Today's Numbers

0-How many times I went outside today.

4-How many times Rob went outside today (to take care of our chickens, and for other reasons).

8-How many steps Jonathan took outside before he turned around and came back in the house because the snow was too deep.

2-How many steps are now showing leading up to our front porch (out of 5).

5-How many people I saw walking on the street in front of our house today.

10-How many snow mobiles drove past our house today. (Now that's the way to go!)

25-The number of laps Jonathan ran around the inside of our house.

55-The number of books Katie "read" to herself.

15-The number of books Katie wanted me to read to her.

20-The number of times I sat down to rest and then remembered something that I needed to do right away.

8-The number of times I sat down to rest and then two children climbed up on me to be tickled.

1-The number of times I sat down to rest and actually rested.

100-The number of times I blew my nose today (this stupid cold!)

45-The number of times Katie asked me what was wrong, and if I was sick.

24-The number of times Jonathan sneezed and I had to remind him to get a tissue.

1-Train set around our Christmas tree.

20-Days it will probably stay out.

2-Map makers planning where to put the other train track around the house. (I will keep you posted on this.)

9-Days that I have been enjoying this winter weather. It's been a lot of fun!

25 Hours Without Kids

We were able to take Jonathan and Katie over to my parent's house yesterday afternoon so that they could stay overnight. That is always a treat for them, as well as for Rob and I. So how have we been enjoying our 25 hours without kids?

I had a raging headache all day yesterday, which did not go away until late this morning. (I still have a slight headache.)

We ventured out to the craft store and to the bank after dropping off our kids.

Had a quiet dinner together (of breakfast cereal since I didn't feel good).

Went for a very fun drive through the area looking at Christmas lights. The homes look so fun in the snow!

Foot massages!!!

Sleeping in until 9:00 (for me). Mostly because of my headache.

Watching the snow blow around and feeling so glad that I can be inside where it is warm.

Rob and I working on our own individual projects around the house. It's amazing how much more you can get done when all persons under 7 years of age are not present!

We were hoping that maybe the kids could get snowed in at my parents so we could get another day home alone, but they only live 3 miles away, so that's not going to happen. (Plus they have a huge 4-wheel drive truck that I'm sure could handle the snow if we can't pick them up. sigh.) I guess I'll be grateful for what we got!

Snow Days!

We've been having a fun time at home on our snow days. We played out in the snow on Monday. (I made an incredibly good snowball throw at Rob, that left him with snow stuck in his glasses!) We've been working on a fun wintery puzzle.

Today the kids and I made things from flour and salt dough. We'll paint our creations tomorrow. They are going to be gifts for the grandparent's.

It's been fun having Rob home every day too. We celebrated our 13th anniversary yesterday.

The Twelve Days of Christmas

Rob and I finally discovered why there are 12 Days of Christmas. That's how long it takes to decorate!

Day one (Tuesday evening): Pick up toys in living room, vacuum and then move the furniture around and around to make a space for the tree.

Day two (Wednesday evening): Jonathan and Katie help me hang up glitter covered snowflakes around the house, and colored tinsely garland on the stairs. After dinner we put "together" the tree.

Day three (this evening): We can't figure out how we managed to plug in the Christmas tree lights last year because our outlet has only two holes, and we have a three-pronged plug. After Rob spends 10 minutes rearranging cords and such, I begin winding my way around the tree. First, a string of colored lights. (Jonathan wants the tree to have colored lights, but that is the only sting we have.) Next, a string of white lights. Next...string numbers 3, 4, and 5 all don't work! That's all we have for tree lights. Since it is bedtime by this point, and the kids are begging to decorate the tree, we let them decorate the parts that already have lights on them. So the bottom half of our tree is decorated, but the top half is still bare.

We still have 9 more days to decorate!

Thanksgiving Fun

We had a nice Thanksgiving. Grandpa Don, (Rob's Dad) was up for a visit. He lives in California. With him came model trains and train track. So our home became transformed on Thursday into a Railroad Layout. Jonathan and Rob had fun setting up things too. The track went around the house-through the entry, dining room, kitchen and then into the living room.

