Life Update

Well, I'm back at home after working at the doc's office for about 2 months.  As usual, God's timing was perfect.  It's been a while since I've written.........we've sold the house and bought a PAID FOR double-wide.  So we are now mortgage free!!!!  Still got some debt to clear up, but that should be a lot easier now.  So, the extra work really came in handy getting all this house stuff taken care of.  The girls and I have moved our church letter to a new church, where, as of last night, BOTH boyfriends are members and saved.  They didn't have a piano player anymore, so I'm plunking it out on Sunday mornings.  My hands shake like leaves...............I should say my right hand.....I can't quite get my head together enough to play both hands!  But nobody cares, so it's just fine.  Got to take E's boyfriend and his mom and nanny to their first BAMA game a few weeks ago.  Nanny went in the hospital a week and a half after that, and is still there....3 weeks later.  She was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder and seems to be responding to the treatment, but has lots of ups and downs.  My Mama and Daddy got to come visit after WAY too long.   Wishing they would come back soon...hint, hint... but probably won't see them until Thanksgiving.  Blackjack is now an outside dog and I'm hoping to get one of his "cousins" for him.  He went from living outside, to being totally spoiled inside, to now living outside again, so I think he would like another dog around to play with.  Whiskers is enjoying the peace and quiet of the house to himself....able to walk around freely without being jumped on.  Oh yeah.....got to ride a 4-wheeler for the first time in about 25 years....wish I had one!  We'll see.........

New Year's Resolutions and Reflections

Never been much for them personally.  I have enjoyed life a lot more in the last year and I want to keep doing that.  I've realized that people aren't always what they seem, which has helped me to be more real.  I've learned that being happy is what makes YOU happy, not what you think is expected of you.  As my daughter would say...never say never.  For me, that has meant keeping an open mind...that life is not black and white...that the possibilities are never-ending.  It's a silly thing....but I said I'd never have a dog again after Boomer died because I was so heart-broken.  Don't know that I'll get a dog, 'cause my hubby doesn't want one, but I've finally reached the point where I want one...even though I still tear up when I think about Boomer...yes...I'm wiping the tears now....the point is, my heart is open to it, irregardless of whether I actually get one.  I've been reminded that young love is not stupid and that I wish it could last forever just like they do...'cause you just never know...In many ways it's the best of what us "old" people have in our own relationships.  That feeling that you can't be without somebody, everything is right when you're together, everything they do is cute and funny, you want to know everything about them, and you want them to want to know everything about you.  Maybe I put too much stock in love...my Mama always said I fell hard...and I oh so painfully remember the break ups.  But how else can you love like you're supposed to?  How does a grown-up marriage work without love like that?  Isn't love in our DNA?  We are here because God loved us and wanted to be with us.  Well, that settles it.  Love.

Working on Puzzles

I have just been blessed to take care of a dear friend after surgery.  It's been one of those times when you see how God has been putting the pieces of the puzzle together for a while, and suddenly you can make out the picture.  Last Spring, I left a medical management position, making pretty good money, to pursue a hands-on, making half of what I did job, getting a CNA certificate in the process, and working with dementia patients.  For several reasons, I left the nursing home job to pursue my life-long dream of being a stay-at-home mom, and have learned to be ridiculously frugal (maybe you have read some of my other posts) in order to make it work.  Well, last Monday, I drove my dear friend to the hospital for an overnight stay, and ended up moving her in with us for the remainder of the week.  I could never have done that had I been "working" all the time.  Don't get me wrong...I work hard now...really hard...I just don't get a paycheck from someone else.  My CNA training got some use...I got to take care of her surgery site and all the lovelies that go with that sort of thing....I'll leave the details to your imagination.  We had the most wonderful time.  We (usually my friend, myself and my two teen twins) ate together, laughed together,  and even changed her dressings together.  Surprisingly, my girls did not get weirded out by the delicate nature of the situation.  In fact, they were very helpful.  I have always loved puzzles.  I love the way a small hint of color on one piece clues me in to where it should go in the big picture.  As exciting as that is (I know, I'm a little weird)...it is exponentially exciting to see the puzzle of my life that God is working on becoming clearer.  I've heard preachers call this seeing the front side of the tapestry after working on the back with all the ugly, loose strings.  Whatever the analogy, I like it...

Awshum!

