Christmas is coming!

I bought several ornaments to paint this year. I'm going to be doing the snowmen handprints that seem to be real popular right now. But we had done a craft with Pom-poms last night and I thought, "why not take the leftovers and put them in one of the ornaments?" Sweet Pea helped me, and said I needed to post a picture online. So, here you are. Pom-Pom ornament!

Hugs,
Melinda

WoF Part 5, the end

I'm almost through talking about the Women of Faith Conference. I really enjoyed my time. I enjoyed worshiping God in a way that was freeing.

Patsy Clairmont got to speak again, because Marilyn Meberg was ill that weekend. Previously she had told about her struggles with agoraphobia, and how God helped her through that. This time, she told about when her son had gotten sick with the bird flu and was in a coma for 21 days. She really struggled.

Funny note: she was wearing a scarf and she called it a "parking garage for chins."

But back to her topic. We don't help suffering people by giving them simple answers that don't help. Tell them you don't understand and say you're sorry. She gave us 4 ways to help people: 1) Prayer matters, 2) People matter, 3) change can be good, and 4) we need each other.

She said, don't underestimate what God has given you to do. She told the story of the cleaning lady who was singing "Jesus," and how that helped her so very much. She also said that change can be good, even if it's not in a package you expect. Her son had been in a coma for 19 days, and on day 20, he had gotten a new doctor who changed some medicines, and she did not like it. But on day 21, her son woke up.

We had another drama presentation by Deborah Joy. She reminded me that my children, my home is the great cathedral I am building. People may never know who I am, but if my children are godly and lead others to Christ, then that's all that matters.

One of the last things that we did was each speaker got to give a nugget of information, a reminder of something that they had said to us that they wanted us to remember.

Brenda Warner said, "remember Zach who should not have lived. Slow down. Love them without sight. We need each other. Life is hard, but be flexible."

Sandi Patty said, "Look from a different perspective. God isn't saying no to your dreams. He may be saying yes to a dream you can't see yet."

Patsy Clairmont said, "Prayer matters, people matter, change can be good, we need each other. Never give up."

And Mandisa reminded us that we have a wonderful freedom in Christ.

And that was it. That was the end of the conference. It was a good time for my soul and my heart, and I will be forever thankful that I had the opportunity to go.

Hugs,

Melinda

Reposting: Lump Free Gravy

In honor of Thanksgiving, I am reposting this.

So, after a L-O-N-G break from Works for Me Wednesday, the carnival hosted by Shannon where bloggers from all over blogosphere get together and share the tips that work for them, I decided to share my secrets for how I make perfect lump free cream gravy.

And no, it's not canned. I actually got the technique from my Betty Crocker cookbook.

Tip #1: Invest in a good whisk. It's so much easier than a wooden spoon or fork.

Tip #2: Remember your proportions. 2 Tbsp fat, 2 Tbsp flour, 1 cup liquid. For cream gravy, this is 2 tbsp butter or margarine, 2 Tbsp Flour, 1 cup milk. For brown gravy it would be 2 tbsp fat drippings, 2 tbsp flour, 1 cup beef broth or other appropriate liquid.

Tip #3: And this is one of the biggest secrets. When you get ready to make your gravy, put your liquid in the freezer and get it REALLY cold. I have pulled milk out with a ring of milk crystals. It works people!

So..... Put your butter in the pan and melt it on medium high heat. When it is bubbling, whisk in your flour. This mixture is called Roux. When that is bubbling (it sort of looks like pancake batter. Sort of.), then pull your milk out of the freezer and slowly and completely whisk that into your roux. If you are using a whisk, you are almost guaranteed lump free gravy. You almost have to boil this for about a minute to get your gravy.

Now, here is the twist. You sort of have to watch it at this point. You don't want it too thin, but if it boils too long, it will get too thick and be like glue. Remove it from the heat when it is the consistency you like.

Personally, I don't add salt or pepper when I'm making my gravy. My husband doesn't like salt, and I don't like pepper. But if you add nutmeg when you're cooking, this makes the basic bechamel saucein a lot of Italian dishes.

And that's all of my secrets to a perfect lump free cream gravy. Serve over biscuits, toast, whatever your imagination desires. :D

Hugs,
Melinda

WoF Part 4

Okay, so I'm up to Saturday morning of the Women of Faith Conference... I think. LOL I probably should have done this a little bit quicker than I have been. But I'm still digesting it.

We started off the day listening to Lisa Whelchel. She talked about friendship, and how she learned about being friends with people. Two things she said is that there is a difference between being transparent and being vulnerable, and that the time of connection is better than the rejection.

Also, you need to be a friend, but without expectations or limits. Be grateful for who that person is. Pay attention to how people talk to you about others, because that's probably how they talk about you. Run from those who look perfect, because they will place their standard of perfection on you. And look for those who have stumbled, because they know the grace of God.

A real friend is an imperfect person. They are sort of like Velcro - loopy, collecting lint, but holds on. True friends ARE the body of Christ.

Next we heard from Brenda Warner. Being in a household that doesn't watch too much football, I was not familiar with her. But after having listened to her, I do admire her and would listen to her again.

She reminded us that honor, courage, and integrity are what you do when no one is watching. Our circumstances don't determine who we are; God does. And you can choose to have faith. Worship God no matter what!

