ALLLLLmost vacation!

I get to pick up my Alana Saturday! She and I will drive to Texas... staying Saturday night with my Mom. I learned my brother Robbie may also be there. And on Sunday, we continue down to see Becky and the family. AND as Ben informs me... once again, the timing of our visit is to bring much needed rain to parched Western Texas.
I don't know if we have ever visited when it hasn't rained. And considering it is almost June, and they have just  under .75 inches of recorded rainfall this YEAR... it's high time we brought some rain down.
After my time in Texas.. I get to pick up Miss Nickole for the weekend. This will be her first time to stay with us without her parental units. (Unit?) Last time we saw her for more than a few minutes was with Bill Joe.
Daniel finally got his long awaited backpack. He ordered it some five months ago... and it has been on back order that long. He is so excited and ready to do some shorter hikes before the AP Trail comes up.
Work has had up days, and down days. Mostly, all is caught up. The last few days, regular freight has kept me at least half an hour over every day. I am SOOOOOOO looking forward to being off.
 I talked to a person today about a job... I am supposed to come and see the current person in action before I decide to apply. Then there is that pesky 'give notice' and such. IF I think I can handle the high pressure of Spongebob Squarepants job. Person who hires tells me that others have watched the current person and declined the job.
Tonight, the Individuals dressed as much like twins as they could... to attend a school function at the local Mennonite School that many of their co-workers are affiliated with. (The group that threw them a birthday bash last year!) (MY BABIES are going to be 18 in less than a MONTH!)
Their plan is to not associate with one another all night, and feign surprise if anyone mentions their resemblance. This is a full school function, not just their co-workers!
I love my kids. Quirky, funny, surprisingly individual people... ALL of them. And I get to be their Mom.

Tommy is in Brasil. Continue prayers for him. He is seeing miracles, but facing spiritual warfare as well. I believe he is in his element. This makes me happy... and sad. Sad because Brasil is so far away. Happy because he is doing what he loves, what he is called to do.

Thank you for reading.

We know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him

and are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

Yeah, so what was it, a couple of weeks ago that I was raging about my boss arbitrarily cancelling my vacation, so that HE could go away for the weekend?

For some reason, I was thinking that THIS weekend was Memorial Day Weekend. I went to check with the boss child about whether the distribution centers and drivers were working on Monday, because if they are not, then I don't work Tuesday. (No freight.)
Bad news and good news on that.
 Bad news- this is NOT Memorial Weekend, as I am sure you realized about the time you read that sentence. Good news, it is next weekend, AND the distribution center and drivers do not, in fact work. Boss noticed that the 28th was the ONLY day I was having to work that week. And he had previously offered to let me have it off- not realizing it followed hard on Memorial Day. But he went ahead and approved me being off Wednesday. So once I am off work next Saturday, the 24th... I don't have to be back until June 7th. (The day I work a few hours, then get to be off until the following Tuesday, the 11th.)
 I am almost ready to forgive the boss and revoke my mean hopes that his wife would be having her Auntie visit on their anniversary weekend. (Yes, I admit that I was really feeling justified in that wish against him. This is why God has plenty to do in correcting my thinking.)

The plan is now that I can go on ahead early- whether flying or driving- and spend a few more days with the kids. Get to meet Grace Remington a few days earlier. If I get to drive early, I can pick up Alana and we can spend some time together- though I am sure she would have a very grand time being the center of her Grumpaw's attention if he insists that he would rather I fly and he drive. (We need to get that figured out so I can let Jennifer know!)

Meanwhile, I am pretty excited.
The last TWO days have been remarkably light on freight. It was a VERY good thing on Thursday, as I could barely move. I took ibuprofen before work, during my workday, and could tell exactly when that four hour dose wore off every time. Mr C rubbed my back and shoulders with Theragesic.
Most everyone knows how I hate to be rubbed or massaged at all... yet actually asked him to put the stuff on me, on three occasions! Today, I am back to just being normally sore from being 'older' and out of condition. (Notice I didn't say, "out of shape". Round IS a shape.)

