Status Report - Nearing the End of February

Borrowing from Lisa again because I seem to be at close to an all time blogging low around here, I thought I’d try to jump start writing thought with this:

Sitting….on a chair. In my dining room, if you’re wondering, where we keep our computer.

Sipping….nothing. My diet Dr. Pepper is too far away over there on the dining room table, and now that I’m finally typing a blog post after a week (forever in blog time) without a coherent blog thought, I don’t feel like getting up again to go get it.

Pondering….hypocrisy. I’ve been percolating a post on it for a while now. Maybe soon I’ll corral my thoughts….

Thinking about….how lonely Leah must have been. I just finished reading and pondering Genesis 29-30. Sometimes when you read through those stories, you forget these were real people with real feelings. Not that feelings are the end all be all of who we are to be, but I couldn’t help thinking about how lonely she must have been to have been unloved by her husband and to have a relationship of rivalry with her sister. And I wonder what it was like for her after Rachel died. We aren’t told, are we?

Thankful….that God uses flawed people to bring about His gracious purposes. He used Abraham and Sarah, and Isaac and Rebekah, and Jacob and Leah and Rachel and Bilhah and Zilpah and all those boys (have you read about those boys?) to bring, ultimately, the promised Redeemer. It is absolutely amazing to read the Old Testament and see God’s mighty plan unfold and to witness His gracious love and kindness. Amazing.

Amazed….by God’s grace. Overwhelmed by His kindness to me. Grateful beyond words that He would save even me.

Currently reading….Loving God With All Your Mind by Elizabeth George (still, our women’s group at church is still working our way through this one). And World Without End by Ken Follett (the sequel is as good as the first, but, wow, it’s got some rough stuff in it – be cautioned if you’re thinking of reading it. It’s making me very thankful to not have been born in the 14th century.)

Next on the list to read….Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. It’s sitting on my nightstand waiting for me to finish the current book.

Looking forward…to tonight. We have a babysitter coming so Drew and I can go out to dinner and shopping, and possibly even a movie – if we can find anything worth watching. At the mall. Can you believe what a good guy I’m married to that he will use a date night to go shopping for a new comforter and some other household things with me? How long has it been since we’ve done something like that? Not while living on the island, because we had no mall and crummy shopping.

Feeling guilty….about not starting the story my middle son keeps asking me to write for him. Problem is, I’ve gotten into this spiral where I feel guilty if I’m not cleaning something, so writing, all forms even including blogging, have recently fallen into a dark pit called writer’s block. Which means I’m all dried up for ideas for a story about parrots or pirates or something he will find entertaining.

Wading…into the search for a new dog. I think I’m ready. Now that we are having nicer days some of the time and we’re able to walk outside some, I keep finding myself thinking that it would be so nice to have a sweet little dog trotting along on a leash as we walk to pick up the boys from school. Though while looking at adoptable pet pictures on the internet today I ran across a little mini schnauzer and started crying. I still miss Oliver a lot. We all do. Boo keeps asking to go to Oliver’s house. She thinks we left him at our old house, I guess. Anyway, I saw some very cute beagle puppies that I want to visit, I think. Maybe soon….

Wondering…..how the little scale needle never manages to move to the left, no matter how I watch what I eat and how often I go to exercise. I must not be watching what I eat carefully enough, I suppose. At least it isn’t moving to the right, either….

Finishing….this post. I think that’s enough for now. Hoping to get back to blogging again soon. I miss it.

It's Cold!

Well, my family is reunited again now that the kids and I have joined Drew at our new house in our new city. Long story, but it ended up that Drew did not come down to drive us up to Missouri and his parents very graciously agreed to drive with the kids and me so I wouldn't have to brave that trip alone with three children. I suppose I could have done it alone, but I'm very, very thankful they were willing to help. Drew has already bought their plane ticket to Charlotte, NC to spend Christmas with his brother and pick up their car which we left there on Friday. We left South Carolina on Friday afternoon- a balmy 80 degrees - and stopped at Drew's brother's house in Charlotte, where we spent the night. My brother and his wife came over on Friday evening and visited with us for a few hours, too, and it was great to see them again.

Then on Saturday, we left my in-laws' car at Drew's brother's house and consolidated six of us into my van with all of our stuff and the things I did not want moved on the moving truck. We had so much stuff strapped on top in our luggage holder that we were joking that we looked like the Beverly Hillbillies driving down the road. All we needed was a rocking chair on top. That van was packed full, too, and when we stopped to weigh it, since the Army will reimburse us for what we moved ourselves, we found that we had added 1300 pounds to the empty weight of the van. Wow.

We spent the night in Nashville, and I worried, a little, that all the stuff in the luggage holder on top of the van might be gone in the morning, but we were so tired at that point and the kids so ready to get out of the car that we didn't worry about it too much. Then on Sunday we finished our journey and when we arrived in town it was a cold, cold 15 degrees, which dropped to 8 degrees when the sun went down. Factoring in the wind, it's really, really, really cold here! We're not on the island anymore!

I could probably write a book, or at least a very long post, about how being cooped up in the car with my in-laws and children for three long days after a very trying week of packing and waiting on the movers and and cleaning our empty house and all that that entailed proved to show how much I still need to grow in sanctification and how it can show up the sin in my heart as tempers get frayed along the way, but I'll suffice it to say that I probably needed that light shined on my heart, but it wasn't pretty all the time. I'm glad we're done driving.

I am very grateful for the hedge of protection and safe travel God granted us along the way. And I have to say a huge, very heartfelt thank you to my mother and father in-law for their willingness to sacrifice and drive with us. I know that it wasn't easy for them, but I am very thankful they shared this burden with me. I'm not sure I could have managed this drive by myself. I also have to brag on my sweet husband. He did an excellent job at making our new house look like a home, even without furniture, which we have learned will not be delivered until the Monday after Christmas because the truck driver needs to be home with his family for Christmas, and how could we complain about that? Drew greeted us yesterday with colored lights all along the outside porch and cute decorations and a cute little Christmas tree with white lights (just the way I like it) and some wrapped presents around the tree. He had even stocked the pantry with a trip to Costco (how we've missed having a Costco close by!), and it was just so good to see him again.

Oh, and I'm typing this on the new laptop Drew bought us. Cool, huh? I'm kind of having a hard time getting used to the keyboard, so kindly ignore my typos, if you please. I have lots more to blog about, but I'll try to get to it soon. Right now, I'm just plain tired. We're going to be having an early Christmas celebration with Drew's parents before they fly out and then a nice time with just us on Christmas day.

One other thing I am also thankful about is that when I was up here a week ago visiting Drew we visited a church together that is just down the street from our house. They were performing their Christmas music program that morning, and it was just so worshipful that Drew and I both sat there with tears falling down our faces. In all the hustle and bustle of this move, as I mentioned in an earlier post, it seemed that the meaningful part of Christmas was so hard to focus on, and that Sunday morning was wonderful. Drew went back to that church yesterday, and, Lord willing, we think we may have already found a church home. What a blessing.

Merry Christmas, everyone. No matter what your circumstances, may you take time to ponder the wonder and hope that is found in our Lord Jesus Christ this Christmas season.

Word for the Day: Procrastination

What do you do when it is only 13 days until the movers come to start packing up the house and there are several things that must be done before then that will require time and energy to complete?

