Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Is there a Therapist in the House?
My mothering style,
if I have one at all,
could be summed up in just a few adjectives and syllables:
Common Sense
Frankness
Black n' White...
and if you've been reading this lil' blog at all
I'm sure you've got some adjectives of your own
to add in there.
Being the Momza to seven yahoos,
I am clearly out-numbered
so any cleverness that comes to my mind
has to be as loud as a freight train
for me to hear it,
if you know what I mean?
When their needs exceed my abilities,
I am not ashamed to admit
I look for help
outside my self--
it might be in books about parenting
or scriptures,
it may come from friends or family--
like calling my oldest kids n' asking them to talk to the younger ones.
I use that approach alot.
And sometimes, it might come from a professional counsellor
like when we were in the midst of a divorce 13 years ago,
we needed an objective logical viewpoint and a
direction to focus all that energy in.
Hey, I'm logical--
if I can't fix it,
I go looking for someone who can.
SO, when the Caboose started her "pre-teen" meltdowns a few weeks ago--
you know the kind where the tears are just below the surface?
She hates her hair,
changes her clothing 3 times before putting on the same exact pair of shorts
she's worn nearly every day of summer,
and is so full of emotion every which way--
that the only logical explanation is that Madame Puberty is in the house!
Well, one day after giving as much consoling and re-direction that I had
and nothing worked, I said, rather exasperated:
"Your emotions exceed my abilities. Do you need counselling?"
I was not totally truthfully serious.
In fact, I was being sarcastic.
And the Caboose being the way she is--
smarter than the rest of the whole family combined--
shrugged it off like I knew she would
but did change her behavior with a fraction of civility.
She now apologizes to everyone after a meltdown.
Because, as I said to her,
it's unfair for us to have to witness her range of emotions.
I stand by that.
It is unfair. Cruel, even.
ANYWAY,
yesterday I realized just how much the Caboose has been thinking about
"counselling"--
the Caboose and Joseph came downstairs for lunch
and announced that they are each other's "counsellors".
"Yeah?" I laughed. "How's that going?"
"I asked Joe to tell me his greatest fears." The Caboose offered up.
I looked at Joseph, who has a slight grin on his face
and as he said to the Caboose,
"You can tell her."
"I can't." She protested. "It's against the confid-confid-thingy--the secret thing between patients and doctors.
You can tell her though."
"Oh", I said. "The confidentiality agreement?"
"Yeah. I can't tell anyone what is said between us." She answered.
So again I looked to Joseph.
"Your greatest fears? Do you even want me to know?"
Now, I'm thinkin' it's gonna have to do with
Math
or
Girls.
I was not even close to being prepared for what came next.
"Corn dogs and mustard." he said, with a I'm-just-messin-with-my-kid-sister-look.
The Caboose sat there,
proud as a peacock,
feeling like she had tapped into
some deep psychological well
of her big brother.
I bit my lip n' shook my noggin.
These are my kids.
*****
My kids played "Therapist" all day long.
Joseph was appointed to be The Caboose's
"Anger Management" therapist:
in which he has "taught" her to
"count to ten and take a deep breath"
when she gets mad at anyone.
Especially him.
While Daisie was appointed to be the Caboose's
"mental health and "using colors to heal"-- fashion expert.
I am not kidding.
And I'm a little afraid.
We may all need counselling by the time
this circus pulls into town
on the train we're on.
These are the people
that are supposed to
take care of
me
when I'm old.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
By the Third Verse
The chorister took her place,
raised her hand
just as the pianist began:
"There is beauty all around
When there's love at home.."
I know this song. I wonder where she got her shoes.
"There is joy in ev-'ry sound
When there's love at home..."
Oh this must be her first time playing this song. She missed a note.
Who's the regular pianist? Shoot. Can't remember.
Glad it's not me, thank goodness. I'd be awful.
"Peace and plen-ty here a-bide,
Smiling sweet on ev-'ry side,
Time doth softly, sweetly glide
When there's love at home."
Oh here comes the chorus. Which part is mine? How high are the high notes?
Oh I'll just sing low and see where my voice goes.
Love at home, love at home;
Too high, too high!
Time doth softly, sweetly glide
When there's love at home.
Whew.
Verse Two. I wonder whose teaching today?
In the cottage there is joy
When there's love at home;
I have a cottage. A home. {smile}
Shoot, what's the next verse?
