Proper Perspective

C.S. Lewis wrote in The Problem of Pain, "My own­ experience is something like this. I am progressing along the path of life in my ordinary contentedly fallen and godless condition, absorbed in a merry meeting with my friends . . . or a bit of work that tickles my vanity . . . , when suddenly a . . . headline in the newspapers that threatens us all with destruction, sends this whole pack of cards tumbling down. At first I am overwhelmed, and all my little happinesses look like broken toys. Then, slowly and reluctantly . . . I try to bring myself into the frame of mind that I should be in at all times. I remind myself that all these toys were never intended to possess my heart, that . . . my only real treasure is Christ."

New Fence

Here's the backyard with the new fence completed today! Now Daisy can go out and sunbathe and do her business without supervision. I'm very grateful it's finally done, but also reminded of how something good often (always) comes out of our trials. When the fence was down, we met more neighbors. Because the fence was destroyed with Ike, we now have a new, much better fence with a gate to access the right of way. The new fence is about 8" further back than the previous, so even our backyard got larger. Plus, there's that lovely new wood smell. Little things, perhaps, but ones I'm thankful for.

Some Observations

1. One difference between men and women is that when your son tells you there is a snake just off the patio, the women goes in the garage and gets the hoe and the man asks "Where's a pillow case?"

2. Here's a link to a blog. Don't read it unless you want to be challenged in your faith walk:

http://aholyexperience.com/

3. Being reminded once again of my sin. God doesn't rank sin. I'm so thankful for His Grace.

4. Another link that Sherry sent me:
http://www.maximumreferrals.com/videos/bridge/bridge.html

This is a 5 min synopsis from the short film "Most" which you can look up on IMDB

5. My husband has decided to clean out the garage and I'm in wonder. Ben and I took five boxes of books to Half-Price Books on Monday. There are two more boxes plus three boxes of records (you know those 33rpm vinyl disks that play music) waiting as of this morning. In his office are stacks of models to sell on ebay and military books to post on half.com or ebay.

6. I've been enjoying freshly roasted coffee bean coffee. I sacrificed my air popper popcorn popper which is now Tim's bean roaster for the cause.

7. I adjusted to my bifocals and realize how much better I've been seeing these past months.

8. It's time to take a new profile picture.

9. I'm trying to decide if I should use the almonds in the freezer to make Lebkuchens for Christmas.

10. Hebrews 13:20-21

Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

True Woman (in words)

The slide show below shows some pictures from the Revive Our Hearts "True Woman" conference I attended in Chicago last Th.- Sat. with four other ladies from my church.

It was physically tiring but spiritually refreshing and I left with renewed vision. The main speakers were all fabulous and the break-out workshops practical, informative, equipping as well as I got the neatest goody bag from the "Women's Ministry Director" workshop.

The gals I went with are all so much fun! Mandie was our comic relief and kept us in stitches with her quick wit. Lisa can imitate a certain foreign accent very well and I learned more about Sherry's story (she was hit by a car as a young girl for one) which was fascinating.

Karen was our experienced traveler and Chicago tour guide. She is the one who way back in February I believe, suggested that we should get a group to attend this conference. She's so wise. She was our intrepid driver while I played navigator.

After arriving on Thursday around noon, we ate a late lunch/early dinner at Maggiano's, took photos at the Lego store and scoped out a Starbucks for morning. Karen knew where the local grocery store was so we stopped and got water, soda and snacks. We checked in at our hotel and headed over to the conference. Every seat had a cool tote bag with more cool stuff inside. The Getty's were the worship leaders and got things started about 6:30.

I would bore you and not do justice to the speakers to try and flesh out the messages but you can go to the True Woman web site (http://www.truewoman.com/) and check things out yourself.

On Friday morning we had a lovely breakfast at our hotel and then went to Starbucks so Sherry could get their hot chocolate and Lisa some "real" coffee. The day was packed at the conference, but totally invigorating. They fed us a boxed lunch and after workshops in the afternoon we left at four. We ate at the Weber Grill for dinner where I had the best porch chops ever before heading back to the convention center for more great teaching and music.

