No more yard sales for me!

Of course, I only mean having them!! Today was part two of the last yard sale. I made a big $75, which is more than I started with.(Right around $40 last week) Like Julia said after hers, it is pretty good for stuff you don't want anymore! My friend Jennifer came and took all the leftovers away for her church's outreach program. I think that gives me a weight loss of about 100 pounds!!(I wish!!) If I did that right, I just linked Julia and I will be so proud and I will feel so geeky smart!!

Kayla's skate party was last night and it was great jolly fun. I love that all I have to do is show up with candles and a check. Really cool the night before a yard sale since the house was super trashed! She had a really good time and one of her friends spent the night afterward. This friend is number 3 of 4 kids and seems like just another one of ours when she is here! If only all sleepovers were so easy.

In other news!!!
*Thunder is on the prowl. We hope he is not back in the slammer.

*Our gray gray has six of the cutest kittens I've ever seen and we will get her fixed before she procreates again!!

*Grandma is back in the hospital and seems to be recovering well. They discovered that she did indeed break something-her back. Not a good thing.

*My bathroom is still not trimmed, I was all intent on finishing the last time I posted about it. When I pulled off the tape after painting trim, the other paint came off because I painted paneling-so I put wallpaper there instead....the project goes on and on-this is my life. The sink will have to be pulled to wallpaper behind which brings hubby into the picture so it is on hold for a while longer.

*I ordered the last bit of curriculum for our school today. I am getting a little more excited. I will probably start somewhere around the first of August.

*Erik has noticed that I am nicer. He has been nicer too. Thank you Dr. Laura. Read the book-REALLY!! "The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands" just in case you forgot. Favorite quote in the book from a male listener: "If I am not horny, make me a sandwich." She was pointing out that men are very simple and wonderful to live with if the two most basic needs are always met + RESPECT. I concur! I asked Erik if he agreed and he says yes!

Nice begats nice. It is pretty neat how making your mind up to be nice to someone(think hubby) just gets easier and easier because they are nice back. As soon as I can, I will try it with my children. It is like God and Jesus knew what they were talking about when they said "loving" each other was the key to being a follower. This is a stretch for me. My nature is to snarl and sulk(only at home, of course). I feel like a new woman.

The Today show is male bashing today, imagine that. Comparing men to training an animal. I hate women's lib/propaganda crap. The idea that woman are somehow superior is such a load of baloney!!

Hubby is home this week and we are totally off schedule/routine. It is fun though- a break from the norm!

Read Psalms 18. It is awesome. It talks about how the words you speak have the power of life and death. Be sure to speak life over your family!! Don't speak bad words over your family!!

I am having a change of heart!!

Towards my husband, that is. I have a lifetime of comparing my life to other people's. This is so flawed and impossible because I know I only see what they show and I base way too much on what I see. I have really been praying to God to show me my defects of character. WOW! Only ask for that if you are ready to receive it. While yard saling, I ran across the book by Dr Laura Schlessinger(sp?) "The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands". My friend Crystal had already recommended that book to me so I snarfed it up thinking for the hundredth time of all the lovely ways our home would improve if only my husband would change.

(EYES WIDE OPEN) I am such an ungrateful NAG!!! My husband works hard out in the heat(or cold) carrying a fifty pound mailbag-walking the WHOLE day so that I may stay home and raise our children. When he comes home tired, I complain that he is tired. Sometimes I do not even speak to him because I am busy. Then I am angry because he is hungry and I haven't gotten around to planning supper??!! LOSER!! I am going to write myself notes and put them all around the house to remind me how lucky I am that I have this wonderful man who has put up with me for 12 years even though I am so mean. Of course there are issues that we have to deal with that are legitimate, but I think I may try being nice for a few days and seeing if that works better than the cold shoulder. I bet it will. Ladies, buy this book and put it somewhere so you can read it everyday!! Then be sure to take a closer look at all of those marriages you admire. I bet it is not the man who is so much better than yours, but the wife who loves and appreciates her man that makes it work!!

