Happy Father's Day

The greatest gift I ever had
Came from God; I call him Dad!
~Author Unknown

Carefree Highway

Micah and I had a date I like to call a trip along the "carefree highway". Both he and I wanted to get out of the house and go explore the middle part of the state where the sun shines it's beautiful rays and their are warm water lakes. We are thinking about buying a vacation property over there because it is only a few hours away, yet it feels like a whole different place. Plus it is always a bonus to have water nearby since both he and I have such fond memories of being out on lakes. It is a perfect paradise.

As we were driving along the highway, Micah noticed sculptures of horses on top of a steep mountainside. He insisted we stop at it and make the hike up to see them close up. I looked at him and thought he was crazy. I had on terrible shoes, and I thought there is no way I can make it up a climb like that. But I did! I was so proud of myself. I forget that I'm not a 350 pound woman anymore who doesn't do things like this. Now I am active and able to experience the outdoors. It was freeing and beautiful.

When we made it to Lake Roosevelt we both sat by the water and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. Where we live we haven't seen too much sun, so we were soaking it up.

On the drive to Lake Roosevelt we drove along side a body of water called Soap Lake. It really was the strangest sight. Around the whole entire edge of the water and rocks was this white residue. It was pretty cool. You didn't have to be a rocket scientist to know why it was called Soap Lake, but the name did do one thing - make us look and look, over and over again.

At the end of a fun day of exploring a whole new part of Washington, Micah and I slept in the van at a rest stop. We really did have a great time. When we are together, we could go anywhere and think that it was the most fun. I guess that is why we have lasted being married so long.

Electronically Tragic!

Sigh.... today was a day where electronics didn't stand a chance. I'm actually trying to recover from the thought of the cost of the losses that will add up to be many dollars out of my pocket. So to update all of you who might be interested, my camera took a five foot fall to the ground and busted out the lense. It is a lost cause. And to make matters worse, good ol' puppy dog (Simba) got his teeth on one of my thumb drives, and used it as a chew toy. Growl. I really hate when this kind of day happens. I'm going to go on a day trip to the sunny side of Washington with my hubby, and my camera options are terrible. The good news is, the stuff on the thumb drive was salvageable... amazing. I put it on another disk. But one thing a day like today really makes known, is how reliant we are on electronics. And today my day was electronically tragic! Kaboom!

Attitude is Everything!

Alright, I've accepted the fact that we just aren't going to have a sunny summer. It's better to face the facts and move forward, then to just feel sorry for yourself about things you can't change. So today I thought about the three things that were causing me boredom.

1. Rain

2. Rain

3. Staying inside because of the rain.

There has to be a solution to all this madness. Madness = boredom. What did I use to do when the weather wasn't exactly on the co-operative side with doing outdoor activities?

Bling, bling, bling. The light went on. Don't all you guys out their laugh about what I'm going to say, just because it might seem "old" (as Lazarus would put it) for wanting to spend my time in a chair somewhere with a ball of yarn.

CROCHET!

So I did it. I went out to the store and loaded my cart with the wildest colors of yarn I could find and rolled my cart up to the checkout with a cart full of boredom killers. Crochet hook and all. I was about to spend my night with out having to dwell on my summer (or lack of) blues. I was going to have fun.

I get home, pull out my yarn and needle, get myself a large glass of juice and plop down on the couch. Of course this was after getting a refresher of how to even crochet from the famous YouTUBE site on how to do a simple single stitch. Now I was ready to go. I started to do my work on the yarn - and whatya know - it was actually turning out right. Exciting. This was the most fun I have had in days. Who would have known that all the grandmas across the united states had it right when they sat down with their yarn and needles in hand, and rocked away on their chairs. Inspiring.
The funny part of it is that as I'm sitting their feeling all giddy that my single stitch is "actually working" one kid after another plop down beside me. Suddenly the couch is sagging in with a truck load of interested kids. Questions and comments spilling.

