This and That at the Chapmans....

 

Monday was 50% off day at Teaxs Giant so Brenda and swapped out and did our thrifting then to take advantage of the sale.

It was like a big party and the check out lines went up and down and around aisles!

I bought several Christmas gifts so I can't show you all my treasures!

Can you spy Brenda in the line??

I came home and worked on the Cowboy Santa that I started for Samuel last year.

I've lots of progress and think I will finish it tonight.

Louis Dean takes long soaking baths instead of showers so he was in the tub while I was painting.

I went in to check on him and his bathwater was dark!

He was totally out of bath products and thought this bottle might be an oil or something.

Just a rinse and no harm done and I'm glad it wasn't coffee grounds!

We are still waiting for our plumber to repair the bathroom sink.

LD kept forgetting and used it so I put a fat pillow in it!

That pillow is now soaking wet!

It was a trying day and we were both in bed before 9:00!

On Tuesday we picked up the pond liner we had ordered - thinking it was the same size as our kitchen pond.

It was half the size so after Louis Dean told me, "Houston, we have a problem!" I said, "No, we don't! I'll order another one and it will be even more interesting!"

Before we came home I stopped at Walmart and spent over $100 on bath products!

We bought oils, bubbles, salts and all manner of good things!

Now he has choices!

Wednesday we had a visit with his neurologist and it was good.

His vitals were fine and he hasn't lost much ground in the last six months.

He weighs a healthy 203 pounds and he charmed and laughed with Dr. Shadad and she complimented both of us and said we were doing everything right!

Her sweet nurse assistant is such a dear and she took this pic of us.

Even the other patients in the waiting room were friendly and I said 'God bless you' in Spanish to a lady and her daughter and they both said 'Amen.' I know only a little Spanish from my homeschooling days but I was able to tell them my name and it happened to be the daughter's name, as well.

We came home and had lunch before we left again - this time to take my 1983 Bernia sewing machine in to be repaired. Hopefully, they can fix it! It's so old you can't even buy parts for it so we will see.

That machine and I go way back.

After my house burned in June of 1983, we went to the Texas State Fair in the fall and I bought that Bernia plus a Vita Mix plus an organ.

The Vita Mix lasted a long time but they could not repair it when a small part wore out.

Good grief. This was like 10+ years ago and I decided not to invest in another one.

I put the organ on the curb in the last year or so and hope someone picked it up and is enjoying it now.

My extra treat was stopping at Hobby Lobby on our way home.

Two charcuterie plates made supper for us.

Patton was our movie of choice and I am grateful it wasn't another John Wayne.

Just saying.

Today has been a keeper of home kind of day - my favorite!

I love the Rosemary infused olive oil from Aldi and used the very last of it the other night on roasted veggies. I decided to refill the bottle by making my own.

I stripped several stems of rosemary and simmered them in Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

I starined out the rosemary and dried it and poured the olive oil in my bottle and added a sprig of fresh rosemary to it.

To the dried rosemary pieces, I added sea salt and Win! WIN!!

Today's lunch.

We usually eat one good meal a day and snacks or appetizers later.

You know, the dreading of doing something is worse that the doing of it!

Louis Dean is a veteran and put himself and Ellen, his beloved first wife, through college on the GI Bill.

He's never signed up for benefits and I have felt the need to to do so - just in case we need the VA's help later. It's been well over a year since I thought about doing it and yet I kept putting it off.

My neighbor, Stephanie, encouraged me at the start and then Sherry researched and printed off the forms for me.

At last all is filled out and ready to go in the mail!!

Texas summer heat is on its way!

Our Texas sage bushes are beautiful but only one of them is blooming.

That's supposed to signal a change in the weather.

We are loving our sunflowers!

And our yellow trumpet vines.

I planted zinnias from seed and am so excited they grew!

I took these pics this afternoon.

Louis Dean is a happy man and loves his room.

He piddles and arranges music and plays music and keeps himself totally entertained!

Right now he is outside watering the front.

I watered the back and came in to add my words to the photos of tonight's journal entry.

