Sweet Week

This week has been a blur.  Busy every single night this week!!!  Our women's group at church had an area conference today and most of the week was in prep for the conference.  It turned out great...Praise The Lord!  I was really dreading it.  On Friday night we decorated and set up and did sound/computer checks.  Before we got started we prayed over the event and really just laid it at the feet of Jesus.  Everything turned out wonderful.  all the ladies had a marvelous time and we learned so much about how our world wide women's groups reach the world.  Amazing.  God is just so good.  Our spotlight place is Kosovo.  A mainly Muslim country with such a need for Jesus.  We had a really good time today too.  The funniest part was of course someone falling down.  Me!  I was walking across the floor where we were serving breakfast when I hit a slick spot in the floor and whoosh...down I went.  A complete split.  I honestly thought my legs snapped off like an old barbie that had been thrown under a moving car.  What was funny though was a sweet little lady ran to help me up and if you think I fell down fast you should have seen me get up.  Just call me SuperSenior...faster than a speeding hoveround I was.  I lept back up to my feet and said, "Oh, thanks but I'm fine. "  I dashed to the kitchen where i immediately felt like bursting into wailing sobs.  Falling hurts really bad, you guys!  My knee felt funny so I pulled my pants leg up and I had somehow taken all the skin off my knee and it had already bled through my pants.  Thank goodness they were black.  I put on a bandaid and went back out with a big ole fake grin on my face.  Other than that the day was great!  On Thursday night I went to dinner with my friends Tracy and Kelley.  We had a great time.  That day I had to have a sorta emergency root canal so my dinner was a creamy potato leek soup that was really yummy, even if I did feel like I was ready for the home.  I had went to the dentist with some irritation under some bridgework and he sent me to an endodontist.  Upon a good examination Dr. McKee asked if I wanted to fix the issue or wait.  Now I thought this was just a consult visit but the next thing I knew he had me numbed and said,"Close your eyes because drilling through this bridge is loud and it throws a lot of debris."  I wanted my mommy.  Wednesday night we had week two of our new Fall ladies Bible Study, "Secret Places" by Beth Moore and it was so good.  I highly recommend this study.  It is helping me like you would not believe.  I come from a long line of secret keepers.  Some good and some....well, not so good.  All in all it has been a very good week.  I am learning to let go of some stuff and to hold on to some other stuff.  Holding on to the sweet stuff for sure!

On The Fly

I live by a routine.  I do everything the same time every day.  To put it in a word....boring.  Yep, I am pretty boring.  But listen...I like boring.  Vanilla is my favorite ice cream.  Now stay with me here....you see, you can dress vanilla up or keep it plain.  In reality it is the basis for everything.  So this weekend my daughter and her husband were on vacation in Wilmington, NC.  Blake has family there and his grandparents just retired and are scouting for houses in Carolina Beach.  So they called me Friday and asked me to come down for the weekend.  I said no and then I thought, "Who do you have to answer to?"  I changed my mind and said, "You know what...I'm coming!"  Bam..on the fly I packed a couple of bags and jumped in my car and took off.  This was my first real trip that I have ever taken all by myself.  Now granted I was meeting up with family but I drove there by myself and I returned home by myself.  We had a really good time.  I got to spend time with my grand babies at the beach.  We stayed up late playing cards.  We ate and laughed and played.  Blakes' grandmother, Faye, is an amateur genealogist and she helped me and Erica discover family trees back into the early 1800's.  It was so interesting and right up Erica's alley.  She adores history and this made it even more exciting when you brought your own family into it.  I sang my head off to music I like all the way there and all the way back home.  I will 'fess up and say I had a mini meltdown once when i started feeling a little sorry for myself on the drive home.  But I think it was the combo of  "Rocky Mountain High", no sleep and no coffee that helped those tears along.  Adjusting to life alone is not that easy.  It is mostly peaceful compared to a life of turmoil and tension.  But still sometimes I just miss my girls and when they were little.  I suppose that is all a part of the empty nest too.  Life can be pretty boring but I will take that anytime.  I don't know if I will take some more impromptu trips in the future...I hope so!  I kinda like living life on the fly....sometimes.


Sweet Savannah.  She did not like the ocean very much.  It was so funny watching her turn around and run away from the waves.  But she did like the sand.

 Piper on the other hand loved the sand, water and especially the "bubble pool".  Which was the hot tub we nicknamed the warm tub.  It was so not hot!!

