Alone Again

Paul left today until Thursday. He is in the beautiful San Fransisco. He was going to have dinner tonight with our dear friend Kyle and was excited to see him and have a tour of the great city. He called me today as he drove through San Rafael. I lived there for several years, Kindergarten through 2nd grade. I remember many wonderful things happening there. My sisters were adopted while we lived there and that was such a blessing to our family! And also my little brother was born there. So in many way San Rafael was a huge significant place for our family--the place where our little family of three grew to a family of six in a matter of just a few years. I also had a dear friend there named Amethyst. I will never forget her or her family. I often wonder where she is and what her life is now like. She was from Iran and moved back there shortly after we left San Rafael. Her uncle once offered to buy my sister from my dad with some cattle :) Different way of life. But Paul's call left me with many wonderful memories. I saw my first walking stick in my bedroom window there. Had my first stitches there. Tried to pea like a dog in the front yard with my male cousin (didn't work out so well for me!). I remember hours of candy and donut making with my grandfather there. Remember having the chicken pox the night it snowed and my parents not letting me go outside and watching the neighborhood kids "steal my snow". I remember my dad building up a 10+ feet fence to try to keep Cedric from jumping it! Seemed like it didn't matter how high it would be he would still make it. I remember hiding my grandpas cigarettes--trying to get him to stop and him always finding them. I remember the countless visits from visiting preachers in the summers, when my dad was fishing, including : Bill Patterson, Bill Clayton, Neil Lightfoot, and many others that don't come to mind. They would stay days, or sometimes weeks and stay with our family. California does hold many wonderful memories for me. I guess I could say though that any place I have ever lived has held many wonderful memories. Seems like as time goes by the bad memories fade and good ones become stronger.

It has been a hard day. I was sick, the kids were "sick" or so they claimed and I was too bad off to argue. But at the end of the day today it turned out okay. I got their rooms cleaned. Caught up on my laundry and took a cute pictures of my cute kids!

This week will be busy like every other week it seems. Our back yard project is in full swing. We had 5 teens come and help Paul dig all day on Saturday and they accomplished a lot--although it never seems like you can accomplish what you think you can! I will post some pictures of the transformation soon! I also got everything planted in my garden (vegetables that is!). I planted spinach, lettuce, tomatoes, sweet peas, beets, squash, and carrots. My strawberries are going crazy and my flowers are about to take over the entire yard. Life is good and we are blessed and happy. :)

Peace