Spring Break Fun, and a movie Review

Let me just start by saying I LOVE SPRING BREAK!  No pressure, no schedule, not as many activities, it has been fun.  My girls have piano today, and karate hasn’t been cancelled this week, so we have a few things on our to do list, but we’re going at a much slower pace this week.  My two oldest are on a mission trip, and the three littles and I have tried to find some fun things to do this week.

Monday was spent bailing buckets of water out of our basement.  We got some much needed spring rain, and since our major drought last year, every time it rains, water comes in our basement storage room.  We’ve had occasional water downstairs before, but usually only after three consecutive days of rain.  Most things downstairs are stored on chrome racks or in rubbermaid storage totes and safe from damage.   Using the shop vac to suck up water is always exciting because we’re pretty sure the plug ins in the basement aren’t grounded.  This is on the project list, and now that the basement is getting moved to priority status, we’ll get it done sooner. I spent the whole day Monday working downstairs, so I rented a movie and a wii game from redbox and the kids were pretty happy.  Just remembered that I didn’t return it last night, so I’m out another night’s rental.  Oh well, it was still less than the cost of one movie admission, and kept the kids happy while I carried buckets up the stairs and out the door.

Tuesday was great!  The weather cleared up, we didn’t have any water overnight, and the kids and I went to see the Lorax.  We caught a matinee at Tinseltown, and got home by lunch.  That was nice.  Rod took off early from work, and while we were waiting for him to get home, I worked some in the kitchen, and Sophia and I climbed up into the treehouse to play a game of Sorry.  It was rather fun to do, even though I was out of my comfort zone.  Since Luke was born, I have some balance issues (c-section I’m sure), and I don’t really like to go up there.  I did it because it would make a memory with her, and the older my kids get, the more I realize that I must be intentional about doing just that.   When daddy got home, everyone wanted to go to the library, so we spent a little over an hour there and the kids were so happy.  For a big family of readers, the library is about the best place in the world.  My 10yod says her library card is her best possession in the whole world.  Makes a mom happy.

After the library, we went out to dinner.  Gyro’s were the fare, and we enjoyed it very much.  I’ve had two nights off from cooking dinner, and that hour that I would usually spend cooking, has been spent just enjoying my children.  We are planning to hit the special tonight at Chelino’s, so no cooking for me tonight either.  I’m sure by the time tomorrow rolls around, I’ll be ready to cook for my family again, and five pounds heavier!

The Lorax was cute.  I see more than my fair share of kids movies and don’t see that changing anytime soon.  I had another home-school mom mention that it had a tree-hugger mentality, but most kid movies have an agenda these days, and I knew the original story had a save the earth theme in the seventies.  I know most people don’t see environmentalist and Christian as labels that go together, but here’s my thoughts:  If I believe that God created this earth, (and I do), and I believe that the Bible teaches that we should be good stewards of all of God’s gifts, (and I do), why would this be a problem?  For me, it’s a no-brainer.  What I do have an issue with, is the hypocrisy that some environmentalists have – save the whales, but abort babies?   Doesn’t drinking Coke in the first place probably hurt the polar bears more than drinking Coke to save the polar bears?  I’m just thinking that the production of all those chemicals, and the fuel consumed in producing said product and shipping it to thousands of locations across the country, not to mention the production of plastic bottles and styrofoam cups and trash left behind from people who are to busy driving and texting to find a trash can???? Ok, I’ll calm down now.  I loved the Lorax.  The trees were beautiful, the animals were cute, and a movie with Betty White, Ed Helms, Taylor Swift, and Zac Efron? How can you lose?  Plant a seed, It’s an act of worship anyways because it’s  God’s design and brings him glory.

D

The Terrible No Good Rotten Day that I’m Thankful For.

