My Journey To Contentment

I have seen that a couple of my friends were reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp.  I checked out Ann's blog, and after reading just a few entries, I knew I had to read this book.  Desperately needed to read this book.  Why?

Because I am a complainer.  Discontent.  And it flows from my heart to my mind and out my mouth.  It's ugly.  It has imprisoned me in a state of negativity.  The pessimism was so thick, I couldn't see the optimism for the half-empty glasses.

The premise of the book is that it is gratitude that engages us into communion with God.  If we can't be thankful in the little things, we aren't worshipping Him, praising Him, or giving Him glory.  She began making a list of 1,000 things she loved, and in so doing, she discovered that each was a gift from God, and the mere naming of these things was worship.

I started a journal just for my list.

 "Every day, I will reflect on my blessings.  I will refuse to complain.  I will refuse negativity.  I will be thankful.  Even when it's hard, I will find that blessing in the pain, the beauty in the ash heap.  I will be changed.  He will soften my heart.  My mind. And my tongue.  I will learn to be content."

I've only been keeping my list for six days.  But I can already tell a difference.  I am not giving my mind free reign.  The minute a negative thought arises, I find myself telling it, "No, I will not complain.  How can I be thankful instead?"  Some of you may have noticed my thanksgiving posts on Facebook.  They arose out of this.  There are enough bad attitudes and complainers on Facebook.  I don't need to make it worse.

And you know what I've discovered?

People like to stop and be thankful.  They like the positive.  They like not thinking about what is wrong with everything.

#3    Dave coming home every day
#9    Felix's coughing laugh
#17  Bob Ross and "happy trees"
#19  My baby in heaven, only mine for a brief moment, but always God's
#20  The way Felix hold's Milo's hand while nursing or sleeping
#24  A heart that keeps hoping
#26  Having my hands full
#31  Sunshine
#32  Hearing the roll of tricycles on the deck
#37  The Helper who helps me to choose the path of holiness and contentment
#39  Lucy's giggle as she runs back to her bed and me trying not to smile

Wanna join me?

Crystal Bowersox and Eagerly Anticipated News

I love me some Bowersox. Seriously. She is the best contestant I've ever seen on American Idol. Of course, I haven't watched every season. She and Casey James are my favorites, and I am pretty dang sure I'll be buying albums from both of them. I'm even contemplating buying some iTunes on 'em right now.

I really like how relaxed they are on stage. I dig that they can play instruments and that they consistently sound good. Anyways, they are my pick for the TOP TWO. Don't know why I felt I needed to share my American Idol picks with you, but there you go.

Also, sorry for being a Debbie Downer over the last week. The funk took over, and I yielded to its pity party. Thankfully, Jesus is still the same, loving me and leading me patiently through it. Please don't worry about me--surely you have days like that too! Thanks for all the sweet love I've received. I really appreciate it.

As for this news I've been referring to for the past week...

DRUMROLL, PLEASE............................................................................................






We are going to homeschool. Surpised? We are! Let me tell ya a little about our journey in this arena. I posed a question, asking for opinions on my old blog a few years ago--you can read the entry and comments HERE. People are pretty opinionated when it comes to what kind of schooling you use for your kids. I have been one of those people.

No more. I have turned over a new leaf.

I am eating crow. Lots and lots of crow. Mmmmm, tasty.

I always said I would not homeschool unless we were in a jungle somewhere. Well, small-town Arkansas is our jungle, I guess. :) When we moved here, I found out about a church-run pre-k and kindergarten. It didn't go beyond that, so public school would inevitably be the destination following kindergarten.

I loved that the church school is four days a week, 8-12. Wonderful. But I knew I couldn't send Sam there for one year and then bring him home. He would be really sad, I'm pretty sure. But, the only other alternative was to send him to the public school. I was not really thrilled that the public school does not teach phonics at all. I have heard that the teachers and administration at the public school are wonderful people. I don't doubt that.

But, I have zero peace about sending the kids there. Nada. Zip. Zilch.

The Holy Spirit leads us into all truth in peace. I got a text the other day notifying me that the applications for church school were available. My head started to swim. I had so many thoughts and questions I'd never considered before.

I hadn't prayed about it--beyond the fact that I knew the Lord said I didn't HAVE TO homeschool. I liked that. I felt peace that my decision was still mine. This time, though, I just realized how my biggest reason not to homeschool was fear.

Fear of failure.
Fear of ruining my kids.
Fear of responsibility.