Roses bloom beneath our feet;
All the earth's a garden sweet,
Making life a bliss com-plete
I miss having all the kids home.
Sure hope David Scott n' Tisha come home to visit
over Labor Day for the baby's blessing.
When there's love at home.
What if they can't come?
Love at home, Love at home.
Man, that would be awful if they can't come.
No, they'll come. We're the only family we have.
They'll be there.
Where are we? Oh yeah...
Making life a bliss com-plete
When there's love at home.
Pay attention. I probably sound like an old windbag.
Hope noone can hear me.
Last verse. What am I making for dinner?
Kindly heav-en smiles above
When there's love at home;
I love you Heavenly Father.
Thank you for my family.
All the world is filled with love
When there's love at home.
All the world is filled with love
When there's love at home.
I'm glad there's three verses.
I wonder if it takes everyone else this long
to think about the song too?
Three verses is a great idea.
Sweeter sings the brooklet by;
Brighter beams the azure sky.
Azure...my favorite "if I were a crayon, what color would I be" color.
And green.
Oh there's One who smiles on high
Heavenly Father, I love the azure sky. Thank you. It's perfect.
Like You.
When there's love at home.
Love at home,
Love at home;
Kent. I love him. Oh! Stay on key.
Oh, there One who smiles on high
When there's love at home.
raised her hand
just as the pianist began:
"There is beauty all around
When there's love at home.."
I know this song. I wonder where she got her shoes.
"There is joy in ev-'ry sound
When there's love at home..."
Oh this must be her first time playing this song. She missed a note.
Who's the regular pianist? Shoot. Can't remember.
Glad it's not me, thank goodness. I'd be awful.
"Peace and plen-ty here a-bide,
Smiling sweet on ev-'ry side,
Time doth softly, sweetly glide
When there's love at home."
Oh here comes the chorus. Which part is mine? How high are the high notes?
Oh I'll just sing low and see where my voice goes.
Love at home, love at home;
Too high, too high!
Time doth softly, sweetly glide
When there's love at home.
Whew.
Verse Two. I wonder whose teaching today?
There's only, like 10 of us in here.
Where is everyone? Vacation I suppose.
In the cottage there is joy
When there's love at home;
I have a cottage. A home. {smile}
Shoot, what's the next verse?
Roses bloom beneath our feet;
All the earth's a garden sweet,
Making life a bliss com-plete
I miss having all the kids home.
Sure hope David Scott n' Tisha come home to visit
over Labor Day for the baby's blessing.
When there's love at home.
What if they can't come?
Love at home, Love at home.
Man, that would be awful if they can't come.
No, they'll come. We're the only family we have.
They'll be there.
Where are we? Oh yeah...
Making life a bliss com-plete
When there's love at home.
Pay attention. I probably sound like an old windbag.
Hope noone can hear me.
Last verse. What am I making for dinner?
Kindly heav-en smiles above
When there's love at home;
I love you Heavenly Father.
Thank you for my family.
All the world is filled with love
When there's love at home.
All the world is filled with love
When there's love at home.
I'm glad there's three verses.
I wonder if it takes everyone else this long
to think about the song too?
Three verses is a great idea.
Sweeter sings the brooklet by;
Brighter beams the azure sky.
Azure...my favorite "if I were a crayon, what color would I be" color.
And green.
Oh there's One who smiles on high
Heavenly Father, I love the azure sky. Thank you. It's perfect.
Like You.
When there's love at home.
Love at home,
Love at home;
Kent. I love him. Oh! Stay on key.
Oh, there One who smiles on high
When there's love at home.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Parade of Homes from the Inside Out
The store is all a-buzz these days
because the Colorado Springs Parade of Homes
is nigh unto starting.
Our designer, Karen has put tons of hours
into her creation.
While she hasn't shared her vision or overview
of her designs,
those of us that work with her have gotten glimpses
of what's going into her Parade Home--
mainly, the colors:
Blue and Green.
Even Real Simple is sharing
Blue is "the" color this year...
you can see it just about everywhere these days--
just walk down the linen aisles at Macy's
and you'll see every thing from
Navy Nautical Blue
to
that soft pastel ocean blue
and every blue in between.
If you love blue,
this is the year to bring it in!
Bring in it with textiles:
window treatments,
rugs,
towels,
bedding,
paint,
n' accessories--
however it speaks to you,
invite your shade of blue inside.
