See Jane Move: Distance Matters

Selling tips: You want your home to smell clean and fresh and distance can also be a factor.

I always keep the litter box scooped so our basement/house isn't smelly. I guess Mike pushed it behind some boxes while we cleared the storage area of all the teaching files and treasures that Tigger normally hides behind. Could he not find his "box" or was he just angry that we're messing with his area? He went potty on the carpet just a couple feet from his litter box...

Two weeks in a row after we've picked our seats at our Glen Ellyn church the usher seated the same couple right next to us as the music began. They're smokers. I have a sensitive nose.  Too close...

One of the items on our inspection report said we had a gas leak. The gas company came right out when we called (apparently we qualified for an emergency) and yes, we had a leak. We were lucky and it was undetectable by smell or I bet I would have noticed...

Sunday after church we ran a few errands and as we walked in the front door we were met with a smell like no other. Something was burning. Mike quickly discovered that our basement gas fireplace had turned on while we were gone and he had placed a box he had just packed that morning on the hearth. The box was black and smoldering. A  little more time and a smidge closer and we might have had a lot less to move! We are thankful...

We now have a bunch of holes in our walls by the fireplaces. Why? The buyers didn't like the fact that our gas inserts were a bit too far to reach the plug outlet without an extension cord.It's not a good look. Hopefully this project will be completed today...

Yes, distance matters. Moving again means I'll be back within inches of my girls, minutes from my friends, and hours from my college son, but I'll be many, many states away from Mitch & Amy, my Mom, and sisters. 

Nothing about this move is turning out to be very easy.We are taking it one step at a time.The distance that matters most during this move is that we remember to stay close to God and He'll be with us as we make the journey.

 "Let us go to the other side." Mark 4:35

And the smells? We've aired out the house thanks to a balmy afternoon, sprayed Fabreze and lit a few candles (carefully). To be continued...

In His Grip, Jane

A Week of Changes

The See Jane Move recap of this week:

• We woke up to a winter wonderland-our tree lined street looks very pretty. 
• Our daughter earned her teaching certificate-yay! We're so proud of her and she's the 7th person to become a teacher in the Story-Carver family.
• Mr. Mike probably procured a job.
• We sold our house to a Chicago couple-if we can afford to fix "the list"...
• Tried two new beverages; Barium for a tummy CAT scan~not enjoyable and a Tom Collins made with Absolut Grapevine-quite enjoyable! Thankfully the CAT scan showed nothing is wrong with me except stress.
• Listened to a great sermon on my word of the year-JOY.
• Watched the first and second seasons of Downton Abbey-love, love, love!
• Signed a lease for a rental home on Fox Island with a wrap around porch.
• We had our house inspection yesterday and the list of issues was bigger than we expected...perhaps our inspection 18 months ago wasn't "above board"?...
• I happened upon a bunch of aqua "Ball" jars at an antique store.Score!
• Our youngest built a house in Tijuana with her Mexico Mission Team.
• Downloaded and started using the My Daily Yoga App on my IPAD. 
• It was confirmed that the small tropical heat waves I've been having are indeed due to being in that "change of life". How is it possible? I still feel and act 17. (Probably T.M.I. but I was surprised.)

When we weren't watching Downton Abbey and I wasn't on Pinterest, we've been packing like crazy. Binny's sees us every day as we gather more boxes.

Tigger found out he would be flying ahead, alone, then hopefully spending a week in prison (Purdy prison kennel that is..) He is NOT pleased but four days driving a cat in a small car doesn't sound like a good plan.

In two weeks we'll be driving away from Glen Ellyn and headed west. Considering I've never really been a big fan of changes, God is certainly teaching me to trust and it's probably a good thing I discovered the yoga app!
To be continued...

"All things happen according to God's will." Ephesians 1:11

In His Grip, Jane  (I also answer to The Countess of Carver Cottage) 

What She Needs is Here

Our youngest leaves for her last high school mission trip this Sunday. Our church heads over the border every year to Tijuana, Mexico to help build homes with Amor Ministries. This will be her 3rd trip. Freshman year she had her big brother, sophomore year the two of them were reeling from the news that we were moving away from the Harbor and to the Midwest, and junior year she wasn’t able to go due to the move. Now she’ll know what to expect. She's been know to slip away from the hammering to spend time with the babies and children for whom the homes are being built.

I’m helping her pack from afar. Lately our conversations have been about what she needs... “Did you buy a new tub? Your old ones are here, in the garage.”

“Your sleeping bag and pad are in the basement closet. Shoot, the nail belt is here too. Daddy has been using it at Mitch’s apartment. He’s building them shelves.”

