Retaining trash...

Well...it's day two after the big move.  {I say BIG because even though I filled a dumpster with all the unnecessary clutter of our home, we still managed to fill this house AND the garage}  After sleeping soundly for the second night in a row- IN MY PARENTS' {old} ROOM, NO LESS- I woke WITHOUT AN ALARM {Alex is housesitting elsewhere-no 6am wake-up call!} to the most peaceful morning I've enjoyed in MONTHS...there were no deadlines to meet, no errands that couldn't wait, and no one outside of this house needed me.  There are stacks and stacks of boxes that need attention, but even that didn't bother me.  I started my morning with a cup of coffee and some good reading on the back porch swing. {Also a little strange, because I remember my mom doing this in the very same spot}

{Sidebar...if you haven't already caught on, this moving back to the house I grew up in is taking a little getting used to.  I lived here for about 10 years when I was growing up, but I haven't lived here for 20 years...and even though it's all so familiar, it still feels so foreign.  It's like seeing your best friend from grade school 20 years after puberty.  The old friend is still there, but yet not.   The other night my nephew made the whole family dinner and my parents actually stood at the front door and rang the doorbell!  They wanted to be the first to ring it...but it was just so weird-usually they are on the INside!  Mom and dad thought it was a little strange too, seeing all the same cars in the driveway...almost as if the house hadn't actually sat empty for 1 1/2 years waiting for us.  It's all going to take some getting used to.  I'm sleeping in my parents old room...tell me THAT'S not just a little creepy! 

 My sister says, "at least you weren't conceived there"...shudder.....}

ANYway....each day has been more productive than the last, and by this evening, almost all of the boxes are outside in the garage.  There's still ALOT left to do, but I'm seeing progress.  But, this morning...before anything serious got underway there was another task that needed some attention.  In short, it involved a 16 year old boy, a 2 month old set of retainers, a lunch plate from about a week ago, and 7 garbage bags.  After being informed that he'd accumulate the cost of replacing them, Nick's day started like THIS:

Luckily it only took till the second bag....

This is where it is right now...

he's still trying to decide if he can muster up enough strength to put it in his mouth...week old trash is unspeakable, but even more so when you find pieces of week old spaghetti wrapped up around your retainer.  The orthodontist suggested we buy THIS:

We'll see about that. I say hot soapy water, a good brushing and a long night's sleep should help to erase the trauma of smelling week old food.  I'm counting on it anyway.

Things are rarely dull around here.  It's too bad, I'm rather fond of dull.

5:40am saves the day...

This is precisely the time my eyes opened this morning...

NOT because I planned it that way OR wanted to be awake.  Certainly not because I had gone to bed early and had had enough sleep.  Nevertheless, hard as I tried to ignore the fact that I was awake, I lay there thinking through all the things of this day that need my attention...starting w/the fact that I had forgotten to get the coffee machine ready for Alex who would be waking in twenty minutes counting on the caffeine to get him to work awake.  I made a new decision this morning.  It was to get up and stay up...novel idea, I know.  I've struggled with my early mornings ever since coming back from Kentucky last week -as if it's taken me a week to make up for a week's lost sleep.  My choice to go back to bed after Alex leaves at 6:15 each morning has felt pretty good to my body, but my spirit has been lacking a good filling up.

So...after making a second pot of caffeine just for me, and even though THIS

and THIS

was all I could see around me {and was tempting me in order to distract me}...for the first time in about a week, I enjoyed some alone time reading, praying and starting my day out right.  And, like other times in my life when I've let sleep or let busyness interfere with silence, I wonder why I ever let it go on for so long.  I don't just want silence...I CRAVE it.  But I never realize it so much but when I go without it for a few days...and then I want it all the more.

This day overwhelms me.  I want it to go away and never come back.  I don't want to pack ONE MORE BOX...I don't want to load ONE MORE LOAD OF BOXES IN MY CAR...I don't want to clean ONE MORE INCH...I want to run away from it all.  Far, far away...and I don't want to come back until it's all finished.  {I know, I know...not very logical}  I hate this day...or at least I want to.  And, I'm pretty sure that this is the way I would have felt ALL DAY LONG had I gone back to bed this morning instead of soaking in the silence. 

