random musings

Does anyone read this blog?  I have no idea.  No one ever comments on it, or tells me in person that they read it.  Do I sit here any type just for practice?  Give me a shout out so I know I'm not just sitting here working on my spelling and grammar.  And buckle up, this post is all over the place.....   

I take all these quizzes on Facebook and it makes me think- about stuff.  I took one today to see how much of a "TRUE Pacific Northwesterner" I was and I am "Pure Pacific Northwest Product. You understand intimately the life and loves of the Pacific Northwest.  If you haven't lived here your whole life, you have the intimate soul of a lifetime resident."  Amazing.  I've never even been to the Pacific Northwest.  I probably got that result because I actually know what a Geoduck (pronounced "gooey-duck") is, but I only know that because I watch Dirty Jobs.  However, for some strange reason this odd test made me feel really good.  Jason and I have been talking for a few years about moving to Oregon or Washington (to some town close to the ocean!) and everyone always tells us that we'd hate it because it rains a lot.  Well duh.  Anyway.  I love the rain, moving to Seattle or someplace like that is the perfect excuse for me to buy some wellies, a cute raincoat and a fabulous umbrella.  I like drizzle.  I love eating fish.  Coffee is the only thing I don't do, but I could try.  I have stated for the last 10 years or so that I hate moving.  We did it a lot as a kid and I never really minded till I was in my teens.  Then I felt I needed roots.  But how do I feel about it now?  As I am typing it's starting to snow, again.  I seriously wonder when it will stop this year.  My loving husband said that we might get between 8-16" in this storm!  Not exactly what I like to hear at 7 in the morning.  Does my serious physical dislike of where I am now, spawn the desire to move to a new place?  Would I be just as restless as I am now, someplace else?  I wonder if it's my spiritual being that's unsettled?  Do I require a deeper walk with the Lord?  Well, who doesn't?  Maybe this is what's making me feel empty?  Wow.  For me this is deep.  I have felt very satisfied in my walk.  But maybe I'm not.....  My screen saver is pictures of exotic beaches.  I love the beach!  I wish I was sitting and listening to the waves crash upon the shore right now.  "I don't have to worry any more.  If I really need You I'll go to the shore.  And the thought of You there is my protection.  -  I see it right in front of me.  A vision in my head.  And I know this is as real as a daydream gets.  -  You make no sound, but I can hear You in the wind.  I can see this never ends.  Like the sea.  Like You for me."  Oh look!  The sun just came out.

valentine's day party

Well this blog has taken me forever to post, but it was fun and a cool idea so here it is. Just a bit after the fact...

So I was snuggling with the Evie just the other day and she said that she wanted a party for Valentine's Day. She requested a red table cloth, balloons, pink lemonade, flowers, cake, ice cream, presents, V-day cards and she wanted to play games. I figured, why not? I am my own party supply store, I even have my own small helium tank, so fulfilling these requests was not a problem. Jason blew up pink and purple balloons for the girls and a blue one for Liam. I dug out a red paper table cloth that I had in the cabinet, set the table with real dishes (not the plastic ones from Ikea that the kids usually get,) put on some taper candles, folded some cloth napkins in a "fancy" way, and thanks to the roses I got from my hubby the table looked pretty nice. We also let the girls dress up for their dinner party which was made up of just the 5 of us. I made roasted rosemary-garlic-lemon chicken, mashed potatoes, biscuits and green beans for dinner, obviously accompanied by pink lemonade. And then we had a chocolate cake with chocolate icing AND chocolate ice cream for desert! After dinner we played the Disney memory game and the even though it took an hour, we all had fun matching up the cards. The girls had opened cards from Jason and I and grandma and grandpa before dinner, all that was missing from Evie's list were presents. But that's ok. I think that even without the presents they had a good time!

winter season

Well, winter is in full force here in Colorado. I am a summer person and the cold and snow is hard for me. It doesn't make it any easier that we have had sickness after sickness here in the house, culminating with all but Jason getting "something" this week and Katie topping it off with Pink Eye. Yuck.

