There's Not a Lot Going On, So Why Am I So Busy?

Hi everyone, 

It dawned on me yesterday that I haven't posted in a while. Honestly, I'm in a season where it hasn't even crossed my mind. Yet when I think about everything I've been doing, it's not that much!

Looking through my phone for photos to share I realized I never showed you my classroom. We have a sensory room for kids who find our typical Sunday school classes overwhelming. The swing is the newest addition.

I snuck a picture of Beth at our coffee bar on Sunday. Every week she buys the same thing, a hot chocolate with soy milk and a fruit snack. 

I have an azalea in the backyard that has grown so much! We had a dog that used to pee on it when it was much smaller and it killed that part of the plant. I thought it was a goner. But then the dog passed away and now - it's probably been 10 years - it's gotten so big! I took this before it had bloomed completely. My watering can is there for reference.

Let's see... Diana sent this picture of Adelaide, they were going on a hike.

She's growing so tall! We get to see them again in August and I can't wait! First we have a family reunion in Iowa in... wait, next month! I was going to write 'in a few months' but no, it's next month. We're going in June.

Ummm, what else? We're having fantastic weather: blue skies and temps in the high 60's to low 70's. Speaking of which, I think I'll close this, head outside and get some Vitamin D! 

Do you have any vacations planned this year? Been on any hikes or walks? Do you have a garden?

Take care!

Adjusting, Waterfront, and Overdid It

I'm a planner by nature and I like to take baby steps. But I'm learning to go with the flow.

 

I recently read something about how we look at each new day as a blank page where we can write anything. The day is ours to make it anything we want! But Psalm 139 says, 'All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.'

 

The page isn't blank. The Lord has already planned my day, written it all out. And because of that new perspective, I'm learning to seek Him about what to do, and I'm accepting things even if they don't go my way. After all, His ways are higher than my ways!

 

I had expected to have a week to pack up and move my desk but Monday morning the person I was switching desks with came to me and told me her desk was empty anytime I was ready.

 

 Ahhh! What?! I had done some sorting and packing but not much. But, I got to work and by the end of the day, we were both moved in to our new desks. No stress, no panic, no loop of thoughts going over and over... it was unexpected, but it went so well!

 

And I. Love. It. It's so quiet and I love my co-workers.

 

Chuck and I walked along the pier last weekend. The weather has been beautiful! While looking at the water, a friend popped up to say hello! Other people were saying it's part of the same family that's been around for a few months. I may have seen him when I was there back in January.

 

 

 Do you do this too? When Spring arrives you go out to work in the yard for the first time and there's so much you want (need!) to get done that you wake up the next day feeling so sore? I planted flowers in 5 pots, pulled weeds, swept, and the next day... ouch! But I love looking at all the flowers now! 😊

 

A No Show, A Hospital Run, and Four This Year

Work has kept me on my toes lately. We had water baptisms on Sunday and I knew the tank had been emptied and cleaned so I checked it today and saw the covers hadn't been put over the top. They're 4 large pieces of wood covered in carpet and they're very heavy. I called one of the custodians and we tried to figure them out, it was like a jigsaw puzzle.

When we were just about done with that I got a call on the radio that there was a situation in one of the women's bathrooms. I left the custodian to finish with the tank and I found another custodian had been cleaning the bathroom sinks when one of our huge mirrors fell forward and landed on her. Thankfully she wasn't hurt and it didn't break, it just kind of slowly leaned forward and she braced it. I went to the maintenance office, grabbed some duct tape and MacGyvered it! While doing that, I got another call saying my delivery had arrived so I went upstairs, let the driver into our storage area, signed the invoice... it was just non-stop today. 

