The Hyper Homemaker...

and her helpful husband return! This morning we had a fun little breakfast for the girls. I made some little cards with Bible verses on them and set them on each plate. You can see the pictures below.

Mark was in charge of the fruit kabobs which the girls ate right up with a little fruit dip.

Sophie, was also quick to make friends with the girls. Any stranger with food, is a friend to Sophie! The girls were quietly chatting during breakfast and then all of a sudden there were lots of giggles and "Aww, she is so cute." Apparently, Sophie was showing off and "shook" for them all.

This morning as the girls were getting ready, they asked, "When is Chives coming over?" Us old folks don't know what they are talking about but the girls said there is a show called "Joey and ? (someone)" and that their chauffeurs name is "Chives." They now refer to Brad as "Chives." I think it is a lovely name and I hope it sticks! Below you will see a nice picture of Chives and Lindsay. She gets lots of credit for making the breakfast casserole, letting us borrow the table cloth and napkins and helping chop up all the fruit! Thanks for your help!

Big weekend

I am looking forward to a big weekend. This weekend Mark and I will host 7 sixth grade girls and 2 college students at our home for a church retreat. Mark and I both really enjoy having people over to our home and all the preparations that come with it. We have kept the house clean most of the week so there is not a lot of craziness today, mostly just fun stuff. I feel very blessed that Mark is always willing to help out with house work! Besides all of Mark's help, I am also very grateful to have my brother in law, Brad, helping drive the girls back and forth to church multiple times throughout the weekend. Two sweet friends, Katie and Anna, from Sunday School are also going to come over and help cook Saturday night. All of the extra hands are great and will make the weekend even more enjoyable!

It's 12 o 'clock right now and the house is almost ready. This afternoon I am going to go to the grocery and pick up some goodies for the girls. Then I am going to come home and do some decorating. Afterwards, a nice nap before the choas begins! I am hoping that I will remember to take some pictures to post for your enjoyment later...

Changing Table: An Update

So last night, I assembled two of the dividers into the two sides and today, I put in the solid shelf that will hold three baskets full of diapers and wipes and all sorts of baby-changing tools. It took a long time to get to the point where things weren't sitting in a pile or in any way resembled furniture. This is my first piece of furniture if you don't count the little thing I built to hold a TV or the shelves in my office. This is different, made out of red oak, and built to last a lifetime. It's somewhat challenging because real wood (as opposed to plywood) tends to bend and warp when left to it's own. Part of the challenge is getting it to be perfectly straight / flat / whatever when it's where you want it. I ended up hammering and pounding and clamping this thing to get it to stay where I want it. As it stands now, I could put several friends on it and it would be absolutely fine. It'll probably handle baby clothes and wet wipes quite well.

Here it is:

Just look at those lines!!!... I love thinking about how things match up and fit together and how the components actually contribute to the structure of the piece. Also, consider that with the seasons, this piece will grow and shrink (front to back). Wood swells with humidity and we can expect this piece to stretch and shrink throughout the year. I'm trying to build it with that movement in mind so that things stay flat and straight. This reminds me of how God built each of us. He knew there would be movement, and that perhaps we'd move counter to His expectations of us. If I can make a dresser that can stand up to how we'll use it, imagine what God used to make us humans. It makes my head hurt to think about it!

Maybe we're not so different after all...

This weekend was my sweetest friend Noelle's 30th birthday! She loves birthdays and parties and decided that for her big birthday she wanted a girls night! She made reservations for us at the Chateau Elan, which is a really fancy hotel, spa, golf course, winery, restaurant, etc. (you get the picture). I will admit that I was a little nervous about this night. Noelle had invited me and 3 other close friends. However, I did not know the other three and they did not really know each other either. Sometimes it can be difficult to get a group of girls together who do not know each other well so I was a tad bit apprehensive. I should have known better though. Noelle is not only a sweet friend, she is extremely thoughtful and smart! The evening turned out to be wonderful. We started out with dinner at Bonefish and then headed over to the movie theater to see a chic flick. However, we soon decided that we would rather be at the hotel eating chocolate covered strawberries and petit fors and chatting with one another. We talked all night about our husbands, families, parenting, jobs, working out, eating and anything else that came up. This morning we woke up and had a great breakfast together and continued our silly conversations.

I think I was reminded that while we do all have our unique differences (Noelle sleeps with two very well loved pillows, a very old t-shirt that serves as a "blanket" and a fan on high blast), we are really not all that different after all. While I did not know the other girls, we all have a deep love for Jesus, caring husbands and a desire to do good (for some that means working out a lot more than others)! :-) God is so good to bless us with friends and community...people that care for one another and truly desire the best for others, regardless of when and where they meet.

