Updates

Well, it's been a while since I've updated my blog!! I kinda forget that I have a blog sometimes!! So, here are my latest updates:

*I started having some wierd things going on with me about 6 weeks ago. Things like tingling in my left arm and some chest discomfort. I put off going to the doctor...cause I hate going to the doctor. I went to my ob/gyn for starters and he freaked me out. He gave me a script for anxiety medication and I left in tears. Oh, and he also referred me to a cardiologist.
*So, I go to the cardiologist and she totally has been an answer to my prayers. Very knowledgeable and very sensitive. She had me go to the hospital for a complete heart exam...nuclear stress test, echocardiogram and heart scans. That was very stressful for me. But I wasn't finished til I had to wear a "Holter" monitor for 2 days. (The waiting thing is the hardest for me.)
*After a bunch of waiting around and lots of praying...I finally got to visit with my dr. for results to the tests....and here's the diagnosis.....I don't know how to spell it, so I'll do my phonetic way: bigeminy. Yep, that's it!!! It means I have a funky heartbeat and I have to take a little tiny pill every night. Plus, I have to drink V8 juice everyday, go for a daily walk, and get a good 8 hours of sleep every night!!!! How easy it that???

I'm so very relieved....but I'm also so very blessed for this news. My family and closest friends knew how very concerned I was...and I so appreciate their prayers and constant encouragement!!

I'm also so very grateful for the season of Thanksgiving. It seems that every year, God reminds me of His constant provision...not just in the way of food, shelter and clothing...but how He provides situations that make me rely on Him totally for His provision. I think my heart issue is a prime example. He has total control over my body!! I have lots to be thankful for every single day.

I'm looking forward to spending lots of time with our families in a couple of weeks. My sweet hubby has been working 60-70 hour weeks since the middle part of October and he so needs a break. I've been missing my sister-in-law in Indiana and can't wait for her to come down. My brother recently returned from a trip to the Holy Lands and he has a wonderful video presentation I can't wait to see. God is so good to give me all of these special blessings!!

My kiddos are so excited to decorate for Christmas...we always do this the day after Thanksgiving!! And I am too!! I'm looking forward to making some new memories in our new home for the holidays. I'd like to have some friends over for cookie baking time. We're having a progressive dinner for our SS class and I'm hosting one of the courses. It's such a beautiful sweet time of the year....and I'm making a commitment to not stress or get anxious for NOTHING!!!! I'm putting that old stuff aside and concentrating on loving the people that God has put in my life!!!!!

Home Sweet Home~

Well, we've been in our home a month now. Last weekend we finally got that last little load of junk out of storage and I hauled a bunch of it to Goodwill!! We moved in on the hottest weekend of the whole entire year. We had great help...and I felt so bad that we were moving in that heat!!

It's just amazing how everything happened. I'm still shocked that we sold our house in Verdigris!! I know by now that I should be "used" to the changes...and I'm sure I will at some point. I do enjoy that it takes 3 minutes to get to school. I do enjoy that we have more yard to take care of. I do enjoy living in this neighborhood. I do enjoy having a little more space to store stuff. And I do enjoy that the girls each have their own room!!

I need to buy a few more pieces of furniture and put some more stuff on the walls and I still have a few windows left to treat. I am not going to hurry doing all that stuff. It will happen!! I do need to find all my fall decorations and get them out!!

Oh, and on a last note...Ryan is completely happy that he can ride the bus home instead of walking to the library everyday!!

Getting Close!!

Well, 6 months ago seems like years ago!!! I almost can't remember what our house in Verdigris looked like...I really don't remember everything we have put into our mini storage unit....and I really really forgot what it was like to write a mortgage check every month!!!!! All of these things are soon going to come to an end.

In about 10 days all of these things will soon become a reality. Except for maybe still not totally able to remember our house in Verdigris. I loved that house so much!!!! But I am loving the thought of everyone having their own room, a pantry, and the ability to expand the upstairs whenever we feel like we need more space!! Oh, and I'm also loving the fact that I'm exactly 4 minutes from my driveway to school parking!! :)

I believe the kiddos are most excited!! They haven't had a normal summer with being to play with neighborhood kids, riding their bikes daily, and just all the stuff they were used to doing in Verdigris. They can't wait to get those scooters out...play some b-ball in the driveway....and spreading out a little.

