A house . . .

and not just any house -- THE HOUSE!! I have found THE HOUSE that is mine. I am so giddy about it, it's not even funny!! Sometime I'll have to share the whole house story, but I'm not going to try to do that now. I might just end up typing it all out, though.

Anyway, Sunday night at our Encounter service, I was praying and I just told God that I HAD to know he was still with me in all of this . . . ok, I just realized I have already blogged that.

Anyway, we went to look at houses on Tuesday -- 6 of them. The first one was ok. . the second one was a definate cowboy house, but not my house. Poor Payton was devastated that we weren't moving in there. Just no way! The third house was a brand new house that was really nice. The fourth house was THE HOUSE!!! I mean, THE HOUSE. I'll get back to it in a minute. We went to the fifth house and it was not really all that impressive. The 6th house we didn't get to see until Wednesday, but it was really nice, just not THE HOUSE!!!

So, we decided to make an offer at $110K (gosh, seems like so much money). They're asking $135K, but $115K is the max we can afford. They came down to $130K. So, we're still $15K short, but I know that my God who owns the WHOLE UNIVERSE is bigger than $15,000!!!

I know it's my house. I'm so excited about it!! It's not that I had to have a $135K house. I looked at a few houses over $130K and they were all very very nice houses, but they just don't compare to this house!!

It's 3 bedrooms, 2 bath, 1 living area. It has 1749 sq. ft, which is comparable to what we're in now. It has a real dining room (something I don't really have now) with a window that looks out into the back yard. Beautiful St. Augustine grass. It has a beautiful entry way. It has curved corners, which I don't really like, but when I walked in the house, I said, "Oh, it has curved corners. I love that!" I had to do a double-take on myself!! I like them in that house!!! So, you might be wondering where my scrapbook room is going to be . . . well, I'm glad you asked!! There is a coat closet in the living room that has double opening doors on it. I like to scrapbook in the living room because that's normally where everyone is and the noise of the tv. So, just put me a table in there and I'm set! Plus, you close the doors and nobody sees the mess!! :)

The deeper issue on the house is that I've never believed I would really ever live in a nice house like this. I've always felt like I would live in $75K houses for the rest of my life. With that said, I have nothing againse $75K houses -- nothing at all. I just didn't have any hope of moving past that. . . even in to my "elder years". I've always thought I would live in a house that needed something fixed on it (major - like the foundation) or needed updating that we said we would do when we bought it, but never would do. Anyway, those that know me know what I mean. . .

I had been looking at this house online for a few weeks, but I didn't even want to bring it up because I knew Aaron wouldn't go look at it because it was too much money. That is another thing God is doing. I never believed that Aaron would buy me a house that nice -- because we didn't NEED it. I do know that Aaron loves me with everything in him, but I just never believed he would do something like that for me and I'm not really sure where that comes from. . .

Anyways, we both know it's THE HOUSE. When I walked in, I knew it was home. I even told Aaron that I would give up scrapbooking for 5 years if it meant I got the house. I would sell every scrapbooking thing I have if I could just get the house. For those of you who know me -- that's some serious talk!! But, I would do it in a heartbeat.

I want a house where I LOVE to drive in the driveway and say, "Yes, this is my house." I want a house where I don't have to tell people we're in the middle of a pasture and it looks like a barn. I want to be in a house where I can stay for more than 2 years. I want a house where my kids can play with the neighbors kids. I want a house where my kids can ride their bikes on a real road and have to watch out for cars! I want to live in a house where I am just at home. I want to be giddy about being at home. I think that's it -- I've been a stay at home mom for 5 years and never really enjoyed being at home. This home, I could be happy to be home in. And, I don't have to do a thing to it. Every house I've ever lived in, I've immediately thought of what colors I could paint and where. Not in this house. I don't think there'll be much painting in it for me. There is one pink room that Evan has claimed that might need some paint, but not more than that. I want a house where we can enjoy being at home without the floor squeaking or mice!!! ;) I want a house where I can have a real wood fence -- did you hear that? Not a chain-link fence -- a real wooden fence and one that doesn't need fixed.

Now, don't hear me complaining about the house I'm in or the houses I've lived in. I'm not complaining at all. I'm just saying that I know God wants to bless me with this house. I'm believing we're going to be moving in just a few short weeks into that house. I am believing that my mail isn't going to have to be forwarded to one place and then another. I'm believing it can go straight there -- even before we close.

Here's the thing: I'm really in the best position. There are 2 other houses that are very nice -- very nice. One is brand new and the other is a little older, but 4 bedrooms. Those houses are in our price range and they are really nice and I could live there. But, I don't believe I'm going to live there. I'm going to live in THE HOUSE -- Somehow God is going to do this -- just for me.

Ok . . well, I could go on and on about how much I love this house, but I won't. Did I say that I love the house?

Please don't ask . . .

So, we've sold our house and are closing on October 9th at 3 pm. No, I don't know where we're moving to and I really had a peace until everyone started asking questions -- Where are you moving? Have you found a house? Have you looked at houses? Why haven't you looked at houses? Do you realize that's only 2 weeks away?

Then, there's "the look" -- the look of "your-crazy-for-doing-what-you're-doing". I always tell people that I am believing that God is going to give me a house -- just give it to me. Then, I get the look that "oh-ok - now-I-really-think-you're-crazy".

I've been so afraid that I've totally missed God on this whole thing and my family is going to have to pay for me missing it. I can't even explain the thoughts and feelings I'm fighting every day (and night) about this. I've been so calm through the whole thing until just this weekend. I was around a bunch of people all of who love me very much, but I always got the same "look".

Someone asked me where we were moving and they were trying to be supportive, but I got "the look" and the head nod. I said, "I'm just believing God's going to give me a house." This person shook their head and said, "I believe that, too." It wasn't very convincing.

