Christmas Morning

Daisy's impressed with my new IKEA kitchen island. Do you know the instructions to put it together are all in pictures? Absolutely no words. How smart, since IKEA sells in many different countries and would have to print up numerous instructions otherwise. Now I have to decide what kind of wood treatment to use. Tim thought he would "run" into IKEA and buy this. He was totally taken aback by the maze that IKEA is and had to ask for help a couple of times to actually purchase this. That's true love. I'm surprised he didn't walk out. Thank you, sweetie.

We had early Christmas with the Rices on Saturday and even got in a "game" of tennis before the rain started. Mom and John got a flat panel television and offered their old 27" set to us. We hooked it up yesterday. It's much larger than our 20" was. I love taking their old stuff! I recently got their old Maytag washer which still is working fantastically.

We got a great book from our pastor and his wife: The Valley of Vision- A collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions. Wonderful, scriptural, heartfelt, deep, meaty, emotional, worshipful.

I wanted to get a family picture when we were in LaGrange but we didn't so Tim says we can set the tripod up and get one. Be amazed if a picture is posted.

After sausage balls and sweet rolls, Tim and I went back to bed for a nap. Yes, the best Christmas present for all over 40.

Read Luke 2 for the first Christmas story. May all find their treasure in HIM.

Typical Houston

It's 81 degrees today and since we've had rain, the weeds have grown. So I mowed the yard. The fire ants are still making mounds, too. Welcome to the tropics.

Here's a snapshot of Tim and me at his office Christmas party intently listening to the big boss. Another coworker took a very nice picture of us and printed it and when Tim gets home from Austin, maybe I'll have him scan it into the 'puter so you can see Tim's face. It was a lovely time.

Tim and Ben left yesterday to sell flags, bumper stickers etc... at the gun show in Austin. I amazed myself by figuring out a geometry problem when Tim was constructing the base to his flag holder. I found the formula in Ben's geometry book to determine the unknown side in a right isosceles triangle. Mrs. Raur would be so proud. I made a "D" in her class in high school. It's amazing how as you get older things that terrified me then, like math, don't anymore. Tim needed to cut the pieces of wood into 15.2 inch lengths, by the way.

Ok, that's all the amazing news for now.

Art mimicking Life?

After Tim designed and built our "water-box" from the broken picnic table (see previous post) I thought it was too funny that this was in the comics this morning and with the correct name, too!. Nick said the cartoonist probably saw our device and stole the idea for his strip.

Our microwave died. It was only two years old and a Panasonic which have usually been very reliable. The trouble to take it to a repair place for a diagnosis when microwaves are relatively inexpensive, had us decide to just buy a new one.

So we did some research (with help of my dad) of brands and reliability and then went to SAM's, Best Buy and Wal-Mart last night. We didn't buy one. They all seem so cheaply made and we didn't like the design of the plastic thing that holds the turntable.

So we went to Sears this morning and looked at Kenmore brands and ended up buying one as it was just as good as the others we had seen. Now we have to learn it's keypad quirks.

I used my 20 1/2 year old waffle iron for the last time, also. It was not working well this past week. I like to make a huge batch and then freeze them and they were sticking even though I oiled the surfaces. So I quit about half-way through the batter and ended up making pancakes with the rest. It served me well and it was retired after cooling off to file 13. My basting brush was also ruined in the process.

In other news, I broke my pastry blender last Friday. It's been a hard two weeks for appliances and kitchen utensils at the Wallace home. I had to make a pie crust using two knives -horrors!

In everything give thanks (1 Thessalonians 5:17) and so I will choose to.

Babysitting and other stuff

Here's my "nephew" who we had the joy of watching on Thanksgiving. Pancho intimidated our dog, Daisy, and that was probably one of the best thing about having him. She's such a prima-donna and needs to learn how to get along with other dogs. Pancho's an English Bulldog and sounds like a pig with his snorting and grunting. He's very sweet-tempered which makes up for his needing to be wiped after taking care of business.

On Saturday we went over to LaGrange and the weather was stellar and we sat around doing nothing and it was lovely. Oh, we did eat and I walked a short distance in the pasture with the dogs (Daisy and Ginger) and then pulled grass burrs from their paws.

We got a new furnace installed yesterday. It has an electronic ignition so no more pilot light. Of course in typical Houston fashion we have the air conditioning on today but tomorrow we'll need the heat when a cold front passes through. Since we moved in at end of August I've seen more contractors than in my whole life.

I'm not feeling too pithy at the moment so that's all.

Honor Society, Gruene, Furnace- OH MY!

