After Michelle's AWESOME post, with which I couldn't agree more, I had to share:
Me: Ella, you can wear these shoes if you'd like.
Ella: I love these ones! I just wore them yesterlater!
Huh? Looks like Daddy and I have more work to do.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Friday, April 27, 2007
Minor Adujstments.
Okay, I'm back. I have missed you all! Have you noticed my absence? Steve even asked me the other day if, in fact, I still had a blog.
So here it is. We are officially and completely into our *cute* rental. I say cute because it's quaint, charming, quirky, and utterly too small. So, it seems that *cute* is a suitable word.
So far, we have learned some things since having lived here over a week now:
1) It is altogether possible to wash your hands in the sink, sit on the toilet AND wash your feet in the bathtub all at the same time.
2) In order that the toilet may flush all the way, one simply has to hold the handle down for a count of 4. 1...2...3....4. Not 3. Not 5. 3 is not long enough. 5 is too long. 4 guarantees a perfect flush almost every time.
3) Living in town is louder. One may hear two trains, mating cats, barking dogs, sirens, cars backfiring and church bells ringing all in a matter of one hour; specifically, the hour between 3am and 4am.
4) It is not possible to fit our entire family in our kitchen at the same time. Seriously. I mean, I guess it's possible, but certainly not productive or comfortable in any way. With about 4ft x 5ft in which to work, I have become adept at washing the dishes, putting them away, answering the phone, and doing some light sweeping all in one full rotation. If you want to know where I keep my cutting boards, they're under the sink near the cleaning supplies. And where do I keep my pots and pans? Well..some under the stove of course but, yes, I do use that all-too-convenient space IN the stove as well.
5) You always have an audience. With neighbors just over 10 feet to our left and our right and a porch-sitting chain smoker across the street, we never get lonely. NEVER.
6) If you go to plug in a lamp and sparks fly out of the socket, don't panic. Don't continue to try to plug in the lamp either.
7) Smoke alarms placed RIGHT above the stove are a bad idea. Whoever came up with this particular *safety* precaution should be fired. In the name of sleeping toddlers and pregnant mothers who cook multiple times a day, this person should be shot. This house is 700 square feet on each level. There are about NINE smoke alarms.
8) One does not necessarily NEED faucet handles on the outdoor water spickets. Those are for high maintenence sorts of people. No, all one really needs is a metal stump and a wrench. And here I was, always thinking we needed handles.
9) If, before you move into a new place, there has been a *cute* spider's nest full of tiny baby spiders about to hatch, placed by some loving mother spider right at the bottom of the stairs, those babies WILL indeed find their way to the top of the stairs and out the back door. Don't worry. They will. It might just take a week or so. Just be willing to THANK GOD EVERY DAY that they are so tiny.
10) Children are happy in dirt. They love getting to count when they flush, the closeness of the colorful neighbors, the funny spiders going out the door, the *cute* kitchen (which spells very easy access to the fridge any time of day or night), and the sounds of town living. They don't care about sparks, or small bathrooms, or faucet handles. They are happy and content to be wherever our family is. And so am I.
Steve and I moved on Saturday and Sunday, laid sod in the entire backyard on Monday, moved more and cleaned more on Tuesday and Wednesday, had visits from Noni, Popi, some family friends, and Grandma, signed closing papers last night, and Steve just moved into his new office downtown (aka about three blocks away right on the main strip of town) this morning.
Tonight is Friday Night Family Movie and Pizza Night. I couldn't be more thrilled. Wizard of Oz, Mary Poppins and a little cheese and olive pizza are in our near future. This family is blessed beyond words and constantly given things to make us laugh and to make us grow stronger. We just have to remember that last part. Trials which are meant to strengthen us.
God bless and keep you all as well.
So here it is. We are officially and completely into our *cute* rental. I say cute because it's quaint, charming, quirky, and utterly too small. So, it seems that *cute* is a suitable word.
So far, we have learned some things since having lived here over a week now:
1) It is altogether possible to wash your hands in the sink, sit on the toilet AND wash your feet in the bathtub all at the same time.
2) In order that the toilet may flush all the way, one simply has to hold the handle down for a count of 4. 1...2...3....4. Not 3. Not 5. 3 is not long enough. 5 is too long. 4 guarantees a perfect flush almost every time.
3) Living in town is louder. One may hear two trains, mating cats, barking dogs, sirens, cars backfiring and church bells ringing all in a matter of one hour; specifically, the hour between 3am and 4am.
4) It is not possible to fit our entire family in our kitchen at the same time. Seriously. I mean, I guess it's possible, but certainly not productive or comfortable in any way. With about 4ft x 5ft in which to work, I have become adept at washing the dishes, putting them away, answering the phone, and doing some light sweeping all in one full rotation. If you want to know where I keep my cutting boards, they're under the sink near the cleaning supplies. And where do I keep my pots and pans? Well..some under the stove of course but, yes, I do use that all-too-convenient space IN the stove as well.
