Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Surprise

I wasn't going to post anymore until after the holiday, but yesterday, my B showed up with these, a peck on the cheek, and then quickly left to go work out.


STUNNED.


Chelsea grabbed the camera. Honest, not even posing. Flowers do this to me.
Chelsea kept asking if her dad was in big trouble or if he lost his job or something.


Still smiling.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Sunday, November 22, 2009

True To My Word


The next few days I will be making pie fillings and cranberry sauce and pie crusts and assembling the stuffing. Heavenly aromas will fill the house and my apron will be covered with flour and sugar. I posted before that the Christmas tree is going up early this year. That goes for this blog, as well. After I am done here, the family is going to be mobilized into decorating.
They have no idea.
(wicked laugh)

Friday, November 20, 2009

Most People Prefer Ketchup



L: Todd, Matt, & Bobbi   R: Jamie, Me, & B  not pictured: Doug

Another fun night at Trapper Creek Lodge. What was so funny? B's woman scream at the deer on the side of the road, the piece of lettuce completely covering my tooth, Bobbi repeatedly defending Matt's non-existent drinking problem, the lint "mole" on B's neck (can't...look...away), Matt's ummm, sleeping bag, Todd's 3-egg creme brulee, Jamie defending Todd's non-existent tennis problem, Doug's cotton joke I got 3 minutes later, just after Jamie got it, and Erica, our SO great waitress and my sister-in-law who fought the urge to get after me about helping her clean up.
Thanks, guys! We will do it again!

Quote of the morning:
Jacob said, while chewing his huge bite of breakfast, "Mom, we need to get more honey so I have something to put on my egg sandwich besides cinnamon-sugar."

Maren was at a loss for words, her spoonful of cereal paused halfway to her mouth.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Team!


I play competitive volleyball at the rec center. My teammates are Bobbi, Kim, Sue, Lisa, Stacy, and Michelle. We laugh way too much, but we win. Most of the time.
Bobbi has a killer serve. Kim is team clown and kills herself for the ball. Sue guides us along and reinforces our bump set spike delivery. Lisa is our slammer and net intimidation. Stacy is consistent and level-headed and skilled. Michelle is our hot-headed competitor, don't mess. And there's me. I love the net. I have to get over my power issues (I hit hard and consistently in practice, but I pull up in games, and stick to my reliable underhand serve), but I love to play with my team.
We talk to each other, we poke fun at each other, we goof off for each other, and we focus for each other. We cheer each other on. (Hmm, maybe I should make my kids play volleyball together.)

A few weeks ago I watched a little college volleyball and my B walked in.
"Hey, hon, look, we're on TV."
"You are?" He stops and looks at the screen.
"See, there's me going up for the block, and, oh, Kim dives for the tip and gets it up, here comes Lisa... Slam. See? It's us."
He laughs and shakes his head and starts to turn away.
"No, wait! Bobbi is serving, watch." The girl tosses the ball up high ten feet from the line, runs and jumps five feet in the air, slamming it over and down to the other team. "See? She's good, huh?"
"Yup." He laughs and moves along.
"You should come watch us play. We look a lot different in real life."

Well, we do. We won both games last night, and tournament starts next week.
Go Moss Ortho!

Monday, November 09, 2009

A Very Fortunate Event


Happy Seventeen, Chelsea-poo! I didn't see this day coming so soon. Thank you for filling the place in my heart I didn't know was there. You complete me (fingers tracing the shape of a heart). Love your buns.

