House is Looking Good!

 July 1

They're getting ready to run concrete - hopefully in the morning. Would be nice to have it done before the holiday weekend begins!

Growing Up

I've recently spent some time looking back through pictures. Pictures from when my now adult kids were but babes - instead of their current mature good looks at ages 23, 20, and 18; I'm picturing them at ages 10, 7, and 5 - an my heart aches to hug those kiddos.

I miss them so much, my babies. My eyes well up with tears at the memories of their tan legs and sun-bleached hair, the smell of chlorine on their skin.

I long to hold them in my lap and snuggle their necks.

I want to hear them bicker and giggle and beg me to tuck them in with kisses and stories and prayers.

I miss my babies.

Seriously. Where does the time go? I blinked and fast forward 13 years. Holy cow what a beautiful life we've created - those cute little ones have morphed into gorgeous adult children. And still, I miss them.

The oldest two will likely never live at home full-time again and I can't wrap my mind around that fact, let alone my heart. They don't need me to the extent that they used to and that is a hard pill to swallow. I am thrilled that they are finding their own paths in this big, scary world - that realization makes me proud - but it also saddens me. Will they ever truly "need" me again? I am terrified of losing that contact - that closeness. I feel it already as my oldest spends more and more time traveling East and less time traveling West. I love that he has found love. I do. I simply adore the girl he loves. But my heart aches as the inevitable splitting of time between two families becomes more and more evident. Where will we end up fitting in? What does all of this mean for TeamMeans?

I want them to know that we've done the best we knew how - their dad and I. We've had some amazing examples in the lives of our own parents and grandparents. I have very few regrets but long for many "re-dos" - if for no other reason but to memorize each and every second and burn them into my consciousness. I would LOVE to relive and video tape it all. Every last second. The good and the not so good. Just ALL.

Did we love them completely enough to ward of the loneliness of time spent alone as young adults? Will they grow to cherish times spent alone, or will they feel compelled to fill the time with busyness and activities? Did we show them kindness often enough to teach them to love other unconditionally? Did we offer examples of caring for others often enough to encourage them to live their lives in service to others? I know they are strong. I know they are kind. THEY know they are loved. It's all good.

We're about to embark on the senior year of child #3 and I'm scared. Quite frankly scared shitless. There. I said it.

I had no problem turning 30; him turning 6 and going to school; turning 40 - NONE of that has bothered me - those milestones are blessings. BUT. I quite frankly am dreading this year of lasts. Last "first day." Last football season. Last Homecoming. Last basketball game. Last track season. Last Prom. Last "last day." Because these things are not just HIS last, but mine as a mom as well. HE is my last. HE is my baby. What will I do? What does my role become as "Mom?"

I guess I need to think of this year as not the "last" but as the "first" - the first year that I will just be "Dana" again. Jon and I will discover our new "normal" and it will be a good thing. Our kids are thriving. They survived us! We had NO idea what we were doing all these years and they've turned out pretty okay! WE survived THEM!

These tears I've cried (and continue to cry) have never been tears of sadness or regret but tears of joy at remembering. Yes, we made mistakes, but I'm fairly confident that all parents make mistakes. I am pretty sure our kids know that they are loved - not just by us, but more importantly by God. And that they are adored and cherished as members of TeamMeans. Things will never be the same but that can surely be a good thing. They have grown. WE have grown.

TeamMeans will evolve. TeamMeans will always 'be'. It's all good. We've got this. Most importantly - God's got this. He'll never let us down and he'll never let us go.

Building Our Home

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

They told us the beginning of June - we've been patient but two emails were sent today - one by me and one by Jon - to our realtor. This is where we stand right now.

Wednesday, June 10, 2015 

One day after our 25th Anniversary
WE HAVE A HOLE! The soil looks very clay-like 
















Friday, June 12 - very drizzly day

Poured footings and set re-rod for foundation.
Talked to our builder on-site about the ginormous electrical box that belongs to a neighbor...he said its placement will not change but assures us that "it's not as close as you think..." We'll see...
Also told us that once they pour the foundation that it will need to sit for a week before they can do anything with it.







