One of those days....

It's one of those days... They come every so often and as the years go on since I met the Lord, they come more frequently. It's a day where I'm oh so clearly reminded in a not so pleasant way that I am truly a stranger in this land...a foreigner, not belonging anywhere or in any one place...
I suppose it's not so bad to know that, after all we are His alone, and He is not only faithful, just and wise, but jealous of my attentions and devotion. My problem though is when I am reminded that I belong no where on earth, fit in no where, by members of His Body:-( I will never get over the realization that some of the worst treatment, some of the worst behavior, some of the meanest coldest words have come from people claiming to be His. I know that HE doesn't intend this at all, but people get so caught up in their own way of thinking. This is an old story, in fact more than 2000 years old, but how painful it is...
I long to be done with this perverted place and time and be with Him. I suppose my goal in all these times should be to realize that I can only trust Him, that He alone is my father, my friend, my family.. that He felt the same rejection while here in human form and mine is no where close to being as severe... This pain and hurt was carried on the cross with Him along with my own sins and I don't need to worry. This covenant of God is irrevocable and precious to me.
Some days though, I just want the family of God to actually BE family to me... the world is a lonely place.:-(

Exhausted but still here...

Well, it's been a looooong time since I've posted anything... not because nothing has happened or we've somehow gotten less boring.. oh no, that's never us! (as much as I'd like it to be sometimes:-) Things get so crazy sometimes, I just can't figure out how to actually say what's going on in my native tongue and don't know any other language to communicate in. (well except a little german, and I can cuss and order food in spanish:-p ) But anyway....
Bob got a job in April in Murfreesboro, an hour away , as a carpenter for a contracting company that has a contract with the state of TN to install some water thingy at the VA hospital... Long way to drive each way, not really making it financially, but with an eye on the future, he goes and works.
We're STILL trying to sell this house.:-( The value is dropping as I type and if we see that we will actually have to pay money at closing instead of receive money at closing, we'll actually have to foreclose:-(( Ugh... Money has been tighter than size 2 jeans on my behind:-( I'm glad we'll soon be able to eat from the garden. Hand to mouth is more fun with fresh veggies,lol..
The school year is ending this week for us (YIPPEEEEEE!!!) and our time , it appears will now be spent taking care of the grand babies and working the garden.
Last week, Marissa had a court date regarding Chad not paying ANY child support for the last 3 months. Before then there was a deposition, which had Marissa, Chad , both lawyers and a court reporter. I prayed that Chad would be provoked by the Lord , with no free will of his own, to speak the truth in spite of himself. Well, HE is a wonderful God, who answers all kinds of prayers:-). Chad proceeded to not only admit that he and his parents have, since the inception of the court order, been violating it by having no supervision, have a minimum of 6 unlocked, unregistered weapons laying all over his trailer while Eli was with him. And that he does not WANT to get a job and wants to sit and play video games and smoke pot all day. When asked if he thought he had a drug problem he said "yes". When asked if the lawyer paid for it, if Chad would take a drug test on the spot, he said "no".:-/ So charges of contempt were filed (after a YEAR of this:-( ) and the court date was last Tues.... Where once again, he lied and lied, but still couldn't keep himself from saying things to a conservative southern judge like "I don't have to pay child support, they've got food stamps for that" :-/ (picture the judge right here doing a Spanky McFarlan , little rascals , double take:-/... ) He once again said he does drugs and plays video games all day... when asked what he would test positive for that day , he said "pot and lortabs" when asked if he would take a drug test he once again said "no"... So after admitting essentially to 5 counts of contempt, the judge sentenced him to 50 days in jail (one of these counts was for soliciting minors on myspace and offering them drugs in exchange for a "hookup" ) ...Fast forward , not far enough, to today, where his lawyer is as I type petitioning the judge to reconsider letting him out TODAY and guess what? There's a high likely-hood it will actually happen! Ugh.... there are truly some days where if the Lord came back , I might do something stupid like ask Him what took Him so long?:-( I'm that tired I guess. Lord forgive me:-(.
Anyway...
On a more cheerful topic... I have the babies pretty frequently and Caleb at 9 months took two steps toward his Grammy yesterday:-) I love this part.:-)
Eli is a clever, mouthy,lol, smart and a whip , 45lb! 2 and a half year old,lol.. He's still my little guy:-).
Jake is turning into a wonderful young man who truly loves the Lord. He's advanced in his studies and is growing so tall he's only a 1/2 inch shorter than I am at 12 years old.:-) I'm 5'6".
Shannon is my beautiful prov.31 girl:-). She becomes more of a lovely Christian lady every day. These things are a miracle with me for a mom,lol...
Marissa is finally coming out of the fog of rebellion, and taking up her cross. A beautiful cross of being a Mommy to two wonderful boys and getting herself back under her Father's headship and learning to submit. It's been hard on her, on us all, but it's been worth watching.:-)
Well, now that I've cheered everyone up,lol, I'll close here:-)

Alton Brown and Thomas Dolby....same guy???? hmmmmmmm

O.k., so way back in prehistoric Karen-land, I was quite the "new waver"...oh yes, I burned up the dance floor in my Molly Ringwald-esque way...peg leg jeans, off the shoulder ripped up sweatshirts and of course doing the flash dance running routine in my room to drop that pesky extra 20lbs.... It was THE thing in 80's southern California pop scene. I even saw Thomas Dolby at the Santa Barbara bowl....(we won't discuss the Thompson Twins concert I also saw there...ick...) Anyway, fast forward to Christian Homeschool Mom-hood. One of my favorite ways of teaching science in is the kitchen , which of course makes Alton Brown's "Good Eats" indispensible! We love Alton in our house! The other day I thought it would be funny to show our youngest the "She blinded me with science" video on youtube, you know, just to break up the monotony of the day.... and lo and behold there was what looked like an 80's weird guy version of Alton Brown!!! No really, it was Thomas Dolby but I keep thinking , good grief was Alton Brown actually Thomas Dolby in some past weird life???:-) Probably not,lol..but the resemblence is uncanny!! Just add 25 years onto Thomas' face and voila! Alton Brown!:-D

Look for yourself!

