A Quick Catch-up!

Maybe I need to introduce myself again- "Hello, my name is Diana. This is my blog- which I have totally neglected for the past- well- FOREVER!! " Now that the formal introductions are over, I will proceed to fill you strangers in on how my life has been the past month....

Since the last post, SO much has changed....I am now a teller at First Bank and loving it!! Yesterday was my first day of working by myself- yes, you guessed it...I am now the little lady that sits behind the glass as you're rolling through the drive- thru and gives your children stickers or your favorite pet a treat..I am now trying to recognize the faithful customers and learn their names. (You see, the older people really like you when you can do this; if you can't- well then you're practically worth nothing..) The girls are great that I work with and it is truly like a family...

Besides my new employment, we have moved our abode to a little white house with two bedrooms. Quite a change, but definitely a good one.

The holidays are right around the corner, and I am so ready for them. I can't wait to find my Christmas tree and put my first Christmas decorations up...I am very ready to go home for Christmas (Ohio) to see my family....it has been way TOO long. I'm glad all 5 of the kids will be home this year. It will be madness with 13 little ones all under the age of nine running around, but bring it on! I love Royalty holidays..

This probably was a pretty boring post- all information stuff- but I just wanted to fill you all in on everything. I think I've touched base on pretty much everything. I'm going to hopefully be writing a lot more now, so stay tuned for more!

Temptations

Wow!! it's been a long time since the last post. Nothing too exciting has happened, but we've had a good week....

Tonight, the Taste of Newton was in full swing, with every kind of food you could think of lining Main street. Now this sounds like a great thing right??! Well, it is except I had a moment of enlightenment yesterday about really getting serious about healthful eating. Not anything too crazy, but I definitely needed a change. Luckily, our big shopping day for the month was yesterday, so I created a "healthful" shopping list. I was very proud of myself, especially because I'm soda free ....well, until tonight, that is ;) It's not that I'm trying to be skinny-mini but I just want to be healthy. For the first time in my life I'm now taking a multi-vitamin. I'm actually very excited about this fact. Well, we all know that when we get something in our heads to do, the very next thing that happens is TEMPTATION. Well, for me, my temptation was the Taste of Newton. I am stuffed!! And yes, I did squeeze an Orange Crush pop in there somewhere.... but we're not going to talk about that. It was a special occasion and I took every advantage I could of it.....

My Favorite Season..

Don't you love the smell of autumn? The crisp cooler weather, the cozy feeling a warm house with a spice candle burning can give; or the smell of apple cider on the stove? Yes, I am a true fall lover. Of course, one reason may be that my birthday is smack dab in the middle of this beautiful season , but nevertheless, this has always been my favorite season of all.

As I sit on my couch today, enjoying my new fall decorations, I'm remembering when I was younger and the many "fall trips" my family went on. These trips would land us in certain destinations such as White House Fruit Farms, Volant, or Amish Country. These memories are so sweet for me and I may talk Chris into finding somewhere around here that is similar to those places ;) I can't wait for every thing this season holds for us.......Enjoy one of my favorite poems by one of my favorite poets.

James Whitcomb Riley. 1853–1916

"When the Frost is on the Punkin"

WHEN the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock,
And you hear the kyouck and gobble of the struttin' turkey-cock,
And the clackin' of the guineys, and the cluckin' of the hens,
And the rooster's hallylooyer as he tiptoes on the fence;
O, it's then the time a feller is a-feelin' at his best,	5
With the risin' sun to greet him from a night of peaceful rest,
As he leaves the house, bareheaded, and goes out to feed the stock,
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.
They's something kindo' harty-like about the atmusfere
When the heat of summer's over and the coolin' fall is here—	10
Of course we miss the flowers, and the blossoms on the trees,
And the mumble of the hummin'-birds and buzzin' of the bees;
But the air's so appetizin'; and the landscape through the haze
Of a crisp and sunny morning of the airly autumn days
Is a pictur' that no painter has the colorin' to mock—	15
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.
The husky, rusty russel of the tossels of the corn,
And the raspin' of the tangled leaves as golden as the morn;
The stubble in the furries—kindo' lonesome-like, but still
A-preachin' sermuns to us of the barns they growed to fill;	20
The strawstack in the medder, and the reaper in the shed;
The hosses in theyr stalls below—the clover overhead!—
O, it sets my hart a-clickin' like the tickin' of a clock,
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.
Then your apples all is gethered, and the ones a feller keeps	25
Is poured around the cellar-floor in red and yaller heaps;
And your cider-makin's over, and your wimmern-folks is through
With theyr mince and apple-butter, and theyr souse and sausage too!...
I don't know how to tell it—but ef such a thing could be
As the angels wantin' boardin', and they'd call around on me—	30
I'd want to 'commodate 'em—all the whole-indurin' flock—
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.

