Jun. 23, 2009
Moving out!
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We are finishing up the packing today and the moving truck gets loaded tomorrow! We are finishing up all the last minute details. |
Jun. 20, 2009
Packing, packing and more packing
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My world right now is revolving around packing up our place. It really is coming along. Packing up a house of six people is a big job. In the midst of our packing, the world still goes on. People are still hurting and needing God's love. Paul got one of those phone calls and is out caring for some hurting folks right now. We have prayed that God would use us to love people and point them to Him. After 15 years of marriage that is still our heart. We want to see God at work in people and to be available to be used by Him. I pray that never changes. The boys are all sleeping now and the house is quiet. It is nice in the midst of chaos to have a few minutes of stillness. Tomorrow is Father's Day and we have some simple things planned for Paul. We are looking forward to it. I am off to spend some time reading and praying. Hope you have a great Father's Day! |
Jun. 15, 2009
Weekend in Review!
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This weekend brought an end to baseball season for us. Michael's last game was Saturday and unfortunately the lost. We have had a great season! Allergy season has hit pretty strong and my allergy medicine is not doing the trick. Thankfully, the last two days have brought rain and that seems to have helped some. Saturday, Paul took our three oldest boys rock climbing! They all had a great time. I will try to get some pictures on our Loeffler family pictures page. Sunday after church, Paul and I dropped off our boys at four different homes and took off to celebrate a belated 15th anniversary. It was so nice to get away. We had a fabulous time up at a friend's cabin up at Seeley Lake. It was great. We just got back this afternoon and all the boys seem to have had a fabulous time, too. Tonight, Paul is off at a board meeting. I got the boys to bed and then packed a few more boxes. We are getting there slowly but surely. |
Jun. 10, 2009
Answered prayer!
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George Muller tells the story of God's provision while running an orphanage and their heater died. George prayed for God's provision of worker and that God would give the men a heart to work. God provided and the men worked through the night because they did not want the orphans to be cold in the upcoming winter storm. (and no I am not doing this story justice, but I wanted to give you the jest of it.) I was feeling frustrated yesterday morning. One of the things that we have to fix on the house for the house sell is a broken fence post. I got a reasonable estimate from a guy and he was suppose to come this past weekend and look at it. He forgot. I called him yesterday and he said that he couldn't come until next weekend. I had called lots of fencing companies last week and had been given estimates that all over the board price wise. I recalled George Muller's story and prayed that God would give as a fence guy with a heart to work. I felt a little silly but prayed it anyway. I called the next lowest estimate company and the guy said that he would come and take a look and give us an actual estimate. He was at our place within the hour. His estimate was a hundred dollars more than the original estimate. We asked if we dug out the fence post if he would come down some. He said that we would come down $50 dollars. So he called the "call before you dig" people and said that he would be back maybe Thursday. The water line people came right after lunch and said no problem, go ahead and dig. So Michael and I dug up the old fence post. So about three o'clock, I called the fence guy and told him that what was done and that it was ready for him whenever he could make it out. So then I went out to the store and found packing boxes and got some groceries. When I returned home the fence guy was half done repairing the fence! I had to head back to the store to pick up more boxes and on the way I prayed to God that if he was over charging us for this job that he would come down. I returned home and he was finishing up. Then he came to the house and handed me a bill for the original estimate! And the job is finished in a single day! Praise be to God! He is our faithful provider! He gives men a heart for work and works out the details of our lives! |
Jun. 5, 2009
Days of transition.
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Last night was our end of the year party with the Berean Club (our jr. high group). We did a BBQ out at the Malcolms; played crazy games; played in the pond; shared a bit of our hearts; and had smores around the campfire. It was great fun. We have finished school and have begun packing. Our house is set to close June 26 and our last day at the church will be July 5. It is starting to warm up and feel like summer. Yea!!!! We are in the middle of transition and I am not blogging as much these days. But I will try to keep you up to date when I can. If you get an urge to pack boxes or clean house, come on over and I will put you to work!  |
May. 21, 2009
Reason to Celebrate!
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Today, Paul and I have been married for 15 years!!! What a gift from God! I am so loved and blessed by my husband. He is such a great man of God. We have a great marriage. We are in this great adventure together and it is good. |
May. 19, 2009
Deep thoughts from a ladies tea.
