2 Samuel 22:31-33
As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried: He is a buckler to all them that trust in Him. 32For who is God, save the LORD? and who is a rock, save our God? 33God is my strength and power: and He maketh my way perfect.
As for God, His way ...course of life or mode of action... is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried ...from the Hebrew word tsaw-raf' meaning refine, cast, refiner, founder, goldsmith, melt, pure, purge away, try... He is a buckler ...protector, defense, shield... to all them that trust ...confide in, have hope, take refuge... in Him. 32 For who is God, save the LORD? and who is a rock ...refuge, sharp edge, strong... save our God? 33 God is my strength ...defense, fortress, fortified place... and power ...a force, host, might, riches, strength, army, virtue, valor: and He maketh my way ...journey, course of life, mode of action... perfect ...complete, full, sound, upright, whole...
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Saucy Chicken
Thy Father which seeth in secret Himself shall reward thee openly. Matt. 6:4
Saucy Chicken
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cups salsa
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp. honey dijon mustard
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine all ingredients and place in 13x9" pan. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 40-45 minutes until chicken is thoroughly cooked. 6 servings
I made this today for the first time. I absolutely LOVED it!!! The rest of the family liked it well enough to eat it again, but maybe not enough to request it for a meal.
Saucy Chicken
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cups salsa
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp. honey dijon mustard
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine all ingredients and place in 13x9" pan. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 40-45 minutes until chicken is thoroughly cooked. 6 servings
I made this today for the first time. I absolutely LOVED it!!! The rest of the family liked it well enough to eat it again, but maybe not enough to request it for a meal.
Friday, July 11, 2008
A Fruitful Vine by Carrie Bender
As for God, His way is perfect: the Word of the Lord is tried: He is a buckler to all those who trust in Him. Psalm 18:30
This is the book I started reading today. I love Amish fiction, so I am really enjoying her books. I finished The Whispering Brook Series already, now I'm starting the Miriam's Journal Series with this book.
Miriam is 41 and alone for the first time in her life—a single woman in an Amish community where marriage and children are the norm for every woman. After seeing her aged parents through their final illnesses, Miriam is now ready to begin her own life. Book 1 in the Miriam's Journal Series.
This is the book I started reading today. I love Amish fiction, so I am really enjoying her books. I finished The Whispering Brook Series already, now I'm starting the Miriam's Journal Series with this book.
Miriam is 41 and alone for the first time in her life—a single woman in an Amish community where marriage and children are the norm for every woman. After seeing her aged parents through their final illnesses, Miriam is now ready to begin her own life. Book 1 in the Miriam's Journal Series.
How can I think outside the box when they won't even let me out of it??
Yesterday I had a long conversation with Marfa about my blog.
I Like my blog.
But I don't like my posting habits. I have somehow adapted some rules for myself that either I think are 'how it's supposed to be' or else it's how I feel like I need to do this thing. Either way, rules are rules and I don't like breaking them. Therefore, if I cain't 'follow the rules', I usually end up not posting at all rather than to break the rules. Which is why I haven't been posting lately.
Some of these rules are:
1. Post in my blog once a day. (I broke that one many times... mostly by not posting at all, but a few times by *gasp* posting twice in the same day! I don't like breaking this rule)
2. My posts should be mostly about me and/or what's happening in my daily life. Exceptions to this rule would include Wordless Wednesday, Thursday Thirteen, etc.
3. Don't write about how I REALLY feel about things or people, because someone I know personally may read it and think less of me. (I already think nobody really likes me anyway, so how much 'less' could it get?? LOL)
4. Don't tell anyone I know personally about my blog or give them the link. That way they cain't read what I post and think how un-Christlike or spiritually 'juvenile' I am.
5. My blog needs a lot of pictures or graphics. I think very few people enjoy reading a blog that is all text.
6. Every post should have labels of every relevant key word.
Basically, like I told Marfa... I guess I always felt like a blog was supposed to be like your daily journal.
Anyways... when we were talking, I realized that I was putting myself in a box of my own making. And as the saying goes... 'realizing the problem is half the answer', so while I still won't break the 5th rule, I do need to work on the rest... even the 3rd and 4th ones (with caution, because while I shouln't care as much what other people think of me, I do need to be always conscious of what my Lord thinks of me). So I think I am going to change up my postings a bit and see what happens.
