Dirt + water= fun

5 Neighborhood kids + gardening spades + dirt + a well connected hose = tons of summer fun.

It's been a long week

A little over a week ago I woke up in the middle of the night to put Meg back to bed and was three steps away from the bed when I ended up on the floor. It took me a minute to realize my world was spinning. Fast and clockwise. When I woke up in the morning I knew something was very wrong. The next day I spent in the hospital undergoing various tests and checking on the peanut happily sucking all of my energy and growing like it's supposed to be. Diagnosis:vestibular neuritis, it causes vertigo. Vertigo is not serious, it's just debilitating. I have spent most of the last week in bed.  Finally I am up walking again, but still not driving. Justin's been on shift work, so he's not getting home early and his schedule is making it very hard for him to help. It could be worse, right? He could be deployed.

   While laying in bed or sitting on my couch watching the world spin, I have had cause to be grateful. I have the most wonderful friends who have jumped in to care for me and my kids. They have been taken to the park to play,  to the library and school shopping. One sweet friend came over with her grand daughter and helped me put 20 meals in my freezer for the future. (While I am not looking forward to it and hoping it won't happen this time, I am preparing for bed rest later in this pregnancy.) I have had rides to doctor's appointments and visits from well wishers. Groceries have showed up,  my dishes have been washed and my laundry has been done, although not by me. When Meg suddenly realized one day this week that none of her shoes fit her any more and she was tired of being Drizella, a friend showed up at my house and took us to get her new shoes. Sparkly shoes, of course.
  I am reminded again and again how to look for the blessings in the midst of despair and illness. Sometimes it seems as if you can't take another step. Perhaps on your own you can't. That's why we have prayer and friends and community. Today, I am glad for many things and my heart is full for every deed, thought, prayer and text that has come the way of my family. Here's to better days.... I much prefer being on the other end of  service.

We can do hard things

Some things are hard and some things are easy. One of the things we talk about in our family all of the time is our ability to do hard things. We have the ability, the faith and the support to try something new and scary. We may not succeed the very first time, but we can try again and again. We also talk a lot about not making others feel bad for thinking something is hard when we think it may be easy for us. Everyone has their own fears and stumbling blocks and we are all different. If we use a little compassion in dealing with others and instead focus on helping them do hard things, everyone feels better about themselves.
   A few months ago Meg developed a fear of dogs. Not just a mild fear, as in not wanting to pet them, but an all out, cross the street, stay far far away fear. They scared her to her toes. She was knocked down by a bulldog and after that, she wanted nothing to do with any kind of dog at all. The neighbors barking dogs in their yard scared her when she was outside, even though she knew they couldn't get over to her.
   Today for no other reason than her brother was standing next to her, Meg decided to pet a friend's dog. This is the most calm, sweet dog on the planet. She allows her little girl to dress her up, haul her around and play mercilessly with her. Meg took her time but managed to sit down and pet the sweet dog. She was so proud of herself. Thanks to Ms. Christine who took the picture and was sweet and patient enough to allow her to try again and again until she was ready.
   This was a hard thing for Meg. Just something small for others. I have no illusions that this is the end of her fear, but know she has proven to herself that she can do something even when it's scary. She's proud of herself and we are happy for her too. Small steps lead to great places.

A Pinkalicious Day

    Just after Meg's birthday party a friend sent me a note that Pinkalicious, the Musical was coming to our area performed by the Junior Theater. I bought tickets in May. I waited over a month to tell her about it, but I should have waited longer. It's an eternity when you are 4 to wait more than 3 days for something fun you just can't WAIT to do. Today was FINALLY the day.

 We headed out to the Casa Del Prado theater in Balboa Park for our day of fun. It was a short play but very fun with 7 musical numbers and lots of costume changes, which we are still talking about here at home. The dancing Cupcakes golden legs are also a topic of conversation. The first thing she said as we were walking away is that she loved it and she wants to see another play right away. I love how excited she was and how much she enjoyed herself. My favorite song... You Get What You Get and You Don't Get Upset.

   After leaving Balboa Park we wandered around a little and found the Goodwill Boutique on 16th. My baby sister spent all last year telling people she wasn't turning 30 until she had a Dooney and Bourke handbag. Her birthday was a couple of months ago, and she did turn 30 without it, but today I found the perfect bag at the perfect price. A mere $35 for this darling bag that you can find for full retail price here. I guess that goes to show that great things happen after the big 3-0. Meg likes "the B bag" a lot too and tried to convince me to let her keep it. By the time you turn 30, I told her, you might just have one, but it won't be this one.

   We left out shopping expedition in search of lunch. I tried to talk her into a few different places we haven't been before, but she was stuck on MCD's. It's her favorite place. I can't eat anything good there anymore because of diabetes, but she had a good lunch and I did have my diet coke with sugar free vanilla syrup. Ah, the indulgence.
  We got home about the same time as Dad and Bug who had gone to a new chief meet and greet BBQ. They had a great time, got a little too much sun and were glad to be home. Meg jumped on dad's lap and told him all about the costumes, songs and pink cupcakes that were for sale afterwards that Mom wouldn't stand in line to get for her. She wants to go and see Harold and the Purple Crayon next. I don't have a clue if she knows what that's about, but I remember it from my childhood. We might be looking for tickets sometime soon. If you are in the area, join us. It's going to be fun!

