Chat Group Blessings

I'm convinced there was a full moon yesterday because if anything could go wrong, it did.  But today is a new day! Every day I start a new list of "Things to Do" before the big move and it's so therapeutic to cross off the items that get completed! I love making lists!!!

Krista and her friend Christine finally finished their math project for geometry.  The girls worked tirelessly for the past couple of days and made an amazing castle with a fountain, a pond with adorable little ducks and a resident mouse :o) Check this out...

The clock tower on the castle

 

The pond with ducks

 

 

A side view of the castle

 A close up of Momma Duck and her little duckies

An aerial view of the castle and the fountain in the courtyard

The castle's very own resident mouse

Back view of the castle

The Castle

 I think I've mentioned how I'm marking off the weeks by all the sweet farewell parties that have been given on our behalf, right?  Well, today was farewell event #4 given by my mentor moms and MOMSnext chat group.  I've missed meeting regularly, so today was a treat having our chat group together again (even though we missed Trudi)!!! It was bittersweet knowing this was my last time with the girls before our move.  The lunch was lovely and as usual, Donna's beautiful home was the perfect setting with her birdhouse theme for this month!

I was touched beyond words (now that's saying a lot for me!) at the sharing time.  Our group has an amazing bond that's strengthened by friendship, authenticity and love.  I have been so blessed to be the chat group leader of this group of amazing women and to have the most wonderful mentor moms, Donna Slater and Nancy Barshaw.  I love the women of chat group #2!!! My heart is full :o)

Traveling back and forth for house hunting has been brutal for Krista's workload.  She started her finals today and has been feeling so much stress and pressure.  I feel the same way with everything that's going on and all the things that have to be completed for escrow and the move.  I told Krista that neither of us can go on like this.  We're exhausted and just don't have the strength to get everything done.  But that's why relying on Christ is the only way to get through this season of stress, pressure and the move.

I love how the NLT puts Philippians 4:13.  It goes, "For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength." So, if you're feeling like you're a pressure cooker that's about to blow, remember that Christ gives you the strength to go on and do what you're called to do if you ask Him for help!

He promises to never leave us or abandon us (Heb 13:5b), so ask Him to infuse you with His strength and you will accomplish great things because of Him!!!

"You Can't Know How My Body Feels Because You're Not Me! You're You and I'm Me!"

Sitting here at the apartment with the dishwasher running makes me very grateful for our noise reduction dishwasher at home! This thing is swishing and swashing in one volume... LOUD! Things have calmed down quite a lot in our life.  The steady stream of realtor's and their clients coming through the house in the past four weeks has significantly slowed down to nothing.  It's been great having the house back to ourselves!

The last week has been delightfully blissful because I've had the opportunity to read, read and read! It feels great to be able to read instead of driving all over town and then some while running errands and doing other important things :o) Here's a run down of some of the books I've read....  

1. Where Lilacs Still Bloom by Jane Kirkpatrick is about a strong and determined little known female historical figure which Jane brings to life through her gift of story-telling (I'm a huge fan of her books and even though I may not always be interested in the particular subject matter her protagonist is into, I still get sucked into her stories every time!!!).  Hulda's vision and patience to develop her specialty plants are astounding!

2. Five Miles South of Peculiar by Angela Hunt tells the story of three sisters and the complications of their relationship (you'll love this one, too!) because of misconceptions, distance and hurt.  I love how it ends!

3. Cottage by the Sea by Robin Jones Gunn is a story about relationships and their complexities---a husband and wife, a daughter and her father, a father and his son and a daughter and her stepmother.  This story is so touching and meaningful.

4.  Stardust by Carla Stewart is about one woman's grit and determination to provide for her girls even when circumstances get in the way!

5. Reunion by Lauraine Snelling is one of those stories that will have you tearing up at the end! A surprise discovery, a broken vow and an upcoming reunion adds more stress than one woman can take!

6. Harvest of Rubies by Tess Afshar is a fascinating story set in the Persian Empire that had me mesmerized from the very beginning.  It's about one woman's rise from poverty to being a valuable assistant to the Queen!
  
7. A Wedding Transpires on Mackinac Island by Cara C. Putman is a destination romance that makes me want to take a trip to this charming place so I can see everything firsthand instead of just in my mind's eye!

I'll have my reviews posted in my Five Star Books & More by the Reading Mom newsletter here in early June.  I can't wait to get started on Ann Tatlock's Travelers Rest!

