WHAT LOVE REALLY LOOKS LIKE!

Just a few of the loved ones who bring my heart joy!

RAINY DAY

As it turns out we got the garden planted (or mostly planted) just in time. We woke up to a really wet day. It's started raining sometime during the night and kept raining all day long. From the weather reports, it sounds like we are in for the same thing tomorrow also.

Rain never makes for very happy kids. It's hard for me to keep them in, well Jono specifically. He doesn't care if he gets wet or muddy. He loves to swing and he just wants to go out and swing! About the only thing that would keep him in without my insistence is thunder and lightening--and we have any of that today. Luckily, tomorrow the kids have a play-date set up at a friend's house.

Mom had a doctor appt. today--nothing big. Other than that, Rob is the only one that left the house. I managed to get laundry done and I did finally get back on the treadmill. I only did 3 miles today but at least I did something! Well, not much to report. Sometimes that's the best news. Night all.

IT'S BEEN A GOOD DAY!

It was a nice Memorial Day. I am so grateful for all those who have served our country and kept us free--especially those who gave their lives in that service. Also, thank you to all of you who serve now. We owe you a great debt.

Rob got a good part of our garden planted today. I got some things done inside the house and a few errands run. But the best part of the day came this evening when we had some family and friends over for a barbecue. It was a nice, relaxing evening of food, talk and watching the kids play. But--the best part I saved for last--we actually got Grandpa to come outside. It's only the second time he's been in our backyard since they've lived here. The first time was when they came to let him try this new motorized wheelchair. This time he was able to come out on his own and move around the yard freely in it. He was even able to maneuver  it back by the fire pit and creek. It was so nice to have him out there. And the weather was perfect tonight. It was simply beautiful out!

Just before we ate one of our guests found a tiny Robin's nest in one of our trees near the fire pit. In it, were a couple of newly hatched baby Robins--and one or two still unhatched eggs. The babies are so tiny. Here's the picture. Pretty cool. Hope you had a great Memorial Day, too!

Baby Robins in A Nest in One of Our Trees

. . . AND LET US BE REAL . . .

Overheard at our dinner table today: "Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for letting us go at church today. Thank you for helping Alea come play with us. Thank you for the food and let us be real. In Jesus name, Amen."

Hey, no one ever told us we weren't real! Seriously though--we have no idea what our three year old meant by that--or where it came from. We asked him about it--didn't get a good answer. Just one of those moments. But hey--Let us be real!

JUST A LITTLE SOMETHING

Grandma and Grandpa got home safely today. Rob is on-call and only got called out once for a few hours. Yay! We did some shopping and a little work around the house. Although, not as much as we had planned.

We watched a movie with the kids tonight. The same movie Rob and I watched on our second date. It's called Second Hand Lion ~ it's a really great movie. Carly loved it. Jono jabbered through most of it, danced a little and basically did his own thing.

I have to teach Sunday School tomorrow and I'm still working on my lesson so I'd better get off here and finish it. Night all.

REPORTING IN

Grandma and Grandpa went to Idaho today to see their oldest Grandson graduate from high school. Ian, Sarah's son graduated this evening from American Falls High School. We are all very proud of him. He is a very smart and handsome young man. Grandma called to let me know they got there without any problems. They just went up for tonight and will drive back home tomorrow.

Rob, the kids and I spent the day in the yard. I don't think I've ever pulled so many weeds before. We are not the best gardeners in the world -- so, let's just say that our garden spot had overgrown with weeds between last year and this year. I spent a good couple of hours pulling them out. Then Rob went through with some contraption that made the area even more clear. Hopefully, that's all (or at least the most) weed pulling we will have to do this year.

Well, I'm bushed. Gonna pack it in for tonight. More later.

WHAT'S HAPPENING . . .

Grandma got out today and did some weed pulling. She had a little bit of help--maybe a little bit too much help. Carly and Jono both decided Grandma needed their help. I seriously doubt they were much help but Grandma is always really gracious and lets them "help" her. Anyway, they felt like pretty hot stuff.
 