Sandi Patty was next. I was having trouble staying awake, so I didn't take as many notes as I did with the others. The really funny thing was when she "sang" her musical background. She also said, you don't want to "loose" weight, because you don't want to find it again. Release it instead. :D Change can be difficult but good.

I think I'm going to stop here for now. I will post the rest tomorrow.

Hugs,

Melinda

More WoF Pictures

This was the worship team after supper. Mandisa joined them.

These girls are truly talented. And they know how to have fun when they worship God.
Mandisa has such a powerful voice.

There was also a time that we were introduced to "The Porch." Sandi Patty took some time and talked to all of the speakers and let us get to know a little bit about them. That's Sandi on the stairs.
This is when she was talking to Lisa Whelchel. She was Blair on the Facts of Life sitcom in the 80s. It was really fun getting to know a bit more about "Lisa," and not "Blair." I'm also reading her book called Friendship for Grownups. I highly recommend it.
Another blurry picture of Mandisa. I regretted leaving my camera at home more than once, but I'm still thankful for my iPhone.
I'm not certain but I think this is when she was introducing Lifeline. It really is a beautiful song.
And that's all my pictures for Friday, Day 1 of the Women of Faith Conference!

Hugs,

Melinda

WoF Part 3

After I ran home for supper to let Nana out, we had a drama presentation by Deborah Joy Winans. She was absolutely hilarious! Her very first skit was about the many hats that we wear as women. Manager, coach, psychologist, chef, accountant, lover, mom, wife, and in the case of the homeschool parent... teacher. Funny quote: "we don't talk TO ourselves - we talk AMONG ourselves."

Next was another talk by Andy Andrews. Did you know that you can sing the words of Amazing Grace to the tune of Ghost Riders in the Sky, House of the Rising Sun, and Gilligan's Island?

But the most amazing story was the one he told of Joshua Chamberlain at the battle of Gettysburg. According to his interpretation of history, if Mr. Chamberlain had not held and won his part of the line, then the South would have won not only Gettysburg, but also won the Civil War. Mr. Andrews told us this story in order to remind us that what you do matters. It is something called the Butterfly Effect.

Next was a real treat. We had a concert by Mandisa. I had heard her on the radio on K-Love, but had not been too impressed. This concert changed my opinion. She talked about Psalm 34:1 that says, "I will praise the Lord at ALL times." I was so impressed with how she just worships her heart out.

Two songs that I had never heard that I will forever love: Lifeline and Broken Hallelujah. It made me realize that I don't have to wait until I feel right with God in order to praise Him; He wants me to come NOW. He wants me to give Him all I have NOW, no matter what that is. Even if it's a broken hallelujah.

That brings me to the end of day 1. That was so much in and of itself. The day was SO full. And my heart is so full. Plus, it was late, and I needed to get home to my children.

Until the next day,

Hugs,

Melinda

WoF Pictures Part 2

Are you ready for some more pictures?

This is Andy Andrews again. I had a good seat first thing in the morning. Mr. Andrews was a great speaker, but he continually paced. It was a bit hard to focus on him.

Here's Patsy Clairmont again. She really was a good speaker.

The worship team was pretty amazing. They sang a lot of songs I didn't know except for hearing them on the radio. But they made it easy to follow along. This young lady in the front looks like a friend of mine here in town.
This is Deborah Joy Winans. She is related to "the" Winans, but she chose to go into acting and not singing. Honestly, her dramas were VERY thought provoking. She's going to be who I write about next. :)

WoF Pictures

How about some pictures? Some really blurry, not great shots from the camera on my phone, but pictures none the less? :D


This is the view you get when you walk into the arena. BEAUTIFUL. I fell in love with it. Especially the blue color.

This is the view from my seat. The one that I didn't get to sit in that morning. lol

Here's another picture of that gorgeous blue center piece. At least it was blue when we entered. It does change colors. It was pretty cool from a theater geek's perspective.

Patsy Clairmont spoke first. She may be small, but she's packed with God's word.

Andy Andrews spoke second. The man could NOT sit still. This is the only time he was still enough to get a good picture. lol

I'll try to post some more tomorrow. This is just a tidbit for now. :) Night.

WoF Part 2

Patsy Clairmont spoke a second time the first day of the Women of Faith conference. I must say that she did really well. She was fighting laryngitis and she still spoke.

At this point in time, she talked about how much she loves the book of Proverbs. She said something along the lines of how God made it simple for even those of us who are hard headed to understand. I have been trying to read a chapter a day, and I think she may be right. :D

The focus of her speech though was focused on the story of Solomon and how he asked for wisdom from God. She read 1 Kings 3:5 and then asked us, "If you could ask God for one thing, what would it be?"

She also had quite a bit to say about our speech and our tongues. Proverbs 29:11 and 29:20 She reminded us to take captive every thought. Her procedure is to 1) refuse negative thoughts, 2) replace with positive thoughts, and 3) repeat often.

She also said something that struck really close to home. Sarcasm is anger in a clown suit. If your humor is at the cost of another's dignity, then it's not funny. I've used sarcasm so many times, but I had never thought about it this way. I will need to watch my tongue even closer now.

Next was a Question and Answer period with Patsy and Andy. I don't remember the questions, but let me give some of the responses.

1) Find what you are passionate about and figure out how it is of value to others. 2) God feeds the birds, but doesn't throw worms in their nest. 3) Smart people have more fear. Fear is a misuse of the creative imagination that God has placed inside you. -- I really love that part about the birds and the worms.

