Tiiiiiiiiime is on my side, YES IT IS!

Another month has come and gone. Sometimes I feel uncomfortable about how fast time seems to pass (I know, I know- it'll only get worse as I get older), but then I remember there is absolutely nothing I can do about it. So why bother feeling uncomfortable? Admittedly, the feeling usually only lasts a good solid 30 to 45 seconds.

On February 6, Clint and I celebrated our 6 month anniversary. We didn't do anything extravagant and that's okay. I feel like if you do all the great things when you first get married, you have less to look forward to in the future. So we continue to dream together about one day taking a cruise and spending more than $30 on a pair of jeans.

We filed our federal taxes and received a much bigger refund than we expected! Most of it went to savings but we splurged and bought ourselves a new queen mattress with part of the refund. I was so glad to see the delivery people pick up and carry our old mattress out the door. It is so wonderful being able to sleep on my side without my knee in the back of Clint. And Clint has yet to sucker punch me in the middle of the night so I'd say so far so good.

In other news, Clint gave his notice and is no longer working at his part-time Church job in Keller, TX. I firmly believe God provided that job when we needed (in fact, it was the same day I lost my job) and I'm thankful that we were able to transition smoothly from my old job to my new job without too much financial burden. However, ultimately we didn't feel that God was calling us to join the church (which was a requirement for Clint's position). We are now attending a closer church and really enjoy it. Pray for Clint as he searches for other part-time employment.

Our baby boy (read: dog) is hanging in there. His poor hips are so arthritic that he walks with a hobble and can't get up very well. His appetite is better than ever, he continues to do his business outside, and he seems to be genuinely happy. As long as that's the case, we'll keep him around. We just don't want him to live in misery. It's dreadful to think about so I'm going to change the subject. <--It's my blog. I can do what I want.

Being a nanny makes me think about what and how I want teach my kids. One thing that I'm particularly thankful for is the fact that my parents taught me to listen. They taught me how to carry on an intelligent conversation. That's not to say all of our conversations were intelligent. One day on the way home, dad said, "Hey Kaley, let's sing the word 'potato' all the way home. Want to?" I agreed and so we sang/yelled. Was that conversation one you would call intelligent? Well that depends on who you ask. I say it was brilliant. Back to the point. It angers me when people spend more time formulating their defense while their opposer is speaking, rather than just listening to the speaker. If you don't have an answer right away, you'll probably have to say something very profound. Something along the lines of, "I don't have an answer right now." I'm all for a healthy debate but this yelling back and forth stuff is ridiculous. And it kind of makes you look like an idiot.

The second thing on a very long list of things to teach my kiddos is to teach them how to apologize. I was terrible at this when I was younger. In fact, I'm still not great at it. I had a genuinely hard time saying the words, "I'm sorry." I hated being wrong. So yes, there will be a point in time where my kids will say I'm sorry. <---- see that little dot there at the end of the sentence? That's it. It ends there. The apology could be made longer by including the word "for" and then an explanation of why they are sorry and then finishing it all off with a "Do you forgive me?" However, the apology cannot be made longer by including the word "but."

Example: I'm sorry for punching you in the face but you kind of deserved it.

No. When apologizing, we should humble ourselves and seek forgiveness for our wrongdoing, rather than justifying our actions and making ourselves feel better by saying "sorry."

I serve one patient God, that's for sure. And I'm so thankful He continues to forgive me even when I'm too busy formulating a response to actually listen to what He's saying.

Oops, I did it again.

One of the initial goals of this blog was to make at least one entry per month. Oops. As of yesterday, I did not meet my goal. I'm not really all that upset about not accomplishing said goal. Besides, I'm only one day off- that's close enough, right?

Updates, updates, updates. Maybe the reason I haven't posted is because not that much has been going on. Please don't misread me-- I'm not complaining. Clint and I have had enough "going-ons" (or is it "goings-on"?) these first six months of marriage. We are completely content with remaining going(s)-onless for at least a little longer. 

Clint has started his second semester of Seminary. It's a lot of work but he is a hard worker and continues to do his best. It can be a little discouraging sometimes, knowing that he could choose another degree and be in and out in 2 years with not nearly the amount of time-consuming and difficult work. I used to say quite often that just because we don't like it, doesn't mean we're not supposed to be here. I still believe that. However, I do believe that sometimes we don't like it and that does mean we're not supposed to be here. We're not questioning whether or not Clint should be at Southwestern. We know that is where God called us. But Clint hasn't received any real clear direction yet as to which part of the ministry, specifically, God wants him to pursue. So we wait. And that's okay because God's timing is perfect and our view is small. The frustrating part is not knowing which degree would best suit his calling and making sure we don't take the easy way out just because it's easy. So join us in prayer as we wait on the Lord and seek direction.

My job continues to be totally amazing and nothing short of a blessing. Watching an almost 7 month old girl everyday sends me home in the best mood. There is no other explanation than just the cold hard fact that I love my job. The other day I got baby poop on my hand. She dropped a bomb and I was holding her feet with one hand and wiping with the other. I looked down and there it was, smeared on the back side of my thumb, baby excrement. This wasn't no magical trail of chocolate chips- this was warm, green poop. That's when you know you love your job. Poop on your hand and life is still good. 

And life is good. But I still miss home. I don't even have a clear definition of what (or where for that matter) my "home" is at the moment. I miss my parents. They recently moved to Shreveport, LA and even though I saw them at Christmas, I feel like it has been ages. I miss my brother in Austin, TX and hate that we don't see each other that often. I miss my grandma and grandpa Schafer in Fort Smith, AR. They are such a joy. I miss my church family. I miss my church. I miss my best friends from high school in Washington state. One just gave birth to a beautiful little boy, Colby, and the other is engaged to be married this coming summer. Such big moments in their lives and I want to be there for every single one of them. But geographical location and our budget just don't allow for all of it. That's the price you pay when you move though. You make some new friends and grow closer over time, but you also have to leave the others. That's just the way the cookie crumbles. I don't feel abnormal. I don't feel depressed. I feel like living in a new place away from my comfort zone should warrant me missing those close to me (not all are listed above by the way. I miss many and much more...just didn't want my readers getting depressed so I cut it short ;)) I'm thankful for my life experiences thus far. I'm thankful that my family moved a lot. I'm not entirely sure I would handle this thing called "Change" as well if we hadn't.

Life is good. I miss home. And we're out of Nalley Chili.