Tornado

As I sit here editing this post, tornadoes are hitting areas of our country again.  Praying for those already hit and for their loss.  Praying for safety of those in the path of these storms.
***

Of the over 700 tornadoes this year in the US, at least one of them traveled right through my little town and specifically right down our street.    Honestly, I never thought of a tornado hitting this area. I'm from the Midwest and tornadoes are par for the course there.  But in North Carolina?  Sure enough, y'all.
  Pardon the picture quality - they are from my iPhone.

Our house suffered minimal damage.   Too many lost shingles to count will most likely leave us with a new roof.  We lost shutters, a patio set and our kid's swingset will need repair.  The trees, though - so many.  Our neighbor lost over 50 alone.   The craziest thing is that many of them, the very biggest ones, were turned over from the roots.   Usually, in high wind situations, we lose pine trees and pear trees because they snap so easily.   But this crazy storm just lifted trees right out of the ground.   And then left the birdbath beside it untouched.    So, weird don't you think? 

We are counting ourselves very lucky as so many others around us have suffered so much more loss.  Our insurance will fix what we cannot.   We are wounded but not devastated. 

The day of the tornado, I was running errands with two of my three kids.  My husband was out of town with Bubby.    My mom called me two or three times to tell me that a storm was coming.  She wanted me home.  As I finished up shopping in the local home improvement store, it lost power and went black.  I decided it was time to get home.   That is about a 10 minute drive down a long and winding road filled with tall majestic trees on both sides.    The rain was pouring and traffic lights were down.  The sky was a dark gray.   It seemed like a normal storm at first.   Then the lightning started - it was downright scary.  I was sure that if anything got us it would be that.  There was a point when I passed a local YMCA that I considered stopping.     I thought we'd be fine.   It was only a few minutes later that my mom called again to tell me not to come home, that she had taken cover in the bath tub of her own home and more scared than she has ever been in her life.  The tornado was on top of exactly where I was headed.  Then the phone went dead, the wind picked up, debris was flying into my car and the sky when black.   I felt like I was descending into an abyss - the intense lightning a true reminder of the danger in which I was headed.

So, I pulled over and told my 10 year old daughter that I was going to open the door to the van, she was to jump out in the ditch and that after I grabbed the baby I would be on top of her in that ditch.  She calmly said, "Yes Mommy."

But then, I looked at the ditch and the rain and the mud and the big tall trees and thought to myself that there was no better chance for survival there than in my car.   So, I turned around and did exactly what they tell you not to do in a tornado - ran from it!  It felt right, though and so I drove back to that YMCA.  As fast as my van would go in the rain we went the opposite direction of the storm.  I pulled into the circle drive, slammed my car into park, grabbed Baby Tand B and we ran inside.

The manager was awesome - calm and collected he led me to the women's locker room where a group of women and children were taking cover.  It was only then that my daughter and I both broke down.   The adrenaline that kept me going was now a puddle of tears.   The women calmed us and we were safe.

When I left the Y, I turned down the road to go home and found it blocked by HUGE trees that had fallen.  Actually about 100 yards from where I had just a decided to turn my car around.   I felt grateful.

Getting home was challenging as most of the roads were blocked with trees at this point.  Fallen power lines were everywhere.   I got a call from my neighbor telling me the damage to our home.  

When I got there, it was not even minutes later that  friends from church arrived to assess the damage and start their chainsaws.    It was comforting, encouraging and gave me all kinds of hope.   That is church, people.   

We are recovering and will be fine.  I'm thankful to be alive. I'm grateful for my family, friends and my church right now.  My awesome church took an offering the day after the storm especially for victims.  And just this week we adopted 10 families from one of the worst hit areas - a local mobile home park where they lost everything.  I am proud to be a member of a church that walks the talk.   
   Well, there's not much more to say and there's still much actual work to do.   I'll finish with what I said on my Facebook page a couple days ago and it rings so true.

A tornado can cause great destruction. But nothing can measure the strength of a community banding together to rebuild in the aftermath.

May you be a part of a community like that.    You will either be blessed or be a blessing and either way, that's a win. 

Wait For It...

 
This word of the year is getting to be trendy now.  But I'm still picking one. Actually, this will be the third year that I have picked a word to represent my upcoming year.   

Last year was Surrender and, boy howdy, was it a year of surrendering - absolutely positively a year of turning my life over to God and just accepting MUCH change.

Since I cannot do my life without Jesus and the last year solidified that, I thought this year that I would see what God has to say about my word of the year.  Novel idea, huh?

