Of Mice and (Wo)Men

I have a problem. Okay, I have lots of problems, but this is a particularly troublesome one. I hate to admit it. It is a problem we have had in the past. Every time we conquer it, I pray that it won't come back. But it has. With a vengeance.



We have mice. I don't know if you have ever struggled with this particular problem, but we have. More times than I care to count. I am becoming something of an expert, actually. The first year we lived in this house was when it all started. We had a particularly cold fall and "they" moved in first thing. They have no concept of personal space. I vividly remember putting Josie on the sofa after she woke up first thing in the morning. She was not quite 2 at the time. She snuggled and watched some television and then wandered upstairs. I went to straighten the sofa pillows and lo and behold, curled up under the one Josie had been laying on- was a sleeping little mouse! On my sofa! Under my daughter! Asleep! I caught that little guy in a cup- how else do you remove a sleeping mouse? And "disposed" of him.



After we caught nine mice I finally had someone come out and set traps and then spray insulate everything. Guess what? We did not catch one mouse in the professionals traps- not even the outside ones. However, we did not see any more mice after that.



Fast forward to last year. We saw a single mouse at the beginning of winter and after pulling out the whole arsenal (snap, glue AND bait traps) we caught three and that was the end of that. We didn't see anymore. I left the traps behind the stove and fridge and didn't think too much of it.



Then, this summer, I started smelling a funny odor. I looked and looked and did all kinds of things. However, the smell did not dissipate. I finally decided to pull out the stove to see if some food had fallen in between the counter and the stove and was rotting. Ummm, it wasn't food. Trying cleaning THAT off the floor! I set all the traps again and didn't catch another one. I have no idea how long the renegade had been there but we didn't see any more.



Until Wednesday. I was sitting in the living room floor when I saw something run from near the front door into the coat closet. I squealed, a very unusual reaction for me. I am not afraid of mice. I think they are kind of cute- but NOT in my house. I worry about the diseases they can carry, and I don't want them to bite the kids. Also, they leave their disgusting waste wherever they please. Anyway, I yelled because it surprised me. We pulled everything out of the closet and Joel finally was able to smash the little booger with a shoe. We immediately went to set up the two traps we had- still behind the stove and fridge. We discovered we had caught another one behind the stove. So if you are keeping count, that's 2.



We caught another one behind the stove on Friday. On Saturday, Joel went to bed before I did. As I was sitting on the sofa, I saw something move by our bookcase. I knew instantly what it was. I yelled for Joel and another one went by way of the shoe. We are up to three now!



On Saturday we purchased an additional 4 traps. That may not sound like a ton, but in the past we have never used more than three. I have only ever seen them in our kitchen and living room/dining room. Also, we have a very inquisitive son, so we can really only set them where he can't reach them. There are not too many places to do that. Anyway, again, I am sitting on the sofa. And I hear a rattling sound. I keep hearing it, and I think it is Carson. Then I realize he is sitting on the sofa next to me. Josie is sitting on the floor, so it isn't her, either.



I realized it was coming from the dining room. I went over to investigate, fairly certain I would find another furry "friend". I armed myself with the trusty shoe- were you aware that is an excellent rodent weapon? I started moving things. Then I saw a very sad sight: a little mouse pulling a trap along behind him. It had caught his foot and he was very definitely not dead. He had dragged the trap all the way from behind the fridge into the dining room. I took mercy on him and put him out of his misery. That puts us up to 4.



Then as I was resetting and moving the traps I found another on the trap behind the stove (in our house that is their favorite spot).That makes 5. In four days. Yuck! Now please don't think that we are filthy. Mice are often attracted to dirty houses because of the availability of food, but that is not the case in our house. We live in a 6 plex and most of our neighbors have dogs. Mice naturally avoid those homes. We also have a large field that backs the highway directly behind our backyard. So, when mice start to look for warmer homes in the winter, ours is the first one they reach. The pest control guy that came actually said he was surprised we didn't have more!

