My little brother was all boy.  He loved Hot Wheel cars, to play in the dirt and to play ball, any kind of ball. Sometimes he got his mouth washed out with soap for saying "bad words." 

He loved to rearrange furniture, even staying during  recess and  moving the piano all by himself (in kindergarten!) because he didn't like where it was. It's funny he would care about the piano because he hated music.  He especially hated movies that were musicals.  Every time the cast would burst into song, he would groan, roll his eyes, and question, "why do they have to sing all the time?"

He also was very truthful and would tell on himself.  This was quite amusing to me when he told on himself, but not so funny when his confessions included ... well, me!

Once, my cousins, Jack and Micki, came over with their parents to visit us.  Immediately we headed upstairs, leaving the parents drinking coffee and yakking downstairs. There was something that we kids loved to do but it was forbidden.  Mom had a walk-in closet upstairs that we loved turning into a fort.  It had a sloping ceiling that followed the roofline.  One side of the closet was 8 feet tall, the opposite side was 3 feet tall.

There was something about going into the bowels of that closet that made you feel that it was "secret headquarters."  No one would be able to find you there!  Given my previously mentioned love of spying and  secret agents, it just felt right to hunker down in there.  Added to that guilty pleasure was the fact that there were rows of baskets of clothes - perfect for disguises!

It didn't take long for the closet to become a disaster area when just my brother and I were playing in there, hence the rule about not playing in the closet. I want to be clear - we knew better to play in there.  Jack and Micki did too.

They say that rules are made to be broken.  We didn't waste time playing other stuff - all four of us headed immediately for the closet.  We had a great time and played for hours up there.  It should have been a sign to our parents that we were up to no good when we disappeared and didn't bug them.

FOR TODAY, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13TH

Outside my window...a wintry day.  We've 100% chance of a wintry mix of precipitation this evening.

I am thinking...tomorrow would be a wonderful day to stay home!

I am thankful...to be able to breathe through my nose.  You don't realize what a blessing this is until you can't do it.

In the kitchen... pinto beans in the crockpot.

I am wearing...black pinstripe pants, black double-breasted jacket, coral cami, and black boots.  I've got the crystal and gray beads and earrings on that Liss gave me for Christmas.

I am creating...a bible lesson on Psalm 8.

I am going...to go run errands in a few minutes before it starts to snow.

I am reading...nothing right now ... time to get a new book from the library.

I am hoping...for a mighty move of God in our church SOON.

I am looking forward to...the 24th.  We are going to a concert and out to dinner with our friends, Wayne and Glenda.

I am pondering...what our church can do to minister to the less-fortunate.  I know we are a very small group, but we can still make a difference.

A favorite quote for today: 

"Just as love for God begins with listening for His word, so the beginning of love for the brethren is learning to listen to them." Dietrich Bonhoffer

One of my favorite things...a good hair day.

A few plans for the rest of the week: studying for presenting a bible lesson Wednesday, a  board meeting Thursday, planning for worship music both services on Sunday as Brenda will be out of town this weekend.

A peek into my day...

Today's prompt from Writer's Workshop:  1.) Who was at your front door? (inspired by fat mum slim)

As I thought about this prompt, I realized that most of the time, I know who is at my door.  In today's culture, more than likely if you are going to someone's house, you call first.  At least that is how I do things, and most my friends call before coming as well.  I'm a big believer in greeting my guests with a smile and / or hug and I am usually right there as soon as the car pulls into the driveway.

I began to think of times when I didn't know someone was coming. Surprise visitors, so to speak, who came and knocked at my door. And then I remembered ...

A few months after our wedding, my husband had to go away for training for his job.  He was going to be gone for about a week. It seemed a good time because during that same week, I was starting a new job. The only thing was that I was a little leery of spending the evenings alone.  (What can I say?  I was a child bride.)

I decided to ask my cousin Renda (my readers will know her as the girl in the horsefly story) to spend the week at my house.  Renda was still in high school, and I'm not sure what protection I thought she might be in the case of burglars or bumps-in-the night, but she agreed to hang out with me.

After a couple of days, my house began to get messy.  My thinking was:  "hey, the hubby is not home, I am working a new job, I don't feel like cleaning the house."  Renda and I would snack and then pile our dishes in the sink.

One evening in particular, Renda was watching a ball game on television, I was reading.  The house was a wreck. I remember looking around and thinking, "After I finish this book, I'm going to clean this pig-pen up."

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.  I went over to the door, opened it, saw who was there, and slammed it shut again. I thought, "I must be dreaming!  That can't be Toni. I haven't even heard from her lately." I opened the door again, peaked out, and sure enough, it WAS Toni.  Toni, my bestie, who lived 1000 miles away, was standing on my doorstep. "Well, gee, aren't you going to let me in?"

I was dumbfounded, "But how did you get here?"  (The nearest airport was 2 hours away.)

"Your Uncle Sammy picked me up," she told me as she came in.

I turned and there was Renda, all packed up and ready to leave. Turns out the whole family was in on the secret.

After I got over the shock and surprise, we had a wonderful time of fun and girl-talk for the next couple of days.

Moral of the story - always do the dishes and keep the house picked up.  You never know who might drop in!