The Martin Family

Memorial Day Whale-Watching tour, Part 2

2011-06-02T18:39:00.000-07:00

This is a humpback mother and calf

Of the whales that we saw, only humpback whales do the tail flip and only when they dive.

It took an hour and a half before there were any whale sightings and I missed the first one. It was a minke whale. Minkes are the smallest of the whales that we saw. They get to about 25 ft. Then we saw some humpback whales, a harbor porpoise, a fin whale and the minke. The fin whales can get up to 75 ft. and are 2nd only to blue whales in size. Humpbacks get to 50-55 ft. Frankly, we couldn't tell the difference. The tour guide said that there are 4000 recognized humpbacks in the Gulf of Maine (which is where we were). They are identified by the patterns on the fluke (the underside of their tail). The patterns are black and white and are different for each whale. We were thrilled to see them!

Thank goodness Emma likes to read chapter books now! She was getting pretty wound
up and it was nice to have her sit and quietly read.

The trip back was somewhat long and we were all getting tired by then. Thank goodness we all had something quiet to do, either a DS or book or sudoku.

If you are of a certain age and this statue seems familiar to you, there is a reason! Find out here.

Across from the statue, there were lists of years and names of men who died at sea, starting in the early 1700's.
Some sad years had long lists. In 1879, 249 men were lost. You can read more about it here.

I love this picture!

I thought that the Fishermen's Wives Memorial was particularly poignant. Considering the number of men who lost their lives each year, these women literally did not know when or if they would ever see their husbands again. A quotation from the Gloucester Fishermen Wives Association reads, "Envisioned by the wives, mothers, daughters, and sisters of Gloucester fishermen, the memorial honors not only the faith, diligence, and fortitude of the wives of fishermen and mariners everywhere but also honors all women for their unselfish contribution to the well-being of their families and communities."
You can read more about both memorials here.

Mention a seafood restaurant to the youngers and the typical response is, "No!!!! Not seafood!!!!!!!" We assured them that there would be food that they liked too even though the restaurant was called "Lobsta Land". I mean, how could we not have seafood after a whale-watching trip?

The scallops were good (although I still like the ones I have had at Waterfront Grill the best) but my favorite dish was the crab cakes, mmmmm!

So we started the day with food and ended it the same way. Typical!

Memorial Day Whale-Watching tour, Part 1

2011-06-01T14:30:00.000-07:00

When I told Dave that I wanted to do a whale-watching tour out of Gloucester (pronounced Gloster), he realized that there would be a Sonic nearby and got very excited about it. We have missed Sonic since moving to Massachusetts, (there isn't one close to us) especially the cranberry limeade.
I think he was more excited about Sonic than the whale-watching.

Yummy!

Garrett and Alyssa are good buddies most of the time.

The day was quite overcast and warm and humid. It was nice to be able to sit outside to eat even though it was noisy because of the traffic and the guy who was hosing off the parking lot. Massachusetts is very green in the summertime and quite beautiful. I hadn't realized how rural much of the state would be. Like most people, when I thought of Massachusetts I thought of Boston but much of it has winding narrow country roads lined with many varieties of trees. It is gorgeous!

Alyssa and Emma

Alyssa had a cup malfunction but she is quite resourceful. She wasn't going to let a drop go to waste!

The town of Gloucester is an old fishing village that has been around for 400 years. It is known as America's oldest seaport. It is on Cape Ann and is about 45 minutes north of Boston.

If you are interested in learning more about Gloucester, they have a website here. It is an interesting place and was the site of the book and movie The Perfect Storm, which was based on a true story. I haven't seen the movie but I'd like to re-read the book after visiting Gloucester. It is also the setting for Rudyard Kipling's Captain Courageous.

Garrett and Alyssa with a view of the harbor behind them

There was a big stack of lobster pots waiting to be used. Diana was thrilled to see them.

Unfortunately Emma didn't cooperate in this picture but the boat we went on is in the background.

Still trying to get a good picture

We were told to bring winter gear because it gets quite chilly when the boat is on the water. While we were waiting, it was very humid with no breeze and we were stifling and anxious to get going.

Ten Pound lighthouse
On the way out of Gloucester Harbor we passed Ten Pound lighthouse. There are several stories about how the lighthouse got its name, the most common being that the white settler's paid 10 pounds for the island to the natives. You can read more about the lighthouse here.

Hammond castle
On the other side of the harbor from the lighthouse is Hammond castle. The owner, John Hammond, was an inventor who was 2nd only to Edison in number of patents. He was known as either the Father of Radio Control or Remote Control depending on which source you are reading. The tour guide told us that his parents lived down the street in their own castle and that John built his after arguing with them but I was unable to find that story anywhere online. The castle is open for tours (I want to go!) and their website is here.

Once we got out of the harbor and on the open ocean, we were going at a pretty fast clip. It did get pretty windy and chilly, especially on the front of the boat. We tried to re-create one of our favorite pictures from the Seattle ferry but it didn't quite work. It was fun trying anyway!

The boat we were on was built for 300 passengers but they limit the number to 149. I think it had less than that while we were on it. The tour guide was a marine biologist and told us plenty of interesting things about whales while we were heading out to the Stellwagen Bank which is a prime spot for whale watching. We are lucky to be living so close to it! Learn more about it here.

Wow it’s been a long time!

2010-07-14T10:00:00.001-07:00

There is no way I can replay almost the entire last year so I'm not even going to try. I doubt anyone would want to read it all anyway! Suffice it to say that our holidays were nice, everyone survived the year and are all now a year older, and some people have big things going on in their life. J I will post some of those things later. The exciting thing for me, which will make it all easier for me to blog, is that I have my own laptop and have installed MS Word 2007 on it. No longer do I have to fight with 4 other people to get access to a computer! Just as a teaser from our latest vacation, here's a picture:

I'm sure you all can figure this one out!

The Highs and Lows of Fall

2009-09-24T04:45:00.000-07:00

I really love Fall in New England and will do a post on it once the leaves finishing turning into their glorious fall colors. The weather is perfect, highs in the 70's, lows in the 50's.
But those aren't the high's and low's I'm talking about. I'm talking about the start of school. I am always anxious for school to start by the end of summer. I am ready to put an end to the endless negotiating over how much tv to watch (I usually end up giving up by the end of summer), the bored kids, tired of the constant noise. The start of school is a relief to all of that and those precious quiet hours are wonderful. I always forget, however, just how necessary that quiet time is to my sanity and to be able to endure the after school craziness!
The start of school not only brings home tons of paperwork, pto forms, open houses, etc. etc. but it is also the start of Field Hockey season. Field Hockey literally takes over Diana's life with practices or games until 5 or later every afternoon. That actually will be the subject of another post as well, lots of drama with Field Hockey this year.
Anyway, it means that my only extra driver is too busy to help. Every day we have some sort of after school activity, Tae Kwan Do, saxophone lessons, scouts, homework, practicing and trying to fit dinner in somehow, orthodontist and dentist visits, it all makes me crazy at times! Garrett came last week wanting to add an afterschool flag football and Alyssa wants to start Tae Kwan Do but I just can't see how I can fit it in! As it is, I am resorting to teaching them piano lessons on Sunday afternoons. I usually prefer for them to take from someone else and I like my Sundays for rest, but there it is. I don't know how else we can do it...

Did I mention that Dave is out of town a lot in the fall??

Summer's Over

2009-09-13T16:45:00.001-07:00

Okay, I've been a slacker for the last couple of months or however long it has been. I'm finally doing another blog post!

It was a very strange summer for me, being stuck in bed for a couple of months wasn't much fun and I couldn't drive until just about a month ago so I couldn't take the kids anywhere. I could, however, sit out with them at the pool. Thank Goodness we have a pool or it would have been a miserable summer for us all!

I never thought I would feel that way about a pool. I really didn't want one, it just happened to come with the house that we wanted. There were too many stories of people we knew whose child or grandchild drowned or nearly so in their backyard pool for me to feel comfortable with it. It does have a fence around it but I still get a bit nervous.

What I didn't realize is just how much we would enjoy the pool! It is great during the summer months when the kids are bored and watching too much tv. I just say "Let's go swimming!" and we head outside for hours at a time, quite often inviting a friend or two to join us. It's a great way to entertain too. A cookout and swim party is much easier than a more formal dinner party. It has been used this summer by our branch several times too: youth activities, a young women float and flick (they watched Jaws), and a primary activity.

Our children all swim really well too, except for Emma who is still learning. Last summer she wouldn't even get in the pool and screamed through her swim lessons. This summer she swam all over with her vest on and even went off the diving board and slide. The last couple of times in the pool Jenna helped her swim without the vest and she is getting it!

Here are some of our favorite swim pictures from this summer:

My Favorite Movie

2009-07-12T10:04:00.001-07:00

I love this movie!!!

I have always enjoyed books and movies about people who go through extreme difficulties in their lives and still manage to find hope and beauty in the world. Life is Beautiful is another favorite movie even though he dies in the end (sorry if I have ruined it for anyone). The Diary of Anne Frank, Schindler's List, I could probably think of several more, and books like The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom, all really inspire me.

