302–Ruby Red Slippers and an Earthquake

Look what my sister found on the floorboard of my car today when she got in to go with me to the gym.  I guess Maddie is missing her ruby red slippers.

Last night when I was washing my face before bed (around 11-ish), I heard a noise that I thought at first was a jet flying over.  It caught me a little off-guard, but I didn’t think that much of it.  Then, when I got in bed the TV mentioned that an earthquake had hit in central Arkansas and was felt in our area.  So, it turns out my “jet” was an earthquake.

About an hour and a half later we were hit by severe storms.  I am terrified of storms, but after about 10 minutes I went back to sleep.

I was confused this morning when I went out to my car and it was covered in dirt after that heavy rain.  I told Ms. Charlsie that I couldn’t figure out why… unless it was from pollen or something off the trees.  I just saw on the news that there was dust in the air coming up from a Texas dust storm and that caused us to have “dirty rain”.  Isn’t that crazy??

301–Sunday

We had a nice Sunday.

Great church.

Lunch with friends.

Nice naps.

And we finished the evening with home-popped popcorn.

Good weekend.

* * * * *

Praying the storms tonight will go completely around us…

300–Mugs and Muffins

Last night Tyler, Daisy, Maddie and I went to visit Melody, one of my best high school friends.  She just so happens to live in the same town as Kelly, so while we were there we went to her church for Mugs and Muffins.  It was great to get to hear Angie Smith speak and to be able to be there with two people that I think so much of.  (Tyler and Maddie had a “date” while we were gone.)

We came home early this afternoon and I spent most of the evening at the church… we got new projectors and screens put up and I wanted to make sure the video was ready for in the morning. I am so happy that everyone will be able to clearly read the song words in the morning!!!

299–My Favorite Moment of the Day

(The picture didn’t turn out very well, but I took it really quick when we were about the drive off from McDonalds.)

298–My AI Thoughts

I’m SO ready…

… for the Top 24!!

Casey (at this point) will be hard to beat.

Three nights next week.

Fun season so far.

Great job choosing J-Lo and Steven Tyler.

Totally disagreed with the last male cut (Colton should have stayed).

Not sure which girl will be the standout.

Your thoughts?

297–My Day in Pictures

The morning started out a little rough… I dropped a contact down the sink (I guess?? I never could find it).  I’ve been wearing contacts since I was 18 years old and have never lost one down the drain – until this morning.  For those of you who pay like $25 per BOX… mine are $140 per box … that’s over $23 per contact!!! Yikes!

Then, I had a doctor’s appointment.

Need I say more, ladies??

The day got better when I got back to work.

Tonight Daisy had our Cubbies make “Noah’s Ark” with paper plates.  Then she gave them Beanie Babies to put in them.  So cute!  Here’s Tyler’s embellished version sans the Beanie Babies.

296–I Love A Good Concert!

I ordered tickets for this concert for Tyler and Daisy today. We live in a very rural area, so whenever a concert comes here – it’s a BIG deal!  I would go, but Kale will be in town that night and there’s pretty much nothing that would pull me away from my time with him.

I’m just a little jealous because Darlene Zschech and the Hillsong team are going to be at the K’s church this Sunday night.  We would’ve LOVED for that to have been when we were there.  That will be an amazing time of worship!

295–How Many Can You Count?

I took this picture with my phone tonight on my way home from work.  It's just a sample of what we see most every day in our neighborhood.  I think we counted about 80 deer one evening on our way out.  It’s just one of the perks of living in the country.

What do you love about where you live??

294–Sunday Date

Tyler and Daisy left right after church this morning to go to Branson and then Springfield.  They are on part two of Daisy’s birthday/Valentine’s gift… a little shopping and the “Rock and Worship Road Show”.  While they are on their date, we’ve had Maddie for a whole day “date”. 

Even though she’s feeling a little better she’s still not quite herself.  About 10 minutes after we got in the car to go to lunch, she was asleep…

… she was still asleep after we got seated at the restaurant.

After lunch we stopped at the “candy store” and got a few things.