I just had to share that with you!! Other points of interest in my weekend:

*Thunder still home, yeah!!

*Yard sale went great-not making money but getting rid of things!! Sold an entertainment center for $5-I so did not want to pack that thing back in anywhere!! I am doing it again this Saturday. Look out clutter!!

*Kayla turned nine on Sunday and we had a day of fun for her!! We went to Maggie's Jungle golf-not for the golf but the zoo part, Gattiland, and rode go-karts. We finished off the night with swimming and then going to the drive-in to see "Over the Hedge". It was a full day. She loved it. We do this instead of a present. It costs more but it is alot more fun than a new toy!!

*Trying to decide when to start school again. Not excited-well maybe a little!

*Trying to keep all my "plants" watered is exhausting!! Maybe I sould get fewer "plants"!!

All Tucked In...

That is where all my girls are and it feels good!! If only hubby wasn't gigging we could all be tucked away in our little house. He will be home soon and then we will!!

It is storming like crazy here!!

We bailed my dog, Thunder, out of doggie jail today. This is round two for him. He is such a great dog but he is a wanderer and snobs in the subsurbs don't like the doggies on their perfectly manicured lawns so they call him in. Since he was collarless, they hauled him to the bighouse. We had to show our credentials and pay a fine. Now he stinks like the pound and is very resentful of the vinegar I keep spraying him with!(~d-I found another use!!)

Still planning the sale tomorrow-I hope the weather cooperates!!

Have an awesome weekend!

Getting ready to post like crazy on ebay and have a yard sale on Saturday. Can anyone say cleanning out??

Big girls come home from camp tomorrow. I am glad-I miss them like crazy. Postcards indicate they have had a blast except for the heat. Can't wait to hear all about it.

Grandma still not doing well. Took her some soup tonight-she requested it. I hope she eats and drinks well tonight. She has gone downhill since Monday. I know she is 92 but I think the world of her and no one is ready for her not to bounce back! Her name is Dorothy, keep her in your prayers!!

Off I go to the land of DO-ing!!

It is finished!

Of course the battle of good and evil decided long ago, but also the trailor!! I finished it today and I am so happy. Lilly is too! She did not have a good time.

Grandma is home now. We saw her this morning. She is her usual self, and not at all happy about her broken hearing aid. It must be frustrating not to be able to hear!!

I hope I can get alot of my to-do list done this week!! It is about a mile long. I feel like a hamster in a wheel-except the trailor is done. Hip hip hooray!!

Is One Child Harder Than Three?

In some ways , yes. Especially if that child thinks her older sisters hung the moon and talks about them all day long. I don't think it occurred to me how hard their absence would be on Lilly (or me!). We are out of our routine. I am trying to savor all that I can get done and enjoy no fighting for a few days, but I really miss them too. No more belly-aching-I know they are having a great time at camp!

We tried to go boating yesterday only to discover-at the boat launch-that our battery was dead. Great fun. Erik was so mad at himself-usually he fires it up in the driveway before we go just to make sure. WE were all excited and eager to go so we missed a step. We got home and swam in the pool instead. It is so hot here you need to be in some sort of water to be outside!

Erik's grandma fell yesterday. By some sort of miracle, nothing is broken. Everyone is shocked and thankful. Lilly and I will be going to the hospital for a visit today. I am also finishing Billy's trailor today. I am ready to mark that off my to do list. I wanted to do it yesterday, but I just could not make myself. We savored our (partial)family day instead. Have an awesome week!

Why is my blog "plant" so green and healthy?

I will be limiting my computer time from now on, so expect fewer comments and shorter posts. I can never quit entirely, to good of a vent for me but I am a little excessive. It will be my new treat for DO-ing not just BE-ing.

Today we got up at the crack of dawn for yard-sailing and then swam when we got home.

Lilly is singing "What a Mighty God We Serve!" Ain't it the truth!! Have a great weekend!

I am back!!!