Today, the weather was hot---101 degrees!!! I'm so thankful for air-conditioning in the car and at the apartment! We discovered H Mart, a Korean market and Krista and I felt so sorry for the guys who were BBQing outside! Ugh! Just walking by them was enough to make you feel like you were cocooned inside a heat wave---we couldn't get to the car fast enough!

We came back to the apartment and the AC was a blessing! After an hour, the apartment was quite chilly.  But, Michael, our hot tamale, was trying to convince me why he needed to change back into his street clothes (he had taken a good 2.5 hour nap and was in his pj's).  I told him that it was chilly but he insisted he was HOT! I told him I should check his body temps and he matter-of-factually informed me, "Mommy, you can't know how my body feels because you're not me. It's my body and I know how I feel and I'm hot.  You're not me, you're you and I'm me!"  I loved his logical explanation so he got to change back into his street clothes :o)

This house hunting trip has been so relaxing.  I saw some more houses that were close to being what we need and want (and some that were not even close!) but the "right" house is still elusive.  Here's what we need:  an updated kitchen with granite counter tops and lots of kitchen cabinets, a bedroom for each one of us, 3.5 bathrooms, a room for a study and a finished basement with a full bathroom for all our guests who will be visiting us.  Here's what I want:  a laundry room on the second floor, California Closets in all the rooms, recessed lighting throughout the house, and a Bain Ultra-Bubble tub in the master suite! I'm done for now and I have to make a daily choice to trust that God will open up the right home at the right price in His perfect timing! Even though I had hoped to have found something by now...! 

To be honest, sometimes, waiting on God's perfect timing can be terrifying---especially when I think of the verse in 1 Peter 3:8 that says this:  "But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day." Eeks! Could it take that long to find a house?!?  

But before I psyche myself out with my far-fetched imagination, I need to get my brain back in control and recall all the things God is doing and has been doing in the life of our family!  God continues to remind me through Ecclesiastes 3 (using the NLT), "For everything there is a season,     a time for every activity under heaven."  

And when He's ready for us to move out of our temporary residence (we're thankful we found a great chiropractor nearby because these beds are killin' our backs!), He will bring the right house to our attention.  

He'll do His part while I do mine...Trust. In. Him.

Too Much Pepper and Other Costly Mistakes!

I confess my brain has been on hiatus since returning from Illinois! Here are a few examples...

1.  I left my flat iron in Illinois...aaarrrhhhgggghhh!!! My hair has a life of its own so a flat iron is desperately necessary...!!!

2.  I over-peppered the chicken soup tonight nearly taking out Michael's tonsils...! When your throat begins to burn like it's on fire after only taking one sip, you know you've grossly miscalculated the "dash" of pepper part of the recipe...!!!

3.  I forgot I hid the plastic pitcher of cooking oil in the oven and turned it on to 375 degrees to preheat.  After 10 minutes, I started smelling something suspiciously like plastic coming from the oven...   EEKS! Nothing like burning down the house while it's in escrow, eh?!?

4.  I went to turn on the printer so I could scan a document and then received a phone call where I had to run upstairs to get something.  By the time I came back downstairs, I started working on the computer and forgot I had originally intended to scan my document.  Duh.

I'm sure there's been more "incidents," but I'm too tired to remember them at the moment! 

Last week, my dear friend Karen A. hosted a farewell party for us with our sweet LOMSAA family.  80 of our dear friends gathered around and prayed over us! It was an amazing moment I will lock away this memory in my heart.  Karen had requested everyone write a blessing for us and that night, Krista and I read them out loud to each other.  My heart is full :o)

I am realizing more and more each day (as reality slowly begins to sink in) that we're not just leaving our home, our church family and all our friends, but we're leaving a piece of our hearts here.  I don't even want to start crying because I may not be able to stop!!! WWWAAAAHHHHH

But the good news is that we hope to find a home with a nice finished basement (with an extra bedroom and full bathroom there) so we can host all our friends when they come visit us :o) And maybe, one day, all the girls in my monthly Girls Bible Study will be able to come and stay with me for the ultimate sleep over...! One can always dream, right?!?

Aren't new beginnings so exciting?!?  I am excited about the new relationships we're going to develop and I'm excited about getting plugged in at church! I'm looking forward to getting connected to a new church family and seeing what God does in the lives of our two children and their friends!

