aNormLife

Leadership Oak Ridge

2011-02-16T12:46:00.000-08:00

Well, yesterday I began an 11 month journey. It involved a room full of mostly strangers. Leadership Oak Ridge is a program coordinated through the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce. It's mission is to inform current and emerging leaders about Oak Ridge and it's issues, and provide them leadership skills development in order to empower them to identify and implement solutions to those community issues. Opening Session started with breakfast and a meet & greet. We were greeted by the Mayor of Oak Ridge and then the Chairman of the Chamber Board. Photos were then taken. A fantastic lunch buffet was served followed by a tour of Oak Ridge hosted by Ray Smith, a local historian. I am honored to be a part of this year's class. I am anxious to learn more about this city with a history. I am also excited for the opportunity to network and build friendships with current and emerging leaders in the Oak Ridge community.

Emperor's New Clothes

2010-10-07T20:04:00.000-07:00

Well, both our girls are involved with this weekend's production of "The Emperor's New Clothes". Hope has an acting part as older lady. She is very excited to be able to wear a fat suit! Grace has taken on a more technical role as sound person. Tomorrow they both get to miss school to perform a school show. They will be doing two performances on Saturday and one on Sunday. We will post pictures following the Sunday show.

For more info on this show and The Playhouse www.orplayhouse.com

weather today: beautiful and 76 degrees. nice day!

A Couple Newspaper Articles

2010-09-30T16:02:00.000-07:00

Earlier this year the supported employment program I serve as the coordinator for was featured in two local papers.

The Oak Ridge Observer article can be found on Page 2 at the following link

http://www.oakridgeobserver.com/images/stories/archives/January%207%202010_Smaller.pdf

Another article appeared in April in the Oak Ridger featuring a couple people we support.

http://www.oakridger.com/localnews/x1042541898/Adults-with-disabilities-find-employment

-Norm

Busy......

2010-09-29T08:17:00.000-07:00

I know that no entries from April to September might be viewed as unexcusable.

We are sorry and we'll try to do a better job of contributing to the blog more regularly.

We are always doing something, so check back often for updates....... -Norm

Three Years Ago....

2010-09-28T13:58:00.000-07:00

I've allowed an important date to pass unnoticed. As of September 12, 2010, I had been in Tennessee for three years. I left California late afternoon on the Thursday after Labor Day in 2007 heading toward Tennessee and a job interview. I arrived in Knoxville on Sunday evening. I went to work for the agency I drove 2,500+ miles to interview with and then began the search for our new home. My family and our dog, Mitchell arrived a month later. We purchased a home and settled in.

During these three years, Tina was hired at a drive thru coffee business. She later left and was hired at Starbuck's. I left that orginal job and was hired at another agency working my passion, employment for people with disabilities. The girls have attended and changed schools (elementary to middle school, middle school to high school), looked for and found a way to use their talents in singing and acting.

We also found a fantastic faith community, Crossings and have plugged in.

We got a second dog, Annie.

As I said earlier, I left my original Tennessee employer and am now working as a Supported Employment Coordinator at an agency in Oak Ridge. I enjoy assisting people with finding community employment and networking with employers. In a "down economy" we have helped 13 people to become employed and more are in the works.

Tina is employed as a Barista/Trainer at the Knoxville Airport and does a very good job. She is also the family taxi driver, driving the girls to their activities and practices. I generally pick them up in the evenings.

We enjoy Tennessee and there are many roads and areas still undiscovered by our family. Thankfully, I think we'll be here for a while. We will discover those places in the not to distant future. We'll tell you about what we find and see.

We're mighty glad to be here and very, very happy............

-Norm

weather today: 73 degrees and beautiful.

HAPPY RESURRECTION DAY!

2010-04-04T17:08:00.000-07:00

Fall in East Tennessee

2009-09-07T15:50:00.000-07:00

There is just a hint of the leaves turning but you can feel it in the air. I have never lived in place so geared towards fall. We've had more rain than normal and the folks around here say that translates to even more brilliant fall colors and those colors lasting longer. This fall is special to me personally because I was so sick last year I missed fall. By the time I got out of the hospital and was well enough, the leaves were all but gone. I have resolved to enjoy them each day and appreciate their splendor and contemplate the One who made them.

To a much much lighter note, this fall also holds a new excitement; its football time. I have never been one to follow the sport except to pick a team while my cousins were watching a game, but here football takes on a life of its own. Saturday was our first game; first in a couple ways. Mostly we have a new coach Lane Kiffen, who was an assistant coach with the Raiders. Also they refurbished Neyland stadium and installed a new jumbo tron. Saturday was our first game (yes, I said "our") Norm and I were out and about; I donning my UT earrings, and UT pants (that's right), Norm with his UT cap. This would look completely out of place anywhere else but as we went about just about everyone was sporting the old orange and white. We even made football snacks and all watched the game as a family. Never has this happened in Nelson history. Of course we crushed them, Western KY, 63 to 7. Go Vols.

Family Get-Together

2009-07-25T07:11:00.000-07:00

Well we are just completing a great time with a houseful of family. Tina's parents, Steve and Linda came from California. Her sister, Rachael and her three girls also drove over from North Carolina. We have seen the sites! We had just completed a few projects around the house prior to their arrival. These involved installing molding and finishing off the archway that use to be a wall between the livingroom and dining area. Then it was painting the livingroom, dining room, hall and foyer. I installed a very nice light fixture to go over the dining room table. Back the family's visit.

While they were here we drove to the Great Smokey Mountains and hiked up to Laurel Falls. This was an 3 mile round trip hike on a paved trail. The falls were beautiful. Steve, Linda, Sivana and Grace rode in my car. On theway home we stopped at the NASCAR go-cart track in Seiverville.

(gotta go, will post more later).

Grace's Birthday Cont.

2009-06-09T16:53:00.000-07:00

To celebrate Grace's birthday we decided to go to Dollywood and bring a couple of Grace's friends. We are about 20 miles from it so we bought season passes. Dollywood, for those who not followers of Dolly Parton or do not live in the Southeast, it is an amusement park replete with terrific rollercoasters (seriously) and of course canned Dolly music plays throughout. It was Memorial Day so we thought it would be croweded but with the threat of rain looming, it kept people away. We had a great time and the skies broke as soon as we were leaving Pigeon Forge. I have disparaged Pigeon Forge earlier but it is growing on me. We found the old part of town aptly named Old Mill. Very charming with a real working mill.

A couple of days later one of Grace's friends had been out of town and had missed the day we went and wondered if it was too late to go. Of course not. So we went to again. Unfortunatly I was sick so I dragged myself around while the girls rode ride after ride. Once again, there was a threat of rain. We are prepared for such an event with disposable rain ponchos. It came down for a ten minute period during that time they decided to go on the water rides. They had a blast (literally). While we were there a huge family was enjoying the day. We found out that the had their own show called 18 kids and Counting(?) I have never seen it but Hope overheard them talking about it with other park patrons. We had great fun and plan on going back June 12 the Kratt Brothers from the PBS show, Zaboomafoo are here (this show I know).

Birthday Week 2009

2009-06-07T18:51:00.000-07:00

Well, we have just come through a week that included my birthday and also Grace's birthday. I remember hoping that Grace would be born on my birthday. Now that she is 12, that just simply would not have worked! She is awesome, but likes her own stuff and would not want to share her day. She started saying at the end of May "it's almost my birthday"!

I worked on my birthday (Thursday) and it was an extremely busy day. We are putting together an employer forum and I am doing much of the legwork. The day was spent contacting and inviting employers and business owners. That evening was spent grilling, relaxing, opening gifts and enjoying family time.
Grace's birthday was yesterday. Most of the day was spent just lounging around the house. Grace chose dinner at Ruby Tuesday's. Then it was back home to open presents and a fantastic ice cream cake made by Tina!
All in all it has been a great week! I am counting down the days until this Forum is over when I can breathe again.....

Weather today 87 degrees and absolutely beautiful!!!!

It's Spring In Tennessee!

2009-04-26T19:19:00.000-07:00

Along with the spring weather, things have changed. Everything is in bloom, the kudzo is green and the weather is just picture perfect. I recently had my iron level checked and I am in the normal range (by a hair). I have also got a new job at the airport Starbucks and start this Thursday. It was a tough decision and I will miss my friends but I feel like its time.

This weekend was the end of the Dogwood Arts Festival which featured sidewalk arts and miles and miles of dogwood trails along with music and fun. It also was the weekend of the Rosinni Italian Festival. We all saw the opera Don Giovanni and walked around enjoying the sights and sounds of all things Italian (with a touch of Appliachian).

First Post of 2009!

2009-02-28T11:02:00.000-08:00

Looking at my last post I see it has been awhile since we've added anything here. Tina has completed a series of iron infusions; seven iron tranfusions in total done at the hospital. They tried her on a different iron and it caused anaphatic shock that shook her up pretty good. She has had two of the IVs infiltrate leaving her bruised and in a lot of pain. She seems to have more energy following this series. But it been pretty rough on her since she has started working again. A couple weeks ago Tina and the girls went to Atlanta to purchase Hope's fencing equipment, the nearest place to purchase such equipment. HVA had started a fencing club that has now developed into a team. Come springtime (wait a minute, isn't it spring!) she will be competing in tournaments. This trip just before Tina's infusions so she was very fatiqued and felt pretty worn out when they got home. I had to work so they went without me. I did get to play a couple rounds of disc golf while they were gone.

Last weekend Hope participated in a shoot for a American Ladders, a commercial that is being shot locally by a group of University of Tennessee students. She is one of the zombies and is the youngest undead. This evening we are going for the final shoot. The students are creating this film to submit it to people who fund such things. All shooting last week was done in a huge warehouse and required multiple shots. It will look pretty neat once it is all edited together.
This past Tuesday we attended our first HVA PTSA meeting. It was pretty interesting to see how other Presidents run the meeting. There was a good turnout and I was not the only dad there! PTA is extremely active here in the Knoxville area. It is great to see all the opportunities that are available and the community support. We served as PTA Board members at the girl's schools and in 13th District in California
for a number of years.
I have been busy in my new job attending networking meetings with other supported employment providers in eastern Tennessee and activities with the Chambers of Commerce. We had a great meeting with a local hotel that could be very advantageous for them and the people we serve.
Most recently, I have been attending Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. The 13 week video version was offered at our church, so I have been attending on Thursday evenings. It comes with a great kit of resources and tools to eventually become debt free. I can't wait to get to that point, house and all!! There is a link to Dave Ramsey's website to the left of this post.
As you can see we have been pretty busy with life here in eastern Tennessee. Tina told me she was driving back from work the other day and thought "I like the south". I agree. It is beautiful. Hearing about the housing market, unemployment, fires, drought and everything else going on around the country, we feel very blessed to be here in a place we really want be. Now that we feel pretty acclimated to this area we have a goal to get out and explore the Smokys and other sites throughout this region. There's alot to do and we can't wait for Spring!!!

I think that might be all for now.

-Norm

Old Year Challenges, New Year For Opportunities

2008-12-31T02:57:00.000-08:00

Here on the eve of a new year it is good to reflect on the past year. It has had it's challenges. Tina's surgery, both girls starting new schools, Hope's new dog-Annie, Tina's job ending, balancing finances, I started a new job. But then there are the good things, our new church community, Hope's new dog-Annie, new friends, our small group, learning to play disc golf, discovering new things to see and do. With this coming year I know there will be more challenges and more good things-I look forward to both. God has provided and is still providing in all these situations.
Before Christmas, I sent an email to a friend and former coworker in California. I learned through her "out of office" reply that she would be out until this week. Yesterday, I received a reply and it was great to hear from her. I needed a few forms that were used there and she faithfully attached them to her message. The best part was that she also forwarded my message to other coworkers. I received email messages from her and other coworkers throughout the day. It was great to see messages arrive from friends I had not heard from since moving from California. Almost like letters from home (even though this is our home now). Add these to the good thing list. A great ending to this year. I did make a call to Peggy (another former co-worker) when I got home to catch up with her as well. In my conversation with her I learned that my friend Sam had stopped by and had moved back to California. She will be sending me his contact information. I look forward to catching up with him as well.

Advent Conspiracy

2008-12-21T18:49:00.000-08:00

We were introduced to the Advent Conspiracy during last year's Christmas season. Their video presentations really make you rethink Christmas. Here is one from Rick McKinley from Imago Dei in Portland, Oregon. It was presented this morning at Crossings. Please post your thoughts.

-Norm

Joy To The World.........

2008-12-18T19:17:00.000-08:00

Joy to the world, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King; Let every heart prepare Him room, And heaven and nature sing, And heaven and nature sing, And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing.

Joy to the world, the Savior reigns! Let men their songs employ; While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.

No more let sins and sorrows grow, Nor thorns infest the ground; He comes to make His blessings flow, Far as the curse is found, Far as the curse is found, Far as, far as, the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace, And makes the nations prove, The glories of His righteousness, And wonders of His love, And wonders of His love, And wonders, wonders, of His love.

The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish. John 1:14 (The Message)

Merry Christmas!

Norm, Tina, Hope and Grace

Our Community Is On The Move........

2008-12-09T12:29:00.000-08:00

Since May 2008 we have been a part of Crossings, a faith community in Knoxville. We are currently meeting as a community at Downtown West theater in west Knoxville on Sunday mornings, but that is all about to change! We will soon be moving to The Square Room at 4 Market Square (4MS) in Downtown Knoxville. Our first meeting there will be on January 11 with two services. Cafe4 officially opened for business on Monday morning and The Square Room hosted it's first concert on Saturday evening.

WATE aired a report about the Open House of Cafe4 and the Square Room this past Friday evening. It was very cool!

Our family (along with 1,000 other people) had the opportunity to attend.

Have a look....

Eastern Tennessee Honor Choir

2008-11-28T06:46:00.000-08:00

Hope was picked by her choir teacher to participate in the East Tennessee Honor Choir. The choir consisted of students from Chatanooga, Knoxville and the Tri-Cities and all points in between. She worked for several weeks on the music at her school then joined the rest of the choir for the last three days. They changed the location of the event; this year it was held at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.
The place was so packed we had to leave after Hope's portion. It was a bit surreal watching Hope do the same thing I had done Cali with the Bay Area Honor Choir lo many years ago. I've never pushed Hope to singing; she hasn't had that much interest, but she had a great time.

Psalm 100

2008-11-25T16:22:00.000-08:00

On your feet now—applaud God! Bring a gift of laughter, sing yourselves into his presence. Know this: God is God, and God, God. He made us; we didn't make him. We're his people, his well-tended sheep. Enter with the password: "Thank you!"

Make yourselves at home, talking praise. Thank him. Worship him. For God is sheer beauty, all-generous in love, loyal always and ever. -Psalm 100:1-5

This week-make yourselves at home-thanking God, praising him for all he is!

I'm Back!

2008-11-22T07:07:00.000-08:00

I haven't blogged literally in months. While things have been happening, my life changed dramatically. I had no idea what I was in for when I finally visited the doctor about three months ago. I haven't felt really good in so long I can't remember but things started to worsen for me about five months ago. RaChael, Buck and the girls visited us in August and RaChael talked to me about my health and made me promise to go the doctor.

