What It's All About

This week has gone by so incredibly fast ... I can't even believe it is FRIDAY already!?
Last weekend, I was busy preparing my house for company - and stressing out just a wee bit.
As I have said, God did not bless me with the gift of hospitality - however, I want to try to get better at being less introverted and reaching out to others more. My job as a church/school secretary zaps a lot of that desire out of me as I deal with people every day that I work. But I want to overcome!!

I think I've figured out that hospitality is not so much sharing your home as it is sharing your heart. So, with that in mind, I let a family come in whom I have never met - and I was totally surprised that they were more of a blessing to me than I probably ever was to them!

This lovely family - Bob, Kelly, and Jackson - are going to go to Germany as missionaries to the German speaking people. My pastor invited them to come to our church's Missions Conference this week. We had a wonderful conference - and a wonderful time getting to know each other. A big blessing was watching my children interact with Jackson who is 21 months old. I am now pretty much confident that both my children will be a great older sibling to our new baby! My son Andrew was especially taken with Jackson and was very responsible in taking care of him to the extent that he stayed with the family on the 2 days that I had to go in to work- and he worked in the nursery at church twice to help entertain Jackson specifically. They were great buddies.

I won't lie and say that I'm not exhausted & so ready to sleep for about 47 hours after this week. Getting up at 7 a.m. today to make chicken enchiladas for the conference meal tonight (ewwwww, the smell of chicken and chiles that early was not a fun way to start the day!!) and working all day and being at church all night was enough to finish me off - but despite the physical exhaustion, I feel the spiritual renewal from the conference and the excitement these people have for reaching the world with the Gospel!

Show Us Your Life - Wedding Dress

Kelly's Korner is hosting "Show Us Your Life" each Friday (she's been doing this with homes as well - however, my home isn't even worthy to show off. I'm just thrilled when it is clean ... I like my decor but it isn't anything special).

However, I do have a scanned pic of our wedding day on my laptop, so I thought I'd share it.

It was Christmas Time 1992 - the church was already practically decorated so all I had to do was have a florist put up a few candles and burgandy bows! :) I love deep red roses, and they fit in with the Christmas colors (burgandy & forest green - not so much RED and GREEN) that I chose. Sadly, you can not see the GREAT BIG BOW that is sitting on my rear end! I have no idea what we were thinking but so many of my friends during this time had the SAME BOW on their behinds too!!! My dress is so typical early 90s! Sequined top with lace and I loved the scalloped edges of the dress. My veil had little pearls scattered all over the tuille. My best friend wore the same veil for her wedding 6 months later.

Even though we are Baptist, we got married in my aunt's pretty little country Methodist church by a preacher named Kim (yes, he was a man!) in a tiny town in East Tennessee. I was in transition at the time (just graduated college in May, was living with my grandma after my grandpa had died - and Dan had just gone active duty with the Army and was living in California), and my "home church" had just called a new pastor who I didn't really know. It was a perfect arrangement for the time.

We look so young! I had just turned 22, and my husband was going to be 25 in few days after the wedding. We were also SO thin!!! Ha! This was the least I had weighed ever in my life - I think my dress was like a size 6 (that's thin for a sturdy, German girl!), and my husband had like a 30 inch waist! Alas, it is no longer so. BUT we are happier now than we've ever been - and I wouldn't trade thin for the years of experience and love I have lived since our wedding day!

May I Just Say:

I. am. tired.
I worked Wednesday, Thursday, AND Friday - and I'm a whimp! I haven't worked 3 days in a row in a long time! PHEW!! And with school starting soon - as in 3 1/2 weeks or so, things have started hopping, as far as needing to get stuff done & updated. Our school is getting a new building with several classrooms and a GYM, which my husband has been helping with painting and such (not so much as some of our staff and church members though) while doing his regular job of keeping everyone somewhat happy, interviewing perspective students, and planning the new sports schedule for our upcoming school year.

