I Just Liked to Play Ball

A year ago today my Grandpa Ernie died, and to remember him I wanted to share the poem that my Dad wrote for his burial and memorial services. We love and miss you very much, Gramps!


I Just Liked to Play Ball

It's the start of a brand new softball year
Ernie is toeing the rubber, grooming the mound
Riser, Drop and Screwball without fear
One of the happiest young pitchers around

His motto, "I just liked to play ball"
He enjoys the competition as well as the team
It's not winning but playing that counts most of all
The only thing that beats ball is chocolate homemade ice cream

The boys of Hubbard Garage are the team of date
With a roster of two Berkeys, a Yoder, and a Barnse
Graham winning games on the mound with Palmer behind the plate
Teammates include a Grim, a Fobert, a Hatcher, and a McNamee

Mid-season finds three new players and the volume goes loud
Sharon, Jane and finally there is Pete
The team hits it's stride and Papa Ernie is so proud
Tournament wins a plenty with very a few defeat

Late in the year finds Ernie as coach with new mates
Ben at first, Tim at second, Jena at third, Erin at short; infield is tight
Joel is on the mound with big Matt behind the plate
Amanda plays left, Brady roams center, and Bri's big arm in right

As the last game finally arrives we find Ernie stiff and sore
The mind is weak and the body needs a new lease
With the last out recorded, Toots takes Ernie home to play no more
Not cut, not waived, but simply RELEASE

Now we know life is more than a softball analogy
It is more wondrous and more miraculous

It's the start of a brand new softball year
Ernie is toeing the rubber, grooming the mound
Bringing the high heat in the Higher League without fear
One of the happiest young pitchers around

The last picture I took with Papa Ernie, about a month before he died
The 9 of us grandkids at his memorial service

Time for a Change

It's time for a change, though I'm desperately fighting it. It's been a stressful week with a lot of discussion between Luke and I about our future in Salem. We decided, at least for the time being, to find a church closer to home. We love CAC and consider it our home church, but I just can't continue to commute 6-7 days a week. We hope that sometime in the near future we'll be able to sell our house and go back to CAC, but it's just not in the cards right now. I've been teary about it all week but I really think it's best. Please pray for us as we find a new church. I'm nervous but at the same time excited for what God has in store for us.

Off the Market...

...AGAIN. I just don't think it's meant to be. The guy across the street has his house on short-sale, and the guy just diagonal from us lost his house to the bank last week. We thought that might have been the case when we noticed that they weren't taking care of their lawn and we hadn't seen their cars for awhile. Luke went and mowed their lawn on Thursday because it was almost a foot tall. Then Luke was at Safeway this morning and ran into them. Apparently they've lost everything-- their jobs, their cars, their home, etc... It's so sad. So Luke came home and took the 'For Sale' sign out of our lawn and texted our realtor that we were done. Not sure when or if we will put it back on. Luke's coworker came over last week and is interested in renting our house, but I'm a bit nervous about it now. I was already nervous about the idea that 6 people would be living in our home, but now it sounds like it would be 10. His brother, wife, and two kids have been living with them until the brother can find a job. That is a lot of people for this 1700 square foot house. I'm sure they would take care of it, but it'll just get a lot more wear and tear than it does with the two of us. I don't know though, we just want to make the right decision. It sounds like we have a nice house to rent in Canby if we want, it's just a matter of whether it's worth it or not. And whether God wants us to do this or not. Ahh, so many ifs, ands, and buts. Can someone make the decision for us???

Renting

So tonight Luke's coworker is coming over to look at our house. Hopefully they are interested in renting it! Better yet, hopefully they are interested in renting it with the plan to buy it one day! I'm hopeful, but not overly excited about it. Too many disappointments does that to a person... If this does happen though, pray with us that we find the right place in Canby! We'll rent, for sure, but we want a place that is good for starting a family. Nothing big, just practical. If anyone knows of a rental in Canby, please let us know. Thanks!

Decisions

Today we found out our neighbor has his house on the market. It's a short sale and he priced it $6,000 under what we are trying to sell our house for. Every day that goes by makes the idea of selling our home more like a dream than reality. It just doesn't seem like we will ever be able to sell this house. Luke and I both cried at work today when we found out about our neighbor's house. What are we doing wrong? Is this a sign that God wants us to stay in Salem? If so, I need to find a job down here because I can't continue to do this. Or maybe the person that is going to buy our house hasn't sold theirs yet? Who knows. This morning we set a deadline for July 1st. If it's not sold by then, we decided to take it off the market. This afternoon, however, Luke talked to a coworker that is interested in renting our house. They even talked about "renting to own". But is it a good idea? We don't know. It is interesting to think about though. We would have to rent in Canby because we do not want two house payments. We are going to pray and think about it heavily this weekend, and hopefully God will guide us in the right direction. I'm nervous, yet excited. I don't want to get my hopes up though. I've done that way too many times.

Going On 16 Months...

...without an offer. :-/ We had another showing last Sunday. Apparently they were going on Monday to meet with a loan officer, so either they were hoping to get approved for more money, or they had never gotten pre-approved in the first place. Still no word... Luke and I are hopeful that something might come of this, but what if nothing does come of it? Do we have the patience? Every day that I have to drive home to Salem gets more and more depressing. I love my home, don't get me wrong, but this is not where I want to be. And neither does Luke. God, is this what You want? Do you want us to move? Or is Your will for us to stay in Salem? Please show me Your plan.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:11-13

I'm A Coupon-a-holic!

I love saving money, which is why I love coupons so much! Some shopping trips aren't as successful as others, but I always save something. Every week I buy the Sunday paper. It's only $2 and I always make up for the cost of the paper and then some. I also get coupons online. Some of my favorite websites are:

www.couponcravings.com
www.coupons.com
www.afullcup.com
www.redplum.com
www.commonsensewithmoney.com
www.stretchingabuck.com
www.imommies.com

Some grocery stores, like Thriftway and Safeway, have double coupons, which is where you can really save money. Just make sure your manufacturer coupons don't say "DO NOT DOUBLE OR TRIPLE". Also, a lot of stores are seeing fake coupons, so if you print coupons, make sure to print them in color. I don't quite understand that logic because people can make color copies of coupons, but whatever... I'm just trying to obey the rules. :) Anyway, I hope some of these hints help!