What Did You Say?!

String Bean's language explosion is here to stay. Every day she is saying new words, even ones we didn't know she knew. Today was no exception.

Mr. Bean was dressing String Bean for church and I was listening to their chatter on the baby monitor while finishing my hair. The outfit Mr. Bean picked out was a brown shirt with a pink corduroy jumper. He put the brown shirt on String Bean and she pointed at it and said, "Brown shirt!" Although, it didn't come out that way.

The first word, "brown," sounded more like "bull" and the second word's "r" was mysteriously missing.

We've gotten a lot of giggles out of that today and even took a video to show her some day. Somewhere along the line she realized we giggled whenever she said it, so she ran around the house saying, "Brown shirt! Brown shirt! Brown shirt!" Or her version of it anyway.

Thank goodness she didn't realize she was being funny until after we'd left church!

Answered Prayer

Yesterday, I told the story of our oven's carbon monoxide problem. Today, the repairman made a house call to evaluate the cost of repairing our oven. Verdict: get a new oven. The repair was going to cost almost as much as the oven itself cost us 5 years ago.

When Mr. Bean came home, I broke to him the bad news of the broken oven and unwelcome guest who had been or is currently living under it. Mr. Repairman told me it was "a creature women tend to not like" and left it at that.

I threw up a few hail Mary prayers. You know the kind that go like this, "Well, Lord, we can't afford a new oven right now. I suppose you already know that. So, as we set forth on our adventure, please pave the way with good sales and 0% financing for 12 months." Of course, on the way out the door, I updated my Facebook status to read I am "open to any and all of your oven buying advice as it seems we are in the market for one. We can use our old one if we want to die of carbon monoxide poisoning. We are opting to purchase a new one." I had a few replies of suggestions of brands and off we went.

What we wanted at store #1 was unavailable until December 12. We could not gamble waiting that long since we start our parade of holiday parties on December 13 and I have a large amount of baking to do.

At store #2, we settled for the next best thing which did not have all the features we wanted. The price was lower than at store #1. They offered free delivery and haul away. The installation cost was only $20 and we could get 0% financing for 12 months. So, we bought it.

We got home and the following comment was on my Facebook status, "We have one you can have! Ask my mom about it." Figuring it was worth the phone call and vaguely remembering talking to his dad about them having this stove sitting in their garage post-remodeling looking for a new home, I called.

It the the exact brand and color we were hoping for. It also has all the features we want, they are willing to deliver it and take a look at our visitor situation under the current oven. All we have to do is find someone to help us install it. Luckily, a mutual friend of ours is a handyman. Check, check, check, check, check and check. The best part of the whole deal is that its FREE. Oh, yeah. That's my kinda deal.

I'm out $70 for the repairman's fee, but that's a small price to pay for getting the thing replaced. I don't know how much our handyman friend will charge for installation, but it will be much cheaper than the cost of a new oven.

It is amazing to me that even the small things we bring before the Lord matter to him!

Leaf Raking

Our church does an annual community service day. For the last few years, they added helping out at the neighborhood elementary school as an option. Since Mr. Bean attended that school, he can point out such historic locations as the door which he cried at every day for a week when kindergarten started and the place he got beat up in first grade.

We went to the school to do some yard work. Because of the economy, there isn't much room in the budget for anything beyond mowing the grass and removing the snow.

When we arrived, since String Bean was with us, we requested a work assignment without a playground view. We were given rakes and paper bags to fill in the side yard of the school. String Bean was given her own rake which was the perfect size.

For the first hour of the event, String Bean did a great job "helping" us clean up the side yard. Then, she hit herself in the head with the handle of the rake one too many times. Luckily, our friend Fred was in charge of collecting the full bags of leaves and depositing them at the garbage site. He had a wagon to assist him which made the perfect perch for String Bean as she then assisted Fred with his assignment.

Mr. Bean and I both walked out of there with a few blisters. I think String Bean managed to not have a bump on her head, and we all enjoyed spending a few hours out in the sunshine!

3 x 5

Mr. Bean and I just came from a church meeting where the pastor proposed the following items.

1. Spend 5 minutes before and after service greeting people you do not know.
2. Pray for 5 friends who do not know the Lord.
3. Make intentional connections with 5 people you have not before.

He handed out 3 x 5 cards for us all to jot down the 3 x 5 thoughts.

This is one of the intentional goals to help us as a church be more friendly to newcomers.

Growing Up!

Now that Cashew has turned 2, she no longer is in the church nursery with String Bean. When I went to pick up String Bean this morning, she was fast asleep in one of the nursery worker's arms. The worker said, "She was the only one over here this morning and I guess it got boring!" There are a few other kids who should be in the nursery with String Bean, but they were absent this morning. Come mid-June, they will have all graduated to the 2s class and String Bean and her friend Jenna will be all alone until they get to graduate in November.

Our little babies are growing up. Before we know it, we'll be shelling out all our life savings to send them off to college. Stanford, Yale or Harvard of course.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Looks like our friend Pete Ittersagen signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars! He does not have a job with them, but he does have a shot at a job with them. This is really exciting news for him and his family. It is definitely a lifelong dream for him to play in the NFL. Most people don't even get a shot and Pete will be right there at camp getting his.

Pete grew up in our church and went to the college where Mr. Bean works.

Good luck, Pete!

Lay-Off Update

As a follow-up to this post, I should mention our congregation decided not to lay off our music pastor after all, provided that the giving increases over the next few days (60? 90?).

I'm interested to see what happens!

Also, at our annual business meeting at church, Amy's husband, Filbert, and I were voted onto the Nominating Committee. (This is the committee that picks the Elders at our church.) Exciting things are happening!

