What's new with the Balentine's

Oh, the things we do...

2008-10-31T16:54:00.003-05:00

My dog is so agreeable...

Have a great Halloween everyone!

I did it!

2008-10-13T20:21:00.004-05:00

Ok, so I know this may be old news to most of you...but I ran my very first race on October 4th! I didn't do great, but I am just happy to have finished. I ran the Pumpkin Prance 5K in 33 minutes. Here are some pics (the last one is of my sister and I; she ran it with me):

The Flood - Yuck

2008-09-21T20:08:00.007-05:00

So, I have been meaning to post the pics from the flooding we had last weekend. We woke up on Saturday morning (the 13th) to find that our lower level had been soak with sewer water (yuck). Here are some of those pics:

So, Jerry and Ernest worked most of the afternoon cleaning up the water and eventually pulling out all of the carpet, but most everything else was OK.

Now, while I was getting ready for church on Sunday, our neighbor came by to ask if we had started flooding again. I said no, but decided to have Ernest check just in case. Well, sure enough, as we watched our toilet began to overflow. Slowly at first, but then it began to look like this...

Yes, that is sewage mixed in with the flood water. It went on like this for several hours. And soon, my lower level looked like this...

And my upper level looked like this...

In the end, most of the furniture was lost, but all the "stuff" was OK. I am so thankful to everyone from church who came to help us out - Jerry and Jeni, Geri and her boys, Mike, Fred, the Morecrafts, the Barkers. Thank you all so much!

In Need of Suggestions...

2008-09-02T17:42:00.001-05:00

Hey everyone. I am looking for suggestions for some good family devotional books that TJ, Ernest, and I can do together. I always seem to buy ones that just don't have much to them. Any suggestions?

TJ's First Day of School

2008-08-18T17:13:00.002-05:00

TJ had his first day of school today. Here are some pics:

The first one is of TJ and his 5th grade buddy Shawn.

Then, there's TJ's desk.

One of TJ and his teacher - Miss Wissman.

And the last 2 were taken at home before school.

The Storm

2008-08-07T08:27:00.003-05:00

Thank you to everyone for your concern for our famly after hearing about the tornado that passed through Griffith. We are okay. All around us, most of the homes were intact with minor damage (if any). Please pray for those who lost their homes and businesses and for the town itself as they slowly begin to put things back together.

Here are some pictures I took early on Tuesday morning of our neighborhood as we were all coming out to assess the damage. It was the most amazing thing to see these trees completely torn out of the ground.

TJ's prayer

2008-08-04T19:33:00.003-05:00

No pictures today, just a cute story. Last night when we were saying our family prayers TJ said the cutest thing when it was his turn...

"please fill our bodies with Godness and loveness..."

I couldn't control my giggles. It was just the sweetest thing.

Legoland and Rainforest Cafe

2008-07-31T16:58:00.004-05:00

Today TJ and I went with a friend and her granddaughter to the new Legoland in Schaumburg. We had no idea that today was the actual grand opening. Boy, was that a long line to wait in. But, it moved pretty quickly and it was worth it. Here are some pics:

Here are TJ's favorites:

Afterwards we went to the Rainforest Cafe for lunch. I had not been there since college. This was TJ's first time.

Pierogi Fest

2008-07-26T18:31:00.000-05:00

A group of us from church participated in Whiting's Pierogi Fest this Saturday. It was neat to be able to sing praise songs to a group of people who might not otherwise hear them.

This was also TJ's singing debut. I think it is still too early to tell if he takes after me or not...he was way too nervous.

New Camera!!

2008-07-24T13:20:00.000-05:00

Well, my old camera has been on the fritz for almost a year now. But, yesterday I got a new one for my birthday (thank you Ernest and Mama!) So now hopefully I will be able to post more often than before.

Here are some pictures of TJ playing:

He loves to dress up as various Star Wars characters. Here he is as "Anakin Skywalker":

And lastly, some pictures of the guests (and TJ) at my birthday dinner last night.

The top one is Jeni and Jerry from church. Next is Jenny and Scott (also from church). And the bottom picture is our good friend Meredith and her daughter Reese.

Thanks to everyone who came to celebrate with me. I am now in the thirty-somethings...so hard to believe.

2008-07-18T15:31:00.000-05:00

Here are a couple of pics that Michelle took of us at the Highland Carnival on July 4th.

Summer is upon us...

2008-06-14T21:09:00.000-05:00

OK. So I don't think I have any amazing pics to share this time, but I thought I should at least update you on what is new.

School is out for the summer! But I can already tell that it is going to go fast. TJ and I went to my mom and dad's in North Carolina last week (no pics from that, my camera has been very temperamental) Boy, was it HOT down there. They are in a drought ( and have been for about 5-6 years now) Temps reached above 95 every day that we were there. Yuck! We did go to a very cool ranch that took you around on a horse drawn wagon and let you feed some different types of exotic animals - emu, water buffalo, oxycow, zebras, Asian deer... It was pretty neat. TJ did not care for most of the feeding. As soon as one of them slobbered on him, he was done with that! We even got to feed some giraffe! It was great!

