Mondays

Mondays are hard days.  Why? Because they come after Sunday.  I love Sunday...Monday is just, well Monday...recovery day.  My boys were cranky and whiny today...strangely enough, I was not, until we went to the grocery store.  Monday is NOT my grocery day, but there is a big chill moving in and I don't want to be out in it...so I had to go today.  We got home and I sent my two preschool-age-acting children to bed!  The younger fell asleep in minutes.  That might have been the best hour of the day....

moving update

We heard back from the agent that the owner would not come down in price, but would take the house off the market for one year.  We would sign a one year lease instead of month to month with it on the market.  After crunching numbers I thought we could still make it work, but after asking a few questions and looking at water and utility prices for the area, maybe not.  We'd be responsible for the lawn care, which would mean extra purchases of things like hoses, lawn mower, rakes, etc. Plus garbage, sewer, gas, water and electric, phew!
I'm still praying and waiting, but more at peace at letting this one go by. 

wishing and hoping...

...and thinking and praying....
We looked at a couple of places yesterday.  I really liked this cute little brick house in Keene, TX....what, you've never heard of Keene?  Compared to what we've seen...well, there's no comparison really.  It's super cute, hard wood floors through out, huge yard with a little garden, one car garage.  The bad?  The kitchen is small, but it has a window over the sink...I really like that!  And, only one bathroom.  We've always had two, so that would take some adjustment...but I have boys, so that helps. :>)
The problem?  It's just a little bit too much $.  We would probably pay that for an apartment, with no yard care, lower electricity, etc.  But, we know there is extra maintenance costs with a house.  Also, it is listed for sale and they would still want it to be shown...however, it is priced (way) too high from what I've seen of comparable properties.....SO.....
I'm praying....
We asked the property manager if the owner would consider coming down in price (it's been vacant for over a month, so that's in our favor).  He said he would be happy to ask him (and then added that the owner is a professor at the seminary in town (Seventh Day Adventist)).  He said he would call this morning and let us know.  So, I'm praying.  If this is the house for us, the price will come down, if the price doesn't come down, well, we'll keep looking and praying. 
Walking in faith, believing that God will do what He has promised.  Trusting that His provision will come in His time. 
Here is a link if you want to see some photos!

Sunday funnies

We enjoyed a few funny moments on Sunday...I would have enjoyed them more without the headache turned migraine...it was one of the worst I've had...EVER!  By the time the evening service was over I made a bee line for the door and sat in the van until Casey was ready...not my best moment, but it was that or pass out in the pew!  I'm 75% sure that it is triggered by scent.  There are some very sweet people with some very strong perfume and cologne smells.  I've ended up with headaches on several Sundays now, but this last one was the worst (have I mentioned that yet?).  I've always been sensitive to smells...I love candles, but most scents end up giving me a headache, ditto to lotions, shampoos, flowers, powders, room sprays, etc.  (feel sorry for me yet?). 
Okay, enough of my woes.  Sunday afternoon during choir practice the choir director (aka my sweet Casey) gave a lesson in diction.  I wanted to crawl under my chair, but it was really quite funny...and (I think) everyone else thought so too.  So, the "lesson" was when singing to use the pure vowel and not add extra vowels to words (like many do).  For instance "Christ" should not be pronounced "Chri-eest" (with the extra ee sound), get it?  So Casey said, this is how you are singing, "Chrieest," this is how I want you to sing it...etc.  another example he gave was "sacrifice" sounding like "sacrifi-eece."  Everyone got a kick out of hearing Casey sing back to them what (some) of them were singing.  It took a few times through before we could sing the lines without giggling.  :>)
The evening service was also AWANA night, meaning the kids had a chance to say a verse they were working on and help with the offering.  Josiah & Ethan both helped with the offering and then Ethan went to sit with a friend and Josiah came back to sit with me.  Josiah was a little upset by the injustice of it all (Ethan sitting with a friend), not to mention being tired from an already long day.  The Awana commander asked who had a verse and Josiah shot his hand up and moved toward the front to say his verse, which he's known for over a week and has said a thousand times...well, at least 25 times.  Very quickly a microphone was put into his hands and then it happened...he FROZE.  He mumbled, "I can't remember."  I tried to feed him the first part, but nothing was there.  Someone took the microphone from his hands and he came back to me and then lost it.  He was so embarrassed, poor kid, but it was kind of funny how cute he was about it.  He was on my lap with his face buried until I was so hot I couldn't handle it (remember the migraine?).  I had him lay down and rest on the pew, and he was out in no time at all.  He even left a little drool mark on the pew....gross, I know. 

