Tomorrow in Your Arms

I have recently been reading the Neil A. Maxwell's quote book and I came across this beauty . . .

"We salute you, sisters, for the joy that is yours as you rejoice in a baby's first smile and as you listen with eager ear to a child's first day at school which bespeaks a special selflessness. Women, more quickly than others, will understand the possible dangers when the word self is militantly placed before other words like fulfillment. You rock a sobbing child without wondering if today's world is passing you by, because you know you hold tomorrow tightly in your arms. "

-

Just a few beautiful "tomorrows". . . (Sorry, I only have family pictures!)

I Adore Mothers! (And women with mother-hearts!) Thanks to all of you amazing women (and not just my family!) who are such great examples to me! In my eyes, there is nothing more beautiful -- than a mother who loves her children. :-)

"Spelling" Practice

Some children spend their time after school learning: dance, sports, art, etc. And then their are my children . . . My children spend their time learning -- MAGIC!!! I think it is the best thing for them, really. Maybe they can wand-wave their way into college?! . . . "Scholarshiposa Appearo!"

Watch out! They know how to use those things!

Let them be little, I say. :-) Magic . . . is what childhood is all about! If nothing else -- they should be good "spellers". ;-) wink!

The House of Harry

Our house has been all about Harry Potter, lately. The kids really enjoyed the movies (the first three -- they are NOT ready for the rest!) They have been beyond obsessed, but it is so cute to watch them use their imaginations! Grandpa and Grandma have been spoiling us with the books, and costumes for the kids. The kids have been practicing their wand-duels, and it has been cracking me up! William joins in, too. Sammi already finished book one, and she is on to book two. Daniel just started book one two days ago, and he LOVES it! Charles is on book four and I am going backwards starting with book seven! :-) It is actually REALLY good, so far. So, we all gather in the living room, grab our books and read away! It is the perfect way to get ready for Halloween! October 1st is almost here -- time to decorate!

I will post more pictures, and perhaps video of the duels (if I can get it) later when they are awake! This is how I found them last night . . . I had to take the robes off, so they did not get too hot in the night, but they both put them on first thing in the morning. Sammi is going to be Hermione, and Daniel, (of course) wants to be Harry -- who else?

THANKS GRANDPA AND GRANDMA!!!!

Sorry, Dad.

I have been chopping down so many things lately . . . I couldn't help myself. :-)
My head sure feels better, though!! :-)

Private . . . No, Not Me. :-)

So, a lot of you (on my list) have made your blogs "private" and I (being a blog-slacker) lost track! If you have gone "private" will you please e-mail me your login info? Thanks!

mari4u@hotmail.com

Mommy! Mommy! Daniel's Bleeding!

I was just going about my day, doing the routine -- as I normally do. I was sitting in front of the school, chatting with some friends, getting ready to go out for a long walk with a friend. Just a few minutes before the bell rang, Sammi came running from the playground over to where I was. She and her friends came screaming, "Daniel's bleeding! His mouth is bleeding!" I quickly jumped up to go find him, my friends stayed with William in the stroller. Sammi said the nurse had him, so that is where I ran to. When I opened the doors to the school, I could hear Daniel crying, loudly. I made my way to the nurse, and I found Daniel covered in blood. It was all over his arms, his clothes, his shoes. He ran to me and put his face on my shirt, which also became covered in blood. :-) I got him to breath and calm down, and I took a look inside his mouth. It was pretty nasty. The nurse said it was far beyond her -- that was pretty apparent.

I was told that Daniel was playing on a chain ladder on the playground, and his foot fell through an opening, and his mouth landed on the chain. (Ooowweee . . . shudder.)

So, we needed to make our way to the doctor. I took Daniel (holding gauze in his mouth) back to the stroller (to get William), and then I realized a few things. . .

1. Charles took the car

2. He also had William's car-seat in the car

3. I could not get a hold of Charles

4. I could not walk to the Urgent Care

5. I needed HELP!

6. I HATE needing help!

7. But I NEEDED help!!

The school nurse offered her car, but I just did not feel like borrowing a complete strangers vehicle (though I was considering it!) Anyhow, no transportation presented a HUGE problem. But, every morning we always pray for God to watch over us, and I was not left alone, or helpless. It just so happened that my friends were there, offering whatever help they could. My good friend, Erin (my hero) was going to volunteer in her son's class, but she quickly ran to cancel, and she loaded my family up in her car, and off we went to the Urgent care. THANK YOU FOREVER ERIN!!!

