I hate titles

The bedroom still isn't done. GH is painting it at this very moment, so very soon!

In other news, The Princess and I both have stuffy noses, and she has a cough. The Prince and GH have yet to get the bug, so maybe we've dodged that bullet.

The Princess is involved in a theater group, but has never tried out for a part since the first play she performed in, which was "Annie." If I never hear "Hard Knock Life," or "Tomorrow" again, I'll be perfectly content, by the way. Anyway, she was OFFERED a part last week, and so we'll get to see more of her at the performance in October! We're so excited! With said part, another fee for a second costume was due, so my generous and wonderful parents paid for it. What would I do without my parents?

About those parents: We had quite the scare a week or so ago. My dad, being a Korean War Vet, has always wanted to return to Korea to see what our (meaning the U.S.) efforts did for South Korea. The opportunity arose, and they took it. The Korean government actually hosts American veterans in a show of appreciation for their service! How cool is that?! I wonder if Iraq will do that someday...

Anyway, Mom and Dad extended their trip for a full six days to go to China. I didn't like that idea, but I understood. Sort of. They were able to call one time, when they arrived in China. It was 12:30 a.m., and they woke me from a dead sleep, but I was so very happy to hear from them that I didn't care. They sounded good, and were looking forward to exploring China (as much as China will let you explore).

My brother and I had noted that their itinerary from the airline said they'd be returning on the 20th; however, Mom kept talking about returning on the 21st. Well, we figured she could have been mistaken, and that they were really returning on the 20th SINCE THAT'S WHAT THE ITINERARY SAID. So, The Princess and I headed the 40 miles or so to our major airport, and waited for them to arrive. And waited, and waited, and waited, and waited...for three hours. They did not arrive, and I had a meltdown, right there, in front of the international terminal. I called my brother, sobbing "Mom and Dad weren't on the plane! I don't know what to do!! Call me back, please!!!!!" The Princess, who is mature beyond her years, calmly called her father, GH, and told him I may not be able to drive home.

I calmed down, called the airline and asked if my parents were booked on the 9/20 flight from Seoul, South Korea. They said they couldn't tell me; that's confidential information. *sigh* So, while The Princess and I headed home in rush hour traffic from the airport, GH went to my folks' home, and started calling all the hotels listed on their paperwork. Hotels in South Korea and China. Major language barriers ensued, yet GH kept his cool, and finally got some information from a complete (American) stranger in the room they had just vacated in China! Then, we were able to contact the tour company, and were assured they were at that very moment boarding a plane to return home. God bless my GH. He spent over an hour on the phone talking to all kinds of non-English speaking people, just to find his crazy in-laws.

I headed out to the airport AGAIN the next day, and picked them up. I felt kinda bad that I wasn't happier to see them - I mean, I was happy to see them, but I was so frazzled from the day before that it took a little while for it to sink in that they were finally home. Then, when it did sink in, I cried.

Now, for confession time. God has been working on my heart in the area of anxiety and worry. Oh, yes, those two stumbling blocks of many Christian women. I had listened to a fantastic sermon online, and felt God breaking my heart. It felt horrible and blissful at the same time. I gave Him my worry about work, about my kids, my marriage.

And then, my parents didn't arrive when I thought they were going to - and I broke down in front of God and everyone at a major international hub. And you know what God did? Even in my disobedience, even when I was basically saying "I don't believe You are who you say You are," He provided someone to pray for me, right then, right there, in the airport.

I had gone to an information booth, where a lone woman was available to help find flights and other such stuff. I kept going back to her, and she was the only one who actually helped us find out what the problem was. Anyway, before we left the airport, I went back to her, told her we knew they weren't on that flight, and asked her if she prayed. She said, "YES" and grabbed both my hands in hers, and prayed out loud, in the middle of the airport.

Thank you, Lord, for loving me despite my lack of faith. Thank you for forgiving me of my sin, and even providing comfort in the midst of my disobedience. What an awesome God we serve!!!!

Construction and finance blues

I'm feeling pretty blue today. Work has slowed to crawl, which translates into one of two things. Either GH has to start getting a lot of side work, or I have to get a "real" job. Thing is, the money I make doing the work I do is really, really good...when I'm working. If I got a full time job, I probably couldn't make what I do working very part-time. I'm praying on all this. I sure don't want GH to be working all the time, but I've lived the full-time work fantasy with kids, and I just can't imagine God wants me to do that again. We shall see.

Construction update: The bedroom is getting wallboard placed as we speak, but GH just came in and told me he needs something from Home Depot, so he's off. It's 11 p.m., by the way. He took a good long nap this afternoon, so I 'spose he's pretty rested. I, on the other hand, am exhausted. I didn't get a nap. So, I decided to come put an addition on my blog that isn't after a full month of nothing.

In other news, the Princess has been taking about dyeing her hair for awhile now. She said she wanted it to be pinkish. I figured, she's a good kid, she can't get in trouble at school since she's homeschooled, and it sounds like fun to me! So, we went and looked at hair colors. I noticed she kept looking at the light blonde colors. And as time went on, the blonde got lighter, and lighter and lighter, until we're looking at platinum blonde bleach kits! We brought it home, and she couldn't wait to get it on her head. I had to do it, since it's not really something you want to do on yourself the first time.

Well, I hate it. She has beautiful hair, but now it's a really, really unnatural blonde. I don't think anyone likes it but her, which is fine. It's just hard to get used to. At least it'll grow out.

The Prince is building a clubhouse in our backyard. He really spent alot of time nailing 2X4s together, and he actually has kind of a neat looking shelter started. We'll see how that progresses. He always has big ideas that are kind of hard to carry out, but I'm proud of how he is persevering on this project.

This blog, and where it's going

Had our first park day with our homeschool co-op today. It was really nice. I had seen most everyone over the summer, but not all together! We have a number of new families, so the kids have more kids to commiserate with. They both seemed happy to be there.

I noticed something. I re-read my first post, and I said I'd probably be talking about weight loss and finance. As far as I can tell, I've posted little if anything about either of those! Oh, well, this is (so far) only for my reading pleasure, so I guess it doesn't matter.

The Princess is sitting just behind me, reading every word. She keeps laughing at what I write. Just wait 'til she leaves the room... (She's laughing again).

I have a friend who thinks I should send her the link to this blog. Her blog is so well-written, and she really inspires me with her lifestyle and faith. And here I blog about...my broken toe. *sigh* And then my injured knee *double sigh.* Oh, and let's not forget adventures in home improvement *groan.* I think I'll send her the link just so she can get it out of her system. :-)

What else is going on? Oh, the bedroom project is still in progress. All three windows are replaced, and the stucco is almost done (the color coat needs to go on). GH is putting in a radiant barrier to hopefully make the room cooler in summer, warmer in winter. It's all taking a long time, but I think it will be worth it.

Oh, I had my birthday in the past week! I got a wonderful digital camera! My daddy found it for me, and my in-laws, brother and GH pitched in. They also got me a charger for re-chargeable batteries. I am soooo excited! I love The Pioneer Woman and I really want to learn about taking pics with the digital on her site. Of course, I don't live in the same kind of setting that she does, but I can find beauty here, really, I can! I will learn how to post pics here. Just give me a little time.