I'm Dreaming of a White SAND Christmas!

Okay...so we didn't get to make a snowman for Christmas but we did get to make a sandcastle!

We spent Saturday, 12/27 at the beach. It was 80 degrees and absolutely amazing!

(And, for all of my Chick Fil A fans...there is a CFA right across the street...YES, RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET!!! How magical is that!?!?!)

Anyway, we had a great day of chair setting, magazine reading, people watching, beach walking and more! It was a great day!

Oliver climbs his first tree!!!

Oliver gets outside priviledges because he is such a good boy and he "usually" stays near the front of the house. One day, I couldn't see him so I went in search of my boy. I cornered the side of the house just in time to see him run right up our tree.

Dan was just coming back from a walk and got to see the magical moment. We were so excited because this is what cats are born to do...right?!?! But then, in the back of my mind I remembered a show on Animal Planet about why firemen always have to rescue cats from trees. Cat's claws are curved so they are able to grip to climb up trees but they are unable to climb down trees. HUMMMM! Was my boy going to be forced to live the remainder of his life in a tree???!?!?!

NO! Dan got the ladder and rescued him! (I love DAN!!) Of course, Dan got REALLY scratched up but Oliver is fine!!

Has Oliver learned his lesson? NO!! Dan caught him today starting up the tree again. Dan clapped and yelled and IT SCARED OLIVER! Oliver's tail puffed out really big and he jumped down and ran inside. So basically, he is not scared to do it again. Dan is NOT excited about this!

But...all this said.....I LOVE OLIVER!!!

A very merry Christmas!

Dan and I (and of course, Oliver, Booger and Tippy -- they each got a present from Bryan, Cate and Abby) enjoyed a fabulous Christmas day! While we didn't have many presents, we enjoyed the day just as much! Dan wrote a poem for me...how romantic is that!

We visited 3 nursing homes. We made some new friends while singing the songs of the season! Dan and I make a pretty good duet!!

It was a balmy 80 degrees, rainy and a perfect day to celebrate Jesus' magic day!

Our new baby cow - SLATE!

One morning we looked out the window and then I screamed..."Dan, we have a new baby cow!!!" And Dan immediately named him "Slate".

He is just precious. He just loves his mom (she's the one with him in the photo...I think he's adopted). He "moos" really loudly when he is hungry and Mom isn't close enough. And he is usually behind the pack ... but he always catches up to Mom (at least when he's hungry!)

So, we now have 14 cows (10 big ones and 4 babies)...they are just great! We enjoy them every morning. I can actually see them from my bed. I would prefer to lay in bed and see them longer each morning...but when I get up I can still enjoy them while drinking my coffee!

I always wanted a cow ... and now I have 14! (No, they aren't "really" mine but I get to enjoy them and I don't have any of the work....kinda like being a grandparent!")

Disney's Magic Kingdom...A Day of Fun!

The Lord blessed me with free tickets to Disney (from my Auburndale Angel again...Patti)...so, I got to go to the Magic Kingdom with my family.

We had decided to make this our family Christmas celebration. What fun it was to celebrate our first year in Florida ... with my family at Disney....how very FLORIDA.

I got to ride in a teacup (see photo), I got to see Goofy, Micky, Minnie, Donald Duck, Pooh and Tigger! And, I got to enjoy it all through Abby's eyes (my 2 1/2 year old niece). She loved every minute of the day ... she actually complained less than I did. (It was a long day. But on my behalf...I never got to ride in the stroller :)

It was a fabulous day...except for the one ride..."It's a Small World". I don't know why but I have always hated that ride. See the photo from this time...same effect! :)

Dans first post

To my friends up North. Need I say more... (Hopefully they are still my friends)

The Chatman's celebrate early!

What a thrill it is to have my family here for a pre-Christmas celebration. Mom and Dad are here for a few weeks in their winter trailer. Darla is here from VA and Bryan, Cate and Abby are here from AK. What fun we are having!

We have enjoyed the Christmas Parade in Auburndale/Winter Haven (see photo) and the Christmas Boat Parade in Winter Haven (on the "Chain of Lakes"). And, this week we will be enjoying a day at Disney, some Christmas caroling at local nursing homes, Dan and I will be babysitting our sweet niece Abby and celebrating Cate's Magic Day!

We are just thrilled to have everyone here. We always have such a great time together and those times are all too far apart. God has blessed us this year!

