I'm Moving

Both physically and technologically.  Our family is relocating to St. Thomas, Pennsylvania, where Mike will be working for JLG in McConnellsburg, PA.  (Funny thing, Mike used to work for JLG's direct competitor, Genie Industries, when we lived in Seattle.) The physical move is a result of a very difficult decision.  Yellowstone Church is our baby, and it was very difficult to know God was leading us to hand our baby off to someone else.  However, for the health of the church and the health of our family, we know this is the right decision.

The technological move is more symbolic.  This is a new chapter for our family, a new location, and I have a new outlook...so, I thought we needed to transform the blog as well and move it.  Now you can find me at Ivy Six-Pack.  I know, not a huge change, but c'mon, I have lots of change going on right now!!!

See you over there!

Things I missed for my Birthday

1. my family - they live too far away!


2. Costco cake, but the frozen yogurt was yummy!


3. my far away friends!


4. sleeping in (that's what happens when your birthday falls on a Sunday and you're the pastor's wife!)


5. a magically clean house


6. my private beach and fruity drink (okay, so that's really not a birthday necessity, but someday I will spend my birthday on a beach with a yummy drink!)

First Day of Summer Vacation

It seems there are a few things consistent about the first day of Summer Vacation:

1. The sun is always bright and shining...especially at 5:30am


2. Children seem to forget that they can sleep in.


3. The mommy has all sorts of plans and can't understand why no one else is excited about cleaning the garage


4. The daddy always makes breakfast...or second breakfast since some people have been awake since 5:35am


5. No one is fully dressed before noon.


6. The kids start asking when we are going to set up the pool...every hour...starting at 5:45am

Older Kids Playdates

Things I do when my older kids have "playdates":

1. Remember to not call them playdates


2. Straighten up the house since they are now old enough to tell their parents how messy my house is


3. Fix a healthy snack


4. Stay close enough to hear the conversation, but not too close so I look like I'm listening


5. Make mental notes of what they are talking about so I can google it later


6. Remember to close the door when I go to the bathroom.

Hog Ridin'

Six things that are hard to experience unless you are riding a bike:

1. Feeling the temperature change from the heat of a plateau to the cool of a valley.


2. The smell of sagebrush, fresh cut wheat, and cattle by-products.


3. The time to just think...no phone, no conversation.


4. And then the time to listen to God...no phone, no conversation.


5. Being close to my husband (since I don't drive).


6. The instant massage from the rumble of the big v-twin motor.

Cough, cough, cough, cough

Is it possible to cough so much that you just pass out? You would think I've been a chain smoker for years the way I am coughing today!

Scripture Memory #5

Almost two years ago, God challenged me to ENJOY my life. ENJOY the little things; ENJOY the people; ENJOY what I already had.

I have felt a bit ashamed that I have attacked this so poorly. I thought I could just easily decide to ENJOY things. But so easy it is for me to see the problems, the frustration, the discontentment.

My husband made me a beautiful metal sign with the word ENJOY. It sits above my kitchen cabinets for me to see the 50 million times a day that I walk into that room. And still, I struggle.

Daily, I walk in and see the dirty dishes, the dirty floor, the piles of paper, the dusty window.

I am reading Ann Voskamp's book, one thousand gifts. I warn you now, this is profoundly changing my perspective. You will hear me talk about it a lot. The hard part comes in how exactly to put into words the stirring inside of me.

What I know and can express right now is this. I am not ENJOYing life because I am not thankful for the things that God has given me.

Ouch. That hurts to even write to admit.

And being thankful to the point of ENJOYment is not something that happens overnight. It takes practice. So very few things in my life require me to practice. But then I think, how much am I not accomplishing because I am not practicing?

So I start here:

He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to
his God. --Daniel 6:10b NLT

It starts with practice...practicing thankfulness.

Routines Rule

I am such a creature of habit. I drive the kids to school the same route every day. I clean bathrooms the same way I have for over 20 years (meaning not very well!). I know this about myself: I function better with routines.

So, in an effort to get on top of some of my goals, I set up two new routines today.

I have a routine for laundry. It goes like this:

Mon: Master bedroom & bathroom
Tues: little girls
Wed: little boys (although they really aren't that little)
Thur: Judson
Fri: Master bedroom & bathroom
Sat: Mikalah (technically so she can do her own, but...)
Sun: delicate/hand washables

It works for me. I used to have a day where I did 20 loads of laundry. Now I do two loads every day in between everything else. It really seems like I am never doing laundry.

However, that has been the only area where I had a specific routine and somehow the only area I felt like I had some control over. So, new routine:

Cleaning:
Mon: Master bedroom
Tues: Girls & boys room
Wed: Living/dining/kitchen (these are lumped together because of the flooring)
Thur: Bathrooms - deep clean
Fri: basement
Sat: garage/outside
Sun: relax!

