Saturday, December 15, 2012

The Shooting in Connecticut

I feel compelled to write, even though I don't know what to write. What can I write that hasn't already been thought and written by thousands of other people? Still, here I am - sitting at my computer, struggling with all these thoughts.

I'm not a parent, but I've spent my entire professional career loving and protecting young children. I started as a young, part-time, after-school teacher in a child care center -- with a group of 5-year-old children. I was a sophomore in college and I loved those kids. Sure, I was a kid myself, but I knew I was there to give them love and do my best to ensure their safety. Back in 1987, we didn't know anything about "active shooters on campus" or "lock-down" situations. We counted faces, made sure we had all of the kids with us at all times, and tried to keep everyone happy.

I've been the director of an NAEYC-Accredited preschool for the past four years and let me tell you -- Ensuring the safety of the children (and staff) takes on an entirely different meaning. I feel an enormous sense of responsibility every day - whether I'm physically at the preschool or not. Immediately after I arrived, I started making changes to beef-up our security. To some, it was a shock. "It's always been done this way." "We've never had a problem, here." Unfortunately, no one has the liberty to say those things anymore. We HAVE to do more to protect ourselves. We can't just take our safety for granted any more.

I created an extensive Disaster Preparedness Plan, and worked closely with first responders to make sure it was "good." Now, we're working with other professionals to make it even better. A couple of weeks ago, one of our fathers (Police Captain of the local university) presented a powerful workshop -- Dealing with an Active Shooter on Campus. It really changed our perspective on things teachers need to do. In a sense, WE are the "first responders". WE are the one's there to protect the children and WE will do what we can to do just that.

This most recent attack has really rattled me. That school had taken precautions -- they were doing things to keep the children and staff safe. Still, this person came in and murdered those innocent people. He killed the School Psychologist - my husband is a School Pscychologist. The children were just babies!!! There is NOTHING that a 5-year-old could ever do that would warrant an attack like this. I keep seeing the 5-year-olds that I have held in my arms. I can call "my kids" by name. Those sweet little faces that I've kissed and funny little stories that I've listened to. My heart aches for those families that will never get to do that again....with THESE little ones. I keep hoping it was like an episode of "Touched by an Angel", so that each person had a loving angel to calm and guide them.

I'm not ready to talk about "him" -- I'm too angry. I know I'm "supposed" to forgive him. I know I should think about him as a 5-year-old, or as a young adult who is lost and hurting. I just can't get there right now. Right now, I'm thinking about these precious little one's and their teachers.

New angels in heaven - just in time for Christmas.

Please join me in praying for the children. We need GOD to take over!! Clearly, we can't handle this on our own.

Monday, December 10, 2012

Happy 1st Year!

Dec 10, 2011 we moved in to our new home -- exactly 1 year ago today. We still LOVE this house!! It's absolutely perfect for us. It's hard to believe that a year has already passed. Time definitely does fly.

In the past year, we have:
- Shared our home with family and friends on multiple occasions
- Bought new furniture
- Built a shed in the backyard
- Dug and established 5 new flowerbeds, including the front patio
- Planted 6 trees
- Floored the attic
- Added new shelving to the attic
- Designed and built my scrapbook room
- Had fun decorating each room and making this house a "home"

Sure, there are more projects to do (all of which my dear hubby is super excited to tackle!!!), but that's part of the fun. For now, I'm going to enjoy this evening by sitting in the dark, with only the Christmas tree lights glowing. Ahhh!! My spirit is at peace!!!

Monday, December 3, 2012

Health Update

I don't want to write most of these posts about my fibro, but I also want to share what's going on. So -- here's the latest.

The Cymbalta is definitely working and I'm starting to have more "good days". Unfortunately, this isn't one of them, but that's to be expected. Honestly, I still hurt somewhere on my body almost all of the time. Today, both of my arms feel like they are burning. I'm used to my forearms burning/hurting, but the past couple of days, the backs of my arms have been feeling like this, too. It feels like when something has rubbed against your skin for a long time and left it sore and sensitive. Wearing shirts is uncomfortable.

My left leg feels like that a little bit, plus it is weak and tired. The strangest part is the top of my rear! Let me tell ya -- having that part of your body hurt is no fun at all! When my leg hurts, it often impacts my walking. Today, I had someone ask me if I was OK. She said she could see me limping a little bit.