Thank you, Lord for all your blessings!

Children in the Closet.....Chapter 23

Chapter 23

 

Summer was 20 years old and living at home. She had been working for a year at Barclays Financial Company. Jesse, Jr was 17 and attending a Christian High School. Jesse’s Masonry Company was doing well and he had more work than he could handle. My brother, Lonnie worked for us and Jesse, Jr worked for his dad during the summer. 

From what people could see of our lives, we were the perfect family. We had plenty of money and our children were well behaved. Jesse was a deacon in the church and I was a Sunday School teacher. We continued to work the bus route as a family and most every Sunday, I entertained church members and/or visitors in our congregation for either Sunday dinner or for games and a light meal on Sunday nights.

One of my favorite things to do was to serve a baked potato bar and desserts followed by a card game called NUTS or we would spread out a jigsaw puzzle on the dining room table. Everyone loved to come to our house and we were always doing something to our home that made it more interesting. 

I had taken a decorating course by mail in the 70’s and I loved to think ‘outside the box.’ 

Jesse would bring leftover building materials from the job sites and together, we designed a phone booth in a corner of the living room. It was made of cedar wood and had lace curtains as a privacy door for while you talked on the phone. The phone was a replica of the old fashioned wall phones from the past so it was kind of a novel thing, I found my fulfillment in my home. It was in the making of meals and cleaning, decorating, refinishing things, entertaining and gardening that I found my happiness.

We kept the trauma and drama of our daily life private. Summer and Jesse, Jr and I all walked carefully around Jesse. We tried not to talk because that had a way of turning into verbal abuse. The kids and I kept our mouths shut as much as possible but the swiftness of an innocent remark turning into a violent argument staggered us. The ‘argument’ was all his as he did all the yelling and berating us verbally. Thankfully, he no longer hit the kids now that they were older, but there is other abuse that we learned to survive and cope with. 

One of the warning signs that all hell was about to break loose was when Jesse would whistle. To anyone else, it would be a pleasant sound but it was a warning to us that things were about to get ugly. 

One evening, we were all in the car getting gas at a convenience store. Jesse was pumping the fuel and he was whistling. We all froze. Jesse Jr got out of the car to go inside and buy a gallon of milk. On his way out, a burly rude guy pushed his shoulder into Jr’s and caused him to fall down. Jesse looked over and I am sure he saw what happened. Instead of rushing over in defense of his son, he jerked Jr up and started bawling him out. They got back in the car and he yelled at him all the way home. 

The only people who ever witnessed the way Jesse acted was Lonnie and the other guys who worked for him and our neighbors. Evidently Jesse didn’t care enough about them to protect his image or reputation. He would scream at us when we were outside doing things and he did not hesitate to yell at Lonnie or anyone who worked for him. Even the young men in the youth group at church would work for him in the summers and they were yelled at just as much as anyone, and yet they still held him in great respect. We never understood that.  But none of our neighbors liked him.

One Sunday we had our new associate pastor and his family over for dinner. The table was set with all my best dishes and glassware and I served a delicious meal. While we were all eating, Jesse began to insult and demean me in front of everyone. I tried not to cry but I couldn’t keep the tears from my eyes. I was so embarrassed. Our guests didn’t know what to do and I didn’t know what to do. Jesse was the only one that did not seem to think anything was amiss although this was the very first time he had acted mean and cruel to us in front of other church members – except for the teenagers that worked for him. What happened next set the example for how we handled things both then and after. The couple pretended nothing was wrong and continued to eat and make small talk. I continued to sit at the table and composed myself before clearing the dishes and serving dessert. 

There was a young man who was studying to be a preacher in our congregation and he had a wife and two young daughters. Jesse took him under his wing and helped him financially by buying him a couple of suits and helping him with his groceries.  We were planning on going up to Colorado on vacation – just the two of us. Summer was working and Jr didn’t want to go. Jesse decided to invite the young preacher and his wife to join us as we were going to visit our former associate pastor with whom we had gone to church with back when we were at Northgate Baptist Church. They came over to Crestview not long after we did. A relative offered to take care of the couple's children so it was early morning in June 1983 when we drove to Colorado Springs and we all stayed at our friends’ house.

