It is finished. . .

Well, almost. We finished up painting on Wednesday night and neither of us care to see a paint brush or roller for a long time. There are still a couple of bathrooms to paint and a linen closet, but we determined those could wait just a bit and shouldn't take us very long once we get moved in. We had the carpets cleaned yesterday and things look great. The orange shag carpet is still orange (even the best carpet cleaner couldn't take the color out!), but it's very clean and doesn't look so bad (as "not so bad" as orange shag carpet can be). We'll be moving in earnest tomorrow though we've already taken over a ton of boxes and plan on taking more stuff today. We could not have done nearly so much without our church family. They've helped paint, cleaned our house, put contact paper down for us, cooked us meals, and plan on helping us move tomorrow. Various ones have kept the girls for us as it seems I have relinquished my parenting duties this week. As I told Lon yesterday, we could not have asked for a better church family. They take GREAT care of their pastor and his family and we love them greatly.

The girls are excited about moving and are excited about all of the space this new place offers. Lainey came to me the other day and said, with all seriousness, "Mom, I know what song we can sing when we go upstairs." I asked what song she had in mind. She said, "Wee Willie Winkie. Because he runs upstairs and downstairs." Very well then, we shall sing it!

Our internet will be down for the next week beginning this morning so we'll be out of touch for a bit, but we'll try to get pictures posted soon. Now, off to pack . . .Here's hoping I can find everything once we get under one roof.

A House Progressing

Wow, have we been busy! We have been working on the house quite a lot since last Friday and are making great progress. On Monday, it didn't really seem like we were making progress at all, but as we look at it now, I think we're beginning to see a bit of a light at the end of the tunnel. There is still much to be done, but we can at least see that we are putting a dent in the things we wanted to do. We are EXTREMELY grateful to our church family and one lady in particular. She offered to help us paint and has actually done more than I have. For the last three days, she's gotten at the house before I have and has done marvelous work. As it turns out, she loves to paint and makes quick work of a big project. I am eternally indebted to her for all her hard work. She recruited another lady from church to come and help tomorrow so we shall be able to accomplish even more! Folks are going to begin providing meals for us tomorrow which will also be a tremendous blessing! What a blessing it is to see the body of Christ work together and what a humbling experience to be on the receiving end of such work. I just can't put into words how blessed we feel by these people. The Lord has us in a place where we are physically far from our own family, but He has blessed us beyond measure with an amazing church family. They are very good to us and we are very grateful.

We shall take some pictures of the process of getting the house in order and will get those posted soon. (We got a new camera and I have NO clue how to use it so I am dependent upon Lon at this point!) I think it's going to be a tremendous blessing to us once we've got it completed and are able to get moved in. I'm looking forward to it being done and slowing down just a bit. As I told Lon last night, burning the candles at both ends is beginning to catch me in the middle. I remind myself that it is but for a season!

The girls are having great fun spending time with Nonie and we are extremely grateful for all that she's done while she's been here. I know how very hard it is to look after these girls day after day and her help has freed me up to get so much more done than I could have gotten done without her here. We're trying to figure out how we're going to make it all work next week when she goes home!! I think we'll be doing shift work!

Well, off to pack . . .myself to bed!

Where We've Been, What We've Done, and Why We Need Naps

The last week has been filled with packing, packing, and more packing. We are on target to move in 2 weeks and, in an effort not to have to pack everything up in 2 or 3 days' time, I have been trying to pack several boxes each day. As I've done this, I've found myself thinking, "Why, oh why, do we have so much STUFF!" And these thoughts are coming without having packed much of anything out of the girls' room yet! Why do I have so many dishes? Because I like them, that's why! Why does Lon have so many books? Because he likes them! I have found some things I can get rid of so I'm glad of that. We are making progress even though, at this point in the game, it doesn't look too much like it. We began doing some work down at the house this evening and know that we will both sleep well tonight! As Lon said when we got home, we're probably going to be tired for the next month. But this too shall pass. We are excited about getting to do the work and feel blessed by the huge amount of space this is going to give us. I think the work will all be worth it in the end. We are quite grateful that Lon's mom flew up from Texas to help us out with the girls so that we would be free to get things done. The girls always have a good time with her and will make some good memories again this time I'm sure.

