Merry Christmas

Just wanted to say Merry Christmas... Hope you are having a wonderful day with those that you love.

Notice I didn't title this December already? Well... I could have! I have some things to blog about and will do that one of these days... Look for...

"Love Never Fails" - Ross Point Fall Retreat 2008
"Church Merger" - What is my church group up to?
"Snow" - Snow in Spokane... lots and lots of snow
"The Tales of a Christmas Traveler" - Christmas travels 2008

I'll get to it sometime soon. I haven't even got my Christmas letter done so alas my cards are sitting in my apartment in Spokane waiting to be finished... One of these days...

November... Really...

Well... Guess what... It's November and I haven't written since August. Believe me that it has been a whirlwind of a fall. Right after I returned back to Spokane after being home in August I found out that my sister had a brain aneurysm. She found a surgeon in Seattle to do the operation and that happened September 26th. There were complications and she had a stroke. It's been a really hard couple of months for my family to say the least. Instead of Dawn being in the hospital for 10 days she was in the hospital for almost 2 months I think (I have kinda lost track of time). In those 2 months I was 2 and from Seattle 3 times. My mom was in Seattle most of that time and my sister Joy and our dad was back and forth a couple of times. Marc (Dawn's husband) took on full time dad duty and was able to spend some of that time in Seattle which was good as Dawn was able to see the kids some. Long story short... they are back in Montana now doing rehab in Billings. The largest problem for Dawn right now is her speech. Please be praying for a full recovery for her. I feel blessed that God didn't take her home yet but sad because of the complications that should not have happened.

What else have I been doing? Well I planned and hosted a bridal shower last weekend for my friend Irene. It was fun but lots of work. The wedding is in January so we have about a month till Wedding day.

I have also been planning a retreat for Ross Point. It's focus is relationships. I have found that directing camps is one of my biggest joys. If I could do that full time that would be a huge blessing. I love doing it! The retreat is in 2 weeks so I'm hoping I get everything done. I still need to find one more female counselor as we have had a lot of girls register which is awesome. Last year we didn't fill 4 cabin with girls but this year we need 5! I'm praying that it may turn into 6 but don't know. If so I'll need 3 more counselors. I'm also praying for boys to get registered as right now I only have 11! The ratio of girls to boys is pretty drastic right now.

After the retreat it becomes the most wonderful time of the year! Christmas is coming and I love it. I'm actually doing a Christmas themed retreat as I love it so much. We have some work Christmas party's and than on the 19th I fly to Montana for Christmas. It will be so nice being with my family. I get back here on the 27th and the wedding is the 3rd of January. I guess that come January 4th I can maybe get a little rest. We will see!

Well... there you go... I've caught you up on my life these past months. I know I say this every time but I'll try to update more regularly.

Hope you have a blessed week!

August Already?

It has been an incredibly busy summer. With only having 3 hours off during each day and my weekends being packed I have not had much time to blog about all the activities going on. Work has been good yet extremely busy. I have had tons of fun with the girls this summer. My family has been over in the area some too which has made my weekends full. I think that during the whole time the kids were out of school this summer I was only home for 2 whole weekends. It's been crazy. The craziness started the first of July. My family was all over to the lake for the 4th and than I went to Omaha Nebraska. I went for a work trip but was also able to spend some time with one of my best friends Danielle. She got married last year so it was great to spend some time getting to know her husband and his daughter. We did some fun things including mini golf. I'm pretty sure I came in last. I'm not that good at mini golf :) We also did some maternity shopping for her as she is expecting a baby boy around Thanksgiving time. After I got back from that trip I was home again for a week before I left for my next adventure. I, along with 2 other Hutton staff, took 6 of our kids on a road trip service project. I will put those details in the next post with some pictures. Currently, I am sitting in my parents living room watching a movie with them and my cat and their dogs. It's nice being home and having some time with my sisters and nieces and nephews. We head to Billings tomorrow to spend some time with Dawn and the kids. I am pretty sure the only plans are to go to the Soup Place. It's the middle of summer but I sure do like soup so hope it's good! That's my update... long and boring but this summer has not been all that boring. I am certainly ready for school to start again though as I need some time to recover from the business of this summer :)

It's A Girl

Introducing...

Lauren Ashlee Wass

Born May 27, 2008 at 3:28 am

6 Pounds 2 Ounces, 18 Inches

Isn't she beautiful?

Big brother Jack holding baby sister Lauren

He thinks she's pretty wonderful :)

Just Because...

:) Pictures Just For Fun :)

Brad and Alyssa on an island in Seattle last summer.

