A Sad Day At The Grocery Store

Just last week, I spent a few hours at my favorite hair salon.  Not only is my Stylist a good friend, but she is a Miracle Worker:  she keeps me young looking.  


By cutting off a couple of inches, my natural curls perked up a bit.  And a foil highlight brightened things up, and covered the wee bit of gray that is beginning to crop up.  (Oh my!  Time to admit that I might be beginning to age.)


Anyway ... I headed out to the grocery store with Hosanna today.  I was wearing my new "modern & cute" boots, with my jeans tucked in.  I had just done my hair (and actually thought, "So glad I still look young." when I looked in the mirror).  I was wearing a cute purple hooded sweatshirt (again, thinking I have kept myself young and contemporary looking).


And ... horror of all horrors ... while checking out ... 

the clerk asked if I was eligible 

for the senior discount.  

What?!?!  I had to ask her to repeat herself, because I was in shock.  (She probably thought I had lost my hearing in my old age.)



I was NOT with any of my 6 twenty-something children (which could make me feel a bit "older").  No.  I was with my young and beautiful 15 year old daughter (which could easily put me in my 40's (which I am ... for another 2 months).


The "senior discount" gives 10% off on Tuesdays to those over 55.  


Really?!?!  


I look 55+?!?!


So sad.


Maybe the clerk is aging and needs glasses ???

Just A Little Oops ...

I almost forgot to tell you about a funny little "decorating" story that took place last month.

When we bought the new bookshelves (from craigslist) for the living room, we were so excited that they were exactly what we were looking for.  The measurements were unbelievable.  They were exactly the same height of our mantel, and exactly the same depth of our hearth.

However, once we got home with the bookshelves, we realized that our mantel extended a couple of inches out beyond the brick ... which left a rather awkward looking gap between the bricks and the bookshelves.

We would love to get a custom mantel made, to tie the bookshelves together for a "built-in" look ... but that wasn't happening today or tomorrow.  So, I asked Jim if he couldn't just "cut off the extra couple of inches" from the mantel.  It wouldn't matter if they were "rough" looking, as the bookshelves would cover the rough cut.

Off to the hardware store Jim headed, to buy a special little saw for the project.

After awhile, I was working in the School Room when Jim appeared at the door.  He seemed to hesitate a bit as he said, "I need you to come see something in the living room."

As I walked around the corner, I saw the mantel hanging awkwardly ... completely ripped from the wall (w/ corresponding rip marks in the drywall).  Oh dear!

Jim explained that the mantel had only been anchored to the wall in 2 places ... the 2 ends that he had cut off.  So, when he cut them ... the ends stayed put and the mantel ripped away from the drywall.

I laughed (fully assured that Jim could fix this little mess) and asked if he couldn't possibly re-anchor it in 2 new places (and fix the drywall "oops").

So, here's the newly cut and re-anchored mantel, with the drywall all fixed and the living room freshly painted (in new colors).  (The antique window frame will become a picture frame once I make time to cut the mats.)

Full Living Room pics coming soon.

We are LOVING the new ... 

bookshelves ...

paint colors ... 

curtains ...

piano ... 

baskets ... 

lamps ... 

end table ...

and

fall decor.

Praying For A New Job Possibility ... While Thanking God For His Continued Provision

Papa hasn't worked since September.  While we PRAISE God for money in the bank that has carried us through, it would be REALLY nice if he could get a job.


Papa just found out that the refinery company he worked for last spring (a temporary 6 week job) is hiring again.  He headed right down to the company headquarters this morning to turn in his application.


Please pray ...


...  that the Lord would give him favor 
     with the personnel office.


...  that he would get a full-time position.


...  that he would get hired for the refinery 
     that is 30 minutes from home, rather 
     than the one 1 1/2 hours from home.
     (He will commute if he has to, though.)


...  for wisdom for Papa as he continues to seek
     a full-time career position, and not "just a job".


     * should he go back into Teaching?
        (He applied for 14 positions last summer?)


     * should he go back into the Ministry?


     * will the Lord build his Painting Business?


     * will the Refinery become a career?


     * should we look for jobs out of the area,
        and be willing to move anywhere?
       (There is a ministry job down near Seattle,
        but we are so NOT "city people".)






Again ... 


We are THANKING and PRAISING God for His continued provision (although Papa so desires to be working again).


We are THANKING God for the time Papa has had at home the past 2 months, which has given us the time and energy to complete our Re-Decorating Project.


We are THANKING God for the time Papa has had at home the past 2 months, which has given us time for continued Marriage Restoration (after a very TOUGH year).


We are THANKING God for provision through extra Painting Jobs in August & September.


We are THANKING God for provision through the Adoption Tax Credit (even though we still have not yet seen the full amount that we are owed).


We are THANKING God for provision through the buying and selling of things on Craiglist.  (It truly has been amazing; and our balance sheet is still on the positive.)


Yes.  


We are THANKFUL this week, and are so looking forward to a quiet, Family Thanksgiving.




Please keep Papa's Job Situation in your prayers.




What are YOU Thankful for today?

Sold !

Woo Hoo!


Jim told me on Friday, "We need these couches gone THIS WEEKEND."


I put an ad on craigslist on Friday night.  


I mentioned them in yesterday's blog post.  


I got an email today from a local Bloggy Friend.  


She stopped by after church.  


Her boys said, "Buy them.  Buy them."


We were able to bless them with a good price.  


They were able to bless us by taking them this afternoon, so that we can FINISH our Decorating Project.


Thank You, Jesus!

Are You Ready For Thanksgiving?

Both Thanksgiving and Christmas are going to be VERY different around here this year, but I am looking forward to them.




Thanksgiving

Are you ready for Thanksgiving?

Will you be traveling or staying home?

Just your family, or a house full of "extras"?

For the past 20 years, we have traveled to our favorite Christian Family Camp in Oregon for Thanksgiving.

For the past 20 years, Jim has been a teacher or pastor, which meant that he could take 4 or 5 days off for this most special family holiday.

For the past 20 years, our lives have been completely unaffected by "Black Friday", as we have never been anywhere near a shopping center on the day after Thanksgiving.

This year ... however ... we have seen many months of unemployment.

This year ... however ... we knew that we needed to work if there was work to be had.

This year ... however ... Mama will be working at the Christian bookstore for the holiday season.

Which means that ...

...  Mama will be working on Black Friday.

...  the family won't be traveling 
      to Oregon for Thanksgiving.

...  Papa & Mama will be fixing Thanksgiving Dinner 
     for the first time in 20 years.




This year ... 3 of our Big Kids got married, and have made plans with their spouses.


This year ... Lindsey is doing another YWAM School in Colorado.


This year ... Carissa has chosen to spend the holiday with some of her siblings.


Therefore ...


This year ... Gregg will be the only Big Kid spending Thanksgiving with the family.  (He, too, has to work on Black Friday ... so we will only get the 1 day with him.)


Yes ... Thanksgiving will be very different this year.


But ... we are looking forward to a quiet weekend of game playing, movie watching, and eating yummy food with the 6 Younger Kids.


And ... we are hoping for some SNOW to play in.   (With our new-to-us 4x4 Excursion, we can head to the mountains to PLAY this winter ... something that we have never been able to do in the past 20 years of driving a 15 passenger van.  Woo Hoo!!!)

Almost Done!

We are working hard this weekend to finish up our Re-Decorating Project (see THIS post and THIS post).  Papa is painting the last 2 walls of the Family Room this morning.  Then, he will install the new curtain rods and will put up new curtains.


We had held off for a few days on these last 2 walls, because I had been looking on Craigslist for 3 months for new couches for the Family Room, and I REALLY wanted to paint the 2 small walls an accent color to match the couches ... but had almost given up on finding something that was the style & color I was looking for ... and the right price (as in ... very cheap).


