Milk and Bread and Crafts

Well, the temps are dropping and the rain is falling...just waiting on the freezing part to start.

Sure wish Jim was home safe and sound. He is in LR with a bunch of the other managers from his work, getting things ready and staged...and doing a lot of answering questions and waiting. You can be as prepared as possible, but you can't prevent weather...and you can't fix what it messes up until after it happens. People are gonna lose power...it's already happening in some parts of our state.

I wish he was here, but he works for the largest electric utility company in our state. He packed a bag, just in case he isn't able to come home.

I spent part of the day in LR with Holly. We dropped Joshua off with his group for a few hours. It's the last day of their fitness class of this year, and he didn't want to miss it. PLUS, his group was going to Panera Bread for lunch, and, not gonna lie...there hasn't been a storm, disaster or weather warning yet that will make any of the friends want to miss an outing to a restaurant.

Just sayin'.

Holly had a hair appointment, so I went with her. She got a bunch of hair cut off...5-6 inches, probably. And her hair is STILL longer than mine.

The girl has some hair. Her new style looks so cute!

I was fit-to-be-tied about the weather, like, the whole time we were there. Can't help it. I didn't really think it was the smartest idea ever to go into LR on a day when freezing rain had been predicted anyway...I just didn't want Holly to go by herself. I spent nearly the whole time at the salon checking the radar. Holly said I was about out of control...that I may or may not have been a little rude...and loud. She said I was loud.

WHAT?

She basically said I get all out-of-sorts like the people in the Snickers commercials who are "just not themselves" until they have a Snicker bar...and she gave everyone an "Exhibit A" example from yesterday when the crowds and shopping at Target were about to PUSH ME OVER THE EDGE. She left me in the line to pay and she walked over to the Starbuck's that's in the Target store to get coffee and a treat...and then basically fed me pieces of lemon pound cake while I drove home. She said I was back to my happy self in 10 minutes.

She's probably going to have to start keeping cookies and crackers in her purse for when I get this way, and feed them to me at the proper time...to keep me on my best behavior. Like I used to do for her and her brothers when they were younger.

THE TABLES...OH HOW THEY'VE TURNED.

ANYWAY, I was getting super antsy and the hair-dresser lady could not get done fast enough for me. I could feel my head starting to pound, so I choked down two Motrin with just the saliva in my mouth, SO AS NOT TO MAKE A SCENE OR ANYTHING.

God forbid.

But the bad thing about taking pills without a drink is that they sometimes get stuck in your throat...or neck...or wherever. I don't know if they were, or if I imagined it...but it was not a good feeling and I kept thinking that if I could just swallow a bunch of times, that feeling would go away.

Thankfully, the people at the salon gave me a drink and we got out of there as quickly as possible.

Holly offered to drive home...which I appreciated because she is a good driver...but just the thought of being a passenger in my own car on potentially wet or icy roads would be enough to turn me into one of those Garfield car window things with the suction cups on the paws. I would be stuck on the window and trying to get out!  I said the only way I was letting her drive was 1) if I was dead, or 2) if I was dying, or 3) completely knocked out.

At which point she offered to run by the pharmacy to see if she could get a one-time dose of something really strong that would konk me out in the backseat.

I'm a joy, I know.

But we made it to Panera Bread and picked up Joshua. Holly got a to-go order of soup and half of a sandwich and we took off. I gobbled down half of her half-a-sandwich and immediately felt better. And, 35 minutes later, we pulled into our town, and the freezing rain hadn't started yet (thankfully). I was feeling MUCH better, so we did what other normal people would do in a similar situation: we went to Hobby Lobby.

Because, the crafts.

They were calling me.

And you know what you need when you are stuck at home in an ice-storm besides milk and bread, milk and bread, milk and bread? Crafts.

Altho, I don't know how it's gonna feel doing crafts in the dark...but maybe it won't come to that.

"He says to the snow, 'Fall on the earth,' and to the rain shower, 'Be a mighty downpour.'" Job 37:6

Winter Weather

We are supposed to get some winter weather here tomorrow and Friday...and then have the coldest temps we've had in YEARS at the early part of next week.

Boosh!

And you can just feel it in the air.

Not the cold...the anticipation of the cold.

Because it's been warm here all week. But people are hurrying around...at the grocery, at the gas station...everywhere.