We had been there for a few days sight seeing and having a good time. At 3:00 on the Saturday morning of June 11th, our host woke us up saying that Summer was on the phone and that our house was on fire. The fire alarms went off waking her up and she was calling from the telephone in our bedroom while the fire was burning in the living room.  We told her to take her brother and get out of the house, go next door and call the fire department. By the time Summer hung up, the smoke was so thick she couldn’t see anything. She felt her way to Jr’s room and woke him up. They tried to go down the hall to get out of the house but by then the dining room was in flames. They ran back to Jr's bedroom and got out through the window, landing in the rose bushes outside. They ran next door to our good neighbors and called 911. 

Doug and Reaoma were wonderful neighbors and they loved both me and my children. The fire station was just a few blocks away from our house and the trucks arrived within minutes of the phone call. It was a traumatic time for Summer and Jr as they watched in horror as the flames burned our house. Summer had a 55-gallon fish tank built in between the living room and the foyer. She watched the water in the tank boil and explode killing all her beloved exotic fish. This was a blessing in a way, though. The water from the aquarium acted as a fire barrier and slowed the flames down.

Summer was able to warn the firemen of potential threats in the house such as in where I kept my art supplies – oils and turpentine – all highly flammable. Another thing was a huge glass container full of match books we had collected over the years as well as dozens of bottles of perfume. This knowledge helped them fight the fire better. Another thing that helped was that the attic fan was on. This fan is in the ceiling of the hall and it caused the fire to burn horizontally instead of vertically.

The fire started on a Saturday morning. On Friday night Summer and Jr had invited the youth group over for an impromptu dinner and movie party. They had cleaned the house and prepared a meal. Jr set chairs up in the den theater style and they rented Rocky III which had just come out the summer before. It was a Rocky Marathon since we already had the first two films. Everyone brought something to add to the meal or for snacks at Intermission. They knew how to throw a party and were very responsible young people. 

The party had nothing to do with the house burning although there was an investigation. It turned out to have been caused by a power surge from the power pole in our back yard. We had been having surges and our stereo would get extremely loud with static – and then go back to normal. The surge apparently affected the stereo and caused an electric fire that began to burn the grass weave wallpaper in the living room and then moved on to the other rooms. Every single room had either cedar wood walls or wallpaper. Not one room was simply painted. A church member friend was a fireman and he used to tease me about how he would not want to fight a fire in my house! There were too many things that would burn fast in it! As it turned out, he was not on duty when it burned.

The kids called Brother John, their youth pastor, while the firemen were still there. When he answered – this was now about 5:00 in the morning – Junior said, “Brother John, remember when you said we could call you anytime of the day or night if we were in trouble and needed you? Well, our house just burned.” John knew they had hosted the youth group just hours earlier so he thought this must be some kind of a joke. However, he hung up and told his wife, “Junior just told me their house caught on fire.” Thinking this was a prank call, he was in the process of going back to bed when his wife said, “You better get over there just in case this isn’t a joke!”

Meanwhile, back in Colorado, we prepared to drive home. Our hosts made coffee and put together a quick breakfast while we threw our things into our suitcases and loaded up the car. We comforted ourselves with the knowledge that Summer and Junior were not hurt. Brother John had taken them home with him and we knew they were safe. All we had to do now was get home.  A thermos of coffee was given to us and we left Colorado Springs just as the sun was coming up. We told our friends we were sorry to have to cut their vacation short but they were only concerned for us.

That was a long drive – 13 hours at best – but it took even longer as the wife of our young preacher friend had to stop often and long due to a medical issue she had. Stress made it worse and it was barely daylight when we drove up in our driveway.

