The Gantzler Gazette

The Gantzler Gazette

Ever wonder how much one person can handle?

I kinda remember this saying that has something to do with how God never gives us more than He and I can handle ....
Right now i'm not too sure of how it goes, but I somewhat remember it ending with the person saying "I wish God didn't trust me to be able to handle so much"
That is basically how I feel right now.
Things are going pretty crazy here right now
Though truthfully I can't tell you the whole story of "why"
I CAN tell you that I don't remember... most of everything right now, and that's pretty scary for me.

Brian and the girls are doing great at trying to help me know the important things and helping me know that I do have migraines, and most important that I do have these things called "ice pick headaches" that are the worst pain I have ever experienced and they often make me pass out from the pain...but that the pain is terribly bad, and that no, I am not dying of a brain tumor or something horrible like that even though I might feel like it is something like that considereing the pain is so horrible.
Anyways, I guess I have been having the memory issues , in addition to the black out issues, for about a week now...and I go to a specialist for some more tests in about a month (mid-November). And I have already gone through numerous tests for the worsened migraines, ice-picks, and the black outs/ fainting spells during the past several months and they have ruled out several major things; but they have not found out a certain cause for "why".
Brian said I had an earlier episode of memory issues that lasted about 36 hours back in May. But it was different as it lasted a straight 36 hours and didn't have reaccuring new-beginning memory lapses like this time.
The doctors seem to agree that there really isn't a reason to hospitalize me unless something happens to endanger me. So,.....

Lets see...I am working with the girls on homeschooling.
Kirsten is enjoying working on fossils and we are working on the period of dinosaurs right now. She loves that! She is also working on fractions and is really doing good with reducing fractions and is having no problems with it at all.

Megan is taking German and is really enjoying her English Lit class. I am working with her on some short stories right now and we are about to move on to some Edgar Allen Poe...The Tell Tale Heart of all things along with many other short story classics.

Rick finished basic training. Brian reminded me that Cheryl and Jim opened their home to him while he was waiting for his orders as to where he was going to be going.
Thanks so much you two for taking him in while he was waiting! I'm sure he enjoyed being with family instead of being stuck on base all that time!
We haven't heard from him in about a week, so we think he finally may have gotten some of his orders straightened out. It was still taking so much time getting everything worked out, it was crazy that they still had him just waiting once he got to Texas.

We think Brian will be able to takethe Friday of Pumpkin Show off and we will be able to come down as far as we know. We haven't made it down the last couple of years.
We'd like to at least see the afternoon parade even if we can't make it for the evening one....

Irish Dance has started back up again.
Kirsten has been practicing a lot. And Megan has as well. Yes, you guessed it... Megan has decided to start taking lessons as well. So now we have both girls in Irish Dance!

Oh...and from where we volunteer as workers at the Irish Festival in Dublin, Ohio each year....Kirsten was one of the "best of the fest" volunteers recognized at the Half Way to St Patricks Day Celebration that they hold for the volunteers here in Dublin. They also had an Irish band that played and Kirsten enjoyed herself practicing her irish dance to "real" (live) Irish music and not just a cd at home. *grin*

Well...I guess that is all the updates for now...
oh, Brian is about finished training the workers from the out-sourcing Cardinal did a few months ago and he will be able to move permantly to his new job within the Cardinal company and move to the new building in a few weeks.

And Shawn and Crystal are settling in as husband and wife with only a few surprises...
they did have one trip to the ER. They were at the beach for a picnic and Crystal had ran back out of the water, and Shawn was not quick enough...we were told that all the excitement was that there were jellyfish up in the beach water and yes, one got Shawn, so a trip to the ER was required unfortunately. But they are settling in as a married couple now....

I have just finished an afghan and am finishing the border on a baby afghan and have another baby afghan to start. We have a family friend who is expecting TWINS...isn't that exciting! (i can't remember who it is right now...but Megan says I know and it as really great!)

Today I am reading from the book of Ephesians chapters 1-3 and the prayers of Jabez
I was wondering if anyone has a favorite Bible study?

We hope to hear how all our family and friends are doing!
Many Blessings....

Survivor: Boot Camp!

