The Lord is my Strength and Shield

Before I write anything here from the word of God, I ask God to show me what he wants me to share. I can not ever just read the bible, I have to ask God for his direction. I always, and I mean always, am taken back when he reveals the scripture for me to read. Sometimes I need to read it a couple times and pray about it. God always shows me the scripture I need for whatever my situation. Tonight my anxiety is a little high! I did not sleep too well last night and there are so many things that are supposed to fall into place this week. All things that can create higher anxiety for me! Also, just being confined at home with little to do will raise my anxiety! For any one who has never struggled with anxiety! Well first, thank God! And know that anxiety is different from worry, it is more like worry personified times 10! It is often irrational and can creep up when you least expect it! I believe the many trials I have had in my life, the line of work I chose and various other factors are precipitators of my anxiety. I did not mean to bore you with all that, I digressed a little. Not by much! Tonight before opening my bible I asked God to show me what he wanted me to read and to share.
This is it: Joshua 1:9 This is my command-be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you where ever you go.
Bet you can see now why I went on that little tangent about anxiety! And that is why I ask him to show me what it is he wants me to read! And if you think that is pretty cool; I have a devotional study bible for women (there are a ton of great study bibles for everyone!) Tonights verse and study discusses radical paths, extreme situations." The dilemma is extreme and the only solution is a radical one. You've thought it through and you've considered all the alternatives. Your throat is sore from praying and your eyes burn from weeping. You know it's right but you are scared." ( I paraphrased tonights devotional) We made the radical choice to move here by faith, the situation certianly was extreme. God reminds me that I do not need to be afraid or discouraged! So tonight I will sleep with a lighter heart! God is with us and his plan is perfect! This week things will work out in their own time and in their own way.
Psalm 28:6-7 Praise the Lord! For he has heard my cry for mercy. The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all of my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.

Blah!

It has been a pretty gray and gloomy day! After we cleaned the house, it was just a an afternoon of reading! Over all it has been  boring day! The only sort of excitement we had was waiting for the mail to come. And once the mail had arrived, it was just a let down! The poor mail guy probably thinks we are as crazy as bed bugs! That is OK!  I am helping Kelly work on her project this afternoon. It is sad that I look forward to helping her on homework as much as I do! Boy, we need something to do with ourselves! That is just about it for the afternoon! Guess I had better consider cooking dinner! Aha, something to do!!

Waiting to Exhale!

Good morning! I know, I know it's Monday! It still can be good! I'm not sure what the day has in store for us here! We have no plans again! I am grateful for that, I slept very poorly last night! This morning Shawn and Kelly were up early. Kelly to get ready for school and Shawn to drive her. When one of our neighborhood kids came knocking on the door. He was looking too see if the offer for a ride to school, Shawn had made, was still on the table. This young man lives another street past ours, it is quite the significant walk to the high school Kelly and he attend! Today was raining and I guess he finally couldn't stand walking in rain another  minute, so he finally came knocking! Shawn reassured him that it would be no trouble giving him a ride to and from school, just as long as he was at the house by a specific time and waiting with Kelly after school. Now as long as the finances come through this week like we were told they would (in writing!), then we can stay true to that promise! Shawn and I feel pretty optimistic that we have turned the corner on all the waiting and that things will be in place by February 1st and no later than the 4th. That is what we have been told and now we have to be faithful that it will happen! I tell you what, if they all do fall into place as we have been told, there will be a very sudden wind gust down here in Montgomery!! That will be from the four of us finally exhaling!! Sometimes that is what this whole situation has felt like, we took a deep breath, made a big dive, but when we came up for air, we came up at the wrong time! Now we are in the final stretch and we are waiting to exhale!

Be Encouraged!

I have just watched a couple of the new postings for 30 Days Homeless. I pray that all of you have taken the opportunity to check out this site and hear about the mission Pastor Ryan set out to do. Today was the last day of Pastor Ryan living out on the streets, however I believe his heart will stay there! He has shared some pretty incredible stories!
Isaiah 40:31 Those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.
That is my prayer for those Pastor Ryan has met through his mission. That those living on the streets will have a new found hope and strength the Lord will carry them through this. That they be encouraged, God is NOT far from them.
Isaiah 40:11 He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will carry the lambs in his arms, holding them close to his heart.
That is my prayer for all of you, to be encouraged! Funny as I write this, I have to confess, somewhere in the back of my mind this morning's sermon must still be playing. The sermon was on encouragement! There is no such thing as coincidence where God is concerned!Today he must be telling me something, something very important! As Brother Knight discussed this morning; God sees the potential in all of us. People need to be encouraged.We can encourage by giving, we can encourage by forgiving and we can encourage by seeing other people's potential. I suppose before I start the finger pointing at "we", I had better take a good look at me! If you need some encouragement, I pray that you will have it heaped upon you!

Walking By Choice!

The girls and I left early for church and was able to find an ATM on that side of town that allows you to take money out in $1 increments! We were able to take out $19 of the $20 my folks gave to us, hooray! That meant I was able to put gas in the truck, even better...Kelly won't have to walk to school! She is quite pleased, it is supposed to rain on and off the next few days! So we drove to church and then drove home! It was an incredible service! When I prayed that first Sunday here for God to provide us with a church, he most definitely did just that! I really enjoy Heritage Baptist church! I can not speak for the girls, however I believe they love it too! I continue to pray that Shawn will want to go with us!
This afternoon it looks like rain! We are all considering taking a walk after we have all finished lunch! Walking by choice!! Later on this evening, Kelly will be going back to church for a big youth group event. She is pretty excited and I am excited for her. We found out at least one of the girls there lives in our neighborhood. My prayer is that Kelly and she will get along and Kelly will have a young lady her age to hang out with in the neighborhood! Be in prayer that both the girls will make some good connections here!

Getting Ready for Church!

Yay, it's Sunday! And even if I drive there, run out  of gas and have to walk back, I am going! Kate Lynn is in the shower, Kelly is grumbling and groaning in her room! I may be partially responsible for her grumbling, I may have taking a picture of her while she was sleeping! The sound of my camera phone woke her up! She immediately greeted me with "you better erase that!", no "good morning mom!". The 3 of us girls will be off to church soon! It is looking like another nice day today! When we get home from church, it may be sandwiches on the front porch. I am still quite taken back by my very different winter here! There is a slight chance of rain later this afternoon and it is going to be near 70 degrees,wow! I pray that all of you have a very nice Sunday! I will talk to you at the next post!

What color is cinnamon!

Kate Lynn cooked dinner tonight while I helped Kelly with a school project! Kate Lynn made her favorite dinner for all of us, chicken potpie over mashed potatoes and frozen corn on the cob. She did a good job with all of it! The school project turned into a nice distraction for me! I was really feeling yuck today, tonight I am feeling pretty decent! After I am finished here the girls and I are going to play cards. Shawn has turned into bed all ready. He and I discussed how he was coping with everything, he says he is doing OK, he just is tired. Being tired is a symptom of depression and it is completely understandable if he is struggling with that. As long as all other symptoms are in check and I am comfortable that they are! We were able to sit out on the front porch and soak up a whole bunch of the warm sunshine today, always a mood lifter! Today was a balmy 74 degrees, not too shabby for January! We walked a great deal today, exercise is also a pretty good mood lifter! Too bad we weren't looking to exercise! This won't be a typical winter, you know when the weather is freezing, the roads slick, the snow piled high and you put on a few winter pounds!
All right, time to go play cards with the girls, they are arguing over what color cinnamon is!!

In the Mean Time

Before we moved here, we sold just about everything we owned! Every bit of furniture, all the dishes, you name it. Once we got here and the situation was what it was, we  pawned items we had kept. These were things that were be held on to for mostly sentimental reasons or other personal reasons. But when things get tight you do what you have to! I have pawned most of my jewelry (including my wedding set!), Shawn had to pawn his TV and sell his surround system, there has been various jewelry pieces and my camera! When Kate Lynn graduated from High school I had given her the 1st ring Shawn gave me! Today we had no food in the house, and when I tell you no food I mean NONE! Today Kate Lynn took that ring and pawned it. With the money she received we were able to buy some groceries. It rips my heart out! We know in time it will be better! It is just in the mean time! I try so hard to hang tight to my faith and to pray all the time and with all of my heart. God has a lesson here for us, it has been quite a hard one! I can not wait for the day when I understand completely what that plan is! It may have to wait until I am old and gray and my time here is up. Only when I am home with Him, maybe then will I see it and understand it best! In the mean time....
In the mean time we humbly submit to God, In the mean time we make sacrifices that hurt a lot, In the mean time we hold each other up and stay strong as we can as a family, In the mean time we pray and wait, In the mean time...

Not a Good Start!

Beautiful and warm day here in Montgomery! Wishing I was in a better mood to enjoy it! My folks deposited $20 into Kate Lynn's account to help us out and we can not take it out. The ATM that would allow us to take it out is broken! All the others only allow you to take out money in $20 amounts and there is up to a $2 fee. So, so much for having money in an account! Shawn and I spent the better part of the morning walking from one ATM to another, five in all total, with no results! No I am a little more than cranky! And you don't want to listen to me rant and rave, so this is it for this morning!

Dinner's Done!

