Many posts, one afternoon

I haven't been on in a while and I'm sorry for that. I had said I wanted to keep up with this blog this year but so far that hasn't happened. So, my plan is to take this afternoon and write out several posts at one time since I have the time. Okay, so I really don't have the time since I should be working on laundry, homeschool organization stuff, baking, cleaning, and getting my drivers license for Louisville, but I'm not in the mood for all that. :)


Post #1
Terefech says, "I love you"

About 3 weeks ago Tim was talking to the kids and told each of them he loved them (which he does all the time). The normal flow of conversation is usually that Joe says, "I love you, too, Daddy", and Terefech makes a face and says, "what did you say?" This has been something that drives me crazy because she has been telling me she loves me since about 2 weeks after we got home from Ethiopia so she clearly knows what it means to hear it and say it. In early April we were hanging out one night and Tim told the kids he loved them. Again...normal conversation, but then Terefech spoke up. "No. I don't want that." Tim handled it well (as always), but I lost it. We had a long talk about it where I told her she is only allowed to say, "Okay" or "Thank you" when daddy tells her he loves her. This seemed to work well for a few weeks, and then one day everything changed. One night in very early May Terefech changed her mind and didn't say "Okay" or "Thank you". She said "I love you, too, Daddy." It was a shock for both of us, but we are so happy that they are finally clicking. Since that time the two of them have spent more time together and she actually looks forward to daddy coming home from work and being with us. Praise the Lord for answers to prayer!


Post #2
A Pet-peeve

In the last three months the kids and I have done a lot of driving along US 60 between Shelbyville and Louisville (what with the move and all) and I have seen something that really drives me crazy. There was a work crew doing lots of work cutting back trees that were growing under power lines. While I wish we could just get underground utilities I understand that sometimes it is necessary to cut back these trees. The part I hate is seeing how deformed the trees look afterward. What drives me crazy? In several spots along the same stretch of road where these trees were being mutilated there were new trees being planted right under the utility lines! Are you serious? Why not just move them back about 10 feet and hopefully avoid the future expense of pruning! I may not be the smartest person in the world but I know something stupid when I see it!


Post #3
We made the move!

We now officially live in Louisville. I never thought I would say that (I never thought I would say a LOT of things), but so far I really like it. Our new apartment is located in The Terraces at Forest Springs off Lagrange Rd and the Gene Snyder Parkway. It is extremely quite here and we have lots of amenities the best of which is the pool which opens this weekend. The kids are so excited about the pool and I am, too. My hope is that after school is out they will make friends with neighbor kids and like our new home even more than they do now. We have also started attending Crossing Church and we love it! It is an Acts 29 church and we really love the people there. The teaching is great and we are hoping to get involved in the Worship ministry in the near future. We do miss our friends and family at TPCC, but we know we will be back there every now and then.


Post #4
Champs Rollerdome and a flood of memories

Last weekend our kids were invited to a birthday party at Champs Rollerdome. When I heard where the party was taking place I had some concerns. Not that my kids would get hurt, but that my oldest would not do well in this setting--dark, loud music, strange lighting, tons of movement, etc. Joe did worry about it for a week, but when the day finally came he and Terefech were very excited. Tim and I had discussed how the afternoon might go and we had formed a plan for getting Joe out without too much fuss. To our surprise he liked it. We didn't think he would even entertain the idea of putting on skates, but he did better than that. He actually wanted to try them on and give it a go on the skating floor! While he didn't last long out there (it was hard for him both physically and mentally) but we made it over half way around the rink before he declared he was done skating. He was happy to inform me that he had fun and that he didn't want to skate anymore but wanted to stay and play video games (big shocker) and enjoy seeing his friend. I was so proud of him for remembering that the day was not about him and working through his issues to have a good time. Terefech was naturally all about the whole scene. She was in her element and had such a good time. She was able to spend time with her friends from Shelbyville (whom she misses terribly) and learn a new skill at the same time. She skated better on carpet than on the rink itself, but she kept trying and really enjoyed herself. I know that any day now she is going to demand her own pink skates and a pass to the rink. :) During the whole party Tim and I were seated with friends from Shelbyville and were in the perfect place to watch all the falls of the afternoon. It brought back memories of my own falls at the rink in East Ridge, TN. I used to love going to that rink and spending time with my friends. There was lots of laughing back then, as well, and thankfully no one was ever injured. I know it is not something that a person should laugh at, but I can't help it. I love physical comedy and the rink is FULL of that. My stomach hurt so much by the time we left, but it was a lot of fun.