So, this year's word has a verse attached.    A word backed up with a verse for the year -  I'm changing the trend.  :)

I felt a strong pull to the word WAIT this year.  I can tell you that on the heels of SURRENDER, I was not thrilled.    I like DO, GO, CONTROL.  Surrendering and waiting seem kinda passive when you first think about them.

But they really aren't passive at all.   Surrendering your own plan and yielding to God's does not come without difficulty.  It's not easy to let go.  It takes great strength to surrender and wait.    And I'm pretty sure you gotta learn to surrender control over your life to wait and see what God has planned for it.  So, it's perfect timing that I would learn about surrendering so I could learn about waiting.   Don't you just love our God!?!?

This year our family has some big stuff coming up.  Some of it is not so pleasant and much of it requiring ultimate change in our life.   In thinking through our upcoming year, I jokingly thought about my word being RUN or HIDE.  :)   Really though,  it's difficult to look at these upcoming events all at once and not want to just take control right now.   And while I want to do that, God has clearly instructed me not to.   He is working in our life and I just need to be patient.  

As I thought over my word the first couple days of 2011,  this scripture came up in one of my morning devotions.   January 2 to be exact. 

In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you.  Psalm 5:3

What the heck does that have to do with waiting, Janel?

A lot actually.
It's about me praying instead of acting.    WAITING to see God's hand in our life.  WAITING in faith until the answer to my prayers come...or doesn't come. 

And maybe in waiting on God's answer, he will tell me to MOVE or GO.   Like the picture above of my son waiting for the wave so he can jump on it and ride it out.  But until then...

...I WAIT.

So that's it!  I'd love to hear yours. 

Organizing the Kitchen/Homework Area/Family Central

I've said before that it's not that I'm not an organized person as much as I am a huge procrastinator.   That is an understatement really.  Why do today what you can do in a rush tomorrow? 

But that's why this happens.   

That is my kitchen table covered in about a week's worth of life. 

I actually like being organized.  I even have systems set up for organizing.  But I learned recently that because of my personality type they often do not work.

I need to see the things I need to do.   If I don't see them, I forget to do them.  


Often when people organize, they put things away.   That makes sense - part of the beauty of organizing is to cut down on clutter.  So you organize the clutter away.

Which is just not good for a person like me.  Out of sight out of mind.  It can be frustrating.

So, I decided this year that I had to figure out some systems that worked for me.  Because things are starting to get busy around here and I don't expect them to slow down with another child coming this Summer.  

A couple things have helped me so far.

Google Calendar - I update it weekly and print off the month. I color code it, highlighting things that are new to the week like doctor appointments and such, and magnet it to the fridge.  Daily reminders on my computer help me to remember what's going on.   On busy days, I can even print off an agenda.  I can also check my calendar and add items from my phone via texting - without internet connection on my phone.  Love it!  Now, if I could only find away to get this new Palm Pre I could have it with me all the time.  Hubby?

This homework station for my kids helps A LOT!  Everything is neat, organized and still cute but also practical and in plain sight for them. 

 

 Colored Pencils, markers, crayons, pens and pencils are all handy.

 

Hubby finished this bench to match our kitchen table and I can stash games and other miscellanous things the kids need out of sight.  And I can seat a bunch 'o kids at this table if needed. 

A calendar, school lunch menu, neighbors phone numbers on the inside of this cabinet door where phone books, medicines, vitamins and such are also stored.    There are my pens, Sharpies, scissors, hand lotion on the charging station for our phones. 

This is the side of my fridge with a memo board, paper to make lists, photos, and file holder with cute file folders for all of the kids paperwork.  The little Ritz envelope actually has coupons I can just grab on my way out the door.    The kids track out calendar is there, extra keys, nails, tacks and all kinds of stuff in those little magnetic tins. 

   That is how I made my table look like THIS!  Ta-Dah!!

 

Oh, and as a little sidenote here:  this table used to have SIX placemats.  One day my son spilled his milk on his and I set it aside to take it to the laundry.  Elmo found it and it looks like this now. 

What this dog will eat never ceases to amaze me. 

The last thing that helps me not to forget things is the garage door.  It is metal and for things that I absolutely cannot file away and need to have right in my face for a short time - I place them there with a magnet.  I don't have a picture, though.   It's stuff that you might put on the front of your fridge.  I personally like the front of my fridge uncluttered so the door works for me. 

Check out more tackles at Tackle It Tuesday at 5 Minutes For Mom

Also, great weekly lessons learned at What I Learned This Week at Musings of a Housewife.  