Karen has chosen some awesome fabrics
for window treatments
upholstery and accessories...
every thing looks so fresh,
I can hardly wait til we get in there with her
and start pulling every thing together!
The Parade starts the first week of August.
I'll keep you posted.
And of course,
there'll be pictures.
Lots n' lots of pictures!
because the Colorado Springs Parade of Homes
is nigh unto starting.
Our designer, Karen has put tons of hours
into her creation.
While she hasn't shared her vision or overview
of her designs,
those of us that work with her have gotten glimpses
of what's going into her Parade Home--
mainly, the colors:
Blue and Green.
Even Real Simple is sharing
Blue is "the" color this year...
you can see it just about everywhere these days--
just walk down the linen aisles at Macy's
and you'll see every thing from
Navy Nautical Blue
to
that soft pastel ocean blue
and every blue in between.
If you love blue,
this is the year to bring it in!
Bring in it with textiles:
window treatments,
rugs,
towels,
bedding,
paint,
n' accessories--
however it speaks to you,
invite your shade of blue inside.
Karen has chosen some awesome fabrics
for window treatments
upholstery and accessories...
every thing looks so fresh,
I can hardly wait til we get in there with her
and start pulling every thing together!
The Parade starts the first week of August.
I'll keep you posted.
And of course,
there'll be pictures.
Lots n' lots of pictures!
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Ode of Silliness to Mr. Clean's Magic Eraser
This has been a really good weekend.
To quote my Jed Clampett- clone father,
"If it were any better,
I couldn't stand it."
I did nothing significant.
Which I loved.
I puttered around my house.
MY house.
I'm smiling over here
at the word "MY".
I liked cleaning my house yesterday.
Trying to keep that
"new house" smell going for as long as I can.
It's like that intoxicating "new car" smell
when you go test a car...
is it the lack of french fries on the floor
or the missing finger smudges on the windows
that makes ya feel like you just gotta have that new car
and your life would feel like a hollywood movie stars'?
I dunno.
These are questions that come to my noggin tho
and must be sent out into the Universe, okay?
Back to my house.
I like cleaning it.
I like Mrs. Meyers' cleaning products.
Alot.
And I think the person that invented
Mr. Clean's Magic Eraser (if there is in fact, no Mr. Clean)
should win the Nobel Peace Prize,
or
get to be President of the United States of America.
I hope whomever they are, Mr. Clean or not--
I hope they are RICH.
I hope they have bags of money laying around the
Mr. Clean Mansion.
Because it is my earnest opinion
that little sponge is the best thing
since the PC.
Someone had to say it.
It's been coming a long time.
May as well be me.
That little white sponge is a miracle worker,
you know it is!
I love how you can use it death.
You know how it just dissolves into a squashed flat piece of nothing
when you have cleaned every thing in sight?!
I love that!
I love how it cleans the fridge door handle.
And under the stove hood thingy.
And scuffs off the porcelain sink.
And dirt scum rings in the tub.
And
And
heavens,
is there anything it can't clean?
I was so amazed at how awesome it is,
I actually sent a package of them to a friend
who lived in Germany
when the product first showed up here in the States
about 7 years ago.
Anyway,
I cleaned my house.
And I did nothing after that.
Because Mr. W and Joseph were away camping this weekend
and I didn't want to mess up my spotless kitchen--
the girls and I ate "raisin bran" for lunch
and a frozen pizza for dinner.
On paper plates.
And we stayed up way too late
watching silly videos on the PC together.
And I slept in the middle of the bed.
Not on "my side"--
but took over the whole king-sized planet of comfort.
No snort snort snorting to disturb my sleep.
Ahhhh.
So basically,
I was nearly spoiled rotten all weekend
by having the two Mr.'s both simultaneously
IN and OUT of my days.
And to top it off,
it's been raining every day here in the Springs
which my yard just soaks up--
it's no longer "the house with the dead yard"--
the green blades of new grass have poked up
and the orange day lily blooms are bustin' open
as well as the white shasta daisies and pink sweet williams...
so I shout out to the Universe for the woman who thought to plant these beauties
long before I got here:
THANK YOU! I love them!
I read this on a kids' t-shirt last week
and I am still lovin' it:
How You Do Anything
Is How You Do Everything
The person that thought that up,
should also be rich. and famous.
hold on while I google it...
yep, found that person!
Cheri Huber...hope you're fantastically wealthy!
Hey, I'm just a generous person is all.
