iGoogle

I just learned about iGoogle. If you dont have an iGoogle page/acct, you really should get one. Its awesome...you customize it with all the stuff you want on your desktop.

Time to rake!

Here are a few pics of Den and Flynn raking in the backyard the other day. Check out Dens shoes...I died when I saw that. The next day Flynn drew a pic of her and Den raking...except this time shes in a dress.

Apple Picking

We went apple picking last Sunday. It was a really nice day and lots of apples. No cider donuts tho. I guess thats not a bad thing. Anyways, it was fun. Almost time for the apple fest.

Flynns 1st day of Kindergarten!

Here are some pics from Flynns 1st day at John F. Kennedy. She has been loving it. The first thing she said when we picked her up was "we get TWO snack times and no nap!". Good to see her priorities are in order :).

She has made some nice little friends and loves to see Den throughout the day. Getting hot lunch once a week is a highlight. Oh yeah, I think she likes the academic part too :)

You wont believe this!

I should have written this a few weeks, but here goes-

UVM updates your financial/aware package often, and you receive an email frequently telling you that they have changed it. I usually delete the emails because it usually means next to nothing...

a few weeks ago I rec'd one of these emails and clicked on the link to view my award (if you read my blog, you will see this happened earlier in the summer as well with two other scholarships). So I go on..and I see this "Lisman Scholarship" for A LOT of money...I said "Den...check this out"...I had never heard of the Lisman Scholarship nor had I applied for it?!? I searched the UVM webpage looking for info on it, googled it, and found nothing. I thought for a brief second to chill out incase it was a scam...but then I thought it couldnt be because noone could get into that part of the financial aid and post stuff...

so here I was baffled... I quickly was reminded of the parable of the talents (Matthew 25). Earlier this year, Pastor Scott had preached and challenged us to really re-evaluate our tithing. We had always tithed, but Im not sure Den and I were on the same page with it. We knew it was important, but it was seeming like it was just what you do because we knew we were supposed to and we always had. It was more like just cutting and check and sending it in.

So earlier this summer, it was really bugging me, that we didnt seem to be on the same page...so we really talked and prayed about it. We asked God to help us to remember our giving as gratitude for what He already had given us....and that it was an act of humility and great reverence to God....

Well as the school year began, I found I had rec'd a substantial scholarship...which was awesome....well then I rec'd another one..which was awesome...so then we were figuring out what loans I would take, or if we'd just pay,etc....and here comes that last email with the big scholarship. I think it is important to realize that tithing is obedience and gratitude, so to EXPECT stuff in return does not really seem right to me. But I think God has a really important plan for our family and with this education. Im not quite sure what that is...but I am certain now that God has opened all of these doors for a reason.

So the next day (after the email), I got a letter in the mail telling me I had rec'd the scholarship. I was invited to a luncheon for the recipients! I am very excited to meet the Lisman Family and thank them. Maybe I'll slip them a CD from that message hahaha.

And then...a week later-

I got home from a little party of a friend transferring to ABQ...so I logged-on...and I have an email from UVM...my award package had been revised...
so Im thinking its a charge for a parking pass I just got for clinicals...(I know it has nothing to do with an awards package, but I was thinking financial statement I guess....and they dont usually miss a beat with sending those out...)
It was another scholarship for a very generous amount. I called Den and told him...The wacky thing is that, dating back to an older blog...the only scholarship I had applied for (Freeman Scholars Program), had my heart set on it...didnt get it...was totally bummed out...got over it. Then all of the other scholarships began coming in and I am like what in the world?!?!? It ends up that I now have been given mroe than I would have gotten with the Freeman Scholars Program. This year has been entirely paid for.
Another reminder (for me) not to mess with Gods plan. His is always perfect, even when we really arent that happy with it. Just wait it out and see what happens. It might not always seem in our favor or as obvious of a blessing like this, but regardless its the right way to go.
Im definitely not into the give and get back thing, I think that would make people forget the whole reason for tithing. But I do know that God keeps his promise and that if you remember that it was all belonging to Him to begin with, He will make sure all your needs are taken care of. Now it is important that we use this blessing to honor God -so this should be quite an interesting journey ...

