I went back for a 6 month follow-up from the spring. There was no change in the mammogram, which is good. However, because they can’t be 100% sure, I am to go back (as long as they are unchanged each time) every 6 months for 2 years. Two friends have given me the name of a doctor in Greenwood, in case something did change. I think I will call to see if there is anything different they would do. The Dr. here doesn’t think it warrants a biopsy but want to follow it to be on the safe side. From a lot of women I have spoken to, it seems pretty common to do this. Part of it doesn’t make sense….. instead of removing it or doing a biopsy, let’s wait and see if it is cancer, later. On the flip side, I see that the characteristics of the lump are not cancererous. Ugh, get older stinks, sometimes!

Here is the text of George Washington’s first Thanksgiving proclamation and Lincoln’s proclamation that came in the middle of the Civil War.

WHEREAS it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favour; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me “to recommend to the people of the United States a DAY OF PUBLICK THANSGIVING and PRAYER, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:”

NOW THEREFORE, I do recommend and assign THURSDAY, the TWENTY-SIXTH DAY of NOVEMBER next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed;– for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish Constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted;– for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge;– and, in general, for all the great and various favours which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also, that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions;– to enable us all, whether in publick or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us); and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

GIVEN under my hand, at the city of New-York, the third day of October, in the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine.

(signed) G. Washington

The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added which are of so extraordinary a nature that they can not fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.

In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign states to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military conflict, while that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.

Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plow, the shuttle, or the ship; the ax has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well as the iron and coal as of our precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege, and the battlefield, and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the imposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the divine purpose, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity, and union.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this 3d day of October, A.D. 1863, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-eighth.

By the way, I’ve downloaded a bunch of images from Exoteric Roach that I use with PaperChange on my laptop.

For those that are interested, I’ve created a new version of PaperChange. (Click here if you want to know what PaperChange is.) I’ve added a few new features such as displaying the filename being displayed, randomizing the sequence the wallpapers are displayed and allowing faster transitions. The delay can be set as fast as 15 seconds now.

I also found a few bugs that have been fixed. If you find any bugs or any suggestions, let me know.

PaperChange 1.0

WOOOHOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! After being on the market for a year and paying two mortgages for 4 months I am praising God BIG TIME that we will be out from under that house. Mike and I will leave here on Thursday morning and close on Friday. We didn’t have to go but we still have a few things in the garage. It will be a weird thing to say goodbye to that house, though. Elijah was only a month old when we moved there. I loved the floorplan and the view out the upstairs familyroom. I am thankful God allowed us the opportunity to be there, be a part of FamilyLife and Grace Church, and so thankful for the friends who I met and helped me grow. Aside from our friendships,in a way, it feels like we are cutting the cord. I am thankful for the lessons learned and the financial difficulties as a result of this season of our life. All of it has helped me refocus on where God wants me and what He wants me to do….. to be in His will and to love Him with all my heart, soul, and strength.

Back in the late 70s, Cummins Engine Company put out a promotional song called “Hummin’ Cummins.” They were cashing in on the trucker/cb-radio/country music craze of the times.
I remember when it came out, every employee got a copy of it. I think my dad still has his.
In a meeting at work the other day, someone mentioned the song so I went on a google search.

Here it is in all its cheesy Cummins marketing glory:

Classic.

Mike said I sound like a lush after reading Blue Moon. All I meant was that I would have a beer and sleep very well. I drink so seldom that one drink can make me sleepy. Is that better Sir?

Typically, I can’t stand beer. It tastes like the smell of urine. However, during the last 3 pregnancies I craved it! I couldn’t get enough of it. That is when I discovered O’douls (non alcoholic) beer. That was great. I could satisfy my craving and not worry about the alcohol.
We go out with Jon and Jessica Ballard a few weeks ago. She orders a Blue Moon. What in the world is Blue Moon? Is that an orange with it? One sip and I new I would hate it………….Uh, hey, this stuff is good. Colts first football game and Mike tells me to bring him home a beer. Get Blue Moon since you like it is what he says. I go to a couple different stores looking for Blue Moon and finally find it at Kroger. All they had was a case of it. So now, we have a case of Blue Moon sitting in the basement refridgerator and …….I am sleeping very sound tonight.

I went to the BMV at lunch today to finally get my Indiana drivers license. Apparently, when you have an out-of state license, you have to take a written test. Everything was fine until I got to question number 10.

Question 10 made me ashamed to be a Hoosier. The grammar was atrocious and the wording was terrible. I didn’t answer the question and made a note to bring it to the grader’s attention.

The question went like this:

“If a person is under 21 when their license expires and he or she applies for a new license, you must do the following:”

I don’t remember the options but the obvious answer was not listed. The correct answer to the question is “Nothing.” I am required to do nothing if someone under 21 has an expired license and applies for a new one. I may offer advice to someone in that situation but that is optional at best, certainly not required. Why is it any of my business or concern?

