A Lesson in Swamp Coolers

Ok, do any of you dear people have a clue what I mean when I say "Swamp Cooler"? How about "Evaporative Cooling System"?


Never fear~ I shall inform you today.


Here in the desert (by the way, the way I remember the difference between "desert" and "dessert" is that dessert is so good it deserves 2 "s's".) That was free, by the way.


As I was saying, here in the desert there is little to NO humidity (duh). And so, someone loooong ago came up with this idea of cooling your house with cold, moist air. Growing up in Albuquerque it was something I never even thought about. In fact, all I can remember is the big vent in the hallway. I don't ever remember being hot, unless I was outside. Well, "back then" the air was almost NEVER humid here, so swamp coolers worked great. They're super cheap to run, and although they look ridiculous sitting on your roof, they really did keep your house cool.


Ok, fast forward to 2008...this is Jarrod's and my first Summer in a house with a swamp cooler. In our other house in Rio Rancho, it was fancy-schmancy, and had Central A/C. Yeah, we paid out the wazoo for it, but life was good. The first week or so that we used this swamp cooler I was like, "Cool. This works great! What's the big diff? And it costs a fraction of what central air costs. Yippee!"

Well, you see, as soon as the air outside gets above, oh say, 20% humidity (and I know all of you people in the Midwest and South are laughing hysterically right now), the swamp cooler will refuse to blow cold air into your home. Instead, you get this warmish, wet air that invades your living area, and you spend the remainder of the day #1-sweating like when we lived in Arkansas, or #2-sitting under a fan as still as can be to avoid breaking a sweat.


...Guess which option I've chosen for these July and August days?!?


Not to mention the fact that my hormones have taken a turn for the worse the past two months.

I've added a picture of this contraption on our roof. I won't even begin to explain how it works, although if you REALLY want to know, ask Jarrod. He sold them at Home Depot way back when. And don't forget to ask him what "pooky" is.

Caleb Recites the Preamble

This is my Caleb, 7, who had to learn the "Preamble to the Constitution" in his 1st grade class. I am impressed! I was in 8th grade when I had to recite this in front of my class.





His hair has the "low flow" look.

Thoughts from the Laundry Room

This morning I hear the hum of the dryer, and it's calling me to work. Mondays are my "Aftermath Day". When Jarrod leaves for work, and the kids leave for school (which, by the way, I am LOVING year-round school), I usually sit down here at the computer and get myself psyched for a day of cleaning.
Last night we went to our church's once a month Sunday night "Encounter" worship service. It was our first time to go, and the kids were like, "Why are we going to church at night??" "How long is it going to be? Is it going to be boring?"
I wanted to say, "Yes, it's going to be the most boring, dreadful thing we've ever made you do. Hope you're miserable." JK. Instead, I tried to assure them that it's for families, and just a time to worship God, etc. They couldn't wrap their sweet little heads around it, so I just told them to wait and see.
This generation has virtually no concept of life as WE knew it, growing up in the 70s and 80s:
Sunday morning,
Sunday night,
Wednesday night.
That was our world, for most of us who grew up in church. It baffles me to put myself in their shoes, and wonder why they are asking such questions? But, such is life.

Well, afterward we asked them if they had a good time; afterall, it's a pretty rockin' church.

2 out of 3 said, "Yes". Not a bad percentage. I won't name names on the 3rd.

However, Caleb brought such joy to my heart when he said, "I loved it! I almost started to cry one time." WOW!! God is speaking to my 7 yr. old!
Lately, all three have been asking so many questions about Jesus, Satan, Heaven and Hell. As a mom, I just pray for wisdom at the right time. They are little sponges, and I don't want them to soak up ANY lies from the evil one. I want them to be soaking up the TRUTH.

3 John 1:4 "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth."

My Brag Blog

I know, I know, I know...I'm supposed to be desperately cleaning my house, but I just had to post my sweet little kiddos!

A Tap on The Shoulder

There are times when you just NEED God to tap you on the shoulder and whisper, "See, I am still here, and I love you more than you know."

This morning was one such morning. I had to take Jarrod to catch the Park-n-Ride bus at 6:30a.m. (That's a whole other blog). We arrived in plenty of time, so we kissed good-bye, and off he went to get in line. As soon as I begin to drive away I felt this grinding either in the engine or who knows where. Thankfully, I was still in the parking lot, so I called him and pulled up by the bus. Then I realized it was the back tire...flat! So, here is my Knight in Shining Armor, on the ground at the bus stop changing my tire. I helped as much as I could, but you have to understand, I was NOT dressed for the occasion; ie: jammies and bed-head.