Springfield College

Well like I said, Den brought us on a tour of his college. It was kinda nice to see it...but being the Athletic Director that he is, he brought us to every darn athletic part of the college (pool, football field, both gyms, tennis courts, lacrosse field?!?!?!, etc...oh yeah, and we saw where bikram yoga (however you spell it) is done....Den hates yoga). Anyhow, it was fun. Here are some photos. The night before we toured his school, we went to Target!!!...well Flynn got to try on tons of shoes, her favorite thing to do...so as she is trying on shoes she says "mommy, I LOVE daddys school" hahha...she loved the "Target" and "H&M" campus :).

First pic (Den and Flynn in front of Residential sign...is where he lived)

Next one is in front of his townhouse, pretty nice place and a killer view over the football fields, very cool.

Pic of them in front of field is as the new turf was being done, pretty neat process. In the background is his old townhouse, you can see he had a cool view.

Pic in front of Judd Gymnasia is NOT the wrong spelling...but I dont know why its that way. But that is where the first basketball game was ever played. Oh, and we saw ballet and bikram yoga going on there...Flynn got her first look at male balerinas....it was interesting...

Swim

Flynn passed Level 1! Yipee. She was really excited and so were we. Hopefully we have a real swimmer on our hands! One thing that was funny to watch was the biggest smile that she had the whole time. It was pretty funny!

Blueberry Picking at Mazzas

Here are some pictures from blueberry picking at Mazzas. It was a lot of fun, and the berries were awesome. We got 3+lbs and they are almost gone. Raspberries are almost ready. I dont know why I took a pic of the not-ready blueberries but they were all (ripe or not) really pretty colors.

Lame

Ive been pretty lame and havent written on my blog in a long time. I guess its because I pretty much know that noone reads it hahaha. I keep thinking I will post some really important announcement on here so I KNOW who reads it and who doesnt...but anyhow. Well Flynn has done some swim lessons which she really loved. Soccer is almost done for her and I. We had a family reunion (Dens side) and after that went to Springfield, MA to visit Dens alma mater (Springfield College) http://www.spfldcol.edu/. It was really nice to bring Flynn...we had to be really polite because Den showed us everything. Hahha. Of course Flynn was most interested in where he ate when he went to school there. We did get to see the new football field which is beautiful with the turf. Hmm...went blueberry picking after swim one day at Mazzas in Essex. The blueberries were huge and really good.
I will add some pictures of our oh-so-exciting ventures. Thankfully my sister in law asked about my blog (the only person that might look at it :) but she will be the first to get that all important announcement when I figure one out), otherwise I would have updated it with pictures from Flynns 8th grade graduation.
***Im going to post the pictures with their own posts so its not so confusing (I should personally address this to Shelley hahaha. Youre the only one that reads this blog hahah)

!!!! again, He comes through in the clutch !!!!

So last year I applied for this nursing scholarship...its called the Freeman Scholars Program...and it pays most (not all) of your tuition, follows you year to year w/o reapplication...you just have to agree to maintain a certain gpa and then commit to work in Vermont for 2-years following graduation...
So I applied and waited, waited...I really thought I would get it...and then I found out that I did not get it...so it took about one hour to go through all the Kubler Ross stages :)...but I got over it. I thought to myself, maybe God wants us to move out of state to like No. Carolina or something, haha. The one thing that kept repeating in my head was "but you have eternity" and when I thought about that scholarship that will follow me through LIFE, I got over it.
So come to find out, I got an email from UVM today, saying my award package was online...so I signed in...long story short, I got more than half of what I would have gotten with the Freeman Scholarship! Just like my mom said He closes one door and opens another.