My sweet man

My sweet man went to the grocery store for me today.  One, it's super cold out, but mainly because my tummy hurts....I've had some serious GI problems this week, but that's another topic altogether.  Anyway, he's there now and has called every couple of minutes to ask a question.  He's so sweet.  I know he could do it without calling, but he wants to be sure to get what I want.  And, he's getting it done between his classes, instead of studying...what a guy!  I usually make a trip to the store about every four days, that's all our fridge can hold, but I haven't gone since Wednesday last week, so the list was long!  I love him....

What we've been up to lately

I looked over my last few posts and realized I haven't really "reported" on what we've been up to lately...so here's the recap.

1. We've been at Lane Prairie for almost a month (4 weeks anyway).  We LOVE it!  Everyone has been so friendly and welcoming, it feels like home.  The boys are making new friends, they LOVE Awana (it helps that last Wed. was ice cream night).  Sundays are really, really long, but we've really been blessed there and the long days are totally worth it.

2.  Casey bought a truck...because of #1.  We've really needed a 2nd vehicle, but the timing was finally right.  It's a little 1996 Ford Ranger...so he's a happy guy.  We've had problems getting the title (not the sellers fault), but it has given Casey some opportunity to connect more with the guy and that's been neat.

The dinner party at Joe T. Garcia's

3.  Our good friends (and next door neighbors) moved back to Arkansas.  They are doing great, but we will really miss having them next door!  God really blessed us by placing us where he did in the student housing.  I think MB introduced me to everyone she knew when we moved in.  We had a fun dinner out with them and with some other good friends last Friday night.

One of the adult tables.

4.  We've been looking at moving down to Joshua (also because of #1).  I find myself getting really anxious and worked up about it and then have to remind myself that God WILL provide a place for us.  In HIS time.  We'll just keep looking and waiting.  Really, March would be a better time to move because the boys are playing basketball close to where we live.  With 8 am games every Saturday and practices at 5 pm on Mon & Tue....well, I think I can wait a bit longer.  We did look at one "fixer"...it should probably just be condemned.  Ethan prayed that night that we wouldn't live in that house.

Kids table

5.  Casey started classes again.  This semester he's only taking 8 credits...so we should see him a bit more.

6.  The boys started basketball.  I'm trying to have a good attitude about it this year.  They love it of course, and I love that they love it, but schedule wise it's kind of crazy.  And, we were so blessed by how amazing the Upwards ran at North Fort Worth...I had no idea how well they did it until going to a new place....  It's not bad, it's just really unorganized, and that kind of thing (REALLY) annoys me...I'm working through my issues so I can enjoy it. :>)

7.  Casey and I are reading through the Bible this year.  Also, every night (so far) in 2011 we've had a Bible reading and prayer time with the boys.  So far it has been a chapter in Genesis and a chapter in Matthew each night.  It has been so good.  A few nights it's been pretty late, but we've still made sure to do it and it's really been a blessing.  Ethan has lots of good insights (sometimes right and sometimes not, but it's neat to hear what's going on in his head).  There is a lot of stuff in the Bible that we don't normally talk about, like circumcision.  Now that was an interesting conversation with two little boys.

Favorites

We have some favorite people.  I think Olive Garden has a saying, something like, "when your here your family."  That's how I feel about the Vanlandinghams.  When we are with them we feel like part of the family.  They treated us like part of their family back starting back in 1998 when their family came to pastor a mission church on the little speck on the map place called Ronald.  That is where Casey got started leading worship (singing and leading with guitar).  We led the youth with a few of the other Vanlandinghams that were our age.  And, to this date, I have never enjoyed a group of youth kids more.  Now most of our "kids" are married and having families of their own....

