A Whole New World

It's amazing how shiny new objects bring out the creativity.

A friend is moving and we are the lucky recipients of scores of Lego's that were her now grown sons. My boys have already enjoyed hours of playtime and creativity.

The loot is a mix of half-still-together-kits, fully together kits, and completely mixed up individual pieces. The boys use the "halfers" as a base and create unique, though probably not FAA approved, but certainly "T and C" approved, flying empires.

They haven't reached the bottom of boxes one or two and there is still box three and a bag to go.

It seems to take something new and shiny, now and again, to get us kicked back into gear. I'd kind of stagnated in my work and a new company and new position have re-energized me. And made it more difficult to keep up with blogs, life etc ... until I find my rhythm.

I think though, we don't really need material changes to break the rut. Doesn't He promise that it's " new every morning"?  That we just have to get up and look at what He provides - the shiny new wonder of it all -

Then there's nothing stagnant ... Nothing not flight worthy.

He is good

He is so good! All the time!

We drove 10 hours to visit my husbands family for thanksgiving holiday. I always love visiting "northern new york" because it's a very rural experience and I love just taking in the slower pace of life and the extensive farm country. It's so beautiful in its simplicity. People here get what they need not a lot of extras mostly because getting the extras would be an at least three hour drive or a lot of extra shipping fees. I often fanaticize about living there all the time. It would force a simpler way of life and a much more frugal way of life. For perspective - We live in a suburb of a major city where there is a target 20 minutes away in any direction from our home. Up here - There's a target two hours drive in one direction period.

Sometimes though in the slow lane it's easier to more clearly see how He's taking care of it all...

My husband and father in law went hunting on family land and it was successful on the first drive of the second day.

We stayed at a bed and breakfast and were in need of more regular coffee to finish our trip and that very day our host had a dish returned from a potluck with coffee that wasn't hers - they being non coffee drinkers, she offered it to us. Not to mention the wonderful accommodations and conversations.

A special trip to the animal shelter with gramma who works there and extra time in the kitty room upon request of C.

A successful sleepover with poppa and gramma for one, and a second successful sleepover with aunt s and uncle t for the other.

And while everyone else was searching out black Friday deals a drive towards home with minimal traffic. And as we neared a city two hours north of home I for a second worried about finding a place for dinner and a hotel on black friday in an area that is the only place to get shopping done for the area and then deciding after a heart nudge that He had it ... walking right into a restaurant very near a large mall and quickly finding a hotel room for the night.

God is happy to provide if only we ask and then notice His workings and words. May I always hear His call even when it's such a small nudge so easily missed in the business of life.

The Big Picture

Sometimes, in our walk through life, we get so caught up in the details we forget to step back and remember the big picture.  I'm reminded of this often by my youngest son C.  He'll look at the sky and say "Look at God's painting"...

 

When I look at that kind of beauty and think of the creator of that kind of beauty, my everyday struggles seem menial.

I was reminded of who I should always be focusing on - Him - and who I shouldn't be focusing on - me.  As I wondered how to be the wife and mom that I should be I realized that God created me to be the exact wife and mom my husband and kids need.  I need to stop looking for a worldly picture of what I think I should be and just be who God calls me to be.  Simple huh?  Sometimes all we need to do is look up ...

God is such a great artist - Thank you God for leading C to remind me of who and what needs focus.

The beginning ...

Today God worked His timing as only He does ... and boy do I like to just sit back and watch.  

Yesterday I'd gotten to the end of my professional rope and at the end of the day - well - I'd had it with it all.  Only to face homework on a time schedule because I had to be at parents night and my husband had a church meeting plus there's always that dinner thing and the piano and karate practice and goodness - didn't I just finish my professional day???

Well, my oldest school aged was a whiz at his homework and though we had the usual number of tears - we completed in record time - my heart asks why there are tears required to "learn" third grade??  Then he even completed piano practice through much coaching and example (as if I know how to play) ... and God willing we did the karate form our Master said he had to practice or his testing papers would be revoked.

