Seizing My Day

I have an obsession!

Buying old books!

Really old books.

Old History books, old kids books,

old christian living, old bibles,

old railroad building guides, old fairy tales,

old fiction,  classics….

it gives me unexplainable joy to buy old books.

see what a nut I am!

I don’t know why.

I NEVER read!

I want to read.

I want to read old treasures, like this one…

This is an old book by Andrew Murray.
I lucked upon a signed copy even!! =)  in 1891!!
He wrote in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.
It is called The New Life.
He wrote it for new believers. (does 18 yrs count as new?)

I love some of his other books.

A Believers Absolute Surrender!

(incredible read)

and A Believers Prayer life

(also a good read!).

I really want to read these treasures I found too, one day!

I like to read.

I just can’t seem to find the time!

New or old…

Fiction, christian living, parenting…

books!

I want to read books! (without guilt!)

I read some great books before kids…
Like this one…

I highly recommend this book!

We all fall short of the Glory of the Lord!

Rich Mullins read this book, God rest his soul!

but…

I don’t read….

Especially after kids came into the picture.

I have tried!

Life is so busy…

playing with kids,

housekeeping,

cooking,

teaching,

dog training,

etc.

I am just too tired when I do get a moment!

I would love to read this again…

though it is a bit of a hard read …

meaning I had to read the chapters twice …

it is written from the perspective of  “the devil training his apprentice”

it is so enlightening, clever and funny!

I always buy books that sound inspiring, encouraging, funny, clever, …

to tempt myself…

Like this one… boy did I need this one once upon a time!

It is a great book…

but sadly I only made it part way through!

There are several books I have only made it part way through…

Like this fun kids book… again Christian fiction… George McDonald wrote about the same time of CS Lewis. Love both of their books! I love these old authors!

and I bought this book too…
surely a parenting book will keep my attention…
I always have something to learn!
sounds like a wonderful read..

I read a little …
and then I put it down …
and haven’t picked it back up!!

sigh!

I am hopeless!

So what do I do in my hopeless state?

(I have been here for years!! years!)

I buy another book!

what can I say…
I am sucker for a great buy on a fun book!
Did you read the title??

I love the title… sucked me right in…

What girl doesn’t love Jane Austin??

this isn’t the first time I have done this…
during my lack of reading slump…
and it won’t be the last…

much to my husbands dismay…

don’t worry…
I have a back up plan!

Ha ha ha ….

TTFN
Just Jenn~

Ladies… you will laugh… or maybe just smile…

Remember me saying our “lucky” 4 leaf clovers haven’t brought us any luck?!!

Just yesterday!      ha ha…
Jokes on me….

Look what I won ~ after my post ~ yesterday!!!
Tammy at TammysTwoCents is a local friend of mine…

and she was doing her first ever giveaway… so I entered.

Once.

I figured if it was meant to be I only needed one entry right?

I NEVER win anything anyway!    so I rarely enter giveaways…

ha ha…

I won!!

See what I won!

I had to clip a photo from the Skin MD website… b/c I could not grab the picture from Tammy’s blog??!  (techy challenged here!)  anyway… it is the bottle with the red cap that I won… I think?!   =)

Fun!  I love lotion!!

and I am always looking for the perfect lotion to clear up my dry fingers!!

Thank you Tammy!

Now if those clovers  could just help me win a vacation somewhere sunny!!! LOL~ I won’t push my luck!

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NOW … don’t think I am super on the ball or anything…

I wouldn’t want you to thing I am that organized!!

I just didn’t do my laundry or many other chores yesterday…

what can I say…

I did however ~ play ~ a little ~ see!

This eye pillow is silky fabric and chenille ~

I love cotton chenille!! so soft!

I am giving this one to a friends mom ~

she needs something comforting right now!

The pillow case is chenille on one side and purple silk on the other…

silk meaning… probably polyester??!

the silky part is cool and refreshing…

the chenille is cozy!

best of both worlds… do you feel  cool or cozy today?!

This eye pillow  is made with flannel ~ also cozy!
it will have a pillow case too ~ later today!

As pictured in my post yesterday ~ I use flax seeds and lavender…. the lavender offers a soothing scent and the flax offers the perfect weight, comfort and heats well as a heat bag too!!

Oh ~ I make larger heat bags too with the same supplies!

I love love my eye pillows and heat bags!

