A Calling

The circumstances behind my grandmother coming to live with us seem unimportant now.  Suffice it to say that her current living arrangements with her son and daughter-in-law (my parents) was not working out. 

I would like to say that it was my grand idea, that I willingly chose to be the good granddaughter and offer her a place to stay.  But it wasn't me.

It was God. 

How do I know that it was God? 

Because I am a sinful creature and therefore far too selfish to willingly sacrifice my time and room in my house for someone, let alone the grandmother who I had never really been able to get along with.  If I had been thinking clearly I would have helped find her a nice little room in a nursing home somewhere where she wouldn't be a bother.  That's what I would have done.  But this was God.

When God calls you to do something--- you do it.  I mean, whose to argue.  So when the idea popped into my head and my husband agreed fervently that this was in fact "the best thing to do", I thought:

"Hey! This will be easy!  Everything will be smooth sailing from here because if was God's plan"

THAT is where I really messed up. 

When things started to unravel from my marvelous plan on how things were going to go I remember crying out to God.  

 "I thought you wanted me to do this!  Why is it so hard?"

And immediately in my heart, a small voice:

"I TOLD YOU WHAT TO DO, I DIDN'T SAY IT WAS GOING TO BE EASY"

Because sometimes God calls us to do messy things.  Don't believe me? Pick a Bible story, any Bible story.  Joseph and his being sold into slavery,  Esther and her calling to be a queen.....Christ.  The Bible is full of sacrifice.  Sacrifice of time, energy, money, family and sometimes their lives; all to fulfill God's glorious plan. 

Who was I to question?

People often compliment me on how nice I am to take care of my grandmother, that I am a wonderful person.  I appreciate it but I know its not true.  I am not wonderful, kind or even patient.....but HE is. And I know this because I, in my fallen nature, would not have willingly chosen this path.....it was chosen for me. 

"I can do all things through HIM who strengthens me" 

Phillipians 4:13 NASB

I would love to write more on this that I have been called to do.  I also want to let people know that "YES!" keeping your loved one at home to care for them is possible and, in my opinion, the best option.  But for now, I have breakfast to prepare, toys to find and a pill keeper to fill, in my BLESSED life. 

New Year, New House, New...everything

Last year was just plain crazy.....

Mikey was born in January 

We moved out in the country in April

Found a wonderful church in June

My grandmother had moved in with us in October.

We were baptized in November and became members of the church.

I started babysitting a one year old little boy that goes to our church in December. 

Whew....I'm tired just reading that list.  But I also feel so very very blessed. 

And this year looks to have the same sort of excitement. 

January 2011 we BOUGHT a house!  yay!  ( I know I said bought but technically we are "buying" the house, but its still a step up from renting, eh?)

The move went amazingly well and I'll tell you why:

  We have the most wonderful church family in the world! 

A usual move for Jason and I consists of many, many, MANY trips with just me and him moving ALL of our belongings.  And of course we have to be crazy reptile people so some of those belongings are huge, heavy display cabinets and aquariums.  Not to mention, the world's heaviest entertainment center crafted by my dad, rustic carpenter extraordinaire. 

When Jason and I move it takes a month easy.  It took a grand total of 4 HOURS.  That is loading everything and unloading everything.  Yeah, I know, impressive huh?

We did have a few hiccups in the moving process, ie. transferring utilities.  As you probably know calling customer service is equivalent to gouging your eyeball out.  But everything eventually got turned on.......and we did finally get a trashcan 3 WEEKS AFTER ORDERING IT.  Ahem.  I'm still a little upset over that one, can't you tell?

On the personal aspect of moving, Jacob transitioned beautifully, this is officially our "new house" to him. Mikey wasn't sure at first, but has learned his way around.  Jason and I are in LOVE with it and praise God every day for making this possible for us.  My grandmother?  At 100 you would think the move would be a strain on her but it doesn't seem so.  The only difficulty we had is making sure we located all of her stuff pronto.  And she remembers....every.single.thing.   *sigh* 

Isn't it adorable?

The house by the way, is a 3 bedroom ONE BATH.  No, one bathroom isn't a problem for us, as in Jason, myself and the kids.  But you add my grandmother into the mix and you might as well order a Porta-Potty for the backyard. But I digress.....

It's in the city, something we didn't think we wanted until we found our church home.  It became difficult to attend anything because of the drive and trying to keep my grandmother and kids on some semblance of a schedule.  Being in town, we believe, will allow us to not only attend Wednesday service and Sunday school more regularly, but will also make it possible for us to help the people of our church more.  I believe God helped us get this house for a reason, HIS REASON, therefore, we desire to bring him Glory through it. 

