Girls Behaving Pinkly

I hosted a huge Mary Kay Pinkly party last week, and it was a great success!  We were having so much fun, I failed to take pictures of the group in attendance.  But I did get one of my awesome director, Tracey, and myself.

And I got one of the pink table.  Check out the Pink Feather tree in the background!  I was a gift from a former Mary Kay consultant, and it is hilarious... appropriate for this party!  We had pink lemonade, pink cupcakes with pink frosting, and pink cookies.  And all the guests came dressed in as much pink as they could wear!

Nothing like a Party to Motivate you!

I have a big Pinkly Party coming up this Friday evening, and it really motivated me to make a couple changes.  I have wanted to do some redecorating in our front room for a while now, but it hasn't exactly been on top of our priority list.  But with the party coming up, I had to do at least a little something.  A new and better lamp was definitely in order, as our lighting in that room stinks.  (Someday that will change with some recessed lights...)  So I went out lamp shopping.  I forgot how fun it is to shop for home decor.  After searching a few stores, I found a great lamp for a great price at Home Goods... got to love that store!  Of course after purchasing the lamp, I decided I really needed new curtains.  New curtain panels and even the fabric to make those panels is super expensive, and I soon realized it wasn't going to happen.  As I was on my way home with my new lamp, I had a brilliant inspiration.  I decided to take my existing curtains, cut them in half, make tabs, and hang them that way...  Long story short...  it was exactly perfect.  Why get new curtains when you can just repurpose the old ones!  The only picture I could find of the old curtains was a picture taken of the Flowers family at thanksgiving time.
OLD Curtains:

New Curtains:

What do you think?

911 Call
We live in a decent and safe neighborhood, but we have one neighbor that has been a huge pain. The mom and her son are continually fighting and screaming.  He has been in rehab many times, and just when we think he is gone forever, he ends up coming back.  Why she ever lets him back in her house is beside me.  He came back a couple of weeks ago, and it has been fairly quiet over there.  He did call the cops on himself (something he does occasionally), but that was not a big deal.  Then Monday I heard screaming (blood curdling screaming) coming from their backyard.  She was yelling at him to get away from her.  I immediately called 911.  A few minutes later the cops were crossing my front lawn, making their way to our neighbors front door with their guns drawn.  I heard some yelling, and a few minutes after that they were escorting him out in handcuffs.  Come to find out (from the local paper), he was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon (his hands).  He had tried strangling her, and continued to strangle her when the cops showed up and had to tazor him to get him subdued.  If the cops hadn't been called, he could have seriously hurt or killed her.  The call may have saved her life! 
I share this story not to freak you out, but to remind us all that no matter what, it is better to be safe than sorry.  You might live in a nice neighborhood where you think nothing crazy could happen.  Unfortunately we live in a very messed up and crazy world where anything is possible, anywhere.  Never hesitate to call 911 when you think someone might be in danger.  Better to be safe than sorry. 
Scott and I are also VERY motivated to get our home alarm working again.  We are also considering having a neighborhood meeting.  And I think I will take a self defense class with another neighbor two doors down.  I hope this kid stays locked up for a good long time, and I pray that his mom won't let him back in the house if he ever gets out.  She probably will becuase victims tend to stay victims..  something I do not totally understand, and get really frustrated about.  These people are messed up.  They need Jesus, plain and simple.  I will admit though, when the danger hits so close to home I find myself wishing they would just go away or get locked up permanently, and I don't really care too much about them or their future.  But I know in my heart that they need Jesus, and I pray that they will discover the saving power of Jesus Christ.

How did SHE get here?
I grew up in the country and I am very well acquainted  with the rural environment.  Both our parents currently live in the country, and we are used to seeing all sorts of wild animals in close proximity to the house.
The neighborhood we live in is quite opposite of the country.  The houses are very close together, and we are far from anything that is even close to "country" living.  So when I came home today, I was quite surprised by what I found in our backyard.

 It was not only out of place, but it was incredibly funny.  This lost Turkey had obviously made a wrong turn somewhere, and lost her flock.  I actually wasn't aware that turkeys could fly high enough to hop our high fence, so I was seriously shocked to see her pecking around the back yard.  Kona hadn't spotted her yet, and I didn't have the heart to scare the poor bird, so I chose not to alert him to the visitor.  I had to capture her on film, which scared her.  She ran to the side of the house, hopped up on the wood shed, and flapped over to the roof. She pecked around the roof a bit, looking a bit lost and not sure how she would get down.  She finally flapped over to the neighbors roof.  I had called our neighbors two doors down to let them know the bird was coming their way...  Turkeys are hilarious... they peck around almost barking little short barks like a dog....  I hope she found her way back home.