Back in January, we looked at a house for sale and were just about to make an offer when we found out there were multiple offers already in play. We were bummed. It was a huge thing to even be approved for a loan, we had fully expected them to say that we did not qualify at this time and that was ok with us. THAT was what we were prepared for. But then to actually get it! Oh joy! We've been renting for 6 years and we've been proud property owners for 5, but with the foreclosure market in Pagosa, we can buy for less than we can build, we prayed about it so hard and really felt God saying ok....

My parents are awesome in believing that when one thing falls through, it's usually because God has something better for you out there. I struggle with that still. It makes it harder that we can see the house we wanted from out current kitchen window.

We have gone back to seeing if we CAN afford to build this year. Thanks to Dad being an architect we have 2 sets of lovely plans, a 1 story design and a 2 story design. Which one is cheaper to build is the question! But both are great and it's exciting to know that even if we have to wait, there is something wonderful in our "after renting" future.

There is a song that's been special to me the last couple of months. It's called "In Like A Lion (Always Winter)" by Relient K.

Here are the lyrics-

It's always nice to look out the window
And see those very first few flakes of snow
And later on we can go outside
And create the impression of an angel that just fell from the sky

When February rolls around I'll roll my eyes
Turn a cold shoulder to these even colder skies
And by the fire my heart it heaves a sigh
For the green grass waiting on the other side

(Chorus)
It's always winter but never Christmas
It seems this curse just can't be lifted
Yet in the midst of all this ice and snow
Our hearts stay warm cause they are filled with hope

It'd be so nice to look out the window
And see the leaves on the trees begin to show
The birds would congregate and sing
A song of birth a song of newer things

The wind would calm and the sun would shine
I'd go outside and I'd squint my eyes
But for now I will simply just withdraw
Sit here and wish for this world to thaw

(Chorus)

And everything it changed overnight
This dying world you brought it back to life
And deep inside I felt things
Shifting everything was melting away (oh away)
And You gave us the most beautiful of days

Cause when it's always winter but never Christmas
Sometimes it feels like You're not with us
But deep inside our hearts we know
That You are here and we will not lose hope

I don't "sense" God as much in the winter. As funny as that might sound. You don't hear the birds as much, snow is so quiet when it falls, and even though it can be pretty sometimes, looking at a white landscape for 5 months is not appealing to me. I love the sound of rain. I love thunderstorms. I love the wind! It gets really windy here in the spring and everyone I know hates it, except me. I miss the ocean. Sometimes I wish that I could live in a shack on the beach. Just so I could listen to the waves crashing on the shore. When my grandpa passed away in 2007, my parents flew me out to his service in Santa Barbara, CA. We drove by the beach and I wish that I had said something and we had stopped. I haven't been to the ocean in 10 years.

The last verse of the song reminds me that even in the "winter season" of my life, God's is there. And I don't lose hope.

memories

Ahhh, memories. This is one for the fiance someday...

The other day I was on the phone with my mom in Phoenix and Evie got up from her nap. Evie usually gets up first when I make both her and Katie sleep for a bit, so this was not unusual. I was chatting with my mom for about 15 minutes or so when I started to hear this wailing coming from somewhere. Liam and Evie were both sitting on the floor having a snack and were fine, so I started to look for this noise. I got down the hall and yelled for Katie and asked her where she was, she replied back that she was in her bed and was stuck. (I had thought that maybe she was in the bathroom.) Anyway, I walked in her room and she was red from yelling for me and crying. I told my mom to hold on a minute, as I was still on the phone, and climbed up the bunk bed ladder to see what was going on. There was Katie tied by the drawstrings of her pants to the bed frame. I started laughing (it's a response that I just can't help sometimes) as I simply pulled her pants off and asked her why she didn't just take them off herself. She looked at me kind of dumbfounded for a moment and then said she'd never thought of THAT. As soon as Katie was freed, she started yelling at Evie and asking her why she didn't "tell mommy" that she was stuck? I asked Evie if she was supposed to have come and told me that Katie was tied to the bed and she looked at me and said, "Yep."

rock christmas party

Jason and I have had the privilege for the last few years to work with another couple and then on our own with the Jr. High and High School youth at our church.  At our very first meeting we had like 20 kids, after that we averaged 2 or 3 for the next couple of years, except when it was movie night!  Now, we have about 6 that come regularly and when they bring friends or older siblings are home for holidays, we have more.  We celebrated our 3 Annual ROCK Christmas Party a week before Christmas and as always had a ton of fun!  Most of the students got here on time, but then all the guys left to go get one of the other guys out of the ditch where he'd gone off the road.  After they came back all safe and sound, we dug into the food and continued on with the games.  We did the typical Bible "sword drill" this year and then followed it up with a devotional before we got into the rest of the games.  The devotional was on Eph. 3:20, which in the New King James version doesn't sound all that exciting and is kind of confusing- "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us."  So after the teen who found it the fastest read it in that version, I read it to them from the Message- "God can do anything, you know- far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!  He does it not by pushing us around, but by working within us, His spirit deeply and gently within us."  Great verse for the end of the year in my opinion. 

