Day 116

Today is a slo-mo day. Didn't get a whole lot accomplished and I just hung out at home. I think I've got some sort of 'stomach' thing going on and just preferred to stay here at home. Nothing major, just a little under the weather - maybe @ 85%. 
I did a little sewing, a little tv watching, a little vacuuming & cleaning, and edited and formatted Wade's blog to post tonight. My dogs and cat kept me company and I had to resort to watching shows on Netflix because of all the channels we get on Directv, none were appealing to me almost all day long. 
Wade is fine and wrote me quite a few times today, which was nice. The weather outside was beautiful and I had a very quiet day. Hopefully I'll feel a little more mobile tomorrow. 

Day 115

Today was another beautiful day but I was indoors for most of it. This morning I worked on a sewing project. I would say I only have a couple more hours left and it has to be finished and mailed to its final destination by July 7th - so I think I'm doing okay. 

At 11:00 this morning, Jaide visited and we did our weekly reading. This summer we are reading through the "Little House on the Prairie" series and today we finished the first book, "Little House in the Big Woods". I read these books to my kids when they were little and I am enjoying rereading them again with Jaide. 
I had Wednesday night with the kids tonight. We had 30 kids and only 3 adults, but..... we managed beautifully!! Everything flowed just fine. One of my jobs was the crafts and it went very well. I enjoy it so much more when I can get in there and work with the kids and do "socializing". Getting to know them and hear what they're interested in or what they're doing. And it's nice because we are working with the younger kids this summer so I get to meet and know new little ones. Plus this summer we have this great curriculum. The study is on the beatitudes and each week the lesson deals with another part of the body. And....each week there is a "Gross Zone". One week we made fake blood, another week we made slime. Believe it or not the authors tie the particular beatitude right into the gross zone. Well, tonight the scripture was Matthew 5:7- "Blessed are those that are merciful for they shall be shown mercy." And we talked about using our hands and feet to show mercy to others. The story was about Jesus healing the leper - how Jesus turned around and put his hands (touched) the leper. And how we need to get close enough to people to show and share mercy with them (close enough that we could touch them). 
And then..... the "Gross Zone" tonight was a jar of pigs' feet! Mr. Russ opened the jar and put them in zip lock plastic bags so the kids could pass them around and touch them (through the plastic of course)
We had lots of squeals, but everyone took their turn and I bet you that not one of them will forget tonight and what they saw. I love when a class makes an impact like that. I love being a part of something like that. Using our hands and feet in service to Jesus will definitely be a part of their memory forever. 

Day 114

Today was Tuesday and that's my "Hannah House" day. I don't rush to go in, no one is there when I arrive usually, and Selena is fine with whenever I choose to arrive. So I normally have coffee and watch some news, then feed all the animals and myself, take my shower and head on out. Most weeks I arrive around 10:00 in the morning. This morning as I arrived in the parking lot Selena was standing outside of her car and I asked her, "Are you coming or going?" 

Well, it turns out she was heading out. With three residents at the house, she is constantly on the go for this or that appoint-ment. I noticed, however, that we both were wearing black pants and green shirts. Too funny. Later in the day she asked someone to take a picture of us. In the background is the Hannah House Garden. 
My duties there on Tuesdays are to balance the checkbook, write payroll checks, pay bills, get reports ready for meetings, make deposits, mail correspondence, plus any other duties that come up. Selena is a busy, busy woman and I am glad to help her out with this. I have a great love of all things financial and organization of finances, so this is truly a labor of love. 
What a beautiful day it was today - a perfect summer's day. We didn't have any thunderstorms last night and it looks like it will be quiet tonight too. 

Day 113

Monday - I didn't have much to do today, but first thing this morning after I fed the animals, I took 3 good sized boxes to the post office to ship off to Iraq. When the postal clerk scanned in the address she told me, "A message pops up saying that there is no guaranteed mail delivery there. Are you sure that he is there?". When I told Wade, he laughed and said he was actually in New Jersey in the witness protection program. Too funny.

