Please Stand By

Well, another Thanksgiving is in the books.  It was an enjoyable weekend -- relaxing and family-focused. We finally took a week off from having an open house.  We seriously needed a break after hosting them for 10 weeks in a row. The only downside of the past few days was U-M's abysmal loss to Ohio State. It was a total annihilation!  On the upside, Matt and I  and various kids watched the entire the "Burn Notice" marathon on Thursday. DVRs are a glorious invention!
Now that the new week is in full swing, we are awaiting a phone call or two.  Or three. Matt has had a few job leads in the past couple of weeks and we hope to hear back from at least one - if not all - of them. They are all out-of-state which will make for an interesting situation if this house doesn't sell soon. I don't want to get ahead of whatever God has for us, but these are the most promising leads we've had in quite a while.  It's hard NOT to be optimistic. The idea of a job coming to fruition is something to be excited about. Inotherwords, I check Matt's email obsessively and I jump everytime his phone rings.
Christmas is 27 days from now and we are perhaps the only house in the neighborhood without decorations or lights. Although I miss getting the house dressed for the season, I try to keep my attitude low-key since the kids feed off of whatever I say.  So, we enjoy everyone else's lights and anticipate what we'll be doing and where we'll be living next Christmas. 
Anyway -- that's your up-to-the-minute report on life in our household. (By the way, do any of you fellow bloggers know why my current posts don't show up on my followers' pages?   My blog  is incorrectly listed as being last updated 6 weeks ago.)
I hope you all have a wonderful week, dear readers!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I'm looking forward to a cozy day inside with my husband and kids today.  The past several days have been around 75 degrees and glorious, albeit windy (we're in Oklahoma, afterall.).  However, a cold front moved in overnight and we're expecting a high of 35 with rain today. There's a winter storm advisory for parts of the state. I stored the cranberry sauce and a pumpkin pie on the patio to make more room in the refrigerator since it's cold enough out there now.
This week I've enjoyed teaching Abby and Ally the finer points of fluting a pie crust and brining a turkey.  Yesterday Katie and Luke helped me make pumpkin roll and we had so much fun! Those kinds of memories are what make a holiday so special.
The site "Awkward Family Photos" posted the following link. It is a humorous read so please click on it when you have an opportunity. I'm pretty sure a certain sibling of mine could have written a very similiar letter. (The thought is frightening, but true!)
I hope you have a wonderful, relaxing Thanksgiving Day today!  Hugs to you all.
http://awkwardfamilyphotos.com/2010/11/24/happy-thanksgiving-from-afp/

The Elephant in the Room

Sigh.  Or perhaps, a double-sigh followed by a wistful "alas" is more appropriate.  Today marks exactly one year since our lives were turned upside-down and Matt began this long journey of joblessness.  I won't dwell on the negative aspects of the past year, though I remind myself of them often;  today I choose to avoid them and post some light-hearted blather instead.

Let us discuss Vacuum Sweepers.  This family abuses that appliance like nobody's business.  Think about it...we are a family of ten with our house on the market.  We sweep our floors nearly everyday. While Matt and I understand that the hoses and motor are not intended to process Legos, Popsicle sticks, hair barrettes, 8-1/2 x 11" sheets of paper, shoelaces, crayons and pieces from broken CDs, our children tend to forget. As well, there are five females in this home, all of whom shed hair constantly. We have to de-hair the sweeper's roller brush at least once a week.

When we moved three years ago, we researched vacuums so that we could get the most bang for our buck.  After shopping price and reading plenty of consumer reviews, we decided to go with a Bissell Healthy Home.  We paid about $225 for it and  found it to be worth every penny.   Sure, I had to replace the dirt canister once when I whacked it too hard while emptying it into the trash can; and the main hose was patched with duct tape, the result of someone trying to suck up wood chips from the flower bed (don't ask...).  But still, I loved that vac.  However, it lasted just over two years.  A certain child broke the handle clean off while sweeping too aggressively. It was unrepairable and I sadly relegated the Bissell to the curb for the weekly trash pick-up. 