I want to feel like I'm 'allowed' to create a post just for a link that I find somewhere that I like or think someone else might like, then turn around a couple hours later and create another post about a craft I'm wanting to try, or a meme I like, and still be ok with creating a third post later on that night about what book I'm reading or to show off a pic I took. I want to be ok with stopping in the middle of a post because I don't remember what else I wanted to say and publishing it anyways, creating posts that are out of character for me, or the same type of thing every day, or my daily life, or not post at all without feeling guilty or like I'm breaking the rules!
Can you hear me breaking out of the box here?? LOL
I Like my blog.
But I don't like my posting habits. I have somehow adapted some rules for myself that either I think are 'how it's supposed to be' or else it's how I feel like I need to do this thing. Either way, rules are rules and I don't like breaking them. Therefore, if I cain't 'follow the rules', I usually end up not posting at all rather than to break the rules. Which is why I haven't been posting lately.
Some of these rules are:
1. Post in my blog once a day. (I broke that one many times... mostly by not posting at all, but a few times by *gasp* posting twice in the same day! I don't like breaking this rule)
2. My posts should be mostly about me and/or what's happening in my daily life. Exceptions to this rule would include Wordless Wednesday, Thursday Thirteen, etc.
3. Don't write about how I REALLY feel about things or people, because someone I know personally may read it and think less of me. (I already think nobody really likes me anyway, so how much 'less' could it get?? LOL)
4. Don't tell anyone I know personally about my blog or give them the link. That way they cain't read what I post and think how un-Christlike or spiritually 'juvenile' I am.
5. My blog needs a lot of pictures or graphics. I think very few people enjoy reading a blog that is all text.
6. Every post should have labels of every relevant key word.
Basically, like I told Marfa... I guess I always felt like a blog was supposed to be like your daily journal.
Anyways... when we were talking, I realized that I was putting myself in a box of my own making. And as the saying goes... 'realizing the problem is half the answer', so while I still won't break the 5th rule, I do need to work on the rest... even the 3rd and 4th ones (with caution, because while I shouln't care as much what other people think of me, I do need to be always conscious of what my Lord thinks of me). So I think I am going to change up my postings a bit and see what happens.
I want to feel like I'm 'allowed' to create a post just for a link that I find somewhere that I like or think someone else might like, then turn around a couple hours later and create another post about a craft I'm wanting to try, or a meme I like, and still be ok with creating a third post later on that night about what book I'm reading or to show off a pic I took. I want to be ok with stopping in the middle of a post because I don't remember what else I wanted to say and publishing it anyways, creating posts that are out of character for me, or the same type of thing every day, or my daily life, or not post at all without feeling guilty or like I'm breaking the rules!
Can you hear me breaking out of the box here?? LOL
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Appley Kielbasa
Ingredients:
2 lbs. fully cooked kielbasa sausage
¾ cup brown sugar
1 cup chunky applesauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
Preparation:
Cut kielbasa into 1" pieces and combine with brown sugar, applesauce, and garlic in 3 quart crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours until thoroughly heated. 12 appetizer servings
When I looked at this recipe, I was thinking there is no way applesauce and brown sugar would taste good with garlic and sausage, but it was a big hit, especially with my pickiest eater! It's worth a try!
2 lbs. fully cooked kielbasa sausage
¾ cup brown sugar
1 cup chunky applesauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
Preparation:
Cut kielbasa into 1" pieces and combine with brown sugar, applesauce, and garlic in 3 quart crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours until thoroughly heated. 12 appetizer servings
When I looked at this recipe, I was thinking there is no way applesauce and brown sugar would taste good with garlic and sausage, but it was a big hit, especially with my pickiest eater! It's worth a try!
Monday, July 7, 2008
Time's fun when you're having flies!
Oh wait... that's only if you're a frog!
Yes, this is the same tiny frog that I was holding in the other pic. I love my camera!
Yes, this is the same tiny frog that I was holding in the other pic. I love my camera!
