Things to come...

I haven't posted in a few days....

I've had company in town and I've been working late hours at Starbuck's. But the truth be told, I've been sorting out some big decisions for our family with Bill and the Lord.

As you know, Bill and I made a life change and I went back to work 20+ hours per week. If you've read any previous posts, you will know that we are determined to pay off debt! We just knew that was the answer to our prayers.

Now we're making another life change....
We've decided I need to be back home full time.

If ever I doubted, or misunderstood, the value of a full-time wife and mother, I don't now. That job...that position....is so vital. My boys NEED their Momma to pour into their lives. If I'm tired, or emotionally unavailable or just plum NOT HERE, how can I do that? Bill also needs me. In order for him to do his job well... the job he loves and is so good at....then the home needs to be the least of his concerns. Home should be a place where he gets rested and can go back out the next day to slay dragons!

NOW DON'T GET ME WRONG.....I know that Momma's all over the globe work outside the home...and do it exceptionally well. Some don't have a choice. I completely understand that.

I am thankful that I have the privilege of being at home and I am realizing that God did not wire me to be a worker away from home. He has given me a heart for the home...and all things domestic. So, working outside the home has been very challenging for all of us.

So here I am, working my last two weeks. I pray I finish well. Yes, the debt is still there. Now we must pray and trust God even more. But....

This post is mostly about looking forward to the future. My sweet husband told me that after April 22nd, my full-time job (in addition to our children) is to SAVE us money. I am thrilled beyond belief!!! THIS energizes me!!! How fun is THAT challenge?!

There are some exceptional blogs and sites out there. There are tremendous resources available. I can't WAIT to see all the fabulous ideas; to learn new techniques and homemaking skills; and to "get to know" some of the best of the best frugal homemakers!

Stay tuned. I hope to share some great ideas with you along the way.

Blessings…and the hodge podge of life

My kids are healthy.
My husband has a job.
We have a comfortable home, with a bed for each of us.
We have two working cars.
We have yummy food on our table every day.
We have healthy parents.
And I enjoy a hot cup of coffee (or 3 or 4, actually!) every day,
as I get to dig into God’s Word. (In public, if I so choose).

Life is rich. God is good.


Now to the hodge podge….

Starbucks:
I actually enjoy it. Yes, it’s tiring to cram 20 hours into one weekend. But I am surrounded by truly interesting people. And it’s fast paced. The people…..it’s so eye-opening. My “Christian bubble” has been burst! Talks about God have not yet directly come up, but my ears are aware of comments being made…like….”I’m not sure about that religious-type!”…or “so-and-so is devout, if you know what I mean…and you’re into that kind of thing”. If you’re familiar at all with the general Starbuck’s employee population, they generally tend to be rather colorful. It’s fun to be thrown into the mix. My prayer is that God will be glorified. I have no idea what that will look like. I have no idea how I will be used. I only know that God loves these people. And he’s placed me in their lives. Hmmm.

40-Day Love Dare continues:

I am actually not doing it in 40 days. It may be more like 45 or 50 days, since my weekends are crammed full. But I assure you, I still love Bill on my “off” days. There is much to chew on doing this project, but it is thought provoking. I still have much to learn about loving God’s way!

Home projects:

I am just constantly trying to keep my head above water. I hope to send the kids off to Granny Sue and Pappa Jim’s house for a couple of days next week during Spring Break, in order to get caught up on some things. We’ll see how they do. It will be their first time at their grandparent’s house, without Mom or Dad.

We are still having a compatibility issue between my camera and computer. That’s why my posts don’t have a lot of pictures yet. Pictures always make posts much more interesting than a bunch of words! But getting photos onto the computer is a little bit of a challenge right now, so bear with me, please. We hope to fix this little challenge ASAP.

I'm heading off to stir my pot of Southern Red Beans and Rice I'm cookin' up for tonight. If it's awesome, I'll leave the recipe here tomorrow. It's smells pretty great right now...

I hope you have a wonderful, simple day today! Count your blessings. Then make sure to thank God for them.

Friday Night Fraps!

Last night was my first FRIDAY night to work at Starbuck’s. AND it was my first night to have a “bar” all to myself. I was in charge of cold beverages. Frappuccinos, iced coffees and shaken iced teas. If that was your desire last night at Starbucks, then I was your man…uh…woman.

I stumbled through making my first beverage of the night, only to have it handed right back to me to be re-made. What could possibly be wrong?? Except for my long hair hanging out of the drink, it was most likely a perfect Frappuccino!

Fortunately, I worked with two lovely girls who had to babysit me all night on how drinks were made. They were willing, and always had a smile…that is, until the line became about 15 people deep, with marked cold beverage cups lined up across the counter, waiting to be filled with delicious cold beverages. I would stop one of these ladies racing around making hot beverages and say, “what does this abbreviation on this cup mean? What am I supposed to make?” Meanwhile, people were lined up at the hand-off plane to receive their drinks, again, about 15 people deep.

Let’s just say…I was politely moved out of the way, so the real baristas could work.

Anyway, after a long, successful night of learning, it was time to clean up the store. It closed at 11:00 and we had another 45 minutes of cleaning ahead. I washed dishes, sanitized, re-stocked and even mopped the floor. I almost successfully finished cleaning, that is….until I accidentally dumped the entire industrial-sized wash bucket of nasty, dirty water back onto the clean floor. Everyone had to stop what THEY were doing to help “the newbie” mop up the dirty lake in the store.

I fall into bed at 1:15 am. I woke up to precious, happy kids this morning at 7:00. Tired. But Braden reminded me this morning why I am doing this…and it’s all back into perspective.

Blake had another opinion….oh well, you can’t win them all!

The New Adventures of Old Kathryn.....

Well, I've gone back to work.




Bill and I decided that we need to wrap up our debt, once and for all...and send it on it's weight-bearing way! The boys are now a little older. I've been blessed not to have to work outside of the home. But the flip-side of that, is that the paying off of debt has not gone as quickly as we would have liked.



During our 4-year pay-off period so far, with me not working outside the home, we decided to add to the mix things like...having another baby, buying a house and a career change for Bill.

But now it's time to wrap it up. So I went back to work....




You are now looking at (or would be, if you were here) the newest Starbucks barista in Richardson. Ta da!

We decided this was the most perfect solution. Work part time. Get FULL family benefits. The kids would not have to be in additional childcare at all.

So, in theory, my going back to work sounded like the most perfect solution.
Reality is sometimes quite different than theory.

I started work this week. I am still in training. So I've really been processing WHAT to write about it. It's been an interesting journey already.

These are the 3 things I've learned in my first week:
(1) I can choose my attitude.
I may not WANT to work outside the home, but because we've chosen to do it, I can make the best of it...or I can make everyone in my home "pay for it" as I play the martyred MOM.
(2) Fancy coffee is harder to make than you would think.
Enough said.
(3) A smile....and of course a cup of coffee...can completely change someone's countenance immediately!

I'm really very excited to see what God does with all of this.
I have been in such a wonderful "baby bubble", if you will...but a bubble nonetheless. It is nice to get out and interact with big people...as Kathryn...not as Mom.

There should be lots of S-adventures ahead! I'll keep you posted.

But until that time....may I get you a 1/2 caff. 2 pump extra foam extra hot Vanilla latte??