Intentional

I have had this word running through my head the last few days. I want to be intentional in my relationships. I want to take time out of my busy schedule to make an effort to visit people and to tell them/show them how important they are to me. I want to be intentional when it comes to sending cards of sympathy, encouragement or just because. I want to be a genuine friend.

Being far away from family and all my closest friends has made me realize the relationships that I thought were strong, may not have been. There were a lot of comments about keeping in touch and getting together, but that seems to go to the wayside. I know that life gets busy and time slips away, but I am going to make the effort. From today on, I will be intentional.

Grandparents

I am missing my grandparents today. I found a box of old pictures that were in their house and it has caused a lot of memories to flood my mind. I am lucky to have had such an incredible relationship with both my grandparents.

This picture was taken at their annual anniversary dinner in either 2003 or 2004.

FREE!

I love free things. Recently, Glidden paint was offering a free quart of paint (sorry, it expired on 7-2-09). You could go their website and choose a color and they would ship it to you... all for free!!! Since I have walls that need paint, I accepted the offer. My paint arrived today and I am SO excited to see it on the walls to decide exactly where it will go and/or if I need more. I really liked the sample on their website, but I know once I get it on the wall, the lighting in the room may change my decision. I am hopeful that it will work.

https://www.glidden.com/color/color-palette.do

I choose Olivewood (top right section on the color palette, then left side of the sample board that comes up).

Tracy

I am worried about a dear friend of mine. We have known each other a long time... I first met her when I was a junior in high school and she was a senior. We had the joy of working together at the court for seven years and that is where our friendship blossomed. Our friendship has lasted over 20 years... we have enough 'dirt' on each other, we have to stay friends forever. :-) I recently heard a quote that is so perfect for us: "Our friendship is a little like the Mafia... we have far too much information for either of us to ever get out!"

I cannot imagine my life without Tracy. She is the first person I call when I have exciting news and/or when I need a mental check. She tells me the truth, even when I don't want to hear it. But, deep down, I need that truth. Tracy understands my mixed up/crazy family and she helps me to sort through the mess and chaos and remind me that my job is to protect my heart and do what is best for me and my family. On the days when that task seems unbearable, she is there to lend an ear or give me words to get through it. Tracy is my sister from another mother.
Anyway, Tracy has become a bit of a medical mystery. There is something serious going on with her liver and, quite honestly, it scares me. I know I should not be anxious or scared, but when it comes to someone that I consider a sister, it is often difficult.

I am just having 'a moment' today... feeling very homesick and anxious. I know God has a Plan and He is control of all this, but I am only human and I want to try and control this. Tracy reminds me all the time that I cannot control everything (but I try).

So, I am giving this 100% to the One that can and will control this. God, comfort my sister and provide wisdom for the doctors. I trust You will bring Glory in all this.

Yard Projects

We have multiple projects in the works, but one of them is a simple one (kinda). We are laying 12" square pavers on the side of the house for easy access for the motorcycle and for extra parking. We have had to lay each paver level to the grade of the land (would have required equipment rental to level the entire side yard, an expense we didn't want to do since it won't be used a whole lot).













This was the side yard in the spring of 2008 after the snow melted.













This was in June of 2008 after part of the fence was put in and the shed was placed.













This shows the electrical stuff we are gonna hide, and the lower portion of the fence. We did not do the fence -- the neighbor did. This small section is the only part that looks decent.


Today we finally started adding gravel and it is starting to look complete. More pictures will be coming once I can download them.

Surgery Update

Surgery did not happen after all. While we are disappointed, the most important thing is that Aynslee is safe and okay and that is what matters.

Aynslee was extremely nervous so they decided to give her a general, rather than the conscious sedation. The anesthesiologist nurse felt like it would be better in case something went wrong. They wheeled her back to surgery at 7:44am and came out about 45 minutes later. I asked Dr. Woodman how it went and he said she puked after she went to sleep so they didn't do it, the risk did not outweigh the benefit. They had to wake her up and make sure she was okay and didn't aspirate on the puke. As a precaution, to make sure her lungs were clear, they had a chest x-ray. The x-ray came back clear. We hung out for a bit to make sure her vitals remained where they needed to and then they let us go home. Surgery will be rescheduled and we will do it at Mary Bridge since they are prepared for kids.. and we didn't have problems the first surgery. They gave her a medication that gives her amnesia, she did not realize completely that she did not have surgery until almost two hours after the whole ordeal began.


