Under the Weather

Although the weather here has been really nice I'm feeling really yuck! I'm sure I'll be back up and at'em any time now.

Sounds of the Magic Kingdom

Only about 10 more days and I will get to hear this live.

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Don't sweat the small stuff, there's plenty of real crap to keep you busy!

It's Friday, I worked my half a day at my regular job then I worked a couple of hours at my volunteer job and I was on my way home to get ready for Jenna to have a friend over for the night when I get a panicked phone call from my mom. "where are you you?" I answer "what's wrong?" she yells "WHERE ARE YOU?" I say "home "(I'm not really home but that was easier than explaining exactly at what intersection I was). She finally says my niece and nephew have been in accident and Josh is hurt.

I hang up and call who Jim who is closest to the scene to send him there until we can find my sister-in-law. I arrive there just after my mom and Jim was already there. It's pretty bad. Katie's car is totaled and I don't see Josh anywhere. I get directed to Josh who is a bloody mess in the ambulance and Katie is frantically, and in the fashion a true Morgan woman, worried about all the Homecoming decorations and preparations that are in her car for the festivities tonight, insisting that we have to get them out before they tow the car away.

Katie sticks her head in the ambulance to check on Josh and the EMT immediately says that she needs to be checked out too, she has a mean contusion on her forehead. Next thing I know they are sure they need to transport both of them. I send Jim to try to track down my sister-in-law so she doesn't just come upon the wreck on her way home. She arrives and gets to see that the kids are talking and breathing even though Josh looks pretty bad it seems like things are under control. We head to the emergency room.

My brother meets us at the hospital and they start to examine the kids. They decided to do CT scans on both mostly just precautionary. They start to unwrap Josh's head and we're talking gaping wound. The EMT's hadn't really seen it because the firemen had it wrapped before they arrived, let's just say they understated the yuckiness and size (we could see skull). He had fourteen staples put in. If Halloween was a little closer he could definitely pull off a Frankenstein costume. They finished up with them and sent them home to be awakened every two hours through the night by their loving parents, mom of whom is saying that they really won't be driving without her any time soon.

We are counting our blessings tonight and reminding ourselves of what is most important in life.

One of the great EMT on the scene

Josh upon arrival to the hospital

They haven't shared a room for years, until today

Katie waiting for her CT.

and can you believe Jenna found a Hidden Mickey

It's been 70 years??

Last night Jenna and I went to see The Wizard of Oz (the movie). In celebration of it's 70th Anniversary it was re-released in HD digitally remastered quality on the big screen for one night only. It was so fun. I was surprised at the crowd--more people than I thought would pay $10 for a 70 year old movie they can see on TV for free quite often. But it was a totally different experience than watching at home.

Just being in the theatre made it a more enjoyable experience for me because I wasn't tempted to try to accomplish six other things while it was on. The other thing that surprised me, never having seen it in a crowd, was the audience reaction. They loved the Cowardly Lion. They laughed out loud in places that a small crowd in your living room just wouldn't have. They responded with "ahs" when one little girl distraughtly let out a sob when Mrs. Gooch took Toto away, and were as equally delighted when Toto got away from her. They cheered when the Wicked Witch (whom I had difficult time not thinking of as Elphaba) melted. I will have to say I could have done without the lady beside me (who reeked of cigarette smoke) thinking it was okay to speak every line of every character in an audible voice. But what are you gonna do? All-in-all a very enjoyable evening spent with my wonderful daughter.

Kind of HMM 8

This HMM combines some of my favorite things, rain drops on roses, whiskers on kittens, Coke and Disney. I pulled into the parking lot of work one morning and was greeted by this truck totally parked the wrong way. And I'm thinking, "it's not my birthday, who would send me a whole truck of Cokes? God Bless them whoever they are."
But in the lower right hand corner I noticed this little emblem. No ears but still a Hidden Mickey of sorts. Anyway... it brought a smile to my face.

Spirit Week--It might as well be the week of Halloween!

It's Spirit Week at my daughter's school this week. Now really it's just an excuse to dress crazy and be silly, but that's okay! So the days consist of

• Pajama Day--Okay so who wouldn't want to wear their pj's all day


• Miss Match Day-- okay as long as you don't need to go anywhere after school


• Senior Citizen Day--this one is lost on me--Spirit Week??


• Purple and White--school colors--perfect sense.


• Nerd Day--because Middle schoolers need help in pointing out each others flaws and shortcomings.
  

