She Gone...and God is Good!

 

 

After 12 years with my current employer, my position was officially eliminated yesterday.  I was notified of the decision six weeks ago.  But, have been unable to speak publicly about it due to a confidentiality agreement.  So, it wasn't a complete shock.  Even the day I was told, it wasn't upsetting.  I was happy and excited.  Happy that at least temporarily, I would be at home full-time immersed in my true purpose and calling - caring for my family and home.  And, excited about the new opportunities awaiting me.  You can't accept new opportunities and blessings by holding onto the past.  From my perspective, losing my job was only a positive.

 

When one door closes, another one opens. 

 

On Wednesday (the day before my position ended), I had my first interview.  Today, I was extended a verbal offer from the company.  My new position will start mid-January!  

 

God is Good! 

 

Mary Ellen

 

 

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Uncertainty

The last few months have been such a tumultuous season for our family.  Now, another curve ball has been thrown our way.  As you may know, my husband works for the State government.  Apparently, there is a measure before the State House of Representatives that would eliminate several positions within his department - including his.  Nothing is certain at this point as voting and such still needs to take place.  But, by the end of June, it's possible Dave would be out of a job.  We've walked this path before.  Even though I find myself fighting to hold back tears, I know we will persevere.

While this was completely unexpected, looking back over the last few weeks, I can see God's hand moving behind the scenes.  When my Mother was first hospitalized back in April with internal bleeding, we went into financial emergency mode.  Dave cut back some budget categories and directed the surplus to our emergency fund.  The thinking at the time was to have extra on hand should we need to find last minute summer care for the children.  So, we're already in financial storm cloud/bare budget/savings mode.  Just now, it's a different storm cloud!  And recently, I began feeling the need (call) to pray for my husband.  I've always prayed for my husband, my kids and our families.  But, this calling is different.  It's a call to pray with more intention specifically for my husband.  I'm constantly amazed at how God knows all our needs even before we become aware of them!

Mary Ellen

Happy Birthday Clayton!

Happy 8th Birthday to my Sweet Baby Clay!

Happy Birthday Reed!

Happy 6th Birthday 

to our sweet Baby Reed!

A Look Back...Christmas 2012

 

Our Dining Room Christmas tree

 

 

The Christmas trees have been packed away and a new year is upon us.  But, I have to admit, I'm not  quite ready!  I'm still in Christmas mode.  So, before the year ends, I'm taking a look back!



 

On Christmas Eve night, the kids got their new pajamas and ornaments.

 

Clayton playing Angry Birds on his new Kindle Fire HD while wearing his Angry Birds pajamas :)

 

Santa was here!

 

 

The kids were excited to start opening toys.

 

But...we almost...almost...ended up at the Emergency Room on Christmas morning!

 

Dave was opening a toy and decided to use his pocket knife instead of scissors.  In the process of cutting the plastic, he accidentally stabbed the knife into his thumb.  I'm sitting on the floor with the kids and suddenly Dave screams.  The toy and the pocket knife go flying across the room (fortunately not hitting anyone).  At first, I didn't realize what happened.  Until, I followed after Dave and started seeing drops of blood leading to the kitchen.  And, the drops were getting bigger and bigger!  Dave was at the sink trying to stop the bleeding.  When he took the pressure off his thumb, the blood gushed up like a geyser.  At that point, we're thinking he needs to go to the ER.  So, I rush upstairs to put on some clothes.  But, I'm all panicked and find myself running around in circles looking for a skirt.  I'm also feeling quite queasy from the sight of the blood.  Luckily, crisis was averted and the bleeding stopped.  Thank God!  

 

Later, we enjoyed a nice Christmas dinner of Roasted Ham with Dijon-Pineapple sauce, roasted Brussels sprouts and homemade jalapeno coleslaw. 

 

If you haven't tried the Pioneer Woman's recipe for Roasted Brussels Sprouts with dried cranberries and balsamic reduction, you must!  They are absolutely delicious!  My mouth is watering just thinking about them.  The roasting takes them to a whole 'nother level!

 

At the end of the evening, we settled down and enjoyed some popcorn courtesy of Reed's popcorn machine.  Yes, he asked for a popcorn maker for Christmas!

 

Mary Ellen

 

Happy Birthday Honey!

