"My Own Little World"

Have you heard the Matthew West song "My Own Little World"? There is a lyric from the song that goes:

Stopped at a red light, looked out my window
I saw a cardboard sign, said “Help this homeless widow”
And just above that sign was the face of a human
I thought to myself, “God, what have I been doing?”
So I rolled down the window and I looked her in the eye
Oh how many times have I just passed her by?
So I gave her some money then I drove on through
And my own little world reached
Population two

I'm curious how you handle those situations? I normally drive by and offer a smile, but nothing else. It's hard to trust people in today's society, especially once you hear all of the stories about how much money people make panhandling. There are quite a few people in Springfield who sit on the sidewalk holding their signs.

Today when I pulled into Winco there was a woman sitting with her dog, holding a sign similar to the picture above. When I pulled into the parking lot I couldn't get her out of my mind and for a brief second I thought of giving her my Starbucks gift card with what was left on it (it was a gift for my birthday) but then I didn't know if she would really appreciate it or not. Once, Greg offered to buy a homeless man a sandwich from Subway and the guy freaked out on him and was rude, so I wanted to be careful not to offend.

Well of course, once I get into Winco I completely forget about the lady. I hadn't eaten lunch yet and wanted to pick up a fresh bagel to eat on my way home. I decided to get two because they are really good and I figured I would have it for breakfast in the morning. When I drove out of the parking lot I saw the woman again and would be driving right past her. I quickly removed a bagel for myself and handed her the bag with the other one. She was so nice and said, "Oh sweetie, thank you! God bless."

I'm not trying to brag about my good deed but more question what is the "right" thing to do in those situations? I can't necessarily give food or money to every person I see waiting on the side of the road, but do I just drive by without a care in the world? I also start to think about the future, when I (God willing) have my children in the car with me and they wonder why I don't stop to help any of those people? I've heard some people keep a container of granola bars and bottled water in their car for those instances and let their kids hand them out if they happen to pass by someone in need. I'm curious as to other people's thoughts/opinions on the matter?

Boys and Their Toys

Greg and his family are very passionate about their bikes/quads. Before I met Greg I had never been on a four wheeler or riding on a sand dune, and camping to me was staying at the beach or the lake for a weekend, making s'mores by the fire and singing songs with the fam. I have come to realize that "Teune Camping" is a little different, but I am enjoying it just the same :)

We left Friday afternoon for Winchester Bay and stayed through Monday morning. We lucked out with great weather (sunshine, some cloud cover, and NO RAIN!) I did a terrible job at taking pictures. It's difficult to find the time to photograph while riding a quad, trying to keep up with a big group, all while not feeling 100% confident of my own abilities on the dunes. I was able to take a few pictures and hope to do a better job next time. One other thing about the Teune's, not huge fans of posing for pictures, which also makes it difficult.

Met Uncle Roger and Aunt Nancy at Three Rivers. Went in for a bathroom break and leg stretch, Greg talked me into letting him put $1 in a penny machine AND...

we left with $4 more than we went in with. BIG MONEY :)

Had to try and get a pic of my handsome guy getting ready to ride

Some of the toys

Greg, Kevin, (where I should be), Uncle Roger, Alaina, and Brandon (Kyle and Kenny hadn't showed up yet)

Had to get in a pic myself and also show the gorgeous view of the ocean!

Greg drove home through Reedsport so I could seek the elk :)

It was a fun weekend with family and a time to relax. A little sore from all the riding, but it was worth it. Hope you're all having a great week!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

I didn't think I would be able to do many fall activities this year since I wasn't teaching, but I had the opportunity to accompany my Aunt Linda and her Kindergarteners to the pumpkin patch today. It was so much fun! Wish I could show you ALL the cute kinder photos, but I don't feel right posting a bunch of pictures to the internet of children I don't know. So here are some pics I can share :)

The owner of the farm took us on a hay ride :)

My efforts to get a picture with a pumpkin

A little boy offered to take a pic of me. Being a kinder, he chopped the top of my head off in the picture, but I think I like it that way :)

With my Aunt Linda

They had some sunflowers still in bloom

I did not edit this picture at all, thought it turned out really cool!

I got a little flower photo happy

Really feeling the "fall vibe" now after visiting the pumpkin patch. I think I need to go get a Starbucks and my day will be complete!

ANTS!

About a month after Greg and I moved into our new apartment we noticed a few ants in the bathroom. I didn't think much of it, I just squished them and moved on. Then we began noticing a couple in the kitchen. Soon, we both realized killing ants was becoming a daily, if not hourly occurrence. I talked to our manager about it and she gave me two traps (one for bathroom and one for kitchen). Well, soon the ants took over the kitchen so I moved both traps in there. This morning I walk into the bathroom at 5:30am with foggy eyes and saw 54 ants on our bathroom counter (yes I counted because I killed every one!!!)

When I left for work this morning the bathroom and kitchen were ant free. I came home about twenty minutes ago and went straight to the kitchen for a snack when I saw this (insert scary shocking music here):

on top of the kitchen counter

underneath the kitchen sink

And the ridiculous part is that they aren't dead! If they were just chillin, motionless in the traps, that is one thing. They are scrambling inside and out, all over the place! I get that the goal of the trap is for them to eat the poison and take it back to their nest, but I don't think that is working. This has been going on for over two months.

Now, some of you may know that I am a bit of an obsessive cleaner/organizer freak. This is absolutely driving me crazy! We are clean people! We don't leave food out, I wiped down the counter tops, I have put out traps, and the little buggers keep coming back. Anyone had this problem before? And are there any suggestions of what we can do to get rid of these blasted ants?!

