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Choring in my PJ’s

24 Tuesday Jul 2012

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Just FYI, I’m staying in my PJ’s all day. I’m telling myself it’s so I won’t be tempted to leave the house since I have so much to do here. We both know it’s because I’m too lazy to get dressed, but I like my first bit of reasoning better so that’s what I’m going with.

Usually on days like this, where I have so much to do and looming deadlines, I justify a nice morning Diet Coke on the porch time. When I got up at 6:10 this morning it was 85 degrees. Sadly that really did feel cool in the wake of the 106 degree temps we have had all week, but not cool enough to be sitting on the front porch. Instead I took care of my morning chores in my PJ’s (I tell myself the neighbors don’t see me) and came back to bed. The computer is here with me so I’m getting some of my work done. I’ve made my list of things to do and I just wrote blog at the bottom of the list and marked it off, so I feel like stuff is getting done!

I’m working on a study about running from God. (OR the alternate title, Avoiding God, Wandering around with my eyes closed hoping He doesn’t see me) God always kicks my tail before I teach, and I’m finding myself in the middle of this issue getting my tail kicked with the ways that I avoid God, or just flat out run away from Him. Help me? How do you run from God?  

 

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Summer

10 Tuesday Jul 2012

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 If not blogging when I promise that I will makes me a bad person, then I think I might be in trouble. I had a vision this summer of sitting down and documenting the chickens and the garden at least once a week. Mostly because I was sure there were going to be funny and interesting stories. Sadly there weren’t. The chickens have been fairly uneventful, and after the first deer in the garden and the resulting electrical experiment, the garden has gone quietly. So I have been a complete slacker in the blogging department with the result being that all five of my dedicated readers have missed out on………absolutely nothing.

Here is my little catch up.

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I got the garden in a little late this year since I didn’t want to plant without a fence. So our tomatoes have just started to really produce. We have been anxiously waiting for the first BLT’s and I think tonight is the night! We have had lots of zucchini. (If you want some contact me) and a mess of okra when my sister-in-law and her husband were here last weekend. Sooooo good.

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 I feel like I have so much going on! But there is so much more I want to get done before the summer is over! Like every summer it seems to be slipping away so quickly.

Em and E went to Mobile Alabama on a mission trip and got home a week ago. They have been having trip withdrawal think. It’s hard to get back into the pattern at home when all you want to do is go back to the camaraderie of working with friends. We will get it all back together then they will go to camp 🙂

We have a small getaway with friends planned in August. Not the big camp trip, which everyone is a little sad about. But that will make it sweeter next year when we get to go back.

My classes start the 20th of August. I’m struggling to decide what to do about a job. Count on what might happen with the ideal situation or go with the less ideal for sure? In my innocence I thought things got easier as we got older. Hmmmm.Image

 

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Chickens and other Craziness

02 Monday Apr 2012

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I am turning into quite the domestic goddess. No, really, stop laughing! I have a clean house (mostly) laundry drying outside on the line, and chickens. Doesn’t that make me a little domestic? I mean come on; I’m even in a couple of carpools. I think that makes me domestic.

The chickens are really uneventful and a little boring. I mean they are cute to watch. We are slightly sadistic and wave our hands under the heat lamp to simulate bird attacks, just to watch them scatter. But I figure its training them to be more aware of their surroundings. They eat and sleep and peck at the bottom of their pen but other than that they are pretty uneventful and anti-climactic.

The excitement they have caused our household is a slightly different story. Heidi, the cat, has expressed some interest in them. Not enough to try to conquer the chicken wire and really take a good look. But once in a while I walk in the kitchen and catch her peeking over the top of the pen and through the chicken wire. She casually saunters away when she sees me. She doesn’t fool me.

The real excitement centers on the chicken house. We originally planned to retro fit a big doghouse we had, that of course the dogs have absolutely no interest in. However once Randy started googling chicken houses, and began the design process that of course was not going to work. I will admit to some “pinning” (if you don’t use pintrest ignore this and whatever you do don’t start. It’s addictive) of interesting looking houses. Randy thinks the ones I like look trashy. I choose to call them quaint, charming and rustic. The ones he likes look nicer than the house we live in. Perhaps I over exaggerate a bit…….. So now our retro fit idea is out the window.

We now have I don’t know how many projects going. We really need to commit to one and finish it. But there always seems to be something that keeps that from happening. Our inside projects for the winter were a pantry re-model and to clean out the basement. We got both started, but then the electric company cut down a slew of trees on a neighbor’s property so both of those projects went on the back burner and Randy borrowed a friend’s log splitter and went wood splitting crazy (We now have more wood than we will use in the next 5 years.) The wood has all been split, but it is in piles all over the back patio because it’s been too wet to haul it all back to the shed. AND the piles Randy and E made before it rained all fell over. Then suddenly winter was over and with it all gorgeous outside I refuse to work in the basement soooo the first weekend of Spring Break we went and got the fence stuff for the garden. We picked up the post hole digger from my brother-in-law’s but it’s been way too wet to try to dig, and………. we can’t get the post hole digger started. Last Saturday it was so pretty out we determined to work outside to finish at least one job, but I got an idea (insert “oh no!!” here) and we ended up tearing down a pointless fence lining one side of the yard and cleaning out from underneath the trees. Good news is we’ve got most of the wood we need for the chicken house. Bad news is I got the worst case of poison ivy I’ve ever had (insert laughter here). So the pantry, the basement, the wood, the garden and the chicken house sit unfinished or un-started.