We were blessed with an incredible team of nurses and a wonderful doctor. Dr. Woodman was scheduled to leave on vacation last night, but he called us twice before he left to make sure Aynslee was doing okay since she had a low-grade fever at one point.

Surgery will be rescheduled at some point. As I said above, we are just glad that Aynslee is safe and healthy.

Surgery

Tomorrow is a day that we have been anxiously awaiting... Aynslee will have surgery to repair her droopy eyelid. When Aynslee had her first surgery in December 2005, we knew there was a chance we would be down this road again. Luckily, Dr. Woodman prepared us for this. We met with him in December 2008, but due to a misunderstanding with the medical insurance company and lost paperwork, we did not get approve until March 2009.

We have to be in Tacoma at 6:45am, but surgery is not until 7:45. Tonight, Aynslee is a little nervous, but excited. I am praying the bruising is minimal, although I have been warned multiple times to expect it due to how they do the surgery. Some how (I don't want to know, for fear of being totally grossed out) they attach her eyelid to her eyebrow. She will be awake during surgery through conscious sedation. The goal is to head home Friday morning.

For those that read this blog, your prayers would be appreciated.

I will post pictures tomorrow of the before and after.

Yippee!

I know I haven't blogged in awhile... again. Guess too many other things that I think about doing instead of journaling the comings and goings of our life here in Wenatchee. I post pictures to Facebook regularly, which seems to be easier than doing them here.

Anyway, the reason for my excitment is because right now, as I type, SIX gallons of paint are sitting in the entry way awaiting our time/energy to color our walls! Yes, it is an exciting day in the Climer house. Okay, well, maybe in my world it is exciting, but not in Ken's. He is a man and he doesn't get the whole "decorating" thing. Whatever. At least the nice lady at Home Depot was helpful in helping me fine-tune my color choices and excited for me. :-)

Winter Concerts

The girls are all involved in music this year. Carissa is in the choir, Aynslee plays the clarinet and Demaris is playing the viola (violin strung as a viola). We recently had school concerts and here are the pictures of our little musicians.

Let It Snow...

We love the snow. We always have. It is one of the many reasons why we chose to move to Wenatchee. There has been a snow storm the last couple days throughout the state. These pictures reflect the snow fall we have received up through 12/21.

Pretty

Here is a picture of our house in the twilight... Ken did an excellent job of hanging the lights nice and straight.

First Snow

The first snow of the season hit on Friday, December 12th. It was an exciting time... the kittens were curious about the "white stuff" all over the yard and sidewalk. I took a couple pictures of the snow and the tree to share.














Our Christmas tree (notice the snow in the background)














Our kittens, Tudball and Delilah, under the tree.














Saddlerock with the first snow (this is the view from our front porch)














Tudball and Delilah on the porch looking at the snow... trying to decide what to do with it.

A House Project

We are adding a wall to create an office for Ken since he works from home.

The first two pictures show the start of the project, with the pictures being taken on Sunday. The second pictures were taken today and show the major progress Ken has made in getting the wall framed. Sound board and drywall will hopefully go up this weekend.

Blogging Lapse

As much as I try to avoid it, it happened again... the blogging lapse. As I am sitting here in a very quiet and dark house, I am thankful. Yes, it is the last day of the Thanksgiving four-day weekend, but even if it weren't, I think I would still be able to say I am thankful.

I am thankful for a husband and three beautiful daughters. I am thankful for three cats that are more than just pets.... even if one of them wakes us up in the middle of the night on a regular basis. I am thankful for a friend that received the news that the house they have been waiting for will close this week (the family of five and four pets have been living in a hotel for WAY too long). I am thankful that I was able to give back this holiday to a group of ladies at a retirement center. The day brought so much joy to them, and even more to my family.

As the busy holiday season approaches, I am making a effort to slow down and simplify things. I will also try and remember to blog more often.

Homecoming

Our first baby went to Homecoming this year. At first, she wasn't going to, but then she found out a group of her friends were going... single... no boys (Ken thought that was the best part). We have a joke running through our house that boys are gross and yucky until they are 30... we will enjoy it while we can.























