Overwhelmingly ..........

At what point does the mind and heart start saying - Enough! Do you hear? Enough - because I truly don't think I can deal with one more bad thing! Then you realize you aren't the one who decides that and that it is true, you can't deal with it - not on your own; but we will pull ourselves together and we will be there for each other and love each other through the horrific trials and tribulations that come our way. There has been a terrible accident and two very special young and beautiful people have been seriously hurt. They and their families are loved by so many and now we are just going to have to wait and see......wait and see. The questions - should we drive there to be with them? Should we wait here to see what they really need us for? They are surrounded by loved ones but will they realize how much we love them too? And then you realize, the only thing we can do right now is pray and wait....which is hard.

Miscommunications and disappointments......

I had said I would cover my old company for the week everyone went on vacation together in September - I figured, it would be just a week at the beginning of the service year - yeah - I can do that and then they can all have a good vacation and I'll have a little money to pay toward medical bills. Then another phone call with a desperate plea to cover 2 weeks in August - the owner had an outstanding opportunity to do something really special -so I said OK and then, a hurried and urgent phone call that the two weeks could become 6 weeks but I would only have to work 2 days a week, etc., etc. and the decision HAD to be made asap. Long story short - I should have gotten a lot more detailed information. I have covered before and it can be harried but the reason I worked w/this company is because I could go in service during the day as long as I had all my files and my phone w/me and could run by the house every once in awhile if necessary to do something in the computer. Then last night I find out that No - that isn't what I "agreed" to do. The company has changed (never told that) and I am expected to stay in the office ALL DAY this week, next week, 2 days a week for 3-5 weeks and then another full week in September. To say I was completely floored would be putting it mildly. There will be no details put here except this - I am doing this and have put it in it's proper place and have also made the decision and made that decision known - I will never agree to do this again. Never. So my good friend who has been in a worse situation for several months has been very encouraging to me and we are going to make our time this year by hook or crook and are going to enjoy every moment of it. Look for our skeletons trying to start that one last study before August 31st.

Synopsis.....I have always loved the sound of that word....

Too bad I'm not very good at condensing - I'm a little too wordy but I'll try. I'm cursed with a mind that runs asunder every so often. I'm sure everyone is getting tired of hearing about our vacation so I'll post a short synopsis of the rest of our week. On Friday the little girls stayed with me and the guys and Page and Leah went to one of our favorite places - Beaufort. It rained really hard around the time they were coming back across the bridges and I think it was a little scary for them. Of course, Page bought everyone a little something special. This is what she bought me - she knows how much I love dragonflies! They look really nice with my match box don't they? I wore them in service Monday and Gail loved them! She also bought two special things for Ann and Biscuit but I'll wait until they get them before putting the picture here. Friday evening, we all opened up the little arts and crafts projects Leah had brought. Page1, Leah, Little D and I decided to make friendship bracelets. I'll have to tell you - it was pathetic. Of course, Leah is excellent at these kinds of things and Page1 did a pretty good job of hers and even Little D made his look unique. I do NOT have any talent for this type of thing - I decided a long time ago that my talent is how much I can appreciate other people's talents. I placed my "precious" little friendship bracelet in an envelope and now can NOT find it for the life of me. Oh well - if I do, I will definitely share the picture with you. It is worth seeing, no really. You will laugh as hard as everyone else did. It was fun though because we were all doing it together and it was not easy!

It was time for Katy to be taken back to Jacksonville to meet her parents but we enjoyed having her as I'm sure Page2 did. Then before you knew it, it was Saturday and time to come home. We got everything packed up and put into the back of the truck and Big D and I brought it all home along with the boat and left the kids down to go to the Beach one last time before vacation was over. We decided to come home a day early so they could all have a good night's rest before traveling home on Sunday. Just one of the highlights were the late night treks to use the potty in the other cottage - brought back memories of my very young childhood. Of course it was nothing like that - we had two nice bathrooms to use down there and truly appreciated them. I don't miss those outhouses at all though - truly I don't.
On Sunday, Page, Leah and Little D all went to get Pedicures and Manicures. They were all but giddy when they all got back. Page got purple, Little D got "natural buffed" and Leah got fancy designs on her big toes. They all really enjoyed that little adventure together. Then Page had to hurry up and get to the airport so Big D drove her while Little D, Leah and Page2 got everything together and got on the road to go North. One baby flying South, the other driving North. Vacation is over - chilluns are gone - I'm lonely.