Seyed, Emily & Addison Joy

So, sometime between Christmas and New Year we received a huge blessing!  We enjoyed spending the afternoon with some of them!  Emily and her husband are living near Dallas and with their new, sweet and precious baby girl.  Ron, Nancy and Katherine were down visiting them so we drove over to visit too.  It was a sweet time with some very sweet people.

 Me with Addison Joy

Katherine & Josiah

Math lessons

Yesterday was a tough math day for Josiah.  In the curriculum we use he went from + 2's to this week learning the + 9's.  We watched the video, did a few examples with the blocks, and then moved to paper.  That's when I could see that it wasn't really clicking.  I sat with him as we worked through the problems on the paper.  In frustration and being the dramatic person he is, he threw his head back and moaned, "I'll never be smart in math."  Sometimes it's all I can do to not laugh at his drama and calmly give him the "you are smart, you are still learning, we'll try again tomorrow" pep talk.  We worked our way through the problems, step by step and then put it away.  I have to admit I had the "I'll never be a good homeschool mom" thoughts go through my head, though I generally keep it inside and try not to display it with the same dramatic flair of my youngest son.

Fast forward to today.  I thought I'd have him start with math just to get it out of the way.  I asked him if he remembered how to do it and he said he did, so I went on to help Ethan with something.  About five minutes later I hear moaning from the kitchen, "Oh, I'm sooo tired.  I can't hold my head up..." etc.  So, I do what any mom does and sent him straight to bed, no lights on, no books in bed, do not pass go do not collect any money.  He was there a few minutes and came down (amazingly) all refreshed and ready for the day.  I gave him my serious voice "talking too" about getting our work done, doing our best, etc.  He agreed with me (of course) and I offered to help him get started.  We sat down at the table and worked the first few problems rather quickly.  He declared, "I got it.  I think I got it."  So, I told him to finish up the page and then I'd check up on him.  He was done faster than I thought possible and I thought, "oh great, he just filled in the numbers" (he's done that before).  I was so happy to see that he had them all right...he really did get it.  He was SO proud of himself...and I was proud of him too.  We celebrated with a happy dance in the kitchen singing, "ooo yeah, he got it, oooo yeah he got it, got it."

a little rant

I need to rant...just a little.

If you can not sit down without flashing your hiney, your skirt is too short.  Better yet, it's probably actually a shirt and not even a skirt/dress.  Second, if you really want to wear the shirt (trust me...it's not a dress) then please, please, please wear leggings (or better yet, pants) and not just black nylons...there is a difference.  Know how I know...cause I saw your HINEY when you sat down and those were not leggings!  And, if you really, really feel the need to wear a shirt with nylons, please stay home and don't come to out to the kids basketball practice!  Seriously people!

I feel a little better now...

A new year...

2010 was a good year for our family.  It was a hard year, but nevertheless a good one.  We are blessed. 

One thing I love about a new year is the time to reflect on the past year (or years) and then to look forward to what may be in the future.  I don't really do resolutions, but I do like to set goals for myself.  Sometimes I make the goals and sometimes not, but it's always good to have them.  So, here are some of my goals for 2011.

• Read through the Bible:  I haven't done this since before the kids were born, so I think it's time to do it again. 
• Weight loss:  2010 was a good start - I dropped 60 pounds (and then gained 10 back over the last 4 months - boo!) So, time to start again and drop it for good.  My incentive/reward:  I asked Casey if he would take a dance class with me and he said yes!
• Organization - if I even knew where to start...but I'm going to try...this is the "loftiest" of my goals...
• Finish the "Come and See" discipleship program through ariel.org - I started this in 2009 and then life seemed to fall apart (it didn't, but it felt like it at the time)...followed by a move to Texas....  I was recently praying about enrolling in some classes from Liberty online, and then remembered that I'd started this...so I'll finish this up first.  

 What are your goals or resolutions for 2011?