Yep. Many of the things she needs for the trip are not out in Washington, but here in Illinois. That doesn’t do her much good and we just couldn’t fit everything in my car last January. (It’s also a bit tricky to get big items on plane flights.) So….she’s replaced them with new, or borrowed from friends.

All four of our children have participated in our Chapel Hill Youth Group Mexico Mission Trip. The experience has taught them to be thankful for all we have, to be globally minded and to be compassionate toward people of all walks of life. The trips have also brought them closer to Jesus.

My youngest daughter has a HUGE heart. (All her career testing results keep telling her to become a counselor.) I doubt this will be her last mission trip; she’ll most likely sign up during college or as an adult at her future church home. No matter who is on her building “team” or whose supplies she’s borrowing, what she really needs will be there. God always meets her and she comes home changed…

I am still here (in Illinois). I couldn’t commission and pray over her last Sunday at church, but her big sister and my good friends could. Although my body is here, my heart is with her. I will be her prayer warrior until she returns with pictures and stories of how she saw God at work in Tijuana.

“I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.” Ephesians 1:16

She’s packing her bin. I’ll soon be packing moving boxes. We both are headed on adventures.
Here… There… Wherever we're headed, we'll have what we need.

In His Grip, Jane

In His Timing

Tick tock. Time is ticking…Our house has been on the market for three weeks. That might not seem like long considering the economy and real estate market, but we want to get back to our daughters in the Harbor and not have a mortgage plus two rent payments. Our target date is mid-March.

We’ve had a steady stream of lookers. Mike and I have this “get the house ready for a showing” down pat. It smells good, it’s shiny, all the lights are on, and jazz music is softly playing. When our kids were younger I used to say we were going to clean our house as if Better Homes and Gardens magazine was coming over for a photo shoot. Well, right now they could! (By the way, it’s WAY easier to keep a house clean with zero children around.)

Yesterday we had our Valentine “Date”. We headed to the Apple Store at Woodfield Mall for our Genius bar appointment. Our computer geek genius was very helpful and rather than the standard 10 minutes he gave us almost an hour! My sweetheart decided it was time to give my Winnie the Pooh watch a break and he got me a Fossil "boyfriend" watch. I've been drooling over it for over a year and I can see the time easily! For lunch we went to Maggiano’s~I love the decor, the Frank Sinatra soundtrack and the food. At dinner it can be expensive for couples on a limited budget, but I just wanted a house salad, Spumoni ice cream and sharing the romantic atmosphere with Michael.

As we sat talking about how we’re trying to trust and not give up hope, Mike’s cell rang. It wasn’t a realtor with clients, it was an offer. We smiled at God’s timing. Mike said it was blog-worthy.
  “Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!” (Psalm 27:14)

 I’m trying to be flattered that the couple wants not only our house but LOTS of our things (Does this mean I have good taste?) It seems a bit much. Then I’m reminded I often ask God for way more than I should ever expect. We're negotiating (not with God, with the potential buyers...) Please pray that their hearts will soften, they’ll up their price and we’ll be ordering that moving van soon. To be continued…

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you're lucky enough to be "in love with your best friend" and to know God's timing is perfect.

In His Grip, Jane

Enough Gloomy Posts

OK friends and family. I have been a tad bit gloomy in my recent posts... Enough of depressing topics. Perhaps you are getting a bit tired of it. Perhaps you're thinking my blog should be renamed "See Jane Whine". This morning, God whispered shouted to me. He basically told me to put my big girl panties on (I love the ones from American Eagle), pull up my bootstraps and focus on all the JOY and blessings in my life.

I feel compelled. I want to be a person who chooses joy and spreads joy. Other people have written gratitude lists. Here are some of my favorite things that bring me joy. Perhaps I'll randomly add to it in the future. My Mommy always told me to look for the good in people, so I'll expand on that and look for the good in everything. Did you ever see the movie Pollyanna? (It's one of my favorite vintage Disney movies.) She could be glad in any circumstance...

Bringing Jane Joy List:
 1. Sipping hot coffee (Starbucks please) while reading my two favorite devotionals; Streams in the Desert  and Jesus Calling.
2. Taking a brisk walk around my town while listening to I-tunes with my pink earmuff headphones.
3. Getting phone calls from one of my four kids.
4. Watching shows I'm too old for (ex. Jane By Design on the Family Channel) while I knit in front of the fire and my fat cap sits on my lap.
5. Getting dolled up and going on a date with my hubby.
6. Shooting up prayers for dear friends-knowing God hears my petitions.
7. Chocolate salted caramel (candy or drinks!)
8. Ordering books on Amazon for my Kindle app and the good old kind you hold.
9. Sliding into a toasty warm bed to read at night due to my electric blanket.
10.Knowing I am loved by Michael and God-just the way I am...

