My Own Little World

There is a song on Christian radio right now by Matthew West called "My Own Little World." I have heard this song several times and like it OK, but never really thought about it too much and wasn't particularly impressed with the song. However, in the past week, it seems like this has been the theme song of my life.



It started earlier this week as I was reflecting on how I am not good at all at keeping up with friends who I do not see as a part of my regular routine. There are people who I love dearly who have moved to another city or are no longer in my regular circle. I lament the fact that these friendships are not what they once were and yet I have done very little to maintain them. I think it is because I become so focused on "My Own Little World...Population: Me." I am so focused on MY family, MY job, MY child, MY issues and problems that I don't take time to move out of Amy World.



Another experience happened last night as I was at our youth group. We have two different groups that meet on Wednesday night...one for High School and Older Junior High Kids and one for Younger Kids (5th and 6th graders mostly.) Last night we were blessed with enough volunteers so I was able to float back and forth between the two groups. As I was floating, I was struck by what I saw in some of the kids that were there. There is a lyric in the song that goes
that goes "Father, Break my heart for what breaks yours." Man, did that happen last night! I as I looked around the kids in the room my heart was broken by some of the life situations of the kids and things that they are dealing with. I can only imagine if I felt that way about the family and personal issues that some of the kids are dealing with...how much more God's heart breaks for those kids and how he so wants to transform their lives . It also went back what can I do step out of my little world and "look for open hearts and open doors" in the lives of these kids and the younger kids that I serve in our Children's Ministry.

So...I think I am getting the message to step out of "My Own Little World" and connect with people. I am going to do my best so that when I hear that song it can be a historical song of what my life WAS like but is now nothing like that.

Anniversary

Today is my 4th wedding anniversary!! I am so blessed to have such a great man in my life. Here are some amazing and fun facts about Mark Osterhout:

*He owns 2 keyboards, 5 guitars, 3 trumpets, 1 trombone and a bunch of others....and plays them all well.

*He is a great dad!!

*Our cat likes him way better than me. :-)

*He doesn't like dishes in the sink and does something about it. He almost exclusively is the one who loads and unloads the dishwasher.

*He loves silly cartoons and shows.

*I knew I was going to marry him on our 2nd date when he was singing a solo in a foreign language in at choir performance. (The song was called "Riu Chiu Chiu" and I think it was about a dog...so romantic!!) :-)

*He had never been to a football game before we got married.

*He loves putting frosting on a cake (and eating it.)

*He runs really fast...he probably could have been a track star if he had pursued it in his younger days.

*When we were planning our wedding, he basically gave me free reign as to what to do...except in the music department. He had very specific ideas about that!

*He proposed to me after watching Season 1 of The Muppet Show.

*His middle name is Rogers.

*His favorite place in the world is in a canoe in the middle of lake.

*He loves to cook breakfast foods: omelettes, pancakes, etc.

*He likes to play tennis.

*He sang "Some Enchanted Evening" to me at our wedding...and people still talk to me about it.

*He swore that he would never go back to teaching, but he did and he loves it!! (I am so proud of him for that!!)

*He could probably live without a TV, but watches TV with me just because I like it.

*He has written a ton of songs.

*He puts up with me and all my craziness!!

*He is serious about his faith in God and putting it into action.

*He is a fantastic husband!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously, I am so lucky to have him in my life! He was well worth the 36 year wait!!! Love you Mark!!

Reflections on the New Job...SO FAR!!! :-)

As I posted previously, I am taking a year leave of absence from the teaching in the SBCSC and one of the things that I am doing during that leave is working as the Children's Minister at Living Stones Church. I started the job full-time on September 7th (although I have been doing it part-time since March) and I really LOVE it!!