So tomorrow is Senior Citizen Day-- I'm sure the powers that be are thinking something like this--

I'm thinking something more like this----Tina Turner, baby!!! 69 years old!!!

I bet it's the beginning of the end....

Friday marked the end of something significant in my life. It brought what was the last episode of The Guiding Light. Now I will have to admit I really haven't watched much in the last few years. The new format that they chose to try to save themselves was just too weird for me, but more than once in my life soaps have meant a lot to me. I remember as a child watching As The World Turns and Guiding Light while my sainted grandmother (Nana) would do her weekly ironing. She would be hard pressed to admitting that she followed her stories as she called them. I then followed both of those stories through the years to keep up to date so that I could still talk about them with her.

Through the years I remember crossing the network boarders to be able to be part of the most interesting and popular story lines. I followed ABC's All My Children during the Tad/Liza--Greg/Jenny era. I followed NBC's Days of Our Lives during the Patch/Kayla --Bo/Hope era because that was what was being watched in the lounges of the numerous Universities I attended. But I always came back to CBS to follow Betsy/Frank/Craig on As the World Turns and Kelly/Morgan/Nola and then Phillip/Beth--Rick/Mindy on Guiding Light. I also found myself back in Springfield hoping that the new romantic triangle would intrigue me or that the old characters would give me a sense of nostalgia. But today they say "Good Bye" to the new and so many of the old. I just feel like this is probably the beginning of the end of Soap Operas that we knew of the past. That is probably a good thing seeing that they really have no redeeming value whatsoever but even so I find it sad and nostalgic.

So as I think of the years gone by I remember how many big stars have come out of the casts of Soap Operas and I wonder what other genre will aid those actors and actresses in honing their crafts. Where will they find the all-American Meg Ryans, the footloose Kevin Bacons, the adorable Marisa Tomeis and the countless others that now may never have a break out moment? I'm sure they will be welcome on some reality show or another.

So as I say good bye to Sprinfield, the Bauers, the Spaudlings, the Coopers, the Lewis' and all the other families that have come and gone from The Guiding Light through the years. I will find it a little disconcerting that I will not be able to turn on my Story to just keep up and touch base with those families that have been part of my life for as long as I can remember, but I'm sure my life will go on but as of Friday something will not be the same as before. Thanks for a great 72 year run-- 35 or so which were important in the story of my life.

Happy Meal Happiness

Tuesday evenings Jenna and Mady have Lyric Academy practice from 4:30pm-8:00pm. We share the carpooling responsibilities between parents. Susan (Mady's mom) usually takes and Jim or I pick up (guess we need to get Rick in there somewhere). Tuesday night was my turn to pick them up. We haven't quite figured out how to get dinner/snack in there yet so I was offering the wonderfully nutritious option of McDonald's, which my daughter jumped on immediately because it isn't an option much anymore.

We get in the drive through line and order an orange soda, a chicken sandwich, and a cheeseburger happy meal with an orange drink. (I know right now you're thinking how desperate I must be for material for my blog if I'm telling you what I ordered at McDonald's) Anyway... The guy on the intercom thingy asked if my happy meal was a boy or a girl, I'm sure he probably asked if it was for a boy or girl, but we got so tickled at the thought of how can you tell if a happy meal cheeseburger is a boy or a girl burger...do you turn it over?...do you lift the bun up? etc... I will never order a happy meal again without a smile on my face.

HMM 7

This one was found at Target. It is a picture frame which I'm sure I would have to fill with pictures from any given Disney trip. And you get at least three hidden mickeys here, almost four. A friend called my office yesterday frustrated because she couldn't find me on Tuesday to tell me to get myself and camera over to another office on campus to get a picture of a hidden mickey she had seen on another friend's necklace. We may have the start of a whole new trend. Get those cameras out and collect those Hidden Mickeys, I've already had my friend Kristie join in the fun. We're defintely gonna have to have a free give away contest.

Vacation all I ever wanted--Vacation had to get away...

In November of 2008, Jim was scheduled to attend a conference in Orlando so I planned to attend with him so that I could hang for a few days and then in the evenings we would go over to Disney World (of course). We had annual passes so it seemed to make sense. Then my best friend and her husband decided to tag along (also annual passholders). So during the day the guys worked and Tonya and I hit the parks and the guys joined us in the evening. We happened to be visiting during Epcot's annual Food and Wine festival. Not being drinkers, we really didn't think it was something that we would participate in. When the guys arrived they proved us wrong--we had a great time trying all the food from the different countries and since the kids were left at home we didn't have to hear constant whining about how gross our food choices were. So we had a great trip and thought "wow, the Food and Wine Festival was really cool."

