guilt?

I have a confession to make: I am a homebody. I like being at home, staying in. And I admit that I like sitting on my couch! Now certainly I do not mean all the time, because of course I also love the mall and eating out, I also like traveling and I am committed to taking care of my body with consistent activity/excercise. But the bottom line is that I really do like being at home. I often blame my poor husband for this, saying that I would be all adventurous and active if he was more motivated, but alas, this is not true. There's this part of me that thinks if I sit down on the couch to watch a movie or read a fiction novel I'm wasting time and/or being lazy. Even if I have nothing else that needs to be done! I'm not sure where I developed this complex, but there it is. I am obsessive about feeling "productive", I love to make lists and check things off (and yes, I write things on my list that I have already done just to cross it off...I am crazy). It's not a bad thing that I like getting things done, or that I feel good about a clean house, but I tie my own personal value and worth to these feelings. But honestly, is it a waste of a day or am I a terrible person if at the end of a day where I worked hard taking care of sick children, and then came home and put a good meal on the table for my husband, I want to relax a little? Do I have to clean the toilet and do all the laundry to be a good person? I say NO! What is it that tries to tell me otherwise? I think everyone struggles with these kinds of issues, tying their worth to something insignificant, instead of resting in the knowledge that I have infinite value because of Christ's finished work for me on the cross. I think I need to write that on my hand, or have it tatooed...or perhaps instead I will pray that Holy Spirit remind me of it every second of the day...cause I tend to be a little forgetful. :o)

check it out

Here's a sweet blog for your viewing pleasure. It's my friend Serina's blog, and I have been very neglectful having not posted it on my blog, sorry Serina!

School and fun visitors

Andy is going to school today for his big first day of classes. Last Monday was just orientation I guess, but it got him really excited about everything. His schedule is pretty goofy, classes in the late afternoon and evening (including one Friday night from 7-10, stinks for him!). He's been so bored though, with me at work all day, and having completed all his little projects. (You know you have to be all kinds of bored to take all the knobs off every cabinet in the house and soak them in different cleaning concoctions and scrub them so that they shine and sparkle...bored, or anal, and anyone who knows Andy knows which one it is.) So, here's to an exciting next two years!


My parents were here this last weekend and I had SO much fun. Dad had to do work stuff (which is why they were here) so we just saw him Thursday night and Friday afternoon which was still fun, but Mom and I were together all weekend. I would have slept on the floor of their hotel room if not for my sweet husband who would have missed me terribly. We shopped til we dropped and ate lots of yummy food. The apartment is starting to really come together, we'll get the curtains hung soon in the family room, and we also bought a curtain panel for this doorway to our little hallway that goes to the bathroom and bedroom. It separates the two areas so that Andy can stay up late without my having to upset the cats by closing the bedroom door (closed doors drive our girls crazy!). I had to buy a set of two panels and we only need one so I'm going to make pillows with the other. Pillow covers actually. I'm so crafty :o) I am now also the proud owner of some beautiful rugs, all of which were found at great low prices (hurray for Target and Ikea).


Speaking of shopping I just want to take a moment to say I LOVE IKEA. I know some people think it's "cheap" but there is a difference between cheap and inexpensive. No, I don't think Ikea furniture will last 50 years like something from Ethan Allen might, but it does last and they have all kinds of great ideas for living in small spaces. Plus, they have lots of cute stuff for kids which seems smart since the bed your daughter has at 3 might not be a good bed for her when she's 16 so with it all being so inexpensive you don't feel guilty if you want to change stuff out. Plus, Ikea is great about building safe tox-free enviro-friendly stuff. They make all their wood products from their own forests and have created glues that are people safe. Go Ikea!


Alright, gotta run, enough gabbing...I will soon be adding another sweet blog to my site, be sure to check back.

Working 9-5, what a way to make a living...

Anyone know that song? Just wondering. I don't have much to say, but I'm feeling guilty about not posting in so long so I thought I'd make an attempt, we'll see how it goes. Someone once told me that I type the way that I talk, hence the excessive use of parentheses (imagine I'm whispering), commas (which is really just because of my poor grasp of grammar) and ... (it's a pause). I think it makes sense though,on a blog, to type how you talk, it's the way I would journal so I think it's cool. The coolest actually.