Yesterday was not a good day.  It actually started innocently enough Sunday night when the pot of coffee I made at 8pm and thought was decaf wasn’t.  I didn’t sleep at all Sunday night into Monday.  The time change messes me up enough as it is without the added help of caffeine.  Monday morning I was awake at 6:10 to workout before sending my husband off to work.  Thankful for the ability to workout at home.  Thankful that my husband has a great job and I can stay home.  None of my children wanted to wake up yesterday.  I think it was 9:00am before the last one was out of bed.  This makes me a grumpy mom.  Thankful for a few extra minutes of alone time.  Thankful that I have a house full of children that I see as blessings directly from the heart of God.

My family reads a lot of books from the library and we have a membership at a library in a nearby town besides our own metropolitan library system.  We had some books due from the out of town library that couldn’t be found.  Spent a good hour turning my daughters’ bedroom upside down looking for three books that seemed to have disappeared from the face of the earth.  Searched the car, under beds, under sofas, in my daughter’s sleeping nook, and in my bedroom.  Thankful that my family loves books and loves the library.  Thankful that my home has beds, books, and is full of things that are useful and beautiful, that my daughters room got a needed cleaning.  Thankful for a wonderful library system, and additional borrowing privileges at another library.

After our search turned up nothing, I started making phone calls to our neighborhood library.  Found out that books returned to a metro library that do not belong in their system are sent to the main branch downtown and then mailed to the source library.  After being transferred to several different people, I found the answers I needed.  Yes, the three missing books were downtown waiting to be mailed.  I had a doctor’s appointment after lunch, but decided I would just go downtown and pick up the books to return them on Wednesday.  Thankful for helpful library employees, and for found books.

Fed my children lunch and got ready for my dr’s appointment.  You know the one yearly that most women dread.  I have learned through the years of being pregnant and having babies and nursing babies that women’s bodies are something wonderful and they can do amazing things.  After seeing so many friends and family members experience infertility, I never want to take my “womanly” gifts for granted.  The hospital is just a few minutes away from my house, so I drive over and follow the line of cars into the parking garage.  Finally find a place to park and take the long walk through the concourse to the elevator and my doctor’s office.  Sign in and sit down with a magazine.  The receptionist calls me over and asks who I’m there to see (when I’ve written it on the check in sheet in front of her.)  I tell her and she says “Dr. N—- is on vacation.  Your appointment is re-scheduled for April 9th.  Would you like an appointment card for that?”  I tell her I had a card for the appointment I made a year ago and it didn’t help much.  I was pretty upset that I went through the trouble to get there and if I had missed the appointment, I would have been charged, but they are out  nothing for inconveniencing me.  Grrrrrrr.  Took my new appointment card and went back home.  I’m remembering that I had to reschedule a dentist appointment for my 8yo that I could have kept if I had known my OB appointment wasn’t that day.  Grrrrrrrr.  Thankful for modern medicine, the fact that I didn’t have to pay a babysitter for the appointment, that I am a woman, that fertility is a gift, my van in the parking garage got me there and back, and my appointment is rescheduled. Thankful that I held my tongue and didn’t say anything I would have had to apologize for.

Well, by this time, I’m very very sleepy.  I decide to take a short nap.  Fifteen minutes later, the phone rings and I’m wide awake.  Decide to just go downtown and get the books so I can be back before time for ballet and karate lessons start.  No kids opt to come with me, probably for the best since I’m not in a great mood and I haven’t driven on the new stretch of I-40 downtown yet.  I enjoy some needed alone time and drive on a beautiful stretch of road.  Driving into the heart of downtown, I realize that due to major renovations downtown, my decision to retrieve the books might have been a bad one.  It takes me fifteen minutes to find a parking place and it happens to be five blocks from the library.  I plug the meter and start walking.  It’s 70 degrees and I have on a long sleeved shirt, jeans and clogs.  Not the greatest walking attire for this obstacle course.  I’m walking through gravel and torn up sidewalks, next to earth movers, and over and under construction barriers.  It was like a war zone.  I get to the right place and get the three missing books.  I make it back to the van and get back on the interstate.  Thankful for 70 degree days in March, that the trees were in full bloom and really beautiful, for new interstates and nice roads to drive on, for downtown undergoing a great renovation that will make our city an even better place to live, for being able to find my van again.  Thankful that I had an hour of alone time before the business of lessons and activities.

