The Newest Happenings in a small town

I looked at the date of my last blog (September 2008) and thought-WHERE has the time gone. ha
As far a town goes we shared in the aftermath of one of the hurricanes that tore through the south. It torn down trees, one of the churches lost its steeple and knocked out power for over a day. The amazing thing about living here is that EVERYONE pitches in. We all got together and helped clean up and had fun. My cat, Lucky, was outside during the storm. When a branch fell she remembered she is more of an indoor cat than outdoor and made a run for home. ;)
No major happenings. I still am doing my volunteer work at the Depot.
It is special to see the art that we have on display. It is not all the 'usual' ones you would expect in a small town. We have very talented local artists and high school art students that I think will be making their mark outside of Missouri one day.
I spent three months going to the 'Womans Missionary Association' (WMA) meetings and had to give a reading in front of everyone. It was a pre-written poem but I still got the jitters. It reminded me of when I was onstage in Branson singing 'My Girl' with the Haygoods. Not the same venue but the same butterflies. I also help the other ladies of our church in cleaning it. A good part is that we always go out and fellowship with each other afterwards. We have a 79 year old lady that joins in the cleaning and eating. I hope I am that 'spunky' (her words) when I reach that age. On Sunday mornings I help Mom teach Sunday school. The kids are very young but LOVE to share all the happenings in their family lives. Can't share them here and don't think the kids should really share with us. LOL
Spent quality time with friends in Branson. We went to four shows for the Haygoods and then FAN NITE! WOW! what a night. We got to sit on the edge of the stage. LOTS OF PICS. Also, spent that Saturday night after the show going to Waxys to see Dirty Old Towne. Great Celtic Rockin' band.
My nieces had been down to see us quite a few times last year. My birthday is December 31st. When Annette and I got back from Branson they had told NANNY (MOM) that they just had to make sure Aunt Jo had decorations for her birthday. They helped make me a cake and had balloons, streamers and homemade signs EVERYWHERE.....:)
I still love life in my small town. It may seem boring for some but I can always find 'something' to do.

The shortest parade for the littlest town

About 9:45AM this morning we went over to Dad's office. We waited for the parade to start at 10AM. It started with ONE uniformed Soldier carried the American flag. Along with him followed: A city policecar with our own Barney Fife, our local fire department with BOTH trucks throwing candy to the masses (which was all the town of a few hundred), three bands from surrounding towns, some pageant contestants, three church floats that threw out Mardi Gras beads and candy, LAWN mowers even though they were driving on asphalt and the good old standby TRACTORS.
Mom caught two beads-one blue and one purple (which were Mike and Dom colors) and I caught two beads-one green and one gold ( which were Pat and Tim colors)-YEEEEE HAAAAAAW!
The parade was finished in 7 minutes and then we drove back home. By the time we got home they were coming down our street and we watched it AGAIN!!! I believe we have about 5 streets to cover. So, why did we go to Dad's office and watch it when it was coming down our street? So, we could get MORE candy/beads and enjoy 14 minutes of a good parade. YEAH!
Later we went to the park and ate and Dad noticed that even out 'town dog' made it to the festivities. LOL

Oh so much fun in a small town.

My little girl is growning UP to fast!!!!

We got a phonecall Friday that my oldest niece, Haley 11 yrs old, is going to her first school dance. I can't believe it has been such a long time since she was just a baby. NOW! she is going to her first dance.
We talked to her Saturday to hear all abou the dance. She said she had a really good time. She did some dancing but no 'huggy' dancing. LOL
She had a formal gown and was absolutely adorable. She got to be with her 'boyfriend.' I am looking forward to hearing how my youngest niece, Addie 7 yrs old, fares with her first school dance then.

on a side note-my 1 and 2 yr old cousins were in the paper this weekend. They were at a flea market and made the headlines. HOW CUTE!!

Spending an evening with my cousins and etc.

My aunt called last week. She works at a florist shop. She is in her 70s and needed me to help babysit grandchildren, my cousins, for the day. They are 1 and 2 years old. It's been a while since I dealt with this age group. It didn't take them long to open up to me and then we had a really good time. The one year old was attached to me in just a few minutes. Her brother was a little different. He needed to watch a video for the next hour before napping.
Late in the afternoon my parents picked me up. Having forgotten about their energy, I was quickly reminded, when I spent the day with them.
My aunt wants me to come back but this time I am goiing to help her with 'Mothers Day' flowers.
I went to church Sunday and had to babysit again for one of the church ladies. The kids were 5 and 7 years old and were none stop chattering away.
To say the least, this has been a very child weary weekend. But, I will definitely miss all of them.

My Easter Weekend

Friday we took my nieces back home to St. Louis after having them for the week. Addie kept talking about me catching a snake but there was another one waiting to be caught. It really wasn't that big and there was no other one. But, she is only 7 and LOVES to exaggerate. haha
Saturday their church had children's social time: games, snacks, crafts, etc. Mom helped the little kids for about two hours and we had a blast.
Sunday morning Addie informed us that the Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy ran into each other last night because she had lost her tooth and put it under her pillow. LOL
Sunday we went to church and listened to the cantata which lasted for half an hour. They played some of my favorite songs. We then went to my sister-in-law's family house and had Easter dinner. We took several family photos, including their dog, and then downloaded about 157 pictures before we left. I had taken some pics of the flood as well. On the way back home the state had posted several 'do not stop and take photos of flood' signs because there were so many people trying to and it was creating a problem.
Overall, the week was very entertaining. As always is when little kids are involved. HAHA

A Very Sad Event-Prayer Request

One of my neighbors, Jane, had a tragedy in her family earlier this week.
Her son, John, for reasons unknown committed suicide when he shot himself. The funeral was today. She need all the prayers she can get. This is her second child that has passed away. Her only daughter died after a dramatic illness. A week later her husband died of a heart attack. This was less than 10 years ago. She had been battling emotional issues for years and we are not sure how this will affect her progress in that area.

Dining out and church time

I went out today with my family for lunch. We went to Pasta House. The waiter was named JASON, imagine that, and he kept flirting with me the time we were there. LOL Must have been the new cologne I got. haha
Little Emily at your made an amusing comment today. We were discussing animals at the St. Louis Zoo. She was feeding the goats. She explained to me that 'he has a dirty name'. She said 'it starts with an A.' Didn't want her to elaborate.
At church today they played Amazing Grace. Annette had told me about the Haygoods and how much their rendition has already touched so many. I was thinking of that when they played and it really got me. But, also because that happens to be the song they played when I decided to accept Christ as my Savior.
It was a well rounded day. The kids will be at my house until Friday and then we will take them home and be there for Easter.
Happy St. Pattys day everyone-and enjoy Easter.