It's been a long several months for Rick, and Boot Camp is FINALLY over!
After many hours on the phone I sent off as much of his medical history as I could find.
btw...attention all mom's and others...just because you sign a release for your records to be sent to your new doctor when you move, that does NOT mean they have made it. Check to make sure that they actually arrive and make sure you keep a record of your children's physical forms and their immunizations as well.
It is a good idea to add a sheet to it that states what your child had (measels, etc...and when) PUSH your doctor to make a copy annually for you of the latest additions. They are your records (and your childs') and you have a right to them. We have found this out the hard way, and it has been insane trying to track them down....trust me! Once they are gone, they are gone! And a doctor can destroy them after 10 years, and then there are no records for you to go back to verify a thing... And this is exactly what we ran in to!
All of this craziness because some of the more physical aspects of boot camp has brought on some severe asthma attacks that have sent Rick to the hospital for tests and breathing treatments. And he hasn't had any issues with asthma since he was probably 10 or 11 years old...I remember one of his pediatricians telling me that children often "outgrow" childhood asthma...well, evidently that isn't entirely true. My assumption is that it just lies dormant and can be re-triggered by different circumstances in your adult life. (just call me Dr. Mom)

Anyways....now that boot camp is over
Rick is on to Ft Hood awaiting his most recent orders seeing where he is headed and what he will be doing next. He's been waiting a bit though and is getting pretty bored now...
He did get to spend some time with my sister Cheryl and her husband Jim outside Atlanta, Ga before he left Benning though - so that was nice!
I think she was glad to have some family visit. * hey Cheryl!* And I'm sure he was thankful to be off a military base for a bit.

The Gantzler Gazette

Nighttime Ramblings

I've been tagged by Joyce...

A-Z's of Me:

A - Age: I don't do age; but I will tell you that when I recently went to go to an orientation thing with Meghan we were both standing in line together...one of the supervisors was coming down the line passing out information. She stopped in front of us, and looks at us, slightly puzzled and says..."I guess that you are the parent?" Tell me what mom of 7 wouldn't smile after that...
B - Bed size: queen
C - Chore you hate: cleaning the cat litter box
D - Dessert you love: creme brule
E - Essential start your day item: quiet time, devotions, coffee
F - Favorite actor(s): Sean Connery
G - Gold or Silver: it depends
H - Height: 5' 8.5"
I - Instruments you play: used to play clarinent in band, piano, and learning to play the harp
J - Job title: Wife & homeschool Mom
K - Kids: Crystal(Shawn), Rick, Cory, Rowan, Jareth, Meghan, Kirsten, Andrea
L - Living arrangements: Typical family down to 2 children at home full-time & 3 cats
M - Mom's name: Nedra Ann
N - Nicknames: Punky
O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: too many
P - Phobia: none that I can think of
Q - Quote you like: The fact that I am a woman does not make me a different kind of Christian, but the fact that I am a Christian does make me a different kind of woman. For I have accepted God's idea of me, and my whole life is an offering back to Him of all that I am and all that He wants me to be. ~Eliasabeth Elliot
R - Right or left handed: right
S - Siblings: 4, sisters Cheryl, Elisabeth, Eva, Angelina and 2 brothers: Bill and Rick
T - Time you woke up today: I woke up at about 3:30am with a killer migraine...
U - Unique habit: can't think of any
V - Vegetable you hate: I don't think there are any that I hate...but I don't eat brussel sprouts very often
W - Worst habit: checking e-mail if i wake up in the middle of the night
X - X-rays you've had: quite a few
Y - Yummy food you can make: A lot of stuff! My mom was a good cook and she passed that along to us...I love to make her almost rare roast beef, lasagna, peanut butter chews - but that recipe actually came from the cook at my elementary school
Z - Zodiac Sign: Aries, for whatever that's worth

I'll tag Bridgit & Shan...

~~I went to bed last night with a migraine that had been hanging on most of the day. I was really hoping that if I took some Maxalt and phenegran and went to bed that it might ease up.
Unfortunately, as you can see...It's 4:30am~ and I woke up over an hour ago in so much pain that I couldn't stay in bed.

Let's see....
Oh....Each year during the time Dublin has its Irish Festival, we also host the Dublin Feis.
Anyways...Kirsten danced in her first Feis this year. She did the reel and the light jig and came in 2nd and 3rd. She was pretty excited and is ready to go to another feis.