Ahh.......hot water

Goodbye to below 0 degree showers!! Goodbye to a sink full of dishes! and goodbye to stinky people ;) We have our hot water back! O friends, this feels like Christmas to me...well thank you for sharing this present trial with us. For now, I'm going to go enjoy a HOT bath.....

Could today be the day??

*WARNING*- AGGRAVATED WOMAN AHEAD!!!

I suppose I should inform you all of why I'm a little -no let me rephrase that- a lot aggravated. It can be summed up in one word- GAS. No my friends, I can guarantee it is not what you're thinking, rather it is the gas company. Our hot water has ceased to be since Friday.

On Friday, I had just finished doing the dishes, and Renee a load of laundry, when I realized as I was hopping into the shower, that we had no hot water. Of course, I thought it to be because we had used all of it by doing these other chores. Boy, was I wrong!! Eight hours later, when Chris came home, ready to get a hot shower, we still had none! We were very confused and frustrated, but it wasn't that bad because we were headed to Hutchinson for the weekend, and didn't have to worry about the hot water for 2 days. After a great weekend at the fair, and in Hutch, we headed home Sunday evening after church to our *cold* abode. It didn't affect us much that night, however because we had all already showered.

Monday morning, bright and early, I decided to call the gas company and see what was wrong. It turns out, the gas had not been put in our name. Our lovely landlord had forgotten to mention that minor detail. I proceeded to talk to a nice lady at the gas company. And as she set my account and asked me tedious questions, I couldn't wait to hear the words, "someone will be out to your house shortly to deal with this problem." As you can tell, with these hopeful thoughts, I've obviously never dealt with this kind of thing before, because she came back on the line telling me that no one could help me until the next day. It was a grim day at the Stivers household. My dishes continued to pile up because of the lack of hot water to wash them with. My hair was starting to look like it could oil a car, and poor Renee was taking below 0 degree showers.

The next day, I woke up refreshed because this was the day I had been waiting for: the infamous day when this house could return to normalcy. Well, little did I know, that that would not be the case. The appointment was set for anywhere from 12-5. I drove Renee to the airport and eagerly awaited the call of the "gas man". Hour after hour passed, and still no call. When 4:30 rolled around, I was becoming anxious, so I called the gas company once again to make sure someone was coming. As I was on the phone with her, an incoming call came through on the other line, and when I picked up, an older man's voice sounded on the other line. It was indeed the "gas man" calling to tell me he had one more house to do, and then he'd be over. During this time, I went to pick Chris up from work and waited.....

