I called the pest company I use first thing this morning and they said they could have someone out at 2:30 to walk around the yard with me and talk to me about a snake plan - I said sounds good to me.
The snake guy shows up, we talk in the driveway and I show him where the garter snake went into hiding in the strip of grass by the driveway and off to the back yard we go. I also told him about the neighbor lady and me chasing a snake across the street into Legion Park. He looks down at me and chuckles. We're walking along the side of the house and I start to step up to the back patio area and see a garter snake out of the corner of my eye and let out a shiek. Snake guy goes after it - says, "you want it dead don't you?" YES. So he stomps on it with his heavy duty boots - three or four times. It gave a good fight but finally died - and is now laying in the grass next to the sidewalk by the side of my house going into the back yard.
Snake guy talks to me about their basic plan and says he'll talk to the boss about seeing if they can't add a snake repellent option to the four times a year deal they already do for me for termites and other pests. But snake guy is actually thinking that will be too expensive but he'd find out. After calling in to the office and talking to the boss we decided the regular snake repellent plan was best for me - it has a 60 day warranty. If I see snakes during 60 days they will come back and spray again. If I see snakes after 60 days we may have to do it again.
Snake guy looks at me and says I look familiar - and he actually looks familiar to me too but we realize we don't know each other. He says in passing about attending different churches which started us talking about religion. He lives in Newton and has started a youth group that meets at the skate park (for now). It started with five kids (3 being his own :) and has grown to 30. They have been studying the book of John and he will be baptizing some of them. He told me how he got a call from one of the parents and they wanted to know if they could be baptized too!
I told him about blogging and saying how God placed enmity between woman and the snake and how enmity was definitely at work on this property. Snake guy laughed. When he wondered about the date when completing my paperwork we talked about last Saturday supposedly being the Rapture - then end times. I talked about how my small group Bible study is reading Daniel and a couple of books I was reading. He showed me a book someone just gave him today about end times.
I told him I'd periodically pray for his youth group and if he'd want to get my email from my record at the pest company office he could send me updates on how the group is doing. He told me he'd give me his email which is a gmail account. I'm in the midst of having to decide if I want to stay with MSN or go to Qwest where I bundle tv/phone/internet and Traci (oldest kid) had mentioned getting a gmail account instead. I asked Snake Guy how easy it was to transfer email files, etc., and he said it was no problem.
So......when I just thought I'd have a snake guy stop by to talk about a snake plan for my yard - I also got to talk about beliefs, end times, and get some advice on my email - awesome!
Monday, May 23, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
WAVES ~ I Really Don't Like Snakes
Today at church I was one of the main door greeters and then helped with the Waves children group during church (K-3rd grade). June's memory verse was "Be joyful always" so we made Joyful Journals. I told Pastor Daggs I could preach next week - just kidding. We had about 15 kids in two groups which Kris and I called the more talkative group and the calmer group :) I think the journals were fairly successful. I will help with Waves again two Sundays this fall.
Yesterday I ran lots of errands and was hoping the weather would clear off so I could mow and luckily the sun came out in the morning. When I got home I checked the grass in the front lawn to see if it was dry enough to mow and got around before it got too hot.
Now...the time I mowed when I saw the two snakes by the side of the house in the back yard and one was very close to the front gate - that was when I decided I would always get everything out I would need when mowing (trimmer, clippers, lawn bag, broom, weed killer, etc.) and then shut the garage door. In the past Mike and I would always leave the garage door open until all the mowing was done - but I thought what if one of those snakes went under the gate into the front yard - it wouldn't take anything for it to go down the steps, be in the drive and then in the garage and I wouldn't know it. And if Mike and I were running in and out of the house through the garage we would leave the basement door open too - no more. I was not taking any chances a snake could get into the garage let alone into the basement from the garage.
I always mow the strip of lawn that is between my drive and my neighbor's to the south and guess what jumped out in front of the mower but a green garter snake with a yellow stripe! I backed up and then shoved the mower forward hoping I had run over the snake - with my eyes closed. I opened my eyes and the snake was just there and then it moved - great. I walked to my two neighbors' houses to the north to see if any of the men were home to pick the snake up and take it to Legion Park across the street - no one home - great.
I mowed the parking and then headed to the main part of the front of the lawn. Last year I had seen a snake right by the retaining wall and yesterday I saw one there - so that makes two snakes in the front yard. I am not happy. My neighbor gal to the north comes home with her too little girls and looks at my face. She's like, "I'll pick it up and put it in the park for you." I'm like with your bare hands?! She's like, "Sure, they don't bite." So she comes with her two cute little girls following. Now, this was not a pretty snake, it was a smaller butt ugly dark snake. She takes one look at it and won't pick it up because she says it looks scary - great.
Evidently we scare the snake - hahaha - and it starts to slither down my front lawn slope - and one of her little girls starts shrieking. I'm like wonderful - that one will probably need therapy. My neighbor is bent over shaking her keys at the snake and I'm stomping by the snake and it's slithering pretty quickly across my parking until it decides it wants to turn around - I headed it off at the pass to keep it heading due east to Legion Park. We get it into the street with one of us watching the little girls so they don't go into the street and the stupid snake stops in the middle of the street - we were actually hoping it would get run over by a car. So I walk out into the middle of the street when it's safe to keep chasing it on into Legion Park - I made sure it actually went over the curb and into the grass into the park. I'm sure I looked "interesting" stomping in the middle of 4th Street chasing a snake but you know what - I don't care. As I said to a guy driving by as he looked at me - I'm getting it out of my yard.
