What A Helper Girl

Yesterday, on my vacation day, I did three loads of laundry. (Please don't be jealous of all my fun.)

I turned my back for one minute to fold the sheets and in that one minute....

Stealing Christina's Fun

A few weeks ago, my good friend Christina (see her link on the side) posted about her family's new tradition of "Big Fun Friday Night" - where they do something fun together as a family. On Fridays. Hence the name. I guess I shouldn't insult your intelligence.

ANYWAY. I know that they think bowling or eating out is the best form of fun, but clearly they've never tried the sure-to-bond-the-family-ties activity of staining a privacy fence!

Last Friday night, Mom and Dad came over to help me stain the fence which was due for a stain/seal/something about...mmmm...a decade ago? I had purchased 2 gallons of stain back on May 4th - about three hours before the great tornado of 2007 that sort of changed our family plans for a while. So finally we had a night with good weather that all three of us were free - and we went to work.

Here's the Mama...please let the record show that she alone suggested we STIR the stain.

Here's Pastor Dave (who really isn't a pastor, but when he does funerals, the paper always lists him as Pastor Dave, so I've taken to calling him that). Let the record show that he was the expert (cause he was the guy) that said the stain did not need to be stirred.

And here's the Bekah. Not my finest outfit. My apologies. Let the record show that I sided with my father in the battle of "to stir or not to stir." My reasoning? Well, as previously stated...he was the guy; I thought that made him the expert. And I was just in a hurry to get started.

To the right: the unstained fence.

To the left: the unstirred stained fence.

To the middle: HEY! There's color in this stain! 

Mom: I told you to stir it.

Dad: I'm sorry. It was my fault. 

Me: Eh, it gives it character. We'll always remember our Big Fun Friday Night from that one board.

Leave Singing to the Experts

I think I've said on here before that I'm a big fan of David Phelps. I'm a very "serious" fan; that means I don't want people to sing his music unless they can actually do it justice. Very few can.

So keeping that in mind...

Apparently he is going to be in concert around here somewhere relatively soon. The radio station I listen to was giving away tickets to the concert to whatever number caller was the lucky one...IF he or she would sing a David Phelps high note. The station played several examples of David belting out the high note as ONLY David can belt it.

So I listened, wincing before the caller even took a big breath and tried to imitate David. The first person was a woman, and her high note was nothing more than a scream that said "I just saw a mouse!"

The second person was a guy and he was a little funnier. His was an attempted sing, though definitely NOT David.

I understand that it was all in good fun, so I bear no ill will against these David wannabes. But still - leave the high notes to the expert.

Bits for Sunday, June 24, 2007

Mid-terms. The word that can strike fear in a student faster than almost anything. I never cared for mid-terms…particularly the one that I failed. I can’t remember if I was a junior or senior in college, but I distinctly remember the room I lived in when I had to make “the phone call” to may parents, so the location tells me I was in one of those last two years when I took economics. You know. The subject my father taught for millions of years? The subject I took under his teaching in high school and did very well? That economics. And yet there I stood, in my campus apartment, holding the ever-dreaded piece of paper that said Economics...........F. I had to call my economics-teaching father and tell him that his scholarship-receiving, dean’s-list-making daughter was failing his subject. Not a fun call to make. But he was nice and God was gracious and the professor liked my end of term paper, and I somehow passed the class.

Today is a mid-term of sorts for me. Though I know I have another week to go before I’m halfway through the year, I’m approaching the halfway point, and today I did some reflection on the covenants and commitments I made for this year. I made a list of 25 things (five topics, five things in each topic) that I covenanted with God to either change or improve in my life this year. I’ve been called crazy. I’ve been called overzealous. It’s okay. I might be a little of each. But this past six months has been a time of change and growth, and I’m excited about what is happening. I won’t tell you all 25 things, but I’ll pick one from each area to share with you.

1. Put on armor daily. This was a challenge I received from one of my accountability partners. She had been challenged by someone at her church to pray the section of Scripture from Ephesians 6 every day for thirty days. Then she was to see what happened if she skipped a day. So she challenged me, and I made a commitment to read those verses as a prayer over myself every day this year. I don’t think I’ve missed that more than two or three times since the first of January. I printed out the verses and hung them up in my bathroom so I can read/pray the words each morning as I get ready for the day. The first day I forgot (I think it happened because my routine was messed up – probably a Saturday – and I didn’t ever get ready) I had one of the worst days of the year. Later I realized I was not protected by my armor that day and Satan had an easy shot at me. While there’s nothing magical about that section of Scripture, I do believe that praying it and meaning it every day forces me to understand my dependence on God and makes me more aware when Satan tries to get in and mess with me.

2. Exercise five days a week. Boy wasn’t this just a shock to my system! The girl who probably hadn’t exercised five days in her whole life picked up a regular exercise routine. I’ve worked out on my elliptical machine, I’ve walked, I’ve done tae bo, I’ve played around on (and subsequently nearly killed myself on) an exercise ball. And it’s starting to work! There’s something to that crazy theory of feeling better about yourself when you exercise. This morning as I was helping myself to a donut during Sunday School, one of the ladies asked me if I’d lost weight. I licked the icing off my fingers and said “Yes, as a matter of fact, I have!” Clearly giving up fried, sugary foods was not part of the plan.

3. Entertain once a month. I love to invite people over to my house. It’s part of the genes I inherited from my Mom. She loved to cook for people and have guests over all the time. And I love it…but I had been slacking on following through with that love. So this year I determined that no matter how busy I became, I would leave time for at least one round of company every month. No fair ordering in pizza either! My entertaining commitment means I have to cook a meal so that I present the full effect! I’ve been successful with that each month – sometimes just barely. (So if you’re ever invited over for dinner on the 30th of any month, you can know I was running behind on this commitment…just kidding!)

4. Do weekly housecleaning. My Mama raised me better than to run around with a dirty house. But cleaning is just not fun. And I found that I was slacking on the cleaning. It’s not really a good idea to do that when you own two cats who like to shed. So this year I decided to test the theory that cleaning is not so bad when you do it regularly. And I found that this is also true! So every week I’ve cleaned my house! Maybe not the cobweb searching, sweep out behind the furniture sort of cleaning, but a good and decent cleaning, anyway. I find myself apologizing much less for the condition of my house when people drop in unexpectedly, and it doesn’t take three hours to do it because it doesn’t have six inches of grime built up!

5. Leave time open for emergencies. I like a full calendar. Too full. So full that I never could squeeze in an emergency. That wasn’t good. No one should be that busy. So this year I’ve been learning the fine art of saying no. There’s nothing wrong with viewing housecleaning as an appointment that needs to have its place in my calendar – instead of trying to squeeze it in alongside a six or seven hour adventure that wasn’t really necessary. This has been one of the hardest things for me this year, but I love having a more open schedule. And there have been some times that an open evening meant I could help someone at the very last minute. That’s a good feeling, too!

