Crumbs from a full plate...

Long time no see

Hello blog...long time no see! I can assume that if I don't continue to write then people won't continue to read. But, I originally started this blog as an exercise in discipline for me. It was to give me a reason and a place to write, help me capture memories, and then be interesting maybe to a few folks.  So, in bullet format - here is what is going on right now!

• There are 2 more days of school. I am already starting to have moments of anxiety related to juggling home, kids, work, etc all summer. God has been telling me on a daily basis to calm down! 
• I am working on finishing up the Bible bible study that Linda and I wrote. The lessons are all done, but now I am writing out the messages we taught each week. Linda's are all completed - but I am finding it really hard to do.
• I have been seeing a physical therapist for pain in my back for a couple of weeks. I told her yesterday that I realized I want to walk the line of doing whatever I want with my body but having no effects. Pretty sad, huh.
• 1st year of PTA prez is done and it has gone okay. For sure, I feel more ready for next year.
• One of my cats has decided to pee on the bathmat in our bathroom. Every time it is clean! I didn't believe Joe that he was the culprit, so he graciously stepped it up a notch this morning and in the absence of a bathmat used the pile of dirty towels. Animals are filthy!!!

Are you seeing a theme...lots of things to be done, very lazy girl. I am laying low and trying to gather up my umph to face lots of things.

It's gonna be a great summer!

Good morning

It's  been a very pleasant weekend. While life isn't perfect and we certainly would love to wiggle our noses and have kids who don't fight loudly and less debt - life is good. Actually, when compared with how things could be, I'll admit that life is great.

I decided on Friday night to take the kids clothes shopping. Lately they've grown out of everything, so when I scratched off 30% at Kohl's it was finally time to hit the store. Between trying to keep the girls covered and trying to avoid skulls in the boys department it was an adventure.

Saturday night Joe and I ended up taking the girls to the movie store and renting Fireproof for ourselves. We wanted the girls to get a VHS so that we could use both TV's at once which caused them to rent The Miracle Worker about Helen Keller.  They loved it and of course we got sucked in ourselves. It was so good that we watched it again with the boys the next afternoon.

Fireproof was good. Not only do I have my own 16 year marriage, but I see lots of marriage problems in my job. They are real and that was a very accurate picture of what happens - slight after slight, hurt after hurt the walls build up and if no one works to take them down they loom there until they destroy the marriage.

About the loud kids...it occurred to me at supper last night as they giggled incredibly loudly, teased each other at the top of theirr lungs and busted into spontaneous song that someday they might each decide to intentionally have a quiet house. I could see them in 10 years, saying to a spouse "let's only  have 1 or 2 kids. You just can't imagine how loud and chaotic my house was growing up."

Pretty funny image huh!

I know, blogging didn't make the list...

but, I have though about it a lot. If ya'll could just access all the blog posts that I write in my head you'd be set for days.

My floors are beautiful. Joe spent all weekend and the last two evenings, but it was totally worth it. In fact, as my friend Steve suggested I'll even let him call them his. (all house and furnishings are usually considered mine!) So, there...Joe's floors are wonderful!

In other news I am starting to teach Peacemaker for Kids tonight as part of our Journey classes at FRCC. We have taken the material provided by Peacemaker International and added a large group / small group element to make it a little more effective. As I finished preparing tonight's intro lesson I am reminded what good stuff this information is...totally applicable to everyone. Peacemakers has taken some really practical, important parts of the Bible and made them accessible.

The quote on my google page today is one of my favorites from John Maxwell, "Leadership is Influence!"  I wholeheartedly agree. When you lose the right to influence others, you lose the ability to lead long term. As a parent that is a huge consideration...do I have any influence in my child's life? If you don't, enjoy those years while you are bigger cause it will be over quick!

I'll try to ramble more later...

I don't usually hit people

But, this was in the email that my friend and assistant Brenda sent me today...

By the way, good thing I'm not there so you can't hit me, but your blog is REALLY old . . . the 18th!  I keep checking and no new stuff . . . : )  Unless you did it sometime today . . . .

 

Don't you just love friends who hold you accountable??? Seriously, I do appreciate it. I appreciate people who say "you were supposed to do this and you didn't!" or those who say "I think you should consider doing ____". I especially like those like Amy who when I forgot to call her back told me "don't worry about it, I just assumed you were busy. I'm not going to get mad over something like that." Isn't that great?

 

Here is a little of what has been happening these first few weeks of summer..

The kids and I have lazed around the house and made an all day project out of housework. Dozens of books have been checked out and read from the library. We have watched the Mole with great expectation each week looking for Mr. Lambrecht. There was a lot of excitement and anticipation when Tara Barthel came to town to teach a seminar on peacemaking. Fun, Fun, Fun to meet a blog friend as well. And then this weekend we went camping...totally relaxing!

I'll try to better about posting, but I don't suggest ya'll hold your breath. :)

Blogging Live from the Budget Summit

Update: The Summit is over. We worked 6 hours on it, which Joe estimates is about 9 good man hours with my little wandering problem. It feels good to have a plan...

