Mayhem

We are packing up our house. Our house is an absolute disaster area. I have obviously never packed with three kids....don't reccomend it. I pack up a box, set it aside...they come right behind me, open it up and dump it out......grrrr....I have learned to TAPE them up when I am done. Anyway~ Its been crazy though. My mom came over yesterday and helped me knock out my whole kitchen...which is the biggest part to me. So my goal is to finish packing today. Clean Wed and Thurs and then we (hopefully) get our keys Fri....and then the fun begins, sraping popcorn ceiling, painting, and CRAZY cleaning over there, oh yah, and moving in. I just want to stop and go crawl in a hole and go to sleep and wake up when its all done......

Fear

I have this crazy fear of someone being in the back of my car at night.... It all started in High School after I watched "Urban Legends"...totally freaked me out. I've never been the same since. Any time I get into my car at night, I turn and check the back seat....and then I turn on the light (as my heart is rapidly beating) and check the back back of my car. Sometimes I have to stop and get out and really look.....in High School when this fear took root, I drove a ginormous '82 Subarban......

Crazy 6 yr Anniversary!

Yah, so once you have three kids going out with your husband for your anniversary is non-existant! Sean is so good though, I got up at like 2 in the morning to feed Ryder and go to the bathroom, and Sean had stayed up late after I passed out on the couch last night and decorated our bathroom mirror with a bunch of hearts and an anniversary message....he is so sweet and thoughtful...until I saw that I had completely forgotten about it! Life has just been so stinkin insane. So he got up and headed off to the meeting this morning, and then he got home and we decided to splurge and all go out for lunch to Guadalajara (i mean, it is after all our anniv!). The kids wanted In-n-Out but I put my foot down and told Skylar "No! This is OUR special day and we are going where WE want to go!"....She ended up being happy with her enchilada. So from there went to Lowes to price out and learn all about paint and fences for around the pool....SO MANY DECISIONS!! Sean and I were literally walking around that ginormous home store in a haze of overwhelmness.....I had no idea #1 that that place is so freakin big and #2 that there are so many options for a bathroom sink!! Anyway we come dragging home, and all of his hit the couch for naps....then Sean gets up and is back off to church...haven't seem him since. Happy Anniversary to us! Oh and I just left out the greatest part....Alyssa, Erica and I all BRAVELY take all NINE of our kids out to pizza after church! Thats all i'm gonna say. 3 moms. 9 kids. We were a bit outnumbered and they knew it!!! Absolute craziness. Fun though, I love it. Its been a great day!

Now to you Sean, So sorry for no card, or ANYTHING! But know that I love you more than anything. YOU are my world. You are my love. Thank you for living this fun and crazy life with me. I am so honored to have you by my side. I look at you in wonder, I couldn't have possibly ever scored :0) a better husband, father to my kids, and best friend. I love you with everything in me.....heres to another amazing year......can't wait to see what it brings!

EXERCISE!!!

I have been taking off and running every other night. I come home and do my regular work out that I would normally do at the gym here at home....been working out pretty good. So I come in the door all panting and sweaty and say "Come on kids, come work out with me!" So we all get on the floor and do leg lifts...they do it with me. Skylar usually is working hard with me and says "Mom, i am BURNING!" and I pump her up and say "AWESOME! thats exactly what you need to feel, that means your muscles are working and getting stronger, keep going!".....I have my personal team......and then we move on to stretching, and push ups and crunches......they impress me so much. My little athletes (hopefully)......heres to hoping.....start em young, and hope for the best.....

Garage Sale Pics

Nate....in a blue jumpsuit....nice


Kristena and Megan...rocking some hot outfits


Cute!! Sarah and Emily...hard at work





Thats right....thats Paul sleeping in a coffin....

Annette, Alyssa, and Kris

Swimmers, anyone?


Amy and Bailee

You all are AMAZING, thanks Team!!! We had so much fun....till next year.......

