The Undesirable

It's the late nights at work. The people who tell you that what you have is just not good enough. And the lack of lettuce to make taco salad. 

It's the unpaid bills. The sink drain pipe that never stays connected and that splatters yucky water all over your feet unexpectedly because you forgot. 

It's the customers who get mad at you, or tell you they are #1 priority, or that just know they are and love to take advantage of you at any time. And the house that always smells like something rotten when you walk in the door.

It's the oil spills in the shop that you accidentally step in. The Appraisers who can't seem to write phone numbers down correctly and wait for a week and a half to call you.

It's the customer's kids who run wild through the shop. The projects that don't get finished. The alarm that rings at 6:28 a.m. 

And then you remember your husband who tells you that you look like a million dollars. 

And the engine that you sold today that didn't fit in the shop anyway. And the lemonade waiting in your fridge at home. 

And Sunday where you can sleep all day. Or work on a sewing project. Or wash the dishes. Or go for a bike ride with your husband who hates biking but does it just to spend time with you. 

And you remember your God who is bigger than all our problems. And title agencies who know what they're doing. And for the mall where you can go just to buy underwear if you want. 

And for a whole bible that you can just pick up and read anytime you wish. And how that bible can calm you amazingly by just reading.

 And sisters who wait patiently for weeks for you to call them. And employees who come to work anyway even if you don't wake up when your alarm rings. And for the guy who is going to buy a truck from you. And for the trailer that was junk and got sold this week. 

And for the half finished pink blanket that can just sit there and wait and make you smile every time you look at it. And for the one year old brother in law who chatters your name and begs you to watch him jump on the trampoline every time you stop by. And for the date your husband took you on because "he likes to spend time with you". 

And for taco salad. And for a husband who will literally eat a taco meal every single night of the week. And for brownies that actually almost turned out.

 And for the cross and for my God who went all the way there for me. And the extremely gracious landlord at the shop. 

And the cardboard crates that you found can hold lots of weight to haul stuff when you move. And your husband who tells you he likes you even after you've had a disagreement. 

These are the things that make the undesirable things fade. And make me realize how small those things are by comparison. These are the things that put a smile on my face and make me thrilled to start each new day. These are the beautiful. These are the desirable. These are my life.

Balancing the Check Book --- Christine Style

I can do this now. I'll just do it really quickly.

This is like math. I never did well with math.

Telephone rings.

Oh yes, the checkbook. Now where was I?

Hmmm... I think I added that twice.

And look... I minused that deposit.

Oh I forgot to bill that brake job. I could do that now! 

The checkbook. I should work on that some more.

Why don't these numbers match up?

You know Blake, I failed math. Tell me again how I got this job?

It's too hot to focus on the checkbook. I'll scrub the fridge.

That checkbook still isn't finished. I'm going to have to start over now. I've stopped too many times.

None of the numbers match up. I must have added something wrong. 

Customer walks in and talks.

Math is hard.

Three hours later I proudly announce to Blake that the checkbook is finished. 

"You know Honey, it really isn't that bad!"

In Baby News

(Nope, it's not us!) 

I have a niece! :) 

Ciara Faith was born on the 13th to Micah and Lanna. In Texas, of course, so I can only think about holding her. ;(

She's little. Like baby little, but also like 7lbs little, which I think is cute. 

And I think she looks just like Lanna- except with the normal newborn look. :)

Blake's worried that I'm going to want to go see her. 

Pictures are cute and fun... but I think his fears are valid. 

Even with the distance, I like having a niece!

Some Days...

All you feel like doing is standing in front of the fan!

Freedom Day

My pictures finally got on the computer and I'm thrilled. My mind typically jumps from one thing to the next, turning out blog post ideas every now and then, but this post really needed to come first. It was one that actually had pictures. So here goes a post finally! :)

July 4th

Our country celebrates Independence Day. 

Blake and I celebrated a day of freedom from the shop.

For the two years previous we have sat on our front porch as "The Biggest Small Town Parade" goes by our front door and have said that "Next year... we need to put something in the parade". Blake kept reminding me as the time got closer that we haven't planned anything yet. I can think of lots of cool ideas for floats, but when it comes to advertising your mechanic shop?

We settled on a long trailer with a tool box, an engine hoist w/ engine block, and some other miscellaneous display items. The banners looked sharp and the six gallons of candy that we got to throw were quite fun!

My bro-in-law's girlfriend

As an after thought we grabbed a box of 250 pens that were a bit of a mistake but have our name on them. Since we're not going to have this address for too much longer (we hope!), we figured we'd throw them. It wasn't until after it was all over that we started computing how many people must have been there. We threw the pens very sparingly --- possibly to every tenth person?!

Definitely fun and worth the effort. Blake says next year we need to throw frisbees- there was plenty of candy getting thrown! Maybe next year it won't be raining beforehand and maybe next year I'll think not to decorate it with crepe paper (or creepy paper as my husband calls it). It seriously does not hold any shape when wet. What a shock! :)