By then I didn't think I could mow the back yard because there are 4-5 snakes back there but I prayed and drug the mower back there and it wouldn't start. Later the mower started just fine - it must have gotten flooded but I have no idea how it would have flooded when it was working just fine one minute and then next I was taking it to the back yard like I normally do. FYI a green garter snake with yellow stripes was next to the mower that slithered off when I yelled at it when I got the mower to start.
I was talking to Dad yesterday on the phone and told him that I was going to call the pest company that takes care of my termite/bug program - they have a snake program to talk to them about it - I've had enough. I wasn't willing to pay for the snake program last year but I just might be willing to pay for it this year. I know snakes take care of varmits aka mice for the most part. But.....I'd rather have mice than snakes. At least mice are fuzzy.
I also told Dad that Genesis 3:15 was definitely at work in this household.......
And I will put enmity between you and the woman.........
This verse referes to Eve and the snake after Satan/the Devil used the snake to trick Eve to sin.
Celebrity Apprentice ended a few minutes ago - way to go John Rich!!!!
Yesterday I ran lots of errands and was hoping the weather would clear off so I could mow and luckily the sun came out in the morning. When I got home I checked the grass in the front lawn to see if it was dry enough to mow and got around before it got too hot.
Now...the time I mowed when I saw the two snakes by the side of the house in the back yard and one was very close to the front gate - that was when I decided I would always get everything out I would need when mowing (trimmer, clippers, lawn bag, broom, weed killer, etc.) and then shut the garage door. In the past Mike and I would always leave the garage door open until all the mowing was done - but I thought what if one of those snakes went under the gate into the front yard - it wouldn't take anything for it to go down the steps, be in the drive and then in the garage and I wouldn't know it. And if Mike and I were running in and out of the house through the garage we would leave the basement door open too - no more. I was not taking any chances a snake could get into the garage let alone into the basement from the garage.
I always mow the strip of lawn that is between my drive and my neighbor's to the south and guess what jumped out in front of the mower but a green garter snake with a yellow stripe! I backed up and then shoved the mower forward hoping I had run over the snake - with my eyes closed. I opened my eyes and the snake was just there and then it moved - great. I walked to my two neighbors' houses to the north to see if any of the men were home to pick the snake up and take it to Legion Park across the street - no one home - great.
I mowed the parking and then headed to the main part of the front of the lawn. Last year I had seen a snake right by the retaining wall and yesterday I saw one there - so that makes two snakes in the front yard. I am not happy. My neighbor gal to the north comes home with her too little girls and looks at my face. She's like, "I'll pick it up and put it in the park for you." I'm like with your bare hands?! She's like, "Sure, they don't bite." So she comes with her two cute little girls following. Now, this was not a pretty snake, it was a smaller butt ugly dark snake. She takes one look at it and won't pick it up because she says it looks scary - great.
Evidently we scare the snake - hahaha - and it starts to slither down my front lawn slope - and one of her little girls starts shrieking. I'm like wonderful - that one will probably need therapy. My neighbor is bent over shaking her keys at the snake and I'm stomping by the snake and it's slithering pretty quickly across my parking until it decides it wants to turn around - I headed it off at the pass to keep it heading due east to Legion Park. We get it into the street with one of us watching the little girls so they don't go into the street and the stupid snake stops in the middle of the street - we were actually hoping it would get run over by a car. So I walk out into the middle of the street when it's safe to keep chasing it on into Legion Park - I made sure it actually went over the curb and into the grass into the park. I'm sure I looked "interesting" stomping in the middle of 4th Street chasing a snake but you know what - I don't care. As I said to a guy driving by as he looked at me - I'm getting it out of my yard.
By then I didn't think I could mow the back yard because there are 4-5 snakes back there but I prayed and drug the mower back there and it wouldn't start. Later the mower started just fine - it must have gotten flooded but I have no idea how it would have flooded when it was working just fine one minute and then next I was taking it to the back yard like I normally do. FYI a green garter snake with yellow stripes was next to the mower that slithered off when I yelled at it when I got the mower to start.
I was talking to Dad yesterday on the phone and told him that I was going to call the pest company that takes care of my termite/bug program - they have a snake program to talk to them about it - I've had enough. I wasn't willing to pay for the snake program last year but I just might be willing to pay for it this year. I know snakes take care of varmits aka mice for the most part. But.....I'd rather have mice than snakes. At least mice are fuzzy.
I also told Dad that Genesis 3:15 was definitely at work in this household.......
And I will put enmity between you and the woman.........
This verse referes to Eve and the snake after Satan/the Devil used the snake to trick Eve to sin.
Celebrity Apprentice ended a few minutes ago - way to go John Rich!!!!
Friday, May 20, 2011
God Answers Prayer ... I Got A Job Offer And Accepted!
Those of you that have seen my Bible know that I have lots of pretty, colorful flags sticking out of the pages. Pink is for scriptures dealing with health. Blue for finances. Yellow for prayer and green for misc. I decided a week or two ago to read all the "blue" verses dealing with finances since I've been job hunting and Mark 11:24 popped out.
"Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them."
Each day as I ended my daily devotions I would read that scripture and then say my prayer ending with praying about a job. I would debate with myself if I was being too presumptuous to ask for the specific job with the company in Waukee because what if that was not the company God had in His plan for me to work for?
I had several errands to run today and one was visiting with my insurance agent regarding my home owner's insurance. While he was on the phone talking to Claims I decided to check my email and there was a message from the lady from the company in Waukee wanting to know if I had time this afternoon for her to call me - approximately 15 minutes - between noon and 2:30? I emailed her when I got in my car saying 2:00 would work.
