Thursday, January 21, 2010
Tornado
A tornado threaded the needle between us and downtown Huntsville about an hour ago. We are fine. I knew there was a tornado watch out, so I had been monitoring the weather radar during the afternoon, but I had decided that the threat was over around 4:00pm. Then the weather radio started blaring, and the tornado siren went off. I high tailed it down the hall to the radio and flipped the TV station to watch Dan Satterfield on channel 19, but the channel was black. I then switched to the Weather Channel and saw words on the bottom of the screen that indicated that it really might be headed our way. I yelled to the girls to get in the bathroom. After running to the windows to see if there really seemed to be an imminent threat (all the clouds were in the distance and the sun was perfectly visible here), I then tried channel 19 again to find that it was indeed back on the air. I then saw an incredible sight: A tornado hanging above Huntsville, live on the Saturn V Rocket Cam. It looked white compared to the black clouds behind it. Those black clouds proved to be between our house and the tornado. Since I had determined from Dan's excellent coverage that we were not going to be hit by this storm, I then called the girls in to watch the spectacle. As of now the news is reporting that it might have been an F1 or F2. Damage reports are coming in, but there are no reports of serious injury at this time. A January tornado on live TV, wow! I hope and pray that no one has been hurt.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Bible College
It is Monday night and I am in my usual place: Whitesburg Heritage Bible College. Lainey is taking classes toward a Biblical Studies Certificate. Since she does not have her license that means she has to take the mommy taxi. For that reason I am here for three hours every week of the school year.
It can be a lot of fun. We took Greek together last year for one of the classes. Having taken it in college many years ago, I was surprised at how much I had forgotton.
On some nights I work in the office to help out the dean and his wife the registrar. She has to be gone a lot because their youngest daughter is under treatment for leukemia. I sit in the office when she is not here, to try to help out the students with books and payments. I'm not much use for other questions, but I do know how to leave notes for Ginger to answer when she returns.
Other nights I have been known to bring along school work to catch up on. I write lesson plans, grade papers, etc, if I can find a quiet place. I have even been know to cram in some last minute work for Tuesday morning ladies Bible studies.
When either of the above options fail me, I might run errands to the store, loiter around the office talking Ginger's head off (or someone else), or just hang out in the computer lab. The store thing can be tricky. One night I couldn't make it back because of a flat tire. Some dear friends saved me on that one.
Tonight I have spent time having long conversations with at least three friends. We have discussed computer and cell phone issues, missions, the state of churches in the US, and our children's musical instruments. Now that Lainey's classes are almost done, I am finally down to wasting time in the computer lab writing this blog.
Have I bored you yet? I hope to one day have more inspiration, but for now, this is what you will get. I can wax somewhat elequent when I am well rested and feel up to great heights. Lately, though, between my back problems, acid reflux, asthma, and busy schedule, I just haven't been getting enough sleep. On top of that I think that my insulin/sugar issues may be getting worse, though my blood test do not indicate an issue. Some days I am doing well if we can just get through school. It was a real struggle today. All I felt like doing all day was finding a nice cozy dark quiet spot to sleep. Somehow we got all the lessons done, but mommy was more the problem than the help, I'm thinking. It is funny that we often do better at school when we are not at home. I think the adrenaline of being "out" helps me to function better. Maybe...
Time to go! Class is over.
It can be a lot of fun. We took Greek together last year for one of the classes. Having taken it in college many years ago, I was surprised at how much I had forgotton.
On some nights I work in the office to help out the dean and his wife the registrar. She has to be gone a lot because their youngest daughter is under treatment for leukemia. I sit in the office when she is not here, to try to help out the students with books and payments. I'm not much use for other questions, but I do know how to leave notes for Ginger to answer when she returns.
Other nights I have been known to bring along school work to catch up on. I write lesson plans, grade papers, etc, if I can find a quiet place. I have even been know to cram in some last minute work for Tuesday morning ladies Bible studies.
When either of the above options fail me, I might run errands to the store, loiter around the office talking Ginger's head off (or someone else), or just hang out in the computer lab. The store thing can be tricky. One night I couldn't make it back because of a flat tire. Some dear friends saved me on that one.
Tonight I have spent time having long conversations with at least three friends. We have discussed computer and cell phone issues, missions, the state of churches in the US, and our children's musical instruments. Now that Lainey's classes are almost done, I am finally down to wasting time in the computer lab writing this blog.
Have I bored you yet? I hope to one day have more inspiration, but for now, this is what you will get. I can wax somewhat elequent when I am well rested and feel up to great heights. Lately, though, between my back problems, acid reflux, asthma, and busy schedule, I just haven't been getting enough sleep. On top of that I think that my insulin/sugar issues may be getting worse, though my blood test do not indicate an issue. Some days I am doing well if we can just get through school. It was a real struggle today. All I felt like doing all day was finding a nice cozy dark quiet spot to sleep. Somehow we got all the lessons done, but mommy was more the problem than the help, I'm thinking. It is funny that we often do better at school when we are not at home. I think the adrenaline of being "out" helps me to function better. Maybe...
