Sweet Surprises

Officially (at least in my non-medically professional mom opinion) I have a cold. I'm steadily working my way through two boxes of tissues. I'm sneezing. I've developed a little cough. I feel like someone is sitting on my chest. My nose is very, very sore. Puffs aren't even soft enough right now.

I do want to report that I slept for 10 hours last night. Not bad with a cold! I no longer feel like I'm going to die if I don't lay my head down in the next nanosecond. I have a sense of a little more energy, but can't use much of it because I'm having so much trouble breathing.

So I guess the word for the day is somewhat. Somewhat better.

I worked yesterday. I really worked. The factory has a huge (HUGE) order for a specific part that they have to get out by next Friday. Four of us worked really hard and steady on it yesterday and put out 15 skids: 960 parts. I made 800 of those boxes. Towards the end of the day one of the guys was getting really frustrated and so we swapped positions. This was good. I needed to get out of the physical routine of box making or I wasn't going to be able to move when I got home. The bosses were pleased with the amount of work we did. It's more than has been accomplished in one day by any crew since we started working with this factory.

Been spending extra time on the phone with the married daughter. She started a new job last week. A daycare center in the next town bought a new building and was reopening. Ann is so good with kids. They hired her to be an floating aide. They offered to let her bring Penelope and only charge her $40 a week. It seemed like a really good situation.

Penelope is only 13mo old. She is one of the busiest children I've ever been around. She did not adapt well to being confined to one room. In addition to that she's been fighting colds and an upper respirtory infection. The owners of the daycare told Ann that it might not work out for Penelope and Ann would have to find other care options. (Picture me in the background, jumping up and down and waving my arms. Pick me!) If Penelope can't adapt, then Ann will quit and seek other job options.

I was just talking with Nelson. Having dreamingly and half serious, we talked about moving over that way and me watching Pnel again. I had the awesome blessing of caring for her almost everyday of her first 6mo. That's when I decided I was going to be one really, really connected grammies. Moving would depend on many, many things--the biggest a sense of God's approval on the change. It would involve getting approval from probation first. Then moving again. An expense we can't afford. I just realized this is something to pray more about and start saving for. Okay. Enough of that.

We have friends coming to visit tonight. We all went to college together. The wife of the couple, Rhonda, was my roomie in college and at Cedar Point. She was married to my brother for 7 years. She and I have remained closest of friends. Her husband, Steve, pastors a church plant with the Wesleyan church. They're the couple we spent New Year's Eve with. Rhonda was with me when I bought the jeans at Goodwill that had the twenty dollar bill in the pocket. I realized this morning I never told her the story. It will be fun to share all over again.

Having friends over is a buoy to the spirit and something else very important: incentive to clean. I vacuumed, did dishes, cleaned the microwave, cleaned the bathrooms, and even dusted a little. I had to go in little spurts throughout the day since it's still really hard to breathe. I lit a candle to help the house smell inviting, but alas I can't even detect its wonderful aroma.

Right now, I'm sitting across the dining room table staring at my wonderful husband. I must have told 4 dozen times that I love him today. He's been working on taxes and computers all day. He took some time out to go run to the grocery for me. I like when he shops--that way he can't say there's nothing to eat! And he always brings me a surprise. Today it was peanut M&M's.

So, it's much later now....Rhonda and Steve came to visit. Rhonda made some money on ebay with some sweet scarves she crocheted and sold. With that money she went to Aldi's and bought us a mountain of groceries. I just stood in my kitchen and bawled. What a precious friend. They also brought us a dishwasher. It was an extra one they had. It's the kind you roll over to the sink and hook up to the faucet. I feel so blessed.

We went out for dinner. We laughed and talked and ate. We were silly. It was such a heart lifting time. When we got home, we talked some more and then we played some cards. We taught Steve the game. He caught on quickly, but wasn't good enough to beat Rhonda and I. They just left. It's about an hour drive home for them.

All in all, it was a very rich day. My house is cleaner, my cupboards full, and my heart merry for the friendship and laughter. And church is in the morning...more and more blessings to come!!!