Now I have been to the doctor in California with the same symptoms and was given iron pills and sent on my way; obviously this didn't work. I went to an internist in Knoxville and explained my symptoms. For the first time I felt listened to. I was so relieved and yet confused when the doctor said 'lets get to the bottom of this, I think you are bleeding internally'. I thought there was no way his hunch was right. But since I am at the age when you start getting routine tests done, I just accepted his radical idea.

While I was on a health fishing expedition, all my coworkers were called in to a special meeting with my bosses. We were told that evening that they were closing up shop as of that moment. So while I was waiting for my colonoscopy, I was job hunting. I was interviewed at Target and was offered a job. I told them the only thing in my future was just a routine test. On the following Monday, I went in for my colonoscopy. During the procedure, I noticed the doctor reacting angrily and the situation got tense. After the procedure, I was told that I had two inch polyps in my upper colon and they would need to be removed....and fast. I called Target and told them I would need about ten days to recover from this minor procedure. They were so gracious and would hold my job.

The doctor pushed for the procedure to be done and a week later I was scheduled for the colonectomy. They were to laproscopically remove the portion of the colon the polyps were located. Once I was out I was suprised; what was supposed to be a two to three hour procedure turned out to last I think about eight hours. I was soon given blood transfusions and fluids. RaChael flew in which was an overwhelming blessing and was there after the surgery. I was put in ICU and heavily medicated. Things are pretty sketchy from my memory so I have relied on RaChael's recollection. I was given I think about four units of blood and two IVs of fluids at the same time. My resting heart rate was 170 and my blood pressure was high; they started sedating me more because when I moved around my heart rate would climb. From what I understand it was touch and go for a while. I was given a diarectic and that corrected the problem.

I was in the ICU for five days; the length of my sister's visit. She was a lifesaver picking up the the kids, cooking and cleaning. During the day she would visit with me. I was so sedated her visits are like faint memories I wish I could remember. I was put in the normal ward for the next five days and give a few more transfusions. I finally got to go home. I was in a lot of pain and could only sleep sitting up.

Okay, I will try to explain the procedure. First, they placed shunts so that the area like the kidneys would not be damaged in the procedure. They started to do the procedure laproscopically, but realized to would have to be an open surgery. The polyps at that point were unknown if they were cancer and I was happy to hear they were not. The doctor told RaChael that they were like old food in the refridgerator; one day they were fine by the next it could go bad. Plus they were the kind of polyps that, if cancerous, would ravage my body. A portion of my upper colon was actually hernaited and was removed. There was also a hole in my colon. There was a hernia on my kidneys along with grossly enlarged varicous veins wrapped around them. They had to take my organs out and rerout and fix the problems.

Once I got home, it was a VERY slow recovery. I ended up back in the hospital a week later needing two more transfusions. It has now been almost two months and I am still in pain (the doctor thinks the anemia is slowing down the healing process), but I am doing much better. I continue to wear a binder around my stomach for support and I am still anemic. I have had rectal bleeding about four times but because of all my rerouting, they can't really scope me properly. If I bleed again, I will go immediatley for a bleeding test. I feel pretty good but it goes without saying I have to pass on the Target job. I am trying to do as much as I can to get back to normal while still be obediant to the doctors.

Our church and family have been a great support through this time; it has been tough to go through for everybody especially being so far from outside support. It was hard on Norm; he have started his new the job the day after my surgery, then he would come home and take care of the house and the girls. Hope and Grace both had to pitch in more. My memory is very foggy; I cannot remember October at all. But God has provided wonderful people in our lives that have been invaluable and I am very thankful to not only them, but the doctors who discovered the problem and took care of it. I am hoping to now start iron therapy and look forward to better health. I have had a lot of people praying for me and I appreciate it so much. I have learned some great lessons through this trial and I have given up the dream of wearing a bikini (ha!), but God is faithful and has been with me through this time and has brought spiritual healing and hopefully soon my physical healing will be complete.

Tina

Psalm 92

2008-11-18T09:51:00.000-08:00

This was what we read last night.:
It is good to praise the LORD and make music to your name, O Most High, proclaiming your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night, to the music of the ten-stringed lyre and the melody of the harp. For you make me glad by your deeds, LORD; I sing for joy at what your hands have done. How great are your works, LORD, how profound your thoughts! Senseless people do not know, fools do not understand, that though the wicked spring up like grass and all evildoers flourish, they will be destroyed forever.
But you, LORD, are forever exalted. For surely your enemies, LORD, surely your enemies will perish; all evildoers will be scattered. You have exalted my horn like that of a wild ox; fine oils have been poured on me. My eyes have seen the defeat of my adversaries; my ears have heard the rout of my wicked foes. The righteous will

flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming,

"The LORD is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him." -Psalm 92

We were in the car on our way home from a spectacular Christmas light display at Shadrack's in West Knoxville. Grace also read Psalms 91 and 93. All great readings! We continue our time of Thanksgiving....... -Norm

Psalm 100

2008-11-11T09:52:00.000-08:00

We have started something new in our family. As some of you may know it's been a difficult couple of months. In response to this we've entered a time of thanksgiving. We are doing a short reading as a family and sharing what we are thankful for following each day's events and activities.

It is easy to focus on all the things that aren't going right or the challenges we face each day. We are putting those aside to give thanks.

This was the verse we read and talked about last night: Psalm 100 NIV

1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
2 Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

The first verse so impresses me. Here in eastern Tennessee, Fall is in full swing. The leaves are changing and are absolutely beautiful! Creation is shouting for joy to the Lord through a kaleidoscope of colors. As his children we are encouraged to worship with thankful hearts on good and bad days, even during challenging months. I am grateful for a Father who is good. Since before the creation of time, He has been faithful.

-Norm

Movies and ZooBoos

2008-10-19T16:38:00.000-07:00

While we were in California and researching Knoxville I remember seeing information about free movies being shown Friday evenings on Market Square and at World Fair Park. Being that it is October and that last in the series, there was a double feature on the big screen. We saw Ghostbusters and Beetlejuice. The girls and I sat on the Square in our lawnchairs cuddled up in blankets and sleeping bags. It was a cool Fall evening. As we were walking to the car I remember thinking this is one of the things I love about being here.

This weekend Knoxville Zoo hosted an event too. Last night we attended the annual Boo at the Zoo. It was a great time of walking through the zoo as it is starting to get dark and later. There were different treat/candy stations set up on "Treat Trail". Each station was sponsored by different area businesses. The great thing about this is that it is not spooky or scary. There were alot of little kids dressed up and they appeared to have a great time. We really enjoyed ourselves. Animals, treats and time with my girls made for a very good time!

The End Has Come

2008-10-04T03:46:00.000-07:00

Well, yesterday marked the final day of my 30-day resignation notice at Sertoma Center. Part of the responsiblities in my now former role as a Residential Coordinator was doing House Visits/Inspections. We were required to be in the homes at least one time per shift per month. The majority of my homes had three shifts per day, two shifts during weekend hours. I finished out my final day doing my third shift visits. I started at 11:00 Pm on Thursday and finished at almost 4:00 Am on Friday. I took the opportunity on Friday to have a staff Thank You Get-Together with my team of house managers. It was great to be together! They all do such a great job! Putting all they have into assuring their residents are well taken care of. It has been my honor to assist and support them in what they do. I will miss them. I had the priviledge of working with two other RCs. They are incredible people. We handled everything from on call duties, staffing houses to delivering cars to homes for weekend outings. I will miss them as well. A difference in management styles, among other things made it necessary for me to find other employment. This past year has been a challenge. I am returning to employment training and will be working at Emory Valley Center in Oak Ridge. I am totally excited about this new adventure! I have been reflecting on my drive across the United States last year heading toward an interview at Sertoma. Unsure of what would be waiting on this end. Thankfully, I was hired and we have been able to reestablish our family in a new area . Now, onto a new chapter in this the story of our lives. -Norm

TN Valley Fair

2008-09-13T07:52:00.000-07:00

The Midway
Loverboy

A new calf born during the fair.

Fireworks at the end of the day.

Hope Goes Off With a Bang

2008-09-01T05:41:00.000-07:00

Hope turned fourteen Saturday. We went to Shoney's for brunch which is like a cross between a Denny's and a Golden Corral. Once stuffed with bacon, Hope decided she wanted to see Journey to the Center of the Earth again. We donned our 3-D glasses and enjoyed seeing the movie again. If you haven't seen it, I recommend it. I got a wild hair and suggested we go see Indiana Jones so we drove to the dollar movie and watched that film. That was pretty silly. Her real present though, was seeing the Jonas Brothers in Atlanta last week.

Sunday is Knoxville's celebration of the end of summer called Boomsday. It has the largest fireworks display in the nation on the Labor Day weekend drawing about 200,000 people. I volunteered to work that evening, so we parked at my work and walked downtown and enjoyed the festivities held close to UT. The fireworks themselves, are shot off the bridge I cross to go to work over the Tennessee river.

We walked back and I started to work, but not alone. Grace grabbed a sign and went outside to draw people with her dance moves. Hope helped inside with orders along with the owners. We had a great/busy time. Once the fireworks started business died down and we were able to watch the fireworks with my coworkers and their families. It was a blast (pun intended). The fireworks were spectacular. We hung out for about an hour waiting for the traffic to die down visiting with friends and enjoying a light sprinkle. -Tina

Jonas Brothers Take Over Atlanta

2008-08-23T06:05:00.000-07:00

We bought tickets to the Jonas Brothers as soon as they came on sale way back in March, so the girls have been anticipating this concert for forever. Unfortunately its on a Wednesday. I got Grace out of school a little early to drive to Hope's school and be in line to pick her up. To get her out of school early takes an act of Congress so we just waited until school was over.

I had to open at the store and I have to open the following day, so Norm came with us. I sure he was heartbroken to know we didn't have an extra ticket. He went disc golfing while we battled thousands of girls. Demi Lavato was the beginning act. She was one of the stars from Disney's

Camp Rock. We were a little late because of road construction, but we made it. It was her 16th birthday so everyone sang to her and we watched a montage of her life. Oh, I forgot to mention the concert was held in Atlanta, GA.

The Jonas Brothers held a great concert. Hope and Grace loved it and sang their hearts out. They had a graduation party thing since Joe Jonas just graduated high school. We had to leave a little early since I needed to open. Of course, we stopped by the Varsity for a late dinner and headed home. The sould of thousands of girls are still ringing in my head. -Tina

Happy 222nd Birthday!

2008-08-17T17:57:00.000-07:00

Today as I am sure most Tennesseans are aware, marks Davy Crockett's 222nd birthday. Crockett was born on a mountain top in Tennessee...but he spent quite a bit of time in Morristown, a town about fifty miles north east of Knoxville.

We went to the celebration hosted by the Davy Crockett Museum and Tavern. The festivities included Marshal Andy host of PBS' Riders of the Silver Screen, who showed the kids how to rope, play bugle along with telling cowboy stories and leading a sing a long of of old songs (including Davy Crockett song of course). Then a speaker dressed in Crockett attire went through the history of Davy Crockett's life. It was very entertaining and interesting.

Afterwards, they lead tours through the

Crockett home and tavern and served refreshments.

The weather has been perfect for all of

August with mid eighty temperatures

and this just capped it off.

A New Chapter

2008-08-16T06:13:00.000-07:00

This week marked the first day of school for Hope and Grace. It came up so fast; I mean, didn't we just start the month of August?! It could be worst, the schools in Maryville started Aug. 4th. This was a particularly challenging start; Grace started Jr. High, Hope- High School.

Grace is going to Powell Middle School, Hope's school from last year. We met her teachers, signed up for PTA (finally) and walked around. She has a new science lab along with a beautiful new gym.

Hope, as written earlier, is starting Hardin Valley Academy; a school that was opened to the public just last Thursday. She went through to her classes so much she didn't have any problem finding them.
Hardin Valley Academy is a new model of high school that incorporates the college model. There are four academies: Liberal Arts (Hope's chosen academy), Health Science, Law and Public Affairs and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathmatics. They must meet all the regular high school requirements in addition to the academy requirements. These will count towards college credits. She will have enough credits to enter college as a Junior in college after high school.

Each academy has its own principal, advisor and counselor and each semester has four blocks of classes . It is the only one of its kind in the state. The principal stated there are all schools from all over the nation coming to learn more about it. The facility is beautiful, each class is equipped with a smart board and two computers. The library has about 25 computers and more shiny books than the Borders. It is also nestled in the foothills and adjacent to one of state colleges. This allows the professors to come and teach at the high school as well.

The grading is stricter that California. All Knox County Schools grade tougher; An "A" is a precentage of 100-93, a "B" is 92-83 and so on. Hardin Valley in order to graduate from the Acamedy you must posess a "B" average. The actual prinicpal over HVA was able to hand pick each teacher: good for us, sour grapes for other schools.

The only draw back is it is in Oak Ridge. The same Oak Ridge that has the ORNL (Oak Ridge National Lab-from the Mahattan Project-someday we will have to rent that movie). So I go to Grace's school about an hour early (I get alot of reading done) to get in first in line so we can drive 20 minutes to get Hope from her school. They both start and end at the same time so Grace arrives early and Hope gets picked up late. Grace doesn't seem to mind; she wants to go there to HVA when she starts high school (I don't even want to entertain that idea just yet).

Grace started her school having friends (yeah). Hope once again started a different school knowing no one. I couldn't believe she wanted to go through that again after facing the same thing just last year. But she never wavered. She loves her classes (her favorites are acting and choir, of course) and has made friends. Grace's favorite is Choir-no suprise there.

We have now etablished our route after much trial and error. Norm would call me at work and tell me how he went, I would see him in the evening and tell how I went. The first day was tough (on me). Ah back to school lunches, projects and No. 2 pencils. -Tina

The Hollers' Visit

2008-08-10T19:15:00.000-07:00

They got here, as Norm posted, on Tuesday afternoon. While we had just seen them Saturday, that didn't seem to lessen the enthusiasm. Most of the time was spent just hanging out which seemed okay with everyone, but we did manage to do a walking tour of downtown Knoxville and Old City. We would be remiss if we didn't stop by Magpies Cakes. The first night I taught the girls all how to make their own sushi which was fun.

Sivana (ten) is growing into a young lady with insights that are amazing, Gaveriel (eight) is just full of life,sweet and helpful. Trinity (four, turning five in Nov.) is just hillarious. It's so hard to believe how much they have grown and matured in such a short time.
Since we weren't together for any of the girls' birthdays, we decided to do a mass birthday party for all of them. After the party, the girls all put on a play called Frog in the Pond. The girls had worked on it from day one and it was great.
We also took a trip to Hope's brand new high school built (more on that later) and checked out Grace's new Jr. High (I can't believe it). It was so great to have them here and was hard to say goodbye. They left about the same time we headed for church. -Tina

Disc Golf At Morningside

2008-08-09T17:03:00.000-07:00

Today Buck and I played a round of disc golf at Morningside Park in Knoxville. It was my second time to play there, or play a whole round for that matter. Buck hadn't played before. The weather was absolutely great 85 degrees and low humidity. We didn't keep score but were on the average 1-2 over par on most holes. I have posted an arial picture of the course to the left.

We had been waiting for an opportunity to go play since they arrived on Tuesday. With work, shopping and transportation challenges we did not get to go until today. It was great just being out there with Buck doing something we'd never done before.

Following our round we went over to Plutos. If you are in Knoxville and like disc golf, it's a must do. They have so many discs by the all the major manufacturers as well as shirts, hats, and the baskets too. I am amazed at how many types of discs there are. Different types, weights and plastics. Discs range in price from $8.00 to $20.00. I definately saw a few I would like to get, who knows maybe even a disc bag............ -Norm

Good and Bad News

2008-08-04T16:58:00.000-07:00

A week ago Knoxville made the national news for a shooting at a church. A man entered the Unity Universalist church last Sunday and opened fire while the children were preforming a play. He killed two, was tackled to the ground and will have his first court appearance this week. His motive was a mystery for a while. He wrote a four page tirade about his motives. Basically, he is an unemployed machinist and said he couldn't find that kind of work. He is an alcoholic with a violent past who was frustrated that his food stamps were being decreased. He blamed the "liberals" for all his ills. He decided since he couldn't shoot the policitians he would shoot those who put them in office. Why he targeted this liberal church was that his ex wife used to attend. He himself, has no affiliation with any church. He had seventy six shot gun shells with him but only was able to fire off two. Besides the two that were killed seven other were wounded. This has been very unsettling to the whole community; it reminded me of the Dave Mobilio shooting that happened in Red Bluff CA.

Okay, on to the good news. RaChael, Buck, Sivana, Gaveriel and Trinity are vacationing in North Carolina. They have visited Raleigh, Charlotte and Asheville. Ashville is about an hour and a half from us, we couldn't resist, so the girls and I joined them. It was so great to see them. We hiked Grandfather Mountain and went on the mile high suspension bridge. It was gorgeous. They will be coming to Knoxville for a few days this week and we can't wait. -Tina

Tough Week.

2008-08-03T20:43:00.000-07:00

This past week has been a challenging one. One of the expectations of what I do for a living is to be "on call". This involves carrying a pager and cell phone, responding to and dealing with any issues that arise after hours/weekends. This is in addition to working 10 to twelve hour days this week. A new expectation is the "on call" person also works the Saturday they are "on call". I do not like "on call" weeks. I like them even less now that working a Saturday is involved. In theory, if we work a Saturday, we are suppose to get the following Monday off. Not this week. We are being visited by the State for two weeks beginning tomorrow for an Annual Review. I guess these have been very unpleasant experiences in the past. I will hold my opinion until after it is over. Saturday was longer than it should have been. I visited nearly all my houses (9), plus one more. Tina and the girls went to Asheville for the day, while I worked.

This past week we moved of two residents, one to another agency. I have mixed feelings about this. I spent alot of time with this resident giving medications, shopping and scheduling staff for the home. When staff were not available, I worked there myself. The move was a relief and a sad day all at the same time. I received a nice letter from a family member thanking me for all I did to support this individual. I will add this to my portfolio.

The second resident moved to another apartment due to some safety issues. The new apartment is in a quieter and safer part of town. Both required my assistance to move.

I am glad to have this week behind me. I am confident that even being reviewed by the State, this week can only be easier. We shall see. -Norm

Mitchell Gets a Pet

2008-07-26T13:39:00.000-07:00

We have been looking for quite a while for another dog. Mitchell was so happy when Samson was here, so we've been looking for another pet; a pet for Michell.

I found Annie through Craigslist. She was an american eskimo mix. She was being fostered through a private group that rescues abused animals, rehabilitates them, and then finds them a home. After corresponding with Annie's foster mom, we decided to have a meet and greet at the dog park. There is a great off-leash dog park that is also home to a disc golf course that is just a few miles from us.
It was funny. Once we got to the que area we reluctantly took Mitchell's leash off. I think even he didn't know what to do; he just stood frozen for a moment. Soon he was running and chasing the other dogs including Annie. She obviously has the ear marks of an abused dog; she acts like every meal is her last, she cowers if you raise your hand and prefers you not to pet her head. But she was very sweet. After about an hour of watching the dogs play and asking a bunch of questions, the girls both excitedly told me they wanted her. While there, one of the other dog owners handed out lemonade. Now this was not ordinary lemonade. This was his Great Aunt Fannie Mae from August GA's recipe. He told us there was a secret ingredient and everyone took turns trying to figure it out. He told us he had to take the recipe to his grave and that just fueled the fire of speculation. I think I figured it out but didn't tell; who am I to go against the great Fannie Mae.

Everyone congratulated us as I announced we would take her. Her foster mom was teary eyed (is that a good or bad thing!?). We took her home and she has done great. We have to be careful not to make sudden movements or loud noises, and I don't think Mitchell will ever eat again. But she is doing well and the girls just love her, Mitchell....I think the jury is still out. -Tina

Call It Almost Gone.....

2008-07-20T16:18:00.000-07:00

This weekend has been quite busy. Late Friday night I had to do my monthly 3rd shift visits. This requires me to visit nine residential homes and monitor staff. I must fill out an unscheduled visit form to document my findings. I started at 11:00 Pm and finished at 3:00 Am. Saturday morning Tina had to work. I mostly just lounged around. About noon, the girls and I started to take apart the wall that separates our dining area and the living room. We've wanted to open it since we've moved in. I finally got the courage to start tearing it up.
Mitchell, our dog appears to be lonely and needing a buddy. After I got all the sheetrock and dust up we went to the new Union County Animal Shelter. The girls found a dog they would like so we filled out an application. We are waiting to hear.

Last night, I went to hear The Hinsons. Back when I was in junior high and high school I enjoyed the music of the Original Hinsons. Ronnie, Kenny, Larry and Yvonne Hinson made up the original group. They are probably best known for their song "The Lighthouse", said to be the most recorded gospel song in history.

These days the group consists of Bo Hinson (Ronnie's son), Kym Calvery (Ronnie's daughter), and Shawn McDougal. It was a trip back to my roots, but to the tune of modern country. I hadn't seen the Hinsons in probably 27 years. While in California, I would at times take my mom to southern gospel concerts when groups would come through the area. While not a big country music fan, I did enjoy last night's concert. In my opinion the best song of the night was "I'm Still Here".

This morning at Crossings, Mark gave a great talk. God has a big "kabot". As His creation we are small, but to often decide we do not need to trust him because we feel we are self sufficient (bigger than God). Trust/faith plays such a big part in the life of a follower of Jesus. This was a very good and much needed reminder. The talk was followed by a time of worship. Like I said, it was great.

Following Crossings we went shopping and had lunch at Sam's Club, EarthFare, Borders, and World Market. Today has been kinda weird for me. My bearings have been off all day. I went the wrong way on Kingston Pike while going to Crossings. Went the wrong way while going to World Market and then to EarthFare.
Thankfully, I am home now and not going anywhere. -Norm

A Look at K-Town

2008-07-17T16:50:00.000-07:00

Norm invited us downtown to a concert at the visitor's center. It was a bit nostalgic; when we first visited Knoxville, this is where we came. A great blue grass band was playing (yes, I have some love for blue grass) as we mapped out our visit. This time, Dishwater Blonde, a Christian blues/rock band was playing. They host these concerts Monday through Friday at noon in the Visitor's Center and they are always packed; it's called the Blue Plate Special and showcases local bands of different genres. After the concert, I got the notion to check out Old City.

Old City is an area smaller than downtown and has more local stores and is less commericial. It's eclectic; looks a bit like the French Quarter/Ireland towns (I told you it was eclectic). Once we walked from downtown to Old City, I found some great looking stores and restaurants. My first find; Magpie's. I remember Magpie's from an article written about Knoxville by the New York Times. We walked into a storefront with the on-site baking visible, beautiful display cakes not to mention a cold case to drool over. As we were choosing our cupcakes, a customer entered pointing to the mini cupcakes. He told me to watch out for them; they were dangerous. After trying a cupcake sample I understood what he meant; they were fabulous.

Cupcakes in hand, we left the store. I noticed across the street Old City Java. Along with Magpie's, it was voted Best of Knoxville. We ordered some drinks and dived into our cupcakes happily chatting. The coffee house had a great vibe, very art house-y. As Grace, Hope and I were sitting being silly, I noticed Norm (too late, of course), driving by. We finished walking around Old City and headed back downtown.
It was Farmer's Market day, but I could only stare since I decided we would just stay here for the day. We started just walking around and discovered the East Tennessee Historical Society Museum. A sucker for museums, we checked it out. It was fun with a pharmacy/soda fountain and a trolley. We left and discoved little parks and squares and historical houses that were really cute.
Hope was going to participate in a improv acting class held at the main library downtown. While she joined the class, Grace and I checked out the library. After she was done, we left and went to Market Square. Market Square was hosting a Shakespeare in the park and a troup of actors were performing Merchant of Venise. I called Norm to join us. We enjoyed the play but were starving so we went to a great local restaurant; Tomato Head. Obvisously an Italian restaurant but is also know for vegetarian/vegan organic foods. It was great. We all had a great day learning for about our little K-town. When we got home Norm told me HE had gotten some cupcakes from Magpie's. Great minds..... -Tina

Wanna Play Disc Golf?

2008-07-14T18:35:00.000-07:00

I recently discovered Disc Golf (a.k.a. Frisbee golf). There are three courses here in Knoxville and they are all free to play. I have driven past one of them at least once a week. Sometimes more often than that.

While trying to learn more about this game, I discovered my friend Mark and his sons play. I joined them for the first time a week ago. I wasn't very good, but it was great just to be there. I agree with Mark, it's not about the score, it's about community.

Prior to the game, I purchased an Innova set of discs that included a Leopard fairway driver, Shark mid-range driver and an Avitar putter. I've read about a couple more discs I'd like to buy. The discs average about $10.00 each. Some are more, some less.

If you have never played I would encourage you to give it a try. It is good exercise, challenging and great to be outdoors. It seems there are courses all over the country most of which are free to play. Morningside, Victor Ashe, and Admiral Farragat are the three local courses. We played 18 holes at Morningside. Soon, I would like to try Victor Ashe. The first hole is throwing across water. I've heard players frequently misjudge that hole and have to go swimming. -Norm

Here's a link on how to play.http://www.disclife.com/whatis.shtml

Tina's Birthday

2008-07-13T04:33:00.000-07:00

My birthday is July 7th, but I was sick on my birthday. So when I got the Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Anniversary calls, (I not only share my birthday with my dad-RaChael and Buck's anniversary is the same day-RaChael said it's because she has a poor memory for dates, and that's why she got married on our birthday) I kind of think of my birthday is our family's all-purpose day. Anyway, when the calls came, I announced I didn't know what they were talking about-it was not my birthday. After some long pauses, I explained that I could not possible be sick on my birthday therefore, it must not be my birthday.

We celebrated my birthday on Saturday. Norm and I went to a local farmer and bought tomato plants and then bought pepper, squash, mint, eggplant and zucchini plants to grow in our garden Norm finished constructing. Yes, I know how late in the game it is, but I wanted to try my hand at it before fall planting. Norm had to hurry and get it done, so we could catch the rainfall.

I have been completly jonsing for sushi again. I had purchased the special stuff to make it, but just hadn't tried to do it. Why not on my birthday. For my first attempt I made very simple rolls: California rolls and Smoked Salmon rolls. (Hope made herself some spaghetti) Okay, so they weren't as pretty as the rolls at the Stir Fry Cafe, but they turned out wonderful. I am inspired and am excited about expanding my menu. So good.

Afterwards, we went to a drive in movie theater to see Meet Dave and Wall E. The girls had never been to a drive in movie and I think Norm and I were first married when we saw our last one. So we made homemade popcorn (you have to-it's a part of the fun), grabbed my store bought cake (sad, I know) and headed for the movies. It stopped raining on the way which was good. We got a good spot. Nowadays, you just tune in your car radio to the station to hear the movie. This I am sure is much more cost effective, but I missed the clunky speaker you hang from the window. Next week they are playing Journey to the Center of the Earth. Hope announced we would be seeing this one as well. Forget the fact that she was at the premere and that we saw it just yesterday-hey, at least we still have our 3-d glasses. It was a lot of fun.

Happy Independance Day!

2008-07-05T07:00:00.000-07:00

We decided to go to Pigeon Forge for the 4th of July. It was hosting its 18th Annual StarJam (whatever that is). It sounded like fun so we traveled all of 30 miles to the birth place of East TN's queen, Dolly Parton. What should of took about a 30 minute drive, didn't. Little did we know this was a big event. And of course, we thought we would be the only ones attending and the park would be super easy to find since we've been there once before.

After creeping in the car for a very long time (and having to ask for directions-I guess the en masse of people didn't tip us off), we found it. It was a stunning sight; about seventy-five thousand people showed up for the event. It looked a little out of place. For anyone whose hasn't been to Pigeon Forge it is like Branson MI. For anyone who hasn't been to Branson, it is like a country-fied Reno but with no gambling. Ok, a better description would be a big, long carnival with more shows. Sorry if anyone loves Pigeon Forge. It is also the gateway to the Smokies. There, I said something nice.

The reason we decided these firework show over the one in World's Fair Park in Knoxville was simple: the bands. The bands we saw were Ace Young (no idea-I don't watch American Idol, but I saw American Idol under his name-I drew my own conclusion), Metro Station, Boys Like Girls and Good Charlotte. If you don't know these bands, ask a teenager. They were great. Anyway-hold on to your mullet-Paris Hilton was there!!!! I asked Hope and Grace if they knew she Paris Hilton was-they didn't know-I have done my job. She, incidentally is dating one of the band members from Good Charlotte. I know this because it was in the Knox Newspaper. Oh, and one of the band members in Metro Station is Mylie Cyrus' brother-that I know from Hope.

After the concerts, we were a little concerned; the clouds looked pretty wet (I am getting to know clouds better now). Come to find out they had to postpone Knoxville's fireworks an hour due to rain. What was really funny was the bands kepy saying "hello Knoxville!" This didn't sit well with the crowd. The fireworks (I understand were the biggest in East TN) were great. They were synched up to the radio station that put on the concerts so you could hear it well. Of course it wouldn't be Tennessee if they wasn't a tribute to the UT Volunteers (They play the UT Volunteers song while orange and white fireworks were displayed-inspiring) and course Dolly wished us a happy fourth and sang the Star Spangled banner (may I remind you she has a statue). All in all it was spectacular.

Afterwards we hung in Pigeon Forge (the carnivel city that never sleeps). This morning we woke up to rain. -Tina

Sweet Carolina

2008-07-02T09:03:00.000-07:00

Our nephew David, was getting married on June 28th in North Carolina. Our 21st anniversary was June 27 so we decided to make a weekend of it in Raleigh, North Carolina. We drove up Friday and the next day while the girls slept in, Norm and I went to a farmer's market. It was huge! The biggest I have ever been to and had great produce. We bought some beautiful eggplant (the girls' new favorite meal-eggplant burgers), peaches and blueberries. We got back back and got ready for the wedding.

Now the directions were a little dubious; turn left at the propane tank on 65W. We got lost wouldn't you know (hey, we weren't the only ones) and were late. Well, we made it for the pictures at least. It was great seeing David, his new bride Lila, Norma, Richard, Michael and Hallie along with Richard's Uncle Bob and Aunt Sis. It was more humid and hotter than Knoxville but not too bad.

Before we left Raleigh, we went to an old fashioned pharmacy soda fountain just like the Andy Grifith days (we even visited the Andy Grifith statue-the show was based on the area around Raleigh-remember Barney getting a job in Raleigh?)

We also visited the Museum of Natural History which was terrific along with the Musuem of History that housed the Musuem of Sports. We saw a replica of the Wright Bros. plane and Richard Petty's car is on display.

