Monday again

Missed y'all the past couple of days. Sunday was a hot and muggy day. We mostly worked around home and tried to stay relatively cool in 100-degree temperatures. Hubby did some finishing work on the housepainting project in the morning, before it got too toasty outdoors, and in the late afternoon ran the ride-on mower over our two-acre patch to drive back the dandelions. They seem to be able to survive almost ANYTHING - isn't that the way with weeds! Our grass has long since dried up and turned a lovely shade of beige, but the dandelions are thriving - Go figure!

We had some excitement on Sunday. In the evening (about 6:00) my hubby was putting away some of his painting stuff. He was taking the 14' aluminum ladder down from the side of the house, folded it and was carrying it to its hidden resting place under the eaves behind the house. On the way from here to there, there's an old root that sticks up out of the ground - each of us has tripped over it a hundred times in the four years we've lived in this house. Yup, you guessed it, this was one of those times. Hubby's toe caught on the root and his hands were involved in carrying the ladder - he totally biffed his face against some sharp edges of the ladder. He came running into the kitchen with his hand cupped to cover his lips and chin, announcing that he had fallen as he carried the ladder. I checked it out and immediately knew there would be stitching involved, and we headed for our local emergency room.

In the car on the way I learned that he also had injuries to his right upper arm and left shoulder, causing him a great deal of pain. Now we can add a couple of x-rays to the stitches I already knew about. The folks at the hospital were very kind and provided excellent care. Praise God, the x-rays showed no broken bones or shoulder dislocation. The doctor put in a total of 14 stitches (5 in the lip, 9 in the chin). Of course, I had my digital camera with me and dutifully recorded it for posterity. It's not serious, but is a pretty sad photo! The good news is that he slept well last night (thanks to good drugs) and feels much better today.

That brings us to Monday. Our eldest daughter's four children (ages 9, 11, 14 and 15-1/2) have spent most of the summer visiting their cousins on the Oregon coast. They came home over the weekend, and we grabbed them today and took them to lunch. We had a delightful time with them debriefing about their summer. They've grown so much - both physically and spiritually. Listen to this: When we arrived to pick them up, they had cleaned and swept the kitchen, started the laundry, and changed the cat's litter box. All this without being asked! This would NOT have happened two months ago - Wonderful progress!! We are so pleased and proud.

Tomorrow I will spend the day packing and preparing to leave Wednesday morning to be away from home for an open-ended period of time. I will take my laptop with me to my brother's, and hope to resume blogging by Thursday, Lord willing. We will be enroute in the car all day Wednesday (and possibly part of Thursday, depending on how tired of the interior of the car we become on Wednesday). This is a 13-hour trip, and we aren't sure we'll have the stamina to do it all in one day. I'm thinking "motel" at about Redding or Willows, but we shall see.

At any rate, please pray that we have "journey mercies," as my very favorite pastor always puts it (He knows who he is!).

XOXO to all!

MY TEXT FOR TODAY: Isaiah 33:2-3 (LB)
"But to us, O Lord, be merciful, for we have waited for you. Be our strength each day and our salvation in time of trouble. The enemy RUNS at the sound of your voice!"

See, this is me, packing up my computer till Thursday. Catch you later!