Special Tuesday, Part 2

April first was my last Special Tuesday. I had decided at the beginning of the year that I was going to do a closet make-over. Because, really, who couldn't use a few pointers? Even if you generally have tidy closets (like me), you can usually still pick up a tip or two. Don't get the wrong idea, I have my major trouble areas, too. They're just not my closets.
So, here is the closet we redid for MOPs.

WOW! I couldn't believe all the stuff in there!

We took everything out of the closet and removed one shelf and hanging rod.

The heavy duty wire unit was purchased from Lowe's and cost only $130. It also has a long hanging rod that we didn't use because 1) We didn't need it, and 2) There wasn't space.

The dresser was one that I got for free as a part of a bedroom set but just doesn't fit in our house. It was free. If you need something, don't be afraid to ask. Institute the rule of "First Right Of Refusal". It basically says that if someone gives you something and you are going to get rid of it, you give the original owner the chance to take it back first.

The top picture is our MOPs organizer extraordinaire, Cindy and her daughter, standing in the finished product.

The next picture shows the owner's shoes. Obviously.

Then a picture showing the original hanging space being put to good use. The shoe organizer is going to be used for hats and purses. The husband's military uniforms hang out of the way because he is retired and doesn't use them much.

Last is the owner's daughter who wandered in to have a look at our progress.

Remember, we went from this:

To this:

The total cost was about $200 dollars (we also bought some storage bins that you couldn't see). The closet took about 9 man hours to finish- 3 people, 3 hours. You could do this!

Growing Pains

I once read a story about a little girl who LOVED her strand of Mardi Gras beads. She called them her pearls. One day her daddy asked her to give him her pearls. Of course these were her prize possession and she refused to do it. Her daddy kissed her and then let the matter pass for the day. Each day, though, he would ask her once for her precious treasure, and each day she refused. Sadly, she did not know that her daddy loved her so much that he had bought her a strand of real pearls to replace her bauble.
How often do we do that? We refuse to let go of what we have for God when He asks us because we do not know what He has in store for us.
So, as much as I love it, I am letting go of my leadership position in MOPs. I have an idea what I am going to do instead, but I'm keeping that close to the cuff right now. I will say that it will not be an easy thing for me to do. It may be downright painful at times. But I believe it will be the best thing for my family. And they are my first priority.

I'm Confused

Isn't it almost April? And don't I live at 0' Elevation?

The Voice of God

Have you ever heard it? I mean audibly- like you hear your spouse or your kids. I have.
I was in the midst of one of my best tantrums. I had 4 little children who drained every ounce of energy from my being and another on the way. They left messes everywhere. Dishes were spilling out of the sink onto the counters on both sides, and the dishwasher was out of commission. Laundry had vomited out of the laundry room into (nicely color sorted) piles on my kitchen floor. I could barely walk from the garage to the dining room. I felt like I was the only one who could manage to wash a dish or change the laundry around- And that was just the kitchen.... Looking around I just lost it! I stood in that mess with tears of frustration streaming down my face seething at God for the life he had strapped me with. I let him know just how I felt- OUT LOUD. I finally went to bed, leaving the mess for the next day. I crept into bed so I would not wake up my husband- because in his defense he had spent the day wrestling lumber to build someone else's dream- and sniffled my way into sleep.
You know how you can have a conversation with a good friend and leave it hanging indefinitely- but when you pick it back up you both know what the topic is and where you where in it?
The next day we were at church. I was teaching the Children's Church and we had finished early so we decided to play a game. Since we met in a school, the children were in the gym- the perfect place for games- except for those darn irresistible bleachers. Jesse, thinking he could clear the distance between the two sets, took a flying leap-and missed. Well he mostly missed. He caught the next set with his nose. In the midst of a lot of screaming and blood I could see that he had loosed the nostril from the cheek.
I ran into the service where Sebastian was just about to start the last worship set. I rushed up to him and said something urgent like, "We need to go to the hospital." He nodded at me and then proceeded to strum the opening chord, not fully understanding what I had just said to him. I spun around and shouted, "NOW!" Well that got his attention. He just dropped his guitar and ran after me. A friend followed us out. We were fortunate enough to have driven two cars that day because I just dropped my keys in her hand and she gathered our other children and took them to her house and fed them lunch.
All the way to the urgent care center I had to hold Jesse's hands away from his face as he rubbed his bloody nose all over my shirt. All I could do was tell him how sorry I was and try to keep him calm- all the while wishing I could take that pain on myself.
Eight stitches, an antibiotic, and a nap- for both of us- later, I got around to cleaning my kitchen. Then I decided to make the kids Jello as a special treat after such a traumatic day. I was up to my shoulders in my container cupboard, looking for those little gladware single serve guys, when I heard His voice. If I could have I would have turned around to see Him leaning back on my sink, with His arms crossed over His chest- like I do when I talk to my children. However, no man can look upon the glory of God and live to tell about it, so there I was- stuck in my cupboard. This is what He said to me:
"Do you see now? Do you see how much you love them? I love you that much. So much that I gave you my own Son." There was no reproach, no scolding. Just the same kind of soothing voice I had used with my own hurting child earlier that day. Once again I had tears streaming down my face, but this time they were tears of repentance and of forgivenness.

I Need A Wife!

I spent yesterday doing MOPs stuff. The whole day. I started with a committee meeting from 9:30 to 12:00. Then a friend surprised me by stopping over for lunch- take out menu in hand! After that I did cold-calling to solicit donations for our upcoming auction. Then it was time for my kids to come home from school. At this point I had to dress Jonah because the girls had to be run to Little Cheer. After I dropped the girls off I made dinner and then went and picked up a couple of donation items, went to the b-ball game, and watched my girls do their thing.



So, I was lamenting to my friend at lunch that I needed a maid. You know, so I could devote my time to the truly important stuff. She tells me I don't need a maid, I need a wife. Yeah, a wife. Someone who is just there to clean up behind me as I go and I don't PAY her! Good idea.

EDIT: I wrote this some time ago, but as you just read it was a very busy time. It is timely now because I am gearing up for my last Special Tuesday- Ever ( but that's a different post). Jesse, of course, pointed out the fallacy of my thinking. "Mom," He said, "If you get a wife, then she's gonna need a wife, and then her wife will need a wife- it's gonna get pretty crowded here pretty fast!"

So Nice

Today, just when Jesse was feeling really bored and sassy, he got a call from his teacher. She said "Thank you for the fortune cookie." Then all 30-ish of his class mates passed the phone around and thanked him for the fortune cookie, and all together they told him goodbye. They had planned on waiting until Jesse came back to eat the fortune cookies, but a week and a half is a long time for non-commercial, non-sealed baked goods to wait around.
After the call he was ready to sit down and work on some of his homework.

I Typed Too Soon

Apparently the other two either had chicken pox too mildly for it to do them any good, or they had something all together different.
Now I have 4 down this week- all broken out on Saturday (Yes JoJo had 3 on Friday, but he exploded on Saturday).

5 down, 0 to go!
It was good of them to get it over with all at once.
The last of our souvenirs from Romania....