De-Clutter Part 1

SO...the fastest way for a home schooling mom to de-clutter a house...send out a message that I am having a book sale!

I knew I needed to get rid of books but it was a crazy day of phone calls and knocks at the door.

I decided to sell cheap and give all proceeds to my favorite non-profit...our local pregnancy help center.  I sold over 100 books today and I already have more people coming tomorrow...and yes...I have plenty more books to sell.  I guess if I were ever considered a hoarder it would because of the books we own.  These are just the ones I am willing to part with before we move...we still have an entire library of books we will take with us!  We LOVE books!

I also started taking items to the local thrift store.  I need to move things out of the garage to move the boxes we pack out of the house.  And I have started packing things that we can live without (that is always so funny to say...or type in this case...if we can live with out it...why are we packing it?).

It is really hard to convince our children to pack.  The worst is hearing little Brendan...so confused...but fully understands that we are leaving the only home he knows.  He came to me yesterday and said, "I don't want to move to San Antonio...they don't let you clean or live there!"  It made no sense but in his mind he was not going to like the move.  I feel for him...he has only known Lufkin...he does not realize that there is an adventure out there waiting for us!

So...we take baby steps and will introduce him to the fun we can have...heading that way some time in the near future to see a sneak peak.

But for now...it is back to the grind of packing.

Well...It Is Official

With tears of sadness and joy, I write this post...we officially spoke to a realtor today about putting our property on the market.  I have put off the idea for a long time and only told a few close friends to pray for us to make the right decision.  After many doors closing and many more opening, I think it is finally clear to us that it is time to start packing boxes and deciding what we really need to move to a new home.

Michael accepted a job in San Antonio.  It has been a long time since we have been together as a family under one roof and Michael coming home each night to be with us.  I am happy that the light at the end of the tunnel is finally her, but I am sad that it takes away from all the friends we have met here.

It is hard to believe that this is the longest we have lived in one area...almost ten years....half of our married life and birth place of two of our children.  Most of our children only remember details about our life in this area.

I could tell about how many friends have helped us along this journey but I would fear forgetting someone.  Besides...I still have to sell our house before we can move, so I am not going to get too sentimental just yet!

I still have a lot of work to get everything in order.  Thankfully, we have already done so much to the house that there are just a few tweaks here and there that need to be done.  I need to paint one last room...we call it the blue room because ...well...it is just so darn blue....always has been and I wish I could walk away without painting it now!  But a quick coat of paint would be helpful.  I also need to find the closet doors we took off from the start....I think they are in the garage so please pray I can find them.  And finally....the big job of the lot...the YARD...dun dun dun!  I am seriously thinking about calling some one to come do this...I just do not have the time to mess with it and I am not always a yard person...let's just say...I have to be in the mood...and July summer heat is far from my kind of yard work weather.  So...that is the worst of the job for me!

Of course...Michael had to go to training for Army and then starts his job immediately...so that really does leave it to me to get this done.  Please pray for me to have patience during this time...and also for trust...I need to trust that God has the plan and I just have to be open to it.

Mid-week Break?

We took a break from day camp today, but we still had a lot to do...we had a busy morning and then it all came to a halt when I got stung by another bee on the ankle.  I learned that it is not fun to get stung there as you really need an ankle for walking!  LOL!  More later on this fun day!

Wiggly Worms and New Horizons

A lot happened yesterday...I just do not seem to have the time to write about it!  Maybe this weekend...

Honey Harvest Gone Wrong

After a fun day of day camp for Edward's age group, we went about completing some much needed errands...this included our annual honey harvest...but things went terrible wrong along the way.  Forgive me for not giving more details now.  I am just marking the time stamp for now...as i only can see with one eye!

Surprise Renewal!

This seems to be the month...the year...to remember back when!  SO...let me go back and tell you a story about a young boy and girl...just starting out...it just goes to show that some hurts can go on for years and heal at a moments notice!

So...this morning...all the children quickly dressed and were out the door for church....even our elusive older girls!  I was surprised...as I heard them prepping upstairs.  They did take a little longer than I wanted as everyone else was outside in the van.  So...I went to hurry them along and I heard them talking to each other around the corner..."Just hurry past her and she won't notice!"  Of course, that made me wonder what they were doing...were they wearing something that I would not like...what were they hiding?  But, when they came downstairs...they looked very nice!  So, I asked what they were hiding and they said...nothing as they hurried past and out tee door!

Michael and I had the joy of reading from Scripture today for Mass.  I always love this experience...every time!  It is such a joy to speak the Word to others and hope that it some how reaches those who need to hear it most as the Spirit moves through us.  Today I read from Colossians 1:24-28...one of my favorite verses..."Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the church,
of which I am a minister..."

Then the priest read from the story of Martha and Mary (Luke 10:38-42) which was about discerning the difference between stewardship and adoration.  I will tell you that I struggle with this when I hear it...every time!  So, I was glad to hear the deacon speak about how Martha...not because she was over working but because she was to balance both aspects.  I think it really is good for me to remember that there needs to be balance...one is not better but there is a place for both in time.  Why is it so hard?  It seems to me when it is presented in this light...whenever in doubt...always go for the adoration!  But what about the idea of loving our neighbor...being the hands and feet of God?...there are times when stewardship...hospitality...does show love of neighbor.  More to think about as I always say when this passage comes to mind!

