Purging

I am taking a temporary break from...well, virutally everything...in an effort to continue the purging process God has asked me to do. I will be back. God and I will be getting reaquainted in the meantime. Pray for me!

Poetry

Some houses try to hide the fact that children shelter there.
Ours boasts of it quite openly. The signs are everywhere.
For smears are on the windows. Little smudges on the door.
I must apologize, I guess, for the toys strewn on the floor.
But I sat down with the children and we played and laughed and read
and if the doorbell doesn't shine, their eyes will shine instead.
For when at times I'm forced to choose, the one job or the other.
I want to be a housewife, but first I'll be a Mother!
-Author unknown

Father's Day highlights

Let's start with a cute picture of Andrew from Saturday.

Ok, on to Father's Day!!!
We had a wonderful day, starting with going to church. I'm taking a break from teaching the twos class so we got to sleep in and attend second service, meaning Drew and I got to sit together--GASP!!! Then we headed to Brandon and Julie's house (my bro and SIL) to play, eat and swim with Nana and Papa. Here's some of the best photos:
My dad with his grandsons.

Here's "the men" gathered around Brandon's new grill he got for Father's Day from Julie. Drew got an oven mitt (for grilling) from me. Logan got B a cool golf club. Andrew colored Drew a picture. Hmm.
ANYway, my folks also got Drew grilling accessories and he does enjoy cooking out so he was happy. Good thing cuz the less we can fire up the oven, the better.

Here's the three generations of Grimos. Andrew has taken to calling Brandon "Grimo." We think it's hilarious. And he calls Julie "Jules!" He's definitely picked it up from us. He loves using people's name when he talks to them and we find it utterly charming.

"The Big Cheese"

How they normally look, when not actually posing for the camera. Drew's the best tickler. Andrew asks, "Daddy, more tickle?" Well, it sounds like tick-oo.

Here's the cousins, soaking wet in the "splash pad."


Andrew LOVED it!!

Here's the boys and their daddies, splashing.

We dipped in the pool some, too.

And Andrew did great with his water wings.

We finished with iced brownies and the boys helped decorate them.

They both ate their fair share, too!

A wonderful way to spend a day!
Hope you all enjoyed your Father's Day, too!

Happy Father's Day!!

Here's Andrew's artwork for Drew tomorrow. I told you he was infatuated with purple and green!! He very deliberately chose green first and did their faces and such, then reached in for the purple to finish up!! The weirdest thing is, those are MY two favorite colors. Hmmmmm.
So it's Father's Day, which means I am reminded again of how blessed I am to have Drew as the father of my son. I am still constantly amazed at how much Drew adores and enjoys Andrew, and always has. He constantly comments on how much he loves him and likes being with him. Andrew just idolizes his dad and loves playing with him, rough-housing and going to the park. Drew is his favorite napping buddy, too. They have a better relationship than I could have ever hoped for. Seeing them together is one of the greatest joys of my life.
So, I hope you enjoy this little "Ode To Drew." Oooooh, the cuteness! I love my boys!
The day Andrew was born, Nov. '05.

First night home.

April '06

June '06

July '06

September '06

First Birthday

Christmas '06

Easter '07 Helping Daddy

July '07

Sept. 07


Feb. '08 Dad's Helper

May '08

And a HUGE shout-out to MY dad, the best a girl could ask for! And he still calls me his Sweet Baby.
Sept. 07

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!

Goodwill results and pics

Check out my finds on Goodwill half-price day at my public blog. The link is at the top of the right sidebar! :)
-Tab

The color sense game

I "played" and here's the result!! They nailed it--I love green!!! Don't want to take the quiz? Use the links to view the various palettes and just pick your favorite!!


Here's the description:

Al Fresco

This is that aqua color I'm in love with at the moment. Aaaahhh...



They call these colors "Spa Therapy." This is our master bedroom's palatte so it makes sense!



My secondary color palette was "Morning Rose."



Must be my romantic side. I do love these colors--I may need to do the laundry room is this dusty rose.


