Nana Comes to Town

My mom was able to come for a couple of days this weekend. We had a very windy trip to the park and just an all-around good time :) Thanks for coming to visit, Nana!

Sunday Afternoon Photo Shoot

Please Pray

I got the above picture from Foxnews.com (they have more good pictures of the smoke). This is what the the cloud looked like just a few minutes after the blast.

These two pictures are from our front yard, about 9:30 am.

At about 8:15 this morning, my house literally shook. I was still in my bed (I'm sick today) and I bolted up thinking my house had been hit by a falling tree or a car. What happened was worse...the Alon Refinery here in Big Spring had a major explosion. We ran outside to see a huge mushroom cloud in the sky...about a mile up. For those of you who don't know, we live on the opposite side of town from the refinery. Several schools on that side of town have been evacuated due to the smoke. My plan is to leave if the smoke comes this way.

We do have several friends that work out at the refinery and as far as we know they are all okay. Since today is President's Day, a lot of people were home from work. Today was the first day off in a month for one man we know...praise God. We don't know anything yet about injuries or fatalities, but we're sure it can't be good. Please pray.

******************** UPDATE ********************

The reports coming through right now (10:30 am) are that everyone has been accounted for at the refinery. There have been three injuries within the refinery and one injury suffered by a passer-by on I-20. Hopefully that is it. The fire is under control and supposedly the smoke does not pose a threat to the community.

I Survived...Barely

Another Valentine's Day has come and gone...yea!!!!!!!!!! This year was no different...it was still very stressful and frustrating, but we made it. We had a few hang ups, such as on Tuesday afternoon, the car rental company that we were going to rent two vans from called and said they had no vehicles to rent us. So, after a few moments of panic and freaking-out, we were able to find some vehicles to use. Then, on the very day of Valentine's, one of our extra drivers quit in the middle of a delivery run (we put two people in a van, one to drive and one to "hop"); he asked his partner to pull over and let him out because it was just "too stressful." Wow. And yes, we did have some guys show up after we had locked the doors begging us for flowers. It happens every year.

I said I survived (barely) because now I seem to be getting sick! My throat is all cruddy. I guess my body just let me be well enough to get me through V-Day. Oh, and if you were wondering what Claire did during all this chaos, I will ease your mind. She stayed with some very good friends of ours and had a nice relaxing time.

Other news:
Claire's first tooth still has not poked through. What's up with that?
Will is doing well in his new school.
Scott is knee-deep in papers and such for school.
Because we have been ultra-busy, sick, and way too tired, our Christmas tree (naked, mind you) is still standing in our front room. We are going to try to get it down TODAY.
Thanks for your prayers and thoughts for me while I was in the melee of Valentine's. I appreciate it!

What's Been Going On

• Will went to Children's Day Out for the last time on Wednesday.
• He is starting a new school this Monday (tomorrow) which is every day. He'll only go from nine to three, though.
• I am going to start working every day at the flower shop.
• Claire's first tooth is about to break on through to the other side.
• Will has now been passy-free for one whole week and a day. He has asked for it several times, but we've been strong :) I don't recall him asking for it at all yesterday or today, so that is wonderful!
• Last Tuesday was the one year anniversary of my brother-in-law Bryan's death. Please remember my mother-in-law LaDon and my niece, Rebecca in your prayers.
• This past week, two of my friends lost their mothers--both after long, tough battles with illness. Please keep Chelsey and Carrie in your thoughts and prayers.