Prayer for Traveling Mercies

The kids and I head out tomorrow morning at 4am...only 6 hours away. We will drive straight through to Peoria, IL so if you read this, please, stop and say a little prayer for our safety & sanity!

The burial is on Thursday at 1pm. We will have a lot of extended family come in to town so I'm looking forward to seeing relatives I haven't seen in 20 years, but just wish it was under better circumstances.

We're all hanging in there. It will be difficult; she was a well-loved Grandma, but the Lord has given us peace and comfort through it all.

We'll be traveling back home on Saturday and Sunday, then I'll take my daughter back to college on Monday (another 6 hours.) Please, pray for our safety again, if you would.

We're blessed with many sweet friends and I'm thankful for all the support.

See ya' next week!

Goals, Week 3 & Funeral

This week I exercised two times and kept my food log up through Wednesday...part way there, but not all the way. We did a lot of traveling/sight-seeing at the end of the week so I was out of my routine. We spent Thursday afternoon/evening taking Rhett to Ashley's university for a weekend visit. Then the little girls, Mark and I went downtown to the Native American Museum and the Library of Congress on Friday. On Saturday the four of us went to Baltimore to the Maryland Science Center where we spent the afternoon. I'll, hopefully, post about this at a later time. I've got some great pictures I want to share.

Last night around bedtime I received the call that my grandma passed away. It wasn't a surprise, but it wasn't expected either. She was 80 years young! (just drove her car the day before!) I just wanted to let my blog-friends know so you don't wonder why you aren't hearing from me.

I'll write more after we return from our trip to the funeral in the Midwest. Please, pray for our safety and that we will be a comfort to those who need it most.

Random Dozen # 10

It's Random Dozen time...

1. It's early morning, about 2:00AM, and you're driving home. You come to a red light and sit there. There is no one in sight for miles around. Do you wait it out or run the light?

Such a rule follower...this has happened to me and I totally waited for the light.

2. If you had the chance to re-do the last 24 hours, would you change anything?

Go to bed earlier...maybe.

3. When you reply to someone's comment on your blog, do you reply in your comments or go to her blog and comment? (Or email her)

go to their blog and comment

4. Your favorite Disney movie is:

Mary Poppins, the first movie I saw in theaters with my Daddy.

5. Do you recycle?

Do you really need to know? No and I feel the shame, thanks.

6. Games of strategy or games of chance?

If I have to choose - games of chance, but I prefer memory games above all.

7. Do you have any recurring dreams?

Not now, as an adult. As a child I dreamt my family was being tortured in a "Dr. Suess" machine while I was being restrained and made to watch. They came out like little toothpicks. Wouldn't Freud have had fun with that one!

8. What did you learn from your first real job?

How to flirt with the delivery boys...oh, you might have meant something a little more honorable. Um, how to handle a large switchboard, and to be nice to nasty people.

9. Do you buy or borrow most books?

I'm a library frequent-borrower.

10. What fashion trend of the past did you say you'd never wear again but did?

Plaid pants

11. When do you start Christmas shopping?

In a good year, right about now. When I procrastinate - a week before Christmas.

12. Have you ever been so happy that you literally jumped up and down for a few seconds? If so, what was the occasion?

When my husband got tickets for my three girls and I to go see the Jonas Brothers in concert, three hours before the concert began! Here's a pic of their faces when the Jo Bro's came out.

Airing My Clean Laundry

Part 2...

A few days ago, I shared how I organize my dirty laundry here.

Where does it go after it comes out of the dryer?

Well, when I hear the dryer beep I head downstairs (or fluff the load because I didn't hear it, ignored it, etc.), throw the load in a basket and sit on the second to the last step of my stairwell, right in front of this narrow cupboard. (I'm taking the picture while sitting on one of the steps.)

Here I fold the clothes and stack everyone's pile in one of the spots on this mini-bookshelf.

Now the best part...everyone is trained to come get their own laundry and put it away! Really! They are also trained (except hubby) to put their dirty clothes in the basket in the hall upstairs and someone carries it down when it's full. (best case scenario...we all have those, right?)

I put the clean sheets and towels in a basket stored in my laundry room and when it's full I take it upstairs and put it all away in the linen closet. This then becomes the new dirty clothes basket upstairs. It's just a continual rotation of baskets.

The cupboard looks rough, I know, and someday I'll figure out how to refinish furniture and get it done, but until then, it's still very functional. Someday it will be as pretty as my clean laundry.

Got any organizing tips to share? I'd love to hear about them!