Here's the inductee. Ben, Nick and I attended the ceremony last night. Tim couldn't come because he tried to light the furnace pilot light, got shocked and had to wait for the repairman, who would not light it because the heat exchanger has holes in it. So Jess is officially a member of Phi Theta Kappa, Beta Lambda Mu chapter at Cy-Fair College.

I went with my mom and T.A. (my sister) to New Braunfels and Gruene Friday until Sunday and had a wonderful time looking at crafts, antiques etc. New Braunfels had "Weihnachtsmarkt" which is German for something and I've forgotten! But it has to do with Christmas and the civic center was decorated beautifully and was full of fun things to see and buy.

On Saturday, we went to "Market Days" in Gruene. I could spend allot of money there if I had any. So many of the booths had the kind of stuff I like. I did buy some things but they're Christmas gifts so can't tell about them. We had lunch at the Grist Mill Inn. Very cool place with fabulous view of river. The whole town is so neat. A perfect weekend get-away.

Cousin James asked for me to get additional estimates for the furnace repair which I did this morning and submitted them. I'm really tired of being the property manager here. I'm biting my tongue allot. But how good of God that the pilot wasn't lit, Tim couldn't get it to light, we had to have a professional out and a dangerous situation will be fixed.

It was a cool 60 degrees in the house this morning when I rolled out of bed. It's a toasty 66 now since the sun is hitting the front of the house and I decided to make sausage balls for Thanksgiving breakfast and had the oven on. The bedrooms are cooler as they aren't getting the sun or the oven heat.

Ok, here's a portion of the Psalm I read this morning- But as for me, I shall sing of Your strength; Yes, I shall joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the morning, for You have been my stronghold and a refuge in the day of my distress. O my strength, I will sing praises to You; for God is my stronghold, the God who shows me lovingkindness. Psalm 59:16,17

Ebay newbie

I'm cleaning house by trying to sell stuff on ebay. I sold "Cousin James's" Nissan Frontier front bumper and currently have 6 watchers for Jess's loft bed (auction ends on Wed. so get your bid in). I tried to sell a teapot and fancy casserole dish but no luck. I'm thinking a leather bomber jacket might be next. I'll even let Tim pick which of the two he wants to part with.

If you were a raindrop...

...where would you go? Into the Wallace home, of course. Houston's had one of its rainy spells with the subsequent flooding of streets, some homes and the opportunity to discover if your roof leaks.

Tim climbed up there yesterday and is pretty sure he discovered the reason for our leaks. A poor roofing job. He commented that his "roofing mentor", Mark, back when Tim did roofing would say "you have to think like a water drop." The valley in the front of the house was not done correctly (we believe from a previous conversation that cousin James put this second roof on) and so the water takes the path of least resistance. As Tim joked it's like the shingles are saying "come in this way, here's a nice opening" (I paraphrase). So, the water does and into the attic and down the beam and off into the ceiling and then soaking the sheetrock and out into the entry hall.

The other leak is from a bad job around a vent. Tim had already done some caulking after last Thursday's heavy rain but it was Monday's deluge that revealed these new leaks. Another round of rain is coming today and so I expect more interaction with nature inside. Hopefully tomorrow or Friday we'll get it fixed. We emailed our landlord and cousin James last night that we are pretty sure we know what the problems are. I called cousin James on Monday to let him know the roof was leaking.

I was reading in 1 Peter. Chapter 1 verse 6 says " In this you greatly rejoice even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trial.."

The whole chapter is good reading. I'm so thankful I have that living hope, that inheritance, that salvation to greatly rejoice in. I pray that through all these distresses, the proof of my faith "may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (second half of verse 7).

The "Water-Box" #3

Ok, look at the pictures from #1 to this one. What is this thing, you ask? Look at the roof. There is no guttering. After pricing guttering at Lowes we invented this. When it rains and especially with a heavy rain, the roof drains into the front bed here at a tremendous rate. I placed a 35 gallon trash can under here on Thursday and it filled up in about three minutes, then tumped over (yes, tump is a word, ok, not really but I'm using it). The bed washes onto the front porch and it's a muddy mess. So, on Saturday, in anticipation of the torential rains we've had, we made this. The water hits the box, drains through holes into the sluices and out to the yard. It works. If the landlord will pay for guttering and supply the paint we'll hang some, in the meantime pray the neighborhood association doesn't notice our invention.

The "Water-Box" #2

Here's a front view.

The "Water-Box"

This use to be the broken picnic table on the back deck. On Saturday it was turned into the "water-box." I tried to upload three pictures at once but it wouldn't let me. So here is #1 of our new, make-shift, improvised gold-mining sluice.

Who am I kidding?

