Christmas is about upon us....

It sneaks up on me every year! I know....I know....it is the SAME day every year, but time seems to move forward at a faster rate year by year. It doesn't feel quite Christmas time yet here, but we are getting in the swing of it.

Last week, I settled on a Christmas tree theme-something I have done every year except last year (since we moved into this house). Last year, we had open studs, no walls, no floors, and only one room in the house finished. It is really hard to feel festive under those conditions, but we did do alot in the present area. My brother was supporting my sister and desperately short of space, so we did a tree together. That was really sweet and we spent a good portion of the holiday together. Our son was in Afghanistan, and he was our focus. We kept sending care boxes to him-hating that he was spending the holidays away from his family.

This year: our son is back at home, my sister is married, living in her own home, and expecting a son right after Christmas, and we have completed several rooms including the living room where the tree is! The tree is up howbeit the lights are not all working so we are having to restring our pre-lit tree (kind of negates the point of a prelit tree!), and waiting on the ornaments to arrive.

The theme: I found (yay) tool ornaments-too cute. I was beyond excitement! Doing a theme tree is expensive so I have to be created. I look for things that can be made into ornaments. I ordered the tool ornaments, working metal tool keyrings, and working flashlight keyrings. Keyrings make great ornaments-tie ribbon around them, hooks built in, and you can pass them out to holiday guests!!! Caution tape garland, some coordinating ribbon as fillers and presto: A contruction themed tree! This might be better than the rubber duckies...that one is sure hard to top!

All of that Christmas tree planning got me in the mood so to say and started me looking for Christmas gifts for Aaron and Caitlyn. I collect outfits for Aaron in the in between months (since he isn't here) and usually have a collection to sen when I send a box. I think I am up to 5 outfits right now (I sometimes forget how many I have purchases!). This past Saturday my husband and I ventured into Toys R Us (wow-crazy) and walked out with the cutest Saint sweat suit and talk about cute, cute, cute! I have been showing it to everyone! I KNOW his daddy is going to love it!

I text Robert Saturday to see if Aaron needed anything. He responded with, "A train set." LOL..my children's grandparents bought our kids a train set years ago. For awhile, we set it up around the Christmas tree, but it is in need of attention now soit doesn't usually leave the box. I am not even sure where it is, but my husband says he does. Apparently that train made an impression on the kids, because even Katherine was telling me she wants the train. She got to pick through all the Christmas decs I didn't want so I am thinking that disqualifies her from inheritance of the train set! Hmmm...might have to keep the train, repair it, add to it and make that one of our Christmas traditions.

Well...Toys R Us was a madhouse this weekend as is EVERY other store, so I say, shop the Internet in your pjs! I took that to heart on Cyber Monday and ordered Aaron an outfit and Caitlyn a pajama. This morning I opened up my email and saw an ad from CBD so....had to go check it out. We pretty much know what we are getting Aaron, but Caitlyn??? She loves this little peg game we have on our table from Cracker Barrel. She takes the pegs out and puts the pegs in over and over again. As she was playing with that yesterday, I made a comment, wondering out loud if they made something like that for toddlers, and they do!!! I found it today on CBD, so I ordered it for her. I also discovered a magnetic train set so had to get that for Aaron. I am thinking it will go on the refrigerator but not absolutely sure! Fun, Fun, Fun....although my hubbie gets a little nervous when I call him, "Honey, I am ordering from CBD." "What are you buying?" Then I go through the great deals I just discovered and why I want to get that!!!! He sighs and asks for the bottom line!

[Smile]....He doesn't say no when it comes to buying for the children!

Winding Down

I am still wondering where the last six months went, and am so glad we told the kids that they had to give us six months! I can not imagine how we would have pulled this all off in any lesser amount of time!

Less than two weeks to go...

This weekend was um....swamped....let's see...checklist: bubbles and bubble basket-done!

