31 Days---Day 14

It has rained a lot is an understatement. I'm not sure how we missed out on the severe storms but it had poured rain all day. Fifty-seven severe weather warnings in our area, thunderstorms, flooding, flash flooding for every county.

As we were cooking dinner, I noticed the sun was shining at the back of the house. It was still dark and pouring in the front. I knew there was a rainbow somewhere. When I walked out there it was, not one but two and both ends touched the ground right in front of me.

The girls started walking to see if they could stand where it touched the ground. I just started taking pictures. East Tennessee weather, the beautiful leaves changing colors and God's glorious rainbows.

The last two pictures are pointing west as the rain came to an end. The top layer of clouds was moving from south to north and the orange, fire looking bottom layer was moving west to east. They all were moving really fast.

As wet as I was running in and out of school yesterday morning, changing schools at lunch, to a meeting after school, to basketball practice after that and finally into the house, I was so blessed with this beauty. Life happens, it moves fast, but you've got to slow down and dance in the rain, and admire God's handiwork.

Thank you Lord for you blessing today.

31 Days of Life--Day 5

Nothing exciting happened on Sunday and I'm still trying to catch up. This is from Mother's Day this year at my parents. Mollie couldn't take a picture without making a face if her life depended on it. We love being able to visit all of our grandparents. They are just 20 minutes away. We don't get to see them as much as we would like, but have a great time when we do. Mikie and I are both fortunate to have Christian parents who raised us in the Lord and made sure we had everything we needed. We didn't always have everything we wanted but we never needed anything. Watch for more family photos from the other side of the family in the upcoming days.

It was a dark and stormy night -- revisited

I originally posted this in May of 2011. I have been reminded lately just how God takes care of us and this reminds me of it too. Of course it's still funny and I have a doctor's appointment for my thyroid today, so time is short. 

Hope you enjoy!

Ok, so I really wanted to title this post "Oh, Hail!" but I wasn't sure that would go over well with some people. The more I've thought about the storms from last Wednesday evening and night, I want to put some memories down.

Before school that morning I had "informed" my children that Nana and I would be getting pedicures, shopping and having lunch for our Mother's Day gifts. I told them there would be no early pickups from school today, belly aches, head aches and just not feeling good wouldn't get them picked up. I would only pickup early if they were dying. I told Mollie's Parent's Day Out teacher basically the same thing I had told the kids.

Nana and I got our pedicures and were shopping when it started raining and the wind picked up. As we were running in TJ Maxx my cell phone rung. It was Kristi, Mollie's PDO teacher. She had drawn the short straw and had to make the call. "I hated to have to call," she said. I was thinking about just telling her to let her take her nap somewhere else, but as I was thinking, "Oh what a wonderful day," she told me school was letting out early because of the storms.

Nana and I grabbed lunch and went to pick up kids. By this time the sun was shining which I've since learned is not a good thing with wild and wacky weather. As the big storms came closer to town the kids and I debated whether we wanted to go to church. But Michael, being a 6 year old genius, told me, "We are safer at church, because we can hide in the back class room downstairs and God is there. He will protect us." You guessed it, we went to church.

Mikie had decided he was leaving work 30 minutes early to beat the storm, walked to his van and had to return to his office because of a tornado warning in the county where he works. At 5:10 he called to say he was leaving, an hour after he originally tried to leave. He barely made it out of the front gate when another tornado warning was issued.

Church activities were busy that night as usual and there was only heavy rain. We stood around and talked and finally got home about eight o'clock.

As Mikie went out to bring Maximus from his outdoor kennel to the basement I heard a tornado warning had just been issued for our county. I quietly and peacefully told the children to go to the basement. Oh, okay I can't lie, they were upstairs, I was on the main level and I panicked. "Everybody downstairs, go to the basement now. I don't care that you're peeing. Finish in the basement. GO, GO, GO NOW!!!!"

 I've always aggravated my Mother (Nana) that it is her fault I'm terrified of storms. The last tornado that went through our little hometown was 34 years ago. She was pregnant with me and working at the White Way. The manager didn't know a tornado was coming through town and told her to hold the front door shut cause the wind was blowing everything in the store. Needless to say when she finally decided she couldn't hold the door shut and took off to the back of the store they realized what was going on. So I'm sure there is some inter-womb caused fear of storms there. Which one day I will think to ask my friend Kristel if that is possible.