After the downtown trip, the rest of the day went pretty well, (except my 3yo messed up my computer and fell asleep on my leather couch and peed himself while I was gone).  Looking back, I realize how much this journey of finding joy and being thankful in all things has changed me.  A few years ago, I would have just been in a terrible mood all day, taken it out on anyone in my path, and never noticed anything like budding trees or the sweetness of sweaty baby necks when they wake up from a nap – because I was having a bad day.  Being able to find the joy in all things has made my already rich life even richer.

My Newest Obsession

I have a tendency to go a bit overboard.  I credit that ability to the addictive personality that I got from my father.  As a child, I collected records/music, books, and pigs.  We always had a menagerie of animals, and I was very fond of my collection of childhood dishes at a very young age.  Things haven’t changed.  I still love music, books, and I have been collecting Pyrex for a few years now.  I have a strong weakness for vintage linens, and now I’m adding to the dish collection with Fiesta Ware.  It is not vintage, purchased new a couple of weeks ago, using money I got as a Christmas gift.  It makes me very happy to walk into my kitchen and see all the colors.  I purchased scarlet, tangerine, sunflower, lemongrass, shamrock, aqua, peacock, and cobalt.  I’m still planning to purchase the plum color, and possibly find a vintage pink set because I’m heavy on the blue/green end of things.  There’s something very nice about seeing it on the table, in the sink, and even in the dishwasher.  I figure if seeing a sink full of dishes can still make you smile, it must be good stuff.  The best part:  it goes with everything.  Looks great mixed up on the table, goes with my Pyrex serving pieces, and matches any color tablecloth I decide to use.

So, now I have more dishes than I need.  I’ve been trying to scale down, with seven of us here, we have more stuff than we need.  I’m still keeping a set of my white dishes so we can mix things up and have extra dishes for when company comes.  The extras will be packed away for my kids to use if they need when they move out.  I have several bags of things I’m planning to donate to charity, and will be adding to that in the days to come.  Fiesta isn’t something I find while thrifting (at least not very often), but I still plan to look for it!

I would love to do 40 Bags in 40 Days, but if I get off track, I get discouraged.  I think it’s a good thing to have a plan, but life has a way of taking over. I will just keep plodding through, and make slow progress, but it will be good to be able to see it.

Gifts list 3/6/12:  warm muffins from the oven; Luke’s curls; Sophia waking up early this morning and helping in the kitchen; friends coming next weekend; spring is around the corner; getting to see my mom last week; kids making memories with grandma.

2 Posts in 2 Days?!

Wow, the internet might just blow up.

I just wanted to take a minute and remember my dad on what would have been his 68th birthday.  I miss birthday phone calls, hearing your laugh, having cookouts, help with wiring projects , sitting on the front porch together, and sharing my kids stories with you.  I know he’s cancer free and in heaven with his Savior and I will see him again someday.  I like to think that he knows he has another grandson and that he gets a kick out of him.  I see my dad in Luke quite often. They are both the  fifth born in their family.

Thanks Dad for being the greatest example of contentment.  To live in the same house and work the same job happily for 40 years is an accomplishment.  Thanks for teaching me to enjoy the simple things in life.  Music, spending time together, a meal shared with friends, a rousing game of pitch, frisbee, enjoying being outdoors, a good western, and thanks for being such a great example of serving others.  I know I get my work ethic, my gift of service, and my love of vintage signs and rusty junk from you.

Gifts list 2/7/12:  the gift of my fathers salvation; Heaven is real; death does not win; anticipation of a heavenly reuinion; God works ALL things for good.

 

My Dad - Presley

Making the Mundane something Special

I’m in a funk.