Snow Hats

 

I loved this second round of snow we got so much better than the one a few weeks ago.  This one was "lighter".  The flakes just seemed to sit on the branches outlining each and every one. 

 

  Last week when I was sick, I remember waking from nap one day and looking out my window at the bare trees.   I like the trees to be green - they seem lonely without their leaves.  It made me feel very melancholy for Spring.

 

So, when I woke this past Saturday morning and looked out my window, I rejoiced to see each and every branched lightly covered in snow and these little gumballs with what I thought looked like winter hats. 

Lonely no more. 

Scrapbooking - There Has Got To Be An Easier Way

I used to scrapbook a lot when my kids were very little.  Actually, when B was born I scrapbooked her every move.  Then the second came along and well, you know how it goes.

I have friends that still document the milestones of their children in beautifully decorated scrapbook pages.  I am envious of the time and energy they have invested in them.    You can tell they have a great love for what they are doing.

I think that is part of the problem.  I LOVE the finished product.  I love having the albums for my family to flip through.  I kinda hate the process of getting there.  I don't like the mess.  I really don't like the continual buying of supplies.  I despise having to store it all.   Oh and my aching back, after I finish hours of scrapbooking!   I know, could I whine any more???


However, even though I dislike all those parts, I am really always pleased that I took the time to at least place pictures in an album.   Even if it simply done without a lot of embellishment. 

So, last night I decided to update our Christmas album.  It's an album I started beginning with our first year of marriage.  I document each Christmas morning.   All the pictures of the kids with Santa go in there.  Some of my favorite pages are the ones that display each Christmas card we have sent out since B was born.


I updated it because the last set of pictures in there were from 2004 - the year Bubby was born.  Ugh.
THEN, I discovered something terrible.  I had pictures from 2005 and 2006 of Christmas but nothing from 2007 and 2008.  I searched my computer files.  I searched Snapfish.   I found 2007 on Snapfish and ordered them.  But nothing from 2008.


I do not have one picture of Christmas morning from last year.


How can that be?
Did I just not take any?
Did I just forget to download them?  Ack! 

This is a little sad for me.  I'll keep looking but I think I simply dropped the ball here.  I'm sure (maybe) I have video so it's not all lost.  I also have some photos from the church service and from our annual outing to the Nutcracker.  But nothing of them opening presents.   sigh

As I looked at all the pictures I have stored on my computer and on Snapfish, I am faced with the very daunting task of getting these pictures in some sort of form my children can enjoy without spending a fortune.

I have many albums from Creative Memories just waiting for me to fill them up.  The biggest problem there is that CM changed their sizing of pages and discontinued the old.  I do not have enough to even fill up the books I have now.    Do I start all over with the new books and try to sell what I have on eBay?  Or do I try to find old pages on eBay?

Or I could do photo books which are also expensive.   If I do decide to do it this way then how do you add things little keepsakes, diplomas from preschool graduation, special written notes and art projects.

So.  I am wondering.  Pleading actually for your ideas.  What do you do?

How do you document your growing family? 

Do I just need to realize that there is no easy way?


**After I wrote this, I realized that I have been documenting my growing family on this blog for almost 2 1/2 years!!!  But I don't even have that saved.    Do you back up your blog on a separate hard drive or something?   I have heard of a site called Blurb where you can place some of your blog posts.  Has anyone out there used that? 

Friday Roundup

PSSST.   I just realized today is ,you know, Friday and the date has a 1 and a 3 in it.

Not that I'm superstitious or anything.  I'm just telling you so that you don't do anything that you normally wouldn't do today like go skydiving.  Maybe save it until tomorrow.

Rain and Cold
It has been rainy and windy and cold here for 4 days now.   North Carolinians are not used to this, y'all.  We need our blue skies and 70 degree weather in November to be happy.   Well, to be happier.  We're actually a pretty happy lot as far as states go, I think.   It just seems people get cranky without their sunshine.  Okay, I get cranky.  

Gold
I went to one of those "gold parties" yesterday.  I sold junk - tangled up herringbone necklaces and bracelets, an old coin ring and old ring settings.  She gave me $304.  Cash money.  Crisp new bills.  I promptly went to buy Christmas presents so I would not spend it on otherwise silly things like a new faucet for my bathroom that I really don't need but want because I am in the home remodeling mode now.   Okay, that seemed to be the longest sentence about too many topics ever.   Anyway, if you have old gold and it is sitting around waiting for you to do something with it and you get invited to one of these parties - go and sell your gold.    I was positively giddy. 