Katie watched them set up the train. When she tired of that, she helped me in the kitchen. I was making my favorite dessert: Pumpkin Pie Cake. It turned out great! Here's a picture of Katie being cute.

Later in the afternoon we went to my Grandma's house for Dinner. We had a great time. Jonathan was very excited to entertain us during dessert. So he, Katie and their cousin Daylynn sang a few songs to us adults. They also did some very energetic dancing to music too. I think my son is going to be a performer when he grows up.

We finished the evening off by playing a rousing game of Yahtzee. Jonathan's first time playing it.

I am very thankful for my family!

Copy Cat #4

Something fun I copied from my friends' blogs: Just to get in the Christmas mood

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping Paper

2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial (I’ve had spider issues in the past with real trees)

3. When do you put up the tree? As soon as possible after Thanksgiving!

4. When do you take the tree down? Rob insists we keep it up until Epiphany (Jan. 6th)

5. Do you like eggnog? Nope!

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Possibly my Cabbage Patch Baby

7. Hardest person to buy for? My Dad and Brother

8. Easiest person to buy for? My Mom, and my kids

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, we got a really nice one for our wedding. We also have a playmobile set for the kids

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail—on the years that I do send them out.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I can’t think of one off hand.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? It’s a Wonderful life

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Usually last minute—Sometime in December

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I don’t think so.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Fudge, and some cookies that I make that have an almond flavor

16. Lights on the tree? yes

17. Favorite Christmas song? O Holy Night

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Travel a few miles to my family’s home

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, Roudolf---only when I sing the beginning of the Rudolph song.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? I grew up opening them on Christmas eve, but now we do it on Christmas morning

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Advertising consists of Buying, Buying, Buying!

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? I don’t have one

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? We’ve always had different things for dinner each year.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? Money to help me pay for my Real Estate bills!26. Who is most likely to respond to this? I'm not tagging anyone so whoever wants and easy way to post a blog!

Grace

I’ve been reading a great book. It is called Putting a Face On Grace. It’s written by Richard Blackaby (the son of Henry Blackaby (the guy who did the Experiencing God Bible Study).) This book has really given me some things to think about. How often do I forget the Grace that God has extended toward me? Many times! How often do I extend Grace toward others? Not as much as I could, I admit. Here’s an excerpt that I think does a good job communicating the premise of the book:

Grace: What It Is

Most Christians have a basic understanding of grace as the undeserved favor or mercy of God toward us. We know we have been saved by grace (Ephesians 2:8). But after salvation, many professing believers have little or no idea how grace impacts their daily lives. Grace is not a onetime gift from God. Because Christians continue to struggle with sin until the day they see Jesus face to face, we need God's grace every day of our lives. He continually supplies grace to His people in countless practical ways. Moreover--and this is where so many of us miss the point--He expects us to be channels of His grace to others.

We are not called to just bathe in grace; we are called to shower it upon others. Grace has not been fully experienced until it is fully expressed to others. The deeper our understanding of grace, the more we see the necessity of making it the fabric of our Christian life.

So, what do you think? I know that this book has really struck a chord with me. Not only am I trying to understand God’s grace toward me better but I am trying to be that grace to others. It’s not easy sometimes. Especially to members of my family. Understanding God’s grace and living it out has really deepened my worship of God. If you get a chance, try checking out this great book. (I got it from the Library). Let me know what your thoughts are.

Real Estate Update

I'm excited to say that I have two new listings! I am going to have my work cut out for me because they are both short sales. For those of you who aren't sure what a short sale is, it just means that the owners owe more on the house than they can sell it for. I will be doing quite a bit of negotiating with Lenders to see if they will reduce what is owed so the owners can sell their houses. (Short sales usually are not short in duration! They could take several months longer than a regular transaction.)

This is a neat job. I feel like I can make a difference in people's lives by helping them sell their homes. I really want my focus to be on helping my clients, not just making money.

More news later!

Halloween Fun!

Dressing up for Halloween is fun! Here are the Jonathan and Katie, with their cousin Daylynn.

We didn't do much on Halloween. We visited a few people, and had a yummy dinner at my parent's house. My mom made carmel apples! It was fun watching the kids trying to eat them.

Now the Jonathan and Katie are obsessed with CANDY! It's all they want. I guess they got my sweet tooth!