Tuesday, June 16 

Painted black "tar?" on footings


















Wednesday, June 17 

Foundation forms in and concrete has been poured! Woot!



















Thursday, June 18
Fitness room has a window and tiling is underway.

Monday, June 22
PVC pipes lying diagonally in the corner of the "basement." By evening, they had been put in by what was most likely a plumber! Yay!

Living Out Loud and Back to School

As is happening more and more frequently, God's decided that my time with Him be captured at 3:30 am. I guess He figures He's got my undivided attention at this time - He's right. Many times the only way I can return to slumber is through my conversation with Him. This morning He put our kids on my heart. They're all headed back to school and that's a very good place to be. Take a poll of most parents today (okay - not at 3:30 am...) and they'll assure you that it's time - at least the parents, they're ready!

If you'd allow, I'd like to pray over our kids - yours and mine. Be you a believer or not, I think we can agree that our kids deserve all the help they can get in this sometimes cruel and forever broken world. I know of no other power greater than the power of prayer to the King of the Universe. I mean you think YOU love your kid? God's got such a bigger and greater love for them than any of us can even wrap our tiny brains around. So here goes:

Dear Father God, our kids are about to embark on another year of learning. Learning the things that this world deems necessary to be successful on earth. As our kids return to school - be it daycare, preschool, high school, or university; public or private; big or small - please surround them with your shield of protection. Protect their minds and souls from the increasing evil in this world. Surround them with friends, peers, and adults that would only point them toward to You and Your grace.

Father, for those that already know You and Your amazing love for them - reassure them. May they feel Your presence with them as they go through each day. Continue your relentless pursuit of them with the fervor necessary to remind them that You'll never let them down and You'll never let them go. Rekindle and fan the flame that gives them the courage to live out loud for You. When they falter, place ones in their path that will help them stay the course. As they struggle to find their way and place in this world, I pray that they would find their identities in You. Place in them the desire to be bold in living out their faith as they walk with You.

For those, Lord, who've yet to realize Your loving pursuit of their souls - those that are questioning and searching and looking for things to fill them - place in their lives members of Your army that are equipped by You with the exact tools necessary to plant seeds, water, nurture, or prune. Place on their journey people that will meet them where they are to love on them in Your name. Give those people words to say and prayers to pray that will guide those who search in Your direction.

Lord, for the parents, teachers, professors, and adults; truly any person that has an influential role in the lives of our kids (secretaries, bus drivers, lunch ladies, maintenance staff, counselors, coaches, and trainers); those that provide instruction and learning to our youth, myself included - may we continue live out Your will in our lives. Give us the strength and the courage to do our jobs in ways that bless You and those we teach. May we provide a kind and safe haven for our children to learn and grow and mature. May all that we say and do and live out in Your name give You glory always.

Finally Father, for those who are convinced that You are not real, continue to soften their hearts and open their minds that they might begin to discover You in this crazy messed up world so loved by You. I pray that many will choose to come to You this year and they will find in You the peace and joy and love that is limitless because it is of You.

Help us to be present for one another, Lord. Let us choose kindness each and every day in our dealing with each other.

Father, I am humbled that You, the Master of the Universe and King of kings, choose me to be one of Your servants. May my love for You be evident in all things that I do and say. Bless this year of learning and teaching, Lord and may we all be reminded that ONLY the things we learn from and about You and Your grace will truly matter as we spend eternity in Your presence.

Lord, I will continue to Look Upward and Outward for ways to serve You.

In the name of Jesus Christ I pray, Amen.

Lessons of Love

He is the first man I ever loved. He is the man against which all other males in my life have been measured. He is my dad.

