Hoo-dee-doo

So I thought I had a meeting with the President (of Cascade) today so I was gearing up for it... because I've never had a "real job" before this one (since caring for 20 preschoolers at any given time isn't a real job)... where there are meetings and reports and hoo-dee-doo as those who have never had a real job call it... a certain propriety as it is in the business world... and I had my excel sheet all pretty and my outfit picked out (because you don't wear jeans and a t-shirt to the president's office, right?) and I was ready. Then my phone rings. It's Becca who is calling to say that my information doesn't match up. Look at my watch... ONE hour until the meeting. My "apple"+F key comes in handy, I fix the problem and we're back in business. Still planning to WOW the President with my spreadsheet... I'd found a babysitter (thank you Elice), I was getting ready and my email dings...

*ding* (sorry no real sound)

It's from my boss who says that I don't have to go to "the meeting". Insert self dialog:

What? No meeting? What about my spreadsheet? What about my outfit? That means I don't get to go to the President's office... bummer. ..... Who's going to take my spreadsheet?

And after all of that build up, a colleague of mine took all of the spread sheets and the meeting lasted about an hour. Done deal. 

I understand that all of my information was in order. At least I can put that minute bit of experience under my "real world" belt.

Whew!

TAG

Tag...you're it!

I've been tagged...here's the rules:

1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.

2. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.

3. People who are tagged need to write a post on their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules. (If you don’t have a blog, email me)

4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.

5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

Eight Random Facts/Habits about me:

1. I am a 5th generation Christian.

2. I desire to have a family of 8 or 10. (We will have to adopt)

3. My husband once talked about leaving me over my (OCD) cleaning habits.

4. I fight an overwhelming urge to SCOWER my bathroom EVERY day.

5. I do not like to read and have never enjoyed the library (much to my mother's dismay who tried hard to instill a habit of reading in us... it worked on my sister).

6. I do not like doing dishes.

7. I have never had a major broken bone.

8. "Fiance" is the one word in the American English language that I detest.

TAG: Logan (now you have to post), Kenli, Suzy, Kaelea, Charity, Mom, Janie, Elisha.

Mostly

Has it really been that long since I posted last? Wow! 

Welp, the following statements are mostly true... 

The freshmen are moved in. 

Returning students will arrive tomorrow. 

We are done with the busiest part of the year.

And we are ready for the year.  

Everyone that lives in our apartment is weary but healthy. 

I am glad that I have the kids I have. Kevin provides a bit of comic relief at just the right moments and Nolan is always full of snuggles.

We're in the home stretch!!!

SPLAT

This post has been edited for content because I was really irritated yesterday and said some things on this post that were "ugly". No one was at fault and the help I had was GREAT. 

God, forgive me for my quick and rude tongue. I do not intend to offend others. Please help me to be sweet in speach, slow to anger, and patient in waiting on your provision.

So I spent the day today painting in our dorm for the "all hands on deck" work day on campus. I thought it would be a good idea to be helpful so at 9am off I went, with boys in tow, to join the work party. After hanging some mirrors with the hot new facilities director (my husband) I headed off to my dorm to paint. - After going to Rodda to get paint for said job I began to paint and noticed that it didn't quite match. Insert internal dialogue:

What does this can say? "Popcorn" (and a bunch of numbers)

What does that can say? "Popcorn" (and a bunch of numbers)

Oh, that's okay. It'll probably blend as it dries.

I continued to paint. I painted, Kevin "painted", Nolan painted... his face. I washed Nolan and set him to the task of identifying shapes on Blue's Clues. I painted. I fed the boys. I fed me. I painted, and painted and painted and found myself painting alone because everyone was missing their ties and skirts and decisions.

And then the hot facilities guy came in and said, "Those don't match"...at which point I decided he was just the facilities guy.

Five hours into the job I am irritated, hot, tired, and thinking of all of the other things I could have been doing today to get ready for the year. Who cares about the blinkin' walls anyway?

Apparently the "bunch of numbers" matter. 

Imagine that.

P.S. The facilities guy surprised me with a date. - He's hot.

Carol Loy Cruse

My Gramma passed away at the end of July. It's taken me a while to gather my thoughts on this significant event but I've decided to write a little bit about her. Read it if you like. She was a magnificent mother, a loving grandmother, and dedicated wife. 

~

I was so excited! I knew this guy was the one and I couldn't wait to introduce him to my family. He was in college to become a preacher, his dad was a preacher and I knew that would impress my family. We hadn't been together very long, but I was pretty sure I could marry him and live a happy life. So the next time I went to my Gramma and Grandpa's house I told them about him. He's so handsome, he's in school to be a preacher, he's so... And then she asked, "Can you live without him?"

"Huh?" I responded, bewildered.

"Can you live without him?"

It took me a minute but I answered, "Sure... I guess I could... yeah, I could live without him." I was more shocked at my answer now than the question she'd asked.

"Then he's not the one, Sweet heart. Don't settle."

I thought I would just give it a chance. Maybe he was the one... we'd only been together for a while. Maybe I just wasn't really in love yet. When I fell in love with him, then I'd know.

When she hugged me when I left she said, "You'll be fine."

Three weeks later we broke up. I was a little bit sad, but I knew he wasn't the one. She knew that before I did.

~

When we were "little" my sister, brother and I would go to Gramma's to spend time. We probably went for a weekend at a time, I don't remember, but I remember sleeping over. She would take us to "The Red Apple" grocery store where we would all get one scoop of candy from the bulk section. Charity got gum drops, Joel got gummie bears and I got lemon drops... every time. It was a fun little tradition. - Several years after that I went to visit her and sitting on the table was a bag of lemon drops... probably from The Red Apple... just for me.

~

There were a lot of little things that Gramma did for us and with us that have shaped who we are... all of us. My mom and her siblings, their spouses, children and grandchildren have all been shaped by the woman that my Gramma was. Her fingerprints are on all of us whether she taught us manners, how to craft, how to cook or how to sing. She taught us by example and she showed us who Jesus is in all of it. Any time you visited her and Grandpa you were fed, advised and sent off with a kiss and a wave. Whether you were a wrestler, a roper, a singer, a farm hand, a truck driver, a mom, a welder, a mechanic, a business person or a student, she was your biggest fan. And you knew it.

~

My aunt Janie said that when she went to visit Gramma in the nursing home and asked if she knew who she was, Gramma simply replied, "Mine." She knew she had family around her. She knew who she belonged to. She lived her life in love with God and dedicated to her family and it showed.

I'd like to imagine that when she met Jesus face to face and asked if He knew who she was, He replied, "Mine."

I would like to read all of this at her memorial on Saturday - but I don't think I could get through it. I can hardly see the screen as it is right now. I don't cry for her. She is with Jesus. No diabetes, no confusion, no pain, no tears. I suppose I cry for Kevin and Nolan who will not know her as I did... for Grandpa who sleeps alone... for my mom who feels so blue. I cry for what she means to me that I can't express in words. 

WHAT?!

There is currently a car sale for a company that I don't even know because I'm stuck on the idiocy of the name of the event.

The Big Duh Sales Event

Someone ran out of good ideas.

Raw Emotions

Why do we talk about people after they die? Why don't we talk about them when they are still around, so they know how much they are cherished? Or... why don't we talk about them when they are still around so that they know they need to change... to give their lives to Christ and abide in His forgiveness?

On the one hand my husband is in Ellensburg to go to a memorial service for a man who was beaten to death. He was involved in awful things that lead to the beating but no one deserves to be murdered, no matter what they are involved in. But what if we had had a "memorial service" for him 3, 5 or 8 years ago... when he was there to witness it? Would he have changed? If you think to yourself that he was probably too far gone, why do you think that? What if he saw his mother crying? How about his son? Or his daughter? Would it change you? - And what's the big idea about doing it after a person has passed? They can't change themselves at that point. I just don't think that's very nice.

On the other hand my grandma is not well. She is in a nursing home near the U.S./Canadian border... "one of the best in the country". They take good care of her, and yet her body is failing. She's lived a long life, full of joy and hardship and victory. She is a faithful woman of God who shaped her family, her children and her grandchildren to be believers and followers of Jesus. And when she passes away we will be sad that she's gone but we'll all rest in the hope of the resurrection; that she will be in the arms of Jesus and that she is at peace. And then we'll talk about how much we all love her and tons of us will tell stories of when we were younger and the experiences we had with her. We'll cry. We'll laugh. We'll all be together ... but not until after she dies.

I have never been satisfied with this notion. It really doesn't make any sense to me at all. So I have been intentional about telling loved ones how I feel about them... maybe to the point where they think, "All right, I get it already, you love me. Thank you. Point taken." But I did tell Gramma that I loved her... a lot. And several times I've told her that I am so proud to be one of hers (and Grandpas), that I am grateful for their faithfulness to each other, for being foundational members of our family, for being truthful with me, and for being so dedicated to our family. I just hope I'm not the only one. - Does she know that she is so cherished? Does she know that she shaped my mother who shaped me? Does she know that her marriage was an example? Does she feel appreciated?

I don't know what to do with how I feel right now. This is consuming my mind and while it is not a trivial thing to think on, I have pressing issues that need attention in the very near future. I could really use some wise council.