WARNING: Rebecca D. shows flagrant disregard for the rules of punctuation... She uses ellipsis with wild abandon... Punctuation interventions have been done to no avail... If you are offended by such irreverence to the rules of grammar... The very glue that holds our society together... STOP READING NOW... Move on... There is a little button at the top that says "next blog"... You would be well advised to use it... You were warned...

The Happs...

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Warning... This is an exceedingly long post... If you have nothing you need to be doing right now, by all means read on... Otherwise you may want to go about your life and come back if you are ever overly bored... You were warned...

Sorry it took me so long to update y'alls on what been goin' down in these parts... I have been crazy busy and losing my mind getting Cate off to school was time consuming... We had a fundraising yard sale to raise a little extra cash to send them off with... People from church and family donated tons of stuff and we raised a little over $1000. ($500. for each of them.)
Oh, wait... You are probably saying "them??? Who the heck is she going on about?"  Well remember I mentioned that our sweet Cate has a boyfriend? Yeppers, some kiddos take a futon or mini fridge to college, not our Cate... She is taking a boyfriend.

Here's how it all went down...

Wait... I'm getting ahead of myself... What ever shall we call this interloper who has spent nearly every waking, non-working moment in our home for the past few months?? I was gonna say "the Brat", but only because he's soooo not bratty, but that seems uncalled for... For now we will just call him The Boy until I think of another moniker for him...
So, here's how it all went down... Sparky met The Boy first... He went to her school and was part of the youth group at church... If you are a long time bloggy friend you'll remember him from this picture... He's the one in the dorky flag sweater... (Yes, getting his head licked by that guy who has been hanging around our Sparky all summer, but that's a story for a different day...)

Also there is a story behind that sweater... But again, for a different day... Let's face it folks this is gonna be a really long post as it is, and if I cram all my lame good stuff into this one y'alls won't appreciate it... But I digress...
Anyhow, The Boy was a senior in high school so he was in our youth group which goes up to 22 years old to cover our "young adults" too, so our Cate met him there...
They didn't think much of each other at first... I mean they were friends, but The Boy is a super nice kid so he's friends with just about everyone. I fact we kinda thought Sparky was sweet on him based on the photo evidence...
But our suspicions were wrong... She had already decided he might be a good match for her sister... When a certain small Bible college came to speak to our youth Cate couldn't make it that night since she had work, but Sparky not only thought is sounded just like what Cate was looking for but also found out The Boy was applying... Clever devious girl that she is, she convinced her sister to go visit the school.
Alas, she was right, it seemed like the LORD made this school just for our sweet Cate and during our visit she felt led to apply. It turned out they were having an event that night, and Cate wanted to stay. Our Sparky suggested she ride back with The Boy so we didn't have to stay down there and since he lived in our neck of the woods, it made sense... A flurry of calls and texts later it was all set up. It was only on the ride home Sparky fessed up let us know that she felt they would be a good match and that she was hoping a couple hour car ride alone would get things in motion.
She was right... You see they are both a couple of fairly serious kids with a deep love of the Lord and they both have a silly side... It wasn't but a few days before her father and I noticed a bit of a flirtation going on. He was here a lot, and they seemed to really like each other... When they started going on almost nightly walks together we knew it was only a matter of time, and we were right. Eventually (much longer then we thought it would take) he got up the courage to ask us for permission to "date" our daughter. Poor boy was so nervous he couldn't even eat dinner... We had already gotten to know him quite well by this point and prayed about this so of course we said yes, and the rest is now history...

Here he is giving our Cate one sunflower on their first month anniversary... Please excuse the mess... Oh and that's his mama in the back ground. We don't really let our daughters just "date" in the traditional sense... It is more of a dating/courting hybrid. We don't let the boy (any boy) come and just pick up one of our daughters and go who knows where just to drop her off hours later... I'll do a post on our personal thoughts on this later (and try to shorten this one) but suffice it to say, the boy and our girl are basically expected to spend most of their time either with our family or his...