1. Construction of fans-done!
2. Practice hair appointment-done!
3. Mother of the bride dress and some pretty sweet jewelry (a gift from the father of the bride to the mother of the bride)-done!
4. Tux rentals-done!
5. And then there is the essential non-wedding stuff too-painting the kitchen-first coat done!
6. laying and grouting tile in the kitchen and laundry room-done!
7. touch up painting, trim painting-some done!
8. Wash machine fixed and back in the house-done! (good thing, need to do laundry)
9. And now the homework....not so done!

Geeze...no way to get everything done! With all the activity going on around here, it is amazing there is any semblance of order....speaking loosely...how orderly can a house under construction be anyway?

Plan for the week:

1. finish kitchen and laundry room walls and trim-get the washer and dryer hooked back up
2. complete this college class I am in (by tomorrow)
3. clean up, clean up, clean up
4. Trim work painted
5. Living room and dining room touch up
6. floors in the living room and hallway
7. trim where possible
8. pick up glassware and finish centerpieces
9. work on video
10. lingerie shower
11. complete and print photo book
12. meet with event coordinator, settle on number, and pay venue
13. get postcards out to those coming to the grill out and rehearsal
14. Pay for the chairs
15. Maybe go shoe shopping :)

That might be all we have to do this week....just maybe....

Teary-Eyed

I haven't had too many tear moments, although, my daughter tells me I am definitely going to cry when she isn't here. I keep saying, "Nah..." However, we are approaching crunch time now and it is busy! This week, we have to confirm flowers, pick up her dress, finish up on fans, bubbles, and some miscellaneous kind of stuff. One of the things we are working on is the video.

Somehow that is the thing that chokes me up....we sat here the other night browsing through song after song after song. What song to choose? Hmmm...so we ended up listening to a zillion, all, sappy love songs, some parent child, dad daughter, some mushy love stuff, but all VERY EMOTIONAL!

We downloaded a bunch so that the next day I could weed through them. So here I am, cleaning up my bedroom, putting laundry away, and listening to these songs. The tears start bubbling to the surface....not really sad about an empty nest, but my daughter is such a sweet heart. She is so bubbly, so full of life, so ready to laugh, so herself all the time. She has been my sunshine-one of the brightest parts of my life, and I will really miss her.

Browsing through pictures this weekend of her and her brothers growing up, sitting in church behind a couple trying to keep a small child settled down, and watching a baby dedication, all gave me flashbacks. I remember all of those moments. I remember dedicating all of my children. I remember so many precious moments, many we still laugh about. One is our favorite for sure....our oldest son had this thing about hiding and jumping out to scare his siblings. One time he hid under Kat's bed and waited for her...then he grabbed her feet! Another time, he hid in a laundry basket and waited on his brother. He jumped out from under the clothes and about scared him to death! [hysterical]

Yep, eyes are a bit wet...time went by so fast...too fast...in a blink the kids were grown, starting families of their own, and now...it is just about time for the empty nest.

O How Sweet the Taste

My daughter woke up today with a migraine-her very first. I have one every year or so which allowed me to completely identify with the level of her pain. She tried the bath, heating pad, pain medicines and laying very still in bed. Nothing worked and up

till this evening, she was bed bound.

Her headache changed my schedule for the day. I wasn't able to go to the prison ministry, but I was able to pick up a bit and study for my test that night. Studying is a good thing, and I was glad I did when test time came!

However...it changed her schedule today too. She was supposed to go get her marriage license today with her fiance. She wasn't able to do that, but Jon did come over after work. Their engagement has been plagued by one illness after another. She has had back problems all year resulting in multiple steroid shots in her spine. She has had mono, strep throat, sinus infections, and then today...a migraine. ((Ms. Molly's sweet godly perspective is that God is protecting them from falling!) Each time she has been down, Jon has showed up with flowers. Today was no exception. He called and asked if he could see her, and then he came with a single red rose. (In the picture he is cutting the stems to put them in a vase.) She was in bed, all snuggled up under her blankets. He came in, with the flowers and lay down next to her (No worries, everyone was dressed, she was under the blankets and he wasn't, and the door was open). It was such a sweet sight. He so dotes on her and cares for her.

