A new strategy

Well, the pest control guy just came by and put some kind of ant gel behind the outlets (you were right, April!) to help rid us of these pests. I wanted him to put it behind ALL the outlets because knowing our ants like I know them, they're likely to find another entry point; but after begging an extra room out of him (the room with all our baby stuff) and having him say how unusual it is for them to show up where there is no food (even though I've seen them in there---on baby stuff), I decided to zip it. We'll see how things go after a week or so.

Is it possible to have a crack free house? Imagine if you had a crack free house and perfect screens on your windows. You could have fresh air and NO BUGS. Sigh.

In other news, school is starting back tomorrow (originally they were going to be out until May 11), now that the president's budget has been passed with relatively little media attention, and we can quit worrying about the piggly flu. Hahaha. Well, I'm not really exposed to much media anyway, though I could be with the news sources available on the internet.

I've been thinking about doing more freezing of meals. Trey and I find that when I make a dish for just the two of us, we get tired of the leftovers after two days and then it goes bad. Too much wasted food. I suppose I just need to start freezing two thirds of the meals I prepare. I'm not having much inspiration with which meals TO prepare in the first place. I should make Trey come up with some. And I want to try the farmer's market here for produce, but I don't think they open until May 16. I think there is one a few miles south of us in Schertz.

Update on the Ant War

I'm still losing. We haven't lost any food lately, but they keep finding new little ways to come in and go to . . . something. Sometimes I can't even figure out where their little trail leads. Maybe our house is just in their way.

I tried putting out bait in mounds of sugar and they walked right around it. Guess they aren't interested in sugar. I can't quite figure out what they ARE interested in, except for anything that I haven't ant-proofed yet.

Trey says that I should be sure to mention that there is more going on with us than an ant war. We are staying plenty busy (or I'd probably be nuts from the ants). I'm figuring out how to keep house and plan/fix meals (while pregnant--it's better, but still a challenge), and Trey is wonderfully patient and supportive as I do figure those things out. Christ Pres is very active, too, so there is almost always something going on at church or with our friends from church. We have something scheduled for every night this week! Crazy!

It's our first week doing youth group without the family meal and Pioneer clubs meeting at the church. Usually, youth group has ceased for the summer, so for the first time, the church marquee says "Youth Group Wednesday 5:30" under the time for Sunday worship! It's an exciting time!

April 17, 2009

It's raining here in New Braunfels. LT may have actually heard some thunder. He is becoming his own little person even though he is still inside me. His dad came to bed last night after I was asleep and apparently had some play time with him while I was oblivious. It's nice that we can do that now, and I try to enjoy all the conveniences of pregnancy (but am still looking forward to the baby times, even with the new trials that come). Trey can really feel him moving around now that he's a little bigger. He is such a wiggle worm, and he does like showing his dad and me how strong his kick is.

Our out-of-town friends coordinated with our friend April in San Antonio and with Trey's family (who were here this past weekend) to surprise us with a baby shower last Saturday. It is probably not terribly hard to surprise a pregnant woman, but Trey and I BOTH were completely surprised and felt so loved. LT got some precious things, and Trey and I got some little happies, too. It was so fun to see all the people who had coordinated to sneak those gifts out here to us and feel for a little while that we aren't so far away after all.

We're still settling in very well out here and are thankful for God's gracious provision for us. Meanwhile my uncle in Maryville, Tennessee has gotten very sick, is in ICU, and does not have a good prognosis. He is in his 50s. My heart is torn because I know my place is with Trey, and I cannot be present in Tennessee right now or even in Mississippi where my grandmother and mother and aunt are (my other aunt is in Alabama). I am with Uncle Duff and Aunt Lorna and my cousin Sarah Catherine as often as I can be in prayer, and my sweet Dad reminded me that I shouldn't think of prayer as a little, ineffective thing; God uses our prayers. Uncle Duff has always been a picture of God's giving heart to those around him. He has always given of his time and love, not to mention his material resources, to so many who have given nothing back to him. I know the Lord has a plan for Uncle Duff, for his good and not harm. Our whole family needs God's grace to realize that and to continue to trust God through this hard time.

God is good, and all things come from His hand to His children.

Who's winning?

Hey, look! I'm making a new blog post! We still don't have internet at the house, but we're on a waiting list to have it set up. Apparently AT&T is in high demand around here. Mid-April I should be able to update more frequently.

We're settling in our lovely home. The baby's room is in the worst condition because all the book boxes are in there. The kitchen is in fabulous shape thanks to my new friends Ellen and Gaye. We (mostly they) scrubbed every nook and cranny and every remnant of prior tenant has been removed.

I do, however, have some competition for the newly scrubbed, wonderful kitchen. The sugar ants seem to think they have some right to partake of our food. Scrubbing the counters constantly worked until they found their way into the cereal and crackers. Now all the cereal is stored in air-tight containers and flour, sugar, etc. lives in ziplock bags until it is transferred to additional air-tight containers for easier use. I have a box of Frosted Flakes out on the counter as a test. I always thought the cereal was pure sugar with a little corn, but so far the ants haven't touched the stuff or shown the slightest interest. If bugs won't even eat the food, it makes me wonder why I would.

Anyway, some more warm air moved in today, so I will have to see how the war is going when I get home (the heat brings them out). Trey is planning to get some bug killer to spray around the crevices and holes, and the other day I had come to embrace this idea. The thought of spraying poison in the kitchen still scares me, though, even if the baby won't be here until July-ish.

I'll have to continue any ant woes on the blog, because I fussed and fumed about them so much one day that Trey forbade me to mention them to him again. I can't blame him.

Nasty little critters. At least they saved me from the Frosted Flakes, right?

Birthday?

Well, yesterday made up for my last post. I had lunch with my brother and his wife at Char; Mom, Dad, and Grace came up to surprise me when we were at Zack's house; and, Pastor Mike announced that it was my last Sunday at Redeemer during the night service and made the reception for the newly installed officers of the church a farewell for Hilary and me. Then, Zack invited our close friends over to his house for a surprise birthday party.

It was a good day.