Chicago was awesome!! I loved every minute of conference. The workshops, the enthusiasm, the new products, girl time!! My favorite time of all was when I skipped one of my classes and went back to the room to ponder "the plants I water". One of the speakers had given this visual about how we all have "plants" in our life. Some of them are overwatered, some we don't water at all and others we put away into a closet for days and week and still expect it to be green and healthy. She went on to say that any plant can go a few days without water and even sunshine. Some can go quite a while and still bounce back and do ok once sun and water return. HOWEVER, in life, do we want to take that approach? We need to strive to keep our lives in balance and all of our "plants" green and healthy. (HEATHER-I know you are loving this analogy!) She is a Pampered Chef consultant that has been in this business for 17 years so she has watched her children grow up in it. She has also remained consistent and advanced in both sales and growing a sales team. I needed to hear the plant story so much!! I also went to a time management class that built on that concept even more. I'll discuss that more later. Right now my "kids plant" needs sunshine and water!! ( :

When my girls asked where we were going, I said I don't know yet. Then I laughed and said, "I know where I am not going-Billy's trailor!!" They laughed too because we have spent so much time there. Although, now that they have discovered outside, and the magnolia tree!!, they are looking forward to going again!! My kids are country girls. They love a good tree with low branches. They love multi-colored foliage that can be made into pretend salad. I was the same way when I was a kid and it is fun to watch them do the same things I did. I did not teach them this, it is inborn with enough time spent out-of-doors. I am blessed with good girls that make me crazy on some days and close to tears of joy on others. Motherhood!

The date, was awesome. We went to di frattelli which is a fine dining Italian Restaurant located in historic downtown Paducah. Our meal was so wonderful, I can't even describe it!! We finished up with bananas foster made and flambayed(SPELL???)at the end of our table. DELICIOUSO!! If you ever go there, make sure you have that!! Keep back from the flames though. I know how to make bananas foster, but I never have because I did not believe it would be very good-the ingredients are so ordinary. The girls and I will be making this dish soon!! The bill gave me massive shock, but it was so good, we didn't mind paying $3.50 per cup of coffee!! I don't know that we will be returning any time soon-but it was great.

We did go to Billy's trailor afterward to meet David and Karen from Erik's work. We sold them Billy's table and chairs. It did not take very long. On our way back we stopped at the liquor store for a nice chianti for later. Then we went by the pirate night at church to offer Sarah & Phillip Billy's couch. They are measuring. Our church was transformed into a pirate ship. What a terrific idea! Everything was awesome. We left pretty quick though, but I am glad I got to see it and CAMERON was there too and I have not seen him in a while!! My long lost son. I really regret not babysitting him sometimes, but our life is just too crazy to accommodate another schedule. But the times when it isn't?? I miss him alot and so do my girls-which leads to a whole other set of reasons why I don't babysit him anymore. Let's just say, the crushes were forming.

Then we went to Erik's mom and dad's to give them the money from the table and visited there briefly. Then we were home before 10 o'clock. I chatted a while with Kathy-she took the girls to the park and out for ice cream after. They had a great evening too!! Then after she left, we enjoyed our chianti-which is my favorite red wine so far-we are trying to find a nice red wine to be our healthy nightcap on occassion. Then we had a very pleasant rest of the evening. We should date more often.

Tomorrow morning I leave for Chicago and I can't wait!!!!!! I will not be posting for a while, so keep me in your thoughts and prayers. Who knows, Erik may blog while I am gone. If so you must demand more pictures!!

I have a date tonight!!!! I am sooo excited. He is sooo cute. Tall, good-looking, blue eyes, blondish hair. He hasn't told me where we are going, but it really doesn't matter. I think it will be groovy just to spend time with him.

AND the children will not be with us. My good friend Kathy is taking them on a picnic and to the park to play. Then she will bring them home and put them to bed. God blessed me with a wonderful friend for my girls and Erik and I.