From the Q&A we went right into another session with Andy Andrews. He went on to say that worry is focusing on the wrong things, and that we should persist without exception to find a way where there is no way. He also said don't question your vision. Get up and DO SOMETHING!

That brought to my mind several questions. What am I focusing on and what is my vision? I'm still thinking about this, and probably will be for awhile.

It was at this point that we took a break for supper, and I am going to take a break for the day. I should also post pictures. Hmm...

Have a good night. :)

Hugs,

Melinda

Women of Faith Conference

I had the opportunity to attend the Women of Faith conference in Kansas City last weekend. It was 2 days of some amazing stories and wonderful worship. I took quite a few notes. I'm just trying to figure out how best to present them. Should I present each speaker one by one? Should I present the day in order? Should I present my notes as I wrote them or just give a general over all impression?

I don't know. That's part of the problem with depression. I can't seem to make any decisions. Even simple ones like how to write my notes out.

(An hour later)

Patsy Clairmont was the first speaker. She gave us "homework" right off the bat. When we wake up, she says to say 1) yes to God 2) thank you with a grateful heart and 3) a holy no to people and things that distract us from God's purpose. God calls us by name, and we need to get into the Word! However, the enemy wants us to think we are alone, even when we are not.

The most important thing she said in that first session was that God has designed us with a will that is stronger than our emotions. He didn't give brains to our feelings. Proverbs 15:1

Andy Andrews was the next speaker. He wrote a really interesting book called The Traveler's Gift. The first thing you realize about Mr. Andrews is that he can't sit still. He paces just like my Little Bit. But onto his speech.

We are to seek wisdom as an adult. This is not knowledge, but wisdom. And why not choose the life you want for your family? You need to invest in yourself (or I need to invest in myself) as a mom, as a spouse, and as a worker for God. (Not necessarily in that order.) Do what you don't like in order to get a result you do want. There is still hope -- The best is yet to come! There was never a game that was over in the first half.

I'm going to stop for now. I'm fighting a cold right now. I will continue at a later time.

Hugs,

Melinda

Time flies....

Oh my goodness, I've been busy. Sweet Pea finished cross country running about 8 minutes a mile. Little Bit now has a Tag Reader and is learning how to read. I've been having fun fighting anxiety and depression, on top of being mom, teacher, cook, nutritionist, and long distance wife.

I was able to attend a Women of Faith conference this past weekend. My next post will be an attempt to get my notes and thoughts together in one place.

I honestly can't think of anything else I need to put down. I've had a horrible October. We were busy beyond belief. I lost 2 friends, one because of my own actions, and one because of miss communication and a hardened heart. I have taken time to just rest. My mind and my body have needed it. As a result, school, such as it is, hasn't been as focused as it needs to be.

But that's okay, because I know they are still learning.

Anyway, I'm going to let this post go, so that I can write my post (or posts) about the WoF conference. Have a good day. :)

Hugs,

Melinda

Wow. It's been a bit.

It's not that I mean to forget to post. I just get so busy.

Let's see. June 11, 2011. I joined Weight Watchers later that night. I've been trying to follow the program, because honestly, I'm tired of being overweight. I've been watching my dad get sicker and sicker and I don't want to be like that.

As of last Saturday (August 6, 2011), I've lost 18+ pounds! :D I started running last week. I'm using the Couch to 5K program. I can't believe I'm running! It's taking time, but ... actually, I can't believe I'm enjoying running.

Dale will be home on August 22 on leave. I'm very excited. Today also marks his being gone for 6 months. I have missed him horribly. I plan on having lots of fun while he's home. He'll be home for 3 weeks.

Oh, also, Sweet Pea joined a homeschool cross country team. We go to practice Mondays and Thursdays. She runs a mile every day, and does push ups and sit ups. She's developing a discipline that I didn't learn until I was much older. I am very proud of her.

I really can't think of much else, but I wanted to say hello, and no, I haven't forgotten you bloggy world. :) Until later.

Hugs,

Melinda

Summertime treat

How about a bit of fun for a treat? I used the brownie pops pan from Wilton. After the brownies cooled, I made a disk of chocolate and sat one in each disk. Add a frosting top and a cookie straw and you've got a cute little treat!

I can't take all the credit though. Sweet Pea saw the picture and wanted to make them. Although, I don't recommend using wheat flour. It just doesn't taste right in brownies.

Hugs,
Melinda

Breakfast muffin tin

It's amazing. I'm awake and I cooked breakfast. This morning we have croissants with Nutella, sausage, scrambled eggs, orange slices, pop tart crisps, and dried pineapple. I've finished my breakfast. So far, the sausage was a no, the pineapple was a no, the orange slices were a no, and they traded the eggs and croissants. But at least I tried, right?

Hugs,
Melinda

Muffin Tin Meal #2

It looks as though muffin tin meals are a success! I was asked no less than two times this week, "can I have a muffin tin meal please?"

This week we had peanut butter and honey sandwiches, carrot sticks, pretzel sticks, peanut butter for dipping, goldfish crackers, chocolate chips, and a yogurt or jello.

(Please forgive my rotated picture. It's hard to edit on my phone.)

This post is part of Muffin Tin Meals, and is inspiring me to make kid friendly snacks/meals for my children.