My kids have been at their grandparents' house all week - and after having them at camp last week, I sure miss them. I get them back tomorrow and can't wait for the interruptions, chattering, and even the bickering that will return to our very quiet home. Dan and I have been too busy and tired to do anything too special while we've had this week with just the two of us ... but we did have a date tonight. We went grocery shopping at Aldi's! Ha! He did take me to eat at Steak & Shake so you can't say we've totally lost all the romance. OH - and we went to the Goodwill, and I got 3 more baby items. I'm still a little leary to buy GIRL clothes, but for now I haven't invested too much so it's no loss if it turns out to be a boy!

I want to write more exciting posts - but this is life at this time. The daily grind isn't exciting - but there is something comfortable and fulfilling about the day-to-day with the people you love :)

My Elephants!

So, today I got over my "I'm not worthy" attitude - and got to work! I didn't even get up at 4 a.m. like my "perfect" friend Lori - ha!! And I appreciate the little pep talks I got to remind me of what is truly important.

My guests next week will be staying in my son's room - and since the room was overrun with Lego's, Army men, and books, I tackled it first. I couldn't have my son have a clean room & not do the same for my daughter - so I cleaned hers too. When I say "clean," I mean clean out - get rid of stuff, organize, and clear off a few cluttered surfaces.


AND best of all, I ended up with 2 big bags of garbage ... and lots more stuff to take to Goodwill: The result was a cleaned out closet with a few EMPTY PLACES ... and a basketball hoop on it in case the guests want to shoot a few baskets!!

My daughter's closet wasn't so easy to empty out ... she has SO MUCH stuff that I can't bear to throw away, especially now that I know we are probably having another girl. Thankfully, I also found a rubbermaid container of my FAVORITE baby outfits that I saved - and there were a few girl things - yeah!

Speaking of a baby girl ... I finally broke down & bought a little sleeper I found at our Goodwill. My first baby purchase. Even if it is not a girl, I only spent $0.70! :)

Tomorrow I go back to work - and in the evenings, I will continue to work on my other elephants - and I will NOT be stressed out any longer. :)

Time Management

Where does the time go? Why does it seem to go by so fast the older you get - or is it just me??!

Right now I am feeling a little overwhelmed by my lack of time - and I actually have MORE time right now in my life than I've had in the last 6 years! I think I've forgotten - or maybe I never knew - how to manage my home, my family, and my life - plus still work a part time job and participate at church functions!?

On thing about reading blogs is that I read so many where these amazing women are doing so many amazing things - and well, I am not. Or I don't even know how!? I know there is even more to the story than what they present on a blog - their houses probably aren't always as clean and neat as the pictures they show - and they might cook Hamburger Helper on occasion too - but it just doesn't look like it.

So, since I'm off on a Monday - which rarely happens - home ALONE - my kids are with their grandparents, my husband is at work ... I am determined to get organized. I guess I just realized that the new school year begins in 4 weeks (and I have SO MUCH to do to prepare for it at work), I'm having company all next week (our church is having a Missions Conference, & we are housing a family with a 21 month old - friends of my parents - missionaries to Germany). AND I'm having a baby in less than 6 months!!!!

What to do first?!! What are my priorities?? And what can I let go?? Have I mentioned before that I am NOT one of those high energy people-people who thrive on action, non-stop activities, and being involved in everything - PLUS God did not bestow the gift of hospitality (to include COOKING) upon me. Today I'm feeling just a little inadequate. I know "I can do all things through Christ" - and I guess that is where to start, to seek what HE would have me do first.

And so at 11 a.m. (yeah, I'm also not a morning person; I've been up for a few hours, just haven't moved very far), I am determined to get dressed, get busy, and get it together!! If you have any tips for me, leave me a comment. Thanks, friends!

PS I can just hear my friend Tami saying, "You eat an elephant one bite at a time." :)

If You Love Something ...

... set it free. If it comes back, it is yours.

I guess my kids are MINE! They are back from camp. Everyone is safely tucked in their own beds now - and I'm working on stinky, damp camp laundry because tomorrow my kids are going to their grandparents' house for a few days. I am not ready to give them up again, but this is the only time they could have them stay before school starts again.

This week was harder on me than I thought it would be. I was sure I'd enjoy my free time, my "me" time - and get a lot done. Instead, I sat on the couch or on my bed a lot and read and scrolled through pointless TV channels (it is true that there isn't much GOOD on tv these days). I was restless and aimless - unfocused and unsettled.

