In Her Eyes*

My husband, Brandon, commented the other day that I haven't written anything new on my blog lately. I told him I just didn't have much time lately and I wasn't quite sure what to write about. I have been spending any free-time working on the cookbook I have finally begun to write after 6 years of "thinking about it". Still, I felt I needed to write something after his attention, because he is one of my biggest fans, after all. So, with Valentine's day coming up (BJ, *hint*), I thought I would put together a little list of Thank You's for my big galoot.

Thank you for becoming my best friend at first and again and again.
Thank you for always working your tail off to make sure we have what we need.
Thank you for putting gas in my car.
Thank you for sharing your worries with me, and assuring me through mine.
Thanks for teaching me about football.
Thanks for putting the kaibosh on my poor spending habits.
Thanks for letting me feed you healthy food.
Thanks for being concerned about your health.
Thanks for letting me decorate.
Thanks for bringing out the tomboy from my childhood in me.
Thanks for not letting me win.
Thanks for letting me enjoy a victory.
Thanks for kneeling down and praying.
Thanks for the intelligent conversation...you are brilliant, despite your 50million references to Seinfeld, Blues Brothers, Ishtar, Blazing Saddles, Monty Python, Rustlers Rhapsody, and Mary Poppins.
Thanks for laughing with the kids.
Thanks for giggling with me.
Thank you for loving music, all kinds.
Thanks for telling me I smell so good.

Thank you for helping me find who I am.

Krista

*link to lyrics of a Josh Gorban song

What I Needed This Christmas

I have been waiting for inspiration to strike so I can write this December blog, but at this inspirational time of year, I find my mind is a bit over-inspired, and my body is constantly on the move. Today, however, I have a minute. I have emailed my family and sent out some recent photos of Jacob's Christmas play. We have been to church, fed the missionaries and the dishes are washing. The Christmas cards are addressed and waiting for the copies of the family letter, also finished today. We usually send a picture, but we just haven't gotten to it yet(by the way, check out the antlers growing out of Braeden's head). I think I may forego the plates of cookies I usually make... chewy ginger, minty candy canes, snickerdoodles, and frosted sugar cookies, but now that I see their names in front of me, how can I possibly? We will see. I have sewing to do, gift projects to finish. This year we are having an "old-fashioned" Christmas, keeping gifts simple. It is amazing how much more we think of what we really want to give when the budget is thin. It is far less stressful than being pulled a thousand different directions in the toy section. As I hum along to the carols playing all day, or steal a moment to sit and stare at the memory-inducing decorations and lights on our tree, I am subdued by thoughts of the goings on in the world: the wars and soldiers, families apart, natural disasters, world leaders in contention and struggle, deceit, the decay of morality...why our house in Washington hasn't sold yet, and what would I be getting Brandon for Christmas if it had. But, I was fortunate to view the Mormon Tabernacle Choir on Sunday morning last week, singing a carol I had not heard before, called "Nowell, Nowell, Nowell". The singers were joyous, exuberant, shouting in jubilation for the tiny baby born in Bethlehem who would save the world, even to the point of getting after the shepherds, asking, and I am paraphrasing, "How can you just stand there? You should be leaping and dancing and shouting for joy, sharing the news! This baby brings HOPE to us!" I am not often moved to tears, but I was. Because I have these weighty matters on my mind, because I wished I could give a bigger gift to my husband, and because this song reached out to those worries and plinked them like a piano wire (we had our piano tuned and the tuner told me there were about 2 tons of torque on those wires) and I realized that this joy, this is all we need, this hope. They say the heavens shouted, and I think we, all of us here, were part of that, and that is what I felt during that noisy, beautiful song... I remembered.
A merry, joyful, hopeful Christmas to you all.

TWO FOR FLINCHIN'!

Ouch! My arm hurts. Maren and I got a flu shot today. I went first and she was very brave for her turn. Now we both have had a candy of our choice (hers: gummy, mine: chocolate), some hot cocoa, and hold our arms to our sides very gingerly. I didn't even think to have it in my right arm (I am left-handed). Oh, well. I hope it helps. I am babysitting a very cute little 7 month old, and his mom works for the health dept., so, we got shots. A few notes on Maren...
The other night as I was tucking the girls in, Chelsea, 14 tomorrow, lamented over some braces that were digging into her cheeks. "Ow! I need some wax... and some..." She was then interrupted by a sharp slap on her arm by Maren, 4. Now, Maren never hits, so we were surprised. "Maren! Why did you hit Chelsea?!" Maren, eyes wide open, replied matter-of-factly, "She said she needed some whaps!" Giggles and tickles ensued. Also, we had some big left-over pumpkin-shaped sugar cookies I had made for our Halloween party, so I put them out with what was left of the frosting and some candy to decorate. After she had her cookie frosted, Brandon observed her putting some gummy worms around the edge of the pumpkin. He asked, "What are you doing there?" She said she was making a frame for the face. She then placed 2 candycorns, standing up 3-D style, for eyes. He thought that was cute and left her to finish. She came into the living room and announced she had finished her cookie. He asked, "You ate it all gone?" She said, "No, come see it." So he went to look. There were about 30 candycorns, all standing up, crammed onto the pumpkin. "Its the face!" Tongue-in-cheek, he told her it was great and left her to eat it. He went in later after she had finished and saw her cookie, all the canycorns swept off neatly to the side, and the frosting licked clean off down the middle. Classic Maren.