In James 4:14, we're reminded that our lives are just a wisp of vapor (a puff of smoke, a mist) that is visible for a little while and then disappears into thin air... So, I encourage you to invest your life and resources in people and not just in stuff.  I can promise you that in the end, you won't be wishing you had more stuff. 

So, love God and love people.  The Amplified Bible's version of Micah 6:8 puts it very simply:  "He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, and to love kindness and mercy, and to humble yourself and walk humbly with your God." 

Imagine what our world would be like if the body of Christ put that verse in action!!! It starts with you.  And it starts with me.  Let's do it!!!

Happy House Hunting Day

Today the kids and I saw a better selection of houses.  Although we haven't found "the one," we're getting closer :o) Krista has been such a trooper---Michael has been barging in her personal space and antagonizing her by touching her arm, her leg, etc. while they're in the back seat of the realtor's car and in the apartment (she's at that stage where she doesn't like being touched)!

But Michael has been a trooper, too.  We saw 8 houses today and he made it! His times to eat have been mixed up and he's been missing those nap times that he still needs.  And, being in a new place is always a challenge.  I'm very proud of both of our children adapting so well.

The other day, Michael and I had a very interesting conversation.  It went like this...

Michael:  Mommy, do you know what I'm going to be when I grow up?

Me:  What would you like to be when you grow up, Michael?

Michael:  A Ninja. (Now that's a new one I haven't heard before!)

Me:  And what do Ninjas do all day, Michael?

Michael:  They destroy all the bad people, mommy.

Me:  Isn't that messy work?  What do you mean by "destroy?"

Michael:  Mommy! You know! Just get rid of all the bad people and then they'll be gone!

Me:  And then when you're done getting rid of all the bad people, what will you do?

Michael:  I'll be a Medical Director and then you can travel with me to all the air-conditioned places (no wonder he's my favorite little boy!!!).

Me:  I like the sound of that!

What a hoot! I love our conversations!!! Both kids have me laughing throughout the day!!! Well, it's been a mini vacation for me these past few days.  I haven't had to drive back and forth to school or the rink! We've been able to stay put without having to leave because our house is being shown.  I brought three books and finished two of them. 

I loved The Welcome Committee of Butternut Creek by Jane Myers Perrine! It's set in a cute little town where everybody knows your business.  The Widows are determined to play matchmaker and their not-so-subtle ways of matchmaking are hilarious! Then, Beth K. Vogt's Wish You Were Here is a great story about a runaway bride.  Allison Denman has to face her painful past and figure out what she wants.  Both reviews will be in my June edition of Five Star Books and More by The Reading Mom.  I started reading Five Miles South of Peculiar by Angela Hunt and hope to finish it on the airplane.  It's been so nice to have the time to sit and read again :o)

I forgot to tell you that yesterday in church, Michael leaned over and whispered to me, "Can we go to Heaven together, Mommy?"  Isn't that sweet?!?  I had to tell him I would love to but only God knew the answer to that.  I love that he understands that Heaven is with God and everything is going to a gazillion times better than we can ever imagine!

In the Amplified Bible, Revelation 21:4 goes like this, " God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more, neither shall there be anguish (sorrow and mourning) nor grief nor pain any more, for the old conditions and the former order of things have passed away."

Isn't that comforting? I don't know about you but I'm ready for that glorified body now! How about you?!?
 

Happy Mother's Day!!!

We were visiting Willow Creek North Shore this morning and today was their last "Celebration of Hope" series where guest speaker Nicholas Kristof was being interview by Sr Pastor Bill Hybels about his book on the injustices around the world, human trafficking, etc.  In the middle of it, Michael leaned over to me and whispered, "I'm glad you're not dead or hurt in the hospital, Mommy."  I nearly laughed out loud because it was so random but he was so serious that I was able to keep my laughter in check.  It was not your average "Happy Mother's Day" greeting :o)

This morning was extraordinary.  We had breakfast with new friends, Linda and her three kids, Michael, Nicholas and Sara (we met Andrew, Linda's husband at church later).  What amazed me was that after breakfast, Linda had her sons bring over 2 big bag of groceries so we wouldn't have to worry about going out and getting stuff while Jacob was in Berlin!  I've heard that people in the midwest are friendly, but being the recipient of such kindness and thoughtfulness just blew my mind.  Oh, did I mention this is the first time I've met Linda?!?  We had exchanged a few emails through a friend of a friend but this was our first face-to-face meeting!