Lift as You Climb--
that's on the Caboose's piano teacher's mantel.
Okay Okay,
I'm done.
To quote my Jed Clampett- clone father,
"If it were any better,
I couldn't stand it."
I did nothing significant.
Which I loved.
I puttered around my house.
MY house.
I'm smiling over here
at the word "MY".
I liked cleaning my house yesterday.
Trying to keep that
"new house" smell going for as long as I can.
It's like that intoxicating "new car" smell
when you go test a car...
is it the lack of french fries on the floor
or the missing finger smudges on the windows
that makes ya feel like you just gotta have that new car
and your life would feel like a hollywood movie stars'?
I dunno.
These are questions that come to my noggin tho
and must be sent out into the Universe, okay?
Back to my house.
I like cleaning it.
I like Mrs. Meyers' cleaning products.
Alot.
And I think the person that invented
Mr. Clean's Magic Eraser (if there is in fact, no Mr. Clean)
should win the Nobel Peace Prize,
or
get to be President of the United States of America.
I hope whomever they are, Mr. Clean or not--
I hope they are RICH.
I hope they have bags of money laying around the
Mr. Clean Mansion.
Because it is my earnest opinion
that little sponge is the best thing
since the PC.
Someone had to say it.
It's been coming a long time.
May as well be me.
That little white sponge is a miracle worker,
you know it is!
I love how you can use it death.
You know how it just dissolves into a squashed flat piece of nothing
when you have cleaned every thing in sight?!
I love that!
I love how it cleans the fridge door handle.
And under the stove hood thingy.
And scuffs off the porcelain sink.
And dirt scum rings in the tub.
And
And
heavens,
is there anything it can't clean?
I was so amazed at how awesome it is,
I actually sent a package of them to a friend
who lived in Germany
when the product first showed up here in the States
about 7 years ago.
Anyway,
I cleaned my house.
And I did nothing after that.
Because Mr. W and Joseph were away camping this weekend
and I didn't want to mess up my spotless kitchen--
the girls and I ate "raisin bran" for lunch
and a frozen pizza for dinner.
On paper plates.
And we stayed up way too late
watching silly videos on the PC together.
And I slept in the middle of the bed.
Not on "my side"--
but took over the whole king-sized planet of comfort.
No snort snort snorting to disturb my sleep.
Ahhhh.
So basically,
I was nearly spoiled rotten all weekend
by having the two Mr.'s both simultaneously
IN and OUT of my days.
And to top it off,
it's been raining every day here in the Springs
which my yard just soaks up--
it's no longer "the house with the dead yard"--
the green blades of new grass have poked up
and the orange day lily blooms are bustin' open
as well as the white shasta daisies and pink sweet williams...
so I shout out to the Universe for the woman who thought to plant these beauties
long before I got here:
THANK YOU! I love them!
I read this on a kids' t-shirt last week
and I am still lovin' it:
How You Do Anything
Is How You Do Everything
The person that thought that up,
should also be rich. and famous.
hold on while I google it...
yep, found that person!
Cheri Huber...hope you're fantastically wealthy!
Hey, I'm just a generous person is all.
Lift as You Climb--
that's on the Caboose's piano teacher's mantel.
Okay Okay,
I'm done.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Cloudy with a Chance for Bears
Life.
Ever feel like you're treading water in the deep end of the pool
and all you really wanna do is reach the tiled-edge
so you can hang for a minute to catch your breath?
lol
So yesterday, Mr. Wonderful and Boofus gathered their camping n' fishing gear
and took off for Eleven Mile Canyon for the weekend.
Manly men doing manly things, ya know?
So when I got off work,
the girls and I went to grab a bite to eat
and then planned on a chick flick movie night
at home.
But just as we left the restaurant,
Mr W called.
He needed help because they locked the car keys
in the car.
The signal was so bad,
that I didn't get the chance to ask
if they had access to food or shelter--
just got the name of their campsite
and that was it.
So the girls and I filled the car with gas
and began our race with the sun to
get there before dark.
It's about an hour and a half to two hours from the Springs,
so we booked it up the mountains
and saw a severe thunderstorm
right over the direction we were headed.
Humongous dark clouds, lightening flashing every which way,
it lit up the roads and the entire horizon,
sheets of rain dropping from the clouds,
dark gray and heavy.
Nevermind, that before they left yesterday morning,
I'd checked the weather and it predicted
rain storms.