Sigh - seriously sigh - if this is just the beginning of the year - why is it so tough already...

Then my husband got home and his meeting was canceled - double sigh - he can get through that second song on the piano again and he actually has the musical talent the boy needs ...  then after I made and ate with the boys dinner I left them with my husband and went to parents night and the biggest - THE BIGGEST - blessing happened.  God timed it so that a friend pulled in just as I did and for the first time the whole day I laughed - really laughed - thank you T - beyond words!!

And during open house it turns out I like the current teacher - even if his grades suffer he will learn a ton of life lessons that will serve him well - if only I was a mom who was a stay at home or part time and had time to remind and coax and help more than I can now...

And then at night my youngest CAN NOT sleep because he's so stuffed - so we ( the two of us) "sleep" on the couch so that we are at least upright and then finally I surrender and we both go back to "real bed" 10 minutes to the buzzer.  So I confirm that I will sleep in and work from home.  And again God is good because it's exactly what I need so that I can get my work done with out office and coworker distractions and bond with my youngest and - sleep in.  And receive the message then return the call from the school to get my son involved in the tutoring that is supplied by the state even though he's in private school for math and more importantly reading.  

My question is this - when can I just be the mom that God want's me to be to our boys and the wife that He wants me to be to my husband .... so I ask hubby at dinner when he's going to have to go to the site to start up the reactor and he says sometime mid next year - I can't wait for China - to be all that I can be - all that God has designed me to be - not what we're trying to uphold to "live in this world".

Obviously, prayers are appreciated, even though I'm not feeling like I'm fulfilling much of what's God's calling me to be.  I guess I just have to once again wait on His timing - which is more than perfect, so I'm more than willing - even if I complain along the way.

Size matters

NOT! As summer ... Slowly and quite wetly approaches these parts ... I've been driving myself into a tizzy listing out all the "to do" things to be done before the warm weather arrives.

Namely fixing all the spots that need fixing so that the lands end tummy slimming bathing suit fits correctly in one short month. Mind you we do have a membership to a local rec center and have been - well - "blessed" ??? with year round swimming through the normal non swimsuit months. However ... All the other moms and dads and me are there "for the kids" and we all just - well - understand ... Ahem.

So I've made the plans for the next month to: eat less - and failed; excercise more - and failed; hmpfhhh ... So ... I went shopping. And I bought some summer clothes - the best deals I could find - in .... One size bigger than I'm currently wearing and a few sizes more than my crazy brain would like to think that I still am after two kids and a few years later than I'd care to admit. And guess what happened ... The clothes look nice, I feel confident, and nobody is going to check my tag anyway!

Thank you God for finally getting it through my thick brain that if my husband thinks I'm beautiful and I'm living a healthy lifestyle and can keep up with two little boys then I'm the PERFECT size already!

Anniversary - soon - of some sorts

Wow have things been busy.  Work has required much of my time as three clients have all wanted startups of systems at the same time - nothing a few weeks of 12-16 hour days can't take care of.  I'll be pretty busy the rest of this week then hopefully things will settle down a bit.  Though I am afraid of when everything stops as I'm sure that I'll literally crash and burn.

I am loving the warm weather that has begun to encompass our neck of the woods - sure we still have cold days and rain - but I'm gracious that it's made for some beautiful green GREEN grass to enjoy as I look out my office window.  

We just celebrated my husbands birthday and I realized that it's been almost a year since I first started blogging.  It's been a nice spot for me to enjoy non technical writing and also and more importantly to hopefully showcase how God influences my life each and every day.

