Happy Birthday, Franklin!!

Nine years old today! We're having a small party at school today, then going to a University of E. soccer game tonight (free thru Tommie's work). We'll invite a friend from school to Chuck E. Cheese this weekend when Poppy & Grandma Payne are here...

I'll try to post pics later!

Near Death Experience

Tonight, we were out in a neighborhood selling Cub Scout popcorn and Franklin forgot to collect a check from a sale. So, we returned to the neighborhood and sent Franklin to ask about the check (the family was still playing outside in their driveway). We were waiting in the car directly across the street from their driveway. When he had collected the check, we warned him to watch for cars - there were a couple coming down the street & it was beginning to get dark. One car passed from the north. Two cars were coming together from the south. One car passed.

Franklin darted out into the street.

Right in front of the second car - not just a car, but a rather large SUV. My heart stopped. A life flashed before my very eyes that was not my own. Fortunately, the brakes on the SUV (and horn) worked rather well and they were able to stop in time. Wow. All of us are a little shaken up and decided to call it a night.

Thank you, God, for miraculously making the brakes work extra well on the SUV. Honestly, I believe in miracles and by the speed the vehicle was traveling and the timing that Franklin ran out, I don't think the vehicle should have been able to stop in time. Praise be to God!!

Now I sit here 30 minutes later... waiting for my pulse to slow down. Praying that my kids will remain safe for many, many years to come. Grateful for the joy they bring to my life.

Achievement Award

In Cub Scouts, the boys have opportunities to earn Achievement Awards for participating in different activities or learning new things. Yesterday, I do believe I would have won my Sewing Award for sewing difficult patches onto their Cub Scout uniforms...

Fall Is Here!

To celebrate the first week of fall, we made caramel apples yesterday...

pb&j

I've determined that I need to take more photos of daily life around here. Truman loves PB&J and is able to make his sandwich all by himself - from set up to clean up. He makes one nearly every single day when he returns home from Kindergarten. Today, I captured the event on film. As you can see by the last photo, he finally decided he was done being my subject for today.

Exploring

Last night, we visited a new small group and loved it. The people are so wonderful, welcoming and nice. We are so happy that we like the first group that we visited. The women are so kind that they invited me to a Girls Night Out before we even visited their group. I went (of course! see post on desperation...) and it was wonderful. I felt like I was with a group of old friends, except I knew nothing about them. They never once made me feel new or unwelcome or like I wasn't really a part of the group yet.

Anyway, one of the topics that came up last night at small group was about Wal-Mart. I was unaware that there is a Wal-Mart about 10 minutes from my house in the opposite direction of the one I have been going to. The one I normally go to reminds me of the Wal-Mart near my old house - kinda dirty and long lines. The good news is that they are building a brand-new, upscale Wal-Mart in my town and it's about 1 mile from my house - yippee!!

Back to last night, the girls were telling me about this other Wal-Mart... so when I picked up Truman from school today - we set off to find it. Well, the highway that goes from my town to this other nearby town was closed completely off (not sure if it's simply construction or wind storm remnants)... so we drove around all sorts of country roads trying to find an alternate route to our destination (with no map).

It was fun to see the area around where we live. The cornfields are nearly dry and ready to harvest. The leaves are beginning to shed bright green color for darker green, orange, yellow and red. I can see that fall is nearly here and it makes me so happy! After about 30 minutes of exploring the countryside and exploring the nearby town, we found the Wal-Mart. Wow - it was as promised - clean with fewer lines. Amazing! And best of all, it only takes about 2-3 minutes longer to get to than my regular one. Plus, the drive is amazing. It reminds me a bit of the drive from Denton to Flower Mound - the back way. Curvy, hilly roads with overhanging trees.

