Still Dreaming

Christmas, 2006 - in a small town in Virginia (small town, who are you kidding?!) I had a dream. A dream of what my kitchen could look like. I planned it all out. Paint colors, counter tops, back splash, appliances. You name it, I knew exactly what I wanted to do.

Fast forward 14 months and we are almost there!! I had no idea that when we got back home after that Christmas that I was going to find the deal of the century on the range of my dreams. Steve happened to be in another country, but that did not stop me. It had to sit in the middle of the den for a month, until we could get the gas line run for it to be installed, but boy was it worth the wait! Five burners, double convection ovens, 50,000 BTU's hehehe - I feel like Tim the Tool man Taylor in a dress!!

A few months later, while out looking for a new hood for the new range, we ran across another deal. A french door fridge with the freezer on the bottom - again, the unit of my dreams that I thought we could never have - but if you don't mind a few dings in out of the way places, the price will come way down!

Then it was the grody old sink - all the enamel was worn off on the left side and it was impossible to keep clean. Now it has been replaced with a shiny new stainless version (with a faucet that actually turns off when you turn it off!!) that makes my heart happy whenever I see it!

Then we got a recall notice on our dishwasher. Seems that if we did not do something quick, our house could burn down around us! So, we took their offer and ended up with a new dishwasher too!

And yet, there still remained what seemed to be miles of dark brown- plastic-that-is-supposed- to-look-like-wood counter tops. And that seemed like such a huge project because we could not do it ourselves. So, I started selling stuff on Craig's list, saving my pennies so that I could get something else on the counters.

Saturday, I was having a friend over to play, and Steve said "you need to talk to her about the kitchen". So I did, and she graciously agreed to talk and more. So today, the installers came to begin installing my new granite tile counters and glass tile back splash!! Oh my goodness!! My head was spinning!! Thanks to my dear friend who is "in the biz", we have moved one huge step closer to the dream I had over a year ago!!

So now, all that needs to be done, once the installers are finished, is to paint the cabinets, install new handles and change out the lighting. Small pieces in what seemed to be an insurmountable project! Thank you so much E, for what you have done to help my dream kitchen become a reality!!

Picture notes: first one - kitchen before we moved in; second - kitchen as it was before appliances were changed; third - today! Stay tuned...

Trina

Now, while I have the chance...

Last night, I had to go to a "viewing" for a friend's dad who passed away last week. I really did not want to go, but knew that it was not about me, but what I could offer by being there for my friend. I got there late, (there was all of that dinner-bedtime stuff that had to be handled first) but I was glad that I did go.

I have this picture in my mind of Carl (her Dad) standing out in front of our old house during a yard sale. He had ridden his sidecar motorcycle over, to draw people to stop and take a look. He had built the cycle from scratch and it was a sight to behold! So, I see him, standing in the sun, with the wind in his hair and that great big smile on his face as he talked with anyone who stopped to look at his cycle. That is how I want to remember him - so I asked my friend if she was okay with me not going up to the casket. She said, no problem, that the person in that box was not her Dad, and she wished that she had not had to see him that way either.

All the way home, I thought about what it must be like to lose your Dad, I can't imagine the loss you must feel when you have had a great Dad, like she and I have, the huge hole that must open up inside you. But I do have this hope. Hope that whenever the time comes that I have to face this, I know that God is bigger than all of the loss, that He loves me even more than my Daddy - if that is possible - and that one day, I will see my Daddy again, and "oh what a day of rejoicing that will be!".

So, I think I will go and call my Daddy now. Tell him that I love him and send him a big hug over the phone line. Now, while I have the chance.

t

Sleepover gone awry!

Daddy is out of town, and the kids wanted to have a sleepover in Jalapeño's room, so I said "yes" (been doing that a lot more lately, God must be working on me ;-)) Of course there were some rules: No yelling, must stay in your bed (which included no hanging over the top bunk for J), the usual stuff. They were a little louder than I would have liked, but I let it go, knowing they were excited. Pineapple, especially, was loud and rowdy from his crib, but then, he has no volume control, so... About an hour after they had gone to bed, it seemed that they were quieting down, when Sweet Potato came down and said that J's foot was stuck. I go up, thinking what happened?!" and find his leg wedged in behind the top bunk, from the knee down. Now, you have to understand that Daddy has bolted the bed to the wall, so it is going to take some power tools to make this right!! I tried to push his leg up (while J was howling laughing on the top bunk - he is so ticklish!!) to no avail. So, I go to plan B which is to ask Uncle Rick to come and help out. He yanks on the bunk from the front, while I push up from the bottom and voila! Out comes the leg. When I asked SP how his leg got stuck in there, her reply was "J wanted me to tickle his foot, so I was pulling his leg down so I could reach it better". Amazing! I told Daddy, if they live to adulthood, it will be a miracle!!! t

Prayer

OK, back from lunch, and I promise I won't spend all day here writing!

I was talking to a friend yesterday about how frustrated I get when I try and pray. My brain spins out of control with all kinds of minutia, and a few minutes later, I realize that I have not been praying at all. He said that effective prayer is done by praying out loud. Whether a whisper or in a normal voice, but it must be out loud. "How much difference can it make", I thought, but decided I did not have anything to lose, and so this morning, I prayed out loud. WOW!!! I can not believe the difference - the difference in the experience, the difference in my heart and my mind, as I brought my praise and requests before God.

Yesterday, I was trying to pray about a new business idea that I have, and all I got were more ideas. What I wanted was some guidance from God, on whether or not I should even pursue it anymore, what I got was frustration because I could not focus. Today, when I prayed about the same thing, it was so focused, so clear. I don't have an answer yet, but I have peace.

Now, I am just wondering why it has taken me this long to figure this out!!!

So, off again to get some things done while kiddos are down for quiet time. It is so nice to have this break in the middle of a busy day.

Peace to you in the midst of the storm,

t

I'm here, now what?

So, I finally have a blog, now what do I do? I have been wanting to do this for months but have never found the time. Today, I got an email from my sister, and my 7 year old niece has a blog - what?!? I can't be beat out by a little kid, so I decided immediate action was necessary.

So after 30 minutes in the potty with 2 year old Pineapple (he wouldn't do anything of course, until I put his diaper back on) and school with Sweet Potato (5) and Jalapeno (3), I got them settled in the playroom and made a bee line for my computer, and here I am.

But, off to do lunch now, because of course, I can't let my blog take precedence over my hungry kids, right?! Oh, yeah, RIGHT!

More later,

t