House Project: checkin' in

Just a quick note, and no pictures.  Sorry.

I have FINISHED painting the boys room (again!) and they are moved into their new (old) room.  This is the room they were in when we first moved into this house three years ago, but they have landed back there once again.  No pictures, because I want to post a picture once I put up shelves and mirrors and the final "decorations" in there.  And right now I am storing a love seat, bookcase and calendar easel in the middle of the room.

Because I am switching things around SO much, I have called the four rooms in the house as follows:
The Master Room (will become the school room)
The Small Room (no closet, will become the "master room")
Julia's Room
The Boys' Room

The small room is my focus, now.  As I am redoing each room, I am de-cluttering as I go.  Julia's room is good to go, the Boys room is good to go.  But the mess that Lucas left behind in the small room... !!! He's like his Mama, poor child.  We discussed the ramifications of storing "stuff" for years, and he was quick to observe that the room wouldn't hold everything.  So together we weeded and weeded and organized and made places for things... whew!  And we aren't quite done, but we are on the downhill side.

The problem I'm running into, is that I have nowhere to stick stuff as I clean out rooms.  Stuff is getting pushed ahead of me, like bookcases and furniture.  And a little pressure will be relieved when I paint the small room and can put my bed and Shane's office in there...  but the entire master bedroom will need to be emptied so we can put in a cork or bamboo floor.  WHEW!!  All of this "ceiling to baseboard" cleaning and de-cluttering is SO good for me, though!

So that's the latest.  I might have a "before" picture for the small room that will soon be MIIIIIINE! in the next day or two.  The saddest thing is that it is a beautifully painted blue room for the boys, and my previous masterpiece that I must now paint over.  No, I WANT to paint over it.... it will be my new masterpiece.

"I never look back, darling.  It distracts from the now."

House Project: more boys blue bedroom

Here is Tuesday's progress:

A start on the ceiling... what a hassle!

At least I had a bunk bed to use for part of the ceiling.

At this point, I felt a bit like Michelangelo.

Minus the talent, of course.

It comes together!

I did the right hand crack BY HAND.

I will do the wall crack by hand as well.

Maybe.

Yes, walls have cracks.

And this is where I left off.

I think you can tell which two cracks need attention.

Attention for another day!

Story:  Tonight we took a Family Bike Ride.  (We say it in capitals.) As I was doing my famous "ride up beside little kids and give them a helpful shove going uphill" I almost bashed into Aidan's back tire. Since I didn't want to do this, I didn't turn, just let the bike fall over, but somehow missed catching myself with my foot.  Hiney high, wide and handsome, I slo-mo'ed to the ground, landing on my knee and elbow.  In gravel.  Gracefully, I got to my feet and turned back to observe my Honey's reaction.  He was carefully sympathetic, and never once cracked a smile at me!  I did have a mildly scraped up knee. But I'm fine, especially since no neighbors were out.  So if they saw me, they had time to back out of their window before I looked around.  

Also: As I was suffering through this ceiling, Aidan told me that I could paint until my heart was content.  Then he asked me if my heart was content.  So I said, no, that my heart would not be content until the painting was done!  He suggested I just stop painting and that I would find my heart was content after all.  I suspect he was right, but forced myself to keep going, regardless of my heart's contentment level.

House Project: boys blue room

A couple of quick pictures of the progress I made on Friday....

The picture above and below show two opposite, facing walls painted the middle shade of blue.  I'm progressing from light to dark.

Yesterday, I started in on (and finished) the red wall.  WHAT A PAIN!  Some red does show through... but I am getting started on the ceiling today, so I can touch up any spots on the wall that are really bad.  

Somebody, give me a reason to stop!  This post is over, I have nothing left to procrastinate with!

;)

33 1/2 Years

At the end of June, I turned 33 and a half.