Here's the description:

Morning Rose

Play it yourself at the link below:

Color Sense Game

I think I need to go gather me some color swatches!!

Living with an open hand

Bear with me a moment while I get serious...
Dave Ramsey talks about this concept regarding money but I'm extending it to include all parts of life! Read on...
I hold onto things. I often have the, "I may need this someday!" mentality. Purple decor from 1998 that I might need for a future girl's room or guest room...Andrew's baby clothes, in case we have another boy during the same season who's the same size...little bowls and dishes for mints and nuts at tea parties (despite the fact that I've bought more for this purpose recently)...office supplies...you get the idea.
Now I'm in the "letting go" process. All of the above-mentioned items went into the yard sale or have been given away. There's actually room in my closets now! I can now see and enjoy what I have! I kept asking myself, "Is it worth it to store this and keep track of it or could I just acquire a new one if I ever needed it?"
During the miscarriage (now a month ago), God's voice was saying, "Purge." My life is still in a purging process and, while sometimes painful, it is so necessary and so good. It's not just "stuff," either. It's extra activities, blocks to spiritual growth, unhealthy relationships, old negative feelings. I'm sifting through them, confronting them, getting to the root of the issue--and letting them go. Purging!!
And now on to the point!! I'm trying to intentionally live my life with more of an open hand. Giving the baby clothes to a friend who has two boys that can use them, selling off belongings I've had for way too long, eliminating activities that suck my joy, etc.
The "problem" is that when you are letting things go, you wonder if they'll leave a void. What if I DO need this someday and don't have the money to buy it??? That, I believe, is the mentality that causes us to hold onto STUFF.
For me, I have some specific things I need for my home, for example. Some true needs, some wants. I'm committed to being as thrifty and practical as possible but still, it takes money! So here I've given stuff away--and now I've got empty walls and unframed artwork! Ack!!
The amazing thing is, just this week, money came back to me twice. When you live with an open hand, you can let things flow in and out more easily. Live with a closed hand and, yes, you get to keep what you have--but you can't accept anything new. First my dad paid me very generously for picking him up from the airport, then a neighbor came by to ask if I still had a few items left from the yard sale to give to her granddaughter, and paid me for them! Oh, and I got paid for some jewelry, too, so that counts!!
Now I have a few bucks of my very own to buy Drew a Father's Day gift, make him breakfast and hit the ol' half-price sale at Goodwill this weekend!!
I love how that works!! If you hold onto stuff, you can never know what would happen if you let it go--let it go and the possibilities are endless!!

phew!

I found the camera!! It'd been sitting a foot away on the desk all this time, just tucked away enough to not notice it from where I sit. Drr.
So!! Here's a few newer shots of Andrew, since I know you were just dying to see him! I moved this kid-sized roll top desk into his room and he got the concept right away--it makes a great spot to color! I'll store my few guest items in the drawers.

And here he is, playing trains. Every dime we spend on train stuff is money well spent, especially since outdoor time is limited right now. It cracks me up...there's this lamp base in the background, on the right, see it? I sold the shade in our recent yard sale, haven't gotten a new one yet...so this was "hiding" behind the couch. He drug it over this morning, probably to incorporate it with his train set! Like a neat building or something. Kinda creative.



To see my latest shopping and decorating adventures, check out my public blog. The link is on the right hand sidebar.
Hope you're staying cool, too!

"God Made...

...wonderful things to hear."
Painted by Andrew, age 2.5 years old, June 8, 2008 at church.
He's also been attending the Baby Beakers class this week while I serve as "crew leader" for the elementary session of VBS and has chosen to color with green and purple crayons both days so far. Funny to see what they choose. I love it that he has such strong preferences.
Anyway, besides enjoying music, evidently he's artistic, too!! I catch him singing "Twinkle, Twinkle" at some point almost every day--it's adorable.

