Friday, May 25, 2007

Late last night....


we found out that the sale of our house was not going to go through.


It's a LOOOOOOONG drawn out story, so I will try to make it as readable as possible.


First, we had agreed to sell our house at $10,000 below our "target" (this was actually $39,000 below our listed price) because we knew it may need a little work and we were eager to have things there wrapped up before our deadline rolled around here on August 1.


While some inspector was doing his thing he noticed that there was some water under the fireplace in the lowest part of the house. Upon closer inspection he saw a small crack in the mortar of the (gorgeous) real rock fireplace. Mark (showing his eternal generosity and integrity... which is one of the reasons why I love him, although I forget and yell at him due to fear of poverty [see post below]) offered to lower the price another $5,000 to make this repair even though we had already agreed on an AS IS price.


The potential buyers replied back that they wanted to lower the price another $29,000. Needless to say, we are trying to terminate the deal, so hopefully our house will be back on the market tomorrow.

We are in great need of prayers, good karma, and some new buyers!!

In spite of this, I feel very hopeful about our situation. I am trusting that there is a plan for us.

Also, I am sooooooo looking forward to a wonderful, restful 3 day weekend

So, do you have any fun plans?

Hugs & kisses! Nancy

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

For Mark, who I yelled at earlier......

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
there is a field.
I'll meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass,
the world is too full to talk about.
Ideas, language,
even the phrase "each other"
doesn't make any sense.


mevlana jelaluddin rumi - 13th century

Cutie Pie


Here are those promised pictures of my cutie pie nephew, Charles. I had the pleasure of watching him on Mother's Day when his parents went out for a movie. He is almost crawling and was hard to photograph as he kept scooting straight for the camera at such a high rate of speed I couldn't get it to focus. All the effort was well worth these two funny shots. He's so cute!!

Monday, May 21, 2007

First prom....

So here are a few of the shots I took of M and his girlfriend on Saturday at the prom. I would have loved to have taken 3 or 4 rolls of film with them leaning on the barn, strolling through a field of tall grass, etc..... As it was I got about 14 shots total. These are the 5 I liked best. I saved each of them as a full color, faded, black and white, and sepia shot. They make a cute couple, don't you think?

Back with some cute shots of Charles soon.....

Love, Nancy

A couple I fiddled around with....



A couple of pictures from the prom



Saturday, May 19, 2007

Harvesting the Heart

is the name of the book I started reading today... It is by Jodi Picoult, and I have been hearing so much about her lately that I have been dying to read one of her books. There's this quote in it that struck me....

"He believed with the zealousness of an evangelist, as if spirituality were something that ran through your veins and not through your mind."

Now, I do not in any way, shape or form consider myself "zealous" or "evangelistic" when it comes to my spirituality, but this just struck me the wrong way.

With every fiber of my being, I feel the spiritual connectedness of all mankind.It is in my veins, my heart, my entire self. It is religion that is in the mind... NOT SPIRITUALITY.

It is religion that fills your mind with "shoulds" and "do nots" and rules and regulations.

It is spirituality that brings a gift of peace into a heart on a day when your daughter is diagnosed with cancer or your son swears at you for the first time or your job seems overwhelming. It is grace. It is not something you can force or earn. It is given. And all you can do is open your heart and accept it.

So, as you read this, I hope you find spirituality in your veins.

Unbelievable

Tonight at 5:40 I had to help M with all the accoutrements involved in assembling a tuxedo. He then loudly resisted while I put "product" in his hair and blew it dry. He again resisted photographs (but I got a few) and we set off in the car to meet with the girlfriend.

Having most of my photography experience with girls being Kyla and Alyssa (who are always more than willing to pose and follow my *weird* directions) I was surprised to find that this girl hated having her picture taken as much as M!! I did, however, get them to pose for me in front of a barn.... I am hoping the redish background will really set off the color of her light green dress.

After I ran out of film.... which came WAY to quickly..... I rushed to Costco to get it developed, and was disappointed to find it closed. So, I'll have to wait for tomorrow to see the fruits of my labor. (And that means you'll all have to wait, too!)

I still can't believe M is at the prom.... my life justs seems very surreal tonight.

Until tomorrow! Nancy

Thursday, May 17, 2007

It's official!!

I spend way too much time in front of the TV and the computer!! So instead of playing Spider Solitaire for the next 38 minutes I am going to put on a warm coat and take my puppy for a walk!!

Of course, I have to be home by 9:00 to watch Grey's Anatomy, but at least it's a start!

What did you do today?

:) Nancy

Monday, May 14, 2007

I know.....

I have been a BAD BLOGGER lately.... rarely ever checking in more than once a week. I have no good excuse. But, if you have a minute, I'm asking you to say a little prayer for the well being of my boy.... he's having a tough week and could use all the help he can get.... which, of course, means his mom and dad could use a little prayer too.

I hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day. I woke up to Kyla knocking on my door with waffles (real, not eggo) and strawberries and yogurt and a big glass of milk all served to me on the breakfast-in-bed tray. Mason gave me a "Happy Mother's Day" (remember to think this in a deep voice) then, "Do you want a hug?" Of course, I wanted one, I never get those anymore....l Later, I got a bad farmer's tan on my arms while sitting on my deck finishing the last couple of chapters of The Nanny Diaries.

I'll try to check in again soon.

Hugs, Nancy

Monday, May 07, 2007

Spring

Spring and fall are definitely the best seasons here in Hum Co. Today the weather was HOT! Like over 80!!! It felt so good to sit in the sun and soak up its rays. My class was LOUD today, but mostly good. I tried to spend more time outside with them, but it's STAR test week so we could only go out for 15 minutes in the morning while the 1st-3rd graders were out, ere we might be loud and obnoxious next to the windows of the kids trying so hard to concentrate on THE TEST while we are whooping and hollering! Then in the afternoon they were so hot, they all wanted to go inside! Poor little things, they are so unaccustomed to the heat!
On another note, I mailed the contracts to sell our house today, and I am feeling MUCH better about it. This is my path, and I am determined to find joy in it, every step of the way.

Hope your day was as lovely as mine! Love, N

Saturday, May 05, 2007

I made a wish....


for our house to "JUST SELL...... I don't care, just sell it!" and it did, and now I feel like a part of me has been torn out. This was the house that I dreamed of owning, the house I always wanted, the house I loved despite its quirks, the house I made into the home for our family...... Soon it will be a vacation cabin for 2 couples... It will not be a home. My heart is aching despite the relief of the financial burden.

A few more



long overdue Easter pictures.....
I thought I should add a couple of the older kids, although they're not as much fun to photograph!
Feliz Cinco de Mayo and Happy National Scrapbooking Day!!

Thursday, May 03, 2007

just a quick update....



I am finally getting around to putting up a few Easter pictures.... and this cute one of Charles that was from awhile ago.....

I am having quite a struggle around here for the computer. The "my space" addiction has quite a hold on my children. I am seriously considering putting a one hour limit on computer time per day....... Just don't have the energy to enforce it as of today, so I will have to hope their obsession wears out or I get some gumption.....

The 2 beauties above are my sweet nieces..... love the mischieveous look in Madi's eye and the giggle on Livi's face.... it's not often that Livi gives up her worried "crinkle"!!

I am still hoping for more adjectives on the link below.... (down about 3 posts or so) check it out if you have time.

Love, N