YELLOW ROSE OF TEXAS

Well, you all know I am from Texas and here is proof. Where else can you cut roses like these from your own backyard in December?

I tell you I cut these roses from my one and only rose bush this past week and have enjoyed the smell of fresh roses in my house all week........couple of weeks before Christmas!!!!

This is my favorite rose bush. Tollie and I had visited Tyler Rose Garden many years back and found this rose bush to be our favorite there. So, I bought one for myself and have had some pretty roses before, but none as pretty as this year, nor this late! It is a Heart o' Gold Rosebush and I love the roses and the smell. Hard to find a good rose that smells good now a days with so much of the propagating they do. So.....enjoy my rose. I certainly am enjoying it.

These are the same roses several days later and how full they are now. Still enjoying them.

OUR SOLDIER

Here is our Soldier! Paul is a wonderful young man and we are very proud of him. Thank you, Lord, for his safety and heart to help keep our families safe!

At this time, he is in training and we thank the Lord that he should not have to be deployed......at this time. We will trust timing will be in the Lord's hands.

GRADUATION ~ THANKSGIVING

Patriotism was high that day at the graduation. A feeling of knowing that my son-in-law (who really is more my son than my son-in-law) was a part of something much bigger than us. It was a proud day. Of course we had not seen Paul since the last of July and here we were able to see him, but could not talk to him or even touch him......yet!
For those of you who do not know Paul, he is in the third row and second one from the left. He looked much different as he has lost about 30 pounds and has no hair! But handsome he is!!!!!
The little girls were thrilled to see their daddy! Ashton saw him when he first came in and started crying. She could not quit crying all during the graduation. She thought he was different and we think she thought he didn't love her because he could not say anything to her! It was very emotional for all of us. Emma kept trying to find him and I finally put her on my lap and pointed with her to count the men and she could find him. Her whole body relaxed when she saw him! It was a special moment. Of course Paul was suppose to be looking forward and not looking around. But when he saw us and saw that Emma saw him, he could not help but grin! We spent the day on Wednesday, after graduation with Paul. He could not leave the base and so we spent some time at the PX, eating and talking and walking the aisles. Later we went to the van and drove around base, seeing all the different places Paul had been during his training. At one point, we parked in an elementary school parking lot and napped and played with the girls while in the van. It was a dreary day outside and getting colder by the minute. We tried to go bowling but no lanes were open. There was really very little to do on base. I think the military keeps the guys on base so the families will spend money at the PX!!!! After all, when shopping is all you can, why not? Many soldiers and families were carrying stuff out by the basket full. It was a long, but fun day!
For Thanksgiving Day, Paul was able to leave the base. We picked him up and went to Grandmother and Granddaddy's house for Thanksgiving. It was a special day. Lots of family and a friend from the base went with us. Kris wanted us to drop him off at the mall in Elizabethtown. We were not sure the mall was going to open so we talked him into going with us to Summer Shade. He agreed and we had a great day with family. It was a special time and Grandmother was so happy we had brought Kris along.

While we were eating that evening, back in Elizabethtown, two ladies came by our table and thanked Paul and Kris for their part in serving our Country. It made Tollie and I tear up! It was a very special time. Later, Paul told us on Friday when he and about five others flew to South Carolina for their specialty training to start, a man laid down money on the table where they were eating and said thanks, leaving $50.00 for them to use to buy their meal. These times have been most touching to me.
We had such a good time at Grandmother and Granddaddy's. We played in the leaves, rode the tractor and spent some down time before going on to the graduation. Of course all of us were anxious to get to Elizabethtown and to the graduation!!!!
Riding the tractor thrilled the girls. They loved being outside and wanted to walk in the woods. The colors of fall were everywhere. Grandmother said that about two weeks ago was the peak time but we still had plenty of ahhhh moments when we would spot the brillant yellows and reds of the leaves in and amongst the trees. Many trees had already lost their leaves and were naked but there were still some shedding. It was a beautiful site.
Jamie and the girls spent a lot of time outside. It was cool but not cold. It did not get really cold until Thursday night. Friday morning packing the van was really cold! But we were happy as we had seen Paul and spent two days with him.

Here is the whole family with Kris included on the right at the back! (Actually, Jamie and Paul had already left to spend some alone time in Elizabethtown.) We will try to superimpose them in another picture and I will post it later. It was a happy day.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING. I HOPE YOU ENJOYED YOUR DAY AS MUCH AS WE DID!

VISITS

Thanks Dee, for dropping by. I didn't see any of your answers here! I guess maybe that is why I haven't been back, because I don't have the answers yet, either. I keep mulling them over in my mind and haven't come up with anything profound yet!

But I am still here, just not writing much these days. I will have a lot to write about when I return from the Thanksgiving holidays. And who knows, I may have some answers to my questions at that time.

We are going to Kentucky to my son-in-law's boot camp graduation at Ft. Knox. It will be a momentous occasion for all of us and we will get to see our daughter from Missouri. The wife of the graduate and their two kids will be traveling with us and a bonus is seeing some of Tollie's family since they only live about 1 1/2 hours from Ft. Knox. We plan to go there for Turkey Day lunch, although we will have to leave the graduate family at Ft. Knox as Paul will not be allowed to leave the base. He ships out on Friday morning to South Carolina and they plan to spend all the time they can with him. The little girls and their mother, Jamie have not seen Paul since the end of July. It will be a joyous day in the Goebel family.

I do request prayers for safe travels. See you after Thanksgiving! I pray you all have a happy Turkey Day as well.

QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS

I was cleaning today and began to ponder. That is dangerous, I know. My pondering led me to some questions I have had for some years now. I really don't expect many to respond to these questions, because I don't think I have that many who read my blog. I find I have some lurkers and that is okay. But I really, really need some help in defining these questions and answering those that can be answered.

You see, I don't believe that some of these questions can be answered by mere mortals. I believe we live in a society which does not understand the spiritual world and therefore, may have opinions on these questions, but no real answers. Now, I could be wrong. I would like to think that there are answers to these questions, but so far I have not found any. So........here goes.

Does God "make" things happen, such as hurricanes, tornados, death of a person, etc.?

Does God "care about" my everyday happenings? In other words, does God really care if wear a certain dress or if I read a book or go to the store at a particular time?

Does God answer prayers directly or generically?

Does God give people burdens contrary to his teaching?

Does God change his mind?

If you have an answer or an opinion on any of these questions, please help me by posting a response. I honestly desire to have some discussion on these.

Notice I said discussions, no arguments and no pat answers, but deep thought out discussions that look at all angles.

Oh, have a great day in the Lord! :)

TWO YEARS AGO......ALREADY?!?

