In Which I Narrowly Escape a Melt-Down; or A Tattle-Tale Housekeeper Gets No Tip

The road to sanctification is rutted and rocky...and sometimes a lesson must be re learned or, at least, re tested.

We've been on vacation in Bellingham this past week. I was sitting in the Las Vegas airport, waiting for our connecting flight back to El Paso, while composing most of this post. The visit was wonderful, but this post isn't about those details. It's about how God graciously helped me avoid total melt-down on our last morning.

As we were on holiday I decided to treat myself to a salon hair color - something I never do at home - it's been about three years since the last such luxury. I went to a nice place, was treated very kindly by the stylists and was quite pleased with the result.

The color was advertised as 'permanent', but after the first shower, I noticed the color bleeding on to the hotel towels. I showered every day since Friday with the same 'red' color coming off on the drying towel. Everyday the soiled linen was picked up by housekeeping, with me none the wiser about what was happening in the front office...

Long story short, when we checked out I gave my room number to the desk clerk. She stepped into a side office and immediately another woman - presumably a manager - emerged, holding a baggie with a 'red' towel wrapped inside. She informed me that because they couldn't get the hair dye out, I'd have to pay for the ruined hand towel - at a cost of $4. Further, she asked me if I'd like to take the towel with me, since I now 'owned' it. Unless you knew me back in the day, you won't believe how hard it was for me NOT to fly into an indignant fit of rage. Unbelievably and uncharacteristically, I said, 'Yes, I'll take the towel.' I even made a joke about suggesting to my hair stylist that she should pay for the ruined item.

I went back to the room and told Rick the story. I felt more upset than I let on. In fact, I realized I could have avoided the entire incident by not using the motel towel once I saw my color was washing out. I made a faulty assumption that the strong bleach and hot water used in the motel laundry would be able to wash anything out.

The other thing is that I kind of dodged the bullet. As I said, I'd showered at least 3 times and used the motel towels to dry my hair. I suspect that #1 the regular housekeeper was 'off' and someone else cleaned our room - finding the 'red' towel and alerting the manager. OR #2, the regular person just had enough of my daily abuse and decided to roll over on me to her boss...I mean, I could have owed more for all the laundry I probably ruined and the trouble I caused.

I brought home the motel's 'comment' card which I intend to complete and submit to the company office. I don't know if I'll mention the hair-dye incident - they may still have my credit card number lying around and I don't want to send up a 'red' (pun intended) flag that might prompt them to add more charges.

I do want them to consider having their webmaster look up the meaning of the word 'adjacent'...One of the reasons we chose that motel was for its close proximity to a Denny's restaurant. The website described several amenities we were interested in: reasonable (cheap) price; wireless internet, and the fact that Denny's was noted as being 'adjacent' to the property.

I hardly think a brisk, 1/4 mile walk under the freeway overpass qualifies as 'adjacent' in anyone's dictionary.

Westminster Shorter Catechism of 1647

Christmas Day & Lopez Update

We gathered at the Heeremas for dinner, presents and a family photo.

Charity received an Alepeka original which she immediately put on display...

See Facebook for more photos!

Lopez Update: 2008 ‘Year in Review’

Christmas 2007: We were blessed to celebrate Christmas with the Las Cruces Heeremas and the extended family enjoyed a wonderful Christmas Day dinner and get-together with the Verbergs, who have become dear friends. The first big event after Christmas was the joy of being able to attend Esther’s THIRD birthday party on December 27th.

January (Praying for deliverance): Rick was having more and more challenges with his job at Alma d’ Arte Charter High School. I didn’t have any work at all, but got to spend lots of quality time with Esther and Henry.

February (A new job, unprecedented deliverance!):The first part of the month, I spent job hunting. I almost accepted a full-time nanny position for a family with an infant. Providentially, the job didn’t work out. The day I officially withdrew my application for that position, we saw an ad in the paper for self-storage resident managers. We applied and were hired to manage Discount Self-Storage.

The storage facility was still under construction, but the opening was anticipated for early Apri. Rick continued working at Alma, but knew his deliverance was near!

March (A road trip): During Rick’s Easter break, we took a road trip to California and then up to Washington to visit the younger Lopez family – at that time about to expand from two to three. It was a wonderful time to reconnect with friends and loved ones we’d missed since our move to New Mexico in July of 2007. We spent several days with our dear friends the Gochnauers, and also visited with Grandpa Richard Lopez in Chico.

