A Salute to Summer 2011

All good things must come to an end, including summer vacation. This was a busy, but very fun summer. I'm writing this post as I wait for the laundry to finish, so I can go to bed for the night. So, in lieu of a real post, I'm going to hit the highlights in bullet-point style:

• Grand Assembly 2011-In 2010, I brought four girls and everyone (including me) worried that Norman Rainbow Assembly #18 was at an end. This year, I brought 10 girls and will likely have even more next year. This time, I had more adults to help, more girls to participate, and well, my daughter had several solos that made me cry. It was a good time!
• Cousins' Trip to Dallas: We celebrated Elisa and Kassidy's birthday's at American Girl Place. It was fun. It was such a quick trip though, that I didn't even visit IKEA. (But it's OK, I would get there before the end of the summer.)
• My turn to be "Martha": Growing up, I attended a Camp Fire Girls' Day Camp every year from the time I was a new camper at 7 years-old until the last year the camp was open when I was 20 years-old. For most of those years, it was run by an awesome lady named Martha. This year, I got to run the Harn Day Camp myself. I felt just like Miss M, without the crazy straw hats. I guess there's always next year...
• CCOC Kids' Camp 2011: THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE-I still get tears in my eyes when I think about how awesome it was to have all three kids performing together. I've said it all summer, but this year was something special above and beyond the great things those kids usually do and I'm glad I didn't miss a minute of it. This was likely the best thing about our summer.
• Fourth of July 2011: We were under a burn ban and had just a handful of harmless sparklers instead of our usual homemade firework fest, but it was still awesome to have everyone here. I LOVE that the party always includes not only my parents, my grandmother, my sisters, and my nieces and nephews; but also my sister's ex-husband, his wife, her kids, and their new baby. It may seem dysfunctional to others; but it wouldn't be the same party without them. And my oldest niece's boyfriend joined us this year too. Good times!
• Conclave 2011: It's not just me who has come back to the lodge, there are a lot of us who have returned with our kids and to see if we can't get our adult leaders to finally ease up a bit, take a break, and let us take some of the burden from them. (So far, it's not going all that well.) It was so much fun to take the girls to Eskimo Joe's, to the dance, and to sit around eating pizza and laughing about the good old days with a lot of the people I experienced them with-even if we are starting to look and sound a lot like the old leaders we used to laugh at and still seem to be taking orders from. Good times!
• Seattle 2011: When the annual girlfriends' getaway was slated for the Oregon Coast, I saw an opportunity to visit my Seattle family too. I took Natalie for a promised visit to my cousin Eric and snuck little Caroline along for the ride too. I spent a few days showing my girls all the things I loved about my summer visits there and a few days with some of the best women I will ever know at a lovely house on the Oregon Coast. The best of both worlds! To top it off, my cousin's wife is expecting a baby and they may have Natalie come and stay with them next summer to help with some babysitting. She will be the same age I was when I spent the summer in Seattle as a nanny to my Cousin Megan-Eric's little sister. I can't think of a more beautiful circle than that. It was a lovely trip.
• Girlie Road Trip to Dallas: This was my most recent adventure, an all-too-brief visit to see Lanie and her new little man in Dallas with Chris and Vickie. I'm excited that Lanie's PhD got her such a good job in Dallas, even though I miss her. Somehow, it was comforting to see that it is only 2.5 hours from her front porch to mine. I hope we are able to go again soon. And yes, this time I got my IKEA fix.

I'm sure there is more here that I am forgetting, but my clothes are clean and ready for work tomorrow. And I need to get some sleep so I will be too. Good night! And I hope everyone had a great summer too!

On Taking Ownership...

I went to my annual girlfriends' getaway this weekend. I knew almost immediately in the planning stages that my timeline there wouldn't be as long as most of the other's, because I wanted to fly in and out of Seattle rather than Portland and visit with my family too.  Rather than apologize for not doing things the way everyone else way, I simply did things the way they were most convenient for me. (OK, I did apologize about leaving early, but only because I was genuinely sorry to have to go.) While at the getaway, a few of us wanted to walk through a rock tunnel. I wanted to do that too, but then everyone wanted to walk down a particularly rocky stretch of the beach as the tide drew closer and closer to the shore, and I didn't. I had done it the day before and didn't care to repeat that hike. At first, I followed them because that's what I do. Then, I realized that I didn't WANT to, and stopped walking. While they explored, I sat on a large piece of driftwood and took some great pictures. And I didn't walk away from that feeling frustrated because yet again I had ignored my own free will and followed the herd in order to please them. I walked away happy because I had done things exactly the way I wanted to and on my own terms. Granted, I knew I was in a very safe environment to exercise my right to do my own thing, but it still felt good to do it.

I'm almost 40. If I'm going to start living my life on my own terms rather than fall back into the vicious cycle of people pleasing, it's now or never. The close of our girlfriends' trip usually culminates with some kind of fireside circle. I didn't get to be a part of that this year (ironically due to my early departure), but if I had; this is what I would have resolved for the coming year:

1. Blogging, working, and living without fear of reprisal. I mean, I've had the worst happen to me in each scenario and life went on each time. It's time to stop doing any of those activities with worry of 'what will happen if...' and to just keep moving forward and being me without letting what other's might think hold me back.
2. Finding balance in all of the roles that I play (and LOVE) in my life, keeping in mind that my family comes first.
3. Doing a better of job of letting my home reflect who I really am. And giving myself permission to take as long as I need to do this.
4. Embracing those things in life that I'm passionate about which for me are visiting new places, nurturing the good relationships in my life, moving on from the bad ones, reading good books, and learning new things.

It's a start, right?

Thirteen Good Things

I've always enjoyed writing the detailed travelogues I post after each trip, but today is as busy as ever and this weekend will be too. So, to make a long story short, I'm going to post 13 writing prompts for use at a later date about all the things I loved while traveling:

• All the 'full circle' moments: Watching Wall Street 2 with my cousin with whom I also watched the first one, talking about Natalie coming next summer to help take care of my cousin's expected baby just as I took care of my new cousin when she was little, watching my uncle and aunt dote on my girls as they once doted on me, driving the Oregon Coast in GranD's Caddy...
• Aunt Deb feeling SO much better after back surgery 3 years ago
• The weather!! Never hotter than the mid-70's and sunny for the whole trip. What a lovely break from the land of triple digits.
• The two-hour time change
• Pike's Market!
• Crab legs, clam chowder, oysters, salmon, and all of the other things that just don't taste the same here.
• Local restaurants instead of chains
• Emily's texts (and her impeccable timing)
• All the instant karma that seemed to flow so freely last weekend
• NO CELL/INTERNET service in Oceanside, OR (and I mean that in a good way-no one could bug me on vacation)
• 4 mile walks on the beach
• Marionberries
• Good times with good friends

Week in Review

Reading


Oliver Twist-


I won tickets to a local production of Oliver! earlier this summer. When I discovered I could download the Dickens classic for free, I decided it was worth a re-reading. Especially when you consider I hadn't read it since elementary school. If I ever finish it, it will be our new 'family reading' book. The problem is finding time to read AND getting all of my kids in the same house at the same time. But we will get there. And again, Charles Dickens doesn't disappoint.

