Wednesday, October 29, 2008

ta-da


I'm not sure I'll like it at all when everyone leaves home. Today was awesome! At lunch I made hamburgers for Daniel, Hannah, Ben, and Sam (one of my other "kids"). Bethany had jasmine rice and I fried okra for her. I made a salad for Donald and myself. By the time we were almost finished Rebekah came home. I hadn't cooked for her, but she was okay with it. (She doesn't usually come home at lunch.) She had came home for pie anyway. I had made pies yesterday: apple, coconut, and lemon. She knows our family pretty well and wanted to make sure she got some more before it was all eaten.


Anyway back to my story. The kids were all eating and talking and laughing. I looked at Donald and said, "This is a good life." He readily agreed with me. I love our kids and their friends so much! We are blessed with really special friends for our children.


It will be another season of life when they all have their own homes. It will be good and right, but it sure will take some getting used to for me.


Just so you know, I don't usually cook lunch. I totally surprised them today. I think moms need to do that occasionally; surprise them I mean, not necessarily cook lunch. It will be worth the hugs and smiles anyway!

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

hidden treasure


I received one of those get to know you emails from my cousin. One of the questions asked if I have a special talent. The answer came quite easily. My reply? Yes, being me!

On first blush it seems that is not a talent. It's just something you are. Maybe so for some. For me it has been a process. I definitely am not who I once was. God has changed me. I hope He continues to change me the rest of my life.

I was very shy and insecure growing up. I was first born and have been called teacher's pet, miss goody two shoes, and other names along the same lines. I didn't buck authority, did my homework, and was loved by my teachers. My parents loved me also; in this case it just falls into the category of "of course they did, you are their daughter." I realize not all children were/are so fortunate.

I never really liked myself very much until I discovered I am who God made me to be and He thinks I'm great. Okay, maybe I'm slow in that area, but I think lots of people struggle with this.

I was always the first one to criticize myself and could give you many reasons why I wasn't any good in a particular area. I was really down on myself.

When asked what the greatest commandment was Jesus replied, " Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'

I'm here to tell you it's hard to succeed at that one if you don't love yourself. I don't mean an arrogant "it's all about me" attitude. I'm talking about finding out who you are in Christ and what He thinks about you.

It will totally change your life when it drops into your heart. By the grace of God I am not what I once was! I like me...I am a child of the King and I am fearfully and wonderfully made. God delights in me!!

My thanks goes to God and our wonderful pastor for the teaching on grace that we received week after week. I believe we all have a treasure hidden within. It just needs to be revealed to us by our heavenly Father!

Friday, October 24, 2008

redneck raisin'


Hannah and I got home from enrichment classes about an hour ago. Donald, who was home for lunch, proudly proclaimed that, "you know you've done something right when you come home and your daughter is frying baloney."


Three cheers for parenting!




Tuesday, October 21, 2008

pieces of flair


These are some pieces of flair I have received from friends and family on facebook. I hadn't been on in weeks and look what I found!






shall we?


I received emails from friends this morning. I thought these are well worth sharing and thinking about. Sometimes in the busyness of life we forget what's really important. I know I do, far too often. In fact, these past few weeks have been like that for me. It's time for me to slow down and experience God's presence. There is no true life without Him.


The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.

If you lack the courage to start, you have already finished.

The pursuit of happiness is the chase of a lifetime! It isn't ever too late to become what you might have been.

The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.

And my personal favorite....

Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain.


Friday, October 17, 2008

clean and quiet

Our house is cleaner than it's been in years! Thanks to the kids help I can say this. I am afraid I have let things slide terribly this past year. Once I got started in the yard I didn't care about the inside of the house too much. Big mistake! Although it's probably one I'll make again and again. I seem to be very good at letting things slide and then go on a cleaning frenzy once someone is coming.

Donald's brother and family are on their way now. I played hookey from enrichment classes and boy am I glad I did. Although I have worked like a demon was on my heels all week I have still spent the entire morning doing last minute things. We are SO excited that they are coming! It's going to be a great weekend.

Wednesday night Rebekah told me our oven wasn't working properly. She was in the middle of making a cake and when she turned it on there was no noise. We have lived here for almost 13 years and the fan has always made noise once you turned the oven on to bake. I had cleaned the oven this week so I figured something had just gone out. The repairman pulled it out and checked and the blade was off the cooling fan! It has been working incorrectly all these years. He said he supposed the fan was what was making the noise because it is so quiet now! Once it came off the noise was gone. It is like I have a new oven. I baked brownies for tonight and enjoyed the quietness of my baking.