Flat Stanley has had a very busy week!
He helped Scott help our friends with house remodeling.  He got to practice holding a hammer, working the saw, doing some electrical work, and fixing the dry wall.  He is very talented!

I learned that Flat Stanley is an amazing cook, and he did a wonderful job helping me make dinner one night.

He also got to visit the Jelly Belly factory with Scott, and our cousins Drew and Justine.  He LOVED the factory tour, and was thrilled to try all the yummy jelly bellys!  He plans to take some jelly belly's home, and provided I don't eat them all, he will do just that!

And yesterday, Flat Stanley joined us on our hike and adventure at Mt Diablo State park.  He loved climbing on the rocks, exploring the little caves, and hiking the trails.  We were pleased to see that he was not afraid of heights.

Flat Stanley will be heading home soon, and I know we will be very sad to see him go.  It has been so much fun to have him here!

Flat Stanley Visits San Fransisco!
Today Flat Stanley had the special privilege of visiting San Fransisco.  Our cousins Justine and Drew are visiting from Michigan, and they were very happy to take Flat Stanley with them on their adventures in San Fransisco.  They road a boat to visit Alcatraz and saw the Golden Gate bridge. Flat Stanley had a great time in the big city. 

Flat Stanley's First day in California
Flat Stanley had a busy first day in California.
He started his day out by making coffee. If you know anything about the Persicke's we like our coffee, and we are very particular about how it is made.  We were happy to learn that Flat Stanley shares our taste in good coffee.

Flat Stanley was kind enough to go to Jen's Dr. Appointment.  He was a great companion, and he enjoys traveling in the car.

 In the waiting room...he was reading about sports cars.  (We didn't have the heart to tell him he can't drive)

Unfortunately he had a bad experience riding the elevator...

He was a little restless waiting for the Dr. to arrive...

After visiting the Dr. we stopped at the Fabric store.  Flat Stanley really wanted to take a picture next to the sewing machines. But there was a mean lady at the store who very rudely informed him that he was not allowed to take pictures of her sewing machines.  She didn't realize he had already captured the shot.

We talk Flat Stanley how to play Euchre, which is a Persicke family tradition.  He was a pretty good Euchre partner, but he still has a few things to learn.

Flat Stanley enjoyed going to work with Scott.

All in all it was a great first day in California for Flat Stanley.

Meet our house guest...
Today a guest arrived at our house. He came in the mail with a note from our nephew who has asked us to care for him for a while.  His name is Flat Stanley, and he will be joining us on the adventures of our lives.  I introduced him to Kona, and he has yet to meet Jake.  We are thrilled that he is able to stay with us, and we look forward to showing him the sights.  He doesn't talk a lot, and he doesn't eat much either.  Kona is not quite sure what to think of Flat Stanley, and hasn't decided if he should play with him or chew on him.  He has never had a friend quite like Flat Stanley.  Given time, I am sure they will get along very well.

 

 

Valentine's Gifts
This year I asked Scott to make a couple gifts for me.  I got the idea for both this things from a friend, and I love them. The jewelry frame is wonderful as I can now see all my jewelry. The manzanita branches were going to also hold some of my jewelry. But, as it turns out, I don't really have enough jewelry to fill it up, so we decided to mount it on the wall for decoration.  I love Scott's creativity in bringing the ideas to fruition.  He couldn't have given a better (and economical) gift!  Love you babe!
His gift is still yet to come in the mail.... and I better go write his card before it gets too late...

New Lights in the Kitchen!!
I just realized that I have been remiss in sharing pictures of the final outcome of the new lights in the kitchen.  They have been done for about a week now, and they are beautiful.  If you remember, the holes for the lights were cut a bit too large, and there was a gap between the can and the ceiling.  Scott finally found a bit of time to repair the gap, re-texture the ceiling, and paint.  (Many steps that we needed to wait at least a day between each one, thus the reason the project took so long.)  I just want to praise my husband here... He did SUCH an amazing job of filling in the gap, Spackle, re-texturing and painting.  You would never know there was anything wrong with the lights to begin with, and it looks like they have always been there.  I am especially enjoying that they can be dimmed!!  Great job Scott!

