I Love This Man

The Husband is setting out to apply for a 2nd job this morning. My heart feels like it is breaking, yet at the same time I have peace in knowing that God will honor his desire to provide for our family. I also keep reminding myself that The Husband was accustomed to working over 40 hours a week when we used to own restaurants and he was a truck driver. Oh, who am I kidding? That doesn't make me feel any better! That was one of the reasons he stopped doing those things!

In any case, we have to do something so this seems to be the next logical step. I am so proud of him for doing it with a good attitude and for being open to what the Lord has in store for him (and us)! The Lord reminded me yesterday of the story of Ruth and how it demonstrates God as our "kinsman redeemer". I felt compelled to sit my girls down under a big shade tree at the playground and tell them this story. God is our redeemer.....I want to concentrate on His Will during these hard times and not concentrate on the hard times. Ruth did a pretty good job of that (and, I certainly don't want to sound like Naomi; though I can hardly blame her .....not having been in her shoes).

I do know that God has a plan and His plan is good!

A Little Bling for My Girls

I'm too tired to try and locate the "before pictures" but I wanted to post some "after pictures".

The top room is the paneling we painted for #1's basement bedroom and the other photo shows #2's garden room. They are both fairly messy since they were literally taken mere days after moving in and their stuff is cluttered everywhere, but you get the idea! It looks much better now, but I don't feel like taking more pictures and uploading them at the present time! If only you could truly appreciate painting layer upon layer of yellow paint to cover up giant purple polka-dots!

There are no pictures for #3's room, yet, because her adorable die-cut flip flop wallpaper border has not arrived from Canada. Yes, Canada. I warned you I was going a little off the deep end.

Don't you think the little reading cubby is a nice touch in the corner of #1's room? That is a $3 Wal-mart black sheet on on a piece of thick foam and some 60% off Joanne's fabric skirting it and the windows thanks to the handy dandy iron-on sticky tack (I don't sew).

It was so fun and we still have more to do.

Stop the Roller Coaster...I Want to Get Off!!!!

Well, the call came about an hour ago.....

The buyers of our house lost their THIRD buyer and we will not be going to settlement on July 31st.

I'm sort of .....numb.....not mad, not really upset.....just sort of .....strangly indifferent........

They will at least be moving in July 31st and renting until August 28th, but as far as all the money we have borrowed and put on credit cards....well, that will just have to float another month as we (cha-ching) rack up some astronomical finance charges. I see myself kissing our proposed October Florida vacation to visit The Husband's family good-bye as this saga drags on......

I'm believing God is on our side with this, especially since we are faithful with our tithe and offerings. Again, I am reminded it is just money and perhaps He really wants to get that point across to us before we are allowed to move on.

I am getting bored even typing about it anymore, but we could use your prayers again. I am trying to push away the fear that this may never get resolved. I mean, come on! THREE buyers back out??! Why not four? I know that is not God talking so I am trying my best to shut it out.

It's time to grab my Bible and get alone with Him before I do some serious damage to my mind.

My Vacation Top Ten

This is the best deal going. We had another fabulous time at Family Camp. Here are the highlights:

1. Being surrounded by friends that we only get to see once a year and watching our kids of all ages play together like a giant family reunion.



2. Listening to one of the above mentioned teenagers practice her bassoon early each morning in the gazebo as I read my Bible or just talked to Jesus.

3. Watching my brave 11-year old, #1, do the high ropes course in the pouring down rain at 10:00 pm. The age recommendation is 13 and up. She rocked.



4. Hiking up Peters Mountain at 6:30 am with The Husband and other friends where we were treated to a pancake breakfast at the top by our FABULOUS counselors who had camped out overnight up there so they would be ready for us.

5. Scoring the first run in the adult one-pitch softball game.

6. Hugging and squeezing and cheering my kids on throughout the week at the many family friendly activities that were offered.

