Moving Forward

I think that I don't know how to say this well but in essence my attitude is one of moving forward. I don't really know how to do that but I do know that it's Autumn, my favorite season, and I intend to enjoy it. I can't pretend that things aren't what they are but I can choose to go forward in spite of it.

For instance, Chloe, Halle and I had a ceremonial lighting of our Autumnal candle a few days ago. Silly? Yes, definitely. But it's those silly little things that my kids are going to remember and will do with their kids. It wasn't anything more than me excitedly saying "Girls! Are you ready for the ceremonial lighting of our Autumnal Candle"?!?! to get them jumping around looking for the lighter. Which we all held and lit the candle at the same time. Actually, I can make anything fun if I say it like it's going to be so.

And did you notice my baby pumpkin? Once again I haven't gotten a full-sized pumpkin out of my pumpkin patch. It rained for what seemed like the entire month of September. And while initially the rain was good for the pumpkins, eventually they got too soggy and the vine aborted another smaller pumpkin. So I cut this one loose before the vine could abort it. The pumpkin body count this year is 2 dead and 1 small pumpkin made it. There is actually one more small, small pumpkin growing out there but I don't hold out much hope for it. I will probably do something silly like cover it with a blanket when it's cold outside just to give it a fighting chance. Because, well, it's what I do. I'm not sure I'll try growing them again- although it's pretty darn addictive once you try. It's one of those things that you think "if I just did these things differently I'd have 40 pumpkins"! We'll see.

I had several pictures in my "brain queue" to post about. Then the "train wreck" happened. But it doesn't make these things any less special to me. So these should have been up about a month ago but I'm posting them anyway.

I love, love, love the front doors of this church. I don't even remember what kind of church it is, it's just one of four within about a two block radius here. There are some architectural things that I just love and these types of doors are one of them.

Chloe had her mile run a few weeks ago and she finished in about the same time as she did in the spring. But she didn't have a running buddy. I plan on being her running buddy next spring. When I was walking yesterday I did jog just a teensy little bit- maybe a 1/4 mile total- but I don't feel sick today. I'm thinking that I could jog a mile by April. Chloe does much, much better with a buddy.

The beginning of September we decided to go for a walk. But the weather was seriously not cooperating. We decided to drive for a bit to see if we could out-smart it and ended up in Leiper's Fork. It just so happened that they were having an outdoor jazz concert. So we found a porch swing on the front porch of the local art gallery and swung for a long time, listening to jazz and talking to each other. Chloe and Halle decided to tell jokes, which were only funny because they're cute. Then we walked for a bit. A really little bit because Leiper's Fork is really small. I loved the contrast of the white church against the angry sky. I just wish it hadn't been evening service time. There is much more going on- like a bedroom remodel- that I'll show you pictures of later. I also fully intend to make caramel covered apples (thanks to a recipe from my new Food Network Mag) and to make the front stoop (I really don't know what you call the front if you have stairs but no porch) very autumnal. I feel like I'm behind on that, which is a bummer because I love it so much. And I'm going to enjoy coffee, and little girls giggles, and the leaves changing, and my being-restored health. And I'm going to breathe...and live...for the first time in a very long time.

Hello There

Um, so hi, how are you? It's been a bit since I've been around and, well, there just isn't anything I can do about it. I thought I should give you all a bit of an update since some pretty important things are happening.

First of all, our anniversary was fantastic. We had a beautiful dinner and a surprise visit to Arrington Vineyard, we walked in the rain and just enjoyed being together. Travis bought a ring for me that I really, really, really wanted. It's not a super-expensive ring but it's pretty and it has a story, like most meaningful things do. I'll have to share that and pictures later. Because I'm in Birmingham, using my Mom's computer and I'm not going to upload pictures here.

My Dad had knee surgery Monday and while the surgery went fine and his therapy was going really well, he's had some issues today. He hasn't been feeling well and we thought that it was because of the medicine he's on but apparently they cut his therapy short today because of some chest pain. They've done some tests and they don't know yet if his heart issue is because of his surgery or if it's an underlying heart problem. My Mom is there tonight and Travis and Amanda will be coming here in the morning. I really need him for emotional support and to help with the girls. The hospital isn't exactly a great place for them to hang out. So I can leave them at Mom's with Travis while I go do whatever my parent's need for me to do.