Well I did it. I took a risk and not only decided to have my hair highlighted, but I went to the Mt. Hood Community College Hair Salon and had it done there! It was fun! I went with Heidi. She had her hair highlighted too. Her hair turned out absolutely stunning!

So here's a really gross picture of me before I left to get my hair done that morning. I washed my hair and let it dry naturally. I didn't even do my hair before I left. (How embarrassing!) The gal who did my hair is a student in the cosmetology program. She loves to do hair coloring. So she was pretty experienced at it. Afterwards she trimmed my hair and flat-ironed it straight. I looked like a different person when I walked out of there, as you'll see from my next photo.

I probably won't be wearing my hair this straight very often. It takes a long time to do (which is something that I don't have.) But it's fun to look this way for a few days. Once I wash my hair my curls will come back. I like the highlights too. They are subtle, but give me a feeling of newness.

I'd highly recommend going to the college's hair salon. They do a good job for a great price! Check them out:http://www.mhcc.edu/pages/2951.asp

Big Celebration!

My second transaction closed today!! This one was a lot harder than the first one. I've learned a lot. I took a huge sigh of relief when I got the confirming phone call this afternoon. God has been so good to me and to the Sellers of this home. I'm absolutely sure that He brought just the right Buyers to this house. They were so accommodating and patient with all the rigamorole.

Now on to the next transaction....hopefully soon!

To Be (Blond) or Not To Be

While growing up I have always struggled with my curly hair. I hated it when I was a teen. Somewhat disliked it when I got a little older. Now I find it okay, but would prefer to wear it straighter.

But I have never had any issues with the color of my hair. (Well actually once I dyed it red when I was getting over a devastating break-up with my first boyfriend. It looked pretty good too, until my hair started growing out and the roots were blond and the rest wasn't.) Anyhow, lately my daughter has been telling me that she likes me, but doesn't like my hair color. She mentions it several times a week. Tonight Katie turned to Rob at the dinner table and said to him, "Daddy, I like the color of your hair."

I was contemplating getting light blond highlights in my hair, the ones that look like I've been hanging out at the beach all summer. But now I'm wondering if darker would look better?

Nah, I don't want dark hair. It's dark enough as it is. Maybe I will go for those sunny highlights!

Last week Jonathan said it looked like I have gray hair....Sigh!

Looking Forward to Friday!

It's been an interesting week. Tomorrow my second listing is supposed to close. Unfortunately I am learning the realities of Real Estate early on...

Anything can come up to interfere in a transaction.

That is what's happened this week. I am not certain that this transaction is going to actually close tomorrow, or at all. Each day is a waiting game. Basically some things came up in the transaction that will make it hard for the title to clear. (That's real estate lingo that means something isn't right and the Buyers aren't going to go for it.) My wonderful Principal Broker, who with his vast experience and slick negotiating skills, is trying to work out a deal. While he has been doing that, I've been praying for God to help in this situation. I'm excited to see what happens tomorrow.

I've been on the phone a lot today trying to find people interested in using my services. It is the hardest part of the job for me. I hate calling people up. I'd rather have people come to me. So...if you know of anyone who could use the services of a great real estate agent, please send them my way. (I think I have mentioned this before in my blog, but it bears repeating again.)

Tomorrow the kids have a day off from school! I am excited because we can sleep in and not rush around in the morning. What a treat! Sometime I wish school didn't start until 9:30 every morning. I would love to sleep in every day if I could.

I Don't Wanna Be a Techno Wimp

I like technology. I think the things that we have these days are great. However, I am not very techno savvy. I am usually riding 3 to 5 years behind the wave. I don't have an i-pod or an mp3 player (I wouldn't know what to do with one if I had one). I can't envision myself wearing a bluetooth headset. I just recently got myself a palm centro (it's like a palm pilot, but also a phone.) I only use it for making phone calls, even though it is equipped to do internet things and videos and synchronizing with my computer.

Starting this blog several months ago was a big step for me. I like it! So today I took another leap and joined Facebook. The funny thing is, I have no clue what to do on Facebook. I think I need someone to come and teach me. When I get on the site I feel lost. I'm not quite sure what a "wall" is, and I don't know how to do anything. So...I humbly admit my weaknesses, and ask for some help from any of you.