As we finish up these last few weeks before the wedding, I am so comforted knowing how much he loves my daughter. I see it in their eyes and hear it in their laughter. Love...love....not just an emotion, but a choice...and the sweetness of it...O taste and see.....

Friendship and Grace

I really struggled today with the concept of "grace." Grace-getting what we don't deserve and not getting what we do. That idea is so central to our faith in Christ, but yet seems to allude so many I know...not so much the grace we experience at the point of salvation, but the grace we need on a daily basis, and the grace we need to extend to others.

Today was also Katherine's bridal shower. There she was, my little girl, having her hurrah moment, being the princess, surrounded by two very beautiful women.

This picture of them is only one in a line of many. These girls have grown up together. They know each other, their strengths and their weaknesses...but they love each other-grace. It has been said that you can count the number of true friends you have in a lifetime on one hand. Those are the people that know you completely, love you any way, and extend grace when you least deserve it. I don't know that I can fill up one hand yet with those kind of friends, but I do know there have been some very special people in my life. Only a few, but those few have kept me a float. They have allowed me to vent, allowed me to be unreasonable and demanding, have allowed me to cry; they have been there when I needed them to be and just loved me. They have given me grace and in so doing have taught me how to love, how to give, how to sacrifice.

My daughter is one of those people. She can love; she can give; she can extend grace-and those young women that are sharing her day with her-they too are those kind of women. Toni, Tonia, Kayla...you too have taught me grace. I love differently today just because I have known you. I understand more fully what it is to sacrifice just because I have known you. I know what grace means because you have shared your lives with me, because you have been graceful to me, and you have modeled grace in your lives. Thank you ladies, all of you for being the beautiful women you are!

Last Childhood Moments

Yesterday was my daughter's last visit to her Pediatric Rhuematologist. We have made that trip to Arkansas every 4 to 6 months for the past two years. Most of the trips have been just her and I. We have to leave here very early to make the four hour drive to the Arkansas Children's Hospital. Yesterday was no exception-we pulled out at 6 am. (Neither of us are morning people!) Now the way this works is she puts on something comfortable, brings a pillow and blanket, piles into the car and goes back to sleep. I spend the four hours praying, pondering, listening to the radio while she sleeps. Hmmm....and then she drives the trip home. Welp...she stayed awake yesterday and worked on wedding music. She played some she had saved so I could hear it, and then she played a Kenny G CD I had to see what she liked off of it. You can't go wrong with Kenny G, and his whole CD made the cut!

We had lots of girl time to talk about just about everything under the sun. We ran through McD's and grabbed breakfast and still arrived quite early for our appointment. We love this hospital, and we love this doctor. The appointment slip has a bar code on it which you scan when entering. It does all the check in for you on a touch screen. It automatically puts your name up on a large digital board with "waiting" by it. The techs call her back to give her an arm band, check her weight, height, update meds...etc...very fast though! We then go to our room to wait.

The rooms are very kid friendly. On the wall are busy beads. There is a clipboard with color sheets and crayons and kid books in a basket. Kat usually picks out a color sheet to color but not today. She waited on the exam table for her doctor to enter. We went through all the normal stuff. Her doctor congratulated her on her upcoming marriage. Then we were done and on our way home.

One of her very last moments as a kid. In just over five weeks, she will no longer qualify for pediatrics which is all she has ever known. She has had the same pediatrician since she was four years old. Her whole world is changing as she makes this transformation from "girl" to "woman." We will no longer be her whole world, we will no longer be providing for her, we will no longer be the ones she runs to when she hurts or falls down or needs to cuddle up in my bed with me and cry. One last moment of her childhood came too quickly and passed by ever quicker.

Exhaustion Closing In

As time ticks by faster and faster, exhaustion threatens to absolutely consume me! This past week or two, it has been all I could do to keep moving. Wedding plans, house construction, church ministry, work, and in a week-another master's level class (a condensed one month one-how on earth will I get the homework done?) all looming over me like a cloud that threatens to open up and drench me!