Well, I don't know about you, but I spent the whole day bubble wrapping my Precious Moments and other special things that the movers will not be packing, getting my hair cut as a means of getting out of the house while our realtor brought someone to look at the house who ended up deciding they aren't ready to buy anything right now, (Well, I really did need the haircut, too, it wasn't just a ploy to get out of the house but that worked out pretty well, and it was the last time I'll have it cut while living "on the island" so I had to say good-bye to the sweet lady who has cut my hair for the past five years), writing my Christmas letter (yes, I am one of those annoying people who writes a Christmas letter almost every year), skimming a few blogs, playing with and reading to Boo in the hopes she would take a nap (she did for a little while), playing around with formatting the Christmas letter to try to get it all on one page with two pictures (managed it, barely), addressing Christmas cards while boys did homework, going to McDonald's for dinner with the kids (not my favorite, but grandparents invited and were buying), addressing more Christmas cards, getting Boo to bed for the night, finshing reading The Hobbit with the boys, saying good night to the boys, addressing the last of the Christmas cards, and blogging about addressing Christmas cards.

All in all, aside from the bubble wrapping this morning, not much that needs to happen before the movers arrive on my doorstep in less than two weeks!!!!! got finished today. I procrastinated.

But I got my Christmas letter written and cards addressed. Now I just have to buy stamps, make copies of the letter and wait until Drew can get into the apartment next week and get the phone turned on so I'll have a phone number to put in the Christmas letter along with our new address.

And the sad thing is I'm ready to do the dance of joy because I'm actually managing to get Christmas cards and a letter out this year. Maybe. They aren't completely finished yet. But the end is in sight. Impressive, huh?

Will I Ever Blog Again?

My friend Lisa often will blog status reports, and I am blatantly plagiarizing the idea from her today as I realize here it is Friday and I haven't posted anything, substantive or not, since last Friday. Is it still plagiarism if I give her credit for the format idea? I’ll let Lisa decide the answer to that.

Sitting...at my computer desk wishing a substantive post would materialize on the screen. Also sitting on my hands when I'm not typing to try to warm them up. It's cold this week. And my hands freeze all winter. And it's only going to get colder in a few weeks when we move.

Sipping...nothing at the moment, but thinking strongly about going out to get a Coke zero from the fridge in the garage. Speaking of the fridge in the garage, did you know that if you set your refrigerator too cold and a case of diet A&W cans happens to freeze you will have a whopping explosion of a mess in said refrigerator? I didn’t either. But, wow, you should see the mess. The cans actually exploded. That’s one more job I’ve got to do now.

Eating....an apple, and wishing it were a giant chocolate bar. Still trying to shed some more pounds. Slow going these days.

Missing...my dog. I still find myself looking at the couch when I get up in the morning and am always disappointed when he isn't there. I guess that will fade once we move.

Also missing... my blog and my blog friends. Wishing I had more to say to keep it up. Wondering what is wrong with me these days. Must be the move. I’m not great with big changes, even when they are so incredibly obviously the right changes.

Incredibly grateful...for the manifold providential ways God is showing us and comforting our hearts that this move is right. There are more than I can count. God is so kind and so good and His mercy is everlasting, and His peace does pass all understanding. May I rest in it. And I am thankful for His word and how the time spent studying it is never wasted time, but brings refreshing to my soul.

Mulling...over a series of books I just completed and which I can’t seem to quit thinking about and about which a blog post is screaming in my head to be written, but I am thinking I just might be too chicken to jump into that water and name the series just now since they are obscenely popular with a certain young adult female audience and the first novel has a movie based upon it opening today and it deals with a new twist on the vampire story, (Have you figured it out yet?) and what I’m thinking about it is not all positive, glowing, obsessively wonderful thoughts and I’m not sure I want to face the backlash for sharing my thoughts if I do mention the name of the books and the Google hits bring obsessed fans here, so, should I write the post or not? What say you?

Wimpy... You’re right. See above. But that as-yet-unwritten post is about the only substantive thinking I’ve got going at the moment, too. Sigh.

Enjoying...my two-year-old daughter. She is just so much fun.

Also enjoying...my two boys. They are fun, too. But I am also constantly reminded of my total inadequacy at this parenting job at times. Parenting is hard work. Really hard. God is gracious. Really gracious. He grants wisdom when I pour out my heart to Him and for that I can never be grateful enough.

Stressful...the time is quickly barreling down upon us for our move to St. Louis. Today is Drew’s last day working at the hospital. That is really surreal. Drew’s boss and his wife, who are also dear friends, are taking us out to dinner tonight. I’m dreading the tears. I surprised myself on Saturday at M’s last football game when a friend’s mom came up to him and told him how much they are going to miss him when we leave. I got all misty-eyed. And I want to leave the low country. But it is still hard. Drew leaves the Saturday after Thanksgiving to start his new job and the movers will be here in early December to give us a better estimate of our actual moving date when we can go on and join him there. It is real now.

Procrastinating...filling out the forms for the boys’ new school. I hate filling out forms. But it needs to be done before next week. Drew will be taking them with him to get them registered for next semester. Have I mentioned that I’m not great with change?

Irritated...with incompetence. One example among many that we've experienced recently: I guess literacy is too high an expectation for our mail carrier. We keep getting mail for neighbors who don’t even live on our street, and other neighbors keep having to walk our mail over to us. When we went to Disney, I had the post office hold our mail for that week. It was supposed to all be delivered to us on the Saturday we got back. We didn’t get it until the next Monday. When I went through it, there was a large stack of our next door neighbor’s mail in with ours which had been held all week instead of delivered to their box. I hope their mail doesn’t get forwarded to St. Louis with us when we move. Also, there was a two inch thick stack of mail for different people all over the area here – not even close to our neighborhood, some not even the same zip code. That all got held for a week with our mail, too. We put those in one of those big blue mail boxes. Hope it got where it was supposed to. That’s just one more aspect of Island living I’m fairly sure I won’t miss too awfully much. Looking at the bright side, with all of us neighbors walking misdirected mail to each other, at least we are finally meeting each other.

Not progressing...with the writing project. I started outlining a little of the story, but I haven’t had time or heart to get into it much yet. I also need to get moving on the story I promised M I would write for him a very long time ago.

Thankful...for Jesus, who is the Light of the world. That has so much meaning for me right now. Maybe I’ll explain more when I get up the courage to write that book post.

Done...blogging for the moment. Diapers and daily duties are calling.

Randomly Boring Me

Jules at Everyday Mommy has tagged me with a meme. I’m supposed to share 6 random things about myself. I hope I can come up with six things that won’t just bore the socks off of you, but here’s my attempt to complete the meme.

1. I find coloring in Boo’s coloring books to be a very soothing activity when I’m feeling stressed or in need of a mindless occupation when I can’t settle my brain enough to read. I colored a nice scene of Elmo’s birthday party while watching the last presidential debate.

2. I don't watch a whole lot of TV anymore. There are just a handful of shows I still follow, and with all the available channels, there just isn't much I can stand to watch these days. And I don’t turn the news on much anymore, either. For one thing, I'm really tired of politics at the moment, and besides, with 24/7 news channels, just how many different ways can you spin the same few news stories, anyway? I’m pretty much “news”-ed out.

3. I crave diet cherry Cokes from Sonic all the time. Drew knows what to get when he feels like a Sonic run on the way home from work. I also like their unsweet peach tea. Sonic happy hour half price soda drinks from 2-4 is a winner with me and the boys.