When we got to the Urgent Care, we had to wait for awhile, fill out some paperwork, etc. (don't you just love that!) I think, if there is blood -- they should be seen before someone who is sneezing! Anyhow, they got us in, looked at Dan, and said we would have to send him to an oral surgeon -- it was beyond them. That caused a bit of panic to wash over me. (You know, the suppressed kind that you smile through, that causes exhaustion later.) So, they called around to some offices, no oral surgeons were available -- except for a place an hour a way.

So, I called Charles and he (luckily) had nothing pressing for the rest of the day, he was able to come home, and be with us. He reminded me that we have certain insurance, and we have to go to a certain place. So we called that office, and they said, "bring him right in!" I totally spaced the insurance thing (our dental is different than our medical). In normal circumstances, I could have told you that! Anyhow, we went to the right office. We said a special prayer along the way.

They took Daniel back immediately, and the surgeon came to examine the situation. He was such a clean-cut nice looking man, it was comforting -- you never know! He said he had first-hand experience with this kind of thing (his daughter had a similar mouth injury, falling down the stairs). That put me at ease. He was confident that he could fix it.

Daniel was doing great, but he needed a little calming down at the beginning. He still had blood gushing, and now they were going to stick needles, where? So I stood at his head, and talked to him about breathing, and thinking about a happy place -- like Disneyland. I felt like a yoga instructor, but it really helped Daniel. You can reason with Daniel. He likes to just know what is going to happen, even in detail, and he seems good to go.

I stood there, determined not to leave Dan -- I was going to watch. (Charles was in the lobby with William). I was doing great, even when the doctor showed me how the skin on his gums moved up and down. (Total ick!) Then I was standing there, watching little Daniel's body lying so still, he was being so good. As the doctor continued on with the third stitch, something got to me and I felt a little dizzy -- so much so, that I had to walk away and sit down. Silly me, thinking I should watch. Daniel did awesome. He was only scared when they shoved the big needle in his mouth, after that he was good to go!

As we were getting into the car, Daniel said he got a string out of his mouth. He handed it to me, and I was pretty sure it was one of the stitches. So, before we even left the parking lot, we had to go back in. Sure enough, it was one of the stitches. He had to go back for more! They quickly replaced the stitch, and then we were finally off!

Daniel is doing great. He is suppose to stay home from school until next Monday. He can only eat soft food, so lunch would be tricky. He also needs to rest and heal, and stay calm for awhile. His little face is puffy, and his upper lip is swollen. But he has had very little pain since the stitches. I think he will be 100% in no time!

Earlier that morning (as I was making school lunches), I was thinking to myself, "Day-in and day-out, the same old routine." Well, FORGET THAT! HA! I will take the "same old routine" ANY day! Especially over that kind of excitement! Ahhh . . . the joys of a peaceful life!

WARNING GRAPHIC IMAGE BEYOND THIS POINT!!!

(I know you will look anyway!) :-)

Pretty, huh? It still makes me shiver!

Progress Report for Mom

Sorry that my blog has been all about yard-work lately, but that is what we have been doing! I know it is not that thrilling, but my mom likes to see if I am working hard, or hardly working. :-)

So, here is the latest, Mom. . . . We ripped out that old rose bush, and some of the icky lavender, and we planted some Garden Mums -- to add some color. :-) Much better.

My major project this last Saturday was the Blue Spruce in the front yard. I could not take it any more! It was driving me crazy. So, while Charles spent the day sanding a desk (and I mean ALL day) I spent the day with a hand-saw chopping down branches, and scooping up bags and bags of icky pine needles! (Like 20 years worth!) I started by ripping out lots of random growth, and weird weeds, and plants, and I just went for it, and cleared it ALL out! It was a load of work! Daniel helped me by holding open the garbage bags, and I raked and scooped the mounds of needles. I then had to haul the branches and bags to the side yard -- now we have to do another dump run! It looks SO much better! The branches were all dead, and all the way down to the ground. I found dead birds, and spiders, and all sorts of fun things. Now you can walk under it, it is all clean, and we will grow grass!