So there you have it – my mid-term report. I feel good about the changes that God led me to make, and I’m excited to see what the second half of the year brings as I continue to pursue even more growth!

Father's Day and Farrah Hair

Here's a picture of Dad with his Happy Father's Day ice cream cake. Lunch at Mom and Dad's on Sunday was SUPER. We had roast, which is one of my favorite meals that my Mom makes - and then he got this cake from my aunt! Best gift ever! :)

And this is a much-calmed version of the Farrah hair. After a couple of days I had it tamed down and not nearly so feathery. I'd also like you to please note the bit of sun I've acquired. My first real tan in years - I'm very excited.

No More Scotch Tape!

Though I know everyone's deepest dream is to have a cell phone held together by scotch tape...I can assure you it's not all it's cracked up to be.

I'm very good to my cell phones, but about 4 months ago, I dropped mine on cement while trying to talk AND push open a heavy door (with an armload of stuff) at the same time. Apparently the shoulder-to-ear connection failed and my phone fell. It was never quite the same after that. A few more drops and it was held together on all sides by tape.

So I was thrilled yesterday to discover that it was safe to upgrade, and off to the store I went! I knew it would be a long wait - it always is. So an hour of waiting in line later...I picked out a new phone and this one is NOT held together by tape.

I considered it my happy summer gift.

By the way - happy summer to all of you too!

Remodeling

My favorite Burger King is "closed for remodeling." This is what the sign says. If you look BEHIND the sign, you see dirt. A nice flat piece of dirt ready for the rebuilding. Rebuilding and remodeling are two very different things.

If you don't know me very well, let me just tell you that giving up BK is withdrawal similar to what I imagine alcoholics might endure when they enter AA. Of course I could just drive to the other end of town and eat at that Burger King...but it's just not the same.

So for now, I drive by the "closed for remodeling" BK with much sadness.

And in honor of their new look (you know...the dirt?) I've given my blog an overhaul. It might stay - it might change again. You never know. I was just tired of green.

Bits for Sunday, June 17, 2007

I have been writing so much this week that it seems my brain has dried up. I know, I know…you think you’re going to get out of reading…but nah. Even in the dried up days, I find something to say.

Life is fun. I’ve decided that. I can’t remember who I was talking to the other day…but we were pondering the great questions of life…with no real successful answers, you understand. We talked about how life doesn’t always (or perhaps EVER?) turn out the way we plan. But I’ve decided that even so, life is still fun. Or at least it can be if you let it.

One evening this week, during my nightly exercising ritual, I walked past the tennis courts on campus, and I heard someone yelling my name. A couple of the girls from the office were out playing tennis and invited me in to play. Mind you, I’ve not set foot on a tennis court since junior high, and my skills were questionable at best then. I bravely stepped behind the net and promptly missed more balls than I care to admit to you. But it was fun. Even looking like an idiot, flailing all over the court, missing half the balls and hiding from the other half, it was fun.

Friday night I came home from work and decided to work on my landscaping. Please remember, I live next door to professionals. My work pales in comparison. Some people would say “Just hire them to work on your yard.” Well, first of all, that would cost more money than I think my yard is worth…and secondly, where’s the fun in that? Even though I’m not a personal fan of manual labor, there is (don’t tell my parents I’ve learned this) something to be said for the satisfaction of a job well done. I drove to Home Depot, bought some edger stone, and proceeded to spend the rest of the evening digging holes, lining up the edgers and filling in the gaps with stone. I was caked in mud from head to toe. I don’t even think I ever encountered that much dirt as a kid. I had to completely hose down my arms and hands between every edger stone…and yet I thought to myself this is fun.

Last night some of my friends from high school came over for a game night. I would call it my second annual game night – but the first one was back in March. Guess that’s more than annually. Anyway, I’m typically not a fan of games. At church parties, I’m the one volunteering to sit out any round of catch phrase. Board games stress me out and raise my blood pressure. And sports games…well…I lack the eye/hand coordination. (See previous story about tennis.) But last night the three of us sat at the dining room table for about five hours and played games. I learned all kinds of new games – and really enjoyed them. In fact, at one point, we laughed until we cried. And despite my normal distaste for games, it was fun!

One of the game night guests had unearthed a video that I didn’t even know existed…from our fourth grade year. What a bunch of fashion statements we were! Anyway, it was a Christmas video, in which one other girl from my class and I had the duet for “two teddy bears” in a rewrite of The Twelve Days of Christmas. Most of the time, I stood swinging from side to side with my arms crossed, looking rather bored…which was probably code for embarrassment. At least it should have been.

In the fourth grade, my life plan was to grow up, go to college, be a teacher (or a secretary), get married, and have two kids.

The fourth grade plan didn’t really work out, but that’s okay. I think I forgot to work any sort of fun into the life plan of the fourth grade. What good is it to have a job, a husband, and kids if you don’t have any fun along the way?

I was looking at an old journal this evening – from back in 2004. I was not having fun then. I was stressing about the decision to purchase…or not to purchase…my house. I wrote about Philippians 4:6, which says Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Those were days of great anxiety for me. According to the fourth grade plan, I was going to be married and teaching (or secretary-ing) when the time came to buy a house for the family of four. I wasn’t supposed to have to make that decision by myself, and I was scared to death I’d do the wrong thing.

Much prayer was poured into the house decision and I felt very much at peace that God would provide a way for me to live here if I just trusted Him and followed His instructions as they came. And just a few days later, I signed four billion papers that made the house mine. Being a homeowner has had its anxious moments. Mostly when things break. I’m not handy with broken things. But every time that happens, I just remind God (okay, so I’m really reminding myself…just by talking it out to Him) that we have an agreement. I have chosen to stop stressing (as much as I am able) so that I can enjoy what I have…which is a house. And great friends. And no tennis skills.

That verse works. Still works now. It doesn’t mean that life is without frustration. But if I can look under the frustration…life is fun.

REBUILDING: Just an Update

I have not posted any Kansas updates for a while because...I didn't really have any. That a good enough excuse?

But last night I called out that way to complain about the creepy old man that hit on me in Wal Mart. My poor brother-in-law answered the phone and got the brunt of my grossed-outedness. I figured it's good practice for him...Cassie's surely coming up on some of those years herself. Anyway, he was a good sport and said EWWW along with me. He was busily working on some more insurance lists. This one was for books he had in his library. I can totally feel his pain on that list. I came home from the tornado wreckage and started itemizing my own stuff in case this ever happens to me, and I started with the books. Just pulling them off the shelf and writing them down was exhausting. I cannot even imagine trying to remember them all. It would have been impossible.