4. I can’t wait for LOST to come back. That's one of those handful of shows I mentioned, and I am pretty much hooked on it. I clicked on the ABC website the other day and piddled around just to fill my craving for a LOST fix. Does anyone else think these really long hiatuses are too long? How much longer will we have to drag out the suspense? Will the ending be satisfying, or have I wasted all these years following the Losties? Drew and I were laughing that we will be getting off our island before they resolve the mysteries surrounding theirs. I’m not good at waiting. As Inigo says in The Princess Bride, “I hate wait.” Me too.

5. Speaking of The Princess Bride, that’s one of my all time favorite movies. I had a friend in college who would go back and forth with me quoting lines from it when those lines would apply to various situations around campus. It was funny. Drew and I find ourselves spouting out Princess Bride quotes a lot, too. Especially the clergyman from the wedding scene. That has got to be one of the funniest movie scenes ever. “Mawidge. Mawidge is wot bwings us togevah today.…..”

6. I love Autumn. It is my favorite season, and, growing up in Florida where we didn’t really have much differentiation in seasons, I am looking forward to moving a little further north where we will have a true Fall, with colored leaves and that crisp feeling in the air and pumpkins and all that goes with Fall. Except for Halloween, I'm not such a big fan of that, though in years past we have let the kids dress up and trick-or-treat. I'm just as glad we'll be at Disney World this year (oh, yes, we're going to Disney!! The kids are beside themselves in anticipation). I'm so not good at the whole finding a costume thing.

7. Okay, we were supposed to only list 6 random things, but my brain is randomly firing now and I have one more, but it’s about the boys, not about me so much. Both of the boys have been reading our old Calvin and Hobbes books, and they can’t wait to live in a place where we’ll have leaves to crunch and snow for building snow men, just like Calvin. M is already planning how he wants to build his snow men. I’m a little worried that he’s adopted Calvin as a role model in this endeavor….

Well, I hope my lame attempt to play along hasn’t bored you to tears. Sorry, I’m just not all that interesting.

Have a nice Friday, and feel free to consider yourself tagged!

I Didn't Know Adrian Monk Moonlighted as a Realtor

They say you should never say “never,” but one thing I never, ever want to do for a living is work in real estate. Or any kind of high pressure sales, for that matter. I hate the games they all play and I hate the process of selling a house. These “Where I Am Right Now” posts are becoming all too common for me recently, but here’s another one, because, well, because my blog is an easy place to vent and I’ve about driven my husband crazy with this and still need an outlet, so aren’t you lucky to have stumbled across the boredom that is my blog these days?

So, anyway, we had a realtor’s open house yesterday. In preparation, I scrubbed the bathrooms, dusted, vacuumed, straightened up everything and generally got the house as clean as possible when there are still five people living here (and sadly no longer a little dog – we’re still crying and hope has dwindled, by the way – more on that later, maybe). I took Boo and we went to the school and I made Mrs. G’s copies like I do every Monday (fun times with an antsy two-year-old along for the ride since Gram was sick and couldn’t watch her), then to Chick-fil-A for lunch, Blockbuster to return a movie, and a 45-minute drive to Target for some time consuming shopping. I bought Boo a Disney princesses sleeping bag. Very cute. Hopefully we will be able to teach her how to sleep in it before our trip to Florida in a couple of weeks. But I digress.

When I got back that afternoon, our realtor had left us some of the delicious gumbo he had served for the lunch time open house and it was yummy. Also, there were some anonymous feedback forms. Most of the comments were constructive, most we knew, but one has me flummoxed. Now I will demonstrate just what I mean when I say that my oldest son’s tendency to obsess comes naturally to him by way of his mother. On one form, the only comment made was this: “Needs cleaning (bathroom).” Friends, that one has me all in a dither. Ask my husband, who is having to live with me. I scrubbed those bathrooms that morning, and there was not one spot anywhere to be seen. I even Windexed the faucets so they were waterspot-free and shining. Those are clean bathrooms. They are cleaner than the professional maid service left them. You may recall an earlier post when I mentioned I had been less than thrilled and had to go back and clean things to my satisfaction. So, I have to tell you, I am dying to ask our realtor who the obsessive compulsive is who came into our home and, of all the legitimate things that could have been commented on, chose that one. I’m wondering if they were thinking of a different house. Seriously. That was my thought.

I did not know that Adrian Monk had left San Francisco and was now working as a realtor in our neck of the woods. Interesting. Drew tells me I need to let this go. He’s right. But, though our house is not perfect, and we know that, the bathrooms are very clean. I know this because I have been busting my tail every morning to make sure they remain so.

I’m done now. Thanks for listening.

Spell Check, Please?

Here's one more reason we aren't crying too terribly much about leaving the Lowcountry. Below is a sign we saw this morning in front of a local middle school. When I saw it and pointed it out to Drew, who was driving, he started laughing and said, "Oh, you have to blog about that!"

And they wonder why kids can't read. Guess they were optimistic about their spelling ability, too.....

Weather Watch- Updated

It is looking like Tropical Storm/Hurricane Hanna is heading right for us, so we are watching the weather channel and making plans. I went shopping this morning and stocked up on bottled water, batteries, canned food, etc. We’re really hoping we can stay home, but we are preparing to leave if we have to. I am pretty sure that the schools will be closed come Thursday, and I’m hoping we will know if we should leave soon enough that we can leave early enough to get off the island fairly easily. I’ve heard it is not fun around here when the evacuation order hits, so we’re paying close attention.

I know it is a little goofy, but the thing that terrifies me most is having to take the kids and dog and drive up to North Carolina where we have some family by myself. Since Drew is already on active duty with the Army, and the storm is heading right for Savannah where he is stationed, if it does hit, he’ll have to stay and we’ll have to do this by ourselves. He is home today as we get ready, but he’ll be going in tomorrow and I’ll have to either weather it out here or leave without him, and, though I’m really trying not to be worried, it does scare me a little. I know that God will grant me strength to do whatever we need to do, so may I ask my blog friends to please keep us and our whole area in prayer as we wait and see what this week holds?

*Update 9-3-08: We're still here, obviously and we are cautiously optimistic that we probably will not have to evacuate.....this time...., though we are still keeping an eye on things. We do need to be in prayer for those who are being affected and for those in the path of Hurricane Ike, too. Those poor islands south of us really suffer when these storms hit.

And Now For a Long Story You Probably Aren't Interested to Read....

We had a new air conditioning system put in a few months ago. You may remember me whining about mentioning it back then. We bought a top of the line system, and according to all the research and testimonials we read, we were expecting cool temperatures inside and significantly reduced power bills.

You can imagine how confused I was when I was running it at 72 degrees and having the kids’ side of the house be cold, while right at the stairs and beyond to the living room and my room there was a serious temperature change and it went from arctic to desert. I kept bumping it down to 72 thinking surely it would cool the house, it was a new, better system, after all. I was becoming quite unhappy with the new A/C, thinking that at least with the old one it was cool throughout the house and I wasn’t sweating in the afternoon.

And, you can imagine my shock dismay surprise when I opened our first electric bill since installing the new system and seeing, not a reduced bill, but a bill that had more than doubled. Yes, you read that right. Doubled. We are not made of money in the Sweet Tea With Lemon household. I immediately got on the phone to my husband and wailed. We called the power company, who sent someone out to re-read our meter and then informed us that the reading was, indeed, accurate and that it was now spinning even faster and using even more wattage than when they had initially read it. We called the guy who installed the new system. This is someone we decided to trust with our very expensive purchase on the recommendation of a friend and on his coming in significantly lower in the cost estimate than our A/C maintenance company did in their estimate.