The silence changed my attitude.  I STILL hate the things I have to do today...I still wish I did not have to face them...but I'm doing them anyway, and so I will choose to do them with joy. I'm making the plan now-at 7:51am, because I'm pretty sure that in about an hour-or less -from nowI will want to choose something different.  

While I wait on an electrician to hang ceiling fans, while I direct the kids in their packing, while I let my mom direct me in my packing {ha!  Seriously, I need my mommy! She keeps me in line and helps me think when I have no thoughts whatsoever!}, and while I go about all of the mundane and dreadful tasks that are ahead of me today, 

this is what I'll be thinking...

"Your strength will come from settling down in complete dependence on me..."

Isaiah 30:15

 And, even though I'm pretty sure there will be plenty of times I forget this throughout the day and will be tempted to complain and hate the process....I'm counting on the LORD to remind me that my children are watching my attitude..my actions..and my hands.  That should be enough to sweep my bad attitude up in a Gladlock and remember I choose joy for this day.

"Your strength will come from settling down in complete dependence on me..."

"Your strength will come from settling down in complete dependence on me..."

"Your strength will come from settling down in complete dependence on me..."

"Your strength will come from settling down in complete dependence on me..."
 

another week closer...

It's been months since we started preparing for this move.  This Saturday at 9 am it will finally happen...I'm so done with it all!  We've spent days this week cleaning up the new house and working on the last minute details that need finished before next Saturday.  Both houses look like a disaster area...but at least the new one is clean! 

Mom and Emma spent hours washing windows

{Merry Maids}

Mom decided the leaves needed to be blown off the roof...

Dad and I did alot of running to Lowes {we're thinking of asking the people at Lowe's if they want to be part of the family}for one of these...

and one of these..

and another one of these...

 and we spent alot of hours on the phone trying to

switch everything over to the new address.  

 I forgot how much is involved in moving...it's CRAZY!  I'm so thankful that both of my parents have been helpful with all of the details throughout the process.  It's a bonus that they know the interworkings of the house...like what to do if the electricity goes off and you can't get your car out of the garage w/the electric door opener, and how to find the fuse that tripped in the bathroom.

Even though it's been a long week and it feels like the process is endless, we have tried to have some fun and laugh a little throughout the long days.  Best laugh of the week goes something like this:

Extreme heat.

A can of "Fix-a-Flat" in my car

alot of yellow rags

and a permanent hole in the ceiling which protrudes to the outside of the car..

making a large "wart" on the roof.

 Yellow goo exploded all over the interior of my car.  The bottom of the can blew off completely, shooting something or other up to the roof, taking off the light on its way and embedding itself into the interior fabric of the ceiling.  A really freakish accident and an absolute mess!  It took about an hour to clean up all of the yellow...and hopefully my insurance will cover replacing the light and inverting the wart.  We marveled over and over how strange it was...it ticked me off at first because it made the car look really crappy!  But, I got to thinking how bad it could have been if someone had been in the car for some reason - it would have killed them!  So, based on that thought, I've decided that it really was funny...inconvenient timing, ridiculously inconvenient, but no one was hurt and it gave us a break from cleaning in the house! 

Be forewarned: 

If you have a can of Fix-a-Flat in your car because you think you're prepared for an unexpected emergency, you might want to store it somewhere else.  It makes no sense, I know -you'd think that is exactly where you'd want to keep it- but inless you carry some kind of lock box in your car, I wouldn't. 

 Ever.

Again.

Today we're enjoying a day of much needed rest...then we're back to it tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day, and the next and the next...the end is in sight, thank the Good Lord!

I'm back...