"What are you doing?"
"Wow, that looks really cool."
"Can I try it?"
"Can I sit by you?"
"Will you teach me that?"
"Do you have yarn that I can have?"
"Wouldn't it be awesome to make all of our kids baby clothes?"
Ect... ect....

They were just exited about the crocheting as I was. Lazarus was begging to get his chance at it, even though he said that "this is what old people do." Which I laughed at and said, "guess you like old people activities then." And he smiled. I guess all of us do. So I continued my needlework and they continued their fascination. Unplanned family time, awesome.


No longer does rain have to mean sitting on your backside inside just watching some movie and wishing you could be doing something else, something that doesn't put you to sleep - something more entertaining, something less tv like. So I guess you could say the lesson learned here is - attitude is everything.

Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun, Please Shine Down on Me

So everyone knows that summer is fast approaching, and isn't that just a nice warming thought? Not here. It means rain - and I have to say I'm really starting to wonder when the sun is going to show up for this summer gig, and all. Maybe it has gone AWOL on us. I know I live in Washington (the rainy state), but seriously - I'm getting a little urked with this rain and stuff. This has been the worst year ever. I'm starting to actually feel depressed about this lack of sunshine thingy. We have had literally like - well - let me think (scratching head) - maybe a week of sunshine. Yeah, I'm serious. Now that just AIN'T right (and yes, I said ain't - which ain't a word - but if you were me, you might feel the urge to talk in non-words too. It is sickening). Of course it makes for nice rainbows, and cute pictures with the umbrella too - but honestly I'm going crazy here. For lack of a better statement, "throw a dog a bone here, will ya?" OR "Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun, please shine down on me!" Sigh, I guess it went on vacation.

Beware of the Coneheaded Dog!

Our puppy Simba was just de-manned (fixed) yesterday, and had to wear a cone to prevent him from licking himself. Wow, what an interesting situation that has been. It is a dangerous game to play when anyone gets near the coneheaded dog, because he has no sense of the word STOP! His circular plastic head runs smack into you, hard. My shins are aching from the times he just runs into me, and unfortunately he likes to follow mommy around - or more accurately stated, hit mommy around. All yesterday night he did also whine alot because he was in pain. He couldn't figure out a way to lay down and be comfortable because he couldn't get on his favorite chair. He would just stand there and cry, poor guy. Anyhow, today he seems to be feeling better and we gave him a big pile of blankets he could stretch out on. Unfortunately he still doesn't care what or who he runs into. So to all who may visit him, beware of the coneheaded dog!

The Tooth of the Matter...

The tooth of the matter is, all is well in "Levi Land" now. No longer is he having to walk around with an eye-catching half tooth in the front of his mouth. He is happy with the fix and doesn't have to worry about his big brother telling him that he is going to have a "big metal post" for his front tooth, and he'll "look like a robot" too - thanks alot Lazarus for giving your brother the comfort he needs. It even made Levi feel good that everyone told him how great the tooth looked... bingo! That never happens. You got to love dentists and their ability to fix a tooth without installing "big metal posts" for a set of ivories. Yippie! Now hopefully we don't do that again. Fingers crossed.

I fought gravity, and the gravity won!

Just a few days ago Micah and I were sitting around talking about how lucky we were that none of our kids have really been hurt. This really is the case, and what a blessing it is. Four kids and not a single broken bone, that is a rarity. Don't you think? Well nature thought he would roar up his ugly head and laugh at us on one single unlucky day, today! I guess the only good thing I can say about this is.... "still no broken bones, ha ha ha." So this is how the story is told...

The boys (Lazarus, Levi, and Isaac) were restless because the sun was out and the computers & tv's were "off limits". Levi sidles up to me and asks, "hey mom, can Lazarus, Isaac, and me go to the park?"

Now you see, I'm a paranoid parent. Reading the news is not a good past time for me because it only makes my need for protecting my kids much stronger. But I do want to trust them. I do want them to be able to learn responsibility. So this was my opportunity. "All of you? And you promise - and I mean PROMISE you guys will have good behavior and practice the buddy system, right?" I stared each one of my boys down with a glare that promised disciplinary action if any of them dared to break the golden rule.

