Change...

2009 has definitely been a year of change. The house is a BIG change, that is for certain. Between migraines and fatigue and so much to do in unpacking, I haven't had opportunity to post many pictures or really write much lately. So today, I thought I would give it a start.


This is our black walnut tree... or I should say about 3/4 of it. I took this photo on April 11. Today you can see no sky through the branches. It is droppy yellow sticky "helicopters" at the moment and is an amazing site. Every time I look out that window I think, "This is God's gift to me for not balking at staying in the smoggy city!" I do have some anxieties as the power lines run through it. In August or September the power company is supposed to come and prune. However, we are responsible for the branches over the wires coming to our house. About 1/5 of the tree may have to be removed at our expense because it lies right on the wires going to our house and the neighbor's house. This photo doesn't show how big the trunk is. It would take all five of us holding hands around the base to go full circle! On the left is a grapefruit tree that is taller than Hubby, so more than 6'3".

And these are grapefruit blossoms!

Our orange tree is budding as well. It doesn't have as many blossoms as I would like to see. I'm hoping more are coming. I need to do some reading on the care of citrus fruit.

Maisy and Heidi are doing better. Abbie does NOT want them in the house! We haven't let them out of the master bedroom yet. We are waiting until the boxes in the main living areas are more unpacked because we don't want them to get hurt or corned by their bullying big sister who likes to HISS at them! :-) This is Maisy in one of the bookcases, before it was loaded with books!

Here is Sunshine laying on our bed with Heidi. Both are affectionate but Heidi demands eye contact and is very sweet. Not only does she want affection from us, but she also gives it back! Both kittens have attached to me as their "mama"! Heidi is laying across my chest and arms as I am typing right now and her favorite place to sleep is next to my monitor! She definitely has the Siamese eyes and body shape (though obviously not the points) and Boogie keeps telling me, "I really think you have a parrot Mommy!" because she often likes to sit on my shoulder. Maisy was afraid of us at first but then one day it was like a switch was turned and she started purring and loving us and demands her affection time! lol There is no way that these kittens were strays. I think the owner just said that when he relinquished them so that he wouldn't have to pay. Four month (now 5) old kittens that are strays are not this affectionate or wanting to be with and on people!

Here's Hubby painting my kitchen for me. I couldn't get the orange out of his skin on this photo... sorry he is not orange, though he was this scruffy, being a "bum" on his time off! :-) The kitchen is a light custard or buttery yellow. I have chosen a blue and white patterned quilter's cotton from Hoffman to make valances and accents. Pictures coming later. We haven't done any more painting because 1) $$$ 2) time and 3) we are having our windows replaced on Cinco de Mayo. We have the original 1961 aluminum frames with non tempered glass. Since we essentially have a whole wall (140" of sliders and another 42" of window) in the living room going out to the back that is non tempered, we felt we should replace it before any bad accidents happened and the children were hurt! The new windows have Solarban70. I am not thrilled about having vinyl because pvc definitely has fumes. However wood windows are definitely cost prohibitive! It's bad enough with what we got, but it will be an investment in the house and hopefully our future. I'm a little apprehensive, we'll see!

I bought some plants for the yard but haven't planted yet... a hydrangea.

I wish I could say this was our yard, but it's not! This is our neighbors. The photo is taken from our front walking looking over the property line. It's so beautiful and I would love to start working towards something like this at our home.

Blogger won't let me rearrange the order of the pictures, so this little Princess face is out of order! Princess begged to have her hair cut, so we got it in a bob again. It's kind of scruffy here because we just had it cut, but it has more body now and looks adorable. It's odd that they are identical and yet Sunshine looks funny with short hair. Hers is still long, just got the bangs cut as she decided she was tired of growing them out long. It's nice to see her face again! :-)

I also bought two rhododendrons. Rhododendrons are my home state's flower... this is so I can have a piece of home at home. I love these kind with the speckled throat!

This is the second one. The sun was really intense. They are a little bluer purple than these photos show.

On the 14th I went for my biannual eye exam. I had been telling Hubby that it was getting more and more difficult to read and that I could see my floater. Everytime I read the floater moves back and forth over the page as my eye roams. Annoying! Fortunately it doesn't hurt. I think he thought I was just being melodramatic or looking for a reason to go get new frames! :-) Turns out, it IS more difficult for me to read. My nearsightedness and astigmatism are improving. That's not uncommon especially for people like me who have extreme nearsightedness from childhood. As we age, the changes that cause the need for bifocals tug and pull on the eye to shape it another direction. So, tomorrow I go in for my new glasses... he told me I may feel sick the first couple days like when I first got bifocals because they are 3 levels stronger on one side and 4 levels stronger on the other. But, get this! I have cataracts! Okay, maybe I am getting old... it dawned on me that possibly I blogged this earlier?? LOL How can I have cataracts at 42? Well, he said could be hereditary (all my Grandparents had them but not until their 70s and 80s!) and that because of all the environmental polutions out there in today's age that he is seeing it younger and younger. Wear sunglasses! The sun also causes them. And he advised me to take Vitamin C and lutein. They are just beginning so hopefully will not progress too quickly. And I will probably quilt seeing the floater once I get the new glasses. I see it now because my eyes are working hard to find the right focal length. Okay... if the gray hair in the mirror and the bum knee didn't already make me feel old... that did!