So...after that amazing and needed message...Mass was so special and I felt so blessed to have my family there.  I thought...wow...I would love to have a picture of this moment in time.  I asked one of the boys if we had the camera...and wouldn't you know he had the camera!  AND...the children were all there waiting in the pew...as if they knew I was going to ask for a picture!  hmmmmm...


After the picture was taken...I started to head outside...I wanted to talk to Deacon Billy and his wife, Dianna...BUT...Michael turned to me and says..."Remember what I asked you under the tree last week?"..."Yes...?"  "Well...I am asking again right now!"  Awww...he was asking me to marry him again!

Of course...I said yes and I looked up and there were the children...the priest...Deacon Billy and Dianna...ready for us at the altar!  Good thing I said yes...<<WINK...WINK>>

SO...we renewed our wedding vows...and this is where the renewal comes into the story...not just renewing the vows...although very important...but there was more...

You see...twenty years ago...I bought our wedding bands.  Now in today's world...many would say that is not a big deal...but to me that is something that the groom does...and it bothered me that it was not a big deal to him.  It has come up many times over the years...I tried not to make a big deal about it but it was a big deal.

Then about ten years ago, we began to talk about buying new rings.  I would hint at this and he would talk about wanting to do it.  BUT....he never did anything about it.  SO...I had pretty much given up on this possibility.  However, it was getting harder not to notice...even for others...as I was no longer able to wear the old ring...it was bent and worn...it was not the most expensive ring out there...and he actually told me that his ring (he had been placing it on his dog tags) was lost.

We had this conversation the day before...it was something I brought up...we were going somewhere...I tried on my ring...and once again I was not able to wear it.  I mentioned this to him...I wish he had bought us rings....I turned to the girls and told them why it was so important to me that Michael find the rings this time.  They all listened and said nothing...even though Michael had purchased our renewal rings several days before.  The girls were the ones to hold on to the rings (the reason they were hiding something earlier in the morning!) and passed the rings to the priest during the ceremony.

In fact, everyone knew about the plan EXCEPT me!  I was so surprised!  He bought the rings...he set p a plan of action...and kept the surprise!  Pretty amazing!

Thank you, Michael!  I love you!  And although the rings do not make our marriage...the rings are the icing on the cake for this renewal!  And it was pretty special even without them!  I feel truly blessed!

Finally! But...

OK...after the bathroom remodel taking much longer than it was supposed to take...we are FINALLY done!

We would have had it all done last night....but those amazing mirrors that I fell in love with at the mall were too long!  GRRRR...so Michael took them back and found the oval ones.  That was this morning...so thankful that we were able to get those hung this afternoon.


By the way... Brendan and Zaira must have been convinced we would finish last not also because they stayed up late into the night.  Brendan fell asleep on the floor while watching Michael.  Zaira fell asleep in the bed after putting up a good fight!


BUT...before we came home from buying the mirrors...we took a side trip to the ZOO!  YAY!!!  This was Zaira's first trip to the zoo...unless you count the brief one made last fall for a hamburger dinner (She was only two months old...so I am guessing that trip does not count!).

She was able to walk into the zoo.  And she spent most of the time walking from one exhibit to the next.

Zaira also got to ride on the zoo train for the first time.  She really enjoyed this.  We told her to wave and she took this job very seriously...she waved her best at everyone we passed.  She was so cute!  I am so glad we chose to do this first because I do not think she would have been awake by the time we finished the walk around the zoo.

Michael and the children had a blast!  The animals were somewhat lethargic in the humid summer heat.  This was disappointing for the older ones but made it a great experience for her.  She especially loved the tiger (She said TIGER!) and the macaws (thanks to Michael's regular antics).

She was definitely worn out by the time we came to the last exhibit...I really thought she would love the flamingos...being so pink!...but she was wiped out by this time.  She almost fell asleep on Michael's shoulder and was fast asleep by the time we got her buckled in the van.



We also got several pictures of Christina for her senior pictures.  We also got several family pictures.  It is hard to believe that we might not make it back to this zoo as a family.  Of course, we are not sure about this but I just could not resist taking as many pics as I could just in case!  We really love this zoo but there are other zoos to visit...we will always find fun in other ways also....and maybe we will make a trip back here again before we move.


Back home...we did get those mirrors hung.  There were a little bit of a pain but it all worked out in the end.  AND...we finally finished our bathroom!

BUT...we are not finished with bathrooms.  Watching us work on ours...the girls began work on theirs (mentioned in a post a couple of days back)...they are just going to take out the old linoleum counter to replace with tile and paint...and finally get a mirror that fits the wall space.

We also have a small guest bath that looks great except for the fact that it does not have paint on one wall and it needs a different faucet and mirror.  Those are both easy fixes and we already have what we need to fix it.

SO...we are almost there but will probably be working through the weekend to get it done.  I am pretty excited because the original intent to remodel our master bath has led to these others and it ended up costing about what I planned for the master bath to complete all the projects!  Not bad...it makes me feel like I walked into a store and got a "three-for-one"deal!  YAY!

More pictures will come when the other baths are done...looking forward to having things completed soon.