From the Coast to the Country

Rolly Polly

2011-05-21T10:53:00.002-05:00

Lila is always amazing us with what she has learned so far. She has recently discovered that she has a left foot. She loves to lift it in the air and hold on to it. She is also rolling over now, tummy to back, and back to tummy. She loves to try and practice this new development on the changing table. It makes it very hard to put a diaper on her when she is trying to roll on to her tummy.

Update, FINALLY

2011-05-18T13:26:00.002-05:00

It is amazing how busy we have been since I last blogged. Lila will be 5 months old this month. I can't believe how fast time has gone by. TLC filmed our story for a show called Baby's First Day. As the air date approaches I am not sure how I feel. I had a very rough time with the labor process and how things turned out. I am OK with the fact that I had a C-section, we would have ended up in an emergency one anyway if we hadn't already made the decision. Lila was facing the wrong direction, and never turned properly. I am still struggling with the fact that after 36 hours of the labor process and everything we had go on and occasionally go wrong, I was the last person to actually see and hold Lila. Once they got her out, the I.V pole was in my way and then I had to get "knocked" out since I started yelling from being able to feel pain on the table. Because of that I had a longer recovery process to wake up from and after delivering Lila 7 hours earlier, I was finally able to hold her. I guess I am not sure how I feel watching this go on. I don't know how the episode is being aired-we share a half hour show with another birth story-but I am not really sure I am ready to watch this happen again. I don't really expect anyone to comment on this, it is just kind of cathartic to write how I feel down.

Are we there yet?

2010-10-22T06:31:00.002-05:00

I am not in a rush to get baby Lila out since it is far too early for that, but I am counting down the days. I have to say, we have one cute little girl. On our last doctor visit we got to see her on the screen again, and she just has the cutest nose and mouth (I know, I am biased). As much as I want to meet her, I feel like there is so much to get still and do. Every shopping trip we make includes some baby item as we are trying to get the things we need in little bits. As much as we have, I still feel like we need so much more-what if she comes and I don't have something she needs? This thought has crossed my mind so many times, but then I walk into her room and remind myself that we do have enough to survive a few days with her.

Girl and School

2010-10-11T16:11:00.002-05:00

Our little girl has been growing very quickly. She has really made my tummy nice and big. At our anatomy scan we discovered that we are having a girl, but that she was growing big. I have had 1 more ultrasound to check her growth progress since then, and she seemed to have slowed down a bit in growth. I have another ultrasound in a week to check her growth again. I think she has her daddy's legs, since her weight is where she should be. Either way, I am now being monitored for her size.
The biggest news we have is that John has decided to go back to school to become a high school art teacher. If everything goes well, he will be done in 3.5 years. I am so proud of him for this decision. He has really thought it through and in the long run, this is the best thing for our family. He will still play music on the side, but it is no longer his career focus.

Baby

2010-08-23T19:33:00.002-05:00

We have our anatomy scan on Wednesday. We are really hoping that baby cooperates so we can find out if it is a girl or a boy. The students at my school have been great. Almost everyday one of them asks me if I know what it is. I am pretty sure I will need to make a shirt to announce it and wear it to work so I don't have to answer the same question all day on Thursday. John has been very cute. I think he might be more excited that I am =).