I'm thinking "they weren't going to make an offer until next week so I didn't get the job." Then I'm like "but it can't take 15 minutes to tell me I didn't get the job." But then I didn't want to get my hopes up - so I prayed leaving the parking lot of my insurance agent, "God no matter what she wants to tell me on the phone we are in this together and we will deal with the news." And then I tried to not think about my 2:00 phone call for the next THREE hours.
I get home at 1:30 and Butler has fallen on the living room floor - sprawled on the living room floor - from getting off the couch. He's all shaken up, he's peed on the floor and laid in it and can't stand. I have to change my clothes because I've gotten messy dealing with him and tried to stay calm until my 2:00 call.
The phone rings and she starts out with "we really appreciate you taking the time to come in and visit with us..." and I write a huge NO on the piece of paper that I'm ready to write down the specifics of their job offer. And she say "and we'd like to give you an offer of employment." I just want to throw the phone and scream my head off for joy but I stay calm and say something like that was great and ask if I couldn't give a little yell. She laughs and said of course I could - I did - and she said they like it when team members are enthusiastic. She goes on to give me the details of the job offer and says she will follow up with a letter of employment she will email me.
I get off the phone and scream like you wouldn't believe and then thank God. He gives us the desires of our hearts. I had wanted in my next job (and last job because I want to stay there until I retire) to be a trainer and I will be as part of my responsibilities. And if you know me, you know I recycle everything that I possibly can to include the paper filler from Tootsie Rolls. This company is helping the construction industry become paperless in regards to construction projects when all the parties (owner, contractor, subs, etc.) need to communicate. And lastly the biggie was my financial need/budget vs salaries that are out there....let's just say God met my need and then some :)
My Facebook post says I will be starting June 2 but it has changed to June 13 due to ordering my computer and other things for my work area. So God has given me a couple of weeks to get off my behind and finish some things around here before I start working 9-6.....I'll be working with clients in the western half of the country.
I am blessed.
I got a kick out of the title for my devotions tomorrow: Possess Your Promised Land. I took that tongue-in-cheek to go along with what's his name saying the Rapture will happen tomorrow. Rapture - going to Heaven - taking our Promised Land.................oh well :)
"Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them."
Each day as I ended my daily devotions I would read that scripture and then say my prayer ending with praying about a job. I would debate with myself if I was being too presumptuous to ask for the specific job with the company in Waukee because what if that was not the company God had in His plan for me to work for?
I had several errands to run today and one was visiting with my insurance agent regarding my home owner's insurance. While he was on the phone talking to Claims I decided to check my email and there was a message from the lady from the company in Waukee wanting to know if I had time this afternoon for her to call me - approximately 15 minutes - between noon and 2:30? I emailed her when I got in my car saying 2:00 would work.
I'm thinking "they weren't going to make an offer until next week so I didn't get the job." Then I'm like "but it can't take 15 minutes to tell me I didn't get the job." But then I didn't want to get my hopes up - so I prayed leaving the parking lot of my insurance agent, "God no matter what she wants to tell me on the phone we are in this together and we will deal with the news." And then I tried to not think about my 2:00 phone call for the next THREE hours.
I get home at 1:30 and Butler has fallen on the living room floor - sprawled on the living room floor - from getting off the couch. He's all shaken up, he's peed on the floor and laid in it and can't stand. I have to change my clothes because I've gotten messy dealing with him and tried to stay calm until my 2:00 call.
The phone rings and she starts out with "we really appreciate you taking the time to come in and visit with us..." and I write a huge NO on the piece of paper that I'm ready to write down the specifics of their job offer. And she say "and we'd like to give you an offer of employment." I just want to throw the phone and scream my head off for joy but I stay calm and say something like that was great and ask if I couldn't give a little yell. She laughs and said of course I could - I did - and she said they like it when team members are enthusiastic. She goes on to give me the details of the job offer and says she will follow up with a letter of employment she will email me.
I get off the phone and scream like you wouldn't believe and then thank God. He gives us the desires of our hearts. I had wanted in my next job (and last job because I want to stay there until I retire) to be a trainer and I will be as part of my responsibilities. And if you know me, you know I recycle everything that I possibly can to include the paper filler from Tootsie Rolls. This company is helping the construction industry become paperless in regards to construction projects when all the parties (owner, contractor, subs, etc.) need to communicate. And lastly the biggie was my financial need/budget vs salaries that are out there....let's just say God met my need and then some :)
My Facebook post says I will be starting June 2 but it has changed to June 13 due to ordering my computer and other things for my work area. So God has given me a couple of weeks to get off my behind and finish some things around here before I start working 9-6.....I'll be working with clients in the western half of the country.
I am blessed.
I got a kick out of the title for my devotions tomorrow: Possess Your Promised Land. I took that tongue-in-cheek to go along with what's his name saying the Rapture will happen tomorrow. Rapture - going to Heaven - taking our Promised Land.................oh well :)
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Interview ~ Funeral ~ Mom ~ Butler ~ Life
It's been an interesting week or so since I last blogged. I had my third interview with the company in Waukee last Wednesday which I thought went very well. When I came home from the interview Butler was stuck under the kitchen table - he had worked his way around my barricade to keep him out of that area, fallen and couldn't get up. I got him up but he was not able to walk good at all, he kept falling over - even outside on the grass. When I got him upstairs - he wouldn't go downstairs so I was concerned.
Thursday I drove to Pella to visit Mom (and Dad) in the hospital and then attend my best friend since 7th grade's mother's funeral. And I was concerned about Butler because I couldn't get him downstairs so he'd had an accident upstairs before I left that morning. While the funeral service was very nice I got emotional during one of the songs we sang missing Mike and wishing he was there with me.
