painting and baking and shopping.......OH MY!!

OKAY, its time for a deep breath. Iam telling myself that. We signed lease/option papers tonight on our house, and got the keys. I have been doing nothing but eat,sleep and breath paint the past two days. I got the living room 1/2 done the dining room and one bedroom finished. I gotta say that ILOVE THIS HOUSE!!!! Im felling overwhelmed with blessing and grattitude. The testimony of this house is completely from God. There are so many without homes, and basic nessecities because of the flood. and God has given us this house. I pray that he will use this house for ministry and healing. That we can comfort and bless all who enter in some way. That they will feel something different, a calmness, hospitality, love and laughter here. I pray that our children will grow in the lord here, that they will make memories here that they will cherish forver. I pray that our neighbors will see JESUS in our actions and words. I guess i just simply want to glorify God in some small way. This is his house and he has blessed us to live in it and take care of it for awhile. But before we move in i have lots more packing to do and baking to do, shopping to do, to celebrate this grand birthday. Then we can relax and enjoy this house. And we are so excited!!!


our anniversary


I forgot to mention last week that my amazing husband and i celebrated our 14th wedding anniv. on the 11th of this month. It kinda seems to take a back seat to everthing else that is going on that same week and the rest of the month. Maybe we should consider doing the half year celebration. Pick a date in the summer, when its easier to get away and celebrate. Hey, I think i am going to do that next year. He surprised me with a new holiday starbucks mug and a gift card. And he baught it the weekend BEFORE the anniversary. I was impressed with that, i do not think he has ever purchased a present ahead of time. I guess it took him 14 years to learn. He is doing good. He knows the way to this gals heart.............through a coffee cup. i do not have the energy to go into the whole story of us, but i will give you some interesting trivea from our wedding reception. The guy who caught the garter was the first man to go to jail in washington state for the 3 strikes your out law. Wanna know what he did? Now let me preface this. Okay this guy went to our church that we were ministering in during college and we thought he was a little off. and ya know when you put those all memeber invites in the bulletin for things. well thats why he was there. When your the youth pastor you kinda gotta invite everyone, so he came. Then he committed murder. YES, THAT IS NO TYPO, he murdered a little old lady that he used to do yard work for. I am glad no one faught him for the garter. He committed this felony about 6 weeks after our wedding. anywhoo, i love my hubby and i am glad he is mine.
Well i am soo tired, a good tired though. I need to get my kiddos to bed so i can sit down and relax for a momento. tina

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SON

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KHALOB WELDON CHRISTENSON.
you are all boy, and i love you more than life. Your starting to develop your own thoughts and style. You wanted to start growing your hair out and you are. We took you to a salon last week to get your hair styled for the first time and I baught you your own "GUY HAIR GEL" for your birthday. I am trying to figure you out. i am not sure what to buy you any more, your not little, but your not big. You love to talk and tell stories, pizza excites you, you love hanging out with your dad. Baseball is your sport and i love watching you pitch. You get embarrased when we metion certain girls names. You have a heart for the Lord and were baptized this fall. For that iam so grateful. I believe you will speak boldly for the Lord one day. You are very literal and black and white. I remember your curly blonde hair and big grin at 2 years old. You warm my heart and i am blessed to be your mom.