The older I get, the more I struggle with being able to juggle everything on my plate. It used to be easy to push until I worked through it, stop, regroup, start again. Now....not so much. My energy level is waning despite the vitamins! The arthritis isn't helping either.

This weekend, the weight of it all was pretty heavy. We are still not in our bedroom, still have so much to do and a lot less time to get it done in. There have been so many family responsibilities, so many things just pulling us in so many different directions. The house has been what has suffered for lack of time or energy to accomplish what we say we are going to do. My husband cleaned up the back a bit, got some wiring for our recessed lighting and the den sheetrocked. It has the first float-might finish that this week! I worked on our room, painting the doors, finishing up the trim and repainting the ceiling (with a little help from my sweet Shawna-she arrived just in time to keep me motivated). I hope, hope, hope to finish up in there today....but I have been saying that for weeks now. And...got to get Kat's room tiled so we can finish up that room...it too is on the agenda for the week. So...we are looking at....moving into our room, getting the den primered, a room tiled....and this next weekend-putting up the baseboards in that room and getting the bathroom fixtures installed. That is a good goal for the week-now if we could just accomplish it all!

Wedding planning....ordered my dress this weekend, we finished up printing invitations. Most of those are going in the mail today. We need to get another vase this week and turn all our glass in to be etched, and I think....we have a slight break after that. Oh..wait, have one more thing to order...almost done. Most of the other stuff is little stuff that we don't need to rush on right now. Maybe....just maybe....we can concentrate on getting the house worked on now! I sure hope so....because that non-stress approach we were shooting for is just about to unravel at the seams.

Every Little Girl's Dream

Does every little girl dream of the fairy tale wedding? It has been a full week or two here with wedding planning at full speed. The clock is ticking, ticking, ticking...and not nearly slow enough!

My sister got married last Friday night. It was not a long drawn out massive planning adventure that Kat's is, but not any less important. We got home from Church last Wed. night after meeting with the pastor of Barron Rd. Baptist Church. He agreed to marry them on that Friday evening.

Naturally we went to work to make the best of that. Kat got busy working with her Aunt's hair, and we went and dug out a bouquet. This one pictured is from Gabrielle's wedding-it was the one Kat (as a bridesmaid) carried. It is quite pretty. We got it out, dusted it off and showed it to my sister. My niece, Prudence, took to it and just played with it, walked around carrying it, she did not want to let go of it! Paige on the other hand tried to take it apart! Both girls were just adorable!

My sister did use that bouquet, did get married in a sweet private ceremony attended by both sides of the family. She is on to a new life with all the twists and turns before here shadowed by the life she has left behind.

Kat is of course off and running. With just under six weeks to go, showers coming up, and still items to purchase, I am wondering if we really will get through this stress free. Yesterday was the day we took dresses in to be altered. We also stopped by Libbey Glass to get vases and flutes. A few more purchases, and I think we've got this! Let's see...need one more vase, maybe some tulle, probably more ribbon and greenery, m&m's, fans, the cake topper (sent first one back yesterday-not quite what she had in mind) and a back up cake person, my dress, Steve's tux....am I forgetting anything else? Yea probably....it is about time to scramble!

Did I mention we are still trying to rebuild the house-can't seem to get much done in that arena right now and that is really weighing on me! Goodness...how hard can it be to get a room painted!

Speaking of...got a full day, and so I am off!

Wedding Shopping

And we are off! We made a date when we could get together with our wedding coordinator and our sweet friend who is helping us with decorations to go shopping. We began at IHop, stopped by Men's Warehouse to get a color sample and ran to Hobby Lobby. Little did we know that they were closing 15 minutes after we walked in....so talk about power shopping. In 15 minutes, we grabbed glassware, tulle, ribbon, flowers, flower girl baskets, ring bearer pillow, and guest book. REALLY! Everything was 50% off so were quite thrilled.

