February 7 - “Probate Court Day”

Probate Court Day. This was definitely a new one for me. We had to meet up with the probate lawyer at 8:45 to go into court at 9. It was finally time to move forward one more step toward getting Sam’s will taken care of. 

Mixed emotions here. I was so glad to be getting this stage over with, but kind of apprehensive about how to go about all the next steps, like combining accounts, distributing assets, paying bills, and the like. Oh well. There’s always YouTube. Oh! My fake knee set off the metal detector. Had to make a memorable entrance. 

From there we made our way back downtown. Had to drop off a check at Edward Jones. And afterwards, since we still had time on the meter, we walked over to a nautical themed antique shop that was going out of business. Found us a handrail from a ship. Now on the to do list? Making it fit in our bathroom.

‭‭2 Chronicles‬ ‭15‬:‭7‬ ‭says, But as for you, be strong; don’t be discouraged, for your work has a reward.

Father, help us as we now walk through the tangled web of executor-ing. Amen. 

February 6 - “Classics of hilarity”

I received a text early yesterday morning from our friend Helen. She just wanted to tell me about the fire in her apartment building the night before. It sounded pretty scary, and they even had to return later to deal with some more hot spots that flared up, but she commended the fire fighters on their work. Way to go, guys. As always, I am proud of you. 

With that inspiration upon us, how could we not take a walk? And we even made it the whole two miles. Good thing, too. Today I have to be at the Probate Court at 8:45. Finally getting the Sam’s will thing on the road. 

We had a special guest for the afternoon. Ezra came over to hang out while his mom and sister helped set up a venue for a big t-do tonight. We binge-watched several episodes of Floor is Lava and Wipeout. Yep. Classics of hilarity on Netflix. 

Last night we went out to the church. We were beginning a special emphasis on prayer and spent about an hour doing just that - praying. God just may be getting ready to do something at Seaside!

Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭16‬ ‭says, I say then, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.

Father, please go before us at this probate hearing today. Amen. 

February 5 - “From there”

Yesterday morning we set aside for a trip to our financial consultant. It was our annual review, but we also had a few other questions. One was about what to do when an IRA reaches maturity. The other had to do with procedures after I become executor of Sam’s estate. Our guy was a big help, as usual. Glad we found him. 

From there we actually drove around downtown Galveston for a while. We don’t get there often. So we decided to search for the Cordray’s shop. They do a tv show on the Magnolia Network. Check it out sometime. All about them redoing homes in our fair city. As it turned out, it was a good thing we were still in the neighborhood. We got a call saying we still had one more paper to sign. Easy enough to stop back by. In fact, we even pulled into the same parking place and didn’t have to pay again. Nice. 

From there we had a very special treat. We used one of our gift cards to have a very nice lunch at Saltgrass Steak House. The food is always great there. Generally feeds us for at least two meals. Thank you bunches to whoever gave us that gift card. 

From there we went to Walmart. No. We didn’t need bananas this time. Instead we picked up some party game prize items from our incredibly generous Super Bowl advertisers. The party must feel real. 

From there we went by the bank to finish up financial stuff, at least for the day. We ended up having to wait for them to figure out how to do a rollover to a different IRA account. Gotta be patient. 

And from there it was back home. Well, until … from there, we headed up to LaPorte to watch Cailyn play some soccer. Well, that was the plan, anyway. And we did watch her for most of the first half. She was amazing, of course. But we didn’t see much of anything the second half. Dense fog rolled in and a distinct chill accompanied it. More than half of the field was shrouded in Twilight Zone quality eeriness. I’m talking … at one point we heard the goalie yell, “I can’t see anything!”  

I’m not sure whether the fog or the chill affected the referee more, but he was certainly, well, bad. Both ways. He threw at least seven yellow cards. Those were just the ones we could see. No telling what he did over in the Twilight Zone Fog. Fans from both sides were in agreement that he was … shall we say … overzealous. As it turned out, the game ended in a tie, 1-1. The drive home wasn’t nearly as foggy as the one there, though. We made it. 

‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭3‬:‭8‬-‭9‬ says, Now finally, all of you should be like-minded and sympathetic, should love believers, and be compassionate and humble, not paying back evil for evil or insult for insult but, on the contrary, giving a blessing, since you were called for this, so that you can inherit a blessing.

Father, thank you for the folks in our lives who can help out with all the finance stuff. Bless them. Amen. 

February 4 - “Getting back”

We had been thinking about heading up to Waco yesterday. We wanted to watch Caleb play basketball on Monday and Luke on Tuesday. However, upon consultation with Waco health officials (aka Josh), we determined that it would be better to wait a little longer and give everyone up there plenty of time to fully recover from the flu bug that has been plaguing their household. Nope. Can’t have that. Places to go, things to see, and all that. 

