With over 18 inches of snow in one week (and closer to 2 feet up at Craig & Vickie's where we were snowed in this past weekend), we now have 6x our normal snowfall FOR THE ENTIRE SEASON. We broke a record set in 1968 and are now in the top 10 snowfalls for this area since 1880. You heard me right; not 1980, but 1880.I will update more at a later time, but wanted to share with you the beauty of our white Christmas.
Enjoy!!
On Sunday we got dumped on with a small snowstorm. "Small" enough that school has been cancelled every day so far, and I haven't made it to work much. More is on its way tomorrow, Thursday and again on Sunday.Temps have been in the 20's during the day and the teens at night. Since this house continues to accumulate more and more issues, the heater has decided that this year it can't keep up with the cold. So ... with the help of painter's tape around the doorways (to keep the cold air out), a small space heater, rooms that are closed off, multiple blankets on the beds and the heater turned way down (it can't seem to heat past 65 or so), we are making due. Are we white trash folks or what?? I just have to smile ... you know what? Snow is God's way of forcing everyone to slow down, to relax, to take enjoyment in being together at home, and to remember what this season is about anyway.
So on Sunday we made sure to enjoy. After church and lunch, we took the boys sledding. Those crazy grins were on their faces the entire time.
And when we were too cold to stay out any longer, those two continued to play outside until we were finally able to entice them inside with hot chocolate.
The wedding I did on Friday was wonderful!! Things went very well and it was gorgeous. Katie did an awesome job, I worked with some wonderful vendors, I had help decorating the ballroom (thanks, guys!!!!), and it all went according to plan.
No worries ... the "boys" (all 3 of them) and I are doing good. No, great!Nick is now talking up a storm, some of it clear as a bell, some of it taking some "creative listening" on our parts. But oh how nice to no longer hear "uh's". And now that he's verbal it's become very clear to us just how much intelligence that little boy was storing up in his brain all this time. Two weeks ago he wasn't talking; now he's naming every color and counting to 10 all on his own. Go figure.
Drew made me very proud when he came home last month with a certificate and ribbon announcing that he had been chosen as Student of the Month (for Respect, nonetheless!).
To top if off, I received a phone call from the school a couple of days later letting me know that Drew was being awarded this new stereo for being one of the top 3 fund-raisers for that jog-a-thon back in September. What??!! You remember that jog-a-thon, the one that created so many pledge problems, the one where the principal and I had to have a couple little talks? So how ironic is this?! It's an awesome stereo, complete with remote control. Yep, press a little button and the whole front slides up to reveal the CD player. It also has AM/FM and an alarm clock. Pretty snazzy. All because Drew ran his heart out for his school. Yes, I'm one proud momma.
And nice too to spend time with family. This is my boys and Gary & Khonda's 4 kids at our local day-after-Thanksgiving parade.
The day before Thanksgiving Khonda & I were setting up this table out at Zenith Vineyard. The owner gave me a last-minute invite to set up a table for her 3-day Thanksgiving Wine-tasting fest where over 1000 people came through. Just so you know how big of a deal it is that I was invited, there are about 30 vendors on her preferred vendor list and she only chose 3 of us to have a table. I saw that as a direct opportunity from God! I needed to have brochures ... they cost $200 to be printed and miraculously I had just received $221 in birthday money. How's that for a God-thing?? Valerie (Michael's aunt) made me this bouquet for free. She's so awesome! And Khonda was a godsend with her creativity ... long story on that one, but thank you, Khonda!!
The boys arrived home in time to help us and, since we had leftover dough and apples, Michael decided to make some "mini-pies" for Drew & Nick. We ended up having enough to make 4 of these, so he & I did a little "taste-testing" after the boys were in bed. We just wanted to make sure they were okay ... you know, for the boys' sake.
Today was Veteran's Day ... no school for Drew; no work for me. So the four of us (Michael & I and the boys) took a drive out to the casino to indulge at the buffet and then spend some time in the Kids' Arcade. Later in the day we finished this "family project" sent home by Drew's teacher. We had to decorate the turkey and it gets to be displayed in Drew's class tomorrow. Keep in mind that this was created by a 3 year old with a scissor fettish, a 5 year old with a glue fettish, and a 40 (soon to be 41) year old with no "crafty" genes whatsoever.
Speaking of school, Drew brought home his first official school picture last week. Every time we look at this, we can't believe he's only five! From the day he was born, he's looked older than his age. I haven't decided whether that's a plus or a minus. I think it's simply this: that's how God made him. It's one part of what's unique to Drew.
