I DID sleep last night () and we got more done around here in the way of changing up bedrooms this morning.  All of that was while I did laundry and BEFORE we went to Annamarie's therapy appointment.

We didn't actually HAVE a therapy appointment.  I got there 10 minutes early and sat for 35 minutes and finally left when the therapist hadn't called us 25 minutes after our 2pm appointment.  This gal is the greatest therapist but is NEVER on time (grossly late always) and we had too much to do today - as you can see from the pictures.  Too bad I didn't take pictures of us unloading groceries!  I had a car full!

This is Rissy starting on her toys and clothes in her new room - thus the clutter.  Try to ignore the "shining star" from the mirror!

Yes!  Look at the time - almost midnight.

The police just left our street.   I'm the one who called them.

Several days ago, we woke up to find the neighbor's yard (across the street from us) strewn with an old bed, a dresser, a sofa, a stove, a toilet, and various other household items.  Grass clippings had been poured over the one car parked in the driveway.  The neighbors are out of town this week.

A good neighbor moved the stuff to the end of the driveway before we could do the job ourselves.

It is spring break.

Tonight, my husband came home from a church meeting to find a jeep of boys parked in the street, laughing at the house across the street.  My husband (huge) looked at them and someone said, "Pretty awesome, huh dude?"  My husband cocked his head and said, "What?!"  The boys drove off.

He went out to take our trash bins to the curb and, this time, there was a carload of girls in front of the house.  They drove off giggling when they saw him. 

Next he took the dog out front.  The girls were back, oblivious to him, and they started to haul more grass clippings out of their car.  My husband walked up behind them and quietly asked them if they were "picking up the grass this time" and they said "yes" and tore off down the street.

I called the police.

Not exactly what they considered a 911 call.  But, I wanted them HERE quickly.  That's a joke, because when Nikki came home and walked into our house to find herself face to face with two burglars, it took police 45 minutes to get here.  So, I wasn't very hopeful or expectant.

I told the dispatcher what had happened and what was happening tonight.  She didn't seemed to think there was a problem.  She asked, "So someone, like a bunch of kids, are just putting some things in front of a house?"

"No," said I, "vandalizing and possibly casing the house of someone out of town.  My husband has now counted five cars of teenagers."  I figured if I used "police words" like vandalize and casing a house, she might perk up.  She KINDA did.

"But they're just kids?"  (does "just kids" obliterate the problem?)

"THEY ARE VANDALIZING MY NEIGHBORS PRIVATE PROPERTY!!!!" said I, emphatically.  "So, if you could send someone this way, it would be appreciated.  I know you don't like to dispatch to this area, but I do pay taxes . . . "  (now I'm biting my wise cracking tongue)

So, out my husband goes to spy on whoever drives back next and to try to get tag numbers.  Then, here came a police squad car.  My husband has just gotten two tag numbers and as he is speaking to the officer (who has turned off his lights) here come the carload of girls and stopped in front of the neighbor's house.  I'm thinking a sobriety test might also be in order. 

They were stopped by the officer and my husband came inside.

THEN (here goes the gasket blowing part) the officer calls on our phone and tells me, "Wellll, it's just a bunch of teenage girls and they are "friends" with the girl across the street.  It's just a prank and they REALLY DO like her.  That's one way teens show each other they like someone" 

I interject, "Wow!  That's not how I thought people who liked people showed it."

He continues, "Well, they were collecting things around the neighborhood that had been put out for "big trash day" and I told them they had just inherited everything back and to collect up all the stuff and take it right over to their OWN house and dump it.  I told the girls the family was (oh no! here it comes . . . the gasket blowing part!!!!) out of town for the week!"

YES!  HE TOLD VANDALS SOMEONE WAS OUT OF TOWN!!!!!!!!!  At that point, every clever thing left my brain.  I was shocked!  Jesse walked in and I said, "Here.  Tell my husband!" and handed the phone over.

Now, aren't we NOT supposed to let people know when we are going to be out of town????? 

And WHO did we learn that from? 