Dan didn't call me on Thursday - and he truly was continually busy with his campers. However, this morning he called and said Anna had gotten sick in the middle of the night on Wednesday. I don't know why - but it really made me want to cry. My baby was sick, and I wasn't there to help her (not that I enjoy cleaning up throw up - but she's MY baby). I am so incredibly thankful for the wonderful counselor who took care of her - got her showered, washed her bedding, etc. And thankfully, it wasn't a stomach bug - probably just something she ate or just being sunburned and over tired. She was fine the rest of the time - well, except when her leg started bleeding in the pool, and they had to make sure the area was clean again before the kids could get back in the water (sigh). No one will want to be the girls' sponsor next year if my daughter goes back to camp! :)

(Oh and as a side note: Andrew's team - the loser Indians - LOST the entire camp competition, as true to their name. BUT my son came home smiling anyway. Good for him!)

My husband was able to talk to a few of his campers about the Lord and having a relationship with Him. That is truly the MOST important thing that happened all week as several children accepted Christ into their lives as Savior. There were many kids at the camp who weren't from a Christian home and who ride a church bus each Sunday without their parents. Many of these children have not heard or understood what Jesus provided for them - eternal life! a plan for their lives! and Someone who cares for them more than they will ever understand!

So, lesson learned: I don't have to be a control freak - God is in control even when I can't be. He doesn't allow anything to happen to His children that isn't in His perfect will and plan. I know that - but it's good to see it in action & be reminded. I can trust Him with my children when I can't be there with them, to protect and care for them. I think this thought will become more precious to me each year as they get older and closer to going out on their own.

Checkin in with the Baby

Today I met my new doctor, hopefully the one who will be delivering our baby. After an initial meeting, I was sent to the ultrasound tech. She said the baby was hiding under my belly button - but eventually he/she moved enough to let us see him/her. As the tech was moving the probe around, the doctor came in to check on me, and asked if everything was looking ok - and then looked at the screen and said, "It looks like you got yourself a (....gender...)." And the tech confirmed that yes, it sure was.

I was a little unprepared to hear the gender so soon! Dan and I had planned on finding out in August at an appointment where he could be there with me. In any case, the proverbial cat is out of the bag.

I really didn't want to tell anyone before I told my husband - and he is about 120+ miles away at church camp with the kids ... so it left me no choice but to call my friend whose daughter is also at camp and hit the road for camp with her! The campers were going to be attending the service at the church that sponsors the camp, so we went there for the mid week service.

It was SO good to see the kids. They are sunburned but doing fine. Anna's toe is healing ok; she just sliced a thin layer of skin under her big toe. Andrew says someone stole his underwear & socks so he is wearing dirty socks & undies!! But otherwise, he's having a great time now.

I wasn't really able to talk to my husband very much since he had to stay with the group of boys he is responsible for - but I did get to tell him about the baby :) And since he now knows, I can tell you all:

I will have another ultrasound in 3 weeks to confirm since it is so early yet (I'm at a little over 15 weeks) ... but the doctor and the tech seem to think that

IT IS A GIRL!

Home Alone

My family is away at church camp this week. They have hopefully had a good first night there. My husband is a counselor for the boys who attended, which is good (I get updates from him) and bad (I get updates from him)...



Last night when he finally called, the news wasn't necessarily what a mom who courageously sent her kids off to camp with an optimistic attitude wanted to hear.



For those who know my daughter Anna, her news isn't too shocking. Anna has managed to set a new precedent for this camp's rules. NO FLIP FLOPS except in the pool area. Anna was wearing her flip flops on the way back to her cabin yesterday afternoon and sliced her foot pretty good on a rock! Thankfully, the lady who is the girls' counselor is also our 2nd grade teacher at school and kind of a wanna-be nurse, so I am sure Anna's foot was dealt with efficiently.



My son - who is a 2 year camp veteran - was the most excited about going this year (camp was canceled last year). He was packing almost immediately after we got home from our mini vacation on Saturday, offering to do laundry to get his clothes transitioned more quickly into his camp suitcase. Best of all, this year's camp theme was BASEBALL (American League vs. National League) - and baseball is Andrew's favorite sport to watch and follow (Go Cardinals!).

