Faking It

I think women in general are competitive. We wanna be prettier than that girl, or thinner than this one, or a better house keeper than all of them put together. It's part of that whole sin nature thing. We're busy watching out for number one and making sure that everyone thinks we're great, instead of seeing us as we really are - horrible, ugly, disgusting wretches.

This not only does a disservice to women individually but as a group as well. It makes the housewife who is struggling with cleaning the kitchen for the fourth time that day feel like she is the only one who wrestles with the issue. It makes the exhausted mom who fights to be kind and sweet when all she really wants to do is take a nap, feel like the laziest person in the world. What a lie! The truth is that yes, those moms are lazy and selfish, but hey, newsflash - so are we all! There is not one sin that a mom fights against, that is also not fought against by two million other moms.

Instead of putting make up over our sins and pretending like the bad complexion underneath doesn't exist, we should be much more like the scripture that says to boast in our weaknesses! No, that doesn't mean we should be glad we're lazy, mean, and self-centered. It does mean that we speak openly with others so that they can encourage and also be encouraged. After all, yes we struggle agaisnt sin, but the ultimate fight has been won already. We our perfect before God for eternity, even though the flaws show right now. Today I met with a friend and we at first hesitated to share our problems with each other, but once we did, we both realized that we were going through many of the same valleys, and we could inspire one another on to keep trying, and fighting the good fight.

So, today, I encourage all women out there to stop covering up and really begin to love your fellow sisters in Christ. You never know who you might be relieving of an undue burden of feeling alone in their struggles.

God bless!

A pink room update

Here's the final after pic for my daughter's room. Although, looking at the picture I see some tweeks I wanna do. But it took me until Saturday to finally find the right pole for her curtains, so it only took a month to do! That's sarcasm in case you couldn't tell! A final thanks to Grandma for all her help in making the room beautiful.

A sparkling personality

I took the Myers Briggs test thingy. I came out as an ISFJ. I think that's pretty accurate although I do toe the line with F and J. But don't be too quick to think you got me pegged. I'm full of surprises don't ya know!

Random embarassing facts about me...

Since I've been busy painting walls and have been slacking with my posts here, I am starting to feel like I'm now also talking to a wall. Maybe this will drum up some interest here.

1. I eat frozen chocolate chips every night after the kids go to bed.

2. I still have twenty pounds to lose after my last baby, and she's almost fourteen months old. i.e. I have no more excuses left. (Also, see random fact #1)

3. I am addicted to home and garden television, especially house flipping shows - all in the name of research, of course.

4. I very often start to lose words when I get tired, explaining why I don't post long drawn out posts and probably why no one is visiting my site anymore :(

5. I used to wear a size 6.5 shoe, but after having babies I'm now a size 7.5 - weird don't ya think?!

6. I used to have naturally very curly hair, but after having babies it's straight - I know!

7. I was set up with my husband by the reformed matchmaker, Steve Schlissel- very cool, and I'd recommend this method highly.

8. I am grossed out to the point of getting nauseous when I clean the toilets - didn't happen until my little boy potty trained. He still forgets to look where he's going.

9. I am a math geek. I love to do math problems for fun and will do algebraic equations in my head sometimes if I'm bored.

10. I am not creative at all and don't think outside the box very much. In fact I like the box - it's nice and cozy, so why would I want to leave it?

Anyway, hope that gives you a better picture of who the big blogger is. God bless!

Paintin', paintin', and more paintin'

So, now that the floor is done, we're painting some more. Yes, I know that's backwards, but it's all part of our master plan, don't ya know! Anyway, here are some painting tips that I've learned:

1. Freeze your brushes and rollers wrapped in plastic so that you don't have to clean them when you're having to stop painting mid job.

2. Pull your tape off when the paint is still wet so that it won't stick as easily.

3. Your best bet for a clean finish, is to tape well. Taking the time to do this properly will really make the painting step much easier and will give you a better overall finish.

That's all I can think of right now, but I'm sure, with all the painting this house needs, there will be more later.

