It's all in the genes...

If my parents wanted to raise respectable and mature children, they failed.

Rick and Carolyn, when you married into this family, you had no idea that this was part of the package. Thank you for still loving us.

And here's a family pic from 1988... taken for the Church Directory. We were told to relax for a moment and just be normal while he changed out the film... Normal... um, OK.
Guess it's all in the Genes.

My Doggie is Sick and Honduras Stuff

Roxie is not well. Here she is in my car going to the Doctor.

At Christmas time, she was not well either. The good Doctor John, at Morton's Small Animal Clinic, took X-rays and diagnosed her with back problems. Her little spinal disks were bowed out, causing the pain.

Some anti-inflammatory and an attempt at restricting her leaping onto the bed was the medicine. She got better.

But over the weekend, she started exhibiting symptoms again: No appetite, whimpering, shaking from pain, hiding in my closet, etc.

I took her back to the Doctor this morning. More X-rays and even a complete workup on her blood didn't really show anything alarming. At least we ruled out alot of diseases. He thinks she just needs to take it easy, do the course of anti-inflammatory drugs again, and hope for the best. If she doesn't get better, he recommends a Specialist to look at her spine.

Yikes. That sounds expensive to me.

Roxie, if you're reading this.... Please get better soon!

Honduras Update:

Yesterday, while Roxie hid in my closet in pain, I went with some friends to Allen. We joined some other fellow House of Hope friends in loading a Container shipment bound for Honduras.

Several times a year, a truck like this takes off from Allen. It goes to the coast and is shipped via boat to Honduras. It takes a couple of months to get there. I'm not really sure what happens once it gets there, but it eventually finds the way to the House of Hope.

Dr Tom Brian, founder of the House of Hope, has devoted years to this project. He has a huge storage building behind his house where supplies are collected. He tirelessly works to arrange the details on loading it up and sending it off. Mattresses, medical supplies, exam tables, bicycles, office supplies, plumbing supplies, building material, baby clothes, diapers and formula were some of the things I saw being loaded up.

This particular excursion was extremely enlightening for me. The address for donations to the House of Hope is in Allen, and I've heard about the big container shipments leaving from this location.... but to see it with my own eyes was exciting!

Most exciting, however, was visiting with others who have been to serve at the HofH. Several people have been numerous times... we swapped stories and asked questions about particular children. It wasn't uncommon for our conversations to start off like this: "Were the twins there when you were there?" or "Isn't that Chalma a hoot?" or "Let me tell you about little Rodrigo and how he's grown!"

Sharing a common bond with strangers is heart-warming. Here we were, on a 100+ degree day, practically melting undr the sun. Many of us strangers to each other, and yet there was no separation, because we have a common love and a common goal.

And that's pretty cool. Even on the hottest day of the year.

Sweet faces

Last night Rick and I hosted some friends for dinner. We had the opportunity to show our Honduras pictures and share our experiences.

The pictures above are just a few of the sweet faces we fell in love with. What is so amazing is how happy these children are. They laughed and played and hugged the entire time we were there. And they bickered with each other, argued and were consequently disciplined. It was one big family, with all of it's positives and negatives.

Now that I've had some time to process all of the emotions associated with the trip, I have some regrets. Mainly, I wish I had been more physically open with the children. They were so needy of physical affection. There wasn't a moment that went by when they weren't grabbing at my hand or wanting to be held or hugged or something. And some of the little girls LOVED to brush our hair. Just like normal little girls.

I had hesitations. I tried to indulge them, but still remained pretty reserved with the "touchy-feely" part of loving on the children. Sure, they bathed, but there were not clean by the standards we are accustomed to. And some of them were being treated for lice. That was scary.

So allowing the girls to brush my hair was something that I had to draw the line at. But now, in retrospect, I regret being as restrained as I was. So what if I had gotten dirtier than I already was? So what if I had gotten lice (horrors!) It's treatable.

Am I not called to love these little children in a language that they can understand? And since I couldn't speak their Moskito language... that leaves the universal language of physical touch.

I've often thought about how Jesus would be with these children. They are so dear and precious to God, and I think Jesus would get "down and dirty" with them loving them in their language. He wouldn't care about broken fingernails or sweaty, stinky residue...

I did my best, with what I knew at the time. And it changed my life. And now, I want more. I want to go back and give more of myself.

To be available. I guess that's one thing I'm learning. When I say YES to serving, I might put myself in uncomfortable situations. Sometimes REAL uncomfortable situations. But I come out the other side with a new perspective, a changed heart, and a desire to do it again.

It Finally Happened...

