Category Archives: Family

Tires

K: “Mom – you need to get a new car”

Me: “Oh really – why’s that?”
K: “Because I need a tire wheel!”
Me: “haha um what? – What for?”
K: “Well – Uncle Rick has a tire swing in his back yard… and I want one – so I need one of your wheels so dad can build me a tire wheel swing….”
Me: “Bahahahahahaha you are so ridiculous sometimes!”
K: “I know – I’m soooo funny I don’t know what to do with myself either!”
** I love this girl
~ Also – did you know how much daycare centers are?
Now that we’re moving into the fabulous world of school – and since we did not get into the all day kindergarten we need after school care – because I’m pretty sure I can’t work from just 8:30-11:00 am at work every day!
We checked out one place that will charge $35 dollars to watch K from 11am-6pm (or whenever I pick her up), and if school is not in session and she needs to be watched for an entire day – then tuition goes up to $68 dollars a day. (yes – you read that right!)
Hellloooo – that is like paying a car payment every week! I thought that daycare was supposed to go down – not up as she got older!
I need to find other options, or I’m going to have to sell my 1996 CDs at the pawn shop to pay for her childcare.
p.s. Anyone who comments first with the amount of exclamation points i’ve used in this blog post gets extra credit. I’m using the exclamation point like teenagers use the word “like” (sorry).

I Will Prevail

 “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” ~ Proverbs 19:21 NIV11

Since this verse has been posted I have been breathing in every word of it this week.

We have in our neighborhood an outstanding K-12 charter school. Not only is it ranked for test scores one of the highest in our state, the children wear uniforms (which I have a daughter – and lets face it… girls are mean, and not worrying about if she is wearing Holister or Old Navy is a blessing of itself, school is almost year round, and the class sizes are petite! (max class has 18 or 20 students – as opposed to our public schools which are around 32-35).

My daughter will be entering Kindergarten next fall, and I have dREAMED of her going here since she was 8 or 9 months old. Many are the plans in a person’s heart….

The only downfall – is because of the petite yet amazing classes, teachers, and high test scores – a lot of people want to attend – but they only have so much room. So, what do they do? A lottery!

Since last November I have been praying that if it is in Gods will that my daughter attend this school He can provide divine intervention and get her chosen.

So last month I entered my daughters name in the “hat” so to speak. Since January 3rd I have continually prayed over this every morning, noon and night, and again – stating that if this will fit in God’s plan for my daughter, and our family to please allow us to get into this school!  Last year over 200 people applied for the kindergarten classes and only 54 got in (3 classes)…. So I’ve she’s got about a 25% chance of actually getting chosen.

Yesterday was Lottery day. I sat glued to my phone the entire day, and anytime it rang, or alerted me to a text message, or a weather alert I jumped thinking it was the school.  Later to find out they ran the lottery last night (February 12th). I couldn’t take it any longer. At 6:30 p.m. I anonymously called to school to find out the process of notifying families, and they said they would start calling families today (Wednesday), and hopefully be done by the end of the week.

Today (Wednesday) came and went, and while I literally sat next to my cell phone, again jumping at every single alert and text message, my phone miraculously did not ring until 6pm when my husband called me.

Today has come and gone, and I find this verse popping out at me.

“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” ~ Proverbs 19:21 NIV11

Still tonight I am praying that we will be one of the lucky chosen ones but you’re called in the order that you were chosen, so as a day goes by my chances are seeming less and less. Obviously “it aint over yet” and I am still hopeful that I will get a call tomorrow… but I need to be ok if she is not chosen.

Thought I’ve had my heart absolutely dead set on her going to this school there is a real chance it may not happen. And I can get mad about it and cry and cause a fuss, but I have to remind myself that I haven’t been just praying, “Oh please God, please get her into this school… pretty please with a cherry on top”, but I’ve been praying that if it is in HIS WILL….

I do have plans for my daughter as any mother or parent does, but the Lord our Father knows best, and I feel so grateful I have this verse to really lean into – to hold me up if I do hear those words, “wait listed” and if I don’t get my way. Will I be completely heart broken and devastated even if it is God’s will? Yep. I will…. but I will prevail, because it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails… and that’s something I can bank on!