We had a great time and could have spent more time there. When Norm told one of his coworkers we were going to North Carolina they said it looked like East Tennessee; they we sure right-very pretty. It's great have a little family close by. -Tina

Hollywood.....in Knoxville?

2008-06-26T16:27:00.000-07:00

Each year Knoxville hosts a red carpet Hollywood movie premiere as a fundraiser. This year the movie was Journey to the Center of tne Earth. It is the first ever made live-action 3D movie. It stars Brendan Fraiser (Mummy movies, George of the Jungle) and Josh Hutcherson (Bridge to Teribethea, Zathura).
Going to church at a movie theater, we tend to be in the know about upcoming events. As soon as Hope spotted the poster she decided she wanted to go. For the next week after she bought her ticket she tried to convince her friends to go. Unable to persuade the parents, she was perfectly comfortable going it alone (I was not so comfortable).
The sold out premiere seven hundred ticket event was held at the Pinnacle 18 theater that houses 3 IMAX theaters along with regular theaters. I suprised Hope with a cut and style for the big night. When we arrived we were greeted by police and were only allowed to enter the parking lot by showing the pass. TV news crews, radio stations along with a live band joined the throng. After walking down the red carpet, Hope went in to enjoy a catered dinner.

After dinner she was able to greet the stars and was able to get a seat in the first row. The stars along with the director spoke about the film and then they showed Journey to the Center of the Earth. Afterwards they had six drawings and wouldn't you know Hope won a $50 gift certificate.

Hope made friends with the girl sitting next to her, but the real highlight for her, came after everything was done. I had asked someone in charge how long would the event be; he told me 9:30pm; he was mistaken. I got a text from Hope at 9:00pm asking us where we were. Panicked, I texted her back and go over there as soon as I could.
In the meantime, while Hope was waiting, Josh Hutcherson came out and struck up a conversation with Hope. They talked about his movie he just finished filming (one of her favorite book series) and he told us where he lives; incidentally, he lives about 3 1/2 hours north of us in KY. So when I drove up expecting an angry teenager instead I got a beaming girl. She could not have had a better night. -Tina

What A Hoot!

2008-06-20T19:10:00.000-07:00

Last night was a fantastic night and a reminder of why we moved to eastern Tennessee! It is Honda Hoot time in Knoxville! I have been riding my Honda Reflex and have enjoyed the company as the roads have been filled with bikes. Not just Hondas, but all brands of bikes.

Last night was The Hoot Bike Show at World's Fair Park. We went down and strolled around looking at bike after bike. They were beautiful!

I am posting a number of pictures to help you get an idea of how many bikes there were. I just wish my friend Bill could have been here for this. I would have even barbequed a couple hot dogs for him.

There were bikes all over downtown Knoxville.

The headquarters for The Hoot is at Chillhowee Park, not to far from where I work. I heard on the local news that last year's event brought in 16,000 people.

The promoters were hoping for 20,000 this year. Haven't heard how close they are to that goal.

It seemed that during last night's event when bikes would leave even more would come in to replace them. The promoters did a great job of organizing this show and keeping things moving when bikes had to leave.

One of the most interesting bikes we saw had to be this one. It is a Honda Reflex, the same model as I own, only this one has some added features.

I don't think these were added by the factory.

Hope took a video of the fireworks at the end of the Bike Show. -Norm

Happy Father's Day

2008-06-15T17:28:00.000-07:00

What a great day it's been! Our day started out by attending church at Crossings. Our pastor is on vacation, so the Worship and Creative Arts pastor spoke. He was continuing a series about life's biggest questions. I think it was the best explaination of Calvinism and Armenianism I have every heard.

Following church we went shopping for lunch. I had requested BBQ hot dogs. I got a brand new grill for Father's Day. I had to assemble it which took part of the afternoon.

As I was on my way to the garage, Grace stopped me and handed me a hat she had created. I am a Jimmie Johnson (NASCAR) fan. She made it last night before going to bed. I love it!

While I was in the garage Hope came down and put a cd in the player. It was the soundtrack to O Brother Where Art Thou? We all really like that movie so it was a great suprise and made the assembly all the more sweeter! When I was finished we fired up the new grill for hot dogs and turkey burgers. Tina suprised me with one of my favorites.... potato salad. When we moved from California we sold our grill at our yard sale. It is so great to have a new one.It will get alot of use.

We also purchased a badmitton set. Grace and Hope tried it out this afternoon. We all played this evening and had a great time until it was just to dark to see the birdee.

It has been a wonderful Father's Day! I am so blessed with such a great family.

-Norm

Our First House Guest

2008-06-11T16:52:00.000-07:00

Our first week-long house guest came in a form of a brindle-colored, panting, wide-tongued boxer named Samson. Our friend, Katie was going to South Carolina for the week and since Mitchell was still moping around the house (Mitchell spent the week at Samson's house when we went to CA), we offered to take Samson.
Samson can lick the entire side of your face with one lusty lick and loses most of his fluids through drooling; Mitchell adores him. When they play catch Samson loves to grab the ball while Mitchell just follows him around barking at Samson if he strays; never once letting Samson out of his sight. Since Samson is taller than Mitchell, I was worried Samson could jump the fence so we only left the house once all together for Norm's 45th birthday.
It was great having another dog and got us combing through the shelters for Mitchell a playmate (preferably one that doesn't leave a slobber trail).

They've Heard About Us In New York........

2008-06-11T16:29:00.000-07:00

36 Hours In Knoxville
Here's a recent article that appeared in the New York Times about Knoxville. Hopefully it will help you to understand a few of the reasons we really like it here.

-Norm

The Rest of the Story

2008-05-26T16:15:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday we headed to Hollywood (can't leave the area without stopping at Pink's Hot Dogs). We stopped by Modesto and visited with my Aunt Terri; it was such a treat to visit with her. She has recently had some health concerns and lost her license because of them but she is in good spirits and always a kick to visit.

Wednesday we headed for Red Bluff. Our first stop: Hope's best friend Melissa. Hope practically jumped out of the car to see her. Then we went to see my parents. It was good to see them and catch up face to face. Thursday we dropped the girls off at their old schools which is ironic since it would have been their last day of school in TN. Hope spent the day with her favorite Jr. High teacher, Miss Rogers along with her eighth grade classmates and Grace ran into the arms of her old classmates. Her teacher, Mr. Threlkeld invited her to spend the day and even sing at the open house that night. We went and saw Bill and Vicki Greer while the kids were "in school". Later we went back to my parents house for dinner and then went to Jackson Heights to watch Grace and visit with the faculity. Oh, if we could only ship them to TN. What great people and what a blast catching up.

On Friday I went up to Graduation practice while Norm went to his old job to spend time with his former clients and co workers. I found out I made honors. We went back home saw Paul and Deborah Wright whom we are staying with but only briefly. We spent so much time at their home right before we left; it was good to see them. My aunt Carol came up for the festivities and we had dinner with Mom and Dad.
Graduation went great and reminded me of home since it stormed through the ceremony. Those should be some lovely pictures. I don't care. I was finished my last test yesterday and I couldn't be more happier.

Later we all went to Leatherby's, met my brother Gary there (he has a new job at Costco, yeah!) and visited with them and Kim and Dan Berry.

On Saturday (I can't believe we leaving so soon) we went to breakfast with Norm's family; Steve, Jay, Myrtle, Norma, Richard, Hallie and Michael. We caught up, passed the pictures and then went to Hope and Grace's pre-birthday, birthday party at my mom and dad's house. The girls had fun playing with Daniel and Matthew while we all chatted. My aunt Carol made Grace a beautiful dress (I see an opera in our future). We then went down to the Greers and met up with the Hagen's. Grace actually swam in the 60 degree weather. Once again we caught up and passed the pictures. These are what I miss; the people. It would be so great it everyone could come and visit.

That night the girls and Norm slept while I watched the clock; we left at 1:30am for our flight. It was sad saying goodbye, but I was looking forward to being home. We flew out, arrived in Knoxville by 5pm, picked up Mitchell (who had done great) and went home. It was a great trip and was such fun seeing everyone. We came home to beautiful weather and 8 foot tall bamboo.

-Tina

California Here We Come...

2008-05-20T07:39:00.000-07:00

I am (finally) graduating from Shasta College.

I will now have an A.A. in Hospitality with a concentration in Culinary Arts. We decided to celebrate this occasion by going back to Cali for my graduation. Silly as it sounds, I really wanted to walk with my classmates. I took my last final the day we left but I am still in school (blogging) and have my last test on Thursday the day before I graduate. So while the girls are swimming I am doing homework. We decided since we were so close (yeah, right), we would take a little detour to Disneyland (the silliness just keeps getting sillier).

We drove to Nashville Airport even before I go to work (1:30am) and took a flight into San Francisco picked up the rental car and drove to Anaheim. Ah, the golden waves of ......weeds. The apmosphere hit back as we left SFO. Knoxville was about 75 degrees and overcast when we left. LA was 100 degrees and cloudless. I traded blossoming trees, rolling green hills for, well if you have been down I5 you know what I mean. I suprised myself how much I was missing TN (and maybe Mitchell a little; he is staying at a friend's house and has already been to DL).

The first day here we went to Disneyland California Adventures and had a blast. It was pretty crowded but we got to go on everything and had sourdough bread to boot (that and avocodo is what I miss food wise). The following day we tackled Disneyland and had a great time. We saw Bill Hill and the Hillbillies a few times (I guess I was missing people saying y'all). We crammed as much as you could in a day. Fun, fun, fun. It was great to have Norm there and no Mitchell. We handled the time change pretty well and had a great time I think secretly we are all looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow. -Tina

An Answer To Soaring Gas Prices...........

2008-05-02T06:11:00.000-07:00

I totally like Red Green. Unfortunately, none of our local stations carry his show, so I found some clips online. Hope you enjoy this one! -Norm

Rossini Festival

2008-04-21T13:29:00.000-07:00

Two festivals in two weekends. This time it was an Italian opera festival. I guess it's an annual thing. Tosca was playing at the Tennessee theater and another opera was playing at the Bijou theater. On saturday the city closed of Gay St. downtown and had an Italian street fair replete with opera singers, Italian food and crafts (no country music this time).

It was great and packed with people. We all went to see Tosca; it was great, man what a pretty theater. I am really suprised the girls love opera but they begged to see it (I think partly due to fact they can dress up). -Tina

Dogwood Arts Festival

2008-04-16T17:58:00.000-07:00

I must first start off by saying a shout out to our Lady Vols who won the championship in women's bastketball (they are on the cover of Sports Illustrated).

One more thing......you know you are from the south when
Dolly Parton does PSAs about major road closures.
Okay, Knoxville has kicked off their annual Dogwood Arts Festival. When I have inquired about what this was, I get puzzled looks and the 'you-aren't-from-around-here-are-you?' statement. Right now Knoxville is peppered with beautiful blossoms and
there are over seventy miles of trails dedicated to the viewing of the dogwoods. We have been on some of them. Plus they have begun sundown in the city, a larger but similar thing Red Bluff has like on Wednesday night. It's focus, though, is on local artists and each Thursday the stores stay open a little later. The farmers market starts April 26th and I can't wait. -Tina

Where's Miley?

2008-04-07T17:44:00.000-07:00

Because this is Hannah Montana country, we, along with about 6,000 other hopefuls went to an open call for the new Hannah Montana Movie in Nashville. I love Nashville, it's like Knoxville but bigger and a littler soggier right now. The open call started at 11am so being seasoned Hollywood people, we got in line after spending the night in town, at 7am. We were by no means first in line but not too bad. As the day grew on, we would check out the growing line. They decided to take people early, so it went quicker than expected. By the time we (Hope) were finished, the line had went all the way around the convention center and was doubling.

We decided to walk around downtown; very cute; more country hopefuls than you could shake a stick at. We met up with Grace and Norm and had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe (saw a Dolly Parton's dress!) Then we began our way home. It was a great experience and we had a good time.

Oh, and spring has sprung here. It's beautiful. The Dogwood Arts Festival has kicked off featuring local artists, musicians and of course, the blooming dogwoods. Every morning I am struck by the sound of birds. We find cardinals, robin red breasts and morning doves just cooing through the day, its so pretty to hear. It sound like a jungle (sans the monkeys).

And another thing I am shocked to admit. I follow sports. Never in my life have I cared about football, basketball or any other ball for that matter. Now, I have succumbed to the sport fever everyone has here. Everything the UT Vols do is followed. I chatted with a coworker today (who also has never followed sports until moving here) about the Ladys Vols and their being in the final four. Once I found myself in the lobby of Grace's school surrounded by staff, parents and children huddled around the flat screen located in the lobby watching the Vols make it to the sweet sixteen. We didn't leave to pick up Hope until it was over. When I picked up Hope from school, I apologized for being late only to find out each class had watched the game in their classrooms forgoing the lessons. Go VOLS!

-Tina

The Biltmore

2008-03-20T19:13:00.000-07:00

This week the girls are out of school. I decided we would take a little trip to Asheville NC, about 1 1/2 hours east of us. Asheville, as I am sure everyone knows but me, is the home of the Vanderbilts. A few years back RaChael, Leslie visited the Vanderbilt's summer home in Newport, Rhode Island which was stunning.

The main home is nothing short of breath taking. It is the largest home built in the United States and is so large, you have to drive around the property just to get to the barn and winery. We started out with the main house. The whole house is not on the tour but you can tour about 67 of the rooms, each uniquely appointed not to mention the indoor swimming pool, bowling alley and observation room and a library that would make Belle shiver (Disney reference). After the tour we went to the "stables" which are now converted to a restaurant, creamery, doll shop, merchantile and book store. We went around the house and found the gardens.

They were beautiful and I am sure in later in spring are stunning. The conservatory was about the size of our home and house all kinds of plants from around the world. (once again, thinking of Bill Greer).
We tracked back to the car and made our way to the "barn". There, guides explained the daily procedures and we visited the wood carver on sight as well as the residential smithy who comes from four hundred years of iron work. He was fascinating; he even played the anvil as an instrument. The barn area also housed another creamery and merchantile. We then went to the winery that housed the wines the Biltmore produces from their own vinyard and other southern food stuffs along with a bistro. After that we kind drove around Asheville (not necessarily on purpose). The same planner that built the house also built the Biltmore Village; very quaint. It was a great trip.

Hope: Reflections Winner

2008-03-08T15:38:00.000-08:00

During the Reflections Program, a PTA sponsored event that encourages expression through the arts, Hope submitted a photograph. She has won this event in CA for the district (Red Bluff, Redding and Chico) two years. This year she won again for Knox County. We were invited to a dinner to honor all the winners in Knox County; about 500 people attended which was staggering; so much bigger than even the district awards for the aforementioned area in CA. Hope recieved a medal along with a certificate. Hope's achievement was announced by the principal the following day. The PTA seems to be very active here. We have not yet joined yet which is really weird, but plan to soon. We have met the president but that's about it.

Oh, and it snowed today. It was beautiful to wake up to a flocked yard but not enough to stick to the road. Playing with snowballs in March? Beautiful.

Where are you Crazy Bill?!

2008-03-04T15:06:00.000-08:00

Grace and I spent this last weekend in Atlanta, GA. which is about 3 hours from us. We drove down and spent the day at Six Flags over Georgia and had a blast. I hadn't been to Atlanta since the early 90's and remembered visiting a old fast food joint called the Varsity. We found our way over to the 800 seat,eighty-year old fast food joint and ordered the greasiest hot dogs and onion rings ever made. All I could think of is 'where is Bill Greer when you need him'. He would be in hot dog heaven.

