Time to regroup.....

Things have really been out of whack for a few months now. I made a decision yesterday that I would be taking a break from internet forums for awhile. The children are sorely lacking a schedule, and quite frankly, so am I. You can still find me on Facebook, here, & I'll be checking my email everyday.
Today I am tackling Mount Washmore, we did our schooling, and I am making a price book. Tomorrow is payday, so I'll be doing some grocery shopping. Since I'm in a new area of the country, I've decided a price book will be a good tool to learn the sales, cycles & prices here. We don't get many coupons in the papers locally, which if you know me- is a BUMMER! I'll be checking out the Denver, Cheyenne, Casper & Laramie papers to find out about their coupons & subscriptions.

I sat on our front porch today, my back to the sun & drank in it's warmth. I'm still amazed every day at the beautiful view God has graced us with....

John 3:20-21 (King James Version)

20For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

21But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

Dreaming of Montana....

I got a comment on my "about me" post in the sidebar. She felt that that led to an air of discontent. Quite the contrary. It's past tense. For years now, one of my things has been "Dreaming of Montana." Oh yes, I wanted to live in Montana. I did research on Montana. I loved a state I'd never even visited. All because of a movie..... The Horse Whisperer.

So, when Hubba asked if I'd consider living in Wyoming, I said with resounding excitement- YES!!!! After all, it was close enough to my dream, right? We have spent over a month here in Wyoming & I must say, I never should have said "Close enough." It is beautiful here. The sky is big, blue, clear & beautiful. You can see the stars at night. When it gets dark here, it gets DARK!!! This isn't anywhere close to my dream of Montana. This is real life and it is wonderful. I'm glad we made this move. I'm glad I thought it was "close enough."

Now I can visit Montana, but I'm coming home.

To Wyoming.....

Loving the Lord all.year.round.....

So since yesterday, my Yahoo IM message has read "I'm listening to CHRISTmas music." Today I received a message that really just put a damper on my day. Luckily, after some thought, quick prayer & a talk with one of my best friends, I was able to think more clearly about the situation. The following are the message snippets, as well as my thoughts on loving my Lord, my Jesus, MY SAVIOUR.....

Oh, Kayla, it's much to early to listen to Christmas music. Why just this past Monday was the 1st day of fall. I work part-time at the *store name removed for privacy* and I put out Christmas stuff 2 weeks ago. Pretty soon, there will be no division on seasons or holidays. Everything will just all run together all year, nothing special, nothing really to look forward to cause it, ( the different holidays and seasons) will all be out there for sale, to watch as a DVD, or to listen to. Christmas music is some of the prettiest music I know of and I love it, but in it's place and not so early. I like the anticipation of the different holidays and seasons. I don't want to nor my family to loose the "magic" of celebrating the different holidays, especially Christmas. But hey, that's me and my opionion.

I responded with a short & simple:

It only loses meaning if you let it ;)

Then:

Sorry, I ran out of space. Have fun listening to all the Christmas music you want to. As for me, we are still busy in the garden harvesting okra, tomatoes, bell peppers, etc. So, we don't want to much of a good thing by listening to Christmas music before the real celebration gets here. By then, we'll be tired of it. It won't mean the same. And no, your'e wrong when you say "only if you let it", the meaning is still the same, yes, but the message gets to same ol same ol. And a person gets dulled by it. It creeps in slowly.

I responded with the following, hoping she'd get the message that I didn't really want to talk about my music choices, nor that I cared for the first words she'd spoken to me in months, that they were criticising, upsetting:

We're doing fine, thnx for asking

Her response:

I'm glad y'all are doing fine. I really didn't think you weren't. Now it makes me wonder.... Anyway, I've got to go and do laundry. Too bad that doesn't have a "season" that has an ending. lol talk to you later... Have a Great day.

And mine:

It has been so long since we have spoken and the first words that you offer me are a criticism. Christmas music uplifts my soul. I am not asking you to listen to it, but I enjoy it. I am not offended that you do not like the timing music I choose, but it does hurt that we have not talked for so long, and our first talk is a lecture. Christmas music to me is the same as listening to the gospel, screaming my love for the Lord as loud as I can...... All.year.round. I hope you enjoy your harvest. With our move, we were unable to bring in the full glory of one this year. Good luck geting your chores accomplished today. God bless

I LOVE listening to Christmas music like I do Chris Tomlin, or Casting Crowns. I don't just celebrate His birth ONE .DAY.A.YEAR... I celebrate it every.single.day.of.the.year. I LOVE My Jesus. LOVE Him. He is the reason I am here. He is the reason I have a wonderful Hubba, 3 BEAUTIFUL boys, and He is the reason I have been blessed with SO much!!!

