3 Years

Who knew I would be this neglectful. Reading Melissa's blog sent me over here. I never really got into this but maybe it's time.

The girls are on Spring break and I've got some Bible study to make sure I keep up with. It's easier to do when I'm chauffeuring them around to classes and have to wait. I'm not all that great at self-motivation. But challenging the youth to having a daily quiet time means I have to make sure I set aside the time whether or not I'm chauffeuring the girls. I've committed to 7:30am everyday so we'll see if I can keep that up.

Can't I just stay in blurkerdom?

I'm trying to bring you out of blurkerdom by tagging you on my blog for a meme that's going around. :-)
Mark

Somebody turn that noisy alarm off!!! Oh, it's you, MTW. *groooan and stretch*

All right I'll play. ;-)

1. Pick up the nearest book (at least 123 pages)
2. Turn to page 123
3. Find the 5th sentence
4. Post the 5th sentence on your blog

5. Tag 5 people

This is from "Little Children" by Tom Perrotta. I bought it last week so I would have something to do on my weekend retreat at Lopez Island. I typed the 3rd sentence because there were only three. It was the last page of the chapter.

"I think we need to talk," she said, but to his immense relief she backed out of the room without another word, pressing the door shut with the gentlest of clicks, not unlike the sound your tongue makes against the roof of your mouth when you think something's a shame.

I have no idea who has already been tagged so ignore if you already did this.
I tag - MM, Frodo, Cyg, MCatt, Tkit

Nothing

I have nothing to say. How very odd.

Scrapbooking

Boo's post inspired me to look at some of my favorite stuff and put it up. I miss scrapping and I need to find an outlet sometime soon. I have too much stuff and too little space to do it at home. But I may have to schedule myself a marathon weekend and kick my hubby and little darlings out for a few hours. hmmmm..... that just may be an idea....

The Long Winter

It's been a really long time since I've posted and so much has happened. I think I'll fill you in by points.

• Not too long after seeing Kim (from my last post) our family traveled to Washington for my brother's wedding and for the OT peep meet. My mom flew up from Texas and rode with us in the van. We brought our older daughter along for the weekend. We got there safe and sound. My sister, her husband and her daughter drove up with their RV from Texas. I made the cake at home and froze it for the trip up. It turned out great and my brother and his wife were very pleased with it. My sister found a heart-shaped rock down on the beach right after the ceremony. My brother and his wife will cherish it for a long time to come.
  

• While we were there, DH decided to call the Washington office of the company he works for to see if they had any openings for kitchen designers. They were very eager to talk with him and set up an interview for the following Friday just before the peep meet.

• After the wedding weekend we traveled to Sequim to stay with our friends. Some of you may remember reading my post about them. If not, here's what happened a couple of weeks before the trip:

Part of our plan was to spend time with dear friends in Sequim. We know them from when we lived in Tucson. Karen, the wife, was a mentor and friend to me when I was a young and struggling single mom. Tom, the husband, was a very tall teddy bear of man with a sweet, kind spirit. They are both spiritual giants in my mind and showed me time and again what it meant to be a Christian mother and wife even before I would meet and marry my DH.

Tom gave me away at my wedding and they were among the first people to see and hold my second child - my first child with my DH. I haven't seen them in about 8 years.

I got a phone call from their daughter this morning telling me that Tom died last Saturday of a pulmonary embolism. He was 63 years old. They were in Fiji on a missions trip and had finished with their work. They were taking in the sights before returning home. They had spent the whole day sailing and when they returned to their room for the evening he went very quickly.

I know where my friend is and I rejoice that he is there. But I am sad for his wife, children, grandchildren and friends. He was a dear man and he will be sorely missed. I'm sad that my two youngest children won't have the opportunity to meet this gentle man.

• We spent the week in Sequim, the first night was with our friend. After that we stayed in a hotel and visited her everyday for breakfast. We went to Lake Crescent, Marymere Falls, Port Angeles City Tour, Hurricane Ridge to see the mountain glaciers, and berry picking. When we were in Port Angeles Jane fell and split her chin open so we had to take a tour of the local hospital as well. What fun!

• On Friday we traveled to Bothell for Randy's interview. That went very well and we decided to wait and think on it for the night and consult with a couple of family members. After the interview we headed to downtown Seattle to meet with OT peeps. That was so much fun. I walked down to the Lush store with Mystic and got my first taste of Lush. It was luscious! We had a great time visiting with everybody.

• In the morning, we went to the zoo with Mystic and her DH and had a great time. After that, we went to Bothell because the owners of the business wanted to meet me and ask me if I had any questions. I had a few for them. We told them that Randy would accept the job! WOOO - HOOOO! We headed over to Catt and Jimbo's house after that and had a splendid evening of eating, visiting, hot-tubbing and sharing a few drinks (some of us abstained).