7. Snuggling up with the kids for a night of kettle popcorn and silly songs in the woods.


8. Card games round the clock. I played Nerts until my eyes barely stayed open.


9. Volleyball late at night in the gym with just the grown ups and counselors.

10. The delicious and mostly nutritious food that I did not have to prepare or clean up!

Hallelujah!

I have DSL again!

We just returned from vacation and with a few clicks and a phone call to tech support I am back in the 21st century!

Our email is still not up and running because when the DSL was not available in our area last week they (Verizon) disabled and basically cancelled our email accounts. A phone call on Monday should solve that problem.

And, everybody said, "AMEN!!".

The Before Picture

This is the "Post-Move/Pre-Vacation" picture of me.

And, you know the saying that a picture is worth a thousand words?

I'd say this picture adequately describes my basic condition over the last few weeks. Probably underneath my hands you can't see my mouth crying out to God for some major or minor miracle to occur so I don't lose my mind.

But, now comes the fun part! See you in a week....I anxiously await the next few days of sleeping, spending alone time with the Lord, sleeping, playing cards, sleeping, hiking, sleeping, hanging by the pool eating frozen snickers and catching some afternoon naps.

Reality is a whole 6 days away......

A Little Poop Story of My Own

I was horrified at Like I Was Saying....'s (formally Mom in Action) poo story and decided at this point in my life, it is good that I am done having children and don't have to tackle the whole generic vs. expensive diapers saga and poop everywhere.

Well, last night after arriving home rather late The Dog had pooped by the front door(s) and apparently GAS walked in it and was rather upset. She did not want to leave The Dog out in the yard because "she is black and can't see her in the dark". Well, let's just say when GAS is upset, some nasty words come out and that didn't help lower the current stress level of the situation. Then, #3 who was half asleep (I had been carrying her into bed when I walked in the house and out of shock I set her down and mumbled something about going back to bed) stepped in more poop in the living room, #1 stepped in the poop, too and got to the top step of the stairs leading down to her room until she realized it and stopped. #3 was so tired she LAYED DOWN ON THE WHITE COUCH WITH POOP ON HER BARE FEET and got it on the couch and on her legs until she fully awakened and started to cry and THROW UP BECAUSE WHAT IS HAPPENING AND WHY IS THERE POOP ALL OVER ME???!!!! I, of course, had no idea this was going on because I was too busy scolding GAS for calling the pile of poop by a nasty 4-letter word in front of the kids (which by the way, traumatized my poor #1 who is very sensitive to chaos and ended up sleeping in bed with us last night).

Oh, yeah. So, what's a little vomit in my hair when there is POOP all over my new house?

Needless to say we got to bed around 12:45 am. See how competitive I am? I have to try and top even a poop story!

Life Must Be Returning to Normal

I feel like I'm slowly retuning to life as I know it since this is how P&S and I spent last evening!

I just have to say this and if you know her you'll agree...anytime I serve in ministry with her it is always fun and creative. I just love her!

This was her leading worship with the preschool kids at our church as we kicked off our summer program for Wednesday nights. We all have matching blue shirts that were....ah...hemmm....a little on the tight side for some of us when you wear it over another shirt. I'll plan better for next time so I don't appear to be sporting Dolly Parton sized body parts.

But, anywho, the night was a wonderful reminder to me that I won't eat, sleep, breathe all things related to my house forever. Life is marching forward and that's a good thing. A very good thing.

Breathing a Sigh of Relief

As I knew in my heart, the official phone call came today. The buyer's have a new buyer and settlement is scheduled for July 31st for them to purchase our home. That is only 4 days later than originally scheduled.

AMEN! Thank you, Jesus!

The circumstances are amazing (of course!). The man buying their home is already guaranteed a bank loan and can settle in 2 weeks because he has no home to sell. The buyer's agent said she has only ever seen a letter like the one he has once in her career (most people get a pre-approval, but not a guarantee letter from a mortgage company).

