Thankful Thursday #16

I took a little mini vacation last Thursday and Friday to get some things done around our new home. We're getting there folks, but we still have a long way to go before we're completely settled. I'll say it again...ten years.

Do you realize how much stuff can be acquired in ten years?

Oh sure, you may think you know; but really, you have no idea!!

No idea whatsoever, until the day comes that you have to move.

When that day comes, you get a clue - in a BIG way!

For ten years of stuff, and only being in our new place for two weeks, we've come a long way.

So Thursday and Friday were used to get some things settled around here. One of those things was to get Sugar registered into her new school.

You may recall how well that went over...Remember? The horrible not so great day that I had on Monday, when I had to take another emergency vacation day. UGH!

Just thinking about how awful that day was makes my blood pressure go up...

Shelly pauses here for a moment to rub her ears **woosah**

Okay, sorry about that... Now, where was I?? Ah yes, the mini vacation. So I took Thursday, Friday and Monday off, to get my affairs in order. Then Tuesday was a holiday.

I was able to get Sugar registered for school Tuesday, but not before having to jump through one last hoop. I had to go to the health department and wait in that line, for almost an hour, to get her shot records transferred over from one state's form to the other.

I'm not sure what difference it makes, which state's form her immunization records are listed on, as long as she's had them all; but, whatever.

So, I got that done and now she's in her new school.

Wednesday morning was her first official 'full' day of school and my official first day back to work. And after all the drama of the last few days, I was happy to be going back.

Until we could get a sense of what time the bus arrives in the mornings, I made sure she was at her stop ten minutes early. She stood outside, on the same corner where the driver dropped her off yesterday afternoon. But, as time ticked on and she remained out there, standing in the cold, wet rain, with no sign of a bus - or even that any other children in the neighborhood rode the bus to school - I decided to drop her off.

After getting her to school, I jump on the interstate to take Spice to Ms. Jewal's house. Traffic is a little heavier than normal because of the weather - that, and the fact that I'm a few minutes behind schedule.

There is a sign letting drivers know two of the three lanes are shut down up ahead which, of course, means that traffic is at a complete stand still.

Thirty minutes later, we're still creeping along. I'm only a mile away from my exit and now I have to go potty - and I'm not just talking about little potty here folks. I'm talking about BIG POTTY.

Of course. Of course I would be the one who has to go BIG POTTY while stuck on the interstate with nowhere to go. Of course!

Have you ever been stuck on the interstate while you had to go BIG POTTY???

Well letmetellya, it's not a very good feeling. And not that I would ever - in a million years - use one; but, I think it would be a good idea if they put a "Johny on the Run" alongside the interstate, every couple of miles, whenever they shut down lanes.

I'm just sayin' is all. ;) BUT, I digress...

So now a few more minutes have passed by and we've crept along until I'm only a half mile away from my exit. Suddenly, everything clears up - wa-la, just like that. It was like the parting of the red sea or something.

God is smiling down on me - Thank you, God!!

I jump off on my exit. I'm almost to Ms. Jewal's house. I take out my phone to let her know that we are right around the corner. And right as I turn the corner I hear it....

The train. :(

You have GOT to be kidding me, God.

The train that is coming down the very tracks that I must cross in order to get to her house.

The train that there is no way around.

The train that is preventing me from arriving to my ultimate destination - the bathroom!

The train moves on and we finally arrive. Of course, the minute we get there the rain starts pouring down even harder; but, I don't let that stop me....I'm on a mission.

Clear out the restroom because here I come.

Whew! I made it. Thank you, God.

And just to show you how good His sense of humor is in situations such as these, when I left her house the rain had slowed to a drizzle. There were no more trains to delay my progress towards work and traffic had cleared.

I am telling you, I was so thankful to finally be back at work that I could have kissed my boss when I saw her.

I had the biggest smile on my face when I finally walked into that drab, old building. There is nothing like the chaos of real life to make you appreciate the simple chaos at work.

I am thankful for my job. Thankful that I have somewhere to go where I not only get paid - which is always a plus - but where I can escape.

I am thankful to work for a company that understands and practices the concept of family first.

I am thankful to have finally gotten Sugar's school registration taken care of.

I am thankful that I had vacation time available to take, so that I could get all of this settled.

And of course, I am also thankful that I made it to the bathroom in time. I'm just sayin' ;)

Thankful Thursday #15

As I prepare to crawl in the bed at my in-law's house, worn out from the weeks events, I had told myself I was not going to blog tonight. But I've been away for so long and I didn't want anyone to think that I had fallen off the face of the Earth.

