an update from here

It is a drizzly day.  Humid, sticky, thick.

I'm sitting here in my new living room, listening to the wind blow my windchime out front.

There is a big warm dog laying at my feet and a little fluffy dog planning his way into my lap.

I was up at 4 a.m. for work.  Dropped by the old house on the way home to fill my Jeep with a load of things.  We have dentist appointments this afternoon and later I have a date with my new kitchen to do some unpacking.

Honestly I am running on fumes.  Last week we were on pins and needles waiting for the sale to go through on our new home.  We were in the last days of our contract that the seller refused to extend.  Suddenly we received word that everything was going through, we'd sign the following day, get the keys the day after.  All this happened amid work schedules, appointments, and school.  We've been moving as time allows since then, still working, still other irons in the fire.

We had our first ROTC meeting, met the Captain, the Chief, and received a lot of good information, what to expect, what is expected, that sort of thing.  Austin received his uniform.  He looks so grown up, so strong and handsome.  I did get pictures but don't have my camera cord handy to get them uploaded so they'll have to wait.  Just know, he carries himself different when he wears it.  He'll go to class every day at 7:45 a.m.  They offer extracurricular clubs as well that usually meet about 6:30 (in the morning!!).  It'll be a couple weeks till we know what he's going to get into.  The opportunities that this experience brings with it are astounding and Aaron and I are both so pleased, so excited to see the growth that is going to happen in our son.

I got myself a new job.  I'll be working for the same people but at their restaurant in town, as a waitress, starting next week.  It wasn't really what I had in mind but they gave me a very attractive offer and my husband and I thought it a good idea to at least give it a shot for awhile.  Our ultimate goal is to get me back at home full time, where my heart yearns to be.

If I were to show you a picture of myself today, you'd probably laugh.  You'd see the dark circles under my eyes.  You'd see my hair, a frizzy humidity curled mess.  You'd see my grease stained work t-shirt.  And maybe you'd notice that I've not eaten home cooked food for a couple days and fast food does NOT do a body good. Oy!  It's not pretty. 

Hope to be back to sanity by next week.  We'll be getting into the groove of our new schedules, our new real.

At this moment there is a break in the rain and the boys are getting ready to walk over to the little park a couple blocks over.  And I am going to get on with my day.



 

what we've been working on

Yesterday we signed papers and became home-owners.

Today we got the keys to our new home.

This family is thankful and overjoyed with what God has given.

I have so many details about this process that I'd like to share, so many ways that God was evident, but those things will have to wait till I have more time.

It is now the end of a long, very full day that came on the heels of another long, very full day.  My mind is worn out.  But my heart is so happy!

We chose a home within city limits, walking distance to the high school, a quick jaunt to the grocery store.  We already have friends close by with game nights planned.

Although the home is small, each boy has his own room.  This has caused much rejoicing!

Blake and Charlie in their room at the end of the hall....

Serious teenager face in his room with the biggest closet (?!)...

Crazy kid at heart....

The ragged happy family...

Grass needs watering but it's home.

It'll be a slower process moving in but I just couldn't wait to do a little something to make it cozier.  This rug is my first feather in the nest.  It makes my heart swell to see it there in that place I know I will spend a lot of time, washing dishes, looking into the backyard at birds.

Our first meal in the new place...

the composer

When listening to a symphony the music swells and dips, it weaves and swerves, and the listener can never tell where the music may go next.  Each note is new and exciting.  

It can be easy to get lost in a piece of music, lost in the sixteenth notes, lost in a pause, unsure of where the composer was trying to take it.  But there is beauty in trusting the music, trusting that the composer knows his art, knows the rhythm and tenor of his piece.  

When you can just listen without questioning, just hear the layers of instruments, hear the occasional breath of a musician, oh my wow, I can't even explain.  For me, a piece of music can make my heart swell, or draw tears of emotion to my eyes.  It can bolster my soul or bring colors of memory to mind.  I allow myself to be at the mercy of the composer, his art weaving in and out of my heart.

How much more when GOD is the composer!

some saturday

Outside my window...  My boys are detailing my Jeep.  One has windows, one has vacuuming.  Sweet.  This is why I had children.  Not really.  Kinda.

I am thankful...  for my current job, for the sweet owners, for my really great co-workers, for the fun we have together, for the good conversations we have, for camaraderie we share, for the support we offer each other.  And for just two weeks left to work there.

