Me vs. the swirl

Do you see that swirly thing on my watch? Well, it's been staring at me for 2 weeks now. Judging me. Pestering me. Causing me grief. You see, this swirl indicates that I haven't met my fitness goals for the week. Had I met them a trophy would take the place of that pesky swirl.
So, after a 2 week stand off between me & my Polar watch I am determined to hit the gym 5 days this next week. Come next Monday there will be a trophy here congratulating me on my determination & hard work! (I love making myself accountable this way!)

CAN I GET A WITNESS???

Let me just say this first: GOD IS GOOD....ALL THE TIME! O.k., now that we have that understanding here's the latest.

Times are tough. We are in the construction industry. Pretty much enough said right? Doug and I have wrestled many times over the past year about the fate of our business, employees, house, stuff, etc., knowing full well God ultimately is in control of it all, and for that we are so very grateful. Last summer we began to come to terms with the fact that selling the house and getting out before we were sucked under may be the right thing to do. We even found a house that got our attention as a possible replacement. Our hearts were willing although mine I'll admit was a bit sad. We built this house. It's got Doug and I written all over it. We have a quiet piece of property, an amazing view of the Sisters mountains, and it's conveniently located for being "out-of-town". There is a shop to store the construction business supplies and the property to hold the big equipment and a home office to keep us all together. Yet, we were still willing to check out other possibilities, and in the end did not feel we were to move forward at that time.

Fast forward about 6 months. We're feeling the squeeze of the economy all over again. We're also feeling God squeezing our hearts and speaking to us about simplifying. The house that got our attention last summer is still available. I feel we are both at peace now about really leaving this house and moving towards the next adventure. But the details! Seriously! Who is selling a house like this in the market we are in? It'll be a miracle to break even!

Friend, He is SO into the details isn't He? I mean really we've all witnessed them! An astonishing sunrise or sunset. The countless stars in a clear night sky. How about the changing of the seasons and the wonderment of color and beauty they each display? I could go on and on, but the bottom line is how much more is He involved in the life details of those He loves!

You know the story in the New Testament where the fishermen had been casting their nets all day with not a single fish to show for it, and then Jesus shows up and tells them to cast their net on the other side of the boat. Weary and uncertain the fishermen try one last attempt at a previously fruitless act of the day, and miraculously their nets just about broke because it was overflowing with fish!

Well, here we go. We are going to cast our net into the real estate market that has been coming up empty for a long time! Believing Jesus is going to show up at the right moment and fill our net to overflowing!

This is the reason I've titled this "Can I get a witness". If this is God really moving us in a different direction, and not our own human nature, then it's going to have to have His finger prints all over it! And, if He does what it feels like He's doing all of the glory will be to Him and Him alone. Having said all that I go back to the beginning and say again...God is good all the time. If this isn't a direction He's leading physically but maybe just stretching our faith and keeping our true hearts' desires aligned with His then that's good too. We'll ride the ride with Him at the controls and be His witnesses all along the way.

Principal for the Day

Our elementary school has a gala once a year that involves an auction. Doug & I bid on "Principal for the Day" for Justin and Ashonte and they were awarded this special honor on February 12th, 2010.













Originally Ashonte thought she should wear a crown, and a sash. Oh my! The images little girls have in their heads! We talked about who, in reality, wears a crown and/or a sash and decided that mainly applies to queens and princesses. We also discussed the fact that her principal does not wear either of these things so neither would she. Of course she still dressed up for the day.














Justin was going to wear a suit and black top hat, but decided since it was "casual Friday" he would forgo the suit and stick to jeans, t-shirt, and the hat.

They were given clip boards, whistles, and a name badge. They also had a stack of green slips that they handed out to kids during the day. If you get a green slip at our school it means you have been caught being either: Safe, Respectful, or Responsible. They even were allowed to sit in the Staff break room for snack. One of the best parts was it was the day the school celebrated Valentine's Day so they got to go around to all of the classrooms and check out the parties! Not much time was spent in their own classroom. Except for math which from what I understand was a bummer!

I hope they learned that the job isn't an easy one, but a rewarding one as well. They had a blast!

Geocaching fun!

GEO: Of the earth

CACHE: A safe place in which supplies are hidden

Geocaching: A worldwide game of hide & seek treasures. Using a GPS and coordinates of a hidden treasure, geocachers can find caches hidden by other geocachers!

Geocaching rule: If you take a treasure out of the cache you must replace it with a new one!

Trevor and I had the privilege of going out in our local community and geocaching today! My friend Terrie is an experienced geocacher and with her help we went to 6 different coordinates.

I was amazed how many we went to in such a small radius in town! Out of the 6 sites we found 5 caches! We'll be returning to the one we didn't find and look again tomorrow. We were only out for about an hour and a half.

Trevor was a natural. He plugged the coordinates into the GPS and off he went. He even found one that Terrie had been to before but couldn't locate.





I'm hooked with this hide & seek game! I can't wait to take the family out!


P.S. Luke came home today and asked to be homeschooled after he heard about Trevor's adventure! Yikes!

Nifty stuff on Netflix

I was having lunch with a friend who homeschools, and we were comparing notes (but mostly enjoying a beautiful day and fabulous lunch at Seasons!). I told her of my dilemma regarding teaching history and health. I hadn't found a history program that jumped out as interesting what-so-ever and health, well let's just say I hadn't even begun to look. One step at a time!

She had one word for me. NETFLIX! "Seriously?", I asked. Seriously! She said to check out documentaries! Wow! Let's just say our "que" is overflowing with American History right now with a little health mixed in! The other cool thing, that hit me as I searched the lists, was all the amazing subjects that popped out at me that we could study!

