Joy In Transit

Our official moving date is set!! March 28th!! Yes, I realize that's only 10 days from now but we've done so much to prepare for it already. We're taking some things now and over the weekend in preparation such as artwork, window treatments and such. I may go ahead and bring my china cabinet because the curved glass is so expensive to replace, I'd like to make sure it survives the move! The house needs to be move-in ready after this weekend. That gives us Monday-Friday to pack everything. Since this is the 7th or 8th time I've moved, packing is really just a chore - not so daunting as it used to be.

I have scheduled our phone, internet, satellite and such for transfer & installation to the new homestead. I have forwarded our mail. Today we sold the train table and Ford's racecar toddler-bed. So, we're preparing in big and little ways. There is a big part of me that likes moving (obviously - since I've done it so many times). The excitement is starting to take over and I'm so ready to be out of Athens and back home. The jonquils are blooming - it's a great time to be back in Atlanta! I probably won't take the time to post here until after we're all settled in. I'm sure moving will give me lots to write about!!

Rain, Rain, Go Away

I know we're still under Level IV drought restrictions in Georgia, but man am I tired of rain. The drastic weather changes have really slowed down our attempts to work on the house and now I'm afraid that we're going to have to move in without having everything finished! Oh, well, could be worse! What do you do with your kids on a rainy day? To tell the truth, I have often been guilty of just letting them climb the walls until bedtime arrived. However, life is easier (and more fun) if I make an effort to plan some rainy day activities with them. Here is a list of ideas:

-Have a library day! My kids love to visit our local branch and pick out books, play games on the computer and play a Dr. Seuss game on one of the big tables.
-Bake together! Have a bag of chocolate chips on hand? Bake some cookies and teach measuring, following directions and get rewarded with several warm and gooey treats at the end.
-Teach little ones nursery rhymes like "Rain, Rain, Go Away" and practice singing them.
-Build a fort! Gather together a few big blankets and whatever chairs or other supports you have around and let your kids build the perfect indoor fort in which to giggle with flashlights, tell ghost stories and use their imaginations.
-Make something for someone else! Write a letter or make a card for someone your kids know. If you know someone going through a tough time, a small child-engineered craft will brighten their day like nothing else.
-Plan your Spring garden! Use these rainy early days of Spring to plan your garden. Get out seed catalogues or use the Internet to let your kids see all of the possibilities. Even if you're just planting a few things around the mailbox, your kids will get really into it.
-Have a pajama day! If you have nowhere else to be, why bother dressing? Keep your kids comfy in their pj's and stay warm and dry. Turn on a favorite movie, pop some popcorn and enjoy each other.
-Get wet! If it's not too cold and you have cabin fever, put on your rainboots and slickers and find some good puddles! Your kids will never forget the day you let them splash to their heart's content.

These are just a few of the ways you can make a rainy day fun! If you have any more suggestions, please leave a comment!

Nap Day? Yeah, Right!

So, what did you do on National Take a Nap Day? (In case you hadn't heard, that was Monday March 9th.) Well, I guess you can call me a non-observer. I started painting the Smyrna house at 10AM and we finally stopped around 10:30PM. Granted, we took 5 min. to scarf down some Wendy's for lunch and headed to my Mom's for dinner, which took about 45 min. Still, it was a long, hard day of work. We were pretty much doing the same thing on Sunday too. We had a very productive trip and are mostly finished painting. We painted the kids room first. That took a little longer because we decided to prime and paint all of the built in cabinets too. That is a chore but the transformation was a-mazing. Somewhere near the end of that, we primed and painted the bathroom. We came back after dinner and painted the kitchen (including the ceiling) and some cabinets that are going in our room. Now that the back of the house is finished, Baxter can lay floor on our next trip while I paint our bedroom and the livingroom. As always, my brother was a huge help. Not only does he own every tool and device known to man (and I thought our collection was pretty good!) but he is also eager to use them! Thanks Jim! We're here for a couple of days to get caught up on work and take care of our cats and then it's back to Smyrna! I'll keep posting and hopefully remember to take pictures next time!

