Jury Duty and Sewage!

Last week was a Big Week around here. I had jury duty for the first time AND we had a disaster in the basement. I've been called for duty before, but I've never had to go because I had small children or was homeschooling. Most recently, I was called during the school year, and I probably could have gotten out of it again, but my husband said I could defer it online to a better date,  so I chose Tuesday, the first weekday of Summer Vacation.

Normally, I'm on standby and call the night before to find out if I need to appear. This time, I had to go and was in Group 1. Many of the jurors I conferred with agreed that if you use the website and defer your service to a convenient date, you have really just let the Court know that you ARE available and they WILL call your name for the voir dire process!

I was paneled for the jury and had a very interesting 4 days learning lots and lots about what to look for when buying property, water runoff, creeks, and, best of all, sewage backups. The whole process was fascinating and educational, tedious and exhausting, and I wouldn't mind doing it again (after a nice, long rest) (and because I don't have a paying job, so, unlike many of my fellow jurors, I wasn't losing vast amounts of money by serving!).

You know what the unexpected blessing from this jury service was? Because of "recent events," as I told my husband (since I couldn't tell him about the trial), I was inspired to look further for the cause of the basement toilet overflowing, and I discovered the sump pump had stopped working and the utility room was flooded with an inch of dirty water that was starting to seep out into the next room.

Fortunately, I looked, because, unfortunately, we had moved many, many boxes of books and other items down to the basement in preparation for new floors upstairs. All of those had to be moved to safety, and some had to be unpacked because that carpet and padding is the Quicker Picker Upper! I got to leave for court while leaving my dear husband to contend with the plumber (Norm!). At the end of the day, we had a new sump pump (which my civic service does not cover the cost of!), and we tore out all the carpeting the water had touched---one large room, the hallway, and part of a bedroom. The basement is a complete disaster with boxes and stuff piled everywhere.

I'm pretty sure I won't get to do the sewing projects I had planned this summer. Lack of time is one thing; lack of access to my sewing room is another. No sewing, no ironing. No grown children visiting and sleeping in the basement. :-(  I think this is the Summer of Home Renovations and Decluttering.

Sometimes, I want to cry when I think about it, but it's really fine. It's all good. Nothing was damaged that is vital or irreparable. It's all just stuff which we have too much of. It's the amount of work that overwhelms me, if I think about it, but I just won't do that. I'll just do the next thing that needs to be done----choosing paint colors for the living room?----praying?----because it's really all about doing whatever God asks in the moment. Sometimes, that's mopping up nasty water and letting go of the desire to do your own will.

Exploring Our Downtown

Have you explored all the sites where you live? We can live someplace for YEARS and never take the time to explore the area!

Isn't that sky amazing? It was a perfect day!

In the past couple of weeks we have taken the time to explore our quaint, little downtown.  There is a lot of building going on----they've torn down the old City Hall and built a new one---- which is gorgeous. They are taking the opportunity to build a whole new city center and just, generally, make the whole area more appealing and accessible.

So we walked all over the place to see what is out there. It's a happening little place with some great shops and restaurants. There are several areas like this with benches surrounding a little fountain. Many of the original buildings date from just after the Civil War, though I think there are a couple left from before the war. 

This is the (probably new) rustic entrance to a restaurant.

I hope we spend more time downtown from now on. Frankly, I really want to buy one of the older, little homes nearby and fix it up! 

Maybe not THIS one! :-) But it is cute.....

Um, Happy Halloween, All Saints Day, All Souls Day?

A blessed feast of All Hallow's Eve to you! (ha! I'm a bit late!)

We are looking forward to a quiet, simple Halloween this year.  I have only 2 trick-or-treaters, and no costumes to make.  Pippo is wearing a pumpkin t-shirt that we got at Target with a green hat for a stem.

Meg is wearing a flamenco dancer dress that magically appeared in our costume box a couple of years ago.  I have no idea where it came from, but she's wearing it (with black leggings and a long sleeved black shirt underneath), and happy.  Really, any excuse to have a fancy hairdo and makeup works for her!