That's my current "bringing joy" list. I intend to be less gloomy and more joyful and glad. Won't you join me? I'd love to know what brings you joy.

"I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High." Psalm 9:2

In His Grip, Jane

Maybe a Snickers Bar Will Help

(Photo credit: hdryver.wordpress.com)
Their room is empty. It feels empty. We're not officially empty nesters, and yet we are...Our son and his bride have officially been in their Chicago apartment for three nights. Both our daughters are in the Washington Studio. Our college boy is in his dorm at Whitworth.

 This parenting thing is a series of hellos and goodbyes and it's not for the weak. I grasp the concept that we're supposed to raise and launch our children out into the world, but I like them around. Since I returned to Illinois at Christmas, I'd gotten into an easy routine. Mitch would come home from work, run on the treadmill, then we'd have a small "tide me over" snack and usually a little cocktail of some sort. The three of us would watch sports or read until it was time for Amy's commuter train to arrive. I liked planning and making meals for four. (Remember, I used to cook for six!) I'd cook while Amy ran, then we'd enjoy catching up over dinner.

 I wish I could say I used our treadmill on a regular basis but it is almost George Washington's birthday, and like him, "I cannot tell a lie." The treadmill just died. Guess it knew instinctively that it's major users were gone. We'll have to see if it can be repaired once we arrive back in our rainy state.

 While Mitch and Amy resided here we sort of ran a small B & B. Lots of their out of town friends came and stayed with us for nights, weekends or weeks. I liked having a home that was used and welcoming. Now it's quiet. It's staying clean for showings and Mike and I are enjoying our together-time knowing it's like we're in the "eye of a storm". Our world was active and crazy before and it will be again.

 "Why are you downcast, O my soul." Psalm 43:5

 I know it won't be long before we're packing up the Carver Cottage and heading west to a rental where we can be with our girls again. This week though my heart is heavy, I'm cranky and not much fun to be around. Mike told me I needed a Snickers bar. "You're not yourself," he said. Well of course not!I am the Momma Bear and none of my cubs are here!

 Living close enough to walk to town has it's advantages. Maybe I'll go to the store and buy a Snickers bar!

 In His Grip, Jane

All Aboard

     She made the train. Six days a week my daughter-in-law has had to rush to get to the train station that takes her from Glen Ellyn over to Chicago. During the week it's an early 6:20, on Saturdays it's 8:00 for class. This will be her last rushed day however, because she and my son are moving out of our home and into an apartment in Rogers Park, North of the city. It's been special having them stay with us for the last six months, and sad to know we probably won't ever live together again but...the suburbs are no place for a young newlywed Urban couple. They'll have a great time being 3 blocks from the lake and having stores, bars and the Northwestern shuttle service within walking distance. One reason their new rent will be reasonable could be the fact that they are right by the train track. Hopefully they'll learn to sleep through the noise. (Visions of the Blues Brothers scene come to mind...)

     Earlier in the week Mr. Mike had a meeting near the Vernon Hills Mall so I decided to go with him and hang out at Barnes & Noble. I hadn't been at that mall near Libertyville in about 16 years. Back when my now-senior in high school daughter was in a stroller I didn't go to the mall often; something about four rambunctious kids and lack of $ does not make for a fun outing. Alone I leisurely walked the stores, did a bit of Valentine's Day shopping, read and checked out Pinterest at the bookstore cafe', then noticed the little train. Why didn't they have the little train back when my children were little?!

     The conductor called "All Aboard", the excited tots climbed on, and the tired Mommies walked beside the slow-moving train, knowing their kids were safe on their little journey. There wasn't a track. The ride curved back and forth down one empty end of the mall up on the second level.

     All the trains I've seen and heard lately (in town, the ones I hear at night, even the tiny mall train) have me thinking that I too am on a journey that's making twists and turns and is moving forward. My conductor (GOD) wants me to stay on board and let Him be in charge of the direction. I'm probably in for some unforeseen surprises along the way back to Washington State but I need to trust.

"God Guides us along the right path." Psalm 32:8; 37:23-24


     My "word for the year" in 2011 was journey. Apparently it's still my word. This year I've chosen the word JOY. I will choose joy and spread joy despite my circumstances...Are you "all aboard" for what God has in store for you?

In His Grip, Jane