So, I'm looking forward to not being drama-Button-girl soon. Trav has been hard at work in our room and I want to show you guys some pictures of that soon. The work had to be cut short because he's coming here now but I'll just say that for the first time in 3 years we have a bedroom door that opens and closes properly. I'm happy about that and I'm also very happy about the weather. I love autumn and I can hardly wait to make some autumn goodies. Mmmm.

Whiplash

I'm sure I'm not the only one like this but if I haven't had any grown-up talking time in a while and it's been an eventful day and Travis comes home, I just start rattling things off rapid-fire until he says "Amy, hold on, you're giving me whiplash". You never do that, right? I'm going to try to not do that to you today, K?

I am doing much better physically. I was frustrated a couple of weeks ago because I was back in the spot where I couldn't do anything without ending up in bed for, well, a long time. But I have a strategy and it's really working. I was in church a couple of weeks ago (I've actually been to church 3 weeks in a row. That hasn't happened in a very long time.) and the Lord said, "I'm walking you out of this". That was exciting. And literal. I'm walking now. Not power walking, just plain old walking. As I was praying one day the Lord told me that if I walked it would strengthen my immune system. He's actually been telling me that for a while and I was being so stubborn about it. I don't like walking. But I *really* don't like being sick. I'm also taking mega doses of vitamin C and vitamins. It's so simple and I've made it so hard. Walking isn't that bad. The rain has hindered me a bit this week but I'm going to try to get out there today.

And speaking of rain, it has poured here all week. It's not usually blog worthy but have you other Tennesseans noticed that it's made the hills around here look like the Smoky Mountains? How I wish I had a camera that could capture that sort of thing. I've just noticed those plumes of steam coming up from the hills that surround our house. It is beautiful.

And speaking of the Smoky Mountains, Travis and I are going there next week!!! It's our 10th anniversary and we really wanted to go out of town. I really wanted to go hiking and initially thought we could stay at Fall Creek Falls and go hiking. I've wanted to go back there forever but haven't been able to for one reason or another. So I made a reservation but they only had availability for one night. We really wanted to stay for two. Then I remembered a place that we'd stayed at in Gatlinburg about 3 years ago. The rates were reasonable and we spent a lot of time in Gatlinburg for our honeymoon. I called and they had a vacancy for the two nights we wanted and she gave me a discount because we'd stayed there before. So we actually would only be spending a tiny bit more for staying the second day. My parents are going to be picking up the girls for us next week and they'll take them back to Birmingham. Then we'll go to B'ham and stay for my dad's knee replacement on that Monday. Then I'll stay for the week and chauffeur my mom around and help out with whatever they need. The timing of everything worked out perfectly.

And speaking of pumpkins...I didn't mention pumpkins? Oh, silly me, I will now. I have two growing pumpkins as we speak. One of the pumpkins rotted on the vine because I got a little too happy with some pruning shears. But it looks like I'll have two little pumpkins as long as I get them off the vines before a frost. I read a quote last night that said "to be a successful farmer, grow pumpkins". Really? Maybe I'm just over thinking it or something but I don't consider my last two tries at pumpkin growing to be that successful. Powdery mold freaks me out and it kills the leaves on your plants. After all the wonderful rain we've gotten my plants are completely afflicted with it. I was going to show you pictures but my camera is dead. I love it but one of the most infuriating things about it is that it doesn't show that the battery is low until it's nearly dead. So pictures will come later.

Other fun stuff...Amanda has decided to move out- in six months. Or rather, she wants us to move out so that she and some friends can rent this place. Really? Travis and I laughed. I do think it's a good idea for her to move out though. Not in an "I can't wait to get rid of this kid" sort of way. But I know her and this will be good for her. She needs to know what it's like to pay bills and buy food and cook. As of right now she knows how to save money but she doesn't realize how much everything costs. She'll be nearly 20 in 6 months and I think it's going to be a very good, growing experience for her. We'll see how that goes.

And more good stuff...

Travis was asked to be one of the lead characters in the kids Christmas play this year. He's pretty excited about that. It's a big role with lots of lines which makes him happy. It's not Shakespeare but he does get to do anger at one point and I think that's always exciting for an actor.

And even more good stuff...

I've talked to some of you about this already but Chloe is having the most fantastic year at school that she's had since kindergarten. Her reading has skyrocketed and she's very, very happy. Her teacher has given dubbed part of the room her "Chloe corner" and she gets to sit by herself and read whenever there's free time in the room. If you know Chloe at all, you know how much that has meant to her. She really "gets" Chloe. And I am thrilled.