Perhaps one day I will make enough in advance …

and sell at a craft booth at Farm Chicks in Spokane?!! =)

Once upon a time … I made heat bags with cleaned corn feed – though it smelled like popcorn – it held heat for a long time!! A friend and I sold them at a local craft fair… it was fun!

One of my readers yesterday said she has made her own eye pillows once upon a time… but with different filling…
if you have made an eye pillow … or a heat bag…

What filling did you use and why??

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Tomorrow I hit the dental chair ~ again ~ to have my permanent crowns put in ~ wish me “luck”!!

Just Jenn~

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With Scissors, fabric, 4 leaf clovers, flax seed and some paint!
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one post…

a few supplies…

a few odd projects …

a little girl and boy…

and a pair of scissors!

just some odds and ends in my wee little brain…

Let’s begin shall we?!

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So we had – past tense – HAD…. a yard full of clover…

we tilled..
and hauled…
and seeded…
and watered…
(that is another post) ….

So we had this amazing “lucky” yard full of clover when we first moved it… yeah… the one with really rocky soil, no water drainage or runoff, no green grass… but more 4 leaf clovers than you could ever imagine!!

Yep!

4 leaf clovers!

Tons of Four Leaf Clovers! insane!

They say each leaf stands for: faith, hope, love and luck.

now in my eyes those 4 words don’t go together… God is connected to the first 3 … and luck… well… lets just say they haven’t exactly changed my life in that category!!! LOL! not to down play it too much… it isn’t exactly something everybody gets to see in their lifetime! I just happened to have seen oh.. 300-400. =)

This is what we have done with them so far… we pressed… glued… laminated… and created! Cute, huh!?

Do ya think I could get on the ball and try to sell them on ebay or craigslist before March 8th?? Sigh! Nope… 3 years… every year about this time.. I think… “hm… I should try to sell them to local garden shops or list them on ebay”… and then life gets busy … and I forget … until it is too late for allowing shipping time… for March 17… maybe next year! =)

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Last night I went to the Good Will…
you see I am about to loose my marbles ~
flip my lid ~
commit myself…
with the always chewing naughty puppy…
That is another whole post!

So I went to pick him up a few stuffed toys…
At the Good Will…
after spending way to much at the pet store…
a few times…
I have finally wised up!

so … off to Good Will… for dog toys mind you…

see what I found!!
Not bad for $6.99?
Just a few changes and it will be perfect!
A tiny bit of paint to touch it up…
some cute fabric…
and she will be cute as a button!

It will go nicely in my little girls room…
or in the kids loft…
shhhh…
she doesn’t know its for her yet!

I will post the finished product at the end of the week!

hm….

I have an old sewing stool …
I could make a few changes to …

hm….

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Monday Madness today…
My mind is not in one place today!
Bear with me…

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SO…
Ever since my son was born…
and he didn’t sleep for longer than 2 hours at a time… for um… 3-4 years!
since then…
I have needed an eye pillow to help me fall asleep…
Sammy was born 7 years ago…
It was especially necessary in those wee hours …
where it was daylight… but still bedtime …
At 4-5 am!
Not long after his sleeping patterns began to wear on me…
I began to “need” an eye pilllow to fall asleep…
it was part of my every day sanity!

7 years later…
I still need it!
I love my eye pillow!
Every year I got a new one…
and then I figured…
I should make a new one…
I liked it…
and guess what else?
They make great gifts!

Here is what I use to make them! maybe I will take pictures while I make it… if ya all want??
They are so easy to make!

I will post the finished product later in the week with my chair and that old sewing stool!!

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OK…
Last random thought…

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My little girl started soccer season again last week…
We have been blessed with sunshine…
which has made the transition a little nicer!
3 days a week on the field!
in the wind,
the rain,
the mud,
running…
kids sweat…
I have a rule…
about sports and long hair…

You have seen this cutie before….
notice the pretty long blond hair…

She doesn’t like my rule…
about sports and long hair…
see what a pair of scissors can do….

not my scissors…
her hair is too thick for my cutting skills…

I love her hair like this… every spring… snip, snip! She likes it long… I do too… it is pretty!
But, I keep telling her …
when she masters blow-drying and ponytails…
she can keep it long!
(evil mommy)
Poor kid.
LOL!

