We have had an interesting week so far- "fun" may not be the most accurate description, but my head definitely feels "whirled"!

Things were fine until Wednesday morning. Tom was in Tennessee, we were in our usual routine. Our arrangement was that on Wednesday and Friday Verity drives to school in the car we share, since those are my days off. She was running a little behind, and as usual when my kids leave the house, I whispered a little prayer for her safety.  Not too long after that, I heard sirens, which made my heart sink. A few minutes went by and then the phone rang, which really alarmed me. It was Verity, sobbing, telling me she had been in an accident. Thankfully THANKFULLY Candace was home. We threw ourselves together and went to the scene, about a block or so from our house. What a heart-stopper to see your child on a backboard, with a neck brace, with firemen, EMS, police, people stopped and out of their cars standing all around her. Verity hadn't seen a pickup to her left, and after pulling out to turn left, was hit hard. According to witnesses the car (Olds Alero) was spun around two or three times. The driver of the truck and Verity were bundled into an ambulance, and I rode with them.

After being looked over by the doctor, the driver of the pickup and Verity both are okay, with understandable aches and pains. He got some x-rays, but Verity didn't need any. On a side note- a couple of the student nurses in the ER were graduates from our school; it was nice to see some familiar faces (Danielle Wooley, Christina Scott). Verity was told to take it easy, and that she should stay home from school the rest of that day and yesterday.

I can't thank Candace enough for how much help she was. She arranged for the car to get hauled away, and got the advice of her boyfriend Chad and his dad who told us where to take it- I had no clue where it should go, that is a guy thing. Chad's dad is in the car biz- he knows his stuff. She also took us to run some errands afterwards, and got us home.

Just from looking at Verity at the scene, I was thankful to see that there weren't any obvious injuries. The airbags really made a difference, and they probably caused most of her discomfort- she had some abrasions on her upper arms from the bags deploying. But the alternative is something I don't want to think about. We are so thankful that she wasn't hit in the door- that would have been so much worse. We are marveling at the grace that was shown to her and us.

The damage to the car is on the front- everything was pretty much torn off the front. I saw our fire chief carrying the license plate- only the THIRD time that plate has been in a wreck, Sam gave it a couple of workouts a few years ago. We are sad about the car- it had given us amazing service- never needed any major repairs, even at 234,000 miles, Tom's former travel car. We will have to find something to replace it, so we will be beginning to figure that out today,Tom is leaving for a week's meeting tomorrow. He would like to see if the Alero can be fixed somehow, but that seems pretty doubtful. With both airbags deployed, it would cost more than the car is worth just to fix them.

Yesterday we had torrential rains- I don't know how many inches we had. I had to go on basement alert, and kept close watch on it, ended up going to Sump Pump Def-Con Code 2  (have to use two to keep up with the inflow- I just made up that emergency code to make it sound more dramatic). 

With the wreck and the rain, and Tom being out of town, I just had to start finding the humor in it- who needs to watch sit-coms when real life has so many twists and turns?

It was nice to see Mom and Dad- they stayed with us Tues night through Thursday morning. They had doctor appointments most of the day in St. Louis on Wednesday. I guess we know how to make things exciting for them when they come to visit!

We have a lot of blessings- so much to be thankful for!!!  Verity will go back to school today with a new story to tell, and a hard lesson learned. The rain is dwindling down to just sprinkling this morning. Tom is home safe, he got home yesterday about noon. We have a beautiful new grandchild to look forward to- should be here in a couple of weeks. We got a sneak peek at him/her on Grace's xanga site- www.xanga.com/Mahalaleel

God is good...understatement.

Here is some news to share with the fam-

Verity was very pleased to uphold Woody family tradition and came away with a Senior Award! She was voted "Most Artistic"! (no surprise there!!). Yay, Verity!! I was going to post just one picture, but couldn't decide which one I liked better.

For the record, her siblings received the following Senior Awards

Wendy-Most Talented

Abby- Most Likely to Succeed

Grace- Class Clown

Sam- Most Athletic

Candace-Most Talented, Most Likely to Succeed

Last Sunday, which was a beautiful day in all kinds of ways, was the weekend we had Wade Stanley at Prince Road as our guest speaker. He brought with him lovely wife Janeane and daughter Rosie. We were so happy to see them, and hear good lessons from Wade. Tom happened to be home this past weekend, which made it even nicer!

Brother Wade and Brother Tom indulge in introspective video mesmerizement.

Circle of Love. Rosie was just about to do what all little girls do with their dresses.

Alexandria was both fascinated and repulsed by this fine spider specimen.

Acorn gathering became the activity of the day after the basket dinner was over.

Looks as if the official federal acorn inspector showed up (Chad)

Quinn and Corbin add to their acorn stash.

Lana Kay and the Catch of the Day!

Isaac was feeling pretty acorn-rich with the help of Aunt Candace.