I had talked to Summer and to Jimmy, one of the youth group kids now grown up. They both tried to paint a prettier picture than it was and I appreciated that. Best to see it in person. I was unprepared for the emotional impact of seeing my home all black and charred. The fact that it was still standing was incredible. Because of the attic fan blowing the initial fire horizontally, the firemen were able to keep the flames from going through the roof. Another factor in saving the house was the kind of insulation we had put in a few years back. It was essentially small white pellets of Styrofoam. They basically melted and prevented the fire from going through the roof.  While the interior was completely destroyed, the structure itself remained sound. I was so grateful for that. What shocked me was the gawkers and strangers who came to look. I felt as though my home had been raped and I had a strong urge to shield her from the public.

My sweet neighbor, Doug, had bought sheets of plywood and covered up all the windows which were gaping holes now. He had secured a lock for the front door to keep people out. The inside was black and since it was already nearly dark, we took our friends home and then went to the motel a mile down the street from our house. Summer was so resourceful and thoughtful in providing us a place to stay. She had rented a suite so we could all stay together. She thought I would feel better to be so close to the house. That first night we just hugged each other and I let them talk. They needed to process what they had been through and handled so well.

Jesse was uncommonly quiet and even kind to them. Normally he would have upbraided them and told them what all they had done wrong. Not that Saturday night. I think he was shaken by it all. I thought, perhaps, he realized how close he came to losing both of his children and maybe he would have a change of heart in the way he treated them. That wasn’t to be the case but at least we did have that one night of consoling each another as a real family.

Remembering my Sister, Nita....

 

Nita left us three years ago and I cannot believe that I was confused and thought the anniversary of her death in 2022 was later in this month.

But no.....Nita went to heaven on the 7th....

I should have remembered and called her husband and children.

But I forgot. I forget a lot lately and have been concerned that I may have dementia.

This morning I received a message that said my MRI report was available.

I read the text and took my time making a first cup of coffee and took it out to the gazebo to read the report. All is well. I had a TIA in 2022.....it was weird as it was 2-2-2022 at 2:22 in the afternoon.

I'll never forget it. I was writing in my book Children in the Closet and had given myself 20 minutes to write before taking a break. I had just looked up at the clock and then the world shifted. I was in the camper at the ranch and it felt like the camper had tilted. There was a vacuum sound and I was unable to stand up straight. I was concerned that something had happened that endangered Louis Dean so I lurched my way out into the front room. It took a few minutes before things went back to normal.

Well, that TIA showed up in my brain but nothing else. Praise God!

My main concern has been if I can keep my mind together so I can take care of Louis Dean.

I am so grateful for this good report!

I've been working on my book and am nearly at the end of chapter 43.

I think the writing will go faster now.

2003 was such an important year in my life and it's an emotional journey to go back and relive that time in both words and emotions.

Still, I'm making progress and am looking forward to completing my story.

Louis Dean and I meant to go to church today but I had a restless night and didn't get much sleep.

It's a real challenge to get Louis Dean up and ready and out to the car and I just wasn't up to it this morning. Instead I watched Fellowship Church online and knew I had made the right decision.

Louis Dean has a doctor appointment this week and I have discovered that he can't handle too many activities without getting disoriented.

He can't really follow the church services anymore so I concentrate on reading the Bible and devotional books with him instead.

Today I did my routine housework while Louis Dean worked on some projects outside.

It's not easy but we make it work.

I made Chinese food for our late lunch and early dinner. Sweet and sour chicken with rice and pork egg rolls.

We ate and then watched our movie of choice....

Such a fun movie and SUCH a relief from watching a John Wayne movie!

Just saying!

My art table is set up and I intend to finish Sam's Santa this week as well as start a few new paintings.

The very firsts for 2025.

I normally paint a new Santa painting every year but I'm not sure I can do one for 2025.

This is a possibility...

Or maybe this one....

Or maybe one of my past paintings and that's what I'm leaning towards.

Closing my journal entry for Sunday, July 13th.....

Life is still good while it continues to be a challege.

I think that's true for all of us - no matter our age.

We are all facing issues and making decisions every single day of our lives.

Everyone!

Let's pray and trust God in making our choices.

Tuesday's Treasures and Wednesday and Thursday....

