Down, but Up

So I'm feeling a little down tonight here at work. Not because I have a lot to do or nothing to do. I think it's because I'm contemplating my financial situation a little too much.

God is in control. I need to remember that above all else... although that doesn't mean I don't still step out of His will for my life from time to time.

The house will sell. Of that I am confident.

I have a good job that pays well.

My family is very supportive of me.

I think I'm doing the right thing with these houses. I'm not sure I'm doing it in the order God would have had me do it though.

There's not a whole lot needed to finish the house. I could stress over a lot more detail, but I don't think that will necessarily help the sale. I just need to finish the painting, clean the house top to bottom, get the rest of the stuff out of it, repair the drywall in the garage and paint in there, mulch the flower beds and swingset area, and put the sign in the yard. Oh, I also need to buy and install a faucet for the new 1/2 bath vanity.

It's taken sooooooooooooooo long to get this work done! I definitely wouldn't be a good candidate for "Flip This House". Maybe I'll do better on the next one.

The death of a saint

A precious one has gone home to be with the Lord. Kaylyn Warren died this morning after spending the last few days of her life here on Earth at home with her family. In October of 2005, she was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia. Throughout her fight, she showed forth the love of Christ. Her witness was strong the whole time as she suffered through treatments and setbacks. I only hope that I could have a fraction of her faith.

We prayed for her many times over the 17 months of her illness. We will continue to pray for the family she leaves behind.

I don't fully know how or why, but this young girl has impacted me. She graduated last year from the school where my kids go. I don't know the family other than occasionally seeing them at the school in the past.

Her faithful witness has touched the lives of many all around the world.
Rest, Kaylyn.

If you are interested in reading about her fight against Leukemia, you can visit her Caring Bridge site. Click where it says "Visit", type in Kaylyn and click the "visit" button.

Pictures of the totalled car

Praise the Lord for His protection!

That airbag was 14 years old and had never been tested until now. I guess it passed the test!

Happy Anniversary to Me!

Actually, my anniversary was yesterday, but I'm just now getting to the computer. That's 22 years of "holy headlock" as SCC says.

According to this website:
March - If you wed when March winds blow, joy and sorrow both you'll know.

I would have to agree, but I also think it's true for marriages any month.

According to this website:
The present for the 22nd anniversary is copper.
Hmmmmmmmm... I've got some wire laying around here somewhere. Wonder if that will do?

I didn't actually buy my wife anything. Finances are a bit tight right now. I'm sure she understands. We did go out to a late lunch though. Bennigan's is where we went. We shared an appetizer of the Southwest Sampler. Looks good doesn't it?

I had the Monte Cristo sandwich and fries which were good. My wife ordered the 1/2 County Cork Club & Soup. Her sandwich was "Ham, turkey, bacon, lettuce, tomato and Swiss and cheddar cheeses stacked on honey wheat bread and topped with Smoky Honey Dijon dressing". She had Potato soup. It looked real good.

We couldn't finish as usual, so we have leftovers. We didn't even bother ordering dessert.

So that pretty much covers that.

We've been dealing with injuries with the kids lately.

A couple of weeks ago, my oldest son came home from wrestling practice with a sore wrist. Apparently the guys were goofing off and one of them took a flying leap onto him. He barely deflected this kid and came away with a sprained wrist. We took him for x-rays just to be sure.

My third daughter is recovering from a concussion which she received as a result of a collision between her and another teammate at softball practice. The drill they were doing called for them to both run at the same location to pick up the ball and throw it to 1st. Not a smart thing to have two players run at each other. They modified the exercise after the injury so that the players each had a different ball to run for. We didn't realize it was a concussion until a couple of days later when she was complaining that the pain was getting worse rather than better. Seems she has bruised her brain pretty well. She was woozy for a couple more days, but is better now.

While my wife was taking daughter #3 to the hospital for a possible CAT scan, I got a call from Daughter #2. Seems she had been in an accident. She had run into the back of an 18 wheeler that was stopped at a light! Imagine going from 45mph to 0mph in a second... thank God for airbags! The truck driver must not have even noticed the crash, because he just drove off! I'm so glad the couple behind her stopped and stayed with her until a family friend was able to get there. By the grace of God, she was basically uninjured. The car is totaled. I may post a picture of it sometime soon. I haven't downloaded any pics in a long time. I drove up and picked her up and brought her home. She's sore all over, but recovering.

I hope all the injuries are done for now.

Pray for us! That we will be safe and careful.

God has definitely been protecting us from serious harm. Each of the kids injuries could have been so much worse... even death.

Praise the Lord for His mercy!

CC Update and More!

Finally got that worked out! What a pain.
The checks finally cleared after being in the system for 16 days. Oh well, guess the postal service has done alright by me otherwise.
From now on, I'll just pay direct with check by phone.

Today I'm spackling, sanding, cleaning and various other odd jobs as they come up. It's all we can do to keep ahead of the painter! He's a good one and I plan to use him on all my future projects.

Went by Lowes this morning and bought three brass door stops. I was getting tired of patching the holes behind the doors where the knob bumps the wall. Now it won't be a problem anymore. Plus, this will be one of those "touches" that new home buyers like to see.

I took another load of garage stuff down last night. I don't know where all this stuff came from! I found fishing gear, a home brewing kit that I forgot I bought years ago, and a water filter unit for under the sink. Also found a ventilation fan and 8" hose that is industrial use. Not sure where I'll ever use that, but if I need it, I have it!

One of these days I'll get the pingpong table down to the new house and try to find a place to set it up. The kids will love me for that. I bought a foosball table a couple of months ago on clearance. It's sitting in the garage waiting for me to assemble it, too.

My 22nd wedding anniversary is next week. I need to make some reservations for lunch. I'd do dinner, but I'm working nights... Wonder what she would like to eat. I'm thinking pretty much anything she doesn't have to cook! lol!

Gotta get back to work now.