I have 6 large ulcers in my mouth. I have always gotten lots of ulcers, but the past few years I haven't had very many at all. I had almost forgotten how badly they hurt! YUCK! I'm guessing that there's just "something in my system" right now. I'll sure be glad when "it's" gone!

For the most part, I think my energy level is starting to come back. I'm still tired, but it's not as bad as it was. I'm not having to take a nap during the work day. I still take a break and sometimes sleep, but I don't have to.

My scalp hasn't been hurting! Yay!

Here's what I know....
1) Lack of sleep is a big trigger.
2) Stress is a big trigger.
3) Cold weather is a trigger.
4) A drastic weather change is a trigger.
5) Cymbalta is a necessity!
6) Everyone I've told has been amazingly supportive!
7) An epson salt bath really helps.
8) I have an amazing husband who is crazy about me!

I am blessed!

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Happy Anniversary

What a great week-end. My love and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. I can't believe how fast these past 5 years have flown by! I've loved every minute. I'm crazy in love with this funny, sweet, smart, gentle man.

We spent Thanksgiving Day at my mother-in-love's house with other family members. It was a nice day filled with tons of food!!

On Friday, he surprised me by telling me we were going to start our celebration. It was great! We went out to a local steak house, then to see the new James Bond movie at the new I-Max theatre. THEN, he surprised me by taking us to stay at the same place we spent our Honeymoon Night. It was so wonderful!!

(I took pictures, but they're on my phone and I can't figure out how to get them into my computer. I thought I emailed them to myself and then uploaded them into Picasa, but I guess not! Maybe someday I'll find them!)

We stayed at the Woodrow House Bed and Breakfast ---- in the caboose!! Yes, it's a real train caboose and it's awesome! The owners are very nice and the breakfast was delicious.

On Saturday (our actual anniversary), we just spent the day together - doing nothing much, but doing it together!

Then, we went to supper at the Olive Garden. It's our tradition -- it's where he proposed and we've gone there to celebrate the anniversary of the proposal and our wedding. We also always sit in the same booth! We had to wait 1 1/2 hours this time, but it was OK. We'll wait as long as it takes for "Our Booth". The manager knows us now. She usually buys us a dessert, but this time gave us a gift card for our next visit. So sweet!! She and her husband got engaged there, too. He passed away, so this is her way of celebrating him and us.

My hubby and I had said, "No gifts" this time. Of course, he did all of those other wonderful things for me! Well, I couldn't not get at least a little something.......

The 5th anniversary gift is supposed to be wood, so I bought him a 2x4 and then wrote all over it! Can I say he was a little speechless and then proclaimed it the most unusual gift he had ever received?!? He loved it! Have I told you lately how lucky I am and how much I love this man?!!?

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

I'm ready to talk

I'm sure you've noticed that I haven't written in a while. It's not because I haven't had anything to say. In fact, it's really the opposite. I've had quite a bit to say - I just haven't been ready to talk.

I've been debating for a while..... What should I say? How much should I share? When should I do it? Well, I finally decided that now is the perfect time and I'm "a sharing friend", so I'm sure I'll share more than most people want to know. So, after all of that build up, what is it??

I have recently discovered that I have fibromyalgia.

There I put it out there for all the world to see. (Ha ha -- at least the 10 people who actually read this blog!)

It all started a few months ago. (Actually, when I think back, I believe I've had symptoms for a long time.) The nerves in different parts of my body starting doing really weird things and my migraines were getting much, much worse and more frequent. I mentioned these things to my doctor during my annual physical and his immediate response was, "Hmmm. This is troublesome and I'm ordering an MRI of your brain." Talk about freaking out! This has been my doctor for over 20 years and he's never said anything like that to me! He's always Thankfully, the MRIs (I had 2) were fine. No abnormalities at all. (And yes - I really do have a brain in this head! That was a relief!) He ran a ton of other tests and took what seems like gallons of blood, but still no real answers.

I really am happy that I don't have lupus, or MS, rheumatoid arthritis or any number of other autoimmune diseases. (At least not that is showing itself right now.) I do NOT want any of those things. Yet, it is very frustrating that I am having these troubles and "nothing" keeps showing up.

