My New Boys!

Last night was the kick-off party for our church's A2S, or Adopt-A-Student. Where members of our church become adopted parents to the dorm dwelling students at our local college. This is Vaughn and my first time to participate.

When we signed up last week at church, we were not sure if we were ready, since our house is not quite done, but we prayed about it and God had just really pressed upon our hearts that this is what he wanted us to do. So we signed up. Thought it would be great to have a kid to reach out to. To be there for. To inspire. Hey, maybe, we might inspire someone, really.

Johnny's pretty much in charge of the college ministry I think, he emailed me and said that the best thing is to take two kids, that way you're not always trying to entertain them, they can entertain each other, teehee. So we got our two boys and we went to the party, eager to meet them. Here's a picture of my gorgeous husband at the party. He's watching the kids on the slip-n-slide.

We made a giant slip-n-slide out of old billboard vinyls. It was great. Here's one of our boys now. Kutter Anderson, a team roper from McLean, TX, coming off of the slip-n-slide now. You can tell he's a cowboy, look at his white legs.

Here's our other boy, Garret Reeves, his handwriting is hard to read and I forgot to ask him, but I think he's from Salado, TX, down by Waco. Garret's a Bronc Rider. I really like his necklace, something about turquoise and barbed wire.

Then, we found out that some of the boys didn't have parents yet. Well, Vaughn just couldn't have that, she he hunted Johnny down and added us as parents to this sweet boy too. Morgan Lane, a livestock judge from Allison, TX. This boy immediately texted his Momma and told her that he now has parents, it was so cute.

As if that wasn't enough, before we left we found out that there were at least two more boys who hadn't gotten adopted yet. Taco, a bull rider from Lake Charles, LA and Cord, not sure where he's from or what he does, but these two boys are ours now as well. We may very well end up with the entire FPC rodeo team before its all said and done, who knows.

What a blessing it is to be able to share our life and our home with these kids. Please help me pray that God will use us in their lives. If I can pray for you, please let me know.

Not MY Boots

These are not my boots. Okay, well, these are not my REAL boots. They are real boots, maybe they can be called real boots.

I dislike these boots because:
-they are short tops (they make my socks fall down)
-they are round toed (personal preference there)
-they are crepe soled (its like dancing in sneakers, not the same)
-they are NOT my real boots

Why am I wearing them? Because the nice man at the boot repair shop decided to conduct business in Amarillo. My boots are the MOST comfortable pair of boots that I have ever owned, and I have owned some boots. Boots should be durable, they should be comfortable and they should be functional. (Don't ask me why I got caught wearing crocks to the barn when I'm so darn picky about my boots, okay?)

My boots have served me so well over the past year that when my Beloved mentioned buying me a new pair, I literally cried. In the middle of Cavender's I cried. I love my boots. His argument was, "Kaci, sweetie, you have holes in the soles of both boots."

I whined, "Sooooooooooooo? I can still walk through water without getting my socks wet! Please? I LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE my boots!" (Picture a five year old, seriously, I like my boots that much.)

So my husband, who obviously loves me very much, did not take offense that his offer to buy me new boots was turned down. Instead, he pried my treasured boots out of my fist and made a special trip to Amarillo to take them to the nearest boot repair shop and I have been waiting anxiously for their safe return.

So tonight, finally, I can take off this loathsome pair and return my feet to their proper place, in MY boots. I think I will turn these into a planter in my living room...yeah, that's it.

Thanks for letting me ramble, whine, whatever. Have a great weekend! If I can pray for you, please let me know.

Citristrip Tip

You know these fun little capsule things you put in water and you and up with a nice little foam toy?

Well, let's just say that that's what happens if you try to use a foam brush to apply Citristrip. I tried it, learn from my mistake. Its probably very caustic, I probably inhaled something that will have its own lawyer commercial in 15 years...but anyway, I'm okay, it just wasn't fun watching my brush expand and then turn into goo.

Finally an update on the door trim project. I used another application of Citristrip last night and got all the remaining stain and caulk off. I now have bare wood that I can stain to match my cabinets, I am very pleased!

If you're just reading Kaci's Rambling's for the first time and looking for more information on how well Citristrip works, click Citristrip in the label column on the left and you will pull up both this post and my first one on how the Citristrip worked in my home, along with pictures. And one more thing, thanks so much for stopping by!

Lessons from Stripping Paint

Last night, my biggest task was to take this trim and strip it down to the wood. This picture is not the door frame that I did, but I forgot to take before pics so you're stuck with this picture of another door in my house that I am NOT going to strip. But anyway, the door I did strip looked just like this. That is paint on top of Kilz 2 on top of 90 year old varnish and stain.