Ugh

So I went to the consignment store. The store was VERY full. The owner was there and was evidently just about to leave with a bunch of stuff to go to storage. Perhaps not the best day for consignors. I was offered $21 cash or $30-something credit. My response? Big whoop. I asked the sorter/payer lady why. She said they already have a ton of baby jeans and short-alls, a ton of onesies and some of the stuff was "stained." I was bummed. And I came home with maybe half a bag less than I started with. I even packed a box of toys to take and when I saw how overloaded the toy section was, I didn't even bother. Grrrrr.
What did they take, you ask? A pair of brand new shoes from Target (we don't wear dress shoes) and several sets of brand new pajamas. Beyond that, I don't even remember.
I have a friend with a baby boy and a son a little younger than Andrew so I'm offering her what's left and the rest goes to a fundraiser rummage sale. I went back through it all and pulled a few things out and, sure enough, there was some sort of "spill" on a few newborn items that I know wasn't there when we packed them up. Weird. But, wow, there was a lot of good stuff left, including a brand new Old Navy shirt, some Children's Place shirts...I was surprised. They supposedly use some sort of infrared scanner to detect stains (I somehow doubt that) but it's certainly possible that they had been spilled on and I hadn't gotten it out completely. Still, I looked around that store and though, "Oh, come on! NOTHING in here has even a minute stain on it??" Give me a break. If they're so picky, how do they end up with so many "play clothes" for the $5 fill-a-bag event?? What, it fades over time, but was perfect when they took it?? I don't get it.
So I was ticked. I wasted a long drive (due partly to a detour), an hour-and-a-half of time, the gas and by the time I bought the $7 Thomas the Train DVD Andrew desperately wanted and killed time at Walgreens resulting in an $11 purchase--well, I made about two bucks. Sheesh.
Still, I am determined to get rid of the stuff, regardless. DETERMINED!! The toys, too. It's just not as easy as I imagined. Such is life, huh?
I did get two new bottles of Revlon nail polish, one nude and one purple, as a buy-one-get-one-half-off. LOVE them!! It's one of the few brands without the icky ingredients. So that was good.
OK, I'm off to clean out the laundry room. More on that project soon.

I did it

I'm getting rid of all of Andrew's clothes (except the current ones, of course). I had to seize the opportunity--I have an appointment at our local "Children's Orchard" consignment store, where they pay cash (or give you store credit) for clothes, toys, shoes, etc. age newborn to size 6, I believe. I've done a lot of great shopping there--MOST of my shopping, in fact. I've also consigned before with good results. I planned to take Andrew's size 2T and 3T summer clothes because he keeps growing, like, every day. He's definitely in a 4T and has plenty of shorts and tees to carry him to November. This past winter, we got by with about 6 pairs of comfy pants and 6 shirts, old from Old Navy, with a few items of "church clothes" and that's about all he needed.
So I finally said to myself, "What are the odds of having another boy, the same size, at the same time of year?" Granted, we wear summer clothes here about 10 months out of the year, but still. And then there's the issue of storing them and the space they take up, plus keeping track of them and getting them out when the time is right (if ever). Imagine my disappointment if I had a girl next, THEN a boy...even if they were the same size during the same season, it would all be outdated by then, anyway!!
I'd much rather have the cash or credit now, free up the space and let other moms enjoy the cute clothes. There's a lot of stuff from the past two summers that I know will sell really well, now that we're in triple digits here. So they are all bagged up and ready to go, along with quite a few toys he's no longer interested in. And, hey, it's good recycling!! And I can always buy more. I also reminded myself that I have pictures of him in most of my favorite clothes, anyway.
This one he wore on Mother's Day '06. Isn't it darling?? Yep, I gave it up.

Then this "Little Firecracker" shirt from Memorial Day '06. Wow, he has grown.

And this gecko outfit, June '06.

Why keep it when I have such a cute picture of it??
And you know this will be a hit for July 4th. He wore July '06.

I even got rid of his super-cute stuff from last summer, including some nice brands! Like this one, April '07.

And July '07. He lived in these rompers, both summers. Now I'll be able to justify buying new ones for the next kid!!

So, the only stuff I kept was generic newborn since I can definitely use that again.
So if you're hanging onto your kids' clothes, may I suggest consigning them? Or even donating them! I feel so much better and I bet you will, too!