Sooo... Back to the yard sale... You might want to scroll up if you forgot what we were talking about...
We had a huge yard sale the Saturday before last and we did really well the first day. Paul's contribution was to sell hot dogs, etc... to any hungry shoppers... This will be important in a minute... Wait for it... Anyhow we had TONS of stuff left over so The Boy's mom and I decided to open it back up after church on Sunday. It seemed like a good idea. So on Sunday I asked to make an announcement. After worship, but before announcements our pastor had Cate and The Boy come upfront and pray over them before they left for school the following week... He then had everyone come up and lay hands on them and pray corporately for them, and their families... Then he had Paul pray over them (The Boy's dad wasn't there that day) and I was basically a blubbering basket case.  (say that 10 times fast...) On our way back to our seat our pastor started announcements and said "Rebecca before you sit down, you have one right?" so back up I went. I reported on how well we did, but right there in the front row was my girlie and her beau... Pretty soon I've lost my train of thought and remembered we had plenty of hot dogs and chips left to sell from Saturday and that is how I accidentally invited the WHOLE CHURCH over for lunch... Yep, all 160 or so of them... I didn't even realise what I'd just done, but Paul did. After announcements we break so the kiddos can go to children's church and we have coffee and snacks at that point. People kept coming up letting us know they would be there and asking what they could bring. I looked at Paul and asked him if I had just done what I thought I had... He said I had and we should think about leaving early because we were gonna need a lot more food... Whoops... Keep in mind, we were on day two of a yard sale.. Our home was trashed... And in the next few hours we hosted an impromptu church picnic. I don't know how many showed up but we started with 260 hot dogs and only had about 35 left over...

I'll try to get through the rest of this quickly...
How did the Boy spend the yard sale??
When he wasn't working he'd get as far away from his mom and his girlfriend's mom as possible...
See...
Yeppers... I think the "moms" treed that there poor boy! (I said that in my head with a bad southern accent... Add what ever accent works for you...)
Here the Girlies are at the end of the sale...

(Poor guy was climbing down the tree at that very moment, but I told him I'd title this one "Creepy Boyfriend"...)

Here they are together...

Sparky calls this one "best friends"... She misses them a ton too...

Before Cate left we went to meet our newest cousin...
 and spent as much time with the kiddos as possible...

Here they are the night before we took them down...
I love this photo...
But these seem more accurate...
and this one...
Those two actually came first... I had to force them to stop goofing off so I could get the good one!

Here is Cate in her new "dorm" room...
The president of the college turned his daylight basement into a series of bedrooms surrounding a common space for the girls "dorms" (Remember... EXTREMLY small college.) The guys kinda have the same set up at his sons house. Unfortunately the Boy's room wasn't ready so he is staying in the guest room upstairs in the same house... This is unfortunate because they feel like they are under a microscope with everyone watching them, so they are more then a little uncomfortable with the current situation...

Here they are with Cate's "school mom"
She's the wife of the president and the owner of the aforementioned microscope...

They were due to start classes Monday, but because of "Hurricane Irene" (not much of a storm in our parts) power was out so they had Monday off... So after two whole days at school (ie... two days of me being weepy and sad.) They decided to trek home for the few things they forgot...

The Boy didn't realise he "forgot" a haircut... 
Paul set him straight... 
There... Paul declared this "much better"...

And they are off again...

Someone get that boy a belt...
So... That's the happs around here...
If you are still reading this... Wow... What a true bloggy friend... I started just skimming myself about ten minutes ago and I'm writing it...
Next time I will try to be brief...
Hey, a girl can dream...
Thanks for listening,
 

Hodgepodging Again...

Wednesday, August 24, 2011


I have started and not had time to finish two posts so far this week... I am spending every possible minute with my sweet Cate... Even tough she will only be an hour and a half from here it's starting to feel like she is going to the other side of the planet... I know our children are supposed to grow up and leave home, but... (I don't know how to finish that... I am so happy for her, but I will miss her ohhh so much!)

Time to focus on something else...

How about another "Hodgepodge"?

Pop on over to "From This Side of the Pond" to play along...


1. What is something that bothers you if it's not done perfectly?
Sweeping, dusting and vacuuming... I hate to do these things but if a spot is missed I can't just sit and relax... I obsess over it... I hate discovering these spots when we have guests.