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Last night, I attended a lovely ladies tea at our church! In the middle of it though, God showed me an interesting picture. We had our meal and the program was beginning and the servers were coming around with trays each with a different fabulous tiny dessert. The program begins with some very worshipful songs and I begin to turn my mind and heart to worship God. But... I keep being interrupted by servers offering me lovely tiny desserts to sample, which I really did want to sample. What a picture of real life. The more we try to engage with the heart of God, the more worldly, lovely things come a long to try to distract us from the better choice of connecting with God's heart. By the time the servers were done, so were the worship songs. I felt like I had been cheated out of a chance to connect with my God. What a picture of my world sometimes. I really do want to engage with my God and life tends to invade that time. We really are in a battle. Sometimes we really have to fight simply to spend time with God. Satan above all wants us not to connect with our God, because we truly are changed when we spend time with Him. |
May. 19, 2009
Praying for the little things.
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We lost Mark's reading book. It is about 400 pages and it is his primary book for reading for school. For the last five days, we have been searching everywhere. I have cleaned every drawer, looked in every room, even behind dressers. I have called everyplace that we have been for the last two weeks and haven't found it anywhere. So today, I finally stopped in the middle of tearing the house about looking for it, not sure where else to look. I prayed that God would help us to find it. And wouldn't you know it, within five minutes we found it! God can accomplish in minutes what takes us days trying in our own strength! |
May. 17, 2009
Busy days.
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Was it really April the last time I blogged??? How time does fly! I think I have been going none stop since then. Paul has resigned his position at Lolo Community Church. His last day will be July 5. We are not sure where we are headed yet, but believe that God has said that it is time to go. So our house is on the market and we are trusting God to provide a buyer. In the mean time, we are working hard to finish well here. So on top of finishing up school, we have been doing repairs and keeping the house clean so it can show. We have had lots of lookers but no serious offers yet. We only have 7 days left of school but with family coming for a visit and a conference coming up, we won't be done until June 2. We are busy most nights with baseball. That is going well. This weekend, I did an over-nighter at the church for our junior high girls. We had so much fun. When I came home Saturday, my thoughtful and beloved husband had cleaned the house and taken the boys away, so I came home to a quiet house and got to nap for a couple of hours. I was so touched and grateful for his thoughtfulness. He really is the best. In the afternoon, I finished expanding our strawberry patch and transplanted our over crowded strawberry plants. It looks good. I haven't got anything else planted yet. I am not sure if I am going to, with the planned move ahead. It really feels strange not to be planting the garden. I really do enjoy our place. God has blessed us with a really great home. |
Apr. 27, 2009
Finishing up!
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I sat down today and figured out that we will finish up with school on Tuesday, June 2! (assuming that nothing major comes up!) That is a few weeks later than normal for us, but we have had quite a few interruptions this year. But with the current temperature outside 48 degrees and tomorrows forecast of a high of 36 and 1 to 3 inches of snow expected, I am not having my normal spring fever and eagerness to get done. So that is good. My tulips are just starting to come up so it doesn't feel like late spring yet. Friends are talking about planting their gardens and my mind hasn't even gone there yet. Baseball season is going well, albeit, a little cool. The boys are doing well and having fun. |
Apr. 7, 2009
Warm weather at last!
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Wow! We have really switched a switch here. We have literally gone from cold and snow every morning to it is 70 degrees out! AAAAH! It feels so nice! Benjamin has a bit of a sunburn already too, from being out at baseball practice. Yes - this feels much more like baseball season! |
Mar. 19, 2009
Free time!
I know I have a ton of things to do but I have lost my "to do" list. I guess I don't have anything to do! |
Mar. 13, 2009
And so it begins!
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Tonight was try outs for little league baseball. Mark tried out for the minors and Michael for the Majors. Michael's coach called just a few minutes ago and he was drafted to the team that I was hoping he would make. His coach was the assistant coach on last year's team and we really liked him. Plus Michael is on a team with friends!!! This is an important fact because Matthew is playing, too, on coach-pitch. They don't have to try out. So I have three boys playing on three different leagues, so friends headed the same direction of at least one of my boys is great. Needless to say we are going to be doing baseball around here! Hopefully, I am still smiling by June! I just got another phone call from Mark's coach. Not sure who this guy is but I am sure that we will meet him. Practice starts Tuesday. Now I just need to hear from Matthew's coach. I think he is feeling a little left out since he did not try out. We got in the car tonight and he said "Why didn't I do anything?" The joys of being younger. Hopefully the coach pitch teams won't start much later than the other teams. And so, I am sure that you will be hearing more about baseball soon! |
Mar. 9, 2009
ROSES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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There are roses sitting on my kitchen table. They are beautiful! My husband brought them home today to encourage me! I have been so blessed by my husband. He has never stopped courting me even after we were married. We will have been married 15 years this May! He is quick to help out around the house. He loves to do little notes and things for me. He is the first to complain if we haven't had a date in awhile. I know that I am loved and valued by him. I also know that he prays for me. God gave me such a fantastic gift when I married my husband. I am truly blessed. And yes, the roses have added a smile to my day! |
Feb. 22, 2009
It's Dead Again!