Joy set the playpen up for Jack... Brad and Alyssa thought it would be fun for them and the dogs to lounge in. Silly kids!

Alyssa was baptized this Easter. Unfortunatly I was unable to come home for the occasion.

Isn't he the cuttest! He's going to be a great big brother :)

Brad is one smart kid! He got a cool award from the Air Force at the big science fair in Billings. He's going to be in Jr. High next year! Yikes! I remember at my 8th grade graduation he was walking around calling Aunt Traci. He was so little then and now he'll be graduating from Jr. High next year. I'm getting so old.

This is Jack at the Zoo in Seattle. I LOVED the gorillas and could have spent hours watching them. They are intersting creatures!

This is Nicole and I at the Blue Star coffee shop in Roundup. I miss her! I'm pretty sure she is the one the introduced me to the sweet nectar of coffee.

My sweet cat Tike... He lives with my parents.

Me and my sweet friends... Ericka (she lives in stupid Moscow, Jan, and Irene)

Last summer I got silly. Ericka has a whole album of beautiful straw pictures of me.

So tired...

I am so tired... I didn't get to sleep until after 12 am for some reason... it's annoying... hopefully I can get a small nap in this morning after the girls get off to school. It's day's like this I wish they all departed at the same time! As for a baby update... Last time I talked to home Dawn was in labor but not labor labor. Like she's not admitted to the hospital yet. If she was I wouldn't be right here typing this :0 I'm hoping I'm rested enough to drive 8 hours straight through. I'll be fine I'm sure. The adrenaline will keep me going.

Speaking of babies

... there is not a new baby in my family yet. I'm still hoping for a couple of weeks as I'm not really ready to drive 8 hours yet. I still need to pack my bag, get my oil changed, fill up with gas, and have enough money in the bank to make this trip with the stupid expensive gas! I'm so looking forward to going home for a few days though. I really love and miss my family.

I officially...

Get to go see one of my greatest friends and her husband and family in July. I will be traveling to Omaha again this summer but on a professional trip. I've never taken one of those before. I must really be growing up! I'm going to a conference at Boys Town on Teaching Social Skills. I'm really looking forward to the information. But mostly I'm looking forward to the extra days I get to spend with one of my favorite people... one of my favorite pregnant people at that! I should probably call them and let them know I am coming for sure. Yea for friends... Yea for work... Yea for traveling... Yea for babies.

It's 2 am... I should be asleep

But I'm not... So I'll write a bit about my weekend. I may have had the most boring weekend ever. Seriously! I spent 2 whole day's alone. Well except for the couple of hours on Friday night where I kicked some butt bowling... I beat 2 boys... I'm proud! And... I went to a movie Saturday night... It was nice to get out of the house to do those things with people. Anyway... you would think I would love some time to myself being that I am with people all of the time during my work week but no... Life is really boring when spent alone.

An enjoyment...

I have a selfish reason (just one though) for liking my job at Hutton. Because of my work here I have been able to take in some free entertainment. Just recently I was able to see Disney's High School Musicals Broadway production that came to Spokane. I was also able to see the Newsboys all for free. It's nice seeing shows and not paying the price of the ticket. Another show I saw recently was courtesy of my friend Jan's work at Ticket's West... we were able to see Mama Mia on Broadway. We had an excellent time and I might add that part of that was our front row center seats. It was excellent and I hope to see a few of the shows coming to Spokane next season. Annie is on the top of my list as well as Ain't Misbehavin' with American Idol Reben Studdard. We will see I suppose. Anyway... I have to do some stuff called work I guess!

An Update

Here is a life update... Someday I may add more details but I have been extremely busy as of late!

Well... I am working and that has been really busy. I have decided that I am here (at Hutton) for who knows how long. It could be forever! I'm planning on going to grad school next fall (2009) to get my Masters in Counseling. That means I need to take the GRE which I'm not to excited about. I'm waiting on a promotion that would take me out of the houseparent role which would than allow me some extra time to focus on school stuff. I think God may have me here for quite some time. We will see I guess. I firmly believe that He placed me here so He is going to have to take me away I guess.

I recently was able to direct at Youth Retreat at the camp I have been working at since college. It was really wonderful and I'm excited to direct again. It was one of my life dreams fulfilled and it got great reviews.

I'm going to be going to Omaha this summer to go to a workshop on teaching Social Skills in July. I'm going to be able to take some extra days and stay to visit with Danielle and Ryan (who are expecting by the way!!!!). I'm excited about that trip. It will be my first professional traveling. I feel like a grown up.