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Ladles and Jellyspoons & Oh, Ain't We Crazy
Just a couple dittys from my childhood... do you remember them?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ladies and Jellyspoons,
I come before you
to stand behind you
And tell you something
I know nothing about.
Next Thursday,
which is Good Friday,
there will be a ladies' meeting,
for gentlemen only.
Wear your best clothes
if you haven't any,
and please come if
you cannot attend.
Admission's free
so pay at the door.
Take a seat
and sit on the floor.
It makes no difference
where you sit
The man in the balcony's
sure to spit.
We will be discussing the four
corners of the round table.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now I know a little ditty. It's as crazy as can be.
The guy who wrote it said he wanted it and he handed it to me.
I found I couldn't use it because it sounded blue,
And that's the very reason why I'm handing it to you.
CHORUS: Oh, ain't we crazy? Oh, ain't we crazy?
This is the way we pass the time away (away, away).
Oh, ain't we crazy? Oh, ain't we crazy?
We're gonna sing this song all night today.
It's the song the alligators sing while coming though the rye
As they serenade the elephants up in the trees so high.
The iceman hums this ditty as he shovels in the coal,
And the monkeys join the chorus up around the northern pole.
It was midnight on the ocean. Not a streetcar was in sight.
The sun was shining brightly and it rained all day that night.
It was a summer's day in winter and the rain was snowing fast,
And a barefoot boy with shoes on stood sitting in the grass.
And the cows were making cowslips, and the bells were ringing wet.
The bumblebees were making bums and smoking cigarettes.
A man went in a stable and came out a little hoarse.
He jumped upon his golf stick and rode all around the course.
While the organ peeled potatoes, lard was rendered by the choir.
The sexton rang a dishrag. Someone set the church on fire.
"Holy smokes!" the preacher shouted. In the rain, he lost his hair.
Now his head resembles heaven 'cause there ain't no partin' there.
It was midnight on the ocean. Not a horse cart was in sight.
I went into a drugstore to get myself a light.
The man behind the counter was a lady old and gray
Who used to peddle shoestrings on the road to Mandelay.
"My husband's dead," the lady said. Her eyes were dry with tears.
She put her head between her feet and stood that way for years.
Her children six were orphans except one tiny tot
Who lived in a house across the street above a vacant lot.
It was midnight and the rising sun was setting in the west.
The little fishies in the trees were huddled in their nests.
It was a dark and stormy night and the sun was shining bright,
And everything that you could see was hidden out of sight.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ladies and Jellyspoons,
I come before you
to stand behind you
And tell you something
I know nothing about.
Next Thursday,
which is Good Friday,
there will be a ladies' meeting,
for gentlemen only.
Wear your best clothes
if you haven't any,
and please come if
you cannot attend.
Admission's free
so pay at the door.
Take a seat
and sit on the floor.
It makes no difference
where you sit
The man in the balcony's
sure to spit.
We will be discussing the four
corners of the round table.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now I know a little ditty. It's as crazy as can be.
The guy who wrote it said he wanted it and he handed it to me.
I found I couldn't use it because it sounded blue,
And that's the very reason why I'm handing it to you.
CHORUS: Oh, ain't we crazy? Oh, ain't we crazy?
This is the way we pass the time away (away, away).
Oh, ain't we crazy? Oh, ain't we crazy?
We're gonna sing this song all night today.
It's the song the alligators sing while coming though the rye
As they serenade the elephants up in the trees so high.
The iceman hums this ditty as he shovels in the coal,
And the monkeys join the chorus up around the northern pole.
It was midnight on the ocean. Not a streetcar was in sight.
The sun was shining brightly and it rained all day that night.
It was a summer's day in winter and the rain was snowing fast,
And a barefoot boy with shoes on stood sitting in the grass.
And the cows were making cowslips, and the bells were ringing wet.
The bumblebees were making bums and smoking cigarettes.
A man went in a stable and came out a little hoarse.
He jumped upon his golf stick and rode all around the course.
While the organ peeled potatoes, lard was rendered by the choir.
The sexton rang a dishrag. Someone set the church on fire.
"Holy smokes!" the preacher shouted. In the rain, he lost his hair.
Now his head resembles heaven 'cause there ain't no partin' there.