And I guess I won't be going with her for the first time.  I'll get to see what it's like from inside the house, and this is a good year for that since it is still windy and COLD from Sandy.

~~~~~~~~

Alrighty, then....

I guess I started to do some blogging Wednesday, but I didn't get very far!  The week of Halloween/All Saints Day can be pretty nutty for Crazy Catholic Moms who let their kids go trick-or-treating AND then dress as Saints for All Saints.  That's 2 costumes for each child!  Fortunately, we're passed the hardest part of that with only 2 kids to outfit these days, and at 13, Pip is past the whole elaborate costume phase.

Halloween costumes were pretty simple, and so were All Saints.  Pippo wore regular clothes and Meg wore her medieval gown and went as St. Elizabeth of the Hungry.  ;-)  Dh and I were discussing how easy it is for kids to make that mistake since Elizabeth of Hungary spent so much time feeding the hungry.  

Our homeschool group celebrated the feast of All Saints and All Souls on Friday.  We started with an outdoor picnic on the river at my old parish, and then we prayed the Stations of the Cross with special prayers for the souls in purgatory.  This was the book we used:  The Way of the Cross for the Holy Souls in Purgatory.  It was very beautiful and moving.

After that, we went inside for games for the young ones, followed by a challenging game of Catholic Jeopardy.  It was a very nice evening to visit with friends while the children were having fun.