Watching


Since 19 Kids and Counting  finished its season, I haven't watched much. I have seen a few episodes of Kate Plus 8 and while she may not be the nicest person on the planet, I know what it's like to be judged harshly by people who never bothered to get to know me and I can't imagine how awful it would be to have my marriage fall apart on national TV. I think the kids did benefit from their time away from the camera, but they seem OK to me now that they are back on the air. I will always be a bit protective of those kiddos because they were born on the same day as Elisa. And while I certainly lack Kate's Type A organization and time management skills, I respect them. And I really don't like the fact that we still live in a world where it's somehow not OK for a woman to know exactly how she wants something to be and sticks to her guns until it's accomplished.

At the Movies


Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 2-


I saw this last week when it premiered, but Natalie was at Girls' Camp when that happened so I took her to see it this week. (I LOVE that she wanted to see it with me more than anyone else, because who knows how long that will last.) I cried just as much the second time and loved it just as much too. Perhaps during some downtime on my upcoming vacation I will post in more detail now that Blogger has added a 'click to read more' tool so that I don't spoil it for anyone.

Away We Go


An independent film starring Maya Rudolph that barely touched the theatres before it was gone. And I'm not sure why because I absolutely loved it. :) It's about a couple that is looking for the perfect place to raise their first child and I believe Ms. Rudolph was actually pregnant during filming. It also features John Krasiniski, Catherine O'Hara, Jeff Daniels, and some hilarious cameos by Allison Janney (who I adore) and Maggie Gyllenhaal. You should check it out! (And by "you", I mean "Anne.")

On Broadway


Ragtime-


When Natalie was little, the Rosie O'Donnell show featured a song from this "brand new on Broadway" show. Audra McDonald performed it. I knew someday I HAD to see it. I had no idea how sad and powerful it would be, but I enjoyed it. And the costumes were so good they are worth mentioning too-and I usually don't notice anything but the songs when I see a show.

"How to Eat Like a Child..."-


This wasn't really on stage, but it was Tristan's last show for the summer. For the last three weeks of rehearsals he has downplayed how funny he would be and how appropriate his solo was (instead of tears of pride, I had tears from laughing). I feel like an idiot for not taping it. Maybe I can get him to sing an encore. As a reward, he got to go to a movie last night after the show and to Great Wolf Lodge with my mom, my sisters, and their kids this weekend. I hope he's having a great time!

Out and About


My work week was light, so most of my evenings were spent cleaning the house instead of blogging/shopping/or anything otherwise remotely entertaining. Which is why I enjoyed seeing so many of my 4th ward friends even if it was because some of them are moving out of state and had a going away party. :( The Norman Oklahoma stake without Bob and Tracy and their awesome kids? I can't imagine it. :(

And my final thought for the week is this: The best thing about having to speak in church is when you have finished your talk and returned to your seat. Can I get an amen?

I'm off for Seattle and the Oregon Coast with Natalie and Caroline which either means that blogging will be much more frequent because I'm on vacation OR non-existent because I'm having a great time. Or both! Have a great week!

39 Things I've Learned about Myself and the World

I hear Blogger has been eating posts and giving people who blog regularly fits, so I guess it's just as well I've been too busy to update recently. Between the museum's biggest educational event of the year (Land Run) and its biggest (and only) fundraiser party happening within 2 weeks of each other, my "little cold" also turned into bronchitis and required some intervention which came in the form of Dave dragging me to the minor emergency clinic last Sunday. Actually, I went willingly because when Dave says something is wrong, it usually is. Anyway, I've been pretty busy.

But I got through all of it and feel very proud of what was accomplished at work. And somewhere along the way, I also turned 39, celebrated Mother's Day, and got an upgraded iPhone and a new wireless printer from my family for those milestones. So it's safe to say that life is busy, but it's also very good. I'm pretty sure most people would save their "things I've learned" milestone post for their milestone birthday; but I'm going to do it a year early. It may be outside the norm, but I've always been told I'm not normal. And besides, I may not be able to think of 39 things to put on this list; much less 40 if I wait another year.

