Sweetbippy

You do something for more than 21 days and it becomes a habit. Or at least things are supposed to come easier, almost second nature.

Having my husband home and unemployed has become second nature to me in the last 3 months. Just like when he was working, he took the kids to school so I could sleep in {yes, I know I’m spoiled, shush}. 

Then he would come home and we would hang out, or do a project together. Mostly we hung out when he didn’t have meetings or job interviews.  I think our favorite thing to do together was to catch up on shows or watch an old movie on TV that we’ve seen a dozen times already.

We took turns picking the kids up from school and when both of our cars were running, I was free to grocery shop or have a long lunch with a friend. {Yes, I KNOW I’m spoiled, shush!}

All I’m saying is, I got used to having my husband home with me. I thought I would get tired of him being around all day, and there were some days I really wanted to watch a cooking show on TV, but he go to the remote before me. I thought our tempers would flare or I would feel resentment that he wasn’t working.

You know what?

God moves in more ways than just providing for us and hearing our prayers. He gave me such a peaceful heart, that I actually enjoyed spending all this time with my partner and husband. We worked together, talked, laughed, shopped, and parented together more so than we did before. I think God let us have a renewal or a reminder of what was already good in our marriage and made it stronger. Our bond is strong and honestly, if we could get through this unscathed, then I know we are doing this life together right.

Through our faith and covenant with God to love each other for better and for worse, for richer and for poorer, and in sickness and in health, we have come out on the other side of losing our source of income and stability. We surrendered and were blessed.

My friends on Facebook are doing a 30 Days of Thanks and although I haven’t participated yet, I am so thankful. These are just a few of the things I’m thankful for right this very minute.

• A loving, faithful God who never left us, period.
• My supportive family and friends
• My loving children who understood the severity of our situation and
  adapted without much complaining
• My husband who worked hard to get this new job and a new start for our family
• My ability to not freak the heck out at all this change- maybe I’m growin’ up!! Maybe. {grin}
• The cooler weather…I mean seriously! I’ll take 65 over 110 any day!!

 

So, now what am I going to do with all this time?? Well…today is early release for our youngest so I only have another couple of hours to get some errands done. After that?

I want to work on Christmas presents and more organizing of the house. I really need to tackle the linen closet! I’ve been dreading that for a while now. I think it’s time to move the games to another space, but that would mean cleaning out another closet!! Gaaahh!! I need a dumpster!

Also, I need it to not be so windy. I have some things I want to spray paint Oil Rubbed Bronze!

I guess I have a long list I want to work on and with hubby gone, I can get them done and he won’t tempt me to come lay in our cozy bed and watch movies! {Ok, so I was really the one who was the tempter, shush!}

See ya laterz!

 

Love and Productivity,

 

oh and P.S. – I’m already showered, dressed, and have make-up on! All before 8am and I drank coffee! It’s going to be a great day!! jass;dfjal;squeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!

 

Today is a banner day in our house! As of 3:45pm, on November 7, 2011 my husband is gainfully employed! He signed the paperwork this afternoon and will start on Wednesday.

I would like to thank you all for the hours spent on your knees, my faithful and perseverant prayer warriors! I truly believe that God’s timing is accurate and he places people and situations in our life to show us a clear path to Him.

The minute Jon told me he was terminated, I felt this terrible pain of fear come over me. As soon as that came, it quickly went and in it’s place was a feeling of calm and hope. Calm because I knew my God was bigger than our biggest problems and hope because I knew that just because this door was being closed didn’t mean another one wouldn’t appear. I told Jon that we would be ok, and I really meant that. I still believe that this very minute.

I know that getting a job isn’t the answer to all our problems. We still have bills to pay and a budget to meet each month. I think this is an excellent opportunity for us to stick to a budget and live within our means, just like were supposed to be doing. I think if we make a commitment to that, we will be blessed even more.

Thank you to our family for always being there for us! I can’t wait to spend time with my parents and sister at Christmas because that time spent will be full of joy and relief and family.

