New Projects

It has been about a year since I have actually blogged, but I thought that it was about time that I got back in the saddle. So, I thought that I'd start by sharing a couple of recent projects that I've finished. Some have been underway for awhile and are FINALLY finished and some are brand new.

A custom-made toss across that I plan to hang in the boys' playroom as interactive art.

A personalized binder cover to take back to school this semester.

Going in today to do more painting a the church office. When the project is finished I will post before and after pics. I think that it is going to turn out nicely. Of course, almost anything is better than that old rust colored carpeting, hello 80's.

Things kids say

While the family was having ice cream at Dairy Queen:

Christian: "Dad, why aren't you having your usual."
Jim: "I thought that I'd try something different."
Christian: "That's how we got Joel."

Getting out of the car last night Christian accidentally bumped Jim with his door and this conversation ensued:

Jim: "Ow!"
Christian: "Sorry, dad."
Jim: "That's ok."
Christian: "Hey dad, I think maybe the car has issues with you." (Grin)

Living in the Moment

Lately I am a weapy mess, and I can't even blame it on PMS. It seems that the littlest of things sets me off.

As you know, I am reading "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert. I love it. The first section is about her time spent in Italy. For years I have wanted to take a trip there but haven't been able to make it happen. So, my thoughts started to wander (as they often do-just ask any professor that I ever had in college). I was thinking that maybe Jim and I could take that trip on our 20th anniversary. After all, that's just a short 8 years away. Then I was thinking about what our lives might look like in 8 years, and it occurred to me that Christian will be a senior in high school!!! That's when the waterworks started.

Instead of always planning for the future (which is important), I really need to spend more time in the now. There are so many times during the day that I miss moments or opportunities to make a memory. That is something, among many things, that I am becoming more aware of. Recently I read a blog by Betsy that talked about feeling like you are in between. To some extent, we are all "in between" (if nothing else, between life and death). It is hard to focus when you always feel like you haven't yet arrived, but I really do want to make more of the journey, savor the small things, live like this day is the last. It is a tricky thing to look forward while still seeing the present for what it is, a blessing.

Some practical steps that I plan to take to help in this: watch less tv, eat more meals around the table, take more trips to the park with the kids, have family craft times, listen more, hug more, kiss more...

Summer Reading

So, I am trying very hard to not become a total couch potato. I love to read but had just gotten out of the habit of getting into a good book. This summer I had as a goal to simply read more. The boys and I have been making trips to the library. Sometimes this is overwhelming, and I come away with nothing good. So, on my more recent trips I always went with a plan. I gathered reading suggestions from various sources (Real Simple magazine, GoodReads, friends, etc.)

Here are some things that I have read:

"The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini-For me, this book totally lived up to the hype. I couldn't put it down.


"Porch Talk" and "Life Goes On" by Philip Gulley: This is one of my new favorite authors. He is a Quaker minister who writes lovely narrative essays with a sprinkling of theology. Reading his books are like doing a mini devotional.

"'J' is for Judgement" by Sue Grafton-I love a good mystery and had never read anything by this author. I'll read more of this series in the future.

"The Sunday Philosophy Club" by Alexander McCall Smith-I have read several things by this author. He is always good for an easy read that is entertaining with some thougth provoking moments.

"Prodigal Summer" by Barbara Kingsolver-This was a good book, though a little disappointing because it did not even come close to "The Poisonwood Bible", also by Kingsolver. That is a book that everyone should read.

"Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time" by Mark Haddon-This book has some slow moments but then other sections that you just cannot put down. It was like being in someone else's head for a bit. Very interesting.

Other books that I picked up but just have not been able to work through yet are: "A Member of the Wedding" by Carson McCullers, "Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck, and "Founding Mothers..." by Cokie Roberts

Next up on my bookshelf: "Velvet Elvis" by Rob Bell and "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert

So, what are you reading?

Home for Puppy

So, we found a home for the puppy. It needed to be done, but it was also very sad. The boys had grown attached to her, Jim had grown attached to her, and yes, even I had grown attached to her. After we sent her off with her new family, Joel just sobbed. He ate no dinner and basically went to sleep whimpering. Christian put on his brave face and fought back the tears that you could tell wanted to brim over. Jim looked like a lost puppy himself all evening. The only one that was truly happy about the whole things was our cat, Gabe. He finally had the place to himself again and went back to lounging in his favorite spot in the living room. Maybe we'll get a dog again someday when our circumstances are different. Joel is already making plans.

Oldies but Goodies

Over the past couple of years, I have not been keeping up with my scrapbooking. But I do still love it when I have the time and space. Mostly, it is just laziness that has kept me from catching up with all of my pics waiting to be scrapped. Today, though, I thought that I'd share a couple of layouts that I did ages ago but are still some of my favorites (mostly because of the photos). Aren't my boys just totally adorable? They have grown up so much since these layouts were done. I'll post some more recent things in the next several weeks. Hopefully this will motivate me to finish a few projects so that I can show you all.

Little Visitor

Picture from my phone (sorry it's blurry)

So, this sweet little puppy showed up on our doorstep yesterday. The boys were playing in their inflatable pool, attempting to cool off for awhile, and I was sitting on the drive in the shade reading a book when all of a sudden there was a dog's head lying on my lap. She was just looking up at me with this hopeful expression. So, what was I to do? If I just turned her away and left her outside, she would most likely be hit by a car before week's end. We chose instead to bring her inside, spoil her rotten and try to find her owner. Last night we completely canvased our neighborhood with no luck. It seems to be a general consensus that the dog was left off in our neighborhood and does not have a home any longer. As we were driving around, Joel kept saying that he thought we should just give up. His view is that God sent us this dog, just for him to love. If our situation were different, we'd keep her. She seems to be a great family dog and very well mannered. Seriously sweet and loving, very sociable. The only one not thrilled with her presence is our cat, Gabe. He is still adjusting to the idea. It is just not a possibility for us to keep her.

So, if you want a sweet little puppy in your life, give me a call. She needs a good home (not ours)before the end of the week! Until then, we will consider her a much loved foster dog.