Cold Weather Grilling

Being an obsessive sort, I am completely determined to catch y'all up--yes, all two of you--on our lives!  Here is my next installment...

April 5.

Still amidst the winter thaw, I was desperate for some warmer weather.  On the first day we could remotely say that it warmed up, I sweet-talked Fernando into grilling dinner.  Woo-hoo!

Fernando is my Grillmaster.  The family and I bought this grill for him for Christmas, and I don't even know how to turn the thing on.  It's his baby.  See how the shelf there is crooked?  This grill took a fly-and-spill during a severe thunderstorm.

Here's where the grill ended up; I saw it lifted completely off the ground and thrown down onto the patio.  That's when we all hollered to head for the basement.  Here is is, summer of 2011:

Anyway, despite being banged up and thrown around, the grill still works.  Here's what my Grill-Man grilled:

Super yum!!

A few days later, on April 8, I spent a chilly few minutes outdoors to try capturing the opposition of Mars (earth was exactly in the middle lined up with Mars on one side and the sun on the other).  It was a no-go for pictures (no remote shutter release plus the "stars weren't aligned" in my back yard), but I did manage to capture this one.  The moon is the bright one.

The warm (haha) weather was not to last, so that was the end of that for a while.  :)


Back to life,
Christine

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New Every Morning - Part Two

The Lord's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,

For His compassions never fail.

They are new every morning;

Great is Your faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:22-23 NASB

Click here to start at the beginning.  :)


Most of the summer of 2013 passed as it normally did for us.  We decided to not travel to our beloved lake for vacation, guessing we'd need to save our pennies while we still had them.  Instead, our summer was filled with work for Fernando, and other typical things--gardening, canning, blogging, church activities, and friends.

There was one small incident mid-June that would affect us profoundly in the months to come.  For two days, Fernando and a few co-workers spent several hours moving heavy equipment around, with the explanation being that they wanted the space to look neat and organized for potential buyers.  Seeing that the purchase had been shaken on and would be a done deal a few weeks from then, and looking back on it from this vantage point, it was a trifling reason.  But the reason was there, and Fernando did the work.

At the end of those exertions, Fernando felt very strange in his back, practically not even being able to stand.  He emailed his boss, worker's compensation was applied, and he saw a doctor.  After three weeks of light duty, his back seemed to be better, and no other thought was given to the matter, except for the fact that Fernando wasn't able to work out with his usual strength.

Then it came.  Fernando's official layoff notice was served; his last day of work would be October 4.  Reality sunk in, just a bit, although our prevailing attitude was one of trust in the Lord--we are His children, and He will work His purposes in us.  The reality of unemployment was to be put off for a while, however.

I don't want to be one of those people who love to share all the details of their infirmities, diagnoses, tests, or treatments, and what aches and pains are involved with each of those.  Suffice it to say that health-wise, Fernando slowly went downhill, to the point he ended up in the ER in early September with excruciating back pain.  Back home, he made arrangements to see a surgeon, and to have an MRI, and time dragged on.  Finally, thanks to several helpful people, he ended up back in the ER, then checked in to the hospital for an interminable week, waiting to have an MRI then a cortisone shot.  Follow that up with the back surgeon, and the end result was that back surgery was a necessity.

We agreed that, since insurance covered us through the end of October, Fernando would schedule his surgery to occur just after his last day of work.  So, he came home from Miteq for the last time on October 4, and walked with me into the hospital for surgery on October 11.

In that short week of unemployment, before the day of surgery, Fernando received a phone call from the owner of a satellite uplink company.  This man was enthusiastic about the possibility of Fernando coming to work for him.  Fernando gave assurances that he was indeed interested, but he wanted to take the month of October off.  Not wanting to scare off a potential employer, he didn't mention the surgery and recovery that would take up the month.

Meanwhile, Jacob had returned to school in late August (and thus he missed all the ER hubbub and surgery stuff), Danny had started studies at UIC, and Thomas was full-blown into his football schedule.

#50 - Thomas on the defense!

Joseph and Fernando in the stands during a late September football game.
This was one of the few early games Fernando was able to attend.

For me, September through November was packed with car time--taking Danny to/from the train station every day, and getting Thomas to football practice, math team, and other homeschool activities.  Also, when Fernando was in the ER and/or hospital, I spent much of my time with him--more car time!  I longed for just one full day at home, to the point of not even stepping out of the front door--for anything.  I was weary.