Speaking of getting back in shape for our next excursion … we walked again yesterday. Outside. Only went a mile and a half though. Almost starting from scratch after our month-long winter weather hiatus. 

The rest of the day was quiet. Chris went outside and trimmed back her plants that were “affected” by the cold weather. I spent a good deal of time preparing for our Super Bowl commercials party coming up this Sunday. Lots of research and then making copies for the games. We did have time to watch part of a movie. Titanic. Remember that one?

James‬ ‭1‬:‭17‬ ‭says, Every generous act and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights; with Him there is no variation or shadow cast by turning.

Father, thanks for the warm weather. It’s getting to be more like home. Amen. 

February 3 - “Groundhog vs. Sand crab”

Simon the Sand Crab squared off against Punxsutawney Phil the groundhog to reveal to the world which would be the top weather forecaster of the new year. 

Simon faced an “official” prediction of 55 degrees and clear (after the National Weather Service had already issued a dense fog warning). Punxsutawney Phil, on the other hand, saw a prediction of 18 degrees and cloudy. So which would it be?  

Well, the results are in. Old Phil officially saw his shadow. Dove back into his hole in abject terror. Six more weeks of winter, at least for Poor Old Pennsylvania. Sorry, weather service. Phil’s decision trumps yours. 

Simon had to wait another hour or so to make his prediction for Galveston. Island time is a bit more relaxed than that of America, you know? When he finally crept out from his sandy burrow, he, too, was met with sunny skies. Ah, but here’s where Simon is different from Phil. Si’s eyes are on top of his head, so he can’t see his shadow, anyway. And on top of that, Simon likes the sunshine. He can more effectively scurry about the sand, searching for whatever scraps it is that sand crabs enjoy feasting upon.  So his report? Bring it on, Summer! Er, OK, OK. Stick a week or so of Spring in there first. But then, Bring it on, Summer!

Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭11‬ says, Give us today our daily bread.

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Father, thank you for the sunshine and the warmth that it brings. Kinda like a hug from above. Amen. 

February 2 - “Acid Coke and Deadly Dawn”

We split up a bit yesterday morning. Chris had a baby shower to attend in Dickinson. I generously offered to stay home. While she oohed and aahed (or however you spell those), I spent the time working on the Bible study for Thursday night. I also took the truck for a little spin to make sure the battery stays charged up. 

There was one other thing I attempted. I heard somewhere that the best thing for cleaning grout and killing mold is … drumroll here … a mixture of coke and the dishwashing liquid, Dawn. It sounded good to me. After all, Dawn kills fleas. And Coke is, well, pure acid. I mixed up a batch and tried it out on our shower. Even added some good, old-fashioned elbow grease. Honestly, I didn’t see much difference. Sigh. The treacherous duo of Acid Coke and Deadly Dawn kinda let me down. 

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭4‬:‭16‬ says, Therefore let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us at the proper time.

Father, be with Kelly as she gets closer to her due date. Keep baby Jesse safe. Amen. 

February 1 - “A bit of history?”

I went outside early to grab the newspaper. I have to confess, I may have looked to the skies - well, at least to the treetops - as I exited the front door. No paper in the trees, however. A second glance found the paper. There it was, nestled comfortably in its usual bed of winter clover growth - UNDER the crepe myrtle tree. 

After perusing the news, we hit the road for Texas. Chris had an appointment for her yearly mammogram at the Victory Lakes branch of UTMB. speaking of Victory Lakes, I learned that the area now hosting the hospital and a myriad of major developments used to be owned by none other than Salaam ben Laden, half brother to the infamous Osama. That was long ago when the land held nothing but a tiny local airport. Interesting little tidbit of history. Of course that very well could also be naught but unverified Facebook drivel. 

Oh! All looked fine on the mammogram. At least, all they said was, “See you next year.”

After a quick lunch we finished out our errands for the day. The bank for some as-yet unanswered questions. CVS pharmacy for some specialty vitamins for Chris (the only place in town that carries them, but they wouldn’t accept the coupon we had). Randall’s for some gas and to pick up a few prescriptions (which were free, if you can believe that). And finally … Walmart. Yep. Bananas. Well, and milk. So two key staples. 

Oh! And last night we went to Cailyn’s soccer game. She played the whole game on defense and of course did a fantastic job. And to top it off, the good guys won 3-1. Woohoo!

‭‭Romans‬ ‭1‬:‭16‬ ‭says, For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek.

Father, thanks for the good news on the mammogram front. Amen.