No Rest for the Weary

Why do smoke detector batteries ONLY get low in the middle of the night? We've owned 5 different homes in the last 11 years and have not heard a smoke detector beep at us in daylight hours once. We even had the privilege of dealing with one in a vacation home one year! Is there something about the dark that drains the last bit of it?
This time we have the privilege of a TALKING smoke detector. Not only were we awakened at 1am by the beep, it was followed by the message "Low battery." Really?? Cause we weren't sure.
To make matters worse, the low battery beep and message are coming from the main system detector.
Which just so happens to be located in our family room.
Which just so happens to have 20 foot ceilings.
Which just so happens to be twice as high as any ladder we own.
It also happens to be located about six inches from the top of the staircase ... and about 3 inches from arm's length of either one of us on top of our tallest ladder, teetering at the top of the staircase.
So, this is no ordinary middle-of-the-night-replace-your-smoke-detector-battery event. Oh, no. Ed is now in the attic, doing I-don't-even-want-to-know-what to try to shut her up! Just a minute....

Well, now I know what he was doing. He unhooked it and called me to catch it ... which I couldn't ... cause, remember, it was just out of reach from the stairs? So, it took a 20-foot tumble down the staircase and broke into several pieces.
And is still beeping!
Not only that, but it has NO BATTERY to replace!

At least its in the garage where it can beep happily away (wrapped in towels!) while we try to return to dreamland. An hour later! Goodnight.

Made My Day

I have a few other posts to catch up on, but this one is just too funny!

Ed traveled to Dallas for work this week and drove back in last night. He called me when he was about an hour from home (as I was getting ready to put the kids to bed) and told me to jump in the shower and get dressed, my mom was on her way over and we were going out - to his friend, Brad's birthday get together - HERE.

If you know me, you know I'm not all that good at spontaneity. I want to be. But, I'm a planner. That's just the way God made me. For better or worse. My husband knows this about me, but he also gets a kick out of throwing me off my game. Unfortunately, I didn't react as I would like to ... something about, "what?" "Its going to be late and I don't get to sleep in" "I can't be ready in an hour" yada yada yada. But, I agreed. Especially since my mom was already on her way.


I put the kids to bed and in the midst of nursing and rocking Jace, I realized that I totally missed the boat. Don't I love it when my husband plans dates? Don't I love it even more when he lines up the childcare? Don't I love it when he surprises me? Sheesh. This was GOOD! I called him back and apologized (gosh, I hate that!) and told him I was excited. I hopped in the shower and miraculously was ready by the time he got home.

We went to Sammy's Place, which is a B.A.R in Houston ... like show-your-ID-and-pay-a-cover-charge-at-the-door BAR ... and let's just say its been a REALLY REALLY long time since I've been to a bar. The bar scene just isn't my gig these days. I felt a little out of place and honestly, a little old.


But, the night was saved. There was a live band - the Spazmatics. As Brad described them, Devo meets Revenge of the Nerds. They were indeed geeks and freaks, but I have to say they put on a pretty good show. They play mostly 80s music ... and who can resist that? We had a great time.


At the end of the night (for us anyway!), Ed went to the restroom and a young guy approached me.


He wanted to know if Ed was my boyfriend!!!! I was so shocked, I just flashed my ring. Guess not too many 38-year-old-been-married-nearly-13-years-with-4-kids hang around the bar scene. Turns out, this adorable little guy was 24. That's my little brothers' age! Eek! But, I was beyond flattered. And, excited. I mean, what woman wouldn't want to be hit on by a guy 14 years younger who is floored she's 38 and has 4 kids! Made my night. My week for that matter. You just can't beat a little ego boost! Even if it was in a bar.

My Theme Song

I got this video on Facebook from my girlfriend, Nonie. We used to have weekly visits to Chic-Fil-A ... man, I miss those ... it was like therapy! I also got this from Pastor Lori - she said it made her think of me. Ha! I guess all my complaining about there being no free-standing Chic-Fil-A's in Des Moines was heard loud and clear!
So, I've decided that this should be my theme song! LOL.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsJHqstPuNo&feature=channel_page

And, just in case you haven't seen Tim Hawkin's work before, check this out ... I think this is his best work!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VM6uqj0_jQc

Grandma's Hip

She's "hip" for sure, but this is actually literally about her hip.

On Monday, Ed's mom had hip replacement surgery. She fell and broke her hip about 6 years ago, but the screws caused some probs and a replacement was in order.

She's coming to stay with us for the first part of her recovery once she's released from the hospital (hopefully tomorrow). The kids are looking forward to having her here, but I'm not sure they fully understand she won't be the "hip" grandma they're used to! They are excited to help take care of her, though and I know the older three will be great helps.

Anyway, this past weekend, she brought over all her "handicapped" paraphernalia - and here's what you would expect from her son ...

Even "popping a wheelie" (or attempting to) -

If nothing else, Eddie will be good for some 'comedic therapy' while his mom is here!

True to Form

Since Brad's known Ed for 28 years, I'm certain he knew what he was getting into when he asked Ed to be his best man ...