This year the girls volunteered at the Irish Festival again. They worked at one of the entrance booths on Friday evening, and then at the Rock Wall in the Wee Folks Area on Sunday.
Saturday was our family day at the festival. This year we went with Brian's parents and Shari and Alan, friends of the family. We had a really nice time. The weather was nice...it was fairly warm...but not as hot as it has been in the past which was really nice, and we were thankful for that!
We did get to listen to a couple of the Irish bands and see one of the groups dance.
Kirsten was kinda bummed out because we had to leave before getting to see the older girls from her dance school perform. It had been such a long day, and I was exhausted.

Now that the new school year has started, Meghan has decided that she wants to do Irish Dance as well. So....she has been taking the beginners class while Kirsten is at class on Wednesday. We're glad that she goes at the same time so we aren't having to run back and forth quite so many times. Brian is having to do enough of that with meetings for work right now. The girls are wanting to take class twice a week. This month has been so crazy we just couldn't add another day. We will see if October or November slows down any and see if we can add Monday evening dance to our already crazy lives. I know this would be really good for them both and would better prepare them for celi dance and for future feis's...so, we'll see what happens.

Update: my migraines are still increased in intensity and frequency, what is worse is whatwe call the ice pick headaches - as they are so intense and most recently they have been making me pass out. Of course the drs have been trying to figure that out to begin with anyways so this is almost like part 2 of the puzzle. The neurologist I am currently going to is good at making sure I have the right kind of pain management supplies and has made a referral for an appt to a doctor for that as well. Now if we could just come up with an answer of why/what instead of simply ruling out possible diagnosis. I am VERY thankful that we are ruling out many things like heart problems, etc...but when you have been passing out regularly and can't drive, and have made big changes in your life the past 6 months...well, lets just say it would be nice to hear a why in stead of "well, we know it isn't..."

Is everyone back in the full swing of another school year?
I know we sure are...at least we are sure trying to move in that direction.
Meghan decided that she wasn't going to go back to public school this year.
After much prayer and thought and a LOT of research, we decided on going with K-12, an online charter academy. This will still give Meghan the opportunity to be homeschooled, but it will help us out in the days where I can't do all the planning, teaching, and grading that she will need since she is now in high school. Since we are actually part of a charter school, if at any time she is unsure of something, she can contact her teacher for any given subject for help. We also submit her work via fax to be graded and they handle keeping a transcript updated for me, so I don't have to. We felt this was the best situation that still gave Meghan the opportunity to homeschool, but gave me the "backup support" I might need - and I'm thankful for that right now!

Kirsten is in 5th grade this year and is still homeschooled the way we have since the beginning.
Both girls are off to a pretty good start...other than the fact that the power supply in Meghan's computer is fried and we have to get it fixed...LOL

okay...the maxalt i took doesn't seem to be working so I am going to go try something else and go get my migraine cap and head back up to bed and pray that I am able to fall back asleep.
Sometimes lately they just are so horrible I can't fall asleep on my own ~ but I know that if I could, it would at least ease the pain to at least a bearable state. Because right now, on a scale of 1-10, its about a 15 ...seriously....
Have a great day all....
In His Love,
beannachtaí go leor ~
Judi
Psalm 34:4
Jesus Christ did not say, "Go into the world and tell the world that it is quite right." C.S. Lewis

More Wedding Photos

Crystal and Kirsten

The Wedding Party

Thoughts on a Married Child

I don't know what I thought it would be like having our first child get married. Granted, Crystal is one of those "take charge" kind of people - and of course every young woman knows exactly how she wants her wedding to be, so she pretty much took care of everything.

I have to admit...having her walk down the aisle and watching her and Shawn exchange vows made me think back to the first time we went shopping for a dress for one of Crystal's first dance's.

I can also think back and remember a quite shy Shawn coming down to Columbus to go to watch the Columbus Crew soccer game with us. He's definately "come out of his shell" since then. *grin* I do remember thinking, back then, what a nice young man he was...who would have thought that a few years later that "nice young man" would be my new son-in-law?!?
Of course, I can't think of another young man that I would rather have as my son-in-law....I know that he will do all that he can to live his life in the way God would have him to.