Some of them we can even watch instantly which is great. I upgraded our account so I can have 4 movies out at a time! This is definitely going to help fill in the gaps!

Thank you Erin for your brilliant suggestion!

Playing "Catch-Up"

Homeschooling one kid with three still in school is fabulous and frustrating all together! Most of the time it is fabulous. Today, not so much.

Last week the three schooled kids were out of school Wed., Thur., and Friday. Joy and sorrow all in one. It is impossible for me to keep with a homeschool routine when school is out. I really tried. I made a lesson plan. I had worksheets ready. Trevor's school chart was ready for him to check off! I never even tried. For whatever reason Wednesday came and I was runnin'. Somehow I managed to pack every moment full of stuff I had to do, and fun stuff for the kids to do.

Not only did homeschooling get behind, but so did office work, laundry, housework, the checkbook, the grocery shopping...you get the picture. I got NOTHING done these past 5 days. I went through 3 tanks of gas in 1 week! DISGUSTING! I KNOW! OK, so the "Martha" in me is frazzled! I really had to pray last night and plead with God to calm my anxiety of the stuff not done! I can't let the un-doneness go for long before I truly start feeling the onset of an anxiety attack. No joke.

We had a fun 5 days off really. Not always all together, but there were good times had by all. Why can't I just focus on this? Now I can because it's after 9pm Monday night and I got caught up on a lot today. Anxiety is at bay, but now I just feel frazzled.

Justin stayed home today. He woke up in an emotional downward spiral. There was no sense of sending him to school. It would have been bad for everyone. So, he homeschooled with Trevor today and I think he LOVED it. Until his sister brought home his missed class work for the day. Oops! Emotional spiral set in place, but the promise of ice cream kept him in check.

I truly felt like I did school work all day. Although I also folded about 6 loads of laundry, vacuumed the house, washed sheets for 2 beds (oh, that reminds me...beds not made yet...now I just have to laugh), went to Costco, Safeway, had copies of blueprints made for Doug, dropped them off to him, took Trevor to school, made & cleaned up dinner, and FINALLY found time to blog. Come to think of it,I think I was planning on using that blog time to catch up on not being in the office since last Wednesday! I guess I'll still be playing catch up tomorrow too!

A Lineage of Grace

Hope*Faith*Love*Grace*Obedience

I recently finished reading this book. Five stories of 5 lives contained in 1 book. Five women whom God chose: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary. It was amazing. Rivers' fictional storyline based on Biblical events pulled me into the lives of these women like I've never imagined them to be.

Tamar taught me about honoring my husband above all else. What a challenge this is on so many levels. My daily life, schedule, stress, etc. always pulls to the direction of "me". What "I" need to get done. How tired "I" am. The kids pull at me. How unfair of him to ask for my help, advice, or listening ear right now...can't he see I have so much to do. Now, not every day is like this, but there are those days. Tamar proved to be a submissive wife, honoring her husband at every horrible moment of her life. My life is not horrible, and my husband is wonderful to me. How can I not be humbled and somewhat chastised by her example?

Rahab taught me about steadfastness. She was not an Israelite. She knew her situation was hopeless. She knew there was something more to life. She WANTED the God of the Israelites to be her God! She was relentless in her steadfastness. When her world was literally crumbling around her she hung on to the one promise an Israelite made to her. That she would be saved, but she'd have to wait. What determination it took for her to not crumble under the pressure of her people as the walls were coming down. She didn't run. She stood fast and waited. I pray my faith is that strong. I believe it is, but I'm challenged by her example. When life gets hard do I run to the easy way out, or do I stand firm allowing God to rescue me in His timing? She AND her household were saved because of her steadfastness.

Ruth taught me to desire that which is Godly. She was married into the line of God's people, but her people did not believe in God. When her husband died she could have stayed and lived a spoiled life with her family, yet she chose to return to Bethlehem with her widowed mother-in-law because she saw her faith in her God lived out daily. Ruth desired God over comfort. She chose a way of life that was not her own. She embraced the Law because she wanted the blessing of God in her life not the material possessions she could have stayed back for. Am I willing to completely leave all my comforts of home to follow God? This is probably one of the most difficult challenges I could ever face. If He doesn't call me to do this do I at least have a heart that would be willing?

Bathsheba. I wonder what you think of when you think of her? I know the story I've always been told, and who she'll always be known as, but now all I can think of is grace when I hear her name. She taught me to keep a fresh, awe filled, humble, acute sense of God's grace and forgiveness despite my sin. What lavish love God bestowed on her. Proving His goodness and mercy to carry out His plan even though she made a terrible mistake. He still used her. I'm never too far out of His reach of grace for Him to carry out His plan in me.

Mary, mother of Jesus. This story really got to me because I've never imagined her life as possibly being as hard as it is told here. She was chosen by God to be the earthly mother to the Savior of this world! What hope filled her! What could possibly go wrong when the promised Deliverer was finally here! Everyone would see and celebrate their freedom was near! Oh could she be more wrong? Not wrong that He came to set them free, but she never imagined people would ridicule and hurt her and her Son in such a way. Did she feel so left out of Jesus' life and suffered the pain of a mother's heart broken when He left to gather His disciples? Mary taught me that when God makes us part of His plan we may think we've got it all figured out, but His ways are not always fully made known to us. We couldn't handle it! Mary never could have imagined her story would end the way it did. Yet, she never stopped believing that God's plan was sovereign. When God calls me to be part of His plan I hope I remember not to make it about me, never stop believing, and worship Him at all times as Lord of my life.

I finished this book about 2 weeks ago and can't stop thinking about it. I have a feeling I will re-visit it again with anticipation of the lives of five amazing women unfolding before me with God's fingerprints all over them!