Our Caregivers are Trained!!!

On Friday, 12/5, we held our first training/orientation class for the first 7 At Home Senior Services caregivers. What a great day!

We are thrilled with the 7 that God has blessed us with and we are hitting the pavement to find clients! We have been praying for the caregivers and clients God had chosen for us. Now that we have seen the caregivers, we are anxious to see the clients!

We are thrilled with the new path God has placed us on. We love our new jobs! Thanks for your continued prayers as we seek to build At Home Senior Services.

Best Friend Debbie and Yahtzee fun!

Debbie and Mom D (Debbie's Mom) got here the day after Thanksgiving and we got to enjoy them until 12/4...HOW FABULOUS to have them here.

One day, Dan and I found a gift under the tree from us to Debbie. Come to find out, Debbie had wrapped OUR Yahtzee game so we could play with her. That is what she wanted from us for Christmas :)

Now, Dan HATES Yahtzee but Debbie and I love it! It was great fun for Dan finally when he got TWO Yahtee's in the same game....Debbie helped him celebrate. But, the next time we played, we let Dan sit that one out!

I had the BEST time with Debbie and her mom. God was so good to me to send them at just this time! They are cruising right now (12/7) but I get to spend a few more hours with them tomorrow before they fly home! WHOO HOO!!

Duane and Heljä's Visit!

What a treat to have Duane and Heljä here for Thanksgiving week. Our visit started by joining them at the Wycliffe Center in Orlando for the Last Languages Celebration!

We were able to celebrate some recent translations and kickoff the thrust to start the last 2200 un-translated languages!! It was such a great day of celebration, challenge and encouragement.

Scripture says that Jesus will return when everyone has heard. How exciting to be a part of the return of Christ by sharing about Jesus' love and forgiveness! Over 200 million still cannot read the word of God in their own language. How fortunate we are to have the Bible in our language!

Read more at: http://www.lastlanguagescampaign.org/ or if you want to support real, live missionaries in this work...I can set you up with Duane and Heljä. Until God allows them back into Indonesia, they are working on translation long distance and Duane is teaching other missionaries at the Institute of Linguistics in Dallas.

Photo: Duane is the one on the right. He is in a band that played and sang at the celebration. They use instruments and sing songs from around the world. It was amazing!

It's Begining to Look a Lot like Christmas!

I know that Christmas is not about the weather, or the gifts, or the music but it has been hard to get into my normal, Christmas, euphoric state! I love Christmas and all the lights, music, shopping, etc. But, with all of our life changes, it was hard to get in the "mood"! So, Dan and I decided to put the tree up and enjoy the season.

While we won't be doing much (any) Christmas shopping this year and we won't enjoy the snow and cold ... I am so excited about Christmas! We are going to visit some shut-ins in our church and we are so excited to share the joy of Jesus' birth with others on Jesus' magic day!

It will be a very different Christmas for us....and I can't wait to enjoy it with Dan!

Fabulous Cat for Sale

World's cutest cat is now for sale!!!

Amazing talents:

1. 1. He will stay up with you all night if you are having problems sleeping.
2. He can drink from the bathroom faucet without touching the faucet.
3. He can fetch.
4. He can sleep.
5. He can talk (he said his first 2 words before he was 4 months old).
6. He can catch frogs, lizzards, flies (in mid-air, no less) and various other creatures.
7. And....he comes with a house!!!

ALL FOR THE LOW, LOW PRICE OF $144,900!!

(P.S. The contract on our house fell through. If someone would like just a house...A REALLY, REALLY beautiful house...without a cat. We can talk.
http://www.realtor.com/search/listingdetail.aspx?sby=6&lid=1099032027&sid=#Detail)

Why was I trying to sell Oliver? Who wouldn't pay big bucks for him?? He makes the house such a bargin!!!

Baby GIRL #2

We just found out today that Bryan and Cate's baby #2 is a GIRL!!! Whoo Hoo!

What great news...because we just love our ABBY-girl (pictured here in her Halloween costume)! And now we can look forward to Baby Girl #2!!!

In fact, Bryan, Cate and Abby will be here 12/3 for TWO WHOLE WEEKS...how fabulous.

And, we are praying that Darla and the girls can come down from Virginia and make it a family affair!

How wonderful to have our family home in the Christmas season!

We had a big party!

