Saying a Prayer!

Offering up prayers and condolences to the families affected by the brutal attacks in Norway.

Unfortunately, it brings back BAD memories of September 11, 2001.

I sincerely hope the man who wreaked this havoc upon Norway gets what he deserves.

Let Freedom Ring!!!

Happy Birthday, America!


Hope everyone has a safe and Happy 4th of July!

Wait just a darn minute...

it's July...

ALREADY!!!

It's been a little busy around here.

*Beach trip...much needed relaxation, just wish it could've been longer.

*College orientation with my daughter at Jacksonville State...and I didn't cry!

*Daughter had wisdom teeth removed...hmmm...wonder if it'll affect her GPA

*Vehicle shopping for son...very frustrating because we know what we want but are having difficulty finding it at a price we want to pay.

*Trying to get my to-do list whittled down...having a hard time getting motivated because I'd much rather laze about and read.

*Getting organized for upcoming marching season...Lordy, I'm crazy!

*Helping to get daughter organized to head off to school. I'm thinking care packages are a good thing.

*Attempting to squeeze in a little reading time...see above.

So...what have you been doing so far this summer?!

Serenity Prayer

O God and Heavenly Father,
Grant to us the serenity of mind to accept that which cannot be changed; courage to change that which can be changed, and wisdom to know the one from the other, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

- Reinhold Niebuhr

I find I keep coming back to this prayer over the last couple of months.

Why?

Because I'm a 'fixer'...I try to fix or make everything okay. Sometimes I succeed and sometimes, well...I'd be better off talking to a brick wall.

I've always been this way...the more I try to change that aspect of myself, the more I find myself 'fixing' things.

So, I'm working on the WISDOM part of the prayer because Lord knows I need to if I'm going to make it through the next months/years and then maybe the Serenity will follow.

School's out...

for SUMMER!!!


And this is what I want to do!

Just...

breathe...

I'm taking some time to relax and enjoy the upcoming weekend's events. We have company coming in for the girl's high school graduation.

I've been running non-stop this week.

How can I be busier when I'm not working than when I am?

I have a beach vacation coming up to look forward to. Can't wait to sink my toes into the sand!!!

BTW - Last Friday was my last day keeping the twins. While I'm going to miss them tremendously, I'm am thankful that my time is my own again.

Surviving, Pt. I

This post is going to ramble a bit as I try to make more sense of what has happened since last Wednesday, April 27, 2011. Though, I think it'll be easier if I just do bullets because I haven't been able to think straight since then.

• As most of you know, I live in No. Alabama, near Harvest where the track of a now-labeled EF5 tornado wreaked havoc. This area wasn't covered as extensively as the Tuscaloosa/Birmingham area.
  
• Wednesday started off rough...tornado sirens and weather radios going off at 4:30am.
• Schools were delayed 2 hours, only to have it close at 12:15pm.
• Tornado sirens went off at 11:45am, keeping students/teachers at school until after 2:00pm.
• Huddled in our laundry room were me, my two teenagers and the twin toddlers that I watch, while the television blared in the master bedroom across the house.
  
• Power was lost at 12 noon
• All we could hear was the wind and the hail hitting the house.
• The wind sounded like a VERY large truck rumbling toward the house.
• Then SILENCE...
  
• So very thankful that I kept my two home because the principal at the high school wasn't letting any of the students that drive...drive home, so parents had to go pick them up.
• My hubby made it home around 2:30pm after trying to navigate streets with downed trees and water, several inches deep, running across the low spots.
• The twins mom was finally able to come get them around 3pm.
• Nerves on edge
• It all picked up again at 4pm and lasted until around 8pm.
• Not sure when the tornado that created so much destruction in our area hit.
• Went outside at ~8pm to survey the storm's fury.
• Next door neighbor's yard was quite literally a lake.
• Our driveway looked like a small stream with 4 inches of water flowing down into the street, which was full to the curbs.
• Power was out, but we had no idea how bad the power situation was until the next day...

We are blessed that we have each other and roof over our heads.

More to come as it's very upsetting to think how close we came to losing everything and knowing that several our neighbors and friends just 4 miles north of us lost EVERYTHING.