I signed the addendum paperwork today and hopefully, the next paperwork I sign will be at settlement on July 31st!

I seriously knew God would work this all out, but the waiting has been difficult at times. Thank you for praying for us...it has made a difference not just in the circumstances, but in my attitude towards the circumstances!

Haven't I Been Through Enough??

Okay.

We are going through this entire moving process and until the last week it was going pretty smooth. Then the buyer's lost their buyer. Then we moved all of our stuff in even though we didn't finish all of our painting, I hurt my foot and could barely walk on it, and I started to get a cold sore (stress induced I'm sure) and then.......

I spent hours on the phone. HOURS. I'm not kidding. I was talking to Verizon about why our DSL was not working when they told me that it would be 2 days ago (so we had it disconnected from the old house). I kept getting different answers from different people and I was put on hold so many times and disconnected I wanted to cry. Finally, someone called be back with the awful truth.

Are you sitting down?

We are 71 feet from the cutoff point of getting a DSL signal. They offered us "dial up" instead.

Dial up?? Do they still do that? Are dinosaurs going to start roaming the Earth again soon?

And, this lovely service will cost a mere $22.95 per month for unlimited service.

Are they kidding? They should pay me $22.95 a month to use it until they get their happy fannys out here and extend that DSL signal a MERE 71 FEET.

OH MY WORD.

So, if you are trying to email me at my regular email address, you can't. Please email us in the meantime to my gmail account which is.....melissaohmyword@gmail.com. Hopefully, after we get back from vacation I'll have everything worked out.

And, now I must get ready for today's festivities....going back and cleaning the old house before the electric gets shut off this week. The fun never ends around here! I'm smiling though. Really.

Now If I Could Just Find My Shaving Cream and Splenda....

Even though I am typing this at the "old" house, we are officially moved in to the "new" house! We had about 10 amazing guys make 2 trips with the largest truck U-Haul rents out, along with each of their own cars and trucks filled to overflowing! The boxes covered just about every square foot of the inside of the new house....praise the Lord the previous owners put in a lot of cabinets and storage in the closets. We finally started feeling like we were making a dent in the boxes around 10pm last night!

As far as the guys who helped us I was overwhelmed by their support and dedication. I get a lump in my throat when I think of how hard they worked and sweated and gave 110% for us.

I'd like to report that everything is working out on the status of our home being sold, but nothing new is going on other than me insisting we must go to settlement by August 15th when the buyers offered August 24th or we can keep their deposit. Keep in mind that this was all supposed to happen no later than July 27th originally (and, that was even a week later than I wanted). We are praying for wisdom and a quick resolve to this problem. I have peace that it is going to work out about 75% of the time, but that other 25% of the time my heart is racing and I am forever calculating a "back up" plan (the kids have some money is their savings accounts, stuff like that I hate to even consider).

But, I still can't get away from the fact that God has a plan in all of this and really the bottom line is that it is just a house, and just money.....none of which we can take with us when our time is up here on earth. SO, I am focusing on enjoying the experience of preparing our home for all we feel God has called it to be....a refuge and place of relaxation and ministry to draw people closer to the Lord.

I am definitely feeling the Madam Blueberry song well up inside of me again......

I Feel It Coming

Normally, I would feel a nervous breakdown coming after the last few days I've had (or shall I say years)?

No, what I feel coming is a BREAKTHROUGH. Despite the circumstances dictating otherwise I am believing that all the pressure, the disappointment and the helplessness that has been a consistent presence in our lives lately in going to draw to a close as we surrender to the God of the Universe who has not left us out here floundering on our own. I will not give up, give in or allow the enemy to take my eyes off of Christ. I will dance with Him, sing with Him, rejoice with Him and allow Him to dry my tears and remind me that His mercy is new and fresh each day.