Funny stories from Sarah Grace:
Today she and Abby and I ran some errands in town while Lainey was in school. We had our taxes prepared last week and needed to go pick them up. She asked where we were going and I told her we had to go pick up our taxes. I knew she had no clue what I was talking about, but I really wasn't sure how to explain tax stuff to a 3 year old especially since I really have no understanding of it myself! She asked me several more times what we were doing until I finally told her we just had to pick up some paperwork. This answer seemed to satisfy her. The CPA's office is in an old home that has been renovated into an office and as we were leaving, the secretary asked if Sarah Grace would like some candy from their basket. She did and picked out a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup or as she calls it a "cup of Reese". As we were in the car driving to our next errand, she said, "Mama, I liked the paperwork house because I got a cup of Reese." We laugh at the way she names things. For example, Sarah Grace doesn't go to Home Depot; she goes to On-Home Depot. She also doesn't watch America's Funniest Home Videos. She watches On-Home Videos and asks me every Sunday, "Is On-Home Videos on yet?" I have no idea why "on" has to be added to phrases beginning with home, but evidently it is necessary.

We had some more snow this week, but I'm glad to say it was short lived this time. It started falling shortly after lunch on Wednesday and fell throughout the day and evening. We ended up with 2-3 inches, but it's mostly melted now. After our 2 weeks + of snow in December and January, we're good on snow for a long while! I am ready for springtime, flowers, and warm breezes (though those don't usually show up until May or June)!

Well, Lon has now accused me of writing War and Peace: The Blog Entry so I shall now end my tome with the hopes of being a more faithful blogger in the future. Just know, faithful readers, that our lives are very, very busy right now and that soon and very soon we will catch up and return to normal and more regularly scheduled updates!

Catch up!

Well, here we are again. It seems that we are all finally well here in the Graham home and are praying that this will be the case for quite some time. We've been blessed with some sunshine this week and Lainey and Sarah Grace have been quite glad to get outside to play. Today at lunchtime we neared the end of the loaf of bread. We had one heel left so Sarah Grace asked if she could feed it to the birds. Always wanting to do right by our feathered friends, I split the piece between her and Lainey and sent them outside with it. I'm afraid that "feeding the birds" actually turned into an "outdoor snack" as both of them sat down at the swing set and ate what had once been intended for the birds. Lainey said she did leave some for the birds, but I'm afraid Sarah Grace was not quite so generous! Oh well, we know that Scripture tells us that the Lord knows what the birds needs and provides for them; it's good that they're not dependent upon the generosity of 5 year old and 3 year old girls! They were such fun to watch as they played out on their swing set and ran around the back yard. It's as though they've been deprived of sunshine these many months and wanted to soak up as much as they could. They played on the see-saw, the swing, and the slide. At one point, I looked out and saw that Sarah Grace had climbed up into her swing and Lainey was pushing away. It is a blessing when we have these glimpses of siblings at their best! Some days those glimpses are few and far between! All the while Lainey and Sarah Grace were outside, Abby stood at the back door and watched them and beat the glass on the door as though to say, "I wanna play too!" She babbled and "talked" to them and yelled and laughed! It's very evident that she is anxious to join them. Soon enough; I suppose the other 2 have acclimated to playing outside when it is but 47 degrees, but Abs isn't quite there yet!

I have Bible study on Tuesday nights so I miss out on the bedtime routine then, but Lon shared with me this morning what Sarah Grace prayed last night. In Lon's words, "Did I tell you that Sarah Grace prayed last night that I wouldn't go to heaven?"
SG: And we pray for Daddy, especially that he would not go to heaven.
Lon: Ummmm, no.
SG: Why?
Lon: Because I want to go to heaven!
SG: Why?
Thus began an endless cycle of conversation! I tried to assure him that maybe she was just praying that he wouldn't go right NOW and that he'd live a long and healthy life, but I don't think he bought it.

