Don't you just want to eat her up?!?!? I think she'll be crawling in a month, and doesn't she look just like her brothers? Too cute. 

Ian in my old hat from Kwajalein. I'm amazed he stood still long enough for the picture! 

Here's Super-George!!!! 

I had prayed for peace, and He gave us peace. I prayed for direction, and He gave direction. The Lord has opened all the doors for this house to be ours, SO FAR. Nathan got a raise. The financing all worked out. The couple from church really want to rent our house. The Lord gave us BOTH assurance finally that we should move forward with this. Nathan was going to make an offer today. I wonder what will happen.....

It's Saturday afternoon. My children are sleeping, my dishes are washing, (Praise the Lord for a dishwasher!!) my laundry is drying, (Praise the Lord even more for a washer and a dryer!!), and I am posting. (I guess Praise the Lord for a computer! ;P) The couple from church definitely wants to rent our house. They were so excited at the prospect of living in a real house in the country instead of a tiny one bedroom apartment in town. They even liked our dirt road!!! Now especially for their sakes, I hope this all works out.

Nathan and I had a late candlelit dinner last night when he got home. All the kids were already in bed, and we had a good talk. I had written him a note the other morning encouraging him to seek the Lord's peace in prayer over pursuing this move, because he still had none. At dinner last night, he just broke down and told me that he has this terrible premonition that the Lord is working all of this out for us to move next to his parents because I am going to die. He said he's felt this way since the beginning, since his mother first told us about the house. He said he didn't even want to tell me he had been feeling that way, and he knows it's silly, but he feels like having his mom next door to take care of the kids just ensured that the Lord was going to take me home to Heaven. I was really shocked, I didn't know what to say at first. First of all, no one wants to hear that someone thinks you're going to die, and second of all, this is sooooo not my husband. He hardly ever worries about the future like this; he's always the one saying nothing bad is going to happen and everything will be fine. I could tell that this was really real for him, though. I think speaking it out loud made it seem less fearful for him, and I just told him that if it's my time to go, the Lord will take me, whether we live here or there, or wherever, and if I am going to die, yes, I would want it to be in a situation that my children could easily be cared for by family. Thinking about it today I have gotten a little more upset at the thought, but last night, I just felt perfect peace, which I know was from the Lord, that even if his "premonition" were to be realized that the Lord would be in control. I don't think there is anything to it, and I continually reassured Nathan of this. Again, this was just so out of character for him, if you know my husband, him expressing this as a real fear is completely shocking. It did get me to thinking, though, and I think I will take the time to write some letters to my children, my husband, and (gulp) my husband's future wife, if there ever is such a person. On W@H a few weeks ago, someone asked something to that effect, what would you do if you knew you were dying. As Dana says, life is terminal, whether we have the label of "dying" from this or that or not, we are not promised tommorow. My friend Karen's recent cancer diagnosis just makes this hit a little closer to home, though. It is scary to think of, that the Lord could be setting this all up so that my children could be cared for, so Nathan would be right next to his family when He calls me home. But then I think, what a gift, to have a little "warning", some time to tell people what you want to leave them with, and get done what you would want to before you go to Glory. The thought of my children without a mother and my family without a daughter and sister, and my husband without a wife makes me so upset, but the thought of being with Jesus, of being with my family on the other side, of meeting my two precious babies that are in Heaven, well, that doesn't sound so bad. And if the Lord's will is for me to be in Heaven, I know He will take care of those I leave on earth.

Okay, on to happier subjects, before I turn into a complete emotional wreck!! I am soooo excited, when Nathan comes home from work tonight, he will be home until Tuesday morning!!! Yeah, yeah, (doing happy dance!!) This is such a wonderful blessing, having him home two days IN A ROW this time of year, not to mention just two days in a week, is so incredibly wonderful. George is so excited. Nathan usually gets to see George for a few minutes in the morning, and sometimes he gets to see Grace for a few minutes at night, but Ian is usually sleeping when Nate leaves and when he comes home. The other morning, Nate didn't have to leave for work until about 8:30, and Ian woke up right before he left. I carried Ian out of his room and when he saw Nathan he just got so excited and practically leaped into his arms and just laid his head down on Daddy's shoulder and hugged him. Nate got all choked up last night talking about how much that meant to him, and said that he hopes the kids know how much he misses them. He is so looking forward to having this time off. We might even take the kids to the zoo on Monday. I have to call and see how expensive it is. They would all love it, though. I hope it works out. And you won't see me on the computer, (or probably doing much housework, or anything else but loving on my man and being together as a family) until Tuesday. So, happy weekend!!!