I've got groceries...most of them. I think there's a couple of things I could run by and get...just to have. I mean, I pretty much have a menu of things I can make for the next several days...chili, soup, chicken and dumplins...and no one wants to buy too much. If you lose power and it's days before it's fixed, you could lose a lot of that food. Because as cold as it could be in your house, it's probably not gonna be cold enough to keep meat completely frozen...or milk completely cold...or ice-cream from melting.

And, it's when we have weather like this that I like to tell people my #1 tip for if/when the power goes out...well, the first thing I do BEFORE the power goes out...BEFORE the bad weather...is to get all the laundry caught up. I'm talking TOWELS AND SHEETS...because you never know who might be at your house. You might have family or friends who need a warm place to stay, and you for sure want to have clean sheets and towels, am I right?

Prepare your home for company.

But, the most important tip I have for if/when the power goes out is...EAT THE ICE CREAM FIRST!

"...The LORD Himself watches over you!" Psalm 121:5

What We Need

You know...no family is perfect. Not even the best ones.

Not even yours.

Not even mine.

If you get to know people long enough...and are able to talk to them about their families, it will explain a LOT about why they are the way they are.

I've written about my family...about how my parents were raised, and how they raised us. I feel like I am far removed from both ways. I'm not nearly as reserved as my Dad's side...but I'm also not as open as my Mom's side. And Jim's mom and dad were raised differently as well, but family is important to all of us.

We don't get to pick our families. We know that. And sometimes in some families things are hard...even unbearable. It makes my heart hurt to hear of these situations.

But, more often than not, we are raised fairly normally, whatever that is. Yet even our "normal" families can have their share of problems.

I think you really see it after you have kids of your own. You think about how you were raised and how you want things to be different. Or that you want things to be the same. And you hear about your friends' parents taking their entire families to Disney World or on a ski trip...and how their holidays are right out of a Hallmark commercial, complete with hot chocolate and football in the backyard and everyone smiling at dinner...and MAN, you wish YOUR family did things like that.

Or maybe your friends have parents who keep their kids on a regular basis. Or occasionally so you can have a date night, or go on a weekend trip. And yours don't...or won't...or can't...or they live too far away.

I think it's easy to look at other families and wish you had the relationships they have.

The relationships you THINK they have.

The ones they portray to the world.

But, you know, some people are selfish....they were that way as kids, they were that way as parents...don't expect things to be different when they have grandchildren. Maybe they don't think they are being selfish at all. Maybe they may feel like they've worked hard and now is their "me" time. They love their family in their own way, and will fit you in when they can...and they are fine with that. They would be hurt if they knew how you really felt. Maybe it's the way their family does things. Maybe it's the only way they know.

Expectations.

They can be a real buzz killer.

But I think that people can only do what they can do...what they WANT to do. And fretting and stewing over it and wishing things were different...is only going to hurt YOU. You can't make people be a certain way, any more than they could change YOU if they wanted to. It's just not going to happen.

Now, YOU can change YOU...with God's help. But even that won't change your past...I wish I had been a better daughter, sister and friend...but it can change your future. HE can change your future.

There may always be things that bug you about your family, or certain family members...or maybe you are one of those where everything is perfect! Or maybe you are one of those where family equals all manner of horror. I don't think you owe anyone "family time" in those types of situations. Our number one priority as parents is to protect our children from harm, in as much as it depends on us...and so if there is a history of any type of abuse, I say, "run Forrest run."

We were talking with friends recently...Godly and God-fearing and God-honoring friends...and their family is so messed up! How in the world those two came out of that mess I will never know.

Oh, wait...GRACE. God's grace.

DOH.

That's how we all come out of the mess that is our lives...

These friends are frustrated with the level of support they get from their parents...especially when it comes to them as grandparents. I just suggested that they are going to have to accept that it is what it is. No more, no less. And for the most part, they have. They have (wisely) made a genuine effort to find friends of different ages to be their "family." They have several couples who are older...who can be sources of wisdom and encouragement in their lives when they aren't getting that from their own families.

My best friend, Stacy, gave me a sign that I have in my kitchen. It says, "friends are the family we choose for ourselves." I have a good family that I love, but they all live far away...so our friends have stepped in and stood in the gap for us many, many times...like family.

In those times, it's just what we need.

"...put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity." Colossians 3:14

3rd Round Play-Off Game

So Friday was the big day. The day we had waited for all season. Clark's football team had made it to the 3rd round of play-offs and we were headed up to NWA (northwest Arkansas) for the game.