Yes, my friends. It finally happened. What I had been warned about, prepared for, and prayed wouldn't happen. An event this mortifying was bound to occur, sooner or later. And yet, I was still praying never. Miracles still occur, you know. I called it faith, but in reality it was more a case of "rose-colored glasses." We were staying in the Farm House last night, continuing our regular Sunday / Monday night stay. And that's where it happened. Where reality woke me up. 1:59am, to be exact, is when the allure of the simple life at the Farm House died a tragic death. Here's a summary of the event: Sound slumber. The slightest tickle on my arm. My eyes flutter open. Horror as I see (gasp!) a roach on my arm. A faint thump resounds against the wall as I fling it off my arm. "HONEY! WAKE UP! IT HAPPENED!" Rick flies out of bed, throws the light on, and assumes battle position. The dog lifts her head, opens one eye, then closes it, lazily deciding she wasn't needed. Rick applies one swift STOMP on the little devil. Then a 2nd and a 3rd. And a 4th for good measure. Whew! My Hero slays the dragon (by this time the roach had grown exponentially.) Sleep does NOT return. With the morning anew, and all creatures of the night pushed back behind enemy lines, I realize that we can look at this event in two different ways. Be sure and vote for they way YOU would look at the events, had it been YOU. Voting is at the top right of my Blog homepage. The "glass half full" approach: I survived the WORST thing that could happen in the Farm House. It happened, I know how it plays out, and I emerged the victor. It's all gravy from here. The "glass half empty" approach: In the past 21 days, we've spent a total of 6 nights in the Farm House. That's 28.5% of our nights. Roughly 1/4 of the total. If I spend every night there in a given week, the logical result would be that on any 2 given nights, I will encounter this nightmare again. Fiddlesticks. I'm not sure I can do this.

A Good Time Had By All...

"MAMMA MIA"
What a weekend! As per my previous post, some details must remain confidential.... but what I can tell you is this:

The movie was fantastic! I highly recommend you see it. Immediately. Leave work now, go directly to the theatre, do not pass go, etc.




Other events of the weekend included, but not limited to:

First ever visit to an Estate Sale. Interesting... but a bit too "stuffy" for us bargain hunters.

Chicken Spaghetti's (yes, plural!) for my freezer. Actually, one is to give away. Here is a pic of the "chefs."

We'll open the bid at $20.00.


Letterboxing in the Cemetery. If you have never looked into this hobby, go to http://www.letterboxing.org/ Search for your city and there may be a treasure hunt for you! What's neat is that you learn a bit of history about the area and find something that is "hidden" from plain sight. The letterbox that is hidden in our Cemetery is about Jess Sweeten, past Sheriff and Legend.






Home Cooked breakfast with fresh "strained" juice. That's right, "strained." Only a mother would remove the icky pulp from orange juice for her daughter!



Lots of fun and hysterical things happened this weekend that I won't bore my readers with... But there is one thing certainly worth mentioning. Maybe you'll agree:

When I spend the night at Mom and Dad's, there is such an overwhelming feeling of warmth. As I drifted to sleep Friday night, my mind tried to figure it out.

I wasn't in the house that I grew up in, nor was I surrounded by my childhood belongings. That would be a surefire way to feel "at home." But I felt so completely at home, tucked away warm and cherished. And before you ask - Of course, I feel that at my own home, with my husband and family.... a million times over.

But this was a different kind of "home." This was the delightful innocence of being someone's little girl. Loved, adored, treasured. No matter how old I get.

Weekend at Mom's

I'm spending the night at Mom's tonight. And the adventure begins...

It's always gets my curiosity up to try and figure out what trouble us girls will get into! The picture above was from a trip we took together to Greece. We sailed the Mediterranean with a women's Bible Study author, Beth Moore. And we got into MORE trouble on that trip: I got in trouble posing in a Cemetery, we skipped study sessions and cut class, and Mom fell off her donkey (not long after the above picture was taken.) Or maybe it was her rocker she feel off of. I'll never tell!

But that's nothing compared to when we took London by Storm! You'll have to ask her about scaling a wall at Buckingham Palace. And the Red Light District in Amsterdam...on second thought, don't ask about that one!

Of course, those were BIG trips that we took. This weekend is a "little trip."

We plan to make 2 chicken spaghetti casseroles for MY freezer. Not one, but count 'em, TWO! I'm serving them to guests next week, and the best part is that she'll let me take the credit for them!

We may watch a movie tonight, hike the land, feed the barn kitties, or even start a puzzle. But tomorrow, we road-trip to Tyler. Plans are to see "Mamma-Mia" and gorge ourselves on popcorn and candy. A trip to the bookstore usually happens, as well as a friendly visit to the Mall.

I can't wait to see what kind of trouble we get into this weekend! Whatever we do, I know it will be a memory!

Depending on a few factors, I may share some highlights of the weekend in my next blog. Then again, it may remain highly classified....

Stay tuned!

Oh, and sorry about the video below. It's sideways. And the shaking is not necessarily all from the rocky ride. I think most of it was from my laughing!

Audit Results... 'nuff said!

My Audit Rating!

I can't stop smiling!

Audit-Bound

I've spent the last week preparing for our annual Tx Dept of Banking audit at the Cemetery.

Well... I've spent the last week "thinking" about the audit. The physical action didn't really begin until last Thursday. I usually put things off and then kick into gear under the pressure. The Banking Dept comes every 12-18 months for our audit of the Perpetual Care Fund, as well as our operating procedures. You wouldn't believe how closely they look at our records! I used to be nervous - real nervous - about the annual Audit. This is #5 for me, and I've found that this time I'm much more relaxed about it.

