Just Right

The other day, our timing was off. We kind of wasted the sunny day inside until the afternoon and then we wanted to go outside and enjoy our pool. (The patch repair is holding up!) We got in and not more than 10 minutes later it started to thunder.

We got all packed up and back inside the house. Then, about 30 minutes later... the sun was back out. Oh well...

Today, the day started out with clouds and a thunderstorm followed. It was a short one... and I always appreciate thunderstorms that happen during the day (I don't sleep through them during the night). The sun came out and we hit the pool! We enjoyed almost 2 and a half hours of outdoor fun!

And about 30 minutes after coming in... more clouds have come in and we might just get some more rain.

Timing was just right today!

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So... hang in there! These days do come around once in a while! :-)

Fourth of July Time

So... here is the deal with me and fireworks: in general, I do not like them. I like to watch them... I do not like the noise. I don't think that it bothered me so much until I had kids. And it has bothered me more and more as there seems to be more and more of them used in neighborhoods at random.

The aspect of it not bothering me so much until I had kids definitely has to do with the noise. I got especially mad when our neighbor kid shot them off at any ol' time when we lived in Michigan and I had very little babies that went to bed early. (Who am I kidding? They still go to bed earlier than the average kid in the summer... we keep them on school hours as much as we can during the summer.)

Anyway... my husband would probably tell you that ANY noise after the boys go to bed drives me crazy. I am most likely overprotective in this area for them. That probably has to do with that every noise in the night bothers me... because I am on "Mommy Radar" and think every noise in the night is one of the boys needing me.

Silly me. But, let me tell ya... after these busy days this summer, I am sleeping much better. Did not even hear my husband come home from work last night (about 1 am) and he reported that I was snoring up a storm!

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A Summer Kind of Busy

We are taking it easy for the most part... but the boys have had things they have wanted to do. So, we are fitting these activities in along with trying to keep a relaxed pace. Let's see if yesterday qualifies:

Ran to the library to return books. Stopped by a box to mail bills that I had gotten ready during breakfast. Then the rest of the mornig was spent picking up the kitchen and stuff around the house (sorry, Larry - our cat - I did not get to the litter boxes. I will get to that today!) Then it was time for lunch. After lunch, read the boys a book to keep up with their summer reading program. (1000 minutes needed there to gain the coveted free movie tickets prize!) Then it was time to head to the pool with my sister-in-law along helping. We had a blast! (But all that happened there is a whole 'notha post for a whole 'notha day!) Got home with enough time to get changed, dry my hair, fix boys sandwiches for dinner, get them dressed for tae kwon do, throw down a bowl of cereal for my dinner and then get to tae kwon do. Dropped off baseball tickets to a friend on the way home. Read the boys 3 more books and got them ready for bed. Whew!

This morning... did some fun stuff with the boys to try to keep them up to par so school won't be such a shock in the fall... then the TV came on and Mommy took a 20 minute nap!!! Oh yeah!!!

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Poor hubby... 45+ hours worked in three days this week. I sure hope he is enjoying his golf time today... a well deserved day off.

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I'm off.... enjoy summer! We are!

What we did...

Thank you all for you input on the poll and your comments on the post. We found a repair kit that could actually be used with water still in the pool (Thanks, Becky!)... and it seemed to slow down the leak quite a bit, but there was still a very small drizzle that worked its way out on and off. Also, upon repairing the small hole, I noticed a potential problem with a seam.

So (said with another one of my big sighs), we played in the pool today. It was a cooler, overcast day... therefore, the water was pretty cold. The boys paid that no attention and frolicked for a lot longer than I expected. Then I thought to drain it to do the repairs over and in a more careful fashion... but even that had a hitch. The hose did not seem to really drain it much... or, at least, very quickly.

My husband and I decided, then, to let the thing sit until tomorrow. If there was still water in there and the weather called for some needed refreshment by swimming, we might just still hop in there and enjoy it! (Cooler temps and less humidity called for for the weekend.)

Oh... and this does not even cover the fact that I wasted $20 buying the wrong kind of chlorine tablets. Perhaps I will be ending up taking my cousin's advice (from her comment in the previous post) and just take the thing down and head for the public pool. (But I would really much rather head for the Keys!!! Okay... that REALLY is not in our budget... especially after this fiasco!)

Pool Dilemma

Help me out by participating in my poll... cast your vote soon!

SEE POLL IN RIGHT HAND COLUMN.

What Can I Say?

First of all, let me plug my Cafe Press shop here: www.cafepress.com/Heidistufforama. What can I say? I need money and if there is anyone who has some to spend, I would hope they would consider my shop. Hee hee!