Hopsital Visit-by Catheryne

2010-08-16T16:39:00.002-05:00

On Friday the 13th, I went in to Vanderbilt hospital for heart issues. I have a heart arrhythmia, which sometimes causes me to get palpitations. Usually my palpitations only last a couple of seconds to a minute and then I am fine. Well on Friday I got a bad case of palpitations and after still have them for half an hour, I decided to call the OB nurse line and ask about them. They immediately told me to go to the E.R. John was playing a gig for Habitat for Humanity so I was unable to reach him, I left him a voice mail telling him where I was going and why. I got to the hospital around 5:00 pm and checked in, with my palpitations still occurring. Within 5 minutes of checking in I was brought to the triage room and they took my pulse, and blood pressure, they also did an EKG. My pulse was 180 beats per minute. I was placed in a room in the emergency department. Within a few minutes I had two cardiologists, two e.r. doctors, and a bunch of other nurses in the room with me. They told me I was a high priority. My heart was not only beating too fast, but it was stuck in an off beat pattern. The doctors tried several methods to naturally get my heart back to a normal rhythm (normal for me), but it was unsuccessful. They had to give me a drug that shocked my heart into a normal pattern. This was all very scary and John was still unable to get to me. After a couple of hours after the drug treatment, John was finally able to get to me. My rhythm was regular, but my pulse was still way too fast. John walked in to me in abed hooked up to three heart monitors, and I.V. and an oxygen tube in my nose. A very scary sight for him. The doctors were trying to figure out what caused this and though that it could have been due to a blood clot in my lungs. We had to make the agonizing decision to allow for a ct scan. We decided to go ahead an have one because they were going to place me on blood thinners without knowing if I had a clot, which would not be good for the baby. So we took the risk to expose the baby to the radiation hoping that I would not have a clot. Luckily I don't. The doctors knew that I would have to be admitted because my hear rate was still too high and they wanted to watch me. I was finally moved to room at 5 a.m, 12 hours after coming in. We were able to get some sleep in the room. Saturday afternoon the cardiologists came by and said they wanted to keep me another night and to also put me on a beta blocker to try to slow my heart rate down. Before I agreed to take the medicine I knew I wanted to talk to an OB to see the risk it would have to the baby. The OB came by and brought an ultrasound machine so we were able to see the baby for a second time while in the hospital, she was also very good at answering our questions. The beta blocker would not affect the baby, so I agreed to take it. The medicine worked and my heart rate finally dropped Saturday night. On Sunday I was discharged. We had great care while there, they pulled a chair that folds out to a bed by my bed so John could stay by my side. They also brought him food when they brought me food. We could not asked for better care during this scary time. We are also very grateful for the baby being OK during this all.

Open Doors

2010-07-10T16:06:00.002-05:00

The last two weeks have been very eventful. John's band recorded three songs, and were able to get two of them mixed. His band also played on the 4th of July. This last week he made contact with an arts academy that is through my school, and if everything goes well, he will be able to teach drum lessons in the afternoons. We have been praying for many things, and if things go well with the drum lessons, that will be one answer to prayer. We are still very hopeful that the Lord will continue to open doors for us. I will be going to NM to visit my Grandma Marion for her 91st (!) birthday, my parents will also be there. I am so excited to be able to see them all, I really have missed them. John gets to stay behind and work and watch the animals. Not too exciting for him. The baby is making my tummy very big, I am not convinced that is looks like a baby bump to all who see, I still think that I look like I have a big belly to people who don't know I am preggers. John keeps telling me otherwise.

Living in the South

2010-06-30T08:35:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I was talking to my dad on the phone trying to get some travel plans finalized to visit my parents and grandma for her 91st birthday. Anyway, the topic of food came up, as it usually does with me now. I was telling my dad that the South has great food, and they have a lot of fried foods, but we have yet to find a place that has fried zucchini. There is also only one place that has fried mushrooms. Back in California, those were two things that were fairly common to find at fast food places. I think Nashville could learn a thing or two from California's "fried side." John and I joke a lot about this baby. I have never been a big eater, I like to eat, but I usually am never able to finish a meal. Being pregnant has changed that, I am hungry ALL THE TIME.

Big things?

2010-06-26T13:08:00.002-05:00

We are hoping that this week will be a life changing week. John's band has a photo shoot tomorrow and then they are going to record two or three songs on Tuesday. The band's management had a meeting with Word Records a couple of weeks ago, and according to management, they said it went very well. On Wednesday the management is going back for another meeting with Word to show them the new songs. We are praying very hard for the band to get a record deal. We would love it if you could join us in praying for this. All prayers are welcomed.

We finally got to meet our OB on Wednesday. We were a bit nervous about whether or not we would like her. After meeting her and her nurse, we are so happy with our choice. I go back in about 4 weeks for another appointment. I am super excited. We got the see and hear our baby's heartbeat a few weeks ago, but the baby was still too small to hear it on the Doppler. The doctor warned us that we probably wont hear it before she tried so it wasn't stressful to not hear it. I am just excited to go back and hear it. It is the most amazing sound to me!

