Spelunking, Babysitting, Drawing and Mrs. Noah

Friday was, of course, busy.

Clay had a field trip to Appalachian Caverns, and I signed up to chaperone. We all woke up earlier than usual so I could get Spencer and Allison to Miss Brenda's house to be babysat.

We left the house late, and don't you know it was inevitable that as we approached the train tracks between our home and Miss Brenda's, I heard a train whistle. Two minutes of waiting. Clay was bouncing in his seat, saying, "We aren't going to make it back to my school in time."

I was in Miss Brenda's house less than two minutes and then Clay and I got back on the road. Surprise, surprise! Same train track, different train going in the other direction this time. Two more minutes of waiting.

I got Clay to school in the nick of time, and then rushed back out to the van to run an errand. That morning I realized the batteries in the camera were kaput. And while I wasn't sure how well pictures would work inside a cave, I felt compelled to attempt a few.

I got the batteries at a convenience store and was sweating by the time I got back to Clay's school.

The field trip was really neat. I learned all about bats and bat poop, which is an ingredient in certain makeup, by the way. Another good reason to just skip that step in my daily regimen. Not that I do that step most days anyway. But it's a good reason to stop feeling bad about it.

We saw several little bats in the cave, and I wasn't one bit freaked out by it. I didn't see any bugs at all, which was one thing I was concerned about. I didn't want to embarrass Clay by screaming and running from the cave while pushing small children out of my path.

Here's a picture the guide took of me and Clay at the beginning. The little fella between me and my son is Clay's friend. He just popped between us right before the picture was clicked. Stinker!

I'm not sure what's up with all the spots. I was having major issues with that camera all day. Probably what my husband calls an "ID ten T" error. See. "ID10T". He's very nice to me most days, but occasionally my spouse likes to point out my deficiencies with all things technical. I just point back that it's what I married him for. Who needs know-how if you have a know-it-all. Um... I mean, someone who is in-the-know. Yeah. That's what I meant.



Before we even left the classroom, the boys' teacher told them that under no circumstances were they allowed to play Star Wars. I'm not sure what all that entails, but I'm pretty sure this qualified.



Boys!

After the field trip, I picked up Spencer and Allison and we headed home for a nap and some light cleaning before picking up Miss Amber, who was our babysitter for the evening. Amber is the teenage daughter of a good friend of mine.

I love that girl. She's the first youth that reached out to me (albeit with sarcasm, delivered with a sweet smile. I like sarcasm if it's served on a silver platter like that). God used Amber to show me that I could be around youth and not want to strangle them. (Don't act all holy, like you don't know what I mean!) Anyway, through Amber, I accepted God's leading to teach in the youth Sunday school department. And, boy, has He blessed me with those sweet 7th-8th grade girls.

Anyway, the day was rough because while I saw more of Clay than usual, I saw less of Spencer and Allison than typical. And we've never had a babysitter twice in one day.

Friday was also a BIG DAY for me, because it was the first time I had hired a youth babysitter. We are so blessed that Bruce's parents live close enough to watch our kids for us often. And when they can't, or I feel like we've asked too much and can't put them out again, Miss Brenda has been our sitter. She's a grandmother who attends our church and has kept kids in her home for years. My kids love her and often call her Aunt Brenda, even though there is no relation.

Amber promises me that the evening went smoothly from her end. And the kids rave about the good time they had with her. She scored big points with Clay when she let him text her boyfriend (another youth from our church, who I have had a special place in my heart for for years, since Bruce and I co-taught his second grade class. I pray for that one bunches!).

From our end, we had a good evening, too. We went to Bruce's Sunday school class teacher's house for a class-wide adult game night. We played Win, Lose, or Draw and ate pizza. Lots of pizza.

I drew "Egypt". And Cassie guessed it correctly. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but that makes one of us... actually both of us... pretty amazing. Egypt!

But there was just no place to go when I got "horoscope" during the lightning round. And, sadly, the men won. They are very proud of themselves.

Today was another busy day... but mostly just for me. I got up way early to meet some buddies for breakfast at Perkins. I saw the most beautiful sunrise as I left our subdivision and I had to turn the radio off for a bit to just talk to God about that sunrise. He just deserved some props for that! So I gave credit where credit was due.

Breakfast was so fun. We spent two and half hours talking, laughing and making sure we all had each other's cell phone numbers programmed in our own cell phones. Because, you know, who actually memorizes phone numbers anymore?

I discovered that Babysitter Extraordinaire Amber and her family will be at the Outer Banks the same week our family will be. That's what prompted the cell phone number swap. We're going to hit the beach together some while there.

We have never vacationed with friends. We've been to Myrtle Beach once with Bruce's parents and once with my brother and his family. But never anywhere with friends.

I'm not sure we're those kind of people. (I don't mean that to sound snotty. Just pointing out that many people vacation often with friends.) I love my friends. And they know that. But my vacation time with my family is exclusive, mostly by choice. I've talked to two of my closest friends this year about having our families vacation together. Both of them understand that, with us, that would mean that we meet for a couple hours a day but the rest of the time we'd be on our own with our respective families. But our family vacation dates didn't mesh.

So, I'm excited about the Millers being at the beach while we are. I think it'll be fun.

After my early morning breakfast, I made a very necessary trip to Wal-mart for groceries. I got back home in time for Bruce to rush Clay out the door for his first baseball game of the season. They came right back in the door 15 minutes later. Clay had forgotten his glove. His lefty glove, so it's not like he could have borrowed someone else's easily. They were so late by then, they just stayed home.

A few hours later, I was off to church for our Ladies' Spring Banquet. We had great food, great fellowship and a wonderful speaker named Jackie Pegram. She was fun, and came to us as Mrs. Noah. No first name, because, as many of us women, she's known mostly because of her association to her spouse... Noah... of "The Ark" fame.

She talked about living by faith and not by sight. She said something very profound. We need to live with direction, but not necessarily with clarity. If we are always clear on God's plans, then we won't live in faith. We have to do what He says, even when we don't understand why.

Mrs. Pegram also acts out skits for Eve, Hannah, Esther, Leah and Naomi. She dresses for the parts as well.

If you live anywhere within traveling distance of northern North Carolina, I highly recommend booking this lady for you next church function. She's making a trip to South Africa for six weeks in May and June, and when you hear her talk about the orphans there, you'll witness her passion. You can learn more about her ministry here.

Say a prayer for her, too. For safety on her trip. For more money to purchase additional socks, shoes and toboggans for those kids (and for co-travelers to help take those items to their destination). And for understanding of God's message in the hearts of those she comes in contact with.