This is my kitty, Opie, greeting me when I came home from the post office. 
I skyped with Wade at 10:30 for about an hour. He had a good time with Tiffany's class yesterday and now he's looking forward to skyping again but with OUR Sunday School class next Sunday morning. 

After lunch I went bowling with Peggy, Jaide & Jared. It was pretty crowded this afternoon and Peggy was the big winner today. She treated all of us to ice cream after we finished. Thank you!   Jaide & Jared split a banana split - so does that mean it was a 'banana quarter'? It was so big that even between the two of them, they still couldn't finish it. 
This evening I got a call from Tiffany and we talked while she drove home from work. She had a pretty busy weekend and will be alternating between relaxing and cleaning things up tonight. Sam & Shelby are at their granny's house so it's just Tiffany and her animals at home. 
We are scheduled to get some nice thunderstorms this evening. The weather reporter said they may be strong enough to wake us up. I hope so!! I love thunderstorms in the night. I may just open my bedroom window so I won't miss a second. 

Day 112

Sunday - Another nice day after we had some rain this morning. I worked at the registration desk for the Sunday School hour and then I led crafts during church for 3 different age groups. We had paper, stickers, craft sticks, and sequins and it was amazing how beautiful all the pictures turned out. I would say I saw about 60 kids in total.
Dinner after church was chicken tenders (in Shake n Bake), potatoes au gratin, creamed corn, asparagus spears, garlic bread, and a cheesecake sampler for dessert.

It turned out good and was quick and easy because I made the chicken and potatoes last night and then just put them in a low oven all morning while we were at church. 
Jason also brought up his new guitar for 'show and tell'. It's pretty cool and he got it fairly cheaply on eBay. 

I guess the big news for today was that Wade taught Tiffany's Sunday School class this morning via skype. He said it went pretty well and was supposed to go for 20 minutes, but it went for just about the whole hour. I received a copy of an email from Tiffany's teacher this afternoon that shows how much they enjoyed the lesson:

What a morning!   Our eyes in Iraq none other than Wade (Mr Wide) Brower delivered an inspiring and encouraging message.  The few who missed the very special time we shared missed so much.  It is obvious Wade has a passion for service to mankind and loves the Lord with a depth most will never know.  He created one HUGE problem…yep…there is now a rather large crowd of women (the Single Sister to be precise) who can’t wait for one of his hugs.   For those of you who missed his message you will have to wait and hear it from him.  I most certainly cannot do it justice.  OK so if you missed him have no fear.  We hope that once he is home either for a break or when he returns permanently we will be able to convince him to come and share with us in person.

Tiffany has shared the link to his blog and his e-mail address.  And to make it easier you can even respond to all and magically you’ll have his e-mail address in your e-mail browser.  I encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity to read his blog and communicate with him via e-mail.  I look forward each week to the messages he shares and find a great sense of pride that America , home of the VERY brave and land of the free is my home.  

We love you Mr “Wide”

And I love you too, Mr. Wide. 

Day 111

It is Saturday and all day long we had beautiful summer-like weather. Large, fluffy clouds floated by, but we had no rain today. I was up and out of the house by 8:00. I had a breakfast date with Hal & Rose - our friends. I hadn't seen them since Wade has been gone so we agreed to meet for a breakfast. 

We had a wonderful visit at The Golden Nugget restaurant south of Dayton. I haven't been there in a long, long time. I had canadian bacon with eggs and a pancake. They actually gave me three pancakes, but I could only eat part of one. But more than anything, it was good to laugh and catch up with friends. And Hal can really tell some good stories. The drive down there was nice and I came from 675 and across Dorothy Lane. This is a neighborhood we lived in when we first moved to the Dayton area and I liked seeing all the old landmarks and stores too. 

Golden Nugget Restaurant

On the way home, I decided to drive past our first home, 'Stately Wayne Manor' - and through the hoity-toity section of Dayton - Oakwood. That was a pretty neat condo that we lived in although I didn't go outdoors very much at that time. 

Far Hills Ave. 