It was midnight on the ocean. Not a horse cart was in sight.
I went into a drugstore to get myself a light.
The man behind the counter was a lady old and gray
Who used to peddle shoestrings on the road to Mandelay.
"My husband's dead," the lady said. Her eyes were dry with tears.
She put her head between her feet and stood that way for years.
Her children six were orphans except one tiny tot
Who lived in a house across the street above a vacant lot.
It was midnight and the rising sun was setting in the west.
The little fishies in the trees were huddled in their nests.
It was a dark and stormy night and the sun was shining bright,
And everything that you could see was hidden out of sight.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wordless Wednesday
I'm sorry I don't have the widget here.... I went to get it today and for some reason it's been joining my first post to this last post as though they were one post. Maybe if I can figure it out, I might be able to use it next time.
Monday, June 30, 2008
The Rest of the Story...
As promised...
I guess I need to back up a bit. Not because I forgot anything, but because this part of the story comes before we went to the motel.
On one of our last days staying at my parents, it was pretty late in the evening and I got a phone call from my eagle friend, Wendy. The conversation went something like this:
Wendy: Hey, K., How are you?
Me: Blessed!
Wendy: Have you guys found a house yet?
Me: Not yet... we've been out looking every night and have two that we're waiting to hear back about.
Wendy: Well I have someone here... Taylor's nurse. Her name is Kay... She and her husband flip houses. You know what that is?
Me: Yeah! I just discovered that show a week or so before we moved out. It's really awesome how that do that!
Wendy: Well they don't do anything on the scale of the TV show, but I asked her if they had any houses that they were working on, and she said they actually were finishing one up soon. So I asked her "Within a month?" and she said yes. It's a 3 bedroom, two up and one down, bathroom on both floors. Would you be interested?
Me: Oh my gosh! YES!! Where is it?
Wendy: It's on the corner of ******** Ave. & **** St. A yellow house with shutters and a decent sized back yard.
Me: In *******?
Wendy: Yeah.
Wendy: we were just sitting here talking and I was telling her about you guys and your situation, and that you needed to be there to start taking care of your parents more, and how much you've been a blessing to me, and about Jessie and Drew and what good kids they are.
She said they would be willing to rent that house instead of selling it.
Me: Do you know how much?
(I hear her asking Kay in the background)
Wendy: She said $___
Me: You've got to be kidding! That is right where we need it to be! We've run into a situation where we found out that we won't have quite as much as we were planning on and would have to come down some and that is exactly what we needed to come down to. That is so like my Father!! God is so awesome!
Me: Do you know if we would be able to keep our dogs?
Wendy: I really don't know anything about it other than what I've told you. But she's here, you want to ask her?
Me: Sure!
Kay: Hi, K.! It sounds like we have a house you need?
Me: It sure does! I'm so excited! I do have a few questions for you though...
Kay: Sure! what's that?
Me (tentatively): Do you allow pets?
Kay: Well... I hadn't thought about it.. what kind do you have?
Me: We've got two dogs. One is a little lapdog... a Yorkie. The other is a small German Shepherd mix who will primarily be an outside dog.
Kay: I'm not sure... it probably won't be a problem, but I'll talk to my husband before I say definitely. We haven't laid carpet yet. We put all new laminated wood floors in the new bathroom, the kitchen, and the dining room and we were going to carpet the living room and the bedroom because they have the older hard wood floors, but they're kinda scratched up and not in the best shape. But I suppose we could just not put the carpet down... I'll see what he says. I'm sure it'll be fine.
Me: Whew! That is a relief! They are family to us and it's so hard to find a place where we can keep them. I do have one other question.... what about waterbeds? Are the floors solid enough for them? I have fibromyalgia and the bed we have is so horrible. I wake up in a lot of pain most mornings.
Kay: As long as it's on the main floor, I don't see why not!
Me: It would be. That is great! It looks like God just worked this out perfectly!
Kay: Sure does! Well, we've got a graduation party to do this weekend, but let me give you my phone number and get yours, and I will get back with you about the dogs and by then I should know more about when it will be finished. I've got to run, so here's Wendy back. Nice talking to you!