Have a blessed evening. Please pray for Tommy and his mission group in Brazil.

Bone Update: No word back from the sheriff's office on the status of the bones I dropped off. But after torrential rains, another, intact, bone washed up. A number of pictures of it are on the Moocrew3 site.

Mental preparation

Half the battle of the hard days at work, is going in mentally prepared. I give myself a pep talk every Thursday morning. Not so much on Wednesdays. Most Wednesdays are quite light on freight. Tuesdays have a lot, restocking and special orders from the weekends, and a LOT of outgoing (battery) cores. Thursdays, oil. Fridays a lot of stock to brace up for the weekend. Saturdays, almost no freight in or out. Wednesdays usually have half a pallet of freight, half a pallet of larger items.
 Today... half a pallet of freight... plus a heaped up pallet of  brake rotors. Almost all of which were new stock to our store.  Also, a co-worker "cleared the special order shelves". He did this by heaping everything pell mell into a giant grocery cart  for someone else to put away. Guess who that someone else is?
This made today a "but first" day.
The rotors had to be worked into the numerical order of our existing stock. There is NO ROOM to simply work it in. So it was decided to move a section of tie-rod ends over one aisle, wrapping that stock onto the next aisle.  That freed up one section for the rotors to expand. But first... I had to move three sections of brakes over. Then the tie rod ends, then get started on the rotors.
Rotors weigh roughly 12 to 40 lbs. each. I worked two 32 ft. aisles. My muscles are screaming at me this afternoon! Tom and Dan sometimes lift weights to muscle exhaustion. Once that hit me, I still had to keep going. I had asked the boss if I could get some help... he said yeah, I was gonna have to have some. But then he didn't send anyone to help, and the ONLY time I got help was when I was unable to lift two of the largest size rotors from a bottom shelf to a top shelf. Even with the ladder.


Once the rotors were worked in, I had the regular freight to put up. I thought it seemed we had quite a few brake pads. I didn't realize until I was putting them up, we also got a large number of new-to-our-store brake pads that ALSO had to be worked in. I saved the grocery cart of freight cleared from the shelves until last, AFTER the shipping and Every Wednesday Price Label Changes. (I have been in charge of them since the last guy was found to have just been throwing them away, discovered when the store failed an audit.)
I took a half hour lunch, and had taken one sit down and wait for ibuprofen to work, break. Put in just a few minutes under a full 8 hours today.
I really need to find a less physical job!

Interesting week

This past week has been "interesting". The biggest news of the week is that Becky had a baby girl on May 7th- two days ago.
Shall we chalk down (or even write in ink!) that our God faithfully answers prayers?
Baby girl Jones was in a VERY good birth position, and Becky's labor went smoothly, quickly, and safely. She had sent a text, time marked at 7:03 Wednesday morning... "Earlyish labor. Kinda picking up though. Should be having a baby today. :)"
At (time stamped) 8:15 am, Stephen called to say, "It's a girl!"
I had been praying on my way to work, all the things mentioned above. (6:15)
Baby girl was 7 lbs., 6 oz. Becky had decided to sit in the bathtub while laboring, as the water seems to help contractions not be so difficult. They had rented a birth pool- a deeper, larger place to contain water- and Stephen was filling it. Becky called out to him, she was feeling a strong urge to push, could he call the midwife to see how long until her arrival?
The urge became undeniable. Two pushes- one for baby's head, the second for delivery!
When Sam called me at work to let me know of baby's arrival, I was shocked. He told me all he knew was it was a girl, no details... and "Mom... the details are still going to be the same when you get home, no need to stress out!" (Midwife missed the birth!) (Very similar to Beckys birth story!)
The first thing that came to mind was "Grace". God's grace at granting such a swift delivery and easy labor. (Apparently, I was the third+ person to say maybe "Grace" should enter the name considerations.)
So, Little Grace Undecided Jones was born 5/7/14. (They still have a middle name under consideration.)
DIL Glynna was telling DGD (dear grand daughter) Nickole that Uncle Becky had a baby girl. Nickole has a new girl cousin. Nickole asked her name. Glynna told her, it was still undecided. Nickole thought the baby's name was "Undecided"! (I have chuckled over that for two days!)
The contenders for a middle name are at the moment: Remington or Sterling. (Becky also likes Daisy, but Grace Daisy doesn't flow well).
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Mr C helped me put in a flower bed across the front of the house. Last night's torrential rains mostly washed out the plantings. But, as we prepared the bed, we found some strange stuff.
https://moocrew3.shutterfly.com/pictures/3982
A bone... looking very much like a human femur. and another (later) that looks like a chunk of shinbone. After mentioning this to friends, it was suggested I report it to authorities. I asked a policeman who came in to work, he suggested the same, while declaring he was thankful it was NOT his jurisdiction. So the bones and ball peen, towel wrapped hammer are with the local police.
An online friend forwarded the photos to her daughter, a forensic anthropologist.
Of course, I am hoping they are animal bones. As I said, finding human remains buried in your yard is something from books and TV... not real life!
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I certainly hope I can fly down to see Becky and the other kids this weekend. Tommy leaves Monday for Brazil. (Natives say Brasil!) Tommy ws HEALED of his stomach ailment over the weekend! I am so grateful!
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Prayers for my friends, the Knight Family. God knows all their woes. He can heal, and comfort, and protect... they need all.
Have a blessed weekend and week. Thanks for reading.