~~~~~~
One of the things making it so busy this week is dealing with the aftermath of that car accident.  Two chiropractor appointments per week for 3 of us take up too much time.  It makes us behind on schoolwork, so then we're scrambling to keep up.  It gets to be too much, especially during a holy day week.

~~~~~~
Now it's Saturday and we're not very busy, except with household chores.  As I was cleaning and dusting earlier, I just wanted to get rid of practically everything.  I feel so badly for those who have lost absolutely everything in the wake of Hurricane Sandy that I don't want to have anything that I might be attached to and unwilling to part with.  I'm trying to wrap my head around the fact that none of it has any value beyond this earth and I can actually live without all of it.  And that's all well and good as far as material possessions go, but there are some people who have lost their families, too.  If I lost everything, home, family, livelihood...would I have the courage to start over?

I'm afraid I wouldn't, but I know that God gives grace when we need it, not before.  Right now, I'm extremely grateful for my home with electricity and running water, and family, and I'm praying for all those who are suffering.

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What have you been up to this week?

Was that what you call a fender-bender?

It didn't feel like a fender bender when we were hit from behind yesterday, but I guess it was.  We're all essentially fine----but we were rear-ended while leaving TMax's school.  I was turning right onto a heavily traveled 6-lane road (3 lanes each direction), and I stopped to check for oncoming traffic, of which there was plenty, traveling at 45+ miles per hour.  The woman behind me stopped briefly, she said, and then  "just went."  Why she "went" I don't know, because from what I saw there were lots of cars coming and our street had a red light!  When I lifted my head from the steering wheel, I vaguely realized there was traffic whizzing by and we were partially in their lane.

Praise be to God that we weren't hit by any of that oncoming traffic and all the kids were buckled in!  Meg and I whacked our heads the worst, and I know I'll be spending too many weeks at the chiropractor (again) since my head was twisted to the left and I hit both sides of it on the seat and steering wheel.   It doesn't hurt much, but I can't turn it properly.   Still, it's not as bad as last time:

The car is not totalled, and

There were no scary trips to the ER

The woman who hit us was very apologetic, but I'm ashamed to admit that I couldn't just brush off the accident and be very forgiving.  I was much nicer to the young man who hit us before----maybe because he was so concerned for our welfare, and I completely understand why he hit us---because accidents happen there all the time.  She, on the other hand, was on the phone, had a red light, and was entering a very busy road.  So, as you can see, I'm still not very forgiving.  Just very annoyed. 

The absolute worst part about it is the paranoia that follows.  It's been 3 years since that last event, and I'm still freaked out when I have to stop suddenly, terrified that someone behind me is going to hit me.

I think I'll be praying a lot more rosaries in the car from now on.  And saying my Guardian Angel prayer before I hit the road.

Angel sent by God to guide me,

be my light and walk beside me,

be my Guardian and protect me,

On the paths of light direct me.

Or:

Angel of God, my Guardian dear,

to whom God's love commits me here,

Ever this day be at my side, 

to light and guard, to rule and guide.

Thank you, Dear Friend, for being there for us yesterday!

God is Enough!

We came home yesterday from a week at St. Augustine beach, which I will tell you about in due time, and to a lot of unpacking.  Fortunately, I had done 99% of the laundry at the beach house so I would not be overwhelmed by that today!

Katie was home from her European tour and we sat down to watch her lovely slide show of all the beautiful places she had visited.  She and her friend had simply absorbed the culture wherever they were for almost a month.  She had thoughtfully brought gifts for each of us, and mine was a St. Teresa of Avila medal with a prayer card.  Written in Spanish, which I don't speak, the contents were somewhat of a mystery for the moment.

Having finished the slide show, I took the dog for a long walk around the neighborhood, where I proceeded to have a mini go-to-pieces (as my mother+ used to call it).  Overwhelmed and melancholy, little tears were dripping as I walked, though I wasn't even sure why, so I started a rosary.

As I walked and prayed, I wondered what good it was doing.  Yes, I know I'm supposed to meditate on the mysteries, but sometimes that doesn't happen as it ought!  I knew in my head that all the same tensions would be present when I got home:  unpacking, repacking Meg for summer camp, house cleaning and decluttering, getting ready for school, AHG, feeding my family...Yet I doggedly persisted in my prayer, reaching the last glorious mystery, The Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary as Queen of Heaven, as I came up the hill toward home.

All through the walk there had been this niggling little urge to find the translation of the St. Teresa prayer card, and as I started that last decade, I knew in my heart that it held the answer I needed.  If you know what it's like to be a mom, you know that for a myriad of reasons, I wasn't able to look it up until this morning!  This is what I found, and yes, it is the answer to my problems:

May nothing disturb you!

(St. Teresa of Avila had these verses written in herbreviary**)

May nothing disturb you.

May nothing astonish you.

Everything passes.

God does not go away.

Patience

can attain anything.

He who has God within,

does not lack anything.

God is everything!*

(Translation by Jorge W. Suazo)

(*This last verse may be interpreted as "God is enough.")

I'm still a little overwhelmed and melancholy, and I still have lots of work to do, but I know it will be okay.

25 Years Ago

1.  We were young and in love.
2.  We were totally confident in what we were doing.
3.  We were 21 and 23.
4.  We got married at the University Chapel at the University of Virginia.
5.  We had so much fun setting up our first home.
6.  We spent our wedding night in our first home, and I love that.  I think the memories are so much more special than if we were in a hotel.
7.  Those first years were fun.
8.  Those first years were challenging as we learned to grow and live together!
9.  We've created 7 children together, including 1 miscarriage, who give us great joy as we watch them grow up.
10.  They all look like me.
11.  They all look like him.
12.  They all look like each other.
13.  They've brought us closer together.
14.  He brought me into the Catholic Church.
15.  He's the head of our home.
16.  He keeps me calm.
17.  He keeps me reasonable.
18.  He loves me in spite of my crazy emotions.
19.  He loves me in spite of my unreasonableness.
20.  He loves me in spite of all my flaws.
21.  I love him for his intelligence.
22.  I love him for his sense of humor and his smile.
23.  I love him for the crinkles in his face.
24.  I love him for his faith.
25.  I'll love him forever.

And I thank God for giving me the man I wanted, and the man I needed.

Happy Anniversary, Dear!  

URGH: Re-Entry

We had a lovely Thanksgiving with the family in Virginia.  The phone-pics from the playground were from up there; I don't know if we had sun here, or not!

It was a Tuesday-Friday trip to avoid Holiday Traffic and get home so that Katie and Brendan could go back to school today for the Big Game tonight.

I got lots and lots of knitting and reading done in the car.  The kids, especially the older ones, got lots of sleep in the car!  They were remarkably quiet for 12 hours!!

We also had two lovely days in which to visit with the family.  Most of the cousins were there, and it was so nice to reconnect with all of them.   I am extremely Thankful that I married into such a close-knit family; holiday gatherings have their little stresses, but on the whole, it is fun and joyful!  Seeing the cousins together makes me smile.  The older ones get along great and they play have so much fun with the little ones, too.

Now we're home, and I'm Very Thankful to be safely here, too.  My big kids left early this morning and I'm feeling their absence.  I'm also feeling the weight of the many loads of laundry, the fall decorations that have done their duty, and the children who want it to look like Christmas all of a sudden.  I'm all in favor of it beginning to look a lot like Christmas, but I'm the one who needs to do it all.  Put away Fall and take out Advent.

Menus and shopping lists need to be made.  Shopping needs to be done.  And I'm feeling spoiled rotten from all my time spent chatting, knitting, and reading over the past 4 days!

Sigh.  It's so hard to maintain that feeling of peace and joy!  How do you do it?

Beautiful Weekend

I'd like to say that I spent a lot of time outside in the gorgeous weather, but I really didn't.  Part of what made the weekend great was starting bright and early Saturday morning with Confession.

Thank you, God, for this wonderful sacrament!

We followed up with the traditional Krispy Kreme doughnuts.  Following Pavlov's theory, we want the kids to like going to confession!  I think I'm hooked on the sour cream doughnuts that I've just discovered recently.  We'll have to start going to confession weekly!

Then we spent a few hours cleaning house before we had to start dropping kids off at various places or going to different events.  Eventually, we got rid of all the kids before dinner and we had the house to ourselves!  Weird experience, that.  So we ate and went to Casino Night at the church.

Okay, so as I gave you the nitty-gritty on this weekend and it suddenly occurred to me that it was a very mundane weekend, with the exception of all the kids being gone Saturday night.  Having the house clean all day Saturday, having had more energy than usual with which to clean it, and having a date with my husband probably had something to do with the beautiful weekend.

Sunday morning, as I was kneeling at Mass, watching my boys serve at the altar, I was filled with gratitude for my blessings.  My wonderful children who are growing up way too fast.  My hard-working, sweet husband.  It was beautiful.

