Benefits of Slowing Down

I am still enjoying a simpler life "on the road" or "during sabbatical" or simply "being a squatter". It's not like we are completely free-loading around here. Robert is building a new & improved deck, I try to help out with cooking and cleaning, and the kids - well, they try to stay out of the way and remind their grandparents how precious they are.

All that said, when you are in someone else's home you have more time on your hands. You do not have closets to declutter, deep cleaning to do, and less opportunities for busy-ness. So I am still savoring this time to spend reading a good book, or doing puzzles with the kids, or taking naps with my little girl.

That is one of my favorites. While in our own home we have a set house quiet time - 1pm DAILY. And while on the road this is still true. But at home, during quiet time I am rarely quiet or still. I take those 90-120 minutes to do as much as humanly possible without little people vying for my attention. But while in another family's home I am taking more time to catch up on my blog, or read, or nap. I love laying down with my little girl (who has such a strangle hold of my heart it hurts sometimes) and just rest with her. She loves when I rub her back or just lay close and smile at her. And I love when she reaches over and rubs my cheek or hugs me just to let me know that she loves me too.

God gives us these amazing blessings - we call them children (among other titles less flattering) and so often the crazy life we leads pulls us away from savoring all the good in those precious little people. How often we say - "Just a minute and I will....[listen, look, talk, etc]" but how often does it really happen. Or even better, how often do we actually get to listen, look, talk, etc.... versus how often they get distracted and forget the request before we can oblige them. I have do enjoyed these 8 weeks with my wonderful husband to have the time to do just those things. With 2 of us sharing the daily responsibilities of meals, cleaning up, running errands, etc - we are so much more able to spend more time with our kids and more quality time at that. It has truly been a gift. This time. A gift of slowing down and savoring.

Do I want this forever? Heck no! I mean, Robert needs to get a job to feel needed by more than running noses and dirty hands. He needs to be building something. So I know that this time will end. I hope it ends sooner than our money runs out! Just kidding, well..... not really. But I am hoping he gets a job soon as we have several promising leads on the horizon, not just to start adding money to the bank account, but because he is getting excited about it. And quite honestly, while he has been a great stay at home dad on a temporary basis I think he is quite caught up on family time. He has enjoyed being with his boys (and girl) more than before - he has played, gone on walks, played tag, gone out in the boat, and more - but he wants to be with adults again and talk about something other than animal planet or the latest bug find. He wants to feel like the leader of this family and bring home some bacon.

When we are on the other side of this period though, I trust that we will reflect back on this time as a great opportunity that we took and savored. I know God planned this out before it happened and I know he has blessed us immeasurably during this time. And I honestly go back to a verse in Joel that a good friend told me about when Robert was deployed to Qatar -

"I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten" Joel 2:25

This verse brought me so much peace when I worried about Robert's return to his boys who barely knew him. (Our second son was born during his deployment and was 6 months old when he returned, and eldest was so young and needing Dad to imprint) This verse told me that God will restore that lost time to our family, and he did. The boys acted like he had never been gone when he returned. The baby took right too him which always amazed me and our eldest was so close to him I was thrilled.

And I feel that this time this summer was another gift from God of restoration to our family. Something we did not know we needed, more than we could have asked for. Time together to just grow closer and no doubt to prepare our hearts for the next leg of this journey. And it always excites me to see God so in the details of our lives. He is so good all the time!!

It never stops around here!

Didn't I start the day blogging about how we were enjoying a relaxing morning getting ready for church?

Well, we made it to church & had a great service at a Baptist Church up here in Portage. Then we made it home to have lunch and get ready for afternoon rest time. As I came down stairs to pick up the kitchen the phone rang. I did not make it to the phone before it went to voice mail for some reason, but I did not think anything of it. So when the phone rang again in about 2 minutes I figured they were calling back. I did not expect to hear "This is Portage 911, is everything okay there?"

I mean, I know I have an ER/accident prone child. We have decided to call him our "Inquisitive One" because that is what he is. And yes, it has been about 12 months since our last emergency room trip. Well, I take that back. I did take him to the Dr with no appointment (I skipped the ER because of co-pay) when I smashed his finger in the door. Which resulted in losing his nail, but that was about it.
Our last legitimate ER trip was when he tried to prove (to himself without my knowledge) that he could swim in our neighborhood pool without his float thing. We were there alone and so I did not know or see until I started counting heads. We did visit the ER that day to find out he had water in his lungs, but would recover.

