Well, it is Saturday, and things are happnin' again. Today I went to get my hair done for the last time in Newburgh. I really like the way this girl has done my hair. She has now gotten my hair to the point where she was going with it when I first went to her in July. It is cute. She has toned down the "red" and it is more blunt cut in the back and more fashionable, I think. She cut me some bangs, like Kelly's new bangs. (I asked for them, although I didn't calI them "Kelly's bangs". ) She colored it too and it only cost $67, which is way down from the $135 it costs in Houston. This, of course is Newburgh, and things are a bit slower down here. even the price of a really good hair cut.

People are telling me "Good bye" all over the town. The cleaners lady, Starbucks, the butcher and the local Walgreens' staff and today while I was at Reflections (the beauty shop) Dr. Detail, the car detail place owner, came over to tell me good bye. It is so sweet. These people have sort of "adopted' me and they appear genuinely sorry to see me go. Dr. Detail, whom I call "Doctor" , came over to talk to me for a while to let me know what is going on in his life with his former nutty wife who stole his children for three years and whose exploits were documented on America's Most Wanted. After he told me his story, I told him I would be praying for him. (Its like he wanted to spill his soul to me before I left. He had never shared personal things with me in the past.) He hugged me tightly and asked, "When are you coming back?" This is so sweet. They all want to know when am I coming back.

Michael is dong better. His arm still hurts, but not anywhere like it has. It is not gone, but much improved. We had an enjoyable conversation this afternoon. I can tell he is realizing that my time here is drawing to a close and actually , today is our last time to be able to talk as mother and son. He said, "Mother, do you want to watch a movie tonight?" This is the ultimate "invite" from him I believe.

I made us some soup with stew meat from the butcher and vegetables and tomato soup as the broth. This morning I fixed sausages and scrambled eggs with cheese. I left it on the stove, because my hair appt. was at 8am and Michael was not up when I left. He finished the eggs as we were having our little "conversation". He thanked me for breakfast and for the soup. He told me how much he appreciated all that I have done while I have been here. He cited the things I have done, he didn't just say thank you for all the "things" you have done. It was nice and sort of humbling for me. After all, he is my son, and I feel this all has been a gift of an opportunity for me to be able to be "needed" by my son for one more time in his life and in my life. My "time" for being really "needed" by my son has long passed. After all, he is 42. Thank you, Lord, for this gift.

A man is coming by later on today to give an estimate for hauling off all of the stuff from the construction that has been going on here. As usual, he aint here yet.

My goal is to be able to wrap all of the gifts for the children before the end of the day. After all, this is the only time I will have because the children will return tomorrow. I am going to meet their mother half-way to pick them up tomorrow at 3. Pray for a safe trip for us. I should be returned to Newburgh, by 5 or 6, hopefully by 5.

Excitement is starting to build within me, as the time draws near for the boys' return. I am trying to get good sleep in right now because I don't know what sleep will be like when they return. Did I tell you that they told me they stayed up until 2a.m. the first night back with their mother? This is the usual course of events when they are living with their mother. After staying up until 2a.m they got up and went to school to see it for the first time. I have mentioned in past blogs about the fact that I believed Brendan had not ever established healthy sleep patterns. It appears that the old routine is back in place. I know their mother has told me that her apartment is three stories and the boys will have the third story. Because if this setup, I believe that they will have to discipline themselves to get to bed at a regular time. The mother appears to be acting more like a "peer" to them rather than a parent figure who sets guidelines based on what is best for a child., From what both have said tome, they stay up together often to watch their pg 13 movies together an have pillow fights and eat pizza and candy and popcorn. Alas, we have tried for these past 6 months to set some standards. Now it is up to the boys to maintain this. They are 10,9, and 7. Oh well. We will pray.

I continue to be using and needing the walker to get around. I am able to walk without it in the mornings for about 5 to 6 steps and then I get the walker so I don't aggravate my left knee any more than I have to. I hope to be able to go to church tomorrow for the last time and go to Bible class too. I will have to use the walker. This will be hard to navigate the walk to the church and maneuver the building. "Pride" will be the thing that might prevent me from attending. Knowing that "pride" is a sin, will help me overcome my pride and not let sin keep me from fellowship with my fellow believers. I will go. I will get up early so I can have the necessary time to get where I need to go without a lot of attention being drawn to me. A walker is a real attention getter. Alas.

I have been watching the weather forecast for all of the cities that line my pathway home. The temperatures should all be above freezing so, although I will be passing snow, it shouldn't be on the roads. As I get further south, the temps rise and it looks cold, but clear driving. I will not leave if the roads on any part of my journey are iced. Trust me. I will not do anything foolish.

I will close now and try to gather the gifts I have purchased for the boys and get all of the items needed for wrapping gifts together so I can begin the wrapping process and experience the completion of today's goal.

May God richly bless you, my loved ones. jk