Is it over yet?

Mike and I are discussing who, if anyone, will stay up and stand watch for more fires tonight. The fire crews have been running up and down the road to different hot spots and flare ups.

Both of us had very little sleep last night so I don't know if either of us would be able to stay awake for long. I'm afraid my "watch" would be more like sleeping in my chair instead of sleeping in my bed.

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Wildfire Evacuation - Part 2

Mike and I went out to our house this morning to see if we could get to our house and see if we even had a house. We were one of the lucky ones. We DO have a house to come back to. The firefighters were able to contain the fire to the north of our house. We drove down the road to see what we could see and it looks like the firefighters did a pretty good job of keeping the fire away from homes. We only saw one home on our road that was destroyed. It looked like the fire went right up to the back door of some of the homes.

There are still some hot spots and flare ups in the area, but the firefighters are driving around trying to control those this morning. There is still quite a bit of smoke in the air behind our house so hopefully they will come take care of that one soon.

Mike's mom was telling us last night that Emily kept saying that she wanted to go home and she kept asking if the fire had come and gotten our house yet. So sad that she has to worry about things like that. We just told her that the firefighters were going to come and put the fires out so that it wouldn't get to our house.

Thank God that our house was spared but please say a prayer for the people in our area who lost their homes last night. There were wildfires all across the state of Oklahoma. The one near our house was one of many.

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Wildfire Evacuation

Just a quick post to let you all know what's going on with us.

In cause you didn't hear, we were evacuated from our house tonight because there were wildfires in the area. When I was on my way home, I saw a big smoke cloud and one of the roads near our home was blocked by a firetruck. I took a different road, but the smoke kept getting closer and closer as I went further south. When I was a couple miles from home, I called Mike to see if they were home yet and if they were watching the smoke. He didn't know anything about it but looked out the window and saw smoke west of our home.

I got home a few minutes later and we looked at the smoke and decided to go ahead and leave our house. We didn't know how close the fire was to our house and didn't want to chance it so we grabbed some important things and hopped into Mike's car and left. We went back into town and grabbed something to eat with Mike's parents. After we ate, we left Emily with Mike's parents and went back to see if we could get back to our house.

We got about a half mile away and then the road was blocked with police, a fire command station, and the red cross. We stood around waiting for information at the command station and talking to people who live in the area, but heard nothing. It became apparent that they were not going to let us back into the area tonight so we left and went back to Mike's parents house.

We're sitting here watching the news coverage on the TV. We have figured out that our house is still standing (and that we still have electricity) because our answering machine picks up. The TV news is saying that the wind has shifted to the south and they are trying to keep the flames from turning south on our street.

We will go back out there in the morning and assess the situation. At this point, we are hopeful that our house will be spared. If that turns out not to be the case, then we will be fine. What's most important to us - our family - is safe and sound. Everything else is just "stuff".

I'm sorry I didn't get to call anyone. My phone is literally broken in two pieces and held together with nothing more than a thin cord. I was able to send a few text message, but my phone died anyway.

I grabbed my camera on the way out the door this evening. I was able to snap a few pictures ...

The view from our backyard when we left our house this evening at about 5:30pm.

Another picture from our backyard.

This view is toward our house from where we were standing and waiting.

The mobile command post.

The red glow in the direction of our house.

This night has really been a difficult experience. It's so hard not knowing what's happening. Sometimes the waiting is really hard. You just want to KNOW what's happening. You want them to tell you SOMETHING. I need to try to go to sleep because I know it's going to be a long day tomorrow.

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Pretty Girl with Sneaky Hands

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Self-Inflicted Earache

The other week, I bought an earwax removal kit. (If ears or wax or anything related to either topic grosses you out, feel free to stop reading here.)

I wasn't really having an problem, but I always have quite a bit of ear wax. And besides that, we have recently figured out that we're going to end up with quite a bit of money left in our flexible spending account when the plan year ends in June. So I noticed an earwax removal kit was on the FSA-eligible list and I went out and bought one.

That very night, I decided to try out that earwax removal kit. I read the directions carefully ...

• Tilt head sideways and place 5 to 10 drops into ear. Fine, no big deal. Mom did this to me quite a few times as a kid so it's nothing new.




• Keep drops in ear for several minutes by keeping head tilted or placing cotton in the ear. Okay, tilting ... feels weird and kinda cloggy but I can handle this.

