There is a bear in that closet.

There is too, I'm not kidding. Every single time I clean there it startles me, and I used to kinda gasp, not just jump. It's a very scary bear.
It is about the size of a cub. It's very black, very fuzzy, and it doesn't smell like a bear (and it doesn't growl). But I still jump.

There are mice in all mouse traps. Dead mice, (dead things are millions of times scarier than live ones). And I always jump, and shudder... I don't care if it's a brand new trap. There are always dead mice in mouse traps!

Caterpillars are horrid, three foot long, fuzzy, green slime filled, Frank magnets.
 And they have a great liking for my shoulders. These do in fact, make me feel somewhat hysterical.

Knifes are horrid instrument of death, causing blood, and for anyone in close proximity to me when someone is handling one foolishly, they can cause loss of hearing. I have a deep surging fear of knifes. I can name at least four people who have had me in tears because they were playing with a knife, pretending to stab themselves, someone else, or me.
  I will stick up for myself on this one, perhaps fake bears, and caterpillars, and mouse traps, can not cause death or injury. But knives can, and do, and they do accidentally at times. That fake stab at your best friend could kill him if someone bumped your elbow coming around the corner. *Steps slowly off of her soap box, she really could say more on this one.*

Drop offs that are farther down than four feet do not belong beside roads. They give me a great urge to crawl under the seat and plug my ears and squeeze my eyes tightly shut. I don't care if that is something only three year olds do. I don't care if it is completely unreasonable, and I don't even care if it doesn't change the fact that the drop off is still there. I can no longer see it, I hopefully can't hear the screams when we go over it. And the fact that I'm under the seat with out a seat belt hopefully insures a quick and painless death.

All water that is over my head has horrible man eating fish, or worse, in it.
 I immediately start feeling cold clammy things grabbing my feet and I feel myself being pulled slowly under, my head aching from lack of air. And then I envision my hair floating on top the water, marking the spot where I died. Gruesome huh? :)

And last, but not least, I'm scared of the Chicago Airport. Not in a gruesome way, not in a frantic way. But in a calmly terrified-of-getting-lost-and-missing-my-flight way. I have visions of myself standing in front of those big airport screens trying to figure out where to go while the minutes go tickity-ticking past.
 Or of myself standing in front of very tall airport people with "I'm horribly busy" looks on their faces. Trying to get them to pay attention long enough to tell me where to go. That's happened to me before. Not cool.

So though there may not be any bears or caterpillars or mouse traps or deep water, and I certainly hope, no knives. I would very much appreciate your prayers for my Chicago Airport layover!

Random Bits Of Jumbled Blond

Life continues to fly forward at an alarming speed for me. I dug out my calender yesterday evening in an attempt to figure out how to fit a couple more things into my last three weeks at home... I'm afraid it was a fruitless effort. There is only so much one person can do!
  The lady I was cleaning for yesterday decided that I need to go to college ("you seem like a such a bright young lady!"), sorry lady, but I don't see that happening for a year or two!
 Today I'm off to Hayward with DJ and Gin to go to Wilderness Walk. A long ago promised, and much looked forward to, outing. I hope they enjoy it.
 I've been pondering my lack of a camera lately and I'm thinking about shuffling my pennies around to see if I can get one before I leave for Thailand. We shall see what happens. It's days like today that I discover how much I miss having one. When Lisl and Jenny were my age they got one for Christmas. A brand new digital camera. We have a video clip of them playing with it "look! it has ZOOM!!!". Oh the wonder of it. :) But, both Christmas and my birthday are evading me at the moment so I think I shall have to get one myself. :) (I wont mention the fact that my Grandmother who is 86 was horrified at the fact that I didn't own one!).
*************************************************************************
  >Afternoon<
I'm diligently trying to remember everything everyone has told me about what to bring back/take over with me... It's starting to get rather confusing. Someone wants  WHITE SHIRTS, someone else wants me to bring back BLACK hair clips. Also there is the wish for "unusual fabric" and then, "the normal kind of sunflower seeds". See what I mean? Confusing! Everything is coming and going in couples and fews though so that helps, no seven of this and sixteen of thating.
 My brain is too full and I've started to do random blond things the last few days.
Yesterday I was driving through town on the way to work and I missed my road, so I pulled into an "abandoned bank" and was just about to pull through the "drive through" when I discovered that it looked pretty low... hm... must be the front porch to a church. Now should I, or should I not, wave to the people on the other side of the building as I pull out!!!??? (I backed out and went around btw).
 Today I nearly took DJ and Gin through the zoo backwards, and I got Dr. Pepper instead of Mt. Dew... this is something I NEVER do! (I did however, manage to catch DJ before he fell over the bridge and into the river, and before he killed the loose rooster, or carried the goat off, or tried speaking animal to loudly, or walked into the bathroom to find "the animal that's in that cage" (the "Bathroom" sign was up out of his line of vision.)!!!!!!)
 Gwyn asked me this afternoon when I was telling about my driving problems yesterday. "Why is it that people with darker hair sometimes to blonder things than people with blond hair?". That's a disturbing thought.
 So there is my rather jumbled life, perhaps now you know why I do the blond and disturbing things that I do right now!
  ~*~Francis~*~