I think...this is a grasshopper being shown to Alexandria by Cousin Brad (once removed).

Alexandria helping out groundskeeper Uncle Dace.

Aaron and Tom working out some sort of electronic problem prior to afternoon service.

Vonna and Gene Brush in the background find something to smile about.

I don't have anything to say relating to any tomato product- It is just interesting that those three words in the title line all sound the same, but are spelled differently.

But I DO have some "catching-up" to do- seems to be a common theme for xanga-ers here recently. We have been gradually mesmerized by facebook's siren song. You start out innocently enough- just leaving little thoughts here and there, making friends, occasionally playing a game of word twist or two. I am now a dedicated farmer and got 'lured' by Grace and Kevin into having a fish tank.

Meanwhile my blog languishes- and to my aghastment- I did NOT compose a happy birthday post for Verity on Sunday. It was super busy, but I do feel badly that I slipped there.

I must say that I am very grateful that xanga stepped up and got with the program. They now allow those of us with Vista to batch load pictures, and the video loader has had its kinks ironed out. Much, much better!

I am going to have to go back....back...back...to August when I took the VERY last first day of school picture.

Verity- first day of school 2009 SENIOR!!!!!

Are you ready for your closeup?

Sure!

Hmmmm.....wide awake and ready to roll!

Double Birthday Party- Saturday, September 26, 2009

Tom and Verity have been celebrating their birthdays together for several years. Tom's is on September 21, and Verity's is on the 27th. She was due on Tom's birthday, but like the rest of our kids, dawdled past the due date- but she wasn't too much overtime, thankfully.

We missed family members who wanted to be there at the party, but couldn't. Sam was in Tennessee- he had just been out the previous weekend, passing through on his way to the Brookfield meeting, where he spoke for 80 minutes (that was the length of his assigned spot). I heard that he did a good job- gratifying to hear! Abby and Brian are still settling into their nest. Grace couldn't make it out because she is counting the few weeks left until we get to meet the newest Morton, Lord willing. Jason had to work.

Following are some videos and pictures to let them almost feel as if they were here with us.

We have all been wondering what was in the package from Martha Lee. It got to our house earlier in the week, and we had been looking at it, knowing that there was something really neat inside.

Oh, how cute!!!  Verity LOVES LOVES LOVES anything Japanese- and here are these two neat dolls!

Verity has them on her room shelves now. Martha is always so good about remembering birthdays.

(Martha's is October 6th- coming right up, FYI)

I have some pictures and videos of Wade Stanley Sunday- but I will save those for another post- won't wear folks out.

And for those wondering how Tom is getting along- we say thankfully, prayerfully, that he feels good, and is going about doing his normal tasks. He is still having a little trouble with his back. He has been going to a chiropractor regularly now- I think it has been at least a couple of months, maybe more, and that seems to have helped. Tom thinks that he is just getting old and creaky- probably arthritis in his back. He has nights where he can sleep all through the night sometimes without being awakened by the discomfort.

Our birthday gifts to each other this year were bicycles (mine is 3 weeks before Tom's). We have been enjoying riding around town, and running errands on them. The exercise is good for us both, and has seemed to help Tom with his back. Before our nice weather ends, I would really like to find a day to load them up and take advantage of one of the really nice bike trails we have in this area.

We are awed by the power of prayer, and give God the glory for his mercy to us, allowing Tom to continue to serve as an evangelist. We have heard from so many who tell us that they have been praying for Tom-from the soft whispered prayers of children who are just learning to talk to God, to those who have been in conversation with the Maker over the long course of their lifetimes.

Happy 53rd Birthday Tom!

Tom Woody, Junior, North Kansas City High School.

Well- ALL of the grandkids are the apple of my eye, but we only happened to have one visiting with us this afternoon "helping" with the windfall apples.

He was dumfounded to find out that apples grow on trees at grandma's house. We do take that for granted, but looking through their eyes- how neat is it to just go out and find food in the yard???

Later story:

Calvin was yakking away in the back seat on the way to church. He is a talker. One of the topics covered was a recent trip to a hotel in Tuscola, IL. Evidently there was an Amish restaurant next door in the shape of a barn.

He said *several times* "then we walked over to the barn and eated"

I thought to myself, maybe there was no time like the present to have good grammar habits, so I gently re-said his sentence back to him, "then we walked over to the barn and ate."

"No, grammaw, we walked over to the barn and eated."

"Calvin, how about, we walked over to the barn and ate?"

"No, we eated"

"Ate"

"Eated"

"Ate"

"GRAMMAW- ATE IS A NUMBER!!!!"

