After a week of pitiful blogging, I am seriously behind. We've been more than extremely busy, and now that Patrick takes the computer with him three days of the week, writing has been sparse. So let's catch up, shall we? Please get comfortable. This could take a while. Go on. Get a sandwich or something. Go to the bathroom before we get started, too, just in case.

Let's back it up to last weekend. Enter my sister, Ashley of Swaying Daisies (which, come on, let's face it - is now defunct. But I'll forgive her since she rocks in other ways.) She drove in Friday night for a weekend of Trisler hoopla, and we had so much fun. I honestly can't remember the last time just she and I hung out! So we had about five years worth of topics to cover, and we stayed up until about 2 a.m. Friday night yapping. We went to Whole Foods Market on Saturday, World Market, and um... oh yeah, we spent about an hour in traffic. Yay. But Whole Foods... ohmygosh. I just want to live there. Rent's too high, though. And they frown upon squatting in grocery stores, even the organic ones.

That night after the kids went to bed, we went to see Into the Blue, which was a decent movie. Won't win any Oscars, but it sure inspires me to work on my tan and a flat stomach. And date treasure hunters. Patrick is so getting a metal detector for Christmas this year. Anyway - obviously neither of us goes to the movies very often because we got that giddy-silly thing going. The longer we stood in line for popcorn, the less distinguishable we were from all the fourteen year olds behind us! Then Sunday morning, we drove to my parents house, where I comandeered one of their vehicles to get us through our transportation pinch last week. Actually, they graciously offered a car, I swear there was no violent persuasion or anything. When I got back, Patrick had left to borrow yet ANOTHER car, since Fate had decided to double whammy us, sending both of our cars into mechanical purgatory. Thanks, Fate. Seriously, thank you.

It was a great weekend, though. I was so happy to spend some time with my sister - we rarely get to do that one on one, and it was so nice and relaxed and comfortable. I will definitely be making more of an effort to do that when we can.

The busy weekend set the tone for the week, I guess, because we've been rocking and rolling since then. Wednesday, Joey came in and stayed the night, and got up early the next morning to head into New Orleans to salvage whatever belongings he could. He was in seminary down there for about a week before Katrina, and thankfully, lived on the second floor of the student housing. His stuff was okay- but the first floor was a total loss. I feel bad for those people, but I am so glad that he had the great fortune of being on an upper level.

And then Friday morning, my uncle came in with a trailer to gather about a hundred chairs from our church that were donated to his church in Gulfport. And... earlier in the week, remember that I said something really nice happened to us, but I didn't give any details? Well, when Uncle Clinton and Kim came in, they brought us a car! It's a black 97 Nissan Altima, and it's cuter than any of my children. Okay, so maybe not THAT cute. But it's totally awesome, (I say in my best teenage voice). I was absolutely floored when he called us last Sunday with the news. I mean, what do you say to a gift like that? I tried to talk him out of it, because it's just too much - but he refused to hear me. It's a done deal, he said. And the men in my family are known for their notorious stubborn streaks, so it is what it is. I was, and am, totally blown away by their generosity and kindness. It was amazing to recieve a love gift like that!

There is no thank-you big enough when someone does something like this for you. The best we can do is pass it forward - hope that one day we see a similar need in somebody and be able to meet it. I am blessed with a family (and especially an uncle) that has taught me the value of giving to one another. Blessed, indeed. I have taken a few pictures, and will post them tomorrow, since I am not writing from home at the moment. (I'm at my inlaws house in Monroe.)

After they left us with the new ride, we decided to come to Monroe to return Patrick's grandmother's car that we had borrowed. I'm actually kind of sad to see this baby go. It's a Park Avenue Ultimate, and let me tell you, it's luscious, with a capital L. I can TOTALLY drive a grandma car. It's got big, squishy seats, and buttons that control the very fabric of reality. I feel like I'm driving a limo or something. It was really nice of her to let us cruise her sweet ride around, but alas, all good things must come to an end. Good bye, lovely Park Avenue. I'll see you in another life. Give my regards to Uncle Jack's Lincoln!

So, now we head back this evening and hopefully have a day of rest tomorrow. I'm still feeling a bit rundown for some reason, and I have this feeling I'm carrying around some kind of bug that will rear it's ugly head any day now. Urgh.

Hope everyone has had a good weekend, and I'm sorry I've been so piddly this last week. Will make grand attempts to earn your forgiveness and approval in the coming week.

Ciao!