What Is It?

It's red and black and has taken over my living room... more later...

Quiet Time

I like to find "a spot" in each home where I can go to have my quiet time. A place just for me to think, relax, ponder life and, most importantly, to have my daily devotions. Today I found my new spot -- it's the rocking chair in my bedroom. Shortly after Steve and I got married, my father-in-law gave us the rocking chair he bought for his wife when she was pregnant with Steve. It's a beautiful dark wooden chair, that has been cared for with much love through the years. It has no signs of wear on it, except for the handles, where your fingers would rest. I imagine Steve's mom stroked that handle as I found myself doing this morning because they are etched out so nicely and it's so soothing. I couldn't use the rocking chair for quiet time because it was in the living room and there was usually too much activity going on in there.

As I was rocking on the chair this morning reflecting on my devotions, I began thinking about my mother-in-law "Lola". I never met Lola because she had passed away before Steve & I reconnected 6 years ago. Even so, I feel like I've known her my whole life just from the stories her children and my father-in-law have shared with me. I found myself wondering what prayers she prayed from that chair...prayers for her unborn baby, and maybe even a prayer for me his future wife. I find comfort and a closeness to her in that chair and I pray that I can be a Godly mother for my son as Lola was to her children. I think she is smiling down from heaven when she sees me spending my quiet time in her chair. It is by far one of the greatest gifts I have ever received.

Ahhhh....

The movers came bright and early on Saturday morning and worked all day moving our things into our new digs. The only broken item was a television which Steve will happily be replacing with a flatscreen in the future (once we get a refund from the moving company).

It always rains when I move... seriously. I went off to college, it rained. I moved to Pennsylvania, it rained. I moved from Pennsylvania to New Jersey, it rained. You get the picture. So, if you ever need to know what kind of weather to expect and you know I'm moving that day.... you can be assured that it will rain. (Sorry Liz if you had rain for your BBQ on Sat.)

Today I went food shopping. Ugh - I really don't like the "first" supermarket experience when you have just moved. So much stuff to stock up on and when you have a active 4 year old in tow, well, you get the picture. We made it out of there alive. Ever since having a child I have a new approach to food shopping. I always have my handy dandy list and it's a dash and run. No time to look around... just in and out before little man has a meltdown. Seriously, shopping has become a chore and something I'd rather not have to do. Not to mention that little guy still likes.. um.. I mean insists on investigating the restroom in any establishment we enter.

Well, I'm sure my shopping excursion will seem like fun compared to the unpacking that awaits me this afternoon. With any luck, I'll find some of my clothes... I feel like I've been living in the same 4 outfits for a year rather than 2 weeks.

The Move That Never Ends....

I can't believe I have to type this... but.... the move is NOT OVER!!!! As unbelievable as it is, our movers did not come today as promised. They did not even call. On Monday, the moving company called to confirm their arrival today between 8 and 10 am. So at 9:50 am, I had hubby call them just to make sure they are on their way. It was then we got the news that "they just found out" that the moving truck had some mechanical problem and that it had to return to it's home base ... IN FLORIDA! Yes... all of our things are still in Florida... 8 days after the moving truck picked it up... it's probably 20 miles from our old home. It's outrageous.

At first I was really mad... the "Ugly Sicilian" was rearing it's head. For those of you who know me well, know that it takes a lot to put me over the edge... and once I get there, it's not pretty - therefore the nickname. Actually, most of you who have seen the Ugly Sicilian have laughed at me because those episodes are so far and few between and out of character (I hope). Anyway, after a few minutes I calmed down, because I know that everything happens for a reason and that God has everything under control. For whatever reason, I don't have to stress about this. Am I disappointed that I'm still not living in our house? Yes. But, today hubby and I chose to focus on the positive like the fact that we are living in the same state and that we are all healthy and that we are blessed.

I know most of you are thinking what I was thinking --- REFUND! For now they are putting us up in a nearby hotel until Saturday. If for some reason, I am writing a similar story in my blog on Saturday... then we'll have to take some further action.

In the meantime, I'm taking a poll -- how many of you think my things will finally arrive on Saturday? Trust me.. no one is more anxious to stop blogging about my move then me.

The Truck is Coming!

Today Chris & I will travel to our new place to rejoin Steve who has been up there since Sunday night (he had to go back to work on Monday). Tomorrow the moving trucks arrive so we can finally begin settling in. It feels like I left Florida a month ago and not just one week ago. Chris is very anxious to see his toys. I have to keep reassuring him that all his possessions are on the big truck and that he will see all of his favorite things again very soon. I'm sure this move feels more like a year to him rather than a week.

