Dreams Unveiled

Oh, geez- I almost forgot to tell you!

We signed a lease! We are moving into a 2 bedroom townhouse with a basement, literally a 2 minute drive from our current apartment- right on Godown (Kenny) Road. It has BRAND new tiles in kitchen and bathrooms, brand new windows, a walk-in pantry, storage closets and obviously ample room in the basement for storage. The basement is divided by a wall, separating the storage/laundry area from the rest. It's not finished, but a previous tenant put in a ceiling, so with a little cheap carpet and a rug it will be A-OK. I'm pretty pumped for the extra space! I'm turning the basement area into a work space for my future plans, which I've not yet unveiled in its entirety. And what better time?

I am starting small (baby steps says Dr. Leo). My BIG-HUGE-WAY-IN-THE-FUTURE dream is to have a Daycare, Preschool, K-12 school and tutoring center all-in-one. Ever since Adry was born I have spent HOURS on this computer making ALL kinds of plans; paper work, CURRICULUM (which is a hard and long and involved and detailed job, omg), CPR/First Aid certification, legal research, and other business plans. I am going to launch my business (which I originally titled "Ellwood Enrichment" [or maybe EE for short] until I could find a better name, but I never came up with a better name, so that one just stuck. I am used to it, now...) by offering in-home daycare (ONE kid at the most) and tutoring services. Not gunna lie- I'm pretty psyched about setting up a little classroom, haha. I hope to spend one year, maybe two, saving up to rent a building so that I can become a certified daycare and tutoring center. Taking out loans is out of the question, so I would need to quadruple my business and hire help. THEEEN from there I will look into becoming a certified preschool, and so on. I AM SO EXCITED that we are finally moving and I will have the space to launch my dreams and everything I've worked so hard on this past year. I still need a few more planning months, and then I am golden to start getting clients. (I think you would call them clients? certainly not customers, right? Clients sounds weird.)

I've done in-home tutoring before, and right now I tutor at Kumon. I've kind of kept this whole dream on the DL so that I could make sure it would actually happen before I announced it to the world... it's almost here, though, so I feel pretty safe throwing it out there! YAY!

Oh yeah- Lent is over!

I almost forgot to post my last Lent entries!
Also, I'm not sure when the Easter entry will make its LJ appearance. We don't have our own internet at the moment; I am currently bunnyhopping my neighbors' Linksys, and the signal keeps going in and out, which is suck and makes is super hard to upload photobucket pics for the html codes.

Anyway, here are a few things:

Lent Day 36 (Tuesday, April 7)
My dad told me a story the other day. I liked it so much that I googled it, and decided to document it for myself, and share it with you:

---As part of his search, (John Kavanaugh) volunteered to work for three months at "The House of the Dying" in Calcutta, India, a place founded by Mother Teresa. The very first morning he was there, Kavanaugh met Mother Teresa. She asked him, “What can I do for you?” He paused to think and then asked that she pray for him. “What do you want me to pray for?” she wondered. “Pray," he said, "that I have clarity.” Her abrupt response took him aback. “No," she told him, "I will not do that.” When he asked why not, she told him, “Clarity is the last thing you are clinging to and must let go of.” When Mr. Kavanaugh observed that she seemed to have the kind of clarity he wanted, she laughed out loud and told him, “I have never had clarity; what I have always had is trust. So I will pray that you trust God.”---

Why is it so easy to forget that we lean not on our own understanding? We burden ourselves with trying to figure it all out and know exactly what we are “meant” to do…

“Many a Christian worker has left Jesus Christ alone and gone into work from a sense of duty […] The reason for this is the absence of the resurrection life of Jesus. The soul has got out of intimate contact with God by leaning to its own religious understanding.”

Lent Day 39 (Friday, April 10)
UGH, I am having the most terrible time choosing a BOY name! I tossed around the idea of Kyran, but Kyran sounds so….. I don’t know, untraditional. Perhaps because I completely made it up. I am a huge fan of traditional boy names (how my son came to be Adryel, I still have no clue. Ben prophesied it, so I blame him. However, Adry’s first name IS Benjamin), but ALL of the traditional boy names I love have been taken. Jacob- brother. Matthew- brother. Timothy- dad and brother. Caleb- cousin. Michael- mom’s dad and brother. Christopher- every other kid on the planet. SO, I decided to look up traditional biblical boy names and came across a few I thought were different, and maybe grow-on-me worthy:

Javan
Tobias
Elijah/Eli
…….and I’ll keep Kyran on the list.
I also like Cillian (but it reminds me of the beer- boo!), Jayden (but it is sooo trendy), Silas, Micah.