Two Pelicans swooping down for dinner.  they look like dinosaurs to me.

Blake and his little girls.  they just adore their daddy.  I am so glad too...he is a very good one!

 Goodbye beach!!  See you soon...I hope!

An Epic Check-Up

Well yesterday I went for my annual visit to the girly doctor.  Highlight of my day.  Like most women I detest going to this particular appointment in my life.  It is right up there with root canals, large family gatherings, or maybe having your nose hairs plucked out one by one.  To say the least ... torture.  If you know me at all you know that I am modest by nature and I am totally uncomfortable with talking to a man that I see once a year while I am in a shirt that is open in the front and comes to the bottom of my rib cage and then to have a crib sheet that barely covers the rest!  To top it off my dr. is a really nice man and outside of the office I could really carry on an intelligent conversation with him.  But while I am there....I tend to just babble.  So I had to make my appointment for after school.  3:30 in the afternoon.  We all know exactly what this means....you weigh MORE as the day goes on!!  So when I got there and checked in the first thing that happened was that my phone rings.  I answer it quickly and it is my friend Kelley.  I tell her I am at the (gynecologist) doctors' office.  Of course I am mortified that i said that out loud and of course she laughs hysterically.  Later she does say that she was thinking, "Is she being examined right now."  So not funny Kelley...so not funny!  I look around the waiting room and there is a very old lady with her daughter.  They call the older lady's name and her daughter takes her inside.  I think, "Do I want my daughter to take me to the girly doctor???...ummm    NO!"  I glance at another lady.  Her shoes match the trim on her dress and her purse too.  Pretty pearls...very classy.  Next lady down...kind of stiff, she moves very quickly.  She seems angry.  I heard her later question the nurses station as to why she has had to wait so long and the reply was that she is being worked in....I feel bad for her.  What a place to spend your afternoon. They call my name.  The nurse seems nice.  She asks me how tall I am.  My first response is, 5 10', to which she looks at me strangely.  I am obviously not that tall.  5 4' I mutter.  Step on the scales she says.  Before my foot even hits the scale I tell her that is afternoon and these scales are wrong.  I say that all very fast just like a run-on sentence.  She laughs and writes down the number that devil possessed scale said....did she not hear me!!!  Now if I was 5 10' I would be a very nice weight but I am not so this puts me in a more stressed mood.  We get to exam room 4 and she says,  "have a seat and lets take your blood pressure."  "Oh my that's a little high...I will recheck it after your exam honey,  I suppose you are a little stressed about being naked and all."  Honestly that is exactly what she said....just pass me the prescription for blood pressure meds because it ain't comin' down now.  Now comes the EPIC part.  That is the name of the new software system that all of our local hospitals and doctor offices are using.  So they link world wide and all your medical history is there for every single doctor to see and read.  Great.  First she asks me who my primary physician is because one is not listed.  I tell her that I am at my primary physicians office.  She asks me where I go when I am sick and I tell her that I am never really sick.  I have never had strep, bronchitis, the flu, ear infections, allergies, respiratory issues.  Nothing.  If I ever pick anything up it is a stomach virus that is gone in a day.  Wow, she says, that's great you are so healthy.  Yeah, I am as healthy as a horse and as big as one too I quip right back.  She laughs and finishes with the questions.  Do you smoke.  No.  Do you drink alcohol?  No.  Never???  No, never.  Do you take or do any illicit drugs?  What I ask?  Illicit drugs?  You mean illegal drugs?  Yes.  Uh no, not today.  Ha-ha she laughs.  You would be surprised she says how many patients confess to using illicit drugs.  Why just that morning a 62 year old lady fessed up to smoking pot every day.  I asked if she did for medicinal purposes.  The nurse said, "No!  The lady said she just like getting high!!"  Oh my stars!  Can you believe it??  62 years old and getting high.  What a world we live in today.  All this goes on your EPIC Chart for all the worlds medical society to see.  I find that a little disturbing.  She tells me to get undressed and hands me the two items to cover myself with and I reach on my purse and pull out a pair of socks.  She laughs as I tell her I am wearing those socks so I can tell myself I am not really naked and can feel better about this visit.  It might bring my blood pressure down a bit.  So my doctor comes in and a totally different nurse with him.  where is Nurse Nicey???  I liked her...we had a rapport.  Almost a friendship.  This one had a smile like the Penguin from Batman!!  Then those four little words came out of her mouth...."Scoot down a little."  I want my mommy.  My worst fears are going through my mind.  Just use your own imagination here.  Then amp it up to the 25th power.  I just know he is either going to burst out laughing or say, "What in the world is going on here???"  My mind is going a thousand different directions.  After the exam he asks if I have any questions.  No, I mutter.  In the past I have had questions and I just write them down and hand him the paper.  I have no clue why I turn into a complete zombie idiot at this appointment but I do.  I thank the Lord for my good health and for good results because He knows how I stress over the dumbest things.  EPIC...the name fits well.