You didn't really think I could get the whole family to pose for a picture, did you? So here's one with Daisy and I taking a nap. It's posed. She was at the foot of the bed and I invited her to come next to me and this is what she'll do if invited- take over the pillows.

If and that's a big if, I can get the family together, I will post a picture.

Last week was hard. Too many 'little things" needed my attention to fix. Problems with our old rental management company, letter from our Allstate agent congratulating us on our new teen driver- Francisco Rodriguez, who would be added to our policy on Oct. 7, dealings with the bank etcetera. Problems that were other peoples fault and yet I had to fix them. I confess my attitude was not pleasant. It finally got to me and I had a good cry and ate a handful of chocolate chips as that was the only chocolate in the house.

We had to communicate in writing to the management company so we sent a certified letter (we also mailed our October rent certified as the last correspondence didn't make it to our landlord). The DMV notifies the insurance company of whoever they have on record for an address and since it's us now we got the notice. Francisco is the old tenants son, by the way. I called our agent and asked for confirmation that he would not be added to our policy which I didn't receive until today.

So, you post a pithy quote on your blog (see previous post below) and then WHAM! you get to experience it. I long for a "normal" day. I kept preaching to myself through my crying jag "momentary light afflictions, momentary light afflictions- see 2 Corinthians 4:17 & 18).

Ok. One thing at a time. I did some touch-up painting today and hung some pictures and that helped the house to look more home-like.

Until the next adventure...

Spackle & wood putty

I think this home is held together with the stuff. I know I've sure been using allot of it. I'm still cleaning or trying to clean and patching holes. I've decided I'm going to call it quits on the "deep cleaning" and just try and maintain. I wiped down the entry hall walls yesterday and pulled nails and filled holes and that was the last area I hadn't done. My bucket of water was really dirty- it's kinda interesting how much dirt clings to walls (in this case- wallpaper).

We put up new vertical blinds in the master bedroom that actually open and close and bought a replacement patio screen door for the breakfast area and now I can have the breeze blow in on these cool mornings as well as ventilate from all the stupid chemicals I've been using. I've been trying to remove latex paint from the living room rug and the cure is worse than the paint splatters.

Ok, I've been tagged for a blogger thingy where you get four words and have to write what pops in your head about them so here is my contribution:

Friend: Jesus (as in "what a friend we have in Jesus...")

Mountain: Mitchell- the highest point east of the Mississippi and a place we stopped on our honeymoon on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Freckles- Pippi Longstockings because I was just reading a recipe that referred to her

Movie- LOTR because Nick has been rewatching the extended versions lately.

I am going to try to get a picture of the whole family in the new place and post it and it will probably do for our Christmas photo, also, knowing us.

In closing, I will share a quote from Elizabeth Elliot: "Difficulty opens our eyes to pleasure we had taken for granted."

May I say as the Apostle Paul did, " I know how to get along with humble means and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need" - Philippians 4:12

Look up verse 13 for the "secret".

Sordid Details

My niece wants some, so here they are. I cleaned the rat droppings out of the attic today. I wore a mask, rubber gloves, jeans etc.. and took my pressure sprayer with the proper bleach mixture to wet everything down and then shop vac'd them up. You're not suppose to vacuum or sweep to avoid stirring up dust but there were too many to wipe up.

Cousin James said they had the place professionally treated when his niece (the previous tenant) was living here. He doesn't think they'll come back. According to the neighbor, they really trashed the place and let the yard go badly, also, so it's not too surprising they had rats and mice. I also hauled down the rest of the stuff they left and some of it's at the curb waiting for bulk trash tomorrow. I don't want to overwhelm the trash guys so will put the rest out on Monday.

The shop vac was sanitized afterwards (as was I) and now the attic is ready for the few non-rat attractive items I want to put up there. It was great to get that over with.

Anybody need a bumper for a Dodge truck? It was up there but now is in the side yard. I plan to call a scrap yard tomorrow to see if they buy bumpers.

I'm leaving the blog up until everyone I mentioned to that they could see pictures of the house has had a chance to look. I'll throw in some more sordid details every now and then and maybe a picture of the family.

The last of new house pictures

Tim's office in formal dining; kitchen and breakfast are; walk-in pantry; Jess's tiny bedroom

Week Two

It's Friday of the second week after moving. I'm struggling to not despair with all the task still before me. I read Colossians 3:15 " Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful."

I don't know how to let that peace rule but to obey what I know and in that verse it says to be thankful, so I shall stop thinking on the task, pray for peace and dwell on things I have to be thankful for.

We started school work on Wednesday. Did I hear whining? Hmmn- methinks we all need a heart adjustment.

I'm going to post the last of the new house pictures and then "sign-off."

What's that noise?

