All Dried up

Well, we have had a wonderful full week of no rain. The yard is dried up in all areas and the basement is half put back together. We went and bought the cheap carpet with padding attached and Jerry and I laid it in the bigger family room area. We are NOT carpet people and it is not "well done" but it is "done". From a distance it look fine. We have another piece to put in the L shaped area but have not gotten to it yet. The old carpet stunk sooooo bad we had to get rid of it.

This week is VBS at our church. The theme is Galilee-by-the-Sea. The gym is set up with tent areas fro the "shop keepers" and we all dress in robe type clothing. There are dramas through out the day and it is supposed to be like living in Galilee in Jesus' time. There are 12 groups of kids named after the 12 tribes. They tour around each day learning how to make sandals, bread, carving stone, fishing, ect... They also go to synagogue and hear the Rabbi teach each day. They play games at the sea side playground and have a snack of bread (my job) every day with a different toping. My friend Leeann and I have been baking about 162 yeast rolls every morning. We get up and let them rise at home then bring them in and bake them at the church. It has been so much fun! This is the best VBS program we have ever done. The kids LOVE it. I'm am glad tomorrow is Friday though as I am TIRED!

Jerry is home now (as of Tuesday)from work. He gave House Hold a months notice last Monday. They didn't say anything all last week and then this Monday his boss showed up and said they would pay a few weeks pay and to get his things and leave. No "thank-you for 12 1/2 years of service" or anything. So we are on to the next new chapter in our lives. Trusting God to provide as we know He will. He is studying for all the insurance tests and should start taking a few of them in a couple weeks.

Tomorrow I am off to Chicago for the weekend with my good friend Cristi. She is moving to China in 2 weeks and I am gona miss her so very much! We are getting in our last hurrah before she leaves. Can't wait!

Rain, Rain GO AWAY!!!

Well, It was beautiful on our camping weekend and not a bit of rain. NOT so lucky on the home front. We got home Sunday afternoon and could tell they had gotten a lot of rain while we were gone. The puddle in the back yard had turned into a lake and the yard was very squishy again. we were already 7-8 inches over normal for this point of the year. (after a record snow fall) I checked the basement in all the corners Sunday evening and all was dry. About 7pm a big thunderstorm came through dumping almost 3 inches on us and when we got up Monday morning the basement was under water. YUCK!!!!!! The sump pump quit working in the night and we had/have a mess. All the unopened boxes and such were soggy and falling apart. We hauled everything into the garage and pulled up the carpet and ripped out the padding. All the carpet is up on saw horses and 2x4's stretched across chairs with about 6 fans running non stop. We were running the AC to try and help the stuff to dry out but the garage drain is clogged(AC water can't drain there now) so we had to call the plumber. He is supposed to be here this morning but it is now almost 11am and no sign of him. GRRRR I have to go clean house for someone at 1 pm so I may have to call and reschedule. It's just not been a lovely start to a new week.
Forecast says thunderstorms today, tomorrow and Thursday. Lord help us!

Book Review

Well, here is my opinion of the book"The Shack". I did not like it and I am amazed at how many people did like it. I honestly though it could have been written by Oprah. I looked at the cover several times to check that it was written by a man because it seemed like a woman libber wrote it. Every character and personality (other than Jesus) was portrayed as a female. I have a very hard time with God the Father being portrayed by a robust Aunt Jamima figure. Some of the theology seemed off too. I know it is fiction but it seems very deceptive of God and his holiness and character. Read it if you would like...you can have my copy as I don't want it.

The house is coming along good. I got lots of painting done last week and just have two bedrooms and the bathroom to do now. I'll try and stick a couple picture in with this post.

All three of the kids have Bible study this afternoon and Jerry's mens study is here tonight so I have some snacks to get making!!

We Are Moved!

The move went very well. We had about 20-25 people show up Sat with pick-ups, trailers and vans. They also brought food!(lots of food!!) I was at the new place and Jerry was loading at the old place and it was all done by about 1pm. The women at the Cedar Ridge house had it all cleaned by the time we were done moving stuff. THEY ARE AWESOME!! Let me tell you, if you need something done there is nothing like good Christian friends. :) :) The weather was awesome, it was like a big party. God just has been working out details for us that I could never imagine on my own. Saturday in the midst of moving Dean asks me if we by chance need a dresser.( We have been looking for a dresser for Jared for months!) We don't want to spend much but don't want a cheap one that falls apart like his old one. So about 15min later Dean and Dianne show up with a good used dresser for Jared. Dianne was also one of the sweethearts scrubbing my floors at the other house.
Then...the guy who said he wanted Patch never came and never came so Saturday afternoon Jerry had to bring Patch into town. I was very concerned because I thought he would cause a big ruckus. They plugged in his boundary collar and let him loose. He searched the yard found his boundary and was as happy as a clam. The neighbor dogs were barking up a storm and he never barked back. By golly, Patch seems to be adjusting to being a town dog. We have a nice sized yard and he is doing well so we shouldn't have to put up a fence. You must know this is a God thing because I was convinced he would not work out in town. If that guy had not told us, several times, that he wanted Patch I would have taken him to the Humane society last week. Just so many reminders of how God's will happens despite us. My kids are thrilled(especially Molly) and I am too!!
I love the new house(even when I gripe about the yucky faucet) and the neighborhood is great. The streets a quiet enough I can let the kids ride their bikes up and down the street.
God is good!

Crazy week

This is the week I will either go crazy or drive someone else crazy. I don't enjoy moving but I have to say things are going surprisingly well. Just a good reminder that God is always in control. Friday evening we should get the keys and Saturday morning at 9am starts the move. It looks like we have lots of help coming to move us. PTL!! I will need all the help to get the stuff moved and the house cleaned all on Sat. Sunday I have to work from 4-10pm and closing on the Cedar Ridge house is Monday morning and closing on the Maplewood house is Monday afternoon. Tuesday I will be in a coma. New address is 2473 Maplewood Dubuque, IA 52002. Same phone number.

Oh, I got my copy of the book" The Shack" yesterday. I have heard a lot about it so I'm eager to read it. I am reading it out loud at night to Jerry so I won't be able to fly through it.

I'm off to the boxes, I'll blog after the move.

SHE Event

This is a bit late but I just wanted to post a little blurp about last Fridays She Event at our church. Rebecca St.James and Evie performed. It was so neat to have a big name Christian singer at our church in little ole Dubuque. The concert, SHE (Safe-Healthy-Empowered) event, was for women.In particular for mother daughters or young women. Rebecca talked to the girls about purity and modesty. I have to say I was very impressed with her and her genuineness. She is the real deal. I took Molly, Abby and one of their friends and they had a great time. I of course loved getting to meet and talk to Evie as she was the cool singer when I was in high school. Evie is a mentor for Rebecca and they tour around doing these concerts. It was fun!

I downloaded some pictures off my camera today. I had taken these last month just up the road from here. Seems like March is the month for getting eagle pictures around here. The last ones I took were last march. They are so cool to watch. There was a young one in this group of three. He/she still has a lot of brown on their head.