So, I’ve been a little distracted from the blog world lately…  This little angel entered my life, and I have been somewhat consumed with staring at her, kissing her, nursing, and changing her diapers.  And I am loving every minute of it.

Zea is our 3rd child, and yet, I am even more in awe of the miracle that she is than I was with the first two.  That awe seems to get magnified with time/age, I guess.  Seems like it would diminish after having several experiences, but at age 33, I cannot wrap my head around how amazing it is to look upon a new child, a gift from the Lord, that was fashioned in my womb by the Almighty Creator.

Do you get me?  or am I still hormonal?

Anyway, I’m loving my time off of work.  I’m still able to log onto FB at least once a day.  My house is still a mess.  Life moves on, one day at a time.  God has not closed the door on buying a house, so we hold onto the hope that we’ll be moving soon.  I know that I’ll be back at work sooner than I would like.

I just want to THANK the Lord for paid time off.  A husband whose a wonderful Dad.  Kids that adore their new sister.  A healthy, adorable baby.  And so much more.  He continues to bless and bless and bless.

(Don’t take this as me saying my life is perfect.  It is NOT.  I’m just focusing on the positive!)

May I introduce you to our newest family member?

Zea (ZAY-uh) Charlotte Nelson

Savior I come

Quiet my soul

Remember

Redemptions hill

Where Your blood was spilled

For my ransom

Everything I once held dear
I count it all as lost

Lead me to the cross
Where Your love poured out
Bring me to my knees
Lord I lay me down
Rid me of myself
I belong to You
Oh Lead me, lead me to the cross

You were as I

Tempted and tried

Human

The word became flesh

Bore my sin and death

Now you’re risen

Everything I once held dear
I count it all as lost

Lead me to the cross
Where Your love poured out
Bring me to my knees
Lord I lay me down
Rid me of myself
I belong to You
Oh Lead me, lead me to the cross
Lead me to your heart

My favorite season is in full swing!  I love putting on a sweater or sweatshirt every morning.  I love wearing my slippers around the house on my days off.  I LOVE not having the AC kick on all day.

On this Furlough Friday, I plan to dig out the fall and halloween decor and have some fun with my son.  My FOUR YEAR OLD son.

Malachi with his beloved mouse, Butter.

Yesterday, we celebrated his birthday with chocolate cupcakes at preschool and soda floats at Grandma’s.  It was our chance to give him LOTS of attention and praise before his new baby sister comes along and steals the limelight!

Ryvre is helping my mother in law plan a baby shower.  I love that my daughter is so excited about having another sibling, even at her often attitudinal age.  She is growing into a beautiful young lady, and I am proud of her.

One of her many self portraits.

Ryan and I are busy trying to pull off our first home purchase.  A lot of phone calls, emails, and paperwork coming in and out.  We found a neat house, but are trying not to get our hopes up too high.  I told my cousin on the phone the other day that, if I didn’t believe in God, I’d say the the stars will all have to align just right for this to work out.  As it is, this process is in God’s hands.  I trust him to direct with wisdom.  I know that He knows what’s best.  I believe that He has a better home out there for us, whether we buy it or rent it.  It’s just another waiting game!

I have been so bad about blogging, I just wanted to use today to update anyone who’s interested.

So, it’s Friday.  What plans do you have, other than thanking God?

Old growth forests are known for their unique ability to support species of plants and wildlife that can ONLY live or reproduce there.  I went to college at Humboldt State, and the fight to protect the old growth in northern California was always headline news.

Well, guess what I just learned?

The “soft” versions of toilet paper you see at the store are MADE FROM OLD GROWTH.  Most toilet papers are now made of recycled paper, saving trees, reducing waste (no pun intended).   But if you buy “soft” or “ultra plush” types of wiping products, you should know that they are made with virgin materials acquired by chopping up these trees.  See this article for yourself:  http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-toilet-paper25-2009sep25,0,71359.story

Maybe some of you feel ok with that.

I don’t.

I’m not a fanatic environmentalist or anything, but God HAS commissioned us to be good stewards of His Creation, right?  If you can do something as simple as buying less soft TP…  why wouldn’t you?

