Greens and Things

We have a yard! From the outside, the house looks ready for us. The inside is a different story. We do finally have electricity, but the drywall spots have not all been repaired, so the painters haven't been able to come back yet, and of coure, the carpet can't be put down yet. Ugh. The waiting is killing me. What's worse is that we keep lining people up to help us move each upcoming weekend, then we have to tell them that it will be another week...then another...then another. I hope we still have help by the time the house is ready. We asked the builder if we should be able to move in this coming weekend and he assured us we will. Well, by the looks of things today, that ain't happening. No one had been there to work since Friday. When I got there at 3 pm, the plumbers had just arrived to work on the kitchen appliances. It annoys me that the builder doesn't seem to be using every available moment to finish up the house. I guess I'd rather have him do it right than do it in a hurry, but still. It's frustrating. In the meantime, I've nearly finished packing. Next up will be the deep cleaning. I'm definitely not in a hurry to get to that point!!

I'm still having some little health issues. The fever went away for about 2 weeks, but it has returned. I'm beginning to think that my body temperature has just gone up a bit with age. I don't know if that happens. The fever did accompany some other yuckiness this time, though. Yesterday morning, as I was getting ready for church, I had a bit of an upset stomach (which isn't out of the ordinary for me, thanks to IBS). Warning - TMI! I headed for the bathroom, when a rush of nausea came over me out of nowhere and I threw up twice. Mind you, I have not thrown up since high school, I think. I usually do everything I can not to, but I had no time. The worst part about it was that I was singing a solo in church yesterday morning. What a wonderful thing to happen before you have to get up in front of lots of people to sing your heart out to the Lord! It actually turned out to be a good thing because it totally took my focus off of my nerves and I had to completely rely on the Spirit to get me through. I had to sing it in 2 services and was just overwhelmed by how God worked through me, in spite of how I felt. He never ceases to amaze me with His goodness and grace. By the end of it all, I was thoroughly exhausted and still had to go back last night to direct children's choir. I was queasy on and off for the rest of the day and have felt better today, though still tired. I just don't know what's going on with me lately. Maybe stress is having a hayday with my health.

Here are a few pictures from Easter Sunday. It was such a good day. Ella really seems to be mulling around the ideas of who Jesus is, what happened to Him on the cross, and how He comes to live in our hearts. It may still be a while before she truly understands, but I love to see how He is working in her little life. We used the Resurrection Eggs with her and she remembered every detail when she retold the story to my family. Oh, how I pray that God will continue to draw her to Himself.

The case of the stolen mind!

I am drained, physically and emotionally. It has been a very long day...week...month. Today, the stress really took it's toll on my mind. My mom, Ella, and I had been out shopping all day It was a very successful day - I found a new bedspread, sandals for Ella, and an Easter dress for myself. We went out to look at the house and played with the placement of the azaleas in the flower bed for a bit. We decided that the bed needed a bit more to fill it up, so we headed back to Wal-Mart late this afternoon to get a few evergreen bushes/trees (not sure of their technical name). Mom went out to take the plants to the van while Ella and I picked up a few groceries. We were to meet her out in the parking lot. At this point in the day, I was exhausted, Ella was in her *crazy tired mode* (or "CTM", as we call it), and it was time to get home. I got the groceries into the van, then had to pick up and carry Ella to her seat (Part of my exaperastion with her was her inability to keep her shoes on all day - I had to carry her because, once again, she'd let them fall off her feet. Note to self...4-year-old is not ready for slip on shoes). With the van all packed up, we quickly headed home. As we left the parking lot, I had the sneaking suspiscion that I did not have my purse. I had my cell phone in my hand and of course, I had my keys, but where was my purse? We pulled over to search the van and sure enough, it was not there. In a panic, we turned around and raced back to the store. As we re-entered the parking lot, I thought I could see an employee near the spot where I'd left my shopping cart, so I was hopeful that he'd found my purse and put it inside. My mom runs into the store, speaks to a manager, and is told the purse had not been turned in. Again, we search the van...still no sign of the purse. Now I'm freaking out. At this point, we consider the purse stolen from the cart where I'd apparently left it. The manager writes down my name & number, promising to call if it turns up. He tells me to file a police report. I decide to call Paul first, to see what to do about the credit cards, etc., and I just break down in hysterics. I guess it's the pressure that's been building for so long. I was especially distraught at the thought of some stranger having pictures of Ella. Paul calmly reassures me that it's not the end of the world. It's going to be ok. I tell my mom to go back inside to be sure that no one had found the purse. I call the police and begin to report the crime. As I'm giving the dispatcher my name and information, my mom begins banging on the window, shouting that they'd found the purse!!!! At the same time, the dispatcher is telling me the same thing (the manager was on the other line with the police!). I run inside with Ella and sure enough, there is my bag. I cannot tell you the range of emotions I covered over the course of about 20 minutes. It turns out that the man I'd seen when we first came back to the store was another manager who'd found my purse and locked it into an office for safe keeping until someone claimed it. Somehow he missed the other manager who was looking for my purse until he called the police.

What could have been a disaster turned into a story of God's mercy! I could not believe that someone had not taken off with the purse. I really had a taste of what it feels like to be violated by a crime of this nature (horrible!). I'm so thankful that it was only a taste and not the real thing. Obviously, I have too much on my mind right now and I need to take a step back and allow God to work peace in my life so that something like this doesn't happen again. I am still reeling from the incident and I probably won't sleep well tonight because of it. For some people this might not seem like a big deal, but I am usually so good about keeping up with things. I've never lost a purse or a phone or much of anything. I did lose one of my favorite jackets a couple of months ago and now this. I am being pulled in too many directions. Oh God, help me to prioritize and do only those things which you lead me to do.