Other than that, I've been trying to take it easy as I know the hard work is coming... all that unpacking and trying to find a place for all of our things. We had a yard sale before moving here, but I have a feeling we still will need to be creative in storing things. My new master closet is 1/4 the size of the one I had in Florida. That won't be so bad in the winter (because I have very few winter clothes since I spent the last 4 years in Florida).. but I have a huge summer/spring wardrobe. I'm sure it will all work out... or maybe Chris will share part of his closet with Mommy.

Five on Friday

Five Modern Day Technologies That Would Have Been Helpful When I Was In College:

1) The Internet - for research on those dreaded papers or to find movie times
2) A Cell Phone - No waiting to use the telephone or having to pull over to use a pay phone.
3) GPS - To easily guide you on our trips to Inner Harbor, DC, or Myrtle Beach... or our other favorite getaways.
4) IPod - Back in the day we had "Walkmans"
5) TiVo - This beats a VCR any day of the week. It is my all-time favorite modern day convenience. In fact, we are going to have 2 DVRs in our new place.

We Made It!

Chris & I arrived safely on Monday. Thankfully, there was only a 1 1/2 hour delay in my flight this time as opposed to the 3 hour delay last time. Chris was great and slept the entire flight! That was a total blessing because I was completely exhausted emotionally and physically. I guess I didn't remember how draining it is to say goodbye and to pack up an entire house. I'd like to give a big "THANK YOU" to my father-in-law who flew down to Florida to help us pack up our things and is driving to NJ with my hubby as I type this.

Chris & I drove to our new home yesterday and got the keys so all we need now is for the movers to show up sometime in the next week with our things. In the meantime, Chris & I are hanging out with Tio Ruben and Titi Shirley. I think all in all we are doing well.. I just wish I knew what day of the week it is.. I'm so "out of it" so to speak.

Going, Going...Gone!

The boxes have been packed and labeled with care
Our walls once filled with photos are now empty and bare

With each painful good-bye, tears are flowing
Voices echoing, "We wish you weren't going!"

Thank You Lord, for this home and the love that dwelt here
Our friends and family from Florida, we will always hold dear

Five on Friday

Five Things I've Learned This Past Week:

1) Never, under any circumstances, get your hair cut and colored when you feel sick... you will wind up regretting it greatly! (No, I will not post a picture -- let's just say I'm glad my hair grows quickly!)

2) God always puts a friend in your path when you need it the most -- thanks to all my friends who called me this week to check in on me -- you don't know how much I needed your calls and encouragement!

3) Little boys DO listen to their mommies -- especially when there are incentives involved

4) When in doubt -- throw it out! I can always buy another

5) There is no need to worry about anything in life -- God has EVERYTHING under control and I will trust in Him completely.

Because I Have Nothing Else To Do....

As you are all well aware, I'm in the middle of packing up my house... moving day is 5 days away. I had sent a note to my realtor asking her to please not show our house in the next 10 days as we have boxes everywhere, dust, dirty carpets, etc. and I don't need the extra stress. Today she called to say that another realtor had requested a showing of my home today to his client.... What would you do?? Bear in mind that the market in Florida is extremely slow -- we haven't shown our home in about 3 weeks. It's not like I can be turning away people who want to see it... so, as you've probably guessed, I am now in the throws of cleaning my house! AM I NUTS??? Possibly...but I would feel terrible if I turned someone away.. what if this is the person? God can sell my house clean or dirty.. but I'd rather it be somewhat presentable. So, I must go and finish the task. Please pray with us that today or one day very soon will be the day that the Lord sends the right buyer our way!

xoxo

Favorite Prayer

This prayer/poem has been a favorite of mine for years. Hope it speaks to you as well...

God, teach me to be patient;
Teach me to go slow.
Teach me how to wait on You
When my way I do not know.
Teach me sweet forbearance
When things do not go right,
So I remain unruffled
When others grow uptight.
Teach me how to quiet
My racing, rising heart,
So I may hear the answer
You are trying to impart.
Teach me to let go, dear God,
And pray undisturbed until
My heart is filled with inner peace
And I learn to know Your will!
-Helen Steiner Rice

Happy Father's Day

Steve is home to celebrate his special day with us. We went to church this morning and bid farewell to our beloved church family at Destiny Church. We were members for 4 years and have some incredible memories and are taking away some lasting friendships. God brought some wonderful people into our lives at the church and we are sad to have to part from them.

