tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89417920126513697912024-03-14T03:54:08.690-05:00The Doctor's Report....Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00859627224189217912noreply@blogger.comBlogger84125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941792012651369791.post-7842093074514270622012-08-16T21:53:00.001-05:002012-08-16T21:53:38.730-05:00Caleb and his best friendDefinition:
Asperger's syndrome is a developmental disorder that affects a person's ability to socialize and communicate effectively with others. Children with Asperger's syndrome typically exhibit social awkwardness and an all-absorbing interest in specific topics. <br />
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Keep this definition in mind as you read this post.
Caleb has asperger's syndrome. He doesn't make friends easily. Most times you can find him on the playground engrossed in his own fascination.....spiders, grasshoppers, snakes (if he can find one) or any other type of bug. Caleb can tell you all about snakes (differences, etc.), spiders, bugs of any kind, and most reptiles. <br />
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I have struggled with his LOVE of nature for many years now.
We have recently moved to a rural area with a couple of acres. My kids love it out here....I am not so sure about it.....I have provided my kids with the "normal" kids stuff -- trampoline, swings, bikes, etc., thinking that any trip to the emergency room will be the result of falling from one of the above and not from a snake bite or spider bite.....but instead, Caleb loves spending his time outdoors looking for grasshoppers, walking sticks, praying mantis, snakes (yes he has found a couple) and spiders. I have grounded him many times from looking for his beloved creatures -- so far it hasn't done any good.<br />
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The other day, I walked outside to see him playing with a spider....not just a spider but a HUGE ugly spider....I FREAKED OUT....screaming for him to get it off of him and stop playing with it....<br />
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As the other kids in the neighborhood leave the area to go jump on the trampoline, Caleb sort of lags behind them and then all of a sudden he collapses to the ground crying his eyes out....<br />
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Me: what is wrong? why are you crying?<br />
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Caleb: He is my best friend and I miss him already (less than five minutes from me freaking out); he needs me. <br />
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Me: Caleb, you can't play with that spider. It could bite you and make you very sick.<br />
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Caleb: he isn't poisonous and he won't bite me cause he is my friend.<br />
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After this meltdown, we came in to look at spiders on the internet. His "best friend" is an orb-weaver kinda looks like a banana spider....It isn't poisonous and so far it hasn't bitten him. I am scared to even wish he would find something else to fixate on...it was terrifying to take the pictures of him with his spider (I mean, leg shaking, almost passing out terrifying).<br />
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For now the doctor is out....wondering what other terrifying things I will be confronted with by my little boy!!<br />
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<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/301/1D9C1E4076258B8C529F18707E4471F5.png" style="border: 0px currentColor !important;" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00859627224189217912noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941792012651369791.post-43523267771549007172012-08-11T01:46:00.000-05:002012-08-11T01:46:46.626-05:00The ExperimentI have been reading <em>Cleaning House: A Mom's 12-month Experiment to Rid Her Home of Youth Entitlement</em> by Kay Wills Wyma. Kay Wills Wyma has 5 kids, ages four to fourteen and she asks the reader, " Do your kids expect clean folded clothes to magically appear in their drawers? Do they roll their eyes when you suggest they clean the bathroom? By racing to make their lives easy, have you unintentionallyy reinforced your children's belief that the world revolves around them?" The author was dismayed by the attitude of entitlement that her children had so she put together an "experiment" to clean house of entitlement and introduce her children to basic life skills (like picking up their clothes off the floor and making their beds)and at the same time teaching them many ways that work can be meaningful while also building their self-esteem/confidence and concern for others around them.<br />
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I was hooked after the first chapter...wow, she has five kids and she is on a roll to teach them the value of work in the home and these kids are buying into it (well the younger kids are - the teen is still rolling his eyes and giving attitude). So I KNOW I can implement some of her ideas into my own kids...surely I can teach my two that "cleanliness is next to Godliness." I mean she had a fail proof system -- MONEY -- I mean what kid doesn't want to earn some spending money????? <br />
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So following her example, I got two Mason jars and labeled them (one for Caleb and one for Brenden). I went to the bank and traded 3 twenty dollar bills for 60 one dollar bills, split the money between each jar and began my own experiment. I sat the boys down and explained to them the premise behind the money jars: the money had thier name on it but it still belonged to me until they actually earned it. The plan was they would make their beds each morning, pick up any toys on the floor before going to bed at night, take their dirty clothes to the laundry room each night, and for good measure I added "not arguing and no bad attitudes" to the mix (hey you do what you have to do). Every day I would check their progress and remove a dollar if things were not done properly (as well as a child thier age could do things). I would also remove a dollar for negative behavior such as the arguing and attitude. Any money I remove from the jars will go back to me and I can use for it some indulgence such as a pedicure!!!<br />
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They were excited about "the experiment" and during the first week they both lost about $3 (not bad since they could have lost anywhere up to $7 for the week). We were on a roll, beds were getting made, clothes picked up, toys picked up and very little attitude. I was impressed at how my boys were handling things!!! <br />
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Then came the morning when Caleb got into his head that he wanted mac n cheese for breakfast and nothing else...(I should have just caved and made the mac n cheese since his Aspberger's and OCD were NOT going to move away from the idea) but no, I just tried to reason with him that I planned to take a dollar if he didn't adjust the attitude; the next thing I know he is slamming down $27 on the counter telling me "to just take it, take all of it....I want mac n cheese for breakfast" ummm, yeah the experiment was going south fast. Needless to say we made some compromises and all was back on course or so I thought.<br />
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Later that evening we had another attitude problem with Caleb...where eventually, he slammed $3 dollars down and again just said, "take it, it is all I have left, just take it." I am stunned -- not by the attitude, but by the fact that just that same morning he had $27 and I took $1 for attitude, so doing the math...he should have $26 not $3. So I begin to question why he only has $3 and where the heck is the money that should be in his jar (which by the way I placed in their room on their shelves). So I go upstairs to find the jar and discover that it is indeed empty...I look in Brenden's jar, count his money and he only has $7 (I knew I had only taken $3 from him so definitely there was money missing from his jar).....I am starting to boil at this point...there is $40 missing from the jars and I am getting no answers from my boys at this point but I know foul play is amiss. The other thing that concerns me is that the neighbor kids were over playing in their rooms earlier in the day...I am beginning to question if they might have taken the money...surely not...but you never know. <br />
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So a trip across the street to the neighbors house to see if they have the money or might help shed some info on what happened to the money...ummm, yes the two neighbor kids had the money alright...<br />
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The neighbor kids sold my kids an XBOX and a Playstation 3 for $20 each....the only problem to this was that 1) my kids had NOT earned the money...it wouldn't be theirs until the end of the month and only what was left in the jar would belong to them; 2) the neighbor kids didn't tell their grandpa (they live with him) about the sell; and 3) my kids gave the money to them without getting the merchandise....<br />
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My experiment is a total FAILURE!!!!! I have completely failed as a parent!!! My kids have let me down and I have let them down....I am just so disappointed and trying not to become angry at the situation (oh, who are we kidding...I am FURIOUS and I want to beat them!!!) All the while sweet hubby is smiling thinking these boys made a great deal....they bought an XBOX 360 for $20....that is he thinks they made a great deal until I remind him that the boys were out $20 each without getting the merchandise.....yeah, bust that balloon!!!!<br />
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I have not given up on "the experiment" yet....I mean if Kay can get her five kids to buy into the experiment then by golly I can too....I only have 2 kids to work on. So we re-group and emphasize that the money isn't yours until the end of the month (that is if there is any left by then!) <br />
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For now the doctor is out....wondering if "the experiment" will help remove entitlement from my own home...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/301/1D9C1E4076258B8C529F18707E4471F5.png" style="border: 0px currentColor !important;" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00859627224189217912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941792012651369791.post-8337132475273342302012-08-07T17:11:00.001-05:002012-08-07T17:43:37.962-05:00Moms know best.....<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">My tribute to my mom: </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Kathleen Wallace Bisbee</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">February 2, 1942 - June 11, 2012</span></div>
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One of the first things I learned during my first semester of college at BYU was that I took my mom for granted and that she really did know more than me. This knowledge continued to grow as I married, moved to California, and gave birth to my daughter....my mom was the smartest woman on earth...AMAZING!!! I even named my first born after this amazing woman (Sarah Kathleen). When I divorced I decided that I didn't want to stay in California, instead I wanted to bring my little girl back to Arkansas so she could know her grandparents....many years later I realize it was one of my best decisions. Sarah's wedding was one of the last major events my mom was able to be at before she passed on June 11, 2012. I was blessed to speak at her funeral and have decided to include that talk here in my blog more for journaling than entertainment. (I will eventually get back to my regular blogging at some point).<br />
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<br /><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Kathleen Wallace Bisbee, 70, of Little Rock, passed away June 11, 2012.
She was born on February 2, 1942 in Gillett, AR to Leo Richard and Ella Florine
Cook Wallace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kathleen married the love
of her life, Frank Walter Bisbee August 28, 1959.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">She was preceded in death by her husband, Frank Walter Bisbee, daughter,
Robin Freeman and brother, Jack Walton Wallace, she is survived by daughters,
Dr. Connie Bisbee Tollett (Cecil) and Marnita Bisbee; sons, Robert Bisbee and
Christopher Bisbee; sisters, Dorothy Ritter, Anita Trimble (Eugene), Karen Lee
(Roy), Barbara Starks, Lisa Weilacher (Jerry) and Mona Wallace; grandchildren,
Joshua Tollett (Erica), Sarah Ratliff Jensen (Nathan), Caleb Tollett, Bryan
Bisbee, Bailey West Bisbee, Kristen Bisbee, Brenden Bisbee and Taylor Freeman;
and great-grandchildren, Hayden Tollett, Gracie Tollett, Devon Jensen, Ethan
Jensen and Jordan Jensen; and a host of nieces, nephews, family and friends. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">One of the things that I remember most about my mom as a child was how well
she could sew.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had 3 daughters to
sew for and she actually loved sewing for us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I remember the one and only time as a little kid actually buying clothes
from a store….I was about 6 years old and getting ready to start 1<sup>st</sup>
grade, so my mom took me to Sears to buy new dresses for the school year….after
that she didn’t buy clothes…she sewed them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She was a very talented seamstress….everything she made for us looked as
though it had been store bought…as I got older my friends would ask me where I
bought that dress/shirt or whatever and I would cringe and say “my mom made
it”….they were so impressed but I really wasn’t ….I would beg for a store
bought clothing item of any kind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By the
time I was in 6<sup>th</sup> grade and getting ready for junior high, I really
wanted some real blue jeans (not the kind my mom made for me)…so she told me if
I could save for at least half of the cost she MIGHT help me with the other
half….I eventually made enough money with some help from her to actually buy
that first pair of blue jeans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
eventually had to give up sewing due to the loss of eyesight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, she loved to watch Marnita and I
sew our quilts and things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She wasn’t
shy about telling us that a quilt block looked terrible b/c of the colors
chosen but she would also tell us which blocks she liked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">It was through her abilities as a seamstress that she could really
disguise the fact that we were really poor while growing up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We always had something new fairly often
through her sewing or she always managed to scrape up any money needed for
special occasions to do things with our friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Growing up I never knew I was poor and it
wasn’t until many years later that I realized all that she sacrificed so that
her kids could have something.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My mom
LOVED Elvis Presley, and had an opportunity to attend his concert when he came
to LR.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I remember her talking about it
years later and I asked her why didn’t she go when she could have, she replied
that the ticket was $10 and if she spent the money on herself she was afraid
that it might be needed for the family and then she wouldn’t have it….so she
choose not to go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">My mom started working outside of the home when I was in the 1<sup>st</sup>
grade.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She would work in the evenings so
my dad would be home with us at night and eventually she switched to working
days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She never taught us to use an
alarm clock…she was our alarm clock.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
would walk into our rooms singing to us each morning to get us up for breakfast
and school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And she was a phone call
away in the afternoons when we returned home….the phone would start ringing as
we walked through the door….she would ask us about our day and then instruct us
on what chores we needed to complete before she got home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were many times she would come home
extremely tired from being on her feet all day and one of us girls would meet
her in the doorway with a request for a new outfit that we absolutely had to
have by Saturday for some kind of dance or super Saturday or whatever it might
be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Usually our requests were made on a
Tuesday or Wednesday of the same week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She never said “why didn’t you tell me this last week” instead<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>she always would say, “let me see what I can
do” and then she would bring home a pattern and some fabric then begin cutting
out and sewing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I always knew that
outfit would be finished in time for me to wear on the day needed but what I
didn’t know until much later was the price of that outfit…..my mom staying up
late at night then getting up early to go to work --- standing on her feet for
8 hours----coming home to finish cooking dinner that I started ----then setting
up that sewing machine and going at it again into the late hours.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">My mom grew up in the small town of Gillett, AR.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At some point she met this marine who was on
leave visiting his own family in this small town.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She and the marine started dating and
eventually fell in love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was a
teenager and had to wait for the marine to complete his service and once he did
he came back to this small town and swept her off her feet….this is the sweet
shortened version, but this small town girl and the marine decided to
elope.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I could say they lived happily
ever after and basically they did, but there were some bumps in the road and
sometimes there were huge potholes in the road, but they met the obstacles with
determination and continued on and their love for each other continued to grow
deeper and deeper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My dad was my mom’s
best friend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They did everything
together and went everywhere together and they held hands while doing so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My dad always told me that “mama comes
first”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">My mom faced many trials during her lifetime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And for the most part I think she handled
them with a somewhat positive attitude.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I don’t remember her ever laying her head down and giving up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She always did what she had to do to get
through them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of the biggest trials
she faced was when my dad had a motorcycle accident which put his leg in a cast
for a very long time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because of this he
couldn’t work for over a year or longer which really affected our family finances
and dynamics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the beginning my mom
worked her 8 hours then went to the hospital to spend a couple of hours with my
dad who was in tremendous pain, and then she would come home to her kids and
all the things that went with having 5 kids at home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Although my mom worked full time she always managed to be on the
sidelines for our activities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She spent
many days watching her kids play ball of some sort.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As each grandchild came along she continued
sitting on the sidelines cheering them on in their sports.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">My mom had a love for travel combined with a love of history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since we didn’t have money for vacations she
did the next best thing…we traveled Arkansas and learned Arkansas history in
the process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we actually were able
to go on a real vacation she didn’t take us to Disney World….we went to places
of historical importance and learned more history….one time we were going to my
cousin’s wedding in Illinois…..this was not a simple trip to a wedding…she
managed to squeeze in more American history and church history with a side trip
to Nauvoo (which wasn’t the Nauvoo it is today).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eventually my mom was able to travel to
all 50 of the United States and DC.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There is a lot of history across this country and she managed to show a
lot of it to us as we traveled with her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>AND, we finally went to Disney World with her but we were adults at that
time!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span><br />
<div style="margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">My mom loved spending time with family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We spent many holidays in Gillett with her sisters and parents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Later in her life she and her sisters would
plan a “sisters weekend” where they would usually go canoeing together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They also traveled Arkansas together and
eventually went beyond the state line to other places.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><br />
<div style="margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">When someone passes this world, we have a tendency to focus on all the
good things about that person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My mom
had many good qualities about her but she also had her own share of faults as
well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She wasn’t a perfect person but in
our eyes she was the closest thing to a perfect mom.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><br />
<div style="margin-top: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">I feel truly blessed that I was able to spend so much time with my
mom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As adults we became friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We laughed together, we cried together, we
commiserated together and we enjoyed her life together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just this past Saturday morning as I was at
their house (sewing and watching college baseball) my mom shared a dream that
she had the night before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She told us
that she dreamed she was dressed in white and was with my dad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She said there were many people there in
white as well and that she and my dad were getting married in this big
ceremony.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She told us that my sister
Robin was there with them but she couldn’t understand why we weren’t there for
this big day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think my mom was being
prepared in some way to make that cross over from life to death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know that she is at peace now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know she is with my dad and my sister, as
well as her parents and others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know
there was a celebration of her homecoming there just as there is sadness here
of her leaving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Mom, you are missed so very much. Thank you for all the life lessons you taught us. Thank you for your support when we screwed up. Thank you for laughing with us and for crying with us. Thank you for the sacrifices you made for each of us. We love you always.</span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin-top: 0in;">
<br /></div>
</div>
</span><div style="line-height: 200%;">
<div style="margin-top: 0in;">
For now the doctor is out, remembering what a wonderful mom she was blessed with.</div>
</div>
<br /><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/301/1D9C1E4076258B8C529F18707E4471F5.png" style="border: 0px currentColor !important;" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00859627224189217912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941792012651369791.post-58649630634157173282012-08-06T13:22:00.000-05:002012-08-06T23:45:50.064-05:00Depression kills.....but life goes on....I live with depression. Usually it is controlled with medicine but sometimes things happen that even with medicine it can't be controlled. Such as losing my mom in June. <br />
<br />
I made it through the funeral arrangements with lots of support around me but eventually the people leave and it is just you and the depression....grippling, draining, and overwhelming. The first two weeks I sat on my sofa staring at walls and crying. My kids basically took care of themselves. I have since moved on to just sitting and staring....not so much crying. I have ventured out a couple of times to do some absolute errands but if I can pawn them off on sweet hubby I will just to avoid life.<br />
<br />
The ironic thing about depression is that you are literally dying inside out while everyone else is living their lives around you. So I have finally decided that I have to live ...I have to move forward....if not for myself I need to do so for my kids and sweet hubby. So I am blogging again...this time not for entertainment but for journaling.<br />
<br />
I miss my mom. I miss talking to her. I miss seeing her. I miss her laugh. I miss my mom. Part of me is so angry that she is gone...it isn't fair, it isn't fair, it isn't fair. Yes, I know the principles of the gospel, yes I know she is in a better place, yes I know, I know, I know....but it doesn't compute right now when I miss her so much. I question why did she have to go when there are so many "stupid, law-breaking, murderers, etc, etc" out there that are NOT contributing to our society and they live on....I know the gospel oriented answer....the Lord needed her more and her time here was done but I need her too and my family needs her.<br />
<br />
Each day I set a goal for myself...today I will sew for 30 minutes to 1 hour; or today I will cook something; or today I will go to the store; or today instead of letting voicemail answer I will answer my phone myself and talk to an actual living person and hopefully tomorrow I will have the desire to join the living once again.