Belle

2010-05-29T07:58:00.003-05:00

This is just a quick post to talk about our dog, Belle. I (Catheryne) have always been amazed by animal intuition. She is no exception. I have had a fairly easy pregnancy so far, I get a bit queasy, but not nearly like what I was expecting. There have been some days where I just don't feel well-tired, queasy, and a backache-it is on those days that she has been even more attentive to me than normal. She is our dog, but really more my dog in her attention. Just this morning as I was in the other room with the door closed, she laid down by the door as if she were guarding it. Her behavior is encouraging to me and helps me when I am home on Summer break when John is working. I believe that God chose her for us. When we went to the humane society to look for a dog, she was not the first dog we noticed. In fact, she was the last dog. Usually you have to wait to take an adopted animal home because the have to spay or neuter them. After we noticed her and asked about her, we were informed that was were able to take her home that day because she was already spayed. She has truly been a blessing to us. She is also a great guard dog. She growls and barks at people and strange noises in this apartment, which makes John a very happy person.

Baby, band, and flood

2010-05-26T08:16:00.004-05:00

The McFarland's are having many exciting things happen. Catheryne is pregnant, she is due Jan. 11, 2011. This is very exciting for us, but it is also scary. We really want this baby, so all scariness it just anxiety over the newness of life. John's band has been very busy. The band won a battle of the bands a few weeks ago. One of the prizes was a 6 month free contract with an agency/management company called Fastrax. Fastrax has really been working hard for them. The company is meeting this week with Word, which is a record label. We could really use your prayers for this meeting. We are praying that the band will get signed, and that John will be able to quit his day job. The band's heart is truly for the LORD and their goal is to spread the love of Jesus in a way that can reach all people. All prayers are welcome no matter what. Hopefully, we will get better at keeping up with this blog. I think we are going to have many more things to write about now.

The national media did not do a great job with covering the Tennessee flood. The area of flood damage is equivalent to New Jersey. It hit more areas than just Nashville. According to news reports, this is the worst flood ever recorded for Tennessee (by the way, it also affected parts of Kentucky). The media is calling it the 1,000 year flood. Catheryne's school was greatly affected by it. The only part that remained dry was the top level. The entire school lot, portable classrooms and first floor were completely flooded. To help put it into perspective, this picture was taken before the bottom level of the school flooded. The building in the picture ended up having water all the way up to the roof line.

Music and Moving

2010-03-09T18:40:00.002-06:00

John's band, Twelve South, has released their EP album. It is available on CDbaby. The band will be recording their newest songs this Saturday. We have also moved into our new apartment. It is much bigger than our old place. Thomas seems to finally be adjusting to it. He had a rough couple of days when we first got here. John is doing a great job with moving all of the heavy stuff. We have a lot of unpacking left to do.

Changes

2010-02-07T13:47:00.002-06:00

The past few months seem to have been very busy. We celebrated Christmas with Catheryne's parents and Grandma Marion. It was perfect. All of the cooking turned out well, and we even had flurries on Christmas day. We also are moving March 6th to a bigger apartment that is A LOT closer to Catheryne's work. This will mean that whenever there is a extra event, she wont have to hang out at the school for 3 hours. January brought snow with it. Tennessee is not really designed to handle any amount of snow. Catheryne has had 5 snow days since January. This last storm actually produced what was predicted. We had about 2-3 inches of snow, with 1/2 an inch of ice on top of it. January also brought with is a 21 day time of fasting and praying for God's direction. We have been praying really hard for John's music career. Anyway, about 2 days into the fast a band called Twelve South called John about playing with them. John had practiced with them once before, but nothing really happened. John is now playing with them and loves it. Catheryne even likes the music as well. The band is having an EP release party on February 28th.

Holiday Season

2009-11-16T17:25:00.002-06:00

We are excited to begin the holiday season. We have already put up our tree for Christmas. We have a little black tree. We went to one of Catheryne's favorite stores-The Dollar Tree- and found some really nice looking place-mats, napkins, napkin rings and a table runner. So of course we had to set the table, and because the table was set, we put out the tree. We are spending Thanksgiving alone, which we like. We don't really like the traditional meal, and by spending it alone, we can cook what we want. Catheryne's parents and Grandma Marion are coming for Christmas. This is what has us so excited. It will be the first holiday spend with family since we have been married. We have many exciting things to look forward to besides Christmas. We are moving to a different apartment complex in March-please pray that is goes smoothly. We are looking at a bigger place and it is closer to Catheryne's work. This will make a huge difference for her. She has a lot of after school things that she ends up doing and living closer will make it easier.

