My apologies

IGNORE and DELETE any email that says SOMEONE has shared a document with you!!

Just got hacked, please accept my apologies!!

Brian

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The Wilson Family
Kris, Brian, Brian Michael and Sarah

So much going on, Where do I start?

Well first of all let us start with a recent family shot. We are all growing: some smaller, some larger, some bigger, some older, but we are all growing! This family shot was taken at Kris' brother's house on Mother's Day, 2006. We had a good day celebrating the mother's present. We also celebrated our niece Carolyn's 16th birthday, early! She is turning 16 and we didn't want to miss out on the celebration. Kris decided she needed a special cake and since she had just received a cake decorating kit for her own birthday, she thot that using it would be the perfect task. Why not a car cake? But not just an ordinary car cake, how about a three-dimensional (3D) car cake. I thought it turned out wonderful and deserved to be put on the blog so here it is:

Of course, soccer season has continued to progress and this past weekend was the culmination. Saturday was Sarah's last game so I thought a picture of her and her two coaches was appropriate. Brian Michael and daddy barely made it to the game because of a new tradition that we started this past weekend. The father/son weekend away.

On Friday, at about 4pm we packed the van and headed for Hagan-Stone Park, in Pleasant Garden, about 25 minutes away. It is a nice 400-acre city park that has tent camping, RV sites, a lake, several nature and hiking trails. We got to the camp around 5pm, set up our tent, rode our bikes, cooked some hot dogs and smores and crawled in our tent for a good nights sleep.

Unfortunately, Brian Michael was still bouncing off the walls and he wanted to play cards, so daddy taught him how to play gin, and they played for probably an hour. It rained most of the night, so sleep didn't come easy, and at 7pm, Brian Michael was ready to get up. After a few short minutes of "snuggle time" he said, "Let's play gin!" So another 30 minutes of cards and it was up for breakfast, more bike riding, hiking on the nature trail, fishing and the highlight of the trip for Brian Michael was the fishing experience. No, he didn't catch a fish, instead he picked up an old can floating in the lake and used it to catch a tadpole, which we promptly brought home.

We went straight to Sarah's soccer game and got there right before it started. Sarah was so glad to see us that she came running as soon as she saw her brother and daddy, but who did she want to hug and kiss?? Not her daddy, but her brother, that she missed so, so much. After all, they were seperated for almost 20 hours. Oh well, I guess we could have it bad. If they had NOT missed each other!

Two updates in April, can you say oooooh...

Oh well, so I don't put a lot in here, but some is better than none. Right!?!

Soccer is going well for the children. We have nicknamed Sarah's team the "Rainmakers" because she has missed three practices and two games due to rain, but she had one yesterday and they lost by one goal. We also went to Barnes & Nobles bookstore to see Mary Pope Osbourne, the author of the "Magic Treehouse Book" series. Brian Michael has really enjoyed reading her books, and I thought it would be a nice thing for him to look back on one day. Well, half of Greensboro thought the same thing. I think there were over 500 tickets given out. You had to have a ticket to get your book signed. Overall it wasn't that bad, but then again Kris stood in line with Brian Michael for most of the time.

Sarah has gotten a new bike from a friend of ours and guess what?? NO training wheels!! Well, that is a bigger deal than it was for Brian Michael. He was ready and eager. Sarah has not been so eager, ready or willing. There have been many tears, and several "severe" injuries (small scrapes and scratches, that would make you think by the crying, that she had a broken bone!). But mommy and daddy have tried to be patient and encouraging. She has made great strides and can "officially" ride it now. However, yesterday we took her up to the tennis courts to ride and there were more tears and terror that she was going to fall on the concrete and hurt herself, so we obviously still have some work to do.

Kris is job hunting. Not something she is excited about. Our house in Lexington has been under contract to sell for two years now, and we learned last month that the couple who has planned to buy it, and has been renting it from us for the past two years, needs to move out, and is no longer going to buy it from us!! So, we could move back, BUT the gas in driving back and forth to Greensboro would be as much (or more with gas at $3/gallon) as the mortgage payment. So for now, Kris is going to get a part-time job in the evenings to help cover the mortgage until we can get it back on the market and SOLD!!

Spring is Here!

The warmer weather is trying to arrive and with it comes Spring Soccer. Brian Michael and Sarah are both playing at the local YMCA. BMW's team is the Badgers. His coach is a Wisconsin Badgers fan,hence the name. Sarah's team is the Cosmos; her coach is kind and a good teacher and encourager. BMW and Sarah both enjoy playing though neither one is very aggressive or competetive.

Kris and the children went over to great grandma's house this past week and took time to sit on the couch with "Great" (as they call her) and read to her. Brian Michael loves to read, and Sarah is learning very quickly. Brian Michael read to Great about "Carnivorous Plants" and Sarah read one of her "Bob" books.