Jim had to work a few hours that morning, but Clark had to be at the field-house by 9:30 for the team breakfast...and a movie...and all the gettin' ready stuff that boys and teams do before a big game. They were going to leave at 12:30, but the families were invited to come up at 12:15 and line the streets around the school...so Jim and I headed up there. I was thankful to see so many come out and support our boys.

The boys got a police escort as the buses left the school...and a firetruck was there as well, lights on and sirens screaming. It was pretty cool.

Jim, Joshua and I left town around 3. We picked up Clark's friend, Faith, on the way up the road a bit. We stopped to eat before we got to the game. At the restaurant, there was a little, old couple. They had already caught my attention because of how they were dressed. Not judging...it was just pretty pitiful. Actually, the woman looked okay. The man? Not so much.

I watched them for a while and breathed a little prayer for them...mindful of my many blessings and of that old saying, "there but for the grace of God go I." Or something like that. I was trying hard not to make up a story about them in my head like Jim's mother does, but I couldn't help but wonder what...why? As they finished their meal, the woman sneezed several times as they cleared their trash off the table. She walked to the bathroom and the man waited for her at the table.

She came out just about the time we were finishing up our meal...she walked over to the man and announced, "well, I just threw all that up."

EEEEK!

Not gonna lie...I felt my throat tighten, and I had to fight the urge to hack my food up as well.

I mean...KEEP THAT INFORMATION TO YOURSELF, PEOPLE.

Jim, who was oblivious to all of this said, "hey, do you need to use the restroom before we go?"

Eeeek! I told him real quick that there was no way I was going in there. I mean, I would rather "go" on the road beside the car than to set one foot into that bathroom.

Well, that should've been a sign that the rest of the night would not go well.

Just kidding.

Really, our team played HARD. Our opponents were used to rolling over pretty much every other team. We were predicted to lose by 18. We lost by a touchdown in the last quarter. We beat ourselves, but we also made them work for the win.

It was such a great season. So thankful Clark had the opportunity to play this year.

"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father." Colossians 3:17

Small Feet Wearing Crocs...

I hear him come down the stairs.

It's the same every day.

Step, pause...step, pause...

The sound of little feet wearing Crocs.

He is careful coming downstairs. His balance and his vision are not good. He knows that.

I've been up a while. I've seen Jim off to work and Clark off to school. On the days Joshua and I don't have to go into LR, I will come back to my room...to my bed...and post up with a cup of coffee, my Bible and my lap-top.

A little quiet time.

I hear him in the kitchen. He's trying hard to be quiet. Honestly, if I was asleep...he would not have woken me up.

But I can hear him walk. Croc...croc...croc.

On Saturdays, when we make a big family breakfast, he will "croc" down the stairs half-way...just til he can bend his head down and peer into the living room/kitchen area. He just wants to survey the situation. If he sees me cooking, he goes back up. No sense coming all the way down. He'll just check again later.

But this morning, I hear him put his pop-tarts in the toaster. I struggle with whether to go in there with him or not. Most of the time, I do...sometimes, in the mornings...because I know his routine, I just let him be.

I can hear him get his juice. He loves him some orange juice. I can hear him quietly pull the chair away from the table. I can picture him now. It's the same every day.

I've already been up, so the blinds are open. He will sit at the table...he will not turn on the light. He thinks everyone should "learn to enjoy the sunlight." He looks out the window while he eats...and he checks his phone for messages and updates.

When he's done, I hear him lift the lid on the trashcan. He rinses out his cup and puts it on the counter. He will use the same cup all day. He thinks it's wasteful to do otherwise.

I hear him on the carpet runner that's in the hallway. I know he's coming to check on me. The door is barely cracked. I can hear him breathing. His hand is on the door...opening it ever so slightly. And then I see his head. He peers in and smiles..."you up?"

His hair is disheveled. His almond-shaped eyes are crinkled up with his smile.

He asks me how I slept. He always asks me how I slept. Sometimes he comes in and gives me a hug. Sometimes he eases out the same way he came in.

After a few minutes, I hear him go up the stairs. Stomp, stomp, stomp.

It's easier for him to go upstairs.

Later, when I come into the living room...all of the "couch blankets" are folded neatly and piled on the couch. There are at least 3 of them...sometimes more. He stacks them up on the couch. He always folds them. I don't ask him to...he just does.

No one else ever does.

I love this sweet, funny, sincere, caring, sensitive man-child. So thankful for him.

"...how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news." Romans 10:15