Monday, September 29

my Lone Star boy

Well, we're back. We've been back for a week. And I haven't updated. Sorry!

The trip to Corpus went as well as can be expected. I didn't have to go to the beach (YAY!!), and the aquarium and the USS Lexington (an aircraft carrier that's been turned into a kind of museum) were awesome. So. That's all I have to report from the trip.

And this week. has. been. insane!! My oven went out a few days ago, and it's probably going to cost me somewhere in the neighborhood of $5000 to replace it. $300 for the actual oven, and $4700 for the rest of the kitchen that'll be remodeled. I'm very, very nervous, and incredibly excited at the same time. I've not been crazy about my kitchen since we've moved in, and we've been planning on remodeling before we move (probably in 3-4 years), but this is just a little sooner than expected!

The weather here has been absolutely wonderful. We could really use some rain (I think we're something like 20 inches under the average amount), but we've practically been living outside. I don't think we've been higher than 92 in the last two weeks, and the nights have been getting in the low 60's/high 50's. You can all laugh at me, but it's like winter here! :) Not really, but it's been awfully nice.

And last week, Sam got out of bed and went outside to bring the newspaper in for John. He went out wearing a t-shirts and no pants. Underwear but no pants. (Look, we live in the country. We can get away with this kind of thing, ok? Just be glad he was wearing any clothes at all.) It was 62 out. I know, because this comment prompted me to look and make note of the temp. He ran back inside, shivering and telling me he was freezing cold. Then he asked me the question. The one that proved something to me.

"Mom, do you think it's going to snow today? Because it feels like it's cold enough for snow."

It was at that exact moment that I knew.

We're from Texas. There's just no two ways about it.

Saturday, September 20

and we're off!

It's almost 6 on Saturday morning as I type this. I was up early this morning, at ten after five. Luckily, I was wise and went to bed early last night OK, I'm a moron, and didn't get to bed until almost one. Helloooooooo, coffee!!!

I'll be leaving in about two hours to take the chicks (and various 'thank you' goodies) over th Kristie's house. God bless that family; what wonderful friends they are to have!! I'll head back home after that, to load up the van and collect my family. Luckily, we'll only be gone for two nights, and David doesn't require near as much stuff as he used to when it comes to traveling, so there's not too much to load.

We'll head over to Enterprise to pick up the car we're renting for the trip, because even though we took the van in on Tuesday and thought the a/c was fixed ... it's not. So they'll work on it over the weekend (I can think of more pleasant things to do that drive over 12 hours round trip with no a/c in September in Texas!), and hopefully we can pick it back up on Monday afternoon or Tuesday. After we get all our stuff from the van to the rental, we'll be off for the drive down to Corpus Cristie, which should take us about 5 hours, with a few stops factored in.

As much as I enjoy whining, I really am looking forward to this trip. I've been given a pass from getting in the ocean (Brea + the Gulf of Mexico = NOOOO!), and I don't have to go fishing (if I'm going to fish, I want to do it from a river bank, under a tree, with a bell on my line and a good book beside me), and we're planning on going and seeing the aquarium they have down there, and either the aircraft carrier I've been to when I was a wee little tyke, or the battleship. I wish we had time to do both, but we don't. Oh, well.

Please pray that we have a safe trip, that this would be a time of fellowship for our family (I'll explain more on that when we're back), and that our van won't be too durned expensive to fix!

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend. Remember to hug your children more than normal, kiss your husband slightly longer than you'd normally deem appropriate, and call up your friends or family and tell them you love them!! God bless!!

Wednesday, September 17

it never rains, but pours

Well, that's not true. It doesn't actually rain here at all. But the weather has been dreamy for this time of year! I haven't had to run my a/c in 3 days. Yeah, buddy!

But anyway. It's been insane as usual around here. Last Friday, we went to the ER (at 6:15 in the morning, may I add!) to get David's stitches taken out of his head wound. He did beautifully; not a single whimper, flinch, or sniffle, and he didn't even try and move the doc's hand.

Yay, David!!

$500 later, we got home. (Why is it so expensive??) Everyone was excited to see how his head was doing, and how he was healing. About 2 hours later, we were all outside, and no one was more happy about that than David. He hadn't been able to be outside all week, and he was delighted to be out there. Until he fell, hit his forehead on the wheelbarrow, and busted about half of his head wound back open.

Bad, bad David.