...but not fully.  I'm experiencing a little hangover this morning...the kind that doesn't go away with a handful of asprin or a cup of coffee.  The one in question is the kind that happens when you've spent a week away from home with 24 teenagers...in a bigger group of 6,500 teenagers...

{Photo courtesy of Amber Jacoby Photography}

...surrounded by strong speakers and leaders of worship music... 

{Photo courtesy of Amber Jacoby Photography}

It's the kind that makes you yearn for another Drink...but of the Heavenly kind. 

I think I'm addicted....
http://lancasterallianceyouth.blogspot.com/

Outta here...

In about an hour and a half I'm driving out my driveway with my middle son-on our way to a huge youth conference in Louisville, Kentucky.  We'll be joined by 22 other high school students and 4 more leaders and drive thru the night to our destination.  Our group will join about 6,500 teenagers for a week of GREAT speakers {HE will be there} and worship music {THEY will be there...and so will THEY}

You can follow our group HERE

I'm not sure if I'll update here during the week, but possibly during some downtime

I'll make my way back here to say hello...

We'll be back next week ready to pack...but I don't want to think about that now...

I'M OUTTA HERE!

PEACE OUT!

Our Independance celebration...

Today is a special day. 

Ever since I was a little girl, the fourth of July has been a special day.  We celebrate our country's freedom at the same location every year.  We take up the same space at the same park and listen to the same orchestra playing the same music..we eat a bucket of KFC {NOT the same bucket, silly} while we wait for the fireworks to start...and we sing the same song.

It goes a little like the one playing in the background right now.

And we do it all for her...

...cause she's the same woman who has taken care of us and loved us all those years. 

I wish now that we had taken a picture of her every year- sitting on our favorite hill surrounded by our family.  If I had them, I would have posted every one of them here..I'm pretty sure she'll thank me later for not doing that. 

Happy Birthday, Mom...we never tire of celebrating you on the Fourth of July...and we can't wait to do it again today....same time, same place, same everything!

Happy Birthday...

Thanks for being you...

and loving dad...

and us. 

The seed of perfectionism and the unforced rhythm of Grace...

"The seed of perfectionism resides within the oldest lie in the book - "You will be like God" {Gen 3:5} Ever since Eve ate the forbidden fruit, women have tried to "be like God" - controlling everything, measuring up to every standard, avoiding failure..." {Jerusha Clark}

Women get hung-up on perfectionism.  We strive daily to live up to every else's standards of what it is to measure up.  Look perfectly, parent perfectly, love your spouse perfectly, do your job perfectly, keep house perfectly, cook perfectly...the constant barrage of messages is, be anything you want, but BE PERFECT, too.  And, if I'm honest, I even feel like I get that message from God..."Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."  {Matt. 5:48}  Right...like I can do that.

If I stop to really think about the pressure the world around me puts on me to perform flawlessly I may end up curled in a ball in the fetal position...too paralyzed to even make an attempt to even exist.  Why do we do that to each other?  Seriously, the people who make those silent "demands" of us are imperfect people...we all are, you know....so why do we bother buying into it?  What makes me value someone else's opinion so much that I will break every bone in my straining body just to conform to their image of PERFECTION?  What makes any of us do it?

I've always looked at the verse in Matthew above as the reason I strive to do what is good and right...because God, too, demands my perfection.  Perfection of a different kind, but still, a command for reaching an ultimate unattainable goal.  I read this this morning:

"What Jesus asks us to do here is not strive for perfection but rather recognize that without Him, we cannot be holy, as the Father commands us to be."

I knew that.  I've learned it a million times and I really and truly believe it with all my heart.  But, I guess I have to relearn it daily.  Even though God commands me to be holy...perfect...before saying it, He knows I can't do it.  Which is His ultimate point...I CAN'T do it, because He wants to help do it through me.  What does the mean for me, really?  today? 

