W is for Worry and WOW!

Belle is somewhat of a worry wort.  I have a tendency to worry about things now and then, but I suppose that goes with the territory of being a female.  The thing about Belle is, she tends to worry about things which she needn’t be concerned.  I happened to share an idea I’ve used with a couple of friends this week and they liked it, so I thought I’d share it with you.  I explained to Belle that some things are “kid worries” and others are “adult worries”.  So when she starts asking those “what-if” questions on a subject that’s too big for her, I tell her it’s an adult worry.  She’s a thinker and I worry (ha! 🙂 ) about her spending time mulling over things she really has no control over, like money, where we’ll move next, or what happens if our house is robbed.  I give her a small answer, so she knows I’ve already thought through it, and then tell her it’s J’s and my worry, not hers.  Hopefully, this will help her learn how to release things to a “higher” power.

And now for the WOW!  I’m posting this link mostly for my friend Jennifer.  She may have already seen it for herself, but I have so say this is the most stunning picture of a butterfly I’ve ever seen!  Karen is such a gifted photographer, and I can’t wait until her book is out!

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V is for Very Close Call

A couple of nights ago I was dreaming some whacky dream about my mom.  I woke up from said dream around 3am feeling warm.  I got up to walk around a bit, figuring it was my restless legs making my hot.  I checked the thermostat, just to be sure, and then walked into the living room.  I quickly turned back down the hall when I heard that familiar bug banging into a light sound.  The only light was from the nightlight in the hallway, and sure enough there was a big ole bug, drawn to the flame, if you will.  I took a double take, hoping my sleepy state was causing my eyesight to fail me.  Unfortunately, my fears were confirmed.  The bug was a gigantic hornet!!
After a moment of freaking out, I pulled myself together and headed to the basement for the super huge bug spray.  (Not the official name.  Clearly.)   When I went downstairs, I turned on the light over the stairs.  I had no idea at the time, but this turned out to be stroke of genius.  The bug, once again drawn to the flame, joined me on the basement stairs.  It was banging into the light at the top of the stairs.  I ran and grabbed the spray, but didn’t want to fight the beast on the stairs.  So, I turned on the light in the laundry area and turned off the light on the stairs.  Immediately the bug flew to the new light.  I sprayed that nasty bug at least 4 times.  I didn’t want to smush it-that wouldn’t leave any photographic evidence.  So, I left it writhing away on the floor and got back in bed.
Now, normally I’m not much on killing bugs, especially not with chemicals.  But sometimes, that’s just what you’ve got to do.  As I lay in bed, I was so thankful I had woken up.  I often pray that God will wake me, should someone need me in the night.  I kept thinking how terrible it would be to wake up by being stung by that beast!  Especially since the only other light in the house was in Little Bear and Little Lamb’s room.  Unfortunately I was so thankful, I couldn’t get back to sleep until around 4:30am.
Here’s a picture of my nighttime visitor.  Keep in mind, it was MUCH bigger before I sprayed it.  In fact, it was shocking how quickly it shriveled!   Even still, you can see it was still larger than the quarter after the big shrivel.