They're still working on options for rebuilding. Rebuilding the house will happen - just the location is unsure at this time. It is possible that they might end up on a property other than the one they were on before the great wind of 2007. 

Cleanup continues to go on. Lori said that there were still over a hundred properties on the MDS cleanup list. That seems like many still left to do, considering how much has already been done. And that's just the MDS list. There are other services cleaning up other properties! 

Speaking of MDS, I found the following stats on their site - and I thought they were kind of interesting. They've had a total of 1911 volunteers on the Greensburg project (YAY- I'm in that number!). They have started 170 properties and completed 55. That is a lot of work in just a little over a month!

Lori is still working at the MDS "Greensburg Headquarters" - a camper parked on the church lot. This week she worked 8-5, which was a lot for her! (Her real job is working in a school, which has much shorter hours...and summers off.) Jeff is helping with building plans and other pastoral duties (and the book list). Oh, and listening to me complain about creepy old men. :)

Cassie is busy...being 17, I guess! I haven't had a chance to talk to her recently. She's hanging out with her friends or boyfriend when I call, normally. She's been pitching in, though, and keeping in the loop of what is going on in the world of cleanup and planning ahead. 

If you are wondering what sorts of things could still use prayer, here are some suggestions - 

* Wisdom for general church building plans. A committee has been formed (of course) and they meet weekly, I believe.

* Wisdom for parsonage location. Please pray that they will find just the perfect spot - whether that means relocating or staying where they were before the tornado.

* Safety. With town being so scattered, they do lots of traveling here, there, and everywhere. Please pray that they will stay safe!

* Healing. Even though they weren't hurt in the tornado...there's still heart hurt that creeps up now and then. I'm actually very amazed at how well they're doing. I'd be a basket case...which I'm sure surprises no one. But they're walking on with much dignity and grace! Because of prayer, I know.

Lori does read my blog (when the computer feels like working) so if any of you want to leave her a comment, she can pick it up here. I had spam problems a while back, so I took away the permission to leave anonymous comments - but if you don't have a Google login, you can get one and leave a comment with that.

Photo Shoots and Other Humiliation

Last summer I was in a photo shoot at work. My first ever such adventure. The goal was for one of the 2 billion (perhaps slight exaggeration) pictures to end up on a billboard for some of the graduate programs. After being assured that said billboards would not be anywhere in my own personal driving vicinities, I agreed. The whole process of the photo shoot was very interesting (and long and hot!) - and for some of the pictures, I was even dressed in scrubs. Just what the world needs...me as a nurse!

ANYWAY, when I came back from Kansas, Rachel (one of my work buddies) called to inform me that a larger than life picture of me was in the building where we work. I went to work on the one vacation day I had left, and sure enough, there I was! Apparently in addition to a billboard, it's also a floor display picture!

So...I took a picture of it - and then a picture of me with it.

Just a little side story of humiliation regarding the actual billboard. (I don't think I blogged about this. I couldn't find it anyway. If I did...sorry for the repeat.) Last March, I went to one of Brent Vernon's concerts and after the concert, he and Marie and I stood around talking. Brent is from Florida, by the way. He said to me, "Oh! I was going to tell you...I was driving through Cincinnati last week and..." He got about that far and my face turned 400 shades of red. I knew that Cincinnati was a target location for the billboard. I had this horrid feeling that he had seen it.

Seeing my face turn red, he said to me, "You know what I'm going to say, don't you?" Um, yeah. I squeaked, "You saw a billboard?"

So humiliating.

Big Big Fire!

Okay so if you don't watch Desperate Housewives, that just looks like a bad title. Really it was one of Susan's more "duh" lines on the show, but it amused me so I used it.

Last night, a little before 10, I was trying to wind down at the end of my long sick day in seclusion. (Mama raised me that if you're too sick to go to work, you're too sick to go anywhere else...so even though I felt better by evening, I didn't go exercising or to Wal-Mart.) I heard TONS of sirens, so I did what any perplexed girl does...I called my Mama.

She has a scanner. Other people watch TV. Mom listens to the scanner. And sometimes it comes in handy. Case in point:

(Photo from Chronicle-Tribune website.)

Turns out it was really a big deal! After about an hour of Mom calling to update me on the fire just a little bit away from my house, one of my friends called to see if I wanted to go scouting with her. So I broke the "stay home if you're sick" rule, ignored the fact that I was wearing ill-fitting clothing and hadn't showered OR brushed my Farrah hair all day, and headed out with her in search of good fire views.

We were in good company with the rest of the COUNTY. My goodness, you'd think people had never seen fire before! But then what can I say? I was one of them.

Even my parents left home and drove the twenty minutes into town to get their own fill of the sight.

This morning, any glow left over from flames blended in with the sunrise, but I think the worst of the fire is over. Now it just stinks. Literally.

From Mia to Farrah

Well I no longer look like Mia Thermopolis. This is a good thing. But as always, a new cut takes some time to "break in." It doesn't help that in addition to needing to "break it in," I'm also trying to grow my hair just a bit. It's in that painfully awkward stage where I really want nothing more than to chop it all off and find some sassy style...but I've worked so hard to get it this long that I really just can't bring myself to do that. Yet.

Yesterday's styling attempt went bad and it reminded me of an even more awkward stage in college when I looked like...something went wrong. So today I decided to curl it with a little flippy-do. The attempt was highly successful but WOW do I ever look like Farrah Fawcett! Hmmm...maybe a little less flip is in order?

I'm just trying to hold to my reputation of ever-changing hair. People know me for a different style every day and a different color every month. This time I went with golden highlights. But anyway, about the style....give me time. I'll get it right.

Flour Child Cupcakes

Check out the new link for Flour Child Cupcakes.

My friend Sarah Rife creates these amazing cupcakes, which are very yummy! She recently got her blog up and running - complete with pictures and descriptions! If cake baking and decorating is really not your thing...she can help!

Bits for Sunday, June 10, 2007

I’ve been spending most of my spare moments proofreading this book that I’ve been writing. Proofing is hard work, not because of grammar issues (I hope!) but because I’m trying to make footnotes. I am pulling much of what I’ve written from the Bible. Each chapter has a section of Scripture associated with it, and much of what I write comes from within those verses. But sometimes I’ve made mention of things found elsewhere in the Bible. I decided I wanted to know where every bit of it was located – partly for any reader who would need to know and partly because I wanted to make sure what I was writing lined up with the Bible and not just my imagination.