The couple getting married in a few weeks came to look at the house last night. It seemed like they really liked it. They even said they would help us move, then said "Not that we're trying to rush you out of here or anything." Nathan is now considering doing a 30 year mortgage, and just paying extra on the principal every month. That would give us the freedom of having more cash flow every month if we needed it, and still being able to pay it off sooner. I think he's settled on a lender, but he has a little more research to do. He said on the phone to his mom last night that he would be willing to go up a little from the $115, so that sounds positive. I think the fact that that couple are seeming interested in our house makes him more motivated to make it work. God is still in control of it all, though. My friend Karen has been diagnosed with breast cancer that has spread to her liver, and it is very advanced. I know God is in control of all of that, too, and He can heal her. I may have even put this verse on a post the other day, but it's so full of power and promise, the Lord keeps bringing it to mind, Jeremiah 32:17 "Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh, is there anything too hard for me?" We have to believe the answer is "NO" and that the God of all flesh can heal Karen's body and bring great glory to His name through her experience. Please pray for her and her family.

Yesterday morning I called the mom of the girl looking for someplace to rent and told her the whole situation. I told her that we were still trying to figure things out, but Nathan told me he was going to try and make it work. Her mom said it sounded like exactly what she would like, and she couldn't believe the price we were asking, but she said that her daughter and fiance had left an hour ago to go sign a lease on an apt. She said if it was meant to work out, then it would. Well, she called me later on that day and said she had called her daughter and the lady never showed up at the apt. office so they couldn't sign the lease!! She was so excited about our house, but said no pressure if it doesn't work out. I was so encouraged by this and just saw it as another sign of the Lord's hand in working this all out. When Nate got home last night, he looked online at mortgage calculaturs and interest rates and all that. I was encouraged that he seemed really excited and motivated to move forward with this, but then I looked at the numbers he was putting in, and asked him some questions, and realized that he only means to offer the guy $115,000. The man is asking $129,000, and he paid $120,000 for it, and Nathan knows that. I was baffled, I don't know what Nate is trying to do. Is he just playing along that he wants this to happen, and really trying to sabotage the whole thing, or is he being led of the Lord and maybe my faith just isn't big enough to believe it could work out? Every step of this process, the Lord has been leading me into deeper faith that He is in control, and I need to trust Him. Is this just another step in that? There is NO earthly reason why this man would take that price for his house, which is worth every penny he is asking for it. I am just continuing to pray that the Lord would direct Nathan, and I am claiming Jeremiah 32:17 "Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for me?"

I'm such a dork, I couldn't resist.......