Next stop...Michael's. We browsed around a bit just looking. We got a few things there, but nothing remarkable.

Earlier that evening Kat and I had done some internet window shopping to make decisions, check prices...that kind of thing, so we were armed with a list and prices so we would know what our best options were. That night we ordered some of her table favors too, but the week didn't stop there. Next on the list, get sample inviations so she could decide on that, secure the florist and reserve chairs. All of which we did and more this week! All was going according to plan...as we are now down to about two months....and then a gliche...major gliche...I called my hubbie Tuesday afternoon after talking with Kat about the situation-I was just livid. My hubbie is my sounding board and my voice of reason. The next two days were spent dealing with that situation.

Here we were feeling pretty good about what we had accomplished, all with no real stress. Kat made up her mind quickly, we got it done-NO bridezilla here at all....no stress to speak of....and that is the what we were shooting for...then...unexpectedly...a serious bump in the road. My hubbie said, "I knew it was going too smoothly." Yep....it was.

But...God has been richly providing for us and her. I am so thankful for the people in our lives that have graciously stepped up to help us in more ways than I could have imagined. It is awesome...so knowing that...I KNOW that He will provide for this new situation too!

A New Baby

Have you ever noticed that older people have pets??? Is that to minimize the empty nest syndrome!? My in-laws have a cockatil they have had now for about 14 years. That little bird is about the only thing they agree on, and let me tell you, Sunny rules the roost over there. If Sunny wants to eat, it is time to eat. If Sunny wants to take a nap, it is time to take a nap! LOL...cute, cute, cute...but knowing is half the battle and they do know they have spoiled that bird!

I have a few pets of my own. The latest edition is Sooner. We tend to be adopt by happenstance kind of people. Well, my hubbie would say, "Speak for yourself!" He would be ok without any pets-so he says (I really don't believe him!). Right before we were going to be making our trek to my mother-in-laws for her surgery, we acquired Sooner.

It was a Saturday morning, and we were heading to the golf course to finalize some wedding plans. This kitten was just a screaming next door. I was confused because they didn't have a cat. My hubbie hurried me along to our appointment. We got back and the kitty was still there, still hollering. I called it over to me. He came dragging his back legs. I picked him up and brought him in the house to feed him. I thought he had a broken leg. We kept him all day and then checked with the neighbor. Turns out the neighbor daughter found him and brought him home, to "help" him, by dumping him in the back yard without any food or anything. He was ours from that point.

I took him to the vet the next week to get his shots, to check out the leg, and deal with the fleas. We headed to Dallas leaving him in the care of my brother who promptly spoiled him and tried to steal him! No way, little brother...my baby! :) He is so little and so cute.

It has been a few weeks now. He is doing well with the litter box, but has to sleep in a kennel. We tried him in bed with us, but he kept us up, and had a few accidents. Kennel-much better idea. He fusses for a minute and goes to sleep, and we are all happy. He wakes up raring to go and full of vinegar. He is now attempting to climb curtains...and that is a NO NO! (declawing might be in his future)

Now I have a new responsibility...oh....and his name....we were on our way to Dallas and trying to decide on a name. Everyone was making suggestions. Well, I wanted an adverb name so was racking my brain to come up with a good adverb. Kat was throwing things out there, and since Jon is always on her mind, was thinking of what Jon would like...he is an OU fan which brought us to Sooner. It stuck and now he is Sooner...love it..."Come here Sooner" "Stop that Sooner." "You need to lay down Sooner."

One more thing...not a rat in sight. He runs around climbing up in the walls that don't have baseboards...is all over the place, leaving his scent. Ha...take that you wascally wats!

Do You Suppose God knows?

Just sitting here thinking....looking back over the last few weeks actually...and considering all that is going on in my life. I have been so busy these last two weeks. I mean really busy-to the point I am studying at stop lights for my final this week. There is NO time at home and the only way to get it all done is serious maximizing of my time AND delegation.

