Wild Life

The previous owners of our house told us that each spring a couple of owls nest in the woods behind our house. I have eagerly been anticipating their arrival.

A couple weeks ago I began to hear them at different intervals during the day. Since then they have been quite noisy during the night, but until today we still had not seen them. This afternoon however, we heard them and decided to go outside and check it out.

At first we noticed about three crows flying around the area. Then we saw one of the owls fighting the crows away from the hole in the trunk of the tree were the other owl was incubating the eggs! Very National Geographic! I tried taking pictures, but we don't have a camera with great zoom, so they are not great pics.We plan on purchasing binoculars and a better camera soon so we can get pictures of the baby owls. In a couple weeks they should be here and supposedly we will see them learning to fly right in our back yard! I'll keep you posted.

A Sweet Retreat!

Some of you might remember how excited I was about the possibility of converting one of the bedrooms in our new house into a craft room. Well, after many hours of labor and lots of red paint...I give you my craft room...Wait not yet. Here is what the room looked like before all the paint and furniture.
Now...Here it is! My craft room! A room in which I have crammed all my favorite things...
My trusty tiger friend Winter! I love this little tiger so much... I often imagine that in heaven I will have a real one as my trusty companion.
My TV, which I purchased in college after working my behind off for a couple weeks. It is very old, but it works. I usually watch my shows when Trevan is busy with work or at meetings in the evenings. I also treasure a painting that my friend Rosie painted for me! My sewing machine, which I have not learned how to use yet, but I will take classes soon!
Another touch I added are these framed butterflies from Costa Rica. Trevan things only grandmas have things like these hanging from their walls, but they remind me of my country and its luscious greenery and wild life, so they stay...
Even Trevan shares this special place with me...

I really love this room and the quiet times I spend here. It is a place where God and I can commune in perfect harmony even though the walls are Merlot red!

Crazy Life

It has been a long time since I have wrote anything at all. Between moving in, sprucing up, job hunting and getting sick for over a week, my life has been quite crazy.

This particular post however, is about a fabulously funny adventure of mine a couple weeks ago. As I mentioned I have been going on various job interviews trying to find the right place to work. On this particular day I was ready early and was sitting on the floor of our den enjoying my breakfast and the Today show.

Trevan walked in with his breakfast and sad on the sofa next to me. Wanting to cuddle with my husband before heading off, I got up off the floor and flopped onto the couch. The next thing I knew, Trevan was yelling "NO!". I quickly got up and looked at my behind...There it was, a half of Trevan's bagel on my backside.
I wanted to take a picture for you right then and there, but I had to rush to my room, throw another pair of pants on and head out to my interview. But as you can see, I did get a picture before washing my pants. Just another day in the life of Shari!

Adventures in the life of a Pastor's Wife (PW)

I have been debating whether to relate some of my experiences as a pastor's wife for quite some time now. Sometimes I think it would be therapeutic, and other times I think it will allow you to see how inadequate I can be! Catch 22

Well I have decided to do it anyway...

My first anecdote is actually quite mortifying. Last Sunday the church decided to have a party and show the Super Bowl while allowing the kids to come and have a grand-old-time playing games and hitting a piñata. As a good pastor, Trevan dragged me to the party! I was not terribly happy to be there because I do not like showing people my competitive, somewhat obnoxious side...especially when the Colts' are playing...Go Colts!!!!

Anyways, I opted for demure, almost bored-out-of-my-mind behavior to temper the more natural side of me. Unfortunately, by half-time I was itching to do something so I started throwing a football around with Trevan.

"Oh, I am feeling a lot better now, more loose, more happy. This is fun! I can be myself, no harm done...NO!" Imagine my horror as a pass came out of my hands too high and too hard and HIT a lady sitting like a mile behind Trevan. With the most contrite smile I could muster I waved at her and apologized to no avail. She gave me the most unforgiving look...almost as if saying "You little twit."

Needless to say, I spent the rest of the evening sitting at my seat with my hands clasped firmly in my lap, reprimanding myself for my actions..."Way to go pastor's wife, hitting the parishioners over the head with a football. Nice work there! That will really get them to warm-up to you..."

