Busy, busy, busy!!

I have had so much on my mind lately that my brain is like mush.  I can't think clearly, I lose things I don't normally lose, and I just can't function well.  3 times in one week I lost my keys.  I never lose my keys.  In fact, once I didn't actually lose them, I just couldn't see them while they were sitting in the exact spot they were supposed to be.

Here are my keys sitting where they should be sitting.  There a couple of other places they could be, but this is always the first place I look.

I had been approached with a few different ministry opportunities that I had to turn down.  The most recent one was offered to me just last week.  I wanted to and couldn't think of a good reason not to, but by the end of the week I realized I had too much going on to be responsible for yet another activity.

I am feeling better this week though.  I've dealt with a couple of the things that have been on my mind and my head is a little bit clearer now.  One was going through the kids' clothes, bringing out the winter clothes and storing away the summer ones.  Trying on the clothes to see what still fits and what needs to be handed down.  And then figuring out what each child needs to survive the winter.  That's always a big day and quite exhausting.

Summer clothes put away in bins until next spring.

Another was the need for a change in our schedule.  I decided that I just could not get up at 7:00 everyday but I couldn't sleep in until 9:00 every morning either.  And the kids were struggling getting their school done in the time I gave them.  So, I changed it up.  We all get up at 8:30, do our chores, then do school.  I've added more time for schooling and even included a short break.  It makes our afternoon activities shorter, but most of the time, we don't need much time anyway!

J working on his schoolwork.

Yesterday I was able to donate a bunch of stuff that had been sitting in our basement for months, waiting to be donated.  It was all downstairs for much longer than that, but they weren't sorted out and set aside to donate until several months ago.  I finally got rid of every item I had for babies and pregnancies and other things I didn't use.  My youngest is going to turn 5 soon so it was about time.  lol

Next up, shopping for winter clothing needs and for halloween stuff.  I make it a rule not to buy full Halloween costumes or anything expensive just for Halloween.  But I will buy a few accessories to finish off the costume.  I use whatever I can find around the house to create a look of whatever character the kids and I want to become for the night.  I have always loved halloween.  I love dressing up and becoming someone else.  It used to be my favorite holiday.  We also have pumpkins to buy and carve.  I was hoping to go to a pumpkin patch again this year because last year we had so much fun at Walter's Pumpkin Patch.  That one is a bit pricey so I was wanting to find one less expensive and closer but we just didn't have the time.  So, Walmart pumpkins it is.

 2003 - J is a soccer player, K is Boo from Monster's Inc., and I'm an 80s chick.

 2005 - K is a cowgirl, J is Bob the Builder, and I'm MaryAnn from Gilligan's Island.

 2006 - K is Fiona from Shrek, J is Superman, and I'm Cinderella.  A very pregnant Cinderella.  I had this dress as a bridesmaid for my sister's wedding when I was very pregnant with K.  This time, I was pregnant with A and wanted an excuse to wear the dress again.  :)

 2007 - We were all sick with the flu, so no trick-or-treating for us.  But because of my love for Halloween, we still dressed up.  K was Sonora from Wild Hearts Can't be Broken (she has a stick horse next to her), J is Superman again, A is a cheerleader, and I'm a pirate.

 2008 - Star Wars theme!  K is a stormtrooper (I think), J is Darth Vador, A is an Ewok, and I'm Princess Leia.

 2009 - K is Punky Brewster, J is Indiana Jones, and A is Cinderella.

Still 2009 - one of my sisters from IA came down to visit us.  Another sister also lives here.  So the 3 of us decided to be Charlie's Angels.

 

Then, the holidays race in.  And that has been filling up my brain as well because we have one Christmas celebration right after Thanksgiving so we have less time to think, shop, and buy!  Then of course it's on to more Christmas celebrations, New Year's, and it all starts over.  I rarely have a moment of unbusiness throughout the year.  Even though I turned down a few ministries in the last couple months, I have plenty of ministries that I AM involved in and those do take up a lot of my time (and brain power) when they role around.  And I am now teaching my own Sunday school class with a partner which is a new ministry this year.  I'm loving it!  I can finally use my Youth Ministries college degree again!

