January 1996

This is Josh standing at what would now be our driveway to "the property" as it was known back then. He was carrying a pink cloth to mark where we decided to put the house. I remember on this day that it was snowy, windy and really cold. Josh would've been six years old. Matthew and Rachel were also with us. I was carrying Rachel in her infant car seat! It was so hard for me to imagine putting a house back on that hill.

Name Game

Okay, now after watching this video go to:

http://www.blogthings.com/whatsyournameshiddenmeaningquiz/

Check out your name's hidden meaning. Super fun.

You Are Here

If you are here and are reading my blog please know that I enjoy reading comments on my posts. I have a site meter attached to this and it shows me when and where someone is from who is looking at my blog. So I know people are looking. Just as you may (or may not) enjoy reading my blog, I enjoy reading the comments.

(this does not apply to mumma who always comments)

Funny People

Last night John and I went to a christian musical at a church about a half hour away. It was called "The Choice" and it was very good. Very long, but good.

This post is not about the musical. Its about the people.

People are funny. Should come as no surprise, but I'm always surprised.

On the way there it was snowing. The type that makes for slippery roads. We actually witnessed a smash 'em up accident! I don't know if I have ever seen one in action. Doesn't look like anyone was hurt but the car that rear ended someone was super smashed.

Anyhow. Someone was in a hurry behind us. We weren't moving fast enough. You pretty much encounter that on any given day on the roadways, but its a bit irritating when you are trying to be cautious on slippery roads, especially when you've just witnessed an accident. Maybe this bozo didn't see it. He was in a hurry! He had places to go! After going around us he ended up in front of us. He was then tailing the person in front of him. Like I said, he was in a hurry.

Funny thing. He was going in the same direction as us. It was becoming obvious that he was headed for the same destination as we were. The musical was to begin in about 9 minutes. We could see up ahead that he was pulling into the parking lot. I laughed and told John that we should offer him some assistance since it looked like we would be parking right next to him. As we approached the parking spot that we were being led into by the 'parking police', the guy and his girlfriend/wife/sister were getting out of their car. They looked at us as if saying, "what?"

We go inside the huge church and find our way to the sanctuary for seating. Once inside, a man who appears to be an usher asks if we would like assistance. Our tickets state a specific row to be seated in so we accept. As we are trying to maneuver through the crowded aisle, an older man is pushing a woman in a wheel chair going in the opposite direction. He was also in a hurry because he didn't care that I was standing in his way when he abruptly turned to go in our direction. A little close for comfort...he runs over my foot! No apologies. I just smile and keep walking.

We find our seats and see that several people from John's work are also there and already seated behind us. I'm pleasantly surprised. I'm not absolutely sure where most of them stand with God but I've got a good idea. One of the older men who is seated directly behind us says hello and comments on the play and the church. He seen it last year and really enjoyed it. Then he says to John, "this is a big @-- church!" On the way home John tells me that he overheard that same man tell his family, "maybe this will count and we won't have to go to church on Sunday!"

During intermission I was standing in line to visit the ladies room. I was in between two older women who began talking to me. The one behind me smiled and asked if the woman in front of me was my mother. I'm guessing that they were both in their late 70's. The woman in front of me explained that she hadn't planned on coming but someone at the assisted living home where she had recently moved into for some reason had not been able to come and so she ended up with that person's ticket. I wondered to myself if it was a divine appointment. Do I sometimes think too much into stuff like that? Maybe. But its how my brain works and has since March 2003. It was then that I had my own divine appointment.

I'm certainly not perfect myself and I'm not standing in judgement of any of these people. I just enjoy blogging and last night gave me a new post!

Matt's Wheelz

One 1989 GMC Sierra Truck - $1700
The Smile on Matt's Face - Priceless

This truck needs a little work and some new tires, but John and Matt are ready for the job. After months of searching they came across this one and actually bought it yesterday. Its being towed to our house tomorrow (yep, those tires are flat!).

Did I mention that Matt is geeked out of his mind?

Funny little side note:
When Josh and Matt were little, they would talk about the type of cars they would have, especially their first one. Not realizing the value of money yet, they both would insist that they would get a Viper or something really cool like that.

