Dose of Reality

Tuesday, July 28, 2009Tuesday, July 28, 2009 by Sparkbark | Leave a comment

These pictures are from the Guerilla Potty Training Series that has been going on lately. Ben does a great job all around but isn’t quite there yet…almost. I know he could do it if we were better about having him go but frankly I’m not quite up to it. So, he’s using Pull-Ups and keeping them dry for the most part! Wish us luck as the war continues…

It’s hot today and we’re all inside. Today is one of those days where I think maybe, just maybe, I was not meant to be a mother. My nerves are shot…when does school begin again??? I love my kids. I’ve just seen too much of them lately. I need some quiet time – and not only when I’m sleeping. Part of the problem is that I signed up at church to take dinner to two families this week and I have been to the grocery store 3 times today. I want my own kitchen back. Whine, whine, whine. I know, but it’s true: the kitchen really is the heart of the home. It has been a rough year: not comfortable in our own home while showing it, selling our house for nearly a year, moving a thousand miles away and not into our new home even yet. I am so looking forward to unpacking! I need a serious lesson in how to be happy in the here and now…

Even while I whine, I know I am just venting. I am thankful for many things. I’m thankful for a kitchen to cook in and not a hotel room or apartment! I’m thankful that I’m not the one needing meals today. I’m thankful that we are blessed with plentiful food and too-plentiful-desserts. I’m thankful my kids have voices, healthy bodies, and brains, even if they use them to annoy one another daily.

I’ll just leave you with one funny note: our kids have been playing way too much Nintendo DS. I told the kids to stop playing so much and save their brains. Cole immediately announced to his brothers, “Okay, boys, go to File, then Save.” Very clever, but really not very funny!!! Let’s hope if I put this picture of you up on SparkBark that you will learn to not pose with your finger up your nose again (and You’re Welcome!).

In Progress – More House Pics!

Tuesday, July 14, 2009 by Sparkbark | Leave a comment

Contract pending and still in progress. The home inspection went well and there really were only a few things we’re requesting of the seller so fingers crossed that they’re willing to keep negotiating with us so we can move in soon! We went on a family walk on Sunday evening (it was still 100 degrees out at 7:30 at night) so we sweat like pigs and didn’t want to stalk/scare the family selling the house to us so we walked over to the street and back again. It’s about a mile away from Don’s parents’ home. The pool, school and rec center are just about halfway between – how fun! I posted a bunch of home pics over on our flickr account if you want to view more. Just be sure to select Sparkbark’s photostream and then slideshow – it’s the easiest way to view them. Hopefully more good information coming soon. I know you’re all sick of me and house subjects (selling AND buying) so I’ve got to get moved in so we can get back to family stories and knitting and sewing and school and giveaways and design and work and…real life. Real life sounds pretty good about right now, work and all!

House Pictures!

Friday, July 10, 2009 by Sparkbark | Leave a comment

If you look really closely you can see the owner has a FAITH sign hanging near the kitchen sink. So appropriate. I need more faith and if I’d had more while we were going through our trials this past year I wouldn’t feel so overwhelmed by this blessing. As a family, we had a big talk in the car about how all good blessings come from the Lord and how He paves a way when it looks like there is none. This house and contract acceptance are a huge blessing from the Lord and we have been on our knees in thanks many times this day. We accidentally met the owner and she was so kind – she told us that she chose our offer over the other because our realtor had told her about our family and where Don worked and that we had family in the neighborhood so that sealed the deal. Thank you Lord, thank you Corlas Pearsall (Coldwell Banker Buyers Agent only) and thank you to the Zellmer family (current owners).

Beautiful Moment: Offer Accepted!

Friday, July 10, 2009 by Sparkbark | Leave a comment

I was on the computer early this morning, checking out any brand new listings or price reductions because I was SURE we didn’t get the house we made an offer on yesterday (there was a competing offer) and it had only been on the market for 2 days.

Beautiful moment: Don came upstairs and asked if I’d checked email and when I saw his face, I knew that we had gotten the offer accepted!!! I wish I could freeze that moment in time.

After a long year of cleaning and showing and taking a huge loss on our home in Gretna, we finally found some good news! We found a beautiful home for a great price in a great neighborhood with great schools that is large enough for our family AND clean and in great condition (everything else we’ve looked at so far needed so much work for the same price). Now we just need the continued prayers for a smooth inspection, appraisal and closing!

Check back later today as I’ll post some more pics after we get back in to show the kids.

Galveston & Schlitterbahn for the 4th of July!