Today my goal was to start writing my blog again. I did it. Tomorrow I will take another step into the living world.<br />
<br />
<br />
For now the doctor is out.....sitting on her couch and crying once more because I miss my mom.
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/301/1D9C1E4076258B8C529F18707E4471F5.png" style="border: 0px currentColor !important;" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00859627224189217912noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941792012651369791.post-4946492910107430952012-03-16T20:51:00.000-05:002012-03-16T20:51:55.634-05:00Are you a bucket dipper?Wow, it has been a LONG time since I have blogged....I have let too many things get in my way.<br />
<br />
Today as we were riding home, Caleb and Brenden were "fussing" in the back seat. <br />
<br />
Caleb to me: Mom, Brenden is a bucket dipper. He keeps dipping out of my bucket.<br />
<br />
Me: What do you mean? You have a bucket with water in it?<br />
<br />
Caleb: I have an imaginary bucket on top of my head. When it is full I am very happy but when people dip from it then it makes me sad. If my bucket is empty then I am really mad!<br />
<br />
Me: How do people dip from your bucket? <br />
<br />
Caleb: They say mean things or talk bad to me. Brenden is calling me names and that is dipping from my bucket.<br />
<br />
(Brenden in the background is discussing how "stupid" the imaginery bucket is). <br />
<br />
Caleb: You are either a bucket dipper or a bucket giver and I am a bucket giver. <br />
<br />
Me: That is great but how does one become a bucket giver?<br />
<br />
Caleb: You have to be nice to people and say nice things to them. Mom, you have dipped from my bucket sometimes. Even dad dipped. But Brenden is dipping a lot right now.<br />
<br />
Me: Oh my gosh, I am so sorry that I dipped from your bucket. I will try to be a bucket giver to you.<br />
<br />
Later at dinner we had another discussion about the bucket and how we can be givers instead of dippers. By then Brenden was open to having his own bucket (and I know he needs his filled to the brim). <br />
<br />
Obviously, my 7 year old did not come up with this analogy on his own. I am thinking it is something used at school in his class. But either way it has me thinking about other people's buckets and how easy it is to be a bucket dipper. I hope this family can work more on becoming bucket givers instead. <br />
<br />
For now the doctor is out....checking for holes in my own bucket and filling up both of my boys buckets....<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/301/1D9C1E4076258B8C529F18707E4471F5.png" style="border: 0px currentColor !important;" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00859627224189217912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941792012651369791.post-66305516700739166482011-09-01T17:29:00.000-05:002011-09-01T17:29:33.931-05:00Trying to catch up on some blogging.....<br />
<br />
Utah Vacation August 2011<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXM-_S3MgWMeWh5GDFVUHMZkV-CJjoBRpZ3Z3mIseDX8Qt67eGH7atKk2n-sfx7ykEhY7m3MgUbE5fedE6tqFzfvR043PXUiWmNbwD1PAlKsgrDY28TNyYzJ8aQJhoiQR8ZGZzLSZgxRw/s1600/IMG_3920.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXM-_S3MgWMeWh5GDFVUHMZkV-CJjoBRpZ3Z3mIseDX8Qt67eGH7atKk2n-sfx7ykEhY7m3MgUbE5fedE6tqFzfvR043PXUiWmNbwD1PAlKsgrDY28TNyYzJ8aQJhoiQR8ZGZzLSZgxRw/s320/IMG_3920.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy Traveler!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGMWhuLJiM8B-EoUPPqe-DMe0h6iDJsLnBoTmPtRIlpxdj3TlZFOmr9wFdQEzH_bkv9KWeQetzVC6u8ILlnpi5L2gaeJ10uv_yAQZeNZ4mt1AFgug4WmW6_fxoFCeoO7nHplUIMAfBRUA/s1600/IMG_3922.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGMWhuLJiM8B-EoUPPqe-DMe0h6iDJsLnBoTmPtRIlpxdj3TlZFOmr9wFdQEzH_bkv9KWeQetzVC6u8ILlnpi5L2gaeJ10uv_yAQZeNZ4mt1AFgug4WmW6_fxoFCeoO7nHplUIMAfBRUA/s320/IMG_3922.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7nE0hfCibKafaezJAqOPAdDC-zuIrvot3jB12zHkcXgEBjQmpv8tmSW-G7AOfMTFDv4vvmMf2pDy7OwaSZSD16SNoTMvrMb0Vb76PH28e4nzZSFxxfH858saF0CnItxoDKpquD0h8mHY/s1600/IMG_3925+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7nE0hfCibKafaezJAqOPAdDC-zuIrvot3jB12zHkcXgEBjQmpv8tmSW-G7AOfMTFDv4vvmMf2pDy7OwaSZSD16SNoTMvrMb0Vb76PH28e4nzZSFxxfH858saF0CnItxoDKpquD0h8mHY/s320/IMG_3925+-+Copy.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigBmJnymGYDqZhEWV1TJkBYv1WH9fjBHJ76sEeCSme0XW_2zq_JkidFAw-FN2fOZDeQH9vPA87wNO188ORWw93EF8xheMoKzgRU2b0hHojB6VAAEOIQZC0_v58JR6ZYgcpxvqJvE9xlWo/s1600/IMG_3924.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigBmJnymGYDqZhEWV1TJkBYv1WH9fjBHJ76sEeCSme0XW_2zq_JkidFAw-FN2fOZDeQH9vPA87wNO188ORWw93EF8xheMoKzgRU2b0hHojB6VAAEOIQZC0_v58JR6ZYgcpxvqJvE9xlWo/s320/IMG_3924.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caleb and Nathan</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF49pge7sJ8IXOBN1hrdwTGUQnfHjLbxgbl_BRPz0On58WGqv7Yeq_BIpYZbcsHo8e-FmFYnwyqjOcdg8vxAD0dJUXpwHjGdK5d46qYoVKYjCF4C_jqev92oc4TPVk09CspPpOQxsIMqs/s1600/IMG_3927.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF49pge7sJ8IXOBN1hrdwTGUQnfHjLbxgbl_BRPz0On58WGqv7Yeq_BIpYZbcsHo8e-FmFYnwyqjOcdg8vxAD0dJUXpwHjGdK5d46qYoVKYjCF4C_jqev92oc4TPVk09CspPpOQxsIMqs/s320/IMG_3927.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr-7baTdJ7FG_WHyWc588WbteiA8YR3PhurJiqkYDhdlEiqT7yVsJFqnmzNNzvyovcI_lAQ7fUGU6ax0i1YOvtjNUONC4hrGqxOQCSUrwTqdp9EBEZr_dsG4yCkPYXLoSTq6rcqnuJS8w/s1600/IMG_3935.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr-7baTdJ7FG_WHyWc588WbteiA8YR3PhurJiqkYDhdlEiqT7yVsJFqnmzNNzvyovcI_lAQ7fUGU6ax0i1YOvtjNUONC4hrGqxOQCSUrwTqdp9EBEZr_dsG4yCkPYXLoSTq6rcqnuJS8w/s320/IMG_3935.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Riding the chair up the mountain</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcH0GH0NZzfdMAEfKnGP7GEWjphB-ME1B88oN1-DfeEzkxIB_YHPh45Gopw2EBJQe_W8ZemSLxOPKrziFLhsJ0s3HGWrK4a2TDO3C2ZMFWqgYnEOxk5xgG2VFu_JaLJUmZTshrg6Ptgso/s1600/IMG_3937.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcH0GH0NZzfdMAEfKnGP7GEWjphB-ME1B88oN1-DfeEzkxIB_YHPh45Gopw2EBJQe_W8ZemSLxOPKrziFLhsJ0s3HGWrK4a2TDO3C2ZMFWqgYnEOxk5xgG2VFu_JaLJUmZTshrg6Ptgso/s320/IMG_3937.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">pull me!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrte5xA-OpNs23bmG24FrNRWHaUB7m-XB8qWrT1an4O7HLdnvwEYlq0JJPu9I3YWKAHgwaoLN5R7P5ZfB0spY_xFHTiiIThN0BtbKhbgsPdzm6rF8UFyK9C5aveNC1vQnCPrFDyS5Sb8M/s1600/IMG_3944.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrte5xA-OpNs23bmG24FrNRWHaUB7m-XB8qWrT1an4O7HLdnvwEYlq0JJPu9I3YWKAHgwaoLN5R7P5ZfB0spY_xFHTiiIThN0BtbKhbgsPdzm6rF8UFyK9C5aveNC1vQnCPrFDyS5Sb8M/s320/IMG_3944.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgONmFAVPP3WV6uoUdhM1Zv3bLDi7p-BhrW_svstceDDhQsTeFvefglx7kcfTYGs8rY5M-SdKQzDmDNJ7PbsbjLzo9-aNq2M8wAHLSDEFu1qa8atpClhrqLcerqz2BqAjeANg5veqRGoTM/s1600/IMG_3945.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgONmFAVPP3WV6uoUdhM1Zv3bLDi7p-BhrW_svstceDDhQsTeFvefglx7kcfTYGs8rY5M-SdKQzDmDNJ7PbsbjLzo9-aNq2M8wAHLSDEFu1qa8atpClhrqLcerqz2BqAjeANg5veqRGoTM/s320/IMG_3945.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWaJFmK-Y7ilRfEPLiurMoJ50UY02hIEKvdy9qxA_7SkoWdynDaSJyCb4ZIVzjSFKM4btluHgNhlG8vu2bhGckohYou9l7sWT2ntMavRjNHAYd5eg-htnSfuD5-E4K84eDI189Tgv7hD0/s1600/IMG_3946.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWaJFmK-Y7ilRfEPLiurMoJ50UY02hIEKvdy9qxA_7SkoWdynDaSJyCb4ZIVzjSFKM4btluHgNhlG8vu2bhGckohYou9l7sWT2ntMavRjNHAYd5eg-htnSfuD5-E4K84eDI189Tgv7hD0/s320/IMG_3946.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigE1bgElOuXDSdXcwduFWwmPVnq4zu6HdgzYuc78sYH0Z1eHCIgzB_vlgXkv0OblyUijghluUa7f6kUHUm0Nrmvm62dPCkagHQEsvGfO3IpyG0lIaynEjNEzZReyFCogJDidaUQ_BP5NU/s1600/IMG_3947.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigE1bgElOuXDSdXcwduFWwmPVnq4zu6HdgzYuc78sYH0Z1eHCIgzB_vlgXkv0OblyUijghluUa7f6kUHUm0Nrmvm62dPCkagHQEsvGfO3IpyG0lIaynEjNEzZReyFCogJDidaUQ_BP5NU/s320/IMG_3947.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQwdf-yOB56g6wei4QXYTHWEryCoXS9LhXh2rT2zvL3YJ1_SWBflXXW1Umra-6NDOVaeNM8kUXezfM01KCOuhwxrPA5n5SYi8fC3Vr_UGd5ttxNHmc5izMex5Bitj13aRIl7u8C5xXanU/s1600/IMG_3959.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQwdf-yOB56g6wei4QXYTHWEryCoXS9LhXh2rT2zvL3YJ1_SWBflXXW1Umra-6NDOVaeNM8kUXezfM01KCOuhwxrPA5n5SYi8fC3Vr_UGd5ttxNHmc5izMex5Bitj13aRIl7u8C5xXanU/s320/IMG_3959.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nathan and Sarah</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPYecKGtOPjZKNz70vE7D4LTlo7iCYIUzd0N6ktTc65BxV3vCyx4MAcRj6tDNZziINxb2Sqb60CDT2-kJAvqNLhqtBgDiMpB7LByZ0DcTTRHdNezwDAoM9_0KxINDvgsmhXjh-OgJnq_8/s1600/IMG_3964.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPYecKGtOPjZKNz70vE7D4LTlo7iCYIUzd0N6ktTc65BxV3vCyx4MAcRj6tDNZziINxb2Sqb60CDT2-kJAvqNLhqtBgDiMpB7LByZ0DcTTRHdNezwDAoM9_0KxINDvgsmhXjh-OgJnq_8/s320/IMG_3964.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXWbPbpPoLZakSBj-f-0l_p_RfAYs6EUN7DNJqsjzM1BBUtWHZ9rAgo036wgruC81Ugq4HpoYaGCe7UFnVER2kymbNjPGlxxV9-EH5fCJyK0_xVSudjO_tB0PUaoFoNQY9t6sZ_OzopZs/s1600/IMG_3971.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXWbPbpPoLZakSBj-f-0l_p_RfAYs6EUN7DNJqsjzM1BBUtWHZ9rAgo036wgruC81Ugq4HpoYaGCe7UFnVER2kymbNjPGlxxV9-EH5fCJyK0_xVSudjO_tB0PUaoFoNQY9t6sZ_OzopZs/s320/IMG_3971.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE2Mu5Q4bMLSfDHf7XeehJVfbdt9MvR6ch5hy2-ECKSAac3WhB3MGMVOzmrC34ZKZIQjcDTWDrX7oJOfEbQ4uuBO-Acac4XYNUw0W_ZsGi8st1llYxVAmfdBSwhVCApDN2Uy84q5BlP8Q/s1600/IMG_4011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE2Mu5Q4bMLSfDHf7XeehJVfbdt9MvR6ch5hy2-ECKSAac3WhB3MGMVOzmrC34ZKZIQjcDTWDrX7oJOfEbQ4uuBO-Acac4XYNUw0W_ZsGi8st1llYxVAmfdBSwhVCApDN2Uy84q5BlP8Q/s320/IMG_4011.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caleb and Dad playing at Nickel City</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6ZSFUxMsS_wJtF2qwgNL5HxSMawCvxiu2kigmCD6Mjx6BvOWL2cDmNOM5mzNsVLYYDf2WAzvRb9aomNfGDtD5l0b-Vc1nrhjY9k3SSlT-SQKfeuNKUrLB8MSyNS0svLf3ISYxR7KqGtc/s1600/IMG_4017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6ZSFUxMsS_wJtF2qwgNL5HxSMawCvxiu2kigmCD6Mjx6BvOWL2cDmNOM5mzNsVLYYDf2WAzvRb9aomNfGDtD5l0b-Vc1nrhjY9k3SSlT-SQKfeuNKUrLB8MSyNS0svLf3ISYxR7KqGtc/s320/IMG_4017.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the tickets won!</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkthLNpIFQNgCehTytXGukcfVMiCH2UZjwhyphenhyphen_-21KnXBgTnBktXZIoukzwJFfxX1qE9nY6gcGxu7pfLAAQCZaqfxVBzsledb44ZUXMtISMnwF3ZrZTAsQL2OF4pjQ303hzWelk8w4B8EU/s1600/IMG_4022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkthLNpIFQNgCehTytXGukcfVMiCH2UZjwhyphenhyphen_-21KnXBgTnBktXZIoukzwJFfxX1qE9nY6gcGxu7pfLAAQCZaqfxVBzsledb44ZUXMtISMnwF3ZrZTAsQL2OF4pjQ303hzWelk8w4B8EU/s320/IMG_4022.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The loot from the tickets!</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFxvlVC8Wq34BAm6uuzf0xnOXDuimgDOFJK9yaZ6knxQJyrrwfFDteBzLq6K3QrFsXuT4Mt-mSGtg9iZZvhA0_nk5Uhvk5ommHEgsSeSn4_2JS79qoMQxeVwCldIy4zmyd2kMzsHLwecs/s1600/IMG_4028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFxvlVC8Wq34BAm6uuzf0xnOXDuimgDOFJK9yaZ6knxQJyrrwfFDteBzLq6K3QrFsXuT4Mt-mSGtg9iZZvhA0_nk5Uhvk5ommHEgsSeSn4_2JS79qoMQxeVwCldIy4zmyd2kMzsHLwecs/s320/IMG_4028.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjptFRcIgJ5VBMF25MFudwHVfri9vNtVtBE4Q04BgINBYr1YOOjHRZlTZaKNjFD_V_KoEi_jFbeq6vgRW3XIPE0a2a9HKRTU4UJa4s_EFKeqaAZhGd3JevAitK1TmcbbMskY8jFPqnJOSI/s1600/IMG_4032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjptFRcIgJ5VBMF25MFudwHVfri9vNtVtBE4Q04BgINBYr1YOOjHRZlTZaKNjFD_V_KoEi_jFbeq6vgRW3XIPE0a2a9HKRTU4UJa4s_EFKeqaAZhGd3JevAitK1TmcbbMskY8jFPqnJOSI/s320/IMG_4032.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">After so much work to earn the tickets we all needed a reward and frozen yogurt hit the spot!</div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJJQXn7w5CUe7stlO-0vBA_Ejn_sQr_JW9fQocbSUct0PpHdvQC-twoX2vqccLr49pbHk6g4yBf6GIvE5vh5C6UwzPf5smpSU8lyOOrU7SHAYA08U-B1mRSSRmayUKty-r4XFDHkBj07A/s1600/IMG_4035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJJQXn7w5CUe7stlO-0vBA_Ejn_sQr_JW9fQocbSUct0PpHdvQC-twoX2vqccLr49pbHk6g4yBf6GIvE5vh5C6UwzPf5smpSU8lyOOrU7SHAYA08U-B1mRSSRmayUKty-r4XFDHkBj07A/s320/IMG_4035.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bridal Veil Falls</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy3PDwXWocjU_3hzIxCTMGK3EP_cwqkuXeg-FeUlZDe9zIOBuIKINoz3mp1B8_fz1wbCLZxXq6xiimUSzyMPS8mUTLfWQmGgL-FSfJ-KPE-L5vxHSBXgLdqOliuy9qdNnwMXxX-rtqLbw/s1600/IMG_4036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy3PDwXWocjU_3hzIxCTMGK3EP_cwqkuXeg-FeUlZDe9zIOBuIKINoz3mp1B8_fz1wbCLZxXq6xiimUSzyMPS8mUTLfWQmGgL-FSfJ-KPE-L5vxHSBXgLdqOliuy9qdNnwMXxX-rtqLbw/s320/IMG_4036.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Before heading up to SLC we stopped by Bridal Veil Falls so that Caleb</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">could play in the water for a little while. </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGuZltVV0F1oLo4o55vyLBWnfZI00jPRV7RIh4x-CNztkHVhDkEWE7slD3O5Jqgym_9iuxnralcYSUVisvf55c2jfRAvxI_7wtSNs8pEujV5s-iUi8Q9vsZT0INIoTqkOvz-DNcLMl0w0/s1600/IMG_4041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGuZltVV0F1oLo4o55vyLBWnfZI00jPRV7RIh4x-CNztkHVhDkEWE7slD3O5Jqgym_9iuxnralcYSUVisvf55c2jfRAvxI_7wtSNs8pEujV5s-iUi8Q9vsZT0INIoTqkOvz-DNcLMl0w0/s320/IMG_4041.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpsfP6aUgMmrH5ZENj1LQyArV8XFQRVhFdX6JKK1h5nLXvOlx4SzhF5rFHFd1ZTTJP5DzTHK-_YS5UDPNAfG8p-xh-1EkcK6QoZ8n6N_y4SQa6kOZLdDNZ3GVNDb1vGIE4dawK7AHiHEA/s1600/IMG_4044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpsfP6aUgMmrH5ZENj1LQyArV8XFQRVhFdX6JKK1h5nLXvOlx4SzhF5rFHFd1ZTTJP5DzTHK-_YS5UDPNAfG8p-xh-1EkcK6QoZ8n6N_y4SQa6kOZLdDNZ3GVNDb1vGIE4dawK7AHiHEA/s320/IMG_4044.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">After a short time, Caleb was ready to get out of the stream....he was freezing!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhra3qCUDqOf8G-XOYDNe0lvFL28MO_2fO2-FF4hb_XrWuCuoNWLSCHQT4_0vk7Fo_rbed_CqnuLJMsNZTtCk_jUIguLijhAIXraFDSxjkgT7UA3HPd8nky2kxe5eVr5t4jopSrP-c4DRU/s1600/IMG_4050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhra3qCUDqOf8G-XOYDNe0lvFL28MO_2fO2-FF4hb_XrWuCuoNWLSCHQT4_0vk7Fo_rbed_CqnuLJMsNZTtCk_jUIguLijhAIXraFDSxjkgT7UA3HPd8nky2kxe5eVr5t4jopSrP-c4DRU/s320/IMG_4050.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We stopped by our friend Randy's Firehouse Sub to eat lunch. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> It was so fun seeing Randy after 30 years!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-i2_4H0lAtbRxnHtiuyEoWpiU_lcJO3yAwB0EcKKPoERYJEfri98p_IS5WEfa8UJ_TLOdWEtAqV1U5oY1CksFWLHXzFMqE1wnSU0C1EuYl4jvPfpStvN2kTE3coPYQpjULWxy8W8jvPc/s1600/IMG_4060.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-i2_4H0lAtbRxnHtiuyEoWpiU_lcJO3yAwB0EcKKPoERYJEfri98p_IS5WEfa8UJ_TLOdWEtAqV1U5oY1CksFWLHXzFMqE1wnSU0C1EuYl4jvPfpStvN2kTE3coPYQpjULWxy8W8jvPc/s320/IMG_4060.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Heading home now ....resting at a Wyoming rest stop!</div><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">For now the doctor is out......counting down the days until the next vacation!</div><br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/301/1D9C1E4076258B8C529F18707E4471F5.png" style="background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00859627224189217912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941792012651369791.post-20151792086913611242011-04-30T22:26:00.001-05:002011-04-30T22:29:07.726-05:00May 1st, 2005......gone but never forgotten....miss you dear RobinThe year 2005.....I call it the year from hell. It was the year that I lost my sister in law due to cancer. It was the year that marred my daughter's graduation from BYU.....I got the phone call from sweet hubby just minutes after Sarah graduated to let me know that his mother passed away.....we left Provo asap and headed back home to LR only to get the call from my aunt to let us know that one of my uncles passed away as well. Wow....what a day. I saw and talked to my sister, Robin, for the last time at my mother-in-laws funeral...I wish I knew that would be the last time I would ever talk to her....I would have said so much more. Robin passed away suddenly the following Sunday (May 1, 2005)....we got the call while on our way to my uncle's funeral....needless to say we didnt' make it to his funeral, instead we turned around and headed to Mayflower so we could be with Mike and Taylor and try to make sense of what was happening. Later that year we lost my dad, and 3 weeks later his brother. Then to end the year Sarah lost her own paternal grandfather. <br />