My Sunday school class with one student missing.  I pray for each one of them throughout the week.

So anyway, life has me hopping and my brain can barely handle it.  But I find each day easier to handle if I sit and enjoy the Lord's presence.  He gives me peace, rejuvinates me, so I can keep going.  The busier we are, the more we need to be sitting in God's presence.  Read, pray, listen.  Aaaahhhhhh.  :)

Losing Things

My husband occasionally misplaces things.  We have to go searching the house for his wallet or, just like we did a few mornings ago, his lost keys.  We look in the usual places, check his pant pockets, check his truck or the van.  But on this particular morning, they seemed to have disappeared.  He usually leaves for work between 7:15 and 7:30 but we were still on the hunt when 7:30 rolled around.  He called in to work to let them know he would be late because he can't find his keys.  This is when one starts looking in the unusual places.  I had by this time asked God for help.  I researched a few places.  And then thought, if he had put them on the couch by the kitchen, they could have fallen off and....there they were: behind the couch next to the kitchen doorway.  Whew!!  I hate searching for other people's things because I can't retrace their steps.  But when I can't find something that *I* lost, I am completely frustrated because I almost always put them in the same place every time and I know exactly where everything is - even if my house looks like it's in disarray.

Last evening, I had a wonderful time with women from church for our ladies fellowship.  We cleaned the chapel and then sat down for some food and fellowship.  I came home around 10:00 and found A watching Barney while everyone else had gone to bed.  I did some work on the computer, played a little bit, and then A and I headed for bed.  Every night, I take my keys, lock the door, and then bring them downstairs with me.  This is just in case I might have to escape through our window and then open the door from the outside to help the 2 kids that slept upstairs.

Last night, I couldn't find my keys.  I was quite tired, but I ran through my actions over and over in my head.  Usually when I come home, I put the keys on top of the entertainment center in a little basket.  I searched there several times coming up with nothing.  Sometimes I put them in my purse.  I searched every pocket of my purse.  Nothing.  I looked around my computer.  Nope.  I began other places where I might have set them down...even on the shelf by the bathroom.  I was so boggled.  I was afraid I had locked them in the van but was too tired to look any more.  As I rest my head on my pillow I asked the Lord to help me sleep and not worry about the keys or else it would keep me awake all night.  And then I asked Him to help me to find them in the morning.

This morning I got up with Seth.  I looked again in a few places I had searched last night.  I was still groggy and still unsuccessful.  I went back to bed until it was time for school.  As I was slowly waking up, I ran through my actions in my head.  What did I do when I pulled into the driveway?  I wanted to finish the song that was playing on my ipod.  I turned off the van and waited for the song to finish.  Then I unplugged my ipod and stuck it in my purse.  I remembered that I couldn't get the zipper closed over my ipod so I left it, got out of the van, pushed the lock button and walked into the house.  But what did I do with my keys?  I think I was carrying them in my left hand.

I was surprised to see A still up if everyone else had already gone to bed so I'm sure that threw me off of my normal routine of putting the keys away in the basket.  I put my purse down by my computer chair and at some point, went to the bathroom.  Then, it hit me.  I had gotten on the computer to finish my menu planning and grocery list so I could go shopping today.  I put my recipe box on the desk next to mine, where the kids' computer sits and I kept pushing MY KEYS!! with the box!  Sure enough, as soon as I sat down at the computer this morning, I moved the recipe box and there they were, hiding behind the box.  Thank You Lord!!

Now I can go grocery shopping.  :)

Coffee

I would say that about 90% of the people I know drink coffee on a regular basis.  It seems that in today's society, coffee is the new ice cream and Starbucks is Ben & Jerry's.  Coffee isn't just coffee any more.  Nowadays, a person walks into a place like Starbucks and has choices of various flavors and sizes and types.  One could even get it cold or frozen!  Every coffee drinker can tell you what flavors they like best and what they order nearly every morning.  Some flavors are seasonal, like pumpkin spiced coffee and it seems that several of my friends look forward to the day it is back in season.