In the next month or so I'll be jetting (more like driving quickly) to Billings as my sister is about to have her baby. My boss is being extremely great and is letting me just leave as soon as I hear she is in labor. I've asked her to be in labor for 10 hours so I can get there. I'm selfish I guess and she wasn't to happy with that idea. I'm hoping the labor wing will at least not be closed like when Jack was born! I also was told by my sister that her in-laws bought another float house in Bayview and that makes me happy because that means Dawn and Marc and kids will be around more this summer! Yes... that makes me excited :)

For work I need to work on some trip options for service learning in Montana. One option will be going up north and the other will be going south west. I'm hoping for the south west option so hope I can get some pretty awesome ideas down.

Anyway... that's probably way more than enough for now. Hope you are all doing well :)

A google search quiz for "fun"

Type in the following and choose the first choice (that makes sense) that appears on the list.

1. Type in "[your name] needs" in the Google search: Result: Traci needs to face reality...
2. Type in "[your name] looks like" in Google search: Result: Traci looks like a hairy lemon…3. Type in "[your name] likes" in Google search: Result: Traci likes to go antiquing in her free time...
4. Type in "[your name] says" in Google search: Result: Traci says “Eke!”…
5. Type in "[your name] has" in Google search: Result: Traci has been singing…
6. Type in "[your name] wants" in Google search Result: Traci wants you to enjoy yourself…7. Type in "[your name] takes" in Google search: Result: Traci takes it slow and reads all summer…

April Showers Bring May Flowers!

I hope this statement is true. Our weather has been so weird latley. We have had snow on and off for weeks. This past weekend it was in the 70's and I had to get my fan out Sunday night just so I could sleep. I woke up to pouring rain Monday morning and than snow this morning. It's crazy!!!

What is Pony Tales???

My wonderful co-worker Mandy typed this explanation up for me. She has been working with Pony Tales for quite some time...

Well to be exact.. or should I say vague? Pony Tales is a youth organization started by Kitara McClure who is first and foremost a motivational speaker. Kitara uses her personal experience as the First Lady of the Black Disciples Street Gang in Chicago to motivate young people to not make the same mistakes that she has. Today Kitara is/has completed over five years in the United States Army; making Sgt after just 2, finishing up her Masters, has debated at the United Nations, won the "Making Black History Today" award, is a wife and mother of four, has been the key note speaker for many schools, colleges and city officials and among many other things, is the multicultural director at SCC.

Now back to Pony Tales. Pony Tales is actually an acronym for Positive Outreach Navigating Youth Teaching Adolescence Leadership and an Entrepreneurial Spirit. The mission statement is stated here in its name. Kitara, with the help of several other dedicated volunteers wants to see inner city youth provided with alternatives to the typical street life that seem to be the only option for many of today's teens. Pony Tales encourages young people to become actively involved and plugged into their communities and provides opportunities for their talents to be showcased, built up and then used in a productive way. Cricket Communications has partnered and is the primary sponsor of this outreach and it is our goal to reach and involve as many inner city youth as possible.

So that is in a nutshell what I am getting the opportunity to work with. I'm excited about it :)

The life I am living...

Has been going fantastic! God is really fulfilling some of my life's wishes and really making it apparent to me that Spokane is where I belong.

I think I'll start out with a new church that is going on. I am getting in on the start of a church and that is very exciting for me. We have been meeting in my friends home for breakfast and word and prayer and worship and it has been wonderful. There are about 12 of us total (not counting kids) I think. A lot of the people are camp people but there are a few new people as well. This Thursday we are going to go to a couple of larger homes and do some praying and thinking and talking about where we will be meeting for the time being. We all have people we would want to invite but are running out of space.

The next big thing going on is that I am co-directing the Spring Youth Retreat at Ross Point. I really feel gifted in this area. I am loving making the plans and finding the people. I have discovered that I am even more of a control freak than I thought but I'm learning how to let go of some things. God is being faithful and things are going really well. I'll do a post about the whole thing later but please keep us all in your prayers. The retreat is April 11-13.

Last Saturday I went to a meeting with my awesome co-worker Mandy. She has been working with an organization called Pony Tales for quite some time and we were going to Easter services at Lifecenter and it was easiest for me to go to the meeting with her. It ended up being a great thing because I became the secretary of the organization. I'm still not sure what that entails but I'm really excited about it. I have been wanting to get involved in more than just Hutton in Spokane and that opportunity was just handed to me. It's going to be a great adventure that will really take me out of my comfort zone but that is a really good thing. There could be another big story out of this but I won't tell it unless it really happens. Please pray for me regarding it. Pray for open doors and closed doors and that God would just be in the whole situation.