Well...my kids need me.  They depend on my being with it and reliable, they depend on my being who I say I am, they depend on my ability to support them and nurture them{even as teenagers, they still need this} The rest of my world depends on my being prompt and on time, on my following through on commitments...on my showing up physically and mentally.{and truth be told, on my being neat, clean, and somewhat presentable in my appearance}  Everybody wants something from me...but God wants to take the pressure off, and while asking that I attain a certain degree of rightness in my attitudes, actions and thoughts...what He really wants from me is to lay down my tools of the trade and let Him accomplish perfection in me. 

 Until I stop all my striving, because I think that's what everyone expects, I cannot find rest.  Until I stop looking to others ideals and patterns, I cannot find contentment.  Everyone else's idea of what perfectionism is changes...it's relative to whomever is speaking it.  Only God's view stays the same.  It hasn't changed in centuries...we change by the minute.  God's view of perfectionism is this:  "Do what is right, LOVE everyone around you without exception, seek wisdom from ME, look to ME for your answers, stop trying to work your way to MY approval{or anyone else's, for that matter}...and just BE.

  BE WHO I CREATED YOU TO BE."

I'll never measure up...

but I'm ok with that...

"Are you tired?  Worn out?  Burned out...?  Come to me.  Get away with me and you'll recover your life. 

I'll show you how to take a real rest.  Walk with me and work with me-watch how I do it.  Learn the unforced rhythms of Grace.  I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. 

Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." 

Matt. 11:28-30

I still have to live in this world.  I still have to get up out of my chair and perform my daily duties...

but it really is possible to perform them and be at rest all at the same time. 

I'm banking on it...and so is everyone around me.

Every thought captive...

We've packed exactly three boxes.

Actually, the credit goes to my two youngest kids..."Pack a box" was added to their "to-do" list the other day.  I found a book in one of those boxes {yes, I actually looked through the box of books...not sure why I didn't look while still on the shelf, but nonetheless...}  I was looking for something new to read during my quiet reading time in the morning {Notice: Alex getting a job has been VERY good for me.  Both of our alarms go off at 6am and I actually get out of bed, make him some breakfast and pack his little lunch box.  Then I fight the strong urge to go back to bed and instead take a cup of coffee out to the porch to read...if you know me well..you know this is progress...}

Anyway, I pulled a book out called, "Every Thought Captive" by Jerusha Clark.  I have no idea where I got it, or when, but I've never cracked the spine open on it, so it sounded like a good choice.  It's a book for women, written by a woman who has struggled with self-worth, believing the lies of the world and understanding God's LOVE.   As we've been dealing with alot of issues among our girls in youth group in the area of self-worth and understanding how God sees us, this book has come at an opportune time.  {Not to mention there is a certain someone in my house in the full-blown middle school years who has messages of the lying kind being thrown at her daily}

I'm an underliner. 

As I read, I underline...{not to be confused with a highlighter-I prefer not to change the color of the page, just draw attention to what sticks out at me}  Here's today's underlined thought:

"The heart of life is this: to make the LORD and His immense LOVE for you constitutive of your personal worth.  Define yourself radically as one beloved by God.  God's love for you and His choice of you constitute your worth.  Accept that, and let it become the most important thing in your life."

I confess that I had to stop and google the word "constitutive"...I just wasn't getting it in this sentence. 

Constitutive: Making a thing what it is.

I like that. 

Interestingly, as I'm reading this with many teenage girls in mind, I'm realizing that I constantly need to relearn this, too.  How often do I look in the mirror and not like what I see, or do I look at my life and think it doesn't measure up???  Too often.  If I'm completely honest with myself, I define so many things based on the way the world around me says I should. 

 So, then, I guess the world is constituting my self worth...not God.  Will I ever really get it?  You'd think by now I would.

The phrase "define yourself radically by one beloved by God" really stuck out at me, too.  I use the word "radical" often when I pray for my kids faith.  I remember talking with a mother who's kids have grown {and into some very fine Christian young people, I might add}...when I made mention of my appreciation for one particular son who has far surpassed his years of rebellion, her comment to me was this:  "my children are radical.  They were radical in their rebellion, and now they are radical in their faith."  I will never forget that. I want this for my own kids and for the students I work with.  {I'll pass on the radical rebellion, please...but it was the radical rebellion that brought them to radical faith....}   

I'm only on page 33 in this book, and much of it is underlined- to be remembered and passed on.  The subtitle reads, "battling the toxic beliefs that separate us from the life we crave..."  

I guess I'm setting myself up for a good toxic cleansing. 

{Not to be mistaken for THIS kind of toxic cleansing}

PLUS

EQUALS

the end

painting and praying and painting...

I knew it had been a while, but I didn't realize a whole week had gone by since my last post until I saw that Father's Day was the last time I signed on here....looking back I guess this week went by pretty quickly. But day to day it surely was a drag that included a lot of this:

 paint

{help from Ali B}

more paint

{help from Kim B}

MORE and MORE paint

{help from Cait and Ana}

finally...the rollers have been stashed for another time {far FAR down the road}...I've turned them in for a brush.  STILL PAINTING, but this time I'm working on loads of furniture that I've wanted painted for a long time.  Better now, since I already have a bad attitude about paint- might as well get it all in while I'm on a roll {literally...I feel like I've been rolling for EVER}

While we were painting inside, Dad and Nick donated some time with the pressure washer.  Two years of "neglect" can take a toll on a house.  No one has paid alot of attention to the little things in the house while it's been empty.  So, as you can imagine, it's in need of a hearty cleaning inside and out.  The day I wash the paintbrushes for the FINAL time I will probably trade them in for a vacuum and a bottle of bleach. 

But the end is near...I can see it!

Believe it or not, I've actually had alot of solitude while I've been painting.  Other than the days that I had help in the house I have spent alot of alone time there.  {the kids prefer to stay home with a to-do list and pack a box or two, suprisingly they don't like to paint} 

I've had alot on my mind this week while I've been painting.  Some of the typical about-to-move thoughts {deep stuff, like "where should I put the couch?"} but also, some things that have laid heavy on my heart and that I couldn't seem to shake.  So I did alot of praying.  A few issues arose that just didn't sit well with me this week....conflict.  I hate conflict, and even though I know where to take it and Who knows the details and the answers, sometimes it just hangs onto my mind like the plague.  And, so, I pray some more.  I'm praying to LOVE more and JUDGE less...praying to forgive and forget...praying to seek joy and not justification.  And, it's working.  Prayer takes my mind off my own need to be understood and makes me focus on something other than ME.  It's not always easy...frankly, it's easier to dwell on the conflict, but that solves nothing at all.  Prayer seems to be the only thing that keeps my focus where it's supposed to be.  And so I have needed to spend alot of time praying whilst I spent alot of time painting this week.

There is some kind of Divine planning in that, perhaps... 

{My grandparents had this picture hanging in their home...my sister has one now...I just happened upon it on google - reminds me so much of my grandparents and their deep commitment to praying for each of us by name daily.  I wonder what was lost by way of prayer covering on the day that they passed.  It is a great legacy they have passed on...one I can only hope to do half as consistently as they did.}

The week ahead is looking a little familiar.  I'll be getting up and painting again tomorrow...and the next day apparently.  I feel less pressure to finish this painting - it could be completed after moving day- but still...I'm sure I'll be painting, again.  I'm feeling like I need something new to pray about, though...it's a new week and I need a new focus.  So I'm shifting my thoughts in a different direction.  Something a little less heavy.  Next week at this time Nick and I will be packed up for a weeklong trip to Kentucky.  We're attending a huge youth conference with our youth group.  This is the third one of these conferences that I've been on and I'm excited to see what the Lord will do among the students we are taking.  Francis Chan is our main speaker.  I've blogged about him before and my deep respect for his ministry here.  It's an exciting week for the students, many will be convicted and changed by words of Truth.  Our students are hungry for God, and yet not all of them see that He is the answer to their empty searching.  The world is knocking hard against them and some don't even recognize it.  It'll be a refreshing week {for me, too} to leave behind responsibility and conflict and enter into an arena where thousands of teenagers have gathered for the same purpose.  Ten hours in a bus and lots of coffee will start the week off late Monday evening. 