I’ve learned many useful skills from my daddy – how to wire a plug-in and three-way switch; how to change the wax ring on my toilet and remove/replace the U-trap to retrieve a contact; how to change my oil, a tire and start a car without a key (should the need ever arise…); how to inspect and drive a bus; and how to fill the soap containers and restart the pumps at the car wash (admittedly haven’t had to use this one much since moving away from BP…) just to name a few. Many of these were learned with a rather lengthy description and usually a diagram drawn on a scrap of paper or a piece of cardboard. Because of this they are skills I won’t soon forget and they are skills that I use constantly. He is literally a “Jack of all trades.”

My dad has a story for everything. He has a memory for places and dates – especially when it comes to his hunting adventures. Drives in the countryside around the Mann Family Farm in Missouri are ripe for storytelling times and memory joggers. These are some of the times I love with him.

I loved the ride to high school each day with my dad. These are some of my most cherished memories – times I had him all to myself. I loved having my dad at school, too – pop privileges, my own personal bank, just simply knowing he was just down the hall.

I’ve learned many life lessons from this man as well – that it is best to look for both sides of the story because forgiveness and blame are simply different sides of the same coin; that love is best and most complete when given unconditionally; that discipline is most effectively done in love; that compassion trumps indifference; to not take myself too seriously; to not let the little setbacks of my day get me down because everything happens for a reason that may not ever be known to me. He’s taught me to not take life for granted and to live every day to the fullest because we never know when it’s our time.

Our family readily admits that our dad is living on borrowed time – and it’s time that he’s not wasting on petty things. He loves passionately. We each know how much we are loved as hugs and kisses and love affirmations have always been plentiful in our house. His life is an everyday adventure. He spends time doing the things he loves – golfing, hunting – animals AND mushrooms, reading, building, teasing Mother, telling stories, (insert napping here and there), singing, fixing, teaching. Always teaching. He gives of himself freely to his kids, his grandkids, his friends and even people he doesn’t yet know because no one is a stranger to him for long. He blesses us all greatly each and every day.

I look back on my childhood with my parents, sister and brother and I realize how lucky I am – we are. I can’t even wrap my mind around how much we were loved. Are loved. Very well loved. Very much blessed.

Happy Father’s Day and Happy Birthday to my wonderful dad. I love you so much. Thank you for loving us so well.


~ In honor of my dad for Father's Day this Sunday and his 78th birthday next Sunday.

The Love Legacy

When it comes to marriages that are lasting, I'd say my family is more than blessed. Jon and I will celebrate 24 years of marriage this June. My sister and brother-in-law will have been married 27 years the same month. Our parents will celebrate 53 years of wedded bliss this May. March 7, 2014, my mother and father-in-law celebrated 50 years of marriage. My paternal grandparents were married way more than 50 years and my maternal grandparents were wed for more than 70. We are blessed.

So, what do my ancestors know that the rest of the world doesn't? I'm not entirely sure... maybe just that a marriage vow is worth honoring. No matter what. I can't speak for any marriage, really, but the one I was raised in and the one that I'm committed to myself.

I truly think people give up entirely too easily. When the going gets tough - and IT WILL - the faint-of-heart bail. They don't see any other way. Maybe they have no other example. I'm here to tell you, You CAN make it work! But sometimes it takes a little (okay, a LOT of) work.

Before you get your undies in a wad...I realize there are circumstances where divorce has to be an option - I get that and I can totally get behind and support those that are going through a divorce. I also hope that I'm not coming across as judgmental of those who have taken that route. I just know that for us - Jon and I - it won't be an option. It takes BOTH people in the marriage to want to make it work and to be committed to making it work. If you're in a marriage where that's not the case? Then you deserve to find happiness. I'm pretty certain God wants that FOR you.

My parents don't seem to have to work very hard at their marriage - at least from my vantage point. They have always enjoyed each others' company and also spent a considerable amount of time nurturing not only their marriage relationship, but their individual friendships and the friendships they enjoy with other couples. I love watching them interact with one another and I've learned a lot from my observations. They hug. They kiss. They tease. None of this has ever been hidden from us kids. Love was lived out in our house and it was limitless. If there were any serious arguments, they weren't played out in front of us kids. They speak kindly and lovingly of each other at every opportunity - in the others' presence and behind their back. They are nurturing their legacy of love. This blesses me. This blesses us. This blesses our kids.