Blood everywhere, older kids freaking out, John kind of freaking out (if you'll remember, he wasn't here the first time), much running for the first aid kit, and a debate over whether or not to take him back in and get him re-stitched. We decided no to go back to the ER, and rely on butterfly band which has worked pretty well. But still, I spent most of the three days after that keeping him within arm's reach, to 1) keep him from injuring himself again, and 2) keep him from taking the bandages off his head.

Hurricane over the weekend, which meant lots of attempted (and several failed) phone calls. Everyone we know is ok. My mother-in-law, up in The Woodlands, still doesn't have power, and probably won't for at least another week.

Church on Sunday, and John worked Saturday night. We only have one car, and John doesn't go to Sunday School when he works Saturday nights, so here was our routine Sunday: I woke up at 5:15, like always. I had my coffee and quiet time, got all the church clothes ready, got the kids up and made breakfast for everyone as quietly as possible. Brush hair and teeth, dress, and try to be out the door by 9:10, waking John just before we leave so he can start getting ready. Then I have to leave Sunday School early (I work in the nursery with Pace, and we only have 3 babies, one of which is mine) with David and go back and get John. We try to make it back before the service begins, but we usually miss the first song (it's a 40 minute round trip, church to home and back), so Sam and Evie always sit with another family until we get there. This week, John had to be at work around noon, so we bolted out the door as soon as the announcements were over and took him straight to work. The kids and I headed home for lunch, had a lovely afternoon and evening, and went back to pick John up around 10. It was close to 11 before we were home and the kids in bed. Whew!!

Then came Monday. Monday was bad, because my sweet, wonderful, precious dog, Maggie, got run over by the school bus and died. It was an awful afternoon. After being screamed at by my neighbor (no, he wasn't the one who hit the dog; he was just that pissed off at me, I guess), and having Maggie's collar thrown at me, I came inside, told the kids, put on a movie, and promptly threw up. (Not because of how she looked. She looked perfect, like she was asleep. I was that freaked out by everything.) I called my dear friend Becky, who decided that I shouldn't be at the house with the kids by myself with a psychotic neighbor next door, so her family came over to watch the Cowboys game. Did I mention that her husband is a former Marine, current Navy reservist, and a police officer? And that John was at work and not due home for at least a few hours? I was more than ok with them coming over.

Tuesday we got up, picked up a rental car, dropped the van off at the shop to have the a/c fixed, came home, buried Maggie, I ran some errands and had girl time with Evie (and got the first chunk of my Christmas shopping done), we went and picked the van back up, came home, had supper, and I passed out on the couch around 9:30, watching The Best of the Johnny Cash Show, which was amazing, before I fell asleep.

And today, I've cleaned out the chicken coop and made lost of repairs to the year, started clearing my gardens so I can till them tomorrow, and folded lots and lots of laundry.

Tomorrow, we start a new Bible Study at Kristie's house. It's a Beth Moore study. I've never done one before, but they're supposed to be awesome. I'm excited. And tomorrow I start getting ready for our short trip to Corpus Christie, which I'm emphatically not excited about. John's dad has a timeshare or something down there, and we're going Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. I don't like leaving my house, I don't like sharing a room with all three of my noisy-sleeping kids, and i. hate. the. beach. Sand gets in my hair, and in my clothes, and in my car, and in places that sand has no right being. I'm just saying. And I really hate going places on weekends, because then there's other people out, too, and I just don't like other people. Except you, of course. :)

I know, I know. I'm just whining and trying to gain sympathy at this point. (Is it working? Do you feel ever so sorry for me yet???) Anyway ...

I'm awfully tired. If someone could come body-snatch me for a day or two, and I could just nap, that'd be great ...

Sunday, September 14

Would you vote for him after reading this?

Wow. I'm not one to post a ton of political stuff on my site, but I came across this article from July 19, 2006 on WorldNetDaily.com this morning. It truly scares me.

Why Jesus Would Not Vote For Barack Obama

What the hell is wrong with some people? Seriously!

Saturday, September 13

hurricanes and other ramblings

As you know (or maybe you don't, in which case this is new to you), I'm from the Houston area. Katy, just went of Houston on I-10, to be exact. And as you also know (and if you don't know this, you probably live in a big hole in the ground, with a rock for a door, in which case you probably don't have interweb access and aren't reading this anyway), a hurricane just hit Galveston and Houston. Hurricane Ike. He wasn't too strong, as hurricanes go, but he was a big ole' boy.

I've been in touch with all the vital friends and family in the area this morning, and while no one seems to have power (thank you, Lord, for cell phones that work without power!), everyone is doing ok. The storm has essentially passed my Katy/West Houston friends and family, and the rest of my peeps are north of Houston, mostly in The Woodlands, and they're doing ok, too.

This is/was a really bad storm. I think it's going to be a lot worse than people previously thought. Please pray for everyone in the path of this thing; they really need it. I heard on the news that 3 million customers are without power, which means over 4.5 million people without power, and it's goin got be weeks before the power is restored everywhere.

Tuesday, September 9

The Simple Woman's Daybook

Jessica at Farm Fresh just did this post, and I loved it! So I'm going to be a sheeple and do one, too. :)


For Today ...

Outside my window ... The sky is just turning gray, and it's incredibly still and humid. It's only supposed to be in the upper 90's today, which is such a lovely break from the multiple 100+ days we had most of last month!

I am thinking ... that I need to get my butt of the computer and get in the shower, and wondering why I decided to sleep in and not get up until 5:50 this morning.

From the learning room ... I have no idea. I think we're going to do a lot of baking this afternoon, so we'll get quite a bit of unintentional learning done. :)

I am thankful for ... so many things. My darling husband. My sweet children. My amazing friends. A Savior who loves me no matter how many times I screw up. XanGo, for really helping with John's allergies.

From the kitchen ... Oatmeal for breakfast, yummy chicken salad for lunch, maybe stuffed squash for supper, and lots of baking when I get home this afternoon.

I am wearing ... a towel. I really need to get off the computer and into the shower!

I am reading ... two different books by Elisabeth Elliott. God's Guidance: A Slow and Certain Light, and The Shaping of a Christian Family. Both awesome. You need to get them, today.

I am hoping ... that all the kids wake up with great attitudes, and behave for John today while I'm gone. And that they all have fun together. And that the dentist isn't going to charge me for the cap that popped off.

I am creating ... a very fun and noisy family. And a large new flock of chickens, who will hopefully be nicer than our last ones, and not eat their own eggs. (We got 20 new chicks a few weeks ago, and had 7 out of 11 of the last ones processed.)

I am hearing ... Maggie's tags on her collar jingle as she follows David around, and David playing with a truck and a gun ... both toys, of course!

Around the house ... I'm loving my clean floors downstairs, I need to vacuum upstairs, and I can smell my new candle all the way up here in the loft ... and it isn't even lit right now!!

One of my favorite things ... is my quiet time in the mornings. You might think I'm crazy to get up so early when I don't have to, but nothing beats drinking a hot cup of coffee and reading my Bible on the front porch before the sun has come up. It's lovely, and quiet, and not hot, and almost magical. Seriously.

A few plans for the week ... Dentist and lunch with a friend from book club today. Watching the hurricane to see if we can make it in to the Astros game Friday night (probably not). Preparing for visitors if the hurricane is still headed straight to Houston (probably, but hopefully not!). Kissing my kids and husband many, many times. Taking David at 6 am Friday to have his stitches out. Tying to keep David from pulling out said stitches before the correct time, or smearing dirt in them. Conference calls and work stuff. Homeschooling. Trying to convince my best friend Sarah that she really, really, really needs to come visit me before she moves in the next month or two. Taking care of the chicks and chickens. Playing ball with Maggie. Y'know, all the normal, everyday stuff that makes my life so dang awesome!!

The Simple Woman's Daybook is held over at The Simple Woman every Monday. Go check it out!

Monday, September 8

one fall, five hours, and seven stitches

Mom, please don't read this. I can't be held responsible for you reading this, seeing the b-l-o-o-d word, fainting at work, hitting your head, having a concussion, and being rushed to the hospital. So just check back in a few days, please, Mother Dearest.

Ok. So. I'm putting some towels away in my bathroom yesterday when I head a fall. One of those falls that you hear, and it makes your heart stop beating for a few seconds and makes you run faster than Jesse Owens. So my heart stopped beating for a few seconds and I ran faster than Jesse Owens to the living room, where David had decided to swan dive into the corner of the fireplace. It only took me a few seconds to get to him, and he looked like an extra from a low-budget horror flick. I'm not kidding. Blood everywhere. By the time I picked him up and got to the kitchen to wipe him off, his face, his shirt, and part of my shirt were covered in blood. I thought maybe he had knocked a tooth out, too, because of all the blood that made it into his mouth, but it was only the spot on his forehead.