Mr W said, and I quote:
"We'll be fine."
My heart was clickin' along pretty good
at the thought of the guys huddled together
outside in the elements in a storm--
wondering what I was going to find when I got there.
Why is it, when you're in a situation like this,
that one mile feels like 20?
It felt like it took forever to get there,
and yet as we pulled into the campsite
just as the last rays of light
were disappearing behind a mountaintop,
I looked at the clock and it had taken us
just an hour and a half.
We found the car first,
and looked up a trail to see Mr W climbing out of their tent
to greet us.
Boofus came running, all smiles, and jumped into my car
yammering a mile a minute about his day--
catching fish and all the details about cleaning it,
just going on and on
so much that I just about missed the part about the bears:
There had been a mama black bear and two cubs
at their campsite earlier in the day,
according to the campground host.
Wait.
What?
A mama bear and two cubs?
In your campsite?
That very one?
Today? This morning?
I looked at the campsite
then back at him.
Then at the campsite
then back at Mr. W.
My concern was not hidden.
Just yesterday I'd read about the grizzly bear killing the hiker
at Yellowstone.
A mama grizzly bear with two cubs.
Mr. W had a mouth full of words coming at me--
something about the bears were there because it was empty,
blah blah blah...
{keep a knockin' but you can't come in...}
mama bear.
cubs.
this morning.
this campsite.
my son.
my husband.
MY SON.
BEARS.
TENT.
The Caboose didn't want us to leave the guys there--
the summer lightening show combined with the bear thing
freaked her little guts out.
Mr W assured me that they would be okay.
I calmly assured him that if anything happened to my boy,
I'd have to hurt him nigh unto death.
He did offer to have us sleep there over night too.
Uh. No thanks.
I like my safe. clean. non-bear bed.
We got home a little before 11pm.
No movie.
No popcorn.
No edge of the pool?
I got this.
No sweat.
@Sue aka Granny Sue: You've won a cd, please email me. I tried emailing you but got it back.
Ever feel like you're treading water in the deep end of the pool
and all you really wanna do is reach the tiled-edge
so you can hang for a minute to catch your breath?
lol
So yesterday, Mr. Wonderful and Boofus gathered their camping n' fishing gear
and took off for Eleven Mile Canyon for the weekend.
Manly men doing manly things, ya know?
So when I got off work,
the girls and I went to grab a bite to eat
and then planned on a chick flick movie night
at home.
But just as we left the restaurant,
Mr W called.
He needed help because they locked the car keys
in the car.
The signal was so bad,
that I didn't get the chance to ask
if they had access to food or shelter--
just got the name of their campsite
and that was it.
So the girls and I filled the car with gas
and began our race with the sun to
get there before dark.
It's about an hour and a half to two hours from the Springs,
so we booked it up the mountains
and saw a severe thunderstorm
right over the direction we were headed.
Humongous dark clouds, lightening flashing every which way,
it lit up the roads and the entire horizon,
sheets of rain dropping from the clouds,
dark gray and heavy.
Nevermind, that before they left yesterday morning,
I'd checked the weather and it predicted
rain storms.
Mr W said, and I quote:
"We'll be fine."
My heart was clickin' along pretty good
at the thought of the guys huddled together
outside in the elements in a storm--
wondering what I was going to find when I got there.
Why is it, when you're in a situation like this,
that one mile feels like 20?
It felt like it took forever to get there,
and yet as we pulled into the campsite
just as the last rays of light
were disappearing behind a mountaintop,
I looked at the clock and it had taken us
just an hour and a half.
We found the car first,
and looked up a trail to see Mr W climbing out of their tent
to greet us.
Boofus came running, all smiles, and jumped into my car
yammering a mile a minute about his day--
catching fish and all the details about cleaning it,
just going on and on
so much that I just about missed the part about the bears:
There had been a mama black bear and two cubs
at their campsite earlier in the day,
according to the campground host.
Wait.
What?
A mama bear and two cubs?
In your campsite?
That very one?
Today? This morning?
I looked at the campsite
then back at him.
Then at the campsite
then back at Mr. W.
My concern was not hidden.
Just yesterday I'd read about the grizzly bear killing the hiker
at Yellowstone.
A mama grizzly bear with two cubs.
Mr. W had a mouth full of words coming at me--
something about the bears were there because it was empty,
blah blah blah...