I told her before we could play with her new stuff, she needed to lay down for her nap.  We always read (just one) book before bedtime. She picked…

She went down (really well) sometime between 1:00 and 1:30 and didn’t wake up until 5:15!!! (Thanks for letting me get a little Sunday nap in, too, Mads!)

David had to be at a Deacons meeting at 6:00, so she didn’t have much time to play after her nap, but she did make us a little tea from her new teapot.

When we got home from church, we made brownies together.

Then it was coloring and puzzle time…

She’s back in bed now.  I think she’s ready to see her momma… she asked several times at bedtime how long before her momma comes home.

I love when I say “goodnight” and close the door, she yells, “miss you!”  Sweet, sweet baby girl.

293–Taxes, Dominoes, and Unfinished Business

I spent all the live-long day doing paperwork for our taxes. Ugh.

Daisy and Maddie showed up early this evening and by the time David got home I was about to gouge my eyes out… so we decided to go to Jodi and Gary’s to play some Mexican Train dominoes.  I even went in pjs and slippers.

Maddie is feeling a little better, but she’s not herself just yet.  Here she is watching a little Nick, Jr. with JoJo’s dog, Ava.

I think she may have been arranging Jodi’s pictures, too. Haha.

Look what starts tomorrow night!!!  It’s gonna be a good season – “the cowboys” are coming back!

292–Doctor Visits

Ms. Charlsie and I spent the afternoon together… she had an eye appointment.  (I really wish doctor’s offices would realize how hard it is for a 92 year old to sit anywhere, doing anything, for very long.)  We spent two hours at the eye doctor and ran an errand afterward and she was so tired and more than ready to go home.

While we were there, the optical department was “closed for inventory”??? So, we couldn’t even look at new glasses for her.  It looks like I’ll have to get her out again for another appointment.

Daisy texted me this morning and said that Maddie’s ears were hurting.  Luckily, Daisy works at a doctor’s office, so she got her in to see the doctor.  Turns out her ears are fine…but she has a virus. When she got here tonight, she looked at me and rubbed her forehead and said, “Miss Jacquie, my head hurts.”

Bless her heart… she doesn’t feel good.

291–Flood, Computer, Video, Brownies, and a Little Idol Talk

It’s been an unusual week at work… we had a pipe freeze and bust and Sunday morning (when I was in Texas) they found it AND our choir room filled with water.  We’ve had a restoration company here working on the clean-up all week.  I also got a new computer in for our sound booth and Tyler and I have been setting it up and transferring files, etc.

Today, when I was transferring some video files, I came across the video Kale and Kayla made for their wedding. It was sweet to watch again!

 

When we were in Texas, I made some brownies and used Kayla’s “Perfect Brownie” pan set.  They make really good brownies…so look what I got at the grocery store tonight…

Already made a batch – and, of course, they turned out “perfect”.

Did any of y’all get to see “American Idol” last night? We got about the first 10 or 15 minutes of it until our local FOX affiliate had transmission problems.  No one local got to watch the group round.  Facebook was lit up with some angry AI fan remarks.

I didn’t think I could possibly enjoy this season without Simon, but I think I have enjoyed this season more than any other so far!

290–So Funny!

Tonight after church, Tyler wanted to stop by Jodi’s house to see if Jessica had some old art supplies that he could borrow.  Jodi thought there were some in their garage.  Maddie had never been in their garage before… so when we went in she asked, “JoJo lives like this?” I was like, “what??” and she repeated herself.  I said, “yep!” Then she asked, “where her bed?” Haha! She thought Jodi and Gary lived in their garage.

They have lots of “toys” in their garage…I can’t imagine what her little three year old mind was thinking. Kids are so funny!

289–Back Home

I got up at 4:30 this morning, (Daisy got up at 4:15!) to get ready to head to the airport.  We gave Kayla hugs and kisses and left with Kale at 6 AM for our 7:30 flight. (It’s no wonder I’m always asleep at that time of day – it’s DARK outside still!)

