Rambling

It's been a long time ... and it's hard to start writing again when I've been away for so long.

We only have around 4 more weeks left of tax season and I'm glad because no matter how much you prepare for it, it ends up being brutal. I don't know how the accountants do it every year.

Jesse, our 20 yr. old son, moved out into an apartment about a month ago and it was hard adjusting to an empty nest. We get to see him almost every weekend, which is very nice. I have been fixing up his room for guests, although we all agreed we wouldn't change it very much until he graduates college (just in case). Several years ago, we let him (helped him) paint it black because he had always wanted a black room - even the ceiling! It is black with red trim, so I am trying to add as much white to it as possible ... and it's working! I think it looks very nice.

I got up early today (6:15) and worked really hard on his room and then cleaned the house. I had just finished the last thing when a good friend came over so we could work on her daughters' taxes. It was so nice to see her since she lives an hour away and we don't get to visit very often. It's funny how God can draw two people together in a close friendship even under odd circumstances.

It's now pouring rain and getting colder. We're supposed to get a wintry mix later. Everyone is so tired of winter this year but I feel all warm and snuggly in my clean house.

Phil had a prostate biopsy this week and we should get the results in a few days. He has a nodule in there and half of them turn out to be cancer. I sure hope we don't have to go through that too. He has been going in to work some afternoons (not being paid) just to get used to it again (it's been 8 mos.) and hopes to try to actually work soon but if this is cancer, I can't see that happening. Compared to what we've been through, the cancer itself wouldn't be so hard but his health is so fragile that the treatment would be very difficult. Oh well, it's best not to think about such things before it's necessary.

Yesterday when I got home from work, I started crying in the shower and couldn't stop. I had no idea why I was crying. I think it's just the stress of tax season and everything. It wears you out because you are busy from the moment you get there and you have to deal with people constantly. On April 16, that office changes completely and becomes a different (peaceful, quiet) place.

I have decided to work on some small cross stitches for a while from a book called "Mini-Garden Designs" which has a verse with every design. The first one I'm doing has a basket of fruit and says: "Taste and see that the Lord is good." I thought it was appropriate. I will make them into ornaments, cards, or small pillows and might try to sell some on eBay.

We finally got some disability money last week and bought a riding lawnmower because ours was on its last leg. In fact, I don't even know how it made it through last season. This is my first automatic and it's a beaut! It even has a little cart I can pull. They delivered it a week ago and I spent all afternoon cleaning up the yard and clearing out brush. Only God knows what having this lawnmower means to me. Our yard is about an acre and then I am also trying to keep the field clear, which is almost another acre (although a neighbor does most of that work). This is truly a gift from God's hand and I am very grateful for it.