Dave and I prayed over our decision, and the Lord quickly made it clear that He has equipped me to do this. I love how gentle He is. I love how he gives me the room to make a decision. I don't feel that if I sent the kids to school I would be out of His will--I just know that this is a better decision for our family right now.

That's another thing. We are taking this a year at a time. We are not sold out to it or committed beyond THIS YEAR. We are open to new directions from the Lord. We always want to do what is best for our kids, and for now, that is homeschooling.

Kindergarten.

I have been chatting with homeschooling moms about their kindergarten experiences, and I keep getting the same answer. Keep it simple. So, I am. I haven't fully decided on my curriculum, but I have very good ideas for what I want to use.

It looks as if I will also be joining a LOW KEY co-op in a nearby town. I think it will be fun--especially because I will have friends there already. Sam is super excited about that.

I'm actually excited about this. I never thought I would be!

I'm experiencing a new level of confidence about it as well. That is relieving to have peace AND feel confident.

So, that's my news. We are homeschooling. Kind of anti-climatic, don't you think?

My Mental Eyes Are Bigger Than My Emotional Stomach

I've bitten off more than I can chew--emotionally. Jesus is so gentle, even in that. He reminded me this evening that He will heal me in His timing. He will do the transforming--I just have to be teachable and receptive. He will overcome my struggles for me as I rest in Him.

I don't want anyone to worry about me. I'm okay, really. I think I underestimated the emotional toll that weaning and hormones combined might have on someone with as delicate a constitution as myself (a little Jane Austen for ya).

There are several areas of my life that I suddenly felt I had to repair--parenting, marriage, my own baggage and life patterns. It's just too much all at once.

I am thankful for the grace and peace that comes when I listen to the One whose opinions are just and true and perfectly timed. His mercies are new every morning. Great is His faithfulness to me.

Sobriety Beats Cleverness Today

I was going to write something witty today. I was going to try to make you laugh.

But that's all down the toilet.

I just received some sobering news about my dear friend, Kathy. She is in the ICU, on a ventilator, and has been unconscious for an indeterminate amount of time. She has been ill for the last three months, and there haven't been a lot of answers for her. Please pray with me that what is hidden in her body will come to light--that the doctors will discover what has been making her sick for the last three months. Pray that she will be healed. Pray that her husband, Scott, will be comforted and empowered during this time.

Thank you.

Reflux Revisited

I took my sweet Lucy in for a weight check.

2 ounces in one month. Gained. That's it.

I was told by a doctor friend that it should be somewhere between 5-8 oz a month following their first birthday.

She's 15 months now. She doesn't choose to walk on her own, she has to be coaxed. I don't think it is lack of ability as much as it is fear or timidity. :) She looks so nervous when you try to get her to walk. She needs a little confidence! She is picking up new words fairly quickly, and I suspect she will follow more in her sister's footsteps in her verbal skills.

Getting her to eat is a struggle. At first, she was eating alright but not drinking whole milk. So, then I decided to go for dumping the Carnation Instant Breakfast in her whole milk to enhance the flavor and provide some extra protein. That worked. She started drinking more milk, but she started eating less food. I've even caught her with spit-up on her shirt a few times. So, the idea that she may still be struggling with reflux has resurfaced.

She struggled immensely when she was 1-3 months. She refused to nurse a lot. She wasn't much of a spitter, but you could tell she was in pain. We assume she eventually got used to nursing with reflux because we didn't keep her on the Axid for too long. Then, we began to introduce food, and she was not interested. She was more interested in what was on my plate than baby food, so I finally gave up with the baby food. But I notice now, most of the fruits and veggies she was getting from her baby food were probably quite acidic.

We moved to table food, and she struggled for about a month getting the skills to chew and maneuver it in her mouth. She was doing alright. But, then I was worried about her not drinking much whole milk. She was still nursing 2-3 times a day, but still...

Cow's milk is acidic. It is not basic, contrary to popular belief. Both milk and chocolate can really irritate someone with acid reflux. And I was giving her that chocolate Carnation in hopes of getting her more of what she needs. But then she stopped wanting food. Vicious cycle!!!

So, my 15 month old weighs a whopping 17 lbs 14 oz. I have shed many tears over this, but I think I am on my way to a happy place. I'm not truly convinced she NEEDS the whole milk. She will eat yogurt and cheese (and I may sneak heavy cream into her oatmeal). We have her on Prevacid solutabs for a month. We're going to see if it makes a difference in her appetite. If it doesn't, then we may do some testing to rule out other issues. We want to be as conservative as we can without missing something important. We want to do everything we can to help her. I hope whatever happens, we find out that she's just herself.