Grandpa is busy trying to keep Congress in line. That should keep him busy for quite some time, don't you think? I know it keeps our mail carrier busy. She told Rob one day that we get more mail than anyone else on her route. Lol!

Speaking of which, I got my cute hubby back this afternoon. He'd been away for a couple of days on a job. It's always nice when he comes back home. The kids were happy to see dad, too!

We are excited for the holiday weekend coming up--not so much to celebrate the holiday but because we've made ourselves such a long honeydew list--that we need the extra time to get it done. Hopefully, we will get some fun in, too.

Hope you have some fun plans! Take care.

SOMETHING I LIKED--BECAUSE OF SOME THINGS I'VE LEARNED

I read this the other day and really liked it. It said it was by Maya Angelou but I have seen some of the quotes before and so I don't know if she originally said all of them or not--but I think the advice is well worth reading--because these are some of the same things I've learned myself--even if I hadn't spelled them all out this way.

 

 I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.'

'I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.'

'I've learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're gone from your life.'

'I've learned that making a 'living' is not the same thing as making a life.'

'I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.'

'I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw some things back . . . '

'I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision..'

'I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one . . .'

'I've learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back . . .'

'I've learned that I still have a lot to learn..'

'I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.' 

Attributed to Maya Angelou

TOO MUCH DEATH TODAY

As it turns out, the 20th of May is the first anniversary of my cousin Ned's death (and really sadly, he died on his wedding anniversary.) I miss him a lot. It isn't like we spent a lot of time together once we had grown up--but in the last few years we talked to each other more. We talked on the phone and texted each other quite a bit. Whenever I went home, we spent time together. We loved my Grandparents falls together. We could talk about anything. We understood each other in so many ways. I miss you Ned. I really do.

My husband had a work conference call this morning before he headed out. When he hung up he came up and told me that one of his previous bosses had died over the weekend. In fact, it was the man who hired him, a really nice man we liked a lot. He'd gone camping with his family and they'd gone river rafting and had come off the river. He decided to go for a walk and didn't come back. When he didn't come back they went looking for him and found him dead on the trail~most likely of a heart attack. I've felt sad for his family all day.

It's not so much death itself that makes me sad. I know where people go when they die. I know they are in a better place. It is more the sadness of those left behind, the emptiness I know they feel--and sometimes--the shock of it all. I know with Ned--we just weren't expecting it. He was doing better. His surgery had gone well. He was starting to recover. It was just a jolt out of the blue.

Then, the rest of today has been so tragic in Oklahoma especially. I have friends there. My friends are in a city near Shawnee, the city that was hit yesterday where a couple of people were killed. Their mom is closer to where the huge tornado hit today--and they couldn't get ahold of her for awhile and hadn't been able to talk her into going to a shelter. She ended up being fine. My heart is absolutely broken for the people in Moore, OK -- who lost children and other loved ones--not to mention their homes, businesses and other property. There is such devastation there.

I guess it's easy for me to say there's been too much death today--when it is all a bit removed from me, some of it by time and some of it by distance and not knowing the people personally. I do feel deeply for those have been so affected by all this devastation and loss. I am especially thinking of the families who have lost their precious children and other loved ones and how heartbroken they must be. I am thinking of them with much tenderness and pray they may find comfort and peace in the days, weeks and months ahead as they begin to rebuild their lives. God bless all of you in Oklahoma and all the storm ravaged areas.

WE CAN SKYPE--CAN YOU?

Whew! It's taken us a long time but we finally whipped technology's bum today and Skyped with a couple of our kids. It was pretty darn cool. If you aren't sure what Skyping is--well, then you are even farther behind than I was, aren't you? Haha! Just teasing!

Actually, Skype is an Internet site that allows you to view the person you are talking to via computer or tablet or probably even smart phone by now. Anyway, Rob, the kids and I were able to talk to both Sara and Julie tonight and see their beautiful faces while we were talking to them. It was really nifty. It made Jono super hyper, though. He wasn't quite sure how to handle all the new technology so he kind of did flips on and off my lap while we talked. In other words, he was a huge show-off!