Wednesday, July 8, 2009Monday, July 6, 2009 by Sparkbark | Leave a comment

We had a blast. It wasn’t quite as fun as Noah’s Ark in the Wisconsin Dells but it was really fun! Afterwards, we wanted to eat at Joe’s Crab Shack so we followed Lole’s directions (our GPS is named Lole) and she took us along Seawall which was crawling because of fireworks off the beaches of Galveston and it ended up we couldn’t get to the restaurant because it was blockaded so we went to the next nearest one and when we got there it was boarded up from hurricane Ike damage and hadn’t been repaired (probably never will be). You can see the mark on the wall is well above my hand where the water line was during the hurricane. There were a ton of cars in the parking lot, though, so we asked a kid what all the cars were for and he told us he worked at one of 3 restaurants nearby so we walked to one called Fisherman’s Wharf (next to Willie G’s Steakhouse) and we had a great time – it was right on the harbor and had a neat ship we could watch just outside our window. The kids thought it was really fun and great food.

Upside Down Boys

Tuesday, July 7, 2009Friday, July 3, 2009 by Sparkbark | Leave a comment

The boys stretching after our first day out of the car. Thankfully, I think this couch has seen much worse but we’re trying to not let them treat it like a jungle gym. I read a quote somewhere that said, “Boys don’t sit on couches, they RIDE them.” So true. Nadine – don’t panic – we will hurry and clean everything before you come home and pretend like some things never happened (unless it slips, of course).

Swimming in Houston

Monday, July 6, 2009Friday, July 3, 2009 by Sparkbark | Leave a comment

Just look at my man with his boys. What a sight! Do they look mischievous or what?! All the kids want to do is swim. I go back and forth between wanting to buy a house with a pool…and not wanting to buy a house with a pool. The kids would love it but I want to be sure there’s enough room for a garden. Plus I’m constantly worried about someone drowning. The yards in Houston are TINY until you get out to the country. Many of the houses we’ve seen have no back yard at all after they’ve put in a pool (seriously – NO grass at all). I guess, to some people, that would be a plus! It takes Don about 20 minutes max to mow his Dad’s yard. It’s like a postage stamp compared to our yard in Gretna which took an hour or two to mow. Crazy! I like having a yard and I’m looking forward to having a patio I can walk out to from my kitchen. If there isn’t one, I will be putting one in. We haven’t found the right house for us yet but I am hoping it is out there and we will find it soon!

Summer Car Trips “Carcations”

Sunday, July 5, 2009Friday, July 3, 2009 by Sparkbark | Leave a comment

We have coined the term car-cation. I have heard of a staycation but we’ve called most of our family trips carcations because we have too many kids to fly affordably. I just thought these were great carcation shots from somewhere along our travels from Omaha to Houston. We don’t have DVD players and only one child has an ipod and he didn’t even use it very much at all! We enjoyed four new cd-roms of music (I love Alison Krauss but thumbs down for that cd she made with Robert Plant – yuck) but we enjoyed listening to Zac Brown Band, Alan Jackson and Rascal Flatts. Some are a few years old but since we don’t listen to country very often and we haven’t bought a physical cd-rom for YEARS, this was a great way to kill time on a road trip! I think we’re going to make it a tradition to pick up some new cds every time we take a long car trip to discover many great songs we’ve missed over the last decade. Maybe next time we’ll do Billie Holiday – I never get sick of her songs. Or maybe show tunes! That would drive the kids nuts!!! If you have a favorite album – any genre – let us know and we’ll try it out on our next trip.

Old Friends in Gravette, Arkansas!

Saturday, July 4, 2009Friday, July 3, 2009 by Sparkbark | Leave a comment

Thanks so much to a very dear friend, Elaine Holmgren Brandli, and her family for providing us a much needed home cooked meal on our way to Shreveport, Louisiana. We loved Elaine’s home and what they’ve done on their acreage with a great gardens and chickens. My kids loved the dogs, bunnies and chicks. Arkansas is a beautiful place. We drove through Bentonville and have never seen so many Wal-Marts in our entire life (it’s the headquarters). I was so surprised at how green Arkansas is and the weather there was not bad at all. I really, really liked it there but most of all it was fun to see Elaine and her family – we have been friends a very long time and it is fun to see her kids – and they are all such good kids! Thanks, Elaine & Fred – we appreciate everything! Come and see us in Houston anytime!

Joppy in Joplin

Friday, July 3, 2009 by Sparkbark | Leave a comment

I have a ton of pictures to post from our trip but first, these from Joplin, Missouri. It was our first night away from Omaha and our second night away from our home in Gretna. I took Daisy out in the early morning hours at the hotel and the pool guy had just saved this toad from the drain. I brought him in for the kids (who hadn’t gotten out of bed yet) and they loved him and named him Joppy for Joplin. Joppy the Hut – die hard Star Wars fans that we are, we really had no other options. More pics coming soon!

