Papa Rudy

This is a picture taken of the four generations of "Carol" Caubles on December 24, 2009. You have Rudy Carol Cauble, Ronald Carol Cauble, Carol Jones Cauble and Noah Carol Cauble....all 25 years apart from one generation to the next. This past week Papa got really sick and went to join Jesus on Sunday, January 17. CJ was able to spend some time with Papa and Papa told CJ that he was ready to see Jesus and go home. Losing Papa has been hard for the entire Cauble family, as it has been a difficult year for the entire Cauble clan after losing Chris and John in 2008/09. Papa has been sick a lot over the ten years I have been around but never lost his pizzaz. This past Christmas was special for me because Papa looked so good, was so alert and I personally was able to spend some time with him to just listen to his stories.

I might not be a "blood" cauble, but Papa was special to me and to my family. This has been an experience teaching the children about a sick family member and preparing them for the family member to meet Jesus. We have also been educating the kids about funerals and why we have them. While the kids have been given the knowledge they still don't understand....even though Noah understands and trys to explain to AnnMarie. It's sweet to see the bond they have of protecting one another and their innocence in asking questions. On a funny note, I have to tell you this story that happened yesterday on the way from school.

We were on the way home when I was explaining to Noah and AnnMarie that Mommy was going to see some friends and family and go to Daddy to celebrate Papa. We had been discussing that Papa was now in Heaven with Jesus, (which AM says baby Jesus). AM asks, If Papa is in Heaven, when is Nanny going to see Jesus? The way she said it I couldn't help but laugh but would have choked on my words if Nanny had been present! Poor AM didn't understand that our time on earth is not planned....I just told her that Jesus would let Nanny know when it would be time. We had to tell Nanny at the visitation and she just smiled. The wise words of a 2 year old. They are not afraid to ask the hard questions and they do not expect for you to side step with a generic answer....less you get the famous "why" or "well why not?"

Please pray for the Cauble family. They would appreciate your prayers and kind words....just please don't send any meat trays.....I think they have plenty of those!

First Week of a New Life

Hey folks! Just wanted to send out an update and let you know how the Cauble's lives are changing....with the beginning of the new year came Shaneki's new job. At this point we are leaving the kids at the daycare in Travelers Rest because it just makes sense. Currently the school will route Noah to the daycare after school like they have been and we don't have to worry about the 2:30 pickup from school. Due to this it just makes sense to leave them there until school gets out. I have been in the process of looking for a new daycare closer to home and on this side of town instead of 20 minutes in the other direction and I think I found one that will work well, but it hasn't been given the inspection or teacher introduction yet.....it's a Christian daycare that will actually put AM in a k-3 program and will pick Noah up from his new school for k-5 themselves and not have to ride the SCHOOL bus. Until all of this works out though, it means getting up 30 minutes earlier and the kids too. By 8:00 pm we are all in the bed....we are such "old people" as CJ likes to say.

CJ has been so kind as to pick the kids up every day except Wed. when he is working. I take them in the morning and he picks them up. I get to go in to work 15 mins later then I have been used to but get out 15 minutes later too....makes for a late day if I am going to get the kids and then back home. CJ has been a trooper through it all! His schedule got thrown all out of wack when I got a new job. But like we keep saying this crazy schedule will only last until June until the summer starts and hopefully we can get a new crazy schedule.

My first week as educational. We learned all kinds of things in orientation and I have a few stories I would love to tell you. Lots of training like, "this is the procedure for a terrorist attack", all that good stuff. After two days of training I got to sit with my training co-worker and watch her do the job. After three days of that I am itching to go ahead and start doing something. I have to keep telling myself, "I am getting paid to watch...I am getting paid to watch". Soon enough I will be begging to not have to listen to compaints I am sure.

Well, I have a ton of stories, but I have to read my "networking policy" before I write any....really. So I will let you all go and send funny stories soon. I promise!

Are you okay Mommy???

Hahaha. I laugh just thinking about the story I am about to tell you. It comes with a warning....do not do what I do, but what I say!