Riiiiiiiight . . .

THE POLICE teach us that!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I told Jesse I almost said, "YOU DID WHAT???!!!!!  I must be old enough to be your mother because I have more common sense than THAT!!!!!

I'm furious.  I'm steaming and can't calm myself.  With friends like that, who needs enemies????

Who in the world would tell vandals their target is out of town for the rest of the week?????

And the part about, they "are really friends with the neighbor girl and really like her" . . . THAT'S another reason my children aren't in public school.  I told Jesse, "I wonder what they do when they DON'T like someone?"

Okay, maybe after writing I can think about going to sleep.  This is the most incredibly STUPID police officer I have ever encountered.  I don't know if the officer is friends with the girls' dads or what.  It's just the most idiotic thing I've heard of in some time.

Okay, maybe I can't go to sleep yet.

Annamarie is learning to spell and write her middle name "Grace" and is doing well.  Her handwriting looks neat and "pretty" this morning.  Hooray for "good" days!  I have to alternate with her between letters and numbers so she won't forget them.  Also the basic things like address and phone number have to be reviewed frequently.

Luci can't settle down, so she is NOT home schooling, but drifting from room to room bored.  I'm working her into the routine of home schooling, but am being relaxed about it.  She's had a bunch of changes switching from daycare to being home all day.  All in all, she's made a successful adjustment and I'm still glad about our decision to keep her home instead of a daycare.

All three girls are in the same social studies, health, and science books.  It's just easier to teach a lesson one time and adjust assignments according to the child's ability.

I have most of the girls' laundry done.  NOT all of the laundry, but the girls' laundry!  There's always something to be washed around here.  I need to take the king and twin guest room comforters to be laundered and also our bedroom's king size comforter.  Now is when I wish I had one of the larger capacity front loading machines!

Jesse is working for a friend at a pawn shop today and is going to a minister's conference this evening.  So, I've planned to fix breakfast for dinner.  That's a favorite dinner of the girls' and I, and not such a favorite of Jesse's.  I'm not sure if he'll attend the conferences for the rest of the week.  We may have a few more days of girls' meals!

I need to buy a few more things for Annamarie's 8th birthday on the 29th.  We are having extra children come that I hadn't planned on when buying party favors.  No big deal!  I think everything is from Wal-Mart.  I'll be there tomorrow doing the weekly shopping, anyway.  I'm hoping they have a leg of lamb so I don't have to go to Sam's to buy one.  We don't celebrate Easter, but DO usually have leg of lamb, unleavened bread, and horseradish (bitter herbs) and talk about the parallel of Passover and Christ's crucifixion and resurrection.  No eggs, baskets, or bunnies here.  I usually give them "spring gift bags" but it's too early this year to hand out sidewalk chalk, bubbles, and short sleeve shirts.  We'll wait until some time in April to celebrate that.

We start back tomorrow with the girls' weekly therapy appointments on Thursdays & Fridays.  We've not been in a month and half, because I wanted to avoid flu germs in the reception area!  I hate the thought of sitting for an hour (nothing close by to do instead of sitting there) and now will have Luci with me - my most IM-patient child.  I guess it will be good training for her.  I always try to find the "glad" side in things.

Speaking of Luci, she's now practicing writing new letters.  Guess the education bug bit her this morning, after all! 

I have very few files left to purge.  It's a good feeling.   Better get on with my work!

The cleaning up of my files is coming along nicely.  Yes, I still detest maintaining files!!!  Not only did I have utility bills left from our last house, I had them from the first house when we were first married!!!!  I really ought to purge our files more often!  When I'm done, I may not have to purchase that second file cabinet!!!!

Maybe today we'll bake cookies.  I was too busy with other things yesterday and only fixed leftovers for dinner.  It's colder today and raining.  Flash flood watches are out across the state.  A fire in the fireplace and cookies in the oven would take away the chill in the house.

I'm still chiseling away at transferring things from bedroom to bedroom for the girls' new abodes.