Hugs,

Melinda

Muffin Tin Meals

So I've been reading Muffin Tin Mom's blog for a while now. I've always thought the idea was really cute, but wasn't sure if I could devote the time, or if my children would be interested in it. Or maybe more specifically, if my oldest, Sweet Pea would be interested. That wonderful preteen age.....

Since she is a preteen, I decided to ask her opinion about it. Imagine my surprise when she acted THRILLED about it. When we got to talking about our first meal, she came up with the idea of a beach theme. This first time is Sweet Pea's. We have pretzel sticks, yogurt (with a beach umbrella), graham crackers that were supposed to be sand, yogurt raisin "rocks," goldfish, and turkey cheese tortilla roll-ups. Oh, and provolone cheese "starfish." :D

The second one is Little Bit's tin. The only difference is that I forgot about my hot dogs with Sweet Pea and made hot dog "octopuses."

I don't know what our second muffin tin meal will be, but I'm fairly sure the girls are looking forward to it. We already got picks and forks and cutters and ..... yeah, we're going to have fun. :D

Hugs,

Melinda

Treasures

Nana found this toy lizard in our yard the other day. I put it on the porch so it wouldn't get lost I can't tell you how many times I've come outside and forgotten it was there. I jump every-time, because from the corner of my eye, it looks real.

On a different note, I believe we have two birds nests this year. I can't say for certain, because they are in knotholes in the trees, but all the evidence looks that way.

Hugs,
Melinda

Alabama, Tornadoes, and Quilting

My mind has been in Alabama tonight. It's amazing how quilting can bring you together even in the worst of circumstances. When my husband was in the military, my oldest daughter and I would travel back and forth between Georgia, Louisiana, and Arkansas. If we were headed to Arkansas, our route took us through Tennessee. If we were headed to Louisiana, we went through Alabama and Mississippi.

And I knew where all the GOOD quilt shops were located on both routes.

One particular day really stands out in my mind. I believe we had stopped at Heart to Heart Quilt Shop in Pell City, AL. It was right after lunch, and we needed a stretch break. We got out, we looked at all the pretty fabric. And then the tornado sirens went off.

The owner was fantastic. She let us stay in the store as long as we needed. We listened to the radio, and she was able to say, "that one was to the north of us," or "that was to the east of us." Then there was "that one just landed where you came from," and then "that one is south of us."

At one point, we were all in the back room, under her longarm quilting machine. My baby was wedged up right next to the bolt of batting. I believe the final count that day was 7 tornadoes in the area. And interestingly, I was able to look up on a chart later, and it turned out that that month of that year (2003 I think) in that spot had the most tornado activity of the whole year. (I had to look it up because Dale thought I had panicked.)

Quilting is more than the fabric and thread. Quilting is what brings us together and makes us friends. I haven't had the chance to go back, but I sincerely hope and pray that they are safe tonight.

Hugs,

Melinda

Duh!

"Church" is not the same as God!

Why is that something I should know but didn't realize? I'm going to be thinking of this for a while, but I wanted to share with you.

Hugs,
Melinda

Comment Posting

FYI, I just thought I'd let everyone know that I've been getting some spam comments on my blog. I've turned on full comment moderation until they cease. Until then, if you don't see your comment, don't worry. I'll post it soon enough.

My Nana

Please scroll down to find the post that goes with this picture. Thank you.

Hugs,
Melinda

Things to consider when getting a dog

I've talked about Nana before, and I'm going to post a picture in just a minute. Nana is a good dog. Nana is a BIG dog.

Nana is my first dog.

Well, sort of. We had an Old English Sheepdog when I was growing up, but she was an outside dog, and I don't think we took as good a care of her as she needed/deserved. I don't really remember much about her. Feel free to ask me about Sugar sometime.

Nana is the first dog that I've owned.

There are several things that they forget to tell you when you purchase a dog (and I'm using they as a generic term referencing vets, friends with dogs, shelters, pet stores, and anyone who should know to tell you these things). Such as... "Dogs have fur. Their fur in the winter is considerably MORE than their fur in the summer. Expect a lot of this fur to come off in the spring."

Or how about this one? "Big dog = Big poop = BIG smell." Or shoot, they even forget to tell you what to do with the poop once you've picked it up. Or that dogs fart. :S

Let's see, what else. Oh, there's "all dogs like to chew, so make sure you don't leave your good footwear out." To which I would add, "or comfortable footwear, either."

There's this classic line they forgot to tell me. "You need to invest in a tennis ball factory. And a dog food factory."

They absolutely forget to tell you that training can be valuable and fun. But then, they also forgot to tell me that my 5 year old wouldn't really understand it.

Oh, we now know about dog naps (as opposed to cat naps, which we already knew about). But they forgot to tell me how much having a dog is like having a toddler sometimes. That's the one they really shouldn't have forgotten to tell me. lol

But I think the most important thing they forgot to tell me is how much I would love this dog. How much she smiles (and yes, Nana smiles). How much joy she has brought to my life. No, she's not one of my kids, but she really has added to our family, and I thank God that we waited for her. She's perfect for us.

Hugs from our pound,

Melinda

P.S. As a little side note, we rescued Nana from an animal shelter. If you are considering getting an animal, please check your local shelter first. You'll never know what gems you'll find there. And in most cases, the cost from a shelter is considerably less than a purebred.

Punctuality

Why are we at a place in this world that we don't respect other people's time? I am sitting here waiting on a sales person who told me he would be here at 2:00. It's 2:45. He has not called to tell me that he would be late.