I took the test up to the lady to grade it and told her I did not answer question 10 because it did not have the correct answer. She said, “oh yes, the correct answer is there.” I said, “no its not.” I had to explain to her that I was not required to do anything if a person’s license expires and they are under 21. She didn’t quite get. The lady next to her did, I think. She said, “it means you are the person getting the license.” I said, “but that’s not what it says.” She informed me that I didn’t have to answer it and get it marked wrong and then handed me a phone number to call and complain.

I gave in and went ahead and answered it. I had to guess since I failed to brush up on Indiana laws and regulations regarding people under 21 getting licenses since I’m 35 years old.

I passed the test but missed question 10. Had that caused me to fail, I would probably still be there on the phone with some uneducated bureaucrat in downtown Indy.

We left the chair upside down all night with his dish of food. This morning there were little food crumbs scattered around the dish. Still, no sight of the critter. This afternoon I concluded that he was either stuck in the chair or had gone on to greener pastures. I flip the chair over and sit the dish on it. About 20 minutes later, out of the corner of my eye, I see something moving on the floor. IT’S NEMO!!! HE’S ALIVE! HE’S ALIVE!

I bet you were expecting to read about a little orange fish, weren’t you? That would not be the case. Nemo is Isaiah’s hamster.(also happens to be his teddy bear’s name, too) Nemo is MIA. We woke up yesterday to an empty cage. Since I have no desire to care for the little critter I told Isaiah to look for him. He cried a few minutes and then went to play.
This evening I am sitting on the couch with my laptop because I can’t sleep. What is that noise? I realize I hear a little chomping sound. I move the laundry off the chair but see nothing. I go get Mike up to let him know I may have found Nemo. We turn the chair upside down in an effort to find him. Mike then asks, “how do you know it’s Nemo?” “I don’t, I am assuming it is.”
I keep hearing the noise but have not seen the little guy. We put his food dish on the chair and his cage next to it. With the chair upside down and my eyes becoming droopy, it is 11:21 pm and the Nemo vigil begins……………………………………………………

This is another article for the women’s ministry newsletter I had written in the spring.

Hello! My name is Karen Riley and I have been attending TLCC since January. My husband, Mike, and I have 5 children: Elizabeth 9, Luke 7, Emma (who is with Jesus), Isaiah 4, and Elijah 2. Although we are native “Columbusites,” we have recently moved back to Columbus from a short stay in Little Rock, Arkansas. I am excited to call Terrace Lake our new church home! My move back to Columbus is just one of many milestones I have journeyed through on my walk with the LORD.
Everyone goes through milestones during their life. There is your own birth, turning one, first day of school, graduation, marriage, baby, retirement…..Of course, those are just some of the big ones. What about Spiritual Milestones? You know, those events in your life that you totally see how God is working and sense the presence of the Holy Spirit. There is usually also one of those “Aha” moments when you fully realize what God has done in your life. As I journey with the LORD I like to keep a journal as well as keeping visual reminders of each of those milestones. I am going to share 6 of my spiritual milestones with you.
1.) I was a senior in college when my mom died unexpectedly at the age of 46 of a heart attack. I had only been a Christian for 3 years and talked it but didn’t walk it. At the hospital, I was with my mom when she died. About 45 minutes later I went back into the room. The LORD made it so obvious to me that it was not my mom laying there. She had had a soul, it was no longer there and I better be confident I knew where mine would go. That’s what jumpstarted my Christian walk. I have a beautiful picture of my mom and dad from my brother’s wedding that I keep in my living room. I also have a small locket with their pictures.
2.) After the birth of my first child, Elizabeth, I understood John 3:16 in a whole new light. I thanked God for this new understanding and of His Son’s sacrifice. I keep newborn photo’s of each child in our living room.
3.) From 1998-2001 I was enslaved to sin. I was in bondage to fear, worry, anxiety, and panic attacks. I went through a couple Bible studies and much prayer. My day of deliverance came at a ladies day out in Seymour. Kathy Troccoli was the guest speaker and singer. During one of her songs she gave an alter call and included those who were in bondage to come forward and be set free!! It was like God turned on the light and simply said “trust me.” I have a framed photo of me with Kathy Troccoli receiving her autograph on a cd I bought that day.
4.) On March 1, 2002 I gave birth to Emma Mae born 16 weeks prematurely (24 wks gestation). Although Emma was only with us briefly (35 ½ hours), God has used her life in HUGE ways. My prayer was for the LORD to use her life for Elizabeth’s salvation, He did! I also prayed the LORD would use her story for His glory, He STILL does! He showed me how to have peace, contentment, and joy in the midst of what we would ordinarily view as horrible and tragic. We have plaster footprints of Emma‘s feet. We also have her birth/homegoing announcement on her foot/hand prints framed with a 5×7 photo of her hand in mine.
5.)One of the hardest milestones in my journey was the strained relationship I had with my dad. When I moved to AR we did not say goodbye to each. In April of 2005 my dad and I were reconciled. In June he entered eternity after battling cancer. I had the privilege of writing a Tribute to honor him. I presented it to him the day after we were reconciled. The framed Tribute, which includes photos of my dad and I, hangs in my bedroom.
6.) In the fall of 2001 we accepted God’s call to serve Him in full time ministry with Campus Crusade for Christ serving at FamilyLife. We began raising support in 2003 and moved to Little Rock, Arkansas in 2005. The LORD taught me many lessons while we lived and served in another state. The LORD brought us back to Indiana late in 2006. That has been my most recent milestone and one of the most emotional. We have many wonderful memories and I have a bulletin board filled with prayer cards of our missionary friends we had the privilege of serving side by side with. We also have many FamilyLife books and resources.
I hope, that as I have shared these milestones with you, the LORD has reminded you of your Spiritual Milestones, as well. “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4NIV.