And besides all that, he was glad that a boy that he often plays with was able to go to camp, making 4 boys total so everyone kind of had a "buddy" for the week.



Upon arrival to camp, Andrew found out the boys were being divided into teams - by age/grade. His friend, who is a year and grade older, went to a group led by Dan (my husband). The other 2 boys are a year younger and went to a team/group together, which left Andrew by himself among kids he doesn't know. Not that he can't make new friends - but he had his heart set on being with his familiar friend most of the time. To add insult to his unmet expectations, the team Andrew is put on is named after the Cleveland Indians, which if you know anything about baseball right now, is an insult to injury for my son. The Cleveland Indians are at the very bottom of the rankings in all of baseball right now - the biggest losers, if you will.



These are the disappointments a mom wants to make go away - to soothe over - and to make "all better". I know it was/is a very temporary disappointment, and no doubt the rest of the week will be just as happy as the last 2 times Andrew was at camp. As a mom, I just hate to hear that it all started out not as hoped for.

I know that we can't always protect our children from every unhappiness - and I know it isn't good to hover and control every area of their lives for them. It's good that I am 120 miles away from my son so that he can learn to make choices that are - hopefully - right. My husband did say that it didn't take long for Andrew to re-adjust his attitude and embrace his new team. These are the mini-life lessons that help us mature and grow, I guess!

I'm supposed to be enjoying my days at home alone - and I am! But I confess that today I was tempted to get into my car & drive to camp to see with my own eyes that my children are ok instead of trusting my husband and the counselors to take care of them. God did send me a little sign that I am supposed to just stay home & pray: the battery in my vehicle DIED!!! How obvious of a sign is that?! :) I wasn't going ANYWHERE! I did get the battery replaced, but I am staying put, enjoy the quiet of my house, praying for the kids who are at camp, letting GOD take perfect care of them.

If We Build It ...

... they will come. And we came - to the Field of Dreams in Dyersburg, Iowa. The farm house & baseball field made famous by the Kevin Costner movie about the son of "Shoeless Joe" were on our way from Dubuque to Dan's grandparents who live in Southeastern Iowa.
I think I've seen the movie - but no one else in my family has ... and now we'll have to rent it to figure out exactly what it was all about! It was a cloudy late morning that we were there - but surprisingly several other tourists were there also - on the field, throwing baseballs and buying cheap souvenier tshirts.

After a brief overnight visit with Dan's grandparents, today we made our way back home. It is nice to be home - but I wish we could have had just a few more days until we have to face reality again. Actually, Dan and the kids will be off to church camp on Monday morning while I go back to the routine of my part time job. I'm hopeful for a quiet week, having some time to get things done at home without interruption as well - like cleaning out my kids' rooms, trying to find a little space to put a baby!

Visiting Another President

After spending an hour and a half at the water park this morning and lunch, we drove to this charming town of Galena, Illinois.

President Ulysses Grant had a home in this town for many years. We toured the home and its outbuildings and a Civil War Memorial nearby.
The grounds of Grant Park were so pretty ~ we enjoyed wandering around, looking at the flowers, fountains, and canons from several wars.

Because we were just a few miles away from the Wisconsin border, and the kids nor I had ever been to Wisconsin, we drove across the border to say we've been there! :)

Dan is back at the water park with the kids - and I'm resting, catching up on reading my blogs, and watching barges go down the Mississippi River outside the window.

The Land of Lincoln & Beyond

FINALLY - we're on vacation - a real vacation - as in pack up the car and drive many, many hours & arrive in a different state! We'll only be gone 5 days and 4 nights - but it's such a blessing to be on a trip with just my little family.

First we visited Abraham Lincoln. My husband - and my son - are history buffs so we went a little out of our way to stop in Springfield, Illinois to see Lincoln's museum, library, and tomb. It was a gorgeous day!

Dan at Lincoln's memorial and tomb. Notice how Lincoln's nose is all shiny - he needs a powder! :) It's because people tend to rub his nose, which keeps it polished. Anna in "Mary Todd Lincoln's Attic" at the Lincoln Museum:
At 8:00 p.m., we arrived at our final destination - Port of Dubuque, Iowa. After sitting in the car for the 3 1/2 hour drive from Springfield, Illinois to Iowa, Andrew, Anna, and I were ready to take a little walk along the Mississippi River by our hotel. Our hotel has a waterpark attached to it, which we'll explore tomorrow - and this is the view of the "Big Muddy" from our window:

And thus ended day 1 of our mini-getaway.