That was really a blessing from God. Thank you, Father! Amen.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

finally I laugh


For the first time since Sunday I have been able to laugh about breaking the blade off the ceiling fan. Thanks to Vicki for her comment I have finally been able to put it behind me. Her visual of me swinging on the ceiling fan did it for me. I might try it from the one in the dining room. I sure would like to have a new black one in there also.


I have a thousand things to do and yet here I sit. Oh well.....


Oh well seems to be my motto the last few years. I used to get upset about things (like the ceiling fan) and it sure is less stressful to just say "Oh well...." and let it go. Let sleeping dogs lie.


It's cloudy today and I'm hoping for rain. Enough to settle all the sand in our yard. If Donald hadn't helped me Saturday I don't think I would ever of gotten it all moved. I got a little over ambitious when I ordered it. But at least I had plenty for my sidewalk; I had more than enough for that project.


Oh well.....

Sunday, October 12, 2008

why oh why??

This has not been a good afternoon. I was dusting the ceiling fans and one of the blades broke off on the one in the living room. Rebekah asked me if it was because I was swinging on it. I can assure you it was not! Now I don't clean the ceiling fans often enough, but I haven't broken one before. I guess that's another reason for me to put on my list, "Why I should not clean the ceiling fans."

Donald and I went to Home Depot and bought another fan. In trying to install it he found out the first one was not installed properly. That meant several more trips to Home Depot and several trips up in attic for Ben. I feel horrible. I hate it when they have to go up there. It's all because of my desire to clean. In all fairness to myself, that doesn't happen often enough. But at least I haven't broken a fan before.

So now I have a son up in the attic hammering on something, a husband up on the ladder peering up into the hole where all the noise is coming from, and lots of insulation in the middle of the living room floor.

Why, oh why did I have to clean that fan??

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

before and after or what I want it to look like


Not my sidewalk......yet

I have spent less time on the computer the last few weeks than I have in years. Literally. I have been so busy. Donald helped me on my sidewalk that I am making and I am almost finished with it. I want to acid stain my concrete sidewalk leading up the front door. I've checked online and at Walmart and haven't found the stuff though. I also want to tweak a couple of places on the one I'm making. Barb came over last week and suggested a few changes. It's amazing what that girl can see that's not there! I wish I had her gift.

Yesterday I started not feeling well and actually slept off and on for a couple of hours during the afternoon. We went to Celebrate Recovery and I came home and went to bed. I called my urologist this morning and am waiting to see whether I have to go in or if he will call something in for me. I just saw him for a check up last month so hopefully I won't have to go in again. I hate not feeling well. I know that's a rather lame statement as most people don't like to be sick.

I had all these projects I was going to get accomplished this week. Now it seems they are falling by the wayside. Another opportunity to practice flexibility, huh? I really don't feel like getting all bent out of shape about it though. I think I'll go take a nap.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

fifty-three cents


Maybe I need to stop posting about certain character qualities. Last time I stated that I was learning flexibility. Well, because of my claim I have to set the record straight. I'm not as far along as I thought. Saturday I had the perfect opportunity to be flexible. I totally blew it. I didn't get to do what I wanted to do when I wanted to do it and I got all bent out of sorts. I mean for hours. I knew I had an attitude that was wrong, but I couldn't shake it. It was because I made it all about me. So it looks like I'm back to the drawing board on that one.


Today though I have made slight progress in another area. I balance the checkbook cause I'm good at it. Well, usually. It seems I forgot to write down a check from August and am just now discovering it. Thankfully we weren't overdrawn, but it frustrates me. Then last month I was fifty-two cents off. I looked and looked and couldn't find the error. I finally let it go, hoping it would correct itself this month. No such luck. Now I have been off a penny for a long time, and it was a major victory when I let that one go. But fifty-two cents, plus the penny???


Yep, I did it!! I just wrote it off and let it go! We are fifty-three cents poorer, but I figure my peace of mind is worth that much. Now some of you are probably rolling your eyes and wondering what the big deal is. But others know exactly what I'm talking about. So give us a break if it doesn't bother you to do such things. (grin)


Life has been busy. I had sand delivered Monday and I've been working on completing my sidewalk. I still have to get pea gravel but the company said I would need so little it would be less expensive just to get buckets and haul it myself. Maybe I'll get some today just to see what it will look like.


I really don't have time to blog, but I just needed to state my fifty-three cent victory to someone. Guess who got chosen??