Why I should always carry a cell phone...

I don't have one of those fancy smart phones that many people have (and many waste their time using, no offense if you love yours to pieces).  I'll be honest, though, I've often thought one would come in handy (like looking up an establishment's phone number when I'm away from a computer or yellow pages, or seeing what I might need for a recipe while at the grocery store, or to get a nice picture of the kids doing something exciting when my camera is not with me, etc.).  I do know that I'd probably be sucked in like many are to checking it constantly, so I am grateful most days that it is not in our best financial interest to get one for me to use.  I DO have a nice flip phone that is perfect for texting (even though it doesn't always know what those smart phones are trying to tell it), making phone calls, and taking sub-sub-par pictures.

I don't always remember to grab my phone when taking a short trip (like to my in-laws, who live at the top of our lane).  I really need to start making more of an effort to do so.  On a morning like this one it would have definitely saved some distress (although I did get in a lot of good praying, which Katherine was able to witness, even though it was mostly just, "Please dear Lord, help us!").

It all started at around 8:30 this morning, when George got home from being out all night taking care of the roads after the snow/ice/rain storm (he left around 5:00 pm yesterday).  I decided to take the kids up to his parents so he could get some much needed sleep.  I asked if he thought the car would make it up the hill and he thought it would be fine.  So I got the kids in the car and right before I left decided to grab the umbrella so they wouldn't get soaked walking into Pop Pop and Nana's house (it is still raining hard and the wind is CRAZY!)  We started up the lane and on the incline the car started to slip a bit (it happens sometimes, but the best thing to do is to keep it in motion).  Towards the top it started slipping a lot!  And at the very top (within 20ish feet of the top that is) the wheels just spun.  I stepped on the brake, prayed, and tried again, turning the wheel slightly.  Nope.  I prayed out loud, let out the brake again, and felt the car go backwards a little crooked while I tried the gas.  There was just too much ice still on the driveway.

The last time I got stuck there, I don't think the kids were with me (and it was all snow that I was spinning in).  That time I just backed down the driveway and went out the other way.  I wasn't doing that with the kids in the car and the lane covered in ice.  Oh, and you probably are already aware that I didn't have my phone with me to call anyone for assistance.  Could I have honked the horn and been heard? Probably.  I was sitting parallel to our neighbor's house and possibly within earshot of my in-laws' house.  Instead, I just wanted to get the kids out of the car that I prayed would stay exactly where it was (even though I wasn't quite convinced).  I pushed in the emergency brake, got out (and almost fell), grabbed the umbrella (Thank you, God, for making me think to grab it!), and got Katherine out of the car and off to the side of the lane, then got Andrew out.  The rain was pouring down at a decent angle because of the wind, and the umbrella was wobbling all over the place.  We were only about 15 steps from the shed, so the plan was to go in there and stay dry.  But that still wouldn't have gotten the kids to the house, because I still had no way of alerting them that we were up there.

We decided to make an attempt for the house (it's probably another 300-500? ft...I might be a math teacher, but I'm really bad with distances).  The driveway was under about 3 inches of water, so I tried to have Katherine walk in the snow...bad idea.  The wind was really whipping around the umbrella now, so I knew the best thing to do was get back to the shed and get inside...and figure SOMETHING out from there.  On our way back, Katherine said, "Mommy!  My boot!"  Here, she had lost her boot in the mound of snow, so she had one foot completely soaked.  I lifted her up by the arm and carried her to the threshold of the shed and just told her to try not to step down on her right foot.  We got inside and I set Andrew's car seat on the mower, and set Katherine on the seat.  By now she is crying because she is cold and has a wet foot, poor girl.  I told her I'd be right back, and went back out for her boot (and to catch the umbrella that was making its way back down to the car).  She was happy to have her boot back, and promised me she and Andrew would be okay if I left them there, but I just couldn't do it (it was a long way to the house to get my in-laws' car and I just couldn't leave them in the shed by themselves that long).

We HAD to get to the house!  The four-wheeler!  I opened the door, turned it on (Thank you, God, that the key is in it and that it works!), then tried to figure out how to lift the plow.  It took a bit of trying, but I got it!  I loaded Andrew in his car seat on the back, put Katherine in front of me, and grabbed the umbrella.  I was nervous about Andrew, but I linked my arm through the car carrier, and held the umbrella with that hand while I maneuvered the four-wheeler with the other.  Even the four-wheeler was slipping and sliding heading to the house!  We made it, got off the four-wheeler, and made it into the house to dry off.  They were definitely a bit surprised to see us coming on their four-wheeler!