1. The only thing I've ever learned from someone who has taken it upon themselves to 'teach me a lesson' is: What a jerk! No matter how wrong I may be and no matter how right they may be, I get too caught up in the rudeness of the way the lesson was presented to actually learn anything except not to trust whoever took it upon themselves to "school" me. 
2. When you lose my trust, you've lost it. Period. (See above)
3. Life isn't fair, but karma (and/or its Christian equivalent) works if you just give it time.
4. I LOVE the Muppets and the world is a slightly better place for having had Jim Henson as a part of it. May he rest in peace.
5. You can ALWAYS go home again.
6. "Jesus loves me" and I love my Namaw for teaching me to sing that.
7. God loves me too-even if I will always struggle to believe that fully.
8. Apparently, I give off a bit of a stand-offish air when meeting new people. I used to try to curtail it, but as easily as my feelings get hurt; I've decided to go with it since it's my only defense from being heart-broken on a daily basis.
9. I may not be a 'born-leader,' but I can be an effective boss when given the opportunity.
10. The Nike commercial in college was right: "It's never too late to have a life and it's never too late to change one."
11. I was right to want a lot of kids. My only regrets are the endless piles of laundry and the endless dishwasher cycles. But in the grand scheme of things, I'll take it.
12. It turns out OU football isn't nearly as "dumb" as I thought it was when I was a teenager.
13. I'm still not much of a pro-sports fan, though.
14. It's better to know straight up that people don't like you than trying to bend over backwards in futile attempts to please them. (It's also a relief to know that it wasn't "just my imagination.")
15. In a similar vein, as sad as it may be, sometimes it's OK to cut people out of your life whose bad attitudes, continual disapproval, and uncooperativeness are having an adverse effect on your day-to-day life. For someone who has always been all about second chances and then some, this was a hard but ultimately gratifying lesson to learn.
16. Cancer sucks
17. So do heart attacks, strokes, car accidents, manic-depressive suicides and other things that cause you to drop dead out of the blue.
18. Death is not an enemy and is often a great relief to those who experience it, but it can be really lonely for the ones they leave behind no matter how strong their faith may be.
19. The bigger the hurry, the bigger the traffic jam
20. I can cook, but I will never be Martha Stewart
21. I can clean, but my house will never be worthy of a Candice Olsen design
22. I can drive, but I still come in last at the Andy Alligator go-karts
23. I am an awesome teacher and have gotten almost as good with the 12 and under crowd as I have always been with the 12 and over crowd.
24. Having 5 extremely bright and talented kids is a lot more exhausting than it is brag-worthy.
25. But I'm still proud of them.
26. The only thing better than still having most of the same friends for the last 25 years is having their wonderful spouses as friends now too.
27. Myrtle lodge dances are still a lot of fun, and as a bonus, a very inexpensive date night for mom and dad.
28. Civic Center season tickets may not be as inexpensive, but they also make for a good date night and are worth the money.
29. I love to travel, someday I will get to do a lot more of it.
30. I love to write, someday I really want to do something with it.
31. I love where my life is right now though, and I'm more OK with the "someday's" than I've ever been.
32. Some of the best TV shows I ever watched: Sesame Street, The Muppet Show, Little House on the Prairie, You Can't Do That on Television, Degrassi both in its 80's incarnation and in the first few seasons of the current series before its shark jump a few years ago, Moonlighting (until it got stupid), Thirtysomething, Roseanne, Gilmore Girls, Veronica Mars, That 70's Show, BSG, The West Wing, Friday Night Lights, and, most recently, Parenthood.
33. Some of my all-time favorite movies: The Muppet Movie, the Star Wars movies, anything directed by John Hughes (with special props to The Breakfast Club and She's Having a Baby), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, The Fisher King, The Big Chill, and any movie adaptation of any musical ever to grace a Broadway stage-how's that for cheating?
34. Favorite songs: "You Wear it Well" by Rod Stewart, "Woman" by John Lennon, "Only the Good Die Young" by Billy Joel and "The Rainbow Connection." (I'd list all the Broadway songs too, but we'd be here all night.)
35. Favorite Broadway Shows: Les Mis, The Lion King, RENT, Mamma Mia, Kiss Me Kate, and Oliver! (also the first one I ever saw)
36. Favorite Books: The Anne of Green Gables series, A Little Princess, The Secret Garden, Gone with the Wind, Greek mythology, the Harry Potter series, Crime and Punishment, The Prince of Tides, The Return of the Soldier, anything by James Joyce, and I will admit to enjoying both the Twilight series and the Hunger Games trilogy though I haven't really developed a cult-like attachment to either set of books.
37. Best vacations: Any of my childhood visits to Oregon/Washington, teenaged visits to Tucson, the Camp Fire girls' trip to Colorado, the cross-country trip with my Dad that included a stop at Mammoth Caves, KY and Philadelphia to see Aunt Kathy, the first "family vacation" I took with Dave and Baby Natalie to Washington DC to see the Star Wars exhibit with a stop to meet his grandparents on the way home in Tennessee, any and all trips to St. Pete Beach, FL, the WDW vacation with Natalie, Juliet, and Victoria, the bachelorette party cruise to Mexico, FRED: Lake Tahoe, and, while not on vacation, I will never forget the first time I saw Venice, Italy.
38. Proudest Life Moments: My solo in the 4th grade play (I probably still remember the words), getting elected Faith and ultimately becoming Worthy Advisor of Norman Rainbow, being one of the youngest Senior Counselors at Camp Can Ya Ta (because my mom worked there, but still...), my Grand Officer year, successfully completing my mission to Italy (because let me tell you, that was NOT easy-first glimpses of Venice aside), giving birth to my oldest in the old-fashioned way after she got stuck during delivery and everyone told me I would HAVE to get a c-section (of course, all the OR's were full and I didn't have a lot of choice-but no one seemed really sure I could do it anyway and I DID!), getting a Master's degree while raising four kids, having the guts to go seek closure in a few unresolved life issues that needed it, watching my kids excel on stage, being installed as Norman Rainbow's Mother Advisor, being named Interim Director of the museum
39. Life isn't easy, life isn't fair, but overall it's been very, very good to me.

Happy Birthday to Us!!

When I was a kid in elementary school, no one ever had the same birthday as I did. I guess most kids wouldn't want to share their big day, but not having that in common with anyone bothered me. I guess because my first name was pretty common among my classmates, but spelled differently from anyone else's, I was more aware than most kids about all the things I didn't have in common with them. (Like a crazy mom, an absent-minded professor father, and a house so messy I couldn't have friends over.)

Anyway, it wasn't until I was older and making friends among the other Masonic youth orders that I finally met some people who shared not only my birthdate, but even the same year. Those were my friends Travis and Jeff who I have since called "Bro" (when I'm not calling Jeff "Uncle Jeffie.") Travis has always called me "sis." (Yes, that same Travis who drove 20 minutes to the museum last Tuesday to show me how to work my sound system at work.) Over time we referred to ourselves as "the triplets of evil" and I called either of them "my evil twin" depending on my mood and their behavior. I remember weekend dances that coincided with our big day and even a party at Uncle Jeffie's in our honor one year. (Not that we needed even that much excuse for a wild party at Jeff's, but I digress...) I remember thinking of both of them and kicking myself for not having their mailing addresses the year I turned 23 in Italy.

But, when I came home, it seemed many of us had gone our separate ways; my "bro's" included. Thanks to MySpace and later Facebook, we've been able to acknowledge our joint celebrated back and forth for the past few years, but now that all of us have come back to help run the same youth orders we belonged to when we met; we are back to being together in and around our birthday at dances again. Just as we were last night. The three of us aren't as close as we once were because family obligations and jobs and, you know, that whole 'being an adult' thing will divide you up like that. However, last night we were together for the Installation of Jeff's oldest son (and my oldest was his "date," it was all very innocent and cute; but still very weird). Jeff, Travis, Jeff's dad (who I also call "dad"), and a couple of the other guys we grew up with were part of the Installing team. It was quite the "old home week." Chris helped me drive the 9 girls from Norman Assembly and our buddy John even drove up from Dallas for it. And my husband made my weekend by coming along too. These people were such a big part of my life, I've wanted him to meet them for quite some time and last night it finally happened.