I think that Cinderella Man is my favorite because not only does Jim triumph over the trials of poverty and keeping his family together but he becomes a better person precisely because he has been through those trials and he uses them to his advantage. When his family is being torn apart because they can't pay the bills, he humbles himself and goes to ask for money from the people who told him he didn't have what it takes to be a fighter any more. When he goes to work on the docks even though his right hand was broken, he learns to work mostly with his left hand thereby making what was a major weakness for him into a major strength.

I especially love when he fights Max Baer at the end. Max Baer has killed a man in the ring and threatens to kill Jim. He is arrogant and narcissistic, a thoroughly unlikable person. Jim doesn't brag, he just goes in and does what he needs to do, the humble man quietly defeating the braggart. I love it!

Fenway Fun

2009-06-21T06:13:00.000-07:00

One of the perks of living near Boston is being able to attend a Red Sox game now and then.

We used to be Atlanta Braves fans because we used to live in the Atlanta Metro area in the late 80's, early 90's. That was when the Braves went from worst to first in one season. They lost the World Series that year but you wouldn't know it from the parade they had.
I was not a baseball fan back then and Dave was traveling every week and we had 3 very young children so you would think that I would be going to bed early and getting lots of sleep.
Nope.
I was as caught up in the frenzy as anyone else! It was crazy with people decorating their cars and houses in red and blue and with big tomahawks and everyone talking to everyone about the games and exhausted from not getting enough sleep. It was fun!
Then we moved to Montgomery. People there are still Braves fans but it wasn't the same. We did go to games now and then courtesy of Dave's work. I even went to a World Series game in 1995 and saw people like Ted Turner and Jane Fonda and Spike Lee.

Then we moved to Massachusetts. I think that it is a requirement when you move here to be Red Sox, Patriots, and Celtics fans. We were lucky that all three teams were doing really well so it made it a lot more fun and easy to change allegiances.
Last night, the Red Sox faced the Braves. There was a little part of me that is still a Braves fan but I don't really know the players any more so I was glad that the Sox won. Go Sox!

One of the really fun things about going to Fenway is just the history of the park. The Green Monstah (Monster) is famous and Babe Ruth played there, how fun is that! It is really cool just to be there and be part of the tradition of the place, including singing "Sweet Caroline" during the 7th inning stretch. The players are loved, especially now that Manny Ramirez is gone. (Yooouuuuuukkk!)
Another fun thing is listening to the fans with their brash attitudes and Boston accents. I mean Really fun. It just makes me laugh. It's a great people-watching place!
I didn't get to go last night of course, with my cast and walker, but I hope to go next time!

Update: Sleepiness

2009-06-02T15:38:00.000-07:00

I went to the sleep lab the week before my ankle surgery. (All things are now going to be measured as Before Surgery and After Surgery-B.S. and A.S. for short.)

The ironic thing about going to a sleep lab is that they stick all kinds of things on you that make it difficult to sleep-sticky things all over my legs, chest, neck, hair, and even some things that measure oxygen in my nose. So they spend an hour and a half sticking all these things to you and then tell you to relax and sleep. Riigghhtt.

So it turns out that I have mild sleep apnea. It's kind of like the low-normal thyroid levels I have except that in this case they actually want to do something about it. I stop breathing 15 times an hour for at least 10 seconds each time.

I basically have 3 choices.
1. I can have surgery to remove my tonsils (yes, I still have them) and part of my uvula and possibly fix my deviated septum (yes, I have one of those). The problem with this solution is a: it's surgery, not a fan and b: it is only successful 60% of the time. Positives: If it is successful, it's done and I don't have to think about it.

2. I can get a dental appliance that helps keep my airways open. Pros-it's a simple thing and non-invasive. Cons-It is only successful 60% of the time and insurance may not pay for it and not all dentists do it.

3. I can get a CPAP machine which is a mask you wear at night that forces air into the breathing passages. It is almost 100% successful and insurance quite often pays for it. Downside: it has to be worn every night and can be noisy and irritating.

Sleep apnea has a lot of health consequences that I hadn't realized it did. Heart issues, weight gain, diabetes, stroke, 5 times greater chance of car accidents, hmmm guess I need to do something about it!

That's enough for now. Time for sleep!

Sittin' Around on my you-know-what

2009-06-01T12:29:00.000-07:00

Sounds like fun at first.
Laying around all day, watching movies and reading books.
Having my kids wait on me.
No cooking, no cleaning, no running around like crazy.
Ahh, living the good life!
At first anyway.
Now...
Bored...
bored....
bore......d

I have plenty of books to read
and plenty of movies to watch

(I had to interrupt this post to go check out a major crash in the kitchen, a broken glass-a little excitement in my day)

a little variety is good

(Now I'm going to go all Molly Mormon on y'all)

My blessings:
I don't hurt much
I have kids to wait on me and do the housework
I have books and movies
I don't have to do the housework
Andrea's laptop is great
I love netflix watch instantly
I can watch an entire 6 hour miniseries from start to finish
I can sleep whenever I want to

Hey! What am I complaining about! This is great! I wonder how long I can keep the cast on...

Trials and Such

2009-05-27T11:25:00.000-07:00

As you know, Dave's job loss in Montgomery and our subsequent move to Massachusetts was a trying time for our family (see "Surgery", May 5th posting). I realized today that I hadn't given you the full picture of the whole experience, in fact I left out a very important part of it.
For several months before Dave lost his job, I had the feeling that something very big was going to happen to our family. I somehow knew that we would be moving which was ridiculous because we had no intention of moving and Dave's job was going quite well at that time but I couldn't shake that feeling.
For a while I thought that my uneasiness may have been due to Hurricane Katrina. Katrina had a big effect on our community even though we only got a few sprinkles from the actual hurricane itself. The Red Cross set up their headquarters for the relief efforts there and we had some red cross workers attending our ward. Many refuges ended up there and I will never forget the long line of FEMA trailers going down the highway. Our stake spent several weekends helping with clean up in Mississippi, as did many of the churches in the area. Then I realized that I started feeling uneasy before the hurricane and that feeling continued for many months afterward. I even had to stop myself from telling people that we would be moving and when applying for Alyssa to attend the magnet school, I didn't care that she only made the waiting list.
It was around this time, February 2006, that I read an article in the Ensign, read here. It is an article by James E. Faust about trials. I remember turning to Dave and asking, "Where are our trials?" I counsel you never to do that. At the time, however, things were going very well for us. We were financially secure, healthy, happy in our ward, the kids seemed to be happy and, other than the occasional squabble and a little more than occasional messy rooms, they were (are) all pretty terrific people.
Literally within weeks Dave had lost his job and as you read in the earlier post, we were set upon by many difficulties in the coming months. It felt a little like the roof had caved in but I could never forget that I had been prepared for it. I knew that Heavenly Father knew that I didn't like change and blessed me with that premonition because He loves me. He couldn't take away our trials. We need our trials, we should expect to have trials, because without them we couldn't progress the way we need to progress. Because of that I didn't feel angry or try to blame Him or lose my faith in any way.
That love was shown not only by that emotional preparation I had but also through the tremendous acts of service we witnessed on our behalf, both in Montgomery and after the move to Massachusetts, and continuing today. We have been privileged to know some of the most Christlike people I could ever hope to know. We have been awed by their examples and humbled to know how much we owe to them and how far we have to go to be like them. If we had not had our trials we would not have known the acts of service because these are people who do not trumpet their own horns.
I have to say as trials go, an unexpected job loss and a broken ankle aren't too bad, I think that it was that and all the other little things piled up on each other that made it so difficult. It well may be that we have greater trials in our future, that these smaller ones were just to prepare us for the biggies, or maybe this is as bad as it gets, I just don't know. What I do know is that this is life. Trials or not, big or small, I know that there are many terrific people in the world, that my family loves me, that my Heavenly Father loves me as He does all of us, and with that knowledge I can handle whatever comes my way.
Last October Conference, Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin gave a great talk that just boosts my spirits. I try to remember it whenever I feel grouchy, which I am ashamed to say, is way too often. Watch here.

Reviving My Brain

2009-05-24T13:37:00.000-07:00

I realized when I had my surgery that I would have a lot of free time this summer, in fact I knew that I would get pretty dang bored and I don't handle boredom well. When I originally fell and broke my ankle, the injury was pretty traumatic and so I was kept on a lot of pain medication and was in the twilight zone for a long time. This time I feel good, better even than before my surgery which is making this enforced bed rest, or almost bed rest, very tedious indeed. I have a lot of books to read for my book blog, in fact there are 8 sitting up in my room right now, but even I can't read all the time. I have watched more tv than I want and even then it's not that much. Most tv is pretty boring however I am thrilled that So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD for those in the know) has started! It's great that I can use Andrea's laptop and facebook is fun but just doesn't take up that much time. I have been watching things on Netflix and that's been good too but none of that (except my book blog) has any real purpose. Life has to have purpose or it is meaningless!
So, realizing that I would feel that way, I signed up for some online, non-credit courses. I have been feeling like I would like to earn a little money at home sometime and have been considering my options, and have tailored my online classes to that purpose. Right now I am taking classes in Web Design, Anatomy and Physiology (in case I want to do medical transcription) and Computers for the Workplace-yes, I know that's not a home business sort of class but I thought it would be a good overview of computers since I have NEVER taken any sort of computer course.
I am finding that I like the web design class the best. The computer class is really basic so far and I find that I know more about computers than I had realized and the Anatomy class is probably my most challenging because I forgot all that stuff long ago, but really I like the web design because I can actually do something with it, right now, today. It has Purpose, and so do I!
We have to do a website as part of the class (makes sense, doesn't it?) and I would like to do a family website, but not for sharing with the teachers and the class, so I have decided to do a web site entitled "Heart of the Home" and put our family's favorite recipes on it. I am sure you all are just dying to see it but I haven't started it yet. Once I do I will let you all know and then you can help critique it, and contribute if you so desire. Should be fun!