Mom G. made me some tea, got Katherine some dry clothes and sat down at the table with me to chat while Dad G. went out to try and get my car (which I had left running).  He was gone for a little while.  Apparently he had to back it all the way down the lane before he could get it to come back up.  He said there were some spots that it just slid.  Thankfully he made it back up, and later on (probably an hour and a half after I planned to go home) I made it back down safely as well (a few slips, but stayed on the road!).  

Oh what a morning!  Definitely would have been a little less of an adventure had I had my phone with me!

I have a blog?!?

was it yesterday?  yes!  it was!  have you ever put something away and completely forgotten that you were the proud owner of it?  you know...you find it in a closet somewhere a year later and think, "hey!  this is neat?  why did i forget this cool thing existed?"  i apparently did that with my blog.  this does NOT mean i will start to write diligently by any means.  (not that anyone in their right mind would believe that to even be possible)  instead, i read some old stories and was reminded of some memorable moments that i had tucked away in a closet and forgotten had ever happened....along with the blog that i had forgotten i used to write in!

handle with care

i returned to work last week after an extensive maternity leave.  one of the students in my class has confounded the rules of physics with an average of 8% (for the entire year).  how is that even possible, you ask?  lack of care and an overload of ignorance.  one might think i'm referring to the apathy of the student, but they'd be only half right.  no one can get to the end of the 3rd quarter with that kind of a grade without multiple people having given up on them.

why aren't the parents hollering, or guidance counselors setting up mandatory tutoring sessions? why is this student's response to my not allowing him to turn in a test that is completely blank, "the [long-term sub] just stopped passing out papers and quizzes to me."?  where are the people who care?

i make this student do a tiny fraction of the work required of other students each day.  it's not much, but it is a start to show him that someone cares.  does he do the work well or completely? no. but he knows (and he has acknowledged) that it would be far easier for me to ignore him like the others, so i must care about him if i'm going out of my way to make sure he stays awake and does something. 

he actually walks across the room to get a calculator now, and writes down a note or two without me reminding him!....it's a huge step in the right direction.  maybe i'll get to teach him next year...

contentment

as a christian, i am called to be content with the things i have been blessed with (whether i would label them blessings or not). God has given me a spirit of contentment and for the most part I truly am content...i really do lack nothing of a material nature when it comes right down to it.

i have a very small kitchen, but it serves its purpose well and it doesn't hurt me in the least to walk upstairs to the spare bedroom to retrieve a bundt pan when i need one, or to dig through a tub on the porch to find the right tupperware container. i wouldn't want to have a kitchen like this one for the rest of my days, but i am content.

my husband and i are building a home, if God wills it, in the course of the next year. designing the kitchen has been a very sticky point in the process. why? we are trying to stay away from being discontented in our final design. we don't want to be in the house and say, "i wish we had done this different." but really...how is it that the contents, or lack thereof, in this new kitchen could tempt me to discontent when i am already content in a far inferior space? i've decided the answer is my "control" over the situation.

right now, i know that the kitchen is what it is, and that this is where God has me. and as i trust Him with my life and all the essentials and nonessentials of it, i have no reason to be disappointed. myself...well, i can totally second guess myself and my decisions. i guess that's why i need to trust God and the wisdom He has given me, even to make decisions about a kitchen...then I can see it as where He has me and hopefully, by His grace, be content.

who could have imagined

thursday september 8th, and i am not in school. crazy!

who would have thought that in a 2 1/2 week period of time our country would have experienced an earthquake, 2 hurricanes, a devastating fire, and a flood? and i have experienced 3 of those here in central PA!

two days before school i was in my room getting ready for the start of the year when i felt this weird rumbling. at first i thought it was the guy next door (he's pretty big so i could imagine if he was moving furniture against the wall i might feel it). but then i decided it was the roof that was shaking...no, the outside wall! i couldn't figure it out! i walked out of my room and several teachers were in the hallway asking if each other felt that. so weird. then we learned that VA had a 5.8 earthquake and we were getting the reverberations from it. an earthquake in PA! wow.