Please tell me that the same thing happens to you. Lie if you have to.

It’s Spring!

15 Thursday Mar 2012

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So today I was messing around outside when I should have been spending time inside cleaning house or doing laundry or something domestic I’m sure. But it is way too pretty to be inside even if the windows are open, so I wandered around the yard taking pictures.

I’m not really sure how all this works on the page, so forgive me if I repeat myself. The pansies survived all on their own this year. A totally UnKansaslike winter was the only reason. I didn’t even water them!

And here is darling Zoe. I’m surprised my sweet little old lady is still with us. She has a hard time getting around these days so I think she won’t be much longer. She still insists on following me around the yard when I’m out there. Even if I move a few feet she gets up and lays down next to me.

 
I hope you are enjoying Spring as much as I am! Life is calm and crazy all at the same time. Emma is swimming on the MHS team and Ethan is running track so afternoons are lots of running kids everywhere. Mornings are usually slower and relaxing. I’ve been working at the Beach Art Museum on campus. I LOVE every bit of it. Makes me remember why I went into Art in the first place.

 

NINE Towels. Really?

23 Thursday Feb 2012

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Sorry, that was unintentionally a long break from blogging.Crazy how life gets in the way sometimes and days slip quietly (or loudlydepending on your circumstances) by. And just FYI one of these wonderful men inmy life is the 14 year old I mention later. Just sayin.

I’ve been very introspective lately. As some of you know, Iquit selling Real Estate. Totally long and involved story that if you arereally interested in you can email me, or better yet call! Right now I amtrusting God to do what He knows is best in my life. For the most part beinghome is good. I am looking for a job, but one that fits my families scheduleand needs.

So in my introspection I have decided to participate in Lentthis year. This is not something I have ever done before.  To be honest I only noticed it because I’dhear about Fat Tuesday and see my Catholic friends walking around with ashes ontheir foreheads. This year though God pointed it out early, and nudged metowards giving something up to remind me of Christ’s sacrifice. The nail in thecoffin so to speak was when a friend emailed me on Monday and mentioned for thefirst time she was feeling the nudge to participate too. 

I know the goal isn’t to give up something that EQUALS thesacrifice of Christ that just isn’t humanly possible. I have fasted before so Iknow I could give up something sothat when I wanted that thing I could reflect on Jesus sacrifice. But my heartwas drawn to finding something that was more about my relationship with Jesus. So I gave up daytime TV. Now don’t go jumpingto conclusions about what my daytime TV habits were. I’m terrified of what youare thinking so notice I’m scrambling to make sure you understand. I tend toturn the TV on in the morning after I have made lunches for everyone. The buscomes at 6:50 am and it passes the house to turn around at the end of the roadand come back to pick the kids up. When I sit to watch for the bus, I turn themorning news on, and mostly it stays on after that if I am home. Good MorningAmerica, Food Network, HGTV, etc. I like to have the noise on and periodicallyI will hear or see something interesting and sit to watch for a while. Therehave been days since I quit going to an office that I get sucked into whateverhappens to be on and I tune back into my day only after a half an hour or morehas slipped by.

Every so often I have to sit my kids down and reestablishrules and boundaries that have slipped around the house. I did this Sundaynight after having found NINE towelsin a certain 14 year olds room that didn’t make it down to the laundry roomlike they were supposed to. NINE!! Seriously……………………I feel like that is what God is doing for me. He is reestablishing thoseboundaries for our relationship that I have let slide. So I have committed tokeep the TV off during the day. Instead of being unintentionally sucked intothe world, I want to be sucked into His word while time slips by. The result ofthe silence so far seems to emphasize the fact that I was unintentionallydrowning God out.

10 Things I Hope for my Teenage Daughter

24 Tuesday Jan 2012

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With Em’s birthday right around the corner, and given the fact that every year I think “she’s HOW old?” I am doing my first 10 on Tuesday ever, just for her.

1.      I hope she doesn’t let other people define her


2.      I hope she is brave


3.      I hope she isn’t afraid to lead by a compassionate example


4.      I hope she remembers not to let being prettyrule her life


5.      I hope she never feels the need to impress a guy


6.      I hope she remembers she is never alone, evenwhen she feels like she is


7.      I hope she dreams big


8.      I hope she learns from her mistakes


9.      I hope she trusts God enough to step out infaith when he asks her to


10.  I hope she loves the life God gives her.


11.  (I hope she doesn’t think I’m stupid forever)

Give Away!

