The update

Ok, so the last time you really heard from me was last week on Monday. Wasn't a good day. Was pretty sure the world was coming to an end by this time last week. We're still here.

Tuesday was, of course, a workday. My heart wasn't in it. I remember getting stuff done. I remember talking to people...I think maybe I worked with Freida. Or maybe it was Katie. I don't know.

Tuesday Night - Taught a class at the store. Drama rehearsal. Now is the time when I'll mention that the drama for this last weekend involved me giving another girl CPR on stage. Including mouth-to-mouth. Not only did this make for interesting rehearsals for the rest of the week, but I'm fairly sure she and I will both suffer from ulcers in the future due to the excessive nature in which we consumed breath mints all week. Good thing Allison and I get along well.

Wednesday - more work.

Wednesday Night - took 4 kids to AWANA. That's always fun.

Thursday - kids. Lots of them. Not as many in the morning, but by dinner they multiply exponentially.

Thursday Night - New Community. Good. Sad. Dr. Bob was awesome, as usual. Jason rocked, as usual. More drama rehearsal after the service. Not great. Tense. Emotional. Awkward. Difficult. Aggrivating. I love drama, but that was probably the hardest rehearsal I've ever had.

Friday - Worked on a scrapbook project for a little bit. Messed around. Ran errands.

Friday Night - Worked. Late. Got in bed around 3-ish. Adam had cleaned the house - now that's a nice surprise to come home to.

Saturday - Slept in. Drama rehearsal.

Saturday Night - Two services. Did mouth-to-mouth on Allison if front of about 1700 people. The service was about loss and lonliness - very appropriate timing. Heard there was quite a response to the arts/message package. In the drama, my attempts at CPR are unsucessful and "Brittany" dies, with her mom by her side. Mark talked about the pain of losing a child, whether it be through miscarriage, abortion, or whatever, and what that does to a parent. Apparently several women were impacted enough by this that they had to leave the service for a while. It's amazing to be a part of something that was so meaningful, and hopefully helpful, to even a handful of people. Kind of explains why rehearsals were so rough this week, huh? After last service, met friends at Pablo's (in my make-up - now THAT was funny!) and then hung out at Starbucks until 1:30am. Not smart.

Sunday - To church by 7:30 to reapply make-up, etc. Three services. More mouth-to-mouth. Added bonus: Allison started using lip gloss! Took a cast picture - all of us with our "wounds" and torn up clothes. Hopefully I'll have that to share with you soon. Short nap. Hang out with kids.

Sunday Night - Take kids to Lifeline (childcare) so I can go tape week 4's drama in the Stevens' backyard. To sum this up without giving too much away - hot fire, to which we had to sit too close; rain; running; screaming; more rain; falling and screaming while soaking wet. It was a great night - 5.5 hours (for me - some were there longer) of taping...in the dark, in the rain.

Monday - Beginning of ICC week - will see Adam again next Monday. Yes, he's in town, but let's just say that he's got an air matress at work this week, "just in case." Seriously. Get kids off to school, ran to work to get tomorrow's class supplies, pick Abby up, prep for class. Jacob home, homework done, haircut and bath (for him).

Monday Night - Katie came over to watch FOUR KIDS so Jacob and I could go to Goshen and film a TV commercial with some drama friends. It was WAY fun - and Jacob is totally geeked about the possibility of seeing himself on TV. Home around 9. Prepped for class until 1:30am.

Tuesday - Work.

Tuesday Night - Taught my class at the store.

Wednesday - Work.

Wednesday Night - Kids to AWANA. Start to memorize this weekend's script - a monologue. And not a short one, either.

Thursday - Kids. Drama script.

Thursday Night - New Community - met Charlie Hall (way cool!) who led worship. Quite the gotee he's got going on there. Learned an awesome new (to me) worship song..."Wanna go where You go, love what You love..." About 3/4 of the way through the service I realized that I FORGOT to tape the season premiere of ALIAS, which I've only been waiting to see for about four months!! I'm in AGONY over this - I haven't been able to locate a single person who taped last night's episode! Come on - anyone??

Friday - Got Jacob up for the bus, got Abby up and dressed, drove over to Debbie Mann's for a little trim (man, I hate growing my hair out!!) and now here I am. Consider yourself caught up!

I NEED YOUR HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know...I've been MIA again. I'll get to that sometime soon. Maybe tomorrow. Right now, I'm concerned about more important things...