Chewing on Shirts
Bubby has been chewing on his shirts since starting Kindergarten.  Any ideas on what might be causing that?   It seems like a nervous habit but it could turn out to be expensive.  I wonder if he does it to keep himself quiet in class.  The teacher said another little boy does it, too.   hmmmm. 

Fireplace
Since it's been COLD here, I decided to turn on my fireplace.  Last year I had it cleaned because of this terrible smell exuding from it every time I turned it on.  Well, it's still there.  And it gives me a headache.  And the repair guy tells me he can't find anything wrong, no carbon monoxide, no dirt and as a matter of fact, he can't smell a thing.   So, turns out my fireplace is just fine in it's off mode with some candles burning on the mantle. 

 Happy Friday everyone,  I hope your weekend is awesome!

That's Just How We Roll

Painting
Paint that is.
Get it?  How we "roll"?  Paint roll-er? I really do entertain myself some days.

Anyway, we did it. We painted the family room and kitchen these last two days. Warm Pantina. Don't you just love the name? It's actually a discontinued color from Sherwin Williams. I really just wanted something lighter in those rooms, so I found the paint color that is throughout the rest of the house (foyer, hallways, etc.)and just got the paint two colors darker than that.

I LOVE it! Mostly, I LOVE Hubby for being such a good sport.
I think it was this that finally just drove him to start the job.

I was having a really hard time deciding.  So, he picked it for me and it just happened to be the one I described above which was my first instinct.  I decided it was a sign and went with it.

Here it is.  We still are painting trim so don't look at that part.  

And yes,  it really is a different color of yellow than what was in there.  You just can't tell from the pics but it is way more neutral than it shows here.   The biggest difference is in the family room, though where it was a deep sage green and now it is this warm patina color.  The picture was not turning out right, though so I can't show you now.   I'll do a before and after sometime next week.

Stealing Cars
In other randomness, I almost stole another woman's van from Home Depot.   That is the downfall of having America's most popular mini-van.  It looks like everyone else's.  So, when I pressed the button to open my car door and it was open (guessing she forgot to lock her van) I just jumped right in what I thought was my van.

Then I looked around and it seemed strangely unfamiliar.  The same...but different.  The interior of the van was EXACTLY like mine but I noted while sitting there, trying to shove place my key in the ignition, that I did not have a red umbrella or go to Jimmy Johns for lunch.    Then I saw it - My van across the parking lot and I freaked out just a little bit.  I was on the phone with my mom and she was very concerned I would get arrested or beat up for trying to steal someone's car.  So, I hurried and got out of the wrong van, into the right van and just died laughing. 

Strangely enough, this is not the first time it has happened.  I even have magnets on the back that will help distinguish it but obviously, I wasn't paying attention to those.    I need something like a fancy luggage tag that people use to tell their suitcases apart from other peoples at the airport. 

Turkeys
I volunteered to cook a turkey to bring to a party tonight.   This morning, I went to the grocery store to pick it up and guess what?  Yup - they are all frozen solid right now.  The fresh ones don't come out until about a week before Thanksgiving.    Turkey breasts will work just fine, don't you think?  ;) 

I'm glad it's Friday.  Really I am. 

Color My Walls

Look what I got yesterday!

New carpet in my family room and stairs!  Yippee!!!  I have been waiting for carpet for awhile now. We DESPERATELY needed to replace our 10 year old, 2 kids, 2 dogs, builder grade carpet.  I will admit that I was embarrassed by it.  A year ago we started the process of getting new carpet and then the economy tanked so we put the brakes on large purchases.   But my hubby knows a guy who knows a guy and we got a very good deal just in time for family at Thanksgiving.

Now I need to paint, though.  The paint just looks old and my kitchen and family room are two different colors.   I just think that making them all one color will make the space look bigger.  So, I'm on a mission to find the perfect color now.  Got a favorite?   Besides Tobacco Road.  It doesn't look right in the rooms - already tried.    The family room is green and the kitchen is yellow, by the way - very warm and cozy.   I'd like to stay warm but lighter.   Okay, so tell me your favorite. 

Oh and here is a little I Love Lucy episode where she is trying to hide some new furniture she bought from Ricky.  So funny!  

Yellow

 

Look at the stars
Look how they shine for you
And everything you do
Yeah, they were all yellow.

-Coldplay 

Yellow makes me happy.  Yellow gives me a feeling of warmth. I wonder if that was His intention when he created it. 

I Got Nothin'

It's Tuesday and I'm not Tackling anything, not sharing What I Learned This Week and have nothing Tasty to share with you.