2. Do you think a 6th sense exists? Explain.
I don't know about in general, but I can almost always tell when I'm being lied to. Not just with my girlies, but everybody... My husband jokes that I'm the human lie detector. Most of the time I'll just go with whatever they are saying then later tell Paul... The stuff people lie about...

3. Do you say your goodbyes slowly, quickly, or not at all?
Quickly... I can't stand prolonging uncomfortable situations... It just makes them more uncomfortable.

4. On a scale of 1-10, with ten being hot hot hot, what level of spice do you like in your food? What's your favorite 'spicy' dish?
I'm about a 3 or 4... I grew up in Maine which means I was a -10 on the spice chart as a child. To Mainers a little salt and pepper is fine, but be careful with all other spices... Growing up I was only aware of parsley flakes, garlic (powder only), paprika, cinnamon and Bell's poultry seasoning... So I've come a long way. Paul is probably an 8 or 9 so he'd say I haven't come far enough...
My favorite "spicy" dish... Probably orange beef.
5. What is one of your all time favorite commercial jingles?
If you put anything to song I can remember it forever, as long as I can conjure the tune, so as a result I really, really don't like jingles since they are all with me forever. I currently have Joyce's Coke on stuck in my head and I didn't even play the video... Just the suggestion... So I will pass on this question as pondering it will start up a bunch more.

6. Plane, train, boat or auto...your preferred method of travel?
Hands down there is nothing in this world like a summer day on a sail boat off the coast of Maine... That being said, it isn't really a form of travel, not the way I enjoy it any way... I'd have to go with car... Planes are great for efficiency, but there is nothing fun about air travel these days... We have traveled by car a lot and I like it the most... I love a good car trip... We have car trip "foods" and I love looking for a good restaurant or motel... I love discovering a hidden gem... I love books on "tape" and long discussions about ridiculous stuff. The girlies like to search stores along the way for candy we've never heard of... We always wait and try it together in the car of course... (PS. There is some really yucky candy out there!)

7. What is something you take for granted?
I'll go with something I took for granted... Being "the mom"... I am working my way outta a job here and I have no idea what I'll do next.

8. Insert your own random thought here.
I will update you on all of the goings on around here in a few days, but things are so crazy right now I probably won't be able to post again until next week. (But when I do, it will be epic!)


Thanks for listening,

Stinkin' Thinkin'...

Thursday, August 18, 2011

As I work on my "100" list I keep finding things that I want to tell you right away... I am up to 84, so I imagine I will finish my list soon...

When I was a new believer, a Bible Study I went to focused on our "Stinkin Thinkin"... There are whole series of books about the lies we believe... I did a study reading one of these books just a few years back... And yet my "stinkin thinkin" continues... Here is a doozy I just realised I have truly believed for years...

I was told years ago by an older woman, whom I really admire that my being fat is a sin and until I got that sin under control I’d never experience the fullness of the LORD’s blessings in my life… I have secretly blamed everything that goes wrong in my life or with my family on this… On myself…

Is there truth in this? I don't know, but I don't think so... I also know I am ready to let this "stinkin thinkin" go... I am giving it to the LORD today...

Is there "stinkin thinkin" you are struggling with today?

Thanks for listening,
 

A Two Fer...

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

As in Two blog post in one day... Sometimes it's a fine line between blessing and curse...

I've always wanted to do the Wednesday Hodgepodge over at From This Side Of The Pond... Joyce is one of my bestest bloggy friends... I just love her to pieces, but I've never done her weekly linky thingy... Seriously folks, what kind of friend am I... (don't answer that...)

Here goes...



1. Using what's in your frig right now what sort of meal would you be able to make for guests who are knocking at the front door this very minute?

I just made pasta carbonara for dinner and all those ingredients came out of the fridge... Does that count? I "meal plan" and shop once a week on Mondays so I could make a lot with what is in there right now.
2. What is something about yourself that you hope will change but that probably never will?

I am fat... It is just a fact... I hope that doesn't offend anyone but it is really the best word... I have been "heavy" my whole life, but I got seriously ill several years ago and due to some medicine I was on I gained a lot of weight... I lost quite a bit of it, but without some kind of miracle I don't think I'll lose much more... I kinda stopped trying since otherwise I'm pretty healthy... I hope someday that word won't be the first thing people think when they see me, but somehow I doubt it.
3. What's something about yourself that you hope will never change?

