Crazy Beautiful Life

Blogging has been off of my radar this week.  Sorry for the silence.  I'm not sure of the exact reason, but I think there are a few things that have contributed to it.  I have been thinking a lot and praying for the families in Joplin, and the other many towns that have been hit with tornadoes.  My friend, Crissyanna, over at Created for Home, lives in Joplin.  While she, her family, and their home are all okay, they have been working in crisis management all week at their church, and are trying to establish a new normal in their lives.  My heart is breaking for this town, and I so wish that I could go down and help her serve.  However, this week has reminded me that I am 26 weeks pregnant, and at risk for preterm labor (both pregnancies, it started at 30 and 32 weeks), so I am limiting my activities.  I don't think removing rubble would be the greatest of ideas for me!  However, I have been in constant prayer for these families.

We started off by spending the weekend at my parents in Illinois.  We came back on Monday, so Tuesday was spent trying to get things put away (and working around window installers) so that if we had a showing on the house, we would be ready.  Good thing, because Wednesday was spent trying to stay out of the house.  We got up late, and then immediately got a phone call that requested a showing in an hour.  That meant showering, eating, and getting girls ready to leave the house, in addition to having a house ready to be shown.  This time was also spent listening to tornado sirens going off (thankfully, it was not for our specific area, but it was close by).  Being from Illinois, if the siren is going off, that means (in my mind) that we need to hit the basement, but my oh-so-experienced-husband-from-Kansas informed me that here we don't panic, and we don't go downstairs until it really is west of us.  Silly me for panicking when I heard tornado sirens, especially after all of the action recently in Tornado Alley!  So, the girls and I made it a practice run while Scott cleaned windows.  Bella is especially scared of tornadoes, but she really wanted to watch the news covering the storms, and has gotten better about it this week.  I think that being educated about them has helped her a bit.  I put off telling her too much about what could happen, and showing her pictures, but she has been more relaxed about the whole ordeal since seeing the weather reports and pictures.  Somehow, the opportunity for her to pray for the people who have suffered has eased her fear.   

After our adventurous hour, we headed to Walmart to pick up some things for school and such, plus I needed to get some storage bins to organize my wonderful stash of baby boy clothing I was blessed with on our trip to Illinois.  (Baby Bumblebee now has clothing up to size 2T!)  I apparently found the perfect time to go shopping:  in between severe thunderstorms.  I've never seen Walmart so quiet!  So we spent some extra time there checking out all of their baby items.  Pretty soon, Scott called to tell me there was another storm headed this way, so we should head towards home.  We were home all of 20 minutes, maybe, when he called to let me know that there was yet another showing now scheduled, so the girls got their pencil boxes put together and colored a bit while I tried to vacuum the carpet.  This time while we had to leave the house, we went to McDonald's for lunch and playtime.  I think all the busyness got to me, because I wasn't drinking enough water, and I was terribly sore by the end of the day.  I sat with my feet up for the rest of the evening, minus that half hour where I took the girls to church, only to find out that I missed the memo that there were no children's activities!

The rest of the week has been relatively quiet, as far as I can remember.  I did take the girls to Target on Thursday to pick up a birthday present and get some new swimsuits.  I was dreading the swimsuit shopping, but we did pretty well, and were out of the store in an hour.  That is good, considering that Bella takes forever to pick out birthday presents for her friends.  I can't blame her, I am the same way!  We just want to pick out the best present possible, and its so agonizing!  We also went to Scott's first volleyball game.  He is playing in our church's league this summer.  I would love to play also, but my balance is just a little off right now. :)  So we go to watch Scott play socialize. 

Friday was pajama day here mostly.  At 26 weeks pregnant, I am starting to leave the 'honeymoon' stage, and am feeling some aches and pains, and am tired exhausted without 9 hours of sleep!  The girls and I attended a birthday party at a friends house, and then we went to Party City to scout out Toy Story party decorations (Bella's party is next Saturday!) and Walmart to see about a pool (a small kiddie pool), since its going to be in the 80s all week. 

watch the new Yogi Bear movie that we got from Red Box last night!  Have a great Memorial Day weekend!  Hopefully I can find a time that I feel decent enough to get my pregnancy picture taken this week, but mostly I want to just rest. 

What matters

Its been a good week, and its not over yet! We found out on Tuesday that Delia, Scott's mom, has the 'good' kind of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia, and it is in the first stage. The medication she has been prescribed has been in use since 1995, and those patients have had no change in their diagnosis. So in about 3 weeks, she'll pretty much be feeling back to normal, back to work, and be on a medication for the rest of her life. She has had cancer now 3 times in 10 years, and each time, it has been caught in its earliest stages, and has always been the "if you are going to get cancer, this is the kind to have" sort.
We spent today doing some more landscaping. Almost done! We have mulch and plants to do down the side of the house; rock to lay in the back around the deck, and possibly, if there is enough mulch, mulch in the back corner. Today we pulled a lot of roots out, transplanted another small oak tree, and took out a bunch of pebbles that were around our deck. We are so blessed to have such wonderful girls. They both played so well today while we were working! Bella loves her swing set. If only someone could push her on that swing all the time! And they both had so much fun playing in the water table!
Earlier this week, we had someone come out and look at our oven. I found Dobbs' Handyman Service on Craigslist. We found that it needs a new hot surface ignitor. Due to the cost of the repair and the age of the range, we decided to fore go the repair, and are on the lookout for a newer range. We found an ad on Craigslist for a whole set of appliances, all fairly new, for an amazing price. Unfortunately, they are no longer for sale, but may be available again next week. Since we are busy this weekend, we can wait. Its worth it, believe me! Anyhow, we are on the look out for a new gas range!
I have been catching up on laundry this week. I have not achieved my goal of getting out my sewing machine. That will come. Like I told someone earlier this week, sometimes my eyes are bigger than my stomach in terms of my goals for the week! My room is still a mess (though its smaller), I haven't touched the front bedroom this week, and I never got around to the price list. BUT, I spent time with my babies this week, and prepared for our first MOPS meeting. We have 16 moms registered, and I'm hoping to add 4 more before this year. I'm not interested in numbers, but I can think of at least 4 offhand that could and should be involved with something for themselves as women. Its an awesome experience where you can be yourself and be known for who you are, not as mom or wife, but as friend. Anyhow, I accomplished what was important this week, and that is what matters.
Tomorrow, I'll be attending the first MOPS meeting of the year, and then heading to Olivet. I'm so excited to see an old friend again! And to see some other friends, plus my sister, who is a freshman this year! It will be a good weekend! How about yours?

Week at a glance

I thought I would start trying more regular postings, so this is my attempt at that! We'll see how it goes:)
We have a good week ahead! I'll have Lincoln on Monday, Tuesday, and half day on Wednesday. Monday night brings the first meeting of my small group again! I have missed it since last spring... yeah for girl time again!! Tuesday will probably be spent on landscaping. (There are pictures coming soon! We got the front planted, it just needs the finishing mulch put on!) Wednesday night I will be in the nursery with the kids! I'm working on a lesson for that. Thursday is Scott's day off, so probably more landscaping, and maybe a little fun! Friday will be my day at home with the girls. We like to sleep in, and do some cleaning along with fun stuff that day! Saturday will be probably more landscaping or other projects around the house.
Amidst all of this, I'm planning to clean out some toys, and get our bedroom straightened up. I also would like to start a price list. Aldi's recently opened just down the road from Walmart, and I want to make sure I'm buying at the right place/price to get the best deal! Also on the list is researching some more on homeschooling, and how to get a toddler/preschooler to eat something besides waffles, toast, and peanut butter and jelly. Oh, and get the oven fixed!