Monday, December 31, 2007

So Much To Tell

Last Sunday Scott and I and family left for Maryland. It took us about 9 hours. Virginia just seems to go on and on and on. Even though our trip was a long one it was good. It got dark as we were traveling and a full moon came out. The light from the moon lit up the surrounding farmland. It was beautiful! The family spent most of the next 3 days visiting, eating, and just all around having a good time. We went from house to house celebrating. I enjoyed my time immensely. It is always good to visit with family and make new memories.

After our whirlwind of Christmas festivities we decided to head to Ohio to take care of some house business. On Friday Scott and I drove around the area. We were in Rushsylvania and talked to some of the people that worked at Eversole's. (that is the market, deli, and gas station in town) One thing led to another and we ended up talking to Mrs. Eversole who happens to not only be the owner of the business but is also the village mayor. She spoke with us for I know at least a half hour. (We got many phone numbers and names from her that will be helpful when we begin building.) We were able to learn a lot about the village of Rushsylvania. If everyone in town is as friendly as she is then we will love living there!

On Saturday we were driving around the countryside and admiring the beautiful farm land when Breanna spotted two deer in a field. We watched them and they watched us. All of a sudden they started to run. I mean RUN. I was surprised at how fast they could move. Scott and I had noticed deer prints all over our land when we were out on it the day before. We went by Mr. Daniel Miller's house (the Amish man who will be building our house) but he was not home. We had tried visiting with him on our last trip with no success. (that is one thing about the Amish, one has to be there to talk to them, no telephones or computers) Well, we drove into the nearby town and thought we'd ask around and see if anyone knew him. Our thought was that maybe we had the wrong house. Well, we walked into a little antique shop and there were 4 Amish women in there. I was nervous but approached them to ask about Mr. Miller. They were very kind and helpful. We found out that Mr. Miller is a bachelor so he didn't have any family at the house...no wonder no one was ever home during the day! They suggested we go back around 7 or 8 to speak with him. I laughed when the older lady said, "if he's not there when you get there just hang around and he will show up." (I'm sure he'd not find it strange to have a van of 'Englishers' sitting in his driveway at night.) Long story short, we went back at 7. He wasn't there we left and so we went to the gas station and when we got back there was a flicker of light in the window. He was home! He was a young man, maybe 25? Black trousers, blue shirt and suspenders. He doesn't have the beard as young bachelor men don't have to grow one. (after marriage they grow the beard) He had a woodburning stove in his living area. Boy did it put off the heat. He had oil lamps for light....but Scott and I did find it interesting that he used a hand cranked flash light. (the kind people use for camping) It was amusing that he asked Scott how he found his house, "Do you have the GPS?", he asked. "Those are cool." It was a merging of two totally different worlds. He was a very nice young man. We liked him a lot and he really seems to know and understand all the zoning issues, and permits needed in order to build. He said he would put up our house, "not a problem".

We finished up our trip with a visit to Calvary Baptist Church in Bellefontaine. We really liked it a lot and I think that will probably be the church we will attend once we move. It is only about 15 min. from where home will be in Rushsylvania.

All in all we had a good trip. We were exhausted when we got home last night, but had spent a great week visiting family and working on the details to get ready to build the house.

Sunday, December 30, 2007

Happy Anniversary

I am only going to blog for a minute tonight. I will fill everyone in on our exciting trip to Maryland and Ohio tomorrow. Today is Scott's and my 2nd anniversary. Wow. It really seems a lot longer than that. Of course I only mean that is the best sense. hehehe..... Now most couples who have only been married for 2 years would still be in the "what are we going to do for our anniversary, dear?" stage. Honestly, Scott and I (of course because of our great wisdom and maturity) are only interested in getting some sleep and (hopefully) some peace and quiet tonight. We sound old. We had a good trip back home today but 5 people being cooped up in a van together for hours is a bit nerve wracking. I knew it was a long trip when Scott started pretending to be Judy Garland as he sang Somewhere Over The Rainbow. What's even more scary is that I thought he sounded pretty good as Judy. What really had me worried is that he started singing I've Been Working On The Railroad and I started singing back up. I was the "do-wop" girl. What is even scarier than that, is that our children have camera phones. Uhh.....I hope the two of us don't end up on You Tube.