So CJ comes home the other week on a Friday before Christmas and says that Todd (his boss) is expecting for the whole family to be at a Christmas parade and ride around with the Chick-fil-a cow the next night. It was a neighborhood parade for a local neighborhood and I thought it would be a great idea...especially throwing candy and all of the cool homemade floats in a night parade. Well we get the gang there, (we picked up the employee who was going to be the cow and he rode with us to the neighborhood), ate pizza in the car, and it began to rain. Nothing bad but it was really cold and now it was drizzling. yea! The guys started dressing the cow, guys being CJ and Todd, and AnnMarie started having a fit. All of a sudden the guy who rode with us in the van was slowly disappearing. Poor kid. So we had to have her as far away from the cow as humanly possible, which meant inside the truck where Todd's wife, Karen was driving. With the heat on rather then the rain and cold....Can't say I was complaining. Anyone who knows me knows I am soooo cold natured! So we start with the parade and loop around and we think, well theres where we started, are we done? We have taken one hour already...surely we're done right? Of coarse, we aren't, we are just going to the other side of the neighborhood now. So about ten minutes pass by and AnnMarie tells me she has to use the bathroom. Keep in mind that we are in a slowly moving truck at the rate of about 5 mph in a neighborhood where no one knows anyone and AnnMarie is in my lap. Well I asked her to told it like any good mother would do and she said ok. about Five more minutes and she says she has to go again. I again asked her to wait and she said she could not. At this point I am perpelexed. What do I do? Ask my husbands boss to stop the truck so I can ask a complete stranger to use their bathroom and I'll catch up later??? Ask my two year old to keep holding it until goodness knows when because we have no idea where we are??? As I am pondering what to do I suddenly have this nice warming sensation come over my lap. I quietly ask AM if she has used the potty and she is dead silent. Of course she has....in my husbands BOSSES truck....agghhhhh. Poor child couldn't help it but I was mortified. So I had to tell Karen and she said not to worry about it. We continued the parade route (another 30 mins by the way) and when we got back to our car I had to tell CJ what happened. As they undressed the cow I was anxious to get us both home so that we could clean ourselves up. Not to mention that I am slightly chilled at this point as I can imagine AM is too. We return to Chickfila and drop of the employee and then I proceed to drive the van and CJ gets in his truck to come home. I wish I could draw a diagram of this but I am not that talented so you will have to handle a description. The only thing that seperates our home from CFA is a major highway and a parking lot. (a large one but a parking lot none the less). Think of the distance as a triangle and the two closest points 1)CFA, 2)our home. The line between these two is the parking lot. the other point in the triangle is a red light. the line from our home to the red light is one highway and the line from the red light to CFA is another highway. There is no more then 3/4 of a mile if you go from point 1 to 3 to 2. With that in mind I can finish the story.

So CJ is following behind me and I turn onto the highway and get ready to turn at the light to come home. I turn onto our street and admire the lights of our next door neighbor (remember this is Christmas). But then I notice an unusual color light and look back as I turn into our drive way to make sure that Todd's lights didn't just blow up (our neighbor is Todd too....very confusing). On no, it is a police officer behind CJ. I thought to myself, wow, did CJ just get pulled over? As the cop went around CJ I thought WHEW, glad we avoided that one. (Please keep in mind I am in MY DRIVEWAY!!!!!!) The cop comes around CJ and pulls into our driveway behind me...lights and all. I am like are you serious? I know I wasn't speeding, how could I? I only drove 3/4 of a mile! The first thought I always think of is am I buckled, but to this one I said, I have been sitting in my driveway for 10 secs. I have a right to not be buckled. The cop comes up to my window and asks for my license, reg and ins card. And asks if I know why I have been pulled over to which I probably gave the meanest look and said no. He said I wasn't buckled. Which I wasn't but that was all....no speed, no improper lane change, not using signals, nothing. just no seat belt. well....I am totally flabergasted because I am in my own driveway with blue lights and my children are totally confused. I asked the officer if they could go in and the officer said my husband could take them in. AM asked me if I was coming too and the OFFICER told AM that her mommy would be in shortly. How bad is that???? While I am sitting in the van is disbelief with pee all over my pants and waiting on my ticket to be written my precious daughter keeps coming to the door and opening it and asking me if I am okay. Mommy, are you okay??? then she would shorten it to kay mommy?? how pathetic is that?

Now it is one thing to be pulled over for a ticket on a highway where you will know very few people. but it is horrifing to be pulled over in front of your home when your drove less than 3/4 of a mile. and for your children to watch on top of that. Since the lovely day of my ticket I have not been unbuckled while in the car. It was a good lesson for me and one I am sure I will be talking about for along time...but hopefully my daughter will never again have to ask, "are you okay Mommy?? Try not to pee on yourself while reading this story. It's really not that funny!