Jack just had his second procedure to widen his esophagus and it went well. He's home sleeping it off today. The chemo and radiation is going okay. Naturally it is quite exhausting. Please pray for him... continued prayer for healing and also the stamina that it takes to go to his appointments. I know I get exhausted when I have two or three appts in one week's time.

I've been thinking about writing some of the thoughts that God has been giving me lately. His message repeatedly has been "emptiness". How odd I thought at first, but the more I have meditated on Him and this topic, the more I feel He has been changing me.

I still haven't been able to deal with the comments... I may just switch back to the regular blogger comments, but I'm not sure. I hate it when all these companies buy and sell each other. It was working so well and I got your email address with the comment and I could click, write, send. Now I just get a name. I have thought about switching to Word Press, but they are not as easy to use as Blogger for designing and they don't allow much picture usage, which is obviously a big issue for me. We'll see... I hope to be blogging more soon! I miss you all!

Quick Check In and Jack Update

Hi Everyone. ATT and I are not getting along at the moment. 9 days and counting without DSL. We are NOT happy customers. I thought I would just check in and let you know that we got all moved with the help of some wonderful guys at church (who will probably never volunteer to help us again! LOL). We're exhausted but doing okay. I have lots of pictures of the girls' 6th birthday, the move, the kittens (who are sick with kennel crud) etc.

Please pray for Jack this coming week as he prepares for the second round of chemo in conjunction with radiation. No starting date yet, but he is going to have the prep appointments and we will know more next week. The sickness with smells has passed and some of the other problems have improved. Still sorting out others. We appreciate your continued prayers.

More soon!

Waiting, Adopting, Updating

We were hoping to hear about getting keys by now but that hasn't happened. Hoping to hear something today so we can get started cleaning! Waiting, Waiting, Waiting.

Jack is doing much better than over the weekend and we are so thankful for the prayers. Yesterday when we chatted on Facebook, he had been able to eat some "mush" and soup. Hurray! Continued prayers for strength as his body works with the chemo and for healing of the mouth/tongue sores would be greatly appreciating.

And no, we are not adopting a child. Just children! :-) Fur children! LOL

Meet Heidi on the left and Maisy on the right. They are four months old and though they were brought in as strays, the animal officers think that they were actually surrendered by the owner because they have been bathed and well taken care of and appear to be quite healthy. I hope and pray they stay that way. When we brought Abbie home 10 years ago (from the very same cage at the shelter!) she had a respiratory infection and was really sick and on antibiotics.

This morning we are going in to adopt them. This is the first day they are available so we haven't had a chance to hold them (they don't allow that until they are available to adopt). This will be my girlies birthday present but the whole family is very excited. We chose their names together. Heidi... we just read that book. And Maisy is from the children's cartoon with the little mouse named Maisy. Today we are supposed to be able to hold them, so I'll take more pictures. :-)

Where We Are or Where Are We?

Phew! Since going to Lynette's Pampered Chef party in January, everything has been a whirlwind, a roller coaster... or you pick the chaotic analogy! Well, we are finally getting to the point of one whirl wind ending and another beginning! Wednesday, the 18th, we signed our mortgage documents... 130 pages! We met the notary at Tim's work and signed our papers in the classroom.



Here's Hubby signing the Deed of Trust. He's still smiling! :-)

Now, it's my turn to sign the Deed of Trust!

The kids were really great while they waited. L to R Boogie, Sunshine and Princess. I wanted to get a picture of the girls on this day because it was 10 days before their sixth birthday and I wanted to compare it to the one of me 10 days before my sixth birthday. The girls do not look like me, but they do resemble me... if that makes sense. It's hard to tell in this picture and YES! I do need to cut their bangs!

This is me ten days before my 6th birthday. It was my last day of Kindergarten June 9, 1972 and this is my teacher Mrs. Barney. If you know me on FaceBook, you have seen this already as it is my profile pic. My Mom made the dress... red with white polka dots.

Afterwards we went out to dinner to celebrate. I took this picture from the car because it was so beautiful how the light was shining through the branches.

Hopefully we will get the keys on Tuesday, but maybe not until Wednesday.

Now the real fun begins... Anybody living close by with muscles? We need help for Saturday 3/28! Thanks.

God Is In Control

The last few days, the "you know what" has hit the fan in regards to our new home. I'll spare you all the gory details, but suffice it to say that we have been struggling under the consequences of other peoples' actions and the injustice of some of the situation has felt unbearable. Today everyone is working towards unraveling a big knot. Last night I had a good cry out, which relieved some of the tension and was good. In the car on the way to church last night, I felt God telling me to go find my 1993 Twila Paris CD "Beyond a Dream" and listen to "God Is In Control". I called Tim and had him look for it and have listened to it several times. The words are so encouraging and God reminded me not only that He is in control, but that He also, years ago gave me a vision for our home and ministry. As we have prayed about the situation, we can't help but think that the enemy, who prowls around like a lion seeking whom he can kill and destroy, isn't trying to trip us up and make us focus on ourselves and negative things instead of what God actually is doing in our lives. No matter how it seems... God is in control - Thank you God! And to you be the glory, whether or not we get this house!




God Is In Control
by Twila Paris



This is no time for fear
This is a time for faith and determination
Don't lose the vision here
Carried away by the motion,
Hold on to all that you hide in your heart
There is one thing that has always been true
It holds the world together

(chorus)
God is in control
We believe that His children will not be foresaken
God is in control
We will choose to remember and never be shaken
There is no power above or beside him
We know, ooh, God is in control
Ooh, God is in control

History marches on
There is a bottom line drawn across the ages
Culture can make its plan
Oh but the line never changes
No matter how the deception may fly
There is one thing that has alays been true
It will be true forever

(Repeat chorus)

He has never let you down
Why start to worry now
Why start to worry now
He is still the Lord of all we see
And he is still the loving Father
Watching over you and me

Watching over you
Watching over me
Watching over everything
Watching over you
Watching over me
Every little sparrow, every little king
Ooh, every little king

(repeat chorus)

Spring, House, Life

I am hoping someone can tell me what type of tree this is - aren't the blooms lovely? This was at the library in a neighboring city, where the kids and I have been going for conversational Russian class with a home school group. Katia has been wonderful and the kids have really enjoyed it. We're disappointed next week is the last week! Now we are trying to decide whether or not to pursue studying Russian further since we do live in an area of high population of Russian and Ukranians or try another language. Boogie suggested German, since Mom knows that, but Spanish would be more practical given where we live. Most of the language stuff is not geared for primary grades, so I am leaning towards German since I could develop my own and have taught it to elementary school students before.



Things are moving right along with the house. Thank you for all your comments and prayers! The water company inspection went great on Monday and they are going to be replacing a valve on Friday, which is great because we thought it would be our expense! Now we are waiting to hear from the underwriter to see if our mortgage gets approval and we can then move on to appraisals and whatever other paper pushing needs to happen! We can still use your prayers. Tomorrow we will be meeting with the man who is offering to buy the trailer. This is very crucial and should go well, but I have been a little nervous, waiting for the other shoe to drop! All of this God has orchestrated so marvelously that I feel like I'm holding my breath that something doesn't go wrong! I trust Him, I just don't trust people in the world! lol

As soon as I'm done updating here, I'm back to cleaning and packing box... that'll probably be the norm over the next month, then the next month after that it will be cleaning and unpacking boxes! The kids are all sick (we all have allergies so bad right now from all those beautiful tree!) and piled on the couch watching Chicken Run!

It All Began With A Pampered Chef Party

Here's Hubby, signing his life away! It all began with a Pampered Chef party. You see, in January Lynette hosted a Pampered Chef party for our friend Lori, a new consultant. It was so much fun, the food was yummy, yum yum and Lori did a great job. (I'll be having a follow up party in a couple months! If you need anything let me know!) While I was there several of the ladies were discussing the house for sale across the street which had a sign that said "I'm Gorgeous Inside"! I got a little giggle out of that. Some of these ladies live in the neighborhood and it sure would be nice to have them all for neighbors.

When I went home, I looked the address up on the internet and found the listing. I was astonished at how low the prices had gone in the last several months. I know we are living in the foreclosure capital of the US, but still I was shocked! This started the ball rolling. When our tax return from the federal govt came in (California is still holding ours hostage! GRRRR!), we checked into a mortgage company specializing in public servant loans and applied for a CalSTRS loan that is for public school teachers and employees.

The whole thought of selling our trailer and all that would encompass was a nightmare and we began praying for a miracle.

Next we were introduced to Keith. He is just super awesome. Yes, the superlatives do fit! We scheduled to look at some houses. The first one wasn't bad, but every single appliance had been ripped out and they even took all the drawers out of the kitchen cabinets! That would have been a huge expense for us just moving in and with no cash.

Then we saw this house. It's about 2.5 miles from where we live now and not far from our church. It was built in 1961 and needs some TLC and cosmetic work, but it has "good bones".

