Just a Little Storm

Fay didn't become a hurricane, but a tropical storm that has brought a lot of rain to Florida; which was needed in some places. The kids' school was cancelled for two days, but I went to work as usual. It was interesting as some had a hard time getting out in the wind and rain; but for me, I am quite used to driving in these conditions. It was nice not to have cold and ice thrown into the mix as I'd be used to in Washington State. There also, you have to worry about Evergreen trees falling over on the electrical lines or, on your car or home! I can't say I'd be as brave and at ease if it'd been a hurricane though! That I have no experience with. I'm glad it didn't.

I also remember a time when I was in a tropical storm when I lived in Hawaii. We had been staying for three weeks in tents on the island of Molokai. We took showers behind big blue tarps and we had to have someone there to hold the tarp down during the high winds! Our tents blew down. We were leaving for a trip to the Philippines. Our plane leaving Molokai had to wait for our team to get to the airport because the road had washed-out on the way there. We didn't even go through security. They rushed us all straight onto the plane!

When we arrived in Honolulu, our flight to Manila had been cancelled due to the storm. We had to go to our base in Honolulu without our belongings because our luggage had already gone off to the airport and onto our connecting plane. We all got sick days later because we had been in wet clothes and had to spend the night in Honolulu without our change of clothes. We did make it out to Manila the next day. But what a trip it was just to get there!

First Day of School!

The List

From reading this list, can you guess what these items are for?

Q-Tips
Kleenex
Baby Wipes
Shaving Cream
Paper plates
Paper towels
Hand Sanitizer
Plastic Forks
Plastic Spoons
Ziploc Bags
Paper Towels

If you haven't guessed yet, the rest of the list might give it away...

Box of crayons
Washable Markers
Scissors
3 ring binders
pocket folders (colors specified)

Pencils
1 Red Pen (try and find just ONE red pen. Red pens come by the ones only inside a packet of 10 black pens!!!)


Ruler with inches and centimeters
Erasers
Glue Sticks

Bottle of Glue
Play Doh 4-pack
Nap Mat
Composition Book
etc. etc.

This was part of the shopping list from school for Pre-K and Second Grade! What a preschooler is going to do with shaving cream is beyond me! I did tell Isabella that the Play Doh was a good sign though (fun stuff).

I didn't find a "nap mat." Of course, there are always such specific specifications! It has to be VINYL only and 1 inch thick. I will continue the hunt with all the free time I have (yeah right!) Besides, I'm sure Isabella will think she has no use at all for a nap mat. What's a nap?

Oh what fun to go back to school shopping. My head was spinning when I left Target trying to track everything done. All the while Miss Isabella was interrupting my concentration in the search with having to tell me every item she saw that she wanted for her birthday! Didn't she hear me say she couldn't have everything?


She was quite amusing in her princess crown with shiny colorful carnival beads hanging off that she had draped across her head, and her plastic purse full of her lip glosses. Topped off with red polka dotted sunglasses. The girl is hilarious!

Meditation of My Heart (follow-up)

I had to come and follow-up on a recent blog entry I made regarding our dear friend's CD, "Meditation of My Heart." (See entry on next page for more info.) It arrived in the mail two days ago and we have been listening to it ever since. It is even more beautiful than we could have imagined. The instrumentals, vocals, arrangements....all so beautifully done. It is such a wonderful work to listen to. It is serene, soothing, and uplifting. It provokes deep emotion and, like the title suggests, meditation. I highly recommend it. It is one of those types of CDs that one likes to have playing to bring a calmness, but also, the way the music is blended with the instrumentals causes one to become deeply moved with emotion.

Thank you, Jo and Kris, for sending it to us. What a gift!