Spent some time this past week looking up old friends.  It’s amazing how easy it is to find people - gotta love the internet.  Of the people I found, one lives in Tulsa (or at least in this area).  I randomly ran into her a couple of years ago at a convenience store, promised to call, but never followed up…. not going to let the same thing happen twice.   In looking up past friends, I’ve started thinking about the impact I’ve had on people I’ve known.  It seems somewhat arrogant to think my existence has caused any more than just a slight ripple in the pond and yet so many have affected my life that I can’t help but believe I’ve reciprocated at least some over the years.  On the whole I’m not worried - I’ve done my best to help where I could and not interfere when I couldn’t - I don’t think I’ve messed anyone up permanently - with one possible exception.  There was a man before Will that I thought I might marry.  I worry about him.  He wasn’t a Christian before we met and though he seemed to accept the faith while we were dating I don’t get the impression (from his web postings here and there) that he accepts it now.  So I wonder… is that my fault?  Even if it is I can’t imagine having made a different choice.  I don’t regret my path at all… the regret is for his path.  The regret is for not being a better example during the time we shared.  The chances of you reading this are slim to none but for the record - I’m sorry.  Don’t run away from God forever, okay? 

Sometime in the middle of this summer the $5 blowup pool from Wal-mart saw its last day and we have been without ever since.  We’ve made do with sprinklers and rain puddles and trips to the Jenks water park but the day before yesterday inspiration hit.  I took the lid off of a large rubbermaid storage tub sat it in the shade and filled it with water along with another smaller tub I keep the kid’s stuffed animals in.  Then, and I think this was part of the fun, I let the kids play with their clothes on.  I grabbed a lawn chair and a book I’ve been meaning to read and sat at a safe distance to watch.  I’m not certain quite how long they played but I made it to page 54 of the book - which has no pictures, BTW. Grandma liked the idea so much she took it a step further and asked me to create a “water park” for all the cousins to play in on Aunt P.’s birthday… Here are the pics of that. 

Finally, today we (Will, Brother, Sister & I) headed to Lake Keystone.  In all the time we’ve lived in Tulsa I’ve never gone.  We didn’t know exactly what would be available but we packed a small picnic lunch and our swimsuits just in case.  Will and I told the kids we were “just taking a drive” and headed off.  It was no problem to find a place to eat our lunch and swim.  I can’t believe we’ve never done this before.  We will definitely be going again.  Sister loved it! 

For a couple of months now I’ve kissed Brother’s scrapes and bumps and bruises to “make them better.” Each time he immediately stops crying, says “tanks, Mom”, and returns to playing. He has even come to find me on his own a few times and ask for the kiss. The past couple of weeks however there has been a change. Now when I ask, “do you want me to kiss it?” He promptly replies, “No, I kiss it.” which he does or at least attempts to do. This is especially funny when the booboo is on his head. His own kisses seem to have the same effect as the magic mommy ones, by the way.
As I recall, Sister was of a completely different breed. She never believed in the magic of mommy’s kisses. For her it was (and still is) the magic “mommy hold me until absolutely all the physical hurt is gone and I am certain I’m not psychologically scarred .”

Yea!!! Only 2 months after we moved out and our old house is finally “on the market.”  After debating whether or not to sell it ourselves and save the commission we finally decided to use a real estate agent and save the headaches instead.  Our agent, Jimmy Lee Wright, is actually the same person who sold us the house.  I can’t believe how relieved I feel and it’s not even sold.  I’ll still go down each morning and evening to water the lawn and flowers but really there is nothing left to do but wait.  The MLS system is not being updated until Friday (they are changing servers.) but I will provide a link to the listing when it’s posted… if anyone is interested in buying a home. *hint, hint*