 I drove up Far Hills to Miami Valley Hospital and then back behind the hospital, to get to Keowee and onto Highway 4. I almost missed a left turn at one intersection because they tore down a whole block of storefronts with apartments above it, and now it is just an empty lot. I guess it HAS been a while since I've been in Dayton.  

And every-where I went there was some sort of road con-struction going on. I did some shopping and bought a large supply of Little Debbie cakes and snacks to send to Iraq. 
Once I got home, I walked on my treadmill. I like to walk longer on Saturday because I don't walk on Sunday. So today I turned on "Golden Years" and walked for 100 minutes. I stopped then because the treadmill turned off once it clicked to 100 minutes. Good time to stop, I guess. 
This afternoon I skyped with Tiffany for about half an hour. She needed to test it out and learn how to use it because tomorrow she and Wade will be skyping during her Sunday School class. Wade will actually be teaching the class. I can't wait to hear how that goes.  

Day 110

It seems like such a typical God-thing. I love discovering coincidences that are 'not-coincidences' to God, but a perfect plan in His perfect time. I am in week 3 of a Bible study on "David - Seeking a Heart Like His". Of course, I know some of the basic stories of David. But thanks to Beth Moore - she always digs deeper and provides more background, history, and information. 

I am enjoying the study and learning so much about other characters - Samuel, Saul, Jonathan. Now last night we started a new book in my Spiritual Leadership Development Group, and this morning was my first homework reading assignment. And I was required to read about ...... David. Well actually, how Saul was a poor leader, but David will prove to be leader to follow. (Sometimes....)
So in my women's bible study book, this morning Beth Moore was talking about watching the movie, King David, with Richard Gere. She saw a certain situation happen in the movie and couldn't believe that it was actually true, but then she checked it out and was surprised that it had, in fact, really and truly happened. I rented the movie this afternoon and have watched most of it. I'll finish tonight, but it is so helpful for my studies and will help me to learn and absorb more. Good, good stuff. I'm so grateful for this God-thing happening. I look forward to how God will use this and more teach me. 
I had a wonder skype session with Wade today. He is getting prepared for skyping with Tiffany's Sunday School class this weekend.
Jason has been on vacation all this past week and has worked so much on the yard. Today was no exception: 

This is a large crack in the driveway that he wanted to repair.

This is the finished result - looks good.

They went and got some gravel and filled in the dirt part alongside the driveway.

And filled the small pond area with gravel too. 

This is Percilla's "spot". It was actually a wading pool that was sunk into the ground, but here it has been beautifully disguised.

This is the fire pit and it has a door/gate on it now. 

 This will keep the fire a little bit safer now.

Thanks for all the hard work. Everything looks great. Now his vacation is over.  

Day 109

This Thursday morning I had my Women's Bible Study and we listened to Beth Moore give a lesson on Psalm 62. The main focus was to not rely on ANYONE, but God alone. God only. 
Lines from the psalm say:


'My soul finds rest in God alone.........
He alone is my rock and my salvation......
Find rest, O my soul, in God alone.....


This should be an everyday occurrence, not just when we experience grave disappointments. Significant rest comes to the soul when we accept that God alone is in charge or our honor, our hearts, our lives, our entirety. Find that rest in God alone................ No one else can even come close to giving us that perfect rest.
-------------------------------------
Tonight I had my Leadership Development Group meeting here at the house. There were 8 other people besides myself. After the meeting I served mixed berries in juice over angel food cake or pound cake with cool whip. Things went very well and the dogs were good and quiet. Kelly spent the evening downstairs with Jason & Peggy. And Angel, Sheba, and Opie were closed up in my bedroom. All my guests were gone by about 9:00. We got a new book to start tonight and it looks pretty good too. It's called, "The 21 Most Powerful Minutes in a Leader's Day", by John C. Maxwell. It will take us 21 weeks to complete this book. I'm excited and looking forward to starting it tomorrow. 
I got a quick little email from Wade today. He's been busy and has been working on paperwork for him to take an R&R trip in September, possibly. I posted his post on his blog tonight and I look forward to skyping with him tomorrow morning. 

