My new blog

After last nights blog, I decided to have more than one blog. So that my social and spiritual lives are not so mixed together on this world wide web. Sticking with my heaven theme it is now called Devotions with Heaven. I will keep a journal of sorts about my daily devotions! I am so excited that I have something to keep me accountable, and that I do not have to feel bad about blogging every day - I do not want to become obsessive.

http://hmnicholasdevotions.blogspot.com/

I am starting a new routine.

I am going to have a new routine in my life, I will take 10 min. a day and have myself a short devotional alone. Today I read a story about a young orphan who came upon a tiger, he sang for God to help him escape, and he was saved. So I went to look up a verse for protection and this is what I got:

"Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am lonely and afflicted.
The troubles of my heart have multiplied;
free me from my anguish.
Look upon my affliction and my distress
and take away all my sins.
See how my enemies have increased
and how fiercely they hate me!
Guard my life and rescue me;
let me not be put to shame,
for I take refuge in you.
May integrity and uprightness protect me,
because my hope is in you." ~Psalms 25:16-21

I believe that God does speak to us, and that this text describes to a "T" how I feel about my life better than I can even put into words. God knows what we are thinking and our greatest desires, he also knows what we can and cannot handle. He is an amazing role model of patience.

my summer projects...

lately I have inherited a good for nothing, lazy, L&O SVU addicted husband. Apparently, Davin has decided that since we painted the house, he now has the right to sit on our bed all day and have a Law and Order SVU marathon. While I on the other hand, am either outside weeding or getting sun burned or doing laundry or cleaning or cooking... I especially love it when I get off at 9 or come in from weeding all day and Davin says "what's for dinner?" I am not just talking about during the week but on the weekends too. Argh....I always end up making dinner in the long run, for fear that my chubby hubby might starve to death.

On top of everything Davin contracted the flu this week, which made him an invalid for 2 whole days. Now enough ragging on my husband.

I am excited to say that I have all but 1/2 of the gardens left to weed! And today I witnessed God's miracles on a personal level...
I was in the garden weeding when I came to a place where the weeds were hard to pull without the trowel. So I got up and got my trusty trowel... after about 2 feet of weeding I felt like the spade was bending. Then all of the sudden the metal part broke, then I decided that I could not continue with out it. I walked over to the shed to look for something that could work, but found nothing. I headed inside to ask Davin if I could go buy one, right when I got upstairs to our bedroom Davin was answering my phone. Some one asked for me, I then took my phone and answered. It was a principal of a local school asking me for an interview!!! After 3 years of subbing, I finally got called for my first interview here in Marshalltown!

When I finished the phone call, I started to think about the perfect timing of all of the events that just happened... God knows the path in my life and I think I am finally understanding what true patients really is. Davin pushes me more, but I have come to realize that God's plan in long, but amazing.

"You are being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might, so that you might patiently endure everything with joy." Colossians 1:11 ISV

Appartment Hunting with Jenni

So this is for my avid readers, now that I have become a blog junky.

This past weekend my sister and mother came and kidnapped me for Monday and Tuesday, while Davin was on his business trip, to go to Omaha for appartment hunting. That is right my big sister is moving to Omaha!!! I am so excited that I went to go pick out appartments with her. We drove out there Monday morning and went to 7 different appartments that day. The last one we went to was my pic of the day! Then on Tuesday we went to 4 different appartments and back to the one I picked from the day before. After all the appartments Jenni narrowed it down to 3. The one I picked, a slightly bigger one that cost a lot more, and a single building one that was cute and cozy. Then it was between the first two and then she applied for them at the airport and was approved for the one I picked. So she finaly picked MINE!!!

Then Mom and I drove back to Marshalltown together. And that is the end of one case in which Heidi always gets her way!!! -to my older sister.

Summer Project 4

This is the last one that we did...so far this summer! Hopefully it is one of the last ones. Before we even finished this on Davin had a list of other projects that he wants.

Davin had an idea of what he wanted to do for the Memorial day weekend and I had a different idea. I wanted to go camping or sit on the couch and watch movies. Davin on the other hand got the project bug, and mentioned painting the Chimney...which led to us having a consult with a siding professional to going and picking out paint colors for the house. There went my relaxing weekend. We started on Friday evening and finished the main part of the house Tuesday night. Davin calculated that we put in a 48-50 hour work week in 4 days. We started at 7ish every morning and finished at 8ish every night. This by far was the most expensive and taxing of all the projects this summer, but at least we do not have to do it again for 10-15 years if we still live here. I am attaching a before and after picture of our most recent adventure in owning a home!

Summer Projects 3

It has been a while since my last post, and I need to finish my summer projects blogs... so lets see if I can do that this week! So, we are at number 3! The Chimney...this was not on our to do list at all, when Davin was working on the garden project he noticed that part of the chimney was deteriorating from the inside out...he then decided to investigate. We then had to call a exterminator to come rid us of our unknown residents - carpenter ants, making their home right in our chimney!!! Davin had to then rip off the whole chimney with some help from our friend Scott! Then we had to spend more $$$... He had to rebuild the frame and then put up new base boards, tar paper that, then do flashing. He did all of this while I was at my brothers college graduation. My dad and my brother stopped by to see if he needed any help on the way, dad helped him flash the roof and other stuff. After 3 weekends of working and 2 vacation days Davin finished all of it and then we had to decide to paint it or side it... The picture is part of the redone chimney on the left side...

Summer Projects 2

Project 2: The decks... We baught all of the supplies for this one in Feb. so that we did not have any excuses when it came to the summer, little did we know that we would be doing so many projects... We ended up having to buy a Power Washer to do the decks. Davin was on cloud nine with all the possibilties of cleaning. Anyhow back to the deck, Davin washed the front porch first and then the next day I did not have a sub job so I went to work on the back deck. Did you know that when you spray with a power washer you get utterly soaked, so when Davin came home for lunch I looked like I had been through a hurricane. Then it was the weekend and we finished the deck in 2 days. We had a dispute about taping off the house so that it would not get stained, I won and we did not. Then I had a couple of accidents and well Davin was convinced that I just ruined the whole house. It was a fun couple activity...not!