Well, when we called him, he was out of town, meaning we had to wait another week for him to come and try to find the problem, during which time we bumped up the temperature at which we were running the A/C hoping to put a slow-down to the relentless turning of the wattage meter, knowing that by the time I had received the bill we were already a week or two into the next billing cycle and racking up an astronomical bill for that month, too.

So, Mr. A/C man came out, tried to explain about how we should be able to run this fancy new system at higher temperatures and be cooler than we were at lower temps with the old system because of the way it dealt with humidity (??) and, were we aware that we had been having record temperatures and no A/C could realistically be expected to keep a house at 72 degrees in this heat. How come my in-laws run theirs at 72 degrees all the time and they don’t have $400+(!!!) power bills ever and they only live right over the bridge from us? Couldn’t answer that one. Must be your cathedral ceilings in the living room. Right. Then he checked the power output at the source, declared that he couldn’t see any significantly alarming power output from the A/C unit and that maybe something else in the house was doing it. Right. Nothing else had changed but the A/C. Umm, if we want to set it at 72, it should not double the power bill from a system that had been failing and not running efficiently at all.

Oh, yeah, when he installed the new system, he did not have the thermostat that goes with it, so he put on one that would run it okay until he could install the proper one. When he came out that evening, he said he had the thermostat, but not time to put it on right then, he’d be back the next week. He never came back. When we asked if that could be the problem, we were assured that it wasn’t.

Guess what? We ran the air at 74 for the next billing cycle, and the bill came down a little, but it was still a lot higher than we paid this time last year. We’ve called Mr. A/C man several times, still no thermostat in sight, still hasn’t come into the house to see how not cool it has been during all these record hot days of summer. Then, yesterday, I got a call from our maintenance company following up on whatever happened with the quote they gave us back in March, and is everything going okay? I explained what we’d been up to, and a technician came out yesterday evening to evaluate the system. Turns out that the man who installed it apparently does NOT know how to install this particular system, and that the thermostat he put on there does not allow the different parts to communicate, so the brand new swanky system has been going a little haywire, not able to communicate with itself. He got me a quote for what it would cost to rewire and properly install this system and put the proper controller thermostat on. It wasn’t cheap.

The work is finished. I can feel cool air blowing all over the house. In fact, it is blowing just as cool and strong in my bedroom as it is in Boo’s. And all this time Mr. A/C man has been saying that my room is so much hotter because of the ductwork and how it has to travel through the attic across the house. Guess he was wrong, huh? Sigh.

Thanks for letting me vent my little tale of woe. In the grand scheme of things, I know this is not really a huge thing. I know this. I also know I am thanking God that in His providence He allowed such a thing to happen while Drew was on active duty and making a little extra income and we could afford this little jaunt into the world of A/C incompetence. Though we had other plans for that extra cash, and we’ll have to reevaluate the budget a little now, I’m very thankful it was there for this little escapade. God has richly blessed us, and I am grateful.

Lesson learned, go with the known company – it may cost more up front, but you’re probably going to pay the difference either way. I’m really hoping this solves the issue and the power bill recovers, because we certainly cannot afford to have that big of a hit each month.

Another lesson learned, if you think something isn't right, don't second guess and limp along, get it checked out. I never felt like the A/C was working right, but I wasted the summer thinking maybe I was just expecting too much, so we didn't have another company come in and check it out until we'd gone through most of the summer. We could have had this fixed a couple of months ago if we had not been so willing to wait on the man who didn't do it right the first time.

Another reminder, do the job right the first time if you want a good reputation. You’d better believe we won’t be recommending Mr. A/C man to any of our friends. And we live in a small town. Several people have told me that Mr. A/C man should be responsible for our high power bills since his people did not do the job properly, and that's probably true, but, realistically, I don't think we'd get anywhere with that. Besides, even with all the headache, we're still going to come out having paid a little less than if we'd gone with the first quoted price, but it has been a hot summer. I’m hoping Drew will be calling him to let him know that his installers did not do the job properly though, otherwise, the next customers might not be as willing to chalk it up to caveat emptor, which is what we’re going to choose to do.

Practical Mom's Dictionary #6, Beach Edition

Debatable: Is the great fun had by all during a day at the beach with friends worth the hassle of packing lunches and beach gear, getting it all to the beach (30 minute drive), getting it all out of the car and down to the actual beach, and then getting everything rinsed off and back to the car once it is time for the fun to come to an end and it is time to go home? And is it worth the splitting headache I inevitably end up with in the afternoon? I’m still pondering the answer this afternoon.

Answer, upon pondering: Okay, usually it is worth it. We had fun last Tuesday when we went with some friends, and, can I just say that it is so nice to finally be making friends here?? We had a good time this morning with the boys’ Uncle M and Gram and Grandad, too. It is a lot of fun to watch the boys enjoying themselves in the water and Boo enjoying herself……all over the beach. She’s a busy little thing, I tell you. But she loves the beach. I’m pretty sure I don’t have the stamina to do too many more beach trips this summer, though. They wear me out. Good thing we only have two more weeks until school starts back. Aaaack. Did I really say it’s only two more weeks??? Where has the summer gone?

What were they thinking?: I wonder why the state park people did not put a boardwalk from the showers and restrooms to the parking lot. It doesn’t do much good for the showers to be located in the sand and then have several more yards of (very, very, scaldingly hot) sand from the showers to the car. Not sure what the logic there was. I suppose I am glad there are showers at all. But it doesn’t seem too smart to have to walk across all that (did I mention it was hot?) sand once we’ve rinsed off. We’re just as dirty by the time we get to the car as we were when we got to the showers in the first place. But I should not whine and digress.

Ahhhhhh: The clean feeling after a shower once we finally get home following a day at the beach. Is there anything like it? It almost makes the hassle of getting there and getting home again worth it. Almost. Regardless of what my house might look like on any particular day, I like things clean. I’m not Monk, mind you, but I do like it clean. You might not realize that immediately upon seeing my house sometimes because, well, life happens around here a lot, but I don’t really enjoy the grimy, sticky, dirt-everywhere feeling of the beach.

If my camera were working, I could have taken some cute pictures and shared them. But my camera is not working.

Another plus of a day at the beach: The kids sleep really well those nights. For all the not wanting to leave when it is time, they are worn out once we get home.

I’m off to enjoy the air conditioning and a good book for a bit this afternoon while everyone is somewhat quiet until it’s time to get the supper going. Happy Saturday.

Thankful For......(Yesterday Afternoon Edition)

*roadside assistance through our insurance company

*A cell phone that works (remind me to keep that battery charged – thankfully, it was)

*In-laws who live close (and that my mother-in-law was home when I called yesterday afternoon) and could come and pick up the kids and the dog while I waited for someone to come change my flat tire (Drew was out of town again. Pretty much can count on these things happening when he’s not here, almost never when he is – that’s just the life of an Army wife, I think.)

*Boo falling asleep in her car seat and sleeping the whole time we waited for Drew’s mom to come and take the kids (and the dog) home while I waited with the car

*That we made it to the gas station on the island before we had to stop for the flat tire (boys had to go to the bathroom….)