On Saturday, we hit Starbucks again on way to conference. We expereinced more great music, prayer and teaching and then the conference ended with us reading and signing the True Woman Manifesto (see web site). The conference ended a little after noon and so we had time to drive to downtown Chicago!

We had real Chicago deep dish pizza and then did a quick driving tour. Time was too short and we headed to the airport to drop off our rental. By the way, there are no gas stations anywhere near O'Hare, so if you get a rental there, refill the car way before you get near the airport.

True Woman

Top Ten Reasons Hurricane Season Is Like Christmas

Number Ten: Decorating the house (with plywood).
Number Nine: Dragging out boxes that haven't been used since last season.
Number Eight: Last minute shopping in crowded stores.
Number Seven: Regular TV shows pre-empted for 'Specials'.
Number Six: Family coming to stay with you.
Number Five: Family and friends from out of state calling you.
Number Four: Buying food you don't normally buy . . . and in large quantities.
Number Three: Days off from work.
Number Two: Candles.
And the Number One reason Hurricane Season is like Christmas:
At some point you're probably going to have a tree in your house!


My hubby sent me this- don't know who the author is. Christmas is more fun, but the similarities are remarkable.

A Car in the Garage

As part of our hurricane preparations, we cleaned the garage out so the Corolla would fit in. This is the first time since we've had a garage (five years) that a car has EVER been in one.

Corolla Update

Seems that Hubby doesn't want a name for the Corolla and so Johnny suggested "Undecided" and Mom threw in "No Name". I like both of those. Undecided sounds like a horse you'd bet on and I can sing to "No Name"- "I've been to the store in a car with no name, it felt good to get out of the rain..."

In other news, we've been having lots of rain.

Tuesday Stuff (Ten on Tuesday)

1) We went to LaGrange over weekend where we went to the impressive airport to watch the monthly fly-in and eat BBQ.

2) Most of the airplanes were kit built. It cost about 60K to build one.

3) I told Tim he could build one if he cleans out the garage .

4) I think that was a safe bet.

5) Exterminator lost his footing yesterday checking and resetting traps and stepped through the ceiling.

6) Thankfully, he wasn't hurt, apologized profusely, and the repair will be done by another professional.

7) We're getting much needed rain today from tropical storm Edouard, but that's about all.

8) Still reading same great books I've recommended before.

9) School starts August 25! Ben's enrolled at Cy-Fair. His books for two classes cost $264.

10) Ephesians 5:1 & 2 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.

LaGrange Air Show

Time to Vote!

Here are the top four car names for the new Corolla. If you want to vote, leave a comment and list the names from your favorite #1 to your least favorite #4.

#7- This is the seventh car we've owned in our marriage

Ludwina- Friend of the people

Emerald V- (Emmy for short) green gem/ five speed

Tawanda- From "Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe"

Labor and Delivery

Where was Leslie on Friday?:
A)Burden Honda Care B)CarMax C)Joe Myers Toyota D)K&J Automotive E)all of them

Labor pains began at 8 a.m. when I took the Odyssey to Burden to have the belt tensioner (& belt) replaced. We waited too long after my temporary fix there three weeks ago, and the squeal was so loud and consistent, it had to be fixed. Another $160 spent on the "Horrid Honda". See previous post for that saga.

Brief stop at home to gather all the necessary paperwork and then to CarMax for a 10a.m. appointment with Jim. While the Honda is being appraised, I test drive a Corolla with Jim. They don't have any manual transmissions at this CarMax location so I drive an automatic. I am very impressed with it's pick-up, handling and ride comfort. After the test drive I find out what CarMax will pay us to trade or buy outright the Honda. It's right at the price I had researched online, so I'm content. I left with the seven day guarantee paper.

Another stop at home to grab some lunch and then over to Joe Myers Toyota because they have a 5-speed Corolla and I want to test drive it and also see what they will give us for a trade. Not only does it drive well, but they had reduced the price from what the web site showed. I call Tim at work to tell him they were letting me take the Corolla home and keeping the Honda to appraise. He tells me to take the car to our mechanic. So without stopping at home (or passing GO), I head to K&J Automotive.

They are the absolutely nicest auto shop and James stops and gives it a look over and a clean bill of health.

I head home to await Tim. He arrives shortly after me and we go for more test driving and decide to go negotiate.

Back to Joe Myers. Lots of talking, phone calls, paper shuffling, and WAITING. They won't give us as much as CarMax for the Honda, even after much back and forth, so we decide Tim will stay there and start the Corolla paperwork, I'll take the car to CarMax to start the selling of it and he'll join me there to finalize the sale and then I'll go back to Joe Myers to finalize purchase. Off down the road to CarMax I head, when Tim calls and says the sales manager ask me to return.

Back I go. It's not that bad as the dealers are within spitting distance of each other.

The sales managers agrees to offer us comparable and so we trade the Honda to them.

We then have to wait for the finance guy. He's a Christian and makes all the tedious stuff as fun as possible. We had pre-approval with the same Credit Union we had the Honda with for a loan, but we were pleasantly surprised that Joe Myers credit union conglomerate beat it by a whole point. We are awesomely blessed with a new loan rate of 4.54%.

Lots of paper signing and then finally off to bring the new baby home. But, they are way behind in the prep area and haven't even started cleaning her up. We decide to have her "detailed" when we go back for tags etc... and leave the dealer at about 7:30.

Twelve hours of labor. We are thankful it's over.

Another New Addition!

We are pleased to welcome our 2nd pre-owned vehicle this year to our family. It's a girl, 2007 Toyota Corolla 5-speed. Adopted into our family as of Friday, July 25 at 7:25 p.m. and weighing 2722 lbs.We are opening up the comments sections for a contest of naming the car. The winning name will be announced sometime in the future.

Explanation of Slide Show Below

Tim's sister and spouse were on the mainland from Hawaii for Lynn's son's wedding in California. They then made a whirlwind tour of Texas to see all their family and some friends here. They started in Austin, then went to LaGrange, on to Sugarland and finally Northwest Houston.

Tim smoked a brisket and we had everyone here on Saturday. Bekah brought some awesome green bean casserole (one of my favorites), Wendy made shrimp dip and Michael supplied some good beer. Since so many of the family had hair long enough for pony tails, we planned a pony tail picture. Since Stephen didn't want to be left out, he supplied his own wig.

We also had fun with water. Bekah totally whooped Nick in a water gun/hose battle and then later Saturday night, Linda and Lynn helped with the cleanup from a broken water supply line under the hall bath sink. It's amazing how quickly water spreads.

I STILL didn't get a picture of Uncle Frank and Wendy for my family fridge gallery, but Mike insist on being unique. Everyone else cooperated.

Sibling Reunion

Bye, Bye!

We've decided to part ways with our 2003 Odyssey but only if it will stay together long enough to get it to CarMax or another dealer.

The air conditioning was replaced less than a month ago and then last week the back vent window motor died ($206.00) and TWO DAYS later, the hood latch broke (AGAIN). We fiddled and fiddled but could not get the hood open.

The 2nd hood latch was put in in 2006 at the dealer but no longer under warranty, so I went to our Honda mechanic this morning at Burden. The belt tensioner is also bad now and so we squeal, especially before the engine is warmed up. He quoted me $289 to repair both. I just about cried. I told him we had decided to sell the van and hated having to keep repairing it. I told him to fix the latch but not the tensioner. He went out and when he came back told me he had put a shimmy somewhere so the hood latch would work, tightened something and sprayed stuff on belt tensioner and no charge. I almost cried, again.

He said, go take your headache and get rid of it. We're researching options and are going to check with my son-in-law's dad who works for a dealer.

In everything give thanks. I'm trying, but somedays....

A Tale of Two Vans

Once upon a time there was family that was growing and they were able to purchase a mini-van. What joy to have all that space after being squeezed into a tiny Ford Escort. But, the mini-van played them false, and even though it was a Honda, it gave them nothing but grief. The family was very glad they had purchased the extended warranty, for repairs were needed time and time again.

Then, a much loved mini-van, whose owners didn't want to scrap it and had lovingly named it "The White Knight", was offered to the family. It needed a new air conditioner, but had already had its transmission replaced and the family gladly welcomed it into their home and had it's air conditioning repaired.

Shortly thereafter, the Honda grew jealous of the new van and decided it wanted a new transmission, also. But, it didn't time its revenge well and there were still 2000 miles left before the extended warranty expired. The White Knight came to the rescue during the time the Honda was being repaired.

But, the poor Knight worked so hard that the very next day after the Honda came home, its transmission got sick. Even though it was out of its warranty for its second transmission, the shop was kind enough to repair it for a nominal transmission service charge.

The Honda gloated.

But once the White Knight returned, the Honda grew jealous again. It didn't even have a cool name. It planned its next attack. It waited until it was 1000 miles out of warranty. It wanted a new air conditioner, too. The White Knight had waited until winter to need it's a.c., but the revengeful Honda, chose the heat of a Texas summer while its master was driving home from work.

Perhaps the family needs to appreciate the Honda and give it a name, but they are seriously thinking it is time to part ways. But don't mention this to the Honda. It's at the shop and we will try to make our decision before it returns.

Broken Glass Theology

I should know after all these years to not put dishes away when I first get up and haven't had a cup of coffee but I haven't learned. I thought the glass was on the shelf but it wasn't and it started to fall and I grabbed for it and it hit the edge of the shelf beneath and shattered.

Broken glass is a reminder that you need to clean all kinds of places you haven't thought of or cared about for a long time. We also know that through some incredible law of physics, glass travels great distances and into spots you never would have thought.

So, how does this relate to my spiritual life? Well, there are certainly areas that I choose to overlook that have gotten "dirty" or need come cleaning up. The flip side is how do my words and actions (thoughts,too) travel much further than I imagine?

The mercy of it is that that goes not only for my sinful words and actions but for those seasoned with grace.

Thanks for the broken glass, Lord.

More Wedding Stuff

I

captured these from Sherry's Kodak Gallery. I really appreciate people who are willing to be in weddings. Think about it- you are asking them to shell out gobs of money to participate in something that last very briefly so that you can have nice pictures. But what photogenic kids they are!

Wedding!

Some Bridesmaids

I forgot my camera AGAIN and so don't have any photos (yet, April will email me the ones she took)from the shower last night, but here are Siara, Jess and Emily in Jess's room which is slowly emptying. Jess went to Intercontinental and grabbed Siara on Tuesday around 8am and then they hopped on I45 and went to Hobby and picked up Emily who arrived at 9:45am.

The shower last night included an awesome game. Rebecca and April interviewed Jason with video and then played the tape, pausing after each question, so Jess could answer. Then we saw Jason's answer. Fun stuff- like the old Newlywed game. They also had prizes, so how can you beat that?

One week to go

It's one week before the wedding and things are falling into place but who was worried about that? As is usual, having little or no control causes me to see so many of my glaring sins. Yes, sins. Being anxious and worrying are really sins. Here's recommended reading for all who struggle as I have: Respectable Sins- Confronting the Sins We Tolerate by Jerry Bridges.

Lack of thankfulness is a "respectable sin" so here are things I'm thankful for:

• Nick got sick with nasty cold last week and then Jess wasn't feeling well on Wednesday and I had an on again off again sore throat and we're all feeling better now.
• White Night's a.c. is working fine after check (I love my mechanic) and doesn't need expensive ($95) air cleaner housing, and I figured out how to change the headlight- no thanks to Hayne's manual or owner's manual.
• Tam will do my hair for wedding for only $25.
• Lawn mower problem was fixed (ladies, I recommend going to auto parts store and telling the guy or gal at the counter your problem. All the employees came over and chipped in with their diagnosis of probable cause and $6 later I left with everything needed to fix the issue).
• I found green placemats at Big Lot's for $1 each that I've been wanting to buy to tie my southwestern theme together in the dining room.
• Jess has started taking all the shower and wedding gifts over to her and Jason's new home.
• All the water bugs (big roaches) I've seen around house have been dead. My extermination skills are working.
• I got all the beds weeded and put out mulch in front and planted some peonies and it all is so pleasing to look at.