Fifth day!!! Now this is just getting crazy......

Didn't we just get here? I can't believe the week is going by so fast. I'm trying to write while I can still remember (barely) what went on. I had to get some help from Leah to get things in the right order. Does that mean I’m officially old now? Tell me it isn’t so! Leah and Page2 went to Jacksonville this morningto pick up Katy to spend the night with Page2. She lives in the Wilmington area and that is about half-way. They very seldom get to see each other but call each other their BFFF - isn't that sweet. Probably works because they rarely see each other…just kidding. Katy is also 8 and going to the 3rd grade - the clinker here is that she just turned 8 and Page2 will be 9 in September.They all went to the beach and seemed to have a great time. Big D cooked burgers for dinner and then it was off the bed. I put the two girls in the middle bedroom and Big D and I took the sofa bed in the living room. I couldn't get the video of them playing in the surf to upload but this one is just as good. Shows how much they are really growing up.I told Big D – “there are girls in the house”. We shut the door so they could giggle to their heart's content. It brought back some really good memories.Page 1 brought each of us notebooks, colored markers and some guidelines to write poems, answer questions, etc., to help us write better. I took a stab at it and it was interesting. Maybe one day I’ll share my poem….maybe. Can't believe our vacation is almost over. When I was young back before I had any children I used to come down here quite often - and now I feel like I have to "steal" time to get down. I know both of our children love it here too - we crave to be here. The first thing we always do after we unload is walk out to the dock and just b r e a t h e. To see Big D's boat moored to the dock just makes it even better.

Fourth day already ..how can that be? Cha-ching.....

After dropping Leah and Page 2 off at the beach, as Mama would say, I went Scoota-Pooting by myself. First I went to the Post Office (for stamps) and waited for 20 minutes for them to return from lunch which actually worked out because the bottom dropped out. Leah called and then called back to say they were going to stay down at the beach because it was moving fast and sure enough - the sun came out. Page2 eventually joined them for a really pretty day on the beach. I headed back down to Swansboro where we went yesterday afternoon. It was a nice day for a ride down the coast. When I had picked up the wine at Christina's Collectibles yesterday, I saw some earrings that were handmade from vintage jewelry. They were quite pricey so I didn't get them BUT I kept thinking about how unique they were and decided - I'm worth it! So off I went to purchase them! Cha-Ching!! Then I went back to Morehead to complete my shopping for two new Cuisinart Pots,a new frying pan, measuring cups and spoons, a new KitchenAid can opener, a new coffee maker, a new table-cloth and various and sundry items for the "stuff" drawer. I also bought some
kitty litter, two new dresses and a new printer. The girls said the dresses looked good so I'm planning to wear them to the convention this coming weekend. They are the same except one is green and the other one is black. Nothing fancy and they are very, very comfortable. I'm happy.....and BROKE. I think I'll wear my new earrings with the green one. Hmmmmm
Tonight we had Big D’s wonderful seafood soup. He and Little D have been putting the crab pot out all day and there were six nice sized crabs in the pot along with shrimp, scallops and other good things. We had nice crusty bread to “sop up the juice” ... it was very good. I think the Daisy Cakes have seen their best days - time to say good-bye.

More vacation..ouch, ouch..cleaning out....surf's up!