A Woman of Leisure

2009-05-14T18:55:00.000-07:00

Okay, I am now 6 days post surgery and am doing quite well. The surgery was not bad. They gave me an epidural in my leg which made it nice and numb and then gave me a sedative which made my mind nice and numb so I don't remember a thing about it. It was nice not to have general anesthesia although the sedative did make me feel nauseated. I only spent one night in the hospital (yeah!) and the nurses were good, and no roommate this time!
Getting home was not fun because I got sick in the car. The only thing I had was a paper bag and well, that didn't work very well. We live about 45 miles from the hospital so it was, um, a bit uncomfortable. Once we got home and got cleaned up and I managed to get up the stairs ( a feat in itself-bumping up on my behind and once I got to the top standing up was interesting) then everything has been fine.
I feel pretty good. Not much pain. I do take percocet but won't need it much longer. I don't have a standard cast yet. It's just a metal support for the back of my leg and foot which is heavily padded and wrapped with a bandage. It's very heavy and thick and I think I could knock someone out with it if I wanted. I can't put any weight on it and have to use a walker. I am supposed to be in bed with it elevated most of the time except for the 5 minutes every hour I am supposed to get up and walk around, except of course at night. That means that I have spent pretty much 138 hours out of the last 144 in bed. Probably even more than that because sometimes I forget to get up and move around. Yeah. Thank goodness Andrea lets me use her laptop.
Andrea is our nanny and supervisor and laundress and cook and shopper and chauffeur. She's tired. She is doing quite well but I don't think she's going to want to get married for awhile. Our branch is wonderful and is helping out with meals. (They are soooo good to us!) I think though, that it is probably good that I can't see how clean it is downstairs. It's just best that I don't think about it too much. We had an incident this morning where Garrett forgot about the waffles in the toaster and set off the smoke alarms. That was exciting. Emma was mad because they were her waffles but she forgave him. Mostly I just hear thuds and thumps and sometimes crying or yelling but that's all just normal in our house. Or maybe that percocet is just doing it's job because I feel pretty relaxed about it all :) and am enjoying the time to read and rest. We'll see how long that lasts...

Mother's Day

2009-05-11T08:28:00.000-07:00

I cheated a bit with Mother's Day this year. Not only did I get breakfast in bed but lunch and dinner too!
Nothing like having ankle surgery to guarantee personal service on Mother's Day. Although even without the surgery my family does a great job making me feel special!
Some of the things that made me feel good yesterday:
Emma let me keep her blankies with me for a couple of hours.
Alyssa wrote a very sweet acrostic poem for me.
Garrett wrote a poem and sang the song that I didn't get to hear the primary sing in church.
Andrea and Diana brought me things and helped make dinner.
I got to have nice talks with both Jenna and Erica.
Dave gave me chocolate, and brought me food, and took care of kids.

I am truly blessed with a wonderful family!

Surgery

2009-05-05T11:33:00.001-07:00

I am going to have surgery on Friday. I am not thrilled about this. In fact I am dreading it. I know that I will have a long recovery, that it involves a lot of pain for me and inconvenience for the family. It is an elective surgery, so you may wonder why I would want to go through it since I do have a choice? But for me there is no choice, I have to have the surgery. It all started back in September of 2006. (Sit back and relax, this is going to be long.)

We had recently moved to Massachusetts from Montgomery, Alabama where we had lived for 14 1/2 years. The move had been due to a new job for Dave, which was due to his being fired from his job in Montgomery, something he is still loathe to admit. It was a very difficult move. We hadn't sold our house in Montgomery yet despite many (Many!) open houses. Things kept breaking in the house after we put it on the market-sometimes the same thing broke multiple times, things like the ice machine, and the window in the laundry room kept leaking. We had problems with our realtor and had to find another one. Emma had just turned a year old in March and still needed lots of attention. Erica graduated from high school, Garrett was baptized, we had lots of soccer games, etc. while trying to sell the house. Life goes on! Dave had to leave for his new job in July so the rest of us were left behind to deal with things. It was a long hard hot summer and nothing seemed to be going very well.

By the time we got to moving day, I was just getting over bronchitis and was taking an antibiotic that made my mind race and made it difficult to sleep. Emma got a stomach bug and was throwing up all night. The movers seemed to be inept and extremely slow, they took forever. We had a severe thunderstorm move through as they were loading the truck (those of you in the South know what these are like) so they had to put everything in the garage until the next day. I had to stand in the laundry room with a towel held on the window sill while this was going on so that the rain that was pouring in wouldn't ruin our new paint job from the last time rain poured in.

So, we finally got on the road after saying goodbye to Jenna and Erica who would be flying to Provo the next day. I felt so bad that we couldn't take Erica out for her freshman year like we did with Jenna but it just couldn't be helped. That night we stayed in Charlotte NC and had the worst stomach flu I have ever had bar none. We all had it but Dave who got to stay up all night cleaning up after everyone. It was horrible and I felt so sorry for the hotel's housekeeping crew. We know it wasn't food poisoning because Jenna and Erica had it too and had to put off their plane flight for a day.

The one good thing to come out of everyone being sick is that there was NO fighting, whining, asking if we were there yet, etc. We looked like a bunch of dead bodies in the car. Two more days of driving got us to Massachusetts where we immediately started painting in the new house. We sent the 2 older girls off to girls camp and I started unpacking. We discovered that the movers really didn't know what they were doing and had packed our cases of honey badly. Yep, honey all over the place, even on my piano. Curses!

We had a couple of weeks before school started and spent it alternately trying to get the house settled and trying to comply with Massachusetts many rules and regulations. We got to know the nurses at the board of health pretty well.

The reason I am telling you all this background is so that you can understand all that we went through. We were finally feeling more settled and more relaxed about life. It had been a very long tough several months where I felt like I was slogging through mud the whole time. I was finally feeling like things were going to be okay.

We got everyone settled and school started and I could get the house put together. Whew! It felt good to be able to focus on the house! So I grabbed a box from the garage and started heading down to the basement with it. I guess I wasn't careful enough and shouldn't have been wearing sandals because the next thing I knew I am at the bottom of the stairs and my right foot isn't where it is supposed to be. Now that's a bit unsettling! I will spare you all the rest of the gory details but after a couple of surgeries and 5 very miserable days in the hospital I was able to come home.

Now we knew that with a 18-month-old child and me virtually bed-bound we were going to need some help. Fortunately we knew that a friend of ours, a 20-year-old BYU-I student, had the fall off. She was willing to come be our nanny for a few months and what a blessing that she was! She was so fun to have around, really made the adjustment to a new place easier for our teens, and did such a great job that we wanted to keep her permanently!

I was stuck in bed for several weeks, pretty heavily drugged most of the time but still really hurting! It hurt no matter what I did but I felt best lying down with my foot elevated. I could only sit up for about 15 minutes at a time before the pain was too much to bear. Nights were absolutely awful because I would wake up and hurt and just have to lie there and endure it. I had therapists who came to the house and gave me exercises to do. It took several weeks before I had a weight-bearing cast and could lose the walker. Then I could use crutches and get around a bit better.

After a month of that I got my lovely silver boot and could walk without crutches, yeah! Another month after that and I could start driving. Three months without driving! And I still had lots of physical therapy coming up-months of it-but at least I was able to function and take care of things.

That was 2 1/2 years ago. The physical therapy helped up to a point and then all progress just stopped. I have been hobbling and limping ever since. Sometimes I am able to walk fairly normally but first thing in the morning and after I have been sitting a little while and if I walk too much then I am back to hobbling around. I feel pain pretty much every day but not all day. Usually by night I am aching pretty badly. I can only take tylenol which doesn't really do much. Everything else gives me heartburn. The thing is, it's getting worse. I have arthritis in the joint and sometimes it feels like the bones are rubbing together. My doctor says that they probably are.

So, yeah, this surgery is major and the recovery is long but I have my reasons to go through it, namely:

1. No more pain

2. Be able to walk when I get out of bed

3. Be able to walk as much as I want without pain. I want to be able to go to Italy with Dave one of these days!

4. No more pain

So here we go. Two more days and then the whole process begins, Here's to (90%) Pain-Free Living!!

Congratulations Graduates!