{keep a knockin' but you can't come in...}
mama bear.
cubs.
this morning.
this campsite.
my son.
my husband.
MY SON.
BEARS.
TENT.
The Caboose didn't want us to leave the guys there--
the summer lightening show combined with the bear thing
freaked her little guts out.
Mr W assured me that they would be okay.
I calmly assured him that if anything happened to my boy,
I'd have to hurt him nigh unto death.
He did offer to have us sleep there over night too.
Uh. No thanks.
I like my safe. clean. non-bear bed.
We got home a little before 11pm.
No movie.
No popcorn.
No edge of the pool?
I got this.
No sweat.
@Sue aka Granny Sue: You've won a cd, please email me. I tried emailing you but got it back.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Stumped
I've been in the new house for 17 days.
Just over two weeks now.
My dresser drawers are mostly full but not all.
My nightstand is empty, 'cept for
some chocolate-covered pomegranate balls
that I got from Costco last weekend.
(which are so good!)
The kitchen is done,
has been done from Day One
because I hate packing and un-packing the kitchen,
so I did an extra-good job of that room--
but I got lazy when it came to my room.
I didn't label the boxes.
Stupid, I know.
What was I thinking??
Ack!
The new house has one linen closet.
I've never only had one linen closet.
We had four in the last house,
which means I own enough linens to fill
you know, four linen closets.
I already have a box of linens TO BE DONATED.
It's full.
There is also no closet in the office/loft.
So there are boxes of crafts sitting around me
with no place to go.
And there's no medicine cabinet in the Master bath.
Seriously--
huge mirror over the sinks,
no medicine cabinet.
We do have two coat closets on the main floor.
Back to Back.
Evidently, the good folks at Richmond homes
knew we own alot of coats here in Colorado
so they made closets for those.
But not so much on linens.
Or medicine.
I'm not creative when it comes to putting stuff away--
I need a closet or a cabinet to fill.
Otherwise, I'm stumped.
IKEA opens July 27th.
I am SO there.
What's funnier than not remembering what boxes have my stuff in them?
When Mr W and the yahoos ask me
if I remember where their stuff is too!
Is that not like asking the blind to lead the blind?
Our garage is like a sea of boxes.
A sea of boxes with nowhere to go.
I need a professional organizer.
Or less stuff.
I like less stuff.
I love my new house.
Oh how I do!
Just need a little help here
to find all my shoes.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Tales of Moving
I have learned so much that I wanted to share from our moving experience,
that I actually wrote "keywords" to remind me of different events and thoughts
down on a white board.
Marvelous things,
Funny things,
Inspirational things.
Then, I placed that whiteboard on the fridge,
and got back to unpacking,
thinking that when I got a chance,
I would go to that whiteboard and start blogging those magnificent ideas.
I should've put a 24 hour security guard on the whiteboard,
because one of the yahoos was inspired by my notes
and then without notice
erased them all.
So I may not be able to relive and relish every moment
that our move inspired,
but the important stuff is still rollin' around my noggin
and that's what I'm gonna try to get on this page
before it too is lost to the X-files of my mind.
~~~~~
Monday, a week before the closing,
our mortgage guy calls and says
it doesn't look like we're going to get the loan
we wanted--
it had a lower interest rate that we not only wanted
but needed to make this deal work.
He called Mr. W at work
then Mr. W called me at home.
Mr. W was feelin' blue.
He's said since, that he didn't think we'd really be able to get into a home
this year....that he thought we'd have to have alot more money to put down
to get into the kind of home we're accustomed to.
But he didn't tell me that back then.
He kept that little gem to himself.
So when he got the call from Kevin, our mortgage guy,
he said he wasn't surprised,
but felt badly for me.
Well, see the thing about this is,
I didn't know what to do except call the kids to my room,
gather them at the foot of my bed,
and pray for those that were working on this loan for us.
We prayed for the mortgage people on our end,
and the bank people,
and the home owners who were anxious to get this debt off their shoulders
as it's a Short Sale home,
and we prayed that if this wasn't going to be a blessing for our family,
then we'd gratefully pass on the opportunity
and look with hope and clarity on the horizon
for the blessings our Heavenly Father has instore for us.
Yes, we cried.
We'd already set our hopes on this little house.
We're tired of the feelings of being homeless as we've been renting for 5 years
as the Lord had directed us to do.
We wanted our own place.
So we were sad.