I hired a new custodian last week and he was due to start yesterday at 2:00. He never showed. I texted him at 2:30 telling him I was a little surprised that he didn't even show up to his first day at a new job. I asked him if he was available today and he said yes, but gave no explanation as to why he didn't show up. I was trying to show him some grace and mercy. He called me this morning and we talked for a few minutes about the paperwork and his uniform. "Sounds good. See you at 2:00." But again he didn't show! At 2:30 I called his cell and it went straight to voicemail. I left a message and then waited. Finally at 2:45 I texted again only this time it was to tell him the job wasn't going to work out and he wouldn't be working here. So now it's back to square one looking for a new employee. Frustrating.

Right after I got home today I got a call from a friend who needed a ride home from the hospital. Actually the call was from his late wife's daughter, who happens to be his Power of Attorney but lives out of town. His procedure ended up taking longer than expected and all the drivers from his assisted living place had gone home. What?! Why were they allowed to leave when one of their residents was still at the hospital? I just didn't understand that! Anyway, I hopped in my car and drove up to get him. Thankfully it's only 5-10 minutes from my house. I took him home and a couple nurses came with his electric chair and took him on up to his room. Would they have left him at the hospital? I'm glad I was available! 

Every few days I check the bird's nest in the wreath and today...

There's 4 tiny eggs! This is so fun! I believe the birds are called Junko. They're a type of Sparrow. I saw the mommy bird in the nest so I stuck my arm out the front door so I wouldn't scare her and got this picture:

She's keeping them safe and warm! 

I hope you're all doing well and enjoying Spring. It's hard to believe May is right around the corner!

Dive Bombing in the Sunshine

Whenever I get a full day at home it's a good day and I got two days at home this week! Our weather has been so nice, this kind of forecast doesn't happen very often around here!

I got home from work on Friday and actually went out to the backyard to watch a plane fly overhead. While I was searching the sky I noticed a crow dive bombing another bird. You can see the little white blob on the branch just to the left of the crow.

After a few minutes I see a large hawk fly out of the tree and into a different group of trees! It was incredible to see this amazing bird flying right above me!

Then the crows started dive bombing it again! After about 10 minutes I realized my neck was getting sore so I went in. You never know what you might see out in God's creation!

I was able to get a little yard work done this weekend. The back of my legs are SO sore from stretching while I was pulling weeds but it is looking so good. I love doing work when you can actually see the results!

And guess who's back? I started noticing twigs and grass hanging out of our wreath a few days ago. It's been three years since they built a nest on our porch and I'm excited to watch them again!

Well that's about it around here. Back to work tomorrow. I'm thankful for the weather this week! It's time to bring out the spring / summer clothes!

Do you have birds / bird feeders in your yard?

Do you create a moat around your plants to catch the water?

Flowers, Rain, And an Update

 Linking up with Rebecca Jo at Knit by God's Hand again this week!

This week I'm thankful for:

 Family

Laughter

Spring Flowers

Mini road trips

Walks around the block

Reminiscing

 Board Games

Longer hours of daylight

Boxes of old photos

Fresh cut grass

The smell after a spring rain

(P.S. The doctor on Tuesday said the scan showed the cancer has gone into a lymph node, but not into the neck or nerve pathways, which is good news. He met with the Oncology Board on Tuesday and had them look over the scan. He'll call us again today with their recommendations and a final decision about treatment.)

Saturday Snippets

How is everyone doing?

Staying at home?

Staying healthy?

 We're doing well here. Staying in except to go grocery shopping.

Beth sent me this text and photo the other night:

i am out of food in my fridge already so I need more for in my fridge

 I had planned to go shopping by myself but how could I after that plea for help! So we both went to the store, stocked up and now her fridge is filled again. Am I the only one buying things I've never tried before? There are so many things in our cupboard right now that we don't normally buy!

We're still going on our walks. We've been getting at least a little bit of sunshine every day.

Look at all those cars in the driveway!

People in this neighborhood really are staying home!

We cleaned out all of our games and I came across Password. This was my moms and it still has the score sheets from about 50 years ago! I was too young when they would play this but I remember watching them. I forgot I kept it!