The ceremony had me reaching for my tissues. John got to see me in both "mom to my kids" (I brought Caroline and Elisa) and "Mother Advisor" mode during the reception which seemed to entertain and amuse him; and the dance was VERY fun. Even when DJ Travis told all the kiddos to watch Chris and I and the Norman Rainbow girls do the Time Warp if they wanted to learn how to do it right and my two left feet had more of an audience than I wanted. Natalie danced with Jeff's son, Chris got a lot of our newer members out on the dance floor, and Jeff and Travis and I got to tease each other about our birthdays in person instead of online and hang out with all of our families while we did it. All in all, it was one of the best parts of my week; and this week had some pretty big professional high points in it too.

I know that seasons of life change, sometimes quickly and dramatically, and there are many things in our own futures that may prevent an evening like this again. Jeff's kids or mine could get tired of Masonic youth orders, I could get too busy to continue on as Mother Advisor (doubtful, but it could happen), or Travis's pending cancer treatment could not go as well as we hope it will (and please pray with me that it goes even better). We have lost touch before and it could happen again. And that's why I'm so grateful we had last night to be the "triplets of evil" one more time. Tomorrow, we will be 39. And I hope and pray we all make it to 40. But I do know that no matter what this year brings us, last night was wonderful and I'm glad we had it. I know neither of you read this, but Happy Birthday to Us, Bro's! 39 never looked so good!

They Really Meant It

About 25 years ago, when I joined Rainbow girls, I heard two things on the night of my initiation: "You get out of it what you put into it" and "You are making friends for life." They told me these girls, most of whom I had never seen before, were my sisters. And they told me the DeMolay boys I would meet at subsequent dances and other activities were my brothers. (Though I hope they didn't mean it literally because I sure kissed my fair share of them.) Since then, I've had many occasions to reflect on the truth of those statements, and I've often blogged about them here. So, I would be remiss if I didn't share the most recent one.

One of the reason's that I was bumped up to Interim Director at work is because I'm the only staff member left who has a lot of experience with our annual programming activities, even if that prior experience was not so much being in charge of things as it was being a part of them. The yearly Land Run event is one of our biggest educational programs and brings about 1000 kids through the museum in one week. It requires a lot of advanced organization and planning and I've been working on it diligently and with more than a small amount of terror since before the first of this year.

It is happening this week and our first day was yesterday. Of course, this is the same week that I also have a raging cold this week (as I may have mentioned in a previous post), our copy machine went out, we are two weeks away from our big annual fundraiser, and any property made up of 10 acres or so is always going to have its own set of problems that demand immediate attention no matter what is happening. Throw in 200-300 kids, teachers, and parents to the mix; and you have my life for this week. Not to mention my own 5 kids and all their contests, meetings, and field trips this week.

Needless to say, when we kicked off the event yesterday; my stress level was high. As I was showing volunteers how to run their teaching areas, making sure teachers and students found the check-in desk, and trying to get my car moved from the regular lot to a smaller lot (where I had left it when I arrived two hours earlier); I wished there were two of me because I knew I would never get it all done before our 10 a.m. start time. I was about to pull my hair out when Chris arrived. She had always been on the volunteer schedule for the day and because I had an extra volunteer in one of the areas I had planned for her; she became my runner that day instead. I am so much more comfortable taking orders from her, but it was nice to have her there to take them from me yesterday. And just as I knew her presence in the hospital room would help me keep my cool when my oldest daughter was born, having her there yesterday for one of the most intimidating days of professional life had the same effect. Thanks Chris! Love you!

The only real hitch yesterday was that in the morning set-up chaos, the sound system people dropped the equipment off and set it up and then left because they couldn't find me to show me how to use it. (There are 10 acres, we rent from them every year, and I doubt they knew that this would be the first time I ever touched it.) I managed to gather all 200 kids to the sound of my raspy voice to tell them the rules and get the programming started and I thought I would have enough time to figure it out before we really needed it at high noon when the kids do a mock run and break for lunch. Until I made my way over to it and saw it covered with more knobs and buttons than any piece of equipment could possibly need. I knew I was in over my head, and I imagined trying to do what needed doing without it. My throat still hurt from the morning announcements and I didn't like that idea too much. But I didn't panic for long.

Almost simultaneously, both Chris and I thought of one of our DeMolay "brothers" who runs a sideline DJ business-something that got its start when he used to bring his stuff from home for our youth dances. We've been friends since high school and share the same birthdate and year which means we actually call each other "sis" and "bro" even though we aren't related and hadn't had the chance to chat that often until I took over as Mother Advisor for Norman Rainbow just over a year ago. I didn't know his cell number offhand, but Facebook on the iPhone is a wonderful thing!

The original plan was for me to text him pictures and have him talk me through the set-up, but ultimately he wound up driving 20 minutes to the museum to show me personally. It took him about 5 minutes to have it up and running, and just in time because I heard him say "testing" just as the kids started lining up to run. When the Sheriff's deputy shot off his pistol and the kids took off (the highlight of each Land Run day) on my first day of 'running the whole show', I had Chris on one side of me and Travis on the other. And few things in my crazy adult life of late have felt so very 'right.' It was a great day and I'm so glad to have so many of the people who meant so much to my in my youth still be such a big part of my life today. (And I'm also glad my husband was able to take time off on Thursday and Friday so he can share Land Run with me too.)

I work very hard as the Interim Director because, once upon a time, I was taught to work hard as a Rainbow girl. And I like to think that the wonderful help I had yesterday was a result of all that I once put into that youth order-and am putting in now as an adult advisor. And while not everyone turned out to be a "friend for life," the good ones did. And I am grateful.

What a Great Weekend!

This week was a very long and trying one. Teaching oneself how to run a museum while already running it is tough. I had to do a lot of phone calls to solicit volunteers, I had to meet with insurance people to discuss our current policy in all its intricacies (when you have historic buildings and artifacts, your coverage is a bit more complicates). I had to teach three days last week. I had to give tours. I had some off-site training. And there was a lot going on the grounds this weekend. Several weeks ago, I had agreed to go with my friends to a play in Tulsa on Saturday; and I just didn't see how I could get away long enough to enjoy it.