We were blessed to spend several days visiting with our son, Chris, and his wife, Christina, and to worship at Bellingham United Reformed Church on Easter Sunday. On the way back through California after our Bellingham visit, we cleaned out our own storage in Paradise, packed what we could in our car-top carrier and trunk, gave the remnants to Goodwill and drove straight through back to Las Cruces.

April (Move, part 1): When we were hired for the position at Discount, we were told the facility would be open in April. Based on that information we gave our 30-day notice on our rent house in downtown Las Cruces. On April 1 – the day after arriving home from 2,500 mile journey – one of the Discount owners called me to say, ‘Come to work, right now!’

A new manager was being trained for Holiday Storage too, and I was told we’d be training together for awhile. I was very thankful to have a chance to learn the job this way, and spent the next six weeks working at Holiday every day. Meanwhile, since Discount was nowhere near ready to open, and we had to be out of our house by April 15. I made the owners aware of this little detail, and they kindly provided a temporary apartment for us. Affectionately known as the ‘dust bowl’, we lived in a humble cinder-block home that previously had served as the office for Fiesta Homes. But, hey, it was rent/utility free, and we were drawing our Discount salary too! What more could we ask?!

During this time, we were all blessed by a visit from Oma and Opa Heerema who made the trip from California to celebrate Hendrik’s FIRST birthday and Charity’s ??? birthday on April 11…they were among the lucky few to be invited to our dustbowl residence!

May (A beginning and an end): As a result of a bad case of stomach flu, I made an unexpected trip to the emergency room. After spending the whole day in agony, I began to feel better and once again realized I have much to be thankful for – despite the huge hospital bill!

Rick terminated his employment with Alma at the end of May and we began to work at the Discount property on a daily business tending to more pre-opening details.

June (More delays): But the work on Discount progressed sooooo slowly. There were many, many hold-ups and slow-downs. So, we did what we could and w-a-i-t-e-d.

July (Final Approach): And we waited…….THEN on July 23, 2008, Discount Self-Storage was granted a ‘certificate of occupancy’ and we began moving in to our brand-new apartment! On July 24, Discount Self Storage passed the final inspection and we opened our doors for business! After so many months, it all felt very surreal!

August (Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work): Response to the new business was good, and Rick and I began to ‘learn’ the ropes of self-storage and property management. Office hours are Monday through Saturday, and we answer the phone from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. It has been very challenging, but we have so much related experience, it’s been great to put all of that job knowledge to use in this new career.

God richly blessed Rick and I as we celebrated 35 wonderful years of marriage on August 11!

A much-anticipated highlight of the year came on August 31 with the birth of a certain precious new granddaughter. After the arrival of ‘Autumn Jude Hilligje Lopez’ we were anxious to meet her, but we had to wait another couple of months! And we had become very good at waiting!

September (We adjust to a new life): Discount has 389 ‘units, and they were beginning to fill up. Business was good and by the end of September we were about 25% occupied. Rick applied to work as a sub-custodian with Las Cruces Public Schools and the District began utilizing his considerable experience and talents immediately.

October (Anticipation): We traveled to Bellingham – joining Oma and Opa Talstra as well as other members of the extended Talstra family – to witness with joy the baptism of our dear covenant grandchild, Autumn. The weather was utterly gorgeous and the fall colors were breathtaking.

At the end of October, the younger Heerema family traveled to California and Washington-state to visit family and take their turn meeting Autumn Lopez. They were gone for three weeks and during that time, we had a chance to reflect how much our day-to-day interaction with them means to us. We have been given a marvelous gift in the closeness of our relationship, but how we miss our Bellingham family! Thanks be to God for the internet!

November (Stress): Work got pretty stressful for awhile, lots of pressure to ‘perform’ – many new ‘rules’ and ‘procedures’ we didn’t quite understand…we eventually learned the management team at our ‘sister’ location was under extreme scrutiny and we were just experiencing some of the fallout from that situation. The owners are actually very happy with our job performance. The Heeremas returned in time to share another holiday feast with the Verbergs, and we were more-than-ready to give THANKS!

December (Forty-plus): Even though our percentages dipped at the end of November due to many move-outs, we’ve made a great recovery with new tenants moving in every day, and our occupancy rate is now over 40%. We’ve been having FUN, too, as preparations for Christmas are made – lots of cooking, baking, present-buying and general mirth and merriment! Rick’s custodial skills are still in high demand, and he works approximately four evenings per week at one school or another. His P.R. skills have even netted us a few new tenants with his fellow school employees.

We thank God for His goodness to us and for our relationship with you all! We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Sola Deo Gloria!