But I still feel like I need to enhance what she will eat so she can get the maximum calories out of it.

I took Mckmama's advice. I went to Whole Foods and bought a few things to boost her food. I got some flax seed, some flax seed oil, some steel cut oats (twice the fiber of whole grain rolled oats!!! and an extra gram of protein!), and some more tahini to make hummus. For breakfast, I made the kids some oatmeal with the steel cut oats, a tablespoon of flax seed, and of course water. After it cooked, I added some cinnamon, a little brown sugar (didn't have honey), and some heavy cream to thicken it up!

She ate half of it. And she ate a whole container of Yo-baby whole milk yogurt.

This is huge. After her meal, I offered her a sippy cup with milk. She knocked it away.

She is still nursing 2-3 times a day. I feel really good about that.

She may refuse lunch, but for now, she ate her breakfast, and I couldn't be more pleased. We may discover that reflux isn't the issue. I hope that she's just small and finicky and ornery. Please pray for her--pray that she will begin to eat more and gain more. Regardless of growth charts, I know she isn't eating enough. I see what goes in her mouth and what ends up on the floor. Thank you for praying.

If you have a reflux story you want to share with me, I would love to hear it.

Pharisaical Parenting: Punishment and Reward

pharisaical (adj.)--practicing or advocating strict observance of external forms and ceremonies of religion or conduct without regard to the spirit; self-righteous; hypocritical.

I was blown away by the response to my last post, both here in Blogger-land and on Facebook. I'm so glad it was a blessing to so many. The nice thing is that Jesus was the One who was doing everything; I just got to be a part! I'm such a novice in the arena of grace-based parenting. I welcome further reading materials and ideas to round out my experience as a parent. The book I read, Loving our Kids on Purpose, is primarily targeted for children from elementary school age to high-school age. None of my children are in school yet, so I did find it a bit challenging to have ideas for toddler/pre-k children. There were some great principles, though, and I was thrilled to see them succeed when I applied them.

Being creative is the hard part.

It's so hard, in fact, that it is much easier to resort to the punishment/reward system. If you do this bad thing, you receive this punishment. If you do this good thing, Mommy will give you a present. Which, in turn, communicates, "When you're bad, bad things happen to you. When you're good, good things happen to you."

Is this a true idea?

The Pharisees thought so. They lived their lives so perfectly (on the outside) because they really believed they could appease God. They thought that God expected men to fulfill the law and obey Him. What we know about God is that He knew that would never happen. He knows us inside-out, and He knows that His creation is completely incapable of fulfilling any righteous law on their own. So, His plan was for Jesus to come, become sin (think about that until your head explodes) for us, so that we would become righteous in Him. Let's break it down:

• Mankind chose to give up their relationship with God in the Garden in exchange for the knowledge God was holding out on (in their minds).
• God, in His mercy and grace, deemed that death was the penalty for sin. In this way, mankind would not be eternally sinful, and there would be an opportunity to redeem mankind out of his sin if mankind would choose a relationship with Him.
• God gave a Law--a law so perfect that none could keep it. In this way, the Law became a teacher, to show mankind that they needed a Savior; they were powerless on their own to become righteous and have a relationship with God.
• Jesus was the answer. He has a perfect relationship with His Father. Their desire was to reunite mankind with the Father. Jesus gave up His life, became our sin, suffered our punishment, and reconciled us to God.
• When we enter into relationship with the Father, we often believe He still wants us to keep that perfect Law. But, that is the sort of thing that couldn't be further from His mind. He just wants us to experience His love and live in relationship with Him. He accepts us and loves us and thinks precious thoughts over us, His children.

Now, I often become the Pharisee when it comes to disciplining my children. I say, "Walk this straight line or suffer my wrath!!!" I, to my own sorrow, have often resorted to yelling, shaming, and spanking in anger that my children would dare to disobey ME. This is not the heart of the God of the Universe. This is the heart of the god of this world. This is the god that numerous peoples have sacrificed their children to on altars, hoping to gain favor with the scary volcano god. This is not our Father.

Therefore, this is NOT how we should parent.

There is NO fear in LOVE.

Perfect love casts out ALL fear.

Let's go back to the idea "When you're bad, bad things happen to you. When you're good, good things happen to you." This is how our world works. You see this in employment, in school, in traffic, in crime. This is how the world operates.

But we are not of this world. We are citizens of a heavenly country!

We are to be like Him in all things. This includes parenting.