DID YOU OR ANYONE YOU KNOW TAPE THE SEASON PREMIERE OF ALIAS TONIGHT??!? I am beyond desperate. Please. Help a girl out here. Please?

Here's the signature that my friend Dustin Maust made for me (thanks D!) HE ROCKS!!

Life

Monday was a torturously long and emotional day for us - Adam's entire family. Ellen's memorial service was yesterday. It was a wonderful service, planned, in large part, by Ellen herself. Adam's sisters spoke, we sang hymns that Ellen chose herself, and the Pastor used Coldplay "hymns" as part of his message, as chosen by Ellen. There was a wonderful video with pictures of Ellen and the family - there were times of uncontrollable sobs, followed almost immediately by laughter. It was a beautiful way to remember Ellen's life and the impact that she had on all of us.

One of the most moving moments for me was before the service even started. We were standing in the entryway of the church as people were beginning to arrive. At one point I turned toward the door in time to see about a dozen of our closest GCC friends heading toward us...The look on Adam's face when he saw them is one that I will never forget. If there had ever been doubt as to why we feel so strongly about our church family, they were answered in that moment. (Of course, had anyone suspected that we actually belonged to some strange cult, those suspicions were probably also confirmed as 6 of the 12 people have their heads shaved...) I have never been more proud (and humbled at the same time) to call GCC home.

Later last night, after returning home from Holland, Adam and I received the absolutely shocking and devastating news that Doug Coney died last night of a heart attack. Doug and Adam have worked closely together at GCC for I-don't-know-how-many years and we consider the Coneys our good friends. Our hearts are breaking for that family right now - Leslie, Peyton, and Dalton, and their extended family. Please join me in keeping them in your prayers today.

Jesus - I often don't understand why things happen they way they do. That's no surprise to you as we've talked about that before. I do, however, trust you and your sovereignty. Please help me to remember the Irelands and the Coneys today - two families who desperately need strength from you to make it through today as their hearts are utterly broken. Please make your presence known to them today. Hold them as only you can, and make us available to them in whatever way we might be needed. Remind all of us that you are, in fact, in control and that you know that plans you have for all of us. We love you. I love you. I need you, today and everyday. AMEN

My friend Dustin is making me an email signature and needed a picture...this is what I came up with - my first published self-portrait!

Ellen Ireland
July 12, 1962-September 16, 2005
Ellen - you are loved and will be greatly missed

15 DAYS TO ALIAS!

Five Random Things About Myself

1. I prefer not to get my face wet. In the shower, while swimming, in the rain...doesn't matter. Don't like it. It's not that I'm afraid of it - I like to swim and waterski, etc. - I just don't like how it feels.

2. I like to eat. A lot. I get really excited about eating certain things, too, like favorite foods or meals at certain restaurants. Food is my friend.

3. I didn't know my first name when I went to kindergarten. My first name is really Allison. There, I said it. I am Allison Rebekah (Holt) Callender. My parents have called me Becky as long as I can remember, and not only that, but they failed to fully explain to me that my name was really Allison. My kindergarten teacher called "Allison" for morning attendance for a week before she figured out that she needed to talk to my mom. Thanks for that.

4. I've had more than 10 traffic citations. Most of them for speeding, one for seatbelt non-use, one for turning left in a no-left-turn, and the others...I do not recall. I've lost count. I'm not proud of it. I do have opinions regarding the constitutionality of setting speed limits that I will not get into right now. Clearly I have issues with authority. I'm working on it.

5. I am fairly particular about my bedsheets. I actually don't usually make the bed until right before I get into it. I straighten the sheets and comforter, even them out and pull them up to the headboard. Then I fold them over and climb in. At no time should the comforter touch my face - only the sheets. It's not an absolute freakish obsession - just a very strong preference.

Ok - so there are some things you probably never wanted to know about me. Now it's your turn...

Here's my big boy - less one more tooth! 6 years old, 3 teeth down...

Close up!

BIG NEWS!

Jacob just lost tooth #3 - only minutes ago! Yet another area in which my husband, Adam, is my hero! I don't do loose teeth. I can't even watch anyone wiggle a loose tooth. I get a serious case of the "heebie jeebies," as my kids like to say. Jacob is very proud - he didn't feel a thing as Adam "helped" the tooth out of place. Ick.

Just to set the record straight, my mom is the most beautiful woman in the world - she looks years younger now than she did when that earlier-posted picture was taken!

This warning goes for you too, Birdman. I don't have much, but what I do have is good. It's very, very good.

ps. Please remind Aunt Sandy that if she keeps assisting you in this senseless bloodbath, the rest of this picture goes up on the blog...