Not a week has passed!

(Aren't you proud of me?)
And I stayed off yesterday when I was furious.
I was angry... make that ANGRY... because my boss called me to the office to INFORM me- not ask- that I was not getting a previously scheduled vacation day. I was not getting it because he suddenly discovered his fifth anniversary was the same weekend I had requested off.
Mr C has to request vacation time in November for ALL of the coming year. Once it is awarded, it is set in stone.

Who knows what is happening next year? Weddings? new babies?

Knowing HIS vacation was unchangeable, I made sure to ask for this time off MONTHS ago, as June tends to get sucked up fast at my job. Vacations are scheduled by writing your name on the calendar for the days you need/ want off.
So I was highly ticked off at being told I was REQUIRED to work the second Saturday of my vacation... meaning I had to travel back on Friday instead of Monday... to work for five hours. Five hours being my SCHEDULED time. I can never stretch the low volume of receiving/ shipping on a Saturday to much more than 3 hours. And that is STRETCHING it. So I have to be back on a Saturday to do three
hours.
The boss failed to see why I was upset.
After all, it is his FIFTH anniversary.
So I got home, expecting Mr C to be as upset as I was.. or at least commiserate.
Nope.
Instead, he can see how important a fifth anniversary is to some people.
Some people not including him, but he can see Boss's desire to make it a special occasion for his wife.
This from the man who refused to even schedule any time off in his vacation planning last November, when reminded that our 30TH anniversary is in August. No big deal. He doesn't want to take time off for that. But oh, yeah, I should rush right back here to work three hours so the boss can be off for his 5th.

 I tried telling my boss I had made plans to see my son whom I have not seen in almost 2 years, that can only have weekend visitors, on the day he wanted me back. He countered that I had the WHOLE previous weekend to take care of that! So I need to travel from NW AR to the coast of Texas on Saturday, and get to see son on Sunday. That's a long drive.
I was in tears. I hate to cry from disappointment, but it happens.
Boss conceded he could let me off a few days earlier... for all the good that did for our plans. Mr C still couldn't leave before the 31st.

After raging for quite some time, I contacted my kids. They said IF I can get a flight down, they can pick me up. And Ben will drive me to see Chris on the 31st. (Flying standby is never a sure thing.)
 Meanwhile, Mr. C will pick up Alana on the 31st and head to Texas.
This leaves Grand daughter Nickole up the creek. She was supposed to get to come see us at the end of May. We have never spent the time with her that she deserves. Our original plans had been made even before we knew she might get to visit. But the new plans totally disrupt even that.