I am living expectant for the doors He will open and the breakthrough on the horizon. If you think of us please pray that everything works out for our house(s) situation and that The Husband not only gets a job that pays our bills, but also a job where He can encourage and help draw others to Christ.

Thank you so much and I hope to be back to regular "blogging business" next week sometime!

Help!

Please keep us in your prayers. Our buyer's buyer backed out of their deal and we now have 2 houses indefinitely (which means 2 mortgages!). Our buyers still want our house, but they have to start all over and begin showing theirs, etc.... We were supposed to go to closing on July 27th and I can't imagine that will happen now (that's where the praying part comes in!). We have all of our money tied up in our house we are selling so it has been a little scary and now this makes it worse! This just about sent me teetering over the edge, since we have been painting for the last 3 days and surviving on 3-5 hour sleep per night!

I did, however, refinish my first floor. I got to use a POWER sander. COOL!!!

I'm too tired to post pictures, but someday when life returns to normal (which seems like impossible at at this point) I'll show you some before and after pics and tell you the stories (like covering up polka dots on the ceiling and walls of a bedroom that took 4 coats of primer and 5-6 coats of BRIGHT yellow paint which I shook without the lid on tight and, well....it wasn't pretty.......).

I'm tired, but keeping my chin up, thanking the good Lord for all He has done and all He will do!

Signing Off For Awhile

I'm not sure when I will get a chance to "play" and blog on my computer. Today we buy our house and begin the 4 day redecoration process (think of a scaled down Extreme Makeover - Home Edition and I get to play the part of Ty!).

And, horror of horrors we will be without Internet service at all for about 4 days next week. Then, 2 days after it is hooked up we are going on vacation to a place with no Internet service (family camp, woo-hoo!).

But, all kidding aside I feel the grace of God regarding this move. I have grown very nostalgic these last few days and quite honestly, I feel a bit of a loss. This really has been my dream home and I struggle some days comprehending the fact that our income has been so drastically reduced in the last 2 years. I really did not want to move, but I sensed the Lord asking for us to trust Him. And, I woke up this morning with this song on my heart (from Veggie Tales, Madam Blueberry).....

Because a thankful heart is a happy heart.
I'm glad for what I have, that's an easy way to start.

In the end it really doesn't matter what house I live in or what material possessions I have. So, I really am thankful and I also feel assured that God will do wonderful, mighty things in our new neighborhood that we will get to be a part of.

I'm also believing He will put a hedge of holy protection around our house from snakes and rabid raccoons.

In Case You Feel Like Your House is a Mess

I thought I would post some pictures of my house in its current state of complete disaray. Gone are the days of museaum-quality living as we had real estate agent after real estate agent parading potential buyers around our SPOTLESS rooms.

Here is what the tour looks like now.....








You're jealous, aren't you?

8 Random Things About Me

I've been tagged! My pals over at TCC and Krazy Klingers have tagged me and now I am racking my brain to think of 8 random things anyone would find even remotely interesting. Hmmmmmm..

1. I was a brain surgeon and astronaut before I became a mom. Okay....just kidding. I'll be serious.

Real 1. I like to dip McDonald's french fries in honey. And, they must be hot. My kids wait anxiously as I eat the first one to see whether or not I will march myself back up to the cashier and ask for HOT fries. Please.

2. I used to work for a casino in the Bahamas while I was putting myself through college. I was the special event manager. It was a fun job and I met some "B List"celebrities and professional athletes.

3. I met The Husband while I was a bartender, he invited me to his church (I went because I thought he was adorable) and the rest is history.

4. I went to the same high school as professional football player, Kerry Collins, but I graduated 2 years before he did. He was a pretty quiet guy.

5. I like to cook. And, coincidentally, I like to eat. I only pretend to like vegetables most of the time so my kids will eat them or people will think I'm healthier than I really am. So, if you see me eating a salad when we're out, I REALLY want a greasy cheeseburger and fries.