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The most painful of all of this was losing my sister. She was young. She had a little boy who needed her. It took me a long time to sort through my anger over this. Why? Why did she have to leave us? Finally, my knowledge of the plan of salvation broke through my pain and gave me the very much needed comfort that all is well.....and, that families are forever.....that someday I will see my sister again.....that someday when I see her she will be whole....without any pain, without any sickness..... to read my first post in remembrance of Robin go <a href="http://thedoctorsreport.blogspot.com/2008/05/my-friend-my-sisteryou-are-remembered.html">here</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLa4VTiy9XGuZuISkmVQyIjTYXNgEyYwKsmaAzlBKYGd5vbKccVYs7j3qTtmxYhQ1MSAV_YGhFVZeCVVrls67LWrBa-rVn-mjrFwShEmPoMXbu0XNYzUrcK06NoR-0QBehfIIkcPjkoZY/s1600-h/sisters.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195449126061740978" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLa4VTiy9XGuZuISkmVQyIjTYXNgEyYwKsmaAzlBKYGd5vbKccVYs7j3qTtmxYhQ1MSAV_YGhFVZeCVVrls67LWrBa-rVn-mjrFwShEmPoMXbu0XNYzUrcK06NoR-0QBehfIIkcPjkoZY/s320/sisters.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px;" /></a><br />
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So this year on May 1st, I will be spending the day with my mom and my other sister (Marnita). We will be working on a special quilt to honor Robin....a quilt that we will give to Robin's son, Taylor. Then we will go to the cemetary to visit her grave. We will share stories of Robin and we will remember the beautiful woman that she grew up to be and we will probably shed a tear or two because we miss her so much.<br />
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For now the doctor is out.......remembering.<br />
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<img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/301/1D9C1E4076258B8C529F18707E4471F5.png" style="background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00859627224189217912noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941792012651369791.post-12782571134596343972011-04-30T21:48:00.000-05:002011-04-30T21:48:14.742-05:00Happy 7th Birthday Dear Caleb!!!Birthday's have always been something to celebrate in my family. I loved planning the fun birthdays for Sarah each year....there was the Burger King party, the McDonald's party, the Chucke Cheese party, then later the skating rink parties and overnight parties. Birthdays are meant to be celebrated!! When Caleb came along we did the small family party for him the first couple of years and then when he turned 4 we did a fun cookout party at the park with lots of friends. As 5 approached we were at the point where we knew Caleb didn't enjoy crowds and was not a social person so when I asked him about a party he said no. So we did the low key thing for him. Same for when he turned 6....no party (his choice). A couple of weeks before he turned 7 I asked him again about having a party and inviting friends from church....same response ....no party.....I tried to bribe him into a party ... suggesting we could go bowling (one of his favorite things) or go skating.... but he was adament about it....NO PARTY! So I didn't plan a party. In the meantime he had completed some medical testing and was diagnosed with Aspberger's and anxiety disorder. He was given meds for the anxiety and we soon noticed the change in his behavior where it didn't bother him as much to be around others. So the day before he turned 7 we attended a birthday party for a good friend (who was turning 40!) and Caleb still didnt' handle the crowd very well but he would talk to people one on one. He had a conversation with a good friend of ours and explained to her that he wasn't having a birthday party or getting any presents since his birthday was on a Sunday..... ummm, he wasn't having a party because he didn't want one ....and, he had presents --- we had already bought one of his presents and he had gotten presents in the mail from Sarah and Grandma Ratliff!! I was in shock....he really wanted to have a party....he talked about it on the way home that evening....he really wanted to open some presents and have a cake....oh my gosh...it is 10:00 at night and I have to pull together a party for Caleb!!!!<br />
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I get on my cell pronto and call my sister to tell her we are having a birthday party for Caleb at her house after church on Sunday!!! I pass Caleb off to sweet hubby and head to Walmart....they are the only place open at 10 pm on a Saturday night .....fill up a cart with fun presents to be given to him from his cousins, aunt, and nana as well as a couple of things from mom and dad. I also buy some cupcakes and his favorite iced cookies. <br />
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On Sunday morning I present Caleb with breakfast in bed ....his favorite....strawberry poptarts!!! (Sweet hubby isn't home on Sunday morning since he had to leave early for a High Council visit to another church unit). <br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbpbdhC3j0LZVrczHTGHo44aY95vmmTpWkt426E4SMJXej43A3tznmLAt0ntaWiUy-aItGIup3kALA80rmrhl2c-w9ymTcRVOB8pf1LLnJ_6c-rphTp-ZcoD83n6cOUuAi1BXZ1o8kELk/s1600/Caleb+breakfast+bed2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbpbdhC3j0LZVrczHTGHo44aY95vmmTpWkt426E4SMJXej43A3tznmLAt0ntaWiUy-aItGIup3kALA80rmrhl2c-w9ymTcRVOB8pf1LLnJ_6c-rphTp-ZcoD83n6cOUuAi1BXZ1o8kELk/s320/Caleb+breakfast+bed2.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRDSU7vvwza-dN1KeqtlHR9N1-6pThiZ8KjmOEtqs43DwMrWwPxMLZzFELyVMOuFDgPL_sJiT5i4X9fAJYmhFHcWlFG5wFoyB2gHAwg7yuPnrCS7EF4xmsMCchcYQl9BhlnFT5N2tCBxs/s1600/Caleb+breakfast+bed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRDSU7vvwza-dN1KeqtlHR9N1-6pThiZ8KjmOEtqs43DwMrWwPxMLZzFELyVMOuFDgPL_sJiT5i4X9fAJYmhFHcWlFG5wFoyB2gHAwg7yuPnrCS7EF4xmsMCchcYQl9BhlnFT5N2tCBxs/s320/Caleb+breakfast+bed.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
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</div>Later that day we meet up at my sister's hosue for a surprise birthday event for Caleb. I love that he was so surpised about everything. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO0hHKJx2U71Y5d7x8Y6vGMbc8_mvvDbfgRFLdL5bCyUcor8WqAbgRtZDZJNoTByEx7yraRkR0qJLFPP4aAcrzdh58UszHDiHHKFf9-TCCbA9Y4ozBYQVmJfdCtVKNLErjjpq-nQaXMks/s1600/Caleb+7th+bday19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO0hHKJx2U71Y5d7x8Y6vGMbc8_mvvDbfgRFLdL5bCyUcor8WqAbgRtZDZJNoTByEx7yraRkR0qJLFPP4aAcrzdh58UszHDiHHKFf9-TCCbA9Y4ozBYQVmJfdCtVKNLErjjpq-nQaXMks/s320/Caleb+7th+bday19.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">He enjoyed opening presents from his cousins, aunt and nana!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZY761FtrRpa1gEBj6ioa7GwrRrf1yC45hnIdugqZeyuhTGpJv5ftIfuA0nZZVHBZ-PpsPE4zAoygrX5GasTPb-z2WJkIcBi_uJAEfVIZTzO49LhnGtFsX7mm6niGeQBbBIapWbwSlq7U/s1600/Caleb+7th+bday6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZY761FtrRpa1gEBj6ioa7GwrRrf1yC45hnIdugqZeyuhTGpJv5ftIfuA0nZZVHBZ-PpsPE4zAoygrX5GasTPb-z2WJkIcBi_uJAEfVIZTzO49LhnGtFsX7mm6niGeQBbBIapWbwSlq7U/s320/Caleb+7th+bday6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmBDHP64crJleMw4r4rwkpZSnEVzOuvD07lEBvsTYyapXg-_moij_O9zfq3S9uMYp7RN5CSmTiMoIv_TC9_VFPI3ykrkbMhyYzDn7VRX4PkvRBov8hYgCW1vG7TRHjNSc6myJm6S2gL3Q/s1600/Caleb+7th+bday1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmBDHP64crJleMw4r4rwkpZSnEVzOuvD07lEBvsTYyapXg-_moij_O9zfq3S9uMYp7RN5CSmTiMoIv_TC9_VFPI3ykrkbMhyYzDn7VRX4PkvRBov8hYgCW1vG7TRHjNSc6myJm6S2gL3Q/s320/Caleb+7th+bday1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">When sweet hubby arrived a little later, he sent Caleb out to his truck to get a diet coke...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">only Caleb found this instead!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj50iivG7Rwu1yH9xL8jJhdIROayb_gKsoAIawixkq40Vers9JT7a20OOI_aQa98ejEuxC-pgrdRAtg5O5yvWOZoFInFXjh1XvdbvsqKLogkzimLQDS01MR-yrljZiTq1td059D4WYNjwY/s1600/Caleb+7th+bday26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj50iivG7Rwu1yH9xL8jJhdIROayb_gKsoAIawixkq40Vers9JT7a20OOI_aQa98ejEuxC-pgrdRAtg5O5yvWOZoFInFXjh1XvdbvsqKLogkzimLQDS01MR-yrljZiTq1td059D4WYNjwY/s320/Caleb+7th+bday26.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcrsFiAsH4lNJLFUcaQt893dq6fA7_En54kDyMrrrysmWRJyNah6tiPQErqbi_IP3F5yD3n1s2n31GkKbWdaZjz1lRld0KECuH9AlQV4Ep2V_w9S17DZzbqCjnAupRWerU_JsSIUfufKQ/s1600/Caleb+7th+bday20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcrsFiAsH4lNJLFUcaQt893dq6fA7_En54kDyMrrrysmWRJyNah6tiPQErqbi_IP3F5yD3n1s2n31GkKbWdaZjz1lRld0KECuH9AlQV4Ep2V_w9S17DZzbqCjnAupRWerU_JsSIUfufKQ/s320/Caleb+7th+bday20.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The funny part about the 4 wheeler is that Grandma Ratliff sent Caleb a gift card in the mail and Caleb wanted to use it to buy a 4 wheeler....</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I had a hard time trying to convince him he was a little short on the money!!!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Sweet hubby walked behind Caleb on this 4 wheeler all afternoon.....he even reset the gas flow 3 different times to make it go very SLOW!!!! I was more afraid that sweet hubby would have a heart attack over Caleb riding than Caleb getting hurt himself ont he thing!!! They have finally compromised on the rules (and yes there are many rules!!!)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Happy Birthday my sweet Caleb!!!!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">For now the doctor is out.....thinking that maybe next year when sweet Caleb turns 8 we can have a real birthday party....one can always hope and plan!!!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/301/1D9C1E4076258B8C529F18707E4471F5.png" style="background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00859627224189217912noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941792012651369791.post-74358749014338488052011-04-11T13:23:00.000-05:002011-04-11T13:23:36.286-05:00Miracle of MiraclesLast year Caleb played baseball for the 1st time. He really loved playing and wanted to play again this year. We started out with the same team he played for last year....but, the team had advanced to a level that Caleb couldn't work with. In baseball there are times when you have to turn on a dime or move fast in a different direction....Caleb can't do that and it became very obvious that playing on a regular baseball team wasn't going to work for Caleb. Last year Caleb could use his own bat but this year he wouldn't be able to use his own bat since it was a t-ball bat. Caleb couldn't comprehend this since he is OCD and MUST keep things the same. There were several other issues as well...but mainly for me it was very painful to see this little guy feeling so lost on the field after such a great time last year. <br />
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After doing some checking around we found <a href="http://www.miracleleaguear.com/">Mircale League</a>. We registered and waited for the call back. Finally it came and Caleb had a team. He plays for the Astros and has a great coach. <br />
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I explained to Caleb that he would get to play baseball on a team with kids who were just like him, and kids who are in wheelchairs or walkers or kids who are like his aunt Mona (down syndrome). He was excited and volunteered to push wheelchairs if needed. <br />
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Each player is assigned a buddy. The buddy is on the field with the players and at bat with the players. They use special equipment for each player ...larger round bats and softer balls or larger balls. They have balls that ping so the blind child knows where to swing to hit the ball, then a coach uses a clicker and walks backwards towards the base so the blind child and buddy know where to run towards the bases. It is AMAZING and WONDERFUL to watch these special children play ball. EVERY child gets to hit the ball and every child plays in the field. It is non-competion this year but next year he can play competion if he chooses. <br />
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In the fall he will get to meet A.J. Burnett and Cliff Lee.....I think I am more excited about this than he is since I LOVE and WATCH baseball!!!!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9yHYwlSNlsmzCW6dQltjkgLBHlanPXzYK_EYJk3SI57I11pH6_ciMnp4gshHigXyWwSPDWRQ1j4LS9voMqSWH8HT1X-5Q-adakr9-Y3I-0nQ7fX2CSZ8oJyxTYjn2GZ4BzoX-9RzI5U4/s1600/Caleb+ml+ball10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9yHYwlSNlsmzCW6dQltjkgLBHlanPXzYK_EYJk3SI57I11pH6_ciMnp4gshHigXyWwSPDWRQ1j4LS9voMqSWH8HT1X-5Q-adakr9-Y3I-0nQ7fX2CSZ8oJyxTYjn2GZ4BzoX-9RzI5U4/s320/Caleb+ml+ball10.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A very nervous Caleb</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ3HSuZMpUI-MNXD9NaxWpL89IlmfRrGGGQFSokOT9qGQvLB3aC4w_jqbzjZSpBMeazUFNB4_yQN_pGKMT78n1BvXwAmZTq6Mwl_NCMYufbY4e3FZs8f5X1c14-fCdL8b1EU-e7YxTmSc/s1600/Caleb+ml+ball.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ3HSuZMpUI-MNXD9NaxWpL89IlmfRrGGGQFSokOT9qGQvLB3aC4w_jqbzjZSpBMeazUFNB4_yQN_pGKMT78n1BvXwAmZTq6Mwl_NCMYufbY4e3FZs8f5X1c14-fCdL8b1EU-e7YxTmSc/s320/Caleb+ml+ball.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyaJ3PqKrDLPdjeTnIJpWAx8ABqUTbqQIgNlpq6vn9pXR0AP9KNy1AQJLa5trOzcV58jcfwBdfYNVsBOJZ9lX5xIjIeSLdVJhr2iLP22llPwxP94PwOklUZiGB-Nak-TYABojtmDEPlkQ/s1600/Caleb+ml+ball2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyaJ3PqKrDLPdjeTnIJpWAx8ABqUTbqQIgNlpq6vn9pXR0AP9KNy1AQJLa5trOzcV58jcfwBdfYNVsBOJZ9lX5xIjIeSLdVJhr2iLP22llPwxP94PwOklUZiGB-Nak-TYABojtmDEPlkQ/s320/Caleb+ml+ball2.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">at bat </td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjumjAmvEVoRNt6VDriguSz9zAX0mDoGaxWM60YLd09c0ZgqmK-PeBQAs6cHadi8eLm1OJ0oqwN6dYLulTxGmLS5wjsCanfbF-jjmoP0D_pmYXm9ezvNPZaHntAs2RLzOSnR-DgOsbnr98/s1600/Caleb+ml+ball4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjumjAmvEVoRNt6VDriguSz9zAX0mDoGaxWM60YLd09c0ZgqmK-PeBQAs6cHadi8eLm1OJ0oqwN6dYLulTxGmLS5wjsCanfbF-jjmoP0D_pmYXm9ezvNPZaHntAs2RLzOSnR-DgOsbnr98/s320/Caleb+ml+ball4.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioYQEZw_EOM5pT1jf9vpufofcCS2TUwZchXP3-fFNwWU6IRIM4QcNx3zJD4Uv9iKEvdnZyRg25oX_34WmORnyDuZQ9rMa6iDyGezMnJuokDaBy6nowsNxaI_dtpqkHB1H76UuHetsxgok/s1600/Caleb+ml+ball7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioYQEZw_EOM5pT1jf9vpufofcCS2TUwZchXP3-fFNwWU6IRIM4QcNx3zJD4Uv9iKEvdnZyRg25oX_34WmORnyDuZQ9rMa6iDyGezMnJuokDaBy6nowsNxaI_dtpqkHB1H76UuHetsxgok/s320/Caleb+ml+ball7.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitiLzgkJOQuJqJ7yLCJKEltpoy0RcnVZFzZGYoYGt6QGVnCmwpaREOc528TrD-Nr9N7SFW7tnDi6br2oMX971MuAryZJUIU5N2rt1zXJAmyZN30FlXbi1TJKmynKeVNxOEebQ0D27Yshc/s1600/Caleb+ml+ball6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitiLzgkJOQuJqJ7yLCJKEltpoy0RcnVZFzZGYoYGt6QGVnCmwpaREOc528TrD-Nr9N7SFW7tnDi6br2oMX971MuAryZJUIU5N2rt1zXJAmyZN30FlXbi1TJKmynKeVNxOEebQ0D27Yshc/s320/Caleb+ml+ball6.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caleb and his buddy</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Caleb hit ball twice and ran the bases. There are no outs and the last child up to bat hits a GRAND SLAM to clear the bases. <br />