I realized today that you can look at your profile and click on the books/movies you listed as faves and it will take you to a list of other sweet bloggers who enjoy the same awesome stuff you do. Unfortunately I apparently have weird or shall we say "unique" taste cause there wasn't much. Except for Knowing God by J.I. Packer, which I would bet those people just have on their shelf, as opposed to having actually read it. (Sorry, old InterVarsity joke about how it's this amazing book that most people just OWN instead of read.)

I am at work right now (explains the title) but I won't post this until later because this computer won't let me hyperlink stuff. I should be, you know, working, but the thing about a doctor's office is that when the doctor goes out of town...no patients! (=very little work to do)

Andy started school today, can't wait to get home and hear all about it. Please be praying for our up and coming financial decisions that we're going to have to make. I need to trust that God will provide for us and not back down on our tithing (giving 10% of gross income to church) or charitable giving (giving on top of that to parachurch ministries) because of my own fear.

Alright well it turns out that when I don't have much to say...well, anyone who knows me knows what a ridiculous statement that is.

p.s. I wanted to hyperlink J.I. Packer's name to something that would give some info about him, but I couldn't find a website I thought was helpful/reliable. Oh well.

Nate is great...

Please enjoy the recent addition of the blog belonging to Nate (aka Tricia's husband, Becca's Dad, and all around great guy)

dreaming

I want to own my own house. It can be small, and it can be in need of lots of love, but I want to own it and know that it's mine to love. I know that God will provide that for us when He knows it is right, and I must be patient, but it is hard some days. So I thought I'd describe the dream house that I some day would like to have. This is not our "first home" this is our last, my perfect house that I may or may not ever have. It would have 3 bedrooms. Two upstairs with a bathroom that connected them and a separate door to the shower/toilet area. One room for girls and one for boys, they would be big, big enough for two kids in each to be comfortable (not that I know how many kids I want). There would be a large family room type area at the top of the stairs that you would walk through to reach their bedrooms that could be a playroom/entertainment area for them. The third bedroom is downstairs, the "master" with it's own private bathroom, in the back of the house. There would be a huge kitchen with a big island with space for bar stools, the kind of kitchen a family gathers in. It would open into the area where our big kitchen table goes, no walls between them. The family room would be small and not have a TV (that would be upstairs). It would have a piano and comfy couches, a place for reading, talking, relaxing. Our "family computer" would also be here, so the kids could be supervised on the ever more frightening internet. Then there would be a small 1/2 bath on this level near the family room. There would be a finished basement separated into three rooms. One for me, a prviate place for scrapbooking and projects. We might put a pull out couch here or a bed of some kind for company to stay in. One for Andy for all his crazy computer stuff the kids wouldn't touch, and one for all the tools for building stuff. There would be a big backyard, and maybe the basement would open up into the backyard. I want to live somewhere that there is space, but not in the middle of nowhere.


Okay, it sounds huge, but that's not really the point. It's not about big, or expensive. If I could find a run down place with the potential to be like this I'd want it. It's about what I imagine my family growing up in, that's all. Thanks for listening to my dream.

learning...

I have started my new job here in California. I work in an allergy/immunology clinic for children, M-F from 8-4:30. Now that I am not totally exhausted all the time and sleep like a normal person, let me tell you a few things I have learned about myself:

1. I love quiet times in the very early morning when it's still dark and I have yet to fill my head with worries, frustrations and useless distractions. Sititng at my kitchen table still in my jammies my mind is best able to soak up the Word and rest with the Lord.

2. I love to cook! I absolutely love coming home and getting out my cook books and figuring out what concoction I can come up with.

3. I love to do laundry! Okay, maybe not laundry, persay, but I really love taking care of my home and my husband. I like taking time to provide for him and do the things he finds difficult or doesn't think about but really appreciates that I do them.

4. I love to read! I curl up on the couch with a good book and just relax into the story, or if it's non-fiction (cause it usually is) get out my journal and write all my thoughts out.

That's it so far, but I'm sure that now that I am fully awake and feeling healthy that I will find more. I'll keep ya' posted.