2009-05-04T12:09:00.000-07:00

Spencer and Erica with Spencer's mom Betsy Ricks. It was so nice to see her!

Jenna and Chris

Spencer just after receiving his diploma

Erica just after receiving her diploma

Awww! Matching outfits!

Dave, Betsy, and Erica

Mark Jackson and Erica

Jenna and Mark

Erica, Spencer, and Chris all graduated from BYU in April so Dave and I made the trip out to Utah to see them graduate and celebrate with them! It was very nice of them all to graduate at them same time. It made it much more convenient for us. To make it an even more efficient trip, Dave scheduled a business trip in Utah that week (work then paid for his plane ticket, verrry smart!).

Dave flew out on Tuesday and I flew out on Wednesday. The Metros (from our branch) were on the plane so it was nice to have a little company. Thursday we got to spend a little time with the Armitages who just moved to Utah from our branch. We also did a little shopping in the BYU bookstore (it's a must) and very fittingly ran into some old friends who used to live in Montgomery, the Dillons. I say fittingly because we ran into them in August when we were dropping Andrea off for her freshman year.

That evening was the Convocation in the Marriott center. For those who have never been there, the place is huge! and the seats are very uncomfortable. President Uchtdorf and Elder Russell M. Nelson both spoke. I remember that the talks were excellent but couldn't tell you what they said right now. We sat by the Mullens (Chris' family-Michael, Ann Marie, and Joseph). At one point Jenna and I looked down the row and everyone else was asleep. It really was good but you know...it was a little warm in there. We took pictures outside in the mad crush of people (see above) and then went off to dinner. Spencer's family (Mom Betsy, sister Rebecca and Grandpa Welby) and JoEllen all joined us for a wonderful and fun meal at Macaroni Grill. Spencer's and Chris' family hadn't met before this but they got along very well as I knew they would!

The next day was all Commencement, more than anyone would ever really want but we were very glad to be there. It was a total of 8 hours in the Marriott, yes those hard little chairs, starting at 8 am with Spencer's commencement, the College of Humanities. Spencer graduated with a degree in Spanish and will be attending law school in the fall, most likely at NYU. Next came Erica at 11 am. She graduated with a degree in Sociology, although officially she won't be finished until the end of spring term. She wants to get a master's in Social Work. We ran into Mark Jackson, a friend from Montgomery. He was Jenna's first prom date. We had a break for lunch and a little rest at Erica's place and then back to the Marriott for Chris' commencement. He received his Master's of Accountancy degree and will be working in Boston (yeah!) starting in August.

It was very interesting to compare the 3 commencements. The College of Humanities had the best student speech, she was really good. And probably the best music as well (big surprise) The best speech overall was Matt Holland's speech at the College of Home, Family, and Social Sciences commencement. He was great! Andrea had him for American Heritage this year and loved him. Too bad he's leaving to be the President of Utah Valley University.

We then split up-the Mullens to Salt Lake for a big meal with extended family but we decided to stay in Provo because it was getting late so I got to have my chimichanga. We left for home the next day but not without running into one more, or two more, familiar faces at the airport. The Moores, from our ward in Montgomery, had been in Utah for their son's graduation. So good to see them!

We had a great time in Utah and are very proud of the graduates!!

Garrett's birthday

2009-04-19T11:50:00.001-07:00

Garrett turned eleven years old on April Fool's Day. He thinks it's great to have his birthday on that day!

It's hard to believe that he is that old already...

He'll be a teen before we know it.

He already knows more than I want him to know. He came home the other day asking about a word he heard at school-not the f-word but a worse one. A word I didn't know until I was much older. It made me feel sick inside. I explained to him how bad that word was and that I didn't want him around that kid who used it if he can help it. Arrghh!

But he just picks up on facts and things all the time and likes to talk about everything!

I've already posted about his testimony giving, every month without fail, a long well thought out sermon.

Last month he gave a talk in Primary that was written that morning. I didn't get a chance to review until a couple of minutes before he gave it which made me a little nervous because we never know what he is going to say (like the testimony he gave about Adam and Eve and that they needed to leave the Garden of Eden in order to be able to reproduce, don't know how many times he said, "reproduce" but it was enough to make us cringe). He did a great job on the talk, and he used the word "inordinate" correctly in it. I don't think any of the kids understood what he was saying.

Last week he used the phrase "metaphorically speaking" in casual conversation. I mean, what 5th grader does that?

But he's basically just a good, kind, thoughtful kid. He is also a sax-playing, video-game loving, book-loving, rock band guru. He is very kind to his sisters (more so than they are to him), he loves going to scouts and camping out, loves to help me when I don't feel well, and thinks very deeply about life.

Oh, and he also apparently is incapable of taking a serious picture.

We are sooo glad he's part of our family. Love you Garrett!

My Mistake!

2009-03-28T08:38:00.000-07:00

Why oh why oh why did I buy panties with the days of the week for Emma? As if getting her dressed every day weren't hard enough?!? Looking at the bright side, at least she's learning her days of the week and how to read them!

Emma's birthday

2009-03-28T08:09:00.000-07:00

Emma turned 4 years old on March 19th! She was very excited about turning 4, although the realization that she can't go back to nursery was a little hard for her. She requested spaghetti for her birthday dinner which was nice for me, easy!

She was of course very excited to open her gifts and loved them all!

Here you get a nice view of her outfit. Gotta love the orange patterned skirt with the multicolored striped shirt. Yep, she's stylin'!

She got some mints and gum for her birthday too! She loves life savor sours and will eat a ton of them. She also has been known to swallow 14 pieces of gum in one sitting. She seems to find gum no matter where it is hidden. We are working on just chewing and she's getting a lot better at it.

We had sick kids on the day of her birthday, in fact no one went to school that day. This is Garrett expressing his feelings about being sick:

Unfortunately, the sickness has continued at our house with the stomach flu this week instead of the constant cough we had last week. We are hoping to be done with it and are looking forward to being healthy again!

The day after her birthday we took cupcakes to her preschool. Of course most of the kids, Emma included, just ate the frosting. I think next time I could just take a tub of frosting and save all the trouble of baking the cupcakes!

This is how Emma's cake looked a couple of days later. Hmmm, wonder who did that?

Happy Birthday to my big girl! We love you!

Aaaaahh, To Sleep!

2009-02-25T13:04:00.000-08:00

I have always been tired. It's seems like I have been tired for my entire life. I remember going to the Mesa summer musical in the Westwood auditorium and falling asleep. In high school, if anyone ever showed a film in class, I was out. This was loonngg before I had children. High school, college, always sleepy during the day and I could sleep like a log all night and it didn't seem to make a difference.
All those years of being a mother with young babies, pregnancies, illnesses, etc. I walked around like a zombie, just dying for a nap, eating too many carbs because I was sleepy. I woke up with the kids when I needed to, even became a light sleeper, but ooohhh sooo tired! Even went to the doctor who, of course, said, "You are a mother of young children, of course you are tired." Thanks, doc.
And poor Dave. No pillow talk. Either I zonked out watching tv or as soon as my head hit the pillow. Somewhere in the early years though, I started having a different problem. I would be sleepy all day long and then when it came time to sleep, I couldn't turn my head off. Pillow talk was put off for another reason. I would have to go through my routine and then go straight to bed. Any deviation, just the slightest, and I could count on being awake for 2 hours before finally turning off the talk in my head and falling asleep. His snoring didn't help much either.
On occasion, I would fall asleep just fine and then wake up in the middle of the night, sometimes with an intense dream, other times to Dave's snoring, and still others, I have no idea why I would wake.
The worst was after I broke my ankle. You would think that taking 2 percocet at a time would mean I slept rreeeallly well. Nope. Nights were awful. I couldn't shift around and get comfortable. I couldn't have anything covering my foot. I slept on top of the covers with a blanket over me so I could stick my foot out but I had to be on my back with my foot propped up on a pillow. And of course I hurt big time. Those were some long nights...
Now I fall asleep just fine most nights. In fact I fall asleep watching tv all the time and have to crochet in order to stay awake long enough to see the end of any show. I just can't stay asleep. This morning I woke up at 4 am. Sometimes I'll wake up but stay sleepy enough that I can fall back asleep but not this morning. For some reason, I was anxious about Alyssa brushing her teeth well with her palate expander and it woke me up enough that I knew I wasn't going to get any more sleep before the alarm went off at 5:30. Bummer! Not a good way to start the day. Dave suggested that maybe I could take a nap. Ha! Emma no longer naps which means neither do I. I tried putting a in movie in my bedroom so we could both relax but she kicked the bed the whole time. Sigh...
I've been meaning to go to the sleep lab for a couple of years now. Just haven't gotten around to it-too tired I guess! But I'm going to do it! I'm signing up for it and should get it done in a couple of weeks. Not too sure what to expect but it's a start. I just know that something's gotta give.

Sundays, A Day of Rest?