Not much else to say... I suppose I could do an update on my family and will soon. I have all these things to write about but don't ever do it! Goodness :) Hope you are well.

Apparently I'm From Pomeroy

I so don't understand the live traffic tracker... I swear I am in Spokane but the tracker says I'm from Pomeroy... Weird!!! Doe's anyone understand how the silly thing works?

Because I haven't blogged in a long time...

1. Are you taller than your best friend? No
2. Do you have a favorite type of pen? Yes... I love using purple pens and with flowing ink
3. Look at your planner for March 8th, what are you doing? I'll be hanging with some great friends in Moscow ID
4. What color are your toenails usually? Silver or toenail color
5. What was the last thing you highlighted? Probably something on paper
6. What color are the curtains in your bedroom? Toupe
7. What color are the seats in your vehicle? Grey
8. Have you ever had a black and white cat? Yes... we got Bo when I was in Kindergarden and a dog killed him when I was a freshman. A very very sad experience.
9. What is the last thing you put a stamp on? A birthday present to Jack
10. Do you know anyone who lives in Wyoming? Yes
11. Why did you withdraw cash from the ATM the last time? So I would have some for a trip to Priest Lake
12. Who is the last baby that you held? Probably William Jack Wass
13. Can you spell well? Pretty well
14. Do you like Cinnamon toothpaste? Love it
15. What kind of car were you driving 2 years ago? Same as now... Pontiac Grand Prix
16. What are you doing this coming weekend? Going to Moscow
17. Last time you went to Six Flags? Never
18. Do you have any wallpaper in your house? No
19. Closest thing to you that is yellow? Picture frame with my niece and nephew in it
21. Who is the last person you wrote a check to? Spokane Eye Clinic
22. Closest framed picture to you? Family pictures and friends all over
23. Last time you had someone cook for you? I don't know... I do most of the cooking
25. How many emails do you get in your inbox daily (excluding spam)? It depends... 10-15
26. Last time you received flowers? College graduation
27. Do you play air guitar? No
29. Has anyone ever proposed to you? No
30. Do you take anything in your coffee? Always... I love coffee
31. Do you own any Willow Tree figurines? No
32. What is/was your high school's mascot? Panther
33. Last person you spoke to from high school? Dustin Helgeson
34. Last time you used hand sanitizer? I don't know... It's bad for my skin
35. Would you like to learn to play the drums? I don't really care
36. What color are the blinds in your living room? I don't have any
37. What was the last wedding you attended? Danielle and Ryan's in Omaha
38. Last thing you read in the newspaper? A Target AD probably
39. What was the last pageant you attended? I don't think I've ever been to one
40. What is the last place you bought pizza from? Dominos
41. Have you ever worn a crown? Yes... playing cards with friends in college
42. What is the last thing you stapled? Papers
43. Did you ever drink clear Pepsi? Yes... weird
44. Are you ticklish? Yes
45. Last time you saw fireworks? The 4th of July
46. Last time you had a Krispy Kreme doughnut? 3 weeks ago at church
48. Last time you parked under a carport? Probably in college at Danielle's apartment
49. Do you have a black dog? Yes... Charlie is so fun!
51. Are you an aunt or uncle? I am an aunt to 3 wonderful kids and 1 on the way :)
52. Who has the prettiest eyes that you know? I don't know... Lots of people have beautiful eyes
53. Last time you saw a semi truck? On the Interstate
54. What is the last song you belted out in the car? How You Live
55. Do you have a little black dress?Yes... I got it for Danelle's wedding

Super Bowl

UPDATE 2

New York won and I must say I really got into the game. As I was watching the game I decided I am such a catch (I don't mean to sound the way that sounds but really). How many girls really get into a football game and semi know what is going on? Not many that I know. The game tonight was really exciting and I loved watching in to the end. It was more exciting than half time, which I don't usually say. My dad would be proud.

UPDATE
Based on my friend Tim's theory... I'm going to go for New York. See his theory by following the link... http://www.inessentials.com/blog/archive/2008/01/25/08_55_05.html

(I've been trying to add a picture here for about 15 minutes and am now giving up)

The super bowl is today and contrary to what most people may think... I like football. Now... that doesn't mean I really care who wins today (I would if the Seahawks were in it) but I do enjoy the thrill of the game. In the last couple of days I have watched 13 episodes of Friday Night Lights (season 1) and I find myself excited when a good play is made and thats just a fictional show. I do thinking that football is much more enjoyable and exciting when there is a team you are rooting for... maybe I should figure out who to root for before the game begins... or I'll just be rooting for the commercials.

