Lesson Learned

So, on Sunday a friend spoke of choosing our attitude and yesterday I'd decided that that sounded like just what I needed... and I'm pretty sure the "teacher" was looking directly at me when sharing this advice. So, last night I chose to put a smile on and again in the morning, I put it back on. Then, I forgot this evening that I was wearing it and almost suddenly it withered away. And hence, I have learned, when you are focused on choosing happiness, it finds you with little effort. But, the moment you forget to choose it, negativity envelopes you. So, here we are trying to choose happiness and smile.
I have so much to be grateful for. Today I walked into a freecycle find of several cans of paint. Now, we needed primer and paint, but wow did we get more than we bargained for. I have paint for every room in the house. I'm so excited. I can't wait to start painting. I have greys, blues, beiges, whites, greens and browns. I even got wood stain and exterior paint and primer. It is thrilling to have just what I was looking for with no cost! And boy could this place use some paint.
Well, that's my thought for the day. And oh, today Ian told me in the sweetest way, "Mommy, you're a good driver." He was sitting in the backseat and I was driving so slow, feeling incapable of picking up speed, I was almost stuck at 30 mph. And when his sweet little voice said Mommy can drive cuz mommy is big, I just had to laugh a little. Then he told Billy, "You are too little to drive" and then "Carley is too little too drive". "But mommy is big so she can drive when daddy not here." Apparently I can't drive when Carl's home and because of that he never noticed my great capabilities until today, when Carl wasn't there to shuttle us around. It was cute at the time, and seemed cuter than it sounds now. Goodnight.

Roller Coaster

Well, I've had very low days since my last post and a few high days. It's been so hard to be optimistic in the face of potty-training accidents, a fallen-thru offer and lead paint scraping. Not to mention the stress of paying for two houses. But we have been trying to smile in the face of opposition and trials. We went to play putt-putt with the kids the other night and our neice was here too. She's was such a blessing, staying up to play games with us each night. She also helped out tremendously with the little ones. Although, dirty diapers still frighten her! We went to the park yesterday and I couldn't believe the agility of my 18 month old and the ability of my 3 year old, not to mention the fearlessness in my 5 year old. My kids are really becoming their own little people with a spirit of independence. I'm so grateful for them. And they're always saying the cutest things. I can't think of any right now. But I'll devote a post to it later.
I've been having lots of headaches lately. It must be time for new glasses. I just have to find a time and a sitter, to have my eyes checked out. I've been taking Tylenol 3-4 times a day. Outside of that, I've been okay. Though my back and legs are killing me from all the ladder work.
My soon-to-be sister-in-law loved the wedding invitations Krista helped me out with. She kept thanking me, but all I did was deliver them -mostly done- to Krista for the H's to be cut and glued and then I poked holes when I got them back. They really do look nice. I know Steph is proud of them. Thanks to KRISTA for all her tedious attention to detail.
I got some zucchini from Freecycle the other day and I made 6 loaves of Zucchini bread. I only have 1 1/2 left. Carl took 1 loaf to work- they loved it. One loaf went to his family in C.R. And a neighbor dropped by while they were baking, so I offered them one too. I can't believe how quick it's going. And there are so many others I wanted to share it with. I'll have to go to the Farmer's Market and buy zucchini, I guess. Well, I've got kids to clean up. So, more later.

A RAY OF HOPE

Pulling up his pants like a big boy, now that he's using the potty!

Daddy's Girl smiles for the camera

Talk about computer kids, I can't get mine to stop!

Well, here it goes... I'm going to risk jinxing it all by telling about my recent events which bring light and hope to our difficult life lately.

We got a call from the realtor today. She says there is a family that has seen the place twice and loves it. They are very interested, but have not completed their loan application. Once they complete that complicated and sometimes drawn-out process, we might have an actual offer. Holy crap! An honest-to-goodness offer! I'll do my best not to hold my breath.

And now for news a bit more substantial... IAN IS WEARING UNDERWEAR! Yes, real, size 2T, Buzz Lightyear and Thomas the Train UNDERWEAR. I can't believe it. The child is really getting it... finally. He still has accidents, but he's really getting it. Carl actually saw him do the potty dance yesterday- trying to hold it in. Today he ran to the potty to poop, actually yelling, I have to go potty. We're down to 1 in diapers. And that's not because I didn't try to put Carley on the potty, she's just too busy with other things in life to care about bodily functions.

My new job... I am loving working as an assistant to a realtor here. I do computer work for her just an hour or two a day. It's really fun and it gives me the opportunity to contribute financially. I am using my talents in great ways. Hopefully she's as excited as I am. She seems to be.

Well, that's our excitment for the week. Wait, the week just started. I suppose there'll be more soon. Thanks for watching for the updates. Hope you are doing good and experiencing your own uplifting, promising moments.

Oh, one more piece of exciting news. The dog, after a month of living here, finally understand his potty schedule. With no fenced yard, I walk him 3 times a day, at 7 a.m., 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. And he is doing great with it now. No more messes!

And Now for the Tail Feathers!

This morning as I was walking Skittles, I made an interesting find. A hawk feather was barely touching the dewy grass. I just had to take it home and show the kids. After searching online, I was also able to find a great picture of a hawk with the same tailfeathers. The kids were so excited to understand where the feather used to be. So, here's Billy with the feather and the pic I found online.

More Fourth of July pictures

I couldn't pass up publishing some of these other pictures. There not mainly my kids, but they're priceless. I have others, but to see them you'll just have to ask.

The Fourth and Tail Feathers

Our Fourth of July was great this year. We had a barbecue with some old friends and a few new. It was a nice laid back time. The boys got to drive their first Power Wheels (it belonged to the neighbor) and Carley loved the slide, swing set, sand box and other toys. There were a few little ones there to keep the kids busy. Then we drove to the local fireworks display. The boys did sparklers in the field where we watched the fireworks. I got some great pictures of their reactions to the big display. There just isn't enough room to post all of the great pictures.

Outside of the Fourth, we've been busy. We have to scrape the windows and repaint. And we have so many other projects in the works. Well, that will have to do for now. More soon.

Birthday, Graduation, Wedding, Move, Flood

Wow, have we been busy since our last post.

So, on May 22nd Billy graduated from preschool and celebrated his 5th birthday. We had a busy day including the graduation ceremony and a bee birthday party for Billy's preschool friends. Two weeks later, Andrew and Jackie were married at Sunken Gardens in St. Pete, Florida. It was a beautiful ceremony (a bit hot, but surely a breathtaking sight). I got to do the cake for them, with lots of help from my mother. Then, right after the wedding we travelled back to Iowa and started the move. The new house is about 3 hours from the old one. Unfortunately right after our return floods ravaged Iowa and Carl's parents lost their home. It's been devasting watching the aftermath unfold. Their house will be bulldozed to the ground and they are not allowed to go inside to salvage their belongings. So, they will start from scratch. Of course, we are faring well. The kids are still happy and handling everything without much trouble. Sometimes Ian asks to go home (we're still trying to convince him he's here... at home). I'm sure we'll be busy as ever this summer as we and Carl's mom and dad try to get settled.