5) You always have an audience. With neighbors just over 10 feet to our left and our right and a porch-sitting chain smoker across the street, we never get lonely. NEVER.
6) If you go to plug in a lamp and sparks fly out of the socket, don't panic. Don't continue to try to plug in the lamp either.
7) Smoke alarms placed RIGHT above the stove are a bad idea. Whoever came up with this particular *safety* precaution should be fired. In the name of sleeping toddlers and pregnant mothers who cook multiple times a day, this person should be shot. This house is 700 square feet on each level. There are about NINE smoke alarms.
8) One does not necessarily NEED faucet handles on the outdoor water spickets. Those are for high maintenence sorts of people. No, all one really needs is a metal stump and a wrench. And here I was, always thinking we needed handles.
9) If, before you move into a new place, there has been a *cute* spider's nest full of tiny baby spiders about to hatch, placed by some loving mother spider right at the bottom of the stairs, those babies WILL indeed find their way to the top of the stairs and out the back door. Don't worry. They will. It might just take a week or so. Just be willing to THANK GOD EVERY DAY that they are so tiny.
10) Children are happy in dirt. They love getting to count when they flush, the closeness of the colorful neighbors, the funny spiders going out the door, the *cute* kitchen (which spells very easy access to the fridge any time of day or night), and the sounds of town living. They don't care about sparks, or small bathrooms, or faucet handles. They are happy and content to be wherever our family is. And so am I.
Steve and I moved on Saturday and Sunday, laid sod in the entire backyard on Monday, moved more and cleaned more on Tuesday and Wednesday, had visits from Noni, Popi, some family friends, and Grandma, signed closing papers last night, and Steve just moved into his new office downtown (aka about three blocks away right on the main strip of town) this morning.
Tonight is Friday Night Family Movie and Pizza Night. I couldn't be more thrilled. Wizard of Oz, Mary Poppins and a little cheese and olive pizza are in our near future. This family is blessed beyond words and constantly given things to make us laugh and to make us grow stronger. We just have to remember that last part. Trials which are meant to strengthen us.
God bless and keep you all as well.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Remind me...
why I don't let my children play with empty boxes more often again?
This might be the cheapest entertainment known to man.
This might be the cheapest entertainment known to man.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
I know, I know.
It's been far too long since I've made a decent blog entry. It's only going to get worse.
We are MOVING! Yay. So...this means that I might be out of commission for the next week or more. When I come back, I am sure I'll have lots of stories to share about the five of us, our big dog, my midsized pregnant belly, our little rental and the inevitable humor that will have to accompany us.
Many blessings to you, friends!
We are MOVING! Yay. So...this means that I might be out of commission for the next week or more. When I come back, I am sure I'll have lots of stories to share about the five of us, our big dog, my midsized pregnant belly, our little rental and the inevitable humor that will have to accompany us.
Many blessings to you, friends!
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Today, we wait.
Luke 24:1-12
But at daybreak on the first day of the week they took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb; but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were puzzling over this, behold, two men in dazzling garments appeared to them. They were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground. They said to them, "Why do you seek the living one among the dead? He is not here, but he has been raised. Remember what he said to you while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners and be crucified, and rise on the third day." And they remembered his words. Then they returned from the tomb and announced all these things to the eleven and to all the others. The women were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James; the others who accompanied them also told this to the apostles, but their story seemed like nonsense and they did not believe them. But Peter got up and ran to the tomb, bent down, and saw the burial cloths alone; then he went home amazed at what had happened.
We wait in silence, or as much as there can be in a house full of spirit-filled children, and enjoy this one last fast today. A fast from too much busy-ness, too much chatter, too much bickering, from too much indulgence. We wait and we fast because we shall feast very soon.
My faith journey has taken me deeper than I ever knew existed and yet, I can say in complete confidence, I am still just scraping the surface. I cannot believe that just three short years ago I had left our beautifully rich faith. I did not know. I had not appreciated. I wanted Jesus, oh yes, but just not that hard, painful cross that always seems to go along.
I am grateful to be back and I am grateful to see that cross again. Yes, grateful. I am grateful for the indescribably gifts and graces it has brought to my life--to share an ever-deepening faith WITH my husband and my children. I am grateful God didn't give up on me. Not for one moment. He kept putting people in my life who would challenge my reasons for "taking a step back" and "trying out other things". I could name them, but there really is no need. All along, it was just Christ speaking to me through them. Christ saying, "Nicole, my child, I love you. Now turn around and face me. Stop running."
He'll always find a way to talk to our hearts. Always.
Today, I am going to listen and wait. Though we dyed Easter eggs, stocked plenty of goodies for tomorrow and have been inundated with lots of fun bunny dot-to-dots, we will still wait. Easter, I have learned, is about so much more than pretty dresses and egg hunts. That is just the beginning--an opening. A gift. The "gift" is that, through our children's excitement about the "bunny", the "eggs" and the "candy", we are able to relate it all back for them to the One True Gift. That which is Him.