 I can't wait...these kids are awesome!
{I'll be blogging about it here}

Until then, you can find me here

...or there

...with paintbrush in hand.

 "Accept my prayer as incense offered to you,

and my upraised hands as an evening offering."

Psalm 141:2

Happy Father's Day...

Dad...

Happy Father's Day to the one man who consistently has my back.

I love you!

"A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed,

 and yet one of the most valuable assets in our society."

Billy Graham

Summer came...

and ever since then, every minute of my day has been scheduled....

The last 36 hours looked something like this...

One last white-toothed grin on the way to the Orthodontist...again.

A little hooking up to some strange contraption

\

...and ALOT of metal later..

We have signed up for two more years of Orthodontist appointments, payment plans, and sore gums.   But this time, I can see the end in sight....she's the last, and then I plan to NEVER set foot in that office again.  {Sorry, Dr. Albright and fam, it's been great, but it'll be greater when we're outta there.}

The rest of our time has been spent running between two houses.  Painting at one and eating and sleeping in the other.  I don't know how the rich and famous keep up with multiple homes.  Perhaps they have hired help.  All I know is that right now my body is screaming at me.  After painting all day with two of my kids and two VERY generous friends {mom stopped by and went to hacking back all the overgrown bushes outside..} we managed to finish up the downstairs and get started on Emma's VERY PINK bedroom. 

 It wasn't that long ago that I was painting another room pink, but this time we went with a little darker shade just to change things up a little.  Kim and Ali went to town in her room- they're my heroes!!! 

I stayed downstairs and finished up the half bath and diningroom....

I finished up in time to race home and make dinner so that Nick could get to his softball game, which I opted out of in lieu of cleaning the kitchen, the fridge, the floor, the dishwasher, folding a pile of clothes, sweeping the porch, watering the flowers and falling into my hammock...which is where I type now. 

I'm totally beat....

which is why I can't think of anything sensible, sweet or funny to say. 

THE END

T-minus 26 hrs and counting....

I'm sitting in my favorite away-from-home corner...

I will miss this place.  I've not been here much in the last two months, but I guess I frequented the corner about once a week prior to that {Tamra at the counter confirmed that when she asked how I've been!}...it's my place to escape.  I've read, prayed, laughed, {probably cried} and had numerous amounts of coffee in this corner.

I will miss it...

This is where I sit as I type...my most favorite things surrounding me.  And, even though it's a public place, somehow it seems very private to me.  It's not quiet at all....there's background music playing, and if I wanted to listen, I could hear snippets of multiple conversations going on around me.  {Such as the cute old couple across from me who are enjoying lunch -at 10am} This morning I decided to hook up my headphones to itunes to further block out what's around me...so, as I type, The Canadian Tenors are singing "Hallelujah" to me. {check it out here} I have no idea what the song is about...I feel like I should probably investigate, but I like their sound.

Anyway...the point.  This is my last morning {mourning} here for a while. After a half day tomorrow, school is out for three months.  I can't in good conscience sit out here while the kids are at home.  AND, there are weeks of painting, packing and moving ahead of us.  So, today, I came to bid farewell to an old friend. 

As I reflect on this last school year and all that it held for my family, I see God's hand of Grace all around us.  Amidst transition and change God has been nearby satisfying, providing and nurturing us all.  His hands of protection and guidance brought Alex through his first year of college..helping him narrow down his plans for his future, cementing in him a calling for Youth Ministry He had placed on him several years ago.  He continues to provide for Alex's needs...almost NEVER in the way he hopes and almost NEVER at the rate of speed he hopes it to come...but isn't that just the way we learn to trust???  It is in the poverty of answers that we learn to still ourselves, wait and trust. 