Earlier this morning, I was expecting a sales person between 9:30 and 10. The person called at 8:15 and said that he was running early, could he come buy at 8:45? It wouldn't have been a problem except that I have a hard time getting my brain to work before 9:00 and a cup of coffee.

I know several people that if I want them at my house at 9:00, then I have to tell them to be there at 8:30 just so they might show up by 9:15. Personally, I try to arrive about 5-10 minutes early. Any earlier than that could also be considered rude.

Why do we not consider other people when we are scheduled to go somewhere? Their time is just as valuable as ours. And if you are a sales rep, then you need to consider that their time is MORE valuable than yours.

I'm sorry. I'm extremely frustrated with the lack of manners that has seemed to explode lately.

Hugs,

Melinda

Control

The preacher asked a question this past week that I had been thinking about. What area of your life does God need to touch and fix and have total control?

My immediate response was, "but I don't want to admit that!" If I admit it, then I admit I have a problem that needs fixing, which means I'm not in control. If I have something that needs to be fixed, then my life is not perfect. No. I would rather pretend that there is no problem, that everything is a-okay, that I am in control. I am happy in my denial.

WAKE UP!

That is not what being a Christian is. If we can't give God control of our lives, if we can't surrender everything to Him... No. If *I* can't surrender everything to Him, even my control, have I really surrendered anything? God wants our total dependence upon Him. The verse in Matthew says that those who are like children shall see God. It isn't their innocence. It's their dependence upon Him.

God wants every part of our lives. He wants our control, He wants the part of your life that you don't even want to admit you need help with. Are you ready? Are you ready to give Him everything? Are you ready to surrender control?

Ezekiel 37:1-ff
Matthew 18:3-4

Hugs,
Melinda

Sent from my iPhone

This is where it gets hard

Dear Diary, or bloggy, or whatever it is I'm doing here,

Today has been rough. The children have been fussing, the dog has been making messes, and the phones don't work between here and there. We're a month in, and this is where the rubber meets the road.

We've been here before. It hurts. This is where I feel like this had to have been the BIGGEST mistake we've made in awhile.

And this is where I know I have to rely on God to take care of us.

I'm trying. I'm really trying. If you're reading this, please pray for us.

Hugs,

Melinda

14 years ago...

14 years ago, I married my best friend.

I picked out the dress when we had only been dating a month.

We laugh together, and have lots of fun teasing each other. More importantly, we pray together.
He's always been by my side. He's been my most ardent supporter in anything I wanted to try.
When I was in the 7th grade, I started praying for the man I would one day marry. When I was in the 9th grade, I made of list of everything I wanted in a husband.

He met everything on the list.

I wish I had a more recent picture of us.
I love you Dale Hollis, more than I've ever loved anyone before. Because of you, I feel like the most beautiful woman on earth. Thank you for 14 wonderful years.

Love always,

Melinda

P.S. We're celebrating 15 in a big way... right?

Dear bloggy diary,

It's March 3rd, almost 4th, and it's been a few days since I've written. In all honesty, I've been too busy. Apparently, I got this really twisted idea to stay so busy that I wear myself out and can't think about how lonely I am.

I don't recommend it.

"Be still and know that I am God." That seems to be my theme verse this year. But in my staying busy, am I really learning to know God? How does one be still in order to know God?

(side note to myself: see if you can add <i>italics </i>from your phone.)

Anyway, just a random thought before I fall asleep.

Hugs,
Melinda

Sent from my iPhone

Honestly

February 23, 2011

I am asked "how am I doing?" quite a few times. Do you really want the answer? Really? I mean, honestly, I am doing okay all things considered. My husband is overseas, I have 2 girls that are 11 and 5, and I have a 75 lb. dog. I'm trying to homeschool my children, run the media room, and find a replacement for the pantry.

My husband, the one I love, the one I rely on, is overseas working so that we can pay off debt. He's always been my better half. He's calm when I'm angry. He's rational, I'm not. When I'm scared, he calms me down. He loves me. No matter what.

I miss him.

Sweet Pea fell tonight. She slipped down about 3 or 4 steps and banged her head. I've got her up right now to watch her for a concussion. But this is where I need my other half. I'm worried about her. I need him here.

If you want to ask me about how I'm doing, then be prepared for me to answer honestly. I might tell you that we're adjusting. I might tell you about how I can't sleep at night, but still have to get up earlier. I might tell you about the stress headaches I've been having. I might tell you about how the girls can't seem to get along and seem to be fussing all. the. time. I might even tell you about how I can't even begin to watch (or read) the news, because my stomach starts twisting in knots with worry about Dale.

I really am getting tired of people asking me "How are you doing?" and not wanting to hear how I really am.

Honestly.... I'm fine.

Hugs,

Melinda

Cleaning up

I don't normally post pictures of myself. After all, I started this blog so my family in Arkansas could keep up with my growing girls in Georgia.

Sweet Pea and I were cleaning up their bedroom the other day, and I decided to have a little fun. This is so uncharacteristic of me, that Sweet Pea took a picture.

We had a good day.
Hugs,
Melinda

February 20, 2011

I don't really have too much to say other than we had a good day at church today, and a good life group tonight. I love our church family.