2009-02-23T06:21:00.000-08:00

I'm still waiting for that day of rest thing...maybe someday but probably not! Well, maybe after church is restful on some Sundays, and I am very grateful for that.
Yesterday was a typical Sunday. I woke up in plenty of time and thought that I had a handle on things-got the crockpot going with a roast and veggies, kids got up on time, things are going well. Dave has early meetings every week but we are used to that what with 5 years as Bishop, many years with other leadership callings including high council.
And then it begins. Emma decides she doesn't want to go to church and is dressed in jeans. "I don't want to go to church! I want to stay home!" Even reminding her that she gets to give her first talk doesn't sway her. I finally get her dressed, Alyssa can't find any tights, Garrett, who has been dawdling all morning, realizes at the last minute that he can't find his white shirt. I am directing him where to look while trying to get myself ready and trying to figure out what Emma can do for her talk (oops, put that off too long). We are already late when we find the wrinkled shirt in the clean clothes basket (how long has it been in there?). He throws it on and runs out to the car. No coat and it's 28 degrees out. Meanwhile Dave has texted Diana to ask if we can feed the missionaries right after church. I look around the house with clean clothes strewn everywhere, dirty kitchen, not sure if we have enough food-nope not this week. I need more notice. We fly down the road, 10 minutes late-it takes us 25 minutes to get to church but we make it before the sacrament. Of course, Emma needs to use the bathroom halfway through the sacrament and you just don't tell a 3-year-old to wait. We are washing our hands when someone comes in and says that the priesthood is waiting for us to have the water. (We are in a branch-they notice everything) Oooops!
Sacrament meeting is pretty typical. I am alternately either a desk or a chair. Actually, Emma is getting a lot better but she still doesn't know how to whisper.
I finish the talk for Emma, and we have a presidency meeting while the kids are all in class. Then I conduct closing exercises, Emma enjoys giving her talk, and I also play the piano for singing time. At least this week I didn't have to do sharing time too like I did last week!
We are always ready to go home afterward. Dave had a meeting after church-it's a good thing I said no about feeding the missionaries. We finally make it home! I enjoy our church meetings and I like being in Primary but it always feels good to get home. Thank goodness for crockpots! We had a nice dinner, and then collapsed. The kids and I watched Masterpiece theater's version of Kidnapped while Dave went home teaching, we had a nice talk with Andrea, I finished reading my book, it was a nice relaxing afternoon and evening.
Aaaaah, Sundays!

Alyssa's Baptism

2009-02-18T11:17:00.000-08:00

Alyssa was baptized on Sunday, February 15th. She had a beautiful baptism, very sweet and spiritual! She didn't seem nervous at all, just happy and excited about it.

Jenna had flown in on Friday for it and we are so happy that she came! She helped pick out Alyssa's new dress, and she also got to go scout out an apartment for when she and Chris move here in August. It was very nice of her to come especially since she missed having Valentine's Day with Chris:(

Alyssa was baptized in the same outfit that all the girls except Jenna have worn. She did not swim in the font as she said she wanted to:) Diana gave the baptismal talk and did a wonderful job. Brother Silvia, our home teacher, gave the talk on the Holy Ghost and he also did a wonderful job. Jenna played her flute and I accompanied her on the piano and afterward we had a very nice potluck dinner with everyone who came. We had a pretty good crowd and lots of yummy food (we have some very good cooks in the branch).

All in all, it was a very special day and we are very happy for our sweet girl!

Emma's favorite outfit

2009-02-11T06:14:00.001-08:00

This is it-Emma's very favorite outfit (along with her ladybug costume). If it is clean, she is wearing it, and maybe sometimes even if it isn't clean! Yes, I know it could be worse (Alyssa wore a skirt with big flowers all over it and a striped polo to church last week, Yikes!) but I do wish she would wear some of her other clothes sometimes!

Happy Birthday, Alyssa!

2009-02-04T05:14:00.000-08:00

Today is Alyssa's 8th birthday! I told her that the whole school district is celebrating her birthday and even took a day off in celebration. Actually we are having a snow day. She got to have control of the tv and video games today and do whatever she wants to do (within reason). Tonight we had taco salad, cake and ice cream and opened her gifts. She got a BYU t-shirt and socks and a couple of DS games. Saturday we will be having a party for her at a bowling alley. She is looking forward to being baptized in a couple of weeks and thinks that she will be able to swim in the font. We love this girl!

It's a girl thing

2009-01-27T10:05:00.000-08:00

Okay, what is it about little girls (or big girls for that matter) and clothes??? Why can't it ever be simple? The "experts" make it seem like it should be simple: "just give them a choice between two outfits" and they expect the kids to be happy to get a choice and just say "okay, I want that one" and that's it. Obviously those experts have Never been to MY house! This how it goes here: "Emma, do you want to wear this outfit? or this one?" Emma's reaction: kicking and screaming down on the floor saying: "Not those, I hate those, they're ugly! I want to wear this!" pulling out the most ratty-looking shirt and pants she can find. Honestly, I don't know why I bother to spend money on her clothes! I can be darn sure that if I buy a nicer outfit at say, Gymboree, that will be the outfit she will never wear, but if I pulled something out of the box of Alyssa's old clothes and it's something that I should have thrown away, then she will love it and wear it all the time!

It's a wonder we ever make it out of the house. When it is time to take Alyssa out to the bus stop is when she is most likely to have one of her fits about getting dressed. Half the time I would have to hold her down, kicking and screaming, and force clothing upon her body and we would walk out the door with her still screaming and the neighbors would all be standing there watching us, thinking I'm sure that "there's that crazy Mormon woman, it's a shame she can't handle her kids". I have finally given up and let Alyssa go out to the bus by herself because it's too cold to take Emma out half-dressed or in her pajamas.
It's just that we have been through the clothing issues for over 20 years now and it's getting old. Many of Jenna's 2 yo tantrums were over her wanting to dress herself. Erica would wear the strangest outfits and would never wear the cute clothes I bought her and finally at about 10 she asked me not to buy her clothes anymore. Alyssa was 4 when I had to take her shopping with me for her clothes. Unlike Emma, she always wanted the most expensive things and didn't like the cheap clothes. The smartest thing I ever did was give my teenagers a clothing allowance. They are then responsible to buy their own clothes and as long as they are modest I don't say a thing. I still have a ways to go before Emma and Alyssa are there and so the clothing battles will continue! Actually, it usually isn't much of a battle because I allow them to make their own clothing choices as long as: 1. they are clean 2. appropriate for the weather and 3. appropriate for the occasion (ie-dresses for church) which means that we take Emma out in her favorite outfit: a multi-colored striped top with stretchy flowered pants. Lovely.

I have to say though, that I have not had a single fight with my teenagers over clothing. I truly, truly believe that it is because I allowed them to express themselves starting at a very early age. I mean who am I to say that their style is wrong? Clothing is such an expression of personality and young children need to be able to express themselves (within the boundaries as mentioned before) without being made to feel that it is wrong! And so we go out and sometimes get strange looks but most people realize that it is not my choice of clothing but hers, although I do still wish she would wear some of those nicer things. Sigh! I guess I'll just sell them on consignment.

Garrett's wardrobe:

a suit, white shirt and tie for church

a pair of khakis and a polo shirt for nice casual occasions

several pairs of jeans and t-shirts

a scout shirt

along with the necessary pj's and swim trunks.

Doesn't even fill up half the closet and dresser.

So much easier than his sisters.

Budding Photographer

2009-01-20T01:14:00.000-08:00

Guess who got a hold of the camera??

Here's a hint...

And another hint...

A peek at a leg...

And another peek...

Ooooh! She must have seen spots after that!

I'm sure you know by now...

Yep, you guessed it!

I found these pictures yesterday when I uploaded to the computer. Funny kid! She's been wanting to use the camera and I guess she found her opportunity!

Weddings, Part 2

2009-01-14T09:55:00.000-08:00

We call 2008 the Year of the Wedding at our house. With 2 weddings in one year it seems like our thoughts were consistently bridal! It was fun to see the differences in the two, showing the differences in the two brides, as well as many other factors ie-spring versus winter, California vs Massachusetts, etc.

We were nervous about the weather. Doing a wedding in December in New England is always a bit iffy. We had family coming in from warm weather states who were worried about the weather also. The weekend before the wedding we had 13 inches of snow! Thank goodness our kids coming in from Utah were all able to get here okay. Things warmed up for the wedding day, I think it was in the 40's and though it was rainy, it turned out okay, much better than a snowstorm would have been.

We did have other issues in the week leading up to the wedding. I was sick with an upper respiratory infection. Dave slipped on the ice and we weren't sure for awhile whether or not he had fractured his elbow. After a trip to a specialist in Boston, it was determined that it wasn't broken, just banged up a bit. Thank goodness Chris was here to help out! His help was invaluable. Others, including the groom, had a stomach virus that was particularly nasty. On the actual wedding day everyone seemed to feel okay, except for Dave's brother Stephen who traveled all the way from Texas just to be stuck in a hotel room with the dreaded stomach bug. Poor guy! Emma waited until the next day to start throwing up. Keri and JoEllen just had a hard time getting here with a flight canceled and luggage problems but they eventually got here.