 Monday was a stay-at-home day but it had its moments.

A few weeks ago I called the plumbers out to clear our bathroom drains.

They found lots of debris in Louis Dean's drain - a guitar pic and such.

I've tried to watch what he puts down that drain but I missed seeing him pour his coffee grounds until he called out that he needed a plunger!

Bottom line, we made a trip to Home Depot for materials he needed for redoing the pipes under the sink. I was surprised when he said it was fixed.

However, the next day his bathroom smelled like a dead mouse so he checked the drain and found it was leaking.

He thought he could fix it so I left him to it and went off to meet Brenda. She and I had a good time thrifting on Tuesday afternoon!

Brenda spied the two pillows and put them in her cart before someone else got them!

She knew I would love them!

It's great to have a thrifting buddy who is also a best friend!

When she saw this sign in my cart, she said, "I knew you would get that!"

It looks great on our front porch!

Brenda and I both love sunflowers!

She got a garland and I found a bag of the same kind only the garland had been cut into pieces.

The small painting is now hanging in the sewing room.

The tea towel will be used in Louis Dean's John Wayne bathroom.

The feather canvas will look even better when I add some bright colors to it.

I pick up sunflowers every chance I get since I am replenishing my stock of them.

I trashed quite a few things that just won't make another season.

I am taking the spring things out and bringing in the sunflowers and pumpkins a little at a time.

I'm a sucker for aprons and wear one every day.

They must have pockets and if they don't - I sew one onto them!

Brenda and I each got one of these.

I hang my collection on my pantry door.

I hang them on the piece I bought a few weeks ago.

I love wearing lacy layers over my sleeveless tops.

This is a Chico's dress and I will pair the top with it.

I may use this as a vase.

I'm gone every Tuesday for around four hours - sometimes five - and I never know what I will find when I get home. Louis Dean met me at the door saying he could not fix the bathroom!

No problem. I called the plumbers....again.

They have a slogan on one of their trucks that says WE FIX WHAT YOUR HUSBAND TRIED TO DO!

They said they would work me in but I'm still waiting. In the meantime, Louis Dean put a wastebasket under the sink since he forgets and turns the water on.

Every other day is a stay-at-home day if I can manage it.

LD spent most of Wednesday in his music room and I stayed busy doing things that I do.

We usually have our first cup of coffee together in his room.

You never know what you're going to see in there!

I have to hand it to Louis Dean!

He's creative and hangs his coffee cups on the spouts of his wine boxes.

I had my MRI on my brain this afternoon and then went to Midas muffler.

When we were driving home from the ranch last week, a truck loaded with huge pieces of Styrofoam.

One blew off and was flying across the highway and I hit it with the right front corner of my car.

Turns out it damaged my turning signal. I thought it was just a broken bulb but it turned out that the piece the bulb plugged into had broken off. It took $100 and nearly three hours to get replacement parts and be repaired. I kept my eye on Louis Dean by way of the RING app and knew he was okay.

He had spent most of the time working on the stone patio outside our bedroom.

Probably got too tired and had not eaten anything other than buttered toast and milk.

I fixed him a chicken salad sandwich and a huge glass of tea and turned on old episodes of MASH.

Win! WIN!!

My neighbors across the street are from Bangladesh and they are so special to us.

Back when we were staying in Katy, Texas after the quads were born, they kept an eye on our place for us. We had a huge pecan harvest in 2012 and she would see people in our yard picking up bags of pecans. She would come out and tell them to leave - this was private property and the owners were harvesting the pecans.  It was a bumper crop, indeed, and Louis Dean shelled all the pecans we would gather when we came home for our monthly visits.

We've watched their son and daughter grow up all these 20+ years.

He's now a pharmacist and she's a teacher and they are both such wonderful people.

We exchanged phone numbers over 15 years ago and once I accidently dialed the dad and he called me right back to see what I needed. Wonderful neighbors are such a blessing. While we are closer to some more than others. Stephanie has been my neighbor for nearly 40 years! Ilene is another blessing to me! Then there's Tamara around the corner and we love her and her husband. She used to entertain the quads in her garden with snacks and fresh veggies to take home and other times, pots of plants.