Hugs,

Melinda

Realization

February 19, 2011

Today has been a fairly long day. Sweet Pea had a sleepover last night with one of her best friends, J-Lo. In order to give Sweet Pea some of the space and responsibility she craves as a growing "tween," I had Little Bit spend the night in bed with me.

That alone made for a long night, but in the middle of the night, right after Dale called to tell me he was in Germany, J-Lo came downstairs and told me she was having trouble sleeping. This was around 12:30.

But to top it off, when I was getting ready for the day, Sweet Pea and Little Bit decided to start arguing. Not just simple siblings fussing, but down and out arguing!

And I realized what the differences are. No, not in my girls. With Dale's first deployment, I had never lived alone before, and I had to learn to rely on God. With Dale's second deployment, I had to learn that I couldn't do it all by myself, and that sometimes I had to ask for help. That God put people in my path to help me.

Today, I realized that last time, Sweet Pea was 6 and Little Bit was a newborn. Really, all I had to worry about for the most part was their physical needs. I did have a bit of sibling rivalry to deal with, but there wasn't a whole lot of that. Today I realized, that is not the case this time.

Sweet Pea will be 12 next month. Little Bit is 5, almost 6. Sweet Pea is a "tween"-ager and going through all the emotions and feelings and hype that goes with it. And Little Bit is her mirror, learning and doing everything her big sister does.

It seems like what I'm supposed to learn this time is how to take care of their emotional needs. Which is hard, because I don't always know how to take care of my own emotional needs. I think I see more time in prayer this time, more reliance on God, and more asking for help.

I guess I'm just getting it out. I don't really expect any comments. I just need to put my feelings down. Anyway... If you think about it, remember us in prayers. It's going to be a long year.

Oh, one thing happened that did make me smile. Nana woke me up around 5 this morning to go out. After we got back, and I had crawled back into bed, Little Bit sort of woke up. Nana realized she was in bed with me and got VERY excited to see her. It was really cute and funny.

Hugs,

Melinda

Obedience Training

February 18, 2011

Today has been a good day. I turned my alarm off this morning, and I got to sleep in.

All the way to 7:00! lol

Actually, it's not that bad. Considering I usually get up around 6:30 or so, that's not too bad for me. It means I got just enough extra sleep to function without a sleep headache today. Well, and the fact that Dale was my alarm clock today. :D

We went to Waterfall Park today with some good friends and walked around the park and lake. It was a good long walk for us. I found that Nana does like to jog. She would have jogged further, but my legs started hurting. Shin splints are not fun. But I feel like that will be better with the more exercise we get.

The good part about having such a nice long walk is that Nana was worn out when we went to obedience class tonight! LOL Tonight we talked about walking on a loose leash and informal greeting people. Unfortunately, Nana is a large and strong dog and likes to pull, so we invested in something called a gentle leader. The thing is AMAZING!

First off, we are just going to be using it for walking, or store visits. It's not the kind of thing you leave on a dog. But it makes walking with Nana so much incredibly easier. By the end of the hour, she was walking right beside me, and she wasn't barking at any other dogs. It was great.

I know Dale was leaving the states today. I'm not sure where he is as of this writing, but he's been in my thoughts and prayers all day. Plus, I'm hoping he's got a stopover somewhere interesting, so he can send us an interesting postcard. ;)

Well, Sweet Pea is having a sleepover tonight and Little Bit is going to bed soon. Plus, that walk made me tired....

Goodnight!

Hugs,

Melinda

Lazy day

February 17, 2011

Today has been a lazy day. The weather has been really warm, around 70-75 degrees. I have all the windows open. Little Bit has had a play date all afternoon. Sweet Pea and I had potato soup for lunch, watched a movie, and cleaned up the toys! Literally.

We pulled out Barbie dolls and made sure they all had clothes. We pulled out Littlest Pet Shop and Zoobles, stuffed animals, a few baby dolls, and Build-A-Bear clothes. But everything else, and I mean EVERYTHING, went into a black trash bag. 4 of them to be exact. And we're not talking the little ones. We're talking about the 30 gallon ones!

Sweet Pea has to finish organizing her library, and there may be a bit of organizing in the toy boxes still, but for the most part... the room is clean! :D I think the girls will be a lot happier.

Now, I'm just relaxing, watching Netflix, and hanging out. Today, I'm happy to be here.

Hugs,

Melinda

February 16, 2010

This has been an interesting day. I didn't sleep real well last night. I seem to take a while to get into a "normal" sleeping routine with Dale gone. It's just not the same without him here. But not sleeping well translates into a rough start to my morning. I'm just not a morning person.

Which is why when ADT got here for an installation this morning at 8:07, I was surprised. Usually, when a company gives you a slot (8 to 10, 12 to 4, 8 to 12, etc) I tend to be around that entire time. More often than not, they will show up at the back end of that slot. My slot today was 8 to 10, and the technician showed up at 8:07. Woohoo! Oh, and the technician let Sweet Pea watch and explained things to her. He was very efficient and very polite.

We gave Nana the last of her antibiotic today. Which is good. I was getting tired of getting it down her. She figured out how to get it out of the hot dog. I had to mix it up in some mashed potatoes to get it down her.

There's mud. A lot of mud. My white dog will come in mud colored from running in the backyard with Sweet Pea. I'm ready for some grass back there. Not to mention Sweet Pea's and Little Bit's snow boots. Apparently Little Bit got stuck in the mud.

