Well, the Thanksgiving holidays are over now so maybe I’ll get some rest. For the last 2 years I have been in charge of planning, organizing, and making sure everything goes well for our church’s annual Thanksgiving Impact. That’s where we feed our local City of La Porte workers (the police, fire, ems … around 60 people total… who have to work on Thanksgiving Day) by preparing a complete turkey dinner and delivering it to them. I begin the serious aspect of planning this event each year early in the fall, right after school begins. By the first of October I contact the various City departments. By the middle of October, I have a head count from them which allows me to plan how much food we need to purchase. Then by the first Sunday in November I begin promoting the event through our church bulletin, asking church members to cook and donate turkeys. We also feed a local chemical plant (about 80 people). Usually on Monday of Thanksgiving week, I make a mad dash to Sam’s Club to purchase the items needed for all the side dishes (dressing, casseroles, desserts) as well as plates, napkins, disposable catering pans, yadda yadda yadda. Then on Wednesday evening, Thanksgiving Eve, volunteers help me carve the turkeys and prepare the side dishes. Fortunately our church has a rather large commercial kitchen so preparing is somewhat easy. All the food is placed in the refrigerator and we come in early on Thanksgiving Day … around 5:00 am … to begin warming the food for delivery. Then a crew of volunteers arrives around 9:00 am to begin getting the correct amount of food organized for each place so it can be delivered. I was pretty tired this year after it was all over and I still had our own family dinner to see to. But as soon as my family arrived for our Thanksgiving dinner, things perked up for me. It always blesses me to get to spend time with my family! And I’m grateful that we have a family that is close-knit.

On a change of subject, our son will be moving back home by Christmas. He currently lives about 4 hours away and recently lost his job. In spite of interviews and sending out resumes, he hasn’t found a job yet. So it will be easier on him (and us) if he moves back here until he finds a job. It was our suggestion, not his, in case you’re wondering. I know it will be an adjustment for him since he’s been on his own since 2000, but I have to admit I’m looking forward to being able to spend some time with him again.

Anyway, that’s about all that’s happening in our little corner of the world. More updates will follow, I’m sure.

Here’s a poem from my heart to yours:

I love this time of year as Thanksgiving draws near.
The air is cool, with the fireplace calling instead of the pool.
Family times are planned with precision and care
And we hope everyone invited will be able to be there.
We talk of turkey, stuffing, and all types of pies
All the time wondering what it will do to our waist size!
We get so caught up with the planning and cooking
That we stress ourselves out, and only then do we start looking
For something that’s missing …

“Are you speaking to me, Lord? Is there a lesson?”
“Yes, My child … count your blessings.”

Well, this past weekend Erica and Mike went to an orienteering meet in Texoma. While running through the woods, Erica and a tree limb made contact. The limb poked a small hole in her left eyeball, on the white part, but close to the edge of the iris. She woke up this morning to a matted eye and a lot of pain … not that she wasn’t in pain last night … but it seemed worse this morning. So Mike had a clear morning as far as his workload went and he took her to the eye doctor. The doctor removed a teensy flap of skin, made sure everything was cleaned out, gave her eye drop prescriptions for lubrication and antibiotics, put a soft lens contact in her eye to shield it (rather than put a patch over it) and told her to come back in the morning for another checkup. She puts the lubrication drops in every hour and the antibiotic drops every four hours. The doctor wants to make sure an infection doesn’t set in.

So it was an interesting weekend. Seems like there’s always something that happens on an orienteering trip … tearing ligaments in the ankle from running through the woods … meeting up with unexpected tree limbs! I told Erica she needs to buy a pair of running goggles. Yes, they actually make such a thing. She already wears an ankle brace so what’s one more thing, right?

This is my usual, weekly check in and what a mixed up week this has been for me!

For starters, the lady I work with had the flu … yes, the real flu, not just an upset stomach that most people like to call the “flu”. She was out all week so I had the entire office to myself as far as work went. That kinda messed up my schedule and I was confused as to what day it was all week long! Then I was all bummed out after the election. My candidate didn’t win (not that he was that great either) but for me he was a better choice. Then I completely forgot about my great-niece’s bridal shower Saturday! (Told you I was confused on what day of the week it was!) I hope this upcoming week goes better …

I am going out to eat dinner with my friend, April, tomorrow night. We try to have a girls night about once a month. I think our friend Janette will join us … if she can convince her hubby to watch the kiddos for her. Maybe it will be a good start to the week for me.

That’s about all I have to say for now. Maybe I’ll post more as the week progresses. If not, hope you have a wonderful week.

Erica had her first karate tournament yesterday and came in 1st place among those who are white belts and seeking their next step, which is the yellow belt. Her trophy is HUGE! (Cheesy looking … but huge!)

I’m doing my semi-regular check in blog since I post so often … heh heh. Anyway, the weekend is almost over and tonight we set the clocks BACK so I’ve decided to set mine back to when I was 25 years old! Ha! Ha! Ha! Aw, come on … that was a good one.

Erica has her first karate tournament tomorrow afternoon. She will earn her yellow belt. Yes, I know that’s just the first step but it’s important to her. I’d love to go watch her but she says me and dad being there would make her too nervous. So maybe next time. Anyway, she hasn’t been doing karate very long. Orienteering is still her passion but she also wants to excel at karate. If nothing else, it’s good for her to learn self-defense moves and it helps keep her in good physical condition for all that running she does at orienteering meets.

My long-time friend, Debbie, and her new husband, Kenneth, came over this afternoon for a visit. I was her matron of honor at her first wedding 23 years ago and her matron of honor at the recent one. Kenneth is quite a few years older than she is (by about 10 years) but he’s such a nice man! After everything her ex put her through, she deserves someone who appreciates her. Her children are grown now, too. She has four … Megan and John (the twins), Richard, and Matthew. I enjoyed their visit.

Well this is all I’m posting for now. There’s nothing new to tell. Hope you have a great week.