Shock

I am in shock. I called Phillips Garden Center to check on the landscaping plans we are having drawn up for our back yard. The sweet lady, Michelle, who was working on them, was tragically killed in a car accident on Saturday on Hwy 78. It was in the newspaper this weekend. She has a young son and a daughter a little older than Cameron. Another death of a young woman. It has made me stop and think. I plan on savoring the little things and making each hug last a little longer.

Kenya Blog by Ryan

My nephew Ryan is in Kenya, Africa on a short term medical missionary stint. He will be there 3 months. He has a blog about it and his posts are great! Check it out at

A little about Ryan: He is taking time off in between college and med school for this mission trip. He enjoys working out and eating healthy which I find inspiring in my line of work! Don't let his big frame intimidate you, he's the sweetest guy, and he's very thoughtful of his mom and his Mema. He is active and enjoys a good game of hoops.

Ryan was supposed to leave a few months ago, but a truck ran over his foot (a drunk guy backing up into a crowd of people in a parking lot) and he had to have surgery three days before he was to leave. We will miss having him home for the holidays, but he was determined not to put his trip off any longer to the dismay of his mom. Since I haven't seen him off crutches, I picture him hobbling around in a third world country (sigh). I have been assured that he and his ankle are doing just fine. Even so, there he is, in Africa, braving the green mumba snakes on a bum ankle. Oh well, he probably couldn't dart from one even if he had a healthy ankle! (sorry for the brute honesty Denise!)

Pray for him as he works in the hospital; not to get sick while working on the sick, not to get malaria, to be safe from snakes and other poisonous beings, and for his ankle not to bother him.

Love you, Ryan!

I'm home. Home sweet home. My week of silence is over. I think I will miss it. I call last week my week of silence because I spent so much time listening to the thoughts in my head. It has been so long since I spent time alone that the silence gave me time alone with myself and I realize how much I needed to get reaquainted with myself. It was a little scary and with trepidation I peered into the mirror of my mind. I tried to drown the thoughts with tv and other noise, and only listened with one ear, if you know what I mean.

Little by Little

WHY DOES SCHOOL TAKE SO LONG?
My 13 year old is using the same curriculum as my boys and it is discouraging her.
Today she fixed breakfast, which delayed school by a good 30 minutes. Then my sons fixed lunch - I guess not to be outdone by big sis. Add one hour for that. I guess that is what homeschooling is all about - taking hold of the opportunities and encouraging the excitement when the kids feel it. But school past 3:30 and I start to climb the walls. Especially since I still have work for the business to do. I scrambled and typed as fast as I could to edit three letters to staff and one article. I finished in time to take the kids to church. We made it and we were only 15 minutes late - would have only been 5 if I could have found my purse and baseball cap. Baseball cap was manditory since I hadn't had a shower!

PRAYER LIKE BREATHING
So what am I going to do about school taking so long? I stopped to pray. Living in this juggling act makes prayer like breathing. Lately I've been holding my breath, though. And scared that the balls would come crashing down around me. It's hard to live in fear, and doesn't make life very fun or joyful. So I'm trying to start breathing again. Here is what I will do to try to make tomorrow go better. School will start on time and I will write down for the kids how long each activity will take. If one child goes over the alloted time, he will work on it later, but all of us will move on. Now, doesn't that sound simple? The curriculum, however, because of it's nature,doesn't fit neatly into a schedule. Let's see if I can make it!

May I breathe tomorrow! And let me say in closing (hymn music, please) I enjoyed today. It is fun having all of us do the same curriculum, and I got to cook in the kitchen with three of my kids!