So the idea is that on that day I will spend time in that room cleaning/straightening something. Some days I will have a few hours and it will be amazing. Other days I may only have 30 min and will manage to straighten things up or just dust. So, we will try this for four weeks and I will check back with you at the beginning of April (lordy how does the year go by!) and let you know how it is going.

Another routine developed - kitchen duties.

Three chores: helping with food, clearing the table, and the dishwasher.
Rotate children through so they help every other day.

Example:
Mon: child 6 helps with food, child 5 clears the table, child 4 loads the dishwasher
Tues: child 3 helps with food, child 2 clears the table, child 1 loads the dishwasher
Wed: child 4 helps with food, child 6 clears the table, child 5 loads the dishwasher
and so on...

Again, we will try this for the rest of the week and see how it goes.

Costco Wedding

I may have a few years before this is a reality in our house, but it is nice to know that Costco is there for me!!!

Sick Day Activities

I know, the fact that I am sick is not new news. And I'm not complaining (much), but this is day FIVE! So this morning I went to the doctor to make sure it wasn't anything more than just a bad case of the flu. The good news is I don't have strep and I don't have pneumonia. Just a really bad case of the flu! My kids that had the flu were down and back up within three days. Somehow they also still had energy. I have no energy.

I have been in bed for the past several days. My computer next to me and occasionally I will work on it, but really, my fingers almost hurt too much to type. (pathetic, I know) So I have watched quite a bit of TV. HGTV, TLC, CNN, Food Network. After four days of this routine, I have discovered a few things.

1. News people stretch a 10 sec news story into 30 min and really say nothing new

2. All the good food contains lots of butter, chocolate, or cream

3. People looking for a new house are unrealistic and picky

4. People remodeling their home underestimate how much what they want will cost and aren't usually willing to sacrifice to stay on budget

5. It is possible to cook in a kitchen without granite counter-tops

6. Most families who participate in pageants spend more money than it would cost to send that child to college.

7. I really want to learn to make cupcakes

8. Christiane Amanpour is my favorite reporter.

9. I now know that T.U.F.F. Puppy is. I could have lived without knowing

10. My husband is amazing and does a wonderful job caring for our children when I can't.

Too Much

Some days take too much out of you!

Dr. Visits

Kickin' Butt

Unfortunately it is my butt that is being kicked. It seems we have three or four different illnesses in the house right now. So we are boosting immune systems, spraying the lysol, and wishing for warmer weather where we could open all the windows. I'm taking Morgan and Jeffrey to the doctor tomorrow, and Mikalah's antibiotics don't seem to be kicking the sinus infection. So far, Mike and Meredith win the prize for health!

I'm just praying the sub zero temps and the snow that is headed our way for the next five days doesn't drive us all stir crazy!

Influenza A

I have always had this theory that we don't get flu shots, because we are not in a high risk situation. We got flu shots one year and we all got some strain of the flu. It was not pretty. You can't make me do that again!

Well, this year, the first time in six years, the flu has struck the Iverson household. Yesterday I took JJ to the doctor for a strep test. I thought for sure, the fever, chills, and cough were going to result in strep. Nope. Influenza A.

Others in the family seem to be fighting well. No one else has succumb yet.

And JJ...the doctor gave him Tamiflu. That stuff is amazing! Less than 24 hours later and JJ is up and running like nothing was wrong. Who knew? An Anti-Viral! I'm on to them now! No more going to the doctor and coming out empty handed!

Where to Start?

So remember way back when I said one of my goals was organizing and setting up routines for our household? Yeah, me too...

Well, this is the week I am beginning...I have finally thought my way into a plan.

Unfortunately, I'm still not 100% which room to start with.

The kitchen? It is the hub of the house.

The living room? It is the room I spend a lot of time in and the first room you see when you enter and the "hospitality room".

The master bedroom? It is my retreat, my sanctuary.

The basement family room? The room the family spends a lot of time in.

(That in no way implies that I try to spend a lot of time away from the family!)

I have long found it interesting that each person has one space in their house that they go to first when it is time to clean. Their place that once it is clean, they can think, can breathe.

If you had to pick one space in your home to start with, to organize, to decorate, what would it be?

Scripture Memory #4

I can not believe how fast this year is going! This verse is one that I think I really need as a warning signal every time I open my mouth!

Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone. Colossians 4:6 NLT

So many times, a few minutes after a conversation, I think of ways that I could have handled things so much better! I want God to speak through me, not just to me after the fact!

Snow is Melting

...so can you guess what I will be doing tonight?

That's Who I Am

Right now I am finishing up some MOPS training in Denver.

I am a M-O-M!

Old is the new New

One of my favorite hymns

Be Thou My Vision

Move

What better music to play when you need to be moving!