Friday, December 14, 2012

Springing the dog from jail!

Our naughty boxer escaped last night due to a couple of inattentive kids who did not close the door behind, them.  It doesn't help that our door does not latch...  We spent quite awhile looking for him last night and calling for him, but could not find him.  He didn't have on a collar because he was in the house, so this added to my concern for him being found.  Last night was a long night and I didn't sleep well listening for him to come home and praying he was okay and not freezing to death!  Boxers don't have much hair! No Duke this morning.  :( 

I had a job interview today--90 minutes of What do you do if this happens?  Tell us about a time you handled a tough situation... How could you have handled it better, etc.  Difficult for an exhausted brain, I must say!

After the job interview, I drove around our neighborhood several times and stopped by home to make posters to put up.  I was going to go to the nearby strip malls to see if any stores would let me hang up posters.  I pulled into a parking space and didn't have peace about going in.  I decided to wait until after I went to the Animal Shelter. 

GOOD NEWS--He was there.  I went up to the counter and asked if I could fill out a missing pet report.  They asked what kind of pet, I said a boxer.  They said, Is he well behaved and knows sit and down?  I agreed he knows sit and down, the well behaved was in question since I was there!!!  They walked me through the kennels--LOTS of pit bull--makes me sad to see so many dogs waiting for homes.  Anyway, HE WAS THERE.  VERY happy to see me.  Springing him from jail cost almost as much as we paid for him, but he is microchipped and current on all vaccinations and licensed.  Since he didn't have on a collar, they gave him all vaccines-- and put some kind of flee killer on him...  I don't have to take him to the vet for a year and the vaccines would probably cost more at the vet.  We've had several good talks with the kids about responsibility and also how to handle sad situations and leaving God in charge.

Hoping for a little less adventure!

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Decking the Halls

We went on Saturday to cut our own tree at a nearby tree farm.  We enjoyed the trek outdoors through the woods.  Our tree is a little on the chubby side, so was a bit of a challenge to find room for and took a lot more ribbon and lights to decorate than usual!!!  We are enjoying it immensely, however.






After we arrived home, we then went and picked up our new dining room set that we bought on Craig's list for $275.  People can laugh at those of us who drive a mini van, but we were able to get all the pieces in our mini van.  :)  Below are pic of our living room and dining room all decked out for Christmas.
















Friday, December 7, 2012

Christmas Humor--Rewind


I post this every year because it continues to make me smile.  :)

The wife was on my case to get the Christmas lights up for a couple of weeks. They're up now, and for some reason she won't talk to me...

 If you haven't already decked your halls, remember to have fun decking them---don't stress.  If you are done--congrats.  We are decorating tomorrow.  I thought I should get my house in order before trying to decorate for Christmas.  We are planning to go cut down our own tree.  :)  I'm supposing this time will much less adventurous than our last time!  http://delightthyselfinthelord.blogspot.com/2008/12/snowy-fun.html  We usually try to cut our own tree every other year--we don't buy a tree on the years we travel to be with family.  In 2010, they had already sold out that years trees to cut, so we were unable to cut one down!  We had waited until my sister could come... We were even too late to buy a cut one!  We ended up with a snowman outdoor decoration for our "tree".  :)




Thursday, December 6, 2012

The Big Move

Our family recently moved from Northern Minnesota to Northern Illinois due to my husband's job.  We prayed about this and know this is God's will.  This moves allows our children to go to a good Christian School that believes as we do. 

What I've learned along the way:

Warning--Ramblings ahead!!!!