Yes, it was two years ago today that Hurricane Rita came for a visit in Southeast Texas. That was a busy hurricane year, also giving us Katrina and many others. I think there were 17 or 18 named hurricanes that year. It was a busy year and we profited finacially from her. (Government stipend and insurance money) She did little damage and we came out smelling like a rose......unlike others here and too many in New Orleans!

Today, we are looking at the Gulf once again because there is another disturbance out there coming our way. They assure us it will only give us rain and should not become a named storm by the time it hits. Of course that is what they said a couple of weeks back when Humberto was just a tropical depression and he came ashore as a Category 1 hurricane in a few days. I have to admit that was an unusual incidence but it reminds me, that with all our technology, we can see that God is still in control. He puts nature in motion and I don't care what type of technology we have, we can not out guess or out smart God and nature.

Do I believe that God caused Katrina (or put any name inserted here) to happen to New Orleans because he wanted to turn them from their sins? Or teach them a lesson? No.....but I do believe that he puts nature in motion and consequences from that nature occur naturally. Could God cause an Humberto? Yes....does he, I'm not so certain. I believe God has power to do whatever he wants, but I don't think his nature would cause him to purposely harm his people to show them a lesson.

I have written and re-written many paragraphs here and deleted them all because I am so uncertain of the direction I want these questions to go. I do have many questions. Does God work directly with storms and nature to control or discipline me? If that is the case, would he use an act of nature such as a storm for just me when it affects so many people? How could that be? I am not that important. So, no I do not believe that. But how does God work directly with me? Through me? These are questions that I have had and about the time I believe I have an answer, my answer changes. Circumstances change and then I start over with the questions. I have far more questions than I have answers.

Have a great day! Now, mine is full of questions and I will mull them over.

WHY CAN'T WE PLAY NICE?

I was reading my blogs this morning and I am distressed now.

Reading Mike Cope's blog, I understand where he is coming from and appreciate his concerns. However, it brings up more distress in me and why we can't all get along nicely.

Mike mentioned in his blog that “This Message is From Churches of Christ” was said by a well known radio/TV presenter. Mike's contention is that this person seems to be speaking for all Churches of Christ and in most cases he is not. Especially in this case since it has to do with women in the church.

What got me was some of the responses to that post. It has become a most silent shouting match.

I have not responded there, but will respond here. My problem is the mindset by many in the Churches of Christ. {We are "The Church" -- just like the church in the first century and if you are not doing it just like we are, then you are wrong.} The biggest problem with this mindset is that if they looked closely at the scriptures and compared tit for tat, they would find they are no more like the first century than the man in the moon! How can they? Lifestyles are different, the world is a different place. God's word is the same as always, I know that.

The other problem is where you draw the line on Gospel and scripture. All Gospel is scripture, but not all scripture is Gospel.

Now don't crucify me for that last sentence. Not every word in the Bible is Gospel. The Gospel is a person, not scripture and not words in a book. Gospel is the truth of Jesus and him crucified. It is the person of Jesus Christ. When we bank what we do in the two hours we meet on Sunday morning on this concept, then it all falls into place and it doesn't matter that I worship differently than you do. It doesn't matter that I have classrooms for Sunday School in my building. It doesn't matter that I allow all races and colors of people to attend my worship service. It doesn't matter that a woman is reading a scripture or playing a keyboard while I worship! Just that I worship Jesus!

Well, I did respond there. I even added this paragraph.

I have heard it said "The Church of Christ" is not a denomination. That is so far from the truth. We may not have a board of directors or pope to dictate rules, but we certainly seem to have a set of rules many think we should follow!

ME, MYSELF AND I

I was up until about 1:30 last night reading a particular blog. When I went to bed, I was praying that God would give me the courage, strength and wisdom to be more like the person whose blog I was reading.

Let me explain more in detail. I came across this particular blog through another blog. I have found some interesting reading on blogs by linking to other blogs through blogs I read on a regular basis. I am purposely not mentioning the blog as of yet, because I have not talked with this person and not sure I want to confide in who she is.......yet.

However, let me say she is a person I would like to meet, talk with and feel comfortable that she would welcome my descriptions and explanations here. But until I actually know this, I am not comfortable with revealing this blog.

She was in a discussion about some very controversial topics. One in particular that interest me and I have to say I have never read a blog so controversial that did not turn ugly. I think that is partly what intrigued me. Each person that responded to the blog with comments was welcomed with open arms and honesty through this person. I believe, had I commented (which I did not), I would have felt completely welcomed and wanted, no matter what I said. There were those who were diametrically opposed to what was being said, there were those in total agreement and a lot of in between. But each person was responded to with grace and love. I think that is what was so exceptional about this blog. Nobody had all the answers! What a novel thought. There was really only one or two people who I thought believed they had the "right" answer and everyone else seemed to have questions, thoughts but no "right" answers, just opinions.

The whole experience caused a community of dialogue that was intriguing to the say the least.

I think what intrigued me the most was the fact that I want to be loved by people. I want people to respect me and search me out for answers. But I think in this experience of last night I realized I don't have answers and probably never will and by openly suggesting that might cause people to search me out! Does any of this make any sense? I'm sure it does not to you, because it doesn't make a whole of lot sense to me! But that is why I am blogging about this right now. I want to ferret out what was intriguing about it, what about it that I want to emulate and what I can learn from the experience.

Have you ever had an experience where you were so enamored with some one's ability to deal with people and topics and had a way with words that you wanted that?!? This is where I am today.

WHILE WE SLEPT

Well, we went to bed last night thinking that TROPICAL STORM HUMBERTO would pass through the night.

Humberto did pass through but not as a tropical storm, as HURRICANE HUMBERTO. Just before landfall just east of High Island, Humberto strengthened to a category 1 hurricane. Imagine our surprise this morning to find that out. We are fine, no damage, no problems. Just lots of rain and wind last night which kept us from sleeping soundly, especially when our touch lamps come on when the electricity coughs! But we have never lost power completely. Jamie, who lives in Sour Lake, a mere 18 miles to the west of us barely had rain and hardly any wind. Speaking of Jamie............


HAPPY BIRTHDAY ASHTON!!!!!!!!

Our first grandchild is 7 years old today. How can that be? Where did the time go? Her mother was just born........
..yesterday? Something has happened here beyond my explanation!

Ashton is such a beautiful, fun and loving child. She is so smart and can read like I don't know how to describe! She is gifted in arts as well. She would like to be an artist when she grows up. Ash and I went to Olive Garden on Monday evening to celebrate her birthday early. We had to go early because she wanted to experience the same as last year, just me and her going to Olive Garden. She would not hear of any others going with us. So......how could this Piggy refuse!?! At Olive Garden she was working on the child's menu and doing a word find of Italian artist. We had fun with the names such as Bernini, Bottecello, Caravaggio. When we got back home, we went to the internet to look up these artists to see what they had painted. Some of them were scuptors and we had fun looking at their talents. Later Ashton told me she would marry someone with inini and then she would be Artist Berninini and be famous one day. You have to admit, the girl has dreams!!!!!