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We plan to go watch our old team (the Bulldogs) play ball and support them. We are excited to spend our Saturdays at the Junior Deputy field watching and cheering for our new team - the ASTROS!! <br />
<div style="text-align: center;">For now the Doctor is out......looking forward to baseball season </div><div style="text-align: center;">and seeing the smiles on some very special children.</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/301/1D9C1E4076258B8C529F18707E4471F5.png" style="background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00859627224189217912noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941792012651369791.post-37745281799136358622011-03-14T23:52:00.000-05:002011-03-14T23:52:34.926-05:00Goodbye Taylor Loop RoadThere is an old saying, <span style="font-size: large;">"<span style="color: #6aa84f;"><strong>It takes a village to raise a child</strong></span>."</span> Well my village existed on Taylor Loop Road with a grandmother who lived across the street, aunts/uncles, cousins for neighbors as well as great aunts/uncles, 2nd and 3rd cousins living down the street. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">Growing up my goal was to leave "Taylor Loop." Anywhere would be better. I did leave and then I came back. I left once more and then came back with my little girl in tow. It's funny but the entire time I lived away from my "village" all I could think about was raising my own child in that safe village instead of in California where we lived. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Taylor Loop meant a lot to me as child growing up</span>......</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: magenta; font-size: x-large;">It was where grandma lived</span>.......</div><div style="text-align: center;">she wiped our tears away, fed us a meal, and "took a switch" to our legs when we disobeyed.....she greeted us with hugs and a smile and a place to warm our feet and hands after playing outside in the cold.....she taught us things from the scriptures - like not to envy what others had and be grateful for what we did have.....she taught us how to celebrate the 3rd of July and told us ghost stories...</div><div style="text-align: center;">.she taught us family came first no matter what and family will always be there for you </div><div style="text-align: center;">in the best of times and in the worst of times.</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">It was where I played with my cousins</span>......</div><div style="text-align: center;">they lived in every direction......we rode our bikes to Rainey's market and to the railroad dump.....we played 4-square in the street.....softball in the field......caught tadpoles in the creek and lightening bugs at night.....we slept in lawn chairs on the 3rd of July so we could hear stories from our parents youth.....</div><div style="text-align: center;">we fought and then we made up.</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">It was where my parents built our house</span>.....</div><div style="text-align: center;">gave us a yard to play in......taught us to ride bikes then taught us to ride the mini-bike and later motorcycles.....let Robin have a horse (for a short time).....taught us how to play softball and</div><div style="text-align: center;"> told us stories of our heritage.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Eventually the developers came to our village and began dismantling it.....</div><div style="text-align: center;">starting on the far side and working thier way towards us....some said this is a good thing, while others deemed it the end of a good thing...either way, it couldn't be stopped. One by one property began to sell and larger homes in developed subdivisions started popping up all around....then a new school was built (on the land where my grandma lived, where we held 3rd of July bar-b-ques, where we played, where we existed)....but that wasn't enough....new roads came through and then the name change came about.....Taylor Loop (west end ) became LaMarche Drive.... but through all of the changes my family held on to their property (even though they hadn't lived there in many years)....<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">that is until this week</span>....</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: x-large;">This week....</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: x-large;">the property sold.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: x-large;">And it is time to say.....</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: x-large;">Goodbye Taylor Loop Road</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: x-large;">Your village of love will certainly be missed.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">For now, the doctor is out.....remembering that a long time ago, there was a village...and in the village lived many important people....grandparents, aunts/uncles, cousins...lots and lots of family</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/301/1D9C1E4076258B8C529F18707E4471F5.png" style="background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00859627224189217912noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941792012651369791.post-25125670036710320312011-01-12T21:24:00.000-06:002011-01-12T21:24:45.137-06:00It's a Snow Day!!Snow days are rare in Arkansas and when they happen it shuts us completely down because we don't have the equipment needed to maintain clear roads, etc. It started snowing on Sunday afternoon and within an hour everything was completely covered. In all we got about 6 inches of snow here and some parts of the state got up to 8 - 10 inches. <br />
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When I was a kid I loved snow days!! I loved getting in my daddy's truck and driving down to a local parking lot where we did 360's or donuts as some call it. Or we would gather up a sled and go over a few streets to this huge hill and ride the sled down that hill. We would stay out until we were totally frozen then come in warm up and go out in it again. <br />
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I was very excited for this good amount of snow and the opportunity that Caleb would have in getting to play in. We lost our power 2 hours after the snow began falling and didn't get it back on until the next morning. Sweet hubby and I decided to take Caleb over to my sister's house since we didn't have heat and so he would be able to play out in the snow with his cousins. I called the next morning to see how things were going and to ask my neice to take a lot of pictures of Caleb in the snow so that I would have them for my scrapbook.....that is when Caleb informed everyone that he WASN'T going out in that stuff!!! AND HE DIDN'T GO OUT. AT. ALL. He didn't want to build a snowman. He didn't want to slide around on a sled. He didn't want to have a snowball fight. He didn't care about the snow at all. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">So here are my snow pictures of the big event:</div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGrOw-FZTsI3N0fcS9dlDrOXoNzA1hwvtn8d2zV0vVJrBlhI5ue7kbcwPAcLKapCOlLKqODxxQLCbjni2G9kWo1Yt6LD1yOBplazk1UU1MashAigM1tfwqnInFrFrwFrSkSQq8qCXPh8Q/s1600/IMG_0154.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGrOw-FZTsI3N0fcS9dlDrOXoNzA1hwvtn8d2zV0vVJrBlhI5ue7kbcwPAcLKapCOlLKqODxxQLCbjni2G9kWo1Yt6LD1yOBplazk1UU1MashAigM1tfwqnInFrFrwFrSkSQq8qCXPh8Q/s320/IMG_0154.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The windshield of my truck</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig5LU1slIKAM76KNRnMAt0pTzxv3-CtgISS8P7siID65L2BQ1p0AaDXy4QKTpqJ8wScpX1eCZyecAo1o_MbPXtKGaNZR9pKWYSRuYA5wBiNPeiHujDcuVhDE-FdyVUnf8sZ1tG7rFs60o/s1600/IMG_0157.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig5LU1slIKAM76KNRnMAt0pTzxv3-CtgISS8P7siID65L2BQ1p0AaDXy4QKTpqJ8wScpX1eCZyecAo1o_MbPXtKGaNZR9pKWYSRuYA5wBiNPeiHujDcuVhDE-FdyVUnf8sZ1tG7rFs60o/s320/IMG_0157.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My shoes</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Later that night sweet hubby took me to my fabric store to pick up some things and then out to eat at the local Mexican restaurant. As we are walking out I snapped a quick picture of Caleb in the snow ....he was not happy with me and it isn't a good picture but it is all that I have.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLx6J-nhAOKWtrrRQpdZIFUK_Dsa9NJTZ3yRxCul2XJO6CUAvq3Rt_rOwkA2d_aDhRCIPMjBAZuH5tH2Da2azU_KdhSNLCqbUu8s1bDY0BKKmlLMUQDthGobyegWpjIYkciJ2wpnE2grk/s1600/IMG_0158.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLx6J-nhAOKWtrrRQpdZIFUK_Dsa9NJTZ3yRxCul2XJO6CUAvq3Rt_rOwkA2d_aDhRCIPMjBAZuH5tH2Da2azU_KdhSNLCqbUu8s1bDY0BKKmlLMUQDthGobyegWpjIYkciJ2wpnE2grk/s320/IMG_0158.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caleb in the snow of January 2011</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
Hopefully this won't be our last snow of the season. Hopefully I can talk Caleb into playing outside in the snow next time.....<br />
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For now the doctor is out.......remembering her own fun days of playing in the snow with her family.<br />
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/301/1D9C1E4076258B8C529F18707E4471F5.png" style="background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00859627224189217912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941792012651369791.post-64723768251936400012011-01-01T00:37:00.000-06:002011-01-01T00:37:09.674-06:00Time to make the new year's resolutions.....<div style="text-align: center;">It is now January 1, 2011 --- I mean right this minute! So I guess that means the beginning of the new year resolutions....ummm not exactly since they aren't ever kept. So instead of resolutions I will just set some goals for the upcoming year; goals with objectives, that can be measured....after all I am a researcher and that is one of the things we do.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Goals:</div><div style="text-align: center;">1. Organization. </div><div style="text-align: center;">I used to be the most organized person on the earth....a planner in hand and a list in the other. But I stopped working fulltime about 7 years ago and that organization just went out the window, not all at once but slowly over the last few years. However, I have found that when you lose your organizational skills you end up with clutter....in every part of your life so it is time to remove the clutter.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">a. Once you have organization, you have a clean house always... </div><div style="text-align: center;">I remember those days...</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">b. you have more time or scheduled time that allows you to sew more.....</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">c. and quilt more......</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">d. then I can do more scrapbooking and updating of scrapbooks...</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">e. more time to play with Caleb....</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">f. more time to be efficient in planning my dinner meals with </div><div style="text-align: center;">sweet hubby and Caleb and maybe actually cooking them....</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">g. with organization there is time for exercising as well as playing</div><div style="text-align: center;">tennis a couple of times a week without feeling guilty for taking </div><div style="text-align: center;">the "me" time.....</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">h. organization will help me to work on "me".....removing the clutter</div><div style="text-align: center;">that is within me giving me more time for personal prayer and</div><div style="text-align: center;">scripture reading; time to meditate on the good things in my</div><div style="text-align: center;">life......</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Wow, just one goal for the year....ORGANIZATION....with a few objectives to achieve it. </div><div style="text-align: center;">Ummm, hopefully this won't be like the usual new year's resolutions that have vanished by the end of January.....</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">For now the doctor is out.....wishing each and everyone a very happy new year and may you all set your goals for the year.... </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/301/1D9C1E4076258B8C529F18707E4471F5.png" style="background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00859627224189217912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941792012651369791.post-49232809369463003892010-12-18T11:34:00.000-06:002010-12-18T11:34:26.416-06:00Re-post of The Wind Beneath My Wings<div style="text-align: center;">Sweet hubby and I just celebrated 16 years of marriage and I thought instead of a new post on the blog I would just do a re-post of one from last year. </div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;">THE WIND BENEATH MY WINGS!!</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;">It's no secret I had a very bad 1st marriage. I went into that marriage full of life, happiness, and on top of the world. I left that marriage a very broken person, wondering if I could ever become my old self again, wondering about my self worth, my own intelligence, my skills as a mother, and myself as an individual. I left that marriage with a beautiful daughter who kept me grounded and gave me hope for the future. I never intended to get married again. NEVER, and I really mean NEVER. Around that time there was a song entitled, "Me and You Against the World," and it became my theme song with my daughter. Eventually I began to gain back my self, the me I knew was there somewhere. I made a decision to go back to college to get the degree I was working on when I married. Not long after this I was introduced to sweet hubby. </div><div style="text-align: center;">(Thank you Kera!). </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuBC2-S0KYyDl-bEOyrAF-BQtLRjj3INGBtOp3xIjRqeTecFIeZHFI7dVFzFnFUIRB82bNEOYkjxetEXvw30NquxPbwXI9Du_mbir2WhC32rq7AVnxpSqlKkV-5VCZQMDTDlfukrVCVHg/s1600/Cecil1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuBC2-S0KYyDl-bEOyrAF-BQtLRjj3INGBtOp3xIjRqeTecFIeZHFI7dVFzFnFUIRB82bNEOYkjxetEXvw30NquxPbwXI9Du_mbir2WhC32rq7AVnxpSqlKkV-5VCZQMDTDlfukrVCVHg/s200/Cecil1.jpg" width="157" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSzNHj0i2wN6T3aBowEX7XjOk56bqQN-gMbAhgxJrpGpaaxOlKpYoBjSm6GMvkNWmh6DMGaauqrCtiGweHcczaramzhhXBBt7yayzuf5qO2WUtr83cufjNg4saziP886_C_Y93XptaQDw/s1600/ScannedImage-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSzNHj0i2wN6T3aBowEX7XjOk56bqQN-gMbAhgxJrpGpaaxOlKpYoBjSm6GMvkNWmh6DMGaauqrCtiGweHcczaramzhhXBBt7yayzuf5qO2WUtr83cufjNg4saziP886_C_Y93XptaQDw/s200/ScannedImage-2.