This past weekend we were out celebrating hubby's birthday ( most of the weekend) and at one point we had a traffic incident that God used to really speak to my heart.  We were making a left hand u-turn (legally - complete with green left hand arrow) and a car in the perpendicular road tried to make a right on red.  It could have been an accident but they stopped as they should have and we went - followed by honking and as I looked the side rear view mirror - a certain hand gesture!  Well, my immediate reaction was "but we're doing the right legal thing - you were wrong" and of course also the feelings of being threatened and therefore the emotions of defensiveness started to kick in.  Quickly God calmed my heart and I immediately prayed for the people in that car that God would touch their hearts and give them the peace that they so desperately needed (it's just traffic after all) and also to calm our reactions.  God is so good - He in return provided quite a lesson to me.  I realized how affronted I felt - how hurt - how offended when we'd done nothing "wrong" and I thought of Jesus - who was whipped, beaten, tortured, spit upon, flipped off, yelled at - nailed to a tree - and He took it all and said "Father forgive them they know not what they do"  I had some small understanding of what He may have felt and I have a completely new understanding of what He meant when He said "turn the other cheek and love one another".   And, when we don't have it in us to love - as at the time I didn't have it in me to love the other car passengers - we should pray that God loves them and can give that love to them through us - He's big enough for that!

Happy Easter and may the love of Jesus who sacrificed it all for us - even though we hated Him - fill your hearts and flow to everyone that you come in contact with!

The Best Concert Ending

I had the opportunity this weekend to see my favorite performer, well, perform!  I don't think I've ever had quite the giddy feeling that I did this past Friday.  It was both interesting and a bit scary at the same time.  

... About a year and a half ago, we were attending the early service at our church which is family geared and includes contemporary / pop / non-hymnal music during the service.  Well we sang a song that just sat on my heart and didn't leave - and hasn't left yet.  I can honestly say that I probably only have about 6 (maybe less) favorite songs accumulated over my lifetime or at least since the age of 13 or so when I actually started to have favorite songs.  They run the gambit from the Moody Blues, to CAKE, to the Mighty Mighty Bostones, to the Ocean Blue, to Aaron Shust.  As you might have guessed at this point the performer that we saw and the song that I really liked that morning in church was by Aaron Shust - it was My Saviour My God.  Of course he sang that and sang a few new songs and a few songs that I didn't realize were his and am quite happy now that they are his and did some wonderful performing as well.  The weird thing was that as I watched him perform on stage I had a kind of surreal experience where I was surprised that I was surprised that he was only about 20 feet away and singing right there.  One of those moments that you try so hard to remember in your mind so that you can always recall it.  The concert was a tour with Selah and Shaun Groves both of which were also great performers, but let's be honest, I was there to see Aaron (we are on a first name basis).

After the performance, we saw some friends from church as we were leaving.  One of which was in line to get autographs.  My heart skipped a beat and I got in line too thinking maybe I could get Aaron to sign my shirt (an Aaron Shust shirt that I bought with my lunch money before the concert) - yes lunch money apparently I'm in high school again.  The first group out wasn't Aaron and I got their autographs on a ticket stub and found them to be very genuine sweet people.  Then I stood against a wall to wait for Aaron to come out for signing while my husband took our kids to the car.  As I waited, I had a feeling wash over me (God speaking to my heart).  I thought about at the end of each song how Aaron would point to heaven - to God - giving the glory to Him.  As I stood by the wall t-shirt clutched in my hand I had the realization that getting the autograph was really just idolizing something / someone other than God and so counter to what Aaron as a performer / man of God displayed.  I was humbled.  And so I quietly folded my shirt, zipped up my jacket and quickly left to meet kids and husband in our car.  To go home to the blessings that He's provided me and to get the autograph of God on my heart as He blesses  our lives.

Returning to Normal

Ahhh the joy of cleaning on my schedule.  I have managed to keep up - in relative terms - with the house since we took it off the market.  The difference being that I cleaned or organized or rearranged ... when I wanted to not because I had to.  Such a nice treat.  I have learned the joy of keeping house.  And I appreciate that I can set my pace to complete.  I don't have to get done by a certain time.  If I don't complete a task, then I can finish it tomorrow - rather than half-youknowwhatting it.  