Day 108

I am in preparation for a group of "Spiritual Leaders" to descend upon my house tomorrow evening. 10 or 11 of the men and women from my church that are on a pilgrimage through this year on a quest for what makes a great spiritual leader. And this group is led by our Senior Pastor, Mark Martin. We meet every 2 or 3 weeks to discuss chapters in various books that we have read together. I volunteered our house for this meeting and then another time in August. 
So today I was on a different type of journey to make the house less cluttered, a little cleaner and not so full of animal hair. And with four animals, that's a pretty hard thing to do. This morning I tackled the bathroom first and that was pretty easy. I was very pleased with the outcome and even took a picture. Too bad that no one ever uses that bathroom - although once Wade comes home I will move back in there. 

 It's a nice little bathroom, but since Wade has been gone, I use it more for the laundry than anything else. 
I cleaned out the living room, vacuumed, shampooed the carpet, and did a general clean up. I kept the covers off the couch and the dogs (and I) have not been in there. I can watch tv in the bedroom if I really want. And I would like for there to not be dog hair or dog smell for one day. 

It's all set up with plenty of chairs and space. 
Tonight was Wednesday night. We didn't seem to have as many kids and we only had about 60% of the chaos we had last week - so overall that is a good week. It poured down rain while we were in there but was clearing up as we drove home. 
Tonight I need to finish up my homework in my Thursday morning Women's Bible Study and then finish my reading for tomorrow night's meeting. 
I don't have much else to do tomorrow in preparation for my guests. However, Jason worked like a crazy man this week (he's on vacation) and did so much outside that it is so beautiful right now. He and Peggy got everything looking great and even got the pond pump working today too. And they burned the big bonfire pile too. Very nice!! Thank you! 

 Good night! 

Day 107

Tuesday - 

After break-fast I went to Hannah House and did a little bit of office work. Selena was there before me this morning (which is VERY unusual). 
This picture shows what I saw when I left the house this morning. It was so hot and steamy early in the morning - I could swear I was in Georgia! That is kind-of like fog hanging in the road. A little eerie looking. 
But it didn't cool down much today. I came home at noon and sat and baked in the sun for 30 minutes. While I'm out there I'm thinking - this better work..... this better work..... After I fixed some lunch I walked for an hour on the treadmill and watched more "Golden Years". 
Tonight was Weight Watchers and I sat with Pastor Joy and Tamara Gabriel. I lost 1 pound - which is pretty good because I ate almost every point I was allowed last week - including all my activity points. 
After a quick trip to Walmart I came home and had some dinner - chicken salad from a left over chicken breast from Sunday. It was good. 
Tomorrow I DEFINITELY need to get busy on cleaning the house (ha! famous last words). 
Wade is planning something kinda fun and I'll talk about that at a later date. But it's something I'm looking forward to. 

Day 106

It's the Monday after Father's Day - Today was my parents' wedding anniversary. Today is also Ray Brower's birthday. Wade and I talked a little about him today - he is now 59 years old.
I also wanted to share a little of what we had for dinner yesterday. Jason was nice enough to prepare our midday meal and it was excellent:

Jason grilled the food and we had - 
hot dogs,
cheese-burgers,
chicken breasts,
pork chops,
grilled corn on the cob,
lettuce,
tomatoes,
chips,
macaroni salad,
potato salad,
then for dessert he prepared fresh melons, strawberries, and kiwi with vanilla yogurt, honey, granola, and whipped cream.
Delicious, lip smacking good! Thank you Jason and Peggy

This morning I was on the agenda to have all of my screen doors replaced with new storm doors. I had picked them out at Home Depot about 3 weeks ago and it took a while for them to be delivered - they didn't carry the color I wanted in the store (almond). The contractor was in my driveway and ready to work by 7:45 and I was very shocked to see him there that early. I'm used to late plumbers, electricians, and handy men. But this guy was wonderful! He took off all the doors and replaced them with these new beauties and was totally done by 10:00 this morning!! He had to work around 2 curious cats and 3 exuberant, large dogs - one of which tried to take a chomp out of his hand (yikes!!). Fortunately he was quick and we avoided a lawsuit - phew!! 