I married a most wonderful man - a man I feel was hand-picked for me. He has proven to me over and over again that our relationship means more to him than anything else in this world. He loves me more than I ever dared hope and freaking worlds beyond anything I could ever imagine or know that I deserve. We work at our marriage. We talk, we laugh, we squabble, and we disagree. Hell, we flat out fight sometimes! Then we apologize, hug, forgive, and try to learn from it and MOVE ON. We also agree that the vows we took 24 years ago are FOREVER vows - I like whoever said "Divorce is not an option. You mad? Take your 'tail' in the other room and calm down because we're going to work this sh!+ out!" Jon's passion for our family blesses me every day of our lives.

I hope and pray that Jon and I are adequate examples to our kids of a healthy, happy marriage. I know we've screwed up (and we're totally committed to any financial obligations for therapy...) and we apologize to one another and our kids on the rare (hopefully) occasions that those screw-ups occur. I want to live out and continue this legacy of love for the sake of my children and in honor of the successful marriages that have come before us and have influenced and blessed my family.

Lord, may the lives You've joined in this family continue to bless and honor You. I pray that You continue to bless the ones You've chosen for my children. May they feel Your presence and love as well as the love of family and friends. I am confident that You will bring them together according to Your will and in Your time. Until that time, help my children to be men and a lady with hearts for You. I know that as much as their dad and I love, cherish, and want what's best for them, Your desire and promise to provide "a hope and a future" for them is more than enough comfort for THIS girl right now. Amen.

Happy Anniversary, Larry and Elaine! Your relationship blesses me, my marriage, and the lives of your grandkids. I love you and I feel blessed beyond measure. 

Lent - Giving Up and Living Out

I read a really great blog entry the other day "20 Things to Give Up for Lent" (you can find it here) and it made me think, like the Lenten season usually does, about that Catholic tradition. I'm not Catholic but I have given things up for Lent like lots of others do. I suppose it's an attempt at sacrifice in recognition for all Christ sacrificed for us - but it's a rather lame attempt as there's certainly no real comparison.

Several years ago, I began to look at this tradition and how I could make it more meaningful for myself and a way to truly honor God, His amazing sacrifice, and the grace He shows me daily. I came up with the idea of "doing for" others during Lent - "giving up" some of my time, step out of my comfort zone, and make an impact "Jesus-style." Again, my attempt pales in comparison, but I do think it makes a difference to the ones I attempt to bless.

So, on this Ash Wednesday 2014, please join me in not only "Giving Up" like Pastor Phil suggests but I offer up my own list of...

"20 Things to Live Out for Lent" (and bonus! 20+20=40 <- the number of days in Lent!):

1 - joy - remember that there's a difference between being happy and being joyful - I will continue to find joy because of my identity in Christ

2 - patience - I'm not yet what Christ intends for me to be (Philippians 1:6) - I'm not perfect and neither are others, so I need to extend patience to them as well

3 - kindness - living out kindness in the world at every opportunity is what we ALL should be about every single day - what a different earthly experience we would have!

4 - goodness - being a good person is awesome, but we all could stand to step it up a bit here and DO good as well. Find something the world needs and seek to fill that need

5 - gentleness - I struggle with this because I sometimes equate being gentle with being a doormat or allowing others take advantage of me. I need to open up my heart to the possibility that being gentle speaks more to how I treat others than how they treat me

6 - compassion - beyond sympathy into the realm of wanting to alleviate someone's suffering. Just take a look to Mother Theresa as an example of this trait in tandem with gentleness

7 - sincerity - be open. Be genuine. Most of all, just be there for your peeps

8 - courage - Am I living out my relationship with Christ in courage? Sharing my faith is certainly personal, but I think God calls us NOT to keep it private. Have to courage to speak out and up in His name (I most certainly have to pray for this one - daily!)

