Big step tomorrow

I should be in bed right now preparing for an early wake up time, but I'm too nervous to sleep. My girl goes on a big adventure and we, as parents, send our oldest child a state and a district away in the care of people who are not family members. After seeing the itinerary and hearing how the whole operation is carried out, we have no reason to feel anything other than excitement for the experience that lies ahead. And yet....yet I feel scared to death. Not only because she is going several hours away without us, but she has reached another milestone in the ever quickly passing timeline of her fleeting childhood. The Washington DC trip for safety patrols signifies the official end of elementary school and the beginning of the next big chapter of their lives...middle school. She gets to experience so many things in the next few days and we can't wait to hear about every one! The hub is going to take her in the morning. I want to go, but we realize that brother and sister will not handle the goodbye or the early drop off in the best of ways. The tears from them at prayer time were just confirmation that we had made the correct decision. Those kids can scrap with the best, but while they fight hard they love hard, too.

So while some of you are stil slumbering, we will be up and ready to get the girl on her way to adventure. Let's hope I can get rid of the bleary eyes enough to give her a good French braid for the trip. Prayers for travel mercies appreciated.

The safeties take DC...sounds like a show on Bravo. I'd watch it.


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I wish I had some guts...maybe

We are readying S for her big trek to DC with the safety patrols. It's a bit daunting. She's been away from us for extended periods of time, but never this far away and not without church camp or relatives to keep an eye out. It is a very regimented agenda and stringent packing policy, so we have been checking the list multiple times so as not to screw anything up. I noticed she could take a small cooler for the bus with drinks and snacks. So off to the "K-Roger" I went to get a few provisions to make the trip a bit more comfortable.

As my three readers know, I am a superfan of people watching....the weirder the better. I make observations not to mock, but simply to express my shock and awe at the guts and nerve some people have. My wardrobe is one of jeans and gray shirts, so anything apart from that is daring and flashy and so not up my alley. So imagine my delight when I came upon this lady who had to be probably early 70's:



Made my exhausted body smile a little. I've never worn pj's to Kroger, though it has been tempting. This is not an exaggeration of her wardrobe. How excellent is that? Good for her for going for comfort. I wish I could be more comfortable with myself. While her choices would not be mine, I have to admire her choice for comfort over what other people think.

I am now going to retire to the couch and prepare myself to fall asleep to Duck Dynasty...best show on TV.
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Not much to report

It has been a long day but one that I can't really say exactly what happened. I kow we hit the grocery twice, went to check books out at the library, went to a birthday party for a brief time and went to work. The kids felt the extreme boredom at work, so much that they got creative in one of the nursery rooms:



Twister with one person gets pretty old, I hate to say. It did get a bit exciting this afternoon when the wind picked up quite a bit and took our patio umbrella for a ride:



Yes, it looks like ghettoville on the patio, but with a gimpy husband and me with zero math skills, the fence is on hold for a bit. The posts are in and that is a victory.

I am asking for prayer for the hub. His latest injection has done nothing and the pain is overwhelming. Praying for wisdom when it comes to surgery or not and the type of surgeon he needs. We know the Lord will provide...we just need some patience.

Nothing of humor to report, although I did spot an excellent mullet today. Top notch. It's the little things, you know?
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Listen to directions...especially from the zoo lady

Today was a scorcher. I know, get used to it. After doing the unfun, chore-y kind of things, the younger two and I ventured out into the heat. First stop, the cemetery. I know a lot of people get creeped out by going there, but I don't. My grandparents and great aunt are there and every year we put flowers on their graves. I love being able to tell the kids their Great Aunt Edrie was in the Navy during WWII, that she was a trailblazer. We said a prayer for all of them, shed a few tears, cleaned off some markers that needed a little help and talked about the different veterans we saw buried in our little area. After we lost a pound each due to sweat, we got back in the car and made our way to the park.