Re-JOY-ce in His birth, His death & the gifts He gave you, every.single.day.of.the.year. Isn't He worth that?

As I was writing this, I am so pleased that my friend came back & asked forgiveness for criticising a fellow sister. I think (hope) we now have an understanding of where the other is coming from. I'll admit, I was stunningly hurt by the words I read. But HE always has other plans. This is one of those things where I get a chance to minister. To come here & tell YOU how I feel, and hopefully in turn, learn..... teach....

Our Genesis.....

AUGUST 21, 2008 was supposed to be a special day for us. It marked our 4th wedding anniversary. You'll never believe this, but we forgot. Both of us. You expect the man to forget, but never the woman. OK, OK. So it WAS a special day for us, and here's the reason we forgot.

It was the last day of our cross country move to Wyoming. See, my husband is a Georgia boy through & through. Spent all of his 40 years there. My kids, ages 11, 8 & 4 are all Georgia boys. Me? Not a Georgia boy. Or Georgia girl for that matter. I have however spent the last 16 years of my life in the South, 11 or so of them in Georgia. I'm accustomed to heat, humidity and the words yonder & ya'll. Just over 2 years ago, Hubba got a job. Hubba ended up miserable at that job & began the hunt for other work. We'd recently been approved for a home loan & had been traipsing Georgia for what would be our new home. Talk of the job hunt led to talks of what states were acceptable to live in & which weren't (mostly based on homeschooling laws). Which led to a cross country move.

Here is the summary of our move...

Hubba went out of town for 3 weeks (he came home on weekends) in July & Aug. I of course was packing, cleaning & tying up loose ends.

Hubba & I came to WY August 11-15. We flew into Denver then drove to WY, then on Friday drove back to Denver then flew back to Atlanta. We came with the intentions to find a rental property. We found out quickly, with the “oil boom” that rentals were running $400 and more than we were paying for rent in Atlanta. So we started looking at houses for sale. By Thursday, the 14, we had negotiated a home price & had an inspector out, termite inspection set up, etc.

We get back to GA & finish packing up the house as best we could, got our truck on Monday Aug. 18. Hubba hired a moving company to pack our stuff into the rental truck. Halfway thru, they told us we weren't going to be able to fit everything on the truck. YIKES!!! So we started a massive purge of large items (we'd already had SA out once for a large pick up & dumped loads of stuff off at the local thrift store). We ended up having to rent a 12' trailer on top of the 26' truck we had. And our van was packed as well by the time we set out on our 3-day trek.

We left GA on Tues. the 19. We stayed at a hotel just short of St. Louis that night. The next night, I got to stay with my bestest friend in the world North of Omaha. Hubba stayed in a hotel that night as he didn't feel comfortable leaving the truck a few miles away & we couldn't get it in the subdivision comfortably. Thurs. morning we left and got to WY late-ish. We stayed at the same hotel we stayed at the week we came before.

Friday everything got messed up & we didn't get the keys til late afternoon to the house. We decided on a pre-occupancy, with daily rent to the seller. We were supposed to close on the house on the 9th, and “supposedly” paperwork kept getting lost, people were out of town, etc. It was a mess. We finally closed on the 10th, I know, not very much later, but we were also hoping for a sooner closing.

The whole trip & move was a mess, but God blessed us & we are now finally proud slaves of a new to us home. It was built in 1921, but most of it has been reno'ed. We still need to reno the kitchen & finish the down stairs. The yard is gorgeous though. It already has a compost bin, garden plot fenced off, raised beds, coldframe, 2 fruit trees & grapes & berries, etc. One of the raised beds is full of strawberry plants. The yard is fenced, we have a detached garage & a storage shed out back. We apparently got a house on one of the most desirable streets in town. The neighbors are very nice, it's been quiet. The view from my porch is just amazing. The mountains are beautiful, we just love it here & have decided that God lives in WY!!!

We got 2 dogs after our move. Dora, which we renamed Dakota is a golden retriever mix. Stowaway, which we renamed Mokey is a black lab/terrier mix. They are about 2 years old, and they were classified as abandoned at the county vet. They are both females & have been great with the kids, including the neighborhood kids.

It's been stressful & exhausting, but HE carried us through, as usual!!!

I hope you enjoy getting to know us & learning about life in Small Town, Wyoming. I know I'm looking forward to the latter.

Excuse the mess.....

While I redecorate!!!