Your Star Wars Name and Title

Your Star Wars Name: Chabu Joban Your Star Wars Title: Nahcho of Nahtan

Your Star Wars Name and Title

God is so good, He is so gracious, and He is working in our lives right now. Tonight at our life group, (we haven't been in weeks), I talked with a girl from our church that is getting married in six weeks, and they need a place to rent. They've both been on the mission field, and so haven't had consistent "emplyment history", and don't have jobs right now, so they are having a hard time finding some place that will take them, besides something they can afford. She said all they were finding were dirty little one bedroom apts for $500-$600 a month. She said they would love to be in a house, somewhere out in the country, but they can't afford anything like that, even if someplace would take them. I was just wanting to burst talking with her. I had asked Nathan before if we could maybe rent our house and still buy that other one, but it didn't seem like a very likely solution. On the way home, I told Nathan what the girl had told me and he was really excited about the prospect!! He started talking about the numbers and how it would all work, and even said this might be the way he could get the rental property he's always wanted to own. Then, (this encouraged me even more), he wanted to go drive by the house by him parents. We looked all around it and he clocked it coming home and we were surprised to see that it would only add 10 minutes to his commute. I can so see the Lord working here, and it is incredible. Talking with the girl tonight seems to be but another amazing sign from the Lord. It's exactly what they want, they are wonderful people who we would love to help out and would love to have renting from us. I am going to call her mom tommorow and tell her the whole situation and ask her to have them hold off on signing anything. I can't offer it to them yet without knowing if it will work, but I feel so strongly the Lord's leading here. I think the next step is to see about all the financial aspects. I am praising God over this, and I am so awed to be the recipient of His grace in this situation. "Praise be to the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits." !!!

I stand by my last post, I can see the Lord working, but I am also seeing the devil trying to work. The big praise that I was speaking of in the last post was that out of the blue, the owner of the company Nate works for came to him on Wednesday and said "I just wanted to let you know before you got your paycheck and thought it was a mistake, I gave you a $2 an hour raise." !!!! Nate was surprised and said thankyou. His boss told him he was worth every penny. This in itself is, of course, a huge blessing. I know my husband is worth 10x what he is paid, but it's always nice when his worth is realized a bit by other people too. But, I saw the real blessing here in an answer to prayer in how Nathan told me about the raise. I have been praying that the Lord would change his heart to feel the peace about going forward with pursuing this house, as the Lord has given me, OR that the Lord would change my heart and we would just both know what we should do. One of the concerns Nathan had about moving is that our house payment would be higher and the first thing Nate said about the raise was "Well, I guess that extra house payment money is taken care of." I was surprised that that was the first thing he thought of, and I saw that as confirmation that the Lord was inclining his heart towards going forward with the house. I also completely see the Lord's hand in Nathan getting that much of a raise right now.

I went to see the house yesterday afternoon and talked with the realtor a bit. The house is beautiful. It's only 2ish years old and has been lived in by a single guy who works a lot. The refridgerator, stove and dishwasher, which are staying in the house, look like they've never even been used. He's also willing to leave the washer and dryer if someone wants them. There are three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The great big master bedroom's walk-in closet is definitely big enough to put a crib in and have plenty of space left over for actual closet space. I think it's bigger than our bathroom here. Actually the "formal dining room" could very easily be turned into another bedroom down the road if we needed to, and it wouldn't be hard to add onto the back also. There are two pantries in the really big dining room and plenty of cabinet space. I know this probably sounds so silly, but standing in the laundry room that was right off the kitchen, I almost started crying. Just the thought of being able to have it right there, to do laundry anytime sounds so wonderful, as opposed to having to do it only at night or when the kids are sleeping because I'm afraid they will follow me down the rickety stairs into the basement, which are a huge pain to drag laundry up, especially when I am pregnant. (Yikes, was that ever a ridiculously long, run-on sentance!!) There is a great big two car garage, and an attic/crawlspace from there with plenty of storage. It is far back from the road, with a paved driveway, plenty of space for kids to ride bikes, and the yard isn't great right now, but there is potential for lots of room for kids to play. It's very wooded and private, which Nate really likes about our house now. The kids could make a tree house within sight of the house. And, the best part, it's just a short walk through the woods to Grandma's house!! Some of my best memories growing up are of being at my grandparents house and I just want that for my kids so much. Nate's family is such an incredible blessing to us, and I know it would be an encouragement and help to them also. It would be so much easier to be together with Nate's brother and family when they come visit, too. It's on a quiet, dead-end road that would be great for taking walks on, something that is not an option around here. This house is closer to the library, to shopping, to church, to friends, to homeschool groups in the future. So, anyway, the house is great, the location is great, the neighborhood is great. The realtor said she thought the seller would consider going down some in price, and he is leaving for Salt Lake City on June 1st.

