The Update

I'm back.  I'm working like crazy, playing computer games when I get a few minutes to rest, not cooking nearly enough, and loving Daniel more than ever.  We are 4 days away from our flight to Kauai, Hawaii!  We're going with his parents, brother, and sister-in-law.  I am particularly fond of those 4 people and can't wait to spend 8 days with them.  I hope to practice some of my new html skills on this blog when I get back from the trip.  I will try to be good and take lots of pictures.

My absence was due largely to my pregnancy. Sadly, we lost our baby on October 21, 2011.  Once again, this was the result of my genetic abnormality.  We still believe God is loving and sovereign.  Continue to keep us in your prayers as we search God's heart and look for his will for our family.

We knew that another loss was likely, but it's still such a shock, and it doesn't get less traumatic or easier to deal with.  Actually, I have found that this miscarriage challenged my faith in a way that the others didn't.  I had learned so much about the character of God through the other pregnancies and the loss of my first 2 babies.  Sometimes knowing more makes a circumstance harder.  Maybe, I will write more about it soon, but I'm not ready to yet.

I have decided through all of this, that I am not waiting for my dream to come true any longer.  It's too disappointing. Instead, I am actively pursuing a hobby I've always been too chicken to pursue: camping.  We've camped plenty, and Daniel and I have become champions at making camping a comfortable and enjoyable experience.  The camping I'm talking about is the "hike up a small mountain with only what you can carry on your back with no running water or electricity," kind of camping.  I've always wanted to do it, and we are hoping to go on a practice trip in the beginning of March.  We're also gearing up to go backpacking in Ireland and Scotland next year!  HECK YEAH!

That's a very brief summing-up of what's going on with us.Until next time....

Answered Prayers

April 20th we will be welcoming a new addition to our family!  I am pregnant at last!  Thank you for your prayers for us.  I am 8 weeks pregnant and feeling great.  I will definitely keep you posted.  Hopefully I will have sono pics in less than a week.  Keep our growing family in your prayers!

The Kitchen

Today, I conquer my kitchen. I have so many things, although useful, I don't really NEED them. I have an entire set of knives that I really don't use. I use the scissors and the bread knife... that's it. I don't really need 2 sets of measuring cups and 4 sets of measuring spoons, do I? I have to dig through the "stuff drawer" just to find one set. I know that getting rid of all of these things will help me to be disciplined in cleaning them immediately because I don't have back ups for when those are dirty. The clutter is really stressing me out and it's time to kick it to the curb. Cheers to stress free cooking experience and a much cleaner kitchen!

Weekend Alone

I spent the first half of my weekend with my family, husband excluded, which was nice. Now begins the lonely part, which I am pretty excited about. I kicked it off by finishing up the organizing of the office I began on Monday. I even cleaned out the cedar chest and learned that it was full of absolutely nothing that I want to keep except for the manual for my Singer and my old horse's halter. Yeah, two things in a chest that is 19" x 46". So ridiculous. It's a pretty cedar chest, but it REEKS of moth balls. Who puts moth balls in a cedar chest?! I guess they really hate moths. I've got a bit of baking soda and sprinkled some coffee grounds in the bottom. If that fails, I suppose I will actually have to air it out in the sun for a day.

I'm listening to Christmas music while I clean... it's really nice. I think I'm going to stay home from church tomorrow. I need this alone time. I need to regain some focus. It will be nice to have an extended period of alone time with God in the morning, and then to hit the house hard and heavy to have it super nice before my love comes home from Oklahoma. Heck, I may actually cook dinner.

So, to add to the craziness of a new job, a full fledged attack on our lack of organization, and learning to be a regular gym goer... I bought a juicer. That's right, the girl who has passionately hated veggies her entire life bought a juicer and will be consuming nothing but fresh produce in juice form for 30 days. I've lost my mind, and I think I'm going to like the way this turns out. I'm inspired and sick of feeling sick. Hurray for detoxing!

I'll let you know how it goes. I think the juicer will be here about Friday.

Baby Steps to A Simple Life

My new job is going awesomely! Some days are a little chaotic, and the disorganization of the business makes me want to scream. It's really bad, and I don't know how they have functioned as a company. Most of the mess is caused from simple laziness by former employees; it could have been avoided. Some of the original organizational systems could have been better, but it seems like they got buried under poor organization and now it's all I can do to try to dig them back out again. Much less, get our organization back on track.

All of the messes and crisis at work have taught me something about myself. I have it within me to be a master of organization. I'm very good at it! I've been too lazy to keep up with my own messes at home, and now I'm realizing how much time, money, and peace of mind I've lost by letting it get away from me. I've had it!

How much time could I have invested in my husband, family, and friends if I wasn't trying to find our home under the piles of clutter... or even taking me time to find peace of mind in the midst of all the stress I've created for myself? If my home was organized, I managed my time and money well, and didn't become a slave to my possessions, how much joy could I get out of life?

I bought a book titled Organized Simplicity by Tsh Oxenreider. It's wonderful! I'm halfway through it already, and I only started reading it last night. I'm so excited to implement her ideas. You can visit her blog for some downloadable forms to help with home management. I've also been creating a budget and a grocery inventory on Excel for us to follow. Today, I discovered Google Calendar! I've been looking for a free online calendar that I could print off when I needed it rather than carrying around a bulky day planner.

My weekend project is cleaning out the file cabinet and filing the things I've let pile up. My hope is to have a garage sale and use the proceeds to refurnish our office. It's a mismatched mess right now, and I'd love to have a single desk where both of us could sit side by side with our computers.

I'm building a home management notebook to help keep our schedules, finances, and home life organized so that we can live intentionally and simply, saving time for the things that truly matter.

I will keep you posted on my adventure in turning our life upside down.

Change

A lot has happened in a month: most of it in the last 2 weeks. 2 weeks ago tomorrow, we decided that we were going to trade in the gas guzzling F-150 for something a little more economic. We did our research and decided that the Ford Focus was the car for us, so we went in and talked to the salesman. We fell in love with the car and the gas mileage and began the process of purchasing. We are more than doubling our gas mileage and will be saving about $200/month just on gas. Our interest rate got cut in half, so that will save us even more money.

We found out that Daniel will not be getting his promotion. I have to be honest and admit that I was pretty upset. I felt like Daniel deserved the promotion and I was angry that after the way they had been treating him the past 3 years, and then all but promising him this job they would give it to someone else. I've worked through it now and have remembered that God has a plan. I hope the plan includes Daniel getting to work in a different position at his job, but we'll see.

We are dealing with a possible law suit with our mortgage company. Long story short... they didn't pay the premium on our home owners insurance and are now charging us a $3000 escrow shortage. Summary: Chase bank breaks the contract and thinks it's ok that you get penalized for it. Please, don't ever deal with these people. They are crooked beyond belief, we've had nothing but trouble -big trouble- with them for 2 1/2 years. I'm trying to maintain my calm, but this has been very stressful. It's wrecking our credit and they are threatening to foreclose on our house, but we have never missed a payment. It's just that we're 2 months late on paying this shortage because that is a month and a half's salary. AND we shouldn't have to pay it at all, and I have the documentation to prove it.

Despite my horribly stressful week dealing with Chase bank, I have some wonderful news. I have finally been hired! I'm working as an administrative assistant/receptionist for a ministry. I'm super excited, and I start tomorrow. It's only 20 hours/week, but it pays pretty well, and it will help us out a lot! I get to get out of the house and feel like I'm actually contributing to the world :) I'll keep you updated on my new professional life!