Whipped up some dinner, used a  whole bunch of stuff that alone wouldn't be a meal, together it made a big pasta salad! Kelly ate it however wasn't thrilled with the beans in it! Kate Lynn, well she doesn't like her food mixed!! Two of us will go to bed full the other two will learn beggars can't be choosers!  Pretty bad when you are glad to have one day done so that you can hurry through the next, hoping it will bring you closer to the day when things are better! That is I guess what we are doing! Not that I like it much! It is going to be quite nice this weekend! Unlike many of you, we have no plans whatsoever,again! I will spend too much harvesting fake crap on Farm ville! You can tell what things are like....Shawn just went to bed,it is 6:23pm here! Guess I will have another coffee!

No Back Up Plan!

Having a bit of a struggle with staying patient! Called a number given to  me by Beth last night, was told to call back on Monday! That is a whole lot of help for the next 3 days! I thought had a back up plan and just realized that I didn't have a back up plan like I thought! Made another call and now it is wait and see. That won't pan out until tomorrow morning if at all. I am very doubtful! I know God has a plan,but we need a miracle! We are trying to bide his time! Guess I better go see what magic I can pull out of my hat! Not feeling very magical right now, though!

Kelly's 1st Progress Report

It is going to  be a beautiful day here in Montgomery! I think I may like winter here! No  plans for today! I am most definitely going for a walk this afternoon! The rest of everything I give to the Lord, he knows what needs to be done and how to make it happen! Better yet, He can make things happen! So instead of fretting about things, I am going to try very hard to leave it all in his hands!
Right now I am enjoying the sun, a cup of coffee and some quiet time! Shawn is napping on the couch (his way of coping with not  having ciggies!) and Miss Kate Lynn has yet to drag her lazy bones out of bed! Kelly is off to school. She did not have a very good day yesterday! I'm hoping we can get somethings worked out for her! She had been earning an A in English when we lived in New Hampshire. It sounds like she has a pretty difficult teacher here and Kelly has an F in her class. Poor Kelly was in tears yesterday when she came home. English is not Kelly's best subject and she has been working so hard at it. That is why her grades were good in NH. She just can not seem to figure out how to make things work for her in the class here. And she doesn't seem to think her teacher is listening to her. I wrote a note on her progress report and am hoping we can resolve this quickly! Funny thing is, Kelly was receiving an F in World History up in NH (not at all to my delight!) on her progress report yesterday she has an A in the subject here! So not all bad news! We knew the school adjustment was going to be the most difficult of every thing, over all it has gone quite well. I can not complain! I know Kelly can! And I do not blame her, I know how hard she has worked in English! In due time, in due time! I am pretty darn proud of how well she has settled into school!

Another Family in Need

To start out: Proverbs 10:12 Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.
Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.

This evening I received a call from Beth, from Family Promise. She and her agency were of the most help when we were homeless, putting us up in a hotel when we couldn't find shelter. She was just calling to check in and see how things are going. Even if things aren't going well, after talking with her my day is better! She is such a positive and encouraging women! She stopped by for just a few minutes to bring us a few goodies and to see where it is we are living. She was on her way to the hospital to see someone. Which brings me to what I wanted to share! So often we become consumed by our own situation we forget there are others in even more difficult situations. Please, be in prayer there is a woman in Montgomery, she just had a baby last night and she has additional kids, they are homeless. Beth and her agency are trying to help this family out. I know how difficult it was with older kids being homeless, even when we were homeless the other times the girls were not babies. I can not imagine the struggle of having a new born, young kids and no home! I do not know much more than that about the family, good thing God does, so we don't need the specifics!
Not a bad day over all! Sometimes I need to spend a little quiet time in the evening reflecting, pondering, praying and reading God's word to remind me of what is most important, what I need to worry about and what I don't!  Hebrews 13:6 So we can say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?"

Benefits Update!

A disability benefit update! We received the letters outlining Shawn's disability, still NO check! He will be receiving his first check on or around the 3rd of February (that is how they phrase it!). Still no word on when he will be receiving the monies that they owe him. I was told today when I called "it's still pending!"  While they are still "pending" life moves forward! We had been told Shawn would receive a check in January and that is most definitely not looking to be the case! I wish one of those offices could get it together and give us the information straight up! So for at least the next 6 days we are going to have to punt it! We are a bit aggravated with the whole thing! I wonder how any of them in their nice cushy office would like to hear they need to just wait until someone felt like paying them, could be up to four months or more! It has been agreed yes, Shawn is eligible, yes they owe him from October to December and they have given specific amounts, why can't they just print out and send a check all ready? And for those who have asked us if we explained our hardship to them, yes we have! Their response "our problem, not theirs!".  And if anyone is wondering what happened to January, seeing they owe us from October to December and the first benefit check is in February...February's check is January's check! And if you read the whole procedure of the disability run around in one of my earlier posts, let me update you; Shawn's file is back in Montgomery! We try to remind ourselves that after Shawn starts receiving the benefits and all the back monies are paid, we will be on track again! In the mean time.....Please, pray that we will be patient! And that will God will provide in the mean time! The pending back check owed can be sent out sooner than later, maybe just maybe God will open the doors to make it happen sooner! (God, maybe tomorrow!?) That is the update on the benefits!

Dejavue!

A little sore still today! But I slept well and that helped! Another day of sitting and waiting! No plans! If I think I can manage it I may go finish raking some more of the back yard! It is supposed to be quite nice the next couple of days, so at the very least I can take a walk or two, or three, or four...
I am truly sorry  the blog has been pretty boring! Trust me it isn't a whole lot exciting here for us! I fill out applications online, clean the house, sit around, clean the house, run an errand, make an appointment, cook a meal, clean the house.. Be jealous! For all of you who wish they could just stay home and do nothing, after a while it gets pretty old! At least if I was working I would be meeting people and making some social connections. Glad for the time I am able to make it to church when we can. That helps so much!
I feel like I have been saying this a lot lately; For all of you in New England- Drive safe!
Going to be a beautiful day here,and tomorrow may be in the mid 60's!

Too Tired!

Oh my goodness! My arms are good and sore tonight and I am tuckered right out! After I raked the front yard, I scrubbed some lower cabinets (the sink leaked in the kitchen,joy!), I did up a load of laundry and then I cooked dinner! To say I was busy is putting it mildly! Nothing wrong with a little hard work! I am looking forward to a good nights sleep! A test for the new matress, if I can still move when I get up in the morning, then it's a good mattress! So short and sweet is all you get tonight! Sweet dreams!

HOORAY!

We met with the case manager, at the department of health and human services, to see if we would be able to have our food stamps reinstated. And between February 1st and 4th we will have received our first months benefits!! Praise God! One less worry!! One less BIG worry!! The process here in Montgomery was far simpler and the case manager we met with was quite nice. She also expressed some concern over the hassle we had received from the New Hampshire office, they had also given her the run around! That is that! No issues with any of the paper work and better yet, I had it all! We will not know how much until we receive the new card and the benefits are available, but anything is better then the second guessing we are doing now!
Kate Lynn and I made great progress with the front yard! It looked like it been last raked at the turn of the century! It looks a whole lot better now! I was beginning to think we were going to have start apologizing to our neighbors if we didn't rake soon! I am very sore and pretty tired out now! But it was a good day! And I feel like a lot has been done!

Be in Prayer, Please!

A bit of a harried morning! My anxiety is a little high! We have a meeting at 10:30 to see about reinstating our food stamps. I pray that I have all the paper work that we need or that we will be easily able to obtain it. The paper work chase is usually the worse and it detains everything! Please be in prayer for us this morning!Not much else planned today! After the meeting we are going to spend the afternoon at home cleaning the front yard! That should be good for coping with the anxiety! I pray that all of you have a great day!

Biding Our Time

I spent the afternoon baking cookies! I had to alter the recipe a little bit. They came out good, but my family noticed I changed the recipes. No complaints just a lot of " we liked your old recipe best". Snicker doodles are usually made with cream of tartar. You can change it and use more baking powder if you do not have cream of tartar. I didn't, so I did! The taste was the same, the texture was just different enough to be noticed by my snicker doodle aficionados! Tonight for dinner I played around a bit with a chicken recipe for oven fried chicken! With that my family was greatly thrilled! It came out extra crispy outside and extremely moist inside, my families favorite! Besides some cooking, cleaning and borrowing a rake, there was very little else to do! I am looking forward to raking tomorrow! All this cooking today I need to do some exercising tomorrow! Tomorrow morning we have an appointment to go see about having our food stamps reinstated! Can you believe we have had NO income for months now and they shut off our food stamps! We have reapplied through Montgomery, hoping and praying that things will go well! It will be a huge help! I also applied for a Pharmacy Technician position at Jackson Hospital here in Montgomery. It would be so nice if I could get a job! I have skills and I have work experience!! You would think I would have a job by now!! The hospital is just about a 15 minute walk from our front door. So it would be quite convient!  I am getting to be a little pessamistic about the whole job search! I mean come on! I have seen 2 positions that I was most definately qualified for in the Mental Health field, I did not get them and I believe because no one wants to pay for experience! And because of the higher rate of pay up North I think employers down here are being even more hesitant. If they would call and talk to me they would find I am quite ready to work and will be quite agreeable to their rate of pay. I did not even recieve a call back for the Mortuary Transporter position. The rate of pay for that was starting at $8, it was really no different then being a bus driver (well, sort of!) and again, I think my experience blew my chances!  I am not expecting the same pay here as I recieved up in New England. Whenever I fill out an application I state I am flexible when asked what is my desired starting rate. When they further look at my past salaries I think it throws it all out the window. NOW, let me clearify, I was not making major bucks! The most I made at any job would be near $12 an hour. I would be thrilled if I could get a job that started at $8. I am not a snob! But I need to be given the opportunity to actually talk to someone and no one will even call me! UGH!! Anyways, that is my prayer, that someone at the hospital will see my application and call me before ruling me out! We still have not recieved anything further from disabilty. Just the letter stating Shawn was eligable for it. No letter stating for what he was eligable and for when he might be recieveing his first  check. We are far more optimistic than we have been. We realize that it is just a matter of time now. We need to be patient and bide our time! So biding we are! Tonights prayer will be foremost geared to seeing how the whole food stamps appointment goes tomorrow! We are still pretty stocked up in the house, however it would be nice to know that when things start to get low, we will not have to worry about how we will be shopping for food. I know we are not alone in financial struggles, so many other families are in the same or similiar situations.  My prayer is that they too may find the help that they need! It is too easy to become consumed and so self focused on our own issues. I struggle hard not to do that! God takes care of ALL of us! Not just me! And for that I am grateful!