So, how does fibromyalgia affect me? I HURT all over! In some areas, I have "skin sensitivity". One example is the outside of my pinkie finger. I wouldn't say it necessarily "hurts", but it is very sensitive all down the side. It might last for a few minutes, or it might last all day. For about 2 weeks, my left leg HURT to the touch. Even the sheets and my clothes caused real pain. I almost always have a deep aching, pain, inside my left leg and a variety of other places on my body (especially in my right arm and hand. In fact, I've had to stop a number of times while typing this update.) I also have muscle weakness in those same areas. There are times I feel like my left leg can't support my weight.

There are also times of extreme fatigue. I'm not just talking about being really tired. I'm talking about being so fully and completely exhausted that holding my arm up is simply too much effort.

I've also been dealing with a deep depression as part of this. Again, it's not just being "sad". It's about crying for no reason -- not wanting to get out of bed -- and not wanting to do any of my favorite things. I love to garden, scrapbook, and shop. These past few months, the thought of doing any of those things has been incredibly overwhelming.

On a positive note -- I have been taking Cymbalta for the past 3 weeks and it does seem to be helping a bit. The intensity of the pain has lessened, the depression is lifting, and my energy level is increasing. I'm very happy about that! I'm not 100%, but I'm on my way. It's clear to me that the Cymbalta is working because I've been without it for the past 2 days and tonight is rough!!! The doctor had given me samples, but once we knew this was the medication that was working, it was time to get a prescription. There was a mix-up with the pharmacy and we couldn't get it until today. Yuck! Another yuck - we're not sure that my insurance will pay for it! My doctor is willing to do what we need to, so I'm confident this will work out. It will all be OK.

There is no test to diagnose fibro. It's basically a "diagnosis of exclusion." I went back to the dr this week and while he didn't officially say the words, "You have a diagnosis of fibromyalgia.", fibro was the only thing we talked about. He acknowledged that he's ruled out everything else.

I keep thinking about my sweet husband. He has been amazing through all of this. He supports me and loves me unconditionally. He didn't "sign up for this" -- my words, not his! He always says he's "in this" and has been so great. I just feel bad when I can't do what we normally do. I know I'll "get back". I just wish I was already there.

Anyway - if you stayed with me until the end, I hope you now understand why I've been MIA for a while. Now that my secret is out, I promise to write more often. Thanks for understanding!

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Black paint is finished!!

(Can you believe it -- 2 posts in one day! Yeah for me!)

We finally got the black paint on my new scrapbook cabinets! I love it!! I'm going to wait for at least a week before I start distressing them. I want to make sure the paint is fully cured. We are definitely not professionals, but I think they turned out pretty great!

Back Yard - Almost Done

Yay! Our back yard landscaping is almost done. (Again, for the fall, only. I have many more plans, but they'll wait until next spring.)

We dug a new flowerbed today and I finally got my fall blooming plants in place. This bed is along the inside wall of our master closet.

Obviously, we ran out of the stone. These are the extras we've had from the other beds. Looks like a trip to Lowe's! I put in some irises from Dave's mom's yard, fall aster, hens & chicks, autumn sedum, and a vitex tree.

This bed is along the back fence, beside the gate. It's anchored by a juniper on one end and a guara on the other. I know they are hard to see, so I'll just tell you what's there. (Left to right....) lantana, fall aster, purple mum, autumn sedum, guara. Love my iron fence and my weather vane. We know the weather vane needs to be higher to actually work, but I don't want anything to happen to it.



There are lots of holes for spring and summer plants! Yippee!! I'll spend the winter going through my gardening books and magazines, picking out just the perfect plants.


Have I told you how much I love my flowerbeds? 

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Front yard landscaping - DONE!

Hooray! The front yard landscaping is done --- at least for this year!! (Ha Ha!! I'm never really done! I'm sure when next Spring rolls around, I'll be itching to do something else!!)


We spent time last weekend shopping and planting and I'm so happy with the results. The trees are both small, but they'll fill in nicely in a few short years.


The large tree in the middle of the yard is a Chinese Pistache. It's a Texas Super Star and is supposed to be well suited for our weather. The leaves are just starting to turn a deep burgundy. The small one at the corner of the house is a Dwarf Alberta Spruce.

I think all these touches make our new house look less like a "new build" and more like a "home".


 (OK - So I should have moved the bright yellow water hose before I started taking pictures!!)


