Happy Hearts Homeschool - Homeschool Blogger

general life update..

Sat, 4 Oct 2008 20:29:00 -0500

It's been a long while again since I updated. The renovation things are pretty much done. We had a leak near the front door after some heavy rainstorms this spring - AFTER we painted the room - and that is patched now though it still requires some paint. The livingroom is nearly back together but does need some more decluttering yet. The interior doors still remain on the list of things to do. Life is slowly returned to some kind of normal though some major changes have been made this year.

The last post I made was shortly after I applied for a job. I didn't really intend to go out to work yet. I thought it would be a couple more years before I would search out a part-time job to keep myself busy and help out with monthly expenses. I thought I would continue to homeschool my son. Oh, he's still learning his educational pursuits at home. I'm just not the one helping him along. He doesn't need a lot of help these days except in the form of reminders of what needs to be done and discussion of key concepts. Although my husband is disabled, his brain still works extremely well and he's quite capable of supervising the day to day learning that goes on. So, back to the job application....

I applied and, after what felt like a very lengthy hiring process, was hired at a local home improvement store to work with kitchen and bath sales. I began work August 23rd. The first week or two were full of much training - mostly web-based to begin with. After that, I was able to be out on the sales floor but because computer systems are being changed over in a short time, I haven't yet received full training. It seemed pointless to keep trying to learn a system that was on its way out. Within a few weeks that should change and it will get easier to actually do the whole job I was hired to do. I'm working about 25-30 hours a week and the adjustment to spending many hours on my feet has been quite difficult for me. I suffered for a few weeks with massive blisters on my heals but now that they are healed and callousing up a bit, it's much better. I was hired mainly to work the early morning shift and, while that has been quite the adjustment for this night owl, I can't say that I hate those early mornings. I do still have some adjusting to do, though. ;) For the most part, I enjoy the job and the people I work with.

Life has changed in our house. My son is learning to cook and clean along with his normal high school education. My husband is learning to let the boy do... and just supervise and support. I am working for a living and we are all trying to adjust to the role reversal.

Dee..

what others see..

Sat, 4 Oct 2008 17:12:00 -0500

Have you ever wondered what others see when they look at you? I do. I think often, in recent months especially, about how I am viewed by those who I come in contact with while living my life.

One of the most recent events in my life is grieving the loss of a young girl who lived in Edson, AB with her family. Her mother has been an online friend of mine for a number of years and Emily had become a good friend of my daughter's after her family visited with our family a few years ago on one of their vacations. There have been many news reports of the situation and many comments by the public at large as well. Most of those comments are ones of support, comfort, and encouragement. However, some are ones of skepticism by people who don't have the same system of faith.

These statements, often made in an insensitive manner, can come across to those of us with a similar faith experience in a hurtful way. We may think of them as rude and ignorant, unfeeling and intolerant. They can cut us to the very core of who we are and make our hackles rise up in defense. Sometimes equally offensive statements are the result. After all, those who hurt often end up hurting those around them.

In this particular instance, what has prompted these thoughts is reading through the comments under one of the news articles about our young friend's funeral. This isn't the first time bickering regarding the existence of God has taken place online and I'm sure it won't be the last. It's too bad that it comes in response to such a sensitive situation with the potential to cause hurt but that's how these things can steamroller.

As I read through the statements below the article it really struck me how we are active participants in the situation if we think only of ourselves and our feelings in the matter. I have been grieving this week and although I'm not near as close with the family, or even Emily's mom herself, as many people I know are, some of the comments could really get me feeling angry if I had the energy to feel it right now. However, as I began to think of the pain caused to those of us who are "people of faith" and struggling, I realized that these statements are being made without the source of strength that we have. They also don't have the same understanding that we have of spiritual matters of Christianity. A few don't even believe in God at all. They are possibly struggling to make sense of the situation but without hope. These comments actually give us a view of how we are seen by others.

I believe that Emily's parents, family, friends, and neighbours could be hurt by these statements. I also believe that, in time, they will be able to forgive those who would rail at our beliefs. I am sure they will pray for them to have understanding and to find Peace in their life. How hard it can be... unless in possession of an authentic faith and true knowledge of Jesus.

What would we want others to see when they look at us? I don't know about you but I want to be seen to be understanding and caring of the situations of others, regardless of whether their beliefs match mine or not. I need to bite my tongue, not living by my feelings only, sharing those with Jesus who knows my pain, until I'm able to pray for those that would seem my enemy... and I need to continue to strive to walk the walk of my Lord and Saviour, in all my imperfection. I can be grateful for these comments showing me where my walk might be lacking.

Dee..

authenticity..

Sat, 4 Oct 2008 15:47:00 -0500

I haven't posted in a long while again and I should do a "catch up" post but I'm working through some things and that is what is first and foremost on my mind today.