Well, I thought I had more to say, but I don't. Actually, I do, but my list of things to do is starting to stress me out so I better try and get something done.

It is Good Friday...what are you doing?

I am sitting here at 1:45am thinking about my day and the movie I just watched. The movie, "The Passion of the Christ," is one that I have seen several times, but never alone (my family is sleeping at the moment). Some of you may be asking, "why in the world would you watch that again?" It's simple...I needed perspective. You see, this week (well, this past year, actually) has been busy for me and I have lost sight of what is truly important. Today is a good example. Due to allergies and a few other pains I didn't sleep well last night. This led to me being more tired than usual and therefore a little "off my game". I spent my day dealing with life issues...running errands, breaking up fights, schooling, cleaning, etc. This evening was spent at rehearsal with the Worship team from The Point preparing for Sunday. And not just any Sunday...Easter Sunday. We practiced songs and I went right along with it, but my heart wasn't in it. I was thinking about the pain in my lower back, my headache, what I have to do tomorrow, and what I should have done today, rather than focusing on the words that were coming out of my mouth and what they meant.

I write this all to say that I am a fool! As I watched this movie I remembered my bodily pains from earlier. It is just now that I realize I don't feel much of anything at the moment nor did I feel anything while watching the movie. Is it true that I cannot stand up for 2 hours and sing praises to my Lord and King without letting my mind wander to my cares and troubles? Did I honestly not let the words sink in to my heart? Was I too blind to see how each time I open my mouth to lift my voice it is only by the grace of God that I am even able to do it? How dare I think for one second about myself when my Savior endured so much on my behalf? I sit in my comfortable home and read God's Word and yet I miss the point. I'M AWFUL!!!!! ROTTEN!!!! FOUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

With each lash to His body, with each thorn pushed into His brow, and with every drop of His blood, Jesus took my punishment. I know myself. I know my body. I wouldn't last an hour at the hands of someone who despises me. From the human perspective I don't know how Jesus was able to stand it all. I don't know how Mary was able to stand by and watch her son being beaten and killed. I don't know how the disciples endured the sight of their friend and master being tortured. But from the perspective of a believer I do know...it was all God's plan. From the very beginning God knew the exact date, time and process by which His people would be saved. Jesus. Beaten. Bruised. Crucified. Risen.

Because I am awful, rotten, and foul, Jesus had to die on the cross. My sin put him there. I can't do anything to save myself. I cannot be good enough. I cannot give enough. I cannot be enough. But God. God is enough. Jesus had to give his life! What do I have? Crappy furniture, a 7 year old car, cheap clothes, and a horribly out of shape body. In other words...nothing. But I surrender my life to my Lord. And each day I must wake up and know that I am a new creation because one day, thousands of years ago, the Son of God died for my sin.

Now I ask you. It is Good Friday...what are you doing?

Finally!

Spring has sprung, people! What are y'all doin' sittin' here readin' this blog when ya should be out enjoyin' the day? :) I know some of you can't get out right now due to inclement weather, but when it does get nice where you are go out and have a great day.

The kids have been out just about every day playing with their neighbor friends. Just last night they shared the news that we are moving to Louisville in a month and it was not well received. They all just sat on the back deck staring at the ground with sad looks on their sweet faces. The funny thing is, they have only been playing together for about 3 weeks but already talk about each other like they have been life-long friends. My little Terefech has made fast friends everywhere she has gone and I doubt that Louisville will be any different. One great thing is Joseph has come out of his shell because of her. It's great to see how they help one another. Don't get me wrong...most days they want to kill each other, but it doesn't last. Just two days ago Joseph had finished a fight with Terefech when he started to cry. I asked him what was wrong and he said if he was bitten by a poisonous snake then he would never see Terefech again. This made me smile (on the inside). After assuring him that he was not in danger of being bitten (I don't know where he comes up with this stuff), we talked about how his feelings toward and for his sister have changed. It made him smile...me, too.

Let's Play

I found an article on VocalPoint that really sparked my interest. (I would recommend to everyone joining VocalPoint and making your voice hear...and you get coupons!) I'm the main person in the family to get everyone else to play and I love it! I could play board games or cards for hours (and I have). There are two that I really like and could play everyday--Blockus and Rummikub. I have found that even kids enjoy Blockus. It probably has something to do with bright colors and it looking like a puzzle. My mom and I used to play Rummy every night when we were together and now our game is Rummikub. We have even taken this game to the pool and played while the kids were in the water. This game has also been the source of some good smack-talk between great friends on New Year's Eve. I highly recommend it.

