep up with the updates like I want to. I've taken away the 'Dinner of the Week' portion, because really, although I cook, it's hard to write down exactly what I use, and I don't want to just take items out of a book if I'm not cooking them myself. So if there's something I find and make it - and like it - I'll add it here.
I will probably blog a little less during the week, but I'll definitely add something at least twice a week.
Also, I'll try to get the kids to post more, and I've asked Lawrence not to post more than once a day when he does. I know it's difficult to read if there's a lot of updates in one day.
Renee is making a pie, and that recipe is on the 'Desert of the Week' post. Can't wait to taste it. The crust just came out of the oven, and smells really good! I'll post a picture when it's done.

That's all for now, I'll talk to you guys later!

Thanks, and God Bless!
Leslie

I feel like I'm neglecting my project

I've been working, and it's been a little bit of a trial this week, trying to get the family schedule together. I forgot to cook twice this week, and it seemed like there was no time to do anything else. It's getting better, I was able to do laundry, I've delegated more responsibilities to the children (right now, they only do one thing each), and Lawrence has been chipping in.

Let's get to progress reports - the kids are doing great!! Nate has all A's, nothing under a 97, and his highest grade is 102.6! Renee has A's, B's, and one C, and that's because she didn't organize her notebook right. If she would have done that, she would have gotten an A+ in that course. Bri got all A's and B's. They're all doing wonderful.

Bri is going to assist with parking at a Renaissance festival tomorrow. It's with her JROTC group. It's going to go on every weekend for I think a month, so I may help one Saturday. Renee wants to go as well, but I have to see how much it costs.

Work has been challenging. I can't wait to get out of training and do actual work. Training is very boring!! So sick of waiting for everybody else to get done. I want to go at my own pace, and not worry about anyone else.

We're still praying for that second car. Right now, I get up at 5:30am to take Lawrence to catch the 5:59am bus. Then I see Bri and Nate off, make sure Renee wakes up, and start getting ready so I can get to work at 8:00am. Lawrence gets off at 3:00pm, but since I don't get off until 4:30, he catches a later bus. He gets to the stop at 4:30pm, and I pick him up at 4:40. We need a second car. Tomorrow, I have to take Lawrence to work, then take Bri to school so she can get to the festival. Lots of driving. Keep praying.

Bri is waiting for me to finish so she can upload a Chris Brown cd to her PSP. Anyway, I'm off so I can get ready for tomorrow.

Thanks, and God Bless!
Leslie

When we moved here,

this "tree" had more branches, but no leaves. It was kinda sad then, and it's even worse in this picture.









Then Friday morning, it was rainy and windy, and the top of the tree's branches broke off, no longer even looked like the Charlie Brown tree!



Today, the Landscaper came out and planted another tree. It's kinda cute, but it's gonna need us to water it about as much as we walk the dog. We'll see how it grows. Here it is:













This is me today. I started my first day of training. I thought I was kinda cute (man, I have a five head!), so I had Lawrence take a picture of me. The brace is because I had some pain in my hand, maybe from being a blog hog! Anyway, I had an okay day at work. I know the stuff we're training on, so it's going slow already. Some of the people that I'm training with never worked in a call center, and it shows. They're asking several of the same questions, and if they would have either listened to the trainer or the first person who asked her to repeat it, the class would run smoother. I hope I can move at my own pace, if not, I might just pull my hair out! I guess waiting for others will give me more break time, so that's good.

We're watching Heroes, although I wanted to watch the game. Lawrence turned to it, then started snoring. This season is a little weird. Too many stories, and I missed some of last season, so it makes it harder to follow.

I'm upset that the Eagles lost, and I'm not sure about this season. Looks like we're going to have a rough road this year.

OH! I almost forgot! Nate is going to be anchor for his school's news program! He's very excited. I'll see if I can get a picture.

Well, I'm going to bed. Gotta get up early to start a LONG day!

Thanks, and God Bless!
Leslie