You Don't See That Every Day

We've had some very emotional days here the past 2 days. Today we had to put our sweet Mudge (aka Montana) to sleep. He was so sick, something that wouldn't really ever go away, and would take daily medicine to keep him going. We knew something was wrong these past few weeks, but we were hoping it was temporary, something that would clear up. However, because of his past, and his hugely overweight issue when we got him, I don't think there was anything we could have done to prevent the disease. Montana, aka Mudge, was a very sweet, gentle, loving lab. He let the kids do just about anything to him. My original plans of making him to a running partner never materialized ... but it was fun while we tried. We love you, Mudge. Little Princess says, "See you in heaven!"

Setting: Dining Room at suppertime 11 yr old son, " This is so good! I'm having seconds !" 4 yr old daughter, " Me too! I'm having minutes !"

Just yesterday I was telling my kids, "I don't think it is going to snow here this year." The kids are grinning today!

My husband is an amazing guy ... in my humble opinion. The past few weeks/months/ years he has spent many hours fixing our home. The previous owners seem to not have had a clue on house maintenance. This month he has nearly finished the back deck that was rotting. We decided to stay with the same footprint that was there, instead of expanding and making it ' real nice '. We figure that since we plan to sell it anyway, we just need to get it done (but done right). This past week he has tackled the main bathroom ... one that was black for the past 10 years and is now turning into a lovely neutral color. I think 2 owners ago, at least, had it in a blue seashell pattern. We are finding multiple layers of wall paper that is hard to remove. Sharing a bathroom among the 6 of us has been a challenge, (showers on Sunday morning to say the least) but I know G is working hard to get done what he can as he can. I just wish I was able to do more than send the kids in there to act as 'go

Christmas isn't just one day in this family. There are many events that lead up to the celebration of Christ's birth. The fun started at least a week prior to that. The girls had their first ballet performance/Christmas party. Right afterward, we sent them off with their Uncle D and Aunt L and G and I took off. We ran away. We fled the city to my old hometown. What a lovely time we had ... alone! We slept in, we ate a leisurely breakfast, we shopped away for gifts. we had more luck on the kids' gifts at Target than we did at the mall. Although Class E Professor store had some awesome finds! After a terrific dinner at my high school friends' parents' home, the next day we had to head back home. But first a quick stop at a local iconic landmark, the big Black Bird. While we were away, the aunt and uncle were spoiling the kids rotten. Plenty of movies and late nights and goodies. They decorated little house made with graham crackers and their choice of candies. And the

There's something about black and white photos that can be so ... eye catching. I've been trying to cull a few from my vast photo collection, so that eventually I can print them out and make a special framed gift for someone. So far these are ones I have come up with. What do you think?

I have been listening to a lot more music recently. Maybe because it is the holiday season and it just makes me feel more in the Christmas mood. I like most of the Christmas songs they play but when certain ones come on the radio, or CD, I have to crank up the volume. For example, Baby It's Cold Outside (when sung by Johnny Mercer and Margaret Whiting) is one of those special songs. It brings back memories of a time in college, and karaoke. Plus the back and forth of the singers, and the blending together, sounds so good to me. Another one is O Holy Night . I think it is my all time, most favorite, Christmas song! I always want to belt out "fall on your knees" along with the singer. One that I have liked since my childhood (and I am not sure if this is the name of it or not) is Do you see what I see? I've just always liked it ... can't explain why. And the top one for this year, a new song, is How Many Kings . I first heard it in church earlier this month, and t

Have you bought all your gifts? Wrapped them up? Mailed them if needed? I haven't. It's been a slow process for me this year. I have gotten the one shipped out that I needed to get to Texas; and the kids' other teachers have gotten theirs. My husband is ahead of the game this year. We have some great memories of him being stuck, literally, at the mall on Dec 23rd or 24th while I waited at home. This year he went out and bought me some jewelry - yesterday actually. We were talking in our room this morning, while he examined my jewelry box rather surreptitiously, when he realized I already had pearls, and he needed to return the ones he bought! What a dear! I wonder if I'll get the cowboy boots instead.

