All or nothing

Why does it seem like we are coasting along happily then life starts to pick up speed, then suddenly it is all or nothing!  This summer has been busy, but nothing out of the ordinary.  Projects around the house, commute to work, slow day, commute home.  La la la.

Then we begin to get involved with a homeless mission and that snowballs into something bigger than anyone envisioned, growing from 8 volunteers to over 50 in just a few weeks with bigger plans already in place to start a 2nd location.  Mike is now leading a youth group on Sundays, building a deck out back, school is in full swing, I am starting my new job on Monday, and it storms in Kansas.  So Mike has been asked to go back to help with damage claims at the same time I am supposed to travel for work for a week... and so on and so forth.

I realized a while back that God was going to do whatever he wanted with me.  This new job is another example - all of my applying and networking when I got laid off was necessary to prepare me for something, but it was never his plan that I would get one of those jobs (including 3 at Hewitt that I could have easily done).  I had to wait, and learn to trust in His timing.  This little stint at BP was a blessing - some extra income and keeping me in the market while building my reputation (references) so I could do the Adecco deal.

But the point was not about me at any time.  I realized that everything that has happened over the last 2 years are for Mike.  He is being led to start a business in ministry providing much needed equipment for relief efforts.  The people he needed to meet are here and God is using me to provide for our other needs.

Jeremiah 29:11  "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

God, I thank you that you are the great Provider, that you see in me what I can handle, what I can become, and that you have chosen me to be a part of your work.  Continue to lead and teach me that I may enable even better things to happen for others, in Your Glory.

Stories worth telling

Danny and Annie from StoryCorps on Vimeo.

The tile is down

Mike finished laying the tile over concrete on the back porch this week.  The grout is drying and he will seal it all over the weekend.  It looks great - there is a red accent tile as a border around all the edges and columns which matches the brick and the red in the star design.  The field is a mottled brown that matches the deck boards, and there is a decorative strip of smaller, lighter colored pieces with some polished glass-looking accents.

He also replaced the standard issue lights with outdoor fans so there is always a breeze when you want one!  Pretty cool.

Home improvements

Previously I mentioned a project underway at our house.  Truthfully it is more like several projects in various stages, but one is getting all of the time and budget at the moment and that is the back porch.  You just GOTTA have a decent porch.  That is where friends hang out, kids play, grillin' is done and world problems are solved on any given evening.

The previous owner used the existing porch as a dog run.  It is not overly big, maybe 6' x 20', and they enclosed it with some quickie half walls and screen, and a cheap storm door on one end.  For a while that served us well as temporary storage while we continued to sort through and unpack moving boxes and garage items.  When that was done and the space was cleared out, it was very clear that this was "wasted" space.  The wall blocked the view of the yard from the living room, giving it all a much smaller and closed in feel.

Phase 1 - The plan.  Mike drew out a really nice plan to build a deck with multiple levels that will provide plenty of room for the delights mentioned above.  His vision includes a fire pit, and mine includes more trees for shade and color.  We decided to do it in phases to make the budget work.  Off to the hardware store to pick out the materials.

Phase 2 - Demolition.  I didn't take any pictures of the screened in porch.  Just envision siding about 36" up and screens all around.  What a difference such a small thing can make!  Just knocking down those walls really brightened the room.

Phase 3 - Framing.  Ok, we never claimed to be the sharpest tools in the shed... starting an outdoor deck project, in July, in southeast Texas?  Now really?  So Mike worked in short hours during what was the coolest parts of the day (80 degrees at 6 a.m. is not very cool in case you are wondering) and started framing.

looking out from the living rm

the remainder of the door

looking toward the house

the first part of the deck

Phase 4 - Tile.  Since the day we moved in Mike wanted to cover the concrete with tile.  The front porch has a pretty slate tile, and the back porch needed something too.  So this week he has been laying tile.  All the practice he got finishing our home in Kansas and laying tile is paying off!  Updated pictures soon :-)