I do this on the first ear and then waaaait for several minutes ... then I hold a piece of tissue over my ear and let it drain as I do the same to the other ear. I waaaait again and then drain the second ear. That wasn't so bad ... a little oily feeling, but no big deal.

I go to bed about an hour after this, but wake up a few hours later with a really bad earache in one ear. I turn over to the other side, hoping that will ease the pain. No such luck. I spend the rest of the time tossing and turning from side to side, trying to find a comfortable position.

When I woke up the next morning, I still had the earache. It was mostly better by the end of the day, but then I followed the rest of the directions ...

• Use twice daily for up to 4 days if needed... Sheesh!

I just hope this works because I don't want to have to do the final direction ...

• Any wax remaining after the 4-day treatment may be removed by gently flushing the ear with warm (body temperature-water, using a soft bulb syringe. Gulp!

So .. does it work? I guess we'll see in 2 more days.

Here's to hoping I don't wake up with another self-inflicted earache tonight.

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The Tale of the Pantyho

Note: I promise this is a clean story. If you were expecting something else, I'm sorry but you won't find that here.

Last night, Emily spent the night with her Nanny and Pops. On the way to their house, we stopped by McD's to get her a Happy Meal for supper. As we were waiting in the drive-through, I was talking to Emily in the mirror from the passenger seat. I noticed she had her feet propped up on the back of the seat and something was on one foot. I said "Emily, what's that on your foot?" She said "It's my PANTYHO! It's not YOUR pantyho. It's MY pantyho!" I turned to look and she had on one of my knee-high stockings!

Mike and I were both cracking up. How clever ... if you have 'em on both legs, they're pantyhose. If you only have 'em on one leg, it's obviously a pantyho.

This post is part of "Laughter Lives! Tuesday" on the Riggs Family Blog. Check our their blog to read everyone else's "Laughter Lives!" posts.

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What was this Dixie Chick thinking?

Have you seen this picture of the Dixie Chicks lead singer, Natalie Maines?

1. Is this picture really her?



2. If so, what was she thinking with that haircut? Wow, it is really short! Looks more like a boy haircut than a girl haircut. She used to have gorgeous, long hair but now it's apparently all gone. [Luckily] it's just hair and it will grow back.

What do YOU think? Love it or leave it?

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Pink: The Color of the Day

Today, Emily and I helped with a baby shower for Mike's cousin, Kim. She's having a girl in a few weeks and she got a lot of really nice things. I think tiny baby clothes are just getting cuter and cuter.

Mom-to-be and the hostesses

Mom-to-be and the Junior Hostesses

Three Generations (Three and a half?) The Yummy Cake with all that Ooey Gooey Icing

Diaper Cake and the super cute cookies

Hand-dipped Chocolate Strawberries

Crackers/cheese/fruit tray

Party Favors

Squeeeeeezed!
Lots of sweet presents for Mom and Baby

Basket on the welcome table

Kim, Mom-to-be

I have lots of other pictures. It was hard to pick just a few to share tonight. But I think I can safely say that a good time was had by all.

(And we won't name names, but one party attendee went INTO a house with the same house number, but on a different street where ANOTHER party was being held. The little boy at the other birthday party sure would have been disappointed if he opened up that gift with all the cute little girly clothes in it though. Hi-lar-ious!)

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Where are Jon and Sherry Rivers?

As you know, I'm a big fan of Klove radio. I listen to it in my car on the way to and from work. I have a long drive (about 45 minutes each way) so it's really nice to have some good music in the car. I like going on their website to look at their list of Top Songs and Recently Played Songs. Sometimes I like the song but I can't remember the name of it. Kinda hard to find a song on iTunes if you can't remember what it's called or who sings it.

Every morning, I always enjoy listening to Jon and Sherry Rivers on the radio. For the past week or so, they've had Lisa Williams on the radio in the mornings. On Monday morning, I heard Lisa say something about the Rivers family taking some time off but I didn't catch exactly what she said. This morning, the president of KLove Mike Novak was on with a recorded message that the Rivers are dealing with family issues.

Text of the note from Mike Novak:

You've probably heard by now and noticed that Jon & Sherry aren't on K-LOVE anymore. They are dealing with family issues and while we wish we could say more we simply can’t.

Many of you are wondering “Have Jon and Sherry been fired?”. No, that is simply not true. This life situation developed between Jon and Sherry apart from K-LOVE.