It's been a busy week! We're trying to finish up a bunch of lessons before Christmas break. And the girls are busy practicing for their ballet performance this weekend. Then there are the doctor appointments this week, and planning for a weekend away for G and myself ... phew .. typing it all is tiring! Oh, then there's all the Christmassy things to take care of ... cards and presents and decorating and such. This past weekend we finally got our tree and set it up in the playroom. We have been going to the same tree farm for the past 5 years; the kids love it. We can ride a "train", pick out our tree, and head back to the 'barn' for hot chocolate and cookies. This year the kids hauled the tree out of the "forest" a little ways. And there were horses to pet also, besides the dogs. I think my son has the dogs memorized... I don't remember them like he does! No cards have been sent out from this house, but I am working on it at least! I love get

I spent the morning doing housework - you know, washing bedsheets, cooking a turkey, reminding the kids to straighten their rooms, etc. This time around though, I put on a new CD, "I Will Sing Your Praises," that I bought at church last week, " And that has made all the difference ". I'm not haranguing the kids. I am not mad at G for being downtown. I'm singing instead and I am actually listening to it for the second time around now. I keep going back and hitting play again on certain songs, because I like them so much! You can see it at their website www.natelizdunn.com or on Amazon too.

This is what we do when the temps are below freezing outside.

G is traveling this week. Which means I get to watch my choice of netflix. So I chose This American Life ; it is an series of snippets on American people and their lives, their peculiarities, their unique paths. Ira Glass from Chicago Public Radio hosts it. Have you ever read one of those Life books that have photos of people across the country? It is sort of like that too, only more ... animated . I am on season 2 now. The first season was so interesting I decided to delve further into it. Someone on a blog - I can't recall just which one - (? perhaps My Sisters Farmhouse ?) was the first to mention this series and tweak my curiosity. And I am fascinated by it. There was a guy in Salt Lake City who paints portraits of moments in Christ's life, using real people as models. There are the 2 prison inmates who tried to escape using a huge long rope made of dental floss. I even found myself praying for this one man who had his live changed ... destroyed... by a mugging/beating. I

This year for Christmas I am going to give the kids a box, some ice and some leaves. They'll be happy. That's what they have been playing with for the past week. We have a bunch of empty boxes around the house and the kids have had all kinds of fun in them - making forts, walking around blind, hauling animals around; what more could you ask for? The trees in our yard have a plethora of leaves coming down, so every few days I get the kids out there to rake them up. This week they decided to make a maze of some sort to play in before the leaves get hauled out to the curb. Hours of entertainment. And the ice? Well it is cold here, but not that cold. No, the ice comes from our large, outdoor freezer. I went past it this morning and noticed the door was not closed all the way. "Those kids!" I thought to myself. Later this afternoon I walked by again and noticed the door ajar. Grr, I thought again ... but then it struck me - no one has been home but the dogs, we've been

1998 2003 Today my son turns 11. He started the countdown yesterday morning. "14 hours," he announced to us at 10:45 am. He asked throughout the day - "Where were you at this time?" It was the Monday after Thanksgiving, 1998. I had gone back to work after the holiday at my in-laws. 2005 Throughout the day I was having terrible back pain. The baby wasn't due until the 21st, so the idea of contractions did not cross my mind! 2007 Then the pain spread to the front, and I decided to drive home instead of sit in my cubicle. I made the half hour drive home, somehow, that afternoon, and called my husband. He was also about half hour drive away. 2008 It wasn't until after 5 pm that he could get away - his boss wasn't convinced I was in labor. By this time I was pretty sure I was. As soon as G walked in the door, my water broke. He called the hospital, and we drove, rather fast, up the freeway. 5 hours later we had our little boy in our arms! 2009

Thanksgiving Day 2009. Last week was a lot of fun preparing the foods to share with the family. All but 2 of my siblings were able to join us for the feast and fun ( and we missed you guys ). I brought some homemade stuffing - a little dry, but now I know - and mom's famous? frozen cranberry salad, and some breakfast food. There was too much food - which is great because we love leftovers. There was even more dessert. Which is even greater because we love leftovers!! From age 1 month to 90+ years old, we gathered and ate and talked and laughed. We played games - the Phrases game is still popular - and had a Ping Pong tournament. To my son' s dismay, there was no football game in the yard. I had told him about how my brothers used to play every Thanksgiving (well that's how I remember it), and I am afraid the uncles have just gotten to a point where grubbing in the mud with the pigskin isn't as alluring... or else they didn't bring enough clothes to change into .. or

God has been preparing me for this day, for the past couple of weeks. Today we went in to the doctor for an ultrasound. Our oldest daughter, SaG, wanted to come too, so she got to see her new little sister in the womb. Very cool! Yes, daughter number 4 is on her way -- well in about 5 months. I was playing the "What if" game in my head last week; as in What if it is a boy , or What if it is a girl . And I concluded a few things - 1. God knows what I can handle, even if I don't think I can. 2. Little boys have a LOT more energy than little girls... usually , and I am not getting any younger, if you know what I mean. 3. A little girl might be a lot easier to integrate into our mostly female household. 4. I had a lot more morning/evening/ sickness than ever before with this one. So, in my head at least, God was preparing for the wonderful news today that we're having another girl.

