What I Learned This Fall

Happy December! Only 22 more days until Christmas! Our family is rejoicing over our own little gift from heaven; Gracelyn Love Vanderlinda, who arrived on November 20, eight days past her "due date." I'll share more details below. In just a few hours she'll be a whopping two weeks old!

I'm joining Emily P. Freeman and other bloggers, to share "What I learned this Fall." Below are nine things I learned:

Our town has free lending libraries just like in "Chesapeake Shores!" If you've watched the Hallmark series, you know I'm talking about the cute little book holders where people donate a book and take a book. I love this more than schlepping over to Half Price Books in Tacoma hoping to get a bit of money for my books. If your town doesn't have them yet, check out this post on how to make one.

Photo source: Pinterest

Hazelnut shells keep slugs away!
While looking for some new plants at a nursery for our side yard, I noticed hazelnut shells were surrounding the potted plants and trees. They are a chemical-free solution to a big problem here in the PNW. 

Don't judge too quickly:
While in Spokane this Fall, I went shopping with my son. We put money in the parking meter and were floored when we came out and found a ticket on our windshield even though we still had time left.

I snapped photos "for proof" and we went in search of the mean/misguided traffic policeman. Well, we found him and we plead our case. He listened patiently, and then calmly explained that the ticket was given because my son's license plate tabs had expired-back in February! Yikes...

The Fall purse search is over! 
I have a hard time finding a purse due to my must-haves. Do you call them purses or handbags? I don't really like the designer's name on the outside of the bag (unless it's a Kate Spade, which I can't justify spending that much on...) I do need it to be of a small-medium size, it must zip closed, and I want both wrist handles and a cross-body strap. I know that my list can be challenging on a budget. Trust me, I've been on the lookout since my birthday in August. I was in Kohl's last weekend picking up nursing bras for my daughter (great place to buy them!) and I took a peek in the accessories department. I looked for a while before spotting "the one" in the clearance section. It had all the necessary criteria, was marked down from $69 to $20, and Lauren Conrad kept her name inside. Score!

Missing church leads to missing church:
For various reasons, or perhaps excuses or laziness, I've missed three or four Sundays at my church home. This is unusual for me. I LOVE worship and my husband and I have been regularly attending for the last thirty years of our marriage. Anyhoo...whatever kept me away left me feeling unsettled during the week. Something wasn't right. Duh, I hadn't spent intentional time in the presence of God with my church family. Whoever claims they are a "believer" but doesn't really show up to join others to worship and hear the word taught, is only hurting themselves. I MISS it when I miss. Advent started yesterday, and I loved seeing our Sanctuary gussied up with beautiful trees and lights to honor the birth of Jesus. (Our Tuesday morning lifegroup had fun decorating it together last week.) If you don't have a "spot" to call your own, I hope you'll consider popping into Chapel Hill on a Saturday night or Sunday morning to get to know Jesus. We'll all do our best to make you know how welcome you are!

There are LOTS of go-into-labor suggestions:
My daughter was eight days overdue when the baby arrived. She never did end up going into labor but needed an unplanned Cesarean. As the days marched on past her due date, she was given lots of interesting ideas. Did any of the following work for you? Eat fresh pineapple...eat salty meat like salami...run or crawl up and down stairs...do deep-knee bends...play music down near your private area...

Her name fits:
My sweet Grandchild was named Gracelyn Love and she was born at 12:08 early on a Tuesday morning. She is SO loved and her first name is a version of her Great Grandma Grace and the middle name of her Mommy's sister. She is already bringing our family so much joy! I smiled when I reread  this old poem:

[Monday's child is fair of face

Tuesday's child is full of grace

Wednesday's child is full of woe

Thursday's child has far to go

 Friday's child is loving and giving

  Saturday's child works hard for his living

 And the child that is born on the Sabbath day

Is bonny and blithe, and good and gay.] 

My favorite view has changed in the last two weeks:
It used to be the view out my window. I love the Harbor, mountains, trees, and boats. 

Now I prefer to spend all my time gazing at my Grandbaby's sweet face. Isn't she adorable? 

Despite everything, God is STILL in control:
Things have seemed a bit out of control lately. My Mom was put on hospice back in August, and yet she's still on Earth and she just celebrated her 92nd Birthday. I thought for sure my daughter would deliver her baby by her due-date, and SHE thought she'd be in the Midwifery building when the time came, not the OB/ER. The citizens of Anchorage did NOT expect to end their Fall with a massive Earthquake last Friday. The people of California did not think the wildfires could move so quickly and devastate so many. 

We all have hopes and expectations that don't always line up with circumstances and our reality, but we can trust that God is with us through it all and knows how the story ends. Sending prayers to all who've been affected by the recent natural disasters.

What did you learn this Fall?

In His Grip,
xo Jane

All the Things Lately

Just your typical Wednesday here in the Harbor. Thor spends his early morning hours outdoors, and then enjoys coming back inside to eat and warm up on our heated bathroom floors. I head out early to care for little baby Hazel, and Mike is on the East Coast this week. Yes! He is working!

It took five months of applying, interviewing and WAITING.  Finally, Human Resources completed their process, and my husband got a terrific job! Although the waiting wasn't easy, we are thankful and knew God was with us each step of the way.

The benefits for us: paychecks, a car allowance, and the ability to rack up some air miles. He now has a purpose and the satisfaction of providing for his family, and I got my laptop back because he now has his own computer! (I celebrated when the box was delivered.)

Mike has to get used to traveling again and I have to get used to him not being home all the time. The ONLY thing I like about having the house to myself is control of the remote and not having to listen to his music on Alexa all day. Oh, and I can have a Chicken Pot Pie for dinner.

