Thanksgiving

Mom & Jacob came up for Thanksgiving week (Sunday - Saturday). It was so nice having them here. Our week was full & pretty busy, but at the same time, we got to just hang out & relax a good bit.

When we picked them up from the airport Sunday & brought them back to the house, it had been snowing most of the morning, there was about an inch of snow on everything & it was still coming down. When we got up Monday morning, there was a little more snow & the temperature wasn't supposed to get above freezing all day. Olivia went to school & Eric went to work. Around lunch, the post commander shut down post & sent everyone home, so we went & got Olivia out of school early when Eric came home. We all got bundled up & played in the snow for a while. By this time, it had been really coming down all day & there was a nice, soft, powdery 3-inch cover on everything.

Tuesday, school was cancelled due to road conditions. It had snowed more the night before & temps were in the 20s. Wednesday was more of the same- no school for Olivia & white stuff everywhere. Mom & I spent the day cooking our (Wednesday night) Thanksgiving meal. Olivia & Jacob went to see "Mega Mind". We had a great dinner: Dr. Pepper basted turkey, cornbread dressing, gravy, mashed sweet potatoes w/ cinnamon & sugar apples, baby lima beans, broccoli casserole, rolls, cranberry sauce, sweet tea, pumpkin-chai cheesecake w/ caramel-rum sauce & pecan pie!!!

Thursday, Eric, Jacob & Olivia went to Chrystal Mountain to go skiing & snowboarding. Olivia got a lesson on skiing & got to ride a snowmobile. Eric took some pics for me with a water proof camera. I'll get those up once they're developed. Jacob made a new canine friend. ;)  Mom, Adelle & I stayed at the house to get some packing done. Yeah... We packed some... We watched the Macy's Parade (USM's band- The Pride of Mississippi- marched). There was also some football-watching & napping taking place... But, hey- that's tradition, right?! That night, Eric & Jacob went to Toys 'R' Us to the "doors-open-at-10am-for-crazy-people" sale. They stood in line OUTSIDE for an hour & a half and then stood in the checkout line INSIDE for an hour & a half. Got the last one on the shelf of what we wanted.

Friday, Mom, Olivia & I went shopping for a while. Made a few small purchases. We weren't going for any of the "big-ticket" items. Later, we played some Apples-to-Apples & watched USM play football.

Saturday, we had to take them back to the airport. Boo. Roxy went with her Meme. She was so excited.

We really did have a nice visit. We got some packing done (& I've done a little more since then). Our countdown is now at 35 days. Crazy.

Anyway, I just wanted to share our Thanksgiving. I hope you all had a nice one as well.

Stuff

 I just wanted to share a few things.

1) Adelle did something too funny yesterday. I gave her a bag of bite-sized pretzels for her snack. I watched as she took one out of the bag & stuck the whole thing in her mouth. After it had been there a good two minutes & she had sucked all the salt off of it, she stuck it back in the bag & got another one. Eww!!

2) My computer keyboard is being weird. If I type too fast, it's like the poor thing can't keep up & it completely skips random letters. If I'm not careful, my words are incomplete & spell check goes crazy. It's quite frustrating.

3) Mom & Jacob will be here in about 72 hours.

4) A lady is coming to visit Lucky today. I placed an ad for him. He doesn't really fit in with our family. Don't worry about Eric though... He'll get another birthday present.

5) The more I put it off, the more I realize how much stuff we have in this house to pack up. And, we only have 45 days in which to do it.

I think that's it for now. If anything really cool happens, I'll let ya know.  :)

The Separation of Church and...

Me.

I'm not sure who all actually reads my blog. With that being said... Some of you may (or may not) be surprised by the fact that over the past 14 months, I have been to church a total of about 5 times. Anyone care to know why or would you like to go ahead and start judging me right away?

At first, I was angry. I pouted with God for quite some time for taking my dad before He should have. It's all part of the grieving process. Anger is one of the steps. So, I went through it (btw... I'm still not "un-angry" about it). That part passes, as best it can, and then a deeper depression hits.

I tried going back, but everything the pastor said made me even more sad than I already was. I ended up crying (bawling, really) & had to leave. What was the point in even going if I wasn't going to sit & listen?

Then, it became more of a personal thing for me... I mean, socially... Which church should never be about... Anyway- our family's absence did not prompt ANYONE from the church to visit, write, call, text, etc. Not the pastor, or the associate pastor or the music team or any member of the congregation. Now, I realize that we are not official "members" of the church. It's mainly because we knew we were up here temporarily & didn't see the point of moving our letters repeatedly. However, we have been attending the same church since August of 2008. Not just attending either. We were very active. Eric played in the praise team 2-3 services pretty much every week (work permitting) & I sang some & everyone knew Olivia.

We went a few weeks ago. Would you believe that the pastor didn't say hi. Neither did the associate pastor. Or anyone from the praise team. The only people that spoke to us were the couple sitting beside us. Nice, right? And, the associate pastor was preaching, of all things, about how if one member of the church is missing or not living up to their spiritual potential then the whole church suffers. Yeah, right! They don't even notice when you're not there!