As I said, I see the Lord's hand in the raise right now, and in Nathan's apparent attitude of acceptance of the raise as being from the Lord for the house. But then, last night, in talking with Nathan about it all, his attitde seemed to have changed back to cynical disbelief that it would work out and an unwillingness to pay even what the price of the house might be reduced to. I didn't say much, from the beginning of this I have felt providentially hindered from trying to talk Nate into anything. Last Saturday, when I was able to have that long, blessed stretch of time with the Lord, one of the passages that the Lord led me to was Matthew 6, about laying up treasures in Heaven, as opposed to on earth. When I was writing Nate his note this morning, I prayed about it and felt led to share this with him and I asked him if I could "gently suggest that he open his mind to the possibility that this was one of those times when it might be the Lord's will for him to be laying up treasures in Heaven instead of making a 'sound financial decision' and laying up treasures on earth." I don't think I will ever understand the responsiblity he feels to provide for his family and to always make the "sound financial decision," and I know that if he can see in the numbers that something is better than something else is money-wise, that is what he always decides on. I don't know what the Lord's will is here exactly, I just know that I have felt a great peace about moving and faith that the Lord will work it all out. I have prayed that the Lord take this from me if it is not His will, and that He just clearly guide us. I have prayed this over and over, and I just have to leave it in the Lord's hands. It is my husband's decision ultimately, and I can't change his heart or his mind. I know it will be an incredibly hard thing for Nathan to reconcile making a not so great financial decision with it being God's will. I don't want this to be about my desires. I want this to be something that brings glory to God and accomplishes His will in our lives, whatever that may be.

The LORD is awesome. He is working, He is leading, He is guiding our hearts together. I'll post more later. I just wanted to praise the Lord this morning, and I'll give details later on. If you read this, go thank the Lord for blessing your life with His presence, that's what I am doing right now.

My baby girl is five months old now!! Sniff, sniff, :( 

A bunch of questions in groups of three.

THREE THINGS THAT SCARE ME:
01 People dieing
02 Being in too big a space, (opposite of claustrophobia)
03 Having to be in charge

THREE PEOPLE WHO MAKE ME LAUGH:
01 Misty
02 My brother David
03 Nathan

THREE THINGS I LOVE:
01 Being Nate's wife
02 Being my kid's Mama
03 Canoeing (I know this doesn't fit with the other two, it's just what popped into my head)

THREE THINGS I HATE:
01 Being the center of attention
02 Insincerity
03 Scrubbing the kitchen floor

THREE THINGS I DON'T UNDERSTAND:
01 How people make it without the Lord in their lives
02 How God could love me
03 Clowns

THREE THINGS ON MY DESK:
01 List of things to do to my house before it's ready to sell
02 Child Evangelism prayer calendar
03 Picture of the Woolrich comforter set I am buying when it gets cheap enough

THREE THINGS I'M DOING RIGHT NOW:
01 Holding Gracie
02 Rubbing my allergied nose
03 Stalling when I should be making bread

THREE THINGS I WANT TO DO BEFORE I DIE:
01 Climb Pikes Peak again
02 See my children accept Christ
03 Have no regrets

THREE THINGS I CAN DO:
01 Canoe
02 Paint houses
03 Make my husband smile

THREE WAYS TO DESCRIBE MY PERSONALITY:
01 All things to all people
02 Sarcastic
03 Hard to describe

THREE THINGS I CAN'T DO:
01 Stand Christian romance novels
02 Wait to be in Maine for Christmas
03 Enjoy watching sports on TV

THREE THINGS I THINK YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO:
01 Holy Spirit
02 God's Word
03 Third Day Offerings II

THREE THINGS I DON'T THINK YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO EVER:
01 John Denver
02 Anyone who tells you things contrary to Scripture
03 The voices in your head

THREE OF MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE FOODS:
01 Grilled chicken salad
02 Chinese food
03 Chocolate mint anything

THREE THINGS I'D LIKE TO LEARN:
01 How to fix vehicles
02 Discipline
03 Tae Bo

THREE BEVERAGES I DRINK REGULARLY:
01 Water
02 Um, water
03 And, oh yeah, water

THREE SHOWS I WATCHED WHEN I WAS A KID:
01 The Dukes of Hazard
02 Dr. Who
03 Star Trek