I say all this because I was in Louis Dean's room and looked out the window the day after we got home from the ranch to see a fire truck and ambulance in front of their house!

My heart lurched and I ran outside to see what was happening. The mom had a stroke and they quickly called 911.  God's timing was perfect and the daughter was home and, within minutes, help was on the way. There's a four hour window to treat a stroke and she is making a good recovery.

From the hospital to the rehab place and then HOME today!

Praise God! 

I took freshly baked cookies this evening - half chocolate chip and half butterscotch chips!

I picked a bouquet of the freshest sunflowers and two yellow rosebuds to welcome her home.

We had such a nice visit and she and we held hands as I prayed for her full recovery.

Speaking of praying......when I was shopping Aldi on Tuesday afternoon...I noticed a beautiful lady shopping for tomatoes as I was and we bumped into one another again on the next aisle over. She complimented me and I complimented her and she asked if she could pray for me. It was beautiful and we prayed for one another. Turns out - she was having a procedure today as was I.

God has a way of showing us grace day by day.

Dean took this photo of the duck pond the other day and I can't wait to start painting it!!

I set the art table up yesterday and am looking forward to smelling the turp!

Wednesday was hard as my son, Benjamin, had to say goodbye to Zuko.

He loved that cat dearly....

He gave Zuko the best life possible but congested heart failure could not be treated long term as we had hoped.

Children in the Closet.....Chapter 22

Chapter 22 

I had always taken motherhood seriously and believe it to be an honor and blessing of God. I was a broken and emotionally damaged person and yet motherhood saved my life. I wanted so badly for my children to have happy memories of their growing up years. Alas, they grew up every bit as broken and damaged as Jesse and I were.
When I looked around at the other parents and their children, my heart would condemn me that I wasn’t doing enough to be a good mother. I loved my children desperately and yet we were still a severely dysfunctional family. There was a Ladies Bible Conference in Chattanooga, Tennessee in the spring of 1979 and I was one of the first to sign up. Surely, I would gain wisdom and learn how to be a better mother at this Sword of the Lord conference – The Call to Motherhood.
  Two other ladies were going and, since I had a nearly brand new to me 1976 Cutlass Oldsmobile, I volunteered to use my car while a lady named Betty offered to drive. That suited me perfectly. I was up before dawn and drove over to pick up Betty, only realizing that I knew the name of her street but I forgot the address number! I had been there once before but I could not remember which house was hers. So, I drove slowly up and down the block honking my horn a few times. Now, mind you, this was about 6:00 in the morning. But, sure enough, out the front door came my friend! We picked up the other lady named Carolyn, and were on our way!
It was a good drive and we bonded more with every mile. We stayed in the home of our pastor’s wife’s parents and she treated us to delicious meals which she called ladies food. For three days we attended the conference together and talked about our lives and how to incorporate what we were learning into them. 
Betty was the lady who did all the driving and, as it turned out, she had actually met my stepfather, Clayton. Betty called her husband Cowboy and he had been a bit of a gambler in his younger days and had been a regular on the pool hall gambling circuit of which Clayton was also a part of at the time. Betty felt called to the nursery ministry at Crestview and was already involved there. However, the conference further inspired her to continue that commitment. 
Carolyn and Betty had been best friends for many years. Carolyn was recently widowed and had two wayward daughters, both in the Lester Roloff Home for Children in Corpus Christi, Texas. In time to come, I took her down to the home where we stayed a few days so she could visit her daughters.
I was deeply convicted of the need to be a better mother and felt a very real desire to have more children. I will go so far as to say I felt a calling from God. 
When I returned home, I told Jesse about my desire to have more children and he agreed. I had become pregnant the second or third time we had sex when I was 14 and then it took just a month or two to become pregnant when we decided to have another baby when I was 17.  So, it was a surprise and disappointment when I didn’t get pregnant right away. 
Brother John and his wife had one daughter when they came to Crestview to serve as youth pastor and they had another little girl not too long after. Jesse and I both loved that family and we often took care of the baby. When they had a third daughter and decided to go on a missionary tour, we volunteered to keep the very young infant while they traveled. It was odd how much Jesse seemed to love these little ones. He didn’t act anywhere nearly as sweet to his own children but he would do anything for those little girls.
We took the children into our hearts and our lives and our family. The family traveled during the summer doing missionary work and their older two daughters were old enough to go with them, but the baby was still a newborn so she stayed at our house for weeks at a time. Both Jesse and I wanted another child of our own, but we loved taking care of that precious baby.
At Easter and Christmas and holidays we would buy all three girls pretty dresses and toys and they were like family to us. One day, when the mother came to pick up her daughter, she clung to me and didn’t want to go. That one moment changed everything. I realized this was not a healthy situation and I could not continue taking care of them like I’d been doing. I talked things over with the parents and they decided to end their missionary tours and stay in town, picking up the reins of serving fulltime at Crestview. 
It was now 1983 and even though I had been trying for three years, I was unable to conceive.