This usually happens to me after Christmas, before the days warm up, and I should know it’s coming.  Funny how it always seems to be upon me before I’ve even had a chance to realize it’s happening.  I think most of life works that way.  We get so caught up in our day to day that we don’t notice much of anything, good or bad. I know the things that I should be doing:  regular workouts, eating good clean food, spending time in the Word, giving more of myself to my family, focusing on what I have instead of what I don’t.  My Bible reading plan is so far behind I don’t know how to get back on track, I’m finding it extremely tedious.   My workouts are staying pretty consistent because I’m watching Netflix while I workout on the treadmill so it feels more like an indulgence.  I’m not always making the greatest choices food wise, but I’m getting better.  I’m trying to plan a garden and some house projects for when the weather gets warmer, and hoping to get my kids more involved in the process of house projects.  I sometimes think they would be content to sit and watch television all day if I let them.  I just don’t understand watching someone else live their life when you could be living your own.  My gifts list is languishing while I wish things were different.  Not good.

I’ve been living without a goal.  Letting life pass by and not noticing.  Not counting gifts.  Not creating.  So, with that in mind, I will be more intentional.  I will set goals for workouts, water consumption, plan meals, work on creative endeavors, plan date nights with my husband.  I will count or photograph at least five gifts every day.  I will be in the Word more, and in prayer more.  I will Facebook less, Pin less, and fast from electronic media one day per week.  I will invite someone for tea.  I will bake with my children.  I will give homemade bread away.  I will journal more.  Create more.  Love more.

Gifts List 2/6/12:  the gift of seeing my father on video with Grant at four months old; praises sung and strummed by my 10 year old; my first girls heart for service at home and away; the job that provides a home for my family; the health of my children; bookcases full of treasures; blog friends that encourage me to be a better wife and mother; the gift of creativity that abounds within the walls of my home; winter days ahead with hot chocolate and books; habits broken and replaced with better ones; being a new creation; hope.

Oprah’s Favorite Things at my favorite place?

Well, I had a feeling I needed to go to the thrift store yesterday.  This is nothing new.  Most weeks, I visit at least one thrift store – sometimes in search of something, sometimes for therapy.  Yesterday I couldn’t shake the feeling that I needed to go.  I dropped Sophia off at dance, then headed over to check out my neighborhood Goodwill.  This is a great time of year to thrift because so many others are following through on resolutions to de-clutter.  I had a good feeling about going.  Besides, it was my first outing ALONE since Saturday, and I was needing some ME time.

My sweet 10 year old daughter LOVES Star Wars.  This girl has already declared that she wants a Star Wars kitchen someday.  As her mother, I’m hopefully raising her to enjoy being in the kitchen, and have an appreciation for cooking, meal planning, etc.  If she wants a SW kitchen, a SW kitchen, she should have.  I found a set of seven SW character mugs on the shelf.  They are really neat, and I scored major mom points for getting them for her.  We are washing them, wrapping them in bubble wrap, and boxing them up for her future kitchen someday.  We’re calling it her “Obi-Wan You’re My Only Hope” Chest.  I’m planning to embroider some Star Wars tea towels and hopefully as the years go by, I can add to her collection of kitchen goods.

Well, I found a little goodie for me as well.  I have a tight countertop.  It is long, but narrow.  With four cell phones, an e-reader, chargers and the like, my “drop zone” is quite cluttered.  Enter, a goodie from Oprah’s Favorite Things.  My new favorite thing:  The Jonathan Adler desk dock organizer:

My new favorite thing

Well, this little baby was brand new still in the packaging!  Marked $2.99!  SCORE!!!!  I was thrilled that it was a cute color and something very functional for my kitchen.  As you can see, it holds a few pens and some note paper for taking phone messages.  My charger cord is sticking out under the flap, and it holds two devices with a small drawer underneath for headphones, additional accessories.  I found this on the internet in several places, and the cheapest I found it was $20.  What a find.  Cute and functional.

Gifts list 1/5/12:  new phone holder, God providing “wants” in such creative ways!;   the hope of a future for my children; visits with family; helpful obedience from children; studying Gods creation and our wonderful respiratory system with my daughters; Luke’s paintings today; the gifts don’t stop; community in unlikely places; never being truly alone!; grapes in the fridge.

Dianne

 

Bringing in the New Year – kicking & screaming!?

