Just an update on us. I wrote this in an email so I just copied and pasted it since my brain needs a rest from thinking about it again.
I just had a little crying fit.....the first/only one since it happened. I think I'm fine, but just tearful today. I had to hold it all in this morning to get through Bible School, trying not to talk about it or think about it. VBS had me distracted all morning so that's good. I realized as I told Maggie she could go to a friend's house for the afternoon and Bethany that she could go to lunch with friends, that I might be going home by myself after VBS and it gave me a panicky feeling. But Emma didn't have plans and I let her bring 3 kids home, so it's all noisy and full in my house, which was a relief to me. I'm just hiding in my room though because my eyes swell huge when I've cried. And I don't need a bunch of teenagers feeling sorry for me. ;)
People from the church have been so good to us. The men have been calling and leaving messages for Charles about coming to help if anything needed fixing or doing. There was no damage though, not even a broken window. I don't think he was even in the house more than 3-5 minutes.
We're talking about security measures now too....and we disagree, so that was making me cry more! Charles wants to get a motion sensor for inside the house that calls police, etc, but I want bars on the windows so no one can get in at all! With the motion sensor they are already IN the house. We'll talk more later about it, he wasn't set on that idea, but he thinks it is the best.
So that is how I'm doing....hiding and crying and busy.... Charles seems to be doing fine, just stressed out from trying to make our banking and credit stuff secure. The girls seem to be okay. One good thing was this: when I told Maggie what the policewoman asked about her room, she cleaned it all up and got it tidy!! The policewoman asked me, (when looking the house over for dna or fingerprints) "Is this room normally like this or was it ransacked?"
She was serious. Maggie was horrified. So was I.
Thank you for your kind comments and friendship. I looked at my mailbox today and several of you PW ladies had left messages on the blog. It just made me weep again!
Bye bye laptop, it's been a nice ride. Topic: People/Family stories You literally won't believe my day. VBS flew by and everything went fine. We stopped at Taco Bell and had lunch with Chas before heading in seperate directions....him to the office and me home. I just wanted to go put on my jammies and relax in a cool house. I had to take my two younger girls...9 and 15 to babysit for my sister, so we made a quick stop by the house to grab their swimsuits and let the puppy out to go potty. Then I took them over to babysit and was back within 10-12 minutes. (I grabbed the pup and took her with us in the car so she wouldn't have to go back in the kennel) I pulled up to our house and clicked the garage door opener from my remote access clickermabob and saw the garage door going up. There was a blue Isuzu Rodeo across the street from our house, parked on a corner so I thought someone had brought my 17 yr old daughter back home after lunch, although I didn't recognize the car. And that's when everything changed. A man came running out of my front door, with MY laptop and a few other items under his arm. I knew he was robbing our house, but at the same instant couldn't believe it and thought 'this must be something else!' Not so... He ran across in front of my car (I was just a few feet from him), which I was desperately trying to get in gear to ram into him (kind of a dramatic knee jerk reaction, but there it is, I wanted to ram him)....then I thought I would just bump him, but finally thought better of that, afterall, I didn't want to go to jail! So I got the car in reverse and tried to block his driver's door with my car.....all while he was scrambling to get in it. (I can't believe I did that now that I look back on it, but he DID have my laptop and it was getting under my skin!) I was shouting at him the whole time even though my windows were rolled up. I can't remember what I said, but I do remember sounding like that woman on the 'Jack my price up" commercials, where she's yelling and can't make clear sentences. (or maybe that is just a local commercial?) Here I am going, "NO no no no....you can't ....don't....don't get in that car....come back....eeeeeerg...what are you....don't you....don't do it!" I realized it was very stupid to block him because he could ram my car or have a gun, so I pulled away. He finally got in and drove off and I followed him a ways down our street and got his license plate number. Then I stopped in the middle of the street, shaking and angry...oh I was angry! And I called 911. I gave them all the info and pulled my car into the driveway and at that instant I realized my 17 yr old was supposed to be home from lunch with friends by 1:30 and it was very close to that. So I panicked and thought maybe she had been in there while this criminal was in there. The 911 operator yelled at me not to enter the house, so I had to wait, wondering about her until the police got there. She finally pulled up with a friend just before the police were going to go through the house, guns aimed, to search to see if anyone else was in there. No one was.....the only things he'd had time to grab was my laptop, which was out on a side table in the front room and a wooden box from my husband's dresser. Charles thinks he had some old credit cards in that box and he knew a lot of our passwords and social security numbers were in my computer, so we had to look up our credit info and cancel cards. The police woman who was here told us to go to somewhere like credit report. com and they give you a full list of any credit accounts you have! That is valuable information. Then we went to the bank and changed accounts over and put passwords on them. Now we have to call Social Security Fraud Report and get a 7 year alert put on our numbers. They will call us if anyone uses those numbers to sign up for anything. I am wiped OUT. I have a very low opinion of humanity right now. There is nothing like feeling vulnerable, even in your own home. Anyway, gotta go....love you all...daughter wants her computer back. This will be hard....sharing computers. _________________
They're heeeeeere... Topic: People/Family stories MY FAMILY IS HOME NOW!