Authenticity. I'm reading a book on becoming an authentic Christian. The book is written by Bill Hybels and is entitled Honest to God? Becoming an Authentic Christian. I'm just beginning this reading and I'm really enjoying it so far. However, my thought processes are about really being who I am at this point in time. I've been "born again" for almost 9 years now and most of my time as a professing Christian has involved being surrounded by the Christian community. In those nearly 9 years I've witnessed what I would call authentic Christianity and I've witnessed what I would not call authentic Christianity.

What do I mean by this? What I mean is that sometimes we are too busy trying to show others that we are different. Should we be different? Yes, the Bible says we are to be different from the world. Should we have to try to show that we are? No. I believe that if we have to show people that we are different then those differences are just not authentic. If we have to TRY to show that we are different then perhaps the differences are not real enough to impact others in a positive way and create a desire for what we have gained. Perhaps we need to toss aside that Christian veneer and instead just be real... and to be real with God as well as others.

Dee..

the passing of time..

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 01:51:00 -0500

I sometimes get to wondering what on earth happens to the time in a day. During the renovation process we often got a LOT of work done in the span of a day but now that the crunch is over, it seems I can't get so much accomplished. I think I know where my problem is, though. I fail to plan. And then on top of it all, I have a hard time sticking to a plan even when I make one! :( I'm working on it though and I daresay I've improved some since renovating.

So, *S* has painted her bookshelf but it's still drying/curing. Soon she'll be able to move it to her room and get her books into it. Our old appliances have moved on to another home to bless others. We were hoping to get a few dollars for them but in the end we donated them to a friend who rents houses. I'm sure a little patience would have seen them sell but we're plumb out of that these days. LOL I was a little surprised to get teary-eyed as our friend pulled away from the house with them on his trailer. How silly is that? Attached to appliances...

Now that the appliances are gone, the remaining baseboards were put in and in the next couple days I'll touch them up. They were painted before we cut them but there's some holes to fill and stuff. As you might have guessed, I haven't done the faux finish on that wall yet. It'll hopefully get done this coming week. I did hang pictures in the livingroom though! :)

So, there's really not too much left to do. The interior doors, and putting things away in most of the rooms. Not that we haven't put things away. We just have more to do. It feels like there's always more to do but I have to keep reminding myself that when it's done it'll be beautiful. One thing I hope will get done soon is calling the cable guy to re-install the upstairs cable outlets.

Anyway, that's where we are with our progress now.

Dee..

time flies..

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 23:45:00 -0500

I can't believe it's been so long since I blogged. I've been somewhat busy with some things around the house but nothing really huge. Our master bedroom is pretty much put back together with the exception of books and such. Our son's monster bed frame has been made and he's spending his first night using it tonight. He's quite excited because he helped a lot in building it. It's just a simple 2x4 construction but it turned out pretty well. Our daughter's room has all the furniture back in it and she's thinking of painting her bookshelf and a toy bench she's had that don't really match things the way she'd like. After that's done then she'll be able to put her belongings away... and pack up a few things to store until the time comes that she is living elsewhere. There is still a grab bar to install in the bathroom but other than that, it's been done for a while now.

The hallway needs the faux finish done yet. I'm still mulling over what to do with it, honestly. I've had a few different ideas but haven't firmly decided on one yet. I won't do it till a week or so from now, probably. We still have our old appliances in the livingroom... waiting for a friend to come get them. I think he's coming Monday or Tuesday to pick them up. He's done some things for us in the past and now rents houses so is always in need of good appliances.

I've been enjoying my new appliances and getting used to their intricacies - every appliance has them. ;) I've also got my entire kitchen unpacked now, I think... and I'm moving things around almost daily to make sure they are in the best place possible before I get too used to having them just any old place. We've given away our old microwave and taken a few boxes to Value Village as well... and there's a couple more getting filled as time goes on. I really am excited about decluttering though sometimes it's hard to let go of things.

Once the old appliances are out, we have a few baseboards to put on and I'll do paint touchups along with that faux wall that has been plaguing me. LOL And it'll be time to put the rest of the livingroom together and hang pictures, put books into the empty shelves, and then start on the multitude of boxes that are still around and need sorting through. Gosh, it still sounds like an awful lot of work considering we're almost done!

Along with these organizing things and learning to maintain what we've done, I've had a few people over for tea and to see what we've done. A lot of them were never here before so don't have a point of reference for their appreciation but still give the appropriate oooohs and ahhhhs during the tour. It's really just nice to feel like having people over and not being worried about what they'll think of my "horrible house" or something. When you can clean and clean but things look much the same afterward as they did when you started, one kind of loses the desire to have company of any type!

We're also resting a fair bit more than we were during the renovation process. Of course, that somewhat goes without saying maybe but we really needed to rebuild our energy levels. Some days seem to be really good but there's still quite a few days when we just feel tired to the bones. However, it's a happy tired so it's enjoyable! <grin>

Dee..