Living Room Door

Kitchen Door

We also had the back door replaced, but it was raining and I didn't want to go out and get wet to take a picture. But they're all beautiful! 
Later this morning I got to skype with Wade for an hour. What a great time. He was very happy to report that he got to take an extra long shower today because of an over-large delivery of water. He was very appreciative of this special treat.  
This afternoon I went bowling with Jason, Peggy, Jaide & Jared. That was a fun time and we all did pretty good. And of course we had to stop at Dairy Queen on the way home - it just happens to be right down the road from the bowling alley. Then I walked on the treadmill and got to talk with Tiffany while she drove home after work. What a nice full day! 
Well, I my leadership group will be meeting at my house on Thursday night and I haven't done any cleaning yet............. I should be doing some sort of cleaning, but I am putting it off until another day. It will get done, but not tonight. 

Day 105

Today is Father's Day - 

So I thought I would share a little bit about my father. He was born in January, 1924. Here he is with his mother and older brother, Lyle. 
Lyle drowned when he was around 12 or 13 - so I never knew him.
One of the things I inherited from my father was his brow (it's kinda big). I don't have a picture here, but there is a 'famous Watson scowl' that my dad had and I can do a pretty good imitation too. 

Dad, Lyle, and his younger sister lived on a farm in Rutland, Iowa and attended a country school. Here's Dad is with his whole school. He is front, center, and closest to the camera. His brother, Lyle is the tall, dark haired boy on the other side of the pole.
When Dad was a freshman or sophmore in high school he contracted rheumatic fever and missed a whole year of school (this is before antibiotics and he was VERY sick). It affected his heart and we always needed to be very careful if any of us got strep throat or other infections for the rest of his life. 

He served in the army during World War II. He and my mom got married in Riverside, California on June 20th, 1944. I always wondered if they met down there or in San Francisco. Well, this picture is of the flats in San Francisco where my mom lived and the date on the back says, "April 15th, 1944". So I guess that answers my question.
He had three sons, my older brothers, Michael, Steven, & Peter. After he was discharged, he lived part of the time in San Francisco and part of the time on the farm in Iowa.  

With the milking machine

  Once my grandfather retired, my dad took over the farm. 
It was hard work and he kept with it until 1959. Then he felt that he could no longer make a living doing that so he moved all of us out to San Fran-cisco. He got a job working as a garbage man in San Francisco with the help of his brother-in-law. Later he worked at Safeway stores as a checker. I think he enjoyed that, but at night he took mail order courses and got a degree in accounting. With that degree, he got a job with the State of California as an auditor. His love of numbers and anything mathematical is another thing that I inherited from him. 

Dad holding me

Dad holding Jason

I'm assuming this is after he started work for the state
because he's wearing a suit. My mom worked for the state too.

Mom & Dad were married for 38 years before we lost her. Dad had a pretty tough time and attended lots of grief workshops where he met Rita. Within the year they were married - July 20, 1984

Rita has 10 children and so that meant lots of step brothers and sisters. But another thing I inherited from dad is my short-ness. He's pretty short too. And Rita was pretty tall and her kids were all taller than her. So at family gatherings, you could always tell which people were Watsons and which were Wards. 
In March of 1998, Rita called me in Rome, NY and said I needed to come home. I flew out the next morning and drove from San Francisco to Sacramento where he was in the hospital. All 3 of my brothers came too - from Minnesota, Oregon, and the San Francisco bay area. All of us spent the day in the hospital with him. He was not responsive, although his eyes were open, but we were all together. That night when we left, we all said good night to him, hugged and kissed him and left. And early the next morning I got a call in the hotel room that he was gone. I am very grateful that I got to spend that last day with him. 
So what do I remember about my dad? You know, he wasn't a very huggy, feel-ey person. But I knew that he cared about me, about all of us. He worked very hard to provide for us - and he showed his love for us in the way he provided for us and cared for us. He washed dishes, he did laundry, he even sewed a costume for me one time (I needed a sheik costume and he came through on that).
He loved coffee - drank coffee all the time - which is another thing I inherited from him. When I was an adult I would go visit him and Rita. Dad and I would sit at the kitchen table and drink tons of coffee. We both liked it black with no cream or sugar. 
And my dad could talk to anyone. It was just an assumption that whenever we stopped for gas he would get out and talk to the guy pumping the gas. (Yes - this was way before self-serve stations). 
Plus, he could sit straight up and fall asleep anywhere. And if we got up to change the channel on the tv he would wake up and tell us he was watching that show. Thanks to him I can now fall asleep sitting up too - but if you wanted to change the channel I wouldn't care. 
So switching to today...... I went to church and Pastor Mark had a very good sermon on fathers and absent fathers. At the end of the service he invited all fathers, grandfathers, etc. to come forward and share in a prayer asking for help to be the fathers that God has intended for them to be. It was an excellent message. 

