Saturday, January 31, 2009

Our Arizona Trip


Well, a lot has happened in a very short time.. We've taken our trip to Arizona and had a great time! We put in quite a few applications for Lowell and a couple for me. Now we're just waiting and praying to hear something. Wether we hear something right away or not, we've decided that God wants us to move, so He won't be saying 'no', we may just be getting a "Wait". Wait is always a difficult answer to deal with, but we're commited to listening to what God wants us to do and to do this His way instead of forcing the issue and moving before we're supposed to. (I'm not nearly as calm as I sound, I'm just really praying for peace and for us to be able to move soon!!! :)
We took the kids this time so that they have an idea, now, of where we're going. With only one or two exceptions, they've expressed nothing but excitement about moving. They were fascinated by the escalators in the mall, they loved the freeways, had a blast watching so many airplanes fly over, and had a fabulous day at the zoo! We saw penguins, tigers, monkeys, birds, fish (they have a new aquarium) and, of course, the giraffes! :) I got to pet one! (Highlight of the day for me!) There were also babies all over! There were baby giraffes, baby singing dogs and baby monkeys! And in the petting zoo, there were baby goats and baby deer! The kids also loved spending time with Abby and Matt. (or Brad as they called him. (confusing him with their uncle :)) They also loved the weather. We were swimming at the motel, when it was raining and almost snowing here at home.
School is good. Actually, its kind of hard this semester. I don't know if its just because I'm working and packing and volunteering and trying to keep the house from exploding due to dirty laundry or what, but I seem to be sooo busy. And I'm struggling to get assignments in on time. I don't think it helps that my wifi didn't work when we were in Phoenix, so I had to catch up on an entire week's worth of homework. Yikes! So, now I'm feeling burnt out and unfortunately there is no break in sight! Thankfully, I'm halfway through this quarter... This means I only have 10 weeks until graduation!!!!! It doesn't help that I have quite a drill sergent for a professor in one of my classes... Lowell is very excited about nearing my graduation, however the excitement hasn't caught on yet. I think it's because I've taken so long to get to this place, that I don't think of it as a very big accomplishment. Oh well. At least I'll be ready to start my masters in the fall like I had planned. Thank you Lord!
Lowell is still going to his job that he really doesn't like, but thankfully this week hasn't been that difficult. We also did our taxes lately and got good news about our refund. That is very good news because whenever we find jobs, we'll be ready to go! So, Lord, it's in Your hands... Now I guess I should start taking this packing thing more seriously... :) My father-in-law, bless his heart, said that because I have so long to pack, I should really try to get boxes that are all the same size because it helps so much with moving... Well, so far I haven't been able to find 200 free boxes that are all the same size, but I'm still looking! :)

Friday, January 16, 2009

My Husband is Wonderful

I just wanted to share with the world that my husband is wonderful! I've had quite a few struggles with the first couple of weeks of school, mainly stemming from the fact that it is the end of week two and I still don't have books for any of my classes! Its a long, ridiculous story that I won't get into here, but suffice it to say that I've made many an unhappy phone call and now I'm just going to buy the books that I need when we're in Phoenix next week! Ridiculous! However, in the midst of my stress, when I was wondering if I was even going to be able to take these classes or if I'd have to drop them and wait.. Lowell was very supportive! At first not so much, but then... He prayed for me. And he encouraged me. And he reminded me that God was bigger than the morons at the bookstore and than He knows how much I want to graduate this spring... And Lowell kept the kids for the evening so that I could just sleep and get to feeling better... And so, I'm announcing - My husband is wonderful! :) I'm lucky and I know it! :)
On a side note, this is my new hair! What do you think??? I personally love it! Not the best picture, taken in my bathroom, but I have to take A LOT of pictures of myself before I get one that I like, so you'll just have to deal with the background! :)
Blessings, Rani
PS I wanted to mention that there are more songs on the player at the bottom of the screen than you can see. If you highlight one, you can scroll down and listen to other songs, or you can put it on random... Anyway, I just want everyone to appreciate some of the great love songs we have for Christ... :)