The next time I looked at the clock, it read 6:00 p.m. and still no show of the gas man. Now, Chris and I had to be at the fair at 7:30 and the fair is a 45 minute drive from our house, so needless to say, we were getting antsy. I finally had enough and picked up my phone to call the man back to see where in the world he was. He answered, and told me that he had received two emergency calls and would not be able to get to the house until at least 8:30 or 9:00. WHAT??!! I was so mad- I had waited all day to get into a warm shower only to find out that I had to wait until the next day, again! I replied, "Sir, my husband and I have to go the fair, because we have tickets to see a show. I have been without hot water since Friday and was counting on you to be here when you said you would." He responded tersely, "Well, this is business Ma'am. We can't control emergencies. I start work tomorrow at 8:30 so I'll give you a call and you'll be my first stop." I thought to myself many things but simply responded with a lame "Okay, see ya tomorrow." I knew the man was right about not being able to control emergencies but I just couldn't understand what was so hard about having enough people working that they could keep appointments! Needless to say, I desperately needed a shower so Chris started heating up water on the stove, but it takes a lot of pans full of water to fill up a bathtub. As we were working on it, I asked Chris "Are you being reminded of Little House on the Prairie right about now?" All I could think of was in a few years, looking back on this and laughing, but it sure wasn't funny right at the moment. We ended up running late for our show, but all in all, it was a fun night once again at the fair, and tomorrow was another day..(thank-you Scarlet for the inspiration....)

This morning is supposed to be the morning that we get our hot water back..could this really be it?? Could this be the day that I get to remember what hot water feels like? We'll see!

*One lesson I've learned from all of this: I will never take a hot shower for granted the rest of my life.

A fun week

Well, I'm very wide awake and chipper this morning and thought I might as well share a blog while I'm feeling this way. This has been such a great week: Flying home with Renee, the State Fair, shopping trips, and just all-around a good week. Church was great last night, and I'm soo thankful to get to be a part of this church. Chris was off to work bright and early this morning, and who knows what the day holds for Renee and I. Well, this was kind of a pointless blog post, but to sum it all up: I am going to have a great time and enjoy the blessings of today :)

Memories.....

Well, everybody the last few days have been quite exciting to say the least....Renee (my friend from Ohio) is here visiting and loving Kansas.(Well, at least until yesterday) Yesterday morning, we were sitting at the house deciding what to do when we both decided we'd like to go out for the day and find some good shopping spots! Just a few weeks ago Chris had taken me to Town East Mall in Wichita and I loved it. Now, I have been to Wichita a few times since we've moved here but NEVER by myself and Diana tends to be a little directionally challenged.I very boldly told Renee that I could get us there easily even though I had never drove it by myself. I called a friend who got me going in the general direction and so as quick as that, we were headed for a fun day in Wichita. As we were heading out of Park City, who should I pass but David, whom most of you know is Chris' brother who is a state trooper. I was tempted to stop and ask the exact directions to the mall, but realized that doing that might have caused more trouble than it was worth. It was at that moment, as I reached for my phone to call someone who could have helped me that I realized with a dreaded pit in my stomach, that I had left my phone at home. As I started passing exits one by one, I knew I had no idea where I was going, but I just decided in my mind that as soon as I took an exit, I would recognize something that would hopefully take me to the mall. I ended up taking some exit called Hydraulic and to say the least, that was NOT the right one. I just ended up between a lot of factories and it did NOT look like the some place I wanted to be. I got back on the freeway and headed the other direction. I passed David again, wishing I could get his attention and was trying to call Chris at the same time from Renee's phone because his was the only phone number I had memorized. Of course, he wasn't answering. I continued driving, aggravated at myself, for not remembering my phone until I remembered hearing people talk about Kellogg Street and thought that that idea might have some promise to it. Eventually, after I had found Kellogg we stopped at a gas station to ask for help (in which, I felt like a moron) and got going in the right direction..Well, an hour and several headaches later we were pulling into the mall. It ended up being a fun day. We got some stuff for Chris' birthday and had a good time. We ran into a little trouble again on the way home but nothing major and ended up getting home just fine.

Now on to today........

Actually this scenario started yesterday. Before I got in the shower yesterday, I decided to do some dishes and Renee threw a load of laundry in...after all of this I went to take a shower and had no hot water- nope, not a stitch. I decided to wait for an hour and see if that helped , but it didn't and so I reluctantly left for Wichita without a shower. That night, when we got home, Chris got in the shower only to find that we still had NO hot water. He tried to reset the hot water heater, but that didn't do any good. We woke up this morning- STILL no hot water. Grr.. that's aggravating. I don't know how people ever lived like this back in the old days....but I've decided that I'm going to venture out and take an old-fashioned bath. Yes, I do mean where you boil water on the stove and bathe in it. We'll see how it goes :) I just keep trying to tell myself that these kind of things help make memories......whether good or bad, at least they're memories!~

Home at Last

As most of you know, I got to go home last week to see my parents and in hopes of finishing up some orthodontic work there. I was able to enjoy my sister being there the same time I was there. And of course, the event that welcomes fall indto the Mahoning County (Canfield Fair) was going in full speed and that's always a family tradition..a.k.a..fries with vinegar and ketchup, elephant ear, a gyro, and of course, the Molnar's cinnamon roll!! (ahh,,,HEAVENLY...) Yes, my friends, this is clearly NO place for the dieting person. We also enjoyed hearing the Robinson Family sing which is always an experience in itself ;) Let's just say the mom definitely "feels" all her songs and is very emotional about it all. Late-night board games with the family, shopping trips, and mom's cookin' all made for an excellent vacation at home.

However, when I say "home" I mean the place that I know like the back of my hand, the place of my childhood home and the home of all of my memories. But, I realize that I am now making a new "home" of my own with my husband and someday, a family of our own. This is the home that I belong in now and am so blessed to have....it is so wonderful to be back....

A Sweet Letter

Yesterday in the mail I received 2 surprises. The bad surprise was a ripped open envelope telling me obviously that someone had been in my mail. This irritated me so much ......I mean what loser spends their time going through other people's mail. In that envelope was supposed to be a $10 bottle of medication for Bella. GRR!!! I was so mad. I eventually called the place where I ordered it from and said they'd send me another one for no cost. So at least that turned out okay.

The other surprise was a very good one. A very sweet letter from my sister-in-law Deena. It's amazing when you're living in a new place and you don't receive much mail other than other people's ;) or bills, how good it is to see a pink shoebox card from Hallmark! It was just a kind note telling me she missed me and reminiscing on past fun times, but it meant the world to me.

If you're waiting to say a kind word to someone, or all of the sudden you get a feeling that you should just call someone and tell them, "Hey, I was just thinking about you" or just to tell them that they're loved, don't wait! You have no idea what that person is going through and how your thoughtfulness will impact them....Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou Deena for your sweet letter. Love ya lots!

Thoughtless Thursday??!!

Well, I have nothing to blog about, but it happened on the wrong day of the week! It's not Wordless Wednesday: it's Thoughtless Thursday!

Love him, Love "us"

Safely Back Home

I am glad to announce that our girl is back at home. I went to pick her up this morning as soon as they opened and when the nurse brought her out, she was soooo excited to see me, I was worried she'd giver herself a hernia!! She whined for a few minutes after I held her, as if to say, "Mom, do you know what you put me through?" I just held her, trying to juggle paying the receptionist, keeping her in my arms (they're not supposed to walk) and signing papers. I had her bed all set up in the car and when she got in the bed, she rolled around it happily...... When we got home, I put her water in front of her and she drank it vigorously until ALL of it was gone. She must have not drunk at the vet's office very much at all. Now she is happily sleeping in a ball right beside me and the stitches look good. I am so happy to have her back home with us :)

Bella

This morning, bright and early, I had to take Bella into the vet to get fixed. UgghH!! This killed me.....first of all because of not knowing anything about this vet, I just had to take it for granted that they were going to be kind. I know, I'm just admitting it now- I'm a serious dog lover , especially my pooch. All of this morning, while getting ready for the vet , Bella was at my feet knowing something was going to happen. She gets so excited to go for a car ride and when I got her leash out she went crazy with excitement.... I just kept thinking, "O Bella, you have no idea what's coming.." As we pulled into the parking lot and I took her in the door, she was definitely NOT happy. First of all, right inside the door was a Giant Mastiff looking her straight in the face probably thinking, "I wonder if you squeak?" or "how much chewing could I get out of you?" Well, the receptionist came and switched leashes with me, and just took Bella and placed her in this room (probably with dog cages) - Bella reluctantly followed. 