Tagged: I

I've seen this on a bunch of friends' blogs, so I thought I'd play along too. Feel free to snag it & blog it yourself...

i am: a child of God
i think: that I have a long way to go in this life
i know: my salvation is secure
i want: to lose weight
i have: a cool new house & a great family
i wish: I had friends in my new area
i hate: liars
i miss: my friends in Texas
i fear: losing someone I love
i feel: lonely
i hear: Wii games & the sound of Tommie’s mouse clicking
i smell: wet dog
i crave: a smoothie
i search: the internet daily
i wonder: why God moved us here
i regret: not having closure in an old relationship
i love: my husband, my kids, our extended families
i ache: all over!
i care: about how my kids are raised
i always: say things like “always” and “never”
i am not: stupid :) (first word that popped into my head!)
i believe: in God the Father, almighty maker of heaven, maker of earth – and in Jesus Christ His only begotten Son, our Lord (quote from a Rich Mullins song)
i dance: when no one is looking
i sing: in the car
i don't always: floss my teeth
i fight: with Tommie mostly
i write: on my blog
i win: very few arguments with Tommie
i lose: most Wii games against Tommie
i never: want to forget to consider others before myself
i confuse: my emotions with feelings of hunger
i listen: to the silence when the boys go to school and enjoy it
i can usually be found: at home or Wal-Mart
i am scared: of losing my last grandparent
i need: hugs – a lot more often!
i am happy about: the fact that the great room remodel is almost done!
i tag: anyone who wants to be tagged!

I love rain.

I'm sitting here on the couch on an early Sunday morning while everyone else is in bed. Oh wait - I thought I was writing a novel for a minute there - not everyone else is in bed. Tommie is sleeping & I think Harrison is too. Anyway... I digress. I'm sitting here on my couch enjoying the peace & quiet of early morning and the sound of rain pattering on my window. Aside from the occasionally bump of Truman & Franklin jumping around upstairs, it truly is peaceful & quiet. And, I'm quite enjoying it. I love rain.

Have you ever made a conscious effort to think of things that we will no longer enjoy in heaven? I mean, that sounds really silly - because heaven will be such a wonderful, glorious place...

...

Let me start over... have you ever begun to wax poetic and think deep theological thoughts when something in your brain clicks and you think:

"Oh my gosh, if I'm enjoying the sounds of RAIN on the window, then that means my PUPPIES are outside getting very, very WET!"

So, I rescued the poor, wet puppies - started a pot of coffee - and now I'm back at my keyboard. Not feeling so poetic or theological. Nope. Just feeling a little silly. Remind me to tell you how I feel about rain another time. I think it's a truly interesting theological opinion.

For now, I'm going to go pour a cup of coffee and try to actually wake up...

Tan Lines

Somehow this summer, Max got some pretty distinct tan lines... so he decided to lay out in the sun this afternoon to try to even out his tan! :)

My Cub Scouts

Franklin & Harrison are officially Cub Scouts! Last year, we participated in the YMCA Adventure Guides program - a father/child program that does campouts, a pinewood derby, rocket launch and more. Unfortunately, there are no Adventure Guides programs in our area. So, we joined Cub Scouts instead. So far... we really like it. There are some similarities to Adventure Guides, but the Cub Scout program is a very nationally-centered program where Adventure Guides varies by each local area, with only a few things that are the same on a nation-wide scale. Cub Scouts has a lot to offer for the boys and we're excited to be a part of it!

The floor is finished!!

Well, almost! We finished cutting and laying the planks last night!! YIPPEE!!! Now, we've got to paint & re-install the baseboards, add some quarter round, install molding to the top of the cabinets, do the kitchen backsplash, replace the ceiling fan, put everything back where it goes and hang pictures! THEN, we'll be completely FINISHED!! After 7 days of working on nothing but flooring planks, I'm thrilled to be done with that part of this big project!

Picture Time!

Here are some long-awaited photos of our new house!

Front

Back of house Laundry Room Before

Laundry Room After
Pantry In Process

Pantry Finished
Boxes in Great Room when moving truck left

Packing Paper Rolls - we had GOBS & GOBS of paper!!

Beginning the Great Room Flooring Project - pre-painting

Carpet torn out - paint started!

