Saturday morning

It's a gorgeous Saturday morning here in beautiful New Hampshire. Don't you love this time of year?

Evan is over at Fairwood--went there last night for a men's leadership seminar that's going through today. I miss him! Friday night is our special time together, but in his absence I had fun watching Kate & Leopold, a charming movie starring Meg Ryan. I made a peach pie yesterday afternoon--the ultimate comfort food. After taking a piece over to Lindsay last night, I settled on the pappazan (sp?) couch in Evan's office with TWO slices of pie and an iced latte, breathed a happy sigh of relief (it had been a long and exhausting day--the kids were finally asleep!), and watched my movie. The kids let me sleep in a little this morning, thanks to the VCR. :-) Evan and Lindsay usually take the kids to Dunkin' Donuts on Saturday mornings so I can have a little break. I've been spoiled! I was afraid this morning would be really hard, but the Lord has been giving extra grace and we're all doing fine. Maybe we'll go hang out at the mall today. That always provides a good distraction--and keeps Tucker corralled where he can't get into stuff!

We started school on Monday! I had grandiose plans of doing all kinds of learning projects each day, using a fabulous book I found called Learn at Home. On Monday Jed was on a roll and we did one project after another for probably 2 1/2 hours. But on Tuesday he hit burnout! I got frustrated, until I remembered things other moms have told me and that I've read in books that you don't have to push a kindergartner and they don't need a lot of structured schooltime. So since then what we've been doing is pulling out the "learning box" which is filled with workbooks and learning games. Jed's Nana (Evan's mom) put it together for him for Christmas this past year, and what a wonderful gift it is. I feel satisfied now if he does two or three workbook pages and we do a project or a learning game. Keeping the other two kids occupied is a challenge, but thousands of homeschool moms have dealt with the same problem, so it is possible!

I joined Curves this week. We had a membership at the YMCA for a while but it was 20 minutes away and we just weren't getting there because it took so much time. So we canceled our membership there and Evan very kindly let me join Curves. I've been three times and really like it. All you have to do is 30 minutes three times a week (you can do more but three times is about all most of us can fit into our schedules!). If all it does is increase my energy level and reduce stress it'll be worth it. But it would be nice if it burned some of that remaining baby fat. :-)

Oh, Evan got his truck door fixed yesterday! Poor guy was getting really tired of having to hold onto his door every time he went around a corner, and of having to attach the bungee cord whenever he got in. It's probably going to take him a while to get over the habit of grabbing the door on corners.

We found another dead mouse the other day. Looks like an animal got this one. It was dead and mangled on the grass. Maybe our cats are going to become mousers after all!

We had Penny and her grandpa over for dinner on Thursday night. What a happy time! My sisters and I grew up with "Uncle Charlie" in our lives when we lived in California. He is a dear man who loves children. All of us kids in the California church who knew him as children adored him. It was neat to see that he hasn't lost his touch with kids. We had chicken pot pie for dinner, and as we were finishing up Uncle Charlie said he was enjoying watching the three little pot pies at the dinner table. I'm guessing Penny got her gift with kids from her grandpa!

Divine appointments

Last year when I was about 8 months pregnant with Tucker I was standing in line at Wal-Mart when a sweet-looking young woman behind me struck up a conversation with me. Now I'm not one to start talking with perfect strangers very often, but somehow we really connected. I don't remember everything we talked about, but she asked me how I met my husband and how you can know for sure who the right spouse is for you. Pretty deep stuff for a casual conversation! She was seeing a guy but had some reservations. It was obvious she was a believer. I can't remember everything I said to her, but was touched by the meeting and by her hunger for the truth.

Imagine my surprise about two months later when, with newborn Tucker in snuggli-pack, I run into her again at the health food store. This time she's with her now-fiance and everything seems to be going pretty well for them. Except now she's trying to get some help for some health problems, the biggest one being an obsessive-compulsive disorder. We chatted some and exchanged hugs and I promised I'd be praying for her--for her health and her relationship.

