the last word

I've been very thankful these days to have this family record to look back on. There are times when Satan is filling my head with lies. Lies like "He stole the last 15 years from you". Lies like "He used you to raise his children." And lies like "You never knew him."
Despite the gas lighting attempts that are going on and any efforts to rewrite our history, our children and I have this primary account of what actually happened. It was beautiful. It was real. And it was good.
The truth hurts. The truth is that the Devil caught us napping. For now, I will leave you with this(emphasis mine):

1 Peter 5:8-11 The Message (MSG)

He Gets the Last Word

8-11 Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. You’re not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It’s the same with Christians all over the world. So keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won’t last forever. It won’t be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ—eternal and glorious plans they are!—will have you put together and on your feet for good. He gets the last word; yes, he does.

bugs in my feet

Today I responded to Caroline's shrieks to find her clawing at her foot and crying. "My foot is hurting 'cause it's got bugs in it!" She had ripped her sock off and was genuinely panicked.

From her position it didn't take me long to figure out that her foot was asleep. After a short foot massage and a long explanation she was happy to go back to her play. I was grateful it was an easy fix.

you've got mail

I love the feeling of excitement when something slips through the mail slot with my name on it. Especially when the return address is The Villages, Florida. What ever could it be? Could it be cold hard cash?  A check for yet another project around the house? Or maybe a recent recipe my dad tried? Or just a letter of appreciation for what a fine daughter I eventually turned out to be...

Today it was none of those things. Of course it was a newspaper clipping warning of the dangers of the sharks on North Carolina beaches. Of course. What else would it be?

They need not worry. In preparation for our upcoming vacation to the Outer Banks we are sponsoring a Jaws marathon, complete with homemade popcorn and ice cold lemonade. They will all be too scared to go past their ankles.

a day like no other

I know June 9th has to come every year. I know I don't want to be able to make it through without remembering. And with remembering comes the tears.

We should have an almost 5 year old little girl upstairs. And it really sucks that we don't. 

That is all.

goodbye fountain

So we inherited a ginormous concrete fountain in the center of our front yard. We could have made it work but winter of 2014 was a bit too much for it and the largest bowl cracked into about 5 pieces. It's been sitting in the middle of the yard that way for over a year. Today I made up my mind to change that.
I decided the best course of action would be to smash it into bits and put the bits into boxes. The woman with the spout was still in one piece but I couldn't lift her so I tipped her on her side and began rolling her very gracefully to the curb.
"Whoa, where do you want that?" I turned to see a large man approaching from the halfway house next door. He picked her up and set her on the curb for me and introduced himself to me as "Johnny" all in one motion. Then I pointed to the largest part of the bowl and jokingly said, "That one too."
He said to give him a minute and he would help me out. I figured it would take the entire afternoon. He showed up a minute later with a cold drink and a sledgehammer. In the time it took me to step inside to tend to a daycare kid that just got up from nap, he had the entire thing stacked neatly on the curb in liftable sized peices.

Me: "Oh my gosh!"
Johnny: "That's how I roll."

Very good to meet you Johnny.

sitting here

Wondering things like what is the best course of action when 6 inches of the zip-it breaks off deep in the drain? And how to quiet the instant water heater so my neighbor can sleep? And what exactly is the odd smell in the air in the addition?

I won't fix any of those things today but I do think we will start being nicer to our garbage man. He collected a bunch of stuff from us today while 3 adorable preschoolers sat a mere 10 yards away from him watching awestruck. He did not even crack a smile. 

Do you think he is a Coke or a Pepsi guy?

Update: The best course of action is NOT to break your zip-it. I closed up the drain and will wait to deal with this one when it's clogged.
The instant water heater was a quick fix over the phone with the manufacturer. Something to do with combustion rate. 
Smell is still unidentified. It may be a "house" smell.  

that was a close one

The electricians were back yesterday to fix the second floor electric. I guess the ceiling fans, tvs, xbox, playstation, clock, and charging stations were too much.
So after four hours of work for two guys and a RE-opened kitchen ceiling, we now have 3 breakers in place of one.
And THAT is exactly why you hire a qualified electrician to do all your wiring.