Instead of loading a ton of pictures and videos on here, I've posted a Smilebox of the evenings festivities!

 

Make a Smilebox slideshow

nutcracker

The girls and I had the opportunity to attend a performance of the Nutcracker a couple of weeks before Christmas.  It was presented by the Sate Street Ballet of Santa Barbara, CA - growing up, I spent time in Santa Barbara visiting my grandparents who lived there.

I convinced a girlfriend of mine to attend with me and she convinced her girlfriend to come along too, so it was Katie and Evie, myself, Sherry and her little girl Asia and Aimee and her little guy, Titus.  Asia and Titus- who are both under a year old- behaved better than Evie did! Katie did great and had a wonderful time.  I would have had a wonderful time except for the 4 year old who sat next to me for 2 hours asking when we were going to eat.  At one point after intermission, Evie would just not sit still.  The Prince and the Sugarplum Fairy were dancing and I told Evie that it was almost done, after they danced it would be over.  I have not seen the Nutcracker in a long time and completely forgot that after they dance a pas-de-deux, they dance and individual dance and then another pas-de-deux.  Well, as the Sugarplum Fairy came on stage to begin her solo, this Evie let out this loud "uuggghhhh" much to my dismay.  She though it was over and we could go eat now!  

We eventually did get to go eat.  The "older" ladies gave the little ladies the choice of where they wanted to go- a fancy restaurant or Applebees.  Katie spoke for both of them and chose Applebees, and informed us that it was fancy restaurant, it had posters on the wall and stuff. Ahh, reasoning of a 6 year old.  It was a good choice as Evie took 3 bites of her dinner, put her head in my lap and fell asleep for the rest of the meal.

I once again found myself learning the lesson that what one kid can do, another kid cannot and will not be taking Evie to anymore ballets anytime soon!

Earley Family Christmas Letter 2008

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to You All!

In early 2008 I got hooked on reading my friend Sherry's blog and decided to do one of mine own and thus began New Nothings.  No one has asked me about my blog title, but I feel some explanation is required.  My life is full of NEW -sometimes meaningful and sometimes insignificant- NOTHINGS.  I enjoy just logging on to type- to let loose how I feel.  And sometimes what I have to say means much more.  That's just me.  So this year, I thought I'd save a tree and post my Christmas letter on here!  I hope that you all enjoy!

~ Brynn

It's hard to think of what to say when it's been a year since you last had to write it all down.  Kids have grown, jobs have happened, hair has been cut and colored, tears have been shed, laughs have been given, lives have changed, people have been moved to different houses.  And more.  

Let's go youngest to oldest!

Liam turned 1 this past September, so his year has been full of new adventures.  Liam is all smiles and is never really unhappy unless it's time to change his diaper.  He brings constant joy to this home.  Our boy decided to take his time learning about life.  He didn't roll over till he was almost 6 months old and finally got his first 2 teeth right after we celebrated his first birthday.  We thought that he'd heard too many stories about his Uncle Jared and decided to emulate him by doing the "army" crawl FOREVER.  It was wonderful to see him eventually get on all fours.  He just started walking this month.  Brynn is overjoyed at this as he has been the biggest of all three kids and the slowest to walk- she now says she could do an arms of steel DVD (though buns of steel is what she wants.)  He is a hoot to have around and brings MUCH "boy" energy to the predominately female enviroment.  We all love his grunts and yells, nothing can top his dinner time ritual of clenching his food in both his fists and saying, "AAAARRRRRGGHHHH."  Ahhh, to see him tackle Evie and take her graham cracker away is priceless (she only weighs about 5 lbs. more than he does.)  How has Brynn coped these past years playing only with Barbies and holding tea parties?  How we look forward to our little man's growth into a big man and we wait eagerly for the day when we can tell him (and his future wife) he once ate toilet paper out of the toilet when he was a baby...

