Poses

I walked into the living room one morning to see Reagan and the animals sound asleep in the chair. He must've been plum tuckered to do this!!

My parents came for a visit the other week. This is mom and her one prison baby, Nadia. She's a bubbly little person. Nadia is 8 months old.

This is mom's other prison baby. He just turned one a week ago. He was having fun locking Ambria in the dog's crate!!

Jetta asked for a neon green cake with a hot pink bow with polka dots. The picture is not the greatest as you can't tell it was neon green. Oh well!! You get the idea. Plain...but so Jettaish!!!

Back at it.

Well we're back at the Chatterbox Cafe' working under the tyrannical rule of Mr. Hamburger Head. I tell you the man grates just every nerve in a persons body!! :-)
The chicken in the oven worked, didn't it, Matt????? And let me hear the "you were right" comment now. I'm waiting....
(Course the way men are I'll be waiting to hear that comment until the day I'm in my coffin!! And then it'll be in a way where he really wasn't admitting defeat. It'll still be against me and for him.)

Penns Creek Camp started on Friday and goes through Sunday. Last year I had to juggle little kids and working. This year my mom so graciously has said she'd watch the two youngest. I'm SO glad. That way I don't have to worry with them running to the ever increasing pond behind the dining hall or tearing apart the basement with the rest of the hooligans that tear around down there. My aunt drew up a caricature of Matt in his hamburger hat and Troll and I got aprons made for the Chatterbox Cafe'. They are pretty cool. Unfortunately I don't have a disk for my digital camera right now so I can't take a picture. Hopefully Matt takes one so I can steal it from him to put on here.

Alright...back to work. "I need a grilled, ranch chicken wrap, two chili cheese fries....." (yada, yada)

She's 9!!

Just wanted to pop on here and let Jetta know that we wish her a very happy birthday. 9 years ago at 7:30ish a.m. our first baby girl came into the world. I had wanted a baby boy first and God granted that. Then when Austin was 6 months old and I found out I was expecting again I prayed for a little girl with curly hair. God granted that request for me. She was so beautiful weighing in at 7lb. 14oz.

Through these 9 years it has been such a joy to watch Jetta grow into the little lady she is today. She's such a huge help to me. She loves to clean, do laundry and help cook. I couldn't ask for a better babysitter either. She's always coming to me saying, "Mom, is there anything I can do for you?" So many times I've been so busy and needed to get a load of laundry done or clean a bathroom and she's offered to do this for me. She has such a big heart for people. At 4 years old, while attending public preschool in Ohio, she was the only person to be able to get an autistic girl in the same class to respond. Her teacher was amazed at her ability. Ever since she's had such a tender heart and catches on to feelings faster than I can cover them. She's expressed her desire to be a missionary for a couple years now. Just a few camps ago she expressed that she also wants to be a nurse on the mission field. It is our prayer that she continues to be sensitive in spirit and allow God to continue working in her young heart.

Thank-you, Jetta, for being such a wonderful daughter. I can't wait to see how you'll be when you are all grown up even though in my heart I want you to stay with me forever!! We love you so much.

The latest...

Well it seems as if God has decided to move our lives in a little different route than what we'd figured. Three different times we've had people calling us to see if we'd come to their church in one field or another. The first two times we gave immediate "No's" as we just felt we were where we were to be. The third time (course they say "third time's a charm") Troll felt checked at saying the usual "no". After praying and talking about it we felt that this was the next step in our lives.

So...as of Sunday we were voted on and accepted to be the pastoral family at Center Union God's Missionary Church. I'm not sure when we'll be starting as our contract is not quite up at New Columbia. However, we are both very excited to be going into yet another field to serve the best we can. Troll will be keeping his position at Penn View as High School teacher and our kids will continue to go there as we both feel very strongly that we are to keep them there.