Anyway, we have not had any more mice-yet. It is a problem that clearly requires constant vigilance. In that way, it reminds me of those sneaky temptations we all face. It really is a great analogy. Every person faces temptations- even believers. We have "clean" hearts, but we still have to keep an eye out for pests. We are not immune based on our righteousness in Christ. But we don't have to succumb. If we take every thought captive (2 Corinthians 10:5) we can be successful in keeping the pests from overtaking our lives. That means being watchful, and not leaving our traps unattended! I think some of a believer's best "traps" are: daily quiet time, surrounding yourself with people who hold you accountable, filling your thoughts with good things (Philippians 4:8) and prayer. These things show us what we personally should be looking out for.

Temptations, like mice, will make their home anywhere they can fit their ugly heads in. And that is only 1/4 of an inch for mice- I think it is less for temptations...

"Then after desire (temptation) has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is is full-grown, gives birth to death." James 1:15 (NIV)

Pretty scary, huh? If I leave the mice be, "because they are really not hurting anything" I will be sorry. Mice can reproduce 8-10 times A YEAR! With 5-10 mice in each litter: 8x5=40, conservatively, or at the extreme, 10x10=100. Yikes! And that doesn't even include the babies having babies, and on and on. Quickly mice, left unattended, would take over my home. With their diseases, and lack of concern for using proper bathroom facilities. And so it is with temptation. Give into it and you will be sorry. Leave it unattended, it will fester, grow and reproduce. Leaving behind sorry trails of waste, and taking over before you know it.

It is easy to set my traps and think I have done my job. But that isn't all. I have to make sure my doors stay shut (not let temptation in), keep checking my traps (make sure that I am doing what I should to kill the temptations I have) and sometimes I have to hire a professional! I must maintain my traps at all times- I think with the mice that has been the hardest lesson to learn. I want to believe each time that they are eradicated once and for all. But with mice and temptation, that is never the case. I have to keep my house clean, and limit the things the pests feed on. Only with constant watchfulness can I keep each problem from taking over my life.

"No temptation has seized you, except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so you can stand up under it." 1 Corinthians 10:13

He will not make me get out. He will provide a way out. I have to take it. It is my choice. But I hate mice-they look cute, but can bring death- and I want to feel that way about temptation, too. They are not safe, or friendly. They only want to provide for themselves, they do not have my best interests at heart. But God is faithful...

Stand Up and Sing!

I was a few minutes late to service this morning. That is not unusual. Joel had to work, so it was just me. You would think it would be easy for one person to find a seat, but what was unusual was how crowded it was! I finally squeezed into the back row. I didn't really pay much attention to who was sitting on my left side, until we started singing. I really don't have a terrific voice (although I love to sing) so I try to sing rather quietly, so as not to disturb those around me. Well, the little boy sitting next to me certainly didn't have that fear!

He was standing on the chair, singing at the top of his lungs. Off key. Off beat. And adorably. He had all the words right and was lustily singing along with his whole heart. He did not care who heard him. He was praising the Lord! His dad futilely tried to encourage him to sing more quietly, but finally the dad just gave up. I have to say, I am glad his attempts failed. Listening to that little guy praise the Lord was so uplifting to me. During the song "Mighty to Save" he leaned over to his dad and "whispered", " We learned this in VBS, Dad. I love this song!" And you could tell.

I guess I want to be like that. Not afraid to praise the Lord, no matter what others might think. The Lord doesn't care if I am perfectly in tune, or on key. He just wants me to stand up and sing- to Him! I shouldn't care if anyone else is paying attention, but if they are, the only thing I want them to take away is how much I love singing His song. I want to be proud AND loud- not to offend others, but just to take joy in praising my King. Both with my actual singing and in life. Because He is not something to be ashamed of, and He has made me to praise Him.

After the service ended, I decided that I wanted to encourage this brave little singer by complimenting his enthusiasm. So I turned to my left and realized he was a little boy who was in my VBS class. His mom had warned me that he was ADHD (and I think she said he had some other learning disabilities, too). She thought he might cause some problems. Well, he was very lively during class, but one thing I took away was how earnest he was, and truly joyful about the Lord. But he was not a problem, and I think, judging by his performance this morning, that he won't have any difficulties. He knows the Truth and it has really set him free. He doesn't hide behind his problems, or his inadequacies. And I don't want to either.