Just a really quick update to say that my next couple of months will be filled with planning, packing, and cleaning jobs, as I get ready to go to Thailand finally!
 Yup, the tickets boughten... I fly out on the 23'rd of August.
God is very good to me! ~Francis

"In Him is Fullnes of Joy"

Fullness,
 My life is filled to fullness right now.
 Fullness of joy, fullness of time, fullness of mind, completeness.
  And I saw today that when my life is full, I notice others emptiness more. 
This week I had to decide if I should go somewhere, somewhere my mind told me was desperately important to go... when I stepped back logically and looked at it I discovered there was no way I could possibly do it, so I decided not to go. Because of fullness of time.
 I slept until around nine today then helped Mom in the garden for a bit. I cleaned the house and then went to a piano recital where a friend was performing. When I got home my mother and sister and I filled our book  bags and bicycled to the Grindstone beach where we unexpectedly met a couple of girls that came to NBCC years ago. I didn't recognize them at first but as they drove away one of the girls leaned out of the window and yelled back, "I love you Francis!"... I've discovered that to the worlds love is meaningless. I could have answered truthfully back that I loved her as well, but she wouldn't have understood.
 A short while later three little girls came and were splashing in the water, Amy and I went out to join them and we spent a happy hour splashing and talking. At one point a couple of the girls and I formed a "friendship circle", "now, one, two, three, GO!", and we all dived. And you know what? That friendship circle felt more real to me than the I love you. There was a simple, innocent, sincerity in it. And my heart was filled again, I was being included, without question, in their circle. But a little while later when I walked to the shoreline to talk to one of the little girls I noticed her scarred feet... "My stepmother burned them when I was two"... And my heart hurt for her.
 The girls followed us a little way home just to be with us and after they left Mom told me something else about that little girl that made me hurt. Someone had dropped her off at a friends house yesterday. And by today she'd discovered that she would have to stay there till Monday after school when the bus dropped her off at home, "because her Mom didn't know where her friend lived".
 After we got home from the lake Mom sent my siblings and I down to the Log Cabin store on our bicycles to find bread for our supper. On the way we met a neighbor boy who is about seven or so I'd say. We said hello and went on our way. During supper he showed up wondering where Brad was and if he'd come play. Brad couldn't at the time so he started walking home, when he was a little way from our house a firecracker went off loudly, and absolutely terrified him. He started running in the opposite direction and I can honestly say that I've never seen a child run so fast.
I went to see if he was alright and by the time I got to where I thought he would be he was nearly out of sight down the road. I knew his friends had gone down that way so I let him go, but it hurt. Such complete terror in a child is disturbing right to the soul.
 I got a call this morning wondering if I'd clean for a lady who has two little dogs and a married daughter... No husband, and her life is empty, you can tell it just by looking at her house, and herself. I'm cleaning there Monday morning. This afternoon I got a call wondering if I'd clean out some flowerbeds for a different lady on Monday afternoon. I always have such fun cleaning/doing odd jobs for this lady because her life and heart, are full.  Tomorrow I'm going to my very own church and a friend said they'd teach Children's Sunday School for me so that I can attend the ladies class which is something I've missed allot during my time teaching. In the afternoon we are going to a hymn-sing at friends house,  I've been looking forward to it allot.
Tuesday I'm to clean at a huge lodge in the morning, in the afternoon I'm teaching piano lessons... And packing. Early Wednesday morning my family is leaving for Idaho. This will be the first family trip we've taken out there in about ten years. And I'm looking forward to it allot.
 So you see my life is full. Wonderfully, happily, full. But I'm an adult, and fullness is an overflowing of many blessings. What about those children? Why did God give me joy and give them hurt? Maybe my overflowing of blessing is meant to be poured into prayers and love for them.
 Where does your fullness overflow?
~Francis