The Pictures for the Previous Post

My friend just sent some pictures she took at Charlie's Holiday yesterday:

Our kids riding the little barrel train pulled by a tractor ~ my Andrew is in the orange car, & Anna is in the green one.

Anna & her friend wanted to dress alike - here they are enjoying kettle corn, waiting for the Air Show to start:


Friends become mortal enemies as they battle it out.






I don't know much about airplanes - but the show was impressive. My favorite was this - some modern jet (an F-15 or 16??) flying with a older World War I or II propeller plane. The jet took off later on its own with afterburners and a lot of NOISE. Happy 4th of July!

Where Have I Been?!

Well, it's been a while since I wrote a blog entry - but even though I wanted to commit to writing EVERY DAY as an exercise in composition, I have found it better to just not say/write anything if I don't really have anything worthwhile to say! Hence my little absence in the Blog World this week.

Now, however, I am ready to catch anyone remotely interested up on my life. Anna is feeling 100% better - and she was actually swallowing without pain by Tuesday morning! Praise the Lord for medication & the "inventors" of antibiotics. I am so thankful for modern medicine and those who practice it. What a gracious God who has allowed humans to be smart enough to develop things to make our lives so much easier and less painful.

Thursday was a hectic day. I had to work - and I had a lot to do at work since our office was to be closed on July 3 & 6 for an extended holiday weekend! Plus we are going on vacation on July 7. I didn't get everything done and foresee working a few hours on Monday :( but it's ok. It should be quiet and I will hopefully get EVERYTHING done so I can go on vacation with a clear conscience. :)

After work, we followed some friends of ours for about a 3 hour drive to Northeastern Missouri. We stayed the night with the parents of the husband/dad of the family. They have a fascinating story as the family came out of the Amish Community over 20 years ago, I think. The parents still live on the farm they had while they were Amish - with the tiny house on it that they lived in with 10 children - and a huge barn raised by a community of Amish who came together and built it in 3 days! I wish we could have spent more time talking with the parents there on the farm - and I got some neat insights into the Amish-German language connection that I want to share in another blog entry soon - after I have read some more of my German Bible for myself.

Anyway, today we got up early (as the little girl of the family told me, "My family doesn't sleep in!") ... and we started the day with another experience I am not sure I ever had. We had REAL cow's milk for our cereal. That sounds silly, but to me, it was pretty exciting. I guess I am a city girl when it comes right down to it.

After breakfast and packing up, we drove to our destination for the day: Heartland Ministries in Bethel, Missouri. The founder of the ministries, Charles Sharpe, made his money by founding a successful insurance company - and he used his profits to build a home for troubled children and adults who are taught life skills by working a farm and dairy. There is also a medical clinic, a steak house, a cafe', a creamery store, a Christian school, and a small Bible college. It's like a self-sustained community.

We toured the dairy in which cows are put on a rotating carousel (no kidding) and are milked, washed, and released as they circle around the dairy floor. I've never seen such a thing! The cows seem to take the process in stride.

Then we went over to the main grounds for Charlie's Holiday celebration. There were samples of dairy products (milk & cheese, to include their newest product, root beer milk - surprisingly good!!) to greet us. The temperature today was thankfully not as hot and humid as it has been or else this 3+ month pregnant woman would NOT have made it. There were tents set up where you could sit down - and enjoy the free food (and it was DELICIOUS and plentiful), presentations, singers, and a hymn-sing. There were blow-up type slides and obstacle courses for the kids to play in - antique cars and tractors on display - a rodeo area - and a pretty impressive air show. Overall, it was the perfect patriotic event for small town America.

We got home around 7:30 this evening, a little sun-burned despite the sunscreen I put on everyone this morning -and very tired. But what a wonderful start to our vacation period. I hope not every day coming up will fly by as quickly as today did (sadly, I did not get any pictures!). I want our family time of rest and relaxing to go by very slowly so we can savor every moment!