Faith Challenge

One more post today...

I read this post by Angie Smith. It's such a thought-provoking post on faith - simple, and yet such a good reminder.

There is one line in the post that will probably stick with me for a while,

"It has nothing to do with the stirring, and everything to do with the stirrer."

So good! Thanks, Angie, for sharing your heart with us!

Thanksgiving Give-Away!

Just found out about this amazing giveaway at Melissa's Heart and Home. Click here to check out the beautiful gifts she is giving away for her 1 year blog anniversary.

Goals, Week 2

Goals, what goals? Oh, right...I was working on goals.

Last Monday morning I awoke with a full-blown head cold. (Thank you, my children.) I was completely miserable. Because I'm on new medication, I had to call the doctor to find out if there was anything I could take that would not raise my blood pressure. The answer...all the good stuff is bad for me. They gave me a couple of options and my hubby picked it up for me.

I didn't start feeling better until Friday, but have still been taking medication, even today, trying to abate the symptoms. There were a few other things added to the week that aren't appropriate to share with the world, but it made the week nearly impossible to keep my goals. So...NO, I did not keep a food journal (wasn't really eating much) and didn't exercise a wink - except to exercise my right to catch a few winks.

Katie ended up getting the flu and missed trick-or-treating, church and Awanas. Poor girl. It has been "general hospital" around here this past week.

However, yesterday began a new month and I made some goals for November. I've got my food journal ready to go for today and enough energy to get back to exercising. Hopefully, I can get back in the swing of things and have a great report next week!

Thanks for putting up with the whining. :)

Angie's Favorites Playlist

This is what you'll find on my Favorites Playlist on my IPod:

Bubbly by Colbie Caillat
I’m Yours by Jason Mraz
Lucky by Jason Mraz
Viva La Vida by Cold Play
The Prayer by Celine Dion & Andrea Bocelli
While I’m Waiting by John Waller
Mighty to Save by Laura Story
What Would Life Be Like by Big Daddy Weave
Washed By The Water by Needtobreathe
The Motions by Matthew West
Alabaster Box by CeCe Winans
Shine On by Needtobreathe
Much of You by Will Pavone
I Will Rise by Chris Tomlin
God With Us by Mercy Me

What are YOU listening to?

Happy Halloween!

Have I mentioned, that I love picnik?! Below are some of the props that were used at the Pumpkin Patch, a pic of my silly girls and a porch at the Frontier Culture Museum. They're all before/after pics, as you will see.

Happy Halloween, Everyone!

A woman was asked by a coworker, "What is it like to be a Christian?"

The coworker replied, "It's like being a pumpkin. God picks you from the patch, brings you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. Then He cuts off the top and scoops out all the yucky stuff. He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, and greed. Then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see."

Maybe a little cheesy, but the transformation is true and what I chose to be thankful for today.

Airing My Dirty Laundry

For many years I used to just make piles on the floor when I needed to sort my laundry. I sorted it in the laundry room, bedroom, or hallway - wherever there was floor space that would be undisturbed. I used to long for those organized laundry dividers, but every time I actually went to search for something that would suit our family, I couldn't find the right organizer for the right price. Then one day while looking at plastic bins I had a light bulb moment! What if I used these $1.50 kitchen trash cans for my laundry bins (at Walmart several years ago.) I went home and measured the space I wanted to use and they would fit perfectly! Yay! I got the extra benefit that once a trash can is full it equals about one full load of clothes - bonus!

Here's how our laundry is divided up. I could have purchased a can for the sheets, but they really just lay on the floor for part of a day usually. We have to walk around this area a lot so this works best on any given day. As you can see with my Dark Colored/Cold pile I just keep stacking it on top even if the can is full. It truly is "Mount Never Rest" around here.

You can see that I lay my grotty wash clothes over the side of the whites can. Anything that is damp I just lay over the sides so they will air dry before getting washed. Please, excuse the floor; it is an unfinished basement and there is some kind of heavy duty glue on the floor that we can't get up. Not pretty, but functional.

When I started this system, I had two kids who separated their own laundry so I put labels on the cans. I was really high-tech - 3x5 cards, a sharpie and packing tape. They've hung on there for 6 1/2 years so I'm not complaining.

I love how lightweight the trash cans are and how portable each load is. I just pick up the can that I want to put into the washer, tip it over and in it goes...so easy!

After I get some wash done, I'll show you what I do after it comes out of the dryer.

What system works well for you in your house? I'd love to know!