They drove all night and got home at 7:30am from youth camp! I was still asleep (having a vivid dream about rearranging our bedroom furniture...including moving the built in closet off the wall where it is...lol) and they all came and put their dirty selves on me. So I got up and made them pancakes. Then the girls and I watched Bridge to Terabithia and we all had tears streaming down our faces! Man, that's a good movie! And they were both coming off of a sleepless night riding in a van to add to the emotion of the movie.
I gave the lil pup a bath! She smells like Johnson's lavendar baby shampoo now! Some of her latest antics:
*Climbing the furniture. She can jump her little 5 pound self up on our high couches, then climbs up the back of them to explore. It is entertaining because the couch back cushions are so cushy that sometimes one leg falls through and she slips, or her whole fuzzy self almost disappears sometimes due to gaps between pillows.
*Chasing things. This dog is so jumpy. She runs away at first and then usually attacks it. At night our porch light casts our shadows long and big across the lawn and back block fence. I have to stand perfectly still or she will see the shadow move and go zipping into the house again! Then I put her back out there and she attacks the shadows....especially if I make them move. hehee She likes it when I make my hand a shadow spider and it 'gets' her. The light also makes little flying bugs more noticeable and she pounces around trying to catch them. Pouncing is an adorable trait in puppies!
*She thinks there is a fuzzy white dog in our back room. At night, she sees her own reflection in the sliding glass door and it startles her. She jumps back *backward pounce* and YAPS at it with a sharp, high pitched bark.
*She is sneaky. When she wants something, she will wait until you aren't looking and try to get it. Tonight I had to take away a ball of purple chalk...it is the shape of an egg...and I put it on the piano. Our love seat backs up to the piano, so Maisy did the back of the couch walking, sniffing everything on the piano until she found the chalk. And just before she grabbed it, I grabbed her. I put her on the floor, where she gazed at the wonderful purple chalk. She wanted it! She was frustrated because I was watching her instead of the tv. So she came back onto the couch and laid her head on the back of the couch near the chalk egg. She was staring at me and I was laughing so hard. She saw her opportunity and pounced up there licketty split to grab the egg, but alas, I swiped her up again and put her on the floor. Don't you love it when a dog just looks at you hopelessly and lets out a big sigh?
They're heeeeeere... Topic: People/Family stories MY FAMILY IS HOME NOW!
They drove all night and got home at 7:30am from youth camp! I was still asleep (having a vivid dream about rearranging our bedroom furniture...including moving the built in closet off the wall where it is...lol) and they all came and put their dirty selves on me. So I got up and made them pancakes. Then the girls and I watched Bridge to Terabithia and we all had tears streaming down our faces! Man, that's a good movie! And they were both coming off of a sleepless night riding in a van to add to the emotion of the movie.