I sat in the balcony this morning.

 And finally - Wade sent me a picture of his goodie shelves. He is having a hard time eating the food that is prepared for him, but he does have snacks and goodies to fall back on if needed. 

This office is a pretty popular place to visit and they are sharing the goodies with other people that come by too. This week I will be stocking up on Little Debbies to ship off to him. 

Day 104

Today is Saturday. Jaide & Jared spent the night and surprisingly, they didn't wake up until almost 8:15. We sat for a few minutes and then we got ready to go out for breakfast. I chose to take them to Golden Corral so they could eat whatever they wanted. Well, Golden Corral made money off of me this morning because I just had a serving of scrambled eggs and some grits. It was delicious, but wasn't worth what I paid for it. But oh well, I like taking them to buffets so they can try new things if they want. 

I had to get a few groceries from Walmart and then we came home and watched a little bit more tv. We watched a movie called "Opposite Day" and that was a cute movie. 

I just hung out around the house for the rest of the day. I walked on the treadmill for 90 minutes while I watched episode 1 of "Golden Years".

Wade has been showing pictures of Iraqi food, so here are pictures of Springfield refrigerators:

I love when I clean out the refrigerator and there is actually room in there!!! Let's see, top shelf has eggs, hard boiled eggs, Laughing Cow cheese (which I'm addicted to), hot dogs, tomatoes. Middle shelf: milk, sour cream, and oh.... homemade macaroni salad and homemade potato salad. Bottom shelf: Cokes, iced tea, celery, and a few other things. I made my secret recipe macaroni salad and potato salad for our dinner for tomorrow. I really had to stop myself from making too much which is what I normally do. They are full-fat versions and after the meal I do not want to see any more of them!! 

But I wanted Wade to see the contents of the fridge. He's having a pretty hard time with food issues over there - meaning that most of the food is substandard and his appetite is completely gone. He's lost about 20+ pounds and is on his last notch in his belt. 

We had some good rain today for a while and I'm so glad it waited to pour until I was home and in the house. The weather is supposed to be heating up this week and feel more like summer again.

Nothing very exciting happened today and I'll be working on my Bible study homework this evening. 

Day 103

Friday - Friday - I like Fridays and I didn't even go out anywhere today except to the mailbox. The weather was nice and warm, but since I was out yesterday in the sun, I didn't want to overdo it and get burned. 
I had a nice visit with Wade at the kitchen table this morning. It was evening for him and when we finished, he went to have his dinner. Then he's going to go watch some movies or tv shows and rest. 

I started my next sewing project. I got the material ready (straightening and ironing), laid out the patterns and cut out all the pieces. That part of any sewing project always takes some time to do, so I'm glad that it's done. Now I can concentrate on the actual sewing part next time. I'm hoping that I will be finished in about a week.

It's now evening and Jaide and Jared are here for dinner, movie, and will be spending the night. We had mini cheeseburgers, mini chicken burgers, and potato wedges (Walmart potato wedges). We're watching "Cats & Dogs - Revenge of Kitty Galore". We usually watch another movie (from Netflix) and then off to bed and play a board game or read a book. 