My Current Fave....

I love this commercial.  It is really funny.  The comb over on the kid is just hilarious and him driving and taking a swig of his coffee cracks me up but the sweetness of it slays me.  I mean I want to run out and buy some Jello pudding and eat it....right now!  That is some great marketing.

Kissing Summer Goodbye!

Well, I am closing up my pool this week.  Cooler nights and school filled days equals out to no body is swimming.  Even though the days are still very warm when September rolls around I usually close up the pool.  Makes me so sad every year!  That is the first signal that summer has come to a close.  Now I do love the fall of the year.  Crisp air, all the colors, bright skies, pumpkin everything!  The fall season ushers in a slower lifestyle.  A winding down of sorts.  I start getting ready for more comfort meals.  Chicken stews, pot roast, soups and the fun festivals that come with fall.  County fairs, hay rides...so much fun!  Here are some photos I took at our last real pool day.  Savannah was napping through the first few but when she woke up I broke out the baby pool because all the grown ups were done swimming and she can't swim without one!!


Piper slurping a homemade popsicle for all its worth...

Hey Pipey, guess what??  What Mimi!  I think this is our last swim day...are you sad???

 No, I'm not sad...Can I still have popsicles Mimi??  Of course you can, sweetie-pie!

Then I'm good with closing the pool up for the year!

We still have a water hose and the baby poll...right??

I sure do girls...You can swim in the baby pool all fall long....if you can stand it!!!

Great Mimi, watch me do a swan dive...okay?  No, little Savannah...no diving yet.  You will knock off your sweet little ponytail.  I am sad another summer is gone by so fast but I am sure next summer will be here before I know it....probably sooner than I think!

Things you hear in Kindergarten

This year at school we have a ton of kindergartners.  Classrooms should have around 20 -21 students.  Ours have 25 students.  The assistant is in the classroom for approximately four hours per day and this is broken up in segments.  One of the segments is lunch...Thank The LORD!  Imagine taking 25 -26 five year olds anywhere by yourself let alone somewhere to eat.  So just today I overheard some of the conversations going on around me during their lunchtime.  Some examples:

Do not karate chop your lunch box again...
Why did you put that ketchup in your nose....
Do not karate chop your neighbor either...
Please use your napkin and not your shirttail, honey....

Apparently karate chopping is really big in this one boys family.  I heard one of the teacher assistants say about 215 time. "Please, Lord Jesus, help me."  Apparently five year olds really tax her.  They do wear you out.  In today's school system unlike when my own girls were in kindergarten, there is no naptime, no center time, not a lot of coloring, very few field trips and a host of other things they no longer get to do.  I don't understand.  Kindergarten should be fun and a process of getting used to school.  Not just sitting at a desk or table and learning how to take a test by filling in little circles with a number two pencil.  Do they even make anything else???  Number one pencils or number threes???  School is so hard today and the sad thing about it is....children are not getting any smarter.  Not one bit.  They are so stressed and so pushed that they develop behavior problems and eating issues and sleep problems and a whole host of stuff.One little five year old this morning was close to tears when his brother did not want to eat breakfast with him.  I assured him he would be okay and he looked at me with big, tear-filled blue eyes and said, "But don't you understand...I am only five years old and I can't be left on my own."  He was right.  He can't but they are.  Forced to walk all by themselves from the car rider line to class.  Forced to do all this new stuff...alone.  For the first couple of weeks they should be allowed to have mommy or daddy walk them to class.  Allowed to have mommy stand outside of school to greet them and walk them to their car.  I did those things for mine and they have all grown up just great.  They can read, write and do everything else just fine.  If I could run the school system I would bring back naps and more playtime and centers and fun stuff again.  Life is hard and when you are five you really are too young to be on your own.