Hope you have a great day and enjoy the sunshine where you are. We are suppose to have sunshine later today, in fact it is clearing now and the brightening with each hour!

BEING POOR MAKES YOU SMART!

First let me say, we are not poor! And I know that we could be much worse off than we are.

I have wanted to put down new flooring in my house for several years now. I started planning on doing this right after Rita made a visit to our town in 2005. We had extra money from insurance and the government because of Rita and I was looking at doing it then, but.......Mindy wanted to get married. Do you hear a sucking sound?Shurllllllllp! There went the extra money.

About a month ago, we started getting bids on flooring and looking at tile, carpet and making some decisions. Of course, in planning out what would be best, we decided if we were going to remodel the bathroom with a walk-in shower, it would be prudent to do it first, then the floor.
In the meantime, we planned a trip to Corsicana and I went to get the van inspected and Shurlllllllllp! Do you hear sucking again? After new tires, brakes, rotors, we were down again with no extra money!

We had already bought tile for the laundry room back in the spring, thinking we could do it ourselves. In fact, on a trip to Missouri with my daughter and grand daughters, I thought I would be surprised to find a new floor down whilst I was gone! No..........a new office instead!

So, with Labor Day coming and all, what better time to do labor! I decided it was work time. I cleaned out the laundry room on Friday and went shopping to get some tools. They have some really neat tools at Lowe's, a dangerous place to go when you want something! Anyway, a paint brush, Rotozip spiral saw and scrapers in the bag, I was ready to start labor! I came home thinking I might have the old vinyl out by the time Tollie got home from work! Yeah right! I started, but that was as far as I got. It was going to be hard work. We thought of several things to try and low and behold, the new Rotozip tool had a part missing. So.....Saturday morning, we got up early (at least early for Saturday morning) and went to McD's to eat and back to Lowe's. We got home and started working! Scraping, scraping, scraping. These pictures are of our grand daughters helping us.





They were having a good time. I told Tollie we might be arrested for abusing child labor laws, but they wanted to do it. It took all day Saturday to get the old vinyl out and then we had to start scraping on the old adhesive. There were places it just would not come up. Tollie finally got his drill and "sanded" them down to the concrete. It burned up his cheap drill. (Christmas present idea!)

Sunday we planned to eat lunch after church and then back to Lowe's to get more supplies and exchange some things. But after lunch it was raining so hard, we came home and napped! We finished the cleanup of the concrete Sunday night and knew Monday morning we would begin laying tile. Got it all laid except for the ones needing to be cut around the perimeter of the room.

Jamie called about noon and wanted us to go shopping with the them for Ashton's birthday and we needed to get a wheel for the new tool to cut the tile. They came about 3:00 and we all went to eat, shop and get the new wheel. We came home and starting cutting. As you can see in these pictures, the dust was flying!








Then last night, I put down the grout and voila, we have a new floor!



I am sore and tired and have a numb little finger on the left hand and a blister on the right.




My biggest disappointment!?! What is missing in this picture?



The moral to the story is this: When you don't have a lot of extra money, you tend to learn how to do things you never thought you would do. And you keep planning because you realize it was not as hard as it looked and the end result is great!

SCHOOL STARTS TODAY

Tollie and I went to Sour Lake (about 25 miles) to see our grand daughters before they went to school today and help get them to their classes.

Ashton, pictured here with her backpack, is starting first grade today.








Emma, pictured here, is starting kindergarten today.




The reason we went to Sour Lake today is that their dad is in boot camp in Ft. Knox, Kentucky and can't be there to take them their first day. So....we stepped in and helped mom get them to school and be there to take pictures of their first day.

It is so special to be part of this and get to be there for this special time in their lives. It is my job to relay all the details, fine details as best I an to their dad and send pictures for his enjoyment. He believes today and September 13th, Ashton's 7th birthday, will be two of the hardest days for him, while his is away. He wants to be there and would be, if he could.

Please pray of all of them and I will give a report tomorrow after I talk with Ashton and Emma this evening to find out how their first day of school went today. They were both excited and nervous and scared.....but ready to begin this new adventure.

I like how they see each year a new adventure. I wish I could see more of life as an adventure and be more engaged at times. I am working on doing this. Have a great day today, the first day of what ever event in your life!!!

AT WORK

I am at work today. I only work four days a week and I only work half days at that! Pretty cool, huh? I am the executive assistant to the owner of the company my husband works with. Mr. Ruddy is the President and CEO of SETCA which stands for Southeast Texas Classic Automotive. My husband, Tollie is the IT man for the company and goes to all the different dealerships when they have computer problems. There are three dealerships here in Beaumont, the same town where we live and two dealerships with many car lines in Mid County which is only about 30 minutes away in Port Arthur. Then we have a dealership in Tyler which has two car lines and several used car lots. All in all, we have Chevrolet, Acura, Saturn, Nissan, Kia, Buick, Honda, Pontiac, GMC, Toyota, Mercedes Benz and had Oldsmobile until it was discontinued. So you see we have many lines of cars to choose from.

My husband, Tollie, has worked for the Ruddys for 35 years now. There was a short period of time back in 1997 where he worked for part of the company that split up and bought out other parts and then he went back to work for the Ruddy's. They are good people and I started working for them in 2000 when I was the Acura Parts Manager. Tollie had been in the parts end of the business for years and when that department needed someone, he suggested that I could do it. I did it for 2 1/2 years and loved it. The only problem was the timing. Being a grandmother and being the only person in parts, I was tied to the job to strongly. I could not take off to go see my grandchildren as much as I liked. About the time I decided to retire, my children moved to the area. But I went ahead and retired. About 1 1/2 years later when the job came open again, I strongly thought about going back to doing the job again. I really did enjoy the parts end and keeping everything straight and tidy and ordering parts and selling parts. My biggest hang up in the whole job was not knowing car engines all that well. But I was learning and learning fast. I trained the person that is there now. I have "filled" in when necessary and will continue to help them when needed. Then I started working in the corporate office helping Mr. Ruddy with special projects.....like his family genealogy and family calendars. When his executive assistant quit, I was asked if I wanted to work with him part time. I hesitated only because he has a hard time keeping a person working for him. But I said I would give it a try, only if they promised to be honest and let me go if it did not work out. I have been doing this now for almost a year. I like the fact that I can work four days a week only and the fact that I am only here half days.

Mr. Ruddy's health is declining somewhat and he doesn't get to the office until about noon. So it makes sense to only be here when he is here. Of course, right now he is here and I am doing my blog because I have nothing much else to do. I can always continue to work on his genealogy but I tire of that easily since I have hit a brick wall and can't seem to get past his great grandparents.

I am hoping to write a booklet on his family and genealogy at some point and I really guess I better close this and get started on that, before I get fired!

Have a great day.

PARENTS SETTLED IN

My parents are finally settling in. We went to Corsicana this weekend to check on them and found them to be settling in and doing much better. "WE" included me, my husband and my daughter and two grand daughters. We had a good time and I was glad we went. My mother and dad really enjoyed our being there.

Please pray for my son-in-law, Paul. He is in boot camp for the National Guard Reserves and separated his shoulder....for the second time. This is not looking good. I am concerned on several levels and I ask that you pray for him, his family, their future plans and ask God to give them wisdom.

BIG BIRTHDAY!

Tomorrow is my hubby's b-day. He is over the hump of 55 and sliding down the hill at 56 tomorrow!!! Who would have thought it? Can we possibly be in our mid 50's? So soon? I mean it seems like yesterday we just got married? Where did the time go? I vaguely remember the highlights, much less the details!

Why is it, that as you get older, the time goes faster? It gets harder to remember the little things and you find yourself past where you thought you were!

Wow! I have to lighten up today! My g-kids are coming in a few minutes and I will be taking care of them while J goes to the doctor. Don't want to get too deep.

I do want to say Happy Birthday to my friend, my companion of 37 years, my lover, my deepest confidant and the most humble, sweetest and caring person I have every known in my life.

I have to take better care of myself so I can be with him and certainly take better care of him to let him know that I love him deeply.

Our plan for his birthday? I don't know, how about breakfast in bed, a little "nuggie" and then.............

cruising in our '72 Olds Cutlass Convertible in the August Hot Nights Cruise in our town. Sounds pretty good to me. Have a great day, because I know we are going to have one.

HARD WEEK

This has been a hard week. On Monday, Paul left for boot camp. Paul is our son-in-law and he joined the Texas Army National Guard Reserves last fall. Originally, he planned to go to boot camp this summer, continue teaching and then go to his speciality training next summer. Then it changed that he was going to boot camp the end of May and then to training sometime later in the fall. He couldn't go then, even though they went the whole nine yards of saying goodbyes in Houston, but he had hurt his ankle and they postponed his going until he was checked out. He had the ankle checked out and all was fine so Tuesday was ship out date #2.

Monday was an especially hard day for Emma. She had her pre-op visit for having her tonsils out next week. They took blood from her arm and mom "forgot" to tell her they would do that--Very Traumatic! They came back to my house after that and played and waited for Dad and I to come home. We left work about 4 pm and I cooked supper. We all ate and then said goodbyes. Let me tell you, that was very difficult.

Of course we are all crying and wailing by the time Dad and Paul left to go to Houston. Dad took Paul so that Jamie did not have to make that drive by herself. It was heart wrenching. Those girls love their daddy and their daddy loves them!!! I did my part by trying to change the subject and distract them as best I could--all the while crying myself! Finally, Emma had to go to the bathroom and I took her and talked about swimming in the pool. That seemed to calm her down and the three of us, me and Ashton and Emma got in the pool and played.

Jamie, of course, had just as hard of a time. Part of the problem is that for the next nine weeks, they cannot see each other. Paul will be in Ft. Knox, Kentucky for his boot camp. We will all go there the end of September for his graduation. He then leaves from there to Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland where he will get his speciality training. He will be there until about January 3rd. He does get 10 days off at Christmas which will help and probably will be able to catch flights home occasionally on the weekends. It is going to be a long fall and winter for these girls!

I have had so many ask me why Paul joined up at this time! Didn't he know that there was a war going on? I have asked myself that question often, but I realized something the other day. I am proud of him for wanting to keep his family safe! He was told when he signed up that "more than likely" he will not be going to Iraq. He was told he probably would be doing border patrol! I guess that could be, but at any rate, he will not be able to go anywhere until after all his training, so maybe, just maybe, things will be different in 2008! We will just wait and see what the Lord has in store for him. I am still proud of his wanting to keep our way of life intact for us.

I know that money had some lure and the fact that Paul loves the physical training. He use to be a weight lifter years ago and loves to run and keep in shape. I know that was a lot of it. Of course the fact they had a large sign on bonus helped as well. I think it will give Paul a purpose and time to decide whether he wants to continue teaching or not. He didn't really like teaching Spanish and probably will not go back to doing that. I just know he is a special person and will find where his work heart lives!

I just ask that if you read this, you pray for him and his family!

SUMMER

I am posting some pictures from our trip to Missouri. The first ones are of Trent and Mindy playing softball with their church league. Mindy was so excited to get her first base run and then make it all the way to home! They lost the game but at least made some points this game.





These pictures are from July 4th. We watched the Bethany fireworks display from the bed of the truck. Trent pulled the truck to their backyard and it made a good sitting place to watch the show. The girls had fun before the show to collect fireflies in a jar. They were fascinated by them. So am I!!!!




I can't believe I am the age I am and have two grown beautiful daughters who have families of their own. They are such great wives and Jamie is a great mother! I am so proud of both of my girls. They truly love God and it shows in everything they do. Thank you God for families.

PASSING OF TIME

Boy, I post on May 1 and before I know it, it is the middle of July. Lots of happenings and I won't bore you with details. Suffice to say that I have been to Missouri twice, driving the long distance and now have a new office at my house.

Tollie and I went to Missouri in May to take Mindy's belongings to her. She still had boxes of books, some odd and ends things and I took the high chair for her; not that she is ready for it, yet! But one day will want it so we took it to her. We had a great time there, although it was a short visit for the distance traveled.

On our way back, we came through Carthage and picked up boxes for our new Family Minister and his wife to help them move to Beaumont. They finally arrived a couple of weeks ago and we are looking forward to working with them in the ministry here.

We also made a quick decision on the way back to go to my parents house in Corsicana and go ahead and move their furniture into their house. We had planned to come home and then go back on the weekend, but it made more sense to take a few more days off and not come all the way home to turn around again. It worked out great. Tollie, my sister Cheryl and I were able to move all their furniture into their house. The only things we left in the store room were the "garage" items such as lawn equipment, tools, tool box and a huge stereo cabinet that we could not move. Everything else got moved and then mom and dad would be able to go over every day and work on getting their house in order.