I have noticed that upon awakening, there is an unusual noise that travels around the house. It starts in the bedroom, then goes to the bathroom (pun intended) and then on to the kitchen. It is the sound of hubby and my knees creaking. Yes, we snap, crackle and pop as we walk around.

I unpacked the school stuff on Monday but didn't get started yesterday as I hadn't done lesson plans and it was such a beautiful day to work outside on needed projects and then in the attic in which Nick's comment of "I feel cool air" was not well received. Yes, duct work was leaking and we had been "air conditioning" the attic for a week. We hauled down junk left from the previous tenants and trashed most of it in contractor bags. But then discovered rat droppings and so left the attic. We probably stirred up dust so pray we don't get the whatever you can get from rodent droppings thing. We hit the shower and I'm washing our clothing and shoes with bleach.

Tim duct taped the most obvious leaks when he got home from work.

I so don't want to clean that up. I printed out from online how to "safely" clean up rodent junk. Time to buy more bleach.

Cousin James is coming over tonight to look at a.c. and I'll give him my list of things that need attention. Pray we can get a professional to come and do the job right.

I managed to unzip my school file and print out lesson plans. I thought I'd lost the file but then searched and found it zipped. I'm so ignorant- I didn't know how to unzip it. But now I do and so I shall work on lesson plans. Today is 4H for the boys and so they'll have a easy day.

It's already 7:30 and I need to get busy!

The garage...

...is somewhat organized. Tim and Ben put the shelves in place and Tim hung a shop light in the laundry room (before he had it up I was doing laundry by flashlight as the garage light didn't reach the laundry alcove). It's the nicest garage we've had with finished walls, a ceiling fan and linoleum on the floor.

12 x 10

Here's the 12 x 10 master according to the listing agent. It's really 15 x 14. This is the second time we've had mirrored sliding closet doors. The kids rooms have walk-in-closets with regular doors. Didn't Jess do a good job vacuuming and shampooing the rug?

It's Labor Day!

So, of course, we're laboring. Hubby and I went to Home Depot and Wal-Mart this morning. We bought some mini-blinds for the boys room, light bulbs, priced sink stoppers, bought sink basket for kitchen sink and some food, too.

I re-hung some mini-blinds in the living room that had a broken bracket. It's interesting everytime we fix something to see how it was done incorrectly. I suppose the previous person didn't have a drill or lost the screw because one bracket was nailed into the window frame. Tim's fixed the patio door bar lock yesterday and it was screwed in with wood screws instead of sheet metal. I replaced the burned out bulb in the porch light and one side of the light cover had a phillips head screw and the other a flat-head screw (I want to know what happened to the the bolts that came with the light?). I will not bore you further with our little projects. Things are bit by bit getting done.

Here are a few more pictures.

A Few More Pictures

Last Saturday we were already making our first trip with the UHaul to the new house to unload. So I'm counting my blessings that today it's just more unpacking.

I read Psalm 73 this morning. Something we all can relate to. Why do the wicked seem to prosper? We can't understand it without a Godly perspective. My ignorant self can't understand without God's grace revealing it to me. Knowing the end of the story is essential to comprehending the beginning and middle.

Here are some pic's. The first is the Patio on the east side of the house off the kitchen/dining. The second is the dog run on the west side of the house. Ben cut back the plant that was dwarfing the a.c. unit.

More later...

I'm tired of uploading pictures and so will post more tomorrow. I'm just not savvy enough to do it well.

I'm still in my "do the next thing" mode. The kitchen is unpacked and I just need to "tweak" the organization of it and the pantry.

The bathrooms are clean enough to use but I still need to recaulk the hall bathtub. I did the master bathtub this morning (just around the edge of tile and tub) after removing the old caulk and bleaching the grout yesterday.

The plumber, electrician and phone guy have all been here this week plus Tim is fixing what he can.

I still have books to unpack, can you believe it?

It's amazing how physically exhausting moving is, even with the kids older and helping with so much. I unpacked a binder of songs yesterday and sat down to read through some. The hymn How Firm a Foundation was wonderful to read. Go read it yourself and be encouraged. If you don't have a hymnal at home look it up online.

I've already eaten two cookies waiting for pictures to upload, this blogging is bad for your healthy eating plan.

Moving Day Helpers

Here are some of the wonderful folks who helped us cart our stuff. I'm not asking permission before I publish your photo, so please don't sue me.

Boy's room

I'm having a hard time figuring this picture thing out and adding comments. These pictures include: Before the move, moving day chaos, an already there hole in their door and their room basically set-up. I've washed curtains but we need to purchase new blinds.

Entry of our "Maroon Carpet" home.

Pictures!