I know it sounds crazy and it sounds crazy to me, too. I just don't think God would have sold my house to leave me homeless. I mean, it wasn't supposed to appraise -- nobody thought it would besides Aaron and I. All we knew was that God said $98K and that's what we listed it for. The broker didn't think it would appraise and really, neither did our realtor. But, it did. God came through on what He said. So, why am I doubting now?

This morning Aaron called and told me to call someone (a specific someone) and tell them that we were going to pay their rent this month. We were going to sow some seed where we have a need. I was so excited to call this person and give them the good news -- I had to leave a message. She called back and said it had taken her so long to call back because she had been crying and laughing about it. I cannot tell you how excited I was to give that to her.

We are going to look at houses tomorrow and I'm believing God is going to do something miraculous. Last night at Encounter, I was praying and I just told God that I HAD to know He was still with me in all of this. I needed SOMETHING to let me know He was the one protecting me and my family and that he wouldn't let us be homeless. =)

Then, after the service, someone came up to me and gave me some money. They said, "This is for you." I was so excited!! I got to the car and counted it and it was $110. I'm not sure why $110, but I like to think that that is how much the house that God is going to give me will cost. Aaron seems to think that it doesn't mean anything and God just blessed me to let me know He's still here and He's still on the throne.

The thing about this move is that I want to stay there for a really long time. I'm so tired of moving from one place to the next. I just want to get somewhere and stay for a while. I'm really excited about moving to C-America. I know that God is moving us there to use us more than we could hope or imagine. And, I am excited about that!!

So, I know the title of this post is a little rude. Please don't take it that way. Just believe with me that God is going to do something to where only He can get the glory for it. Pray that we can hear the voice of God so clearly on what to do next. And, don't give me "the look" or "the nod"!! =)

Evan Knows His ABC's

Last night, Evan was getting a movie out of the cabinet and I overheard him saying, "Q R S T U V". . . I said, "Evan, do you know your ABC's?" He said, "Yes". I asked him if he would sing them for me, so off he went -- "ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ. NOW I KNOW MY ABC'S NEXT TIME WON'T YOU SING WITH ME."

I know my mouth was on the floor, but I had no clue that he knew that!! It really is cute to hear him sing it, too.

Our new schedule is working out

So, it's been over a week since I've updated, so I thought I would do it this morning while Evan is still asleep and Payton is at school. We have adjusted to the whole school schedule thing fairly well so far. We've been going to bed earlier -- at least the boys have. Seems like I like to sit on the couch and watch tv after they have gone to bed. I'm getting used to the quiet around here. Evan and I still have our days where we don't really know what to do without Payton here, but we're getting along just fine. But, I'm telling you, at 5 pm when we know that Aaron and Payton are going to be home any minute, we can't help but sit by the window and watch for them.

In Payton's class, if they have been good, they get a bee stamp at the end of the day and a "happy vitamin" (a Skittle) before they go home. Evan has been checking Payton's folder on a daily basis with me to see if he got his bee stamp. Last night, Evan said, "Bubba, let me see your folder. Bubba get bee stamp?" I said, "Yeah, he got a bee stamp." Evan said, "Yay for Bubba! Good job, Bubba! You got a bee stamp!" Evan threw his hands up in the air and dropped the folder. Payton said, "I know, Evan. Don't drop my folder!"

Payton is really enjoying school. Last night I was tucking them in bed and I asked him if he knew his memory verse for "i" and he said, "I. . If you ask anything in my name, I will do it. John 14:14". In just a few weeks, he's going to be graded on these memory verses for the letters "i" and "e". He's also going to be tested on the Lord's Prayer. I saw that on the sheet and I thought, "How am I going to get him to learn that?" So, last night I asked him if he knew the Lord's Prayer. He said, "Which one is that?" I told him that it started with "Our Father. . . " He finished it right up!! He knew the whole thing!!! I even said, "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." He said, "No, you say 'debtors' two times. Like this: Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Yeah, that's how it goes."

Yesterday, I took Evan to the church office and thought I would just get a few things done and get out of there because I was sure that he wasn't up for staying there all day. Boy, was I wrong!! I went in and set my office up. He sat at Jim's desk and drew some tunnels for me on some paper. Then, he wanted to "help" me make copies. He helped me clean up the sanctuary and get it ready for Sunday night. He helped me carry the guitars to Ira's office and he picked up trash. He did watch a little Barney & Bob the Builder every once in a while. At one point, I almost forgot he was there!! He made it until about 3:30 and he was ready to go. It worked out great, because I was ready to go, too!! :)

Evan and I are heading out this morning to go shopping for children's church on Sunday. He loves to help me find stuff for children's church!!

I'm going to close for now. I know this isn't really all that exciting, but my arm is hurting. Please pray for healing for it. I was trying to move these big black "curtain" things and one fell over on my arm. Everyone else was at lunch, so I had a hard time getting it off of my arm by myself. My arm has a knot there and is a little swollen. It doesn't hurt most of the time, but sometimes it makes my whole arm tingle and throb at the same time. It's just one of those "annoying hurts" and it's on my right arm, so when it's hurting, it really hurts to write or do anything. I am healed.

First Day of School

Today was Payton's first day of school. We had kind of a hard time getting him to get out of bed. Most mornings, that isn't a problem. I guess as far as school days go, we have several more ahead of us!! =)

We had a hard time finding shorts to fit him this morning!! I thought he had several pairs that would fit him, but I was wrong!! They were all too little!! So, we moved to jeans and had the same problem!! So, we broke out some of his "brand new cowboy jeans" and he was happy. He put on his new "cowboy" shirt and was ready for his "breakfast of champions -- waffles".