Bissell Healthy Home

That was February of this year, during a time when we were showing our house regularly and needed the floors looking spiffy at a moment's notice. So...off to Target I went to find a cheap replacement.

Dirt Devil #1

Enter the first of our Dirt Devil models.

Dirt Devil #2

 It lasted 3 months. We had to replace the belt once twice three times before it just gave out altogether. By that point our finances were at a serious deficit so I went with an even cheaper Dirt Devil that I suspect was designed for a small college dorm room.  The hose clogs every time we use it.  EVERY TIME. We started allowing extra cleaning time for showings just so we could unclog it.  Oy vay!

Our Open House two weeks ago was the last straw.  It took Matt over two hours to vacuum 2646 square feet because the dang thing clogged constantly.  We finally gave up.

Hence, our most recent purchase: a 12-gallon, 5.0 horse-power wet/dry shop vac.  This bad boy works GREAT and is (so far) indestructible. No roller brush to contend with, no dirt cup to empty, no belt to replace. Just pure sucking power at the flip of a switch.  Sure, it takes a bit longer than a conventional sweeper since it uses a hose attachment instead of an upright, but it edges along the walls effortlessly and fits under any piece of furniture to get those hard-to-reach places. I think our brood of vacuum-sweeper killers may have now met their match. Bring it on! 



Rigid Shop Vac



The Whole Mess of 'Em

Luke is rubbing his nose, but other than that I'm quite happy that I managed to get them all looking in the same direction and no one was acting silly.  What a great bunch of kids.  We are truly blessed!
P.S. If you want to see this zoomed in, just click on the pic.

"Same Old, Same Old"

My heart is heavy this morning -- weighed down with the burden of our circumstances.  I checked Matt's inbox  and found yet another discouraging email:
"Dear Matthew,

Thank you for your recent expression of interest in career opportunities at _____________. We are always pleased when talented individuals express an interest in our company.
We are fortunate to receive inquiries from a large number of qualified candidates. Our requirements make it impossible to interview all of those interested in a position with our company. After a careful evaluation of your application, we regret to inform you that we are unable to initiate discussions with you at this time. However, we will retain your information on file for up to one year.
We appreciate your interest in _____________ and wish you every success in your career pursuits."

Matt has sent out his resume everyday for the past 358 days. Most of the time, if there is a response it is similiar to the one above. Recently he interviewed with two local companies and then never heard from them again.
As well, we had another Open House this week (our 9th Sunday in a row) and had more traffic than we expected.  Two couples especially seemed quite interested in our home.  Today is Tuesday and we haven't heard from either of them.  Be patient, right?  Well frankly, I'm tired of being patient.  We've been doing this since January -- eleven months!-- and I don't have any more patience in me.
I cling to the knowledge that God's timing and Will is perfect. That's all we have, really: our faith and hope that He will work all things together for our good. If I didn't have faith in my Lord I wouldn't have anything;  I would be completely hopeless. I often wonder how those who don't believe in God can even get up in the morning, since they have no one to pray to, no one to fall on their knees before, and no one to give them the peace that "everything will work out."
Well, I guess I've rambled and complained long enough this morning.  Time to hit the books and start history lessons. Late start this morning, which always sends me into a panic -- but we'll recover. Have a blessed day, all!

P.S.  Here's your "Oh Gross!" moment for the week: Nathan ate a cricket -- or possibly a spider-- the other day.  He walked into the room during our family devotions with its legs hanging out of his mouth. He had already chewed up the rest of its body. Yum!

A Hero's Welcome

Our friend and neighbor, Dr. Phillip Palmer, is coming home today after serving in Afghanistan. We're rejoicing with Shannon and their children that God kept him safe during his deployment.  Thank you, Phil, for your service to our country!