Happy and the Meaning Thereof

     Blessed, blest, blissful, blithe, can't complain, captivated, cheerful, chipper, chirpy, content, contented, convivial, delighted, ecstatic, elated, exultant, flying high, gay, glad, gleeful, gratified, intoxicated, jolly, joyful, joyous, jubilant, laughing, light, lively, looking good, merry, mirthful, on cloud nine, overjoyed, peaceful, peppy, perky, playful, pleasant, pleased, sparkling, sunny, thrilled, tickled, tickled pink, up, upbeat, walking on air.-~thesaurus.com~

Those are all synonyms of the word happy. Apparently there are thousands of words that mean happy because a picture is worth a thousand words all of these pictures mean happy to me. :-)

                                                        A Springtime Table-scape
                                

I’ve been looking at this fabric in a tourist shoppe on Main Street for months and finally a couple of weeks ago I bought it. I made a skirt of it last Friday and Saturday night I wore it on a date with this good looking brother of mine. I had a positively lovely time. Thank you Lance.

                                       

These are two of the most darling children in the world. I've been trying to talk Lisl and Dru into letting me keep “Halla Baby” until I go visit them next winter. They are not easily persuaded I'm afraid!

  I found the train set in the storage room a week or so ago and Jube enjoyed it for a day or two. We're going to take it with to Chicago Club this weekend along with our other, higher quality, set.

 Gabe's are getting here tomorrow and we are all heading over to Chicago Club for the weekend. I'm really, really looking forward to it, as is the rest of the family. And now I must go sew another skirt and pack for the weekend.

 Have a lovely weekend! ~Francis 

This Is Not A List

This is not a list, this is a documentary of important happenings in my life lately. 
                      
Thing One ~ Sunshiny weather and the-return-of-the-horrible-hayfever.

Thing Two ~ Dru's home and lots of happy times playing with babies and talking.

Thing Three ~ We moved NBCC to the Northwoods Church and split into two classes. It went wonderfully, other than one of the girls being sick, coming anyways, and then having to be taken home early.

Thing Four ~ I've been hearing about lots of new dating couples, and it's startling to realize that the people who are dating are my peers, goodness!!!

Thing Five ~ Teaching (still) Enjoying It (still). I had a lovely brainstorm today, I want to take DJ and Gin over to Minong and show them the fire tower and the river and my Dad's machine and take them out for icecream sometime before school lets out. We shall see if it actually happens.
 DJ informed me today that if I taught his class in VBS he'd actually stay for the last day. This after stating emphatically, "I HATE the last day!". He also told me "I'm kinda used of you teaching us now". I'm like, wow, it took you five months!
   Nadina likes to stretch as far up as she can reach and open our classroom door up, peak in at us with a grin, and quickly run away. DJ, Gin and I all get stupid grins on our faces and say in unison "Dina" in a cute little baby voice. Then we look at each other and smirk because we all did the same thing, we all rise to our feet to go shut the door, look at each other and smirk again, and then Gin goes and closes the door.
It happens at least once a day, you'd think we'd learn!
 We were sitting in the class room today and we suddenly heard Nina shouting up the register at us. I listened for a minute and decided that it was unrecognizable jibber-jabber and continued with what I was doing.
Gin however, got a silly grin on her face and said "she's singin' that song". I asked her what song and she said "that, it's your ooown fault, ya went ahead an' did it, song!". I listened for a little longer and discovered that she was right. How many of you have ever tried to teach while listening to "it's your own fault" being yelled full throatedly up the register? DJ found it  utterly unbearable and resorted to hollering back down the register at her. I told him if we ignored her she'd go away and he got an "I'm considering this" look on his face and went back to his desk. I was right by the way.

Thing Six ~ I like being right.

The End ~ (As in, nothing comes after this, and the story is over, and all that other good stuff).