Now to finish the birth story, well ya all know he was born, but how?
We had just had the heavenly epidural and i relaxed enough to get to 10. We started pushing, and pushing, and pushing. No baby. Not even to a plus station. We squated, we used the bar, we rolled around, I flashed my brother in law Blaine, he was mortified to see my butt. 2 and 1/2
hours later still no baby. He never came down at all! So my doctor, whom i love dearly, who came in on his day off to deliver started talking C-section. I was horrified, and sad and disapointed. I cried, we prayed, i called my bradley inststructor. Scott and i decided that was the only choice we had and we did it. I wanted so much to have a vaginal birth a experience everything, i wanted to hold him on my chest after birth, i wanted my family to experience it with us. I hated doing it, but i was thankful for the option, had it been 100 years ago...well the outcome would have been bleak. So we preped for surgery and about an hour later out came khalob weldon, we did not find out what we were having. I though it would be a girl, so i was suruprised. Had i not already been laying down and strapped to the table i would have fell off at the announcment of his weight............ 9lbs 10 oz. 21 inches long. and he was posterior, head up instead of head down. I was like.... are your serious? how can that be? my mother had 8 children and non over 7-8 lbs. Holy Cow where did this moose come from. OH MY GOSH, do you remember the first time you get to hold them? The moment they come out and you discover who they are. There is nothing like it in all the world. NOTHING!!!!!! I was so in love and seriously ready to do it all over again. He nursed good. We stayed in the hospital for about 5 days. no complication, my insurance was just good and allowed that so we took advantage of it. The surgery was no fun, throwing up with staples SUCKS, and i thought for sure i ripped them all out, i had never even been in the hospital before this so it was an eye opener. The catheter was terrible. But he was worth it all. We drove home in our Jetta and i was paranoid about getting on the Freeway, i was like watch what your doing, slow down, be careful, pay attention to the other guy. We got home to our little apartment in downtown Edmonds. My milk had not come in yet and ofcourse i hardly slept at the hospital... the drugs, the high from the experience, just learning everthing. Well that first night home my milk came in i was engorged and khalob screamed for 12 hours. He was hungry, but could not latch on. I was a mess, i remember not sleeping and being so tired, i think i had a surge of hormones on top of it, he would not stop crying, i was crying, my mother in law said to give him a binky and i was terrified of niple confusion, so i did not, and in great turmoil over whether to do it or not do it. It was like you know 1-2- 3-4 in the morning and i just did not know what to do. I had to call somone who recently had a baby cuz i thought they would be more up to date on the nipple confusion, but my friend leslie was back in Tennesee at the time and the time differance was 3 hours. So i was watching the clock like a hawk, which made the night go even slower. i did not want to wake her up, but i was desperate to talk to her. i couldn't wait any longer and i think i called her at 5am my time. Do you remember leslie? i was so desperate for someone to tell me what to do, and i did give him the binky, i shoulda just listened to mom. Sorry mom!! I do not think it helped much, he was so hungry by then, and i was feeling sick from being engorged. We went back to the birthing center and they pumped me and he ate and we were all happy. And i was not leaving that hospital without a breast pump, so i sent my husband to go buy me one, no matter the cost. i did not care, i was not going home with out one. Do you remember that look on the babies face when they have had enuf to eat, we called it "milk drunk" there eyes roll up in their head and they are relaxed and just look euphoric. very sweet. oh how i love nursing babies. I actually dreamed about it not to long ago. anyway, that is the story of how my son entered the world. I only took about 15 hours, from start to finish, not to bad for a first timer and a c-section. Thank you lord for him, please help me to learn him and the best way to parent him in a way that best fits him and his peronality and learning style. He is a treasure.
tina.

nana's gift.......we thought

Happy birthday mom, I love you so much and am so grateful that you are my husbands mother. You bring so much to me pesonally, to my life. Your example and your faith inspire me. Your joy and laughter bless me. Thank you for being such a huge part of my life. Hugs to you today! I hope you had a special one. tina

10 years ago today i was very pregnant and sitting down to hear my husband practice the first sermon he would ever preach. We were in Bible college and scott was in his Homiletices I class. It was about 9am and he had just pulled out the t.v. on a stand to use as a podium to run through his sermon. i was all comfy on the couch and he had just started to speak and i said " WAIT! I HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM" as i stood up from the couch i felt a gush down my leg. UH OH, i said, my water just broke, he was like nuh uh! i said, yes its true, i guess you do not have to preach today. I think that was a relief for him. anyway we proceeded to get ready to go to the hospital. We live in downtown edmonds and delivered at Swedish hospital in Ballard, up in the Seattle area. We chose to do the Bradley method of birth, very natural, no intervention, lots of walking, and no drugs. So we get there and started laboring right away, i was already at 3c.m. had been there for a week or so. Things started progressing quite quickly,
The whole family was there, i wanted it to be a big celebration and everyone to experience it with us. I think there was 8 in the room most of the time. I was starting to hurt really bad and come to find out i was having something called BACK LABOR, and it hurt horribly and it never went away. i got in the tub and that helped for about 20 minutes and then it got really bad, i guess it relaxed me enuf but not enuf to make me feel better. The back labor was horrific and to be honest i do not remember much after the hot tub. It was a blur, lotsa pain, were now about 10-11 hours into it, which really is not to bad for a first baby. i started getting a fever and the babies heart beat started going up just a little, i was very tense and not able to relax at all. up to this point i had done everthing as written in my birth plan. My doctor suggested an epidural to relax me enuf to let the rest happen naturally, i was reluctant, but gave in. Oh my gosh, was it heavan. the back labor was killing me ladies. I have to admit there was some guilt involved from enjoying the drugs so much. I so wanted to do it drug free, oh, how i enjoyed it though. I felt soo good to have no pain for awhile and to be rid of back pain. How is it that some can tolerate it and others cannot? That is a mystery, cuz i really wanted it and had educated myself too. anyhow. Now remeber that today is my mother in laws birthday and she was going to get her first grandchild as a gift. how cool would that be. Since it is not the the tenth yet you will have to toon in for the rest of the story until tomorrow. tina (oh, i guess you figured out that mom did not get him for a gift on her day.) see ya tomorrow tina

IS IT REALLY DECEMBER?

