Moving!

Well, speaking of speeding through life. I've been waiting for a LOOOOOOng time to move out of our technically 1 bedroom place. I think just after Abigail was born, we realized this place was too small. God has been good to us (mostly in helping with my bad attitudes) and we have managed to fit for over 3 years, but now the time has come. WE ARE MOVING !!!!

And it is all happening so fast. We saw the place on Sunday after church (which this place is only 2 miles away from) and already we put in our application, sent our check and they called today to approve us. Praise the Lord. So the next few weeks will be busy with packing and more packing. I doubt I will write much, if not at all.

Some quick highlights: It is a townhome, no one below or above us, a whole garage, a laundry room with more storage, an extra bathroom, doubling our closets, a dishwasher, a kitchen twice the size we have now, and a living room three times the size, and Mike's commute time will be cut in half. Of course, knowing my nature, I will find something wrong with this place once we've moved in. I hope by God's grace, I will remember His Faithfulness in helping us find this place, and will help me to be content no matter what.

So, until next time....

the Now and the Daily

Normally, I get moody when I wake up and the sky is the color of lead and huge rain drops are pounding against the window. But today I relished in an unexpected day of "rest". I didn't fully rest, because I am a stay-at-home mom of a wiggly 3 year old. But after 4 days of non-stop activity, it was nice to just be at home (literally).

I've also been meditating on a recent quote I read from Mitten Strings for God--Reflections for Mothers in a Hurry by Katrina Kenison (thanks Jen). Her first chapter is devoted to her friend who died from cancer. When Kenison was going through her papers, she found this quote among the unfinished manuscript of her friend's 2nd book:

“I have learned to quit speeding through life, always trying to do too many things too quickly, without taking the time to enjoy each day’s doings. I think I always thought of real living as being high. I don’t mean on drugs—I mean real living was falling in love, or when I got my first job, or when I was able to help somebody, or watch my baby get born, or have a good morning of really good writing. In between the highs I was impatient—you know how it is—life seemed so Daily. Now I love the dailiness. I enjoy washing dishes. I enjoy cooking, I see my father’s roses out the kitchen window, I like picking beans. I notice everything—birdsongs, the clouds, the sound of wind, the glory of sunshine after two weeks of rain. These things I took for granted before”.

Now, I haven't reached the enlightened stage of enjoying cooking or doing dishes, but I do want to cherish the Now and the Daily...and never, ever take anything for granted.

Abigail sings Winnie the Pooh

The first video would of been the best, but we got cut off. So here is 2 for your listening pleasure:

Baking with Abi: The Apple Pie story

This story might get a bit confusing, because it involves 2 different apple pies (well, 3 really). When my mom was visiting last week, we went Apple-Picking. Then the next morning, we spend 4 HOURS making 2 apple pies completely from scratch (and cleaning up afterwards). Since I only do this once or twice a year, I'm no expert. And we all found out this fact when we took our first bite...it was totally rancid! It turns out that vegetable shortening CAN go bad!! I even looked up on the internet..I just had no idea. Neither did I know that you should put it in the fridge to stay. Well, lesson learned. Then today we had our 2nd attempt. I used a Pie Crust mix from the store. Still had to roll it out and peel and chop all the apples. But the result was much, much better. Even delicious.

want a little pie with that flour?




and the clean-up..this is from Pie attempt #1...see the mischievous shortening in the background!



the bad pies:

5 weeks in

So tonight is Mike's 5th week at school. I've been surprisingly calm so far. I had one mini-break down last month, but have received much encouragement from some friends. I've also been meditating on this:

"My soul, wait in silence for God only, For my hope is from Him.
He only is my rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I shall not be shaken" Psalm 62:5-6

Life hasn't changed too much. He does need to study a lot on the week-ends and the couple nights leading up to class. But, I'm learning how to "release" him to do his work. I've also recently heard about other ladies who had it even harder than me (one husband worked 40 hours on the graveyard shift and then went to school full-time during the day or one who's husband is being deployed in Dec. and won't see him for a whole year!). So, when I start feeling sorry for myself I remember a previous resolution:

I shall not demean my own uniqueness by envy of others...mostly I shall simply forget about myself and do my work.

Enough said :)

A week with Grandma

Grandma visited us last week and we had lots of fun. Highlights were: visiting the Louisa May Alcott house, Apple and Pumpkin picking, and visiting the Boston Public Garden. Abigail says her favorite part was playing with leaves. Mommy's favorite was going on a date with Daddy :) Thanks for visiting Grandma!

Scenes from Maine, pt.2

If you noticed, Mike's hair changed during our time away. In honor of his 40th Birthday (which took place on 9/21) he decided to shave his head! Here is the breakdown:
























I think he looks rather cute this way :)










Some more random scenes from our fun time:

Scenes from Maine, pt.1

Well, we've been back from our fun-filled and very relaxing vacation for over 2 weeks now. I've been way too busy to write anything, and I'm already longing to go back to Maine. Good thing it is only an hour away :) Some highlights: seeing the beach everyday, eating out a lot, eating sweets, Abigail turning 3, the trolley museum, the spa, an hour massage, watching movies, playing in the sun room, sleeping in, and did I mention eating? Here is the 1st set of pics: