I Need Your Help!

Ok, this Saturday is officially Yard Sale Day. The pile in the garage has been multiplying and it's growing in every direction. I've been through the crawlspace and the kids' closets and in the cabinets and everywhere I can imagine to find the stuff that we've accumulated over the years (and before those years, too- Tim had a lot of bachelor stuff, too.) It feels so good to get everything cleared out and cleaned up. The part that I love is that we really aren't parting with anything either. I went through the kids books and found that I had 2 of some books, so we keep the nicer copy and maybe someone else can use the other. And we have been given so much! Things that we've been given and can't use are also in the yard sale. I really can't wait until after Saturday and reclaim my garage as well. You all come in here, while I have the little price sticker tags and help me with price suggestions. This is my biggest dilemma. I really don't want to give everything away for really cheap just to get it out of the house and on the other side, I don't want to keep the prices too high and not sell anything. This is my very first garage sale and I don't even visit them to buy things ~ honestly, my sleep on Saturday mornings is way too precious in this time of my life. (Keep reading...)

Please help with any yard sale suggestions that you may have:

Rebecca, you are the queen of these things- help a Sista out!
Mom and Dad, C & J, you all just had one last summer- you know what sells and for how much!
Everyone else, I'm desperate!

One cue I took from Rebecca is doing a bake sale, too. Who doesn't need a cinnamon roll in the early morning hours? I'm also doing potato crescent rolls for those like me who need a little dinner inspiration. Tim suggested I try my "Better than Pop Tarts" (Dabney calls them Top Tarts.) And large snickerdoodles. Everyone needs a cookie or two. Again, I need someone to hold my hand. What would you think these things cost at a bake sale? I'm pretty sure we'll have sodas, too.

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On the pregnancy front, I'll be 36 weeks in 2 days and I preregistered at the hospital on Monday. Whew. Now I can go into labor without people asking me to "sign here" and "initial here" between contractions. Sleeping is not so easy these days, and not exactly restful either. The child likes to dance at night. And I have crazy dreams. Last night it was all about the diapers I will need for Joshua. Dabney's been out of bed with "dreams" too. Last night for her, there was a dream about a truck and then another about a chicken. Go figure. Night before last I had a very nice dream about Hawaii.

Bending over is becoming pretty painful these days. Hopefully, with the next pregnancy Dabney will be big enough to help me reach things in the dryer (the worst part of my week). I truly thought I was going to snap in half the other day when I reached for a pillow.

Grandma Iris will be coming in a few weeks to help us out. I think the date is the 19th. This is the other thing that keeps me awake at night~ running through possible scenarios~ like "what do I do with the kids, if they're napping and the real thing starts?" or "should I really call the Brottlunds if its 2 am?" and recently "Will I have time to wait for the Brottlunds to get to our house? What if I have a really quick labor?" I think the answer is probably just to trust the Lord for all the details. The good thing is that I think Iris timed her visit pretty well with the due date. Unless Baby Josh is really early, she should be here to stay with the kids, even in the middle of the night, and Tim and I would be off to the hospital without having to worry about the kiddos. (As you can tell, prayers for peace would be appreciated.)

I think that's all the news I have. We're trying to stay cool around here. The temp in the kitchen the other day was 84 degrees! My North Dakotan couldn't take it and turned on the AC. Thankfully, the cool winds picked up that night and he turned it off again.

Have a nice Wednesday everyone! (and I will be expecting your comments!)

Lonely Tuesday

We really enjoyed having Uncle James this past week (or part of it). I dropped him off at the airport early this morning and the house has been pretty quiet ever since. Kind of sad around here, but we'll get through. Makes me want to shop... or eat... and since I really shouldn't do either, I think the kids and I will go for a walk today in the really nice double stroller that we were given last week. And, there are a couple upcoming things to occupy my mind as well- I have an OB appointment tomorrow, and there's a baby shower on Saturday morning and I'm bringing petit fours for 35 people, and next week a friend and I are having a joint yard sale here. I've been dying to do a yard sale for a while now and it's exciting to get rid of a lot of the clutter we have sitting around. I don't want to get my hopes up to make a lot of money, but hey, getting rid of junk and possibly getting some money for it is quite a nice concept!

We set up the crib for Joshua this past week and we're starting to gather things for his arrival. Exciting times. It feels like he grows an inch a day. He's squirming all the time and I'd like to think he's making me taller by the way he stretches his feet into my ribs. I'm 35 weeks this Friday.

Here are some more good pictures from our trip last month. The ones of Cait and James are rare since they don't like their picture to be taken.











A message from Dabney:

To "Gwamma and PopPop and Caitlin and James and Rosie",

bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbuuuuuuuuuuuukkkkkkkkkkkkbbbbbbaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ttttttteqqqqqqqsssssggyyyyddddddddssssssss wwwwwww gghhhhhhxxxxxxxxxxxxrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeqqqqqqqqqqq 11564449879=====-8rrreee433333221111111111` vvvvijjzooooil uuuuuuuuuuuuuuujvyuygfty eddddddddyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
6tyuuuijjooooooooooooooooooooooooooooogiiiiiiiii llll


"Dear Pop Pop,
Happy Dad's Day
I'm you pixie stick.
Love, Dabney Giedd"


"Dear Gwamma,
Thank you for sharing Uncle James. Hapa Mother's Day.
Wuv you so much, Gwamma. "

"Dear Caitlin,
Wuv you so much. It's my birthday. I'm 4."

"Dear James,
Thank you for the bear gums. Wuv you so much!"

"Dear Rosie,
Wuv you Rosie!"

Not a Coincidence

This is a picture of my next door neighbors' house. Last Saturday while we were all resting during a nice, afternoon thunderstorm, we heard the loudest clap of thunder we had ever heard. Ear-splitting. Our house shook. Dabney woke from her nap and started screaming. Seconds later, our doorbell rang. Our neighbors' house had been struck by the lightning and the mom smelled smoke. She called the fire department and brought her kids on over to our place. The FD and police came and checked it out and there was no fire, but there is a big hole in their house.

Maybe because it was a lazy afternoon, Tim and I got to thinking. This was not an accident. It could have been our house, but in His mercy, God chose the location of the lightning to be about 30 yards from where our very heads lay sleeping peacefully. It reminds me that we think we have things figured out, but truthfully, we control nothing. Our lives and our children's lives and our homes and the multitude of blessings we have are God's gifts and not coincidences. We have so much to be thankful for.

My Latest Project

I've had a great time planning this and then assembling it. My very own clothesline! As you all know, we cloth diaper and to offset the cost of the extra water for the extra load of laundry every now and then, we decided to put up a clothesline on which to dry the diapers (at least the diapers, probably bed sheets and other things, too). Also, clotheslines are big with cloth diaper moms because sunning the diapers also removes stains. I can't wait to have fresh outdoor-sy smelling laundry!

I had a whole corner of the yard that wasn't being used at all and so I set up the line on that side of the house. It won't be obtrusive for the kids and still will get plenty of sun. Hopefully the neighbors on that side won't even notice. I got some 5" lag bolts (the longest Lowes had) so the line won't be so close to the fence. I'll probably use this side of the line for sheets. The whole thing is sort of L-shaped- I was trying to rig it so depending on the time of day, the laundry can get maximum sun exposure.

^I think I will Scotchgard this.^ Does the fabric look familiar? It used to be David's old curtains.

David at Salt Pond

I think the jury is still out as to whether dirt tastes better or sand...