Grant it, this problem is probably my fault because Bella never goes into her cage unless we are gone from the house. We let her sleep with us....so she had a serious reality check, I'm sure. I know that this a common surgery, but nevertheless, she's my baby and I hope everything goes well. She's there overnight and I can pick her up sometime tomorrow.  

Just one of those nights........

Ever have one of those nights where you can't think of anything but sad things? Well, as you might have guessed I'm having one of them tonight. Everything's pretty quiet around here: Chris is sleeping, Bella is sleeping- I'm the only one who seems to not be able to enjoy that luxury. Our college that we attended is starting up tomorrow back in Tennessee and I'm remembering all the fun times there and the different memories that are there....and missing friends that are there. A.K.A  Nikki, Matt, Mike, Justin, Danielle and so many others. I miss you guys!! 

Then my thoughts move on to my home in Ohio.... I miss late-night talks at Joel and Deena's house with mom calling me 3 or 4 times to see if I'm coming home yet ;) (love ya mom!) I miss mom and I's spur-of-the-moment mall trips just so we could get a cup of Gloria Jean's coffee, an Auntie Anne's pretzel and steal some good deals from Christopher and Bank's! I miss my B.F.F. Maggie ( remember that Mag?) and all our weird, but extremely fun times together. And I never thought I'd say this but I even miss the state of Ohio. And that is a HUGE accomplishment....(After 19 years of living in the same house, and everything being the same, I kind of wanted to get out and see new horizons) but as they say, "There's no place like home." Dad, I even miss you saying, "Whatever!" I'm learning the older I get to never take such a great family, like mine, for granted. 

Don't get me wrong, I love where I'm at now and I'm enjoying getting to know my in-laws better. Life changes but the changes are good for us and are exactly what God has designed for us......I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful husband, a great church, a great family (on both sides), great friends and last but not least, a great God! 

I'm sorry if I've just depressed all of you that are reading this but it's nice to be able to write my feelings down and get them out. I don't know- maybe I shouldn't write sentimental blogs at night when I'm tired and my emotions are very vulnerable, but a life can't always be perfect- there will be sad times, and glad times. If we can remember what is what like to go through the  sad times, then when we get to the glad times, we don't take them for granted..........

FINALLY- off to bed..............

My Free Piano

So indeed we did end up getting the piano and it is safely moved into the house. It is a very, very old piano, but surprisingly in pretty good condition. I'm going to have to have a tuner come to look at it and tell me everything that needs to be done, but once it is totally restored it will be beautiful! I'm so happy to have my own piano now...

P.S. I'm still looking for a piano bench though :)

FREE??!!

I'm sure all of you know by now that I LOVE the piano and have wanted a piano for a long, long, time, but simply could not afford it...

Well, today a good friend called me from church and told me that she had seen an ad in the paper for a piano in good condition, beautiful cherry wood, and the best part- FREE!!! I called the number in the paper and a sweet little old lady answered the phone and she said the only problem with it was that it needed to be tuned. Now, if that truly is the only problem then I've got myself a pretty good deal. She said that she had several people coming to look at- one one on Thursday and the rest on the weekend. I told her that I really was interested and asked if I could come tonight after Chris gets off work and she replied, "Well, I guess the early bird gets the worm!" 

SO....I really, really, really hope this works out. I have wanted and prayed for a piano for so long and I hope this is it! I'll post later after we go look at it to let you all know how it goes....

A Riddle

Okay.....try to figure this one out:

1. There is a man found dead in a phone booth with slit wrists; there are broken holes on either side of the phone booth with broken glass and the phone is left dangling from the hook. Also, the trunk of the man's car outside of the phone booth is filled with guns, tackle, and fishing gear.
   

 WHAT HAPPENED TO MAKE THIS MAN DIE?

    

My day...