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">Sweet hubby was a blessing from the Lord. When sweet hubby asked me out on a date, it was "I would like to take you and Sarah...." What more could a person want than an individual in her life that recognized she came as a package - with a child. Sweet hubby never excluded Sarah in anything we did together while dating. In fact sweet hubby brought along Joshua too (his son from his 1st marriage). Sweet hubby always understood my need for independence and never pushed me on that. Sweet hubby did very gently take care of me. At this time in my life I was very serious about everything...working, raising a child by myself, and working on my BA....I had forgotton how to laugh or have fun...sweet hubby brought laughter and fun back into my life. </div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhEQ6K306Oa7n-360GwDuRC1Jxr3rwxwKUzm9r_kKq1RrDCEbr5TM_VgN5h8GHyWTwuo3q7Sujk5fkcbA3zqJWWt5SV6UzgWP3VTYDS6WF2MNXW7ZdOlLMmrWBz-Xj_-jJvcJlWlZbAT4/s1600/ScannedImage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhEQ6K306Oa7n-360GwDuRC1Jxr3rwxwKUzm9r_kKq1RrDCEbr5TM_VgN5h8GHyWTwuo3q7Sujk5fkcbA3zqJWWt5SV6UzgWP3VTYDS6WF2MNXW7ZdOlLMmrWBz-Xj_-jJvcJlWlZbAT4/s320/ScannedImage.jpg" width="173" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">After dating for six years (yes, six years) sweet hubby and I were married. Sweet hubby was very understanding when I wanted separate checking accounts. At this time I was just finishing up my Master's Degree. Sweet hubby was very supportive when I spent hours working on my thesis. Sweet hubby was also supportive when I took a research job at the university which required a lot of travel. Then when the university asked me to teach 2 undergraduate classes at night, sweet hubby was very supportive again. Sweet hubby took over the household things so that I could live my dream of teaching at a university. Sweet hubby became the chauffer for Sarah taking her to school each day and eventually to early morning seminary. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK9eVr6b5XhtaF6Z66-IGG-mSqp1ANkTPjRAeH95QxMopbZaGIs3KQYqinFihwmZQW_6Qvv4hxfwBe8pwW4MMaQBauTKAbqzkObxdbFK5XuoASn6VGHPlLawggTac91T5tbFFtOosHKWA/s1600/Cecil+and+Lynne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK9eVr6b5XhtaF6Z66-IGG-mSqp1ANkTPjRAeH95QxMopbZaGIs3KQYqinFihwmZQW_6Qvv4hxfwBe8pwW4MMaQBauTKAbqzkObxdbFK5XuoASn6VGHPlLawggTac91T5tbFFtOosHKWA/s200/Cecil+and+Lynne.jpg" width="155" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRpiHXkCf-HM8RrIkzO3LJQUSyRDK90O7ZOMCMrk7gXNQ94EqqpWV8b7Pc4vT9G4v3-0ccAcwKhYiZO8HPVVQlSwt9RFBOB4hNbO2UlsAESWrDfBsKumP0zFaR1YFYLf_d2m8fwmttQn8/s1600/ScannedImage-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="131" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRpiHXkCf-HM8RrIkzO3LJQUSyRDK90O7ZOMCMrk7gXNQ94EqqpWV8b7Pc4vT9G4v3-0ccAcwKhYiZO8HPVVQlSwt9RFBOB4hNbO2UlsAESWrDfBsKumP0zFaR1YFYLf_d2m8fwmttQn8/s200/ScannedImage-5.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">When I told sweet hubby I was ready to get my doctorate he was right there beside me. I was working as an evaluator for a non-profit at the time and getting a doctorate meant driving 2.5 hours one way to Memphis two days a week. Sweet hubby closed down the business early two afternoons a week to drive with me to Memphis. Working fulltime and taking classes began to take up more and more of my time. Sweet hubby once again took over the household stuff. As I sat at a computer every evening working on projects, research papers, residency project, and finally dissertation sweet hubby would miraculously show up with a plate of dinner for me to eat while typing away. With a doctorate program comes many opportunities to present papers at conferences. As each conference came up sweet hubby proudly sent me away to make my mark on the world of research. In order to really make my mark in the world of research conferences became international. Again, sweet hubby proudly sent me on my way to do what I dreamed of doing and continues to support me each year as I come running in to tell him my paper was accepted at the Barcelona conference, the Belfast conference, and the most recent - Cambridge conference. Sweet hubby holds our house together when I am working fervently on papers for publication. Sweet hubby encourages me constantly to reach for those stars. </div><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">Sweet hubby never balked when I said I wanted to go visit Sarah - whether in Utah, Kansas or New York, he would smile and send me on my way. Sweet hubby is also very understanding about my yearly ski trips with my aunt or my trips with my sister and mom. </div><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">Sweet hubby is an example of service to me, never complaining when asked to do service for others or fulfilling his callings within our church. When sweet hubby and I got married my theme song, "You and Me Against the World" went out the door and was replaced by, "The Wind Beneath My Wings." Sweet hubby gives me the courage, the love, the support, and the desire to reach for the stars and live my dreams. I am truly blessed to have sweet hubby in my life. Sweet hubby is my everything and more. Sweet hubby is the wind beneath my wings.</div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhvoAxt2zgGZaLecxGrjv1SEhqAcwHFkt0KTmA3RYEIXT_cOM7tuGiB-27mdBQ4XfxrInZSttA3iZtH7S0lraA0zhiRk_66K4KuyEsyWN_L-dGJsYfjS58V-H11bCTz7u2gs5BjwRSfFQ/s1600/104_1878.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhvoAxt2zgGZaLecxGrjv1SEhqAcwHFkt0KTmA3RYEIXT_cOM7tuGiB-27mdBQ4XfxrInZSttA3iZtH7S0lraA0zhiRk_66K4KuyEsyWN_L-dGJsYfjS58V-H11bCTz7u2gs5BjwRSfFQ/s200/104_1878.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">For now the doctor is out....thinking about how truly blessed she is having sweet hubby in her life.</div><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/301/1D9C1E4076258B8C529F18707E4471F5.png" style="background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00859627224189217912noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941792012651369791.post-20313407814904896142010-12-14T11:18:00.001-06:002010-12-14T11:18:48.531-06:00Christmas is Back....5 years ago I abandoned Christmas. 5 years ago I stopped sending out my Christmas cards; I stopped making my goodie baskets for friends and associates; I stopped doing the extra fun stuff that is all Christmas; and I didn't put up a tree. 5 years ago I didn't care if Christmas came or not --- 5 years ago I lost my sister and my dad.....Christmas was never to be the same again.....I just didn't want to deal with any of it. It has taken 5 years for Christmas to fully return to our home.<br />
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For the past 5 years we have run from Christmas.....going to Kansas the first year because there were no memories of my sister and my dad there....it was a different kind of day for us. 4 years ago, we put up the tree but we didn't do much of anything else since the day after Christmas my daughter was having surgery to remove the football size tumor from her ovary. 3 years ago we put up the tree but nothing else. 2 years ago we didn't put up the tree but instead went to NYC to spend the time with <a href="http://thepinkfactor.blogspot.com/">Sarah</a>; last year we began our trek back to Christmas at home. We put up the tree and we spent it together as a family.<br />
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This year Christmas came back to our home in full force. It hasn't been easy but it is here. This year I put up our tree. This year I pulled out all things Christmas to decorate the house. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">This year I made an advent calendar for Caleb</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiayIPYyEzsKNEIc0SxNfQ1gLPtk3JQdwEMFYG8j9epceqTYFxngVo4c-akOnI4iVGsqIgP6Bk-vImVC8s9pJTyY2oixwHBSHRb2qxXno4RcpVkwoC7Wpdry-NNiNHJyQ9F9Ui4i1KXCIY/s1600/camera+1210+025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiayIPYyEzsKNEIc0SxNfQ1gLPtk3JQdwEMFYG8j9epceqTYFxngVo4c-akOnI4iVGsqIgP6Bk-vImVC8s9pJTyY2oixwHBSHRb2qxXno4RcpVkwoC7Wpdry-NNiNHJyQ9F9Ui4i1KXCIY/s320/camera+1210+025.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">and the Christmas Tree Box</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYhpeUY1OJqaykIFWihBrrpJV-pdVXjVxF8fJ0SHQRfVQ7oO-4EVuJzVdkKpyPPwG1Cx7X0NmRfnhggSH-Er-CZeonCAJjUmFk2uGjZLsAL9WeRuobfDalh5A58DwFuZC7OV4AyLvyfGw/s1600/camera+1210+018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYhpeUY1OJqaykIFWihBrrpJV-pdVXjVxF8fJ0SHQRfVQ7oO-4EVuJzVdkKpyPPwG1Cx7X0NmRfnhggSH-Er-CZeonCAJjUmFk2uGjZLsAL9WeRuobfDalh5A58DwFuZC7OV4AyLvyfGw/s320/camera+1210+018.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center">and the new Christmas tree skirt</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLRYYGiZ7oIYVX5q7xe-8r-U9Nz4KN9d_A4naU-DSJfFex4uNn2oZYfJbI-MtzgnYVD_YkPeC-fO3Kg5_nJVbMQF7o_I5jenFYxBBNwRc3LS41WnbdLBh3h3y2ukbuMFqpsxKIaTIZDeY/s1600/camera+1210+019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLRYYGiZ7oIYVX5q7xe-8r-U9Nz4KN9d_A4naU-DSJfFex4uNn2oZYfJbI-MtzgnYVD_YkPeC-fO3Kg5_nJVbMQF7o_I5jenFYxBBNwRc3LS41WnbdLBh3h3y2ukbuMFqpsxKIaTIZDeY/s320/camera+1210+019.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div align="center">decorated </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYdjw5tRUyZ4NcUUi_WPOSFUzFikMREQc-zbS4fjlEJQTqt0AXTYKLwIkjgT-IolajF8nmCqr_NlaAuvVTEKRxEf5z6noJ0KpLCU0DVpFOm6czKlIRYeIitlcLxIvGKFnGAbCpeHMvCZQ/s1600/camera+1210+023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYdjw5tRUyZ4NcUUi_WPOSFUzFikMREQc-zbS4fjlEJQTqt0AXTYKLwIkjgT-IolajF8nmCqr_NlaAuvVTEKRxEf5z6noJ0KpLCU0DVpFOm6czKlIRYeIitlcLxIvGKFnGAbCpeHMvCZQ/s320/camera+1210+023.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div align="center">our tree</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZKXEJjqHA-_hz0HVrrBdj9UejjtmB3qHMULQC5kOkosDm24dM4rpYAQVeDxwZQHWvL0M-kgHlvunrGnjum7lKTjyEBrdUt2SPfS9vH7eG2a-SG3nQ5x7dI_CX0E7chmNWKEEUyPsj5no/s1600/camera+1210+022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZKXEJjqHA-_hz0HVrrBdj9UejjtmB3qHMULQC5kOkosDm24dM4rpYAQVeDxwZQHWvL0M-kgHlvunrGnjum7lKTjyEBrdUt2SPfS9vH7eG2a-SG3nQ5x7dI_CX0E7chmNWKEEUyPsj5no/s320/camera+1210+022.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">This year there is an elf who sits on our shelf in a different place each morning. This year Caleb and I search our home every morning to see where he is and giggle at the many crazy places we find him.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">This year I am sending out Christmas cards. This year I am making the goodie baskets again. This year the music is on in our house everyday. This year we will go look at Christmas lights.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">This year we are celebrating the birth of Christ. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">This year we will remember fondly of the many Christmas' that we had with our family when we were all here to celebrate. We will remember <a href="http://thedoctorsreport.blogspot.com/2008/05/my-friend-my-sisteryou-are-remembered.html">Robin</a> and we will remember my dad....and we will miss them terribly but we will make it through this day with joy and love in our hearts.</div><br />
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For now the doctor is out......remembering a certain Christmas where 3 little girls snuck out of bed in the wee hours of the morning to see what Santa brought to us......<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/301/1D9C1E4076258B8C529F18707E4471F5.png" style="background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00859627224189217912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941792012651369791.post-4495090114798169622010-12-01T12:35:00.001-06:002010-12-01T12:43:25.451-06:00Is it Leonard, Bob, or Lizzie????I walked downstairs to my office this morning and found this:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYqNLcAVeXRftPpQS8zYb5YwBr2H_z-BLaWv5TTKcTd1wjTBuCg4GAMNZEuDZ48nsCrUsc6dNrMvburTeDMfuPRjRI-XG_lM9haokf3NTYnEdsLNLKew9Qv9MptQNfTkiI9jPR9lRTX3U/s1600/lizard+003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYqNLcAVeXRftPpQS8zYb5YwBr2H_z-BLaWv5TTKcTd1wjTBuCg4GAMNZEuDZ48nsCrUsc6dNrMvburTeDMfuPRjRI-XG_lM9haokf3NTYnEdsLNLKew9Qv9MptQNfTkiI9jPR9lRTX3U/s320/lizard+003.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
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During the chaos of finding the lizard my daughter Sarah called me on my cell phone......to unintentionally add more chaos!!! How could Sarah add chaos to the already chaotic situation, well let me tell you.....<br />
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When it rains at our house or the cold sets in we tend to get lizards....they slither their way into our downstairs (which is my office and Caleb's playroom that used to be Sarah's bedroom). Last year while Sarah was staying with us she would name the lizards she found in her room.....Larry, Liza, Lisa, etc. <br />
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This is what happened this morning after discovering the lizard:<br />
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Caleb: I can get my bug catcher and keep him as my pet!!<br />
Me: Absolutely not!!!<br />
Phone rings. It is Sarah. I explain to her what is going on.<br />
Sarah: Is it Larry? Has he come back?<br />
Me: No, this is BIG!!!<br />
Caleb: It's real big and his name is Bob!!<br />
Sarah: No, you cant' name him Bob, it's Leonard!!!<br />
Caleb: laughing, no I am naming him Bob and he is my pet!<br />
Me: He is not a pet and he is leaving!!! <br />
Sarah: laughing hysterically, you have to name him Leonard!!<br />
Me: I have to get dad in here to get rid of him!<br />
Caleb: No, I want to keep him in my bug catcher and name him Bob.<br />
Sarah: Caleb, you have to name him Leonard.<br />
Me: Stop naming him he is leaving!!!!!!<br />
Me: Sarah I have to go so I can get in touch with dad to get rid of him....click<br />
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So I call sweet hubby and tell him to get in the house as soon as he can!!! Thank goodness he was here today!! He comes into the house LAUGHING.......I am so confused...<br />
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Me: Why are you laughing?<br />
SH: I guess you found the lizard.<br />
Me: YOU KNEW THERE WAS A LIZARD IN MY OFFICE!!!!!!!!!<br />
SH: I tried to get him out a couple of days ago but he got away from me.<br />
Caleb: His name is BOB!!! And I want him for my pet!!!<br />
Me: Get that lizard out of here NOW!!!<br />
SH to Caleb: You are naming him Bob? That is a good name!!<br />
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As sweet hubby is catching the lizard and letting it go far away in our yard, Caleb looks at me and says, you know mom, he might be a Lizzy....<br />
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For now the doctor is out......searching online to find out how to keep slithering Larry, Lisa, Liza, Leonard, Bob or Lizzie out of my office!!!!<br />
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/301/1D9C1E4076258B8C529F18707E4471F5.png" style="background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00859627224189217912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941792012651369791.post-52232351780015609662010-10-15T23:10:00.001-05:002010-10-15T23:12:05.745-05:00Food on a stick......dipped, battered, and fried.....Every year, usually the 1st couple of weeks in October, the state fair comes to town. I LOVE THE FAIR!!! My mom tells me that she walked around the fair 2 days before I was born just to get her labor going.....I keep going back every year!!! <br />
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I remember as a child my dad loading us all up to go to the fair....walking around, riding rides, and going to the rodeo. Then later as teens he would take a bunch of us and drop us off to enjoy the fair with our friends (unfortunately you can't do that these days).<br />