That is the part I am wondering about. Did God know I would be here and would have to make these choices? Did He allow it to bring about a greater purpose? Maybe it doesn't have anything to do with me...after all...It isn't all about me...[smile].

My daughter has had to go grocery shopping for me, because she is 1) already down the road from the grocery store every day while she is at class 2) only working a few hours a day and last but not least-I absolutely can not squeeze another thing in my day. As of this very minute, I have to write a paper, get ready for a final, register for next term classes, get housework done, rebuild a house, work on wedding stuff, and get prison ministry stuff ready to go...before Thursday (yep, it is Tuesday night). Sleep???? Hmm...no, not much of that going on.

So...my daughter has been getting the groceries. She kept calling me today to ask me questions. "Sausage is on sale, 2 for $3.00. Is that a good price?" "They don't have Mexican diced tomatoes." She pretty much knows what I buy and what I am willing to spend on particular items, but seeing the price of items ("I can't believe how expensive cereal is!!) and having to make the decisions (she chose the $1.99 a box Cookie Crisp)...couldn't have designed a better lesson if I thought and thought and thought. It just worked out that way, meaning, I needed her to fill in. I bet though, God knew all along what we both needed. I have needed her help, and she needed to learn how to grocery shop. [Still smiling]

Time-where is it going?

It is amazing how fast time goes by, as we get older I mean. Somehow I don't remember it going by this fast when I was younger. Is it because we are so much busier? I don't know, but we are busy, incredibly busy. The past two weeks are barely a blurr. I am coming to the end of my first term in the Master's program (as my hubbie just filled out paperwork to check on a new GI bill which might pay for his masters-yippee!). That is our empty nest plan by the way....we are getting our master's degrees, but from there who knows!

These weeks have been full of house stuff, we are tiling and putting up trim, school work, and classroom observations. I find out last night that my professor has moved our final up a week which adds a new pressure to my already packed schedule. Now...have to finish tiling, do a paper, get some observations posted, do a sub folder, study for a final, and just "mom" stuff, all in two weeks. My goodness....not getting any younger and my ability to stay up all night doing homework has come and gone. (Maybe that is why young people go to college-us older people just can't hack it!)

We had a sweet moment this week-one of those treasure times which will comfort our hearts when our daughter flies the coop. She has been suffering from mono and strep for two weeks now. She has barely been able to get out of bed, but has been trying to move around a little, do some chores, and keep up with her schoolwork. Wednesday she decided to go to class to take a test, but couldn't handle the entire three hours, so I picked her up after class. I got there right about 7. I planned on running her home and then heading to church. We pulled up in the driveway, I dropped her off, and pulled back out. About half way to the church, I get a text from her. She is locked out. I turn around to go back home. After all that, church was impossible, so decided getting pizza sounded like an idea. I let her in and ran back up to Papa John's. I came home with pizza (she hasn't really eaten much in two weeks, so pizza was a stretch). We crawled into her bed, along with her dad when he got home, ate pizza, and watched a movie.

We are always busy, hardly stopping to do even the necessary ( I HAVE to take my jeep in today to get an oil change and inspection sticker. Maggie needs shots. We so need haircuts, and let's not even discuss yard work!), and feel guilty when we do (with the obvious demands on our time), but boy was that nice. Not much time left with her, just under four months. We have save the date cards to get out this week and invitations to choose and get ordered. Today, we are picking up her dress. It is sure closing in fast! (I told them six months would go by fast-wonder if it is going by as fast for them. After all, they are younger!)

Moment by Moment

This Saturday we went to our last wedding before our daughter's. Just her and I went in order to represent our family, since we really, really, really needed to work on our house this weekend. I figured that we could attend the wedding, only cost us about an hour, and get right back to work. Jon was over in the morning, did lunch with us, and then he took off to get some of his own stuff done. Steve worked away on getting ready to lay tile, and Kat and I went to a wedding. We get there a few minutes before, I sign Steve and I in, she signs Jon and her in (LOL). I find she is so much like me....oh reminds me....