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That was pretty blatant and I apologize... somewhat! :-) (Wow! I went to look up "blatant" in the dictionary - I do not trust my spelling - and I had to blow dust off the cover. Sad! And, yes... I know that there are online dictionaries, but I prefer the old, fashioned method of turning pages and sifting through words... more interesting that way.)

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Yesterday was a good day with the little men... we are doing what we call "Mommy School" and yesterday was the first day. We get up, have breakfast, and then start Mommy School. I have planned practice with writing and math, some art projects, book reading, and other fun stuff to keep the boys on their toes... so that they don't lose all their education in front of the TV and computer this summer... oh, and sometimes we spend time outside. ;-)

I have said it here before and I will mention it here again, I am not one of those mom's that is too willing to go to the pool nor take them everywhere, everyday for lessons of this kind or the other. I think we are plenty busy enough. Tae Kwon Do is two-three times a week... they had zoo day camp last week and will have vacation Bible School in July. I will try to get in some swimming lessons sometime before school starts in August.

It is terrible, but I always feel the need to justify my choices with the boys... probably because I feel like we are so different from everyone else in our world around us.

ANYWAY (said with a big sigh)... I was going to talk about what a GOOD day we had!

Mommy School had the boys writing, doing math, figuring out word sounds, doing fingerprint art, solving a maze, reading, learning about parts of the body, playing catch and "Red Light, Green Light"... we had fun! And then after lunch we headed to the zoo to see The Birdman show and riding the zoo train. The rest of the day they were spoiled with a couple of TV shows and some computer game time. (It was too miserable to go outside!)

BUT... I did promise the Slip 'n' Slide and we ran out of time with Mommy having Hope Stampers (a card making ministry at church) and Daddy coming home late from work. So... we will have to find time to do that today... but probably after Tae Kwon Do??? We will have to see.

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Quick post here for now... it's time for Mommy School!!! (No one at school in the fall will understand what the boys are talking about... oh well.)

Anybody Out There???

Well... hello!!! I have not blogged in a LONG time... and I have been missing it. Of course, I am coming back at a time when the computer is tied up often with the boys playing games and at a point in the summer when I will be very busy and involved with them from here on out... so, I may have to adopt some craftiness in getting myself on to the computer to get my creative juices out!

How are you? I have been fine. I am really at a point where the biggest antagonist to my heart is cancer. I thankfully do not have it (that I know of), but many lives around me have been touched by this horrible disease and I have been praying against it, praying to support those dealing with it, and praying for guidance in case there is something God wants me to do about this.

God bless those who fight cancer... who do research to end cancer... and those who raise money and awareness to deal with this awfulness.

Summer has had a lot of rain so far... thankfully, that means that there has been little pressure to take the boys to go swimming! :-) I am not a fan of the crowds at the public pool... nor dealing with the boys on my own. (They really do not know how to swim... I have been a mommy that has not been super good about getting them into lessons.)

OTHERWISE (said with a huge sigh)... the boys really enjoyed zoo day camp at the Blank Park Zoo so I am feeling pretty good about that decision.

Well, now I have been invaded by the little men and should spend some time with them (as I have been on the computer for a while now... mostly over at FaceBook). Cheers and hope to hear from ya, if you are interested in leaving a comment.

Not Totally Back...

Just a little blurb here to say that I will be adding posts to my card blog... the one thing I am doing away from blogging is more card making and artwork. It has been fun!

Hope all is well with everyone! Happy Easter!

Good-bye... for a while...

I have really loved blogging.

What I have really enjoyed most is the people I have met through my blogs. What a wonderful bunch! I really cannot think of words to describe how great that has been.

And I really don't come up with the words, photo excitement, cards to share, and posts as easily as I have before... life changes and things move along.

My focus is turning a couple of other places now...Perhaps I will find a passion for all of this again... but for now: a break.

I wish you all peace and happiness... and those words are from my heart.

This World

This post first written Feb. 24... edited March 3...


"... This world is empty, pale, and poor... compared to knowing you my Lord..."



That's part of the lyrics to a song I like to sing now and then around the house... give me the name and artist if you know it...



Sometimes it is hard to believe the meaning behind those words while all consumed in THIS world. The love I have for my husband and for my sons... it is hard to believe that there is something better than THAT love. The love I have for favorite parts of my world, even...



But I realize that the love and beauty I love here is a glimpse into God's world He has for us... waiting off in His wings. He is giving us plenty of time to come to know Him... to know that He sent His son into this world for us. Plenty of time for us to learn that IT is not all about us and this world here.



His love is so much greater than we can imagine. His hopes for us so much bigger than we can fathom. Faith... have faith.