We found out by accident that Paso will take off paint, so we tested a small area Sure enough, the Paso took the paint and stain off, leaving beautiful wood. But this was hard work. Took me 45 minutes to do an area about the size of a dollar bill.

So I talked to my friend (the wife of a cabinet builder) and the wonderful guys at our local Ace. I told them what I was doing, that I had VERY little ventilation and that I didn't want to be scrubbing all night. Also they all know me and know I'm a klutz so major tools were out of the question. I ended up with this stuff I applied a layer of the gel with a paint brush, went home and fixed dinner (took about 30 minutes) and came back.

The paint was all gooey and WIPED right off, leaving beautiful wood. There was some residue and it didn't eat the caulking that was put on there before the paint, but it did soften it, so with a little bit of work that came off too. Then you wipe down the wood with Mineral Spirits to remove the residue and you end up with a fresh surface ready to stain whatever color you want.

So, I have a little clean up to do tonight, but that's no big deal, and my gorgeous trim is saved and will be stained to match the beautiful cabinets that my hubby and Aaron made for me.

So while I was working, I was praying that God would show me how to apply it in my life and He showed me MY life.

As we go through life, we get coated with years of stress, strain, bad choices, poor decisions, horrible life experiences and the consequences of all of these. We try salves and chemicals, we try scraping and sanding, we try it all to get it all off of us, to make our lives beautiful again...but its all so much work. We get tired, we get discouraged, we give up.

Then One tells us "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28)

Rest, oh, sweet rest! "Really??" we shout, "can You provide that rest. Don't you know, can't you see what I'm covered in??? I'm too dirty for you to do anything with." You can fill in the blanks here. I was too ugly because.....it could be drugs, alcoholism, prostitution, lies, fornication, adultery, theft, homosexuality, it doesn't matter. God says "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." (I Cor. 10:13)

HE WILL PROVIDE A WAY OUT!!! That's my favorite part of that verse. God is our Citristrip. He takes all of those ugly things we've done, He pours the blood of the Son all over then and wipes them right off, leaving only that beautiful, clean, new creation. "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2 Cor. 5:17)

If you have hurt, pain, fear, know this...He knows and He doesn't care. Let Him strip away all of it and make you new!!

If you need more information, check out this website. If I can pray for you today, please let me know.

This Man

See this man:

He is the love of my life. He is the answer to every one of my childhood dreams of a husband. He is everything I never knew I always wanted.

Let me tell you something about this man. Last December he bought me a house. Since then, he has spent all of his free time working on it. He has replaced the entire gas line, the entire sewer line, all the plumbing and electricity (with the help of some wonderful friends), hauled off literally tons of trash, torn down walls, built walls, refinished floors and so very much more. He has very literally built me my dream home.

Most of the people who read this blog know all of this, but really this is one way for me to say "thank you". I can't say it enough to thank him for all he has done. I can't thank him properly for making the choice to love me. I can never repay him for what he does daily to minister to me.

You single girls, waiting for that one man, just wait. Pray for him, whoever he is, and wait on God to bring him to you. I promise, you won't be sorry if you do.

He tells me all the time that the blessing is his, but I totally disagree, I am so very blessed just to be his wife! I love you, Vaughn!

When are you moving in???

Many of my friend have recently asked, "When are you moving in?" So I thought I would answer everyone here.

The answer, at this moment, is "I don't know." We still have a few things to do in the bathroom: clean grout dust from tile; seal grout; strip, putty and stain door trim; stain and install baseboard; and assemble and install fixtures.

Then we have to install the HVAC system that God has provided us with which entails: building two walls in the basement where the interior parts of the system will sit; waiting for the wonderful guys at the Heat & Air place to install the system; then run the ductwork (we're doing this part ourselves).

Then I have some touch up to do here and there, no big deal. Also whenever we have time (not necessarily before we move in) I have some ceiling painting to do.

Hopefully, this will all get done in the next few weeks, but honestly, I don't know for sure. I have given up on trying to set a timeline, its just so much easier to let things happen the way they happen. As soon as I know for sure, I'm sure everyone will know because I will be shouting it from the rooftops. I am so very excited that we are this close!!!

I will have more how-to's to post very soon.

First day of school - Bittersweet

The first day of school is often bittersweet for mothers. They take their little ones to school, re-live that first day of kindergarten and do their best to hold it together until their baby, who is no longer a baby, disappears into the building at which time it is finally safe to fall apart.

While I enjoy the excitement of the first day of school. I love hearing who the new teachers are, which of the kids' friends will be in their class this year, what perfect outfit will be worn for that all-important first day, it is one of my hardest days.