Crystal, you were such a beautiful bride! Your father and I are very proud to call you our daughter. It is our prayer that God's richest blessings and His protection surround you and Shawn in the years to come. Crystal, may God mold you and make you the christian woman, friend, wife and helpmeet that He has planned for Shawn - and may He mold Shawn and make him into the christian man, friend, husband, and helpmeet that He has planned for you to have. Remember that while your love may start as a feeling...it is a conscious decision, a commitment that you have made to one another!
We love both of you so very much!

More Thanksgiving Pictures

The Grandkids






Me, Dad & Richard







Rick, Being Rick :-)

Dad and 4 of us kids, Thanksgiving 2005

Goodbye 2005

Okay, I know we are 20 days into 2006 and I am just now sitting down to write this. Terrible - ain't I?
Christmas was good. We did Christmas here early on Christmas Eve...then we went up to Brian's parents to spend the night and stayed there through Christmas Day.
We were able to attend church with our "old" church family and that was a VERY special blessing for us! The children loved seeing all their friends, and were quite sad to say goodbye. GrandMa Knapp was feeling pretty good - so she and Teddy came to church Sunday morning also. It was just a great day all the way around! It was quite hard to leave and the girls, in particular, were quite "bummed out".

New Years Eve was pretty quiet here. Well...as quiet as it gets when there are 5 children running around. Mostly, we watched a movie and the kids played video games and such till it was "time". It was so funny when Kirsten kept insisting that she go outside to "bang pans". I guess I should explain that "banging pans" was always a tradition of sorts while I was growing up. On New Years Eve, at midnight of course, all of us Blaney kids would go outside and bang pans with spoons and yell "Happy New Year!" So...that is where the idea came from. And yes...as the clock struck midnight, Kirsten and I were on the patio banging pans while Rick, Jareth, Megan, and Rowan yelled Happy New Year! They just weren't "cool enough" to joing the fun Kirsten and I were having! :-P

2006 is off to a running start here...
We are "back to school" and our normal schedule. Kirsten is staying busy with Irish Dance and will be in a performance at one of the retirement centers in Worthington. She and Adrianna are working hard to learn the steps to the jig.
You should hear (and see) them practice! Goodness...they sound like elephants. LOL and this is with wearing their ghillies! Can you imagine when they get their hard shoes?
Oh, just before the holidays, Megan tried out for the musical at Davis. She got a part in Cinemagic and spends a lot of time at practice now.
She also is in the process of being hired at Krogers. Her first job-other than babysitting. She is just waiting for the manager to receive her work permit papers and then she will have orientation. And we just made it though our first week of "high school exams". This should be interesting since this is the first time Megan has taken classes at the school in addition to homeschooling...and this is the first time she has had to take exams for classes. The week went well, and she did study...so we shall see how it all plays out!

Guess who I had in my "class" today!?!?!? None other than.....Cinderella. Kirsten came to school in her Cinderella costume today which made for a fun time with Tootsie (our kitten) who kept running up Kirsten's skirt and climbing inside the dress. LOL
Today we finished our work on Martin Luther King Jr and Rosa Parks. I found an old video we had "Our Friend Martin", which made a great ending to our unit on the fight for equal rights, etc... We are already starting our next units which are penguins, Antarctica, and of course we will be getting ready to start studying Alaska and the Iditirod! We will be working on our map of Alaska so we have it ready to start following this years trail that the mushers will be following.

I guess that is about all for now. Hope you enjoyed the update from our little neck of the woods here in Ohio.
Have a great weekend!

We Survived Thanksgiving

Hello Again!
We went down to my brother Bill's home for Thanksgiving.
What a wonderful time we had. Of course it was crazy with all the little ones. But that is always part of the fun, right?
Rick, Jeanne, and Richard were in from Florida. It was great to see them, since it has been a while. And Dad even came and survived the craziness for awhile...and it was pretty crazy at times. Especially when Richard was chasing Megan through the house trying to put her hood on once again. Yes, that little escapade was instigated by Rick...who is still a kid at heart!