The next day we went to the IKEA store I had been dying to visit. It was so big we got lost and wandered around trying to find which level we had parked and where was the exit. It was about the size of the mall in Redding. Oh, if I had money and moving van. Next, we went to the Coke cola factory. After watching the bottling demo and a few soda-driven movies, we where able to sample about 70 different coke products from around the world. Very interesting flavors. Of course, we found ourselves once again, close to the Varsity, so went back. On the upper parking deck there was about 100 ninja motorcycles; very cool. It was a great little trip and Atlantica (that what Grace called it) was great.

-Tina

Heart Support Tour

2008-02-18T16:33:00.000-08:00

What do you do when you have a free night in Knoxville TN? You go to someplace by Lexington KY to a concert. We heard about a christian organization called heartsupport.com that was doing a concert tour with The Beautiful Republic,Spoken, Falling Up(yea) and Family Force 5 (double yea). Lexington is only a couple of hours from us so we headed north, checked out Lexington and went to the concert.

It was first come first serve on the standing (yes, standing only) concert so we got there as soon as the doors opened. I, Hope, Grace and Norm were to determined to stand as close to the stage as we could. By the time Beautiful Republic was done, so was Grace-too many Kentucky boys trying to mosh. By the time Spoken was done, so was I. I am too old to enjoy my hair being pulled, my feet being stomped on and being a part of a mosh. The bands were great, I love Falling Up and Family Force 5 was as always fantastic. I enjoyed the rest of the concert with all the other forty-somethings-singing-along-looking-dorky-cause-we-know-all-the-words people.

We had a great time, my ears are still ringing. -Tina

And a video short by Grace (Family Force Five)

HAWK NELSON (no relation)

2008-02-11T18:35:00.000-08:00

The event

we'd been looking

forward to finally arrived.

HAWK NELSON

in concert

in Knoxville!

It was a sold out

concert at

the Coliseum.

There is so

much energy in

their shows and

last night was

no exception!

Rock The City
was

sponsored by the
Franklin Graham Festival
coming to Knoxville in

April 2008.

-Norm

A Video Short By Grace..................

La Forza del Destino

2008-02-09T07:10:00.000-08:00

Last night was to be our Valentine Day outing. It turned out to be a family event. One of the reasons I was attracted to Knoxville was, for being a town by mountains, it offers a lot of cultural events. Last night we attended Verdi's (in english) Force of Destiny Opera at the Tennessee theater. The tickets are less than what I paid for Hannah Montana in 3D (yes, we saw it) and was just fathoms better.

The Tennessee theater is one of the most slendid buildings I have ever been in; just a gorgeously restored theater. The people were as interesting as the building itself. You had the men in tuxedos, women in full length gowns, the business dressed and even the UT students in the orange (go vols!) hoodies and jeans.

The full orchestra was spot on and the cast was amazing. One of the main characters happens to be the owner of the store where I work. He is a vocal teacher at UT and offered us to go backstage. I love opera among other genres of music, but opera is what I would love to sing. I look forward to seeing Pucini's Tosca (one of my favs) in the spring at the Tennessee theater. Of couse Merle Haggard will also be performing there as well. Hey, it is the south!

-Tina

Storms and Sushi

2008-02-07T06:56:00.000-08:00

I still monitor the weather and news in California. As storms have nailed the Sacramento Valley and just about all of the west coast. Here in Tennessee, another type of weather has made itself known. Tornados ripped through the Nashville area and surrounding states. We are happy to report all we experienced was high winds and rain. I think part of it might be the effect the mountains have in counteracting the wind patterns. Thankfully, we are all safe and sound.

Last night we went out to eat sushi. Our last experience with sushi was at a place in Redding. It was not a pleasant experience, but last night was a whole different story. The atmosphere was great at the Stir Fry Cafe in West Knoxville. Hope had a salad. Grace adventured with us in trying sushi. It was very fun trying something new and eating with chopsticks.

Friday evening Tina and I will be trying something else new. We will be attending the Knoxville Opera for an early Valentine's Day date. I hear the Tennessee Theater is something to see!

-Norm

Another Concert Coming Soon

2008-01-28T06:29:00.000-08:00

PILLAR!!!

-Norm

Yankees in the Snow

2008-01-26T18:20:00.000-08:00

Things have been hopping here in the southeast. The weather has been interesting. It never rains for more that a few hours and the temperature can change from 40 degrees to 60 in a day. Never boring. Last week as I was opening the store it began to rain. After the rain fell so did the temperature making all that rain freeze. I work downtown by UT and a hospital and it is extremely busy with traffic. I noticed, huh...no traffic. I looked out and there was an accident then I noticed later that the emergency vehicles were going the other way on the street and there was another accident the other way about two blocks from the store! All total there were ver 400 accidents in the Knoxville area that morning So many, they just had to push the cars off the road to deal with it all. Norm stayed home from work until roads were cleared and by the time I got off work, it had melted.
So funny, I was at work doing my daily report when I noticed something from the corner of my eye and thought, 'wow, those cottonwood are sure blowing'. I realized that was impossible and that it was snow. It was beautiful but didn't stick and didn't snow up where we live, but it was lovely.

I am still enjoyed my job, I am starting to adjust to getting up so early. By 8pm I am a zombie. Norm has been a trooper helping get the girls ready and off to school. I get home in time to pick up the girls so it works out well. I have stopped drinking coffee. I can drink as much as I want and I noticed I was not sleeping well and was nervous and agitated. So now, surrounded by all the coffee I want, I drink herbal tea.

Hope attended a Christian abstinence rally called The Silver Ring Thing. Six hundred teens came and Norm said it was excellent. Hope was very excited about it when she came home showing us her purity ring.

-Tina

Hawk Nelson Is Coming To Town

2008-01-25T17:04:00.000-08:00

They're comin' to town and we've already got our tickets!!! It should be great.

-Norm

Latte Anyone?

2008-01-10T16:11:00.000-08:00

Once the girls started school and my last two courses haven't started, I decided that I would find a job. A few weeks ago I started my search and was hired for a little drive thru cafe. After a couple of weeks of training, I am now the assistant manager with my very own key. Yes, I am getting up at the crack of dawn to open, but it works out great, Norm can take the girls to school (yes, I get everything ready for the day) and I am home in time to pick them up.

I am really enjoying the job and I have a great boss who is a professional opera singer by the way. I am really tempted just to sing at him someday (just kidding). Anyway, he is helping me get linked up to the theater/musical scene for me and the girls. Oh, and next week I am finishing my final two online courses for my A.S. FINALLY!

Everyone is doing well (much better that California). It has been quite beautiful here. Someone told me if you don't like the weather here be patient and it will change. I find this to be true. It only rains every few days and the most it has rained it about six hours. The temperature dropped one day but in a couple of days it was back to the sixtys. It flucuates quite a bit. Yes, there is a tornado watch in central TN, next to Nashville going up to Louiville in KY. Alas, we are in the east and only now are feeling the "effects". It's raining and windy but that's about all we will get. No, the "fun" stuff is never fully felt here.

By the way, New Years was a lot of fun. There's a cute park area in the middle of downtown adjacent to quaint shops and restaurants where they hold concerts and community events. We had our own "ball drop" replete with bands (mostly country, of course), games, ice skating and marshmellow roast. About 10,000 people attended the event. It was pretty neat.

-Tina

A Holler Joller Christmas

2007-12-30T08:08:00.000-08:00

With much anticipation we awaited the arrival of our true Christmas gift, the Hollers. It took eleven hours but they finally arrived. The problem with showing people around is that I am still trying to find my own way around. It was so great to see everyone the girls have all grown (finally).

We went to Gatlinburg and Seiverville and went shopping. We had a great time with them. They were here for about four and half days, not long enough. RaChael kept commenting that it was too quiet and people were shockingly polite. We had opened our gifts on Christmas Eve and then shared Christmas with the Hollers. It was great cooking with my sister again. We had an Italian meal. On the last day we took them downtown town to the Sun Sphere and Chocolate Factory. With much pleading and begging for a longer stay on the girl's part, we said our goodbyes.

-Tina

For...

2007-12-22T17:11:00.000-08:00

"...God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 NIV

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14 NIV

Merry Christmas from Tennessee!

Famous Last Words

2007-12-08T16:36:00.000-08:00

I told Norm when we got here, we were going to take it easy...you know, just sit back enjoy the church service but not really get involved. This did not last. Last week we went to the convelescent home with our church and sang songs to/with the residents. The worship leader asked 'who is singing harmony'. Guilty as charged I said. We talked about me singing with worship team. I am excited about this. I have also signed to do children's church once a month with the help of Hope and Grace. We also enjoyed the Knoxville Christmas Parade along with 30,000 residents at the pastors loft overlooking the parade. If I have to explain why we came one more time............. It is funny; everyone that I have met that goes to our church are transplants; all have the same story (although not as crazy as ours). Each visited the area, fell in love and moved.

Yes, I have changed my mind. I have decided the best way to really feel a part of this new adventure is to jump in with both feet. Each week all of us have helped tear down the church (it is in a movie theater). Plus, we are getting involved with the girls' schools and have tried to attend various functions around town (although it would be impossible to attend everything). We went to the Art Museum and tomorrow after church, we will go to the Museum of Science and Energy. I am now going on job interviews and will be starting school again. I only have two more classes until I am finished with my Hospitality degree.

To feel even more at home, we went to a BBQ place. I would have asked for a veggie burger, but I am sure they would have no idea what I was talking about. What did we have? Four turkey sandwiches....okay, maybe we have a little ways to go.

Tina

A Teacher Graduates.....

2007-11-29T06:23:00.000-08:00

The following was taken from today's Chico Enterprise Record:

ENGEBRETSEN — Clara E. Engebretsen, 70, of Paradise, died Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2007, in Chico. Arrangements are under the direction of Newton-Bracewell Cremation & Funeral Service of Paradise, 873-7602.

Clara (Raymond, Lambeth) Engebretsen was my first and second grade teacher. I remember those years. Please pray for her family.

The picture to the right was taken in July 2006 at a school reunion.

-Norm

Our Hannah Montana Saga

2007-11-28T12:59:00.000-08:00

If you have a preteen or know of a preteen, I am sure you have heard of Hannah Montana. The tickets went on sale in Knoxville the day we drove over. We thought we could get some when we got here but, Hannah Montana, Miley Cyrus' alter ego, was raised in TN. The tickets were gone in a matter of minutes. We got big laughs when we said we were going to get some. Our plan B was to enter contests. I will not tell you the lengths I went to to enter these, just suffice it to say we entered about six contests, winning none.

The concert day came and went, tickets were selling for hundreds even thousands of dollars. I got a tip that the day of the concert they start selling regular seats that are held to sell at that time. I tried it and snagged three great seats for the concert in Charlotte NC. I decided to surprise the girls by showing up to their schools, picking them up and telling them on the way. My plan, like most of my plans, had some snags.

It started out rough; I tripped over something and tried to catch my balance with my other foot. Unfortunatly, my other foot was asleep and I went crashing down to the foot (Mitchell was thrilled). Yes, I sprained my ankle. Undetered, I grabbed my directions, ticket confirmation and ace bandage and off we went.
But certainly I wouldn't be blogging if this was the only problem. Mind you, I am still acclimating to the concept that the ocean is now on the other side and that the states are arranged differently. Through the pain, I didn't realize I had grabbed my "reverse" directions to get home from the concert. Now, I have been out of Knoxville before (sometimes on purpose), but certainly not this far out. Making sure I was following directions correctly, I would set the mileage at each change. At one point I went over the mileage and realized I had made a mistake. I started to panic. I was going in the opposite direction heading towards Virginia! (I think) I grabbed my atlas which I am never without, I realized my mistate; a difference of about 60 miles one way.

Then I uttered the words no mother should tell her children, 'girls, watch for cops'. I realized now that my directions would not take my there and started to call Norm to see if he could look up better directions. After some very confusing directions (Hope's interpretation of Norm's directions), we got there. We had about ten minutes before the will call booth closed, when we left the parking garage. Hope took off her sandals and took off running with Grace and I behind. I started running the best I could (I think I conjured up my lamaze breathing) to the bright lights. Just our luck, those bright lights were the greyhound bus terminal. After standing there in a daze, Hope squealed; she had found it. I hobbled up to the will call window with one minute to spare.

We went in to a stadium filled with twenty thousand screaming preteens and their mothers and I promptly threw up. I think the jog on my ankle got to me. But the girls were thrilled and it was all worth it. Are we done? No. The problem with running from the car like crazy Jonas Brothers fans (yes, that is who we really came to see), is that we had no idea were we had parked the car. For the next hour, we limped our way through downtown Charlotte (lovely town by the way). Once we found it, I decided I could not make it home that night. Much to the girls disappointment, we spent the night and enjoyed the trip home the following day. I am now gratfully lying down with my foot propped up which is the best feeling I have had since the day before.

-Tina

Getting to Knoxvul (that's how you say it)

2007-11-18T15:18:00.000-08:00

Like Norm had said, we visited a great new church; yesterday we met with the church to pack meals for Meals on Wheels. We packed 2ooo boxes! It was fun and a good way to get to know our new church family. Our church will be doing some sort of outreach every other week. Plus, they will be starting home groups at the first of the year.

A couple of things we've discovered this week. We signed up for our library cards. We have ten libraries; all interconnected. I am in heaven. The closet library is a beautiful stone interior/exterior with a fireplace and huge windows that over look the trees. I could stay there for hours. So far, I have hit three of the libraries. Click on the post title above to visit the Knox County Libraries website.

I also, along with the girls, got caught in a storm. Not a look-at-the-gentle rain kind of storms- a Jesus-help-me-I-can't-see-the-road storm. I was visiting a nearby town. And yes, I knew a it was supposed to rain. But this was beyond "rain". The lightening was incredible-light up the sky stuff. I should have known; the day started with what I believe was freezing rain. Later, I found out there was a tornado that had hit west TN. Once we made it home (after passing two accidents), it was fun to watch out of the big window in the living room.

-Tina

We Visited A New Church Today

2007-11-11T18:34:00.000-08:00

When I say new, I mean NEW. We visited Knoxville Life Church. It is a new church meeting in a movie theater in downtown Knoxville. I found out about it through the church directory of www.relevantmagazine.com/ . The church started about 4 weeks ago. The pastor and his family moved from southern California about 8 months ago to start this church. It's a great place with great worship. No King James Version 1611 here (believe it or not some churches here have it on their signs that they use that version, go figure!) We all enjoyed being there very much. The message today was the first in a series on the Fruit of the Spirit.

The girls stayed in service with us and enjoyed it as well. The feel of having church in a theater is just cool. It is a comfortable setting for us anyway. We really enjoy going to the movies! The multimedia was very impressive (hey it's in a movie theater!!!). Please be sure to click on the title above to visit Knoxville Life's website.

The main purpose of Knoxville Life Church seems to be serving and loving the lost of this city. Now who can disagree with that?

-Norm

We Went To The Knoxville Zoo

2007-11-10T15:51:00.000-08:00

This morning Tina and I went to a number of yard sales. While we were in the car an announcement came on the radio about a free admission day at the Knoxville Zoo. We have been wanting to go to the zoo since we got here. We went today. It is a great zoo!

