UGH!

Will someone please turn on the outside air conditioning? It's really hot and humid!

10%

"You look like you have maybe 10% body fat" says the bike shop guy.
My brain stopped listening to his monologue.
What!? Wait!
Did he just say MAYBE 10%?
Is that below the number or above?
Should I ask the poor kid to clarify?
Does he know my tummy just growled to mourn that I will not eat a single cookie for two weeks! (well, maybe just one week). He did say 10%.

Gone

We hugged and said goodbye to Patrick Tuesday. I sobbed and cried all that evening and have had little moments of sadness followed by tears. Saying goodbye can be really hard.

Tornado Relief

We learned last Saturday that tornados ripped through our little town of Delta. We raced home from our long vacation and viewed the devastating damage. Shocking!

Kim is the minister of our little church and so he jumped in feet first to help coordinate the clean up effort and I jumped in too! I've done a number of little things to help out, but today's assignment really blew me away.

I was asked to work at a home on Co.Rd. 7. It is an an area that suffered severe damage and many lost homes. I had been working over three hours in the hot, humid weather and felt really tired and worn out. Then the homeowner and her neighbor appoached me as I tilled, pulled and raked sod clumps from the earth. The ladies told me that the garden was being readied to transplant the landscaping flowers and shrubs. This was all the women had left of their homes. Just the flowers and shrubs. I felt really humbled. I would have replanted entire trees for them. I feel really blessed that I had the chance to serve.

You Pick

Last Sunday, I was given an assignment to speak in church tomorrow. The theme for service tomorrow is of course, Mother's Day. My assigned topic....You Pick. What kind of topic is that?

I have been thinking all week about my topic, You Pick. And so far, I haven't written anything down. Little thoughts have come my way and in my mind full discourses I have imagined. But still...nothing to write home about.

I think I will let a little perspiration happen before my inspiration hits.

Personal Enrichment

I am involved in the youth organization at my church. So, as leaders we have been challenged to complete the Personal Progress program to help and encourage the teen girls too.

Well, you see...there is this little pink spiral bound book with eight individual themes called values. They are Faith, Divine Nature, Individual Worth, Knowledge, Choice and Accountability, Good Works, Integrity and Virtue. Under each theme there is a collection of little projects and goals to set that will help increase my faith in God and Jesus Christ and it is supposed to increase faith in myself too.

I have been working on the theme of Knowledge. I enrolled in a creative writing course. It is killing me. It's hard and I'm too proud to quit the course. Right now I'm doubting my sanity and the value of this class...but hopefully it will all work out in the end. It's about line upon line and precept upon precept, right? Writing can be so hard when you know it's going to be graded!

Patrick has a blond moment.

I am not a sports fan...okay, so I'll watch the occasional Ohio State Football game and attend local high school sporting events. But, that's about it...except when it comes to the Olympics. I love to watch the Olympics and I spend as many hours in front of the t.v. as I can to see as much as possible.

So tonight has been no different...spending my time watching the Olympics with my German son Patrick. We were watching the speed skating events. The women's speed skate was in the semifinal qualifers and Patrick says..."Why is there a sponser on the German uniform?"

I say., "That says GER for Germany."...Patrick had a blond moment.