My song for July

i wanted to play a fun song for my birthday.

i'm a day late.

oh well.

this medley is awesome.

Almost Birthday

2 sleeps.

i'll be 37.

that's 3 years away from the big 4-0.

i can't believe that i'm almost that old.  

i know, just live for today, for this year.  

don't worry about 3 years from now.  

no one knows what life will be like 3 years from now.

Even Jesus says not to worry about tomorrow..

i'm sure if i'm not supposed to worry about tomorrow, i'm definitely not supposed to worry about 3 years from now.

i'm not actually worried.

i am in shock that it's that soon until i'm an age i had once thought of as ancient and prehistoric.

but right now i'm 36.

in 2 sleeps i'll be 37.

i love birthdays.

i share a birthday with some pretty awesome people.

my friend, Morgan, in grade school had the same birthday as me, and we thought that was pretty cool.

we were only a couple hours apart too.  so we were twins.

my second cousin, Kelly, is a beautiful, talented, and gifted young lady
(by the way, check out her photography website www.kellytaub.com).
  i went to her sweet sixteen party 6(?) years ago and found out then that we shared the same date.

I used to watch these two beautiful twin girls, so full of life and laughter...and energy (still are).

 they were born the year i turned 30.

i married into this amazing family.

The Quiggs.

the patriarch of this clan was Milton Quigg.

Godly.

Loving

 family-oriented.

devoted husband.

 devoted father and grandpa.

amazing great-grandpa.

wise.

funny (old-man humor haha!)

silly.

repetitive with jokes and stories.

we shared the same day, until he passed away 2 years ago.

i still remember him on this day, and his amazing wife as she remembers him each year.

so.

i don't know who else shares the day with me,

but i like the list i have.

i hope each of those people have a great day, and coming year.

may God reveal Himself in ways unimaginable to each of them in this coming year.

(grandpa quigg gets to spend each day with God in an unimaginable way already)

Happy Birthday

in 2 sleeps.

(remember this was written on Monday the 23rd)

Loft Bed: Done.

So, we started the loftbed when our kids went to their Gramma and Papa's for 4 sleepovers.
Read about the beginning here.

So, when the kids got back home there was pure excitement about seeing his bed.
however, he would not be sleeping in it right away.
we were finishing up the mud and sanding..
then we finally painted the walls so we could move him in.
so, one week after seeing the bed he finally got to sleep in it.

daddy reading to his little boy: 1st night in the loft.

singing to my kids

When the boy was a baby i used to spend a lot of time rocking him.  

whether to calm him or to feed him

i would hum or sing songs i knew from tv. 

(Gilligan's Island theme, Brady Bunch Theme)

i would hum or sing songs i knew from childhood 

(this little light of mine, happy birthday baby jesus, this old man)

i would hum or sing songs i knew from camp or church 

(there is a redeemer, the coconut song)

but the main song i would go to was one Dan had told me calmed him as he tried to calm our new baby.

it was a song i sang to calm myself as well as my son 

(and then my daughter).  

now that my kids are 3 & 4 i will go to them at night when they're crying, or struggling to fall asleep.

i love it when i hear my little girl say to me with tears in her eyes, and pulling me to lay down with her, "mommy can you sing 'mazing grace"  

definitely little one.  

may the words sink deep into their souls and hearts.  

may this song be one of power to them, 

as well as calming... 

and most of all truth to them.

Amazing grace how sweet the sound 

that saved a wretch like me 

i once was lost but now i'm found 

was blind but now i see 

 twas grace that taught my heart to fear

and grace my fears relieved

 how precious did that grace appear

 the hour i first believed

 through many dangers, toils and snares

i have already come 

tis grace that brought me safe thus far

and grace will lead me home

when we've been there ten thousand years

bright shining as the sun

we've no less days to sing God's praise

than when we've first begun.

loft bed

every little boy wants a cool loft bed at some point.  

or if they don't it's because they've never seen one or heard of one.

we are giving our guy one.

the kids are visiting gramma and papa this week so i had the wonderful idea to get the boy's bed done for when he came home after the weekend.

will it be done in time?

we'll see.

On Monday morning dan cut down a tree for our lumber.

that afternoon he cut it into boards.

yesterday immediately after they left with gramma and papa i began my job.

on went the CD player: Dave Matthews/Tim Reynolds Live at Luther College

up went the volume.

into the boy's room i went.

 

I cleared out his room - all except his bed - and that only because i didn't know where to put it.

i stood it up on it's side.

when dan got home last night we began planing the boards.

then we ripped out the wall above the kids' closets.

put in the main beam for the bed.  

exhausted, it was bed time.

this morning i was up by 6:30.  

bringing the boards outside by 6:50. (i had to eat breakfast)

and sanding them by 7:10  

it's now lunchtime.

i have sanded and clear-coated all the boards and the main beam.

i have removed all the wood and drywall (from above the closets).
wood to burn pile.

i have mainly cleaned the floor in the room.

i am sore.

i am tired.

i am hungry.

i am excited to see this bed happen.  

Dan is a creative genius and the plans are in his head.

i don't even know what it will look like when done.

not the restful week that i had originally planned when the kids first asked if they could have a 4 night sleepover at papa and gramma's...  

but when i see my little boy walk into his room and climb up to his new bed - 

it will be worth it.