We have had a set back in selling our house. The couple who has been living in it for two years now and has been trying to get financing, has had a set back and are not going to be able to buy it. They will need to move out. That leaves us with one of two options: we can continue to live in Greensboro and pay rent here and our mortgage in Lexington, or we can break our lease at the apartment and move back, and drive 75 miles round trip each day. Either option will cost us about the same amount of money, so at this point Kris is going to get a part-time job, and we will stay in Greensboro, at least until our lease is up in October. We are praying it will sell soon. Hopefully, before Kris is able to start to work, but certainly before we move back in October. So, if you know someone who want to buy a house in the Midway community, right outside of Winston-Salem, with a Lexington address.

The children are growing and continue to learn more and more each day. I praise God for a wonderful wife who is willing to sacrafice so that our children receive the biblical instruction that is crucial to the rearing of godly children!

Thank you, honey. You are wonderful!

Two updates, too soon . . .

Now that I have a reason for writing regularly, maybe (just maybe) I can keep this going. I figure once every couple of weeks would be acceptable, but who knows.

We went to the Natural Science Center for Seafest this weekend and then drove to Raleigh in the snow, yes, SNOW!! We went to Jellybeans skating rink and the children had a wonderful time. In the picture you see three of the cousins: Sarah, Marielle, and Sydney. Marielle (the birthday girl) is my brother, Brett's daughter, and Sydney is my sister, Olivia's daughter. Both Kris and I skated, but I was the only one to fall. I fell very hard, just as we were leaving the floor for the last time. Completely knocked off my feet and landed on my back, just above my right hip. VERY, very sore!! Ouch!


Seafest was interesting, we only had a few minutes to spend there so the children made shark hats, Sarah got her face painted, and the highlight (which is the whole reason the children wanted to go) STRANGE SEAFOOD TASTING! A local seafood restaurant brings in squid, conk and muscles.


Brian Michael remembers the squid from last year. "Kinda squishy! Like rubber!" is how he put it. So we waited for quite some time for the food to arrive, then the children didn't want to try the muscles, so dad ate them. The conk fritters didn' arrive. But there was still the calamari (squid). Dad ended up eating almost all of it as well. Oh well, it was an adventure.

The car decided to die on us on the way to Raleigh, but after trying to crank it about 25 times, it decided to run again, and we were on our way. Fellowship Meal and Lord's Supper that evening with our church family, home for a good nights sleep, and then back to church today. It has been a good weekend.

Sarah has had Cubbie Bear all week from AWANA. Each child gets to take Cubbie home for one week during the year. This was her week and she loved it! She brushed Cubbie Bear's teeth (with the provided toothbrush) each night, took Cubbie Bear with her, almost everywhere she went, and slept with Cubbie Bear each night. She loves Cubbie Bear!!

Enjoy the pics.

Close to a year of silence . ..

Well, I am not a blogger, that much is obvious. Part of it is taking the time, but most of it is the writing. I am not a proficient writer, and I really don't like to write, so . . . why do I have a blog???

That is a question I have pondered for quite some time. I have decided that I must have a blog to tell about my family. Specifically, to tell others about how my children are, what they are doing, how they are growing and what is going on in their and our lives. So we will start with the latest news, . . .

Brian Michael has lost his 3rd tooth. This time it is top front! And the other one is loose!

Brian Michael has also finished his Iowa Test for Basic Skills preparation for Book 1. He has done remarkable. Now what do all of those words mean. Since Brian Michael and Sarah are homeschooled the state requires that they be tested every year using one of the approved standardized tests. We have chosen to use the Iowa Test for Basic Skills. Since Brian Michael has never taken a standardized test, Kris wanted to prepare him for it and use the first grade (his age group) Book 1 test rather than the second grade (the material he is studying) Book 2 test. She felt this was more appropriate and wanted him to experience success in his first real test. So she bought the preparation materials for Book 1. Well, he has far exceeded her expectations. She now has the Book 2 preparation materials, and depending on how he does we will then decide from which book he will be tested.

Sarah is not sure she likes brother getting all the attention with mommy spending time testing and preparing Brian Michael, so she will be glad when this is over. She won't have to start the testing for another two years.

She is still in speech therapy, but has cut down to one day a week. We had asked for more time but the county can't justify the time when she is making acceptable progress. Kris is teaching her to read and is being reminded daily that, WOW!, her children are different! They act different, think different, look different and, yes, even LEARN different!!

At the risk of offending . . . , this is IMPORTANT!

Here is a great quote:"We have a solid new critique of Joel Osteen's new book, Your Best Life Now, by Daryl Wingerd. He is hard-hitting and crystal clear about the problems in this book. As you know, Osteen's book has been on the NY Times Bestseller list for 23 weeks. Somebody you know is reading this book. Please pass this critical review around.

"A Critical Review of Your Best Life Now, by Joel Osteen"

Nevertheless, here is my view in a nutshell: If you want to read a book in which discontentment is encouraged, a book that shows God to be powerless apart from your power-filled thoughts and words, a book in which sin is minimized and renamed in every conceivable way, and a supposedly Christian book that gives only trivial mention to Jesus Christ, Your Best Life Now is the book for you."

http://www.ccwonline.org/osteen1.html

WOW!! Am I Bad or What??

