And there is this...

Soooo, there is a touch more DELICIOUSNESS in this house! A counter top!!!

After living like the Ingalls family for months, we now have running water, a new sink, and a FABOO counter top..

Now, to clarify, the only thing in my kitchen that actually matches what I originally thought I wanted, are the cabinets. Nothing I have done since then seems to go along with them..
I had investigated, searched, shopped and thought I found the best deal on counter tops. The quartz ending up being ....wait for it..... 4800.oo smackers! And on the day I planned to go and give them the down payment, I called my mom and said, "I CAN"T DO IT"...I just couldn't. It seemed so outrageous to spend that kind of money on one thing..
So I had to start over in my counter top quest. I ended up going to a shop and honestly looking at one slab and said, "Do It.."
And as it turned out, I love it..
It is granite. Which I thought I hated. But it has a lot of movement to the pattern, and it looks more like marble than granite.

My new double sink is lovely as well..AND my new faucet, Perfect..

So now I have to decide on the back splash. NOTHING I had planned will work. I had originally thought of having a very "still" counter top so that I could have a wild back splash..So now I have to figure out what will go with my new counters...

I am just beginning my new search and found these lovely options at Home Depot. Not sure if any of them work. The patterns sort of work against the counters..What I do know is that I LOVE my new stuff!!!

Still Learning

Can you remember back to the time where you were a teenager and your parents made you sick? Literally, sick. The sound of my mother's voice could send my into a tyrannical rage. I usually heard it early on a Saturday morning. Screaming at me to gather the dirty dishes from my room. To gather the dirty laundry..I would squeeze the pillow tightly around my ears and beg that she would somehow magically, miraculously drop dead in the kitchen. And I could sleep. Alone in my filthy teenage bedroom...

And now, at 45 I am ever so thankful to hear my parents voice. Everyday hearing my mom. And almost as much, hearing my dad..And after all this time, I enjoy their company. I enjoy listening to their crazy Republican political opinions. I love hearing each of them in their own way try to guide me through the difficult life decisions I make for my girlz and for myself..
They have been true to me. True to their job title. They are parents. Not my friends, not my equal, but my mom and dad. I can only offer, "yes ma'am and No Sir" as an homage to the respect I feel for them. At my age, they know they can't tell me what to do, only encourage..

But what I have learned over the past couple of years, is that they haven't let me down. And they have helped me tremendously. They have reached out to help others, simply because it was for me. For that I thank them both.

I have made some pretty serious choices in relationships that were not only dangerous and hurtful, but predictable. As both of my parents tried to teach me from a young age, "You really should help people, but not to the extent it will hurt you." And it seems that most of the time, I have done that very thing. I have put myself behind a decision that only ended up hurting. BUT, the practical side of me has never let it hurt too deeply.


Most of the time I have seen crazy coming..But I don't always remember:
"When someone shows you who they are, Believe Them.." But I am learning....

5 Fall Favorites

Hevel told Nellie and now I am inclined to do the same...So what are 5

I am loving right now?


1)   I adore Diana Taurasi. She is an WNBA basketball player. She went to UConn and she was part of the team that won 3 national championships. She was drafted to play for Phoenix. And until this week, I had never heard of her. She was the player who had a little shoving match on the court and then leaned in to kiss the other player. Seemed way out of line when I first saw the video clip. Now after endlessly googling and youtubing, I learned that she and that other player have played together since they were little girlz. And they are friends. Why am I so infatuated with this lady? She plays in Russia for 7 months out of the year...Yep. Now she can do no wrong!!!

2) Knowing that my class is in planning mode for our trip to the pumpkin patch. This trip is the most fun trip in the world.  And yes, there is kettle corn, yes, we get to bring home a pumpkin, and yes they have calves and baby goats! LLLLOOOOVVVEEEE

3)  My countertops will be installed in a week. We have lived like the Ingalls family with no kitchen sink for nearly two months. I finally narrowed down the choices and just said, DO IT!

4) My new sofa..AugustRose and my mom found a cool sofa a while back. My mom had it recovered to match my grandmother's chair..It's awesome!!

5) My dog's new haircut is growing out in a way that makes her look like a proper dog and not  a bath mat...

Oh No They Didn't...

So I was looking at research on the poor, as it is a huge factor in the success of students, and WOAH! I started finding hundred of articles on single mothers..Diving deeper, I found even more articles on 'WHY MEN SHOULD NEVER DATE SINGLE MOMS'...
I made the mistake and read a few.
Here are some highlights.

Widows are not considered single moms.
Divorced women are not considered single moms.

Single moms are women who have children without the benefit of marriage.

I don't what group I fall into. But clearly these idiot men have actually hit the truth on so many levels..

It's true, I would never have a child without the benefit of marriage. I wouldn't want to share my child with anyone I wasn't willing to marry.

It's true and statistics have shown that given the circumstance, many of the offspring of single mothers are at higher risk of poverty. But guess what? We all are a couple of paychecks away from complete financial devastation!!!