Look who is next ….
on the mommy’s “needs a hair cut” list….

do ya think I should buy the poor kids some new pants??

do you know how hard it is…
to find skinny boys sweat pants …
that don’t look like capri pants!
poor kid.
We have been to target, old navy, and kmart,
sears, costco, and kohls,
jcpenny, the gap, and childrens place…
really … are you kidding me!?!
it is not like he is the only tall skinny kid around!
I don’t remember if I tried fred meyer… sigh!!

(we have tried jeans… sensory monsters don’t like them!)

any one??!!

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That’s all for now folks!

Much to do!!

Sadly, my fun projects have to wait…
and those darn clovers…

First I must tackle, Home school fun, dishes, laundry, vacuuming, dusting, laundry, puppy tending, laundry, sweeping, brown bagging the clutter (yeah right), laundry and the like!

did I mention laundry!?

Ta Ta For Now!

TTFN!

Just Jenn~

Cherry Blossoms should remind us of new life… but every year they remind me of death.

On February 28, 2001 there was an Earthquake that hit the Pacific Northwest.. I can’t remember exactly what the magnitude was… 6. something?   It shook hard enough to damage some buildings… enough to scare people here in the Pacific Northwest.  I lived in BC,  Canada at the time… with my husband and my baby girl.  I was sitting on the floor and felt a rumble… I wondered.  Then a few minutes later I found out the rumble epi-center was near my home town of Olympia, Wa and nearby areas all in fact had an earthquake.  I started to worry ~ a little.

Mom my was in the hospital in Olympia at the time.

Probably not more than an hour later I got the call…. mom’s cancer had gotten worse… it was “time” to come and say goodbye.  So I called my husband and had him come home from work, I packed a few quick bags and we loaded our baby girl into the car and drove into the earthquake zone.  A few people thought we were crazy… driving to the heart of it… not to me… My mom was way more important to me than a possible aftershock. She had been diagnosed with an aggressive cancer while I was pregnant with my first baby ~ she was lucky to survive 9 months after diagnosis.  At the beginning of that year… Mom knew her time was near… on her birthday in mid January she had given us instructions for her funeral, things like what songs that she wanted to be sung or listened to,  she wrote a list of which of us 3 girls  should have her treasured things (she didn’t have much) but she wanted us to have her treasures…

she started to say goodbye.

That first week of March after the earthquake..

is not a week I want to remember ~

and it is not a week I will ever forget.

It was a few tearful days watching my mom struggle to breathe…

she could not talk that week.

On her last night ~ March 6 ~ she gave each of us three girls a kiss… and intentionally gave each of us an additional kiss for each of our children … though I had one baby at the time… she gave me an extra one… I knew it was for the 2nd child I planned to have.

(She always hoped for a grandson… what a bittersweet moment being told my last child was a boy ~ he was the only grandbaby she never got to meet… my son Sammy.)

I will never forget those days… I hate them… but they are my last memories of her.

The next morning I went to see her… she only had a few hours left… we knew…

my aunt sent us home… she told us to remember her breathing…

I left…   I don’t regret leaving…

my last precious memory is kissing her goodbye the night before.

The first week of March is always a weepy time for me… those first signs of Spring are bitter sweet.   My mom did not live an easy life… but now she is in total peace … no more pain, no more tears, no more heart ache, no more fears… she rests…in peace.

I like to think she looks down on us girls … and smiles while watching us raise our children, enjoy life and remembering the things we loved about her.  I like to think she smiles when she sees us do crafty things or go junk shopping!

I talk about her to my children all the time.. she loved throwing us birthday parties, she was very crafty, she loved volunteering at our school, our friends loved her and all her crafts.  She loved babies, children and animals.  She loved  antiques, garage sales and sewing.  She loved to crochet (sp?).   She loved the beach.  She loved spring blossoms, lilacs and planting gardens.

The deeper into life I get… the more I LOVE being like my mom!

I love cherishing her by sharing all my favorite things about her with my kids… I am constantly saying…. “Grandma Norma loved… ” and  “Grandma Norma used to…”   she died too young… but I choose to think on the good things… to remember the moments I had with her… remembering the beautiful person she was… it is not always easy… and I stumble… The Lord knows my heart!  She gave her life to Jesus in her last few months… she was baptized in the hospital a few short weeks before she passed away.

