Ah, what a day.

Today has been eventful, to say the least.

As those of you who have recently had a phone conversation with me know, my little Samsung Blackberry-rip-off has desperately needed replacing for some time. I didn't get any reception in my house, I rarely got it anywhere else, and if we were talking long distance, you could forget about me understanding more than half of what you said. So when I returned from a trip to Mississippi last weekend, Daniel (probably out of sheer desperation after trying to fit in a decent conversation with me between "what?"s and "hold up, I'm going down a hill"s,) decided it was high time for a trip to the good old AT&T store. We weren't able to make it in until this morning, and in the meantime, Daniel silently mulled over the pros and cons of an iPhone. He eventually concluded that if we were buying me a phone we might as well get an iPhone, and that we could swing the bill if we took texting off our plan for now. When he pitched this proposal to me, I agreed and said that I was definitely willing to sacrifice texting for all the perks of an iPhone, so it was settled.

This morning I had to go to class first thing, but Daniel said he would be able to do everything at AT&T; he would just need my old phone. I handed it over, happy to see it go, and went on my merry way to class.

Or so I thought...

As I drove and drank my seriously amazing cup of coffee Daniel had fixed me, I thought about what a beautiful morning it was, and how glad I was to be up to witness the birds chirping, the cool air and the sunshine. I felt a renewed motivation and gusto for life, and decided that I was going to start working out. And writing more. And keeping up with the news. And that, in spite of never having been a morning person- ever- I would make time for my new goals by rising earlier to greet the day.

I was so lost in this euphoric daydream that I barely noticed when my car started to decelerate. As I started up a hill, I was startled awake when the pressure I applied to the gas pedal elicited no response. "Oh, crap," I thought. "Oh, well. Don't panic- it's no big deal... just call Da.... OH CRAP."

I pulled over to the shoulder of I-24, sat there for a few minutes to collect my thoughts, and then I got out and started walking. I figured I'd walk to the nearest exit and find somewhere I could use a phone. I didn't get very far before a good Samaritan pulled over to help. He was a really sweet man named Otis, and when I explained that I didn't have my phone, he let me borrow his. It was only then that I remembered that Daniel had changed his number less than 24 hours earlier, and I didn't know his new number.

Luckily, Otis had internet access on his phone, and I soon recalled that Daniel had updated his facebook status with his new number. I really have no idea how I would have gotten him on the phone today otherwise. In the end, Otis dropped me off at a Starbucks off the next exit, where I waited for Daniel.

It turns out that my timing belt snapped. We have a neighbor who is a mechanic and he is going to fix it for us for a very reasonable price once we can afford the parts. In the meantime, we're going to have to figure out some sort of schedule with Daniel's car that will allow us to be everywhere we need to be. The good news is, I will have a super cool phone to play on while waiting on my ride 5 hours after my classes end...

In other news, Daniel and I have become very popular in our neighborhood since we acquired a puppy, which is, apparently, what it takes to be the coolest kids on the block. I have a little gang of 5-7 kids who run squealing to greet me every evening when they see me pull up. I first met them when I was taking Naavah out to play in the front yard. Now, they just show up at my house, puppy or no puppy, hugging me, asking for candy and requesting that I read them stories. They also like to come inside and explore our house; they are fascinated by the mac mini hooked up to our TV ("why is that TV a computer?"), the fact that we have christmas lights strung across the ceiling in our half-bath down stairs, ("are you decorating for next Christmas?") and my hair ("who braids it?")

It's been a while since I've been around kids this age, and I guess I had forgotten how disarmingly sweet they are. It has been so much fun to read them the story books I got for my campers when I worked at CRS, offer them each a piece of candy when they come over, and let them crawl all over our furniture and my lap. Kids have a unique way of making your day so much brighter when you see how they embrace and love their world with no restraint. It's really sweet to see that and to be a recipient of it.

Today, the new phone was the center of attention. They especially liked playing with the "voice memos" app. Here are a few samples:

Haley

Angena Pledge of Allegiance

I don't feel like this post is complete until I mention something Daniel did while i was out of town that made my week. We have a shed attached to our house where our washing machine and dryer live, and it has become home to many other odds and ends. It had gotten to be a chaotic mess, and somewhere along the line we got a leak in one of the hoses going to the washer. I always dreaded going out to dig for something or trying to do laundry without letting any clean clothes fall in the big puddle under my feet. While I was gone, Daniel fixed the leak, and organized the shed beautifully. I have no before pictures, which is probably for the best... I'd rather pretend that none of it ever happened. But here are the afters:

Oh, and he got me flowers, too. :)

One more thing: This summer, Daniel's off to see the world! Again! If you don't already know about his upcoming job with Passion Conferences on their World Tour, you can read about it on his blog. He is so honored to have been asked to shoot this year, and I am thrilled for him.

Well, that covers just about everything. Consider yourselves fully updated. I know the suspense must have been killing you. Well, you can all just compose yourselves now. Take it easy. Calm. Down.