The Evolution of a Temper Tantrum

STARRING: LUKE

Uh-oh...Mommy said "no".

First, the pout.



Morphing into "The Displeased Child"



Yikes! Run for your life!



His favorite "Angry" look. I must reprove him sternly while he's looking at me this way...not an easy task!



Just Some Random Pictures...

...because the past few days have been so busy I haven't had time to post anything.  As well,  our wireless router went on the fritz,  meaning nine of us shared one computer all weekend. It may not seem like a big deal, but when we're used to having the Internet at our disposal, it's a big inconvenience when we don't!
Too tired to write much else, so I'll update later this week.
Hugs to you all!

This kid has the funniest bedhead every morning. It's a real task trying to get that mop o' hair to lay flat!



Can you believe he'll be able to get his driver learning permit next month? He's a good kid...but the permit will have to wait.

Katie did some light reading:  "The Age of Reason Begins ~A history of European Civilization in the Period of Shakespeare, Bacon, Montaigne, Rembrandt, Galileo, and Descartes: 1558-1648".
(Actually, she was playing "house" and pretended it was reading time.  Lol!)






Chuck Norris has nothing on this guy...

The wind was blowing like crazy, but I just love her sweet face in this pic!

Sure, he looks cute...but make no mistake: if you are sitting on the couch and do not have your feet tucked under you, he WILL bite your toes. And it hurts!

The Adventures of Swifty: The Elusive Mouse Who Made a Family Paranoid and Unable to Sleep For 3 Nights


Ok, though the title may give a clue, I won't bother posting about it.  Just be glad you weren't in my closet at 6:45 am Tuesday.  Thankfully,  some good things happened that day as well, like watching the midterm election results.  It was also the day Nathan turned one.  Actually, we haven't even celebrated yet.  It's not really required if the birthday child has no clue what a birthday is, right? Anyway, enough about Tuesday.
 Today we hired yet another realtor.  The ForSaleByOwner attempt just hasn't generated enough interest, and the agent we're with now - Brent - has an honest and successful approach to selling homes.  We met him a few months ago and have been able to observe his business practices and integrity.  He's a genuine Christian man who is sympathetic to our situation, and after a lot of prayer and consideration we decided hiring him is in our best interest. 

There's been plenty of ups and downs this week.  Matt and I feel at our wits' end as each day passes without a job offer or movement on the house. However,  God has brought my attention to Jeremiah 31:2-3 several times this week:



"Thus says the LORD: "The people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness; when Israel sought for rest, the LORD appeared to him from afar,

saying, " I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you."

Grace in the wilderness...  such beautiful words to a parched soul! 
And with those words, I'll close. My brain is tired and the kids are ready for bed. In honor of my new one year-old, I'm posting a few pictures.
Goodnight, dear readers!



Nathan Joseph, 2 weeks old

3 months





6 months. What a cutie!



Nov. 2, 2010  My truckload of mischief....Happy Birthday, Nate the Great!



No Clue

You may be wondering why I've changed the look of my blog once again.  I didn't intend to -- I rather liked it the way it was.  However, today I checked in and discovered the color scheme was...uh, missing. That's right, missing.  I have no idea why.
Thankfully Blogger offers a plethera of backgrounds so I chose another Fall-like theme.
It's been a weird day. I'll post about it after dinner.

Last Day

I'm feeling a bit sentimental today, as it is the last day that my baby will be a baby. He decided to make the most of it by waking up at 4:30 this morning, ready to play. He went back to sleep from 6-9 however, since there was nothing pressing that he needed to accomplish (unlike me).
It's hard to believe a whole year has passed since he entered the world! I'll post his brief biography tomorrow after he accompanies Matt and me to the polling place to vote. Meanwhile, I will savor each moment of the last day of his babyhood. I'll start by ending this post in order to clean the mess he left in his diaper.

Big dog and Little Dog visiting Seth's school 10-21-10