Hello my friends! We've arrived in our sun-drenched locale, and I can tell you that while the land itself reminds me of our previous home, the weather is much more bearable. It's about 65 - 70, but no humidity which totally rocks!
I'm amazed at the similiarity between plant life between here and there. Oleander, St. Augustine grasses, palm trees, lantanas... plus what I think are eucalyptus trees (of some sort beacause they don't have the scent I'd expect), coniferous trees, and lots of flowering trees and bushes as well.
We visited a couple of towns on the Med last weekend. The gorgeous city of Marbella was our home for the weekend, and we had some nice diggs. Our room looked like the 5th photo, and we had a view of the pools and mountains. On our way, we saw the rock of Gibraltar, and lots of what I'd consider to be expectable Spainsh houses. David played some golf on what he considered to be the most well-kept, nicest course he's played on to date. I indulged in a little time in the spa there at the hotel, treating myself to a manicure and pedicure, while improving my espanol.
We are living in temporary housing right now, and won't be in our long term house until July. We have a townhome, and it's thinly but adequately furnished. We have to use the internet at the library, and we rely on our cell phones to call home right now, but eventually we'll have both at home. We'll have a gorgeous view of the water from our home, and while we can't directly access the water, it's about a five minute drive to the beach from it. I can't wait to spend some quality time with my Sohl-mate walking the weed-free beach! :)
I'm sure that there are a million other things I can tell you, and for now, I'll wait for you to ask what you'd like to. I'll have to wait a while to upload my pictures, so the photos I can scavenge online are what you get. I miss you, though, and anxiously await details from home!
Hugs!
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Friday, April 18, 2008
Empty house...
We have one. Not completely empty, as we still live here. Now that all our stuff is making it's way to our new locale, we're living with a jumbled mess of randomness. Camp chairs adorn our living room, and our dining room table fills that area. I think they match nicely... though I like to imagine what people touring our home think. I've decided they must think at least one of these things: we're squatting; we bought a home that was way too expensive and couldn't afford to furnish it; or they've been in the same place, and recognize my attempts at staging a home with the left-overs.
My fears about this time frame included the idea that my Sohl-son and little SohlGal would not have enough to do. Thankfully, I was again mistaken. Not only have they found creative ways to entertain themselves with foam plates, toilet paper, and the power button on a 19" TV, but a sweet friend lent us a basket full of toys to ensure hours of entertainment.
We've been blessed by various friends with other necessary items, including dishes and home-cooked meals, beds, and linens. We're prayed for all the way around, and it's forcing my usually-cynical outlook to change for the better.
Though our house feels empty, my heart is full - of gratitude, of love, of humility, and of some sadness at the idea of leaving this place where God's shown me the importance of making "an ask" of myself. And while I won't say it's easy, it's more common for me to ask and know that it blesses another, than it is for me to feel guilt and an emptiness like I had before.
So as I sit and gaze at a photo from a going-away party given by two close friends, I thank Jesus for bringing us here, and pray that no matter where I sit, I remember this feeling, so far from emptiness.
My fears about this time frame included the idea that my Sohl-son and little SohlGal would not have enough to do. Thankfully, I was again mistaken. Not only have they found creative ways to entertain themselves with foam plates, toilet paper, and the power button on a 19" TV, but a sweet friend lent us a basket full of toys to ensure hours of entertainment.
We've been blessed by various friends with other necessary items, including dishes and home-cooked meals, beds, and linens. We're prayed for all the way around, and it's forcing my usually-cynical outlook to change for the better.
Though our house feels empty, my heart is full - of gratitude, of love, of humility, and of some sadness at the idea of leaving this place where God's shown me the importance of making "an ask" of myself. And while I won't say it's easy, it's more common for me to ask and know that it blesses another, than it is for me to feel guilt and an emptiness like I had before.
So as I sit and gaze at a photo from a going-away party given by two close friends, I thank Jesus for bringing us here, and pray that no matter where I sit, I remember this feeling, so far from emptiness.
Monday, March 17, 2008
The mind...
Have you ever been pregnant? If not, do you know someone who is? Or has been recently? Did you notice that they weren't quite.... right? I mean, you'd ask them something, and they'd start to answer you, and then completely... oohh. My toe hurts. I wonder why... maybe I have a sliver from when I... Oh wait. What was I saying? Oh... Um... DANG IT!
