Tornado Hits Parkersburg, Iowa

Last night we go word that a tornado ripped through Parkersburg, where Scott's grandma lives. Scott's mom told us she had heard about the storm but hadn't heard from her mom yet. We waited for about 45 minutes and scanned the internet. The first reports said that the southern part of the town was destroyed including the grocery store and convenience store. Grandma lives right across from the convenience store!!! So we were pretty stressed. Nancy called back and told us she heard from Grandma. She had taken shelter in the shower in the basement. Her house was demolished. If she had chosen to hide under the stairs instead of the shower she would have been killed. She ended up with some cuts and scrapes from bricks falling on her. She crawled out of the shower and was rescued and taken to Sartori Hospital in Cedar Falls. She then called her neice in CF and stayed there last night. We're waiting to hear from the Arbogasts as to what the house looks like.
If you go to yahoonews.com and click on the slideshow for the storms, you can see pictures. Picture #9 we think is the convenience store across from Grandma's house. There is also a picture of the high school that was destroyed.

Tracy, the Windy City

So now we have cool, windy weather. Sounds wonderful, huh? Much better than our 100 degree heat, definitely. This morning as I'm driving my 7 min. drive north to school the sky is kind of brown because it's so windy that there's so much dust in the air.

And for the big surprise when Scott and I get home from school at about 5:00 half of our tree is down over the driveway. Thankfully this is a city tree, and they came and put it through the wood chipper. The rest of the tree could not be saved so it came down too. Very sad. We would have never thought that this tree would go down. The one closer to the house looks as if it could go down, but it is tied up with a cable.

They say that they will come and take out the stump and plant us a new tree. So I guess we'll have to wait another 13 years to get the shade of this one. Thankfully our yard faces north so we don't need a lot of shade.

Sad Days

Yesterday our dear friend, David Jones, passed away. He had contracted pneumonia which happens with the cancer that he had. He was surrounded by his family and had spent the evening listening to them talk about memories and family. He held out until after midnight. It was his birthday. His wife, Susan, felt he held on until it was his birthday.

Susan is doing as well as could be expected. All of us will be there to help her cope and lead a different life without David. We promised him we would help take care of her. Please pray for their family.

Only 12 Days Left!

I don't know if I can make it. Every morning it's hell to get out of bed. Every day is interminable for me and the kids. My 7th period class stinks. I don't want to see them ever again. Tomorrow we have of all things, open house. Who cares! Why do we do this to ourselves? What parents want to come to see their student's stuff 2 weeks before school is over. They just want to be done too. Tomorrow and every day through the weekend is supposed to be about 100 degrees outside. Yuck! It's too early for this.
Ok, I have bitched enough. Did I say I CAN'T WAIT FOR SUMMER BREAK?

Wine Dinner

The big event for this weekend happened on Friday night. Clear back in November our church had a gala to raise money for Bella Vista Christian Acadamy, which is a K-8 school we have. My friends Julie, Becki, and I were in the live auction. We auctioned off a 5-course dinner for 8 with wine pairings. Julie and I were going to cook and we had the dinner at Becki's house. She and her husband, Robert, provided the wine and decorated the table.

So the big day finally came on Friday. We spent all day cooking, and had ourselves very well-organized. Here was the menu:

1st Course--Asparagus wrapped with Phyllo and Proscuito and Mushroom Tartlettes

2nd Course--Salad with mustard vinegrette and warm, breaded goat cheese

3rd Course--Grilled scallop and prawns with a warm bacon vinegrette

4th Course--Beef Tenderloin with red wine mushroom sauce, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, and saute of green beans and peppers

5th Course--Chocolate cake with blackberry meringue filling

Everying turned out well. We did have a little glitch with timing in between the 3rd and 4th courses, but it all worked out!!! Needless to say we were very tired after the day was over. The 8 guests had a good time. We had fun too. After washing all the dishes we ended up on the couch with lots of wine!!!