In all of this, though, peace surrounded me.  When the Word calls it incomprehensible, I understood why!  By all rights, I should have been a wreck, emotionally and physically.  And although I was weary, I was at peace.  It surpassed all understanding.  It was peace, and mercy, for each day.  When I awoke, it was there to greet me, surround me, comfort me.  It was enough for that day.  His mercy is truly new each morning!

Sunrise over prairie grass, September 2013.

Click here to continue reading at Part Three.


Back to life,
Christine

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New Every Morning - Part One

The Lord's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,

For His compassions never fail.

They are new every morning;

Great is Your faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:22-23 NASB

Although this blog serves several purposes, one of which is sharing our family's journey, I really haven't shared a lot of details lately.  We have been on a particularly long leg of the journey these past several months, and I suppose now is the time to catch up on our lives.

There's my tea--Forever Spring oolong.  I thought it was fitting to drink of cup of this given the never-ending winter we've been enduring!

On to our story; but, as I share it, I hope you'll see the fingerprints of the Lord all over it and woven through it.  Someone once shared with me the story of the loom--how the Lord is weaving a tapestry of our lives, but what we see woven on our side of the fabric seems a mish-mash of colors, without a discernible pattern, all jumbled with no defining theme.  But, when the Weaver is finished, and turns over His tapestry, what appears is fantastic--a beautifully woven piece, every hue just so.  He is making something beautiful with our lives, and sometimes we can't see it; it appears to be just a messy pile.  That's where trust enters the picture--and that's where we've been these past months.

Now, here is our story, starting in the spring of 2013.

May.  Fernando's employer, Miteq, was up for sale throughout the spring, and we knew that a buyout would possibly/probably mean a layoff for many, including him.  All his co-workers told him he's never get laid off; he was too valuable to the company and to the clients.  Fernando's response was that our Lord could do whatever He pleased in our lives to achieve His purposes.  We weren't worried.  Fernando still had a job, and still brought home a paycheck.

My May garden, planted in faith that we would be here for the harvest.

June.  Our state homeschool convention is the focus for the beginning of this month every year, and once again we were looking forward to all the details that came along with it.  As the Coordinator for Special and Struggling Learners (within our state homeschool organization, ICHE), I am responsible for bringing in a speaker (or more) to address topics pertinent to parents who homeschool special needs and struggling students.  On Wednesday the 5th, ICHE kicked off the convention with their speaker banquet, and then the convention ran from Thursday through Saturday the 8th.

Just before the banquet, I got a phone call from Fernando:  Miteq had been bought (it would not be made public until July).  Certain (few) employees had been called in to Human Resources, but not Fernando.  Like most of the other employees, he received a large manila envelope.  He was being terminated.  The notice stated that he would be guaranteed work through the end of August, and would be laid off by the end of November.  This news was huge and my mind couldn't comprehend the timing--did the Lord not know that it was the very beginning of the convention?  How were we supposed to function throughout 3 1/2 solid days of taking care of speakers, attending/overseeing workshops, talking to people, coordinating schedules...??  Ultimately, I knew that the Lord was in complete control, and I would have to trust that His grace was sufficient.  And it was.

Fernando and I were supposed to present a workshop together on Thursday; however,Fernando had to go in to work to take care of all the paperwork involved in the transfer of ownership.  I would have to do the workshop alone.  At lunchtime that day in the speaker cafeteria, I opened my Bible and right there, shining out from the book of Psalms, was the conclusion of what I would present later that day in the workshop!  I scribbled down notes, thanking the Lord for His mercy the whole time.

A June sunset from the comfort of home.

There was a blessing in the busy-ness of our state convention; I didn't think about it until the weekend ended and I had time to sit down, breathe, and look back.  God's timing had been perfect, and I had to trust His timing by seemingly blind faith.

When I finally looked back, I was flooded with thankfulness at His incredible mercy--for, just when I could have been overwhelmed with worry, wondering what we would do, how things would turn out, the Lord had given me a job to do.  That job--the convention--would keep me busy beyond belief, just as it does for a week every June.  I had no time, not even a minute, to dwell on the uncertainty that had come crashing into our lives.  I wasn't just busy, either, with my daily routine.  I was doing the Lord's special work that week--encouraging others, sharing with them, praying with them, counseling them, as they faced their own uncertainties with their special and struggling children.  What a joy to be about the Lord's unique work for the week, and to not even have time to worry about my own life!