About four months ago I met her AGAIN in the same health food store! Tell me what the odds are of that happening. At this point the engagement was off and she was having a hard time but learning to lean on the Lord. This time I got her name--Maria. The Lord had not let me forget her, and it was nice to be able to say her name whenever God prompted me to pray for her.

Well, the story doesn't end there. Recently I was telling my mother-in-law about this girl and the incredible series of meetings. Talking about her made me wish I could see her again and see how she's doing. Wish granted! This past Monday I had to run into Wal-Mart to get some diapers, when who should appear before me at the checkout counter but Maria! Pardon me while I pick up my jaw off the floor. That's FOUR times. I guess the Lord really wanted us to meet again, because I shouldn't have even been there. I only ran in because I'd forgotten to get diapers at the grocery store next door a few minutes earlier but didn't want to go back to that store. THIS time I got her phone number and we talked for probably 15 minutes. I hope to get together with her soon. She is going through some tough times and is searching for the Lord and wants to see His hand on her life. Please pray for Maria if you think to, and also that I'll have wisdom to know how to encourage her.

Door Trouble

We seem to be cursed in the door department lately. It all started when we moved into our new house. I'm not kidding when I say that every door in this house, with the exception of maybe one or two, has problems. They all either stick horribly or the doorknobs don't latch, so you can just push some of the doors open. It is not cool when you can't lock the master bedroom door, let alone make it latch shut. Jed can't even open the front door, and on a humid day you need both hands to open it. Then the doorknobs on Evan's two office doors fell off within a couple of weeks of each other. Argh!

The worst door trouble is that Evan's new truck door won't latch! The morning of the day we were leaving Nova Scotia for home it decided to quit latching, so we stopped at a car parts store and bought a bungie (sp?) cord to hold it shut. That was an exciting adventure. Sometimes the door would open a little going around a corner, and the road noise was pretty loud. Since then Evan has learned that Ford recalled that door several years ago because it was rusting out too badly!

Oh, and I almost forgot the minivan door. I was putting Chloe in the minivan the other day. When I opened the sliding door it didn't catch and hold the first time, and being in a bad mood already, I took my frustration out on it and slammed it into place. Stupid. I almost pushed the door right off! It came off the car up at the top. It was easy to see what needed to be done to fix it, but I lacked the strength and know-how. So I called poor Evan, who was working about five minutes from home (thankfully!) and he came and banged it back in place. Believe me, it was a reminder to keep my temper under control!

All this door trouble has made me more aware of the blessings we do have, like this incredible house. We are absolutely loving it! Space everywhere! It's such a wonderful home in which to raise a family. And it makes me think of Jesus, the Door of Life. That Door never sticks or malfunctions. He is faithful and unchanging. And, to use an overused phrase, "The Lord never closes a door without opening a window."

Ways to Kill a Mouse

Thank you all for your very helpful ideas on rodent extermination. Since moving into the house, we have killed six! Our methods, however, have been varied. You may be interested to learn some new tricks.

1. Slam the mouse's head in a cupboard door.
2. Trap it in a cup in your living room.
3. Put poison packets under major appliances and watch the corpses appear in your basement.

Allow me to elaborate. On Saturday night upon our return from Nova Scotia, we were all in the kitchen--all including Darren and Sara and their two kids, who were spending the night with us on their way back to VA. I opened the corner cupboard to see if there was any evidence of evil mice, and sure enough, they had eaten through several containers. But that wasn't all--there was a mouse still there! I screamed and slammed the cupboard--on its head! Blood spurted everywhere. Evan and I kicked everyone out of the kitchen, because at this point nine people were screaming hysterically. A little too much confusion. Evan opened the cupboard again to find the poor animal stone dead. Score!

The other method--trapping the mouse in a cup--was one Lindsay discovered. She found a little baby mouse in her living room and very bravely threw a cup over it then called Evan to dispose of it. He hit it over the head with a blunt object, and that was the end of that one.

On Monday night I stuck little packets of poison under the fridge, oven, and freezer and in two cupboards the mice have invaded. It's the kind of poison where they eat through the bag, consume a lethal dose, get really thirsty, search for water, and die. Evan found THREE dead mice in the basement yesterday! So, here's hoping we've gotten them all.