Is your neck hurting yet?

Good Things

I'm feeling quite a bit better today. Not 100% but better. And so I asked Travis if we could meet downtown to walk for a bit. There were things I could do here. Plenty of things. But I stay inside these walls so much when I'm not feeling well that I want to take advantage of every opportunity to get out and walk and explore and just enjoy things. So we did. We all ate PB&J for dinner, it wasn't gourmet but it fit the bill for a really quick bite to eat. And we walked. One day I'm going to take a picture of the 4 churches we have in dtf within a couple of blocks. They're all pretty- beautiful really- I just think it's funny that there are 4 so close together.

This one is a Methodist church. When we got downtown it was 6 o'clock on the dot and the church bells were ringing. I thought "I live in a postcard". I had the biggest, silliest smile on my face.

And this is the church office. It's across the street and is right next door to the Presbyterian church. And this beautiful Victorian style house used to be Lillie Belle's tea room. But now it's Monell's restaurant. They serve country food family style. As in, you get large portions of food and pass it around. I really wanted to go there when it was a tea room. I guess the upside is that I won't know if anything changed if I'm able to go and won't be disappointed. I was feeling pretty tired at this point (I love Tennessee, I just wish my body did) so we decided to head back, but on our way we saw a street performer. Well, it was a guy with a guitar singing next to Mellow Mushroom. We weren't really in a hurry and Chloe wanted to give him some money. So she did and we decided to sit for a bit and listen to him. And I really liked his sound. I mean, guy+guitar, what's not to like? I can't vouch for his lyrics or anything because I only heard him for a bit but you can find him here. And while we were sitting and listening, Halle- sweet, shy Halle- started dancing. She was dancing kind of spazzy with her eyes closed as if she was thinking 'nobody can see me if my eyes are closed' but it was adorable. Then Travis and Chloe joined in. It was sweet and perfect and I thought "I'm just going to enjoy the moments". I don't have lots of times that I feel well. But today I had these moments and they were beautiful. I found myself thanking God for that moment because He gave it to me. Then we had to rush off because Travis is on call and got a page. But I got to drive and I went through two beautiful, historic streets that are off the main street that I love. I enjoyed looking at the homes and the sun started to set. I think that it was just about a perfect evening.

It's Going to be OK

We're at the end of family night tonight. I took some Claritin and amazingly my shortness of breath and general crummy feeling subsided. It would really help if I could distinguish between allergies and real sickness. I mean, I'm pretty sure I had both but it's confusing because a different allergy pill didn't help but....OK, it's just confusing. I'm still really tired but overall I'm feeling better. Which means that I can get ready for a get-together I'm having this weekend. I haven't had one of those since Amanda's graduation. And I really like having people over.

I was able to do some experimenting in the kitchen tonight. And that's always a fun thing for me and a big irritation for Amanda since she does the dishes. I made a gravy that was really yummy and I think it's going to work for chicken pot pie too. Fantastic. I've always used soup because well, it's easier, but the last time I did it tasted gross to me. I also made that parsley paste I was talking about a few days ago. Parsley, olive oil and salt blended up together makes a nice paste that absolutely takes the garlic smell off my hands- yippee! And it gives me a use for parsley besides feeding caterpillars.

Backtracking a bit to yesterday...we took a trip to the park. The weather was just gorgeous- low 70's with little to no humidity and made it a necessity to be outside. And on the way there we noticed a house for sale in our neighborhood. It's bigger than ours by about 500 square feet and it was completely remodeled last year. They rented it out but I was hoping they'd sell and bring up the values in our neighborhood. So I checked it out today and it's nice inside- new kitchen, hardwood floors, etc. And the asking price is only 2K more than we paid for ours 3 years ago. *Before* we refinanced. Before the new roof. Before the floors. Before the windows. Before the new a/c. And I was bummed. Not freaking out mind you, but a little bummed. I guess it was also before the real estate market crashed. If we stayed here for 5 more years it would probably work itself out.