Front & Back of Saddlehorn

We're Here!

No pictures yet, but we're finally back online. I decided not to post all the horrific events of the move. I lived them once, I ventilated to people already, I don't need to relive them again and again. Suffice it to say, things are getting repaired that need repairing.

Nothing like moving snafus to bring out the worst in people. I'm really a nasty, angry, sinful, wretched person when things are going wrong. Spurgeon this morning again reminds me of my desperate need for God's grace.

Psalm 51:1 & 2 Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions, wash me through from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

Instead let me share some blessings. Wonderful people helped us moved;Leslie's mom knew homemade cookies were the best thing to offer toward the move; the Sunlight Lane house is empty and cleaned and the yard is mowed and edged- ready for inspection tomorrow morning; no one was injured in the move (that I know about it); hot showers are wonderful; we have really nice neighbors on one side that we've met already; Tim's commute seems better- though more expensive; sugar ants don't bite; we got to eat pizza and Jack-in-the Box for two days; the owner seems very nice and accommodating about the repair needs; I have a walk-in pantry.

I will post pictures in the near future and then will close out this move blog. School will start and life will return to normal "Lord willing!"

Lots of phone calls

I spent a great deal of time on the phone yesterday. I got our utilities set-up. I almost forgot about the gas. We've lived in an all electric home and I didn't realize gas wasn't deregulated in Texas and so when I set-up the electric company, I thought it was done. Then I remembered the new place has gas and thought having hot water would be a good thing, and called Centerpoint.

Since the gas has been shut off at the new place, someone over 18 has to be there to let the gas person in to turn on the gas and check for leaks. So on Friday morning, Jessica and I will go over and take cleaning supplies and clean and line shelves and do the move-in condition report while we wait for the gas company employee.

My dad has graciously agreed to come over with his truck and take some loads of boxes etc... that morning. The plan is to clear a walkway in the garage so we can more easily load the UHaul which we are to pick-up Friday night at 7:30pm. They only had standard transmission trucks available so Tim is really looking forward to that driving experience. We've had automatic trucks through our last two moves and backing them into a driveway is hard enough- please pray for grace and that we don't end up with a 26' UHaul in our garage.

I spoke with "Cousin James" yesterday. I got his last name, his home phone number and some details about the house. He is very nice and helpful. He had called me to tell me the M.U.D. district and let me know he was going to mow the yard today and also exterminate.

We'll be offline from Friday until whenever we get set back up. I'll post new house pictures sometime next week.

It's Signed

We finally received the signed lease about 4:30 yesterday. We also found out the owner lives in California and our local contact is "Cousin James". The lack of communication from the landlord's realtor has been a huge frustration. Our realtor has been calling and leaving messages since Sunday.

I started trying to set-up utilities yesterday but was thrwarted by not knowing the M.U.D. (municipal utility district). I decided to not expect the owner's realtor to know or find out in a timely manner and so went to Harris County Appraisal District web site and looked up the home and found the district, then did a web search to find out who manages that district and then called them at 4:58 and they were closed for the day.

Started the process of signing up for electricity online. I had done a switch of providers in late July before we knew we had to move and then cancelled it a week later when we knew we were going to have to move. I was told I could set-up service at the new address as soon as I knew it via their web site. But, of course, I couldn't because they still have me in the system as a "switch". I have to call them this morning.

All these things will eventually fall into place. Past experience says they will. We will get moved. I will call "Cousin James" (that's all the information I was given- I kid you not) and ask about keeping utilities in owners name until I can get ours set-up.

I will call U-Haul about reserving a truck. I will ask friends for help. I will "just do the next thing". I will cry out for mercy and grace.

Psalm 55:16,17 & 27 As for me, I shall call upon God, and the Lord will save me. Evening and morning and at noon, I will complain and murmur, and He will hear my voice. Cast your burdens upon the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.

New address: 10414 Saddlehorn Trail
Houston, TX 77064

I don't know if our phone # will change, yet.

Trivia Time

Reading about our waiting to hear back from the owner on whether he has signed the lease can be boring so here's some trivia about our move(s):

1. How many boxes are packed so far?

2. How many of those boxes are books?

3. What did Leslie buy at Wal-Mart at 5am when they moved into their present rental?

4. What book of the Bible does she read the most during difficult times?

5. What's her "Hymn for the move?" I mentioned this in an earlier blog.

6. Which local family members have the Wallaces not lived with?

7. Can you list a few things that have never been unpacked (or used) since we left Baltimore?

8. How many coats/jackets does Tim have (most were given to him)?

I expect to hear from the realtor some time today.