It's been a quite a day.......quite a day. My eye indeed feels better. Besides some redness, and slight sensitivity to light everything feels normal, so I probably just scratched the eyeball a little and it will slowly heal itself. It is amazing the small things that you take so much for granted until you have to live without it, and let me tell ya- living without being able to open your eye is NO fun - nope- no fun at all. Yesterday I tried to nurse my eye all day, keeping all of the lights out in my house all day and not stepping a foot outside. I did other things like keep a wet rag over my eye and put eyedrops in it frequently. I had already scheduled a recording last night at our church to record piano playing and singing, so I did everything possible to be able to do that. Well, I made it to the recording and went ahead and played a few songs with low lighting and everything worked out just fine. We were at the church until a little after midnight last night and were very exhausted when we got up this morning, so I can't really say the day ever had a chance of being a good day......

Ever met a person that all they can talk about is negative things and something is ALWAYS wrong, but yet they have all the solutions for everyone else's problems?? Well, I had the pleasure of dealing with such a person this afternoon for a few hours and let me tell ya for sure, there's nothing that'll make your day better than someone loading a ton of more problems on your back that you really could've lived without having. Well, anyway...it's not the end of the world but it's just amazing that whenever one thing happens bad in a day, EVERYTHING has to happen bad in the day. 

There were more aggravating things like Bella repeatedly getting in the trash , tripping and falling on my beloved backside, and the husband unexpectedly working overtime....

Oh Well....things could always be worse right?? Hopefully church tonight will help me  :) I am looking forward to our first class tonight with our teens!

P.S. While I am typing this, the dog has just accidentally fallen off the back of the couch and landed in between the window and the couch. I guess a tragedy always needs the comic relief!

Suggestions?? Someone? Anyone?!

Has anyone ever fallen asleep with their contacts in??????? Well, needless to say I did last night. I have done this before accidentally and it never affected me like this but let me tell ya, this time I feel MISERABLE. Last night, I started reading and fell asleep only to awake at around 2 in the morning with a terrible burning itching sensation in my eyeball. I got my contacts out as fast as I could even though trying to get them out was like trying to pull a strong suction cup off of a dry surface. After I got the contacts out, ,my eye was still burning sooo bad but I thought if I could get back to sleep, that it would be better in the morning. Boy, was I wrong! My eye felt so horrible this morning that I could not even open it....I just laid in bed while Chris was getting ready for work and continued to try to open it. Throughout the morning, I tried putting a wet cloth on my eyes, making myself cry, and blinking profusely so as to get my tear ducts working just for a little relief! I then called Chris, and had him pick up some Visine eye drops on his way home for lunch. I'm waiting to see if those work, but the directions on the bottle say only use 4 times daily, and I'm not feeling a difference yet. I am sick of this burning- I kind of would like to just rip my eye out. I'm wondering now if I should just get some plain ol' saline solution and just flood my eye until I can get some moisture back in it. If anyone would like to suggest anything, I'm open for it! 

A Thought for the Night

Well guys, I haven't written in a while because- well, honestly nothing has happened that has been worth writing about :).

Chris and I have just arrived home after a late night at a friends house. On the way home, Chris and I started talking about all the things that have happened since we were married in December, and I started thinking to myself how much my life has changed even in the last few years! Now, I imagined a lot of things since childhood but NEVER did I imagine that I'd be in Kansas- in a city I had never even heard of- and helping in a small country church. As I think of this, I look back on all of the ways God prepared me to be what I am today. Every little issue I faced as a pastor's kid (which by the way- even though not always appreciated- was the best childhood I could have imagined) , and every problem that I have run into has not been in vain. True, I am not very old, but the more steps I take in life, and the more I grow as a Christian, the little things like- taking piano, going to a Christian school, having parents in the ministry, and having siblings and grandparents that lived far away for most of my childhood- every bit of it has helped me to cope with where the Lord has me now. I am so excited to be here, with my husband doing exactly what the Lord has planned for us right now. I don't know what adventures lie ahead, but I know whatever they are that the Lord is preparing us right now for whatever he has planned for us in the future. I get so excited thinking about all the promises God has given his children and how He will lead us every step of the way!