And the house is no longer magazine perfect, I speak as if it was during showings, but it is once again a home that we live in.

• The toys are once again out to be played with as they should be.
• The kitchen counter once again catches mail until I get to go through it over the weekend.
• The bathrooms are cleaned weekly rather then every-other-daily.
• The floors are kept clear so that dust bunnies can run freely over the smooth laminate wood.
• And the cross stitch has returned to the family room table, to be completed at my leisure.
• The plane plans and building are once again under way ...

We once again have - our time - to do - our stuff that we want to do - that helps us relax - that brings us joy.  A found blessing that's always been there but had been set aside for a time ... what a treasure.

It Is Finished ...

Phew, what a ride!  We are done with the house selling ... we did not sell.  Yep, surprised me too.  We received two offers on our house.  Both of which were probably not realistic examples of the buyers that are out there (particularly since we're heading into the "hot real estate market time" in our region) - but they were the buyers that God wanted us presented with.  Without going into the nitty gritty,  God never allowed an offer that fit with where we were comfortable and in doing so made our decision to stay put easier for us.  As we were trying to sell I kept thinking of those Israelites waiting to leave Egypt and remembering how God gave them the extra time there to gather the things they needed for the journey.  So I / we kept chasing the carrot and were waiting for the right buyer.  Well, frankly we got to the end of our ropes what with the cleaning and tidying and keeping neat and all that is so counter to our, honestly, way of life.  God just pushed it gently over the edge for us to make the decision to take our house off of the market and to once again make it our home.  And with that decision - boy o boy did the Relief Dam ever let loose!!

We've learned so much through this process.  Particularly:

1.  When God wants something done - or doesn't want something done - it will / won't happen.

2.  The blessings that are all around you are sometimes hidden in your search for the next "thing" in life - sometimes it takes loosing or misplacing those blessings to realize how blessed you really are.

3.  Family is the absolute most important thing in life, after God.

4.  Good neighbors are a blessing and are not easy to find - if you've got them - do all you can to keep them.

5.  Stop asking God to show you where to go or what to do and open up your eyes and ears to see or hear what it is He's been telling you all along.

6.  Be always grateful for the trip He's allowed you to take and learn as much as possible along the way even if, like Jonah, it's taken you an awful long time to get to Nineveh.

We have made some decisions to live a little differently now that God has opened our eyes.  When we started to look at how much we would be spending on a new house, we kept thinking of how many better uses there were for that money.  We also saw what we were spending our money on and have made conscious decisions to change that to better let God use that money.  We've learned how nice our home is - honestly just because it's double the price doesn't mean that it still isn't base builder grade quality with absolutely NO updates or upgrades.  And we've learned how important it is to our kids to have a place to call home.  Home is definitely where you are all together and it isn't the structure you live in, but sometimes that structure is just the thing that kids need to see to feel safe and comfortable.  

How did I know we made the right decision?  When my oldest said to me (with quite a bit of relief in his voice):  "Mom I'm so happy we aren't moving, I really like our home."  Dust bunnies and all?  They have once again taken up residence ...

And we move to mexico ...

I just pulled together a quick and easy dinner that made me feel like I was in the WARM south!  Rather than the FROZEN north.  Here's my version of easy enchiladas...

2-3 cooked chicken breasts chopped up finely
1 bag already shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 can of enchilada sauce
1 can of refried beans
6 large flour tortillas

Preheat oven to 375 deg F.
Warm tortillas in microwave for 25 seconds - then again for 25 seconds.
Spread refried beans over tortilla then just off center place a small handful of chicken "in a line".
Sprinkle a generous amount of cheddar cheese over the chicken.
Roll it up and place it seam side down in a stoneware baker.
Repeat for remaining tortillas.
Pour can of enchilada sauce over top and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Place in oven and bake for 25 - 30 minutes until bubbly and cheese is well melted.
Serve and enjoy with a good beer.