Plus, there is SO MUCH for me to be thankful for this week - I just had to share; but before I begin, I must first tell you the story that leads me to all of this gratitude...

My family and I are moving.

This was something we have been talking about doing for a long time but, up until recently, it has never evolved into anything other than wishful thinking.

This was a huge decision for my family and me.

A decision that was not made lightly.

You may recall that my good friend Amy gave me a wonderful verse to pray over - and all of the humorous events that followed my first attempt.

Isaiah 30:21

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

You might also recall that I decided to hold off praying over this particular verse until the time came for me to actually look at some property.

So, as I got ready to meet mom and go to our viewings, I pulled out the Bible and read over the scripture again - this time with more success. :)

The second one I looked at was the one for us, we wrote him a check and it was ours.

Now I had two weeks in which to pack ten years of stuff, for our move in date of November 1st.

TEN YEARS I have lived in this house.
TEN YEARS of a love hate relationship.
TEN YEARS of some of the most wonderful memories of my life.
And after TEN YEARS, one day brought it all crashing down, to a screeching halt.

We no longer felt safe in the home that had been ours and we could no longer stay there.

The man who broke into our house early Sunday morning, one week before we were scheduled to move, while the girls and I were sleeping, took all of that away from us.

He got away with little to nothing - one TV and one DVD player - but he robbed us of so much more than that.

He robbed us of our peace of mind, of our security.

My oldest daughter (who will be twelve in just a few short weeks) bore the brunt of his intrusion, as she was awake and heard him from the time he broke in until the time he ran out.

She heard it when he slammed the crowbar into our iron door in order to pry the lock.

She listened as he wrestled with getting the front door unlocked and open.

Frozen in fear she did the only thing she knew to do... She hid herself and her four year old sister (who was sleeping in her bed) under the covers as he walked around the front of our house and her room, unplugging televisions, stereos, lamps and DVD players.

She listened as he walked to the back of the house and into my room. Then she listened as he ran out of my room, after making the mistake of turning on my bedroom light and startling me awake.

I did not realize that there was someone in our house who didn't belong. I woke up mad. Mad that one of my girls had just come into my room before 6 o'clock in the morning and turned my light on - although this is not something that either of them have ever done before.

I started to lie back down and drift back off, as the man had run back into her room to get the TV that he left behind, but the dogs were barking so I got up to let them out.

Still mad at being woken up prematurely, and now I had to get up because they weren't going to stop barking until I let them out, I crawled out of the bed hollering at the one I believed to be the culprit. And I as I yelled her name towards the front of the house he decided to leave that TV and he ran out.

No one answered me, and I did not hear him run out over Drake's incessant barking. He would not go out, he wanted to go up front.

Minutes later, she came running down into the den, frantically crying and telling me that "they robbed us."

I'm in the den and I look around to find that nothing looks out of order, but we do have boxes everywhere.

I believe that she had a nightmare and that she is confused because everything is packed up, so I begin trying to calm her down and comfort her. But as I ask her questions, to understand what she's trying to tell me, and I listen to what she's saying, it starts to sink in that this wasn't a nightmare at all but something that has really happened.

I go with her to the front of the house and sure enough, the things she said he took are missing.

Needless to say, we are no longer staying in that house.
We are currently residing with my in-laws, until this weekend - at which time we will officially be in our new home.

They can have the house; along with the TV, the DVD player and whatever else he may have taken that I haven't yet noticed.

We will take what's behind door number two - a new home, in a safe neighborhood, with better schools, peace of mind, AND our lives!

Which brings me back around to telling you all the reasons that I'm thankful:

I am thankful that my children are safe and that we all lived through this experience unharmed.

I am grateful for all of the many wonderful friends who have reached out to us and offered their support.

And I am thankful to my in-laws for putting us up this week, until we can get moved.

Most of all, I am thankful that God was with us - watching after and protecting us - during our time of need.

He was there with my baby, whispering in her ear, telling her exactly what to do and letting her know when it was safe to come out.

We have talked about what happened a lot this week and she never ceases to amaze me with her unexpected wisdom.

When I told her that He was with her and that He helped to make her and her sister invisible to him, she responded to me with this:

"I know, mommy. I prayed the whole time. I kept praying and praying that you would wake up and that he would just go away. And He answered my prayer...He answered it with you. Because when you woke up and yelled he ran out."

*Sigh*

She is our heroine!!

I will be back once we get settled; until then, please take care.

Thankful Thursday AND Good Mail!!

Today was the funeral.