Cleaning Conclusions

I would love to have an immaculately clean house. I long for a day when I can open my door at any given time and everything is perfectly picked up- nary an item out of place. I have tried all sorts of methods and programs, but my house stays pretty much the same. Moderately picked up- usually clean. The norm to get it "company ready" is about 2 hours. Not bad, especially considering that I have pretty high standards. However, I would love to just have it ready at a moment's notice (or at least clean enough to invite the Schwan's man in without apologizing). I was discussing this very subject with a friend on Saturday. I came to a few conclusions:

1. Most people who have perfectly clean houses (although I think the word I am looking for is acutally "tidy"- my house is clean: vacuumed, dusted, bathroom wiped down, etc.) have either fewer children than I have , or they have much younger/older ones. That is: people who have infants, or no kids, or kids 7 and up, usually have a little more help or not as much mess. I have to say: when I just had Jocelyn my house was clean all the time. She was not quite the destroyer Carson is, nor did she need as much direct supervision.

2. Owners of tidy homes are not as inclined to participate in many activities. We have three regularly scheduled activities a week (4 if you include Sunday church) and a multitude of other one-time occurrences (this week we had dinner with friends twice, I had drop-off and pick-up for the JBF sale, I went to the outlet mall-twice!, and a couple of other things I am pretty sure I am forgetting) I could trim back the number of times we are out of our house, but I am not sure that at this point that I am willing to make that sacrifice.

3. They usually have exceptionally neat AND helpful husbands. I have a helpful husband, but he is not neat. He is horrible about leaving clothes anywhere and everywhere (the bathroom, dining room, living room...) He will do anything I ask, but he is not particular about putting things where they go. If they are in the general area, or out of the living room floor, he is happy. I don't believe he has ever put away the kids laundry and if he can't figure out where something from the dishwasher goes (he has emptied it twice in the past three months) he just leaves it on the counter. However, he is great at vacuuming and also motivating the kids to be useful . So, I'm not complaining, just explaining.

4. They have more rules than I am willing to commit to: no shoes inside, no food outside the kitchen (we can't eat in our kitchen), only water for the kids, etc. We do have rules, but I don't have one for everything- I couldn't remember them all! It is not in my personality to be that regimented.

5. They have much more regular schedules than we do. It is 12:00 pm as I am writing this and Joel has already been home twice. That usually disrupts anything we have going on. This happens quite a bit, but not every day. I have a routine that I try to follow but I have to be flexible. I can't be a slave to the clock.

Basically, I realized that unless I am willing to make drastic changes to my lifestyle I will probably never have a constantly show-ready home. I have decided to make some small changes to see if that will help me to be a little more welcoming to random people who come to the door. I recently instituted a rule that the kids can no longer bring "upstairs toys" downstairs. I am working at doing more quick tidying of the front rooms, rather than deep, totally organzied cleaning. For some reason, everything in the house gravitates towards those areas!

I also have to say that I am sure that there are people with lives similar to mine who have cleaner houses. But, I am learning to balance the desire to have a "perfect" house with having a wonderful family and a busy life. I think that I can have some of both, but I will never have all of either. It does make me feel better though, when on a day like today, my house is clean, schooling is done and my Bible study and Awana lessons are planned. Almost makes me feel like I can do it all...almost.

Swimming Upstream

I am still running, although I have been a little bit of a slacker lately (I'm only running 2x a week instead of 3 and I usually only do 2.5 miles-but better than nothing, right?). Joel's work schedule has been a little crazy (he was working from 5:30 am- 7:30 pm) and made it a little difficult to get out. I am hoping now that he is done with that project that I can go more often. He was off the other morning so I decided to get out there. I was ready to go a little before 8 am. I usually don't go before 7:30 am because the trail that I use is often filled with soldiers doing PT (physical training, not therapy!) between 6:30 am and then. I don't like to meet them; it is just a little awkward.