Again, Jon and Sherry are dealing with family issues and while we wish we could say more we simply can’t.

I know all of this sounds vague and I wish that it was clearer but right now it’s not. We are respecting the privacy of people who have been part of our radio family for years and that respect is paramount right now.

When we hear an update from Jon and Sherry we’ll pass it along to you and at that point we will both know more.

In the meantime, we will soon provide an opportunity at KLOVE.com to share your feelings, hopes and prayers for Jon and Sherry.

I’ll keep you posted. Thank you.
I don't know what's going on, but I'm praying for their family. I really enjoyed their morning show and hope they come back to Klove soon.

So I'll pose the question to you ... what happened to Jon and Sherry Rivers? Does anyone have any insight? What's the rumor on the street?

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Oh, and one more thing ...

Even with all the reminders that I received, I still forgot to take the boxes of Fluffy White Frosting to my Mom.

The only thing worse than forgetting to take them would be taking them down there and forgetting to get them out of the car. Luckily, that did NOT happen.

What's sad is that just talking about that frosting makes me want to whip up a batch and eat it with a spoon .. or better yet, with my finger. Good thing I already brushed my teeth.

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A Visit to the Cemetary

I mentioned the other day that we went to a cemetary out in the woods while we were in SW Arkansas the other week. We wrote down the names and dates on all the monuments that we found and Mike is doing some research to see who is laid to rest there.

We were not able to tell how large the cemetary was because of all the brush and overgrowth. A small section of the cemetary is inside a fenced area. It appears to be the Ferguson family - 4 monuments.

Ferguson Family

"SLEEP ON DEAR HUS-BAN AN TAKE THY REST GOD CALLED THE HOME HE THOUGHT IT BEST"

Edmund J Bacon - one of the largest monuments

The emblem on the top of the Edmund J Bacon monument.
Yes, this is exactly what it looks like.

Some of the headstones were in bad shape.

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The Rest of The Story

Since so many of you have requested pictures from our weekend in Arkansas, I put together this little story in pictures ... with a bit of narrative added in.

Mike, Grandaddy and Emily

One of the catfish that I caught. Yep, that's my foot in the picture. I don't touch catfish for any reason and this one was flopping and rolling back toward the water. The hook had already come out of his mouth so I put my foot and the pole there to keep him out of the water until my Dad could come over and pick him up.

We weighed one of the catfish that I caught. It measured 3 lbs, but we are not sure if the scales were right. It sure looked bigger than 3 pounds. (Note to self: Maybe we should get Dad some new fish scales.)

Emily had a good time fishing too. She had a little pink fishing pole with a pink hookless bait. She would cast the bait out into the water and then reel it in. For some reason, she kept calling her bait a "her". Maybe because it was pink. When she was not fishing, she also enjoyed sitting in the aluminum boat (on dry land) and eating a snack.

She also got a rash on her face and arms while we were there. We think she might have been allergic to some of the flowers that she was constantly picking. She's such a girly girl. She has to pick any and all flowers that she sees. (This afternoon, she was trying to pick up the dying dandelions in our yard. They had been sprayed with weed killer the other week and looked totally pitiful, but she wanted them anyway.)

So we put all the fish that we caught in a big bucket and then hauled them over to the new pond. I think we ended up taking like 4 buckets full of fish over there. We would pour them into the water and watch them swim away. (Check out Emily's rubber boots! So cute ...)

Do these fish look like they're swimming anywhere? Well the big blurry one in the middle is swimming away, but the other ones look a little stiff. What's that? They look dead? I think they were! We left them in the bucket for quite a while. My Mom tried to make me feel better by telling me that they probably started breathing better after my Dad threw them into the deeper water, but I think she was just being nice about it. I'm pretty sure they were dead.

We also went to check out an old cemetary that's out in the middle of the woods. The area around it is all grown up with weeds and vines. We took down the names on as many of the monuments that we could find. Mike has been doing some research online to see what he can find out about the people who are buried there. It's all quite interesting. I'll try to post some pictures of that adventure soon.

And that .. is the rest .. of the story. (RIP Paul Harvey)

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Snow and No Bake Cookies

Yesterday, was a weird weather day. We were predicted to get 6-12 inches of snow, but we only got a trace. Emily was so exicted to see it snowing though. We were going to go outside to see the snow, but there was not really much to see so we stayed inside.

