Gloomy

Here is a little picture of our weather today. Not pretty. I know when I wake up and the house is still dark that either I should roll over and go back to sleep - OR perhaps I live in Texas. It hasn't been too bad this spring - but last year from September until February - it at least felt like it was rainy every day. Today's forecast is for thunderstorms.
It feels a little gloomy right now in my life. Sometimes there is nothing like a good cleansing rain and thunderstorm to kind of scrub the surface and set things right again. Then when the sun comes out, you appreciate it more than before. This can be true in life as well - but for some reason in the midst of the storm, I forget that it is really what seems the most terrible thing that is making it better. So today I intend to enjoy the gloomy weather. I am sure I have at least one kid who will sit on the porch swing in the thick of it with me and watch it roll.

Some Stuff About Today

I had to run an errand this morning, and it just so happened that our local Walmart, which is THE world's smallest Super Walmart, did have the new Casting Crowns CD, The Altar and the Door!!!! I haven't stopped listening to it since we got it. The first song kicks - it is so awesome. What I love about Casting Crowns the most is that their songs are so thoughtful. The things they sing about are carbon copy to thoughts I have all the time. They speak to me, heart and soul. I am also jazzed about the fact that they are coming to our area in concert this fall. Tickets go on sale in a matter of days! Yippie. I'm there.
I also went to my neighbor's house and welcomed in her two new toy poodle puppies. People pay hundreds of dollars for these things - and even though they're cute, I don't understand why people pay so much for dogs, when we got a perfectly lovely black lab they almost paid us to take away from a farm two years ago. Yeah, he chases cars, and barks at a strong breeze (he was HOWLING at the eclipse the other night!) , and may have some gender confusion - other than that - perfectly acceptable in the canine department.
Shortly after coming home from my visit with the new poodle babies, the sky turned pitch black, and much the way it always does here, thunder and lightening and then a deluge. We sat on the front porch swing and enjoyed the storm.

Grab an Oar!

East Texas has this funny way of thinking that God is reconsidering that whole colorful bow thing He put in the sky to dazzle the Mr. and Mrs. Noah clan. It is 6:30 am and I just woke to the most horrific thunder clap. It is dramatized by the rattly windows in this 100 year old house. We haven't been anywhere near the recent flooding in Texas, but we may be floating that way soon if this heavy rain keeps up. Man, it can come down here.

East Texas Weather

I had complained so much about the large amount of rain we had here in Texas - but then we were blessed with a couple of weeks of sunshiny weather, great temperatures, and the first signs of spring - blooming flowers, tweeting birds, gentle breezes. I have enjoyed it so much.
Yesterday afternoon I spent a couple of hours on my porch swing with a good book. Kullen came out for a while and we read some Shel Silverstein poetry. He cannot get enough of it! The weather was absolutely perfect. It was an idyllic lazy Sunday afternoon. Not even the cars driving by seemed in any hurry.
This morning when I woke, it was not daylight. I would have thought it was just the time change if it hadn't been for my husband calling on his way to work to let me know a serious storm system was headed our way. Now it is almost 9 am and it is PITCH BLACK. There are thunder claps and lightning zaps everywhere. I don't mind the storm as much as the idea of tornadoes. I got online specifically to look up tornado warning signs and found this great website from NOAA weather service. It had a lot of pictures, warning signs, and ideas of how to be prepared and what to do. So here I sit, looking for green clouds! (Did you know that was one of the warning signs of a tornado?)

I'll post our most recent favorite Shel Silverstein poems in another post later!