Coming Soon....

House pictures...I promise. Several of you have been asking and I've located the camera, so as soon as I catch a free minute, I'll post some pictures. Promise!

On a positive note, we're in, we're living, and we're chaotic...but we're getting there. Kitchen and bedroom are almost all unpacked. Trenton has all four toilets and showers up and running. We've not *fingers crossed* seen any live mice for a couple weeks (or none my husband has mentioned to me anyway). I baked my first cake in the new kitchen yesterday and actually had room to move around. Mom helped me get the bedroom "mom" cleaned on Monday night and I've slept great the last two nights. We hung a few pictures yesterday and I'm already dreaming of Christmas.

NOW...I feel like I need to express how extremely grateful and thankful I am that God provided us with our little house 2 years ago. As a newly married couple, being able to move into "our" own home was absolutely memorable. I know most people would jump at the idea of moving to a house that has 4 times the space we had in our little house, but I loved our little house with all my heart. I cried several nights while trying to decide if I really wanted to leave it. Sure having to push the kitchen table out of the way to open the fridge was a pain. Not having a single closet in the house caused many moments of anxiety when looking for a certain item of clothing because there was no space for dressers. Having no cabinet space or room to move when trying to roll out pie crust caused me much distress. BUT that little house was where we first made our home as husband and wife. That little bitty spare bedroom was where I dreamed of decorating a nursery and bringing our baby home last year. That cramped living room with the drafty windows is where I sulked all winter because I felt abadoned by God. The tiny bedroom that was always lit up because the pole light shone right in the window ALL night long, was where my husband held me as I sobbed after our loss. BUT that little cramped kitchen is also where we danced to the radio. That same living room is where we snuggled on the couch and laughed while watching the puppies wiggle around on the floor. The basement that flooded and ruined our furnace and water heater is where I think we first realized that well, sometimes life just stinks.

And while I'm extremely happy to have enough room to play indoor football and space to actually have friends over to visit without the CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome).....I thank God for our little house that was filled with love, happiness, sadness, determination, joy, life, death, tears, smiles, and laughter. It was a blessing in many ways to us and our marriage.

By Your Side

The strangest thing has been happening to me lately. Each night when I pray, the same song pops into my head, but only the chorus. I sing myself to sleep silently repeating the chorus over and over hoping that I'll be able to remember it in the morning. I'm sure most of you know the one thing that is always in my prayers, each and every night. Each night, I pray for our babies that we will never hold in our arms here on Earth and I pray that God will bless us with ones we can hold soon. These words have comforted me every night, through my tears, for about the last month. Well, apparently while I'm drifting away, someone erases those words from my memory, because every morning, I think and think and hum and hum, but can never remember them. Now, Oh Happy Day can get stuck in my head for a week at a time, but the words to a song I actually WANT to remember....GONE! Every morning, the minute I get in the car, I turn on Spirit FM, hoping I'll hear the song and it will jog my memory. No such luck. Until today....

I don't know if this song is God's way of comforting me and reminding me that He still loves Trenton & I even though thing have been so hard and difficult this past year. Or if it's His way of trying to tell me to just keep praying and believing. I'm not sure. But in case I forget these again....I'm bloggin' em' down....



BY YOUR SIDE
JAMIE SLOCUM

And I know there’s a plan for you
Your life has a purpose
There’s hope beyond your broken road
Jesus set a place for you
At the front of the table with the weary and the wounded
And He’s showing the way, the truth,
the life for every day
So when you lose your way

CHORUS:
Don’t give up, don’t give in
This is a race that you can win
Every time you get passed by
There is a reason why
God loves and believes in you
He knows the pain that you’re going
through
He’s with you every step of the way
And He’s by your side

When your life comes crashing in
You’re a ship without a sail
Everything you’ve tried has failed you
Never thought you’d feel so sad
It’s a nightmare without end
It's getting harder to defend it
God will send his heavenly host to fight
for you and help you walk on through it

CHORUS:
Don’t give up, don’t give in
This is a race that you can win
Every time you get passed by
There is a reason why
God loves and believes in you
He knows the pain that you’re going
through
He’s with you every step of the way
And He’s by your side