I had to tell Travis, of course, and we talked about maybe having to rent it out if we move before market values catch up to our house. I can't imagine renting because well, renters sometimes destroy houses- call me little miss sunshine. We ran an errand at Publix and I thought to myself "I'm going to trust God in this but I think I'm going to really have to work at it". Have you been there? Sometimes trusting God comes so incredibly easy and then sometimes it doesn't. So the girls and I went outside and waited in the car for Travis and I looked over and saw a bumper sticker. It said IGBOK. I've seen those before but I don't usually pay a lot of attention to bumper stickers. Under the big bold letters it said "It's going to be OK". Hmmm. It's not that the bumper sticker was telling me something I didn't already know but it's nice to see it in print. Yes, "all things work together for good" and lots of other scriptures say it's going to be OK, without actually saying "hey, Amy, it's going to be OK". But it is. I have to trust that this is God's plan and we just have to walk it out.

This Has Nothing to Do With Sunflowers...

I mean, they might be making an appearance but this really has more to do with parsley. Yes, that's right parsley. Or to be more precise parsley flowers. That's what the little green flowery things are in the vases with the flowers. I'm slightly ashamed to admit that I didn't know that parsley flowered. But it does and they're so pretty I just had to use them. That and they were just out of control next to the lemon tree. I've never actually used the parsley for cooking although I have thought of trying to make a paste out of it to use on my hands after I mince garlic. I don't know about you but my fingers smell like garlic for three or four days after I chop the stuff. Which is why I don't make alfredo sauce that often. Pity. I have seen recipes that call for it in pesto but I'm certain that there are caterpillar eggs on it since I saw them around and well, that just kind of creeps me out.

I do think it's kind of funny that I've followed up a week of blogging by not blogging at all. It's been an interesting week though. A friend of mine from college called me and I hadn't talked to him in nearly a year. His life is in a much better spot than when I talked to him last. God's faithfulness never ceases to amaze me.
That same night Travis worked late and so I had a girls night with the kids- minus Amanda. We ate girly food- bagels with pink cream cheese, raspberries, blueberries and figs. And had pink soda. And we polished our finger and toe nails. It was really fun. I don't look forward to Travis working late but spending time with the girls made it much more enjoyable.

My Birdie Friends Are Back!

I love sunflowers. Have I mentioned that before? I don't think I'll ever not grow them. I mean, they grow anywhere. I see random ones all over the place here. You know a bird had to have dropped a seed if it's in the middle of chest-high weeds. Bumble bees love them. Their fat little hind legs get completely covered in bright yellow pollen and it's the cutest thing ever. I'd take a picture but my camera just isn't equipped for that. I love my point and shoot but one day...I'll have a "real" camera. Back to the flowers. Hummingbirds love them too. It's so sweet to watch them and little finches that eat the seeds. The one pictured is a girl so she's not as pretty but she ate seeds for a really long time. I'm a dork but I love watching them. And they don't bother my tomatoes. Speaking of tomatoes, again, I thought that this little guy might be responsible for my messed up tomatoes. I've known that they were there eating my parsley which didn't bother me because they turn into really pretty butterflies and I don't really use the parsley for anything. But I did see one of them on my tomato plant which intermingles with the parsley plant. The info I read didn't say they would eat tomatoes though so I'm not sure. It's just that the info I've found on tomato plant diseases looks particularly vile in the pictures and my plants don't look like that. But I don't want to bore you with any more plant stuff. I'm not starting a gardening blog or anything. It is one of the big bright spots in my summer though. Seeing as how we have 5 months of brown grass and trees with no leaves to look forward to in the next few months. Autumn I'm totally looking forward to, winter not so much.

I'm also looking forward to making some house progress this weekend. Travis and I were both sick with some not-so-fun virus but we're both feeling a lot better today. That should get us through the weekend. I have some projects in mind but I'm really not sure what I'm going to tackle. Our project(s) will be mostly limited to the supplies we have on hand since our remodeling budget is really slim. Which brings out the creativity, right? Right. I'm sure it will be fun.

Monday Monday

It's Monday night and I've been a bit sore all day. Travis and I have begun our get-the-house-in-tip-top-shape campaign and we started in the yard. Wowza! Saturday was actually, really fun. I've been dying to get out there with the hedge trimmers and tame the bushes that made our house look desserted. I hacked away at the holly bush and made it look like a holly tree- except that I can only reach to a certain point and we don't have a ladder. So it's nicely manicured until it reaches the roofline and then it's just crazy. Travis was going to try to do it but there just wasn't a steady enough thing to stand on that made it wise to take a chain saw to it. I was really bummed because out of all the work I wanted to get done, I wanted that tree finished the most. Oh, and I cut through two extension cords. The second one actually briefly burst into a flame. That was a little scary. But I hacked away at every bush in the front and cut them all so that you could walk behind them without feeling like something could hide in there and grab you. We ended up with 5 bags full of clippings plus a large pile of branches on the curb. Thankfully our city waste department will come pick them up.