So anyway, I get out there, Shuffle blaring, legs pumping. It was a beautiful morning and I had the whole trail to myself. I was making good time, and about a mile in, when I looked down the top of the little hill I was on, and I saw them: about 120 soldiers. Ummm, nope, I am not kidding. I thought I had waited long enough to avoid that, but they must have been doing extended PT. Now, perhaps that might not bother anyone else, but you have to get a full grasp of the scene. The trail I run on is slightly elevated above the ground- it isn't flush, and it is surrounded by natural grasses. It is only about 4 feet wide and the soldiers were running 3 across. And of course, they were coming straight at me. There was really no place to go!



I will not lie. I suffered a moment of panic. I felt like a little bit of a spectacle. In my purple running shorts (thankfully, mine are Bermuda length, so not too short) and tank top, bright green Shuffle attached to my shirt. I run at my own pace, which is not fast, but I am not leisurely jogging, either. And I am the only female. Heading straight towards 100+ men all wearing gray "Army" shirts and black shorts. Mostly all in really good shape. I seriously thought about turning around and heading the other way, but they had already seen me and I knew that they would overtake me in a few minutes anyway so I would still be caught up in the swarm.



So I bravely adjusted my ponytail (another thing, my hair is BARELY long enough for a ponytail now, supported by the addition of about three barrettes. It isn't pretty.) and tried to fan my beat red face. I mean, I am out exercising! It was bound to be a little flushed. And headed straight towards the wall of men. Some of them moved out of the way, and some of them allowed me the pleasure of running through the underbrush. In all it took me about 5 minutes, or an eternity, to get past all of them. They were running in groups of about 20, so I would havea few seconds to compose myself before facing the next group. It may not seem as weird to you as it was to me, maybe you just had to be there. They were truly all staring at me. A girl, in purple pants, with sunglasses, running the "wrong" way. They couldn't ignore me! I have never felt so conspicuous in MY. WHOLE. LIFE!

I have only been running since February. I am not proficient by any means, and I am definitely not at a point where I want to have spectators. I am self-conscious normally, when I am wearing street clothes and my hair doesn't look atrocious. And while I am certainly in the best shape of my life, I am by no means going to find work as a Nike model! Anyway, to wrap up my long tale, I managed to huff and puff my way past all these men, trying to keep a small part of my dignity intact. I had a distinct fish out of water experience, for certain!

I tried to ignore them and focus on the task at hand: getting past them without passing out finishing my run. I really needed to be thinking about what I was doingm and not worrying about what they were doing. As I kept running and told myself that it was no big deal (and I'm sure it wouldn't be to a lot of people) I thought about why I felt so odd. I wasn't doing anything wrong, the trail is open access. I wasn't reprimanded, or scolded. All of the soldiers were just following what they had been told to do, too. If there was any reason for them to be jealous of me it would probably be that I had the choice to run. I do it because I want to, not because I am forced to, and it is certainly not part of my job description! I could run at my own pace, and in my own way. They had to do it because it was what they had been told they should do, and it was what everyone else was doing.

The more I thought on it, the more it seemed like life is sometimes to me. I am a believer, saved and sanctified. I should have complete and total security in Christ. I can be confident that when I am doing His will that I am in the right place. Yet, just as when I was headed towards all those guys I often have a horrible feeling of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I allow what everyone else is doing to influence me-I am more concerned about "their" opinions than doing what I know is right. Sometimes I just want to turn around and run away, rather than face the crowd and appear "different". I need to not be afraid to do what I know is right. I am not perfect, but I don't have to be ashamed of being different.

I can set an example. Those soldiers were obeying orders-they have to exercise every morning, rain or shine. But in life, there are tons of people coming at me every day who are going the wrong way. They are mindlessly following the rest of the pack. They need to see that there is a better way. That through the freedom Christ gives, they can make their own choices, and move in the right direction. I must take advantage of that freedom myself, and not be afraid. I can put my shoulders back, hold my head up high and run straight towards my goal. Everyone I pass should be inspired by my determination, inspired by the freedom that I have from fear, from insecurity, from the desire to please the invisible "everyone". Thankfully, unlike my run that morning, I am not alone. There is Someone running this race with me, and He has already taken the crown. I am praying that the Lord will let me work through my insecurities. I should be thankful that I serve Someone who doesn't require a uniform and lets me go at my own pace! I am only responsible for my own actions, I should not be concerned about pleasing the world. I think the next time I run I will try to remember to be strong in who I am because of Whose I am, and I can be confident in knowing that it is okay that I seem to be swimming (or running) upstream!