Clarification...

Not only has my sister basically double-dog-dared me in this, but now my once-loving Uncle Mark (aka Sparrow) has thrown down the gauntlet as well. Let the games begin.

Before things go too far, however, just let me clarify that my sister is an expert in digital photo editing. If you happen to see something on her site, or anywhere else, that casts an unflattering light in my general direction, you should immediately assume that the photo is doctored and completely false.

Be careful, Kate. Be very, very careful...

the cool sister

i find myself torn between options. as i log onto blogger.com, in order to update my own blog, i am automatically logged on as, none other than becky callender. and i think to myself, 'self, i could have some fun with this.' so here we go... i'm posting on my sisters blog. i'm sure this is against blog etiquette but when has that stopped me before?

i'm hanging out at the callender home. i was asked to babysit this evening so the 'adults' (becky, adam, tammy and daryl) could go out at play. dinner and a movie i believe. so, i had the kids. only abby and jacob. i mean seriously, we all know that i am not nearly qualified to handle any more than two, i mean it's questionable with the two, but at least abby and jacob are, for the most part, perfectly fine on their own. for example...

becky mentioned that abby needed to take a bath before she left. i thought, fair enough, so i start running the water. as abby is sitting in the tub (only about five inches deep at this point) i say, "is that deep enough?" and i get this look in return like, "you boob, i'm not one." which, she's right, she's four now and knows more about a four year old in a bath tub than i probably ever will. so, then she tells me that she likes to have the water all the way to the top and i just looked at her like, "i'm not falling for that one." she won.

second example...
jacob, after eating his sandwich and whatever else my sister fed to him at the table, tells me he's still hungry. fair enough, i go to the cupboard. i say, "how bout some fruit snacks?" he says, no. "okay, how bout some of these cracker things..." he says, 'those are only for school lunches.' then he points to a box of pop tarts and says, i'll have one of those. to which i respond, 'okay, do you normally eat those? i mean, you're not allergic to them are you?" again i got the, "you boob" look. he ROLLED HIS EYES and said, 'no, i eat those for breakfast.' it reminded me of those cheesy movie lines where someone is threatening someone else and says, "i eat those for breakfast," as if to imply that the task is meaningless. my six year old nephew is dishing out movie lines to me faster than i can read ingredients on a pop tart box.

THIRD example...like you really need another
it's bed time and becky told me that jacob needed to read before he went to bed, for close to 20 minutes. this was near physically painful. jacob is a great reader, far beyond what a normal first grader would be reading, however i was prepared to read a book about a cat jumping in the yard or jack and jill or something. jacob picks out...star wars! i've never seen star wars but i'm beginning to loathe it with every part of my being. so, while other kids in his class are reading jack and jill ran up the hill. my nephew is reading something about separtists? does that sound right? i don't even know! and battles and ships and something with someone named dooku? it's like jacob is studying greek for all i know.

so, if you haven't learned this by now, i am NOT qualified to be watching these children. i remember back to the day when i was nanny in college. i took care of four kids. my typical day was taking care of a four year old and six year old while doing the laundry, stripping the beds, vacuuming every bit of carpet in the house, feeding the frogs, watching the dogs, doing the dishes, making lunch and then helping the older kids with their homework when they got home... and that was all in a days work after a morning of classes and exams. it's like the minute they handed me my diploma they were saying, "congratulations, everything you just learn is WORTHLESS! good luck paying off the student loans."

and with that novel, i shall call it a night. i have to hang out here until the old folks return. however, i cannot be posting on beckys blog and not write funny stories about her...just a couple brief ones... :) life is good.

when becky worked at the bank and would come home and i wouldn't give her the remote, she would tackle me to the ground IN HER HEELS to get it away from me.

ask her about the, "but won't they fly away" when my dad said that we were driving past and egret farm in florida.

becky used to have her whole room plastered with posters of george michael, barf.



sadly, that's all i've got for now but you better believe that if i knew where all her pictures were you'd be seeing some great ones. i'll post some on my blog in the near future. it's fabulous being the evil sister... i'll be thinking about more... until next time
k

On my night stand

Adam brought home a new book for me to read the other night after Tammy told us that she is reading it. It's "Captivating" by John & Stasi Eldredge. It's one that I've had in mind to read at some point, but since Adam handed it to me and I wasn't deep into anything else at the time, this one just jumped to the top of the list. I've only made it through one chapter so far (I'm also doing the "workbook" that goes along with it) but I'm hooked. It's really speaking to me, and therefore, I will now use it to speak to you!