oh my this month is in full force. We have 4 birthdays and 1 anniversary in day 4 thru the 11th of this month. Then another on the 18th and the 31st with christmas in between. There is also some sweet little boy i know thrown in there too. His name starts with an M and ends with an N andi think he is named after a jar. My husband and i are celebrating #14 this year. that seems like alot to me. My son is reachin his first decade................my goodness it has gone fast. I will talk more about him in a few days. And i will talk more about my sweety in a few days. We are packing and there are boxes everywhere. Not much decorating going on in this house this year, I feel okay about it. We got a wee little tree for a table and it looks good. and a few candles and a few things hanging around. Iam getting content with the clutter of boxes and stuff not where it should be, and feeling very blessed and thankful that i have a home at all that is not covered in mud or water. I just can not even imagine going through that. sleep tight. tina

calling all scrapbookers

I am desperate, so i am going to throw this out there. i am a creative memorie consultant and i do it as a hobbyist, just to keep my own addiction fed and a few friends. I have to order every 3 months and i have an order due the end of this month. I am very short of a complete order. I do not want to take any of you away from your own consultants who do c.m. as a business, so if you have your own just disregard this. I sell my product at wholesale, that is 30% OFF whatever is in the catalog or on line. You get it for what i pay for it. If any one out there is interested, please let me know. I have heard horror stories about some c.m. consultants and i am not one of them. I love the product, but i am not apposed to using other stuff. If you have not looked at a catalog or on line recently, they have come along way and have really expanded there product line. Lotsa fun stuff. Spread the news, i appreciate it. tina

My Blessings

Happy thanksgiving everyone. It has been a good day today. Great food, family and just a blessed day. I am most thankful for somthing my husband did for us about 11months ago. He took a chance and applyed for a job to get us out of the negetive situation we were in. God started opening doors almost instantly and my husband had the courage, strength and obediance to step out in faith and start a new career in something he knew absolutely nothing about. I am so proud of him and so greatful for his integrity and his wiilingness to start over at so many levels. This move has braught us closer to his brother and his family whom i love deeply, it has braught us to a small community that we can connect and be a part of missionally in a way we were not able to in the city. The Lord has just given us our dream house to buy in which we will be moving into the end of december. His new job has braught new struggles, but god has been faithful in giving me what i needed to get through it one day at a time. I have had to rely on him, and have experienced the power of prayer in a mighty way. i love you scott and i thankyou for what you did for our family, words cannot exspress how full my heart is for you and your sacrifice. you are the best. My husband is my hero. I am full of grattitude, joy and love. tina

ITS OVER.... YIPPE YIAAAYYYY

OVER TIME IS FINISHED!!!!!!! Scott came home this morning and did the happy dance for me. Yes his clothes were on. (: He has been working overtime for almost 3 months. One thing i am so grateful for is that his regular schedule will feel like vacation to us. He will work sun, mon, tue, wed. from 5pm to 7am and have thurs, fri, sat off. We are so happy for it to be over. It was like an endurance race for him. and was starting to feel like it to us too. thankyou Lord for bringing it to a close. I must go for now, i have many pies to make. and potatoes to peel.. Will be back though to talk about what i am thankfull for. tina

HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM

okay the results of khalobs vision testing was very positive. He does have to get glasses for school and homework. then he has a 2 hour testing phase in dec. to figure out some other problems. The doctor said that for sure that his reading/writing /spelling difficulties are related to the vision issues. Im glad for him that there is something concretely wrong, and now we can fix it. She was telling me that alot of learning problems are more related to the eyes and brain/eye connection then we are lead to believe in the school systems. Alot of kids are getting labeled as difficult, slow, and learning disabled when really it is a vision thing. When you really think about it there is so much to learn when we are first learning to read. many senses are used and i have learned so much more about the eye and what is happening and all the different things that must happen to succesfully learn to read and decode. It's interesting. She told me that in some european countries and in japan this testing is done to every child at 5 years old BEFORE they start school, so the educators and parents know if they need glasses and or therapy. In america unless a child is atleast 2 years behind they do not consider doing anything to find out what what is going on. Can you imagine how many kids could be spared stress, anxiety, emotional scarring, self-doubt, if educatores knew even a small tidbit of info about this kind of therapy. I might have found a band wagon to jump on. I think it is wrong that our teachers do not have any clue about this stuff. Any way, if you would like more info about any of this let me know and i will get it to you. I highly recommend that if you have any child that has been struggling for any length of time with learning that you consider this and do some research. My motherly, god given instinct told me two years ago all was not well, and i kept asking about tutoring, or testing or something. All i got was, not he is a boy he will catch up, they just learn slower. That is true, but he just kept gettin more and more behind and more and more frustrated. I am so thankful we found this. My personal opinion is that because he did not have any other issues like; behavioral, ADD, family problems that he wasn't seriously looked at as needing anything extra. Moms we have got to listen to our guts and instincts more. God has given that to us that gift and we really should listen to it. In all circumstances. I know things will get better and it is all going to work out. I have know all along that something was just not quite right with him. anyway.
One more day to shop, finalize a menu, and clean the house. I will be baking pies and crust tomorrow. I think i will even do the sweet potatoes ahead and peel all the potatoes for mashing. Anything that i can do early to help the actual day be more relaxing iam going to do. Please say a prayer for me, i am feeling like i am coming down with something. head, sore throat, a little achey. This happens to me alot, i get sick right before a holiday or during. Iam not quite sure why. i do not feel stressed. i am actually looking forward to it. I want to play and stay up late playing with everyone. Have a great day and more to come tomorrow about
THANKFULLNESS. Sleep tight , do not let the bed bugs bite. tina