We made his lunch -- a lunchable with Oreo cookies, a juice box (frozen to help keep his lunchable cold) and a cup of pudding with a cookie "spoon".









Then, it was off to school!! He rode with Aaron, but of course we all went! We got to school and I had to tell him to take off his cowboy hat and he could leave it in Aaron's car so he could put it back on as soon as school was over. I'm not sure he was too happy about that.

We tried to take a picture of him in front of the school, but the sun was in his face and he was not happy about this whole going school thing.





We walked to his classroom to find Mrs. Assenmacher (I have no clue how to spell her name, but I'm sure I will by the end of the year), the teacher's assistant. We put his backpack and lunch box in his cubbie and went to find his chair -- between those two girls. Mrs. Brokaw, his teacher, gave him a name tag and said she could remember the cowboy hat, but she couldn't remember his face. I snapped one more picture before leaving him for the day. He was nervous and scared, but I think he'll do just fine.

We got home and our house has been so quiet. I'm not sure I like it all that much. No horses running through the house, no more of Evan screaming because he's mad at Payton, no more John Wayne movies playing on the tv all day. Most would say to just enjoy the silence. . . guess it will just take some getting used to!!

Well, Evan just came in and asked if he could watch "Rio Bravo". . a John Wayne movie. Guess that's one thing that won't change during the day. Evan and I are going to have to figure out what to do while Payton's in school. Evan thinks we can go to the bookstore and play trains every day. This morning, he wanted to go as soon as we dropped Payton off. I told him that it wasn't open yet and he said, "Well, you have keys, don't you?"

It is very strange that at 8:30 this morning, I had 2 boys and myself dressed, 1 at school, 1 lunch made and was back home wondering what to do with my day. Most days, I would just be crawling out of bed at 8:30. Maybe this school thing isn't such a bad thing after all!! =)

Offer . . .

We got an offer on the house on Friday. Full price, we pay part of closing, but it's a VA loan -- HATE VA loans (or their appraisers)! We are praying that the house will appraise. If it does, we'll be closing on Oct. 9th. Just a few days after the foundation guys come to fix that!! We are looking in Clyde, but haven't found anything as of yet. Few things have our eye, but we haven't seen the inside yet.

3 Days and Counting . . .

Yesterday, I took Payton to his school orientation. We first went to hear the principal talk to us about some changes and some other "parent info". Then, it was time to go to his room and meet with the teacher. There are 18 kids in his class and it was a very small room for 18 kids and at least one parent with each child. However, we got his school supplies put away in his cubbie and it was time for Payton to find his spot.

The teacher pointed him to his chair -- between 2 girls!! His worst nightmare! When we went to visit his class in February, he said he would go to school, but he wasn't sitting by any girls. Boy, was he wrong!! Not only is there a girl on each side, but there's a girl across the table from him!! He's surrounded!! No matter how much we try to explain why his teacher did that, it's just not good enough. He's not going to school.

While we were there, he had his cowboy clothes on with his hat and everyone was commenting on his hat and vest. I laughed and said, "I just have to figure out how to get it off of him by Monday." They just laughed. Guess they don't understand how his hat is a necessity EVERY SINGLE DAY and EVERYWHERE WE GO!! I'm sure he'll understand (at least I have my fingers crossed!)

While we were in the room, the teacher had given the kids a little cup with a few snacks in it. Payton ate all of his snacks and kept looking at me like "Come on. Let's get out of here quick!"

I am praying that Monday morning will be an easy adjustment for all of us. For me, I have to get up early and make some kind of lunch to send with him. It's Aaron's job to get him to school on time (but I'm going on Monday). Evan will have to find stuff to play by himself. We will probably get some shopping done because Evan loves to shop, but Payton hates it.

The biggest change for us will be that my "baby" has grown up. I don't know where the last 5 years have gone and I'm sure the next 13 will go by just as fast and he'll be graduating from high school.

My, how time flies . . .

It's OVER . . .

Wednesday, I got a phone call from our realtor that someone wants to make an offer on our house. They just wanted us to have someone come and look at the foundation first. One of our bathroom floors sags and it has sagged since we bought the house.

So, Wednesday night, Aaron called home and I was able to tell him all of the crazy things that happened while he was gone. He said he would call the foundation guy the next morning.

So, Thursday morning, I met the foundation guy at our house. He was SO EXTREMELY nice about everything, but he didn't have good news for us. Under that bathroom, there is a "sink hole" and the foundation needs to be fixed -- to the tune of $7200. I'm just laughed. He said, "So, you don't have a gun to shoot me when I give you this total, do you?" I just laughed and said, "If you knew how my week has been, you would know that all I can do is laugh at whatever you say. I don't know where it's going to come from, but all I can do is laugh at it."

So, I'm laughing at the thought of God providing $7,200. Not because He can't do it, but just because I know He will. I'm laughing at the devil for thinking that $7,200 would make me crumble. I'm laughing that it took everything that I've been through this week to finally get me to that place of totally trusting in God to take care of it all and when things come up, just laugh with confidence -- knowing I'm blessed ABOVE & BEYOND!!

I am so glad to have Aaron home. I slept so good last night knowing he was here with us. Last night, the boys were playing outside and I was cleaning the house when I heard these screams coming from outside. I ran to the door to see Aaron in the driveway and the boys just overly excited to see their dad. Payton made the cutest sign to welcome Aaron home (but he was too busy talking to have his picture made with it). The boys had so much to tell their dad!! We finally got them in bed last night and they kept coming in saying, One more thing, dad." It was just too cute!

Every day is a new day . . .

