Saturday, April 19, 2014

Lists... Dot firsts | Home Building | Prayers

I am an avid list-maker... and since time is running short, this issue I’ll simply make a few lists:

Dorothy Lou Firsts

1. She had her longest road trip to date, going with Mom and Nana to North Carolina to visit her Great-Aunt Anne and Lorms family members.
2. She attended her first Juice Plus+ training and was quite a hit as a happy, healthy Juice Plus+ Babe!
3. She experienced her first major power outage in February. We took refuge at Greystone for 3 1/2 days, keeping warm, reading books and playing by candle light.
4. She got the devil scarred out of her! She was baptized at Sacred Heart Church with Holly Jo and Michael becoming her Godparents.
5. She had her first play date with Sadie Jo & Maya together; however they were all only 3 months old and did not do much playing at that point. Actually... Dorothy screamed...
6. Enjoying springtime in The Valley. We are so glad for the warm, sunny days and getting outside. It’s amazing the effects the fresh air has on her.

 Home Building things that are exciting & scary
1. Pouring foundation. A real sign of construction! ...But we put in radiant floor heat. Hopefully it’s right because there is no going back!
2. Walls going up. It looks just the way I envisioned when drawing and redrawing sketches... But NOW is the last chance for any changes...what might we regret?!
4. Moving on from one stage to another. Progress is exciting, but this tight wad sees the dollar signs rolling...eek!
5. Picking out paint and stain colors. I’ve always been a creative person, so coming up with color schemes is definitely fun, but there are so many options! What if when everything comes together it just looks like a hodge podge of colors? Paint doesn’t come cheap so I’m not looking to redo anything anytime soon.
6. Staining our concrete. There are so many cool looks this can provide, but the colors are so dependent on your concrete and every slab provides a different look--not like paint. And once you’ve stained it, there is no going back!
7. Cabinets for our kitchen. I’m excited to fill out our kitchen (since the downstairs is very open concept and it’s still hard to envision the kitchen exactly), but this is such an important room for us (ME!) what with loving to host, making home-cooked meals daily and preserving garden food regularly. The kitchen is definitely THE room I don’t want to have regrets about.



Things currently on my prayer list
1. The continued guidance on decisions about our home construction and the guidance of the workers actively taking part in its construction.
2. Alyx and Mr. Special K... for a safe delivery (for Mom and Baybo) in the coming month. I’m so excited to meet him and for Dorothy to have a little boy cousin to join in on games of dress-up!
3. The upcoming marriages of Ian & Robin and Boo & Kristen. While I look forward to the fun of their wedding days, I mostly pray that it be the beginning of a wonderful union, one in which God is very present.
4. Guidance as a mother. All praying mothers ask God for help in this special responsibility as well as the health of their child, but more specifically I pray:

  • That I do all I can to guide this soul into becoming who it is God has planned, so she can best be on the path to achieve the tasks God has set out for her. I pray that our souls connect in our nightly slumbers so that we can better understand one another in our waking hours.
  • That I am loving you as much as any child deserves. I’ve always known I wanted to be a stay at home Mom, but I am still doing certain work from home and I pray that I am not taking too much away from the most important job: being a Mother.
5. For our financial stability. People often say, “I wish I could afford to stay home” in reference to being a single-income family. The truth is, I don’t know if Jon and I can afford it. It’s scary. We are not wealthy by any means, but we’re following what we truly believe is God’s voice. We simply pray that we hear his calling and are doing what he would ask of us--whether that be for me to be at home or otherwise.
6. My Aunt Anne, her battle with cancer and her entire family. Such a special person in my life and my Uncle Kelly was gone far too soon. She still has such an important role to play in the life of her children and grandchildren, at least from my perspective. Of course, God is all-knowing and we trust in him.