welcome home!

it feels like ages since i wrote anything, but i don't think it really has been. on a whim - or sent by God may be the more accurate description - i drove out to KY friday morning as a surprise to see my mom. i just knew she needed me... and she did. when i walked in (throwing open the door and saying, "can i use your bathroom?" at the suggestion of meg). shs said, 'of course' and looked very confused. then it dawned on her who i was, and she burst into tears! she said she hadn't known how she was going to get through her weekend, and there i was! so we spent the weekend together without any expections and at our own pace, and it really was a)relaxing, b)fun and c)a God thing. so many little things conspired together to go right that it was really astonishing as we noted each one and all the happy ripple effects of them. and then i drove home monday early. much thanks to curtis for giving me the freedom to go...he is a good boy!

i think it may finally be Fall. rainy, chilly, and the most telling sign of all, 50 dead squirrels along the side of the road. there are always plenty in the gutter, but this is nuts! (no pun intended) i don't know if the young ones come out to play in the fall, or if the cold makes them stupid, but i am dodging them left and right these days. (living and dead - i hate to add insult to injury, or death, as the case may be.) i don't mind fall at all, if i don't have to go out. but today was groceries in a downpour. sigh. as short as my hair is, even it is rebelling in the humidity! maybe i will cheer myself up by lighting a fire tonight..mmm, cozy!

i hope you are all snug and warm today!

to my Canadian friends

to my friends and family living in Canada, a few images of November down here...

the most wonderful time of the year

go rachel! it's your birth-month! go, go, go rachel! it's your birth-month! have a par-tay! go rachel!

Oct. 30th, in NC

welcome to the end of october in north carolina! the high today is 76, with a high tomorrow (for halloween trick or treating) a balmy 71! the sun is shining, and The Girls are playing outside in their bare feet. tomorrow night, "cleopatra" will have bare shoulders, and the "princess" will be able to twirl (in whatever dress i cobble together) and show off her finery... this is still very novel to me! i am used to dressing them up in variations of the princess/ballerina theme, only to cover the whole get up with snow pants, boots, coat, scarf, mittens and sometimes a toque (look it up), leaving only the glittering, overly made up faces of my little candy-hungry darlings exposed. in our previous experience, the question "what are you supposed to be?" was genuine...no one could tell underneath snowsuits and the rest of the winter defenses. halloween candy was never restricted by having visited all the houses, or having it get too late. it was determined by how much cold we could stand. one particularily cold year, we were done after about 6 houses. needless to say, this is infinately preferrable!

so, tomorrow night, i am going to wear my wedding dress. instant costume! it's not like i'm saving it for anything special, really. it's been in my closet in a clear plastic drycleaning bag for 12 years. not even a zip up one...but the kind you get men's shirts back in. i usually dress up as a man, it amuses people,

but this year, i am going to get my "pretty" on, dangit! although i'm pretty sure i lost my veil... maybe i will wear a princess tiara, too!

the list....

here's a little something i saw at the mall that intrigued me... i wouldn't be opposed to it for the upcoming festivities! Click Here!

do you believe?

it is sunday morning - the sun is shining and i am about to hop in the shower for church. but i don't really want to. there already is curtis - who is really, really sick, leading worship and being brave. and there's nothing i can do to help him. and i have and am praying that it will 'break', but so far nothing. last night he slept in the guestroom, and he left before i got up, and i am worried to see what state he is in. how's that for lack of faith? i guess you could say, in the words of my friend lu, 'i'm having trouble scraping up a mustard seed'. sigh. poor boy. maybe i'll get there and it will be a miracle. do you believe?

the plague

it is friday - i roll out of bed to be greeted with the words, 'i am really, really sure i have strep throat' from my husband. we are supposed to be having dinner tonight...i made a pie! so he is going to the "minute clinic" at cvs this morning. sigh. i really hope he just has a horrible sore throat. isn't that horrible of me?

but on the plus-side, he came home from rehersal last night with these:



not only did he bring me flowers, but they are my favorite kind! starburst lillies! hooray, curtis! you have to know that i can count on my fingers the number of times in 12 years of marriage that he's brought home flowers... so this is a big deal! he recently wrote out a 'life list', and among the items were 'become a jogger' and 'become a master gifter of my wife'. now, in the last 3 weeks, he's bought new shoes, found running buddies, and been out even alone on cold mornings to run. but gifts? nada. i was beginning to feel forgotten... but look! flowers! and they were even wrapped with ribbon and bright tissue paper...so pretty! he definately gets a cosmic gold star for that!

happy friday!
(only 31 sleeps til my birthday!)