The roller coaster of life

Its amazing to me how quickly the days are passing and how we're accomplishing so many little things that I can't remember what they were.

Last week was a great week for exercise. The local coon hunter's club hosted a Regional Qualifying Event on Saturday and the clubhouse needed some drastic help. Mom & Dad, Bubba & I worked on the clubhouse for several days. Dad replaced the toilet, installed a sink and helped clean from end to end. Mom & Bubba focused on painting several areas that really needed some help and I spent the better part of four days with a broom and a BIG trash can. I swept down walls, chairs, floors and tables as well as rearranging said furniture. We all jumped in to several projects and helped each other make the clubhouse look as good as we could. There was enough trash in this place to fill Dad's truck box..... what a mess.

The club house building is old and in bad condition. It originally operated as a creamery and has since been used by the Sportsmen to repopulate the river and by the Coon Hunters to host their events. Ironically enough, now that the Coon hunters are using it, there are no less than three nests of baby raccoon in the attic. There are even holes in the walls of the large meeting room where they are able to poke their heads through and watch the activities. We were serenaded by the kittens as we were cleaning.

Saturday morning Mom, my sister Deb and I enjoyed the Spring Brunch at church. Dad was one of the 4 special men serving this lovely brunch to we ladies. It was lots of fun. We watched a program from a professor of Biology on formal gardens; at times interesting and at times dry. Saturday afternoon I worked Dad's dog Jill to get her ready for the show Saturday evening. She and I walked up and down the road till we were both panting. ;-) She qualified for the World show!!! :-)

Sunday, Mother's Day, was beautiful. Deb and Brad joined Mom and Dad, Bubba and I in church and came over for dinner. Bethany and her kids came over for dinner too. I have so much fun playing with her kids. Bailey and I seem to really enjoy our time together. She's the middle child and seems to warrant the least attention so I like to give her the most. Her older brother Jordan is a good athlete already, at ten, and her little sister Jenna is simply a dynamo who draws everyone's attention on purpose. Bailey is a sweet and gorgeous child who loves nothing more than to support her siblings but, at times, struggles to find a way to draw the attention to herself. I love Bethany as if she were my own and am constantly amazed by her mothering talent. She is raising three truly amazing children who reflect the beautiful woman she has become. Don't tell anyone but Bethany & Jon will be celebrating the 1st anniversary of their 29th birthday this year.

I could go on and on but I think its time to jump in the shower and tackle a few more chores. Yesterday was laundry and yard work. Today is housework and replacing Mom's computer monitor. Tomorrow likely will be a combination of things from adapting a tailgate for the truck to processing more asparagus and rhubarb. Thursday I'm due for a haircut and Saturday we are going to Cedar Falls before 6am to pick up the food for our Angel Food Distribution. It will be fantastic to see Tim, Barb and the First United Methodist crew again.

More later ...........

An Angel Says ....
Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.