Church hunting

We had a rather humorous church hunting day today!
Looking for a new church home is probably what I like the least about moving. The end result is worth the effort, of course, its just the process I don't much enjoy. For one thing, I don't care for the idea of church "shopping" as it were - it just seems weird. Necessary, but weird.
If you know us, you know we've been involved in several church plants. By accident at first and then on purpose! We are conservative Christians, both raised Methodist, but now preferring seeker-sensitive Evangelical churches with contemporary praise & worship and sound Biblical teaching, preferably non-denominational. We aren't into traditions, legalism and the like. For whatever reason, God has really given us a heart for church plants.
I fought against another church plant when we moved to Iowa - and I'm sure it gave God a good chuckle. After visiting every established church in Des Moines, we landed in yet another plant! It was a huge blessing and we loved it. A newly formed church offers nothing if not the opportunity to serve! The bonus for us is that they tend to be easy places to plug into since everyone is new!
Anyway, all that to say that we've been visiting churches here. We went to one a couple times that we like, but its a little far from our new house.
Today was all about checking out a church near the new house. We did an online search and landed on one that met in a middle school. Sounds good so far, right? It turned out to be close to this lease house, so we arrived really early. We took the extra time to drive to the nearby movie theater and elementary school to see about the churches meeting in those locations. The elementary school had a service at the same time as the one we were originally planning to attend. I'm not sure how it became a good idea to give it a try, but we did. It was clear to both of us in the first 20 seconds that this was not the one for us. First, there was a bowl of baptismal water on a stand in the aisle, an alter at the front and a lady chirping about having communion every week in this Lutheran church. Now, I don't mean to offend anyone or any religion. Its just that we believe in baptism by immersion and I personally feel like you lose the effect of what communion is intended to be when its done every week. To top it all off, they did not offer classes for children. I know some think its important for families to worship together. In theory, I think that would be ideal. However, in practice, I have a host of issues - not the least of which being that kids don't get much out of an adult teaching time. There's also the issue that as adults, we don't get as much out of it either if we're having to tend to our (bored) children. But, this was not why there were no classes for kids. They actually took the kids OUTSIDE during the sermon!
That said, I do really like churches where the kids are in the main service for praise and worship, then dismissed to their classes.
But, I'm digressing. Back to this morning's experience. Like I said, we knew immediately that this was not the church for us and I was thinking we were about to completely waste this Sunday for "church shopping." Oh, how wrong I was. My never-to-be-bashful husband said (in a not-so-quiet voice), "Let's go. This is not the church for us and we're not wasting our time." Oh my goodness, I was MORTIFIED!!!!! We turned around and started walking out the door, with completely confused kiddos and the greeter at the door saying, "Uh oh." I just kept my head low and walked as fast as I possibly could (holding the hand of a 3-year old). Jake kept asking what was going on and Ed told him that Mommy was probably really mad at him. You know, on the one hand I was terribly embarrassed, just because that's how I am, but on the other, I was really relieved to not waste the time. Our poor kids couldn't even get their seat belts fastened before we drove out of the parking lot!
I don't know if the hilarity of the situation can be relayed in this blog, but I'm cracking up laughing as I type this!
We did end up at the church we originally intended to visit today. Its not the one for us either, but it was sure closer than the first.
We had a great laugh about it all at lunch today and decided it was indeed, blog-worthy. And, that's how you know it was funny!

The "Joy" of Motherhood

Many of you have gotten hooked on "June Cleaver" just like me. Some have asked how I found her blog - I actually stumbled upon it looking for "cool" homeschooling-mom blogs. You know, fun, real moms that don't wear the denim jumper and hair doily (you know what I'm talking about ~ Its the first vision you have when you hear the word "homeschoolers").

She seriously makes me laugh. She's witty and has such a fun way of looking at the mundane things in life. Like motherhood. Her post today is hysterical. Maybe I laughed out loud so many times because what she describes sounds like she's been living in MY house! I don't know, but I just found this post especially hilarious. If you have children, check it out & see if it doesn't make you laugh (out loud!), too!

And another belated birthday wish!

My friend Nonie's birthday was last weekend! If you read my blogs about Houston, you saw her name!

*Nonie is one of my dearest friends from Dallas ~ one of those lifelong friends no matter how far apart.

*She is one of the most honest people I know. I value her input in anything because I know she'll give it to me straight ... and from a biblical perspective.

*Nonie's view of the world is always based beyond herself. No matter what she faces, she always knows there are others with worse circumstances and counts herself blessed. That inspires me!

*Nonie and I had weekly lunch dates at Chic Fil A when we lived in Dallas. I always looked forward to those times and miss them so much now!

*Nonie has THREE beautiful blessings ~ Kailey, Tyler and precious surprise, Trinley!

*Nonie is one of those rare people that devotes her life to others. She's always thinking about what other people need, how she can help them and how she can be the best wife and mom to her husband & kids.

*Nonie is from San Antonio, Texas but they moved to the Dallas area for Aaron's job. She is very close to her family and misses living near them terribly.

*Nonie is a Custom home builder (yes, that's Custom with a capital C!). I wish I knew how to link to her most recent build ... but suffice it to say, it was outstanding and beautiful! Ed and I joke that we wish we could afford her!

*Nonie is very talented and creative in many ways. She's a phenomenal photographer - the kind with a real "eye" to see what makes a sweet photo. She also makes announcements, invitations and the sort. She did Jadyn's birth announcements and they are precious!!

*Nonie calls Aaron "The Bomb" - and they give each other knuckle pounds frequently. I love that about them because its just a reflection of the fact that they are truly 'on the same team!'

*Nonie kept Jordan and Jake the day Jadyn was born ... even though she thought I was nuts to do a homebirth!


I love you, Nonie! Hope you had a wonderful birthday!! Thanks for being such a great friend!!