It rained pretty much all day today. We had a few breaks but really never saw the sun come out. The kids think that every time it rains now there should be a rainbow. Every time it stopped for a bit they would run look for the rainbow and were so disappointed not to find one--especially after finding a double rainbow last time.

Well, let us know if any of you out there can Skype and we will set up a Skype time with you. It's free by the way--no cost but your time! C'mon, it'll be fun!

MOMMY POINTS

It rained quite a bit today but it did it in spurts. Between spurts, Grandma got in some weeding in the flower beds. Rob also was able to organize the shed so he could work on the downstairs which he's been trying to get straightened up. Me--well, I watched kids, did a load of laundry, refereed a few arguments between my little ones--made lunch and dinner--you know typical Mom duty. I still don't feel like I accomplished much today.

I made a batch of triple chocolate brownies (homemade) after dinner and we watched a Disney movie with the kids while I worked on Carly's hair. It's funny how your kids start to mimic you. Carly has been going around today giving me points on the white board when I'm good. Then, when she went to bed tonight she told me if I was really good tomorrow I would get a prize. When I actually put her in bed she told me if I  got her up really early she would make me a bead necklace tomorrow. Lol.

Well, at least I know some things are sinking in. And it was nice to get a few "Good Mommy" points today. Although, as late as it is now, I doubt I will earn my bead necklace tomorrow. Better get myself to bed so I have a shot at it. Lol!

WE HAD A VISITOR THIS EVENING . . .

And she was really cute. We looked out our window tonight during dinner and in our backyard on the other side of our fence was the prettiest doe. She stayed for a long time. She even left for a little while and came back. There was a bit of a stormy sky tonight so maybe she just wanted to be in a safe, calm place during the storm. While she hung out grazed on some of our grass and just basically kept a keen eye out for trouble. We kept watch out, too - and took pictures -  and kept our dogs and kids inside so she wouldn't be molested--much to the despair of all of them, except of course, this beautiful doe. Wish we could have gotten closer to get a better shot. But, here are the best shots we got!

BUNCH OF CHICKENS!

My parents like to do things together. They both visited the dentist this week and both got told they needed a rout canal--that the dentist could not do. So, they both have an appointment with an Endodontist to have a their canals routed! The good news is they may qualify for the two for one special! Just kidding. Lol!

I ended up with an extra kid all day today. One of my neighbors babysitter's got sick and so I had her little girl. I took her with us to our playgroup and when we got back I put all 3 kids in one room for a nap. Only one fell asleep--you guessed it--the neighbor kid. Of course--she also wet the bed. So, I did sheets today, too.

I made a chicken recipe for dinner Mom found and sent me. It had a teaspoon of red pepper flakes in it. It was tasty but really hot. I think Mom and I were the only ones who finished our meal. Needless to say, I rinsed the leftover chicken off after dinner and will be trying a different recipe with it tomorrow. Guess my family are chickens when it comes to hot stuff! Hahaha! Maybe I'll try some sweet and sour--or just experiment on them. Lol!

Well, night all.

SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOWS . . .

Tonight we had what amounted to a tiny storm, a little bit of lightning, a few claps of thunder, a few drops of rain and then we were blessed with this amazing double rainbow. This is a picture I took on my phone from our back patio. It was so gorgeous! It isn't everyday you get to see something like this. Carly is the one who first noticed it and called it to our attention. I'm so glad I got a shot of it. Hope today is a double rainbow kind of day for you. Enjoy!

TAKE ME HOME COUNTRY ROAD . . .

Wow, it sure has been a roller coaster ride but my Aunt Kaye got to go home this evening. Wonderfully, she passed her swallow test today and the doctors and nurses were able to observe her eating and drinking before sending her home. What a blessing all of this news is. It's been so hard on the family and especially on my Aunt Kaye. We feel so blessed to have her on the road to recovery. Thank you so much for keeping them all in your prayers--and please continue to do so if you will.

As for us, we had our first full day with the air conditioning working again. Yay! Boy, you don't realize how much you depend on modern conveniences like that until you lose them for a bit.

