We have been blessed! Yesterday a group of our friends from our church community brought us a gift. We have been struggling to make ends meet, and were feeling pretty hopeless about doing anything about replacing our 250,000 mile Toyota with lots of character (which I have been driving for ten years) - it won't pass emissions testing so we haven't been able to register it, and we felt like we were driving a ticking time bomb that could go off at any moment. It needs CV boots, a transmission, a new door for the gas tank, air conditioner repairs... We were pretty low.
And then, last night we were surprised when a friend handed us a set of keys to a 98 Ford Escort wagon in perfect condition. I've cried every time I've told anyone about it - I'm crying now. I just can't believe how loved we are! Our precious new baby will have an air conditioned car to travel in! And I won't worry every day if my husband will make it to and from work! Maybe now I will learn to trust God to take care of us! We have good, good friends!
Below is our new addition, complete with a big red bow.
| Friday, August 04, 2006 |
Expanding TerritoryWell, I am headed out the door today to go see my Andy for the first time in like 7 weeks! I am so excited! okay...I'm a bit nervous. I always get nervous about plane trips. As a matter of fact...I am posting today in case I don't make it so that you all know I love you. Morbid? I know. Anyway, I fly out at 7:55pm and end up in Tampa, Fl at 6:09am... A 7 hour plus trip with a 48 minute layover in Vegas (do you think I have time for the slots? or the money?) Assuming that I make it safe and sound, my new map of the US states I've visited is here. It now includes Kansas, Missouri, and Florida! It's fun to add a state here and there to my concoured territories!
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| Tuesday, May 16, 2006 |
meltingIt's 92 here and I hate it. Summer is for lizards and Satan who enjoy the heat. |
| Monday, April 03, 2006 | ||
I'm Back!Well, I am finally back to posting...although this will be a short one. Tomorrow I am moving into my first office! I am now the artistic director of Christian Youth Theater Vancouver - a dream job for me! I am currently packing my drama files and a few decorations and paper lanterns to take in tomorrow to settle in with. I will post more from there (since it is a desk job for about five hours a week I think I will be more likely to post from there than I am to go up to our spare room and log in.) If you are interested in helping me out with my Johari Window follow the link!http://kevan.org/johari?name=Kim+o+the+Shire to see how well I know myself... It's good to be back! |
| Monday, October 31, 2005 | |||
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| Wednesday, October 12, 2005 |
I'm currently listening to 3 versions of Godspell nonstop. Unfortunately the browser I am using on a school issue iMac isn't good enough for Xanga, and it won't let me search for the icon. Now who says Macs are always better? Andy and I had a great weekend. On Saturday morning my cast members presented me with a birthday cake at rehearsal. That night Andy took me out to California Pizza Kitchen. I had a Thai chicken pizza... YUMMMMMMY! On Sunday we drove up to the Adna Grange for my grandmother's 90th birthday party. Her birthday was actually the 8th like mine, but we could get everyone together on the 9th, so that was what we did! It was nice to see family, and to give Andy the tour of Grandma's place. Afterwards, since we were already halfway there, we drove up to Seattle for a mini honeymoon. We stayed at a hotel near the airport then drove on up to Seattle in the morning where I gave my husband the 8 hour tour. He got to see the Fremont Troll, my college (SPU), and then we took a bus to the Seattle Center (we ate at Dick's) and the monorail to the Pike's Place Market and an elevator to the waterfront and Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe. Later we went to an antique shop and the Space Needle where we watched the gray skies darken into night. I asked Andy what his favorite thing had been...is anyone surprised that his answer was food? He loved the sourdough bread bowl with clam chowder from Ivar's. We sat on the dock to eat and fed the seagulls what we didn't want. While we were sitting there an alarmed lady from down the pier asked us if we thought that man laying on the next dock was dead or alive. I looked over and right next to a fire and rescue boat was the inert from of a man. I could only see a bare foot sticking up over the rescue equipment. Quickly I realized that the "man" was really a dummy they had used for a rescue drill...but it was thrilling for a moment. |
| Monday, October 03, 2005 | ||
I am doing pretty good this Monday morning. I was scheduled to sub, but received a call this morning cancelling that job...so I will run errands, clean the house, block scenes for the weekend. I am waiting for a transfer to go through with my Starbucks store. I have a friend who asked if I would transfer to her store in order to help her out. She has a lot of new partners and needs someone experienced to help reinforce Starbucks standard. I willingly agreed...but now my current manager is not returning my phone calls. So I will try to track her down again today. Pray that this goes through without a hitch! I also received an email this morning from my aunt regarding my cousin Holly. I wanted to pass this email on to you so that you will better know how to pray. Here it is: The truth is that Holly and I are both feeling quite overwhelmed, dismayed, My heart is heavy for my family. I don't know how to help... |
