I'm thankful for the man who just came to hook up our internet. I'm also thankful for ...
* Mike and Tiffany W. (and some of their crew), Jeff and Geeta (and some of their crew), Neil, Pam C., Pam R., Jay, Charles, Roy, and Mike S. who loaded and cleaned our apartment with Tim on Sunday, then unloaded everything at our new house while my big belly and I did a whole lot of nothing.
* the staff at our apartment complex who were so understanding, assuring me that they'd work with us when I was stressed about closing dates and move out dates not coinciding.
* the beautiful African violet that was snuck into our new bedroom on moving day.
* Tammy, who came over on Monday to put my kitchen away, unpack a bunch of boxes, gather the remaining boxes into a pile, and feed me lunch.
* the autumn bouquet and movie night package that was given to us on moving day.
* the wives/kids who gave up their husbands/dads on Sunday afternoon so that we would have plenty of help with our move.
* a house that is totally perfect for our family.
What's one thing that you're thankful for?
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Saturday, October 8, 2011
LATER, ALLIGATOR
We're moving at 1:00 tomorrow. Can you believe it?! I found out today that we aren't going to have internet until late in the week, so I'll be offline after tomorrow morning. See you on the other side!!
Thursday, October 6, 2011
10/6/11 THANKFUL THURSDAY
I'm thankful that I slept well last night.
What's one thing you're thankful for?
What's one thing you're thankful for?
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
SOME FUN NUMBERS
2 flips - We only have to turn the pages of our calendar two more times and we'll be in the month of the 6th W's arrival.
4 days - That's how long until we move into the first home we've owned. Exciting stuff!
10 minutes - We started something new last week. When Tim comes home, we spend ten minutes chatting in our room, just sharing about our days. It's kinda like the 15-20 minutes of "couch time" that others do, but without the distractions of being in the living room and not so much time that it's a huge interruption to getting dinner on the table. It went well last week, though moving-related things and a class Tim's taking have made it impossible this week. That's ok. Life happens and we'll get back in the groove next week. The kids are good at holding us accountable, which is kinda fun.
12 bags - Our kids use regular envelopes for managing their money, but we frequently have to reinforce them with tape or replace them and money spills out if they aren't careful to hold them right side up. Drives me batty, but such is life. A couple weeks ago, though, I had a sudden brainstorm. What if they had fabric bags that were sturdier than paper? How would we label the bags, even if I found what I was looking for?
The answer was clear. I needed The Blissful Stitcher, otherwise known as my friend Heidi. I shot her a note describing exactly what I wanted and she's currently working her magic. I needed four bags per kid - tithe, save, give, and spend - and let her know the color scheme for each little W. She just finished the first bag. Want to see?
These are actually going to be Christmas gifts, so the kids don't have a clue they're being made, but I'm really excited! No more money dropping or envelopes falling apart!!
18 hours - The male Ws stayed up all night last Friday playing video games with each other. The boys have pulled all-nighters before and usually take a good nap the following day to get them through til the next bedtime. This time, however, they could not be woken up. They went down for naps at 1:00 on Saturday and slept until 7:00 on Sunday morning. They were pretty confused when they woke up, not having any idea what day or time it was. So funny!
4 days - That's how long until we move into the first home we've owned. Exciting stuff!
10 minutes - We started something new last week. When Tim comes home, we spend ten minutes chatting in our room, just sharing about our days. It's kinda like the 15-20 minutes of "couch time" that others do, but without the distractions of being in the living room and not so much time that it's a huge interruption to getting dinner on the table. It went well last week, though moving-related things and a class Tim's taking have made it impossible this week. That's ok. Life happens and we'll get back in the groove next week. The kids are good at holding us accountable, which is kinda fun.
12 bags - Our kids use regular envelopes for managing their money, but we frequently have to reinforce them with tape or replace them and money spills out if they aren't careful to hold them right side up. Drives me batty, but such is life. A couple weeks ago, though, I had a sudden brainstorm. What if they had fabric bags that were sturdier than paper? How would we label the bags, even if I found what I was looking for?
The answer was clear. I needed The Blissful Stitcher, otherwise known as my friend Heidi. I shot her a note describing exactly what I wanted and she's currently working her magic. I needed four bags per kid - tithe, save, give, and spend - and let her know the color scheme for each little W. She just finished the first bag. Want to see?
These are actually going to be Christmas gifts, so the kids don't have a clue they're being made, but I'm really excited! No more money dropping or envelopes falling apart!!
18 hours - The male Ws stayed up all night last Friday playing video games with each other. The boys have pulled all-nighters before and usually take a good nap the following day to get them through til the next bedtime. This time, however, they could not be woken up. They went down for naps at 1:00 on Saturday and slept until 7:00 on Sunday morning. They were pretty confused when they woke up, not having any idea what day or time it was. So funny!