Beep! Beep!

We have a driveway!! I know, I know, it's huge! But, we are in a cul-de-sac where 4 lots are squished together at the street, so parking will be an issue when we have people over. Oh, and less grass to mow for Paul (and he dreams of putting up a basketball "court" there on the corner. Dream on, baby). We found out today that the landscaper has some St. Augustine sod from another job that fell through. He asked if we would take it off his hands for no extra charge (we originally ordered centipede because it's so much cheaper). Well, duh! Of course we will! The sod should hopefully be put down tomorrow. We will have some miniature azaleas in the bed on the left corner of the house with a crepe myrtle on the end. After spending all day yesterday searching for a tree, I finally decided on and bought a Cleveland Pear tree today to go in the middle of the front "yard".

I'm a bit frustrated with the guy who sold us our spa. He's causing some issues, but we're dealing with it and I hope that he doesn't delay the inspections. Other than that, it appears that things will be finished next week. I hate to keep putting dates out there because they keep changing.

We had a showing today! I had to rush home from the picnic/egg hunt we had with our friends today to clean up. I had been letting things go a bit lately, so there was a good bit to do. I only had about 2 & 1/2 hours to make things spotless and shiny and I pretty much killed myself to get it done. I sure hope these people liked the house. I can't wait til we've moved out so I don't have to keep frantically cleaning up for these spontaneous showings! It all seems just pointless when people don't even throw out an offer. Please pray that we'll get an offer soon!!

Other than the cleaning part, we had such a fun day. This morning, we went to the library for a performance of "The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County", by Mark Twain. It was really cute. The acting troupe consisted of just 2 people and the show included some singing and a lot of humor. Ella really got a kick out of it. After the show, we headed to the park for our picnic and our own private egg hunt. Here are a few of my favorite shots from our outing today:

Sorry my entries have been short on writing these days. I hope that once we've settled into the new house, I'll have a bit more time on my hands. I do have a lot to write about (other than the new house), I promise!

Hunting Eggs

We went egg hunting on Saturday with some friends. We had a great time. The hunt was much more organized than the one we went to last year. There were 3 fields - one for each age group - set up with eggs. Our field was for ages 4 and under and the parents were allowed to help the kids. It all went very quickly, but Ella is still talking about how much fun she had! We will have some family Easter activities this weekend.

HOUSE UPDATE: The screens are finally up on the back porch. The trim is complete! The guys were there today repairing drywall spots so that the painters can come back to do 2nd coats on all the walls. The driveway has been framed, so the concrete should be poured tomorrow (praying the weather stays clear!!) and the sod will be put down. All the mirrors are in. The appliances were delivered today! We found a new dining room set and a bed for Ella today. We are SET! It seems that most everything will be done this week. Of course, once the power is on, we have to make sure the lights all work and things like that. So, barring any other unforeseen problems, we should be in our house the first week of April. I'm soooooooooo READY!

It has been a very long day, so I'm going to turn in for the night. Sweet Dreams!

Running on empty?

I'm still running a low-grade fever. I may call the doctor in the morning, just to see what I should do. I guess it may just be some little virus that has to run it's course, but I've had the fever for 6 days now with fatigue and some very minor sinus symptoms. I just want to be healthy (which is a relative term for me) once more.

The house is getting nearer to completion. I'm sure this is par for the course when building, but it seems like these last "little" details are taking forever! The trim took over a week, but there was only one guy on the job. I think he's almost finished, but he's holding up the painters and carpet-layers. Those are the last few things to be done inside the house (oh yeah, and closets & mirrors - duh!). Outside, the sprinkler system is in, which means the sod and driveway (+ gutters & screens) should be in soon. I'm sorry if any of this sounds repetitive!! :) Anyway, here is an overabundance of pictures for you! Enjoy and have a good night.

The Kitchen
The Kitchen Desk Wall
Light Fixture Above Dining TableLaundry Room
Laundry Room 2Living Room FanGuest Room Fan
Ella's Room FanMaster Bedroom Fan
PorchView of Porch from Deck
Front of House

Little Red

Or "Rojosita" as we like to call her (not sure if that's correct Spanish, Su!). But, look at all that red! Her hair has really changed over the last few months. She still has some blonde highlights, but the red seems to be taking over. :)

These were taken on our trek to the beach this past Sunday. We had so much fun as a family, even if it was still a bit chilly. We had a little picnic lunch, including her favorite..."peanut butter n' crackers". DH & I surprised her afterward by treating her to ice cream. It was a nice little break from our hectic lives of late.

Sorry to cut this short but I have a temperature once again. It's on the low side, so that's good. Who knows what's going on this time. I have no other symptoms, so it's just wait and see. I have new pictures of the house, but will post them later in the week. Must go to bed to hopefully ward off some new illness. Please pray for a showing we have tomorrow. It would be perfect timing for this person to buy it, since the house should be done by the end of next week!!

P.S. I'm still getting used to my laptop and I think this monitor makes my pictures look different than on my desktop. Can you let me know if the pics look odd to you and if so, how? Thanks! And, thank you for all your comments on my last post. I love you guys!