That's What I Learned In My School...Boom Boom

Sometimes we have long days. Sometimes my husband and I lose some of our intellect. We might, for example, excuse ourselves to use the "potty", instead of the bathroom, or offer to get another adult, a "nosewipe" instead of a tissue. The other day, we had several things going on in the evening and had a rushed dinner. Brandon had mentioned that he had eaten some greasy pizza for lunch at the school and with our busy evening, had developed a bit of heartburn. His words were, "Ohh, its burning the top of my air blower!". I paused and replied with a half smile, "So, is that somewhere between your chin chopper and bread basket?". He grinned sheepishly, opened the medicine cabinet, and murmered something about "dickey dickey doo". Some of you may be scratching your topnotchers, so here are the lyrics to an old nursery song Brandon apparently learned as a boy, and I picked up while working at a daycare center when we were just married. I couldn't remember some of the words, so I searched until I found this site. A nice lady has compiled a hundred songs or more from our childhood. What a nice google down memory lane! Boom Boom!

My Hand on my Head

My hand on my head, what have I here?

This is my topnotcher, my Mama dear.

Topnotcher, topnotcher, dickey dickey doo,

That’s what I learned in my school, boom boom.

My hand on my brow, what have I here?

This is my sweat boxer, my mama dear.

Sweat boxer, topnotcher, dickey dickey doo,

That’s what I learned in my school.

Boom! Boom!

Eye ... eyeblinker, sweatboxer (forehead), topnotcher (head) ...

Nose ... smell sniffer.(or hornblower)

Mustache ... soup strainer ...

Mouth ... food grinder ...

Chin ... chin chopper ...

Neck ... voice boxer...

Chest ... air blower ....

Stomach ... bread basket ...

Behind .... lap sitter ...

Thigh .. thighslapper ..

Knee ... knee knocker ...

Shin ... shinsplinter

Foot ... foot stomper ...

An Autumn Winter Wonderland

(You know the tune)

When it snows
In October,
I can't believe
That its October!
Its not even Halloween,
The grass is still green,
Its an Autumn Winter Wonderland.
When it snows
In December,
That's O.K.
'Cause its December!
October's for leaves
And colors on trees,
But its an Autumn Winter Wonderland.
In the yard, the kids,
They built a snowman.
They scrambled for a scarf and matching hat.
We hadn't even unpacked winter coats, yet.
Not even our vampire, ghost, and bat!
In the front, we are landscaping,
So the work, Brandon's escaping.
We can't dig the ground
With snow all around,
Its an Autumn Winter Wonderland!

WHEN I GROW UP...

I have chosen a "profession" for which I have received some scrutiny, some praise, and some flabbergastment. When I was small, my Mom would tell me, "Honey, you can be anything you want. You could be a nurse, or even a doctor. You could go to dental school." I would listen as I sat on the counter, and watch her stir the sweet, thickening jam made from our trip to the U-Pick strawberry patch the previous day. I would think about that as I watched her rinse the fresh, still-warm-from-the-sun tomatoes, squash, and peppers from our garden, and throw together a delicious dinner without a cookbook. She would encourage me to get as much education as possible, to find a career. She would then load us all up in the VW camper bus and take us to the lake for the day, picnic and floaties in tow, or a neighborhood fair, or Pike's Place market. She taught me how to scrub a bathroom and dust the house before I could jump rope, and she organized chore charts to keep the house, and us, running smoothly. She took care of us when we were sick and always seemed to know the remedy, and when to take us to the Dr.'s office. "You could do so much. You are so smart!", she would declare, as she and I made visits to women in our church, sharing uplifting messages and plates of cookies. I watched her mow the lawn with a determined look on her face, heard the clinking of dishes being washed and put away as I fell asleep at night, helped her make beds in the morning. "You can be anything you want to be...don't settle for less." Sometimes there would be a longing in her voice, on a particularly hectic day; those days when things do not go so well, and we doubt ourselves. But I remember the serenity on her face as she watched us baboons run about, just watching in amazement and gratification. Or, her satisfaction of a clean house as she plopped down to read a magazine, or write a letter. Her independence in exploring her corner of the world and opening our eyes to it. Her pride in our accomplishments. Teaching, always teaching. I knew what I wanted to be. How thankful I am to be a house-wife, a stay-at-home-Mom, a handy-woman, a comforter, a coach, an explorer, a gardener, a chef, a nurturer, an organizer, a dancer, a singer, a disciplinarian, a scriptorian, a teacher... a student of life. I have a college education, and when the kids are gone, I will probably go back to school, see what else I can do. I have travelled. I have had a business. I have worked HARD and have met with discouragement, even despair. But nothing, NO OTHER EXPERIENCE, could make me feel more accomplished, more well-rounded, more needed, more in-tune with life and its meanings, more loved, than running my home, raising my kids, making my spot of Earth find its potential. What a challenge... and I love a challenge! Thanks, Mom, for teaching me to be anything I want. Thanks, Brandon, my love, for helping me to be.