Well, 2012 came in like the wind.  I stayed very busy during the holidays and didn’t get to post any of the Christmas goodies I made.  I got a new toy right before Christmas and I’m hoping it helps me keep up photos on my blog a little better.  I got an Iphone. 4s. with Siri.  My husband hates it.  My teenagers finally got phones for Christmas.  I phones. 4′s, no Siri for them.  They love them, their dad hates them – the phones, not the kids!  He doesn’t like change so much.  I think if it were up to him, we would all be sending smoke signals or something.  I love change and am enjoying the technology.  I’m learning what the Iphone can do, and so far I’m very happy with it.  I think it will be like having another brain.  She (Siri) keeps my shopping lists handy, reminds me of appointments, helps me get directions and phone numbers, and my favorite part – she says things like:  I am only here to serve you.  Never “Whydo I have to do that?”  She never talks back, or has a bad attitude.  I like her… a lot.  If she could cook and drive, I would love her.

I am always excited for the new year.  I love new beginnings.  Do-overs.  Fresh pages.  A new calendar.   New possibilities.  I am a resolution kind of girl, but not in the yearly sense.  In the daily sense, and sometimes hourly!   I make resolutions all the time.  To have a little help with those resolutions in the form of technology, is great for someone like me.  My new apps are going to help me capture memories, keep track of my “gifts”,  keep appointments, read my Bible daily, track workouts and calorie counts, and stay in better touch with my family.  For me, it’s a huge help.  I am planning to keep my “phone time” in check.  I have already noticed that my husband gets a little jealous if I’m doing something on my phone when we’re together… I do predict that by the end of 2012, he will fully appreciate the technology as much as I already do.  He did joke over the Christmas break that he was going to go back to buckskins and thought he would buy a horse to ride to work every day.    If you see a man on horseback, downtown, wearing buckskins or sending a smoke signal, that’s my husband.  Dragging him into the 21st century, kicking and screaming.

Focus.

We had an eye appointment for my 10 year old last month.  She’s a voracious reader and was having some headaches so we had her vision checked.  Found out something interesting… she has immature eyes.  Her eyes haven’t matured enough to handle the amount of reading she does, so she needed a very very small amount of reading correction.  We actually found a cute pair of reading glasses at the dollar spot and she’s back in business, but I see God’s lessons in just about everything good and bad around here, so here’s the lesson:

As parents, we model our children.  Sometimes it’s deliberate, sometimes not.  Sometimes we see habit or behavior that mimics ours – this can be good if it’s something we would happily choose to pass on, not so good if it’s something that has kept us from being the person God would want us to be.  Over the past year, I’ve tried very hard to change some of the attitudes that were ingrained in me.  I am usually a glass half full kinda girl, but realized that I was not practicing “thankfulness”.  When I started that thankful journey – to see God’s hand and be thankful in all things, it was life-changing.  It has changed my marriage, my relationship with my children, and our home – all for the better.  Is it easy? No.  Does it happen all the time? No.  Is it automatic? No.  Does Christmas mean it gets harder? YES!

I am practical to a fault.  The first Christmas I spent with Rod’s family, I struggled.  We were engaged, and I had never seen so many gifts under the tree with my name on the tag.  I knew this was how his family celebrated, and that they fully embraced me as his future wife.  I think it struck me the most when we spent our one and only Christmas with his grandparents.  Here was a 90 year old Preacher and his beautiful wife, opening gift after gift in their full living room, (the gifting was mostly from their “doctor” daughter) when they had sooooooo much and they lived in an area with extreme poverty.  They opened gifts for two hours.  Can I remember a single thing they received? No.  In fact, I’m sure a good portion of it went to the auction house as part of the estate settlement.

Does gifting to the extreme take our focus away from the true meaning of Christmas?  I believe it can.  Just as I believe that if the tradition does not lead us to Jesus, maybe we should re-focus.  Like that simple pair of reading glasses – correct our focus to see Christ in all.  Does this mean we can’t go watch a parade or look at lights?  Can we still sing Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer?  Certianly, but our favorite traditions celebrate the birth of our Savior.