 

Dave celebrating his 1st birthday :)

 

 

Happy Birthday to My Beloved!

 

Mary Ellen



12 Years & Counting!

 

September 2, 2000

David & Mary Ellen

 

Celebrating 12 years of wedded bliss!

Who Says It's Not Work?!

Dressed for a day of working at home

While the kids are on Summer break, I like to use vacation time when my schedule allows, to spend time at home with them.  My recent days at home reminded me of a conversation I had with a co-worker.  We were chatting about dream jobs and when she asked me what my dream job would be, I told her being a homemaker.  She quickly replied, "That's not a real job!".  Granted her view of homemakers are ladies who are retired and spend their afternoons golfing and lunching.  But, as a wife, mother of three and keeper of a home of six people and four fluffy kitties, I can tell you firsthand homemaking most definitely is work! 

There are three square meals to be made.  And, it seems like when I've cleaned up from one meal, it's time for another one to be prepared.  Dishes, dishes and more dishes!  On weekends and weekdays I'm home, there are usually four (or more!) full dishwasher loads.  Floors to be swept and vacuumed daily - or twice daily (I have a thing about clean floors!).  Cleaning - the pleasant chores and the not so pleasant ones like toilets and litterboxes - ewww!  Reading and doing lessons with the children.  Grocery shopping, errand running and even doing the little things that make our home pretty and comfortable.  When I'm at home, I'm pretty much on the go from the time I get up, to the time I go to bed at night.  It's a full day, moreso than the 7.5 hours spent in the office.  But at the end of the day, my soul feels satisfied!  It's kind of hard to explain.  But, it's the satisfied feeling you get when what you're engaged in is fully aligned with your purpose.

So yes, homemaking is work!  Not paid work but invaluable nonetheless.  The health of our society ultimately depends on the health of our homes and families.  And that takes work!

Mary Ellen                

The Graduate

Last week my little baby man graduated from preschool!  This coming Fall, he'll be headed off to big kid school with Ashleigh & Clayton.  We'll be entering into a new season of life as all three kids will be in school full-time and there will be no little ones at home.  Sigh...my baby is growing up!

Here's Reed with his class

And here he is getting his diploma

Reed was especially proud of his trophy, the "Van Gogh" award for all his wonderful artwork.  And the day after graduation, he also wore his graduation cap ALL DAY.  And when I say, all day, I mean all day!  He wore it to drop off Ash & Clay at school, to my Momma's doctors appointment, to lunch out with Daddy, to afternoon pick up, for dinner that evening!  He was very proud and so are we!

Mary Ellen

 

All About My Mom!

Happy Monday!  I hope all you Moms had a wonderful Mother's Day!  My Mother's Day started out with plenty of gifts from the kids.  Apparently, they were very busy at school last week making lots of sweet and creative gifts for us Moms!  Ashleigh made these flowers using cupcake liners (what a cute idea!).  And on the back, she wrote all about me!

All About My Mom by Ashleigh

My mother likes to...shop and play pool.

She is...20 ft tall. {not quite!}

She hates to...go to work and clean.

Her favorite food is...cooked ostrich. {that's true!}

She gets mad when...I scare her.

She has always wanted to get an...iPhone.

My mom is special because she always...helps us, cooks dinner and cleans the house.

I get in trouble when I...mess with her stuff. {true!}

If I could give my mother something special, just from me, it would be...a hamster. {LOL!}

She weighs about...50 pounds. {at one point in my life, yes!}

My mother looks prettiest when...she wears her dresses. {aaaahhhh!}

I like being with my mom most when...we go to the farmers market.

Clayton made various floral prints, including some with his hand prints.  He also made me a small bowl using pottery clay which he was very proud of!  And I was too!

Reed's preschool teachers made bookmarks using pictures of the kids!  Very creative and oh so cute!  He also made a laminated butterfly with torn tissue paper for a stained glass effect.   

And from my sweet husband, this beautiful new ruffled apron!  In addition to the garden plants I received as an early Mother's Day gift last weekend.  And the day off from preparing meals :D  It was a wonderful Mother's Day!

Mary Ellen

Happy Mother's Day!

I Have Super Kids!

