Happy Mother’s Day to all moms! Here’s a fun song to hopefully bring a smile to your face. With that said, I thank God for blessing me with being a mom and having two precious children!
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My in-laws had a beautiful backyard where they used to live.  Their house was situated on a half-acre, and so their backyard was large.  They had beautiful trees, lush green grass, and pretty flowers planted in different spots.  The focal point in the center of the yard was a bird bath that added a nice touch to their park-like backyard.  This was a place where family could retreat after a busy day at work and reconnect.

Have you noticed how water fountains add a nice touch to just about any setting?  Something about the gentle flow of water is relaxing and enjoyable to watch.

I clearly remember a tornado 30 years ago when our daughter (Christi @ Frugal Novice) was a baby and we lived out in west Texas. My husband was at work, and a bad storm came in June. Christi had just learned to crawl and was on the floor playing. I was doing things around the house and listening to the radio on a pretty sunny afternoon. All of a sudden, the DJ on the radio said to take cover under heavy furniture because a tornado was five miles north of town headed our way!
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I called our next-door-neighbors, who knew nothing about the tornado, to go to the storm shelter with me.  I then grabbed Christi and the diaper bag. My two neighbors (husband thought we were being a sissy when I first called but was thankful afterwards) went with me to a shelter.  As we headed toward the shelter and looked north of town, the sky was black and very scary.
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The storm hit a couple of minutes after we got down in the below-ground shelter. It sounded like the tornado touched down to the ground, but it didn’t. However, when we came out of the shelter, there were 10 inches of hail on the ground, eerie-looking steam coming up because of the hot summer day and cold hail, plus not one leaf was left on any of the abundant trees in our little area. When we got home, two sides of our place had the windows blown out. There was glass all over our living room rug where our baby had just been playing, and it was all over the kitchen too. I thank God that I was listening to the radio and heard the warning!
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There have been already been 653 reported tornadoes in 2012. If you don’t have a plan in place, now is the time to do it.  Being proactive about tornado safety means having a plan in place and following the tips below.  The first one is mine, and the rest are from tornado safety sites:
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• Most important if you’re a Christian, pray humbly to God for His protection.  (I’ve read several stories about people praying for God’s protection, and the only thing left of their house was where they were sheltering in place.)
• If time, put on your sturdiest shoes.
• Wear helmets if possible.
• Go to the lowest level, to a small center room.
• Crouch as low as you can to the floor, facing down; and cover your head with a blanket or couch cushion.
• Stay away from windows.
• If you go to a basement, go to where there’s not heavy furniture or appliances above you.
• If you’re in a shopping mall or business, go to an interior restroom, storage room, or stairwell on the lowest level.
• If you’re in a mobile home, go to a shelter or sturdier building.
• If you’re in a car, get out and find shelter.  If there’s no shelter and you can safely get noticeably lower than the level of the roadway, leave your car and lie in that area, covering your head with your hands.
• Do not get under an overpass or bridge, contrary to what was thought years ago.
• If you’re in traffic and stuck in your car, keep your seat belt on. Put your head down below the windows; cover your head with your hands, coat, anything handy.  If you can safely get noticeably lower than the level of the roadway, leave your car and lie in that area, covering your head with your hands, coats, etc.

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Tornado Safety  from the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma

Before, During, & After a Tornado  from Ready.gov

As a teacher, we have drills several times throughout the school year so that if an emergency situation occurs, teachers and students will hopefully know what to do.  It’s not strange to “shelter in place” because a plan is already in place, and that plan has been practiced several times during the school year.

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Our families need to have drills as well so that if an emergency situation occurs, we will know what to do because we have a plan in place that we have practiced at least once or twice. If you’re not sure what the best thing to do if a tornado is headed your way, here are some helpful sites:
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• Tornado Safety  from the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma
• Before, During, & After a Tornado  from Ready.gov
• Tornado Safety  from The Tornado Project

The weeks are flying by!  Before we know it, Father’s Day will be here.  I was thinking of something I wanted to get my husband for a gift but now I’ve forgotten what it was.  If I think of it again, I really need to write it down!  If he were a welder, I might get him some tillman gloves.  If he were a carpenter, I might get him a special tool.  He works on the computer a lot, but I don’t think what I was thinking of getting him was anything computer related.  It was really neat, whatever it was! 

My daddy’s birthday would have been this month, but he died when our son was only two years ago.   Our daughter was twelve, and I’m so glad he got to see her grow up some.  He was crazy about both of his grandchildren and loved them very much.

He was proud of Christi, his first grandchild.  When she was little, she would crawl up in his lap and share whatever he was snacking on at the time.   He was also proud of his grandson.  I remember when our son was a baby, he came up to where my daddy was sitting and talked to him in baby jibberish as if he knew exactly what he was saying.  I remember my daddy saying, “How precious!”  I wish he could see the wonderful young man our son has become and that he could see the wonderful wife/mom our daughter has become and see his adorable great-grandsons and the baby due in September.

After all these many years, I still miss Daddy.  He was a true gentleman.  So, this song  is for him.

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It’s so nice that Spring Break is finally here.  I’ve been getting caught up on a few things that I don’t have much time to do during the school year plus getting in some extra rest, which is something else that isn’t always possible some weeks during school.  I don’t have any shopping scheduled for this week since I don’t need any clothes, shoes, or carhartt jeans, etc.  One really nice thing is that our son is home from college for a week.  That makes Spring Break fun!