Me: Thank you so much, Kay! I cain't wait to hear back from you!! Bye!
I talked to Wendy again for a few minutes while she was backing out to let Kay out of the driveway, then we got off the phone and I about had a shoutin' spell! ROFL Just in time, God (Who is never late, no matter what it looks like) came through for us with a house!
The next day (only because it was already after dark and I wouln't be able to see anything), we drove over by the house and looked in the windows. We really couln't see much, but enough to know that it was a cute little house in a decent looking neighborhood!
So now fast forward to after the two weeks at my parents and the two weeks at the motel. God has impeccable timing! He worked it all out so that we got our stimulus check on the very day that we needed the deposit and first month's rent, and it all coincided with the new vacation cycle at hubby's work (for some weird reason, June 1st is when they can start planning their vacations for the year instead of at the beginning of January when everything else starts over).
So we got the key, signed the year lease... and met one of the new neighbors in the process because she was the witness on the lease. Her name is Carrie, and she is a real sweetheart, about my age, with two daughters and a hubby/boyfriend. So we started moving everything in. Furniture first, and got it in place, then started bringing in the other necessaries a little bit at a time. We still have 3 storage units, but each of them is now missing stuff... most of the furniture, some full boxes, and others just individual things that I have pulled out of the boxes. I'm NOT bringing everything into this house that I had in the other one. Once the landlords get their stuff out of the garage and give us the key, I am going to start bringing things over here and putting price tags on them! I am ging to have a real garage sale for the first time! And to make it easy on me, I just might put a quarter sticker on everything smaller than a breadbox! But at least I am finally going to be getting rid of my packrat stuff! LOL
And now you know.... the rest of the story!
I guess I need to back up a bit. Not because I forgot anything, but because this part of the story comes before we went to the motel.
On one of our last days staying at my parents, it was pretty late in the evening and I got a phone call from my eagle friend, Wendy. The conversation went something like this:
Wendy: Hey, K., How are you?
Me: Blessed!
Wendy: Have you guys found a house yet?
Me: Not yet... we've been out looking every night and have two that we're waiting to hear back about.
Wendy: Well I have someone here... Taylor's nurse. Her name is Kay... She and her husband flip houses. You know what that is?
Me: Yeah! I just discovered that show a week or so before we moved out. It's really awesome how that do that!
Wendy: Well they don't do anything on the scale of the TV show, but I asked her if they had any houses that they were working on, and she said they actually were finishing one up soon. So I asked her "Within a month?" and she said yes. It's a 3 bedroom, two up and one down, bathroom on both floors. Would you be interested?
Me: Oh my gosh! YES!! Where is it?
Wendy: It's on the corner of ******** Ave. & **** St. A yellow house with shutters and a decent sized back yard.
Me: In *******?
Wendy: Yeah.
Wendy: we were just sitting here talking and I was telling her about you guys and your situation, and that you needed to be there to start taking care of your parents more, and how much you've been a blessing to me, and about Jessie and Drew and what good kids they are.
She said they would be willing to rent that house instead of selling it.
Me: Do you know how much?
(I hear her asking Kay in the background)
Wendy: She said $___
Me: You've got to be kidding! That is right where we need it to be! We've run into a situation where we found out that we won't have quite as much as we were planning on and would have to come down some and that is exactly what we needed to come down to. That is so like my Father!! God is so awesome!
Me: Do you know if we would be able to keep our dogs?
Wendy: I really don't know anything about it other than what I've told you. But she's here, you want to ask her?
Me: Sure!
Kay: Hi, K.! It sounds like we have a house you need?
Me: It sure does! I'm so excited! I do have a few questions for you though...
Kay: Sure! what's that?
Me (tentatively): Do you allow pets?
Kay: Well... I hadn't thought about it.. what kind do you have?
Me: We've got two dogs. One is a little lapdog... a Yorkie. The other is a small German Shepherd mix who will primarily be an outside dog.
Kay: I'm not sure... it probably won't be a problem, but I'll talk to my husband before I say definitely. We haven't laid carpet yet. We put all new laminated wood floors in the new bathroom, the kitchen, and the dining room and we were going to carpet the living room and the bedroom because they have the older hard wood floors, but they're kinda scratched up and not in the best shape. But I suppose we could just not put the carpet down... I'll see what he says. I'm sure it'll be fine.