This process takes a while, and if it weren’t for my new best friend, biblegateway.com, I’d probably still be back on chapter one, sitting at my desk with my NIV Bible, my KJV Bible, and my KJV concordance, trying to find my passages. I’ve had to call for reinforcements a couple of times. Once, my friend Kari’s husband (a brilliant Bible scholar) sent me a page and a half of amazing help. I know he has many better things to do with his time…I was so impressed that he took that much time just to help me! And once I had to call Dad, who promptly sent over a couple of really old reference books that explain the general culture in Jesus’ day. Found my answer right away!

But though I am not a connoisseur of Bible references (which is why we have biblegateway.com, I guess), I do have a newfound thankfulness for the people who laid a great foundation for me. I told Mom (while trying to reach Dad for the help on life in Bible times) that I know a lot of things…and I don’t know why I know them. I had written details into my chapters that I knew were true…but I didn’t know how I learned them. I just can’t remember a time when I didn’t know them.

Though a frustrating problem when writing a book, what a great problem to have!

During my formative years, I was quite a vocal protestor of the lack of cable TV in our home. “Everyone else had it” and I found it quite unfair that my TV viewing was limited to 5:00 reruns of Little House on the Prairie. But since I couldn’t watch TV, I read. Before I was old enough to be introduced to the world of fiction, I read Bible stories. Tons of them. Actually, even before I knew how to read, I would listen to Dad’s version of Bible stories every night before I went to bed.

And I had dozens of cassette tapes of the Children’s Bible Hour; I listened to hours of Bible stories dramatized on those tapes. In fact, this past year when I watched the movie One Night with the King (the story of Esther), I remember thinking that the guy who played Xerxes in the movie didn’t put the emphasis on the right part of one of the sentences pulled from the Bible. I had remembered that one line from a Children’s Bible Hour tape all these many years later!

Dad taught me early to love a good bit of trivia, and I loved to take on both my parents in a rousing round of Bible trivia. I don’t know that I won all that often, but I held my own for my age! Sometimes I’d just sit and read the trivia cards so I could be prepared for next time. (Even today, I’m not sure I could win against Dad. How about we just not play and then I won’t have to know for sure!)

My Mom did a great job of teaching me Bible verses – one for every letter of the alphabet. Just this year I’ve started implementing alphabet verses for people that I pray for, and it’s a concept I learned from Mom when I barely knew how to read! And even though I have yet to know where many of the verses reside, I know the words they say.

And all of the teaching didn’t fall to my parents. I remember sitting around the ultra short (for adults, anyway) table in the second grade Sunday School classroom with my brand new red Bible, learning how to look up Bible verses. All of us had matching Bibles. Well, the boys’ Bibles were blue and the girls’ Bibles were red, but otherwise, they matched. And June Jackson taught a bunch of second graders how to look for the book first and then the chapter and then the verse. I’m sure that had to be an exhausting task for her. (Teaching Sunday School to second graders in and of itself is a medal-worthy cause.) I still have that red Bible tucked away in the attic. I had to keep it. It held a memory.

Just this week at work, I ran into the man who taught me the books of the Bible. He came into the pre-Sunday School assembly every week and taught us all sorts of songs. Among them were the songs for the Old and New Testament books. I still sing those songs (silently) every time I get to the easily mixed-up books. I didn’t think of it when I saw him…I was so shocked to see him for the first time in 20 years that I am afraid I handled the meeting none too gracefully. But if I see him again, I’m going to thank him for taking the time to teach us those songs. They still come in handy for me.

I say all of that to say thank you to the people who took time to teach a kid some stories, some songs, some Bible navigation skills. I don’t have kids…and Kaegan and Braeya’s Bible involvement begins and ends with sleeping on top of it while I’m trying to read. But for those of you who do have kids, make sure you start them early.

And it can be done! Today when I had lunch at Faith’s house, her two year old was munching on a French fry and singing “The B-I-B-L-E” – and she had it all right! Every word and most of the notes!

Working Weekends

One thing I like about my job is that it has standard office hours...with the exception of about three times a year. Every now and then we have to pull a Saturday or holiday. Today is just such a day.

It's thrown me off all week...I never knew what day it was because the end of the week seemed so far away. And today, as I rode to Arby's as part of the "lunch pickup" crew, I wondered why so many businesses were closed. Oh yeah. It's Saturday.

Honestly, it's been a pretty fun day. We didn't have to report in until an hour later than normal, so I got to sleep in like it was a Sunday, at least. We probably will get to leave a little bit early, we all got to enjoy lunch together, and the people who have been in to see us are at least nice!

Still, I will desperately miss my "free day" this week. I've been sitting here making a list of errands for when I get away from the office, and I might just take a nap. Because I can.

Becoming Mia

PHATS: Go into the comments to the next to the link Skyepuppy left for you. Mia before.

Remember Mia Thermopolis? The Princess Diaries? BEFORE the makeover?

Welcome to my current look.

My hair has developed an unruly life of its own. This morning I nearly shaved it all off before coming to work. But I refrained.

I'm trying to grow my hair and it's in that "oh dear" stage. It needs thinned, it needs dyed, it needs highlighted, it needs shaped, it needs HELP.

Tonight I shall call the hair lady. But until then, you may call me Mia.

(Too bad my makeover won't come with a country on the side.)

Tuesday Randomness

There is a REBUILDING post below this one - in case you're here for tornado news.

This morning, I woke up at 2:12. One of those sit straight up in bed, heart pounding sort of awakenings. I looked over at the clock and then looked the other direction to see the clock in the bathroom. (My OCD always needs to make sure they agree.) I couldn't see the bathroom clock. Where it should have been was blackness. That was interesting to me, but my 2:12 brain couldn't quite piece it together.

My first coherent thought was that I hoped my parents were okay. They had gone to the airport to pick someone up and the plane was multiply delayed. The last I'd heard from them, they were expecting it to arrive sometime after 1 a.m. It was such a Lifetime movie moment to sit straight up in bed and wonder if my parents were, in that minute, driving down the median, asleep. (You think I'm kidding...this has happened to us before.)

I realized I was very hot - and then I discovered my air conditioner was being stupid and not really spitting out cold air. So I got up, turned on the fan, went back to bed, and pondered the missing clock. I had nearly convinced myself that Braeya had knocked it off the toilet in one of her toilet flushing attempts and maybe the sound of it hitting the floor awakened me. Just as I was about to drift off to sleep...I heard pounding.

I was sure someone was trying to break in.

Then I figured it out. Both of my ding dong cats were IN the bathroom, and they'd closed the door. That was why I couldn't see the clock. The pounding was the two of them trying to open the door.

I don't have time for this at 2:12.

Fortunately, I had the day off today. I enjoyed a couple of adventures, including lunch at Skyline Chili. Haven't been there in years. And I was so proud...I ate in the restaurant all by myself. I'm growing up!! And then tonight, my friend Tina took me to Payne's Frozen Custard. Very yummy. I'll be visiting there again!