Just Plain Joy

We have a lot going on right now! We are going to be moving soon, we haven't started packing yet, and we still have a lot to finish at the new house. Of course, my boss has decided to go ahead and give me two months of writing in one week during this very busy time! Don't get me wrong, I need the work - but WOW it's a challenge. With all of the stress we've been under, it would be very easy to forget the little things that we need every day. I know that I need a certain number of minutes for myself. I know that I need a little bit of sunshine if I can get it. I know that I need to laugh and play with my children and I also need to talk to people and spend time on the relationships that God has blessed me with. The problem is, when life gets busy, these types of things are usually the first to go.

Well, right when I probably would have started slacking off in these areas, God gave me a snow day - two, in fact. After about half of our 7 inches fell, we put the kids in their snow gear, donned our rubber boots and headed out to play. We threw snowballs, attempted a snowman, watched the dogs run around like they were puppies again and Baxter and I felt like kids again. We only came in for Cocoa and Baxter built us a fire.

Just as I was in the middle of preparing Brunswick Stew, the power went out. Now I'm not going to sit here and complain about my power being out for a while - even though at the time I saw it as very inconvenient. I couldn't get any of my work done and my kids couldn't play either of the new Wii games we rented. Even dinner preparation would be a little taxing. But I am NOT going to complain! I wrapped the pot in aluminium foil and we stuck it outside on the gas eye. It cooked itself beautifully. I dug out the candles and we all played Yatzee. Before the kids camped out together, we made shadow puppets and I told them a story that I made up about ancient dogs roaming around the earth. It was very, very fun. Then, like magic, the power was back on in the early morning. We heated our house back up again, made a nice, hot oatmeal breakfast with coffee and washed all the dishes. Then, around 10:30, the power went out again. This time, it was out all day. Baxter kept the fire going and we were all warm in our sweaters. We had sloppy joes heated up outside for lunch. I read my new book ALL DAY. The kids looked at books and played quietly. It was so lovely and serene. I even took a NAP. That is so unheard of, you don't even know. Then, like magic, the power was restored around 5 O'Clock. Our lives returned to normal, the hustle and bustle began again. Laundry had to be done and routines had to be reestablished.

The snow day was not an inconvenience at all. It made me remember that things like packing, painting, work - it can all wait. What remains important today will always be important. Sometimes God has to give us a snow day to remind us to take things easy, to enjoy our blessings. Those two days prepared my heart for the hard work ahead. Thank you so much, Lord, for giving them to me!

Silly Things That Perk Me Up

Here are some funny list-type things that I thought you might like...





This is from Facebook and it was so completely hilarious when I tried it that I had to share. Okay, the premise is that you go to Google, type your name and the word needs {ex. Joy needs} into the searchbox. Then, you list the first 10 things that come up. Then, you tag 10 people to do it also. Here's my list:







1. Joy needs tragedy.



2. Joy needs a better understanding of the nature of evil.



3. Joy needs to take a lesson and step to the back of the line.



4. [Bill] Joy, cofounder and chief scientist of sun microsystems...



5. Joy needs to leave her office.



6. Joy still needs $78,000!!!



7. Joy makers needs your help.



8. Joy needs no translator.



9. Joy needs prayers.



10. 5 warning signs that you need more joy or a sense of magic in your life.







I did Baxter too because it really cracked me up -







1. Baxter needs to be institutionalised.



2. Baxter needs integrity.



3. Baxter needs luv.



4. Baxter needs a loving home.



5. Baxter is a wonderful dog.



6. Baxter needs growth infusion.



7. Baxter needs a home and other books.



8. Baxter needs to share this stick.



9. Baxter has become a regular couch potato.



10. Baxter needs a home video on AOL.





Okay, next one - this is also from FB. "Album Cover Meme"





1 - Go to "wikipedia." Hit “random." The first random wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.





2 - Go to www.thequotationspage.com/random The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.





3 - Go to flickr and click on “explore the last seven days." Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.





4 - Use photoshop or similar to put it all together.





Here goes...





The name of my band is Zane Clark


The title of our first album is That is the Body of Man


Here is my album cover---



http://www.flickr.com/photos/fotobrasil/3295552019/

I think my band is European Pop/Techno. Weird!

I am the first one to do this and I want to tag a few folks...how about 5? Jennifer Carr, Jen Curtis, Mandy, Andrea, Melissa. This was a much needed diversion for me today! Take a few minutes and try one or both of these.