**Update** My daughter did NOT  originally get in to this school, but we were #4 on the waiting list [which is somewhat hopeful]. ~ They called about a month later to tell us they had a spot for us! YAY!!!!! Over the course of the waiting period I really really felt God prepare my heart for the ‘no’ answer. Only He could have calmed my heart and prepared it in this way. Thank you Lord for your unwavering love, and support!**

On the Eve of Christmas Eve

On this eve of Christmas eve – i’m taking a quick break from knitting (which is my new past time) to jot down a few thoughts, and updates. Sorry that we didn’t send out a Christmas card this year! Life got crazy with school wrapping up – so you’ll have to make due with our blog! We so appreciate all of the cards and photos we’ve received from family & friends however, and they’re lining our pantry door! I finished up this past semester (Chemistry) and got an A in that class! (YAHOOO!) I’m now taking a break as I stated in earlier posts, which will be indefinite. I’m not sure when/if I’ll start back up again, but I know this – LIFE IS GREAT right now! Things are winding down a bit for Jason at work – which means he’s consistently IN TOWN, which makes for a VERY happy Lindsey & K Unfortunately he came down with some bug (cough/fever), but is on the mend for Christmas. Me – I’ve been knitting up a storm, which I just took up last week! I’m bordering on obsessed! Jason got me a gift card to Amazon – which I instantly blew on more knitting supplies. Need a hat, scarf or mittens? Screw Etsy- give me a call! (somewhat kidding – I can only do straight garter stitch knitting, and have only knitted scarves. Need a scarf? Call me!) Gran would be proud! We recently celebrated my dads & my birthday (same day) yesterday over at my parents. My mom made a feast of my favorite – toasted angel hair pasta with sausage & peppers, and a keys house cake. We got a little out of control with singing happy birthday – but when aren’t we out of control when we sing that song? Other than that – K is wildly awaiting Christmas, and has tried to find her Christmas presents by opening cupboards & closets etc. I’ll post again after the holidays – but until then! Merry Christmas friends!

The Secret to….

This past month has been a season of growing for me. Jason has traveled for work before, but never for a whole month at a time. This left me with our four year old, our four pets, the house, and other obligations I’m a part of to manage solo.

Tonight, after 30 long days and nights we are finally picking Jason up from the airport, and I couldn’t be more estatic.Jason and I were both in the Navy, stationed together, however two of our 4 combined deployments we spent away from each other. 

First – I was in Okinawa Japan, while he was on the remote tiny island of Diego Garcia, smack dab in the middle of the Indian ocean, and once more when he was sent to a city just north of Bagdad in harms way while I was safely in Guam. Both of these times we spent six months apart from each other, and I absolutely cannot imagine ever spending that much time apart again. 

One month was difficult enough. I can’t imagine if we were only 1/6 of the way through.One month was still a very big change for us. Usually when Jason has had to travel for work he would be gone during the week, and would come home on the weekends, or at most every other weekend, which before [this trip] I thought was excruciating!

The first night after Jason left I just crumbled, and weapt. I thought I’m never going to make this work, how can I do this? I reached out to God, and told Him [audibly] that I couldn’t do it on my own, and how much I needed Him. “From the depths of despair, O Lord, I call for your help.”Psalm 130:1I’ve heard of people calling on the help of God, and I’ve called on Him before, but never like this. 1 Peter 5:7 says, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you”, and Proverbs 3:5 states, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.”

 I decided in that moment to fully surrender my life again to His command and trust that he would get us through.By obeying God in this way – to let him be in the drivers seat, He provided in ways I never could have imagined…

 Everything always seemed to work out. If I had things to do – that required concentration, our daughter seemed content to entertain herself (which is new). I had more patience with everyone, and amazingly everything seemed to get done. At times it was like God made time stand still so I could get everything done I needed to, because my evenings never flew by.

 I saw his Word fulfilled in my life this past month through Isaiah 26:12, “Lord, you will grant us peace. All we have accomplished is really from you” and from Paul in 2 Corinthians 3:5, “Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God.”God provided me with people as well.