Answers:

1. 212

2. 40

3. microwave, coffee pot and vacuum

4. Psalms

5. Be Still My Soul

6. Leslie's brother's family-the Millers, her Uncle's family- the Players, and Tim's sister's family- the Wrights.

7. The "good dishes", "the good flatware", Nordic Track, stereo system, screen printing stuff, blocks, air bed, slide projector, 8mm movie camera and the list goes on...

8. 7- 2 leather, bomber style jackets, 1 suede jacket, 1 wool men's dress coat, 2 wool "pea coats",
1 lightweight jacket (the one he actually wears). There was a ski jacket but I managed to sell it at a yard sale. He also has a couple sweat suit "windbreaker" type.

The Latest

We met our realtor this morning to look at a back-up house -which we ruled out- and then gave her the corrected signed lease for the Saddlehorn Trail home. The landlord agreed to most of our requests but there were some changes we had to make in the way the requests were worded. Plus, he's charging us prorated rent for the last week of August and a few other things.

We don't have the executed lease yet with his signature so we are not proceeding to arrange utilities etc... until we we do.

I've packed just about everything I can until a day or two before the move. Tim's been packing the workbench and stuff in the garage. It's cloudy and we had some rain, so the temperature hasn't been unbearable.

Last night Daisy (the dog) wanders into the bedroom. She's has a place on a blanket she sleeps on at the foot of the bed. She hops onto the bed and starts to wedge herself between Tim and me and I tell her "Daisy, go where you belong" at which point she heads for Tim's pillows and plops her head down on them. We burst out laughing, of course. She reluctantly and slowly inched her way down to her spot when we commanded her to.

Thank-you, Lord, for laughter.

TGIF- well maybe

I waited until almost 3pm yesterday to check in with our realtor. She's out of town in Seguin visiting her mother but had called the owner's realtor a couple of times and left messages. She said the owner probably didn't get the lease until Wednesday night. The owner's realtor still has not called ours back.

So, we don't know if the owner is agreeable to the changes we made in the lease agreement and is going to sign, if he wants to discuss them, or reject them.

We plan to view another "back-up" home today.

I've made a list of things that have to be done once we know where we are moving. The most pressing being getting utilities set-up, then, reserve a UHaul. I can't reserve one until I know when we can move.

This non-communication is very hard for me.

I read in Hebrews 13 this morning. Sometimes reading truth is all I can do. The "feelings" may or may not follow. But I must remind myself of it anyway. Today's reminders are: He will never leave me or forsake me; He is my helper, I need not be afraid; He is the same yesterday, today and forever; He equips me for every good thing to do His will.

Pity Party

I must admit to having one. While other people have had vacations this summer or are preparing for "back to school", I'm scrambling to pack and find a place to live.

As someone said when they are tempted to ask "Why me, Lord?" they say to themselves "Why not me?" Do I deserve not to have these inconveniences? On what merit? Living in a falling world, I'm just as culpable "but God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) -Ephesians 2:4 & 5"

Our lease application was accepted. We received the lease agreement last night and went through it making changes. It says right in it that's it's negotiable and we changed the terms of access to the property and specified no keybox etc... Basically, we are not giving carte blanche to the owner or any of his agents to enter the property. We will allow access only if we're notified and we are present. This may not sit well with the owner and then we'll have to find someplace else. I'm going to the bank this morning to get a cashiers check for the security deposit and I am meeting our realtor later to give her that and the lease. She'll then turn them over to the owner's agent who will give it to the owner to review and either sign, negotiate some more or reject the agreement.

Please pray for Tim, also. He's having a lot of jaw pain and is schedule to have a crown put on a broken molar on the 23rd. He's been to the dentist twice in past two weeks and it's not root canal stuff but because his teeth aren't sitting properly with the broken tooth.

I'm making tough packing decisions. I decided I could live without the blender, waffle iron and coffee grinder and packed them yesterday. Today the cast iron skillet and my pampered chef baking stone.

Oh, if all my other decisions were so simple!

Still Waiting

The owner of "maroon carpet house" wanted to know if our dog was mostly an inside or outside pet. We were honest and told him she's an inside pet and so he wants a $300 non-refundable pet fee. They were waiting to run our credit report until we found out if the owner would let us have a pet and what the fee would be. I took a money order over yesterday afternoon for the $35 application fee and after they run our credit etc... then they will let us know.

We also asked if they would take less per month for rent (never hurts to ask and as a friend at church reminded me "everything's negotiable"). We're asking for the reduction based on the length the home has been available, the old carpet, the no shower in master bath (however we did get permission to turn it into a shower at our expense), the ugly, warped wood deck (which we also got permission to remove at our expense) and based on the hope that the owner will want us as renters over someone else based on our credit score and good report from our current landlord's property management company.