I also planted some new fall perennials. I put yellow and burgundy mums, oxalis, and kale in all three beds.

Unfortunately, the weather was dark and overcast, so the colors look very muted. In person, all of the flowers are blooming and the colors are rich and vibrant. I just love spending time in my gardens! I find such peace and joy with the dirt and the flowers!

Now, I just need to finish the backyard. (And the scrapbook room, and the garage, and my master closet, and......)

Sunday, September 30, 2012

1st coat of black

Whoo Hoo!! The first coat of black paint is on!!

Sunday, September 9, 2012

AWOL

Yup - I've been AWOL from this blog for a few weeks. Work really ramped up and I needed to spend my extra time with those projects. We have just finished our 2nd week back at school and it seems as if we're really "in the groove" now. Hopefully, this means I'll be able to do some more home projects.

Speaking of which...... Look what we've been up to!!


We are creating my SCRAPBOOK ROOM!!!! WHOO HOO!!!

This started as an empty wall, 9' long and 10' high. We've now installed all of the cabinets, counter tops, and peg board!! There's still quite a bit more to go, but it's definitely looking like a real scrapbook room, now!!! YIPPEE!!

Stay tuned. Hopefully, I'll get to reveal it in a few more weeks.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

House Tour - Dining Room and Guest Suite

So......it was "kindly" pointed out to me that I posted lots of pictures while our new house was being built, but hardly any since we've moved in. Ok, Ok! I hear ya!!

I've been waiting until the rooms were "finished", but I agree......are rooms ever really finished?? Guess I'll have to just show the "work in progress" rooms. Feel free to look away if you can only look at finished and picture-perfect rooms!!

It's been my intention to let our home "tell our story" and I've worked hard to do just that. It isn't a magazine-worthy house......It's our HOME and we love it!

Dining Room

This is the left wall inside the Dining Room. My old radio once belonged to my great-grandmother and I love it! The radio part worked the last time I checked, but that was years ago. Sure, I've thought about getting it refurbished, but never have pursued it.

The large painting is a Thomas Kinkade and is one of my favorite possessions. My family gave it to me when I received my Master's Degree. I love to imagine living in that beautiful cottage surrounded with all those flowers! Ahhhh!!


Another thing I love about this room is this basket of stones. When we got married, we asked all of the people who attended the Rehearsal Dinner to write something special to us on these stones. We wanted our marriage to be "built on the rock" and this was one way to symbolize our love for each other and the love and support we had from our closest friends and family. This was long before pintrest or blogging!! Anyway, these rocks now live in our home and are a constant reminder of our blessings.

  
  


We hung our picture windows on this wall. I think this is the perfect place for them. Again, I made these windows long before I had even heard about pintrest. You can read more about the windows here.

Our "Sitting Area" garden is just outside this window.

Guest Suite

The other room that's pretty close to "finished" is our Guest Suite. (Hee Hee.... I had to get this room ready pretty quickly. My parents came to stay with us about 3 weeks after we moved in!!)

This view is from the doorway, looking back towards the sink area. The shower and toilet are on the other side of that wall.

The closet is on the other side of this wall.


From this shot, you can see the window in the Dining Room. We adjusted the original floor plan so we could have this Guest Suite and we're really pleased with it. Our guests truly feel like they have their own private space.

Well, that wraps up the home tour. I have lots of other projects to work on and then I can post some more rooms. Until then, thanks for reading and be blessed!

Thursday, August 9, 2012

I Cooked Supper!!

Now, I know that for most people, this is certainly not blog-worthy news, but for me -- well, this merits a world-wide press release!! Ha Ha - I do NOT cook. Luckily, I am married to a really good cook. Tonight, I decided I would make supper to surprise my love.
I found a great recipe on pintrest that I thought even I could do. The picture looked so yummy, so I tracked it back to this blog to find out exactly how to make it.

Pizza Casserole

(I had to take a picture of myself cooking in order for anyone to believe that I actually did it!!)


Here's the finished product - all ready to go into the oven.


It turned out great and he even had seconds!! Yay me!!
(Now I just hope he doesn't start expecting me to cook!!! YUCK!!)
 

Sunday, August 5, 2012

New Flowerbed

Whoo Hoo! We dug a new flowerbed today. I call it the "Street Garden". It still needs a little work, but it's basically done.

