"And the Thunder Rolls. . ."

The duo at the police officer park memorial. . .It took a bit of effort to get this one photo!

Jonathan was really proud of his Nevada project.

Jonathan and the group before their performance of "American Tears"

The swollen Emory River by the park

We received the picture CD this week of Tori's pre-school pictures taken in late March. Of course she is full of "sweetness" and the cutie-pie factor in these photos. We often don't make picture day at her preschool because she only goes one day a week. I was glad we made this one because we were very pleased with the results.

About an hour ago, when I started composing this post, we had just experienced a full-blown storm with buckets of rain coming down and claps of thunder that vibrated your soul. Yep, we are now under a flood warning, and boy are we dealing with water, lots of water!

I really don't think that the flood of water that we found beneath the house this morning would have been much of an issue if we hadn't had another problem this week. I really hate to talk about this because it makes me queasy when I think about it, but we had a dead opossum under the house. Oh my, deliver me! Anyway, it messed with our sump pump, so when the rain fell, the water flowed beneath the house. You would think that living in a "city," we would be immune to these critters. Now we have no hot water or air conditioning in the old part of the house until we get things dried out a bit more, so the pilot light can be lit. Hopefully, my dad can work his magic tomorrow and get us up and running again.

This was just the icing on the cake to the end of a crazy week. Can you say exhausted? That is the mutual feeling felt around the Whaley household this time of the year. With J's, C's, and C's school/work events, I feel that we eat, sleep, and breathe school and work. I get worn out all over again just thinking about it!

This week was an experience for sure. Starting out on Tuesday, my Aunt Sarah passed out from low blood pressure issues, and when she did, she essentially broke her neck. Of course when they discovered it later in the afternoon, they shipped her stat to UT Hospital Trauma Unit. She is still in the hospital right now, and much to my mom's and my dismay, we have yet to speak directly to a hospital social worker. We know that they are thinking she needs therapy and to be sent to a facility to help her with her walking. But with several strikes against her, she won't ever be rehabilitated. We don't want her to be shoved into a nursing home again. . .She certainly wouldn't thrive there. We really want her to be back in her assisted living with nurses and aids who know her and how to care for her. So please be in prayer for my Aunt Sarah once again. . .and for my mom, too.

Going on with our week, J has had some neat projects to do for school. He did a research project on the state of Nevada for social studies. He also had a project to complete and turn in for math where he did some "action" research and formulated the results into a bar graph. As you know, when they are assigned these type of projects, it takes the cooperation of the whole household. However, one consolation to these end-of-the-year projects is the decline in normal homework. We have all enjoyed that reprieve!!! J also enjoyed going skating at the local roller rink Tuesday night with all the 4th and 5th grade thanks to the generosity of the school's PTO. They were even treated to pizza and snacks! He had a great time building on his roller skating skills. Chris was a trooper to go with him, while Tori and I stayed home to do chores and rest a bit.

As Chris has been wrapping up all the work that is done at the end of the semester and at graduation time, I have been doing the same. I am desperately trying to finish all my novels with my seniors and The Crucible with my junior class. For some reason, I am behind where I usually am this time of the year, and it is really bugging me. But, at least the Prom is over (It was last night.), and we can get back to business at hand tomorrow.

Tori has had a pretty good week despite some really grouchy moments, especially targeted at her brother. Sometimes Chris and I have been in the firing line. Oh, I really can't wait until her pre-teen and teenage years. . .NOT! Sweetness is her primary choice of weapon, but that spicy disposition can really win the battle at times. It's kind of like seeing me sometimes. . .a bit scary!!!

This weekend, we participated as usual in the community-wide yard sale. Audrey came and brought her loot. Together we did pretty well, and we were busy the whole time. Then the rain came. . .

Yep, we have had some major thunderstorms since yesterday. West and Middle Tennessee have had some major flooding and destructive storms, and so now we are getting some of that here. In fact, with the 12 plus inches in some areas in the Nashville area, some of the interstates and major roads are flooded. One video the local news continues to air is of a portable classroom, floating and falling apart near a major section of highway/interstate. Several records have been broken in these areas for the amount of rainfall in such a short amount of time. The stations are reporting deaths and loss of property and homes. Please be in prayer for our fellow Tennesseans as they try to recover from all the destruction and loss.

Today, thankfully, the weather subsided long enough for J to perform with some other students from his school and another elementary school in the county at Riverfront Park. Back in April 2009, we had a native Roane Countian die in the line of duty as a police officer in Florida. All the Roane County officers and city officers gathered together to remember him and his family. The students sang a special song in his memory called "American Tears." I don't think that there were many dry eyes during their excellent performance. I know that as a mom, my heart went out to that officer's mother. At the same time, my heart was full of pride for my son, who sang with tenderness, those powerful lyrics. A big "Thank You" once again to Mrs. Dickerson for giving our children the opportunity to perform at such a meaningful event.

Well, that was our week. We have another busy one ahead, as they are all that way this month. So to our fans, my plan this month is to do at least one post a week. I am hoping for that, anyway!

Have a great week ahead. Let's hope for blue skies and sunny days ahead. . .Hey, if not, I may be posting the next time aboard an ark!

Much love,
Cindy