 He provided me with friends and family members to watch our little miss when things came up, or when I needed a much needed break last weekend to go downhill skiing with my siblings. He provided the neighborhood girl to play with our daughter two weeks ago when I was trying to get a particular task complete.God provides!People ask me how I do it. How do I go for 14 days to a month without my husband. Without his support romantically, as a father, and as an extra set of hands to help, how do I do it? 

I was able to do this – because my Father was along side me the entire time.When asked that question in the past, I usually said, “I don’t know”, or “I just keep busy”, or “we’ve done it before”, or “I only have one child”, but those aren’t really what gets me through it. God gets me through it. I do it with Gods help.

So tonight we’re picking up my best friend, my husband, and my little girl’s daddy whom we’ve both missed so incredibly much. I cannot wait to run into his arms at the airport. Instead of doing the “drive by”, I’m parking my car,and waiting at the end of the escalator inside, so I can run to him with my daughter and embrace each each other. My eyes are filling with tears at the prospect of our reunion in a hopefully fast 11-12 hours. 

I won’t cease needing Gods help, and my prayer is that I don’t become complacent about needing to rely on God even with Jason now home.

“My lover has arrived and he’s speaking to me! Get up,my dear friend,fair and beautiful lover – come to me”Song of Solomon 2:10

Life at Orchestra Hall

I’m so great about thinking about the blog, but have been struggling lately at finding the time to actually sit down and write and/or upload photos from my camera, although I admit this whole past week I haven’t snapped even one on my good camera. Such is life. I’m learning that especially, and most specially since being a mother there have been more days than not lately, that my life is not my own. The orchestra we know as life is being conducted and composed by a three-foot tall, four-year old, and four – four-legged friends. The music fades into soft piano, and I think I may have found reprieve, only to find my little conductor and composers have added a full forte section of trumpets and brass blazing loud, sharp tones. This is usually at a time I think we have no need for that style of music. Don’t get me wrong. The conductor has done an AMAZING job of composing my part, sometimes though the tempo has been too fast for me to keep up. Saturday was amazing though. I quietly and quickly exited “Orchestra Hall” and headed to the ski slopes to downhill ski with my siblings. To do adult things and be in control. While the ski location we went to is not difficult to navigate, I wasn’t the overly cautious girl as I normally am. I left it all out on the slopes and may have technically skied the best I ever have. I left it all out there on the hills. I don’t go to the slopes to think – I go to NOT think, and this is why it’s such a great release for me. At least for me, while zipping down the hills I don’t think about much besides what is directly in front of me, and its great! It was simply a great time, of letting loose, racing my siblings, and enjoying the company I was in. and while I’m now back at “orchestra hall” the conductor and gaggle of composers have been gentle on my senses. The past few nights, a beautiful soliloquy has been playing.

