Too Much Stuff

My house is out of control. Note: I was going to say a "little" out of control, but then I realized that doesn't really make any sense. Either it's in control or out of control, there's no middle ground.

I would like to blame it on the fact that our house is very small and has no closets and no where for me to work on projects. That's my normal excuse. And it may have some validity. But the truth of the matter is that I am to blame. I have a terrible history of starting projects and then not finishing them. I also tackle projects that are way too big for the amount of time I have to give to them. I don't want to put anything away once I've pulled it out and got it organized, so then it just sits. For days. Sometimes weeks. OK, maybe for a month or two. Until I come to my senses, realize I'm not going to get it done this time around and pack it all up. Until the next time I feel inspired.

This is where I find myself today. I started a photo project. The only place I have to work on it is our dining table. We ate off of folding tables in the living room for two weeks so I could work on the project. Then, it happened. I lost interest. Or I lost my momentum. Or my motivation. Or all three. So now, the project sits on half the table, spilling over onto the unused chairs around the table. Even I'm sick of looking at it!

So today, I will pack it up. Berating myself the entire time for my lack of discipline in completing a task. For creating chaos in my home instead of peace and serenity. For being human.

I tell myself that I'm not the only one. That other people fall off the wagon into clutter from time to time. But I really believe that everyone else is perfect while I'm... not.

Good thing I have some peanut clusters in the house to console myself with.

A Night With the Family

Last night we celebrated Father's Day a week late. We went to Wolfley's Neighborhood Grill over at Desert Ridge. We'd never been there before. It was really good. The food was tasty, the atmosphere was energetic and fun, they had lots of big screen TVs with all kinds of sports playing, best of all the Padres game was on for Dan! Oh, and the kids enjoyed the music.

Skye and Sunny wore matching cousin dresses, which were so cute! The only downside to the evening was that JD and Janel weren't there. We sure missed you guys.

Gramps with his girls

Jessica, Katie and the cousins

Holdin' hands and talkin'

I have no idea how she could sleep in all that noise!

Summertime

Today is the start of summer. It's the longest day of the year. Starting tomorrow we begin the slow march toward fall. This is typically the hottest time of year in Phoenix. The record highs for the past few weeks have been in the 115+ range. However the actual temperatures here have been hovering in the low to mid 100s. While I've been enjoying the "cooler" weather, I know it has to heat up to the blast furnace range soon. I mean it really has to, or we won't have rain this summer.

In order for the Monsoon rains to be drawn up into our state from Mexico, the temps have to soar and the dew point has to rise. There are already rumblings among some people that this year may be a Nonsoon.

I hope not.

I need to see the white billowing clouds to the north build during the afternoon. I need to watch them turn dark as they start their trek down the rim toward the Valley of the Sun. I need to feel the rain that those clouds produce over my house two or three times during the course of the summer. I even need to see the lightning and hear the thunder.

During Monsoon we get the majority of our annual 7 inches of rain. We are perpetually behind in rainfall until the scorching desert heat rises to pull the moisture from Mexico up into our arid state. No heat, no rain, more drought.

So today, against all commonsense, I'm hoping for hot temps. I'm looking forward to 115, 118, or even higher. Because I know that a week or so after those hot days, I'll start to see the clouds peaking over the mountains to the north, bringing the hope of refreshing rain.

Visiting Skye

Yesterday, Dan, Jessica, and I went down to Mesa to visit Zach, Ashley, and Skye. We were able to have an extended visit with them and had a great time. Here are some of the photos we snapped while we were there.

Gramps and Skye

Our Official Three Month Photo

Grammy, Skye, Aunt Jess

Sweet smile!

Playing with Aunt Jess 

My baby with his baby

Zach, Skye, Ashley

What a sweet Mommy...

Happy Birthday, JD!