Full of surprises!! =)

It's Wednesday and it's been one week since Aaron left. And, I'm going to write about every detail of my week so that when he gets back, he can see what happened!! I'm telling you, he better be having the time of his life for what I've been through this week!! =) Every time Aaron's gone hiking, it's been a terrible experience. This one better be different -- at least one of us should be having fun!! But, I'm going to have to prepare myself because if he comes home and DID have the time of his life, I'll either be happy that at least one of us was having fun -- or I'll be mad that he did have a good time while I was fighting the battle at home! =)

So, I'll start on Monday. I did finally get in touch with the realtor's office and they said nobody was coming to look at my house. 15 minutes later, the people showed up to look. Luckily, we hadn't been at home at all on Sunday, so it was really clean. They looked at the house and left. We did have a neat conversation about George W. Bush, though. Seems that they have connections!! =)

Anyway, I get Payton an appointment for the doctor and as we're loading in the van, I realize the tire is flat again. So, I drive it over to the air compressor and it won't come on. I keep messing with it and now we're late. I call my father-in-law to ask him how to run this thing and he tells me there is a reset button somewhere on the motor. I finally find it, but it kicks on while I have my head really close to it (and the phone). I know it was as loud on the other end of the phone!!

I get the tire aired up and we're on our way. We passed by Wal-Mart and I was trying to decide if I should go there first and do Payton's appointment later or just go to the appointment. I look at Payton and he's crying because his ear hurts and he's cold (he had a fever). So, to the doctor's we go.

Sure enough, it's a bad ear infection. Get the prescription, we're on our way to Wal-Mart. I drop the car off to be looked at and we go to the pharmacy. We went to eat while we waited and Payton's fever went up again.

We got his medicine and get to the TLE and they say my tire is too bad and they can't fix it and they don't carry those tires. I know . . only 1 place in town does. I just decide to go home for the day and figure out the money situation to get tires.

That evening, I just vegged on the couch. It was nice to just do nothing for a little while. The boys played outside and they were playing really well together.

Then, Tuesday, I'm trying to figure out how to get the money for the tires. We have the money, it's just tied up in some silly online accout -- so much for "emergency". I just decided that we were going to go get the tires and just figure out the money later.

Thirty minutes before we were suppposed to be at the tire place, Payton comes in the house SCREAMING HIS HEAD OFF and he's hopping on one foot and holding his ankle. My first thought was that he had broken something, but it wasn't. He had been stung by some yellow-jackets that were under our porch. He was stung 5 times!! I had no idea what to do for a sting, so I'm pulling out my medical books to see while he's screaming and Evan's just shocked!!

I get ice on his bites and then go outside to kill the yellow-jackets. There were about 20 of them on this one nest. I sprayed them and they fell off. It was crazy!!

So, we go get the tires, go play putt-putt golf with some friends, hang out at their house for a while, then on our way home, we pass the "burned down house". It's on fire AGAIN!! I call 911 and get transferred around and they're arguing on who is going to go out. Finally, they decide it's H. Finally that fire department guy calls me and I told him that it wasn't a bad fire, but I just wanted to make sure it was put out. He said that was fine and they would be right here.

He was right -- it didn't take them long to get here, but they brought 5 trucks with them! It was funny!! They were down there for a little over an hour and I hope they figured out why it kept catching on fire.

I did get the big area next to our house all mowed this week and it looks so much nicer now that the grass is all cut. I keep thinking I want to tackle the "horse area", but I'm afraid to because I know there are rocks and stuff out there and I don't want to tear up the lawn mower.

Oh, and I haven't even posted about the silly tractor sprinkler that Aaron loves. It hasn't worked well for me!! It keeps getting stuck and spraying this one area until it's a giant mud puddle. Oh well. The only thing I can tell Aaron when he gets back is that I tried to water his green grass!! I haven't killed it all just yet.

Every day is a new day. . . it's now Wednesday and I'm hoping today is uneventful. I do know God's hand has been upon me this whole time. It's just silly all of the crazy things that have happened. Just plain SILLY!!!

I'm Just Plain Tired . . .

I think the title says it all. I'm just plain tired. =)

Aaron left last Wednesday to go on a 13 day hike (maybe I already posted about that), so I'm doing the "single mom thing" these 2 weeks and let me tell you, I'm so glad I don't have to do this by myself all the time.

We had church yesterday morning, so I got up early, knowing that I had to get Payton and Evan dressed and ready to go by myself. So, I got up and was loading the car when I looked down the street where the house used to be and there is smoke coming from there again!! I just thought maybe it was just smoldering and wasn't a big deal, but when we passed by on our way to church, it was on fire again. It wasn't bad . . just the already burned down house on fire again. Anyway, so I call 911 and I get T County emergency center. The lady says that since I'm in J County, she has to transfer me there (although that county seat is 30 miles from me). So, I get on the phone with that guy and I told him there were flames at the house and he said, "Well, how many?" WHAT?!?!?! I just said there were FLAMES at this house and you want me to COUNT THEM?!?! I told him that it wasn't bad, but my house was down the street and there were still things around that could catch on fire. I'm just trying to protect my property and those around it. So, he said he would send someone out.

So, I'm supposed to be at church by now setting up, so I call Joe B and ask him to get some stuff from the church for me and I told him the situation. I just wanted to make sure someone DID show up!! As I was sitting there, I decided that God was going to protect my house and I decided to go on. I got to the end of the road and realized I had forgotten my computer! So, I turned around to go back and get it and there was this semi truck/tanker thing sitting right before the house. He flagged me down and said, "So, you think anyone knows this house burned to the ground?" I thought he was kidding -- he wasn't.