Whenever, I experience horrible summer heat I think about my Grandma and the stories she used to tell me about helping her mom on the farm. She would talk about rising very early in the morning to make breakfast for the farm help. She said by the time they got things cleaned up from breakfast it was time to start lunch for them and so went the day. My Grandma was born in 1901 so, of course, there was no air conditioning -- nothing to make the kitchen more comfortable as they baked -- and all this happened in the sweltering heat of the midwest. Having lived in that heat for much of my life, I can't even imagine going through that.

Well, I am just very grateful for modern inventions--and being born in a time when many of them abound and make our lives a bit easier and more comfortable.

NEW NEWS!

My Aunt Kaye is going home tomorrow (Tuesday). Yay! She still needs a lot of care and help but she is excited to be able to leave the hospital for more familiar surroundings--and this time for much more loving care. They are going to have some in home help - and thankfully, they will be able to monitor and direct any care she is given. We are really hoping and praying she can fully recover and have some great days ahead with family.

I spent the day with service guys working on our air conditioner and duct system in the house. Almost a week ago we noticed the house feeling warmer than usual. Rob checked it out and sure enough the AC was blowing warm, not cool air. I made an appt. for someone to come service it but the soonest they could get here was today--so, as it got hotter and hotter--so did we. The temperature rose 5 degrees today alone. That's the worst it's been--and I'm glad we didn't have to go another day. They fixed the AC first thing this morning but we were also having them clean out our duct system which took them about 6 hours to do--and the air conditioning has to be shut completely off to do that. By the time he finished cleaning out the ducts, it was 88 degrees in the house. It is now almost 1:00 a.m. and it is just now cooling down into the mid 70's in the house. YIKES! I don't know how people did it before air conditioning! I got NOTHING done today. I sat and stared at my computer while I nearly sweat to death! Lol. I never would have made it as a pioneer!

Well, think I will try to get some sleep now that I can actually think about sleeping underneath the blankets tonight! What a nice thought. Night all.
 

A VERY NICE DAY!

It's been such a nice day. We went to church this morning and the little kids all sang a medley in Sacrament meeting for the moms. It was pretty cute--it was fun to have both Carly and Jono up there for the first time. I taught today but then in the next meeting they had cookies and punch for the moms at the end. They just made us feel like royalty.

Then I came home and today is also my brother-in-law's birthday so I had offered to cook him his favorite meal--so I made a couple of lasagne's. One of my daughter's, Megan came over and helped make a big salad and then my sister Susan brought my younger daughter, Julie up from school. My daughter Sara called from Oregon and I had a really nice talk with her and her husband. Rob and the little ones doted on me today--it was just really a nice day.

Mom had me and Susan here and Sarah called. Bottom line -- we ate way too much food, had terrific company and got to spend time with family. You really can't ask for much more than that.

An update on Kaye--she is doing a little better. She still hasn't passed a swallow test. She has been about three weeks without liquids (other than what the care center gave her--bad care center!) and is having to have them intravenously. She is kind of cranky about that--as you can imagine any of us would be. They are treating her aggressively to try to get rid of the pneumonia but she is very weak. Prayers are still very much needed. Thanks so much for your concern and help.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

You may have heard by now but yesterday was kind of disastrous for my Aunt Kaye. The hospital had dismissed her to a rehabilitation/care center and they were supposed to work with her until she could safely go home. Bob and Ronda toured it before they allowed them to place her there and thought if would be a safe place. It seemed nice enough. They got her settled and went home for the night. When they came back the next morning they had to call 911 and have Kaye transported to the hospital. She had chest pains and wasn't breathing well and was in really poor shape.

Kaye was released to the rehab/care center with a peg tube because she couldn't eat or drink yet. She could not pass a swallow test. The danger with eating or drinking is that the food or liquid could be aspirated to her lungs. Well, unfortunately someone in the rehab/care center gave her liquids and she has pnuemonia. They are treating her really aggressively now--but it has been really scary. Her confusion was back and it has been very upsetting. So if you would please keep her and her family and my mom in your prayers it would be much appreciated.