I had almost convinced myself it was time to put Butler down, that I wouldn't be able to get a dog (at least for a while or maybe never) due to a dog putting such a constraint on me, and had decided I might get a cat so at least I had another life form in the house with me. While I like cats - they just aren't the same as a big dog. I got home from Pella and Butler still wouldn't go downstairs and I was almost a wreck so I called my vet to see if I could talk to her - because I just wasn't 100% sure it was time to put him down. My vet is awesome - she has dealt with all our animals and known me for probably 20 years. We had a good talk - I cried some - and we decided that Butler was just a senior citizen that had problems with his back legs that would be a main level dog from now on. When I got home from the vet I went next door to see if my neighbor (young guy) could carry Butler downstairs and outside for me - which he did. I spent that evening downstairs with Butler. I knew it wouldn't be fun when this day (or actually night) came when Butler couldn't be upstairs with me - but that day came. I put the baby gate at the bottom of the stairs and listened to him bark, whine and fight the baby gate for two hours - with me going downstairs a few times to pick him up from the bottom of the stairs from under the baby gate or pick him up off the baby gate. I couldn't listen to that all night so upstairs we went - I didn't know what I'd do the next morning with Butler not going down the stairs.
Friday morning I had a brainstorm on how to get Butler downstairs. Normally when I've picked him up to carry him upstairs I've picked him up like I've seen other's pick up greyhounds - like a cowboy picking up a calf. I'd scoop his legs up between my arms and he'd "sit" on my arms in front of me while I'd carry him. I didn't think that would work going down stairs because if I got off balance we'd both go down in a lump and get hurt. I'd try picking Butler up like my neighbor did. Get both arms under his tummy and carry him in front of me kind of like a little kid carrying a puppy or kitten - kind of - and it worked! So four times a day I carry him downstairs to the kitchen mat so he can get his footing to go on outside to do his duty. But before I carry him downstairs the infamous Speedo goes around him in case he gets a little excited in the process (especially first thing in the morning) and it seems to be working just fine.
Also Thursday night I about freaked out when I went downstairs and realized the dryer hose that vents whatever from the dryer to the outside had come loose from the wall. The bottom half of the hose was still connected to the silver deal that was on the wall but the top half wasn't and I was looking at the outside - which is ground level - in an area I had seen one of the teenager snakes head toward last week when I mowed................... wonderful. So I'm freaked out thinking I have a snake either in my dryer or my basement now. I saw Mike had connected the hose to the silver plate thing with electrical tape but I wasn't taking time to look for that, I grabbed masking tape and taped the poop out of that hose back to the wall. Then ran upstairs for a flashlight, to bang on the dryer, to carefully open the dryer with the flashlight on to see if a snake was in it - nope. I didn't think the holes in the dryer were big enough for a snake but I wasn't sure. And the dryer hose was weighed down when I tried to move it which convinced me I had a snake in the bottom of the hose. Great. So I ran the dryer on a short setting with nothing in it - opened the door with the flashlight again - and no snake. Sometime over the weekend I finally found Mike's electrical tape, moved the dryer hose enough to realize it was caught on the dryer and got it taped properly. I did 2-3 loads of laundry without any snakes but I shake each piece of laundry out before it goes in the laundry basket to be sure. Then I had to clean the lint trap and thought - what if a snake got caught on that and when I pull the trap out - out comes a snake - so I was cautious when I pulled the snake-free lint trap out.
I mowed Saturday and left the strip in the back that's by the side of the house where I found the two snakes last time until last. I prayed before mowing that God would help me if I ran into any snakes because seeing three last time just about did me in. One per mowing I can handle...................... As I started to mow that strip I comically said, "Yea, as I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil"....... and I mowed snake-free!
I found out Tuesday from the company in Waukee that 2 of the 3 names I gave as references over a week ago had not gotten back to them and I had to supply more names so all reference checks could be completed this week. Evidently when it comes to my past employer they are not allowed to give references unless they are for internal employees - so yesterday I supplied 3 more names. I found out this morning that those 3 had gotten back to the company in Waukee. One of us finalists will be given an offer of employment next week.....................
Mike and I always said God gave us the weird animals and I believe this is continuing with my plants. The weekend Dad was up to help plant flowers and start demo on the enclosed front porch I bought a red hibiscus, a yellow hibiscus and a pink hibiscus. My red hibiscus has red blooms and it has yellow blooms. I say it is a Cyclone (Iowa State) hibiscus - too bad since I lean toward Hawkeyes. And my dwarf lilac bushes Dad and I planted last year budded this spring but didn't bloom - until last week. They didn't bloom with complete, full lilac blooms but they did ok for their first year after being planted. See pictures below.
So it's been an interesting week plus. I keep telling myself God has a plan, God has a plan, God has a plan - and I know He does. It's just challenging when our timeline/urgency and His aren't the same.
And........................the Rapture may take place May 21st (Saturday) and it may not. I wasn't able to find the verse but no man will be able to determine or predict when this will happen - no man. It could happen Saturday, it could happen before you finish reading this blog and looking at the pictures.............. Do you know where you will spend eternity? I know I'll be in Heaven.
Thursday I drove to Pella to visit Mom (and Dad) in the hospital and then attend my best friend since 7th grade's mother's funeral. And I was concerned about Butler because I couldn't get him downstairs so he'd had an accident upstairs before I left that morning. While the funeral service was very nice I got emotional during one of the songs we sang missing Mike and wishing he was there with me.