It's a Snicker Doodle Day!

I woke up, listening to the sound of rain hitting my window. It is a gray and rainy day. No real plans for today. Maybe some more time looking online at any new job applications, if there are any. This afternoon I may make a batch of Snicker doodle cookies. That is my day in a nut shell. If it is warm after lunch, rain or not, I may grab my umbrella and take a walk! No resentment on this do nothing day! I continue to remind myself that there will come a time when I am wishing for these do nothing days! Praying that all of you, remember to take just a little time to do nothing!

Status Quot

As I am writing this, I can not tell you how full I am! For the first time in months, I made shepherd's pie for dinner. This is one of my families favorite! I have to tell you I think we all ate our fill and then some!
Earlier in the day Kate Lynn and I finally made it over to check out the indoor flea market. This weekend we never made it! Oh my goodness!! Three, not two, floors of "stuff"! Kate Lynn and I managed to kill almost an hour and a half just looking! By then I had to run across town to pick Kelly up from school.  Shawn stayed home and finished fixing the septic problem! Yay, no more trouble with that!
It really shaped up to be another nice day, cool, but nice! The sun is so bright, I often do not run the heater in the truck. The sun heats up the inside of the truck quite nicely! It seems so odd to have a bright winter, compared to the many dark winters I had in New England! For folks I know who struggle with seasonal depression, the south is the place to be!
Not a whole lot else to tell you. Things are pretty status quot. Status quot we are used to! Every one's moods have been pretty good the past couple days! For that I am grateful!

Psalm 118:28-29 You are my God, And I will praise you...Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever!

Prayers for the Cold!

I think we all slept well last night! Maybe too well, can't seem to find my motivation this morning! I guess that is pretty typical for a Monday! I spoke with my sister this morning, she wanted to give me the forecast for New Hampshire today. apparently its is between -10 and -25 below zero, depending where you are! Oh Joy! They are also looking at an additional storm on Wednesday, that will be the fourth in just two weeks! I think we chose the best winter to relocate down here! It has been cold here, but nothing like that! I can tell you with absolute certainty that I do not miss all that snow and that kind of cold! I worry for anyone who has no shelter in weather like that! I know many major New Hampshire cities offer additional shelters. The smaller towns do not, and that is always worrisome. You hear too many time about someone freezing to death! I think about the Pastor in Ohio and the homeless kids he is meeting and trying to bring awareness to. I pray that they are all safe! There were a couple of them living in a tent and another in a homemade shelter of some sort. Not the type of "housing" that will keep you safe and warm! I just pray with all my heart for anyone homeless and living on the streets in this weather, I hope you will all take a minute to do the same!
For all my friends and family in New England; Stay warm! Pray that your cars will all start! And for all of you tradesmen that work outdoors, bundle up, go inside when you need to, be safe!
Still no plans for today! Can not actually complain though, we stayed nice and busy this weekend. Shawn may go look at the septic and see if there is anything else that can be done to make it even better?! Please, keep in your prayers that Shawn's disability will be in this week! We were told that it was being processed and could take 10 to 14 days after to receive his first check. That brought the earliest date to receive the check this Wednesday or Friday! Keeping it in prayer and maintaining our strength! It is all in God's perfect timing!

A Productive Day!

I asked for busy and well today we got busy! It took most of the morning and part of the early afternoon to take care of the septic issue! I will spare you any details! Then it took quite some time to repair the front door. As of tonight, it closes!!  And after being in the house for a month, the 3 bedrooms now have drapes! Kate Lynn's bed is now of the floor and in her bed frame! So over all, the bedrooms are taking shape!
I was unable to convince Kelly to go to church with Kate Lynn and I. It was a very nice service! I am so glad God showed me where he wanted me to worship and he chose Heritage Baptist church!
Acts 4: 12 There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.
Jesus paid the price of my sin by his death. Through this I may have salvation. There is NO other way to heaven, but through Jesus!
Tonight I am completely tuckered out! I am going to do a little reading, while eating a small bowl of ice cream and then I think I will head to bed!

HAPPY Sunday!

Another chilly morning! Eating some toast and drinking some coffee, trying to get ready for church! Service starts at 11, looking forward to it! All though it looks like it is going to be a fight to get Kelly to come this morning! Shawn won't be coming...instead he has to spend the morning snaking the septic!! I suspect he will wish he had gone to church!We signed a year lease, the house is ours! I suspect that we are going to be seeing a whole lot more than just the septic needing snaking! It needs a little love like I mentioned before. The price is right, the size is right and it is ours! Praise the Lord! We will deal with the issues as they arise! Well my toast is gone and my coffee cup almost empty, I think I need to get ready for church! A little too chilly to go out in my pj's! Hope everyone has a happy Sunday!

Window Shopping

We had a wonder family afternoon and evening! We went window shopping from one end of town to the other! Some times there benefits to not having money! All the cool stores here we could get into trouble!! I love the fact TJ Maxx has triple the size of the house goods than the store in North Conway,NH. I love TJ Maxx! I also love, Peir 1, Target, indoor flea marlets and Rooms to Go! I need a job!! All kidding a side, it was just nice to go and be silly as a family! We looked at all sorts of neat things and came up with cool ideas and ways we could do it our selves. It was also very great to hear the girls laughing and watching them have fun! We got so busy that we had no idea what time it was, we arrived back home around 6:30pm! After being cooped up in the house for so long I think all of us were glad to be out and about! The weather turned out pretty nice! We found a great outdoor mall, so with the weather being good we were also able to get a whole lot of walking in! After seeing all the shopping possibilities I think the girls may just be glad that we moved here! Now they need jobs! A very good day indeed! I think we are all tuckered out from the walking! May be an early to bed night! Church tomorrow!

Weekend Wishes

Please continue to pray for my mother in law. She had the surgery yesterday, she was sleeping this morning when we called to check on her. Shawn's dad told us they are keeping her for the weekend, however it seemed everything went well!
If I judged the weather by the bright sunshine pouring in our windows, I would think it was going to be an amazing day! Sunny it will be, warm it will not be!  A very cold morning this morning in Alabama!
No real plans for today. I am still considering dragging Shawn out to window shop with me, at the flea market! My big praise, we will be able to go to church tomorrow! Right now I am considering moving the cat laying in front of the heater over and sitting beside her! I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe weekend!

Trials and Endurance

Just wanted to share this; (just a little something random!)
\James 1: 2 Dear Brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.

Kate Lynn had asked me to help type out some verses that mean a lot, to her. She wanted them to look nice so that she could frame them. I spent  a little time this afternoon typing up some verses, using special fonts and my photo paper to print them. They came out very nice and hope they will keep her inspired.
These verses were ones I printed out for her and thought I should share them here!  (UH OH! I have spell check on my blog, not on the program I used to type out Kate Lynn's verses, think I may have found a spelling error! MAN!! My OCD is going to have me retype it!)

Another day of Boredom!

I wish I could tell you that it has been an extremely exciting day! That would be a lie! Besides watching "Intervention" and making sure my crops do not wither on Farmville, it has been another dull day! I am not very good at sitting around! Tomorrow I am talking Shawn into going with me to an indoor flea market, just to look around. If I spend another weekend,let alone another day doing nothing, no one is going to want to live with me!  I get a little grouch when I have nothing to do! So when I write this evening's post, please do not expect it to be different from the first  two! I apologize!

Groggy Morning Post

After fighting back a headache  while trying to get some sleep, I finally snuck a few zzzz's in! And for now, I beat the migraine! It will be a short victory because another one show up and try it's best to induce wicked pain on my poor head! It is a chilly, but sunny morning here in Montgomery, temperatures will only be in the 40's. I know those in New England and other cold climates have no sympathy with me!
I want to extend my best wishes to my mother and law. (Mom and Dad know we are praying for you! Mom get lots of rest after the surgery, praying that you will feel 100% better quickly and that the surgery will have fixed you up!) I hope all of you might consider praying for her today. She had surgery early this morning to remove her gallbladder.
Another day of uncertain plans. We are getting pretty good going by the seat of our pants! I can not believe how quickly the past few days have gone by. I swear we just got Kelly back to school after a 4 day weekend and here is another weekend upon us! Allow me to drink a ton of coffee and wake up this groggy head! And perhaps this afternoon I will type something worth reading!

Staying Patient and Praying Diligently!

