When Daddy is Away, Life Falls Apart!

For those of you who don't know, Brook has been away with a developing project up in the mountians just south of here. He and his partner started it about 3 weeks ago and they have been putting in long days and weeks trying to get it accomplished before the snow flies up there is a few short weeks. They are developing over 330 heavily wooded acres and are dividing them into 5 acre lots that will have electricity and water as well as nice roads when they are finished. They must first clear any brush and trees that are in the way of their roads, then cut in the roads, make them complete and ready for gravel, then get power to each site as well as water. It is a big job, but definitely a rewarding one.:) If it weren't for him missing being with the family, life would be wonderful for him!

Meanwhile back here at the ranch, things are not running quite as smoothly as they should be. Last week it was a dead battery and a flat tire that threw a kink into my daily routine. This week it was more, much more! I thought that I would mow the lawn, now this is not your average walk behind mowers for a small lawn. We have over an acre of grass to mow and use a commerical type of mower. I was so pleased with myself that I got it started. I had made one lap around the outside perimeter when it, the mower, decided that it was through for the day. Yep, it died right there in the middle of my lawn. A red lawn ornament is going to be a permanent fixture until Brook returns. I was not happy! Well, with that project completely impossible to finish I decided that I would go inside and start on my inside cleaning. Everything went along fine until the garbage disposal decided to quit. Frustration mounted a little bit more, but I decided to not let it best me. I finished the rest of my cleaning, got the kids ready to go to town and away we went to run errands. Or so I thought...my van had other ideas! It decided that 20 miles an hour was all the faster that it wanted to go. Now, for a little stroll through a neighborhood that is a fine speed, but when making a 5-7 mile trip into town on the highway while other cars are speeding by at 65 miles per hour, humiliation started to set in! I pulled over, put it in park, nothing. I turned around and headed home, only going 20 miles an hour. Upon reaching my destination and shutting off my car, I realized that I had no one to help me and I really needed to go to town. I called my husband on a whim, hoping against hope that he would just happen to be in the spot where he can actually get service, but since my luck was running so high, he didn't answer. It was with major prayer for my car to return to its normal state that I went to bed.
When I awoke this morning my van started and ran at a normal speed. I thanked the Lord all the way to school with a promise that when I hear from Brook I'll ask him if he can return home a little sooner than planned.

We really have managed fine up until now. There have been a couple of melt-downs from the kiddos, but we have made it. The kids miss their Daddy, I miss the conversation of an adult, and truthfully things really do run more smoothly when he is here! I am just hoping for a less eventful next two weeks until Brook is home for good. Oh, and I did talk to Brook this evening and he will be returning home on Thursday and until then he will be checking in on a very regular basis.:):)



Not everything has been bad - we were blessed to have some of my family visit for a few days last week and that was wonderful! I have more pics to post, but with the way my luck has been in the past few days, well, let's just say one will be fine!:):)