July Weekend.....so Many Feelings and Emotions.....

Saturday was not without its drama and trauma!

LD put coffee grounds down his bathroom sink and that caused a big problem!

I took him to Home Depot and he went in all by himself.

I had NOT dressed for the public so I sat in the car and read a book.

He did good and bought exactly what he needed and then proceeded to do the repairs!

Win! WIN!!! 

The bathroom is still a mess but I'll deal with it on Monday!

Saturday was a cooler day for July and I rummaged through my storage building packing up all my Halloween decorations. I've decided to scale back on a few things. I no longer decorate for the patriotic holidays and I scaled way back on Easter. I decided to donate all my Halloween decorations this making my fall decorating easier. Amber and Harrison visited us late Saturday afternoon and they loaded it all up and will keep the nicer things and carry the rest to Goodwill. That's where most of it came from in the first place.

Harrison spied the whipped cream in the fridge and we had fun trying to pop it UP and IN our mouths!

I didn't do so well but Harrison nailed it!

It was so much fun, though!

This morning I watched Fellowship Church online while Harrison and Amber were there in person.

I made a Sunday brunch after church!

I put sausage patties in a muffin pan and squished them down with a small condiment dish.

Dropped an egg in each nest with some seasonings and then added frozen hash brown potatoes topped with shredded taco cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes at 350* and it was delicious and filling!

I took a nap this afternoon and when I woke up I went out to reorganize my storage building.

What a surprise!

I couldn't even get to the door!

It's amazing how fast Louis Dean can get an idea and start working on it!

I admit, I did not SEE an idea - only a big wet muddy mess!

Note to self - think twice before I take a nap!

Our cats are precious to us.

Tabitha got out this morning as Louis Dean was going in and out.

I was sleeping in and may need to start  getting up earlier instead of luxuriating in bed for an hour after I wake up.

She didn't stay out long this time and was on the front porch wanting in!

Samantha loves warm laundry!

She even sneaks into the dryer when I accidently leave it ajar!

We do love our kitties!

This is Benjamin's cat, Zuko. 

He is brother to Amber's cat, Ginger, and our cats, Samantha and Tabitha.

He is a very loved cat and seemed to be fine the other day.

On Saturday he had a hard time breathing and Benjamin rushed him to the vet.

They treated him for congested heart disease and kept him overnight in an oxygen box.

The diagnosis is heart failure but he's on two medications that he will take the rest of his life - and there's no idea how long that might be. Weeks, months or even years.

Zuko is happy to be home and Benjamin is even happier!!

It's amazing how we bond so closely with our pets.

This has been a sombering weekend with the flooding in the hill country of Texas.

I'm sure you have all seen videos and coverage of this tragic event and I'm also certain we are all praying.

We can all do something.

Praying, providing supplies....

Fellowship Church is involved with rescue efforts and my friend, Debbie, shared this opportunity to provide needed supplies.

I have no words.......just praying.....