*I LOVE that I have a job that is very flexible...If Anna is sick, I don't have to worry about calling a sub, writing lesson plans, etc. If I need to run an errand or pick something up that is needed for the job, I can just run and get it without waiting until the end of the school day. I can also do some of my work from home which allows me more time with Anna.
*I LOVE that I get to work with 3 other great people every day who were already friends long before we ever started working together.
*I LOVE that I have a super cool office where I can keep my stuff and am in the process of making it "look like me."
*I LOVE that I get to work with 90+ of the best volunteers and 200 of the best kids in the world.
*I LOVE that I get to work with a volunteer team of 7 people who help me plan and figure out how we are going to reach the 11, 814 children that live on the South Side of South Bend. LSC Conservation Officers Rock!!
*I LOVE that I am actually getting paid to do ministry. Given the church background that I grew up in, I never thought that it was an option for me because of the view that particular tradition has on the role of women in the church. (As a disclaimer, I am not interested in bashing the church tradition I grew up in, nor am I interested in getting into any kind of debate on the role of women.)
*I LOVE that I have a break from the stresses of teaching in the public schools...high stakes testing, lack of funding, union issues, etc. (Not that there aren't unique stresses that come with working in Children's Ministry.)
*I LOVE that Anna gets to come to work with me on Sundays and that I have a direct role in what is happening with her spiritual development at church.
*I LOVE that I get to use my skills and educational background in a new and creative way!!
*I LOVE that I have more time to devote to not only the Children's Ministry, but also the Junior High Youth Ministry. It is pretty cool to work with kids from birth through 8th grade. :-)

That is a lot of LOVE going on! However, there are a couple of unique challenges as well. Probably the biggest thing for me so far has been getting used to not working in a school environment where there were 60-70 employees and 400 kids milling around. With the exception of Sundays, that is not the case with this new job. There are 4 people (including me) who work at the office during the week...soon to be 5. As I said before, I love these people and working with them but it is a big change. We all have our own offices and things to do so it can get a little lonely at times. In fact, the other day I was at the office by myself for a while in the afternoon because the others were at various meetings, etc. After a while, I was hoping that the UPS man or someone would stop by just so I could have another human to talk to. :-) However, I am certain that anyone who goes from a school setting to an office setting has similar experiences. I am sure that, in time, I will probably grow to LOVE this part of the job as well!! :-)

I have been asked if I miss teaching. My answer is that I definitely miss all my friends, co-workers and students, but that I do not miss the actual teaching part. That alone tells me that I made the right decision. It just confirms for me that I needed a break from all the stresses of teaching and needed to jump into something that I LOVE!!

I Need to Get Off My Butt and Get to the Gym!!

The title of my blog basically says it all...I have been very lazy about exercising for the past year and a half (or longer.) We have a membership at the YMCA that has a very nice cardio room and lots of fitness classes. If that weren't enough, we also have Wii Fit, tons of exercise DVD's, a medicine ball, an ab ball and various weights right here at the house. And yet, I do not use them on a consistent basis.

I have a ton of excuses, with the biggest one being Anna. I sometimes feel like I already spend enough time away from her that I do not want to leave her more time to go to the gym or take time away from her at home to exercise. I have recently realized that this is just ridiculous. First of all, at the YMCA, they have childcare where she can play while I work out. Secondly, I realized that I need to leave her to exercise so that I won't leave her permanently because I have not taken care of myself.

So anyway...I am committing to MAKING myself exercise at least 3 days a week from this point on. There I said it...and am putting it out there in the blogosphere for the world to see. Maybe by publishing this I will actually get off my butt and get to the gym. :-)

Homemade Cleaners...Attempt Number 2

In May, I posted my goals for the summer. One of my goals was to experiment with making my own cleaning products. I have been somewhat successful in meeting this goal and tried 3 different types of cleaners. I already posted about the toilet cleaner out of baking soda and lemon juice. We have continued to do that and really like the results. Making these cleaners is really easy and I love that it saves money and I am limiting Anna's exposure to certain chemicals. I do have several other recipes that I will try as time allows.