My oldest son turns 26 years old today. I remember so clearly the day he was born. It doesn't seem possible that 26 years have gone by. JD graduated with a Masters Degree this past May and is now immersed in job hunting. My (not-so-secret) hope is that he and his wife, Janel will move closer to us. I'm wishing for a 12 hour or less car ride between our house and theirs. We haven't lived around him since his freshman year in college and we miss him fiercely!

Happy Birthday, JD. We love you and are so proud of your accomplishments. We can't wait to see where God plants you and Janel in this next phase of your life.

An Antique

Jessica and I decided to go to a local antique mall today. It's indoors and air-conditioned. We'd like to go to Downtown Glendale to the antique shops, but it's just too darn hot to walk around outdoors.

One of the booths had several "Red Hat Lady" hats. I tried one on. I really wanted to see how that style of hat looked on me. I was surprised. It looked pretty good. I had the camera with me, so Jess snapped my pic. Now if I could just find this hat in black or purple, I might buy it!

Wednesday Wanderings

SSMT #12: Wow, halfway through the year in attempting to memorize some of God's Word. I won't kid you. This has been a huge challenge to me. I have an easier time memorizing verses that I'm already familiar with. You know the ones I mean. You can kind of quote part of them, but aren't exactly sure where they're located in the Bible. Yeah, those verses. That's why I chose this verse for today. It's one of those verses I know, I just don't know where it is. I will now! For God is not a God of disorder but of peace. 1 Corinthians 14:33

Monsoon: Today is the beginning of the 2011 Monsoon. For those of you unfamiliar with Phoenix weather, it's the start of three or four months when we actually have weather. We get to hear the weather person say something besides sunny and warm. Our humidity level climbs out of the single digits (yes, it is possible to have 1% relative humidity) to as high as 30%. We sweat. Our drinks sweat. Within the next few weeks we will start to see clouds gathering over the Mogollon Rim to the northeast and grow into towering, dark storm clouds. There will be a slight chance of rain most days. If we're lucky, at least once during Monsoon it will rain at our house for as much as 30 minutes or so. At the first drop of rain, most of us will run out of our homes or offices, lift our faces to the clouds, and exclaim "it's raining!". Oh, what a glorious time it will be...

Still waiting on Thunder: Thunder is due on July 20th. I am putting together our family pool to guess his arrival date. Katie is doing great. She is ready for him to come. His room is all put together and looks fantastic. All of his little clothes are washed and hanging in the closet awaiting him. I just can't wait to hold this little guy!

Appraisals: April was a landmark month for appraisals. We received the highest amount of orders that month since the bottom fell out in Fall 2007. May was a good month, and June is starting out busy. We are so grateful to God for bringing us through these tough years. He has been our Provider, our Comfort, our Confidence. We are cautiously optimistic for the remainder of 2011.

Prayer: For those of you who know my friend Marti, please be in prayer for the family. There was a sudden death in Adam's family while they were at their family reunion in Colorado. Thank you.

Enjoy your Wednesday!

Two Years Old

Sunny was afraid of the balloons, so she was

keeping her eye on them

our official two year old photo!

she's watching those balloons again...

Happy Birthday to you!

Cousin Naiya & Mommy help with the candle blowing

Naiya, Aziza, Sunny opening the gifts

Now I Feel Like a Grown-up

Real Simple magazine sponsors a writing contest every year. A couple of years ago the subject was "When Did You Feel Like a Grown-up?". I was inspired by that subject, and immediately began to compose an essay. It was humorous and pithy, if I do say so myself. Unfortunately, when I read the fine print of what the prize included for the winner, I gave up. Along with the $3000 cash prize and the publishing of the story in the magazine, you also received a trip for two to New York City for a publicity tour. An airplane trip to NYC.

I'm afraid to fly. End of story.

I now have a real life answer to the question the magazine posed. I first felt like a grown-up on Tuesday, June 7, 2011.