9 - gratitude - I follow a blog that puts this one nicely "Here's to gratitude and how it turns everything into enough." Lord, let me have a grateful heart

10 - "you-ness" - we each have something entirely different to offer our little corners of the world - without you here, something would be missing. Lord, help me to live out my uniqueness in the world

11 - understanding - seek to understand others. I don't know what things - big and small - have brought others to their current reality

12 - positivity - sometimes hard on this earth, being positive. But there's a WHOLE lotta negative already being lived out - let's start a Positivity Posse! ;)

13 - contentment - I still think Sheryl Crow says it best here - "It's not having what I want but wanting what I've got"

14 - perseverance - doing the right thing all the time can be taxing - persevere, Brave Ones!

15 - encouragement - we all need encouragement on our walks - sometimes it is the fellowship times when I am offered encouragement that get me through those trying times

16 - grace - who am I not to offer grace? For it is through grace that I have been saved! Good golly, pass that on!!

17 - faithfulness - Isn't this how we'll be judged? What have I done with what I know of God? I don't think I'll be judged by how much I know but rather what I've done with what I understand to be true about the character and love of Jesus. (Gotta thank Pastor Tony Vis for this one!)

18 - peace - What gives me peace? The answer to Question 1 of the Heidelberg Catechism - What is my only comfort in life and death? That I am not my own, but belong body and soul, in life and in death to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for my sins by His precious blood and has set me free from the tyranny of the Evil One. He watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in Heaven, in fact all things must work together for my salvation. Therefore it is by His Holy Spirit that I am assured of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for Him. So, who wants to sign up for that kind of peace?! Live. It. Out.

That I am not my own, ¹

but belong with body and soul,

both in life and in death, ²

to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ. ³

He has fully paid for all my sins

with his precious blood, ⁴

and has set me free

from all the power of the devil. ⁵

He also preserves me in such a way ⁶

that without the will of my heavenly Father

not a hair can fall from my head; ⁷

indeed, all things must work together

for my salvation. ⁸

Therefore, by his Holy Spirit

he also assures me

of eternal life ⁹

and makes me heartily willing and ready

from now on to live for him.

- See more at: http://www.heidelberg-catechism.com/en/lords-days/1.html#sthash.ZdZqpezI.dpuf

That I am not my own, ¹

but belong with body and soul,

both in life and in death, ²

to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ. ³

He has fully paid for all my sins

with his precious blood, ⁴

and has set me free

from all the power of the devil. ⁵

He also preserves me in such a way ⁶

that without the will of my heavenly Father

not a hair can fall from my head; ⁷

indeed, all things must work together

for my salvation. ⁸

Therefore, by his Holy Spirit

he also assures me

of eternal life ⁹

and makes me heartily willing and ready

from now on to live for him.

- See more at: http://www.heidelberg-catechism.com/en/lords-days/1.html#sthash.ZdZqpezI.dpuf

That I am not my own, ¹

but belong with body and soul,

both in life and in death, ²

to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ. ³

He has fully paid for all my sins

with his precious blood, ⁴

and has set me free

from all the power of the devil. ⁵

He also preserves me in such a way ⁶

that without the will of my heavenly Father

not a hair can fall from my head; ⁷

indeed, all things must work together

for my salvation. ⁸

Therefore, by his Holy Spirit

he also assures me

of eternal life ⁹

and makes me heartily willing and ready

from now on to live for him.

- See more at: http://www.heidelberg-catechism.com/en/lords-days/1.html#sthash.ZdZqpezI.dpuf

19 - forgiveness - you don't have to forget that someone's hurt you, but forgiving them is SO stinking freeing for your heart and soul - it's a gift for yourself! Live it out.

20 - love - Let all we do, be done in love. I Corinthians 16:14. Most of all, let love guide your life. Colossians 3:14. Even The Beatles sang, "Love is all you need" - AND it's God's greatest command Matthew 22:36-40. Truly. Who am I to argue with The Beatles and God?

We can give things up to honor God and we can live things out to honor Him.

The time has come to pay attention Brave Ones - your world is about to be rocked again with the reminder this season of just what true love looks like. Hang on to your hats.