It is not often that I miss an afternoon writing a posting! Today we actually had some things to do! First off there were doors to fix! The front door and our master bedroom doors would not stay shut! A real problem for the front door! Thankfully Shawn is more than capable of handling that! So as of now we have doors that work! We also had to go grocery shopping, thanks in kindness of some one's generosity! We strive so hard to make the absolute best of what is given to us. In honesty I have found the grocery stores down here a bit on the expensive side! On a whim we decided to continue straight on a road we travel frequently, usually we take a right onto a side street and that takes us out to a main drag. And what do you know! There was a Sav-A-Lot! This is a grocery store chain we shopped at in New Hampshire. What makes this store so great is that they specialize in store brand and off brand groceries. Trust me nothing wrong with either! They also sell meat and produce at rates up to 40% less than other grocery stores! We have never had an issue with anything we have ever bought from the one in New Hampshire and let me stress the meat and produce are NOT out of date! They just do not offer the larger selection that Major grocery chains do. Seeing most specialty meat cuts are for beef and we do not eat red meat, that is no issue for us! This store is just four months old we were told! We couldn't have been any more excited! We left with more groceries than we thought we would be going home with! A big thrill for us was to find the frozen Tilapia we all love, less than $4 for 6 fillets. We had that tonight for dinner with white rice and cinnamon/butter carrots...yummy! When you do the math it works out to approximately $1.25 per person! Nothing gives me more joy than puttering around in the kitchen! A few crushed vegetable cracker from the Dollar store and some garlic and sea salt seasoning (also from the Dollar tree!), some margarine and you have a wonderful crumb topping, sprinkle over the fish, top with a slice of lemon and then bake for 25 minutes! Delicious! OK, I know you do not read my blog for the recipes!
Still no news as of yet on the financial front! We continue to wait! We will stay patient and pray diligently!
I again have to extend a big "stay safe" to those in New England! It would seem yet another storm is heading their way! Have you guys even finished cleaning up after the last one??? Wish I could tell you I miss shoveling!
The Lord blesses his people with peace.-Psalm 29:11

Finding Comfort

Good morning
2 Corinthians 3: All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.  4 He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. 5 For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ.
Last night I went to bed admonishing myself before God. I realize that during our most difficult times, my faith often falters. I sometimes to forget to spend time in God's word and my prayers probably sound like that of a three year old having a temper tantrum! But when I look at our entire situation as a a whole, I realize that I have much to be thankful for! And if I could try harder to keep that in the fore front of my mind, maybe I could stop acting like a child and my faith would be even stronger! Last night I made a list of all the times God has comforted us through this trial! (He has done so many times through the love and kindness of others!) On the nights it looked certain we would sleep in the truck, we were provided a place to sleep, when we thought we would go hungry, food was given to us, when we thought we would have no water or heat, they too were provided. And the greatest is; when we thought we would have no place to call home, WE DO! I know that I am not perfect and I will falter many more times to come, thank God my God is a patient God!
 I am not sure what are our plans are today, I do know that we are all in better moods today! I think all the tension came to a head yesterday! We were able to talk about it and we have agreed that we all have to try harder to just love and support one another, even harder! We remind ourselves, that we are ALL going through this together. I think for each of us individually, our feelings  overwhelm us and we forget that there are 3 others feeling similar grief and anxiety! We continue to remind each other, that this trial will end! We will find ourselves feeling at home here in Montgomery and we will even be quite happy!
I hope that all of you who may having your own struggles will give it all to God, that you will feel him comforting you in your time of struggle!

More Valuable than Birds!

I hope you can all deal with my/our highs and lows! With the road we have chosen we knew we would have difficulties, we never imagined just how much! After my second posting, Shawn, Kate Lynn and I walked over to the high school to walk Kelly home. This is a full hour round trip. I think it did us some good, at least tuckered us out so maybe we had something else to think about! It never ceases to amaze me where inspiration will come from, a reminder to cling to the faith that has sustained us! This afternoon it came from Kate Lynn! After our walk Kate Lynn told me she had something to show me in her Bible, she thought I needed to read it! So, now I share it with you;
Luke 12: 22 Then, turning to his disciples, Jesus said, "That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life-whether you have enough food to eat or enough clothes to wear.  23 For life is more than food, and your body more than clothing.  24 look at the Ravens. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, for God feeds them. And you are far more valuable to Him than any birds.  25 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?  26 And if worry can't accomplish a little thing like that, what's the use of worrying over bigger things?
We have some very wonderful and extraordinary people in our lives, who in our greatest time of need, step in so unselfishly and so lovingly to help us out! Words can not express our love, appreciation and thankfulness for all the help we have received! I have said this before, please know these are NOT just words!
Tonight we are going to sleep with lighter hearts and fuller bellies! Thanks be to God!

Then there are the Lows!

I wished that I could say it was funny, but that would indicate I still had a sense of humor this afternoon! So I will say instead,   I wrote the "secrets of a happy life" this morning, this afternoon I struggle to pick myself up! We have been waiting with calm and patience for a check to arrive. This afternoon we were looking at it being the deadline for it to come. Well, it most certainly did not! I am so sick and tired of this crap! I am sick and tired of wondering when things are going to get better, sick and tired of wondering how we are going to put groceries in the house, sick and tired wondering how bills are going to be paid! One agency has screwed it up at another agency so that we receive no food stamps or TANF help, leaving us in the most difficult situation we have ever been in. Kind and generous people have helped us out so much and with out there help we would surely be in such trouble. But I am so very, very weary for having to ask or to expect help, it makes my heart and my head hurt! In just about a half an hour I have to go meet Kelly at school, she is going to have to walk to and from school until we figure this out! Damn it makes me so mad! I can only hope that tomorrow the check will arrive! Or that the coats, someone up North has promised to send, comes in. By Friday it is going to be quite cold again! Shawn, ever the optimist took mine and Kelly's coats out of the things I had packed to come down here. He felt we were not going to need them! Guess what! So I have been told that the coats were going to be mailed! I have extremely low optimism that they will be mailed any time this week. Or any time next for that matter! I wish I could tell you I am handling things well today, that would not be the truth! Kate Lynn stays busy reading. Shawn has stayed to himself pretty much the past few days. He prefers to sleep the day away! Me, I am going to try and keep my mouth shut! My only way to cope is to clean, which is ridiculous! There is nothing left to clean! I usually walk, today I can't keep the tears from flowing, so rather than make a spectual out of myself, I will stay in! After Kelly comes home, she will shut herself up in her room, her way of coping lately! I wish we could get a break, a real and honest break!

The Secret to a Happy Life

A little cloudy this morning, however the temperature is still comfortable! I wish I could tell you  about all the plans I have for today, well I could...NONE!
So this morning I will look to my Bible for what it says about "doing nothing". It brings me to Deuteronomy
In my Bible I have pages for daily reflection, so before I quote the scripture,allow me to tell you a little of what  the daily reflection says;
"Have you found yourself asking,"Lord don't you care?" Do your personal priorities threaten to take over what is better?  When it is clear your husband has left you to do all the work, how do you respond? Our natural inclination when we are under pressure is to compete, to compare, to blame, to criticize, to demand or to interrupt-and our husband/families often find themselves in the direct line of fire. Our hearts are distracted and weighed down by many worthwhile things-concerns about family and friends, daily work responsibilities, church-related duties, financial needs-as well as by our own judgements and self talk. Looking to our Lord's peace and inviting Him His love to reign in our hearts relieves hurt, eases weariness and sets our feet back on solid ground. This is not an easy task by any means; when fatigue sets in, harsh words erect barriers and tension mounts. Yielding our hearts and mind to the Holy Spirit's direction transform our whole outlook. The more we pay attention to our Shepherd's gentle reproof and trustworthy guidance, the less we find ourselves worrying about the things that don't matter...Taking time to slow down long enough to talk to God and delight in the joy of his sweet presence, can quiet our hearts and minds like nothing else. This is where we find the hidden strength that can never be taken away from us"
Deuteronomy 6:5 You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your strength.
After having read this and then typing parts of it out, I ponder the thought that this time of doing nothing might be our time to heal. We have been through so much, the idea to get right back on our feet, getting back into work and a regular house routine, may not have been the best plans. Maybe God's plan is just this, to have us sit quiet, yielding our hearts and minds to Him, and when it is time for us to get back to work and settle into a regular routine, our outlooks will have been transformed!? This isn't a time for us to be angry that we have nothing to do, we should be grateful and use the time to build one another up and ourselves. As it says about erecting barriers and mounting tension, during this down time, we should work on tearing down any barriers any of us have built and easing the tension in the house.
( I have used the title of the daily reflection, I read from, as the title of my blog!, Not to be accused that I know the secret to a happy life! Though I have some ideas!)

Doing Nothing...still!

I am certain that you would agree that these 3 blogs for today were the most boring! I apologize! I will try to dream up something more witty tonight! Dinner  has been cooked and for the most part cleaned up, listening to the sound of rain trickling off the windows, the biggest form of entertainment this evening is our cat, Trick. She loves the heater in the living room! She spends hours sleeping in front of it, rolling over and switching from end to end to roast more evenly! I refer to her as "Crispy Tricken", she gets pretty warm! That is how thrilling things are right now. We are watching to make sure the cat doesn't become too cooked! I am telling you no other family has as much fun! I think Kelly has actually started counting the minutes before she has school tomorrow!Me, I'm counting the minutes before bed,.I'm tired from doing nothing,it is hard work!

YAAAAWWN!