Been a few weeks since I've posted.  I feel like I'm settling in to this staying-at-home thing.  I've picked up a Thursday a.m. Bible Study which is awshum!  Got to see my Mama and Daddy for my birthday today.  Awshum!  I got to change my one workday from Wednesday to Friday this week so I could see them.  Awshum!  It is so nice to NOT be tied down to a "job."  Went to lunch with my friend Tam today and giggled/cackled for 2 hours.  Boy, that'll do ya' some good!  Taking the girlies to basketball tryouts in a little bit, then heading to choir practice...laaaaaaa....  Celebrate Recovery is tomorrow night which is always awshum!  Been inviting my FB friends and we've got someone new to lead the music/worship, which I'm really excited about!  Got 3 possible new people coming this week...Awshum/Awshum/Awshum!  Do you ever have those times when you feel like your eyes are just wide open for a change?  God is Awshum, and I just stand amazed in His presence!  (In case you need a translation...awshum=awesome.)

Drama

I've been sitting here, catching up on Facebook and thinking about the drama, especially amongst my teenagers and their friends.  I may need a neck brace from watching the relationship status changes alone.  So-and-so is single...so-and-so is in a relationship...so-and-so is single again...so-and-so is in a relationship again.  I have watched this literally change this many times in a matter of 24 hours.  My girls don't tend to do this, but the drama of their moods is just as...well...dramatic.  Their highs and lows are SO far from each other...and agonizing boredom is found in between.  GREAT...now God is telling me that I'm the same way!  Maybe it's hereditary.  My Mama has been known to be "one-tracked" and I am following in that trend.  When I'm into something, I give it everything I have, but I seem to reach a saturation point and then want to go in a different direction.  Maybe it's God closing one door and opening another, or maybe I'm not so different from my teenagers...all over the place.   God may need a neck brace watching me!!!  I wonder...how are some people satisfied with being stagnant?  I don't understand that.  I'm not changing the world, but I DO have a need to always feel like I'm growing and moving in a better direction.  And I get bored if I lack a sense of purpose.  Hmmm...I think I'll think about this some more...

Give

Last night's lesson was on "Give".  God never wastes a hurt.  No matter what you've been through, God will use it for good if you let Him.  For me, it means NOT putting on a mask and pretending that I have it all together, and remembering that those people that seem to have it all together are just faking :)  I'm finding getting to know people a little easier, finding that they are just as kookie as I am!  I'm still a little slow to open up to new people...trust, but verify.  Everybody has defects of character, and I know all too well that some people's defect is gossip, so I'm careful about who I get close to.  I really just don't have time for all the drama, and it really gets on my nerves when people are judgemental and haughty.  I'm a simple person, flawed in many ways, and I like my own kind!  So if you think you're better than me, or anybody else...save your breath as I will be tuning you out, shaking the dust off, and moving on.  I don't have long on this earth (none of us do), so I best get busy giving out the Good. 

Side note:  I would really like to know who is reading my little attempts at blogdom.  Would you please click on the "Follow" button on the right side?  Thanks.

Blah, Blah, Blah

Don't really have anything to say...feeling blah I guess.  Been working around the house since 5:30 this morning, so I figured it was time to "play" a little.  Still getting used to the SAHM thing.  Thankful to still get to "work" one day a week.  Twin 1 is still heartbroken...something triggered a crying spell and FB post about it this weekend.  I remember how miserable I was upon breakups at that age, so my heart hurts for her.  No spend-the-night events this weekend...spent the day with DH and girls Saturday.  Found Twin 1 an almost new desk for $40 at the thrift store...which of course caused tension with Twin 2.  But it HAD to be Twin 1's because it had pink drawer knobs :)  Hopefully, an equally good bargain will show itself soon for her.  Saw the Nick Saban movie...don't waste your money.  All us females felt like we had paid good money to watch ESPN for almost 2 hours, and us females know of other ways to spend our money!  Took two friends with us to church...this time they were not laughing at appropriate times, so they will NOT be sitting in the balcony anymore :(  Elizabeth's BF wants to be baptized, or at least that's what she said.  Hard to know how to handle that, except with alot of prayer.  Suggested she talk to her Mom about it, and she said, "she'll say just do it".  I don't take baptism lightly at all, and I don't want her to do it without understanding.  It's not like membership into a club or something you just do because somebody else has done it.  I suggested to all the girls that they go to church on Wednesday nights, because it's a youth service, which is much more relaxed and fun, and I know they will learn alot listening to Rob preach.  I'll pray to see opportunities to bring the subject back up from time to time.  That would be so awesome to have one of these girls become a Christian out of all our little outings.  I have to remember that it is not my job to "save" her, just to plant seeds that God can grow.  Still, knowing how important her soul is weighs on me...maybe that's why I'm so "blah" today.