My original plan was to spend two nights in Tulsa until my sister beat me to asking mom to watch kids on Friday night. And then, Tristan decided he wanted to audition for a couple of summer musicals and the earliest time available was Saturday at 3:10 which would have us arriving barely in time for dinner once the audition was over and he had been dropped off elsewhere. We were out of most groceries, paper towels, and toilet paper; so I knew I had to make a shopping trip that weekend too. Basically, I felt like life was (as usual) conspiring to make sure I was as stressed out as possible. I knew I couldn't bail on the show because friends had already purchased the tickets for us and we would have to pay for them whether we went or not. By Friday evening, I was shaking my fist at the heavens because nothing was falling into place until all of a sudden it did.

I woke up feeling great at about 7:45 on Saturday morning and was back from the grocery store by 10:30, far ahead of the weekend crowds. My parents dropped my nieces off early at my sister's house and picked my kids up for the night with assurances that Tristan would be on time for his audition. Dave and I drove to Tulsa. We did not have to break up fights. We did not have to stop at bathrooms. I listened to my iPod for the entire drive uninterrupted. We stayed at a nice hotel. We arrived at the perfect time to check-in. We all got cleaned up and met our friends for dinner. Okay, so the walk from the hotel to the restaurant involved walking over a higher bridge than I like to look over the side of, AND it was a few more blocks than I thought. It was still a nice evening spent in good company. And the walk back was even more entertaining-probably because I was the only girl NOT in heels.

We walked back from dinner to the Tulsa PAC and had a perfectly wonderful time laughing at a very inappropriate, very adult, and very fun show. (Avenue Q) Then, Dave, Chris, Sean and I did our best to close down the Daily Grill; but we must be getting old because it was still open when we left. We still had a very good time, though. This morning, I managed to sleep in until 8:30, and because Tristan got a call-back; we were out of Tulsa by 10:30 and I was home doing laundry and dishes for the coming week by 1:30. All in all, I think Dave and I managed 24 hours to ourselves, away from the kids, and having a great time. And all in all, that was all the time we needed.

How Did I Let that Happen?

It's been almost a week since my last post. I do have the usual busy/kids/job excuses, but there have been so many good things about this week; that I hate to let it end without some updates. So, here are the highlights of my week (in no particular order because my brain doesn't work like that):

• My one and only son FINALLY got seen for an evaluation to see what it is that makes coping so difficult for him. We have no results yet, but at least we got the ball rolling.
• One of my oldest and dearest friends finally became a mommy. I saw her Tuesday morning on the way to work, but her little man was busy with the pediatrician so I finally saw him yesterday. He is precious and perfect and already very smart. I know he didn't do much more than sleep in my arms and fuss a little, but I've had 5 kids and I know these things. He's going to have the sweetness of his daddy and him mommy's genius and Aunt Melessa is going to dote on him. It's so much more fun to be the aunt. :) Just ask the nieces and nephews who spend any amount of time with me how awesome I am. (Well, maybe don't ask the 5 year-old nephew, I do lose my cool when he talks back to his mother in front of me. But otherwise, I'm a cool aunt.)
• I wrote and submitted a $100,000 grant application for work. This grant is extremely competitive, but I feel like failure to apply each year might send the message that we are no longer interested in the money. So, I spent most of the week focused on it even though actually getting it is quite a long-shot. I also attended two meetings on Tuesday and two on Wednesday. My arrival at home for both those nights was around 9 p.m. But good things were accomplished both days.
• I managed to get the grocery shopping done on Thursday in time to fix dinner AND watch Grey's Anatomy. (*Little known fact-I was in a VERY bad car accident while pregnant with my oldest. Obviously, things worked out fine, but I think I will be skipping next week's episode. I had some PTSD just watching the previews.)
• On Friday, I took some of the kids shoe shopping. No surprise that Caroline picked the priciest shoes and said the following before her sister and I finished picking out ours: "Can we leave now? I've got everything that I need!" (Lanie, you may have just had your first baby-but I must have somehow agreed to a surrogacy 9 years ago for you, because that girl is so much more yours than mine.) Of course, she also got the Kiwanis Terrific Kid award this week for "Friendly," so her heart is in the right place even if she is, in her own words, "a very expensive girl."
• Next week I have a half-day of training, another grant due (one we usually get), all the low-priority messages I didn't have time to reply to last week while writing the other grant, not to mention two field trip groups. I had to quit looking at the work calendar today because it was making my head spin. Why did I want the Interim Director job again? Because, let me tell you, no one ever calls to "talk to the person in charge" because they're in a good mood and just want to shoot the breeze for a few minutes. At least there are no meetings this week?
• My babysitter was late on Thursday and Friday which also made me late for work on Thursday and Friday. :( I'm hoping for better things tomorrow. And a much less eventful work week.
• Keep your fingers crossed for me, OK? I hope to post more this week! And for those of you who still read this thing? Thanks for not giving up on me. Someday I'll find the balance in everything. At least, I really hope so...

McLinky Monday: Who Am I?

Those Real Housewives of Oklahoma (a.k.a. The RHOK) want to know what the most popular searches and posts are on our blogs. That seemed like a pretty fun game to play, so here is what Statcounter.com says are my most searched keywords:

That list may look pretty boring on the surface, but you weren't on that Bachelorette Party Cruise! ;) (Psst...It was to celebrate my girlfriend Lanie getting married. Today, she became a Mom. Everybody say "aww!") 

My most popular post is my Aunt M's Obituary and I'm not feeling all that inclined to link you to it. Instead, I'll link you to "The Necklace" which is easily the best thing I've ever written and posted here. (Or, for a good laugh, check out Lanie beating everyone up for the bouquet at my wedding in the pictures she and my girlfriend Chris guest-posted on my 35th Birthday. Good times...)

Thanks for checking in and thanks to the ladies at The RHOK for hosting McLinky Monday!

School bag in hand...

My oldest just left to spend Spring Break with one of her best friends. Even though I have written here at length about summers in Canadian, TX with Lanie, Tucson with Anne, or even working as a seasonal nanny for my Uncle Bob in Seattle; it was hard to let her go. I know she will have a great time and I absolutely trust the family she went with, but I am really going to miss her. :(

On the plus side, waiting for her to get back on Friday may make this the longest Spring Break ever. And since they usually go by way too fast, maybe I won't feel short-changed by the end of the week?

(Psst...Lanie-She isn't going to Canadian, but she IS going to a small town in Texas. Again, like mother/like daughter. I forgot to buy her some blue face mask or send any musical DVD's, but I hope she likes lime ices, and I'm sad she won't get any Ma Beasley's doughnuts or Mrs. Walsey's butter pecan cakes...good times, my friend. Good times!)