September 11th-by Catheryne

2009-09-16T14:04:00.003-05:00

September 11th is my birthday. I have had a hard time with this since 2001. I know that it is important to remember the tragedy of that day, but why is it that every year on this day the media feel the need to replay the horrific images? I have had two students who also have this birth date and I wonder how they feel, as a kid, to have to share their special day with the media spewing sorrow. John always does an amazing job making this a special day and I have finally gotten over the quilt of feeling happy on it. I just feel that we must always remember the tragedies we have faced, but we must also focus on our strength. I do not think that the family members want to see this over and over again on 9/11. OK, now I am done ranting.

End of Summer events

2009-08-23T18:37:00.003-05:00

Our summer officially ended with our trip to upstate New York to celebrate Catheryne's Grandma's 90th birthday. It was a 12 hour drive through Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. It was our first time going to Ohio and John's first time in Pennsylvania. Driving through counts as going to the state, plus gas stops help with that tally =). We had a great time. We took Belle with us and she loved it! We arrived on Thursday night and left on Sunday. We spent a few hours at the lake on Friday, Belle is a water dog. She loved the smells and stepped right into the lake. We even took her on the boat. We weren't sure how she would take it, but she love it. Friday night was spent getting to know some of the relatives and Saturday was the big party. Over 80 people came to celebrate Grandma's birthday, including her friend from her first year of starting school as a child. It was so wonderful to meet new family member and to revisit with family members that haven't been visited with in a long time.

It's that time...

2009-07-18T20:41:00.002-05:00

It has been a few weeks since our last blog. We have since celebrated 4th of July with a good 'ol Southern BBQ at a friend's house. We had a lot of fun at it. We played an awesome game of Scene It, the boys on my team rocked, sadly we still lost. We also survived another youth group car wash. Our youth are going to Gulf Port, Mississippi and they have been working hard to fund raise for their trip. John and I will be going to NY soon to celebrate Grandma Marion's 90th birthday. We are looking forward to meeting family members that we have never met and celebrate with her. I have a laptop conference I am going to in Memphis. We have always driven through Memphis, so this will be the first time I actually get to see the downtown area.

Robin Hood

2009-07-01T13:16:00.002-05:00

We are great fans of Netflix. We subscribe to it to help supplement the lack of TV programing. We have the very lowest form of cable so we can watch some TV and get weather updates during a storm. We don't get TV reception without cable. Anyway, through Netflix we are able to catch up on some of our favorite shows that we don't get the channel for. One of our favorites is BBC America's Robin Hood. This series is very well done. We just finished watching season 2 (we thought it was season 3 at first). It was such a dramatic season that has left us waiting for season 3. Very few shows really grab our attention. This has been the highlight of the last few days. John has been working night shifts to help rearrange the store. He is finally done with those, so we can get our life back to normal. It throws things off when one of us is sleeping all day. We had a small scare about Catheryne's job due to some unexpected layoffs at the school, but everything seems to have evened out and it looks like there is no need for us to worry anymore. We have continued to stay busy with the youth group at church. Next week will be the first day the youth group goes to the lake. Catheryne is excited to finally go to the lake, and we don't know if John will have to work that day or not. We are also looking forward to our first 4th of July BBQ at a friend's house.

It Happened in Italy By: Elizabeth Bettina

2009-06-21T21:09:00.004-05:00

Love thy neighbor as thyself- this is the commandment that the Italians during WWII followed. It Happened in Italy chronicles Elizabeth Bettina's quest to discover the history behind concentration camps in Italy, specifically in the town of Campagna. She discovers on one of her family visits to this town that the Italians housed Jews during WWII. This was a little known fact due to how drastically different Jews were treated compared to other places in the world. She discovered that Jews in Italy were treated fairly, as though they truly were in need of a neighborly love, she was in awe of how kind the Italians treated the Jews. She was also surprised by the lack of people who know this side of the war.

This novel is a bit disappointing. Bettina tells a great story, but it was not what I expected. I expected the novel to read more like a history book than like a transcript of a phone call to a friend. I am not sure if I would recommend this novel. It was easy to read, but hard to get into because it seemed to lack a true story line and historical documentation. Overall, I wish there were more historical facts.