I made it through June and planned to leave the end of June with Jamie and the girls in tow for another trip to Missouri. Of course this was planned when we thought Paul would be gone to boot camp. As it turned out, he did not leave for basic when we thought and will be leaving in July. But we decided this was the best time to go anyway and left on June 29th for a full day of travel. I am so thankful the girls are good travellers. They did not ask "are we there yet" one time. Believe me, by the time we arrived at 11 pm we were all tired. We had a great week with Trent and Mindy and enjoyed seeing them and playing with them. Mindy was able to take most of the week off and we had a lot of fun.

We again left Bethany at 6:30 am and travelled all the way home in one day, arriving about 10 pm that night. We were all tired again but it is always good to come home to your own bed!

Here it is the middle of July. My dad called in June, (before I left for Missouri) and wanted to know if I could come to help them get the rest of the stuff out of the storage. I told him I was planning to come the end of July but I could not come before then. I have a CASA carnival this weekend and the Russia garage sale next weekend. He was pretty disappointed and I felt awful.

Tollie to the rescue! Tollie and Paul went on Saturday morning and helped them get the rest of their things out of the storage building and into the storage unit in the back of their house. They were able to move things, set up things and bring back a Kirby vacuum to be repaired! So thankfully they saved the day.

When I arrived back from Missouri, I knew Paul and dad had a good time while Jamie and I were gone. They spent a lot of time together, going to Corsicana and then finding out they remodelled the office! They painted the walls, took down the corner desk and built a large desk, putting shelves in the closet and organizing all the office stuff. In fact it is so well organized, I can't find anything!

Needless to say, I am bummed, trying to clean up the organizing and getting acquainted with where everything is. Of course, when you do one room, it causes the dominoes to fall and you have to clean out another closet to make room for the things from that closet and then another closet and I am now working on my sewing room to get it organized. Whew! Not enough time in the day.

I am also trying to get the backdrop painted for the carnival. Our booth for the carnival is taking pictures of the kids behind a background. I am painting a clown and a bear. Hard work for me!

Hope you had a great July 4th celebration. We watched fireworks at two different times and enjoyed that. The most fun was watching the girls collect fireflies. I will post some pictures of that later. Take care and hopefully, it will not be as long for me to post next time.

The HOUSE

Here is a picture of my parents and their new house. I think it is really cute and will be a great place for them, once we get it ready. We worked this past weekend to get wall paper off the walls in the dining room and clean up and patch walls. It will be need to be painted and carpeted and some work in the kitchen, but it is really a great place for the price.

Just wanted to share the great happenings of God through my parents. Please pray for patience for all as we get this house ready for them with busy lives for all of us.

GOD DROPPED A HOUSE

My parents have been looking at houses in Corsicana and the market there is worse than here in Beaumont. It is pretty bad here since Hurricane Rita. If you find a house worth looking at, they start at 80 to 90 thousand and then you have to be careful which neighborhood it is in. So.....we have been looking here and they have been looking in Corsicana.

They called me several weeks ago concerning a house that they loved the outside. It had just come on the market and was 66,000, which is somewhat lower than most. It was only two bedroom and 1 bath but the yard was exceptionally nice and pretty. After they got inside though, things changed. The floor was pier and beam and there were many soft spots in the flooring, which they thought would have to be replaced. I explained that often pier and beam had soft spots.

The next thing I knew they had shut the door on that house. I talked with my dad and suggested they get an inspector and have him look at it and then give them a ball park figure on what it would cost to fix everything. He was pretty despondent stating that after the inspector in Lubbock, he wasn't so sure that was a good idea. I assured him that not all inspectors were like that! I also suggested they could give a really low bid and if it was accepted then they would come out ahead and could fix whatever problems there were. He said he didn't know what he would be bigging against! I told him that was the idea of bidding!

At any rate, they were not going any further with that house. I wrote an e-mail to my sister that night suggesting that I thought mother and daddy were waiting for God to "drop a house in their laps for just what they wanted in price and size."

You can imagine my amazement when I received an e-mail the next day from my sister. "Call mom and dad and ask them about the house that God dropped in their lap."

I called and sure enough, God did drop a house in their lap. They were out looking at houses and eating lunch when they got a call from their granddaughter. They knew a man that was selling his mother's house, but had no information on the size, shape or price. They could call him. They did and he had a key and would meet them to see it. It was in a good neighborhood, close to church and Walmart! It was 3 bedroom, two baths. It was in pretty good shape. The bathrooms were good. The kitchen sink would need to be replaced. You can always brighten by painting and they would want to carpet the house. So, how much? Dad and the owner were in the back bedroom looking around when dad asked, "how much you want for the house?" The man hem hawed around and told him all about when the house was built, what had been done to the house in recent years and that he really didn't want "to take anyone." He finally said, "I guess about $40,000." Daddy pulled out his checkbook and said, "I'll write a deposit check for you right now." The man smiled and said, "No, a handshake is good enough for me."

Needless to say, we are all so thankful for an answer to prayers and for God dropping a house in their lap. I am going to Corsicana this weekend to help paint and prepare for move in. They close on Wednesday! Thank you Lord for your richness and grace and for answering our prayers. All is good in the world!

PARENTS ARE MOVED!

Well, my parents are moved to Corsicana. It was a full week, full of packing, saying goodbyes and tears! But it was a good week. My parents have done really well. It was hard for them to say goodbye but I think they know in their hearts that it is for the best! They are safe and sound in my sister's house and starting to look at houses. They will probably have to buy a smaller home than they had, but I keep trying to tell my mom, why not? It will be less to keep clean!

Save for the four years in the army, my dad has spent all his life in Lubbock. He was born there, lived there for 84 years. That has to be hard. My mom was born in Oklahoma and raised in Pampa, Texas. She married my dad when she was just 15 years old and they moved to Lubbock shortly after that, (when he was released from the service). All their friends, the church, their lives have been in Lubbock. When my sister and I moved away, it was hard for them. Many of their friends have died and all the siblings have died, at least on my dad's side. So, there is not much left in Lubbock for them except for church family and they were always complaining about things there. I am praying they will be happy.

I want to be happy when I am older. My parents seem to complain about so many things and unhappy at times that I have made it my goal to be a happier older person. My friend, Mark's parents are so happy. I know he gets frustrated with them at times, but for the most part, they are happy. They attend Highland and were greeting last Sunday and just seem happy! I want to work on being happier and more positive. I tend to be like my mother and I am determined to change things.

Thanks to all for the prayers for my family and I ask that now the prayers be that they find a home very soon that will fit them and be financially workable for them.

My Uncle Jack

Uncle Jack was an icon when I was young. Everyone said I was just like him, that I should have been his daughter. When my mom told me I was as ornery as Jack, I took that as a compliment, given the fact I didn't know exactly what she meant. I was too young to understand it was not a good thing.