"When I was a little girl, I used to love World War II movies. I imagined myself being in them. I dreamed of growing up, braiding my hair, and then tucking it up under my helmet. I planned to disguise my gender so that I could join in. I sensed that the men in these movies were part of something heroic, valiant, and worthy. I longed to be a part of it too. In the depths of my soul, I longed to be a part of something large and good; something that required all of me; something dangerous and worth dying for.
There is something dangerous in the heart of a woman. Simply insult her children, her man, or her best friend and you'll get a taste of it. A woman is a warrior too. But she is meant to be a warrior in a uniquely feminine way. Sometime before the sorrows of life did their best to kill it in us, most young women wanted to be a part of something grand, something important. Before doubt and accusation take hold, most little girls sense that they have a vital role to play; they want to believe there is something in them that is needed and needed desperately."

My husband Adam is my hero. Seriously. Those of you who know me understand that I am an arachnophobic. I understand this to be completely irrational. I understand that I am about 10,000 times the size of most spiders that I run into. For some reason that I have yet to comprehend, this knowledge does little or nothing to convince me that panic isn't the appropriate response when our paths cross. So, while I was sitting here at the computer last night (blogging, of course) and a spider the size of a small rodent crawled up the wall right in front of me. I, naturally (or not so naturally) lost it. My instinct is to run and never look back. However, that means losing sight of the beast and the potential of having it alive and running loose in the house, meaning that I would have to vacate the premises. I then begin to contemplate different methods of obliterating the thing - which, of course, must be done from a reasonable distance. I have no options - the lethal chemicals (bleach, bug killers, hairspray) are all in another room. Vacuum is upstairs, but I decide to risk it and retrieve the tool that may potentially save my life. However, I still have some serious issues with sucking a spider toward me in any way, so I can't bring myself to use it. The only logical (yeah, I know) option is to call Adam and plead for his assistance. Being the understanding man that he is, once he finished laughing and making jokes, he actually left work to drive home and save me. He even stayed on the phone with me most of the time to keep me calm. I was growing tired, as I was standing on the computer desk, holding a flashlight over my head in order to keep the thing in sight (can't lose it). Unfortunately I became slightly overconfident when it hadn't moved in a while and I sat down, taking my eye off it momentarily. A couple of minutes later, it crawled back up from behind the desk into my line of sight, causing me to bolt from the chair I was sitting in, tripping over the vacuum and falling into my scrapbooking supplies. It wasn't a pretty sight. I admit - not my finest hour. But Adam saved me, and that's all that matters. My hero.

I'm getting a quality education here...

My son, Jacob, started first grade a couple of weeks ago. I won't begin to tell you how badly it freaks me out that I have a first-grader. Anyway, there have been many things over the last couple of weeks that I have been confused about in regards to Jacob's educational experience. First, I thought I'd be all on top of things by getting Jacob's school supplies at the beginning of August, before the permacrowds began to form in the back-to-school isles at Walmart. I also happened to have the money at that particular time - very motivational. I mention this to my mother (who works in administration in our school district and is a former 1st grade teacher) a couple of days later, all proud of myself...until she informs me that our kids aren't required to get school supplies - "the school provides them." "Then why does Walmart have a list of school supplies required for Mary Frank 1st Graders?" I ask. "I don't know, but they shouldn't, and you shouldn't." she replies. Ok, whatever. Then, the Monday before the first day of school (Wednesday) it occurs to me that I don't yet know who Jacob's teacher is. I call mom. "Well, don't you have a back-to-school picnic or something that you're supposed to go to?" she asks. "I don't know. How would I know that?" I ask. "It would be on the district calendar that you should have gotten in the mail. Did you get a calendar?" (I'm trying not to notice the patronizing tone in her voice) "Yes. It might have said something about a back to school picnic..." "Well, I would go to that, if I were you. You know, you're really sounding like a naive, first-time parent." So school starts and Jacob gets this planner thing that the teacher uses to communicate Jacob's homework responsibilities to us parents. Very cool. Last week we get a planner entry that says that Jacob needs to "study" a list of words written in the planner. I call mom. "What does 'study' mean to a first-grader?" Read? Write? Spell? Memorize? Help me out here!!