So goodbye country roads, hello city livin'.....again.  But its not as bad as it sounds.  Our neighborhood is excellent, and what I mean by excellent is full of little old people.  The most excitement I see is 2 old men racing each other on their electric scooters, headed for dollar general. 

Yet, I can see HEB from my house.  Hip, Hip Hooray!  Of course there are also restaurants everywhere, so fighting that temptation will be difficult. But its 8 minutes from church and Jason's work.  Can we say, "Hallelujah"?  I think we can. 

Our giant dogs seem to be doing okay and we did keep 5 hens for eggs. City law says hens are okay but roosters are a no-no.  How more annoying can a rooster crowing be than the neighbors yappin' chihuahua?

The house was built in 1950 so it still has old house charm in the way of original hardwoods and glass door knobs.  "SQUEEL!!".. 

Originally a 2 bed 1 bath, at some point they added on a huge (15 x 18) den with a fireplace and a closet.  THAT is what we converted into our room.  I'll save details and pictures for another post. : ) Okay maybe just one picture but its not very good:

There is storage all in the house, closets, cabinets....you name it, I've got space for it : )  Also there is a nice shop and carport outside.  LOVE that, but not as much as Jason.  He's like a kid in a candy store when he goes in there and starts laying out his tools.  I'm sure he's happy about not having to rebuild his make-due tent/shed every week after the wind would destroy it out in the country. : )

Anywho, gotta get back to unpacking and chasing rugrats (Now 2 one year olds and a 3 year old, man, I gotta give it up to you "moms of many" out there)

Guess what??

Yeah, you guessed it, we did end up moving.  So now you understand why I've been absent on here as of late.  A lot of changes for the new year and tons of things to blog about.  Yet, there is so much life to be lived its hard to stop to blog about it. : ) 

Hope to "see" you all again soon!

Moving?

So, What's new with you? 


We may be moving.  Again.  (((insert stress-filled sobs here)))

We moved out to our current rental property in April.  We had to move quickly because our previous landlords had sold 1/2 the land we were renting....the 1/2 with out storage shed and chicken coop on it. 
We were blessed to find what we wanted (or thought we wanted), 10 acres with a creek and a 3 bed 2 bath mobile home.  I LOVE the trailer we live in.  However, we discovered soon after moving that the land is useless.  Not only do the contents of our septic system spray over the entire back area through sprinklers but it was also the location of a junk yard.  So goodbye beautiful garden and small collection of livestock we had envisioned. : (

There are other things like the landlords being lazy but we're finding that's more the rule than the exception.  When you fix more of your rental property than the landlords.....be worried. 

Anyways, I knew Jason wasn't content with renting but he's pretty laid back and we were just waiting it out until an opportunity to buy a place came up.  With our credit we're looking at oh, 10 years? (Hey, we were young and stupid, what can we say?)

We did an estimate on our tax return however and saw that Uncle Sam was going to look kindly again on us this year.  : D Even more than last year because now we have tax deduction #2, otherwise known as Mikey. hahaha

So we were planning out the best use of the money we would have at out disposal and then one of us said it.....

"Hey! It would make a nice down payment on a house"

I can't remember which one of us said it, but I remember the look on my husbands face and I knew we were moving. 

My husband and I mesh so well together we honestly don't know where one stops and one begins.  However our personality types differ.  I get excited over things, go overboard, plan everything, and my ideas kind of take on a life of their own.  When this happens I have blinders on and don't really think reasonably.  My husband is different.  He has no blinders.  He can see and weigh possibilities and outcomes.  He also does not usually  get excited about anything. But sometimes, like in this for instance, he does.  And boy did he.

So, in the last 3 days we have looked at 5 or 6 houses. 

And we think we've decided what we're looking for. 

And its completely different than what we thought we wanted.

But the main goal is: to own our own house. 

It's my husbands vision.  And though I don't want to move, my job is to help my husband lead our family where he sees fit. I may not do it perfectly, but I'm going to try my hardest.  I'll keep y'all updated. ; )

For Today: The Simple Womans Daybook

Have always wanted to do this, what a good way to keep memories!

FOR TODAY: December 7th, 2010

Outside my window...a few remaining chickens.  Ginger, our great Pyrenees/German shepherd mix, massacred most of them over the past few months.

I am thinking...about Christmas.

I am thankful for...my husband who passed his license test for work, he works so hard to make a good life for us.

From the learning rooms...Jacob is learning his lower case alphabet now.

From the kitchen...blueberry crisp and bean  and cheese burritos.

I am wearing...a blue jean jumper with a red shirt underneath.  yeah, I wear jumpers, what of it?  lol

I am creating...lesson plans for tutoring a girl in English this next semester.

I am going...to take Jason to see a movie in celebration of passing his test.