Parenting without fear. Parenting without punishment. Parenting with Him.

Your kids are participants in their discipline. You are the loving one, the one leading them to Him. And if we're on the same page, you don't want them to think that He is like those gods demanding they adhere to external list of rules without regard to the spirit.

Now, I'm far from an expert on this topic. I'm a novice. I've only been parenting this way for two weeks. I will say this: it is much harder to parent in this way. It is not easy. It requires more thought, more creativity, and more prayer. It requires more discernment and more time asking the Holy Spirit what in the world to do. But, I truly want my children to trust me as their parent, and to learn to protect our relationship. I don't want them to live in fear of me and my punishments for their sin. I want them to feel safe with me, even when they mess up.

A few things to consider:

• How do I relate to the Father?
• What do I think He expects of me?
• Am I afraid of Him?
• Do I believe when bad things happen that I did something wrong?
• How do I relate to my kids?
• What do I expect of them?
• Are they afraid of me?
• Do they feel they have to earn my approval?

I pray this is a blessing and not a burden. It has brought me great joy and freedom both as a child of God and as a parent. I pray it does the same for you.

A Lesson in Redemption

I have been hearing the Father in the neatest ways this past week. I wanted to share a beautiful little lesson I learned this week in a time of discipline with Maryn.

We are employing some new-to-us tactics in our discipline. One of them is getting creative and helping the kids have consequences that are memorable but that also allow them free will--they can make a choice and experience the consequences, positive or negative. (All this and more can be found in Loving Our Kids on Purpose by Danny Silk)

(Photo courtesy of Amazon.com--where I purchased the book)

Well, helping Maryn manage her freedom has been very interesting. And hard. And crazy, at times. This week, we had a teachable moment in cleaning up after ourselves. I asked the kids to put their stuff (toys, shoes, pillows, blankies, all belongings) away. Nothing happened. Surprise. (Catch the sarcasm.)

The next time, I followed Danny Silk's lead, and I told them they could either pick up their stuff, or I would put their stuff in a trash bag to give to other kids. Both Sam and Maryn did not believe me, and they didn't pick up their toys. They made a choice not to. So, I grabbed a trash bag, and picked everything up. Then, in my mercy and grace (trying to mimic the Father, here!), I gave them another opportunity. I called them upstairs. I showed them all their stuff in the bag (this is new for them, so I am cutting them some slack), and then explained that they could save their stuff. I dumped it all on the floor of their room.

I said, "You get one more chance. I am going to set the timer for 15 minutes. You can either pick up your stuff and put it away nicely, or I am going to pick it all back up and give it to other kids. Anything that is left on the floor when the timer goes off will go into the trash bag. Sam, you pick up your stuff, and Maryn, you pick up yours."

I set the timer, and I walked away. Samuel got it. He cleaned up his stuff very quickly and was finished in no time. I went up there, checked it out. He was off the hook. Maryn, however, was playing. She had not a care in the world. Sigh.

Sam explained it to her, "Maryn, you better clean up your stuff, or Mom is gonna throw it in the trash!"

I pleaded with her to make the right choice. I explained how it hurt my heart. She had left her blankies on the floor, and I BEGGED HER to pick them up. She just looked at me and said in her sing-song voice, "I don't want to." Maryn's blankies are so important to her. She's had them since she was a baby, and she chews on them. Disgusting, I know. I knew how devastated she would be when she realized they were gone. At that moment, the Lord gave me understanding into His heart,

"This is how desperately I want my children to choose Me over their selfish pleasures. I plead, I beg, I offer multiple chances. I don't force their wills. It hurts my heart when they don't choose Me, but I must let them make their choice. They must choose to love Me, or it isn't love."

I, then, went downstairs to check the timer. It began to beep, and my heart sank--like the Titanic in quicksand. I went back upstairs with the trashbag and began picking up all her stuff. I explained once again what I was doing. She really didn't seem to mind too much, but I was smarter than that. I knew it would sink in at bedtime when she wanted blankie the most.

The Lord spoke again to my heart, "She was willing to sacrifice her most important possession in order to do what she wanted to do. How often my children do the same!"

I went downstairs and cried a little. My heart was broken for my little girl and her poor choice. This is new for me. Normally, I just get mad because the kids won't obey me. This time, I was grieved for her. I knew she didn't realize the gravity of her choice. I began immediately trying to think of a way to redeem it.

The Spirit said, "This is how I feel. This is why I MUST redeem you. I can't leave this undone. I will go at all lengths to restore you to me in our relationship."