I NEED Chocolate Today...

It's just been one of those days... A handful of Hershey's chocolate kisses would be great right now. (or maybe a bagful.) I have been dealing with difficult children today, my own. I just got a cold last night, so I don't feel good, and my darling kids are not being very darling today.

I can't believe that my son would rather spend an hour fussing and fighting with me about making his lunch for school tomorrow instead of doing it right away and then having time to play. And my daughter would rather spend time in the time out chair than giving a toy back to her brother. I guess I don't understand kids!

Saturday Summary

I had a fun day today. We went to the Teddy Bear Parade in downtown Gresham this morning. Katie and I sat and watched the parade while Jonathan and Rob were in the parade with Jonathan's classmates. The Montessori school had a spot in the parade. Jonathan rode his bike. (I will have to post pictures later.) I think he had a fun time.

Later on in the day I took Jonathan to Target to get a birthday present for a party we are going to tomorrow. Nothing like shopping at the last minute! He had a blast looking at all of the toys. I picked out what we were going to get his friend. He just looked at each and every toy and said, "Oh Mom, look at this! Look at this! This one is neat too! Wow, this is neat..." I'm embarrassed to say that half of the stuff he looked at was in the "girl aisle". While at Target I noticed that they were having a 75% off sale on back to school items. I was able to get Jonathan a new backpack for just under $4! He needed one too. I also got he and Katie new lunch boxes for $3 each. These were things I wanted to get before school started but didn't have the money for. What a blessing to find them so cheap today! On the way home Jonathan couldn't thank me enough for the backpack and lunch box. He was so happy and lovey-dovey! At home he even told Katie that he loved her!!! I couldn't believe my ears!

Tonight Rob and I went out to the movies. We saw the new movie called Fireproof. It was a good movie. If you want to know what the movie is about check out the website http://fireproofthemovie.com. I am not that up for describing the movie right now. I'm kind of tired. If you end up seeing it, let me know. I'd love to hear what you think of it.

Learning A Lot in Real Estate

Well, if any of you went to the garage sale this weekend looking for all of the kids clothes that I had to sell, you probably noticed that the clothes weren't there. That's because I had NO time to even take a glance at the boxes of clothes let alone do something with them for the sale this weekend. Oh well, I will try to sell them some other way.

I am still in the midst of the Sandy home sale. Doing the run-around with lenders who want to take their own sweet time, not really thinking about the needs of others. I was told on Wednesday that I would be receiving a fax within 24 to 48 hours, and as of this morning, I still hadn't received it. On Friday when I called to check on the status of the fax they said I should be receiving it soon. Hmmm...

I had my first experience with taking Buyers to look at a home and them having an argument in front of me today. Now that was interesting. Guess I am going to have to learn what to do when that happens again. (Because I'm sure it will.) I felt a little awkward to say the least.

But I love my job still. I have a great time with the other agents in my office. I've had a full week. Somewhat stressful, but fun too.

Where I've Been

It's been several weeks since my last post. I wish I could tell you I've been basking on the warm sands of some tropical island. But I have not. I have been deep in the chaos of my home and life. It's a fun chaos though, although a bit busier than I can handle.

Jonathan and Katie both started school several weeks ago. Jonathan is in 1st Grade and Katie is going to Preschool two mornings a week. They both like it. Katie's teacher is Mrs. Strong, but with the way Katie talks she calls her Mrs. Pong. Jonathan doesn't like going to the after school care program at his school, so we have some pretty big crying spells on the day he has to stay late. That is hard for me.

I closed my first transaction at my job, and I was very excited! To celebrate we headed to the Golden Arches (I let the kids choose where they wanted to have our celebration dinner) and I splurged and bought myself a milkshake with our meal. I hope in 5 years from now my pay day celebration meals will be a bit fancier! Anyhow, I am in the very middle of another transaction. It is definitely a learning experience. After this home sells I won't have any more listings, so I will need to find some more ready and willing clients. If any of you know someone interested in buying or selling, send them my way. (Please)

We had a yard sale on Saturday, which was a ton of work! We had quite a few people come, but not enough. We still have lots of stuff left. We are going to take it to a friend's garage sale this weekend in hopes that we can sell off more of it. I've got 8 large boxes of kids clothes for sale. Rob is selling at least 100 books. Then we have the usual assortment of rare and eclectic items for sale as well. Let me know if you want info on where the sale will be this weekend.

