Creative Homemaker

I picked up Grammy and Leesh at the airport this afternoon. A little heavy traffic but not bad considering all the construction going on at SeaTac. We got home and the kids trickled in from a birthday party and were excited to see Gram. After dinner Grammy read to them while I took a shower and got ready to go in the morning. She is a wonderful grandma and the kids love her. I'm sure that everything will go smoothly. I've left her with enough instructions to choke a horse, and food enough to feed an army, I'm sure. Leesh will be a good "Auntie" to my kids and is a great helper to have around. To all my bloggy friends, I'll post soon about how my flight goes and classes I get to take while I'm at the spouses seminar. I'm really looking forward to spending uninterrupted time with my sweetheart. Now if I can just get some sleep.

I. Can. Not. Sleep! My heart is racing, my mind is whirring, and I’m all jittery. I feel like I’m on speed! (Not that I have ever taken it to be able to compare, what kind of person do you think I am, really!) But wow, why won’t my head shut off. Is it excitement about seeing Bear, is it excitement about seeing my mom and my niece? What is the deal here, I’ll be a wreck on the side of the road driving to SeaTac if I don’t get some rest. I’ve been up to pee, I’ve painted my nails, I helped a little Bubby go potty and change his jammies, (poor Ace fell asleep in his jeans during movie and pizza night,) I’ve tossed, turned, thumped pillows, wrestled with the sheets. I am anxious to see my sweetheart, I told him I feel like a giddy teenager on a first date. I’m looking forward to long talks with him, without interruptions. Our conversations of late have been broken and disjointed. Little ones always seem to need Mamma’s attention and/or discipline when I’m on the phone to Daddy. Bear ...

About two months ago, my dear husband let me know about an opportunity for Chaplain's spouses, so that we could attend some classes at the Army Chaplain School. I thought back then it was just a dream, a very expensive dream that would never come true. I thought it was a great opportunity and as I'm so new to this whole Army ministry thing, I could sure learn alot, but I was resigned to the fact that I would not be able to go. There were too many details, too much to try and coordinate, I didn’t think I could take care of it all. I prayed about it, thinking that God would not have this excursion in His Eternal plan for my life, and I left it in God’s hands. My dear husband asked me if I had thought about it, and if I could actually come. Wow, I didn’t realize that Bear had been praying about it too. The details were too complicated, how would I fly by myself with 5 kids (too expensive) how would we get around once we got there, I’d have to rent a minivan, (too expensive). Wha...

Today, for the first time I met a friend whom I have enjoyed getting to know. That seems so reversed, I should have met her first and then gotten to know her. In this age of computers and blogs and long-distant relationships, it is often vice versa. I found this woman’s blog through a Chaplain blogroll. As we are embarking on a new direction and path in our lives, I sought out the direction and assistance of wives who have been down this road. I sought out a Titus woman who would be able to “fill me in” so to speak about what I could expect as we travel along this journey God has put before us. I discovered to my delight that one particular Chaplain’s wife lived near me and that perhaps we could meet in real life and talk face to face. We’ve been trying to connect for months it seems, but with 10 children between us and often going separate directions, it has been difficult to say the least, with cancellations and postponements along the way. But today, we did it. Plans were pushed asi...

He is risen indeed! Aleluiah!

I didn’t sleep well last night, oh I went to bed early enough, tried to get enough rest, but Robby had leg cramps and woke me up nearly every hour wanting “med-cine” on his owies. 4 times during the night, I went in and rubbed him down with muscle cream. Then Boo woke up coughing as soon as Robby got settled for the night. Needless to say, my dreams last night were scattered and incoherent. The last one I remember was that my next-door neighbor had taken down a section of my new fence and stolen my sod. Miss Busy woke me up this morning instead of vice versa, the first thing I did was look out my back window. Nope, grass was still there.

Saturday Morning dawned partly cloudy, but no rain, it had sprinkled some during the night, I heard the rain dripping down the rain gutter at 4 am and couldn’t go back to sleep. I arose early and had my quiet time, fed everyone and went to the backyard to start getting things ready to put down the sod. There were some rocks to be moved and tidied up. I had good workers lined up for inside with the kids and outside help with me. Our friend Brandon, 17, had a brain injury a few years ago and doesn’t have the use of his left hand, and walks with a brace and a limp with his left leg. But he is a hard worker and is willing, a commendable trait in a teenager. He picked rocks and dumped several bucketfuls and got them squared away. He was especially good with the sod knife, trimming around all the rocks in the wall and the stepping-stones. Fordman and I laid the sod, while AZ-Wheeln, Miss Busy, AZ’s daughter, Kay and a few neighbor kids brought the sod to the backyard in a wagon. The groun...