Do you have all the equipment you need to do your job?

When I worked at the hospital in Fort Worth, my coworkers and I would be asked routinely by management if we had all the tools we needed to do our job. My equipment included stethoscopes, scales, oxygen, suction, needles, medications, isolettes, cribs, blankets, feeding tubes, etc. My job has changed and so has the necessary equipment.

Today I received a new tool for my new job--- a John Deere riding lawnmower. I have never operated a mower of any kind-- not even a push mower.

A dear older woman that I knew in Fort Worth loves to mow. Every time I would see Mrs. Allene on her riding mower she would be glowing. I saw her not long ago, and I told her that I would be learning to mow on a riding mower after we moved. She said that it was the time that she thinks the clearest and can really talk to God from her heart. She described her opportunity to do the yard as a precious gift.

It has been a bit of a tough week thinking through my new identity. I am not working as a nurse right now. I don't have that as a part of my picture of who I am. I am a mother. I am a wife. I am a daughter. I am a friend. Who I am has not changed because of my job.

I am counting it a "precious gift" to be able to be home with my family for this season and to be able to ride that new John Deere. I am looking forward to the clear thinking as I mow. I am so thankful for Mrs. Allene and her wonderful perspective on a mundane job like mowing.

Isaiah 40:8 "The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever."

One Month in the Valley

It has been four long weeks today since we pulled in the driveway of our new home with all of earthly possessions. What has changed in this month?

* We are now eating at home almost every meal of every day. We LOVED to eat out when we lived in Fort Worth. We have a couple of small diners and a Subway in the small town by us, otherwise all the restaurants and fast food joints are about 40 minutes away. Our desire to eat out is not strong enough to make us want to travel 40 minutes. We are enjoying eating at home, and I am cooking and loving it--- the clean up is what I don't love. Cleaning up with clean water, however, is not so bad.

* When we do eat out we bring home leftovers- all the leftovers-- and we eat them. Side note-- we have lost a combination of almost 30 pounds in this first month just from eating at home---not too shabby.

* I only flush when necessary and make the others in the house do the same. I used to ask the kids if they flushed and send them back in if they didn't. Now I tell them not to flush unless absolutely necessary.

* I time showers- literally.

* I really only wear jeans and boots.

* I have been wearing my hair in a ponytail or bun all the time, and I only wash it every 2-3 days. This was unheard of in the city. I showered and washed my hair at least daily. Humidity is low here thankfully, and the wind is so strong that tied up long hair is the only way to go.

* Speaking of low humidity, my skin had become almost lizard-like. I have to slather on lotion at least twice a day to try to keep my skin from cracking.

* I check my shoes before putting my feet in them.

* I wake up with the sun at 6am without an alarm.

* I prefer driving on the dirt and gravel roads to the paved ones.

* We end our days (most days) with some time on the back porch watching the sunset over the mountains.

* I look at the stars from our bedroom window.

* I am disappointed if I don't see at least some sort of wildlife each day.

All changes are difficult in life. The new things we are facing here are individually nothing exciting. It is the combination of the changes that has brought me to my knees. I have hated some of the challenges and am loving some of the benefits at the same time. I have had many anxious moments and also many of the most peaceful moments.

Our changes and adjustments are far from over, but I am loving the adventure. The changes I am seeing in myself and my family are life-altering, and my prayer is that it is for the better. Most of the things we are doing we could've done in Fort Worth, but we didn't. It took a radical change to shake us up. I am thankful for the change-- greasy hair in a bun, dry cracked skin, mice, bad water, and all.

James 1:17 "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."

One step forward...

We were feeling pretty confident. The pliers, gloves, and shovel had been put to the side. Then, I heard a little voice yell, "MOM!!!! THERE IS A MOUSE IN MY ROOM!!!"

Harland was out in his office working on his paper, and I was folding laundry. This mouse was a bold one. He kept coming out and running from room to room and then seemed to look right at me as if to say, "watch me walk right around this trap.". Isabel helped me with the laundry and we watched together as we hoped the mouse would accidentally get into one of the sticky traps.

I woke up this morning to find the pliers and gloves by the front door. Harland had found two mice in the traps when he came in last night. He did some swift killing and they are gone, and we are glad.

