My Good King

I get to go to bed with a smile on my face, and that's saying a lot today. It's because of Carlito, who's going to get us out of a jam. Let me back up a few steps and explain. When the sink guys put in our undermount sink on Friday, I had an uneasy feeling about it, but I didn't have any proof they'd done anything wrong. When Carlito went to install the sink hardware today, he noticed a glaring problem--the sink is not stable enough. It's not apparent from the top, but you can see it underneath. Honestly, I was just crushed. This is huge. In order to fix the sink, the countertop needs to be removed, the plywood needs to be removed, and the whole thing needs to be done over again. After dealing with these people this week, I knew they were just going to deny there was a problem. Then we would be stuck spending who knows how much money to fix the mess (not to mention all the time it would take as well). I was so angry I truly couldn't think straight. That'...

I wanted to post these pictures on the first birthday post, but "bad" blogger wouldn't let me. The phone rang as we were eating the cake. The phone was for Carlos, so he answered, but apparently he didn't know who it was, so he got really frustrated, as you can tell by his expression. then he found out it was my brother-in-law. This is his expression after he found out who was on the phone: (night and day, huh?!). And my son-of-few-words actually had a decent conversation with him--decent means that it lasted more than two minutes and he actually contributed to the conversation :)

Just a quick post to show you some pictures of our "quiet" birthday celebration. Today is his actual birthday, so we just had an ice cream cake--just us, my parents, and a family friend. Tomorrow he'll have a birthday party with his friends and cousins--the "noisy" birthday celebration, lol! His expression as we're singing "Happy Birthday" Blowing out the candles: ooooh! Cash from "Nonni" (my parents)! Cash is always good, lol! ;0) The gift from Mommy and Daddy (he loves this stuff!) assembling the new toy right away (do you think he likes it!?) That's all for today, folks!

Sorry. Just not in the mood to blog lately. ... So tired. Overwhelmed by the tons of construction going on. We're getting a new kitchen ( sooooo glad!), but there's clutter everywhere from moving everything out of the kitchen. I feel like I can't move in my tiny house that has been taken over by kitchen stuff. No creative energy left to scrapbook or do anything else that's fun. Just really ready for the whole renovation thing to be done ... and discouraged because there's still a lot more to do (as in several weeks worth of work). I don't function well at all without solid routines, and the renovation has set me off my routines for several weeks. Carlos' seventh birthday is tomorrow. Kind of sad because my "baby" is getting bigger ... and I can never get that time back. Just want him to stay innocent ... and I want to be the center of his universe forever (well, it's nice to be the center of someone's universe--don't you agree, l...

So why haven't I posted all week? Um, because I've been spending every spare second in deep communion with God. Yeah ... not really. I've just been putting off writing this post. But it's becoming very obvious God is working on me, so I guess I'll share. Can you hear the overwhelming enthusiasm in my voice ??!! Great :-D Don't you hate to eat humble pie? I've been eating a lot of it the past few months (off and on--God is nice that way: He doesn't give it to us all at once 'cause He knows we'd collapse, lol!). Basically, God is working on my 'tude. Not fun, not pretty, but I'll be better off for it in the long run (and so will the people around me ... HELLO!). So the epiphany started around April when I went to a women's retreat. In addition to many other things I learned that weekend, I also bought this book: A Woman After God's Own Heart , recommended by a friend. Wow, what an eye-opener about our roles as women, wives, ...

... by my daughter. Yesterday we went to gymnastics, and as I was watching her, I noticed she did one of the moves a little bit sloppy (a keyword in gymnastics is "tight"!). Her intructor pointed it out in a humorous way (not making fun of her--just pointing it out). Ashley just smiled ('cause she knew it was a little sloppy) and agreed while listening to her instructor give her tips on how to do it next time. All of a sudden it dawned on me the HUGE difference between us at that age. I had the self-confidence of an amoeba at that age, and if someone had told me that something needed a little correcting, I would have curled up in a mental fetal position for days (literally), beating myself up over something so insignificant. I truly am amazed by so many things about her: her strong sense of self at such a young age her ability to know her strengths and weaknesses (a large part of them, anyway) as well as her likes and dislikes her strong moral character her extremely b...

I was tagged by Teena :). 1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts. 2. Each player starts with eight random and interesting facts/habits about themselves. 3. People who are tagged need to write a post on their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules. (If you don’t have a blog, email me) 4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names. 5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog. So here are my eight random facts. I would rather be hot than cold any day of the year (ask me even in the hottest days of summer if I’m longing for winter and I’ll give you a definitive “no”). When I buy gas, I can’t stop pumping until the price ends with a “5” or a “0” ($43.85, $43.10, etc.). Goes back to the “old” days when I used to balance my checkbook. It just made it easier. Now it’s become an obsessive-compulsive trait. I’m enjoying my life now more than ever before. Loo...

Things that make me smile and sometimes laugh: my family Starbucks with friends reading blogs :) parking the car in the driveway of our "new" house, lol! Oh, I guess I've forgotten to take a picture to show, huh? bantering with Ashley (the good kind of bantering--not the kind that gives me gray hairs!) My Missionettes girls (I think we've already been over the fact that even though they all have parents, they're still "my" girls!) breakfast with friends (Hi, Teena!) my new XTi :) Photoshop Elements (one of my best friends 'cause it makes me look like I take good pictures, lol!) scrapbooking (digital and regular) Crock Pot dinners (If I wasn't a Christian I would worship the person(s) who invented it) women friends in general the words Carlos mispronounces (washmouth instead of mouthwash, it's "between the rules" instead of "against the rules," and "overfloat" instead of overflow) I, of course encourag...

I've always been one of those people who would much rather do a favor for someone than be on the receiving end of the favor. I have the hardest time with "grace" and "mercy." I never want to be indebted to anyone. I have learned over the past few years, however, that in refusing help I am also robbing someone of the joy of blessing me and/or my family. So I have been working very hard at graciously accepting help and seeing the offered help as God's provision. When I stopped teaching three years ago, so did the benefits. My husband has benefits through his job (he works in his brother-in-law's three dental clinics), so we obviously signed up for that. However, the dental benefits are different. The employee gets full dental coverage for everything. The family gets 50% off the cash price. Needless to say, that's still expensive. So, prideful me has not been able to swallow enough pride to get a check-up (these past three years) because I know ...