All I Can Say is Wow!!!

I have never considered myself to be a "lucky" person. I don't win raffles, lotteries, slots, or even local radio give-aways. Winning those local radio contests has become even more difficult lately, because I haven't been listening to local stations. Instead, I listen to Air 1. This was initially for Aaron, who kept begging me to listen to rock stations because that is the kind of music he likes to play on his guitar. Thankfully, a friend at work heard me complaining about this and suggested Air 1, which is a Christian rock/alternative station that is aired nationally, and on the internet.

Air 1 has lots of contests, and I often *try* to win. However, I always simply got a busy signal...

...until last week. On Tuesday, I actually not only got a ringtone, but actually was caller #8. They were looking for caller #10, but at least I realized just how quick you have to be to have a chance.

Then, on Wednesday, on my way to work, I called in and was caller #10! I won a prize (an autographed copy of the latest cd from the Newsboys), and was entered into the drawing for the main prize...a trip to Portland, Oregon to meet the Newsboys, Disciple, and Kutless; eat breakfast with them; serve at a homeless shelter w/ them, and then be VIPs at their concert. The best part about getting qualified for the drawing was that I got to tell how God is working in my life, and I focused on how He works through my kids, and shared that Aaron playing the guitar was the reason we started listening to Air 1. And that was aired on national radio! So great to hear me bragging on my kids on national radio!

Well, the drawing for the trip was scheduled for Friday at 6:00. I figured if they were going to announce the winner at 6, they would call the winner by 5:45 so they could have the sound byte ready by 6. So, when I hadn't received a call by 5:55, I had pretty much given up. At 6:03, I heard Ashton (the dj on Air 1 at that time) say he was going to be calling the winner in the next 10 minutes, so all the qualifiers should have their phones handy. Two minutes later, guess whose phone started ringing?

Yep. Mine. I couldn't believe it! Again, I got to share my story and hear some bragging on my kids on national radio, and best of all, me and Aaron will be heading out to Portland in a few weeks! Too bad it wasn't a trip for 4...

So although I don't consider myself to be lucky, I do consider myself to be very blessed, and we are SOOOOO excited and looking forward to this opportunity!!! And in honor of this, I have updated my music to include songs by these 3 bands :)

Testing

In order for you to fully enjoy this post, you need to first be aware of the fact that the students at Aaron's and Sadie's school were taking standardized tests this week. Because it is a private school, they don't take the TAKS test, but instead take a test called the ITBS test (Iowa test of basic skills). All students in grades 1-5 took the test. So, because Sadie was in Kinder, she didn't take the test. Last week, when I took my kids for the annual check-up, I asked the doctor to administer a tuberculosis test (TB) to my kids because it is a requirement for being a foster family. Aaron was okay with the idea of getting a shot, but Sadie was less than thrilled. In fact, she started crying before the nurse even took the cap off the needle. We went back in 2 days later to have the tests read, and both were negative :) Fast-forward to today. When I picked up the kids from school, Sadie's teacher said she had a story to tell me. She said she noticed a red mark on Sadie's arm and asked her about the mark. Sadie told her teacher that she got a shot there. Now, this red mark on her arm is on the opposite side of her arm as her TB test, but I guess that even though she was traumatized by the experience, it wasn't horrible enough for her to remember exactly where the injection was given. When her teacher question Sadie by saying that she didn't think they give shots in that part of the arm, Sadie responded by saying... "Yes, it was my ITBS test."