I'm WAY overdue on posting but I couldn't think of any one topic to highlight. This will, instead, be a compilation of random recent happenings in our life.
1.) I was reminded, once again, that I married a true handyman. Dameon single-handedly installed a dishwasher in our kitchen (including plumbing and electrical work) in one weekend. It is SUCH a luxury since being without one since...well...2006.
2.) Marching band season has come to a close since my last post. It was a very successful competition season and exciting to watch the band progress so much so quickly! These days we are adjusting to a more "normal" pace. Instead of being gone every weeknight, Dameon is only gone on Wednesday nights for grad school at UNI.
3.) Jumping right into drill-writing/marching band season shortly after we moved resulted in us basically unpacking our necessities and shoving everything else in the storage space. Now we are enjoying really making our house a home. Last weekend we spent some time at Lowe's picking out a new area rug for the living room and paint for the master bedroom and living room. I'll post before and after pictures as soon as the painting projects are finished.
4.) On Sunday we made a big purchase. We had tossed around the idea of upgrading from a Queen-sized bed for quite awhile. We stumbled upon a price we couldn't refuse and are now the official owners of a King-sized bed. Life is good!!
5.) My job is getting more managable day by day. I just finished my first round of report cards and I'm now gearing up for Parent/Teacher conferences later this week.
6.) We have been enjoying the nice fall weather (when it's not raining) and have learned that our neighborhood is full of BEAUTIFUL fall-colored trees. We also learned that the trees we are so thankful for in the summer create a major amount of raking when the season changes. Good thing my husband has big muscles...and good thing I'm an expert supervisor.
7.) We've been fortunate to spend some good quality time with our families lately. In mid-October I spend the weekend back at my parents' house. We traveled to Dameon's marching band competition that Saturday and then the four of us went to dinner and to "Wicked" on Sunday. So great! This past Friday night we met up with Dameon's dad and step-mom at Mesquawki Casino for the seafood buffet. We came up with the idea a few weeks prior when it came up in conversation that I had never eaten crab legs. This buffet serves king crab legs, so we thought it would be a good adventure. I learned that I don't like crab legs, but it was still a fun time. Then we made our annual journey to a haunted house. This year's selection was just a bit two scary for us women, so the rough and tough men went without us. I like to think they clung to each other and screamed like little girls the whole way. :)
8.) Have to add a couple of things I've been thankful for today...
First: We heard a great message in church this morning. Great because it made us feel "uncomfortably convicted." The pastor was speaking about a passage in Matthew when Jesus is telling his followers that (in summary) many of them/us will walk with Jesus, do good works, claim Jesus as our Savior, and even proclaim Him to others but FEW will pass through the narrow gate into heaven. Why? Because many leave out the
relationship part. The pastor said something that really struck me toward the end of his message. I think it went something like, "There's a difference between knowing ABOUT Jesus and KNOWING Jesus. There's also a difference between having conversations with Him and having a relationship with Him." Hmmm...great truths to reflect on and act on.
Second: Dameon did something so great for me today. Many of you may not know, but when it comes right down to it, Dameon is a much better housekeeper than I am. I know, I know, how could this guy get any better?!?! He is more detail-oriented when it comes to cleaning and he also has this whole turbo-speed thing that I've really never been able to grasp in any area of my life. Anyway, I left around noon today to run a couple errands and go to the mall to do a little shopping for a few new items to add to my fall wardrobe. When I got home I found a clean kitchen, clean bathtub, clean living room, clean dining room, and clean family room. WOW. It means so much to me that he took time to serve me in this way when I am completely undeserving and completely guilty of laying around all day yesterday when I could have (and should have) been cleaning. Love that guy. Love, Love, Love him.