I knew at that moment that I had to show the Father's heart and redeem blankie.

Bedtime that night was rough. She cried and cried. I held her, snuggled with her, sang to her, and she finally calmed. The next morning, after she'd been up for an hour or so, she began to wail (yes, "wail" is the proper term for our Maryn) for blankie. I really sensed the Lord wanted me to just spend some time comforting her and being with her in her loss. So, I did. I stroked her hair and told her stories about when she was born and how we wrapped her up in blankie. She listened quietly minus the wailing. As I sat with her, I once again sensed I was acting out His heart for us--He is with us even when we have wasted what was most precious. He is forever present with us in our dark places.

I began to pray, "Father, what would you have me do to show her your redemption? How can I redeem blankie for her?"

The word "books" came to mind instantly. I began scanning through my mental list of titles that I owned. Obviously, there were some books I couldn't part with, but I knew whatever book I chose to part with would have to be important to me. I went downstairs and scanned the bookshelves, and then I saw it. The Magic Christmas, a Sweet Valley Twins book that I read a dozen times in the 5th or 6th grade with my best friend, Abigail. This book was very important to me. It's one of those things I've hung onto from my friendship with Abby, and though I gave away all of my other Sweet Valley books, I always kept this one for sentimental reasons. (Forgive me, Abby!)

I knew I had to do it. Whatever I gave up had to be worth something to me. So, I took Maryn, Sam, and the book into the kitchen where the trashbag full of her stuff was. I explained how important the book was to me. I explained how I was going to exchange the book for Maryn's blankies. I was going to sacrifice my book so that Maryn could have her blankies. She was thrilled. I'm not so sure she got it.

But Sam did.

"Lord, this is a lesson for Sam?" I wondered.

Later that afternoon, Sam and I were reading The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe (yes, we're STILL reading...his attention span is short!). We reached the chapter where Aslan exchanges his life for Edmund's. Sam and I had a long talk about Maryn's blankies, Aslan and Edmund, and finally, Jesus and us. It was so beautiful. It was an answer to prayer as well; I have been praying for these teachable moments for Samuel and asking for him to have lots of spiritual questions.

Though it was hard, I am pleased with how the discipline worked out. Justice and mercy both played a part. Maryn does believe Mommy now. Samuel came to a greater understanding of God's desire to know him. I became more like Jesus. I'm so thankful that our good, kind Papa redeemed this situation for all of us.

"Living Less Loved"

Before we left Oklahoma, we had the privilege of hearing Wayne Jacobsen speak at our church. Some of you may recognize his name--he helped publish The Shack with William Paul Young. Since moving to Arkansas, I have thought about his message many times, and I happened upon one of his books (at Wal-Mart, of all places!!!).

The book is He Loves Me! Learning to Live in the Father's Affection. I am not quite halfway through it, and it has blessed me tremendously. I am highly recommending it.

One of the key ideas in the book is something I have struggled with my entire life, and I suspect you have struggled with it too--"Living Less Loved." What does that mean?

Wayne says this,

"When we worry that God will ask us for some horrible sacrifice, we live less loved.

When we indulge ourselves in sin, we live less loved.

When we give in to anxiety in the crush of our circumstances, we live less loved.

When we try to earn God's favor by our own efforts, we live less loved.

Even when we get caught up in religious obligations to make ourselves acceptable to him, we live less loved."

We tend to believe that when good things are happening to us, God is happy with us and is pleased. However, when bad things are happening to us, we believe that God must be angry with us and is punishing us for something we did or didn't do. We play a game of "He loves me. He loves me not." We spend all our time trying to figure out if He really loves us or not.

This is hard because EVERYTHING else in our lives uses that system of reward. When you obey your parents, you're a good boy/girl. When you get bad grades in school, everyone is disappointed with you. This system is a human system, but we mistakenly attribute it to our Father in heaven. There are a lot of rules in the Bible, but God honestly doesn't think you're going to keep them all! He knows, in fact, that it is impossible for you to do so! This is precisely why He sent Jesus--so that in His grace, He could have a relationship with you apart from works!

I mentioned that this is something I have struggled with in life. I truly believed (and still struggle with the belief) that God was often displeased with me because I wasn't doing enough. This may sound silly to you, but let me share it in hopes of others finding freedom. I used to keep a prayer journal. After a summer camp, I was told that the proper way to pray was to use the ACTS method (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication). So, I began to take this method and apply it to my prayer journal. I truly believed that it would please God if I didn't forget to do all four sections. My legalism flourished as I followed the formula to a "T". It became obsessive and consuming as I realized that I had a lot more supplication than adoration and my confession list could never be long enough, and my thanksgiving list was way too short!