I think what makes it worse for me is the fact that the associate pastor's kid goes to the same school as Olivia. They used to be friends. Now, when his wife (or he, sometimes) stands outside of the school in the afternoons waiting to pick up kids, I don't get so much as a smile or a nod or a wave- nothing. And, last week, a [good] friend of mine snapped at me for not being in church lately. She didn't bother to ask why.

I talk to God every day. That's MY business. Church is supposed to feel like family and I've yet to find one that does. Which leads me to my next point...

I AM a member of FBC Purvis and I have not received one call, text, letter, email, etc from ANYONE in that church since my dad passed away (almost 14 months ago). My mom is also a member- has been since before I can remember. Everyone there knows there. Heck, everyone in Purvis pretty much does. And, if they don't, then they knew Daddy or they know Jacob. Would you believe that not one person from her church has called or stopped by to check on her? Not one. Not even the pastor himself. After church one day, Mom even told him she'd like for him to come over & he said, "Thank you". Guess what...? He never came. Or called. I want to quote some scripture now...
James 1:27:²⁷Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction..."
Well, folks, although she despises the term, my mother is a widow & this is her time of affliction. I don't think it gets more clear than that. Shouldn't SOMEONE godly be checking on her?

I'm not perfect. I don't now, nor have I ever claimed to be. I just want to put this out there for everyone: I'm not a heathen. I may not go to church when & where you want me to. I pray. I have taught Olivia the importance of prayer. I have my priorities exactly the way I think they should be. I do not believe that every waking moment should be spent in church. Just because the doors are open doesn't mean I have to enter them. Some people are so determined to be there ALL THE TIME & to give every bit of their energy & focus to God that they neglect spending quality time with their family. You have to have a balance. I do not judge people for going just as I do not judge people for not going. I have some Baptist friends & some Methodist friends. I have friends that are Catholic. My dearest friend up here is a former Jehovah's Witness. And, I have a Mormon friend. I also have friends that don't go at all. It's who you are & what you do that matters to me.

There are always church-goers that can't figure out why "outsiders" don't want any part of religion. Maybe it's because there are so many people pretending to care. People get dressed up & smile at you inside the doors of the church, but that's about it. Like I said... It's actions that matter.

If you feel like sharing this with people you know, go ahead. I'm not ashamed nor am I hiding anything. My Purvis friends have my permission to forward it if you'd like. Maybe it will get someone's attention.

Thank you. The end.

I wanna drive fast.

I don't know if it's the scenery up here, or the fact that I've read all the Twilight books more than once, or a combination of those two things, but lately, I find that I wanna drive really fast. Let me explain...

According to the books, vampires, more specifically the Cullens, drive very fast. We're talking upwards of 160-180mph. The setting for the story is up here in the Olympic Peninsula. The roads are winding. There is almost always a thick fog seeping through the lush foliage & underbrush on either side of the road. I can't describe to you how beautiful I find this to be.

At any rate, I want a fast car (& I suppose immortality), so that I can drive like they do.

Just sayin'.

Eric got Lucky today...

I know Eric's birthday isn't for another three weeks, but he got an early present today. He got Lucky.

Lucky is a four year old Yorkie. I had seen him advertised on a friend's facebook page a while back. He's registered, very friendly, great with kids & he knows some tricks. The lady was asking $200, which isn't bad. There were several comments under his picture from other people saying stuff like, "He's so cute, but we can't have pets in our apartment", or, "He's precious, but we already have 4 pets", etc... She lowered the price & explained to people that she & her family had to move & they weren't allowed to take him along. She seemed kind of desperate to find him a good home. I checked back every now & then just out of curiosity. About five days ago, he was still available & she was basically saying that he'd have to go to the shelter. I told her that I couldn't pay for him, but if he really needed a place to go, I would try to help her find someone that wanted him. She told me I could have him- that she'd rather he go to a good home for free than to a shelter.

So... She had him groomed, loaded up all his toys & dishes & food, and brought him to meet me. Olivia, Adelle & I surprised Eric this morning. He really had no clue. Thankfully, he likes Lucky. The little guy is cute, well behaved, "fixed", & already seems to be comfortable with us. He ran right in last night, jumped up on the couch, then onto the back of the couch & got comfy there. He & Roxy get along. Adelle even grabbed a handful of his hair & he just whined & looked at me; he didn't growl or snap at her.

Roxy is going home with her Meme in three weeks. She'll be happy there with Sparkle. Roxy doesn't like the cold, rainy weather of WA & she absolutely ADORES her Meme. I have felt bad for a while now that Eric will be making the 5-6 day drive from WA to MS all alone. I was kinda hoping that having Lucky for company might help just a little.

Anyways, that's Eric's early birthday present story. The only thing he mentioned wanting really is a shirt he saw at Target. He'll probably get that & not be at all surprised by it. But, hey... It's $10. And, really... We've already surprised him pretty good.   :)