"Yep, for sure." He reassures me.

"What about you Isaac?" My finger points at Isaac standing in the doorway, his body snaps to attention. "You promise you'll listen to Lazarus and Levi?"

Isaacs head bobs up and down on his slender shoulders. "Oh yeah mom, I promise. Cross my heart." He folds his arms over his chest. "I'm gonna listen real good."

Sigh, "Okay guys... but no one comes home alone. You stick together." And I was going to pray like the dickens that nothing bad would happen to them. I know I need to let go and let them grow up. There were three of them, so together they should be safe. There was power in numbers. I was going to work on letting them learn to show me how responsible they could really be.

I watched as the boys gathered up balls and outdoor toys to take to the park for a little fun time. I knew that this was not only good for them, but for me as well. If I didn't learn how to let my boys grow up, then I would have trouble when they finally grew into adults - but that didn't make it any easier to trust that everything was going to be all fine and dandy. So I waited... and I waited... and I waited....

That is when I heard footsteps pounding across the driveway as Lazarus headed for the house, throwing open the door. "Mom, I have some really REALLY bad news for you!" His voice roars through the house and my throat tightens apprehensively. "Something bad has happened to Levi."

"Tell me." Here it is... the words I've been waiting a half an hour to hear.... I really am not ready to deal with it....

"He broke his teeth out."

What? "What do you mean broke them out?"

So Lazarus goes on to tell me about how the metal see-saw is jumped on by a girl just as Levi bends to pick up his jacket, and whack, straight to the mouth. Tooth broken and left behind. I'm just thinking, where the heck is Levi so I can assess the damage? Finally I hear crying and Levi and Isaac appear in the doorway. And that is when I see it... his permanent tooth broken in half, and half of it is laying in the park somewhere.... oh dear.... dentist... here we come....

Okay, so this is the part where the story should be over - right? But when it rains, it really does pour... so let me continue.

That evening, after trying to figure out what to do about a permanent tooth being broken in half - I go to bed exhausted. Dealing with the kids this Sunday morning/afternoon/evening (all of it) was utterly tiring. We had teeth breaking, fights erupting, mud thrown on everyone (including the dog), water soaking my rug, messes left everywhere, clean laundry thrown all over, so on, and so on, and so on....

Really, I just wanted to go to bed and sleep for an entire week. Unfortunately, I was not so blessed.

In the middle of the night I was laying there and heard a loud BANG. I thought, what in the heck was that?

Then the crying started - I knew something bad had happened - but it took a few minutes for my cranial gears to churn before I realized what it was that I was hearing.

Arianna fell off her top bunk bed.

I jump out of bed and run out there to find Arianna in the bathroom with her face over the toilet. Blood is soaking her hair, hands, and face. She is coughing and gagging into the bowl.

"Anna, are you okay?" I'm staying calm... and I was pretty proud of that, considering I don't do well getting awakened from a deep sleep, no matter how serious the matter.

She starts mumbling, "I am sick. I am sick." Over and over.

I am looking at her and trying to figure out where the blood is coming from - so I go and get a rag from the hall closet and tell her "I need to wipe the blood off of her face to figure out where she was bleeding from" because her clothes she was wearing were soaked with blood, and in her bedroom there was a good foot or so of blood on her floor.

She mumbles, "I'm sick... no blood... just sick... just sick."

After wiping her up and taking a good look at her, I notice she has cut her lip up pretty bad where her teeth bit into her and her nose was bleeding out of both sides. She is totally confused about what happened and is a little out of it.

Anyhow, today I am having to monitor her closely and make sure her swelling and tummy ache get better. Every half hour I'm talking to her to make sure she is alright. I'm probably driving her bonkers. I am pretty sure she has a mild concussion (because she was a little out of it and has a headache) and her lip and face are really swollen. Although I am feeling better about things because she seems to be improving, I still want to make sure nothing turns for the worse. It also looks like her eye will turn black over the next day or two because it is already changing color - although in the picture it is hard to see how bad it looks in real life - the poor girl.