For those of you who don't know, I am a non-custodial mother. When we got divorced, I ran an in-home daycare. The lawyers, trying to be amicable to everyone, came up with a great idea that the children would be with me during the day and him at night and it was great for everyone. Only thing is, since they were sleeping at his house, this made him the primary guardian. So when it came time for him to move, they went with him.

I didn't choose to be without my children, I did not abandon them, I did not do anything wrong to have them taken away from me, just circumstances ended up that we can't change. Its all in God's plan and I trust Him in that. That said, that trust I have in the Father, its comforting but does not make me not miss them. Some days are still very hard. The first day of school being one of the hardest.

I don't get to walk them to school or meet their teachers. Most of the teachers won't even talk to me if I call or email. I do get awesome pictures like this one though:

That's Bubba in the back, sister on the left and their little stepsister on the right.

I am thankful for these pictures. I am thankful that my kids like to call and email me. I am thankful that my kids are only 6 hours away so I get to see them more than I did when they were 24 hours away. I am thankful that my children know me and love me and that they have a stepmother who tries her hardest to make this whole thing easier for them.

Please don't feel sorry for me, I have the comfort of One who knows my pain. I simply wanted to share my story. Maybe one day when you meet another non-custodial mom, you won't automatically assume that she did something horrible. That's not always the case, sometimes, but not always. Don't feel sorry for her, or me, don't try to understand, just be there for her to talk to, pray for her and remind her that God loves her. Maybe, just maybe, if you can handle the answer, ask her when she will see her kids again, because even if she's like me and sometimes the answer is 93 days, she will light up at the thought of seeing her children again and she will love talking about it! Have a great day and do me a favor, give your kid a great big hug when they get home from school today...

If I can pray for you today, please let me know.

Insomnia

Last night I had a battle with insomnia. Insomnia does not visit me often and is definately NOT my friend. You see, I didn't wear my glasses to church yesterday. I HATE my glasses and am waiting for the chance to go to the eye dr because I need a new exam before I can order new contacts and, well that's just not always easy to make happen. But anyway, I didn't wear my glasses to church yesterday, so I got an eye strain headache. I still have it, but that's neither here nor there. Because of this terrible headache, I could not sleep last night, so I laid there till at least 3 a.m. and figured out my bathroom.

For my bathroom, I am going to need some of these

These, my friends, are curtain grommets. The ones pictured are brushed silver, I need "shiny" silver. What do you call that? Just silver, "not" brushed silver, I don't know, I just need them to be shiny so they match my fixtures.

The only bad thing, I live in a very tiny Texas town whose only place for stuff like that is the Wal-Marts...and the Wal-Marts here only carries bronze and black grommets. How dare they???

So, to those of my wonderful friends who live in Amarillo or will be going to Amarillo to the Hobby Lobby, Joanne's, Michaels or one of Ama's fine quilting stores...please be on the lookout nd let me know if they have any silver grommets?? That way next time I run to the big city (anyone from Amarillo is laughing that I just called it that) I know where to go to get them.

I have also decided on what to do with the monogrammming on the towels!! Aren't you happy? Have a wonderful day!

Canvas Drawer Update

My dear friends and fellow crafty types,

Due to the fact that I can't sew a straight line to save my life (I have astigmatism and that trips me up alot), my canvas drawer turned out very loose and about an inch too big.

This evening my dear hubby will be out of town and as soon as I finish wiping the tile in my bathroom down with vinegar (to get the grout residue off so he can seal the tile) I will get back to work on it. Once I get it down, I will be able to make the rest and post the tutorial.

I am bound and determined. I will let you know how it turns out soon, I promise.

Those of you coming from Pattern Review, thank you for stopping by. I promise to have those instructions ASAP. But please, take the time to browse through my posts for some of my other fun craft ideas.

Also, coming soon, a great, cheap way to make fun, serving trays and a way to make guests in your home feel welcome!

Have a wonderful day!!

First try - Canvas Drawer

Well my first try on the drawer wasn't so great, but I'm not discouraged. Check back, I will have that how-to soon!

Mi Abuelo

See right there in the middle, right under me? That guy in the red shirt and black hat. That's a very special man. That's my Grandpa Lauriano. My aunt brought him to Amarillo last week for a visit and he wanted to see his grandkids and thier kids and spend some time with us all. My Tia Becky took this picture. We're not all here, my kids are at their dads, two of my brothers and one of my sisters is missing, along with KK, Harley, Angela, Serina and Uncle Brijido's new baby.