On Friday night, the day after Christmas, we had a dinner here for the bride's and groom's families. Things had been so crazy, what with sickness AND Christmas that the house wasn't as clean as it should have been but I just hoped that no one looked too closely or opened any doors to the bedrooms! We had a nice time that night just relaxing and talking.

The next day was, of course, a little hectic with trying to get everyone ready and things where they needed to be but it all turned out well and as you can see from the pictures we had a good time! The wedding was nice even with a rather long-winded rambling sealer and rainy cold weather that kept us from doing any group pictures outside at the temple. The ring ceremony was beautiful and the reception was fun. All in all, a wonderful time!

Weddings, Part 1

2009-01-08T04:53:00.001-08:00

While I am waiting for the pictures from Erica and Spencer's wedding, I thought that I would post pictures from our first wedding of the year. Jenna and Chris were married in the Sacramento Temple on April 26. It was a beautiful spring day and a beautiful wedding!

The bridesmaids had a fight with the bouquets when everything was over. Too funny!

We suggested that Erica and Spencer could use this for their wedding invitations but they weren't too receptive to that idea. Nice picture, though!

The Sacramento Temple is absolutely beautiful and perfect for picture-taking. Chris' dad was Stake President while it was being built so it has a special meaning for his family.

The bride and her sisters. Emma had a tough time with picture taking that day so there aren't too many of her that are good.

Garrett and Jenna. It's amazing how much he has changed just in that short time.

That's it for now! Part 2 will come as soon as I have some pictures for it.

Christmas, Wedding, New Year's Eve, etc

2009-01-01T11:33:00.000-08:00

A man who lives not too far from us does a whole Christmas village on his property. It is very intricate and the kids (and big kids) all loved seeing it. Keri, JoEllen and Sandra all got to see it as well. He does a great job putting it all together with houses and shops, merry-go-round, sledders, ice skaters, etc.

Visiting with Grandma Martin

Christmas morning

Opening gifts-just one on Christmas Eve

Emma the ladybug angel

Acting out the nativity story

Emma and Chris were worn out!

It has been a crazy couple of weeks and frankly, I'm ready to get back to boring normal life, but it has been fun having everyone home and family visiting. We have a terrific family! and feel very very blessed. Christmas was lots of fun of course, despite sickness and injuries, but the main focus of the holiday break was the wedding, as it should be. Erica and Spencer make such a fun and cute couple that it was just a happy, joyous occasion. Everything seemed to go quite well. I don't have pictures yet (Andrea has some on facebook) but when we get the cd we will share. What I have seen from the photographer so far looks good! We have an open house to go to tomorrow in NY, and there will be one next week in Utah but most of us won't make it to that. Meanwhile, here are some pictures that I do have from the last two weeks.

Winter Weather Wonderland

2008-12-19T11:45:00.000-08:00

THIS IS SATURDAY MORNING AFTER A NIGHT OF SNOW

THIS IS THE START OF THE STORM We have a big snowstorm coming today. We have known about it for days and have watched it cross the country. There is no question that we will have snow, lots of snow, maybe even a foot or more. They, the weather people, can even tell us pretty much when it will start and end, which is amazing when you think that a century or so ago, they would have no clue that it was coming and people went about their business just not knowing what was about to hit them. It was cold this morning but not too bad and, all in all, a decent day for December in New England. If you had no contact with humanity you just wouldn't be aware how the day would turn so quickly.

It made me think of watching hurricanes coming towards us when we lived in Alabama. We would watch the Weather Channel for days, seeing it coming, getting prepared with food, batteries, making sure the laundry is done just in case we lost power. We were too far inland to have to worry about boarding up windows or anything like that but we did put away lawn furniture and outside toys and then would just wait for it to come. It feels alot like that now except that it's a whole lot colder. The grocery store was crowded, everyone cramming in last minute errands so they could stay home this afternoon. We are really lucky to have that technology so we can be prepared.

Too bad we can't have radar for other things, other problems that affect us so strongly. But I guess we do sometimes. When Dave lost his job a few years ago, it seemingly came out of the blue with very little warning yet I was not surprised. I had been feeling for months that a big change was going to happen in our lives. I knew that we would be moving. I even almost told people that we were moving when there was no reason for me to think that we would be, it was that strong of a feeling. We have the blessing of a spiritual "radar" that can help prepare us for life's storms. Aren't we lucky!

It is now over 24 hours since the storm started and it is still snowing!

Moms aren't allowed to be sick

2008-12-19T11:35:00.000-08:00

I really don't feel well today. I have a sore throat and my head hurts and I'm all congested. I really needed to take a day off and just stay home in bed but Christmas is next week and so is Erica's wedding and we have a major storm coming in, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. I had to go out. I had no choice. So I got Emma to school, went to the mall, the library, the post office, the grocery store, to Garrett's school to pick him up and to Emma's school to pick her up. I'm all done and home and hunkered down with the snow starting to pile up. I should be resting but I can't seem to relax. I mean there is laundry to do and the kitchen is dirty and phone calls to make, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera (I am thinking of the "King and I" as I type those). Someone needs to force me to take it easy but Dave is still at work (he has let all the employees go but he is still there-I think he's going to have to spend the night there if he doesn't get home fast:) and the kids, well you know kids, as soon as I lay down they will be knocking at my door, sure as shootin'. Moms just aren't allowed to be sick!

Bah, Humbug!

2008-12-12T13:24:00.001-08:00

For some reason (could it be a wedding?) I am having a hard time getting into the Christmas spirit. Oh, I'm doing my shopping alright, done and wrapped even, but I haven't been interested in listening to Christmas music, decorating (as the pictures show, that stuff has been out for several days), writing the Christmas letter, baking, and even watching Scrooge and It's a Wonderful Life isn't helping much. I think that this year just went by too fast, too jam-packed with things and events. It feels like it should maybe be September, definitely not December yet. I want to enjoy the nice fall days a little longer, have Halloween again, with a little less chaos, have a more relaxed Thanksgiving where I could really enjoy it and not just run around trying to get things done. I don't know why it is but life just is whizzing by full of have-to's instead of want-to's. I've been trying to ignore the housework and just enjoy the fun stuff but somehow that isn't helping much:) Maybe by Valentine's Day I will be ready for Christmas. That just may be when y'all get your Christmas cards from us!

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow!

2008-12-10T06:17:00.000-08:00

I had this song going through my head all Sunday morning. We woke up to rain mixed with snow which later turned to all snow. I love it when it falls gently with big flakes. I desperately wanted to skip church and just stay home, not just because I didn't want to drive in it, but because I love to sit by the fire with a good book and be able to look out the window at the falling snow. The kids, of course, just wanted to play in it. I could hardly get Emma dressed in her church clothes because she just wanted to put her snow pants on and go play! Alyssa especially loves the snow and will spend hours outside in it. When we got home from church it had pretty much stopped snowing so they all changed into their snowgear (a major project) and went outside. Alyssa went out and shoveled the driveway for us, although not all of it. Dave got to use his new snowblower. It was very cold the next day and the pond was starting to freeze over. (We have what is officially called a Great Pond near us which is really a lake. I'll get pictures of it sometime.) Today it is all gone and it is 60 degrees. That's my kind of snow-only an inch or two, just enough to play in, and it's all gone in a couple of days.

Marching Band

2008-12-08T07:18:00.000-08:00

Diana has been playing in the band this year and since she plays the oboe, she had to pick another instrument to play in the marching band. She chose to play the bass drum, mostly because it is easy. She had some concerns about marching and playing at the same time but has done well with it. She did find out that playing the drum in a parade is exhausting because they play the entire time without a break!
The picture is before the Middleboro Christmas parade and the video is from the Thanksgiving day football game. Diana is the second in line of the bass drums. (Analisa is the first in line, for those of you who know her.)

We love Wii!

2008-12-04T05:06:00.000-08:00

Garrett, Alyssa, and Dave show off some of their high scores in bowling.

Emma loves to play the drums.

Diana and Garrett playing guitar and bass.

Playing Wii has become a favorite family pastime. And why not? Bowling, tennis, golf, rock band...of course we enjoy it! Even the younger kids have gotten quite good at it. Emma and Alyssa have beaten me at bowling, embarrassing but true. Guess I need to practice a bit more:)

Thanksgiving

2008-12-01T06:45:00.000-08:00

Post-feasting fun in the basement

Phase Ten-with no fighting this time (the Cook girls were there-they are too nice to fight)

Dave and Craig handled the cleanup. Muchas Gracias!

We kept up our traditional hosting of the Thanksgiving dinner at our house again this year. We have done this for many years now. We gather up friends who, like us, don't have family close by and have a big dinner and talk, play games, etc. with them. We have really enjoyed doing this and this year was no exception with the Metro, Cook, Culotta families and the missionaries all coming for dinner! I didn't get all the pictures I wanted to-too busy cooking! but here are a few. And yes, we had all our traditional dishes. Gotta love the sweet potato casserole!

Spencer and Erica

2008-12-01T06:27:00.000-08:00

Playing wii bowling. Alyssa and Emma were winning until right at the end.

Erica helped make cupcakes for Thanksgiving.

