Revival: Things I Love

1. When Violet speaks exactly what she is thinking. Such as, "I have to be with you during Quiet Time because I have no friend to be with, so I don't be lonely."
2. Quiet Time
3. Costco Samples
4. The taste of Gracie's cheeks
5. The Psalms.....singing them, especially.
6. Good wine
7. Drapes that go to the floor and puddle up
8. A very good Mystery
9. The ponytail on the back of Grace's Very Round Head.
10. My husband's laugh
11. The military.....love and hate, really.
12. Forgiveness among Believers--how precious!
13. The way Violet says, "pretend I'm a lady..."
14. ....and then she makes a List, like her mommy. "What shall I put on my list?"
15. Rewarding my children for unexpectedly good behavior
16. When Grace cuddles up on Violet, and Violet says, "Look, mommy, she loves me!"
17. Cheese.
18. Outdoor fires.
19. Grass lawns....especially this year!
20. The end of an argument between my love & I.....peace restored by God's grace. Not that we're fierce, but that when we commit ourselves to Him in the heat of selfishness, we see so clearly it is not us in our cleverness solving something brilliant, but Him in His God-ness, reaching down to us and making us like Him.

The End.

Blog Freshen

Blogger changed up on me a bit, and I wasn't quick enough. I made some HTML errors, which weirded up my page a bit. Ended up I had to delete 2 previous posts. I'll post them back later, I guess.....when people forget I wrote them. Then I'll put them out again as new. :)

Teehee.

Like when you pack toys away and the kids forget you had 'em......then pull 'em out again a week later, "Lookee here, new toys, guys!"

Goodnight for now. Enjoy the Spring-y Fresh Look!

On The Cusp: Again

Today is 2 days before Ben's final ETS date. He will be out of the Army, officially, on Sunday at midnight. Soon, we will be regular civillians! Can we make it?? That is the QUESTION!

Actually--- we figured out his current income (with the sewer-cam job) will be exactly equal to what he made in the Army. So, when he joins the Reserves, we will be making more than we were before. WOW. God is good!

So many changes these days.....I shall try to be quick.


Violet is growing up. She has lost her first tooth......and has had several visits from the tooth fairy. The first time, the tooth fairy couldn't find her tooth. She had to write her back saying that the tooth had been lost in the front yard. Upon receiving a correspondence from such a delightful child, the tooth fairy left her a bon-bon on her dresser the next morning, and a note saying not to worry, just to save her next tooth for her.

(Ben.....is the tooth fairy.)

Grace is entering the Terrible Twos. Violet had Terrible Threes, not Twos, so I am thrown off a bit by how much attitude she has in such a tiny body. I hope she is over it soon. Parenting is hard: it takes a lot of effort to do a good job with a 5 year old and a 2 year old, and still have enough energy by the day's end to have a good marriage. My readers know how this goes, though. I won't elaborate. God's Grace is sufficient, and these intense days of parenting won't last forever.


Ben is working part-time with Hydro Physics while taking a day here and there to go to final briefings, clear Company, etc. He's mostly wrapped up with the paperwork. We just have recruiter meetings to go to, and change out our I.D. cards. Coming up this summer is also some schooling for Ben. He will be switching over to the Air Force Reserves in order to find something non-combat related to do......that might be interesting as an AFR-ist. We have lots of friends in the AFR, anyhow, so it would be easy to do whatever he wanted. We are excited about this making our health-care options easy. Outside of Tri-Care, the insurance world is a scary place. :( It was worth it to take that extra job *just* for the health care. It means he will be (as I said) schooling this summer or fall sometime, in order to re-class, and then working 1 weekend a month, and 2 weeks per year for drill. The re-schooling can take place pretty much at his convenience. He will be getting paid regular active-duty wages during the class time.

In other news: we're going through the masses of paperwork required to refinance into a mortgage. Our construction loan is finished out in July, but we want to start working on our lawn, so we've closed it out already and are about to be making our first mortgage payments on our new home! Our lawn....yes......it is NOT a lawn yet. It's just a gravel site. We have all sorts of dreams for it, of course. Swingset, sandbox, garden, patio, firepit..... it's hard to not start buying cool yard stuff when the weather gets warmer.

It's still pretty cold here, too. I know the entire rest of the U.S. is well into delightful spring weather, while here we still wear flannel and rubber boots. I have tried to ignore it, taking the kids for a run/bike ride in the rain, donning rain coats to do it in. :P They don't mind. I am desperate to start running again, anyhow. This home-building and moving has been INCREDIBLY hard, and stress always makes me want to eat and not exercise...just work, work, work.

I'm pretty much settled down. I say me, because the rest of them don't take as long as the Momma. Mommas are emotionally involved in their homes, and it takes quite a bit longer to settle down. I sat in my kitchen yesterday and sipped tea during the newly-reinstated Quiet Time, and for the first time it felt like Home, rather than a Giant Project. Decoration always takes it out of me.....living in the home while decorating it is hard, yet in the end, deeply satisfying. I see the end in sight.