I am thankful for the little blessings in life.   =)

Early signs of Spring make me weepy…

just like songs that my mom requested for her funeral make me weepy…

She loved Elton John… so do I..

You see her name is Norma Jean…

She loved that song… “Goodbye Norma Jean” …

so did I… but now it means something totally different to me…

I didn’t have a choice … I said goodbye to my Norma Jean.

She also loved this Hymn…

What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Ev’rything to God in prayer!
Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Ev’rything to God in prayer!

Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged,
Take it to the Lord in prayer:
Can we find a friend so faithful
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus Knows our every weakness,
Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy laden,
Cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Saviour, still our refuge;
Take it to the Lord in prayer:
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer;
In His arms He’ll take and shield thee;
Thou wilt find a solace there.

This hymn means something different to me now…

it reaches deeper into my soul than it did the first time I sang it in my early 20’s ~

when I gave my heart to Jesus.

Life never goes the way we expect it.

My mom’s early death is one of many reasons why I am Seizing My Days …

each day is a new day to Seize the moments God has given us !

Some days I will stumble and fall… but the Lord will pick me up.

sometimes He will carry me… sometimes He will watch me soar.

He is my strength… though I don’t always give Him the Glory He deserves!

I am thankful to have God in my life… I am thankful I can trust Him..

In Him I find Peace…

I am thankful that even during the difficult times in life… He is there.

He is loving me… teaching me… showing me..

comforting me… growing me … blessing me.

Blessed are the pure in heart… for they shall see God.

I choose to give my heart to God.

I love signs of Spring… though it is a bittersweet time…

it does bring new life … the sunshine… the flowers…

the things that make our hearts smile…

Seize Your Day today… go and enjoy the people you love!

That is how I plan to spend the rest of my sunny weekend ~

even it if is the first week of March!

Good Bye Norma Jean ~ I miss you and I love you mom!

fine.

one word.

well.

one sentence.

or two.

maybe three.

who am i kidding?

Today I don’t feel like talking about food.

Thursday is my food day.

You don’t really want me to talk anyway…

with this uninspired mind.

how about a picture…

I am going to spend my day visiting  you.

in between first grade lessons.  dishes. laundry.  coffee.

dog walking. lunch. cleaning. a brown bag.  or two.

Latte’s with Tammy from Tammy’sTwoCents.  =)

life.

Thanks for coming to read my uninspired blog today.

Lets see what picture I can leave you with?!……

be right back…

Yep… though this is a blurry picture…

it pretty much sums up my mood today!

bub bye!

Just Jenn~

So the other day I was over visiting Debby at Just Breathe and she had posted this…

Debby you have no idea how much laughter you blessed us with!!  Thank you!

not only did I laugh so hard I cried ~ so did Mr.McFunny ~

aka the spouse ~ who makes me laugh all the time!!

Now before you read this remember I have an adorable puppy named Merlin!  I am “his” person!

His sweet little tail never stops wagging!  He is a gals best friend ~

even if he is a stinker and chews up my whole house!!

and he also makes me laugh all the time!

What is a girl to do???

Woof ~ Woof!
Happy Wednesday!

Just Jenn

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The Home School Blog Hop !!  I could not get the button to work !!  and I already posted today!!  =)

Click here to enter your link and view the entire list of entered links…

A talented man, with a childlike mind, had many many wise words to leave behind.

Quotes by Dr. Seuss

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“So the writer who breeds more words than he needs,

is making a chore for the reader who reads.”

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My sister Kelly doesn’t blog (yet!) but she will!  =)

I have a silly story to start off with…

First a little ditty..

I have introduced Kelly to a few of my favorite blogs to tempt her!

One of those fabulous blogs  is authored by Sasha at Lemonade Makin Mama…

I enjoy her honest heart, the crafty side of her and her beautiful photography !

Because Kelly loves the same sort of crafty projects I have seen in on Sasha’s blog ~

I sent her to check out Sasha’s blog.. and she liked it!  of course! !!

OK… so Saturday … I went to visit my sister Kelly!

I had some girl scout cookies to deliver to her,

and a special loved one to visit who is battling cancer ~

i hate cancer!

and then we both needed a few hours of fun!

Junk shopping fun!

So … a few minutes after I arrived in Marysville…

my sister shared a delicious cake with me

(that is not in my heart healthy eating plan… thanks Kelly! ha ha!)

It was SOOOOO good!!!

