This and That On A Sunny Friday Morning

I have a few things I want to get into my journal this morning before I hit the ground running.  I have a lot to do today so I'm not going to spend a lot of time at my desk today.  Yesterday was great fun.  I spent most of the day with my three grandchildren.  I was supposed to get down there around 9:00 but worked it out so I made it there by 8:30 so I could stop by the store to pick up flowers for Shannon, gum for my purse (I promised the kids to always have gum) and I even had time to grab an iced latte at the new It's A Grind coffee shop (they are expensive!)....  The flowers were to just express, again, our joy about the new baby coming next April.  Shannon and Bryan aren't getting any positive feedback from her side of the family at this point which has hurt her feelings terribly.  I know they will come around, it's just unfortunate that they feel the need to say some of the things they do - those things are not forgotten.  Shannon went for her Birthday day spa trip with her friend Lisa so I stayed with the kids until Bryan got home from work.

We had a great time.  I made paper airplanes for the boys.  It was the first time Andrew had flown a paper airplane and he was quite impressed with his Grandma for being able to make such a wonderful thing.  LOL  They took me outside and showed me how well they were riding bikes but it was quite hot so we weren't out there long before they were begging for Popsicles and we were back inside. 

(At this point, I should interject - Bryan and Shannon sold their home!!!  YES, praise the Lord!!  They sold it and have to be out by Sept. 2nd.  They got a full price offer which is another blessing in a very slow Southern California real estate market.  Their saving grace was that their home is a show place.  It looks like a model home.  Shannon is a born decorator and she can pick up something for a dollar that looks like she spent hundreds on it.  If the house had not had all the crown molding, 6" base boards, stone flooring, granite counters, etc, etc, it would still be sitting on the market along with the other 1,500 in their area homes that are selling for around the same price.  Also, having sold the house, they are in a much better financial situation and the 4th baby isn't such a scary event for them.)

When Bryan got home from work, we ran errands, went to lunch and then he took me by the home they are moving into.  It's a nice single story home very close to the kids' school, church and 2 of their closest friends' homes.  I think they will enjoy living there until they decide to reinvest in another house.  When we got back to the house, Bryan put Andrew down for a nap and I went swimming with Nathan and Megan.  We had a great time splashing around in the pool.  The loved me to throw them into the deep end and twirl them around.  Since I'm as white as you can get, I can't stay in the sun very long so about 40 minutes was about it for me.  When I was done, Bryan went in so they could continue to swim.  I got dressed and headed home, exhausted but so happy to have had that time with them.

Praise God the new plot to bomb airliners was caught and stopped.  I think we all know that the threat is NOT going to go away.  The extremist Muslims are not going to give up because they believe that their god has ordained them to carry out these missions to kill all of the infidels.  They won't be done until this is a Muslim world, Israel is no longer on the face of the earth, and they have complete control over everyone and everything. That's not going to happen so, like I said, it's never going to end.  Even in the Bible it says that as long as there are men on this earth there will be wars and rumors of wars.  It's a fact of life that we will always be dealing with some form of strife and tension.  We have, so far, been blessed to have intelligence that has been at least a step a head of them (Praise the British Intelligence for the last one!).  The ironic thing, and where it gets personal for me, is that it seems like when I plan a trip to Alaska the security goes from yellow to red.  The first time we planned a cruise to Alaska, we were set to leave on Sept. 14, 2001.  What happened on Sept. 11?  That's right!  When it came time for us to go, we could fly as far as Seattle, Washington but all flights beyond that were cancelled.  We were supposed to sail out of Seward, Alaska so our trip was cancelled and we had to postpone for a year.  To be honest, we were relieved when the cruise line told us we could postpone without penalty.  We could not imagine being that far away from home during that miserable time and who could have fun with all of that pain and heart ache going on right then?  Now, here we are five years later, planning another trip to Alaska and the security alert rises to the top of the scale again.  I know it's a coincidence but it gives me the creeps.  We aren't going to let it get in the way of a good time.  We'll just follow all the new rules about what you can carry on so we don't have to throw away things are the security check point.  Maybe by August 26, things will be more organized, too.

Tonight is dinner out with the girls for me.  I'm having dinner with my good friends Sylvia, Virginia and Janet.  I haven't seen Janet in years.  She moved to Georgia and then to Florida about 8 years ago.  She and husband, Roger, retired and are now back in California. Virginia and I have been friends for almost 30 years but I don't get to see her very often.  I am really looking forward to having time with her.  I see Sylvia all the time.  She and I are very close friends.  We were going to have dinner and then see a movie but we decided to go back to Sylvia's after dinner so we could talk and catch up.  Can't talk during a movie!!  LOL  All of us, except Virginia, are BIG talkers.  I'll have to make sure Virginia gets her turn.  LOL

That's about it for now.  There are other things to journal but I don't have time right now.  I gotta get a move on.  If I have time later, I'll do an add on.

Until later....................   ô..ô