BEFORE WE MOVED IN

I think the previous owners were all about letting nature happen? Rather than sculpting nature to be beautiful?

AFTER

My bags and branches. :-) I did it all myself. My arms were numb on Sunday. :-) You can also see the bushes we had to cut way back, but they should grow in nicely.
No, I am not tan. I am dirty. Very nasty dirty.
Pictures do not do it justice. :-) It looks SO much better! I am glad I had guts to take it on!

Dad, this is your old desk that Charles is working on. He is sanding down every nook and cranny (with a power-sander), he is replacing the bottom of the drawers, filling in the cracks with some special puddy, and he will refinish it with something lovely. :-) It will have new life. I am excited to see the final product.

Here is a little friend that stopped by to visit. :-)

Fun times!

Look Out Below!

We spent our Labor day performing hard-labor! We spent the whole day out in the yard -- front and back. We had a bunch of pruning, weeding, and tree trimming that needed to be done, and the weather was perfect -- so we went for it! Charles decided he would like an adrenaline rush, so he climbed the tree, with a chainsaw on a pole, and went to work. While he was up in the tree, I was calling our insurance company to raise our policy. :-) I tried to stop him, really. I did insist that we pray before he went up. :-) He is alive today.

Here is the Amazon, in our backyard -- quite the debris! We are borrowing a trailer to haul it all away. It was "fun" cutting it up with a saw and hauling it to the front yard.

It is hard to tell, but it is an amazing difference! Let there be light! The tree still provides lots of shade, but there is also sky! Awesome! I will get a better picture, later. Before Picture (when we moved in)

He climbed way higher than this, but I did not have a chance to grab my camera. I was too focused on his position -- so I could run over and catch him, if he fell! Yikes!

We were both very tired by the end of the night. But it felt good to get so many things done. We are just trying to prep for the Fall/Winter. It was about 70 degrees yesterday, and it was beautiful. Fall was in the air, and I loved it! I started collecting acorns today after my run. :-) What a beautiful time!

(Earlier in the week). . .This is a dorky little squirrel. The darn thing ruined my hammock that Charles got me when we were first married! Squeaky had better watch it, if he wants to live to squeak another day! The little rat!

Help Me!

With my Hair!

It is time for change, and I need help.

So I thought I would ask the audience . . .

Should I go super-short?? (hard to see picture, but you get the idea.)
Medium Short Medium Long

Or, keep it the same, super-long? (It is even longer now)

Really, my hair is for church. Every other day I sport the elegant pony-tail look. :-) Any advice? All lengths take the same amount of work. I am not sure if I am ready for super-short? Though I always like it when I do it! Hmmmmm. . . advice would be helpful. :-)

Unplugged

In an effort to be more consistent at blogging, I started to look over some old picture files, and found some things I never posted. I recorded this video months ago, when I was trying to figure out chord-playing and singing at the same time. It is a great song, but the performance is hopelessly flawed. :-) If only I had all the special giggety-gasmos they use in recording studios! Oh well, this is nice and raw. :-) (If it looks like I am in pain, it is because it hurts to wrap my brain around so many things at once! Notes, words, singing, playing -- Ouch!) :-)

My Music Need

So, I was faithful to my Pandora on-line radio station -- until I was going to have to pay a fee after 40 hours of listening (Nat and Bing are with me all day). Radio should be a free service, brought to you by advertising (and I am not willing to pay for something you can find for free) so I wanted to find something else. (I love my music during the day.) So, Charles found www.grooveshark.com and, so far, it is pretty good. (Well, it has been for the last two days!) On grooveshark you can: pick the song you want to listen to right now and play it, make your own playlists (which will be AWESOME for Christmas music), and you can press auto-play and it will find music similar to what you picked. Anyhow, it has been fun to use so far. You can even look up albums. I love the movie Sabrina, and I LOVE the music from it -- so I looked up the Sabrina Album and put the music on my playlist. It is a much more user-friendly site. I think I am hooked. Sorry, Pandora, I think you have been knocked out of the box. :-)