Turn the page....

Well it has been a very eventful past couple of weeks and now the Mendiola Family stands on the verge of yet another new chapter in our continuing adventure.

Today, in case you didn't know, marks that last day for Sarah at her job. She put in her notice a couple weeks ago and we are finally making the move to bring her back home once again. Its where she belongs and where she always wanted to be. After today she can now go back to doing what she loves which is being the best wife and mommy she can. I sure do love you babe and I'm so happy for you. (And yes, of course I want you here!!!)

This week Jaden also began his homeschooling. Its been a weird schedule since Sarah has still been working and all of his school materials haven't arrived yet. But so far he seems to be loving it. He thinks its so cool that he gets his own computer and he can just do his work on the couch in his pajamas. He got to participate in an online meeting with other students yesterday and thought it was the greatest thing! Last night we got the first shipment of materials which included all his textbooks, workbooks and supplies. It was like Christmas! We got two large boxes (addressed to Jaden so he felt super awesome) and all gathered around to unpack them after dinner. It was quite the event. His computer should arrive next week and then we will go about the process of figuring out where to set everything up. So far its looking like I'm going to be evicted from the office which may pose some challenges for my work, but we'll figure it out. Bright spot: I will possibly be upgrading our wireless network. Hooray for new gadgetry!!!

So much change all around us right now and at times its overwhelming. It seems like every day some new, major event is taking place. Sudden shifts that we may have seen hints of but didn't expect. Things that catch you off guard. And some things that you knew were coming but not when, and when they do hit it makes you think "Really God? Now?". Its truly a season of change right now and its in full swing. It can be jarring and might catch you unprepared but through it all there is a hand to steady our way. A bright beacon is visible if you look for it and the Lord will lead you down the path He has chosen. You might not be ready, you might not even be aware of the road, but through faith you will arrive at your destination safe and sound.

I had so much trepidation around Sarah leaving her job and the kids starting homeschool...so many things whirling in my mind. We had a plan and it wasn't time yet! We had a schedule mapped out. We had dates and tasks to complete in preparation. There were committments that had to be met first. How would bills be paid? How would we fit everything in? This can't be right, ITS NOT TIME YET!!! We were getting caught up in the storm of changes raging around us and I didn't feel ready.

But then a strange thing happened. I prayed about all this more and I suddenly realized that all the plans and schedules and preparations we had didn't matter. Those were our plans. Those were our hangups, our path. God was telling me, "These are MY plans for you. This is MY path". After I understood that everything became clear. I could see His hand at work all along and how He allowed everything to fall into place as He always does. At that point, my outlook changed completely. I no longer feared the change, I welcomed it. I felt a weight lift as I discovered I no longer had to worry about all the details, God has a plan and we are on His path. I became excited and found myself looking forward to this next chapter. I have no doubt there will be challenges, but I also have no doubt we will meet them head on and overcome them!

Sometimes I need to be smacked over the head in order to see clearly, but when I do its a sight to behold. I'm so thankful for everything He has done and continues to do in our lives. God is indeed wonderful and its amazing to watch him work.

Stupid Myths

I am always fascinated by what people choose to believe. Superstition, myth, legend....its all basically some dumb story that if you ever stopped to think about it would make absolutely no sense. But, for some reason, people are gullible enough to think they are true.

Some examples.

Chain emails. The idea that forwarding or not forwarding a simple piece of electronic mail will have any affect on your life one way or the other is absurd. And if you don't immediately call 10 people in the next 5 minutes and tell them this, your hair will turn purple. Seriously. My friend's roommate's cousin's uncle's mechanic had it happen to his wife.

Black cats. Cats of any color do not cause bad luck, they are just really annoying and pretty much useless. Also, if you let a cat cross your path without kicking it you deserve bad luck. The same goes for walking under ladders, breaking mirrors, etc....all bunk.