We ask your prayers and thoughts as we endeavour to do God's will to the best of our ability. We love the New Columbia congregation and pastoral family so much and are sad to leave them and yet excitement abounds when we realize we'll be joining another church family and getting to know and serve them as well. Thanks to the advice of our parents as we talked to them and prayed to find God's desire for us as a family. This was something we never saw coming and, I must admit, was kinda a shock. However, we're looking forward to this and trust that with God's help we'll be the lighthouses we need to be in our new post/community. Please keep us in your prayers.

No go!

To all of you who have demanded pictures...I'm so sorry! I didn't get a picture of me at the HIGHLIGHT of my redness. And yes, I went to means necessary to try to right the situation. I did allot of what the online helps said to do. Including the washing with baking soda and laundry soap!! HA, HA!! My hair has been washed more in a few days then it has in years!!! Troll told me that about next my hair was going to fall out!! NOT GOOD! SO.... I decided (since I was going to camp with him Friday-Sunday of last week) that I'd best get some permanent dye as close to my original color and go that route!! I did as such. It's still not right and yes...you can still see some red, BUT, it was better than it was! You know I never knew I was so important! It's been amazing to see the people stare at me and my bright red hair! They'd be looking at me and talking to me about this and that (all the while turning their heads like dogs do when they hear certain noises) as they tried to figure out WHAT I'd done!! I had figured out that if I fixed my hair while it was wet that it wasn't quite as noticeable!! Unfortunately hair dries! OH well. I did find the situation humorous although I'm sure others have not. If you find yourself in this category....take a chill pill. You'll live longer if you find humor in things and not be so grouchy!!!

Backfired!!

Well I'm back from my trip. As you know I went away for a few days to Virginia Beach. It was fun but I found myself wishing at almost every turn that my husband and kids were with me!! I ended up feeling guilty that I'd done this without them! Nice, huh? We had a nice day Monday and Tuesday. Then on Wednesday it rained pretty much all day. Was raining again on Thursday and did so until we got dropped off at the airport. And then, like normal, the sun came out just as bright as you please!! :-) Oh well. Such is life. So Thursday, after one short flight to S.C. airport, a wait at that airport and a very long wait on the tarmac due to 30 backed up airplanes...I finally arrived in Harrisburg to my waiting family. Boy, was it nice to see them. Jetta had made me this huge poster that said, "Welcome" and had all their names and stuff drawn on it. We came into town not far from us to be welcomed by the flashing lights of a white car!! As it was after 2 in the morning...I assumed the gentleman in uniform wasn't to thrilled to see a vehicle in an otherwise deserted street of a small town. He told Troll that he stopped him just because he didn't use a turn signal to let people know he was turning onto a one way alley where you HAD to go due to the bridge being out!!! Alas, we got a warning and managed to get home and fall into bed somewhere around 3 in the morning.

Now to the reason for the title on this post. What do I mean by "backfired"? Well it's like this. I'm a person that loves pranks. Always have...always will. Only this time it backfired on me. You know Troll was gone to camp the week before my trip. So...I got this bright idea that on the Friday night before he came home (Saturday) that I was going to get this $4 temporary red hair dye and dye my hair to freak him out!! I did thus and such. However, he never noticed it. Now tell me how you do make a change that drastic to yourself and your husband not notice? Jetta had to tell him!!! THAT was funny. BUT the backfired part came this week. I guess as this was a cheap temporary dye....it didn't like sun. I figured it would be out in the 6 washes like it said. However, it got totally fried in the sun. I'm now a fluorescent red head!! No, the 6 washes didn't work. No, not even 16 washes have worked!! I am refusing to take a picture as it scares even me. I'm not sure WHAT I'm going to do as I can't redye it or it will make my hair worse. I guess that's what I get for trying to prank my husband in this sort of fashion. :-) I have been praying that no one that knows me comes to my house until I figure out what to do. I've become a prisoner of my own prank. Dumb red!!

Almost!!