Who knew?! I spent the majority of last week, in about 98 degree weather and equal humidity in the garage, stripping a dresser. It was given to us last spring and was a dingy white color. My front living room needed some extra storage and I did not want to just throw the white dresser in there. I stripped it and then stained it black. That was one of the ugliest things I have ever seen. Then, aha, I decided to prime( Mike’s suggestion) and paint. It is called “tea kettle black.” It is a flat paint so the dust has been collecting too easily. However, it looks nice in there.
It wasn’t without trial and error, though. I had never done this before. After the staining disaster Mike suggested I prime. Okay, no big deal. I go to Lowe’s and get my primer and paint….. Did you know you are supposed to have primer stirred? I didn’t. I opened the can, began painting, basically a layer of oil, onto the dresser. I was curious as to why a white primer was green looking and not white in the can or on the wood. I stuck a stir stick in and discovered why………………………… Mike took the can back to Lowe’s for them to thoroughly shake. Much better…..Once dry….apply black paint. Much easier said than done. Ever tried to paint black over white primer…Want a hint? Use black tinted primer!!! After about 2 1/2 coats of black paint the dresser was done.
This is so much fun we have 2 end tables and a coffee table to do this week! Oh, I also painted a quilt rack black.

One of my best friends, Jon Ballard, finally got married on July 29th to Jessica Turner. I’ve been friends with Jon since 2nd grade and he’s more like a brother than just a friend. Our other friend, Jamie, was in the wedding. We all three ran around together from grade school through high school and beyond. We weren’t sure if Jon would ever actually get married. I guess he just wanted to take his time.

It really was a great weekend. We had rehearsal on Friday, bachelor party on Saturday and the wedding was Sunday afternoon at Valle Vista country club in Greenwood, IN.
Jon is a law clerk at the Indiana court of appeals, that’s where he met Jessica. She is in the IT department and is in law school.

The bachelor party was awesome. I had been looking forward to it since Jon told me the plans a month before. Jon, Jamie, Jon’s brother and I all met at Jon’s house for dinner and then we busted out the Axis and Allies board game. We used to spend hours playing that game when were were in Jr High and High School. Jon was Germany and I was Japan. We destroyed Jamie (U.K.) and Dan (Russia and U.S.)
We also had a Smithwick’s, Jon’s favorite beer.

The wedding was performed by the judge that Jon works for and another judge that Jessica works for (I think that’s who she was, not too sure)
And the reception was a blast. Seeing people I had not seen in a while, and having fun acting stupid on the dance floor.

After the rehearsal dinner.

(Left To Right: Jamie, Amber, Jon, Jessica, Karen, Mike)

Jon and Jessica at the reception.

Mike and Karen at the reception.

Mike and Elizabeth cutting a rug.

Lee Strobel has put up an entire library of videos of interviews with scholars and theologians on a wide array of topics. Its a valuable resource, I think.

http://www.leestrobel.com/

Select the “Video Channels” menu item.

Here are a couple of videos of Antony Flew.

On the Afterlife

On C.S. Lewis

Ten years ago, while pregnant with Elizabeth, Mike and I traveled to California. My dad and Cindy were there as was my brother, sister-in-law and my nephew. The purpose of our trip was to surprise my Grandma for her 80th birthday. Boy, was she ever surprised…. We all agreed that if Grandma lived to 90 we would repeat the trip.
A lot has changed in 10 years: Grandma now lives in Nevada, my dad died, Duane has another child, I have given birth 5 times, moved 4 times…………………………….and now, thanks to a house in Little Rock that won’t sell, have no “extra” funds to make that trip.
July 4th is Independence Day…..It is also my grandma’s 90th birthday. Grandma, if you are reading this:

I MISS YOU! HAPPY 90th BIRTHDAY! I LOVE YOU!!!!

Thankfully, we close on our Columbus, Indiana house today. Miraculously, we don’t take money, we are actually getting some back….woohoo! I can’t tell you what a relief it will be to sign those papers today. I am looking forward to it. When we established a closing date last week, I began pulling off wallpaper. This weekend I hope to remove the hedges so we can actually see the front of our home. We get to rip out two rooms of carpet that is covering hardwood floors. I can’t wait! There is lots to do, but I love it. I love turning a home into “mine.” I told our realtor friend I am ready to constructive deconstruct!