Sunday, December 23, 2007

On The Road Again

The Gibson family is getting ready to leave for their 9 hour drive to Maryland. The weather here in Tennessee is kind of yucky and rainy. I think the weather is not supposed to be all that great up in Maryland either. Please pray that we have a safe (and uneventful) trip up the road. I haven't seen my aunts, uncles and cousins in a few years so I'm excited about this Christmas visit. I also am excited that I get to "show off" my new family. Scott will fit right in as an "old school" gamer. My family loves word games so they will enjoy playing with the Boggle king. I'm sure we will have fun. I'm also sure that we will gain weight on this trip. (I'm not going to think about that!) If I don't get the opportunity to blog for a while just know that it is because I'm so busy enjoying Christmas. I'll blog all about it when I get home.

Friday, December 21, 2007

A Night At The Theatre

Kendrick and I had such a good time tonight on our "mom-date". After dinner we went to the Old Tennessee Theatre. It was recently remodeled to all it's glory. Wow is all I have to say. Kendrick and I walked into the foyer area after I picked our tickets up at the front window. Huge chandeliers, velvet drapes. It was built during the "gilded" age. Very ornate trim and paintings. Fifteen minutes before the movie started a man rose out of the orchestra pit in front of the stage. He was playing Christmas music on the mighty Wurlitzer organ. He did an excellent job and it was exciting...I mean who hears that kind of music anymore? It was a special treat. The movie was in black and white, and I really felt like the two of us were transported back in time to when going to the theatre was a big deal. It was an event. It was NOT like going to the movies today, when you can go to the mega-plex and squeeze in with half a million other people. As we left the theatre the staff handed out candy canes and wished us all a MERRY CHRISTMAS!! What an awesome evening we had. We walked through the downtown back to the parking lot. The city was quiet and there wasn't much traffic at 10 o'clock at night. It was just the best evening. I know Kendrick will remember this evening we spent together...and that is what really makes my heart happy.

I'm having a vision...

In the wee hours of the morning I had a dream...or a vision....or a premonition....whatever you want to call it. I dreamed that Scott and I had not built, but bought this HUGE house. HUGE. I remember running into one of the bathrooms and dancing because there was so much space. Then I ran into the master suite and danced and jumped around the room and then I took off like a shot down the long hallway. I ran back and forth from one end of the house to the other like some sort of Olympic track star. I was so excited that I couldn't sit down. I was bouncing around like a kid on a pogo stick. It was the funniest thing. Now, my take on this dream is this: We are so space challenged right now that I'm only able to see wide open spaces in my dreams. I have house building on my mind, and so therefore I'm dreaming of BIG houses with lots of space. OR this could just be a premonition of my onset of insanity, where I believe I am a kangaroo and so must hop everywhere I go. You pick. All I know is that in this new house we will have space....glorious space.....and I won't have to trip over boxes or stub my toes on the vacuum cleaner that now sits in the hallway, or dig through piles of clothes just to find what I am looking for in the closet.

Maybe my subconscious is telling me that even though I am living in a small space for now, that it will be worth it because in the not so far future I WILL be able to run from one end of the house to the other and not trip on anything! Hey, I'll let you know if tonight I dream about being an astronaut....you know sticking with the whole space theme.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

An Early Christmas

We are going to be traveling over the Christmas holidays so we decided to have the family Christmas celebration early at the Gibson household. The kids were all thrilled with their electronic gizmos and gadgets, clothes and toys. After opening presents they were all in their "virtual world" for a good part of the evening. I bought Scott a huge nail gun from Home Depot, it looks like something Arnold Swartzanegger would have used in his Terminator movie. (that is what he wanted! who am I to say anything about tastes in gifts?) He likes the tools, what can I say? He got me a Kitchen Aid mixer. It is pretty nice. Who am I kidding? This new model does everything but wash the windows and make the bed. It is quite something...of course I had a difficult time just getting the bowl off of the stand...obviously I will need some practice in using such a high tech kitchen device. (Just between you and me I think he has ulterior motives in buying me this gift.) He also bought me a paraffin wax basin that one dips their hands and feet in and it makes them soft. Very nice. Almost spa-like. I made sure to read the instructions carefully so as not to give myself 2nd and 3rd degree burns from hot wax while trying to beautify myself. That would not make for good Christmas pictures if I had to wear bandages from a hand treatment gone bad.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Uh Oh...