I had almost convinced myself it was time to put Butler down, that I wouldn't be able to get a dog (at least for a while or maybe never) due to a dog putting such a constraint on me, and had decided I might get a cat so at least I had another life form in the house with me. While I like cats - they just aren't the same as a big dog. I got home from Pella and Butler still wouldn't go downstairs and I was almost a wreck so I called my vet to see if I could talk to her - because I just wasn't 100% sure it was time to put him down. My vet is awesome - she has dealt with all our animals and known me for probably 20 years. We had a good talk - I cried some - and we decided that Butler was just a senior citizen that had problems with his back legs that would be a main level dog from now on. When I got home from the vet I went next door to see if my neighbor (young guy) could carry Butler downstairs and outside for me - which he did. I spent that evening downstairs with Butler. I knew it wouldn't be fun when this day (or actually night) came when Butler couldn't be upstairs with me - but that day came. I put the baby gate at the bottom of the stairs and listened to him bark, whine and fight the baby gate for two hours - with me going downstairs a few times to pick him up from the bottom of the stairs from under the baby gate or pick him up off the baby gate. I couldn't listen to that all night so upstairs we went - I didn't know what I'd do the next morning with Butler not going down the stairs.
Friday morning I had a brainstorm on how to get Butler downstairs. Normally when I've picked him up to carry him upstairs I've picked him up like I've seen other's pick up greyhounds - like a cowboy picking up a calf. I'd scoop his legs up between my arms and he'd "sit" on my arms in front of me while I'd carry him. I didn't think that would work going down stairs because if I got off balance we'd both go down in a lump and get hurt. I'd try picking Butler up like my neighbor did. Get both arms under his tummy and carry him in front of me kind of like a little kid carrying a puppy or kitten - kind of - and it worked! So four times a day I carry him downstairs to the kitchen mat so he can get his footing to go on outside to do his duty. But before I carry him downstairs the infamous Speedo goes around him in case he gets a little excited in the process (especially first thing in the morning) and it seems to be working just fine.
Also Thursday night I about freaked out when I went downstairs and realized the dryer hose that vents whatever from the dryer to the outside had come loose from the wall. The bottom half of the hose was still connected to the silver deal that was on the wall but the top half wasn't and I was looking at the outside - which is ground level - in an area I had seen one of the teenager snakes head toward last week when I mowed................... wonderful. So I'm freaked out thinking I have a snake either in my dryer or my basement now. I saw Mike had connected the hose to the silver plate thing with electrical tape but I wasn't taking time to look for that, I grabbed masking tape and taped the poop out of that hose back to the wall. Then ran upstairs for a flashlight, to bang on the dryer, to carefully open the dryer with the flashlight on to see if a snake was in it - nope. I didn't think the holes in the dryer were big enough for a snake but I wasn't sure. And the dryer hose was weighed down when I tried to move it which convinced me I had a snake in the bottom of the hose. Great. So I ran the dryer on a short setting with nothing in it - opened the door with the flashlight again - and no snake. Sometime over the weekend I finally found Mike's electrical tape, moved the dryer hose enough to realize it was caught on the dryer and got it taped properly. I did 2-3 loads of laundry without any snakes but I shake each piece of laundry out before it goes in the laundry basket to be sure. Then I had to clean the lint trap and thought - what if a snake got caught on that and when I pull the trap out - out comes a snake - so I was cautious when I pulled the snake-free lint trap out.
I mowed Saturday and left the strip in the back that's by the side of the house where I found the two snakes last time until last. I prayed before mowing that God would help me if I ran into any snakes because seeing three last time just about did me in. One per mowing I can handle...................... As I started to mow that strip I comically said, "Yea, as I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil"....... and I mowed snake-free!
I found out Tuesday from the company in Waukee that 2 of the 3 names I gave as references over a week ago had not gotten back to them and I had to supply more names so all reference checks could be completed this week. Evidently when it comes to my past employer they are not allowed to give references unless they are for internal employees - so yesterday I supplied 3 more names. I found out this morning that those 3 had gotten back to the company in Waukee. One of us finalists will be given an offer of employment next week.....................
Mike and I always said God gave us the weird animals and I believe this is continuing with my plants. The weekend Dad was up to help plant flowers and start demo on the enclosed front porch I bought a red hibiscus, a yellow hibiscus and a pink hibiscus. My red hibiscus has red blooms and it has yellow blooms. I say it is a Cyclone (Iowa State) hibiscus - too bad since I lean toward Hawkeyes. And my dwarf lilac bushes Dad and I planted last year budded this spring but didn't bloom - until last week. They didn't bloom with complete, full lilac blooms but they did ok for their first year after being planted. See pictures below.
So it's been an interesting week plus. I keep telling myself God has a plan, God has a plan, God has a plan - and I know He does. It's just challenging when our timeline/urgency and His aren't the same.
And........................the Rapture may take place May 21st (Saturday) and it may not. I wasn't able to find the verse but no man will be able to determine or predict when this will happen - no man. It could happen Saturday, it could happen before you finish reading this blog and looking at the pictures.............. Do you know where you will spend eternity? I know I'll be in Heaven.
My red hibiscus with red blooms and yellow blooms.
One of my three dwarf lilac bushes that bloomed.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Mother's Day
Ok - just realized Celebrity Apprentice started at 7:00 instead of 8:00 pm tonight and have missed an hour - ahh. I watched an hour of the Bulls/Hawks game. Speaking of the Bulls - I love my folks and they cracked me up yesterday at their place. Dad was talking about the Bulls game from Friday night and he was talking about them playing "one of the teams from Florida" so I'm like was it the Orlando Magic or the Miami Heat - while I like the Bulls I haven't been following them in the playoffs - bad McFall. Anyway the three of us go round and round - yes Mom even joins in - and I think we settled on Miami Heat once I explained there was no NBA team in Tallahassee or some other Florida city. I decide to go online on my Droid and realize the Bulls were playing the Hawks in the second round of the playoffs - the Atlanta Hawks. I looked at Mom and Dad laughing and said that team would be in Georgia :)
And if you are my friend on Facebook you need to go to my Wall and check out the dog video I posted last night - it is an absolute riot!