~~~~~~~

Last evening was another matter, however.  Everyone was home; the house was messy again; homework needed to be done; children were tired and cranky, although not sleepy, they said; there was an episode of biting (I thought we had outgrown that!) and its ensuing punishment, and Mom was definitely ready to have them in bed so she could go herself.

It was a beautiful weekend because I am blessed.  But it's also a Life, and that's a bit messy at times!

How was your weekend?  Exciting?  Busy?  Mundane?

Good Friday

I grew up with a mother who was a very faithful Christian (God rest her soul).  We went to church regularly: twice on Sundays, Wednesday nights, and Vacation Bible School every summer.  Skipping church was never an option, except maybe on vacation.

Nevertheless, I grew up with absolutely No Idea what Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday were all about.  I saw them on the calendar year in and year out, but I never knew that they had any connection to Easter.  It just wasn't talked about in any way, shape, or form that I can recall.

There was no arc to the year.  Just the same routine, week after week, with the year punctuated by Christmas and Easter---which, of course, only lasted one too-brief day.

So, on this Good Friday, I am thrilled to be a part of this beautiful Catholic faith which Christ founded.  I am grateful for the institution of the priesthood and the Eucharist which He established on Holy Thursday at the Last Supper.  I love to hear the readings all through Lent which lead up to this time culminating with His resurrection at the Great Easter Vigil.  And then we get to celebrate Easter for a full 50 days before we return to Ordinary Time.  Of course, it all starts again with the other penitential season that is Advent.

I am so grateful to be a part of this Church that is part of my life every day with something different to celebrate.  Every day we may take part in the sacrifice of the Mass in which His eternal sacrifice is re-presented.  He died for all of us.  He died so that we might live.  He died for all those who love Him, for all those who despise Him, for saints and for sinners.

It is a Good Friday.

Soul of Christ, sanctify me,

Body of Christ, save me,

Blood of Christ, inebriate me,

Water from the side of Christ, wash me

O Good Jesus, hear,

Within thy wounds hide me,

Never permit me be separated from thee,

From the evil enemy defend me,

In the hour of my death,

Call me and bid me come to thee,

That with thy angels and saints I may praise thee,

forever and ever.  Amen.

(inspired by Barbara to post this, my favorite post-Communion prayer)

Dark Monday

Sally Clarkson's post today is a must-read if you, like me, are scared and saddened by the turn our country has taken.  It's appalling that our elected officials have so steadfastly refused to heed the wishes of their constituents, and have caved in to the pressure of the president.  Where are the checks and balances?

In the midst of all this "hope and change" there is one constant.  Jesus still awaits us in the tabernacles.  He's still there to comfort and hold us during these trials.

And that's good to know.  He gives me reason to hope.  (Gosh, I hate using that word now, lest someone be confused as to Who is giving me Hope!)