Uncle Jack was one of my favorite uncles. My dad was the 12th child and so there were many to choose from. But somehow, I connected with Uncle Jack. I remember when he lost his youngest son. I hurt for him. I remember the day he was at our house and I spilled a whole container of sugar on the floor. He was astounded that my mom didn't yell at me! We just cleaned it up. I thought it was odd that he was so astounded, but he only had boys. Maybe he yelled at them for everything! I remember going to his place of work and asking him to buy something I was selling for the high school band. He bought two! I remember when he asked me to speak at his Bible Class at his church. This was a great honor for me as it was speaking on Mother's Day about mothers. (This was also such an honor in that I would never have been allowed to speak to an adult class at my own church, but I could go to his! Strange thinking, but never the less the way it was.) He was so proud to have me there and I was proud to be there!

I tried to go see my Uncle Jack everytime I was in Lubbock. The last time I was there, remember the snow and ice storm?, I was only able to call him as I had a plane to catch. He was in the hospital and my dad thought it perked him up to talk with me. I had planned to see him in a couple of weeks when we go to Lubbock to move my parents.

This is good, as now there is nothing in Lubbock, no immediate family to hold mother and dad there.

Uncle Jack has given me some special things of his wife's; a scarf, a bottle of perfume, a promised watch when he found it. He also gave me some stories for my genealogy search of the Christian family. Uncle Jack promised me his plates on the wall. These were plates I remember as a child of him and his wife, Nola. Someone made these for them, gluing fabric and painting a face on the plate. One visit, Jack had me put my name on the back of the plates to designate that I wanted them. I hope to see them again. But I will always have my memories.

Uncle Jack went home on Wednesday. I'm glad for him, but I long to hear his raspy voice say one more time, "hello there."


Thank you for your love Uncle Jack. I always felt special and that maybe somehow I was the daughter you never had. Blessings on you and yours. I love you Uncle Jack!


Obituary from the Lubbock Avalanche Journal Newspaper:

John (Jack) Berlin Christian
John (Jack) Berlin Christian passed away on Feb. 28, 2007. He was born on Nov. 2, 1913 in Weatherford. He is preceded in death by his wife of 65 years, Nola Sanders, and a son, Richard Lynn Christian.

He is survived by two sons, Ronnie Christian of Stanton, Jerry Christian of Lubbock, and a brother, George Christian of Lubbock. He is also survived by five grandchildren, nine great grandchildren and one great-great granddaughter.

Jack was employed by South Plains Electric Coop for 40 years and known as Mr. South Plains Electric Coop. He was a member of St. Luke's United Methodist Church for 47 years, and a resident of Grand Court of Lubbock for the past six years.

A private graveside service is scheduled on Saturday, March 3, 2007. Pastor Bracken Christian, Jack's grandson, will officiate. Arrangements are under the direction of Sanders Funeral Home.

The family suggests memorials to First United Methodist Church in Midland and Family Harvest Church in Lubbock.

The family will receive visitors at Sanders Funeral Home, 1420 Main Street in Lubbock, between 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Friday, March 2.

GOD IS WORKING

My sister and I have been working on our parents to move. They live in Lubbock and we both live in other parts of Texas. My sister recently moved to Corsicana to be near their daughter since my BIL had to retire from preaching. They moved into the country into a cute house they had to completely redo. The previous owner rented the house and the last renters produced meth. Needless to say, sheetrock had to be completely redone as well as updating the kitchen with new cabinets and updating bathrooms with new fixtures. It is really nice for them and they like living in the country.

In January, when my parents came down to see me, they loved T & C's house, not necessarily where it was, so far in the country, but liked the house a lot. Of course they didn't see it in its meth days so reallly couldn't appreciate all the work that had been done. Since we have been talking to them about living closer to one of us, they looked at a few houses while in Corsicana and drove around the town. While here at my house, they were a little disappointed in Corsicana, saying they really didn't like what they saw, so they were just not sure they should sell their house and move.

I suspected they would go back to Lubbock and think of every reason not to put their house on the market. When I called them last week to see how they were doing, boy, was I surprised!! Someone had just left looking at their house. They had put their house on the market two days before and someone was already looking at it. I could tell they were a little surprised by the quickness of this. They called that night, almost sounding in a panic that these people had come back to look again and was offering a contract. We talked about it being the first contract and if it was not what they thought they should get, then don't accept it or make a counter offer.

They made a counter offer and it was accepted. Now the panic really was setting in. Here they have sold their house and what now? So talking with my sister, I began to pour over the possibilities here in this area. Of course, I don't know why I bothered. My mom has stated in no uncertain terms that she does not want to move to Beaumont. She does not like Beaumont and never has liked Beaumont! But I perused the net anyway and unfortunately since Rita, housing is prime here. For the price range house they need, either a house has been damaged by Rita and needs a lot of fixing up or it is in the wrong neighborhood, somewhere I would not put my folks. There were possibly two or three that might work in a pinch.

My sister and BIL began looking as well, but housing is even more in demand in Corsicana. To get anything comparable to what my parents have in Lubbock they would have to pay twice what they would get for their house. This just wouldn't work in my parents thoughts. But.....remember God is working in all this!

Last Friday, late at night for my parents to be calling, they called to say T & C had found a house, a trailer house no less. I am thinking what? My mother living in a trailer house, I don't think so! But to my surprise, my parents are actually excited about this place. It is on three acres of land, about three miles from T & C right off the main highway. C said it has a front porch, a side porch and lots of large trees. It looks great from the road. The trailer is a double wide and is an older trailer, but in pretty good shape. They may want to update the kitchen and baths but it is in move in condition. The people selling knows my neice's husband and is willing to sell for thousands less than if they put it on the market. It is a real steal.

So, it looks like my parents will be closing on their house in March, we will go out and help move them and Lord willing, they will store their stuff in one end of the trailer, move in with my sister and work on the trailer to update it and then move in.

This is a big step for my parents as my dad was born and raised in Lubbock. Except for a short time during the war when he was in the service, he has lived all his life in Lubbock. There are several surprises including that but also, my mom living in a double wide, living in the country, living in a town they were not sure they liked!

I have been praying for peace for mom and dad. I wanted them to feel a sense of God's peace about all this. I wonder if what I said to them when taking them back to Lubbock had anything to do with this. I told dad it came down to priority and what was more important to them, living in their beloved house in Lubbock or being closer to their children? This would make the difference in what they did. When I said this, neither one said anything. I believe God is working on their hearts to realize they need to be nearer their children as they age and their bodies give out.

Please continue to pray for peace for my parents and pray that God continues to work all this out to His glory!

THE REASON

The reason the elliptical rocks is this. I started using it last week on Wednesday morning. The first time I used it, my heart pounded out of my chest. I was short of breath and knew I had to heed the heart rate advise. So I checked my heart rate and checked the RPM and took note. The first time, I was going about 30 RPM and my heart rate jumped to 135 real fast and I could only do about five minutes.