I gave the lil pup a bath! She smells like Johnson's lavendar baby shampoo now! Some of her latest antics:
*Climbing the furniture. She can jump her little 5 pound self up on our high couches, then climbs up the back of them to explore. It is entertaining because the couch back cushions are so cushy that sometimes one leg falls through and she slips, or her whole fuzzy self almost disappears sometimes due to gaps between pillows.
*Chasing things. This dog is so jumpy. She runs away at first and then usually attacks it. At night our porch light casts our shadows long and big across the lawn and back block fence. I have to stand perfectly still or she will see the shadow move and go zipping into the house again! Then I put her back out there and she attacks the shadows....especially if I make them move. hehee She likes it when I make my hand a shadow spider and it 'gets' her. The light also makes little flying bugs more noticeable and she pounces around trying to catch them. Pouncing is an adorable trait in puppies!
*She thinks there is a fuzzy white dog in our back room. At night, she sees her own reflection in the sliding glass door and it startles her. She jumps back *backward pounce* and YAPS at it with a sharp, high pitched bark.
*She is sneaky. When she wants something, she will wait until you aren't looking and try to get it. Tonight I had to take away a ball of purple chalk...it is the shape of an egg...and I put it on the piano. Our love seat backs up to the piano, so Maisy did the back of the couch walking, sniffing everything on the piano until she found the chalk. And just before she grabbed it, I grabbed her. I put her on the floor, where she gazed at the wonderful purple chalk. She wanted it! She was frustrated because I was watching her instead of the tv. So she came back onto the couch and laid her head on the back of the couch near the chalk egg. She was staring at me and I was laughing so hard. She saw her opportunity and pounced up there licketty split to grab the egg, but alas, I swiped her up again and put her on the floor. Don't you love it when a dog just looks at you hopelessly and lets out a big sigh?
Oh for the love of puppies! Topic: People/Family stories
We got a puppy.
She looks like this picture, except with off white (champagne) fur, buff ears and longer legs.
She is a ball of fuzz. A bichon/poo with gangly long legs and button eyes and nose! If she sees her brush, she will pick it up and bring it to you, singing 'Heaven....Heaven....I'm in Heaven when you brush my tummyyyyy'.
She is hilarious. She thinks there is another puppy in the backroom at night because of her reflection in the sliding glass door. It makes her do a quick double take when she passes the door and barks in surprise to see a fuzzy face peering back at her. She does a little puppy growl and leaps toward it, only to dart away down the hall in case she's made 'it' mad. She also tries to sneak up and steal her puppy training pad and carry it away from the puppy in the window. I don't know why, I guess it makes her nervous to be 'watched'. Right now she is sitting at my side staring at the door, her ears going up and down with each little noise she hears.
She is a control freak. She loves her toys we bought her. If they are spread out, she nabs them and brings them to her towel on the floor, where she puts them in a pile. Then she lies down on top of them and attacks any little parts sticking out.
She also has a need to pee on newsprint. At first we put down a 'puppy training pad' but she went over to our sunday paper and peed on the edge of it. So now we have to lay it ON the puppy training pad. It is a very good thing that Charles bought a Sunday newspaper because I think we will use every piece of it!
She has a crate. I think whoever invented crate training should get an award.....a great big shiny award. I love them. Whenever we have to leave the house or want to go swimming or go to bed, we put the long leggedy fuzz ball in her crate (cage). She whimpers and howls for a few minutes, then settles down to puppy dream land.
The only bad thing about having a new puppy is the 24/7 care it requires. All day I think about puppy things.
Is the puppy in the room with me? Is she on the carpet? Is she pooping? Is she peeing? Is it time to feed her the 2 tablespoons of canned puppy food? (warmed up in the microwave for 11 second) Time to go out Time to come in Time to play so she'll be tired Time to be tired because she loves to play Is she nibbling the guests children? Why is she looking at me that way? Pick her up Put her down Carry her to the bathroom with me.....every time. Throw the ball Toss the plastic egg (oh this she loves) Make her toy friends talk to her (it makes her very angry and growly) Play tug of war with her sock Make the children run so puppy will chase and use energy Where is the puppy?
