A Frosty Morning

Saturday morning, we awoke to a lovely, frosty sight!

This winter has been unseasonably warm, so this was a nice surprise.

You can see we still don't have much for snow, which is entirely weird here in the frozen tundra!

This is the railing on our deck. I thought it was cool how the frost was sideways! But so much for the cool weather, today it's supposed to get up to 40!

Hope you have a great Monday! :-)

Here I Am

Today

As I filled my 16 oz. cup with decaf coffee

in the gas station at Main and 5th St.

I thought about all the kids from high school

Here I am, still here

At this same spot I worked as a cashier

Twenty-two years ago

Back then, I wore a uniform shirt with the gas station logo on the pocket

and a silly crisscross tie

Today, my uniform shirt held my badge

My pants have a stripe

and I carry a handgun on my duty belt

Who would have thought

I could make those dreams

I dreamt while stocking shelves

Of becoming a police officer

Come true

Now, everyday

I drive a marked squad down the same streets

Through the same neighborhoods

Past the same McDonalds, same Pizza Hut

That my friends and I hung out at

and all these years later

I am still proud to call this city

My city

Linked to:

A Visit with Great-Grandma (My Grandma)

Last Saturday, I received a call from my aunt up north. She said my 89 year old grandma wasn't doing so well. Guilt immediately took over, knowing Cubbie and Sprout had never met her. She lives four hours away and we just haven't had a chance to make it up there. So imagine DH's surprise when I told him I was driving up there the next day. I had to go by myself because DH had to work. So the boys and I hit the road Sunday morning and headed to grandma's nursing home. 


Grandma's eyes lit up when she saw my two boys. She immediately reached out to hug them. I was so glad they didn't get scared or pull away, considering they had never met her before. Instead, they gave her a big hug back. They were really excited to meet their great-grandma.

(This picture was taken by Sprout, hence the weird angle of the shot. All of the employees were busy in resident's rooms.)


I was so glad we had the chance to get up there and visit with her. Her spirits were lifted just seeing my boys playing on the floor in her room with toys that she's had for years and years. See, she is my mom's mom. My mom died when I was 14 in a car accident. I had to move down to the cities to live with my dad and step mother, so my contact with grandma and my mom's relatives was not very frequent. Over the years, especially since getting married and having kids, I just haven't been in contact as much. I did just recently get on Facebook so I could keep up with them. 


My grandma is an amazing woman. She managed to raise nine children while living in poverty and with an alcoholic husband. She eventually moved to the cities and got a job with the state. She was forced to retire due to a brain tumor which was removed successfully but with some paralysis on her right side of her face. She has endured many tragedies, including the murder of my uncle and the death of my mom. But in the face of it all, grandma's faith has never wavered. She is responsible for the salvation of  pretty much all of us in the family! Pictures of Jesus always covered her walls and still do in her room at the nursing home. Grandma would ask us directly about our faith and talk to us about accepting Jesus in our hearts. I've always admired her devotion to reading the Bible and keeping the sabbath. My fondest memories are going to church with her. During the sermon, right when my cousins and I were about to get fidgety, she would silently hand over candies to each of us.

I love you grandma.

Lilies of the Field

I love this scripture. I look it up when I'm getting caught up in my worries and forget how much we mean to our heavenly father. I also wanted to post something bright and cheery considering we are in the depths of winter here in the frozen tundra. I can't wait for Spring! :-)

My Day

Here I sit

at the dealership

wondering how the oil change

on my way home from work

has turned into a two hour, $450 break job

My root canal re-do from yesterday

aching up in to my brain

A license plate scribbled on my hand

from a wanted vehicle 

we were looking for earlier today

JBL speakers pipe in elevator music

Cool air blasts down on me

from the vent in the ceiling

I’ve inadvertently sat under

Giant goldfish lazily swim about

in the vat in front of me

as I read in People about people half their size

I haven’t seen my boys since 6AM

Now it's 6PM

and wish I was home.

(This was my day today. And yes, now I'm home :-)