Tomorrow I will be taking them to Golden Corral for breakfast. That way, they can choose whatever they would like for breakfast and I can enjoy mine and not worry about dishes. Smart grandma!!  
Jason is on vacation all next week so he is one happy guy tonight. He's got some projects planned for around the house and yard I think, but I hope that he enjoys his time off too.  

Day 102

Another Thursday and a whole list of activities for the day:

• Women's Bible Study on David (really, really good!!)
• Poopie patrol in the backyard
• Sit and soak up all the vitamin D that I can
• Walk on the treadmill 1 hour
• Relax and take a 20 minute nap in my recliner
• Women of Promise Meeting
• Grocery shopping
• Filling up the car (gas prices went down to 3.49/gal)

Add to that all the travel time, feeding the animals' time, shower, eating my meals, washing dishes, etc. Just a full day. And here is the beautiful sight I saw on my way home tonight from my last activity. This is heading west on River Road and getting ready to turn onto Highway 68. 

Day 101

When I worked in a nursing home, we always talked about how the residents would act strange and odd during full moons. Personalities would change 180 degrees when daytime turned into night.

Not from tonight - but this is some of my Wednesday night kids

Well....... I firmly believe the same is true about children. Tonight was another unbelievable night with the kids at church. We had 45+ kids in that little room upstairs and 4 adults. The age range is 4 years old to those entering 5th in the fall. Wow!!! They were a wiggling, loud, unruly mob for all two hours that we had them. And those two hours felt like ALL DAY LONG!!! And one by one, they would come to ask to go use the restroom or get a drink. And I would say, "Yes, but hurry!! You just might miss something fun!" We would no sooner get their attention and they would shift to something else or just start moving or talking. When we're in the middle of times like this, I wonder, "What the heck am I doing here?" But then 8:30 arrives and children start trickling out the door with parents and I reflect on what went on. How this one might have shared something with me about their week, or tell me a joke, ask to be my helper, or just come give me a hug. THAT'S why I do it. I love being a part of their lives, even though it's a short, brief time. But they will eventually remember all of us teachers spending time with them, teaching important stories about Jesus and how much we really cared for them. 
Had another busy - activity filled day. I went to the doctors this morning, but I had to leave and reschedule because it wasn't quite a year since my last visit and I didn't want to pay for the whole visit myself. Then Jaide and I read together this morning and watched some tv this afternoon. I walked for an hour on the treadmill and finished all my episodes of Desperate Housewives. (They better show a new season this fall). Then I spent the evening at church. So now it's almost 10:00 and I'm relaxing with a little snack in the living room before I head off to bed. 

Day 100

Day 100 - (now in the triple digits for the rest of the time). Today was also our anniversary - as many have mentioned about the lovey-dovey notes they read on Facebook. Sorry................ 
Originally we were planning on having a wedding in August. I had two friends set up to be in the bridal party. We had even picked out dresses and finished lots of the other plans. But somewhere in all this beginning chaos, my parents asked the question - what do you want? A wedding or some cash? Well, the cash won out. Plans were scrapped and we moved the date up to as soon as possible. My dress (the one I'm wearing in the picture) was not an official wedding dress - just a white dress and I think I bought it at Montgomery Wards - either that or JC Penney. Then another decision was made to only invite immediate family and no kids........I really don't know who planned that, but I'm guessing it was my mom. So the plan was set to have the wedding at the church that my parents supported and were members of, that we went to sporadically. Aldersgate United Methodist Church. That day I went to work and was wearing a long, black fancy-type dress because we had a luncheon at work. I raced home and got ready for the wedding. Wade was now living in the apartment that we were going to live in. He came over to my parents' home to wait for me to get ready. Somewhere I have a picture of him sitting at my parents' kitchen table eating an artichoke. So the wedding itself was very short, the minister was also our photographer and there were only a handful of pictures taken. 

