Well, it's been about a week and I have some things to share.  Friday I worked at the quilt shop, and stupid me tried to cut my finger off with the rotary cutter. Not a smart thing to do. It's healing nicely now, but I will be much more cautious in the future.  I am beginning to think I may take after my father in the  "dumb accident" department. Haha!!

We have since made another offer on the land we so badly would like to own, but haven't heard back yet. This will be our final offer, then we will be forced to move on.  I have my good days and bad days living where I do. We love our house, it's just the location of the house that is frustrating.

Quay has since started his hell month at work, aka...turnaround.  He worked OT on Sunday, and not sure how the next couple of weeks will go.  The extra money is nice, but the lack of seeing my dearest isn't.

Sunday we launched the boat. It was a beautiful evening to do it, so Quay pushed on and it's afloat.

Today I did a few little projects, one of which is my tip jar. I decided I needed one in my laundry room with all the loose change I find. I just used an old pickle jar, spray painted the lid after I cut a hole in the top with a utility knife (no I guess I haven't learned my lesson with sharp tools yet-ha!), and cut out my words on my Cameo. It turned out pretty good if I do say so myself.  I started another project, but it isn't finished yet, so that photo is yet to come.

The weather is beautiful again for a few days. Ryder spent some time coloring our driveway yesterday.

Linking up with:

A rural journal

Back in time

There's a new song on the radio, and I absolutely love it.  It's called "springsteen" by Eric Church. You can listen to it here. I love the words to it as it 'takes me back.'  Just a few weeks ago Quay and I were listening to music and a song came on that was popular in high school and I said to him, "wow does this take me back!!"  Music is such a wonderful way to get lost in time.

This particular song though just makes me realize how simple life really was when I was 16-17-18. I started dating Quay when I was 15 years old, and I fell head over heels. {and I still am!!}  We had our ups and downs through high school, but we always migrated back to eachother, and here we are 18 years later with almost 12 years of marriage under our belt!  The words in this tune are just so in tune to what teenage life is like. I recall going to the lake, telling him not to go, carefree and just having fun without a worry, cruising back roads in his old truck, laughing, crying, getting into trouble, feeling like you are on top of the world and nothing and no one can stop you.  Oh what fun we had!!

We still have fun, but now we get to share it with this little wonder boy with a sparkle in his eye.  He is our everything. We are so blessed in our lives, but it seems when you 'grow up' that carefree feeling kind of disappears as the bills come and the stress of everyday life rears it's ugly head.  I have always said I would never want to go back to my high school days {I actually have nightmares about it sometimes!}, but wow-the worries then were so much simpler.

I try to take things one day at a time, but there are days when it feels like I have weeks worth on my mind.  I know God won't give me more than I can handle, and I guess if He does--that's why He's there for me.  I am at a point in my life where I know who I am and what I want out of life, and we are trying to get there one day at a time. It's not always easy, but no one ever said it would be. I have the 2 most incredible boys to help me along the way in this journey and I couldn't have asked for better companions to make it interesting.  This isn't quite the life I had thought I would have-but then again, maybe it is, because it's all I could have ever asked for......and more.

Spring

I love spring! It's the most wonderful time of the year, everything starts out new and fresh.  It sounds like we are in for a spring storm this Easter weekend with the possibility of some snow.  It wouldn't be the first time! 

Ryder and I watched The Passion a few evenings ago and even though I know the bible story of Easter, that movie really puts into perspective what Jesus did for us. The torture he went through is too much for me to fathom.  I know Ryder may be a little young for that much "gore", but it's pretty factual and I wanted him to understand what the Easter story means, and get a visual on what happened to our Lord and Saviour.  He watched very closely. He had some questions, but that is only normal for a 6 year old.  After the movie we read the story out of the book of Mark in his bible.  He listened oh so carefully.  What an awesome God we have to lay down his life for us.

My dad gave us one of his lily bulbs that he plants, and it is so beautifully blooming just in time for Easter!!

Our wheat is finally starting to pop up in our Easter craft. We made the tomb with a stone rolled away.  Ryder has been helping me keep it moist and checks on it daily to see it's progress.

Yesterday I made some easter eggs filled with jelly beans for Ryder to take to school for his classmates.  I saw the idea on the Silhouette blog.  They turned out great!

It's been a couple weeks again and so much has happened. Well....maybe not that much.

We finally got an answer about our land, it's a no-go.  The 3rd partner that told us how much she wanted per acre is a bad business person. We accepted what she said she wanted, and she defaulted on that and wants much more now. We said no way, it isn't worth it.  She doesn't realize that she's making nothing on that land now, and not selling it is a dumb mistake on her part. She's money hungry obviously.  Some people.  We are disappointed, we were really started to "plan" stuff for that piece of land, but I am sure there is a reason God doesn't want us to have it. 

Ryder learned how to ride his bike without training wheels!! Yay for Ryder!  We are so proud of him for toughing it out. 

I decided to get crafty and made a few of these headbands out of old t-shirts. I love it!

The weather has been gorgeous lately! Blue skies, birds chirping. Sounds like spring. A very early spring though for here in ND. I'll take it though.

 Coloring the sidewalks

 Gorgeous blue sky

 Lilac tree buds

 Happy dog Odie

No more training wheels!