thoughts of thanks

good mornin!! its been a while since i last blogged. Was kind in a funk last week and did not have alot to say. This week will be better. Yesterday Pastor Pat spoke on thankfullness and it really touched my heart. It just wasn't about the average stuff we are thankfull for; kids, spouse, house, ect. He talked about some other things that i want to share later in the week. I pray that we can all start reflecting on being thankful as the week goes by. I also realized i need to be teaching my children to be thankful, even in hard times. It does not come to us naturally, our humaness keeps us focused on what we want and need. Not on what we already have, or maybe even through the pain of difficulty. I want God to show me the things that maybe i have not recognized as blessing from him, little and big. It is easy for me to see the obvious things, but i want to see the the obscure, the challenges that he has given me and how it is has blessed me. I challenge us all to do the same.
I am off to Eugene for khalobs vision testing. I hope we find something concrete that will help us with his reading, writing, and spelling issues. Will go early and do a little shopping at trader joes, might even walk through the mall or something. I will let you know tonight how his appt. went. blessings to you all today. tina

my eating challenged son

I have a almost 10 (3weeks) year old boy. He is all boy and i love him to death. but he is driving me to drink (not literally). I fed him the same as a baby as i did his younger sister and she will eat anything and everthing. She will sit down and eat a whole avocado and broccoli and be in heaven. Her brother on the other hand does not like anything. He will eat a few raw carrots, that is if i make him. He loves apples and tangetines, bananans, grapes, pears. Thats about it for fruit. He does not like any meat, except bacon and pepperoni. Can you even consider those a meat product? ughh!! no eggs, no rice, no beans, nothing! This is what we cycle through every few days. Its peanutbutter and butter sandwiches for lunch, every day. Unless i send a pepperoni pizza pocket. For dinner, our choices are nachos, kraft mac/cheese, cheese pizza/ pepp. pizza, grilled cheese sandwiches, peanut butter sandwiches, quesidillas ... cheese ofcourse. He likes milk and vanilla yogurt. icecream ofcourse. waffles, pancakes, french toast, cereal. You can not mix any of these things. Oh ya he will eat hotdogs too! I could'nt be more thrilled. Is that meat? He will not eat any other kind of macaroni except what is in the craft box, if it is shaped diff. he will not eat it. i try and tell him that it alltastes the same, it is justed shaped diff. I AM GOING CRAZY! Not only do i get sick of fixing the same things over and over, i am so concerned about his health. All those carbs and not much protein. I do feed him good whole grain bread, and organic unsweetend p. butter. Milk is raw and organic. i can get a protein shake in him a few times a week and that helps me feel better. The point iam trying to make is i really worry about his health, we have tryed the go hungery thing, try a few bites of this every day, he gags, almost throws up pitches a fit. i am trying to educate them about puting good food in their bodies, and why it's necessary. We talk about exercise ( i model that by going to the gym4-5 days a week) He plays sports, we limit t.v time. I just feel like i am on him constantly and that maybe i am creating even more of a problem. I just know what goes in is so important and i also know that he would sleep better and not be so irritable if he ate better. I am concerned about long term issues with all the carbs and suger. and the lack of content in his belly, vegetables, protein. i know i am repeating myself, i am sorry. i just do not know how to be mellow about it. Does anyone else deal with this and how do you?
Well we gave notice to our landlord today. Its official, we are moving the last week in december. So guess what i will be doing for the next month, YEP packing. Feels like i just did that hmmmm....... oh i did!! Neither of us are excited about it, but we want to be in our house.
I guess we will have to. It shouldn't be that bad if i do a little bit every day until xmas. Maybe i will wait until turkey day is over. tina

lets do some homework

What is my motto? I don't think i have one. maybe....LETS GET STARBUCKS

I think i would like to be Samantha Stevens.... from Bewitched. I do not know if she is a superhero, I would like to have the power to just WIGGLE MY NOSE to do or get whatever i want. SCARING PEOPLE makes me laugh histarically, like almost wet my pants funny. I am a DOG LOVER AT HEART, but my husband is allergic to them, so we have a cat, and i actually really love her too. i grew up on a farm and always had both. I do not miss dog poop and pee stains in the yard though. Cats are funny. She makes me laugh too, but not as much as scaring people. I would much rather be smarter.......NOOOOTT......SEXIER FOR SURE. I will never ever understand HOW THE TV WORKS, HOW DOES THE PICTURE APPEAR SEEMINGLY OUT OF KNOWWHERE? My life would be simpler if i could BE ANXIOUS FOR NOTHING And RELAX MORE. The biggest decision iam dealing with is WHETHER TO GET A JOB AND HOW TO WORK IT AROUND MY EXSISTING LIFE. Okay there is my homework teachers. I hope i passed. see ya at the party. tina

your not going to believe this!!