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
READY? SET. MOVE!!
It's official. We're moving on Sunday!! We've had several people offer to help, but until now we haven't known exactly what we needed or when we needed it. So I'll tell you what we need and you can let Tim or I know if you're available.
CLEANING
This is usually a breeze for me, but the combo of a bulky belly and some major discomfort I've had lately are making this an area I could use some help. There are a couple options here. One is that there could be a deep clean (scrubbing bathrooms, cleaning window sills, etc.) on Friday and then a final touch (we'll have had to use the scrubbed bathroom through Sunday, floors will need to be vacuumed, etc.) as the apartment gets emptied on Sunday. The other option is that everything gets saved for Sunday. Either way is fine with me, though I will probably be at the new place on Sunday to tell people where to put stuff and wouldn't be able to help with cleaning the apartment.
TRUCKS
We're prepared to rent a moving van and realize the weather may make that the best option anyway. However, there's been chatter about people being willing to load their trucks with our stuff. If you and your truck will be available on Sunday afternoon, then please let us know as soon as possible. That will help us figure out if we need to rent a van and, if so, what size to get.
MUSCLES
We don't require huge muscles, just ones that are big enough to put stuff in or take stuff out of a truck or moving van.
Those are the needs - arms to lift, vehicles to load, and hands to clean. We'll be at church Sunday morning, then will need to eat lunch and possibly get a moving van, so we'll start the move at 1:00. Of course, if you want to help, but can't show up til a little later, then that's fine. Our move last year took 3 hours from start to finish, so we should be done before dinner. If you want to help, then just let us know what time to expect you and we'll give you directions to our current and new homes. Thanks a bunch!
CLEANING
This is usually a breeze for me, but the combo of a bulky belly and some major discomfort I've had lately are making this an area I could use some help. There are a couple options here. One is that there could be a deep clean (scrubbing bathrooms, cleaning window sills, etc.) on Friday and then a final touch (we'll have had to use the scrubbed bathroom through Sunday, floors will need to be vacuumed, etc.) as the apartment gets emptied on Sunday. The other option is that everything gets saved for Sunday. Either way is fine with me, though I will probably be at the new place on Sunday to tell people where to put stuff and wouldn't be able to help with cleaning the apartment.
TRUCKS
We're prepared to rent a moving van and realize the weather may make that the best option anyway. However, there's been chatter about people being willing to load their trucks with our stuff. If you and your truck will be available on Sunday afternoon, then please let us know as soon as possible. That will help us figure out if we need to rent a van and, if so, what size to get.
MUSCLES
We don't require huge muscles, just ones that are big enough to put stuff in or take stuff out of a truck or moving van.
Those are the needs - arms to lift, vehicles to load, and hands to clean. We'll be at church Sunday morning, then will need to eat lunch and possibly get a moving van, so we'll start the move at 1:00. Of course, if you want to help, but can't show up til a little later, then that's fine. Our move last year took 3 hours from start to finish, so we should be done before dinner. If you want to help, then just let us know what time to expect you and we'll give you directions to our current and new homes. Thanks a bunch!
Monday, October 3, 2011
POUNDED
Our month of getting pounded has come to an end. It was great to stockpile staples and enjoy some treats. Here's what we got, including repeats of some items, which was great because they were things we use regularly.
beans - blend
beans - kidney
beans - pinto
chocolate chips
cinnamon rolls
honey
muffins
pumpkin bread
raisins
rice - basmati
rice - harvest medley
samoa brownies
spaghetti
tomatoes - diced
tomatoes - sauce
If you've never given someone a pounding, then I'd encourage you to pick a recipient and rally the troops. Lots of fun and endless options for ways people can particpate. Thanks again to Lisa for coordinating our pounding and to everyone who participated!
beans - blend
beans - kidney
beans - pinto
chocolate chips
cinnamon rolls
honey
muffins
pumpkin bread
raisins
rice - basmati
rice - harvest medley
samoa brownies
spaghetti
tomatoes - diced
tomatoes - sauce
If you've never given someone a pounding, then I'd encourage you to pick a recipient and rally the troops. Lots of fun and endless options for ways people can particpate. Thanks again to Lisa for coordinating our pounding and to everyone who participated!
Sunday, October 2, 2011
THE POWER OF A SHOWER
Back in the early days of this pregnancy, which was also when I was nauseated, exhausted and depressed, Michelle whisked me away for an evening of dessert and chatting. It was a wonderful escape from reality, exactly what I needed at that point. To top off a wonderful evening, she also let me know that she wanted to host a baby shower for me later in the year. All she needed from me was a list of people to invite, as we don't know all the same people. Super thoughtful!
Well, coming up with that list proved the power of a shower.
A shower has the power to make you feel loved. This is our fourth child and I'm a minimalist mom when it comes to baby stuff. Between those two facts I had no expectation of being given a shower this time around. I was totally fine with that. Michelle, however, decided that this baby needed to be celebrated and wanted to host a shower. Loved.