Harland headed to the restroom for a much needed shower last night after an evening of filling in our trenches in the yard with dirt and a night of executing mice. He got into the shower and turned on the faucet and got water for about two seconds... then it stopped. Our water tank is empty. I guess our first week of conservation has not really worked. Our 2000 gallons are gone. Thankfully, the water man is coming today to deliver more.

Well.... he was scheduled to come today. He just called to tell us that his truck broke down and is being towed to a mechanic. It could be fixed today and the water delivered late in the day, or it could be a few days or even into next week. We are back to water bottles. Thankfully one of our only friends here has a water tank and truck that we are hoping to be able to borrow tonight if the water man has not come. We can try our hand at hauling our own water.

When things are creepy or frustrating, there always seems to be something to help me put things into perspective or at least to distract me. On the drive to school this morning, I had to interrupt my usual circle route because Nathanael forgot his glasses at home. We came home after dropping Ben off and took the other road to the elementary school.

We turned the corner and saw on top of the cliff what I think was three eagles. One was standing on a big leafless tree branch right on top of the cliff with wings outstretched. The other two were flying around the still one. He would rotate his head and move his wings to catch the wind and be able to stand on that little branch. It looked like a totem pole. Dark rain clouds were behind him over the mountain. It almost didn't look real, but I have two small witnesses and a fuzzy picture taken with my phone. We pulled off the road to watch until we eventually had to go to get to school on time.

I didn't think at all about the water cistern being empty or the mice scurrying in the house as we watched those birds. What an amazing sight that we would have missed if we had been on our usual route to school. They were gone when I drove back home. I think we were the only people to see it up on that cliff. What a beautiful distraction from the day to day trails in the valley.

Isaiah 40:30-31 "Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will run and not be faint."

Adrenaline

Adrenaline is a funny thing. I have felt the surge often lately.

There are two roads to town from our house-- one goes to Rye and the other to Colorado City. For my school drop-off and pick up routine, I make the loop. So coming home from the elementary school, I travel down the road from Rye. It is a dirt road with several twists and turns and rolling hills along with some cliffs complete with old mines. About 3/4 of the way down that road, just past the alpaca farm, there is a small house set back from the road. This is the home of the dog I call Kujo.

He is a big dog-- looks like a St. Bernard mixed with something smaller and faster. He has a spot by the road, hidden by grass and a little hill where he hides. When a car drives past, he jumps out and runs behind the back tires. I know he is there, and I know he is going to jump out. Why is it then, that even though I know what is going to happen, I still jump and shriek and hold on to the steering wheel with all I have got? I always look behind me to make sure I haven't hit him. He is always behind me running, and then he stops and heads back to his spot to wait for the next car to come by.

The eleven inches of snow melted into some very wet dirt and gravel roads. My SUV is silver, but it is now brown with mud. I am one of those people that you see that you wonder why in the world they don't wash their vehicle. I can tell you there is no point. While the roads are moist, the mud will cake, the four wheel drive will be a must, and my adrenaline will be flowing.

Today, I was cleaning bathrooms when I flushed the toilet, and the water began to come back at me. The toilet began overflowing in slow motion, and I became a ninja. I threw the rug out of the bathroom, grabbed the plunger, plunged the toilet, and began mopping up water with a nearby towel all at once. The plunging did not work, so I leaped into my room and moved the dining room table leaf which was propped beside the dresser adjacent to the bathroom, and stuffed a towel in the path of the water to slow it while I plunged again. It finally worked, and the water headed back down. I started the clean up and began to breathe.

I am thankful for the ability to move fast and have the "fight or flight" mechanism working well in my body. I feel sure I will be using it more times than I can imagine. For now, I am headed out to do the school run, and I know Kujo will be waiting. I will be surprised again.

Psalm 73:26 "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."

Refreshed

This weekend was filled with wonderful surprises. Beauty in nature and in friendship were just the encouragement we needed out here on the prairie.

We woke up to lots of snow this morning. The snow looked like a blanket of diamonds as the sunrise hit it with pink and yellow. Isabel needed to know the exact measurement, so she headed out with the yardstick-- 11 inches. Nathanael said, "Well, I love a snow day. Let's go play in it." Well.... I told him to go get dressed for school. He was horrified and said, "Are these people crazy?"

We don't have a snow plow or blower yet. We also don't have a snow shovel. These are things that are our long list of things we need to purchase. We saw this morning that the county road we live on is only plowed to the road most people turn on. There are only about three or four houses down past that road. Evidently our portion is not priority-- I am loving the four wheel drive on my suv.