Ephesians 5:20- ...always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father...

Ben's Graduation

May Things

May slipped up on me and is so incredibly packed with events, I need to follow Elizabeth Elliot's adage to "Just do the next thing."

Here's an overview of the month:

May 1- Visited with brother and his wife who were in town from Utah
May 2- Having dinner with friends
May 3- Graduation banquet for Benjamin
May 4- Church; Another bridal shower for Jess
May 6-8 Boy's working at Tim's office
May10- sister-in-laws b-day
May 11- Mother's Day
May 12- Tim turns 50
May 17- Nephew's b-day; friend's graduation and party
May 18- brother-in-law turns 50
May 20- Jess's NC bridesmaid arrives
May 21- friend's b-day, Jess's Baltimore bridesmaid arrives,last bridal shower for Jess
May 22- my birthday, maybe wedding rehearsal
May 23- Probably wedding rehearsal
May 24- J&J Wedding
May 25- Likely taking bridesmaids to airport
May28- 4H end of year Awards Meeting

There are "regular" things, too. So, from all you blog readers I expect sympathy :) but more importantly your task is to leave a comment that encourages not only me, but all who need to be reminded of the absolute sufficiency of Christ.

Here's my own admonition to myself: And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed.
2 Corinthians 9:9

And: Whether then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 1Corinthians 10:31

Probably Last Post of Shower Pictures

Well, I still haven't spent the time to know how to add captions. I have, however, been using my Complete Idiot's Guide to Paint Shop Pro 7 to help with cropping, etc... Something else I need to practice.

Few More Shower Pics

I need to learn how to put captions under or next to pictures in Blogger, but since I haven't figured that out I'll have to just mention things and you can figure what picture they go to (not dificult).

1. 1. The Gifts waiting to be opened
2. 2. Table Decorations
3. 3. Jess in cool hat from her Aunt T.A.- Cowgirl Princess.
   

Details

I didn't take pictures at the shower and hubby's didn't turn out too well, so I might blog some more if I can get pictures from a friend who was snapping away.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous and the hall was decorated with Japanese umbrellas and other cool thingamajigs. The food was delicious and we had a big turnout of both ladies and men. The ladies of Mills Road Baptist Church did an awesome job and we felt so loved and honored.

Our side of the family was rowdy so I hope Jason's family doesn't think we are uncouth (but we are so...).

Pastor Larry read a beautiful devotional that can be applied to us all and Jess and Jason both simultaneously opened gifts as there was an overwhelming amount.

We took most of the presents home and Jason took some as well. The kids didn't even get to opening the cards that weren't with gifts and did that Saturday night.

April Showers

The Happy Couple, Displaying the Cake, The Wall of Gifts

Tuesday Tales

1) Still waiting to get the White Knight back. After having the Honda out of commission for two weeks, we finally got it back from dealer on Friday, March 28, with new transmission, new left front wheel bearing and strut and then on Saturday, March 29, the White Knight's transmission died. The place that rebuilt the transmission last year is working with us to rebuild it again.

2) Jason's mom came over this past Sunday afternoon and she and I addressed wedding invitations while Jessica folded stuff (response cards etc).

3) Bridal shower brunch is Saturday, I see on Bed,Bath & Beyond's registry that two toaster ovens and two everyday dishes have been purchased. I had to call Target about four days after I bought some stuff to say it wasn't showing up as purchased even though I handed the print-out to the checker and she scanned the bar code. She manually entered things and now it registers.

4) I'm weepy thinking about the wedding. Anyone know of any anti-weepy medicine :) ?

5) Pulled out twelve years of portfolios for Ben and assembled two display boards for his graduation banquet. More weeping.

6) Headache today-probably from all the weeping.

7) Lies Women Believe and the Truth That Sets Them Free by Nancy Leigh DeMoss is recommended reading.

8) Also, The Beautiful Fight by Gary Thomas.