Sharpshooter

The Big Kid spent the week at Cub Scout Day Camp this week. As crazy as it is to be at camp with 300 of your closest friends, it was really well organized. He complained that there was too much down time waiting for activities to begin, but I think they did an amazing job this year running things. As part of your week at camp, it's required that a parent come and volunteer at least one day. My day happened to be the same day as BB gun shooting.

   Rangemaster at the gun range was just a little scary, but I think that's a good thing when you deal with groups of 14-16 10 years olds all day. He got the attention he needed and the kids responded really well. He gave clear, concise instructions and didn't allow idle chatter on the range. I know those guys are generous with their time and resources. They gave up a week of their vacation time to come and shoot guns with Cub Scouts. Not a bad gig if you love it.

  Bug did really well on the range. I wasn't aware of any previous shooting experience, but he said he did it last year. This year he got a perfect score. The only one in camp to do it from the bench. In a couple of days they try again from keeling. If he aces that, he qualifies for his belt loop. He was pretty proud of his score, and so was his dad. He was very methodical in getting his equipment ready and lining up his shots. He wasn't fast by any means, but he was dead on accurate. I am glad this is the day I got to attend so I can take a few shots myself. With my camera.

  I hope he's able to get some great lessons from scout camp this year. Like even when things don't move fast enough for you they are moving along just the same. And it's good to take time to set up your shots, and your life. It can make things go well in the long run. Stick close to your friends, they make life more fun. And ALWAYS keep your water bottle full. It's hot out there!

Surprise!

7 week Ultra Sound picture

I am not all that sure suprise is a big enough word or feeling. We certainly weren't expecting to expect another baby. After all of the trials and heartache we went through to have the children that we do, we didn't even think it was a possibility. My doctor said it was a one in a million chance. The Lord has greater plans that I do for my family though and I am grateful for what's to come.
There are going to be hurdles to overcome. I am not as young as I once was. Miscarriages are not foreign to me, but I think I will need the help and support of family and friends should something happen. One dear friend looked at me with astonishment when I told her and said that there is a reason for all of this, and I should look joyfully ahead. She is so right. I dealt with gestational diabetes while pregnant with Meg and it never went away afterward. It's not all that uncommon, however this time around I go in with diabetes and had to switch to insulin shots almost right away. It can cause some complications in the months to come, but I feel like I have a good team of specialists to help me along they way. I am also expecting the bedrest this time around and I am making plans to keep busy and updating my Netflix que. Until then, I get to enjoy the summer with my kids as long as I stay away from the roller coasters....
 Baby Hubbs is officially scheduled to join us in early March, but I am betting Valentine's Day. Who's in?

Grand Canyon Adventure

In June our family took a little adventure to the Grand Canyon. A few days before I took a trip down memory lane with my sisters about camping trips of our youth. Funny for us, not so much for my mom, who just shook her head and said "Just wait. Your turn is coming." As my sister often reminds me "You don't get to choose what your children will remember forever." So true.

 The kids woke up early to leave on our adventure. I wasn't so ready to get up. Justin came in to get me and tell me to get up as we had things to do. I thought I had things covered pretty well from the night before when he went on to tell me that I had made reservations in the park for the week before, not the week we were living in. (Not the first time I have had reservation issues....) You have to book your camping spot in the Grand Canyon National Park months ahead of time. There was no way we were getting another spot there. Nothing like winging it.

 On our way there we stopped on Route 66 at the Grand Canyon Caverns. It's the largest dry cavern in the United States and it was pretty amazing. Especially to my little girl who is obsessed with rocks. If you have the time and money, you can even stay in the little hotel room in the caverns. I am glad we stopped there. It was interesting and we ended up on a private tour.

We went on to William, AZ that night and stayed in a hotel. The kids and Justin went swimming and I went to find dinner. On the way back from getting dinner I was rear-ended by a Russian who spoke very little English driving a Cadillac rental vehicle. Just a little paint transfer, but I did get shaken up a bit. The next morning the check engine light was on. We ventured onward anyway.

We ended up finding a great little first come first serve campground just outside the park entrance called Ten-X. Not a lot in the way of amenities, but good enough for us with spacious campsites and not tons of people, until the weekend. The kids had a great time playing with the rocks, digging in the dirt and stalking mysterious bugs. They mostly had fun getting dirty and taking hikes.

At the Grand Canyon National Park we spent our time taking easy rim hikes, visiting the hot spots, like the train station, hopping on and off of the shuttle buses and generally enjoying the view. We were fortunate to be there during astronomy week where astronomers from all over come to set up their telescopes for people to take a look at the heavens and discuss all things celestial. Adam's first glimpse of the canyon was telling. He turned back around to us and said "The postcards are nothing like this." He is so right. The photos, paintings, poems and other art do nothing to tell you the real soul-stilling beauty of this place. It truly is wondrous.

We had a couple of other bumps in the road on our trip. We lost Justin one day for a while. I hate being separated like that. He eventually turned up, hot and thirsty, just like the kids. There was a little incident of supposed food poisoning, but it turned out only to be a problem I had, so everyone else was healthy and happy. We had a little house flooding and the cat escaped while we were gone too. I am just thankful for a smart friend who was quick to respond and took care of everything for us. We are blessed.

As I looked at the pictures we took I wonder if the kids saw the same things I did. We gave them a camera and let them take all of the photos they wanted. I looked at lots of pictures of railings, fingers and the ground. A couple of the sky and more than a few blurry photos. I hope what they saw will be important to them in the future and not as blurry as the photos we have as memories.