A different kind of Dallas trip and "goat getting"

A trip to Dallas was made by people a couple of weekends ago to help with a doctor's appointment, to do a small amount of shopping and look for lots of tulips. My sister Carrie has had terrible back pain for over a year now, and after we arrived it took 3 seconds to see, "Yep she still has it." So, because the doctor appointment was the next morning and because La Madeline was just around the corner, we slowly and deliberately packed Carrie up with us and headed out. So, for the first time ever on a Dallas trip, a participant drove around in her jammies (that would be Carrie). The other shocking first was that Lydia went along with us, and she managed quite well even though she's an early bird riser and not so much the stayer up later. And even though she actually stayed up til after midnight, the world kept turning.

To say the car was jam packed with peeps is an understatement as we meandered through the streets avoiding all bumps as best Melanie could in search of every La Madeline in the metroplex area. We did an excellent job at that and we now know just about every single good and bad La Madeline in Dallas. (Just a head's up, the one in Highland Park SUCKS). Most of the time was spent at Becky and Keith's for relaxation, observing that Carrie was shaped like the letter S (she could have been on Sesame Street!), watching basketball and a short visit with Tori the vet. (That would be Doc not former military person.)

On Friday, Melanie took Carrie to the doc and guess what? He confirmed what we already knew....Carrie was in excruciating pain. It was determined the cause was a bulging disc. After 45 MRI's and numerous trips to different docs, you can't hide anything from those geniuses. No indeed. SO, what does a doc do when he sees you're in excruciating pain? He sends you home with instructions to go see another doc in a week to 10 days. Ahhhhhh....the brilliance of medicine. So my summation is....docs or people guessing at stuff are one in the same. Also, I have no pictures of Carrie in pain. BUT, since March Madness coincided with Carrie's back pain, it was a win win for us! We watched some bball, sat and sat. It was enjoyable in spite of the circumstances.

The biggest event of the weekend was Melanie taking ownership of a chair she'd ordered from a furniture store in town. Once Lydia and I saw the size of the chair and the size of the car and the amount of luggage we knew we had, we became quite concerned with visions of the two of us strapped to the roof of the car with the wind whipping through all of our hair. But, just to prove to us that her chair would fit with us in the car, she and Becky managed to saw a couple of chair appendages off and after that she fit in just perf. OK, that part's not really true, but I'm happy to report all furniture and people fit inside the vehicle at all times.

Saturday Afternoon we rode around and at some point, because I can't remember when and because it doesn't matter, we found a house so huge we deemed it to be "the castle." I am NOT exaggerating when I say they had burning cauldrons in the front yard. It's impressive and massive and if you're in the Dallas area, look for it. It's on a street somewhere. During our riding around we found many beautiful houses, many beautiful flowers and once again, I took some pictures. But, I only took one picture of one house because I got nervous thinking that if the rich people looked out their rich windows at just the right moment, they would see a hillbilly taking a picture of their rich house and call their rich police. So after I took a picture of this "shack", I put the camera down.


But I did sneak some pictures of lovely tulips that rich people love to plant....or should I say, have planted.



















Lord knows I love a tulip.

And a redbud.




I love to ride around and look at lovely flowers so for me, it was delightful.

And then we went home to watch more basketball AND watch Keith watch basketball, which means yell at the TV. And now for a sidebar on basketball brackets.....Emma G filled out multi ESPN brackets and until the end of the elite eight round, she was 99.3% correct on one of hers! And she doesn't even really watch the bball! Cracked me up and made her week. Kudos to the Em.

And with that final thought, this now brings me to our last day and the story of Keith at the door. See, what had happened was, I was standing in the kitchen, bent over a counter, looking at my phone that was plugged into the wall when I heard a knocking. I heard the knocking and knocking and knocking....but I thought it was Becky knocking and waving at Keith who was outside "doing yard work." (They are mushy and do stuff like that ALL the time). So yes in my real world I did hear the knocking....BUT....if need be, go back and reread what I just said in my defense.

Anyway, in another few minutes here came Keith through the carport entrance to the house asking me quite huffily, "Are you deaf? Did you hear me knocking to get in?" Well, when I realized what had happened I was unable to reply due to my convulsing laughter. I thought the whole incident HILARIOUS because as everyone knows I LOVE to "get Keith's goat" at just about anything....and....I'm EXCELLENT at my craft....SO, when I discovered that his goat had been gotten accidentally, it pretty much made my trip. The ENTIRE incident left me asking myself, would I have driven the whole way to Dallas just to achieve a gotten goat? Ummm yes I think I would have. And as I wrote this gotten goat scenario out, I did laugh all over again. Indeed I did.