My daughters and future son-in-law were able to be with us for Easter weekend. We enjoyed cozy couch time, a great Resurrection morning at church and a yummy dinner.

Did you try out the new way to color eggs?  Using vinegar, Cool Whip, and some food coloring, you can make really pretty tie-dyed eggs. I did a couple things different than the link. Instead of a muffin tin, we put parchment paper on a jelly pan-I think we could have done a variety of colors if we'd used a muffin tin. I put the eggs covered in the "goop" in an empty egg carton in the refrigerator and then accidentally forgot about them. They sat overnight. I rinsed the cool whip off the next day in lukewarm water and they actually turned out great! Sometimes the extra wait-time is beneficial.

Because both my daughters are teachers and were on their Spring Break,  they got to stay a couple extra days after Easter. We were all reminiscing about last Spring when we took a girl's trip to San Diego! If you missed our adventure last year you can read about it here: part one, part two, and part three!

Since it was cold and rainy here, we had a Gilmore Girls Marathon one afternoon, which always makes us feel like eating.  I baked my first Lemon Meringue Pie using a Southern Living recipe. (It should be included in the Eat Like a Gilmore unofficial cookbook!) One of my tips is substituting some almond flour for part of the white crust flour; it is lighter and quite tasty.

Somebody else in our family ALWAYS has his mind on food. One night Thor smelled the milk in my Cheerios all the way from the other room and proceeded to beg...

Sweet baby Hazel, whom I Nanny, is a girlie on the go! She is cruising ALL the furniture. She pulls herself up on couches, tables, and even kitchen cupboards. She is still waiting to cut her first tooth!

I am still getting used to being at Hazel's house without sweet Jake, the family dog, being there. He battled Cancer and is now in "Doggie Heaven." What a fabulous dog he was. I only knew him for two months and yet I fell in love...We had to "put down" our dog Sadie and cat Tigger and so I know how very hard it is!!

We headed to Spokane last Friday afternoon, and wow was it Friday the 13th for us! A crash on the Pass shut down the Eastbound lanes for over two hours. Our normal 4.5-5 hour drive took a total of eight! Ugh. We have certainly been given lots of waiting opportunities lately. That said, we had such a fun time hanging out with our youngest three. 

We ate a late dinner at a new-to-us pub called Saranac Public House the first night, and our daughter-in-law prepared a delicious meal for us Saturday evening. We hit our favorite coffee house, Rocket Bakery for the best bagels and cream cheese, did some consignment shopping, and just enjoyed being together. We stayed with our oldest daughter in her cute apartment Friday and went to the Davenport Tower Saturday. The Tower has a great Happy Hour every day of the week and we met and chatted with a wonderful couple who had lived all over the world.

Due to an unexpected upgrade, we ended up on the 20th floor in the swanky honeymoon suite. Very nice indeed! We will be celebrating our 35th anniversary in June. The kids took advantage of the jetted tub before we left on Sunday after lunch. Aren't they clever? Have I mentioned how much I love my four kids?! (And my two daughters-in-law and future son-in-law?)

That kind of sums up the last few weeks in my little corner of the world. It is well with my soul and God painted a gorgeous masterpiece in the sky tonight as another reminder of His goodness and faithfulness.

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"The Lord your God is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and constantly loves those who love him and obey his commands." Deuteronomy 7:9

Thanks for reading See Jane Learn. Wishing you a joy-filled Spring.

In His Grip, 

xo Jane

Here We Go...Again!

Do you know anyone who decided to sell their home last Friday and got it ready to show in one week? Well, you do now...

Back in September, I wrote about how much we LOVE our Harbor home. We just celebrated our third anniversary of moving here from Fox Island and I really thought this was our forever home. God, however, has a different plan for us.

My husband and I have both been feeling weighed down by our debt and feeling like God was nudging us to consider a new adventure. After lots of talks and prayers, we came to the conclusion that we need to sell our "dream home" and then move across the state to Spokane.

God has been preparing us and whispering to our hearts for months. My job situation changed, Mike's might very soon, and we realized there won't be many times when three of our four grown children live in the same town. It's no coincidence that my bible study has been focusing on Abraham's trust and obedience to God's call, and every podcast I listen to talks about GOing and obeying.

Once we made our decision and shared the news with our kids, the hard work of purging, staging, and cleaning began. I'm becoming a regular at the Goodwill drop-off, my house no longer has ANY family photos (so sad) and our garage is overflowing with packed boxes.

We adore our community of friends and our Harbor town, but we are trusting that God has gone before us and will help us find a spot to rent, church to attend, friends to do life with and possibly new jobs! I will never be able to replace my sweet sisters in Christ I have here, but I will visit often and keep in touch via texting and phone calls. As I look ahead, I hope I can become involved in a MOPS group or maybe mentor some Whitworth University students, but if I've learned anything lately, it's to let God lead and then join Him.

Yesterday our photographer-friend sent us the shots he took yesterday and we're waiting for Zillow to activate our updated information. Our neighbor-friends helped my husband with a couple last minute outside chores and signs are now in the yard and down the hill. THIS IS HAPPENING!

If you know anyone who is house-hunting in the Gig Harbor, Washington area, please contact me or comment below. We plan on holding our first (and only?) Open House today from 1:00-4:00. We'll have the Seahawks game on so you won't miss a thing!

So that's whats been happening in my little corner of the world. I'm glad we got to turn our clocks back last night and get an hour more to sleep! In the last seven years, I have packed and moved five times. I'm tired! 

 “All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.” Psalm 25:10

In His Grip,

xo Jane

(The photo at the top was looking out my kitchen window two weeks ago before all the wind blew the leaves down.)