I am trying to get this house into some semblance of order. Somehow, despite the THREE entertainment centers in my living room, only one of which is being used. This place is a zoo. HOWEVER, Billy's trailor is all nice and neat and tidy. It is all cleaned out except for a couch and table and chairs which will both be sold soon. I am so glad everything is all hauled off that is supposed to be!! As we took the bedroom suite to Goodwill, a man and his son walked over and asked Erik, "What are you gonna do with that?" Erik, without missing a beat said, "Give it to you." The man was not expecting this remark but was very grateful. He said they had 3 kids and one on the way and could use the drawer space. I think Elvis would be proud to see his bedroom suite go to a needy family.

As we pulled away with all our windows down, in her loudest voice Lilly said, "Are they poor?" I am truly paying for all the times I embarrassed my own mother with my mouth!! Times 3!!!

Have a great Friday!! I know I will. I may even "go all the way" with my date if he minds his manners and treats me well!!

I just walked out to my garden to change the full bag of Japanese beetles and realized there are so many beetles all around now that I cannot go in my garden. Don't use the bags!!! Then I come in and check my email and Heather tells me to get rid of the bags because they attact even more than they trap!! Here is info from the link she sent me:

"Japanese beetle traps are sold in many garden centers. Commercially available traps attract the beetles with two types of baits. One mimics the scent of virgin female beetles and is highly attractive to males. The other bait is a sweet-smelling food-type lure that attracts both sexes. This combination of ingredients is such a powerful attractant that traps can draw in thousands of beetles in a day.

Research conducted at the University of Kentucky has shown that the traps attract many more beetles than are actually caught. Consequently, susceptible plants along the flight path of the beetles and in the vicinity of traps are likely to suffer much more damage than if no traps are used at all. In most landscape situations, use of Japanese beetle traps probably will do more harm than good. If you experiment with traps, be sure to place them well away from gardens and landscape plants."


APPARENTLY, I have hung out a sign in my garden that reads "COME TO MY GARDEN FOR VIRGIN GIRL BEETLES READY TO MATE" No wonder I can't pick my squash and zucchini for all of the beetles. That sign would work on any species!! We will be removing the bags and getting some good old sevin dust instead!

Erik and I went last night to a potluck at another church. They had a picnic for the children from 3-6 and I was able to finish packing up the rest of the items from Billy's trailor without the kiddos. They were so glad not to be a part of the last haul-off to goodwill!! All that is left are the big items; bedroom suite-straight from the seventies (add some red or green velvet and it could be in Graceland!!), an entertainment center, couch and misc matresses. Quite a potpourri of bedding items-frames and matresses everywhere but none of them make a complete bed?? I guess we are getting the rest of the things today and storing them here until we sell them. Trailor will have to be professionally cleaned to get the smoking odors out of there!! Erik's Dad is considering getting new carpet to help with selling it. Soon, we will be done with this. I hope I am not boring you to tears with details.

Back to the potluck, it was very interesting to watch people. Everywhere you go, people are basically the same. Superficial. We met alot of superficial people. We were superficial. I ran into a really good friend who is going through a very rough season right now. She is a VERY strong warrior for Christ and she is under attack right now. I might make other judgements about her if I did not know her. I spent several hours watching her witness to a total stranger. She showed Christ and love and endless patience. I was jealous, I wanted her to talk with and visit me. At some point my feelings changed and I appreciated her heart for God and the kingdom. People with that kind of God-power are always attacked by Satan. Always. She said, "I have wanted to call you, but I am not doing so well with the make nice everything is great conversations right now." I went on to say that she could call me anytime-I was there through thick and thin-pleasantries or unpleasantries. I hope she will. I have called her a couple of times over the last two months and I knew she was really struggling, but did not realize it was spiritual until last night. I was also a little preoccupied with my own struggles and the attacks in my own life and marriage. I had told my other friend Nancy that we desperately needed prayers and so that was why we were there. Her name is Lisa, please join me in praying for her.