What else is a blog for?

Here are some pics of my precious kiddos for no other reason than it's my blog and I can! And you can't stop me - hah! I also just happen to think I have the cutest four kids in the entire world. So here they are.

House renovation update

My parents were in Mexico this last week, and we were in their house due to the fact that our house was a dustbowl. Dear husband was refinishing the floors and he did a fantastic job! Here are some pics of before and after. Anyway, that's all for now, just wanted to let you know why I haven't been around and brag a little about my hard working hubby. Btw - the top is the after, and the bottom is the before. I don't know why they posted like that.

God bless!

I took all the kids to the grocery store by myself today, and was quickly reminded why I usually prefer my husband to come along too. But since we were desperately out of milk, cereal, bread, and all other forms of food, we had to make the sacrifice. Not only, was it lunchtime - I know, I know but darling husband was in a demo and we needed the house quiet right then, not to mention there wasn't anything for lunch :) - but to top it off, it was sixty degrees outside and momma hadn't checked the weather that day. So I drag all my kids clad in sandal and shorts into the store, two of whom were literally crying because they were so cold. BTW, this is not one of those I went to the store and was told how sweet and well behaved my kids were kind of stories. My three year old continued crying the first ten minutes and holding my leg in such a way that my skirt was being raised up to an embarrassing level. I finally had to discipline him in the store rather than wait to get in the car, because it was really just too much and frankly I think those around me were glad to see him be spanked. Not one of my proudest moments - but then pride isn't something to strive for. My five year old actually whined for a balloon, something she isn't prone to do nowadays. My one year old did really well to her credit and God's mercy, and my two year old was pleasant as well. All in all, it was a good learning experience for the kids and me, and after their spankings they were very cheerful and compliant. I was glad I went with them all, and despite my humbling, felt like I learned alot about remaining calm during a few chaotic moments. I wouldn't have preferred this experience, but I know God used it for my sanctification anyway. So, thanks be to God!

Sleepy heads

My sister came in town today, and when Aunt Amanda comes to town, everything is a party! She has five kids, going on six, and my children just love to play with them all. They have a great time together, usually :), but they also play hard and don't nap. This makes for some very tired kiddos. As we left Grandma's house tonite to go home, two of my kids conked out in the first two minutes, the other two took turns wailing and weeping. I don't think they even knew why they felt so sad, and just leaving the cousins behind at Grandma's for the night wasn't sufficient for these the-world's-coming-to-an-end tears. When this happens, and reason flies out the window into the night air, I find that it's best not to give in to the desparation of the moment, but as the proverbs say, not answer a fool in his folly. I know that their cries are a result of their sinful natures just as much as they're from their exhausted bodies, but I also know that our Lord who is slow to anger and compassionate with me, sees these little ones with just as much love and patience. So, I try to see them through these last few moments before crashing in their beds, by soft tones in my voice and kind, understanding words. And I know that this is just a small and very flawed example of how my precious Father in heaven also handles my irrational cries - like during the arsenic hour every day, or all day long during pregnancy, or even in the throes of labor pains. He is THE Comforter! May He make me more like Him today.

So the LORD spoke kind and comforting words to the angel who talked with me. Zechariah 1:13

Late last night about 3 a.m., I got up to feed a little one.

Let's just say, Mama-3, roaches - 0.

God's little jokes

Of course God has a sense of humor! How do I know? He's given the world's biggest bug scardey-cat a house that went unoccuppied for months and now has an infestation of roaches that think they own the place. Everyday I have a run in with at least one and sometimes up to five of these pesky little creatures. In case you were not aware, the roaches in Texas are, like this blog, Texas Sized. Two inches on average, and if you think I'm kidding, just count how many cans of bug spray are lying around my abode. So, yesterday I find one in the kitchen which dear husband helped me to attack. We chased it across cabinets, behind the toaster, around the trash can, and at last it got smart and scurried under the refrigerator. Thinking it had been sprayed with enough poison to kill it in a minute or two, I relaxed a bit only to have the thing come sprinting out from underneath straight at me! Visions of roach caught in my long skirt danced through my head - I screamed. Then darling strong stud of mine stomped on it just in time to save this distressed damsel.

