i'm back!

I think I am finally rid of my first cold of the new school year! You would think that after 6 years, my body would have some sort of immunity to little kid germs...But no, 4 days after I had 7 kids absent in one day for being sick, I got it, too! Lucky me!

Oh, and then when I went to my latest allergist appt. and showed her the picture I had taken of my arm the day after I got the allergy tests, she said, "Oh, yeah, those giant bumps are from the molds. Which considering where you work could be one of the culprits for your sinus problems!" I knew it! There are times when the moment I walk into my classroom I feel my sinuses fill up!

*sigh

So, now the latest is that I will have a CAT scan of my sinuses in 10 days to see if there is a structural reason for the constant sinus infections. I told Mike that if it turns out they recommend surgery for me (like they have in the past for him) that we should both have the surgeries over Thanksgiving break - we can celebrate our 5 year anniversary in style! :) (We haven't even been together on our anniversary for the last 2 years!)

Mike is away this weekend at a men's retreat he has attended twice before. He called today and I think he might actually be homesick (not that he would put it in those words). In the past, he has relished his time away; this time, he said that he would've rather spent the weekend with me! This is probably because when one of us gets sick, that person gets quarantined and there is extremely limited interaction with the healthy one. So, we have barely seen each other for 2 weeks! In fact, I think we talked more today on the phone than we have in person since the weekend of the Third Day concert! Whatever the reason, it is nice to be missed.

Speaking of being missed, I had a conversation with my mom awhile ago saying that I couldn't imagine being one of those couples who never spends a night apart. Maybe it is because I grew up with a truck driver for a father and saw that my mom could survive being apart from him. All I know is that I think it is healthy to spend time apart - like the old saying goes, absence makes the heart grow fonder! :)

What else has happened? Oh yeah, my brother's legal case has finally ended! After more than 2 years, he was able to plead guilty to 3 minor traffic violations and have the very serious charges dropped! Hallelujah! Now he can really go on with his life - and not have this looming in the background! Praise the Lord! Oh, I never showed you pictures from his wedding! Here are a few of my favorites from the day!

After jumping into the pond at their reception, Eric & Kate changed clothes. Here is the end of their first dance to Randy Travis' "Forever and Ever, Amen." It was a beautiful day!

Well, I think I will end on that note! Until next time...

ooo! never heard this before!

You know that little "useless trivia" widget I have there to your right? This is what it said when I posted about the concerts:


On his way home to visit his parents, a Harvard student fell between two railroad cars at the station in Jersey City, New Jersey, and was rescued by an actor on his way to visit a sister in Philadelphia. The student was Robert Lincoln, heading for 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The actor was Edwin Booth, the brother of the man who a few weeks later would murder the student’s father.

what a show!

I was thinking of the concerts that I have attended over the years, and I decided that I would create a post discussing my Top 5 concerts.

*Disclaimer #1: I have only attended Christian concerts, minus the family vacation to Nashville when I was 8 (and that I barely remember)

*Disclaimer #2: The concerts are listed in no particular order

Now, the list:

1.) 1989, My 1st concert sans family: Newsboys opened for dcTalk at the former Lancaster Youth for Christ building (now home of Millersville Bible Church). The Newsboys were fresh off the plane and still had their Aussie accents! I remember that I didn't care too much for the Newsboys at that time, but the concert definitely ignited my love of all things Toby, Michael, and Kevin! :)

2.) 1992: My 1st Creation festival: Now this time, I DID like the Newsboys, and I think this is the year that dcTalk came in on a helicopter. If that wasn't until Creation '94, my bad, but the whole week was full of great shows! And a lot of other mischievous fun!

3.) 1994 or 95: Code of Ethics concert at Lancaster YFC - This band hasn't been around now for almost 10 years, but this was a very cool concert simply for the fact that there wasn't a large crowd. We got to talk extensively with the band members and we were so close to the stage that when my friend said, "Oh, they can't be done yet", the lead singer heard her and said, "We're not even close!" Too cool!

4.) 2000: Michelle Tumes opening for Fernando Ortega - This took place in a church in either Harrisburg or Hershey, I can't remember. Anyway, my (boy)friend gave me a ticket to this concert, knowing that I really wanted to go, but that he couldn't. I think this was the first concert that I went to where I sat the entire time (felt old in that moment, but not really the style to jump around!), but it was an amazing concert because you could really see/feel Ortega's heart. The music (piano, bass cello, etc.) was simply amazing. It was Ortega's last concert of a 3 month tour and he was ready to go home. He told us this and then played a medley of songs that he had written for his wife. After talking about missing his family and singing these songs, he then goes into "Give Me Jesus." Wow. Powerful!

5.)Sept. 13, 2008: Music Builds Tour with Jars of Clay, Robert Randolph and the Family Band, Switchfoot, and Third Day - Yup, the concert Mike and I just went to last night! We wanted to go to this concert in Holmdel, NJ (which is near where Mike grew up), since we found out about it at Creation. However, tickets to the PNC Bank Art Center are not cheap, so we decided we weren't going. Then, last Sat. we got a call from his godfather (who works there) saying he could get us in for free!!!! So, after I took my Spanish Praxis test and Mike played 9 holes of golf, we headed to NJ. We missed most of Jars of Clay (time discrepancies), but were there for the rest. This was the second time this summer seeing Switchfoot and we have grown to like them - therefore, we came home with two of their c.d.s. (BRITTANY- If you want to be surprised, STOP READING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)










Sorry, I had to give my little sister a chance to not read on...See, she REALLY wanted to go with us (Third Day is her favorite band) and we could've gotten her in, too. But, alas, she finally found an apt. and this weekend was the only time she could move in. So, since I am trying to win "Sister of the Year" this year, I couldn't help but sign up for Third Day Wired, their membership group, and....(Brittany, this is your last warning!!!)

And the end result:

There is more that I could tell you, but for some reason, I think Brittany didn't stop reading and I want something to be a surprise for her! :)

Until next time...

uh, courtney, we have a problem...

...you know all of those tomatoes you gave me from our garden? The ones you said that you weren't going to have time to cut up for salsa? Yeah, well, I washed them, took off the stems, threw them in the food processor because I was not about to cut all of them up...and got MUSH! So.....what have I learned? I don't think PLUM TOMATOES are good for fresh salsa!!!!!!!!!!

*double sigh

I am now trying to make the tomato mush into tomato sauce, but I don't know how well that is going to turn out since I didn't take out the core/seeds or skin like all of the tomato sauce recipes say to do..................

And I even bought cilantro and limes for the salsa! And I got those 2 jalapenos from our garden, too!

*sigh

I guess we are having tacos tomorrow!!!! And I guess now I know tomatoes are not interchangeable!

For all of you out there who are laughing at our expense (I suspect you, Krista, are having a hoot!) STOP LAUGHING!!!! :)

Maybe we should grow these tomatoes instead?

I took this picture at Delicious Orchards in NJ. You might see
some other pictures from there later - as a header pic, maybe??