Back to school

I can't believe it. Summer is over. Notice how dark Colin's picture is? It's because it's freakin' dark outside at 6:15 AM when he has to catch the bus. It's going to be an interesting year. I am not used to having homework- I usually do everything at school in between classes and after school. This year with the levy failing, I have to get to school at 7 AM, 45 minutes before the bell (get a bit done then) , then have back-to-back 2.5 hour sessions, then get kicked out of the building 30 minutes later. Needless to say I am having to take a lot of work home. Good thing is that I am home earlier, bad thing is that I have to spend home-time doing school work. It's been a while since I have had to do that. We'd better pass this levy in November. They have also decided that 16 kids in each class isn't enough, so now we will have 20 preschoolers in each session, with 8 of them being special needs. It's going to be a busy but good year. (I hope!)

My Boys

We went camping last weekend at Winton Woods with the Sextons. Had a wonderful time. Here's a rare picture of the guys. We were on a hike Letterboxing. It was a lot of fun. I found the second letterbox! How exciting!

School's getting ready to begin, and it has already consumed me. I will be out of Blogger commission for a while. Things at school aren't good. A lost levy, shortened hours, more kids (yet they aren't on the roster yet), new principal...I could go on, but I won't. I have too much to do before the Open House on Monday night. So I am off.

Champions of Faith

If you know me, you know I am not a big baseball fan. We usually go to one game a year if we can get free or really reduced tickets. My favorite baseball player of all time is Willie Stargell, #8 of the Pittsburgh Pirates. It goes without saying that Roberto Clemente, #21 of the Pirates, is also a favorite.

I was listening to a Rosary Army podcast today, and they advertised a new movie out called Champions of Faith (Baseball Edition.) It is a movie about the lives of some major league baseball players and their Catholic faith. Please watch the trailer on the Champions of Faith website. (Click Champions of Faith in the previous sentence.)

As a special bonus, my current favorite baseball player, Sean Casey, is one of the spotlighted players! I didn't know he was Catholic! No wonder I like him so much. It's just too bad the Cincinnati Reds had to trade him, then the Pirates. Oh well, Detroit's gain, I guess. He was well liked in Cincinnati, and he did a lot of wonderful charity work.

I think it's great that there are star players out there who are so strong in their faith and are willing to share it with others. I can't wait to see it. I am going to suggest to our pastor, Fr. Tharp, that we purchase it for the church.

iPod Fever

Well, I had to do it. I couldn't wait. I had to replace my lost MP3 player. This time I splurged for the real McCoy...a bright pink iPod nano. As much as I wanted the Product (red) one that helps the people in Africa, it was $50 more than the pink refurbished one I ordered. So I had to save money and get the pink one. Pink's okay. I don't have to worry about Colin stealing it! Shout out to big sister, Jo, who sent me a cover for it and to Jodi for suggesting the refurbished model that's $50 cheaper. I have been spending the evening getting every song on the computer onto the iPod as well as downloading all kinds of CDs. It's a 4G, so it holds tons of music. Boston, Elton John, Kenny Loggins, Beaches Soundtrack, Jeremy Camp, Amy Grant, Veggietales (yep, had to get the Larry Boy rap on there!), Chicago, Backstreet Boys, the Jets, and a bunch of podcasts that I need to catch up on. Still waiting to sell the Lumina, but as soon as it sells I will pay back the credit card. I just couldn't wait anymore.

Harry Potter

I'm done! I'm done! I'm done! I just finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, all 759 pages! It took me 2 weeks, but I did it! Thanks, Pete, for sharing your book, and thanks to all my friends/relatives who've already read it for not spoiling it for me.

I knew that Harry Potter and JK Rowling shared my birthday, but I just found out that the author and I share the same birthdate. She was born in 1965! It's hard to believe the series is done, but I am quite relieved. It'll be very interesting to see the last 2 movies...it's just too bad we have to wait so long!

The long-awaited "That Catholic Show" podcast

Here it is: Water, Water, Everywhere!

Please spread the word about this awesome video podcast!

Friends

Chris Catie Sue Cyndi

I took the boys to PA for one last visit before school starts. It just so happened that my best friend from high school (who also lives in the Cinti area) was going "home" to visit the same time. Our dear friend, Chris, still lives in PA, so we coordinated a visit to visit Chris at her home in Wexford. It was a wonderful visit! We got to see Chris' husband, Aaron, and their two beautiful children, Sam (2 1/2) and Catie (almost 1).

Sadly, Sue and I live only about 25-30 minutes apart, but we haven't seen each other in about 2 years. Life just gets in the way. It took for us to be in PA at the same time in order to see each other. It was definitely a God thing that Sue mentioned in my birthday card that she was going to be going to PA. I called her, told her I'd be there the same time, and the rest fell together so perfectly! We cannot let this much time pass before seeing each other again.

On that note, I will be seeing Liane (longtime best friend from junior high in Illinois who now lives in Indiana) this week. One of her daughters, Lexi, is my goddaughter. I am planning a short trip to Indy to visit them and go to Conner Prairie.

God has blessed me with some wonderful friends over the years! I need to do better at taking care of that gift. Here's to friendship that lasts forever!