My three year old just had me tie his blanket around his neck (it's not as bad as it sounds) and then "flew" away, saying "Look out, it's Super-George!" He cracks me up. Ian is watching a Baby Einstein video, and Grace is sitting on my lap trying to grab the herbs off the wallpaper. The kids are fed and have been warned that bedtime is immenant. I called Nate and he is closing up and still has to catch up on phone calls for the day, so he's probably still an hour out. We had such a great day yesterday. I was so glad it rained and Nate had to stay indoors and rest instead of weed whacking. He needed the rest badly. In the evening we went to Kroger and Wal-mart. It's always fun to go out together as a family, even if it is just to grocery shop. :P I have to make bread tonight. Really, I should have done it yesterday, but I was just too lazy. I got all caught up on Saturday on housework, laundry, dishes, etc. so I could just be with Nathan on Sunday, and so today it was very backed up around here. I've got laundry to put away and dishes to do still, too.

We talked more Saturday night about the house. Nate said he definitely doesn't want to hire a realtor. With what we need to get for our house, we really can't afford to pay 6% out. I went out this morning and took some pictures of the outside and then put together a little brochure on the house. I'm going to mail it to all our neighbors on the little road we live on here in hickville, and maybe put some at the Dollar General down the road in town. So, anybody want to buy a charming little house on 8 1/2 acres in the country in Georgia? I should post my brochure. Really, if this sells, it will be ALL the Lord, and we will certainly give Him all the glory for it. I have complete faith that He will do it, but if He chooses for it not to happen, that is fine, too. I had such a sweet time of communion with the Lord, praying and reading His Word on Saturday afternoon. All the kids slept for almost 3 hours, at the same time, which is very unusual. I made a list of all the pros and cons to moving and just asked the Lord to show me some verses, and I wrote down lots of verses. I could really feel the Holy Spirit guiding me and helping me to find these treasures and promises in the Bible. It was wonderful.

Well, I must go, Grace is fussing, and I need to go get Super-George into his jammies, along with his sidekick, Ian-boy. Happy Monday!!!

I suppose I should post, I haven't in a few days. I've had company the past three days, and was so looking forward to just having Nate all to myself last night, but the computers in all 4 stores froze up at closing last night, so he didn't even leave work until 8:30 last night. Then, he was so tired when he came home, trying to talk to him about anything of substance was worthless. In the middle of telling him something that the Lord had shown me lately, he says "Oh, no, I don't think we have any balancepak 100 in the warehouse at work." It was just completely obvious that his mind is totally consumed with work. It is very consuming, he has so many responsibilities and when you spend that much time someplace, it would be hard to get it off your mind when you're not there, but I spend ALL my time at home and when he comes home, I make sure that my full attention is his, and it's all about him. He never even asks about anything that goes on with us. Okay, I am not going to complain, I am not going to complain!!! My mother says it's okay to "vent" sometimes, but where is the line between letting off steam about things and dwelling on them and complaining? The verse just popped into my head "Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer." I guess that settles it. I am continuing to pray for the Lord's guidance of my husband's steps, and especially with the situation regarding our house, whether we should buy the house next to Nate's parents or not. I have definitely felt the Lord's leading in that direction and have spent much time in prayer over it, but it's not up to me, and I can't change my husband's mind about anything. I just keep praying that the Lord would make His will known and give us the vision and strength to see it and to do it. The whole situation has me frustrated and anxious, but I know that is not of the Lord. He is in control. I am not. I need to remember that.

