my free moment

I made an appointment today for D. He's got to have an "appointment" to register for Kindergarten... doesn't that sound professional? I'm pretty excited about it. We go in on April 4th. I had to drive by the school today just to find out what door we will enter. (I am such a dork, I know.)
D is already excited about the elementary school and L is even more excited about going to preschool while D is at Kindergarten. I hope they realize we still have many more months!
I just can't believe how the time has flown and by next fall I'll be carting both of my babies off to schools where they will be on their own to make decisions and be little people. Sure hope that I've instilled enough common sense for them to make it out in that big world. It has been neat to see how they interact with other kids in social settings and I know that school will be great for them.
I'm looking forward to it. Not to mention that I won't have to pay for childcare at the gym! haha!

As I am thinking about my children today, I am also praying for a new baby at our church and his family. Jack was born about a week ago and he is having heart surgery today. I am especially praying for his mom and dad. I just can't imagine sending my new baby into an operating room and praying that the doctors can fix a heart that is the size of a walnut. I'm sure that they feel so helpless and isolated. (Jack has several heart defects and he will need three surgeries to correct them all.)
So, I'm praying that his little heart and mind can withstand the surgery and that his own mother can be excited about sending him to kindergarten in a few years.
whew. what a tough day for them!! I'm confident that God will work many blessings through, and around, this family... whatever the outcome will be.

Got to see Jamie today!! She was traveling through and came to have lunch with us. The Taco Bell play place was the lunch choice for the day. The kids ran around and joined in the loud ruckus while J and I chatted. Always good to catch up with my bestest buddy.
That was the highlight of my day!
And tonight I get to go on a date with my hubby. Our last date included a trip to Lowe’s, which I hope that I can avoid this time. We’ll see.

Great news that I forgot:
A secret shopper caught me on Valentines Day! I pocketed a $50 gift card. That’s twice in a few months. I must say that I rock at my job…. “Can I help you find something?”
So blew it the next day with a few toiletry items and some new gym clothes.
I had been longing for some cool looking clothes for the gym. I usually wear some stretchy pants and a t-shirt. (a little frumpy looking). Then I noticed that even the larger girls looked good in the spandex outfits.
Now I am one of them! I bought some black pants and a green top. They are made of some kind of spandex that helps to keep you cool while you work out. I think it pulls moisture away from you or something. I don’t know all the technical stuff required for cool gym clothes but I think they are pretty neat. I soon hope to acquire a body that actually looks good in spandex… but for now… at least I feel hip.

T’s grandfather is currently dying of cancer. He probably only has a few months left, if that. He has been suffering for quite a while, as the cancer has spread throughout his body, and he is also battling Parkinson’s disease. He seems to be making it clear that he is ready to move on. And I am confident that we will see him again in heaven. On his birthday, a few years ago, I asked him what was the most important thing that he has learned in his lifetime. He answered without hesitation, “The most important thing is having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ”. Those are certainly words that I should hold onto as we are in the process of saying goodbye to him.

But, it has been interesting to see how I am dealing with the impending death of someone I’ve only know for about 8 years. I’m basically a wreck when it comes to death and funerals. Even though I know the hope we have in heaven… I just can’t keep it together when I see other people in pain. My mind also jumps to the past and remembers things that will be no more.

I have lost two grandparents, my Granny when I was 5 and my Papa when I was a teenager. (Along with a few other relatives). Looking back, I was just a typical kid in my self-absorbed world and I seemed to sit by while my own Papa was dying. Sure, I knew he was sick and dying but I didn’t truly appreciate or understand all of the care and sacrifice that the adults around me were constantly providing and what a horrible thing it is to sit around and wait for a loved one to pass on.

Now that I am grown, with kids of my own, I seem to pay attention to those details and notice it all. I have seen the exhaustion and sorrow in T’s Grandmother’s eyes. And I imagine how long the days are, and how depressing it must be to watch your husband wither away.

I have a new appreciation for my own grandmother who cared for my Papa for such a long time. And for my Dad who has helped care for many elderly relatives and friends.

