Like I Needed One More Thing to Stress About

I am talking myself out of having the Swine Flu.

Because that's a little-known cure for pandemics. "Talking yourself out of it."

I think I've had a cold for a few days now. Could be the allergies that I've suffered from since childhood.

But instead of just blowing my nose and chewing on my beloved Claritin, a tiny piece of my brain keeps saying, "Swine Flu... Swine Flu..."

You know, because I have nothing else to think about.

Random-ness... It's The Way I Roll

Is that even a real word? "Random-ness?"



1. The crazy doves are still attempting to nest upon my car. And, they can obviously sense my love for the animal world... They let me walk RIGHT UP TO THEM before they move and scare the pee out of me. Did I mention that I got to TOUCH one?!? I am considering letting them build their nest on my windshield and just driving around with them up there.

2. There is a familiar camo bag in our house that is about to be packed. Prayers, please. Especially for the boy.

3. My friend is at Disney this week. I am a jealous girl!

4. Today is "Field Day" for the boy. Do ya'll remember "Field Day" from your elementary school years? Guess what? Dan NEVER had a "Field Day" in his life!! Poor little deprived thing. I kinda felt sad for him when he told me.

5. Is it ok to not mop your floors until your feet start to stick to them? (Hope my ma-in-law doesn't see this...)

6. There's a lady coming from the moving company to do our "pre-move inspection and estimate." Is it ok to complain about how movers break everything? Is it ok to tell her I'll be moving important things MYSELF because I don't trust "her people" to do it?

(Told ya this was random,)

7. Is there such a thing as a "Bee-Ologist?" Somebody I know wants to be one. (Or should I say "bee" one?)


8. How many years do people really save tax information? Really?

9. I went to a new place yesterday for breakfast with my girlfriends. It was so good to all be together again... we've been going a million different directions lately. I ate a pastry that was the size of a pillow. Yum.

10. I haven't even posted pictures from our fantastic Easter weekend. In Charleston! With my brother, sis-in-law, and nephew. It was a wonderful trip. Maybe I'll get around to it later. Maybe.

Crazy Doves

I am gonna miss those birds. We were offered a different house this past weekend and we've said "YES!" to it. And, I am gonna miss those crazy birds.

Let me back up. When we moved into our house almost 9 months ago, we were told...

"This neighborhood is being 'transitioned' at the present time, and you may be asked to move."

(Note to Army Housing People: Do NOT say things like this to military wives who have been living in hotels for a month - or more - and are standing in the midst of an 8-foot high piles of boxes which contain all their worldly possessions... probably broken.)

So, we signed for our house, moved in, and unpacked... all the time knowing we may have to do it again.

We turned down the 1st alternative they offered... It was 15 miles off base...in LOTS of heavy traffic. The man who drives to work every day and sometimes all hours of the night made this decision.

We turned down the 2nd alternative they offered... It had a sewer-type creek in the non-existent backyard. Momma made this decision.

Now for a disclaimer:
I don't want to seem snobby or picky. I love my little house. I am so grateful that I have one. It's just that when such a HUGE part of your life (case in point... where you live) is totally decided by someone else (the Army), you grasp at and cling to whatever tiny pieces of control you DO have.
End of disclaimer.

So.

We were finally offered a house in the area we were hoping for! Yippee!


I am excited. And grateful.

And I am gonna miss the doves that live here with us now. They built a nest last summer. Right outside the boy's window; above the drainpipe.

We can see them and hear their "cooing" all the time. It's so sweet. This year, they are back. And, one of their dove-children is back with her new dove-man.

She's obviously new at this love and motherhood thing because she's tried twice now to build her nest on my car windshield. I actually had to poke her yesterday to get her little dove-fanny off my car so we could go to church. Very cool.

So, I will be getting ready to move around the corner very soon.

I will not miss the "boom-cha-boom" of the soldiers' car radios at ALL hours of the night.

I will not miss the sound of cadence being called to a pack of jogging soldiers at God-awful early in the morning... right outside my window.

But I will be missing my crazy dove friends. Maybe there are some living at my new house.

And a Good Time Was Had By All

Back in the day, we made a couple of friends. We have known them almost as long as we've been married. And that's a long time.