The PET scan went well. They told us we'd be there about 4 hours but turned out it was only about 2 1/2. When they called Chuck back Sharaya and I found a bistro there in the hospital and we sat and talked almost the whole time. I was so glad she was there! No results yet. We've been getting so many texts and phone calls from friends and family, they've truly humbled us and made us feel so loved.

I pray you're all doing well and are finding moments of joy in this unprecedented time we're living in.

Saturday Snippits

Each Saturday I want to try and share just bits and pieces of my week. This new idea will force encourage me to take more pictures!

Beth and Nick went to see Sonic the other day.
That's his mom walking in front of them. She brought Beth home after the movie.

After church we all went out to lunch and then Sharaya and Allie came over and we played Mexican Train. It's such a fun game, have you ever played it?

Once a month our church has an event called Ablaze. It's for the women of our church to get together to call on God and pray. I took this picture to show my custodial staff where to place the chairs.

I was able to get out and do a little yard work this week

The Pinterest post

The reality! 😁

Then I went to Home Depot and picked up some flowers. My yard can always use a splash of color this time of year.

I hope you and your family are staying healthy!

Thankful For Peace Of Mind

Read more Thankful blogs over at Rebecca Jo's blog

 
There are so many things to be thankful for:

Blue skies and sunshine!

Ministry contacts

My husband! 

Our home
Vacations
More daylight after work
A new haircut
Metro Buses
Love
Birthday parties
Shrinking waists
Bright flowers in the garden

I hope you're staying calm in the midst of all the fear and panic that's happening out there. There is One who can give peace that you can't understand. A peace you can't explain when all around you is chaotic and scary.

I pray that peace, His peace fill your hearts and minds during this difficult time in our nation and the world.

What We've Been Up To

Last week was just amazing. I'm sitting here just staring at the screen because I don't know how to describe it. Our time of prayer and fasting was powerful and I'll be spending weeks digging deeper into everything I read and heard.

Plus I was so busy! It's amazing how much time there was because I wasn't on the computer all the time. It's scary how many hours I spend on this thing.

Spring is all over the place here in the great northwest! 

 

Remember the nest in the wreath on our front porch?

The birds hatched and you can see their tiny beaks!

I had Beth clean out her fridge and we defrosted her freezer.

 

I'm in the middle of painting our den. It was Diana's room and she had painted it green with a black stripe. It looked really cool but I'm repainting it with white and yellow and it's been quite the job painting over the darker colors! 

Before

 During, with gray primer

 

I was at work every day this last week preparing for Easter services. I helped the custodians clean and set up rooms, plus there were landscapers, window washers... this was my first Easter being in this position of Supervisor so there was a lot to do!

 We all went out to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch today. I don't remember ever being there before and oh my word, it was SO good! 

Then Sharaya and Allie came over and we played Mexican Train and Sharaya hid some eggs in the backyard for Allie to find.

 

Then Sharaya went grocery shopping while Allie and I played with her legos. We laughed so hard!

 

 I missed you all and thought about you so much last week! I'm glad to be back and will spend the next few days getting caught up on your posts.

I hope you all had a wonderful week!

Showers - Inside and Out

Link up with Rebecca Jo at Knit By God's Hand

I've realized lately how thankful I am for my loofah!! Every time I take a shower I feel like I'm getting a massage. It's so relaxing!

I don't have a green thumb at all but a couple years ago I planted some tulips in pots and put them on my porch. Now they're blooming and I love seeing them every morning!

  

I'm thinking about everyone in the Midwest as you're getting more snow this week. Seattle is getting gray, dreary rain but I'll take it, especially since it's the middle of April! I can't believe some of you are still getting snow! Stay safe as the storm rolls through.

Mama bird has built another nest in our wreath and there are 3 little eggs! Our front porch is alive with spring!!

Sharaya and Allie joined us for lunch on Sunday, then Sharaya went grocery shopping while Allie came over to our house and we played Mexican Train. Family time is the best!

   

Do you play board games?

What's your favorite?