HoustonHomestead's Xanga

Monday, June 16, 2008

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 20:10:02 GMT

In honor of our new start, I'm making a new Xanga start. You can now find me at MammaWendy since I can't claim to homestead in Houston anymore Stop by and please keep in touch!

Faith

Fri, 02 Nov 2007 21:36:07 GMT

George is allergic to eggs. It's a real pain - for me cooking and baking, for us eating out, and most importantly, for him as a 4 year old who doesn't get to enjoy the yummy things (like cake) that his friends are eating!

I've been praying often that God will heal him. But I've found myself not wanting to pray WITH George about this. I don't want him to be disappointed in God if God chooses not to heal him.

So ... am I doubting? What is faith? I know that God CAN heal him. I believe that without any doubt. What I don't know is IF GOD WILL heal him. Is faith believing that he WILL, or just that he CAN???

Any thoughts???

Best Friends

Thu, 04 Oct 2007 16:06:01 GMT

George has been back in preschool for a couple weeks now. He's loving it. And, for the first time in his life, he has a best friend. According to both George and his teachers, George and "J" are inseperable all day! They talk, play with blocks, dig in the sand, etc.

Today the school is closed so the teachers can attend a seminar. So I invited "J" over for a playdate. He arrived about 15 minutes ago, and are having so much fun already!

I'm just watching in amazement! My LITTLE boy is so grown up. I love that he has a best friend! (I'm trying to take pictures so I can document this day - Sam's first real friend who HE chose!).

He seems like a real sweet boy

Catch Up

Sat, 22 Sep 2007 13:30:53 GMT

It's a sleepy Saturday morning, the boys are watching TV, my husband is still in bed, and (since I have to be up) it sounds like a great time to TRY to catch up on what's been happening in our lives the past few months. So ... sit back and get comfortable ... this will be a novel:

Chapter One: Family Vacation

On August 21st, the Dimmock family boarded a jet plane, destination Colorado. Upon arrival, Grandma and Grandpa whisked the four of us off on a 2 week multi-generational excursion to Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Park. Besides the long hours in the car (the boys were stars!), and two nights of freezing in sleeping bags, it was the perfect vacation! I'll post a link to some pictures "soon".

A few highlights:

Yellowstone Bear World: where we got to feed donuts, bagels and bread to live bears from the top of an open truck. We were literally feet from the bears! It was incredible!

Yellowstone Geysers: Castle was definitely the best! It was amazing in fact. It goes off for something like 20 minutes (or longer). The day we were there is was quite hot, but all in all it was a great experience. Monkey loved them and the rest of the vacation kept asking to see "more geysers". D could have spent weeks there seeing every feature and reading every sign!

Canoeing and hiking to waterfalls and rivers: My parents love waterfalls, so we hiked to many of them during our travels. They boys were in heaven. They LOVE to be outside, digging in the dirt, throwing rocks into the water, climbing, etc. We also were able to spend a day canoeing in the Grand Tetons. The boys wanted to go again, but we did have a schedule to keep

Chair Lift: Monkey and George loved the "Big Swings" we rode to the top of one of the Teton mountains. And George had to take me to the summit of the mountain - that kid has NO fear when it comes to climbing! Monkey didn't enjoy this day as much though - after 3 crash and burn falls while running DOWN the mountain (a bit scary to watch), Daddy insisted on carrying him - which brought about a half hour screaming tantrum on the top of the mountain! Eventually he settled down and enjoyed the Big Swing down with Grandma and Grandpa!

Dinosaur Museum - No day would be complete for George right now without dinosaurs ... so we found a Dinosaur Museum to tour. The wonder and amazement on his face made the extra few hours in the car well worth it!

Can't forget Camping: The boys are definitely outdoor people. I think they LOVE everything about camping, even being cold. But the best parts were s'mores, helping put up the tents and being muddy and dirty the whole day! I was happy to split the trip between camping and a condo that had a shower and proper beds

Chapter Two: The Death of a Lovely Woman

Sadly, the morning of our return to Houston my parents received a phone call that my grandmother was not doing well. They rushed to the nursing home and were informed that she was "actively dying" and it could be hours or days. In light of the uncertainty, D and I decided to return home with the boys as scheduled. The next morning my Grandmother went home to be with Jesus. So I returned to Colorado less than a week later to attend her funeral.

My Grandmother was a wonderful woman who will truly be missed. I honestly believe that she prayed for me every day of my life - and will miss her prayers every day for the rest of my life! But I can hardly be sad that she is now in heaven, with her husband, walking the streets of gold, worshipping her Saviour and receiving her reward! The last few years of her life she has such bad alzheimers that she didn't know her family and spent her days in a wheel chair in front of the TV. Now she remembers EVERYTHING and gets to dance and bow before the throne! Actually, I'm jealous!

The funeral weekend was a great chance to spend time with my brother and to get to know his girlfriend better. They came to church with us on Sunday, and both seemed to be impacted by the sermon. Lori even talked to me afterwards about buying a Bible and which one to buy and how she used to go to church and talk to God but hasn't for a long time and would like to again! If you are a praying person, please add them to your list - God is doing something in their hearts - hopefully they won't run but submit!