It was a good meal that was quick to prepare after karate class.  I've tried several other enchilada recipes and never had success with them but this one is a keeper.

As for the other moving that's going on in our lives, we continue to have a few showings a week and are just waiting on God's timing.  We found two houses that we like and have found some land that we are considering.  I'm just looking forward to what God has planned - it's going to be so cool to look back and see Him in action in all of this.  Prayers for continued patience are welcomed.  

Blessings and Happy Mexican Cooking!

Lo-coco-naut-ta

I accomplished two things today.  Well many more - I'm a mom - but two stand out in my mind.

We completed the first half of testing for our next belt levels for karate this evening.  My 4yr old will be a yellow belt stripe and my 7yr old (the red head below) and I will be blue belts (then it's just one more belt til black) woo hoo!

Both boys did good - I think I did too - but I'm a bit biased.  It's such a good experience to have to show what you know in front of others.  It builds confidence that will be useful when the boys have to give speeches and it let's them realize how much they've learned.  I'm very proud of both of them.  My 7yr old even got to "help" with some junior belt testing where he did the form or steps with them and was the "cheat sheet" for them.  I can tell that he's very proud to be the one "teaching".  As I watched him I realized how much his brain and he have matured.  He remembers so much and he is now working on doing the steps well, not just keeping up with the steps.  I can see him developing into a young (very young) man.  And I'm proud.  At the end of my youngest sons testing he ran across the mat to me arms outstretched - huge smile on his face - saying - yelling - I did it mommy I did it I did my testing did you see?  He was proud, I was proud and taken over by such a sweetie!

I love that they learn confidence and can be proud of their accomplishments I pray that I'll be able to teach them to also be humble and not become too prideful.  How quickly that can become the case and how quickly we can turn a good experience into an idol standard.  God guide me in brining up these boys - please.  

Oh yeah, my second accomplishment was my uncovering of a well kept secret.  They now make coconut m&m's and Oh My Word they are too good to contain any calories what-so-ever!  Good thing I got that karate workout ;-)

Blessings,

Heather

Christmas the easy way

This past sunday my husband and I concurrently spent about 4 hours on the mac and ipad surfing for kids presents for christmas.  After we'd consolidated our lists of ideas I went to work on amazon.  I found everything we were wanting, save one item.  All included free shipping, again save one.  So for all of our stuff I think it was something in the range of $4 shipping.  I can do that - since I would have spent that much in gas and time running to stores.  

As for the item we didn't find, well, that involved two (count them - two)  edge-of-your-seat-nail-bitting-Ebay-bid-offs - yes, shamefully, my hubby last second out bid the other contenders and is now the proud owner of four die cast Tonka trucks - yippee - and I hope that our almost four year old appreciates the angst and excitement with which those trucks were absconded with!!!

So the boys are done - without the frustrations of the crowds.  Admittedly, I am not a Friday after Thanksgiving shopper by any means.  In fact, when we do shop at Walmart my husband has to coach me on the walk into the store to take deep breaths and relax... deep breaths ... patience ... God's love ... relax ... etc ... etc.  

I think this (amazon) is my new mode of shopping.  Yeah it took a bit of effort - but significantly less effort than the stores and the driving and did I mention my dislike of crowds ...

My other focus this Christmas has been on the true meaning of christmas.  Christ was born, that's what we're celebrating, not the presents, not the man made Santa - Christ!!  In a bit of wisdom I learned from a friend, we bought each boy three gifts - like the three gifts Christ received when he was born and we bought three "family" gifts ( ok they are three gifts both boys will enjoy and mom and dad will enjoy through the indirect result of the boys playing quietly with said family gifts).  So, we'll set out cookies for Santa but we'll hopefully give the best gift we can back to God - that being - our belief in Him and in His Son Jesus who came to earth to die so that we may live forever in God's glorious realms.  Praise God for His faithfulness to His creation.

Blessings as always and may your christmas gifts list include the most important gift you can give ...

