tranquilizer, anyone?

the whole house buying process has been just that for me..a process. on multiple levels.
part of the process was realizing that as americans (and as human beings) we try to tranquilize ourselves..we do it in an attempt to keep ourselves ignorant, happy and carefree..we fool ourselves into thinking that we can gain protection and safety from 'bad people'/harm/suffering/etc. by living in a 'nice' neighborhood..or having the right job..etc. etc..the list goes on..

while shopping for houses i found myself being caught up in wanting to be in the 'right' neighborhood, with 'nice' neighbors (a.k.a. people that have more money than us)..these aren't bad things, per se, however i started asking myself why i thought it was so important to be surrounded by nice houses and 'nice' people..i'm very analytical..sometimes skeptical..but i always question motives, including and especially my own.

i think i started equating nice houses and wealthy people with safety and happiness. i know, i know..i am absolutely embarrassed to admit that i fell into that hole. i was reminded that there is always more going on than meets the eye..just because a neighborhood looks nice and has 'successful' people living in it doesn't mean anything really. there are broken and hurting people anywhere and everywhere. pain, suffering and evil do not descriminate based on socioeconomic status and demographics. who knows what's going on within the houses in the perfect neighborhood. some types of evil and suffering are covert, behind the scenes and not noticeable..and others are more overt, obvious..kinda like the evil that comes in the shape of a flag which hangs from your neighbor's porch..which just happens to represent the aryan nation.

all that to say, we decided on a modest house in a working class neighborhood and it suits us perfectly..the house and the neighborhood. i would say it's definitely the type of neighborhood we want to raise our kids in..the kind where they will be surrounded by people who are both similar and different from themselves. i feel like God gave us exactly what we needed and what we wanted. and that's really cool.




*disclaimer: i do not think it is a bad thing to live in an upscale neighborhood..i repeat, it is not a bad thing. this is simply a post about the process God has taken/is taking me through.

may 9th..

was a great day!

here are a couple pics of my graduation at the jewett house. i'm pretty sure i had the loudest cheering section in the whole place thanks to this crazy group of kids. matt's parents, dennis & karen, drove up from oregon to help us celebrate and also took the pics of us above.

it was such a relief to finally be finished with school..i learned alot, but i'm not sure i'd ever do it again. alot of blood, sweat and tears (from matt & myself) went into that graduate degree. it was a huge blessing to have the opportunity to go back to school and to have a husband who supported me and encouraged me along the way. there were many times during the last 9 months i looked at him with teary eyes asking if i was doing the right thing by going back to school and putting us through such a tough time..and every single time he reminded me that i was doing the right thing and that we were in this thing together.

while we were being 'hooded' (not north idaho style, btw..) one of our professors read a 'thank you' card each of us had prepared in advance. we were supposed to have a 40-word limit..i went over a little bit..but this was mine:

'Heather Olds would like to thank her husband, Matt,
for all his love and support; for listening and comforting
during her weekly bouts of crying, for putting up with
eating pasta every night for the last 9 months, for being ok
with the house being a total wreck, & most of all, committing
to travel along life’s journey together with her.'

and then i bolted to the audience and gave matt a big high-five and a kiss. it was awesome.

had i not wrote my note the night before at 10:30p and had i not had a word limit, i might have talked about all the lessons God taught me over the past 9-10 months..about how He strengthened my relationship with matt, about how i've realized that i'm not as strong as i thought i was- but that i am desperately in need of His grace and guidance, how He's reminded me that there is more going on than meets the eye, and how we absolutely cannot settle for a life less than what He has called us to..and how i still have so much to learn..

maybe tomorrow..

i just looked at my blog and noticed that as of tomorrow it will have been a month since my last post..yikes. been a lil busy..hmm, that sounds like a cool r&b name. if i ever become an r&b artist 'lil busy' shall be my name.
anyways, super cool stuff has been happening in my life (graduation, house, God showing me awesome things..) this past month and i'll share some of if with you tomorrow perhaps. but not today. i'm a lil busy and i have stuff to do.

hasta manana.

29 yrs, 362 days old..

so that's how old i am today. in three days i will be 30! what's hilarious (to me, at least) is that i'm super excited to turn the big 3-0. i had a hard time with turning 25, 26, & 28 for some reason..but i feel really good about the place i'm at in my life right now. the last 5 years have been so awesome, so i'm thinking the next 5 will be just as good..or better.

here are some awesome things about turning 30 (from heather o.'s perspective):
1. you've developed a brain that works pretty good..finally.
2. 30 is the new 20..and 20 wasn't so good for me, so it's like i get to re-do it..but with a brain this time.
3. you're still kinda young, but people take you a little more seriously because you're in a different decade now. for instance, people will say to me (hopefully): 'oh, ok..i believe what you say and can put weight into it because you're 30 now..i really didn't believe you yesterday when you were just 29.' -exactly.
4. you can giggle and feel good when people say: 'wow, you really don't look your age'..whereas before you got mad because people mistook you for a whippersnapper.

oh, and did i mention that my 30th b-day also happens to be the day i graduate with a master's degree in social work?..this is gonna be awesome..

where i'm from..

i snagged this idea from fellow blogger shannon, who snagged it from another chick as well..
i liked shannon's poem so much that i just had to do one of my own..here goes:

i am from beautiful green country fields in the middle of no-where, from Ford trucks and Carhart jackets.

i am from the old white rancher, rooms with polished wood floors, with open windows and the breeze carrying in the sunlight.

i am from the lilac tree and great blue spruce, from the hyacinth and freshly mowed grass.

i am from love and hearty laughter, from pride and hard work, from the Flanagan's and Charles'.

i am from a place that seems so far away, where i am the only one who's gone.

from staying out of the muddy creek and grandpa's old barn, from seeing who can catch the most lightning-bugs. from playing mom's made up games outside of Flanagan's grocery, from riding around the block, and watching the Denver Broncos beat the Cleveland Browns.

i am from no-religion, but from a family who is being restored by finding their Creator.

i'm from london, ohio. from county cork, ireland and the appalachian mountain range.

i'm from maxell house coffee, fried apples picked fresh from the apple tree, and coney dogs from the local ice cream shop. from pineapple glazed ham at christmas, deviled eggs with 'secret' ingredients, and homemade noodles made by great-grandma.

from a home-town softball superstar and a self-made social worker, from 'billy! get over here!' and an infamous cat-yodeler.

i am from center street, from hunting nightcrawlers in the rain, from catching bluegill at madison lake and from exploring the great outdoors.

i thank God for where i'm from.

you can do one yourself by going here.