9) Ordered suit from Amazon for Ben; bought one from VegSource (swap board)for Nick; went to dry cleaner/alterations with hubby to have his tux fitted; bought myself a dress from GoodWill Select store for bridal shower.

10) Am thinking of using nursing pads as dress shields as anticipate 'flop sweat.' I know, I'm too "practical."

They're Here!

In a remarkable display of efficiency, the Government issued our passports in only one week and two days. I'm speechless!

Comforting Thoughts

Romans 11:33-36 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR? Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things To Him be the glory forever. Amen.

Knowing He is sovereign, and I won't always understand His ways, allows me to trust Him with it all as He knows so much better than I.

At the Passport Office

We finally made it over there and it was, of course, another adventure. But, I want to say that Houstonians are some of the nicest people and all our fellow "passport comrades" waiting for their turn, were funny, friendly and gracious.

After spending the day before trying to get through to the office to ask about whether I could make an appointment or if it was first come first served, but getting nothing but a busy signal all day, we show up at 9:40 for the 10am opening. There is a sign on the door saying you have to sign-in and they only take 35 people a day. So I go to find the sign-in and discover you can sign-in starting at 7:30 am and we are numbers 22,23 and 24. I call Tim and tell him not to come over (he has his passport, but has to be there for the boys).

Decide to go home. Try to time it (based on the 10 minute per applicant I was told) to arrive back and not have to wait too long. We return and discover they had JUST called us and he took the next person. This because #20 wasn't there, either. So, when he comes out, I tell him the Wallaces are here but he says we have to wait since we were not there when our name was called and we were suppose to be. I smile and say ok.

The other people are super gracious about this. One guy says tell him you had to leave to find a restroom as there are none here. One gal says she wanted to leave to get lunch but was afraid to. Yes, peoples bladders are bursting and they are fainting with hunger in FEAR they will miss their spot in line at the passport facility. Is there something wrong with this picture!?

The passport Nazi takes us next after punishing us and then rants about us not having official state identification for Ben. I tell him I have EVERYTHING the web site says (and then some) to have and I need a form he has to provide (an Affidavit thingy) as I couldn't access it. He says something inane about "Well the web site might say that but I..." I manage not to scream at him. I'm at this point telling him how to do his job. Another guy comes in and gets the affidavit forms for us and we start to fill them out. Passport Nazi then begins to fill out his portion and then decides to let guy # 2 (who we'll call Dave because I think that was his name) take over so he can go to lunch.

Dave is much nicer. He starts to fill out his portion when I notice that passport Nazi had put the wrong information in the boxes. I point this out and Tim and I have to start over with the forms.

We eventually raise our right hands and swear the information and pictures are true, sign the forms, write all the necessary checks and leave. I thank all my fellow passport comrades as we leave that they didn't insist on us going to the end of the line. They are so friendly and gracious and one guy says, "See you here again in 10 years!"

Accidental Tourist

So, are you sick of my Gruene post yet? On Saturday morning, after a more than decent hot breakfast at the hotel, we pile into mom's car to drive over to Gruene. Being the conscientious people that we are, we see a detour sign for Gruene road and so follow it. We have since decided that all the detour signs were some kind of a prank. We end up at a barricade across the road. So off we go up on the bluff above the river. We can see the river off to our right. We arrive at a 'T" intersection eventually at River Road. T.A., being more directionally oriented than my aunt and I says we should turn left. Nan and I think we should turn right. So mom heads off on the river road to the right. Twelve miles later, after a gorgeous, winding, riverfront drive, we are in Canyon Lake. So we pull into a parking lot where some folks are and I hop out to ask how to get to Gruene without going back on the River road. They give us super directions and we actually arrive in Gruene only thirty minutes later than our projected arrival time- better than a lot of airlines I know. Here's a pic from the car ride.

One more from Gruene

This place has awesome food and a great view of the river, plus a very cool antique place is right next door and you can wax nostalgic in the there for a long time.

More from Gruene

My Aunt is a total flip-flop addict. We were cracking up when we found this nightshirt that says "If the flip-flop fits, buy it in every color". Aunt Nan models it for us. Plus, in another store, some styling ones. She only bought two pair at the San Marcos Outlet stores. What restraint.