I love people and desire to get to know everyone... Hear their story... I get excited when I see visitors at church...  I like to think I am very approachable and easy to talk to and I like that about me. I think I make people feel comfortable and make it easy for them to open up.  I love to have people over to our home and make them feel welcome... I have been burned many times by people, but I hope to never lose my love for everyone I meet...
4. Do you usually send serious or funny greeting cards? Why?

Funny... Because they are shorter... I have very little patience to stand there and pick out cards so the funny ones are quicker to read... Plus, I hate that moment when someone gives you a serious card then watches you read it... It's like they are waiting for your reaction... It's too much pressure, I find myself thinking more about how I should react and not really reading... Then I wonder if they think I'm "slow" because I've been staring at this card too long... Aghhhh... I just fake it and hug them... Please people, go with the funny card, or better yet, just give me the $2.50... I'd genuinely hug you for that!

5. Bird watching, shell gathering, or star gazing- your choice for whiling away the hours?

None of the above... I would rather read or watch a movie...

(Addendum... After reading a bunch of other answers I feel like a poo-head not picking one so let me explain... I live near the ocean and tourists scour the beaches for shells, it is rare to find anything in good shape and makes me annoyed at tourists... Bird watching is out since I have a cat so a bird feeder would actually be a cat feeder... As for star gazing, ok, sometimes I do enjoy sitting with the girlies and their friends around the fire pit, and I do look at the stars then, but it's just not my thing... I find the older I get, the earlier I want to sleep... So that is why you'll find me whiling away the hours in my hammock with a book...)
6. Do you double or triple check things? If so, what?

Yes, my blog posts... And I still miss typos and awkward phrases...

7. What's your favorite place for people watching?

I live in a very touristy area of Maine so Main Street in any of the little mid-coast towns here is perfect for people watching in the summer months...
8. Insert your own random thought here.

I think I am gonna miss my oldest girlie when she goes to college next week... I think I kinda want to lock her in a closet and never let her go... I think this and yet I know I will let her go... I think I will cry when we leave.
Thanks for listening,

Oy with the Poodles Already...

10,000 meaningless points if you know what my title references... (It probably means you also waste too much time... )

I have been crazy busy this week getting a huge fundraising yard sale organized for this Saturday but the are a couple things I wanted to tell you guys about...

First of all I signed up with my newest bloggy friend, Sheri from Shades of Pink to do a daily Bible Study. Drop on over there if you are interested... She is looking for more, so maybe some of you... My closest bloggy friends would be interested. I personally need more daily accountability and have been feeling convicted to seek it out... Then along came Sheri and her sweet blog... Y'all should drop over, you'll love her!

Today I was blown away by the wisdom and courage of a teenager... This shady looking character right here...

He is a friend of the girlies and has been hanging out here off and on all summer. We really like this kid, but today I was blown away by him. He is 17 and starting his senior year soon and he is a football player... A really good football player... One of the best on his team... Or he was, until today, you see he felt the LORD telling him to quit football. It had become an idol in his life and he had been praying the LORD would reveal any idols he'd raised in his life so he could tear them down... Well, when you ask the LORD something so specific you may get answers you don't like... He not only felt strongly he had to give up football but he also felt the LORD was telling him to tell his coaches why he was giving it up...
So at practice today he did just that... It was mid-way through practice before he could get his coach alone for a minute... He didn't take it well, but after some talking his coach told him he'd respect his decision IF he would stand up before the whole team and tell them... And that is what he did... A few understood, most were not happy with his decision, but he said he has never felt more at peace with a decision... He feels "free of a bondage"...

Wow... I think I want to be more like him when I grow up...

That's what's new around here... See y'all on the other side of our yard sale!

Thanks for listening,
 

Garden Party...

Sunday, August 14, 2011

 For a nice change of pace I figured I'd share something in a timely manner...(Besides I need more time to finish my 100 things... I am stuck at #78.)