We are blessed beyond measure and we don’t deserve one bit of it! Thank You Lord!!

Ok, so we might go out to dinner and celebrate so we’ll start budgeting tomorrow! {grin}

 

Love and Cubicles,

I could be a better blogger. I used to be a better blogger (well, maybe not better but more consistent) before I started using facebook . The problem is this: I update my friends and family on my life and it’s goings on far more regularly on Facebook than I do on my blog. Why? It’s more convenient and easier to do on my iphone. With that said, I haven’t really been updating FB all that much these days easier. It’s seems I have lost my "voice".

Many times I have attempted to pen a new post and just as many times I have backspaced until it was gone and closed the window because it seems all I have to write about is loss and pain. I promised myself that I wouldn’t agonize over the negatives of life and become nothing but a whiner.

After my last post in July about going to the beach, we went to the beach. I won’t say we had the best vacation of our lives, because we didn’t. The kids fought every moment they could, I was sick with a lingering virus/throat infection, 2 of the 3 girls were PMS’ing, and we spent waaay too much money on touristy trap things that weren’t even that great.

What I couldn’t seem to write about that vacation was the good memories my kids will always have of the time we drove in the car, listening to my ipod, singing out hearts out and then playing in the ocean. How they got to stay in their own room and hang out (and fight) with each other, the dolphins we saw jumping out of the water, and the seashells we found walking along the beach.

                               

Like some people, I tend to need quite a stretch between events to gain an appreciated perspective on it. I’m not sure why I trip over my own thoughts these days about what to write and how to not just regurgitate my conscious streaming thoughts, but to make them well planned out and interesting. Maybe I should take a writing class. 🙂 Or MAYBE I’m just lazy. Let’s just go with that.

 

So just to catch you up on the latest in my life "The condensed Version", here goes! (Here’s me being NOT lazy even thought I am sitting in my bed NOT eating lunch until this is done!!)

 

July: I cut 5.5 inches off my hair, we go to Galveston, we celebrate the 4th at Kaboom town

 

August: School starts and Jon loses his job (sorry, I don’t have a picture of that)

September: Brenna turns 15, Michael turns 9, Leslie turns an undisclosed age, I travel to Missouri for Leslie’s birthday

 

October: Lauren goes to Homecoming, My Dad’s beloved dog, friend, and my furry sister- Penny passes away, I clean my whole house!

 

 

That’s pretty much it in a nutshell. Jon is still looking for a job. Irons are in the fire and hopefully God will bless us with employment before our money runs out. My family is coming for Christmas, so I am stoked about that!! Yay!!

 

I can’t promise I won’t go another 3 months between posts, but I can guarantee that I will be working hard at updating facebook! 🙂

 

Love and Trick or Treats!

Since I’ve set foot on a Texas beach. The wait is over.

 

When we moved to Texas 14 years ago, I cried. You would too if you saw a tumble weed blow across the road in a rural town that took you 3 days to drive to. Thousands of miles away from the coast you grew up on and a thousand miles away from the lovely coast you just left full of snow, gorgeous salt box houses with wreaths on the door, and the eastern charm of it all.

I made do with what God gave us and I resolved to "like" South Texas after all, it was where we got stationed and there wasn’t anything we could do about it! 😀

One day, we decided to take a drive down to the "beach". I was excited to see the "ocean" and walk on the "sand". When we got there, Jon drove on the "beach!!" I died right there in the car. I yelled, "YOU CAN’T DRIVE ON THE BEACH!! IT’S ILLEGAL!!!!!" He assured me that "Yes, in Texas you can." I soon learned why.

It was ugly!

We got out of the car and the water was brown and foamy and the sand was all streaked with black tar from the oil derricks out in the gulf. And that’s another thing: the ocean is not the Gulf. I learned that the hard way.