Do I miss my family? More than anyone can possibly know. Do I run into hard things to deal with and wonder whether moving here was a good idea? Absolutely. But then I just think about all the ways that God led us here, all the ways he has blessed since we've been here, and all the things He has in store for us while we are here; and then suddenly, I have overwhelming peace that I am exactly where God wants me and doing exactly what God wants me to be doing. And that my friends is the perfect recipe for happiness and a good night's sleep........
God is so good.

The Importance of TODAY!

I just wanted to share a little story that my grandma once shared with me......

"Tucked away in our subconscious is an idyllic vision. We see ourselves on a long trip that spans the continent. We are traveling by train. Out the windows we drink in the passing scene of cars on nearby highways, of children waving at a crossing, of cattle grazing on a distant hillside, of smoke pouring from a power plant, of row upon row of corn and wheat, of flatlands and valleys, of mountains and rolling hillsides, of city skylines and village halls.

But uppermost in our minds is the final destination. Bands will be playing and flags waving. Once we get there our dreams will come true, and the pieces of our lives will fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. How restlessly we pace the aisles, damning the minutes for loitering - waiting, waiting, waiting for the station.

"When we reach the station, that will be it!" we cry.
"when I'm 18"
"when I buy a new 450sl Mercedes-Benz!"
"when I put the last kid through college"
"when I have paid off the mortgage!"
"when I get a promotion."
"when I reach the age of retirement,I shall live happily ever after!"

Sooner or later we realize there is no station, no one place to arrive at once and and for all. The true joy of life is the trip. The station is only a dream. It constantly outdistances us. "Relish the moment" is a good motto, especially when coupled with Psalm 118:24: "This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." It isn't the burdens of today that drive men mad. It is the regrets over yesterday and the fear of tomorrow. Regret and fear are twin thieves who rob us of today.

So stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles. Instead climb more mountains, eat more ice cream, go barefoot more often, swim more rivers, watch more sunsets, laugh more, cry less. Life must be lived as we go along. The station will come soon enough."- Robert Hastings

This is such a good thought because we all are guilty of this. I know when I was in school, I just couldn't wait until I graduated, then when I graduated I couldn't wait to get to college. When in college, next thing was to get married, and now that I'm married there are many things that I'm anticipating. But, it is so important that we realize we never get the day we have right now back. This can be depressing for some, but to me it is a great opportunity to take every minute I have with Chris, with my church, and with our family and enjoy every minute of it. The Lord tells us to "number our days" and with His help I hope to do just that! 

The false Court Summons

Here I am, on my couch enjoying a little downtime on this Sunday afternoon. I am trying to choose what to write about and out of all the things that have happened in the last couple of day- I think I've decided......

Thursday afternoon, I was home by myself when I heard my screen door open quickly and then shut. Well, sometimes my imagination can take off in a million different directions until just a slight noise becomes a door opening or a creak or something about to jump out and get me!! Silly I know, but I HATE being home by myself, and usually I have the radio on or music playing to cover up all the random noises that a house makes that aren't usually noticeable until you're by yourself. Well, I stood on the stairs with Bella, deciding if I should open up the door or not. I thought it was really weird that whoever it was didn't knock or ring the doorbell. Well, after a few minutes I decided that I was going to overcome my overactive imagination and go look out the window. Sure enough, I saw nothing - only a piece of paper in between the screen door and the door. I grabbed the paper expecting a notification of an upcoming event or a subscription to something but when I looked my eyes zeroed in on the words, "Summons, Defendant, and 13th Judicial District Court." 

Okay- pause here for a moment if you please. Mind you, I had been in this town no more than a week and I was receiving a court summons??! Okay back to the story......