God came through this week and BLESSED this last little step of our project.  We are Praising Him for being a God of the Little Details.


Several years ago, we were totally blessed with an inexpensive hand-me-down set of 3 couches.  They were in great shape.  They were quality furniture.  They have served us well.  But ... they were oh. so. not. my. style.

It's not that I didn't like them (or appreciate them).  I would have been just fine with them in a formal living room.  However, they just didn't "fit" the relaxed, comfortable style of a Kid/Teen Hang-Out Room that we were wanting.

So, I've been looking on Craigslist for 3 months for "just the right furniture" ...

...  something comfortable.

...  something casual.

...  something with a "country" look.

...  at least 2 couches or a sectional,

     preferably with a matching chair or two.

...  something to go with the deep blue carpet.

...  hopefully something to coordinate with the

      yellow attached 2nd kitchen and hallway

     (so that Papa wouldn't need to paint those, too).

And ... God knew ALL of those details, and came through for us with just the "perfect" set of furniture ... at just the right price ... at just the right time.

A Blue Denim Sectional

complete with Red & White Pillows.

(The accent walls will be red, which

will look great next to the yellow

kitchen and hallway walls.  The other

walls are newly painted taupe, and I had 

already purchased navy blue curtains.)

A Grandma's Rocking Chair

w/ matching footstool.

(So that I can rock Noah while

watching Family Movies.)

 God even gave us a BONUS gift.

A Big Ottoman

w/ storage space for blankets.

(Mama LOVES an Ottoman and Fluffy Blankets 

while watching movies with Papa & the Gang.)

But ... that's not ALL that the Lord gave us this week.  Oh. My. No.  

For the past 3 months I had also been scouring Craigslist for an Oak Corner T.V. Cabinet.  We have had a nice T.V. Cabinet in the Living Room ... a Rustic Pine Style that matched our Rustic Pine Game Cupboard.  However, we purchased another Rustic Pine Cabinet for the Family Room this fall ... moved the Rustic Pine Game Cupboard downstairs ... and were hoping to move the Rustic Pine T.V. Cabinet downstairs for our stereo.  Thus, the hunt for an Oak t.v. cabinet to match all of the oak furniture in the Living/Dining Rooms.

Again ... totally NOT a priority, but one of those, "It would be nice if _______." type of things.  So, I perused the ads.  And, this week, the same day that I found the denim sectional, there is was ... a small oak t.v. cabinet that will fit perfectly in our small corner for our small living room t.v.  

Funny thing is ... we don't even watch t.v.  We've never had cable.  We know nothing about having 50+ channels.  We haven't watched network t.v. in 20 years.  But, we do occasionally like to watch movies (and Papa & Mama might occasionally watch a t.v. show on our computers).  And, with so many people of so many ages, we do want movie watching capabilities in both the Family Room and Living Room (thus the need for t.v. cabinets when we don't even watch t.v.).

So fun.  So exciting.  So THANKFUL for the LORD's gifts of the little details.

Much to do today ...

...  finish organizing the newly painted School Room.

...  organize Mama's new Scrapbook Area.  Yippee!

...  finish organizing the Living/Dining Rooms.

      (just a couple of boxes of things left to go through)

...  take pictures of all of our "new" rooms to share with

     all of you sweet Bloggy Friends.

Let me know if you are looking for a great price on 3 matching couches (1 couch and 2 love seats).  I need to sell them a.s.a.p., as the Family Room is a bit crowded right now.

An Eerie Silence

9:00 

Friday Night

The Big D. House is quiet ?

What has happened ?

Where are the children ?

Where are the sounds of teenagers ?

The young ones have gone to bed.

The teens are away at a youth retreat.

The house is very, very quiet.

This is a VERY rare occurrence.

