Simple joys

Friday! i woke up this morning and thought, today's gonna be crazy. can i get five more minutes of sleep? and then i realized that if i remained in bed any longer i was going to make myself late for class. today was a review for monday's test in stats. my noon class was cancelled which meant i'd be driving to Brownwood to see my sister before she went to work. my mom wanted to see the grandkids and see the new house.

the orginal plan was that we would stay overnight. however, i have two major tests next week. as much as i love my family and wanted to spend time with my sister. i knew if we didn't come back tonight then we wouldn't arrive until sometime tomorrow afternoon. forget being able to study there. i barely could go to the ladies room without my nephew beating down the door screaming "mimi, open the door! come out!" he's a bossy one that Timothy! LOL...serves me right. i'm getting a taste of my own medicine.

the highlight of my day was getting to sit and chat with my sister and spending some time with the kids. the kids were at daycare, so my mom and i decided to pick up the oldest and spend some time with him. which is exactly what we did. oh his cute little face that light up when he saw us. he yells, "Gee! MIMI! my gee's here!!!" why he calls my mom "Gee" no idea? so the first thing he says to me is how he's left us a present of his own, but not the good kind. aye! so he says "i get my stuff!" and off we go to collect his daily papers. and then off we go to his house to change him before running around. he's adorable.

we got to spend about an hour and half with him before his dad came home with Peter who is growing like a weed. he's up to 10 lbs now. amazing...just amazing. to think he entered this world weighing just four pounds and is now a healthy growing boy! he's already starting to pick his head up and staring around. they do grow really fast. which is why i'm the camera happy tia. twenty kajillion pics of the ninos!

well, we departed just after 6:30 pm. decided to stay in tonight on account of my early morning run. not to mention the stack of movies i have either rented or are from netflix. i think i'm a movie junkie. i started watching this movie and completely crashed out. like people talking to me and me wanting to respond in my head but not able to fully communicate verbally. what came out was mumbled jibberish. by the way, i do mumble sometimes.

anyhow...to switch gears a bit. my mom's doing great. getting adjusted to some new changes but its all for the better. she's recovering from surgery and we've had some funny moments in the process. my dad told the surgeon that my mother was crazy. shoulda seen her the day he brought her home. hijole. but i'm glad to see she's in better spirits. she wasn't exactly happy with us for making her go through with this surgery.

my dad left bright and early this morning. headed to the valley with the san angelo group that's part of TBM's disaster relief efforts there in wake of Hurricane Dolly. He was really excited to go and man, i have to say this is my dad's passion. helping people in need. that's why i love Angie's parents so much. for their genuine hearts, service to humanity, and their devotion to God.
I can remember ever so clearly sitting at a Pizza Hut or Frazoli's (the where doesnt matter much) with Smange's parents talking about faith and what it meant. I remember the tears in her Dad's eyes as he talked about what he was most passionate about. That was a defining moment in my life and's one of those moments I'll remember for the rest of my life.

When I feel like what I know and what should be fail me...I go back to that moment and remember that true unconditional love exists. That is the reason why i say they inspire and encourage me. That conversation always takes me to a place where I have no other alternative but to subtract my feelings, emotions, needs, desires, hurts, wishes, and wants from the equation always leading me to see a bigger picture outside of myself. It reminds me that it's a privilege to be part of a bigger family that surpasses blood relations. More than anything it takes me back to gratitude and that kind of gratitude leads to a humility that can't be adequately described by words. The closest that I can come to is one word.

Broken.

sitting here safely in my own home, having what i need and being afforded privileges i've been afforded: I can say i'm grateful. And so tonight my prayers go out to those folks affected by Dolly. I'm most grateful that this natural disaster wasn't to the extreme degree of Katrina, but i'm sure there are folks who's homes have sustained damage and loss. also i pray blessings for those selfless volunteers who are on the frontlines trying to meet basic needs like food, shelter, showers...and for the volunteers to come who will help with mudding units and reconstruction efforts. it's no surprise to me that Smange's parents are coordinating efforts there...so many prayers for strength and wisdom as they do the work they are called to do.