So, I guess you could call us blessed that no bones are broken yet. Yippie! And both of my kids could say, "I fought gravity, and the gravity won!"

Simba, Our New Puppy!

In March, Micah and I went out and got a new puppy without telling our kids where we were going. They thought we were going on our weekly date. Little did they know, we were out looking at puppies to see if we found one we liked.

Well, we did - and needless to say, we brought him home to the kids. When Micah and I arrived home and were holding a puppy in our arms, we told the kids, "look at what we found down the street. I think he is lost." We kept going on about how we needed to find the owners of this puppy because they were probably really missing him.

The kids kept saying, "I wish he was our puppy" and "he's so cute, don't you wish he was ours?" Well, after Micah and I played the story for a bit I finally looked at them and said, "He is our puppy." It took a while for the kids to actually believe he was ours.

Finally after a little convincing, Isaac looked at me with a huge smile across his face and said, "mom, this is better then Christmas." So take a peek at our video of him, and you will see what is better then Christmas. Smiles! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVoG_p1-u9k

My Pot of Gold at the End of my Rainbow!

Everyone has alot of things in life to be thankful for. Mine is my family. This march we were very blessed to have not only my side of the family with us, but Micah's as well. And though it isn't Thanksgiving, I would like to show you MY POT OF GOLD AT THE END OF MY RAINBOW! Our family...

Where there is smoke there is Isaac building a fire...

I have put a link in here to a video on Isaac and a time I found him building a fire across the street. If you click the link and watch it, you will watch the whole story.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=GV-4bw_IKvw

Catch UP! Sorry, OUT of ORDER!

Hi everyone. I just wanted to pre-warn you that while I'm catching up my blog things might get out of order. I guess it will keep you guessing what time frame, or year we're in. What a way to keep it exciting, huh? Smiles... alright... let's go do a little time hopping.

Happy 13th Birthday, Lazarus!

ABOUT ME - in Lazarus' words...

1. What are your interests? "I love playing paintball, jumping on the trampoline, and depending on my mood I like to shoot a few hoops. I play video games alot. It also is fun to jump off the trampoline into the pool, so I guess I like the swimming part of that. If I have good supplies I like to make forts outside."
2. What are your favorite types of clothing? "I like athletic clothes. Underarmor, especially white. I also like longer shorts, not the wierd short type. Depending on the jeans, I can really like them. They have to have the lines (seams) down the side. V-neck shirts are cool if they have a good design on them. I prefer tighter shirts. Athletic socks and shoes. Good Vans (brand of shoe) too."
3. Who are your best friends? "James (Popp) made a good impression on me when we first moved here. He asked me over to his house the very first day we got in this house. We've been friends ever since. Also Lucas. I started talking to him at first because I felt bad for him, but when I got to know him I thought he was really cool. So now we have had our friendship for a super long time. 3/4 of a year, or so. Those are basically the two I like to do things with on a regular basis."
4. What do you want your mom and dad to know about you? "I want my parents to support me when I get back into sports by showing up to my games and practice more. When I do that, I feel like I really need them."
5. What are your favorite school subjects? "I like math, art, and P.E. (physical education). I like P.E. because it relates to sports. I really enjoyed football, but am not sure what it will be like to play tackle (he played flag football his first year of playing) football."
6. What is your biggest fear? "I worry about when I get into sports and there will be something that I can't handle. (He gets teary eyed) I always worry when I join them that there will be something I can't do."

Blogging Again!

It almost seems crazy that it has been over a year since I have blogged. What a shame really, because our family has had so many fun moments worth mentioning... so... I'm going to do my best to atleast show some pictures and tell stories of some of our past year experiences. This next year I am going to do better to keep this up to date... laughing. Note to self (me - Emily): NO EXCUSES! Smiles, my specialty.