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Then when I moved Sarah and myself back to here from CA I would bundle her up and off we would go to ride the rides and take in the fun stuff. Life at the fair became even better after I met sweet hubby. Sweet hubby had connections.......you know, the best kind of connections......food on a stick connections (friends who owned concession stands at the fair). I mean hey, that is what the fair is all about isn't it ....that food on a stick kind of thing!!! And, here lately it is anything that can be battered, dipped and fried on a stick....oreos, snickers, twinkies, potatoes, gator, you name it and they can put it on a stick and fry it. <br />
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Over the years our traditional of going to the fair and getting food on a stick has continued. Sweet hubby and I spent years taking Sarah and Josh to the fair and now we are enjoying taking Caleb to the fair. When Sarah went away to college at BYU she missed out on going to the fair with us, but sweet hubby fixed her up with a taste of the fair......sweet hubby bought a four pack of homemade cinnamon rolls (Sarah's favorite thing from the fair) and he then took this package and OVERNIGHTED it to her at BYU!!!! Those were the most EXPENSIVE cinnamon rolls ever but Sarah LOVED getting them. She has missed many years of the fair since but we think of her as we walk past the cinnamon roll booth. One of my favorite years was when the fair came right after getting my braces off after several years......I told sweet hubby the first thing I wanted was corn on the cob (on a stick!!).. It was sooo good!!! Sweet hubby has a great love for that apple dip in caramel on a stick!<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">Caleb isn't much on cinnamon rolls or the other food on a stick but he loves the rides and getting a slice of pizza at the fair. Sweet hubby and I took Caleb on Thursday evening and met up with my Kristen, Bailey, Bryan, and my 2 brothers for an evening of riding the rides.</div><div style="text-align: center;">On Friday morning, my sister and I took the kids back (for kiddie day) </div><div style="text-align: center;">so we could see the exhibits and animals. Lots of fun both times.</div><div style="text-align: center;">I had to use my iphone for pictures since the battery was dead on the camera!!! </div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIijBzk5ud_hvWpZqyhtsr0HxNY76YOjF7k2NmABBGPvbPdMa7oDf5ZtW6L_H8gr9seeHBHkQeLUt7x2JEMT7TsEUZuMs575mkHIO-JtKIcxebiDvvVt0sGFEVk-Gdwmf5XadJdGN6FhU/s1600/IMG_0033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIijBzk5ud_hvWpZqyhtsr0HxNY76YOjF7k2NmABBGPvbPdMa7oDf5ZtW6L_H8gr9seeHBHkQeLUt7x2JEMT7TsEUZuMs575mkHIO-JtKIcxebiDvvVt0sGFEVk-Gdwmf5XadJdGN6FhU/s320/IMG_0033.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sweet hubby and Caleb eating nachos</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9jZoWKe_AmSMwTgBUImSeT9ac6HIkB_DNPUJooxsZHAa5krpAL_tcBPh9nfXoMlp_Lt5ZOAJiIFiohCYOFqyqtAZIWVsI2Yk4tjkKBRWZAqq_lhxnPKq_qXTj-Ujek4Qns3BNhWKx7qE/s1600/IMG_0044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9jZoWKe_AmSMwTgBUImSeT9ac6HIkB_DNPUJooxsZHAa5krpAL_tcBPh9nfXoMlp_Lt5ZOAJiIFiohCYOFqyqtAZIWVsI2Yk4tjkKBRWZAqq_lhxnPKq_qXTj-Ujek4Qns3BNhWKx7qE/s320/IMG_0044.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caleb getting ready for the kiddie bungie jump!</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimd6EJi3j4M9u3UTtT_ZQd0y0fSaCimvm1sUkp0H22C-5aQsm-oFLp16sZkI2jnAt9wUMeaDhvES8P9wYx59odf667-gni_5ApbDyDnLf1Vp9JJ6I59MA8xiceBozck3MQwi7tPfiY5OQ/s1600/IMG_0048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimd6EJi3j4M9u3UTtT_ZQd0y0fSaCimvm1sUkp0H22C-5aQsm-oFLp16sZkI2jnAt9wUMeaDhvES8P9wYx59odf667-gni_5ApbDyDnLf1Vp9JJ6I59MA8xiceBozck3MQwi7tPfiY5OQ/s320/IMG_0048.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSG2_GAGvZY1sSfFBbWQ7E8jN4Yx1mHoVAKsWURnVEeizp6TYNo4dNgOvhiUZMWEO2WtyLiKz74MhGs11l5AFt3ztK8yYX0ISZH0Lw27sV3hx2wVtzDLkJTpcd67DjxOFwR_ty75N3ueY/s1600/IMG_0052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSG2_GAGvZY1sSfFBbWQ7E8jN4Yx1mHoVAKsWURnVEeizp6TYNo4dNgOvhiUZMWEO2WtyLiKz74MhGs11l5AFt3ztK8yYX0ISZH0Lw27sV3hx2wVtzDLkJTpcd67DjxOFwR_ty75N3ueY/s320/IMG_0052.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiduJiE8eHVcw23VmfZlIZ1BWlqEgO-AY2yU5-XK_t_c03Al1V649lEko97w_Sj_OlAdZ8-k9VNklfuoek3aW0M5wUJLbBOIP9m34z1jICWUcltMAoCyBI5_Ne3X26qaELRVjYhJI-wuoA/s1600/IMG_0053.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiduJiE8eHVcw23VmfZlIZ1BWlqEgO-AY2yU5-XK_t_c03Al1V649lEko97w_Sj_OlAdZ8-k9VNklfuoek3aW0M5wUJLbBOIP9m34z1jICWUcltMAoCyBI5_Ne3X26qaELRVjYhJI-wuoA/s320/IMG_0053.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caleb and Kristen looking at the fish exhibit.</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrhw6cTh0gNPyOOcNRjCfeAeC2NEgBqQDM2bpqHowsZPe3fxMC2Td-GKvcBXX9HVxwAZ1j1rwRhbbe2djYfC1P5PGJlbzNo5EoO0xNfeu1-GoRD793hN00PzU5xresHJE4mT7feOUHzyo/s1600/IMG_0057.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrhw6cTh0gNPyOOcNRjCfeAeC2NEgBqQDM2bpqHowsZPe3fxMC2Td-GKvcBXX9HVxwAZ1j1rwRhbbe2djYfC1P5PGJlbzNo5EoO0xNfeu1-GoRD793hN00PzU5xresHJE4mT7feOUHzyo/s320/IMG_0057.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caleb loved the petting zoo.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>It is so hard to believe the fair will run it's course this weekend and we will have to wait another year to see what new food on a stick item that can be dipped, battered and fried up for the many who will come out to consume it.....yum, yum......<br />
For now the doctor is out.......wondering if she can come up with a great "food on a stick" to sell at the fair next year and make her millons in the process.....ummmm, any suggestions??????<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/301/1D9C1E4076258B8C529F18707E4471F5.png" style="background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00859627224189217912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941792012651369791.post-20914350567462768602010-10-11T18:11:00.000-05:002010-10-11T18:11:23.455-05:00Trouble and Double TroubleWe met when we were 13 going on 14....at a church swim party. She had just moved to Arkansas from Texas. She went to school in the LR district; I went to school in Pulaski County. She lived in a very nice subdivision; I lived in the country. At the time the only thing we had in common was the fact that we went to the same church. We hit it off from the very beginning and became fast best friends. We were always together and always up to something. One Sunday we walked into our building together and a dear sweet man was standing at the end of the hall as we came down. He shook his head and smiled at us then said, "Here comes trouble and double trouble." I will let you guess as to who is trouble and who is double trouble!!!<br />
We spent the next four years doing everything together; planning our dates together; what we would wear to the next dance; getting our driver's license; planning our 1st semester at BYU; and just planning our lives out. We shared everything -- laughter and tears; celebrations and heartbreaks; if you saw one you saw the other -- we were always together.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpbUut_mnoLGCtaOfG_arT1neuWmoacprd_XK9aatgfxO35rC2K-mxAWO8YfoKVEH8vn6PcDyG-czqnhT8D8yQm2J_ivPXbPe1GMh0ic6OKfx87ZVepksmxbOsBoW5nXw6VTYIOoPJRYI/s1600/Connie+Michele0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpbUut_mnoLGCtaOfG_arT1neuWmoacprd_XK9aatgfxO35rC2K-mxAWO8YfoKVEH8vn6PcDyG-czqnhT8D8yQm2J_ivPXbPe1GMh0ic6OKfx87ZVepksmxbOsBoW5nXw6VTYIOoPJRYI/s320/Connie+Michele0001.jpg" width="215" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Michele and Connie <br />
ready for a 50's church dance</td></tr>
</tbody></table>If you drew a line in the sand, we always crossed it, but not so far that we couldn't get back (we both have daughters who would<span style="color: red;"> <strong><span style="font-size: x-large;">never</span></strong></span> try to cross the line -- we laugh about this). We were adventurous; we were inquisitive; and most of all we thought we could conquer the world just because we were us.<br />
<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjqv1dCAfBSzYLbnwXfaZjvcN3O7VZ-xmVN9kIs0NNCnbHHmh8h2c46PqBh81oXYAgIC4OM3tgqlyMqMGmewim9M2MIrRmaSWn1pHi7B-xYVRgDKMrZ0G4kpZVcgjp77cDch2nSPMi0O4/s1600/Connie+Michele0003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjqv1dCAfBSzYLbnwXfaZjvcN3O7VZ-xmVN9kIs0NNCnbHHmh8h2c46PqBh81oXYAgIC4OM3tgqlyMqMGmewim9M2MIrRmaSWn1pHi7B-xYVRgDKMrZ0G4kpZVcgjp77cDch2nSPMi0O4/s320/Connie+Michele0003.jpg" width="165" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gone with the Wind spoof<br />
during intermission at a church dance</td></tr>
</tbody></table>She was there for me when my dad was severely hurt in a motocycle accident; she was my friend when I couldn't spend money at the mall but she could; she was my sewing buddy as we planned our outfits for special times (dances, youth conferences, etc); She was there for me as I cried my tears when my high school sweetheart dumped me during that 1st semester at BYU. I was there for her when relationships ended for her as well. She was there with me as we celebrated my engagement and I with her as we celebrated her engagement. She was there with me when I felt the first kick of the sweet baby I was carrying and we celebrated with hugs and tears. <br />
<br />
She was on her to the temple the day I got married, but didn't make it due to a minor accident. I was planning my trip to the temple when she got married, but didn't make it since that sweet baby I was carrying was trying to come too early. <br />
<br />
She came to California and then to Arkansas to visit me. I went to Utah and later Texas to visit her. <br />
<br />
She called me a couple of days after my sweet baby was born --- and we talked, cried, and celebrated even though there was a time difference and it was very late for me. She later let me cry on her shoulder when my marriage fell apart. She cheered me on and then we celebrated the birth of her first child.<br />
<br />
We raised our children with letters back and forth; then email back and forth; and a few visits between Arkansas and Texas. We both ended up with older children and a much younger child. In fact our little boys are only 6 months apart and we share the joys of being an older mom and the trials that come with it. We watched our boys play together in a Texas backyard while we chatted about the universe and all that we wanted to accomplish and all that we did accomplish.<br />
<br />
Our kids have asked us about our teen years but we don't tell. We could never tell that our church leader walked into the church kitchen one Wednesday evening to find us dancing.....on top of the kitchen counters....no, we won't tell that. Or, we won't share with them the time we locked a church leader out of her own car (while we were in it) and then the church leader actually climbed on top of said car....umm, maybe we will keep that one to ourselves; most likely we will never tell that after Sunday school and before Sacrament meeting, we would take my little Honda car and drive to Burns park for the afternoon. Not much to tell on this one, oh, except that I had a driver's license and she didn't; but I taught her to drive the 4 speed Honda while we spent the afternoon in Burns park....I think we need to keep that to ourselves. <br />
<br />
No matter how many years go by before we see each other again, we pick right up and we are us again. Our friendship began 37 years ago and it is as strong today as it was back then. We are trouble and double trouble.....we are us.<br />
<br />
<div align="center">We were 2 southern belles.......</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7vW4-yG-Mncg8-X6YFZ7cUzyPupMc3X2i75hOiYI6vL3ZyrFkUESd6ZBGUjumWlSFVzBcvTyPC11oc2og-uYh6tf9ZqgVGhPOwTCY_IsTpbhPzLgKBkSknorvnBC6NlWH0pVFu1wNlIc/s1600/connie+michele+southern+belle0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7vW4-yG-Mncg8-X6YFZ7cUzyPupMc3X2i75hOiYI6vL3ZyrFkUESd6ZBGUjumWlSFVzBcvTyPC11oc2og-uYh6tf9ZqgVGhPOwTCY_IsTpbhPzLgKBkSknorvnBC6NlWH0pVFu1wNlIc/s320/connie+michele+southern+belle0001.jpg" width="246" /></a></div><br />
<div align="center">who grew up to be 2 southern moms.....</div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVJ0XxiDMYsO_lpeXTVAZNHTbI9OsWMFA756MRKWTtVQpVNcCEZ97FBdS1lZ7YKuJL7B9L_9O9sUumsTIwnKkGcEUqJTVzmfwLkw6PJT0BfU668a4PPSY_Wio5BjI5K0XWr0JfeHBJoks/s1600/Connie+&+Michele.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVJ0XxiDMYsO_lpeXTVAZNHTbI9OsWMFA756MRKWTtVQpVNcCEZ97FBdS1lZ7YKuJL7B9L_9O9sUumsTIwnKkGcEUqJTVzmfwLkw6PJT0BfU668a4PPSY_Wio5BjI5K0XWr0JfeHBJoks/s320/Connie+&+Michele.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Connie & Michele -- 2010</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<div style="text-align: center;">For now the doctor is out.....planning a reunion for trouble and double trouble </div><div style="text-align: center;">plus a couple of other girlfriends who helped with the trouble.....</div><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/301/1D9C1E4076258B8C529F18707E4471F5.png" style="background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00859627224189217912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941792012651369791.post-69516256390946692402010-10-08T17:33:00.001-05:002010-10-08T17:35:50.130-05:00Utah on a Prayer<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Anyone who knows me knows I LOVE to travel!! BUT, when I travel I usually know several months in advance that I will be traveling and I have time to prepare for it. Not so on this trip.....</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">About 3.5 weeks ago my daughter, <a href="http://thepinkfactor.blogspot.com/">Sarah</a>, came to me and said that she had been fasting and praying about what she should be doing at this point in her life (instead of living at home with parents - actually there is another story to this!). She moved here from NYC last year to re-charge her batteries after a very stressful time there with her job. We loved having her here but I knew that after several months she was not happy here. She needed more in her life. She needed to be able to go forward with her career and those opportunities didn't exist here (she applied for tons of jobs in and out of her field with no response!). So back on track.....she came to me with the following conversation (paraphrased since I don't have perfect memory!):</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">S: Mom, I have been fasting and praying about what to do.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>Me: Ok, so what answer did you get?<br />
<br />
S: I need to move to Utah.<br />
<br />
Me: Wow, ok, that sounds good. Umm, what will you do in Utah?<br />
<br />
S: I don't really know. But, I need to be there by General Conference weekend.<br />
<br />
Me: That is in like 3 weeks. I don't know if we can do that but we will certainly do everything we can to make it happen. You know, I have to present a paper at a conference in N.O. the week before conference don't you? Now, how do we tell sweet hubby about this?????<br />
<br />