I was sitting in a gospel meeting in Bakersfield when I first remember hearing about Jesus living for 33 and a half years on this earth and preaching the gospel himself for 3 and a half years before he was crucified.  And for about four years, the number 33 and a half came up a lot because there were certain things Ralph MacDonald preached about often.  And I always wondered what it would be like to consider Jesus' death and resurrection when I was his age.  But I was only about seven years old when I first thought these things, and I had a really LOOOOOOONG time to wait.  Or so I thought!

So ever since the end of June, I have been thinking about being Jesus' age when he finished his Father's work on this earth.

As a mother of young children, I don't feel like my work is finished here.  I don't feel ready to go home to God.  But it doesn't seem that Jesus felt the same about the work he was doing.

It doesn't seem that Jesus' work on earth tied him here.  He didn't ask for more time to complete it.  But he did take his job seriously and gave it his all.  Everything.  And he said that he had finished the work that God gave him to do.  I want to view my work the same way; love it, do my best at it, give it my all, and yet be ready to leave it, finished, when God says I am finished.  Jesus could have felt that his work was finished when every soul on earth had heard him preach or had been given a chance to know him or other benchmarks like that.  But he didn't do that, either.  And I need to remember the same: just give each day my all until God says I am finished.

I don't know much about these things, but I think maybe Jesus remembered Heaven and being there with God before he came to the earth.  And I can imagine in a weak way, how much he must have missed Heaven, especially trading it for several years on earth.  Probably Jesus missed being so close to his Father even more than Heaven itself.  The fellowship Jesus had with his Father here on earth might have been less close than the fellowship they had together before and after.  Maybe in some ways, God was merciful to Jesus in that Jesus didn't have to stay away from God for an entire lifetime.  I want to have that kind of focus: that I just want to get closer and closer to God.  I want approaching death to be much more joyful than sad when I think about it.

We heard this morning about not worrying about next week, but just worrying about today.  If I could do my best today to do the work God has given me, and give it everything I've got today, then I think that is how to be ready.

Update on "The Crazy"

Thought I'd give the conclusion of the matter at convention!

So we all survived.  We've been home a couple weeks and things are back in the "groove" once again.

I loved Tamara's comment back on Embrace the Crazy...."no tips, but total understanding."  Such a great line and it made me feel better!  Thanks! =)  Tamara has 7 children of her own so far, so if anyone  could "pooh pooh" my little problems, she could.  Instead she dishes out understanding.  Ahhhhh! (filing away for future use)

Lucas slept away from me this year with his Grandpa and a father-son pair of good friends.  He did one trial night, and was hooked!  I found out later about late nights and Angry Birds... but I know those are memories he'll have forever with his Gpa.  ;)

Aidan is getting really good at sleeping in, so most mornings I brought him breakfast.  Julia is the one who pushes all sleep limits and she wiped out big time on Saturday.  Tears, tears, tears.  Everything was impossible, so I made a rule:  If she napped in meeting she could play in between with her friends. She didn't nap, so off we went Saturday afternoon.  She had a nice long nap and was a different person when she woke up.  The great thing was how clearly the sleep had made her feel better.  She noticed it, we talked about it and it helped her understand that her body needs it.  It's not just about Mom having some rule.  Her body tells her "I've had enough!" and she's learning to listen.

I managed alright, myself.  The entire convention was a journey for me, a lot of things to work out and struggle with.  I came away with some worries as well as help.  After the convention, I spent a little time processing, and when Sunday of #2 came around, I was thrilled with all the comfort and confirmation I got in both meetings.  I sometimes try to take on things that aren't MINE.  And I sometimes worry about things that are not in my sphere of control, and I frustrate around about it.  When a person does this, exhaustingly, it can be so wonderful when God reminds us that HE saw it all long before, has a plan, is executing it, sees the big picture and has all the power, period.  It's like realizing that you had your teeth clenched and enjoying how it feels to unclench them, only on a much larger scale. ;)  And in the end, I have A LOT of work to do.  And it's time to get on with it!