Oh well, one of the many mistakes I will make as a PW. Stay tune for more stories, because even though I don't want there to be more stories, I am sure there will be a lot more where this one came from!

The Sabbath

I've often thought about my reasons for yearning for the Sabbath's arrival. There are weeks I just can't wait for it to be Friday so I can start celebrating the Sabbath's return.

What do I find in this day that changes my life? I certainly appreciate being able to take a day off from work. I also get to put away my paint brush, hammer, and any other tools that I have been using throughout the week to do little jobs around the house.

When I was in high-school I looked forward to church because I got to dress-up and hang out with my friends. I loved singing and playing bible games. But why do I still yearn today?

Maybe its the quiet serenity of a night without television or grocery lists or meetings. I rather suspect that it is God's promise to meet us in this day and take those burdens that have weighed so heavily on our backs all week long. I know God promises to take our burdens regardless of what day of the week we bring our trials to Him. But there is something about the Sabbath rest that makes that promise more palpable and real...That is why I yearn.

Roger Wins!... Again

There are very few things in life that are givens. Deep down we know that miracles happen, but they are not very likely. Cancer can be cured, but not very likely. Not even tomorrow is certain for any of us. Life is just so unpredictable...

Wait! There are some things we can predict. Superman will escape near death twice in the same movie and still have enough time to save the world, Batman will disarm the bomb in time to save the girl, Spiderman will continue weaving his web regardless of who tries to stop him, and...of course, Roger Federer will win the big match!

Although he has his moments of weakness (French Open), you can always count on him to come back at the next Open and destroy anyone that stands in the path of him and that trophy.

I don't know about you, but I like having constants in my life. Thank you Roger!

Australian Open Women's Final

The question: "How do you solve a problem like Maria?" has been asked by many since the, now, 19 year-old Russian diva began her ascent to the top seeded position in tennis. The answer: match her up against a Serena Williams with something to prove. Welcome back Serena!

Serena entered the open seeded 82nd in the world. Coming back from a knee injury and months out of real competition, not even her mother gave her a vote of confidence stating that she was "rusty". Serena battled a cold, blisters, and constant near losses during her road to the finals. She was on a mission to prove that she is still a contender, and a dangerous one at that.

After watching the semis matches between Sharapova and Clijsters, and Williams and Vaidisova I was confident that Serena would win the open. In the semis Maria's service game was so atrocious she should have lost. Unfortunately, Clijsters seemed to have taken pity on her a allowed her to win by playing even more atrociously.

The morning after the semis matches I prophetically told Trevan that if Sharapova played against Serena the way she played Kim, Serena would destroy her. I was right! After six double faults on Maria's part and only 3 games won during the entire match, the score was a definitive 6-1, 6-2. Serena won in straights without even seeing a fight from Maria.

I thoroughly enjoyed the match! Maria's constant groaning, grunting and screaming drive me crazy, so it was nice to have Serena shut her up. Sometimes I feel this undeniable urge to hit the "mute" button and just watch her (Maria) matches in silence. Although I would not pay to see her play, I would kill for her legs!

I am greatly anticipating the men's final!

Funny Story

It took three weeks to get the den ready for a fresh coat of paint. Hard work went into taking the wallpaper off the trim, washing down the walls, spackling all the nail holes and sand papering the lumps all over the wall.

Last night we got all our gear ready and started painting. We used a lamp in addition to the ceiling light to make sure we had good visibility. It took a little over an hour to get the room painted. By end of the night we were giddy with anticipation.

This morning Trevan left early for board meeting and I went to clean up the den to get it ready for furniture. The color looked lighter than it had last night and...what is that? Are those streaks? Oh no, the whole wall is not painted properly! To my horror I discovered that although we thought we had enough lighting, it was not enough. We had missed some areas.

Laughter started bubbling out of me. It was so funny to think how excited we had been to have the room completed and now this! When Trevan got back from board meeting we went around the room and assessed the damage, or lack there off. We fixed the "problem areas", and are now hoping that tomorrow we will claim the victory over the den and finally have one room completed.

I promise I will show you pictures once it is all done. I want the transformation to be really dramatic...

The First Couple Weeks

Wow! It has been a rough couple weeks. I am starting to get into the flow of Richmond, the new house, the re-decorating and painting, but the pastor's wife thing is coming along a bit slowly.