37 items I am thankful for, in no particular order : 37. Being alive for this long 36. 4 great kids 35. a husband who is faithful 34. clothes that fit 33. The Amazing Race 32. Jane Austen 31. Daffodils 30. The way my husband dances 29. the beach 28. cookies 27. babies 26. Fire fighters 25. and thus, police, and doctors, and nurses 24. Zyrtec 23. Learning from the past 22. sunshine 21. college football games 20. healthy babies 19. a very large extended welcoming family 18. Skype and Facebook, so I can visit my friends I never get to see anymore 17. comfortable pajamas 16. heated, running water 15. plenty of food 14. a plethora of choices every day 13. my parents who raised me right 12. my grandparents who raised my parents right 11. an awesome pastor 10. friends who put up with me 9. freedom to do as I see fit in this country 8. responsibility - which keeps me from doing whatever I want and getting into trouble that way 7. cows 6. large, snow covered mountains I can see from our home 5.

The AWANA Grand Prix was a couple of weekends ago, but I am only now getting the photos online! The kids did not have as much time available to prepare but thankfully G did not have pneumonia this year and he was able to help a lot more. The orange car is the boy's, of course. He named it The Flying Wild Beaver. SaG chose a Herbie design. MoE wanted the cheese block with the cute little mouse. And G helped MeR to make the black, odd shaped, car; he chose the name of Black Licorice. The day of the event was a lot of fun - kids in the gym, adults too, cheering for their cars, but also clapping for each other. The Cheese car placed 3rd in speed! Herbie made it into 2nd place winner for design, and Black Licorice was also 3rd in speed! It helped to have the kids all racing in different classes. The Flying Beaver was 4th, but unfortunately they don't give trophies for 4th.

Oregon celebrates 150 years of being a state this year. All kinds of events took place during the summer in remembrance for this. But this weekend - our church is celebrating 150 years of being a church! We have been part of the church for 10 years now, and I thought that was a long time. But learning about the history some of these families have in this church, I felt like a newcomer! Today the girls and I went down to partake in the fun. ((G and the boy went to a basketball game!)) We walked around and looked at the various exhibits. The room full of wedding dresses from the past was probably my favorite. Especially when I got to see the pictures of the ladies on their wedding days - ladies I know and admire. The oldest dress there - I think - was one from 1924! My 2 youngest, M and M, did not appreciate the dresses quite as much as they did the wedding cake we got to eat and the mints that were also there. The girls also had the opportunity to make some crafts and hear some history,

Lately the kids have been tossing out some baby names, that, well, I just wouldn't use for my baby. They get them from these books they read. Books like The Boxcar Children , Encyclopedia Brown , Hank the Cow Dog , Nathan T. Riggins . Books that have some interesting names, and characters, And lots of nicknames. We usually hear their suggestions at dinner time, and it often ends up in giggle fest. I won't mention them here, because, well what if it was your name?! We have 5 months to figure out what to name this new child. I have my ideas. G has his. Hopefully we'll meet up in the middle. We have the last 4 times. The hard part this time around is finding one that is special, not too trendy, not too unique, but not used in the family already. I have a feeling that we will be having a repeat this time. By repeat, I mean a name that someone in the extended family already has. We have a nephew on both sides with the same name as my brother. We have nieces on both sides with th

Last night G. and I watched the movie, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. It has stuck with me, all night and into today. I woke up at night thinking about it. I am sure I will be thinking about it the rest of the week. It is a movie I think every adult should see and share with their children at some point. It is a movie about a family, a Nazi family, during the Holocaust. The father is high up in command; the mother is concerned about her position in society; the children are, in the beginning, quite innocent. The twists and turns it takes are not expected. I kept trying to justify different scenes in my dreams. I tried to explain away certain behaviors. I looked inside myself at my own prejudices I hold. I might say I don't have them, but I do. I kept thinking, it's not Bruno's fault - he shouldn't have been in there. (If or when you see the movie, you will understand that better.) But then I had to remind myself, none of the Jews were at fault. All of the Jews were inn

Today marks the day of my parents' 55th anniversary. Wow, that's a long time! All of us kids threw them a party back on the 50th, but this year was a quiet one. I hope we all make it five more years to have another, bigger, bash for their 60th! Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad! (Sorry I forgot to send a card. I'll get right on that.)