On a lighter note--I just want to wish all of you sweet Mom's out there a very Happy Mother's Day! I hope you have a terrific day! And a special Happy Mother's Day to my own Mom, whom I love very, very much! I'm so grateful to have been blessed with not only a terrific Mom but a very dear friend. I love you Mom!

COLOR MY WORLD WITH BEADS N' TWISTS

I've been working on Carly's hair for oh, about five days now and I finally finished it tonight! I usually take her to a woman to have her hair braided but she was out of town when I wanted it done--so I decided to try to do something on my own one more time. I guess I just had to prove to myself I could do something with her hair.

It took lots of time and patience on both mine and Carly's part but I finished. All that aside--it is a job of not fine workmanship--and I am not being humble. It truly is not well done--but I am still proud of the fact that I did it. But, having done it once now--I know I can do it even better next time and maybe even a little faster.

I did take the easy way out and twisted instead of braided. The twists are easier to put in and take out. They also look really cute. Anyway, here is my handiwork. Carly loves the beads. That's all she cares about--and as long as she's happy--I'm happy. I probably won't do this often--but hey, it's good to know I can do something once in awhile! Love you baby girl!

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS . . .

I spent my day cleaning a good portion of my upstairs and rearranging my kitchen counter space. My sister suggested it to me some time ago and I really think I am going to like it. It was one of those things I had to be in the mood to do--you know, where you feel like pulling every little thing apart and cleaning behind it so you can rearrange the whole place. Today that mood finally hit me. Yay me!

It always surprises me how fast a room can go from clean to total disaster but I guess it shouldn't. It used to happen with roommates, and then teenagers and happens even faster now with toddlers. You would think I'd get used to it--but I never have.

Because I was still cleaning when Rob came home--well, and even for a couple hours after he was home he went out and got take out for us tonight from one of our favorite restaurants. I told him it could be our Mother's Day dinner. I am making dinner for his brother's birthday on Sunday--(at my suggestion) so it seemed like a good trade off to have my Mother's Day Dinner tonight. Plus, I was way too pooped to cook.

Mom and Dad both had doctor appt.'s today--so they got out for a few hours and then had something to eat while they were out and Mom did some shopping. It's always good when Dad can get out for a bit.

It rained all day here today and our temperature is down now a bit from what it has been. It is in the mid-fifties tonight and is supposed to be a little cooler the next few days.

My aunt Kaye is in a regular room now. They put something called a peg-tube in yesterday that is a longer term feeding tube. They will leave that in until she can pass her swallow test. They are considering sending her to a skilled nursing facility for a short while and then possibly allowing her to go home. They could allow her to be moved to the facility as early as Friday if things continue to go well. I will keep you posted. Again, thank you for your prayers and please keep them going.

I can't even remember if I mentioned in here that Carly has her first loose tooth! We noticed it a couple of days ago and she is so excited! Me--not so much. She is growing up too fast. Lol. Anyway, she can't wait for all of her teeth to fall out--or so she says. She is trying to wrap her mind around exactly how this is going to happen. I am enjoying watching her mind work at it. Hahaha. It's cute.

Well, night all. 

MORE KID TALK

Last night Carly asked me a big question.
Mom, Did Heavenly Father make Santa Claus? (I had to think really quickly, really carefully how I was going to answer her question--since I realize it could come back to bite me someday.)
So, I told her "Yes, Heavenly Father made everyone." 
She looked at me really quizzically and said, "Everyone~even Santa Claus?"  
Yes, everyone--even Santa Claus!"
"Wow" she said, "That's a really big job!"

My little girl makes me laugh so hard sometimes! She is excited tonight because she bit into an apple and found out she has her very first loose tooth. She's thrilled--and all I can hear in my head is "Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My . . . " It's a big scary world and my little girl is growing up too fast for me. Wah! ;)

WE'LL TAKE BORING!

I spent a good part of this afternoon and evening working on Carly's hair. The parting is the worst part. Trying to comb through it and part it without it hurting her takes so long . . . you can't even imagine it if you haven't worked with black hair before. I really feel for her. I had no idea what black women went through to make their hair look good until I had Carly. Now I know how amazing they really are--and I really mean that.

