I just have to say there must be something in the water at church…

In the past week two of my friends have found out they are expecting! It’s so exciting to hear and see about. One friend has been praying for a baby for what seems like a long time now. We are so thrilled to see her and her husband become parents.

So, the baby count just at church for the next year looks to be close to 10 or so maybe more.

It’s neat to see. When Ace was born in 2004, there were at least 20 women at our church expecting a baby. Even though some of the families have moved, etc since then, his class remains rather large, meaning lots of babies were born that year and not just in our church.

I’m wondering if the same trend is happening this time around. It’ll be interesting to see.

I’m so excited Ceili Rain will have friends to play with who are only four and five months apart!

Congratulations to my friends! We are praying for protection and health for all the moms and babes.

Sad but true, my iron broke. I don’t mean, oh it stopped working, I mean it broke…while I was ironing. The temperature knob fell out and the metal started detaching from the plastic. (Insert tears of pain here)

Now, if you know me and my family, you will know that I do not iron on a regular basis. Mark goes “casual business” to work…which means khakis and a golf shirt. And you have to be crazy if you think I buy my kids clothes that need ironing on a regular basis. Oh, yes, on occasion there are Sunday outfits that have to be ironed because throwing them in the dryer for a quick few minutes didn’t work…not a big deal…but I just don’t iron. I thought I was alone on this until I was relating my latest iron saga and soon discovered I was not alone…oh yes, there are others.

I do, however, use my iron when sewing and I prewash the material and need to iron out the wrinkles, etc (the dryer doesn’t cut it with just flat fabric for some reason). So, back to yesterday afternoon, I was finishing up Ceili Rain’s nursing cover and some stuff for a Christmas party on Saturday (I know it’s before Thanksgiving, we’re all really busy during the Christmas season and it’s nice having time to do it before Christmas, so I guess we could call it a holiday party, except that it’s for our Sunday school class and that’s sacreligious or something)…anyway. I was trying to get some things ironed to send on to church last night and the temperature control thing just fell out. I thought I could keep going but I just couldn’t push it along and gave up.

When I told Mark, I could see the wheels turning as he plotted out how he could fix it…engineer that he is. But, I politely informed him that thing had to be over 10 years old and was a lower end model and had served us well the 20 times we’ve used it (in the past eight years). He agreed and I got a $13 iron at Wal-Mart last night. Iron Saga over…I hope.

I’ve really heard a lot lately, through Bible study and a Bible conference at church and now this, about living differently. You may know what I’m talking about, but I know I need reminding a lot. It’s about living for Christ… set apart…”in the world/not of the world.” I want people to look at my life and not just question whether I’m a Christian but know it. I guess I can whine and complain about how hard it is to live differently in a country so saturated with whatever we need and want right at our fingertips. But I’ve been challenged. And Ali’s post has challenged me even more. I started reading this blog over a week ago and I get something from each of her humble posts. Ali is a nurse on a Mercy ship. Mercy ships are all over the world and are the largest non-military hospital ships made. They share Jesus through treating the sick and those in need. She has served this past year off the coast of Liberia. All I have to say is, may people be able to really look at my life and say, “And that is how I know you are Chrisitans. This is God’s work here.” Read it if you get a chance. It’s not too long.

As the granddaughter of two veterans I feel that today is special. Our freedom didn’t come from the deep blue and I’m very grateful for all the men and women who have served, given their lives, and made deep sacrifices for our freedom. Steven Curtis Chapman’s website has a beautiful song about Corpsman Thomas McBride, which was written after Chapman met a veteran who gave the sacrifice for our freedom and the freedoms of those in other countries. Click here to hear it and share with those who need to be reminded what a veteran has done for us as Americans.

After two weeks of canning, we now have a bushel of apples (that’s a lot folks) put away! Papa, Mark’s dad, orders apples in bulk every year from a place in Georgia. Let me just say that they are not that expensive and they are sweet! Last year, we got a 1/2 a bushel which was enough to see if I could do something with them. This year, we just got a full bushel since I am using more applesauce to make bread and Ceili Rain will need some for when she starts eating. So, I put away over 15 pint jars of applesauce and 18 half pint jars of apple butter (can you say Christmas gifts…if Zoe doesn’t eat them first). I know it won’t last a year, but at least I have some fresh applesauce, which, to me, is way yummier than store bought applesauce (by the way, we buy the unsweetened sauce with nothing but water and apples).

Next year, I’m hoping, won’t involve that much traveling and we will probably increase our order to more than a bushel…we’ll just have to see. I think Mark’s glad to have the apples out of the fridge!

I was laughing last night as I was canning apple butter and wondering out loud, “If someone had told me eight years ago that I would be canning applesauce to make my own bread…” I really just don’t think I would have believed it. Of course, I wasn’t going to stay home nor homeschool either…That just teaches you to never tell God, “no” when you haven’t asked Him first!

I know everyone is sitting on pins and needles to know exactly what we’re going to do with our transportation.

I have to just say it’s really neat how people are coming up with all kinds of solutions. Mark and I knew we wouldn’t have an average 4 member size family since before we got married. That was whether God blessed us with our own children or through adoption. We knew it wasn’t going to be average because let’s face it…we’re kind of unaverage (I don’t think that’s a word) too. Anyway, so when we got our mini van (which is really a wagon…Mazda MPV) we knew that we would have to upgrade to a 12 passenger in about five to ten years. Five years it is!!

We were able to go and actually look at the 12 passenger vans at a place in Atlanta this weekend. They had some that were actually not white. I, initially, was all for getting an older model at a cheaper price, but then I realized what that would mean. The one older model we looked at looked like it had been through the wringer. So we looked at a little newer model…2005…and we found two we liked.

Am I overly thrilled about getting a 12 passenger? I have to just say it’s not my dream car but more like what our family needs.

Am I scared about driving a big van? A little, but mainly I know I can do it since I have before (Defensive driving course when I was working as a service coordinator). I’ll have some practice parking and driving sessions before hitting the road.

So where do we stand? (Don’t you just love me asking questions at the beginning of my paragraphs?) We’re working on seeing if we can get the “sweet” deal interest rate this week. If that works out and we get all our paperwork worked out, we should get it this week or the first of next week, I think. We’ll see. The good deal on interest rates will be done at the end of October. If it’s God’s will for us to get it now. We will. If not, we’ll wait until closer to our new little one getting here.

I’ve done my part…the research and picking and finding and inspecting the “look” of the vans. Mark’s done some of his and is working on the rest this week (the logistics/paperwork/negotiating).

Right now, we’re praying for clear direction on what to do and which way to go.