I'm stressing just a tad just because of the timing of school starting and time we'll be needing to move. In a perfect world, we would already be moved in and settled....but not the case!! I know worrying and fretting isn't going to help matters at all....so I pray. Praying puts everything in perspective...God didn't bring us this far for nothing. His timing is perfect!!!!!

Blessings....

I am blessed beyond measure. Anyone that knows Jesus and has asked Him into their hearts is blessed for sure!!! I often look around my world and just have to wonder how exactly do people function daily without a relationship with God.

I am so thankful that God always has a plan. And that He unfolds that plan each time I ask for guidance and for help in this crazy life. I know in my life that God's plans for me are perfect. They may not always be what I like at the time or what is popular in the world...but resting in Him is always a comfort and makes me so content.

I am thankful for the man God placed in my life to be my husband. He's not perfect...but he's perfect for me. When Kevin has had health issues, God placed doctors, medicines and peace with us to help us overcome those things. Kevin has been blessed with working at a place that values him and compensates him well. We're not rich....but we certainly have more time together than we had at his previous job.

I am so thankful for my 3 kiddos!! They are reflections of God's amazing grace daily!! I look into their eyes and see how awesomely He put some of me and some of Kevin inside of them...raising them has been a joy!! I have thoroughly enjoyed the different stages my kids have gone through and am already praying for their futures!!

Even though this has been a summer that we'll likely never forget....I am thankful that we have had lots of time with my dad. He's been a gracious host!! We're very blessed that he opened his home to 5 of us and allowed us to live with him and impose on him for 4 months!! We are ready to move and it's likely that will finally happen in a couple of weeks. What a journey this has been. Again, it was God's perfect timing that brought us to this outcome. We are looking forward to hosting our friends and family in our home as we get settled.

I am so very thankful for my close friends. I don't tell them enough just how much they mean to me....but they priceless. Knowing that they will and do pray for me when I have "freak out" moments is HUGE!! Cause I sometimes have more than one of those episodes in a 24 hour time period!! I am thankful and blessed that they can tell me what I need to hear.

And finally I am so very thankful that God hears me when I pray. I feel His touch daily....just looking outside I can see Him....looking into my children's eyes, I can see Him; seeing miracles like healing I can see Him. Knowing that my husband is faithful to just me is seeing the mercies of God. Resting in the fact that only He can turn bad into good is HUGE for me. Perhaps Thanksgiving isn't just for the month of November!! Count your many blessings see what God hath done!! LOVE that hymn!!!!

Countdown....:)

Ok, the countdown can begin!! Our new house is withing a couple of weeks from being finished!! So, excitement is truly building around our household!! With the reality of our home being ready to move into...so is the reality of things like: landscaping? new furniture? arrangement of furniture? internet provider? (ATT doesn't service our new home!!) So, can you imagine how much stuff is rumbling through my head? My head is so "thick" with all the stuff rumbling around, that I've barely had enough room in it for school thoughts to enter. I've made myself work in my room this week and I'm happy to say that I plan to be finish with it by Friday!!

On another note....I've had to do some damage control. I will be the first to say that I enjoy facebook. I have really enjoyed re-connecting with lost classmates from high school and college. I've also enjoyed building on my friendships with colleagues, church friends, and my kids' friends' parents, etc. However with all of these connections comes a sort of "censoring" that I've had to impose on myself. I think it's very sad when people use facebook as a means of airing their dirty laundry and such. I'm not a fan of dirty words or initials of phrases that include dirty words. I'm also not a fan of naughty jokes or inuendos. So, tonight I had to delete some friends from my facebook account. I won't apologize for following my convictions... We live in such a grey sort of society with no real stance on what is wrong or unacceptable. So, I took a stand tonight to protect myself from having to see questionable content...and to also protect my friends from the ability to see the same.