What fun we had when we invited several new friends to our home after church on Sunday night! We had a lot of people...it was a blast. And since many of them have kids (and I only have about 3 toys :), I set up a table for the kids to color turkeys and happy pilgrims .... and to make Oreo turkeys! It was great fun (and I hope the kids think I am cool :)

We had soup, grilled cheese and a whole assortment of yummy food additions from our friends and we just enjoyed a great time of fellowship! ... (and, they even cleaned up and vacuumed before leaving!)

God has blessed us with our church family at First Missionary Baptist!

Elvis was in the house!

Dan and I attended the 9th Annual Polk County Family Caregivers Luncheon. (PCFG is an organization that helps family members with encouragement and service referrals.) We were hoping to go (and become "business members") so we will be a referral source when the family caregiver is no longer able (due to time, energy, etc.) to care 24/7 for their loved one and also, to meet our competition and other businesses that might be able to send us clients.

Anyway...ELVIS was there. And, I was skeptical at first but then the women started rushing the stage (seriously!!!) and I must admit...I had a fabulous time! Who knew I would find Elvis in FL! This is a great place! (And we made some good contacts too!)

Baby, It's Cold Outside!!!

Just wanted to share....it is cold here! Look at the temp for tonight....37 degrees (Tuesday --11/18/09). I knew all of our Missouri/Illinois friends would be thrilled to hear this news.

I'm enjoying wearing my sweatshirts....although I am COLD. (I must already have FL blood.) Dan is searching for the earmuffs (really, he just came in and asked me where the box was :)

So much for escaping the cold! Dan says we are moving to the keys!

Cindy Needed Some Girl Bonding!

I miss my girlfriends in St. Louis!!!!

Now I LOVE, LOVE Dan but I really just needed some GIRL time! So, my friends Patti and Sandi suggested "Lavender and Lace"... a cute little tea room in Lake Alfred (just about 10 minutes from Auburndale). And then...our friends Amy and Pam decided to join the fun!

We went for a late lunch last Saturday and what fun we had. We all ordered a fruit and veggie plate and sugar free jello for dessert (okay....we decided what happens at Lavender and Lace, stays at Lavender and Lace -- AKA, the REAL items ordered by each of us will remain a secret!! :)

We enjoyed the 3 mandatories of Baptistdom....FUN, FOOD and FELLOWSHIP!! I came home refreshed. Thanks to Patti, Sandi, Amy and Pam!!! (Patti even gave us a gift to remember our day...a petite cup and saucer ornament! How fun!)

I play EUCHRE -- Drury is going to want me back!!!

I learned how to play EUCHRE! How exciting! It is hard to believe that after 20 years at Drury I never learned to play (it is the company card game). But now, I know!

It seems it is the favorite card game of our friends Bill and Pam. And, we were so pumped up from the big Shuttle Launch, no one could sleep....so we decided to play. While the "girls" lost 2 games to the boys....still we had great fun and I can now say, I KNOW HOW TO PLAY EUCHRE!

Most would say, "BIG DEAL! Not like you can put that on a resume!" ...But, at Drury, it just might get you somewhere!

Smiles (and may fond Drury memories),

cindyc

We saw the Space Shuttle Endeavor Launch!!

Our new friends, Bill, Pam and Marshall, invited us over to watch the Endeavor Space Shuttle Launch...how exciting!!

We love our new friends...they are such fun. They are members of our church and we have had the opportunity to enjoy their company a lot in the last week. They even invited us to enjoy lunch with them after church last Sunday.

Anyway, we got to their house and got side tracked touring their beautiful home, talking about how well we would be able to see with our binoculars, watching the prep for takeoff on TV, etc. And then...it was 7:52pm...and the launch was scheduled for 7:55pm. We jumped in the car, Bill drove like a crazy man to their community boat dock, we jumped out of the car and joined the others waiting for the big event.

The atmosphere was electric with excitement. (I was just thrilled that the community alligator didn't seem to be there to watch ... really, they have a community alligator!) The crowd mumbled with individual conversations about the upcoming launch. AND THEN.....while looking in the East....I almost missed the big event in the NORTHEAST. A big orange ball of fire rocketed through the sky (can you feel it?!?!?) .....and then, after 2 seconds, it went behind the clouds, never to be seen again.



Now, you would say that this sounds like hype, a little disappointing...but alas NO!!! It was all worth while to enjoy the comments of the couple behind us sitting on the ground poised directly toward the East (not NE...hee hee). "That wasn't it, that was just fireworks." "I didn't hear anything!"