 

As I started reading this paper as fast as my eyes could go.....I realized that whoever this summons was for , they owed around 500 dollars to Susan B. Allen Memorial Hospital. At this point I knew it wasn't for me, so I called the phone number on the back of the paper which connected me to a very skeptical woman. I proceeded to tell the woman my name, address and the situation. I asked her what I could do to get this summons into the hands of the RIGHT person. She asked me several questions, including "Have you ever known this person?" or "Are you sure he doesn't live there?" By about the ninth or tenth question , I told her, "Look lady, I have no idea how to make you believe this but I'm not the guy you want nor have I ever heard of the guy you want." She then told me, " Well, we hardly ever get addresses wrong." After that, I asked her if there was someone else I could talk to and she told me to call the sheriff's department, and I thought to myself- "O boy, here we go again." She said if I didn't call them and inform them of this, then the day of the court hearing if the guy didn't show up, they'd show up at this address looking for him. Well, I didn't want that confusion so I just called the sheriff's department, told them about it and thankfully they were a WHOLE lot more understanding than the other lady.  They did ask me some questions, and assured me that I had nothing to worry about and that everything would be taken care of. 

 Needless to say, I've never gotten a court summons before but I guess there's a first time for everything. I guess I'd rather have the first time be when the summons isn't for me! :)

Moving In!!

Well, as most of you know we have just made a huge move from southern, beautiful Knoxville, Tennesssee to midwestern, flat Newton, Kansas. Packing up our small two-bedroom duplex was quite the first-time moving experience. To say the least, Chris and I are both MAJOR pack-rats so that made it interesting. We definitely had to exercise some self-control and get rid of some our "worthless treasures." 

We made the long trek from Tennessee to Kansas into a two day trip, stopping for the night near St. Louis. Ten hours later, after being in an hour and a half traffic jam, we finally arrived at our new home. Our friends, Adam and Tiffany, and Chris' mom, Ann helped us to empty the truck and at least get everything into the house and in some cases even got it into the right room!! 

After a good night's rest on our bed with no sheets (because I couldn't find the box), we got up early the next morning ready to get the moving done with. Again, Tiffany and Ann came over to help us get the majority of things done. Maybe I got ahead of myself and forgot to mention that our house has three bedrooms but one of them is upstairs and really what it is just a big open loft. It is the coolest thing!! My favorite feature of the upstairs is the skylight. So we made a unanimous decision that we wanted our bedroom to be upstairs. After three of us pushed our mattress up our narrow stairway, we realized that if it was this hard to get the mattress up the stairs, how impossible it would be to get the box springs upstairs especially since those are unbendable. Well, the logical thing to do at this point would be just to settle for less and make our bedroom in one of the rooms downstairs. But never fear my friends because the Stivers family will never settle for less! My husband's motto is "Where there is a will there is a way" and I guess that proves to be true because the next day I come back from being out with Tiffany, walk upstairs, and find my whole bed mind you- every bit of it put together and completely made!! Well the first thing that comes to my mind is the question, "how?" When I asked Christopher how he did it, he proceeded to tell me that one of our friends lent him a saws-all. He took me upstairs, lifted up the bedskirt and showed me the box springs. Yes, everyone you have guessed right, my husband cut our box springs in half, carried them upstairs, and then put the whole thing back together. As I stared at Chris while he was revealing all of this to me, inside my head I was thinking, "I have married my father." By the way, it's not that this was a bad idea, in fact it was a brilliant idea, it's the determination to do the impossible that continues to amaze me. Needless to say, our bed is as good as new and the bedroom is perfect. 

I am so thankful for my smart hubby and can't wait to see what his next challenge will be!!

A Rough Beginning

If you'll pardon me, this is the first attempt I have made at blogging, so it may take a few more posts to get the ball rolling. But first, I would like to share a few reasons why I decided to start blogging: 

1. Well, actually almost everyone I know has a blog and I sort of felt "out of the loop". 

2. My life is very slow these days, with the husband gone to work from 7-4 daily, so I decided I would like to share my days with others, so as hopefully not to feel completely closed in the house all day.

3. Occasionally, while here at the house, things will happen, or I will think of something that makes me laugh, or cry and I like the idea of sharing my thoughts. 

4. I want to be able to record things that I can look at in a few years and remember what my life was like in quiet Kansas in my little home at 226 E. Tenth before children, or other things God brings our way as we grow older.

 

:)

I am thrilled to start a blog and even if I don't get a post written everyday, I hope to share many memories, laughs, and special moments with family and friends. 

Welcome to the Stivers' Blog!