That was a side bar of such.....

It's been a wonderful week so far. Looking forward to the weekend!! We're having a shin-dig at the Lane's on Saturday...hopefully the whole Lane clan will be attending along with many friends from the past. I love it when we're all together!! Next week is our VBS at church...(I'm not directing this year!! ) but I'm looking forward to seeing all the kiddos coming to learn more about Jesus!!

And how about this??? Kevin and I will be married for 19 whole years on Monday, August 2~!!
I love him much more now than I ever could imagine!! God has truly blessed our marriage in so many ways....and I'm so thankful that my mom introduced us 20 years ago at her house at a summer time bbq!! He's my soul mate!!!!!

Thinking...

I'm up and it's very quiet...so I'm thinking. I spent quite a bit time earlier praying. I've been praying quite a bit this week. Ryan and Christen are at Fall's Creek and it's their first time to go. I know I've heard alot about how Falls Creek has alot of faults now...more than it ever it used to...and that's probably why I was shy about sending Ryan a couple of years ago when he became old enough to go. But after seeing footage from there and being able to listen to the services each night online....other than the lights, sound and instruments....it's the same ole Falls Creek to me. Although it looks as if they have really added more activities for the kids to do!! Plus...and this is the biggie....the adults we had going with our youth are wonderful with the kids. I know (b/c we've known for a while) that Christen is going to come home and tell us that she has been called into missions. While I'm so proud of her for not being afraid of that call...I'm scared to death!! I know God protects those He calls....and I know He will have to do some major work in me so that I don't always this knot in my tummy when she actually goes to fulfill her call. Kevin seems to be handling it very well....but we'll see!!

As for Ryan...well....I had to force him to go. Kevin and I didn't see eye to eye on that...but I couldn't let up on him going. He has had a tough time feeling like he has a place in the youth group at church. He has friends there...but they aren't his close friends. He really likes his Sunday School teacher and enjoys his class...but outside of that, he doesn't involve himself in the fun stuff that goes on during the week. So, I thought if he would just go to Falls Creek, all the walls he has put up around him would come down. As I began to pack him up and pump him up that he was going to have an awesome time....I seriously started to wonder if I had made a mistake. As we watched him get on the bus, I started to crumble on the inside. I remember as a kid going to a sleepover and not wanting to be there and how I felt....and I began to think I'm doing this to him for a whole week!!!! After waiting a full 24 hours before calling any sponsor (b/c they couldn't take phones, ipods, etc)....I had enough and began to go down the list. Is it coincidence that nobody answered their phone? Or that only 1 phone went to voicemail? I did leave a message, however, it was one of Christen's sponsors. So, Christen calls me later on in the day and tells me she is having fun....but Ryan...well not so much. Praying again!! Long story short....I did get two text responses from Ryan's sponsors very late that night and one said "so far so good"....and the other that nearly brought tears to my eyes said "He says he wants to come back next year!!" Ryan never says things he doesn't mean....so, I think mission was accomplished. I knew that it has been no accident that my kids were at Falls Creek. I know I forced Ryan to go....but really...I gave him several opportunities to back out....and he didn't want to. So, I know that while God's plans for Ryan's future is probably in the form of public service...He is equipping him before my very eyes for that plan. I could be totally wrong....maybe he has been called to do something this week that's new, I don't know...but I can't wait to get them home to find out!!!!!!

So, today is their last day. I bet everyone there is feeling the affects of little sleep....and perhaps too much togetherness?? But I know the memories made this week will last a lifetime. I'm so looking forward to the Falls Creek service Sunday night!!

And crazy as I am....I'm actually looking forward to doing their stinky, smelly, gross laundry tomorrow!!!!

Stressing out a little....

The older I get, the easier it seems to be for me to stress out . Of course, we're living in a sort of "Holding Tank" and have been for 3 months. I think the stress of that alone is wearing on me. I am missing having my own house....I am missing all the furniture we had to put in storage and finally, I'm just missing life as I used to know it. I am not trying to throw a pity party here...but just getting all these feelings into print is somewhat helpful.