Uh Oh...if it's left up to me we might live in a cave! Okay people, now this is serious business. Scott is now talking to me about lighting choices for the new house. What do I like? I don't know! I have to think about it. I have to mull it over. Work lighting. Accent lighting. On the wall? In the ceiling? Free standing light sources? Up lights? Down lights? Oh, good grief! I think I'm getting light headed. I did not realize how many decisions there were going to be in building our own house, and we've barely started this housing journey. Scott had me over at Home Depot tonight. (It seems like we spend a good portion of our waking hours at that particular home improvement destination.) We looked at lights. We stared at the lights. (note: staring at bright lights is not a good idea...I saw spots for quite some time afterwards.) We discussed the lights. We asked one of the guys some questions about the lights. We still have no idea what to do about the lights. We did buy a lighting product catalog to study. Who knew the invention of electricity would cause such a quandary? People had it much easier when there were just candles and lanterns.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

A Shave and a Haircut...2 Boys!

Okay, I'm weirded out a little bit. Bradley is 16. He is as tall as I am, he's been shaving for about a year now. Kendrick is 12, he is also as tall as I am and his voice is beginning to change. My little boys aren't so little anymore. Sometimes I will disassociate myself from the situation and just try to look at them objectively. I can't believe how fast they are growing. It scares me too. I don't think I'm ready for my boys to start turning into men. I know I don't really have a choice...but I'm just not ready yet. I realize I still have some time left, let's face it they don't seem very "manly" when they are rolling around on the floor wrestling, or making gross bodily function noises and giving themselves a high five for it. Yuck. Then they definitely seem their age! I have such hopes and dreams for them. I long for them to grow up to be the kind of men that others look to for direction . Strong both in mind and body. Kind to those they meet, and always willing to help others. Loving husbands and fathers. I want for them to be men after God's own heart. Men that will desire to study His word and apply it to their lives. Men who have a passion for the Lord. Do you remember the movie Passion of the Christ? One of the most touching scenes of that movie (besides the actual crucifixion) for me was when Mary was having flashbacks of when Jesus was a toddler and then a little boy, then a teenager, and finally she was drawn back to the present watching her son carry His cross. Those scenes pulled at my mothers heart. How must if have been for Mary? To watch her son grow, knowing that he was fully human, yet fully God? When she grabbed his little toddler hand in her own, or washed his dirty face, when she tucked him in at night, or watched him play, when she saw him work with his daddy, or want to go on walks by himself. I guess I got to thinking about all that because Christmas is so close at hand. Christ the Savior was born. Sometimes I get so caught up in the holiday festivities that I don't give full due to the fact that God humbled Himself and came to this earth as a child. That is still so amazing to me. Merry Christmas to everyone.

Monday, December 17, 2007

A Psychological Study

A study should be done on the brains of people who dare to go shopping so close to Christmas. Insanity might come up in the report. More than once. Scott and I hit Wal-mart yesterday. Hit is a good word. That is what I wanted to do to the lady in front of me that was moving at the pace of a snail. She was not disabled in any way. She was just too busy chatting with her shopping partner and didn't bother to get out of the aisle. I almost ran her down with my cart. I don't know what came over me. Maybe holiday hysteria. Is that a medical term? She's just lucky I gained my composure before I mowed her down and left nothing but some tire tracks on her back and a few pieces of Christmas wrapping paper in my wake. After I got around her, I was looking for some jeans for my middle son. (Don't worry, he's getting other stuff besides just clothes.) Whoever was there before me left the jeans in a shamble. Obviously, this person was not much of a folder. I had to dig around in what had become a massive pile of jeans. I found the correct size of jeans, but not before I almost passed out from lack of oxygen during the denium avalanche. It wasn't pretty. At this point, I beat a hasty retreat to the electronics department, where I knew that I would find my husband. Yep, sure enough. There he was. I got a few other things and we were out of that insane asylum. The same sort of drama went on at Target,Home Depot and Best Buy. At Best Buy the shoppers are herded through corrals to get to the cashier. I started to know what it is that a cow feels like. By the time one gets to the cash register, she's so exhausted and mind-numbed, that she would gladly sign away the rites to her first born if they'd just give her that stupid electronic gizmo that she's lugged all over the store.