It's been a while ... No?

Time to update? I should say so...
Well we had a buyer and went through a few rounds of offers and counter offers and offers and counters ad nauseum. Finally we put our foot down and said here it is buyer - calling your bluff we'll accept your offer of X (even though we thought he was blowing smoke) and it turned out .... He was blowing smoke - so we've moved on and are back in the groove of pristine showings.
We had another showing today - read encouragement. I'm recognizing this first go around as preparation by God. I'm teaching a Sunday school class that is currently studying the Isrealites exit from egypt then their much wonderings in the dessert and their final conquering and moving into etc of the promised land. In all of it - the living under slave rule - the wanderings - the campings and conquests God is patiently teaching them to trust in Him and wait for the blessing from Him in His time. I'm learning and recognizing this in our current state. God is giving us the time - graciously - to prepare, to rework, to frankly wait for the timing of the blessing He has in store for us. I know that we could have made the last deal "work" in a worldly sense but then we would have missed the blessing of God's plan. It's up to Him and I'm sure that He'll let us know when the deal is right and when it's time to move. Dare I say it, I'm certain He'll ... Call us.
Praise God who is good all the time.
Blessings while waiting for the call from Him. Heather

Keeping up is so much easier when there's less to keep up with...

We've cleared our house of all the nick knacks and stuff that make it lived in and that just seem to find their way in during every day life.  It amazes me how much time I save now in  quickly wiping down surfaces and vacuuming floors when I don't have to first move stuff to get to them.  There's something to that old saying "a place for everything and everything in it's place".

We have had several showings of our house in the two short weeks it's been on the market.  Awaiting an offer now ... or maybe it's just been a lot of nebbers / look-see-ers and what have you.  It is encouraging seeing quite a bit of traffic come through ... it means that at least we're priced where people are interested.  

Now I'm just waiting on God's timing to provide the people who should live here next with the showing and the means to - well - live here next.

We found a house that we like very much and that is on a nice amount of land.  It's our standard and will probably be our pick if something happens with our house soon.

We had a professional take down some, honestly a lot, of wallpaper and replace it with a nice neutral paint. 

It amazes me how that transforms the look of a room.  Combine that with cleared surfaces and minimized stuff and wow - I like this house.  It just goes to show how deceiving the staged home can be - once you actually live in it it probably shrinks faster than that little door in Alice in Wonderland.

But I'll play the game and honestly, if my skills are up to par - with enough practice - I'll be able to hopefully - prayerfully continue this minimized theory and not accumulate so much stuff after we move.

Your Pumpkin Is Showing ...

It's been a whirl wind day.  The incongruity of the title goes to show how my mind has been processing ...

It was my oldest sons field trip day to Triple B Farms today - and I went along with several other parents.  It was a really great field trip.  Really fun activities and really informative and still fun for the kids.  Plus the weather was BEAUTIFUL so that always helps.

First we went for a ride on the slides...

Then we went to the Education Barn where Mrs. B of Triple B farms taught us about donkeys and honey bees.  My son goes to a christian school and our field trip group was with a public school.  Since we were two schools in the same group - Mrs. B kept us back to tell us special stories since we were from a christian school.  Like -  all donkeys have a dark mark down the center of their back and a second dark mark across their shoulders - forming a cross!!  And to think that Mary road a donkey to the Bethlehem to birth our saviour ... then later Christ rode a donkey on Palm Sunday - God's great plans...

Second she shared with us after the honey bee lesson to think of how great God made the honey bee and they are just a little bee and how great God is to make them so intricate and so powerful in helping so many foods that we eat grow by pollination like apples and pumpkins.  The sad part is that she isn't able to share these stories with groups that are non christian schools.  Sad that in a free country on a family owned farm, they are not allowed to speak of Christ.  It really saddened Mrs. B too - so touching.

We then had some lunch and then saw the goats that "worked" for their meals...

The kids shouted "pull the rope" and the goat pulled the little feed can up!!

 We walked through the pumpkin patch where familiar characters were "made" out of pumpkins ... here's Noah and his minions ...

And then we took a hayride ...

And I quickly got my phone out to be ready for pictures and had received a text from our realtor that our house would have a showing in an hour - thank goodness I made the beds this morning!

So that's when doing this ...

... picking pumpkins mixed with trying to remember if I'd picked up the runaway socks and I realized that my mornings are going to be MUCH more busy - taking stock of the house to determine if it is showable or if the potential buyers would rather see a pumpkin.

Obviously, prayers are welcome, however I've reserved myself to the fact that if someone is really going to be that turned off by a rouge piece of laundry, perhaps God is leading them to another house or pumpkin anyway.

Blessings ...

Renting a 10X20 Storage Space

I am the proud renting owner of a 10X20 Storage Space - which the Storage place guy tells me is way to big, but that I'm sure my husband, my boys and I can fill up quite nicely.  

We're going to be moving, hopefully soon, so we are storing all of the things that you use on a daily basis and that make a home look lived in since potential buyers want to buy an "un-lived" in looking home.  

Honestly, it is amazing how big the rooms and counters and furniture look when you don't have life spewed all over them.  The realtor took pictures this evening and he was showing them to me as he took each one - boy does the house look nice in still life photos.  

We've got plenty of packing and work and fixing and stress management to deal with soon, but I'm sure that we'll handle it just fine.  In the end it will be worth it.  

I've decided to leave it to God's hands.  He's the absolute best handler of all things and I know that if I try to do this it won't work out near as well as He can make it work out.  

I'll let Him lead my packing, I'll let Him lead my planning, I'll let Him lead our picking of the next home.  He's got it I'm sure and I'm planning on just getting out of the way and seeing where He takes it.  

Won't you join me on this journey and see just how amazing He is.

If the shoe fits....

I was pleasantly surprised today with how comfortable my new shoes were.  They fit well - stayed on when I walked - and they had absolutely no scratchy or "rubbie / rubby??" areas.  Just all around great feeling shoes with good support and stylish to boot (excuse the pun).

Disclaimer- I'd bought them yesterday at a consignment shop - one of my favorite places that has consistently delivered for 10 years now.  If they had been worn, it was very little wear as the sole was without wear - without any wear.  They drew me to them as they were the black dress shoes with a-little-heel that I've been looking for but that have been eluding me.  And they were kind of cool in a stylish way that said - we're a little sassy but traditional enough.  What - your shoes don't talk to you?!

Imagine my amazement when I finally look up the designer of these podiatry accessories sent straight from heaven and find that for a mere $15 I've bought $200 to $400 shoes!!

Wow What a find!  I'm getting over my Eddie Bauer lustings quite easily with such a thrifty find.

May God lead and Bless your shoe shopping as He has mine.  

Coveting ....

I received in the mail this past Friday the new Eddie Bauer catalog.  I almost threw it away because I had visions of the clothes I wore in the high school in the 90s and visions of walking through their store back then - and now thinking - nice quality but just not my style any more.  

Had I tossed it then I would have been better off - because I didn't and now I've been sinning away for the past day coveting every single outfit in that book!  I'm usually pretty predictable in my wearables.  Mostly modern cut Tshirts and boot cut jeans.  Come on, give me a break, I'm a mom of two and for the past year worked in a plant where I had to wear a lab coat all the time anyway.  I think I do pretty good going for the modern cut.  

But gracious, looking through the pages of that catalog - I've never had an experience before where EVERYTHING I saw was something that I said - wow that's my style - I'd feel really comfortable in that.  

So, just musing but the redefinition of Eddie Bauers style is really something to check out.

Blessings for a wonderful Sunday celebrating our God and our Saviour.  And perhaps some prayers that I could get the coveting under control ;-)   Thanks in advance! 

Life Revised - Finding Balance

Sometimes I've felt like I'm still learning to balance ....