I am so genuinely grateful that my dad offered for us to live at his house while we were building our new house. It has been financially a smart move for us...and so very convenient. I am equally as grateful for our builder. He is a wise and Godly man and I've enjoyed getting to know him and his wife throughout this process.

I think Kevin and I have become so much closer during these past few months. I know it's been said that building a house can destroy a marriage....and I was a little hesitant at first when we decided to go this route. However, we've gotten to enjoy picking things out and learning more about each other doing so!!

I am learning just how God paves the way, even when the way gets very long and when someone like me with acute ADD is involved!!

YAY!!

Yay!! We've been to Florida and Sea World and now back again!! I love going on vacation...and it's nice being home again. We stayed 2 weeks and enjoyed every single minute!! We hunted and found sharks' teeth, cool looking shells, saw some dolphins and manatee playing in the ocean, swam, splashed, shopped, ate like pigs, and slept like babies!! So, it was AWESOME!!

Now that we are back, we are on the last leg of our house-building journey. We came home to the house being almost all bricked and the sheetrock in and textured!! This week since we've been back, lots of changes taking place...cabinets are being built into the house in the kitchen, baths, desk in the butler's area, and our master closet...oh, and laundry room too!! All of the interior doors are in the garage ready to be installed and the garage doors are installed!! We've got the flooring all picked out...we had it picked out...but had to tweak it b/c of the colors of cabinets and the paint colors that we picked out. The formal dining will be painted in "burning bush"...aka deep RED!!! That's bold for me. I'm more of a neutral wall color kind of girl...with lots of color accents...but we're going out on a limb here.

Next week, the kids are going to Fall's Creek. It'll be their first venture there. I had some reservations in the past about sending them....but I truly believe this will be a week with wonderful growth both spiritually and socially for both Ryan and Christen!! So, Kaylyn and I will be doing some fun stuff like see "Toy Story 3", eat at the Pink House, go swim at G-parents' house, and we'll start working in my classroom...probably do some other fun things too...like SHOP!!

Well, it's been action-packed...and I'm ready for things to settle down and for us to be in our new home. We're all ready!! Praying for the next few weeks to be productive, yet calm!! :)

Another Day!!

It's another summer day!! None of our summer days are anything of the ordinary this summer. We have camps, vacation and building our house all going on while we're living here at my Dad's.

I believe our house will be finished sometime the middle part of August. Our builder is very busy but very much on top of things...so I'm trusting his words!!

Every single time I walk through our new house, I'm amazed!! The whole process has been a learning experience for me and I'm so excited that we've had the chance to do this!!

We're leaving to go to Florida next week and we haven't even started packing. Too much excitement is leaving me daydreaming rather than working on these tasks!! Anyway!! I better get busy!!

Long time, No Blog

Well, it's been a while....let's see if I can remember where we left off:
We sold our house!! Our listing was just about to expire when a family decided to make us an offer. We were in a state of panic...cause we expected NOT to sell. So, after looking for like a week at everything that was on the market...we decided to talk with a builder and go that route. Which means...we had to find temporary housing!! My dad offered us to live at his house while we built. We are blessed!! It is a bit tight here and most of our things are in storage...but we're together and that's what counts!!

We closed on our house April 14. Our builder began the building process on May 1. Last weekend, we walked out on our foundation that had just been poured a few days before. This week it's being framed. That part goes really fast!! Probably they will have the roof on and windows installed by the end of next week. We got to pick out flooring, granite, carpet and tile this week. How fun!! I've never gotten to pick out EVERYTHING before. Our builder has a generous allowance on most items...so it's been exciting to pick out these things.

We are going on vacation in Florida in less than 2 weeks. I imagine by the time we get back the brick will be on our house and the inside will be sheet-rocked!! I'm learning all about the buiding process and feel like I'm pretty stinking smart. I know just enough to be dangerous and annoying to our builder. He has the patience of Job and always always answers his phone when I call!!