okay are you all sitting down? I got a phone call on sat. morning from the owners of the house we were trying to buy. She said that they had been praying all night and they decided that they wanted to know if we were interested in a lease option on the house and we could buy it in 6-8 months when we were able to get a loan. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT???? i was blown away. i was humbled, i was speachless. She said that they really wanted us to have the house and with the market the way it was why not just let us move in and lease it until we can get a loan. Again, i had the thought but would never ask her, i told the Lord that if he wanted that to happen, then he had to lay it on there hearts and ask. Well, that seems to be what he did. I had to share it with you. what do ya think? TINA

the answer is no

We found out yesterday that we cannot get a loan. Our mortg. person said 6 months ago there would not have been a problem, but now with the market it is so much harder. I was really bummed. I know i said all along it was the Lord who was in control and i would be joyful whatever the decision would be. Well i had to ask for forgiveness because my attitude yesterday was not joyful or content. It looked like it was going to happen and i was letting myself get emotional about it, that bit me in the butt in the end. We loved the house and i was starting to see us making memories and living there. I trust the Lord ultimately though, even though i do not understand. afterall the buyers saught us out twice. I just really thought this was going to be our dream home. anyway. we will try again in about six months, and hopefully find somthing we love as much or more than this.
Onto somthing else. Do you smell christmas in the air? I do. Starbucks has their cheerfull, wonderfully red holiday cups out already. I love that!! My favorite, only available at christmas time MINT M&M'S are out. Have any of you discoverd them yet? I have been know to buy up to 15 bags in an entire season. I have all my extended family hooked and we always have them in a dish through december. I really tryed to abstain from buying them yesterday, cuz its not december yet. But i literally did not have any control of my hand and what it through in my cart(: (: hee hee. They are a little different though this year. they are bigger, almost like a peanut m&m's, and i think they taste a little bit diff. than the smaller ones they used to make. I think i might call them and make a suggestion. after all i am there biggest fan. maybe since they taste diff. i won't eat so many. whatta ya think? Oh by the way i have only been able to find them at wally's and at safeway. I will share that secret with you. I do not think any of you will be coming to walmart in lebanon to buy them. i will share if anyone comes to my house though.
I actually am getting excited for The Holidays. We are hosting turkey day. I am starting to plan my menu and table decorations. thats fun stuff for me. Hope you all have a good weekend. talk to you soon. tina. hope to meet many of you at the coffee party.

MY KIND OF DAY

I am enjoying today. It is rainy and gray out and it puts me in a cozy mood. i put some ribs in the crockpot, i think i will make some cookies for lunches this week. I will lite some candles to warm up and get comfortable. Have my quiet time, i might even continue my scrapbookin marathon. Mondays for me are a good day to catch up from the weekend, access the rest of the week, maybe make a list of to do's for the next few days. If i am really feeling energetic i will make a menu and cook up ahead. doesn't happen very often, but sometimes it does. I just feel really blessed to beable to be at home. I really enjoy it and love being a house mouse. I am so thankful to the lord for giving me the desires of my heart and letting me stay at home. i wouldnt do very well if i had to work outside the home. i know i would be cranky all the time, some women need it, but i just don't think i would do very well. Thank you Lord for letting blessing me with a husband who works hard and for allowing me to be here. HAVE A BLESSED DAY EVERYONE. TINA

I'm catching up finally!!

I am so excited.. I am an avid scrapbooker and i have been sooo behind. Like a year and a half behind. That is huge to me. anyway, i just finished 30 pages in my album, iam making headway. I am caught up to the begining of this past summer. Yeah !!!!!! I have come to a realization that i really need to do it more often. You know how you do not do it for awhile and you start loosing your creativity and desire to do it, even though you love it? I have no excuses, i have a scrapbooking room and all my stuff is out and i don't have to put it away every time. It occured to me that i need to do something that i love and enjoy atleast once a week. ME TIME.
I think all of us moms need to have some me time, a little slice every week. It makes us better moms and wives don't you think? I know i feel better. So I encourage all of you to make some time for yourself this week. Rest in the lord and connect with somthing that your passionate about. TINA

I NEED AN ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNER

I am going to throw this out there. I want to join weight watchers, but it is a little to spendy for us right at this moment. But i would love to have a partner to do pretty much the same with as a w.w group. Weigh in weekly and be accountable to journaling and excersing. It can be done over the phone and or get together once a month or something along with the weekly phone calls. Is anyone out there interested? Let me know. TINA