Grandpa had a major health problem earlier this year. I am blessed to even be in his presence, as I got a phone call at 10:00 that night saying that he wouldn't make it through the night. We are all thankful that he is here with us at all. It was also neat that he was telling stories in English. He speaks Spanish most of the time, but was telling some pretty funny stories, and in English.

Anyway, it was a pretty awesome visit. It reminded me of many Christmases and Thansgivings and birthday parties when I was little and our whole family was right here together. I miss you all so very much!!

Bathroom - Coming right along

Okay, here's what the bathroom looked like when we started: Well, almost when we started. This picture was taken after Vaughn had yanked out the toilet and sink.

So, with the help of some wonderful friends and some hard work, we have gotten it this far right now: As you can see, the towel sitting on the tub, matches the walls.

Here are the towels I plan to hang from the towel rack. It will be mounted underneath the cabinet. The bath towel matches the walls, the washcloth matches the grout and the gold colored hand towel was thrown in there to add some color.

These three come from an earth tone palette I found when I was deciding on colors and I think they will work out just splendid in that little bathroom.

I don't have much wall space in which to throw in decorations and I have quite made a decision on towel monogramming or the shower curtain, but I have some ideas brewing. Let me know if you have any suggestions??

Please pray for our family. My husband and one of his sons are having to face something difficult right now. If I can pray for you, please let me know.

Donna

This is Donna Raye Morrison. I can't tell you EXACTLY who she is yet (some of you know) but I can tell you this:

She was a beautiful, beautiful woman. She was born July 15, 1948 in Wichita Falls and she was murdered April 24, 1975 in Baltimore, MD. She had a sister and a brother who are wonderful people and have wonderful families. She loved with all of her heart. She knew real heartache.

Hopefully one day soon, I will be able to share with you who exactly she is, but for now, I can just say, she was too wonderful not to share with the world.

San Antonio, TX - Vacation '09

There is a picture like this for every trip we have taken. Why do I do this? I have no idea. I sure bet that my sweet hubby wishes he knew why so he could stop it. Here we go!

When we got to San Antonio, Aunt Debbie had a dog that didn't play well with others. She and Dusty could never be in the same room. This is Aussie (pronounced Ozzie) looking out the glass door at Dusty who just wants to play with her.

My baby girl and her step-daddy whom she just loves! I knew I shouldn't have fixed her hair until it was time to go to church.

Miss Haley and myself. She's a beautiful little girl and my new friend. Bethanie said, "Mommy let me take a picture of you and Haley." Of course I kindly declined, but my dear daughter didn't care, she caught her mother's bug...loves to snap pictures!

My darling children posing before church. Someone said they were so gorgeous that they could be movie stars. It wasn't me, really, but I do think so.

Vaughn, sharing with Aunt Debbie's life group who came over to meet us and brought Mexican food!

The reason why Vaughn's shirt was so dirty in that last picture. He spent the first three days of our vacation right here, under my car. The stinkin fuel pump went out and was such a chore! God blessed us with some wonderful help, though, and Vaughn got it fixed.

Bethanie, again, with my camera. Bless her silly little heart. I can't stand to have my picture taken, but who can resist a little girl begging?? I gave in and this one really isn't that bad.

The kids in front of Bass Pro, this is where we were going when the truck broke down. We finally made it!

The family in front of Sea World with Wally the Walrus.

The kids weaseled Aunt Debbie into riding this ride with them. I can't say much, I rode it too.

Shamu, what a wonderful show. The kids enjoyed it very much. Their favorite, though, was the dolphin and Beluga whale show with the acrobats. At one point during the Shamu show, the trainer called all the kids down to the bottom of the stairs.

This is what happened at the bottom of the stairs. Bethanie came back and made a precious face, she said, "MOM, it was SALT WATER!"

Of course Austin had to remind her that whales live in salt water, and pipe in the brotherly, "Gah, what did you think it would be?"

The kids at the Sea Lion exhibit. Where we had to ask the keeper what the difference was between Sea Lions and seals. Ask my kids, they can tell you now.

And this, my friends, is my children in the amphitheater at the Alamo. Austin said, "Hey Mom, this is where Stephen F. Austin used to come to watch movies and stuff!" He was sorely disappointed to find out that Stephen F. Austin, while having a major role in the independence of Texas, was not actually at the battle of the Alamo.

Getting Closer - More Before & Afters

UPDATE:
I replaced the dark, hard to see, after pictures, with better quality, higher resolution pictures!

Well, friends, the time to move in is getting closer. I have a couple more before and after's to share with you today.

THE FRONT ROOM! I really love this room. You see, my house was built in the 1920's in Panhandle, TX as a line shack. It was later moved to Borger and set on top of the basement. In honor of the era in which the house was built, I decided to make the front room very antique. Including an armoire and radio left in the home by its previous owner.