last sunday hurricane irene hit the coast of NC and moved north along the eastern seaboard. we saw quite a bit of rain, but thought that would be the end of it...then we saw our garden :( when we asked a tomato "specialist" to take a look, he pronounced it as late blight, which came in on the wings of the storm. irene killed our plans to make tomato sauce this year.

but the last two days have been the most interesting. hurricane lee (or tropical storm lee?) sent us some rain that has decided to not go away. we've been getting pummeled for the past 2 1/2 days. yesterday school let out early, and today it was canceled! crazy! some schools just started on tuesday! i've never seen anything like it. so i'll make the best of it and enjoy my day at home while praying for those who had to be evacuated.

speaking of evacuation...some friends in texas at this time are in the complete opposite extreme...they have no rain and a fire has already destroyed 600 homes. if only the rain we are getting could be transferred to them...

one thing i know in all of the craziness, and that is that God is in control. He's got a major plan in the works and I will praise Him for it and eagerly wait to see what He does. and if I don't ever see with my eyes the reason for these natural "disasters", I'll still be amazed by His goodness and love.

...and here comes...THE AMBULANCE!

yesterday was an interesting mix of work, play, and fun.

It started with a trip for breakfast (grocery shopping was on the list for the day) where I had a delectable French toast stickybun. Mmm!

I went to the garden to pick some beans and see if I could salvage any tomatoes (wiped out by late blight) then spent a lovely 3 hours prepping and blanching them.

The real story starts with the fireworks.

I rode to the fireworks in the engine (they were going to ensure safety) and was able to experience an amazing show in a front row seat. It was 10 when we were heading back to the firehouse, then home…or not. On our way, they got dispatched to a gas leak in a home in town. Thank goodness it wasn’t a fire call! We were there for nearly an hour (the non-firemen of the group - my nephew, another little boy, and myself – waited patiently in the engine). My first emergency response!

But it was when we got home that the real fun began…and the reason for the title of the blog. During our late night bowl of cereal we heard a police siren as it FLEW by our house…I mean flew! Over the radio, which my husband immediately turned on, we heard they were after someone who had been going 119mph. They lost him just past our house. We, of course, were interested and hung out outside and noted the goings on just up the street. We weren’t the only ones interested…numerous cops (state and local) all headed up this street looking for this car. While we stood near the garage, the area ambulance drove by. And then he drove by again. And again. And again. He did stop doing it after a while…instead of driving past our house, he would turn down the street right before it to make his loop. At one point my husband stated that we would let the ambulance be our guide. If it passed by one more time, he said, we’ll go in to bed. Immediately he regretted his words when what looked like the ambulance was coming one more time. Thankfully he got to stay outside a little while longer because it was just a white conversion van. ☺ We don't know the end of the story...we were tucked nicely in bed around 1:30.

subtitles, please

george got a phone call sunday night while we were visiting friends that he was needed to secure some evidence for the point township police. interesting...

when we finally arrived at the township building, it was 10:30pm and george had at some point turned the radio station to wvia.

i sat in the car as the following events unfolded to the tune of nocturne and other classical ballads: george and an off-duty officer were talking in front of the pole barn in the glow of the township building's outside light. as they talked i couldn't help but be curious, but i decided to wait for george to finish whatever it was they needed him to do and then let him tell me the story. soon, george and the officer walked into the barn and were gone a couple minutes before they came out. the officer disappeared into the station and returned moments later with a large chain and lock, while george disappeared into the shop and returned carrying a power drill. they went back into the shop again when another off-duty officer came around looking for them. i pointed him in the right direction and soon they were all back and george was going to work drilling long spikes into the pole barn doors to keep anyone from getting in. while he was working, the first officer came and tapped on my window..."want to see what happens when you run from the law?" "sure," i said. i walked into the barn and saw an SUV that had slammed into something head on, and hard! the entire front end was mangled (apparently they also had a car in the shop, but those dealers were slightly more sane and didn't start a high-speed chase). george continued drilling the doors fast, and then they fastened the chain to the door on the end. i've never seen anything like that done to large barn doors before. crazy.

the whole time i was watching from inside the car, it seemed like one of those old silent movies with the music and subtitles moving the plot along (just without the subtitles). i'm glad i didn't have to wait until george could tell me what was going on, because he didn't finishing securing the evidence until 11:30ish.