Just a quick note of thanks, and a note of silliness...

I just wanted to convey my gratitude to those of you I sent a prayer request to earlier this evening. It is just prime fire weather, and when you hear a news blip on the radio of an out-of-control grassland fire sparked by lightning basically in a friend's pasture your heart just stops. I never did get in touch with those friends, but I am sure they are fine. Unfortunately, 4 families did lose their homes and outbuildings this evening. Eaten up by the flames. The bright spot is that no human, pet, or livestock souls were lost or injured.

It is a relief that this fire was naturally caused. Fires DO have a good place in the ecosystem, despite being difficult to stomach when lives are in the line of those flames. Sadly, a great number of people out there have no interest in keeping those around them safe. They are the ones who disregard the rules so they don't have to keep a cigarette butt in their vehicle for a few more miles. They are the ones who will burn trash on a red flag day. They are the ones who make the fire danger truly a danger. It angers me. When nature combusts on its own, it's God telling us he needs to fix a patch of land. When man interferes and destroys due to negligence, even God has to be shaking his head.

On a sidenote, I spent the day cleaning out my little boy's toys, clothes, and blankets. I've done bits and pieces over the past 2 years, but it's been difficult. I never understood how difficult it could be to let go of your little one's littleness until I had to take part! I'm one of those weenies who always manages to shed a few tears when it comes time to clean the closet of outgrown clothing to make room for what now fits. That's nothing compared to finally relinquishing the bouncy chair, receiving blankets, baby toys, and crib accessories!

Funny, actually, that the crib stuff would gain such an emotional response from me. My boy spent, oh, maybe a total of 3 days in the thing! Not exactly. He may not have spent much sleeping time in the crib due to co-sleeping with me, but he did play in there a bit. The attachment was silly because there really wasn't that much time with the darned thing, and it is currently stored in the basement.

I'm not done cleaning out. There are more things in the closet. I'm grateful the things are going to be put to use by a friend who has stepped up to a delicate family situation, but it's still difficult. The result INSIDE the bedroom, however, is pretty dramatic! Who knew there was so much space in that little room? This is just the first step in changing the whole appearance. There is one spot on the wall currently dedicated to paint samples. They're taped up in a hodge-podge manner that actually seems to create an interesting piece of artwork, all in an effort to find the two perfect shades of blue and brown. While I will be keeping the clouds on the ceiling, the green and yellow nursery shades will soon be traded for those of a little boy's haven.

We found it serendipitous that the nursery was perfect because when we looked at this house. We didn't have to do anything! It was so neutral! Given that we didn't know, and didn't want to know what our baby's sex was until it made its appearance into the world, neutral was important. And it saved me a TON of work that I didn't need to be thinking of at that time. But it makes me sad and weepy all over again to know that perfect little room, the one that helped us know THIS was the house we needed, will no longer be gleefully awaiting a tiny bundle of joy....