We just did things inside the house all day. Our clothes dryer had been making a strange (and loud) thumping noise so we had to check that out. The "Google Repairman" said it might be a broken drum belt so we opened the dryer to see if that was the case.

When we finally got the dryer case opened, we found that the belt was in good shape but there was lint all over the place! So at this point, we didn't know what was really wrong with the dryer but we decided to clean up all the lint anyway. We weren't sure what else to do so we re-assembled the dryer and tried it out. When we turned it on, it ran great with no thumping. I'm not sure what was up with that, but I'm just glad it's working again.

That was our one big project for the day. Since we'd been home and inside all day, I decided to make something special for dessert. I took inventory of the ingredients that I had and decided it was going to have to be No Bake Cookies. Those are one of Mike's favorites and it's super simple.

Here's my recipe ...


No Bake Cookies

2 c. sugar
4 T. cocoa
1/2 c. milk
1 stick butter
1/2 c. peanut butter
1 t. vanilla
2 c. oats

In saucepan add sugar, cocoa, milk and butter. Boil for 2 minutes. Add peanut butter, vanilla, and oats. Spoon out onto wax paper. Let cool.

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Peppy Pinks

Last night, we had 7 kids in our peppy pink Cubbies class. The other two teachers were out so I had a teenage helper. At first, I was a little concerned about having our largest class so far and only a teenager in there to help, but it was all for nothing. She really was a big help. Kids have so much more energy than adults.

We talked about how Jesus took the 5 loaves of bread and two fish and fed 5000 people. We had goldfish crackers for our snack and made picures with fish stickers. Nanny helped out in Emily's class since one of her regular teachers was out. It looked like the had a big group.

One of the little boys in our class is now missing his two front teeth! He said he tripped on something and hit his mouth. I thought he was saying that he tripped on the dog walker .. or the dog doctor .. or .. something. I really couldn't understand what he was saying. He kinda talks funny without his two front teeth. He's only three .. how long will he have to go without front teeth? Will his permanent teeth come in early since the space is open? Poor kid ...

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What a weekend!

This weekend, we went to visit my parents. We all had a really good time.

We did quite a bit of fishing while we were there. Our goal was to catch them out of their farm pond and move them to the pond at their new house. We caught some bass and a few bream on Saturday morning.

On Saturday night, we fished for catfish. We threw out some catfish food and watched a whole bunch of them suddenly appear at the bank of the pond. It was a sight to see. After we got them all rounded up, we just put out some hooks and waited for them to bite. None of us know exactly how many fish we carried over to the new pond, but we got several.

Next time, I think we're going to get a big net and just scoop them up. I don't know if it will work, but it sounds like a good idea. I think we should also look into something that I saw on TV once. Not sure exactly how it works, but if you see it on TV it's got to be true ... they somehow electrified the water and the fish were temporarily incapacitated and floated to the top. I'm thinking that might be worth looking into. We could just go out with a big net and scoop up the big ones.

I'll try to post some pictures from our trip soon.

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Something Special

Emily and I had a good day together. We played at home this morning then ran some errands and ate lunch and then went to the grocery store. When we came home, Emily didn't want to take a nap but she played on her bed (in the dark) for a long time. Seriously .. a long time. I was able to get a lot of things done while she was in her bed.

For supper tonight, I made something special. We had fried fish, french fries, and hushpuppies. In case you were wondering, a light cornmeal coating is the only way to go. And fry the fish until it floats!

For dessert, I made some homemade brownies. This recipe makes the best brownies. They are so tasty. I heart brownies.

Yield: 12 pieces Author: Jennifer Smith 

Rich, Fudgy Brownies

These brownies are so rich and fudgy that they don't require any frosting. And they are easy to make in one bowl, no mixer required. How much easier can you get?

prep time: 10 MINScook time: 30 MINStotal time: 40 mins

ingredients:

• 6 T. cocoa powder + 1 T. oil
• 1 c. (2 sticks) margarine
• 2 c. sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 c. flour
• 1 t. baking powder
• 1 t. salt
• 2 t. vanilla
• 1 c. chopped nuts

instructions

1. Mix cocoa and oil. Add margarine and melt in microwave.
2. Cool slightly. Add sugar and eggs, mix well.
3. Add flour, baking powder, and salt to the chocolate mixture.
4. Stir in nuts and vanilla.
5. Pour batter into a greased 13 X 9 inch pan.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

http://www.gracelikerainblog.com/2009/03/something-special.html

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Whew!