I am not a coffee drinker.  My parents are not coffee drinkers.  My grandma is.  She always ordered a coffee at restaurants and "having coffee" was her social gathering of friends on Saturday mornings.  To me, only old people drank coffee.  A person would either get decaf or regular, and can add cream or sugar if he or she wished.  That was all that coffee was.  I remember once when my older sister came home from college, she had herself a cup of coffee.  We all stared at her like she was from another planet.  Why on earth would she have coffee?  I was very boggled by her that day.

However, I found myself drinking coffee in college, too.  I don't like the taste of coffee but there were those nights when I had to stay up late, or even stay up all night.  I got myself some coffee and added hot chocolate, hoping the double caffeine would work better than just hot chocolate.  I was not a habitual drinker nor did I drink it for pleasure.  It was business only.

I will never forget the first time I went to Starbucks.  I was on tour with my college choir on the East coast.  My roommate for the tour suddenly became ecstatic when she saw a Starbucks in the town in which we were staying.  I, of course, had never heard of Starbucks and had no clue what it was.  After finding out it was a coffee shop, I was less than thrilled.  Somehow, my friend had made it known to our hosts for the night that she wanted to go to Starbucks.  I believe their daughters took us out for some coffee at Starbucks.  We walked in and I was confused by all the choices.  I was hoping to get a hot chocolate, but they didn't sell any just plain hot chocolate.  I settled for a mocha.  We sat down and the other 3 knew I had never been to Starbucks before and didn't like coffee.  They were curious to find out what I thought.  It tasted like coffee.  I was not impressed.  I was hoping for a little more chocolatey flavor.  One of the girls started laughing, "You don't like coffee, but you got a mocha."  I drank as much as I could but I don't think I was able to finish it.  Oh well.  My friend got her beloved Starbucks and we headed back to our hosts' home for the night.

Well, as coffee as become full of varieties, I have broadened my own horizons and started drinking a little coffee here and there.  I'm still not a fan, nor a regular coffee drinker by any means.  I guess my weekly Sunday morning coffee at church could put me as a regular drinker, but I can certainly live without it.  One of my younger sisters is one of those Starbucks drinkers.  She knows her drink and takes me to Starbucks whenever she's in town...or if I'm visiting her and we travel to a location with a Starbucks.  I must say, it is rather tasty when I get the right flavors.  I've ordered some mistakes here and there, but it's really not that bad.  My youngest sister has her own cappuccino machine and occassionally makes me some when I'm at her house.  Or she brings it to me.  :)  I have also, on my own, purchased my own coffee-type drink from Walmart or QuickTrip.  So, I'm not totally against drinking coffee any more and it certainly isn't just an old person's drink.

Now, my daughter is a coffee drinker.  Whenever my in-laws visit, she gets her morning cup with them.  Otherwise, she has to wait until Sunday and drink at church.  There are a few times she'll get herself a frappuccino at Walmart or QuickTrip when I get one.  But, if I made coffee every morning at home, I'm sure she would have a cup herself every morning.

With all of my non-coffee-drinking habits, I was surprised to find myself wanting coffee the other morning when I got up.  Me?  Have a cup of coffee in the morning?  This was very unusual indeed.  I knew I had instant coffee in my cupboard, only for the purpose of making my family's famous birthday pudding cake, but I wasn't sure if I had any cream.  I checked, and no cream.  Hmmm, what to do?  Then I remembered my late nights in college.  I asked my kids if they wanted any and all 3 very enthusiastically said yes.  (Do you think I may be depriving them of today's most beloved legalized addictive drink?)  So, I got out 4 cups, made coffee and added a half a packet of hot chocolate to each cup.  I heated mine up in the microwave.  My older 2 and myself decided we needed to add some sugar.  My youngest didn't even touch hers.  K, the coffee drinker, wasn't too fond of it.  I guess she's going to be a picky coffee drinker!  I loved mine.  I thoroughly enjoyed every sip, every swallow.  Am I becoming a regular morning coffee drinker like most of my friends?  Nah.  I had no desire to have one this morning, even though my kids asked.

So, my coffee loving friends, enjoy your coffee of whatever kind, flavor, or size.  It is your personal identity.  I will keep my identity in ice cream.  A pint of chocolate brownie chunk will do just fine, thank you!