He Knows My Name, He knows My Cell Number, Too.

Today is my 23rd wedding anniversary. I am amazed that I have done anything consistently in my life for 23 years. And yet there is that Hunk O Man that I love infinitely more now than when I married him. I suppose even more amazing is that he loves me still, after all the joy and pain and heartache of 23 years and 5 kids. Once again, I praise God who is the Giver of all good things.

Yesterday, he and I (well, yes, God too, but I mean Hunk O Man and I) took a little trip to the beach. We stood in the warm sand and watched as the waves came in -- it was a little breezy, with rain to the north and south of us, so they were the kind of waves that come in kind of lined up, about 4-5 rows deep. The blue of the sky and the deep aqua of the water just brought a peace over me that only God can give. Wow. I do love the ocean.

We shopped our way home from the beach, stopping at various thrift and Goodwill stores. We also stopped at the Sprint store. In our efforts to curb costs, we have decided to forego our "land line" and go with all cell phones. However, it took a miracle God provided through a wonderful woman named Andrea to make it all happen. Believe it or not, it actually will save us money.

So last night and today, each girl has been beside herself with the new toy. Programming the ring tones, getting all the contacts in, etc. All but one have brand-new phones (which we got free). They have texted more friends in a half-hour's time than in probably all the time previous to getting the new phones -- because each one has her own number now, it's important to let everyone know. No more sharing a phone, or borrowing a sister's or mom's phone. Now each one has her own.

I have sat and watched all this furious texting and programming, bent heads with thumbs flying. And I realised that their excitement stems from something we all feel very deeply: to them, having their very own cell phone, their own number, means that people can now know their name. They are important, they have value, they have their own cell phones. 'It's mine,' they think. It's me.

And I remembered this: He knows my name, He knows my every thought, He sees each tear that falls, and hears me when I call.

I suppose we could add that He knows our cell number, too. And don't get me wrong - our girls (thankfully) each know God in a deep and personal way that no cell phone could ever replace.

But being recognized for who we are is so universal. We want to be seen, to be heard, to be valuable enough to our friends and family to matter. We want someone to know our name. And our phone number. And to email or text or call us just to see how we're doing.

So whether or not you have a new cell phone, or no cell phone at all, don't forget this --

xoxox

New Barbie-ism

The garage sale continues. Stuff is everywhere. Not sure I'm making any money but I am keeping busy.

This has been quite a week. Rose had her wisdom teeth out Friday. She is our Squirrel. Barbie once tried to make a snide comment about what a squirrel she is, and called her a chipmunk instead. I almost died laughing over that one. Oh, the tone she used!

Now she looks a bit like a chipmunk. But only on one side, since they had to leave one of the teeth in. The Boyfriend doesn't know what to do, (typical man) and she is cranky because people have been messing with her. (Here, honey, have another Vicodin.)

I went to two doctor's appts this week; I've had it with these sinus headaches and I am insisting that they remove my head and fix it and then put it back on. They have instead put me on an antihistimine which knocks me out for 24 hours at a time. They have also promised a potential CAT scan of my head in 3 weeks.


Maybe I should contact Dr. House. I bet he'd take my head off and fix it and then put it back on right. (yawn)

And the latest priceless comedy moment from Barbie:

Hunk O Man and Rose and Barbie were getting out of the car at Chick-fil-A, where Rose used to work. Rose noticed that there was an unmarked police car in the parking lot. Rose knows these cars because apparently the police here frequent Chick-Fil-A more than the local donut shop.

Rose: "Hey look. There's an unmarked police car."
Hunk O Man: "Oh, yeah. "
Barbie: "Well it doesn't LOOK like a police car."

xoxox

I am Having a Garage Sale.

Right now. On Ebay.

The sewing room is a disaster.

This is taking forever. It's almost as much work as a regular garage sale.

Hopefully I'll be raking in the buckage soon.

I'll keep you posted.

xoxox

This Woman is a Genius

Her name is Carrie and she has every possible way to save money for a stay-home mom.

Her website is called Money Saving Methods. Go there and have a look. You'll be glad you did!

xoxox

New Year's Resolutions

I was thinking about New Year's resolutions earlier last week, and came to some conclusions about myself.

Making these resolutions, i.e., "resolving that I will do this or that," isn't going to do me much good. I can have all the resolve and good intentions possible and still walk wholeheartedly down the wrong path.

Instead, I decided to make some commitments. Or rather, just one commitment.

And that commitment is to pray for self-control.