Snow Day

It's another snow day for our kids... I'm not as happy today though. I really in a bad mood. Hopefuly I'll get out of it soon and get over myself and my frustrations. I'm not that fun to be with when I'm crabby. Hope you are having a good day!!

Snow

We have had so much snow this week. We got about a foot on Saturday into Sunday and had a snow day on Monday. I don't think it snowed on Monday but we got a few inches on Tuesday. We had school in our district on Tuesday and Wednesday. It is supposed to snow from 4 to 8 inches tonight. Will we have a snow day tomorrow?? Who knows. A few of our school districts in the Spokane area have been closed since Monday... will they even open their doors this week? I didn't really get to experience school being closed when I was a kid. When we lived in Waitsburg WA the school was closed because the power was out for a few days. I even had to go to school in -50 degree weather in Roundup MT, even though the buses didn't run so there were not very many students in class. I had my first real snow day in college at the University of Sioux Falls. Those days were great. I also had a few when I was teaching in Grass Range MT... but never a whole day (that I recall)... we closed early a few times because the wind and snow combo. I think snow days are really great and a nice surprise. I, as a houseparent, am even okay with them because I don't really drive anywhere when the roads are bad anyway so I'm staying home anyway. I told my friends that if we are getting together this weekend they are going to have to come to my house because I'm not driving! Hope you are doing well :)

Snow Day and Sick Day

I started feeling sick on Thursday evening, there has been something going around. I felt okay in the morning so went out and did some errands. I had plans in the evening to go to dinner and play games with friends but when I got over to Jan's I was feeling awful. She ended up driving me home and the rest of the night in a blurr. I was feeling pretty good in the morning so stuck to my plan to go dress shopping with my friend Irene whom is getting married in a year. She tried on some beautiful dresses. Then it hit me and I began to feel awful again. I decided to take a sick day for Sunday and I just stayed holed up in my room. The snow fell all day long... big flakes and small flakes. There were numerous school cancellations on the news but not our school district. There was a press conference from the emergency personnel urging people to stay home on Monday. The largest school district in the area, Spokane #81 decided to close around 9pm but our district was still listed as open. This morning we found that we had a snow day so I decided to get ready and come to work... here I sit... some of our girls are out sledding with Russell and the rest are just sitting and watching movies. It's going to be an okay day!

It's been a weekend!

So... the weekend started out great.

I set out for Jan's house on Thursday night without a care in the world. We were just going to hang out and relax. We ended up going to Coldstone and I actually tried a different ice cream creation (I usually just get sweet cream with raspberries and this time I tried the Founders Favorite... I should have stuck with my standby). We also did some exploring of the South Hill area of Spokane. It's a neat area and I could probably stand living up there if I didn't have to drive down or up in the winter.

Friday brought some sleeping in time and a call asking if I wanted to join some people from work for a snowboarding trip on Monday. I decided that would be fun to do especially because I was going to be able to take a lesson. I found that my snowpants didn't fit anymore (grr) and I obviously needed some for snowboarding. I set out to find some without much luck. I didn't want to spend a lot on them and cheap ones just were no where to be found. I wanted to look at Cabella's but I never got around to driving to Post Falls. I spent that evening having dinner and playing a game called Settlers of Cattan with Cottage 1. It was fun. I was supposed to go to a late movie but bailed as I was tired.

Saturday was shopping and rearanging day. I moved a futon into my apartment/room and that meant I had to rearange my living room space. It took forever and than I decided I wanted to do something different with my kitchen area. I set out to Target to look at some put together yourself pieces. Did a lot of thinking and decided they would work. I bought 2 drawer thingys and put one together. It was really a frustrating process and I should probably not ever try to build again. I have done it before and done a fine job but really had problems. AND the pieces were not what I was wanting. So it was a huge waste of time, energy, and money. Crap!

Sunday... oh... that's today... I have had a good day. I went to church at a new place, Millwood Community Presbyterian. They are huge supporters of Hutton and I want to try it out. It was nice. I really kind of liked it. I'll probably go back again. Then Pamela and I met Jan for a movie across town, 27 Dresses... it was a good story and I really like Kathrine Higel. It was then time to find snowpants as the trip to Schweitzer was tomorrow. I bought some that I had tried on the other day and they are nice but to expencive. I also went to Target to return that blasted furniture that I didn't put together. I got home and got a phone call... Guess what... the trip is cancelled due to the weather conditions on the Mountain. So... I searched for snowpants for a trip that was cancelled. How sad! I'll have to try again next time I guess!

Hope you had a wonderful weekend!