I'm sick with some head and body aching, nausea type thing.  And you know how it goes when mom is sick. The house practically falls apart.  Seriously, am I exaggerating this?

Really, do you ever wonder just what would happen to your family if you were sick forever? I shudder to think about it.  Would they ever eat out of a clean dish again? Would they just go buy new socks instead of picking up and washing the ones on the floor? Would they just learn to walk around or on top of all the jackets and school papers now covering the floor?

Maybe it's a bit prideful to think that without me they would not be able to figure out which way is up. But I'm not seeing otherwise, folks.

Anyway - nothing much to share here but go check out those blogs above - lots of great posts there.

Have a great week!

This is My Desk

Right now.

Today.

It sits behind me as I type this post ready to swallow me up in it's mess.

Cleaning it has been on my list of things to do all week.

Hello Friday and the desk is not clean.

So, instead of cleaning it, I took pictures of it.

For two reasons.

1. Because I am a blogger and bloggers take pictures of everything.

2. Because my life is kind of happening, or is at least on my list of things that should be happening, right here on this desk.

Right here in this house.

In my corner of the world.


Thank you notes waiting to be written from my birthday. I have great friends who give me presents and make me lunch - love them. (check! Got this done!)




Dog needs to be walked. Several.Times.A.Day.



Need to call my best friend in Mid-MO to tell her how much I love her new house! Seriously, isn't that gorgeous?!?



Oh, I should hang this picture that Bubby drew me. Normally his pictures of people don't have bodies - just legs from the head down to the feet! Progress, I tell you!




Reading this awesome book called Secrets of Social Media Marketing that another good friend from Mid-Mo sent me. Thanks, KTI! Oh, and sitting under that book is a media kit that I need to be showing to people that are totally going to love advertising on Triangle TRACKs. Which also reminds me that I need to write a post for her.




Oh yeah - find some tranquility! (note the name of the candle pictured here) I actually brought this candle from my bedroom so that I could light it while I cleaned the desk off. Um, yeah. We can see how far I got with that.

Maybe next week....

Appliances

I'm not sure what has gotten into Hubby but he went out and bought another appliance for me this week. He bought me a dishwasher a few month's ago. This time it's a new fridge! I love it!!!

Sorry this is such a bad picture. I took it so fast.


Our old one was starting to make this loud humming noise which was weird, but mostly, I think he just wanted a new stainless one to match our new stainless dishwasher. Now we just need the stove/oven!

He also really enjoys going to Best Buy and finding a good open box deal. I think he has saved over $1200 between both appliances.

My husband is the ultimate salesman. Which means he can work a deal. Something I very happy for because he saves us a lot of money on most purchases.

Anyway, they look so pretty in my kitchen. Almost too grown up for my kitchen actually. I can't wait until we are able to get new countertops and cabinets. They are much bigger purchases and Hubby is no doubt going to find the best deal around.

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week. Please be praying for little Stellan

So, it's Not Me that in the last 3 days has had either one of my two dogs or children throwing up and/or diarrhea. I have Not become best friends with my carpet shampooer and It's definitely Not Me that IS. DONE. with sickness and running the mammals, that live in my home, to their appropriate doctors.

It's Not Me that has nothing planned for our Spring Break. Well, I have plenty of stuff planned that my kids are not thrilled about. So, I tweaked the week a bit and hopefully have a couple days open for nothing but fun! Just. As. Soon. As. B Stops Throwing up.

It was Not Me that got to work in my yard all weekend. It was not a GLORIOUS weekend here. Aside from all the stuff floating around in the air that causes my family to have wicked allergies, the weather was splendid. Have you ever heard the saying Carolina Blue Skies? Yeah, this past weekend is why.

It definitely was not me that had some time to re-pot some plants inside and divide some plants outside. It was not me that got to garden all day and did not buy a single plant! I also started some plants from seed a few weeks ago and they are coming in nicely. I can't wait to get those in pots and beds. I really hope they do well. If I could be successful bringing seeds to plants - the world of gardening would be a whole new place!

And it's Not Me that is working through a meaty issue going on between some people I care about. It's not totally settled but I can say that I see some light at the end of the tunnel. Sometimes, you just have to realize that people are making the best decisions they can and are not intentionally meaning to hurt anyone. I absolutely cannot live in a negative place for long. I don't enjoy the darkness of that at all. So, I'm glad to see healing begin and people moving on for the best. I am starting to learn that the process of healing and working through situations is often more important than the end result.


No, it was Not Me who just revised this post so I could link up with Not Me Monday and did it too late and could not link up. Such a typical thing for me. Sigh