the post I wanted to title "How to Change a Flat Tire without Breaking a Nail"... but I broke a nail

This morning John had a flat tire waiting for him...
so he took my car to work...
and left me with the flat tire....
and said he would find someone to fix it or just come home for lunch and do it himself.....
and I might have taken that the wrong way...
you know, that he didn't think I could do it....
so I showed him.....
and took pictures to show you.

Step 1: put something behind the back tires and pull the emergency brake:



Step 2: use the jack to elevate the car and, thus, the tire:



Step 3: remove the lugnuts....



Step 3b: keep up with the lugnuts as you will need them again:



Step 4: remove the flat tire:



Step 5: place the spare tire and use the aforementioned lugnuts to secure it:



Step 6: go to the nearest tire store to get it fixed properly (they were able to patch ours... for free)

So there you have it, how I spent my morning....

and now you can sleep tonight.

You're welcome.

It's Finished!!!....

well, almost, you know... except for the parts that aren't finished. But we don't care. Enough of the deck is finished to enjoy family, friends, and good ole' southern food. See?



See those black things on top of the posts? Solar lights! Our neighbor Mark is brilliant, they soak up the sun all day and then give some ambient light at night.. perfect!!!



The stairs... I will never take stairs for granted again!



View from the back... the boarded up window should be fixed soon! It is a little unsightly! Our neighbors were nice enough to loan us an extra patio table and chairs until we can get some of our own. I can't wait to go and pick out a set of our own :)

This last picture is from a few weekends ago after a rainstorm. Everyone was giving me grief for calling all the kids over to look at the rainbow. I had to put my foot down and remind everyone how we marveled at the tornado and its destruction. We took this as an opportunity to talk to our kids about the meaning behind the rainbow and how it was one of God's many promises to us. I think everyone will cut me a little slack from now on... I don't think they want God sending a tornado their way. ;) Haha!

I wished I had my camera...

On my way to work this week, I was almost run off the road by a State Farm Catastrophe Truck. I looked over to give him the well-deserved "stink-eye", and realized he wasn't paying any attention to me or my anger because he was texting. That's right, texting! I am pretty sure that insurance companies like State Farm would frown upon anyone texting and driving, especially their employees. I was wishing that I had my camera to take a picture of his offense and send it to the company... and then I realized that was just as bad as texting and driving, you know, taking pictures and driving. But still, I wished I had my camera....

and my cell phone and iPod for that matter. (they were stolen out of my car last weekend)

Wishful thinking it is!

I knew I didn't like Oprah

I have always said I didn't like Oprah. I won't go into details of why, I just don't. I know, really judgemental of me. But some of you don't like House or Grey's Anatomy and I don't think any less of you, I just think we all have different tastes! Today, I found this video and it was very disturbing. Why? Because for the past few years, she has been labeled "the most influential person in America". And in this video, you have to get past the beginning where it is a little muted, she tells a large following that Jesus is not the only way. I have nothing else to say about it. You just need to watch.

On a side note: the lady that stands up to Oprah is amazing! Kudos to her!!!

Mom, Are You Scared?

This is what J.T. asked me yesterday as we were huddled in the basement, during the hail storm, while the tornado sirens were blaring. "No baby, I'm not scared. We just need to be down here in case that hail hits the windows, we are just being safe."

and then the lights flickered....

and then they went out completely.

Again..."Mom, are you scared now?"

(gulp)"No baby, I'm not scared. God will protect us, we are just being safe."

At this point, I am thinking to myself that John had better get in here because both boys are wanting to be held, because they are scared, and my two arms can only hold so well. And then the hail gets louder, and we hear glass breaking, and John is still outside taking pictures! I will never understand that man, or his family, and their fascination with nature. Ever. Probably never, except these pictures were pretty cool. (as long as I didn't have to take them) :)










This is the glass we heard:



But, before the craziness began: progress was made!

See?



It won't be long now!!!

(and yes, while we were in the basement I was most certainly thinking: well this is just great! We finally decide to build a deck and a tornado, of all things, is going to destroy it!)

The end. for now.

Any Guesses?

....as to what Finley was doing here before he fell asleep?



Yeah, we don't know either.


I do know, that I have a major shoe fetish:



How cute are these shoes???

because I like to take pictures....

Lots and lots of pictures!

Can you say progress?




I can, and.....



it feels



sooooo



good!



And this afternoon





with the help of this guy,




and these guys:



look what happened!

?



It won't be long now!!!!