This week, we have a break from Cubbies due to spring break. To tell you the truth, I'm really glad for this break. I really needed one. I love being a Cubbies leader, but sometimes it's nice to get a break and enjoy a nice evening at home.


I'm sure the Cubbies will have all kinds of stories to tell next week though. They normally do have a lot to say. The other week, one of them told us that her mommy was trying to get her a baby sister. Whoops!


I know that Emily is missing Cubbies this week too. Any time I ask her if she knows what we're going to do today, she'll say "Go to Cubbies?"


I hope all the Cubbies are having a good week off and are hopping and happy to come back next week.


Double Whew!


We got our yard sprayed for weeds today. I hope it's perfect timing because it's supposed to rain a bit over the next few days. I was glad they didn't spray any of my flowers. I will admit that I was a bit worried about that. I'm glad they came out and sprayed because I was afraid the weeds were going to take over. Whew! Thanks John!



Triple Whew!


I'm on vacation the rest of the week! Emily and I are going to hang out and play tomorrow. Then on Friday, we're all going to go down to Magnolia to visit my parents. I'm really excited about this. I'm excited about visiting with my parents, but we're also going to go fishing! It's been soooooooo long since I've been fishing and I'm really looking forward to it.

Emily is pretty excited about our trip too. She's been talking about it all week. Every day she asks "Are we going to Grandmother's house TODAY?" No, not today. On FRIDAY. I guess Friday can't get here soon enough.

I hope we have some really nice weather for our trip. That would just be the icing on the cake. Did someone say "icing on the cake"? That reminds me ... I need to remember to take my mom the fluffy white icing for the angel food cake. I bought several boxes for her back at Christmas time because she can't find it in stores around her. Someone remind me before we leave! (By the way, I use Betty Crocker Home Style Fluffy White Frosting.)

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Does it work? Ebates.com

A few months ago, I told you about Ebates.com, but ... does it work?

Well, I received a $10 Target giftcard from Ebates.com a few weeks ago and I currently have over $40 cash pending! Ebates recently sent out its quarterly cash back checks. Mike got a check for about $15. My mom got an Ebates check. My sister-in-law got an Ebates check. Did you get your Ebates check? If so, post a comment and let everyone know.

Not signed up? Click here and sign up now! Besides just the cash back, they also have tons of coupon codes at many of your favorite online retailers. You name it, it's on there ..

• JcPenney
• Disney Store online
• Cheaptickets.com
• Priceline
• The Gap
• Magazines.com
• Toys 'R Us/Babies 'R Us
• Ebay!
• More and more and more ...

Final Result: Yes! Ebates.com works!

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What's Playing on my iPod

Last week, I downloaded a few new songs for my iPod. One of my favorites is a song called "I will Rise". It's from Chris Tomlin's "Hello Love" CD. KLove (Hi Jon and Sherry!) has been playing it on the radio a lot recently and it just really speaks to me.



Listen to this song and see if you just can't help but lift up your hands in praise to the Almighty God.



And I hear the voice of many angels sing,

"Worthy is the Lamb"

And I hear the cry of every longing heart,

"Worthy is the Lamb"






If you liked this song, you should really check out the "Hello Love" CD from Chris Tomlin. It has several really good songs like "Jesus Messiah", "God of This City" (also sung by Bluetree) and "Sing Sing Sing".



What songs are you really digging these days?

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Not Me! Monday

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Well I suppose I'll join Not Me! Monday, hosted by MckMama over at My Charming Kids this week.

• I did not get a haircut that nobody noticed this week. If I'm going to pay good money to get my hair cut, I'm going to get it cut enough so that someone will notice. Otherwise, what's the point?

• I also did not dig up a small tree and then re-plant it in another spot. After I did not dig up and re-planted a tree, I did not cut off all the limbs except for one so that maybe the tree would survive the transplant.

• And I did not plant daffodils under my new irises. Who would plant one bulb directly underneath another one? No plant can grow like that, right?

• I did not spend a lot of time changing the background on my blog and making it three columns. I have more important things to do than spend a bunch of time on my blog. (In my own defense, I was watching TV at the same time. Multitasking makes everything okay, right? Right? Hello? Anybody there?)

What did you NOT do this week? You know you wanna share.

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