So here it is.
Winter has arrived.
I always love the
change of seasons.
So pretty, so new.

I am trying to
stay positive
and not think about
the slick roads
that my family and friends
need to be out on today.



So back to how lovely the fresh fallen snow looks.

Thinking... .. .. . . . .

Ok that is all I have that is positive about the snow. It sure is pretty.

Ever have one of those days where everything comes together to bring you to your knees,
and where the tears flow without control?
Today was one of those days.


But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble.
Psalm 59:16

We started the process to refinance our house this last August. All the paperwork was in, but the underwriter was just sitting on it.

September came and went and we used up our savings to make the house payment.

October came and went and we decided that we could no longer afford to make the payment, so we didn't.

November came and we still could not afford to make the payment so we didn't.

November 4th, the phone rings.

Bank: We are ready to close on your refinance.
Me: Oh?
Bank: You sound confused.
Me: I am because we are behind on our mortgage.
Bank: Yes, I show that you haven't made your October payment.
Me: So you can understand my confusion.

So the bottom line is; we signed papers on the 5th and we don't have to make a payment until December 1st.

With the money we were able to save by not being able to make a payment we will be able to pay off a couple of bills. Which in turn will allow us to stay in this house.

We will have to be frugal, but we can stay.

People say "For the love of Pete" and "For Pete's sake". So the question is: Who is Pete?

Pete is a spider. He has been living above my coat closet for about 3 or 4 weeks. He has only gotten to stay because I am terrified that if I try to squish the little creeper that he will fall on me.

So after the first week of his intrusion, I decided that I could at least keep my eyes on him and not be afraid that he was going to crawl into my clothes or my bed and bite me or worse, crawl into my ear and .... oh that is just to horrible to think about. Well, then I thought that if he was going to hang around awhile that he needed a name. So Pete he became.

Now I have this friend who has a preying mantis. It just so happens that Jessie, the name of her bug, is hungry. So this friend says, just put Pete in a jar and bring him over. Hummmm...I love that idea. One problem. How on earth do I convince Pete to get into the jar. I certainly am NOT going to touch the creepy crawly thing. Well, I decide to lean on my much braver husband for this task. Even if he will make fun of me when I tell him of the dilemma.

After weeks of hanging out in the same spot without so much as moving an inch; imagine my surprise when I woke up this morning and Pete was not there.

I feel the terror rising up within me.

Where is he?

UGH!

Well I found Pete. He has found a new location in which to do his hibernating. It just happens to be in the access to the attic. Right above my bedroom door. I have to walk under him in order to get into my bedroom. Well, he certainly can't stay there! Until my hubby gets home I will just have to enter my bedroom via the bathroom.

Spiders like to fall as soon as you are under them!

My husband has worked in trusses for about 20 YEARS. He started out pushing a broom and worked his way up to a design manager. He has worked very hard and has been a dedicated employee. His employers have always recognized and rewarded him for his successes.

Then one company he worked for sold out to a big corporation and to make a long story short...that company no longer exists. So he took a DROP IN PAY to take a new job; he never complained.

Now this company too has sold out to a big corporation. He sees them moving in the same direction. Alot of work has been OUTSOURCED TO INDIA. Who outsources trusses?! In order to save 10 minutes worth of time, they add 15 minutes of paperwork. They have found creative ways to cut costs. Like taking away the ability to use your vehicle to go to job sites and paying mileage. That used to supply enough money to pay for gas all year long. Now they have taken him off salary and put him on hourly using some CREATIVE ACCOUNTING. But at the end of the month our bank account is short $600. Plus the loss of gas money which was over $100 a month.

Ok, so you are probably thinking... the economy. Companies are just trying to survive. I would naturally have thought that too, but this plant is MAKING MONEY.

Consequences: We can't keep our house. FORECLOSURE! In the last 4 years my husband's annual salary has dropped nearly $20,000. We couldn't keep our house now even if we wanted to.

Yes, I said "wanted to". Our plan was to stay in this house for only a couple of years. Then sell it and move to a "permanent home" that fit our needs better. Since the housing market is barely breathing our house VALUE HAS DROPPED $40,000. So selling is not an option. We know, we looked into it.

I have CRIED. No one wants to be put into this situation. Things weren't suppose to happen this way!!! I am angry!!!

Acceptance: I am not there yet, but I will be. My husband and I want so much to have GOD be the focus of our lives. We want to do HIS WILL not ours. Maybe this will allow us to be free in order to serve Him better.

This house and neighborhood causes us so MUCH STRESS. It will be nice to get away from it. I didn't want it to happen this way. To start over at our age is disheartening BUT...

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

I know something good must be going to happen.

During our visit to Montana
this summer I got to go
4 wheeling for a bit.

Behind my parents house is a old fire access road that runs somewhat beside the railroad tracks.

My brother and I decided to ride along this road.

When I was younger I rode horses up on this road, it was a nice smooth road then.

Although I keep calling it a road, it really is more of a trail.

Well anyway, someone got the bright idea to grade this road, unearthing more rocks the size of cantaloupe then one could imagine.

That made for quite a bumpy ride.

But I was still glad for the opportunity
to go.

Last night the family and I sat on the back porch to watch the fireworks. It is quite the experience that we only discovered last year.

Behind our house is a road, then the open space of the golf course surrounded by trees. This makes for an adventure that takes ones imagination off to the time of the Revolutionary War.

As the sun begins to drop down from the sky the sights, sounds, and smells begin. First, we begin to hear the pops echoing from the trees followed by the puffs of smoke rising into the air. It is not difficult to envision revolutionary soldiers within those trees.

As the darkness grows so does the spectacle. Before we know it, we are surrounded on all sides by a sky filled with "bombs bursting in air". Reds, golds, and blues all raining down around us.

A smoky mist begins to encircle us and our breath fills with the aroma of the blasting powder.

The "cannon fire" echoes from one edge of our line of sight and back from the other. Our windows shudder from the encompassing "Boom".

The chill in the air and our sleepy eyes bring us back to 2010. So off to bed we go falling asleep to the now muted sounds of the Fourth of July.