We knew them before any of us had kids.

Eating out used to require a "table for four." Now it's a "table for eight."

We knew them when Friday nights consisted of a long conversation-filled dinner, a movie, and coffee at Barnes & Noble (with more conversation).

Now it's dinner somewhere relatively loud with a good kids' menu, go home and put in a G-Rated DVD for the kiddos, and attempt to sit and talk until one of us (grown-ups) passes out asleep... at 8 pm.

Last weekend, we had a chance to go by and spend some time with them.









And, it was a great time... as it always has been!

I found this little "ditty" on a scrapbooking website, and I love it.

Because every bit of it is true.

"Old Friends are Best Because...
...You share a history.
...They speak your language.
...You can look back on happy times.
...You know them best and trust them most.
...They remember how skinny you used to be and they don't remind you.
...You can go a long time without talking to them and then start where you left off.

Double Digits

The American Idol contestants sang songs from their birth years this week. Phew.

Let me just say, folks... I am old.

Old enough to be the mommy of a 10-year-old.

A very cute and charming 10-year-old.

A very smart and witty 10-year-old.

A very sassy mouthed and sarcastic 10-year-old. (Don't know where he gets that from.)

Let the festivities begin! 'Cause when you are an "only," birthdays last all week.

The first party was in Pensacola at Nana and Pops' house. All Dan's family was there, and "Harry Potter" was the cake of choice... with the strangest colors of icing I've ever seen.



The boy picked "Red Robin" for his birthday lunch... and we were a little bored waiting on our food...


While we were with our Birmingham friends, "Aunt Shan" made a cake too!


On our way home, we stopped at Baba and Papa's for more presents and more cards. (And to pick up my 2 lazy-butt cats who had been at their grandma's all week.)



And... finally... the party with the friends. With a basketball theme. The "good-time-cut-loose-act-like-a-kid-'cause-you-are-one" party. The party that leaves me convinced I birthed JUST the right number of children.



Happy Birthday, my boy. You are... by far... my favorite cute and charming, smart and witty, (and even) sassy and sarcastic 10 year-old! Daddy and I love you more than you will ever know!

"Life is What Happens...

... When you're making plans."

I love that quote, and I apologize for not giving proper credit to the author. I don't have a clue who said it.

"Life" could mean a lot of things, but in our little world last week... it meant death.




We were in the middle of making plans when some "life" happened.

We had managed to squeeze in about 2 million tiny details of "plans" into the last few weeks leading up to Dan's next "year-long-fun-filled Army trip."

I mean to the last tiny detail, folks.

We had it all worked out around our families' schedules, school schedules and projects, already-planned events, and a certain boy's 10 year-old birthday and party.

Then, Dan's grandfather passed away.

He had been sick for some time, and it wasn't entirely unexpected.

Papa was a devout Believer. There is no question in anyone's mind about his eternal destination. He was a pastor in his later years, and he spent his time telling others about securing their own place in God's kingdom- here on earth and in Heaven.

He inspired his grandson - Dan - to be a minister himself, and Papa was so proud when Dan decided to become a military chaplain. So proud.

We spent several days with Dan's family.
His grandmother was very grateful to have him there to help... with the funeral and with the grief.

The boy... as always... was a ray of sunshine to his great-grandmother and grandmother.

We spent some time just having fun, too... while we were there... Papa would have loved it and encouraged it.

We ate at the beach, we celebrated the boy's big "1-0" Birthday (more to come on that... trust me!), and the "men folk" took the boat out.

On our way home, we went through Birmingham to see our friends we've known forever. (There are also more pictures from that adventure!)


All those "plans" we'd made had to be re-arranged, of course.

But... everything worked out.


Dan was able to attend his granfather's funeral... that big "Army trip" would have prevented that.

Thank goodness all those plans we made... aren't really up to us.

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,"
says the Lord.
Isaiah 55:8

Alive... But Not "Kicking"

That's me this morning.

I am home again from a very long and un-planned and whirl-wind trip.

(More on that whole "un-planned" thing later.)

I have lots to share... including some pictures of a very hansome 10 year old boy. ( Heaven help me.)

Gotta go climb Mount Laundry and take inventory of the bare pantry.

And toss out some really old milk.