The kids are busy with camps, dance recitals, hanging with friends, working out and stuff. I love summer!! I love the free-ness I feel!! Sleeping in is nice....staying up late is nicer and not being tied down to a clock is the best!! I've started taking classes at the rec center following the brutal month of May in BOOTCAMP!!!! I went and I survived and I even lost 4 pounds and 3 inches!! So, to continue my "winning streak"...I'm sticking to working out and sort of sticking with that ridiculous bootcamp diet. I did Pilates last week and I'm sore. I'm sticking with it...but I'm going to have to incorporate some cardio to loosen up my muscles!!

We are heading to Seaworld in a couple of weeks. Looking forward to going there!! I've always wanted to visit there. We're staying in a very nice condo and then we'll make our way to the gulf side a few days later. I'm so hoping that the weather is gorgeous and the ocean is beautiful. No oil spill or red tide please!!!!

Well, I hope I update every so often....I'm using this as a personal journal while house building!!

Day Off!!

I took a personal day today. I always end up usually taking a personal day in order to play "catch up" rather than doing something totally crazy or totally indulging!! Oh well!! The peace of mind and the feeling of being "caught up" is priceless!!!

We have only 2 more small things to cross off the Repair list given to us by the realtor representing the buyer. YAY!! And we have 17 days left to close. However, I think that date may be pushed up a couple of days.

On a different note....our new house is getting ready to break ground this week. The weather is gorgeous and I'm pumped!! Having something to dream about that is going to be reality in a couple of months is so fun!!

On yet another different note....I have sooooo neglected working out and even healthy eating!! It's nearly impossible to fit in a fitness routine when you are moving and having to prepare for temporary living quarters on top of it all. When we finish the closing, I will have quite a bit of time to devote to a healthier me. I just need to decide how I want to go about starting this new routine. I have a few thoughts in mind...I just to think about it a little bit more.

Whew!!

Whew!! What a week!! I've had to endure some "ups" and "downs" this week. Yesterday was a roller coaster ride for me. And I'm still having the affects of it today!!

Our home inspection was Tuesday. So was the appraisal and the termite inspection. So, we had to take our little dog and leave for 3 hours. The inspection came with a report full of surprises. Mostly, it had to do with the roof. Anyway, after reviewing the report, I got a little nervous that maybe our buyers were going to back out. They didn't get to come to the inspection since they live out of town...so when my realtor called yesterday morning before 9:00 a.m. and said they were coming into town to look at the house again....I got nervous!!!! And that's an understatement.

After a very stressful day and much praying, we finally found out last night that the buyers just wanted us to fix 4 out of the 13 things found wrong on the inspection. YAY!!! More great news is this: the builder that is going to be building our house told us to call him if we needed anything fixed on our house. I had to take him up on that offer and he's already been here and he's planning to start working tomorrow!!!! God always provide....not just with money stuff either. He always provides people to help in sticky situations. He always gives us the friends and the support we need it. It's kind of funny...but as I was in my closet praying over all this yesterday morning, I asked God for some encouraging words during the day. And on my way home from town, a friend called me. She's not one that calls often...and mostly when she does it is to let me know of some plans between our daughters. But we go to church together and I love her sweet spirit. Anyway, she called and just started talking to me about our moving and etc. I explained to her the events that were happening yesterday and she promised me she was going to pray for me (cause i had a severe headache) and our house situation. I know she was praying!! Eventually, my head ache healed and although I had to wait for what seemed like forever about our inspection from the buyers....we finally had some resolve to a very stressful day!!!

I have gotten very emotionally attached to the idea of building. I am overflowing with excitement about the floor plan and the tweeking that Kevin and I will get to do with certain features. This has always been a dream that we've shared...to build a house together and design it without having to cut corners on things. I knew in my heart that I wanted to be able to share this home with my family and friends before the next round of holidays in the fall/winter months. I'm blessed beyond measure!! Truly!!!!

Spring "Break"?