A friend of mine, Lynda and her sweet daughter Vicky ( a sweet christian girl who befriended Sparky just before she started school and introduced her to a most of her friends making our move to Maine so much nicer for Sparky) is moving at the end of this coming week...
This all came about very suddenly so I offered to throw her a little send off party. I am in the process of planning a baby shower so I borrowed a lot of my ideas and items from that for this little garden party... The girlies and I are considering it a "trial run."

 Lynda's favorite colors are brown and blue and since the shower I'm planning is orange and turquoise I just borrowed the turquoise and added a "bird" theme...

The weather yesterday was a picture perfect Maine summer day...

Here was the welcome table...
I borrowed the lanterns from my living room...

Here is a closer look at the invites I made...
I framed one to add to the decor.
(I just noticed it is crooked in the frame... It is details like this that I can't help but focus on, so I am glad I didn't notice it at the time...)
I also bought her a prayer journal instead of a guest book and asked each guest to write a message on a random page. That way as she is using the journal she will unexpectedly come across some love from her friends...
 I found covers for our directors chairs that matched the theme so I set up a couple little conversation spots around the yard. After I snapped this I added some big brown floor pillows... This spot under the tree was very popular.
Here is a shot of the tables... I had three set up as we were expecting 22 (including the girlies and I) so set up for 24 but we had three "crashers" so we were one place setting short. The girlies and I did a good job swapping places so I don't think anyone noticed...
The girlies and I spray painted some branches white and they were supposed to go down the center of the tables, but the guests started arriving thirty minutes early so that was one of the things that got dropped at the last moment so we could welcome our guests... I still think the branches would have added something as the little blue birds were somewhat lost on the two blue tables and the shells and sea glass looked like confetti... Not what I had in mind but everyone thought the tables were great, so I guess they didn't miss what they didn't know about.
Cate put the silverware out... She sets the table regularly, so I don't know what was up with her rather creative placement... I did love how the little starfish looked on each place... It was their little take home item and such a simple, inexpensive ($1.00 each) little thing, but they were a hit...
I did the water bottle labels myself and was happy with how they turned out. I really do think it's the details that make a party more memorable...

 Here was the drink station... There was supposed to be a brown wooden screen with a banner I made on it behind this, but it was the other thing that didn't happen. (I think for the shower I will set up the yard first so we get to do everything.) I spent a lot of time making the banner so Sparky did hang it up on the porch at the last minute but alas I didn't think to take a picture of it. I made it mostly out of the turquoise so all I have to do it make some lettering changes and swap out a few brown pieces for orange for the shower, so you will get to see it then.
Here is a close up...
 I am totally in love with mason jars and these little striped paper straws...
It just seems so... "garden party"... Don't you think?
I had classic punch, peach sweet tea (not pictured),  raspberry lemonade and ice water of course.
Here is the last photo I took... A close up of the brown table... Note to self, charge camera before baby shower... I am bummed I didn't get a picture of the buffet, dessert tables or any during the actual party ...
But I can tell you about them...
I served four different chicken salads ("plain jane", curried, one w/ apples, grapes and candied walnuts and one w/ cherries and almonds) with a selection of  fresh breads & rolls. I also made "loaded" potato salad, pasta salad, and a green salad. For desserts I had a "make your own" strawberry shortcake bar and then a separate table with five kinds of mini cupcakes (chocolate with peanut butter chips in them and frosted in actual peanut butter fudge, a "ricotta" cupcake with strawberry glaze, a tiramisu' cupcake that was a sponge cupcake with an espresso creme filling frosted in a mascarpone' butter creme frosting and dusted with cinnamon, a dark chocolate cupcake with a vanilla butter creme frosting and a blueberry cupcake with a simple cinnamon crumble topping.) I also made cake pops in blue (candy melts... colored white chocolate... I guess) and brown (milk chocolate) I think I will do a very similar menu for the shower so you should get to see it then.

It was a lot of fun to throw this party but alas I've only known Lynda for about nine months and only knew about six of the people she put on her guest list... It feels like so much more pressure to have your home perfect when you have people you have never met let alone had over to a party. The baby shower is for a cousin so it will be mostly family... 
We'll see which is better...

Thanks for listening,

100 Things About Me...

Thursday, August 11, 2011

(Let me say right upfront... I don't know if I can finish this today... This may be part one... I also want you to know I am really kinda boring... I did this post for a bloggy friend who has suggested it... twice... I'm really starting to wonder if she really is my friend...)

