My clothes are FINALLY back in the closet; organized, hung properly, and waiting for me to get dressed tomorrow morning.
Over two months ago we relocated the entire contents of our master closet to wherever they would fit. Some things went to the basement, some things went into the kids rooms. Then when the basement "mishap" happened the other day, the stuff was moved once more. Do you see now, why this is so exciting for me?
Tomorrow morning I can wake up, not shower in OUR bathroom (another SNAFU has postponed the completion) and get dressed from MY closet! It's really the little things in life, isn't it???
Toodles-
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Monday, April 23, 2012
It's been a while
We've been running short on adventures over here. It's been a few months.
Our number came up last night. In the middle of the night, to be exact.
When I awoke to visit the bathroom (recall we're sleeping in the basement guest room) at midnight, my feet hit water. I'm pretty proud of myself for only uttering a clean "oh no!" when the situation clearly called for much worse. Audrey was in my bed as Nelson was on a business trip (he frequently misses the fun). When I turned on the light to see how bad it was, she awoke. Now two of us were concerned.
Boring you with all the details will only, well, bore you.
By the grace of God I was able to get someone to come out today. Five hours of work, and the carpet is now removed and my guest room is a shell. Many prayers were uttered. It would have been very easy to lose it today. All I kept repeating was "I count it pure joy, when encountering trials" ( James 1:2. )
Why do I count it joy? In the big picture of this life, water in my basement is hardly something to lose sleep over. In a few months it will be forgotten, and perhaps even laughed about. My house is still habitable, my family is safe, and thank God, we have a place to lay our heads at night. These aren't small things, but it's easy to let the stress of a situation cloud our vision so that we are blind to the good in the trial. James, in verse 2, goes onto to say that our faith, when tested, produces perseverance. Oh to be a woman of perseverance! Yet we can't get there without the trials, and that's often overlooked. From now on, when God allows me to be tested through a trial, I want to "count it all joy" so I can be "mature and complete, not needing anything" (James 1:4).
For right now, however, the one thing I DO need, is a really really good night of sleep.
Sweet dreams!
Our number came up last night. In the middle of the night, to be exact.
When I awoke to visit the bathroom (recall we're sleeping in the basement guest room) at midnight, my feet hit water. I'm pretty proud of myself for only uttering a clean "oh no!" when the situation clearly called for much worse. Audrey was in my bed as Nelson was on a business trip (he frequently misses the fun). When I turned on the light to see how bad it was, she awoke. Now two of us were concerned.
Boring you with all the details will only, well, bore you.
By the grace of God I was able to get someone to come out today. Five hours of work, and the carpet is now removed and my guest room is a shell. Many prayers were uttered. It would have been very easy to lose it today. All I kept repeating was "I count it pure joy, when encountering trials" ( James 1:2. )
Why do I count it joy? In the big picture of this life, water in my basement is hardly something to lose sleep over. In a few months it will be forgotten, and perhaps even laughed about. My house is still habitable, my family is safe, and thank God, we have a place to lay our heads at night. These aren't small things, but it's easy to let the stress of a situation cloud our vision so that we are blind to the good in the trial. James, in verse 2, goes onto to say that our faith, when tested, produces perseverance. Oh to be a woman of perseverance! Yet we can't get there without the trials, and that's often overlooked. From now on, when God allows me to be tested through a trial, I want to "count it all joy" so I can be "mature and complete, not needing anything" (James 1:4).
For right now, however, the one thing I DO need, is a really really good night of sleep.
Sweet dreams!
Friday, April 20, 2012
We have sinks and a counter!
It's been a long slow two weeks of no work in the bathroom. I wish I could say it wasn't all my fault, but we vacationed for 6 days so that's partly to blame. (Vacation post to come soon).
Yesterday the call came that the counters were ready. Of course they wanted to arrive between 2-5pm today- something I couldn't quite work out. After some juggling and calling on a friend, I was able to ensure that someone was here in that time frame. All my juggling was for naught. They didn't arrive until nearly 6pm- on a FRIDAY.