I need God’s help daily to help me teach my children to be thankful.  I need God’s help daily to keep my focus on Him.  As this world tries to lure us away from truth, and light and into the darkness,  we need to know the way to lead our families and the lost to the saving Gospel of Christ.  I’m so thankful that 2,000 years ago, that star shone down on a manger where we would find the greatest gift of all time.   Focus.

Creating Christmas

I’ve been fighting commercial Christmas for probably my entire adult life.  Christmas was so low key growing up.  Don’t know if it was because of bad Christmas happenings, divorce & house fire, or because I grew up in a working class family and we didn’t go “all out”.  When I got married, I was overwhelmed at the celebration my husbands family has every year.  We’ve added five children to this family and it hasn’t slowed anyone down.   My MIL does everything:  Christmas food, dishes, glasses, every child has 6 or 7 wrapped gifts under the tree, and now the adults get something small & a very generous cash gift.  Coming from one gift with my family, this is very extravagant.  Not to mention, that it isn’t Christmas until we have the glasses down, the spiced tea on the stove, and all the other traditional things.  There is no tradition from my childhood.  My mother stopped putting up a tree several years ago, and most of the time, we have pizza or  some other non-traditional holiday meal.  It’s polar opposites and I now just roll with it.  I don’t remember many Christmas celebrations before my family imploded.  We would go to my grandmas, there was lots of food, there was always the REC Christmas party, and we always drove around and looked at lights.  I want my children to have the traditions – even if they don’t appreciate them right now.  We have Christmas glasses, some special ornaments that always get put out, and this year we inherited the Santa cutout and Santa head light for our house from Rod’s parents.  Luke will always remember those things like his daddy does.

Thankful list: 12/13/11 – New bookcases for the dining room, coming home to a clean kitchen yesterday afternoon, nice family dinner last night, clean doggies, three more workdays till vacation, lighter schedule this week, books from the library, Christmas lists, thrifted traditions.

Easing into the Christmas Spirit

Well, we’ve started decorating the house.  The lights are up (thanks, Grant), the tree is in the living room and it is full of ornaments, the mantle is somewhat decorated, and a couple of kid friendly nativity scenes are on display.  We started our Advent Journey this morning as our family devotional, and the crafting is in full swing.  So far, since Saturday, I’ve made:  seven paracord bracelets, two infinity scarves, a felt poinsettia for Sophia’s dance teacher, and I’ve got plans for much much more.  I’m thinking about hanging a sign on my craftroom door that says: Santa’s Workshop.  I’ve got a couple of things that need to be finished for Tess and I can hardly keep them out of the room when I’m working.  A little cup of tea, my pandora, and I’m lost to the cares of the world when I go downstairs.  My neighborhood fabric store is moving, and they’re clearing out stuff.  It’s a good thing I’m running out of room or I’d probably bring half of it home.  I’m enjoying my serger so much.  It makes projects go so quickly and everything looks very professional.

Luke is doing great with the decorations.  He hasn’t taken too many of them down.  Mostly just the fun foam gingerbread men.  I’ve yet to find Shrek in the nativity, but it’s bound to happen.  Sitting through the devotional is a little hard for him, but he gets to hang the ornament on our Jesse tree, so for now, that’s good.  It’s fun to see him beginning to understand what this season is all about.  We’ve not put up the outdoor Nativity, but it’s his favorite.  The first year we had it (last year), when he saw it, he started yelling “Yea God!”  That’s what I think everytime I see the baby Jesus in the manger, “Yea, God!!!”  I hope I never lose that feeling.

Thankful List for 11/29/11:  family dinners as crazy as they sometimes are; library books; holiday traditions with meaning; my home; the ability to create and the means to do it freely; making things for others; that my 10 year old was facinated with the cord measuring/cutting machine at Sam’s Surplus and told the employee if she didn’t get married that she would want that job when she grew up; lists; free printables; the great Thanksgiving celebration we had with my family – lots of laughing and who knew we had so much talent in the family?!  I can still see Kirk trying to blow a bubble out of his eye!!!!