The strange workings of my inner mind

Ya'll probably have all heard me talking about my strange dreams. Thought I would share last night's with you while it's still fresh on my mind.

It started out with me being in our old house in town. Apparently we had a long row of window boxes along the living room windows, because an Amish man and his daughter were sitting outside the window trying to tell me that a squirrel was in one of the boxes. I was pantomiming "OK, thanks for letting me know!" through the window even though I didn't really understand what he was saying, but he was getting frustrated with me and finally motioned for me to go to the door so I could hear him. So I walked out on the porch and then he and his daughter got out of their wagon to talk. She looked to be about 9 years old. She asked me if I had ever heard of this place that was kind of like Build a Bear Workshop, but you make pottery instead. I told her I had heard of it but had never been. Then she showed me this thing she had made there, the clay was still a little soft but it was a beautiful cluster of strawberries with leaves. The detail was incredible and I was complimenting her on what a great job she had done. Then for some reason a whole bunch of people were suddenly sitting around all over the porch. The Amish man mentioned this couple that goes to our church, the H'es, I was telling him that I knew who they were and they lived just a couple of streets over. (In reality, I'm not sure where they live.) Then we were laughing about how when we started going to church with them, they only had their two oldest kids and now they have six.

Then I saw Will walking down the street coming home from work. I was happy to see him even though he didn't look to be in a very good mood. I think he was mad about all of the people being there. I was telling him to look at the strawberries the girl had done, he gave them a cursory glance and stuck a telescope in them (??? don't ask me) and was just generally being a grump. So I nicely told everyone it was time for them to leave and we went inside. I fussed at Will for being rude to the young girl and he said that he didn't think he should have to gush over something that she just made from a premade mold in the last ten minutes the store was open. I told him that if it had been something Dana had made that he would have thought it was the most beautiful thing in the world and there was no reason for him to treat someone else's daughter like that.

The next thing I remember, Will and I were outside of this restaurant. It had a drive-thru like a fast food place, but it was a single owner specialty type place. Our car was parked next to the drive-thru lane and he was having to work on it or something. People kept coming by and staring. This black guy, L, that graduated from the kids' school (that we also go to church with when he's not off at college) came out to help Will with the car. I think he was supposed to be at work in the restaurant because they were mad that he came out there. I think I was sitting inside the restaurant now because I remember watching one of the cooks decorate the cake that L was supposed to be working on, she was griping the entire time and I think mentioned that he was going to get fired. The cake was shaped like a short, fat tube and it was red velvet cake with a white fondant wrapped all around it, and then lines piped all around it in the pattern of a 1st grade writing tablet. One solid brown line, and then a dashed white line, and then a solid brown line, etc etc. This went all the way around the cake lengthwise.

Next I remember Will and I sitting on one side of a table in the restaurant getting ready to eat, and the guy L came and sat at the end of the table with us. He was depressed because they had just fired him. Then Will brought out the cake that I watched the lady decorate and sliced off one big end of it and handed it to L. L was shocked and overwhelmed (the cake had some sort of significance to him, though I'm not sure what) and Will told him "That's what you do for friends. You don't turn your back on them even if they've done you wrong" and then they did this weird hand-clasp thing and started talking about opening a cake decorating shop together.

The end.

This week's provision

So I was praying in some gas money and grocery money for this week. Will gets paid this Friday (24th) but we needed gas in the car before then, and the grocery list is very long since I've been having to skimp on it the past few weeks and we are running out of everything.

So in the mail Saturday I get a $6 rebate check. Sunday afternoon a lady from church calls, wanting to know if I'll work in the 2 - 5 yo classroom that night. She mentioned in passing that it pays $10 an hour. I thought she was joking and laughed. After church she brought me a check for $20. She wasn't joking. So that was $26 I was able to mail to the bank to deposit.

Yesterday I get two more rebates in the mail. $20 and $6. The $6 one I had given up on, I mailed it out months ago but didn't keep a copy of the submission (bad me!) so I just wrote it off as not coming. So there's another $26 for gas. Nice!

Today Will doesn't have to be at work until 11 am, so he has time to run into the post office on the way to work to pick up a certified letter that we've had there for several days but had no way to pick up. It's a graduation card from his aunt with $100 in it. There's the extra grocery money I need.

Thank you Jesus! We appreciate your provisions very, very much.

So who wants to hear a piece of GOOD news for once?

The bank (that we have Will's car loan with) called today to let me know they received the check from the insurance company and to talk to us about the balance due. The lady said that they had faxed the info to the place for the gap insurance. I was like, huh? We didn't have gap insurance. She said it might have been a mistake, but to check our paperwork to see and she'd call back in a few days.

So I finally found the paperwork and guess what? WE DID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So that's $1400 that we no longer have to worry about paying back! WOOOOOO!!!!!!

BTW, "Rodney" never showed up or called today. What an enormous shock. Forgive me Lord. I'm talking bad about him when I don't even know for sure what's going on. But I really am not surprised.

He called yesterday

He was supposed to come by today to work on the truck. Haven't seen him yet, it's almost 11 am. We'll see.

Did the Israelites have to wonder?