What an incredibly long and boring day!! There is not a thing to do! We are four mopey souls! Shawn and I went for a walk earlier, however it started to rain and with it it got a little chiller! So we are back at the house wishing we had something to do! I think we have watched the same old movies too many time and read the same books even more! It is making us a little stir crazy! Usually I would bake or do some house hold project, we aren't even able to do that! Shawn has resorted to napping on and off during the day! Sometimes I wish I could, it always gives me a headache though! We are in perpetual wait mode! Not the best for uplifting moods, I tell you! No one is too cranky today, but it safe to say we are all edgy! I guess it is too be expected, the same thing day and day out!It gets so I look forward to preparing the next meal and then cleaning it  up so that I have something to do! I did go online to check the job site, same old thing since the last time I looked! No more applications there to fill out! Nothing in the mail, just a letter from Social Security, outlining a conversation I had with them last week. I do not know why they send you these foolish letters! I suppose that way I can never call back and say something different, like what I can not tell you! They want to make sure you are clear with them, ask them to be clear with you and you have another thing coming! In case anyone is keeping tally, Shawn's application and file has now gone through approximately 5 different offices in Social Security, each are to help out the other and Shawn. None however seems to know what the other one is doing or how long it will take them! We know that Shawn is approved and an idea for what he will be receiving each month. That has to go to the final department, were they will look at his file, send us  letter, maybe call me and then send me a letter on that phone conversation and yes, then we should recieve a check! If that isn't confusing how is this; Shawn's application started in Littelton,NH, went to Concord, NH,down to Montgomery,AL, back to Concord,NH, then to Littleton,NH,then back again to Concord, where then it should be forwarded back to Montgomery,AL and stay! Welcome to the wonderful world of beaurocrocy! Some where in it's second trips to Concord and Littleton is where some one,some where let the Department of Health and Human Services know that we would be recieving benefits for Shawn. We then lost our foodstamps and denied TANF! But, it wasn't until the file was in Littleton for the last time and reviewed by a case manager that we had a decison! And NO we still have nothing in writting stating how much and the scheduled payment dates. Just the letters recalling the phone conversations we have had! Make any sense, no I think not! Oh well, back to the waiting!

Not a Whole lot Going On!

This is the weekend that will never end! Kelly has had no school since Thursday of last week! She returns tomorrow! Pray that a check come is today! We need to be able to put gas into the truck so that we can get her to and from school!
Not a thing planned today! I am going to spend some more time trolling the career center web for any new job postings. There has not been too many! I keep at it! It is pretty warm today and very cloudy. Looks like we  maybe getting some rain! I am thinking and praying for all of you in New England! I do not miss the shoveling at all!
I am having a bit of writers block today! I guess that will happen when there is so little going on! And trust me at time I truly appreciate this down time. Eventually it will pass and we will find our selves in our usual busy habits! I will work on something better  for my next posting!

The best 30 Cents, Ever!

Man, I need a job!! I am going absolutely stir crazy! I have filled out so many applications, I can not believe I have not received even ONE call back! There is only so much cleaning to be done, books to be reread, word searches you can do and walks you can take! And now not having gas in the truck, we are really grounded! I am not good for sitting around! Shawn was out helping his friend with their truck until after 3pm. Glad one of us had something to do! All though when he got home he grinned and told me we would finally hang the border in our room! We had bought this border near the very first week we moved in here, Shawn wanted me to wait to hang it.Until he could do some wall repairs. We found the border at one of the local thrift stores. Montgomery has a ton of thrift stores, Good Will, Salvation Army and these fantastic flea market stores! I know it sounds foolish to buy wall borders when nothing else has been done on the house. But at a dime each and the design was one I fell in love with, Shawn couldn't begrudge me 30 cents! And trust me, I can design a room around a border. Now that it is up and it took less than hour, I am anxious to get busy with the rest of the house! Again, Just paint! The border looks beautiful, by the way!! Best 30 cents spent!
After dinner the girls and I enjoyed a quiet game of Rummy. Tonight everyone is much calmer! Now I am back to rereading another book! The only thing worse than rereading a book is watching the same movie over and over again! Cable is not on the top of our to do list yet! When our finances are figured out and our debts settled, we will look into it! Sometimes on the computer we are able to pull up some rerun shows that we like. Often though we lose signal and we end up shutting it down in the middle of something! To be truthful here, we are picking up a neighbors wireless Internet signal and that is why we have the computer online! I won't sugar coat it, we shouldn't be doing it. We didn't deliberately hack into their system, when we turned our computer on it picked up their signal and we were connected!I use the computer to fill out job applications online, if that makes it any better??
I also want to tell all my family and freinds in  New England to stay safe and keep warm! Looks like they are bracing for some pretty nasty winter weather! Including another 6 inches or so of snow! Please, nobody tell them it is in the low 60's here the past and next few days and despite a sprinkle or two, it has been very nice! I made the mistake in mentioning on Face book I wished that I could rake my front lawn, and was met by a huge out cry by fellow New Englanders!

Love and Respect!

Moods aren't a whole lot better this afternoon. I have come up with the theory that I am so perfect in my girl's eye that when things go wrong it has to be my fault!  I realize that I am far from perfect and willing to admit, but  they won't believe me! Kate Lynn lets me know almost everyday in some form or fashion that her life is screwed up now and it is my fault! She will argue and argue that she had no options and we have ruined things for her! It seems to be her goal to make sure we are reminded of it daily! She did have options! She could have stayed with my Grandparents and stayed at her job. She could have stayed with my sister and transferred to the Lowe's in Manchester,NH. And being there she would be closer to a couple of her friends! I am not going to argue this with her, it makes my head hurt! Kelly being 16 had no choice! Her moodiness and moping is going to drive me nuts as well! After our chat yesterday she seems a little better today! I will keep at it! And I will keep praying that we will all love and support one another during this struggle! This mom is just feeling pretty bad, pretty sad and even more responsible than I probably need to for everything! If I could wave a magic wand and make them both happy, I would! I'm also feeling a little more disrespected than I should be! As a family we should respect one another with all our hearts! I know that they are each feeling pain for all they have been through. I just want to be the role model for them,showing that we need to respect another despite the circumstances! I am aware this is just another mountain we have to climb! I love my girls very, very much! I hope they know that!

Moody Teens!

A little later start today! I'm not too sure any one slept great in this house! We all ended up in a big argument before bed! The girls have really struggled with the move! And attitudes are not wonderful! I can not say I blame any one for being cranky and moody, I just wish that things would settle down and we would all get on the same page. For the most part Shawn and I are all ready there. The girls still have things to work on. Right now it is a struggle and the anger and fighting with the two of them is far from creating family harmony.You can hardly speak to either on of them with out them taking it personally and starting an argument! Please, pray for them!
Shawn is spending the morning at a friends, helping him with some truck repairs. That ought to be good for him! It is looking like rain, however it is quite warm! Maybe a walk with the umbrella! Or at the very least a few minutes sitting on the front porch!
A lot going on here in Montgomery today, the Governor is being inaugurated and it being Martin Luther King day there are a whole bunch of other things going on down town, I've been told.  I little disappointed we are not able to go check it out, sounds pretty interesting!
Well, not a whole lot else this morning! I said I would keep it light today and I am trying! I will not mention that a certain  New England NFL team lost yesterdays game!

A little More of the Same

Well I am still awake! I just went and checked out today's video blog for "30 days homeless". And I am using the chapter in Deuteronomy that he read.
Deuteronomy:15 7 But if there are any poor Israelites in your towns when you arrive in the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hard hearted or tightfisted with them 8 Instead, be generous and lend them whatever they need. 9 Do not be mean-spirited and refuse someone a loan because the year for cancelling debts is close at hand. If you refuse to make the loan and the needy person cries out to the Lord, you will be considered guilty of sin.  10 Give generously to the poor,not grudgingly, for the Lord your God will bless everything you do.  11 There will always be some in the land who are poor. That is why I am commanding you to share freely with the poor and with other Israelites in need.

Shawn and I have been blessed during our struggle with much kindness and generosity! Without the help that we received, we would not be where we are at now. Our hope and prayer is not just to return the same kindness to those who help, but to also extend help as we can to others in need. And as we do so it will be done in the same kindness we received your help! And if you were not able to help us and wish you could be of some help to someone, I urge you to call around to your area shelters, churches, town offices and ask how you might be able to help those in need in your area. I know many of you probably thrown a can or few into the food pantry donation box or some of you helped in a soup kitchen. Let me tell you some things we have learned when it comes to donation, your time is ALWAYS appreciated! As for giving to the food pantry may I encourage you to consider different items from the typical canned goods. (Yes, they still need canned goods!) These are the items they run out of because they are not donated often enough: Toilet paper, trash bags, razors, soap, dish soap, laundry soap, feminine hygiene items, diapers, handy wipes and personal size Kleenex. For donating items to someone on the streets, the items that are most appreciated are; bed rolls (in the camping aisle, fairly cheap!), blankets, warms socks, gloves, sweaters, sleeping bags (a little pricier) and those cloth grocery bags (fill the bags with pudding cups and canned meals with the pop top lids and bottled water! We had the opportunity to assist a church in Portland,ME, long before we headed south! And they had a mission that hit the park every week to help out those who were homeless.  It was a real eye opener! Those living out there all have stories to tell, they have/or had families and they want the same respect that we all want!
My mission when I started this blog was to tell you about my family starting over. We have and though there are still mountains to climb, we are doing just that...starting over! But it would seem a shame to just leave it like that, when there people out there in need and maybe not with a voice. I hope that I can be that voice! I am telling you what you all ready know...there are people in great need and it is our responsibility to help them!
OK, tomorrow is Monday I will try to make my blog a little lighter! It might be an easier task if I know that the Patriots won! I will do some investigating online. All though if I keep an eye on Face book I suspect my brother in law will have a pretty vocal replay of the game and its score!