In the kitchen...  This week I made the best molasses cookies ever!  They were soft with just a slight texture in the bite (I don't know what that's called when they crunch ever-so-slightly).  We've had spaghetti squash this week and pasta casserole.  Tomorrow we're doing a bacon themed potluck after church services.

I am wearing...  Greasy yucky work clothes.  Greasy yucky work hair.  Blah.

I am wondering...  all the time.

I am reading...  I started reading a mystery book this week but the first sentence already had a cuss word.  I just couldn't get into it after that.  So I read a cook book instead.  : )  Sometimes when I just want an easy, no thought required read, I like The Cat Who... mysteries by Lillian Jackson Braun.

I am praying...  for upcoming changes and my continued relinquishing of control in said changes

I am looking forward to...  see above ^

I am learning...  really, I am learning that I don't need to be in control.  There is a constant leaning into God, resting in Him, knowing that He's got things covered.  Lately, He's shown me this, tangibly and visibly, and it all at once convicts me and excites me.

Around the house...  ooo, scary.  I'll leave it at that.

One of my favorite things...  sleepy, snoring puppy dogs.

A few plans for next week...  Next week involves a meeting with the Freshman counselor at the high school, a yearly exam appointment for me (bleh!), working and working, schooling, and checking in with a prospective new employer.

A peek into my day...  up just after 4 a.m., open the store, work and work, come home to quiz corrections, couch shampooing, food preparations, and hoping to get it all done so I can spend the evening fishing with my husband before I pass out in a heap of exhaustion.  I do that.  Usually at 8 p.m.  Like clockwork.

Enough chillin' for me.  Going to go fix myself a cup of coffee and dive into this schoolwork.

fishing and shooting

Opening day of salmon fishing and we were on the beach.  There was a chill in the air and my hands kept going numb.  Cast, reel, pop, reel, cast, reel, pop, reel.  Over and over again.  Hands numb.  But when I glance over and catch my husband's eye, he's smiling from the inside out, and suddenly I don't care that I can't feel my fingers.

If you're looking, that is Blake in the foreground center and Aaron on the left.

My husband has been fishing almost every day since the salmon season opened.  Many days he goes out twice.  I go when I can.  Sometimes I fish.  Sometimes I take pictures.  Sometimes I get distracted by pretty rocks.

But this view, this area we live, it is BREATHTAKING.  And I never get tired of experiencing it.
 

My guys, with Charlie, off to hike while Mom and Dad fish.

I love the way the foam caresses the sand, gently pulling the small pebbles back out with it.

After I had had my fill of fishing one sunny evening, I found a cozy spot to nest myself into on a large piece of driftwood.  I wrote a letter, I took pictures, I wondered at the sunset.  And my boys ventured to see how far they could launch each other off of this catapult... 

Sunlight through sweet pea leaves...

The spoils from a day of fishing...

  

I wasn't with him and I must confess, I challenged him that maybe, just maybe, he ran to Safeway and bought this guy.  Of course, this fish was fresh caught out of the Puget Sound and we ate him for dinner that very night.  Slathered in butter, garlic salt, pepper, dill, and love.  It tasted like candy!

In other news, we went shooting.

Aaron (notice the ease and comfort)...

Blake (notice the professional stance)...

Me (notice how I don't know what I'm doing)...

So, I took my fluffy little dog on a hike and took pictures.

what's for dinner

I got off work a little early today.  It's amazing what one extra hour will do for a person!  Even starting at 5 a.m. and working 7 hours couldn't get me down.  And for that, I'm thankful!

My Blake and I produced some really yummy triple chocolate chip cookies.  It's a rainy day and that's how rainy afternoons are supposed to be spent, making cookies.

The schoolwork we are all chugging through has been corrected.  I'm up-to-date on all grading.  One on one time went well, one student needing assistance with adverb prepositional phrases in English and the other needing assistance with absolute value in Math.

One of my favorite things to do is watch Jeopardy.  I seriously love that show.  I could never win because the button pushing and speed required just get me flustered but sitting at home, playing along, I get to feeling pretty smart.  This past week has been Kids' Week on Jeopardy and the couple of times we've been home to watch, the boys play along.  It's encouraging to see the knowledge that they possess in a variety of areas.

 Dinner tonight will be pork fried brown rice with all sorts of vegetables.  Love me some rice!  Blake tends to roll his eyes when he asks what's for dinner and my answer is "arroz con pollo!".  I saw it on Lucy once and can never forget it.