I saw he was going to need a stitch or ten, so once the bleeding really stopped, I taped a piece of gauze to his head, got a bag ready (full of books, snacks, and drinks- hey, man, I've got three young kids. I go places prepared!), got everyone changed and found shoes, and went up to the hospital. We made it there about an hour after it happened, which is pretty good, considering all the shoe-finding, and that we live about 20 minutes away. David was totally calm at this point, and jabbering on about whatever it was he was jabbering about.

I got the older kids settled in the lobby, checked in, and saw the triage nurse. There was only one doc in the ER, and there were several people to be seen before us, so I called my dear friend Kristie, who lives five minutes from the hospital, and her husband came and got the older two kids about ten minutes later. Yay!! My kids are absolutely wonderful, but I had no objections whatsoever about not having them there with us.

Have I mentioned that John was at work? Fortunately, he opened yesterday, and was able to get someone to bring him up to the ER as soon as the night manager came in. John got there around 4:30, just as we were going back to be seen by the doc. The doc looked at David's head wound, put a gauze soaked with topical lidocaine over the gash, and told us to wait. David continued to have a wonderful attitude, flirting with the female nurses, the male nurse, the doctor, the admissions girl, and the little old lady who (I think) had a broken wrist.

After the lidocaine worked it's numbing magic, the doc gave him the shots, waited a few minutes longer, and stitched him up. I got to watch the whole thing, and it was awesome. Seriously, I'm not being sarcastic. I'm a freak, and while I can't handle anything resembling a zombie movie, I love to know how the body works, and watch all those gross things doctors do. (My mother would have been on the floor, passed out. I'm not kidding. When I called to tell her where we were, I never got passed 'David cut his head' before she was shrieking and telling me to stop talking. It was a very interesting conversation.)

So we were at the ER for almost five hours total, and my little baby (yes, I know he'll be two in less than a month. No, I will not stop calling him my little baby. You can't make me. So there.) has seven stitches in his forehead. I got home, put the kids to bed, and poured myself a nice, cold, much-deserved beer. I drank most of it, watched some old-school Star Trek with John, and fell asleep on the couch before ten.

We go in on Friday to get the stitches taken out. Did I mention what a little trooper he was? He was amazing!!!!!!!!!! And I don't think he even noticed that he had stitches until he saw himself in the mirror this morning. :)

Wednesday, September 3

Conversations with Sarah

(phone rings)

Brea: Sarah!!!!! I'm so glad you made it home from Ohio safely. Tell me again why you're being crazy and moving away from Texas?
Sarah: Because I want to be near my sister and her boys, and help her out because her life is difficult.
B: Oh. Ok. Well, if you're going to be all not selfish, I guess I can't rag on you too much.
S: So how are you?

(rambles fly back and forth about the weekends we had, family issues on both sides, drama or lack thereof, blah, blah, blah)

S: Did I interrupt you from anything? Sorry to be calling so late.
B: No, John and I were watching I Am Legend.

(let me interject something here. Legend is about the sole survivor in New York City after a virus kills everyone, and the dead people turn into zombies. I don't do zombie movies, ever since watching the new Dawn of the Dead, and when I see zombie movies, I don't sleep for at least two weeks. I'm not kidding; zombies completely freak be out!!!!!!!!!)

S: Oh, I'm sorry! I'll let you get back to that.
B: No, it's really ok. We were only like 10 minutes into the movie, and when the phone rang, I shouted, 'O, thank you Jesus,' then glared accusingly at John and said on my way to answer the phone, 'I can't believe you were going to let me watch that!!'
S: Is that the one with Will Smith?
B: Yeah.
S: I remember that. Everyone dies in the end! Even Will Smith!!
B: Yeah, I figured as much. John saw the original and liked it, so he wanted to watch this one, too. I think I might like the old one, but this one is already getting to me.

(we go on to talk about the movie as Sarah remembers it, plot lines, other zombie movies, my issues with zombies, etc.)

B: The thing is, I hate zombie movies. I mean, I really, really hate them. I love scary movies, but I just can't watch zombie movies anymore since Dawn of the Dead. Zombies freak me out.
S: You have to keep reminding yourself that they aren't real.

(at this point, I think, 'Wait, did she just say that to me? Did she seriously just tell me to remember that zombies aren't real?')

B: Wait, did you seriously just tell me to remember that zombies aren't real? Sarah, I know that zombies aren't real!!!!!
S: Oh. Yeah. Sorry about that.