I am tired this morning. Last night after Nate got home, I asked him something about the whole house situation, and it was apparent that his entire attitude had changed on it. He just looked at me like I was crazy, and said "Dear, generally, it's not a good idea to live next to your parents." I didn't say anything, I was really shocked. As far as in-laws go, I couldn't ask for better, and Nate has a great relationship with his family. I was surprised to hear him say this. It was almost like he wouldn't even look me in the eye talking about it, and I may be reading into this, but it just felt like spiritual oppression. I told him how much it would mean to his family, and that the only reason they moved down here was to be near us. He said that there was just no way anyone would buy our house. I told him I thought it was something that deserved our looking into it, and praying about it. He just looked shifty and just changed the subject. I had spent a lot of time yesterday talking to Nate's mom and thinking and praying about this situation, and the night before, Nathan seemed to be in agreement with me that it was something we should look into. My first response when he told me all this last night was to try and convince him otherwise, and to try to question him about why his attitude had changed on it so much, but I just felt restrained. It weighed heavy on my heart all evening. I cleaned the bathroom and took a shower and just cried out to the Lord on this. It seemed to be more of a burden that it really warranted, and again, I felt the presence of spiritual oppression. I tried to go to bed, but I couldn't sleep, this troubling in my heart was just getting fiercer as the minutes went by. I got up and got my Bible and started to pray and read. Nathan got up and asked me what I was doing. I said I couldn't get this house thing off my mind and couldn't sleep. Again, I felt restrained about talking with him about it. I told him I just needed to spend some time with the Lord. I read in Isaiah some, and ended up in Proverbs. Proverbs 10 and 11 really spoke to me: "Blessing are upon the head of the just...The wise in heart will recieve commandments...He that walkieth uprightly walketh surely...The labour of the righteous tendeth to life...He is in the way of life that keepeth instruction...The hope of the righteous shall be gladness...The way of the Lord is strength to the upright...The righteous shall never be removed...The integrity of the upright shall guide them...The righteousness of the perfect shall direct his way...The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them." Over and over saying that righteousness and following of the Lord's commands are what will guide and protect. As I read, I could feel the Lord's peace slipping over my heart, an almost physical awareness of His hands holding up the burdens that had so weighed me down a short time before. I don't know what will happen with this house situation, I don't know why the Lord even brought awareness of it to us, but I know He has taught me peace through it, and that His will is best. My job is to cling to what is right, to trust in His soveriegn power, and to continue to pray about it. I must go, I need to get Ian up and fed and dressed here, and everyone ready to get their pictures done at Target this morning. I just wanted to get this down, and if anyone reads this, please pray about this situation. It truly seems that the spiritual import of the situation is disproportionate to the actual circumstances, but I don't know what is going on in my husband's heart, and that is where I sense the resistance to faith here. I truly just want the Lord's will, and I want to do my part in bringing Him glory through whatever happens.

Jane Austen quiz

Take the Quiz here!

New house?!?!?

My mother in law called me last night and said that the house next to them has just been put up for sale. It's almost exactly like their's: three bedroom, two bath, fireplace, etc. It was built in the last five years. It has a huge walk-in closet in the master bedroom, big enough to put a crib in! There are two little pantry type closets in the kitchen, a laundry room, a two car garage, all on a private wooded lot. It's on a quiet, dead- end road, great for walking, and closer to church, shopping, etc. And the best part, it's within walking distance of Nate's parents. I called Nathan last night and told him about it. It would mean a longer commute for him, but once they open up their store in Newnan, he could get to working out of that store, and it would mean a shorter commute. It all sounds wonderful, but it all predicates upon us being able to sell our house. We have 4 1/2 acres, but our house is not worth very much. Nate said last night that if we did some landscaping and put new flooring in the living room, it would help. Really, the land is worth more than the house. I don't even know exactly what the other house is selling for, it's such a new listing, it's not on the realtor's website yet. I sent her an email, though, and hopefully will hear back from her with details on it soon. I don't know if this is all craziness or not, I just have a funny feeling about it, that this is meant to be. I don't want to get my hopes up, though, leaning on my own understanding. I just want the Lord's will here.

I'm going to get the kids' pictures taken tommorow morning. I am still trying to figure out what they are going to wear. The boys have some matching navy blue dress shorts, and red polo shirts, but the only thing that Grace has that matches that is a red, white and jean jumper, and I don't know if the jean would look too casual with the boys. I'll probably dress them all up tonight and see how it looks. I was hoping to get a family picture done, but Nate hasn't been able to take a morning off. Maybe after Ian's birthday in July we will get a family picture done.