That morning they were doing their computer class homework while Steve and I were laying blue tile board in our dining room. We could hear their conversation. He was reading the instructions, and she was attempting to follow the instructions. She was so impatient, and he was very calming! Steve and I were nearly hysterical. She sounded just like me, and he sounded just like Steve. I am so impatient when I am trying to do computer stuff, and Steve is so calm and controlled!!!

On the way to the wedding, we were chatting about stuff, came up to a traffic light. At the exact same moment without any forewarning-we both asked "got any gum?" That resulted in a burst of laughter which lasted quite a few moments.

Attending the wedding motivated Kat. She is that much more excited about hers being right around the corner. It also gave us an opportunity to take in the ceremony, what we liked, and what we didn't. We sat with dear friends of ours whose son was sitting right in front of me. In the middle he asked, "when is the food?" I leaned up in told him in about an hour, when all the pictures are done! His face dropped! He informed me that was what he only there for the food. I told him he could come to Kat's for the food, and he wouldn't have to wait till after the pictures, because I HATE THAT! Everyone standing around waiting and waiting and waiting.

It was an ordinary wedding-nothing stand outish. I think weddings should have personality, and there have been so few I have attended that I could see the bride all over it. Too many people to please or appease. Weddings should not be shrouded in conflict-should be fun, fun, fun! I am so thankful that Kat settled on simple, that she only has two bridesmaids and that they are her sweetest lifelong friends, that they chose their dresses and shoes together, that she has a simple elegant taste and has chosen almost everything she needs, that she has personality in abundance, and it will show! She is anything but ordinary, and her wedding will be anything but ordinary!

And....we are getting closer and closer, moment by moment....

Clearing Out

My daughter, who is a sentimentalist/packrat by nature, has started clearing her stuff out to get ready for her marriage. Most everything we own is packed in boxes in our sheds (as a result of our flood and reconstruction.) She has boxes and boxes of stuff she has collected her entire life. Cleaning out is no easy thing for her because each possession holds a special memory that she does not want to let go of!

I talked to one of my friends this past week. I called her because a tornado hit her neighborhood, and I wanted to check on her family. In the process of that conversation she told me about a yard sale her youth group was having this weekend. I asked her if she was taking donations, and they were. Ah Ha...somewhere for all this extra stuff to go, AND we get to help their youth group take a mission trip! Perfect!

The yardsale is today, so Kat and I worked on clearing out some stuff we didn't need yesterday. We spent a few hours going through boxes of her clothes, collectibles, notes and cards, little toys and trinkets. We sat in the driveway with stuff scattered all around us. It was certainly a trip down memory road! The funniest thing was her journals. She stumbled on an old journal from around the age of 12. In it, she was writing about a conversation she had had with Veronica, a "sister" to her for years. Vero had been asking her who she liked in the youth group. Kat said no one, but Vero pressed and asked if she had to live with one of them, who would it be? Kat answered Shawn ( a best friend's brother) because she thought she could handle him, but then she added: But not Joe, no not Joe! What makes that so funny is that five years later at 17, Joe would be her first love. She thought she would be marrying Joe. We all thought she would be marrying Joe. It seemed to have God all over it, but as it progressed, some things became apparent. She became frustrated at his lack of Spiritual leadership, and her inability to do anything about who he was. They came apart at the seams leaving her devastated for nearly a year. The next two relationships she would get involved with would be similar. The guy wasn't firm in his own beliefs and who he was was a stark contrast to who she is. We got through that time of her life, the wiser and the stronger as women, as mother and daughter, and as Christians.

God had a different plan, and His plan is a good plan. I am so thankful it has worked out the way it has. I am so thankful she is with Jon, and he is the right man for her. He is a man who can hold his own, is serious about his own faith and his own growth. He complements her and balances her, and she him. Our little trip down memory lane reminded us of where we have been, where we were headed, and what we needed to clear out. (Not done with the clearing out yet-just getting started!). The journey makes the new life before her so much more real and so much more closer!