Something happened last fall that I have not been able to stop. When Mike came back to Indiana and I was still in AR with the kids I noticed I had TONS of gray hair. Maybe it was the stress of being a single parent for 2 1/2 months but I needed to do something. That something is L’Oreal Preference Creme 8G. The stuff is great and it is easy to do. I have had many compliments on my hair color too! (hey, who doesn’t like to be esteemed??!!) However, the actual color has yet to be determined….Is it red or is it blonde????

Back in January my gynecologist gave me a referral to have a baseline mammogram. Like a lot of women I put it off. At the end of April, after hearing and seeing tons of stuff about Susan G. Komen and breast cancer, I decided it was time to make the appointment.
I had a little spot I was concerned about in my left breast.
My appointment came and they asked if I had had a mammogram before. When I stopped nursing Elizabeth in 1998 I had one to check on a little post nursing problem. They only scanned the left side. About 4 or 5 years ago I had an ultrasound to check on the same problem but they did both sides.
They told me after the mammogram that if they had any concerns they would call me. A week went by and I didn’t receive my letter in the mail or a phone call. I called them. They said they were still waiting on the previous scans from Indianapolis. (Columbus didn’t have a breast center back in ‘98) Another week went by. I still hadn’t heard anything. No news is good news, right?
Yesterday, I am relaxing in front of the computer and the phone rings. It was the breast center. Instant panic set in. They said they had a spot they wanted to double check because they didn’t have a previous scan to compare it to. The spot they were concerned about was in my right breast not the left that I was concerned about. Longest night I have had in a long time. The following verses from Philippians popped into mind each time I allowed fear to enter my mind 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
This morning we took the kids to school and then took the boys over to Grandma’s. We got to the breast center and I was pretty nervous. The workers there are very sweet and good to put up with my chatting. I chat nonstop when I get nervous. Mike is in the outer waiting room as I go back to prep for the mammogram. I sit in the women only waiting room with a couple of other nervous women. We nervously chat. It is my turn. The tech lady explained that they were doing some close up shots of the area of concern. Hey, I didn’t know my breast could squish that way!!! There were a few different scans. She showed me the lump they were watching.
I go back to the women’s waiting room watching other nervous faces come in and out. My name is called again. I now go in to have an ultrasound. That lady was good. We were talking about colors and how they can cheer us up. For a minute or two I completely forgot what I was there for. Bless her heart…she tried for about 10 minutes to find the lump. She got the films from the mammogram to help her find it. She never did find it with the ultrasound machine.
I go back to the women’s waiting room and I had a peace come over me. Thank you, LORD, for this peace.Another nurse led me to a dark office and Mike walked in. The radiologist had all the scans hanging on the screens. She said it appears that the lump is a lymph node. Two good things: 1. it had smooth edges. 2. there was a black spot in the lump which indicates it is fat. Cancers do not have fat in them. Whew! Then she says she can’t say with 100% confidence that it is a node because they couldn’t find it on the ultrasound to confirm it. She was great. She explained what all the tissues were and why she believes it to be a lymph node. She said because they had no previous scan to compare that side to, they want me to come back in 6 months for another mam on that side. If there are any changes in the lump they will do a biopsy on it. She said if I anguish over it before now and then we can go ahead and do a biopsy for peace of mind. I don’t know why, I tend to trust female doctors more. The fact that she was not too concerned made me feel better. She said, it may be how I am made and that is why I go back in 6 months. That way they will have a solid “baseline” mammogram. I remarked something that made Mike blush and the doctor and nurse laugh.
Most know that I nursed all four of the kiddos and I had pumped at the hospital after having Emma. That means things (what little there is) have become like little saddle bags. Those scans were deceptive…..they looked so perky and firm on there!
Go get your mammogram! Men, tell your women to get one!

Due to a clerical error on my part, the site was down over the weekend. Our domain name expired and the hosting company had an old credit card on file so they couldn’t renew.
Welcome back to the Life Of Riley.

I get up this morning to walk the kiddos to school and take a walk around the block. I am pushing the double stroller so the little guys could also get fresh air. Fresh air…… ah, hard to enjoy it when the humidity is 94%! Takes me back to Arkansas…..the only thing is in AR, the humidity stays until late October! At least here, it will go away after a couple days.

We went out to the Lentz farm today. It is the hog farm we lived on prior to our move to Arkansas. (Elizabeth has been home with strep throat but is feeling better.) I needed to get out of the house. It was a beautiful day so we drove out to the hog farm. Much to our delight there was a fresh litter of piglets. I mean, just birthed……..bloody and umbilical cords still attached dragging on the floor. It was precious to watch the newborn piglets nuzzle, wobbly legged trying to find a nipple for milk. There were 7 of them so she probably wasn’t finished delivering. An average litter is between 10 and 12. On the way back through the barnyard we found a cracked bird egg. We opened it the rest of the way and there was a dead baby bird inside. It was developed but had only about 2 feathers on it.
It was bonus day….we drove over to the property next to Bill’s house where he was on the tractor. Bill was thrilled to see the kids. So much so, he had them ride on the tractor with him to plant soy beans. They got to ride with him to do about 3 rows. He also gave us a soybean to eat. It was actually pretty tasty. I wanted to ride on the tractor too but Elijah was scared of it. We watched from the van. I did receive a lesson in soybean planting from Tom, though. It was actually interesting to me. I would love to live a farming life……don’t think it is in my future though!