Lazy, Lazy Day!

Very sleepy this afternoon, it's gonna take a lot of coffee to keep these eyes open! Shawn, Kate Lynn and I took a nice long walk today. The weather was perfect for one. It is truly a lazy Sunday! Kelly is hanging out in her room, as usual. She can spend an entire day on the computer. All though in honesty Kate Lynn and I are both on the computer! She and I are checking out all the online decorating sites. Shawn is just waking up from his afternoon nap! Not very exciting! I'm sort of wishing we had a project to keep us busy! I was telling Shawn earlier, man if we had a rake we could at least rake the front yard! How is that for living wildly!? The yard really could use a good rake! Oh well, will find somehow to stay busy! I just asked Shawn to go across the street and borrow a rake from our neighbors, he just smirked and shook his head! I tried!

Video

I wanted to see just how I would go about putting video clips on here. Actually it was quite easy! To play, just click in the center of the black box!

New Life Worship: My Savior Lives

A Beautiful Day

For those having incrementally weather, I am sorry for this...It is a beautiful morning here in Montgomery! Looking at the forecast it looks like it is going to be a fairly sunny day and in the high 50's. By Tuesday it is looking like we will be expecting rain, but with temps in the 60's!
The only sad thing I can mention this morning is that the gas gauge is keeping us grounded from church. The girls and I are very disappointed. There is supposed to be spectacular service this evening and Kate Lynn had really set her hopes on going! In due time this will no longer be an issue and we will be able to attend church more faithfully. Thank goodness God knows our situation! Not too much else planned. Shawn and I were talking about doing some more walking because the weather is so good! Walking not only keeps us fit and busy, it allows us to explore and get to know the area we are living. I have always loved architecture and here there is some pretty new stuff for me too see. I also have to tell you I have truly enjoyed the friendliness of most people here. It actually took me by surprise! It being a bigger city I expected pretty cool people here. That has not been the case, for the most part while we are out walking we are greeted by most everybody we past. And it isn't a usual quick hello in passing. Folks stop and just chat with you for a minute or so. It is very neat!
Just a verse for thought-
Proverbs 3: 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.  6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

30 Days Homeless Part 2

I found myself carried away with discussing the homeless situation of families on my first posting on this. The 30 days homeless blog, journals the Ministers walk with homeless young adults. These were kids in the foster system and when they turned of age, were turned out! There are TOO MANY young adults out there homeless because our systems has failed to come up with a plan to assist them when they are too old for Foster care. 60% is the estimated figure for young homeless adults, as a result of leaving  foster care when they became of age and had no where to go. 60% wrap your mind around that! In the first part posting I talked about situations beyond our control. These kids never had anything with in their control! For all of you with teenagers, picture this...they have just celebrated their 18th Birthday and you go to the front door, hand them just the most meager of possessions and you tell them it is time for them to go and when they step out, you shut the door! That is it! That is what our system does! So I think now all of you have a pretty good idea your visions of the homeless were not quite accurate! There are families and kids like yours struggling to SURVIVE out there on the streets.       60%! That is a number that I think will stick with me forever! I am curious what you all think about that number? Please, email me let me know!

30 Days Homeless

I spent some time reading a blog everyone should check out! 30 days homeless is the name of it. It tells the story of a Minister who has chosen to live 30 days, this month, homeless. His goal is to raise awareness to this very real problem! He sleeps in a van with a propane heater and spends his days just as though he were homeless. He has actually left his wife and his sons to pursue this. His wife sounds very supportive. It was a very moving story. His blog is done probably a bit better than mine, I have no shame in admitting! He clearly has more experience with these type of things than I do! His blog also reminded me just how bad some who are homeless really have it! Yes, we were homeless this past months or so, often not knowing where we might be going. But for the most part we had the hotel and we had family. There are too many who are out there in the streets. Cowering anywhere they can to stay warm and get some sleep.  The very first time we were homeless, I may have mentioned this before, we lived from May to October in a tent for the most part! The middle of October to the beginning of November we stayed with a family member and then from the Middle of November to the 1st of December we stayed at the worst hotel you can imagine! That was in the year of 2002. For those who need to be reminded or did not know, this is our 3rd time being homeless. The 2cnd time was rough, but not horrific and thankfully it was only for several weeks in the middle of the Summer! During that time we stayed at friends or in their camper. That homeless situation was caused by a very serious septic back up and we lost every single thing we owned. Our landlord was an elderly lady, who clearly was struggling with dementia and was not able to take care of the situation properly. She was placed in a Nursing home several months later! In that situation you can also see clearly how it was not our fault, and how situations far beyond any ones control can cause the situation. Think about it, any of you could have something catastrophic happen and face similar situations we have faced. I pray for none of you to have to go through it though! The blog and my own have similar goals, to raise awareness about homeless individuals and families. The families always tug most at my heart! In our Country, the land of plenty, you would think it would almost be absurd to have homeless families. And what makes some family's stories most sad is knowing that they are really out there on the streets! And they are not always homeless in warm and sunny places. We are talking about families struggling in the coldest areas, sleeping on the streets! As I have mentioned with our own situation, shelters are not easy to come by and are filled up very quickly. And for those who do not know this, but you are allowed to sleep at the shelter, but you are not allowed to hang out there. You have to arrive there late in the afternoon or the early evening and then leave in the morning. Where you go during the day is no concern of most shelters. And it doesn't matter what the weather! And if you arrive back late, do not expect a room to just be available to you. If you have kids the problem is only compounded. You have people from the shelter and the agencies trying to help you, paying very close attention to what is going on with the kids. The first time we were homeless we came very close to losing the girls. We actually had a church tell us that they themselves would see to it the girls were placed elsewhere if they saw fit! It was very scary, and it is so for many in the situation. There is also the safety issue! Not just the weather, but the streets for the homeless have many dangers and those living out there have a great chance to be a victim of crime. Those kids on the street see too much, endure too much and often eat too little! I hope that many of you will take a look at the site for 30 days homeless. Even more I hope it touches you! I also hope and pray for all the images of alcholic, drug crazed old guys is pushed back in your mind when you think of the homeless and that you will first see the faces of kids and their families. Most of you know us, our pictures are here on the blog site, do we look like the faces of the homeless? But we are!( Yes, there are individuals out there that fit your stereotypical ideas, they need help too!) But for the families out there and in real need for help, wanting more than anything to fix their situation and helpless to do so, let them be in your prayers!

Feeling more and more like HOME!

Today being Saturday I decided to do what I normally do on Saturdays, clean the house top to bottom. Though this was far the easiest thorough cleaning I have ever done! Easy in the sense is that the house was scrubbed when we moved in and having little else to do I keep it clean. So any ways we are going about our business when the phone rang, it was the gentleman in charge of the donations from the church that gave us all our furniture. He was calling to let us know he had Shawn and I a queen mattress set! When he arrived, we realized we were being given a brand new Sealy Posturpedic box spring and a like new Ultra premium pillow top Sealy Posturpedic mattress! HEAVEN!! Shawn and I have been sleeping on a very beat up double mattress on the floor! Now that we have the queen set, it fits on the beautiful bed they had given us! We will be sleeping in a REAL bed and one that is OURS!  Yippee!! He also brought us a microwave, very cool! All four of us have spent the better part of the afternoon arranging and rearranging the house, getting it to were we almost want it! Yep, it is feeling more and more like home!

Post Design

I have spent some time on the design of the blog. I realize the blog archives are a little light. Be patient while I figure out how to fix it. I am trying to make the blog as interesting as possible and it is taking some learning on my part! I truly you all enjoy the new look!

This is God's Honor for Us!

I am enjoying the sound of the washing machine after a good night sleep induced by a nice, warm shower! Water, wonderful water! I slept very well last night, the weight of some of my worry lifted! Having gone many days with out water was far harder than I expected. In New Hampshire during a bad storm you may lose your water if your well pump is electric and the power goes out, but you know it may only be a few days at the most. You also know that all your neighbors are having the same issue and no one is worried about laundry. This feeling was a little different, it was a more long term concern. If the agency yesterday hadn't helped, it could have been another two weeks before we may have been able to do it  on our own. That would have meant we would have gone without water for approximately 22 days! Trust me the 8 or 9 days was hard enough! This is just one of those things we take for granted! I will try not to again! That is something I have definitely learned with all we have been through, what NOT to take for granted! We are creatures of comfort, strip it all away and we find our selves pretty lost. I hope that I carry with me all of my life the appreciation for whatever it is I have and the knowledge that there are too  many people without far more!
James 1:2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.  3 For you know when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.  4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing    9 Believers who are poor have something to boast about for God has honored them.  12 God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love them.
Believe me or not, when I am looking for reassurance from God I just pick up the Bible and ask Him to show me what I need to read. I am never disappointed, sometimes I might be puzzled, but never disappointed. When I set out writing this blog, my intentions were not to come across "preachy", I am writing about my experiences, how I cope (or don't) and where my faith comes from. I also hope that I might be an inspiration to at least one person, that in my struggle my faith will be a light and they will find their faith to carry them through their own trials!

