Said in a Boston Accent: "I'm Dyin' Here!"

I know I have my dramatic tendencies, but this not-having-my-own-computer business is really wearing thin.

Jeff has taken his work computer with him (to work!) the past couple of days, and I am having serious withdrawls.

It's pitiful, really, as I think I may actually be grieving, lol.

Which is why I still am unable to post photos in case the three of you are wondering why things have been so picture-less and dull around this here blog lately.

I hadn't realized how dependent I'd gotten on having instant access to information at my fingertips.

These past couple of weeks I'd be thinking about what to make for dinner, and then remember I have a coconut on hand and think, "I need to find that Thai recipe..." and go to my art studio to look it up only to see the blank space on my desktop where old faithful used to sit.

Or I'd go get started on a furniture refinishing project and go to look up the blog which showed a foolproof 'technique' for perfectly painted furniture, and remember...ugh! No computer access in the house. Auuuugh!

I'm dyin' here!

But I refuse to go spend money on something brand new. I have prayed about this matter and know that the Lord will somehow provide this need for us in time.

This summer, I have learned some very important lessons in this regard.

In the past, I have been rather impulsive in my spending. If I found need of something around the house I would just go buy it. Most of the time, these purchases were small and reasonable here and easily absorbed into the budgeet, but occasionally, a bigger purchase would pinch us enough that we'd have to tighten the belt for the remainder of the month. Not good.

With the economy being what it is, and the fact that my husband is a teacher (with thousands of teachers jobs in tenuous positions due to State budgets being broke), the future does not feel quite so secure as it did a couple of years ago, and we've had to reassess our usual M.O. budget-wise.

Enter lessons learned. I'm not sure when I ever got away from the whole trusting the Lord to provide my needs thing, but I've had a major refresher course over the past few months.

This past year, I had a great desire for a camper (I hate to admit to it, but I think we're getting a bit too old for tent camping. This old gray mare's back just can't hack sleeping on the ground anymore, lol.). It seemed a worthy investment as we love to camp, and as far as vacations are concerned, it's a pretty economical way to see the sights on a one-income budget.

We chose to wait on purchasing one, however...and as I've mentioned here before, the Lord provided us a wonderful camper for free.

I'm so thankful that we didn't go impulsively buy a more expensive used one, when this perfectly suitable camper of just the perfect size, with everything still in great working condition including the fridge and A/C, low mileage, needing only minor cosmetic improvements to the decor inside and is really everything we wanted in a camper was waiting just around the bend! It makes my heart sing that it didn't cost us a thing.

(On a side note, the camper reno project has temporarily been placed on hold, as we've had company and that inevitably means that other home renovation projects got bumped up our priorities list, But have no fear, I will post pics as soon as possible!)

Another instance of God's provision was when we began our garden this past spring. I happened to be talking with friends and mentioned our need of a roll of sturdy chicken wire type stuff for our beans and squash to climb up, and our friends said, "Hey, we have a roll of that we were just going to take to the dump". Again, free! And there is more than enough to finish off future raised garden beds! (You should see the hubbard squash hanging four feet off the ground!)

Then, not long after the garden was in full swing, I expressed my desire to fence off a final section of our back yard with a gate to create an area for the pygmy goats we hope to get in time for Jericho to join up with 4-H.

The very next Sunday our pastor announced that the church would be tearing down the chain link fence at church and putting up a block wall, and that the chain link was available to whoever wanted it. And guess what? It's exactly the same height as our existing fencing, and once again...free! Plus it came with posts and cross bars!

Oh, and did I ever tell you the story about the never-ending bolt of white eyelet fabric we also received for free last fall?

I'm not talking the little fabric store size bolts, either, but a tree-trunk thick roll of fabric that is 61 inches wide!

So far, I've sewn curtain panels for the entire home of the friends who gave me the fabric, and made valances for our entire church fellowship hall, plus have plans to make bedskirts and a couple of valances around my own house...and that will still have barely made a dent it it! It's like the loaves and fishes of fabric!

I'm telling you, the Lord gives good gifts to his people! We have only to ask, trust and wait. In His good time, He will provide.

So now, I've asked and am just trusting and waiting that somehow or another a really good used desktop will turn up.

Along with the Vitamix blender I've also been longing for.

And you know what? I'm excited to see just how He does it! You can be sure I'll post about it when it happens, too!

Does this mean I'm waiting patiently?

Mmmm...not so much.

In fact, I would say I'm bordering on impatient (hence the "dyin' here"), though I do have a quiet sense of peace in knowing that the Lord has always provided for our needs and will, in His perfect time, once again provide for our needs.

I'm also getting the very clear sense that perhaps the Lord was also trying to teach me a lesson that I was spending waaaay too much time on the computer before the crash. Particularly during the long, hot days of early summer.

Not having regular access to a computer lately, I've been getting a whole lot more accomplished on my to-do lists and have actually been volunteering to read way more books to Judah (instead of being begged to) lately. How pathetic is that...my poor kid has to come to me with big puppy-dog eyes and plead with me to read to him? Yes, yet another lesson learned. He is my priority...not my social networking.

So, having learned this lesson and having new time management goals in place, I continue to wait. In the meantime, I have the biggest possible memory card available for my camera, and have about 800 photos from all the stuff that has been going on these past few weeks. Vacation, Sister & Cousins visits, Trip to Hollywood, California, furniture redos, first day of school and our nephews wedding.

Lots of posts to come!

:: :: :: ::

Oh, and before I go, I simply had to post a Judah funny.

My cousin Tiff's family was visiting this past week, and her daughter E is a little older than Judah and has recently lost her first 3 teeth.

Somehow, being the small fry in a pool of older kids long past the tooth-losing stages in life, Judah had missed out on the fact that younger kids eventually lose their baby teeth, and as a result was absolutely fascinated by this news.

Of course Cousin E was more than happy to show off the gaps in her smile whenever he asked, which I gather from him was more than once. I chuckle at the mental picture I get of that one.

The only problem is, Judah appears to have forgotten her name. Instead of referring to her as Cousin E, he now refers to her as, "You know, my friend wif the three missing teeth?"! Bwahahaha!