Hopefully tonight will be a little more on the calm side. Of course I have had about 4 cups of coffee since 4 p.m. Tonight might start very late for me.

PS - My parents arrived safely at home sometime between 3 and 4. No sleeping behind the wheel. My Dad, however, loved my impersonation of my Mom - "I just don't like you being out on the road this late. I worry. How am I going to sleep? I wish you wouldn't do this." Oh yeah. I've got it down pat.

REBUILDING: One Month Later

I had all these great plans of making a "one month later" post - and totally spaced it. Yesterday was actually the one month anniversary of the tornado out in Greensburg. It seems like a year ago. I guess I can only say that because I'm not there staring at it every day. But it really does seem like such a long time ago that I even went out there, let alone when the tornado happened.

But here is a little bit of an update for you.

* Lori, Jeff, and Cassie have spent about a week in their "new house" - the mobile home that they're currently occupying until a new permanent one can be built. (More on that below.) They seem to really enjoy their own space and they're building up some of the comforts of home. Lori told me today they got a stand for the TV and longer cables, so now she can actually sit on the couch and watch TV at the same time. They seem very satisfied with the basics they've acquired and the beginnings of normalcy that are returning to their lives.

* The congregation voted Sunday to rebuild both the church and the parsonage on the original locations. My understanding is that some rezoning will be taking place throughout the town as they plan to rebuild, so part of these plans are contingent on the rezoning plans. But if that doesn't affect them, they'll continue where they were before.

* Greensburg has a new mayor. I read that on the Wichita Eagle website - and Mom told me that the new mayor is a member of Jeff and Lori's congregation.

* There is a MASH style hospital in full operation in Greensburg. I'm not sure that Alan Alda is employed there - and goodness knows we hope that Jamie Farr isn't!!!!

* I also read on the Wichita Eagle site that US 54 opened Monday - one month after the tornado. If you've not been to Greensburg, US 54 runs directly through town. It had been closed to public traffic since the tornado, because dump trucks were using it to haul debris to the nearby landfill. Greensburg residents were permitted to drive through - and I learned while riding with Cassie that driving behind a dump truck is dangerous! We had to slow way down to avoid being hit by flying debris! Mom also told me that the amount of debris hauled to the landfull was equivalent to a football field size building, ten stories high.

* I'm sure Phats, especially, will be thrilled with this one. Phil Stacey (American Idol contestant) performed a benefit concert to a sold out crowd of 2900. Phil is originally from Wichita. (By the way - happy birthday, Phats!)

* According to...guess what?...the Wichita Eagle...a K-12 school will open on August 15th. Throughout the summer, they plan to bring in buildings to host 28 classrooms, 4 offices, a gym, and a cafeteria.

* For those of you who are Greentownians - apparently Lori wrote an article that is in the June edition of the Greentown Grapevine. She's way less wordy than I am...so you should be safe. I think. I haven't actually seen the article yet.

* And in other YAY! news - the College Wesleyan Church Men's Glee Club (I think that's what they're called!) held a concert this past Sunday evening and took up a love offering for Lori, Jeff, and Cassie. The concert was really good...I especially enjoyed the Southern Gospel set. (Big shocker there, eh?) I have to say...rarely do I stamp my approval upon anyone who sings Gaither Vocal Band music, because if you aren't David Phelps, don't sing him. BUT - this group really did a fantastic job and I enjoyed clapping along from my SECOND ROW seat. MOTHER chose the seats. I said, "Really, Mom. I sit in the second row in the morning...don't you think I should be able to enjoy church from the way far back at night?" Apparently not. It was actually kind of neat to see her reaction to the love offering announcement. I knew about it but she didn't and she looked up at the screen, saw their picture, and burst into tears. FINALLY! A moment when someone besides Bekah cried!

SO....until I have more news...bye!

Bits for Sunday, June 3, 2007

I’ve learned that when God tells me something one time, He really means it. When He tells me twice, I better hurry up and get it, because the third time might not be so pretty. This morning’s church service brought about a “twice” in my life. So I have spent much time pondering this afternoon, hoping to really get it.

About two weeks ago, at work, during office devotions, one of the girls read a little something about the Israelite spies who were sent into the promised land to scout out the good and the bad. I don’t know who wrote the devotional or where she got it, but apparently it was part of God’s teaching in my life. Good thing I didn’t call in sick that day.

I know that account up and down – or at least I thought I did. But I’d never before considered what she read. I always thought the spies came back with a bad report because they were just so scared of everything they saw. They went into this land and everyone was so tall and everything was so big and they felt so little…and they just chickened out. But what the devotional suggested was that they were so overwhelmed by the greatness that they thought it best to stay safely within the mediocre they knew.

Granted, the Bible does say that the spies came back (except for the brave Joshua and Caleb, of course) and spread a “bad report” about the land they explored. But when I read the contents of the bad report, I saw a bunch of excuses. “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are…The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size…We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”

Hmmmm…seems to me that with different details, I’ve had this same conversation with God. “I can’t go there…I can’t do this…I can’t think about that…this is too much…that is too hard…blah blah blah.”

Though I can only speak for myself, I know that sometimes I would genuinely like to “go there…do this…think about that.” It’s not that I’m scared of what I see. But the enormity of what I see overwhelms me and I squash the possibility that it could be mine.

I gave much thought to the office devotional that day and thought very seriously about how it applied to my own life and fears. I wonder if I’m missing the enormity of what God has planned because, like the spies, it overwhelms me so much that I prefer tostay scared of it and don’t even try. Maybe God wants a little bit more of the Caleb spirit in me. (Caleb and Joshua were of the opinion that they should go for it. They saw the blessing in the enormity.)

So after munching on that for a few days, I arrived at church this morning and the sermon was about…guess what? The same passage. But today the focus was on how the promised land was an eleven day journey from bondage, but the Israelites turned it into a forty year excursion.

I’d have made a great member of the exodus.

If there is a way to turn an eleven day adventure into a forty year ordeal, I could head the committee. I’m queen of making things more difficult than they have to be. Just ask anyone who has worked with me through the years.

Even though I was slightly distracted by the four year old who sat with me this morning (I’m pretty popular among the preschool crowd), I caught enough of the sermon to know that this was my second warning. Not only am I to avoid being overwhelmed by the enormity of my future, I’d better not be turning my life into a procrastination party.

Gulp.

They go hand in hand, I think. I keep procrastinating, thinking that eventually, I won’t be so overwhelmed. It didn’t work out so well for the Israelites. The only ones who actually got to move forward and enjoy the overwhelming blessing were those who weren’t afraid to try to get it.