Our kitty Garfield peeking out of the shed.

Our lily plant

Spring break

No school tomorrow as it is "spring break". Yah-one whole day! Haha.  At least the weather actually feels like spring. It is supposed to get into the 70's again today and tomorrow nearing 80*!! I'll take it!  Not sure what we will do this weekend, Quay works nights through Saturday, but we'll find something. 

I am afraid we are raising a Romeo in our home.  I don't know what we did or if we did anything to cause this (the kissing and hugging in front of the kid is healthy I thought?), but my little man has puppy love-not for just one, but 2 girls in his classroom.  I learned about one a couple of months ago. They ride the bus together and she is a little cutie-pie. Now I learned that he seems to be crushing on another little girl as well.  It's so cute. He tells me openly that he likes these girls, but then gets all goofy and says I can't tell anyone. Hehe.

My son is also so afraid of failure. Not that we all aren't, but he is such a perfectionist!  Yesterday morning before school I realize he left his hat and gloves at school the day before. So I ask Ryder about it and then reminded him that his teacher had warned the kids that they would lose their green card if they forget things like this (it's the discipline in the classroom-lose your green card to a yellow, then to a red).  He was very nervous about it. Nervous enough that I had to drag him to the bus when it came. He was using the excuse that he was cold, but I know deep down he just didn't want to go to school for fear of getting into "trouble".  Well--turns out he didn't get his green card taken away. Whew.  But the bad thing is-he forgot them again last night after school.  You really can't blame the kid-it's in his genes. His dad is constantly forgetting something somewhere, and I am not much better. Just yesterday I left my sunglasses laying at my parents house.

So it's been a month, and actually a lot has happened!  Quay and I are going to be aunt and uncle again!! Misty (Quay's sister)  and Shawn are expecting a baby in September.  My big brother Andy is engaged to his sweety Shelly with the wedding date set for June 30, 2012.  So much exciting news!!

We are still waiting to hear on our land deal. We are starting to get quite frustrated with it, but we are leaving it in God's hands.  It's not that we don't love our house we are in now. We just want to be out in the country. Dig in some roots.

The weather is changing all the time. We ended up getting about 6 inches of snow a couple of weeks ago, it has all melted since then with the weather being in the 60's and low 70's!!! For March this is crazy but I will take it! Bring on Spring!!  It is very dry though-Quay was out on a fire call all day yesterday that burned a lot of acreage.  I pray for his safety every time he goes out after that tone goes off on the pager.

We had conferences yesterday with Ryder's teacher (well I did-Quay was fighting fires).  She had nothing but good things to say about him, said he is a star student. He is doing so well with writing, math, spelling, reading. I am so proud of him!! He is such a wonderful kid!!

Here are a few pictures from the last month.

 The dinosaur battle.

 Once a kid always a kid!! Andy's 40th Birthday. :)

 Sledding!

 Our short snowman.

 Me and Rydes

This butterfly came in with our wood. What a nice surprise it was!

Flying airplanes outside

Quay's ended up on the roof. Haha!

My handsome man

 My boys

 Farm cats

My farm boy!

Wait...

So, another month has gone by in my life. Another disappoinment. Every month I hope that just one egg made it out and met a seed to turn into a beautiful life inside me. Every month. Yes--every month I feel disappointment. It only lasts for a day or so and then I feel normal again, but I do go through this every month and I have gone through this for the last --oh let's say 11 years of marriage.  I pray daily for the chance to be a mother again, to give Ryder the chance to be a big brother, for Quay to be a father of 2. My prayers go unanswered.

I came across this poem today and it really hit the nail on the head. I will wait.

Wait
by Russell Kelfer

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried;
Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate . . .
And the Master so gently said, "Wait."

"Wait? you say wait?" my indignant reply.
"Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!
Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?
By faith I have asked, and I'm claiming your Word.

"My future and all to which I relate
Hangs in the balance, and you tell me to wait?
I'm needing a 'yes', a go-ahead sign,
Or even a 'no' to which I can resign.

"You promised, dear Lord, that if we believe,
We need but to ask, and we shall receive.
And Lord I've been asking, and this is my cry:
I'm weary of asking! I need a reply."

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate,
As my Master replied again, "Wait."
So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut,
And grumbled to God, "So, I'm waiting for what?"

He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes met with mine . . .
and He tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead and cause mountains to run.

"I could give all you seek and pleased you would be.
You'd have what you want, but you wouldn't know Me.
You'd not know the depth of my love for each saint.
You'd not know the power that I give to the faint.

"You'd not learn to see through clouds of despair;
You'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there.
You'd not know the joy of resting in Me
When darkness and silence are all you can see.

"You'd never experience the fullness of love
When the peace of My spirit descends like a dove.
You would know that I give, and I save, for a start,
But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

"The glow of my comfort late into the night,
The faith that I give when you walk without sight.
The depth that's beyond getting just what you ask
From an infinite God who makes what you have last.

"You'd never know, should your pain quickly flee,
What it means that My grace is sufficient for thee.
Yes, your dearest dreams overnight would come true,
But, oh, the loss, if you missed what I'm doing in you.

"So, be silent, my child, and in time you will see
That the greatest of gifts is to truly know me.
And though oft My answers seem terribly late,
My most precious answer of all is still . . wait.