Hooray! They Have Set a Date!

After several years of discussion and regrouping, I'm delighted to report that Katie and Doug have finally set a wedding date. They will be married on Saturday, November 29 in Carlinville. All of the details have yet to be worked out but the reception is booked (and the down payment made) so the date is definite.

Now the fun begins! Katie already has her wedding dress picked out, but still needs to order it. She has looked at bridesmaid's dresses several times but hasn't found just the right thing yet. And of course there will be a myriad of other plans, choices, and decisions to be made. And this will be my one and only chance to be "mother of the bride" so I guess I need to be figuring out what I need to do as well.

Right now November seems so far away, but I'm sure that it will be here before we know it. On the one hand I can't believe that my little girl is already planning a wedding, and on the other hand, I can't believe that it's taken them so long to set a date. Ah, the perils of motherhood!

Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On!

Well, gee, it happened again. I was awakened again last night by yet another aftershock from Friday's earthquake. Mike slept right through this one, though. Apparently there have been quite a few others that are mild enough not to be noticeable, but after feeling the earth move three times in under 72 hours, I'm beginning to wonder whether a big one is next. I guess I really should be making sure that I have my disaster kit in place and accessible just in case.

I was rather amused on Friday afternoon to read a story in the Alton Telegraph online. Apparently a school administrator at South Roxana Elementary decided that in light of the earthquake it would be expeditious to conduct an earthquake drill during the morning. Imagine the consternation of everyone involved when, halfway through the five-minute drill, the 4.5 magnitude aftershock arrived! The principal was quoted later as saying that it made him a little nervous about planning a tornado drill.

Here's hoping that the next few days don't bring us anything quite this interesting.

Shake, Rattle, and Roll!!

What a wake-up call we got this morning! I was about half-awake when the house began to shake at 4:36 a.m. Mike was sound asleep and jumped about a foot when the shaking started. It seemed to go on and on for a long time, and when it stopped I could hear a hanger swinging back and forth on the closet rod for a while longer. When I got downstairs to the computer, I had an email from dd Katie reassuring us that she and Doug were fine although seriously weirded out by the whole thing.

Then of course there was the aftershock at 10:16. I had gone to a yoga class with our neighbors, and after class we were standing around and discussing our experiences of the early morning, when the walls of the dance studio began to shake, and the vase of flowers on the table began to dance (how appropriate, after all!).

I'm thankful that we had no damage here, or even any falling objects (if you are familiar with the current state of my housekeeping you realize that there is great potential there!). And I'm reminded that I STILL need to get busy on assembling my emergency kit.

I remember in the late 80's when Iben Browning predicted that the New Madrid Fault would produce a severe earthquake on a certain date in early December. Anthony, our youngest son, was just over 3 years old at the time. On the day of the predicted earthquake, he donned an old sailor hat from my uncle's Navy days, and insisted on wearing it all day "for protection from falling objects". It must have worked well since nothing fell on his head. Wonder where the sailor hat is now??

Exciting News!

I got some really exciting news today! I was notified that I am one of 14 family child care providers selected to receive a full scholarship (registration, meals, travel and accommodations) to attend the National Association for Family Child Care's annual conference in Chicago in July. I'm really excited to be attending this conference! I had really wanted to go since it is so close this year (the last few years it has been in Florida, California, and Kansas) but I knew I couldn't afford it on my own.

We'll be leaving from Springfield on Thursday evening, July 17, and returning on Saturday evening, July 19. Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul, and Mary is the keynote speaker on Friday. There will be many sessions covering all aspects of family child care, from the basics all the way to national credentials and accreditation. I can't wait to get there!