Okay, the cool thing is that I found if I do about 20 to 25 RPM I could keep my heart rate in the zone of 99-124 easily. The first couple of days I did five minutes and then moved to 10 minutes and then on Saturday did 12 minutes. My heart rate would creep up if I was not careful to keep the RPMs down and I usually had HR of about 125. But no soreness, no shortness of breath, doing okay ~ just slow and easy so there is no excuses.

Today, I jumped on the elliptical. I checked my heart rate first, 89. Okay, get up to 25 RPM. I was watching TV and after about 3 minutes I looked down to notice I was doing about 33 RPM. UHHHHHH! Better check my heart rate. 117! What? Could this be right? Well, I will continue a while longer and check it again. After 7 minutes, RPM of 30 to 35 and HR 118! This is wonderful. I am not choking for breath, I am using more calories and I can go longer. So at 15 minutes, I checked again and the highest HR was at 118 and I was doing about 33 RPM for at least 12 minutes. That is so cool!

I am determined this time! I even called Tollie to report to him! That is a real first, because before (as I have posted before) if I share all this with anyone, it seems to jinks it. But not this time! Thank you Lord! I will succeed with great health this time!

ELLIPTICALS ROCK

Well, not too many moons ago, I started an exercise program on my Tony Little Gazelle and was so proud that I had done a week's worth of working out on it. It didn't last! I had to put the Gazelle in the garage and then I had an excuse not to use it.

My folks were here in January and after a week with them, I have resolved to get in better health. My dad was in pretty good health, albeit heart surgery and anyuerism surgery many years ago, yet in pretty good health for an 83 year old man. This past year was hard on my dad. He had a pinched nerve in his neck and had to have back/neck surgery. He had been affected by numb hands and loosing the use of his right leg. The surgery stopped the progression but he is slowly getting back the use of his leg. He has to use a cane or walker to go anywhere, but he still keeps going!

My mom on the other hand stopped moving many years ago. Mother has been obese since I can ever remember. She tried many diets, pills and just never seemed to conquer her obesity. She really quit moving years ago, only doing things in the house and occasionally runs to the grocery store. Oh, yes, she also has congestive heart failure which makes any moving now hard to breath. Now her problems run the gamut of hurting knees, ankles, and her back really bothers her a lot. Watching her and my dad, I realized what I have to look forward to and made the decision to do something now!

My aim is to get healthier. Right now, I just want to get moving!!!!

We have been doing our homework and I told Tollie I need to not have any excuse. So I don't want to join a health club. We talked about a treadmill for our bedroom. Okay, now we are talking more -- convenient, handy -- so we do our homework. Get on line and start looking. Cost is pretty high for a good one. We go to Sears and try out every machine on the floor. They have a good selection. We try an elliptical. Uhhhhhh, my knees hurt right away! Go to the next one. It is designed different. Hey.......this feels okay. Look I can do this! I like this. This is pretty cool. Tollie tries it.

We have a distinct disadvantage to getting something we both can use. I am 5' 2", eyes of ......no they are green, but he is 6'. What feels good for me, doesn't always work for him! He gets on this Horizon RE 7.6 and he likes it. It feels good for him as well! Wow! We go home and do more homework. (We have learned in our 37 years of marriage that we don't make a large purchase on the spot. We always go home and discuss and research and pray and think and sleep and then decide!)

The internet tells me that an elliptical is better for joints. No pounding, no jerking and really better for older people. Well, that's us! The cost is about the same for treadmill and elliptical, maybe slightly less for the quality and bells and whistles. I will have no excuses. The weather will not be a factor. I don't have to go anywhere except to the closet to get my shoes on. I can make time during the day, even several times a day for this! I can read or watch TV while doing it. Yep, looks like a winner.

We bring it home, put it together. Oh and one other plus, it doesn't take up as much room as the treadmill would have and is quiet! So.....six days later, I have started out slow and determined! I told Tollie I don't want to get so sore I can't walk, so I have started out doing five minutes the first few days and today I just did 12 minutes with about seven minutes in my target heart rate. I feel looser and am proud of myself.

You see, I don't care how I look or how much I weigh as much as being able to get around and do the things I want to do!!!! I love working in the yard, but the last few springs have been harder and harder to do the things I love. I have grandchildren who need me to swing and play and be there for them.

Lord willing, I will continue with no excuses! Afterall, I don't go to work until 1pm so I have all morning to do several workouts. Did I say I really like my new toy?

One more thing, you have to try out the ellipticals. The ones I had used at the gym in years past and others at the store were designed differently. This one has the mechanism in the front and the footprints are side by side. On some, I felt like a frog trying to move! My short legs don't allow for wide widths or long strides. This one is perfect for me and the good thing Tollie is liking it as well. Happy health to you today!

WORKING, BUT NOT WORKING

Here I am at work, but not working! Every been there? You are at work, but there is not much to do so you look like you are working and try to stay busy. I really like it better when I am busy. The day seems to fly by and I don't have time to take a Butterfinger snack bite from my candy jar and eat it and then feel guilty. But I am working, having another hour to look busy!

I have had some strange long-time-ago connections lately. I think I mentioned it in another post but a couple of weeks ago I had a phone call from a High School classmate. We were in band together. I have not talked to her in 37 years but she called me the other night and we talked for 1 1/2 hours! Can you believe that? I can't. Anyway, she talked more than I but I found out things I did not know at that time and she said things I didn't even remember much. At any rate, there are several band members talking and wanting to have a reunion, so we have set up a group in Yahoo and think we will plan a band reunion for next year. It will include several years of members. If you are from Lubbock, Texas and went to Coronado High School and played in the Mustang Band from 1968 to 1972, then you may want to go to Yahoo and go the Groups and look under Music, and High School Bands. There is a group called piggysband that you can leave a message and let us know how to contact you. Donna will be organizing a list for contacts.

Then I ran into (and I mean I literally ran into) a woman. She knew she knew me and I knew I knew her, but we were both struggling to figure it out. When I finally mentioned Tollie's name, she lurched across the aisle and hugged me so tight. She had gone to church with us a few years back and as I think back now, I remember her mother and her and the things going on at the time.

And then a few days ago I finally connected with a friend who had moved from our area years ago and we had kept in touch through e-mail for a while, but lately had lost contact. I thought I had made contact finally but the mail came back. I dug through and got out an old e-mail and took the chance. Sure enough, she e-mailed me back. Her boys are grown now and married and we both feel so much older than we really are! Anyway, it was good to re-connect with her and catch up.