Evie is our mischievous, stubborn, happy little stealth ninja who prefers to run around in princess dresses and swing like a monkey from what ever she can find to swing from.  Her favorite thing is snuggle time with Jason or Brynn whenever she can get a moment.  Evie is one unique kid.  Eating fried eggs with Jason is something she LOVES- as long as there is ketchup.  Ketchup is as important as air in Evie's life.  Thanksgiving dinner was eaten with ketchup, all of it.  Mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, biscuit, turkey, sweet potato casserole.  All of it.  It's a mystery.  We had the major accomplishment of getting her potty trained at the age of 4 in 2008. Brynn learned the valuable lesson of "what is easy with one kid might not be so with the next one" when it comes to this subject.  Having only one child in diapers at a time is a precious thing.  Evie is still at home this year as Grandma Nancy asked her once if she wanted to go to school or not and Evie replied that she just wanted to stay with Brynn and eat snacks.  Life with Evie is never boring!               

Katie. What can we say about Katie?  Where as life with Evie is never boring, life with Katie is never quiet.  She is our chatterbox!  Jason once noted that every thought that runs through Katie's mind comes out her mouth.  Even if you walk out of the room Katie continues to talk to you.  Her imagination is like no other!  And she flit-floats from one thing to another always finding joy in life.  She is a huge ball of energy that flattens Jason and Brynn everyday!   She has continued to grow and have adventures in first grade this year.  She is back at Our Savior Lutheran School and is doing very well.  We found it interesting when one of her teachers sent home an award certificate this year for Halloween naming Katie and her costume as "most EXOCTIC."  Katie usually makes perfect A's on her spelling tests, and we have high hopes that Katie will one day be the most special and "exoctic" person that people know!  We feel confident that Katie's love of the Lord and love of others will take her far in life and we can't wait to see the Father's plans for our first born. 

Brynn is.  Her year has gone up, down, sideways, backwards and forwards as she wears the many "mom" hats.  She and Jason still enjoy time with the Jr. High and High School students at their church as youth group leaders.  They named the group R.O.C.K.- which stands for Relying On Christ the King.  Brynn had a ton of fun and lost 5 lbs. when they took everyone tubing on the river for a day.  Acting is still a priority for her and she was able to participate in a play this Summer called "Dora the Dishwasher."  Brynn can now do an entire grocery store run and speak in a Southern accent the whole time and fool all!  Acting at church has continued too, ask anyone at Pagosa Bible Church about the cheerleading skit.  It's famous.  :-)  Bringing smiles to faces this year has been something Brynn has really enjoyed. 

Well, we went youngest to oldest so that means it's Jason's turn!  (We have the wonderful task of celebrating Jason's 30th birthday in 2009!!!!)  Jason has been a busy man this year.  Always a hard worker he has continued in his apprenticeship as a plumber and should soon be getting his residential license.  Jason also had his first experience of building a fence to keep our kids off the street after we moved into a new house this past June.  Working and moving with 3 small kids and an insane/perfectionistic wife is not an easy thing, but Jason survived to recommend not doing it to any one else.  As most of our R.O.C.K. students are guys, Jason has had a really great time getting to hang with them and go snowboarding in the winter and wake boarding in the summer.  As Brynn is typing this Christmas letter at 12:11 am- Jason is at work with his brother, shoveling snow and helping to plow the parking lots at the 2 local grocery stores.  Brynn thanks the Lord for the hard working husband and loving father her Heavenly Father has blessed her with.      

Except for our R.O.C.K. "responsibilities" we have taken a break from previous years service at Pagosa Bible Church.  Jason has taken a break from his ushering duties and Brynn has taken a break from teaching preschool.  God impressed upon us that our focus needed to be at home, so home- for now -is where it is. 

Thank you for spending a few moments reading about our crazy, somewhat disjointed lives!  Feel free to read more about our past year in older posts.  (There are pictures in them!!!)  And make sure you check back often, you never know when there will be a funny family story to bring a smile to your face!

Love to all and God Bless, 

Jason, Brynn, Katie, Evie & Liam