School Starts Tomorrow (er, Today)!

I really thought I posted this last night!! Oh well, here's the post I meant to put up yesterday about today!

I am finally taking the plunge and just going for it! Some of my friends have already started or will be starting this week (along with public schools here), so it's a good time to begin. I also think that with the Olympics on right now, there is a lot I can tie into school! This weekend, I really poured over my curriculum and books and I'm so excited about my plans. I definitely have a strong "teacher gene" and when I get in the groove of planning, there's no stopping me! In fact, I was up til 1 AM the other night, just going to town. Since I'm doing the unit studies with Five in a Row, I want to be able to fit my Bible, applied math, and phonics together with the units. Actually, what I've done is take the unit from ABC, I Believe and have woven it throughout my math and language arts plans (along with some science). It's so cool to see it all come together! We will begin our Five in a Row with The Story About Ping, by Marjorie Flack. On Friday, I will give you a run-down of our week and, of course, will have some pictures to share.

On top of starting school, Ella will also start back to Mother's Day Out, along with ballet on Tuesdays. That will be our day off of school. I'm hoping it won't be too much of a disruption to our week. Then, she goes back to Awana's on Wed. night and will be promoted to her new Sunday school class on Sunday. Whew! It will definitely be busy and hectic and crazy, but that's our life! Oh, and I also plan to make our afternoons more physically active, so we'll be finding some fun ways to do that as well. Keep me in your prayers, please! :)

I'm so sorry I haven't written my review of The Shack yet. I know some of you have been anxiously awaiting it, but as you can see, I've been tied up lately! I do still plan to post it eventually, but for now, I will leave you with this link (thank you, Angel!) that does make many of my points for me: A Reader's Review of The Shack.

Ready or not, here we come!

We have made the call. We are officially moving this weekend. Ready or not. I don't think everything will be done by Friday, but I'm hopeful. We had our "walk-through" last Friday. I made a LONG list of things that needed to be fixed (the majority of issues had to do with paint & drywall). As of today, not a whole lot of that had been done. I really just give up. If those spots don't get painted, I'll just do it myself. I'm tired of people who don't care about their work.

Let me just tell you about what I found at the house today. I went over to check some fabric samples for the window seat cushion I'm making. As I drove up to the intersection of my street, the painters were about to turn the corner past me. They saw me, so they backed all the way down the cul-de-sac and back down into my driveway. I watched one of them go into the house for a minute then return to the truck to leave. I went in to find that they had left everything wide open - the garage door and the back door into the house. They left all the lights on in the house and they had taken off with the key to the lock box. [They later explained that since they saw me, they thought they could leave the house open. My point was they saw me AFTER they left the house that way!] I was upset about that, then I saw something that really sent me over the edge. A pair of my pajama shorts was on the kitchen counter covered in drywall debris. As if someone had used it as a rag. WITHOUT MY PERMISSION!! I went out to the garage to see how they had gotten to it since there are several of our boxes in the garage. I had packed one of those extra-large zip-lock bags full of my pajamas and it was stored on a table in the garage, UNDER some sheets we'd thrown over the boxes. One of the workers had moved the sheets around, looking for something, then ripped a hole in the bag and pulled out this pair of shorts!! What an invasion of privacy! What a lack of respect for my property! I just cannot even fathom someone thinking it OK to do something like this, especially when these guys carry tons of rags around in their truck. I called Paul right away and asked him to call the builder - I was just too upset to talk to him. The site manager met me over there and I went over the whole ordeal with him. The builder was livid and he is going to be having a *chat* with the drywall workers tomorrow. I now feel like I need to move in there to protect my things. This incident is just the icing on the cake of several other things that have gone on around the house recently.

Earlier this week, someone stole the copper wiring out of the A/C units at Paul's office. My grandmother has been in town this week and she found out that someone keyed her car on both sides while it was in my aunt's driveway (where she was storing it until she returns home). A woman who's been going through a ministry program at our church was released back into "real life" this past week and she wound up back in jail. I had gotten to know her through a Bible Study and just love her to death. I don't know the situation that landed her in jail, but it just makes me really sad. I am feeling so disappointed in the human race in general right now. Satan has such a grip on so many people and it's very hard to see the good anymore. Don't get me wrong, I do see the good. God's Hand is more and more evident every day that goes by. Just the fact that the American Idols were allowed to sing a praise song to Jesus that was broadcast to millions of people is proof that He is Alive! The older I get, the more I find that the only One I can fully trust and rely on is Jesus. People will continually fail and fall short of our expectations but Jesus never fails.

As much as I have whined about the house (etc.!), I do know how truly blessed I am. I do know that while I complain about the little paint problems in my beautiful new house, there are many people who do not have a home to complain about. While I groan about having to wear the same shirt over and over because I don't like the 20 other shirts in my closet, there are many children who have only one shirt to wear. As I fuss over the higher prices at the grocery store, I realize that there are many parents who cannot afford to buy any food for their family. When I gripe about the family members that grate on my nerves for their over-involvement in my life, I am reminded that many people do not have a family to love and support them. I do not deserve the blessings that come my way and I cannot explain why some go without. What I don't want to do is take these provisions for granted. I do not want to get so involved in my own "problems" that I forget about the world around me. Oh God, continue to bring me to my knees in humility and break my selfish heart. Turn my eyes away from myself and help me to view the world through your eyes.

I didn't intend to turn this into a dissertation. Just thoughts going through my weary head tonight. We will move this weekend and it will all be just fine. God is so very good.

FrustraSHON, AggravaSHON, and IrritaSHON!

Cajun Man came by to give me the title for this blog. Ok, I'm a dork.

So, yes, I'm very "frusterated" (as Ella would say). I went by the house today, expecting to find most of the paint done and carpet put in. As you can guess, the paint isn't anywhere near being finished and the carpet was just being put in at 2pm when I was there. I'm mostly aggravated by the fact that the painters told me yesterday that they were going to get most of their work done because they KNEW the carpet was coming today. It would just make sense, wouldn't it, that they would want to paint the rooms before the carpet went in, right???? The living room has not been given a 2nd coat, so now they have to be extremely careful when painting in there. I was irritated that there was one cable/phone outlet that had not been cut out a while back (all the wiring is there), so it had been drywalled and painted over. I told the builder about it and he said the cable company would catch that when they came to install cable. They won't be coming out til right before we move in, so since there was no face plate or cut out there, the drywall guys put more drywall over it yesterday!!! WHAT?! I guess they thought it was just another crack in the wall. Another irritation is that some of the workers messed up our windows and I don't know how they are going to be fixed. The windows had "stoppers" (don't really know what to call them, but they prevent the window from being pushed all the way up) on each side of the casing. When the workers got hot, I guess they opened the windows and didn't realize there were stoppers. They basically jammed the windows up as far as they would go and the stoppers broke through the casing at the top of the window. I'm not sure if my little description makes sense, but it all boils down to a very difficult problem to fix. I don't think they can just replace this part of the casing because I think the casing of a window is all one piece, but I'm not sure. Blah! Oh, and the electrician went on vacation this week, so he won't be back to fix the little glitches til Monday I think. Sorry to rant and rave, but I really am sick of this. Many people have told me it's par for the course, but I just don't think we should be ok with people not doing the jobs we've paid them to do!! Or doing sub-par work. As I said in my last post, I've got friends and family who have basically put their weekends on hold for us for the last month, so they'd be ready to help us move. It's not fair to them and it's certainly not fair to us for the builder to keep telling us it will be ready when it's not. Trying not to pull my hair out...

There are a couple of positive things to report. TOday, I went to pick up our blinds from Home Depot (Ella's new favorite place because of the cool "cars" to ride in). I still have to figure out what to put on the doors going out to the porch, but it feels good to have the majority of the window coverings ready to go (once the windows are fixed, ARGH!). I also found cute tier curtains for the kitchen and laundry room. I have new bedspreads for all three beds. It's going to be do much fun having a fresh start, whenever that may be. ;)

Ella asked my mom if she could spend the night with her and, of course, she said yes. She took Ella at 3, so I've been free this afternoon. It's been nice and quiet. Paul and I might actually get to go to dinner alone tonight - what's that like? Hopefully stress-free!

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.

So close

I cannot believe how fast things are going with the house. Just a few short weeks and this kitchen will be mine! I know it's not the best pic (that's the island), but I wanted to get something up that would show you the cabinets and tile. Of course, the cabinets are a bit dirty at the moment, but other than that, I think they're beautiful! I've been thrilled so far at how everything is turning out.

In one of my last posts, I told you I was getting sick again and I did get sick...again. I have had strep throat twice in a month and my poor hubby has had some weird virus/allergy thing that just won't go away. He's gone through spurts of fevers, with upper respiratory symptoms. But, the worst part is that he's had a headache for a solid 2 weeks now. Strange. And worrisome. His doc told him to take some allergy med samples to see if they help. I guess if they don't help, he may need to have some tests run. I don't know. These are not even just tension headaches...more on the verge of migraine with sharp, shooting pains. I'm praying it's all just from the stress of everything right now. Oh, and I'm praying the Lord will deliver us from illness! Enough, already!

I wanted to post tonight, even though it's late, because the next few days (er, weeks) are going to be crazy and I wasn't sure when I'd get to post again. We have our first open house this weekend. I pray that someone will fall in love with our worn, but dearly cared for house and that will be the end of it. I don't like all this uncertainty. Will it sell? Should we just rent it out? Are we freaking crazy? :) We also have revival at church each night this weekend, which will be busy, but hopefully refreshing for our stressed out, worn out, sick of sickness souls. After that, it will be pack, pack, pack, prepare for garage sale (which we still haven't had), pack, pack, pack some more. Then move!! Wow! I really should get to bed so I can have the energy for what's ahead.

I'll leave you with a cute pic of Ella from our recent trip to the NAS museum. Good night!

GAH! Sick again!

The whole household's been sick, I'm afraid. DH started it about 2 weeks ago, right before he went out of town for 5 days. Then, as I said, I had strep throat for which I'll finish up antibiotics tomorrow. DH was better when he returned home from his trip last Monday, but yesterday, he came home early with fever, sore throat and headache. At about the same time, Ella started in with a cough and runny nose. Now, my throat's hurting AGAIN. Ugh! I hate this time of year. Bad timing to be sick, too, with all we have to do. I was planning to have a garage sale this Saturday, but we haven't felt up to getting ready for it. We'll have to shoot for next weekend. I think we don't have many weekends left until we'll be moving into the house.

The good news is that I did get most of my list from last Saturday accomplished. I cleaned most of the day, while DH fixed the toilet, spot-painted the master bathroom, and pried open the fireplace doors that had rusted from non-use. Ella was surprisingly good at entertaining herself by pretending we were all in a plane going to Mexico. She "fixed" the tv so that pilot would know where we were going and she served up some wonderful food while singing to the passengers. We did go by the house that day and DH went out to pick up Ella's favorite fast food then we played her favorite game. All in all, it was a pretty good, but exhausting day.

If only I could feel like I was "done". Alas, there is still so much left to do. Time keeps on rolling along, though, and as I mentioned, we will be in the house before we know it. I went by today to find that the spa had been delivered, the walls completely ready for paint, the deck almost finished, and a tub in the guest bathroom! Here are a few camera phone pics that I have not edited, so I'm sorry if they're a bit lousy:








Ok, that's it for now. Good night!

Ella Ballerina

She cracks me up! She got this ballerina dress-up from her Gmaw (her great grandmother) and every time she puts it on, she has to put on a big show. We have to put on the pretty dancing music so that she can sing and dance. She makes up these songs all about love and finding the prince. It's all very dramatic and wonderful. Where you see her staring off into the distance, she's really watching herself in the fireplace doors. The new house won't have a fireplace. She'll have to find a new place to perform! ;)

Well, things are rolling along with the house. The sheet rock is up and they should start painting soon. We've pretty much picked out the flooring and the cabinets will be delivered next week. Oh, it's getting so close. We talked with our realtor this weekend and have officially put the current house on the market. I have alot to do this week to make the house more presentable! My mom and I worked hard today, packing and cleaning up the first 2 rooms you see in the house, so that's a good start. I'm feeling a wee bit overwhelmed as this all comes crashing down on me at the same time that I'm teaching 3-year-olds in Sunday school and children's choir, singing on the praise team and in the choir, working on the guitar, and trying to keep my family going. I seriously wouldn't be surprised if I showed signs of mental illness before this is all over.

I should sleep pretty well tonight after all I've done today. I'm stalling about going to bed, though, because I know I'll probably just lay there thinking off all the things I've yet to do.