We had hoped to get an inground pool for Mr D's therapy.  It wasn't meant to be, so we got an above ground pool.

Reading everything I could get my hands on about it, I was a bit skeptical.  I kept reading how easy it was to put up.  One hour with 2 adults, 45 minutes with 3 adults.  Over all the reviews were favorable.  A few sour grapes type, but for the most part, extremely positive.

So, when it came in yesterday, I was really excited to get to work on it.  We had someone do the bobcat work to level the ground, and then it was all me!

Since I am not supposed to lift more than 30 pounds, it was a bit tricky to get the 300 pound box to the back yard...so we opened the box and took the pieces out one at a time and put them in the back yard.  We started this morning at 8:30...started with must me and Mr D.  We got it started, then when Miss B woke up she helped me with the harder parts.  We actually got the whole pool put together within an hour and a half.  And we took lots and lots of breaks!

So, now my problem.  Just as we were getting ready to put in the water, we found a small hole.  Off we got to the pool supply store to get a patch kit.  We patched it and started filling (now...this is where I was again a bit skeptical...I would have thought we should have let the patch dry before we started adding water, but both the guy at the store and the instructions on the box said to go ahead and add water right away!

Everything was fine until about 2 hours into the filling...we got some sort of terrible leak!  Water started pooling beside the pool (sic) .  I turned off the water and climbed in to check out the bottom to see if I could find the leak.   I decided to add a larger patch to the original tiny place and found a couple more places that MIGHT be a leak, so I patched them as well.  Feeling secure that I had fixed it all...I started filling again...within 15 minutes I knew we still had a problem!  Now there we puddles of water in about 5 places around the pool...and the tarp like ground cloth had water underneath it!

At this point I am not sure what is going on!  Do I empty the water out and take it all apart and start over?  Ugh!  I am so upset over this....I guess it is time to let it go until the morning!

Nini

Small town politics

Small town politics.

Strange.  So not about the issues.  But yet so political!

Hubby wanted me to vote for a particular candidate.  I foolishly asked him what this guy was standing for.  His answer...I don't know, but his dad is a good guy.

...I did not vote for him.

Mommy/Son Night

Well, Miss B is visiting in Alabama with her big sis and Brother in law.  It is the firs time she has went so far away.  She visits with Big Sis and Brother in law all the time, but this is the first 'trip' with them out of state.  I was expecting the house to be quiet and lonely, but it was more peaceful than lonely!

Last night Mr D and I spent some quality time watching Snow White.  He made me promise it wasn't a girly movie or a baby movie.  Well, after the movie was over, he informed me it was a girly movie because of all the girly singing, but it was mostly a scary movie because of the witch.  He also informed me that it was NOT a cartoon, because cartoons are not scary!

His favorite part was the dwarfs...imagine that. And he was particularly interested in Sleepy, since that is who is is going to wear on his shirt at Disney.

All in all it was a great night...Mr D even picked the dinner...bacon, eggs, and toast.  Of course, due to the scary movie, he ended up spending the night in my bed!


Nini

The past 10 days have been really full!

We had vacation Bible school, and a baby shower at church.  Those days were all busy, full and fun.  Of course they came right after we had all just gotten over the 'tummy thing'.  So, now this week, we are finally getting our strength back and are making up for lost time in the studio!

I realized I really hadn't done much of anything in the past month.  While I am not behind, I just wasn't as productive as I would have liked.

This week we have had 4 nights of almost midnight sewing sessions, with me back up at 6 to start again before the kiddos get up.  While I haven't gotten a lot done, I have recharged my batteries!  Last night's session was over a lot sooner, more like 9, and I slept in to 8 this morning!

So now, my creative battery has been recharged, and my sleep battery has been recharged!  Look out weekend...here I come!

Nini

Warning! Editorial Ahead!!

This is an editorial comment brought to you by....ME!

In the last few days I have been watching the news.  While, for years, there has been a recurring theme to each and every person who gets caught doing something they shouldn't.  Today takes the cake!

People steal manhole covers because of the tough economic times.  People shoot other people because the victim made them mad.  And this morning, the so-called "barefoot bandit" would not have chosen a life of crime if he had not come from a broken home.

Strange, when I was growing up, you did bad stuff because you chose to do bad stuff.  I am amazed at how we not only look for a 'reason' why people do bad things, but how willing we are to accept those 'reasons'. As if the person had no choice but to do bad things. 

If kids fail in school, it must be because the teacher is no good.  It has nothing whatsoever to do with the kids choice to not do the homework or study or to even apply themselves.  Nothing to do with the absent parent who could care less about their child's education, but just glad that they are off the street for a few hours and out of their hair!

I've been sitting here for the past five minutes, staring at the screen trying my best to come up with some profound statement that would make a difference.  Some words, that when put together, would somehow make people see that we all have choices.  Some are just easier than others.  But I realize, that in today's society, we don't want tough choices.  We are becoming a nation of entitlement.  We are 'owed' a stress free life without problems and tribulations. We should not have to make those tough choices.

It reminds me of a story I once read about a beautiful butterfly.

"Struggle is Good!   I Want to Fly!

Once a little boy was playing outdoors and found a fascinating caterpillar. He carefully picked it up and took it home to show his mother. He asked his mother if he could keep it, and she said he could if he would take good care of it.

The little boy got a large jar from his mother and put plants to eat, and a stick to climb on, in the jar. Every day he watched the caterpillar and brought it new plants to eat.

One day the caterpillar climbed up the stick and started acting strangely. The boy worriedly called his mother who came and understood that the caterpillar was creating a cocoon. The mother explained to the boy how the caterpillar was going to go through a metamorphosis and become a butterfly.