Being that I took Friday off (iphone!) the real work didn't begin until Sunday afternoon. Mother met me at the office and we began preparing the folders. She has been so very helpful by keeping up with our "internal audit" on a monthly basis - it really doesn't leave much to check over before Mr. Commissioner arrives. And Shannon had already pulled all the folders, a task that was pretty time consuming. I'm grateful for all the help I can get.

We catalogued the folders, completed official Board Minutes, and searched for Stock Certificates (found them, whew!). Then the fun began for me to go through our Trust Fund statements for the past year. It's difficult understanding all of the investments and capital gains and reinvested dividends - I've never claimed to be a "numbers" gal. Truly, it's like Greek.

I fumbled my way through and finally felt like I had a handle on everything.

Rick got to Athens last night about 9:30pm, so that was my call to hang it up for the night. We are continuing to settle in at the Farm House, little by little. Last night was the first night we actually cooked over there. Rick's famous "mac and 'maters" filled our tummies and we watched a movie.

Fell into bed well after midnight. The GREAT thing about staying at the Farm House is that I can sleep until 8:30am and still be at work at 9am. No commute is fantastic!

The Audit is tomorrow. I'll spend the rest of the day tying up loose ends. We're spending the night over here again tonight, so it will be convenient to work late and arrive in the office early.

Crossing my fingers...

All the rage...

On Friday, Rick and I participated in what was "all the rage" across the nation. Yes, Apple opened stores at 8am on Friday to sell their new iPhone 3G.

I don't really know why we wanted to be at Northpark Mall SO blooming early! But we bought into the pandemonium of being one of the first to get the new iPhone.

The alarm went off at 5am and we headed out the door at 5:30. Getting to the mall (with Taylor as our chauffeur)before 7am put us at about #100 in line. An Apple Genuis passed out bottled water -labeled "smart water" - as well as coffee. Thank goodness!

As we sat on the floor of the mall I wondered WHY we were there. I mean, it's not like we couldn't get the phone on Saturday, or any other day for that matter.

But being part of the craze was also a little fun. Note that I said "a little," not "alot." Due to the fact that EVERYONE else in the Nation was trying to activate their phone Friday morning also, the AT&T network that activates iPhones froze up. That made for the line to move VERY slow, as just the simple transaction of purchasing the phone was as slow as Christmas.

At 11am, we finally were leaving the Apple store, heading back out into the mall with our little white bags, grinning smugly at the throngs of people STILL waiting in line. We came, we saw, we conquered. Well, almost.

We had the phone, but we had no service.

We had our old phones, but no service on them either.

We were tired, grumpy, and hungry.

Life got better for me when we found a GREEN phone cover for my phone. And life got better for Rick and Taylor when we pigged out on Chinese food.

I feel mildly embarrased that we fell for the craze. We've waited all this time for our Sprint PCS contract to expire, so we could have waited a few more days to get the new phones. But we made a memory in the process, right? And I guess Life is made up days like yesterday.

Figurin' it out...

Last night we stayed in the farm house.

Our A/C went out back at home, so the choice was made for us. No problem... we needed an excuse to work on the farm house. Slowly, we are moving household items over from house A to house B. Only items that won't leave house A looking "empty." They say that a house will sell better if it looks lived in. But not TOO lived in.

Rick worked on his project of installing an antenna at the farm house. We're too cheap for cable, although I expect we'll buckle once the Mavs season starts up. I snapped this picture as I watched him "figurin' it out."

We are anxious to sell our house so that we can live in Athens. It's not because I EVER imagined myself living in Athens again, but more as a means to accomplish more with our life. It makes practical sense right now for us. But more, we both believe this is what God wants us to do. However, we will both miss living in our current neighborhood. What I struggle with most is being patient. And wondering if it will ever sell? With the housing market as it is, etc.

God can make it happen - and I have to continually pray that it be in HIS time, according to HIS plan. Maybe He's got something else we need to do in our neighborhood before we move this way. Who knows?

It's hard not to get so caught up in MY goal that you forget WHY I made it to begin with. My focus needs to remain on pleasing God with my life. And for now, when I'm at home, that's at House A. Maybe it will be House B soon.

Until then, I'll be daily "figurin' it out."

P.S. Want to know something funny? The A/C on House B went out sometime last night. I think God has a sense of humor...

And the winner is...

From the Merrian-Webster Dictionary
Main Entry: manly
Function: adjective
Inflected Form(s):
man·li·er; man·li·est
Date: 13th century
1 : having qualities generally associated with a man : strong, virile

2 : appropriate in character to a man
— man·li·ness noun

I witnessed the latest "manly" showdown from a safe distance on top of the bed. It was about 11:30pm... what better time than that to rev up the engines?

What started off as good natured teasing about who could pump the most iron, ended up in a full onslaught battle of testosterone.

Leg Wrestling, Arm Wrestling, one arm pushups, weight lifting... if it was "manly" than it happened last night!

Who emerged the victor???

Dear 'Ole Dad is STILL stronger than his 14 and a 18 year old sons!

Not to get too sentimental, but we cherish these times with the kids. We are so blessed to have kids that are fun and witty! They are really a joy...

Even if I didn't get my 8 hours of beauty sleep!