Found some bugs in the first version. I think I have most of them accounted for.
Try this new version.

Thanks for the emails, but leave comments so that others can see if their problem has been addressed.

PaperChange - Beta 0.2.0

Today was race day and it was a blast! There were 13 of us from our church, Terrace Lake Community Church, who went up. I didn’t sleep well last night and I felt weird this morning. I was a little concerned I would fizzle out. God answered my prayer for strength, energy, and endurance! The starting corrals are set up according to the predicted length of time to finish as indicated on the registration. So, I started in corral X. The race officially started at 7:30 a.m. My corral didn’t cross the start line until a little after 8:00 a.m. That is what happens when there are 35,000 registered runners/walkers. It was great. My shins hurt around the second mile but after that I was fine. I had one of my power gels at mile 4 and then mile 8 as I was going around the Indy 500 track.
A weird thing happened….I actually ran! During training all I did was walk. Today I would run in intervals. It felt awesome! A couple of times it actually felt better to run than to walk. I maintained a good pace (for me). My goal was to do 15 minute miles. My official pace was 14:28. WOO HOO. All the work paid off. Here is my official standing:
Karen Riley
bib number: 39333
age: 35
gender: F
location: Columbus, IN
overall place: 23604 out of 29211
division place: 1689 out of 2197
gender place: 11117 out of 15244
time: 3:09:23
pace: 14:28
guntime: 1:15:28
5mile: 2:26:41
10mile: 42:42

Considering it was my first mini-marathon, I think I did pretty well. Out of the 13 of us who went, I came in 4th! I am stoked about the next race………….. Our group is talking about going to the Disney mini in January.

We received an offer on our house today. We received an offer on our house last week, too. When we were in LR in March a man stopped by our house and made an offer on the spot……for $1. YES $1. Well, MR. ONE DOLLAR OFFER MAN finally wised up and made a “serious” offer last week. As expected, it was too low and even with us countering, he couldn’t buy the house.
Mike called to check on the OPEN HOUSE that was held on Sunday. That is when we found out there is a new offer on the house. We countered the low offer but came down $900. Hopefully, with this being the third offer on the house (we had one back around Thanksgiving)….it will be THE one!!!! Let’s pray.

I had an idea for a Windows utility a few years ago and finally got around to writing it.
The idea is… I thought it would be cool if you could pick a directory of images to use as desktop backgrounds and then have the utility cycle through them at a set interval.

Its called “Paper Change” and its pretty self explanatory. Pick a directory, select the images you want displayed, set the interval and click “Start.”
Then minimize it into your “application tray.”

This is still a Beta test. I’ve got most of the bugs out but have not been able to install it on different systems. I installed it on my XP laptop and my wife’s Vista laptop. Mine has no problems but it sometimes stops working on Vista. Not sure why that is yet.
If you install it and find any bugs or have any problems, just leave a comment here.

Download: PaperChange
(right-click, save as)

April 25th is rapidly approaching. That is the date this house goes back into the MLS. And so…..I have begun the task of packing and cleaning….AGAIN! I am tired of packing boxes…seeing them for that matter. I am choosing to walk by faith as God knows where we will be living after May 10th (when our offer expires on this house and the owners can accept another offer). The idea of staying in AR for the summer is becoming very appealing…..it would be less expensive too. I cry out…LORD hear our prayers.

Big Boy Luke is 7 today! He decided at the last minute that he would like to share cupcakes with his class at school. In an effort to make this birthday extra special I walk him to school, get a head count and tell Mrs. Knight I will be back after I take Isaiah to preschool. Around 9 am I walk into Luke’s class with 24 cupcakes and a little treat for teacher. Luke immediately walks up to me and says, “Mommy, my tummy hurts.” I usually ignore those comments because my kids get “nervous stomachs” when they are excited. Birthday hat, birthday pencil from the front office and cupcakes to share with the class…..what little boy wouldn’t be excited??!! I give him a hug and kiss and tell him he will be okay.
Around 10 am I get a phone call from the school nurse, “Mrs. Riley, Luke is in the office and he has vomitted twice, ..once IN the classroom and once in the office he needs to go home now.” I get there and walk into the front office. On the floor of the front office are two rolls of paper towels spread up obviously absorbing something…….he had literally thrown up on the office floor!
Poor guy, they had just passed out the cupcakes, he had taken one bite of frosting and then lost it.
Nurse was so kind….she gave us a vomit bag for the road.