We had a great lunch at our favorite Latin Restaurant and are now home relaxing before packing a few more boxes. Chris is napping (a miracle in itself) and tonight we will go back to church to say our farewells to the Spanish congregation of Destiny Church. Steve & I loved that ministry and the people and will be sad to say goodbye to such wonderful friends. After that we are off to the airport to pick up my father who is returning from his visit to see my brother and his family in Seattle.

Happy Father's Day to my loving and wonderful Husband -- the best father in the world and who is such a blessing to me and our son. Also, to my Father, such a wonderful, giving man -- I love you and couldn't have asked for a better Dad; and to my Father-in-law, Domingo -- you bring lots of laughter to my life (and you keep me on my toes!)

To all my friends who are reading this blog today and your father is in Heaven this year -- I love you all and I am thinking of you and praying a special peace and comfort on your lives today.

xoxoxo

10 Facts

I'm a little tired today (went swimming first thing this morning) so my brain is in "relaxed" mode. Here are 10 Useless Facts You May Not Know about Me...

1) I've never broken a bone on my body -- but I did push my brother off my bed when we were little and he broke his arm... (Sorry Steve!)
2) My middle name is Marie
3) I am a picky eater --- my hubby calls it "Veggie Trauma"
4) I can drive stick shift
5) I hit a car while learning to drive stick shift (not a joke!! My brother was with me and saved me from these 2 big guys who were in the other car... I hit the back of their car because I was approaching a stop sign and freaked out over which pedal to use and I gunned the car instead of braking. I basically knocked the hubcap off this guy's car. The best part of the story is that the hubcap was identical to the ones on my parent's car, so my brother ran down the street, got a hubcap off my parent's car, put it on the car I hit, and everyone left happy. I don't know if my parent's knew about that one.... I was 18 at the time. LOL...
6) Steve (my hubby) wanted to ask me out when I was teenager to go to his sister's wedding, but my sister persuaded him not to.
7) I love the color red
8) I am a terrible gardener -- all my plants die
9) I was asked to model for a clothes store in Lancaster once
10) I always leave some food behind on my plate, or some liquid in my cup... I have no idea why. My husband pointed that out to me.

Have a great weekend. 5 Hours and counting until my hubby is home! YEAH!

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

June in Florida is always the same. We have very hot and humid mornings with lots of sun. By the afternoon and evening we are slammed with out-of-the-blue tremendous thunder and lightning storms. The last few days I've had some other things going on the morning, so Christopher has patiently been waiting to go to the pool. By the time we are ready to go, the clouds roll in and the rain comes down. I was hoping today we could go first thing, but it's already overcast and looks like the rain is on the way. Perhaps I can convince him that playing in the bathtub could be just as much fun!

Packing is going well and I won't bore you with the details. I'm happy with my progress and hope my hubby will be too when he returns on Sat. It'll be 10 days since we saw him. Chris is still at the age where I can't tell him too early when we are doing things, because his sense of timing is still developing. If I told him today that Daddy is coming home tomorrow, he may very well strap himself into the van and say, "Now we go pick up Daddy". So, I'll likely fill him in about an hour or two before we go to the airport.

Anyone with some thoughts for rainy day child activities, send them my way. I'm about out of creative ideas.

Game Shows

One of my earliest childhood memories is watching The Price is Right with my mom in our living room. What do you watch on TV these days? I enjoy most reality shows (Amazing Race, Top Chef, Project Runway and Jon & Kate Plus 8 to name a few). Game Shows are still fun to watch too. I still remember the days when on Wheel of Fortune the contestants had to purchase cheesy items with the money they won. Remember that?? Anyway... what game shows would you never agree to be on, and which ones would make the cut? Here are my picks ---

Game Shows/Reality Shows I Would NEVER Be On:

Jeopardy (except maybe for Teen Week when I can get some answers right).
So You Think You Can Dance -- I know I Can Not Dance, but I can walk, skip and jump if that counts for anything
Survivor -- no hotel, no running water, no food to eat -- No thank you!
Super Nanny -- umm... how embarrassing is that? Yes.. I have no control over my child and you must come and tell me and the world how much of a lousy parent I am. Thanks, but no thanks. I think I can figure that out on my own without cameras.
Amazing Race -- I love this show, but oh my goodness, I could not go on this show. My husband would be great. He has a great sense of direction. Me.. I need my GPS.