Lay Offs

Our church just announced a second round of lay-offs. This time around, our Music Pastor got the boot. It is really unfortunate when anyone looses his/her job, but we are pretty good friends with our music pastor (his son was in our wedding when he was 8) and we are upset that he will no longer be ministering with us or to us. Mr. Bean, however, has been asked to take on a larger role in our worship ministry to fill the hole. The goal is to replace the worship pastor with 2 part time people.

The economy is really going down the tubes and we are thankful every day that Mr. Bean still has his job. We think his job security is pretty good, but we are well aware that any day his job can be taken from us.

To think, a year ago we were upset because our house had not sold, yet. 12 months later, we realize that the Lord saved us from being in a situation where our mortgage would have been more than the worth of the house had we moved. When the economy goes down the drain, it sure makes you thankful for what you have.

Changes

Our church passed new bylaws which change our leadership structure. I am on the committee that is helping make the leadership transition to the new structure. I am also one of the candidates for the new "nomination committee" which helps place the leaders of the church.

Tonight was my interview. It was much like a typical job interview, but I also got to share how the Lord is working (and has worked) in my life. I've been serving with the group that interviewed me for a couple of years now. As I was being interviewed, and as one of the other members of this committee were being interviewed, it was interesting to learn about the trials each of us had been through and to rejoice and give God glory for his working in our lives.

Next week, we are interviewing 4 other candidates for this new committee. I am looking forward to hearing about the spiritual journeys of these other interviewees that I have known and worked alongside for several years now!

Sticker Emergency

String Bean has found her passion in life: stickers. One of the reasons we survived our 12 hour (13 hour? Who is counting?) were the stickers my mother-in-law gave us. Oh, how thankful we are for the veterans and other organizations that send sticker address labels and holiday-themed stickers for the holidays.

The last couple of Sundays we attended our church, String Bean has enjoyed sitting in our Adult Bible Fellowship (Sunday School for adults) on our friend Connie's lap. I found out today that Connie, too, has a passion for stickers. They are a match made in heaven. What joy to find someone who loves what you love and you can share your passions with. When String Bean started to get restless, out came the stickers. Would you believe that Connie keeps stickers (hole punched and everything) in her day planner for just such a sticker emergency? All during the ABF today, they put stickers on one another and shared in their joy. Ahh, friendship.

This story really pales in comparison to Amy's story about her own little bean. Be sure to check back for that gem!

So, This is the New Year

Like most of you, my husband and I rang in the New Year at midnight last night. Then, of course, we slept as late as possible this morning. So, this is the new year. Welcome 2009.

Here are some things I hope to see come to fruition this year:

1. Mr. Bean getting a raise. So, we got a letter from his place of employment letting us know that there would be no raises this year due to the downturn in the economy and a 232 million loss in the investments of the company. Bummer. I'm hoping for an economic turn-around so that raise comes back. We've got until July, people!
   
2. Continued health and wellness for my family. We ended the last 6 weeks of 2008 with String Bean's first illness and her passing it along to me. I hope we remain healthy in 2009 with very little illness and continued growth for String Bean in height, weight, intellect, and awareness of the world around her.
3. Growth in our church family. Of course, I want to see spiritual growth, but I'd also like to see growth of the 20s, 30s, and 40s age group of our church. We are lacking in the "younger adults" (and by extension "younger families")department and could use some new faces. Mr. Bean and I would like to see more of our peers at our place of worship.

I could probably make a long list of things, but these are the top 3 that I am trusting God for. What are you trusting God for this new year?

Things on My To-Do List

I'm going to cross these off the list as I accomplish them!

Today:

• Eat lunch (If I don't add this to the list, I snack all day long)
• Empty dishwasher
• Check e-mail
  
• Call everyone who signed up church directory photos tomorrow and remind them.
• Update Facebook status
• Check e-mail
  
• Feed String Bean
• Pick up Mail
• Call attorney about updating wills
  
• Daydream
• Nap, if I can fit it in
  
• Go to worship team rehearsal
• Check e-mail
• Send final appointment list for church directory photos to Bill
  

Later:

• Sleep in past 7 am
  
• Finish planning String Bean's first birthday party
• Clean the house thoroughly
• Laundry
• Pay bills
• Finish Christmas shopping (yes, I've already started!)
• Get String Bean's flu shot
• Get my allergy shot
• Find a new address for that wedding card that was returned to sender
• Blog
• Think about whether to decorate for Thanksgiving or just skip right over to Christmas
• Get rings inspected
• Get assets turned over to a Living Trust
  

That about does it.

Getting Your Affairs in Order

The last two Sundays at church we've had a mini-conference on Estate Planning. "B-O-R-I-N-G!" you say? Not at all! I have learned quite a bit just by attending the two sessions led by an estate attorney.

Did you know that when you die if your estate is worth more than $100,000 your family may have to wait 6 months to a year to get what you've willed? It is called probate.

Did you know if you don't leave a will stating where your children should end up that a judge (who may or may not agree with your religious convictions) decides who will raise your children?

Did you know that the government can take about 50% of your assets in a Death Tax which is completely avoidable with proper planning?

Did you know that by spending a thousand or two dollars now you can save tens of thousands of dollars (or more if you're made of money) later?

Did you know that in the state of IL, you will be kept on life support unless a very specific, very easy form is filled out stating otherwise?

I learned a lot, and I have a lot to do to get our affairs in order. We are not guaranteed a single day. Now that we have String Bean, we can no longer afford to have our will sitting in a file unsigned.

Luckily, we were left with a list of Action Steps so we know where we are going from here!