Tonight was parents night at Jacob's school. FINALLY...questions answered. Gym shoes? Yes. Study means spell (board words)...unless it means read (step words). H.L. stands for Home Link. Mrs. Ziege was Ms. Eckerly (that clears up a lot of confusion). Kids count using something called touchpoints now instead of using their fingers so they don't have to put down their pencils. Who'd have guessed? We were encouraged to "power-read" with our kids. I have a handout I'm supposed to read that explains what power-reading is. How have I made it 32 years without knowing that?!?

So, mom, I'm not feeling so bad. I didn't have to ask a single question at parents night tonight - not because I knew all the answers. It was because every single one of my questions was asked by other parents in the room. Apparently I wasn't the only naive parent there!

btw - I overheard my preschooler tonight counting patches on her AWANA vest...in SPANISH! She made it to ten with no mistakes. I'm confident I will have much more to learn by the time she reaches 1st grade!

Spent most of my day monday working on a personal "scrapbooking" project - they were actually some things that I'm making for the kids rooms. Not exactly scrapbook pages - but I'm using some of the same supplies - even more reason to stay "stocked up" on all that great stuff we sell at the store! (much to Adam's dismay) Here's what I came up with for Abby's room:

I decoupaged the letters and the wood blocks with Sweetwater papers and cardstock letters. I distressed the blocks - they look pretty cool IRL. I've started the blocks for Jacob's room, but not the big letters - they take forever!

Anyway, later in the evening Adam and I went out for our date night - we ate a one of the scariest chinese restaurants I've ever seen (I'm quite sure I spotted several blatant health code violations, and I don't even know what any are!) and then we went to the dollar theatre and caught Crash. It was pretty wild - I don't remember seeing many advertisements for it, and it definitely isn't a "feel good" kind of movie - but definitely thought-provoking and worth seeing, in my opinion. It's paradigm-shifting. It's rated R for good reason, so don't go taking your kids to see it (like the family sitting in front of us), but if you can handle a fair amount of cussing, some nudity, a little violence, and some other quality movie material, I recommend it highly. If you decide to see the movie and it offends you in any way, don't come crying to me about it - I gave you fair warning!

Change of plans

The drama I was scheduled to be in this weekend was cancelled. The pastor, Mark Beeson, decided to go another direction with the "sermon" in light of hurricane Katrina. A few thoughts might pop into your head at this particular moment:

1. Bummer - I was really looking forward to a funny Jeopardy-parody-type drama.
2. Wow - that really stinks, in light of all the hard work, time, effort and energy Becky put into getting ready for this weekend.
3. They couldn't have figured that out earlier in the week? I mean, after all, the hurricane happened on Monday!
4. Who gives a rip?? Drama's for losers!

Ok, no matter if you fall into one of those categories or not, here's what you need to know:

I am SO proud of my church! I can't believe how lucky I am to be a part of a huge body of believers that feels strongly enough about the suffering of other people that we actually take time out of our regular lives to acknowledge that something is happening out there that is bigger than us. I can't believe that I get to say that MY church partnered with Feed the Children and sent scores of semi-trucks full of food and supplies to the survivors of the hurricane before the week was even out! I'm proud that we are a church that practices what is preached - that we don't "play" church - we ARE the church, and when something like this happens - whether it's here in the U.S. or on the other side of the world - we DO something about it. I can't believe that I get to be a part of something like that!

I'm not sure how I managed it, but somehow I ended up with tonight off. Hanging out at home with the fam. The kids are about to push us over the edge! Needless to say, they're a little excited to be together as a family. They're bouncing off the walls!

I'm in a drama at GCC this weekend - it should be pretty funny. Come and check out a service if you're in the area - I don't think you'll be dissappointed!

Scrapbooking Thursday

It's funny how much one less kid can make such a difference - I feel so productive! Anyway, this layout is from our DT U-Pick list - optional projects we can choose to work on that are displayed near appropriate product throughout the store. I chose this particular project because it's a product that I wouldn't normally use and I like a challenge. Besides that, nobody else on the DT was going to do it...haha. The featured product is Embossibles by WeR Memory Keepers. I also used Kaleidoscope papers by My Minds Eye, Signage by Making Memories, chipboard, DCWV cardstock and Quickutz diecuts to make the page. I distress the metal signage with sandpaper and handstitched a border on one page with Making Memories ribbon stuff. Oh, almost forgot about the Fabrix by Gin-X on the tag. It actually turned out better than I'd hoped. The boy featured on the page is the son of my employers, little Nathan Turner, and believe me - he is every bit a boy. I considered journaling about the number of times he's been to the emergency room, but I didn't want to get the Turners in trouble! ;) Thanks for looking!

ps. I'm also going to throw some of my layouts from earlier this year on here now that I've gotten them back from being displayed at the store. Enjoy!

