The Wall Bloggers

Last night it snowed maybe 4-5 inches. Doesn't sound like much, but when it's 17 degrees, that can lead to some dicey ice. And so, Scott got the day off work! Hopefully, if all goes well (please!), the last two wainscoting boards will go up in the next hour. Adrianna enjoyed the extra time we had at home this morning. She likes to give what she calls "shows", having Mom and Dad sit and watch her do something. Today, she ventured into the world of writing on her white board for her show. I was pretty impressed that she was writing actual letters without any direction. I usually say, "Write a line down and then a hump to make the letter N," but not so this time! Our favorite word that she made up was "Arly." I told her it would make a pretty good stuffed animal name. :)

The man (my father-in-law) who says, "Good enough never is," is sure taking his motto seriously! His attention to detail makes for some lovely projects, but those of us (me) who are a little impatient, have to deal with the longer time line. There is one corner left to be completed on the wainscoting project -- two tiny little boards to go in! When they were about to slide into place last night, my father-in-law realized that was the last of the glue! Who wants to buy a new liquid nails container for two measly boards?! :) Oh, well, I guess! After that, only the chair rail remains. Maybe by next week at this time, I'll be able to post the final "After" pictures. For now, I'll post the work-in-progress pictures. In other news, on Monday, our play group had planned a trip to the zoo. It's a big ordeal to get six kids, four moms, and two in-laws 80 miles to the zoo. And... it didn't quite happen. Sunday night, I got a message that one mom, wi...

I've been hesitant to report on the ring worm, but I would like to do so now... Though Scott was skeptical on several occasions, and requested vet visits a few times, I asked him if we could hold off and use prayer and Head & Shoulders to get Rusty better. And... I think he is! Rusty and I had fun times of bonding in the shower -- him shivering, and me holding him in, praying over him, scrubbing shampoo into him, and leaving it on for five minutes. I decided on this tactic because all the sprays and creams I usually use on my ringworm would be harmful to him if he ingested them (and how can you keep a dog from licking himself?!). Because God says He cares for the sparrow of the field, I know He cares for Rusty (and his ringworm), and my desire to not spend needless money at a vet's office. I am so grateful for His healing of Rusty, and I pray for no recurrences! ...In other news, we're still working on the new kid's room. Some wainscoting made it onto the wal...

It's 8:08 pm as I write this. Progress is currently being made on the formerly peach room. The price: Adrianna's crying because she can't sleep because the nail gun is popping(and a cold is stuffing her up), and Rusty's huddling next to me shaking because the nail gun is popping (after I had to drag him inside for howling at the neighbors). Well, progress is good, right? :)

I realized something -- something I think I have known all along: Kids change our lives! I started thinking tonight, as I sat down to check email and facebook. I entered my facebook status as, "Marianne cuts shamrocks." Saturday night at 8:00 p.m. and "Marianne cuts shamrocks" (for preschool)! If I had completed that, it even would have gone on to say, "and waits for Scott to get home from keeping his parents' cat company." Oh, wow! Having a child sure changes priorities, schedules, date nights, alone time... But I wouldn't change a thing about having my little sweetie sleeping peacefully two rooms down from where I am.

Yesterday we got word that Adrianna's best friend is moving away... which also means that one of my best friends is moving away. Adrianna and Will. You might not think that two three-and-a-half year olds would know how to be good friends. But when they are each other's first friends, maybe they know some things we adults forget. They have an understanding beyond words -- indeed they were friends before they had any words. When they go places, the first thing they do is look to see if the other is there. They thank God for each other at night before going to sleep. They look out for each other, and make sure others do, too. "No, Ella, Adrianna was playing with that first," Will will say. And they fight like siblings. But they never carry a grudge. This will surely be a lesson in love and loss... not only for Adrianna, but also for me. Moving to NM almost five years ago, I made a choice. I decided that if I was going to have true friends in life, I would ...

God's blessing... yes, that wainscoting is God's blessing, and the enemy wanted me to forget that. Last Friday, Scott's Friday off work, I had a plan of the things I needed to do, and then Scott's dad called. He said they were delaying their trip to Houston, and would we like him to come help with the wainscoting now ? That might have worked out nicely, but Scott decided he wanted the room painted first (we hadn't even bought our paint yet!), and then he subsequently got called into work. Wait -- what's this...? You want me to watch Adrianna, buy paint, paint the room, and follow through with my original plan to make lunch for someone who needed help?? Needless to say, blessings were not flowing from my mouth. And when Scott's dad arrived, Adrianna was tantruming, as was I, and Scott was already at work. Ai yi yi. As the picture reveals, Scott and I did eventually get the room painted. When he returned from work (with paint in hand!), we worked on i...

It might not look like much now. But hopefully within a couple of weeks, this will look like genuine wainscoting in the formerly peach bedroom. It might look just like wainscoting, but I know when I see it, I will see God's kindness to us -- His overflowing generosity to those so undeserving. You see, Scott and I priced out wainscoting for our new child's room. We discovered it might cost over $300. For a room that our child might enjoy for a year (since we're hoping to move), that seemed too great a price to pay. We spent an hour in Lowe's on Saturday, with a child repeating, "Can we leave this store now??" Scott and I grew frustrated with each other, each having differing options about how much was too much to spend on the room. Exhausted, I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and heard the still, small Voice say, "Go to Home Depot." "Um, Scott," I started, "Why don't we try Home Depot?" We headed a mile down the roa...