| Tuesday, September 27, 2005 | ||
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What's going on with me? Well, as you can see from my "listening to" feature, I am up to my eyballs in Godspell. Auditions were over a week ago and first rehearsals were last weekend. It was amazing to wander from room to room and see/hear the spirit of the show already alive. The cast learned the choreography to "Day By Day" and the trio that's singing "On The Willows" made me cry a little bit because they were so good. And our Jesus is really taking the responsibility seriously. It's not easy to play God. I am teaching a Shakespeare survey class for this session at the children't theatre. I just finished "Midsummers" and "Taming of the Shrew." I think I'll teach them "Othello" this week. There are 14 kids in this class, and they are all excited to learn. What a huge difference from Freshman English and "Romeo and Juliet"! I am subbing again for the year. I am in a special services classroom today. The kids are pretty good. I did have to send one to the office for making fun of me when I kicked him off a computer for playing games AGAIN. Other than that it is an easy three day stint for me. I am still on the payroll at Starbucks too, but I only work one or two shifts each week. Enough to cover my insurance basically. Yesterday I finally finished unpacking. Yeah, I know I moved into my apartment a year and a half ago...but I never got to those last few tubs full. So yesterday with Andy gone all day at work I turned the living room into sorting central and unpacked everything. Now my side of the garage is a tidy row of Rubbermaid tubs with labels indicating what is actually inside (instead of the labels from three moves ago which now mean nothing). Now I can start sorting my closets for more things to get rid of...It feels so good to declutter my life! Andy is working 10-12 hours every time he is called in or scheduled to work at the Post Office. Last week that was 6 days. So far this week it is three. He complains a lot about his back, neck and hand muscles and joints aching and hurting. It is probably going to take him some time to adjust to the work physically. He seems to think he will like the job when he gets fast enough to finish a route in 6-8 hours. He's only gauranteed one shift a week, but it seems like he will be working a lot more than that. This is a really good thing considering that we need the money...and they pay him $135 or so each day he works (depending on how many hours the route he is on is supposed to take). Church is exciting right now. I am on a team of six that are working to plant a new church on January 1st. We are doing a lot of dreaming and reading about how to make our community relevant to the world. We've realized that Jesus is always relevant..but most of the programs that we've been involved in have only ministered to the people in the church. I have had a deep longing in my heart to be involved in what Christ is doing in the community at large. I am so excited to be involved in a church community that wants to do the same. Check out our web site! Marriage is my favorite thing about life. Andy loves me so much. It is a wonderful thing to be loved like that. I used to have a list of all the character traits I wanted in a spouse. Although he has some of those traits, I've learned that those things do not a perfect mate make. He loves me. That's all I needed. Too mooshy for you? Sorry. I mean it. The past 16 months have easily been the best of my life. Well, I think I'd best focus on the kids again. They are getting increasingly loud. |
| Tuesday, August 09, 2005 | ||
Spending lots of time in the Children's Hospital with my cousin Holly who is 13 and has had a rough summer. She needs a miracle. Her gall bladder surgery turned into...well, something else. She is stuck at the hospital with complications instead of being at home, going to summer camp, being a normal kid. She needs prayer. At this point she is not even allowed to eat or drink anything and is getting all her nourishment from an IV line. This is tough for her. Fortunately I live close by and am able to spend some time almost every day with her and her mom. But visits are not enough. She is encouraged by prayers and is even keeping track of the states and countries that have residents inside praying for her. If you are praying with us, leave me a comment or email with your location so I can add you to our list. |
| Saturday, July 23, 2005 | ||
Well, summer is going well. It feels like a vacation to only work 40 hours a week. I have been nesting like crazy...putting up pictures, hanging paper lanterns, organizing and unpacking tubs that I haven't looked at since I was a Whittaker! Frappaccino season is in full swing at Starbucks...and the ludicrous names of our newest additions is mind boggling. For example "Decaf Double Venti Carmel Affaggato with whip Carmel Frappaccino Light blended coffee." or "Venti Mocha Affagato Malt Mint Mocha Chip Frappaccino blended coffee." I am usually a stickler about making my baristas say drinks correctly, but this new addition of crazy modifiers has made me a bit lax with them. Of course I say them correctly every time. It's way more fun that way. With summer halfway over now, I am thinking really hard about the fall. I have applied for a position as artistic director of a children's theatre in Vancouver, Washington. Please pray with me that this job will happen for me. I think I'd really like to quit working for Starbucks and have a grown up career. I am planning to start working towards grad school if I don't get that job. Andy and I are ready to move wherever I get into a good MFA directing program. In any case, we will need to think about purchasing our own insurance starting from three months after I quit at Starbucks. If you have any great insights on that dilemma, let us know! Last week was the week of company. I had such a good time with Kathy Shire (mother in law) and Ande Abramovich (best friend from New York) visiting. The weather is finally summerlike...maybe they brought that with them? In any case, I have housework to do...no more procrastinating. |