To conclude this Part One of our story, I want to share the Scripture the Lord gave me for that Thursday workshop.  It was the final section of my talk, and the part where I should have sat back and let Fernando do some talking!  This section of my presentation was titled God Will Provide.  Although it pertained to our journey with sweet Joseph who has autism, there was a bigger meaning to His Word, as we began this unknown, unwritten new chapter in our life.

God will provide faith where there is none.

It is a trustworthy statement:  For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him;

If we endure, we will also reign with Him;

If we deny Him, He also will deny us;

If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.

2 Timothy 2:11-13

God will provide strength when yours runs out.

As for God, His way is blameless;

The word of the Lord is tried;

He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.

For who is God, but the Lord?

And who is a rock, except our God,

The God who girds me with strength

And makes my way blameless?

He makes my feet like hinds' feet,

And sets me upon my high places.

He trains my hands for battle,

So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

You have also given me the shield of Your salvation,

And Your right hand upholds me;

And Your gentleness makes me great.

You enlarge my steps under me,

And my feet have not slipped.

Psalm 18:30-36

God will provide the next step on a darkened pathway.

When I question if He'll be there, and where His hand will lead me...

Even there Your hand will lead me,

And Your right hand will lay hold of me,

If I say, "Surely the darkness will overwhelm me,

And the light around me will be night,"

Even the darkness is not dark to You,

And the night is as bright as the day.

Darkness and light are alike to You.

Psalm 139:10-12

Onward to Part Two.


Back to life,
Christine
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Furniture from Friends

March 31.

Friends moved away.  *sniff*  I really miss Becky now, but I've got some "pieces" of her, physical ones outside the treasured friendship in my heart.  We helped Becky's family pack up, then pack some more, get rid of things, de-clutter, pack some more...

Packing and moving is a tedious process, and I don't want to do it any time soon.  I sure hope I don't have to.  Anyway, Tim and Becky gave us two dressers--one tall chest of drawers, which went into Joseph's/Jacob's bedroom, and one long dresser, which went into Danny's/Thomas' bedroom.  Before that, though, they gave us an end table with an attached lamp.  I found the perfect spot for it, and I think of the S. family every time I sit in my family room.

We had a nightstand my grandpa made for me, and that was between the two single chairs.  It served its purpose well, and held all of Thomas' schoolbooks, which was better than having them strewn all over the floor.  Those two holes you see in the back of the nightstand were ones I cut out very long ago, I think to hold cords for my alarm clock and something else I can't remember.  We moved the nightstand into the dining room for a little extra storage in a corner.

Now I just need a beautiful canvas photograph on the wall!

In order for the boys to have dressers in their rooms, one big "dresser" had to be removed (from Danny's/Thomas' room).

Want a dresser/chest of drawers?  We're selling it for only $30!  Let me know!  :)

Now, my big strong guys muscled the long dresser up and into the younger guys' room.

Yeah, the walls are blue.  Very blue.  We painted it in an ocean theme many years ago, and now the guys are grown and have outgrown it.  But we don't have new paint.  Maybe when the move out?  Oh, well, they usually just read and sleep in there, so it doesn't matter too much.  :)

One day when Jacob and Danny were gone for the day, and Fernando was training at his new (hopefully) job, I got Joseph and Thomas to carry the chest of drawers up to Joseph's/Jacob's room.

Okay, so those are Thomas' shorts sticking out from his sweat pants.  Just fyi.

Oh, I'm so totally sure you're marveling at that pile of clothes on Jacob's bed.  He and Joseph have captain's beds, with four drawers, but Jacob's clothes seemed to never make their way into those drawers.  He claimed they were full.  ;)

This chest of drawers is basically Jacob's.  He was very thankful that I organized all his clothes inside.  I hope they're still at least inside the drawers and not all over.  One can hope!

And now I have physical reminders of my treasured friend who moved away!


Back to life,
Christine

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What is a Food Buying Co-op??

A few days ago, I posted about cleaning up our Bomb Shelter.  In that post, I mentioned co-op delivery day.  Here's the answer to your question, which would be, "What is co-op delivery day??"  (In case you were unsure.)

A friend started a bulk dry goods buying co-op, and I joined in order to get dry goods--rice, wheat berries, rolled oats, etc.--in bulk at great prices.  She worked with a company in Michigan which delivered to her house on a monthly basis (or whenever she ordered).  Once she disbanded the co-op, she encouraged me to start the same one, with my own rules--which is a great thing you can do when you run a co-op!