How does this tie into me talking about introducing Kelly to Lemonade Makin Mama?

Well this delicious cake we were eating ~

Kelly found the recipe on Lemonade Makin Mama’s blog…

Baileys Irish Cream & Cake ~ yummy!

You can find the recipe by clicking here on the word  recipe !!

Since I am a blogger now …

I had to have a picture of us eating it…

lets just say our day started out with laughter! see…

Aren’t we ladylike!!  =)

Who knew you could have so much fun taking pictures of yummy cake!

Sadie ~ the dog~ could not stand it any longer… she needed a taste of this food we made such a fuss over!

Not that I recommend feeding such a delicious cake to your dog!!

Thanks for sharing the yummy recipe Sasha ~ we loved it ~

Look at the joy you gave us!

I love the windy road you drive to get to my sisters house… the farms… and trees… and animals… especially on a Semi-sunny day… so I made Kelly stop and let me play a tiny tiny bit with my camera! (I need lessons!)

Is there such a thing as a beach house on a farm??

Because I secretly covet a life on a beach and a life on a small farm!!  =)

then..

After a couple precious hours with our friend & sister-in-law battling cancer…

I hate cancer.

We went off to have a few hours to ourselves…

sometimes a girl just needs some fun with her sister!

Creepy little trailer staring (or smiling) at us while we waited for our coffee in the Starbucks drive thru!

We had to take a picture!  Odd little happy faced trailer!

Here we are in Snohomish… First Avenue…

ready to shop the delightful antique shops waiting for us!

The nice ladies in Annie’s on First where kind enough to let us snap some photos of their store!

I would totally work in that shop if I lived a little closer than 2 hours away!  ha ha!

Wanna see a few fun treasures we looked at…

we didn’t come home with any  “live without” items!

sniff… sob… sob…

just some fun pictures!

that will do!

3 Sisters…

I actually have 2 sisters…

but we don’t sing!

Linda couldn’t come…

Next time?!

I played Bingo with all of these “antique” bingo cards when I was child!!

Really… my toys are antiques!!

LOL!

One day I will have an entry way that one of these charming guys can hang out in…

I have always loved these little butlers! =)

I LOVE old things…

old books, typewriters, spoons, furniture!! houses…

I need an old house! Perhaps ~ One day! =)

I love words and letters!!

These beautyful letters were $120?

yikes… I will make my own! =)

A quick 4:00 pm Lunch at Snohomish Bakery & Cafe??

Kelly loves her diet coke…  The sandwiches and gyros were delicious!

Oh my!! Close your eyes!!

eeeew!

Men looking like that should not have snakes on them!!

shudder! Even if they are statues! =)

Love seeing Birds on a Wire!

and look in front of a beautiful old church!

The lighting was not in my favor!

oh well!

There was so much to see…

Look at the old Firehouse building we saw on our way out!

We didn’t get to see the whole town…

its not very big…

but we only had a couple hours!

Hope I didn’t bore you too much!

I absolutely LOVE Seizing My Day with my sisters …

in little places like this …

lots of girl candy…

window shopping…

antiques…

country style…

yummy food…

old buildings…

just what this girl loves!

and a few “odd” sightings along the way…

I like weird things!

Creepy Mop… he was staring at us too! =)

I guess we are pretty!

I love time with my sister Kelly!!

Thanks for the fun day KK!

You will have to meet my sister Linda another day~

sorry you couldn’t come Linda! =)

Happy Monday!

I am spending the rest of my day with my  sick little boy!

He threw up 3 times yesterday!

Poor Monkey!

Could be worse…

no fever yet!

See y’all later!

Just Jenn~

Back in October of 2004 we moved to my home town… in Olympia Wa.  Back to my roots.   Our little family is mixed Canadian and American.  Our first 8 years of marriage we lived in British Columbia ~ there was no question that God wanted our lives together to start there ~ we said our vows in Vancouver ~ our babies were born there ~ we established roots.   Life was full of huge ups and downs… Our little family has had more than our fair share of trials (all for another post!)  Medical trials is what finally put this mommy over the edge… I needed to be home.  Home… where everybody knows your name..  (ah… Cheers… what a great show!)  anywho… I needed home… family… friends… a different medical system.    Moving here has been a huge blessing in many ways…  many many blessings!

