02/10/08

Goodness! Sorry it has taken me four days. I didn't realize I hadn't posted in that long.

We got our couch this past Friday! I am amazed at how the room looks totally different. The first picture is the only one I could find of the whole old couch on this computer. lol This was taken on Wesley and Mikayla's first day of school this past August. I wanted to take some before and after shots but Steve got rid of the old and put in the new before I got home from school. Silly man... doesn't he know by now I have to document everything by a photograph? lol Anyway, the new couch is a lot bigger!!! It is the same length but let's just say there is a lot more support in this couch... lol I now know why our old couch didn't look so great. The second picture shows the new couch after I got home Friday.

When we put the new couch in I began to look around the room and realize nothing had changed, really, in eleven years since we built this house. The new couch brought out the fact that one of the lamps was one I had in highschool... does that tell you how often I DO NOT change things? Well, I became inspired and decided it was time to shove out some old and bring in some new. Now, don't get me wrong, you all know I am quite content with what the Lord has blessed me so I didn't want to be discontent, but if you saw the whole picture after we got the new couch... worn out rugs, holes in the rug by the fireplace where some cinders escaped before we had the wood stove, cracks in shades of our lamps where the kids accidentally hit them or Steve was trying to attack a moth... those kinds of things. (Yes, Steve was trying to kill a moth with a dish cloth and kept hitting my lamp shade not realizing he was creating a whole new pattern in the underside of the shade... lol) I was going to get new shades soon, but I began to think about the whole picture and realized it needed a bit updating. lol

My Mom and I went shopping yesterday. I had the BEST time and I was actually spending money, which is NOT easy for me to do. I was thankful I had set some money aside for needs that may arise and this was one such time. It was something I haven't done in years... go out and buy new things for the house. I am always so cautious about it that I always put stuff back. I went in with a purpose this time, though, and got some great deals in the process. When we got home, Steve helped me put the floor lamp together and get the table lamps set up while I worked on the throw pillows and new accent rugs. I COULD NOT believe how differently our room felt and how much more inviting and cozy it was. I was so excited. Our best friends came over last night and they loved the reclining couch. It was awesome to have people feel comfortable and at "home." That is our desire when anyone comes. Again, I wish I had taken before and after shots but it just didn't happen. Just envision what I wrote above. lol At least you get the "after" shot with Ashes enjoying the rays of sunshine creeping in from the window.

On a funny note, the house was disastrous when all of this began on Friday. I had not had a chance to clean in two weeks and it was on my last nerve. I knew I was going to attack it on Saturday. Steve brings the couch in while I was at school Friday. Normally, guys don't necessarily worry about what a house looks like (unless they are like Wesley!!) but this guy did. He told Steve he knew I was not going to be happy that he saw our house look like this. lol I was "mortified" to find out he saw it look so terrible. If he could just see it now!! Yesterday, I worked all morning to clean this house. It was a mountain to climb but I put on my hiking boots and got to it. It felt good to throw away some stuff and get other things in their rightful place. During the week it is so crazy I don't always have the energy. Wesley was SO happy when the house was put back in order... especially with the "new look" in the den. He kept walking around yesterday and this morning commenting on how great and NEAT everything looked. lol He is such an OCD cleaner. (For which I am thankful because Mikayla hasn't quite reached that yet.... lol)

Mom's birthday was this past Thursday. We took her out to eat Friday night to a place called "JK's." Let's just say that for what you have to pay for the food there, the service was not great... It was the oddest experience we have ever had in a restaurant. I believe it is safe to say we won't be going there again... I hated that for Mom for her birthday but there was no way of knowing how it would be. Daddy was really disappointed because he picked it.

We went back to their house and Mom 'opened' her presents. All of them were paper! LOL I gave her a picture of the shoes I have been trying to buy her for 3 months. Those things are selling like "hot cakes." Eventually, I'll get to order them! Then, my brother gave Mom a paper describing our "Family Birthday trip" for the year!! We are so excited to be going "west" this year... to the mountains of NC and Tennessee. We will go to Pigeon Forge and Dollywood, get to ride horses and pan for "gems", go white water rafting (I will go, I guess, even though that thought scares me... Mom will be watching from the bank as she does NO water at all. lol), see Unto These Hills and Horn in the West (outdoor dramas), and go to the Biltmore!!!! I am beyond excited at the photography possibilities!! We'll go in the middle of June. It will be wonderful.

As I have stated before in earlier posts this month, I have been dealing with some "valleys" in life this past month. We all know we go through them and when we do it seems to consume us at times. This past month was a time when the "valley" consumed me and I hit my breaking point last Wednesday. It is amazing how the Lord puts people or written words in your path to teach you and help you through those hard times. One of my fellow teachers at school gave me some words she heard from a pastor the other morning. She has no idea what I have been facing, most people don't because it is no need to air your worries to the whole world, but the Lord knew and He knew I needed what she said. In essence, she said to keep on thanking God when something looks very hard and you see no hope in it. God is working in you to be thankful so you can be used in a might way. When she said that I felt like it was just for ME. Sometimes we get so bogged down by the trials we can't see things for which we should be thankful. I began to work on that as the day progressed and things seemed much better. God is so good to know what I am going through... a little person in this vast universe He has created... and to know exactly what I needed to get me through the "valley."

I have still had a lot of sickness in my class. I had 4-7 out most days this past week... again. Friday was the day I had 7 out. I had a parent come in and deep clean my room and I was greatly appreciative of her doing that. I am praying this stuff goes away soon. It has been very challenging trying to teach with so many out. The weather probably hasn't helped much.. instead of cold to get rid of some of the germs, we have days that are 70 degrees one day and 40 degrees the next. Crazy stuff here in NC!

Today it has been terribly windy. I just finished reading The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder to the kiddos and this wind today reminded me of that book. I can't remember the wind howls of Hurricane Fran from 1996 anymore, but today comes close to jogging my memory! I tried to take a bit of a nap this afternoon and it wasn't a restful one as the wind was shaking the doors! It did make me think of how Laura and her family must have felt that long winter and to deal with blizzards on top of it. It also made me thankful for the fact that I have such a nice home and I am protected from the storm. Kind of like how God is our refuge in a time of storm...

It will be time to start another week tomorrow. Speaking of that, I just got in contact with a highschool friend recently and she has also started blogging. Her first blog talked about how God's mercies are new every morning and how we can start over each day. It was something I needed to read and made me thankful God loves me enough each day to "start over" and get me moving upward while keeping my eyes on Him. He is so faithful.

Well, enough said today! Had to catch you up on the latest and greatest in our lives. lol I need to go read to the kiddos and get them to bed. May you go lie on your couch and have restful slumber. :)