My hard drive on my computer died again - yes, the one we replace at the end of Nov.  It is still under warranty and the new one is on the way, but Boy am I so not excited. |
Feb. 22, 2009
Matthew is seven!
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My Matthew turned 7 on Thursday. We had his party on Saturday. When he woke up all the boys came and crawled into bed with us - I think it's time for a king size bed! So we laid there and talked for awhile and then eventually we told Matthew that his first present was down in Dad's office. So of course, he and his brothers go running down to Dad's office where Grammy and Grandpa are sleeping. They were all so excited. It was so great to have them here! They only got to stay until after church today but it was sure great to be with them. We had a kid party for Matthew Saturday afternoon and it was great fun. I hope to get pictures in our album soon. Yea for Grammy who remembered to take pictures! |
Feb. 14, 2009
Happy Valentine's Day!
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Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I hope your day is special and full of love! Know that you are special and deeply loved by the God of the Universe. I pray that you have experienced His love. If not I would love to talk to you about how much he loves you. Valentine's Day in our house started off rough. My 9 year old woke up crying with a bad ear ache. So he and Dad headed off for the walk in clinic. Not fun. My four year old just finished his antibotics for his ear infection - when we took him in the doctor said his ear drum was about to burst. Not fun. His ear is great now but he still has the cold, although he is doing the best out of all of us. If you own stock in Kleenex, we are making you a profit! I fixed bacon and eggs for the rest of us for breakfast and the other boys are in the front room playing Sponge Bob Life. I love it when they play well together. We have cupcakes left over from youth group last night so the boys will have sweets. This is the first year in a really, really long time that I haven't baked goodies for Valentine's Day. I can not seem to kick this cold. Last night I crashed before the boys were asleep. The whole family has this silly cold to one degree or another. The teenager that I think I caught it from has had her cold for five weeks. That is ridiculous. I have been trying all sorts of things and not much has helped. So what is your favorite home remedy for a cough and sore throat? These are things we have already done: gargling with salt water, using a humidifier, using an extra pillow, saline nasal spray, warm showers, allergy medicine, robitussin cf, nightquil, hot tea with honey and lemon, honey and cinnamon, getting a new tooth brush, cough drops, eating spicy foods, and using colloidal silver. So do you have any other great home remedy??? Let me know. I think we should all just go some place hot and sunny and lay in the sun for awhile, although to accomplish that in February we would have to travel quite a ways. Is it warm where you are? It is 16 degrees here right now but nice and warm in the house. |
Feb. 13, 2009
Quote of the day!
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My oldest son, Michael, who is 11, announced at the lunch table today: "When I become President of the United States, I am going to start my day with Bible reading and prayer. Then I am going bowling and then have breakfast. After that I will attend to politics." |
Feb. 10, 2009
I hate being the bad guy!
My son, Michael, got up extra early this morning to finish a science report that was due today. He worked for two hours and then went and got dressed and made his bed. When he came back it was gone. He hadn't save it.  Needless to say there were lots of anger, frustration and tears. Most of us who have ever worked much on computers have had the horrible experience. And being mom and teacher. I had to say the tough words of : "You'll just have to start over." I feel for him. I have been there - and it is not fun. But I am told it builds character. He did get it done though and he did survive. Oh, the joy of learning lessons the hard way! |
Feb. 5, 2009
Books!
I have actually made it through several books lately and am working on others and thought that I would share ! In my daily bible reading, I am in I John. I love God's Word and the fact that it is active and alive, meeting us where we are.  The Bait of Satan by John BevereThis is a book that I have read before that Paul and I are currently going through with a student.  Satisfy My Thirsty Soul by Linda DillowThis is the second book by this author that I am going through. It is really good.  The Gift of Learning by Ronald DavisThis is a book that a friend gave me to get ideas to help my boys  and the Shofar Blew by Francine RiversI finished this book this weekend. Francine Rivers books are always good.  Playing by Heart by Deborah RaneyI short but good little book - brain candy, as Pastor Larry would have called it.  Hidden Places by Lynn AustinI am not done with this one yet but it is another brian candy book.  Intercessory Prayer by Dutch SheetsI am revisiting this book, which I read when we where living in Concrete.  A Woman's Heart - God's Dwelling Place by Beth MooreOur Friday Ladies Bible study is going through this study. It is an excellent study. I would highly recommend this to anyone. |