I am not a good blogger!! I am beyond not being a good blogger, I am a horrible blogger!!

but, . . .

I have a TubbeeBlogg so, I will plug along!!!

Many things have happened lately, and many things have been said about what has happened, but I don't want to talk about any of them.

I don't want to talk about anything, I just wanted to update this blog!!

So now that it is up-to-date, I can quit writing and now try and keep it up to date.

Cya!!

Christmas and New Year are behind us, so now what?

It has been a busy Christmas season. As a retailer, it is always busy. Longer hours, more traffic, many more different personalities to work with, many opportunities for stress, panic; and, if something were to go wrong, . . ., well, then, all "you know what" may break loose!!

 

But why. . . why is it this way?

 

Oh, we all have our reasons, we all have our opinions, and we all think we have an idea or a solution to the problem. I will tell you, however, that this year I am no more tired, exhausted or worn out than any other time of the year. Why is that, you may ask.

 

I will tell you, in great detail, starting tomorrow.

SFoG

It is a few days short of a month since my wrist was put into a brace. I received very little help from the brace and anti-inflamatory medicine so the doctor decided to try a cortozon injection. Things seem to be better but not perfect. The doctor said to keep the hand in the brace for another 7 days, so maybe this Friday I will have some relief. At least some relief from the brace.

Things are really picking up at work. It is the Christmas season and many are thinking of buying and many are buying. There is much to be accomplished. It is GREAT to work at a business that is Christian both in name and in practice.

Sunday was the second Sunday morning meeting of the Shepherds' Fellowship of Greensboro

This blog will be used to describe it as we go along. I think it is probably headed towards a church described as "healthy," in a series of sermons by Mark Devers of Capitol HIll Baptist Church in Washington, DC, called "Nine Marks of a Healthy Church"

Enough rambling for now. Maybe I can keep this up if my wrist heals up.

We will wait and see!! We heard a message from Jude 1-2 from Dustin Segers. There were seven families represented. We are so pleased that God has provided a group of like-minded Christians that we can worship with, fellowship with and grow through the teaching of His Word. It feels weird and odd to be part of a home church, yet feels so comforting to know that the purpose is to honor God in what we say and do; from the hymns and reading of scripture, to the expositional preaching. The goal is to be used to fill a hole in Greensboro. The hole of "A Reformed Baptist Church." What is that you might ask? Good question, I am glad you asked!

Hurt hand

Kind of hard to type right now . . . right hand is in brace. Dr. says it is de Quervain's tendonitis. Seems two tendons on the back of your thumb run down the back of your thumb towards your writst, at the wrist they go into a sheath that protects and lubricates the tendons. That sheath is highly inflamed!

Dr. has my right thumb and wrist immobilized and has put me on some super anti-inflamatory medicine, $45 for 30 day supply, and that is generic!!! Oh well, hope it gets better soon.

So proud of my children, both of them are learning/memorizing their Bible verses for the AWANA program. BMW will finish his Skipper book this week, and may even go through it a second time, ALL this week!! Sarah tonight reviewed all 5 verses she has learned and did VERY well. I am so proud of each of them.

Too hard to type . . . all for now!!

Blog, Blog, Blog

So none of my friends or family seem to understand this blog thing. They wonder what weird stuff I have gotten into, like it is a drug, or a shady side of the tracks. It is just a place to write and ramble and carry on, and it doen't matter if anyone reads it or not.

No need to judge it, no need to comment, really, not even a need to read it. May not last long, may be a nightly ritual that one day my children or grandchildren will enjoy reading.

Boy has it been busy at work! Appraisals and diamond customers, finally! We spent so much time waiting for the election to get over, now people are thinking about jewelry again, yeah! Shameless plug, Royal Diadem Jewelers.

We are working on Christmas gifts, already. Pretty incredible. Beginning of November, and already planning the gift giving. That is something my wife is GREAT at, planning and preparing for gift giving. Often times she is done by Thanksgiving.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, it certainly is time to prepare to give thanks. True thanks to our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ for his blessings and provisions. What a Mighty God we Serve!!

What OS are you?

Which OS are You?

Just found this or something similar on another blog and found it interesting!

What me warped, YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT!!

More later, this is fun!

ClownBlogg, the beginning!

It is certain that a blog is an interesting animal. Or is it a vegetable or a mineral? Still not sure where or how "blogg" became a word or a site but here it is . . .

so now what? Do I comment on how I feel, how I look or how I feel about how I look?

The directions said (yes, I read directions) that this was like a diary or a commentary so let's see what I can comment on. . .

George W. Bush has just been re-elected President of the United States of America for a second 4-year term. Today John Ashcroft announced he would be stepping down as Attorney General. He has been widely criticized for his conservative views in that position. We, as Americans, will loose a GREAT Attn. Gen. Many will disagree, but few, if any, who live their life from a Christian worldview will doubt that it is our loss.

So if enough blogging for now, more later.