Inside and Outside

This girl will beg to go outside, then will eventually cry to come back inside, then outside again, and inside ... and so on.  I spend most of my day opening and closing the back door.  When she's inside she's either eating, napping or looking out the living room window wishing to be outside.  To live such a life!

It's very windy outside today.  I can hear the patio furniture blowing around on the back deck.  My son wanted me to drop him off at a friend's house this morning and my daughter and I did a little shopping on the way home.  I was glad to get back into the warm house but I'll soon be out the door again taking her to those evening dance classes.  

It's Presidents Day and there's no school.  It was nice to get to sleep in just a bit.  Tomorrow it's back to the grind and there's something expected in the forecast for Wednesday night into Thursday.  Can we be done with winter yet?  This one has been brutal.  I'm ready for sunshine and warmer air.  Are you?

Hang on, I gotta go let the dog out...

Wacky Wednesday

 It began snowing yesterday afternoon and kept going all night into later this morning.  It was lightly falling and left just enough to cover the ground but not the roads.  A two hour delay had already been called for today and as I laid in bed I was expecting my cell phone to ring with the school letting me know they had switched to a virtual day.  Well, it remained a two hour delay and that was okay since the roads are fine.  The kids I take in the school van were not too thrilled, as they were really hoping for a day off.  

I may not be a fan of the winter season but I will admit the snow covered trees are beautiful.  My favorite snow is the kind that sticks to the grass but not the pavement.  

Then when I came home from my morning van run I realized I forgot my house key, totally forgot where we keep the hidden spare, and made my husband leave work so he could let me in.  That was quite a morning.  Maybe, just maybe, a virtual day would have been better.  I'm sure Rob and I will one day laugh about this but today I feel really, really bad I made him drive all the way home to rescue me from my stupidity.  He's a good man.  

I will soon have to leave for my afternoon run and dinner has been simmering in the crockpot all morning.  I look forward to an evening of no plans and relaxing in the comfort of my own house.  Nothing, to me, is better than being at home ... inside the home ... not locked outside in the cold.  

Some February Things

 

The groundhog was not kidding when he predicted six more weeks of winter.  Last Thursday we woke up to an icy ground, which called for another virtual day.  Snow is in the forecast beginning tomorrow and probably lasting until Thursday.   

I got all the grocery shopping and Valentine gift buying done today in anticipation of this pending storm.  I have household projects in mind ready to start in case I become stuck inside but those things can and should get done regardless.  

I've also been in a baking mood and my kids loved these chocolate chip brownie bars.  When I don't feel like baking from scratch I rely on my good friend Betty Crocker to help get things done.  I feel no shame.  

And my sweet husband surprised me with flowers reminding me that we don't have to wait until Valentines Day to celebrate our love for each other.   

I can't believe we have started the second week in February already.   January felt so long but this month is moving along and I cannot wait for warmer days.  This seasonal depression is no joke and I'm doing what I can to fight it.  

Last night we ended the weekend watching the Superbowl, although we did not care for either team or the halftime show, it's nice when we can relax together as a family.   Now that the football season is over, a sport I really don't care for as much as my husband and son do, I'm ready for baseball.  Baseball is my sport, if I have to pick one.  Maybe because the weather is so much better between April and October.   I'm so ready!

As Life Goes On

 On Saturday afternoon I took my daughter to a funeral of a beautiful twenty year old young lady who danced at the same studio.  It was requested that guests wear florals, something Amelia loved.  We sat among a crowded church in our floral dresses watching what  was the most precious and Holy Spirit filled funeral service I have ever attended.  This one was a first for Bri.  A few pastors and her family shared heartfelt memories in their eulogies, we sang a few songs and a group of girls from the studio even danced.  It was a remarkable celebration of life; a life gone far too soon.  

In December the studio put on a production called Messiah, which was about the life of Jesus starting with creation and ending with Jesus ascending into Heaven.  Amelia played the Holy Spirit and we all, unaware at the time of what was to come, saw a glimpse of her in Heaven.  She is there now.  I only knew her because of that production and Bri knew her from being a substitute teacher in her class before.  Being that this is her first year, Bri still hasn't had a chance to get to know many people yet.  However, the church was filled with people who knew Amelia, either from the time she was small or, like us, most recently.  One thing I learned is just how much this young woman had accomplished in just twenty years, which also included spending a few years living in Hawaii with her twin sister, Sophia.  Sophia was also in the accident, but managed to survive with a broken femur.  

It's really sad to think of how one moment could change so much.  I imagine the three sisters, as they were driving home that Friday evening from a dance rehearsal, singing along to their favorite music as they laughed and talked about what the day had brought them.  I'm sure they even talked about the plans they had for the next day.  Then within a split second, with no time to react, a car coming from the other lane swerves into their lane causing the driver to swerve so she doesn't hit that other car but instead slams into a tree.  They still have yet to find who that other driver was and we aren't sure if they realize how their inability to follow proper driving procedures cost the life of one young, sweet woman.  

This accident can give us all a reminder that the next day is not promised to us.  It doesn't matter how old we are or how healthy we are.  Our time can even come when we least expect it, when we are not prepared for it.  

{picture of Amelia taken and created by Lovefusion Photography.  I do not own the rights}

I did not know Amelia personally and I never had a chance to talk to her or hear that contagious laugh her loved ones kept talking about.  All that I know are the things that were said about her.  A kind, loving, always happy but quiet girl who lived her life loving and serving God.  She even made sure when she danced she did it for Him.  It was remarkable seeing how many people she touched with her kindness and how much light she gave to those around her.  I'll never understand how God could take a person like her from this world so soon while her loved ones live out the rest of their days grieving such a loss.  A life like Amelia's is a life God calls us all to be.  As my life continues to go on, and until I'm called home, I will do my best to live for and serve God the best that I can.  Because I, too, want to hear those words, "Well done good and faithful servant."