Well, for all practical reasons it is spring....and I'm supposed to be on break. Ironic!! Cause I'm not!! It's been over a week since we signed a contract with a buyer for our house. Now comes all the "stuff" that has to be done to ensure the sale to be complete!! Tomorrow is the home inspection and the appraisal. To be completely honest, I was a basket case yesterday. I even asked God to please calm me and just let me know that it's all going to be OK. So, today I'm sitting at the eye doctor waiting for Ryan and I get another call from my realtor. This call I know was God's little way of calming me. She told me that both inspector and appraisal guy were going to be here at the same time. Furthermore, she said that mostly the timing doesn't happen simulataneously. I asked her if that was a good thing, she said it meant that the buyer's lender is moving forth on the loan!! Isn't God so sweet?

So, here's our plan!!
We are going to live at my dad's house for the next 3 or 4 months after we sell our house. And we've found a perfect spot to put a home. It just so happens, that a builder is getting ready to start a couple of houses in this sub-division and he has let us pick out a 4 bdrm floor plan that has lots of neat surprises!! One neat surprise is an unfinished 700 sq. ft space above the garage. Another neat gift is a butler's pantry and built in desk. Yet another is a HUGE master closet!! There's more...but I would have post pictures for one to appreciate!!

Here's another bonus!! Because my dad is letting us live at his house rent free...we're going to be able to save a bunch of $$!! That's always a great bonus!!!

Amazing!!

I haven't blogged lately because there have been a whirlwind of thoughts and ideas running through my mind these past few months. Kevin and I put our home on the market in September. At the time, we had picked out something that I had truly fallen in love with and I was dead-set that we were meant to have that house. I was smitten!! I had a time-frame in my head as to when our house would probably sell and how long it would be before we took on this "dream home"!! (I'm a planner...so that's why I had this imaginary calendar going on!!) Anyway, I began realizing that maybe I was taking more control in this issue than I should!! Just maybe I should be consulting with God and even my husband as to these ideas. When I was praying, I was telling God what and how and when things should take place and hoping He agreed and then move right along. Instead of the way things should have played out. Anyway to make an incredibly long story semi short....it wasn't until a few weeks ago that I finally gave in to myself and gave it all to God. I am slow to learn. I realized that God needed to have my undivided attention and I needed to let it all go!! I began to realize maybe it wasn't His plan for our house to sell...maybe He wanted us to stay put...maybe He wanted us to build on a room...or maybe not. And I began to tell my husband that perhaps we needed to stay here because just maybe God was happy with our life here. In turn, I began to accept this and actually tell others and truly was content in that. I even was looking forward to our house NOT selling. Crazy huh? I have cried like a baby because I wasn't getting MY way...I have tossed and turned dreaming about a home that I didn't own...and I was even angry that we were so deep into this house being on the market and nobody looking at it. So the emotions have been very strong these past few months.

I got a phone call Friday afternoon at Walmart while shopping for groceries that a realtor wanted to show our house the next day (yesterday) at 10 a.m. I called this lady back and said we needed to push it back to the afternoon...b/c we all wanted to sleep in!!! Crazy!!!! She consented. I had this feeling all day long that this person was probably going to like our house. Don't really know why...but I did!! After not hearing anything fairly quickly on the feedback, I resolved to the fact that we really were never going to sell our house. Then, I get a phone call at 6:30 p.m. from our realtor saying that she needed to present us an offer. I should have been happy...but honestly, Kevin and I both were in total shock. What in the world is God doing????

The offer came in a little low, we countered, they countered and now we're officially under contract. So, unless our house fails inspections...we're closing April 16. Guess what???? We have absolutely NO clue where we are going to live!!! Now I'm scared. I'm a little scared for another reason too...this means we're going to buy something that is bigger and more expensive....I don't do well with spending more money for long periods of time!! It scares the crud out of me!!!! I guess this is where I need some reassurance from people I trust. I firmly believe that God places people in our lives and then speaks to us through them.

Anyway, it helps to write this blog...getting everything out and seeing it in front of me is helping already. I'm praying for clarity, direction and some much needed sleep tonight!! I need that peace!! God really is in control...and His timing is really perfect...I am truly trusting Him for taking care of all of this for us!! Thank you God that You are in control. Thank you God for being so in love with me that You always care for my needs even before I knew there was a need for another HOME!!! I love you!!