Updates

Okay, well, it's been a really interesting month so far. My toe/foot is still very, very painful. I can be up and around for about 20 minutes before I MUST sit, though, so things are starting to get done again.

Hubby went to the doctor to get refills on all his prescriptions. Without insurance, just walking into the doctor's office cost $120. He's down to four Rxs now, and thankfully, the expensive one has gone generic, so instead of $500, it's "only" $300. Yowza. We can't even afford to pick them up, so I have no idea how he is going to get through the next 1o days of no sleep.

Several other unusual payments have come due this month, and with 13 days left in the month, our bank balance zeroed out. We gathered up all the money we were given for Christmas (thanks, Mom!) and deposited it, so at least we're not in the red. But I have no idea at all what we are going to do for food and gasoline for almost 2 weeks.

February is going to be even worse. In February, our property taxes (of $1000) come due. We also have several other major expenses that put our budget out of whack by more than $2500. I can't wait to see what God does to rescue us from this annual pit. Yeah, sure, it'd be real good to set money aside all year for the February pit, wouldn't it? Sure, if there were no such thing as car breakdowns, sudden medical costs, and the like.

I've asked for all the hours I can work, which means bad food, unattended kids (no, not really, we both work at home so they aren't unattended, just not as attended as they usually are) and stress. Yuck. But I'm thankful for the hours that will bring in a teensy bit of money. It's not enough for groceries even (nope, not even beans and rice three meals a day) but it's something.

Then there's chicken pox. When the Christmas break was over and the public school kids were ready to go back, we had a snow "storm" (half an inch) that cancelled school for three days. My two youngest got to play with a friend they haven't seen in a year. She's just been through a divorce and there's no time for friends anymore. Three days later, we get a call: she's got chicken pox and my girls have been exposed. Oh, and the little girl had been immunized, so we have a 50/50 chance that the variation we have is beyond our immunity.

Back in October, my mother in law and I began planning a big surprise birthday party for hubby. He turns 50 this year and LOVES parties. This would be his first since our marriage. Of course, with a pending plague in the house, we had to cancel the party. And the plane tickets his brothers bought to fly out. And his mother's plans. And, and, and...

Oy.

I've been kind of low the last couple weeks. I'm sure glad it costs nothing to lay in bed because that's just about all I'm interested in doing right now.

Winter arrived this morning

Quite promptly at 8AM, to be exact. Of course, it was over by noon, but we sure enjoyed it while it lasted! The next door neighbor boy scraped up all the snow he could find and made a snowman - exactly 12 inches tall! Not like Oregon at all, here.

A very unmerry birthday to me.

What did I get for my birthday? Tornadoes that killed dozens. My dislike of my state of residence has turned vehement once again.

We're safe. The Lord protected us, and the only "damage" we had was the miraculous fixing of a gate that was stuck. The wind unstuck it! The first supercell held onto its tornado until it passed over us.

We all slept in the basement, just in case, though. Well, those of us who did sleep, that is. I stayed in the basement through the first supercell storm, but once it settled down, I came back upstairs to see what the news was saying about further storms. There were four more, but by the time they reached us, none were as bad as that first one. But they were much, much worse for others.

My emotionally sensitive child was very, very freaked out by the storm. We had prayed and discussed what we would do, even held a very brief "what to do if" session. I didn't want anyone focusing on the what if, but I wanted them to know that God was protecting us and I had a plan. That all worked well until the lightning hit. The sky lit up like daytime—no, daylight is warm and yellow, this was a harsh blue light that was quite otherworldly. Anyway, it was bright as day, and didn't dim for fifteen minutes. There were flickers where some smaller bolts would hit, but the largest bolts were continuous. We had the blinds shut, but the light came into the room like moonbeams.

To comfort her, I made up a story about a firefly convention just outside the window. How ours was chosen to be the most friendly window in all of Tennessee, so the fireflies met in front of it to discuss their summer plans. Many had woken up in the 70° weather earlier in the day, and were quite confused as to why it was so warm in February. They talked about all the fun things they would do once summer really came: licking up spilled ice cream on the sidewalk, watching the fireworks and trying to recreate their patterns, watching the movie at the drive-in. Eventually the fireflies got sleepy and went back into their winter hibernation and the storm moved on.

I'm so thankful for God's care and protection, and I really, really hate it here.

I see a bad moon rising

There's a potential for all kinds of trouble on the way. But I'm not a pessimist. (HA!)

Our pastor's message this week will be on the Pre-Adamic race. I'm so thankful he told us beforehand so hubby and I could research it. We will be staying home and spending that service time in prayer. We strongly believe that teaching is not just divisive and wrong, but heretical, and it could lead to our leaving the church. The only church we've found anywhere close that teaches the Bible. Sad statement coming from the buckle of the "Bible Belt."

Chutt Chutt's toenail bed is becoming infected. I have an appointment to take her to the vet.

We're under a winter storm warning for snow and ice, which makes people here drive like lunatics. They drive like lunatics anyway, but it snows so seldom that they have NO idea how to deal with snow and ice. There are also no scrapers or sanders for the roads so it's just every SUV for himself.

Hubby was supposed to attend a special event next week in Atlanta, but while waffling about going, it sold out! Now he has to scramble to try to get tickets. Procrastination bad. He's also taught our oldest daughter the finer points of procrastination, and she puts off every distasteful job she has until the last possible moment. She does get the done, but it's always a time squeeze, which puts her under pressure that she thinks comes from me! She also has a tendency to be short with her siblings, making her the only impatient procrastinator in my acquaintance!

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Post-vet update:

Sure enough, her toenail bed was infected. The vet gave us prednisone, a steroid for the swelling and pain; baytril, an antibiotic; and benebac, a preparation of beneficial intestinal bacteria which will be killed off by the antibiotic. Poor thing is so tired. she's sleeping a lot and very heavily this afternoon. I've caught myself looking for the rise and fall of her tummy to make sure she's just sleeping. I'll also be keeping an eye on her food and water intake. The prednisone is supposed to improve her appetite, but as much as she is sleeping I don't want her to skip food for dreams!