I have been training with a group from my church to participate in the Indianapolis Mini-Marathon. This has been a great opportunity to shed some unwanted pounds and to just live healthier. Last week we walked 10 1/2 miles in about 40 degree weather. Yesterday we walked 9 1/2 miles in the rain and wind. It was crazy….I had to ask myself…”why am I doing this?” I didn’t think I would make the last mile yesterday…my left muscle behind my knee was killing me to the point I couldn’t stretch my leg out to complete a stride. It was tough but good because I found myself praying and asking God for strength to get to the end of our route.
This is the first time in my life I have enjoyed exercise EVEN WHEN IT HURTS!! I have always heard no pain no gain. In this case it is no pain no lose! I have been training for a little over a month and have lost about 10 lbs and one dress size. That is encouraging. I need to lose about 3O more. I want to leave the mini next month with next year’s race in mind. That will hopefully keep me motivated so I will stay in the groove.

A dear friend of ours suggested I read a book. Most everyone has heard or read the book Every Man’s Battle. Did you know about Every Woman’s Battle? I bought it the other night and I just can’t put it down. It has been healing for me in many ways. The strange thing about it, which is good, it has brought to light my thinking patterns. If you (women) are struggling with emotional issues I highly recommend it. I suggest men read it too. It will help you understand why we females are the way we are

In my despair of no sunshine….(It is April and it was snowing yesterday!!!!!!!!) I decided to try some of that lotion that brings out “your natural glow” with a “touch” of tanner. To my delight, after one application, my fair-toned skin did look darker….
Wait a minute….do I look tanned or jaundiced????!!!!!!!!
In an attempt to believe in the product that I bought I have faithfully applied some everyday for about four days. Sure, I can tell a difference in the color of my skin. I look jaundiced in places I was hoping to be tan. Also, it is like the reverse of how I get sun…you know, like in the summer when you get a real tan and your feet are white from wearing socks but the legs are tan. My feet are ‘tanned’ and my legs are white. Oh well, maybe I will just wear long pants all summer.

Know anyone moving to Little Rock, Arkansas? BUY OUR HOUSE PLEASE!! Our offer on the Columbus house expires at midnight tonight. We signed a paper to extend the offer. We got it back with two stipulations. 1.) They want to raise our rent by $300.
2.)If we don’t have a firm offer on our LR house by April 25th the seller wants to relist it through MLS. (the new offer would expire May 10th which means even if we are showing their house for them they cannot accept an offer on the house until after May 10th).
So, now it is the “waiting game.” Waiting to see if someone buys our LR house or not. Praying God will bring resolve soon.

Have you noticed over the past few years that car dealers have coined a new phrase for used cars? They are no longer “used,” they are “pre-owned.” I’m guessing that they think it sounds better, like they are trying to distance themselves from the pejorative term “used.”

Think about the term for a second, pre-owned…
Like Inigo Montoya tells Vizzini in The Princess Bride when he keeps using the word inconceivable, “you keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means.”

If a car is “pre-owned” then that means it is before it has an owner. In other words, it is new. A pre-owned car is a new car. The exact opposite of what they are trying to use the term to mean. What they mean is a “previously owned” car. But people really don’t think about these kinds of things and just go along with it, but in the process we are dumbing down our society.

I rented Idiocracy recently. (warning: its got quite a bit of bad language in it, most of it is there to prove a point though) The idea behind the movie is that stupid people have taken over the world 500 years in the future. Its funny but a little scary because a lot of what goes on in the movie is just an exaggeration of today’s society. Sadly, some of the things that are portrayed in the movie don’t seem all that far fetched. I can see our society moving in that direction as we continue to cater to the “lowest common denominator.” People winning lawsuits because their coffee was too hot, stupid “don’t try this at home” disclaimers on every commercial we see, teachers not telling kids they have the wrong answer because it might hurt their self esteem, etc…
Its all ignoring reality to make ourselves feel better.

So next time you are looking for a new car, ask the dealer to show you their selection of pre-owned cars.

Do you ever stop and look at the moon? …
I mean, really stop and look at it. Studied the details you can see with the naked eye. Studied the edge of the shadow on a non-full moon.
I did yesterday morning as I got out of the car in the parking lot at work. (Thanks to daylight savings time, its dark when I get to work.) I caught a glimpse of the moon and just stood in awe looking at it. It looked almost just like the picture up above.

As I stood there, I tried to comprehend the distance I was looking across. However many hundreds of thousands of miles that is, huge to me but small compared to the vastness of our solar system, which is an almost immeasurable fraction of the size of our galaxy which is just an average sized galaxy out of hundreds of billions of galaxies in the universe. Which was created by a boundless God. That all went through my head as I stood there studying… and I don’t even smoke pot.

Then I started remembering looking at the moon when I was about 8 years old. At the time I thought for sure that I was going to be an astronaut when I grew up. I didn’t even question it. I looked at the moon imagining what it would be like to walk on it one day, because one day I would walk on it. I remember what it was like looking at something with that intense awe and wonder, even anticipation. I remember it but I can’t manufacture it again. I now know I will never be an astronaut and will never walk on the moon. It would be so cool to be able to forget those facts and look at the moon in that way again…

I heard an interesting question posed on the radio this morning.
Would you rather have 13 kids or 0 kids?

While 13 kids would be a logistical and financial nightmare, the thought of having no kids is even worse for me. I would have to go with 13.
Plus, if you raise them right, the older ones would be able to take care of the younger ones. And, in my old age I’m sure at least one of them would be willing to take care of me.