After all this Scott and I were exhausted. We decided we needed to have some sustenance in order to keep our energy up. This led us to IHOP. We were finishing up dinner when we saw a friend of mine that I used to work with at school. She stopped by our table to chat and laughingly mentioned that she has seen us out and about on several different evenings...but never with the kids. Did we do something to our children?? Uhhh....umm....no. We need to get away from them (and them from us) for a little while. That is one of the glorious things about home schooling and working from home---we are together ALL THE TIME during the day. Sometimes we just need a break. It's good for all of us. Hey, Scott and I need to have some adult time once in a while. This reprieve allows my nervous eye tic to settle down and the muscles in his neck and face to relax a little bit. Then it's all good again and we can go back home.

Well, I'm in for the evening. I've washed the dishes, straightened up around here, and balanced the check book. The kids are working and trying to finish up their school assignments for the day. Scott is working at his computer. Life is calm right now. I take a deep breath. It's so peaceful. Okay, that moment is over. Now what am I going to fix for dinner????

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Baby It's Cold Outside!

I'm glad it is cold. It actually feels like Christmas. (I just don't understand how people who live in South Florida or in California can feel Christmas-y in shorts and t-shirts.) I have about 50 bazillion things to do this week. (Do you ever notice when reading my blogs, that when I feel overwhelmed I tend to exaggerate? Really, it's not 50 bazillion, it's more like 30 trillion.) Scott and I have been good shoppers for everyone else so far, but when it comes to our own children we are slackers. I told Scott that we would have to go out this afternoon and do some shopping. Fight the crowds. Scavenge and hunt. Walk the malls. Unload some of our money at Best Buy. Either that or our kids might disown us! Hmmm, maybe that is an idea....... no, just teasing.

Tomorrow I have Bradley at the dentist to get his crown, and Kendrick to the orthodontist to get his braces/appliance adjusted, both are scheduled at 10:30 am. Now, I know I have sometimes pulled off being in two places at once (don't ask questions, just accept it....I've been known to defy science---and no I'm not talking about my cooking!) I'm not superwoman so lucky for me these two doctors offices happen to be right next door to each other. I can go back and forth to check on the boys. I need to do a little more shopping (after today), deliver presents to my school friends, my sister-in-law is going to visit with her two boys sometime this week and we are going to make cookies and hot chocolate, and Friday I'm taking Kendrick out on our Mom-date. We are going to the Tennessee Theater to see Miracle on 34th Street. ( I took Bradley out this past Friday. We had a good time and talked a lot. He is an interesting boy when one can actually get him to sit still and have a conversation.) I do enjoy these "dates" with the kids. Even if they think their mom is goofy. I mean that might very well be true, but that is beside the point.

Friday, December 14, 2007

Living in "Mayberry"

Rushsylvania, Ohio. Population of about 650 people. Future home of the Gibson family. On Tuesday morning Scott and I left the kids to sleep in the hotel room. (we didn't get in until 3 am in the morning, so they were tired) We went to the look at the property. It had snowed and was windy so the cornfields had snow blowing across them. Unknown to me until this trip, Rush Creek Township has some of the highest spots in Ohio. (1200 feet above sea level--the highest spot being 1500) Sooo...there is some wind. We found the land and Scott wanted to get out and look it over. (It is a nice, slightly rolling 6 acres) Being the good wife that I am, I got out too. I had on jogging pants and sweatshirt, a coat, and tennis shoes. I mentioned that it had snowed and was melting. Let's just say that tennis shoes get very soggy, as do the socks and feet in the tennis shoes, when a woman steps into melting snow. I tried to be a trooper and not complain, even though by this point my feet had turned blue and were feeling very much like ice cubes. Note To Self: Buy a nice pair of winter work boots and make sure they are waterproof!