Game Shows/Reality Shows I Would Definitely Be On:

Wheel of Fortune --- Love, Love, Love this show! Can I buy an "O" Pat? In fact, I've taught my son to call them Uncle Pat and Aunt Vanna
Deal or No Deal --- Open the case - I'd have to have my hubby, my sister and my brother as my "cheerleaders" My hubby, because he would cheer me on and tell me when to stop; by sister, because she is great with statistics and numbers and would spell things out for me logically, and my brother because he would tell me to take a chance.
Family Fued - "Somma" edition -- that would be true television heaven -- hilarious!

I'd love to hear what shows you would be on.

What has happened to customer service???

Is it just me, or do you find customer service, or just common courtesy, has gone out the window?? I hired a guy to come fix 4 ceramic tiles that we have never gotten around to replace in our house. I called a local handyman who has done some work on our home in the past and set things up for him to come this morning. Here it is noon and he has not showed up or even called me. I left a message for him this morning at 10:00 to see what time I could expect him this morning, since he said he would be here "first thing".

Change

I've been thinking about change lately. I chuckle thinking back on my life because for so many years I was all about consistency... grew up in the same house for 18 years... went to the same church for 22 years. I guess I was a creature of habit. The thought of moving was terrifying! But college was great and when I moved to Lancaster, I truly was lovin' life. It just got me thinking to how each time I stepped out in faith and obeyed God, he blessed me with incredible friendships and experiences that I would have missed out on totally had I let the fear hold me back.

By now, I have had almost 6 months to prepare mentally for our upcoming move. The reality is here... less than 2 weeks. I'm seeing friends for "the last time" and it's sad. God has once again put some awesome people in my life here in Florida.

I know God is directing us, so while I am sad about ending this chapter, I can't help but to get a little giddy with excitement over what he has in store for us. There are new friendships to be made and a time of reconnecting with friends up north.

Ok.. enough of "deep thoughts with Beth"... back to packing.

xoxo

Moving by the Numbers

70 Empty Boxes, waiting to be filled
1 Container of Orange Juice, on my coffee table... spilled
4 bins of trash, 3 time outs and 2 bandaids for little guy
At the end of a long day, all I can do is sigh.
Endless tasks and sleepless nights, dreaming of things to do
Praying for God's peace and strength, knowing I will make it through

Flush Away

Flush away! Current mood: breezy
My days here in NJ have been spent primarily in the bathroom. No, I'm not sick, or pregnant. You see, I have a 4 year old that is overcoming bathroom "trauma". When he was in preschool briefly last year, the bathroom in the classroom was on the dark side. It had very low lights and it, unfortunately, had a very loud flush. This combined with a less than friendly teacher, lead to my son having bathroom trauma. For the longest time, he would scream at the thought of entering a public restroom.
Several weeks ago we had a breakthrough and he is now entering public restrooms everywhere.. just to hear the sound of the flush. Then he will come out of the bathroom to proclaim to the world whether it was a loud flush or a soft flush. This is a major step for him (and thankfully he uses the toilet fully) but you can only imagine how frustrating it can get that everytime you go out to eat, or to a mall, etc. the only thing he wants to do is go to the bathroom... at least 4 times.. to try every toilet and hear the flush. I know this is just a stage and I'm so grateful he is overcoming his fears... one flush at a time.
xoxo

Mom

It's been 8 years since my Mom has passed, and it still is very hard for me to walk into a Hallmark store at this time of year. Mother's Day to me is still so bittersweet. I'm so thankful to God that I'm a mom to a wonderful little boy. My mom died before I was married and had a child, and boy are there times that I cry that I can't turn to her for advice, for a hug, and to share in Chris' milestones. Steve's mother has also passed away, and sometimes I feel for Christopher so bad that he will never know the love of a grandmother.
My mom died only a few weeks before mother's day which is why it makes this time of year even harder. I don't think losing your mother is something you ever get over. I remember that at first I could only remember the way she looked toward the end of her life... not the youthful, healthy mom she was for the majority of her life. Thankfully, through the years, that image has faded and when I picture her, I see her in her younger years in my mind and that brings me so much joy.
I was blessed to not only have a Mom, but a Spirit-filled, on fire for God Mom. She made sure that each of us loved the Lord and went to heaven assured that one day we would all be together again. What more could you want in life than a mom that loves Jesus and raises you to be able to know where you can turn when life gets tough. My mom (and Dad) gave me the gift of Jesus and that is a gift that lasts for eternity.
So, even though you aren't here on Mother's Day, Mom, I love you and know we will be celebrating together again some day. Thank you Mom for ALL you did for me!