By Grace

It is so funny, when ever a little doubt clouds my faith, God lets some sunshine in! The supervisor actually did call me from the rental assistance agency, she started the conversation out by stating there is no more assistance left for renters. Not the best way to start the conversation and I was a little grieved. She then asked if there was anything else we were in need of, out on a limb I mentioned that we had been without water and unable to pay the deposit. She jumped right on board, telling me we may not be able to help with the rent but we will most certainly have your water turned on! I was very glad for that, however it was all ready 5pm and this is a 3 day weekend. I informed the girls and Shawn what was going on and we were discussing getting through a few more days without water when the phone rang again. It was the water department and despite being closed they were sending someone out tonight! Then Shawn's phone rang, it was the first wonderful lady I spoke too, after I hung up with the water department I went and spoke with her, her name is Linda. Linda was laughing when I apologize for making her wait that I was on the phone with the water department, explaining that the water department had not received any monies yet from them .The water department agreed to go by Grace (her words!) and turn the water on for us, without receiving any money, Linda is attempting to receive the money from fund set up by the United Way, she could not promise the water department money right away, just that they would be getting it as some time. She told me "Sandy, if the United Way doesn't pay the $100, I will ask 10 people for $10 and it will be paid! What a relief, that means we have an account now!! Having an account is like any utility, you receive the bill at the end of the month, we will have the money by then! Now I can rest easier, our utilities are set! It is things like this that remind me that God still has a plan for us. I know that He has figured out with our owed rent and all our debts we acquired from this move. We just have to trust him! And as I am finishing this up, the water department has all ready come and gone! In the time it took me to type the second line to now was all they needed to get the water on! What a HUGE RELIEF!

Typical!

Very typical! I just received a call about the rental assistance application, that I submitted over a month ago. This assistance was to help pay our security deposit and first months rent, they call it a rapid rehousing program. We had submitted it while we were still homeless and now that we are not homeless they are not sure if we qualified. We would have absolutely qualified if they had seen to our application over 3 weeks ago! This is the very sort of thing that frustrates me to no end! I fill out the forms, turn them in as I am supposed to and make all the follow up calls that are required and because they were busy with their holidays and such, our form wasn't looked at. Now we may not meet the criteria, because we were too impatient to get into a place and are no longer homeless??!! You have to be kidding! So as usual this guy will talk to his supervisor, they will think about it for a long time and might and I mean might call me back! So that leaves us in the exact position that we are in now...waiting! These agencies that are funded by any sort of Goverment, local or federal are absolutely ridiculous! And that isn't a Goverment slam, this is...the Goverment has made it virtualy impossible for honest individuals to recieve the help that they are entitiled too. I mean, come on! I have worked for over 27 years and Shawn at least that many, we have paid our taxes and now we just get a swift kick in the rear when we need hlp! I will not get on that soap box! It makes my head spin! Good Grief!

Morning Sun and Coffee

I realized waking up this morning that I had gone to bed last night without creating a post. I was caught up in a book last night,when I realized how sleepy I was. I actually slept fairly well last night,yay! Today is our fourth day without water! UGH! It has not been any fun, however I think we are muddling along OK! It is our hope and prayer that we will have the finances to have it turned back on early next week. Another day without a plan! Yesterday I had mentioned that I had filed for unemployment. They called me late that afternoon to tell me that I did not qualify for benefits in Alabama. I was not surprised, I had thought so all a long. It was worth trying just so that I could say, "yes, I have done every thing I could!". I think I will spend some more time on the career center link and see if there any new job postings. I have become quite adept at filling out employment applications! Then later on I think we will go for a walk, Shawn just came inside to tell me it was looking pretty nice out. It will most likely be the 4 of us walking later. Kelly stayed home today from school. I am allowing her this one day and we are going to spend the weekend talking.She is really struggling with everything!Shawn and I are trying to keep her going down the straight and narrow, being the new kid in school we think some of the kids may be targeting her for trouble. Kelly has always been in the middle of everything in school, but the school in New Hampshire is far different than the one here in Montgomery! And we just keep telling her over and over our priority is to keep her safe and though it is good to make friends, she needs to be very careful. It is a long story, but she has made friends with 1 kid in particular that has Shawn and I fit to be tied! We just hope she figures things out BEFORE there is any trouble! Right now I am going to soak up the sun coming in the window and enjoy my coffee!

A little found Praise

Praise! I had just logged off the computer and was setting to call Social Security as I had mentioned in my last post, when my phone rang...what do you know it was Social Security! It was explained to me NO Shawn doesn't have to wait the 5 months like he had previously thought. All of Shawn's application has now been sent to the payment department. And from what we understand they should be reviewing all the information and then sending out a check. He was unable to say exactly when we would  receive the first check, just that it could be up to 14 days! I hope this doesn't sound too forward in me saying I am praying they will be moved to send it a whole lot quicker! He also was able to explain the retro pay as well, and it was better than what he was suggesting yesterday! That in is self is going to be a huge help. As you all can imagine we owe a lot of people and we have bills past due, that money will allow us to catch up. Now that we have had the verbal confirmation, the written will be sent out right away. We are hoping that as soon as we receive the letter we are hoping to sit down with our landlord and work things out. They have been extremely generous, but asking them to keep waiting for the rent is asking a whole lot! This has been a roller coaster ride without question! I am ready to get off this ride! So when all is said and done maybe we will be able to stay put and actually set down roots. That has been our plan from the get go! Boy it seems an awful long time since we have set this whole thing in motion. And like any ball rolling it rolled quickly and veered along it's own course!

A shot in the Dark!

OK I lied, well not really, that would be overstated! I did/do not think I am eligible for unemployment benefits. But to say  that I have looked into every option, I went online and applied. What is the worse that will happen? I will be denied, that would not truly be that big a surprise,  as I said I am not sure I am even eligible. Of course if for some odd reason I am accepted, I expect my benefits to be quite low. My last job in New Hampshire was just part time and though the pay rate was decent, it would not qualify me for anything substantial for benefits! But what the hay! In just a short while I will be calling the Social Security office to follow up with our discussion yesterday an to see if they have been able to clear some things up. This is a conversation I look forward to with an incredible amount of anxiety! In actuality they are supposed to call me today, having been told that and them following up on it are 2 different things entirely! I have learned this much about some of these agencies, if you do not make the initiative to stay on top of them, they may never call you back! For instance, the United Way was the agency that we applied for rental assistance for over 4 weeks ago, we have gone to their office on at least 3 different occasions and followed up on the proper forms twice, they have NEVER called us back. Even when we met someone in person, who claimed he was appalled no had called us and assured us he would personally see to it we would hear from someone by the end of the week, they never called! We have found that this is many agencies form of "silent denial"! I actually find it disrespectful, almost like the message I am receiving is that I am not worth their time wasted on a phone call. At this point I might actually appreciate a call from some one honestly saying "nope, you don't qualify, what were you thinking?

Needing Attitude Adjustments

I imagine that all of you that were blasted by that snow storm up North are finishing up the digging out and cleaning up! I do not envy you! Take solace in knowing that we are having frigid temperatures here, last night was below 20. I realize that isn't much in comparison, but I don't want you to think we are basking in the sun here! Even if it were warm I do not suspect we would be doing much basking anyhow! Today we are calmer and quieter. I think every time we take a hit like yesterday it saps us a little of our optimism. We all become a little more reflective and brooding. I do not have any idea what will happen over the next several days. We will take everyday as it comes, considering the worse and praying for the best! My worries are always compounded by the girls and how they are coping. Kate Lynn has filled out a lot of job applications and has looked into a few colleges. She however is struggling with anger, impatience and clingyness. She needs to spread her wings and do her own thing, but I think her worry for us is keeping her glued to us! Even when she was little she was stuck to me, I thought as she grew older she would out grow it! Last night at church she followed me into my Bible study group and insisted on staying. She is too nervous to strike out on her own. The Pastor and another church lady literally coaxed and walked her down the hall to the study geared toward young adults. And wouldn't you know, I think she made a friend! Kelly has been isolating in her room more and more, she is arguing with all of friends in New Hampshire, listening to crappy music, she has even chosen Anxiety disorder as  subject matter for a class project and to top it off last night she was begging me to allow her to have snake bite and bull hoop piercings! I imagine this behavior to be expected during situations like this! I am praying it will all change when the situation changes!  I suppose we will all need attitude adjustments when this is all said and done!

Peace of Heart and Mind

With a heavy heart I made myself get dressed and go to church this evening, The girl's and I went to the dinner and then each to individual groups, theirs according to their age and mine, I chose the adult bible study. I am always glad when I get there, on days like today I struggle to go any were! Tonight I was reminded that even in tragedy God can use us and will profit us if we are obedient. Profit not necessarily meaning through fiances, but rather than providing for all that we NEED! After church I spoke with my sister, she has been a very good sounding board. I told her, I know God's timing is perfect, but I am really having a hard time seeing what his purpose is for our lives and making us wait. I am angry and frustrated in the knowing thatl we are having such difficulties in providing the basic needs of our family! I told her I am praying and praying and am sure God is just as frustrated with me! I guess I am just too blind and am missing something important here and now we are going through these difficult trials! I won't pray for patience, God will most likely give me more to cope with, that teaches us patience, I am afraid to ask for a clearer sign in the situation, fearing more difficulty or some horrific tragedy, so instead I ask for peace in my heart and for my faith strengthened. I know in my heart my God is a loving God and he will provide for us, it is just waiting for his plan to unfold sometimes can be quite hard! And again if you are tired of hearing me grumble and groan, let me tell you..I am beyond tired of listening to myself grumble and groan! This isn't me gumbling and groaning, this is me crying out to God! I am tired and frustrated, I do not see what it is we are supposed to be doing and this is all so very hard! I want to be able to have the peice of mind knowing that the roof over our heads is ours for a very long time, that we will be able to put food on the table, that there will be water and that there will be heat and electric. There will be a time when I don't have to apologize to the girls over and over again for the struggles we are dealing with and constantly reassuring them that God has it all figured out and will provide for us! Peace of mind and peace of heart, that is my prayer!