Back to Wednesday night, as we went down the steps, I turned them around and sent them for flashlights while I informed Mikie who was now standing in the backyard looking up at the sky what was going on. One of these days the inevitable will happen he will become a lightening rod. I've heard we have other friends who may join him in this same demise.

As Mattie cried uncontrollably about her friends who didn't have basements, lived in apartments and the trailer park, about the cat who was afraid of the dog in the basement and chose to stay upstairs, and the bunny in the cage upstairs that I wouldn't bring to the basement because of the dog, Maggie and Michael discussed what they would do if Momma and Daddy died. This whole conversation was taking place in a very small bathroom which contains a toliet and vanity and at that time, 3 small lawn chairs, 4 very upset kids, one sitting on top of the toliet and a great dane. I shut the door and went outside with their Daddy.

As the first hail storm began, I went to the hallway outside the bathroom and sat down. Michael was deep in conversation with Maggie.

"If Momma and Daddy get killed I'll shoot myself with my new bow and arrow. I can't live without my Momma and Daddy." Me, "Michael your new arrows barely go through the target all you will do is hurt yourself." Him, "Then I'll get out my BB gun and shoot until I die." As much as I appreciate his dying love for me and his Daddy I couldn't help but laugh. Mikie broke up the woe is me and made them go to the sliding door to watch the hail storm. Once it stopped they had fun playing with it. And of course hollering "Oh Hail!"

This whole event occurred within 15 minutes of getting home from church and the power went out in the process. We spent the night in the basement, sat in the bathroom several more times, one included Mikie when he saw a cloud he didn't like the shape of over the lake. At 4:30 the next morning when Mikie got up to go to work we all went to our own beds. School had been canceled and we slept for a few more hours. Once we got up I surveyed the damage, which fortunately wasn't too bad, considering our neighbors got much worse. Pictures on the news and Facebook showed the damage to our friends homes and cars and to our little hometown were an F1 had passed through tearing up the high school and lots of homes, which started in that cloud Mikie didn't like over the lake.

As the kids and I spent the day doing basically nothing cause we were mentally and emotionally exhausted I thought about how God has blessed us. I don't know why He continually blesses my family. We aren't anything special, we just try our best to follow His will and do what He tells us to do. I pray for those families in my hometown and other counties close by that have damage and have lost loved ones. I can't understand why the Lord lets things like this happen. But I've realized it's not for me to understand or comprehend. Only to trust to Him.

Following the Lord's Path

Everything I have known for the last six years, four months, one week and three days changed this past Tuesday. I feel like I have become a traitor. I've deserted the path of  life I've known for so long and always wanted to have.

I know that this new path is the Lord's will. He has opened door after door and I have willingly followed. I have no doubts, only curiosity about what else He has in store.

I'm very thankful to have been able to be a stay at home mom for so long to our children. I am very thankful to have a husband who shared my passion for me to be home. He has worked long, hard hours everyday as well as through many deployments to make sure that I can be home and that we have everything we need. Notice I didn't say want. Living on one income has been tough at times. I'm not sure why the Lord has blessed us with the things we have. I have an ideal that it has to do with being faithful stewards with our money and continually giving of ourselves, our time and our money.

My first, before having children, passion was teaching music in the school system. Now as I reenter the workforce I get to do that again. I taught music and chorus for seven years before staying home. As my youngest enters kindergarten, I knew that I wanted to go back to work. I am very thankful for having the opportunity that is set before me this school year. A different school system and a new school for my children. New opportunities for them that they wouldn't have in our previous system, add to the excitement.

Expectations are high for me to succeed, not only mine but those of my administration and the high school choral director. It's nice to have a position where the success of your students is really appreciated and everyone wants to help you succeed. Not to mention all the technology, student keyboards and computer workstations, smart boards, elmo's, overhead projectors. Let's just say I felt like I was in music teacher heaven when I first walked in to my classroom Tuesday.

For many moms, working is their only choice and I have a very high respect for them. I have done both, worked with two kids while pregnant with the third and stay at home. I'm not sure how we are going to make it work, leaving so early for school, pick ups, working late, meetings all the things that come with working. But the Lord will take care of it. It was tough being home, it's going to be tough working.

I won't even go into the guilt that I originally felt about uprooting Mollie and not helping in her class since I did the oldest three. But I know it's best for her. I'm glad the Lord has turned my yellow brick road a different direction. I can't wait till tomorrow when I get to meet my middle schoolers at both of my schools. 

The Lord works in awesome ways. What are some ways He is working in your life today?