I did something brave. Well for me at least. I made a phone call that I was dreading, and it all came out okay. At least so far.

We put our maps up. I got two brand new maps at Office Max. One is a map of the USA, and one is a map of the world. My goal is to ask people to send us postcards. Whenever we get a postcard, we will put a pin in that location. I'm actually very excited about this project. My hope is that Little Bit will understand exactly how far away Daddy is.

Which reminds me. I need to go mark off another day on the calendar wall.

I couldn't figure out how to do a countdown of days that Dale will be gone so Little Bit could see and understand. Last time, we did a jellybean jar, but it turns out that Sweet Pea didn't remember it at all. I was thinking paper chains, but I couldn't figure out where to put them. The media room at church had all these paper squares cut out for a project, about 2x3 inches. They are up on our dining room wall. They are semi color coded. They are in rows by months. And we are marking them off one day at a time. Because that's the only way I'll get through this. I'll try to get a good picture later.

Well, I'm fairly tired tonight. I want to go take the dog back out before I fall asleep. I'll talk to you later, loves. Thanks for listening. Sometimes, all I need to do is just ramble and get my thoughts out. But you don't mind, do you?

Love and Hugs,

Melinda

The saga of the TV

Sometime around the start of last year (2010), I purchased from Wal-Mart an Emerson TV/DVD combo, fairly similar to this one. I didn't use it too frequently. It was downstairs in the basement, because that was going to be my "workout area," and I was going to watch TV or do exercise videos. When that didn't work out too well, we decided to move it up to our bedroom. Keep in mind that we don't have cable. We watched videos on it.

Roughly six months after I purchased it, the TV stopped working. It wouldn't turn on it all. We followed all the troubleshooting in the owner's manual, because, yes, geek that I am, I still had that. When that didn't work, we called the customer service number in the very little print at the very back of the manual.

"No problem!" they said. "Send it in. We'll fix it." Okay. Well, first I should have known something would be wonky when they asked did I want the tracking number sent to me via email or snail mail, and when I chose snail mail, it got sent by email. Okay... that's a small problem. I just had to wait a little before I could get to the UPS store to send it off.

Then I realized that we were going on vacation. I called the company on October 1 and gave them my reference number and said, "I would like to put a 10 day hold on my TV. We're going on vacation and I don't want it delivered while we're gone." I was put on hold, and then told that the department that would look at it wouldn't be able to get to it for 10 days anyway, and not to worry.

We came home on October 11. No TV. I thought, I'll give them a bit, because of things like shipping time and actual working on my TV time. Then I gave them another week. Still no TV.

So I called back. "Could you please tell me when I can expect my TV back?" "Oh, that ticket's been closed, because we show it's been delivered."

{insert jaw dropping here} DO WHAT? According to UPS, the package was delivered on October 6 and left on the front porch. No, there was no where to "hide it." No, the person taking care of my cat did not pick it up. No, it was not delivered to my neighbors. Personally, I think it grew legs.

The customer service at Emerson, which I think isn't actually Emerson, but some other company, advised me to call UPS and start a trace. So I called UPS. Who told me that the company had to call to start the trace. We literally went round and round and round on who is responsible for starting this trace on this TV and who is liable for it. Over 10 phone calls to both companies. It got to the point that both Dale and I got so frustrated with over two months of phone calls that we just let it sit for awhile.

I was hoping that he would try to call again before he left, but he didn't. In case you didn't know, I HATE talking on the phone. While I can do a lot of the paperwork of an administrative assistant, answering the phones would just drive me insane. Reason 34 of why I'm thankful to be a stay at home mom.

But I did it. I got a very nice lady named Felicia at UPS who helped me out today. She even tried calling the customer service for me. When that didn't work, I was able to figure out the conference calling on my phone and get them on the line.

The product, when it was working, was a very good product. I really liked the space saving design of the TV. I really liked the TV.

The customer service however....

Let's just say I will think VERY carefully before purchasing another Emerson TV or using UPS again. But that's just my 2 cents worth.

Hugs,

Melinda

Nana

This is our new dog, Nana. She's a Saint Bernard mix. Which means she's a bit smaller than a purebred Saint. Regardless, she's bigger than I thought of when I first said "how about a dog?"

The funny thing is that all of my photos of her are on my phone. I have yet to take a picture with a "real" camera! LoL

Anyway, this is our newest family member. Meet Nana.

Hugs,
Melinda

A chocolate kind of day

February 15, 2011

Today has been shaping up to be a chocolate kind of day. You know the kind. Where things start to go wrong from the very first. First, I did NOT want to get out of bed. That happens a lot when I stay up too late. Like now. It's only 10:51, but my body is saying, "go to bed. Go to sleep. Get the rest you need." I might regret staying up this late in the morning.

Maybe. Personally, I think I need to get my feelings out.

Second, Sweet Pea comes downstairs and says, "Today, I do NOT like the cat very much." Long story short, she didn't get nearly the amount of sleep she needs. I sent her back to bed. Oh, the joys of being homeschooled! :D

Third, on the way to take Little Bit to preschool, somehow, I managed to catch every. single. red. light. in. town.

Fourth, when I was helping a friend, Sweet Pea called me on Skype, and we couldn't connect very well. I was afraid she really needed me. We simply have to do something different on the phone situation. I'm not comfortable leaving her without any form of communication.