I read today concerning the Garnett church in Tulsa and the history. I did not realize that Garnett had declined so much in the last few years, declined at least in numbers. It sounds like to me they are growing in faith and what "church" is really all about. It was an interesting read. Here is the link to let you in on the article "We Don't Do Megachurch Anymore"

http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2007/001/1.49.html

I think you will find it interesting as well.

Gotta run and actually do some work. Hope your day is going well.

All Families are Dysfunctional!

I have come to a realization lately that all families are dysfunctional, including mine. It is just in degrees. I have found in the last few weeks that my family is just as dysfunctional and maybe to a degree that I had not known before.

My parents were here for a week and while I enjoyed having them here, I was ready for them to go home and allow me to get back to my routine. Yet, as I am typing this I am so near to tears. It seems that after everyone left, I am lonely and tired and out of sorts. I don't really know what to think, except I keep thinking of the things I should have discussed and talked about and what I would have said if they had said this or that! So my mind keeps working and working until I get so tired I can't think anymore and then something else pops up that I should have said!

It is a vicious cycle. I know Tollie gets tired of hearing my whining, especially after I confessed that I want to be more positive. You see, my mother is a very negative person. She whines and complains about everything. I see myself much like my mother and I want to be a more positive person. However, today was hard to be positive. Water is at the top level of the eyes and comes out at any given moment. There was no accapella music at church. My question then is, "have we given up on accapella and will have no more?" We are having more and more Sundays with just instrumental worship. It is as "they" have said! And then Tollie says we will eat with a group, and it turns out to be all the "other church" members and I feel a little intruding! "Our group" went someplace else and it made sense that we are still two churches trying to call ourselves one. Who are we kidding?

So, positive was not my strong point today. It may not be tomorrow either, but I will continue to work at it. This then makes me think of Dr. Laura who says don't try, just make it happen. Positive will happen tomorrow, if it kills me!

I go back to work tomorrow and I am certain that will help in getting back to a normal routine. We had a great time with family and with everyone back where they belong, we can all get back to routines.

Chicks Are In the Coup

Well, everyone is back home. The original plan called for us to trek to Corsicana on Saturday and everyone would come back to Beaumont except for me and I would drive mother and daddy back to Lubbock on Sunday. But.....the weather would not allow it. There was too much chance of ice and snow on the roads and we decided not to take a chance. So....I came back to Beaumont with everyone else.

As we left Corsicana, we were on FM 3194 tooling along and all of a sudden I noticed the water in the ditch to my right was rising. I then lost sight of the center stripe and I called out to the girls to hang on just as a wall of water came up over the windshield and blinded us. There was water on the road and because it was getting dark, it was hard to see. It scared the living daylights out of me! I hung onto the steering wheel and tried my best to keep the van on the road. All I could think of was, "please stay on the road." The guys were in Jamie and Paul's car behind us and they too hit the wall of water, but fortunately had seen it happen to us and were able to move over some and better prepared for it. For miles, my foot shook and I could not talk. I was really shook up over it. Later, Jamie drove and bless her heart, it rained all the way Conroe. It was strange that at Conroe and just past, it started getting hot in the van. I turned down the heater and again had to turn down the heat. It then dawned on me and I rolled down my window to find it balmy, probably 60 degrees. No need for heat! We had left Corsicana in about 34 degree weather and had passed through the front. It had not reached our area yet. When we arrived at J & P's, it began to rain again. It was an odd chain of events.

On Tuesday, we took Mindy and Trent back to Houston for their flight. Tollie & I then started up 45 to Corsicana where the plan was for Tollie to take me there and then return back to Beaumont. As we got to Conroe and further north, it was raining hard and began to change to ice. By the time we got to Corsicana, our wipers were iced over and it was getting colder. I cried thinking of Tollie driving back through all that in the dark. We talked and talked and finally he decided to go on to Tyler and work there before heading back to Beaumont. It really worked out better as he was able to get all the work done that he needed to and won't have to return to Tyler next week!

We watched the weather all Tuesday night and waited until about 10 am before heading out to Lubbock. We weren't sure we would not have to turn around and come back. But I found a truck not speeding and going a reasonable speed and being careful so I followed him. When he changed lanes, I changed lanes. When he braked, I braked. I was able to go a decent speed and yet able to watch for trouble spots. We arrived in Weatherford and stopped to eat lunch. By this time, the rain, sleet and snow had stopped. We finally had some dry roads and were able to proceed all the way to Lubbock. It was amazing to see the trucks, trailers or motor homes lying on their sides in the middle median of I20. I guess we counted about 9 from Abilene to Sweetwater. I have never known of a time when an accident happened and they just left them there. But they did this time. I guess the weather was too bad to even try to attempt to clear the wreckage. We made Ranger Hill okay and Post Hill okay. Those were my two concerns and both were fine.

When we got to Lubbock, we read in the paper on Thursday morning that a new snow storm was headed that way and I was ready to get on the plane to come home. Made it home fine and let me say I am just road weary today. I find I just want to sleep! My bed and my shower felt great today!!!!

I just talked with my parents and they did get some snow in Lubbock today. It was not as much as they expected or had been predicted. Sometimes, I wonder about these weather men and where they get their information!

Since I am road weary, I think I will close for now and just end with telling you that we had a great visit with my parents, with my children and with my family. Since this visit, my new interest in changes for myself are to be more positive. I even told my kids that I want to work on being more positive! I will explain more on that later!

THE TREK BACK HOME

We leave tomorrow morning. We are traveling from Beaumont to Corsicana. Then on Sunday, we go from Corsicana to Lubbock. I keep hearing about the weather. There are storm warnings and it could possibly be icy and even snowing.

I am asking for prayers. Prayers that the roads will be clear and I can take my parents back to their home. Then I need prayers that the airport in Lubbock will be open and I can travel back on Monday to my home and see my baby daughter and her new husband for a day before they leave to go back home.

Our visit has been good. We have had some laughs, some tense moments as in all families, but good conversation. I am sorry that we have not had the type of conversations we use to have or that I would like to have but I am afraid to have these days. I don't like conflict and I am certain, it would resolve to that eventually, if these type of conversations were started. So we keep them inside and don't talk about certain subjects.

It is hard to see your parents getting older. It is hard to see your parents having to rely on others for their day to day activities. It is harder to see your parents have no more day to day activities, than getting up and getting dressed!

I need one more prayer, by the way. For the last six months or so, my sister has been talking to my parents about moving to Corsicana to be closer to them. I would love this as this would not only give them family close by, it would put them closer to me. My sister showed them a house or two last week, but now my parents are discouraged and thinking that they will not move. They may just be talking. But I need prayers that God will lead them to the right house and they will move. I would really like them to move. But I certainly want what is best for them.