We have some back-up homes to consider if this falls apart but we (Tim and I) agree, we're tired of looking and ready to choose, plunk down our money and resettle.

Briefly, I was thinking some of you reading this might not know why we have moved so frequently, so here's the story in a nutshell:

In February 2003, left Baltimore after 18 years to move back to Houston. Lived with my parents while we waited for home in Baltimore to sell. It took three contracts before it went to closing on May 9. We find home to buy, we terminate contract after inspection and continue looking. Tim gets laid-off. Leslie goes to work, Tim can't find work anywhere. Leslie's parents graciously put up with Wallaces for a whole year. Wallaces decide enough mooching and go to LaGrange to mooch off Tim's mom and step-dad in February 2004. Tim finally gets job back in Houston and moves in with Leslie's sister and brother-in-law (we were waiting to home shop until we knew the job would stick). Back to home shopping, another contract terminated. Decide to rent so we can all be in same city. Move into present rental Sept. 2004. Owner here wants to sell so will move into another rental by August 31, 2006.

There's still family in town we haven't lived with and I'm sure they are praying hard this rental agreement happens.

Back to packing. I damaged a lampshade the other day. So far that's the only casualty.

Isaiah 40:31 Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.

What to do 1st?

The alarm clock actually went off this morning at 5:30. That's so good! I slept "in"! I've been awake and up before the alarm for so long it's hard to remember when I last had to turn it off.

My organize everything brain immediately jumps into action. But, thankfully, habits serve me well here. Start the coffee, wake hubby, settle in with my Bible and devotional. Ephesians 6 this morning. Yes, I definitely need some armor. Pray for others, too. Refocus (again).

I did need those essential books yesterday evening. I wanted to know about Karl Barth. Tim knew a little, I knew nothing. Then I read about how someone asks him to simplify his theology (he wrote a massive amount) and his answer was "Jesus loves me this I know." Then I thought "I've heard that before!" So I knew one thing about Karl Barth.

Spoke briefly with realtor yesterday. She hasn't heard back from other realtor but assures us that's not uncommon. We know. The other realtor has to contact the owner about our pet and some other requests we made.

I found the list I made from our last move with all the people to contact about our move including magazine subscriptions, insurance of all kinds, doctors etc... Just because I'm getting more experience with organizing moves, doesn't mean I want to keep doing them. If we're to live a nomadic lifestyle, we really must part with some of our worldy goods. Do you think maybe this is a benefit of frequent moves?

Now, back to what to do first. Give the dog a bath, pack more of Tim's workbench in garage before it gets too hot, dismantle another bookshelf, eat breakfast. I think I'll eat, then let the boys unscrew and take apart the bookshelf, maybe Jess can bathe the dog ... delegate, that's the ticket.

Dust

It's everywhere. It has really settled on the bookshelves. Tim has packed almost all the books. Only "essentials" are left unpacked: a dictionary, a concordance, systematic theology (Grudem), New Bible Dictionary and New Bible Commentary. I'm sure I'll have some theology question before moving day and need to access one of these.

I packed the cookbooks but didn't seal the box. I could probably cook for two weeks without needing one, but better safe than untaping.

We put a lease application in for the "maroon carpet" house. We're waiting to hear if the owner will accept our pet. Here's the Ml# 6185919 if you want to look it up on www.har.com. I know, I know, the bedrooms are small but the master is mislabeled and there are no dimensions for the formal dining (what is called a den on listing) or living room or kitchen or breakfast room. Except for the kid's bedrooms, we're gaining space over our 1237 sq ft hovel we are cozingly sharing now.

The neighborhood is nicer than Sommerall and Tim can hop on Beltway 8 from West Rd and we're closer to church.

Ok, if we're rejected, we'll consider some of the others we've seen. We saw a "by owner yesterday". The owner's son-in-law showed it to us in the morning and she called me last night. She was concerned it would be too small for us having only 1850 sq ft. The rent was higher and it had no backyard to speak of as it was mostly deck and hot tub, or we would have considered it. I don't like hot tubs and old warped wood decks that have them, either.

Ya'll will be the 1st to know if Saddlehorn Trail is a go!

An Empty (almost) Bookshelf!

Here's the big (5 1/2' wide 6 1/2' tall) shelf, almost empty. Tim took a picture, printed it and labeled it and then labeled each shelf with masking tape so he can reassemble it later. Now, to unbolt it from the wall, bundle the shelves and spackle the holes. Then I'll have a wall to stack all those boxes of books up against!

The beauty of this shelving unit is it's stained pine and very lightweight compared to our particle board shelves.