Some other good family games, but that are hard to find are: Carcassonne and Ticket to Ride. A great adult game is Settlers of Catan. It's a cool strategy game that is very interesting. At Tim's last job he had a boss, Herb, who loved sharing his games with people. His family has quite a collection of awesome games that we had never heard of, but after playing decided we wanted to purchase. For those in the Louisville area go to Something 2 Do in the Oxmoor mall for a great collection of interesting and hard to find games.

Have a great day and play a game tonight!


Best New Family Games

Best New Family Games What does your family typically do after dinner? Watch television, get lost in cyberspace, ask for the Pepto-Bismol? Why not keep everyone happy, entertained, and together by organizing a family game night? We know, you can already hear the groans. But instead of hauling out dusty ol’ Yahtzee or Scrabble, serve up one of these new board games. They’re cheaper than a trip to the movies and—get this—unlike video games, you actually interact with real people!

Cranium Family Edition: The Cranium games have been around for years, but this edition takes the four stock categories (Creative Cat, Data Head, Star Performer, Word Worm) and broadens their age appeal. Since players build, sketch, sculpt, act, and create in teams, everyone can participate. Watch out for flying frogs! Ages 8+

Connect 4x4: You may remember this game from when you were younger, but it’s been updated with a clear, double-sided grid that allows for up to four to play multidimensionally. Objective: Get four of your rings in a row. Reality: Not so simple. Ages 8+

Curious George Discovery Beach Game: Every kid loves hunting for treasures at the beach. Now they can do it in a box in the living room sans sand. The game challenges players to find a variety of sea stuff. But watch out for waves and don’t forget to put sunscreen on the monkey. Ages 3 to 8

Small World: Compete to control a fantasy world filled with wizards, giants, and—wait, doesn’t that dwarf look just like Uncle Frank? Use your special powers, expand your empire, but be careful because it’s totally immersive. Ages 8+

Lost Cities: A card game in which you lead a team of explorers into uncharted territory in search of forgotten civilizations. Watch for tikis and other artifacts. To make it totally realistic, wear bush pants and don’t forget the mosquito repellent. Ages 10+

Richard Scarry’s Busytown Eye Found It! If your preschoolers love Scarry’s books, they’ll love this game, which uses the same delightful you-find-it principle. Only now you place magnifying tokens over each board item you find and advance ever closer to Picnic Island. No one wins, no one loses, but everybody has fun. Ages 3+

Fits: This is a competitive puzzle game similar to Tetris. Each player gets an inclined board and a set of unique puzzle pieces. As different cards are drawn, everyone tries to complete their puzzle. Good confidence builder for kids because they usually beat us adults. Ages 8+

Super Mario Chess Collector’s Edition: Your kids might take more interest in learning the game of games if the characters are Nintendo favorites Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Yoshi, and their entire gang. But get ready to explain why Luigi is the queen. Ages 7+

Pandemic: Despite the scary name, this is an exciting and educational family game in which players race to find cures for infectious diseases. Make sure to use hand sanitizer before and afterward. Ages 10+

Game on!

General Update

Okay, wow, it's been a while since I've written. Sorry about that, mom. :)

In the last few weeks we have made some big decisions around the Chase household. We stopped swimming with the Shelby Sharks at the end of January. Things were just a little difficult with swimming every day, meets, and my stress level. Joe misses Coach Jeremiah so much, but we still get to see him when we go swim for fun at the FAC which we don't get to do enough.

The biggest decision we made was we are finally moving to Louisville. I have resisted this for a long time even though the city has been growing on me. It honestly just makes good financial sense. We have found an apartment that is larger than our current place and less money per month (no-brainer, right?), and Tim will now be able to get to work for free (a HUGE savings). This does mean we will be leaving our church, The Point Community Church, but we will be back there every now and then. This will be a slow transition and will have us commuting back there for a few months until we find a church that fits us as well as TPCC. I'm tearing up just thinking about it. It will be the hardest part of this whole thing.

School has been going well for us. Both kids are progressing in their work and I have been amazed at their accomplishments. Terefech has quite the vocabulary now (which also means she has more ways to sass me, but, whatever), and Joe has a true knack for Geometry. Handwriting for both of them is significantly better and attitudes all around are good. Joe still loves talking Christian theology with Tim and has included me in a few conversations lately. It's such a blessing to see him mature as a Christian.