Free (insert random popular product here) just follow this link! If you subscribe to the age old theory that time is money, then right off the bat this is flawed. Clicking on a link to obtain something free takes time, time is money, money equals cost therefore your item is not free. If you don't agree with that motto, then have fun filling out the multiple subscriptions and offers you will be led to and the countless junk emails that will follow all in the name of a free (probably refurbished) bit of techno gadgetry that may or may not ever actually materialize. Bottom line: if it were truly free it would just show up on my doorstep.

Googling Google on Google will break the internet. Really? Wow, if you believe this then its quite possible you may be beyond help. I can tell you with certainty that it will not break the internet. I'm sure Al Gore would have thought of that before he created it.

Rebooting will fix your problem. HAHAHAHAHAHA. Thanks Microsoft.

Step on a crack, break your momma's back. I am fairly confident that if this were true kids would never be allowed to leave the house.

Elvis is alive. No, he isn't.

Don't open an umbrella inside. It's not bad luck, you will just have a harder time getting out the door.

The Tooth Fairy. First of all, this is just plain freaky. Why would you want a kid to believe that some magic sprite comes into your room at night and takes an old piece of your body that you have stashed under your pillow? (Side note: if something falls off my body it either needs to be a: re-attached immediately or b: thrown away if its no longer of use. I would never think it appropriate to put it under my head and go to sleep.) Secondly, why would the T.F. pay you for an old tooth? What does the T.F. do with them? Make dentures? Sell them on the black market? Harvest them for DNA to make clones? Think people. Think.

Everyone has a doppleganger. This is the notion that somewhere in the world you have a double or a look alike. Somewhere out there, there is duplicate you. Preposterous! These doubles are simply the clones the T.F. made from your tooth DNA. :D

Amazing what people will believe.

Got a good stupid myth? Do tell.

Later everyone!

Week End

Well this week is finally drawing to a close. Its been a hectic past couple weeks actually but lots of things came to a head this week. Lots of things also got resolved and there are some changes coming down the road for our family.

For those of you that haven't read Sarah's latest blog, you can read that for more info. Long story short, Sarah is leaving her job on Nov. 1 to stay home more and we're moving Jaden into home school now rather than waiting until next year. BTW, if anyone needs, or knows of someone who needs, a house cleaner let us know. Sarah is going to be starting up her cleaning business again and will be accepting new clients soon.

As I said, long couple of weeks but we now have a sense of peace about a lot of things that were on our hearts and minds. God is good and He provides a way even when we might not be able to see one. We have faith that we're making the right decisions because we're following His will. And I know everything will work out perfectly according to His plan...although maybe not the way we think it should.

I for one am happy to put this week behind me. We have the wedding of our wonderful friends Jen and Eric to look forward to on Saturday and no extra commitments this weekend. We are ready to spend some time in the company of friends and enjoy some much needed rest. Next week is a new chapter and the future is filled with adventure and change. Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings our way!

Busy times.....

Man we have been so busy lately. Our schedules have gotten so crazy lately that I just feel like we need to unplug and take a vacation.

I mean, we're always busy, and as it gets closer to the holidays that only increases, but it seems like lately we've just had so much more going on.

Work had been a bear, and I know that's probably a lot of it. I've been so busy lately working 9-10 hours a day, plus weekends. Last week was extra insane...pulled a couple really late days, plus I was on call. This week (so far) seems a little more manageable, but we found out that the support transition that will free up a lot of my day to day time is now postponed until the first part of next month. But at least I will stay occupied right?

We had Ashley's first TBQ match on Saturday which was fun. She was rockin' it and quizzed out a couple times as well as took individual high score in several matches. So far she seems to be much more comfortable than last year and doing WAY better all around. She really likes it too which is great. She gets to hang out with good people, fill herself with the word, and gets to have some healthy competition. I'm glad she found something she enjoys. She took 3rd place individual over all, and their team tied for first place with win/loss record but took second based on total points. Not too bad for the first match...especially considering her team only has two people now!

