The Good, the Bad and Iowa

I'm so sad....no church today. That means no shouts of "Pastor Lori, Passor Low-ie, Paasta Lowrie...etc." No smiling chubby faces, no high five-low five-cut the pickle-tickle tickle, no quiet seat prizes, and no "Hey, what's the big idea?" You would think I'd just like the fact that I have a day off, but I miss those little stinkers so much when I don't get to see them.

The good news is we have some friends here from Minnesota and they may be here a little longer than planned thanks to our lovely Iowa weather. Teresa has been a part of our family for about 15 years. We met her while she was in college and became her surrogate parents. She's only 8 years younger than me, but I'm kinda her second mom. Teresa lost both her parents unexpectedly when she was a teenager and so Randy and I have tried to fill that void in her life. She and her husband, David, pastor Lester Park United Methodist Church in Duluth, MN. Anyway, Teresa came down with her two beautiful children, Rebekah (6) and Nathan (4) to see their "grandma Lori and grandpa Randy." We had our own church service here this morning and I taught the kids the "On a Day Like This" song. It was fun to have a service with her kids; Rebekah even put on a dress for us! I preached in my jog suit. Sweet.

I have a roast in the oven and we are just going to wait out the storm. I'm so over winter, but shouldn't complain. We are blessed to be inside, warm and safe and with ones we love.