This weekend God reminded me of His presence as my Father and my Provider ... He saw to it that on the same day I received the "Intent to Foreclose" letter from Chase, I also received this letter with a $100 gift card I had won for doing an online survey about a month ago. I had completely forgotten about it; since I've never won anything in my life prior to this, I had no notion that anything would come of me completing the survey on the service at our local Jiffy Lube. But that's God for you -- wanting to make sure that I remembered in the midst of horrible news that He is still there. He timed it perfectly so the two letters would arrive together.
I am going absolutely stir-crazy in the evenings with no tv. It's not like I'm a tv-aholic or anything, but my sisters understand that we have this need to have the tv on in the evenings, or when we're relaxing, as background noise. Must have something to do with the way we were raised. 
This Halloween it was Matt's turn to take the boys trick-or-treating. The boys loved the costumes he bought them -- even if Nick didn't quite get the concept of putting his ears inside the mask. I think both boys looked exceptionally cute!I had invited both sets of our parents to come eat dinner with Michael, the boys & I prior to trick-or-treating so all of the "grandparents" could see the boys all dressed up. It was one of those meals where you invite people over on a last-minute whim and then try to get creative about making the food stretch. Michael & my mom added some things, and Vickie brought brownies. We had absolutely NO WORRIES about there being too little food! I still have leftovers in my fridge.
We adults had fun visiting and listening to my dad's funny stories from the past while the boys were out. Craig & Vickie were laughing pretty hard. Michael may have been thinking, "What am I getting myself into?... " :)
Unfortunately my parents had to leave just before the boys were returned. As you can see by the candy spread out all over the floor and table, the boys came back with their bags LOADED! It was quite the loot.
I thought it was cute that Vickie was all dressed up too, so we just had to get a picture of her with the boys.
While I meeting my No Ordinary Affair assistant, Katie, on Friday morning, Drew lost his second tooth in my mom's company. I took a better picture than this of my toothless boy, but sometimes you just have to post the funny ones! He was very excited to get yet another visit from the Tooth Fairy Friday night.
Sometimes we all need a little bit of silly fun in our lives. This weekend Michael & I got a good dose while the boys were at Matt's.
It's been longer than normal since you've heard from me. It's just been a very difficult and very busy couple of weeks, rolled into one.This right here is a picture of me with my "rock"; when things are hard, he is there to steady me, to calm me, and to remind me of the God Who is bigger than anything life - or Satan - can throw our way.
Last Friday was the day I've been dreading for the past year and a half ... the day when my credit ran dry. Because of not being able to find a job for so long, I was surviving on credit. When I finally hit the wall, it came without warning and hit me hard. Lots and lots of tears were shed last Friday night.
I told Michael that night I felt as though I was on the edge of a deep pit, trying not to fall in. And if I fell, my kids would fall with me. He paused in silence and then said that he saw the pit from a different point of view. He told me he saw the same pit; however, he saw God at the bottom of the pit, waiting for me to jump into His arms.
Wow. Now if that doesn't cause the tears to flow for a whole different reason, nothing will. That's love.
I immediately thought of a recent sermon where Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were discussed. During that sermon, it was the first time I wondered if Jesus had been waiting for them to be dropped in. Somehow, I must have always envisioned that He joined them after the fact. Now I’m not so sure. Now I think He was there ahead of them. They thought they were being thrown to their death. But because He was already there waiting for them, what was intended to destroy became something miraculous. What initially brought fear to their hearts ended up being the most amazing, awe-inspiring, even fun, moments of their lives.
I'm not even sure I know how to jump, but I am learning. I'm learning that even though I make a "plan", the jumping comes in where my plan falls short. My plan isn't going to keep me from filing bankruptcy. My plan isn't going to keep me from losing my house very soon. My plan doesn't even cover the cost of groceries, Pull-Ups, gas for my car and utilities. My plan can't pay the property tax that's due, or the mounting attorney fees. My plan means the tv got turned off, the newspapers got cancelled, even the trash got cancelled.
And yet my plan falls so short of even being able to take care of the basics for me and my boys.
Guess what? That's where I jump. Right into the pit. Right into God's arms. No fear.
The things of this world are meaningless to God and He is not bound by them. My credit rating has no bearing on God’s power. My excellent credit rating that is now in the past was nothing more than a reflection of what I was able to do all by myself. God wasn’t needed. So now that’s been stripped away from me, along with all of my credit, all of my cash, and soon, my whole home. So what am I left with? … God.
So without fear, I continue to live my life and to count our blessings out loud in front of my boys.