Saturday night was my friend's bachelor party. We all went over to his place and had a lan party which was fun. Lots of junk food and soda and video games. I had to bail early (if you call midnight early) since I had stuff to do in the morning but it was a good time. They ended up playing until about 5am which is crazy if you ask me (that's my inner old timer talking) but he had a blast so that's what matters. Next weekend he becomes a married man.

Sunday we were super busy. We had our normal JBQ practice first thing. The kids are all doing so well and studying lots. They were all buzzing in and getting answers....so proud of them. We brought in Trouble and had them play the game by answering correctly. The boys were talking smack (of course) and were in the lead at first, but the girls came back and destroyed them. Pride comes before the fall fellas. But they had fun and Sarah brought them treats which they loved. Of course, we didn't bring anything to drink so I had to run to the Chevron and grab some juices.

After that, Sarah and I were responsible for running kid's church this week. The kid's church is temporarily without a pastor so we volunteered to help out this week. Well, according to Sarah I volunteered and she was just my helper. So anyway, right after JBQ we had to start setting up for that. It went well, and they all seemed to have fun....we even got a kudos from the pastor's son which was cool. I enjoyed it, but I can't see us doing it all the time, especially with all the other stuff we're already involved in. Sometimes I feel we're stretched too thin as it is, but we were glad to help out.

Sunday afternoon was supposed to be my resting time, but Sarah wasn't feeling well so she went to bed. I took Ashley to TBQ and then Jaden wanted to play some videogames with his dad so I played with him a bit. I started to finally doze off a bit around 5:15 but then Ashley was home and it was time to start thinking about dinner and stuff. Oh well, that's the life of busy parents. I can sleep when I'm dead! HAHA

Sarah made some super yummy chicken noodle soup for dinner and I made some biscuits and a chocolate cake for dessert. So glad its getting cooler and we can have soups again. Looking forward to making my creamy tomato soup soon....AW YEAH!!!!

This week the kids only have school Mon - Wed and then they are out for their fall break for a week and a half. We have parent teacher conferences on Tuesday (can't wait for Sarah to meet J's teacher....note to self, stay between them to minimize any possible damage), and I think I have a dentist appointment sometime this week too...hooray for that. Wednesday is BSU family football night at the church. Snacks, fellowship and the game on a giant screen...doesn't get much better. Then on Saturday is the wedding. Lots to do. Busy, busy, busy. But it keeps me out of trouble.

Oh yeah! The best thing is our fast is over on the 15th so that means this week I can finally have coffee again!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU GOD!!!!!!!!! I have missed coffee. I'll have to take Sarah for our free Starbucks. Can't wait!

Well I better jet, work beckons. But I leave you with this. My devotional talked today about Barnabas (whose name means "son of encouragement") and how we should try to be an encourager. You can be a Barnabas, an encourager, because everybody needs encouragement. And everyone needs help. Everyone stumbles and falls in some way, shape, or form. Everyone has their down days, even the heroes of life. They may wake up on the wrong side of the bed, be feeling a little cranky, or don't always have the perfect answer for every question. They are human like you are. They need someone to just encourage them. So be an encourager.

Blog #2

Well this is some sort of personal record. I don't think I've ever blogged two days in a row.

Not much to talk about today. Sarah helped me redo my blog page so now its not so boring. Not sure I'll keep it that way but its better than it was. Thanks babe!

Just finished some Sara Lee lava cakes from Walmart. Nowhere near as good as the ones we make but they were ok. Now I need massive amounts of water to wash it down.

Got a nice surprise the other day at work. In recognition of my 5 year anniversary with HP I got a $100 e-Award. I redeemed it for a Walmart gift card and so we went shopping a bit tonight. I got the Wolverine movie on Blu Ray, some blank cd's so I can finally burn more, and some treats for the family.

Oh yeah! I FINALLY GOT MY HAIRCUT TONIGHT TOO!!!! WOO HOO!

I am no longer a shaggy beast. Jaden and I went to Sport Clips while the girls looked around at Bath and Body Works. When I told J we were going there he got all excited. The last time we went, we both got the deal where you get a hot towel and massaging shampoo and he loved it. So this time he asked if he could get his "treatment" again. HAHA, he's so funny. I can't say no to that dude so we both got the "treatments" and had a good time. Now we're back to our considerably less hairy dapper selves.

Sarah went to meet with Pastor Kris today and got to see the puppies. Well not really "see" them since they are still in their mom's tummy, but she saw lumps or something I'm sure. Anyway, she's totally in love with the dang thing and its not even here yet. I'm just glad she wants that for her Christmas present cuz there ain't nothing else I could get her that would top that. They should be born in another couple weeks and then we can bring her home around Thanksgiving.

With the weather changing and cooling off, everyone is getting into the soup making mood. I love soups man. Nothing better than a nice steaming bowl of soup and a hot grilled cheese sandwich on a cold day. I want to have a soup potluck where everyone just brings over their favorite soups and we can sit around and sample all the goodness. We are also planning our kolache day soon too which I can't wait for. I sure do love those little balls of bready goodness.

My xbox is coming home! Yee haw! It died on me a couple weeks ago and I had to send it in for repairs. Luckily it was still under warranty so I don't have to pay a thing. Missed out on a couple weeks of gaming with my buds but that's the breaks I guess. It will be back in time for the party this weekend though so that's good. Sarah said I should have fasted games instead of coffee and that this is what I get. Hasn't been so bad though, I had a good "romance novel" to get me through it. HAHAHA

I am tired dude. I had just barely dozed off into a deep, relaxing sleep last night and then I got called for work. It was an easy fix and ultimately something I shouldn't have been called for, but sometimes that happens. When I came back to bed I could not get back to sleep to save my life. I couldn't get comfortable again at all and Sarah sounded like she was sawing down trees next to me. I finally did drift off but it wasn't nearly as good a sleep as before I was paged. When I get done here I think I'll go relax and watch a show or two and then go to bed. That sounds good.

Now that I have cd's again, I need to make Jaden his Ghostbusters cd. For some reason he loves the music and songs from Ghostbusters and begged me to download the soundtrack and make him a disc. He sure does love his music. I sometimes come upstairs and find him with a cd in the player and dancing around or playing along to Star Wars tunes.

Well, I'm about out of things to ramble about. I did get a cool scripture in my daily devotional the other day that I really dug, so I'll leave with that. Take care everyone and we'll blog later!

That's why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

— 2 Corinthians 12:10

P.S. - oh yeah, Sarah hates the name of my blog page so I'll probably be changing it soon just so your aren't startled when it happens :D

Under construction.....

My wife wants me to blog more so she thought that by removing me from our shared blog I might get motivated. Well I guess she was right cuz here we are.

Actually, I just love to make her happy. And for some reason, injecting my thoughts and unique brand of randomness into the internet world through a blog shaped needle is what would make her happy at the moment. That, and her new puppy which is already on the way so I kind of had no other choice.

Who knew setting these things up would be so much work! I felt like I was applying for a small loan with the amount of info they wanted from me. Thank you God for creating the dude who invented Facebook. Fortunately much of this personal info of mine was already out on my profile there. Thank you again God for creating Bill Gates and allowing him to add a copy/paste feature into Windows. Made my blog setup super fast!

So the title of this blog is "Under Construction". I chose this simply because I just created my blog (duh, no deep hidden meaning here). I don't have the nifty toys and gadgets yet that make this a World Class blog like my wife's, but I'm hoping she will be so overjoyed that I finally started one that she will volunteer without hesitation to deck out my page in equal splendor with all the bells and whistles. What do you say babe? :D

In the meantime, I have chosen "boring blog template #5" as my starting point.