Monday, January 12, 2009

The first two weeks of the year

Hard to believe that its been almost two weeks since I've blogged... Time flies when you're having fun! :) During these busy days, I've done a lot of the normal wife stuff - cleaning, taking care of the kids - especially during the two weeks off from school - and, of course, I had my birthday! :) It was a fun day - just the five of us. I had to work in the morning and then Lowell picked me up and took me to the grocery store to let me pick out my birthday cake. I must say I was disappointed with the grocery store. They only offer white cake or chocolate cake. My favorite is yellow... Anyway, the thought was very appreciated. He also bought an "easy dinner" so that I didn't have to cook on my birthday! It was very sweet. Also, I have been needing a hair cut because of split ends (thank you wood burning stove) and so I'd almost convinced Lowell to cut my hair for me... Instead, later that night, he told me that I should just go get my hair cut as a birthday present. He knows that I like my hair short, but out of repsect for him, I've let it grow out again. He really likes it long. So, I went and got it cut. When I walked in the door he said, "Cute. You can go shorter." *smile* Love my husband. So, the next day, I went again and asked the gal to cut some more off... Pretty dramatic results! Today was the first day that I've been with friends since then and I got too many compliments to count! I finally stopped by the stylists shop and picked up some of her cards to hand them out to people who commented on it. :) Easy advertising! The color (I did myself) was supposed to be brown with a hint of red but turned out to be red with a hint of purple... Lowell called me Barney. :) I like it, even the color! I'll post a picture are soon as I can! :)

Chloe's friend Samantha had her first sleepover here this weekend... She made it to 5 o'clock in the morning and then we had to call mom. She is very shy and doesn't have a lot of friends. Mainly its just Chloe. Chloe was really sad that she went home but they had a really good time together! Chloe has stayed at her house a couple of times before. They're very cute together and I'm sorry that Chloe will be moving away from such a good friend.

Speaking of moving, we're taking another trip to Arizona next week. This time we're taking the whole family. This should be an adventure! :) We're going to really try to get Lowell a job and to show the kids around to get them excited about moving. Please be praying with us for Lowell to get a job - the job that will provide enough money for us, but also a job that will allow him to enjoy his job. Depending on what we learn on this trip, our move time could be sooner than we expected. We are hoping for it to be sooner because of Lowell's work conditions... He's really miserable as I've shared before... However, God is taking care of us as He always does... His boss is gone for a couple of days. It's a nice break for Lowell. :) On the other hand, I'm hoping that we stick to our original plan of leaving in July because that will let the kids and I get done with school before moving. Right now, we're just praying for God's will to be done and for us to be flexible and understanding and trusting of His plans for us. I'm excited about our trip! I'll let you know how it goes!

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Tears!

Well, the tears finally came. Unfortunately, it wasn't until after Lowell came home and asked me how my day went. He was already stressed and I didn't want to add my junk to his... But he insisted. And then when I tried to tell him, I started bawling. At least the tears finally came. And I definitely felt better I cried. And after I tried to make amends with Chloe. She always takes the brunt of my anger. I don't understand why... But when I get mad, its almost always aimed at her. And it breaks my heart because she rarely deserves to get in trouble at all... There is no perfection in motherhood. (That's a gross understatment, by the way!) And I'm not a person who deals well with anything other than perfection... Time to get over that one, huh? I really don't understand my anger issues... And I've tried to analyze myself and my issues but I don't feel like I got very far... Instead, I've decided to stop looking outward, stop looking inward and start looking upward. I really need to spend more time in the Word. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you..." Matthew 6:33 My classes start Monday and I'm really praying that I can take some more Bible classes because I get so much enjoyment out of studying the Word in classes... And then I don't have to be internally motivated either because I have external motivation. :)

New Year's Tears

Today is one of those horrible days where I really struggle. I woke up and snuggled in bed for a long time. I was so comfy and relaxed... And then, for some reason, I just begin a downward spiral... I started by being upset when Chloe asked me if I forgot to make a fire. No, I didn't forget, I'm working on it. Then they want to snuggle up with me and I just want some space and yet I can't seem to get away from them. Every time I move over, they snuggle closer. I know that snuggling is supposed to be a wonderful thing, and most of the time it is - but there are times when I just don't want to be touched. I just want to be left alone! And then comes breakfast... I made it and then went back to reading... And then I got covered in kids with breakfast... And my bed was covered in orange juice. My husband is so stressed about work... He just dreads work on his days off and Wednesdays nights he even struggles to decide if he's going to go back on Thursday morning... I hate the pressure that is put on him. I hate knowing that just by being here, on the computer, I'm incurring bills that he has to work to pay for. Every time I go to the grocery store, he has to pay for it. And in order to do that, he has to go to that place that he hates and endure his boss that just beats him up day after day. So today, I'm feeling like a terrible mom - I don't want to deal with my kids today, I just want to be left alone; and I'm a terrible wife - I am part of the reason that Lowell has to go to that place. So, I'm here feeling very sick and dreading the oncoming seizure that I'm feeling is impending... I want to make myself cry to release some tension, but I'm so good at holding in my tears that I can't let them go... I need to put on some sappy movie or something and force myself to cry... So, here's hoping for some tears to start the new year. :)