Here's how I run ours.  First of all, I really could order by myself, if I met the $400 minimum order required by this company.  That minimum must be met, or there is a delivery fee.  I could order and pay the fee, too, but since there were a handful of us still wanting to order, I was happy to create the co-op.

We order from Country Life Natural Foods, based in Michigan.  You can click on that link, then click on Online Store to see the types of products they offer.  This company is a dairy-free one, so no refrigerated or dairy products.  They are a Christian company, however, and I love being able to support their business.  They offer organic and non-organic products, so that may be a consideration for you.  Plus, they deliver right to my door!

Another great plus for them is that I don't have to order every month, or even on a set schedule.  So, we order every two months, which seems to work for our little group.  If we don't meet the minimum order, I simply send out an email and let the group know, and we'll delay the order another month.

Here's a screen snippet of our order form, which I created using Google Drive:

It's an Excel-type document, so I can total orders, and everything is neat and tidy.  The above snippet is from a completed order, so it doesn't look like that at first.  The first step for me is to create a new sheet for the current order--you can see the order dates along the bottom--our upcoming order date will be in May.

I usually put my name and my cell phone number in the above form, because my cell phone is the easiest way for co-op members to get hold of me if they have issues filling out the order form, or with pricing, the Country Life website, etc.  Lately, I've included our route # (unique to CLNF) on this form so I don't forget the order deadline for our particular delivery route!  (Order deadlines are different for each route that CLNF has.)  I also include my customer number there now, so that if I need to call them (and they're super friendly and helpful), I have my customer number handy.

Once the current blank order form is ready, I click on Share, which in the Google Drive document is in the upper right corner.  It gives me a link to this Google doc so I can share it with others.  By the way, you can create private documents, but I've set this one so that others can view and edit it with a link.  That way, co-op members have access to it and can add items whenever they want or need to throughout the month up until the order deadline.  I do a control+C to copy the link, and I include that link in an email to our group (I've created a group email that goes out to everyone with one click).  Once I've sent the link out, everyone can access the doc and type in their orders!

On CLNF's website, I click their Online Store to shop for what I need.  I've set the document up for item number, description, quantity, price, and extended price.  I set the deadline for ordering on the Monday before the actual CLNF ordering deadline (usually a Wednesday), to give me a little leeway to actually place the order, and to give a little grace to anyone who may want to add something at the last minute.

Usually on Wednesday morning, I go into the doc and print it.  I order whatever is on there.  My policy for our members is that Monday is the deadline, and whatever is in there when I print it (on Tuesday or Wednesday) is what I'll order.  I don't want anyone to get mad at me because they put something in there after I printed it and ordered the items!  So I have a printed copy for my records.  This has never been an issue, since we have only six or seven members, but if the group grows, I want to already have the policy in place.

After I've printed the order form out, I simply input the item numbers at the CLNF website, on their order form.  It pulls up the description, so if someone's item number doesn't match their description, I can go in and fix the item number to match.  It's just a little extra something I do.  If it tells me an item is back ordered, for example, I put a "BO" in the column to the right of the price (in my Google doc order form).  I also adjust prices up or down accordingly, with a note in that same "Notes" column so members can see when they access the document to see the total price they owe.

Here in Illinois, we're required to collect food sales tax for items ordered out of state, so I do that once I get the actual order in.  I also require that members pay upon pickup--no payment, no pickup.  I then go ahead and place the order, and put the total on my credit card.  Other co-op clubs require payment up front, or with PayPal, or some other method.  I know everyone in our club, so this isn't an issue.  (I don't want to say yet!)  Another plus of running the co-op is being able to set the payment and finance side of things up the way I want them to be run.

I place the order on a Wednesday, and I usually get a friendly phone call that Friday with a delivery date and approximate time.

Now comes the fun part!  Kevin, our driver, usually shows up within a half hour of the given delivery time.  The sound of his truck is distinct, so someone usually hollers out that he's here with the order.  There's his truck outside our house!

He spends a few minutes getting paperwork together, then heads to the back of the truck to get the first load--whatever boxes will fit on his dolly.

Kevin brings everything right up to our front door!  Or, to our garage but since it snowed and the garage floor was wet, we wanted the order inside (plus it was a smaller order).  He was chatting with me as he walked up, wondering why I was snapping pictures, but once I explained I was going to blog about our co-op, he was enthusiastic about me getting all the right pictures!

My guys are helpful to bring in everything so Kevin doesn't have to lug it all in where I want it and set each thing down.

He actually posed for the below, while Joseph is wondering Why doesn't Mr. Kevin just hand me the box??

