25 1/2 Gallons

25 1/2 gallons of paint and primer later and all the painting at the house is finished. Well except a little from the moving in and laying of new carpet. So now I have no excuse to not have all the boxes unpacked. Well except for the fact that I am still parenting a very head strong 3 year old and a clingy 1 year old. I know some of that is their personality, but I also feel some of it is the chaos they have been living in. So the chaos caused by the boxes is hard to put to rest with the children under foot, but if I could get it all done they would most likely be under foot less. It is kind of a vicious cycle. That is what has reminded me lately about all the cycles that make up life. Like I used to tell the first graders I taught cycles are like circles, one event leads to the next. A cycle that is not one I like to concentrate on is the cycle of sin. Usually we make a bad choice which puts us on the cycle and one sin leads to another. Not a fun cycle to be in, and that is exactly what Kyle and I have been trying to get across to Landon. One bad choice often leads to another and eventually we are really far from where we want to be.

At church I was reminded that even though this life has lots of little cycles we find our selves in (the seasons, daily routines, etc) the big picture really isn't a cycle or circle at all. We have a place we are all heading to and we won't have to cycle back through this life. We will all live eternally with God or without. I am glad that once I leave and am in Heaven I don't have to cycle back through and see if I can do it better. Now don't get me wrong sometimes at the end of the day I wish I had a do over, but overall once is enough for me. The scary reality though is that not only will I not have to do this life over, my neighbors, friends, and family that don't know Christ won't get a second chance either. There are no do overs. So I have a renewed desire to pray for and share with those around me that Christ loves them and He is their salvation. So even though heaven is going to be great, I know God has me here for a purpose to bring glory to Him and in doing so bring others to Him. Which for me today is going to start by loving on my children by getting their house in order so it can be their home. Then we will run some errands and who knows how God will have us share His love with those we meet.

The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. Galations 5:6

Now back to the boxes...I promise pictures of the house are coming soon.

Oh My...

So today after leaving the YMCA I planned to stop at the new Wal-mart that just opened in our town. Not that we didn't have several Wal-marts very near us, we just didn't have one that would actually be considered in our town. Anyway the two kids and I ventured in to get a few items I hadn't been able to get at Aldi. They had one of those awesome carts where the two kids can sit facing the way you are going and and you can actually use the cart for the shopping. This is a big one for me as my 3 year old still likes to wander and my 1 year old likes to run. So as we turned the corner to go down an aisle an older lady looked right at us, said, "Oh my", and proceeded to laugh. I am not sure what exactly made her laugh...the cart, the fact I was shopping with two children 22 months apart, or the fact that I even had two children 22 months apart. I wonder if she would think it was funny we are ready for another one? What I thought was funny about it all was that the children were being very well behaved. Now they were being noisy, but it was happy noise. Landon at one point even leaned over and gave Elaine an unprompted hug and kiss. I was actually enjoying my trip to Wal-mart on opening day. All this to say that I had and am having a fun day with my children. Landon and I worked on writing while Elaine napped. Elaine and I got supper ready for the oven while Landon is napping. (Our nap schedule is still off a little from the move, so they didn't nap together today.) I have been missing the time I usually get with them as we have been so sidetracked putting the new house together. Children are truly a blessing, and I am glad I didn't have to miss this day. Nothing monumental happened, but I am sure some happy memories were made.

Home Sweet Home, or is it?

Well we are finally living in our new house. Notice I said living, not settled. There is definitely a difference. We are glad to be here, and really it already feels like home. That is the funny thing about this house, I could see myself here the very first time I came to look at it. It just felt like home. Even though it needed new carpet, fresh paint, etc. It still felt like home. So I was happy to move my family into our new home this past Thursday, but it has not been an entirely smooth transition. Hubby working an extra night shift, children being extra needy, not sleeping well, unexpected costs...I could go on. So even though we are home, I have been constantly reminded we are not really Home. We won't be home this side of heaven. Jesus is preparing a place for us, and when it is time to move there we don't even have to pack.

In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. John 14:2-3

On Vacation

Ok so I am not really on vacation...and it doesn't really feel like vacation. I keep telling myself and the kids we are on vacation, but I don't think it is working. They are irritable and ready for our routine to be established again and so am I. I am also ready to stop waking up at 2:00 in the morning thinking about wall colors. At the same time I am so excited to start making the new house a home. If you are a little confused right now you might want to check out the posts Roller Coaster and Flexibility. For now I am just letting my huge readership know I may be infrequent with posts while I am "on vacation." Soon I will have pictures of the new house to post, so check back. Until then hope you are enjoying the last days of summer.