At first, Kevin said that if we came up with 8k more,
we could get that loan--
well, we didn't have it,
and we know of noone that we could even ask to borrow it from...
but here's the deal:
Heavenly Father already knew that.
I knew that He knew that.
So if this was going to work,
then He was going to have to make it so.
I turned to the scriptures,
I just said a little prayer that I would read something
that would comfort me
and then I opened to
Mark 4--
where we read about Jesus and His Disciples
entering a ship and once they're out in the sea
a great tempest storm starts tossing them about--
so much so that waves are crashing on the ship
and the Disciples are so afraid
that they wake a sleeping Jesus.
"Carest thou not that we perish?"
And he arose, and rebuked the wind,
and said to the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased,
and there was great calm.
And he said unto them,
Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?
I read that sacred story again and again.
I called the children to the dining room
and read it to them.
I read it to Mr. W that night after dinner.
And I kept my scriptures open to that page
for the rest of the week.
I called my oldest children and my best friend
and asked them to remember us in their prayers.
We kept packing the house up.
I had an appointment with our mortgage guy on Wednesday,
where he and I spent an hour talking about faith
and trust in God's love and plan for His children.
When I left his office,
he and I both felt uplifted by the experience.
I told him we were praying for him and the underwriters,
and the homeowners and the loan officers.
That brought tears to his eyes.
He may have known alot about Mormons' lifestyles--
but after our meeting,
I hope he knows alot more about faith.
By Friday,
Kevin called me,
his voice was filled with electricity:
"We got it! We got the loan!"
The next Monday, as Mr. W and I were driving to the
Title company's office for the closing,
Mr. W shared that he was surprised that we were actually
doing this on that day in this year.
And that he felt "foolish" for not having more faith.
I said we all had our faith tested and rewarded in this experience
and that's what this life is all about.
After the closing,
Kevin smiled and said to Mr W:
"You've got a diamond right there". (pointing to me)
His compliment filled my heart--
he had done his best for us,
and our experience together blessed us all.
I can't say I've ever had that experience with a
mortgage broker,
but there you have it.
Look, I know home ownership isn't the be-all-end-all
of life in this world--
but for my heart,
it means more than I can say.
I have always felt like a bit alone--
my parents are not in my life,
Mr. W's parents are deceased,
we do not have extended family that is involved
in our lives beyond occasional
"hey, what's up?" and Christmas cards.
So a home to me,
means security.
The Lord knows this about me.
And He knows that I am completely dependent upon Him
for every thing in my life.
If there's a moral to this story,
it might be well-said from a quote by
Neil A. Maxwell:
"Faith in God includes faith in God's timing."
The night after we started moving in,
our family gathered together in the new diningroom,
surrounded by moving boxes,
and we knelt in a little circle and dedicated our new home
to our Heavenly Father.
We asked that our home be filled with His Spirit,
that we will make it a sacred place for all of us,
a refuge from the world,
and always a blessing in our lives.
We acknowledged our Heavenly Father's hand in our lives
and expressed our love to Him.
And then we stood, hugged, and started unpacking.
This is our home,
through the blessed efforts of many,
this is our home.
(pics have been taken, but I can't find the usb cord thingy to transfer the pics off my camera!)
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Feather Boa and Tiara: She's workin' it!
Tiara: $9.95
Mulit-colored necklace: $2.99
Dangly Earrings: $2.95
Blingy Bracelets: $5.99
High Heels: $6.95
Feathered Boa: $10.99
White fur-lined purse: $7.95
Gold purse: $5.95
Lookin' like a Princess (after a nap):
Priceless
~~
Possible Captions:
"What Happens in Vegas..."
"I'll have a root beer on the rocks."
"That was one wild princess party!"
What would you caption this one as?
*The story behind this pic: This was taken the day after Dara's 4th birthday. All she wanted was princess dress-up stuff--we did, in fact, buy her a Snow White dress from the Disney store to go with this outfit, and she wore it the day before to her party. But on this morning, she came downstairs for breakfast, barely awake, so excited to put on her princess garb, she totally forgot the dress. And the look on her face is priceless to us!
~~~~~~~~~~
P.S. Winner of the "POPCORN BOPPIN'" Cd is Moody who said,
"There's so many songs I love and so many that make me tear up when sung by those little voices! One of my faves is Book of Mormon Stories."
Moody will you email me with your address so Deseret Book can get that cd out to you? Thanks so much!
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