And there you have it!  But we're not done.  I go through the order form (usually Joseph does all this stuff for me; he's so helpful) and separate out each person's order, marking higher/lower prices, back-ordered items, etc. right in the Google doc order form.  Then I calculate tax and type in each person's final total amount due.

Next, I print out the complete order form with tax and totals due, and cut out each person's order.  That cut-out "receipt" gets taped on each person's order so that we can double-check payment when she comes to pick up her order.  Oh--and I determine the pick-up day, too!  In the screen snippet above, you noticed there was one pick-up day; I've changed that now so that as soon as everything is sorted and the order form is done, I email out the completed form with totals due, and let everyone know that she can pick up her order from that time through Friday--so it's usually Wednesday through Friday.  I ask the members to call me to make sure I'll be home when they want to come.  This gives everyone flexibility--I can plan my days however I want, and everyone can come when it suits (within my three-day timeframe).

I also stipulate that if someone can't pick up their order, to make arrangements with me before she places her order.  Most of the ladies in our club go to my church, so if the order isn't too large, I can bring it to church for someone if she really needs me to.  But, I always ask that she contact me to make sure it's feasible for me to do that before she places her order and assumes I will.

My co-op order waiting to be sorted out in our Bomb Shelter.

Co-op orders awaiting pick-up.

Benefits of our particular co-op.

• I can place orders on a monthly, bi-monthly, or whenever-I-want basis.
• Bulk prices are usually better (but not always!).
• Country Life delivers to my door.
• Members pick up right at my house.
• Our Google doc order form is convenient--any time I'm running low on an item, I type it into the current order.
• The entire process, outside of pick-up day, is online.  I usually get paid by check, so I do have to visit the bank--no big deal for me as it's two blocks from home.
• I get to be a blessing to others!

I know this post is longer and more involved than most of my posts and I've also probably left out a detail or two.  If you have questions, please type them below in the comment box, and I'll answer them!  I hope you have the blessing of being able to set up a bulk goods co-op in your area!!



Back to life,
Christine

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His Castle - More Pretty in my Pantry!

After creating decorative organizing boxes with Mod Podge for my pantry, I decided to go at it again and finish everything that I started.  You can click on the link for details of how I actually made the boxes.  Today I'm just sharing the really final, finished product with you.  :)

The longer boxes that stick out from the shallow metal shelving units are tuna boxes from Costco.  I have absolutely no compunction about standing there in the store, emptying the wrapped 12-packs of tuna onto the next shelf, and taking the empty boxes.  I even got my mom to do it!

The shorter boxes are Quaker oatmeal packet boxes (Fernando likes them for a quick breakfast, and Costco had them on sale for an excellent price).  I cut them down, and cut out the slot on the front for easy reach-in capability.

I labeled my boxes very generically, in case I stock up on different items.  Right now, a lot of what's in that box below on the left is spices.  I don't know how I acquired so many!  I just love Penzey's Spices!!

You can tell I love blue.  I have tons of various blue scrapbook paper (12x12") that I was able to cull from for these pretty boxes.  Barring a real pantry (meaning real shelves instead of metal), I love my beautifully organized pantry!


Back to life,
Christine

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His Castle - Hyper Organizing in the Bomb Shelter

A few days ago I posted about cleaning up the Bomb Shelter.  Today I'm going to share with you what I do when I'm in the mood to organize.  It's pretty much organizing for beauty.  I definitely love things to be organized, but when they're beautifully organized, it's something really special.  Let me show you.

After picking things up down here in the basement, I wanted things to be labeled.  It's so much easier to find things that way.  And although I've labeled buckets and such with permanent marker, it just wasn't that pretty.  Today was the day to prettify it.  :)

To create pretty labels, I used the same computer font and style that I did when I used Mod Podge to create labels to beautify my pantry.  I used a bigger size table box and font, because these were bigger buckets, and I wanted to be able to read them without having to get up close.

I used borders around each label so that I had a line on which to cut straight.

For these, I used simple packing tape.  I use scissors to cut off the edges made with the tape cutter--those jagged edges tend to stick out and get dirty, thus wrecking my pretty handiwork.  These labels were large enough that I used two rows of packing tape, covering first the top half of the label, then the bottom half.  They weren't perfectly taped, but close enough that I can't tell when looking at them.

Here are my finished buckets!  You can see the handwritten "pintos" on that one, though.  I think I forgot to print a label for that one!


Back to life,
Christine

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