 

And the Winner is....

Sheila F!!  Thank you all (all three of you) for commenting on my last post.  For those who didn't comment... you are missing out!  Sheila will be able to pick out a lipgloss or lipstick!  Congratulations Sheila!

Here I go...
Have you ever done something in your life that you always said you would never ever do?  The thought may have crossed your mind to do something that you thought was out of the question, and so you chased the thought away only to have it come back at a later date making you reconsider.  Then you reconsider and give the idea some more thought, and end up actually doing what you never thought you would do.
Well, that is what happened to me.
A good friend of mine came by the house to drop off some mineral foundation for me.  She happens to be a Mary Kay Beauty consultant (hence the reason she was dropping off the foundation), and she presented me with the opportunity to become a Mary Kay Beauty consultant.  Now you have to understand that my background with Mary Kay has been an interesting one.  My mom bought it when I was younger, and all I can remember is that they had really bad eye shadow colors and bright pink lipsticks.  When I started wearing Make-up someone introduced me to MAC make-up.  I loved it, and despite the high price (you pay a price for beauty right?) I was very loyal to MAC.... that is until recently when I purchased a couple eye colors from Mary Kay (primarily because they were so much less expensive then MAC), and I found that I really loved them.  I also decided to try the mineral foundation (also much less expensive than MAC), and I loved it.  But still in my heart I had a bit of a negative impression about Mary Kay.
So when my friend presented me with the opportunity I immediately said "No!"  Then she asked if the thought had ever crossed my mind, and I said "well, yes, I guess it has".  She told me more about the company and I learned not only about the potential for great income (something we could really use), I was also attracted to the fact that the company strongly believes in God first, Family second, and Career third. I also liked the idea of educating people on how to use skin care, and how to properly apply make-up (something I never learned growing up).  So I thought about it for a few days, and I found I couldn't stop thinking about it.  The biggest thing holding me back was fear of what my friends might think, and if I could actually find enough customers. I felt like the Lord was prompting me to take the plunge and trust Him!  So with Scott's full support (and excitement) I did it.
So here I go...

Now some of you might be thinking... great she is going to ask me to buy something... well yes, I just might.  But that is not what this blog is for.  So I am only going to promote this one time, and then I will not be promoting again...   I really want to be able to share with you how wonderful the product is.  It truly is!  Plus is comes at such a better price then most other skin care and make-up products out there.  So if you might be interested or know someone who is interested, I would love to talk. You can also see all the great products on my website: www.marykay.com/jpersicke. 
So here is the promotion: if you leave a comment on this post, I will enter you into a drawing to win a free product.  (No matter where you live!)  
Also, if you want to provide me with names of three people that might be interested in Mary Kay, I will give a free product.  
Thank you readers for reading and supporting!

Sweet Boys
We had the privilege of watching our friends sweet twin boys, J & E this past weekend.  They are three now, and they are seriously the sweetest loves.  They have been playing so well together, and talking in more complete sentences.  It filled my heart to hear their little voices in the morning say "I awake Auntie Jen!  I awake Auntie Jen!!"  I didn't take a bunch of pictures because I was too busy enjoying them, and the camera battery died.   But we had the best time with them, and can't wait to have them over again.
All FOUR boys playing on the floor... well Kona is napping really.

Cozy Bed.. who wouldn't want to sleep there?

Lights in the Kitchen

Scott was able to finally get our kitchen lights installed.  He and my brother Adam (the journeyman Electrician) installed them, and they are absolutely lovely!  I love the light that now fills my kitchen, and I am thrilled that they can be dimmed.  The boys had to struggle a bit in the very tight confines of the attic to install the cans for the lights, but their perseverance paid off, and the job was completed. 
Scott hanging the string for the light placement:

Cutting the hole in the ceiling for the cans:

 

Adam supervising:

 

I would show you a picture of the lights, but I am waiting until the ceiling is patched and painted.  There was one tiny ity bitty little problem with the installation, and that was that they cut the holes in the ceiling too big.  Apparently the template for the holes was not actually a template. (lesson learned)  Scott is in the middle of the repair job right now, and the holes will be patched and fixed very soon.  So I will post a picture then.

A couple pictures of my boys...