Sumpin' silly:-)

O.k., so I'm simple...but I thought this was funny:-)

. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car): Pansy Expedition

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie): Pistachio Lorna Doone (hahahahah,lol..)

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name):K-Oro

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal): Red Dog ( I'd have more energy if it was Red Bull though:-P)

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born):Diane Ventura (wow that sounds real:-)

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first):Oroka (better than Jaba)

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink): Purple Coffee (ewwwww)

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers):Wilburt Dempsey (lol..)

9. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter): Sweat Seattle (bwahahhaha,lol...her last name really is Sweat as in perspire,heehee:-)

10. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower).Autumn Poppy

11. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”):Peaches Clamdiggy (?)

12. HIPPIE NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree):Granola Sequoia (Hey! That IS a hippie name right?)

13. YOUR ROCK STAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour” and the year): The Gardening Rain Tour 2007

Hey, ya wanna buy a house???

Anyone? Anyone???:-/

O.k., so most of you who know us, know that we are trying to sell this big house. We are in need of moving, not because the neighborhood is uncomfortable anymore , on the contrary it's been cleaned up quite nicely. Mostly because Bob needs to find steady work, in particular there are many teaching positions available in the city but you have to be near to take advantage of them. But also, we've been so disappointed in not being able to find a good church here:-( We have prayed and prayed that the Lord would open up a fellowship of His believers here that was not "nutty" in theology, but this area is so divided in doctrine that we feel unsafe doing anything popping into non-denominational churches with our children.

Well, we are listing this house "by owner" right now to save money, but even at the price we're listing it at which is suuuuper low for a 5 bedroom 3000+ sq.ft. house, no one seems to want to come to little McMinnville, no matter how nice our place is. We are trusting though , that the Lord has a buyer for this place:-)

If any of you know anyone who is looking to buy a large home,lol, please direct them to this url. :-) http://tinyurl.com/25uncu

Deuteronomy 8:6-11

6Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him.
7For the LORD thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills;
8A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey;
9A land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass.
10When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the LORD thy God for the good land which he hath given thee.
11Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day:

It doesn't get better than this......

A clearly exhaust Caleb with all my picture taking:-)

Caleb at two days old:-)

Here's Caleb at 5 minutes old (After I stopped crying and remembered I had a camera:-)

Here's Caleb last night at our house...He wasn't really sure he was done eating, but his thumb was making him happy none the less:-)

" Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.." Psalm 127:3

Well, as the post title states, it truely does not get better than this:-) My second grandson Caleb Michael arrived at 12:54 am August 15th. After a very fast and ferocious labor, he entered this world right before my eyes and once again I was struck with the incredible fact that the Lord Himself was with us! It was truely amazing... He is so good to give us these gifts, especially considering what a doofus I am :-). Later, I reflected on how all Christ's laboring here is for the bringing of new life! We are given life by His precious Blood and built up in His Body, then when we cast off the old man and walk in His Spirit we share him ,in our co-laboring, we have the priveledge of witnessing the new and eternal life in another! Each one a precious new baby in the Lord. Praise the Lord! Isn't it amazing that all creation witnesses the process of regeneration? In my thinking, it seems if you just watch, it takes so little faith to see Him in everything. Maybe just me, but still He is so evident and real! Well, enough of my gushing:-)

I am so blessed to have Shannon and Jake , who are only 14 and 11 still, that absolutely adore and dote on their two nephews! They are the perfect Aunt and Uncle. Patient ,loving and kind. Shannon will make a spectacular Mommy some day. At 14 she can, with a baby on her hip, make a lunch, get a bottle, and tidy up the living room all at once, all the while singing "God is bigger than the BOOGIE MAN",lol... Jake is the most wonderful rough and tumble Uncle:-) He has such a child like exhuberance yet just enough maturity to make sure Eli doesn't kill himself,lol... They have been helping so much while I do the Grammy thing for the babies and Marissa. And then of course there is "GRAMPY"! He is the star of Elijah's life, without Bob, Eli would be so lost right now. It's hard on Eli to have no Daddy, and a Mommy who is so busy, stressed out and tired. Bob is our earthly rock and provider. Without his love for the Lord which is manifested in his care for all of us, we would be in serious trouble. His devotion to us all, and in particular is attention to Eli to bridge a terrible gap after his Daddy abandoned him,is a gift to witness. But everything is working out just fine and we are being held so tightly in the Lord's embrace. Praise the Lord for arranging things so perfectly for us in the midst of such a fallen world!:-)

It's the end of the world as I know it...and I feel old...:-p

Yes....today is the last day....of my 30's..youch:-) I'm not all that hip on turning 40, in fact that's an understatement. But it's not because I value my youth, or I have any beauty to hold on to,lol.. certainly not because my 30's were such a blast, on the contrary I really wouldn't wish MY 30's on an enemy... It's more a feeling of time wasted, or not seized "enough"..ya know? I guess I'll have to see... Then again, 40 is a very important number in scripture , it's the end of struggling, the end of strife... O.k., I feel better now:-)On another note, and far less pitiful and pathetic...Marissa is dilated to 2, 50% efaced and station 2...contractions are some days alot, some days none..but I do believe my second grandson will be born any day now. Praise the Lord for new life!:-) I'll post pics of my wonderful grandbaby as soon as he arrives.:-)