When they were wandering around in the desert for forty years and the Lord provided them with fresh manna in the morning and quail in the evening, did they have to wonder if they were going to mess up and the next day's meal would not be forthcoming?

Because that's what I feel like right now. The Lord is providing for us, a little at a time, but always what we need when we need it. But I look at the bills that are due two weeks from now and I wonder - will he provide more then? Or am I going to have to figure out the right way to handle what he has given us for now so that it will last?

Lord God, I am thankful for the provision. I will do my best to be wise with it.

Song Title Fun

Stealing this from a couple of my facebook buddies.

Pick an artist, and using ONLY SONG TITLES from only that artist answer these questions. This is harder than it seems!

ADDITIONAL RULE: You cannot use the same artist I did, or duplicate song titles even if they were performed by another artist.

Artist: Seventh Day Slumber

1. Are you a male or female: Brand New Me (the surgery was a success I guess! heh)

2. Describe yourself: Awake

3. How do you feel about yourself: Undone

4. Describe your ex boyfriend/girlfriend: Innocence (technically I don't have an ex since Will was my first real boyfriend, but I had an almost-relationship this describes well :) )

5. Describe your current boy/girl situation: Miracle

6. Describe your current location: Broken Buildings (hahahahaha, how fitting)

7. Describe where you want to be: Oceans From the Rain

8. Your best friend is: Always

9. Your favorite color is: Candy

10. You know that: I Know (but do I know that you know I know?)

11. What's the weather like: Burning Bridges (well, it is hot, but not *that* hot)

12. If your life was a television show what would it be called: Out Of Time

13. What is life to you: My Struggle

14. What is the best advice you have to give: Believe

15. If you could change your name what would it be: Caroline (that's Caroline, not Carolyn, thank you)

Not really an update, but...

We found out today that the guy in the previous post (I'm going to call him Rodney to make things easier, but it's not his real name) is living out of Will's truck at the moment. He and his roommate got evicted from their apartment.

Sigh.

You know, some people live with this kind of drama in their life all the time, but we don't. It's not us. I don't like it.

Ever have those days when you just can't even scream?

Today is one of those days.

A guy from church came up to our house last week (was it last week? the week before? I don't even remember now) to help Will get one of his old trucks up and running so we could have a second vehicle again. Will totalled his car a few weeks ago, I'm not even sure if I blogged about that. Anyway, they got the engine taken apart and took whatever parts needed to be fixed to the machine shop, and then went to the auto store and ordered the parts they needed to order. The next day they went to pick up the partial order that had come in, Will paid $250 for the parts (all that we could afford to put toward this project - the guy is covering the rest because Will's giving him the Ranger that needs a transmission). Will started a job this Monday so the guy was supposed to come on over and start putting the truck back together alone. He's driving Will's Ranger because he doesn't have a vehicle, and he lives 30+ miles away, this way he doesn't have to have someone bring him.

He wasn't at church Sunday. We didn't think *too* much of it, he's on disability and works at his friend's restaurant whenever he's able to get some part time $$.

Monday comes, he doesn't show up.

Tuesday comes, he doesn't show up.

Today is Wednesday. He doesn't show up. Will called the machine shop to see if the guy had picked up the parts he dropped off, he hasn't even though they're ready. Then Will called to see if the guy had picked up the rest of the order at the auto store. They told him the guy came in and returned the other parts and got "his" money back for them.

Dammit.

So, while Will is on the phone trying to find out where this guy is (he doesn't have a phone, so we have to call around to see if anybody knows where he is) I go outside to spray the kids with bug spray and hear water running. I ask Nathan if his daddy came outside (thinking maybe it was the water hose) and he checked and said no. Crap. I holler into the house that I hear water running and Will comes out and goes under the house. It's the water heater. Water is pouring out of it. Crap. Lowes card is maxed out, the only open major cc we have is maxed out (had to use it to buy gas the past few weeks - it was paid off before that) and we've got automated drafts coming out in a few days so we can't use the unemployment funds. Crap. I remind Will that my mom asked me the other day if we needed some money and I told her right then we were ok but if we needed it I would let her know. He said "Call her, we're out of options at this point."

So I called her. Or, attempted to anyway. Have I mentioned that their phone service sucks ass? Well, it does. I tried three times and was about to throw the phone across the room (yes, Nathan gets his temper from me - some of it anyway) when it rang. It was mom. "Have you been trying to call us?" The phone would ring once and then stop on her end, so she figured it was us. Heh. So I tell her what's up, and Will gets on the phone with my dad to let him know what size water heater and all that, and they head to Sears for us.

I get to work picking up and vacuuming (which I was going to do today anyway, promise) and Will goes to call the forestry service to see about a job. He "passed basic qualifications" several weeks ago, and the site still showed the job being open, but nobody has ever contacted him. He decided to just call and go by today. Found out the position has already been filled even though the site was never updated. Very disappointing. It would have been a federal job, an engineering job (hello, past five years not a waste, thank you), fifteen minutes from home. Sigh. Very disappointing.

My folks get here, Will and I throw together a quick lunch, and then he takes a cold shower and gets ready to leave for work. Dad realizes we don't have all the parts here that we need so Will plans to pick that stuff up tomorrow.

I need a break.