 

"This isn't one where all the needles fall off, is it?"
We took our Christmas tree down on New Years day.  Can you say "Fire Hazard"?  This was a major fire hazard.  I do not think I have ever seen a tree so dry!  If you remember, we cut our tree down the day after Thanksgiving at my parent's house.  It was a great tree, but the trunk had been damanged, so I think that caused it to dry out a lot faster than normal.  I think it stopped drinking water somewhere in the middle of December.  It got to the point where we would just look at the tree, and needles would fall off.
As we took the ornaments and lights off the tree we lost so many needles on the ground, they created a pile in a circle around the tree.  I honestly think that there were more needles on the floor than there were on the tree.
Can you tell me where the quote that is my title for this post is from?

 

2009
This year has flown by... I know people always say that, but seriously, this year really has!  It seems like it was just New Years, and here we are again facing another New Year.  2010... seriously?  
Well this has been one challenging year for the Persicke family.  We have gone through a lot of trial with job layoff, financial burden, and just general waiting on the Lord for answered prayers. 
As the year comes to a close I am really struck with how amazingly God has provided for our needs in so many ways.  God has provided for all our needs every month.  Many months I would look at our pay checks, and look at our bills and wonder how we would make it... and yet God provided!  And He continues to provide, and He continues to give us hope and encouragement.
This last week has been simply amazing for us in the ways that God has blessed us and provided.  I can literally share blessing after blessing over the past seven or more days of how we have been cared for and provided for in absolutely awesome ways.  Without going into too much detail we have experienced gifts of money, food, and services.  After the third straight day of receiving simply amazing blessings Scott and I both thought we couldn't ask for more (because as we all know, things happen in threes...).  But we were wrong when the fourth amazing blessing came.. and then another and another...  And so we learned that we can never limit God or the blessings He gives us.  I cannot fully express how thankful we are for these blessings, and how encouraged we are because of them.
There are still many prayers that we are waiting for God to answer, but we are encouraged and hopeful that (as Scott's mom said in the Christmas card she sent us), this will be our year!    I look back on 2009 as a hard year, but a year that has challenged us and grown us in ways that only trials can.  We are thankful for the trials of 2009, and we know that we will always look back on this year and remember how our faithful God showed His love for us by providing for our each and every need.  What better way to experience God's love and faithfullness!
  "Oh how Great is Your Goodness, which you have laid up for  those who fear you, which you have prepared for those who trust in You." Psalm 31:19

Christmas 2009

I am almost sad to write this post as it means Christmas is over.  The month of December always goes too fast for me.  It is really the only time I seasonally decorate the house, and I love the lights, the tree, the red, the stocking hanging on the mantle, and I am so sad to see it all go so soon.  I haven't taken our decorations down yet, and I probably will not do so for a few more days, though the tree probably needs to come down soon since needles fall off every time I just look at it.  

We had a wonderful Christmas at my parents house in the mountains.  It is always so restful and quiet there.  It was a simple Christmas this year, and we loved every moment of it.  We were thrilled to finally see and talk with Scott's family via Skype at his sister's house.  We did a trial run on Christmas Eve to make sure it would work for Christmas morning.  Scott's mom especially was so happy to see us and be able to talk with us.  She even said that she wanted to go out at that moment (Christmas Eve) and buy a laptop so she could Skype with us from her own home.  What she didn't know what that we (Scott's sister and us) were giving her a laptop for Christmas the very next day.  We woke up at 4:45AM on Christmas morning to Skype with our Eastern Time Zone family in Michigan.  We were able to see the entire family open their gifts from us, including the new computer which made Scott's mom cry with surprise and joy!  It was really a wonderful blessing to spend that time with them since they are so far away.  

While visiting my parents for four nights we made sure to set aside plenty of time for recreational activities like shooting the potato gun off the deck, which is a favorite pastime on my side of the family.  Scott enjoyed time playing my Dad's Taylor guitar upstairs while I worked on finishing a crocheted blanket.    We attempted to "run off" all the rich and fattening foods by seeing how many times we could run up and down the steep hill on my parents property.    Kona too loved the vacation at Grandma and Grandpa's and he enjoyed playing with their dogs and running around the property. He is always so happy there.

And now Christmas is over, the Christmas tunes on the radio are finished, the lights are being taken down, and life goes back to normal.  But, something tells me it won't feel like very long before we get to celebrate the Christmas season again.

Taking off in the Kabota to deliver Christmas Cinnamon Rolls to the neighbors.

Kona was happy about his Christmas gifts.

Wondering if he will be getting anything more...

The Happy Guitarist