Please don't give me any false credit. I am still human. I'm a worrier by nature. I'm a perfectionist who doesn't know how to fail without it affecting my self-esteem. So I have to remind myself often that I'm God's daughter, that His strength is perfect in my weakness, that I wouldn't truly know Him without having to give up all control and admit that I cannot do this on my own.
So, as my sister-in-law Khonda says, I live each day wondering - in anticipation, not anxiety - how God will show up today. It opens the door wide for His power and provision to be displayed.
Already He has been showing it through Michael, through my parents, through Khonda, through Jill, and through others.
In that mindset, we continue to live life:
Last Saturday we went to Jordan's football game. The boys adore their cousin and I couldn't resist this picture of the 3 of them holding hands.
Last Saturday night we had "family time" that started with a bonfire on Michael's property.
The boys made sure the bonfire was huge (which meant waiting about an hour before we could get close enough to roast our hot dogs and marshmallows).
We had so much fun that we decided to repeat the bonfire again last night (Wednesday) and invite my parents, Gary & Khonda, and their kids (they've been staying with me all week!). We even had my cousin Tammy and her kids come. And Craig, Vickie and Emma (Michael's grandma) joined us too. 
The weather was perfect and we all had a blast.
Khonda has been giving me the blessing of watching my boys this week while I'm at work so I didn't have to pay for childcare.
And when it hits the end of the day, we take our cue from Nick and just crash.
I had the strangest thing happen to me on Thursday. I had arrived at my second work meeting of the day and when the next person walked in and sat next to me, she seemed to have somewhat of a familiar face. Not putting too much stock in it, we started chatting. Imagine our total shock when we realized that we went to college together!! We were only acquaintances, but we lived in the same dorm and I had her dad as my Spanish prof. After exchanging maiden names, we both remembered each other. What are the odds that 18 years and a thousand miles later we would wind up in a meeting together in a totally different part of the country????? 
I've had somewhat of a doozy of a week. My co-worker shared her cold with me. I started feeling bad on Wednesday. My colds usually last only 2 or 3 days, so I was unprepared for this one that just slammed me. Here I am, five days later, and I'm still feeling so bad that I had to call in sick to work.It was the boys' weekend to go to Matt's, so it helped to be able to have time to truly relax. On Saturday I slept in til 10:15. I don't remember the last time I slept that long. After eating and taking a shower, I headed off to use the last of my spa gift card my last bridal couple gave me. I enjoyed a 90 minute massage. Let me just tell you, I was in HEAVEN. Even with my nose dripping.
Saturday night we belatedly celebrated our one-year anniversary of dating. He made me dinner and we had a lot of low-key fun.
Sunday I headed up the hill and spent the whole day hanging out until we came back here to meet the boys. Even today he came over to spend time with me and make us all lunch.
I like braggin' on my guy! :)
OK, now it's time for a nap. I think my body's had as much as it can handle for the day.
I'm thinking that you & I might just have to get used to the fact that anytime there is more than one post in any given week, it will be something of a rarity.Last week I had my first interaction with Drew's principal. Thursday was the school's annual jog-a-thon and we had all made pledges for Drew based on how many times we thought he could jog around the track in 30 minutes. Let's face it -- he'd be doing awesome to do 4 or 5 laps. So imagine my surprise when I looked out my window and saw that the school had used cones to make their own "lap track" that was maybe 1/16 of a mile -- and even that's being generous.
Drew ran his heart out that morning ... the whole 30 minutes. And he was SO excited to show me his lap card where there were not 4 or 5 stamps, but 22 STAMPS! I had a really good talk with the principal (yes, I was "that" parent) and he apologized profusely on behalf of the PTA for miscommunication with all of the parents as to the actual lap size. He is putting something in tomorrow's Parent Newsletter to acknowledge the error and to allow pledge amounts to be amended as needed. Whew!! I was very impressed with the principal. Our conversations were great and he was very down-to-earth. Thumbs up.
I do have to add how VERY proud I am of Drew! He was so determined to earn his school as much money as possible that he never stopped running that whole 30 minutes, even when his stomach started hurting. Perhaps I'm raising a future member of the Track team?
The other night when it rained, this large limb decided to twist itself right around onto the ground. And there are other large limbs hanging precariously from higher up. Did I mention that it wasn't even a windy storm? Nope, just your normal bout of rain. I am emotionally ready to wash my hands of this house. Did I mention that the newest microwave Michael installed above the stove blew about a month ago? He & I finally wised up and realized that after losing 3 microwaves and 2 coffee machines in a year's time, perhaps, just perhaps, the wiring in the kitchen is screwy. Why it took us that long to come to that conclusion, I have no idea.