Well, that was enough excitement for me for one day, so off to bed I go. Well, lying in bed talking before turning the light off(see the small graces God gives) I notice another huge roach crawling on the curtain rod across the room (at least it wasn't on the one right above my bed!). Well, hubby runs for the bug spray, and just as he sprays it, the thing takes off in flight(yes, some of them fly!) across the room and straight into the closet two feet from my side of the bed - now how am I going to sleep? So we shut the closet door and spray enough Raid around the door to kill, well me and think we'll just have to hope it dies soon. Well, true to cockroach form it crawls out of the closet straight for my side of the bed - what have I done to them?! Again we just resign to hope it dies soon, but it quickly runs out from the other side of the bed, and once again clod-hopper stomps it dead(aren't husbands great!).

So, I've decided to thank God for the small graces He gives in dealing with these creatures, and hopefully find a way to laugh instead of cry. Oh yeah, and I think I'll invest in some Herman Munster shoes for my man.

Update

As I sit in here, avoiding eye contact with the boxes, my five year old comes in to announce that she has made a cool park out of the debris! Complete with a slide and all!

Numbers 11:17I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of the Spirit that is on you and put the Spirit on them. They will help you carry the burden of the people so that you will not have to carry it alone.

Yes, God's word is true - children are a blessing!

I am not one of those people who look at a big house full of boxes, and ripped apart floors, and bare windows and says, Okay let's get started! I tend to feel much more disorganized and overwhelmed amidst utter chaos, rather than energized and efficient. So, as I sit in the middle of my war zone, I cry out to God, "Hear my cry, O Lord!" I know amidst other trials that are faced in life, this can seem rather petty, but for me it is a deep pit of despair. To God nothing is small, and He answers me, "I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you." And He shows me, "God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day." Praise be to God, I believe He is good and kind despite my feelings of hopelessness at the moment.

Thank you Vision Forum!

Doug Phillips is showing the trailer to Monstrous Regiment of Women on his blog today. He also wrote a nice little review of Shaky Town.

Go See!

http://www.visionforum.com/hottopics/blogs/dwp/

House it going?

That's the punch line to one of my kids' favorite knock knock jokes. They're developing quite the repertoire of these lately.

Well, dear husband got back in town safely. We're so glad to have him back, but he, and consequently we, are busier than ever. On top of his regular work, he is trying to help with the kids so that I can finally get over this nursing infection, mow the lawn, unpack boxes, refinish floors, and now he is gearing up for the SAICFF coming up in a few weeks. He doesn't have an official entry this time but they are showing his trailer to his upcoming flick, "The Monstrous Regiment of Women." He's got a blog up for this new project and is letting me post on there as well. So, if you don't see me in this neck of the woods, wander on over to www.monstrousregiment.com

See you there!

Where is your faith?

As we moved into our new house, I excitedly prepared for my first major appliance purchase - a brand new washer and dryer! I researched all over the web, and the stores around town, as well as consumer reports. I found a top of the line Maytag set for a really good deal at Discount Vacuum and Appliance, plunked down my money, and voila! I had a fantastic laundry system that I was going to put to some serious use. Or so I thought. Three days ago I noticed that my clothes were sopping wet at the end of the cycle. So, thinking it was a minor issue with the installation, I called in the company that sold it to me. Come to find out it is the transmission that is out and will be at least a week to order the parts, etc. I am truly upset.