  1. God can provide just the skill you need for loading and unloading your moving truck.  We were so blessed to have several men from our church come out to help us load our truck.  We had several strong backs, a tall person for getting everything packed in to the ceiling--and a puzzle master--he was able to figure out how to put things in to maximize space so we could get everything we needed in!!!  When we got to Rockford, we had about 12 men come to help us unload.  I could barely keep up with telling them where to put things!  I had the kids show them where to go and the five of us didn't always keep up!  These kind people--all except one -had never even met us before.  Our truck was unloaded in about 1.5 hours!!!
  2. Putting styrofoam plates between your plates is a cheap and effective way to keep your plates safe!  Love this tip I read online!!!  No broken plates!!!
  3. Unpacking takes longer than I thought.  Upstairs done, craft/sewing/guest room almost--basement almost!!!  Will probably take a detour to decorate for Christmas this weekend!
  4. It is possible for your heart to be quite stubborn and refuse to catch up with your brain--or body for that matter.  My brain realizes this is all for the best and I really do think this move is part of God's plan for our family.  My heart however, misses much back in Minnesota.  Just when I think I have finally lectured my heart into compliance, I find myself crying again.  What a silly heart!!!  I keep telling it that we were incredibly blessed to have lived 14 years in such a beautiful area as Northern Minnesota and meet such great people, etc and many people never get an opportunity to be so blessed!!!  Thankfully, my heart is listening more and more each day.  :)
  5. Leaving the job you love IS hard--harder than I thought.  I really miss my coworkers.  They were a great group of people.  I think that being the manager makes me feel a bit like the mom, so I feel like I've left behind part of my family.  It would probably help if I had another job. I truly feel blessed to have worked with such a great group of people and am trying to remember that most people don't get the opportunity to work in a job they enjoy enough and have such great coworkers that they cry when they leave.  :)  I really miss each one of them...  It makes me sad to think about their day and wonder how things are going--need to stop thinking about it!!!  :)
  6. Finding a new job can be a challenge!!!  When someone calls from a company you have interviewed with 3 different people and have been told that they would like to hire you after the beginning of the year and tells you they are excited that the opportunity opened up sooner than expected and ask you how soon you can start--this does not mean you really have a job!  Apparently the local office and corporate offices had completely different ideas and plans.  I am relieved at this point to be done with the whole thing and know that God has something else in mind.  Just wish that something else did NOT require filling out more resumes and going to more interviews.  Alas, I'm sure this is building my character!  On the upside, I have a second interview tomorrow.  The first was for a supervisor position.  Today, I got a call from a director telling me they had a manager position coming open and wondered if I would like to come in for an interview--tomorrow!!! I know that there are no manager jobs posted--I keep looking... Didn't take me long to say YES!  ;)  She couldn't tell me what departments...  It sounds like may be thinking about doing a bit of shuffling around.  Glad I can trust God to sort it all out.  I have realized through all this that I really do miss being in a doctor's office and would like to continue to work in the office setting.  This organization also offers more paid time off than my last job--not counting holidays--will be about 4 weeks/year!!!  I really think I got spoiled in my last job hunt that required filling out 3 applications and one interview.  So far, this job hunt has required--5 applications; 4 in-person interviews and 3 phone interviews.  I really can't complain--there are people who has spent far more time trying to find a job than I have thus far!  I am thankful God has helped me to leave this all at His feet.  I'm sure God has a job out there for me and we are currently okay with my not working at this moment.  The moment doesn't last that long, but no one in danger of going hungry yet.  :)
  7. Home schooled kids can be successful in a regular school.  We are again so blessed to be able to have our kids in such a wonderful Christian school.  The kids at the school have embraced our kids--okay, so the two girls amongst the 6 boys in Z's class weren't so thrilled about another boy...  E and Z are playing basketball.  The girls have been invited to birthday parties.  T and E have been to a youth activity.   Our kids have commented over and over about how they enjoy going to school and are enjoying the friends they have made.  They are also learning a bit about both good and bad influences, which is good as well.  :)  The teachers and administrator have commented quite a few times about how happy they are with the way they have jumped right in and are participating in class, etc.  
  8. Last, but certainly not least, God can give you a new church home.  When you are part of God's family, you really have family all over the world.  People who aren't part of God's family are amazed by it.  You can walk into a new church and instantly feel a kinship with those at the church.  We are enjoying our new church.  In addition to men showing up to help us unload our van, we also had ladies bring us food that lasted us for several DAYS worth of meals.  The pastor has been such a blessing.  He exudes joy.  I have heard about people who make you smile then they walk into a room, but don't think I have ever met someone I could say this about until now.  He is also quite practical and I leave each service having learned something and having been challenged.
 If you know me personally and would detailed like more information about our move--address, church, etc, please e-mail me.  Since this is a public blog, I keep personal details generalized.


Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Election Day

How to have peace about our election--no matter how it turns out.

I am thankful for the peace God has given me about politics.  I admit I don't really agree with much that goes on in politics and have yet to vote for a president Iwas really excited about voting for.  I have peace though, knowing that God is in charge and has promised over and over to take care of me and my family.  :)  I also am a bit bothered when Christians act like the world is coming to an end when politicians they don't agree with are elected.  Don't worry, I am not naive.  I fully understand the political beast.  I just think my God is bigger than the beast.
 
Before going into full panic mode regarding elections, please remember: 
  1. God is still in charge.
  2. We don't have to watch or listen to the news if it is stressing us out, go on a news fast--listen to good music or sermons.
  3. Remember the USA IS the best country on the earth (I admit this is my opinion), however there are many other countries in which people not only survive, but love their country and are happy--with out the perks of living in our country.  If our way of life changes somewhat, we WILL survive and even be happy here still.
  4. Again, I cannot stress enough the importance of remembering God is in charge.  Proverbs 21:1 The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.
  5. God can still change the course of our country if that is His will.  God is still on the throne and NO government entity can "sneak" anything by Him.  I admit I am not a fan AT ALL of many things going on in our country, however, God is still in control.  Jeremiah 32:17 Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:
  6. No matter what laws are passed, God will still take care of us.  Psalm 37:25 I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.  Philippians 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
  7. God can work even through bad things to bring about good.  Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
  8. God does not want us fretting and upset about things that happen in our lives.  He wants us to give our worries and concerns to Him.  He is much smarter than us and can take care of our problems much better than we can.  Matthew 11:28-30  Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
What we can do:
  1.  Stay informed.  Read/watch the news WITH discernment!
  2. Wisely and graciously educate those that discuss issues with you.  I do this by asking them questions that lead them in the direction I would like them to go.  This way I'm not telling them what to believe and at least give them something to think about.  NEVER get upset; angry.  This must be done calmly!
  3. DO NOT quote unproven facts; fables, etc!!!  The whole birther movement is a good example of this... It is quite easy to check facts.  Please do.  When you quote misinformation, you lose all credibility and actually damage your cause because people stop believing you. 
  4. Remember to pray for our government officials.  I pray that God will:
    • Save those who are unsaved
    • Give them the desire to do what is right
    • Help them to make decisions that are best for our country
    • Give them the desire to put our country first, not their political careers or pocket book!
    • I have at times asked God to keep them awake with all the ways their bad decision will affect others.   :)

Monday, May 21, 2012

Week Recap

Last Wednesday I picked up the kids and excitedly asked "Who wants to go with me to Christopher and Banks?"  There was complete silence until K says "chirp, chirp, chirp."  The kids then informed that was the crickets chirping while laughing hysterically.  I told them they were all brats and I should trade them in for 4 well-behaved kids!  E then informed me that this would be impossible and went on to tell me about many other kids in our circle of influence who I should be glad aren't mine due to ________________.  I told her I was glad she was so humble, but agreed I really didn't want to trade them in!

K decided on Thursday morning to ride in the front seat and was quite proud she beat her siblings to the seat.  Remembering her oneriness the night before, I looked at the Air bag off indicator light and explained to her that we have a VERY smart van that can detect brats and when it realized there is a brat in the seat, it turns on the brat detector light.  I pointed out the light does NOT come on when I am in the seat because I am NOT a brat!  She disagrees with me...  It was pretty hilarious on Friday when we went to give an adult friend a ride home and the light turned on for a long 10 second.  The kids were convinced she was a brat.  :) 

This week E was given some dresses and 2 were not to her taste. I remember those days (sorry, Mom) as a pre-teen and teen when I was pretty picky about what I wanted to wear, so I offered to take the decorations off of the dresses she didn't like and we could look for ribbon, etc. to redecorate the dresses--for instance she does not think that pink and red should EVER go together.   We took the two dresses to Walmart and she picked out new decorations.  I hand sewed decorations to one of the dresses and a ribbon to the waste of the other.  She wants 15 small bows with pearls in the middle sewed to the bodice of the one with the ribbon.  I told her this would be a great learning opportunity for her!  Surprisingly, her part isn't done yet...

