Finding it!

Oh, joy!  It's been a great couple of days.  (and I'm weaning myself off the Lexapro!)  I can finally FEEL now!   : )  Friday was a wonderful day out to Tulsa.  Ches and I went Friday morning and stayed all day.  We got to shop (!) at Utica Square and at Woodland Hills mall, had lunch at Chipotle (which we love!), then got to see a movie (Letters to Juliet-so good!), and dinner at Olive Garden.  I'm starting to think Ches likes it as much as me, since he picks it a lot!  We had (I had) the most awesome Pottery Barn shopping party.  I have to call it that-it was so fun!  I gathered mostly accessories (watering can, metal boat, iron urn-thing, glass canister thing for shells, clear serving jar (I'm having trouble with vocabulary right now..) thing with the little knob/on/off/handle at the bottom with a silver lid for PaRtY drinks-we made some fruit concoction yesterday!),

some pillows, a blanket, and shells.  I think that's it.. Oh! and some cool moss wreaths I got on sale for $11 each!  I'll have to decorate them and show you.  I have Plans for them.  If I get some pictures loaded (or taken..) I'll post.  Since I was out-of-town yesterday, and buying stuff, I felt like I could take pictures in the store yesterday.  I needed to remember what to do with the stuff when I got home!
Here's the iron urn:

The watering can-imagine the possibilities!:

This is the glass canister thingie (I put sand, shells, and a starfish in mine!):

So..yesterday, we had a Van Cleaning Party.  Mary Claire and I were the only attendees, but it was productive, and we were doing Good Deeds.  We took Clay to Mom's, then got buy-one-get-one-free shakes at Sonic (yes, our lunch), then took Ches' van to the car wash and used the free vacuums at Happy Bays in Springdale (ok, they have smell-goods to put under your seat and a free wipey for your windows/dash/controls, but not good tire cleaner/shiner).  We cleaned his nasty mess-on-wheels.  Well, Mary Claire watched Strawberry Shortcake while I sweated like a pig (do they sweat?), feverishly cleaning, throwing garbage away, finding $110 in cash, wiping, etc.
Then we went home, showered, changed her pump site (since her blood sugar was 408!-darn those milkshakes-that's why we never have them!), and headed to the movies to see Shrek!  Ches got Clay from Mom's and we all met there. It was good this time.  The first two were good, but the third one had a good message (You don't know what you have till it's gone, thanks, Cinderella!).  I liked it, kinda cried (thanks, Lexapro), and the kids liked it.
Ches took Clay back to Mom's for the evening, and Ethan stayed too.  So Mary Claire and I took my dirty van to the Boomerang car wash (cleans the wheels, and spray Armor-All's them!  free suckers, but still a few bug splats on the front) and I vacuumed it out while she watched Nancy Drew.  Mine has stayed pretty clean and I wash/vacuum it out most weeks, so it wasn't too sweaty for me.
Dinner was leftover Olive Garden at home, then we played on the computer looking for pictures to enlarge/sepia for our new picture frames for the hearth room.  I want to blow up (just 8x10) some beach pictures for summer.  You know, they're only like $1.18 at Wal-Mart!  I don't think we're going to make it to the beach this summer, so it's the next-best-thing to decorate Beachy With Memories.
Today was a great Mass with a new priest, just ordained yesterday!  We were his very first Mass, and he was very emotional, and it made me very emotional.  I cried a lot, but it was good.  He is from Argentina (long story short), and left his family to be here in Arkansas to serve God and us.  I just felt for him.  So far away from family, to do what he heard God call him to do.  That's trust and the Holy Spirit.  I just kept thinking if I'd heard God call me away, could I go?  Alone?  I do know that's not my calling, but bless him.  He was nervous and grateful, excited and humbled.  I think we are so blessed to call him our associate pastor.  He'll be great, I'm sure.  Fr. Rubin-congratulations, and we are praying for you!
We went to Ho-Face for lunch (did I tell you that story?  Ethan calls Jose's Ho-Face!), and Mary Claire went to a Arkansas Naturals (farm team for the Kansas City Royals) game this afternoon with Sandra and Emily (and their family).  It's Kids Day, and they've already had CrackerJacks and ice cream, so I know she's in seventh heaven!
I'm so thankful, and glad I get to know it (without having to lose it first).  Do you have to lose what's near you to appreciate it?
Here's a beautiful new bronze statue outside Pottery Barn Kids-she's beautiful!  Her book says "I love Utica Square".