Of course, this is exaggerated for your entertainment, but you get the idea. I'm finding more and more that this is the case. In case I've not told you (which you will please chalk up to what I call pregnancy brain, not that I intentionally didn't tell you), we're expecting a Sohl-baby in October. Yes, this baby will be born in our new locale. And, if I haven't already told you (which again, we'll give to what will now be call PB -unless I forget and call it something else- and an online hug if you weren't previously aware <---->) we're moving. Yep. And while I'd prefer not to specify where in this forum at this point in time, let's just say that I'll continue to endeavor in learning mas espanol. :)
So the mind. My Sohl-mate and I were discussing what an amazing and scary thing the mind is. With all our advances, and understandings of so many things, we really don't understand much about our bodies. And even more impressively, we understand very little (relatively speaking) about how the mind works. Granted, we've made amazing strides, and years from now, if the internet is still the forum it is, and people were to read this, they might find this musing quite amusing.
What strikes me is that while I understand why we can't do more to understand the mind (or brain more specifically), we don't know more about it. I would guess that therein lies the problems. We really can't be dinking around inside someone's brain, because if we're dinking with the wrong stuff, we just may kill them. However, if we dink around with a used (nice way of saying a dead person's brain, I guess) brain, we don't see the immediate effects of manipulation. I can imagine it's incredibly interesting and frusting thing to be a scientist or doctor studying the brain.
Wow. That was fairly indepth and logical for me at this time of day. I need to stop and grab a cat nap, but I'll have more revelations soon! Hugs!
Of course, this is exaggerated for your entertainment, but you get the idea. I'm finding more and more that this is the case. In case I've not told you (which you will please chalk up to what I call pregnancy brain, not that I intentionally didn't tell you), we're expecting a Sohl-baby in October. Yes, this baby will be born in our new locale. And, if I haven't already told you (which again, we'll give to what will now be call PB -unless I forget and call it something else- and an online hug if you weren't previously aware <---->) we're moving. Yep. And while I'd prefer not to specify where in this forum at this point in time, let's just say that I'll continue to endeavor in learning mas espanol. :)
So the mind. My Sohl-mate and I were discussing what an amazing and scary thing the mind is. With all our advances, and understandings of so many things, we really don't understand much about our bodies. And even more impressively, we understand very little (relatively speaking) about how the mind works. Granted, we've made amazing strides, and years from now, if the internet is still the forum it is, and people were to read this, they might find this musing quite amusing.
What strikes me is that while I understand why we can't do more to understand the mind (or brain more specifically), we don't know more about it. I would guess that therein lies the problems. We really can't be dinking around inside someone's brain, because if we're dinking with the wrong stuff, we just may kill them. However, if we dink around with a used (nice way of saying a dead person's brain, I guess) brain, we don't see the immediate effects of manipulation. I can imagine it's incredibly interesting and frusting thing to be a scientist or doctor studying the brain.
Wow. That was fairly indepth and logical for me at this time of day. I need to stop and grab a cat nap, but I'll have more revelations soon! Hugs!
She's right...
A dear friend recently reminded me that I have good stuff to be posting about. And, since I do, I decided to come out of hiding, stretch my mind a bit, and get in a good blog or two.
We've kept our Sohl-selves busy with moving preparations. With the flight date just over two months away, we're sorting, cleaning, and preparing our house for sale. We're deciding which of the items that seemed incredibly necessary at some point over the last few year, are in fact, junk; which items have potential to be important to us in three years and will go to storage; and finally, which items are so necessary that they'll make the journey before we will.
Our first pack-out is scheduled for early April, and while I'm convincing myself that God will handle it, and He'll give me grace and strength, and He loves me inspite of my impulse buying... I'm working through the stress of that idea. I know that thousands of people move with companies just like I'll do, and that even the most unorganized of them all still seem to make it; I'm convincing myself that I'm somewhere in the middle of the curve, and that they won't talk about what a unclean, ridiculous pack-rat wife I am. *sigh* I am a work in progress, right?
We've shown the house about seventeen individual times, and had one open house. I'm prayerful that God will allow us to sell the sucker before we move, and that should we sell enough in advance, we will be able to stay in it until the last possible second. All we need is one offer, as I'm constantly reminded, and while I know that should bring peace, it seems to add fuel to my churning mind. "Haven't they seen anything on HGTV? One offer? We need multiples, to start a bidding war! We need a home staging expert, with a possible landscape expert." Meanwhile, the other half of my brain screams, "You can't be serious!?! You don't have yellow daisy wallpaper and rotting carpet! You don't have four-foot weeds in the yard, accented by broken screens and poor lighting. You don't have pictures of every person you've ever met posted on anything that will stand still, and you don't have toys strewn recklessly. No sinks of dirty dishes, no foul smells, no wandering pets, no funky colors. Give me a break!"