Travis, Amanda and Chloe worked on the parts of the driveway that have washed away. It had gotten so bad that driving up and down was really, really bouncy. The girls liked it but I didn't. So they were outside with shovels and a, um, wheeled cooler (ghetto, I know) taking gravel and dirt from the end of the driveway to fill in the missing parts. I'm sure that we'll look back on this someday when we live in a house with an intact driveway and say 'you remember when we used to have to put our driveway back together'? And we'll laugh and laugh. Overall, we spent about 8 hours over Saturday and Sunday working on it all. Saturday was a lot easier than Sunday was.

Saturday evening Travis took me out and we went to Pancho's Place. It's in the same plaza as Target, about 5 minutes from our house. I've wanted to go there since we moved (nearly *3* years ago. I can hardly believe it.) and it was really good. Of course, anything tastes good when you've worked that hard. After that we ran errands. It was supposed to be a date but we have so much to do and it's just easier to run errands when the little kids aren't with us. Besides it was raining and apparently Travis had a big master plan that was ruined by it. Bummer. It was just nice being out with him. I don't care so much what we were doing. Well, I wouldn't have liked a monster truck rally, but you get the idea.

And lastly, the other day we got a Costco magazine in the mail. Yes, I think it's kind of weird that Costco puts out a magazine. I usually throw them away without actually reading them but Travis got to this particular one first. Inside there was a story about a family that supplies apples and cherries to Costco. It's called First Fruits Orchard and is run by a family that are Christians. This family started out small and then ended up losing everything and then rebuilding again. They are unashamedly Christian and also very socially conscious. When the husband was a child he wanted to have his own orchard and to help starving orphans in India. And as an adult he's done both- and has adopted 9 orphans from India. They have an entire cherry orchard that's devoted to ministry with 100% of their profits donated. And they take incredibly good care of their workers. At one point they realized that their workers were keeping their children inside all day because they couldn't afford childcare. So they built a daycare for them. Then they realized that their workers were unable to afford decent housing for their families. So they built a neighborhood of 3 and 4 bedroom homes and rented them to their workers. The rent on a 4 bedroom house? About $485. And they help them buy houses and they built an elementary school and they give scholarships. You can read the whole article here. I really encourage you to read it.

I came away from reading it thinking "God can use anybody to do anything". I think it's more than a thought right now though, it's a passion. According to Ralph Broetje, the farmer, he's good at planting trees. He shouldn't be running the business he's running. But he is. And he's impacting people in this huge amazing way. I'm not saying that I'm going to run out and plant some fruit trees and become a farmer. That's not my gifting. I do want fruit trees but that's something else- I just like fruit. I used to think that the only way to positively impact the world for Christ was to be in full-time ministry. But how can you be Jesus to people more than this family is? I'm sensing a paradigm shift in me. A very real big shift. And maybe this whole journey has been a shift and I'm just now realizing it. I've always known that I could do anything and minister to people. But now I *know* that I can do anything and minister to people. God can do anything through anyone that is willing to follow Him. It's is sometimes a very long, arduous, winding road. But it's His road and we're walking it out with Him. What's it going to look like? I don't know. But I'm very excited to find out.

Really

I really, really want to post about something interesting. Unfortunately there is nothing going on right now that is interesting. Dr.'s appointments and antibiotics are beyond boring and I'm just over the whole thing. I came back from vacation inspired and hopeful and ready to tackle everything on the home front- even painting the cabinets. But I've been sidelined since then. Now the only thing I've accomplished is watching way too many Gilmore Girls episodes. You know you've watched too much when you start thinking and you hear Lorelai's voice in your head. Sheesh. But I'm on antibiotics and so I'm hopeful that I'll be able to start some things soon. Actually today I will tackle the house and clean until I'm ready to pass out. It's amazing the mess that happens when the big people are incapacitated. And now the little people that made the mess are incapacitated which means I get to clean up. Coffee definitely helped on the energy front.

So I had to go looking for inspiration. And Coastal Living is a good source of that. I really love that magazine since, well, it's coastal *and* there are lots of cottages. Because beach people like the relaxed feel of a cottage. Can you imagine kicking off your flip flops in a big modern space?