This last weekend we went through our garage and started to organize and throw away stuff. Wow! It's amazing how much crap two people can accumulate in 16 years. We did decide to finally get rid of all the old phone books we have been carrying around. Actually, we didn't know we still had them so it wasn't a big loss.

I recently ran into a friend from high school who told me that a friend of ours had died in the Haiti earthquake. This was shocking to me (as you can imagine). David Hames was there filming for Compassion International and was in the Hotel Montana when the earthquake hit and the hotel collapsed. He was a great guy and we had reconnected on Facebook. He was talented in film and TV production and had created/produced Cranium's Ark, a kids Christian, educational video. Joe and Terefech watched it yesterday and they both loved it. It's a cliff-hanger episode and Joe is very concerned about finding out what happens. I had to tell him that I'm not sure if we will get to see it since David has passed away. This peeked his interest in Haiti and the earthquake so we spent half an hour looking at video and learning more about what happened. Joe was very excited to learn that David was a Christian and that he will be in heaven. He told me that if we don't get to see the next episode of Cranium's Ark then he is going to ask David about it when he sees him. How cute is that? :) If you have little kids you can help support Renee (David's wife) and the kids by purchasing the video at http://www.craniumsark.com/Craniums_Ark/home.html. Trust me your kids will love it!

Dear Mr. Snow Miser,

Thank you so much for taking the time to ignore my request for no snow. I can see by looking out my window that you have been a very busy man. I have heard tales that you "...never want to see a day, That's over forty degrees, I'd rather have it thirty, Twenty, ten, five and let it freeeeEEEEEEeeze!," but don't you think snow on the ground of 49 out of 50 states is a bit much? I guess it's true what they say, "you are cold-hearted and have ice in your veins." I believe I will be going to visit your brother, Mr. Heat Miser, to see if he can do anything to fix the weather here. If he can't heat things up, then I will be going to speak with Mother Nature. I just wanted to warn you so you two boys can come together and stop this feud once and for all.

Snow bound in KY,
Cari

Snow, snow, go away.
Come again...wait...never! :)

Can you tell I'm a little sick of the snow? Its hard to keep a house clean with the stuff around, the kids don't want to play outside because its too cold, its hard to call a snow day when you homeschool, and I hate slipping and sliding my way to my destination. The depressing part is we are supposed to get more snow this weekend and the temp is supposedly not going to get out of the 30s until March. At least today is a stay-at-home-in-your-pajamas day and the snow looks pretty. Alright, I'm off to work on more laundry.

My moment as a poet (incredibly short lived)

I took a creative writing class in college (NKU) and really enjoyed it. The other night when we were going through some old things I came across a poem I wrote for the class. As my old band director, Papaw, used to say "it's not gonna set the world on fire, but it works." :)


"I Am"

He kissed me on the forehead on our first date.
He listens to my dreams and doesn't make light of them.
He vowed before God, family, and friends to love me forever.
He is my husband.

They cradled me when I was born and showed me love.
They protected me from danger when I was young.
They have accepted my husband and love him as a son.
They are my parents.

She was still in our mothers' womb when I first talked to her.
She loved to play with me and follow me around.
She looks up to me with love and admiration.
She is my sister.

She smiled at me when we first met.
She wrapped her tiny hand around my finger and stole my heart.
She is innocent, sweet, and beautiful.
She is my niece.

She makes me laugh like no one else can.
She tells me her hopes and dreams.
She watches out for me and helps me in my time of need.
She is my friend.

These are the most important people in my life.
To them I am a wife, a daughter, a sister, an aunt, and a friend.


by Cari Chase


I told you it wasn't great, but I got an "A" just the same. Lol.

The Wonderful and Amazing B&E Salvage

A couple of weeks ago I went to B&E Salvage on Preston Hwy in Louisville and I am pleased to report my greatest savings to date! I usually go into B&E and spend anywhere from $11 to $40. On this particular trip I spent $78.35!! My cart was overflowing with name-brand products and a good amount of those were organic. Once I was home Tim and I thought it would be a good idea to compare prices with other receipts I have to get a true picture of what I would have spent had I purchased the items at a regular supermarket. To our surprise the total was.....are you ready.....$196.22!!!!!!!!! Can you believe it? We were shocked to say the least. It made our night and further strengthened our devotion to shopping at B&E. :-)