Thursday Thirteen: Happy Things about My Week

1. Taking my cousins to Cattleman's Steakhouse for breakfast. I'm pretty sure that was the first time I ever had steak before dinner time.
2. My uncle making them go back there with him for lunch because it wasn't fair that they got steak and he didn't.
3. Having all those wonderful people in town, even if it was for a sad occasion.
4. The way the funeral home got Aunt Marguerite's hair just right. I hadn't seen it styled in the past three years, and it finally looked just the way I remembered it. She would have liked that.
5. My kids speaking at the funeral. Do not leave a working microphone around my kids unless you want to hear from them.
6. Getting to read the obituary that I wrote. That way, I guaranteed that NONE of the names were mispronounced. Not to mention a service that boasted Glen Miller, "I'll Be Seeing You", "Amazing Grace," the Byrds, and John Denver and the Muppets in its music selection.
7. My Father-in-Law being at the funeral. (Aunt Marguerite was always fond of him.) It was good of him to come.
8. A weekend with my family, just being together.
9. A job that is a lot like being PTA President, only with a paycheck. For once.
10. Working with and serving with people I have a good rapport with-and right now that includes work and both my big volunteer positions with Rainbow and the Primary Presidency.
11. Finally getting caught up on Glee, Parenthood, and Mr. Sunshine (how much do I LOVE Allison Janney?! Enough to pray this show doesn't get cancelled.)
12. Gelato and a movie with one of my favorite people.
13. Sharing fast food napkins with that same favorite person at a particularly sad part of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1.

*And, as a bonus, knowing that same person would help me take the Rainbow Assembly to Tulsa in a week even though it means missing Laniefest. (But really Chris, there is no reason we should BOTH miss it. Though I love you for offering.)*

I am blessed. Have a great weekend everyone!

The Problem with Awesome Weekends...

is that you never have sufficient time to blog about them. Some of this weekend's highlights included:

• My oldest daughter's first "it's not a date, Mom" date. With the son of one of my old friends. He, his wife, and I about died from the cuteness. Not in attendance was my husband because Elisa and Caroline were sickly, this was kind of disappointing because a youth Valentine's fundraiser dance was the closest thing we were going to have to a date this month.
• To remedy that and our lack of any kind of special anniversary celebration in the last few years, we got tickets with some of our friends to a show in Tulsa the first weekend in April. Can anyone in Tulsa recommend a nice hotel? (The Inn at Price Towers is already booked and that was my only good idea.)
• Lunch with the girls on Saturday plus bonus baby shower shopping-we still can't behave ourselves in public, and I like it that way. We may or may not have thought about picking out personal hygiene products as door prizes for the shower. We may or may not have made plans that involved the rationing of food and drink at the shower. Maybe. But we did buy 3 lbs. of Lil Smokies and a bottle of Head Country BBQ sauce without any inappropriate jokes whatsoever. So maybe we're growing up just a little. Probably not.
• A Fast and Testimony meeting at church with lots of lovely testimonies including my own this morning and a nice Sunday nap. Of course, I woke up feeling like I might be getting whatever the girls' have had. But I'm not looking a gift weekend in the mouth.

Here's to next week!

Two Memes are Better Than One

I was going to do Crazy Texas Mommy's Wednesday Rambles like my friend Allie at Screwed Up Texan, but at 10 p.m., my nice warm bed (thanks to my friend the electric blanket) beckoned louder. I thought about going with my usual Thursday Thirteen stand-by instead, but I really wanted to do Wednesday Rambles. So, this list of ramblings will contain no more and no less than thirteen of the many random thoughts that have danced through my brain at some point this week. Maybe next week I will actually pick one and stick with it, but I wouldn't count on it:

• Today's blog post is brought to you by the fact that Grey's is a re-run. Also, tonight's Grey's is a re-run. Again!! Do. Not. Like.
• Tonight's dinner was brought to my family by the genius that is Ree, The Pioneer Woman. If she can inspire me to make good food, she can teach anyone. I can't recommend her recipes more. We had the grilled chicken and pineapple quesadillas-you know you were going to ask. We have also enjoyed her pizza recipes, the chicken cacciatore, and the chicken and dumplings. I really liked the blackberry cobbler (version #1) too.
• And the fact that I ate most of it over three days by myself is why I won't be making it again soon unless it it for someone else who will take it far away from me.
• One of my infamously deleted comments here referred to me as a "fat, lazy b*tch." I guess they got the fat part right. And I kind of wish that the "b" part was right too, because maybe then people would stop taking advantage of me. But as a working mom with 5 kids, I am definitely NOT lazy.
• The "lazy" part of that comment was what hurt me enough to delete it. The other two I can live with, sort of.
• My friend Chris made me promise not to delete anymore mean comments so she "can light them up like the 4th of July." Them=The commenter, though that one was Anonymous.
• I love Chris. She co-authored the 35th birthday post that appears on my sidebar. She also saved my life a few times. I wrote about one of them here. (Although I think I am actually combining the two in that flashback. It's funny, I remember detailed things from childhood through the present, but those two years are the only things that are hazy. Can we say PTSD?)
• I also love Lanie and her mom, Vickie. Lanie was the other author of the birthday post and the pictures were Vickie's. They let me live in her room with her from the time I graduated high school until I moved into the OU dorms, they too were trying to save me. Ultimately, it worked.
• While I lived there, I met this guy from Fort Ord who was home on leave and looked a lot like Charlie Sheen. He flirted with both of us until I made sure he knew I was 18 and Lanie was 16. He picked me and we went out a few times before he went back to California. I wasn't sure I would ever see him again. But...
• Seven years later, I married him. Chris was my Maid of Honor, Lanie caught the bouquet, Vickie altered the dress that I wore.
• I may have been short-changed in the mom department, but I have been blessed with some wonderful people in my life and I am grateful to have them.
• Of course this totally leaves out Wendy and her mom Mary Kay which just isn't right. They were just as important and just as instrumental in the whole 'save Melessa' project-Wendy just never had the opportunity to get in 'The Jerk's' face and make him run away like Chris did. But she totally would have. And Mary Kay did her fair share of letting me stay at their house too. (Edited to add:) And I can't sing their praises without singing Jen's too! I love you Jen, even if you did 'abandon' us for Wilburton and the love of your life. You came up with the 'blinky light revenge!' So let me reiterate: Me=Blessed
• I really didn't mean for this list to be so sappy and sentimental, but I'm not at all surprised that it did.