Joe and I are in the midst of a budget meeting. It has been 3 months since I confessed to Joe that our finances were in a shambles and we began to work on fixing things...this meeting is just one small step in the process. More and more we are leaning to have good conversations and really communicate.

One of the things we learned that really resonated with us at FPU was Dave Ramsey's explanation of how each family tends to have both a nerd and a free-spirit and they have to learn to work together. Both are very helpful and valid positions, but if they don't learn to respect each other then it messes up the  process. (and creates lots of fights!) Of course, Dave cautions the nerd about making the meeting into a summit as the free spirit only has a 15 minute attention span.

To let you in on who is what in our house...here is a rundown of the afternoon.

Shelley's activities:

• Suggest we clean up the savings accounts
• go for snacks
• change the laundry
• look over Joe's shoulder and comment on savings accounts
• whine about the number of accounts Joe has set up
• ask if the date night category can actually be a new couch fund
• go for a 2nd snack
• make a list of jobs for Joe to do around the house
• decide to blog

Joe's activities:

• begin to clean up savings accounts
• stare at screen thinking
• question what would shelley's tendency be so he can outsmart it
• change all auto savings line items to automobile line items
• nibble on snacks and smile at wife
• stare at screen thinking
• finish cleaning up accounts
• explain the whole process to shelley

Seriously, I praise God for a nerd of a husband. His ability to not only sit in the chair long enough to work things out, but to love me in my need to multi-task and move around is wonderful. Together we make great plans and together we will hopefully accomplish them!

Speaking to Todd

      

I spoke with Todd this morning when I called Kim. He was willing to answer the phone for my 6am call because Kim was back in bed snuggling a little girl who thought getting up prior to 6am was a good idea. Mornings when I talk to Todd are great - cause they remind me that this whole accountability thing is so much bigger than just me and Kim...it is a call to the whole body to encourage one another.

I asked Kim to keep me accountable to get up before my family back in September. I wanted to do this for two reasons; making reading my bible a priority and allowing myself some stupor and coffee time before I am needed to serve my family as they leave for their day. Keeping this commitment has been like most things…great some days and worse others. I am a lazy person with good verbal skills – a combination that can be hard to  hold accountable, but Kim has risen to the challenge. And for those other days Todd is willing to step in as well.                                                

                                           

Tired this morning

I stayed up way too late last night reading Home to Holly Springs. What a great book! To really appreciate it you would  have to read the whole series...this was the last one and it tied all the others together.

In this book Tim makes a trek to the town of his childhood to confront his past. Talking about the trip...

He hung a right at the first exit of his hometown, relieved that he hadn't felt it yet - the surge of sorrow or dread or even cold disinterest that he'd feared since the note arrived and he'd decided to make this journey. As they drove out of Mitford yesterday morning, he'd steeled himself for the appearance of some long-suppressed emotion that would overtake him straight out of the box. But it hadn't happened.

It might have assailed him last night in the motel room, more than five hundred miles from his wife, as he crawled, unwilling, beneath a blanket reeking of stale tobacco smoke.

There had also been a window of opportunity this morning when, downing an egg biscuit on the south side of Memphis, he'd felt suddenly panicked - ready to get behind the wheel and head back the way he'd come. But he'd caught such feelings red-handed and refused to give in to them. What he was doing had to be done, even if it produced despair, which was probable, or grief, which was likely, or anger, which was almost certain. Pg. 3

It's a crazy life

Summer is almost over and it is totally time! This is the point in August when the kids are even counting down the days until they get to go back to school...back to seeing their friends, having more structure, being busy and productive. And it is the time when mothers of older children need those kids to be busy and productive...they tend to get a little grouchy when they don't really have anything to do - and chores don't really count after a while!

So, we are looking forward to school. We've done the orientation days and now our time is full of school supplies. Even if I sound like a total geezer I will say it...these kids live a different life than I did when I went to school. At the orientation yesterday the school already  had a plan for what the kids would do with their cell phones, the school supply list for 7th grade includes a thumb drive and the human growth and development curriculum is stuff I learned much later in life.

Last night the funniest thing happened - both Joe and I got a prank call from Megan. (our almost 7 year old) I was sitting in the bank line when my cell phone rang...I knew it was coming from our house, so I was surprised to hear a scratchy, muffled mean sounding voice that said "lady, your car is in the river...you better come get it. You can't leave  your car here lady...you better come to the river and get it."  I laughed and said, "just let it float away!" and assumed it was one of the boys.  Then I called back to the house and a happy Megan answered. I said, "Meg, did you hear which one of the boys prank called me?" She giggled and said, "It was me mommy, I called Daddy too!"

Wow, prank calling at 6! It is the difference between the first and the last. When Abby was 6 she didn't even know how to use the phone, much less know how to make a prank call. When Joe and I talked later he said that we really have to start remembering that they are older. And I agree...the years are speeding up and I worry that we haven't laid a proper foundation. I worry that we haven't taught them well enough. I worry about how they will choose to respond to God later. But, Michelle reminded me on her blog that it isn't up to me...  I have to trust that God is working in their lives. I have to do my job...teaching, encouraging and instructing my kids in God's word. And giggling at their prank calls.