Dahlia Day

Today Rob and I and the kids went for an outing to Canby to a Dahlia Festival. It was held at the Swan Island Dahlia farm, where they grow several hundred varieties of Dahlias on over 40 acres. They had an indoor area where they had arrangements to look at. We were glad about this because when we arrived it was pouring rain outside and we were not dressed for rainy weather.

Later, when we were done indoors we went out and walked around their farm. There was a neat pond where Katie enjoyed looking at the Koi fish.

Dahlia's are my favorite flower and I hope to grow them someday. I will have a hard time choosing which ones to grow, though when it comes time to plant them. I saw so many that I liked!

Busy Broker

I'm excited to say that I'm in the midst of my first home selling transaction! I listed a house on the 13th and two days later an offer came in for it. I've been in the process of helping my Seller negotiate the terms of the agreement. We're expecting it to close in early September. I am thrilled about how quickly this is going, but it has been a learning experience. So many forms to fill out, so many deadlines. There is a lot to know, that you don't learn when you go to school to get your license. I am grateful to have a very knowledgeable Principal Broker who helps me all the time, as well as a trainer, and many other people at the office who are answering all my questions each day.

I've also been having a great time meeting new people in my business. I've been going to appointments meeting For Sale By Owners (FSBO's). There are some really great families out there, I wish I could find buyers for them. Do you know of anyone who wants to buy a vacation home in Welches, or a vintage home in Gresham? I'd be glad to hook them up. I don't mind working with FSBO's as long as they don't mind working with me.

I heard about an interesting website today while at work it is http://www.walkscore.com Check it out. Enter a location and it will tell you what stores and restaurants are nearby, and it will give you the walking distance. This is great if you are planning a trip or visiting a new city. (or if you like to walk a lot you can find great places to visit that are "walker-friendly".)

I've got a lot of other things going on besides work, but that will have to wait for another post.

So last week was pretty much shot. Thursday and Friday Katie had what we called "runny poop". It was awful! And I couldn't really go to work and leave a babysitter to take care of her (although I did get out of the house Thursday morning thanks to a very brave sitter so that I could get more lysol wipes, chicken noodle soup, applesauce, bananas, more lysol spray, sponges and pedialyte. I'm sure the checker at Winco was sympathetic based on what I had in my cart.)

So this week I have been back to work full speed ahead. I was able to get the paperwork signed so that I now have an official 2nd listing. Last week the guy took the paperwork home to read it, and didn't bring it back until this past Tuesday. I'm excited, and will start listing it on the market next week! On Monday I took some walk in clients around looking for houses in Sandy. I hope that I can help them find what they're looking for.

This weekend we are going to the church campout at Ft. Stevens. The kids are very excited about it. I am looking forward to getting away from my computer for a few days. (I'm taking my phone, though so that I can find out details about Tim and Heidi's baby delivery.) I hope we can leave for the campout tomorrow. Unfortunately Rob got the "bug" that we all had last week and has been home the last few days. Hopefully he'll feel better tomorrow.

This is Not What I Expected!

So I was so pumped to get back to work this week, after having been so busy with VBS last week. On Sunday I made this long to-do list of all that I wanted to do at work to try to meet new people and drum up some possible contacts.


Monday morning: Jonathan feels sick, like he's about to throw up. I cancel the kid's plans to spend the day with Grandma. Guess I'm staying home today. Jonathan sleeps on the couch most of the morning and finally starts to feel better by dinner time.


Tuesday morning: Right as the babysitter is about to arrive Katie throws up all over the floor. Uggh! Thankfully, she is an Angel and she is willing to stay so that I can go to a meeting at work. I arrive an hour later than I wanted to, though because of all of the clean up that I needed to do before I left the house.


Tuesday night: I am not feeling so good...Oh No! You guessed it. I got sick. I lay in bed all night tossing and turning. My stomach hurts so much. I ended up sleeping in the guest room just so Rob could get some sleep.


