Butterfly Exhibit at the Botanical Garden

Butterfly Exhibit at the Garden

A path at the Garden

Cactus Flower bloom at the Garden

Sunflower along the Roadside

Botanical Garden Butterfly Exhibit

If there is light in the soul,There will be beauty in the person.

If there is beauty in the person,There will be harmony in the house.

If there is harmony in the house,There will be order in the nation.

If there is order in the nation,There will be PEACE in the world.

~Chinese Proverb

Thirteen Things about Mary1. My favorite color is GREEN! 2. My middle name has been passed down in my family for 200 plus years 3. I am currently recovering from the Flu. 4. I have liked & belived in Angels since I was a VERY small child. 5. I have seen ghosts on more than one occasion. 6. I am a Stay At Home Mom. 7. I am an avid Postcrosser. 8. This is my first edition of Thriteen Things. 9. I am BEYOND proud of my "Baby" Sister. 10. I have been a slave to the laundry this week with 3 of us having the Flu. 11. I have seen the hand of God & am no longer worried about what others think when they hear it. 12. I have an unshakeable faith in the Lord. 13. I am in the process of changing my eating habits & reintroducing exercise into my life. Links to other Thursday Thirteens!1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

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Yard of a Thousand Lakes

Yes, you read it correctly. It seems that I may have as many as 1000 mini-lakes in my yard. Okay, so it's a bit of an exaggeration but there is at least one that is about 1100 square feet. I only know this because it is about 1/2 the size of my house! Not to mention there are at least 20 OTHER smaller but still sizeable mini-lakes on our acre of land. We got a rare early June rain/wind/dust storm that blew through about 2 hours ago. First came the sudden dramatic drop in temperature, next howling winds & TONS of dust. It got to the point that it was literally ZERO visibility! Next came rain that was being blown by the wind with such force, it sounded like hail hitting the windows. I was seeing cloud to ground lightening & it was close enough I could feel the electricity in the air. I placed both the girls in the doorway between the bathroom & master bedroom, away from all windows & electrical outlets, unplugged the phones & electronic devices & had candles & matches close at hand. The dust was so thick that at 5pm...it was black as pitch outside. That is of course when we lost power. Char was fussy the whole time while Liz was pretty good, but asking if daddy was inside when she saw the dust. Once we lost power all bets on calm little ones were lost. I kept them both in the playpen & sat next to it, talking to them & telling them a story. The power was only out about 10 minutes, but with my voice fading fast due to my coughing...it was 10 minutes too long. I was much relieved when I saw my hubby pull up outside in front of the house, knowing he was safe. He works outside & on top of roofs every day so when I see lightening & dust storms, I have a very real concern for his safety. Now we are housebound for the next few days (not that I was going anywhere anyway being sick) & the work truck is parked on the street until the ground solidifies again.

I called my mom & told her to get her a$$ straight home as the storm was headed her way & fast. She called a little later telling me my Grandmother is in the hospital due to MAJOR swelling in her legs from being immobile. Until they get this mess with her back figured out, this could be an ongoing problem. They admitted her to reduce the swelling & to make sure no blood clots have formed. Say a prayer for her. She could use all of them she can get.

BTW, I am still feeling like I got run over by a truck but Phlegm Dam broke wide open last night about bedtime & has been flowing strong ever since. I'm not kidding, I've filled TWO bathroom trash cans with Kleenex since 7 am this morning! Yes, my head & sinuses are pounding but it's a good thing. It IS a GOOD thing...right?

Update from the House of Flu

This won't be long either. We are still coughing & hacking up our lungs. Liz & I are at least. Bob seems to be "okay" still. That's a good thing since he is the one with the paycheck. Charlotte I'm happy to report is doing MUCH, MUCH better.

Last night Char slept in her room while Liz & I shared the bed. Bob slept on the couch so he wasn't sleeping in sheets & pillows tainted with our Flu germs. The plan is for me to wash all our our bedding, including pillows & such so he can sleep in our bed tonight. I will be on the couch, propped up so I can breath. I think Liz may end up in her Daddys chair for the same reason.

I did manage to something other than just nap for the first time since Thursday I think. I took some Nyquill & Liz some Triaminic so we both ended up getting some decent sleep. I heard Bob come in & give Liz Triaminic. He said that the way the two of us were hacking it was keeping him from sleeping....in the other room! I would have given Liz meds but I was so dizzy from coughing & sheer exhaustion I couldn't get out of bed. Since I had no voice, I couldn't call out to Bob either. I am not very dizzy this morning.

I talked to my sister this weekend, as well as my Grandparents & Grandma. Nobody even told my sister that Grandma had back surgery! That really pissed me off. HELLO! It's back surgery! Actually NECK surgery! It's stuff like that my family DOESN'T say that gets to me. I'm used to the gossip & bad mouthing. When something IMPORTANT comes up that family members NEED to know about? It's amazing how fast the gossips mouths shut! It becomes family business only if it is about them they want sympathy! GRRR!

Oay, I need to head back to bed. I am getting dizzy again & don't want to crawl across the house to get there.

This won't be long

I just wanted to do a quick update.

We left for Garland, Texas (around Dallas) on Friday night. We drove straight through & it took us about 16 hours. We had a room at the Gaylord Texan & it was beautiful. Sunday we spent the day with his Grandma, 2 Uncles, an Aunt-in-Law & his neice & nephew. Monday we headed back home & returned Tuesday morning. In all, we had a good time.

Yesterday both the kids & I began to get sick. The three of us were running fevers all day. The smallest was vomiting up formula & pedialite, but feeling better by bedtime. The oldest was feeling okay at bedtime but woke me up by vomiting all over her bedroom at 1am. That is why I am awake right now. Then there is me. I have been running a low grade fever, sweating like a pig or freezing, spewing vomit & feces like crazy & am lightheaded. I can't forget that I have developed a sharp pain in my left ear...usually the sign of an ear infection for me. Gee? Wanna come over so you can get sick too? Let's just hope my hubby doesn't catch any of it.

I know it will all pass. I know this could have happened at any point over the holiday weekend (thank goodness it didn't) Unfortunately, it doesn't make me feel any better right now.

With that, I am off to bed.