*Clear skies for the duration of my flat tire experience (it’s been thunder storming most afternoons, and had been raining earlier in the day)

*Sonic unsweet peach tea (the kids and I had stopped for refreshment before we picked up Oliver from the groomer’s, from where we were in the process of returning home when the tire decided to flatten, which is why he got to enjoy the experience with us)

*Well-behaved children who actually did stop asking questions once I explained that I was trying very hard not to be stressed at the moment and I needed to make some phone calls

*Scrap paper and pen in my purse – I scribbled blog notes while waiting for help to come once the kids were safely on the way home (just so you know how obsessive the blogging impulse can be)

*A spare Bible in the car. I had just started reading when help arrived in the form of the automotive man my roadside assistance sent to help (covered by our insurance, hooray!)

*Time to pray in the gas station parking lot while I waited

*Drew is planning to be home tomorrow afternoon and will be able to deal with getting new tires. Yes, I said tires, plural. When the man changed the front one, he said the back one was going flat, too, and pointed out a defect in it. These are fairly new tires, hopefully still under warranty.

*Drew exercised restraint the other day and did not buy the laptop we’re looking at, deciding it was more of a ‘want’ than a ‘need’ at the moment, at least until our PC dies – which it probably will before long. But I’m glad we don’t have that extra expense now that we’re probably going to be buying two new tires (unless they’re still under warranty…..)

*Air conditioning. It was HOT in that parking lot.

Those are just a few of the things I was thankful for yesterday.

Practical Mom's Dictionary, Installment #5

Like lightning, Blink of an Eye: How fast a two-year-old is when your back is turned for one minute.

Gray hair: What I didn’t have until Boo came along. This third child is our most adventurous yet. I hope we all survive her toddlerhood.

The beach: Where we went today. We had a lovely time with some friends from church, by the way. It made all the hassle of getting there worth it. Despite the last post, there are definite things to like about living here, and the beach within reasonable driving distance and the friends I’ve met at our church are definite benefits for sure. Boo decided the seagulls were there to be chased by her. Off she went down the beach with me running after. Running and running, calling, “I see quack! I see quack!” Finally I was able to convince her to play in the sand for a while with her friends. J and M were wonderful playing with her in the shallow waves. Then, when they wanted to go out a little further to play with their body boards, Boo really wanted to go, too. As I waded with her, she kept trying to go deeper, no fear at all. She wanted to go deeper, but she pitched a fit if I held her, even though the water was up to her chest. I kept my hands on her arms anyway and lifted her up every time a wave came until we both got tired of that game and went back to the ankle deep water. She is so different from her brothers at this age. Both of them had a healthy fear of the waves. Not Boo. I have to watch this child like a hawk! The only way I will take her with me to the beach is if I do have Drew or some friends with me to help me keep eyes on her at every moment, because if I look away for a second, she beelines for the “pool,” as she calls the ocean. Whew. I’m tired this afternoon.

Baby-proofed: What I thought my house was well enough. I was wrong.

Frantic call to the pediatrician and poison control: The result of being wrong. I thought that I could take a quick shower to wash the beach off my body. The boys were still there with a friend who said they could stay later with her and her kids, but I brought Boo on home with me. She was puttering around in the bathroom, and I was pretty sure there was nothing she could get into that would hurt her, so I took a quick shower, thinking I could hear her and see her, and I wasn’t going to be long at all. When I got out, she had red wet stuff all over her face and I saw that while I was in the shower she got into some sore throat spray that had been under the sink. I don’t know why it was under the sink. Obviously it is not there any longer. Did you know that that an overdose of over-the-counter sore throat spray has some very scary potential side effects? I didn’t either until I called poison control right after this incident. But she seems to be doing just fine after a hasty bath and vigorous scrubbing to make sure I got it all off of her.

Did I mention how gray my hair is going to be before too long?

I am thanking the Lord for His great mercy that she is showing no symptoms and seems like her own little self this afternoon, and it’s been longer than the hour the poison control told me to wait for possible symptoms.

Heavy Heart

I need a moment to vent because my heart is heavy today.

I confess that I wasn’t thrilled when it became clear 4 ½ years ago that we were moving to South Carolina. I grew up in Florida, and not the small town parts of Florida, either, but in an area where there were always new people moving in and out from many different places. Then I went to the University of Florida, where my husband and I met, and later Drew and I moved to the greater Tampa area once we were both finished with our school work in Gainesville. Obviously, Brandon, FL was not a small, southern town, either. Though Florida may be geographically south, I don’t really consider it a southern state, at least, not where I lived, if you understand what I mean.

Anyway, I confess that I had some stereotypes about southern living, and most of them were negative. Especially did I have those stereotypes about the type of old southern town where we now find ourselves living. And, let me tell you, this is one proud little town. Proud of its southern heritage. Proud of its location. Proud of its land – don’t get me started on the unreal cost of living here. Please don’t hate me, southern friends! I know it’s wrong to stereotype, that’s the whole point of this post…..

What concerned me the most, and I’m being very honest with you all here, is that we have tried really hard to shield our children and protect them from developing racist attitudes. We truly want them to understand that all people are really ‘one blood’ – that we all are created in the image of God, that we all are descended from Adam and Eve and from Noah’s family, and that we are not to judge anyone by what they look like. We don’t allow that kind of jokes or unkind things said in our home, and it does seem that our kids have been protected, as much as we were able, from some of those horrible prejudices. One thing I really appreciate about Answers in Genesis, by the way is how that organization stresses that we are really one race – the human race.

Before I go on, I am aware that racism is not just a southern thing. My chief editor, also known as my loving and very patient husband, mentioned that while proofreading this post. It’s something that can affect anyone from anywhere, and it is evil, no matter who is espousing it. Period. But when we moved here originally, I was concerned that we might find it to be more of a problem than where we had been before. This is one reason we were so thrilled to find the church where we are now members. Imagine a church, in the deep south, no less, where black and white and Hispanic and many other backgrounds are sitting together in the seats and in the choir and serving alongside each other as family members in the Body of Christ. I love this about my church. This is how it should be, friends. Because those of us who belong to Christ should be worshiping together with no regard to the color of our skin.

This is why something that happened today in Sunday School grieved my heart so much. Drew and I have finished up the Discovery Class, which is a basic class that is a good entry point into the church and is a good thing to brush up on even when you’ve been a Christian for a long time. We have been going to a new class for a few weeks, and we ended up sitting near the back today and in front of someone we had not met yet. This older gentleman began talking with us and we had a nice little conversation until he let slip a very unkind and disgusting comment about “the blacks.” And he didn’t stop there, but proceeded to single out other groups, too. Drew and I both had our jaws drop in astonishment that he would say what he said like it was nothing, and we ended that conversation quickly and turned around. What bothered me most is that this man didn’t even seem to see how incongruous his words were. He slurred several whole groups of people just by the color of their skin, not even seeming to care that there are dear brothers and sisters in that very class with him who would have been deeply hurt by what he’d said. I do know absolutely that this man does not speak for the majority of the people of this church and that his prejudice is preached against forcefully, and the fact that he would feel okay about voicing it so loudly left both Drew and me dumbfounded.

My stomach churned all through Sunday School, and when we got into church before the service started, Drew and I were talking about how awful we felt about that whole episode and how we were so flabbergasted we didn’t even know what to say to him. As we sang worship songs this morning, I was crying because I kept thinking of how evil it is to despise those God has made in His image because we’re blinded by the pride and sin of racism. I kept thinking about how precious it is that Jesus shed His blood to reconcile men and women from every tribe and tongue and people to Himself, and how ugly and dirty I felt just for having heard that man say those hateful things. I don’t understand how anyone can sit under the kind of preaching we do and sing the glorious songs about Jesus’ blood being shed for our redemption and harbor the kind of hate we heard there in that comment and not even realize there is something vastly wrong with his thinking. As we sang this morning, I kept thinking how that must be a real stench to God, to sing praise out of one side of our mouth and cut down people for whom Jesus died out of the other side – or to sit quietly when it is said, as we did, not knowing what to say being so appalled that he would say such things at all so openly and so without concern.