Before I realized it (which wasn't until college, actually!), I was in bondage to my prayer journal! I was living less loved--I was "caught up in religious obligations to make (my)self acceptable to Him". I wasn't walking in freedom or in His love. I have many of these broken places in me. He is slowly healing each one and revealing new places He wants to touch.

I'm certain you have experienced this. Ask Him to show you these broken places, and let Him heal you.

"I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses all knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."

Ephesians 3:17-19

He's home!!!

He just came home!!!

He's been gone nearly 24 hours, but he's home now!

God answered Sam's sweet little prayer, "God, can you help Woodrow to come home? Amen."

Thank you, Jesus!

Update

Sorry I've been MIA lately. I've got SO much going on. My head is spinning from so much activity. So, here's what we've been up to:

• We went to Arkansas to celebrate Maryn's birthday with our families. None of my pictures are visually pleasing enough to show you. It was way too dark at the pizza place.


• We got to see our friends from med school, Jake and Melissa and their three kids. It was so good to hang out with them.
  

Our kids together (the only picture where you can actually see all their faces).

Amanda and Melissa

Dave and Jake

• We counter-offered these same people on the house. They really want it. After a couple of times back and forth, we've reached middle ground. We have a contract! I refuse to get excited until the appraisal is completed. Inspection went well so far as I could tell. We will get everything in writing as to what they want repaired.
• We will close on the house before we move to Arkansas. It will be nice not to have any loose ends here in Oklahoma. I'm packing again since I'm not showing the house. It's going quickly. I've been told to hire people to do this. I'm at home a lot, and I actually enjoy packing. It's not been that big of a deal. In fact, I leisurely packed 13 boxes today (of various sizes). We have more furniture than we had before, but we really don't have that much more stuff. (sigh of relief)
• Yesterday was Senior Day. We were out all day in meetings talking about our soon transition out of residency. It was a very helpful and productive day. I realized how many people I need to set aside time for to say good-bye. Graduation is in 23 days!
• I've had four friends give birth in the last three weeks. Insane. I've gotten to visit lots of babies...still one I need to visit (can't wait!!!).
• We had to get the speed sensor replaced on our transmission. Very tricky with one car... Thankfully we have good friends to transport us.
• Have a cold or something. Not bad, just annoying.

That's about it. If you think of me, say a prayer that I will be patient and productive. MWAH!

Plumb tuckered out.

Maryn called Craisins "razzraisins" today. I have no idea why. Just recording that for posterity's sake.

We've been putting flyers in our infobox each night and keeping track of how many are taken. So far, 39 have been taken. I'd say that isn't bad for 6 days. We've had three inquiries on the house. One lady rang the doorbell and asked if we were having an open house. Two people called. One of them wanted to look at the house today, and we settled on three o'clock. Dave and I worked our tails off getting it ship-shape, and she was a no-show. I called and left a message for her on her voicemail. I don't get that ethic at all. Why even bother telling someone you're going to come (knowing full well that they're going to be preparing and waiting for you) and then not come or call to say you're not coming? What is that?

We're having an open house tomorrow afternoon. Thankfully, the house is ready to show, and hopefully, the people who are interested will come. It'll be interesting, I'm sure. Please pray that God will send our buyer tomorrow.

Here's a bit of news I haven't shared yet. Dave leaves for Uzbekistan on Monday, and he'll be gone for 12 days. 12. Days. 12.

I know it'll be fine, but I'm going to miss him. The kids are going to miss him. Please pray that Sam gets man-time elsewhere. I don't wrestle well. I'm trying to think of some ways to make the time pass quickly. Ideas are welcome. Thankfully, we will have the car at our disposal. I'm afraid I may spend more money than usual while he's gone. I am planning on doing an inventory of the restaurants that have "Kids Eat Free" nights so we can go out a few times. My kids are really good in restaurants--Thank God!--so that would be a good way to spend early evening time before bed. I need to have some kind of plan, or I'm going to go nuts.

This also means that I have to give them baths. I'm spoiled. Dave is the bath man. It's his thing that he does with the kids. I am not a good bath giver. I get irritated and impatient and just want them out of there as quickly as possible. I don't like wet floors. Pray for me.

So, as you're finishing your reading of this post. Go ahead and offer up a prayer NOW that way you don't forget. I really need them!!!