love to paint

I found this on the web. I bought one of those lint brushes last month (the really long ones for cleaning out your dryer vent) at Bed Bath and Beyond. I saw one this week at Target last week, though. So, they carry them too. Anyways, I went outside to clean the hood where my dryer vents to the outside and the flap was almost sealed shut because there was so much lint that had built up on top of the flap (in addition to a tiny dead wasps nest). So, I cleaned it up with my brush and now it opens and closes =) I'm so thankful that I thought to clean it and get the brush, because if it had sealed shut then the lint would have continued to build up and eventually wouldn't have been able to get out of the house and could have caught on fire =( !!! Ay ay ay! Below is a quick summary that I found on the web that I just thought I'd pass on to you =) Dryer Fires The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that in 1998, clothes dryers were associated with 15,600 fires,...

Making a new friend is like getting a surprise present that you didn't expect. And today I got to make a new one! I'm such an extrovert that making a new friend really is a blessing to me. But, I do have a funny story about this new friend. I don't know if this has happened to you, but a few years before I married my husband I dated someone that I fell in love with--but he didn't happen to fall in love with me. God taught me a lot through that relationship--most importantly that I could fall in love, which I wasn't sure I could do. God also used that relationship to really help me love and appreciate my husband because of how he's different than this other guy. Once in a while, I've wondered what happened to that guy and how things turned out for him. Well, tonight I was telling this gal from my church about Paul and she asked what his last name was. It turns out that she knew him! It is the most wild thing to me. He is married, which I knew, and ...

So, I started today by calling someone to help me with my gutters. I feel good knowing that it will be taken care of and that I can tackle the things I need to with our house. I talked with my mom about what I felt yesterday and she shared with me that that's the way it is with most friendships. You learn over time what is best to ask of your friend and what is wise not to ask. It is a dance just like most relationships are. You have to figure out where to step so that the dance goes together and that you don't step on each other's toes. And that dance looks different with every friend. I realized that my mom is right and I am thankful that she shared that with me. So, that's what I've been thinking about today. Ultimately, God always takes care of us.

Today I was hit with a hard realization. My husband is away for a while The first two weeks really went quite easily even with a birthday party for the girls at the end of the first week. Then this week I worked on painting our bathroom upstairs. I'm going to do the second coat on the walls tomorrow and then that will be done. But, this weekend was hard. Friday morning I awoke at 6:30 am feeling absolutely horrible. I went between the bathroom and the floor for half an hour. I couldn't get any farther. I lay on the floor wondering what I was going to do. I have a 6 month old, a 3 year old, and a 5 year old. None of whom know how to call 911 if I needed them to. Everyone I could think of needed to go to work or had commitments. They need to take care of their own lives and their own families. Thankfully, after a half an hour I was able to make it into the shower and recover. It was as if I had a 30 minute flu instead of the 24 hour flu. What would I have done if ...

This is an excerpt from Grace-based Parenting by Tim Kimmel, pp.9-10. "The real test of a parenting model is how well equipped the children are to move into adulthood as vital members of the human race. Notice I didn't say "as vital members of the Christian community." We need to have kids that can be sent off to the most hostile universities, toil in the greediest work environments, and raise their families in the most hedonistic communities and yet not be the least bit intimidated by their surroundings. Furthermore, they need to be engaged in the lives of people in their culture, gracefully representing Christ's love inside these desperate surroundings. The apostle Paul gave us as parents an excellent goal for our children to pursue: "Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out t...

Last Saturday, Focus on the Family was on the radio with thier weekend roundup show. It's sort of a summary from the week with little snippets. One of the snippets was actually on High School Musical and what a great positive influence it is. I was very skeptical. So many young girls (ages 5-10) are big into Hannah Montana, iCarly, and High School Musical. It's so hugely commercialized. I feel like I see it everywhere--and then to hear about it from Focus on the Family. Wow! I actually didn't get to hear what they had to say, but it made me curious and determined to make up my mind for myself what I think about the High School Musical craze. From my Netflix this week, I got High School Musical 2. It was indeed pretty wholesome. I can't remember any language and aside from Sharpei's very revealing outfits, there wasn't any other barely clad bodies. The message was that friends are more important than everything else--I think. It made me realize how ou...

I've been trying to get some reading done, so I'm making my way through Help for the Harried Homeschooler. One of the early chapters is about discipline and one of the last things she wrote in the chapter seems very wise to me. Here is the excerpt... One of the Practical Pointers from Help for the Harried Homeschooler by Christine Field Write out a list of principles to guide you in yoru discipline. Post it inside a kitchen or bathroom cabinet. Refer to it often. It might read something like this: 1. Effective discipline always comes from the heart. 2. It honors God; it is not for my convenience. 3. It is gentle rather than harsh. 4. It preserves my child's dignity. 5. It recognizes good behavior. 6. It inspires self-control and confidence. 7. It trains my child above all things to follow Christ. I don't know if I'm going to post it inside my cupboard =) but I think I definitely want to write this list down and keep it in my Bible so I can pray that God ...