More Great Big BLESSINGS- June 2013

OK, now that the excitement if over about that last thing ;) we can move on to others. Few are just a few BIG highlights from the past few months. ~Dan has been unemployed for 3 months. 3 months is a LONG time to be without work, especially for someone who likes to be busy as much as Dan does. However,  in the mean time, he's had time to entertain guests that he would have barely seen if he was working his normal job. He's done many projects around the house. He's been around to hang out with the boys. He's been able to help many friends with projects large and small. He's had the time to properly research and track down the 'just right' used car to add to the Man Crew's parking garage. He's had time to workout with Tyler at Planet Fitness nearly everyday and while that hasn't translated into weight loss yet like he'd hope, I won't even hazard a guess at how much he can bench press these days. His arms are HUGE! He's had time to sleep in from time to time and enjoy not living at breakneck speed for a while. It's been such a blessing in many ways, however, the need for money to live is a thing that doesn't go away, so we've been diligently praying for either his 'regular' job to get ready to have him back, or for something new to come along. And it has. Friday Dan was called by the local union office and offered a welding job (which he loves) for Fed Ex. He starts Monday. The money is good, the travel shouldn't be too bad once he finds the best way there to avoid traffic, and they are working long hours at this point which means we will have to say "We can't afford that" a few times less a month. :) Praise GOD!

Hercules, Hercules, Hercules!

~Kristy has a new job. Well, not that new since I've been at it for about 2 months now, but it came at JUST the right time. Imagine that :) It has been filling some monetary gaps left by Dan's unemployment, it allows me to still home-school, and it's for some people we are blessed to call friends. I am nannying 50+ hours a week. However, since 2 of the 3 are in full time school, I've only got the little one most of the time (except that now it's summer) The kids all get along quite well and the parents are wonderful, Godly people.

~We bought a car! With the van having 220,000 miles on it, and Dan and I needing to go in opposite directions for work these days, it was time to add another vehicle to the fleet. Plus, David will be driving soon (Ahhh, don't even want to think about that!) Dan did a great job of researching cars and then putting in the time to go from car lot to car lot, test driving and asking questions until just the right car presented itself. It's a little beauty. 2005 Honda Accord that gets 35mpg. AND it has A/C, something that the van is sorely lacking. Dan has spent hundreds of hours tweaking this and that, adding a pin stripe, carpeting the trunk so his tools won't bang up the trunk box, installing a spoiler to the back (which was a great father son activity for Dan and Patrick) adding extra interior lights and washing it over and over. :) And over. It is nice to not need to schedule every little trip around waiting for the person with the car to get home. Again, it's been a God thing since Dan was off of work while we purchased this car, and we were still able to do it. 

 

~David and Pat just got back from their first time at youth camp. To sum up, David said this, "Mom, that is the best thing you've ever 'made' me do." :) Yes, it took quite a bit of encouraging on my part to get them to sign up, but then they were committed. They've washed cars, done paid chores, got some unwanted shots, washed more cars, and sacrificed many smaller treats for the opportunity to go. They are fresh back and still have the 'glow' of camp about them. Good stuff! They made new friends, spent time digging in God's word, laughed, sang, prayed and played with kids from around the state, and remembered how much they love my cooking after all. ;)

~Derek and I spent a quiet week at home without the BIGS around. Dan was busy this week, so we had the days to ourselves. He spent afternoons at summer camp at Aunt Jodi's tutoring company and had a blast. He was thrilled. He didn't have to share the TV or video games, no one shooed his little friends away so they could have the trampoline and no one else was needing my attention. I think it was good for him. Plus, it was a brief but surreal peek into my future. In just a few short years, the BIGS are going to the GROWN and it will be just Hercules, DT and me. I got several things done from my running to do list that have been lingering for far too long. I got back to blogging. I slept in. I laughed myself silly with DT. I visited friends. I spent a few hours at the library...3 times! This week, I did ONE load in the dishwasher, I took the trash out ONE time, and I only did THREE loads of laundry. I realized that the BIGS leave messes everywhere since I didn't have to pick up socks, dirty dishes or Magic Cards, or go looking for my computer at all this week. And every time I opened the fridge, there was still food in it. Bwuahahah! Feeding 2 teenage boys and a man named Hercules is a full time job all by itself, in case any of you don't know.

~All of that to say that God has been miraculously meeting our needs (and a good portion of our wants) this spring and early summer. And we want to say thank you and share joy with you, our dear friends. Thanks for stopping by.
    Blessings, ~K~

PS. OIY, the formatting on this one will just NOT cooperate. Please overlook the poor text mess of this one and just enjoy the joy. :)