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My husband and I have been watching the old ER shows... started with season one and we are into season three now. Sorry if you are not familiar with the show or characters... but we just watched three episodes last night that surrounded the incident with Dr. Gant and his suicide/accident falling on the train tracks... watched the episode that shows Dr. Carter sorting through his feelings about what happened... and him trying to figure out Dr. Benton's feelings.



And then we went to bed... late! As I was brushing my teeth, those thoughts above the line up there came gushing out. (Hubby can tell you about it! :-)

I just am challenged in my faith when I think about those opposing views. I love the love I have here. I feel in touch with God enough to know that the love and glory He has waiting for us is going to outshine ANYTHING I can imagine here. I am blessed to be blessed here... and blessed to know my future with God.

So, then... it is just a little fear of the unknown. God has not shown us everything we need to know yet. My faith will need to strengthen to be more comfortable with His plans... and that is what I wrestle with. I like it here.... but I need to focus my heart on where my treasure/future will lie.

This version of this post may not make a lot of sense... especially with the reference to a possible suicide in the ER episode I mentioned. I just did not want to delve that deeply into that sensitive and important topic at this time. But I will leave you with a couple of Bible verses:

Matthew 6:19-21 Don't store up treasures here on earth, where they can be eaten by moths and get rusty, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where they will never become moth-eaten or rusty and where they will be safe from thieves. Wherever your treasure, there your heart and thoughts will also be.

Colossians 3:2-4 Let heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think only about things down here on earth. For you died when Chtrist died, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your real life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.

2 Corinthians 1:3-7 All praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the source of every mercy and the God who comforts us. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When others are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. You can be sure that the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. So when you are weighed down with troubles, it is for your benefit and salvation! For when God comforts us, it is so that we, in turn, can be encouragement to you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer. We are confident that as you share in suffering, you will also share in God's comfort.

The Power of Advertising

This morning was nice... well, as nice as it could be waking up and realizing that you have a cold! My husband let me stay in bed while he got up with the boys. I was in and out of being asleep and heard them talking as they got dressed for their day.

It is always a treat for me (and other mothers, I am sure) to see my kids interact with my husband with me out of the equation... and that applies to when they are interacting with peers and other adults, too. This morning's treat was just hearing them on the other side of the door in the hallway.

Bigger, Little Man made the observation, "Say, it sure is cold in here this morning." His room has crappy windows like the rest of the house and his windows face west. There was a mean wind all night along with the once again cooler temps, so I imagine that his room was quite cold as was ours (we also face west). Next I heard him remark, "We need those Snuggly things... Snugglies, or whatever, that keep you warm!" Then Littler, Little Man chimed in with a chant: "Snug-lee, Snug-lee, Snug-lee!" (This is what they were referring to... Snuggie... The Blanket With Sleeves! No, I am not being paid to have their link here!!!)

They have seen the commercials to this and thousands of other items while they watch shows on Nick... it is amazing the staying power in the memory of these things... things you might see several times in one week or, perhaps, in just one day!

So, that made me think about God. (Amazing, huh?) Our church is focusing on being in the word this year... reading the Bible in one year. (Or you could take the shortcut route and just read through the new testament in one year... the weekly sermons follow the New Testament track, so that is the one I am following. I am taking that track for that reason and for the reason that I am honestly easing myself into the daily discipline of reading the Bible everyday.)

Let me tell you something... reading just a little bit everyday for just about 2 months now has changed my life. It really puts a spark in me to want to let my light shine for the world to see. I am far from being perfect... but I see how He wants me to live and it is better than anything on the planet.

Never before have I been able to praise God through adversities... and this morning I did. Through my cold and feeling grumpy, I thanked Him for my family and those voices I heard outside my bedroom. With two children that have cancer on my mind (children of friends), I praised Him for having friends I could pray for. The wind howled outside and I thought of the majesty of His creation and the wonder of the seasons that He made.

When I start praying and I have the time to let my mind wander in it... I always return to the story of Christ and what He did for us, too. How can you not? His love is constant and welcoming. He freed us from sin, guilt, and death. Tragedies can and do happen... but it is not the end. He is the beginning and the end and will be with us always so long as we repent and believe.

Easy to include Him into the everyday-ness of life with those things at stake, I think. More than I want to see those commercials for the Snuggies ever again! Ha ha!

Some random verses to ponder:

Luke 12:32 "So, don't be afraid, little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom."

Job 36:15 But by means of their suffereing, he rescues those who suffer. For he gets their attention through adversity.

Romans 8:5-6 Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. If your sinful nature controls your mind, there is death. But if the Holy Spirit controls your mind, there is life and peace.

Romans 8:18 Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory that He will give us later.