My Week in Colton

I spent the past week in Colton while substitute teaching for my mom as a Title 1 Reading and Math teacher. My parents were visiting my sister and her husband in Virginia for the week so it was a great opportunity for me to work, spend time with my brother and my niece, and see some familiar faces back in my home town.

For those of you who don't know the Colton area (or Molalla, which is technically where I grew up) we are out in the country. My parents' long gravel driveway is lined with tall, gorgeous trees, and a gigantic field sits behind the backyard. I had forgotten just how breathtaking the early morning scenery could be while looking out the kitchen window until I was reminded...

Along with looking at beautiful sunrises, I got to look at this adorable little girl all week :)

Macie did a lot of sleeping while I was there, but she's getting much more active. She moves her arms and legs more and is starting to track you when you move. Amazing how fast they grow! Tyler and Katrina are doing a wonderful job working together to take care of their precious little girl. So glad they let me hang out for the week with them.

Pillow Talk

Since Greg and I moved into a much smaller place out in Springfield I have struggled with decorating our new apartment for several reasons. The main reason being that I hope us living here is temporary, another being that our living room is so small we can't even fit all of our furniture in it. We have been very blessed with "hand me down" furniture to use in our home. We don't have the finances to buy a new couch so I thought that I would spice up our old one with new pillows. Greg was all for it and he even helped me pick them out. At first I thought I wanted bright and vibrant colors, but it was hard to figure out what would go with our old brown couch. Finally Greg found a combination that I thought I was happy with.

I left the tags on the pillows for about two weeks because I wasn't sure if I wanted to commit. For lack of finding anything else I decided to keep them. They match right? And I could go black, white, or brown in our living space and it would still go with the couch theme. Well, it didn't take long until I decided I absolutely needed color in my life (or on my couch).

I was at Kohls today and found three pillows on the Clearance rack... I got them ALL for a total of $19.79!

Sorry the lighting is bad in those pics, I'm too lazy to retake the pictures and upload them again. I definitely like the color better with the couch, but I feel bad for not using the other pillows we bought. Especially since my incredible husband helped pick them out and they are nice pillows. So I came up with another idea...

I really want to know what you (any of my followers) think because I am so not an interior design person and I need guidance when it comes to this sort of thing. HELP! What do you think? Stay with the original floral pillows, go with the new color/textures, or mix them together? I will not be offended by your opinions and ideas so please share :)

Macie Rae Post #2 with viewable pictures I hope!

I got the call on Tuesday evening that Tyler and Katrina would be going to the hospital. She had been experiencing contractions most of the day and when she went to her appointment that afternoon, the doctor ordered them to go home to eat some dinner, get their bags, and be back at the birthing center by 8pm. Katrina let us know that she didn't feel like Macie would be here til the next morning so Mom, Dad, and I tried to sleep from 11pm-4:30am. We arrived at the hospital around 5:30am and Mom and I went in to the room to watch and coach her through the birth around 7:30am.

Katrina's water broke on its own around 2am and shortly after she asked for the epidural. I had planned on having a natural birth with my first born child, but after seeing Katrina's delivery, I am having second thoughts. She was a rockstar and made it look like a breeze!
It was such a fun atmosphere, the midwife was wonderful and easygoing. We were all laughing and talking during it. It was an incredible experience. I should mention of course that my brother Ty did a great job as well. He was by her side the entire time. At one point Katrina looked up at him and asked, "Why are you being so quiet?" He let out a nervous laugh. I guess that's expected for a young man in that situation. It melted my heart to see them with their little girl for the first time. I think Ty was fighting back tears more than Katrina was.

Macie Rae was born on September 7th. She weighed 7lbs 8oz and was 19 inches long. A very healthy baby!

The cord was slightly wrapped around her neck when she came out, her face was blue and she wasn't moving or crying which made my mom and I anxious (don't think Ty or Katrina could see well enough to notice). It felt like a lifetime as the midwife coaxed her to cry, but I think within 10 seconds she came to and took her first break and let out that precious newborn cry.

We think she must have been posed with crossed legs in the womb because she keeps this position constantly.

My parents are THRILLED to say the least. Everyone continues to tease my dad for "hogging" Macie. He isn't shy about coming in and saying "Okay, give me my granddaughter!" On that same note, my mom and I were so grateful to Katrina and her willingness and comfort not only to let us in on the birth but also with allowing visitors in the room and people to hold Macie. They had SOOO many visitors (very encouraging to them) and each time Katrina would ask "Do you want to hold her?" She would also comment often "I know I'll have my time with her, whoever wants to hold her feel free.

It was bittersweet without my sister Brittney there. Her husband Kyle serves in the Marine Corps and they live in Virginia. We were texting and calling her all morning to keep her updated, but for her I'm sure it wasn't the same. After the birth, Mom and I went to the waiting room for a while to give Ty, Kat, and Macie some privacy. I talked to Britt on the phone and she started crying. Her husband is currently in the field for "the war" (a training exercise before his graduation from Officer Training) so she won't see him or talk to him for 8 days. Then add on the fact that her niece was just born and she was missing out. I started crying as I tried to comfort her and enocourage her, and my mom started crying, and other people in the waiting room started crying! After that phone call my mom decided she and my dad would fly her out to see her niece. Britt comes in to PDX today and I can't wait to see her :)

Yeah... I think I'm ready to take care of one of these. Macie needs a cousin to grow up with :)

I knew I had to come back home to Springfield, but it was so hard to leave. Ty and Katrina needed a few things from the house so I went back to the hospital on Thursday to bring her little hat and mittens. I was the only visitor at that point so it was nice to hang out. I was probably there for a couple of hours and got to hold her for quite some time. They are so peaceful at this stage. A friend came in with her two month old and we couldn't believe that Macie could be smiling and interacting so much by November! They grow up fast, that's for sure.