And with this episode of Keith and the gotten goat, it reminds me of the last Dallas trip we made back in the fall when once again Keith was outside doing more yard work. That time he was using an electric leaf blower that just so happened to be plugged in to an outlet I was standing near. Well, just as Keith would get the leaf blower up to speed, I'd unplug the thing and watch as he checked the cord and checked the button and just about the time he was getting REALLY frustrated, I'd plug it back in. After this scenario was repeated MULTI times, Becky ratted me out and so ended another episode of Keith and the gotten goat.

I'm well aware that I amuse myself MUCH MORE than I amuse others.

And so the unusual girls' trip to Dallas was still a success even though it was very different from any we'd ever had before and now, since it's been a week to 10 days, Carrie's seen the other doc and gotten major relief from her back pain. Great news.

And so with that, I'll close realizing that a precedent has now been set for future girls' trips and "getting Keith" so I'll need to immediately begin a brain storming session on future goat getting.

There's much planning to do before next fall!

Peace out homies!

Again asking why but trusting God

I haven't been in much of a blogging mood lately. Recently, certain events occurred that left me questioning and grieved. And although I write of it here, once again it's not my story to tell. But nonetheless it grieves my soul and causes me to ask for the millionth time, "Why does life have to be so hard?" Even though I ask over and over and over, I have no answers. As well as being grieved, I've had to work to keep my anger in check and not get mad at God and blame Him for all life's problems. It's been a struggle to keep from getting furious and yell, "Why did you let this happen?" I wanted to. I fought not to. Not sure I succeeded altogether.

In all the years I've been a Christian I've had some great times, some good times and some really difficult times. I'd say the last 5 years would have to fall in the difficult category. Really difficult. Not because of people, but because of circumstances that caused me to face many disappointments. These disappointments shook my very foundation, and caused me to ask many times, "God do you remember me?" "Do you remember my name?" Of course the answer was always yes. But even so, I know I must trust God with my life, my loves and all that I have. Many days I don't want to. Many days I want to take control and say, "This is what I want! This is how much I want! And I WANT IT NOW!!" Not surprisingly, God's been unaffected by my demands. And even though I've begged and pleaded and made numerous bargains, the only thing I've heard consistently for years is, "Trust me." Quietly and certainly each and every time I knew it was God who said those words to me. And so, much of the time, with a trembling heart, I've opened my hands and let another dream drift from me, unsure if I'll ever see it again. It's the hardest work I've ever done.

So, as this day ends, I'm still in the place of having to trust God when nothing in the near future looks sure. It's tough. And when I see someone's else's dream postponed as I've felt mine have been, it gives me no comfort. It only grieves my soul to depths I just can't tell you.

I know God is faithful.

I know He's the one I must run to for my provision and safety.

It's all I know to do.

I'll close this post with 2 simple Bible verses.

So simple.

But so hard.

Pick a version you like and never forget what God has told us to do.

Proverbs 3:5 & 6 from the Message
Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he's the one who will keep you on track. Don't assume that you know it all.

Proverbs 3:5 & 6 from New Living Translation
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.
6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

Proverbs 3:5 & 6 from Good News Translation
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know.6 Remember the Lord in everything you do, and he will show you the right way.

Simple, clear words from God, but one of the hardest things I've ever had to do.

I am determined to trust Him in all things.

My hope is in the Lord.

For myself.

And for others.

You know who you are.

I want

to see some of the things I've been believing for come to pass.

to know the answers even when there are none.

to understand even when I don't.

to know that all is well, even when it isn't.

to be happy when happy's nowhere in sight.

to remember that God heals our broken hearts and cares for us in our sorrows.

I want it all...

A quick update

My computer's still broken.

The keyboard on the computer I'm using is still shifted to the right and still rocking my world.

Six people fighting for 1 laptop.....OY

Six people fighting over 1 laptop means John and I are low peeps on the totem pole.

I'm about to start a 2 month job in less than 2 weeks.

I had to get fingerprinted for the job which caused me to think, "I guess I can no longer successfully commit any crimes since I'm now "on record."

Clearly my mind works on another level from normal people.

Committing crimes has never really been on my bucket list anyway.

Lots of baseball still going and going and going......

Owen came in second out of 30 something people at his literary rally and will be competing in Baton Rouge in April. YAY for him!

New posts may be few and far between until my computer is fixed.

I hope and pray my computer gets fixed.

Peace out!

Successful Wisteria Pictures

The following photos are the first ever successful wisteria photos I've ever taken. When I took these the other day, I never thought they'd come out so lovely. Because these are the first ever successful wisteria photos, I had a very difficult time editing; therefore, there are many many many posted.

