Storm

It has been raining for two days.

Yesterday, Jack sat on the stair landing with me and we watched a wild storm come through. Because I wasn't listening to TV or radio, I had no idea there was a tornado warning. I didn't need one! I had my refuge picked out and was ready to grab the dog and run the minute I heard anything suspicious in the wind.

Missy was in her kennel upstairs. Unfortunately, she was not included in my rescue plan. I didn't want to risk running up the stairs and miss my window of safety!

We have power at our house, but we don't have internet. I am currently at the church and waiting for Glenna's class to end. Time to get home and batten down the hatches!

Glenna

For all the grandmas out there, here's an update on your girl, Glenna!



Glenna before haircut:



Aaaaannnnnndddd. . . . . . . Glenna after!













So stinkin' beautiful, if I do say so myself, and moms are totally allowed to say that.




Then, on Monday, she got these:


Now she's having trouble chewing her Cheerios. Poor baby. She'll feel better soon!

Oops.

Glenna's virtual teacher sent me an email to "Hannah and Parent" explaining that she was overdue for her monthly call and has not turned in anything for 9 days.

I sent a reply stating that my daughter was not Hannah. She quickly apologized and then sent this mass response to the rest of the class:

"Dear Parents and Students,

This e-mail reached a lot of you by mistake.

Please, disregard unless your student's name is Hannah.

Sorry for the inconvenience,"


Glenna and I agree - Poor Hannah!

Camping Capers

Glenna's team is on KP the first night of the high school camping trip.

Me to Glenna, playfully: Hey you! You'd better not be sassy or I'll tell your mother!

Glenna: Tell my Dad. He's nicer.


ZIP! ZING!!!

The girl is QUICK, I tell you.

If You Could . . .

Please check out this web site.

This entire family is very near and dear to me.

Thank you!

Not Yet

My son is known as "the richest mechanic I've ever seen" at his job.

What has earned him this esteemed title?

When he first started working there, his supervisor came by and noticed the tools Ty had begun to accumulate. He remarked, "You've got a pretty good start, here! Once these are paid off, you can start buying some more!"

"They're all paid off. I paid cash for them."

"WHAT? You don't owe anything on these?"

"No."

"Well then, buy some more!"

We were happy to have Tyler move back home for this very reason. We wanted him to find a job, start paying his student loan, and purchase the tools he needed for his new profession (there are many). He would save and research and question and study, then he would buy the tools he knew he needed, one at a time.

This was very difficult to do while he was at school. The tool salesman had a very tidy offer on an entire Snap On kit that was ONLY available before they graduated. Every student put themselves in a HUGE amount of debt by accepting the deal and getting the tools and toolbox.

Everyone, except Tyler.

It was hard not to question his decision when his classmates began to receive their shiny new tools! We encouraged him NOT to go into further debt and to wait for God to provide exactly what he needed. When he got this excellent job, he was told he could use the shop tools for specialty items and all he needed to start was a basic kit and toolbox. We were so thankful that he didn't have all that debt in addition to his student loan!

Now, he has the most quality tools out there that are the best at doing his job, and they're free and clear of any debt. His coworkers try to make fun of him for living at home (because that, of course, is where the tool money comes from - paying for tools instead of rent), but he doesn't pay much mind. The parts guy quenched their razzing with, "Hey! In hind-sight, that's what I wish I would have done! Move back home and save as much money as possible!"

Tyler will forever need a tool budget (he is his grandfather's grandson, after all), but for the most part, he has what he needs to get the jobs done. This also means that his time at home will be coming to an end.

Not yet.

Soon.

But not yet.

I have soaked up every minute of this last season with my son at home. I have collected it as a treasure. I gladly send him off with lunches (another thing his coworkers razz him about, but he just smiles at their Cup-O-Noodles as he eats yummy leftovers). I gladly wash his laundry. YES, I do! Because when he moves out, it's over.

OVER, over.

And, because he's so appreciative and grateful for everything.

I know SOON is coming, and it will be good and right and wonderful when he's completely on his own.

Soon.

But not yet.

Hi Honey

I know you just left, but I miss you already.

I've been working on the closet in your office and clearing out the clutter. I found something from our sparkin' days! I thought I would put it on your pillow to remind me of you:








Love,

Me

Sounds of Slumber

With the iPod Touch, I am discovering the joys of downloading apps.

So far, all the apps, I've downloaded have to do with sleep.

I have night noises, forest noises, crashing waves, and raindrops. I have rain on canvas, a car roof, cement, and against a window. I have light rain, hard rain, and torrential rain.

The one that helps me sleep the most, however, is "gentle quiet crickets at night." It's amazing and so soothing, which is ironic, because crickets would make me crazy when we lived in California!

Our house would get crickets in the light fixtures and they would chirp merrily away, making me insane. They never bothered Himself because his hearing had too many years of shotgun blasts and rock and roll, so he couldn't hear them. I'd be sitting in the living room and I'd say, "Would you PLEASE get rid of that annoying cricket?"

"What cricket?"

"The one making the racket!"

"What racket?"

I'd guide him directly under the spot where I had heard the noise. He heard nothing. I'd ask him to pull the light out of the recessed canning and see what he could see.

Sure enough, as soon as he pulled the light down and swept his hand around it, a cricket would fall to the floor to its doom. He was always surprised that there was actually something there!

So, "Gentle Quiet Crickets at Night" is wonderful. They're not loudly chirping in my living room. Himself still can't hear them, so it doesn't disturb him in the least.

Win/win.

Goodnight!

25th Anniversary, Part 1

For our 25th Anniversary, we stayed at Wilderness Lodge at Disney World. Because I'm a cast member, I was given this tremendous discount as a Christmas bonus.

Thank you, Uncle Walt!

I'll talk more about the accommodations that came with our reservation, but for now let me present:

The Room.


This was the first thing I noticed when we walked in:
A chocolate canoe!


A chocolate canoe with chocolates!
(Which explains why it was the first thing I noticed, like an alcoholic knowing where the bourbon is located.) We saved this for Ty and Glenna.



The second thing I noticed was this personal gateway to heaven:
A marble waterfall jacuzzi tub! Come to Mama . . . it makes sense that at a Wilderness Lodge they have the perfect place for tub-ernating.


The following is a series of blurry photos from my ipod touch. Apple is big on features, but low on megapixels. Still, I was only trying to capture memories, so it worked great!




Our view from the balcony:
It really did feel like we were gazing out on the Pacific Northwest.


The balcony itself?
Meh.


The bed had this beautiful leather headboard:



Carved woodland creatures on each bedpost:


























No room would be complete without this cute reminder:
I have become a diehard Disney fan. Love The Mouse!