When I really thought about it, the things I need to do are lose weight, spend less money, exercise more.

The reason I don't do these things is that I have very bad self-control. Little to none. I am one of those immediate gratification people -- I want it, and I want it now. NOW.

So I have committed to pray for self-control in my life. I am seriously committing to asking God (believing) for self-control in every area of my life.

It's like one-stop shopping. I cover all the bases with one fell swoop.

So far I'm doing great with the spending money but not so great with the diet and exercise. But this is a process, and His mercies are new every morning. Everytime I fall down, I get up and pray that prayer again -- "Lord, please provide me with self-control. I know You can."

Yesterday was a bit sunnier, and I was grateful for that. I got a haircut and fresh nails; I'm back to having bangs again, as I've had most of my life. I feel like myself again. I drove kids and kids' friends home from their swim meet last night and felt great about being a mom.

And God, in His great and infinite wisdom, did not see fit to blow one of the 28 pine trees in my yard into my kitchen. Dang. And this although nearly half of central NC blew away last night with the wind. The swim meet was cancelled when the lights all went out.

Today I'm going to try and get control of my domain -- and that means clean house! I am a terrible housekeeper in that I often keep it picked up but seldom clean. I depend on my kids for that. But two days ago I cleaned out the pantry completely and today I need to work on the laundry room and my sewing closet. Just the thought of it makes me sigh, and yet IT MUST BE DONE!

So here's to 2009: I lift my cup of hazelnut coffee in praise of the God who is faithful and who will keep me on track!

xoxox

Much Better and a Few Projects

I am myself again. A good thing to be oneself. A bag of peanut-butter M&M's and a little bit of a Hershey's 1/2 lb. chocolate bar didn't hurt, either.

SCORE! I found milk yesterday for $1.85/gallon at Sav-A-Lot! I have not been terribly impressed with Sav-A-Lot because I am such a fan of Aldi. But then again, I have to drive 30 minutes to the closest Aldi, so Sav-A-Lot is the next best thing. And it's a brand-new store, very clean, very nice. These were a "red-tag" special. I probably should have gotten every gallon they had (I freeze them), but I limited myself to only 6. Into the freezer they went.

Also, I've been doing some projects around here. I'm trying to take things that are tired or old, and give them new life. My Etsy shop is starting to be things I basically "upcycle," or "refashion."

So I took an old poly chiffon dress that was very tired and dated, found at our Union Mission Thrift Store --





And turned it into this scarf!

AND NOW FOR THAT RARE BREED, THE SEWISTS AMONGUS:

Initially, I cut away all the chiffon from the dress -- poor thing, it looks like it's been skinned -- and experimented. First I tried a french seam, and that didn't work. Then I tried pintucking on the slant, and that didn't really do it for me either.


Finally, I just started stitching about 3/4" folds, like tucks, on the slant. I say slant because the chiffon was cut initially on the bias, so every square piece I got was bias cut already. I was using embroidery thread, since it was all I had that matched, and the stitching was puckering. So I got the first one done and kind of liked the ruffle effect. I tightened my tension a bit, and made some more stitched folds/tucks. The end result was this lovely ruffled piece of fabric -- not quite wide enough for a scarf. So I put ties on the back, like this:




And now I have a very nice accessory piece!

The teenagers all wrinkled their noses at it, so I posted it up at Wardrobe Refashion. They all loved it, proving that my crew has no fashion taste whatsoever.


I betcha that if my girls saw it in a store, they'd love it. Especially if they knew I had nothing to do with it! (by the way, it's for sale in my Etsy Shop)


At a local garage-sale-fundraiser, I also scored some fabric, two green glass goblets, two Beatrix Potter big books to use for decopauge (or something else), a copy of Norton's Anthology of Literature, and a full copy-paper box of old vintage patterns! All for $10! And the $10 went to buy shoes for kids in Haiti!


Speaking of Haiti, let me direct you to This Ain't New York today. Although we are always struggling to save money, and we regularly tithe, I was compelled. Haiti has been ravaged by hurricanes this year. The need there is great. And I had been shoving this particular need aside for entirely too long -- I believe in the work of Compassion International and have for years. Finally I'm doing something about it, thanks to Melanie at TANY.


I'm challenging you to ask God to lead you to your child.


Mine is named Rose (just like my eldest daughter).


Then just start clicking. You're already on the computer; it's as easy as that.


A good day is when you need sunglasses outside. We need them here in NC today.


xox