Time to go! Class is over.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Not Much
Well, when I started this blog, I said something about probably not writing in it much. I haven't been inspired to write lately. It usually takes inspiration for me to do much writing, probably because I am not a very good typist. Here goes anyway....
We have been busy so far in this new year of 2010. Mostly we have been trying to stay focused on school. I don't want to have that end-of-May-frantic-blitz-to-get-school-done again. I did manage to get my grades turned in on time, by about an hour. Whew! There are some things I hate to sit down and grade, basically anything subjective. I am a very objective person (objectionable to some people, but let's not go there right now.), so I want everything to fall into place as either right or wrong, black or white. Life doesn't seem to work that way, but it doesn't stop me from wanting it. Anyway, essays, term papers, and handwriting papers tend to get ignored as long as possible at my house. I really wish I could get someone else to do the grading for me. Oh, well! That is life. Actually, I have made it my resolution to finish grading all papers everyday and filing them in their appropriate places. I am not succeeding well in this.
Lainey got her braces adjusted yesterday. She chose pink and blue bands this time. I like them ever so much better than the silver ones that she has been sporting for the last two months. I must say that I am thrilled with the progression of her teeth. Those two front teeth are almost touching already! I didn't know that they could move teeth that far in such a short time without surgery. I must admit that I am very grateful that I did not have to have braces. I am even more grateful for the fabulous news we got from the new dental insurance company. Mike's company dropped our orthodontic insurance $1500 benefit without our knowledge last year (not a word in all the paper work). We had the braces put on in November not knowing this. We found out in December when the claim was rejected and after the sign up period for the new year had closed. God was taking care of us though. CenturyLink had decided to change dental insurance companies from MetLife to Delta. The new Delta insurance has a $1500 benefit and I was able to confirm with the company that even though the braces were already put on her teeth, they will pay the full $1500 and not prorate it. Hallelujah!
In other news, my best friend from college and her family came to visit us this weekend. We had a great visit. Because they live on the other side of the planet, we have only gotten to spend tiny snippets of time with each other over the past decade. It was wonderful to spend all day Saturday just talking with each other while her son played around her feet and I took hours making beef stew. I can do it much faster, but why should I? It was an excuse to spend more time sharing our lives with each other.
I guess I had more to say than I thought. Mike is signaling that I need to shut this thing down for the night. So....good night!
We have been busy so far in this new year of 2010. Mostly we have been trying to stay focused on school. I don't want to have that end-of-May-frantic-blitz-to-get-school-done again. I did manage to get my grades turned in on time, by about an hour. Whew! There are some things I hate to sit down and grade, basically anything subjective. I am a very objective person (objectionable to some people, but let's not go there right now.), so I want everything to fall into place as either right or wrong, black or white. Life doesn't seem to work that way, but it doesn't stop me from wanting it. Anyway, essays, term papers, and handwriting papers tend to get ignored as long as possible at my house. I really wish I could get someone else to do the grading for me. Oh, well! That is life. Actually, I have made it my resolution to finish grading all papers everyday and filing them in their appropriate places. I am not succeeding well in this.
Lainey got her braces adjusted yesterday. She chose pink and blue bands this time. I like them ever so much better than the silver ones that she has been sporting for the last two months. I must say that I am thrilled with the progression of her teeth. Those two front teeth are almost touching already! I didn't know that they could move teeth that far in such a short time without surgery. I must admit that I am very grateful that I did not have to have braces. I am even more grateful for the fabulous news we got from the new dental insurance company. Mike's company dropped our orthodontic insurance $1500 benefit without our knowledge last year (not a word in all the paper work). We had the braces put on in November not knowing this. We found out in December when the claim was rejected and after the sign up period for the new year had closed. God was taking care of us though. CenturyLink had decided to change dental insurance companies from MetLife to Delta. The new Delta insurance has a $1500 benefit and I was able to confirm with the company that even though the braces were already put on her teeth, they will pay the full $1500 and not prorate it. Hallelujah!
In other news, my best friend from college and her family came to visit us this weekend. We had a great visit. Because they live on the other side of the planet, we have only gotten to spend tiny snippets of time with each other over the past decade. It was wonderful to spend all day Saturday just talking with each other while her son played around her feet and I took hours making beef stew. I can do it much faster, but why should I? It was an excuse to spend more time sharing our lives with each other.
I guess I had more to say than I thought. Mike is signaling that I need to shut this thing down for the night. So....good night!
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