Bib #6135

Today was race day, a perfect day for a marathon...in the 60's, overcast and from mile 21 on, lots of rain. Could not have asked for a better temp., that is for sure. We finished in 3:47:05...but the big news of the day, was that Gabe continued running after the hand off, and FINISHED THE RACE! HE COMPLETED THE FULL MARATHON!!! It really was amazing, and he did it easily, it appeared. We were all very proud of him, it was an incredible accomplishment. It was a great time, much more enjoyable than last year (temps were in the low-mid 80's). The fans were awesome! I have attached a picture of our team just after the race (well, after the food of course). Yes, my lips were blue...I was soaking wet and chilly at this point.

Bib #106

Here she is, bib #106! Flynn finished her first race today, the Vermont City/Keybank kids Y.A.M. scram marathon. It was fun, there were about 700 kids in it. She got to start with two of her friends from CKS, but they were quickly seperated. Half way through she got to run with an "old" friend from R. Edge, so that was nice. Here are some pictures. Now if her mother can gather some excitement to finish hers tomorrow :).

Marathon Weekend

Well tomorrow is the big day, the Y.A.M Scram race, hosted by the Vermont City Keybank Marathon http://www.runvermont.org/. This will be a big day for Flynn because its her first race! She will be doing the 4-yr old race, the 1/2mile. Shes pretty excited and we are really excited for her. Hopefully it will be one of many! I will certainly post pictures later in the day.

Sunday

Today was a pretty nice day, in the mid 60's...the wind made it a little chilly though. I told Den I hoped Pastor Scotts message would be really funny (on top of being a good message, of course haha) to get me through my first four and a half miles on Sunday...welllllll...Pastor Joshua was preaching today and it was a really good message....check it out yoursel www.essexalliance.org . Subscribe to the podcast to download into your itunes. Or you could watch it online of course :). Check it out. Lets see what else...not much. Looking for a condo in Maine (Ogunquit or Wells Beach) for family vacation (8 of us). If anyone knows of a place, let me know. Oh, I finally watched that video on youtube- the one with mentos and diet coke. Pretty cool. If you havent seen it, put mentos and diet coke into the search. There is one where two men have a bunch of bottles lined up and did a water show sort of like at the Bellagio in Vegas- to music. Well, not quite the Bellagio :).

Little Beaner

Here is a cute picture of Flynn. After Dens surgery, I bought them each a little treat, and she is here holding hers. This picture is kind of funny, because she looks like a brunette in it. Her hair got a little darker I guess, but maybe its because she had brown pants and a brown top? Or maybe her hair is turning brown!

Memorial Day Weekend

Next weekend is Memorial Day, as well as the Vermont City/Keybank Marathon www.vcm.org. If you've never gone, its a lot of fun to just go and cheer on the runners...or run in! The exciting thing this year is that Flynn will be doing her first "kids marathon" the Yam Scram on the Sat. before Burlington...she is doing a 1/2 mi. and we are really excited for her. So that will be fun. I am doing the 2-man with a friend (Gabe---who is doing an AWESOME job training) and poor Den can't run in it this year, he's still rehabbing from his knee surgery. But its fun to just go and watch. My sister in law is running in a family (her side) relay, and lots more friends are also in it. Last year was rough...the weather...it was extremely hot and made running not fun. My friend Jen and I did the 2-man- she can't this year because she just had a baby a few weeks ago (o.k. excuse, I guess) :)...but assures me shes in for next year! So if you've got nothing to do, the waterfront will be lots of fun! I'll post lots of pics (hopefully I will get some) of Flynn in her little run next week!

My Plant

Here is the picture of my morning glory. There is also a picture of a picture Flynn drew. Thats about it for posts...

Mothers Day

Flynn gave me a morning glory she planted and grew at school for Mothers Day. Its really cute, but no flowers yet...so it would have been a boring picture at this point...so I got a pic on google to post. If mine flower, Ill take a pic...wow, am I hurting for something to write about.

Bright Idea

I have a nice little friend traveling through Thailand right now, volunteering at nursing schools...she has a blog...so I decided to start my own blog. So here it goes. I have no clue what I am doing, I'll figure it out as I go along. Going for a quick run right now, maybe I'll think of stuff to blog about as I run...