Point well taken, God.

I’ll try not to make You come back for round three.

Adventures in Spaghetti Sauce

I haven't written because....

1. I've been very busy...and busyness gets on my nerves. It cuts into the time I normally blog and scrapbook.

and

B. Not much has happened that I can blog about - at least right now. It annoys me when my brain is so busy but the information needs to stay within the confines of my brain until further notice.

But lest you think I got sick or went missing (I'm sure you were so worried) - I thought I'd post about something...anything.

So I'll write about spaghetti sauce.

Last night I came home from work very hungry. Sometimes having a slow day at work makes me hungrier than the days when I am busy. I didn't want the standby of salad or deli meat or chicken nuggets, but I wanted to eat before any major cooking dish would have had time to cook.

So I made spaghetti. Not only is it filling, it's a great fake out for my head - making me think I've cooked when really I haven't. I pulled the beef out of the freezer and started defrosting it, I put the water on to boil for the spaghetti, and the beef had JUST started sizzling in the skillet when I realized a terrible thing.

I was out of spaghetti sauce.

I am NEVER out of spaghetti sauce. If anything, I usually have about six jars of it. Spaghetti sauce and ice cream. Two things you'll always find in my house. (Not together, of course.) Immediately I panicked. What to do? I thought of switching the plan and making sloppy joes - since the beef was already going. But I had two problems there - no hamburger buns AND no can of sloppy joe sauce. Didn't I just go grocery shopping?

Somewhere, I was convinced, I had a recipe to make spaghetti sauce. I could almost see it on the page of a Quick Cooking magazine. But I have about seven years' worth of those magazines and did NOT have time to pilfer through them all. Fortunately, I remembered it was in one of the very first issues, and I found it quickly. I had all but one of the ingredients, so I decided to go for it.

Pulled out the one can of tomato paste in my cabinet - and found that it expired in 2005. Woops. Any other weekend, I might have risked it, but this was too busy a weekend to start out with food poisoning, so I pulled out a jar of pizza sauce and a can of diced tomatoes and decided that combo would have to suffice.

I threw in all the other spices and tried valiantly to wait for it to simmer the allotted 20 minutes. I cheated a bit there and started eating after just 10 minutes, but let me tell you - that was some GOOD sauce! :)

So that's been my big adventure. Hopefully more REAL adventures are soon to follow.

REBUILDING: The Move!

As Lori puts it: "After the house that blew away and the white house and the blue house, we have our new house!" Or at least that's pretty close to what she said. Guess that means I should have taken it easy on the quotation marks.

Yes, moving day arrived for them! Fortunately it was a pretty easy move - not that much stuff. The furniture they were able to get has all arrived, been assembled (at least the pieces requiring assembly), and they're ready to go! Or rather, ready to stay!

Lori and Cassie both sounded very excited about having an evening at home to...sit on a couch...eat dinner in their own kitchen...sleep in their own rooms...talk on a real phone. Little things that we take for granted, but when you go without for almost a month, you definitely appreciate!

Midnight has sniffed around a bit and decided her favorite spot is under Cassie's bed. She's camped out for a nap!

And so begins the next phase of getting back to normal! They are finding things they need and didn't realize they didn't have...like dish soap. For now the dishes hide in the dishwasher. (Isn't that why dishwashers were made? It's sure what I use mine for!) And Lori said she finally sees why calendars are still on sale in the middle of the year. Some blow away. For now, she thinks maybe a dry erase calendar is best.

So that's the latest from life on the Kansas front! Oh - and Lori said that Mark Schultz is stopping in Dodge City to hold a benefit concert and then he's headed for the tour-o-Greensburg. I was really excited about that and then she said, "Who is Mark Schultz?" In case you second that opinion....you can go here to read the news release on the concert - and then you can pilfer around his site for a while.

Proofreading

I'm trying valiantly to spend less time in front of the TV and more time doing the things I should be doing...which would be pretty much anything EXCEPT lounging in front of the TV.

One thing I really want to complete is this book project. I've written it in its entirety (I think) - and now I'm in the proofreading stages. Being a perfectionist can be a blessing at a time like this. It can also be a curse. Right now I'm painstakingly picking through every sentence, trying to make sure I can account for everything I've said. (It's a Bible study of sorts and I want to make sure I'm accurate on my points.) I've only had to call for reinforcements twice, so that's good. Thank goodness I know some Bible scholars!

I'm learning that there are many things I thought I knew from Scripture - but maybe I only know them from tradition. They're hard to track down for footnoting purposes! If it weren't for biblegateway.com I'd be in BIG trouble.

So I vowed to spend an hour on it tonight and ended up closer to two. Part of that was getting stuck on a Leviticus law and spending time on the phone with my Dad trying to figure it out. He knew it WITHOUT biblegateway.com - he's a smarty, that Dad of mine!

So for now, I give up reruns of Dharma and Greg in favor of the red pen and study Bibles. Hopefully it will be worth it at some point!

REBUILDING: More Pictures and Some Updates

Lori called yesterday and was very excited to report that their temporary housing (mobile home) has been delivered! They won't be able to move into it until next week because of details...you know...electricity, stuff like that. But it is there, within view, and that is a good and exciting thing!

In addition, they were able to get some new furniture! Some was donated (brand new donations, not even used!) by a disaster service. This wasn't the Mennonite Disaster Service - I'm thinking maybe Church of Christ or something like that. Part of it they were able to get through disaster relief vouchers. Anyway, they have the basics now! As nice as a home is, it's even nicer when there's something inside it! She was very excited to know she had a bed and couch and that sort of thing.

It's amazing to me to see what all wonderful donations are made through services like that - and even through the vouchers from various places. Some of the things they've gotten have been because of those kinds of relief efforts. I didn't even know this stuff existed to this degree until now! What a huge blessing!

Here are a few more pictures for you - probably the last of the tornado pictures. Julie sent me her pictures this week, and these are some of the ones she took:

This was taken at the John Deere dealership. As you can see, this one relocated from its place in the "for sale" lineup.

I felt the need to offer further proof that I did participate in real work. :) No, I'm not giving Lori a foot massage. I was helping her pick up debris in the yard. It was around this very area that I found some of Cassie's medals and pins from sports.

I had posted some pictures from Lori's school earlier (I think) - but this one cracked me up because you'll notice the roof is gone but the post it notes on the door survived. Some people from my Sunday School class said we should send this to 3M as proof of a good product!

Right before Julie and I got in the car to head home, Jeff took this picture of us in front of some rubble by the auto body shop. I don't believe it all fell like this - I think this is a scooped up pile. Still shows you the amount of stuff there was to clean!

REBUILDING: More Pictures from My Trip

Here are more of Julie's pictures - These were taken immediately following graduation.