You see...they were trying to make themselves feel better but:

1. It was in the NE, not E.


2. You must be standing to see it.


3. It doesn't make noise ... it is 100 miles away! (Although they tell us we will hear the 2 sonic booms in 15 days when it comes back.)


4. BIG ORANGE SHOOTING BALL...I mean BIG....looks nothing like fireworks!

Hard to say which we enjoyed more: the BIG ORANGE BALL (for 2 seconds) or the color commentary from the couple that missed it! But, it is still fun to say we saw it! We live in Florida and we see Space Shuttles....HOW COOL IS THAT?!?!?!

HEE HEE

We love our cows and this morning we named these two....meet PATCH and GRAYCEY (I am sure you can tell them apart).

The cows are usually right behind our house in the morning so we get to watch them eat. This morning, 2 momma cows were grooming each other...how cute.

We named another baby COWEY...someday I will tell you how he got his name...but it goes way back in Dan's childhood :)

Happy Wednesday to us. Nothing says good morning like 13 cute cows!

We are hiring Caregivers!!!

We are so excited. We put an ad for caregivers on Craig's List and in less than an hour, we had 2 calls!! We have even more prospects now! We will be doing interviews next week and training is scheduled for 12/4!! WHOO HOO. We are so excited.

And, get this?!?!?! We will be doing our interviews in a coffee/ice cream shop!! How fabulous is that?!!?! We are excited, they have a perfect place for it .... and I get coffee all day long. And the best part...we are helping this Auburndale business in the process.

Keep praying...we are seeing God answer!

New Neighbors!

Since we live in a "new home construction" neighborhood, we only have 3 neighbors at this time.

A week or so ago, we visited all of our neighbors ... with a plate of chocolate chip cookies in hand, of course. The first couple in the subdivision moved in in May 2008 and they are actually from Maryville, IL....just over the river from St. Louis. The second family moved in 3 weeks before us from New Jersey. Dan and I moved in October 4th. And, the fourth family moved in the week after us ... local Floridians.

But, not long after that, Henry and Gladys moved in. They are Sandhill Cranes and we LOVE them! They are great flyers, a little noisy at times...but they are so cute! I have heard that they are just "snowbirds" (so to speak), but if they do head north for the winter, I hope they come back. They are a great addition to the neighborhood!

Can you have a "Fall" festival in 100 degree weather?

Yes, a Fall Festival can happen EVEN in Florida. I was skeptical when we signed up to attend this event with our new church. I was already missing the "change of seasons" and it was about 100 degrees (okay...not really but it seemed like it with the humidity) and NOTHING looked "Fall" at all. (FYI....palm trees are ALWAYS green!) It was just weird.

But, since we wanted to get involved in our new church and meet new friends...we went. It was held on a 2000-acre ranch and what fun we had!!

We went on a hayride, Dan got to skeet shoot, we met new friends and got to know some new friends better. It was the best day! And, God even made it a little chilly (69-72 degrees) for me!

And.....they had a dessert cook off and I won a ribbon...1st place in the chocolate division with my favorite --- DEATH BY CHOCOLATE!! How fun is that?!?!?!?

A new church home!!!

After the homecoming game and the many mentions of First Missionary Baptist in Auburndale, we decided to visit. Little did we know what God had in store for us.

We went early on Sunday, 10/19 and were greeted at the welcome desk. A girl named Patti offered to show us to our Sunday School class. She stayed with us until the room filled up. She was so kind.

We enjoyed the class with leaders Becky and Mark. They were so honest as they were doing a lesson on patience. It was good! We went to the service and really enjoyed the music. The Pastor REALLY messed up...he convicted a visitor on her first visit!! :) Actually, he spoke straight to my heart (and my need) and we both went away filled. We went again on Sunday night and saw Patti again. She invited me to be her guest at the women's conference ("Trials to Truffles" -- a chocolate/dessert theme...love that!!) the following weekend! This spoke volumes to me. What a blessing her invitation was to me.

The conference was wonderful, the women warm and welcoming and the fellowship fun and refreshing. So, Dan and I visited the following Wednesday, the next weekend and then had Pastor Price and his lovely wife Debbie over for lunch. God cemented our decision to become a part of 1st Missionary! We officially became a part of 1st Missionary on November 2nd!