After church, the kids and I had the most amazing dip with our sweet potato fries from Yard House.  It was Bacon Maple dip and it was to die for!!! I'll have to google it and see if I can find a recipe for that now.  It's very addictive!!!

Tomorrow, the house hunting adventure continues.  I can't wait to see how things turn out!!! I'll keep you posted :o)

I'll leave you with a verse from Proverbs 31:30 using the Amplified Bible version...
"Charm and grace are deceptive, and beauty is vain [because it is not lasting], but a woman who reverently and worshipfully fears the Lord, she shall be praised!"

Happy Mother's Day!!!

House Hunting Blues

We arrived at 2am and didn't sleep til after 4am! Then, Jacob left for work and I noticed it was 6am.  Ugh! My body was protesting but it was the perfect time to check out our temporary place and get online to catch up on my emails.  And then the adrenaline hit me because I knew we were going to begin our house hunting adventure at 10:30am!!!

I had been doing some research in the past couple of weeks and found about 10 potential listings we wanted to check out.  Then, Krista and I stumbled upon 2 listings that could have been "the one!" I couldn't wait to see these two houses in person!!! We loved the layout of both houses, the room sizes and the overall look of the exterior and the interior, too.  I was thinking that today could be the day we found "our house."

Reality Check... As we went through the listings that I had previously marked "maybe" from the ones submitted by the realtor, I was underwhelmed.  I was busy taking notes and listing the pros and cons of each listing we saw and my list of cons far outweighed the pros! EEKS! But I was optimistic and excited because we were getting close to the last couple of listings and I was eagerly anticipating seeing those two houses.  And that's when the realtor told me that both of those houses were now "under contract."

I felt my heart sink as I felt waves of sadness hitting me all at once.  I was so sure one of these two houses was part of God's plan for us and I was blindsided by the reality that neither one was "the one." I was finally still enough (as opposed to running around trying to fulfil a gazillion-and-one things like I have been for the past 4 weeks!) to process the reality that we were leaving wonderful friends, a church family we love and our lovely home (which, by the way, is not perfect but the layout was better than what we saw today!) to relocate to an unfamiliar area with houses that came with basements that smelled...well, like a basement. And not one closet in any of the master bedrooms had professional organizing systems like our home does! I mean, what's up with that?!?  Can I just say that pictures and videos of homes on tulia.com and zillow.com look really different in person?!?
  
As my tear ducts threatened to unclog, the turmoil inside me intensified.  I mean, to me, this whole move is an adventure, but suddenly, I was ready to stop the adventure and go back to what we had---a comfy and familiar life in soCal! All of these feelings came rushing into my heart as I sat in the front seat with the realtor while she was driving us to grab a bite to eat.  Of course, I held my tears of disappointment in because I didn't want to explain to a realtor I just met in person why I hated all the houses we just saw!

And then, while getting out of the SUV in the parking lot at Panera Bread, God spoke gently to my disappointed and bruised heart.  Is God in control?  Well, duh! Can I trust Him that He has something better than what I can even imagine?  Oh yeah.  I can choose to trust Him... or not, right?  And, so, I chose to end my pity party (got some cheese to go with my whine?!?) and cling on to God's promises that God has a plan. 

I actually came home excited knowing that God has something even better for us somewhere out there in house listing land!!! Trusting God is a choice we have to make every time when things don't turn out the way we want or expect.  I had to seek God's forgiveness for doubting Him this morning! And, God reminded me of these verses in Proverbs 3:5-7 and here they are from the Amplified Bible... (thank you, BibleGateway.com!)

⁵ Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding.

⁶ In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.

⁷ Be not wise in your own eyes; reverently fear and worship the Lord and turn [entirely] away from evil. 

When you keep your eyes on Jesus and have your feet planted firmly on His truth, your world won't turn upside down when things go south :o)

May edition of Five Star Books & More by The Reading Mom newsletter... HERE!

This month's edition is posted here!!! Click on the link that says "Five Star Books and More" or just go here:  http://fivestarbooksandmore.blogspot.com/p/fiction.html

You'll find my five star picks for fiction, youth fiction, youth non-fiction, non-fiction and family-friendly resources!!!

Happy reading, friends!!!