Gee, it's a good thing she's so cute! (pics soon, I promise)
Accidents happen Topic: People/Family stories Is it a bad sign when police are cleaning up a car accident at the entrance turn to driver's education class?
Uh huh....
It didn't look like anyone was seriously hurt, thankfully....just people sitting on the corner looking dazed, while their vehicles were being loaded onto a tow truck. It kinda makes a driver's ed student nervous though.
Please refer to my husband's blog Topic: People/Family stories
My husband, Charles, has put up some posts about his mission trip to Ukraine on his blog, Veritas. He met some amazng people and learned some valuable lessons there.
He's baaaaaaack... Topic: People/Family stories
Charles is home! We fetched him from the airport at almost midnight and were in bed by 1am. He got up at 9am and is trying to get back on American time. He is silent about his trip, but I"m sure it's because of the weariness! I peeked in his mission trip journal and he wrote on lots of pages, so I hope he will write about it on his blog. When he does I will link to it. Pray for him and Pete. They both need to get that off kilter feeling settled down.....jet lag I guess.
I can't even express how wonderful it is to have my husband home again. It was a long week and I did not enough sleep, so last night I slept the whole night through without waking. He has 2 weeks home, and then he is off to youth camp with our 2 teenagers.
Maggie is off to camp....this is her first time without one of us parents there. But her sister Bethany is a camp staff person, so she can get some good hugs from her. (and Beth needs hugs too) I took Maggie up there yesterday and hugged Beth (I had just seen her 3 days ago) and she pushed me away and said, "Stop hugging me now or I'll......I"m gonna cry!" And there it came.
She is a little homesick
I told all our friends who were staying to hug her each day....she requires it. She'll be okay and we'll see her again on Friday before her next week of kids' camp.
Emma began driver's education this morning. 8am to 12:30....Monday through Thursday.....for 2 weeks. She is not one to complain a lot but she did have a hard time sitting for that long!!! This part of it is all the classroom work. She will not schedule actual driving time until she gets her permit in September.....at which time my prayer life will just take off, as usual! This learning/teaching to drive thing never gets easier with experience.....NEVERRRRRRRRR.
......hope you have a great week where ere you may be....
Ukraine tele-report Topic: People/Family stories
We got to talk to Charles last night! We actually called Tuesday night too, but I wouldn't say we actually got to talk. The telephone connection kept breaking off after one minute and 40something seconds, and there was a delay in hearing each other. It was like those satellite interviews you hear on news programs, where it takes a few seconds to hear and then respond to the questions. The kids did NOT understand and they just kept saying "hi....hello...hello?...do you hear me?....oh hi." LOL Then we'd get disconnected. It would have been comical if it wasn't getting so expensive to keep reconnecting! arrgg So last night they called us with purchased international minutes on their cell phones and we talked for 15 or 20 minutes with no 'satellite delay'. (I think it has something to do with going through the international or Russian operators)
He and his mission team partner, Pete (also from our church) are doing great. That was a concern! Last time Pete went on this mission trip to Ukraine, he got sick with allergies *I think* and the lady of the house he was staying at kept making him 'home remedies' which upset his whole insides! This year, no troubles....but we packed plenty of allergy and stomach meds just in case!
They love the people there. Charles commented that the connection you feel around fellow Christians is strong with these people and they feel very at home with them. His voice was full of the joy of the Lord when he talked about them. The communication is going very well. That is one thing Charles wanted people to pray about...that through the translation process, things wouldn't be too confusing or misunderstood. The weather is great...warm, but not hot. And the food is good. But they are mostly really enjoying the people there.