I am excited about having house guests here this summer! I have 3 friends coming out at different times this summer....and hopefully more to come! It's great having a guest room to offer. I'm loving that! And while we're talking about guests, let me shoot out an invitation to the general public: You are welcome to come visit us this summer or fall--we are open for visitors ANY time! Just send an email, we'll pencil in your name! Here is the room you can stay in; hopefully it entices you to come visit:

My life is WOW.

True story. Today marks the day my daughter has adopted the "alberti bass" and the chord as her own, and I listened as she blissfully sang, "Oooooo"  to her own chord/broken chord composition. WOW.

Not only that.....two days ago, she confessed to me she was falling in love with a boy. Much older boy, by the way. A very worthy object, in my opinion. Not one I would mind having as a son-in-law. (My fingers almost rebelled at typing such a word.) She has good taste. :)  I barely kept a straight face as she was telling me, but not because it was funny--more because of the overwhelming JOY I felt at seeing such a pure, vulnerable, tender heart in my daughter. She is a delight! I had the chance to tell her it was important to present that love she felt to God, since she was too young to marry. I pointed out that all the princesses in the movies fell in love, then married their Princes. But she knew she was too young for that....so I think she understood that she had a different role besides girlfriend/wife right now. *whew*


The Grace-a-Face is somewhat different. She is like the point of an arrow. Sharp, extremely fast, and driven by something POWERFUL. Oh yeah, and doesn't always wound. ;) FOr that, I am grateful.  She is a challenge to me--to be more and more soft-hearted and gentle as a mother. Though she is like a spitfire, I have to control my natural reaction to her and respond with the ultimate gentleness instead. That's the only thing that works with her. Also, it blows my mind to think of it, but I'm pretty sure each one of these girls has a different "love language" already. Grace's is Quality Time. She melts into cuddles and impulsive hugs and "Ohh, mama!"s when I sit and read with her or talk to her about her ABC's or colors.

Having the 2 of them share a bed (nearly) has been a very special thing. Ben & I creep in at night to check on them, and they're usually cuddling together in their sleep. Delight!!



Ben & I:

Ben's new job is providing an unexpected extra income, since we're sitll receiving an Army paycheck. It's not much, just "training pay" as he learns the ropes of this job, but...it's such a BLESSING. We have so many projects to complete on this home as it gets warmer...the outside is calling. Patio, garden, flower beds, fruit trees, landscaping, playground....the list goes on. He loves working outside like this, visiting gorgeous homes all over the state. He works long hours, but--I'm resigned to the fact that when you're young, like we are....you just have to work hard. There's no Utopian Job that is going to provide time at home, benefits, vacations, and plenty of savings when you're barely 30. At least he's not gone for 15 months straight. For that, I am beyond grateful!

(OH MY GOSH, she just started playing minor to major chords, and hollered, "Mom, it's kinda like the Office song!" Yes.....yes it is.)

Me, I'm praying hard these days. I'm seeking students.....and they're evading me. I've hosted around 9 parents at the informational meetings, and none of them have called back. That's a pretty unusual number. Honestly--I've never had such a low percentage of call-backs. In fact, most of the time, if they come to a meeting, they call back. This is weird for me. So there sits my 2 pianos in the studio, black, beautiful, and mostly silent. And I pray....

God will bring about His will, of that I am certain. But, I want to do everything I can to make those students come forth!

On to the rest of my day. 

Bedroom Project: tell me what you think.

Readers,

I'm asking for input here. Tell me what you think of these photos. I need input.

This room is a mystery to me. I never got to ask myself what, exactly, my "dream bedroom"would look like. I'm heavily influenced by what I already have, and things that are meaningful to me.

My great-grandmother, Lila (for whom Grace is named), hand-tatted these doilies. They might look a little "froo-froo" under other circumstances, but ..........because they were hers, I love them. I just don't think I'd ever see them in a store or photo and think, "I really really want those hanging in my bedroom."

However, is it too much on the bedding? Iwas thinking I'd hand-sew them onto the front of the shams. I'm not sure....

Some of you have manly-man husbands. How do you think that type of man would like/dislike having doilies on their pillows. *rolls eyes just thinking about it*

 This is the bed frame Ben made. I'm thinking of adding an upholstered panel to the front and sides as well as a headboard. Kinda like this Restoration Hardware bed.

I'm having a hard time finding linen, though. I have had to search online for something the right color. All that is in the stores right now is white linen....for Easter, I guess.

 Here's the curtains....still just pinned up, not sewn. I'm trying to get a-hold of the feel of this room first before making the drapes permanent.

 Do we like the flowers on the wall vases? I just don't know.........I don't want it to become too girly. I'm using them because I have them. Pretty much that's it.

I also have a new-found love for burlap.....which is, essentially, the poor-man's linen. I have a ton of it, and even thought about using it as the bed upholstery. However, it might be too brown. Here are pictures of some burlap pillows I found.....