Friends, there is no call or place for the sin of racism in the Body of Christ. We must love our neighbor and serve together to bring the gospel to a lost world. Our pastor has been preaching through the book of Acts for a long time now. A few weeks ago, he got to Chapter 21, when Paul was in Jerusalem and was arrested in the Temple when a mob broke out. In Chapter 22, Paul asks the Roman commander who is taking him away if he can speak to the crowd. He allows him to do so, and the crowd hears him until he gets to the part of his testimony where he tells them that the Lord has sent him to preach to the Gentiles. At that, they raised their voices and said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he is not fit to live!” The very hope on which I stand, that even I, a Gentile sinner, could be reconciled to God through the blood of Jesus Christ, they saw as hateful. They did not understand the vastness of God’s grace. In Ephesians 3, Paul wrote about the mystery that the Gentiles should be made fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel. Friends, the Gentiles who are to be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel come from every race and tongue and tribe and people! We dare not despise those whom Christ would save! We have no right to be racists. None. John 3:16 says that whosoever believes on Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. Jesus commanded us to take the gospel to the ends of the earth – to everyone! Galatians 3:28 says, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” One day there will be people from every tribe and tongue worshiping together at the very throne of God. Praise His glorious Name! What amazing, matchless grace! That should change how we view everyone, not just those who look exactly like us.

Revelation 5:8-10
“Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying:
‘You are worthy to take the scroll,
And to open its seals;
For You were slain,
And have redeemed us to God by Your blood
Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
And have made us kings and priests to our God;
And we shall reign on the earth.’”

Friday Snapshot Photo Essay

These are some of the bulbs that Drew planted. I'm not sure exactly what these are, but the flowers are going to be so pretty when those buds finally open!

This one is nice - the first of the bulbs to bloom.

Must be time to mow.....the weeds are almost taller than the baby. (By the way, that little t-shirt came from Carla Rolfe's Reflections store, in case you were wondering!)

Long story here......these are bones Drew brought back from Annual Training somewhere up North once. They now live by our front porch. The one in front is a very large vertebra. For the longest time Boo would go over to that part of the porch and say, "Cat. Cat! Cat, cat, cat." She has a way of repeating herself. A lot. Until we acknowledge her. Then she'll repeat it some more. Anyway, I was so confused because I could not figure out what was making her think of cats every day. Then I looked closely, and sure enough, that bone does actually look like a cat's face. Boo must have an eye for the abstract. I never would have seen a cat there had she not pointed it out to me. It's all in the eye of the beholder, I guess.

Did I mention that it is hot? These are crayons that Boo left in her "Baby Car" this morning. One of them is already a liquid puddle and the other two are well on their way. It's just plain hot here.

A Peek Through the Archives

Lisa has tagged me with a meme that says I need to pick 5 posts from my archives for the categories listed. This was much harder to do than I thought it would be. I had fun looking over old posts, but it was hard to choose specific ones for this meme. I even found quite a few posts still in draft form that will probably stay there. It probably won't surprise anyone who has been reading my blog that I couldn't choose just one post for most of the categories. Brief and concise are not exactly my forte. I tend to be kind of wordy.....

One of the most unexpected niceties that has happened as a result of blogging has been all the people I've gotten to 'meet' through our blogs. Most of us live so far away it isn't possible to be 'real' friends in the sense of knowing each other the way you know your 'face-to-face' friends, but it's so nice to connect with the ever widening blogging community I've come across since starting this little blog in October 2006. There is an encouraging group of sisters and brothers who love Jesus and like sharing their thoughts with us on the internet, and I treasure those 'internet' friends for the encouragement their shared thoughts bring. I have been so encouraged by comments all along the way, and it's nice to know you all are out there!

Here is a little snippet from my virtual front porch:

Family: I wrote a potentially controversial mommy post last year which kind of sums up some of the things I've been thinking about recently, so this is a good time to link to it. I also have to share how much I love my husband. And then there was the post where I explained the goofy nicknames I use for our kids on the blog. And I couldn't leave out a mention of my daring boys, either.

Friends: This one is all about how I hate to say, "Good-bye." My husband is actually my best friend, so here's another post about how thankful I am for him. :^)

Me: The sidebar has some links about me, but I also have one that demonstrated my ineptitude in the kitchen and another that let's everyone know I'm a dork and another where I explore the hypocrite in me, though if I were to write that post today it would be different. I am so very thankful for God's grace and the growing in sanctification He is producing in me. Looking back over the archives was encouraging in that way for me to see what I was thinking and writing about a year or so ago and where I am today.

Something I love: By discussing dinosaurs with the boys I got to post about my passion for reading/studying the Bible and understanding God's wonderful redemption plan from creation to revelation. How exciting it is when I get to see a glimpse of how the Lord is working in my kids' hearts. The amazing and glorious grace of God in sending His Son, Jesus to cleanse us and save us and reconcile us to Him, what blessed hope! May I ever grow to love Him more.

Anything I like: The obligatory Florida Gators mention, a LOST gloat, and an example of goofy poetry, which is actually quite fun to write when the mood strikes (and I like being Mom, too).

Whew. That took a lot longer than I thought it would, but it was fun. I'm continuing my recent habit of dropping of the proverbial meme ball and not naming specific people to tag. Consider yourself tagged if you're reading this - please let me know if you play along!

I'm Still Here

Why, I do still have a blog. Goodness, it looks like the front porch here at Sweet Tea With Lemon is getting a bit dusty, looking a little neglected and lonely, needs a good sweeping before we can sit and chat, yes? I haven’t posted anything significant or spent much time reading favorite blogs in over a week. That's like forever in blog time. I must have really needed that blogging break. I’m in a bit of a slump, blog friends. Can anyone relate?

I think I’ll just write a random ‘where I am right now’ sort of post just so Blogger doesn’t think I’ve abandoned my little space here. I just reread what I've written before I post it for the blog world to see. It's probably TMI, way more minutiae than any of you really care to know about my life at the moment. I'm posting it anyway.

First of all, as I mentioned, I seem to be in something of a slump right now. We’ve had a weird sickness run through our house over the past month or so – no fever, but a general tiredness and deep cough with sinus pressure and stuffiness, which eventually resolves once the gunk loosens. Two of the kids have been on antibiotic for infection caused by the gunk not resolving or becoming another ear infection (in Boo’s case – she has had three in the past two months) and Tic Tac is having to go back on breathing treatments for wheezing - something he has not had to do since he was in preschool, we hoped he’d outgrown it. Now I’ve got the cough and I’m so tired it’s hard to just get what has to be done completed. It’s a strange kind of tired, too. I’m not depressed – not sad at all, but the tiredness is the kind of mental malaise that sometimes accompanies that kind of depression. It's like trying to force my way through a solid wall of mental fog just to get the little, have-to things done. But when I force myself to go to, say, my Bible study or to exercise, it is worth it once I get there. I had a wise friend tell me today, after hearing what all I've been trying to balance recently, that I'm trying to do too much. Aren't such friends a blessing! She was right, and I've got to set priorities and say no to some things so I can say, "Yes," to the things I really need to. So, I haven’t blogged in over a week. I’m still here. Lots of thoughts percolating up there in my brain, but getting them out on the blog just hasn’t been happening.