Heroes

Season Premier......34 minutes......it is a crazy sacred day in the Gafner household. In about 15 minutes we move the couch closer up to the TV, turn off all the lights, and wait in total expectation as a new season starts.....this day has been marked on our calender for months....33 minutes......

Total and absolute EXAUASTION

Oh man!! What an insane last week and even insaner weekend!! Thank you, seriously, thank you to EVERYONE that helped Friday night and Saturday with the Sale. Everything went amazing and we raised 2,350!! So amazing. So we were there allll Friday night and then Saturday morning I had me and all three kids up and there by 6:30 we spent the ENTIRE day there. It was so great LOVING on our community! we passed out so many Stirring cards and talked to so many people about our church plant, it was so awesome. I just love our community here in Redding. People are so excited about church stuff! stragers...crazy. Anyway~ so Sunday morning we got up and were out and back at the Sale at 7.....even though we weren't selling, we had to go clean up and clear out ALL the crazy amount of leftovers...I had no idea how much there would be left......but we consolodated and left it there as FREE stuff for the day, hoping people would clear it all out...(which people totally tore the rest of the stuff up! so great)....So then I head over to lead worship with Jenna (who by the way is #1-so anointed and #2-such an amazing leader, such a joy to sing with her)....but by that point I felt so extremely spent and exausted it took every ounce of energy left over in me to make it through the night. Such a great night though. Angie prayed for me and my energy levels....thank you Ang, so needed, and God came through, of course and gave just what I needed. So then this morning got Skylar off to school and Erica and Danielle Fleck met me at the church and helped me bag up and haul the rest of everything off to Salvation Army (thank you so much girls, don't know what I would have done without you this morning!).....and then I came home today and CRASHED!!!! Literally crashed, with NOTHING left in me. You couldn't see my family room floor, kitchen floor, table, or counters, from the craziness of the weekend...but i, for the first time, could seriously CARE LESS!!!! that is SO huge for me......so I rested up all afternoon and am feeling a little bit back to normal.....CRAZY!!!!! And it is just beginning...we MOVE IN TWO WEEKS AND PLANT A CHURCH IN THREE......

Picture frames, Old Shoes. and 6 yr old blankets....

Thats right, The Stirrings CHURCH WIDE PARKING LOT SALE!! I have been up to my ears all week with Garage Sale stuff....its been crazy.  Kristena Hayes and I have been coordinating the whole thing.  By now Kristena and Megan probably want to shoot me for how many times a day I call them.  But its gonna be awesome...tons of stuff.  I've had so many people call yesterday and today donating stuff....amazing.  Everything we make is going towards our Church Plant, so COME and BUY other peoples stuff they are getting rid of, we are going to have so much fun!!! Its at the Nazarene Church on Bechelli between 7am and 3pm on Saturday.  And if you have anything to donate bring it by anytime Friday night after 6.  Hope to see everyone there.....

For Rent

I know of this amazing townhouse thats gonna be available Oct. 12.....If anyone is interested in a three bed/two bath with a garage and cranky neighbor....let me know.  

Weekend

First of all, GREAT weekend.  Friday night we had a Girls Night Out.  We pretty much overtook Cheesecakes.  And then went to see The Women.  Note to all you girls, DON'T take your husbands....there is seriously not one guy in the whole movie....MAJOR chick flick!! We laughed a ton.  

And then Saturday my best friend from Sacramento, Joelle (picture above), came up to see me.  We had a really really quick visit, but it was sooo great.  Way overdue, and way needed.  She is a new photographer, so I asked her while she was here to take pics of Ryder (above).  She did awesome, of course.  Thank you so much Jo :)

Saturday night Sean and I left the kids behind with Tim and Ashley (thanks guys, you are amazing!) and took off to a close friend of the family's wedding.  Fun night.  The entire reception was a show.  The Bridal party broke out in a dance, the Father of the Groom sang a rap song to the groom, the groom sang a song to his bride and the father of the bride sang a song to the bride.....crazy, but waaay entertaining.  