I was also able to spend a wonderful evening with my Aunt who's daughter committed suicide 5 months ago. Obviously, she's really struggling. I was able to share from my own experiences with grief and encourage her that really, life will get better and she will heal and the pain will eventually diminish. We sat at Red Robin for 2 1/2 hours holding hands, crying and talking. And God gave me the boldness to NOT miss opportunities to talk to my Aunt about God, for which I am grateful!

Chapter Three: Home Again

Now, we are all home again, with no plans to travel in the near future! The boys have both started preschool - George 5 mornings a week and Monkey 2 mornings. If you're doing the math, this means that I have SIX HOURS a week BY MYSELF! This is the first time in over 4 years that I've really had consistent time to myself. And yes, I'm LOVING IT! I honestly feel like a new woman - so much more settled and centered and relaxed and ... it's wonderful! And to make things even better, the boys absolutely love going to school and love their teachers. Thanks God!

We also have an (almost complete) new kitchen, which was installed while we were on vacation. It's amazing! Our fridge is finally in the kitchen and we have lots of counter space and cupboard space! And we even have an ice maker

Chapter Four: The Future

Unfortunately, no decisions have been made on our future yet. It is increasingly clear that we WILL be moving ... we just don't know where or exactly when yet. D is still waiting on news from Toronto, though getting increasingly frustrated and convinced that they are messing him around. As for Milwaukee, they are offering everything D wants and more.

We're also needing to replace my van - it's making funny squeaking noises and we've spent quite a bit the past year in repairs, so it's time to think about a new one. We're test driving this afternoon, and trying to decide if we're buying used or new.

And of course, as if we don't have enough decisions to make, we're trying to decide if we want to have another baby or not ...

A Sick Family

Sat, 18 Aug 2007 13:31:24 GMT

Pray for me ... that I don't get sick! Monkey had it first, then George. Now David. We leave for a two week vacation on Tuesday (to Colorado and Yellowstone National Park, camping along the way!). I really don't want to be throwing up on an airplane ... or while camping!!!!! Thanks. (Sorry for being graphic!)

Monday, July 30, 2007

Mon, 30 Jul 2007 02:51:33 GMT

Today I had a mosquito fly up my jeans leg ... and now I have TEN bites on my legs!

And I am SO allergic to mossy bites! Even after benedryl they BURN!

I thought I was safe with jeans on!!!!!!!!

I HATE mosquitos!!!!!!!!!

Friday, July 20, 2007

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 19:32:37 GMT

Well, it looks like we WON'T be leaving Houston, at least for the time being!

You can read details on D's site.

I'm glad to not be leaving our friends and our church and our "life" here. But part of me is dissapointed about missing out on the new adventure. What is up with that?!?!?

God only knows what His plans are for us in the extended future, but it IS nice to know that at least for the rest of 2007 we can relax and just enjoy our life without having to make huge life changing decisions. I'm definately ready for the break!

And I do love our life here

Monday, July 02, 2007

Mon, 02 Jul 2007 02:20:47 GMT

So ... I try so hard to be an adult ... but most of the time I think I fail!

George is into penguins at the moment, so I though it would be an appropriate backdrop for my site.

And hey ... it's more fun to be childlike anyways

Friday, June 29, 2007

Fri, 29 Jun 2007 21:06:11 GMT

It's been a LONG time since I posted.

What's been happening? Well:

1. George and Monkey and I have been taking swimming lessons. George is in his own class, and has really learned a lot. I'm amazed at how much more confident he is in the water now. He'll even happily tell me "mommy, I went all the way under the water today" - which is a huge deal for him! He loves his teacher too!

Monkey has been in a baby and mommy group with me. We've sung lots of songs and worked on kicking and putting our face in the water, etc. He's fearless! Scarily fearless, really! He just launches himself to me ... and if I'm not paying attention I find him underwater. But as soon as I grab him up, he wants to go again!

We've had a lot of fun, and will probably do another 2 week session in July.

2. I got my hair cut, FINALLY! Those who have seen me this week have seen it straight, but it takes a lot of time and work to straighten it, so it may not be that way too often. I THINK I like it. We'll see in a week or so though (I haven't taken any pictures yet, sorry ... you'll have to see me in person to know what it looks like!).

3. D and I travel to Milwaukee next weekend. Grandma is watching the kids. EVERYONE is excited. This will only be the 2nd time D and I have been away overnight without the kids. I'm hoping for at least SOME couple time while we're gone! We'll also get to see a friend of mine I haven't seen since our wedding, who now lives in Milwaukee. George is very excited to get to stay with only Grandma! I'm not sure what Monkey thinks yet - it will be interesting to see how he reacts when we get on the plane.

Hopefully we'll be traveling to Toronto also in July, but as of now things are not finalized yet.

4. Life Group has been going well. It feels like our group is finally gelling after we multiplied a few months back. We have some new faces and are really getting to know each other. We love leading a Life Group.

That's all I can think of for now. Hopefully it won't be so long between posts this time!

Sunday, June 17, 2007

Sun, 17 Jun 2007 14:30:44 GMT

George just put Monkey in time out because he was "being naughty"!

I'm laughing ... but only when he's not looking

(By the way, Monkey was hugging George around the neck too much and wouldn't stop!)