My lovely flooring/painting outfit - my kneepads are made of leftover carpet pad taped to my knees. Not the best fashion statement ever, but hey - it works!!

Flooring & Paint done on living room end of room

Beginning to tear out the linoleum - we're making progress!

In the dark...

Yesterday morning, the winds from Hurricane Ike reached our area. The power was flickering, the wind howling, but we received very little rain - in fact, I'm not sure it rained at all yesterday. On our way to church, we realized the wind had wreaked more havoc in Evansville than in our town. Stop lights were out, very large tree branches down. While we were sitting at one non-working stoplight awaiting our turn to go, the concrete bus stop bench turned over right next to our car! I thought it was going to go flying through the windshield - YIKES! When we arrived at church, there was no power, so they sent the kids with us into a darkened sanctuary for a short family service.

It was a completely amazing experience - 1,000 people in a dark room together worshipping God without lights, sound, cameras, videos or distraction. The faces of the worship leaders and preacher were lit by flashlight and the only other lights were cell phones and some light coming from the entrances. The sermon was shortened, but was very powerful - calling us to strengthen our relationships with those around us, because at the end of our lives when everything else falls away and all distractions are gone - all we are left with is God and other people. Those are the important things in life. In the wake of natural disasters like Ike, it forces us to recognize what is truly important in the light of eternity.

I'm Alive!

We finally have internet service again, but we're not quite all set up yet. My photos are on the laptop and we don't have our wireless configured yet.

Man! Have we been busy!!

We closed on the house a week ago Wednesday and have accomplished the following since then:

• Painted laundry room
• Added 6 long wire shelves to laundry room for pantry space
• Painted master bedroom
• Uninstalled master bedroom light (still working on getting the ceiling fan in!)
• Painted master bathroom, installed new light fixture and all new hardware
• Painted 90% of great room (37x15 room) - still have to finish above the kitchen cabinets & behind the refrigerator
• Finished 75% of the new laminate floor in great room - tore out 1/2 carpet, 1/2 linoleum
• Unpacked 75% of household - still need to work on office & garage and settle everything into its new home, but most of it is done or at least out of the box!

So far, we've used about 6 gallons of paint, and we're returning 2... so we've got 13 gallons to go!! My whole body hurts and I feel every bit of my 32 years of age - ha ha! I did celebrate a birthday last week too. We celebrated by cleaning out our temporary apartment and going out to dinner. Birthdays aren't nearly as much fun without friends & family around!

I have been faithfully taking pictures during the process and will post them as soon as we get our wireless connected. We got internet connected on Thursday evening, then immediately had to move the computer desk in order to work on the floor underneath! Yesterday evening (Saturday), we finally finished the floor to the point of being able to move the desk back into place.

This morning is Connect Weekend at our new church, so I'm looking forward to leaving all of the screwdrivers, saws, wood, paint brushes and boxes behind in search of a new small group! We weren't able to be at church last weekend due to illnesses (Harrison & Tommie both have been struggling with a nasty, nasty upper respiratory infection), and I was out of town the two previous weekends - so it will be like going to this church for the first time again! We visited twice, joined & I haven't been back since. What a faithful member I am! ha, ha

I'll leave you with that for now... and I'll try to post pictures when this pesky floor project has been completed!

Poll: What would you miss the most?

If you were separated from all (okay, most!) of your belongings for 8 weeks, what would you miss the most? Please post your answers as comments!

After 8 weeks, I can honestly say that right now, I'm the most excited to be re-united with my washer & dryer. I know this answer will really bother my friend Amanda, who posts about how much she despises laundry... but it sure hasn't been fun to drag 8 loads of laundry to the laundromat once per week for the past 8 weeks! Tomorrow, I'll be saying:

"Welcome home, washer & dryer, welcome home!"

Visit to Texas

When I was in Texas a week or so ago, I was able to assist with the moving company and visit friends. It was a really nice time of visiting with those that I love - friends who are more like family...