But… 5 plus years later… we are still Kind of churchless!!   We have paved our path here…We connected  with a few old friends, family, new friends, schools, doctors,  and jobs.  We were able to buy our first home and we enjoy family adventures in places I hold dear in my heart.  Many many blessings and beautiful memories!  God is good.  But…  Settling in a church ~ feeling connected ~ finding fellowship ~ being a part of God’s family ~ has been difficult for us.  I have never felt so unconnected ~ unplugged ~ a lack of peace about where to worship God!  For 20 years I have know God as my loving Savior and always had peace in this area!

I think you need A little insight into my heart~ Our sweet, funny, witty, delightful, intelligent little boy has a few significant medical challenges ~ not limited to but including low vision and a rare genetic *undiagnosed* bleeding condition ~  (I will author that Novel sometime in the near future!)   … AND…  my sweet, darling, loving, tender, witty, intelligent little girl has some anxiety we have been dealing with over the years.  God blessed me with these 2 amazing children ~ but  these 2 kids combined with my passionate heart has made it hard for me to feel peace taking my kids to Sunday school … trusting their care to the hands of the folks running kids church.  Let me explain a little…  We started in a large church.. and it was ok..we tried to connect for 2 years…  but when Abby turned 6 and graduated to the first grade… the Sunday school went from 30 to 130??  She didn’t handle it very well… and she has good vision!  My head went wild…. if Abby can’t handle this big of a kids church… what will it be like in 2 years with Sammy… we hadn’t really connected much with families… I was feeling broken from all the medical challenges… though I clung to God… there was not that feeling of peace… belonging… it didn’t feel like our church family… So we moved on… we connected at a smaller church… My husband and I loved it… again… we stayed for 2 years… we connected.  We joined a  bible study, we tried to get involved with VBS, I attended a womens retreat, my husband participated in drama.  We made friends.  We belonged.  But the kids… did not.  There was no desire for them to go.  The were afraid of Awana.  They didn’t have many friends.  There weren’t really any little boys… and few little girls our kids ages.  The kids were not connected.  My heart was broken.  I could not continue to pray for new kids, I could not continue to drag them to our church.  My heart was heavy.  After many conversations and some prayer ~ we made the difficult decision to move on ~ again!  2 churches ~ 4 years ~ why is this happening?  why are we not ’settled’ ?  where is the peace I always have?  why has this been so long and hard?

For the last year we have bounced our poor children with visual challenges,  anxiety and shyness… around to a few churches… to no avail.  Discouragement is high.  My heart is still heavy.  I am at a loss.

Bear with me as I seem to switch gears… but not really!  you will see where I am going…

I home school our precious little man ~ he needs personal teaching ~ materials need to be eye friendly, they need to be bigger, closer, the pace slower, he needs more hands on than most kids ~ I love it~ I enjoy teaching him ~ and though it can be time consuming using the copy machine to enlarge his school work ~ I am happy to do it ~ I am helping him stay above the curve!  It is exhausting at times… but the most rewarding fulfilling job I have ever had!  I often wish I had started my daughter on this path too … but she has roots.. she has amazing peers and wonderful teachers… I have not had the heart to take her away from that!  So ~ my son also attends a wonderful program  through the public school system.  He gets to attend classes every week at a public school only for home schoolers!   It provides us with classes and resources that I am extremely grateful to use ~ it compliments my teaching!  All parents are encouraged to stay and help the teachers… which I do.  I can use the photocopy machine to enlarge his materials ~ fabulous!  His teachers are excellent and really care about his disability.  They work with us to make sure he sees everything the other kids do!  They are wonderful!  OK.. I have a point here..  Many of his classmates at this school for home schoolers go to the Big Church I talked about in the beginning.   The one that was too big and we weren’t super connected to … so we left.  That one!  Sammy has formed beginning friendships with some great little boys… from the church we left.  I feel so humbled.  Did I do the wrong thing 3 years ago?  We are praying … looking… seeking… hoping…. and 3 years later… we are back where we started… maybe?!