One Year Anniversary

2009-06-21T16:59:00.004-05:00

We just celebrated our 1-year wedding anniversary. This last year has gone by so fast. We are excited to see what the next year brings to us. We spent the weekend in Chattanooga, Tn. There wasn't too much for us to do in the area we stayed-we tried to stay within walking distance of our hotel. This worked out nicely though, it gave us a chance to really catch up on our rest after being so busy. The main reason we went to Chattanooga was to visit the aquarium. This aquarium has penguins. We were so impressed with the way the aquarium was laid out. There were two separate buildings- a river building and an ocean building. John had never seen live penguins before, and as Catheryne's favorite animal, he was eager to see what the hype is all about. He thoroughly enjoyed the penguins exhibit. His favorite animal is a wolf, but after seeing the penguins, he admitted that they are ranked up there with the wolves. After we went to the aquarium we went to a 50's style dinner for lunch. They had a "pounder" contest- if you ate the whole pounder burger they took your picture and placed it on the wall. Catheryne made John take the challenge, it seemed too easy after the 3 lb. burger. The animals both seem to be glad to have us home. Thomas is supervising the typing of this email.

High School Musical

2009-06-13T10:39:00.002-05:00

We began our week with VBS. We have been helping with VBS since March so it is a relief, but a a bit bittersweet, to be finished with it. Catheryne has been involved in VBS before, but it has never been anything like it is at our new church. We recreated HSM 3 for the kids. We filmed parts of it and then had live dance scenes. It was amazing. The evenings started with worship, then HSM, then the kids went to their classes and then HSM again for closing. Imagine a church camp experience crammed into about 2 hours for 3 days. The kids loved it. There were also new souls won over for heaven-which is the main purpose. We weren't sure what to expect since we were so busy helping with the acting part and we are so impressed with all of the hard work that goes into this experience. Now that we have our time back it seems a bit weird to not be gone all the time. Belle definitely doesn't mind. We had some days that lasted 12 hours and the poor girl was stuck in her crate. She has been glued to Catheryne's side since we have been finished-we think it is a hint.

Baseball

2009-06-04T09:06:00.005-05:00

We experienced our first baseball game together (along with 23 other kids/ leaders from our church). It was a lot of fun. We lead a group that is designed to plan outings for our youth group. We went to the Nashville Sounds Faith Night. We got to see a concert of a band called Philmont. They were awesome, and they are still new, so it will be cool to say we saw them and met them when they become bigger. The Sounds won, which was also an exciting experience. We missed our turn home and had to go a different route home. We drove through an area that is in serious need of Jesus. We saw some very drunk people stumbling and a few corner deals going on. It was a bit scary since we had two younger girls in our car with us, but we made it home safely. Catheryne is now on summer break and John seems to be busier than ever. He is working, helping to mentor the youth band and get that started, as well as working with his own band. Catheryne also some howmanaged to get him involved in helping her with VBS, or at least being a personal driver. VBS will be awesome, but it has taken up so much of our time. It fininally will be next week, so we will have a lot of time back to be on our own.

Blog time

2009-05-14T18:29:00.002-05:00

As June 20th is fast approaching it is hard not look back at the past year. We have had so many new experiences being married and moving to Tennessee. We have had to face tornadoes, finding a new church, and jobs. We have met so many great people and are still meeting new people. We have had so much fun being married, we are able to do all of the silly things we have always wanted to do. Thomas seems to be tolerating Belle, they are just like siblings. I think a kitten would really make Thomas frustrated enough to keep him entertained, but we are only allowed 2 pets. John has decided that when we are able to get another pet, he wants to a German Shepard-Husky mix. Belle would love to have a playmate so I don't mind.

Sun Burned and stuff

2009-04-25T19:01:00.003-05:00

We did a car wash today to raise money for our church and it was AH-mazing! We raised almost $600. This was hosted by our youth group (Velocity), and it was so neat to hang with the kids and wash people's cars. It is also amazing how generous people are when they know they are donating for a cause. The only downside was the massive sun burns Catheryne got and the few sun burns John got. We have decided not t go with both of the independent consultant jobs. Catheryne will still do the jewelry one, there seems to be a much bigger marked for that out here. We are almost at the 1 year mark for being married. God has blessed us so much in this year and it has gone by so fast.