A New Day

I need lots of New Days to start over.  Thank God He provides them all the time!  :-)  I'm so glad to be back home after that week in ICU with my brother (who is still recovering nicely, though not as fast as he would like.  Thanks for asking.).  And then I spent the next few days doing laundry and cleaning (40 Bags), and getting ready to go camping last weekend.  I didn't feel like I was really home since it was "spring break" and we were still really busy.

Now the unusual busy-ness is over and we're back to the reality of homeschooling, which I love.  Some days, like yesterday, it is really, really hard to remember why I love it.  I had lots of opportunities to bite my tongue---the kids would probably say that I failed miserably, but I know that there were many, many times I succeeded!  Even on the bad days, there is the joy of getting to spend all day with my beautiful children that God has given me.   I don't like thinking about how quickly these days are going to come to an end.

Each day with them is such a gift!  Each day I get up there are new opportunities to say "yes" to God and do better at my Lenten sacrifices, or just my daily duties.  Do you think about how lucky you are to wake up every day?  I mean, really think about it?  Or do you groan, like me, overwhelmed by thoughts of everything you have to do today and all the things you'd like to change or do better at?  (It's hard to be a Melancholic, let me tell you!)  We all contemplate the gift that life is when tragedy strikes us or a loved one, but what about every single, normal, unremarkable day when everything in your life is going smoothly?

There are so many things I want to change, and I'm tempted to make sweeping changes that affect the whole family, but I won't.  I'll concentrate on just of couple of things, for me, that will still affect the family, but in a good way, I hope.  One physical, and one spiritual.  That should be enough, don't you think?  I don't want to take the risk that Satan will think I've taken on too much and come tempt me away from all my good intentions.  Maybe I can just sneak these under the wire without being noticed.

What do you think?  Are you taking on too many Lenten penances?  Are you taking life for granted?

Home Again

Home again, jiggety jig.

I can't tell you how happy I am to be home.  I'm pretty sure my brother is happy to be home, too!  He wrote in his CaringBridge Journal that he had his first real sleep since surgery two weeks ago.

Thank you, all, for all your prayers.  So many people have been praying for his recovery----I shouldn't have been surprised to find out that all kinds of people I don't even know at our parish were praying for him!  He's doing so well, it is amazing.

One week after his astounding 31-hour brain surgery, he was still very sick and weak.  Even the first 5 days I was there were very difficult for us in that he was so weak, scared of his weakness, scared of the long road to recovery, scared that he wouldn't be able to handle it, scared that he would not recover as well as he had hoped and that he would have a lot more damage than expected.

I think it was Monday or Tuesday that he seemed to turn the corner, as they say.  His mood and energy level were slightly better.  I could see the difference.  It must have been Monday because that is the day his barium swallow test was scheduled to see if he could eat food or would have to have a PEG tube inserted into his stomach.  Obviously, we were hoping for food, but he was pretty confident that he had no ability to swallow because of the paralysis on one side of his face.  Praise be to God, he was wrong and was cleared to eat a diet of pureed foods!  Not ideal, but so much better than tube feeding!!

After that, the floodgates seemed to open and he got visibly stronger every day.  All the tubes were removed except for the "brain drain", the ventriculostomy tube that drains excess Cerebral Spinal Fluid (CSF) from the brain.  That was supposed to come out one evening (Monday, again?) when a neuro resident noticed CSF leakage from his sutures.  They had to oversew the stitches to make it tighter and keep draining the CSF while the incision healed to prevent meningitis.  They were extremely cautious and gave it plenty of time, so the drain stayed until Friday, which is when I was on my way home.

Since that had been the only thing keeping him in ICU, he was moved to a regular room (which he was able to walk to!) for less than 24 hours and then released!

It has been a long, long couple of weeks, and even though I was emotional as we said our goodbyes,  I felt confident that my brother was going to be fine.  A very different goodbye from my sister's as she left a still critical patient.  For now, my brother has paralysis/weakness on the side of his face,  as if he had a stroke, and generalized balance problems.  These should resolve themselves with time.  He may always have some facial paralysis, but it's already much less than the surgeon anticipated.  And it's a little thing to live with, because, after all, he gets to live.  There are so many worse things, and I think he spent quite a few days dwelling on those less-favorable options.

God is so good.  We are so lucky to have Him to lean on.