They thought they would be staying in a home, but are actually staying at a Christian 'reform' facility. (MUCH like the Set Free ministry that we support here in Phoenix, so there was a thread of familiarity.) It is for men who are alcoholics or drug addicts, to get clean and healthy and join a support group, but also to hear about Christ and how God really loves them and has a plan for them. So there are a lot of the men who are new Christians and a lot that are not Christians. They help anyone who needs it. But they are all in a safe place, getting the help they need and hearing about a God who loves them. Pete said the men there even asked Charles and Pete to move there and become their pastors. I think it was all in jest, but you can see how much they responded to kindness and genuine love.
When we talked to them last night, they were just about to have breakfast and then leave to go to the city, where they will spend *I think* two nights and have a day to sightsee before making the 30 hour trip back home. That includes all travel time, on the road, in the air and between flights. Charles told me they rode on a prop plane to their current location, but that he would tell me that story when he got home.....which mean he probably almost died and doesn't want to worry me while he's traveling home!
I hope he writes about all of his stories from this trip on his blog when he gets back. At least I will pester him to do it.
The flu and back again.... Topic: People/Family stories Every wife knows that when your man is out of town, things happen. Unfortunately, not good things! He left Sunday morning. I took the girls to church. By the end of Sunday School hour, my head was aching. I passed it off as tension but by the end of the worship service, my head was starting to throb and if felt like my neck could not hold it up one second longer!
We brought home Emma and Maggie's friends, as planned, to swim and hang out for the afternoon. I laid out cold cut sandwich things for them, then went back to my room to nurse the headache. I have not had such a bad headache in a long time, although it seemed vaguely familiar. It wouldn't be long until I realized what was familiar about it. Between advil popping and coming out to pass out snacks to the kids, I was either lying on my bed or reclining in our easy chair. The computer hurt my eyes, the television hurt my head, sleep alluded me.
One of the kids ended up spending the night and I was off to bed. At 3am, I was up....I was sick. Why does the stomach flu choose 3am to begin it's horrid work?? It's evil is my answer! I struggled with it all the next day, sipping gingerale and eating crackers, head and body aches consuming my every thought......kinda pitiful, isn't it?
During the day, as I would go to get more ice or crackers, I noticed first that the trash compactor would NOT stay shut. It was not a good sign. I couldn't bend over to fiddle with it though because of the pounding head, so I went out in the backyard to check on something and noticed the pool pump was not running. Double not a good sign. So I went to bed.
This morning I woke up with NO headache, I ate breakfast and actually wanted it, and I did some chores. I watered the plants in the yard and 'fixed' the hose to the pool vacuum. All it needed was to be filled with water so that it would have suction, then it started working fine. *whew* Then I fiddled with the trash compactor to see if it was broken or if something was jamming it. I am pleased to say that it was the latter! Yay! Maggie fished the trash that had overflowed behind the trash bin and it closed perfectly!
I'm very thankful to have my health back today. What a sin to take our good health for granted so often. It is a HUGE blessing! (and why...do things like this all happen when the man of the house is away????? I mean it, I want answers!)
And now, I have turned my attention to finding out what is the latest Paris Hilton news. In the past few weeks, I would turn the channel or shake my head with all the attention her dramatic life was getting. I have to admit that I did not usually respond to the reports on her with sympathy or in prayer for her. I am taking it in with interest now (no longer rolling my eyes when the subject comes up) that she is seemingly ready for a change in her life. I'll pray that it's a true change and that the Bible under her arm before she entered jail will have a hand in that change.
God bless Rovenki Topic: People/Family stories My husband is off to Ukraine in Russia today. He is with one other man from our church and a group of people based from San Antonio, Texas. They are taking a curriculum over to Ukraine to equip pastors there to teach about church unity. Charles and his partner will be in a church in the city of Rovenki, Ukraine. The link is to a tourist's photographs of that city....very interesting!
We miss him, but I'm so glad that he got to go on this mission adventure, to another culture on the other side of the world, to help train pastors. I think mission trips like this are as much for the missionary team members as they are for the people they go to help.
When we say, "Yes, Lord. I will go." He teaches us things we would never have learned otherwise....
....like faith and trust. ....like obedience and submission. ....like hearing His voice and knowing that voice is speaking to YOU.
