MIA

First, let me just say that I realize that I have been MIA for basically he month of July.  I am so incredibly sorry for this, but I have had some computer problems and so now I am back online! Miss me?

A lot has happened, however, so the next few posts will likely be catching up, then, of course, be looking for the latest honorable mentions.

Update #1--Fireworks

Let's start with the 4th of July, since my last post was on July 3rd.  Almost all of my Mom's family was at the lake (my grandparents live there) for the 4th.  We had a practically perfect day filled with sun, food, laughter and fun.  Of course we had bought fireworks to shoot at the end of the day as well.  It was probably around 9:30-ish when we started doing fireworks.  One of my little cousins is not a big fan of loud noises, and like me as a child, is afraid of fireworks.  So my mom, dad, and I went up to the house and did a few alternative things.  The four of us were sitting at the kitchen table, my Dad was teaching him a card trick, when all of a sudden, all the power went out.  And at the lake when the power goes out...it REALLY goes out.  It was pitch black dark.  In the same split second that the power went out, my Aunt appeared at the back door, and in an alarmed voice said, "Kay, something's wrong with Daddy..." (meaning my granddad, Pop) Could the electricity have picked a better time to go out?  I don't think so... Needless to say, after that things got a little crazy.  For the most pa

rt, my family, immediate and extended, is very good in a crisis situation.  We all are of the philosophy that freaking out does not help a situation...it hurts it.  I basically played the role of runner, trying to fly through the house gathering flashlights and what not.  My Dad grabs a huge flashlight out of his truck for scavenging and my Mom jumps in the truck and drives it down to the lake to shine the headlights on Pop.  As told to me later, after things calmed a bit...Pop went to try and get out of the swing and couldn't move.  He couldn't move anything on his right side.  Luckily, my grandparents live next door to a nurse, who checked him out and said that he definitely needed to get to the hospital.  So, everyone except for me, my cousin, my aunt, and the 3 little kids, took off to the hospital.  The 6 of us stayed behind in the house with no electricity.  My cousin corralled the kids into one of the cars, while my aunt and I went through the house finding every candle and flashlight we could.  Finally, we got the kids inside, kept everyone in the living room with pillows and blan

kets on the floor, and waited.  It's hard to wait like that.  We received regular updates on Pop, however, so that helped a good bit.  The doctors said that he was okay, but that he definitely had suffered a stroke and he was going to have to stay in the hospital for a while. At around 2:30 a.m., the power came back on, and my Mom called to say they were coming back to the house, but that Meme was going to stay with him.  When my parents got back home around 3:15, we drove back home, made it back around 4:00 a.m., so that I could make it to a wedding the next morning (my friend Ali got married, Yeaa!!!!) So needless to say my family has been tracking the progress of Pop for about 3 weeks now.  He is doing much better, and after a stint in the hospital, was able to come home last week.  It will be a long process to get back to where he was, but he is making great progress and s extremely determined to do it.  Thanks for everyone's prayers and concerns! My family and I appreciate them so much, and I am 

proud to say that he is doing so much better!  So, my 4th was eventful to say the least, and at the end of the weekend, I got to sit in traffic like this...