Me: Whew! That is a relief! They are family to us and it's so hard to find a place where we can keep them. I do have one other question.... what about waterbeds? Are the floors solid enough for them? I have fibromyalgia and the bed we have is so horrible. I wake up in a lot of pain most mornings.
Kay: As long as it's on the main floor, I don't see why not!
Me: It would be. That is great! It looks like God just worked this out perfectly!
Kay: Sure does! Well, we've got a graduation party to do this weekend, but let me give you my phone number and get yours, and I will get back with you about the dogs and by then I should know more about when it will be finished. I've got to run, so here's Wendy back. Nice talking to you!
Me: Thank you so much, Kay! I cain't wait to hear back from you!! Bye!
I talked to Wendy again for a few minutes while she was backing out to let Kay out of the driveway, then we got off the phone and I about had a shoutin' spell! ROFL Just in time, God (Who is never late, no matter what it looks like) came through for us with a house!
The next day (only because it was already after dark and I wouln't be able to see anything), we drove over by the house and looked in the windows. We really couln't see much, but enough to know that it was a cute little house in a decent looking neighborhood!
So now fast forward to after the two weeks at my parents and the two weeks at the motel. God has impeccable timing! He worked it all out so that we got our stimulus check on the very day that we needed the deposit and first month's rent, and it all coincided with the new vacation cycle at hubby's work (for some weird reason, June 1st is when they can start planning their vacations for the year instead of at the beginning of January when everything else starts over).
So we got the key, signed the year lease... and met one of the new neighbors in the process because she was the witness on the lease. Her name is Carrie, and she is a real sweetheart, about my age, with two daughters and a hubby/boyfriend. So we started moving everything in. Furniture first, and got it in place, then started bringing in the other necessaries a little bit at a time. We still have 3 storage units, but each of them is now missing stuff... most of the furniture, some full boxes, and others just individual things that I have pulled out of the boxes. I'm NOT bringing everything into this house that I had in the other one. Once the landlords get their stuff out of the garage and give us the key, I am going to start bringing things over here and putting price tags on them! I am ging to have a real garage sale for the first time! And to make it easy on me, I just might put a quarter sticker on everything smaller than a breadbox! But at least I am finally going to be getting rid of my packrat stuff! LOL
And now you know.... the rest of the story!
Saturday, June 21, 2008
I'm Back!!
Mornin', Ya'll!!
I've been back a week or so now, but I'm only getting the occasional quiet time alone to gather my thoughts so I can write in here. And I'm not sure how long I'll even stay awake, because it's after 2 AM and I'm sleepy.
But anyways... where do I even begin?? I know, I know... at the beginning. But I've slept since then... how am I supposed to remember it all?? LOL
Ok.. let me think.......
After we moved all our stuff into storage, we still couln't find any place to rent. So we had to stay at my parents' house for a little bit. I hated it. Absolutely and completely. Don't get me wrong... I love my parents. But one house was never meant for two families, especially when there are two women who have run their own households for too long and are set in their ways. I hated it that my dogs had to stay in her nasty basement and that she complained daily about the 'dog smell' ...that was all in her head (because somebody was constantly taking them out or else they were gone with us). I hated it that she blatantly played favorites with my dogs. She loves Buddy and would always baby-talk him and talk about what a nice sweet dog he is, then turn around and say really mean things about Maddie, like that she cain't stand her and wouln't care if she was in the middle of the ocean with a rock tied around her neck. I hated it that I couln't discipline my kids without getting one or the other of them (my parents) upset. I hated it that she had her nose in every single aspect of our business. Like just because we were staying in her house, she had a right to know our every thought. I hate "you should..." "ya'll better..." "Now K., when he gets his check, you better make him..." "you better not be spending your money on that, you need to save it for...". Anyways, so after a week or so, I was starting to adjust(if you can call it that), and then right out of the blue, her pastor throws us out! My parents rent their house from their church, which is why he even had that authority, but still... I mean, we weren't causing any trouble, we weren't destroying the place... if we even left something laying in the wrong place we got told about it by mom or scowled at by dad! But he up and makes us leave. And not like he quietly came over to the house and asked us to leave... no, he waits til they got in church for prayer meeting and atarts praying and loudly 'telling God' "They've got to go!!!" I'm still trying to figure out where the love of Christ is in that! So, whatever... he let us stay one more week til the kids were out of school.