The before pictures don't really do justice to the true before. Children had played in the house while it was empty, so it was a total mess. There was old carpet in this room and a broken wall furnace that we pulled out before the before pictures were taken. Also, the light fixtures are not in yet, so don't look at the ugly light bulbs hanging from the ceiling...but here ya go anyway:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

This is the exact same point-of-view, the only difference is the door is open in the before picture. You can see in the before picture the whole in the wall, where we had removed the wall furnace and begun to cut in the doorway. Also, there is a window in the before picture that is gone in the after. All the windows on this side of the house were removed because there will eventually be a garage on that side of the house. Also, next to that chair is where the armoire will go, I haven't brought it in yet, it needs a little repair.

Here's the other side of the room:
BEFORE:

AFTER:

Of course, the boxes on the floor next to the desk will go away, and I'm searching for the perfect chair to go there, but I just love this room!! God has provided us with every piece of furniture in this room, isn't that awesome!!??

Above the sofa is a plaque that I got from my friend for Christmas, it says "Come Lord, Jesus, be our guest. May our home by You be blessed." Its just wonderful. That will be my cross wall. All of my crosses will go there. Right now I have two to go there, both with significant meaning. It will be neat to get crosses from different places and display them there.

I am so blessed to have such a talented husband who can make this all come together. I can't wait for the fellowship and ministry that is going to happen in this room. Most importantly, I am blessed beyond measure by the Kingdom people who have helped this to happen.

Thank you all so very much. If I can pray for you, please, please, let me know.

The Best Dog a Boy Could Have

She came one day without a home
We welcomed her into ours
She loved that tiny little boy
She loved to ride in the car.

She slept under his crib at night
Protected him from the dark
She gave him peace and security
He gave her his heart.

He got taller, she stayed right there
Faithfully by his side
Loyally his companion she
Remained until the day she died

Ten years they walked together
A boy and his loving friend
She never once let him down
On her, he could depend

She held on, as long as she could
Waited for him to get home
Maybe she couldn’t go without him
Maybe she didn’t want to be alone

He came home and kissed her nose
He told her it was ok
With tears in his eyes my sweet boy
Lost his friend that day.

Thank you, Kamora, for teaching him love,
For being his faithful friend
For staying by his side, for keeping him safe
Until the very end.

K. Lusk 8/4/09

Kamora was the best dog a boy could ever have. She came to live with us one day when her previous owners no longer wanted her. The man she lived with was planning to poison her so that he wouldn't have to care for her any longer. Geoff brought her home and asked what I wanted to do. She walked over and laid under the crib of our sleeping infant son and it was all over. She became a little boy's dog that day.

I praise God every day for that dog and the way she taught him to love. There is a type of love that a little boy can only learn from the faithfulness of a good dog. She was truly his. She and Austin had a language all their own. He could tell her things that he couldn't tell anyone. They would play for hours in the backyard.

After ten years of faithful companionship, my son lost his friend Saturday night. The children had been with me for a month and went home to their father's house on Saturday. Kamora held on until her boy came home, then she allowed the end to come. She laid herself in the floor and no longer had the strength to get up.

My baby boy is hurting now, his heart is absolutely broken. Another lesson that sweet Kamora is teaching her boy: life does go on, love continues even in death, and he will love again. Thank you God, for bringing Kamora into our lives, into Austin's life, and for showing him that kind of unconditional love.

If I can pray for you today, please let me know.

Hey there!

I know its been a minute since I blogged, but God's just been blessing our socks off.

We took our second annual Lusk family vacation. It was great!! We took the kids to Sea World and visited some family. I will post some great pictures and more details of that trip very soon. I had such an amazing time with my babies and miss them so dearly. I'm already counting down the days until our next visit.

Our house is getting closer all the time. Check out this picture of my new beautiful bedroom:

See the bench at the end of the bed? It just turned out perfect!! The nightstands were $2 at another yard sale I found!

I am absolutely chompin at the bit to get to sleep in it, but that would be just silly until we get a bathroom in there. I don't think it would be very fun to walk across the street to Mom's house in the middle of the night in my pj's if I need to go to the bathroom. The bedroom's not completely ready yet anyway. The closet isn't finished, we still have to get the ceiling fan, and I'm hunting down the perfect vanity.

I might be making the vanity, if I do, I will be sure to post another how-to!

Please pray for my kids, one of their dogs, Kamora, who has been with the family almost 10 years, passed away this weekend. This has been especially hard on my sweet Austin.

If I can pray for you, please let me know.