These last moments are sweet moments, but sobering. My daughter will be married in a few short months. I won't wake up in the morning with her here. I won't hear her laughter every day or see her eyes sparkle. She is right-I am going to miss her.

Marriage, Marriage, Marriage

What an amazing thing! Our Pastor started a new series last night on marriage. I was so amazed at the timing of it. Here we are about to embark on a new phase of our marriage as our daughter prepares to begin her new life separate from us. She and I will be spending our last few months together learning how to live in a beautiful marriage! Wow! Wow! and Wow! I love our Pastor! I love his sense of following God's leading, because we need this teaching at this time!

He began in Genesis and jumped around a bit-introducing God's plan for marriage and why we should study it. My favorite verse we looked at is in Ecclesiastes.

Ecclesiastes 9:9 "Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun."

His point being that marriage is God's love gift to us. God illustrates His grace in marriage and pictures Christ's love for the church through the institution of marriage. Marriage should be a joyful thing; it is our portion, the best life has to offer. No matter how successful we are in any other area, education, business, whatever....marriage is where it matters! Yea.....so glad for my husband, his continual desire to improve our relationship, his teachable spirit, and his unconditional love for me! I love him! I am so excited....we are ending one phase, starting another, and what a way to launch us into our empty nest-a new perspective, a new look, another reminder on the value of marriage!

Calendar Check

For some reason, I could not sleep last night. My husband and I fought over the space, and neither of us wanted the other to go without sleep! (Are we going to be one of those old couples that can't sleep in the same bed? Goodness...HOPE NOT!).

I woke up doing a calendar check in my head....it is April...UGH. We have so much to do before August, is it even possible!? It is going to take some real effort to keep focused, get stuff done, and not seriously stress over it!

We might of made a little more progress yesterday, but....and here it comes...the excuse. I was feeling a bit froggy and free yesterday so called my sweet hubbie on my way to work. "Honey, whatcha think about going to grab something to eat after I get off work?" After all, our only child here was working ,which left us all alone for the evening. He was game; so we went to one of our favorites, Logan's. I did order something I could bring home to my daughter [smile ;)] While we were sitting there chatting, my hubbie suggested we should run out to see my brother. We hadn't been out there in awhile-ya know, to visit the other side of the family! So we did. To make a long story short, after all that, we came home and watched Open Season with our daughter. I sat there thinking, "Are we really sitting here at 10 pm on a weekday night watching a cartoon movie?"

So much for making progress on the flood repair last night!

A New Road Ahead

This past weekend, my husband and I spent a much needed alone weekend. We have been trying to get away for years, but something or someone always got in the way. No matter how meticulously we planned or said, "This time, we are going!"- it just never happened.

26 years of marriage, and I can only think of one time we went away for any significant amount of time (not just a night) by ourselves for the express purpose of being by ourselves. That was our "honeymoon" after renewing our vows at our 5 year anniversary. We had gotten married in the courthouse the first round, a day earlier than planned because of a paperwork mix up, no real ceremony, no fan fare, no celebration....just got married, loaded up the car and headed to North Carolina to begin life together.

Our little rendezvous in Spain certainly counts as a honeymoon. Sounds exotic, doesn't it, but we were stationed there with the Air Force, so escaping wasn't a major expense! The next 21 years have been full of kids, kids, and more kids. I am a teacher, so kids are how, when and where I spend my energy. I love working with kids. I really do. I love seeing their faces light up when they discover something new. I love the giggles, the mischievous smiles, the look to see if I am watching twinkle in the eye....all of it, except maybe the rebellion. Not sure why our human nature tells us that we think so much more than we do, and that our way is the right way, when so much of the time, time and experience teaches us otherwise!

Now....it is almost time for our empty nest to begin. Our youngest of our three children is getting married in a few short months, and the time will be all ours. This last weekend, I practiced. We went away to a resort for a few days, just me and my honey. We turned off the phones, didn't call in to check on our daughter, didn't let our minds drift to worrying about any of them. We just spent the time together! Empty nest....ready or not....here we come!