Every night, when Dave got home from work, we'd leave. And every time we'd leave to go anywhere, we had to take Maddie or both dogs with us, even if we were going to the store. Most nights we were going out driving around looking for 'For Rent' signs in yards, or going to look at the ones in the paper or that someone told us about. Every time we'd see another door, it would slam in our faces. It was almost like we were being forced to stay at my parents', but then that door slammed in our faces too. When we'd look at a place, it either cost too much rent, or it was too small, or it had a second floor and the bedrooms were all on it, or if everything was ok about it, someone else would get it right out from under our noses.
So, since we had to leave there and nothing opened up for us, we went to a motel to stay for the next two weeks.
It's not cheap to stay in a motel, so I went to the phonebook to call around and see where would be the least expensive. That was the 'Stay Inn' in Marion. What a mistake!! We went there, knowing that it was all we could afford since my parents were actually fronting us the money, but when the guy showed us the room we would have to live in for two weeks, it was all I could take. I broke down and cried. For a long time. The place was moldy and mildewed, nasty, tiny, had cigarette burns all over the microwave and tiny fridge, poorly patched walls, unpatched fist holes in the walls, and just felt dirty, even though all I was doing was standing in the middle of the room. So we started back to my parents' house and decided to go check at the place where we had spent the first night before resigning ourselves to staying at mom & dad's. Al Smith's Place. Come to find out, it cost the same for the weekly rate, it was twice the size or more, clean, freshly painted, had a big corner shower, a kitchenette sink by the door, a microwave and half refrigerator without the cigarette burns... the total opposite of the other one! So it had been about an hour and a half, and Dad and Dave went back to the Stay Inn to get our money back because we weren't going to be staying there. At first they weren't going to give it back. They said they had to wait til the next day if they wanted to discuss it further. Then when we went back the next day, they were only going to give back half. After going through a major hassle and mom writing a letter threatening going to the police and writing to the editor of the Marion Star newpaper, and contacting the Better Business Bureau and the Attorney General, and I don't remember who all else, they decided to give back the part that went on the credit card, but not the cash. No way! I can be as stubborn as mom when it comes to money... so I stayed right there arguing with her til she agreed to give back all but $9. And I would have gotten that $9 too, but by then we were pushing too close to the time we needed to pick up the moving truck, so Dave made me quit arguing and leave.
Anyways, so we ended up at this really adorable place that had a cottage garden feel to it.
Here it is looking through the gazebo...
then a pic of the left half (it was basically shaped like this --> |_| with the gazebo at the top)
Here's the gazebo... isn't it just beautiful??
And then here is our room. We were on the end... but even though there is a door there, it's only for looks. Our door was in the back.
And now that I've gotten you caught up to what happened for the first month, I'm going to quit here and post about how we 'found' our house and up til now in the next post. I won't guarantee that it will be tomorrow or anything, but I do promise that I won't post anything else til I get the whole story told. Fair enough? And if I remember things that need to be posted in this first half of the story, I'll either update it or else add it to the end of the second half.
I've been back a week or so now, but I'm only getting the occasional quiet time alone to gather my thoughts so I can write in here. And I'm not sure how long I'll even stay awake, because it's after 2 AM and I'm sleepy.
But anyways... where do I even begin?? I know, I know... at the beginning. But I've slept since then... how am I supposed to remember it all?? LOL
Ok.. let me think.......