A day to celebrate the memories of a life that once was.

It was a day full of mixed emotions.

In your heart - the part that loves - you are saddened whenever a loved one passes away. You miss them, their physical presence.

In your mind - the part that thinks logically - you know that they are in a better place. You understand that they are happier and healthier now than they have ever been in life. Knowing this gives you the peace that you need in your heart.

Despite the fact that the conditions were set for a somber day, the weather was absolutely beautiful. The sun was shining down on us and there was a comfortable breeze in the air as we said our farewell's to a woman we all knew and loved.

Loved as a Mother.

Loved as a Grandmother.

And loved as a Great Grandmother.

A woman who was beautiful in her day. A woman with great talent. She was artistic and creative. She could cook a meal that was so good it would make your mouth water just thinking about it.

The memories of how she used to be and the knowledge that she was met by all of her loved ones, who left this Earth prior to her recent arrival, gave us great comfort for today's homecoming celebration.

This afternoon, when we arrived home, I shuffled through the mail and the first thing I came across was this sweet picture that was colored by my friend Tina's precious daughter, Ella.

Isn't it beautiful?? A Turtle and Ice Cream - two of my very favorite things! They really know how to put a smile on my face. :) Thank you Ella (and Tina)! I am going to hang it up in my turtle room.

The next piece of mail I came across was some good mail from Cindy Kraft.

Isn't this the cutest little check book cover ever?? I think she made it!! And for those who are interested, Cindy also does photography. See that adorable photo that was in with my checkbook cover?? That looks like a certain little girl that I know (Ella - mentioned above) and it's a picture that Cindy took. It's her business card! How cute is that?!?! She's so "Krafty" :) Thanks Cindy!


I'm a little late mentioning this one, but last week I got another good mail package.

This one was from Jen and in it was this sweet card with several packs of yummy Crystal Light. Thanks Jen!


In closing, I have so much to be thankful for today.....for starters, I'm thankful for life. It is a gift that we were given and something we should all learn to appreciate while we have it because it could be taken away from us at any given moment.


I am also extremely grateful for all of my friends - bloggy and otherwise. You have all been so supportive through this difficult week and I want to let you all know how much I sincerely appreciate everything: the kind words, the heartfelt cards, the home-made picture, AND the good mail - it couldn't have arrived at a better time.


I am truly blessed!

Thankful Thursday #14

I awoke this morning to the distant sounds of thunder.

The alarm hadn't yet rung - and you all know my rule of hitting gently pressing that good ol' snooze button at least three times before finally giving in.

Oh great, it's raining. I thought to myself as I tried to ignore the ringing of my alarm - I can not stress to you enough how badly I detest being woken up before that dreaded buzzing of the alarm (those who know me probably could though. HA!).

Slinging the covers aside Crawling out from under the covers, I rolled out of the comfort of my big, wonderful, cozy bed and strolled over to the alarm for the first round of snooze time.

No sooner than I had made it back into the bed and shut my eyes, I heard the sound of which is never good news. A sound that comes from the den and always manages to grate on my ever so sensitive, early morning, I haven't had my mandatory three snoozes yet, nerves.

I've heard this same annoying sound for the past three mornings in a row - and, I might add, that all were before the three snooze button rule. The last two mornings, by the time I had made my way down to the den, it was already too late to do anything about it.

Would this morning be the same? Probably.

And the rain won't help matters any.

I'll get down there, and that damn Drake will have already peed piddled in his cage, AGAIN, for the third morning in a row.

Then I'll practically have to kick him out of the door, because he acts like he might melt when it rains.

Ol' Stubborn A@$ Dog!

These were the grumblings that I heard in my mind as I lay awake in my bed this morning, irritated by the much needed rain and the sound of Drake barking to let me know that he had either already made a mess in his cage or that he was about to. Either way, to say that I was less than happy would be an understatement.

I made my way down into the den, the rain let up, and Drake had not yet released the flood gate.

HALLELUJAH! This day was getting better by the minute. I've already got two things to be thankful for, and the day has only just begun.

As I walked out of work this evening, the rain had cleared out and the temperatures had dropped down to a considerably lower and much more acceptable level.

So in short, or rather not so short, tonight I'm thankful for the rain. The very rain that caused complaints in the wee hours of the morning has turned around to become a source of happiness this evening.

Our temperatures, along with our notorious humidity, have been unbearably hot for over a week now; then, the rain rolled through and flushed away that heat. Now just ignore me as I say a quick little prayer that it (the heat) stays gone...we've had enough. Amen? Thanks!