I have been keeping up with reading The Excellent Wife, though. I hope to blog about it tomorrow.

Speaking of saying, "Yes," to things, I signed up to help with VBS this summer. It will be the first time I get to at our new church. I am very excited. We're doing Amazon Expedition. I had already been thinking I would sign up to help, and then I read this announcement in the bulletin last Sunday under the Children's Ministry heading: "Want to help teach kids how to defend their faith? Join us this summer as we travel on a journey through history from the very beginning of creation until the very end of this present world. Our VBS this year is designed to answer the key questions that cause so many young people to question the truth of the Bible. Adults and teens grade 7 & up may sign up today as we begin this journey learning the 7 C's of history with our children in Vacation Bible School." I sort of skimmed that and saw the 'defend their faith' and 'history from the very beginning of creation until the very end of this present world' and '7 C's of history' parts, somehow missing the VBS part and thought, hey, that's my passion, to help kids understand the big picture of God's redemption plan not just taught disconnected Bible stories with moral lessons devoid of the comprehensive spiritual significance, that's what I want to do! How do I get to be part of that? (Remember, the malaise is lingering and I'd been waffling about signing up for VBS) Then I looked closer. VBS! So, I filled out the form and I'm already praying for this summer and that I'll be ready and energetic.

My husband appreciates it when I give him what he calls a 'whip-lash warning' when I make abrupt subject changes in the midst of my stream-of-conciousness type speaking. Consider this your warning. Drew bought me an iPod Shuffle. Way out of my technological learning curve at the moment, but if I can figure out how to load what I want on it, it will be great for my time on the treadmill while oldest son swims each afternoon. This thing is tiny and it holds tons of songs and podcasts. I’ve got some preaching I want to listen to and some music, too. I tried it out yesterday, and it made the treadmill time much more fun. I was even able to run for a tiny portion of my time. Hoping to build that particular discipline. I’ve never been much of a runner. By the way, I found out the hard way that spending 45 minutes on the treadmill is not a very good thing to do when in the midst of a serious sinus headache. I did that the first Monday of J's swim practice and thought I was going to pass out once I finished, the pain was so bad in my head. When I got home I asked my husband if there was a weather front coming through or something, and sure enough, there was a big one. I can usually tell - I get these horrendous headaches in conjunction with them.

Speaking of the afternoons, we are falling into a nice routine of meeting Drew’s mom and leaving Tic Tac and Boo with her while I take Monk to the YMCA for his swimming and I get to use that time to exercise. The first week I took Boo and Tic Tac with me, but Tic Tac hated the ‘Fun Club’ and Boo tends to get sick whenever I leave her in the nursery there (see the malaise paragraph above). So, I only got to workout one day last week. This week, however, we’ve been moving along with the new plan and I got to workout Mon, Tues and Wed. I’m tired. I have to confess, I almost didn’t take my exercise clothes yesterday due to the fact that doing anything requiring planning or extra effort is just mentally taxing this week, but I pushed through and did it anyway. Then took a shower there and met Drew, his parents and the kids for dinner and then on to church last night. Did I mention I’m tired?

Speaking of church last night, boy, am I glad we went! Marquis Laughlin was our guest and he gave a dramatic recital of the first nine chapters of Acts that was just incredible. It is amazing how speaking the words of scripture with inflection and emotion really makes it come alive somehow. The way he recites or reads the scriptures really remind you that these were real people saying and doing the things you’re reading about, and you find yourself on the edge of the seat listening, even if you’ve read the passage lots of times before. He said in his little talk afterward that he is always amazed that people will come out to hear the word of God. He also mentioned that involving the sense of hearing and speaking the words out loud will really enhance how much you understand and retain as you read. I’ve found that to be true, because when I’m reading the Bible, especially early in the morning, if I’m having a hard time getting my mind to focus and not wander as I read I will read out loud. It does make it much easier to pay attention to what I’m reading. What a unique use of his acting talent, to memorize scripture and say it in a way that will get people to hear it. We bought his reading of the New Testament, and I put the first CD in the car this morning, thinking that I would listen to Matthew as I went around doing errands this morning. Well, when we got to school, J wanted me to let them sit in the car and listen, but we were running late and didn’t have time. Then both boys begged me to pause the CD because they wanted to hear what came next. I was astounded. The boys were as excited about listening to the Bible being read as they are some of the ‘Between the Lions’ or ‘Adventures in Odyssey’ story CDs we have. I was planning to listen to the CD myself during the day, but I said, “Okay, I’ll pause it and wait until you guys are in the car again to listen to more.” How exciting is that?

Speaking of this morning, I had Community Bible Study today. I am so very glad I started that, and I can’t believe it is almost over for this year. I’ve already signed up for next year – we’ll be studying Genesis! I’m excited about that, too.

Oh, and my inlaws watched the kids last Thursday so Drew and I could go to Savannah to pick up the new TV he got for us since ours was dying, and they cracked the whip and made/helped Tic Tac get his room organized. That was a huge, blessing, let me tell you. He has done an outstanding job keeping it clean all week, too. Now I just need to get the rest of the house in order. I’ve done some while on break, but not as much as I should – true confession time, I’m afraid.

And another fun thing: The bulbs Drew ordered for me a while back came a couple of weeks ago and we planted them out front and put pine straw in the beds and have been doing some yard work out front. The bulbs are beginning to sprout. I can’t wait to see all the pretty flowers! Hopefully I’ll be able to put pictures of them up on the blog in a few weeks. And the hanging baskets we bought for the front porch add just the right homey touch out front. I always wanted a house with a front porch and hanging flower baskets. I guess there are things I like about living here, after all! (Actually, things have gotten much, much better in that area. I can finally say this town is beginning to feel like home, and I thank God for answering my prayers in the way He has and is, in His perfect time.)

Well, I could probably go on with some more boring details, but I’ll stop now. I hope to get a post written about The Excellent Wife for tomorrow, but we’ll just see how that goes. Hopefully back to better blogging shortly. I’ve been missing it.

Brothers

They may fuss and they may fight

But the bond they share is oh so tight

A day on the marsh just boys and their dad

Spending time together makes them glad

Even though they sometimes irritate each other

They're really glad they get to be called brother

A brother is a forever friend

The bond they share will never end

Little Did I Know This Morning

I used to hate coffee. Used to, I said. For the longest time I could not figure out what the obsession with the bitter black brew was all about.

Then my husband bought me a one-cup coffee maker for my birthday/Mother’s Day last year, complete with gourmet coffees and teas and hot chocolates to be ordered online. My first thought at being offered such a gift from my non-coffee drinking spouse was, “And this is a good birthday gift for me because, why?” I had a gratitude problem, I admit it freely today. He told me, “Wait, try the flavored coffees with cream and sweetener.” His friend at work had gotten Drew hooked on this little indulgence. So, I did. Now I’m hooked. I’ll even drink plain ol’ coffee with a big dose of hazelnut creamer and Splenda now. It doesn’t even have to be flavored coffee any more. The slippery slide has begun. So much so that I was eagerly searching out Starbucks when we were in California in December since we do not have one here on the island or in town (ya’ll know my thoughts about where we live by now), because I just had to see if the real thing was as good as the buzz. It was.