We went into the prayer room with four complete strangers who knew nothing about us. They asked how they could pray for us. Erik said that he had lost two uncles and we were helping sort through that and there was alot of pressure and burden on his father. I said our marriage was not doing well, we were not teaching Christ to our children in the way that we wanted to and my husband was not the spiritual leader of our home-possibly because I could not let him be. They prayed for all of those things with us. Erik and I both repented of what we felt our sins are and we left feeling very good about what happened. We came home put the kids to bed and worked on things around here until midnight and then fell exhausted into bed. I woke up in the middle of the night having had a dream about a huge rattlesnake (it's head was the size of a dog head) in the middle of a room with me, Erik and all our girls gathered around it. We had just called someone to help us get rid of it(shoot it) when I woke up. It had been living under our house and present with us without us knowing it. AND of course had grown very large indeed!! Some of the ways this can be interpreted are so obvious. I do believe it has meaning and I do believe it is a message from God. I am working on sorting through exactly what it means. I also will be interested to talk with Erik later and see if he dreamed anything last night. Our family is definitely under attack by Satan and has been for a long time. I feel like we are just now trying to deal with those attacks and align ourselves with what God wants from us. One of the women who prayed with us suggested that we each work on growing closer to God on our own, praying for God to fill us with himself and then we would be closer as a couple as well. God has been leading me in that direction as well. I am going to find those worksheets and work on me instead of trying to fix Erik. He and God are the only ones who can fix him. This is not to say I will not be involved-just not the way I have been before. The struggles I have are big and need to be dealt with. I have to take care of the plank in my own eye before I can see the speck in someone else's.

WOW what a serious post. This is my journal too. I am in a serious place. I hope sharing it out loud helps me and someone else out there too.

UNRELATED RANDOM THOUGHT: Japanese beetles are disgusting and attacking this section of the state with a vengeance! We bought two of those bag a bug things and they are filling up fast. I hate those nasty green beetles!! When we were in Mayfield, I noticed that several entire trees looked brown but when you got closer, they had been devoured by japanese beetles. EEEEWWWW!!!!!

You Are 48% Open Minded

You aren't exactly open minded, but you have been known to occasionally change your mind. You're tolerant enough to get along with others who are very different... But you may be quietly judgmental of things or people you think are wrong. You take your own values pretty seriously, and it would take a lot to change them.

How Open Minded Are You?

RANDOM & ODD (LIKE ME)

Going to the $1 movie this morning. (I should be showering right now!)
True confession-sometimes I nap while they are all watching. Jimmy Neutron was a really good nap!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE fireworks!! We went to Mayfield and got there really early-walked to Sonic for milkshakes and a slushy. It was great! I saw an old friend from school and met her children. We were good nice parents and we did not lose our cool, we enjoyed our kids. (not losing my cool is one of the biggies I am working on and hope Erik is joining me)

We are visiting another church tonight. They are having a picnic and I hope Erik and I can get prayed over-we have lots of "crap" lately and I know it is of the devil. One of my good friends says we need to be aware of the spiritual warfare stuff going on and pray for God's protection. I agree. Soemday we will be able to do that at our home church-please God move us that direction!!

Found my spiritual inventory book but lost the worksheets from Billy's. I love me so. Why did God bless me with 3 children when I am such a spaz????

Today we hope to pack up and cart off the last of the things from Billy's trailor. I also hope to be nice to my children while we are doing that. They are such good kids too!! They are so eager to help. Why did God bless me with 3 children when I am such a spaz????

This time next week I will be in Chicago at Pampered Chef National Convention. I love Chicago!!! July is gonna be a blur!! The next week the big girls have camp and then the last week Erik is on vacation and we will try to do somethin' fun!!

Please pray for me as often as you think about me. (I know this is every minute of every day-ha) God is really moving me to make some positive much needed changes with my kids and spouse. It is easier to stay the same. It would be awful to stay the same. Soem of these changes will go against my nature in every way. God change my nature!!

If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a
tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion
is worthless.