BIG TIME PRAYERS NEEDED!

We have just got off the phone with Social security regarding Shawn's disability. The information we have been getting from the Concord,NH and the Littleton,NH office are quite different! The Littleton office case manager just told us that Shawn may have a 5 month waiting period, even still. That would mean the earliest we would receive any monies would NOT be until APRIL! If Shawn doesn't have to go through the waiting period the earliest would still be FEBRUARY! Either way we are going to be in very, very big trouble! That is an understatement! No matter how many job applications it seems I have filled out and submitted I am unable to find work! At this point, there is very real possibility that we may again be homeless and as early as February! I can not believe they do not have a better system for Social Security! We have three offices involved and each office has a different opinion. This is very concerning! I can not even tell you how worried we are right now! We had been given such reassuring news just a couple weeks from the Concord office and now the Littleton office has us scared to death!If we were to believe the Concord office, Shawn's money would be in this month, with enough retroactive monies to pay off everything we owe. If we are to believe Littleton, well let's just say it would be a kick in the teeth!The office in Alabama hasn't even tried to give us an option, only that they are working on it. Please we need your prayers!!

Lazy,lazy!

5 Dozen peanut butter and not even a dent in the peanut butter! But I will bet there will be a dent in the cookies before the night is over! No better way to warm up the house! Now I am sitting down, pouring over my pictures  and choosing what family photos to print! I admit I down loaded a few from my Face book, thank you family for your photos! There are a few of you who need to look at your pictures on line and update them! I know I have a nephew that just was married and another that just had a new baby (not he himself, his lovely wife!) But you would not really know it by there photos. I had to look at their parent's site and snag some pictures! Very proud Grandparents! Jeez, you're getting old!!I know I am no better when it comes to posting pictures on line! I have two kids that would just assume be hung upside rather than have to sit for a picture! I am working on it! I would like to have a new family photo of the four of us as well! I tell the girls "what would have happen if you went missing? We would hand over the most recent photo of you and the police would have to age enhance it!". I realize that is a terrible thing to say! Having 2 teenage girls the hair length, style and color would also have to be changed! The two of them love to change their hair like most of us like to change our socks! It is getting late in the afternoon and truthfully this has been a rather lazy household! Yes, I baked cookies and washed up the dishes; I have also read a book, printed some pictures, messed around online and have yet to get dressed or brushed my teeth! I know...gross! I think I better consider the latter pretty soon!

Stay safe my family and friends up North!

First off the bat, to all my family and friends up North; Be safe! I understand that the weather is pretty stormy and that some of you may be getting a lot of snow! I hope and pray that you will stay warm! I do not miss the snow too much, at least the shoveling part. I haven't had much of an opportunity to miss the cold, as the south has been having a rare winter I'm told! last night it was in the 20's, so yes we are a bit chilly!
This morning we woke up to the inevitable, no water! We had budgeted our money very carefully and decided food and gas for the truck were far more important than anything. We just couldn't stretch it to cover the water deposit. We are not worried or upset. We had prepared a whole bunch of jugs and layed them aside for this reason. As soon as Shawn's disability comes in it will be paid and turned on! Today is one of the dates he was given as to when he could receive his check. We are prayerful!
This evening we have the opportunity to attend our first church dinner here and the girl's will each be seeing into study groups for their own age groups. They seem pretty excited to go. Not only does this get them involved in church, it will also allow them to meet some people in their age group. I too am looking forward to finding a bible study tonight. Not sure if Shawn will be going with us. When he is stressed he tends to withdraw a little. I understand it and know that when things are better he will be active in things again!
Again everyone up North, stay safe!

Peanut Butter and Faith

You know you have an exciting life when you find much joy in cleaning the house! Always love waking up to the house being spotless!Tomorrow morning I am going to use a small portion of the several, HUGE jars of peanut butter we have to make some cookies! Shawn's favorite! We have three jars that are the largest you can buy at the store and 2 regular size. We have chunky, smooth and low fat! Every time we received any help from an agency they gave us a jar of peanut butter and a jar of Jelly. We also have 3 jars of grape jelly, yes they too are HUGE! We could easily make enough peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to feed all our friends and family! We have eaten it as sandwiches, on crackers, Kelly's favorite..right off the spoon and now cookies! No jelly for the cookies, yuck! Hmm, will think on that! Any one else have any ideas for peanut butter, please email me! And just in case you are wondering, no, peanut butter eaten from a spoon is not a cure for hiccups! It does work well to administer medication to pets though! You tuck the pill in the peanut butter and most pets will eat it right off the spoon! Yep, I am just a fountain of useless knowledge!
Sometimes the ideas just flow when I sit down to write my posting, other times I just start typing and let my mind wander! I apologize! There is often a lot I want to say, but I end up tripping over my own thoughts and I end up with a modge podge of things! I started this blog over a month so that you can follow our journey of starting over. You have read about our tests and trials, our ups and our downs, you have seen when we have reached our wits ends and I hope you have seen when we have reached up and grabbed the hand of God while he pilled us through! This continues to be a testament of our faith! Tonight Kelly asked me if she could have a friend over for dinner, she had met this young man at school and he befreinded her pretty quickly. (They are just friends!) He has a pretty tough go of it, he is not able to live with his mom or dad, not sure the story there. He is a year or so younger than Kelly and more often than not he is staying at one place or another for short periods of time. It was very clear to us, he has very few options and much hardships in his life. He is just looking for good people to treat him right. He was very greatful to be able to join us for dinner, he had never eaten zucchini before but tried it any ways!. He even offered to wash dishes after dinner! He was a very polite and respectful young man. You should have heard his robust "Amen" after grace was said before dinner! The reason I share this story, both girls are aware of the situation we are in. They completly understand how we are stretching things, even more so they know we will never turn someone away if they are hungry. Kelly is often the one in our house that finds the kids in the most need at school, with out question they will be invited home for dinner! While I was washing the dishes, I couldn't help but think even when I worry that maybe I am causing those emotional scars mom's worry about giving to their kids, my girls understand stepping out on faith way better than I ever could have at their age! And Kelly bringing someone home to share a meal and some family style fun, leaving it to God to guide me in figuring out how to make it happen, shows me her faith! She saw this boys need was greater than our own! What she and this young man were unaware of, we have a place setting for four! Shawn being the greatest dad there could be, told kelly he was not feeling well and would eat later. That way there was enough plates and silverware to go around. When I finished my diner, I gave Shawn my plate and silverware!Through our individual faith, we support and lift up one another!

Ready for....

The cupboards are full, yay! What a feeling to know that we can eat like normal people! We are a spoiled group in this country, we are hungry we eat. And we eat whatever we want! When our cupboards were so bare it really made me reflective, for the most part folks here in our country do not think about anyone going hungry. However, there is a good size portion of our very own population that are going hungry. How many times do we see requests to send money  for food in Third world nations? Compare that to what you see exposing the need in this country! At the holidays, there is more demand for us to help those in need. But the need extend far beyond the holidays! OK I am getting off my soap box!
Today Kate Lynn and I had a nice time looking at paint swatches. I have filled my "design book" with all sorts of ideas and am ready to go! I finally revealed all my ideas to Shawn, despite the mild he stroke he had with the kitchen color, he was happy with my choices! We negotiated the kitchen color and have come to a mutual agreement! ( Maybe the blue was a little much!?)  I can not wait until our fiances are settled, our debts paid and we can start painting! This little house needs some serious love!

Paint Swatch Tuesday!

Couldn't find the off switch for my brain last night! I finally fell asleep after 5 this morning, only to be woken up at 6:40 by Kelly needing a ride to school! I'm beginning to believe this whole sleep thing is overrated!  This morning Kate Lynn and I are going out this morning, just the 2 of us. We are going to Lowe's to match all the paint colors we have picked out with their swatches at the store. Then we will be able to really look at them and make sure we are certain they will work. A free, fun filled morning for the girls! Kelly had school this morning and don't tell anyone, but I think she may actually like school here! As usual I have no idea what else today has in store for us. I think we are a little more relaxed today than we have been in a while. Having the mail arrive here helped put us at a little more ease. Before it felt like we were going to miss out on something important. Now knowing that it will arrive here with out issues, maybe a little delayed, but arrive here all the same is a good feeling! I realize that most of you probably do not even give your mail much thought, but if you were expecting something important and knew it was 2000 miles away and you weren't getting it, you would be frazzled! Right now I am enjoying my morning coffee with Shawn and our cat, Bear!I can not express to you how happy these cats are to have room to run! No more truck! They are like kittens, racing from one end of this place to another! They both are quite healthy, none the worse for wear despite their month long confinement in the truck! All right, I'm off to conquer the paint swatches with Kate Lynn!