Recently I've felt like I'm mastering the perfect balance whilst whistling ....

I've posted before, auspiciously and not so, about how ... honestly ... hard it can be to balance family, work, fun, chores, etc.  It seems that for the past year my energy during long commutes has been focused exclusively on "how to decrease said long commutes" and how to get done in the day everything that needs gettin' done and that I want to get done.

Recently, my work schedule / work requirements have been modified and it's been pure bliss for me.  I am getting to work in the office and avoid the 1+ hour commute in each direction.  My commute is now more like - 20 minutes - so doable!   Of course the first week I had all sorts of things planned to fill that time space like grocery shopping before getting the boys from the babysitters, running past (and stopping at) the bank, restarting karate with the boys ... the list goes on, you get the point, no need to bore you.  The second and subsequent week I discovered the art of sitting on the couch in the evening and relaxing - doing some reading, watching a show with my husband.

The stress level is significantly reduced, I feel like I'm getting things done, the boys and I are getting fit again with karate - I feel like there is some semblance of balance - relatively speaking.  I'm getting to enjoy life and not just feel like I'm barely keeping my head above water.  I'm getting to be awake and see my kids more.  Get them up in the morning, pick them up in the afternoon and not pass out for a "quick mommy nap" on the couch but actually spend quality time together.  I'm really really enjoying this pace.  I'm praying desperately that it can continue.  If it's where God wants me and I'm doing what He intends then I'm sure it will continue.

Prayers that you'll find your balance and get to enjoy life as well.

Until the next call ....

My boy is a communal sleeper ...

We have had the nicest bedtime routine since we could have a bedtime routine with the oldest.  Baths or at least teeth brushing - ok sometimes we even skip that - but we do always read a story and say our prayers.  We've started doing catechism questions also thanks to our godly pastors wife who provided the neatest books with which to do that.  We are learning at the same time as the boys and it amazes me how much my oldest knows / gets about God and Jesus and Holy Spirit and how it all fits together and governs and guides.  So proud!

Now with said oldest, we'd go through our routine, hugs and kisses and off to dream land for him.  And it worked - from early on - even when he had a cold.  He was a pretty much sleep-on-your-own kid from quite early on.  Of course he was not a napper since early on too - so there was probably some exhaustion factor at work there.

With youngest - well - he is a napper and a darn good one!  After lunch to late afternoon.  Weekends are a different story usually because we're on-the-go enjoying the time together.  But during the week he's very structured and naps well.  Which leads to "but I'm not sleepy" after our very nice bedtime routine.  He stays in bed for a while then has some excuse to why he no longer wants to stay in bed - I'm not tired, it's too dark, it's too light, I'm scared, but I want to watch TV, etc. etc.

This evening for instance, after stories and prayers he climbed in his bed, had his George monkey to hug, I turned on his car light (cute little one bulb low wattage light that with the heat of the bulb causes the shade with cars to spin around and thus the cars to "drive" around his room) - all set - not too light - not to dark - fingers crossed - and heading downstairs for some bible study.

And a bit later - arrival of son - but I'm not tired and it's scary in my bed.  Ok. So we have him lay on the couch - no snacks, no fun, just lay on the couch and hug monkey.  He's good with this and falls asleep within a few minutes - peacefully.  

• At the babysitters he naps in a room with other kids, and falls asleep easily
• When we vacation and he sleeps in the big bed with his brother, and falls asleep easily
• When we camp we all sleep in a row of sleeping bags, and he falls asleep easily

Maybe he just wants that tiny bit of extra time with us and wants to know that we - or someone is there.

Is it really that bad?  Didn't families all sleep in the same room in years gone by?  

I think he's a communal sleeper and honestly, if he falls asleep well and peacefully and is not in danger and is easily transferred to his bed when we go to bed - I may choose my battles and let this one go - and wait for a more pressing calling...

Blessings and Sweet Dreams - even if they are communal