I was thinking that the best option would be moving to the country and living off the land. Deer meat, home grown veggies, a milk cow. It could be pretty cool.
Hmm…

It is 3:16 a.m. and I am wide awake.  I am taking an antibiotic for a never ending sinus infection and one of the side effects is insomnia. Wonderful, I can sit and listen to the other side effects…..gastrointestinal. Since about 11pm there has been nonstop gurgling from my stomach. I hope the increase in yogurt helps with that! 

I think I am allergic to Arkansas.  Since moving here I have had more sinus allergy trouble than what I have had in years.  In early June I developed an infection and was treated toward the end of the month (with antibiotics and a steroid shot).  I don’t think it was quite cleared up because within 2 weeks all of the symptoms were back, but worse. Hopefully, this time it will get knocked out.  I am tired now. I am so boring, I put myself to sleep.

ool news from Cummins. (press release here)
(For those of you that don’t know, in my former life I was an engineer at Cummins, Inc. I worked on the electronic controller (ECM) for the mid-range engines.)

They made a big announcement this week that they were partnering with an unnamed auto manufacturer to put a new, high performance diesel engine in SUVs and small pickup trucks. The press release claims that the diesel engine will get up to 30% better fuel economy than the same vehicle with a gas engine.

The problems with diesels in the past were noise and exhaust. They were loud and the exhaust was soot filled and smelly. The problems are all but gone with developments over the past ten years. I worked on the 2002 and 2003 midrange engines (same size that Dodge puts in their pickups) and on those Cummins introduced “pilot” fueling which makes them run almost as quiet as a gas engine. Plus, the EPA has ever-increasing emissions requirements that have helped the exhaust problems of the past. This approach, introducing diesel engines into the auto market, could end up being a more realistic approach to oil conservation than hybrids. Lower cost and less specialized equipment on the vehicle.

The last year or so I was at Cummins, we started hearing rumors of a new engine that had been kept top secret for several years (a big feat at Cummins, they don’t keep secrets very well.) The rumor was it was going to be a V6 engine designed to go in SUVs and the rumor at the time was they were trying to get Dodge to put it in the Durango. And, once they got a customer they would build the engine at the main Cummins plant in Columbus which has sat virtually empty for the past 6 years. The press release from Cummins said they can’t announce the auto manufacturer and they have not decided on a manufacturing location. But, I would not be surprised if they announce Chrysler as the customer and Columbus as the manufacturing location, they already own an empty, 2 billion square foot manufacturing facility there (well not that big but it does take up about 10 city blocks.)

The only reason I can think of for the customer not being Chrysler is that they have their own similar engine they developed a few years ago in Germany. I can’t wait to hear more about this. It can be huge news for my home town, all my friends that still work there and for my mutual fund

Thanks to this post over at Greg Fielder’s “everything that’s on my mind” I’ve discovered the genius of Lark News. It is a fake news site written by Christians to satirize, lampoon and generally poke fun at Christian culture (sort of a Christian version of TheOnion.com.) I was reading some of it yesterday at my desk, in tears, I was laughing so hard. If you are easily offended you may want to stay away but if you have no problem laughing at yourself I’m sure you will enjoy it as much as I do.

Some sample headlines:
Outsourced prayer lines confuse callers (my favorite)
Youth pastor hazing on the rise
Suburban church celebrates minute level of diversity
Man arrested for drunk-in-the-Spirit driving

Here’s one for Grant:
Youth Pastor overestimates preaching ability after wowing main service

Someone once told me that bobo in Spanish is silly head.  I would certainly agree!! Our dog, Bobo, already named when we got him, is definately bobo.  He has a water bowl that sits next to his food dish in the kitchen. The bowl is always full of water.  Yesterday he kept following me into my bedroom.  Everytime I went in there, he was right behind me. When I went into the bathroom he got all excited and jumped into the bathtub.  He does this whenever he wants a drink. He will stand there looking at me and at the faucet until I turn it on and he gets a drink from the stream of water.  He is nuts.  Instead of drinking out of his bowl or one of the other two toilets (he does quite frequently) he waited all day for me to go in there so he could get a drink from the shower.  I found this particularly humorous since he was panting most of the day. 

 When I think about it, I guess it is not too strange…… for him.  He takes great oral delight in poopy diapers.  The first time I noticed this unusual practice, he was in mine and Mike’s room with both paws on the diaper.  He was “possessive” of his newfound delicasy.  I could hear the slopping sounds as he was licking out the very soft…………..If you think that is disgusting……once a month I have to set my bathroom trash can up on the counter out of his reach after once finding some surprises under my bed!!  Ok, I am grossing myself out.

Despite his disgusting habits, he is a sweet lovable dog……He loves to be loved on and have his belly rubbed….I just don’t let him lick me.

I made my first ride to work on my bike. It kicked my butt.
I can run up and down a basketball court for an hour, no problem but riding a bike uses different muscles and I guess those muscles are out of shape.