So today I knew at once it was him. He has been napping in Betsy's room in the afternoon because we like to spread everyone out. So I knew he was in there with a phone.

So I asked him if he was on the phone. He denied touching it. I told him the police were on the way to the house because of his call. At that point he started to cry. Then he asked me what they were going to do. And "Are you going to keep me?"

I hugged him and assured him I was keeping him, but that he cannot call 911 anymore unless it is a real emergency!

Like I said, it never stops around here!!

Relaxing

Well, for today anyway, we are relaxing. Actually, this morning. This afternoon Robert will start marking the back yard for the new deck, so tomorrow he can rent a gas Auger to dig all 30 holes for the deck posts.

So as we wait to head out to church, we are relaxing, I am surfing, the boys are watching Animal Planet (a treat we do not have in our home) and Robert is working a puzzle with our little girl. Just a great morning.

Robert's folks will be back from New Mexico tomorrow so that will be great to see them! We can't wait to hear about Robert's second cousin's wedding this weekend! Not to mention the fun times they all had in New Mexico.

Then it looks like Robert will be flying out to Texas later this week for a conference there in a week or so. From Texas he will be flying to AZ for an interview out there before the conference. Wouldn't it be great for Robert to get a couple offers that he could choose from? That would be a great thing! But really, we only need one offer, assuming it is the right one!

The heat here in Michigan has subsided and we are enjoying the windows open and cool breezes through the day! This is the great part of being up north in the summer! We have been so blessed to be able to swim at a neighbor's house too. Betsy had a new family move on to her street and they have 2 boys (8 and 6) who have been enjoying some play time with our boys. Swimming is always fun, be even more so when it is on the street we are staying on and with new friends!! God is so amazing to work out even little details like new friends, a pool close by, and a fun reading program too that they boys are so excited about!!

Not sure when we will be leaving the Michigan area, but we are enjoying it for now. Robert will enjoy some time back in Texas (not the heat of course) but being back in our house for a little while and seeing our friends at church too hopefully! Hopefully he will come back with great news and we will enjoy the last of our time up here as a family before he gets back to work somewhere!!

Thanks for your continued prayers from our family and friends! We still feel completely covered by God's grace and peace! He is such a good God all the time!

Another work out

Well that is how it seems anyway.

Just when I think I am really living out this Faith thing. I mean, here we are about 7 weeks post lay-off and spirits are still high, stress is not to much of an issue, and we are still very optimistic about this whole journey.

Then I start to stress about the house thing. I mean, if we could just sell the house life would be so much simpler and affordable. That darn house payment is really killing us these days. So Robert and I have discussed some drastic ideas. Then I speak with my dear friend/realtor about such said ideas. The weekend has no showings - no idea why!? Then we have a showing Monday, Tuesday, and yes Wednesday too!! Okay - what is up with that?? I mean 3 week day showings in 3 days?

I hear God telling me - stop meddling and relax. But goodness, does he not know that paying that payment is a PAIN?? Well, okay, I guess he does know that. So on the same day that all these things are rolling around in my head (Wednesday) Robert has this BIG job lead panning out to a phone interview. A decent salary, location north of DFW, and starting immediately. Sounds great!! Well, the interview time comes, Robert calls and no answer. Weird. Then no call back, no response to email - nothing. Just weird. But again I thought, stop stressing over the house - at least he has this job lead! As the day went on, the job lead flopped and fizzled.

So again, I hear God saying, "let me handle this too. Trust is more than lip-service. I mean really, do you trust me or are you pretending to trust me?" And again I realize that this faith muscle building continues, that maybe my muscles are not a big as I thought they were.

So yesterday I told Robert how I was feeling, what I think God has been laying on my heart. How he told me to stop reading some books by a particular author I like but who is not writing material I should read. How he wants all of me. He wants my mind, he wants my trust, he wants my heart. And that I cannot give him parts of those things and think he will be happy. So I am trying to obey and offer myself up completely.