Cassie, Me, and Lori. Yes, Cassie and I have heard we look a lot alike. I find that amusing, since I think she looks a lot like her dad - and he and I are definitely not related.

Cassie, Lori, and Jeff (or Russ, as Lori calls him now...if you missed that post, it came from a Hardees jacket he got after the tornado. It had the name Russ on the front.)

The gang's all there! Well, minus our parents, of course. Julie, Cassie, Lori, Bekah, and Jeff. I especially appreciated the wind's restyling of my hair by the time pictures rolled around.

Bits for Sunday, May 27, 2007

Ahh…a long weekend. I love long weekends. There’s something so beautifully refreshing about knowing you have extra time off work and you don’t even have to dip into the vacation supply to get it.

But then there is always the question of what should be done with this precious surplus of time. On one hand…what a wonderful opportunity to do some of those projects that should be done but just never seem to fit in with the normal daily routine. On the other hand…shouldn’t a holiday be celebrated with something fun?

Usually I make the mistake of trying to do the projects AND the fun – and then I end up needing a vacation day to recover from my holiday.

I spent much of last week contemplating my upcoming long weekend. Here was the mental list I made:

* Make and write thank you notes. Mom, please skip to the next bullet point now…I know you’ll be so embarrassed at this one. I have yet to make and write thank you notes for my birthday gifts from TWO WEEKS ago. This is very unFreelanlike. Let the record show…I was raised better than this. It’s just been too busy a month and I didn’t get it done. Still not done. Maybe tonight.

* Picture duty. I have a couple of picture projects – related to recent tornado trips – that need to be accomplished. Shouldn’t take long to do them…it’s just a matter of sitting down and actually completing the tasks. Still not done. Maybe tonight.

* Scrapbooking. What is a long weekend without a little scrapbooking thrown in? Prior to this weekend, I was behind as far as March. (For those who may not know, that is not good.) As of today I’m caught up to April – so I still need to revisit the dining room table mess just a bit more before all is said and done. I’ve been doing a little bit each day, though, so that’s good!

* Recipe catch-up. One of my birthday gifts for some of my friends this year is giving them a new recipe card each month. May’s card still isn’t done for any of them and May ends THIS WEEK! Maybe tonight? Tonight will never end, apparently.

* Movies. Again – what is a long weekend without some movie watching! It’s a staple treat for the extra time off. CHECK! Watched two movies Friday night – while scrapbooking. Hey, some things have to be multi-tasked in order to be done.

* Marathons. I pulled out the TV Guide first thing this morning to see what channels were carrying marathons tomorrow. That’s one of my favorite things about holidays. I was excited to see that Spike is carrying an all day CSI marathon. I can have my fill of Nick…sigh of happiness. (Of course I’ll have to watch WHILE scrapbooking…)

* Yard work. I lucked out yesterday because I spent most of the day at a wedding. I lucked out today because I don’t do yard work on Sundays. I will wait to see what sort of weather tomorrow delivers. If it’s nice, I have to spend some time mowing the yard and planting flowers. And if it’s really nice, I’ll get to simultaneously work on my tan! (Yes, there is a tan. You have to look carefully to notice it…but it IS there.) Stay tuned for updates!

* Sleep. CHECK! I cuddled up under my fleecy blanket and took a nap this afternoon. It was one of those naps where I slept so hard that when I woke up, I had no idea what day it was. In fact, I woke up, rolled over, looked at the clock, saw that it said 3:15, and thought it was 3:15 MONDAY AFTERNOON! I thought I’d gone to bed tonight and not awakened at all until 3:15. Now I’m good at sleeping in, but usually noon is the latest I stir without an alarm. I was devastated. I thought I’d lost my entire holiday! It took about two minutes for me to realize I’d only taken a Sunday afternoon nap…and probably slept less than two hours at that. Good grief. Even thought I feel good from that nap…I’ll probably sleep in tomorrow too…just so I have my days and nights mixed up in time to return to work.

* Write. Last night as I was cleaning the house (until midnight), I got my first over-the-top writing inspiration in a long time. So I’ve decided I should take full advantage of it while it’s here. This afternoon (after realizing that it’s not really tomorrow afternoon) I’ve been parked at my desk, surrounded by scribbled copies of my book project, proofreading and updating. Have a feeling there’s a few more hours of this ahead too.

So my mental list turned into a marathon of “MUST DO ALL OF IT!” Sigh. Once more…I need a long week instead of a long weekend!

REBUILDING posts

I know my Mom is handing out my blog site to some of you just to read updates on the family, so I thought I would introduce my new format. If you are here to read about the tornado updates and don't want to read my randomness other than that, then starting today, you can look for posts with REBUILDING at the start of the title. Anything else is just my own thing. You're welcome to read any of it, of course, but I am trying to make the tornado related posts a little bit more easily noticed.

By the same token, if you don't want to know about tornados anymore, skip anything with REBUILDING in the title! :)

And of course, anything posted prior to today is still available under its original title - all of it in the archived month of May!

REBUILDING: Updates from Kansas

With the exception of my lotsa picture posts, I've tried not to post too much about Kansas life post-tornado, partly to not overwhelm my blogging buddies and partly because it's not my own news to spill, so I don't want to be giving away everything about someone else's life.

Having said that, I know some of you are reading not to hear my opinions on American Idol, but to get updates on life for my sister and her family, so I thought I would update you on what I know that is probably okay to share.

* Lori, Jeff, and Cassie are looking forward to having a temporary home all by themselves here in the next few days. They've lived in two different homes since the night of the tornado - both times with other people who have opened up guest rooms to house them. They are, of course, very grateful for this blessing and the chance to live in a real house as opposed to a gym shelter, but they are looking forward to having a place of "their own" very soon! God has really paved the way here and provided this housing for them!

* They do also have vehicles to drive. I know I said that Cassie got a car, but they also have their own transportation, so that is good! In addition to the cars they have purchased, they've been given some "loaner" vehicles for the short term, which is nice when driving through nail-infested streets. They can drive the older cars until things are a little bit more cleaned up.

* Speaking of cleaned up - I believe the goal for the main cleaning of the town is June 21st. They're (they being town officials, I guess) have set that as a goal to have the aftermath cleaned up so they can move ahead to the official rebuilding. Lori indicated many properties are already cleaned. She was surprised at how quickly that was happening.

* Prayer Requests:

1. Wisdom and clarity on the insurance work. As far as I know, they are all still working on filling out those never ending forms for the insurance company to itemize what was in their home. There's a lot to remember - and their minds are full right now.