When I see photos of wisteria it reminds me of my aunt Nina as well as Frank. Nina because she fought wisteria growing on an arbor at 212, and even though she thought it beautiful, she also believed it would take over the world. She was very nearly correct. And Frank because he loved the color purple. He would love these photos.

I miss them today.

A quick post about stuff that really matters

Well, I'm so depressed about a happening I can barely speak of it. It happened today, out of the blue. I tried to dismiss it but it can no longer be ignored. I don't know how it happened. I don't know why it's happening more frequently, but....I've had another occurrence of square hair. Restrain yourselves from your tears. I know it's shocking. I used to have consistent....fairly good hair.....until the strange square hair phenomenon started occurring some time last year. I documented it back then. I'll not be posting a pic today. It would be too painful to have another lasting memory of it.

I don't know how it happened. I dried my hair earlier today, and as I gave it one last look in the mirror I thought, OK not bad but, then, when I was sitting at this foreign computer......more about that in a moment.....I got a glimpse of my reflection in the screen and my heart sank. There in the darkness of the computer screen, I saw square hair. My heart sank, and then when I made the long scary walk to the mirror, it was confirmed. Square hair once again reared it's ugly head....no pun intended, or slap at myself. And now, clearly, it's time to take drastic measures, even though I don't know what that means. Just know that for today, I'm devastated about square hair.

Moving on to other problems.....while I was out of town over the weekend, the hard drive on my computer decided to disappoint me and go belly up. After a brief and tense conversation with John telling me he wasn't sure he'd be able to retrieve all my stuff....he was able to retrieve all my stuff. It's amazing what a well placed threat can do, although I'm not sure what it was I said, it may have been the tone in which I said what I said when I said it. Tone is HUGE in marriage, at least for us it is. Think about it. Tone matters. John knows tone matters. We've discussed it....A LOT....in the last 26 years. Indeed we have.

I'll have more to report about the weekend and basketball and basketball brackets and hopefully many lovely pictures of tulips, as well as a hilarious story of Keith knocking at a door.....wait for it....it's gonna be good. But once again there's out of town baseball to be watched. Like it or not, we are officially Neville Tiger parents. In 10 million years I never thought those words would come out of my mouth or typed on a foreign computer because the hard drive on mine died a sudden death. And just to annoy me, the keyboard on the computer I'm currently using is shifted just enough to the right that it makes me type all the wrong letters quite efficiently, as well as the noise coming out of this one sounds like a freight train coming down the tracks. The new hard drive should be here today....here's hoping..... But enough about me.....I'm off to bball. base.....not basket.....

Later....

The Ballpark Boys

This evening John and I watched Owen's baseball game together and as we were sitting there, the junior varsity boys began to gather for their game to be played after ours. They sat below us in the stands and in between watching the game....which was riveting with a score of 12-2 Neville....I became intrigued by their behavior. They weren't misbehaving....just being boys. Boys being boys....not easily described in words but when the phrase is uttered, people nod knowingly. I heard them discussing some teachers and some classmates and watched them watch a couple of girls walk by. They quickly and efficiently noticed any and all girls.

Some of the faces I recognized as little boys Owen played baseball with from years past, and it made me nostalgic for the days of baby faced boys. You know the ones....they smile and play "cut ball" and when they get really hot and sweaty, run into their mother's arms for a salty kiss and a hug. Those little boys have been replaced by teenagers with swagger, a face full of whiskers and car keys hanging out of their pockets. Now they talk about baseball like it's serious business and holler at Mom to get them a drink from the concession stand. These ballpark boys are taller than their parents and may or may not sneak a wave to Mom if she calls their name. Little boys belong to someone else now.

By the time Owen came up to bat, there were about 20 older boys watching the game and I was nervous for him in front of that audience. Batting in front of all those older guys would have made me weak in the knees. As Owen was walking up to the plate I heard one of them ask who he was. I was in one of those rare situations where these boys didn't know whose Mama was sitting there listening to them talk about her boy. I was waiting to hear what would be said. As I was praying to Jesus above for Owen to get a good hit I heard him say, Let's go Herrock, hit the ball baby." Melted my heart and made me want to give him a hug.

It's funny that ballpark boys call each other baby. They consider it completely appropriate in that setting. And they love a fist bump. Well, Owen fouled one pitch off, then walked. I really wanted a homer.

And that's my story for today.

The ballpark boys are growing up.

Brings a tear.

Lovely tulips down the road

I love flowers more than I can say. There are so many different kinds and colors and each and every one of them is so beautiful. These lovely tulips are my pick for favorite today.

Peppermint Camelias