• On Sunday morning we headed back to downtown Seattle to see everybody one last time before hitting the road for home. My mother and older daughter had flown home the week before. We drove into California and spent the night in a hotel. In the morning we took some time to meander through the Redwood Forrest. Randy and the girls had never been there and it had been many years since I had been there. It was magnificent.

So now we're up to the moving part. :-)

• We got back to Hayward and immediately began packing. Randy's current boss had specified that he had to give 30 days notice so that helped us a lot. My first order of business was to look for an apartment long-distance. I finally found a place after about a week and we got all the paperwork done and the deposits paid. We had a long round of going away dinners. It was so sad to tell all of our friends good-bye but they were so happy for us and sure that we were fully in God's will. Our church gave us a lovely going-away luncheon on our last Sunday. They also gave us very generous cash gift that helped with the move. My pastor's wife (one of my best friends) crocheted me a beautiful afghan with lovely rich colors - gold with deep blue, green, and red. It is a bright spot in our living room and I think of her every time I see it.

• So here we are in Washington. The first few months were very hard for me and I was afraid I was sinking into depression. Here's something I sent to a good friend in an email;

Maybe the weather a little bit but I don’t think I really mind it. It just seems that we’ve had a few setbacks since we’ve been here. Randy’s job isn’t all that he would like it to be but we know that takes time. We’ve gone a few rounds with the new insurance company and some of that has weighed heavily on my mind. Randy broke his elbow a few weeks ago in a bicycle crash – he’s okay. He’s not wearing a cast per doc’s orders but he can’t ride his bike for a while which leaves me without a car on a daily basis. I take him to work now and again when I have things to do but we can’t do that every day or even very often because gas is so expensive. Homeschooling has been a bit of a challenge because the school district requires so much paper work from the parents that it’s ridiculous. It can be a little overwhelming for someone with ADD. I’m homeschooling through the school district’s Home School Resource Center. And I guess I’m just a little lonely. I had good friends in Hayward and was very involved in the church. I met with friends on a monthly basis to scrapbook.

On the plus side: I think it’s beautiful here – just haven’t had much opportunity to get out and experience the beauty. We’ve found a church that we like a lot and are already getting involved. We started BSF (Bible Study Fellowship International) almost immediately after we got here and that’s been encouraging. I really like my apartment. The girls have made some nice friends with our very nice neighbors – not something we had in Hayward.

A couple of months ago I was reminded from the book of Matthew that God cares for all my needs.

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:25-34

I've also been reminded recently in Matthew 14 that if I am where God has placed me, I don't need to be afraid or worried about the circumstances surrounding me. Jesus told the disciples to get in the boat. When he came out to them by walking on the water Peter wanted Jesus to prove himself by inviting Peter out onto the water. Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. As soon as he took his eyes off of Jesus, he became afraid and began to sink. He cried out to Jesus and Jesus saved him.

God provided this new job and new home for me and Randy and the girls. As long as I stay focused on Him, I have nothing to fear.

Beer Samples

I met with Kim on Tuesday and we went to Buffalo Bill's in downtown Hayward. We each had the beer sampler and Kim educated me a little on the finer points of beer tasting. Contrary to reports elsewhere, I did not get "plowed." heehee We had some yummy jalapeños that started this nasty rumor of my inability to hold my liquor. I managed to get a really hot one and it did a number on me. Whew! was it ever hot!

Conversation was great and we laughed a lot. After we finished stuffing ourselves, we took a walk down B Street and stopped at Starbucks for coffee and frappuccino. We walked back up A Street and I took Kim back to her hotel.

Thanks, Kim. :)

Saturday Musings

I've just been puttering around on the computer making sig pics for folks. I did not expect the response I got when I made that offer - talk about a deluge! I think I'm done with about a third of the requests that were made.

Last day of school was yesterday but the girls will continue to do some work through the summer - math, reading, writing. We went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium on Thursday and it was fantastic. The shark tank was very cool with some huge tuna and huge-mongous sunfish. I didn't know they were that big. Three divers entered the tank while we were there. One was cleaning while the other two kept an eye on the sharks (and waved at the kids). All of the exhibits were beautiful and I'm looking forward to when we can spend some more time there.

I haven't heard much from my big girl. She tends to only call me when she needs something but I take what I can get. She owes us money so it's hard to just call her to pass the time of day without that subject coming up and I'm a little tired of asking about it. Oh well.

We're gearing up for the big trip to Washington in just a few weeks. My mom is going to fly out here and drive up with us. My brother is getting married on the 7th and I'll be making the cake. I need to get busy making sugar flowers so I'm not rushing to do it the week before. I called my friend that lives in Sequim and she offered for us to stay with them the entire week of the 9th-13th. I was only thinking of staying with them for a couple of days and then hotelling it after that. She said that would be silly, that their home is central to many of the things we want to do and we should just make their house our home base for the week. What a financial boon for us! After that it's on to the Peep Meet. I'm so looking forward to that. It'll be very cool to meet some more of the great OT peeps.

TTFN