Yep! It is still winter here at Fort Cedar! We are having another glorious snow day. I know some people don't like snow days. They say they would rather be out of school early in the summer when it is nice. But for me, I love this chance to stay cozy and warm, to make delicious comfort food and read. I have a pot of chili simmering on the stove and the snow is still pouring down! I am trying my hand at a made up veggie chili....not sure yet!

I have been a little more productive today than I usually am on snow days. I have cleaned my kitchen and packed away my dishes...yes packed them away. Ok, so I am having a very hard time keeping up with kitchen chores through the week, then I am faced with a big mess on the weekends. So, here is my plan, inspired by another blogger,everyone picked out 1 coffee cup,1 glass, 1plastic tumbler and 1 bowl. I left out 4 plates and that's it! I was surprised that everyone went along with this...but none of us like a messy kitchen. I will keep you posted on how it goes!

I hope you all are staying warm and safe wherever you are!

Enjoying Fort Cedar with a joyful heart,
Gigi

Whew! I made it!

I made it through our first week back! It was really terrific to see all of my students and hear their stories of Christmas and snow. I will admit I was pretty tired by Thursday! I believe this semester is going to be fabulous. It is scary and thrilling to know it is Big C's last semester of high school.
I am enjoying my Bible reading...this really changes my perspective each day. One of my colleagues told me about his devotion one morning this week. "You know my devotion this morning said to rejoice in the Lord, not in my surroundings, not in my work, rejoice in the LORD!" I have held on to that everyday. I am seeking to fulfill His purpose and not seek my own comfort or agenda and the funny thing is...I am happier. I am looking each day to praise God for the good things, because they are always there.
Hope you all are having a joyful weekend and looking for quiet moments.

Rejoicing in the Lord,
Gigi

Catching up is hard to do!

Ok so make sure your coffee or tea mug is full this might be long!

The seasons have definitely changed here at Fort Cedar! We have had a busy and stressful fall. We have had lots of changes at school this fall and they have really sapped our energy. Big C has been busy with college stuff...filling out applications and writing essays. I think he has made his decision....and the winner is....Evangel University! I am thrilled that he wants to attend so close to home and now we will just continue to pray for the opportunity to play golf at Evangel. Little C finished his first cross country season and is now lifting weights after school. Bob and I are adjusting to the changes required of us to be the best we can be for our students!

In November I was blessed with a trip to Rome! It was my second time there and I had a wonderful time! It was a conference for teachers that travel with students. It was such a nice time to be with adults...I didn't have to count heads once! Now don't get me wrong, I love traveling with my students and watching them grow and change and marvel at God's great creation, but it was a joy for me to just take in the view and have some time for my own thoughts!

Of course we went to all the hot spots! The Colosseum, the Pantheon and Trevi Fountain but I did a few things I had never done before. We visited the catacombs, which was a creepy but interesting experience. The reason travel thrills me so is that even if you have been somewhere before, each visit brings its own excitement.

I made some great friends and special memories. I was in Rome for 3 full days and returned home to another conference! I landed at the airport, ate some fast food with Bob, Big and Little C and Mom and then back in the car for a 2 hour drive. When I reached the conference location my colleagues aka wonderful friends were standing in the parking lot, in the rain, waiting for me! I thought I would cry after such a tiring 30 straight travel hours to see them standing there!

In December as we were preparing for the holidays and looking forward to some much needed time off we were heartbroken with the loss of our faithful companion, our dog Skippy. He had a cancerous mass on his spleen. He almost made it to his 9th birthday. Skip was a lovable and loyal dog and we loved him very much! It was a very difficult time and we miss him everyday! Our toy rat terrier Molly would whine and wander the house looking for him, which of course was difficult to watch. We decided that we would show her as much attention as possible and take her with us whenever we could! We were not ready to add another dog so soon but God had other plans for us, which came in the very small package of a rescue dog named Holly! She is a yorkie-shi tzu mix and very sweet. She has brought healing for man and beast at Fort Cedar! Molly was terrified of her for the first few days, but they are the best buds now!

We had a very relaxing Christmas break, which is still going as we are on our 4th snow day! We celebrated Christmas day with Bob's family. We had all kinds of goodies and 2 kinds of warm soup! and way more presents than we deserved! Bob's dad didn't make it due to weather and we really missed him. We spent time with Dad and Linda, delicious sandwiches and a fun time at the movies on Saturday and had a great dinner with Mom and Frank on Sunday. Our New Years Eve was our usual fun time with our friends, lots of food and just enjoying each others company.

So, here we are, enjoying our extra time at Fort Cedar and wondering when we will start our new semester! Thanks for stopping by, please leave a comment so that I know you were here! I hope you are having a blessed start to 2010!

With a joyful heart,

Gigi

Summer by the Sea

Oh the places my feet have been!

Well we are back to school and busier than ever. Little C is running cross country this fall and just had his first meet this week! Big C has been sick and had to miss 3 days of school. But he is better and we are going to enjoy our beautiful weekend.

We took a wonderful vacation in August with extended family to Gulf Shores, Alabama. We rented a beautiful house and made some sweet memories. My aunt and uncle were supposed to go with us, but could not due to his illness. So even though we had a wonderful time together it wasn't complete without them. My uncle passed away about a week after we returned home. He was a very important presence in my life and I miss him dearly.

So here some of our pictures of our time away. This pic is incomplete not just because of Aunt J and Uncle W but because Mom and Frank aren't in it!

Here they come!

A local woman has a terrific business that will come to your rental and provide a shrimp boil for you! Then she dumps it on the table and you dig in! Fabulous!!