Ambitious Goals...

Heads up on a new project around here!  There will be several phases, some of which will be going on at the same time.

Project De-clutter, Organize and Rearrange the Entire House.

The parts of this project are as follows:
1. De-clutter everything from rooms to closest to drawers.
2. Eliminate as much as possible.
3. Move the master bedroom to the smallest bedroom.
4. Move the boys out of the smallest bedroom into the old school room.
5. Paint the boys new room the same as the boys old room; three shades of blue, including a blue ceiling.
6. Move the school room into the master bedroom.
7. Put a cork/wood floor into the master bedroom.
8. Paint Master(new school) Room.
9. And if possible, repaint the smallest room, new master, so it isn't three shades of blue.

I think that points 1 and 2 will be ongoing as I choose a section of house and work on it.  But I am happy to report that I have gotten started on this whole project and I have the pictures to prove it.

On the east side of the house, we have two medium-sized bedrooms with a bathroom in between.  One is three shades of pink for Julia, the other was the old school room in a disappointing shade of yellow with one red wall.  The Mustard and Ketchup Room.  This room will now be three shades of blue for the boys, a repeat of the Boys Blue Bedroom that I did last year.  Oh.  I guess that was two years ago.

This weekend, I got one wall painted in the new Boys Room, with the kids helping me!  I wish to swiftly point out just what a feat this is: This is an incredible feat, folks.

When I say the kids helped me, they really did.  Lucas manned the roller for almost the ENTIRE wall.  I touched it up to make sure it was thick and did up near the ceiling.  Julia helped me cut in the corners.

Aidan woke up from his nap and got a chance to roller for a quick minute.  He had something bothering his eye, plus chocolate chip cookie mouth.  Lookin' pretty beat!

So there you have it.  The first wall of Boys Room as it begins to cover up Mustard and Ketchup.

No worries about the red wall.  It and the ceiling will be covered up by dark blue. Oh delight!

The Biddies Have Moved!

Just to be clear, I am talking about chickens.
I am NOT talking about some of our friends who will soon be moving away!

Shane got sick and tired of the unsightly chicken yard.  We had it in the corner where four yards meet, and he just hated giving the neighbors such a bad view.  He handled it the best possible way: by volunteering to help me every step of the way.

Well, the job is done.  So here are a few pictures of the old and new locations.
Locations Old and New.

Old Location ~

looking out from the back porch toward the southwest

New Location

Standing by the old chicken yard.  

This new location was chosen for its many trees.

At first, I was concerned that the chickens would use the trees to fly over the fence.

Once again, I overestimated the girls.

A little closer, Shane's gate all good to go.  

Inside the yard, taking a picture looking north.

Standing at the north side, taking a picture looking south.

See how nice and shady this yard is?  ALL DAY!

And Julia, with all 8 girls.

Australorps: Big Mama, Cannibal and Crystal

Americaunas: CJ and BrynnaCoraOlivaStafford

Delawares: Marshmallow and Snowball

Rhode Island Red: Red

New update:  We have bid our final farewell to Cannibal.  She has been sent to execution for aggressive hen-pecking and egg eating.  But still it was hard to send her off. =(  

Crystal has gone broody once again, and I bought three fertilized Americauna eggs for her to hatch.  She is very excited about this, but is refusing to go into the maternity ward.  She wants to stay in the main coop and this is posing a big problem.  I tried caging her  up with the eggs in the maternity area, but she just ignored the nest and eggs altogether, opting to sleep on the ground at night and walk around all fluffed out during the day.  Chicken brain.  So the latest plot that I have hatched (har har) is that I fitted a cardboard box exactly in the spot she likes best, filled it with hay and eggs and I plan to move her into the maternity ward in the dead of night, while she sleeps upon her eggs.  Today, she happily sat on those eggs.  I will see about moving her tonight.  I just need her away from all the other chickens!  

I'll keep y'all posted on this exciting saga!