It's still difficult for me to come to grips with the fact that even though I have never missed a payment, my entire credit is being ruined because Matt stopped paying his part of the mortgage. And it's difficult to come to grips with the probability of moving in with my parents for a while after I lose this house.
But ... it's out of my hands and I just need to let go of the wheel and let God do the driving. I'm just along for the ride at this point. Trust; it's all about trust.
And humor. There's a lot to be said for humor. I got my first paycheck last week. After the money that was taken out for health insurance, and then paying my tithe and childcare, I was left with a whopping $50. I decided I'm done with crying. So I laughed. Hard. And Michael laughed with me. And we just reminded ourselves that God is in control.
For now, this job is where God wants me. And it's a good job.
After all these weeks and months, Michael's move was finally completed Saturday afternoon. It was so nice for the 4 of us to just have "family time" Saturday night and all day Sunday.I have much to be thankful for.
And here are two of my biggest blessings.
94 degrees. That's how hot it was today. As if I weren't sleepy enough already.This picture about describes it. I am exhausted beyond words. It's not even 8:00 and I'm about ready to fall over.
I'm not trying to be a whiner. Michael's even more tired than I am because he's still gotta keep going for another 4 days. We worked our buns off moving more of his stuff this weekend!! And that was with help much of the time. I lost track of how many trailer-loads we did. That man's got his own little mini-Home Depot going on.
The boys and I spent all last weekend up on the hill helping. While I helped Michael with moving and building floors and ripping out an entire kitchen, the boys played with Vickie and "helped" Craig with building his new shop. Craig is so good with them. They truly "helped" in little ways and even had their own gloves. They are excited that they are learning to build. 
Since you liked the last recipe so much, I thought I would share one more that is just as easy. And I even made it up myself!! (Only my sisters and Michael could appreciate that statement to its fullest.) I don't even have a name for it, so perhaps you could help me come up with one. Here are the steps:Buy a jar of Mango Salsa from CostCo (in the refrigerated section). Put a small pork roast in the crockpot and pour most of the salsa over the roast. Cook it on low all day. I'm telling you, it is some of the best pork I've ever had, hands down! We had it hot, shredded inside the large sandwich rolls. I'm drooling just thinking about it. It's awesome!!
This afternoon after work I met a mother & father of the bride in Salem. They are from, of all places, Fallbrook, CA! They are the neatest people. They are hiring me to do "week-of" coordination for their daughter's wedding on December 12th. I'm extra excited because the reception is being held in that huge, exquisite new winery ballroom I've been itching to do a wedding at for a year. But what really made my day was that the mother of the bride said they knew they wanted to hire me when 2 or 3 different vendors specifically named me as the one they should go with. Wow! That was an amazing, incredible compliment. I wish I knew who they were!
I told you that I wanted to share with you about the sermon from a week ago Sunday (the 14th). Ebo Elder (www.ebotribe.net) came to speak. He was absolutely amazing. I felt like the sermon was just for me ... as did the 100 or so other people who came forward at the end.I would like to encourage you to do two things. First, go to www.myflc.org and listen to the message from the 14th. I could never do it justice. Second, talk your pastor, or your youth pastor, into booking Ebo for your church right away. He connects with every age and his message is amazing.
Now that I have talked your ear off, I feel a little more caught up.
So what's going on in your neck of the woods? ...
I'm way too exhausted to write a "real" post, but wanted to put something up that was short, sweet and purposeful. So here it is ... an awesome recipe!
It's a week later and we are slowly settling into a routine. Work is going very good (although there have been way too many meetings for me to get my work accomplished) and I love my Director Marilyn and the Office Administrator Caren. Having such a flexible schedule (which is different, not only week-to-week, but also day-to-day) is a little chaotic; however, I'm the last person to complain. It's only chaotic because they are allowing me to be flexible around childcare issues. And as of Oct. 1st I will have healthcare. Michael & I had to pray about that one since it will come out of my paycheck because I am not a full-time employee. In praying, I felt God telling me, "You've been praying for this for a year and a half. I've now provided it. Trust Me to provide the funds to cover it." So that's what I'm doing.
So go figure ... it turns out that I already own a ruffled shirt. It's the same one I got and wore on my first date with Michael last year. Seemed only fitting to wear it on my first day of work yesterday.While smiling in the picture, the last two days have been somewhat rough emotionally on the boys and me. Emotional, overwhelming and exhausting. It will take us some time to get used to this new schedule. Probably moreso because there is no continuity to it. It will change from week to week.
In spite of it being rough to be thrown back into the thick of things, and to realize that this is a full-time job being squeezed into part-time hours, I do know that this was directly from God and is therefore what I am supposed to be doing right now.