Poor Page2 - the mosquitos even got her on her head. They love her just like they always have me and her Aunt Page. Guess we are just too sweet? Yeah - right. We are finally starting to wind down. Daddy and Little D went fishing, and the girls are going to the beach! Woo Hoo.
I stayed around the cottage with Lee while he did some last minute work before heading home. He never slows down. At one point today, I looked into his eyes and had to go to my room for some private time. It was like looking into his Dad's eyes except I could see the pain of his loss there and it was too much for a few minutes. We talked about the wonderful piece of art JWR left for his family to enjoy. She put it together when she was down the week his Dad died.(Picture to come)Ann had already left with Boy and Biscuit and they are now ALL manifesting the wonderful symptoms of the cold that was left behind by one of the families that were down with them last week.
Lee and I went through some things while I made a list of what needed to be replaced. Don't get too excited - it didn't stay this straight! Yep - kiss those two pots w/o handles good-bye. (Disclaimer - I didn't make the decision to throw anything away - that decision was made by family members.) The pots on the left with just one lid between them was put in the cabinet under the micro-wave if they are ever needed.
I finally grabbed my book and chair and headed down to the beach to join the girls. Page2 did really well with her Boogie board and Page1 got to dive into the waves - which she loves. (Pictures to come). I enjoyed sitting under the umbrella reading and watching my girls play. I started to get in the water but it would have required me getting up. Yep - definitely starting to relax. Page2 also tried to fly her kite which worked well for a little while. Tonight Leah made her world famous, delicious and huge Lasagna - it was sooooo good and lasted the rest of the week. (Picture to come)YUM

Second day of vacation - good intentions...walk on the beach..wine

Okay everyone - grab your bottles of water and let's go walk on the beach! Woo Hoo! Then a little later they all came back and Little D and Page1 decided to "stretch it out"! Ahhhh - now we can eat all the BBQ Chicken, Mashed Taters and Cole Slaw Daddy cooks for dinner tonight!! Don't ask how many more times this scenario was played out - NOT! The guys went fishing and the girls went shopping! The girls all went to Swansboro - Page1 says I have become a wine snob and I'm afraid she might be correct. The last time we were down in November, I discovered a wonderful wine at a wine tasting at Christina's Collectibles (blame Ann for this - she sent us the invite and urged us to go). I fell totally in love with a wine they had that night and bought 3 bottles - one for each family. When I got home, I went on a mission to find it around here. I was put in touch with a distributor who ordered it and had it sent to a retail establishment where I picked it up. Turns out I had fallen in love with an Australian 5 star wine. SO - I decided to order some to take to the beach with us - turns out the distributor has stopped carrying it and the last 8 bottles were sold down East. SOOOO I called Christina's and found out she had 4 bottles left - I ordered and paid for them over the phone and we went to get them. OK, OK - maybe just a little extreme?? We also went to the tea/beer shoppe next door and purchased a few things including some nice little boxed long matches that are good for lighting candles or as I do, keeping in the bathroom to strike when needed. Ahem. After this we had to make a WalMart run to get last minute stuff for the week.
Everyone came up for dinner and we got to spend some time with Boy and Biscuit(I'm only using these names here because I have no choice!) Checkout the little shirt - such a sweet little girl. Ann brought some of her delicious dip and we all drank some of my delicious wine and started gnoshing while waiting for the chicken to come off the grill - Hey - it's called a vacation! Chicken was good as always. Lee was feeling a little under the weather.

First Day of Vacation at the Beach....

After putting everything into big black garbage bags and loading it all in the back of Big D's truck, Big D and Little D left pulling the boat. Leah, Page1, Page2 and I finished getting everything together that was left and headed out for the BEACH! Woo Hoo! Leah programmed her GPS and it took us down a new way. It was probably longer but nice - smooth roads with very little traffic, glorious trees along the road and a speed limit of 70mph which more than made up for it. After unloading the car and putting everything away, we went down to the other cottage to see Ann and the babies and to pick up the pitcher of Margaritas she had made us. We got out to the dock right before sunset in time to see Lee, Little D and Big D come in from fishing. We popped a 60's Rock'n Roll CD in Big D's boat and watched the sun go down. It was a great way to start the week .... until the mosquitos started feasting on us......

Everyone got here safe and sound...stop worrying Mama!

All the chilluns are in the house as Mama would have said or was that the chickens have come home to roost? Does a Mother ever stop worrying about her children? I don't know about other Moms but I haven't and don't plan to. I have worked over the years to be more "rational" about worrying and make myself not worry excessively. It took a lot of research, soul-searching, praying and application to finally master it. My spiritual Mother (who is also my older sister's spiritual Mother) identified the worry trait in me many, many years ago. This is a picture of my sister, my spiritual Mom and me when we visited her in Eden in 2004. When my dear hubby was away for Navy "stuff", I would stay with different family members until he returned. When he was home for more than a few months, we would get a little place to live.