I explained to him how it burned on Friday, etc. and that I had called 911 and they were supposed to be sending someone, but I wanted to make sure that someone did come and put it out, but I had to get to church. He said he would stay there until someone got there. That was awesome!! The neat thing about it is that I KNOW that was one of those "God Things". Those tanker trucks don't come down our road. The guy was there checking some wells or something in the field across the street from the house, but those guys always come in pick-ups, etc. . . never those kind of semi truck things.

So, we go to church yesterday morning and things went GREAT in children's church. We started the new curriculum and everyone LOVED it! I'm really excited about how it is all going to work out!!

That afternoon, I had a New Partners class to attend for a few minutes. All afternoon we worked on our family service and it started at 6 pm.

Afterwards, we went to eat and then went to Joe & Casey's house just because I was EXHAUSTED and the boys wanted to play over there. Evan eventually fell asleep and Payton decided it was time to go home.

I got home and had received a call from a good friend, so I called him back and we had a really neat conversation that lasted until after midnight. It was a conversation that I just LOVED having.

Anyway, Payton fell asleep while I was on the phone and after I got off the phone and snuggly in bed, Payton wakes up crying and crying that his ear was ringing and hurting. Great!! I gave him some Tylenol and hoped that would at least help him sleep until the morning . . . no such luck. Every 2 hours he woke up crying, so I did the best I could with the medicine that I had. It took him about 30 minutes to calm back down and get back to sleep. So, we did that ALL NIGHT LONG!

So, it's now 8:30 and they called yesterday and wanted to show my house this morning at 8 am!! I'm so glad I didn't do that!! But, I think they're supposed to be here at 9 and the boys are still asleep. I'm calling the office, but it's not opened yet, so I get silly voicemails and I don't know exactly where to leave a message!! UGH!

Anyway, I'm rambling . . . they say a woman has about 10,000 words that she uses a day. Since Aaron's been gone, I haven't gotten all my "words" in every day, so I think I'm just typing them all!

Plus, I'm just plain tired!!!

A House Fire . . .

Ok . . so I just have to post about what has just occurred in the last 2 hours!!

Aaron is out of town on a 14 day hiking trip (about 4 of those will be driving, but he's still away from home those days!) So, he left on Wednesday and today was the last day we could talk to him via cell phone because he will be above the towers (or something) -- there won't be any kind of signal for a week.

So, this morning, the boys and I had a really rough morning together. I think just spending 24/7 together for the last 3 days really wore on us. I never knew how crucial that 5 o'clock break was when Aaron got home from work and for at least 30 minutes, I could gather myself!! =)

Anyway, so I had Nick and Jesse come over to watch the boys tonight so I could go to a crop at the scrapbook store. As 11:30 pm was approaching, I just felt like I was supposed to get home, but I kept trying to prolong it. But, I left the crop at 11:45 pm to head home.

I pulled in my driveway about midnight and Nick and Jesse left about 12:15 am. So, a few minutes later, Nick calls me and says, "Rachel, I don't think this will affect you at all, but I just wanted to let you know that your neighbor's house is on fire."

WHAT?!?!?!

So, I look out the kitchen window and sure enough, their house has flames BILLOWING out of it and smoke pouring out!!

Nick said, "There's a propane tank, out here, so I just wanted to let you know that it's probably going to blow up, so if you hear a loud boom, that's all it is." Nick said they were going to stay with the couple until the fire department got there.

Payton was still awake, so we went outside in the front yard and just watched as the flames got bigger. Pretty soon, we heard this small boom, then a whistle sound, then a BIG BOOM!! There went the propane tank.

I had Payton run to get our phone because I didn't hear any fire sirens or anything, so I called 911 just in case nobody had called. The lady said she had dispatched them, but she would do it again. So, we waited.

About 12:45, the first fire trucks showed up. By this time, the grass behind the house had caught on fire and the wind was blowing enough to make it spread. They had a back "shop/building" that had also caught on fire by this time.

So, as we're watching this, I thought it was a perfect time to go over the "what-to-do-if-there's-a-fire routine" with Payton. We talked about how he needed to call 911 and what he would do if there was a fire in our house and where we would meet when we all got out. He asked what if he got out, but needed to come in and save his toys. I assured him that God would take care of us and we would just have to get new toys because you never run back into a burning building.

Anyway, so FINALLY the onslaught of firetrucks showed up. There were 5 that came from Hamby and I have no idea how many came from Abilene. There were all kinds of lights and horns going on down there.

I came back in the house about 1:15 and I think the fire was just about out by then. The firemen did an amazing job putting it out. It was neat to see how someone fought it from the back and someone was fighting in the front and when they met in the middle, it would all be out.

Anyway, Nick and Jesse stayed there with the family and they were able to minister to them and pray over them. The family was understandably just shaken and in shock. From what I could see from my house, the house was probably a total loss. We really believe that God is going to restore that family and give them back everything they had plus some. What the enemy meant for evil, God's going to turn it in to good.

Now, of course, your mind wants to wander all over the place. If the wind had been blowing towards my house, there's not a doubt in my mind that my house would have burned too. Or it would have gotten REALLY REALLY close. Or what if I hadn't come home early?

When we first looked at this house, I laughed and said, "Well, let's hope there's never a fire, because it would take them forever to get out here!!" I really saw tonight that it only takes a few minutes for a house to go up in flames.

I am so thankful that I serve a God that had his hand upon our road tonight. Even though it might not look like it at the time, I am believing that God is doing to do something AMAZING at the house down the street. Please pray for them. I don't know their names or their situation.

Ok . . . it's 2 am and I need to get some sleep!!!

My Printer is ALIVE!!!

For those of you who know me, I have some EXCELLENT news!! My printer is alive and well!!! For the last few weeks, I haven't been able to print ANYTHING and every time I would try, it would give me this "error" message (I HATE THOSE!!) Anyway, so I'm sitting at my desk today and I plugged it in to the USB port and it started loading the hardware. It said it was found and said it was ready to print!!