Before telling about my Mother's Day I want to share about a couple of past Mother's Days. Mom and Dad were church planters with their first church in Atlantic, Iowa, 60ish years ago. Dad was very excited about his first service in Atlantic which was on Mother's Day and if I remember the story correctly when Dad looked out at the congregation he saw three old men - that was it. No women.
Then growing up one of the things I liked that Dad did in the church in Urbandale and possibly the church in Pella was have four friendly contests with the mothers.
1. The youngest mother
2. The oldest mother
3. The newest mother - I think this was one of the categories
4. The mother with the largest family at church that Sunday - or who had the family member that came the longest distance
And if I remember correctly the most competitve category was the oldest mother :) We had some very elderly ladies in the church in Urbandale - and they were proud of it on that Sunday.
On to my Mother's Day. Mother's Day is a "different" day for me because I'm a stepmother, I did not give birth - but I definitely helped raise three kids :) I watch John Hagee on Sunday morning before my church and today Diana Hagee preached and did a great job sharing some funny family stories and getting a good point across.
I got to church and spent some time greeting different people and then Greg grabbed me to show me where I would be for the next two Sundays doing craft time for our Waves children's group (K-3rd grade) during church. It should be challenging to come up with a craft for the two Sundays and fun with the kids. I'm going to pray about it tonight and ask God to help me develop their craft. I'm going to need extra guidance after seeing today's craft - beautiful tissue flowers for mothers - wow...................
We had a couple of ladies share what made their mothers Godly mothers - which were great to listen to. My mom was definitely - and still is - a Godly mother and I'm thankful for the way both she and my dad raised me.
Greg spoke today and had a very good message for mothers / wifes / women which I will briefly recap below but I want to share the rest of my day first. All ladies received a flower to plant and a small, indoor herb garden to grow. As Greg said, " ladies, you will be blessed with basil, etc.". I looked at Kris sitting next to me and shared with others that this ought to be interesting since I nuke my meals :) If my herbs grow I'll be able to give my frozen dinners some pizzazz.
I had decided I was going to treat myself to a movie - Fast Five - and had to hustle from the south side to Jordan Creek Town Center where I had a gift card for the movie theater. And I brought Dude with me to go to Build-A-Bear Workshop to talk to them about Dude after the movie. So I'm zipping over to the mall and have to go to the bathroom which is past the concession stand at the movie theater - then back to get something to eat for "lunch" - then into the theater before the movie starts at 12:05 pm. I go flying to the kid to tear my movie stub and he informs me that I'm on the wrong side of the movie theater - I said I need to use the rest room and then will be back out to get something to eat and go to the other side - with a stuffed dog in a plastic bag.
Again - I was dumb-founded at the cost of food and decided on what I wanted. I have never gotten food at this theater before so I didn't realize the concession stand was more like a buffet line where I had to pick up what I wanted and then move down the line to pay - oh please. Then off to Fast Five to stare at Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel for two hours. Oh ya and watching them drive the cars fast was pretty awesome too - when I was younger I wanted to be a stunt driver. I'm sure Mike would tell you he thought that's how I always drove..........
This is Dude that the kids made for me after Mike died and all three of them put a heart in him. I have slept with Dude every night since they gave him to me except for the two nights of my Girls Weekend last October - so he was getting a little smushed looking - he needed fluffing or something. So in I walk to Build-A-Bear looking for someone to help me and pulled Dude out of my bag. She takes me to the "shower" area and showed me how I could use a brush to fluff him up. I bought a little brush so I can fluff Dude when necessary at home.
Now - recapping Greg's sermon: Building a Godly Mother / Wife
Proverbs 31: 10-31
1. Be devoted to your husband (verses 11, 12)
2. Passionate about your household/family (verses 13-22, 24, 28-29)
3. Fears God/is saved (verses 26, 30)
What was awesome that Greg did was that he told women that were not mothers - for whatever reason - this is what you should strive for. I know I did #1 and #2 when Mike was a live. And I know I am okey doke with #3.
Another thing Greg did was tell men that were not married that this was the type of woman they should pray that God leads them to for a wife and mother of their children.
Bulls down by 4 - come on guys!!!!!!!!!!!!
And if you are my friend on Facebook you need to go to my Wall and check out the dog video I posted last night - it is an absolute riot!
Before telling about my Mother's Day I want to share about a couple of past Mother's Days. Mom and Dad were church planters with their first church in Atlantic, Iowa, 60ish years ago. Dad was very excited about his first service in Atlantic which was on Mother's Day and if I remember the story correctly when Dad looked out at the congregation he saw three old men - that was it. No women.
Then growing up one of the things I liked that Dad did in the church in Urbandale and possibly the church in Pella was have four friendly contests with the mothers.
1. The youngest mother
2. The oldest mother
3. The newest mother - I think this was one of the categories
4. The mother with the largest family at church that Sunday - or who had the family member that came the longest distance
And if I remember correctly the most competitve category was the oldest mother :) We had some very elderly ladies in the church in Urbandale - and they were proud of it on that Sunday.
On to my Mother's Day. Mother's Day is a "different" day for me because I'm a stepmother, I did not give birth - but I definitely helped raise three kids :) I watch John Hagee on Sunday morning before my church and today Diana Hagee preached and did a great job sharing some funny family stories and getting a good point across.