So, as time approaches, as we wait, I still wonder if we are ever really ready for a death in the family? We’ve been aware of it for months but I will still dread the phone call. And I wonder if we will effectively explain it to the kids. I think they know the gist of it as we have talked about it after the death of two neighbors. I know it will certainly be different with a family member. I just bought a book today “ Sarah’s Grandmother goes to Heaven”. (based on a lady who dies of cancer). We’ll break the book out at the appropriate time to help make sense of things, I suppose.

On a lighter note:

We moved Gramp’s bed down into the living room the other day. (He had been speaking some throughout the day but his speech had been slurred and unclear). He seemed to be having a hard time understanding why we were putting the bed downstairs. He kept talking about something but I couldn’t understand it. I don’t think he liked the idea of the bed in the living room. Then, as we were setting it up, he finally said, in a really clearly loud voice, “WELL”. Not sure his meaning behind it but it gave T and I a good laugh. He almost sounded as if he was conceding to the bed idea. Then he went on to say, “so where’s the best place to take a shower here?”

I am so glad to know that even amidst all the morphine, he still has his wit about him.

I’m trying to get back into a computer mood.
We were in L-burg all weekend doing fun things. It snowed while we were there so the boys enjoyed playing outside with Papa.
I was able to attend a few events and visit my friend with a new baby. I had a great time.
We are getting settled in, finally, on Friday! I’ve spent the day cleaning… I was really tired of trampling through the dirt in our kitchen.
Yesterday I bought some Valentines bathroom stuff on clearance at Target. I went ahead and decorated with the heart shower curtain, heart soap dispenser, new hand towel and rugs. I suppose that I’ll take them down at the end of the month. Our small group will be showing up tonight and they will assume that I was decorated for Valentines Day. Ha! I pretty much missed Valentines Day this year. I accidentally left all of our valentines at home when we traveled this weekend. So no one felt our love. And I am slowly eating the treats that we had saved for our family. There’s always next year…My mood is good today. I’ll have to get back into the blogging habit soon!

Trying to come up with something to blog and realizing that I have a wealth of information that could be considered funny by a few…

First of all: Sunday started off well and the kids were really well behaved at church. We headed to a new place for lunch.
(Our weekly trip to Jersey Mikes has been put on hold for a while… we need a break).
We went to a local grill place that has yummy burgers, went in and got a seat, and picked out what we wanted to eat. The waitress came over and got our drink orders. I splurged and ordered a nice big Dr. Pepper. The drinks came and we were ready to order, except we had forgotten to ask the kids if they wanted grilled cheese or a burger.
We attempted to get the kids attention and they were both off in their own worlds and being very disrespectful to all adults involved. Somehow, L was offended and pushed his cup across the table in a quick attempt at a temper tantrum. Before I realized what was happening my huge wonderful cup of Dr. Pepper had been knocked by his cup and the entire contents (I’m guessing 20 oz) was all down the front of my shirt, soaked through my jean skirt and making puddles in my new high heels!
AHHH!!! I stood in anger and disgust, probably followed by a few choice words and T ordered us out of the building while he paid the bill. I have to admit it was a pretty humiliating experience. I don’t think I’ve ever been that drenched in public and I don’t think that my kids have caused that kind of scene in quite a while. And! I didn’t get to drink that Soda! Ugh!
Needless to say, we headed home and sent the kids to nap… without lunch. Luckily, they are cute when they sleep.

Secondly: T has been making that room in the basement. I have been amused at all of the little things that have put a kink in his plan.
(But I give him a lot of credit for all of the work that he’s doing!! It will be a super area when it’s done).
We’ve had two fairly weird pipe explosions. One in which a 2x4 fell and broke the main water line. (I giggle just thinking about it). Since these little mishaps have occurred, we’ve had two evenings, briefly without water.
My obsessive need to bathe my kids was put on hold for several days. I finally gave them a bath this morning before school. (I think it had been 4 days!! That’s the longest either of them have EVER been without a bath…eek)

Guess that’s it to report for now. We’ve got weird stuff like this happening a lot lately. I wonder what God is trying to teach us. I’ve certainly been working on ‘being flexible’.