When we pulled the girls out of their car seats (2 1/2 and not quite a year) and tired to put them down on the "sand" to walk around, they pulled their feet up and started to cry. They didn’t like the way it felt and I guess looked! I mean, Lauren had an aversion to grass back in California, as she didn’t like the way the pointy blades felt on her bare feet, but I didn’t blame her one bit about the "sand". It was gross! It made our feet sticky and black.

No thanks.

We got in the car and drove a little farther south west looking for some "prettier" "beach", but no luck. We heard if we wanted really pretty beach, we should go to South Padre Island. That didn’t happen while we were there, as we (I was)/ were too busy raising babies and trying to stay sane in a town of 7,200 people and a mall 30 minutes away. This was dire people. I was stuck in country hell. (Love my friends from there though!! smooches!!)

 

So, anyhoo! Back to why I tell this lovely story! (see what happens when I don’t blog much? All these words just pile up in muh brain and spill out when I start typing!!)

 

We are going back to the BEACH!! A real beach! No air quotes needed here!! WhoooHooooo!!

 

Wanna see where we are headed??

 

GALVESTON, TEXAS

Photo Courtesy of Flickr! 

 

Yes…Galveston, Texas! We’ve never been, and we are so excited to check it out! Looks like the beaches are much nicer and not slicked with oil! We’re staying just off the main strand, about a mile at a neat Hotel called the Inn at The Waterpark.

 

There’s Schlitterbahn Waterpark   nearby and Moody Gardens as well. Locally there’s a Flight Museum, and lots of other fun beachy kinds of thing to do! Put Put Golf is on the grounds and a nice looking pool. We are super jazzed at how close we are to the beach and the superawesomegreat rate we got for 2 rooms for 2 days! It’s going to be supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!! Foshizzle!

 

Expect there to be lots of gratuitous pictures and hopefully none in my swimsuit, because no one should be subject to THAT !!  You’re welcome!   Snack shopping and car cleaning outing commences today, so that’s always a plus. Can’t have too many snacks on a 5 hours drive to the beach, don’t you think?

OH and LOTS of Sunscreen!!  It’s supposed to be pretty warm there, but I just wanna dip my toes in the water and watch my precious children build a sand castle. Maybe I’ll get to bring home some seashells and put them in one of my glass jars. Ahhh, the simple things in life. I love it!

 

See you all in a week!

 

Love and sandy beaches,

I admit it. I was a downer the other day. I tend to find the negative in most things before I see the positive. And while I can’t quite see the positive of a clogged sink drain and the need to call a plumber, I can feel a little bit better about it.

How? Not quite sure yet, I’ll let you know when I do!

No, seriously… I feel somewhat better today than I did yesterday and even the day before. It might have something to do with 2 (two, dos, zwei, deux…you get the picture) iced coffees today!! Wheeee! I think I was caffeine deficient!!  That MUST be why I was misscrankymcspankypants. No other reason I can think of, (except no money, clogged drain, and oh yeah, no money). Ahem, sorry. Bright side…

 

…(crickets)

 

Um..yeah. As I was saying!

 

Oh yes, caffeine. It’s a glorious thing. I ran out of Dr. Pepper and didn’t think 1 can a day would make much of a difference, but I guess I was wrong.

I usually don’t like coffee, but iced with milk and sugar is just a wonderful thing, and so much less expensive than Starbucks.

I must be hyped up because I can’t seem to stop talking about it.

So I guess that’s all for now.

 

Oh, here’s the linky to the power juice I made this morning. Enjoy!

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/06/perfect-iced-coffee/

 

Love and iced coffee buzz,

 

Just when I thought we would catch a break from all the repairs and bills our sink decided to back up.

So, last month our guest bath fell apart, the car needed repairs, and various expenses popped up unexpectedly. Oh, and I forgot, 3 of our kids went to camp for a week. Can you say stress??  How did we deal with all these expenses? Well, after our bonuses ran out, (My parents who are generous to a fault-mostly mine)  came to our rescue. Not sure what we’d do without them.