Weekend Re-Cap

It was a nice weekend! At times I felt so tired I could fall asleep at any moment,and at other times it was so nice to get so much done. Friday night I dropped Kirra off at Grandma & Grandpa’s house and then decided instead of Target, I’d stop at the Super Walmart since it was on the way home. Super Walmart is essentially now dead to me. They only had non-organic, or questionable brands of meat, and because I never shop there it was difficut to find certain things. I did manage however to stock up on lots of frozen vegetables and the largest tub of peanut butter short of going to Costco I’ve ever seen. Kirra LOVES Peanut Butter & Honey for school lunch,just like her mama, so we’re now going through PB super fast. I went home and decided I would just do Coborns Delivers and make a list. I skyped with Jason, and I had told him I had to wake up extra early Saturday because I needed a car wash since I was the official race vehicle for a work event the next day. I wasn’t about to have a dirty car going around the course. So he mentioned that because it was going to be below zero I shoud get a car wash on Friday night… because often times they close if is less than 5 degrees out. So I left and took a detour to Target where i picked up the rest of my grogeries for the week. Oh I love you Target. Saturday I woke up at the butt crack of dawn and headed out to the race. I had stayed up watching TV shows the night before so I had about 5 hours or less of sleep. The race went wonderful! Despite the cold weather nearly all of my volunteers showed up! YAY for Volunteers. Afterwards a few of us went to Cooper for the “post race” party, which was coming to a close by the time that we unloaded the “truck” and got over there. I had mushroom pizza, and it was great conversation, and great company! Then I was off to a new salon near my work. I got hight lights,and low lights put in,and while I wasn’t planning on it,I got a hair cut as well to even out some of my very odd layers that had grown in because of an odd hair cut a year or so ago. I was very happy with the results. I ran home and got the dogs, and then headed to Frank & Theo’s to get Kirra, and have dinner. We ordered from the Blacksmith, a favorite in our family, and again had great conversation. Kirra bless her went straight to bed so that I could also go straight to bed at 11pm. I was absolutely exhausted! Today we woke up around 9:30 a.m. (Thank you Kirra for letting mommy catch up on some sleep). We had breakfast,and Kirra played some online games while I cleaned. I decided to burn the Christmas tree,and almost started the whole yard on fire. I’m semi certain in hindsight that there was a fire ban due to the extremely dry conditions. I’ve never burned a Christmas tree before, so I had no idea how HUGE this bonfire was going to be,and because everything was so dry,our grass immediately caught fire around the fire pit…. I did manage to get that part out, but it took me the better half of the day to get the fire out. Because it wasn’t a real emergency I didn’t want to use the hose,and run the risk of wrecking our pipes/outdoor faucet,so i poured coffee pots of water on the fire pit all day. I wish I had waited until this weekend to have said fire,because it was my best fire yet, and it burned EVERYTHING that was in the fire pit. I’m now sitting around a contained fire in our fire place,sipping on some Tempranillo, and blogging. Will be hitting the hay early again tonight since i’m quite down on sleep. That’s wraps up the Weekend Re-Cap.

1st day at Montessori

Well Kirra started [Montessori] school today. We found her hook (with her name on it) and got her settled in, and then brought her to her upstairs classroom that she will be in for before, and after school care. There were lots of kids (but not too many), boys and girls. This is the room with “real toys” She was in there until 9am, and then she got to go outside and play on the playground for a half hour. Then it was snack time, and play until 11:00 a.m. when she had lunch down in her classroom, and then learning time in there until 3:30 p.m. and then go back up to her room that I dropped her off in for after school care. When I arrived she was playing nicely with others, and said she made a new friend,Piper. She said she had a lot of fun, and practiced writing her name, and played with numbers. The one teacher did say she had a few moments where she felt sad, or frustrated because she didn’t know all the words to a song, or missed us, but that its typical for a new student. Friday we will get her folder with all of the stuff she had done for the week. she is excited to go back tomorrow, so that’s a good sign. 🙂

Weekend Re-Cap

Well first off I’m super behind on posting anything about our family for weeks now! Kirra celebrated her FOURTH birthday with two parties, lots of Tinkerbell, and family and friends. Friday of her birthday weekend 11/11/11 – we had the K side over to our house and had Chicken Divan for dinner. She got PJs, some preschool books, barbies, puzzles and more. Saturday morning – bright and early our friend Lisa came over and gave Kirra Tinkerbell themed gifts! A tink doll, shirt, puzzle, and princess coloring book! We’ve already had so much fun with it all! We were off for dance class, which it looked as though they were going to start rehearsing their routine for the recital in 5 weeks, but most of the class was spent on basics. Finally in the evening I made Chili two ways. One was beef chili and the other was venison chili. Most people ate the Darwin Chili as Amillie calls it… but I personally just had the beef. Again Kirra got some really amazing gifts, a vtec laptop, more tinker bell, PJs, and a HUGE barbie house!!! Kirra and I have now been playing barbies for hours at a time since her birthday! Its pretty cool. Thank you to everyone who wished Kirra well, and who celebrated. Thanks also for the new toys & PJs. Kirra LOVES them all!

