June 11th

Hi, It’s Christina –

Happy, Happy Hump Day! I know I said today’s blog will be back to normal, but I guess I lied. It’s coming a lot later than normal because I needed to get Lys to the train station this morning, and we had the chaos of two teenage girls trying to get ready at the same time…with only one bathroom. It’s never a pretty sight.

Anyway, Lys is off to Long Island to spend a few days with Tyler and family. Depending on the weather forecast, they may be back on Friday. If it’s nice on Saturday, they will be going to the beach. If not, Lys will just stay in LI and come home on the train Saturday evening.

I’ve told you before how insane my sister in law’s life is, juggling her three kid’s crazy schedules. Well, Cindy was my photographer for both parties this past weekend, and I guess she has not had the time to send over the pictures yet, but I did not want to push off the recap for yet another day.

Saturday went extremely well. My husband was shocked, but that was not the only surprise we had that day. I had a suspicion it would happen, but because I wasn’t sure, I kept my mouth shut; well, almost. I did say something to Lys, but told her not to say anything because I really did not know. The little stinker didn’t let on that she knew all about it.

Kyle

The big surprise was when my nephew Kyle waltzed into the party. He really shocked his mom. Fran was in tears. I wished someone had videotaped it; it probably would have gone viral like all the other soldier’s surprise homecoming videos. We have not seen Kyle since the few days he had at home after graduation in January. He’ll be here until the twentieth, then it’s back to Mississippi for more training.

When he joined the Marines, he wanted to become an air traffic controller, but because he is slightly color blind, he is unable to pursue his first choice. Now the Marine Corp has him training in some type of intelligence field, but he can’t really talk about it. He seems okay with the change of plans, and still loves being a Marine, so I guess that’s all that really matters.

We managed to get everything broken down from Saturday’s party and transported over to Bri’s house for Sunday’s party before ten o’clock; thanks to Kyle and my “other son” Jason, who were my muscle men. The only things I needed to get over to Bri’s late Saturday was the beer and some food. All along, I thought we would be breaking down and hauling stuff into the wee hours of the morning, but as it turned out, we were all in bed by midnight.

Brianna & Dani Rose

Sunday was another perfect day weather wise, sunny and eighty-two with a refreshing breeze. The church service went well. Dani was funny. She said she looked out into the congregation and half the church was there for her. Well, she did exaggerate a bit, but there were twenty-eight people in church just to see her get confirmed.

I only have one photo to share with you from Dani’s Confirmation. Please excuse the quality, it was taken from my phone. Both her and Bri looked so beautiful, and so grown up!

As I said, this isn’t going to be a usual blog because I’m not going to give you a writing challenge today. Frankly I’m still whooped from this weekend and I don’t have enough time before I have to get ready for work. (I have the ten minutes to do the last prompt, it’s the coming up with a new prompt which would be too time consuming.)

So, until tomorrow, I hope you have a fantastic day, and happy writing!

May 22nd

Hi it’s Christina –

Good Morning! There’s just something special about waking up to a thunderstorm – provided it’s not waking you up in the middle of the night, that is. No, at least for me, a cloudy, rainy morning makes me want to pull the covers over my head and go back to sleep, but when it’s a thunderstorm, with lightning and all, I feel energized, even though I don’t get out of bed right away. I just laid there, listened to the sound of the rain hitting the roof, the thunder rumble through the air, and the lightning flash through the window.

Mind you, my thoughts quickly turned to having to navigate the morning during a downpour; but for a little while, I was able to just lay there and enjoy the majesty of Mother Nature. Then, reality invaded, and I needed to get up. Sigh…

I had to make a quick run over to my mom’s house to feed her cat – she’s been on a trip to Martha’s Vineyard and Providence. She’ll be returning tonight, so today was the last day I needed to check in on Baxter. I know the cat still exists, because his food is gone every day, but I have not actually seen the cat in years. It’s very strange.

Okay, today’s blog is going to be extremely short and sweet, and there isn’t going to be a challenge today, because RV has an early doctor’s appointment, and I still need to shower and get ready. After her appointment, I’m taking her to go visit her sister. I’m praying I’ll be able to figure out the GPS in her car, or we may just be taking a really long scenic tour.

Hopefully we’ll be back at a descent hour because I have to be at our local library tonight for a writers’ group, and I’ll still need time to make dinner for Dani and my husband before I go. This is the group I wanted to start, and even went to the library to pitch the idea. They never got back to me, and then, months later, I find they started one on their own. I’m trying not to be too annoyed, and I’m trying to go in to tonight’s meeting with an open mind, but quite frankly, it stings. I promise to slap on a happy face and attempt to not make

waves, but …

Grandma and Grandpa did come to the rescue. They will be picking Lys up at nine to get her to the train station for nine thirty, so that’s a load off my mind. We are so blessed that the grandparents are so close, can, and are able to pitch in when we’re in a pinch. So many of my friends’ parents either live far away or are no longer with us, and they don’t have the extra help.

Okay, as I said, this is going to be short and sweet, because I really have to run. I hope you have a fabulous day, and happy writing!