Saturday, November 07, 2009

A Series of Unfortunate Events

It has been the oddest week. Just over a week, I guess. Just a series of not-so-great events and challenges, mixed with a reinforcement of how blessed I feel. Maybe one is because of the other. Not sure. Things aren't related. The difficult things, though, all came on so consecutively... I have begun to wonder... What is coming? Have you experienced this? A series of small trials occur, and then BAM, something significant happens, whether good or bad, and you think back and say, "Ohhh, that's why I had all that struggle."
1- I had to critique a dear friend's book and I'm still waiting for the backlash. It was a childrens book. Children are scathingly honest and she asked me to tell her what mine thought. Ugh. Why are my children so outspoken? They didn't get it from me. I wish I hadn't given her the notes.
2- I was patronized and critiqued myself, as a person, a member of the RS presidency, and Bishop's wife, by a person I was just beginning to know and like, who barely knows me at all.
3- My friend was injured likewise.
4- A neighbor I have seen once before visited me early Monday morning (still in my workout clothes, yuck) and verbally assaulted me (I was alone) and my family over the behavior of our dog, who we have been worrying about and trying to train... she loves to bark... so much that after much progress this summer, she decided to ignore the shock collar and burned a sore on her throat. We bring her in at night and when the temp. drops, but we have been talking, sadly, about letting her go, unsure what to do other than make her a full-time house-dog. She's big and sheds like a... a really sheddy dog. Then Mr. Miserable came over and tore into me, and then the kids, and then me again, leaving me in a pile of quivering, kicked, mess of tears and failure. His hatred was so strong I had to wonder if there was more to this than the dog. Like, maybe our kids were using his yard for a toilet, or our teenage daughter is continually driving up the sidewalk and over his lawn, or we're having loud, wild parties every night and the police keep showing up, and we just don't remember, which would explain why B is always so tired, the parties on top of running a high school and filling his duties as Bishop of our church ward. Maybe the man hates sunflowers, which lined our corner fence across the street from his house. Maybe he is a miserable old man who finds anything wrong with anybody and berates them because he was one of the first houses in the neighborhood and feels it is his duty, and maybe we're not the first ones. This last part is true, as we found out from his neighbor on the other side, who then told us he wasn't bothered a bit by our dog... never noticed she was different from any of the other dozen dogs in the neighborhood. But still, it took me a few days to recover from the abusive tirade. Still feeling it, actually. It helped that Brandon's friends (and mine) at work all offered to go over there and lay into him, egg his house, burn profanities in his lawn with gasoline, flip him off every time they drove by, and a myriad of other testosterone-backed hi-jinks that would not have helped at all, but it sure felt great to be championed. Thanks, guys. And thanks, Jim, for the super shocker hi-voltage whack-your-sweet-dog-into-another-dimension shock collar. It actually seems to be working. I think we'll still try to find a place for her... maybe. And B, thanks for going over there and telling him never to talk to me again.  And you never said 'I told you so' about wanting a dog. Not once. Love you.
5- This last one is small. Actually, I'm not even going to mention it. Just stressed over the book club, wanting it to work out. Okay, I mentioned it.

But it's been a strange string of events, among excellent reports at P/T conferences, championship football games (GO BRONCS), new opportunities for service in the community and church, found out what an awesome trumpet player Jacob is at his first concert ever, LOVE my ward family, LOVE that Braeden is happy in school and getting the challenges he needs, LOVE that Chelsea is having fun with real friends, LOVE Maren still loves dance, LOVE my B is working out again.

So, are these trials preparation? Or the cunning of the adversary, wanting to discourage us? Maybe I'm wrong this time, but I am working through these things, and wondering. Experience has made me both wary and hopeful. What is coming?

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

Me Plus Turkey Day


I love Thanksgiving.
I love that it brings families together.
I love that we work for it.
I love the colors, the smells, the sounds.
What sounds?
Oven doors closing, talking in every room, football, greetings.

I love the food.

I love sunny November in Cody.
I love foggy November in Kennewick.
I love snowy November in Star Valley.
I love colorful November in Klamath Falls.
I love icy November in Spokane.
I love rainy November in Walla Walla.

I love that it issues in my other favorite holiday.
I don't care what B says, the tree is going up early this year.

I love Thanksgiving.

Sunday, November 01, 2009

Halloween Fun


We had a great time at our church Halloween Party! It was fun to dress up and take part with our Ward family. That's Brandon, the Frog Prince. Believe it or not, somebody had that little toy frog in their car, and grabbed it. I guess the Prince looked a little lonely. Ribbit. Now, he's hoppy.