He has been faithful to us at home also, as Nick has started driving on his own, continues to work through his high school years and is beginning to think of what to do next.  Nick has grown and matured this year in big ways....I see a young man emerging.  I'm beginning to see how a little boy with a strong will and stubborn spirit can use those same things for good.  I read Dr. Dobson's "The Strong-Willed Child" several times during Nick's early years...I finally get it!  God is slowly shaking all of "Nick" out of Nick...He's trying to fill him with Himself...and slowly, I am seeing a take-over. 

Emma has done her own share of growing up this year.  She is the typical youngest child - full of life and laughter {even amidst the moody middle school years!}...her eyes have been opened to alot of new things this year.  Not all of those things have been easy...these are truly formative years.  She sees everything around her....and is learning how to be set apart.  And it's not easy...not when the world around you is relentless in its pursuit of your heart, soul and body.  But, our Faithful God continually reminds me He is bigger, He loves her more, and He is at work in her impressionable heart.  She is beautiful...but beauty can catch us off guard.  It's been a year of whispering over and over that it is God who creates our beauty...it's not from anything our own hands have done.  It is His gift...but there is one who hounds us around every corner who wants to use it as a curse.  He is behind the world's relentless pursuit...but he is second rate to the One who holds her heart.  

SIGH....the Grace and Kindness of the Lord has been all around me this year.  More than I've realized till just now.  When I look at the past twelve years of raising my kids alone I see His touch all around us.  I am so aware of my inability to do it well...to pour in them all that I know and feel and desire for them to learn.  I lack the correct words and the correct ways to teach them.  But, I've lacked them all of my life....and will lack them until my last breath.  It is my constant reminder that on my own I cannot accomlish anything well.  Because I know my empty attempts...I can appreciate His fullness. 

At the beginning of this school year it was my plan to set aside a little time to rediscover God's plans and directions in my life...and then to go after them and end the year with a job and a paycheck.  Again I've discovered that even the best laid plans are not really in my control.  It's been a year of refreshment and discovery, and I've found some things inside me I didn't know were there.  I've discovered more of the ME I lost years ago...the ME I chose to overlook in pursuit of other things.  And, while I'd hoped for a clear map and highlighted path to follow by this point, what I've ended up with is a simple request, "Just wait, and be faithful to whatever I put in front of you today...trust Me...and be content".
 And, so...I continue to seek, search and LIVE. 
It's been a very good year...

As I've typed, my music has changed several times...ending in the one that's playing in the background just moments ago. Very fitting. We are good fodder for the Lord to show He is faithful, that's for sure!

"You're good and your faithfulness goes on and on and on and on and on...
your mercy goes on and on and on and on and on and on....
You are good...
You are good."

{Sportin vintage shades at Mommalicious after warm donuts on Saturday}

Disbanding and destroying....

So, the theme of this week is

 {FACELIFTS}

After 4 very long years of orthodontic treatment, Nick has finally been disbanded!  Since he was a toddler, he's hated posing for pictures, so I had to settle for a quick snap on my phone...I'm guessing when he sees these he might wish he had sat still and posed. 

Sorry, Nick..a mom's gotta preserve memories one way or another.

this picture is actually after the bands were off - cleaning up the nasty four year old glue....Dr. Albright pulled them off so fast I didn't even know it was done.  Shoot!  Missed a photo op.

sorry, Nick...but at least your teeth look great! 

 Nice facelift.

We've begun a facelift of another sort this week, too.  After months of getting my house ready, keeping it clean, showing it and selling it...and after purging the garage last weekend

 it is finally time to start the "fun stuff". 

I started in the kitchen...

...no more wallpaper...

more pictures to follow....these are just the ones that were on my phone.  I had several helpers this week. Thanks Jess and mom!  We're headed back there this morning after breakfast.  I learned about THIS PLACE yesterday and thought it makes a good bribing tool to start my kids day of work.  Hot, handmade donuts...I think so!  So, after The Fractured Prune indulgence, we're back for more painting and scraping.

I'm seeing the end in sight....

pretty soon we'll be looking for the best price for one of these: