Sunday, July 24, 2011

Mood: Contemplative, Heart: Grateful

      I just waved goodbye to my favorite man, for once a passenger in "Dream Chaser", the semi that usually has HIM as a driver. He's set off for a new venture, this time team-driving, which also means much longer trips and not seeing him as often.
      What an amazing guy though. Knowing I was having a tough time with it all, he stepped up to the plate to help make sure I had a good weekend. He was very much unselfish, and just spoiled me all around. Friday night he took me to the Gem's baseball game. It's their inaugural season, so it was my first time to a game here (really missed going to Em's games in Eugene!), and Duane's first time to a game at all. From the game, we got an offer of a free store-brand bracelet, which turned into paying only $15 for an upgrade to a Pandora bracelet. Of course they want you to buy the charms to go on them, but I think most of the charms are ugly anyway, so I won't have any problem with just the pretty jingles! :) Then my husband found me a BIG bag of gummy worms - big time points for that one - and this morning he fixed me breakfast and cut flowers from the garden for the table. The whole time though, he was helping me deal with stuff, and was sensitive.
      On top of that, we had great (sweaty) fun cleaning out the truck yesterday. One of the things that annoys me the most, but that I also admire the most about him is that he is such a clean freak. That guy made sure we vacuumed every nook and cranny, "pledged" the walls and fixtures, vacuumed, scrubbed, and vacuumed again the floor, washed the windows, repacked everything so there'd be room for Tim's stuff, cleaned the upholstery, and a bunch of other stuff. By the time we were done, that truck fairly sparkled, inside and out. It was a great time just working on something together.
      In between things, I got to fix him some yummy food, too. He really liked the meatloaf, and the mac and cheese that I made from scratch. PLUS I finally got the chance to make my pumpkin cheesecake that I'd been itching to try my hand at. It was the first time I got to make one from scratch, the kind that you bake, using a springform pan. I was purty excited! :)
      I am so grateful for a man that loves me, that can be sensitive one minute and the mans man the next. Working hard to provide for me, striving for godliness, and generous to a fault. Thank you, God, for Duane.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

An Update of No Fixed Theme

After realizing how longs its been since we updated the blog, I figured I'd better at least post SOMETHING, or no one would ever check this anymore! lol
I know Duane has a more thought out blog that he's working on, I thought I'd take a few minutes and at least update you on the happenings around here.
Duane's still driving the truck (at the moment, he's on is way to Kent, WA), and working hard at it. In the last couple weeks, the truck had to be fixed twice (for different things), which called for some unplanned downtime. One of those unplanned down-times was at home, though, thankfully, so he got a day to just "chill".
I've still been busy at work, though God has provided amazingly in the way of more help. Mindy is now helping with driving the teams to 5-Day Clubs (like mini Vacation Bible Schools), doing a little teaching, and coaching the young teachers each day. Usually I would be doing this every day of the week, but after only a little training, Mindy had it all under control so I could have my customary Friday off! Meanwhile, since Terry attended Christian Youth In Action with me in June (the training for the young teachers), she is on fire, and an enthusiastic aid in many areas, including the 5-Day Clubs and fairs. Thank you, God, for such an amazing team!!!
I love to have Fridays off so I can get caught up on stuff around the house, trying to have the place a little more presentable when Duane gets home, and just not rushing here there and everywhere.
Usually when Duane is home we try to stay AT home if possible, so we get more done. Over Independence Day Weekend, we got a LOT done. We built a bunch of shelves to cover most of the walls in our 10X12 shed, then moved a bunch of stuff from the garage into the shed in an ORGANIZED fashion! Once we did THAT, we were able to finish tidying the garage enough to be able to park the car IN the garage! Woohoo!!! There's even room to spare, so this weekend, we got some of Duane's stuff out of storage so that HE could actually move in! :) We still get surprised every day though, that we go out to the garage, and there's a CAR there! lol.
One major breakthrough in the last couple weeks, was that I got sick. Not that my getting sick is ever news anymore - and that's the problem. I've gotten so sick of being sick, I just haven't known what to do. While I think that there's a lot that goes into my different symptoms, one of the main ones has finally been pinpointed: I have allergies. It's really one of those "Coulda had a v8" kind of moments, though. I had allergies when I lived in the valley in and around Eugene, but they were much more obvious, so these symptoms I didn't put with the allergy factors. Instead, these allergies had been contributing to my frequent sinus infections (thanks to narrow nasal passages), and general feelings of miserableness. And yes, I made up that word. :) Now that we know more of what I'm dealing with, we're hoping that we can address the root of the problem and at least greatly diminish the symptoms. THANK YOU GOD for an answer!
One other cool thing is that my friends and I have started getting together for a Frugal Club twice a month. We're doing everything from oil-changes to laundry-soap-making, to couponing, and much more. Just the fellowship as we look for ways to be good stewards together is pretty sweet!
So there's my newsy update. Now you have hope and can once again become a regular checker of the Tucker's Tales blog! :) Thanks for joining us!
Cora