Papa & Mama are going to 

snuggle up for a movie or two.

Hope you all are having a quiet Friday night.

We Must Put On The Armor of God

Please pray for our family.

Jim and I believe that the enemy is working overtime to rip apart relationships within our extra large family.  (Remember ... our Family of 17 has 272 Individual Relationships that we are navigating.)


We believe that he did all that he could a year ago to destroy our marriage.  Yet, we clung to the Lord, and God Our Father brought restoration to our marriage.


Then ... while we were all unaware ... we believe that the enemy "snuck in the back door" and ripped apart our family before any of us realized what was happening.  He vandalized our "house" (family) with lies, and turned hearts one against another.

Satan "prowls around like a roaring lion."

1 Peter 5:8

Many of our family relationships are now characterized by anger, hatred, bitterness, gossip, pain, etc ...  It has gotten ...  just. plain. ugly.

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood,

but against the rulers, against the powers,

against the world forces of this darkness,

against the spiritual forces of wickedness

in the heavenly places."

Ephesians 6:12

Jim and I are heart broken ... 


We don't even know how to respond to the accusations leveled against us ...


We are clinging to the Father of HOPE, that He will defeat the father of lies.


We KNOW that Our Mighty God is more powerful, and we TRUST that He will be able to bring TRUTH and LIGHT in the midst of this ugly darkness.




Please pray, specifically, that each member of our family would ...


...  seek TRUTH.


...  desire RIGHTEOUSNESS.


...  seek FORGIVENESS.


...  come together with HUMILITY.


...  bring HONESTY "to the table".


...  seek UNITY.


...  bring UNCONDITIONAL LOVE.




Please pray that the Lord would continue to bring healing to our marriage, and that our relationship would not be torn apart again and again by the pain brought by these other relationship problems.  Pray that the Lord would give us the strength and grace to face each day TOGETHER, walking hand-in-hand.




Please join me as I pray that we may all seek to "Put On The Armor Of God" as taught in Ephesians 6:10-18 ...

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the 

strength of His might.  Put on the full armor of 

God, so that you will be able to stand firm 

against the schemes of the devil.  

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood,

 but against the rulers, against the powers, 

against the world forces of this darkness, 

against the spiritual forces of

wickedness in the heavenly places.  

Therefore, take up the full armor of God, 

so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, 

and having done everything to stand firm.  

Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins 

with truth, and having put on the breastplate 

of righteousness, and having shod your feet 

with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 

in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith 

with which you will be able to extinguish all

flaming arrows of the evil one.  

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword 

of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.  

With all prayer and petition pray at all times 

in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the 

alert with all perseverance and petition 

for all the saints."

Thank you for your love, support, and prayers for our family as we have traveled a very difficult journey these past couple of years.  Your friendship, support, and encouragement means the world to me and Jim.  

While this post has been very difficult to write ... we can no longer pretend that we are "one, big, happy family".  It is the enemy that wants us to keep pretending.  It is he that wants us to keep quiet.  

It is the LORD that wants us to share our joys and our pain.  It is the LORD that wants us to share our prayer needs, so that others can come alongside to help us carry our burdens.

Thank you in advance ... for fighting the fight with us ... for lifting us up to Our Father in Heaven ... for coming alongside to help us carry our burdens.

Let me know how I can pray for you, as well ...

How Does That Apply To Me?

A week ago, I wrote a post about, "Is It Bad If I Do My Bible Study Just So I Can Play The Computer?" ... telling about Elijah (9) and how in-tune he is to hearing the Holy Spirit speak to his heart.


A few days ago, I wrote about, "It's All In How You Ask The Question" ... telling about the difficulties that Rachel (10) has when any question is focused on her.


So, I've been really observant of their learning styles/abilities while helping them with their BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) lessons recently.


Elijah takes awhile to answer the questions about Who, When, What.  He's a slow reader, and doesn't necessarily enjoy reading through the verses to look for "just the facts".  On the other hand, he just whips through the "application questions".  He has no problem at all with the "How do YOU ________?" questions.


Rachel, on the other hand, is a strong reader, and whips right through the "just the facts" questions, but her mind completely stalls when it comes to the "application questions".


Today, I re-worded a couple of her Bible Study questions, and she was able to answer them quite quickly.


Original Questions (which Rachel was completely unable to answer):


What comforts YOU when you think about Jesus as your brother?


What helped convince YOU that Jesus is God's Son (from the verses in Hebrews)?


When the emphasis is on YOU (Rachel), she is unable to answer.  She tells me, "I don't know."  "I don't have an answer."  "Nothing."




Re-Worded Questions (which Rachel was easily able to answer):


What COULD comfort you IF you thought about Jesus as your brother?


What COULD help convince you that Jesus is God's Son?


She sat right down and answered the questions as soon as I re-worded them for her.




How about YOU ...


...  do you prefer the "just the facts" types of questions?


...  do you prefer the "application" questions?




I'm with Elijah ... I MUCH prefer the questions that help me to apply God's Word to MY life, rather than "just the facts".

A Not-So-Quick-And-Easy Weekend Project

Last weekend (after returning from my quick trip to California) I asked Papa if there were any of our projects that he wanted me to focus on.  He mentioned that it would be nice if the new School Room was all put together.  I told him that I fully agreed, but that I felt we should do all of the painting before putting everything on all of the new bookshelves ... since we would have to take everything off of the shelves to move the shelves when he decided to paint.

He agreed, and headed to the School Room for a "quick" paint job.  Shortly thereafter, I peaked my head in the door to see how things were going.  He had taken down the curtains ... covered everything with drop cloths ... and was rolling beautiful red paint on the wall by the window.  Oh yes!  I am so excited for our new Red, White, & Blue School Room.

But ...

Wait ...

"Papa ... since you took down the curtains I realize that this is the only room in the whole house that still has the old 1970's trim in it."  (around the window and along the floors in this nice, big 14 x 18 room)

Sheepishly, Papa responded, "I didn't want to spend the money on more trim?"  (more of a question than a statement ... trying hard to come up with a reason that wasn't "I really don't like doing trim work.")

I assured him that we could probably squeeze the $35 or so in trim boards out of the money from the sale of the car.

So ...

the "little project" became much bigger, and completely took over our house for a few days.

Papa converted the dining room into a

"Trim-Painting Room"

The kitchen housed the rented compressor,

for the rented nail gun, to nail the trim boards.

Papa did much of the saw work outside,

but brought his saw into the mudroom,

when it got too dark and too late

(as he didn't want to keep the neighbors awake,

but had to return the rented items in the morning).

While this picture doesn't show the colors clearly,

the red wall looks MUCH better with the white trim,

than with the old brown 1970s trim.

Now ... in addition to trimming out the window and

putting in new floor trim ... we added a new decorative

touch that we had never done before:  a Chair Rail.

I had really wanted a Red accent wall (the window wall),

and I had also wanted some Blue walls,

but I knew that just Red and Blue walls would be a bit

overwhelming and dark.  So, we decided to have 3 walls

that are 1/2 Blue and 1/2 White, with a Chair Rail trim.

(Our bedroom has white wainscoting on the bottom 1/2

of the walls, while the top 1/2 are 3 blue walls and 1 red.)

The Chair Rail was Jim's idea, 

and we both LOVE how it turned out!

(even though trim work is NOT Jim's idea of fun)

Of course, in order to do all of the trim work and painting,

we had to completely tear apart the room again.

So, now we have the task of putting everything back in place.

But, boy are we EXCITED about our new School Room.

I'm on the lookout for some Red/White/Blue decorations

with an "Old School House" style to them.

Let me know if you have any "Old School House" ideas

or decorating resources.

I'll post more pictures when we get it put back together.