Friday This n That

spring is very slow coming to idaho. we had snow flakes falling earlier in the week, turning to rain as soon as they landed. but still, snow at the end of march? what's up with that?

i'm still waiting for my power cord replacement for my laptop to come. i am so ready to have my computer back. hubby has been generous to let me use his, but its not the same.

we have been decluttering and working on getting our house in shape to rent out. i have been stressing about all that needs to get done, so last nite i got my planner out and wrote down all the things that need to be done on different dates for the next few weeks. i feel so much better just doing that. now all i have to do is follow thru on the plan!

belated birthday blessings

sat was my oldest sister's b-day. a month ago i was planning a great tribute for the blog with pictures and witty comments. then my computer went on the fritz ... and is still there. somehow not having my own computer to use put me all out of sorts and i didn't post anything.

now a few days later, i'm feeling bad. afterall, she is my sister and a great friend to boot. my sister is 8 years older than me, but doesn't look it at all. she is an incredible 3rd/4th grade teacher. she gets asked regularly to teach teachers and write curriculum for the district she's in. she's not ambitous, but instead honors God in all that she does and He has lifted her up. (insert pic of sister here)

over the years, we have become prayer partners just thru sharing our hearts with each other and taking our concerns to the Lord together. now we try to pray together over the phone 2-3x a month. we only get to see each other a couple times a year as we live 600+ miles apart. which is very sad. (insert sad face pic here)

but when we do get together we have a gala, hip-hip-hippy, happy time. my husband says when i get together with my sisters ( ihave 2) i laugh alot. now that's a good thing to do, don't ya think?

Happy Belated Birthday Sissy Poo!!!

Answered Prayers

i admit, i have a hard time trusting the Lord when a big challenge comes my way. having a disabled husband going back to school on a very limited income has been a huge challenge even with his schooling being mostly paid by the dept of the blind. there are always those extras: books, supplies, loss of wages cuz he's not working full time, you know the drill. but we believe that God has us right where he wants us for a variety of reasons: learning to trust Him more, giving michael a new career that he can succeed at and provide for our family, learning to be content with little or much as the apostle paul proclaimed, seeing Gods faithfulness to us in action, up close and personal.

and then the Lord gives you a little something to sustain your faith and trust. that's what God did for me today. michael came in to wake me up and said "i got awarded a $5000 student loan for next year and a $2000 workstudy stipend." boy, that got me awake! not being a morning person, i usually wake up slowly and crawl out of bed like a mole seeing the first rays of sun. all blurry eyed. but today i bounced out of bed and gave michael a big hug. we praised God for this gift and agreed that it seems we are headed for boise after all.

i am so thankful that the Lord continues to lead us down His path. we just have to trust and follow Him. easy to say, but for this follower, harder to do and to do consistantly. guess that's why the Lord keeps giving me opportunities to practice trusting Him. like my title says, its all about the challenges and adventures the Lord sends my way.

this n that

michael has graciously let me use his computer to get online and post. he's pretty protective of his computer cuz he uses it for school and he's seen how i can abuse things! yikes!

my computer is still under the weather. i think i've found a replacement cord, but i still have to make sure i'm ordering the right one. i hate tech when it doesn't work. but when it works its my best friend. kwim?

i finally got around to trying the hot and sour soup recipe under my recipes to try list. it was great! i elimenated the mushrooms as i don't do rubbery textured foods, like mushrooms and oysters. and i may add more liquids. its definitely a keeper and i could eat it for lunch every week. mmm-mmm!

i also actually started sewing on joe's pants that i cut out for him last month. i need him to try them on so that i can see how they're fitting and that could be a chore! but i am determined to finish them before short season arrives and i have to put them away til fall. i also cut out a pair of shorts out of the same pattern yesterday. shorts season will be upon us in no-time and joe outgrew all but one or two of his shorts by the end of last summer. since i had the fabric i thot i should use it up.

hopefully i'll be able to post again soon. in the meantime, it snowed here last nite so i won't be doing any yard cleanup today. ahhh, i'm SO disappointed! got to go see the dr seuss movie with my family this afternoon instead. life can be so hard!

we are experiencing technical difficulties

my computer is on hiatus. after much wear and tear, courtesy of myself, #1 son, and canine daisy the beloved laptop has decided it needs a break. so i'm researching replacement parts for the poor thing. i hope to be back up and running shortly, but in the meantime i will be mostly computer-less, which isn't always a bad thing.

spring is sneaking into our area and i could spend the extra time outside, raking leftover leaves from fall and tending the new flower bulbs coming up.

what's your kiddos morning routine?

first born son has had the sniffles for the last couple days. he seemed esp miserable last nite, so i decided to give him some meds and let him sleep in as long as necessary this morning. we usually get him up around 7:15 and he slept today til 7:45. i let him lounge in our bed watching tv for a half hour and then got him up, bathed, dressed and b'fast. i finally took him to school at 9:30. he was looking better by then and seemed less sleepy and cranky then yesterday morning. not being a morning person myself i can understand his need to wake up slowly. he has to have meds to help him sleep becuz of his diagnoses, so he usually gets to sleep around 9:30 or 10. sometimes later, but never earlier than 9:15 and that is rare.

i've always felt that school started too early, with his bus coming to pick him up at 7:35. the school gives them free b'fast and school doesn't really start til 8:45. after seeing what a difference it made for him this morning i'm wondering if it is feasible, doable, or even advisable to let him sleep in later like this morning, feed him b'fast at home and take him to school between 9 and 9;30 for the rest of the school year.

i'd love to hear your ideas on this subject. whether you have typical kids or special needs ones, homeschool or do public school. bring on the comments!

decluttering

Yay me! I got rid of our small sofa that we didn’t need any longer. Our church has an email newsletter that people can use to list things for sale, or for free, services and products offered, homes for sale or rent and other things. So I listed our small sofa and a young couple called to take it off our hands. I am so excited that it is out of our living room. It opened up quite a bit of space and now I am hatching ideas in my mind how to rearrange the furniture we have left.

Since last year I have been weeding thru clothes, toys, books, videos and other misc items, a bag at a time. Donating them to our fav thrift store run by one of the churches in town. But getting rid of a large piece of furniture really makes it feel like I’ve accomplished something.

Anyone else on a decluttering spree?