Scott had set up an appointment with some men from a local concrete company. They met us at the land to look it over. They were super nice guys. They are locals and have lived there their entire life. They know everybody--and I do mean everybody! God definitely had his hand on this meeting. They gave us names and numbers of people. They took us to meet their brother who does excavation. We learned a lot about what needs to be done. Then these guys told us about a house that they had just poured for. Would we like for them to take us over there to look at the place? Now, just let me say that going to this mans house was an interesting experience!! We turned onto this country road between cornfields. It was mud and water...and lots of it. Good grief! It was a good mile back this road (more like a mud pit) to the house. By the time we got there Scott and I looked like we had been mudding. The van was literally covered. We could hardly see out the windows due to the mud splashed everywhere. (I took pictures!) This man had a shop that was built similar to what we are looking at. He had Amish men build it. He told us 6 Amish men built that building in just 3 days. (4800 sq. feet) I was incredulous . It was like a barn raising. All that work and with no electricity. All hand tools. Amazing! Of course, if one wants to work with the Old Order Amish one must meet with them in person, as they don't use telephones or computers. The next day Scott and I did go by this Amish man's (Mr. Miller) house, but no one was home. It was a nice drive though, beautiful farmland. You could tell it was an Amish farmhouse because there were no lights on, and in the driveway one could see very thin marks made from the buggy wheels, no big tires! Oh, and that same day we passed a one room Amish school house. The children were playing outside during lunch. There were some buggies parked in back. The kids were interested in the Amish people. Kendrick wanted to know why they wore such dark colors? (We saw some Amish couples in town in their buggies too.) I explained to him that the Amish are very plain people. They try to live very simple lives and they don't feel they need the bright colored clothing, electricity, or other "modern conveniences".

Another funny kids story... When we were out and about in the country side we had taken a wrong turn. We turned around at a small farm. They had some animals in a pen near the road. We couldn't decide if they were baby deer, baby donkeys, or baby llamas. Kendrick said that we could call them the "llama-donka-deer." That is what we did. We had a good laugh about our "new" animals. Have you ever seen a "llama-donka-deer"? Well, we have!!!

The village of Rushsylvania is small, that is true. (I'm learning how the whole town system works in Ohio. It's all new to me.) It starts with the unincorporated areas, they are very small. Then the villages, next bigger are the towns, and then then there are townships which are like districts. Finally, there are cities. So we will have a Rushsylvania address (about a mile out of Rushsylvania) but we still live in the Rush Creek Township. I know that once we move everyone in town will know everything about us probably within a week. That is fine. This is the type of small town that I read about in my Jan Karon books. (Mitford Series) I'm sure I'll have a lot of interesting people and things to blog about.

Well, I guess that is it for now. I'll keep everyone posted about the ongoing building process, travels, and getting used to the small town life. (Well, Bellefontaine --remember it is pronounced Bell-Fountain--is only 10 minutes away, it is the county seat of Logan County. Bellefontiane is there when we decide we need a Wal-mart trip, some good coffee, a home improvement store, or church.) This is going to be an adventure......

Monday, December 10, 2007

Voice of the Martyrs

I get a magazine from VOM (Voice of the Martyrs) each month. It is always an eye opening and heart wrenching experience. As a Christian I never realized how many brothers and sisters in Christ are persecuted EVERY week because they have chosen to follow Jesus Christ. Pastors in Asian countries are hauled out of their homes with no warning and are thrown in jail indefinitely. Unlike our prisons in the states, these jails don't have TV, work out rooms, or decent food. They suffer for the name of Jesus. Young Indian people who are disowned from their families (some even killed by their own family members) because they have "brought shame" to the family name, all because they proclaim the name of Jesus. They suffer isolation or even death because they love the Lord. Middle Eastern families that fear for their very lives. If it is found out that they are followers of Christ they will be killed. They suffer for their faith. Children in African countries that attended Sunday School classes, where militant Muslims chased the children into the fields, then set the fields on fire. One little boy was burned over most of his body--all because he proclaimed the name of Christ. He suffered for THE NAME.