Snow in Las Cruces

It has indeed snowed in Las Cruces before! To the best of my recollection, this video was taken in January of 2007 by our son-in-law, Richard. Esther had just turned '2' and was suffering from a pretty bad cold. But, the family couldn't deny her the fun of playing outdoors in what might be the only snow she'd ever witness in her own back yard. The back-story goes something like this: Esther reference to 'blood' has something to do with a library book about a 'Baby Snowman'. Esther pulled a hang nail or something and got blood on the book. Charity wiped it off, returned it to the library and no one, but Esther and the family, were any the wiser. However, the incident made quite an impression on Esther and it's fresh in her mind as she sees her own 'Baby Snowman'.

Random Notes

Current activities: Rick didn't get a call to 'sub' today, so I'm enjoying having him home all day. We bought ourselves an early Christmas present, and he's been trying to set it up all day. We may have to bring in some technical support...I'll disclose what it is after he successfully completes the mission.


We've also been 'decking' the Discount 'halls'. I've had an apple/cinnamon candle burning and Christmas music playing to get us all in the spirit. When we went to the mountains with the Heeremas last weekend, Esther collected various greens, sticks, pine cones and various other forest-finds for me. I created a display that the customers have been enjoying.


Today, Rick, aka Mr. Grinch, cheerfully put up our little artificial Christmas tree in the office and I 'decorated' it with various merchandise trinkets we sell. The big boss-man just came in to pick up my daily bank deposit. He was ecstatic with glee at my 'cleverness'. Said he wished HE'D thought of it! Score one for our side!


Job Stress Level: After spiking Monday, the stress of our job is declining again - kind of like the stock-market in reverse! There is one particular person in the company who really knows how to push my buttons, (and I wish I knew how to keep it from happening or deal with it better, but it is what it is). Anyway, at our recent monthly team meeting, the bosses both had some nice things to say about our job performance, so it's all good until the next 'immunity challenge', I guess.


Special 'Grandma' Time: Esther and I have been having special outings for awhile now...she calls them 'Grandma Days'. Last night her poppa was out of town for work, so Charity and I though this would be a good opportunity. We all met up at Goodwill - which is actually within walking distance of where we live. After a few minutes of looking at all the cool toys, Esther and I set out to the adjacent Blockbuster to pick out a movie to watch after dinner. After she chose a 'Thomas the Train' video we proceeded to Carl's Jr. for a delicious, nutritious, artery-clogging feast. Actually, the fare's a lot better than some other fast-food places. Plus, the play area is better and more clean. There was one other family - a mom and 2 daughters in the room. One of the other girls was near Esther's age. It's hilarious to listen to kids talk to each other. And mind you, these kids have never met each other before.


LITTLE GIRL 'A' (to Esther) I have a shirt like yours. I got it at Old Navy...ESTHER: (to Little Girl 'A') I got mine at Old Navy too.

LITTLE GIRL 'A' (to Esther, showing her a purple sweater) This is my sweater, I got it at the Mall. ESTHER (to Little Girl 'A') I have a sweater almost like that, I wear it to church. I got mine at the Mall too.

LITTLE GIRL 'A' (to Esther) You can come to my birthday party. ESTHER Oh...

LITTLE GIRL 'A' (to Esther, conspiratorially) Come over here so I can tell you something...(Esther follows a few paces) Will you come with me to the restroom, I'm scared to go by myself'.

GRANDMA: Esther, time to go home!

The Person In My Life I'm Most Thankful For!

Rick and I met in 1970, just before he left for Army 'basic training' at Ft. Ord, California

We got reacquainted just before he shipped out to Okinawa for 18 months. After a year-and-a-half of communication only through letters and cassette tapes, we were married in August of 1973. The photo below was taken about 1980.

This photo was taken just a couple of days before our 35th wedding anniversary.

After 35 years, Rick is still 'my lover and my best friend'

and the earthly relationship I most cherish!

Thanksgiving Long Ago

Thanksgiving-time at our home in Santa Rosa, Calif. circa 1979-80, might have been our last holiday before we moved back to Glenn. Charity was 5 or 6, Chris was 3 or 4

Notice fall window-clings and a 'turkey' signed by Charity. The 'horsie' looks tired!

Grandpa Richard looks happier, probably had a nap after all that 'horse play'.

Now it's approaching Christmas...note the fabulous decorations in our dining room!

We're not sure why Chris is hiding his face...as you know, he's not usually shy! Charity speculated he might not want to show off his new shirt Grandma Esther (pictured) and Grandpa Richard brought him from their trip to Acapulco...