I try not to say much about my job situation on this blog, only because you never know who will be reading it. (Like my co-workers.) =)

However, since the announcement from our Governor on who he has appointed to replace our retiring Circuit Clerk, there has been much 'buzzing' going on not only in our office, but around town. I won't elaborate to much on this article in our local newspaper, but here is the link so you can read it for yourself:

http://www.springfieldnews-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080208/NEWS01/
802080388/1007/NEWS01

I'm not a 'political' person. I don't think I could ever run for office because I'm not one to say bad things about somebody, even my opponent. (Isn't that what most politicians do??) If you scroll down all the way to bottom of the article, readers are allowed to comment on the story. As you can see, they are not 'positive' in any way.

It does bother me however that if that person was apparently in our office on Friday, some indicated we were already 'concerned' about our new boss. Guess that just goes to prove you have to be careful about what you say to anybody, or it might end up in the paper!! (By the way...it wasn't me.)

I am willing to give Mr. Helms a chance before I make any assumptions about his ability to 'run' the office. I always try to find good in people, even if they mess up at times. (Isn't that what God does for us??) And I am definitely NOT perfect!! I was raised to respect my elders, and respect those in authority over me. Sure, there are 'boundaries', but for the most part I know that if I want to keep my job I am to respect their decisions and do my job to the best of my ability.

I'm hoping that Mr. Helms will do the same.

I seem to be fascinated by the weather lately; we either have really mild winters or really cold ones here in the southwestern part of Missouri. The mild ones we usually have rain, and the cold ones are snowy. But this winter is the first one I can remember in a long time where we literally go from spring-like weather to winter weather every few days.

I really don't recall having bad enough storms to have tornadoes in January or February; some blame it on 'global warming', some on La Nina. I read one news story where a relative of a person who died in the recent storms said that she "struggled to grasp why God would take her sister. That's his wrath," she said, looking toward the wreckage. "For some reason, he's not happy right now and this is. ... Nobody understands God's will. I sure don't understand it.

Said Anita Goodnight, the sisters' aunt: "God didn't do it. Satan did."

I've always wondered why God created such a devastating weather phenomenon. Every since I was a kid I've always been deathly scared of thunderstorms. My mother used to cover my bedroom windows with a blanket so I couldn't see the lightening flashes. At times our family would actually drive to a downtown parking garage to wait out the storms. I remembered at times begging my father to drive us there when warnings were issued. Ironically, that was probably the worse place to be; if that garage had collapsed, we would probably not have survived.

I remember during one storm I was in our car with my dad and sister (can't remember if my mom was with us) and he had stopped under a highway overpass and my dad & sister got out of the car to see if they could 'see' the tornado passing over. Me? I was huddled in the fetal position in the back seat wishing we could just go home! (or to the underground garage!)

I admit that as I got older I learned to tolerate storms more; I'm okay during the day, but at night I still get a little nervous. In the 12 years we have lived in our current house, we've not had a tornado hit. The January storms were probably the closest that one has come to hitting our neighborhood since we've lived here. I always wonder if the next one will be 'the one'.

So in my 43 yrs of life, I've never seen or been through a tornado. I've had dreams about them, watched them on TV, read storm chaser blogs about them; tried to 'face my fear' so to speak. But I will admit that when a storm hits in the middle of the night, I still wake up hearing the thunder rolling while it's still miles away. And I usually do not get back to sleep until it passes by.

My faith that God will keep us safe through the storms has gotten stronger over the years, but I will always wonder if the next one will be 'the one' that will hit home. Either that or I move to Alaska. But I don't think that's the answer to my fear, do you??

35th Anniversary

Today was Billy's parent's 35th wedding anniversary, so some of the kids took them to Cracker Barrel while Billy and Chris set up the 'surprise' at their house:


The happy couple!! (yes, my father-in-law wears overalls....but if you knew him you'd know that it fits his personality)


Here are 2 of my sister-in-laws (Wendy and DeDe) and Wendy's husband Tim. (and me...but I didn't know I was going to be in the picture, or I would have tried to look goofier than I do.)

Here are 2 of my nieces; Jessica and Tiffany. (Tiffany is getting married in June.)




And the surprise gift to them....a 32" flatscreen television; their 'console' TV gave out months ago and they had been using a smaller one that they placed on top of the old one. That is where the flatscreen will have to stay until they get a cabinet. Needless to say, they were definitely surprised and very happy!!! (I'm sure Billy was explaining some of the features of the TV...)


This is a child's rocking chair that has been in their family for years, and Sydney likes to sit in it (or at least put her dolls in it) when she goes over there. Not sure what Chris is doing. (Billy's younger brother Jerry is in the chair.)

This is what happens when you let Sydney take pictures...you get feet.



Sweet Annabella all ready to go. We had a great day and it was neat to get to help celebrate such a milestone in someone's life.

Well, our 'big' snow ended up being 2 -1/2 inches. They cancelled school at 10:30 p.m. last night, and probably wished they hadn't when they woke up to only 2-1/2 inches of snow.

It pretty much was melted by noon.

Billy's parent's 35th wedding anniversary is tomorrow; all the kids got them a gift, but it's a surprise so I can't put on here what it is until after tomorrow. =)