Good Times

I know, I know. I say we are finally on the waiting list and then I decide to take a three week nap, leaving my faithful readers in the lurch (all four of you). Life has been kind of stressful lately.

We have been trying to catch up on a lot of things that we put off while we were saving money for submitting the dossier. One of those things was a vacuum. Our vacuum handle broke off again, and this time, it was irreparable. Instead of getting a new vacuum, we duct taped a pencil to the wiring inside putting it in a permanent "on" position, then we duct taped over the gaping hole to cover the wiring. This means that it has a shorter handle perfectly designed for a person 12 inches shorter than me, and also, it turns on automatically when you plug it in. Yes, I know what you're thinking, where can I find one of those? The sad thing is that my husband uses it more than I do, so I think it was slowly driving him mad. We having been using this "custom" version of our vacuum for around six months, and we finally bought a new one. We are really enjoying the luxury of a new vacuum - the sound, the cleanliness quality, the features! Sometimes I like to deprive myself just so that I can fully appreciate and savor the experience or, in this case, new vacuum. Can you tell which is the new and which is the old?

Unfortunately, right after we laid down the big bucks for our new vacuum we got three different unexpected bills in the mail (dental, dental, and OT for misquoted benefits grrr). Then there are rumors going around poor husband's company about 32 hr workweeks, forced vacation, etc. because there is no work to do. Compound that with my stress over upcoming elections. Plus... Our Crapavan seems to get a new problem every month, and they all came together last week as it threatened to die on the road. Something having to do with oil pressure... valve covers.... water pressure... nothing having to do with the a/c that we repaired ourselves (that works perfectly). Anyway, we determined that we could not easily fix it. We ended up paying $500 to get it working. It would have cost an additional $850 to fix everything. Oddly when my dear husband drove it to work the next day after having it fixed, all the pressures dropped and the engine stopped working. Thankfully the repair place was very honest and helpful, they paid to have it towed back to them. Apparently, the serpentine belt (third one the van has had) came off, so they determined it was the belt tensioner (second one) and replaced that. So five hours after leaving for work, my husband ended up back at home (he burned a vacation day for this!). On the plus side, I used that time to finally finish staining the piano that has been sitting in our garage. When we moved here, dear husband said we could not put our old, ugly piano in our new pretty house, so I had to make it pretty. It only took me close to two years, but it is finished. Dear husband is very happy for all the new found space in the garage. It means we will have room to fit... the Crapavan when we admit it for experimental surgery in a few weeks. That should be oodles of fun! So this week, I have been doing some heavy prayer. As any Christian can attest, the good life brings apathy, and stress pulls us into God. I had a day of fasting and prayer yesterday, mostly for the elections and dear husband's job. Okay, it wasn't a whole day. I only made it until 4pm. I get really cranky when I don't eat, and that's just not fair to the kids. I think I will try a sundown fast next time, maybe Monday, and that would be a sacrifice because that is when I eat my ice cream, cookies, etc. Thanks for the idea, mom. You're totally awesome. Anyway, God has already answered some prayers this week. Poor husband is exhausted because they had three jobs come up, and he has gotten at least twelve hours of overtime already. So he is billable and that is good! Plus he got a small quarterly bonus today!

I was getting stir crazy having the kids all to myself for three days, so we all piled into the car and indulged in Sonic tonight. It was overpriced but well worth it. I thank God for small moments that feed my heart. I was eating a big bacon cheeseburger Toaster sandwich with onion rings and drinking peach iced tea. The kids were all quiet as they filled their bellies. I had Coldplay on the stereo chilling us all out. The weather was awesome.

I do not need more possessions. I do not need a bigger house. I am thankful for what God has blessed us with because it fills my heart to the brim when I think of what we already have. Seriously, listen to this song and tell me if it doesn't stir your heart?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvgZkm1xWPE

Or maybe I just like Coldplay a lot.