I was hopeful that my boys would love the ocean as much as I do. At 17 and 12 it was the first time they were at the beach. I have traveled many places and seen lots of different oceans and it was really important to me that they experience it. They had a blast building sand castles and looking for exotic marine life. Man, those stupid jellyfish hurt! We saw some dolphins one day, lots of sand crabs,hunted shells and did some sightseeing! We even took a trip to Florida to the Naval Air station museum. In the end, we all had a really glorious time and Big C found his passion! He has a new focus for his senior year and is planning to major in marine biology in college! Oh well, we just might have to buy a beach house somewhere. You gotta do what you gotta do! Enjoy our pictures, I will try to update sooner next time! Thanks for sharing the seasons at Fort Cedar with me!

With a joyful heart,

Gigi

Reflections

Well I have been 40 for a week! It has been a great week here at Fort Cedar even though summer is zooming by so quickly. Golf and baseball are slowing down and now it is time to concentrate on getting some things done before school starts again. I really have some major decluttering to do. Bob and I worked on our bathroom yesterday and it feels so much better in there. I threw so much away and then made a plan for the rest. Instead of making a list and thinking about what I need to get the next time at the store- I went right away and got baskets for all of my cosmetics. It really turned out well and I was able to get ready much faster today! Here is my makeup drawer now. (Before this was a jumbled mess in three different spots, including all over the vanity)

I also got some baskets and divided things up by categories like I did my makeup. I now have a basket for hair stuff, for first aid(glad we didn't need that before!) and this is a pic of my face basket!

Okay so maybe everybody in the world already has done this but I just have not done this in my new house. Yes, I have lived in this house for like 5 years now! When we moved in I was just starting my teaching career and so the emphasis has been on school. It feels really good to have time to focus on home again. How simple $6 worth of plastics baskets! But just this small step has motivated me to keep going!

I have been pretty sad over the death of Michael Jackson these last few days. I have not always liked everything he has done but he is really a part of my childhood and adolescence. You don't have to like him , but he is undeniably the "King of Pop". His passing will be for many of my generation like the death of Elvis or John Lennon for the previous generation. We bought a CD of his number one hits last night. I really hope the money goes to his children. Do you think it does?

We are having a quiet 4th celebration here (except for the MJ tunes cranked). Bologna salad and watermelon! Bob and Casey are working at the golf course and Carter and I are enjoying doing our own thing! He is going to help me get that Michael Jackson on my ipod later! I guess we will watch fireworks on tv later. Does that sound pathetic? You know my kids have never really enjoyed fireworks so we prefer the dopey television shows like "4th of July from the Capitol" Hope you all have a terrific and safe celebration tonight! Enjoy this truly American holiday!

With a joyful heart,

Ginger

Baseball and Birthday

Friday June 26,2009



We are still busy with golf and baseball here at Fort Cedar. Casey had a tournament Wednesday and then we went to Deanna's for hamburgers. Dean was in town and it was so nice to be together again. Deanna has a beautiful new home and we watched a DVD from one of our camping trips in 2001. It was probably one of the most memorable at least for Deanna and the raccoon! The kids were so little and it was fun to hear their sweet little baby voices again. I think we all had a nice visit and I really hope we will do it again soon. It was just like it used to be and I have missed that. Dean stopped by our house on his way home and we always have a good time. Yesterday Carter had a baseball game at 5:30 and it was really hot! Fern, Deanna, Olivia and Haley came to watch!
"Hollywood" on his way to the game.


Tomorrow is my 40th birthday! Wow! You know the closer it gets the better I feel. I have been dreading it but this week I have started to embrace it!(what choice do I have?) But life really is good here at Fort Cedar. My family loves me, I have the job I have always dreamed of, my house is safe and comfortable, I have great friends! Life at 40 is good! It seems like I sort of have permission to be who I am now! I have already received some wonderful cards and gifts and tomorrow Mom and I have a terrific day planned. We are going to hit the flea markets, thrift stores,and health food stores. All of our favorite things! Hope life is good where you are. Leave me a post if you stop by!

Joyfully,
Ginger

Busy Days at Fort Cedar

Saturday, June 20

Summer is flying by here at Fort Cedar! Thursday we went to Silver Dollar City! We always have a great time but it was really hot!! We live pretty close so we decided to get season passes this year. The fall festivals and Christmas are really nice. My boys are not huge fans of the rides but love the "Great Shootout at the Flooded Mine". Here are some pics of them together and one of their final scores! Sorry boys, I think Dad won!

We also saw a new show at SDC called "Jeerk" otherwise known as "Dancin' Dudes from Sweden"! I have to admit we only went to see it because it was air conditioned! But it is a really great show. It is a rock and rhythm show where they make all sorts of objects percussion instruments, I recommend it if you have the opportunity. The park is really pretty this year so here are some more pics.

However, the fun doesn't stop here! On Friday we got up and left home at 6:30am to head to Greene Hills Golf course. Casey is golfing in a summer league and playing lots of different courses here in SW Missouri! He is getting to know some other players and play courses he doesn't get to during the school year. We had a great day together and Carter and I were thankful for a cart. We usually walk the courses but with our SDC day behind us and our early morning we decided to ride in style. It was a good decision too since there were so many golfers it took 6 hours! Casey did well and is loving his new wedge! Here are some pics from our day.

I hope everyone is having a blessed summer like we are here at Fort Cedar. Thanks for reading and post a comment if you have time! Let us know what you are up to!

Joyfully,

Ginger