Anyway, I took Carissa to get her hair done special for the day. It took 75 minutes to get it done and it turned out fabulous. She wore her hair up to church today -- partly because of all the pins that we needed to dig out and partly because of the need to scrub all the hairspray out of it. In the end, we found 55 hair pins!

Birthday Surprise

BarlowGirl was in concert in East Wenatchee last night and we were able to attend. What a cool birthday present for me!

No focus today

With everything that has happened this week, I can't seem to stay focused on simple tasks. It seems my mind is constantly wandering. I have been reminded almost daily of funny things Grandpa and Grandma used to say or do. So, as I sit here--in a quiet house--and try to do my homework for Financial Peace University, I am overcome with memories. Not just memories of Grandpa and Grandma; I heard from my dear friend Callie that they have sold their house and my mind wanders to our past... all the silly things we did as teenagers and how God has restored our friendship to something way deeper than I could have ever hoped for. I am reflecting on the positive things that have resulted in the passing of both my grandparents: a healing in a relationship with my aunt and my cousin that has been troubling me for 15 years. I have known that God is good and He can change hearts and move mountains, but it is exciting to experience it first hand. Now, if only I could do the homework that I need to do before tomorrow evening!

Grandpa

Monday was the day I had been dreading. For four years, we have known that this day would come sooner than we wanted. Oh, we tried to prepare, but when you receive the call that a loved one has passed away, it doesn't make the news any easier to take.

My grandpa, William "Cowboy" Smith joined Grandma in heaven early Monday morning. He has missed her so much and wanted to be with her more than ever. I am glad he is where his heart is, even if it leaves those here on earth sad.

I will miss my grandpa's voice. It was deep and held conviction and love. He had a funny laugh that I can't describe to you, but it was a sound that I loved, even as a child. Grandpa had an amazing lap and "his" chair was wonderful. Whenever we would visit, we would find him in his chair. How fitting to hear that he took his last breath in "his" chair.

This picture was not a very good one, but it shows Grandpa with me and my girls. We were in Seattle to see the Nutcracker, so we stopped by Grandpa's afterwards.

We will miss you Grandpa, but we know you are rejoicing with Grandma... your beloved Ginnie.

Redirection

Let me start off by saying I firmly believe God has a sense of humor! I also think that when we make mistakes or try to do things our own way, He has a way of redirecting us. I can say now that this has happened to me twice within the past six months.

In April, I was offered a job at a company that felt like it would be okay. It used my skills and they were eager for someone that knew how to be organized and how to organize others. That would be me. Only after I accepted the position, which was on a Friday afternoon, I felt so sick all weekend. I could not shake the feeling that I had made a huge mistake. Finally after a lot of prayer, I felt God telling me I needed to decline the offer. I did and instantly felt peace.

Fast forward to the end of July. After many months of job searching, I interview and accepted a position with a company. Everything felt so right. But, obviously, God has a different plan for me because a position within the school district opened up. After 17 days of working at my new job, I resigned today. I will begin working as a secretary at Wenatchee High School.

As I type this, I don't regret anything that has happened to get me to this place. I learned a lot of new skills at the job I just left... skills that I hope will prove beneficial to me. It has always been my goal to me employed within the school district -- it provides so much for my family and gets me closer to my dream of becoming an elementary school teacher.

High School already?

Time has certainly flown by. It seems just yesterday this adorable tiny girl with a ton of hair was handed to me -- wrapped in a pink blanket. Wasn't it just yesterday she started to walk and then talk non-stop?

In one week, my little girl starts high school. She is already thinking about high school dances, high school play auditions and learning to drive. Wow, like the first two weren't enough???

Those that told me time flies were so right... I kept thinking they were just trying to scare me or something. But, it is so true. I can't believe she is already 14 and high school is just around the corner, literally. I want to treasure every moment and help her to become the young woman that God has planned. I know he has amazing plans for Carissa (as well as her sisters, but today's blog is all about Carissa) -- she can do anything.

I am proud of you Miss Riss.... remember you can accomplish whatever dream you put ahead of yourself. You are strong and couragous... remember that motto we came up with? You may be tiny, but you are mighty! Carissa, your heavenly Father loves and adores you as much (or more) than we do. Enjoy high school and all the adventures that it will bring.

Love, Momma