I got to church and spent some time greeting different people and then Greg grabbed me to show me where I would be for the next two Sundays doing craft time for our Waves children's group (K-3rd grade) during church. It should be challenging to come up with a craft for the two Sundays and fun with the kids. I'm going to pray about it tonight and ask God to help me develop their craft. I'm going to need extra guidance after seeing today's craft - beautiful tissue flowers for mothers - wow...................
We had a couple of ladies share what made their mothers Godly mothers - which were great to listen to. My mom was definitely - and still is - a Godly mother and I'm thankful for the way both she and my dad raised me.
Greg spoke today and had a very good message for mothers / wifes / women which I will briefly recap below but I want to share the rest of my day first. All ladies received a flower to plant and a small, indoor herb garden to grow. As Greg said, " ladies, you will be blessed with basil, etc.". I looked at Kris sitting next to me and shared with others that this ought to be interesting since I nuke my meals :) If my herbs grow I'll be able to give my frozen dinners some pizzazz.
I had decided I was going to treat myself to a movie - Fast Five - and had to hustle from the south side to Jordan Creek Town Center where I had a gift card for the movie theater. And I brought Dude with me to go to Build-A-Bear Workshop to talk to them about Dude after the movie. So I'm zipping over to the mall and have to go to the bathroom which is past the concession stand at the movie theater - then back to get something to eat for "lunch" - then into the theater before the movie starts at 12:05 pm. I go flying to the kid to tear my movie stub and he informs me that I'm on the wrong side of the movie theater - I said I need to use the rest room and then will be back out to get something to eat and go to the other side - with a stuffed dog in a plastic bag.
Again - I was dumb-founded at the cost of food and decided on what I wanted. I have never gotten food at this theater before so I didn't realize the concession stand was more like a buffet line where I had to pick up what I wanted and then move down the line to pay - oh please. Then off to Fast Five to stare at Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel for two hours. Oh ya and watching them drive the cars fast was pretty awesome too - when I was younger I wanted to be a stunt driver. I'm sure Mike would tell you he thought that's how I always drove..........
This is Dude that the kids made for me after Mike died and all three of them put a heart in him. I have slept with Dude every night since they gave him to me except for the two nights of my Girls Weekend last October - so he was getting a little smushed looking - he needed fluffing or something. So in I walk to Build-A-Bear looking for someone to help me and pulled Dude out of my bag. She takes me to the "shower" area and showed me how I could use a brush to fluff him up. I bought a little brush so I can fluff Dude when necessary at home.
Now - recapping Greg's sermon: Building a Godly Mother / Wife
Proverbs 31: 10-31
1. Be devoted to your husband (verses 11, 12)
2. Passionate about your household/family (verses 13-22, 24, 28-29)
3. Fears God/is saved (verses 26, 30)
What was awesome that Greg did was that he told women that were not mothers - for whatever reason - this is what you should strive for. I know I did #1 and #2 when Mike was a live. And I know I am okey doke with #3.
Another thing Greg did was tell men that were not married that this was the type of woman they should pray that God leads them to for a wife and mother of their children.
Bulls down by 4 - come on guys!!!!!!!!!!!!
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Tulip Time ~ Snake ~ Interviews
I have been very lax this week blogging so I'll catch up as briefly as I can. Monday I had a second interview with a company in Waukee that I thought went very well. The next stage would be to bring back maybe 4 (at the most) for a third interview (with actual team members) and then determine who they want to hire. When I got home I needed to mow and evidently I have at least three different snakes in the back yard. One is dead snake (thanks again Dad), one is little snake and one is butt ugly dark snake. Butt ugly dark snake is the one I met Monday on the back sidewalk and tried to send it back toward the house with the lawn mower. We were doing so good going along the house until something happened and butt ugly dark snake flipped up in the air doing a 180 to come back toward me - oh no no no. Somehow I got it to flip 180 again (such a gross thing to see) and it went back along the house. Actually I thought butt ugly dark snake was a dead snake because of how dark it was and it just laid there, and laid there, and laid there - and I'm like great how long will it take for a snake to decompose enough before I'm brave enough to pick it up to throw it away - and then it's tongue flicked out.........
Mom had been battling a bad cold/cough which Dad finally took her to the Pella ER Monday night and they admitted her. First it was bronchitis, then pneumonia, then finally bronchitis and she was released yesterday.
Thursday (Cinco de Mayo) was Butler's 10th birthday as a McFall and I got quite emotional for a very short amount of time Wednesday afternoon telling him how Daddy/Mike found him and how we went out to get him the Thursday afternoon of Tulip Time 2001. I was emotional because Mike knew I wanted a greyhound after we had to put Lucy down and he found Butler at the Animal Rescue League and also that he wasn't here to celebrate ten years. Butler is the first dog to be with us 10 years - Lucy was nine years and months.
Tulip Time was this past Thursday, Friday and ended this evening. I had planned to go down on Thursday to see a couple of girlfriends from high school but I had gotten emotional (again) Wednesday night when I tried to go to sleep about Mike not being here for Butler's birthday and Tulip Time - so Thursday I wasn't in the mood to drive to Pella.
Friday I planned to go to Tulip Time to see one of the two girlfriends I had hoped to see on Thursday but it really hit me that Mike wasn't here. This is my second Tulip Time since Mike died but last year Tulip Time came so quickly after Mike's death it didn't really hit me he wasn't here. It was more like Mike wasn't able to go to Tulip Time last year and I met up with a friend to "do Tulip Time". This year reality hit that Mike is gone and won't be with me at any more Tulip Times and that was rough. And while I like driving to Pella to see my folks - I really do not like the drive home by myself. So I didn't go Friday.