The ride down the hill was fun. I was probably topping out at 35 MPH. The”flat” portion of the ride was harder than I thought it would be. Small inclines that go unnoticed in a car are greatly amplified when you are pedaling up them. I think it took me about 20 or 25 minutes to get here. Not sure how the ride home will go. I’m pretty sure I’ll be walking the bike up hill.

Oh, and I forgot to pack a pair of socks…

Mike and I have been together long enough (almost half of our lives) that we often find each other thinking or acting the same way.  Mike is the king of one liners. He and I may be rolling while the person he is speaking to just has a blank stare. There lies the problem………..he has such a warped since of humor that people often miss the humor. 

I have aquired some of these skills. I sometimes surprise myself with the cleverness of such words. This can also come across inappropriate to others. Example, the post about Frump. Sarcasm is laced throughout! (I am the farthest thing from Hot!)

OK, this post does not make sense unless you know us.

It seems that I go through seasons of frump with my appearances. This should be expected as I have very little fashion savy. ( I really miss my mentor, Christy, from Columbus, who had her Bible then Vogue right under it!)

I am in between do’s right now and when I look into the mirror it is frightening! I have been in Little Rock for a year and a half now and have yet to find a great hair person. Actually, I did find someone but she charges $45 just for a trim/cut. Can’t afford that! So, out of desperation I went to Wal-Mart salon and got a perm. That was about two months ago.

My hair is so goofy looking right now, it is driving me crazy. The intent is to grow it out for Locks of Love. Michelle, a friend from FamilyLife, is growing hers out with me. 

Mike insists that I am “hot” in the picture at the top of this blog. (go back and hit refresh until the photo of me in gray and pink pops up) OK, I will say, that was one of my favorite do’s, but it was free. I had won a makeover through a local t.v. station and it was televised. (that is the lady who charges a lot)

[here’s the picture - mike]

I guess I will remain in my season of frump until it grows back out and I can be “hot” again.

With Elizabeth, Luke, Isaiah, and Elijah out of the house, it has been extremely quiet.  With so much time on my hands I have had time to realize some things about myself. I have been in a lull with my prayer/Bible quiet time. I thought about why I haven’t taken the time to spend time with God lately, especially with everyone out of the house. I was able to come up with a couple of reasons which probably pan out to be excuses.

1. I am extremely selfish, especially, in the flesh!   I want to do whatever I want, whenever I want. 

2. I lack even the desire to spend time in my Bible or prayer right now.  I asked the LORD yesterday to plant that strong desire to spend time with Him.

I discovered I have bad habits that creep to the surface during those lulls.

1. Spending: I find myself drawn into stores. I am tempted by the orange clearance prices and try to justify why I “need” something. If I do purchase something, I end up returning it or feeling guilty.

2. Ebay: This probably falls under the spending bad habit. It is loads of fun to make a bid on something. (I know when to draw my line on this one) There is great satisfaction in knowing you have purchased 3 pieces of Tupperware for only $14.99! Hey, I wanted a hamburger press and the seller threw in two storage containers! Seriously, it is fun just to get on there and see the things that people sell.

3. World Wide Web: I have spent so much time online this week.  It is interesting to look for something specific and then click on the various links. I don’t do this when the kids are home. There is too much junk that could pop up on the screen.  People searches are addictive.

4. Distraction: I find that I can’t stay focused on anything long enough to attain the goal. Even with my to-do lists. I am distracted by the world and the flesh.

Through all of this I realize what is going on. I am trying to fill the void of where God should be in my life. I thank God He never stops teaching me lessons even when I have distanced myself! I step back and say Thank you for never leaving me nor forsaking me. I do love you and help me focus on you, again. Thank you for my salvation.

Mike keeps annoying me to write a  post on the “new” blog….so here it is honey. I am bored of sitting out here in the 90 degree weather waiting for people to come by and buy something! Yard sales are hit or miss. Next time we will put an add in the paper.

Here it is, the new and improved Riley blog running on Wordpress 2.0.3.

Still got to figure out these “widget” things. I keep getting errors. Lots of tweaking left to do. Now all I have to do is teach Karen how to log in and post.

See the RSS feed to the right to subscribe.

1) I guess if “gay rights” activists want to press the issue we need to protect an institution that has been around since Adam and Eve. But I’m still not sure that a Constitutional amendment isn’t an over reaction.

2) I’ve heard several radio ads by Focus On the Family and I’ve got to say, I’m pretty disappointed in them. Can’t remember the exact phrasing but in them they say something to the effect “Gay rights advocates don’t think children deserve a mom and a dad.” That is way too much like political campaign speak for a Christian organization for me. At best its stretching the truth, at worst an out and out lie. Isn’t that more of an adoption issue?

I don’t like the attempt at pulling at my heart strings with a half-truth.

3) .This blog got me thinking about it.

Homosexuals have the very same right to marry that heterosexuals do - to marry one person at a time of the opposite sex. No rights are being denied to anyone. 

I’ve said that to people whenever the subject comes up. I’m all for gay marriage. A gay person can marry one person of the opposite sex.

Anything else and we are no longer talking about marriage.