Here's something I did for fun this morning.  I got it from another blogger's site.  I really SHOULD finish filing; but, here goes, anyway . . .

Your Spelling is Perfect

You got 10/10 correct. Your spelling is excellent. You also have a great memory and eye for detail.

We had a very relaxing week-end.  He had to go give his mother a shot yesterday (I don't know what for) and wasn't gone more than the time it took him to go there, fill up our Suburban with gas, and come home.  The girls and I have stayed home since Friday's errand day.  I continue to be successful in staying away from groups of people, so we don't bring home the flu-bug.

Yesterday I got my new file cabinet moved into its position at my desk and have started the grueling task of going through files and thinning them out.  My most UN-favorite job when I worked and it's still not a favorite activity of mine.  I haven't cleaned out files in 5 years or more and figure we don't need our electric bills from 1992 from the house we used to live in!

This morning, I spent some time browsing my Amish book catalog for books I'd like to order.  Right now (March 15 - 31) they have a 25% discount on school books.  I'll just order everything in one clean sweep. 

After moving the desk and file cabinet a bit, we moved some furniture and lamps around yesterday.  I'm pleased with the "new" look.  Jesse has a mahogany 4 drawer chest from the formal living room as a night stand and I think I'll put his old, smaller one in the guest room.  The formal living room has a much smaller round end-table replacing the chest and it makes the room look larger.   Next goal is to go through Luci's toys and clean out her cupboard, then I will be able to transfer excess homeschool books from the kitchen into a cupboard, where all is unseen.

I plan to purge the bookshelves in the den.  They hold lots of children's books and a variety of knick knacks.  Lots of stuff to dust and I'm thinking maybe it's time to unclutter for a while.  I like the things on display, but I like the idea of not having to dust so many things, too!

Rissy is still loving her new room, even though it contains only her clothes.  We need to start transferring some more of her stuff into the room, but I need to buy some shelving first.

Yesterday, I set the alarm for 4:30am so I could get dressed and take James to the airport by 5:30am.   He had tickets with Southwest Airlines and, since they had grounded their flights the night before (that inspection problem that was in the news), we were holding our breath as to whether or not the airlines would actually fly.  They did.  He got to the airport in the perfect amount of time (didn't have to wait and didn't have to rush).  He called me from Phoenix, AZ and again when he reached Tacoma, WA.  I'm sure he was glad to arrive home and sleep in his own bed, but he DID call last night to tell us "good night!"  I was dragging yesterday (I'm not a napper) with only 5 hours of sleep under my belt.  Beanie Weanie for lunch and Sloppy Joe's for dinner!  I made my day as easy as possible!  Got the bedding from James' room washed and that's about it.

Yesterday, we moved Rissy to her NEW room - the one James had been in.  All of her things are still not moved, but that's okay.  It will all happen in good time.  When I told her we had to get the room ready for the next person she looked at me - confused.  She asked who was going to be staying in there next and I told her, "You are!"  She gasped, looked around the room, and said it was like a dream come true!  Luci tried to sleep with Annamarie last night (we are waiting to move her bed) and she just couldn't do it.  She ended up back in her old room in the middle of the night.  We'll try again tonight.  Luci is always thrown when "change" happens, so, once again, she'll be fine in good time.

Jesse has started back to mowing almost every day.  We're all adjusting to having him gone, again.  This winter was nice, but the money is running out and it's time for him to work.  I have to train myself to not ask when he'll be home each night.  What finally worked for us last year was for me to serve dinner WHENEVER and for him to eat when he arrived home.  I'm a planner, so I HAD to have a plan and that's what we came up with.  I've never been one to eat without him (I've always waited or adjusted my cooking time to his arrival time) and it was causing problems.  He felt pressured to hurry up and get home, and I felt irritated when food was ruined by being kept warm while we waited and waited and waited for him.  Sometimes I'm just too rigid (a thing I constantly work on overcoming).  Organization is a good thing, but you have to be able to bend easily and I don't.