THE FIRST TIME

We have been on the conservitive side of celebrating halloween. We have done a few harvest parties, but usually we go to a movie or something else. We changed our mind this year. We went to a harvest party in Sweet Home at The Chapel and then i took the kids trick or treating to some houses. I have to admit it was fun watchin khalob run around and get excited. Maddison was a little more cautious, i had to talk her into it a little bit. I remember doing it and having a blast. then going home and dumping it all over the floor and inspectin all the loot. This might sound weird but do you remember the SMELL of your pumpkin full of candy? I do, it totally takes me back to childhood. I had to laugh at my kids, they had to complement each person about something in or around there house. Khalob made comments like; "oh nice carving on that pumpkin" or "I like those things on your wall" It was cracking me up. One house we went to there was a big elk head on the wall and i said "look at the elk" Maddi has a way with words and often confuses them. She said " oh, is that an elf?" We all laughed. Khalob was like "did you shoot him, WAY COOL!!" He is a 9 year old boy. It was just a fun evening. What is your favorite halloween candy? Mine is butterfingers or baby ruth, i like smarties too. Khalob is already talking about next year.
We are still waiting on the house. patiently.............. have a great evening! TINA

PHONICS PROBLEMS

Okay everyone. My kids are in a charter school and it is quite a bit different than the public school we came from. They are doing some sort of phonograms called RIGGS. Is anyone familiar with it? I'm not even sure i am calling it the right thing. I just know it is very confusing for me to figure out. I baught the cards to have at home to practice with the kids, but honestly it is like greek to me. i do not get them. there is alot of markings for vowels and sounds and stuff i do not even get. The kids 2 and 4 grade. The weekly spelling test they have to take, they have to underline and marke up the whole word, its very confusing and messy. I know i am not explaining myself very well. They have to get all the markings right along with the spelling to get it all right. sometimes the words have 5 or six markings on them at one time. anyway, my point is i need help. I do not get it and i cant help my kids. To be quite honest, i dont really want to learn it, i think it is a little excessive and i do not agree with it. Ofcourse i have not shared my attitude with my kids. If anyone is familiar with it and has any advice to share i am open to it.
The house thing is still in the works. I will keep ya posted. have a great evening. tina

IN THE WORKS

Hello everyone,
Had a great weekend. My in laws from chehalis came and surprised all the grandkids with a visit on saterday. My daughter Maddison had a soccor game and they showed up there. Not only did she get that surprise, she scored her second goal of the season while they were there. It was priceless. I can't wait to get the pictures back. She immediately threw her arms in the air and turned to her cheering section. Gotta love that!!
We also made an offer on a house this weekend. It was totally a God thing. We had decided to wait for a year or two before we baught a place. We checked into IT back in early sept. but did not feel alot of peace about it so we decided we would just wait. Unless God just happened to drop something amazing in our lap that screamed " here look at this" , we were content to stay put. Let me take you back a few months. Last june i went to a garage sale and somehow got into a conversation with the owner about our recent move to lebanon and desired to buy in about 6mo. WEll she said her house might be on the market then. I loved her house. it was on a1/2 an acre and was a old craftsmen. BIG, BEAUTIFUL and had a great front porch. She offered to give me a tour. ofcourse i loved it. I gave her my # and name and kinda forgot about it. Well my land lord came by about a month ago and told me that the house i went to the sale and got a tour of was for sale and that she wanted me to know. I was stumped. How did you connect the dots? How did you guys do that? Turns out our landlords and the owners ot the house are best friends. she drove by my house one day and saw the table and chairs i baught at her house in my drive way and made the connection with her friends, our landlords. So once again it kinda left my mind after he left, cuz we were now in a place where we wanted to stay here for a while, we were content. and i told our landlord that....unless god just happened to drop something amazing in our lap would be her for a while.. Fast forward about a week. I answere the door and it was the lady from the garage sale house. She wanted to let me know that it was on the market and she told me the price and it was about 15 thousand more than we could afford. i told her exactly the max that we could afford, we were getting a V.A. loan. and i told her thankyou for thinking of us and she left. once again i let it go, but secretely in my heart i said to myself, oh i love that house Lord. Wouldn't it be a miracle if they didn't care about money and came back? Then i woke up from my little fantasy and went on with my day. Well on friday there was a knock at the door. It was her again, she said "MY husband and i have been talking and we wanted to let you know that we would like you to make an offer for whatever you can afford. MY mouth just dropped open, iam like are you serious? She said that they have inherited property and will be living with a grandparent for free. and they will build. so money is not as big of an issue. So again she said, I know where you guys are at financially, but make an offer and we will discuss it. she also said that they new that they were way below market value, but wanted to just sell it and get on with moving. I am about to explode inside cuz i am so excited. We made an appointment for my husband to go look at it on this past friday and ofcours he loved it too. So we made a verbal offer that night for our max amount. Since it is VA , seller is required to pay a certain amount of the closing costs. They have no choice in the matter. So that would put them a little bit below our max, which is way below there original price. But they knew where our offer would be, they just did not know about the closing cost. So..... they are trying to decide what they want to do. we are just waiting. This alll came to us, we did not go looking for it. So it is completetly in the Lords hands. I feel very at peace about either outcome. It will be a bit of a stretch for us for a little while. We will have to really tighten the belt and no more starbucks. It will be worth it though. I also just applyed for a part time job as an aid at the school. That too is up the god. I think this is an amzing story and if it all works out or not, god will get all the Glory. I think he is incredible how he works out details when he wants something done, or not done. We really do not have to worry, when we give to him. HAVE A GREAT DAY
TINA