Now our sink is clogged and we have to wait until Tuesday for a plumber. We’ve tried everything we can do, so we’ll be washing dishes in a bucket and using paper plates.

I’m just a girl trying to get through them summer with 4 kids and a hard working husband. Why does our house have to continue to fall apart?!

Why?

So frustrating.

Can the universe just stop throwing crap my way please?

kthxbai.

and to add insult to injury, I’m pretty sure I’ve already lost whatever readers I had before since I haven’t posted in like FOREVER omg!!

I’m not a Mommy blogger, or an entertainment blogger, or really a blogger at all, since I’ve stared at my blog’s homepage for weeks and felt, "Meh. I’ll do it later."

Gah! I can’t even formulate complete sentences. Why do I have a blog again?

 

Ok, well, you get what you get and you don’t throw a fit, so here is all the stuff that’s happened in the last month or so, just to catch you up, since I know you are dying to know how many loads of laundry I’ve done!

 

• My Sister and I flew to St. Louis to visit my Dad. We had a great visit!
  I flew stand-by, thanks to generous friends. (Important to know because I got snowed in during the "SNOW-POCALYPSE of 2011" and thought I might not make it home.)
• I got snowed in in St. Louis because Dallas was being hit by the Ice/Snow storm of the century at the same time St. Louis got 9-11 inches of snow or something like that. It’s all a flurr.
• While I was gone, a bunch of really awesome young adults from the Access group at our church came and cleared our yard of every. plant. and tree. (save for 2 crepe myrtle trees) and even took down our nasty dilapidated patio cover! It looks great and lets in tons of light. (I’d show you pictures of what they did to the yard, but I just now discovered that Facebook and it’s billions of dollar earning creators have made it impossible to right click save on photos now. Even though they are mine and I own them. so yeah.)
• We celebrated the snow-pocalypse of 2011 with almost a whole week of snow days off from school and I went crazy while they were all stuck in the house. The end. Just kidding, more stuff happened in Feb.
• I made a fancy feast of food for Valentine’s Day! Pasta with "Love sauce", salad with red pepper hearts (yes, I cut the red bell peppers in to heart shapes) and red velvet cupcakes (I bought) with hearts (I made) and fresh chocolate dipped strawberries! (I made those too, because well, I rock!)  It was delish!
• I went to a baby shower, a valentines day party, and 3 kinds of dip all in the same weekend!
• I got my hair cut. 3 1/2 inches off! 

• I felt the calling of reviving our Women’s Ministry at church. Still figuring what God wants to do with it and how He’s going to use me, but I’m excited to see us grow!
• Went last weekend to a Women in Ministry Conference and came away with a fresh outlook and vision for what our ministry could be!
• Had a great time driving through the fog with my friend Andee, singing songs from my iPod and eating twizzlers!
• My three oldest kids had a great weekend at FUEL ( a discipleship event) at church a couple of weeks ago. I got to spend quality time with Jon and MJ. Gelato was consumed. Oh and pudding. but not at the same time, eww. 
• Cooking every night for the last 2 weeks because gas prices have us over a barrel. Get it? barrel? gas barrels? ha. anyway, GAS IS FREAKING EXPENSIVE!
• and cooking every night makes me tired. and the dishes! don’t get me started. I’m allergic.
• Taking care of sick girl at home with strep and this morning my oldest boy says his throat hurts. I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop. Wheee! This is fun!

 

So, that’s pretty much the highlights of the last month+. You’re welcome. I knew you were going through withdrawals.

Now if I could just get motivated to blog the rest of my summer trip to Europe from LAST YEAR, I would feel more complete. 

So I leave you with this.

The picture I wouldn’t let my Sister show ANYONE, but the one that makes her laugh the most. We were mid-primp when Kurt snapped this baby. I was fixing my hair, NOT saying "Hallelujah!" and my Sister seems to be bringing out her inner Queen, "I do say, this is a lovely day for a picture!"

 

So there you go. Until summer, I bid you adieu.

 

Love and underachieving,

PS. Loads of laundry = 5