Happy Easter

2009-04-12T17:14:00.001-05:00

Opportunities

2009-04-10T18:52:00.002-05:00

We have been looking at different opportunities to earn extra income. We are thinking about becoming independent consultants. John would sell a product called Advocare, which are health supplements. John tried their energy drink and loved it- Catheryne had a sip. It tastes like Kool-Aid, and gives you energy without the jitters. Catheryne is planning on selling Cookie Lee Jewelry. There is only one other person she found in TN who sells it, and she is a few hours away from where we are. Our goal is to be able to earn extra income to help pay off debt and be able to buy a place of our own, while also doing something that we enjoy. We want to be in a place where we could have a backyard (even a very small one) for Belle, and for John's German Shepard -Husky mix( which he is waiting to get for when we have our own place).

We're not in California Anymore

2009-03-30T08:28:00.002-05:00

Earthquakes are not fun. Let us just put this out there. Earthquakes are scary and they have aftershocks. John is not afraid of them, but Catheryne is. We now have something that we are both scared of-Tornadoes. We had our first tornado warning of the season. It was very scary. We had strong wind and hail, then strong wind and rain. The TV was doing an awesome job of keeping us informed. We even had the warning sirens go off twice-this only adds to the scariness. Since we are upstairs, we really only have our bedroom closet to hid in. We did not have any touchdowns here, but Tennessee did have 2 touchdowns, one was about 20 miles or so from us. Luckily they were not major, just some destruction. Catheryne thinks she would rather have the earthquake over this. But hey we love it here, so I guess it is just something we will need to deal with.

Oklahoma/ Travel

2009-03-25T17:00:00.002-05:00

We drove to Oklahoma this past weekend to surprise Grandma Lila (one of the most amazing people ever). She turned 90 on the 18th, so her daughter planned a very nice party for her. Catheryne's parents flew in to OK for it as well, so it was very nice to see them. The drive was a bit hard on us, about 9.5 hours each way. We woke up at 3:00 am on Saturday to make it on time. We came back on Sunday exhausted. We are still trying to catch up. Belle and Thomas were taken care of by some friends of ours-they did an awesome job. Belle seemed to be ok, which she normally isn't after we go somewhere.
Catheryne is going to Kentucky Monday to spend the night at the Creation Science Museum with her students. It will be exciting, but probably a lot of work with this group. She has never been to Kentucky so it will be a first.
We are also planning a trip to Canada/ New York this summer. Catheryne's Grandma Marion will also be turning 90, so the family is having a big party for her in upstate New York. Since we will be right by Niagara Falls, we decided that we will go see it on the Canadian side. We also discovered a place called the McFarland House that is right by Niagara Falls (about 30 min.) So we will be going to visit that-it was built by a John McFarland.

Way Too Long

2009-03-12T18:31:00.002-05:00

It has been way too long since we have blogged. Things sure have been busy for us. It seems that every weekend we have something going on. John has been super busy juggling work, preparing for his lifeguard test (which he passed), and church activities. Catheryne has been busy with school, church, and trying to stay fit with our Wii Fit. We have been hanging out with our youth quite a lot and loving it! The youth are so amazing. The weather here has been odd. It is super cold today and it was 80 on Tuesday. We are looking forward to visiting with family in a week or so.

Time to Blog

2009-01-28T10:09:00.006-06:00

Ok, so it has been a long time since we have bloged. We have had a very busy January. The new year started with our overnighter, then a trip to the doctor. Catheryne gets occasional heart paliations and had a bad episode the Friday right after the lock in, so we went to the doctor and they did an EKG. The EKG came back abnormal, so we have spent some time visiting with the cardiologist. It turns out she is fine, she has a condition where blood flows quicker to one side than the other, but it isn't life treatening or harmful. The other tests they did all came back fine-so it is confirmed she marches to a different beat =).

We have had some really cold weather here. Catheryne didn't have school today due to a snow day. The snow didn't last long, but it has been raining like crazy all week with a threat of icing over. So, it is better to be safe than sorry with the way people drive out here.

On another note, we expreienced something that has left California years ago. Roller Skating! Seriously, they still do that out here. We went Saturday night with our church's youth group. Both of us managed not to fall! It was a total time warp. This is a picture one of our girls took, Catheryne is laughing at how long it took to take the picture, and John is reacting in his own way.