Wednesday: I lay on the couch all day, feeling crummy. Not only because I am sick, but because of all that I did not get to do so far this week!


It is Wednesday night. I still don't feel all the way better, but close enough. I had to go in to work this afternoon to meet a client. Fortunately I was up for it. (I hope that I didn't pass any of my germs around, though.) I was able to write up a listing contract to sell his house, so that is great! And I still have 2 more days left of this week to get some work done. It is so hard for me to adjust my plans sometimes. But sometimes there are things that we just can't control. Rob reminded me of that today. He has been an encouragement to me this week, as I have grumbled about having to readjust my expectations for the week.

I'm putting it all in God's hands tomorrow. I have no idea what to expect!

I Packed A Lot In This Week

Boy, what a week! I helped out in the VBS preschool class every day this week as well as worked Monday, Tuesday and some of Wednesday, went to the Carnival on Thursday night at church and then went to an all night walk for the American Cancer Society on Friday and a birthday party this afternoon.


About VBS: I'm proud to say that I managed to lead the preschoolers all week, but I'm embarrassed to say that I complained quite a bit about it, too. The kids were fun, but very, very busy. Heidi's leaving on Monday was sad, but I was so worried about her while she was helping. I had some teenage helpers to help me out, and then my friend Carrie asked her friend to help me out for Thursday and Friday. This gal, Sarah, was great. She has led the preschool Awana class so she was familiar with some of the kids. She was just the right help that I needed at the right time.


About Work: I estimate I worked about 16 hours this week in the afternoons and evenings. Even so, I can't say I got a whole lot done. I am looking forward to going back to work on Monday having a more undivided focus, and more energy too. On Tuesday I found out that two potential clients decided not to buy/sell right now, so that was disappointing. So I'll just have to continue making calls and meeting people. If you know of anyone who would like a really great Realtor--(Me)--let me know!


About the Cancer Relay: I participated in the American Cancer Society's (ACS) Relay for Life on Friday night. I was a part of a team from my office. The relay was held on the Sandy HS track. It started at 6 pm and ended at 9 am. I was up all night, and felt so tired that I actually left around 5:30 this morning so that I could get some sleep before we headed out for a birthday party picnic. The relay was great! It was so neat to hear stories from some of the people dealing with canceer. At 10 pm they lit up these luminaries (white paper bags with sand and a candle inside) and lined them up all along the track. They were there for us to remember those who are dealing with cancer or who have died from cancer. It was very special. The members of each team took turns walking around the track all night. In addition to that we had been collecting donations for the ACS for the past few months.

Thinking about VBS and the Relay, I am glad that I had the opportunity to participate in such wonderful events this week.

God's Provision!

God is ever so gracious in providing for our needs! I found out that we are going to be receiving a check from someone to help me out with my real estate needs. It's going to help me pay a bill that is due this Friday, as well as pay for some childcare for the next few weeks. I am so grateful for God's care.


Now I just need GRACE to make it through leading the Preschool class at VBS this week. Sometimes I wonder why I get so stressed out about working with kids. I'm really hoping Heidi doesn't go into labor this week, 'cuz I really need her help in the classroom. (She's one of the helpers!)

A Balancing Act

So I thought I would write a bit about my new job. I love it. I think this is a great job for me. I'm not like most Realtors that I've met. I am a little shy about promoting myself, but in order to succeed this is one area I am going to need to grow in. I love houses, and I love helping people!

The hard part in just starting out is balancing work and family. It's been quite an adjustment going from a stay-at-home mom to a working-full-time mom. Katie has had a harder time adjusting than I expected. She used to be a "Daddy's Girl" until I started working. Now she wants to do everything with me. I'm finding it difficult to get any work done at home, even though some of my work can be done from home. There are way too many distractions and lots of noise (like Jonathan yelling "Katie is being mean to me" at the top of his lungs while I am on the phone with a client.)

