Thursday, July 24, 2008

Just Checking In . . .

I can't sleep so thought I'd catch up on my blog a little bit. It has been a very hectic couple of weeks. This past weekend Leah and I went to Beersheba Springs, to the United Methodist Assembly for the TN Conference Family Retreat. We had a great time and it proved to be very relaxing. It felt wonderful to get away from the normal grind. Leah loved it because she made new friends and had a level of freedom there that she can't have at home. There, we are up in the mountains and are surrounded by families so the kids are able to run free and play on the playground, in the game room, go sit together in the dining hall for meals, etc... It was wonderful to have our meals cooked for us. I enjoyed the evening vespers at the outdoor worship area. The view from the overlook to the valley below is absolutely breathtaking. I rode with my friend Kathy and that made it even better as we had a chance to talk.

Today has been bittersweet. Our senior minister died early this morning. I didn't know him very well as I've only been working at the church for three months, but he was well loved by his congregation. At 9:30 this morning the staff all gathered in the small chapel and sang a few hymns and prayed together. We were encouraged to share stories about him and there were some funny stories shared. The feeling was grief at his passing but celebration that he is finally free of pain. On the upside, I was offered more responsibility with a significant pay raise. Can you say excited???!!!??? I'm thrilled. I love working at this church. The flexibility they offer me is so vital since I'm an only parent. They are understanding about the times I need to flex my schedule to be with Leah. That means a lot right now. I'll do my web design on the side, building up my experience and portfolio.

I can't believe that Leah starts back to school in just three short weeks. This summer has flown by! I think overall it has been a good one for her. She has certainly done a lot of different things, taken a lot of field trips and made new friends.

The puppies are still getting into trouble on a daily basis. Last week our next door neighbors asked us to come over and visit for a bit as they were moving the next day back to New York. I usually put the dogs in their kennels when I leave the apartment but this time I didn't as I knew I wouldn't be gone for very long. When we walked back into the apartment Leah said, "oh no!" She bent down and handed me my Blackberry. I had left it on the table and the older dog can jump on the furniture and help himself to whatever is there. This is the second time they have gotten my phone and this time the teeth marks are everywhere. They even cracked the screen. The case was in shreds. As Leah handed it to me it rang - at least I knew it still worked - and it was Kathy, asking if I had just called her. I told her no and she said, "Yes you did, your number came up. All I could hear was movement and breathing and then a hang up." I couldn't help but laugh because obviously in their chewing frenzy, the dogs had hit the call button and she was the last person I had called so her number was up. She was afraid that I had gone into a diabetic coma or something and that Leah didn't know what to say so she hung up. We did have a good laugh when we realized it had been the dogs who called.

As I was packing to leave on the retreat Friday Oreo came out of the bedroom with my bottle of Tums in his mouth. When he saw me coming towards him he turned back around and ran under my bed. I pulled him out by his tail but he left the Tums under the bed. I didn't think I would ever reach them but I did. The lid was off and I couldn't tell if they had eaten any of them or not. I was so ticked that my first thought was that if they die, they die. Then I thought about Leah. I picked them both up and smelled their breath - no scent of Tums, just bad doggie breath.

Not being a morning person, mornings around here are not fun. As usual, this morning I was running late. I was attempting to slip on my shoes as I was running for the door, picking up my purse, keys and cell phone all at the same time. You can imagine my shock and disgust when I realized that Lilly, the four month old, had pooped in my shoe. Leah started to giggle until she looked at my face. Then she started in on her litany of "they're just puppies Mommy." They lived for another day, anyway.

So, that's been life around my crazy house. Each day holds it own surprises; some good and some, well, some I'd rather not experience i.e. dog poop. I need to try and get some sleep as that alarm sounds very early in the morning.

1 comment:

Kim said...

I always loved going to Bersheba Springs! So peaceful there.

Love reading about your happenings around your house. Just so you know...you're not alone. We have a lot of that going on here too.

Wish you were closer so that you could come see us this weekend!