I had dinner with my friend Jennifer (no photo). I spent two nights with my friend Jenny & her family (no photo). I had lunch with my old boss (no photo). [Apparently I didn't take enough photos!] I attended the 30th birthday party of my friend Cedric. Here he is with his wife Joy.

I met my friend Rachel's new baby & spent some quality time with her & her kiddos.

I spent the night with my other friend Jenny (2nd from left in back row) after my "going away" party with a big group of my favorite girls! Back Row: Michelle, Jenny, Amy, Kendra, Erin, Rachel (kiddos pictured above). Front Row: Jeanne, Me with baby Lydia & Casey.

Linda, Me, Leslie

Schedule Shift

Today we closed on our new house!! Yippee!!

We also found out that the moving truck is still coming on Friday (as originally scheduled), not Monday (as we were trying to reschedule for) - YIKES! So, we shifted our schedule & will try to get as much painting done in the next day or so as possible. We closed on the house at 2:00 p.m. and managed to get the whole laundry room painted this evening, as well as prepping the master bedroom. Tomorrow morning after I drop the boys off at school, I'll dive into that project. We are trying to hit the major rooms where it will be difficult to move the furniture to paint later. At least we will be pretty settled in by the time the boys go to school on Monday morning. :o) Life should somewhat settle into "normal" soon, I hope!

1 gallon down - 20 to go!

Last Minute Jitters

1 hour and 9 minutes until our closing! Why is it always WAY more stressful to buy a house than to sell one?!?! I'm finding myself actually nervous! We have had a few more bumps along the road this time & a few higher expenses than planned. I am confident that everything will work out okay in the end, but it sure makes me nervous to fork over a large check like this. I'd much rather keep the money in my piggy bank! As always, I want to know and understand where every single penny is going. I'm always amazed at how a real estate professional will say - "oh, it's not that big of a deal" when referring to a $500 or $1000 issue. I'm the lady who will fuss over a 50 cent coupon or try to get a discount on a $10 or $20 item! $500-1000 is a LOT of money to me. So... I've reviewed all of the documents, checked over every penny, inspected the home repairs done by the seller thoroughly and I'm ready. Ready to sign away my life - JUST KIDDING! :) I'm really ready to get out of a 2 bedroom apartment. I'm ready for the commute to the school to be 2 minutes instead of 15. I'm ready for a backyard for growing puppies. I'm ready to meet the neighbors and make friends. I'm not so ready to unpack the 163 boxes or paint the 21 gallons of paint that are sitting in my car... but that's all a part of the fun! One day at a time...

Today - closing
Tomorrow - painting begins
Monday - moving truck arrives & unpacking begins
Wednesday - flooring arrives & floor installation begins

One day at a time.

Matthew 6:27 "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?"

Matthew 6:34 "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Updates & Moving

Okay - I'm a little late with the blog updates... It's been a very busy week and a half!



First of all - updates:

1. Our house in Texas SOLD and closed on Friday!
2. We are closing on our new house in Indiana tomorrow afternoon!
3. I traveled to Texas for 5 days to assist with the move & visit with friends (post coming soon!)
4. I was home for less than 48 hours, then traveled to Illinois to visit family for 4 days (post coming soon!).
5. We're back in Indiana and trying to wrap everything up before the closing tomorrow.

Here are some pics from my visit to Texas:

On the way from central Illinois (where I dropped Truman off at Poppy & Grandma's house), I had a "charter" flight to St. Louis. Yep, I was the ONLY passenger on the plane! Not only that, but there's no door between the passengers & the cockpit. It was pretty cool!

Me & the rest of the passengers... ha, ha

The moving van pulled up bright & early at 7 a.m. to start packing.

All of the boxes piled up in the master bedroom. This was the first time EVER that I have not packed up our belongings for a move & I have to say that it was WONDERFUL!

The front of our house (behind the massive moving truck!).

It's hard to believe that we have enough stuff to fill 2/3 of the truck... wow - maybe we'll have a big moving IN sale when we arrive to get rid of some of it!

Our sad, empty house. Two years was not nearly long enough to enjoy this wonderful house!