2.17.2010

Answered Prayer

A few weeks ago, we spent all day at church. There were the usual services in the morning, and I sang at both. Kyler worked with the teens, and the boys went to their own classes. We attended a financial seminar in the afternoon while the boys went to their grandparents' house. We were at Kyler's parents' house picking the boys up that evening when our neighbors tracked us down to let us know they heard a water leak in our house. We packed the boys into the car in a hurry returned home to find our entire first floor covered in about an inch of water.







Our response? We laughed. Seriously, we did. Okay, maybe it was mostly a nervous giggle that radiated out of us, knowing that boy howdy, was this every going to be a huge mess. On our way back to Kyler's parents' house for the night, we talked about how it really was an answer to prayer. What?! No, seriously. We've been praying for awhile that God would help us get our house in order so we can put it on the market and move closer to where we do ministry. And we know He answers prayer, every time. Maybe not with the answer we want, or expect, or think He'll give, and sometimes the answer is, "wait," but He always answers. And He absolutely answered our prayer, though defnitely not so much the way we would have planned it out. Ha! You know the Proverb: "In a heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps?" Yeah, that one really applies here. I am looking forward to seeing how God works this for good. (Because yes, I know He will.)

Some pictures of a few of the casualties...





Such a loss. Seriously. What an album.


  The culprit. Nasty little booger.
It's in our pantry. Actually, things could have been totally crazy. We keep our looseleaf tea in a container on the second shelf of the pantry. The leak was going ninety-to-nothing right on that box. Thankfully, it's a (relatively tightly sealed) plastic box. Can you imagine the entire first floor swimming in tea? Hahahahaha....
  

  

  

  

 

   

  

 

Underneath the kitchen cabinets...

  

 

  

 

  


  
  
I'm fighting nervousness over what our claims adjuster will be giving us credit for, especially in the way of big furniture items and things like kitchen cabinets. But, I can't worry about that stuff. It's still a few days away. So meanwhile, I guess I'd better get to reading....


2.16.2010

One Thousand Gifts


You can read about my decision to begin to count my blessings, at least intentionally and purposefully, here. And by all means, please join in the fun! Leave a comment about the gifts, however large or small, you have received this week.

#1-17 here, and #18-39 here.

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I am grateful...

40. for answered prayer and peace that passes understanding.

41. for husbands who, without saying a word in protest, immediately put off leaving for work to help with vomiting children.

42. rubber gloves, washing machines, bathtubs, and handheld shower heads (see above)

43. Lysol. The spray, the bathroom cleaner, the wipes...

44. extra sets of sheets and pillowcases

45. digital cameras - not in any way related to #41-44, just to be clear. :)
46. my in-laws. goodness knows I'd be completely lost right now without them!

47. blogging. I haven't had nearly the opportunity since our house flooded, and I miss it.

48. two-and-a-half feet of snow! 

49. snow days with my husband and children

50. shoveling snow - the exercise was very much needed and appreciated 

51. triple naps. Ummm...make that quadruple naps.

52. finding extra cell phone charger in the guest bedroom at my in-laws (after the only one I owned was damaged in the flood, and my cell phone died)

53. clean towels

54. extra sleep

55. hot showers. this will likely be a regular on these lists. So therapeutic!
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Head on over to Ann's blog, Holy Experience, to read how her gift counting began and visit her Gratitude Community.

2.15.2010

"Not Me!" Monday


 

Welcome! Are you feeling guilty for consistently making fun of things your husband says in your "Not Me!" posts? Wondering if your toddler will ever be completely potty trained? "Not Me!" Monday was written just for you. It frees me up to admit my (and I admit, my family's...) many imperfections and vent about the absolutely ridiculous things that are my everyday. Enjoy at my expense, and join in the fun by commenting below!

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Oh my. What a crazy couple of weeks. Snow. Church. In-laws. Snow. Financial seminars. Phone calls. House floods. In-laws again - for a few nights. More snow. FEET of snow. Stuck at in-laws. Church at home. More phone calls. More snow. Home briefly. Back to in-laws...with suitcases. I find myself nearly incapable of maintaining composure as I ride a (very thinly veiled) emotional roller coaster. Trying to trust my God, knowing He is in control no matter how ape-baloney my life seems to be getting...well, suffice it to say that is not always an easy thing to do.

So instead I'll blog. Another gratitude post is begging to be written. Until then, I am so behind on my "Not Me!" posts. So here we go. Over the past two weeks...

It was not me who totally chowed on an enormous bad of Skittles we bought for one of my son's friend's birthday present. Yum. I mean, not me!

While cleaning my two- and three-year-old sons' room, I meticulously placed each toy in the clear plastic box labeled with a colorful picture of its contents. I...ahem...did not get so frustrated with cleaning up Mr. Potato head's pants for the fortieth time that I just shoved them under the boys' dresser.

No, I never, ever use nursing the baby as an excuse to stay downstairs or sit in front of the computer while my husband puts the kids to bed. Never.

Cameron is best occupied when doing things he is not allowed to do, as most boys are.  Armed with this knowledge, I certainly did not intentionally give him a huge roll of stickers and purposefully allow him to go to town decorating our kitchen floor, just so I could have a few minutes of quiet and enjoy a cup of hot tea sans-screaming children. Nope. Not me!

During the past two weeks, I have not had a day so utterly frustrating, so absolutely non-productive that I actually put my five-month-old in front of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar," just so I could get one stinking load of dishes done. Gasp! What kind of mother...??? Not me!!

I do not routinely dress my three-year-old in too-small pants because he is growing too stinking fast to keep up with. (And I do not make comments almost daily about how enormous he is, despite the fact that his father is 6'6" and I should not be surprised that he is 42" tall and easily the size of an average five-year-old.) Don't even get me started on his shoe size...

I did not turn around from doing dishes the other day to find that my fair-skinned, blonde-headed two-year-old had drawn all over his head..with a Sharpie.

When I aim to get household chores done, I do not turn a blind eye to whatever my children may be doing at the time, simply so I can get something accomplished. Which is why I did not allow my boys to rearrange, sort into pots, toss, and roll fresh fruit all around the kitchen two weeks ago, just so I could clean up a bit. What's four or five pounds of bruised fruit between friends?

I'm so glad my toddlers are calm, responsible, predictable little boys. Our days are never interrupted with shrieks of, "Daddy!!! Come look at this!!!" And such phrases certainly don't come from the bathroom. And should we (hesitantly) investigate such shrieking (which we don't, because our boys are calm and predictable, remember?) we definitely don't find them with one foot on the bathroom stool, one on the sink, and two hands on the toilet seat, arching their bottom into the air in a feat of as yet unparalleled bathroom acrobatics...nope. Not our kids.

And while I'm on the subject of the bathroom, let's just get something clear. My sons love me. A lot. Heaps and heaps and whole, whole bunches, in fact. And just so you know, they tell me all the time, too. In lots of different places and during a myriad of different activities. Not usually while I am wiping their bottoms.

We have been staying with my in-laws for two weeks while our downstairs is basically demolished. But keeping up with everyone's belongings and dirty laundry has been a cinch. I am never running around like a headless chicken looking for a clean undergarment, properly sized diaper, or two matching shoes. Similarly, I have not put a pair of his cousin's significantly smaller socks on Kayden's enormous feet like seventeen times. And since we woke up by 8:30am on Sunday, getting to church for the 11am service was cake. Everyone was clean, matching, and totally on time. Cam's shoes were not on the wrong feet, Kayden's pants weren't nearly falling off, we were not 15 minutes late, and I did not have to wear a pair of Kyler's black dress socks with my brown shoes and too-short blue pants. Nope. Not me!

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"Not Me!" Monday is an incredibly fun blogging carnival started by MckMama. In a nutshell, it's where we all can be open about the ridiculous things that happen in our everyday lives. Head on over to her blog, where you can read heaps of other great "Not Me!" stories. Or, join in the "Not Me!" fun and leave a comment about all of the things you didn't do this week!

2.03.2010

Still

    
The more I get alone
The more I see I need to get alone more, more
'Cause just when I think that I'm alone
Your Spirit calls out to me
And even silence has a song
'Cause that's when You come
Sing over me

Still, let me be still
Let me be okay
With the quiet in my heart
Still, I want to be still
I'm so quick to move
Instead of listening to You
Shut my mouth
Crush my pride
Give me the tears
Of a broken life
Still

Of this world, it falls around me
And flutters all its beauty in my eyes
But let me choose the solitude
Simplicity has always simply changed my life
'Cause even stillness makes me move
'Cause that's when my heart
Learns to dance with you

Still, let me be still
Let me be okay
With the quiet in my heart
Still, I want to be still
I'm so quick to move
Instead of listening to You
I'm your child
Tame my heart
Obedience
To me impart
Still

la la la la la. hold me
la la la la la, cleanse me
la la la la la, change me, oh God
Change me while I am

Still, let me be still
And know that you are God
And You're always enough
Still, I want to be still
To take all that I am
And simply lift it up
Shut my mouth
Crush my pride
Give me the tears
Of a broken life
Still...
Still...
Still...

"Still" / Watermark / 2002

2.01.2010

"Not Me!" Monday


So....

It was not my family who, after a full day at church (services and a seminar) got a call from our neighbors last evening at my in-laws, tracking us down to let us know they thought we had a water leak at our house. Nope. And we didn't scoot on home as fast as we could to find our entire first floor covered in roughly an inch of water. Not my family!

Sigh.

Yes, yes that was my family. So for now, "Not Me!" Monday will have to wait. It was a good one, too! Look forward to like forty-seven things that didn't happen this week. And while we deal with this very big mess, just scroll down to check out my latest One Thousand Gifts post.

One Thousand Gifts


I am totally loving this gratitude blogging! It's such a stream-of-consciousness type thing, and I love the way such a random assortment of things I love and am grateful for just continuously pop into my head as I type. And making mental and written notes of God's tiniest whispers of love for me as they occur each day are already revolutionizing my outlook, even on not-so-great days. For example, we spent all day at church. Services this morning, financial seminars this afternoon. We were at Kyler's parents' house when our neighbors tracked us down to let us know they heard a water leak in our house, and we returned home in a hurry to find our entire first floor covered in about an inch of water. Our response? We laughed. Seriously, we did. It really is an answer to prayer, though defnitely not so much the way we would have planned it out. Ha! I really am looking forward to seeing how God works this for good. I'm sure I'll be frustrated, irritated, and despondent at times down the road, but for now I'll focus on being grateful.
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I am grateful...

#1-17 here.
18. for toddler kisses and giggles 

19. for my church community - we are so supported and loved!

20. for singing on the worship team

21. for people who regularly ask me how we're doing and tell us they are praying for us specifically. Wow.

22. for answered prayer, particularly when they aren't answered in the way I expect. This helps me see just how limited my vision and my "plan" for my life truly are. So grateful for a God who sees the whole picture.

23. wet/dry vacs - that work

24. in-laws who live close and greet us with open arms when our entire brood decends in the middle of the night after discovering our entire first floor has been flooded with water.

25. for flooded first floors, that in their own blunt way make it so much easier to decide what we need to get rid of!

26. for a husband who works tirelessly in all things

27. for emergency water cut-off valves that my father-in-law helped install in our house

28. for neighbors who don't have your cell number, but track you down through church and in-laws anyway, to let you know your house is flooding.

29. for friends named Robert, who drop everything to come help mop up the water through the middle of the night.

30. for digital cameras, that take quick pics of water damage

31. for parents' advice and sympathy

32. for babes that - every once in awhile - go to sleep before midnight

33. for crunchy cheetos during financial seminars at church. :)

34. for snow plows going by just before we have to climb the monstrous icy hill just outside our house

35. for brand new tires, just before a decent snowstorm!

36. for bubble baths, hot tea, and Norah Jones.

37. for Facebook friends

38. for sweet little boys who call my name and need my hugs and kisses after bad dreams in the middle of the night.

39. for a warm bed and soft pillows to fall into after a trying evening...

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Head on over to Ann's blog, Holy Experience, to read how her gift counting began and visit her Gratitude Community. You can read about my decision to begin to count my blessings, at least intentionally and purposefully, here. And by all means, please join in the fun! Leave a comment about the gifts, however large or small, you have received this week.