So, my amazing sister just bought me a 2 year membership at Omni41! I can't believe it! What a blessing. There is so much to do there, I can hardly contain myself. I went there today and just ran on the treadmill and did the bicycle. I felt kind of out of place because I do not really know my way around or how everything works, yet. I can go to any of the fitness classes and the pool. Plus, on weekends TJ can come with me for free and Ernest for only $2.

Well, I guess that is all for now. Hopefully, I will soon be able to post some new pics.

TJ Lost His First Tooth!

2008-04-14T19:04:00.000-05:00

Well, we have reached a momentous occassion here in the Balentine household - TJ is minus one tooth. The funniest thing is that this tooth was not even wiggly this morning, but somehow became just wiggly enough at school, that he got it out on his own. He said he was a little worried that I was going to be mad and tell him that that tooth was not supposed to come out :-)

Not that I am counting or anything, but TJ only has 29 more days of school. I only have 31...:-)

Um...Let's Give This Another Try (again)

2008-04-06T18:37:00.000-05:00

OK, to say that it has been forever would be a major understatement. I will really try this time. At least one post a month...I think I should be able to handle that.

I just wanted to post some pictures of TJ from his recent trip to the dentist. He needed to get his first filling (not a milestone that I am that proud of). Because of the numbness on his bottom lip, he sucked and bit it quite frequently. These pictures show the result. He ended up staying home from school for 2 days because of how infected it had gotten.

The other marks around his lips are just ketchup. (we had just come from Burger King:-) )

Nice Christmas Pics and the Bean

2006-12-22T20:45:00.000-06:00

Christmas is coming too fast!! Every time that I think I am done with my shopping, I think of someone else I have forgotten. I can't wait until Tuesday!
I am looking forward to 2 weeks without any kids (besides my own, that is) It has been a very trying year and I need this break. There is so much going on in some of these kids lives, it is simply unbelievable - the poverty, neglect, and various others. It can be really overwhelming.
Tonight my sister and I took TJ to the city to do some sightseeing. We took him to see the bean and to watch the ice skaters (he really wanted to go himself, but I was afraid we would both end up with broken bones)
Ok, well I just tried downloading pics from our night and it did not do it right. I will try again later...

The Gingerbread House

2006-12-15T16:40:00.000-06:00

Well, I gave it my best try. I am just not a very artsy person. It definitely did not come out as planned. TJ had a great time doing it, and I guess that is what matters. (Notice the icing hanging from his lip.) He spent most of his time eating it off of the house. I included a picture of what the house looks like on the box - I claim false advertising. There is no way my house could come out like that with the materials that they gave me inside that box!!

One more week of school. I am so ready for Christmas vacation! Although, I am not ready for Christmas itself to be here. I still have many people to buy for. It just seems never-ending at times.

Thanks to everyone for their compliments about worship. I truly do give God all the glory. It is definitely where He wants me to be. And I have so much fun doing it.

TJ the Genius!!!

2006-12-06T17:46:00.000-06:00

OK, I am little biased, but my boy is super smart!!! He is always sounding things out and asking what different things say. And now, last night, he "read" a story to me. Now I do realize that he memorized some of what it said. But, as a Kindergarten teacher, I recognized his use of some very good reading strategies - using his "reading finger", using the beginning sound of a word to help figure it out, and using the pictures to help him.

Alright, I am done bragging for now.

TJ's field trip

2006-12-02T15:14:00.000-06:00

On Thursday I took the day off to chaperone TJ's field trip to Prairie State for a concert by Carol Peterson. She sings kids songs like "Sticky Bubble Gum" and "Stinky Cake". We had a good time. The two girls in the group are his "girlfriends" Kaliya and Nia. He could really get himself into trouble with that!!

This was taken just before we left the school.

Also, Ernest had his second Remicade treatment on Thursday and it went really well. He had to stay home the next day due to a terrible migraine (side effect), but now he is doing great!

Christmas is coming!

2006-11-26T20:24:00.000-06:00

OK, I am not as obsessed with Christmas as Candi is :-), but I really do like this time of year a lot. TJ and I put the tree up today (after several failed attempts all weekend). It came out a little fuzzy and I am not sure why, but you get the idea.

Ernest already gave my my Christmas gift - a nano IPod!!! I have wanted one for a while and he was going to surprise me for Christmas, but I found out sooner than expected.

Here are a couple of pics of our dog, Remy. He looks totally mean in the first one, but I promise he is not at all. He was upset because we made him stay outside for TJ's birthday party and he did not get to meet all the people that came to his house. The second one is a more normal looking one of him.