Happy Birthday to my sweetest Noelle! Thank you for allowing me to celebrate with you!

Random Thoughts

I'm continually learning that I'm learning. I've never claimed to be the smartest or the best at anything. I try hard to do things right the first time but I do make mistakes (shocking, right?). After our insurance debacle, which still is not settled, I talked with my dad and he said, "Shame on you for not realizing the mistake earlier." Well sure, I agree that I should have found the mistake earlier, that's why an entire paragraph stated that in a previous post. However, I have recently found more "mistakes" in our banking and other areas. Although I am not perfect, it really makes me wonder if I pay as much attention as I do to our budget, bills, etc. and still miss things occassionally, what is happening to people who don't pay attention at all? I have come to the conclusion that all people, me included, make mistakes. However, businesses, companies and other people are always out for their best interest and it's a FULL time job making sure that others aren't taking advantage of you! Maybe that's part of why I'm going to be a stay at home mom/wife/house manager. Surely, the more time that I spend analzying our household, the more money I can find that is being mistaknely or otherwise wasted away...
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Another thought kind of related to the above...sometimes I think God allows for there to be "mistakes" or for us to be comfortable in a certain position because later on it will become helpful. For example, even though it's frustrating that the insurance has made a mistake, when we get our money back, it will be helpful for buying baby stuff. Otherwise, the money would have already been spent and long gone. Also, Mark has had a good portion of his paycheck witheld for taxes. So far, it has worked well for us. Every year we get a big spring present! This year, we are getting another spring present which works well for savings and baby stuff. However, we have also discussed that this may be the time to re-examine how much we are having witheld so that we can have some more room for the family to grow. I guess some people would say that it's not good for the government to be "borrowing" our money all year but we don't mind. It's been like a nice savings plan for us. Now that we no longer want the government saving our money, we can make some changes. In a strange way, it's kind of like God has been providing at the most needed times in ways different than I could have ever imagined. :-)
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On another exciting note...my stomach is feeling bigger. Sure, it's looking a little bigger but today is feels big for the first time. It feels funny to sit down and it kind of feels like I'm smooshing the baby depending on how I sit, crunch or move. It's an interesting feeling...
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Finally, I feel very grateful today because Mark still has a job. There were some layoffs at his company today. The economy is certainly making things scary, but I do believe as I said earlier that God will continue to provide for us whatever happens, it may just be different that we ever imagined it would be.

Different Strokes for different folks

This is one thing that I have learned throughout my life but there are certainly times when it is more evident than others. Mark and I started our morning off at Sunday School discussing with the class how we should handle an upcoming event. Everyone had varying ideas and opinions and we came to somewhat of a conclusion. It's always good to hear every one's thoughts and ideas, the hard part is being the one to make a final decision. However, two funny things happened today that made me laugh at how "different" we all really are in this crazy life.

At the end of Sunday School the whole class stands up and we all hold hands and pray. Today, I was on Mark's left and then our friend Ki was on his right. As we grab hands, I hear Ki say to Mark, "Do you hold every one's hand that way?" Everyone kind of turns and looks and I immediately know what has just happened. Mark and I have our own special way of holding hands. It wasn't intentional. It just happened that one time I wrapped my pinky through some of his fingers (this is hard to explain!) and we both liked it so now we always hold hands that way. Mark had inadvertently held hands with Ki the same way. It was just soo funny at the time-I don't think it translates well in blog format! The whole class got a giggle out of it. We never thought it was weird or different, until someone else pointed it out!

After Sunday School, we were bad kids and skipped out on church. We had packed our clothes and lunches ahead of time and had decided to take a bike ride on the Silver Comet Trail. I know that I will not be riding for much longer and it's so hard to resist not taking a bike ride in the warmer weather. We rode about 9 miles and decided to stop on a bench and eat our lunch. While eating, we heard a lot of conversation and commotion through some bare trees and into a backyard that was in front of us. I looked up a few times but never saw anyone until the magical moment when we saw two guys dressed in capes and body armor, having sword fights!! It was the craziest thing ever! I just giggled and giggled. Thankfully, they were a good distance away and Mark didn't have to tell me to quit giggling!

Different strokes for different folks...

Awesome video

So my brother just got his son a puppy the other day. This is him filming the dog for the first time. Take careful note of all the reactions you see.

No news = good news

Today Mark and I went to the baby doctor. There is really nothing to report, except that everything looks good. The midwife was happy with everything. My blood pressure and pee check were both good. The baby's heart rate is good and the baby and I are apparently growing. I have gained 2.5 pounds (1 pounds total, last time I had lost weight) since my last visit but when she checked my uterus size (never thought I would say that) she said, "Wow, you're growing." Umm...ok. If that is what you say. It is kind of strange to be able to feel it. The most exciting news of all is that we will find out the sex of the baby at our next appointment in early March. :-)

Another joy of pregnancy...