Turns out it was well worth the wait. I LOVE the look. I feel like a bride all dressed up, waiting impatiently to walk down the aisle to her groom.....my excitement can't be contained, and yet, I have to wait longer. Next week, hopefully, the tile will be completed, as will the plumbing and electrical. The contractor appears more ready to get this finished than we are- if that's even possible.
Here it is so far:
Yesterday the call came that the counters were ready. Of course they wanted to arrive between 2-5pm today- something I couldn't quite work out. After some juggling and calling on a friend, I was able to ensure that someone was here in that time frame. All my juggling was for naught. They didn't arrive until nearly 6pm- on a FRIDAY.
Turns out it was well worth the wait. I LOVE the look. I feel like a bride all dressed up, waiting impatiently to walk down the aisle to her groom.....my excitement can't be contained, and yet, I have to wait longer. Next week, hopefully, the tile will be completed, as will the plumbing and electrical. The contractor appears more ready to get this finished than we are- if that's even possible.
Here it is so far:
Thing 29
The neighborhood is turning over. This is a good thing. We need more kids and families to come and join us here on this serene street. In the last few weeks we've had two new additions to the block, both of which have 1st grade girls. I could not have planned it any better myself.
Audrey is thrilled beyond belief and I KNOW it's going to be a great summer for her because of it. It doesn't hurt when this mom gets a new mom friend out of the deal too!
The timing is certainly interesting in that, if we had all moved in about the same time, it might have been vastly different. My kids were able to adjust to the neighborhood slowly, and get to know some of the people over the last few months. Now, as they greet the new families, they can welcome them and show them the ropes of the street. I love that.
Thing 29 that I love about our move, is that we're not the "new kids on the block" anymore!
Audrey is thrilled beyond belief and I KNOW it's going to be a great summer for her because of it. It doesn't hurt when this mom gets a new mom friend out of the deal too!
The timing is certainly interesting in that, if we had all moved in about the same time, it might have been vastly different. My kids were able to adjust to the neighborhood slowly, and get to know some of the people over the last few months. Now, as they greet the new families, they can welcome them and show them the ropes of the street. I love that.
Thing 29 that I love about our move, is that we're not the "new kids on the block" anymore!
Monday, April 2, 2012
Thing 28
He just represented his school at the New Jersey Geography Bee. Only 102 students were there to represent schools across the state in grades 4-8. He was one of only six kids in grade five, the rest being older.
Our two hour drive down south was a very quiet one. The nerves and anxiety were palpable, and the only thing I knew to do was to pray. My prayer wasn't that he win the contest, but that he would do his best and be able to walk away with his head held high. His tendency in times like this, is to degrade himself and lose his confidence. I wasn't going to fall into the trap of feeding that frenzy, so I kept quiet.
For me, this was more about seeing how he does under pressure, and teaching him to enjoy the ride. It's so easy to focus on the winning, and to see oneself as a failure if you don't win. As a Christian, I want to teach my children to do their best, trust in God and leave the outcome up to Him. Winning is just a bonus! These kind of experiences in life are so rare, and if he merely concentrates on attaining the title of winner, he'll miss the joy of being in the midst of something incredible. Soak it up I wanted to tell him.
How did he do? Turns out he went to the tie breaker round, as he answered 8 out 8 correctly in the preliminary round. In the tie breaker, he missed the second question. He finished 16th overall in the state. Knock me over with a feather.
All three of us stayed to watch the final round. He was jumping in his seat frequently, as he knew the answer to nearly all of them. This kid has the knowledge to make it up there, but not this year. God is going to refine him and prepare him in HIS time. On the day of the bee, he stated he wasn't going to do this next year as he didn't want "to give up a whole day to geography" (the nerves were talking). By the time we got through dinner that evening, he was already mentioning next year's bee.
Thing 28 I love is Geography Bees and how they allow a parent to see God at work in their child.
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