Then today, we get another lead - Arizona this time, but let me tell you the difference - it is through a head hunter (one we like and trust), and the big thing - Robert is excited! He never thought the TX job was one he wanted to do. This one, he gets excited every time we talk about it. So it looks like he will be in Arizona the first part of July and the odds of him getting a job with this company is very good. And it is a company that will only grow in the years to come! Very promising.

So again I am reminded, God is bigger than I ever give him credit for. He is in the details, all of them - missed interviews, house showings, job leads, and most of in the midst of our lives in our family. My children are coming home from VBS singing about Him, retelling Bible stories from the day and that makes me so happy!

Life is good. Not so good that I do not need reminders of who is in charge, but still really good. I trust him. I trust him with all of it. I am still human though and I struggle to be n control and for some reason God is not letting me in on the future details. I guess he is really pruning me these days and hoping these lessons will stick with me.

Either way, here I am working more muscles - Faith muscles that is.

Fun in the Sun

We are enjoying our summer here in Michigan. We spent the last 2 afternoons at a neighbor's pool who we just met. She is new to the area as well and has 2 little boys (8 & 5) who were eager for friends to play with. My boys who have not played with other children the entire time we were in Maine (5 weeks) were more than happy to make new friends! So we have enjoyed some time in the pool and meeting new friends.

The kids (all 4) are also going to VBS and for the first time since having kids, I have had some alone time each day while they were at VBS. Normally I get to teach or help in some way at our home church so I never do get to do the "drop off" thing. The kids are loving it - they are doing Crocodile Dock. The 2 young ones are in one group and that is working out great! Our little girl is spending most of her time next to her brother, and I think he is loving feeling like the big brother to her. The other two are in the same group too and I think have enjoyed the time with new people but with each other too.

Robert has several job leads working right now, some interviews coming up and a couple conferences on the horizon as well. So we continue to pray and trust that God is working something out in his perfect timing. We are still waiting on the house deal, but again are trusting that God has a plan and his timing will be perfect. Just hope we get to see that plan soon!!

Life is still good with us and we are excited to see what the future holds!!

Strawberry Time

Well, being here in Michigan is like going back to an old home. I lived here before our second son was born while Robert was deployed to Qatar. So coming back here is just nice. I know where more things are and I know how to get home when I am out somewhere. I do not have any friends living here really, my 2 friends who I did have here have moved since then.

We really do like Michigan, especially in the summer. As soon as we arrived we planned to run out and pick some strawberries. Besty had been last week and picked about 9 pounds with her sister and made a batch of jam before we arrived. We all headed out this Wednesday and with the help of the younger ones we picked 24lb of strawberries!

So after a few days of grazing on our berries, I finally got to work with making some jam. Betsy helped prep everything for me - then I started the process. It is funny since this is where I first learned to can pickles and jam just 7 years ago with Betsy.

I filled 6 jars and now we have a batch of fresh Michigan Strawberry Jam! Yeah!

The kids are loving the yard and especially love to watch the birds feed in the back at one of the many feeders that Betsy and Leslie have. We have seen woodpeckers, blue jays, mourning doves, purple finch, sparrow, cardinals, gold finch and I am sure there are others I have forgotten.

Still waiting patiently on God with regards to a job and the house. We know he is perfectly timing things!!

Out of order posting....

Written June 10th - just posted out of order....