SO, I'm going scrapbooking tonight and thought it would be great to print some sketches out to take with me. I hit the print button and honestly, I was just waiting on it to tell me the stupid "error" message, but it started warming up (still expecting the "error") and all of a sudden, paper started going through the printer!!! YAY!!

I know it's something so silly to be excited about, but we just changed our children's church curriculum and EVERYTHING is downloaded off of the internet, which means you have to PRINT everything out!! I have been going in to the church once a week and we have an AWESOME printer/copier there, but it's annoying when I've just needed to print one thing and I can't!!

So, today I'm doing a funny dance around my office -- don't you wish you could see that?!?! =) I'm just so thankful that my printer and my computer have decided to cooperate!!!

Selling Our House . . .

So, now God's told us to put our house on the market. We did that just a few months ago and tried to sale it For Sale By Owner and nothing happened. This time, I think we have a great realtor and this time, God is in it!!

The other day I was asking God why He didn't sell it the last time that He told us to put it on the market and I really didn't want this reply: "Because your heart was greedy." WHAT?!?! Then, I started thinking back to that time and who wouldn't think that $20K wouldn't be great? But, He showed me that my heart was wrong. He wanted to give me that money, but He had other plans for it.

So, this time I'm believing God is going to sale it for our asking price or more. But this time, I know that God will supply all my needs and I'm asking Him to use me to meet the needs of others with the profit on the house.

But, the grand ol' question: Where are you moving to? I have no idea! But, I have a peace that if God told us to put our house on the market, I know He has a plan for where we're going. Sometimes I just laugh and wonder if God is preparing me for some kind of mission work because we've moved so many times!!

On another note, tonight is the end of family camp. I'm a little relieved, but I'm a little sad that it's over! This has been one of the funnest weeks ever!! My prayer now is that families will catch hold of this vision and RUN with it. Because if they do, there is no end to what God is going to do through this family ministry and that excites me -- knowing that God can make this thing EXPLODE in Clyde!! =)

I love God's Family!!

I just have to share!!! I'm telling you, God is stretching me to places I've never been before!! The good news is that once you're stretched, you don't go back to the "before"!! =)

This week is Family Camp at our church. Every night, we are doing a family "production", which requires actors, sound people, media people, behind-the-scenes people and probably more that I'm just forgetting to mention!!

Just a few short weeks ago, I was ready to walk into Pastor Bryan's office and tell him that I was going to have to cancel it because it wasn't coming together. But, I knew if I did, he would tell me that it was too late and to depend on God for the answers to my problems. I'll be real honest -- even if I EXPECTED him to say that and I know it would be good for me to just walk this thing out, I still would have walked away mad! =) Know what I mean?

So, last night was the first night and it wasn't all that great. I take that back -- my actors were AMAZING!! They knew their lines and they were right on cue!! My sound was all off and crazy because I thought the easy thing to do for everyone was if I put everything on my computer. It wasn't -- and that's why I don't run sound at our church!! =) I felt so sorry for Tim back there trying to make it work and just being frustrated that it wasn't working. We just both agreed that we would just pretend that Monday night never happened!! =)

However, tonight, WE ROCKED!!! Right before the service, I was trying to figure out how to get the audio parts OFF of my computer and on to a CD, but I was convinced that I didn't have a CD burner on my laptop!! Well, one of our computer guys started messing with my computer and I DO HAVE A CD BURNER (I guess it wasn't "activated" or something)!!! I know that sounds silly to you "computer people", but that's also why I'm not a part of the computer team!! =) So, about 30 minutes before we were to start, we burned the CD and tonight was AMAZING!! Everything went just as planned and I'm telling you that I couldn't be more pleased with our cast and sound guys!!! This week we're talking about HONOR and those guys deserved to be honored this week for putting up with me and all my stuff!! =)

But, tonight I was thinking about this whole thing and about how far God has brought me. I am usually one that I want to do everything by myself because I'm sure to get it done and I don't like to depend on other people, but God has showed me that if I am serious about growing His kingdom, I MUST be a team player!! I haven't really added up how many people that it has taken this week to pull this camp off, but I know it's probably over 20 -- and that's a separate team than my team mates on Sunday mornings (there are 16 of them!!) Who would have thought that I would be leading a team of almost 40 people?!?!?!

Now, it may sound like this is all about me, but I guarantee you that it is not. I am blown away at how God takes you through things and then you can look back and say, "WOW! Look how much I've grown!" God didn't throw me off the cliff and say, "Here, lead 40 people." He took me by the hand and said, "Here, lead 5." Then, it was 16. Then, it was 40.

I'm also NOT saying that I have all of the answers!! In staff meetings, we've been watching some leadership videos and with every one, I'm challenged to look at my team in a different light. God has absolutely blessed me with the most amazing team EVER!! I'm even at a place where I don't necessarily need more helpers on Sunday mornings -- when does that ever happen?!?! I'm sure there are areas that I'll soon turn loose of and I'll need more people, but I'm telling you that I truly and honestly have the BEST team EVER in the history of children's ministry!! =)

I think that I'm slowly learning to be a team player. At our first leadership video in staff meeting, I struggled because from the time I was a little girl, I didn't want to be on a team. I wanted to do things by myself because people always let me down or they were the ones making fun of me on the playground and then they get me as a partner and get an A on a "group project" for me doing all of the work.

But, there is ABSOLUTELY NO WAY that I could have done this week of camp by myself!! I have so many people that have been doing so many things that I'm afraid to list them all because I'm afraid I will forget someone!! If any of you are reading this, YOU ARE AMAZING!!!