This last one has crewel embroidery on it. I AM IN LOVE WITH CREWEL. My friend, Hosanna has been doing her own crewel embroidery since she was a teenager. I think it's the most exquisite home decoration I've ever seen!

Violet saw me messing with the burlap on a pillow and said, "It'll be pretty ruff, Mom. Pretty ruff for sleeping'!"


Still, though........I am  worried about it being too girly. :(

Ok. Feedback time!

Early

My husband started work yesterday, so I've been getting up early....not intentionally.....it's just that our "two hearts entwined as one" have me awakening when he is, I guess. Either that, or he is banging doors and showering loudly. :)

However, I have found time to blog.

Aren't you lucky?

So, readers....we are moved into our new home. I'd say we are *mostly* unpacked and set up. However, I have a very high standard for being "set up"......that is, I like for each room to be completely decorated and staged, outfitted and accessorized.....before I give it the Set Up label. Therefore, we are not quite there. I'm working bit-by-bit on designing drapes, purchasing occasional furniture, and putting up wall hangings and pictures. I have been bit by the Retail Bug. I canNOT stop shopping. (this will only last as long as our savings account, however. Thank goodness for the poverty cure!) Yesterday I scored 2 matching pink velvet miniature chairs for the girls' room. YES. YES, I did.

I still don't have their toys on shelves or in cupboards, yet, but that will come. Ikea....I hear you calling me!

My new fixation with this home is DRAWER ORGANIZERS. I cannot have enough of them. Never before have they looked so appealing. I have always turned my nose up at them in rental homes, thinking "a drawer is to hide a mess", and just dumped stuff in and closed it up. Now, I have a tiny thrill every time I open my bathroom and kitchen drawers and see all that compartmentalized goodness!

On to other news: Ben has a JOB. God brought us together with none other than our Adair Homes counselor, Jackie, whose husband, Clayton, has his own business, and needed an employee to help expand. It's called, "Hydro Physics," and they inspect pipelines for damage/blockage using camera equipment....basically they shove a camera it down sewers and drains, taking pictures of what's down there, and help evaluate blockage/malfunction issues. It is a hands-on, outdoors, service-oriented job that seems to fit Ben MUCH better than the State Farm opportunity he had back in November. He resigned from that position before Christmas due to the demands of that job being far, far above and beyond what even he, as diligent a worker as he is, could produce while moving his family, building a home, and still answer the call of the Army each week. God saw fit to use that job, however, to usher us into a place of being freed up to work on the house, finish it, and move in without any distractions.

Plans are, at the moment, are for him to remain in the Army Reserves, and serve one weekend a month and 2 weeks per year, while continuing to receive some of the military benefits. We shall see how it affects our family...if we can keep it up. We are praying for......well, basically, a deployment-free experience for as long as can be expected. Reserves do deploy, but they are not 15 month-ers, and they are not as frequent as active duty. We will be officially "non-active-duty" on April 21st.

My studio is set up, complete with two pianos, now. GOD IS GOOD! I could not have imagined coming out of building a home and still have enough left to spend on a second piano. But, there it is. It's a huge blessing! I am advertising and taking calls and meeting with parents each week, as they contact me. My prayer is for the studio to become a ministry to families in this community. I am willing to take what God gives me, and let each student & parent be an "ordained" relationship. That being said, it is a bit hard to wait around for people to call. :( I've had quite a few parent meetings, but not a lot of call-backs. I do have one student, still, and she is continuing to come all the way from Yelm. She has her book 1 recital this weekend. Great accomplishment. She's just finished her first year of lessons, and graduates into book 2 already. She's a keeper!

I hear my children stirring......I'm off to Mother.

Eros

This poem has long resonated with me. I remember clearly falling in love for the first time: deeply. It was spring. I analyzed it. I wanted to count the ways. Susi, in love, counted. 




How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
(I counted. I needed to to tell how.)I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace. 
(I did reach....all the further when my love was new, and newly requited. It was as far as I had reached to know God's Grace and understand His Infinity. This New Love, it smacked God-born. I must chart how.)
I love thee to the level of everyday’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light. 
(hands....always touching hands. Dinner waiting on the table every night.... I so worship.)
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right; 
(for I must.)
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise. 
(for I shouldn't)
I love thee with a passion put to use
In my old griefs,  
(childish grief: being the last picked; put to bed early in the summer. Now is that passion put to use.)
and with my childhood’s faith. 
(wherein I planned my own wedding with blind, blind faith, when I was six.)
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, 
(my fast-running heros....no longer living, yet sacred in loss. I love, I lose, and I must love for the loss)
 — I love thee with the breath, (each)
Smiles, (you are in every)
tears, (the deepest wells bear your name)
of all my life!
 — and, if God choose, (these three remain)
I shall but love thee better after death. (The crowning glory of all my Love .......is Christ. Between us, in us, through us. "as in a mirror" now......then...................clearly.)








....and now I shall click "publish" before I change my mind. It is, after all, a love letter. :) But it is, after all, Valentine's Day.