Just an update...

Hey all

Just a lil update on life in the Pitchford home...our talk on Sunday and Tuesday evening went really well. Sharing about parenting and marriage is a somewhat easy topic for us to talk about because there's so much material...lol. We really wanted to impress upon the couples that's it's so easy to get caught up in how everyone else is raising their kids...what your friends allow their kids to do...not wanting your kids to be mad at you so giving in...giving in out of frustration. While we certainly don't have all of the answers...there are some basic things we feel strongly about. There are things we don't want our kids to have to deal with until they are mature enough to make wise choices. Example---boy/girl parties. There is no reason in grade school or middle school to have boy/girl parties late at night or at homes where we don't know the parents. Why? So temptation can rear it's ugly head and put them in positions they aren't capable of handling yet? We also shared, however, that as Christians a lot of parents don't allow their kids to interact with the world either. Out of fear, or out of personal experience they sometimes go to the other extreme and live in a little bubble. This can have disastrous results. It's such a hard balance. How people parent in todays world without Christ on their side is beyond me. I'd be lost without His strength to get me through!

Please keep your eyes and ears peeled for someone who might be interested in a 24 hr. week Administrative position. They'd need to be a Christian, have a love of kids, decent computer skills and capable of multitasking. The person that we had thought would be a great fit didn't have strong enough computer skills so we're all chipping in to cover the hours. :( It's overwhelming and I really can't wait to let those other tasks go and focus on all of the fun, creative programming parts of my new job. I get to teach the Easter message for both the evening programming and Sunday school :) That will be awesome! It's been so exciting to get to know the kids again. There's nothing like hearing someone yell, "Hi Teacher Mindy!!" from across the hall and then come running up and give you a hug.

Today I was with my friend who had surgery. It was a long day (sitting up at the hospital for 7 hours is just tiring)...but I was sooooo glad to be able to be with her. Now we wait for the biopsy to come back and we'll know where things stand. It's amazing to me in the last 6 mo. ALLLL of the people I know who have been affected by cancer. It's so crazy that almost everyone I know has either had a friend....family member...co-worker who had suffered through, died from or is a survivor of cancer. So we wait. And pray. And know that whatever the decision God has it all under control in a way that we never could.

Breakaway is this weekend. I am soooo looking forward to this time. Every year it's such fun for me, my mom, my aunt and my sister. We always bring along a friend as well. With 5 people we get an awesome large room which is good for my aunt with her scooter as well. While I don't normally get a lot of sleep that weekend...I always come back feeling energized and recharged. The workshops are always great reminders of how to stay close to Christ ranging in topics from forgiveness to focusing on Christ to comforting the hurt to loving your husband...I can't wait.

Well....off to a lil housework. Nite!!