I'm Messed Up!

As many of you read the title of this post, I know that you are thinking something like "We already knew this Amy!!" :-) I would definitely agree...there are so many areas which I am totally messed up (and if you don't know what they are I am definitely not going to share it here.) :-) However, there has been something that is totally messing me up lately that I do want to share.

In my last post, I mentioned RECESS which was a summer day camp that we did at our church for kids who live in the Miami Hills Apartment Complex. For those of you not familiar with Miami Hills, it is a low income (actually probably no income in many cases) housing complex and you can find anything there (poverty, addictions, crime, violence, etc.) I would say that RECESS is probably one of the greatest things we have ever done as a church. It was an amazing experience!

So you may be thinking, "That sounds like a great thing...how could that be messing you up." Well, here is how. Through RECESS and the free lunch program that we offered in conjunction with RECESS, I discovered that 3 of my former students are now living in Miami Hills (who were my students in 4th, 5th and/or 6th grade). Two of them have children and one of those kids attended RECESS (and this kid was one of my favorite RECESS campers... even before I knew who his mom was who coincidentally was one of my favorite students when she was in 4th grade.) These young moms are either in late teens or early twenties and are living in Miami Hills and trying to raise children in that environment. I know the childhood stories of these young moms and know that they have tragic stories, especially involving their mothers. So as I think about these girls, I wonder what is going to happen to them and their children. They already have so many strikes against them...living in the Miami Hills environment, having an incredibly poor example of motherhood in their own lives, a lack of education and learning disabilities to boot, and who knows what else has happened in their lives since I last saw them in elementary school.

I knew these young moms as young girls and want so much more for them than their current circumstances. As I think about these young moms, I think about the kids who spent 8 weeks at RECESS and know that I definitely don't want to go to Miami Hills in 10-15 years and see the kids who were at RECESS 2010 bringing their kids to RECESS 2025. So here is what is messing me up.... Now that I know that these young moms who were my students are living in Miami Hills, what do I do about it? Do I try to make a connection with them as mom and a friend based upon our past history? Do I offer to take their children on play-dates with Anna? Would they think I was totally crazy if I offered that and ruin any connection I have with them? And...what do we do about all the kids who we spent 8 weeks with this summer? How do you break the cycle of poverty, crime, addictions, etc.? Anyway...that has what has been consuming my thoughts lately and messing me up. I think it is a good messing up...but still messing me up. :-)

The one thing I know that I can do is pray like crazy...so that is what I am going to do! I think God is especially fond of messed up people and will help this messed up person know how to best reach out to other messed up people.

Good-bye Summer

Yes...I know it is only mid-August and some of you may be thinking what am I talking about when I title my blog post GOOD-BYE SUMMER. I mean the temperature is still in 80's, the new TV season has not started and we still have to mow our lawns. It is still summer! Yes, technically it still is summer. However, our summer ended on Monday of this week because that was the day that Mark went back to school. That means we are back into a routine of getting up early, figuring out who will get in the shower first and making sure Anna has everything she needs to go to day-care/preschool for the day (which consists of about 1/4 of the items in our house). :-) It seems like this summer was a fast one, but a good one. Here are some of the highlights of summer on the Osterhout Family:

• Our Family Vacation. We went to Wisconsin Dells and South Dakota. My favorite part was visiting the Ingalls Homestead in DeSmet, SD. Here we are in front of the Ingalls Home. It made me want to read all the books again.

• Speaking of reading books, I read about 15 books this summer and that was really great...especially since I now have NOOK e-reader. Mark got it for my birthday and it is the best invention ever. I am becoming a NOOK snob and don't want to read anything that I can't get on my NOOK. :-)


• Another highlight was Family Fridays. My day off from working at the church is Friday so we made a conscious effort to do something as a family on those days. Sometimes it was simply taking time to go for a walk and other times it was something bigger like going to the Zoo or Healthworks Museum. We even did a road trip to Chicago for the day on one of the Fridays.


• HARRY POTTER! I only saw 3 movies at the movie theater this summer, but the Harry Potter movie was by far the best. Since I am huge fan of the books, it was great to see the final installment come to life on the big screen.


• RECESS-For those of you who are not Living Stoners, we had an 8 week day camp for the kids from Miami Hills (a low income apartment complex right behind our church.) It was so fun to have the activity and fun on our church property every day. Mark volunteered one day a week and I was able to be a part of at least the lunches Monday through Thursday. I am SO proud of what the people who volunteered accomplished!!


• This was also a summer of peace for us. The past two summers have kind of sucked (to put it mildly) for us since my dad was ill and passed away last summer and Mark's brother passed away in the summer of 2009 just 6 weeks after his mom died. We are VERY thankful that this summer did not have anything like that happen.

So...farewell Summer 2011! It was a good one! I am ready for fall and all the things that go with it-football, apple cider, cooler weather and Halloween Candy! :-) Bring it on!!

Oh My Glory, Glory, Glory

Isn't it amazing how an ordinary day on a calendar can become very significant? July 26 is one of those days in the life of our family. It is not a holiday or any kind of special day, but it is a day of both celebration and sadness for us. Last year on July 26, my dad lost his battle with cancer. This is sad for us because he is no longer with us, but it is also a cause for celebration because he is now hanging out with Jesus.

If you knew my dad, then you can imagine that he is in a place where:

• 
  
  There is ample food (especially donuts and steak.)
  


• 
  
  There is always a softball game to coach.

• 
  
  There is a golf course where he is always playing his best game ever (hole-in-ones are the norm on this golf course.)



• 
  
  There is always a Southern Gospel sing-a-long going with the Gaither Homecoming people who have left the Earth.



• 
  
  There is a big TV with every channel imaginable and he can watch all he wants.
  