The J Family

I was shocked and completely devastated for the J family this past week when I found out that their youngest son Mark, who was only 18 years old, had suddenly died. He was a student at a university up north and had been found dead by fellow students one morning last week.

This same boy was a classmate of Josh's through grade school. Josh was in Cub Scout's in the third grade and Mark's mom was the leader, so we made frequent trips to the J house. Josh graduated from East and Mark graduated from West last year. I hadn't seen the J family in several years.

I would have never expected this. Unfortunately, the circumstances surrounding his death are not good, but still are not very clear. Drugs seems to have been the cause, but the autopsy was inconclusive.

Josh said that the last time he seen Mark was during 'Swing Out' after graduation.

I cannot get this family off of my mind. My heart is broken for them. What a tough road that lies ahead of them.

I pray that they draw strength from God. He is the only way that someone can get through such a tragedy.

40 Years Ago

This TV Guide sat in most people's living rooms during the week of August 3-9. I was a little over 2 months old.

Airline Tickets

How many Delta Airline employees does it take to purchase airline tickets?

apparently 8,018,928,983

How many hours does it take to get somewhere on the phone with Delta Airlines?

3+

That was my Saturday afternoon. Friday I purchased tickets online. It didn't 'go through' so I had to contact someone at Delta by 2pm on Saturday. After being on hold and finally getting someone, "Oops, wrong department, let me transfer you..." and then being on hold for a long time again to, "ummmm....let me see, you need to speak to...." and then being on hold for a long time again to getting some lady who was not very pleasant and made me feel like I was a pain in the rear, and after being on the phone with her and having her put me on hold no less than 8 times (!) and THEN getting disconnected! Did she hang up? Probably. I was furious. So I call back, get put on hold and finally a guy answers. Really nice guy, only that he sounds like he is from India and I can hardly understand him. I explain my frustration and ask to speak to a supervisor, I am definitely going to make a complaint.


So "Lee" comes on the phone. Nice guy and apologizes over and over about my situation. Long story short, I have to call my bank to get the 5,000 pendings that Delta has put on my bank account straightened out in order for me to CALL DELTA BACK and get those tickets purchased.

I might add that all this because the tickets were $70 a PIECE cheaper Friday than they were on Saturday. You do the math.

Time Travel

While I was in the drive-thru line at Timmy's the other morning, I saw a young woman with her little boy walking up to the building. He was probably 2ish and had a pacifier in his mouth. This has nothing to do with a pacifier I might add. While the snow was falling and I was waiting in line, I watched them. For that quick moment I began thinking back to when it was just me and Josh and we would go places together. When I was a stay at home mom and all that mattered was taking care of my little one (and trying to keep the house clean - of course). And then when Josh was at preschool and it was just me and Matthew. That cute chubby little boy and I would go eat pizza at the Kmart Little Ceasar's and go shopping together. We could go anywhere and do anything that we wanted (for the most part). I took the boys so often to the local park. Such leisurely times.

Fast forward to that morning in the parking lot and there I sat in my car on the way to WORK. All the kids are gone all day either to work or school. The house sits empty. No more Nick Jr on tv during the day. I recently cleaned out my cupboards and threw out the old collections of playdough and craft items that hadn't been used for a long time.

Those were the best days of my life.

I Want To ~

Feel the grass beneath my feet,
Smell the fragrant new blooms of all my perennials,
Feel the sunshine on my face as I lay beside the pool,
Hear the birds singing in the morning,
Watch the kids play in the pool,
Hear the kids laughter outside as they run around and play,
Keep my windows open all day,
Wash my van and have it clean longer than a day,
Hear the sound of someone mowing their lawn,
Lay in bed and listen to a thunderstorm,
Go buy and plant my annual flowers,
Wear lighter clothing,

and, as the commercial says, "....AND I WANT IT NOW!"

Summer Vacation

June 22nd......Key Largo here we come! Can't wait. Down to choosing which townhouse we'll stay at! Soooooo excited. After calling a "family meeting" tonight, we all sat around the computer and looked at all of our options. I originally wanted to go to California, but we just have not had any luck. So, when John brought up the fact that somewhere tropical would be nice, we looked into the Keys. The kids are geeked. Its gonna be awesome. Totally.