Friday Flashback: Ghosts of Christmas Past

Lately I've noticed some new readers (or new commenters) which makes me feel the need to explain my cast of characters in the following flashback:

Me: Blog host/narrator/mother of 5 who doesn't usually feel like much of a grown-up. This is likely because I still spend so much time with:

Chris: BFF since she was 13 and I was 15, also my kids' godmother. On occasion we are joined by:

John: Our token guy friend, he came along in our later teens. He moved to Texas and has a family. We forgave him and still love him anyway. ;) I blog about the misadventures we used to have fairly often.

Natalie: My know-it-all daughter who is thisclose to turning 13 and is already tired of hearing about the aforementioned misadventures. (If only she knew about the ones I haven't mentioned...but there's a reason for that.)

Do you feel caught up to speed now? Good. On with the story:


Me: (listening to that Jose Feliciano classic "Feliz Navidad") Your Aunt Chris and I used to LOVE to call up John's answering machine or voice mail and singing as much of this song as we could fit in after the beep. We used to love to annoy him.

Natalie: (classic deadpan) Used to?!

Busted! She knows us too well. So this year, we spared his voicemail. Instead, we sat side by side and texted him each verse of the song taking turns by alternating each line.

John has an older cell phone that is slow with texts. You know he just loved this little serenade. He seemed amused when he replied, though.

Chris and I? We've still got it-if by "it" you mean the ability to annoy John in a very loving way.

(And look out because "Santa Claus is watchin' you! He's EVERYWHERE! He's EVERYWHERE!")

Week In Review

Reading


The Lost Olympian by Rick Riordan


We didn't make as much progress over the long weekend as I hoped we would thanks to my icky cold, but at least we know who each of our main characters belongs to now and they are just about to leave on their quest.

Watching


I'm still watching all my usual shows, but I'm much more excited about the plethora of Muppets specials I watched when I felt too icky to do anything else. The Muppets Take Manhattan, The Muppet Christmas Carol, The Muppet Family Christmas, and even The Muppets Tribute to Jim Henson. A lot of happy tears were shed while I rested. Maybe that's why I'm bouncing back so much more quickly than I usually do from being sick. I feel bad that I didn't get all the house projects and reading I had planned to do, but I did have a good weekend.

At the Movies


Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1


We saw this before I started feeling bad. It. Was. Awesome. And definitely worth the wait. I remember being pregnant with Caroline when I saw the first movie, this is the first one she was old enough to go see with us in the theatre. Time goes by WAY too fast. But it was nice to have such a fun time with my children doing something we ALL love.

In My Netflix Queue


Peggy Sue Got Married-


I thought it was a nice companion to last week's Back to the Future. I've loved this movie since high school. But if I thought it made me cry then...And I also remember when my 25th high school reunion seemed like forever away. Now? Not so much. It's still a great movie though. Kathleen Turner is amazing and hello Jim Carrey's early career.

Out and About: Thanksgiving


For some reason (likely the "I'm getting sick" reason), Thanksgiving without Aunt Marguerite feeling herself enough to boss the rest of us around was hard this year. She was there, of course, but not really. Thanksgiving was ALWAYS her big to-do and dinner at HER house when other people did the cooking pretty much sucked. Of course, my mom went out of her way to make sure that Dave and I felt like guests as opposed to family-which is how Dave has felt* with his own family since his mother died. At least it made him extra sympathetic to my situation.

But, as has been constant since childhood, no matter what craziness the my mother throws my way in the afternoon; it is always made up for with the Lawson family gathering in Tulsa. My Namaw, my Pawdad, and my aunts, uncles and cousins never meet strangers. In fact, even my sister's ex-husband and his new wife could show up and feel welcome at their table. (I doubt they would ever make the drive, but they do know that they have a standing invitation because we talked about it recently.) For all my mom's shortcomings, the rest of my family's ability to accept and love everyone freakin' rocks. Ironically, my heathen sisters tend to do a much better job of 'loving thy neighbor' than most people who claim to be Christians. Then again, some of the kindest people I met on my mission were Atheists; so that's nothing new.

Church:


I am always quick to complain about church when it goes wrong, so I should definitely praise it when it goes right. And last Sunday went very right. My friend Deborah is in town and decided to visit!! We had spent part of Saturday together too which meant one of her triplets felt brave enough to sit with me and my kids. We had fun getting caught up with one of our former YW throughout the second hour (She's married now-we could both just die!) and Sharing Time was REALLY fun-which isn't always the case. The kids gave me a ton of hugs. Deb led the music. Good times were had by all!!

*felt=feel/feelings (and those don't get a "true" or "false" label, feelings just are what they are)

A Belated Friday Flashback

I should have posted this on Friday. I hesitated, because it's one of those short posts that will only make sense to a handful of people. But, it's been stuck in my head all weekend and refuses to leave. So I'll just post it and have done with it-as is the case with much of what I post here.

Recently, I took my three oldest kids to see the newest Harry Potter movies. In addition to being a brilliantly creative storyteller, I've always been amazed at JK Rowling's ability to take me right back to my own teenage years as she describes Harry, Ron, and Hermione's struggles; not only with good and evil, but also with adolescence verging on adulthood.

Driving home, I had the following conversation with Natalie (very minor spoilers contained):

Natalie: I felt so bad for Hermione. Ron just made her so sad when he tried to make her choose between him and what she felt was her mission in life.

Me: I felt bad for Harry. He was caught in the middle. Not only did he have to worry about saving the world, but then he had to make peace with his own mixed up feelings about the whole Ron situation AND he had to get over those feelings so he could make Hermione feel better her problems with Ron too. I mean, that was a really tough thing for him. He already had the weight of the world on his shoulders AND he was caught between two of his best friends which had to have been awkward for him, AND there are both of them wanting him to choose sides when neither one of them had any right to ask it of him...and...ooohhh crap.

Natalie: What?

Me: Never mind. Just remind me to email your Uncle John when I get home.

Natalie: What do you need say to him?

Me: I need to say 'thank you.'

And I did.

Friday Flashback: My Friend Christy

I just won my 2nd radio contest prize. Dave and I will be seeing A Very Merry Pops in a couple of weeks. But I think there is more excitement in being the right caller with the right answer than the prize itself. Especially from someone who used to play along with these contests for years in my car without ever calling in because I didn't believe a loser like me could ever win anything. I can credit my kids with their endless encouragement to call ("Mom, you ALMOST ALWAYS get these things right in the car, please call in and win."), but I have to credit one of my dearest friends with the example.