Just to give a bit of background to this, for the past three years we rented a duplex with a small stackable washer/dryer system in it. The system was at least twenty years old and was under a warranty through sears. This thing would break down every few months and I would have to call up Sears for an appointment which was usually two weeks away. After that appointment, the technician would have to special order parts because of the age of the machines, and deliver them to my house. When I got the parts I would have to call Sears and make another appointment which was again about two weeks away. Finally when number three was born and I was in the hospital, it broke again, and I was without a washer machine for two months. I got sick of this method of doing things and for the last year we lived there I would just hold the washer mahcine together, literally, while it washed a set of clothes. Keep in mind that it was so small it wouldn't wash more than two towels at a time, then would take over two and a half hours to dry it all.

Needless to say, I was so excited about my brand new washer machine.

So, as it breaks down these last few days, and I look to God for guidance in this, for I know that everything is for my good and for His glory, I realize I had misplaced my trust and foolishly squandered it on the things of this world. I should've relied upon my Lord for my hope for providing clean clothes for my family and not this new state of the art washer machine. I have put my trust in the chariots and the horses of technology and not in the all encompassing power and love of my God. Thank you Lord that you have guided me back and used this experience to remind me of Your goodness, sovereignty, and love for me.

Psalm 20:7

Lonely

My husband is in San Francisco this week for business. I just wanted to say, in my biggest pouty voice ever, I don't like it one little bit! I miss him terribly, and I get madder everyday that this dumb company took him away from his family for five days. What a bunch of meanies! Hopefully I'll get a lot done so that he'll be pleased with my progress on the house while he was away. Keeping busy also helps the time go by faster, btw. Tonight I went to the store and bought some of his favorite foods so he'll have a nice homecoming. Two more days and counting!

Before/Nearly After

Getting started painting the girls room. Gracie has been talking about having a pink room for about as long as I can remember. She loves it so far. So do I! I'll post a fully "after" picture later.

You can call me Nancy

I love it when someone says exactly what I was trying to say. So, I'll just pretend I'm Nancy Wilson and wrote this wonderful article about motherhood, because it's what I would've said if I could, but didn't. Does that make sense? :)

http://credenda.org/issues/17-3femina.php

Sorry, folks don't know how to do that pretty link where you just click on one word kind-of-thing.

Blessings to all the mothers and their constant soul feeding.- read the article, you'll know what that means.

Life is messy

Well, true to my previous post, I have been spending a shameful amount of time in Home Depot and an obscene amount of money. Once we started moving our things into our house, we realized that it was horrendously dirty and began cleaning and ripping out old shag carpet. We originally thought the carpet was brown, apparently it was supposed to be peach. So, we've been redoing hard wood floors this past week, and didn't officially move in until yesterday.

Today I began cleaning out the master bath's shower. For a little bit of background, the couple that owned this house before had been old and deteriorating in health over the last few years. The wife passed a few years back, and the husband from Parkinsons in just the past few months. The shower stall I cleaned today, looked like it hadn't been cleaned since the wife had been in good health. I'm not faulting the sweet family that lived here, it is after all a consequence of growing old, and I know they did their best while they could. But, tonight I had to scrape soap scum off of fifty year old tile with a knife scraper and heavy duty lime-away cleaner. It was so very gross! Really! I was trying to think of this terrible task as an honor in that it was a way to serve my family in love. I started thinking about how so much of being a woman is really messy and gross. First off there's childbirth, which, while a glorious miracle, is also icky and embarassing - during the delivery of my second, I was being wheeled into the delivery room and managed to announce to a very crowded hallway that I was pooping on the table :). Then there's our wonderful monthly periods, which make you feel completely unglamorous and like you want to shower five times a day. Then there's the poopy diapers we deal with on an hourly basis, wiping up toilets from potty training toddlers, spit up from our beautiful newborns, snotty noses that I'm still wondering when they start taking care of for themselves, and the list goes on. But, while these tasks look degrading and disgusting on the outside, they are just a part of the fallen world God has placed us in, and called us to be servants for our families. God promises that the lowly will be lifted high, and so it is in these seeminly base duties. While we are knee deep in soap scum and boogers, God promises that we are truly esteemed. It is a wonderful honor and privilege to love others in these tasks and part of our purpose on earth is not to run around with maids and nannies, but to glorify God by cleaning up messes.