selling?

At the beginning of the summer we stumbled upon a realty listing for a house that we fell in love with. It was everything that we wanted. The one real downside was that it was a bank owned short sale and we could not do a contingent sale (making an offer based on the contingency that we have to sell our home before we finalize the sale).
Rather quickly we listed our own house in hopes that we could sell in time to buy said "dream" home. We worked really hard decluttering and "staged" the house. While we had a couple showings right off the bat, and the feedback has been positive we have not had any serious interest or bids.
It can be stressful having your home on the market. We have been struggling to keep the house in open house condition in case the realtor calls for a showing at any moment. A lot of our belongings were boxed up and put in storage during the de-cluttering.
We are exploring our options as far as other homes listed and there are a couple that we are interested in looking at. We're are currently prayerfully considering if we should keep our home on the market, lower the price or take it off the market completely. As always I'm sure in time God will show us what we should do now.

lunch bunch

We have had a few obligations on the calendar this summer but we been able to have a lot of fun outings too. In particular we have enjoyed going to the park weekly for a picnic lunch w/ my sis and her son (who's almost Christine's age).The local parks & rec has partnered with the libraries and some other local organizations and they give out free lunches and kids books. Some of them even do a story time and craft. I love it! Nate is such a great big brother. He loves Joe and Christine so much. I've also been blessed to be a part of a prayer group that has been meeting at another park. We have some young teen girls watch the kids on the playground while us moms meet and pray at a nearby table.
I really appreciate these women who are so willing to open themselves up and share their struggles and praises. Its such a great time of fellowship, sharing and prayer time. I am thankful for the time we have to share every week.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. - Colossians 3:16

Indiana Nate!

Then we had an Lego Indiana Jones party for him with our families. Most of my inspiration for his Lego Indiana Jones party actually came from this post from Lemon Squeezy. I had fun putting the details together and I know Nate loved it!

Here are a few highlights: The cupcakes had "snakes" in "dirt" & Lego Indy cupcake toppers.I have to admit that I got the Jones soda for the grown ups because I thought it was cute & clever. ;-)
Our friend Jess put together this scavenger hunt for the boys and at each stop they got a piece of the "treasure".
My dad helped out by bringing his wagon and driving the kids around for the whole scavenger hunt. It was one of the kids' favorite parts of the whole party.
Here is a shot of Nate decked out in his Indiana Jones hat and the vest and satchel that I made from a $4 table cloth that I got from Goodwill. I love a good deal!
Here are all the boys after they returned victorious from their scavenger hunt.
What a blessing to be able to celebrate a special boy with our wonderful families.
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pre-par-tay events

I can hardly believe that my baby boy is SIX! Ah! We were blessed to have a couple of outings to help us celebrate his Super Six birthday.
Chick-fil-A had their customer appreciation day and we all dressed up like cows and got some FREE chicken! Nate loved it!

We also made a trip out to another of Nate's favorite restaurants: Red Robin. We love their burgers! Nate acted all shy when they sang Happy Birthday to him. He's so cute.
Check the next post for details on the Lego Indiana Jones party! ;-)

Handmade Gift Exchange

Linda at Craftaholics Anonymous has hosted a Handmade Gift Exchange again. For awhile I was going back and forth on what to make... after some thought I decided that an apron is a universal gift that most any woman would be able to use in everyday life. I found some adorable fabric at Hobby Lobby and got to work.Here is the email that I got from my gift exchange partner:

Dear Wani, Thank you for the wondrous apron. I love the materials, the way the contrast and yet seem to be made for just this purpose. I love the little pocket which is so important when I cook. I ultimately end up looking for my rings when I finish, searching for the shelf where I stashed them. The pocket saves me time and discovery of that new place. You are such a talent artisan. I sure hope you sell these at craft fairs or such. Again, many thanks. I love this exchange. M.E.

Yay! Its always exciting when you know the recipient of the gift loves it as much (or more) than you do! I was also blessed to receive a handmade item from M.E. - a large handbag and couple of handmade card kits. She's a talented lady!
Thanks to Linda for coordinating and M.E. for being a great swap partner!

Confessional Time Again...

well... I never know how much to share or not share on my blog. Sometimes it feels like no one reads it and I feel free to share more. When I do I end up with a bunch of comments from people that I didn't know even knew about my blog. Awkward? Sometimes, yes.

Anyway - on to the confessions.

I confess: I occasionally will wear a shirt, then sleep in it and continue to wear it the next day... Most of the time the only people that see me daily are my kids. I know they don't care what I'm wearing. And I just as soon do what I can to keep the laundry to a minimum. C'mon, tell me I'm not the only one...

I confess: I have had a real jealousy problem the past few weeks. My mom and sister have been touring Europe. Hearing about all the sightseeing and looking at all their pix on facebook... I've been SO jealous. I've felt like my life is so boring. But gradually I have come to remind myself that my mom has raised five kids and ran a home business that tied her down for many years and she deserves this experience. So, I am happy for them. And I hope that someday I will get the chance to do something that cool.

I confess: I got mooned by a friend recently. And I gotta say, it was hilarious! It is something that wasn't an uncommon occurrence when I was in college but hasn't happened in awhile. We're "all grown up" now and don't behave like that anymore But honestly I think we should let lose like that more often! Its good to relax and be comfortable enough with our friends that we can be silly together! I am thankful for my friends that I can be real with!

Taming the TV

So, its really media (tv, computer & games) that I have been working on taming, not just TV, but "Taming the TV" has a nice ring to it. Don't you think?
Anyway... My five year old would watch tv and play video games all the time if I let him. Well, maybe not ALL the time (he does love his legos), but you get the idea. So I am trying out something new to keep his media time in check.
Every day he gets two tickets. Nothing special. I just did a search for "ticket clip art" and found one that I liked and printed off a few. He has the choice to redeem his tickets in a couple of ways. Each ticket can be turned in individually for 30min of either tv or computer time. Or he can turn both tickets in together to get one movie.
It is working so far. Nate has actually gotten into it. And since its something tangible he understands that when the tickets are gone he cannot keep asking for more tv/computer time. As is everything about parenting its a work in progress, but for now its working for us and not against us so that is good! ;-)

I'm linking to a couple of blog linky parties:

Quote

I read a powerful quote the other day. Its so simple yet it impacted me in a big way. It is a Roman proverb that goes like this: "When you lose your sails, row.".

I don't know why but this simple phrase seriously stuck with me. Its so true in all of life, in particular I was struck by how it applies to marriage. Sometimes things are going great, we have the wind in our sails moving us forward. And other times things are rocky, there is turbulence. Should we jump ship? Should we hide in the galley hoping to avoid dealing with what is going on? No! We put in the hard work of rowing and pushing forward even though things are hard. We persevere even when we want to give up.

Life isn't easy, marriage isn't easy. But when hard times come we have the choice to give up or press on. And while sometimes I am tempted to abandon hope, ultimately I choose instead to cling to hope. Because that is what He wants us to do and that is what I hope to teach my children to do as well.

Romans 5:3-4 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.

1 Corinthians 13:6-7 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

James 1:12 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

Hebrews 10:36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.

Made it all by myself! ;-)

Last fall I was just starting to sew and I thought a pillow case dress would be a good place to start. There are tons of tutorials online. Honestly I can hardly remember which one I ended up using. Anyway, I ended up a little bit off with my proportions and it was too short to be a dress so its sat in Christine's closet until now and it makes a lovely summer top for my lovely little girl!

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