I did run a couple of errands Friday - one to Three Dog Bakery to buy special treats for Butler for a belated birthday celebration. While inside Three Dog Bakery I received a voicemail from one employment agency I was working with about my interview with the American Cancer Society. I waited to listen to the voice message until I got home and I did not get the job. While I was disappointed because I thought working for the cancer society would have been rewarding the salary wasn't right. Then within 30 minutes of listening to that voice message I got a phone call from the company in Waukee that I have an interview Wednesday with two team members! They started out with 80 applicants and have it down to maybe four - so it's in God's hands.
Today I got up and got around and headed down to Tulip Time! Dad and I went to West Market Park where they have craft stands to walk through. Actually Dad rode his scooter chair and I walked. Then we headed up to look at the old tractors. Now I walk fast - there would be times Mike would ask if I was walking with him or not since I had a tendency to "leave him in my dust" - but I had to crank it up a notch to keep up with Dad on his scooter chair. Then when I'd catch up - he'd speed up. I finally told him I was not going to jog Tulip Time so he slowed down :)
Mom had been battling a bad cold/cough which Dad finally took her to the Pella ER Monday night and they admitted her. First it was bronchitis, then pneumonia, then finally bronchitis and she was released yesterday.
Thursday (Cinco de Mayo) was Butler's 10th birthday as a McFall and I got quite emotional for a very short amount of time Wednesday afternoon telling him how Daddy/Mike found him and how we went out to get him the Thursday afternoon of Tulip Time 2001. I was emotional because Mike knew I wanted a greyhound after we had to put Lucy down and he found Butler at the Animal Rescue League and also that he wasn't here to celebrate ten years. Butler is the first dog to be with us 10 years - Lucy was nine years and months.
Tulip Time was this past Thursday, Friday and ended this evening. I had planned to go down on Thursday to see a couple of girlfriends from high school but I had gotten emotional (again) Wednesday night when I tried to go to sleep about Mike not being here for Butler's birthday and Tulip Time - so Thursday I wasn't in the mood to drive to Pella.
Friday I planned to go to Tulip Time to see one of the two girlfriends I had hoped to see on Thursday but it really hit me that Mike wasn't here. This is my second Tulip Time since Mike died but last year Tulip Time came so quickly after Mike's death it didn't really hit me he wasn't here. It was more like Mike wasn't able to go to Tulip Time last year and I met up with a friend to "do Tulip Time". This year reality hit that Mike is gone and won't be with me at any more Tulip Times and that was rough. And while I like driving to Pella to see my folks - I really do not like the drive home by myself. So I didn't go Friday.
I did run a couple of errands Friday - one to Three Dog Bakery to buy special treats for Butler for a belated birthday celebration. While inside Three Dog Bakery I received a voicemail from one employment agency I was working with about my interview with the American Cancer Society. I waited to listen to the voice message until I got home and I did not get the job. While I was disappointed because I thought working for the cancer society would have been rewarding the salary wasn't right. Then within 30 minutes of listening to that voice message I got a phone call from the company in Waukee that I have an interview Wednesday with two team members! They started out with 80 applicants and have it down to maybe four - so it's in God's hands.
Today I got up and got around and headed down to Tulip Time! Dad and I went to West Market Park where they have craft stands to walk through. Actually Dad rode his scooter chair and I walked. Then we headed up to look at the old tractors. Now I walk fast - there would be times Mike would ask if I was walking with him or not since I had a tendency to "leave him in my dust" - but I had to crank it up a notch to keep up with Dad on his scooter chair. Then when I'd catch up - he'd speed up. I finally told him I was not going to jog Tulip Time so he slowed down :)
This Allis Chalmers is the same model (WC) as the type of tractor Dad drove on the farm when he was younger - but this tractor is a few years older than Grandma and Grandpa Hill's tractor.
After the tractors - we saw four or five Allis Chalmers tractors and an Allis Chalmers grader - we headed to Scholte House's gardens to look at the tulips. I told Dad to tell the mayor - yes Lori that would be your dad :) that they had too many orange tulips here :)
This was my favorite bed of tulips in Scholte House garden because of the mixture of colors. It's too bad tulips only bloom for a short time each spring.
After Scholte House garden Dad headed back to their apartment and I cut across Central Park to get Poffenchese (sp) - little pancakes with powdered sugar. Hmmm hmmmm. This bed of tulips was in Central Park by the windmill.
Tulips up close and personal in Central Park :)
Dad had a wedding to perform at Fifield - out by Lake Red Rock - at noon. I went to a food booth to get Mom a hot dog which I took back to her and then I got my annual sour kraut with a brat at a Central booth. I decided to walk down to Central College's campus and was able to walk through the bookstore for a few minutes before it closed.
Now when I went to Central we had ducks at the pond - I have no idea when the ducks disappeared and the geese appeared but here's the Central geese. And the pond is still g-r-o-s-s! I walked down Peace Mall by Gaass Hall (the scary dorm if you remember from a previous blog) and remembered when the windows would be open with stereos blaring music. And also thought - when did Gaass Hall shrink, I thought it was bigger than that.
But I did have a moment walking Peace Mall when I wished Mike would have been with me and I squeezed my right hand closed like I was holding his hand and got teary-eyed. I didn't like walking Peace Mall by myself but I needed to. When I got back to Mom and Dad's apartment Mom and I visited a while before Dad got back from the wedding and then I headed for home around 1:30. I forgot to open a window and turn on the fan upstairs and was a little concerned how warm it would be upstairs. It was 85 upstairs and I turned on the AC to help cool it down and put Butler's cooling bandana on him.
Now we're watching Saturday night racing at the Lady in Black seeing how many Darlington stripes she gives.
Happy Mother's Day to all mothers tomorrow!
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