This weekend we had our first guests. Some dear friends from Iowa had already planned a vacation to Colorado Springs, and then they found out we had just moved here, so they re-routed their trip and fit us into their plans. Unfortunately, they had to experience the 85 mph winds and the dust storms, but we and they didn't mind. There is nothing like being with friends that you can pick right up where you left off and be yourselves. You would never have known it has been eight years since we last saw each other. We all told stories and looked at pictures and laughed and laughed.

What a perfectly timed encouragement for us. I have been missing my sweet Fort Worth friends and feeling blatantly "new" and vulnerable. It was very comforting to have accepting, loving friends with whom we have a history to encourage us toward making new friends in this new place.

By the way, I had what may have been the best shower of my life on Friday night. Clean water is fabulous. Hot clean water is even better. Laundry in my own washer and dryer is also fabulous. Water and ice from the door of the fridge- divine. Things are looking up.

Clean water, eleven inches of snow, and a visit from old friends-- I am feeling refreshed and ready for whatever this week might hold.

Proverbs 11:25 "A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed."

The winds of change are blowing.

Today marks three weeks since we arrived in "the valley" (as we have recently found out our area is called). I am sitting on the couch watching the snow fall and chuckling inwardly as I watch my winter-loving husband getting geared up in his shorts, fleece jacket, warm hat, and cowboy boots to head outside to walk around. He is going to the dumpster to check to make sure the big rocks he put on the lid have stayed put, but I know he really just can't stand to have snow and not be out in it.

Today was a wacky weather day all around. The winds of the laundromat day returned last night with a vengeance after an unusually hot day. We were lying in bed listening as the winds howled up to 85 mph. When I say howled, I am not just using a usual desciptor for wind--- it literally HOWLED for hours. We thought the trees would have had to come down and that the big dirt pile left behind from the water pump man would surely be in Kansas. Amazingly, there was no damage, and only about half of our fill dirt for the hole was gone.

The wind had died down to a mere 40-ish mph when we woke up, but the mountains were gone. The winds had blown up so much dust in the air that the air was heavy with dark grays and browns. It was a little eerie.

The entire day was filled with wind and dirt and darkness with an occasional burst of mud-rain. There were literally raindrops of water and dirt which left their marks on every window of the house. Our beautiful views held sights of seemingly flat land with brown/gray dust clouds hanging over it as we looked through the now brown speckled glass.

Tonight, we have beautiful white snow falling as a cold front has blown in. The wind is still around, in a little calmer fashion, but the whirling snow looks peaceful and quiet. It is covering all of the dirt and the mess from last night and earlier today. What a difference 24 hours can make.

Isaiah 1:18a "Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow."

Clean water-- no fooling.

April fool's day around here always lends itself to our fair share of pranks. I had a rubber snake in my bed--- truly not funny.

There are a couple of things we do not joke about--- clean water and baseball. We are Texas Rangers fans, but I would say that our oldest is a Texas Rangers fanatic. The absence of Rangers games was one of his biggest issues with our moving. We checked all the radio stations to see if he could hear the game--nope. Then we tried the Fox SW channel again (we have checked it everyday since arriving to Colorado and it has not been a part of our channel line-up), and the game was on!!!!! I found out later it was on ESPN too, but we didn't know that at the time. That little face lit up and he started jumping for joy... literally. Then he got to see his favorite player hit a lead off home run. No matter the outcome of the game, the season has started with a bang and their number one fan was pumped up.

Speaking of pumps, another serious thing in this house is water. Clean water is still in the works, but we are getting close. The water man is still working on pipes and pumps, but the cistern is repaired and filled with city water. It has no color. It has no odor. It is beautiful. Our hot water heater is so corroded that the hot water still stinks, but we have a new one in the basement waiting for the plumber to come tomorrow or Monday to install now that the water is clean. We are almost there.

I have been calling our repairman the "water man", but he is actually more of a "water pump system specialist". Now, the man who brought us 2000 gallons of city water to put in our cistern this morning is really the water man. His business card actually says, "The Water Man"-very funny. No matter their titles, I am very thankful for both of them.

It has been a long 19 days of using bottled water, and I plan to get a long and hot shower and to shave my legs and condition my hair...twice. I plan to use more than one gallon--- but I hope I use less than 2000.

Ezekiel 36:25a "I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean."