My Bizarre Family

I came across some older pictures and it made me really miss the days when our kids were small and all of them were living at home. The older three kids are all adults now and no longer live with us, nor do they visit often.  There are days when we really miss them. Our youngest daughter is almost 12 years old and my son almost 16. Before we know it, we will have a completely empty nest. I look forward to it in one way (being able to do what I want to do…which will involve a lot of traveling), but in others…I dread it.

Cherish the days when your children are still little! They grow up too quickly!

Here are a few cute and silly pictures of them from years ago:

Spring is finally here! Actually…it’s been here for a while according to my calendar, and now the weather has finally reflected it …off and on…

One thing you are quick to learn about living in East Tennessee is how quickly the weather changes. One day it can be a balmy 82 degrees and the next,  you are freezing your hiney off in 30 or 40 degree weather…and then there are snow flurries! Seriously, the weather here is crazy.

Spring and I have a love/hate relationship. With Spring comes flowers blooming, garage sells, trips to Dollywood, trips to the mountains, family outings to the Drive-In, etc., which I love….and some of the not so fun things that I hate like mowing the yard, allergies, Spring cleaning, and storms. Sometimes I really dread Spring because of the bad storms Mother Nature throws at us.

I am terrified of tornadoes. About eight years ago, during one of the harder times we went through financially, we were living in a single wide mobile home (and boy were we packed like sardines in there) and a doozy of a storm was heading our way. Needless to say, I freaked out so badly that I packed up the entire family and stayed in a hotel for the night. Have you SEEN the devastation that a tornado can wreck on mobile homes?! Then you have the news anchors saying “seek shelter, but not in a mobile home”.  Yeah I had a freak out moment. My step-kids still talk about it sometimes. I don’t over-react like that anymore, but knowing that there is a safe place to go if there is a tornado warning is uppermost in my mind before I move to a new house. I mean, it’s right up there with “Can we afford this?”

Storms are the biggest thing I hate about Spring. But I am thankful that we do not get many tornadoes in East Tennessee. In fact, I think this is the safest place in the country to live. We don’t have blizzards (except that one time in 93…), we don’t get earthquakes (well, not ones that you can actually feel unless you are just lucky), we don’t get hurricanes, obviously….and we only get the rare tornado. See? Safe. I would never want to move anywhere else, though I do love to travel.

The biggest thing I love about Spring is knowing that Summer is close! Summer is my favorite season…going to the lake, camping, swimming, shorts and sandals, etc. What are some of the things you love or hate about Spring? Do you share my fear of tornadoes?

I’m finally writing my story.

My husband has always said that he sleeps with one eye open. And after nearly thirteen years of marriage, I finally believe him! Last night as I was walking out of the bedroom, I just happened to glance over at a particularly loud snore that emerged from my husband’s side of the bed, only to be stopped in my tracks in freaked out amazement….

My husband had one eye open. And he was snoring! After making sure he was not faking, I snapped a few pictures, then touched his arm and whispered, “Rick? Honey…”

His open eye got wider, then his pupil rolled towards me. He kept on snoring, but seemed to be staring me down. That’s a little freaky. So what did I do? Grabbed my phone again and this time…took video footage of this weirdness! No one would ever believe me otherwise…

After telling him what happened and showing him my pictures and video (which, by the way, he will not let me post for you guys), he said, “Honey, I told you I sleep with one eye open! It would take a special person to be able to sneak up on me, even in my sleep!”

I must be a special person. Our daughter must be too, because when she was little, every Saturday morning when daddy was off work, instead of waking me up, she would go to his side of the bed and slowly pull his eyelid up and whisper, “Dad. Dad? Dad! Are you awake? Stop snoring and wake up! Dad? Are you awake?”

And he would always answer, “I am now.”

Speaking of my daughter, she will sometimes sleep walk (not often and normally it’s when I’m trying to get her to wake up…it’s kind of funny when she wakes up and realizes she has been walking and talking to me for a few minutes) and on the rare occasion, she will talk in her sleep.

Has your spouse or kids ever done anything odd or weird in their sleep that startled you?