Quick Run-Away

The Husband, Kidlet Three and I

took a Quick Run-Away trip this weekend.

We packed up the car Saturday morning

and drove 253 miles to see my parents.

Which takes us five hours to drive.

Here are a few scenes from the drive

We listened to a great book on tape

We watched for the familiar "landmarks"

Arriving to the smiling faces of my parents

And their beautiful home on the lake

Kidlet One and Son-In-Law joined us also

In future posts I'll share details of what

we did during our Quick Run-Away.

However, what I most loved about the weekend

was that we were

TOGETHER

To-Gather

We were missing Uncle Al and Kidlet Two

It wasn't the same without them.

But for those of us gathered there

It was short and sweet and together.

Maybe I'm getting old and sentimental?

No, I think it is more then that.

It is understand and realizing that

unexpecteds

happen

I need to spend time with my family

and to celebrate and enjoy each opportunity with them.

Dad and Mom, thank you for a great

Quick Run-Away.

We love you and are grateful for all

that you do for us!

Here is a last photo of what we stared at this weekend.

A scene from the porch.

I hope you were able to spend some

time enjoying family and/or friends

this weekend!

Unexpecteds

Unexpecteds...is that a word? 

Maybe I can make it a word.

It's a word that describes what has been going on the past couple of weeks.

Unexpecteds

You know those things that take your breath away

Either because it is so wonderful or so awful.

Things you were not expecting.

Because I'm a Glass-Half-Full Person I'll share a neat unexpected first

Just look at that view!  Amazingly beautiful!

This is the view from the door at my workplace.

How could I have missed this view?

I've been walking past this lilac daily and missing the beauty

until one day I really looked

and I saw the unexpected right in front of me.

Tiny bursts of color gathered in a flower bundle

and oh the smell!

Delightful

Powerful

Amazing

An unexpected gift from the Creator on a day my head was low.

I might have missed the glorious purple

had I not looked up.

The Husband's dad has been hospitalized since May 14.

Once independent he is now unable to stand by himself

and cannot walk without help of a walker.

Totally unexpected he fell in his apartment and lay for hours

unconscious.

It is truly a miracle that he is alive.

Unexpected words came flying by us

Kidney failure

Heart condition

Rhadomyolysis

Pacemaker

Hours in the hospital

Cheering an 88-year-old in the will to live

Unexpecteds

Some are good and some are not so good

The Chocolate Fairy left me a Ghiradelli chocolate on my desk today

No one fessed up to leaving it for me

so I'm thanking the Chocolate Fairy!

It was a great unexpected for me today

I'm hoping that Fairy flies by my desk again soon!

Like I said, some unexpecteds are good and some are not so great

What I do know for certain

What I do know as truth

is Proverbs 18:10 is like a breath of fresh air

Sometimes the not-so-great unexpecteds get me down

They overwhelm me

My head hangs low and I can even miss this

But oh that Proverb has become a close friend to me

"The NAME of the Lord is a STRONG TOWER;

the righteous run to it and are safe."

No matter what unexpecteds are going on in your life

Know that the Lord is near and what a safe place He is.

I know!

I've been running to Him these past weeks.

He is not unexpected

He is faithful.

He is good.

He is my Strong Tower

My Strength

Unexpecteds

I'm learning they are helping me to trust God more and more

Lord, thank you for the unexpecteds in my life! 

stay tuned...

grandpa is still in the hospital in a surprise play
he fell in his apartment, unconscious for hours he did lay
thankfully a full recovery he will make with time
he gets a new pacemaker tomorrow to keep his heart in line.

when my life slows down i'll be on here to again post
i need to support my family before updates i can host
thanks for checking in, you all come on back here soon
my goal is to get a post done before the next full moon.

I remain,
So Amazed....

Shiver Shiver Brrrrr.....

  On the first week of May, this was brought to me:

Four winning games of baseball
Three nights of  cheering-in-the-rain
Two nights of traveling
And one birthday party in a tent.

Sorry I haven't posted more this week.  Here is a recap of my week starting with the most recent event.  If you are a praying person, please pray for my father-in-law.  He went to the hospital by ambulance yesterday.  Sometime during the night he became disoriented, fell, and wasn't found for many hours.   I am so grateful he is alive, knows who we are and is talking.  He does, however, have some medical issues now that we need a miracle.  Also, we need wisdom on future care for grandpa.  Thank you!!!

Back to the week.  Kidlet Three's baseball league started this week.  He played four games of baseball and the team won all four games.  Night one was a pleasant evening to watch the team win 11-2.  The second night, however, was windy, windy, windy and windy!  Shiver, shiver brrrrrrrrrrrr!

Parents used sleeping bags, quilts, blankets, anything to stay warm.  The main topic of conversation was "how crazy the weather is during the first week of May".

One family put up an umbrella tent.  It blocked the wind and they stayed warmer.  The Husband was so intrigued by this, he went out the next day and purchased one for us.  It was one of the best purchases he's made.

I call our umbrella tent "the cabana".  It looks like a beach cabana...kind of!  Snuggled in our cabana are friends of ours that ventured out on this cold night to watch Kidlet Three.  We entertain in our cabana so feel free to stop by if you are ever in the baseball neighborhood!  We celebrated my birthday at a baseball game.  I would've taken pictures but my fingers were so frozen I couldn't push the button on the camera!  Shiver Shiver Brrrrrrrrrr.......

The four games haven't all been won by such a big margin.  There was a nail-bitter game in which they won by one run.  But, the team is on a winning streak and we are excited about how they are playing together. 

I'm sure you'll be seeing more baseball photos

from me this year.   Hopefully you'll see us

in our "cabana" staying out of the hot, hot sun

instead of

shiver shiver brrrrr....keeping us warm!

Chocolate Lunch

Today is a day off from work. The Husband let me sleep in and he drove Kidlet Three to school. Sleeping until 8:30 is a treat and I sure appreciated it.

It is only noon and I've had so many distractions and funny interruptions today it has made me just stop and giggle. In future posts I'll show you what some of these distractions were.

I've had a hankering for something chocolate. Imagine that! It isn't a new hankering. Yesterday I was going to make chocolate chip cookies but we didn't have any butter and I like using shortening and butter in my cookies. The Husband made a 10 pm run to the grocery store to get milk. As he was heading out the door I shouted out "we also need butter and something chocolate." It was kind of funny how he was halfway out the door and stopped when he heard the "something chocolate" statement. I did hear him say "oh brother" as he continued out the door. Being the good Husband that he is, he bought me a candy bar to eat before bed.

So maybe that bedtime snack triggered my baking urge this morning because all I can think of baking! A recipe from my Mom came floating through my head so I dug out my baking supplies and went to work.

Did the picture above of my baking supplies make you think I was making a Tupperware commercial?  Just watch...

Chocolate S-More Bars

1 cup flour

1 cup oatmeal

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. soda

2 T. milk

Mix the dry ingredients together.  Note:  More Tupperware!!

Add the butter smooshing it into the dry ingredients.  Stir in the milk.  Press the mixture into a 13x9 pan.  

Sprinkle 2 cups mini marshmellows over the mixture.  I used more than 2 cups as I love the chewy melted marshmellow goo.  Also, the marshmellows were sticky and I had to use more than what the recipe called for...I couldn't get them off my fingers!

Sprinkle 2 cups of chocolate chips on top of the marshmellows.  Place the pan in a preheated 350 degree oven and bake for 25 (long) minutes.  Long if you are waiting for chocolate...

Here is the final product and what I am having for lunch today.

Seriously!

A chocolate lunch on a day away from work.

It doesn't get much better than this!

Amazing...