Well...the day I've been looking forward to for the past 13 years is almost here. What could I possibly be looking forward to that has taken so long? A "girl's" outing. Ever since I was around 16 or so I've wanted to go on a girl's only trip. Sad to think that now (a number of years later that we won't mention)I finally get to go! It came and went from my mind at varying paces. I finally figured I might as well give up on the idea until I was a grandma. But alas...I'll be leaving at 4:30 a.m. tomorrow to do this outing.

Last fall I got the idea to bring it up to my husband. I figured he'd say there was no way I could do this with the kids and all. So I said, Troll would you mind if I went away for a couple days for my 30th bday instead of having a party and all that mess? He said, "That would be just fine but you can't go by yourself." No problem!! (Like I would do that. Me, the chicken-in-the-dark, off on an outing alone!!) Now see...my idea of a "girl's outing" was me and my cousin or me and one of my best friends. Bum deal. Those options were out due to said people having small children, being pregnant or having husbands that just couldn't get off work so they could go. So my brain did somersaults to figure out how I could do this. I came up with a brilliant plan: my Mother-in-law!! She has no small kids at home and her husband wouldn't need to get off work!! So (again) last Fall I approached her about it. She said she'd think about it, talk to Dad and then let me know. Sometime later she called me back to say she thought she could do that. Great!! So now tomorrow I fly out to my destination and she'll be flying to meet me there. I figured this would be a two day thing but Troll informed me that I was going for 3 days and 4 nights. WOW!! I worked very hard to make cakes and put the money back from them for what seemed like FOREVER. So thank-you to all of you that had me make a cake as you were basically the ones (and with the help of a dear friend) who have paid for me to do this. And thank-you so much to Troll for allowing me to do this by watching our kids. I love you so much.

Pray for Troll!! He'll be home with the 5 Tolley'uns!!!! And pray for me as I'll be knowing this!!! :-)

Trauma!!

Well I did sleep last night...even though I wasn't supposed to. However, I was so traumatized, I don't see myself sleeping the rest of my life. Why??

I was dreaming we were in revival in the tabernacle here. Can't remember who the evangelist was but the singers were the Glicks. (Probably 'cause they are the singers at Mt. of Blessings and I just saw them.) It came time for the alter call and allot of people went. For some reason I was in PJ's. Dwight Rine came up and said, "Are you in charge of the alter?" I told him no, that Troll would be right back. And then comes the trauma...

I looked up from giving someones child a bottle (messed up dream) and there was Dwight in a red flowered dress, playing the piano and singing "I Know A Man".

Could this have been induced by Laura's comment of , "Why not the Eiffel tower?"???

Happy 4th!

For all of you that are wondering...I'm making it. Slept the first night, didn't the second (seriously! I was up until 4:30,fell asleep until attacked by the cat at 5:30, out with the dog at 6:30 and then up at 7:00!), slept the third; I guess tonight is my night to not sleep again. Just peachy.

I trust everyone has a wonderful Fourth of July with all their family's and whatever you are doing. Thankfully we got to go to some nice fireworks last Friday night. We parked in an "abandoned" store lot, got the kids ice cream cones (Troll and I had Hot & Sour soup from the local Chinese joint) and sat on the hood of the truck to enjoy the scenery from above. I'm afraid Hannity didn't find it too humorous or enthralling. He quivered like one of our feather pillows we beat into position every night!!! I'm so glad we got to do this as a family since we can't be together as one for the actual day. Boo, hoo (whine..whine). Yada, yada.

Survival

I have survived my first night (in quite some time) without Troll being here. He was asked last Wednesday to be a fill in evangelist for Hanover camp. Our church board gave the go ahead and I've been left with three kids, two dogs, a cat and a (thank God) borrowed vehicle. Nights are just not my thing. As you do know...I'm not a good candidate of the dark! My kids get it honest. The biggest thing about this...I have 4 more LONG days and even LONGER nights to go. Arrgghh! And guess what filled my dreams when I managed to fall asleep? Snakes!! Ha, ha. Snakes upon snakes in cornfields where I was walking and etc. Nice. Bring on the caffeine...it's gonna be a long week.