Spencer and Erica came to visit us last week. Well, they also came to get their marriage license but we know that the most important thing was visiting us. It was a short visit, just a day and a half, but a lot of fun. They played all day with the kids, took them to the playground, played wii with them and after they were in bed, Spencer beat us in rummikub. It was a really nice visit! they left early Thanksgiving morning to go to Spencer's house for Thanksgiving dinner.

Simple Errand?

2008-11-24T08:55:00.000-08:00

So I needed to get the oil changed in the car today. A simple errand, right? Nope! Not with a 3 year old in tow. Especially my 3 year old. Just getting out to the car is a major event! Just getting dressed is filled with drama. Today it was over socks, finding the right ones, and the fact that I dribbled one drop of water on her sweater, causing her to change her sweater despite my assertions that it'll dry in just a minute! Then we have to get in the car. I have learned that she has to be the one to close the door to the house so we made it over that hurdle but I didn't know that she would be mad about me opening the car door. Once inside I had to convince her to buckle in and then we could finally leave. We made it there safely although she did unbuckle the seat belt once. At first, the guy at the shop said it would take 2-2 1/2 hours to work on my car but after reviewing my records said that it would only be an hour. Whew!!! I knew I wouldn't have survived that long! So with a little bit of embarrassment due to the condition of my car (smashed crackers, several coats, shoes, tights, toys, and lots of trash) we handed over the keys and headed to the waiting room. She actually did quite well in the waiting room thanks to the tv, toys, and oh, yes, the vending machine. What is it about vending machines that gets kids all excited? I guess putting the coins in and getting a treat out is pretty neat. Come to think of it, vending machines get me a little excited too. Anyhow, the doritoes and poptarts were a life saver for me today. Not sure how Honda will feel with all the crumbs we left behind. But hey! at least she wasn't screaming! Now I can only hope that all those carbs make her sleepy...

Tae Kwon Do

2008-11-22T14:35:00.000-08:00

Garrett has been taking tae kwon do (hereafter known as tkd) for almost 2 years now. It is a sport that really fits his personality. We went the usual route with him at first: soccer, t-ball, basketball, but none of those really worked for him. He liked the basketball somewhat but hated the soccer and was bored with t-ball, mostly because he was always stuck out in the outfield because he could throw pretty far. He has asked to play football lately, apparently they played alot at recess, but was too late to play fall ball. He says that he wants to play for BYU and then turn pro:) For now, however, tkd is it. I think he does much better with intense, mentally-challenging, individual sports than with team sports. And tkd has been great for him. It is a sport that emphasizes self-control, focus, and respect for others. Who doesn't want that for their child? They recite the student creed and pledge sometimes:

The Student Creed:
To build true confidence
through knowledge in the mind, honesty in the heart, and strength in the body.
To keep friendship with one another, and to build a strong and happy community.
Never fight to achieve selfish ends, but to develop
MIGHT FOR RIGHT

The Student Pledge:
I Will
Develop myself in a positive manner and avoid anything that can reduce my mental growth and physical health.
I Will
Develop self-discipline in order to bring out the best in myself and others.
I Will
Use what I have learned in class constructively and defensively to help myself and my fellow people, and to never be abusive or offensive.
We Are
A Black Di School, we are dedicated, we are motivated, we are on a quest to be the best.
KIA!!!

Today he had a test for a new di (belt). He currently has a yellow/orange belt and tested for an orange belt. It was a rigorous 3 hour test that included lots of jumping jacks, pushups, situps, kicks, and some sparring. He did really well and should get his orange di. Sensei has always been very complimentary and supportive of Garrett. He has been a wonderful, positive role model for him. Garrett has even talked of having his own martial arts club some day. That remains to be seen but I know that Garrett will take with him many very positive things from his experiences with tkd!

Alyssa's palate expander

2008-11-21T12:32:00.000-08:00

Emma is all ready to go to Alyssa's appointment in her new dress.

Alyssa's school picture

Alyssa is a beautiful girl who just happened to inherit her mother's narrow mouth. She has been moving her lower jaw over to the left in order to be able to chew (very visible in her school picture) so we decided that, even though she is only 7, we needed to go ahead and get started with the orthodontia. She has been very excited about this and has asked constantly when she would be getting the palate expander. It has taken a full month with 4 separate appointments but yesterday was the big day. She got the expander and a few braces to help guide the teeth into place. She did very well! The office staff were amazed at how well she handled the long 1 1/2 hour appointment. She is anxious to take good care of her teeth and wants to make sure she eats all the right things and none of the wrong ones. She has not been very sore so far. The scrape she got on her knee on Wednesday while running to the bus stop has bothered her more. Emma did amazingly well too. She liked being able to go out in her new dress. (The hot pink tights were her idea!)

Garrett's Testimony

2008-11-18T11:05:00.000-08:00

Garrett is not the typical 10 year old boy. He has never been typical at whatever age he was. At 5 and 6 he was reading nutrition labels and discussing the vitamins in things. Now he is giving out marriage and parenting advice. His prayers have always been interesting. When he was little, his older sisters would all have to listen to his evening prayers because you just never knew what he was going to say, but I'll save all that for another post. What I want to talk about now is his testimony.
Garrett bears his testimony every single month in Testimony meeting. I mean every month. He never misses and hasn't for at least a year and a half. Now I know a lot of kids do the same but the difference is that he doesn't bear the typical little kid testimony with the same few sentences. Garrett gets up and gives a sermon. At first when he started doing this he said some things that really weren't appropriate for a testimony and we would find ourselves wanting to crawl under the bench. Even now we tense up a bit when he stands up. We have had many discussions on what constitutes a testimony. So now he has gotten pretty good at it. I have had branch members tell me that they love it when he stands up, although some say they get a little nervous just like we do. One went on and on one day about what a great missionary he'll make because he isn't nervous at all getting up and speaking in front of people. For a while he had the theme of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon and having to wait 4 years to handle the plates. This last meeting he got up after an older woman who sang a song during her testimony. Her voice was a bit warbly (Emma leaned over and said, "That's creepy"). When Garrett got up we were really worried what he would say. He started saying something about it being different and unique but then commented that it was nice. Then he talked about how life is like a video game and how every new step, such as getting baptized, takes us to a new level that is more challenging and how winning the game is like making it to the Celestial kingdom. It was an amazingly well-thought out analogy! We just never know what he is going to come up with!

No More Purple Bathroom!

2008-11-15T08:06:00.000-08:00

I am so happy that my bathroom walls are no longer grape popsicle purple! Even the kids hated the color. Now it's a nice soft sagey green that goes soooo much better with the tile and cabinetry. We are slowly getting the house put together the way we want it!

George Bush

2008-11-09T10:07:00.000-08:00

I wonder if anyone has noticed just how magnanimous George Bush has been? You don't have to agree with his politics or anything. I'm just talking aboout his behavior. I mean really, this is a guy who has been vilified in the press for 8 years, his approval ratings are in the toilet, he is constantly made fun of over stupid little things, and his own party treated him as a pariah during the election. You would think he would be giving everyone the finger, and then going off to Texas to sulk. Yet he doesn't. He has been gracious to the Obama's and has instructed his staff to do everything they can to make the transition go smoothly. I wonder if how things were for him 8 years ago has affected his decision to turn the other cheek. I remember how awful the Clintonites were to the incoming Bush staffers. They were mean and vindictive. Bush could have sat back and let things go how they may. Instead he has shown class and kindness. He is the kind of person I would like to have over for dinner. For that matter, I would like to have the Obamas over as well. I think that Obama behaves in a dignified manner and I would be comfortable having him in our home. I couldn't say the same about Bill Clinton.

I have been inspired by George. How many times when someone hurts our feelings or things don't go our way do we feel the need to let others know it? What good does it do? Sure we could gripe and complain about the way we are treated but why? Instead we can take the high road and do our best to treat others in a Christlike manner. If we have been wronged it'll come out in the long run and if it doesn't, at least we have behaved in way that can be respected. Thanks, George Bush. I, for one, appreciate your example.

Revenge is sweet!

2008-11-02T17:48:00.000-08:00

Okay, so we all know that we will be embarrassed by or upset with our kids at some point. It's to be expected. After all, we did it to our parents, didn't we? And kids are good at it! They know just how to get you. The fashion-conscious mother is bound to get a child who insists on wearing snow boots and a sleep mask to the grocery store in July (actually, I'm not fashion-conscious particularly but I did take Emma to the store like this) or gets vomited on by her 1 year-old at her kids soccer game. The shy parent will have a child who sings "If You're Happy and You Know It" at the top of her lungs while bouncing all through Walmart. The sensitive parent gets called an idiot by her 3-year-old (a couple of weeks ago) and gets kicked out of Denny's because her child is having a major tantrum. Yes, all of these have happened to me and I'm okay. I've even become inured to it somewhat. Because I know what happens when they become teenagers. Yes, I got back at them somewhat by eating their halloween candy but that
isn't the best part.
They become embarrassed by everything you do, even the fact that you exist. (Oh, Mom!) It's so easy. Even the mere threat that you might show up to chaperone a dance or (horrors!) get on facebook is enough to send them into a tizzy. So...if your children are young and driving you crazy just hang in there, eat a few fun-sized candy bars, and remember, your time will come!