I am reading..."The Unquenchable Flame" about the Reformation.

I am hoping...everyone can get along while they are at our house for Christmas.

I am hearing...Jacob watching Flushed Away.

Around the house...red bows and evergreen branches everywhere. 

One of my favorite things...cuddling with my 2 boys on the couch in the morning.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Cross our fingers to see if Jason got a promotion.  Grocery shopping, church and tutoring.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing..

Jacob looks tired after helping us decorate the Christmas tree. : )

 Hope y'all have a blessed day!

Potty Training Update

Okay, so right after I wrote this post about Jacob being late in potty training according to society.....he potty trained in one day. grrrrr.

One Day.

It took 1 day of me setting the timer and making him go in there every 30 minutes.It took a lot of juice and patience and some underwear.  It also took some discipline when he refused to listen and follow directions.  And I went through a lot of skittles when he did go.

One stinkin' day.

*sigh*

So since then he has stayed dry every night except twice, and that was because I gave him juice right before bed. oops.
He is still not wanting to sit and go potty but he's got the standing thing down. 

And now, I'm kind of sad.  Sounds silly but to me this was the last milestone of being a baby....he's no longer a baby.  **tear**

Now for my second one, he love the toilet.....he loves splashing in it, tries to play with the toilet brush and toilet paper....he should potty train easy right?

The New Routine

I think someone's had a little too much coffee, don't you?

You know the routine I've been meaning to start and update y'all on?

I've tried several since then, but all failed (read I failed ).  When Jason and I decided to invite my Memaw to come live with us I knew that a routine was an absolute must.  So, I did something I hadn't tried yet, I talked it over with Jason.  I asked him what was most important to him as far as a clean house.  He gave me a list of 2 things that greatly helped.

1) The walkways clear.  No toys to step over or to stab into the bottom of your bare feet.

2) The kitchen clean.  Not that I ever leave dishes in the sink or anything but.......

This gave me a starting point so, on those days when everything goes wrong, when Jacob has been knocking little Michael around and Michael has been trying to eat things off the floor I know what would make my husband happy when he gets home.

From there we talked about how Memaw would fit into our regular weekly routine, how time I needed to spend with the boys (not just near them, but with them) and how we would spend time together.

I have always struggled with keeping the house clean.  I had the awful habit of ignoring messes and laundry until we had to do a complete house overhaul.  I know this frustrates Jason so I was set to do better. 

We decided Memaw wouldn't change much about our routines. I'll post more about her care and role in the family life later on.

We made some goals for the children including potty training, regular meal times, less tv more one on one play.

Then we turned to the house and after giving me his input Jason left me to figure it out over the next week or so.

So here's the breakdown of our day:

5:30- we're both up and crawling to the coffee pot
We talk and get ready for the day until 6:30 when Jason heads off for work. 
6:30- I start laundry, make my bed and layout what we'll have for supper.
I usually have some time to myself for Bible reading etc until around 7:30 when the tornado known as Jacob wakes from his slumber.
8:00 we all have breakfast and then I wash the dishes
I get the boys cleaned up, teeth brushed and dressed.
Jacob helps me wipe down the guest bathroom (the most often used one)  and then helps me advance the laundry.
About 9:00 I am starting our weekly chores and Jacob watches PBS while Mikey terrorizes everything.
**See weekly chores below**
12:00- lunch and clean up
Michael goes down for a nap, Jacob goes outside to play.
1:00 Jacob comes in and we work on ABC flash cards, coloring, puzzles etc together.
When Mikey wakes up we all read books together. 
In the afternoon I finish up weekly chores, laundry etc.

I start supper early, around 4:00.  We pick the house up at 5:00.  I re-clean and re-clothe the boys, usually by this time they are dirty and 1/2 naked, don't ask me how. It's one of life's mysteries when living with boys.

I try to freshen up and greet Jason at the door, because at this point I look like, well, like I've been at home with 2 small boys whose mission is to make me pull my hair out.
We eat supper at 6:00 and talk for a while.
Family Worship is at 8:00 with bedtime following soon after. 

Weekly chores- I have concentration areas where we clean top to bottom.  Next week I'll post every day what exactly I clean and how I get it done with the youngin's. This will keep me accountable : )

Sunday- The Lord's Day
Monday- Family Day (Jason is off) Errands and Shopping
Tuesday- Living Room and Jason's uniforms
Wednesday- Kitchen and cleaning cloths + regular clothing
Thursday- Bedrooms and sheets, kids clothes
Friday- Bathrooms and towels, whites
Saturday- Chores outside/inside, clean van etc

I'm sure to read that was just thrilling but I figure if I put it down it will help and I need all the help I can get!

Happy Wednesday Everyone!