05 Thursday Jan 2012

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I have an additional copy of the book “7” an experimental mutiny against excess, which I would love to give away. If you would like to enter to win, add a comment here or under the book review post with your name and email address. We will pick a winner at random January 10th!

Cha Cha Cha Changes!

03 Tuesday Jan 2012

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My family is cranky. Maybe it’s the fact that the kids are ready to go back to school, or maybe it’s because they aren’t ready to go back…….Maybe it’s too much of everything; Christmas, time off, time awake, togetherness. Who knows why? But they are cranky. Maybe I am too. I insisted today that we get out of the house and away from the TV/video games/movies/mindless vegetation. So we went to the library to use the Internet, and to Radio Shack to talk to someone about how to get it at our house. (Yes there is a place in this United States where normal people don’t get Internet.)  Then came back home to watch more bowl games and do nothing! We did that a lot this break, at least the half of break after Christmas. Before Christmas we had snow days, finals, projects due (we hardly saw Randy for two weeks!) and crazy busy schedules. We didn’t watch TV the whole time though. The house is super clean, and we re-did the office. Now you can actually get to a computer without climbing over boxes and chairs. I need to see if we have any before pictures so I can post an after picture so you can really appreciate all that was accomplished.

Some super fantastic friends came out New Years Eve from KC and spent the night and everything! We did nothing except eat, talk and have fun together for 24 hours straight. I so appreciate their friendship and the joy they brought to me by doing that. Not everyone would have put up with the chaos 10 adults and 13 kids can create especially overnight.

So now it’s 2012. I have a feeling it’s going to be a year of great change for us. Some things have already happened; some things are yet to come. Have I mentioned how grateful I am for a God who is constant even when our lives are not? I can’t really talk about a new year without mentioning that. Even when I feel like I have no idea where I’m going, He is there.   He knows where I’m headed before it even enters my mind. He knows my heart’s desire even more than I do. No matter how confused I am. He never is. He offers such peace WHEN I REMEMBER THAT! How is it that I ever forget?

Psalms 139:2-12 (The Message)
I’m an open book to you;
even from a distance, you know what I’m thinking.
You know when I leave and when I get back;
I’m never out of your sight.
You know everything I’m going to say
before I start the first sentence.
I look behind me and you’re there,
then up ahead and you’re there, too—
your reassuring presence, coming and going.
This is too much, too wonderful—
I can’t take it all in!
 Is there anyplace I can go to avoid your Spirit?
to be out of your sight?
If I climb to the sky, you’re there!
If I go underground, you’re there!
If I flew on morning’s wings
to the far western horizon,

You’d find me in a minute—
you’re already there waiting!
Then I said to myself, “Oh, he even sees me in the dark!
At night I’m immersed in the light!”
It’s a fact: darkness isn’t dark to you;
night and day, darkness and light, they’re all the same to you.

House Updates

15 Tuesday Nov 2011

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We bought this house last year because it has great potential. In Real Estate speak that means it needs work, and it does. Nothing big, just a pretty upgrade, because we like to say that while this house was build in 1990 it looks like it was decorated in 1970. We had about $80 on a Home Depot card after we took back extra stuff from the renovation on the house before we left KC. So that, and maybe $30 extra has funded the upgrade so far.

 Our first re-do was Caleb’s bedroom on the first floor. The kids really hadn’t had their own space since we left Lenexa in ’09, so we wanted to get bedrooms done first. When we first moved in we gave him the slightly larger room since it shared a wall with the bathroom. That way he got the noise J It was a lovely mustard color (I don’t know if I can really infuse those written words with the sarcasm that the spoken word conveys) and had Kelly green curtains. I went through the house the day we got here and took down all but one set of curtains. Randy couldn’t understand my mania but they were awful. The mauve plastic mini blinds in the kitchen survived slightly longer, but that was only out of necessity.

Since he was back in KC last winter we moved his stuff out of the room, scraped the ceiling, and painted the trim, windows and walls. We didn’t paint the doors; I think we will replace them later. That was one thing we learned from the flip. Replacing doors is relatively inexpensive and made a HUGE difference in the overall look of the house. Painting the cheap, flat, wood doors just made them look cheaper

 We moved into that room after it was finished and started on the, I can’t think of the proper adjective, avocado green room. It was a surprise for Caleb when he came back home for the weekend. I want him to feel like he has a place here even though he has been pretty transient with college and everything.

 We scraped the ceiling here too. Odd thing about the house is the different types of ceilings. Living room is smooth, kitchen and upstairs rooms are bead board, all other rooms are popcorn. The big chunky kind. I hate scraping ceilings. Randy does the big parts I do the areas around the light fixtures and edges. I will say though it is totally worth it to go to the trouble. If you dry scrape and paint them they look like they were knockdown from the beginning.

We also replaced the light fixture. We had one left over from the flip. It’s crazy how those simple things can have such a big impact. The ceiling fan in our room was actually really nice already.

I will post pictures of the other two bedrooms later. We haven’t done anything to Em’s she is having a hard time figuring out what to do. I think I have almost convinced her to just let me make the decisions for her!