We will wait. We wait for the hands and arms softer than even the softest bunny's fur, the Life that is even greater, brighter, and whiter than those eggs, and sweetness greater than any candy we have ever tasted.
Holy Saturday, indeed.
But at daybreak on the first day of the week they took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb; but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were puzzling over this, behold, two men in dazzling garments appeared to them. They were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground. They said to them, "Why do you seek the living one among the dead? He is not here, but he has been raised. Remember what he said to you while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners and be crucified, and rise on the third day." And they remembered his words. Then they returned from the tomb and announced all these things to the eleven and to all the others. The women were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James; the others who accompanied them also told this to the apostles, but their story seemed like nonsense and they did not believe them. But Peter got up and ran to the tomb, bent down, and saw the burial cloths alone; then he went home amazed at what had happened.
We wait in silence, or as much as there can be in a house full of spirit-filled children, and enjoy this one last fast today. A fast from too much busy-ness, too much chatter, too much bickering, from too much indulgence. We wait and we fast because we shall feast very soon.
My faith journey has taken me deeper than I ever knew existed and yet, I can say in complete confidence, I am still just scraping the surface. I cannot believe that just three short years ago I had left our beautifully rich faith. I did not know. I had not appreciated. I wanted Jesus, oh yes, but just not that hard, painful cross that always seems to go along.
I am grateful to be back and I am grateful to see that cross again. Yes, grateful. I am grateful for the indescribably gifts and graces it has brought to my life--to share an ever-deepening faith WITH my husband and my children. I am grateful God didn't give up on me. Not for one moment. He kept putting people in my life who would challenge my reasons for "taking a step back" and "trying out other things". I could name them, but there really is no need. All along, it was just Christ speaking to me through them. Christ saying, "Nicole, my child, I love you. Now turn around and face me. Stop running."
He'll always find a way to talk to our hearts. Always.
Today, I am going to listen and wait. Though we dyed Easter eggs, stocked plenty of goodies for tomorrow and have been inundated with lots of fun bunny dot-to-dots, we will still wait. Easter, I have learned, is about so much more than pretty dresses and egg hunts. That is just the beginning--an opening. A gift. The "gift" is that, through our children's excitement about the "bunny", the "eggs" and the "candy", we are able to relate it all back for them to the One True Gift. That which is Him.
We will wait. We wait for the hands and arms softer than even the softest bunny's fur, the Life that is even greater, brighter, and whiter than those eggs, and sweetness greater than any candy we have ever tasted.
Holy Saturday, indeed.
Sunday, April 01, 2007
How to truly embrace the "Passion" of Passion Sunday.
This day is interchangeably called Palm Sunday or Passion Sunday. Passion, referring to Christ's passion, or suffering.
How did we experience The Passion today--aside from the profound Gospel and blessed palms?
As we're entering the church for Mass: Casual Acquaintance walks up to Paxton, who tells her that it's his birthday tomorrow. He's going to be five. Then he tells her that he is going to start wiping his own bottom tomorrow. Lesson one: Humility.
At Chuck E. Cheese for his birthday party this afternoon: Well, that's all. Just enduring that whole place for longer than 5 minutes feels like "passion". Lesson two: Mortification
At home: walking into house and realizing that you left it a disaster this morning before church and you still have to clean up AND pack for the trip to Seattle you're taking tomorrow for a couple days. But first? First you really should call and thank all those sweet and precious people who endured "the passion" at Chuck E. Cheese, all for your son's 5th birthday-- at least giving back verbally. Lesson three: Charity.
Ah, what a day. Paxton is growing faster than I thought he would, faster than I hoped he would. But I am also so amazed by him almost every day that I'll take the sad with the amazing. I love him so much, my five-year-old, hand-holding, McQueen- drawing, airplane and train-loving, spelling and vowel-discerning, taller-than-most-every-other-child-his-age, bottom-wiping boy.
How did we experience The Passion today--aside from the profound Gospel and blessed palms?
As we're entering the church for Mass: Casual Acquaintance walks up to Paxton, who tells her that it's his birthday tomorrow. He's going to be five. Then he tells her that he is going to start wiping his own bottom tomorrow. Lesson one: Humility.
At Chuck E. Cheese for his birthday party this afternoon: Well, that's all. Just enduring that whole place for longer than 5 minutes feels like "passion". Lesson two: Mortification
At home: walking into house and realizing that you left it a disaster this morning before church and you still have to clean up AND pack for the trip to Seattle you're taking tomorrow for a couple days. But first? First you really should call and thank all those sweet and precious people who endured "the passion" at Chuck E. Cheese, all for your son's 5th birthday-- at least giving back verbally. Lesson three: Charity.
Ah, what a day. Paxton is growing faster than I thought he would, faster than I hoped he would. But I am also so amazed by him almost every day that I'll take the sad with the amazing. I love him so much, my five-year-old, hand-holding, McQueen- drawing, airplane and train-loving, spelling and vowel-discerning, taller-than-most-every-other-child-his-age, bottom-wiping boy.
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