How dare I ever complain about going to church. How dare I say something if I don't like a certain song, or I think the pastor is preaching too long. I drive to church and park without fear of being shot at or bombed. I don't have to sneak into the building to worship. I get to sit in a padded pew with other Christians who shake my hand and smile at me. I can sing as loud as I want without fear someone will hear me. My family hasn't disowned me and my friends aren't spying on me to see if I am a follower. I live in a country where I am still free to worship Jesus Christ.

God forgive me for my complacency. Forgive me for when I become spoiled and ungrateful. I pray for these brothers and sisters who live for You and die for You all over the world. If I were in their place, what would I do? Would I stand up for You? Or would I be too scared to utter Your name? Would I give up everything I knew, in order to be Your child? Would I boldly proclaim the name of the Son of the Living God? Would I suffer profound persecution knowing that it is all for Your glory? Lord, I am so thankful that I live in the USA where I don't have to worry about these things....but what if I did? What if it came to that in this country? What would I do?

But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ. 1 Peter 4:13

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? ...We are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Romans 8:35,37

Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. Revelations 2:10

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain for the former things are passed away. Revelations 21:4

Friday, December 7, 2007

Ow! That really hurt.

You ever have one of "those" kind of days? I'm bumping into everything. I'm not a clumsy person, normally. Honest. But you'd never know that from how today has gone! Earlier this morning I was coming down the hallway and I crunched my toes on the vacuum cleaner. Now this vacuum cleaner is a Kirby. It is big, strong, has a headlight and sounds like a 747 taking off. Well, when my toes hit THAT I let out a yelp and went into some sort of convulsing chicken dance as I hopped down the hallway. Bradley, who was in the living room, said, "Mom, are you okay? What happened?!" My toes were killing me and through the moaning and squirming around I managed to squeak out that I think I did something terrible to my poor foot. He did give some momentary sympathy. Next, I burned my hand when getting some lunch out of the microwave. Another LOUD ouch on that one. Finally, I went to open the door in the kitchen, it stuck and I didn't realize this until too late. Whack. Forehead against door.

I think I will go sit in a dark closet and wait for this day to be done. I'm scared to fix dinner tonight. It could be dangerous.

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Quotes of the Day

"Even if you are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there." ---- Will Rogers

"Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome." ----Booker T. Washington

"Begin with the end in mind." ----Stephen Covey

"What we obtain too cheap we esteem too little; it is dearness only that gives everything value." ----Thomas Paine

"The best mirror is an old friend." ----Proverb

"Don't be so busy making a living that you forget to make a life." Author Unknown

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Stringing Cranberries

Last night the two younger kids and I decorated the Christmas tree the old fashioned way. It was a lot of fun. I had a bowl of cranberries, a bowl of popcorn (that Scott fixed for us in our cast iron skillet) , a bowl of fruit loop cereal, and a bowl of beads. I gave each of the kids a needle and some yarn. We strung the various foods with the beads and made some really pretty strands to put on the tree. We also added some pine cones and cinnamon sticks to the tree. We finished off last nights decorations with tying bows of silver ribbon onto the tree. I think the tree looks very pretty now. It is not going to win any awards for "perfection", but I don't care anything about that. What is important is that we had fun as a family. The tree smells really good too!

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Entertaining Angels?

Hebrews 13:2 "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels."

Scott and I had an interesting experience last night. Well, let me just tell you the story and then you tell me what you think...