I blog a lot about my high school friends because we are all still so close. I write a lot less about my other friends, and that really is unfair because I have made some great ones. In particular, I should write more about the wonderful women I've befriended at church because they are so few and far between. Seriously, you've got to be a really cool Mormon woman to get along with me. And Christy? She's really cool.


We met shortly after I joined the church in college. I was 20, she was 16. Yes, you read that right. In addition to being really cool, she's also a genius. Oh, AND she had her driver's license and I didn't. We had fun becoming friends over my last two years at OU, I remember a lot of movie matinees, lunches at Wendy's (or were those just Frosty orders?), a slumber party at her house that didn't require an overnight (which was good because I remember having some kind of test in the morning and being glad I got to party with the girls AND get home in time to study for it.) I remember that her Institute FHE's were always the most fun to attend and that we always used to say "We're buds, we're JUST LIKE THIS" and crossing our fingers.


I went on my mission and she updated me faithfully each month on Institute gossip, engagements, and marriages; AND on Carl who she sent away on a mission to France shortly before my return home from Italy. I came home from Italy and into quite a state of disequilibrium. I didn't know how to live with my mother anymore after finally living away from her. I wasn't going to marry the person that most people at church wanted me to, and I felt a little judged by a lot of people at church for that. For the first time since the 8th grade, I had NO definite plan for my life. But I did have Christy and in the seven months before her mission to Mexico, we had a ball!


She taught me all about email and the Internet. She flipped the radio station every time a Bryan Adams song came on the air. We watched all the movies I missed on my mission. We took road trips to Ada and Dallas.* We ate Braum's ice cream and made microwave Rice Krispie Treats in my microwave at my first apartment. We celebrated the first cable broadcast General Conference in the OKC metro by watching it in our sweats on the couch at her house. We both attended and made fun of singles' dances. We had fun making snarky comments during overly sappy talks and testimonies in Sacrament meeting while still acknowledging our  strong shared love of the gospel. And every few months or so, Christy would win something on the radio. The highlight of the summer was our first trip to Frontier City where we ate lunch with Blessid Union of Souls before seeing them in concert there that night.


And on our next trip to Frontier City, we took boys. Mine was this guy I used to date the summer after I graduated high school. His name was Dave...Shortly after her mission to Mexico, she reunited with Carl. I got to be at their sealing. We had a few more years of scrapbooking and a few more radio contest wins together before 'the rest of her life' first in Indiana and now in Nebraska took her away for good. But thanks to Facebook and blogging, she is still just an update away. And I like that. 'Cause she and I, we're buds. We're JUST LIKE THIS! And thanks for letting me tell you all about her on a Friday night when another radio contest win has me feeling sentimental and grateful that she once taught me how and when to dial those station numbers, even if it took me a very long time to apply the lesson.

*I'm saving one Dallas trip to write about on Christy's birthday. I'll bet she knows which one it is. ;)

Week In Review

Reading:


The Lost Olympian by Rick Riordan-

So you knew that was going to happen, right? I can't offer too much commentary because I don't want to spoil it and because we just started reading it. But yes, it is (so far) every bit as addictive as the first series was and I am loving all the Latin. (SO much easier for me to pronounce than the Greek.)

Watching:


I'm going to make this one short today: Parenthood and 19 Kids and Counting, both of which seem more and more formulaic to me. Grey's Anatomy which I loved this week (Go April!!) and Private Practice which I usually never watch, but just blew me away this time. (Darn you Private Practice, I CANNOT get hooked on another show!) I also watched some episodes of Sister Wives leading up to the one-hour special. As it turns out, I only like my polygamy shows when they are sensationalized and broadcast on HBO. And only before they push the envelope too far for even me to stomach. Go ahead and judge me, I'm learning to be OK with that. :)

At the Movies:


Toy Story 3-


I kept getting told I would cry. And I did. But in a good way! The kids loved it too, but with far less crying. However, they don't know the history. I saw the first one on a date with their Dad before we got married. The sequel came when Natalie was not quite two and I was pregnant with Tristan. The concluded the series as all my babies are growing up too. It was tear-worthy and I am not embarrassed to say that I shed a fair few while watching it.

Out and About:


A Night Out at the Bourbon St. Cafe-


One of the neat things about returning to the world of IORG is that a lot of the people I grew up with are back too. While knew some of them well, I am now getting to know others of them who (for whatever reason) I was only acquainted with back then. One of them in particular has been a joy to get to know and she invited us to her birthday dinner in Bricktown. It seems like after spending the last 15-20 years or so establishing our lives, relationships, careers, etc...there are a lot of us getting together fairly often these days. I like it. I like seeing old friends more often, and reconnecting with those I lost touch with over the years. It's also nice to get reacquainted as adults and to find that we still have so much to talk about. Dave and I have always had Wendy, Chris, Lanie, and their respective spouses for various get-togethers, but I've found I don't mind expanding that group a little. I will admit that I didn't stay for any of the later evening adventures, but it was a lovely dinner and we all enjoyed it. Happy Birthday Kendra!

District 3 Weekend


And because I am back in IORG-land, I also got the pleasure of escorting four of the girls to Duncan and back on Saturday and Sunday (earlier today) for the official visit to District 3. Between Tristan waking up sick on Friday night (shortly after I got home from our lovely dinner), Dave having to find alternate care for the kids because of a Sunday mandatory work shift, and several detours as we made our way from Edmond to Duncan; I wasn't so sure I should have gone in the first place, and I really doubted that I was going to come home happy. But I did. I've heard the words of a Rainbow initiation so many times since I was 15 years old that I couldn't possibly count them, but they never fail to bring familiar comfort and to remind me of who I was and who I am and what my priorities are. Then, today's church service had many my favorite songs in it (How Great Thou Art, Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, Mighty to Save) and while it isn't my faith of choice, given my Okie background, I have to admit that sometimes hearing an old-time Southern Baptist preacher speak about Jesus is just good comfort food for the soul. (Parkview Baptist Church) It's not like I'm signing up for the newsletter or anything, but I did really enjoy the service today and I did come home from Duncan with a smile on my face and three happy girls in my car thanks in part to the words I heard this morning. I love these visits, but I'm glad I don't have to start them up again until February.

Wordless Wednesday: And a Good Time was Had By ALL!