6. I spend way too much time on my computer reading/writing blogs. Although, I must admit it is therapeutic. My goal is to leave a journal for my kids to look back on when they are older.

7. I have one younger brother whose wife can't stand me because we de-clawed our cat and killed a snake we found in our yard. Don't even get me started. Now, I'm going to my happy place......

8. My water broke with #2 after I walked into a tree at The Husband's softball playoffs. Easiest labor and delivery of the 3 kids. For those of you pregnant ladies out there -I highly recommend the "concussion method" for starting your labor.

I did it! My turn to tag! I know some of you may have already been tagged, but our lists are a little intertwined! Please post 8 Random Things About Yourself!

Speaking Freely

The House That Jack Built

The Gang's All Here

On Fire For Him

I Don't Need Surgery...Just Self Control

The results are in and I couldn't wait to blog about my experience at the ENT.

He was by far the funniest doctor I've ever had, even funnier than the ENT we used for #1's ear tubes 10 years ago. Is a great sense of humor a requirement for ENTs I wonder?

Well, let's review the appointment....they were the nicest staff ever. They SMILED at me. Oh my word, if my dentist's staff or pediatrician's staff ever cracks a smile at me, I'll be sure to dedicate an entire post to them. With pictures. Because I honestly would think I had to be dreaming. But, anyway...the nice people took care of me even though I was 7 minutes late due to traffic and an emergency run into Borders because I realized I was bringing my kid's to a SPECIALIST'S office with nothing to do and we had a gift card burning a hole in my pocket for about...ummm....2 years now.

So....I can't possibly tell you every funny thing this grandfatherly-like doctor said, but he was a hoot (this is where I need Classic Mama's talent for re-enactments).

He explained he was going to take a machine and blow air in my nose and it would numb my nose and throat. I was thinking "Uh-oh, my nose has nothing to do with my vocal cords, sir.....

AND, OH MY WORD what are you going to do with THAT?????!!!!!" He had a scary snake-like device in his hand. It was nearly the reaction I had when I found out how the ultrasound tech was going to do an internal ultrasound on my uterus. I could not for the life of me figure out what in the world she was doing with a baseball bat.....

But, anyhoo.....

Sure enough, he blew the air in my nose and this medicine taste dripped down my throat and then some liquid came out my nose (the medicine or snot, I'm not sure). He told me he was going to go watch his training video to brush up on the procedure (ha! ha! ha!) and if I needed anything he would tell me to yell, but since I can't yell I should just wave my arms around (ha! ha! ha!). I told you he was funny! I explained to him I'm not at all used to being at the doctor and having tests performed on me. Childbirth was about all I needed help with from a medical standpoint. He assured me it wouldn't be as complicated as childbirth (ha! ha! ha!).

He came back after I was done "dripping" and I still wasn't sure how exactly one looks at vocal cords and what exactly that has to do with my nose. OH Baby! He took the snake-like thing that looked like something they may use to torture people in Star Wars-type movies and he stuck it right up my left nostril and into my throat. INTO MY THROAT. I am so glad the man had a sense of humor because the look on my face had to be horrified as I tried to come to grips that something in my nose was in my THROAT!! I do not like thinking so much about my body and how it works and what's attached to what and it makes me feel so.....clinical.....so ICKY!!!!

I must have stopped breathing by accident and the doctor reminded me that breathing is good. I decided with that thing up my nose, breathing was just a little too risky for me, thank you very much. But, being human I needed some air so I very carefully breathed in and out mostly through my mouth and then he was done. Pulled it right out and I was done.

THANK YOU JESUS!!!!

I have not yelled at my kids since that day. I was even tempted to yell above the roar at Chuck E Cheese, but instead I walked over to them, bent down and spoke in a normal voice telling them the food was at the table. Who is this quieter, gentler mom?