Dang you, boys names! Why do you have to be so hard?! I need to just have 4 more girls. I love all my girl names.

GIVE ME some of your favorite boy names!!




My mom got Adry this OSU hat, and I think he looks cute in it. Now if we can just get him to keep it on.

Home is where your rump rests.

I have been unceasingly packing, moving, and unpacking. I didn't even get a shower today, and I left Adry in his jammies. Obviously, I have tunnel vision when there is a job to do!

We are all moved in to our new place, and I have completely unpacked the entire kitchen. Room one: check! I am in LOVE with the walk-in pantry and ginormous basement, and then in the upstairs hallway we have a linen closet, a storage closet, and then another linen closet in the bathroom. That's probably most literally 50x the storage space alone that we had in our old place. I guess I won't have to throw away half of our belongings each month during my compulsive clean-outs--- I can just pack 'em and label 'em :).

Plus, there is a laundry chute. um, awesome ;)

Yeah, I'm definitely a fan of the new place.

And now I have a KILLER tension headache that is shooting all the way down my neck to my shoulders. ouch ouch ouch.

Happy Palm Sunday!

This week I made a blogger blog. I almost feel like a trader. I like blogger, and there's even a feature that allows the transfer of ALL LJ entries- TAGS, chronologically sorted and EVERYTHING- to blogger. There are all sorts of awesome widgets and customization options, and it is super user friendly. There are a few key things keeping me from switching:

1) LJ book is awesome. It takes 2-4 minutes to load and save hundreds of entries to PDF files in the exact format as you created them. Blogger has blog2print, but it changes the format of your entries, which sucks.
2) LJ has a Facebook newsfeed update feature that I can't find on blogger. This one isn't really a big deal, though, seeing as how I am going pretty much completely private soon.
3) LJ friends! And the friend page, and the privacy and custom options. I love all of these things about LJ-- it's why I chose it in the first place.

So, I am definitely sticking with LiveJournal!! But I wouldn't mind being able to customize the layout of this thing a little more, which is about the only thing I like better about Blogspot.

A Day at the Park

Day 29 (Tuesday, March 31)
A Day at the Park!

Last Sunday we took Adryel out for his very first ride in his big car. He loved it.


First we went to an elementary school playground…




Video of Ben pushing Adry in his car:



his very first slid ride.





He had a great time with that tunnel. He must have crawled back and forth, back and forth at least 10 times. Here’s some baby babble for you:


Next we took Adry to Homestead Park for the first time (I’m loving all the new experiences with the nice weather!) AND he got to swing for the first time!

Yup, he was a fan.

Adry's First Birthday

Day 29 (Tuesday, March 31)
And finally, I bring to you ADRYEL’S FIRST EVER BIRTHDAY!!

At midnight of the 19th, Ben and I woke him up to sing ‘Happy Birthday’. He wasn’t too happy, so I decided to make a tradition out of it ☺. I was born at 4 something in the morning, and I remember my mom waking me up as a kid to tell me Happy Birthday at 4am, and it was so exciting!

On the 21st we had his Sesame Street party at my parents’ house at which he got a million toys! And also some pretty cute clothes. My entire apartment is officially a baby play-place. I forget what it was like to have all this space to myself without tripping over dump trucks and bouncy balls.


First, I must extend some e-thanks to Pam and Les who spent HOURS helping my mom and I prepare for the party. They cooked nearly 100 mini hamburgers and also prepared a bunch of other stuff. Best ladies ever.

Pammy and Adry, who would not cooperate for any pictures.


Les and Adry

And also, thanks to Sandie for driving from West Virginia JUST for Adry’s party. Seriously- wow. Add her to the best ladies ever.


Hutch (Supa Dupa Hutch!) was amazing as usual, consistently a huge support! <3 <3 We love Hutch!



Here’s Ash and Duke attempting to get a good picture with Adry ☺. They always make me laugh!


Aaw, I thought this was cute! Alexz n’ Adry


Here’s some of the yummies we had! I thought the mini burger bar was such a great idea. I think my mom got the idea from Ginny Dillon (Ash’s mom).


Hutch and Alexz loadin’ up!


Alexz and Matt got Adryel this truck. He loves it. I put him in the back and push him around and he won’t stop giggling!


Stephan and Jamie got Adryel this guitar. I was so excited! I wanted a real guitar with strings rather than one of those plastic toys with buttons, because Adryel loves to strum.


There’s Ginny!


from grandma and grandpa Sanders. The big car was from the Jordans (Les, Mer, Tay)


Ben’s mom made the cake. She did such an awesome job! I’m sure it took freaking hours. It was delicious, too. None of those cupcakes were eaten at the partry, but I’m pretty sure that between Matt and I we devoured them within 2 days. Yay for losing weight!


This was Adry’s personal cake.


Ok, my box made it in this picture (bottom right)! I decided to start this tradition: I put topics and starters at the top of the box, like ‘I like you because…’, ‘my favorite memory of you is…’ etc, and party guests wrote a note to Adryel for him to read when he is older, and then slipped it in a slit at the top of the box. I’ve decided to do this every year: seal the boxes, collect them in a big tub, and give them all to Adry when he graduates from High School. Of course during his teen birthdays when “the box” is SO not cool, I’ll only have close friends and family do it privately.


mmm, cake!


The whole party!




I’d just like to point out that that is my little bro J in the background. Look how much freaking weight he’s lost! He looks amazing, but he won’t let me take a decent pic of him.

I had a really great time with the whole party. First birthdays are so exciting!

Jessica Defined

I believe in God.

I believe he created the universe and everything in it.

I believe he created man, And gave man the god-like ability to create.

I believe in free will.

I believe in worship, And that it is a daily decision to recognize and obey God.

I believe in Heaven and Hell, That Heaven is an eternity in God’s presence, And Hell is simply eternity in his absence.

I can’t wrap my mind around a fire and brimstone Hell of eternal torture.

I just don’t buy it.

 

I am a Christian.

I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God, That he died for my sins, And that he rose again in the third day.

 

I guess I could also be considered a Heretic:

I believe in evolution, or at least in its possibility.

I do not believe in a 7 day creation.

I believe the Earth is millions of years old, or at least I am very convinced!

I’m not sure I believe in a worldwide flood,

And I believe in the possibility of the extra terrestrial, or life on other planets.

 

 I believe in the church,

That it is the body of Christ,

That it is worldwide and should be completely unified,

And that if you don't participate in its efforts, Then you have no room to complain about its shortfalls.

 

 I also understand the necessity of denomination-

To define a set of acceptable beliefs and practices,

Because too many non-denominational churches divide and crumble over disagreements concerning biblical interpretation.

 

I am a Strait Edge Girl.

I don’t smoke. I don’t drink. I don’t have sex outside of marriage.

(However, I think weed should be legalized.)

 

 

Depression is an old friend.

I am familiar with him, and he with me, and I’m okay with that.

 

 But Anxiety is a different story.

I hate anxiety.

It effects my life every day

And I would do anything to destroy it.

 

 I believe in God’s loving grace.

It is sufficient.

At times it is far more.

I lay my burdens at his feet and he carries them for me.

Sometimes he carries me.

I owe my life to grace.

 

 I am…

Defiant to the bone.

Strong willed.

Short tempered.

And often unmotivated.

 

 I am not…

A positive thinker

A people-pleaser

A peace keeper

 

I…

Love.

Forgive.

Try to understand perspectives and motivations.

Admit when I am wrong and will be the first to apologize.

Do NOT expect people to live by what I believe unless they claim to believe

And do NOT judge the lifestyles of those who do not believe.

 

I HATE…

Holding grudges, even when it is so hard to let it go.

Being misunderstood without being given the chance to explain myself.

Self-indulgence, self-centeredness, self-rightousness, self-worship.

Arrogance.

 

I LOVE…

FAMILY.

Purity.

Beauty.

Truth.

Passion.

Community.

Peace.

 

I like…

Photographs/ photography-

(I’m no good at it but I sure do appreciate it).

Clothes, jewelry, hair, and other girly things.

Ohio and all four weather seasons.

Lakes, boating, trees, picnics, and flowers.

Novels.

Reflective writing.

Letters.

Movies.

Romance.

Home.

 

I aspire to be…

A lifelong learner.

A lifelong friend.

A flexible, open-minded educator who cares and makes a difference.

A supportive and loving daughter and sister who can always be counted on.

A forever faithful, encouraging, understanding, and affectionately loving wife.

A good, righteous, adoring, unconditionally loving mother who raises godly children,

And a dedicated disciple of God- always surrendering, always loving, always trusting, always obeying.