The have red pandas. I have included a picture of one to the right. Our whole family had a great time today. Add this to the list of places to take people when they come to visit!! Be sure to click on the title above to see the Knoxville Zoo website. They have more posted there than I could possibly include here.

Following our trip to the Zoo we went to Chick-Fil-A. I never did get to installing the garbage disposal and donating stuff to the thrift store. That will probably happen tomorrow. We'll see......................

-Norm

A Stressful Couple Of Weeks

2007-11-09T16:10:00.000-08:00

A requirement of my new job is that I had to be certified to give medications to our residents. Last week I had two days of training and then should have taken a test. I did not feel confident enough to take the test, so I pulled out of the class. Here in Tennessee you can only take this certification test twice. If you fail it both times you can never take it again or be certified. I felt really guilty about pulling out of the class and I think work was disappointed as well. The Instruction Coordinator scheduled me for a second class this week. I was a little nervous about taking it again. The most difficult part has been mentally changing from a vocational training focus to a residential focus. At the Opportunity Center we were restricted from giving any type of medications. Now in this position, it is expected. There is definately a mental shift.

The testing consists of a written test with 100 questions, appropriately filling out a Medication Administration Record (MAR) from a doctor's prescription, completing a Medication Variance Form and finally, confidently demonstrating 8 different medication procedures/techniques. There is alot to this medication administration stuff. The training this week was three days and went at a slower pace. Our instructor this time was excellent! I actually enjoyed the training. I passed and will soon be receiving my card in the mail. I learned so much about medications and how to dispense them.

Another thing I walked away with was an increased awe of our God. The human body is so complex. The Creator thought of everything. Did you know there is a flap at the back of our mouth (the Epiglottis) that closes to keep food from entering our airway so we don't gag or aspirate?

It feels so good to have this completed. I studied hard the last couple weeks and it has paid off. Tina passed along a couple tricks for studying for tests. (She is a fantastic student) They worked very well. I am rewarding myself (and the family really) by installing a garbage disposal in the kitchen tomorrow. I also want to free up some room in the garage by taking a load of inherited items (item left here when we bought the house) to the thrift store, as well. We are all enjoying having a garage. It has been pretty chilly here over night, dipping down into the upper 20's. It is nice to get into a warm dry car that is free of frosty windows. Oh, yea we another project for tomorrow is to get a new garage door opener. Apparently, the one we should have received with the house could not be found.

That's all the news for now. Happy Friday and have a great weekend!

-Norm

You Know You've Been in a Baptist Too Long When...

2007-11-04T15:11:00.000-08:00

We have now set about the task of finding a church. Last week we went to a Foursquare Church and enjoyed it but want to experience what Knoxville has to offer.
Last week we went to Lovell Heights Church of God's Take Back the Night outreach and really enjoyed ourselves so we decided to check the church out.

We have gone to Community Baptist since Grace, now ten years old, was a baby. Norm and I have been both raised in Pentecostal settings, so it kind of took me by surprise when I saw both Hope and Grace's head snap forward searching for the origin of the different language being spoken.

Norm and I both looked at each other and realized we had never discussed this experience with the girls. Frankly, they were a little confused. Once we left, the questions started tumbling out. We tried to explain speaking in tongues as a 'heavenly language'. Grace turns and asks 'are they tonguenadians'? That was halarious! Once we explained that they were not from another "heavenly" country, she ascertained it was like the hispanic translator at Jackson Heights School who always translated what the principal said. This is her explaination of tongues and interpretation. We explained tongues as a gift and the girls seemed to understand it.

Next week we plan to visit a brand new church that is meeting in a theater downtown. We heard about it through Relevant Magazine and it looks like a place we should check out.

-Norm and Tina

October 31 - EleventySeven

2007-11-01T04:47:00.000-07:00

Last night we heard EleventySeven in the parking lot of a WalMart in West Knoxville. The event was called "Take Back The Night" and was sponsored by Lovell Heights Church of God. Everything was free, except for baked goods being sold by the Ladies Ministries. Our family won an IPod Shuffle. We purchased two cds giving us the opportunity to hear all things EleventySeven.

Their musical style is similiar to Hawk Nelson.

Their website can be found at
http://www.eleventysevenrock.com/

EleventySeven is:
Matt Langston-vocals, guitar, synth
Caleb Satterfield-bass, bgv
Jonathan Stephens-drums, bgv

It's Starting to Look Like Home

2007-10-29T18:40:00.000-07:00

We had our first real-sit-at-a-table dinner. I made chili and fried green tomatoes. I thought it was befitting for our first southern meal. The girls are have started school. They both have about 900 students a piece. Hope was fortunate to have her new friend Hannah's area and home room. Her new classmates all assumed we lived by the beach (hey doesn't everyone?!). She is adapting well. Grace is a real trooper since she know no one in this state her age.

I have got lost a few times today. I wound up at the zoo, heading out to the smokies and going in the direction of South Carolina at certain points. I made a few people snicker when I asked if the hills were the Smokies. They informed me it was just a hill. Oh well. What is so great about this area is it has a lot of concerts. Switchfoot is coming next week and halloween night a Christian band Elevntyseven will be performing in the Walmart parking lot (which one-I have no idea).

With our stuff being slowly unpacked it is looking a feeling more like home. The weather is still good and everyday it seems the leaves change a little more. I have found my favorite grocery stores-I found one that carries every kind of grain and soy product. It's like Trader Joe's (my old favorite) only bigger. All the stores carry things I used to have trouble finding. While shopping at the store right down the street Grace came running down the aisle exclaiming 'they have grey sea salt'! Only my kids would get excited over cous cous and sea salt.

-Tina

We're Finally Connected

2007-10-27T19:55:00.000-07:00

Well after much research we have finally settled on a company to provide our phone service. We were looking for the very best deal and have settled on ComCast. We now have phone and high speed internet, finally connected to the rest of the world. Until yesterday we were accessing a wireless signal from somewhere around us. We were able to access the internet and check emails, but could only do so by sitting in our living room. We now have our own access and have connected our wireless router. It is great to sit anywhere in our home and surf the net.
I am doing pretty well at finding my way around Knoxville. It helps to have to drive around as part of my job. I must do weekly checks on 8 residential care homes. Sertoma does alot of training. I am still working to complete my online stuff it is hard to find time to do this. On Monday and Tuesday I will be attending a Medication Certification training. I cannot dispense meds until I have passed this training. It's a BIG deal! I will be glad to get this one completed.
Earlier this week our stuff arrived from California. It was a very stressful day. I called the truck driver on Monday evening to find out how close he was. He said he was just crossing into Missouri. We discussed our street and his getting his truck up to our home. He said if he was unable to it would cost us an extra $250.00 for him to rent a moving van and also pay for someone to help him. We left this conversation there and I asked him to call us when he got closer. Tina and I decided to rent our own U-Haul on Tuesday morning. I again called the driver to let him know about the U-Haul he said he would be here about 1:00 Pm. He arrived at about 4:30 Pm. They loaded the stuff in the U-Haul and we took it to the house to unload it ourselves. Before they unloaded his truck, the driver told me it was still going to be $150.00. I asked him "For what?" He said because they had to unload it again at our house. I was pleased to tell him "we're going to take it from here". He seemed suprised. Needless to say he did not get any extra money from us that day. It feels so good to have everyone and everything here!
The bad news-on Wednesday the Volvo had some major problems. I was on my way back to Sertoma when I heard a pop sound. Shortly after that I looked in the rearview mirror and saw smoke behind my car as I was pulling into the parking lot. It is still sitting at Sertoma. I think it lost all the oil. The smoke was the result of oil dripping on the exhaust pipe. I am waiting to find out what the damage is. I hope it is nothing major, but feel it might just be. Now that the scooter is here, I have to get it registered and new tires. It will then be ready to roll. Fun is on the way!!!

Weather-it is starting to get cool here in Tennessee and Fall is finally in the air.

-Norm

Are We Home Yet?

2007-10-21T19:41:00.000-07:00

We have now been here a week and a half. We finally got beds last night. You appreciate the little things when they are gone. We are buying things super slow -since we are debt free with the exception of a liveable mortgage, we are not putting anything on credit. I am telling you after "camping" indoors for so long, it was really tempting to not go for the 'no down payment no payments to 2008' thing.

I have now ventured out beyond the library and am starting to get my bearings. Hey, there is even talk about our stuff coming this Tuesday! Tonight we actually went into downtown Knoxville (about a eight minute drive from the house) and did the "touristy" thing. We went to the Sunsphere and World's Fair Park-all built for the 1982 World Fair hosted by Knoxville. It has a great view and is so nice to know there is tons to show visitors (if we get some). Downtown looks somewhat like San Francisco sans the fish smell and sourdough bread.

We did something that I would deem southern; we went to a home show. Imagine our suprise to walk in and find actual homes in the convention center. Mobile homes as far as the eye can see. Jokes on us. On the flip side the downtown area boasts gorgeous live theaters and beautiful stone cathedrals.

It so funny driving around looking at all the sights. I know I am here, but Norm and I both feel like we are still just visiting. I still can't believe we pulled this off. The girls seem real happy to. Grace was missing Red Bluff at first but now she keeps thanking me for moving here.

I went to register the girls at school. They are actually on vaction this next week so they will start next week. We went to Hope's school for drama club sign ups and she will audition for a play next week. She is very excited. Plus we found out the band is going to Disneyworld this April. What's pretty cool is without all the distractions, Hope and Grace (and all of us, for that matter) have gotten closer. Hey, its hard to fight with the only kid that sounds like you. We have quite a few people stop us and ask us where we are from.

-Tina

Tennessee Y'ALL

2007-10-15T12:49:00.000-07:00

The night we spent in Memphis, I was able to get online and give Norm the number to where we were staying. It was great to hear his voice. To our suprise our house was closing earlier than anticipated and we could stay there the following night! The catch: I had to be in Knoxville by 2:45 that day. It it were just me, the four hundred mile trip wouldn't be a problem but, just before Knoxville the time changes to eastern time zone so we lose another hour. We were on our way at 7am and got there with 15 minutes to spare.

I met the best realtor ever: Lisa Tolman who has gone above and beyond for this little adventure. We went turned on water and electricity, picked up Lisa's thirteen year old daughter Hope has been emailing, and headed to our new house. It was weird to have to ask which one it was!

We all really liked it (okay the pink carpet and walls are a little much). It had everything we wanted. Hope is thrilled; she actually gets the master bedroom with her own full bathroom and we get the bottom floor to ourselves. Norm did a great job. It is about a country mile to the main town down a country road lined with brick colonials and it is only a 15 min drive to work for Norm.

So there we were, our new home that overlooks beautiful treed hills. I think I was so worried about the actual move out I didn't give the move in much thought. We pretty much still have just the clothes on our backs with no furniture and ways of communication. Alone in a completely new town without even a phone book. Norm tried his best to show me around. But with an area bigger that Sacramento, it will take awhile. The most frustrating thing is me. I want everything to come together today. I have to remind myself that it will all come together in time.

We have been here for a few days now, no phone (hey, we got a phone book), no garbage, no furniture. We did buy a washer. This is starting over at its definition. I have n0 way to cook (sure, I know that might sound great, but after while, its not). I am hoping to have a phone soon (although all our stuff is in storage in Sacramento, why, I don't know). We have only been able to get online at a fast food restaurant as well. Our speech definatly stands out. One girl stopped to listen to us talk (how does my realtor know its me as soon as I say hello).

The girls haven't started school yet. All we still have our summer clothes. And while the weather is just perfect (low 80s to mid 70s), we are not prepared.

But I complain. I really like Knoxville. I think I will like it even better when I get my bearings down. The house is great and the girls seem to be happy (who wouldn't be after 11 days in a car with Mitchell; he's fine too).

-Tina

New Mexico

2007-10-10T17:08:00.000-07:00

We made it to the place where Bugs Bunny kept messing up in all his cartoons; Albuerqueque New Mexico. New Mexico is really pretty if your into rocks. I was into rocks for the first two hours then I would have killed to see a tree. In NM, I woke up to take Mitchell on one his many many bathroom breaks, went outside to a glorious sight; about twenty hot air balloons above our hotel. I turned on the tv to see what was happening. I think we were the only people in the southwest to not know what was going on. It is a week-long hot balloon celebration held annually called the Fiesta Balloon Celebration. About 7oo,ooo people attend this event and it was spectacular. There were balloons of all colors and shapes; even a Darth Vadar one.

We rushed off to go check it out. Very cool.

In my rush I either left behind my cell phone or it has mysteriously disappeared in the car (if you saw the car, you would completely understand how this could happen). From this point on I no longer could contact Norm or anyone for that matter. On top of that we are staying at all motel 6s on the way since they are pet friendly. From Ca. on, no Motel 6 has wifi. When I asked in Oklahoma they didn't even know what I was talking about. So I have each morning (after taking Mitchell for a walk of course), I went in search for a signal to keep in contact with Norm. The strangest place was connecting to a gun club in Oklahoma City.

Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas were thankfully, uneventful. We have beening driving about six hours a day and then getting a room for the rest of the time. I am trying to time our arrival at the same time we move into the house. So we have been taking our time. We are now in central time zone and trying to get used the change. We spent the night in Russellville AK. It is very pretty. I do believe this is where my mom's relative's live. True arkies; you know, turkey feet nailed to the inside walls as decorations, holes in the floors, no plumbing. Yes, this is the sturdy stock I come from. My parents had visited a few years back and brought back video. It was unbelievable.

Memphis
We arrived in TN on Wednesday, ten days of travel. I have got some strange looks from hotel staff when I explain what we are doing. It sometimes overwhelms me too. Everything rests on my shoulders, and it weighs down on me. I thought I would be more sad on this journey but I have been so busy decided where and when to stop, what way to go, I haven't had time.

I bought girls MP3 players for the trip. This has been interesting; each girl singing at the top of their lungs to different songs. It is a lot like that scene in the movie RV. The girls have done great, it has been stressful on all of us and we have had our moments, but all in all, I could not ask for better traveling companions. If only one of them could drive. Some alone time would be nice too. I have had them and the dog only feet away from me the entire time. Oi vey.

Why Are You Moving?

2007-10-07T18:40:00.000-07:00

I have been needing to post this for quite some time.

One of the most difficult things a person could do is to leave the security of their hometown. I had lived in Red Bluff, California my whole life. It represented a place of security. It was the place I met my wife. The place where we were married and where we have been raising our daughters. We purchased a house and made it a home. We had been involved in the girl's schools and ministry. I had a great job that I really enjoyed.

So why move?