The good news is that I don't have cancer, I don't have tumors, I have swollen vocal cords that don't get a break. I was given a prescription of Perk-a-something that is an anti-inflammatory and made an appointment to check them again in 2 weeks. He warned me that we need to do the same thing again, but I feel a little more calm now that I know what to expect. I'm already starting to hear my voice return to normal throughout the day. It doesn't last very long, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time.

And, a matter of self-control!

Hersheypark Happy - Animal Edition

We headed over to Hersheypark yesterday since the weather was lovely until about 4pm.


However, it being July 4th, it was CROWDED. Crowded takes on a different meaning to season pass holders. We just don't tolerate it. It sounds a bit uppity, I know, but isn't the point of having season passes to go when no one else is there?

So, we went to the zoo and then the sea lion show (they are not seals!). It got a little hairy in the zoo (no pun intended) because #3 is at the age where she is terrified to get close to the cages of the snakes. And, then we went home and grilled out. Just our little family....I thought we would be bored not making any plans for the holiday, but it was fun and then we packed some more (the kids didn't think that part was fun) when it started to rain. We would have lit sparklers and our $9.99 pack of K-mart fireworks, but it was too wet so we have postponed our festivities, along with the s'more making, until tonight.


This would be my picture of the sea lions when we went on Easter ...see everyone in their winter coats? I figured I already had about 6 pictures of the sea lions so I didn't need to take any more yesterday. But, I figured I needed to explain the winter attire.......

I Just Love the Fourth of July!

I love living in America. We have our share of problems, but this country and everything it was founded on is the greatest. We are so blessed to live here and we don't even realize it on most days!

I love the brave men and women who fight to protect us and our future generations. The idea that they would lay their lives down for strangers just blows me away. In fact "lay their lives down" sounds so mild....instead I should be more exact by saying they would allow themselves to be shot, tortured or brutally murdered for their country. I don't think I could do it.

I love fireworks and patriotic music. I love red, white and blue. I love the smiles on my kids faces as they look up into the sky watching the fireworks. I have a hard time tearing myself away from staring at them to watch the fireworks! There is something almost magical about the experience.

I love the history of the USA. I never get tired of hearing stories about how our country has grown to what it is today. Yes, some of it is sad, but every bit of it is a testimony of God's amazing grace and mercy.

I love our freedom. I love the opportunity. I love the melting pot that it is. We are so blessed!

Can You See a Difference?

I just had a crazy radical question as I was reading my devotions this morning.....

What makes us (Christians) so different then anyone else? Or, maybe I should ask: What SHOULD make us (Christians) different from anyone else?

Really, we don't always look that different except for our programs and prayer groups, but that all seems so "internal", inside the walls of the church. I can get so tired of being judged by people who think they know who I am, but do I also do the same thing to others without even realizing it? That doesn't make me much different than the rest of the world. Do we love without feeling the warm and fuzzies, just because we make a choice to love? That's kind of a different philosophy that goes against the cultural mainstream. Or, should we stop repaying evil with more evil? That, too, is a different mindset. Can we (I) honestly swallow our (my) pride and admit our (my) mistakes instead of making excuses for them?

Although, I'm not sure how this ties together, I was hit this morning that when I yell at my kids and deal with them harshly, I am lacking the proper amount of respect for the fact that God has trusted their stewardship to me. They need discipline, but what they don't need is a stark raving lunatic mama who is seeing an ENT today as a result of my inability to deal with their disobedience in a calm way 50% of the time. Moms joke that yelling just goes with the territory, but I don't see it in my Bible anywhere. Rod, yes. Yelling, no. This is an area personally I want to ask God to change me. It is an area I believe I have compromised because I know so many other mamas that do it, too. I took some sort of comfort in knowing it can't be THAT bad if so many others are doing it. Well, I don't take comfort in it anymore and hope and pray that God will show me a way to deal with this in a more peaceful, loving way. Maybe this is the way we start to make a difference?

Ok....where did that come? True confessions of a shrieker mom.....news at 11.