And now I have to come up with a Lenten sacrifice!  My brother took care of the first week.  Now it's up to me.  But I'm okay with that----the ones that God picks are H.A.R.D.

The Year in Review

Sacraments

Drama

Hiking

Frolicking in the fields

Philly Cheesesteaks

Children of the Corn

Crunched Car

Another College Decision

The End of the Georgia Drought

Milestones

Family!

In some ways it has been a hard year, but in the end it's the blessings that stand out.  I don't know what 2010 will bring; I'm scared to think about it.  All I can do is keep praying and hoping and taking one day at a time.  And trust that God will give me the grace to handle what comes---as long as I stay close to Him.

May God bless your families in 2010!

Marathon Pics

Dh and I had a fun morning driving all around Atlanta to see KT run the Atlanta Marathon while TMax baked another Cranberry Pie and put the turkey in the oven for us!

This is a shot of the very charismatic policeman directing traffic at a major intersection.  The roads were not closed, and he and his helpers had to be very forceful with the drivers to get them to move at the right time and take advantage of the rather small gaps between runners.  As dh remarked, he was working hard for his holiday overtime!


I'm pretty sure this is around 22 miles.  We managed to catch her at 8, 13, 18, 22, and 26.2.  I didn't think we would get to see that much of her.  And we never saw her walking!  WTG, KT!


Oh, yes!  Coming in to the finish line!

She's so proud of herself, and she has every right to be!  She pushed through all that pain that would have made a lesser woman (yours truly) quit.

After the race, we went home to a perfectly cooked turkey, where all we had to do was make the potatoes (mashed and sweet), and get all the food warm and to the table.  It was a beautiful dinner after which we settled in to watch The Ten Commandments, which dh tells me is an Easter tradition, but I remember it from Thanksgivings.  I'm probably remembering wrong, but maybe my family was celebrating Easter on Saturdays at someone else's house.

More Wreckage...

It seems like the phone calls related to an accident and insurance are constant. And that's just the ones I'm getting. And I kindly have each of them call my dear husband because I don't really understand what they're saying.

Is it the bump on my head, or just stupidity? Hmmm, I suppose part of it could be due the the muscle relaxers.

Actually, my brain is kind of fuzzy this week, but I really think it's due to the overwhelming scheduling logistics of having KT and Hitch out of school and wanting to use the car for various, totally legitimate, not silly reasons, and my usual appointments and errands.

Next week should be MUCH better with Hitch off to Rome for his senior class trip. That, and I think we'll be done with all end-of-the-year activities. I'll be able to sit back, relax, and enjoy the swim team chaos!

Yesterday, the younger three trekked to the auto body shop with me to clean out the Sienna and say goodbye. It was so sad. I mean, I know it's just a car and all, and we're extremely lucky to be uninjured (so say all the experts who see this sort of thing regularly), but I just wanted to sit and caress the seats. I love my car. I just have to get a new one just like it. But it will probably be a different color, and while it may be almost exactly the same, it will seem like an imposter every time I get in! Sigh.

I'm off to do my short, intense workout, and get ready for another day of activities that require expert coordination and military precision---including getting Hitch's braces off just in time for graduation!

A Day to Remember

After lots of days of rain and lots of longing to go strawberry picking , we finally had enough of a break in the weather to go. The farm is near UGA so we were going to either take KT with us, or just visit afterwards. Because of her exam schedule we ended up picking her up post-exam and going back to her place to load a bunch of her stuff in the car since she's coming home tomorrow (!) after her last exam.



It was a lovely day for strawberry picking---any later in the day and it would have been way too hot.


The four of us had a lovely time looking at the animals, picking a bucketful of delicious berries each, and playing in the "cornbox" was the most fun. Like a sandbox, only cornier.




They had a lot of fun in there and everyone took a turn getting buried. Except maybe the Little Princess because Pipster immediately threw a bucket of corn on her face, none too gently, and she decided she didn't like that game! Small wonder.

Children of the Corn

After berries and fun we headed for Athens to eat lunch and pick up KT. Loaded up the car and headed home. It was a very pleasant, though slightly longer drive home, listening to the ipod and eating the occasional strawberry, when:

The shattering conclusion to our trip.

Just 2 miles from the safety of our driveway! (We're all fine, except for maybe a little whiplash.) We were rear-ended by a Dodge Ram pulling a (mercifully empty) trailer. And of course we hit the car in front of us, too, since he hit us so hard.