We had been talking about moving since the summer of 2006. The question was "where would we like to live, if we didn't live here"? Last summer we flew to Tennessee, first flying into Memphis, heading to Nashville and ending the trek in Knoxville. On the way back to Memphis, our family discussed which city we liked best. We all agreed on Knoxville and began researching the city. We looked at real estate, into employment opportunities and the possibilities of starting a business. All areas looked very promising.
We placed our home up for sale, but with the slow real estate market-no one was coming to see it.
In May, while on my way home from the races at the Shasta District Fair, I sensed God said to me "get out of here". I was not praying or doing anything "spiritual" just riding my scooter. When I arrived home, I told Tina about this message. We discussed putting our home on the auction block. This can be a very nervous thing and it was for us as well.
One Saturday before the auction I was out pulling weeds in a planter at our church. Again I feel I heard God's voice "Do not worry. I am going before you and preparing the way". That sure felt good, but was this really God speaking or is it just me? Again, I shared this message with Tina.
The day of the auction came and our family took a trip to the mountains during the actual auction. This was a nervous time. Our house was selling with no minimum! A few hours later we arrived back to the house to find we had done well. God was making a way! However, the actual money changing hands seemed to take FOREVER. When we moved out, we moved in with our pastors. I stayed there until I left for Tennessee. Tina and the girls stayed there awhile longer. Being in their home was such a blessing.
I gave my two weeks notice to the Opportunity Center. I wished it could have been a month notice because that is what was needed. The next week Hope got a very serious eye infection that required us to stay for at least three more weeks. My last day of work at the Opportunity Center was August 31. I left for Tennessee the following Thursday with no job or house to go to. Heading for a job interview with the promise that God was going before us and not to worry. I guess you can call it a "Peter Experience" (Matthew 14) but I can not afford to look down. To this point everything seems to have fallen into place. The only major challenges have been camping, missing my family and them bringing Mitchell across the United States.
I got the job I drove across the United States to interview for. We should be signing papers to purchase a house this Thursday. Until then I am staying at the home of our realtor. I guess you could call it house sitting until the family arrives.
God has been true to His word. It remains to be seen how He will use us here, but I do believe this is the place and this is the time. We are blessed.

-Norm

Grand Canyon

2007-10-05T20:40:00.000-07:00

Today we headed out to the Grand Canyon. Before that, we stopped by Bedrock City just outside of the Grand Canyon. When I was little, I visited the Grand Canyon. Do I remember it? No. I remember the cheesiest little joint; Bedrock City. So we stopped by.
When we got out to look at the Grand Canyon we were amazed. I think all of us asked if it was real. It was so stunning it looked like a portrait. This in itself was eventful but add Mitchell in the mix and you've got something. Mitchell's front paws never touched the ground he was pulling so hard on his leash. Both Hope and I have blisters. He never let up. It was difficult to enjoy the wonder all around me when I was practically carrying Mitchell. I envied all the dog owners with their mellow dogs. It was tempting to throw a ball over the edge and see what happens, but the girls said no.

By the way, it is way cold 60s and low 70s with very gusty winds. We were not prepared for that.

-Tina

The Happiest Place On Earth?

2007-10-05T08:15:00.000-07:00

The following day we were to go to Disneyland. I had purchased tickets in advanced and Mitchell had received his shots the day we left so we could kennel him at Disneyland. We were set to go; our motel was in eye shot of the park. I went down to the car to get Mitchell's paperwork; it was nowhere to be found. The girls and I scoured the car and the motel. It looked like a robbery gone horribly awry.

After giving into my emotions for a moment, I decided (Hope said it aloud first, so I am giving her the credit), to call the vet and have them fax his paperwork to the motel. Ah, a moment of lucidity. Paper in hand, we were able to kennel him and enjoy the remainder of the day at Disneyland.

The next day Grace tripped over Mitchell's leash (it's always Mitchell) and sprained her wrist. Painful joints aside, we loaded up to travel to Las Vegas. Everyone knows Vegas is the place for kids and a dog. Just as we were leaving, the air conditioner started making a terrible noise and smell. I would bet Mitchells next dog treat it is a belt. So we had to cross the desert with no air at all. We made it, drove around the strip and eventually headed for Flagstaff. There are many other pretty darn funny stories, but I promised my traveling companions I would not embarass them on this blog (mitchell is so sensitive).

-Tina

Tina's Turn

2007-10-03T07:32:00.000-07:00

The only time I've ever blogged was for school, but I felt it was time. With Norm safely settled in Knoxville, gainfully employed and on our way to being homeowners once again, (yes, sight unseen for me), it was time for me, Hope, Grace and Mitchell (yes, Mitchell) to move.

These past several weeks have been quite interesting. Norm and I have been married for so long, you grow accustomed to things. Gone is the person who takes out the garbage, checks the fluid levels, help raise the kids, dicipline Mitchell, finding my keys. No more 'honey, could you..'

I have talked big up to this point. Heck yea, I'm going to move along across country with the girls and Mitchell (yes, Mitchell). When I packed up the car (it took all three of us to close the trunk), reality sunk in. I was alone, going a way I've never gone, to house I've never seen, to a place I know only one person; my favorite person, but still just one person.

Our trip down to Disneyland was pretty uneventful with the exception of stopping at every rest area down the 5. It was like traveling with a pregnant lady in her third trimester after drinking a venti mocha (I have had a lot of time to think that analogy up). What normally took us nine hours took twelve.

By the time I got into Anaheim, I was exhausted. The week of very little sleep had hit. For past week I have been so worried that I would forget something major like taking the kids out of school or closing the bank account, forgetting Mitchell (well, that would be ok). I was so tired I couldn't find our motel. I was beside myself. I gave up a desparate prayer and within a few seconds I found myself on the right road about one quarter mile from our motel. Sometimes thats the way God does things, others not so fast.

I am still pretty tired from having to take Mitchell at four in the morning for a walk, but at least we made it here. Only 2200 miles to go.

-Tina

We Made An Offer

2007-09-29T11:49:00.000-07:00

We made an offer on a house yesterday. It is beautiful and over 500 square feet larger than our house in Red Bluff. It is two story with a basement garage and family room. I think we will turn the family room in the basement into our Master Bedroom. This will require installing a whirlpool tub in the half bath that is down there already. Other than the lawn needing to be mowed, not to many other things need to be done. The final paperwork needs to be completed and a good faith payment needs to be made. So in a couple weeks we could be in it!
It seems like things are just clicking along. I must also add that the weather has really been great through this camping adventure. Most days are 80-90 degrees and then it cools off to 60 at night.
Eastern Tennessee is experiencing a drought. I heard on the news that Maynardville (about 10 miles from here) is rationing water. No watering the lawn or washing the car. Offenders will be fined $50.00.
My new job is going well. There is alot to learn and much is expected from someone doing this position. I had a chance to go out and see some of my houses. It was great to interact with the residents. That will definitely be the fun part of what I get to do, then there's the paperwork part. Uggg!
I heard a song by Starfield on the radio yesterday "Filled With You Glory". The lyrics to the chorus: "The whole earth/Is filled with your glory, Lord/Angels and men adore/Creation longs for what's in store (Mountains bow and oceans roar)/May you be /Honored and Glorified/ Exalted and lifted high/Here at Your feet I lay my life"
As I have driven much in the last few weeks and seen alot of country the thought of creation longing (groaning) for what is in store has added another dimension to this journey. Following the fall of man (Adam and Eve in Genesis 3 http://www.ibs.org/niv/passagesearch.php?passage_request=Genesis%203&niv=yes) creation also suffered a great consequence. The ground was cursed. From that very moment, creation began to suffer decay and death. As a result of sin, the earth groans for the day of the Lord. Not only, we as believers, but all creation is anxiously awaits the Lord's return and longs for what's in store. A new Heaven and a New Earth.
Fall is coming and the leaves will soon be turning and from what I hear it is quite a show here in eastern Tennessee. Even though on the surface there is beauty. Inside there is a longing, a groaning. We are all longing until the Lord's return.
In this we have hope, better days are coming! Just as we are about to see the Glory and Beauty of God manifest through His creation, things will change.
Romans 8 paints such a beautiful picture of this :
22We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? 25But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. 26In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.
At times isn't it difficult to wait patiently? The other day, I was waiting to be seen by the doctor for a drug test. Once I signed in they said "please wait, we will be with you shortly". Even though I knew what the outcome was going to be, it sure seemed like longly. I know it wasn't all that long, but it was still "wait". The test came back negative, by the way.
While driving (which is the mobile form of waiting) the miles and hours can seem like they just go on forever (especially in Nebraska and Ohio). Finally the day comes and the waiting is over. In my most recent case, after many miles of hoping and trying to be patient, Knoxville came and my groaning was over. In time, our journey, waiting and groaning will be completed on this earth as well. Even so come quickly, Lord Jesus!

Weather today-85 degrees and beautiful.

Now it's time to wait for everything to go through on the house. But right now it's time to go do laundry!

-Norm

Driving Down Memory Lane

2007-09-27T19:04:00.000-07:00

Driving around Knoxville (and across the United States for that matter) has given me alot of time to think. The other day I was reminded of a client whom I use to work with. His name was Sam. I really liked Sam. He had a gentle spirit and frequently teared up when he laughed. Sam was one of the first people with a disability I had frequent contact with. He really liked riding his bike, mowing the lawn and listening to his scanner. Sam lived with his mother who was elderly and as time went on her health deteriorated. They were very close.
One week we decided that after work on Friday our group would take a bike ride and then go out to a local mexican restaurant for dinner. At the time I was driving a little Ford Festiva. I put a bike rack on the front and one on the back to haul our bicycles. We were all packed in the car. It must have looked halarious to someone not knowing what was going on. We all had a great time!
I also remember Sam's reaction when I told him Tina and I were going to be parents. A big smile came on his face and sometime later he arrived with a gift.
One day we got the call that Sam's mom had passed away. Our worlds changed forever on that very sad day. Sam bestowed on me one of the greatest honors of my life. He asked if I would be a pallbearer at his mother's funeral. As part of his mom's request, a neighbor became his care provider and they eventually moved away. Every once in a while he would call me and then we lost contact. He had an impact on me and I am grateful for his friendship. Maybe someday we will see each other again. I'd like that!

Weather today: 85 degrees and it was suppose to thunderstorm, but just a few spinkles this afternoon. The rest of the week looks clear and low to mid 80's.

-Norm

Celebrating Two Weeks!

2007-09-23T12:22:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I will have been in Knoxville for two weeks. My first day of work was last Friday. I received a brief overview of client/resident files and then toured a couple houses. There is alot to this job, mostly quality assurance and making sure all documentation is complete and up to date.
When not working I have been looking at houses and/or areas to live. I think we have narrowed it down to two areas. Powell or Halls. Both areas are in north Knoxville and are known for their good schools.
I attended City On A Hill Church again today. I really like it there. The pastor's message this morning was on suffering and how God allows it to make us better. I also enjoyed the worship.
During one of my many excursions during these past couple weeks I came across a discount Christian bookstore. I purchased the EPIC dvd by John Eldridge. He is the author of Wild At Heart, a book that caused quite a comotion in the church back home. John presents the gospel in four acts. It is a great presentation and one I will share with Buck when we get together. I have been watching over the last week.
I also purchased a few cd's at bargain prices. I have been listening alot to Leeland-Sound of Melodies. Stand out songs are "Carried To The Table" which is a song about communion and "Yes, You Have" about how Jesus has stolen our hearts. Everything on this cd is great! I also purchased Tait-Empty, Dizmas-On A Search In America, Family Force Five-Business Up Front, Party In The Back.
Today, I am going to take a look at a couple more houses in Halls, so I better go do that. After that I'm gonna seista for the rest of the day. Life is good here. It will be even better when the family arrives and we purchase a house.

Weather today about 90 with a nice breeze. Only suppose to be 67 degrees tonight. Perfect.

-Norm

I Got A New Job!

2007-09-17T18:15:00.000-07:00

Well I received the call today offering me a job at Sertoma Center in Knoxville. I am being hired as a Residential Coordinator and will oversee about 8 residential homes for people with disabilities. It sounds similiar to what I had been doing at the Opportunity Center, but on the residential side rather than vocational. I am very excited! I must have TB and drug tests before I can start working. I will put a link to Sertoma on my "Sites I Like To Visit" list. Go check it out.

I have been going all over Knoxville trying to get a feel for the area and the best places to buy a house. Some places are good, some places are not as good, but I really like this place. The weather has been exceptional! 85 degrees during the day and about 60 degrees at night. Perfect.

I attended City On A Hill Church on Sunday. It is a Foursquare Church reaching out to Knoxville. I really enjoyed the worship and the pastor's message. They have a website http://www.cityonahillchurch.com/ I wasn't the only recent California transplant in the congregation. There was another couple that moved 2 months ago from Burbank, California. After church Pastor Tony came up to introduce himself and asked me some questions about being there today. I told him about the interviews and our family moving to Knoxville. Together with the group standing around us, we asked God to provide employment and help us with the move. Today I got the call about the job and spent the afternoon/evening with the realtor. How cool is that????

God promised that He was going before us and not to worry. He is doing just that. I trust Him to show us which house would be the best for us. I met with our agent this evening and we toured a few homes. I really liked a couple of them. We are going to meet again tomorrow. I can't wait!

I think that's all the news for now.

-Norm

Leeland - A new favorite!

2007-09-14T12:40:00.000-07:00

We had a chance to hear Leeland at Joshua Fest.

Excellent Band and vocals!

I thought I'd post their banner.

I Made It To Knoxville!

2007-09-10T19:57:00.000-07:00

O.K. I left last Thursday (9/6) at about 3 Pm in the afternoon. I drove that night as far as Winnemuca, NV. Beginning mileage from Red Bluff was 262480 on the Volvo (don't worry Volvos go forever!). I stopped briefly to gas up in Reno. The next morning (9/7) I started out at 6:00 Am and drove until 7:30 Pm when I stopped at Laramie, Wyoming. The mileage that day was 262868 to 263449. I stopped and gassed up in Elko, NV. On Saturday (9/8), I drove the width of Nebraska, stateline to state line only stopping for gas in North Platte, Neb. and Percival, Iowa where I spent the night. Mileage that day was 263449 to 264248. Sunday, I started out at 6:30 Am to drive through Missouri and Kentucky, only stopping for gas in Boonville, Mo. and Paducka, Ky. I spent the night last night somewhere near Hopkinsville, Ky. Mileage for Sunday was 264248 to 264885. I arrived in Knoxville today (9/10)ending mileage 265185. I booked a hotel online and when I arrived it is on Knoxville's eastside. I took everything of value out of the car. I went to Wal-Mart to buy clothes for my interview tomorrow. It's bedtime in Tennessee. Good night.

It rained a little this evening and 50 % chance of showers in the morning.

-Norm

I'm On My Way

2007-09-07T22:57:00.000-07:00

Last Friday was my final day at the Opportunity Center. It was happy and sad all at the same time. We partied all afternoon and then it was time to say our final good-byes. My staff are the greatest and they put together such a great event!
That evening we left for Joshua Fest! As always it was an incredible weekend filled with incredible bands. It was also a great distraction after leaving the O.C.
I left yesterday around 3:00 Pm for Knoxville. I drove for about 7 hours making it as far as Winnemucca, Nevada . This morning I awoke about 5:30 Am and started driving again at 6:00 Am, grabbing a sausage biscuit and coffee at McDonald's. My driving day ended at 7:30 Pm in Laramie, Wyoming. I decided to get a room and am staying here at the Travel Inn. It appears that the University of Wyoming is having a football game tonight and all alumni were invited, which meant rooms were kinda scarce and it's a Friday night. My biggest concern before I left Red Bluff was the Volvo. I am thankul that it has been running great and no problems! This confirms what I felt like God spoke to me earlier, that He is going before us and making a way. I trust Him to do just that.
Thursday was a sad day. I woke up early to meet the movers. Tina brought the girls by for final hugs. I cried and Hope did to. I'm really going to miss my family. After all the car stuff I left my family in Red Bluff head for our future.
Weather today in Wyoming, about 80 degrees and clear BIG skies. I refuse to "Cowboy Up" while I'm here.

Leaving Laramie......