But most important to me, is that there is no research to substantiate what will happen to the offspring who adopt and choose NOT to date. And that is the group I am in.
I refuse to put anyone on the same Love Level as my children. I won't date. Not for me. I put every ounce of my being into working and raising my girlz. They are first in my life, and they know it. The statistics of bringing a man into the home are clear. Sexual abuse is much likelier to happen than if a non-related man does not live with young chidlren. No man is worth that..
Also, I am financially able to live on my own. I can do what I need right by myself..Except for all the things my PARENTS take care of!! HAHAHAHA
Why would I take love away from my chidlren and give it to a man. Hey, Men, Guess What?" I don't need to share my life with you...So get over yourself!

Busy Busy!

So let's just add to the "busy" plate shall we?

I am in grad school. Finally finishing my masters. Of the 24 hours of graduate credit that I have, none of them amount to anything I'd like to really study so I am just finishing with the MS in Early Childhood. I had hoped that at least a few of the classes could transfer into a History Masters, but no..
And I have searched literally every school on the east coast in hopes of finding a program in Russian History or Russian Studies, but everyone of them requires graduate level Russian. No matter how much Pimsleur or Rosetta Stone I do, I just won't be able to write and read in the language.
So I am just doing what is easiest and finishing up with elementary education with a focus on early childhood. I will be finished this year and then I can actually find a history program, and then work on a second masters later on..

Anna's foot is healed and she will begin dance this week. She is only taking tap. Why, you ask? BECAUSE SHE IS  JOINED A SWIM TEAM!!! Am I crazy you ask?? Actually, this time I am not as nervous about the time commitment because the gym where they will swim in not even a 1/2 mile from my house. Oddly an adult fitness center closed and a Kids Choice Gym replaced it. So I can actually be there in about 2 minutes. LOVE IT!!

August is still taking 2 dance classes but they on back to back on one of the days that Anna will swim. So mom will take her to dance, and I will go sweat it out at the pool, I already dread the smell of chorine.

School is tootling along. My 3 new teammates are amazing. They are young and adorable and bring lots of ideas and giggles to the table. My favorite part is that I have the daughter of a co-teacher in my class. I remember when this child was born! Time flies!

Both of my girlz are actually liking school and getting into a nice rhythm of homework and play. Anni has been going to Wednesday night Church since last year, and she is loving that again. Her first school friend goes and takes Anni so I get a little one on one time with Auggie.

I am already looking forward to our trip to NYC. We are taking the train this year just to mix it up. My back hurt so much when we came back from Hershey Park that I am afraid to chance it on another 4 hour drive. Plus, Amtrak is only 300.00 for all 4 of us to go. (mom goes) I haven't found a hotel yet. This year my mom wants to stay somewhere "fancy"..Whatever! Fancy in NYC is over 500.00 a night. The one hotel she really wanted was 1100.00 per night! Uhhmmm, no thank you!

I promised the girlz we would go camping again this year. But this time, we would spend the night. I have a friend who will let us use her tent, but something tells me, I might get a weeee bit nervous in the night. I looked at tear-drop campers online a while back, Cayuuuute! But no way, until I get a nice little savings in the bank, I am not buying anything.

Kitchen is still in process, so  I am just hating my house, but we are sooo close. The countertops are getting put in very soon, and then it's a downhill slide..

So that's us at the beginning of the year. Not too bad!!

A Special Request

I know that everyone who may read this may not be on Facebook, but if you are, I have a request. Please find the page called 

"Prayers For Ellie"

This child is really struggling with a brain disorder that is not actually diagnosed. They have been in and out of the hospital for several years now trying to figure out what is happening. Ellie is the daughter of the operations director and the children's ministry leader at my Church. They have been central in the lives of so many people at New Hope Church. When I came home from Russia with Anna, they were at the airport to greet us. This family adopted a child from Russia using my same agency and in a weird twist, they were the family that encouraged a single lady named Brenda to adopt. At my very first small group meeting, Brenda shared a video of a "referral" of her soon to be baby. I was secretly in the process of ending my marriage, and struggling with the fact that our fertility efforts were over. Brenda walked me through the idea of "single mom adoption" and Voila, here we are!

God works in the most crazy ways. I can't figure out what lesson we should be learning from Ellie's illness. Ellie was absolutely fine until about 2 and half years ago when she had her first seizure. It has rapidly gone down hill and she just left the hospital after an 11 day stay. This stay included brain surgery and a lung biopsy. At this point, she cannot eat/swallow, and is unsteady on her feet. She has 3 brothers and 1 sister and they are amazing in their efforts to keep her upbeat and positive, but her parents are terrified and drained from the amount of medical intervention and treatment required just to find a specific diagnosis. They are inches away from being part of a research study for children with brain conditions and need prayers as they begin that process...

I haven't been to Church all summer. My heart just wasn't in it. I have felt alone and isolated there. But this weekend, For Ellie, I am going back. God works through others to bring us together and I just want to "get over myself" and be at New Hope where I know I can find my way, again.. So take a look and Like the Page:

https://www.facebook.com/prayersforellieschleyer

I am thanking the sweet Lord that I was able to get to Norfolk  this weekend for my sweet Aunt Nancy's memorial..
Got to spend a fabulous weekend with the Bill/Nancy family and it was wonderful! Promise to post pics of my gorgeous family soon..

I am home now to deal with a financial nightmare that has nearly brought me to tears..Let's just say, I am not happy about what has happened with my bank, and because it is a holiday, I can't call or do anything more until Tuesday..Oh yeah, that's the first day of school so I may not be able to do anything then either! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....

Pray for me friends..I am THISSSSS close to a break down!