Status Update

So, it kind of seems like no one has really been blogging but me lately, but that's okay.This is usually a busy time of year, and it hasn't been any different for us. What have we been up to?

Well:
-We started homeschooling about a month ago. I thought it would just be Josie (according to the school system she should have to wait to go to kindergarten until next year, but the beauty of homeschooling is that we are not on their timetable!) but Carson has really wanted to do "school" too. He sits at the table with us every single day and does his "work". Sometimes that is coloring, or "writing", or sticking stickers, or playing with playdough but he always listens while we do science and Bible. He may be ready for kindergarten next year! It is going really well. We spend about an 1 and 1/2 hours-2 hours working each day. I feel like that is plenty of time, if she were in part day kindergarten she would only go for about 3 hours. And trust me, we don't waste time with busy work!

-Schooling has given me a little bit more of a routine. I have started getting up earlier than the kids and that is working really well. I started trying to do that about 3-4 months ago and it is really getting a lot better. I get up, have my quiet time, eat breakfast, work out and waste time on the internet. It is nice to be able to set up my day before little feet hit the floor. As soon as either of my children are out of bed they are looking for food. It is great to not have to supervise breakfast while trying to do all that other stuff. Then we clean and then school is from about 10 am until lunch time. Jocelyn is a better student in the morning, otherwise I probably would have tried to do it during Carson's nap. However, like I said before, he is actually loving it. So all is well that ends well!

-I have been trying my hand at some new recipes. I made my own chocolate syrup. That was a lot of fun! I will definitely be doing that again. I had used up all my Hershey's and was craving some ice cream when I ran across this recipe. I actually found another one that I am going to try and see if I like it any better. I also made my own strawberry jam! That sort of seems like something everyone tries at one time or another, so I figured I may as well. At first I thought it wouldn't set, but after refrigerating it, it is great. The kids are loving it on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Makes me feel very domestic! I also made this pecan caramel cheesecake. Joel wanted me to try the chocolate version,so I did, but personally I think I would have preferred regular cheesecake on the top. I also made quiche for the first time and it was delicious! We added everything but the kitchen sink: spinach, tomatoes, bacon, onions, cheese and mushrooms. I have been trying different banana recipes, too. My favorite so far is one called "Monkey Squares". But there is one little problem. The first time I made it I mistakenly added too much butter. I added extra flour to try to help and it turned out...delicious! I made it again yesterday and couldn't remember how much flour I added. It wasn't as good. Duplicating a mistake is hard work! I will have to figure it out and then I will post that recipe and the quiche one.

- In other non-food related news, I have been working at setting up the moms' Bible study again at our church. I am in charge of the actual study, so I have been researching books for that. I am really excited. This will be my first attempt at teaching "big" people! I have spent many years working with children and even teenagers, but this will be my first opportunity to teach my peers. It makes me feel nervous, but I really felt like this is where the Lord wanted me. Stay tuned to find out what study we picked-hopefully we will be starting in the next couple of weeks.

-I am prepping for the JBF sale that is next week. This will be the fifth time that I have participated and I get a little more savvy each time. I actually have over 100 items already tagged and I should be totally finished before the end of this week. That is definitely an improvement over the first time when I was still marking things the day of. I thought I would have fewer things this time but I gathered up some more stuff today and I think I will be at my usual 150 items. I am most looking forward to getting my check! It seems easier to get rid of my kids' things the older they get. Although I am still a little teary eyed over parting with some of their costumes...

So, that is a little of what has been going on around here. As the year winds down I am sure our schedule will only continue to get fuller. How about you? Lots of stuff going on?