The focal piece is our new Chitalpa tree. I really like this tree. It is a cross between a Catalpa and a Desert Willow. I am not a fan of the Desert Willow because I don't like the seed pods. The Chitalpa does not have those pods. In the spring and summer, it's covered with little pink flowers that look like mini orchids. It grows really fast and tolerates both our super hot summers and our freezing winters.

Right now, she just looks like a tall shrub, but in a couple of years, she'll be about 20 feet tall with a beautiful pink and green canopy.


We plan to put in a small landscaping boulder, but right now a paver holds its place.
The only flowers that I have so far are a yarrow and a small lantana. I'm not sure which cultivars I have. I bought both of them on clearance and neither one had their id tags. Guess it will be a mystery! Yippee!! : )

More fun stuff....

One of our favorite nurseries is closing and they had a huge sale!! (The closing part definitely isn't the "fun stuff". I will miss TG Trees!!) We purchased several things for our yard. (Including the Chitalpa)

Cedar Elm
Can you believe it -- this guy only cost me $44!! SCORE! It's hard to tell in this picture, but it's a 30-gallon tree. It was 80% off!!! WHOO HOO!! He's leaning right now, so we had to put it against the fence until we can get it in its permanent home.


Juniper
We paid about $25 for this tree. It was originally cut in a spiral, but they let it go. Fine with me. That's a lot of work. I'm happy to let it grow naturally. It will be anchor on this side of a new flowerbed along our back fence. This will be the next bed that we'll create. (But with 100 degree days, we're not in a major hurry!!) That little pot beside the tree is the other half of the lantana from our Street Garden.

Vitex
The Vitex will anchor a new bed along the side our house, inside the "courtyard" part of our backyard. I don't have this bed designed yet, so we'll probably just plant the Vitex and then create a bed later.

ALL of these new plants cost less than $200!! Not too shabby for a crazy hot weekend in August!

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Flowers are blooming!

Look what greeted me when we returned from vacation!!


Even Riley enjoyed the blossoms!



Monday, July 30, 2012

Back from vacation

It's always nice to get away! We've just returned from a great 2-week vacation to see family. We've made this trip before, but this time was a little different -- my mother-in-law went with us. I enjoyed having her with us. It was nice to get to know one another a little better. Ha -- she may have gotten to know me better than she wanted!!! OOPS! : )

Anyway, I was a good visitor, but a terrible blogger!! I didn't post any updates at all and in fact, I took very few pictures! Oh well. We had fun and that's what counts!

We had a great time touring Amish County (Lancaster, PA)



While we were in Pennsylvania, Dave and I played golf at a gorgeous course!! We don't have all these strange things where we live.....Things like grass, hills, and trees! Oh - and that terrible humidity!


A trip into Scranton for some D-LISH philly cheesesteak - wid. We couldn't believe our eyes when we saw actual Birch Beer on tap! We immediately took a picture to send back to Texas to make my brother-in-law jealous! Aren't we sweet??


Lake Winola, PA -- my dear husband's most favorite place in the entire world. It is really beautiful. So calm and peaceful! I love experiencing it with him. This time was special because I also got to share it with my sweet mother-in-law. They lived around here for a long time and it is still considered "home". 


We said good-bye to dear friends and headed south to Kentucky to spend some time with my mother and father. Just like the north-east part of PA is "home" to my husband's family, central KY is "home" to my family. It was kinda funny hearing the same kind of stories, only this time my daddy was sharing them. Guess those small town, happy memories make an impression - no matter where you live!

We spent one full day in Berea, KY. In this picture, we are eating in the famous Boone Tavern. I had my first Hot Brown - a long time KY delicacy. Yummy!



We spent another day in Shaker Town. It was very interesting. This gentleman is showing us how they make some of their wooden items. I had my first smell of sassafras!


We spent a couple of days in Kentucky and then it was time to head home. To help break up the long trip (3 days!!), we stopped in Nashville to see my granddaddy, in Arkansas to see Dave's youngest son, and in Oklahoma City to see the at the National Oklahoma City Memorial. It is powerful!! I highly recommend everyone stopping to see it.


So, after 14 days, 4000 miles, and quite a few pounds later, our vacation came to an end. As glad as I was to go, I was equally as glad to get home. I love to travel, but there's nothing like your own bed!!