This past weekend I headed out to Kroger since they were having one of their "participating item" events where you buy a certain number of select items and get so much off your total bill. This particular event was for $5 off when you bought 10 select items. What draws me to these events is the quality and quantity of the items they offer in the sale. My total before the discount and my coupons was over $50. After the discount and coupons was $25!! Tim and I reviewed my receipt and found that I had saved 62% on that purchase! Yay, me!! :-)

Now for some sad coupon news. I had a coupon for $2.50 off of Finish dishwasher tabs and about a month ago Walgreen's they were running a special where the tabs were regularly $5.49 and the Register Rewards was $3...making the tabs $2.49. With my coupon of $2.50 I would have made a penny on this purchase. When I got to the store they were out of the tabs. This was disappointing, but I was able to get a rain check for it. The great thing was the rain check made the product $2.49 and I wasn't going to need to mess with the Register Rewards. Now for the bad news...after spending weeks waiting for the product to come in I finally happened upon it at the Frankfort West-side location. At check-out I was very excited to know that I was going to make my first great buy, but after presenting the rain check and my coupon I was turned down for using the coupon. I was so shocked and upset I didn't push the issue like I should have. And, to top it all off, the cashier KEPT my rain check which meant I was not going to be able to try and buy the tabs at another location! Aggravation set in and upon exiting the store I declared I would never be back. This was a bit premature and I have since decided that I will no longer go to that particular location. The cashier was rude, condescending, and slammed the product on the counter when I told him I no longer wanted to purchase it. So, if shopping at the Frankfort Walgreen's on the west side of town then be careful when checking out and don't let the old man cashier get to you. :-)

Happy shopping, everyone!

Baby its cold outside!!

This is a video from our first snow in 2010. We had about 4 inches at the time of the video and continued to get another inch by the end of the day. The kids had been outside for about 10 minutes and seemed to be having a good time. It was 21 degrees so its no wonder Olivia was cold. My favorite line was spoken by Olivia, "Mama! I wanna go outside I'm cold!" Heehee! She's a funny little girl. Joseph has been studying weather in school and loves giving me the weather report most days. He calls himself Weather Reporter Joseph. :) My kids are cute and funny!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCiZKmZLkkg

My precious ones

Here are a few pictures of our two cuties! My mom took these when we visited them in Chattanooga just before Christmas. Aren't they adorable? :)

An inspiring shopping spree

I had the great privilege of taking a trip to B&E Salvage store in Louisville today. I was able to get some amazing deals and walked out the door having spent $38.26. Hooray for HUGE savings!! Lucky for you I was inspired by my good friends to take a picture of my treasure. :) My greatest deal was on 4 lbs. of ground turkey at $.99 a piece, and a large package of all beef jumbo hotdogs for $3.99. I know that these items alone would have cost me over $12 at Wal-mart. I just love going to the salvage store. I now have my mind set on going back there at least 2 times per month. I hope to see you there!

Welcome 2010

Happy New Year, everybody! So far this day has been calm and simple (just the way I like it). We started our celebration of the arrival of the new year by attending the wedding of our friends Andrew and Julie Dodson. It was a beautiful ceremony and great reception so the beginning of the night was awesome. After the reception we and several of our friends headed over to Brad and Melinda's house to continue the party. We ate pizza and played games together. After the countdown to midnight came the traditional Rummikub stand-off. Of course, the smack-talk began way earlier in the night which just made everything more fun. A huge thanks to Brad and Melinda for letting us all take over your home.

Yesterday Tim and I watched a marathon of House Hunters International. It is one of my favorite shows since we get to see how people in other parts of the world live and manage life. We also realized yesterday how much money some people will spend for things they don't need. All of us find that things are greener on the other side so we are constantly looking to "move-up". I am no different...even with this blog I want to make sure that I am at least keeping up with everyone else, if not getting ahead of them all. I guess what I'm saying is we all need to refocus and really search for where God is leading us. Lots of prayer on my end, I can tell you that!! :-)

Our marathon for today has been Living with Ed. We both love this show because its so funny and enlightening at the same time. I'm making notes about ways that we can live greener...which is not going to be easy. We are starting with water bottles and paper towels. Our family has been horrible about buying bottled water by the case and in turn put so much waste into the landfill. The money we spend on paper towels is astronomical--not to mention the numerous trees that are being chopped down so that I can easily dry my hands and do less wash. Our goal is to use the reusable water bottles and dish rags/towels.

I'm planning on spending day 2 of 2010 taking a trip to the salvage store. I will let you know what fabulous deals I bring home. Saving money makes me very happy. Have a great night and if you can get it watch the the UK vs UofL game tomorrow. Got CATS!!!