This kitchen would be perfect for me if it didn't have the gingham inspired ceiling. I like painted ceilings but this is a bit too country- for me. You might love it. But I love the island and space and white-ness of it. Do you guys like open shelving? I think it looks nice but I can't imagine having it myself. It makes me think that I'd have to rinse whatever dish I was using before I used it- dust you know. I've also found that whatever is up high near the stove gets a greasy, dusty, sticky film on it. Maybe not with this really big vent hood thing. Overall I like the simple, laid-back style and the white makes it look very clean. But not as clean as this one. I love the retro appliances. And the glass fronts on the cabinets are fantastic. I'd have to at least add some brightly colored dishes and small appliances though. Got to have color. Actually this is about perfect. Of course, my favorite color is green so I would love it. But those windows on either side of the stove are fantastic. And I am sort of drooling over the stove. That's another thing I came home inspired to do- cook. Angie (my sister in law) subscribes to a weekly Publix e-mail that sends her recipes for the week along with a shopping list that centers around what's on sale. So she's always making something interesting and new...and I'm pretty much stuck in a 5 dish rut. So as soon as we're all better I'm going to make pesto. Yeah, I know, easy peasy- but I've never made it before and if we all like it then I have 6 dishes that I make. And I'm growing basil again and have to do something with it. But I always imagine that I'd be much more inspired with a stove like this. A girl can dream, can't she? And while my favorite color is green, this shade makes me kind of nauseous. Maybe it looks different when photographed (the sun hitting the island makes the color look less, um, vomitous) but it's really just overload to me. I like the layout though and the cabinets to the ceiling. I'm not sure what the letters are for and I'm not really into that but in a different color (white with bright accents) this one might be my favorite.

So there you have it. My borrowed inspiration. Actually I should have borrowed my inspiration from Mr. Clean because that's what I'll be doing for the next few hours.

Just Really Happy

I'm sitting here listening to Chloe talk to me- she's oblivious to the fact that her constant chatter is distracting. And she reads really well now so I think she's reading over my shoulder. And she thinks it's funny. I'm also waiting on the a/c company to come out and replace our a/c unit. If you've checked facebook you probably already know that the four Button girls haven't been feeling well- flu and other things- and that our a/c died yesterday. The compressor is out and we could have just replaced that but our unit is so old that we won't be able to get any coolant for it next year so we'd be spending a big chunk of cash only to turn around and do it again at some point. Plus since we're planning on selling at some point in the near future a 16 year old a/c unit isn't exactly a selling point. But the nice thing is that we're also getting the ducts cleaned- I don't think that's ever been done- and we're having some UV thing put in that zaps all manner of airborne virus, bacteria, etc. That should be fantastic for me health-wise. Of course, we've done so much to our little house now that I'm not going to want to sell it. I've become attached to the place. Sigh.

And I have to say that in the midst of having the flu and all the other sickness in the house and the a/c and being hot right now I have tremendous peace and joy. God is really so good. I was looking back today at different things that have happened over the years and how we'd stress and flip out and how much at peace we are now and I'm thankful.

I don't think I'm going to do a play by play of vacation this time. We had a fabulous time but it really revolved around spending time with family rather than going to fabulous destinations. It was a great time of bonding with our family- especially the nieces and nephews and I'm just really thankful.

So fantastic was the bonding time that the last night we were there Halle just climbed up on uncle Shane's shoulders. She didn't ask she just did it. You know you're ok with Halle if she does that.

And sweet little Kyleigh *loved* uncle Trav. He was super excited- if you can't tell by his big smile in the picture.

Chloe missed the trash can on our way down and I was really picture happy- so I took a picture of it.

This is what happens when you don't want your picture taken and your wife wants to take your picture. Bahahaha! I love my honey.

On the way down to AL my parents had taken Chloe and Halle with them so the bigger Button peeps had a *really* good time together. We also had a fantastic time with Chris and Christy. Yummy food and great conversation. As soon as we got there miss Emma showed me her fabric stash- she's 8! It was so sweet. And she'd made a purse for Chloe. Like mother like daughter. Those were actually the only non-related people we ended up seeing while we were there. You can find Christy's account here. It was less than two weeks ago but so much has happened it feels like a lifetime already.

We didn't do any of the other Lakeland stuff that we usually do. Probably because of the amount of driving that we'd done, we were just wiped out. Travis took Chloe to the bouncy house place the night before we left (I stayed at Shane and Angie's with Halle who was sick) and I found out that the bouncy thing that Mary sprained her ankle on is no longer there. So Mary actually shut down an attraction. It seems like there should be an award or something for that. Maybe an ice cream sundae?