Well, I've got to go feed the boys some real lunch here, and I suppose I should eat a sandwich or something, I've been snacking on these luscious strawberries for an hour now, they are sooo good!! I like Tuesdays, Nate and I watch "The Amazing Race" on Tuesday nights, so that's some nice snuggle time on the couch with my favorite person, and tonight's the two hour finale. We're hoping Rob and Amber win. Happy Tuesday!!

Catch up on housework day?!?

I am sooo behind on things. I have had to run errands the past few mornings, and that's the only real time I have to get things done. In the afternoon, George is taking a nap in my room, Ian is taking a nap in the boys room, and Grace is either nursing, with me, or taking a nap in the living room. The only rooms I can clean then are the kitchen and bathroom. I could do more laundry, but I can't put it away, and I hate to have it pile up. Look at me, I 'm making excuses for not doing housework on a day when that's all I have on my agenda! I don't have to go anywhere this morning, I don't have to go anywhere all day, so I don't even have to get really dressed. I've got my scrubbies on and as soon as I get the boys dressed, I am tackling well, everything! I need to put away the boys laundry, change their sheets, vacuum their bedroom, put away my, Nate's and Grace's laundry. All of Grace's clothes are hung up on a 40 pair over the door shoe rack, because I had NO closet space for her. Not because anyone here has a ton of clothes, we just have an astonishing lack of closets. I was so glad I found that rack, it works perfectly. When you have 983 sq. feet in your house, you have to maximize your space. Not that I am very good at that, but when I can, it really feels good. Anyway, back to the to-do list. I need to scrub the bathroom and kitchen floors, dejunk the entertainment center, do three more loads of laundry, make my mother-in-law's bracelet, wrap her mother's day present, make a chicken for dinner and in between all that, nurse, change diapers, feed children, and try to keep them from tearing apart all I am doing. :P I have tommorow to get things done, too. I just want to have it all done by Sunday. So, maybe I should get off my butt right now and get started, eh? I'll close with the traditional Maine phrase made when getting up to leave a friend's house: "Well, I 'spose..."

Thursday morning. I have Bible study tonight, hopefully Nathan will get home in time to watch the kids so I can go. Yesterday he "took the day off" which meant he went golfing with three business associates, went out to lunch with them, came home in the late afternoon, mowed the lawn, and came inside 5 minutes before I had to leave for Awana. I am glad he got to do the things that he wanted, but to be honest, I just really wanted him here with me and the kids all day. When he only takes off a weekday about every two months, I feel slightly cheated when he doesn't spend the time he's not at work, at home with us. Oh, well. I didn't say anything to him, they had been planning the golf thing for weeks, and he just forgot about it until the night before. I was glad he could be with the kids last night, though, I hate to bring them out with me on Wednesday nights, their bedtime gets pushed back at least an hour. This Bible study book we are doing is really good, but I'm not sure I agree with everything the author says. It's called "Who Calls Me Beautiful." She is right on in saying that we need to stop looking to the world for our definition of beauty, and look to the One Who is the creator of all true beauty. I loved the application of the verse "He will beautify the humble with salvation.." It was so fitting and so centering. What I don't know if I agree with is her assertion that doing things to enhance your appearance=a wordly view of beauty. I'm not sure this is even exactly her view, but in the last chapter she said that the woman who changes her hair color to match her mood, and the woman who would never go out into public without makeup on are decieving themselves into believing a wordly definition of beauty will bring them happiness. I think it is really an issue of the heart. I would never go out in public without makeup on. Not because I think wearing makeup is my key to happiness, or because I am trying to please "the world," but because I don't want people coming up to me and saying "You look ill, are you alright?" I have no natural color on my face, and if I don't have on eye makeup, you can seriously not see my eyelashes or my eyebrows. I really do like sick. My husband totally agrees with me here, and says that if it weren't for mascara, we wouldn't be married. I don't think I am sinning or rejecting a Biblical view of beauty by wearing makeup. Does anyone have any thoughts here? I'd love some other people's opinions on this. Oh So Wise Misty is leading Bible study tonight, I look forward to hearing what she has to say on the matter.

