If...

If the three words we most want to hear are I Love You, the three most dreaded words to hear have got to be what's for dinner? ... At least for me, cooking is not really my thing - it stresses me out actually and now, I've got my 3 soon-to-be-stepchildren/teenagers to cook dinner for. The first night, we ended up with Spaghetti with sauce from a jar (no meat) and salad. It actually was good. The next night, Ron (their dad) 'cooked' - he cheated though. He bought a complete chicken dinner from Stater Bros. Hey, I can cook like that! Last night was the first time we tried to use the very old oven in our new house, and I cooked meatloaf. Once it came on, the oven worked fine and the meatloaf was pretty good. (In my opinion, meatloaf is tricky cuz there are about a dozen ways to fix it and everyone has their favorite.) Anyway, Ron and I enjoyed a nice quiet meal together, cuz the kids were late coming home from their mom's (another story.) But then, just as we're cleaning off the table - here they all come. And, remember my 'cold water in your face' blog a few months ago - those first 5 minutes when everyone comes together? Yep, that's what it was like ... Aaron didn't want meatloaf (he doesn't like anything)...Sarah had an attitude (whatever!)...Matthew was cute though. He said, I'll have meatloaf. And don't worry about Aaron, he's just having a moment. You'll get used to it. My mom is used to it. It did help...still it's a little unnerving, you know. It all worked out, the meatloaf was finished off as well as the left over chicken from the night before. For our 3rd night, it was OK -and everyone was settled down by bedtime... and we actually got a few things done around the house. (we've all just moved). We'll survive... hopefully we will survive with few, or no, casualties!

R.S.V.P. ~ they're saying yes!

The wedding invitations were mailed last Thursday, and by the weekend we had already received RSVP's back! I was amazed...delighted...stressed! Now, that people are coming I've got to get everything finished. It's funny, I know. Though I hate deadlines, and do my best to avoid having them, I also work better with them. More RSVP's came yesterday and today. I've done more packing... and cleaning out. I've reserved the moving truck. I've talked to half of the utilities about transferring service. I've tied tags onto bottles of bubbles. I've started decorating scrapbook pages to frame and display. So, you can see I've been busy - plus I have a job! Wow, I'm really getting married...

Packing up the pieces...

I can't believe I'm packing up and moving out of my cute little apartment! But, of course, I'm getting married, and we've found a house, and so the next step is to pack up and move... I remember when I moved here almost four years ago (yes! it's been that long) - I couldn't imagine living here for more than a year - now, four years later, I can't imagine not living here. This place has been my safe place, my sanctuary, it's been ... home. It's where, even though I wasn't looking - I found myself. And it's where I found love again. Now, it's time to let go and begin another new adventure. For a girl who doesn't like change much, I'm about to embark on nothing but change! I think I'm ready for it though. I've actually become bored with my predictable, structured lifestyle and though I still want to maintain order and a schedule, I'm also ready for some changes...
And there's no time like the present. I packed 10 boxes today and cleaned out a bunch of stuff and made about 10 trips to the dumpster. I just sorted through and threw away a bunch of stuff when I moved here, how could I have accumulated more? It happens... The packing went well, I felt at peace about it, and felt that maybe - just maybe I'll be ready to move on June 1st... the wedding preparations will all get done in time and I will truly be able to celebrate on July 1st! In the meantime, there is more packing to be done.

A Place to Live...

One of the biggest challenges we have faced in the wedding planning is finding a place for the five of us to call home! Currently Ron and I each live in a 2-bedroom apartment. He brings 3 children to the new household...I come with a scrapbook room! Consequently, we need quite a bit of room. But besides the need for room, we have other restrictions to our search. We have to remain in the Redlands School District, the price has to be reasonable (and I mean rea-son-a-ble), and it can't take Ron too much further from the metrolink train station for his commute to and from Orange County. Other than that... The ideal location would have been actually in Redlands, so the kids could walk to school and a little less stress in getting them to their various after school activities. However, like much of Southern California - Redlands is a pretty expensive place to live and especially when you need a sizeable place.
We have been praying for a house, condo, townhouse - with a minimum of 3 bedrooms and the hope there would also be a place for me to scrapbook. While actually calling on a property in Redlands, I heard about 2 properties in Loma Linda, which is a little college/bedroom community on the outskirts of Redlands. Loma Linda is where Ron lives now and is in the Redlands School District. We found a 4 bedroom, 1-3/4 bath home, with a huge back yard and a bonus room off of the patio in a nice neighborhood for rent - at a price we could hardly believe for the size of home. It's kid proof, too - having tile and wood floors, no carpets to soil! It's not in pristine condition, but it's not torn up either. Trust me, in my many years of renting homes during my first marriage, I have rented much worse places! Anyway, after seeing the house, talking to the realtor (who we just hit it off with immediately), filling out the paperwork and waiting a week... we found out last Friday, May 4, that we were approved to rent the house! Oh, my! What a relief! We will get the keys on May 29 and one of us will begin moving in soon thereafter. We're still working out the who is moving when details...but we are assured of this: God is so good. Our prayers were too small, but God came through with more than we had asked or imagined! Praise Him!

