We have a new

Granddaughter – Victoria Rose Leavitt was born on Friday, January 25^th at 3:41pm at the Oakbend Medical Center.  Both Mother (Donna) and baby are doing great.  Wow!  That makes 5 babies born since last January and we just heard that Laura, Bob’s wife is expecting!  We are indeed blessed.

 

Last night I was going to a yearly home schooling meeting.  There were 5 of us from Magnolia area and we drove together.  We chatted about school and kids and all the challenges and joys of both.  We arrived a little early and were pulling into a parking spot when one of the women said “Oh my gosh, that man just broke a car window!” and he had.  He grabbed a package; something then looked straight at us and then jumped in a car and took off.  One of the women said “get the license plate” as another Sister called 911.  As Grace was talking to the dispatcher we saw a Security car drive by.  Marie Gossling, who is incredible and probably weighs 95 lbs. wringing wet reversed her big 8 passenger van and zoomed after the Security guard.  We chased him around a Target parking lot until he finally stopped and we told him what happened.  We told him we would follow him over and gave him a description of the thief, their car and license number and approximately when this had happened.  He told us that probably the thief had stolen a laptop computer bag or something that was on the back seat.

 

We drove back to the hotel and then got a little concerned because Marie’s van in highly recognizable and it was very dark.  So, as we start to get out of the van a black sport car pulled up beside us and freaked us all out!  Luckily, it was fellow home schoolers and we walked into the hotel with them.  What was so funny is afterward Marie said ”ok, Ladies lets see your power walk” so that we wouldn’t look like victims if someone was watching.  It was an interesting and rather exciting night.

 

Oh, and after a horribly rainy, drab, cold week we have a beautiful blue sky and warm weather.  It is a good thing we live in Houston as dark winter weather does not suit me at all!   I forgot something, we have 3 new additions to our farm!  The day before we left to go see Asia and baby Aurora we heard and then found an abandoned kitten.  She was very loud (that’s how we found her) and we looked around but didn’t see any more kittens.  It worried me as I was pretty sure someone had dumped a litter of kittens.  We fed her and named her Josie; it was supposed to be Joseph (Nathan) but since she is a she we thought Josie more appropriate.  We left Friday and Shelly came and stayed at our house for the week.   On Sunday as they returned home from Church the big dogs had treed something.  They were worried that it might be Josie although they had left her in the house and guess what – Josie has a sister.  The second kitten had spent several more days out in the wet and cold and was sick but they brought her in and took care of her.  So, her name is Tiger Ann.  Then Glenn surprised me at Christmas with a puppy!  Asia’s Mother-in-law is a dog breeder and he bought me a Sheltie puppy.  We brought him home with us from Amarillo.  I have decided to call him Duke after John Wayne, the actor who was called the Duke a lot.  Anyway, we have one paranoid puppy on our hands.  He is simply terrified of humans.  No problem there – big sigh.  I don’t know what happened to him but he slinks around with his tail between his legs and grouches to the floor if you reach out to touch him.  He is getting a little better and Nathan is actually very good with him.  We took him for a walk to the pond and he seemed to enjoy being outside so, we will see.  Have a wonderful day.

Six things

No one knows about me.  Cyndi challenged me to this and I don’t know if I can come up with six somethings but I will try-

 

1.   We were leaving in California at the time this happened and I was 9 with a birthday coming up.  My best friend, although I can’t remember her name asked me to go camping in the desert with her family.  The only complication was that it was my birthday weekend.  I wanted to go soooooo badly but my older sister, Linda was having a fit.  She told me that I was a traitor to our family and would hurt Mama badly if I left for the weekend instead of spending it with my family.  It was a terribly hard decision to make as I didn’t want to hurt my Mother but so wanted to go on this trip.  My Mother solved it by having my birthday celebration in the middle of the week.  My friend had a camper and we rode in it to the desert and slept in the camper.  We had a fantastic time looking at stars and had a wonderful camp fire with the other campers.  To that point in my life and for quite a while after, it was my favorite birthday.  By the way, when I got back my Mother was in the hospital having collapsed at work and my Sister convinced me that it was all my fault.

 

2. This is a bit of a confession, I suppose.  Right after the above happened, Mama was very sick.  I don’t remember what she had but we got behind in bills and she wrote (or called, I don’t know) and asked my Grandparents what to do.  They wired her money and we started back to Texas.  In the middle of Arizona somewhere the car broke down.  We didn’t know what to do and so we all got out of the car and walked to the nearest “town”.  It consisted of a gas station, a hotel, and a café.  We spent one miserable week there.  They didn’t have parts and had to order them and Mama had to contact Grannie and Dad and get more money.  Now the confession part – by now I am 10 and was usually a good kid.  We were bored out of our minds, it was hot and we had no money.  There was a coke machine at the gas station and I wanted a drink.  I tried to figure out what to do and came up with nothing.  I finally found a piece of cardboard and tried to fashion a coin to trick the machine and get my drink.  It didn’t work and I broke the machine – I also didn’t tell a soul until now what I had done.  So now, you all know one of the worst things I have ever done!
3. Right before I found out I was expecting Kathie, I took an H & R Block Tax course.  They asked some of their more promising students to go to work for them for the tax season.  I was a tax preparer for the following season of tax preparation.  I remember going to have lunch and ordering something Italian but I couldn’t eat anything with bell peppers in it.  By now, I knew I was expecting.  I had gone to lunch and actually had a customer at my desk and realized that I was going to throw up.  The bathroom was out of the office and at the end of the hall.  I must have been a little wild eyed as I said very quickly “excuse me for a second”, left my desk and the room and ran the length of the hall, rushed into the bathroom, threw up, and then washed my face and walked back to the office and finished his taxes.
4. Before we left for Singapore I was taking a writing course to become an author.  I continued in Singapore for awhile but it became too difficult to finish the assignment and get them sent in with the time gap of mailing from overseas.
5. Something I actually told Shelly today, I played the flute in elementary school.
6. I wanted to be an artist when I grew up and had filled out one of those drawing courses advertisements.  They contacted me and wanted me to take the courses and in fact, came out and talked to my Mother about taking the classes.  It didn’t happen but I really wanted to it at the time.

 

I guess I did it and now everything will know me a little better, I guess.  Have a great day or night or whatever.