Whatcha Up To Lord?

We have had our house on the market for, oh, about six months. Over 80 showings, new sod, new carpet and multiple price reductions...and still not a single offer!

We have firmly believed (well pretty firmly) that everything was going to happen in God's timing. But getting and keeping a totally lived in house ready for strangers to see over 80 times has been exhausting!

We found out last night that we had finally received an offer (albeit a low one)...you can bet that my heart skipped a few beats and that my stomach felt like I was on the Scream Machine. My husband says: "We need to pray about this." I said: "I don't want to pray about this, I want to know what is going to happen!" And I meant it!

Then yesterday morning as I was praying and begging God for peace, I was reminded of a daily note I receive from Chuck Swindoll. He was talking about remembering the "pillars" we have put up in our lives. Times when God has met us and done amazing things in or through us. So I started to go through the extensive list of pillars in our life. When He met us in that tiny ultrasound room and we did not see the heart beat that had been there just days before. When I cried out to him while on a jury with a corrupt jury boss. When we bought this house. When Steve was out of work after 9/11 and we had $20 to our name. And as I remembered these monumental pillars and the many small ones that are scattered through our life, I was filled with such peace - you know the one...it passes all understanding!

Fast forward to today. Even after receiving our offer, we had two showings yesterday. And today I received TWO showing requests. Both from people who have been here before. Both from realtors/buyers who know that we have a solid offer on the table. Both know they have a deadline of 5 tonight if they want our home to become theirs...

...will we have a bidding war, after so many months of uncertainty and wondering? I don't have any idea. But what I do know is that HE holds us gently in His hands, and that wherever we are tomorrow, it will be just where He wants us to be.

Brakes!!!

According to family lore, I was walking at 6 months, running soon after, and I have not stopped since. No snuggling in Grandpa's lap for me. I had things to do and people to see...and for the last forty something years, that is how I have lived my life. Full throttle, get-out-of-my-way, let's get moving!

If you were one of the unfortunate ones who got run over, please accept my sincere apology.

Now it seems, I have come to a place in my life where God is telling me to be still...literally and in other ways too. I have been in bed, flat on my back for the last eight days - culprit? The disk between my L4& L5 vertebrae. It seems that this particular disk has had enough of the abuse I have piled on it, and has decided to vacate the premises. Problem is, I still need said disk, so the struggle that is going on between us "Get back where you belong!" "No way, I am outta here!", is proving to be a painful one.

So now, until I can have a consult with an orthopedic surgeon, I am stuck here, praying that a stray cough or sneeze is not the trigger that sends me to the hospital for emergency back surgery.

I have also learned that the phrase "In my humble, true opinion" is not a very good way to live life. Yes, I, like many others, have preferred ways for doing things...trouble is, I have tended to think that my way is the only way. Again, my sincere apology...I don't mean to be bossy. I just figured I would save you the trouble of learning the hard way what does not work....arrogance at it's worst. I really am sorry.

Brakes. God is good at applying them at the right time. Even when we don't see it that way. I pray that I will continue to see what I need to see during this forced still time. And I covet your prayers as well.

Hi, my name is Trina...

...and I am an addict - a Facebook addict that is!

You know you are a Facebook Addict when:

10) Your kid says something funny, and your first thought is how to word it for a status update.

9) You walk in the door from, well just about anywhere, and the first thing you do after you say hi, is go check FB

8) You spend hours scrolling through other people's pages to see if you missed anything.

7) You keep checking back to see if anyone has posted a new update, even at 2 am.

6) You justify all the time you spend on FB.

5) It rains, or you see a cloud shaped like a dragon, or the grass grows 1/16th of an inch, and you have to write a status update.

4) You would rather be on FB than playing with your kids. (ouch that one hurts)

3) You post a status update in the morning, and spend the rest of the day looking to see if anyone has commented.

2) Your house is a mess and your to-do list keeps growing, and growing, and growing...

1) You know you are a FB addict when you spend more time with your face to the computer screen than in living real life with real people.

So, yes, I am an addict, but a recovering one. I stopped FB'ing three weeks ago aside from a post to clear up the "Birthday Dilemma" and a post to let our CWAC ladies know about the next sewing bee.

At first it was hard, and it really bothers me that it was hard. I thought about FB all the time and wondered what I was missing. Guess what? Anything you miss, your friends will tell you when you call them or meet them at the park or for MNO!! A radical idea, I know, but true nonetheless!!

And this from a girl who was a teen and young adult before computers and cell phones even existed!! I should know better!!

So, here I go forward...talking to my hubby, blogging my little blog, playing with my kids and calling my friends on the phone. Ah, it's nice to breath the fresh air!



BTW, I need to borrow a bike for my niece to ride while she's here...anyone have one I can borrow? She's ten. :D

Change, it is acomin'

Three years ago, a green-eyed, blond haired little boy entered our lives, and nothing has been the same since that first day. We have had some hard times, lots of them actually, but I am here to say that this little mischievous kid has made a mark on our home, and we will never be the same - thank the good Lord!



He has grown from a one-year-old, non-verbal, tantruming force to be reckoned with to a delightful almost five year old. He is funny without trying, seems to have a mind for math, and slays me with those green eyes of his, every time I take the time to look deeply into them.

Two days ago, we had a first. Our first ever day with no tantrums, no arguing, no time-outs - a truly amazing day...and I don't want to forget where we came from in the process of where we are going. I know that God has some big plans for this little boy. I also know that life with him will never be easy...but I know from deep down in my heart that he is supposed to be my son. That God is using my struggles with Pineapple to shape and mold ME, to make me a better mom and a better child of God. I just pray that in the process, I will be the Mom that God created me to be for Pineapple. For we are surely knit together in a way that only God can knit two people together.

'water' fun day!!

So, we are studying rivers right now, and in several of our books, we have seen the process of river water being purified so that we can drink it and not get sick. So, today, we made water filters, and boy did we have fun!

First, we got to use power tools - yehaaa! when we drilled tiny holes in the bottom of milk bottles. Then we put sand and then pea gravel in the jugs and then some really nasty water from the sand table, and let 'em rip!

Then, we had a lesson on perseverance (doing things even though they are hard) because those little bottles were amazingly heavy and everyone got really whiney on me!! I took a break, and had the bright idea that we should hang the bottles, so that the kids could keep pouring the water through the bottles, without having to hold them. So, lots of bright pink nylon string and a box of matches later (oh, yeah, and a lesson on fire safety and why matches are not toys and why box knives are not toys...) we had some pretty nifty hanging water purification centers going on.

Then Pineapple finished speech and we had to have another lesson on water pollutants (he decided to put nasty water in Sweet Potato's almost clear purifier), but all in all, it was a great way to spend a nice fall day outside!!

Hope yours was as nice!

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