Gruene

After postponing for a month because of weather, we made it to Gruene for Market Days this past weekend. Plus, my mom's little sister (who was very tired of Kansas City winter) joined us. Gorgeous weather, shopping, eating and laughing made it a perfect break.

Just Thinking...

I'd post some more random stuff.

1. The front door deadbolt fell apart when Tim went to lock it last night about 9pm. Some little bits fell out. So off to Wal-Mart (thank you, Lord, for 24hr stores!) to purchase a deadbolt. The new lock fit the existing cut-out and matched up with the strike plate and everything without a bunch of fiddling- how awesome is that?

2. Our landlords were here last week and did some minor repairs around the place. They pulled the pvc pipe out of the living room ceiling where the previous tenants had stereo speakers mounted, and patched the holes. Looks much better.

3. They also patched holes in the soffits so hopefully that will deter rats and other undesirables from making our attic their home.

4. I found a mother-of-the bride dress while shopping with the "resale/thrift shop queen" (my mom) last Friday at the Guild shop. It's a lavender skirt and beaded top by Oleg Cassini. Needs some slight alteration but was only $27!

5. Jess leaves for her Spring break trip to see her Aunt in Hawaii this Friday. Pray for safe travels for her.

6. Also, for all the wedding planning.

7. Ben turns 18 on Tuesday. I saw a picture in a magazine recently that reminded me of him as a little boy. Where do the years go?

8. Attended weekend 2 of NANC this past weekend. Always challenging, inspiring, convicting, helpful and refreshing. http://www.nanc.org/

9. Tim and I decided to read a book together each evening. We chose Wayne Mack's Strengthening Your Marriage to start. We have decided we really needed to SCHEDULE time for us, so 9pm is our time.

10. I'm changing vets to one closer to our home and Daisy has her check-up this Thursday. It's time for her 3-year rabies etc. shot. This vet is about $75 dollars cheaper than our old one. I had done research about prices before choosing our old one in the Copperfield area, and they were one of the cheapest but now I'm excited to be saving even more money on her annual check-up! They don't give one of the shots the other vet did because they don't believe it's necessary in Houston. I like that they don't over-due the shots. Here's their web site: http://www.jvah.com/

Random Wednesday

My niece blogged ten random thing yesterday, so since I haven't blogged in awhile, here are mine:

1. A beagle won best in show at Westminster. AROO!

2. We got a new phone that has an aswering machine. Now we can watch a movie without the phone distrubing us as we can turn the ringer off.

3. The Dodge (see previous post) got it's A.C. fixed with a new compressor. They put in some dye with the coolant that can be seen with an ultraviolet light so I'm to go back in a few weeks and they will check for leaks.

4. Houston weather is never boring. I had the air conditioning on on Monday and turned it back to heat last night.

5. I'm solicitating votes for mother-of-the-bride dresses. So far the "column dress" is winning.

6. I don't know how to add links to things in my blog. I will ask one of the kids.

7. I stayed up past 10pm last night.

8. I'd tell you all the books I'm reading but then you'd wonder if I did anything else.

9. Should I plan a trip to Chicago with ladies from church in Oct. for an awesome womens' conference?

10. Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all! - 2 Thessalonians 3:16

New Addition to the Family

My sister and brother-in-law have graciously given us their 1996 Dodge Caravan. Previously dubbed, "The White Knight", it has already come to the rescue since we took possession of it last Thursday. It has 138k, a new rebuilt transmission done last year, and will be super awesome once we put a new air conditioning in it and get a few other repairs done. But, getting those done are on hold because Jess's car has to go to the body shop as her future mother-in-law backed into it over the weekend. So, Jess will probably drive the White Knight and me, whatever rental car we get to keep things simpler with the insurance company.

We've already slapped our Ron Paul and Secede stickers on, so Jess really doesn't want to drive it, but she'll get over it.

We're feeling blessed with our new acquisition and for the first time since about 1990, we are a two-vehicle family. Once Ben finishes school and starts work and/or community college, I will probably be without wheels again, so I'll enjoy it while I can.