| Tuesday, June 07, 2005 |
I think maybe the comments I left yesterday about kids really applies better to freshmen and sophomores. I have juniors and seniors today and I am feeling a renewed sense of hope for the future of our country. I still think our kids need more discipline... maybe that's why these kids are in advanced math though...they are the ones that were given some boundaries. hmmm bears thinking about! |
| Monday, June 06, 2005 | ||
Well, 365 days of wedded bliss have now passed for Kim Shire. In honor of the big day I have changed my Xanga skin to match our wedding colors. I am subbing in an English class today. I am blown away by what teens these days think is acceptable behavior. They laugh at me when I tell them to be quiet. They are amused not by the content I am teaching, but by the fart noises that an immature classmate is making with his desk. They think it is okay to openly defy an adult (I very quickly send the message home that it is NOT okay with me.) I feel sorry for the 75% of the class that feels completely overtaken with the antics of the rest of the group. How are American kids going to learn if most teachers spend 25% of their time on review, 25% of their time on pointless district requirements and 45% of their time on classroom management? If they are the future, I am afraid to leave myself in their hands as a senior citizen one day... How do we as a Christians make ourselves relevant enough to make a difference in the world? We have to combat the socialist dogma that is encoded into our apathetic young at public school. We have to fight the victim mentality that the media and justice system have firmly lodged into their brains. Ah, well, maybe we should move to Canada. Or maybe we should stay and find a way to make a difference for some. Being 30something can be a troubling thing... sigh... |
| Thursday, May 26, 2005 | ||
Feeling divine sense of peace today. Subbing for dance classes - in other words, YOGA DVDs. Relaxed. Very relaxed. mmmmmm |
| Wednesday, May 25, 2005 | ||
Post production blues have set in. HONK! closed on Sunday, and since then I have been unable to sit still. Unfortunately, I also have no energy and all I want is pizza hut and chocolate. Where is that next play? Gotta be busy with that! Hee hee going crazy subbing in a band class today. kids are watching Beatles movies. I had to leave the room or I was going to fall asleep. Such a shame too, since i am a big White Album fan.... I just can't stay awake if I'm not BUSY! |
| Sunday, May 01, 2005 |
Well, my little sis graduated college yesterday. The ceremony was as usual...lots of people I don't know saying unmemorable things on stage. I did find out from the keynote speaker that flowers don't play with red rubber balls and kittens don't know anything about math. There was a point to that, but somehow I don't remember that part. Isn't that how life is sometimes - we remember the anecdotes, but not the lesson we were supposed to learn from them. After the graduation I got to visit with some of my kids (aka former students and actors) as three of them graduated yesterday from George Fox. Along for the veiwing were seven others. It was great to catch up a bit with them. I am in shock that my own commencement day was ten years ago. I guess it's about time to get back to that grad degree I've been wanting for seven years now. After we mingled with the pomp and circumstance crowd on the GFU track, Andy and I played cheuffer for my 13 year old cousin out to the family shin dig. Andy decided that we should drive a new way to the rural home of my other sister. It was a scenic drive through the best of Oregon....but it was also a heckalong drive. All I wanted to do was fall asleep for a nice nap, but in the back seat was my talkative cousin with all the seventh grade gossip to share... What a painful age! You are old enough to know that adults aren't thrilled with making conversation with you, but too young to comprehend why. I make a huge effort with her to make her feel grown up... So a long hour and a half later we arrived. Andy only had five or six bite marks on his right arm from when I got uncontrollably hungry (Holly thought this was funny too). The visit with the family was great. Highlights include Bailey the chocolate lab, a walk with Andy and another cousin into the canyon to see the bridge that my brother in law built, bleating at goats, hugging Grandma, celebrating with my baby brother and his nearly fiance at the blessings of her parents, eating smoky BBQed chicken breasts and home canned beans, kissing Andy to embarass the future sister in law, banana peanut butter chocolate pie, deuling laptops with "life of Joann" slide shows running non stop. And hug upon hug. (mmmm...hugs). Heard on the drive home: Kim: "Thanks for making me feel like a newlywed tonight." Andy: "Well...you make me feel so loved." And my favorite moment of all: slipping into obliviousness on my pillow less than two seconds after my head hit it. mmmmm....a nap sounds good about now. |