OK, so I guess that's it. I'm trying to think of something fun to post about later...I think my thinker will work much better once we have the new a/c unit in.

Thoughts...

We made it. Thankfully. I spent the last hour of the drive reading things from Laugh Break to Trav. We were laughing so hard- even Amanda, who was laying in the back seat with a fever. I think my favorite was this one. And I should have expected that the end of this trip would leave me very introspective. I think we have resolved some things though. The first thing is that McDonald's is never, ever an eating option again. I know, life changing, right? And the second thing is that Lakeland is the place we want to be. It's the only place we're looking right now. The job market in Lakeland isn't huge- but we only need 1 job. The location might not seem like much of a revelation but we've been very unsure of where we'd end up. But after spending so much time with my brother and his family and Trav's brother and his family we're certain that it's where we want to be. During the last 6 months I've expected God to just say 'this is where you're going to be' clearly but He hasn't. That's new territory for me. But when we were there I think we both just knew that's where we'd be. I suppose that could change but I'm not really expecting it to.

We drove a lot on this trip- 2,727 miles to be exact. It's less than 800 miles to Lakeland. But we drove to Kissimmee several times (that's actually where Disney and most attractions are, not Orlando) to be with Amanda plus over to the coast a couple of times and to visit grandparents...lotsa driving I tell you. But I had an opportunity to talk to my 16 year old nephew who is going through a lot right now. Things are happening there now that we need to be there for. And our kids had the opportunity to play with their cousins- all of them. It was heartwarming and beautiful and if God called us there for no other reason than for our family I think that's enough.

So where do we go from here? I'm not sure. Travis was able to meet some people that work with his brother and his resume is in there. I think it's always good to have a face with a resume. I ran into an old friend from college (he just moved back to Lakeland that week) and he suggested looking at our alma mater- d'oh, didn't think of that. And we'll just see what happens. There is the little matter of the house. I don't know what to do about that except fix the little things that we can for now. I think I'm going to paint everything very soon. I've tried stripping the varnish off of the kitchen cabinets and it really gunks up the sand paper- we'll see how that goes. And just see what God does. I do feel refreshed and re-energized on that front so maybe I can make some real progress. That would be nice.

I'm also struggling a bit with Chloe going back to school on Thursday. I really don't feel ready to let her go; it's gone by so quickly. But I guess if I have house stuff to work on, it's better for her to be in school than stuck inside the house watching TV while I work. Oh, and the car issue? Travis made a bunch of phone calls and found one place that could work on our car before we left. He and I drove there on Thursday and as we passed by I got a sick feeling in my stomach- and so did he. So we came home, prayed and felt like we should wait. We weren't sure what we were waiting for and we had to leave on Saturday. It didn't make any sense but we did it anyway. That afternoon I went to Target and the check engine light was still on (if you don't remember two different people told us it was a transmission issue) and when I came out it was off. I was a little nervous and expected it to come back on but it never did. We drove the aforementioned 2,727 miles and the car was completely fine. God knows so much more than we do and I'm thankful for that. I'm really looking forward to what He's going to do. And I promise that I'll share a synopsis at least and pictures from the trip soon. But they're all on Facebook if you *really* want to see them all ;-)

Keeping Up

So I've been trying to keep up lately...with the laundry. I know, aren't we all? Actually laundry isn't usually a huge problem around here because we have enough big people to keep up with it. If they need something washed, they just wash it. But ever since our cats left, the fleas moved in. With a vengeance. I don't like talking about fleas or looking at fleas but really, the Button household has revolved around nothing but fleas for the last 3 weeks or so. It has been the most frustrating thing ever. So, Travis sprayed the entire house again this past weekend. This is the third time but this time he emptied out every closet, took everything out from under every bed (when you live in a small house the space under beds is storage- no way around it) and vacuumed every inch of floor space in the house...and sprayed *everything* with insecticide. Now I am usually a no poison kind of gal, especially with small kids in the house but since fleas were responsible for the outbreak of the bubonic plague I more readily accepted poison in the house. Gaaa. Disgusting. And the laundry? I've washed every single comforter in the house and every pillow cushion and blanket around to get rid of flea eggs. We still have a layer of poison on the wood floors because apparently they lay eggs in the grooves- so we have to walk around with shoes on until Saturday when I can mop. Blech. We've seen a few fleas since then and Travis has said that if they show up again we're flea bombing the house. I *really* don't want to do that.