(He had me over a barrel there! )

I have been under the radar for awhile due to a persistent battle with the effects of poison ivy. No, the poison ivy didn't reach out and grab me by the arms- rather I thought I could get it washed off quickly enough to dodge its effects after I pulled some out of a flower bed on Aug. 29. About the time I thought I should surrender and go to the doctor, it was a holiday weekend, and by the time Tuesday rolled around, it was starting to recede a bit. I am still pretty uncomfortable, but can kind of function now. My main complaint- (and I am SOOO good at complaining!!!) is that I have a lot of "fluid" in my left arm- it looks pretty strange and it doesn't bend properly yet. I hope by this time next week, it will all be a fading memory.

It is so wonderful that God makes things so attractive to us- He could've made food just bland beige-y colors, but instead our eyes are treated to a vivid assortment of colors!

We are thankful for His bounty and beauty.

And thanks Abby and Brian for such a nice dish to put our garden veggies and fruit on!

Last Saturday was a pretty fun day!!!  My kids totally suprised me with a 50th birthday party!!  They were pretty sneaky-it was very lovely!!   I just thought I was going down there for playtime with the grandchildren before we had to leave to get ready for Brandon and Tiffany's wedding. They did a great job and I got some great loot, um, er, presents. Chicken dishes, symphony tickets, and they all pitched in on a mother's ring. Beautimous!

Here are a few pictures of the darlings- OF COURSE they are darling!!

Uncle Jason/Daddy gets the battery connected on the Gator so they can go places and do things.

Can't get nuthin' past these two!

Calvin in his supervisory role.

I see grandson lawnmowers in my future!!! Moses was really an expert driver, and Isaac is a good co-pilot.

Little Miss Emerald had a good time on the playground equipment.

A couple of Brandon/Tiffany wedding pictures.

Bashful Brown Beauties! 

These lovely ladies greeted everyone that came into the church building.

Getting some last-minute practice in. Grandma Kathy is holding Avaryn.

My big important job at the wedding was (I thought) the best one- I got to take care of Avaryn while mama and grandma sang. She slept through most of the wedding and was very agreeable after she woke up.

**We are needing addresses for the following: Alena and Rodney Ingle, Jamie and Ryan Ingle, Aubrey and Joel Morris, Mark and Susan (almost) Lambros, Brandon and Tiffany Tutterow. Please message me privately with the info, so we don't publish addresses publicly.  Thanks!

On to Winterset!

The birthplace of many a Bown- the hospital in Winterset, Iowa. I arrived here almost 50 years ago. That sounds really old- eek.

And.....Winterset is famous for someone else born there-

Birthplace of Marion Morrison, aka John Wayne.

Dad had lots of stories about this covered bridge. It is presently in a park in Winterset. It used to cross a creek or river not far from a place Arlis and Marilyn Bown used to live. I remember playing in this bridge when we were growing up. Didn't think too much about it then-a famous Madison County covered bridge. We were on a mission here- not only to see the bridge, but to find some initials carved into it during the 1950's.

Tom and Mom trying to find them. We were looking for AB + MP (Alvin Bown +Marlene Proudfit) Lots and lots of folks have been putting their initials and so forth on the inside in the last 50+ years. Marlene Bown (the OTHER Marlene Bown- married to Fred) said that their initials, as well as Arlis and Marilyn's are inside here as well. 

We think maybe this is it- that it was over written. We see the "B" and an "M" and what probably was a "P" made into a B. That was fun to look for. Plus it was raining during the time we were in there, and the bridge kept us perfectly dry. Very well constructed and holding up.

Verity looks very Japanese-like as she crosses a stone bridge not far from the covered bridge. This park is incredibly lovely.

After a long winding road, reminiscent of being in the mountains, we visited Clark Tower.

View of the folks from above.

Tom is being a *bit* dramatic here- the climb wasn't that bad.

He was ready for his interview as you will see here-

Also in the park was this piece of history-

Pioneers must not have been very tall!

We stopped in at the five and dime on the square- another childhood memory-maker.Going into town on Saturdays meant a trip here. In this store, I first learned about taxes. I was going to purchase a candy bar, and mom said that I would need a few extra pennies for tax. WHAT????  TAX????  I was mystified by the concept at that time, but I get it now!

Verity found something very much to her liking at Ben Franklin.

This just looks like an masonry building, but to me, it was the threshold of wonders. This served as the public library until 2001, and is now the Winterset City Hall. I LOVED LOVED LOVED going here. And I am sure Mom was glad for us to be somewhere while she did her shopping. It was dark and musty, but cool inside, and I just couldn't get enough of their books. They had old overstuffed chairs in there, that you could lose yourself reading in the quiet, quiet place with just the clock ticking. And the very best thing of all was that they would let you check out AN UNLIMITED AMOUNT OF BOOKS!! 

To wind up our Winterset visit, of course we had to visit the ice cream shop- still going !

Winterset's version of the Dairy Shack.

I didn't take many pictures on Sunday. I could have, but didn't.

This is the building the Martensdale Church of Christ meets in.

Then- (I am the girl sitting on the stoop in the orange) Thanks Connie (Bown) Ward for this picture.

And now...