Please pray for their health, stamina, understanding/communication with people and for the Holy Spirit to work: ....in the hearts of the people there. ....and in the lives of the mission team members.
Lately.... Topic: People/Family stories
***I got a new job. *today* I'll be a teacher's aid for 2 second grade teachers at our neighborhood school. It is just around the block, so I can easily walk to work! I am so thankful for a good part time job, close to home and with the same days off as my children's schools. I start August 13.
***Blogger blogs drive me crazy nutso! I have been trying to leave comments for everyone who visited mine on Wordless Wednesday, but only got 2 of them through.
***My 17 year old left for her summer missions team work. It's strange having two of my chicks out of the nest now....even if it is just for the summer. There is a sweet post over at The Dust Will Wait called Empty Nest Syndrome that I thought was very timely for me.
***We are signing our 15 year old up for Driver's Ed this summer. She won't be old enough to actually practice in the car until August, but this is the classroom part. Let me just say here that I am NOT READY FOR THIS AGAIN!!!!!
***I had my last day of work doing after school care. I'd say get ready for more blog reading than lately has been the norm. (what a sentence)
***I had TWO very good days of shopping at our local thrift store. *Yippee* Maggie and I have some "new" (to us) clothes for our new ventures this Fall. I'll be working at our neighborhood school and she will be heading off *we hope* to the school I just quit working at. I love how discombobbulated that sounds.
***I was told by a forum friend, "Well, Crickl, that is just ..... your cheery outlook and sunny disposition! And, yes, we all hate you." Heehee....I think she was just kidding though....about the hating part.
The downward spiral of a weekend Topic: People/Family stories
Have you ever had a holiday weekend that you were really looking forward to, but it started to take on a life of it's own and you had to just stand by and watch it spiral out of your control? That was our weekend. (as evidenced by my silent blog these past 5 days)
The long weekend sounded so good to us a week ago. We were really looking forward to it. Friday we started out leisurely enough. We let the teens skip school so we could get an early start. Pastor's don't get many Sundays off, so we had to make our trip up north just an overnighter. The normal 2 hour drive took a full 3 hours, but as we hit the top of the hill, entering into the Flagstaff area, we rolled down the windows and breathed in the cool, fresh, unpolluted mountain air. I miss that.
We drove to some friends' new home. They lived in a travel trailer for a year while building it themselves and it is beautiful. Then we drove into our old town. Our teenage girls wanted to attend their old friends' graduation, so they left and we spent the evening with a couple who are great friends to us. They live on a hill, beside a highway that goes ribboning back into the mountains, a wonderful gateway into the backwoods, where there are lakes, wilderness, elk, bear, coyotes and eagles. I longed to keep going and explore the dirt roads that lead far, far back into God's creation and pristine scenery. But we had people to visit and the wilderness will be there next time. We also remembered why we used to stay at home every holiday weekend in the summer when we lived there. The place was crawling with RV's and campers and weekenders. NUTS!!! We used to sit on our front porch and just watch the RV's pulling into town.
Three hours later graduation was over. LOL Graduation is a big event and they do a slide show with music for each graduate. Small towns are kind of cool and quirky, and graduation is a thing everyone has to endure, but it sure is a long time to sit on metal bleacher seats. So we opted out this year. *sssshhhh*
The night time drive back to Flagstaff was solemn as we passed by a terrible accident on interstate 40. Someone on a motorcylce hit a huge bull elk. The elk was lying there, huge and dead, but the driver was not in sight. He must have been thrown clear of the sight. There were highway patrol there, but the ambulance was just getting there. A man was on the other side of the interstate rocking in a crumpled position, crying or praying. When we lived in northern Arizona, we always saw a dead elk on the side of the road as we drove to Flagstaff. There must be at least one hit every night there in summer and Fall. Thankfully we never hit one, but it is quite devastating when you do. We rode the rest of the way into Flag in silence, the adreneline pumping and tears welling.
We got to spend the night with our daughter Hannah and her apartment is so cute and cool and artsy. It has huge windows and a sliding glass door that looks out into a stand of pines, then a park with soccer fields. After a big breakfast at the Cracker Barrel, we left to drive back to the desert that is now our home. Oh yeah, and we had to take a bus back with us. *see my lip start to turn into a snarl here*
A bus. It's a wonderful gift from our old church to this new one we are at, but it's a monster. lol It is extra wide and low (easy to step into), and half the length of a school bus. And it is bright white. It is old, runs on diesel, and goes a mild 55 mph on the highway....35 up big hills. (For those of you who have never driven from Flagstaff to Phoenix, it is very mountainous, curvy terrain.) I followed the bus the whole way. My husband stopped once to tighten a console cover by his right leg. It had been pouring out burning air on his leg, and he thought it was having transmission trouble because there was a terrible clunk whenever it changed gears. But it was also stressful to follow him. The wide, white back end of it was hypnotic as we dragged along at 55 (or 35) mph. I kept having to shake my head to wake myself up and came home with a stress headache.
Saturday night we had a cookout to go to...very fun, very good company, but we came home and fell into our beds, exhausted! Sunday we had a good church service, comissioning 6 teens who were to be summer missionaries, one of which is our Bethany. My 15 year old wanted to hang around with some friends for the afternoon and after their parents all left, I found out they were planning to just walk to Taco Bell and hang out there all afternoon. Ummm, no.... So I rounded them up and took them to our house. My dear exhausted husband cooked them hot dogs and found the boys swim trunks, while Emma rounded up things for the girls to swim in and they all swam the afternoon away. Charles got them practicing dives and then sat in the swing, judging each dive, adding points if the landing in the water sounded like it hurt. lol
Then they left.....yes! (I love them all, but needed some down time badly!) And we had an evening alone with Maggie, relaxing. My teens came home once again with extras last night. Two girls spent the night, surprising Charles as more girls than usual emerged from the hallway this morning. (oops, forgot to tell him)
Emma has been needing new shorts for a while now, so I decided to pick up things I've been needing from Walmart this morning while she picked out some shorts. Only we got sidetracked and decided to try a local thrift shop first...just pop in to see if they had any good deals on shorts. As I drove into the parking lot, there were no parking spaces to be found and we had to park 5 stores down at an Italian restaurant. The sign in the thrift shop window said, "Memorial Day Sale, everything half price"
Oiy with the poodles already people!
The lines of people at the check out stands were curving around and down the clothing racks of the store! But I dove in and decided to try the childrens' section to find summer clothes for a quickly growing 9 year old who belongs to me. Jackpot! I spent $38 and got 12 shirts and 6 pairs of capris or shorts, as well as a cute dress. Each piece of clothing was a dollar or two. AND the children's section was deserted compared to the other parts of the store, which looked like an ant hill! Emma and her friend went to get me a place in the check out line while I looked a while longer. THEN we went to Walmart...busy busy....
I got home, put some things in the fridge and went for a swim. I got to relax for approximately 20 minutes before having to shower and get ready to go to a family gathering at my sisters for homemade ice cream. Add to this, that my daughter from Flagstaff called and said she and 2 friends were coming down to swim and go to a drive in movie. !???! Okay.... They arrived while we were having ice cream, so we went back home to see her for a while before the movie. (more on drive in movies another time)
We sent them off at 8pm, the movies begin at 8:30. I sat down here on the couch with Maggie and have not moved since.
I'm looking forward to a regular week, even if it is a little hectic. These holiday weekends are killin me!!!!!
Around the dinner table tonight Topic: People/Family stories As dinner was cooking, I was sitting in my room getting a blog ready for tomorrow. My daughter, Bethany's, room is right across the hall and we heard her talking it up with someone on the phone. She finally put it on speaker phone and it turned out to be my oldest who is away at college, Hannah. I could hear both of their voices and they were talking about books, teasing, and laughing loudly as Beth packed for her summer. She'll be on a summer mission team, doing vacation Bible schools, kids' camps and work crew with different churches around Arizona.
I finally couldn't take it anymore and went in to join the conversation. When the oven timer went off, I took Hannah with me....er, the phone actually....and she talked me through getting dinner on the table.
"Do you want to join us for dinner?" I asked.
She said yes and we tortured her with our "Oh, this is so good"s with a homemade meal while she had just warmed up a frozen burrito for her dinner. I asked her how work was today and at the same moment, in the same tone and inclination to be a twerp, Charles and Emma both said, "workish?" heehee (Charles always says that when that question is asked.)
I guess the response to that question is pretty predictable, but when you have your college daughter on the phone, you have to keep the conversation going! And we did...til it was time to clean up. Then suddenly Hannah's friends were there to visit her and she had to leave.
Uh huh! Just like when she was at home....always skipping out on the cleanup! (just kidding Hannah!)
So I closed the phone and patted it nicely....and had to blink some moisture from my eyes....musta been dust or something.
Hanging by a thread Topic: People/Family stories
I went with my husband this morning to make 2 hospital visits. We did end up making 2 visits, but one was not in the original plan. While doing an errand this morning, we found out that one of our high school girls from church was in a car accident about an hour earlier on her way to school. She turned left onto a busy street and was T-boned on the driver's side of her car. With no seat belt on, she is so, so, so blessed to have only a chipped vertebrae in her neck and a hip fracture. She was hit just behind the driver's seat, ejected out her open window and onto the on-coming car, rolling off into the street. Our all consuming thought was: she is the same age as our daughter, who drives to school and turns onto a very busy street every morning. Thank you, gracious Lord, that she is alive. It could have easily been a very different kind of visit we had to make.
For the rest of my life, I will remember the look on her mother's face when we came into the emergency room. She had obviously been crying her eyes out, had just stepped out of bed and into her car to rush to the hospital, waking up to that dreadful phone call...."Your daughter has been in an accident....."
In all seriousness, I think having driving teenagers immediately transforms a luke-warm prayer life into an active, fervent one.
Kelly will be fine after a few months of recuperating. She is in a lot of pain (please pray for her), but is making jokes with her sister and telling her mom about the laundry she left in the washing machine. She also asked her to see if she can reschedule the test she was supposed to have taken this morning at school. My daughters and the other youth from church we have talked to are very sobered by it all.
It is amazing how fragile our lives are. We all hang by a thread between inhabiting these earthly bodies and standing in the presence of God. We are sobered for good reason. Every day we all pull out into traffic, every day we are a heartbeat away from eternity.
Kinda makes you want to close this computer and go hug your kids, doesn't it?
G'night....and God bless you and yours. Hold them near and dear!
Is it a bad sign when police are cleaning up a car accident at the entrance turn to driver's education class? 
Every wife knows that when your man is out of town, things happen. Unfortunately, not good things! He left Sunday morning. I took the girls to church. By the end of Sunday School hour, my head was aching. I passed it off as tension but by the end of the worship service, my head was starting to throb and if felt like my neck could not hold it up one second longer! 
Emma has been needing new shorts for a while now, so I decided to pick up things I've been needing from Walmart this morning while she picked out some shorts. Only we got sidetracked and decided to try a local thrift shop first...just pop in to see if they had any good deals on shorts. As I drove into the parking lot, there were no parking spaces to be found and we had to park 5 stores down at an Italian restaurant. The sign in the thrift shop window said, "Memorial Day Sale, everything half price" 
As dinner was cooking, I was sitting in my room getting a blog ready for tomorrow. My daughter, Bethany's, room is right across the hall and we heard her talking it up with someone on the phone. She finally put it on speaker phone and it turned out to be my oldest who is away at college, Hannah. I could hear both of their voices and they were talking about books, teasing, and laughing loudly as Beth packed for her summer. She'll be on a summer mission team, doing vacation Bible schools, kids' camps and work crew with different churches around Arizona.