God has really shown me through this process that he TRULY has put people around me that want to see me succeed and they will do whatever it takes to make God look good. I love my church just for being the "family" that they say they are.

One last thing before I go CRASH into my bed: You know the Bible says that God has hidden treasures and will reveal them to those who seek after them? I have to tell you that when we bought my laptop, we didn't buy the computer with the "CD Burner Upgrade". But, somehow we walked away with one!! I think God knew that tonight -- July 25th, 2006 -- over a year after I bought it -- I would need that CD burner and I think He just put it in there for me!! =) Of course, you know that I'm God's favorite -- right?!?! =)

A Tribute to Grandpa Bowen

Aaron and I just returned from Colorado yesterday. I can't say it was a fun trip because we had to attend the funeral of his grandpa. He had a stroke last year and was in and out of the hospital until he died.

There's a weird thing about July 5th with that family. Grandpa Buster's sister died on July 5th (not sure what year). Grandpa Buster's son, Greg, died on July 5th, 1970. Grandpa Buster died on July 5th at 11:45 pm. Aaron's birthday is July 5th.

Grandpa Buster was a funny man. He always had stories to tell and it always seemed like something funny was happening to him on his ranch!! They told a story how he fell in a hole -- upside down -- and just his boots were sticking out. Roy (Aaron's dad) found him and pulled him out!

Grandpa Buster could tell the "Flying Cat" & "La Wee Wee" stories like nobody else. We were all sitting around the table on Sunday trying to remember how it went and trying to tell it like he did. We were successful in figuring out how the story went eventually, but I know we were all thinking that we could never tell it as good as he could.

Grandpa Buster served in World War II and his plane was shot down somewhere over Japan (I think). On display was the shirt that he was wearing the day his plane was shot down. Grandpa Buster was hit with scrapnel (sp?) in his left shoulder. You could see where it tore the shirt and they said he had scars there. On display was also his purple heart that he earned for that flight. There was another medal there, but I can't seem to remember what it was.

In some papers, we found that he was flying the day that we dropped the bomb on Hiroshima. His papers told him to fly 50 miles outside Hiroshima that day. 50 miles. . . can you imagine being in the air just 50 miles away from that atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima? Talk about witnessing history!! On the other hand, 50 miles doesn't seem like very far when you're talking about an atomic bomb!!

During the funeral, they had an open mic where people could tell stories on Grandpa. Aaron told the story about the "call to breakfast". Grandpa would knock on your door about 6 am and say, "First call to breakfast." He would come back about 10 minutes later and say "Second call to breakfast." Another 10 minutes would pass and he would say, "Last call to breakfast." As he got older, he would just say, "First call to breakfast. Last call to breakfast!"

Then, as we sat around the breakfast table, Grandma Frances would read a devotional and Grandpa Buster would pray over our breakfast. Nate (one of the grandsons) said that of all the things he learned from Grandpa, his faith in God was what would continue to pass on down. That is the truth and it is very evident.

I only knew Grandpa Buster as a rancher and a great rancher he was!! You could tell that he liked working the cows and fixing the fences. I learned how to fix a fence from Grandpa Bowen. I think it was my first time to the ranch. I thought I would just go watch, but before long, they had me digging holes with the post hole diggers!! =)

While we were there, we also got to look at some artifacts that had been found on Grandpa Buster's land. Sand Creek runs right through his property and we believe that The Battle of Sand Creek was fought on his land. The government has recently purchased the land next to Buster's and they claim it happened there, but the artifacts speak for themselves. It was neat to see buttons from war shirts and women's dresses. There were rings and kettles. There were spurs and horseshoes. There were cannon balls and bullet shells!! All of these things found on the Bowen Ranch down on Sand Creek.

As I sit here, I'm thinking about how much Grandpa Buster was a part of history. On his land, history took place with the Battle of Sand Creek. Grandpa Buster watched history play out before his eyes in WWII. And, Grandpa Buster made history with all of his family. I know that Grandpa Buster's history will long live on and stories will continue to be told about him.

I hate that we didn't spend more time at the ranch. I hate that I thought the drive was too long with 2 kids. I am thankful, though, that Payton has memories of Grandpa Buster and the ranch. My prayer is this: God, please don't let me be too busy to spend time with history makers!!

Do it the easy way!!

Last Friday, we were packing and getting ready to head to Wheeler for a 4th of July "vacation". We had been to town and Payton found his bicycle horn at Aaron's warehouse (goody, goody), so when we got home, he wanted to put it on. First, we had to find a screw to put it on his bike. We found one, but the biggest obstacle seemed to be finding a screwdriver to put it on!!

I have a golden hammer that I use for scrapbooking and it has screwdrivers in the handle, but we couldn't find it anywhere. Just a few days before, we had used it to put a cork board up in the boys' room and Evan had it, but I remembered taking it from him -- just couldn't remember what I did with it after that!

So, we're going through my office looking for this hammer and I was starting to get a little frustraed because I had other things to do and this hunt was taking too long for something I had just had a few days before!! I looked at Payton and said, "I just don't remember where I put it." Here's how the rest of the conversation went:

P: Well, mom, you need to just pray and ask God to help you find it. That's the easy way.
M: OK . . . Dear God, help me find this hammer and screwdrivers so we can put this on Payton's bike. Amen
P: Please. You need to say 'Please' and then 'Amen'.
M: OK . . Dear God, help me find this hammer please. Amen.

A few mintues later, I was in the kitchen and on the counter sat my golden hammer with the screwdrivers!! I took it to Payton and showed it to him. He said, "See, mom. I told you that was the easy way." So, now I'm going to just start doing things the easy way -- asking God for help -- and make sure I say "Please".

Funny things I think . . .

Today, I was on a "fly killing rampage" in my kitchen -- will we ever win the war on the flies at our house?!? As I was waiting on this one fly to land, I had this thought:

Do you think a fly ever gets to where it's going?

What a life -- fly around aimlessly with not much purpose in life. I read once that a fly throws up 7 times every time it lands. Now, I don't know if that's true or not, but the thought came back to me this morning and I thought what a life -- fly around, land, throw up 7 times, fly again, hoping that a human isn't stalking me just waiting for me to land again. And, do you think a "fellow fly" has warned them about the flyswatter? Or, do you think they just fly around oblivious to the thing that in one swat can take them out?

And, can you imagine how big my kitchen must feel to a fly? I wonder if he thinks, "Now, if I fly off of this table, I won't be able to find my way back, probably ever."

Anyway, that's my thought for the day -- as weird as it may seem!! =)

I'll also share these pictures:

This is a bird's nest that is in under our carport. We have been watching for the momma bird to come back, but we haven't seen her. I guess that doesn't really mean much.









They are funny because whenever we get out of the car and shut the door, they open their
mouths and start chirping, like we're the ones going to feed them!! I never knew a baby bird's mouth was so big!!

I just couldn't resist sharing this!! Last Saturday, we got home from our "vacation" to Ft. Worth. We got the car unloaded and played with the dogs. It was beautiful outside!! When we pulled in the driveway, we noticed that our trampoline had been blown into our backyard (it's usually on the side of the house), but we didn't think much of it.

About 10 pm, the wind kicked up and started blowing really hard. We moved the boys from their room into the living room in case it blew out a window -- yes, it was blowing that hard and it started hailing small pieces!! The floor started shaking and the electricity was going on and off. We turned on the news and they weren't reporting anything -- no storm watches, nothing!!

About 10:20, the weather came on and they said there was a storm moving through town and it would be through by 10:45 pm and that it could have wind gusts of up to 40 mph.

I went in the kitchen and looked out in the backyard to see that the trampoline was GONE!! I went outside to see if I could see it anywhere, but it was too dark. The wind finally just quit blowing all of a sudden -- not good news normally -- but it was just calm! I went out again to see if I could see the trampoline, but I couldn't see it anywhere.

At about 3 am, another strong wind came just like the previous one. I turned on the news and nothing. . . they had the dopplar recording on and it was reporting a storm about 2 hours south of us, but nothing around home. So, I went back to bed.

The next morning, when I woke up, I looked outside and saw our trampoline:




The trampoline is a twisted mess!! We had the safety net on the top and it's all wrapped up inside the mess shown here!! We haven't had a chance to try to untangle it all yet. We're planning on doing that sometime soon.

There were springs scattered all over the place!! If you've ever put a trampoline together, you know how hard you have to stretch those springs to get them to attach on the side!! The wind just scattered the springs everywhere!! There were only 2 left attached to this piece.

I would not be surprised if this was the working of a small twister. The way the house was shaking and the way the wind was blowing, it just shocked me that the news didn't have anything on it. . . Crazy!!

"This morning Payton came in and said, "Mom! God helped me find dad's knife thingy!!"

In his hand, he had a butter knife thing that has a penguin on the end of it. Aaron's mom got it for us at some point. It's small and you can use it to spread butter or jelly. . I don't know the "real name" for it, but we've never really used it that I can think of. Anyway, I guess Payton had taken it outside and he lost it. But instead of telling anyone, he went outside to look for it again. Here's the story in his words:

Mom, I went outside to look for that knife thingy. . you know that thing of dad's that has the penguin on the end of it. . it's a little knife thing. Well, I went outside to look for it and I couldn't find it anywhere, so I looked up at the sky and I said, 'God, will you please help me find that knife thing of my dad's?' Then, I just looked down at my feet and there it was. I think God just picked it up and moved it because I prayed and asked him to help me. So, I picked it up and I looked back at the sky and I said, 'Thank you God for helping me find this thing for my dad.' Then, I just came it the house and showed it to you. Isn't that awesome, Mom?"

I can definately say that I was excited about that and I did tell him that it was awesome!! You know, God is constantly showing me that He cares about the little things that we care about. God even cares enough to help us find the things that we've never used before!!

Here are some pictures of the dogs:

Here's a picture of Evan, Aaron, Blue, & Cracker.

This is Blue. She is full blood Blue Heeler. She is a very good dog. She's just been a little shy with Evan. =)

This is Cracker. She is 1/2 blue heeler and 1/2 sheep dog. She is a little more mischevious than Blue. As you can see, she doesn't seem to mind Evan hanging all over her, which is good for Evan!! =)

Our dog, Creek, died just a few weeks ago. We think she got bit by a rattlesnake. We really miss her and things have definately been different around here. She used to always walk me to the mailbox to get the mail every afternoon. She would run out ahead of me and jump in the ditch acting like she was making sure nothing was in there. I would get the mail and she would run back to the house with me and make sure I was safe.

When she died, I didn't think I would miss her as much as I do. . . I mean, she was a dog. But, when you've woke up every morning for the last 7 years and the first thing you did was feed her, then you wake up one morning and she's not waiting there.

I don't like to go on the back porch in the last few weeks. That's where she relaxed and whenever we opened the door, there she was wagging her tail.

After she died, I didn't think we would get another dog. I was wrong! Today, we got 2 new dogs, Blue & Cracker. Blue is full blood Blue Heeler and Cracker is 1/2 Blue Heeler and 1/2 Sheep Dog. They are still adjusting to our home, but the boys LOVE them!! They love to play catch and they haven't tried to run away, so I guess that's good.

So, now I have somebody else to feed in the mornings and I have somebody else to walk me to the mailbox every afternoon. I'm going to try to post pictures later.