And of course Sunday Nate brought it!....living out love in our community.  Something my heart has ached for for years.  Being part of a community that not just meets on Sundays, but SHARES life! Fellowships together, EATS together, worships together, LOVES together.  I feel like we are already living this out in so many ways.....so awesome. 

This week, I am gonna working on loving my "locked arms" friends THICK!!  Watch out :0) 

Cleanses, Greens and Working out

I have turned a new leaf.  I am done with my pregnancy weight, i gotta get rid of it!  Last week I started a Colin Cleanse....wipes out your entire system....has you running to the bathroom all over town.....love it....

Sean and I are cutting out meat...thats right, going green.  I am working out at the gym twice a week, plus walking the River Trail every Friday with all the momas.  I am feeling healthy.  Getting all the crap out of my system.  I also always say I'm gonna cut out sugar....yah, that lasts a few days, then I cave.....usually due to Sean bringing home Pumpkin Ice Cream.....no self control.  

So here we go...I got like 11 lbs to drop...well, okay, like 17....  

Face to Face

Patrick hooked us up with a computer.  So amazing.  Thank you so much Patrick.  The amazing thing about it is that #1 the keyboard acually works, no more cut and paste.....and #2 ALL the keys are on it.  Caleb and Liam had a spree of picking off ALL the keys on the laptop, we managed to put them all back except for the ENTER key, and the 2, 3, and 5 keys.  So this is good.  I missed ENTER.... good to have it back.  

Anyway, these past couple weeks have been amazing.  We are all so busy with school, buying a house, and church planting...and in all that, in all the craziness, God has been crazily been showing up in my life.  I haven't blogged at all about the church plant, mainly because it has seemed like TOO much to actually put down into words.  But this is something that God is really doing in Sean and I's life.  He has been transforming us.  Speaking to us.  Loving on us.  I am just so stoked to be a part of this.  I feel so honored to be right where God wants us to be.  It's been a little more difficult for me trying to figure out where my place is in all this.....3 kids at home....home is really where my life is right now....so really trying to find the balance in everything.  So I really sat back for a while and prayed and prayed and prayed.  The #1 thing God really showed me is that this is my time to be Seans Armor Bearer.  Support him, pray for him, and be behind all that God is doing in his life.  Its been so amazing to step back and watch my husband be LIT for God! It has been so inspiring to me to watch him transform and really step up and step into a position God has created him for.  So I've just been hangin back....kinda starting to get frustrated and jealous cause of all these things God is doing in Sean.  I have been like, "okay, God, what about me?, where am I in all this".  And then we entered the Face to Face series.  So awesome.  Its so true what can happen and what you can hear when you just put everything aside and get Face to Face with our maker! He is so sweet and wants to bless us Hugely! If only we would get off ourselves for a second and get with Him!!  So one morning I did that.  I had the best time hanging with my Father.  And within that week that followed God brought people into my life that were just for ME.  Woman that needed encouragement.  And God knows my heart for woman.  I was blown away.  I realized, THIS is my place.  Just being here, being home, being available.  A place where people can just stop by.  A listening ear.  A meal.  Being available.  I was SO blessed! So encouraged.  And soo had my fire stoked again.  

(this keyboard, by the way, is amazing! never thought i could love a keyboard so much....)

Anyway thats us.  Whats been going on.  So exciting.  I am so excited to be on this journey.  I think i've mentioned that before.....so true.....

Ahhh, joys of laptops....

So Sean and I have been out of blogging and commenting and responding to anything on the web for the past few weeks.......not from the lack of having anything to say.....more from our keyboard completely not working. So annoying. We have a laptop. An old laptop someone sold to us super cheap a couple years ago. We have it set-up in our family room, around all the kids, not the smartest thing. A few weeks ago tea got spilt on our keyboard.....resulting in none of it working.....even more annoying. So we can check stuff..just not reply to anything. I now hate laptops.