If he had not so totally ruined MY plans, I would be more happy for my boss-child. He is making the effort in his marriage to keep things special with his wife. I wrote him an apology in the wee hours this morning, when I couldn't sleep due to my upset. I DO applaud his efforts. I AM happy for them. And yes, I WILL be there (grumble, grumble grumble) three days earlier than my original plans
to cover those THREE HOURS! (Yes, I admit, I AM still keenly upset).
So few young people these days make the effort to stay together. I put the written apology on his desk this morning... though he won't see it until Monday.

So: Prayer requests: 1) I can get a flight out on the 28th. Standby is always fickle.
 2) God provide abundant finances so that I may leave this job and be able to go see my family at any time they need me.
(3) Baby Jones settle into the optimum birth position, and Becky have a fast labor, easy delivery, and both Mom and Baby do well.
 (4) Paula's health continue to be excellent, in prepping for Baby Coder due in November. - Baby Peaches, as I dreamed!
 (5) My friends who have just learned they are expecting to have a blessed, trouble-free  pregnancy, and healthy full term baby. When They say OK, I can mention names.
(6) I get opportunity to spend quality time with grands that I seldom see- that finances, time off, and  opportunity all converge so these kids know how much we DO love them. ( many of above can be done with God blessing our finances!)

Week Review

This has been some sort of week! Monday, Mr C and I went shopping for a birthday present for his sister, who will be 60 on the 3rd. He thought it would be nice to send her a classy wine assortment. So we went to a wine store, and the clerk helped pick out several bottles. We mentioned they needed shipped to another state.
Got home, and very carefully packed the wine to the bottles wouldn't clink together, so they could withstand rough shipping. I checked the USPS website, and learned wine cannot be shipped through the mail. We carted the box to the nearest FedEx station... and learned from the clerk there, one cannot ship wine. PERIOD. Only authorized wine merchants may ship wine. So I find myself with a number of bottles of some nice varieties of wine. (Hey, my wine usually comes in a box!) We ended up ordering his sister's gift online. Just can't believe the wine clerk failed to mention to us about the shipping regulations! (He must of seen his opportunity for a good commission.)

Then, Tuesday. I was holding up OK at work, refusing to let myself fall apart. Then the boss arrived, and turned on the radio. Just in time for the day's Celebrity Birthday list. He mentioned it was "Uma Thurman's birthday... famous for her roles in the Kill Bill movies".
That did me in.
I eventually got a grip, and finished up at work. I kept trying to think of something to do in memorial. Letting a helium balloon go crossed my mind. I know several people who do that. To me, it just seemed like a waste of money. I know Bill wouldn't really get the balloon(s), and if it were the thought that counts, he would already know. What I did instead was to use money I would of spent on a gift for Bill, and got a few treats for Chris and put a few dollars to his account. It seemed like something Bill would have approved.
Later in the afternoon, Chris called me. We had a good chat. It isn't often he calls, as it does cost a bit. That day it was something both of us needed.
I had some of the fine Adult Beverage that Tom's sister was not getting.

I went to bed early, and got up all ready to take on "Oil Day" at work. (I psyche myself up for the several extra pallets of freight we get on Oil Day.) Walked in the door... to see one measly little pallet of freight... and no oil! What the heck? Did they change Oil delivery Day on us and forget to tell me?
Um, no.
Oil Day is every Thursday. It was only Wednesday. Duh!

Today was actually Oil Day. And it was very light... so I was done well before my scheduled hours were up. I used the time to organize one of the worst areas of  back room freight. I am so glad to have that done!
Oh, another fun thing happened on Monday. While Tom and I were out and about, I asked if I could start a flower garden somewhere in the yard. Tom agreed. He did veto my choice of areas, but I am fine where he wants it. He even sprayed grass/ weed killer to start getting the area ready. A few hours later, UPS showed up. I got a box of plant bulbs as an early Mother's day gift from Becky. I had no idea I was getting something that needed planting- I hadn't decided what I wanted in my flower bed, just knew I wanted one!
The bulbs are patiently waiting the ground to be prepped. I have to wait 7 days from the day the killer stuff was sprayed.
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Thank you to my friend JoAnne. I received a card from her today, and it really blessed me.