We had a great Bible Conference on the book of Philippians.  On Friday night he talked about Approving those things that are excellent.  If you really think about this a lot, it really puts things into perspective and helps with temptations that come your way! 

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Mother Daughter Banquet 2012





Our theme for the Mother Daughter Banquet was "Walk with the Lord."  Several ladies decorated tables.  The girls and I were among them.  Our theme was: Walk with the Lord and shine with the light of life. 

  Our verse was:   
John 8:12
Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

We found this poem and had it on the table as well:

Walk With Me, Lord
In the morning before I start on my journey,
As I greet and prepare to meet you each new day,
Once more you strengthen my soul and encourage me
And bolster my confidence all along the way.
Lord, teach me how to walk by faith and not by sight.
Each time I renew my mind, I prove you once more:
That you withhold no good thing from those who walk upright–
I have seen your faithfulness countless times before,
As you opened doors when there seemed to be no way.
Though transient life brings heights of joy, depths of sorrow,
The love I share today surpasses yesterday
But fades in light of my love for you tomorrow.
Led by the spirit and not by mere emotion,
I begin this day with pure-hearted devotion.

We had fun making our table sparkle with gems.  The table "cloth" is material I'll make into skirts for the girls.  :)  I also have a nicely decorate summer bench in my entry way with the decorations from the table.  Love reusing things!

 

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

High Maintenance

I now manage an optical shop.  Part of my Christmas gift from work--in addition to the 29 extra personnel to manage and two new departments... 

Anyway, I pushed for us to start carrying Coach frames since I see a lot of Coach handbags around work.  I let the head doctor of Ophthalmology know we were getting Coach, so we would be adding to our designer lines since we already had Jimmy Choo and Kate Spade--"whom I had never heard of before starting there, but seems to be popular with the wealthier echelon."  He looked at me rather surprised and said, "You apparently don't have a high maintenance wife."  Apparently my husband doesn't either.  I decided to google Kate Spade and discovered their purses are about $400 each.  Amazing! I think my purse would have to double as a dishwasher for me to pay $400 for it!!!

Friday, April 27, 2012

E turns 12

E turns 12 today.  She really has come a long was and is turning into a great young lady.  She even practices the piano most of the time without being reminded.  She is pretty excited about her gifts.  She did pretty well--books, clothes, watch, a matching purse, wallet, and flip flops, and $$$$!  Daddy took her out to Dairy Queen since he is leaving tonight for a Cub Scout campout with Z.  We will have her birthday dinner and cake on Sunday when he is back.  :)  She has also enjoyed talking to those who are calling to wish her a happy birthday. 

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Everyone, please stop trying to out-martyr the rest of the world!!!


I have been observing for quite sometime this "contest" between stay at home moms, working moms, single moms, single people, etc. to prove they are the busiest and have the most difficult life.  This really bugs me!

First of all, if you are a Christian, you should be doing what God called you to do--whether that is stay at home mom, working mom, single lady, etc.  I know that there are some who would say that it is wrong for moms to work outside the home.  I don't agree.  I think we need Christian ladies and moms to work in the world and be salt in the work place.  I admit this is my opinion.  Each family needs to decide what is best for THEIR family and worry about THEIR family.  Only the family itself can decide what is best for their family since each family is unique.

Please stop playing the martyr.  I hate seeing discussions about who is busier--the stay at home mom, working mom, or single lady.  I've seen stay at home moms insist they are the busiest chasing around kids all day while trying to get the home school and house work done.  I then hear working moms who say they are the busiest because they have to fit all the house work, dinner, errands, etc in on non-working hours.  I then hear the single lady say she is the busiest because all those with families don't volunteer, work late, or help granny so they must pick up the slack.  *SIGH* Isn't this a way to make oneself feel superior to those around them and really just pride?