Just a little of my random thoughts today: It's Veterans Day. Now, I haven't looked this up yet, but is it for all military personnel, or just ones who have served in the past, or just professional ones serving now? Our family on both sides has a diverse amount of relatives who have served in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Merchant Marines, National Guard, (and my friend in the Coast Guard). Back in college, G. entered ROTC for the Army ... I think... it has been so long ago I can't remember! But for various reasons he didn't continue on. Selfishly I am glad he didn't! But I am so proud of my uncles who served, my dad and father in-law, and today, my nephew who is still in there. For some reason I always get choked up when we play the national anthem in church, and ask those who served to stand and be recognized; gets me every time. The kids are playing in the boxes today. Although most school children had the day off, mine had to do schoolwork this morning. So

By the end of last week I did not feel like smiling at anyone. Hence the earlier post. But by Saturday afternoon the sunshine was back in my life. My bestest friend, my husband G, took all 4 kids for the day, and let me go out. Alone. Shopping alone. Did I mention I was alone? And I loved it. I needed it. I was out of the house by 9 am! I wandered through stores. I tried clothes on over and over and over. Nobody whined about going to the bathroom. Nobody was hungry except me. So I went and got a Jamba Juice and one of their pretzels. And nobody asked for a bite. OK, I love the kids and love being the mom ... but every so often, I just need to be on my own. I found some maternity clothes and some were even on sale. And if it wasn't for needing a nap, I would have stayed away even longer. As it was I surprised them all and came home mid-afternoon. But it gets even better! I got to go out again yesterday all by myself, to check out a sale on maternity clothes. And then again today I g

What I love about Fall - besides the smell of woodsmoke and the local high school football games - is the food! It's soup time! And the desserts! I am looking forward to cooking in my new oven; I've already got a list going (yes, I make lists for everything) : pumpkin pie, apple pie, pecan pie cornbread stuffing (from Pioneer Woman's recipe book) turkey, (from my lovely cooking mentor C.H.) sweet potatoes homemade rolls (although I can never make them quite as good as my mother in-law!) cinnamon rolls (again, never as good as my Grandma's, but I'll give it a whirl) and frozen cranberry salad (from Mom) I'm salivating over all these things I want to make and consume! Thankfully the kids eat all of this too - or this baby weight would be doubled in no time!!

How often do we smile at people as we pass them on the street, in the store, at church? Often I will smile occasionally at a stranger; most of the time at people in church, since we've been going there long enough to recognize most of the faces. I was challenged this week by a friend to look at myself and see how often do I smile at my children. !! (Thanks, S.) She heard this from someone else at a retreat she went to. But it sure resonated in my life. I have been thinking a lot this week about how I treat my kids. This has not been a "fun" week, nor was the last one, mostly because I have so many things on my "to-do" list. And then I get a little cranky when the kids are not hard at work, all the time, on their own chores or school work. So, I'm taking the challenge. I'm still going to have high expectations of them ... but I will try and be a little nicer and happier when I talk to them. And I will try to smile more at them.

I have had so much chocolate in the past 4 days, I needed to make oatmeal bread to eat for a snack instead of fishing another Almond Joy out of the bowl. The girls were the only ones to dress up this time for trick-or-treating. The first door we stopped at (thankfully neighbors we know pretty well) the 3 of them just stood there, not saying a word! We coached them for the next stops. At one door, we heard them say "Trick or treat" before the door even opened. We sported the Ninja look this year, the kitty cat, complete with a tail you can't see, and the Princess, surprise, surprise, surprise. The boy walked along with us, eventually wishing he had dressed up too. He gets to share in the grub though. Other than the few hours we put into collecting candy, we did a bunch of work around the house. It was so nice to actually have a free day to do this! Earlier in the week G. installed our new oven! After 10 years in this hous e, I finally have one that works correctly. He also