Smile for the camera Emma!

2008-11-02T16:55:00.000-08:00

So, if you ask Emma to smile for the camera she will make all kinds of faces rather than just smile prettily. Close her eyes, make a goofy face, stick out her gum, anything other than just smiling. Emma has her own mind, without a doubt but she has absolutely no problem telling everyone else what to do! She regularly comes out of her room at night and tells me it is time for me to go to sleep. She will not hold my hand when we walk through parking lots and refuses to wear a coat when it is cold outside. Now, I have had others who also were strong-willed and stubborn when they were her age and they have turned out just fine. We know that she will too, if we can just survive...

Halloween!

2008-10-31T15:20:00.000-07:00

Emma's preschool had a Halloween party today. They wore their costumes and paraded through the school.

These are my Frankenstein cupcakes.

Alyssa and Katherine

Emma and Lorelei wore the same dress!

These pictures were taken at last week's trunk or treat.

They were so excited for Halloween of course! Emma thought she got to take all the candy from our candy bowl. Alyssa got spacers a few days ago in preparation for her palate expander and is not allowed anything chewy or sticky. She is so bummed! She'll be able to eat them after the spacers are taken out next week. She doesn't get the expander for a few weeks.

Diana is not home for all the festivities. She went with the field hockey team to Nantucket for a playoff game. (They lost.) She said that it was really cool there and that they had a big Halloween parade.

Stolen Innocence

2008-10-23T06:15:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading this book and found it to be very interesting on several levels. It was strange to read about a girl growing up in a large city-she lived in Salt Lake City until she was 13 but she had very little interaction with anyone outside of the FLDS members and was taught that outsiders were evil. The community was so controlling that they had very little idea of what most people would consider normal. Everything about their lives was controlled by their church including the style of their clothing and hair, their schooling, jobs, etc. Very strange. And then to be forced into marriage at age 14 when she was in many ways because of the extreme contol much younger than most 14-year-olds. She really was just a child. After reading all that she went through I'm surprised that she has handled things as well as she has. She should be a basket case. I have been aware of the FLDS community for quite awhile, long before the El Dorado stuff of this past summer but had not been aware of their doctrine. They believe in the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith but then they take an extreme right turn and much of what they believe is hard for me to understand or I imagine for any outsider to understand. I found this to be a very interesting, well-written read.

2008-10-17T09:57:00.000-07:00

So we were watching the BYU game on one channel and the Sox game on another, flipping back and forth between the two and thoroughly disgusted with both of them. About 11 pm I had had enough. It was the 7th inning and the Red Sox were down 7-0 so I went to bed. 5:30 does come early you know. This morning I'm walking on the treadmill and watching the news and what the heck! The Red Sox won! We had a chance to get tickets for the game but Garrett had Open House at his school and Dave was coming back from New Jersey. Even if we had gone we would have been part of the crowd leaving early. Wow!

GO SOX!

Pretty Diana

2008-10-15T16:30:00.001-07:00

Diana didn't care for that last picture so I am putting up a nice one of her. Pretty!!

How to Torture a Teenager

2008-10-15T10:19:00.000-07:00

1. Force her to go on an all-day drive with her family. (See previous post)

2. Drive for hours out in the country where there is no cellphone service.

3. Have her sit next to a 3-year-old who screams half the time (I want Chinese food!)

4. Have her sit in front of a 10-year-old brother who puts his feet up on her seat.

5. Watch endless hours of Max and Ruby dvd's in an effort to keep said 3-year-old quiet.

6. Tease her about moving there and homeschooling her.

How to make it up to her: Find a mall with a Chick-Fil-A and an Arby's-both restaurants that we miss!

New England beauty

2008-10-15T10:01:00.000-07:00

On Monday the kids had a day off from school so we decided to take a drive to see all the beautiful fall colors and some of the quintessential New England towns. This is such a beautiful time of year here. The weather is nice-in the 60's most days and the 40's-50's at night. The leaves are beautiful of course. It's amazing how brilliant they can be! We drove in a loop up through New Hampshire with its hills and quaint towns. At one point we drove up a hill where you could see out across a valley. Gorgeous!

Oh, What a Beautiful Morning...

2008-10-13T05:20:00.000-07:00

Emma on the first day of school in her ladybug costume.

Emma is a very independent, opinionated, strong-willed 3-year-old who, for the past year, has claimed that she is six. She does not believe that she is too young to make her own decisions, especially when it comes to what she wears. Most of the time I allow her to wear what she wants (pick your battles) albeit I reserve the right to veto some of her clothing choices. However, even with the amount of wardrobe control she is allowed, getting dressed in the morning can still be rather traumatic if what she wants is not clean, doesn't fit right (she's very picky about that) or is inappropriate for the weather. This morning she wanted to wear shorts even though it is in the 40's and we are going to be driving into the mountains of New Hampshire where it is even colder. Fit #1 for the day! I just left her alone and she eventually came out dressed appropriately, although she is wearing her snowboots!

Emma at Story Hour

2008-10-11T13:16:00.000-07:00

Emma goes to Story Hour at the library on Thursday afternoons. This was her second week to go. The first week she introduced herself to everyone she could see (Hi! I'm Emma!). She really enjoys going although Thursday she had a fit during the craft-threw her paper across the table and refused to do it-all because I colored in a square on it.

Woohoo!

2008-10-11T13:06:00.000-07:00

So the economy is falling apart, panic reigns on Wall Street, major corporations are struggling but, Hey! gas is cheaper! The price dropped 20 cents in 5 days. Gotta love it!

-Dave just told me he got gas for $2.87!

Aaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!

2008-10-07T18:30:00.000-07:00

We were driving (we did a lot of that today) and Garrett started yelling, "Emma, put your seat belt back on!" She now knows how to get out of a 5-point car seat belt. Darn! She sure is pretty proud of herself though. Put that together with the crib being taken down so she is in a big bed means that I have a lot less control over her. Yesterday I put her down twice for a nap only to hear the tv come on a few minutes later. That child just wears me out sometimes...

Come what may...and LOVE it!

2008-10-05T19:46:00.000-07:00

For the first time in too many years we watched all four sessions of General Conference. Okay, part of that was spent with my eyes closed and I took Emma to the bathroom several times so I can't claim all of it but I did watch most of it. I have to say that my favorite talk was Joseph P. Wirthlin's talk about dealing with hard times but there were many great talks. I look forward to getting next month's Ensign so I can read them!

This week in pictures

2008-10-04T11:23:00.000-07:00

It has been a busy/normal week for us. The pumpkin pictures were taken at a farm stand near us. Alyssa has been aching to get some pumpkins. In Montgomery we couldn't get pumpkins until just a couple of days before Halloween or they would rot but here we can have them all month long. Emma asked where the farmer was and when I pointed him out she looked confused and asked where the other farmer was. I guess she didn't think he looked like a farmer!

The field hockey pictures were taken yesterday. The temp was in the upper 50's and with a brisk wind we felt quite cold as you can tell by Diana's outfit. I don't know much about field hockey. It seems like soccer with sticks but they have a lot of rules and the whistle is always blowing. She played most of the game and did well. The three younger kids had a good time running around in the grass. Emma introduced herself to some of the opposing team's players. (Hi! I'm Emma. What's your name?) She has been very friendly lately which will surprise some of you I'm sure. Diana invited several of the girls from the team to our house afterward for food and a movie. We stayed up way too late watching the Red Sox game (Go Sox!) and so are pretty tired today.

Emma and Alyssa had their swim lessons this morning. Alyssa is a fish! I can see her doing swim team some day. Emma did better this morning. At least she got in the pool even though she wasn't happy about it. She didn't scream today which was a big improvement . She screamed through the entire lesson a couple of weeks ago.

2008-10-01T06:17:00.000-07:00

HAPPY 21ST BIRTHDAY ERICA!!!

Cranberry Bog

2008-09-30T09:49:00.000-07:00

I drive by this bog many times a week and yesterday noticed that they had flooded it in preparation for harvesting. Today they started harvesting and will probably be done very quickly. We live in the heart of cranberry country!

Welcome!

2008-09-29T06:02:00.000-07:00

Okay, this is all new for me but I have to admit that I'm kind of excited about it. It'll be fun to keep in touch with everyone, share pictures, etc...
What is going on with us right now? Wedding planning, field hockey, first year teacher, first year college student, piano, oboe, saxophone, marching band, tae kwan do, swim lessons, webelos...the list goes on but it all works out somehow.
Today we have piano lessons, a field hockey game and we would have tkd except that Garrett stayed home sick from school. He says he feels like he is going to throw up. The last time he said that I made him go to school and he was fine after an hour. Today either he's a better actor or he really is sick! Of course I told him to stay in his room with no video games and no tv but he is watching old Pink Panther movies on a portable dvd player... Yesterday in Primary class (I'm his teacher) he asked for details on how crucifixtion will kill someone. I told him to wait until we get home but still haven't shared it with him (I've got to look it up). That would be a good test of how sick his stomach really is I should think!