Last week Trevan was gone every single night, except for Friday. That was hard! I am so use to having him around. This week has been a bit better, but most of our time together is spent working on the house. We have been working on unpacking, removing wallpaper, sanding walls, priming and lots of other odd jobs. When we aren't working on the house I am talking about the house. What color should we paint the den? I think we should ask the people at Home Depot how much it would cost to change the floor in the bathroom. Should we paint our cabinets in the kitchen or get new ones? I am just full of ideas and questions that take over every single conversation we have.

Finally tonight we were able to have a nice date night and just hang out with each other for a couple hours. We went out to eat and then just drove down a couple streets just to explore the area. I begin to see how important having a regular date night is going to be.

I'm TIRED!

Things have been extremely crazy the past couple days.
Friday - find out that grandpa died...slept most of the day to block out the pain.
Sabbath - went to two different churches and hung out with family and friends.
Sunday - after meeting with two groups of friends we were too tired to celebrate the new year.
Monday - went to see grandpa Osborn then drove to Richmond for a walk-through of our house.
Tuesday - closed on the house and started moving things in.
Wednesday - moved into our house and started unpacking.
Thursday - the house has a few more problems than we originally thought so there is a lot more work.
Friday - desperately try to unpack more of the overwhelming boxes. Drove out two hours to meet my brother who was on his way to Tennessee and was bringing my car down.
Sabbath - visit our church for the first time and have practically forgotten most of the people I met today...have to do better than that.

Bottom Line - I AM TIRED! Our house still needs months of work. Anyways. I will keep you updated on all the fun projects we work on.

NOTE: I spoke to my parents who are in Costa Rica for my grandpa's funeral. They said all went well and that the funeral was very well attended (standing room only!) My dad said that my grandma is doing a lot better than they thought and that she is dealing with it really well. I am very happy to hear that! Thanks for your prayers and support.

My Grandfather

People say that daughters usually marry someone that reminds them of their father. In my case, I think I choose someone that reminds me of my grandfather. Grandpa Pottinger has been skinny his whole life, much like Trevan. He loves eating! In fact, his favorite thing is candy. Needless to say, Christmas gifts for grandpa were always a dead giveaway. I would get him a big bag of candy that he would take to his room and eat little by little till the following Christmas.

One of my favorite things about grandpa Pottinger is his passion for life. Whether he was telling a story about ghosts, or one about his neighbors, emotions would run so high in him that he would start crying! His enthusiasm rubbed off sometimes and we would all be crying after a sad story.

Although we never talked much, it was always pleasant to just sit his front deck and see him say hello to the people that passed by.

This year I want to take Trevan to meet grandpa Pottinger...It was approximately 9 in the morning on Friday when my phone rang. It was my father..."Grandpa died at 4:45 this morning" WHAT? Oh No! My heart sank and my head started to pound.

Yes, grandpa was 96 and he had some health problems, but death always takes you by surprise. I find myself asking selfish questions: Why couldn't grandpa wait till next year so Trevan would have a chance to meet him? Why did he leave me? What am I suppose to do now that I don't have a grandpa anymore (my other grandpa died before my parents were married)?

Finally I am coming to grips with the reality that I am not going to have my family with me forever. I am thankful to God for the opportunity to visit my granny this year, and I pray that He will keep my grandma Pottinger alive long enough for me to see her again.

Christmas Expectations

For the first couple years of my life Christmas was all about my gifts! As the years progressed it became a lot more important to give great gifts to others. I love picking fun stuff for people and know that it is something they really want or that they really want.

Expectations changed dramatically when I got married a couple years ago. I remember the first Christmas I spent with Trevan's family. It felt so un-Christmas like to be at someone else's house opening gifts. I had grown use to my parents living room, my mom's food, my father starting a fire, and my brother and I hovering around the gifts.

This year we are spending Christmas with Trevan's family again, but things are a lot different now. I have gotten use to being around Trevan's family, to grandma's cooking, to her living room and hovering over a new tree!

I am sure expectations will again change once we have children and it is all about them! I guess things will always be changing, but one thing about Christmas never changes...I LOVE IT!