A BIG THANKYOU

I WANT TO SAY A BIG THANKYOU TO ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE COMMENTED DURING MY CRISIS. I AM GRATEFUL. I THOUGHT MAYBE I MIGHT SCARE YOU ALL AWAY AND YOU WOULD THINK IAM A CASE Or SOMETHING. I gleaned some great wisdom from you. Sharon, everthing you said was right on the money and i appreciate your honesty. Thankyou for all your prayers. I feel them, i am much more at peace and do not feel the angst like i did. I am still processing alot of what i am discovering and what you all have said. I will keep you up to date. God is good and amazing . His ways are not my ways and yes i can believe there is purpose in all circumstances. He is working on what i think is a huge blessing and giving our family a gift that only could be orchestrated by him. I will give details later as we unwrap it.(: now iam off to win myself a starbucks card. woohoo!!!!

EPIPHANY EPIPHANY EPIPHANY

i keep having them. They started last thursday and i had one on sunday and tonight i have had another, with help from my sister/friend cheryl. To add on to todays Blog............
I have never been just the wife of Scott. We met at Bible College and knew ministry was in our future and felt the call all along. I have always been a pastors wife as long as i have been married to my husband. Church ministry has always been between us. Its always connected us. I feel lost without that connection. Another epiphany....... if i am struggling this much with this identity thing, then how much more is my husband struggling? I have been under the Umbrella of HIS calling. Because i chose to marry him, I chose the ministry. What tremendous turmoil might he be in? The Lord has opened my eyes, i caught a fleeting glimpse of my husbands heart i think.... i am sad , yet motivated to love him more purposfully and more patiently. Maybe the lord is bringing me through this first, so i can walk my husband through. I sense he is not ready to allow the feelings to come yet regarding the whole identity thing. The loss, the mourning. I hear you Father, and i am listening. Please keep feeding me bites of wisdom. Iam grateful..... I am still....... Iam humbled. until tomorrow............ME

IDENTITY CRISIS.... I THINK?

Good Afternoon ladies!! What a beautiful day. Its a bit chilly but bright out. i can do the sun if its chilly out. I do not care for the heat. anyway. On to the topic of the day.......... I have a bit of a heavy heart and i need some comments from you P.W. and those who have been in ministry in other capacitys before. those of you who are not do not feel like you can't comment or give advice, i will take it from anyone who has some.
As you know we left the ministry about 6 months ago. I have no doubt that God has called my husband to exactly where he is for such a time as this. I believe that with all my heart and i have great testimony to back it all up. At my small group the other night i had this overwhellming sense of mournfullenss. ( Is that a word?) I have been pondering it for days now and i think i am mourning not being in the church ministry anymore. and i feel like iam in a bit of a identity crisis. i am checking my motives as to why i miss it, and what the root is. It is terrible awkward just being in church. I do not know what to do . I know that sounds stupid, yes, you go worship, pray, listen, serve and i am trying and doing those things, and it is good. But i guess i didn't think it would be this hard. I did not think it would be as big of deal as it is. I miss beign a pastors wife, i miss serving in some copacity with my husband. I know he is doing ministry now and it is good, but i cant be part of it. i do not know or ever see these people. Yes i am a mom and a wife, but for the past 9 years i have been the wife of a pastor, and i took great pride and considered it a calling on my life. Now it is no more. i am struggling to deal with that. lots of emotions, confusion, tears. i don't know how to transition. The lord could call him back into church ministry, we are not opposed to that. We do not know how long scott will be at LOWES. We are not sure how long we will be here. and it doesn't really matter i guess. We are here and i must transition and i want to, it is hard and i did not exspect this. i did not exspect to be in such angst over the change. It was a good thing that we left where we were. It was hard and ugly and spiritually unsafe for us, we endured much for 4and half years. God carried us through and we were pruned and cut back.
He gave us what we needed to make it through and i give him all the glory. He heated us like gold and brought alot of imperfections to the top to help us be better servants. As hellish as it was i would not change it for anything. Some days i feel like i am crazy, like this shouln't be that big of deal. GET OVER IT AND GET ON. Yet i feel like this identity thing is just now surfacing. Maybe my identity was in the wrong thing, and if thats the case then i have a whole lot more repairing to do. I must re-wire myself, my thinking. I am sorry, this is alot to put out there to all of you, most of you i hardly know. I guess i am trusting on our connection through the LORD and sisterhood in him. If this is to heavy for you, forgive me, and i guess i just had a good vent. I must bring this to an end, i have to go pick-up kids. THANKYOU FOR LISTENING, i look forward to seeing if any of you respond and what your thoughts are. TINA