Sweet hubby's response: That sounds like a plan but we will all go out there with you. I would rather not have you drive that far by yourself.... (I guess he has forgotten that she has driven that road many times by herself!). <br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">So within 3.5 weeks she applied for a couple of jobs and secured housing -- after a struggle to get into the right place. We started packing her up -- again, not knowing how we were going to pull this off since it definitely wasn't in our budget for the month to rent u-hauls and car pullers! But decided that we must all trust that if this is what the Lord wanted then He would provide the way for it to happen.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Sweet hubby came up with a way to move her things cost efficiently and we all decided to allow her to use my SUV for the time being (she doesn't own a car since she didn't need one in NYC). We knew going out it would be a fast trip -- no frills, no extra spending, just the essentials!!! Not exactly my kind of trip but hey, I can make sacrifices for my daughter!!!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">So here are a few of the pictures of us moving Sarah to Utah --- I call it Beverly Hills style without the rocking chair on top!!!</div><br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-eVz6_LOMR8sEbUHaEe4OEK4owSR6uVQkzcQOfy_F8rvk4QOj7ZI-JtZsAmcr9nnKyF8P1GTkDX-E0goToDfErqoYAI_NWGcRErUMTcnrZ8ce-IeJqi9-JFD4sR3mIFQnl7KdkNYwEWg/s1600/Caleb+Utah+102010+233.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-eVz6_LOMR8sEbUHaEe4OEK4owSR6uVQkzcQOfy_F8rvk4QOj7ZI-JtZsAmcr9nnKyF8P1GTkDX-E0goToDfErqoYAI_NWGcRErUMTcnrZ8ce-IeJqi9-JFD4sR3mIFQnl7KdkNYwEWg/s320/Caleb+Utah+102010+233.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All loaded down with Sarah's STUFF!!!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVlcWoV9LHVCJxXJFTnZkQN0cCbwATJtm_TIF3y-buMiVYYBUQWKlbXp5Z1JINDfeBq8B_jKL4Naa8zZWR70_bVZmq9SSm5_IaKdcX0OwRnG2Yz5nKMMmXiR84B9spSWD5ny6EZXCzleM/s1600/Caleb+Utah+102010+243.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVlcWoV9LHVCJxXJFTnZkQN0cCbwATJtm_TIF3y-buMiVYYBUQWKlbXp5Z1JINDfeBq8B_jKL4Naa8zZWR70_bVZmq9SSm5_IaKdcX0OwRnG2Yz5nKMMmXiR84B9spSWD5ny6EZXCzleM/s320/Caleb+Utah+102010+243.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Including her bike!!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIlWhfvf_OdnAB6U5CIyzACsrxQ1pve90KYSwWy0yHkKE1xrfG3_ga_pC9asd5HTsTkrU0mDTVKnsIpmIWfF64RQGEN1hIRG6TnDwEB3MVJi6AwjUcMzmIEoxCdkOcL7xSbsvMTgo59iA/s1600/Caleb+Utah+102010+234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIlWhfvf_OdnAB6U5CIyzACsrxQ1pve90KYSwWy0yHkKE1xrfG3_ga_pC9asd5HTsTkrU0mDTVKnsIpmIWfF64RQGEN1hIRG6TnDwEB3MVJi6AwjUcMzmIEoxCdkOcL7xSbsvMTgo59iA/s320/Caleb+Utah+102010+234.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adding the address to the Countess (gpa)</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH8nYI53hXfF9RFbTVXbXGQ-iV2e5yIclY0QQqk_nwRjZA23JW14qt6GHwW533ELgbGtRrwtvfPRfzhrQ7TOOc5wACabimdTr77Mfj7T26RE1qyrzz7Y8CQM-VKvN4g8apt_2R4NXU-Qs/s1600/Caleb+Utah+102010+242.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH8nYI53hXfF9RFbTVXbXGQ-iV2e5yIclY0QQqk_nwRjZA23JW14qt6GHwW533ELgbGtRrwtvfPRfzhrQ7TOOc5wACabimdTr77Mfj7T26RE1qyrzz7Y8CQM-VKvN4g8apt_2R4NXU-Qs/s320/Caleb+Utah+102010+242.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Doctor working.....thank goodness for mobile internet and cell phones!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKi-5rc3zxPif_-niENcPqSYovqOturvf4Vmxc4qI5cMQ0PHcom0Z7wVYNAzkr08bQVGZSx4Z04Rl1npte-T8YMEHZCtKFC1W90hd1_f7oRDjXgkK4nNm8MqYp0k-y6rlz_OfzpFdxYjg/s1600/Caleb+Utah+102010+235.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKi-5rc3zxPif_-niENcPqSYovqOturvf4Vmxc4qI5cMQ0PHcom0Z7wVYNAzkr08bQVGZSx4Z04Rl1npte-T8YMEHZCtKFC1W90hd1_f7oRDjXgkK4nNm8MqYp0k-y6rlz_OfzpFdxYjg/s320/Caleb+Utah+102010+235.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caleb settling into the truck for a very LONG drive!! <br />
Blanket - check, Pillow - check, Stuffed Animals - Check<br />
We are OFF!!!<br />
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</tbody></table>We had a great trip going out there for the most part. Caleb did get altitude sickness as we went through the Colorado mountains. He started out so excited to see the mountains and talking about where I go skiing and then crash.....he was sick!!! But once we were out of the mountains he perked up again and had a great time.<br />
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As we are traveling towards Utah on Saturday, sweet hubby recieved a phone call from a missionary couple who used to be here in LR (in our ward). They just found out we were coming out and invited us to stay the night at thier home. Again, the Lord provides when we have faith. It worked out beautifully for us and we so enjoyed getting to see them again as well as meet some of their children and grandchildren.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBLSw5X8v_6hfoeTSrKE_oH_hq7aD6Dt8Pdx2M_Dz52HSNJAA6nr8yUtFA9rOoufkH6mwLbIdHC8RmysE_DPhDwNsjSPr7qnLBuxQoiZZ-EIujdZF27DrPYAbz1rTSLtpErAP1RcoUUDQ/s1600/Caleb+Utah+102010+291.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBLSw5X8v_6hfoeTSrKE_oH_hq7aD6Dt8Pdx2M_Dz52HSNJAA6nr8yUtFA9rOoufkH6mwLbIdHC8RmysE_DPhDwNsjSPr7qnLBuxQoiZZ-EIujdZF27DrPYAbz1rTSLtpErAP1RcoUUDQ/s320/Caleb+Utah+102010+291.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caleb with the Kolterman's</td></tr>
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Later we dropped Sarah off at her new condo (and about 6 people came over to help unload the truck).<br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We left out of LR on Friday morning but on Thursday morning Sarah got a phone call about one of the positions she had applied for in UT. They needed to interview her on Monday!!! Monday was the LAST day for interviews!!!! We made it and she went to her interview on Monday then afterwards we all went to IKEA in Draper to get some things for her condo. I LOVE IKEA!!! I want to buy, buy, buy when I go there but sweet hubby pulled in the reins and reminded me that this trip wasn't about me but about getting Sarah settled there. So, I didn't get anything special for me from IKEA but we did get some neat things for Sarah and that was a lot of fun!!!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caleb enjoying a cinnamon roll at IKEA...</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My beautiful daughter, Sarah, enjoying frozen yogurt at IKEA</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxh0JFl1EH-_l2bA-eStFEFY0udeVpzTpCR0TUhYPL3KG_WSeI8JKzqPDXoIriTZRSRuDkF250FIphLIIhRcZnm602gw790QVgHh95G1XdA83h0MPHmGvLE5m1_On3TpqDr9ZPBxudbnE/s1600/Caleb+Utah+102010+313.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxh0JFl1EH-_l2bA-eStFEFY0udeVpzTpCR0TUhYPL3KG_WSeI8JKzqPDXoIriTZRSRuDkF250FIphLIIhRcZnm602gw790QVgHh95G1XdA83h0MPHmGvLE5m1_On3TpqDr9ZPBxudbnE/s320/Caleb+Utah+102010+313.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sweet hubby showing me we spent all of his money....so not true.....he has hides his money!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sweet hubby and Caleb putting IKEA furniture together</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUZS3J5bnC5RLVeoNvy9OzdFlXvXwK3CztmLCChmFbF7BXVzFAii7WSfAEZJjqQO2ZpENVjmPpEhN19pnia9O7FaRJFVSez35Xj5dNZaen7Ya5lT7PpEk74vrpHvBP2x_Qv_e-YH0gMgY/s1600/Caleb+Utah+102010+324.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUZS3J5bnC5RLVeoNvy9OzdFlXvXwK3CztmLCChmFbF7BXVzFAii7WSfAEZJjqQO2ZpENVjmPpEhN19pnia9O7FaRJFVSez35Xj5dNZaen7Ya5lT7PpEk74vrpHvBP2x_Qv_e-YH0gMgY/s320/Caleb+Utah+102010+324.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caleb loves getting to use the power tools....just like dad!!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9YC7RG9Rdf8N3QqrIvj6EXDfzkBR1AEnZeCMl-wQcn2RbRZx1ol_1jmLeGs5NpiA1K1AX2HILotukXCC7N3atwGy3tlZ3LnbKvNtts0sEGbq5SOZE3Kn76uWXveTp9qG07QPY4rrwcpQ/s1600/Caleb+Utah+102010+327.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9YC7RG9Rdf8N3QqrIvj6EXDfzkBR1AEnZeCMl-wQcn2RbRZx1ol_1jmLeGs5NpiA1K1AX2HILotukXCC7N3atwGy3tlZ3LnbKvNtts0sEGbq5SOZE3Kn76uWXveTp9qG07QPY4rrwcpQ/s320/Caleb+Utah+102010+327.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One very tired little boy....fell asleep on the super pillow.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Our plan was to leave Utah on Monday afternoon but after the trip to IKEA we decided to sleep at Sarah's condo and leave early Tuesday. Needless to say it was a very rushed trip but we had a great time and we are looking forward to many more visits with Sarah in her new home. By the way, she got the job!!! After interviewing on Monday, they called her on Tuesday and offered her the position......now she is back in the game and loving it!!!<br />
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For now, the doctor is out......planning her next trip to Utah.....thinking maybe she should go when there is snow on the mountains so she can slip some skiing in while there....ummm, yeah, that sounds good!!!<br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/301/1D9C1E4076258B8C529F18707E4471F5.png" style="background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00859627224189217912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941792012651369791.post-42075239591011707222010-09-21T22:24:00.000-05:002010-09-21T22:24:04.197-05:00Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.....<div style="text-align: center;">In addition to sensory processing disorder my sweet Caleb is also OCD - obsessive compulsive disorder - which can create problems in taking medicine. It means you MUST have a schedule or a rhythm to everything. It means you must eliminate any and all clutter which becomes chaos to him (thus overloading the senses). I haven't accomplished all of this yet but I am working on it. Caleb had his rhythm down for taking his medicine and I left to go out of town on business for over a week.....breaking the rhythm for him. Then I left to go on a cruise with my sister, mom, and daughter (along with 3 aunts and a cousin) again breaking the rhythm. So the battle began in trying to establish the routine for taking meds. We fought....every morning. Some days I won. A couple of days he won. But after many trials over the past couple of weeks I think I have found his new rhythm.</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">a little of this:</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipFr5wVKWDvrJKE7qFF3hWUXsG7Dpaq4sWqXrie16ccX0uarE-0Z9QdrubYEOYIoxBW7AKrHfczULVtXLFJGYaDNbOOE_z0qfnetjftrMswZqPn9RMR61WMYKw3VgCC-u66V-Vt8J0Lf4/s1600/caleb+meds+003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipFr5wVKWDvrJKE7qFF3hWUXsG7Dpaq4sWqXrie16ccX0uarE-0Z9QdrubYEOYIoxBW7AKrHfczULVtXLFJGYaDNbOOE_z0qfnetjftrMswZqPn9RMR61WMYKw3VgCC-u66V-Vt8J0Lf4/s320/caleb+meds+003.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">medicine inside the reeses peanut butter cup:</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUOF8PHb6sTKMkKWLRtz6_-k_Ca7gfnUKYTYRSzw-MxRh58sEnwnRZyiwwvqYY8tfiRjD1tWS2yPM7WvbXkDFnt2d4VjoTohTiCniH1wWtsoaLNxeNTZY-BmQHc_UiFCYQq8Yf7SwCkR0/s1600/caleb+meds+001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUOF8PHb6sTKMkKWLRtz6_-k_Ca7gfnUKYTYRSzw-MxRh58sEnwnRZyiwwvqYY8tfiRjD1tWS2yPM7WvbXkDFnt2d4VjoTohTiCniH1wWtsoaLNxeNTZY-BmQHc_UiFCYQq8Yf7SwCkR0/s320/caleb+meds+001.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">the bribe:</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF1FLv2Ee83-GhGBI2afVQPnGKKEougViG_8Wc9Hn93BhzTYd9Wq7IVsPZg8OXZfSYx8RhRGUaQfwMb7ABj6y9nfmehDr1COJVVsf8II0jnwmEWrGZJOih3VoGYDOg3qHZG9CCrfbeL7Q/s1600/caleb+meds+002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF1FLv2Ee83-GhGBI2afVQPnGKKEougViG_8Wc9Hn93BhzTYd9Wq7IVsPZg8OXZfSYx8RhRGUaQfwMb7ABj6y9nfmehDr1COJVVsf8II0jnwmEWrGZJOih3VoGYDOg3qHZG9CCrfbeL7Q/s320/caleb+meds+002.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">and a timer set at 10 minutes.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">With the instructions -- you must take both meds before the timer goes off...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">at that time you can choose ONE bakugan from the 3 pak for your treat.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Caleb is fixated on bakugans right now (one week it might be legos or cars or the ds). So I tried the if you take your meds for 5 days straight then you can buy a package of bakugans -- which worked but it was still a tug a war to do this. So hence the timer and immediate reward.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The first 2 days he didn't make it before the timer went off. It was sad for both of us that he didn't get to choose the bakugan. But today -- SUCCESS!!!!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsaUA48Q9D-IjiGIUpPztkhlZ7AiC9HWLXP9Hy9fVj4qwzg7H2G5lT5MpqYY2fGthXzRjaIIpoCXiT3E2wf1lt2_TyOFBQLwRomIzx1vxnQO1ZJ8wt4G2Xj7ykFqZsPw79PNz9qXKu6hc/s1600/caleb+meds+007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsaUA48Q9D-IjiGIUpPztkhlZ7AiC9HWLXP9Hy9fVj4qwzg7H2G5lT5MpqYY2fGthXzRjaIIpoCXiT3E2wf1lt2_TyOFBQLwRomIzx1vxnQO1ZJ8wt4G2Xj7ykFqZsPw79PNz9qXKu6hc/s320/caleb+meds+007.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5L8UvO8HHgnpeBN8EUZ611nLA4zlMIm_eDvY0DTkjT6KtcRgRfBZCx68AU7R158iwozk5OPBKw4NeP89tf4K_rGWUCzphC-8JgP11UzgMPOGr6xATOv_9NY9-6-i0-kuWgNS6lNhPg94/s1600/caleb+meds+008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" qx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5L8UvO8HHgnpeBN8EUZ611nLA4zlMIm_eDvY0DTkjT6KtcRgRfBZCx68AU7R158iwozk5OPBKw4NeP89tf4K_rGWUCzphC-8JgP11UzgMPOGr6xATOv_9NY9-6-i0-kuWgNS6lNhPg94/s320/caleb+meds+008.JPG" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">Notice he still has the medicine in his mouth trying to chew it up and swallow -- the taste is hard on him. I am so PROUD of my little guy for finally beating the clock!!!!<br />
<br />
I will probably go broke but some things are just worth it.<br />
<br />
For now the doctor is out.....headed to Toys R Us, Target, and WalMart to buy more bakugans!!!</div><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/301/1D9C1E4076258B8C529F18707E4471F5.png" style="background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00859627224189217912noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941792012651369791.post-43359517739846150212010-08-01T22:57:00.000-05:002010-08-01T22:57:39.663-05:00GNO - Indian StyleMy friend/colleague, Sri, took me out for my first ever Indian lunch. She decided to take me to an Indian restaurant in Mid-town Manhattan. At first I was very apprehensive since I have the funky taste bud issue and I get really nervous when trying new foods.....I mean REALLY nervous!!! I almost go into panic mode when put in a situation that I have to try something new and am not sure if I will go into the gag reflex. Since my daughter, Sarah, has been home from her two years in NYC she has done a lot of the cooking (ok, who am I kidding, she has done <strike>most of the -</strike> umm, no, honestly she has done ALL of the cooking) and she has introduced a lot of new things to my diet....because of this I wasn't as apprehensive as I normally am about trying new foods.....Indian food here I come!!!!!<br />
<br />