After we moved all our stuff into storage, we still couln't find any place to rent. So we had to stay at my parents' house for a little bit. I hated it. Absolutely and completely. Don't get me wrong... I love my parents. But one house was never meant for two families, especially when there are two women who have run their own households for too long and are set in their ways. I hated it that my dogs had to stay in her nasty basement and that she complained daily about the 'dog smell' ...that was all in her head (because somebody was constantly taking them out or else they were gone with us). I hated it that she blatantly played favorites with my dogs. She loves Buddy and would always baby-talk him and talk about what a nice sweet dog he is, then turn around and say really mean things about Maddie, like that she cain't stand her and wouln't care if she was in the middle of the ocean with a rock tied around her neck. I hated it that I couln't discipline my kids without getting one or the other of them (my parents) upset. I hated it that she had her nose in every single aspect of our business. Like just because we were staying in her house, she had a right to know our every thought. I hate "you should..." "ya'll better..." "Now K., when he gets his check, you better make him..." "you better not be spending your money on that, you need to save it for...". Anyways, so after a week or so, I was starting to adjust(if you can call it that), and then right out of the blue, her pastor throws us out! My parents rent their house from their church, which is why he even had that authority, but still... I mean, we weren't causing any trouble, we weren't destroying the place... if we even left something laying in the wrong place we got told about it by mom or scowled at by dad! But he up and makes us leave. And not like he quietly came over to the house and asked us to leave... no, he waits til they got in church for prayer meeting and atarts praying and loudly 'telling God' "They've got to go!!!" I'm still trying to figure out where the love of Christ is in that! So, whatever... he let us stay one more week til the kids were out of school.
Every night, when Dave got home from work, we'd leave. And every time we'd leave to go anywhere, we had to take Maddie or both dogs with us, even if we were going to the store. Most nights we were going out driving around looking for 'For Rent' signs in yards, or going to look at the ones in the paper or that someone told us about. Every time we'd see another door, it would slam in our faces. It was almost like we were being forced to stay at my parents', but then that door slammed in our faces too. When we'd look at a place, it either cost too much rent, or it was too small, or it had a second floor and the bedrooms were all on it, or if everything was ok about it, someone else would get it right out from under our noses.
So, since we had to leave there and nothing opened up for us, we went to a motel to stay for the next two weeks.
It's not cheap to stay in a motel, so I went to the phonebook to call around and see where would be the least expensive. That was the 'Stay Inn' in Marion. What a mistake!! We went there, knowing that it was all we could afford since my parents were actually fronting us the money, but when the guy showed us the room we would have to live in for two weeks, it was all I could take. I broke down and cried. For a long time. The place was moldy and mildewed, nasty, tiny, had cigarette burns all over the microwave and tiny fridge, poorly patched walls, unpatched fist holes in the walls, and just felt dirty, even though all I was doing was standing in the middle of the room. So we started back to my parents' house and decided to go check at the place where we had spent the first night before resigning ourselves to staying at mom & dad's. Al Smith's Place. Come to find out, it cost the same for the weekly rate, it was twice the size or more, clean, freshly painted, had a big corner shower, a kitchenette sink by the door, a microwave and half refrigerator without the cigarette burns... the total opposite of the other one! So it had been about an hour and a half, and Dad and Dave went back to the Stay Inn to get our money back because we weren't going to be staying there. At first they weren't going to give it back. They said they had to wait til the next day if they wanted to discuss it further. Then when we went back the next day, they were only going to give back half. After going through a major hassle and mom writing a letter threatening going to the police and writing to the editor of the Marion Star newpaper, and contacting the Better Business Bureau and the Attorney General, and I don't remember who all else, they decided to give back the part that went on the credit card, but not the cash. No way! I can be as stubborn as mom when it comes to money... so I stayed right there arguing with her til she agreed to give back all but $9. And I would have gotten that $9 too, but by then we were pushing too close to the time we needed to pick up the moving truck, so Dave made me quit arguing and leave.
Anyways, so we ended up at this really adorable place that had a cottage garden feel to it.
Here it is looking through the gazebo...
then a pic of the left half (it was basically shaped like this --> |_| with the gazebo at the top)
Here's the gazebo... isn't it just beautiful??
And then here is our room. We were on the end... but even though there is a door there, it's only for looks. Our door was in the back.
And now that I've gotten you caught up to what happened for the first month, I'm going to quit here and post about how we 'found' our house and up til now in the next post. I won't guarantee that it will be tomorrow or anything, but I do promise that I won't post anything else til I get the whole story told. Fair enough? And if I remember things that need to be posted in this first half of the story, I'll either update it or else add it to the end of the second half.
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