2. Transition to the new home. While it is a great thing to be able to live on their own - there will be a lot of emptiness in the house until they can get a home of "stuff" built up again. Their goal is to be wise in deciding what is a "right now" purchase and what things can wait. I know that they also want to help businesses in town rebuild by purchasing what they can from local companies.

3. Church decisions. I believe they have a decision making meeting in a couple of weeks. Please pray that the congregation will be united in decisions that affect everyone - and that the right choices will be made regarding the rebuilding of both the church and parsonage.

4. Comfort. As life settles back in to whatever "normal" will be, please pray that they will be able to find peace from the anxiety that is sure to creep in. I'm sure that over time, remembering a lost item, a restructuring of finances, a change of scenery, fatigue, and uncertainty (not to mention future bad weather) will bring about some tough times.

They really do appreciate all your prayers!!!

I'm Glad I Kept Watching

Well - I had that rough patch earlier in the season where I threatened to quit watching if Haley kept staying in the competition. But after the results tonight, I was really glad Jessica convinced me to keep watching. It was perhaps one of the most predictable finales, but great results. I was so glad to see Jordin win and I hope this begins a lifetime of amazing music from her. I'd buy her music...and so far I've only got Clay's music. (This is strictly because I've been too lazy to buy Carrie's.)

* Loved Melinda's song with the Winans. She absolutely shone- so in her element there. Good job, Melinda! I hope she goes on to a soaring career too.

* Loved Carrie's performance. I like that song and she has probably the best, purest voice of any of the Idol winners. (With Jordin right behind her of course.) And she is just a stunning young lady.

* Loved the return of Sanjaya's crying fan. Good grief, girlie.

* Loved Simon and Ryan being up for the "best buddies" award - as well as the actual winners. So sad, yet so funny.

* Didn't love Haley's return. (Put that there just for you, Phats.) I could pick her out from a distance just by looking for the shortest skirt.

* Didn't love Bette Middler's performance. Angela was watching with me and told me back in the day, she could sing. I said "Well it apparently is no longer back in the day." And what was up with the flying and flitting? That could have been cut out completely and we could have ended the show on time!

* Didn't love the return of big bird - the old lady in the spandex? Scary enough the first time around. Definitely didn't need to see that again!

* Didn't love the way the whole show seemed to be about everyone but the final two. I loved that they brought back memories from the auditions and past winners from the show...but I wish Jordin and Blake - and perhaps the rest of the top 12 - could have had a little bit more of the attention for this last show.

But with all my loves and didn't loves...I loved the outcome. You go, Miss Jordin!!! You're a good pick all around. And Blake - a classy runner up. I hope you have just as great a career.

The Final Idol Post...Well, Almost

I know I've posted a trillion times today, but how can I NOT post on the last round of Idol?

Here's a shocker for you...I cried. I cried because Blake is sweet and such a performer and I want him to do well...and I know he will.

But I still want Jordin to win. When she finished her final song, I was bawling right alongside her. She's amazing. You go girl.

I loved seeing Phil...and Chris Richardson...and Melinda...and I'll leave it to Phats to guess which one I rolled my eyes at when I caught a little glimpse...

Great job by Daughtry at the end too. He's my reminder that Melinda still has a great chance at a great career. He went home well before his time.

Visiting Kansas...Graduation!

The last thing that Julie and I did before leaving Kansas to fly back to Indiana was attend the high school graduation. It had to be relocated to a tent on the golf course...or rather a series of tents on the golf course. Cassie's boyfriend, Alex, graduated, and Cassie was an usher.

I think Lori said another school district paid for the tent and chair rentals so the school could have a graduation. All the graduates were given an allotment to spend at Maurice's (ushers too!) so they could have new clothes for graduation, and a barbecue was provided following graduation for all the graduates and guests. Each graduate was even given a personal cake - in case previously arranged open house plans couldn't be replaced.

Here is a slide show and brief bio of each of the graduates - as listed in the Wichita Eagle.

And below is Miss Cassie at her ushering post.

Visiting Kansas...New Growth

This is a tree in Jeff and Lori's yard - you can see on the back branch the bark that was stripped away - and then over on the right, you can see brand new leaves budding. Sorry that the one in front is so fuzzy. It was SO BRIGHT outside that I couldn't see my screen enough to know what kind of an image I was getting.

You've probably seen or heard on the news that even longtime Greensburg residents are lost in their own town - without landmarks to let them know where they're walking or driving. By the time we arrived, these makeshift street signs had been put up - replacing the originals that are who knows where by now.

This sign hung outside the high school - symbolizing hope for the future of the Greensburg Rangers!

Visiting Kansas...Work Day!

The day before we left, Julie and I drove over to Greensburg to help as part of the official cleanup crew. We had to sign in with Mennonite Disaster Service - the group that has been doing so much to help my family and the church members. We got to wear little volunteer stickers, got a free t-shirt, and they had snacks and gloves for everyone.

I turned this white piece over and found it was a piece of Cassie's bedroom wall - as is the little blue piece beside it. That's how completely the house was torn apart - the plaster walls were just little bits. We spent the entire morning picking up debris like this - much of it just bits of wall and insulation.

PROOF that I can do manual labor! I still much prefer the kitchen and scrapbooking - but was very happy to have the opportunity to pitch in and help my sister!

Visiting Kansas...Trying to Save Stuff

Here is a photo sleeve that had gotten wet. You can't see it really well, but I'm pointing to chips of glass that were actually underneath the plastic protector. You can also see the water inside the sleeve...obviously this photo didn't make it. I was just amazed that bits of broken glass were lodged inside.

Here is a journal that Mom made for my brother in law as a joke a few years ago. He's been writing in it and I was so excited to see that it made it through the storm. It was pretty wet and some of the ink had bled, but it was completely salvageable!

The yearbooks, on the other hand...didn't fare quite so well. I think one of these was Lori's and the rest were Cassie's. They were attempting to dry and save them. Not sure the final outcome.

Visiting Kansas...Cleanup!

In the evenings - well, any spare time, really - Lori worked on trying to clean up whatever treasures had been salvaged along the way. Nearly everything they found was wet and mud-caked, so cleaning was a big chore. Here she is in the kitchen of the house where they are staying temporarily, washing some of the dishes that survived the great collapse into the basement. Like the shirt? Used to be mine. Fits her 1000 times better. Sometimes you just gotta give up believing you'll ever be THAT little and give away the clothes to someone who actually IS that size. :)

After the washing extravaganza, Lori and Julie joined me in the driveway for the great picture salvage. With the exception of two or three, no complete albums survived the tornado, but some pictures were able to be saved from random sleeves of albums. Julie and I were pulling out the ones that were dry and not mud-smeared.

Here I am working on the picture project. I found some good ones! And what more perfect project for me! Give the scrapper girl some pictures to pilfer through! :)