Making a list of the women in my life took a long time. There are so many whose lives intersect mine in big and small ways. Thinking of who they are and how we're connected was awesome. Loved.
A shower has the power to stress you out. We know a lot of people and it became increasingly difficult to trim the list down to a number that would fit in the space we were working with. Would everyone who was invited actually come? Of course not. But, I did need to consider space, which is a little tricky when you easily interact with 100 different women over the course of a month. Stress.
There's no one I don't want there, but who do I invite? Church friends were the hardest to narrow down because they're the biggest source of our friendships. When you go to a large church, have been there for six years, and are well-known it gets a little tricky. The people I've known for years, but don't actually see that often or the ones I chat with regularly, but never about anything of substance? The people I see face to face or the ones who, due to attending different services or having lives that don't naturally intersect ours, I primarily interact with online? The ones in the metro area or the ones within a day's drive? The ones who know me well because my life is an open book on my blog, I'm involved in various things at church, and tend to be just a wee bit chatty, even if I don't know them very well or the ones that I'm close to because we both share our lives with each other? The ones who walk through rough times with me or the ones who I stay pretty light-hearted with? The ones who will be hurt if they're not invited or the ones most likely to attend? Where do I draw the line, because I certainly can't invite everyone? Stress.
I'm not a people pleaser by nature and will have fun no matter how few or many people are there, but figuring out who to invite stressed me out. I mean, really stressed me out.
Anyway, it took me months, but I finally got a list to Michelle. In the last couple weeks, though, I've had a handful of people who weren't on the list ask me when I was having a shower, been asked why specific people weren't invited, etc. AAACCCKKK!!! Exactly what I wanted to avoid, but didn't know how.
That's the power of a shower. To simultaneously make you feel super loved and super stressed.
The solution? Michelle and I talked today and we're just making it an open invitation. If you want to come (it's on 10/22 at 11:00) and didn't get the invitation, then please do not take it personally. Know that I agonized over that list and had to draw a line somewhere. Then invite yourself. Seriously. Just talk to Michelle or I for the location. We'd love to have you celebrate the 6th W with us. If we have enough space, then great. If we run out of room, then we'll say so.
And with that, I'll ditch the stress and stick with the love.
Well, coming up with that list proved the power of a shower.
A shower has the power to make you feel loved. This is our fourth child and I'm a minimalist mom when it comes to baby stuff. Between those two facts I had no expectation of being given a shower this time around. I was totally fine with that. Michelle, however, decided that this baby needed to be celebrated and wanted to host a shower. Loved.
Making a list of the women in my life took a long time. There are so many whose lives intersect mine in big and small ways. Thinking of who they are and how we're connected was awesome. Loved.
A shower has the power to stress you out. We know a lot of people and it became increasingly difficult to trim the list down to a number that would fit in the space we were working with. Would everyone who was invited actually come? Of course not. But, I did need to consider space, which is a little tricky when you easily interact with 100 different women over the course of a month. Stress.
There's no one I don't want there, but who do I invite? Church friends were the hardest to narrow down because they're the biggest source of our friendships. When you go to a large church, have been there for six years, and are well-known it gets a little tricky. The people I've known for years, but don't actually see that often or the ones I chat with regularly, but never about anything of substance? The people I see face to face or the ones who, due to attending different services or having lives that don't naturally intersect ours, I primarily interact with online? The ones in the metro area or the ones within a day's drive? The ones who know me well because my life is an open book on my blog, I'm involved in various things at church, and tend to be just a wee bit chatty, even if I don't know them very well or the ones that I'm close to because we both share our lives with each other? The ones who walk through rough times with me or the ones who I stay pretty light-hearted with? The ones who will be hurt if they're not invited or the ones most likely to attend? Where do I draw the line, because I certainly can't invite everyone? Stress.
I'm not a people pleaser by nature and will have fun no matter how few or many people are there, but figuring out who to invite stressed me out. I mean, really stressed me out.
Anyway, it took me months, but I finally got a list to Michelle. In the last couple weeks, though, I've had a handful of people who weren't on the list ask me when I was having a shower, been asked why specific people weren't invited, etc. AAACCCKKK!!! Exactly what I wanted to avoid, but didn't know how.
That's the power of a shower. To simultaneously make you feel super loved and super stressed.
The solution? Michelle and I talked today and we're just making it an open invitation. If you want to come (it's on 10/22 at 11:00) and didn't get the invitation, then please do not take it personally. Know that I agonized over that list and had to draw a line somewhere. Then invite yourself. Seriously. Just talk to Michelle or I for the location. We'd love to have you celebrate the 6th W with us. If we have enough space, then great. If we run out of room, then we'll say so.
And with that, I'll ditch the stress and stick with the love.
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