By your side every day every night

CHORUS:
Don’t give up, don’t give in
This is a race that you can win
Every time you get passed by
And you’ve lost your way

CHORUS:
Don’t give up, don’t give in
This is a race that you can win
Every time you get passed by
There is a reason why
God loves and believes in you
He knows the pain that you’re going
through
He’s with you every step of the way

REPEAT CHORUS

Don’t give up, don’t give in
This is a race that you can win
Every time you get passed by
There is a reason why
God loves and believes in you
He knows the pain that you’re going
through
He's with you every step of the way
And He’s by your side

I need your help Ladies- Decorating Question

Ok...I've been looking at different bedroom sets for several months now. I can't make up my mind on a color scheme. Now that I know we're going to be allowed to paint at the new house, I'm trying to decide. Here are my top color schemes: Chocolate/aqua or chocolate/green...or any other suggestions???

Here are the bedroom sets I've found at JCPenney's that I like....BUT I CANNOT pick a favorite. Trenton doesn't like any of them in particular b/c he would prefer our bedroom be decorated like a tomb with like hunter green, navy, black, or something along those lines...not happening. Please give me your opinions. I can only attach some of the pictures...check out the links for the others.

#1) Tranquil Flowers: Blue, Green or Cream

#2) Tobiana: Blue or Green

#3) Sakura:Blue

#4) Laila:Green

or #5) Regatta from Ebay in blue or green

Hebrew 11:1

It's my 100th post. I wanted to celebrate, but I can't. But I do want to remember it by leaving this verse as a reminder that life will go on and to just keep having faith that GOD has a plan.

Hebrews 11:1

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and being certain of what we do not see.




God, give us grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other.

Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as Jesus did,
This sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it,
Trusting that You will make all things right,
If I surrender to Your will,
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with You forever in the next.

Amen.

Whoa...life turned upside down

Life is....exhausting right now. I'm not sure how those of you with school-aged kids ever get back into a routine, b/c this girl is worn out.

Summer went by WAY to quickly. Started back to work in August and it's been a constant up-hill battle every since. I, however, have started planninng our meals and only using what we have here at the house. I'm proud to say in the last two weeks, the only thing I've bought is eggs and milk. Now, tonight we cheated and had Buddy's b/c we were out at the farm, but other than that it's been freezer, pantry, and garden cooking for us. Which has saved us a lot of money, but also a lot of stress. Trenton is working from home now, which is also nice b/c he can help with laundry, dishes, etc. If I get off work late, he can preheat the oven and stick whatever I have ready in the oven. Also, I've been making sure all the dishes are washed or put in the dishwasher before we got to bed. This makes prep work in the morning easier, and I feel less guilty about how late I've had to work these past few weeks.

At school.......where to start! It's getting easier and harder at the same time. Yesterday, I only left my office, other than just stepping across to the main office, once. That was to pee on my way out the door to go home at 6:00. Things are getting crossed off my list and I've been extremely productive. BUT my door is like a revolving door and more stuff gets added to the list every DAY! We've had 10 new special ed kids enroll this year. Many just showing up on our doorstep wanting to start that day. I hate putting more kids on the teachers, but it's just part of it I guess. I've got a lot better grasp on how things work this year and have a TON of ideas for next summer to make my back to school transition go smoother.

My husband is working extremely hard to get his business up and running. They should be starting the dirt work for the building tomorrow. He picked up his weigh wagon in Chillicothe today. He has a meet & greet with customers on Friday. He's really found his niche with this position I think, and I couldn't be prouder of him! I know it's going to be stressful on us as a couple, but I think we'll make a great team!

We're going to be able to move after September 16th. My goal is to start packing this weekend and be all moved by the end of September and have our house ready to rent out Oct. 1st. That's my plan...we'll see what God has in store.

Miss Myra, my neice, turns 1 on Sept. 15th. I can't believe it's been almost a year! I can't imagine life without her. She just makes my life complete and she's not even mine! She's hilarious, sassy, adorable, and just a joy! She changes everytime I see her. She is absolutely my most favorite kid in the whole world!!

Other than that, all is quiet on the home front.