Scott and I were winding down for the night after a competitive game of Boggle:) Scott had gone downstairs and realized that we were totally out of the cat litter...and the situation was dire. He asked me if I would go to Wal-mart with him to get the litter? Now, I didn't want any cat accidents so I said okay, even though at this point it was late and very cold outside. Well, I thought, Wal-mart is only 10 minutes away, we will run in get the litter and run out. So off we went on a cat litter run. We took the back way to Wal-mart which has some houses on it, but other stretches that have no houses and are very dark (no street lights). There are also some parts that have overgrown vegetation and no shoulder on the road. As we were driving along talking we were practically up on this little girl before we even realized she was walking on the side of the road. We drove by her, as there was no time to stop that quickly. Scott and I looked at each other. What is going on here? She is young. I estimated no more than a little 13 or 14 year old. What is she doing out at 12:15 in the morning, in the pitch black and freezing cold? We turned around and came back. Scott rolled down my window and as we stopped next to her I asked her if she would like a ride somewhere? (Now, Scott and I are not ones to pick up just anyone on the side of the road. These days that can be a scary prospect. This little girl just looked like she needed help.) She did accept the ride and we turned the heat on full blast in the car. All this girl had on was a pair of denium shorts, flip flops and a cotton-knit shirt. She was a very attractive little girl...which made me think, "what if someone with less noble intentions had stopped to "help" her?" I shudder to think. She thanked us for the ride and said she was on her way to Wal-mart, could we please take her? She mentioned something about her parents and running out of gas, and they thought she could walk to Wal-mart. We didn't know if this story was true but, she didn't say anything more. Scott and I got the feeling that her parents were somewhere else. (not nearby) She said she had been walking and couldn't feel her fingers anymore because she was so cold. Scott asked her if she was going to be okay? She said yes and that she was supposed to have a relative meet her at Wal-mart. We watched to make sure she got into Wal-mart.

Scott and I went to get the cat litter. After coming back down the main aisle and after having both come to the same conclusion, we stopped at the junior girls dept. and picked up a fleece jacket and a pair of gloves. We hoped she would still be at the front of the store in the entrance when we got there. Sure enough she was. She was hugging herself and was obviously just cold to the core. So I said to her (Scott thought that  I, as a woman and a mom should be the one to talk with her.) "Hi. Listen, you don't look much older than our daughter. We know you are cold and we just can't stand to see you freezing. We bought you a jacket and some gloves. Please just take them. You know you want them." She smiled and thanked us and put them on immediately. We asked her again if she would be okay. She said yes and and thanked us again. We left her sitting on the bench inside the Wal-mart entry way. At least she was in the store and in a lighted area. We both wished we could help more, but what else could we do? We got in our car and came home, but we prayed that the Lord would protect that little girl and keep her safe.

Monday, December 3, 2007

Home Tours

Breanna and I went out Saturday night for the Christmas Home Tour. We had a lot of fun. These houses were just beautiful. The period Christmas decorations were extraordinary! The people who took on these restoration projects really had "the vision" of what these houses could once again become. Many of these homes were from the turn of the last century. I was amazed at the heights of these ceilings. Many of the homes had butler pantries. A lot of the bathrooms had the antique claw foot tubs. Now, I think those tubs add to the bathrooms, but in looking at them I realized one would really have to be able to lift her leg high to get in the tub. I never realized how deep those tubs are. A lot of the bathrooms were huge. Also many of the staircases were steep and narrow. There was a very heavy set lady on the tour. Nothing against her at all, but watching her on the stairs made me consider the size of people 100 years ago. Honestly, it would have been difficult to maneuver up narrow stairs and under low eaves in many of these houses for someone who was big. I just think it is interesting the way these houses were laid out (esp. since Scott and I are in the process of working out house plans for our own house building project). These houses had staircases that led down into the foyer area. Most of these houses had fairly large foyers. The bedrooms were on the small side. ( I guess back then people only slept in their bedrooms so they figured they didn't need that much space there...unlike today where people like to hang out in their bedrooms and read, watch TV, maybe workout on the treadmill etc.) Something else I noticed was the parlor and large dining area rooms. The kitchens were not very big, but the dining rooms were huge. They could hold a large table and still have a bunch of space. I assume that meal times, esp. with large families, was a big meeting time where everyone gathered around the table. Oh, and as Breanna pointed out there were A LOT of fireplaces throughout these houses. Almost every bedroom and all the downstairs rooms had one. I'm assuming that these were main sources of heat, so each room required one? It's really pretty funny, thinking about all these things and how so much has changed. Scott and I are concerned with energy efficiency, the layout of rooms--creating a "good flow", high traffic areas, flooring choices etc. I wonder if 100 years from now people will look at OUR house and think how quaint it is and how people in 2008 lived:)