Hubby and the kids LOVED the yard. It has a Magnolia, orange, grapefruit and HUGE walnut tree. That's princess trying to climb the orange tree, Boogie and Sunshine talking and me and Keith on the right.

This is Sunshine running near the walnut tree. It's a gorgeous old tree that spans the property line and is of a concern because of how it has effected the masonry and goes up into the power and phone lines. On the other hand it has tremendous character and shade. I'll be calling our utility company on Monday to find out more.

Blogger is not letting me move photos around, so the rest will be in random order. This is the main bath, which is small but has been kept nice with some updating.

Here is the master bedroom. His and hers closets! :-)

And this is what I loved about the house... the 16x24 great room. I love the faux timbered ceilings with pine tongue and groove that fortunately noone has painted! The wood looks a little thirsty, so I plan on cleaning it and finding out what type of oil pine needs. That's on the long list of things to do.

This is half the kitchen. It's actually quite a large kitchen but there aren't many cabinets and that is a little discouraging especially coming from where we are now. However, there is plenty of room to add either base cabinets or a free standing base cabinet that we have seen at Ikea. I need more counter top to make bread and have the kids help me cook. This picture doesn't show how dirty it is. Inside, the cabinets are filthy! They will be scrubbed, primed and painted before anything touches them. Eventually I'll paint the outside too, but that can wait until after we move in. I'm going to paint the walls light yellow, the cabinets cream and continue with my cobalt blue accents. It's the Swede in me! :-)

This is the master bath, the other room that needs some work down the road, but for now is mostly functional.

As you go from the kitchen to the living/great room, this is what you see. Eventually we will have a dining table here.

The kids had the first meal in the new house!

These are the sliders/windo leading outside. Eventually we will have to get dual paned windows for the whole house.

The kids are really excited about the house and Boogie really is excited about having his own bedroom! Princess is mostly concerned that we have GRASS! My poor deprived children! Having our own yard will make PE much easier!

So by now you have guessed that we made an offer on this house. We are still praying for a miracle on selling our mobile. We have a verbal offer by a guy who flips homes and trailers... but nothing in writing yet, so I am feeling a bit cautious. We would appreciate any prayers for that!

Saturday we had the home inspection and there were no huge surprises. There are known dry rot issues which will be repaired while in escrow and a few things we will have to do for weekend projects etc. There is another hurdle to cross before definitively moving forward with the sale. There is something wrong with the main water valve for the house. Someone will be out to inspect on Monday to determine what the issue is. We will need to know how long water has been running and whether or not there is any damage to the slab, ground etc.

We are really excited and terrified at the same time. All along we have been praying for God to clearly open and close the doors and slam them shut if we are not to proceed forward. He has been so faithful. The waiting is driving me crazy of course!!! Maybe by the girls' 6th birthday we will be moving in our new home!

We have lived in two places in the ten years of our marriage but I didn't get to be involved in the decision process (due to logistics of long distance romance). This will be the first home we have chosen together and I am really looking forward to "nesting"! :-)

If you feel led, please pray for us in this process! Thank you!

The Importance of Being Seven

For about 6 months out of the year, Boogie gets to be "much older" than his sisters... that is his age number is 2 greater than theirs. The other half of the year that is reduced to 1. When you are 7 that is a big deal. Yesterday was an important day in being 7. The tooth in front that has been loose for awhile came out while eating a banana at lunch yesterday. My freckle nosed boy was more than happy to pose proudly for this picture.

When you are the oldest and the only (boy), then sometimes 7 makes you BIG and IMPORTANT. You are in charge of the safety drills your family practices, you get to do important errands, you learn math concepts that your baby sisters can't even begin to comprehend yet, you can read chapter books, you can build the coolest Legos Mars Mission alien ships... but the most frustrating thing about being 7 - still sharing a room with your little sisters! UGH!

Boogie is probably the most excited about getting a new house because he will get a room of his own! At first he wanted to paint his room RED, ALL RED! I said no, because even pink is hard to paint and takes many coats (anything with red in it - it's the hardest to get the right coverage/color), but that he could have one wall red. He ended up deciding he wants sky blue with clouds! We'll see.

And we are considering getting two kittens (shhh! Don't tell Abbie!) so that the girls can have the experience of seeing two baby kitties grow up and play (they miss so much growing up in the city!). We were talking about this and I asked Boogie if he was excited about getting kitties... he said, "NO! They Scratch!" LOL He can fight the alien onslaught, but not kitty claws! :-) So, I asked him what type of pet he wants and he said he wanted a gold fish.

The adventure continues! Never a dull moment around here!

In the mean time we are packing like crazy to get stuff in storage to sell our trailer and we are waiting to hear if the bank that owns the property is going to accept our offer.

W=Who
A=Am
I=I
T=Trusting