KT, I'm afraid your boxes may be full of shattered glass....and you should shake out those clothes and shoes carefully before you wear them!)

Airbags did NOT deploy, which is surprising considering the severity of the hit, so I hit my head on the steering wheel and the paramedics recommended a trip to the ER just to get checked out since the dude totally destroyed the back end of my car. So my children had to see this:

That's not blood on my neck, just a tag on the collar!

I don't know why they had to take a picture, but there it is. I thought it was way too much in the way of precautions, and I felt so sorry for the very apologetic young man who hit us. He was pretty devastated when they put me on the stretcher, bless his heart. And he had to drive all the way home to Alabama after that.

That's our rear window all over his hood, and in his cab, too!

I'm fine, though. All my xrays and CT scans came out negative. I just have a big ole goose egg on my forehead, and lots of drugs for the pains that they tell me are coming! Children seem to be fine, although they may be a little sore, too, down the road.


Laudate Dominum, y'all! God is good.

Family Beach Bash

We are on our way to the beach! After 4 long years of not getting together with MoW's family at the beach, we are on our way back. Dh and I have been going to the beach with his family since we started dating! That's about 25 years now. The annual vacations came to an end when there were too many grandchildren who were growing up and having schedules of their own during the summers.


Finally, We are off to spend the week in the Outer Banks, NC. I've never been there this time of year, but we have a fabulous house to stay in, and I'm psyched to just hang out. There are so many things to do:

• knit
• crochet
• read
• work puzzles
• play games
• watch movies
• walk on the beach
• climb lighthouses
• and, best of all, just be with the in-laws, siblings, and scads of nieces and nephews whom we see far too little of!

I am so thankful we get to go! I've got several posts scheduled for while I'm away. Keep my blog warm for me. See you next week!

Thank Goodness

Football season is over!

I'm sorry the boys lost their game last night, but I'm thankful I was there to see their valiant effort. And I'm thankful that the State Championship won't interfere with our Thanksgiving plans!

I'm sorry Hitch sprained his ankle, but I'm thankful it's doesn't seem to be broken.

I'm sorry we had to drive 200 miles to see the game, but I'm very thankful that we got there and back again safely!

I'm thankful that the weather co-operated and we watched the game in balmy 70 degree weather. Except for one, very brief shower, it was very nice. We drove down through some extremely heavy, scary rain for a while. The drive home was much nicer with no rain and no traffic. We got home at 2:55 a.m. and MoW pulled with the guys around 3:30. Yawn.

I'm especially thankful that the Pipster and Little Princess were good sports about the whole driving thing. TMax missed the event because he is at Fort Benning with his scout troop.

This Morning

I am thankful for:

term limits in government,
living in the United States of America,
the knowledge that God is ultimately in charge.

A Thankful Heart is a Happy Heart

That makes me want to go watch Veggie Tales Madam Blueberry today to help us get into the swing of being thankful! Do you ever go through life thinking you're thankful, but not really paying attention to the little day-to-day things? Just the big things?

I remember a time, about 12 years ago, where the Master of the World and I actively looked for signs of God's presence in our lives. The number of times and the ways He spoke to us were astounding. It's sounds bad to say that we did that 12 years ago. It seems as if we don't do it anymore. I don't think that's true, though. I think we just became so convinced that He is active in our lives that we don't have to make a conscious effort all the time to look for Him.



Maybe gratitude is the same way. Or is it? So this month, I'm joining in the Giving Thanks Challenge from South Breeze Farm. Watch my sidebar for gratitudinal additions. Daily, I hope. Or I'll add in several if I miss a day. I know this month I'll be thinking often....daily....of my friend w/ terminal cancer. She has always been thankful for her blessings. One of the most beautiful people I know. She is now facing the huge trial of recovering from brain surgery and fighting her cancer and she is obviously thankful for every moment with her family and friends. I want to be that thankful, and I don't want the specter of death to make me get there.

So, for now, I am thankful for having had KT home from UGa for 4 days. I love having her home. I love having all my children around the dinner table and having fun with them. We have always had wonderful family dinners and I'm thankful that that is a habit we started early and stuck with in spite of the sometimes crazy evening schedules. I'm terribly grateful for MoW because he's the glue that holds us together.