Don’t answer that.

So, I’d like to hear it:  what kind of toilet paper you you typically buy?  Are you willing to change?

(For the record, I never buy the “soft stuff,” because you get less squares for your money!  This news was just icing on the cake.)

It’s here!  Officially!

Today, on Positive Post Tuesday, I praise the Lord for the fall.  A season of relief.  A season of celebrations.

Here are some of the things I LOVE about fall:

Clouds and cooler weather

Colorful leaves

Pumpkin spice lattes

The O’Hagan Halloween party

Apple Hill

Stuffing and sweet potatoes

Christmas shopping

and this year…

a new baby girl!

I am thrilled about taking maternity leave soon.  Although pregnancy makes the summer heat that much more unbearable, this timing pays off by giving me all of November and December home from work!  We will be busy.  Hopefully moving.  Learning some new routines as a family of 5.  Spending time with relatives, celebrating birthdays and Thanksgiving.

Thank you, God, for fall.  I need it.

I’ve been so uninspired, blogwise.  But I do have some tidbits in mind for the next few posts.  I just need to get around to it!  If you see me on FB, tell me to go blog!

Anyway:

*  My neice spent the night last night.  She’s still young enough (8) to enjoy spending time with my son (almost 4).

*  Question I heard the most last night and this morning:  Can we hold a mouse???!

*  Did I mention here that we have 3 mice?  They are cute.

*  One of my upcoming posts will be about our new pets.

*  Ryvre is finally plugged into youth group.  Yay!

*  Phineas and Ferb is on.  So funny.

*  Prego belly is measuring small; baby is a bit squished.  I’m predicting an early induction (de ja vu).  I just hope I get at least another 3 weeks…

*  I am SO ready to move.  We’re working on a purchase.  50/50 chance it will pan out.

*  Ginger Lime candles by Gold Canyon smell so good.

*  Spruce & Citrus candles by Gold Canyon smell just like a Christmas Tree!

*  I cannot wait for the fall.

God bless you this Sunday!

I think every weekend should be 5 days long!  I have to admit:  being furloughed has its advantages.  Especially when pregnant (read:  less energetic), it’s nice to have extra days off that don’t take up my vacation time!

Thursday, I was full of motivation.  I cleaned up the whole back side of the house.  The laundry room and kitchen are included there.  Ry and I cleared our porch of tubs that needed to go under the house.  And I even got to the downstairs bathroom.  By the end of the day, I could barely walk.  Maybe it was a little too much?

Friday, I decided that I’d take it easy.  I should have been on the phone with Dish Network, SBC, and Verizon, negotiating my bills, but I didn’t get there.  That’ll be on this Friday’s list…  Our landlord came over to fix a leaky sink, replace a broken toilet seat (which is awesome because at 7 months pregnant, it’s hard to sit on 1/3 of a toilet seat), and take away the dining room table and chairs that we no longer use.  Well, the table’s still here, but we talked about it.  If he doesn’t have a place for it, we’ll put it under the house.   Then, we can put our second dryer (which is still in the living room) back there to make room for baby’s crib – IF we don’t move by then…  Ry and I are even contemplating moving our bedroom into the living room and converting our old ~ very tiny ~ bedroom into the TV room.  Hmmm.  Oh, I also had a great conversation with our mortgage loan officer.  It seems we should have no problem qualifying for some assistance from our County.  This is great news.  It more than doubles the list of homes we can look at.  Planning that outing for next weekend!  By the end of this day, I started feeling a sore throat coming on.

Saturday, yep, I’m sick.  Very sore throat, runny nose, headache.  I did, however, spend about an hour and a half outside with my son, gardening.  The weather was perfect; I couldn’t resist.

We got all of our dead, neglected plants unpotted and planted some new bulbs and seeds in their place.   After that, I was pretty much spent.  Thank goodness, the kids went over to my inlaws to spend the night.

Sunday, not feeling any better.  Slept in until after 11:00.  Missed church.  I spent almost the whole day in bed, crocheting my second plastic bag tote and watching NASCAR.