Last night I shared a stirring in my heart with my weary husband!  it has been with me for a little while…  perhaps we should try it again… the kids have grown… medical stuff is calm right now which makes the mommy calmer =) … we have learned ways to cope with the medical challenges and anxiety… we are growing… learning… living… loving… hoping… praying… maybe I was wrong… maybe God wanted us to take that crazy journey for a reason… maybe it was the only way to meet the people we met along the way… to learn things about ourselves and our family we would not have otherwise learned?  We are taking a leap of faith and going to give the big church I had roots in… the one we first tried to establish family roots in … one more chance.   I am humbled!  I need this journey to be over!  I need connection.. I need peace… we need fellowship that is constant.  = )    Pray with me that God will overwhelm me with peace… Pray with me that God will grant my children the strength and confidence to connect… Pray with me that God will grant me the same!   Pray with me that our family can call a church home…  I know it will take a few weeks or months..  but here we are Lord…  hoping, praying, seeking…     =)

Whew.. that was heavy!  I am taking a leap of faith posting such vulnerable thoughts out here!  I have made some amazing connections here… in blogland… in cyberspace… you ladies have beautiful hearts, you are encouraging and inspiring to me!  This is not my shining hour… not my encouraging post… it is simply where my heart is today… and most Sundays lately… if you are still reading at this point….  Thank you for staying… thank you for listening and for praying!

Blessings to you and your families this Sunday!

(publish Jenn – just click the publish button! – here goes!)

Just Jenn~

I failed!! Do you remember my post on February 1st ~ A Bag A Day ~ My fabulous idea to purge my house of clutter 1 brown bag at a time?!  Yep… I failed!  In early February I took my first 7 bags into the kids rooms… and 4 large tote boxes… and I purged!  I didn’t manage to photograph all the before and afters but I captured enough to give you the idea!??  So I enthusiastically started in my kids rooms, we sorted, cleaned, purged, filled brown bags and four colored totes … and then…I even started my bathroom before I put my daughters room back together!  and then….  I went to the dentist… and I got deeper into  blog land… and well…. my daughters room still needs to be put back together! a month later!!  and the rest of my bags still  sit empty!

So my fabulous Early Spring Cleaning is going to be edging closer to Spring Cleaning!  ha ha!

Flash forward 20 days later?

TAKE 2 ~  1 Brown Bag A Day!!

Would you like to see what I actually DID do before the dentist and before I got sucked into the depths of beautiful, wonderful blogland?!!  =)

My son Sammy’s Room ~

sorry ~ we had already started sorting before I wised up and got the camera!

We sorted ~ and used Peter Walsh’s clever piles ~ keep, toss, donate, sell!  The green and purple totes you are about to see are the “sell” piles  ~ really I did more than 7 bags in the kids rooms b/c the totes count too!

Sammy’s  room is a fun room when it is clean   ~ I proudly painted it myself!!  The kids may have rolled a few lines on the walls in the Spirit of “helping”.  The road is painted with chalk board paint and we used/use soap stone to write on it…it is far less dusty!!

The closet is open and a useful space ~ when it is tidy and organized.  I used some cheap $16 wire shelves to hold toys on one side and clothes on the other!  His room is so small – so we opened up the closet and got a loft bed to add functional storage and play space!

oops ~ another sell item out of order!

Abby’s lovely purple room!  Also painted by yours truly!   What a mess!  She has a much bigger but odd shaped room ~ we also opened up her closet b/c we liked the open feel!

Messy Messy!

On my next Bag a Day Post ~ Hopefully next week I will squeeze it in?! ~ I will post her finished organized room!  I also took pictures of the 2 purple bins full of barbies and horses ~ that will be her “sell” items if we manage a garage sale this year!  Currently the purple bins are MIA in the garage I suspect?!!   SO ~  Here are the 7 bags from my first purge week WAY back in early Feb!!  The bags include items to toss, recycle, donate and  a few “sell” items that didn’t fit into her purple totes!

Not bad, eh?  or Not bad, huh?!

I have rights to both phrases as we are a blended American/Canadian family!   =)

This is only 7 of my 10 brown bags I managed to complete ~ the other 3 were filled from under MY bathroom sink … just MY side!!  How embarrassing!  I should have taken a before picture… lesson learned!  Here is the underside of my sink now… and the 3 bags!! One to recycle, toss, and donate.

what will I use this space for now??! =)

I tried to hide the most embarrassing items like the tampon boxes!

Now… if you will excuse me I have some brown bags to fill!  =)

Have a Great Weekend ~  I am hoping to drive to Marysville to hang with my sisters tomorrow!

… in the rain!

I might be around on Sunday.. for a few minutes… maybe?!

Just Jenn~