• 
  
  There is no heart disease, diabetes, cancer or any other thing that ailed him.



• 
  
  Best of all, he is in a place where he is in the constant presence of Jesus.

So, although there is a lot of sadness associated with this day because my dad is no longer here on Earth, it is also a day of celebration at his Homecoming. In the past couple of years Mark and I have suffered 3 significant losses (my dad, his mom and his brother) and when we talk about those losses, we always say how we miss our loved ones but how we don't want them back because they are in such a better place.

So in that vain of celebration, I wanted to share one of my dad's favorite songs. It was a song that was played at his funeral (at his request), but it is not a typical funeral song but it does describe the celebration that I think my dad felt as he met Jesus last year on July 26th.

Enjoy the song (and late 90's fashion and hair!) :-)

I Need a Vacation

Today is the last day of my self-imposed blogging challenge and after 7 days I guess I could say I need a vacation from blogging. :-) This exercise has reminded me that I did commit to blogging more frequently in 2011 so hopefully I will continue.

Anyway, on to the topic of this post...In the near future, we are going on vacation. (I am not saying the exact dates in the event that someone decides to come rob my house. Although if you find out the dates and have plans to do that, let me know and I will make a list of the things that I would like to replace in the house and you can take those.) :-) Other than a trip to Disney, I cannot remember looking forward to a vacation as much as this one. Maybe it is because we are going in our new minivan. :-) However, I think it has more to do with the fact that I am looking forward to getting away and a change of scenery. We have done some day trips and fun activities locally, but it will be great to get out of town and away for an extended period.

Our final destination is Mitchell, South Dakota because Mark is in a wedding there. However, we are going to take our time getting there. We are hoping to stop at Wisconsin Dells, WI and Walnut Grove, MN...as well as some other places along the way. I am so excited! It will be fun to see some new places and get away from Indiana!

If you have any suggestions of two year old friendly activities in these locations, I'd love to hear them!

Pulling the Trigger

Hello All! I know some of you may be disappointed to find out that this post is not all about guns (because I am so into that. Ha-Ha!) :-) Anyway, it is actually about something completely different.

The trigger I am talking about here concerns my employment situation. As most people know, I spent the first 17 years of my professional career teaching Special Education (a job that I enjoyed.) Last school year, I took a leave of absence from my job with the the South Bend School Corporation for a number of reasons, but one of them was so I could pursue the job of Children's Minister at Living Stones Church. So I spent the year away from the public school setting working in Children's Ministry knowing that this spring/summer I would have to make a decision as to whether I wanted to go back to teaching or continue with the ministry job.

I have spent a lot of time thinking, praying and evaluating and have discovered a few things. I discovered that I missed several things about teaching: the school environment, comraderie with my colleagues, summers off and the kids. However, the thing I did not miss was the actual teaching part. Considering my job title is Special Education TEACHER that poses a bit of a problem. :-) So, I have decided that, at least for now, that I am not going to be returning to my position in the schools and continuing to work as the LSC Children's Minister. This does not mean that I won't return to teaching at some point in the future, but for now this is where I am supposed to be.

In many ways this is a huge step of faith for me, but I know it is the right one. I really like what I am doing at the church. It is challenging and fun at the same time. It has been a refreshing change while still being able to use my skills and education.

SBCSC Peeps...I will miss seeing you regularly, but feel free to stop by Living Stones Church. You will typically find me in the Kids Kanyon area. :-) Or, Anna will be in school in a couple years so maybe I will see you then. :-)

LSC Peeps...You are stuck with me! :-)

Adventures in Babysitting-Resolved

Before I started this daily blog challenge, my last post was dated on May 13 and it talked about the babysitting issue that we have had for Anna. You can read that post here http://mickeyfan3.blogspot.com/2011/05/adventures-in-babysitting.html.

After much searching and prayer, our adventures have come to an end. Anna will be attending East Bank Learning Center beginning in August. It is a daycare and preschool program combined. It is nationally accredited and is a Level 4 on the Indiana Paths to Quality so we feel confident that it will be a great place for Anna. In the meantime, Anna is having a Daddy summer and they are both loving it. I think it will be a big adjustment for both of them when Mark goes back to school. :-)

Kind of a short post tonight, but I am pretty tired. More exciting posts tomorrow!! :-)

See the USA in a Chevrolet...or a Honda

Hello Everyone! Welcome to Day 4 of my weekly blogging challenge! If you are a fan of GLEE or if you were alive in the 50's then you will recognize the title of the ad in my blog. Chevy had some ads in the 50's where Dinah Shore sang this song "See the USA in a Chevrolet" and it was reprised by the GLEE cast for the Super Bowl this year. You can watch the GLEE version here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JD7EsyYlqlU

Anyway...we were inspired by the Glee commercial and thought that we should do what the song says and see the USA in a Chevrolet and started the search for a new car. OK...so we really don't do things just because Glee suggests them (although as obsessed as I am with that show that is not all that unlikely.) :-) In reality, we knew that our 2001 Saturn with 100,000 miles was nearing the end of it's life and we also were hoping for something a little larger now that we have Anna. We started casually looking knowing that we were in no hurry to buy something, but that if we found what we wanted we would consider buying it. Well, about 1 month ago, we found a great deal on a minivan. However, instead of it being a Chevrolet, it is a Honda...a 2008 Odyssey to be exact. I knew it was meant to be because I have always aspired to be a soccer mom who drives a minvan. :-) We really like it and in the month that we have had it we have taken the see the USA line in the song to heart. The van has already been on short 4 road trips to West Lafayette, De Motte, Holland, and Chicago. We also have a couple of other longer trips planned this summer (more on that later) so we are definitely seeing the USA in our Honda!