Dan was born with a congenital condition called "pectus excavatum". Instead of having an outwardly rounded chest, his sternum is caved in, causing his ribcage to be collapsed. Because of the deformity of the chest, the heart is often displaced into the left chest area. Sometimes this condition can cause shortness of breath, fatigue, and rapid heart beat.

Lately Dan has been feeling fatigued, so our family doctor suggested he go to a cardiologist. We went on Tuesday, and after seeing his EKG, she announced that it looked like he's had a heart attack since his last EKG in 2010. I was absolutely numb. How could he have had a heart attack without us knowing it? She kept talking about this possibility while getting ready to listen to his chest.

As she put the stethoscope up to his chest, she pulled it back and exclaimed, "Oh, you have a pectus!" (His shirt was on so she couldn't see his chest) She then said that could be the cause of the abnormal EKG. (He's still gonna have a stress test and a carotid artery test just to be sure. The tests are scheduled for early July.) I was still stuck on the "might have had a heart attack" opinion. I asked her how he could have a heart attack without either of us knowing? She said that's pretty common. Oh, my goodness.

Being the incessant worrier that I am, I was still reeling when we got in the car to drive home. As we drove along, Dan wasn't worried, but I was trying to process the what ifs. I turned to Dan and said "Now, I feel like a grown-up, an old grown-up." He laughed and asked me why. I told him it's because we're at the age where we might start to have health issues. I'm not ready for that.

While I'm still a little concerned about her nonchalant "might have had a heart attack" statement, I'm 90% sure he hasn't had one and that the abnormal EKG was due to misplacement of the leads. After all, the lady who gave him the EKG was in training. She may not have seen that condition before. I'll be glad when he has the tests so we can know for sure.

However, I changed that day sitting in that office. I'm now having to face the reality of what the next 30 or so years could bring. There is a part of me that has sobered up. There may come a day when we can't do everything we want to do. Everything we used to do.

Actually, that day has already come and gone. There are things that I used to physically do that I can't any more. But I adjusted. When one skill or ability deteriorates, I just pick up another one. I'm sure that trait will continue as I venture into the world of being "grown-up".

I do miss the way I felt on Monday, June 6, 2011 though. I think it's gone forever...

Happy Birthday, Sunny!

Today is Sunny's 2nd birthday. I will have to text her a birthday message because she is off camping with her parents and Gabe's parents. Yes, she knows about texting. She recognizes the text tone on my phone. She also can differentiate between Dan's ringtone and Katie's ringtone when they call me.

Sunny has brought so much joy to our lives. I've looked forward to being a grandparent from the day I realized my own little family was complete. Sunny made the wait well worth it. We'll be having her birthday party next Saturday, so in the meantime, I'll share some photos of this precious little girl who made me Grammy.

just born

12 hours old

four months old

six months old

pretty in pigtails 2/14/10

one year old 6/18/10

Halloween 2010

Christmas 2010

on the go 2/12/11

watching Elmo with Gramps 4/7/11

can you tell how much we love her? May 2011

Dinner at My Kids' House

One of the coolest thing about having adult kids is being invited to their home.

Last night we were invited to Jessica and Adam's house for dinner. They served homemade Enchiladas, Spanish Rice, and melon. It was delicious!

Afterward, we played Scrabble and I didn't come in last. I also didn't come in first.

It was a great evening and Dan and I enjoyed ourselves immensely!

SSMT #11

Wow, June 1st. I know I say this often, but really, where is the time going?

Here's my choice for the 11th verse I'm memorizing (or attempting to memorize) this year:

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Psalm 34:18

Not only is this a verse for those I know who are brokenhearted and crushed in spirit, but it's a verse for me when I find myself in that same condition. I try to stay upbeat. I try to look on the bright side. I try to be optimistic in every circumstance. But I fail There are many times that I am brokenhearted and crushed in spirit. And during those times, there is only one place for me to turn: the Lord.

Friends will let you down. Family will let you down. Vices will let you down. The only place to find healing, unconditional love, and a hope for the future is in God through our Lord, Jesus Christ.