May 24, 2013

tornados and eucalyptus

Phew, we made it to friday. What a week. That tornado in Oklahoma just left me feeling sick. All those people who died...I'm praying for comfort for their families. My older sister Jessica used to live in Oklahoma...Her old town is now a complete disaster.

I hate tornados.

Before Jessica moved to Oklahoma, she lived in Nebraska. When I was in college, I  flew out to visit Jessica and her baby, Tacy. {Golly, that barely looks like me!}

We were driving home from the mall when the tornado alarms started going off. The sky looked positively ominous and it was raining hard.

Traffic was slow as the alarms continued to blare. I started to get all angsty saying "hurry" and "we need to stop and find a shelter" and Jessica was like "shush". Apparently I was being annoying. Ha. We had baby Tacy in the car with us. And Jessica's husband was out of the country.

We finally got to her house and hurried to her basement. Which was no real consolation, since it was a walk-in basement with a sliding glass door. If the tornado came straight at us, we would have been toast.

We hunkered down in the bathroom in the back of the basement, with the baby crying. I have a grandiose imagination and I could just feel a plank of wood slamming into the back of my head.

Every time the alarms would stop, Jessica would run upstairs to check the tv for updates. And then while she was upstairs, the alarms would start sounding again...and I would start frantically screaming "Jessica!!! Get back down here!" And on and on this went for HOURS. My sister was fairly unphased by this but I was terrified.

I was quite relieved when the storm finally passed.

When I flew home, I practically kissed the ground.

The memory of that tornado has made a lasting impression on my mind and so I can just imagine the terror felt in Oklahoma this week.
>>>>>>><<<<<<<

The only think I have to report to you this friday is that I now love eucalyptus leaves. Aren't you so glad you tuned in?

If you ever want to bring me flowers John(hint hint) bring me eucalyptus instead.

John is actually taking me on a date tonight. We are jumping on the bandwagon to see the Great Gastsby or whatever. I haven't read the book. But I will pretty much watch any movie with Leo. Don't judge. He was GREAT in Titanic and What's Eating Gilbert Grape.




The eucalyptus fits in nicely with my cacti friends.


I gathered my boys around.




I decided to give them a horticulture lecture. I said to them "Say euc-a-lyp-tus". And they tried to repeat, bless their hearts.

They were pretty interested in my wee cactus.

"Say Cactus" I instructed. I know, I know. I'm such an gifted professor. 





Just in. I have a horrifying piece of news to add. John came in and told me that there is a MOUSE IN MY HOUSE. Moo-kitty is growling. And the mousy is squeaking. All this in the boys' bathroom.

I'm feeling ill. And probably shouldn't be sharing this mouse business on my blog, lol.

Welp, I'll let John take care of that.

Omygosh. Moo just caught the mouse and ran with it outside! John suspects that Moo actually found the mouse outside and brought it in to show us.

I know you are super jealous.

Back to our regularly scheduled program.


Getting a little emo, fighting over the cactus.




And just doing a little yoga on the table. Apparently my horticulture lesson was pretty thrilling.

Hop on over to Kate and Kuby's for this week's installment of The Way I See You. Happy Friday everyone!

13 comments:

  1. Here are a couple of eucalyptus related facts I'll bet you didn't know about me:
    1. When we lived on the river our driveway was 3/10 of a mile long and lined on both sides by eucalyptus trees that my sweet hubby had planted over the years. If we still lived there you could have all the leaves your little heart desired.
    2. Family folk lore states that a distant relative brought the eucalyptus tree to California. You're welcome.

    Love the photos of your sweet boys. Love you girl!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha Suzanne! Your eucalyptus trivia makes me laugh. Love you too! xxoo

      Delete
  2. "Just in: a mouse in the house" makes this the best post ever. Cracked me up. When James was super tiny I was pumping all. the. time. One of those times, a mouse came running into my living room! I yelled and pulled up my feet, feeling trapped by the horrid milk machine that demanded I stay still and give it milk! Thankfully, Bonnie the cat zoomed in and saved the day. Before that, I had seriously been considering that the cats needed to go (let's face it: a house with a newborn makes pets just one more thing to clean after), but she redeemed the feline species for me that day. Hooray for Moo saving the day at your house!

    ReplyDelete
  3. This post had me all over the place! I laughed, i cried, i cringed! ok, I didn't do those things, but I did on the inside. And it's what's on the inside that counts, so they say. I'm pretty sure that applies here. When we first moved into our previous apartment we had a bit of a mouse problem (as in I personally trapped/killed 6 of them before my landlord FINALLY came and did something about it. Apparently, the air vent area (I'm really good with these terms, obvs.) was missing a wall and so there was basically a man-sized tunnel running between all 4 apartments. Gosh. Thinking back on that, that's pretty darn creepy. Anyways, that's where they lived. Ugh. I HATE mice! OK now I feel like I should write a blog post on this.

    ReplyDelete
  4. praying too so sad // I live in Missouri we get a lot of tornadoes. so scary.


    adorable photos of your boys~

    p.s. i love the smell of eucalyptus... i read once they keep spiders away not sure if it is true but hey i am willing to try it :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. We lived in Tennessee in 2011 (when the record for most tornadoes in one year was broken!) and my dad was constantly having to herd us all down to our shelter in the basement. So scary but God protected us the whole time:)
    Also, may I ask how it's possible for your kids to look so adorable all the time? :) So sweet:)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ahhh yes, Leo in Titanic. You won't be judged by this girl ;)

    ReplyDelete
  7. We get plenty of tornado sirens down here in Alabama. This past Christmas, on the day (or should I say night) the alarms went off and I was frantic about what to do. There was a tornado just northwest of town. Yikes. Too close for comfort.

    ReplyDelete
  8. an Okie here, the tornados hit about 15 miles south of us. so scary and surreal. please continue to pray for Moore, Newcastle and Shawnee and all the spaces between.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. so honored and humbled to have a real live okie on here! my sister lived in Moore...yup, demolished. And I remember driving through Newcastle. My sister has been in touch with all her friends and they have been keeping her updated. SO many generous people offering their services. And I will continue to pray. Especially for those who lost loved ones and children. People are not replaceable and so I am so full of compassion for them.

      Delete
    2. Thank you. Friday tornados came much closer to us since we live in Yukon. I can't get past this crazy weather. Lots of praying and speaking biblical truths to my little ones to get though the fear.

      You can find me blogging irregularly here :-) http://www.amberandstephen.com/amber/

      Delete
  9. my grandma has so much eucalyptus isn't not even funny...i'll bring you a leaf:) and i miss you. that's about it. oh...and i forgot to comment on your last post, but your determination amazes me. i would have been at michael's.

    ReplyDelete
  10. i cannot even keep a cactus alive. i feel like that is desperately sad. your little collection is just adorable!

    ReplyDelete