1. I was born in Germany... (My dad was in the Army)

2. My parents separated within a year of my birth and were divorced before I was two...

3. I grew up in with my mother (brother and eventually step-father) in my father's hometown in Maine... (When I was 8 we moved one town over... Believe it or not but this was a turning point.)

4. I loved growing up here, but couldn't wait to leave.

5. I moved to Tennessee to live with my dad and step-mom to go to college.

6. I immediately started dating Army guys... (They are just so hot in uniform.)

7. I met Paul one week before he proposed...

8. I said yes... (I was 17 & he was 23)

9. He went to the first gulf war three weeks later and was there for six months...

10. I got saved while he was gone...

11. We eloped the day after he returned...

12. We just celebrated our 20th anniversary this spring...

13. We have lived in New Jersey, California, Montana, Tennessee, Vermont and Maine... (Not in that order)

14. Paul got saved the day after Cate turned two... Two day before that he asked for a divorce... He didn't want one after he got saved...

15. We came close to divorce two other times in those early years... At the time I blamed him, but can see now I was really the one to blame... Both times...

16. Both our Girlies we "surprises"...

17. Paul was an only child so he was happy with two kids... I wanted more... Two miscarriages later I learned to be content with the two I have...

18. I never wanted to be a stay at home mom... Then I had the girlies...

19. I never wanted to home school either... But I LOVED that season and am so glad I did!

20. We have had 12 cats and 7 dogs in those 20 years... 7 have been hit by cars (which is why we only have inside cats now... although two of these were dogs), 1 (cat) ran away, 1 (dog) stolen, 1 got feline leukemia (even though he was immunised) 2 got cancer, 4 we found other homes for, and 2 had to be put to sleep...

21. I watch too much TV...

22. I am a bit of a sci-fi geek... I love Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Firefly, Eureka, Haven, ect...

23. I don't like or even get the fascination with Woody Allen movies, Indiana Jones movies, James Bond movies or The Godfather movies... I know some of you will find this blasphemy... Sorry...

24. My all time favorite meal is a loaded baked potato..

25. I love doughnuts but have to stay away from them because I loose all self-control in their presence...

26. My favorite movies are So I Married An Axe Murderer and While You Were Sleeping

27. My favorite color is red...

28. I wear hot pink crocs around the house and occasionally forget to change my shoes when I leave...

29. I never leave home without sunglasses and they are usually on my head...

30. I don't usually take time to put on make-up...

31. I quit drinking soda (except ginger ale for an upset stomach)  in January and don't miss it...

32. I love coffee and drink mine with flavored creamer...

33. I could barely cook when we got married and Paul deserves a metal for eating most of what I cooked...

34. It still surprises me when people say I'm a good cook now...

35. I haven't had a dishwasher for over 15 of the 20 years of my marriage and we don't have one now... I hate hand washing dishes... It is my least favorite chore... The irony of these two facts is not lost on me...

36. I almost died from pulmonary fibrosis when I was 24...

37. I was on the heart/lung transplant list for almost 2 years...

38. I was miraculously healed and got bumped off the list because I was too healthy...

39. Although I live with the long-term side effects of this disease I am basically healthy today... (There is no medical explanation for this.)

40. My favorite seasons are fall and winter...

42. My favorite holiday is hand down Christmas!!

43. I decorate the WHOLE house... and have at least four trees...

44. I love sweaters and wool socks...

45. I love to read and especially novels... I am not a book snob and will read just about anything except romance novels...

46. Self help books put me to sleep... I've never finished one...

47. I love to scrapbook and have been doing it for 16 years but haven't had a chance to since we moved to Maine a year ago...

48. After the girlies leave the nest I think I'd like to become a party planner... But I could be wrong...

49. I am allergic to bees...

50. I seem to fall down a lot... I have all my life... I rarely seriously hurt myself...

(to be continued...)


Thanks for listening,

"Nope, Still Sloshing Around Up There..."

Wednesday, August 10, 2011






















Thanks for listening,


PS... The title is a quote from Gilmore Girls... When Lorelai's mom asks her if she's lost her mind, that was her response.