The biggest balance for me right now is money. It takes quite a bit of money to get started in real estate. More than I expected. Which is why I have run out of money to pay for childcare. So now I am having to get creative. I take the kids into the office with me when I have something quick to do. (They don't last past 20 minutes there.) I'm trying to go in an evening a week and also on Saturdays or Sundays. I let the kids watch TV up in my room so that I can make some phone calls. I do some work from home in the evenings, too. Other times I try to think up ways I can convince my friends and relations to watch my kids for free. Actually, I don't try to convince them, I beg them. It's humbling. I hope I can sell a house or two soon!

There is so much more I can say about my Real Estate career, but It'll have to wait for another blog. One last thing though, Jonathan is one of my biggest supporters. He loves to promote me to others. He tells people that I am a "Realestater". He has even talked to people that he doesn't even know and told them, "my Mommy doesn't have any clients yet, would you like to buy a house from her?" What would I do without my family's support?

(Hey, can someone tell me how to type these blogs with a space between each paragraph? The final post doesn't look good all crammed together! Thanks!)

The Love of Reading

Today Jonathan started reading books for the first time. He learned a lot of words during Kindergarten, but was never really interested in trying to read books. But today, he got excited about it. With my help he read two chapters in the Little Bear book. I am so thrilled for him. A whole new world will open up for him when he can read books on his own. We love books in our family. We have about 7 bookshelves full (plus other books laying around on tables and counters). Katie is an avid "reader" too. She could have us read stories to her all day if we were up for it. She sits by herself and reads out loud with all of her books, making up stories as she goes. It is so cute to listen to. I guess reading is in our blood!

The Animal Shelter

For the last week or two Jonathan has been pretending that he has an animal shelter. He has arranged some pieces of ply-wood on our deck to make rooms for all the different animals that are in his animal shelter. When we were at Winco the other day, he asked me if we could buy some dog food for the dogs at his shelter. All I could think of was putting out dog food and attracting all the neighborhood dogs and racoons to our yard. No thank you!

While we were at the library yesterday we noticed a donation barrel in the lobby for the Gresham animal shelter. They were wanting donations to help care for the animals that run away from home during the 4th of July holiday because of all of the firework noise and then end up at the shelter. Jonathan was excited to see the donation barrel. He came home and set up his own donation container. I think he believes he will really have stray animals show up at our house tonight because of all the noise.

8 Things I Wish I Would've Learned Years Ago...

My friend, Kristi, just recently blogged about the things she has learned in her life and it got me thinking...what have I learned in life? I started thinking about the past two years and living in the house we're in now and came up with a few things. (Nothing profound, but I am glad that I have learned these things.)

• Don't ever buy a house if you know the basement leaks!
• Don't buy a house that you can barely afford. LIFE happens and can make it harder to afford.
• Weeds never stop growing!
• Kids need a place to run and jump and climb on.
• There is no such place as a perfect house. (Although some houses are better than others and I am so glad that we moved to the one we're in now because it is much better than the last house!)
• I would give up all the wonderful things I love about where I live if God directed us somewhere else.
• Carpet in the Dining Room is a bad idea!
• Get rid of things you haven't used in a year, and stop storing it. It just takes up precious space.

That's about it for my wonderful insights. I guess I've been doing quite a bit of thinking about our house because there is a possibility that we may need to sell our house in the near future and move to a smaller, less expensive house. I love this house so much, and would hate to leave, but it is not worth staying here if we have to continue living stressed-out, maxed-out lives because of finances. I want to have financial peace (like Dave Ramsey talks about). Like the Bible talks about "the blessings of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it." Proverbs 10:22 (NKJV)

Me, A Blogger??

So yes, I've become a blogger, thanks to my good friends who have been a great influence in my life. I can't believe that I feel so young (actually I am young), yet the computer world is racing past me. I can't let it happen.

Each day there are new things to share, sometimes funny, sometimes serious and thought provoking. I am glad that I have a place to share them. I'd love to have you comment (so that I know someone is reading this) and share in my journey.

Grace for today: Having to leave the house for work with my daughter crying "Mommy, I don't want you to go to work!" It was so hard to leave. I knew that starting my Real Estate career would require huge sacrifices the first year or so, but it is hard to face the reality when it really happens! I love my job. And I love my children. So I need God's Grace to make it through this transition time.

On a fun note, I did run around the yard with the kids this evening. We were pretending to run through an obstacle course. It didn't take me long to get tired out. I guess I am out of shape!