Cleanup on Aisle 8

Today Kirra and I went to Super Target to get the food/ingredients we needed for her birthday parties tomorrow and on Saturday. Included in that was some reddi-whip for the frosting for her cupcakes. Well since we’re doing cupcakes both nights I figured we better buy two cans of reddi-whip. Well we were in the checkout lane, and were putting the items/ingredients up on the conveyer belt. Kirra was helping me, and was she just about to hike up the reddi-whip, when she dropped it on the floor in front of her and it exploded with a violent white furry all over the floor…. all over us…. all over the cart…. all over the magazines…. all over the snacks…ALL OVER AISLE 8. Did you know how slippery Reddi whip is? I found out, because then I slipped and fell because it was like standing on an ice skating rink,and then I kept slipping, and was barely able to even stand up without death gripping the cart! The very nice cashier, called for “Cleanup on Aisle 8” and then promptly handed me a wad of paper towels,and like an idiot (or a mom) I started whipping up the floor, and our mess. She told me no, they were for me, and my daughter to wipe off on. (Since we were covered,and looked like the abominable snow man) They were so nice there, and i was just MORTIFIED! (Mortified like I was 10 minutes earlier when we were in the shaving aisle… and Kirra announced VERY loudly [when noticing a box of Nair for bikini area] – “Look how inappropriate those women are mommy, they’re showing off their potty… hahaha POTTY! Potty Potty Potty,Uncle Rick fixes potties…”) And then I got some stares. Needless to say it was a funny, and very embarrassing trip to Target!!!!

Birthday Memories & Storytime

Well since I’ve last posted we had a milestone birthday! Jason turned 30! We had a big party for him at our house with around 30 people over.

The night was very unseasonably warm, and our house was rather toastie,so we had a bonfire out on our patio. 30 people on our patio is DEFINITELY MAX limit! Since Jason doesn’t really like cake I told him to pick out whatever he wanted, so we surprised everyone with Little Debbie/Hostes cupcakes. I somehow managed to get a candle in his,and then held out a basket for everyone with individually wrapped cupcakes asking people if they wanted a “slice of cake” I know we brought some elementary school memories back…It was a hoot!

Kirra is still doing great at dance,and for the most part is paying attention to her instructors! Last night was completely hysterical…

After we put Kirra down to bed and were snuggling up for some TV shows in bed I inquired with Jason if we had any desert snacks in the house. His response was no…but I should go to Dairy Queen! Excellent idea I thought so I grabbed my purse, hopped in my car and cranked up the tunes since I was sans kiddo. A few blocks from home I noticed a Ginormous spider crawling across my windshield!!! I peered closer to see if it was inside or outside of the car and to my horror it was inside!!! So I did a quick check in the rearview mirror to make sure there were no cars behind me (check),and slammed on the breaks.

I fought for several seconds to get my seatbelt off, and then my car door to get unlocked when i jumped out the car screaming OH MY GOD on top of my lungs…

Then I looked up at my car and noticed that it was rolling away. D@*nit!!

I had to make a very fast decision. I had to literally RUN after my car…jump back in my car despite my fears and slam on the breaks….and put it in park! So I did all the while screaming for my life…I got it in park and jumped out again… I turned the flashlight portion of my phone on,and began to scour the car for the spider… cos I wasn’t going back in that car with that sucker just crawling around wherever and up my legs etc.

I finally gave up after 20 minutes,and went to DQ with my jacket around my legs, and my hoodie pulled tight around my head. Sadly… this story is completely not exaggerated…

I just finished reading an EXCELLENT book this evening called the Glass Castle. Its so amazing. I highly recommend it to ANYONE. Its a true story about how a girl was raised on the edge of homelessness her entire life because her father was a severe alcoholic. Kirra and I went to Storytime tonight at the Library,and brought home 10 new books for her. We had a marathon reading session tonight, and read them all! They’re all really fun books.

Am I the only one who is craving winter? I know I’m totally nuts…but everything is just so pretty when its all covered in white! Plus then I can start XC Skiing (My favorite) and downhill skiing (my other favorite). I’m craving winter now because we started talks about our annual Lutsen trip! I seriously can’t wait. T-60 (or so days) until Lutsen…