I Hate BTI

But only when I miss it. ;-)

I've discovered one of the great mysteries of life: while you're at BTI the time just flashes past and you find yourself saying "It's over tomorrow?! No way--we just got here!" but when you're wishing you were at BTI it creeps along at a snail's pace. A sick and lethargic snail. It's the longest two weeks of the year, meandering by while you think, "They're in morning devotions right now... I wonder what they're singing... Who's speaking today?... I wonder what classes are going on right now..." Then evening comes. "Who's preaching tonight and what wonderful move of the Holy Ghost are they enjoying? Who's lives are being forever changed--especially all those young people in this amazing and pivotal time of their lives." Stuff like that.

And yet... I really don't feel jealous. No, I take that back. There are moments when I feel very jealous. :-) Then I remember that I had my years there--a whole lot in a row--during that fantastic season of teenage/early twenties, and I really do love it that there are other "kids" there now learning and growing and making dear friends and creating lasting memories. It's their turn. Still, I really wish I was there to watch it all--and do some more learning and growing of my own.

One other observation:

Missing BTI makes you not want to blog. ;-)

But there's been so much going on this week, a thousand things to blog about and now I'm way behind and I haven't even been taking notes. Ready for random?

It's been a red letter week around here this week. Lots of big goings on. I got all of the ironing caught up for the very first time since living in Alabama. That's HUGE. Pitiful, but true. The kids finished school this week. Big, exciting event. James spent most of the week in bed. Not exciting, but maybe a new record. (He's been really sick, not just lazy. Felt like I should clarify. Ha!) We had our first encounter with a venomous snake. Oh, all kinds of things.

Last Sunday we went to church, then went out to eat with the Ridlespurges, then went to the Ridlespurges house to visit throughout the rest of the afternoon, then went to church that night, then went out with the Ridlespurges again. Katie and Katie dubbed it "RidleHorne Day." Ha! It just sort of worked out that way and I'm so glad it did. We had such a great time being with them, as we always do.

What else?

We met Brother Hopkins at "our" house, along with a contractor he knows. We're having the guy give us an estimate on constructing a garage for us. We also had the septic and termite inspections done this week. They turned out good and the termite guy was also able to take care of the mold problem in the crawl space that turned out to not be mold after all, just fungus. Either way, it's been treated and should no longer be an issue. Everything seems to be moving along, one step at a time.

I got the utility room all cleaned up and floor scrubbed this week. Oh--I didn't mention WHY I finally conquered the ironing. I had been keeping the ironing board set up by the dining table so that I could work on ironing while helping the kids with school. I had somehow misplaced my Bible for a few days and was going NUTS trying to find it. I had looked everywhere (house, van, church) multiple times and finally just about tore the house apart one morning looking for it. No good. It's maddening because, though it says the same thing, using somebody else's Bible just doesn't feel right--it's not familiar like your own, you know?! Anyway, later that day I found my Bible. Under a stack of ironing. ~sigh~ That's a sure sign that things are out of control and it's time to take action, right?! I figured it was God telling me that it's time. So that's what I did that day. FINISHED. ~aaaaaahhhh~ It felt GREAT. And it's continued to feel great because I've washed several loads of laundry since then and immediately ironed everything, so I'm STILL caught up--except for the last load tonight that's still in the dryer. Makes me very, very happy. :-)

Okay, here's something worth blogging.

At 8:30 or 9:00 Thursday night the kids were outside hunting for toads, a late night privilege we allow them from time to time. I was upstairs when I heard Katie and Joe BURST through the front door in a panic--a true blue sort of panic--yelling, "Copperhead!!!" They've been somewhat panicked over a few things here and there, but this was excitement to a whole new level and there was absolute certainty in their voices--no doubts about their claim. So James and I got our shoes on as quickly as we could and grabbed a gun, Brother Powell's walking stick, and a lantern. In the meantime I kept asking, "Where's Sam???" and finally one of the kids said that he was still outside. I started to join in the panicky feeling at that point! Ha! Katie and Joe had rushed to tell us about the snake while Sam stayed to keep watch and see where it might go. A good plan, really--but not a comforting one to a Mom! We went out and found the snake--about 18" long, I guess--on the pavement up by the field. James didn't want to use the gun and damage the Powell's driveway, so the walking stick ended up being the weapon of choice. James beat the thing's brains out (literally--gross) and then slung it out into the woods somewhere. Apparently the snake had been right next to Katie when Joe saw it. He immediately recognized it as a copperhead and yelled at her, pointing it out. Then Charlie got involved, going right up to it and barking and I think they said even pawing at it. DUMB DOG. In the end, we had a dead snake, three unharmed children, and even an unharmed dumb dog who was trying to do his dogly duty without understanding he's a poodle, not a doberman.

The night before, James had stayed home sick while the kids and I had gone on to church. As I was driving home and nearing the house--the last 3 miles or so--I had this really strange, uneasy feeling. It was a hair-stand-up-on-the-back-of-your-neck sort of sense, akin to fear but not really fear. It was almost like a feeling of impending danger--like something was wrong, or that something bad could (or was about to?) happen. It was especially strange because I don't get "feelings." I'm sooooo insensitive to so many things (even obvious things most of the time!) and I just don't have the discernment to pick up on things that other people seem to pick up on. But this was a very strong and urgent feeling. I didn't feel fearful, but I did feel a sharp awareness and alertness to my surroundings, a cautious anticipation of some sort. I spent the rest of the trip home praying and asking God to keep his hand on my children, my husband, myself; that He would protect us from any harm or danger--since that's what I was feeling.