We managed to get some pictures of Bill, Rick, Angi, myself and Dad AND some of Dad with the crazy grandkids. *yes, we got them to sit still long enough for a few pictures*

Cheryl and Beth both called while we were all together. And Beth and Melinda tried to outdo each other with all the "we have this, do you?" banter. It was all in good fun and you could definately tell we all had much more food than we could ever eat at one (2 or 3 even) meal.

After much pleading, Megan ended up spending the weekend with Bill and Melinda. She went shopping on Friday with "the girls" and really enjoyed herself! She is already hoping that she can spend a few days during Christmas break....and thinking ahead to summer vacation. LOL
Of course she has to earn some money during this time too as she has a choir competition trip and the class trip to Washington DC to think about and help pay for. :-)
Kirsten and I went to Wal-mart early on Friday and did a little shopping. Other than that...we just enjoyed a quiet, lazy weekend at home.

This week we are back to our schedules of school, dance, volleyball, and I am busy trying to finish up a few Christmas presents and get some sewing done.
Saturday we will be going to the Columbus Museum of Art to see the Renoir exhibit and Kirsten will be doing the First Saturday activities.

I guess that is about all for now. We really enjoyed seeing all who were there for Thanksgiving....and we can hardly wait to see everyone next summer if we manage to pull together a Blaney Reunion!
I'll post some new pictures after Kirsten's irish dance class....gotta run.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Sand Sculpting

Kirsten poses in front of the celtic knotwork on the back side of the sand sculpture at the 2005 Irish Festival. The front, once finished, was Celtic Dancers...and was very detailed!

Back to School

Goodness, I have been terrible about updating this. I hope that now that things are calmer, I will be able to do this on a regular basis.

A lot has happened these past several months.
1) I was diagnosed with Lupus. I had a very bad flare-up in early spring which made things very hard in general.
2) We moved. You might remember that Brian commuted over an hour 1 way to work each day. So...we moved back to the general area of where he works. Actually...he now enjoys a 5 minute drive to work. *grin*

We enjoyed a very busy summer!
A good deal of our time was spent at Wyandot Lake. We got season passes and Kirsten loves the water slides, lazy river, and the wave pool...so, we were there several times a week.
We also went to a couple block parties and a few fairs in the area.
The girls and I all worked as volunteers at the Dublin Irish Festival this year. Megan worked every day with her friend Jessica. They stayed busy and had a lot of fun!
Crystal spent a week with us before she headed back to Florida for her senior year at Pensacola. It is still pretty hard to believe she is a senior!

As the kids around here head back to school, we are starting another year of homeschooling. Megan is almost ready to start 9th grade, and Kirsten has already started 4th. We have been doing 3 - half days a week in addition to gymnastics for about a month now.
We will start full days next week.

Our churches annual Family Camp is coming up on Labor Day weekend. We always enjoy having a couple days away from everything in general. And the kids enjoy unlimited boating and all the fun extras that come with going to camp! A favorite from last year was the zip line. I'm sure it will be equally as popular this year!

Crafting: I have finished a couple baby afghans and am putting the finishing border around a lapghan. I am half finished with a thread crocheted tunic done in a shade of lime green. And I have a new baby pattern I am eager to start.
The girls have been doing pottery this summer, and Meg has continued working with her pastels.
I have done minimal sewing...and need to get caught up.
A few scrapbook pages and a dozen or so cards have gotten made.
Our new craft: We have discovered card weaving! While we haven't actually started doing it yet, we are doing the background research and gathering supplies to start.

Oh, I almost forgot. I am eagerly awaiting delivery of my harp! *grin*
I can hardly wait! It looks like it will arrive late September or early October. And I will start lessons shortly after.

Brian and I have been playing WOW, an online rpg game. We play a few times a week and on the weekend when time allows. Currently we have characters on the Horde side...but have been considering making an Alliance character to see what it is like on the other side. *grin*

Ok, I think that is a general update of life here....
crazy and hectic as always. But always lots of fun!
I am looking forward to cooler weather and a nice fall. Hopefully we will make it down to Hocking Hills for some hiking before winter heads in our direction. I hope to make it down to Circleville for the Pumpkin Show and to see my family...Beth usually comes in from Kansas and sometimes Rick and Jeanne make it up from Florida. Maybe we can get Cheryl and Jim in from Georgia too.....

beannachtaí go leor ~
Judi