Monday, July 9, 2012

1 vehicle in!!

Whoo Hoo!! After 6 months of living in our new house, we finally have 1 vehicle in the garage!
The first big step was getting the shed built and DH's shop stuff moved. It took us several weekends, but we did it.

Then, we had to do lots of cleaning!! Whew! It was crazy!

All that hard work paid off when I was able to drive in! Yippee!! I even have plenty of room to walk around my car.

Next up -- making room for the truck.

Doesn't this picture look awful?!?!? It's pretty organized, but it's hard to tell in this shot! It all makes sense to us..... garage sale items, boxes of things to give away, empty boxes for "just in case", holiday decorations, and camping gear. Believe it or not, everything has a home. We just have to get those homes ready. Looks like we'll need a few more weekends!

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

I'm still here....

Gosh - it's been quite a while since I've blogged. Sorry about that. DH and I have been so super busy, that I haven't had time to write.

Since I last wrote, we've hosted several get togethers with friends and family. One of the main reasons we chose our particular floor plan was because we thought it would be great for entertaining. We were right! This layout is great! We can have lots of people and it doesn't feel crowded. (For someone with some "issues", that's really important!) I love to put a fun table together and DH loves to cook, so entertaining is fun for us.

We've also worked quite a bit on DH's new shed. He now has electical outlets, insulation, and MDF interior walls. Hooray!! We even started moving some of his tools and equipment. (Yeah - 1 more step to getting the garage emptied out!!) I'm so thankful that DH's brother came to help for a while.

DH has been out of town twice. I hate it when he's gone. I'm very selfish with my time with him and I miss him when he's gone. Still, the reunion is nice!! : )

It's been HOT here!!! Last week, every day was in the 100's! It's hard to breathe when it's that hot!!

Since it's been so hot, I haven't spent much time in my flowers. My new perennials are doing nicely. (Especially considering they are enduring this crazy dry heat!!) I've only added 1 new planting......

It's a little hard to see, so let me explain. (Don't feel bad.....I had to explain it my hubby, and he was standing right in front of it!! Ha Ha!)

I purchased this old suitcase from a thrift store for $5. I then planted 3 mini yellow roses that I bought on clearance ($1/rose). In real life, you can actually see the 3 little rose plants. Then, I put a layer of mulch and layered some marbles on top -- just for fun! I'm still not sure about the mirror. I love the look, but I'm afraid the plants will be burnt. I have the case angled away from the direct path, but we'll see..... Hopefully these tiny little roses will bust out with their bright yellow goodness!!

I have BIG plans for the backyard!! I'm trying really hard to wait until fall. Besides.....it may take that long to convince my sweet hubby that I need to dig all those new flowerbeds!! Ha Ha!!

I also have several projects either started, or wanting to get started. I just haven't had time to get them finished. This is my busiest time at work, so I haven't had extra crafting time. Yeah - things to look forward to!!

Well, that's about all of the update I can think of. Hopefully, I'll start writing a little more frequently so you won't be bored with one giant post! Thanks for sticking with me until the end!!

'Til next time.......Be Blessed!

Friday, June 15, 2012

What the HAIL?!?!

Ever since we moved into our new home, our normally arid city has gotten lots of moisture. Of course, I'm very grateful for the rain. It's the STORMS I don't like!!

My poor, newly planted flowerbeds took a BEATING last night!! High winds, torrential downpour, and LOTS of hail sure did a number on everything.

This shot is looking out from the dining room. Can you see all the water rushing down the sidewalk?? Sheesh! All the white that you see is hail!! Mainly pea-sized, but still lot of it!


Shot from outside the scrapbook room. 

 Back porch and yard. Looks like SNOW!
Morning after pix:

This is what is left of the cover for our fire pit. We just got this in December!


All our mulch....down the drain! See that it's covering the last few stones? There are a few plants under all that mess.


My poor little hydrangea! Her leaves are all beaten! I saw flower petals all though the yard and driveway. All the mulch has been washed away.


The bird feeder has been blown over and the poor geranium is barely hanging on.


 Believe me - I spared you all the pictures I could have taken. I've already showed more than ya'll probably want to see! Anyway, I'm thrilled for the moisture - I really am. We've been praying for it and I'm grateful it's hear. I was just looking forward to some beautiful flowers. Guess we'll just see what happens next!