One of my Hall Of Fame entries - CI paper, Mrs. Grossman metal stickers cut w/ Quickutz Paige font, Rusty Pickle aged tag, clear vellum, etc.

One of my HOF entries for this last year - 10 photos on one layout. American Crafts paper, Bazzill cardstock, Deluxe Designs template (painted), other misc.

One more thing...

I failed to mention, in my summary of the last week of my life, the highlight of my Saturday. My kids, being the little angels that they are, decided to play outside and give me a little peace and quiet. Next thing I know, Jacob comes running in the house and I hear the upstairs bathroom faucet running. Never a good sign. As Adam says, "How dirty do a boys hands have to be so that he spontaneously decides, on his own free will, to wash them himself?" So, I go to check it out. He's purple. Not what I expected. Before I can even get a word out, Abby comes up behind me. She's even more purple. Apparently they found some berries outside and decided to have a berry fight. Someday Abby will learn that getting herself into such a situation, with a brother that's a little more accurate with his pitching arm than she is, isn't a very good idea.

There were a few people at Verizon Wireless on Friday. We waited for most of them to leave before we could get out of the parking lot...

Kenny and Uncle Kracker did a couple of songs together

Kenny. No, not the one in the middle. Not the littler ones one either side...yeah, that's him - the tiny little spot on the stage that looks like an ant wearing a cowboy hat! Good thing for those screens or all we'd have had to look at would have been all the swooning, drunk, redneck women surrounding us on all sides...

That really small person in the spotlight is Gretchen Wilson. Man that girl can sing!

Michelle Burry, me, Jeri Hoag and Greta Hammond at the Kenny Chesney concert. Mission accomplished: we kept Jeri clothed and sober (mostly) the entire time! ;)

Ok, so I'm receiving harassing emails regarding the blatant neglect of my blog. My apologies. Things have been a little busy around here. Let's see...since last Thursday:

• Friday I went to the Kenny Chesney concert in Indy with a few of my friends from work. It was great, even if we couldn't quite see who it was that was actually on stage without the assistance of the very large projection screens on either side of the pavillion. Gretchen Wilson opened - it was pretty cool (despite the fact that we sat STILL in the parking lot for at least an hour waiting for traffic to make it's way out, then drove ALL THE WAY home to SB, arriving at 3am, and that I lost a contact lens at the concert and drove with one hand over my left eye the majority of the way home so I could track the lane lines...)
• Saturday I took a little nap (big surprise, right?) and hung out at home with the kids.
• Sunday we went to church and cleaned up around the house. That takes a lot longer than it sounds.
• Monday I helped out in the lunch room at Jacob's school - now that's an educational experience! First graders being responsible for their own lunches is a pretty entertaining thing. Took Abby to the eye doctor in the afternoon (she loves Dr. Tom and watching Nemo while he checks her eyes!) and then made a quick trip to Walmart. Always a great time. Put the kids bunk beds back together - an experiment in parental patience and sanity. I'll have to let you know how that goes.
• Tuesday I went back to work - did more rearranging, stocking, pricing, cashiering, etc. The usual. Filled my gas tank @ $2.79 a gallon, which now looks like a real bargain, and then went to drama rehearsal - about 2 hours of solid, non-stock laughter. Butch Whitmire is one of the all time funniest people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting - and Aaron and Mark are pretty stickin funny in their own right, so I spent most of rehearsal laughing rather than saying my lines. (Sorry Kristin!)
• Wednesday was another work day, more of the same. Moved more displays than I have any desire to ever do again, and basically wore out my deordorant by noon. It was a great, manual labor kind of a day. From work I went home, had some dinner and watched coverage of the chaos in New Orleans before picking the kids up from Awana. Brought them home, put them to bed and waited for Adam to get home from work so I could head back in to work for the late-night stocking shift. Anne and I made some serious progress from 10pm-3am - no customers to harass us while we're trying to get stuff done. Anne, we're going to need to talk about that music selection though...next time, it's MY turn to provide the cds!

There you have it - you are now caught up with the Callenders. At least with me. And a little bit with the kids. If you see Adam, let me know what he's up to, okay? I might run into him tonight between church and drama rehearsal...and then again on Friday before I go to work, maybe. I should see him on Saturday...of course, he'll be working, and I'll be drama-ing. Oh well, maybe next week!