At first when I began drinking the vile brew, my hands would literally shake and my heart would race after one cup due to the caffeine content – apparently much higher than a diet cherry Coke or cup of tea. It doesn’t even phase me anymore. Now I look forward to my afternoon cup of creamy coffee. Just my way of correcting my gratitude problem and thanking my husband for his thoughtful gift.

Why am I blathering on in this way, you may well be asking. Well, I was blissfully unaware this morning of something that I know this afternoon that I am glad that I was blissfully unaware of this morning. The air conditioning maintenance company called this morning to schedule our routine maintenance. Turns out our technician was free to come today before lunch. Upon routine check, it turns out our whole system is shot. We have to replace the whole thing. Immediately. Ouch. Otherwise it will be one hot summer around here. I knew it wasn’t cooling properly, but was hoping it just needed a little repair work, not a whole new system. So, the nice technician and I called my husband and discussed our options, buy this new one or that one, and Drew and I will be looking over the budget tonight to figure out which way to go.

What in the world does that have to do with coffee? Absolutely zip, zilch, nada, nothing. But I am sitting here enjoying a Starbucks Dark Chocolate Peppermint Mocha Frappuccino from the local grocery store – it’s almost as good as something real from the real Starbucks – tastes just like a cold, liquid York Peppermint Patty. Beats sitting here fretting about having to buy a whole new A/C unit, don’t you think?

And After Winter Comes the Spring

Blogging has been a needed outlet for me in many ways. During the years we’ve lived here, it has been an especially lonely and dry time for me, and blogging has been such a blessing in that I have connected with many other women around the blogosphere who also like to write about the Lord and His grace and mercy. It has also helped me to think through more carefully and biblically what I believe and why because I sense a responsibility to be true to the Word when I write things out here, and for this I am grateful. It is often useful to me to chronicle this stage of my life, but I am finding that there are times when I may have something happening in my life that is fairly consuming emotionally, mentally, and/or physically and if I decide not to blog about it, it seems like it is hard to blog about anything else, either. But there are times when it is probably best to keep details about certain situations to myself, and that’s where I struggle. I tend to want to tell everything I am thinking about those big things, and that is not always the best for the blog, even if they are over all good things.

That is how this post started out. I have tried several drafts and every time I say more than I probably should. In fact, this final version is probably still suffering from some of the same.

Back last February, I bared my heart a little about how much I have struggled with not liking living where I live. Now, a year later, I am writing a post to share a little about how refreshing it is to finally feel that I am entering an oasis in this wilderness we have called home for a little over four years now. I shared a few weeks ago how we were struggling with the decision to go to a new church. Well, we did join that church on December 16, and I told my husband a few weeks ago that I feel as if we have come in from the desert and found the oasis we had needed. It is as if we are drinking from a deep well that has been here all along if only we had known where to find it.

Finally I am beginning to feel like this wilderness doesn’t have to be so dry. It is so nice to be in a place each week where the Bible is opened and taught well from the pulpit and in the adult and children’s Sunday school classes and to finally be making connections and friendships with people who also have the hunger and desire to be in the Word, and we are, all of us, drinking it in like thirsty wanderers who have panted for such richness.

It was not without tears and struggle that we made this move and it was not without heartache that we could no longer continue where we had been for four years, but we came to believe that it is what our family needed, and each week we are there this is confirmed in our hearts. Even though we keep hearing that people are saying we “should have stayed and made it happen” when our in-laws explain to people who ask that the main reason we left was because our children were not getting the kind of teaching and peer support we knew they needed – many times they would be the only ones in their classes, and my oldest son had no kids his age on a regular basis most of the time we were there. Such comments are made by people who don’t seem to understand that we tried very hard to do just that for four years, and the reasons we finally decided we could no longer do so are some of the things I think I probably will not blog about. We so much wanted what they, and we, were hearing and doing at church to support better what we are trying to do and teach at home rather than much of their class time being little more than babysitting. We believe that now they are getting the kind of encouragement that will help them grow in the Lord every time we meet at church – it is never treated as babysitting, but precious opportunities to teach them. You know, they are even excited about sitting through the hour long sermon and taking notes! That is incredible to me. First of all, they are listening closely enough to ask questions, and I have yet to find the need to undo something they come home telling me was said by a teacher, and they are excited to take notes – granted, the note taking thing is because they get a reward on Wednesday if they bring their completed sermon note sheet to children’s choir, but, it works!

And, though we are still concerned about the SBC and the direction it is going, and we still are paying attention and will pray, it has not bothered me nearly as much as I thought it might that we are no longer in a SBC church. I am very saddened that we could not continue to serve in a SBC church in this area, but this is where we have found ourselves.

OH, and here’s something exciting, too. We have a Community Bible Study right here in our town!! If only I had realized exactly what it was that was meeting over there all these years! I have needed something like that for four years and because of my hermit-like tendencies which make it so easy to just turtle into my home and so difficult to step out of my comfort zone and actively seek out these opportunities in the community, I missed that it was there all the time, right under my nose. I had heard about a study that met at a certain church downtown, but for some reason I had been given the impression that it was mostly for military wives and it was super huge (it really isn’t compared to some places we’ve lived) and there was usually a waiting list for moms with little children (this is actually true if you don't sign up early enough due to space constraints) and some other wrong information, so I never got up the energy to find out what it really was. Even though they are in the middle of the study of Matthew, and even though the childcare is usually too full to allow newcomers in the middle, when I contacted the coordinator she told me they did have a slot for Boo and that I would be able to start right away if I didn’t want to wait until September when the next class will start. I started Thursday and am so excited about it.

After four years, I finally have begun to feel that this is home. Or as my husband just said, after four years of winter, spring has finally come.

Thankful for Nature

When it’s outside, that is. Not so much when critters decide to come into my living space. I just went out to the garage to get a V8 from the refrigerator we keep out there for stocking sodas and V8s. In the corner, M had set up his “table tent” – it’s a fabric cover someone made for him that fits over a square card table and reaches to the floor on all sides. As I looked up after opening the door to walk into the garage, something with a tail slinked (slunk?) past that table tent. I don’t know what it was. I only saw movement and a brownish something tail-like before I bolted back to the door. Then I cautiously walked back past the van and peeked around the table tent. Nothing there. I think whatever it is was scratching around under the tent. I can’t be sure. I quickly got my V8 while never taking my eyes off that table tent area and went back in the house and called my husband and told him he’ll need to inspect the garage when he gets home. Ewwww. I believe I’ve mentioned before how much I don’t like squishy critter things. Well, I’m not really all that thrilled with furry or feathery things in my garage, either. The outer door is open and I’m hoping our little visitor will take my not-so-subtle invitation to just leave on its own accord.

But, I do like to see birds and furry critters and whatnot outside. I think the world God created is wonderful. That’s another story. I just don’t want to have to make close acquaintance with them, you understand. Nature at a distance is what I’m thinking. Actually, nature without rodents, spiders, and squishy things in the near vicinity would be okay. I once saw a bird in the backyard that looked like it might have been hurt. I really wanted to help it and went and got a towel and was going to try to pick it up and move it so the cats in the neighbors’ yard wouldn’t get to it. I got right up to the bird and found that I could not pick it up. My arms and legs would not go any closer. I just couldn’t physically make myself do it. I’m a nature/wildlife wimp. I don’t know what happened to that little bird. I really hope it was okay. And I really hope our current little garage visitor, whatever it is, will just move on along and be okay outside, too. Needless to say, we don’t do much camping in our family….