leslie got me thinking

oh, iam so glad it is friday. i love fridays cuz i do not have to make lunches for 2 days I get to see my hubbie and i don't have to worry about homework. I guess i get to relax a little. anyway, leslies blog question got me thinking and it convicted me a little.... well actually a lot. I am blessed with the season my life is in right now, my kids are in school and not toddlers anymore. the age comes with all new chllenges but still the season is good to start new projects or ministrys. i am not always a good steward of my time. i HAVE time to do some of these things, and i need to. My husband used to be in full time ministry 6 months ago and we have served in that capacity for almost 10 years all together. I know the difficultys and challenges that come with that title. and i understand the seasons that a husband and family can go through when daddys job is the church. I have felt somewhat of a calling to create or provide and outlet for the wives of pastors. You have to be very gaurded sometimes of peoples motives for friendship and what you hear from your husand, that it goes nowhere beyond your ears. There are somtimes exspectations put on you and your children that are unreasonable. and sometimes there are just hard things you have to deal with beyond sunday morning that the average members just do not know. There can be much pain and hurt and confusion being in ministry, and you sometimes do not know where to turn for advice or council or simply to just vent your frustration to someone that you can trust. I have talked to many pastors wives who have voiced a need. So if you are a P.W. or you know one send her my direction to get some feedback from her. I am serious about moving forward and seeing how God will bring this to fruition. Maybe its not time for me yet, but i will not know until i try.. I covet your prayers and any ideas. HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND. TINA

A PERFECT DAY

good morning. It is an amazing day out today. kinda stormy, windy, cloudy. Days like today make me happy and in a good mood. I love rain and dark days. i know i am unique. I am sitting here writing and there are leaves hitting the window so hard i can here them, its as if they are trying to get my atttention for something, they are blowing and swirling all over the place. Soon the trees will be naked without there beautiful coats of color, that i will miss. My kids are getting tired of me commenting on every colorful tree we drive by, " mom, they are just trees, khalob says." It will be over soon. I get to go for a drive in the country to pick up my farm fresh eggs and raw milk for the week. I love knowing i am putting such good, pure, perfected by God food in our tummies. As some of you get to know me I am one of those people that could be obsessive about organic/health food. I am sure i will be preaching at some point about my thoughts and what i am learning to you. I am a bit of a granola about this sort of stuff. I will try not to be to opinionated about it. (: Have a great day and may the God of the seasons speak to you through his vast canvas of color today. tina

Back for round two

Okay, here i am again. i got scott (my husband) to e-mail all my friends and family my new
blog address. So come visit me okay? I AM SUPER EXCITED ABOUT DOING THIS, AND TALKING TO YOU. AND I AM PLAYING WIHT FONTS AND STUFF, SO BE READY FOR CHANGES FOR AWHILE. Wow i can even write in color? thats awesome! I am not sure where to begin. Most all of you know who i am and know about our life. Some of you are new though, so i must catch you up. I think i need to acknowledge the two people who got me addicted to reading their blog and thus got me to start my own. Kudos to cheryl Kaler and leslie Anderson. Greg and Cheryl got me going last summer on their adventure trip to Wash. D.C. I could hardly go a day without reading there blog while they were gone for 8 weeks. Then Leslie got me reading hers and i loved her writing and thoughts. She kept encouraging me to start my own very. So here i am. I hope you all have as much fun reading it as i am going to have writing it.

MY FIRST TIME

HELLLLOOOO EVERYONE!! I DID IT LESLIE AND SHARON, ARE YOU PROUD OF ME? IAM PROUD OF MYSELF. THIS IS MY FIRST POSTING EVER, I AM SO EXCITED! A GIRLS GOTTA LOVE A VENUE WHER SHE CAN TALK ABOUT HERSELF . (: I PRAY I CAN MAKE YOU ALL LAUGH AND CRY, CUZ YA KNOW GIRL TIME IS NOT GOOD GIRL TIME ULESS WE DO THOSE THINGS AT SOME POINT WHEN WE ARE ALL TOGETHER.
I HOPE I CAN ENCOURAGE YOUR DAY AND LIFT YOU UP IN THE LORD. I AM FIGURING THIS OUT AS I GO SO BARE WITH MY GRAMMAR AND SPELLING. HONESTLY I DO NOT MUCH CARE FOR IT AND I PROBABLY WON'T SPEND A LOT OF TIME USING SPELL CHECK OR ANYTHING. SO SORRY IF IT DRIVES SOME OF YOU CRAZY. I AM NOT THE MOST DETAIL ORIENTED PERSON ON THE BLOCK. OKAY I AM GOING TO POST THIS AND BE BACK LATER. SEE YA, TINA