one million + one

I am still alive!!  The shower was a hit!  My sister was so grateful and she really enjoyed herself, which is all I wanted.  Praise the Lord!  We are still working on the house and little by little it is coming together.  Saturday afternoon we had the choice of painting our bedroom or demolishing our back yard.  We opted for the sunshine and the demolition work.  Whoa!!  It turned out to be a massive job, and we are still pulling up vines.  We cut down 3 eliagnises, trimmed 2 rose bushes, and destroyed a 10 year overgrown honeysuckle vine.  This vine had taken over and was even growing into our neighbors tree top!  My "brown" thumb and hand are very sore and I caught some hamstring-itis.  I am so thankful my husband and I get to work on our house together.  It makes laborious jobs so much easier!  

This week I am finishing up the backyard, painting our bedroom, and cleaning the house all in preparation for my dear suegra.  That means Mother-in-law in spanish.  That's right!  My dear Judy is coming this Saturday and she will be staying for a whole month.  Did I mention she only speaks spanish???  I made it 2 weeks prior to the wedding when she stayed here, but I was not living here then.  I am looking forward to her coming, but a little nervous on the language part.  Sometimes she just laughs at me or gives up when I am trying to talk to her.  It is quite a scene.  My brother in law and his wife are also coming from Venezuela for their daughter's college graduation.  I have not met them yet, so I am anxiously awaiting their arrival.  It will be a big family reunion on Jaime's side in honor of Mother's Day and Gabi's (my niece) graduation.  We are praying the Lord will bless this time together and that there will be little to no drama.....  Have I mentioned that I love FAMILY!  All of it!  The good, bad, and ugly sides that make each of us stronger and more thankful for the Lord's grace and mercy.  I pray you have a blessed week and are reminded how wonderful your own family is!  

A New Home

No, we did not buy a new house, but we are currently making our house a home.  My husband had lived in this house for 3 years and he had not even fixed the holes left from the previous owners.  He was as happy as a clam.  Needless to say, when I came along the demolition began!  I started by ripping off this incredibly hideous forest green wallpaper that had gold lightning strikes in it.  Then I proceeded to rip up gross carpet in the master bath.  ----Long break for the wedding and adjusting to married life.---Since then we have painted the office, the kitchen and the master bath.  Then I accidentally melted the top panel on the fireplace, so of course we had to replace it.  The much anticipated replacement happened yesterday.  (approx. 4-5 mos. later)  

Sheesh!  Making this house a home, has come with much difficulty for me.  It should be fun, but I get easily overwhelmed with making too many decisions.  Growing up, we always rented houses and moved quite frequently, so I think this added to my decorating dilemmas.  It's funny how your childhood subconciously affects your adulthood in so many ways.  

Anyhow, this coming weekend I am hosting my sister's baby shower here.  It is her first child, a baby girl, Reese Berit, and I want it to be very special.  So this weekend we have been so very busy fixing up our house.  It is looking good and it feels like home.  I woke up so excited this morning.  One because it is the Sabbath, and two I have a mostly decorated home!  I am telling you when you have a hard time making up your mind, and when there are 100 things to do, requiring decisions, one tends to get a little bogged down.  So that is where I have been, in a funk.  I finally asked the Lord to help me and He did.  I am so thankful He hears us when we cry out to Him and that He answers.  Praise the Lord the cloud has lifted and the sun is shining.  He has taught me so much this week.  (Will post more later).    

Still trying to figure out the stomach issues.  The doc found nothing to worry about, but a condition called IBS.  I am trying out a new medicine and flax seed oil.  Did I tell you I strongly dislike taking pills, but here goes another round.  Prayerfully we can figure this out.

Lastly this is going to be a super busy week.  Here's how it will go, Lord willing:  Preschool M&W, Bunco M Pm, Staff Meeting T Pm, Stepping Up Bible Study W Pm, Sister's shower S Am, plus Jaime and I are going to get back into the routine of going to the gym at 5:30AM.  Add about 30 more minor errands and there I will be.  Whoa, this is a long post.  Have a blessed week!!  

Weekend Getaway

This past weekend Jaime and I went to Medina for my great college friend's wedding.  We had a wonderful time getting out of town and enjoying each other's company.  Tiffany was a gorgeous bride and the wedding went so smoothly.  The ranch where she had it was amazingly beautiful and the day held plentiful sunshine.  I got to meet several of Tiff's friends from Dallas and I got to spend time with a few of my good friends from home.  The wedding began at 5:30 and ended after 11pm.  We danced and danced and danced some more!  We all had so much fun and we are thrilled that our dear friend Tiffy is married!  Now our circle of 5 are all wed..... Yeah!  Family vacations are in our future.

Phi Lamb Shuffle---Webster girl style

Me, Cami, and Hillary

Tiff and her groom Michael

It's Over

Wow, both of the procedures are over and I am a sore little girl.  They did not find anything abnormal, praise the Lord.  They did biopsy two places, just to see if I might have a parasite or some strange bacteria.  We should hear about those on Friday.  Can I just tell you Tuesday was a doozy!  I started drinking a full gallon of GoLytely at 12:45 and did not finish until 7:45pm.  That is no way to spend a perfectly great afternoon.  It was really, really bad.  And the name should be a little more fitting, i.e. "Horrible Metal-Tasting Salty Junk, or You Can Add Flavor and I Will Still Make You GAG."  I am pretty sure I read on the label description, "a refreshing mineral water flavor."  OH, oh, oh.  They were so wrong.  Praise the Lord it is over, and prayerfully we will figure out what is causing my belly to react the way it does.  I will post a pic, just so you can feel the pain of drowning in GoLytely fluid.  Have a wonderful day and thank you for praying for me.