Well, it has been too long between updates! And we have had a great couple of weeks. We are about to head out to Michigan for the time being. We have loved being in Maine and will miss it terribly, but well it is time to move on.
We have been here 5 weeks and have seen 7 light houses (Owl’s Head, 2 Lights, Portland Head light, Bar Harbor, Rockland & Marshall Point), a National Park (Acadia), tons of animals (seals, jelly fish, turkeys, deer, crab, lobster, ducks, and many birds).
This last week we have feasted. We feel like eating in Maine is always a feast, but another lobster supper, crab rolls for dinner, clam chowder, haddock chowder, rhubarb pie, from scratch strawberry shortcake, and more I cannot remember! So we are ready for some simple, lighter meals in the weeks to come.
We hope to get to participate in VBS while in Michigan and expect to see a couple museums too. Not to mention the great lakes, we hope to get over to see the beach at one of those too!
The job search continues, but leads continue to trickle in. There are a couple job conferences coming up next month and you never know what will happen. Our home is still our home much to our dismay. But we are hoping in the next few weeks the buyers will pick up and we will have more showings.
Moral is still good. We are still expecting God to reveal his plan for us and where he wants us to be. We are hoping he chooses to sell our house sooner rather than later! The kids are still enjoying every moment and are not showing any signs of worry on their end. That is a blessing for Robert and me, we do not need to work too much about them.
I hope to upload some more pics this weekend at www.flickr.com/photos/usmajcole if you want to check those out.
We continue to feel the effect of the prayer of our friends and family and we thank you. We feel very blessed to have so many people in our lives praying for us. We miss our friends in Texas and hope to come back soon to close our house!!
That is about it for now. We have had a great time this past week with my mom and Louie – they loved Maine, the food, the kids, and the sights too. It was great to spend the week with them, the kids were in heaven getting so much attention and having many more day trips that usual!

Settling In..... again

We are settling in to our current "home" in Michigan. We arrived on Tuesday night after 2 long days of driving. We are unpacked and getting all settled into our rooms.

The kids are in heaven to see all the toys their Grammie has been storing up for them. They are excited to see other kids in the neighborhood and to feel warm weather that we can really enjoy!

Robert has gotten a number of leads lately, which we are very excited about. Still not sure what will happen, but we are excited that it seems like some areas of employment are picking up. The house is showing too, so I am hoping something big happens there soon!

No other news for us, we are happy to be in Michigan and I know we are going to have lots of fun going to VBS, the park, concerts, and all sorts of other fun things!!

A Little Catch up Time

Well, it has been too long between updates! And we have had a great couple of weeks. We are about to head out to Michigan for the time being. We have loved being in Maine and will miss it terribly, but well it is time to move on.
We have been here 5 weeks and have seen 7 light houses (Owl’s Head, 2 Lights, Portland Head light, Bar Harbor, Rockland & Marshall Point), a National Park (Acadia), tons of animals (seals, jelly fish, turkeys, deer, crab, lobster, ducks, and many birds).
This last week we have feasted. We feel like eating in Maine is always a feast, but another lobster supper, crab rolls for dinner, clam chowder, haddock chowder, rhubarb pie, from scratch strawberry shortcake, and more I cannot remember! So we are ready for some simple, lighter meals in the weeks to come.
We hope to get to participate in VBS while in Michigan and expect to see a couple museums too. Not to mention the great lakes, we hope to get over to see the beach at one of those too!
The job search continues, but leads continue to trickle in. There are a couple job conferences coming up next month and you never know what will happen. Our home is still our home much to our dismay. But we are hoping in the next few weeks the buyers will pick up and we will have more showings.
Moral is still good. We are still expecting God to reveal his plan for us and where he wants us to be. We are hoping he chooses to sell our house sooner rather than later! The kids are still enjoying every moment and are not showing any signs of worry on their end. That is a blessing for Robert and me, we do not need to work too much about them.
I hope to upload some more pics this weekend at www.flickr.com/photos/usmajcole if you want to check those out.
We continue to feel the effect of the prayer of our friends and family and we thank you. We feel very blessed to have so many people in our lives praying for us. We miss our friends in Texas and hope to come back soon to close our house!!
That is about it for now. We have had a great time this past week with my mom and Louie – they loved Maine, the food, the kids, and the sights too. It was great to spend the week with them, the kids were in heaven getting so much attention and having many more day trips that usual!
Today we visited the farm that my Great Grandfather owned - today. We loved seeing the property and were sad it is so overgrown. It was a fun trip through NH and we even stopped in to see my Great Grandfather's church where he preached for 50 years. What a legacy.
Tomorrow my mom and Louie are off to Oregon and we are headed back to the house to prepare to leave for Michigan on Tuesday! Never a dull moment!!

no time ... it seems!

When you do not have internet at your location and you have to drive 20 minutes to get it, there seems to be little time to update anything!

Life is good. Job seeking slow. Food amazing (lobster, crab clams, italians, and more). House selling ... not yet.

We are having fun up here though. Gotta run and see some more light houses!!

Will write more later!!