Happiness is a Warm Basement

I am down in our basement, listening to the footsteps and voices above me, and it reminds me of Grandma and Grandpa A.'s house...basement sounds always will. The hide-a-bed was down there, pulled out and tucked in with 5 or so blankets. Shell and I would snuggle in and listen to the adults' muffled voices, punctuated with laughter, and guess who was walking from room to room, following the creaking floors. Grandma would come down and start a load of laundry and we would fall asleep to the rhythm of the washing machine swish. Now, my kids are cleaning up the dishes after dinner, singing, laughing, teasing, yelling to each other (or at each other), and generally being happy while they work. These sounds, I like. They evoke feelings of coziness.
Speaking of cozy, we had a cold front come through and had to turn the heat on. Fall is now in the air, and it is 7:30 and getting dark. I am ready! I am anxious to pull out the sweaters and Maren's winter clothes and fill the front closet with coats! Jacob went out back, briefly, in his shorts and t-shirt he threw on after church, and proclaimed as he came back in, "We need a firepit!" I happened to agree and we will look into that. We went to Braeden's first football game last Thursday and snuggled and cheered. Knowing the weather was turning, I got to painting our front door tomato red (a project I had been wanting to do) before it got too cold to paint. I think the shutters (black) may have to wait. We will see. There is plenty to do inside, as we have a full basement to finish. I will be busy all winter long. This weekend I tackled the boys' room, the only finished room in the basement. They love being down here, but their room is all pink, from the previous owner. The trim, ceiling, closet, everything, pale, Pepto-Bismal PINK. I think they must have set a paint bomb in there and run. SO, I have been promising them I would remedy it. I spent most of Saturday painting the closet and trim white. Two coats. Maren helped with a little sponge brush and painted "MAREN DJGNRISOSHN" on the wall, which she translated to "MAREN CAN COME IN". Obviously, she loves the basement, too. Her room will be next door when it is finished. She just came by with an empty plastic bowl and a clean paint brush, "painting" the house. I must have made an impression. Well, we aren't done yet, as those pink walls and Maren's grafitti will need to become a pale gray blue. I love having plenty to do, and time to do it! Something about Fall..the Ants and the Grasshopper... getting ready and storing up, there is a busy-ness and purpose, an urgency that thrills me. A goal to be cozy as the winter hastens. There is so much coldness in the world, of all kinds. The least I can do is provide a haven, a warm, safe respite for my family. And a blue bedroom for my boys.

Sunlight Basin

On Labor Day we took a day trip to Sunlight Basin, about 40 miles NW of Cody. These pictures are taken from Dead Indian Summit, a viewpoint and historical marker. These pictures don't even compare to the breathtaking expanse of this area. It has the most diverse altitude changes I have seen in one area, and when you think you are at the bottom, you look over and see a deep, snakey crevace carved though the valley, and when you think you are at the top, you see a higher towering shadow of a mountain emerge around the corner. It is emerald green in the early summer. The significance is this:
The Nez Perce lived in this area, and as the army came to round them up, they used the gorges, valleys and creeks to backtrack and circle, so that the army could not track them. They made their way up and out of the basin by this road we are on, and at this summit, had to leave behind a dying member if the tribe. When the army reached him, they killed him. In the picture with the gold grasses in the foreground, you can see the main thoroughfare of the basin in the top right corner. We drove through there. Millions of buffalo, along with elk, deer and antelope, migrated through here every year. This was the place of Buffalo Bill Cody's last big game hunt, with the Prince of Monaco. In the picture with the fenceposts in the foreground, there is a huge table butte, and Maren insisted that one day we go there to have a picnic.
The thing that struck me most about this place, was that it was so well hidden and remote, yet teeming with life and sustenance. I would imagine that any people who called this home would be very proud of it, and very heartbroken to ever leave it. There are several ranches and cabins, a ranger station, and campgrounds there, and the fishing is incredible. It is a special place and we will make a trip to see it in all seasons.