Every Memorial Day, our little area of town has a celebration complete with bands, food, exhibitors, games and reenactments. G and the boy wanted to do the jumpy thing where you get tied up and jump for about 3 minutes. After that, I took them on a horse and wagon ride. Sweetest horse ever...what a handsome guy:



After that, it was time to get something cold and go look at the exhibitors. Root beer floats with homemade ice cream seemed to hit the spot and relieve a bit of the heat stroke. The Zoo had a tent with some various reptiles and tiny mammals. When we arrived, the zoo employee had a little owl out and was readying herself for a presentation. The kids were of course entranced with the owl, but knew better than to get closer than was safe. From behind me, I heard someone approaching with great gusto. I believe, after seeing his mannerisms and hearing his voice, that he was in a special needs category of some sort. He was SO excited to see the owl, he powered in there and got behind the table. The zoo lady, in her most polite voice, asked him to get out from behind the table because "The owl is out!". He went to the end of the table, but that was it. You could tell this bothered zoo lady a bit, but she pressed on....one eye on the owl and one on the guy. He kept saying under his breath, "Gotta see that owl...gotta see that owl. Owl. Owl. Gotta see the owl.". He moved a little closer and the owl's wings fluttered a little. I kept a hand on mine and kept pulling them back, little by little. Zoo lady says, "The owl is getting freaked out, everybody just restrict your movements, please.". The guy moves closer to his desired behind the table position saying to himself, "Gotta see the owl. I wanna touch that owl.". When the zoo lady said a sharp, "SIR!", I knew it was time to go. I did not want the kids to bear witness to an owl attack whilst sipping on root beer floats.



The kids were glad to leave and get out of the heat. I was glad to avoid a traumatic childhood memory associated with birds. Happy Memorial Day, everybody!
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Not another likeable reality show guy

The hub and I, as I mentioned earlier, love Duck Dynasty. Love, love, love it! I could watch those guys all day long...just want to fix them a meal and sit around the table visiting. Maybe because they remind me of some family, I don't know.

The children have a new favorite show, right after Duck Dynasty. They love "Call of the Wildman". A backwoods Kentucky boy who catches animals with his bare hands. The guy lost a large number of his top front teeth in a chainsaw accident. He bathes in a rain barrel and hangs around with his buddy Neal who serves as his secretary, fielding calls and accompanying him on various adventures. He seems like a down to earth, nice old boy.



Good clean fun with a good ole boy. Enjoy and let me know what you think...
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No rhyme or reason

I know they are not an anomaly, but my children never cease to confuse me with their reasoning about when they want and don't want to clean. Does that make sense? Me: "Uh, your room needs to be cleaned. There are more dirty clothes in your closet than there are in the basket. Come on, guys.". This statement is immediately followed by intense groaning and general expressions of those people who have been waterboarded. Now on the other hand when my children have happened to be at a friend or relative's house and are told of a cleaning problem they have, they do this:



Super cleaning dynamoes come out and turn into Scrubbing Bubbles meet Mr. Clean. A thing of mysterious, inexplicable beauty. So you can imagine my surprise when I went to the super de duper car wash and this happened:



Okay not that, but it was fun. This happened:



Okay, I did it again. I just thought the action shots were kind of fun. This is what:









It was the last day of school. They could've been swimming or playing or watching a movie. You would've thought it was flippin' Christmas when I told them they could operate the vacuums. It was amazing!

So for any of you who know us need some cleaning done...a few odd jobs wiped out, call my kids. Ply them with juice boxes and popcorn and they will scrub your toilets. I'm serious.
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The spine needle strikes again

The hub went in for injection number two today. As discouraging as the first one was, the doc did make him feel better. Apparently only about 20% of people don't need additional injections. Knowing he was not a rare case that freakishly did not work made him feel better.

I sat watching bad daytime television and watching for my hospital beeper to light up and give me word of his progression through the process. I was nervous and bored and lonely and full of hope. Thank goodness for the iPad. It got awful lonely.

I took him through a drive thru to get a milkshake and then we made our way home. He still has pain going down his leg, so we aren't sure how effective this injection will be. Two days to one week will tell the tale.

He is sleeping now. I know that we both have such hope tied up in the power of a shot. I dread the morning, because I worry if he wakes up with zero change. How will I make it alright for him...make him know everything's going to be okay. I don't know. Just pray this one works. Please....


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