I'm thinking that perhaps Lainey might have a flair for the dramatic. Actually this is something I've known for quite some time. The other morning, I was fixing a bowl of oatmeal for her breakfast in the microwave. She turned to me and said, "Oh that oatmeal smells so good. Whenever I smell it, it smells like popcorn. The smell of dreams!" I had to turn away and laugh a little! What's this drama going to be like as she gets older?!

Abs has cut two new teeth on the top and is now boasting 4 on top and 2 on bottom. Baby food has not really done well with her stomach and honestly I find it much easier to feed her what we're having (though we've not yet let her have the broccoli from our stir fry!). She seems to really enjoy chicken pot pie (and I know from her diaper today that at least the carrots got into her), cinnamon rolls, biscuits and jelly, banana, bites of toasted turkey and cheese sandwich, and pretty much anything else that we'll give her. She's not turned away from anything that I recall and I hope this means she'll be a good eater in the future!

Our packing is keeping us busy, but is coming along. We're doing just a bit at the time so for those of you worried that I might overdo, don't! At this point, I'm probably under-doing and need to get busy with filling up boxes. We have too much stuff and I anticipate that not all of this "stuff" is going to make it to the new place. The thrift stores of Whatcom County will soon experience an influx! We've always used our moves to weed out that which we don't really need. After having been in the same place for 3 + years, our weeding out has slowed down and our collecting has picked up; I must reverse this trend! Don't worry Grandparents, I promise not to get rid of the girls' favorite things, but we can only have so many toys and with another baby on the way, it's time to clean out!!

And off we go to fill a box. . .

Arguing 101

I don't know why we as parents want to rush our children to talk. As first time parents, we tried our best to get Lainey to say mama and dada and then a myriad of other words. We were so excited the more she learned to say. Same thing with Sarah Grace. But I think I've learned my lesson and will slow things down with Abby. Those who have no children take note: the sooner they begin to talk, the sooner they begin to argue!! This is not a skill they have to practice or even learn, it's just natural. Early on in her career of speaking, Lainey began to say "no". Sarah Grace has been discipled by her older sister and has techniques at 3 that Lainey never thought of having. She is advanced in her skills as an argumentative child. Case in point: Today I heard her arguing with a toy. That's right, a toy! She had a little radio that said, "Sing along to the music!" She said, "No! I'm going to turn you off!" I thought, "Wow! She's crossed a line I've never seen crossed before!"

I promise you there's never a dull moment in the Graham home though sometimes I wouldn't mind one or two!

We're Still Here!

I've been on a hiatus from the blog as of late, but I'm guessing you've noticed. We've been nursing colds and such around here and, frankly, I'm tired at the end of a day and not in a "let's relive it all" mood. All is well even though all are not well. We're getting there and hoping that maybe in a day or so we'll have no more runny noses, fevers, aches, coughs, and whatever else these nasty germs cause. Lon says it's better that we all get sick at one time rather than dragging it out over a month, but as the CCO (chief care officer) of the family, I'm inclined to disagree!

The big news in our lives right now is we're. . .pregnant. Oh wait, you knew that. No, we're moving! As we have vowed that there will be no more cross country moves for quite some time (say 67 1/2 years), this one will be just taking us a half mile down the street. A family in our church called us a couple of weeks ago and asked if we'd be interested in renting their mom's home. It's much larger than ours with 5 bedrooms and would allow us to spread out and not be quite as on top of one another as we will be come June 8th. It seems as though the Lord has dropped this in our lap and we feel extremely blessed. We're hoping to be moved out of here and into there by the middle of next month. We're going to be doing some painting and such down there and are excited about being able to pick out colors other than off white! We've never experienced such before! The girls are excited about the prospects of moving and I think will enjoy having more space to run around in. They'll still share a room, but I don't think they'd have it any other way at this point!

Our girls have always really enjoyed singing hymns and while their lyrics might not quite match up with what's written in the Old Baptist Hymnal, it really delights my heart to hear them sing. On Friday, as I was getting Lainey ready for school, I could hear Sarah Grace singing "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms". Her version went like this, "leaning, leaning, leaning ever on the lasting arms". Over and over. I think she makes God smile and I know she makes her mama smile. These little girls are precious gifts from God!!

Such A Pretty Girl