Hush, Little Baby

This is what I'm doing...

This is what I want to be doing...

The sleeplessness has arrived. The anxiety about moving, coupled with the "to do" list running through my head, is hindering my sleep. Feeling rested, I guess, is out for the remainder of the week. My eyes popped open early this morning and I went to bed later than usual last night. Sigh.

The first thing I thought about was, "Can I wash my velvet curtains?" A truly pressing matter. Ha! And no, I can not wash my velvet curtains. Dry clean only. Rats.

So I crept downstairs to the computer, hoping not to wake the dog. I don't want to go outside yet! I made it past her crate and thought I'd tackle some laundry, email and other quiet tasks until the gang starts waking up. Hence, a blog post this morning.

I find it funny that during my "normal" life I can't seem to find the time to sit and write posts, but put me under the gun for a move and I'm sharing everyday. Can we say commiseration?

Maybe I'll be able to squeeze in one of these this afternoon...

To Have God's Eyes

I'm sitting at my keyboard and can't even find the words to begin writing this post.

Through a family member, I was "introduced" to Jason and Sara Morris whose daughter was diagnosed with leukemia. AML. I began praying for their family, reading their care page and leaving encouraging messages...from a stranger. But what comfort, I thought, to know that strangers care so much.

Adah, their daughter with cancer, has come through treatment and a bone marrow transplant. Her mom, Sara, writes about their recent move away from the hospital that has been home for the past year.

It is one of the most beautiful posts I have ever read. I'm speechless. It's left me thinking and asking the same question that Sara asks.

This year we've buried a parent, seen our first daughter married and are now about to make a major move, one that will drastically change the way we "do" life. Last week we made it through an earthquake and a hurricane. Life just seems a bit crazy, but in it all, what do I see?

That's what Sara asks.

A new light.

To have God's eyes.

I spent 3 hours today talking to an elderly neighbor on her porch who was saddened to hear of our move. Why did God give me the opportunity to meet someone new on the cusp of leaving? There seemed to be a deeper meaning to the divine appointment today. To have God's eyes.

Please, visit Beautiful Addition here and read Sara's post: Wanting to See. You won't be disappointed.

May you see His grace today.

Guest Post - World's Easiest Dog Sitting Job

My son, Rhett, has started his own blog: myimaginativescribbles. So to encourage his writing/blog I have invited him to guest post today. He's been dog-sitting for a homeschool family and shares his experience.

This past week I have been dog sitting a dog named Muki and I must say I have grown very attached to her. Though I love Muki I don't think she has nearly the amount of personality our own dog has.

She is far too obedient and sometimes scares me with her obedience. She doesn't snatch up food, even if it is at her eye level. She'll leave it alone if you walk away from it too! She knows what is her food and she leaves your food alone.

If you say, "It's potty time," she waits at the back door and she will wait there forever if she must. She doesn't bark over anything, and she doesn't seem to mind anything.

She eats, sleeps, and goes out and she doesn't bark at you when she wants to do any of these, she just politely waits until you are ready to direct her to the next activity.

Everyday she waits for me to get up and when I get up I open the back door and she takes her time. When she comes in, she eats and then she waits for me to take her for a walk. Then after the walk she waits until dinner, goes out every so often and then goes to bed.

The easiest dog alive I tell you.

I've jokingly called her "Robot Dog."

I don't know why I felt compelled to post about her, but she truly is an odd dog.

Hug Your Dog Today

This brought me to tears and I wanted to share it with you. To our military, thank you for your service and sacrifice!

Read the story here.

Earthquake

How crazy was yesterday's earthquake in Virginia?!

My husband is a San Diego boy and we lived in California for the first 12 years of our marriage.

I've lived through this:

The 1992 Landers earthquake was a magnitude 7.3 earthquake that occurred on June 28, 1992 with an epicenter near the town of Landers, California. The quake was described at the time as the largest earthquake to have occurred in the contiguous United States in 40 years. At 04:57 local time on June 28, 1992, a large quake awoke much of Southern California. Though it turned out to not be the so-called "Big One," it was nonetheless a very powerful earthquake. The shaking lasted for two to three minutes. Although this earthquake was much more powerful than the 1994 Northridge earthquake, its location out in the Mojave Desert meant that damage and loss of life were significantly less than what they could have been. (Wikipedia)

The morning of the Landers quake I awoke from my bed feeling the earth ROLL under my feet. It was terrifying! I was a Midwest girl who had sought shelter from many tornadoes in her lifetime, but there was no preparing for this. My natural instinct was to run! I ran screaming and grabbed my sleeping two year-old out of her crib. I ran to the front door and stood screaming in the doorway. From there I watched the earth roll under the street and stood glued in my spot as the power lines swayed ominously. I didn't want to be INSIDE, but I didn't want to go OUTSIDE either.