I've done a lot of thinking and praying since then, thanking God. Perhaps the Holy Ghost was leading me to pray and reach the Lord on behalf of the danger that was presently unknown to me. Who's to say that the snake hadn't been right in our path the night before when we walked from the van to the house? Maybe God protected us from it then. Or perhaps my prayers on Wednesday night were for Thursday night--and God answered when my children discovered, almost stepped on, but were unharmed by a venomous snake. How many times does God protect us from dangers unseen and unknown to us--and most of the time we never do know that we were in danger. How many injurious or fatal accidents have been avoided while we rest ignorantly in His care? ~sigh~ We can't possibly grasp the amazing gift that we have received by being HIS, in His care, under His watchful eye, and protected by His almighty power.

Friday was the big, exciting LAST DAY OF SCHOOL around here. Katie and Joe both managed to finish up on their computer school, working until nearly 9:00 that night to pull it off. Sam worked and worked throughout the day, doing two or three times the usual amount of work in order to finish up his school book on the same day the others finished. Ah, yes--Sam...

We've always done this thing at our house. When a kid learns to read--really read, not just a word here and there--they get a Bible of their very own. Well, James brought a Bible home for Sam a few days ago. He's been doing sooooo good with his reading and trying sooooo hard. He was sooooooo excited when James gave him his own Bible! And I was AMAZED at how much better his reading was the next day in school! It's like it did something in his head; like it's the license proving that he really can read now or something. I'm so proud of him. :-) Reading came so easily to Katie and Joe. Sam excels in so many other areas, but has always really struggled in this one. He's had to work so hard to achieve the "reader" status that his new Bible declares. :-)

Okay--winding down now. It's getting late and I've got a super early morning. I'll make it quick...

Yesterday we discovered bushes in the yard with lovely little black berries all over them. Raspberries! Yum! The kids ate a lot of them, then I helped them collect more, came inside and made a pie that was way, way too good. We ate the whole thing. :-) What a great day!!!

Today the kids and I got up early and met up with the Powell's son and daughter-in-law, Spencer and Shayla, and their three daughters. We went to a U-Pick farm and spent an hour or so sweating like pigs ~bleagh~ and picking the most gigantic blackberries I've ever seen in my life, followed by the sweetest and best blueberries I've ever tasted. What a great way to start the day!!! Then we all came back to the house and visited for a while, the Powells grabbed a few things they needed out of the basement, and we all went down to the cafe to have lunch together. We visited there for quite a while, too. I enjoyed every minute of it. :-) What a great family. I so thoroughly enjoyed our time with them. They're so nice to visit with and we have a lot of things in common. And their girls are just so, so sweet. And apparently they read my blog. Hi, girls!!! :-) I'm so glad we were finally able to get together for a little while. We've been planning on it for months now.

I need to iron and fold my last load of laundry, then wrap up the packing. We're leaving early in the morning to drive to Somerville for service, then we'll be in West Lawrence tomorrow night. After that, we're planning on going to Cleveland. We'll be there for our Alabama Banquet/Fellowship/Get-Together/Meal Thing on Monday night, then James will leave the kids and me there for the remainder of the week (wa-hooooo!) and he'll come back for the graduation ceremony/Heritage Day service on Saturday, after which we'll all head home. I'm soooooo excited!!! At least I'll be able to sneak in on PART of BTI this year!

And, as I'm sure you know, I probably won't be blogging while I'm there. I'll be with PEOPLE. :-)

Before I go, PICTURES! Though I'm sorry to say I don't have any great ones.

Here's a picture of the kids trying to solve a dilemma. That beam that crosses between the two pillars has been collecting things. Rubber band, paper airplanes, I don't know what all. I'm pretty sure the Powell's didn't have this problem, but it's been happening ever since we moved in. (By the way, have I mentioned there is a foam dart trapped in one of the ceiling fan light fixtures wa-a-a-a-a-a-ay up high? It's been there for a long time no and I have NO idea how to get it down. I think we may just leave it for the Powells to remember us by. HA!) Anyway, Joe decided to try to knock the stuck items down by shooting them with rubber bands.



The result, of course, was a big pile of rubber bands on top of all the other stuff. Ha! I finally stood on a stool and was able to get high enough to sling a towel over the top of the beam several times and drag the items off. So it's clean. For now.

And this is one of Sam's projects this week. He got his hands on this little motor that spins a tiny metal rod really fast when you touch two wires to opposite ends of a battery. With a little help from his Dad, Sam soon had a functioning windmill that was later modified to become a helicopter, among other things. I love it when he does stuff like this. :-)




And finally, though I completely failed in the picture department today (I left my camera in the van while we were picking berries!), I did take this one when we got home. Aren't those blackberries HUGE?!



Okay, that's it. Have a wonderful Sunday and a great week! And overlook all of the errors. I'm way to tired to proof read anything tonight. :-)