Silver Ring Thing, Pictures, and Shop Talk

Silver Ring Thing- It's a purity program for teens and young adults. Dr. O and I sent Mystery Girl to the program. It's a one evening affair that employs drama, video, testimony, and music to get their message across. At the end of the evening, they are all given a silver ring to wear to remind them of their purity vow. It's pretty explicit in some areas. They talk about sex before marraige, STDs, second chances, accountability, and that sex is a beautiful thing in the right context. MG was a little overwhelmed and maybe a bit young to go to the program, but on the other hand, it is better to hear some of this stuff from a stranger than to hear it all from M&D. Afterwards, we talked about everything, answered questions, clarified where she was confused and had some honest conversation. The hardest part for her was that she felt embarrassed about the subject.

Pictures- That's what we did for Mother's Day. We took MG to get her pictures taken. It has been a long time and she has changed a lot since her last ones. They turned out just wonderful. I can hardly wait to get them back. I think she's beautiful! So, all you grandparents out there, yes, you will be receiving a picture soon. Next month, we will be getting Calico Kid's done, just in time for his birthday. The best part? They only cost us 17.25 total for MG and 5.25 for CK! And they are much better than school pictures where they take them whether the kid is ready, smiling, or not. Hopefully, in the summer or fall we can get a family picture done or one of just Dr. O and I. We don't even have wedding pictures to give his family who are just in agony, waiting for us to get around to it. I have digital pics, but my printer prints crappy photos, so they would look really dumb and besides, ink is expensive. Soon, all things take time!

Shop Talk- You know that really great job that God gave Dr. O? Pray for it! It turned out to not be so great. Still, I am hoping that it is just a stepping stone for the next better one. What happened? Well, it's 'seasonal', and further from home. The layoff is most likely to happen in Jan. when it is impossible to get a job. His 3rd day was on Sat. from 5-1. So, now I am wondering if he is going to end up working Saturday all Summer. Poop! On the other had, if he does, he will be getting some overtime and that would help us financially. Here's what you need to pray for. That 1) the office made a mistake and he should be transferred back to the nearer place, 2) the office make a mistake and he is not going to be seasonal but permanent, 3) if it is God's will, that this will be his step up into a bigger, better job. Thank you! I know that this is God's way of stretching us and pushing our faith. He provided the job, so it's His responsibility to keep providing. Dr. O has a hard time moving out of his comfort zone, so this in itself is a step up for him. And we are very greatful that he has the job, just a little shocked and disturbed that it isn't quite what we thought it was. I would like it if he could stay. It has great benefits and vacation time and sounds like a good clean company to work for. Just that little bit about being further away and seasonal.

As you all know, I am in the process of writing my life stories. Some of them are just hilarious and are about conversations I have with the kids. Some of them are thought provoking and reveal some insight on events that happened, things that I now have 20/20 vision of. But some of them are very difficult to write and are in some ways heartbreaking. I am learning that there is a lot of therapy in writing. It helps me put things into a different perspective. I kind of go in spurts. I started with just journaling some of them while having some quiet time alone, then decided that before I move on and write more of them, that I needed to type them up and fix them more accurately and in more detail. Now, I'm ready to begin the second wave of writing. If I could just think of what they might be! Actually, I've been doing a lot of reflecting lately and it seems that the stories just flow out, sometimes with the tears. I think the next one needs to be how Dr. O and I ended up finally getting married! After 16 years! It is really hard to tell people the story, because it is soooo long! Mostly, people want to know why I moved to MI and how did I meet my husband! Good Grief....almost one score ago....in a different time and place....la de da, la de da! So, it's time to get it all of paper!