One of those times, we rented a pretty little trailer for a few months on Lynn Road and it will always stand out in my mind because it was while we were living there that we got our first pet - a rabbit we called Baby. We knew nothing about how to house-train a rabbit so didn't. One night dear hubby put Baby in a cardboard box to "contain" him. In the middle of the night, I heard "Baby" ripping that box to pieces and had visions the rest of the night of him ripping my throat open. Baby had to go outside.

It was also while living here that I started going to some of the meetings and talked to my close friend Eileen about what I was learning. She was very interested, started studying right away and made rapid progress which was a lifesaver later.

My anxiety level escalated quite a bit while we were living in that trailer also. My dear hubby of just a little over a year let me know he wasn't interested in what I was learning at all. I felt quite alone sometimes in that trailer and one time my spiritual Mom came over and spent some special time with me. She talked to me about worrying too much and how it wasn't going to change anything except to make me sick but that moving forward would get me somewhere I needed to be.

It took awhile but I'll never forget her coming that night and talking with me like a real Mom - I think that is the night I started looking at her in that light. I am a very straight-forward kind of person - have no secrets and don't want any. The few I do have aren't my own alone so I just forget those and move on. She said this quality made it easy for her to know how to talk to me about the various things that concerned me. She was and still is one of the most remarkable women I have ever known and I treasure her every day of my life. Love you Cathy......

Farmer's Market, Daisy Cakes, Disaster.....

Kelly ordered tons of cupcakes from our favorite cupcake place so we could take them to the beach tomorrow - Daisy Cakes! http://www.eatdaisycakes.com/ We were hoping the Special of the Day would be Ann's favorite but the one they had was special too so I got 6 of them - Chocolate with Raspberry filling and Chocolate Ganache icing with fresh Raspberry on top! YUM! After making sure the order was made - I had them hold them until I could shop at Farmer's Market. Big D wanted fresh tomatoes, corn, squash and I got some green beans for my Page. I also picked up a nice bunch of fresh flowers to take with us to the beach tomorrow! Then I went back to pick get the cupcakes and a nice fresh cup of delicious coffee. I pushed the front seat all the way back so I could place the cupcakes on the floorboard. As I was driving down the hill on Geer Street coming home, DISASTER!!!! I had stacked the two boxes and the top one turned upside down as I was going down the hill! NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

Last Day in Service and it was hot, hot, hot....

Today was our last day in field service before our week at the beach! It was hot and humid!! The wind was blowing but it was also hot so wasn't any relief at all. Page2 wanted some pictures of the group before we went out. We quit a little early - so much to do to get ready for our week at the beach!!! Check out the two little boys on the right - the one holding the Invitation to our Convention is the one who wrote Page2 her little notes this week. Aren't they both so cute? What is even cuter is how he drew himself shorter than Page2 in the notes! See what I mean? Precocious!

Saying Goodbye to Friends .......

Tonight was Page2's last meeting with the Durham East friends for awhile.She wanted to get some pictures to remember everyone. Many of the friends talked about how they were going to miss seeing her at the meetings. The first picture is with her two friends and one of my wonderful pioneer partners - what a beautiful smile! The second picture is the same two little girls and their Mom standing to the side. She is such a great example - single mother of two little girls and a young boy (who is becoming an unbaptized publisher this summer) and has been auxilliary pioneering as much as possible since she was laid off! Page2 worked three days this week with the little girls and they have all become good friends!

First Love Letter....

Okay....we ended up working with Mary and her two darling boys this afternoon as everyone else went in. It has been amazing how well all the children have gotten along these past few weeks in the ministry. Mary's two little boys are so sweet. The oldest one is going into the 2nd grade this year and is pretty quiet and the youngest one is going into the 1st grade and is very, very outgoing and active. The youngest one is a little precocious - he wrote these two notes to Page2. When she handed me the first one, Mary and I looked at it and smiled. Wasn't that sweet?Then Page2 handed me the second note and Mary and I were like - hello? I think he more than "likes" her - don't you?Check out how he has on a short pants and they are coming from a house in service in the first one (written in red ink) but in the second one, he has on a "tuxedo" and the flowers on her skirt show up more. I called Leah to see if this was her first love note and she said she thought so - then I realized - one was a love note and the other a proposal? Just kidding.

Water Party and Back to School....

Alexis had her Mom call to invite Page to her Back to School Water Party today! She had a nice big water slide, blow-up pool and slip and slide water strip. The adults settled down under the trees and umbrellas to watch. All the adults except for Mary and Andy who played really well with the other children. After the hot dogs, Mary brought out her home made cupcakes. I wish I had a picture of them - every one was decorated differently. Here is Mary and Andy playing nice with the others. I also got one shot of Page in the nice pool. May try to find one like it but Gail said she bought it at the end of the year last year so not holding my breath. Woke up with a headache - sure hope it isn't migraine. .

To service we will go....

Page has been great in service - there have been a lot of kids out so she has been entertained or should I say entertaining? These two brothers ended up in the back seat with her during different times in the afternoon when we were making calls and they were just talking up a storm with her. Brother Ray was playing "I Spy" with her which made her very happy. She told both of them about her Silk Science Project so I had to send pictures of it to both of them. Page takes her camera everywhere and has become quite the photographer. Here are a few from service and a break at Biscuitville!

Important to remember old friends.....

After service today, Page, another sister and I drove over to my dear friend's Mom's house. I think she was happy for the visit - she has been having more health problems but seemed to be doing okay considering. Of course she kept telling me not to tell my friend about her "legs: but I have a feeling she already knows. I was glad we remembered to go and visit for awhile and am happy to say that Page does really well with older people. Both of my children were always drawn to the older ones as they were coming up. Most young ones have no idea how special it is when a child approaches an older friend and takes the time to visit a little.

Great site but not a Blog so couldn't add to my list....

As you can see, I am still very new at the "blogging" thing. I wanted to add my friend's site - jamiespaintbox.webs.com - to my list of Blogs but it wouldn't take it. I hope people will look at this site and make any suggestions or comments to her regarding what she is trying to accomplish. I'll see if she wants to change this to a Blog forum that can be shared. See some examples of her work.

Older Sister......

I was trying to send everyone copies of our family reunion pictures and noticed a few of my sister and her family - and what a pretty family. I can't remember a time without my sister in my life. Mama said her name was the first word I spoke. That is kind of funny because Mama had been worried and taken me to the doctor when I was three and had not uttered a word. The doctor explained that with so many sisters in the house, I had not needed to speak yet and to watch out because once I started, they might wish I hadn't - cute. Most people find it hard to believe how shy I was as a young child - even after I started talking, it was only to Rose and Mama for quite a while. Rose has always been there - trying to take care of everyone she loves like her husband of over 50 years - they look great don't they?

When Dee was born I was only 13 and thought I could never love a child as much as I loved her. Then Ruth's daughter, Ann, was born followed by Wayne, Jr. with those big brown eyes and my heart was lost again and again through all my nieces and nephews. Ruth and her family missed the reunion this year and were missed by everyone. Of course it drives Rose crazy that Wayne, Jr. insists on driving his bike - she drives herself crazy worrying about everyone - it is who she is and it is always done out of love. As Mama always said - Ain't she sweet? Yep - she is and I love her.

So here everyone is minus Wayne, Jr. who took the picture with Aunt Eunice up front. The woman behind Aunt Eunice in the lime green shirt and pants is her daughter who looks so much like her Daddy who was the oldest of Mama's two brothers. And that is Dee with Dorothy Dog beside Aunt Eunice.

Catching Up With Old Friends....

My friend from Florida called to tell me some exciting news. The first was about her granddaughter who placed 2nd in the State Rodeo and is now going to the Nationals in New Mexico. Of course this means my friend and her dear hubby will be pulling the huge horse trailer 1900 miles but they are so excited and proud. Here is a picture of my friend with her girls (daughter, daughter-in-law and granddaughter).

The second is that her son and his bride are expecting a baby! Her second grandchild and the first for her son. They got married this year but have been together for awhile and I've been told are very happy. What a pretty couple!
We talked about maybe we gettingtogether the next time she comes to see her Mom. Maybe I will take her half-way home where we will rent a little place for a few days to really get caught up and chill. Then her hubby can come get her and I'll come on back home. Sounds like a plan to me.