It was a dark and stormy night...

An interesting beginning sentence to tell about "the proposal." But it had rained all day and been very dark and stormy. It was very cold after sundown, although the rain had mostly stopped. Now on to the proposal. Ron first asked me to marry him about a year after we started dating... over the next year, he asked several more times. Finally, he said, "I don't want to try to talk you into anything you don't want, or for you to say yes because I've worn you down. You know I want to marry you. You let me know when." It was probably around springtime last year when I decided I was ready. And since then, although the date has changed a few times, we (I) have been planning the wedding. We found the perfect engagement ring and put it in layaway July 2006, and Ron has faithfully and steadily been paying on it each month. I knew the final payment had been made because I had to go down to have my finger measured so the ring could be sized. So I knew it was coming- just not exactly when or how. When he called me Thursday night (April 19), he said he had made dinner reservations for Friday night and I probably wanted to bring my camera ... so I kinda figured I would be getting my ring. At 6:30 Friday night,April 20, he picked me up and we went to dinner at a quaint (and very expensive) restaurant in Redlands. We had a wonderful dinner, but he seemed distracted (even for him). I had already had our waiter take our picture at the table, although you can barely see us cuz he took it from across the room - why do people do that? Anyway... after Ron paid the check he took the box out of his coat pocket. He gave it to me to unwrap, but then I gave it back to him to open up the actual ring box. When he did, he simply asked, "Will you marry me?" I think I said yes, but I really don't remember. I did, however, take a picture of him putting the ring on my finger, so I must have said yes! Then the waiter came over and congratulated us, and took another photo. Then as we were leaving the people at the table behind us said congratulations. Our waiter followed us to the door and offered to take another picture of us in front of the restaurant and congratulated us again. The funny thing was how calm I was and how nervous Ron was! He said he'd wanted to make the proposal really unique and special, but he was so nervous, all he could say was 'Will you marry me?' and that was enough, of course. The ring is beautiful! And now, with the wedding only 70 days away (as of the date I got the ring) - I am officially engaged!

Where are they now?

You've seen those television shows or tabloid magazine articles about child stars and someone asks the question, 'where are they now?'... You know how I love to scrapbook, and part of that is the journaling, telling the story. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but without the words, sometimes the picture is ... well, an incomplete story. And sometimes, a picture can't tell the story at all. I said all of that because the other day I was looking ahead to my next scrapbooking layout (unfortunately, even though I was 'looking ahead,' it's really looking behind because I'm just now scrapbooking the fall of 2005!). Anyway, I was reading through my journal for November, trying to get an idea of the stories behind the pictures I had and once again, I was filled with thanksgiving that I do journal stories and days of my life because I ran across one I had totally forgotten. One that made me ask the question, 'where are they now?'
It was Thanksgiving weekend 2005 and the five of us spent the whole weekend together beginning with cooking Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday (and being thankful for the turkey) to leftovers Friday through Sunday and being thankful the turkey was gone! One night we had a family devotion, ending with everyone praying. Matthew thanked God for each of us by name...Aaron pretty much duplicated Matthew's prayer, then Sarah (who was 15) thanked God for each of us by name, too - but then added 'please let Dad and Deiga's relationship work out, let them get married so we can be a family, and let them be a good couple for you, Lord.' As I read, I remembered how I felt when she prayed that, how my heart was just so full, and wondering how was I supposed to pray after that -I was about to cry. They were all very interested in spiritual things then, very much liked going to church ... but now, 18 months later, I'm wondering 'where are they now' spiritually. I'm not sure they would pray those same prayers now. It just seems they aren't quite as interested in spiritual things, they go to church with us when they are with us for the weekend, but they seem to be fine if they don't go, too... and how will it be when we're married? I don't know... all I (we) can do is keep praying for them, keep taking them to church - exposing them to Christian beliefs and Christian people... and hopefully, continue to be positive influences in their life ... and hope that Sarah's Thanksgiving 2005 prayer is answered ... that we will be a family, and a good couple for the Lord.

At long last, it's mine...well almost...

You know I'm getting married in 82 days, but I don't have an engagement ring on my finger yet. This picture was taken last July (2006) when we found the perfect ring and put it on layaway. Ron has faithfully, and steadily, been paying on it every month since then and today the last payment was made! It's still not on my finger yet because it's being sized down to fit ... but soon and very soon... check back for the story of how he gives me the ring. I'm anxious to know myself!