Sue was the chef for the retreat

She went with the Youth on a retreat this week in the Smoky Mountains near Sieverville, TN. It was a nice resort, and the kids had lots of fun. She originally agreed to just be the cook, but it ended up that she was a group leader and helped the kids learn about God all week. She had a good time and hopes to go on the next trip with the group.

Good PTO Bingo night

Sue and her friends did a good job putting on a Bingo night for the school last Friday. They had lots of baskets with different themes and gave them as Bingo prizes. I won a Bath and Body Works basket! They ended up raising over $1000 for the PTO, which is a good thing. Way to go, Sue!

Sue was a greeter in RTB

She had a good time welcoming people to our church's "live Nativity village" called Return to Bethlehem and being available to interpret. It was a busy weekend, but good. She got to know a couple of new people at our church, and enjoyed the whole experience. Good job, Sue!

Sue took the CI test again today

She feels like she did better on this one - she came home confident and secure in her skills. I took the day off so I could be available when she got home, which surprised her. We went out to Shane's for lunch to celebrate, so that was fun. She won't know until the end of January if she got this certification - hopefully the results will show up by her birthday :-)

Sue at Silent Dinner tonight

She is gearing up for her re-take of the big certification test she takes next Friday and has been busily interpreting videos and getting with friends for weeks. She had hoped that her position as a video-relay interpreter would help, but they haven't contacted her to get started in the mentoring program since they mentioned it. So tonight she is at the Mall of Georgia with some deaf friends hanging out and signing with many different people. Our friend Anne was excited to be going, so hopefully they'll get some shopping in, too.

Sue started at Sorensen this week

She is really enjoying the challenge of learning the whole video-interpreter ways, and becoming a part of the Sorensen group. You can read a news story about video relay interpreters on the CBS website here: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/01/26/tech/main595942.shtml. Good job, Sue!

PGES Carnival was great!

Sue did a great job coordinating things for the PTO's Fall Carnival this year. She called lots of people, had Megan call and recruit lots of her friends, and handled issues as they came up. It was fun to see and hear people calling her with questions and watching her handle them. Everyone seemed to have a good time despite some of the issues that came up (popcorn machine was broken, cotton-candy machine clean-up, unanchored inflated jumpy things, etc. :-) I think they even raised some money for the school!

Good job, Sue!

Sue's new job

Sue is now a Sorenson Video Relay Service employee! She will be interpreting for hearing-impaired people using a video-relay system, which will be pretty cool. She starts in November, so be sure and congratulate her when you see lr talk to her!

Slated to take test again

Sue has signed up to take the Certificate of Interpreting (CI) test again. She did good on the last one but didn't pass one of the four parts, and wants to knock it out this time. Please pray for her to make time to practice and to focus on getting ready for it. Go, Sue!

Sue is BALOO trained!

She went to the Basic Adult Leader Outdoor Orientation training today! She can now help keep our Cub Scout Pack out of trouble when we have outdoor activities. Good job, Sue!

Sue visits her sister

She took Jacob and Megan with her to spend the night with her sister in Aiken, SC, then they all packed up and went to Charleston, SC, for a day and a night. She said they had a good time, and even went on a "ghost tour" of Charleston that night. Spooky!

Sue goes to GPC reunion

Sue went through the Interpreter's Training Program (ITP) at Dekalb College to get her 2-year degree in Interpreting back in the early 1990's. Well, that school is now known as Georgia Perimeter College, and she went there today to be part of an ITP reunion. She said it was a lot of fun, seeing all the people that have gone through the program, many of whom she has known now for quite some time. She said she felt a little old, though, when they started asking for who had gone through the program the earliest and she was the 2nd place person (meaning there was only 1 person there who had been through the program earlier than her!). Pretty funny...

Taking CI test today

Sue has done well preparing for the Certificate of Interpreting test. She's been practicing with friends, teaching, and watching sign language DVDs to get ready. The jobs she has been taking have helped her get ready, too, which has helped her a lot. She was a little nervous about the test itself but very cconfident in her ability today when she left.

Even though she's already nationally certified with her Certificate of Transliteration (CT) it will be nice when she can add this to her list of accomplishments and be able to earn more when she interprets. Wow, all of this AND taking care of me and the kids. Woohoo! What a woman!

Sue enjoyed Camp Kaleo

She had an interpreting workshop there about classifiers and other things last night and today. She got to see some people she hadn't seen for a while and met some new friends. Hopefully this helped her gear up for her big test this coming Saturday. We'll see...

Sue is now a PTO officer

Tonight Sue is being inducted into her new PTO officer position as next year's Special Events Coordinator. She will coordinate the special events the PTO puts on to help raise funds and help the school. Sue really enjoys helping out in this way. Way to go, sue!

Good visit with Aunt Nancy & Uncle Dick

Sue drove down from my brother's house yesterday and went to church with them. She said that they were doing good, though time is showing more and more on them. Uncle Dick was feeling better, and Aunt Nancy was full of energy and excited to see Sue and the kids. Dawn and her husband took Sue and the kids to church, but quickly left after taking Sue back to her Aunt's place. Sue was disappointed that she didn't get to see her other cousins (the Baltimore Ravens game was on), but she enjoyed her visit with Aunt Nancy.

Then Sue drove back through the rain and near-snow of the evening. Jacob and Megan locked her keys in the car somewhere in Delaware, so they had to call our roadside assistance guys to come and unlock it. She made it back to my brother's house around 8:30pm. I'm glad she got to visit!

Sue gets a ticket

She ran a red light that had one of those automated cameras and it got her! She was all embarrassed about it, saying that the light was real short and she had been sitting there for a while trying to get through it and just ran the light. The pictures were very clear, and the fine wasn't too bad ($70), but still! Oh, well, maybe she'll think twice before she runs a red light again :-)

Sue works PTO's "Santa Night"

She had a good time selling tickets for the raffle and the ornament walk (like a cake walk but with ornaments :-) Everyone involved did a good job, working hard and sweating the details. The boys and I had a good time hanging out with Harrison Brown while his mother and Sue worked.

Sue in SC helping her sister

Nancy chose to have surgery on her macular hole in her eye and has to keep her head down for the next 5 to 14 days. Sue, being the good sister she is, is there with Nancy helping her do the right things during the recovery. Hopefully things will go well and she'll regain some of her vision.

Sue's friend passed away

Sue got a call this morning that her friend Barbara Hardy passed away overnight. Barbara was a hearing-impaired woman that had an organ transplant years ago and struggled with different issues over the years. She lived in an assisted-living home the past year or two. Barbara's mother and father are still living and dealing with their own health issues.