When we got to the airport there was a crazy long line at the security check and we got on the plane SIX minutes before it was supposed to depart.  I was a wreck! You know I’m deathly afraid of flying, but this trip, I did really well on the plane.  I even watched out the window the whole time the plane was taking off this morning. Yay, me! (Thanks to those of you who prayed for me. I know it’s crazy, but it’s so scary to me.)

It was a beautiful day to fly…

When we got home, I headed in to work and then went to the vet to pick up the dogs from their grooming appointment.  Izzy was awful glad to see me – even though she hid behind my driver’s seat.

Daisy wanted to ride up by me…

This evening David, Tyler and I are hanging out watching Biggest Loser… Izzy hasn’t strayed very far from me.  Can you find her in this picture?…

It’s good to be home, but I always feel like I left a part of my heart in Houston.

288–Texas Trip–Day 4

Everyone has slipped off to bed and I’m in “my room” at the K’s typing my last post from this trip.  I told Kale tonight while we were cooking supper that I always get in a funk on the last day of seeing them because I dread being apart again.  He reminded me that he’ll be home soon and (even though it’s not the same when Kayla can’t come) that makes me feel a little better.

But, here’s my recap of our last day here…

Kale started the day by making pancakes for breakfast – with a little help from the cutest thing in feet pajamas…

Every once in a while she’d run off and check on her “friends”…

(She was saying, “say cheese, baby girl” in the picture above. Haha!)

Kayla had to go to work at noon and we all hung out here.  After Maddie’s nap her and Kale used the water hose in the back yard for a while.  That was the most fun she had all day. (You can’t tell much from the picture.)

They also did puzzles…

Kale and I made a quick trip to the grocery store this afternoon.  We made tacos for supper and I made brownies for dessert (to go with our ice cream).

After the dishes were done and the ice cream and brownies were attacked… the guys settled in the living room for “American Pickers” and “Pawn Stars” and us girls got cozy in the bedroom and watched “The Bachelor” together.  We did more talking and laughing than anything. (Kale called us the cacklers.)

(Have I mentioned how much I love having daughters???)

We get up bright and early in the morning for our 7:30 flight home.  (ICK!)  So, I’m off to bed.

Thank you, Lord, for allowing us to get here despite all that snow and for the beautiful weather we’ve had… but most of all, thank You for my precious family that I love with my whole heart! You are so good.

287–Texas Trip–Day 3

Today was girls’ day.  Kayla, Daisy and I went to a really nice Outlet Mall while Maddie had a “date” with Kale and Tyler.  I think they wore her out at the park near the K’s house because she went down for a 3 hour nap afterward. Ha!

Before we left Maddie was “accessorizing” from Kayla’s closet – you’ll notice them in the picture below with the new “friends”  she has made here in Kayla’s spare bedroom.  We’ve caught her talking to “them”.  She says the pink one is the mommy and the black one is the baby.  She’s also had an obsession with store mannequin’s of late.  It’s so funny.

When we got back from shopping, we all loaded up and went to Chuy’s for supper.  I have major love for their chips and jalapeno ranch dip. Oh my goodness!

After dinner, we went down the street to meet some of the K’s neighbors.  They have so many really nice people in their neighborhood.
I got a little misty at the supper table tonight thinking about tomorrow being our last day here.  We always have such a good time together.  I’m so happy that Kale will be coming home (to Arkansas) in early March and then both the K’s are planning a trip home around the 4th of July.  Makes leaving just a little bit easier.

286–Texas Trip–Day 2

This morning the boys went to the driving range, while us girls stayed home with Maddie.  While she napped, we watched “Life As We Know It”. Then afterwards, we went to the mall.

Maddie had a good view of the mall on Tyler’s shoulders.

We visited the pet store…which was a big hit…

…and Maddie got her haircut at a fun kids hair salon…

Isn’t it adorable??

Then, tonight we went to church at the K’s church.  They have some awesome worship, but I am sure going to miss my church tomorrow!!

We had supper at a cute little Italian restaurant and came home and sat around and talked and talked and had a few belly laughs.  These kids are so fun.