This is all the people that were at the wedding. Front row L-R: my dad, my mom, me, Wade, Wade's mom, Dixie, his dad, Bill, Carol Brower and husband, Willie (Wade's brother & sister-in-law). Back row L-R: Diane Brower and husband, Raymond (Wade's brother & sister-in-law), Ann Brower and husband, Rick (Wade's brother and sister-in-law), Gail & Dale Heffron (Wade's sister & brother-in-law), and then my brother, Peter. This was all of us. We had my brother, Pete and Wade's sister, Gail sign the wedding certificate. After it was over we all went out to dinner. There was a cake there too. After that Wade & I drove south and spent the first night in Redwood City. The next morning we drove to Carmel, California and spent one night there. We didn't think about making a reservation so we wound up in a room with two twin beds in Carmel. And the weather was so bad that we went to a movie theatre and watched, "Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry". Sunday afternoon we drove back to our new home and went off to work on Monday morning just like normal. Wedding and honeymoon over in 2 1/2 days. That's pretty fast. 
Now today was a busy day for me. I went to Hannah House in the morning. Then we all went to Golden Corral for lunch and a group session. There are three women that are living at Hannah House right now. One mother with a 2 month old girl, one mother with a 2 yr. old and expecting another in October, and the last woman is expecting her baby after the first of the year. Selena had a small Bible lesson/devotional. I enjoyed sitting and sharing with all these women. 
Then I discovered how long it takes me to bowl 2 games when I'm alone - exactly 20 minutes. What a quick time that was. I saw lots of people at the bowling alley that I knew, but I just got in - bowled my two free games - and left. Then I went to Lowe's and bought a new wheelbarrow, some things for Jason, and three new doormats for the three front doors. The ones that I had before were from the previous owners and were faded and worn. I wanted something a little bit newer and nicer. 
Tonight I had a Sunday School planning meeting at church with Pastor Patty and then a Weight Watcher meeting. Now I'm home and ready to rest and relax for the rest of the night. 
Wade is doing good. Someone sent him a box full of "Mexican Fiesta" foods in the mail and he got them today. It was fun to hear about that. 

Day 99

Another beautiful day in terms of weather. When I first woke up, it was gray and overcast, but by 11:00 it was sunny and just slightly warm. 
First thing I did after I fed the dogs, was take some packages over to the post office to mail to Wade. Let's hope that they get there soon. Some-times it seems like forever for something to reach him. 
By 10:00, Wade was calling me on skype and we had another nice long visit. I really look forward to my Monday and Friday mornings and that time I get to spend with him. We finished around close to 11:00. My day was just starting and he was headed for dinner and then an evening of rest. 

This is a picture of one of Wade's students at Wright Patt AFB and this is Wade's office - actually 'old' office. They are renovating it to hold someone else. There won't be any more cave on the wall, no more superhero decorations, and that desk top will go into storage (hopefully). I think Wade wants to use that desk top for something else when he returns. The talk is that his old office is turning back into a boring office. 
At noon I went outside in my backyard with Wade's lawn chair, some coffee, my phone (as an alarm clock) and my kindle. I intended to spend 30 minutes soaking up some Vitamin D. I left the back door open and all the dogs ran out as usual. My cat, Opie, however was very timid and wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. He sniffed around on the back porch and did venture down the stairs a few times, but Sheba appointed herself "Official Cat Sitter" and got Opie back up the stairs. Then Sheba sat at the bottom of the stairs and made sure that Opie didn't get out. It was funny to watch their interaction. Sheba's not very bossy, but she did not want Opie in the yard. I got a good dose of sun and actually turned a little red but just a little.

Today was the first day of our summer 'tradition' of Kids Bowl Free. We started this last year. The local bowling alley accepts coupons for Kids Bowl Free. And I buy the adult pass which costs about 15 dollars for the whole summer. This allows us to bowl 2 games every day of the week for FREE!!! We have to pay for shoe rentals, but it's a great treat to do this at least once a week. Both Jaide and Jared have improved compared to last year. They did great. 

First game

And second game. 

 I don't think the air conditioner went on at all today which is a nice change. Over all, I believe this was a good day. Now I'm enjoying a big green salad with tuna fish and lots of veggies - a great summer-type dinner.