-Norm

Joshua Fest 2007

2007-08-22T13:05:00.000-07:00

We are on the verge of being out of our house. Escrow is supposed to close this week and then we will move in with friends for a short time. I will be heading to Tennessee the week of Labor Day.
Speaking of Labor Day weekend, we won tickets to Joshua Fest! We had talked about going but with the move to Knoxville, hadn't been planning on it. As I was driving I heard an announcement on Effect Radio about a contest. I signed up online last week. We received an email on Monday that we had won two free tickets and a camping spot. We are going up on Friday. My last day of work in on August 31 and then it is off to JFest. What a way to end it!!!!
We still have a few things to take out of the house. We are down to the "essentials". Pretty much food, clothes and tolietries. Oh yea and the t.v.'s because they are important. It is kinda weird to walk in and see the place empty.

Weather today-100 degrees and humid.

Holding Pattern-House Sale

2007-08-08T19:14:00.000-07:00

Well it appears we are in a holding pattern with closing escrow. The auction company called on Monday asking if we heard from an appraiser? No one had contacted us regarding this until yesterday. The appraiser came today to make sure the house was still standing. It is a good house and we just wants the money.

This has been a difficult week. Yesterday I broke the news to my clients that we were moving and that next week would be my last. It has been sad. I am relied on so much. I would like to take most of them with me, but that would be impossible and not practical. Emotionally I am tired so this holding pattern might be a good thing for this evening.

It all seems surreal. Like it is not really happening. I know it is and reality will eventually hit me. This will all be good, it's just the adjustment that is difficult. Thankfully it is going a little slower than we expected.

Weather today 91 degrees with 41% humidity. that seems to be the big concern about our move-the DREADED HUMIDITY.

Time to eat, so I must go.

-Norm

Times Are Changing

2007-08-04T19:40:00.000-07:00

WE SOLD OUR HOUSE!!!! One week ago our home sold at auction. I thought that was pretty stressful. We did not have a starting price or minimum bid. We had no idea how much ourhome would go for. I am happy to say we did well. We will be signing all the paperwork on Monday and we must be out by Friday. Two week escrow!

I gave my notice at work. It is very difficult to be quitting a job I absolutly love. I submitted my letter and then told each of my ten staff members individually. They all had different responses. I am really going to miss everyone.

We are looking to rent a home in Knoxville. It is difficult because we have a dog and cat, neither of which the girls will let us get rid of. Once there and I get a job, we will be able to purchase a house of our own.

Speaking of a job, I had a phone interview on Friday and I thought it went well. Unfortunately, they needed someone right away, so they hired someone already in the area. There are a number of job opportunities available in that area. I have already had a couple call and ask me to come in once we get there. I think I will get a job fairly soon.

We had a yard sale today today. It was difficult seeing stuff go. Knoxille will be like starting over.

We are all doing well with these changes but it seems we have a number of obstacles, finding a house and a job. I know these are the big things, but we know God will provide. We should not doubt. He has spoken to us that he is going before us!

I think we will all be feeling better once we find a place on the other end and we are on the road. It could be a couple weeks for those.

Weather has been hot and dry. 104 today.

We must remember "Get Out Of Here"

-Norm

From The Realtor To The Auctioneer

2007-07-18T22:23:00.000-07:00

Well we took our house off the real estate listing and are going to have it auctioned. We have had listed for nearly four months with no walk throughs or any real interest to speak of. We need to get going with this Knoxville move so we decided to have it auctioned.
We signed the contract on our 20th anniversary on June 27. The auction company started getting the advertising in place and we scheduled our first open house. The first of two was last Sunday and a ton of people showed up. We were very suprised at the turn out. A number of bid packets were given out as well. Our second open house will be this next Sunday and the auction will be on Friday, July 27. One month after we decided to do this. Employment looks very promising as far as employment in Knoxville. We have also been pricing houses and like very much what we've seen. Our family is very excited. It's kinda scarey at the same time!
There are only two things I am requesting at our new house, a garage and a hot tub. With getting the house ready I have realized I need a central place to put tools and home repair things. I currently have them in a few places. I want the hot tub because have talked about getting one for along time and if we don't do it during this big move we may never do it.
I am also looking foward to being debt free. I am suprised at how much of our income goes to debt. I am expecting lower wages in Tennessee, so not carrying debt will help out alot. We are also looking at eventually starting a business. Tommorrow we will be meeting with a lady to discuss our plans. She is a former owner of a type of business we are looking at starting. I appreciate her insight and am looking forward to this meeting.
I believe that is all the news for now.
Weather today was rainy and cooler than it usually is this time of year. It is a fantastic break from the hot weather we usually have.

-Norm

It's My Birthday!!!

2007-06-04T21:32:00.000-07:00

What a great day it has been! I went to work today even though in years past I have taken my birthday off. I had some paperwork to turn in and a meeting to attend this afternoon. When someone has a birthday it is tradition for them to wear the "Goofy Hat" and a huge pair of orange of orange sunglasses. Today it was my turn to wear them. It is a fun tradition.
When I arrived home this evening Tina and Hope were starting the BBQ. Tina had made a very spicy seasoning and a bleu cheese sauce for the steaks she had bought. It was all incredible! We had dinner outside on the deck. After that we went to the diversion dam to walk and be together. On the way home I noticed the lights were on at the bandstand at the river park. The community band hosts weekly concerts each Monday night during June, July and August. Tonight was the first of the season. We went and saw some of Hope's friends from her school who play in the band. It was a great way to end the day! I am so blessed.

Weather today-chance of showers all day and about 85 degrees. There was a south wind blowing on the way home. What a great ride.

-Norm

Busy Schedule

2007-05-28T21:34:00.000-07:00

What a busy time it has been lately! This week seemed more packed then most. Wednesday night was Open House at Vista. It was well done. The theme for the evening was Renassanse. Hope and the Vista band opened the evening. They sounded very good.
Thursday evening was Open House at Jackson Heights. It started off with a hot dog dinner sponsored by PTA. The remainder of the evening was spent in Grace's class and with teachers coming to Tina and I to say good-bye. When began getting involved at Jackson Heights I prayed that God would use us there. On Thursday night the Glenda (the Office Secretary) came up and gave us hugs. She then told us that we were a "God Send" to the school and thanked us for all we have done. I thought back on that prayer that began 8 years ago. He did use us there and will continue to until we move. I have grateful to be used.
Friday evening it was early to bed. On Saturday and Sunday I was parking gate director for the Nitro Nationals Drag Boat races here in Red Bluff. Both days I had to be there by 5:00 Am with parking starting at 6:00. The spectator gates opened at 7:00. Tehama County Search and Rescue parked the cars and we collected money. I came home on Saturday and fell asleep.
Sunday afternoon we were done at 3:30 Pm. It felt good to go home. It was 90+ degrees both days. I came home and mowed the lawn. I think I will eventually have to get a new mower. Our old one is barely hanging on. After the mowing I set up the sprinklers and came inside to take a cool shower. I fell asleep last night with the water still running. Tina woke up at 3:00 Am and shut it off.
Today has been spent getting up late and going to Tina's parents. Her aunt and uncle were up from Stockton so they had a barbeque. The girls and I went over. Tina hurt her back on Friday and has been down all weekend. It feels good to have the Boat Drags behind us. That will probably be the last time I will do that. I had a good crew and he laughed quite abit.

Weather today was great. I barbequed hot dogs for dinner (twice). The dog ate the first batch and a few pieces of tri-tip after I set them on the counter. I was not happy. We have had a couple people interested in our house. As our agent says "it only takes one". Tina has finished school and the girls have two more weeks left. I hope it doesn't take all summer.

-Norm

PTA Appreciation

2007-05-12T08:23:00.000-07:00

Last Monday evening was the final JHPTA meeting of the year. I had taken Hope to audition in L.A. so I wasn't able to make the meeting. When we arrived home, there were a number of gifts and boxes on the living room floor. Hope asked "What are these boxes"? Tina said JHPTA suprised us with a moving/appreciation party and gift cards. She said it was a nice time. I read the comments and couldn't help but think about the changes and improvement that have been made by a small group of parents. I remember my first meeting, we met in a kitchen and there were five about of us there. About 45 minutes into the meeting someone finally acknowledged me and asked me who I was. Later on as President, I vowed to not let this happen to anyone else and make these meetings more family friendly. Board Meetings were held at Burger King so the kids could play while we met. We led this group for four years and helped make the school a better place. Playground equipment, a marquee sign, enclosed bulleting board, reflection arts program, addressing school safety issues just to name a few things. Our children's lives were enriched through our involvement. It feels good to be noticed and appreciated. While I was at the school the other day, Grace and I went to the playground. We climbed on the equipment but what I enjoyed the most was my ride on the swings. This was something we thought kids should have. Through a matching grant from WalMart we accomplished this goal as well. The ride sure felt good.
Weather today: 85 degrees and beautiful. I love this time of year because you never know what your going to get. This weekend looks to be clear and in the lower 80's. I see a scooter ride shaping up for later on today.

-Norm

Los Angeles In A Whirlwind

2007-05-10T21:55:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week Hope, Grace and I went to Hollywood. Hope recieved a casting call to audition for the new American Girl movie. We left home at 3:30 Am on Monday and arrived in Hollywood at about 11:30. Once there we went to an information table in front of the American Girl store. We had about 3 hours before they would start taking the J-Q group. The lady said we should get in line about 1:30. We went to lunch and got in line to wait at about 1:15. The line was already about 2 blocks long with the A-I group. At about 230 they by and seperated out the two groups. They started taking girls from our line at about 3:20. It seemed to go pretty quick after that. The audition part took about 10 minutes, then we had to wait until 8:00 pm to hear whether Hope will have a call back. We decided to stay in the area until 9:00. We went to Beverly Center, the largest mall I think I've ever been to. About 8:45 we still hadn't got a call. We were all very disappointed. At this time, we decided it was time to head home. I drove for about 2 hours until we reached a rest area and parked. Next thing I knew it was 7:30 Am and we were being awaken by a Rest Area worker emptying a trash can near our car. It was a long ride home, thankfully Hope was in better spirits.
On the way home I was thinking about dreams. We really do not have any control over what our children's dreams are. We bring them into the world and they are our dreams. As they grow they also develop dreams of their own. We assist them with acheiving those dreams. This is a little of what I did this weekend. I got to be the dad helping my child get a little closer to her dream. I guess that is one of my dreams as well.

Weather today: I rode the motorcycle yesterday and today with just a sweatshirt. It has been great weather! Not to cool and not to hot. Beautiful.........

-Norm

Big Work News

2007-05-02T19:25:00.000-07:00

I returned to work today. Before I had even climbed out of the car this morning, I had a group of clients greeting me and welcoming me back to work. There were hugs all around! Once inside I caught up on all the behavioral issues, production status, and how all my staff were doing. I Following that it was up to the front office to let them know I was back. I went into the Manager's office and she said she wanted to let me know she had gotten the Director's position. I am very excited for her. She will be in charge of the entire County Department of Social Services. It is the largest department and the most employees in the County. That is a huge responsibility. I wish her well. I was asked by a few people if I would be applying? A huge no! It would take me away from the clients I serve each day. Besides, we are making plans to head to Knoxville. Our plans are bigger than here.
Tina went and got the air conditioner on her car fixed today. She is gone to school this evening so I haven't heard how things went with that. Well, that's all the news for now.

Weather today: Very, very, very windy. Chilly and some sprinkles.

-Norm

Sick At Home

2007-05-01T21:37:00.000-07:00

On Sunday morning while listening to the pastor I started feeling sick. It was not because of the message but because I was catching a cold. I came home from church and have taken it easy ever since. I did not go to work yesterday or today. While at home I have been doing alot of sleeping and watching DIY Network and HGTV. I really like these two networks. With our house up for sale, it is giving me some ideas about what to look for in Tennessee.
Well, Tina took her car in the other day to have the air conditioner serviced. For $120.00 she had the freon topped off and it was working fine until Saturday. We had to go to Chico and it was about 85 degrees. It was then we learned the A/C had stopped working. I came home early on Friday to sign some payroll papers for the Round Up Association. They told me at that time I could expect a check on Monday or Tuesday. I checked yesterday and it was not ready. Today Tina took the car into Bob's and they told her it would be $200.00 to fix the A/C. Wow! About 1:30 today I received the call that a check was ready. Tina went a picked it up and when she came back, the check was twice as much as we expected. We have enough to pay for the A/C. God has provided! We will also be able to buy our Disneyland tickets! I am also feeling better but still coughing occasionally.
Weather today: It rained quite abit today and we'll be having thunderstorms for the next few days. I think I will be driving the car for the rest of the week.

-Norm

Spring Break For Cowboys

2007-04-23T20:21:00.000-07:00

What a busy weekend! On Friday morning I had to be in Redding early to attend the Christian Businessmen's Commitee Leadership Breakfast at the Holiday Inn. It was great! A customer had purchased an entire table and invited us to go. The keynote speaker was Joe Kemp, former San Fransisco 49er. He delivered a very challenging message. Following breakfast I visited a couple of my crews and went back to the O.C. to review timecards. I left early that day.
I received a call a few weeks ago about my interest in parking cars at the Red Bluff Round-Up. My answer at that time was I'd have to check with PTA. At our monthly meeting it was confirmed PTA was not interested. They found another group to park cars and I was asked to supervise and teach them how to do it. We were responsible for the front lot at the Tehama County Fairgrounds. I had coordinated parking at the monster truck nationals and the rodeo as well. I know how to coordinate both front and back lots.
I arrived at the fairgrounds on Friday at 12:30 Pm and the crew started showing up at 3:30. We parked cars until almost 8:00. On Saturday is was extremely wet weather and very windy making it a pretty nasty time. Sunday was quite abit dryer, but parking cars difficult while trying to dodge all the puddles. We started at 10:30 and ended at about 2:00 on both Saturday and Sunday. When we finished I went inside the rodeo grounds to releave Tina of her ushering duties. By the time Sunday evening arrived we were both pretty tired.
I am taking the rest of the night off. Grace and I went for a very long bike ride tonight, that was the only thing I had planned.

I think tomorrow I will mow the lawn.

Weather: a fantastic day. The ride to work today on the scooter was a little chilly, but the ride home this evening was great! I received a few waves from riders going the other direction.

-Norm

It's Listed

2007-04-01T19:32:00.000-07:00

Well, we are finally in position to list our house. We chose Cynthia Allen from Culp Diversified Properties. We listed it on Friday. Tina and I have been scoping out homes in Knoxville. We found one that is over 2,000 sq. ft. and almost half the price of what we are asking. It looks beautiful in the pictures. We will be able to pay off debt and our home here. I have found a few jobs that look similiar to what I am doing now. I am getting the resume packet together. It is all so exciting.
On Thursday on my way home I was stung by a bee. I was riding the scooter and had gloves on. The bee went under the strap on my glove and stung me on my right hand. It swole up and I had to go to the doctor. They gave me antibiotics. Today it is finally looking better but it is still itchy. I think I am allergic to bee stings. Definately something I am going to watch out for.
This week we are going to Yosemite. I haven't been there since I was a kid. We will be staying just outside the park. Everybody here is on Easter vacation. I am taking Wednesday, Thursday and Friday off. It should be alot of fun! This is our last California attraction we have been wanting to do.
Jimmie Johnson won Martinsville today!!! He rocks!

Current weather-75+ degrees and beautiful. We need rain and that may happen this week.

-Norm