Mary Ellen

Easter Sunday

A few pictures from Easter weekend at our house :)

We dyed eggs.  And I discovered making your own dyes using food coloring, works much better than the dye tabs.  We don't eat the eggs (they're just for decoration).  So, no worries about consuming dyes and coloring!

We had our annual backyard Easter egg hunt.  It's amazing how fast the kids find the eggs.  When they were toddlers, it took them forever!

We ate chocolate - eggs and bunnies, of course!

Then settled down for a wonderful Easter dinner together!

Mary Ellen

Happy Easter!

Christ Is Risen!

Spring!

Happy first day of Spring!

Mary Ellen

PTO Day - "Paint" Time Off

Last Friday, I took some time off from work to take care of a few homecaring tasks.  The weather was gorgeous and the kids were in early from school.  It was the perfect day for an afternoon away from the office!

Having the afternoon off gave me the opportunity to do some spray painting.  I had intended to start on these projects weeks ago, but never found time on the weekends.  For my garden, I spray painted a wooden trellis in a soft french lilac color.  The trellis was a Craigslist freebie!  I think lavender and green are a beautiful color combination.  In my head, I'm envisioning pea and cucumber vines wrapping themselves around the trellis in my garden this year.

I also started priming this trash to treasure find.  It's a small stand with a cut out for storing electrical components.  Would work well as a small TV stand or writing desk.  I'm thinking about doing some sort of design on top in gray.  I have a Martha Stewart stencil I'd like to try out and this would be a good practice piece!

Since Dave's office is closer, he's usually home before me.  But Friday, I was able to treat him by having the house in order, dinner cooking and plate of warm, homemade chocolate chip cookies ready for him as he walked into the door!

Mary Ellen

Beauty in the Ordinary

A simple (and frugal) bouquet from bolted garden plants

The warm weather lately has my thoughts turning towards my Spring garden.  This weekend, I started clearing out my garden squares in anticipation of Spring planting.  Most of my fall vegetable plants have gone to seed (bolted), with the exception of my Swiss chard and lettuce plants.  I gathered together the blossoming tops of my arugula, mizuna and red kale plants for a simple (and frugal!) bouquet.  Beauty in the ordinary.

Mary Ellen   

Happy Birthday Clayton!

Happy 7th Birthday to our Clay Baby!

My New Year's Resolutions

I hope your 2012 is off to wonderful start!  I'm not really the best at making resolutions.  Which is weird because I love making lists.  I know written goals give you a clear direction and allow you to measure your progress.  But, the perfectionist in me feels like a failure if everything is not accomplished!  To take the pressure off, I refer to my resolutions as "aspirations".  Things I hope to aspire to in the New Year, but won't feel guilty about if I fall short of the mark.  Any change for the positive is a good thing.  Even if everything on the list isn't checked off at the end of the year!

So, here are my "aspirations" for 2012:

* I want to learn or increase my knowledge in the following 4 homecaring areas:

• Gardening - I want to learn how to make my vegetable garden more productive and grow more fresh herbs
• Sewing - I want to finally use the sewing machine Dave's grandmother gave me as a wedding present 11 years ago!  I'd love to sew something (maybe an apron) from a vintage pattern.
• Breadmaking - I want to move beyond homemade pizza crusts and homemade cinnamon rolls!
• Cake Decorating - Just looks fun and cute!

*I want to make a Home Binder to keep my calendar, homecaring list, menu plan, grocery list and contact information all in one place.

*Organize kid-related paperwork

*Practice yoga and deep breathing for relaxation

*Observe a day of rest for prayer and gratitude journaling.

*Focus on the positive - "whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things." (Philippians 4:8)

*Take a day off from work each month to focus on homecaring projects.

*Fill the empty shelf space in the living room and family room without making those areas look cluttered.

*Re-read The Surrendered Wife (Laura Doyle), The Complete Tightwad Gazette and Simple Abundance.


I also have some home projects in mind for the coming year.  But since those will require Dave's approval and assistance, I'll hold off on committing to those for right now!

What are your resolutions (or aspirations) for the New Year?

Mary Ellen

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Sunday at the Park

Our area has many wonderful city parks.  Going to the park is a favorite (and frugal!) activitiy our family enjoys quite often.  Some of the parks are out of the way and off the beaten path.  It's fun to see what you can discover when you take a walk into the woods!