Fifth, got a note from the bank that we had overdrawn an account right before we got paid. Which wouldn't be a big deal, but with a different account over $200 overdrawn, it was kind of a pain.

Oh, and sixth, the reason that account is overdrawn is because that one pesky customer of Propel IT STILL hasn't sent the check. There's this whole big mix-up about some websites, and they want Dale to fix it. Which he can't. It's not all his fault. But.... I digress.

And I also found out that Dale lost a family friend this weekend. He lost a battle with cancer, and kidney disease.

The good news today is that Dale has called several times. He actually calls several times a day if he can. We both have webcams this time, and we've both got Skype set up, so we can actually see each other while we talk. It's been nice. I hope he can still do that overseas.

Nana seems to be doing really well with the training. I'm trying to get a longer time on "Watch Me." I think I may be using the same cue for "Watch Me" and non-verbal "Sit," but I'm also not sure it matters as much. I'll need to remember to ask the trainer.

Well, I'm falling asleep while typing. Plus, this much typing sort of hurts my fingers. Have a good night. See you in the morning.

Hugs,

Melinda

WOW!

Wow, time has flown. This has been a busy busy time in my life. Quite frankly, I get wrapped up in Facebook and forget to post here.

But there have been some changes in my life. What some would consider "Big" changes. And I feel the need to post again. I'm going to attempt some sort of a diary dialog in order to get my thoughts organized.

Let's start with

December 24, 2010

Wow. Dale and I were talking about finances. Again. And again, I told him that I didn't think the one customer of Propel IT Systems was worth it, that they were taking advantage of his good guy nature, and that he was worth more, a lot more, than he is currently making. He showed me an email he received. It's from an ITT recruiter. They want him to submit a resume.

December 27, 2010

Oh CRAP! Literally. It looks like a pipe has broken and all the sewage is bubbling up out of the ground. The good news is that the ground is frozen. For now. It seems to have stopped. For now. It makes the idea of applying with ITT look more appealing. What harm could there be in submitting a resume? What's the worse they could do? Say no?

January 4, 2011

Dale had a phone interview today. It was a technical interview to see if he knew all the stuff he said he knew in his resume. Not only did the person tell him he had one of the highest scores he's ever seen, he did a second test for a security position, and made something like a 74% on that one, without even trying! LOL He's so smart. If he studied, I know he'd get the certifications he needs for that job, too.

January 10, 2011

Dale's application was denied? Well, sort of. It was more of a miscommunication. The technical testing interviewer somehow sent the application for the security position, not the system admin job that Dale applied for. It's all been worked out. If I could only get Dale to calm down and stop bugging the guy. God's going to take care of it. God has always taken care of us.

January 14, 2011

Oh, this is a good one. They are trying to decide which job to offer him. He doesn't have the necessary qualifications for the one, but he's close. Real close. And it seems like a tailor made position for him. The funny thing is that I don't think he's ever considered something like it before. Now we just have to wait out the weekend to see what the decision is.

January 17, 2011

Dale was offered a position. He was offered a System Administrator position. I think it's alright for me to say it's in Afghanistan, but I won't say more than that. He will be supporting our troops. I don't want to endanger them, or him.

The rest is basically a blur of paperwork, certifications, medical records, dental exams, and wish lists. And snow. Lots of snow. I do know that he got a call on January 29 asking what he thought about leaving on February 12 for the training in country. Which was a heck of a lot sooner than either of us imagined. We were thinking the end of February or the beginning of March.

February 5, 2011

Dale and I have been talking dogs. I mentioned that I was thinking about getting a dog instead of a fancy security system. Dale said he would be fine with both. So we started looking. I woke up this morning thinking of names for one we had found earlier this week. Dale said, "let's look a little more." I'm glad he did. We found Nana in a different shelter. She's PERFECT!

February 10, 2011

Tomorrow. Tomorrow is the day I don't want to come. He leaves tomorrow. We were going to have date night, but instead decided to have family night. It was a good choice I think. Neither one of us can sleep. Instead, we talk into the wee hours of the night.

February 11, 2011

AM: Not so very happy birthday Dale. I didn't make it out of the airport like I wanted. I wanted to make it to the car before I started sobbing. I didn't get that far. Sweet Pea held onto me, and I held onto her. Thankfully, Little Bit doesn't really understand yet. One question keeps running through my brain. Are we out of our ever loving minds for doing this? We have GOT to be crazy. How on earth am I going to do this again?

PM: Obedience class for Nana. She is stronger than she looks! Please, dear trainer Karen. Please don't tell us we have to come to private lessons instead. She will calm down. I promise?

February 13

We had tears in church this morning. Going on.

February 14

We went to Pizza Street with some of our homeschool friends. When will my children learn to think before speaking? Especially when the words they use could hurt someone! Both of them said things that they shouldn't have. Both of them hurt other people.

But at least I didn't lose my cool. I think we... or at least I had a growing experience as a parent today.

Okay, I know that this is a really long post. If you've stuck with me this far, thanks. My plan is to try to write more often. I want to detail this new adventure.

One: I've never really had a dog before. My family did have an Old English Sheepdog when I was younger, but looking back, I don't think we took good care of her.

Two: I've got to talk about my feelings about Dale being gone again.

So, I'm going to go do a post for today, maybe include a picture, and then I'll sign off. Thanks for walking through me with this.

Psalm 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God. I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world." Even Afghanistan.

Hugs,

Melinda