We also got our wedding pictures. They turned out AMAZING!

All Nighter/ New Year

2009-01-01T19:26:00.003-06:00

We have just gotten back from an all night lock-in with 7th-12th graders. We are not as young as we used to be, but it was fun. John held it down with an intense game called "underground church". Catheryne didn't play-she was making sure kids were behaving in the dark.
We welcomed in the New Year with a great time of prayer and worship. It is amazing to see this generation's love for the Lord. They are truly inspiring. We are not resolution makers, but we are dreamers. We are praying for a great year and success in our careers. We love and miss you all! Happy New Year!

Randomness

2008-12-26T17:19:00.006-06:00

We tend to have some very random experiences. Mom-Bennett Mom- sent us a CD of various pictures. There were some pictures on there tat highlight our random experiences. Such as the time we found a mom and her ducklings crossing a busy street. We decided to corral them to a safer area, but then the mommy duck left her babies. We waited for over an hour for her to return, but she never did. Therefore, we took home Hughie, Louie, Dewey, and Quackers. Unfortunately, they did not last the night. It was very traumatic-John performed CPR on them, but it didn't work.

Then there is our obsession with ferrets. We LOVE ferrets, but they probably wouldn't fit well into our lifestyle, or get along with Belle. But, we were determined to have our picture taken with one in New Mexico.

During that same trip to New Mexico, we found a turtle in my Grandma's back yard. It was so cool! We lost it, some how, the next day and we could not find it anywhere.

Tennessee wildlife

2008-12-23T07:29:00.003-06:00

Ok, just a short post. On Sunday we saw a hawk eating at the down stairs neighbor's bird feeder. Then yesterday we saw two deer on our back hill. The wildlife out here is AMAZING! We often see cardinals and blue birds in our tree. We see squirrels-which drive Belle crazy. There are even bunnies-again they drive Belle crazy. During the summer we always heard the sounds of cicadas. So cool to have wildlife without even having to drive into the mountains.

Ten Commandments

2008-12-17T14:25:00.003-06:00

My Grandpa sent me this, and I thought it was funny and fitting.
Some people have trouble with all those 'shall's' and 'shall not's' in the Ten commandments. Folks just aren't used to talking in those terms.. So, in middle Tennessee they translated the 'King James' into ' Jackson County ' language..... no joke, (posted on the wall at Cross Trails Church in Gainesboro , TN )
(1) Just one God
(2) Put nothin' before God
(3) Watch yer mouth
(4) Git yourself to Sunday meetin'
(5) Honor yer Ma & Pa
(6) No killin'
(7) No foolin' around with another fellow's gal
(8) Don't take what ain't yers
(9) No tellin' tales or gossipin'
(10) Don't be hankerin' for yer buddy's stuff
Now that's plain an' simple. Y'all have a nice day.

Animals

2008-12-16T15:18:00.005-06:00

Ok, so we don't have any kids yet, so we dote on our "fur babies" a lot. It seems that so much of our life revolves around our pets. We often find ourselves talking about them to everyone we meet. So here is the top ten list of why our pets rock!

10. They are ours

9. They are named after Disney characters

8. You can blame the funny smells on them

7. Cheaper than fixing the garbage disposal

6. They are comfortable with being naked-all the time

5. The never judge us

4. They are preparing us for real babies

3. Their fur coats keep us warm when they snuggle with us

2. High pitched voices/ laser lights make them a very happy pet-which in turn makes us happy people

1. Costumes make for all the best times!

First Timers

2008-12-14T15:50:00.001-06:00

So, we finally decided to break down and start a blog. We have enjoyed reading other people's blogs so we thought- hey, why not? Life in the "country" is very different from life by the coast. Dude is very rarely used out here, and there are new kinds of foods to experience. Although we are not necessarily in the country, compared to Cali- it is. This is the first time away from family during the holidays, which is nice for creating our own traditions, but it adds a sense of sadness to be away from our family during this time. John has been playing off and on with different people; not as much as he wishes, but enough for us to know this is where we need to be. Teaching has been different out here, I seem to have a lot more freedom to do what I want to do. The other thing that is new for us is having a real winter- snow and all.