I got one row of twists put in her hair before bedtime. Hopefully, I can finish her hair tomorrow--but I am not making myself any promises. She has a huge puff on top of her head right now with the twists hanging down from it. The great thing is she is cute enough to pull off whatever I do to her hair. Lol!

Rob spent about 5 hours out on a call today and still wasn't able to get it fixed. He ended up having to order a new part that won't get in until tomorrow afternoon. Sometimes when he is on-call he doesn't get a single call the whole weekend, other times he gets slammed--kind of like this weekend. Although, I'll admit he has had times that were much worse than this. It just seemed like we barely saw him this weekend.

Megan came over this afternoon and the kids were really glad to see her. They love to do gymnastics--like flips and somersaults and Megan always helps them do them.

Aunt Kaye is still making progress and I guess she is getting a little feisty--which is a good sign. She'd really like to go home but she isn't able to eat or drink by mouth yet. She has yet to pass a swallow test. They are working with her on doing exercises to strengthen her throat muscles so she can. Please keep praying for her with us. The prayers are helping so much.

Grandma and Grandpa are doing pretty well. They tire easily--but in general are feeling pretty good. I think that's pretty much how we all feel, though. The good news is that there is nothing much to report out this way. Boring is good--so we'll take boring!

Have a great week everyone!

A WEEKEND WITH MY HUSBAND, NO?

Rob got called out last night and then again this morning. He was also supposed to go out again tonight but the part he needed never arrived--pretty sure it was slowed up by the sequestration. Anyway, the part is supposed to get here tomorrow so he will have to go in when it gets here to fix the other machine. Sure hope the rest of the day tomorrow quiets down. It would be nice to have a weekend with my husband!

Not to mention that Jono, Carly and I woke up with sore throats today. We felt a little better throughout the day but before the day was over Jono had thrown-up. Did I mention he did that in a crowed Walmart store? Yah, so we won't be doing Church tomorrow. We will be staying home trying to get ourselves better. :)

My Aunt Kaye is starting to ask about being able to go home from the hospital. We think that is a really positive sign. She may need to go to a rehab center first but we still feel really good about her progress at this point.

Well, that's all I know for now. Take care and get some sleep. I know that's my plan. :)

ANOTHER DAY, A LITTLE MORE PROGRESS

Today they moved my Aunt Kaye to a room in intermediate care. She is doing okay. She is alert, still a bit confused but she knows her family and is slowly regaining herself. Thank you so much for the prayers--please keep them going.

Rob was gone overnight last night for work and got home safely this evening. The kids went out and played in the yard while he mowed and I fixed dinner. After we ate we sat down and watched a cute family movie together.

 Then we were so tired, we all went to bed. The end. Lol!

AN UPDATE

My Aunt Kaye had a better day today (Thursday). She was actually able to move her right side a bit. They have decided that she does not have Lyme Disease--though they have not explained why they thought she did in the first place. Bob and Ronda were hopeful the infectious disease doctor would shed some light on that but apparently he did not.

She is very weak and gets confused easily. I think some of that could be attributed to just being in the hospital in intensive care though. I've seen that a lot with patients who are in there for any length of time. The family is hopeful that she will be moved from intensive to intermediate care soon. 

Please keep praying with us--and thank you so much for your prayers already!

A LITTLE KID TALK

This afternoon the kids had a friend over, a little 3 year old girl they play with. Jono asked her if she liked another 3 year old girl they all know and often play with. She shook her head "no". That surprised me because they all play together fairly often. So, I looked at her and encouragingly said, "Oh, yes you do. I'm sure you do." Again, she shook her head "no." At this point, Carly chimed in and said, "Um, I think they broke up!" I nearly bust a gut laughing when she said that. Kids are so funny!

Hmmm. How does one three year old girl break up with another three year old girl . . . exactly? Well, I'm not quite sure, but I'll bet it would have been fun to watch! Hahaha!