James 1:26, New International Version

My scripture of the day today. I think God is trying to remind me gently! I need to be reminded, often and not always gently. My friend Sherry covered her ears like a kid and made noise when I started to say something not so nice about someone. It made me laugh, but I got the point. Our preacher Terrell would really like Sherry, he says that is exactly what we should do-actually he said to say, "In the name of Jesus, SHUT UP!" It is hard to rein the tongue. It is hard to bring your thoughts captive to God. If we were not thinking it so often, it would not come out so often. I am stuggling!! It isn't until you really start to become conscious of a sin do you realize how pervasive it is!! I said it, I am pervaded. Some of you already knew. Some of you admit it of yourselves. For some of you, God isn't dealing with you yet. Never fear, he will.

So lately, with all this conviction, plus the work we are doing with Billy's trailor, makes me really think alot. Our life here is so brief and so full of opportunity for kingdom good. Why are we sooooo busy with other stuff? Why are we so caught up in the mundane that we forget people are important to God. Ever walk up on a group of people and hang your head to avoid eye contact? Would it be so hard for me to seek to make eye contact and smile? Greet someone that I know with a big smile and say "Good to see you!" When people have done that to me it bolsters me immediately. I feel worthy. We are all worthy. Why don't we seek to make each other feel worthy?

Other things this death thing has taught me?
*Your laundry is still not finished, even if you are dead.

*Keeping clothes that don't fit or are out of style is really pointless.

*Having too much of anything is pointless.

*Someone else will go through all of your personal items someday.

*People will judge you by the STUFF you keep.

*Don't keep food that is out-of-date.

*Doing nice things for other people feels good.

*Be involved with your family, even if you don't approve of their lifestyle. They may pass on and you will have tons of regret.

*Never live with someone without being married. When they die you are left with less than nothing. You will be uprooted from your home and really have no rights. Someone else will pack up your things and even though they will do everything to avoid it, your privacy will be invaded.


These are things I will remember always. I want to leave a legacy. I hope my legacy is that I was loving and cared about people. I hope I put more importance on people and not "stuff". I never would have thought I would take all of this so personally. I really thought we would just go and clean out his stuff, take it to the Salvation Army and deliver her stuff to her and be done with it. It is, instead, reshaping who I am. God knew I needed to be reshaped and is using whatever it takes to do it. I am learning alot about who I am by seeing who Billy was. We all tend to overlook our faults and see the good in ourselves. We procrastinate the changes we need to make in our own lives, but really think others should go ahead and make their changes. How funny is that. It reminds me of a short poem.

I would diet if I could
Find a plan that's proven true.
But most importantly of all,
I would diet if I were you.

So easy to see the "fat" on others bodies and overlook our "fat" that we can do something about. This is both literal and figurative!

I am trying not to procrastinate my changes anymore. My Sunday school class is doing our spiritual inventory and this is so timely (God is good!)(If only I can find my book-but that is another post) I also have a copy of a fearless moral inventory that I found in some of Billy's rehab stuff. It was just a worksheet with no personal stuff on it. I plan to do it for myself and I will share the worksheet with you. It was a really awesome page. There is also a list of character defects that I want to go through for myself. 12 step programs are really awesome. Everyone should do the steps, they are totally biblical.

Hi, My name is Janice and I am a sinner.

Random things:

~d, your blog makes my head spin. I am probably the only person in the world that doesn't understand but I just don't!! I still read though so I guess that counts for something.


I am painting the rest of the trim in my bathroom today and the ceiling. I am planting the kiddos in front of a movie and getting it done even though it is gorgeous and sunny outside!

We are no where near finished with Billy's trailor and I hope we can finish tonight and tomorrow. It is really freaking me out that we can't just knock it out.

Last night we did not work on it. I went to bed at about 9:30 and slept until 7:30 this morning. It is like I was tired or something!!

The whole world has big plans this weekend. We do not. I am a little resentful of that and I am trying to channel that angst into productivity!!

My kids fight so much I can NOT STAND IT!!!!!

That's all for now.