little girls...

So here's a fun story...
I finally got my brain rolling on Camp, working hard on my own modern version of the Good Samaritan. I'm in the zone so to speak, even hung up on my sister to not lose my train of thought... I mean I was really cooking.
So Brenna comes and asks if she can warm a banana muffin in the microwave. Sure I say. How long do I put it in for she asks. 30 seconds I answer. Well almost three minutes later Brenna says Mom there's smoke coming out of the microwave!! And I look back to see yes indeed there is a ton of smoke billowing out of the microwave and the timer says 27:16. Brenna had set the timer for 30 minutes! And that banana muffin was literally on fire... talk about really cooking!
By the way burning banana muffins smell really really bad!

camp...

Who knew getting ready for Bible camp would be so hard? I really shouldn't be having this much trouble getting my thoughts from my brain to my computer... I think I need a secretary that can record my thought s as I babble and then put it into some sort of order, now that would be a good idea...sigh.
Actually, it's probably going better than I think, I'm just hard on myself. The truth is I'm breaking bad habits like leaving everything to the last minute! I have three sessions done, only seven more to go... yikes. I would like to be finished by this time next week so that I can start packing up the house in June.
Speaking of the house... we had the house inspection last week. We are in for a lot of work but it will be so worth it in the end. We have a lot to do to make the house energy efficient and a few major reno projects and a lifetime of smaller projects. I'm hopeful that everything will be in good enough shape that i can start babysitting Aug 1st. we have to tear down the basement ceiling and re run duct work but all in all that shouldn't take too long I hope.
So much going on in my life right now... it's no wonder I'm feeling so scatterbrained and unfocused. Two major projects at one time is not a good idea... note to self, let's not do this again!
Anyway, that's all for my rant today... back to work on Bible camp...

Mother's Day

It's Mother's Day again? Wow the years are flying by. I still remember my first Mother's Day, spent in the Hospital with my just over a week old baby who was still supposed to be inside me for another 6 weeks! Bobby gave me a card that to this day just makes me chuckle. It said that I was just too impatient to wait a whole 'nother year for my first Mother's day! It's still sort of true, I love Mother's Day, the home made gifts, the pretty cards, the occasional bouquet of flowers. Somehow, my family always makes the day special. I try to do the same for my mom and I hope I succeed. She has always been so amazing. She is more like Grammy Wolfe everyday and trust me that is high praise. I see strength in her, resolve and sometimes sheer stubbornness. Those very qualities were the very reason I had named the little scrap of humanity that celebrated that first Mother's day with me after the amazing women that are my mother and grandmother.
Happy Mother's Day Mom... I love you

Just a quick note to let you know that Bobby and I have bought a house Yep we bought the old converted church after all. We take possession July 3rd and will then have two weeks to move out of our trailer. We're hoping to get a couple of the reno type things out of the way before we move in about the 15th of July.
It's going to be a CRAZY summer as I am speaking at bible camp July 22-27 as well as expecting a visit from my brother(s) right around the 15th.

oops, we did it again...

Good Morning... house saga post
The first house we put an offer in on was a converted church. It's a massive house that needs some work to make it everything we want. Sadly we couldn't reach an agreement with the owners on a price we liked. So we've been looking at other houses and have quickly discovered that there just isn't anything out there that meets our needs that's in our price range. It's been a bit discouraging...
So for the last few days Bobby and I have really been struggling with the whole house issue. Neither one of us was really ready to let the converted church house go. I mean really, it's not the perfect house but it has so much of what we wanted. Granted, it's not the layout we wanted but it does have a lot of the elements we've always dreamed of including a huge master suite, main floor laundry and lots of bathrooms! Anyway, the more we prayed and thought about it, the more it gripped us so we took the plunge and went back with another offer. We will here by noon today if they accepted it. Either way I think we both feel settled now. If we lose it again, it just wasn't meant to be but if it all works out well we'll be homeowners of a character home that will keep us busy with weekend projects for years to come! I'll keep you posted!

Monday... uugh

I used to love Mondays... it was so fun to annoy everyone in high school by being super cheery on any given Monday morning. Now Mondays just remind me of everything I didn't get done on the weekend! This week it is the laundry that I avoided so that led to a nasty few minutes this morning trying to find school clothes for the girls. Besides that it is so hard to dress these girls this time of year. Cool in the morning and super hot in the afternoon... so frustrating.
Anyway, our weekend was super busy. Anna had her birthday party after school on Friday. I think it went OK. Then Sat we headed into Regina to see my sister and two of her kids. When we got home Anna , Em and I ran out to a friends 50th bd party. So it was a late night.
Sunday, we had a big celebration at church... or at least it was supposed to be. Nobody seemed super excited or anything. It was pretty subdued for a crowd that was supposed to be excited about what God was going to do in our church. Sadly I have to count myself in that number. I'm not really sure what the deal was...
And lastly in my Monday morning rant... I think we are going to put another offer in on the converted church house. Maybe 160000 is unreasonable but compared to what else is out there it's a steal. I really do want the basement for a day care. So confusing... I wish I had a better sense of what the right course of action is here.

So it's the middle of the week and I am just about to run out the door to Bible Study. We are studying the book of Daniel. It has made my brain stretch I'll tell you! What I love the most right now is how clear God makes it that He really does know everything! Nothing surprises Him and that brings me a lot of comfort. It's nice to know that the unknown future to me is the known past to Him. Sounds confusing I know but I'm glad that God knows we will have a place to live! I can rest in that knowledge and enjoy the journey a little bit more.
As an aside, last night was so much fun. All of 'our boys' and a a few of our girls are home from university/college and we had quite the welcome home houseful last night. So much laughter and teasing. It was great fun! I'll have to tell you about the crew sometime...

11 years old

My best friend and I are just about to take our daughters out to celebrate their 11th birthdays. I can hardly believe that these precious girls are that old but even more astonishing is how long us moms have been friends!
AS I look back through the years of our friendship it is amazing to em that we managed to hang onto it at all. Our lives once so similar are now so different... I am blessed everyday by the differences and the once again growing similarities. 13 years, a wedding, sharing pregnancies, a divorce and remarriage, lots of drama but I'll tell you a more dependable friend I'll not likely find. She can be my voice of reason when no one else can... For that I am grateful for many years of friendship.... even if those years do mean our girls are on the edge of teenagedom

Well here I am

So I figure it's time to join the world of blogging... I read enough of everybody elses.
Anyway The BIG news in my life is that we've sold our home. The big question in my life is now what?
When I was a little girl I had a book that was all about a bird who wasn't happy with her nest and so she went on a search for the best nest. Well in the end she ended up back where she had started. I don't expect that to happen to me but the moral of the story for me is that no matter where we live, it will be the best nest because it will be full of my family, my joy, my journey and most important, God will be there, no matter where I go.
And now it's time for me to go get my girls for lunch but be sure to check back as I will keep you posted on the search for Susie's new nest...