What a blessing this group of ppl has been to us! They have welcomed us in as if we had been there for years. We are getting involved, making new friends and just loving it. We thank God for some high school girls that weren't ashamed to share about God and His body of believers at 1st Missionary!

Bloodhounds, parades, football ... hometown

We love our new hometown of Auburndale. It is a warm, homey, friendly hometown...complete with a town square, shake shoppe and friday night football.

In our attempt to become a real part of the town, we went to the Bloodhound Fest. This is precursor to the big homecoming weekend at the high school. We got there early, set up camp, got our BBQ box lunch and watched as the town square filled up. The crowd's excitement built, the streets closed and then...the floats started! Candy was flying everywhere....bands were playing, monster trucks and floats were full of the homecoming candidates....it was a hoopla. We had Ms. Auburndale, Miss Auburndale, Teen Auburndale, Tiny Auburndale, Teeny Auburdale...and more (and I am NOT kidding about all of these!!!) It was a hoot and so much fun.

Then, on Friday night, we went to the homecoming game. (Note to self: they don't take credit cards at high school football games.) But after a quick trip to the ATM, we were in the stands surrounded by BLOODHOUNDS (the school mascot)! The cheerleaders were cheering, the band was rocking...the players were ASLEEP (we lost about 47-7) :(

The half time was a presentation of the homecoming court queen nominations and the selection of the queen! How exciting! We were interested that at least three of the candidates mentioned their involvement in the First Missionary Baptist Church. At that moment, we decide that was were we would visit on Sunday morning! This was a huge GOD moment. More on that soon!

7 years...no itch!

Dan and I just celebrated our 7th anniversary!! How exciting is that!? And, even though it was 10/27....we went to the beach. We can do that now that we live in Florida!

We sat on the beach, hunted for shells, napped, read magazines, watched the ppl that think they really look good in bikinis, etc. And then, we had dinner while enjoying the most beautiful sunset.

God has indeed blessed me with Dan! We are enjoying marital bliss!

Oliver is always learning new things!

Oliver can drink out of the faucet!! He learned on his own and he doesn't even touch the faucet! How amazing is that?!?!? Is there no end to his talents!

(And...for the record, he only drinks out of my sick...so you will be safe when you come to visit!)

I LOVE OLIVER!!!

Our civic duty is done...and at a high price!

8 weeks ago, we sent off for our absentee ballot because we did not want to miss the chance to vote in this historic election. (And for the record, we vote in all the elections....they happen more than once every 4 years :) They happen about 2-3 times EVERY year.

Anyway, it didn't come and didn't come...until we got worried....and we got to FL too late to register here. So, we called and the State of MO had lost our request for a mail-in ballot. We faxed in our request but with not much time to spare, we were worried. But then, on Monday 11/3...it came!!! We got them, got them notorized and sent them overnight ($16.50 for that...Dan was NOT thrilled!)

But...we got to vote. WHOO HOO!! And, I won't tell you who I voted for but know that we exercised our freedom to vote!

Finally...our business license!

After waiting for 3 months for our business license, Dan decided to take matters into his own hands. On our first day in the At Home Senior Services office, Dan started at 9am calling the State of Florida. And by 10:30am, he got to talk to the person responsible for our license. And by 9:30 the next morning, we had our license number!! Go God.

So, At Home Senior Services (AHSS) is in business. If you don't know (or don't remember) what AHSS is all about, let me tell you. We will hire caregivers to go into the homes of seniors to do anything "non-medical" (i.e. companionship, shopping, errands, housekeeping, laundry, meal planning/preparation, etc.) to keep seniors in their own homes as long as possible.

The At Home Senior Services mission is....

To help seniors live confidently and age gracefully in their

own homes for as long as possible.

We choose to make a positive difference in the lives of

mature adults and the families who love them.

The At Home Senior Services team will treat

every contact as a friend, every team member as family

and every client with compassion.

We are hard at work in the office preparing to hire/train caregivers and get clients. We should be out in the field soon! We are thrilled!

A blog...are you kidding me?!!?!?!

Well, I have been told by many that a blog is the way to go to keep ppl updated....so, Dan and I now have a blog. My biggest fear is that NO ONE will read it. So, if you do, will you humor me and leave a comment?? That would make me so happy!

First, I will update with a lot of posts but after that, I will try to do one now and then.

Okay...again, the deal...I blog, you comment!

Smiles, cindyc