can you say WOW?

Ok, so I've known for a while now that my carpets needed to be cleaned, and I figure since I was cleaning everything else, now would be the time to do the carptets. Especially since I hadn't brought in my couch yet. Well, I SOO did not realize how bad my carpets were until I cleared out the room and got a good look. And, can you say WOW??
So, I went and rented a rug doctor from Meijer, and I got the carpet cleaner w/the OXY boost in it. Well, I only was able to get half way through my carpets b4 I ran out of cleaner and b4 I ran out of time bc I had to go to work. So, I asked Shaun to pick up a big thing of cleaner on his way to bring back the boys so I could finish last night. Well, they didn't have the stuff w/the OXY in it in the big bottles, so he just got the regular stuff. And, the regular worked SO much better then the stuff w/the OXY. So, not only did I have to finish the other half of the room, but I had to redo the 1st half....GRRRR. Anyways, here are some pictures.
Here's before:

On the left is the OXY cleaner/on the right is the regular cleaner:

Here's an all three view. It goes L-R: no cleaner-regular cleaner-OXY cleaner:

Here's the finished product:

well

I guess I really was more siked about soccer camp for Jaden then he was :P It wasn't what I expected. I thought it would be a fun time for him to get together w/other kids his age and kick the soccer ball around. And, had that been the case, he would have had SO MUCH FUN! Nope, this was more for parent's who are a little too serious about sports, IMPO. They did warm ups and drills, never once just letting them play. He cried Monday and today, and we probably won't go back the rest of the week. I'm bummed. I'm bummed for Jaden bc it COULD have been a lot of fun, and I'm bummed about my waisted money :)

Partnership

Well, this is my 3rd Sunday at Resurrection Life, and I'm still really enjoying it. Today, they had the dedication of what most churches call members, but they call them partners. As they called each person up, they also said what those people were involved in w/the church. I thought that was really cool. The phrasing, but also that their partners feel the want to not only belong to the church but to be INVOLVED in the church. At my old church, it was so hard to get volunteers for anything, at least children related. I know, bc that's the department I worked in. I was always pulling teeth to get volunteers for nursery, and right now, I think we need almost all new Sunday school teachers for the little kids. It was just refreshing.
Also, the sermon was again, very good. It was about mirrors and how we all live by mirrors. Not just mirrors that are on the wall, but also things that the world tells us we should look like or be like. We're constantly tring to improve ourselves according to what the "mirrors" tell us we should be. Then, he said how Christians should use the Bible as their mirror, but not just to look back and forth btwn to see what we should be or what we should do. He asked the ladies in the audience if someone had a compact mirror in their purse. Then, he used it to reflect light into people's faces. His point being, that we aren't just supposed to use the Bible as a mirror to look at ourselves, but we should be using what we get from the Bible to shine into the dark world onto others. Anyways, it was really good, and he's great at putting things down to a level that is understandable. I'm really enjoying it there!

cleaning

My mom and I have spent the last 2 days cleaning my house from top to bottom, and unbelievably, we're NOT DONE! W/the house already kinda torn apart by Shaun moving out, I just felt like it was good time to do a serious house clean. So far, we have the boys' room and living room done, all except for cleaning the carpets. We started on my bedroom and the kitchen today and are hoping to complete them tomorrow. I'm exhausted, but I know I'll be grateful when it's done! I've gotten rid of a lot of junk that I'd been holding onto bc so and so gave it to us or bc it was a gift for a b-day or just bc I'd never gotten around to disposing of it. Freecycle, the Gospel Mission, and Goodwill are all going to love me this week :)

can't they ever be healthy???

So, Jaden has been running a fever off and on for the last few days. He's been sleeping more and not eating, which if you know more son are major oddities for him! He's also been incredibly fussy. So, today, I got him into the doctors. They said he doesn't quite have an ear infection yet, but give it a day or two and it would be there. So, he will be on antibiotics. THEN, we get home, and after Asher's nap, HE starts running a fever!! Can't my babies ever stay healthy??

On other news, I have a van that I am looking at getting. It's a 2002 Town and Country TOTALLY decked out! It's got more options then I can grasp. They're offering it to me at 9.5, and I'll probably get a 3yr warrenty w/it. I'm a little nervous bc I haven't had a car loan in a couple of yrs, not to mention that it's not in the budget.

I know I will come out on the otherside of all of this, stronger then when I began, but I just have to wonder how much longer I am to go down this road? I know God has a plan for my life, I only hope I'm following the path He had planned for me and not taking more detours then necessary :)