Today, Monday, was a bonus day.  Feel a little better.  Did some online house hunting, hit the grocery store for some needed things, and threw gliders with Malachi.  Trying to mentally prepare for going back to work tomorrow.  This whole week, I’ll be in seminars.  They should be interesting.  I just hope my brain is alert enough to get the $375 worth.

What did you do with YOUR long weekend?

MY COMMUNITY

In case you hadn’t heard, my town suffered a voracious wildfire on Sunday.  They are still investigating how it started, but it swept through several neighborhoods, burning homes to the ground.  I swear, just a couple of hours after it started, aerial photos showed rows of home lots reduced to piles of ash.

Ninety fire engines responded with 13 crews ~ over 600 fire personnel.

Weather was hot and breezy ~ just the way wildfire likes it.  People hardly had a chance to gather their valuables; they just had to save their own lives and leave.

In the drug store that afternoon, I saw a couple come in rather frantic.  They had just lost everything.  The man was wet from the neck down, no doubt from efforts to defend his home.  They were looking for clothing and food and picking up medicines from the pharmacy.  He muttered something about “out of all the homes in the area, he had to pick one right there.”  My heart broke for them.  I wanted to say something supportive or encouraging, but I was speechless.

Here comes the POSITIVE part.

Our community has already rallied around these families that have found themselves with nothing and nowhere to go.

In the County’s Local Assistance Center, families and businesses can meet with agencies to receive information and get assistance in meeting their near and long-term needs.

A Disaster Response Team is on-scene at The Salvation Army taking monetary and food donations for the fire victims.

The Moose Lodge is hosting a spaghetti dinner,  free to all families affected by the fire, as well as fire crews and law enforcement.  Donations will be accepted for anyone looking to give.

The UPS Store is offering to help coordinate package delivery to the store for people whose homes were destroyed in the fire.

Kids Closet children’s consignment shop will be offering clothing and toys to those affected by the 49 Fire.

And the list goes on…

Local churches and even some in neighboring cities are offering assistance.  It’s so heart-warming to see people caring for people…  It’s not just my hormones talking, is it?  It’s truly wonderful!

If you have a second today, please lift up these families in your prayers.  I am doing the same and simultaneously thanking God that our own home remains safe.

Life is steam-rolling ahead.

I spent 2.5 hours at my daughter’s middle school, last night.  I bought her a yearbook (hope that check clears), caught up with some other parents I hadn’t seen in a while, and went to a 10 minute session for each of Ryvre’s  6 classes.

I have lived in this area for most of my life, and yet, I was unfamiliar with the campus.  A bunch of my friends growing up went to this school, though.  Back then, its reputation was less than desirable.  These days, a new leaf has been turned, it seems.  The current principle is motivated, energetic, and determined to see the kids through this pivotal time in life and come out successful academically.  I appreciate that.

I mentioned before that I have ramped up my prayer life, regarding my first-born as she grows into a young lady.  She is boy crazy.  She is addicted to the telephone.  She is attitudinal, at times.  I think she’s pretty normal!

I’d like to request some prayer for myself…

Despite my daughter’s expanding independence, I still have a responsibility to both protect her and teach her how to be responsible.  Some of her sense of responsibility will come with age and maturity, but she also depends on having a good example.  I want to be that example without nagging and yelling at her about how she should be.  Easier said than done sometimes.

In addition, I know that it is important to stay involved (to a reasonable extent) with her school work and activities.  This is a weakness of mine.  My parents never really had to stay on top of that stuff much, for me, since I was one of those kids who took my grades seriously and couldn’t stand not doing well!  She is NOT me.  Which is perfectly fine.  Ryan and I just to be disciplined enough to partner with her in this thing called education.

Last night provided a picture of what my daughter’s school days look like, and it was a tad bit intimidating.  If she weren’t so wrapped up in her social life, I bet she’d be intimidated, too!  As she complained about having to type up 6 pages of history notes at the computer before I left, I had to tell her that school will continue to get more challenging, as she grows up.  With our help, and the support of family, I am confident she will do well.

I am excited to see her grow.

I am, admittedly, a bit fearful about the same thing.

Lord, please give me the energy and the patience.  This is a worthy investment.