Well, he finished just in time to get on the bus before it pulled away! I texted him as I pulled away that he was my hero, and I drove off wondering, "How in the world did the tire go flat? It was completely fine pulling into the parking lot. Oh well. I'll go get it fixed later this morning."

So, la la la, here I go back home, hoping the kids are still asleep. As I am driving down the main road, I come up to a huge wreck, complete with fire trucks, ambulances, etc. and the paramedics are trying to get people out the badly wrecked car. I called Jarrod just to tell him I am passing a wreck, and he says, "Well, that's the reason for the flat tire." WOW. "God, thank you for Your protection!" We hang up, and about another 1/2 mile up the road, as I'm heading toward my overpass, I see a police car blocking the whole 3-lane road with his car. So, I began to exit and saw 4 police cars, ambulance, fire truck on and under the overpass! There was another terrible wreck!! I called Jarrod back and said, "You won't believe this, but Paseo is blocked right where I need to go. Another bad one!"

I fully believe that God gently let the air out of that back tire in the parking lot to protect me and remind me that He has a purpose for my life today! Because lately He knows that I've been questioning Him-if He even cares about me, our family, our circumstances.
And so, there are two morals to this story:

#1-Learn to recognize God at work in your life- in the smallest of details.

#2-Brush your hair and get all of your clothes on (ahem) before going into public. It could very well save your dignity someday!

2 Down, 1 To Go

No...not "pounds", although we are working on that, too.

What this title refers to is how many kids Jarrod and I have told about the "Birds and the Bees".
Yep, yesterday, I had to have "the talk" with Anna Mary. I've put it off, and put it off, hoping it would just go away, but since she has recently had to begin wearing deodorant, and was begging for a bra, I couldn't ignore it any longer. No, she doesn't NEED a bra quite yet, but if it makes her feel like a woman, what the heck! I took a HUUUUUGE breath, and began my disertation.

Hey Moms, if you need a book to guide you with your daughter...Hats off to the American Girl book, The Care and Keeping of You! Anna told me what pages she wanted me to read to her (whew, that made it easier), and of course, she was goofy and giggly the whole time. When I got to the whole, "Where babies come from", which is NOT in the book, she was sufficiently repulsed. She wouldn't let me say "the word"...she made me SPELL it every time I had to use it!!! It was hilarious!
Why in the world am I writing about this, anyway? Well, because we ALL have to deal with it someday, and my parents never told me in plain English. Jarrod and I had decided waaay back that WE would be the ones to inform our kids, not the school system or their friends. However, when yesterday rolled around I was like a nervous school kid about to give my first speech in front of my class. At least Anna's silliness helped break the tension, and she is now as informed as a 9 yr. old should be. AND she wore her little sports bra to school for the first time!
Oh my gosh...and when she told Jacob she has a bra now, you should have seen the disgusted and confused look on his face!! Here we go! Hang on and enjoy the ride.

Next Up?

The "Bonnet Story" has come and gone. Now I must tell you about my newest venture...POTHOLDERS.
Ok, this was not my idea. My sweet little Anna Mary informed me that her class is doing an Economics study (BTW- shouldn't that not matter until High School?!?), and they each have to choose something to make AND SELL by June 13th. So, she came home from school a couple of weeks ago and told me that she's selling potholders; ie: "Mom, you have to make 15-20 potholders!!" Oooh, me hates school projects.
Ok, says I.
Well, you know perfectly well that Mom's put it off, even unknowingly, until the clock begins loudly ticking in your brain and you get that frantic flutter in your heart. I mean, it's not like we have nothing else to think about, or do, or go to. Well, this time I have all week to work on this, but Anna is NOT getting off scott-free- what does that mean, anyway??
Yesterday I cut, and cut, and cut, and cut. Mind you, this is with some crappy scissors because my fabric scissors have vanished since "The Bonnet Story"!! I decided to make a "sample" to see how easy or hard this would be. "Hmm, not too bad. Oops, I sewed one side of the potholder on backwards. Oh well, that one's for us!" Next sample... "Dang! I don't have enough trim for all 16 potholders!" A trip to WallyWorld, and I'm back in business.

So, when Anna Mary got home from school I set her in front of the sewing machine, showed her how to "quilt" the lines across all of these squares of fabric, and she away she went. I had to stop putting my hands all over the machine and fabric and just let her sew, for Pete's sake!! She did a great job!! However, after ONE was finished, she disappeared outside, and I didn't see her again until supper time. Alrighty, then, only 13 more to go. I think I'll duct tape her to the chair today and tell her that I'll take her for an ice cream cone if she finishes all of them by tomorrow night! That's not bribery, is it?