House Hunting in Houston

Tuesday, June 30, 2009Tuesday, June 30, 2009 by Sparkbark | Leave a comment

We found a country home we love but there’s one problem: it’s just too small! It’s the one affordable (if you think $244K is affordable) house among half a million dollar homes on acreages in Magnolia. My heart started pitter-pattering when we approached and as we went to the front porch, a baby deer scampered off into the backyard gated portion where it frantically tried to get out. The poor thing couldn’t find its way out of the gated acreage and scurried around the edge the entire time we were inside. I thought it might have a heart attack (can that happen to wildlife?!). So we explored the inside of the home which is just as charming as the outside – a sunroom, large master with closet but only 2 bedrooms upstairs. As we were leaving, mama deer was just on the other side of the fence trying to help her baby find her way out – how sweet is that?!

Bennie Has a Grill-Friend (aka Girlfriend)

Tuesday, June 23, 2009 by Sparkbark | Leave a comment

Pretty self explanatory. We love it! We are going to miss the Derr family but I think that Ben might miss Kaylie the very most.

Bed Hogs

Tuesday, June 16, 2009Tuesday, June 16, 2009 by Sparkbark | Leave a comment

Look what I found waiting for me the other night when I finally went to bed at 12:45 a.m. (I was up at least twice more and didn’t get to sleep until almost 2 – AGAIN!). Instead of being upset, I was actually quite glad. I almost wished I could stay awake and look at their cute faces. They really are cutest when they’re asleep (and not just for the quiet). I love snuggling my boys. See? They left me a space…

Sad Sad Day.

Monday, June 15, 2009Tuesday, June 16, 2009 by Sparkbark | Leave a comment

Note: This post was written by my husband without asking me about hijacking my blog. Do you see a reptile category on here?? Well, there is a perfectly good reason for that. I don’t want one!!! No more hijacking…I’m changing my password tout de suite.

Well, my mom was afraid it would happen. She left on vacation and while she was gone there was a drowning in her pool. It is a very sad day for it too, as the drowned individual was such a good friend.

I came home from work today, just like any other day, and all seemed to be well. I headed out back to turn on the pool cleaning robot named Hermie, and something just didn’t feel quite right. I did not know what it was. It seemed quieter than usual, almost like the whole yard was sad. As I aproached the pool to attach Hermie to the side of the pool, I gazed into the water and saw a terrible sight. Laying at the bottom was one of my bug erradicating friends.

I quickly pulled him out and tried my best, but he was beyond hope. The best I could do was lay his remains to rest with the thirty-odd squirrels that have irritated my father over the last twenty years. So please, a moment of silence for my little bug eating friend.

I can imagine that on such a hot day like today he probably just came over to cool off by the pool. Maybe just get a little drink. Probably eat a few of the bugs that are always close to the edge. Probably just slipped. Lost his balance you know. Fell in and could not get out. May have even hit his head. All I know is is gone on before us now.

Here is a view with my key so you can see just how large he is. Man, he could have eaten a TON of bugs.

Poor little guy. Eyes all glazed over. No hope at reviving him.

Let this death that came all too soon serve as a lesson to you all. Don’t go into or near the pool without adult supervision and your water wings on.

Cole 1st Degree Black Belt & Gabe’s Orange Belt

Sunday, May 31, 2009Sunday, May 31, 2009 by Sparkbark | Leave a comment

I know, I know, it’s already all over Facebook but I had to share my thoughts about Cole’s tae testing this past Friday evening. He has worked so hard to finish this up before we move to Houston. The pic above is NOT Cole – it’s an adult in the class that also tested for his and got it. Cole made the same break before this man did – Cole got his on the first try – and it took this guy 3 times but he did it!!! It was just such a great shot, I had to share. If you click on it, you can see all of Cole’s and Gabe’s testing pictures at my Flickr account.

Here’s another pic – love these boys. They have worked so hard! I hope we can find a place they love as much in Houston. We will miss the many friends we’ve made at Gretna Tae Kwon Do – lifelong memories for sure. I called a few places in Houston and it sounds like his black belt will be honored everywhere but no matter where we go he’ll need to relearn all the colored belts to be a junior instructor to help lead the classes. We’re lucky to have such a willing kid. That’s almost like starting over but I understand why. The kids look to Cole already to help them with their lower belt ranks and he would need to help them with those wherever we go – even if they’re different from the ones he’s already learned. I am so excited for both Cole and Gabe and the skills they’ve learned. I told Cole they’ll pay off for the rest of his life if he doesn’t get lazy in his old age!!!