In June, I attempted to make Liquid Laundry Detergent and Dishwasher Soap. (I know it is now September and I did it in June...but just now getting around to blogging about it.) :-)

Let me start with Liquid Laundry Detergent. I made a 2 gallon tub of this and have about 1/4 of the tub left. We probably do 8-10 loads of laundry per week so it is definitely cost effective. Our clothes seem to be as clean and fresh as when we were using store bought laundry detergent. A couple of notes on this the Fels Naptha Soap and Arm and Hammer Washing Soda can be hard to find. I found the Fels Naptha Soap at Kroger and the Washing Soda at Martins. I am guessing that you could probably buy it online. Grating the Fels Naptha Soap was probably the hardest part, but the whole thing took about 30 minutes to make even with the soap grating. I have also heard that you can use Lava soap, but haven't tried it. Anyway here is the recipe:

1 cup Borax
1 cup Arm & Hammer WASHING Soda
1/2 bar of Fels Naptha Bar Soap
1 gallon of purified water (or rain water)

Fill a pot with 1/2 gallon purified water (or rain water) and bring to a simmer. While the water is heating, grate the soap with a cheese grater into the pot. When the soap is fully dissolved, add the Borax and Washing Soda. Stir until fully dissolved. Fill a 2 gallon container with remaining 1/2 gallon warm water. Pour in soapy solution. Fill the rest of the container with 1 gallon cold water. Stir and let sit for 2 days until it congeals. Use 1/2 cup per load or 1 cup for hard water. Can be used in high efficiency machines. If clothes are extra soiled add some OxyClean.

Dishwasher Soap-This was super easy to make, but I have not had as great of results as I would wish. We often have a little residue on our dishes after running them through the dishwasher. This could be an issue with our dishwasher or the hard water that we have in the house.
Anyway, this is the recipe:

1 1/2 Cup Borax
1 1/2 Cup Baking Soda
1 Cup Table Salt

Mix Together in a plastic container and use 1/4 cup per load. Use white distilled vinegar as a rinse aid

Big Changes!!!

I am typically not someone who likes change. I typically order the same 2 or 3 items at a restaurant, the furniture in my house will stay in the same formation for years, etc. Basically, when I find something that works, I like to stick with it. :-)

So for someone who does not like change, our family has experienced several major changes in the past 18 months. Some have been great and some have been tragic.

• The Birth of Anna (the best change) :-)
• The Death of Mark's Mother
• The Death of Mark's Brother
• The Death of My Dad
• The Re-marriage of Mark's dad (to a really wonderful lady)

I think just about anyone would agree that is a lot in a really short amount of time. However, when you have that many major changes, in the grand scheme of things what is one more? :-) That being said, I have requested a leave of absence from teaching in the South Bend Schools for a year (I am waiting to hear from the administration whether it has been approved.) My reasons for taking this leave are two-fold. First of all, it will allow me time to take a break from the stresses of teaching and give me the flexibility to be able to focus on my family and their needs given all that has occurred in the past 18 months. Secondly, I get the opportunity to serve as the Children's Minister at Living Stones Church for the next year. I am excited to be able to use my skills and talents and educational knowledge base to serve the kids on the South Side of South Bend.

So, the Osterhouts have had 6 major changes in 18 months. I think that is enough...unless we come were to come into a large sum of money or something like that!! If that is the case, I would happily accept another major change! :-)

Anna

I know every parent thinks that their child is the cutest thing ever, but in my case it happens to be true. :-) Seriously, Anna just turned 18 months and she is SO much fun right now. There are some things that she does right now that I think are so cute and I just had to blog about them. In the grand scheme of life, they probably are not that important but because it is my blog I get to write about them. :-)

She learned to say "cheese" while we were on our trip to Pennsylvania. This is a very important word for two reasons. First of all, cheese is the food that makes everything better. Secondly, when you are the only child of older parents, the camera is always in your face so it is a helpful skill to have. :-)

Right now, her favorite word is NO. While there are times when this is not very cute, it has come in very handy. She has answered no to some very important questions including:

• Do you ever want to date?
• Do you want a car when you are 16?
• Are you going to give your mommy and daddy any problems when you are a teenager?

I am going to make a video of her answering NO to these questions so that I can play them back to her when the time comes and she tries to break the deal. :-)

Anna loves to sing. She is constantly singing her own made up little songs, but you can begin to tell what some of the songs she is singing and it is so cute to hear that. My favorite song to sing with her is "Jesus Loves Me." The minute that Mark or I begin to sing the song her face lights up and she starts smiling. When we get to the chorus where it says, "Yes, Jesus Loves Me" she always points to herself on the ME part. SO ADORABLE!!! It is my prayer and hope for her that she will always know how much Jesus Loves Her!!

Now there are a million more cute things about her, but these are my favorites right now.