Aren't our minds interesting things? Women have an uncanny ability to argue. What's more, they can argue with themselves, which is why I think we're portrayed so often in romantic comedies as completely unsatisfiable and slightly nuts. And again I say, "She's right!"
I was able, however, to have a friend shower me with unexpected, but much needed prayers. And I appreciated the thought and the words, and admired her obedience. Thanks, friend, for your insight. All I could think was, "She's right."
We've kept our Sohl-selves busy with moving preparations. With the flight date just over two months away, we're sorting, cleaning, and preparing our house for sale. We're deciding which of the items that seemed incredibly necessary at some point over the last few year, are in fact, junk; which items have potential to be important to us in three years and will go to storage; and finally, which items are so necessary that they'll make the journey before we will.
Our first pack-out is scheduled for early April, and while I'm convincing myself that God will handle it, and He'll give me grace and strength, and He loves me inspite of my impulse buying... I'm working through the stress of that idea. I know that thousands of people move with companies just like I'll do, and that even the most unorganized of them all still seem to make it; I'm convincing myself that I'm somewhere in the middle of the curve, and that they won't talk about what a unclean, ridiculous pack-rat wife I am. *sigh* I am a work in progress, right?
We've shown the house about seventeen individual times, and had one open house. I'm prayerful that God will allow us to sell the sucker before we move, and that should we sell enough in advance, we will be able to stay in it until the last possible second. All we need is one offer, as I'm constantly reminded, and while I know that should bring peace, it seems to add fuel to my churning mind. "Haven't they seen anything on HGTV? One offer? We need multiples, to start a bidding war! We need a home staging expert, with a possible landscape expert." Meanwhile, the other half of my brain screams, "You can't be serious!?! You don't have yellow daisy wallpaper and rotting carpet! You don't have four-foot weeds in the yard, accented by broken screens and poor lighting. You don't have pictures of every person you've ever met posted on anything that will stand still, and you don't have toys strewn recklessly. No sinks of dirty dishes, no foul smells, no wandering pets, no funky colors. Give me a break!"
Aren't our minds interesting things? Women have an uncanny ability to argue. What's more, they can argue with themselves, which is why I think we're portrayed so often in romantic comedies as completely unsatisfiable and slightly nuts. And again I say, "She's right!"
I was able, however, to have a friend shower me with unexpected, but much needed prayers. And I appreciated the thought and the words, and admired her obedience. Thanks, friend, for your insight. All I could think was, "She's right."
Thursday, January 3, 2008
It's been said...
That necessity is the mother of invention. It was necessary today to design a more effective way to get my Sohl son to put his own clothes away, and in the correct drawers at that.
Since giving him the task of putting his own laundry away, it's been hit and miss as to whether or not the clothes find their rightful places. These battles of understanding lead me to the breaking point of patience. Today, though, my necessity apparent, God blessed me with the idea of labeling each piece of clothing with a code, so my Sohl son would know which drawer to put it in.
We went with these codes:
L - long-sleeved shirts
S - short-sleeved shirts
P - pants
Sh- shorts
J - jammies
I labeled the side of each drawer support with the apporpriate letter, so he could match the clothing item to the correct drawer. You can imagine what a great deal he thought this was - no arguing over whether or not a shirt had long or short sleeves. Another crisis averted! We worked on letter identification and sorting, without even intending to! Sweetness!
I learned two valuable lessons from this experience -
1. Writing on clothes and drawers is much more appropriate, soothing, and productive than losing my temper over the length of a shirt sleeve.
2. My son knows more about more than I ever thought.
Since giving him the task of putting his own laundry away, it's been hit and miss as to whether or not the clothes find their rightful places. These battles of understanding lead me to the breaking point of patience. Today, though, my necessity apparent, God blessed me with the idea of labeling each piece of clothing with a code, so my Sohl son would know which drawer to put it in.
We went with these codes:
L - long-sleeved shirts
S - short-sleeved shirts
P - pants
Sh- shorts
J - jammies
I labeled the side of each drawer support with the apporpriate letter, so he could match the clothing item to the correct drawer. You can imagine what a great deal he thought this was - no arguing over whether or not a shirt had long or short sleeves. Another crisis averted! We worked on letter identification and sorting, without even intending to! Sweetness!
I learned two valuable lessons from this experience -
1. Writing on clothes and drawers is much more appropriate, soothing, and productive than losing my temper over the length of a shirt sleeve.
2. My son knows more about more than I ever thought.
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