Yummy, yummy, yummy man I am married to. 

I've decided tommorow is going to be a computer free day, so I'd better post now. I don't know why my last post went underneath the pics I posted before it, I hope this doesn't, but I am going to post a picture of my terrific hubby after this. He is actually considering hiring someone to just do all the work in the basement. I am praying that it will be affordable enough to make it worth it, because it would mean sooo much less work, time and worry for us. Whatever the Lord's will is, though, is what we need to do, and I need to be content in whatever that turns out to be. I don't have much to say today, except I feel like CRAP because of eating everything I wasn't supposed to all weekend. Boy, that sure makes a differance. Anyway, bye for now, I'll post again on Thursday!!

Here's Grace and I after the mother daughter brunch. It was so cool that I got to go this year with a daughter.  

Here's the result of the second hair coloring. Somewhere between strawberry blonde and dried apricot, with streaks of lighter and darker. Oh well, it'll grow. I might spring for getting real highlights in a month or so. 

GOOD MORNING SUN!!!!! HAPPY MORNING, EVERYONE!!!! That's from one of the boys favorite books, "HEY, WAKE UP!!!" I hate it. No, I'm just kidding, I'm just so not a morning person. But, I did get to sleep in a little bit this morning, Ian and Grace slept in and George got watched a video while I lazed in bed. Nate had a meeting this morning and he was going to tell all his employees about the new incentive contest. For three months at a time they are going to push selling certain products, and whoever sells the most gets two round trip tickets and $300 cash for a weekend. Second place gets two tickets, and third place gets a two night stay at a cabin up in the mountains of Georgia. A few years ago, Nate switched their company credit cards to get skymiles, and they've earned a bunch of free tickets. He was really excited to present this to everyone, I hope they like it, and it works to get their sales boosted, too. Nate got home Saturday night and suggested we go to the Georgia Renaissance Festival on Sunday afternoon since it was Scottish Highlands weekend. We left Ian and Grace with Karen and George after church and took George. It was neat, we had a good time, but I think a better name for the event would have been "Cleavage Fest 2005." Nate said it was just stressful, trying to see all the cool stuff there was to see, and try not to see all the indecently dressed women there. He said it was just draining. I thanked him for being drained, if that makes any sense. It was fun to just be together, though, to be able to walk around holding hands and talking. George had a fun time, too. I love having my kids so close together, but sometimes, like yesterday, I think how neat it would be to have only had George thus far, and in some ways, it seems unfair to him that we don't get to do things with just him. The grass is always greener, though, right? I can't imagine not having all three of my children right now. The other night I decided to play devil's advocate just to see what Nate would say and I said "You know, maybe we don't need to have any more children. I mean, we have three, lots of people only ever have three, and we have at least one of each, maybe we should be done." He looked at me like I was crazy and said "That would suck." Then he saw that I was looking really serious about it, and looked at me really seriously and started to get choked up, and said "What else is there but kids?" I asked what he meant, and he said that not much else that we do really matters besides having and raising children, impacting the next generation, and everything that we do is an example FOR them. He said it would break his heart if we never had any more children, either biologically or by adoption. I smiled, fighting back my own tears, and told him I was so glad I married him and I completely agreed. I think he was really relieved to know I hadn't lost my mind. We've talked so much about the fact that we really would love the Lord to bless us with lots of children. It really would break my heart, too, if I knew we couldn't have any more. But, that said, the Lord might decide that is what is best for us and His glory, and if so, then I pray He would give us the grace to do His will, and not hold on to our desires if they are no longer His. I am just so thankful to have a husband who agrees with me on so much, and as time goes on, I feel so much more a part of him, like we are truly one flesh, in spirit. (Hmmm, that doesn't make much sense, but you know what I mean:P) Well, I must go, I've got four loaves of bread and banana bread to make this morning. Happy Monday!!