Rissy had to go to the doctor on Wednesday.  We're hoping this is just a cold and doesn't involve her lungs.  March is the month she has the worst problems.  This is the month she was hospitalized 3 years ago and transported by ambulance on oxygen.  This is also the month, last year, she turned blue in front of us while her airways began to shut down, again.  With the help of our pediatrician, we were able to administer help and avoid another E.R. trip.  She says she feels better today (just a draining nose) and I hope so.  She has a steroid prescription waiting to be picked up to keep things from becoming inflamed this time.  I need to grocery shop and today is the best day (weather-wise) to do it.  I'll try to make the trip quick so she isn't out in the air much.  It's everyone's consensus that she is allergic to something that pops out every March.

Tangi's husband, Aubrey, is doing better.  He is trying to go to work a bit each day, but she said he comes home and heads right to bed.  He's exhausted, which is understandable.  He is still having quite a bit of pain, too.  He had a routine check up yesterday, but I haven't talked to her to find out how things went.  She is trying desperately to get caught up with everything that needs to be done around the house and find a routine, again.  Of course, next week is spring break for the children and won't be conducive to "routine," but it will mean fewer things she'll have to do.  The cards that everyone sent him (and are still sending) has been so appreciated by him and her, too.  This will be a slow recovery until all pain is gone and all energy has returned.

Spring is so very close.  The past few days have been delightfully pleasant, the next few days will be on the cold side, and Monday - Wednesday of next week will be stormy . . .   That is SO like Oklahoma's typical spring!  That's why I want to do the grocery shopping today.  Besides, going to Wal-Mart on a week-end is AWFUL!!!!  Tomorrow we can cuddle around the fireplace and bake cookies.  Rissy will help with the cookies, but I may not be able to pry her out of her new room!

If I'm going to go shopping (and expect my children to be wearing clothes and have their hair fixed), I guess I should move on from here and crack the whip!

Yesterday, I never got to Luci's laundry, but did get our sheets washed and our bed remade; all the super, large dishes are washed and put away;  the kitchen was wiped down; as well as things picked up around the house; AND (in between chores), I rested my knee.  It's doing much better.  While I slept last night, I rolled over 3 or 4 times and my knee popped a little each time.  It must be working it's way back to the "healthy" position!

Jesse will be home today - one of the few days left before we lose him to lawn care season!  James wants to go to a Walgreen's Drug Store (other than the one here in our little city) to find some giant coloring books for his niece, Aolani.  Stephanie bought one for Rissy's birthday and the girls love them.  All he could find was Power Ranger's or something equally "boy" and I think the one Stephanie gave Rissy was Tinkerbell and very girly!  So, Jesse may run him around town for a bit today.

TOTAL CHANGE OF SUBJECT . . .

This morning, I found a scripture posted on someone else's blog under the comments section.  The subject being discussed was about us praying for what we want (petitioning God with our desires) and accepting "no" (or no response at all) for an answer.  We were, specifically, talking  about MOVING somewhere else (a bigger house, to a different location, etc.).  Someone posted this (I can't take any credit!) and I wanted to share it.  I'll use the Amplified version, although the person posting used a different Bible.

26) "And He made from one (common origin, one source, one blood) all nations of men to settle on the face of the earth, having definitely determined (their) allotted periods of time and the fixed boundaries of their habitation (their settlements, lands, and abodes).

27)  So that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel after Him and find Him, although He is not far from each one of us.  (Acts 17: 26-27)

I remember us wanting to move to the country with lots of land and wanting horses, chickens, etc.  We even bought a horse (before the cart, so to speak) and boarded him on someone's land.  Then . . . I got sick for almost half a year and the reality was that - if God had given us those desires when we prayed for them, we wouldn't have been able to maintain the land and animals.  Also, the people who cared for us so completely (when I was sick) would have been too far away to have helped us.  That doesn't mean our desires won't be given to us in the future, but God's decision and timing were perfect.  Today's post reminded me to not be disappointed when we don't get exactly what we want WHEN we want it.

Just some food for thought today!  The whole discussion left me excited!