End of story....fast forward to last weekend...

We're playing cards Friday night and Tonya and I mentioned that we think we (moms only) should try to get away for a long weekend. I remembered that I had received an e-mail from Southwest that they were running friends fly free to Orlando and Las Vegas. We really didn't think we'd go to Las Vegas for the first time without the husbands, but of course Orlando always interests us. The husbands said "you should do that," yeah right like that could happen with the crazy schedules right now. Nice thought...maybe another time.

I go home and check the deals that Southwest sent and they're pretty good. I discover that Epcot's Food and Wine Festival 2009 is about to start, now that's interesting. So I casually check the two weekends that could possibly work out and the deals look okay. I casually give Tonya a call to see if she might be serious about going away for a few days. Okay...who am I kidding we're always serious about getting away for any amount of days. We check the schedules and crunch the numbers and decide to go for it. Now when I say "go for it" that means that I make all the arrangements and then I contemplate for hours, sometimes days, until finally Jim has to push me over the edge and push the purchase button for me. So guess what? I'm going to Walt Disney World with my bestie!!! Yeah!! You never know what adventures each next day might hold. Epcot's Food and Wine Festival here we come.

Autumn Thoughts

As Autumn makes its appearance
It often makes me think
That although the leaves begin to fall
and living things become doormat
I fell change is on the brink

I find myself somewhat unsettled
I wonder what the season will bring:
changes to friendships and relations,
shifts in maturity in our home.
Change can be a really scary thing.

When I find new doors are opening
I struggle with the walk on through
I find the pulls of safety and comfort
The things I find familiar having
more strength than I really knew.

Autumn brings a time of reflection
moments to sit and ponder.
Getting ready for God's inconceivables that
He has in store for those who pray.
and I am expecting gifts of God's amazing wonder.

The Cat's Meow...

When playing cards at my best friend's house last weekend we had one of those "you had to be there" funny moments. I know you're thinking of one of your own, right now. So you know when you try to tell the story to others it completely loses all it's character and you might as well have told the story in Latin because no one understood what was so funny about it anyway! So now you're totally wondering where I am going with this post if I already know the outcome of trying to relay to all of you how funny the moment was. So... I won't try to recreate the moment but I do have to share some of what was the source of our laughing til we cried.

My friend's grandmother, in an attempt to make some kind of connection with her great granddaughters wanted to give them some books that she thought they might enjoy. Now you never know what type of books those could turn out to be. Sometimes they are old religious books that meant something to their lives, or maybe books from the childhood of your parents or grandparents. But no matter what they are they most definitely will prove how good of a parent you are. Can your children be gracious when faced with the challenge of accepting the book even when it happens to be this one:

This book was published in 1964 and is translated from the feline. This is not an ordinary how to train your cat book this is a cat's version on how to train your person. I really think that some suppressed psycho-analytical type must have enjoyed the thrill of writing this book. A great example is found in Chapter 11--People.

Men

In dealing with the man of the house, it is fortunate that by and large the species suffers from a basic insecurity and is plagued, particularly in family matters, with an ambivalence that can be most usefully exploited.

Women

Do not, I repeat, DO NOT apply the same methods and ploys to softening up the woman of the house as you do to buttering up the man. They won't work for the simple reason that she has probably used some of them herself on the same male....Do not underestimate them, for they area for more clever, certainly, than the males they have captured and taken over.

Children

By and large children are a nuisance, although I should say they come under the heading of a mixed blessing, and where children are concerned you will have to decide for yourselves whether the price is worth while.

The Bachelor

I have not much to say to you on the subject of bachelors...To begin with, there are not all that many about, and the fact is that if a man has reached the age of fifty without being able to attract some woman or another into a successful partnership with him, there is something the matter with him and he might very well not be right material for living with a cat.

158 pages of this. The whole book is written in the cat's voice. The book also contains some minor cursing and descriptions of boy parts of the cat all of which had been lovingly blacked out by either the original giver of the book or by my friend's grandmother. That has yet to be determined. I recommend that if you would enjoy that premise of training your person with the tricks of pet training that you might enjoy the movie If A Man Answers --at least it was meant to be a comedy and was released about the same year so you still get the antiquated interpersonal skills that are enjoyed with this book.

