Boxes

Boxes are taking over my house and my life!!! I kid you not. Half of my house is full of empty boxes waiting to be packed and the other half are boxes that have already been packed. They are everywhere! Flattened boxes, put together boxes, small boxes, large boxes, boxes with flaps, boxes with topses....wait, when did Dr. Seuss get here?

Not only are they taking over my house but my life, as well. I'm constantly scanning for boxes while shopping and swooping down on unsuspecting store employees who are getting ready to....HORROR OF HORRORS, throw OUT these boxes like they were just common trash!!!! We're talking good, top of the line boxes here!! Not the weak toilet paper boxes but the heavy duty frozen chicken boxes!! Just tossing them away!!

I know what you're thinking...Chaffy, a box is a box. Sorry, my friend, boxes come in different qualities and I have become a box expert. I'm expecting my Box Certification Diploma in the mail any day now. I plan to frame it and put it in the box with the framed pictures that I have taken off the walls all over the house.

And on we go!!

See ya next time! :o)

God's plan is revealed!!

As you know, at first I was a little panicked and kinda angry but now I'm excited!

Rental properties around here are not easy to find. Most people don't advertise in the paper. It's more of a word of mouth kind of thing so it's pretty hit or miss.

We found several homes.....some nice, some HORRID, all had something that wouldn't work about them. Too small, bad area, too far away from work, no pets, no INTERNET available.

I swear by now, I have made at least 100 calls trying to find something that would work for us. I've kept a list of each home that MIGHT work if we did without SOMETHING. My friends kept assuring me that God has a plan. Which I totally believe but was so impatient for Him to just TELL me already! LOL

On Monday I got yet another number to call. Turns out that this man has several homes and all were occupied. That is until he got a call from a family on SUNDAY, the day before I called him that they needed to break their lease. This family suffered the loss of their teen daughter last year. Some of you may remember me posting about it on Parenthood.com. Michael knew her from band and she was also a cheerleader and on the soccer team. We went to the services. The funeral was literally out the door standing in line to pay respects for this girl. Apparently, as it so often happens, the death took its toll on this couple and they are divorcing. I feel sad for them that they are losing each other after losing their daughter. The landlord told them, considering the circumstances, he would try to find another renter quickly so they wouldn't be liable for the rest of their lease, which ends in October.

We went to see it...it's plenty big enough, it's in town closer to the boys' schools (literally 3 minutes away) and even has a fenced in yard for Taco. All of my utility companies will stay the same and simply transfer, including internet access! It's just right!

NOW we see the plan....none of the other houses were just right because we were meant to help this family break their lease and hopefully start to move into healing by taking THIS house. The plan was bigger than just us.

See ya next time! :o)

Moving

After 7 years my landlord has decided to sell the property. And without concern or apology has informed us that we must be out by March 31st. All of our attempts to find a way to stay in this house have failed and so the search is on. I've made well over 60 calls and left many messages. I've gone to see a few houses, I've talked to a bunch of people who don't have anything available right now, I've talked to my church about the house they have for sale, I even went to our old landlord to see if he had anything....so far it's not been fun.

The prospect of packing this house after 7 years of being comfortable here is daunting to say the least. No one likes moving, I know, but I'm SO dreading this. This whole thing couldn't come at a worse time. Steve is so busy with the grand opening of Sam's coming up a week before we have to be out of here, not to mention being sent away for training for up to a week at a time.

I keep praying that this is a blessing bubbled wrapped in a REALLY good disguise. I'm trying to keep the hope that God has a plan...a really good plan that I just can't see yet. Maybe a better house with less expensive heating that's closer to town? I don't know. Right now, I'm just aggravated that this has to happen so fast and sometimes I feel like I'm spinning my wheels.

Please send prayers, vibes, thoughts, wishes, whatever you got! LOL I'll take all the help I can get.

See ya next time. :o)

Happy Valentine's Day, Sweety!!

Steve,
You are my soul mate
and
I love you with all of my heart.
Yours forever,
Donna

Connection

My kids often tease my husband and I about being mind melded or something of the sort. We often finish each other's sentences or I will see Steve looking for something and without asking him what it is he is looking for, will tell him where it is. Or one of us will say, "Ya know what I was thinking?" and the other will say, "Yeah me too!" Or Steve will say, "Honey, where's that thing?" "It's in the closet."

The kids are boggled at this. WHAT THING? How did you know what he was looking for? I guess time has made us so compatible that we just share a brain sometimes.

This morning, I walked into the room and Steve was in the middle of watching a movie. A guy on a flying dragon. It reminded me of a movie we used to watch with the kids but I couldn't think of the name of it. When he told me the name of the movie he was watching was Erogon, I said, "Oh, it looked like they re-made that movie....ya know the one? The one with the kid and the book and the apple?" He said, "Never Ending Story?" Yes...that one. LOL

Now if you've ever seen Never Ending Story, you'll know that maybe three minutes of that movie actually has a scene with a kid reading a book and eating an apple. The book he is reading is actually the story of the movie and the kid is actually going into the story and it's about all his adventures. And yet, Steve got my reference to this mystical, magical tale from what I said that really had NOTHING to do with the story. LOL

The boys just looked at us and shook their heads.

Our connection to each other is our Never Ending Story. :)

See ya next time! :o)

Reconnecting

There are some people in our lives, whether family or friends, that we just connect with. They "get" us. They know us and they like us, even with our faults. And it doesn't matter if you've been out of touch for weeks or months or years.....when you get back together either by phone or email or in person, it's like you've never spent any time apart. It's an instant reconnection. It's a blessing you almost forgot you had. Out of the blue the phone rings and there's your friend. Within minutes you are laughing and sharing and catching up. Those minutes turn into hours as you tell about what's going on with you and listen to what's happening with them. True friends, real friends, lasting friends, the friends that are close to your heart even if they are far from your location, those are the people I truly thank God for every day and think what a lucky, lucky woman I am to have them.

See ya next time! :o)

Big weekend for Michael!

This weekend was a big weekend for Michael.

On Friday he got his license.....yep, he's on the road, people!!! He's so excited to have a little more independence. :) He's driving himself and Anthony to school and on Monday he finally got to park in the parking space we reserved for him at the beginning of the school year!! Kristi called him to come over after school yesterday and I was so pleased when he told her that he had to take Anthony home and ask Mom because, in his words, "Just because I have a license doesn't mean I can do whatever and go where ever, I still gotta ask Mom." Well, WOOOHOOO for you, Mikey!!! You hit that nail right on the head!!

This weekend was also his first overnight band trip. They went to Atlanta, GA to see a college band competition at the Georgia Dome. Very cool!!! He texted pictures and video of everything from his hotel room to the dome. It was cool that he kept in touch all weekend, calling several times to give me a blow by blow of what they were doing and what was coming next. And he bought me some fudge. :) Does he know his mom or what?

This morning I gave him twenty bucks and told him to call me after school in case I needed anything from the store. LOL I think I'm gonna LIKE having another driver in the family. :)

See ya next time! :o)