On the brighter side of things, we're leaving for Florida in 19 days! Did I mention that? Amanda's acting competition is in Orlando the end of this month and the first week in July and we're going with her. She's nervous and well, I might be a little nervous too. She definitely needs us there to walk with her and give her guidance and pray with her because we have no idea what's going to happen. She'll be competing but there will also be casting directors and that sort of thing. I think it's just nerve wracking to know that you're being watched all the time and competing and that sort of thing. But I don't have a plan yet. At this stage of the game I *always* have a plan- um, except maybe for that last trip to Florida. But she doesn't have her schedule yet which means I don't know what I'm doing or what to plan for or what to wear. And do I have to have a formal-ish dress for the award ceremony? Oh, I hope not. What days are we spending where? I don't like not having a plan. I am looking forward to it though. I'm hoping for a beach day and an amusement park day and a friend day and I'm supposed to have a looking at houses day with my mom-but I guess I'm not going to know all that for a little while yet.

So I will wait, mostly patiently, and dream of palm trees...

So....

...a few weeks ago Amanda accidentally dropped her i-Pod in the toilet. Tragedy of tragedies, I know. She was so upset and I felt really bad for her. We bought it for her for Christmas and it was the new model with some new features and it was probably the nicest present we've ever bought for her. So the hunt was on for some remedy to the water inside. She went to the Mac Authority and they told her to try putting it in a bag of rice to get the moisture out (the real trick according to Travis is if you do drop an i-Pod or cellphone in water is to turn it off immediately and do not turn it back on for several days. Apparently turning it on and trying to use it fries the circuits or something like that). So she grabbed some rice from the pantry and put her beloved i-Pod in for a few days and...nothing. Bummer. But a few days after that I found the bag of rice back in the pantry. The rice that the i-Pod was in. The i-Pod that fell into the toilet. I don't think that I need to tell you that I'm not serving toilet water rice to my family. But I also thought it was reeeaaallly funny. So I wrote a little note on the bag and stuck it to her bedroom door. Hilarity ensued. She thought it was reeeaaaallly funny too. Seriously, I almost fell on the floor laughing.

Ah, a day in the life of the Buttons. My dad says that we can have fun doing *anything*. I think it's true.

Day 1

So I finally did it. I started South Beach yesterday, for real. It turns out that my insight on my parents coming was right on the money. They brought presents (since we hadn't done Christmas with them yet) and mom baked cookies- chocolate chip cookies no less *and* white chocolate macadamia nut cookies. So I had chocolate chip cookies for breakfast and dinner. And we went to Shane's Rib Shack, a new restaurant for us, and they had the most amazing peach cobbler ever. So, yeah, starting a new diet before then would have been disastrous. We had a really good time and spent most of Saturday (after Travis picked up the correct box from the furniture store) at Opry Mills shopping. The sales were great and I picked up a bunch of new tops. I should have bought some shoes too but my wallet gets harder and harder to open the more money I spend. I hadn't really bought anything in forever so I was in need of some new things. My dad hates shopping but he was a really good sport.

The next day was church, the aforementioned Rib Shack lunch and saying goodbye. Then I cleaned the house and sold the old baby bed and box spring from Chloe's bed while Trav put together the new bunk bed. It was a long but productive day.

Yesterday, I cleaned and cleaned but was somehow stuck in neutral and didn't see much progress for all my labor. It was very frustrating. I really want to get out and look for new bedding for the kiddos. We've sort of picked out something at Target but I want to look a few other places and see if I can find anything else. I'll show you pictures when I do.

And just as a side note for me to remember my first day of South Beach. I skipped breakfast and drank way too much coffee so I was a bit jittery and irritable. I was hungry for most of the day even though I ate and wasn't really full until I had chili for dinner. Then I was fine. I didn't crave too much sweet stuff although a glass of real sweet tea and chocolate chips did call my name at one point. I resisted. The scale was down from normal by about a half pound but I didn't weigh yesterday so I'm not exactly sure what my starting point was- after all those cookies and peach cobbler. I'm so frustrated with weight loss in general that I thought this morning, "if it doesn't work this time, I'm done". I probably couldn't stick to that either but I've got my fingers crossed that with my new medicine I'll be successful this time.