Chantel worries about her new marriage to photographer Eugene failing so she decides to take her mother's advice and manipulate him. First, her mother gives her a book that will solve all her problems about how to treat a husband - namely a book on how to train dogs. Then, her mother gives her a second trick, an imaginary boyfriend who used to come in handy during her own marriage to Chantel's father. However, if Chantel's mother made this man up, what is she going to do when Eugene brings him home for dinner one night? Written by MaxVaughn

HMM 6

These Mickey's are not so hidden, but so cool. One of the professors at the University where I work sent me this great picture when he discovered I am a Disney nut.

He saw this bus on a trip to Japan. I really need some of these tail lights on my van.

I cant' believe she's 12!!

My friend Alisa sent me this great photo of my daughter when they happened to attend the same baseball a while back. Today is Jenna's 12th Birthday and if seems an appropriate photo as I reflect on what a blessing Jenna has been to our lives. I really find the time flying, but unlike some people I don't feel the twang of infant or preschool days, I was never much of a baby person. I really enjoy the person Jenna is becoming now. I love the way she thinks through things. I love her view on the world and how she is able to let things roll of her back an move forward. She is so not like her mother, which is probably a blessing that she doesn't quite appreciate yet. She is laid back and thoughtful. She rarely stresses out over stuff. She can start a project without knowing what the final outcome will be. She really believes that if you love God with all your heart, soul and mind and your neighbor as yourself that the rest will take care of itself. She has a humble confidence about her abilities that astounds me. She is truly a blessing. So Happy 12th Birthday to my Sweet Girl. I love you!

She brought back SPT.

She's back with SPT. It could be short lived but heck it's about Vacation and I love Vacation.

Lelly's Musings

This is what I did for summer vacation--it was the best and totally relaxing.

This is me enjoying a dolphin cruise.

Door Number 2

We are finally in our new offices -- Everything is put away and I am now functioning in my new environment. I have walls and even my own door.

So Welcome -- come on in....

Thanks for virtually dropping by...feel free to drop by for real anytime.

Surviving the Wilderness.

I am part of a small group that meets every other Sunday or so and also for family game night about once every couple of months. Small groups are meetings of a smaller numbers of people than a church service or Sunday School class. At our church even the Sunday School classes can be the size of small churches elsewhere thus the reason for a smaller group to be accountable to and have fellowship with. We have a pretty well established group and it has become much more important in my life that I would ever have imagined. I am a sceptic won over by some great people. All of that to say...we had a great discussion Sunday evening.

It wasn't that we made any great revelations but we came to realize that each of us is going through our own version of the Israelites in the wilderness. We each had things to share about how we are waiting on the promised land. What we may have discovered is that

• The Wilderness might not be as lonely as we each first thought. We each are fighting something that makes us feel lost and sometimes without a way out.
  

• Just Because we can't see Land doesn't mean that it isn't out there somewhere. Just hold on and keep your eyes peeled. In the philosophical words of Dorie in Finding Nemo. "just keep swimming.."
  

• God's plans are the best plans. No really...God's plans are the best plans. Let go of your expectations of the situation and the people who control it. Jason Mraz sings a song called "I'm Yours" and for the most part the lyrics are very much from "me" point of view, but like most lyrics (for me anyway) you can come away with parts that really speak to you. the lines I like here are:

I won't hesitate no more, no more

It cannot wait, I'm yours

Well open up your mind and see like me

Open up your plans and damn you're free

Look into your heart and you'll find love love love love

• Play the cards you are a dealt and be grateful. When we feel entitled, we focus on what we are owed, not what we might need to give to others. It is a "one-way street" mind-set. When these feelings are strong and people don't meet our expectations, we often find ourselves bitter, resentful, and angry. Relationships can be (and often are) destroyed by feelings of entitlement. (copied --not my words)

The things realised about the wilderness that even if we can't see each other we are all out there somewhere at sometime, scream really loud and we're there to help.

For me personally... I am realising more each and every day that it is not about me. I need to get out the way --God has bigger plans--plans the are inconceivable to me. The things that seem to have no rhyme or reason (like going into a land of giants) are part of a larger vision. It's not about me being comfortable but about me getting out of the way so others can be comfortable. I'm not entitled to things being a certain way. All the things that cause nightmares for us control freaks. Grace and Peace to you.