Can we not just agree EVERYONE is busy, but in different ways???  As long as you are doing what God wants you do, doing it to the best of your ability and contributing to society, you are a hero in my book and God is also pleased with you.  Please stop trying to prove something and just be content with the job God has called you to. Please just play nicely in the sand box with everyone else--stay at home mom, working mom, single lady, etc.


Thanks for listening.  :)

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Hello again!

I realize my blog has been quite neglected, largely due to my job that takes more time.  It has been interesting to see how the Lord leads.  I applied for a job working as a manager and RN.  I truly loved this job and really felt comfortable with the work and the people.  The end of December, however, God saw fit to shake my work life up well, A LOT.  I went from having 18 people, including docs and 2 departments to manage to 47 people and essentially 4 departments!  It has been interesting and frankly difficult.  I also got a new boss out of the deal.  It has been interesting because my last boss had a hands-off approach and my new boss is much more involved.  This isn't bad, just different.  I also gave up all nursing duties.  This was probably the hardest thing for me.  I now only talk to patients when they are upset about something!  I have always enjoyed caring for patients.  I am grateful for the lessons I've learned and continue to learn along the way.  I feel truly blessed to know that God is in charge and even when we end up with something we didn't ask for and wasn't necessarily "fair," we can rest knowing that God is with us and has something to teach us!

Speaking of work, today started off as quite an adventure!  I received my second call in for the day at 0620!  My first was yesterday afternoon.  This is in addition to one person on maternity leave and another on vacation.  Did I mention on of the docs put himself out for vacation, then changed his mind and was now going to be in the office, so we were pretty skeleton crewed before the first call in!  I had to figure out how to rearrange staff as I had 2 docs in neighborhood sites...  This meant I needed to call 5 employees to rearrange where/what time they would arrive.  Oh AND get the kids ready and out the door!!!  When I arrived at work I had a brief panic attack as I was walking in and quickly looked down at my clothes to make sure they matched as I had no idea what skirt I grabbed out of the closet and hoped it matched my shirt.  :)  They did match--God even cares if we match apparently!

Funny moment #1 at work--My optical staff told me we received an advertisement display from a frame company that had an immodestly dressed lady on it.  I thanked her for being attentive to this because as an organization would want to be sensitive about this.  As I was walking across our skywalk later in the day I happened to glance over at our life-size bronze statues of the "naked" family as everyone calls them because they are well, naked.  I have no idea why one would create this, let alone buy it, let alone display it, but this is what we have in front of one of our buildings.  You have to admit this is pretty ironic!!!  So thankful my staff are sensitive about this, however!

Funny moment #2--we are going to have virtual take your child to work day.  How does that work????  This concept made me giggle.  On Thursday, we are supposed to talk to our kids about work and they have a video they can watch... I do appreciate the thought and effort that is going into this--they've come up with some activities you can do with your kids.  I just think it should be tell your child about your work day...  Here's hoping we can become virtual workers soon.  :)

Saturday, March 31, 2012

T turns 13

T turned 13 today.  It is amazing to think I have a teen in my home now!!!  He has a great heart and loves to help other.  He wanted a new suit for his birthday, so we went suit shopping.  He is in between the boys and men sizes, so this was a bit of a challenge.  In the end we found him one.  He is pretty proud of it AND looks pretty spiffy in it.  :) 

Saturday, January 21, 2012

My poor neglected blog...

I was a little ashamed to see I haven't posted since August!!! 

September--We went camping up on the Iron Range for Labor day.  The kids got to ride in a friend's boat, go canoeing, and fishing.  They even caught a couple of fish.  :)

October--we found out hubby's job as it was would be changing.  There was a strong possibility we would have to move, so far his company has decided he can work from home and travel to the nearest office once a week so we've been able to stay put.

November--we enjoyed a four day Thanksgiving weekend, complete with Turkey, soap making, crafts, and Christmas candy making.  Skipped Black Friday, though.

December-we traveled back home for Christmas.  We enjoyed see our new niece and visiting with family.

January--the kids have been enjoying skiing