Pet "Deposit"

Daisy, our five-year old beagle/lab mix has kept some homes from being available to us as they don't accept pets. Others, have a pet deposit-mostly non-refundable. If we shell out a $250 pet "deposit" and we don't get it back when we leave the property, shouldn't it be called a fee?

What do we really need?

Can we live with maroon carpet in the living areas and pale green in the bedrooms? A jacuzzi spa tub with no shower in the master bath? Does the nice neighborhood outway decorating issues?

That was one home we saw yesterday. The other had a brick wall about five feet high that hid the front window with a space about 3 feet between it and the window full of weeds (what architecture design person thought that up?). Plus, this home backed up to white oak bayou. I ruled it out because of that. We could ask to take the strange wall out but you can't move a bayou. I'm thinking flooding, rats, mice, snakes, other vermin, teens on dirt bikes riding back there etc...

The third home didn't have a lock box yet. It's in the neighborhood we're in now so we drove over to look at the outside. It's on a corner with one of those curving driveways that is double at top and single off of street. But the home has a fire hydrant out front and with it being on the corner, you couldn't park out front anyway.

So, I'm thinking, what do we really need? A roof over our heads and what a blessing that we have the means to have one.

Tim wants to wait and see some "by owner" ones on Sat. morning in Harvest Bend. I'm leaning toward maroon carpet. It has a lovely kitchen and a walk-in-pantry (be still my heart!). Plus, a new gas range. I've had an interesting time adjusting to the old electric coil O' Keefe & Merritt in this house. Some burners run "hot" and one doesn't really work. And the stove timer and clock decides to hum/buzz if you bump the stove.

It's these imperfections that help remind me that this world is not all there is. I've been singing "Depth of Mercy" as surely I have been given much.

More pictures forthcoming.

Whirling brain cells

As I woke up this morning my brain was in over-drive. Already computing tasks to do and throwing in things to worry about just to make my first moments of wakefulness refreshing.

Pretty amazing how our brains can throw so much at us at once. Perhaps men don't have this problem as much. I wanted everything to retreat back to it's compartment and let me pull open the files when I wanted to. Plus, my sinuses were clogged and the dog had snuck up to rest her head on my pillow.

So, up and at 'em and into the kitchen to boil some water so I can steam my head. Did the old fashioned towel over face and inhaled some steam to open sinuses and had some coffee.

To stop the whirling thoughts in my head and the silly Simon and Garfunkel song that was playing (...hey but it's good to back home...) I decided to "play" a different tune-Be still My Soul.

Then read Psalm 25 and 27. This being still and waiting is so hard for me. But it's what I need.

Scheduled to see three places this morning. I'm hopeful (good thing as I'm usually pessimistic) we can choose one.

Things I'm thankful for: all the friends, co-workers and family who have helped in our home search by providing leads, the prayers for us, nice boxes and packing paper provided by a family from church who just moved, offers of help, Excedrin and Clariten.

Be Still My Soul!

These are boxes of books. They are heavy. They are labeled very carefully-not. They say "Christian" "Magic" "Origins". They were packed and labeled by hubby. Hope we don't have to find anything in them for the next two months or so.

This is the garage, where I have been sorting, consolidating and labeling.

I know you want to come help move this- no, really, you do!

More Packing

I was thinking this morning (a dangerous past-time, I know) about why I want to identify myself as a Christian. Firstly, it reminds me that I live with a different standard and it's at times like these (moving) I must preach to myself as it were the benefits of faith.

I hope I'm more quick to acknowledge my grumbling and complaining and get refocused. Do I really believe that God is an "ever present help in times of troubles?" It's at these times of stretching when I see my desperate need.

Jessica is going to show me how to upload pictures. Perhaps seeing moving boxes isn't exciting but I'll try to add witty comments.

Still no decision on a new rental. So I'll do more packing and singing.

Moving Again

On the move again, just can't wait to be on the move again, the life I love is making moves with my friends...

Yes, I'm being stretched (sanctified) as we make move #4 in four years. The landlord wants to sell, we don't want to buy and so we received our 30 day notice to vacate. At the perfect time, too, as everyone else who is trying to get settled before the school year starts is moving.

I had just sorted and gathered together school stuff for Ben and Nick and now have packed it back up.

I spent most of yesterday in the garage packing and waiting for the realtor to be available. She's way too busy and so I chose another realtor last night and am scheduled to see homes this morning. I like being on a schedule and not just "I'll get to you when I can". Of course renting is not much motivation for a realtor as they only get 1/2 a months rent as commission.

So, I look forward to posting some pictures of the new place. Maybe I'll take a picture of all the boxes we've packed so far. 80% are books. 75% of the books are Tim's.

Until then...