The little boy was thrilled to hear about the changes his caterpillar would go through. He watched every day, waiting for the butterfly to emerge. One day it happened, a small hole appeared in the cocoon and the butterfly started to struggle to come out.

At first the boy was excited, but soon he became concerned. The butterfly was struggling so hard to get out! It looked like it couldn’t break free! It looked desperate! It looked like it was making no progress!

The boy was so concerned he decided to help. He ran to get scissors, and then walked back (because he had learned not to run with scissors…). He snipped the cocoon to make the hole bigger and the butterfly quickly emerged!

As the butterfly came out the boy was surprised. It had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. He continued to watch the butterfly expecting that, at any moment, the wings would dry out, enlarge and expand to support the swollen body. He knew that in time the body would shrink and the butterfly’s wings would expand.

            But neither happened!

The butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings.

It never was able to fly…

As the boy tried to figure out what had gone wrong his mother took him to talk to a scientist from a local college. He learned that the butterfly was SUPPOSED to struggle. In fact, the butterfly’s struggle to push its way through the tiny opening of the cocoon pushes the fluid out of its body and into its wings. Without the struggle, the butterfly would never, ever fly. The boy’s good intentions hurt the butterfly.

As you go through school, and life, keep in mind that struggling is an important part of any growth experience. In fact, it is the struggle that causes you to develop your ability to fly.

As instructors our gift to you is stronger wings…   "

http://instructor.mstc.edu/instructor/swallerm/Struggle%20-%20Butterfly.htm

While that story is not exactly like the one I remember, it is close enough to get the point. (the above link will take you to the actual posting of the story.)

I was always told, that struggles are what bring out your true self.  Everyone has hardships and trials.  How you choose to deal with those things is what shows the type of person you really are.  

My parents were born during the great depression.  My grandparents lost almost everything they owned.  They had tough times.  There were times when they really didn't know where the next meal was coming from, and they had a lot of mouths to feed.  Never once did they think, I'll just go get a gun and rob the grocery store for food.  They worked hard, prayed a lot, and stayed together as a family and made do with what they had.

All I can hope for is that me and my family will never be confronted by someone with a gun who had a bad childhood, is feeling the effects of the bad economy, or is being forced into a life of crime by 'outside forces'.

Nini

This month is really moving along without me!

It is already the 9th!  I'm beginning to feel that the time is going to start really slipping away as we get closer to Disney.  I have so much already done, that I have started to feel like I was ready.  The I take a week or so off from sewing and discover just how far behind I really am!

VBS started last night.
Normally, VBS is just for the kids.  Sure, there are adult classes, but I've never really felt like I've gotten anything out of the adult class, it has always been more of a 'filler' for me.  Last night was different.

Not sure if the difference was the fact that Kristy's mom was there, that Noni was back from the hospital after having her line moved, that Kristy was one of Mr D's teachers...or what.  But somehow the message of last night's lesson got me pretty hard.  During the class, I had several teary moments where it was all I could do to hold back the tears.

The lesson was about Thankfullness.  I know, you are asking how in the world that would make me teary eyed. Well, some of the things said hit home.  We talked about how we forget to say those two words "thank you " until it is too late.  About how death comes without warning.  See, it has been just a little over 7 months since Helen died.  With her grandmother being in the audience, of course it was brought up.  Seeing how far Kristy has come since the accident is unbelievable.  Even more unbelievable is how, when a little boy asked her why she was in a wheelchair, she explained how there was a terrible car accident and she got 'hurt' and now she gets to ride in a chair.  Not the accident took my daughter's life and I can never walk again...just I got 'hurt'.

Of course, that made me think about Mom's accident and my reactions to that...I find myself still, 5 years later, thinking in terms of what that accident did to me and my family.  It took my Mom away from me, it made my son forever 3, it messed up MY life...

The one scripture that we kept going back to over and over was, Romans 8:28..."We know that all things work together for good to them that love God..." It doesn't say that all things ARE good, or even WILL be good.  It says all things work TOGETHER for good.  We talked about how we are commanded to give thanks in "All things"...not because they ARE good, but because they "work together for good".

I think this lesson has meant more to me than a year's worth of lessons.


...so then after the kiddies came back to the auditorium for the closing and dismissal, Mr D started having a meltdown and I had to go get him and bring him back to where I was sitting.  I overheard some kid asking about what was wrong with the 'cry baby'...and the tear ducts opened up and a flood of great proportion ensued!  I think this is one of the few times I let myself cry for the loss of what Mr D MIGHT have become, while still loving the little boy he has become.


So, in the spirit of our lesson on Thanks Giving... I want to say Thank You to all my family and friends for putting up with me and loving me.  And Thank You to all the doctors and therapists that have brought us so far in the past 5 years.  And mainly, Thank You God ...for giving my bottom a little kick.  I needed it!



Nini

F R E E - D I N I N G ! ! ! !

 Just in case you missed it....FREE DINING!!!!

That's right, Free Dining was extended to our dates and we were able to take advantage of it!  Saved a ton of money (well it IS a ton to me!) In one more month I will make one more small payment to Disney and then our trip will be paid in full!  Almost 3 months early!  I am so beyond excited!

Now, I NEED to get back to the studio and get to work on some clothes for the trip, but I am still not feeling 100%; however I am more in the mood to sew now that we got free dining.

By the way...did I mention we got free dining?

Nini

I have been sick for the past 48 hours or so.  Don't want to go into details, let's just say  it wasn't fun...


I finally made it to facebook this morning and say this from my Daughter in law:

I put a store bought dress on Alyssa this morning and she says, "Mommy, did you make this dress for me?" "No." I replied. "Oh, did Memaw?" She questioned. "No, I bought this one at the store." "Oh, can you make me a dress, I do not like bought dresses." Maybe she is a little spoiled, LOL


The highlight of my day!




Nini