Today I went to do the hearing screens for newborn babies at the hospital. It was a very busy day with 17 babies to do! I normally am very kind but professional (I think). However, kind of like my post from yesterday...sometimes my better judgement goes out the window!

So I enter into a baby room and find the baby sleeping peacefully, the Mom eating lunch in bed and the father and grandmother sitting in chairs nearby. I proceed to introduce myself, "Hi, my name is Nicole. My your food smells really good! And I work for the hearing screen company. Blah, blah, blah." Did I really just say, "Your food smells really good." in the midst of my introduction!?!

I get the baby all hooked up for the test and explain how everything works to the parents. Now the test is running and my eyes just have to scan over to the food to see what the mother is eating. I then notice that she is eating a salad. Salads don't have smells, especially the smell I'm smelling! So, of course I must say something about it. "I thought you had fast food in the room. It smells like fast food." The Mom and Dad both point to the grandmother. She then says that she had chili for lunch. Well, chili is nice and all but "Was it chili from Wendy's? It sure smells like Wendy's in here." They all three giggle and tell me that I am correct.

Really?!?! Since when did I know the smell of different fast food restaurants. I rarely eat fast food. Only a pregnant nose could pick out such a distinct smell! I did go on to explain to the poor family that I am pregnant and that my nose is apparently very sensitive. They smiled, knowing that they had just experienced 9 months of many of the same joys of pregnancy.

Problem

Hi, my name is Nicole Taylor and I have a problem. Some of you who know me very well, may have seen this problem before. Others of you, would never guess that sweet, loving Nicole would have such an issue. I'm not even really sure how to describe this problem. Let's just say that I can get very passionate about something, very quickly and if I get upset then you better watch out! I will say that this part of my personality does not come out very often, thankfully. However, it's not pretty. My Sunday School class can attest to it's ugliness after I "levitated" off the bench during a charity softball game when I disagreed with a call that was made on the field! I have also thoroughly embarrassed Mark, my Mom, my sister and I'm sure many others with my occasional outbursts at the craziness of this world.

Well, today I wanted so badly for my passionate side to come out but, Mark will be especially glad to know that I kept it hidden very well. A couple of weeks ago, we realized that our insurance had made a mistake with one of our bills. Of course, being the penny conscious person that I am wanted to investigate further. After a long phone call with the insurance today, I realized that they had been billing every one of our doctors visits as out of network. Foolishness! I would never go out of network, just to pay more money. I was certain that all of our doctors were, in fact, in network. Of course, I was correct! The insurance lady verified it. I then had to call several doctors offices, the "network" that we are using and the insurance lady at Mark's company. Everyone was very nice and efficient. However, I wanted so badly to explode! How could all of these people have made mistakes. How could I have unknowingly let these things slip?!? I have realized in the past two/three years that many of the mistakes that I have made are because I didn't know the right questions to ask in the first place. I can say that there are few mistakes that I have made that were just flat out wrong. Most of my mistakes are simply from not knowing the right questions up front. Fortunately, if I sniff something funny, I am always quick to check up. Obviously, my sniff was not good enough this time! I wish I could have found this problem four years ago!

I am thankful that the insurance lady was very helpful to me. The lady at Mark's company was also kind and said that she would call "her people" and do some research for me. Hopefully, all of it will get straightened out shortly. Now, I just wonder how big of a check we will be getting and from whom! I'm also glad to say that Sophie did not see me levitate off the couch although my body tried to several times as I spoke with the insurance lady. Hopefully, next time I can make Mark and the rest of my family just as proud!

In the middle of the night..

I never looked to see what time it was. I woke up and just felt like I was talking to God. And I was, I suppose, praying and fully awake. I listened to Him also. I think it's a dangerous thing when someone starts off, "I heard God tell me..." I thanked God for change. I thanked him for the changes that He has allowed me to make in my life with Nicole (as opposed to before I met her) and the changes that He makes possible in every day life. This morning, in the middle of the night, I thought about how God spins this planet, and changes where the sun comes up and sets each day as a very subtle reminder that He is a God of change. He makes the leaves to grow on the trees in the spring and then He makes me to rake them up in the fall. He allows me to be frustrated at a situation and then allows me to see things differently when I ask Him about it. God spins this planet just enough to remind us all that He is in charge and is perfectly capable of changing us. God can change us. When ever you're tired of where you are, what you're doing, how you're perceived, how you think you're built or wired, God can change you. Ask Saul.