On the other hand, my husband, who had lived through many quakes, awoke as I ran frantically from the bedroom and looked up to see if anything on the wall would fall on his head (his first response from a near-miss as a child.) As my hysteria continued he thought, "Well, I guess I'll have to get up!" Such compassion! Needless to say, I was shaken after that earthquake. An aftershock later that morning made my washing machine "walk" toward me and I was hysterical again.

It's only funny now.

All over the local news and Facebook people were talking about yesterday's 5.8 quake in Virginia. The big question - where were you when it happened? Uh...in the bathroom. How embarrassing! As the house started to shake, I thought calmly, "Oh a quake!" I thought I'd just wait it out. Then it really started to shake and I thought about the structural issues of our townhouse and blurted out loud, "Oh, Lord, please, don't let our house come down!" I ran down the stairs shouting for my family members who had already congregated in the backyard. My husband exclaimed, "That was a good one for Virginia!" (like he was so proud of our state!) He makes me laugh. I was again shaken and started crying, "I HATE those things!" I was not so proud of our state!

Earthquakes are a poignant reminder that our life is not our own. At a moment's notice it could change and I was reminded again about priorities. At the dinner table we talked about the spiritual condition of our neighbors and felt the impetus to do more in sharing Christ, because we just don't know when things will change. Sometimes a natural disaster is good for reminding us that God is in control. I'm so glad I KNOW HIM and can TRUST HIM, no matter the outcome.

Farm Naming Contest

In my last post I announced that we will be moving to the farm. Our family is having fun trying to come up with a name for the farm and we thought we'd invite you to join in the fun!

Feel free to let us know which name you prefer below, OR if you have a name you want to submit and we choose your name for the farm, there will be a surprise gift in it for you!

Our family's ideas:

1) Corner Creek Farm (little boring, but we have a creek that crosses the corner of our property)

2) Scarlett Meadow Farm (submitted by my Dad to go along with our Gone With the Wind themed family)

3) Bonnie Blue Farm (same theme idea)

4) Scarlett Hill Farm (see a trend?)

5) Far Far Away Farm (submitted by daughter Katie)

In the previous post, it was suggested the farm will name itself once we get there by the only commenter, Sweet Tea. She may be right, but we're having fun batting around ideas. Hope you'll join in the fun!

Movin' to the Farm

We're moving to the farm!

On September 1st we'll be moving out to the country to a place on 5.25 acres, with three barns (2 red), fenced pastures and room for Biscuit to run!  Oh my, are we excited!!!

We haven't moved in 8 years. This is the longest we've lived anywhere so I've got some packing/sorting/clearing out to do, but while I'm working on that, I thought I'd get you all to help us choose a name for our new place.

I can't imagine moving to a nameless farm! 

There is a creek that crosses the corner of our property line so we think we like the name "Corner Creek - something."

I have dreams someday of having a small home business and would love for it to share the moniker of the property. Cornercreekfarm.com has been taken, but not:

1. Corner Creek Place

OR

2. Corner Creek Homestead

Can you see either one of those names sewn into the back of a blanket, or decorating a jam jar label?

So, weigh in on what you think would be a great name for our farm. # 1, # 2 or another name you might have.

"Money pit" has already been shot down.

BTW, my kids are all named after Gone with the Wind characters (see this post), but we don't have oaks, so Twelve Oaks seems out (and the .com is taken) and Tara is the name of my youngest and I don't want to name the farm after her. She's already a little miffed that she didn't get a "real person's" name. :)  But if you're creative, maybe you can come up with something along the movie theme.

To sum up:

Leave a comment with your vote for Corner Creek Place or Corner Creek Homestead.

If you have a name you think we might like, give us a try. If we choose your idea for the name of our place, there is sure to be a gift for you!

Can you tell I'm excited??  Whoo hoo!!

Best Buddy-in-the-making

Dear Biscuit,

I've never had an indoor puppy before and I'm not sure I will ever have one again, but after working 12 hours yesterday, I couldn't wait to get home to see you! Your whole family feels that way when they've been away too long. You make coming home a real treat!

I could never understand why people talked about their dogs like they were humans. Now I get it.  I'm sure you're the smartest dog to ever roam the planet.

You're stubborn spirit fits right into our family. You teach us patience, calmness, how to play with enthusiasm and endurance, sacrifice and most of all, forgiveness and love.

I keep asking pet owners, "How long will this last?"  Their unanimous reminders, "She's just a puppy."  So there's hope that someday you won't chew up shoes, have accidents, steal toys, eat everything imaginable, bite too hard when you play and run around like a crazy psycho.

Until then...

You're lucky you're cute!