First, all, I need to say that Sri likes the best of the best and so we didn't just go to any ole Indian restaurant - we went to a very nice one. They brought out the appetizer (a very flat bread with seeds - I can't remember the name) then we decided to order two different things so that I could try both....chicken and shrimp -- can't go wrong with that!!! The main course also came with a cabbage dish and lentl soup....and she also ordered the naan (flat bread) which was to die for!!!! It was soooo good we ordered some more!!!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgVbS8BKmGiTsWEc3h4s0WG819UXYJR4dY5VgvOLizo51Pw73IUtIaqxXMBT1kXwic8Ab6_Dp3d9JGPUUI2yVChhsuJGa6b6E9R1uQU4g_Lvc0Ln7aEkgaAb6Ck0Q0mM7Lgp11xuvEISA/s1600/IMG_0418.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" bx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgVbS8BKmGiTsWEc3h4s0WG819UXYJR4dY5VgvOLizo51Pw73IUtIaqxXMBT1kXwic8Ab6_Dp3d9JGPUUI2yVChhsuJGa6b6E9R1uQU4g_Lvc0Ln7aEkgaAb6Ck0Q0mM7Lgp11xuvEISA/s320/IMG_0418.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Appetizer - very flat and crispy and the Balsamic Rice</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl6Pi1eqALmjCUKX-o5JeeEByQc00pA69Sf_l-ecZpCqL2y9H49G_AFHdbsxVLZ_fKxsloTB3kkGhzBWPsVWs0M8LZKEf9P-frYQXI3oF9h1Y1QbuY6QmdrdonOUws8p8vrZsIiVO6XMc/s1600/IMG_0417.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" bx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl6Pi1eqALmjCUKX-o5JeeEByQc00pA69Sf_l-ecZpCqL2y9H49G_AFHdbsxVLZ_fKxsloTB3kkGhzBWPsVWs0M8LZKEf9P-frYQXI3oF9h1Y1QbuY6QmdrdonOUws8p8vrZsIiVO6XMc/s320/IMG_0417.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Naan - served with a small amount of melted butter on it....yummmm!!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEECXTr_meBnKWrcEsGhK3xtm0AVfDAjAptlPL58RALiuEgU-EM98bQ8LY4dh2NH_NaZ0U6_Uz7CM90Nnwx8b4LfO9OiELHsr98dMyJWbQVo3y65u_fbRJ0o2mxuQpDmrKmfVQ-rnM7p0/s1600/IMG_0416.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" bx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEECXTr_meBnKWrcEsGhK3xtm0AVfDAjAptlPL58RALiuEgU-EM98bQ8LY4dh2NH_NaZ0U6_Uz7CM90Nnwx8b4LfO9OiELHsr98dMyJWbQVo3y65u_fbRJ0o2mxuQpDmrKmfVQ-rnM7p0/s320/IMG_0416.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Main course -- Curry Chicken and Scrimp in a tomato and different spices mixture<br />
Both were wonderful!!!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoX41_cVgBKeLkuJbncoY9Jue1iQf5-gFzBIwdchXPAFqg8bpZ45yAJ7OCVg_w8CtTpbSuOH75bVVg3dJ2XkM4OiN0V7HVLIAaw18E70ACdY5a2qVtMzZF5dd_S-c6gWDcod-3G2NZGdU/s1600/IMG_0422.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" bx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoX41_cVgBKeLkuJbncoY9Jue1iQf5-gFzBIwdchXPAFqg8bpZ45yAJ7OCVg_w8CtTpbSuOH75bVVg3dJ2XkM4OiN0V7HVLIAaw18E70ACdY5a2qVtMzZF5dd_S-c6gWDcod-3G2NZGdU/s320/IMG_0422.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dessert - Mango Ice Cream</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS4T0Mam680tPYkkT9kw0lFNwCpn3cZk77aodFHLursLTTutN_GTvz2su1uC_1M9ErFZpwZEfg1cXaZihpzYGQn2L9Q0MKuvu05Wlz3ilGT90PbcepkBZrqVn7H_xRzA8KYgahfnTiKjY/s1600/IMG_0423.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" bx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS4T0Mam680tPYkkT9kw0lFNwCpn3cZk77aodFHLursLTTutN_GTvz2su1uC_1M9ErFZpwZEfg1cXaZihpzYGQn2L9Q0MKuvu05Wlz3ilGT90PbcepkBZrqVn7H_xRzA8KYgahfnTiKjY/s320/IMG_0423.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can see the ice cream just wasn't any good at all!!!<br />
<br />
<div align="left"></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Later that evening we went to a dinner party at one of her friends' house in Long Island. This was basically a GNO - Indian style!!! A couple of the ladies were dressed in their Sari's while others were very casual. <br />
This was a 6 hour dinner party!!! I honestly don't think I have ever been to a dinner party that lasted 6 hours - but most of my dinner parties don't include glasses of wine!!! <br />
<br />
When we arrived we were served drinks (diet coke for me!) and appetizers -- oh, my gosh, they were sooo good -- the hosts' mom was here and she cooked her own Indian recipes --- then they drink more wine, talk, eat, drink, talk, eat, and drink. Then around 9:30 - 10:00 the dinner is actually served --- I could have just had the appetizers and been in heaven!!! The mom served the typical lamb dish, rice, a cucumber/tomato/onion salad, curried cauliflower, cauliflower chutney, and the most unusal dish to me was a curried catfish......I did eat some of it but it wasn't my favorite for sure (I mean I am from the south and we FRY catfish - not bake it with spices). We actually finished the dinner around 11:30!!!<br />
<br />
My head bounced back and forth while these ladies spoke Benglish!!! They had a way of beginning a sentence in Bengali and ending in English....we just laughed because that is how they always talk amongst each other and it was hard for them to curb the Bengali for the non-versed American. But overall it was a fantastic dinner party/GNO for me!!! I might have to try something like that at home....(wonder if Sarah could cook up some Indian food for my party)<br />
<br />
For now the doctor is out.....contemplating learning to speak Benglish....umm, wonder how long that would take??????<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/301/1D9C1E4076258B8C529F18707E4471F5.png" style="background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00859627224189217912noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941792012651369791.post-27864174735578605452010-07-29T15:16:00.000-05:002010-07-29T15:16:55.403-05:00Leaving on a Jet Plane (with crazy wierd people sitting beside me)When I was a child growing up air travel was not an option for my family....just way too much money for a family of 6. I was 19 when I flew for the first time which involved saving a ton (in 19 yr old terms) of money so that my sister and I could fly to Utah for spring break. How cool is that????? That was also a very uneventful trip (unless you count the kamikaze dive Mimi took over the side of the mountain - not literally but you get the jist). After that first trip I have since been cursed with the abnormal, sometimes super scary, and craziest flights.<br />
<br />
When Sarah was born we lived in California. At 2 months of age, I decided that Sarah needed to take her first trip back to the south to meet and re-meet grandparents. And, of course we needed a side trip to visit Mimi in Utah. Traveling with a baby is like moving -- you have to take everything with you. So we are loaded up on this plane traveling from LA to Salt Lake City and everything is going great. We have a seat by a man (who doesn't talk to us- ok by me) and a baby who is doing great on this flight. However, I notice that we have circled SLC several times -- I mean how many times do you pass the SLC Temple in flight - once I saw it 5 times I knew something wasn't right. About that time Sarah is wet and hungry and most definitely not happy - and the flight attendant is making that dreaded announcement "Ladies and gentlemen, there is something wrong with our landing gear. So we are circling downtown SLC to use up as much fuel as we can. When we get ready to land we will all need to get into the emergency landing position with your head down on your knee." Ok, what the heck???? People are trying to stay calm, etc, but tears are coming -- thoughts of death and family, etc., etc. All I can think of is that I have a baby who wants to be changed RIGHT NOW!!!! So we circle another 30 minutes or so. The man sitting next to me is becoming a little agitated with this crying baby beside him. He gets into the overhead bin to get his coat so that if we crash land he will be warm I guess. The man behind me sticks his head between the seats and asks if he can help me with anything and tells me that he will get my coat for me and that right now his only concern is for me and my crying baby (my heart melts and the tears flow). Why couldn't he be my seat partner????? Needless to say we all got into the crash landing position and made it safely to the ground -- with firetrucks everywhere waiting on us.....the landing gear worked and we landed without incident but I always remember fondly the man behind me who helped me with everything (car seat, bags, etc) de-plane. <br />
<br />
On one flight from Atlanta to LA, Sarah (18 months) and I were bumped up to 1st class!!! What a wonderful flight ---- and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0012546/">Boss Hog</a> was in the seat right across from us....this was one of those fun exciting trips where crazy weird people aren't sitting next to you but wonderful flight attendants are constantly wanting to know if they can help you with your toddler, bring you something to drink, eat, read, or whatever will make your flight enjoyable. Boss Hog also had his girlfriend with him and she was very nice to Sarah -- Boss Hog even made goo goo eyes at her. Ahhh, it would be nice to have more trips like that one.....<br />
<br />
It is always that seat next to me that scares me the most about flying....I mean I can agonize over who will be the person I have to sit by for x number of hours....will they want to talk, will they be rude, will they take up all the arm space. For years, I couldn't read on flights due to motion sickness but now they make these wonderful motion sickness bands that I wear on my wrists so that I can read and if I want to ignore the person next to me I pull out the book. But before that glorious time I encountered the strangest seat partner.<br />
<br />
We were on a family trip to Hawaii: My dad and mom, Mimi, Sarah, Josh, and me....a lonnnnng 7 hour plane ride.... First thing, on the LR to Dallas leg I am seated next to a rather normal looking guy, until the plane starts to back out of the terminal and head to the run way.....can we say SCARRRRYYYYY!!!!!! This normal looking man starts talking to his ring!!!! Then he has this weird hissing laugh after he talks to his ring. Mind you this was way before 9/11 screenings because I know if it were after I would have pull the flight attendant over and BEGGED her to get rid of the scarry talking to your ring guy. I mean who talks to their ring and then does a hissing laugh about it. <br />
<br />
So this week I traveled to NYC to visit with my friend/colleague Sri. As I am going through security I see this sweet looking little Japanese woman in a wheelchair saying goodbye to her family. My heart is melting - how sweet!!! As I board the plane I find that I get to sit in the bulkhead seat (hey it isn't 1st class but it is close!) sweet little Japanese lady is in the center seat....oh, good, this will be a nice ride. Little Japanese lady has a sign around her neck : I don't speak English and I am disabled. Oh, this will be a QUIET ride. About that time aisle seat man boards --- as he is putting his luggage in the overhead compartment, little sweet Japanese lady stands up and points to the middle seat --- does a couple of grunt things, continues to look at man and pointing to the middle seat..... the man then sits in the middle seat looks at me and states that he really wanted to sit on the aisle (I am thinking how sweet of him to actually give up his seat for the now grunting not so sweet Japanese lady - and I am wondering what did I do to offend not so sweet Japanese lady --- I took my shower that morning). Oh, well, the man seems rather harmless and we discuss San Francisco where he is going for a week. During the flight he pulls out his coat - yes that would be his winter jacket - and puts it on. I am dying in the heat with the air vent turned on me and he is putting on his coat!!! Then he pulls out his printed 12 x 14 page Excel spreadsheet with print so tiny I don't know how in the world he can read it.....yes, I am a little alarmed at the moment....is this the engineering plans of the plane so he can set off the bomb -- he has his coat on ready for something!!! He would study this sheet for a while and then put it up, then bring it back out. When the plane landed he jumped up and almost knocked down not so sweet Japanese lady to get off the plane...I am thinking oh, crap he set the bomb to go off for so many minutes after he deplaned!!!! I know, I know, I must be demented!!! <br />
<br />
I think I need to look at seat partners with a little more compassion or something or maybe fly 1st class -- I wonder if you get crazy weird people as seat partners in 1st class....ummmm...<br />
<br />
For now the doctor is out......hoping she can get bumped to 1st class on the flight home from NYC....that sounds like a plan!!!<br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/301/1D9C1E4076258B8C529F18707E4471F5.png" style="background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00859627224189217912noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941792012651369791.post-45283330605531579792010-06-26T20:37:00.000-05:002010-06-26T20:37:31.284-05:00The Great Cricket CaperCaleb spends a lot of time at his aunt <a href="http://www.confessionsofamimi.blogspot.com/">Mimi's</a> house He loves spending time with his cousins but sometimes they can get a little tired of entertaining him. While at Mimi's house, Caleb begs his cousins to go outside with him while he catches <span style="color: lime; font-size: large;"><strong>crickets</strong></span> for his little bug catcher. Well, the past couple of weeks the heat index has been above <span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><em>100 degrees</em></span> here and it is <span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">HOT</span> outside. However, this doesn't bother Caleb in the least, but his cousins agree it is hot and they try to get him to come inside as much as possible. <br />
<br />
The other day I went to pick him up from Mimi's house but he also wanted his cousin, Kristen, to come home and spend the night at his house so they could catch more bugs....um, yeah, that was very enticing to Kristen!!! So when Caleb asked Mimi if Kristen could come over for the night she said "no not tonight" and then he asked me - of course I agreed - <span style="color: red; font-size: large;">not tonight</span>. But that wasn't enough for Caleb....he proceeded to tell Kristen that if she really wanted to come over she could <span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><em>SNEAK</em></span> into the back of my Explorer to go home with us. Being the honest person she is Kristen told me of his plan and her own plan which went something like this:<br />
<br />
<br />
Me: (getting into the driver's seat) "Oh wow, Caleb you are already buckled up and ready to go"<br />
<br />
Caleb: "yep, I have been waiting for you" as he smiles very big.<br />
<br />
Me: (put the truck in reverse and backs out of the drive)....."umm, something is wrong with my truck....it feels heavier than it normally does...."<br />
<br />
Caleb: "no, it doesn't. just go home"<br />
<br />
Me: "No, something is definitely wrong here.....my truck is heavier that it should be"<br />
<br />
Caleb: (with his worried look) "no mom, I caught a lot more crickets - they are in the back - that is why your truck is heavy, just go home"<br />
<br />
Me: "I don't think that is it, maybe I need to look back there to see why it is heavy."<br />
<br />
As I climb out of my truck to look in the back Caleb puts his head in the palms of his hands with the defeated look of <span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">oh, crap now I am busted and then says to <a href="http://www.thepinkfactor.blogspot.com/">Sarah</a> "I don't want her to look back there!!!!" <span style="color: black; font-size: small;">Because at this point he realizes that I am going to find Kristen in the back of my truck (which I do and then go on to play Kristen's game of getting caught in the act). Kristen meekly looks at Caleb, shrugs her shoulders and says, " Caleb, I am sorry I guess I can't go home with you" as she stifles her <span style="font-size: large;">huge smile</span> of relief that she doesn't have to go home with him and help him catch <span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: lime;">crickets</span> </span>for his bug catcher. As Kristen was going inside of the house I asked her if she was worried that I wasn't going to stop (since I did drive out of the drive way and down the road just a little) and she kind of smiled sheepishly and said, yeah I thought maybe you were going to make be walk a ways back up the road.....of course I would never do that to her.....afterall, this was her little plan of getting out of having to catch crickets with Caleb!!!</span></span><br />
<br />
For now the doctor is out......releasing those poor <span style="color: lime; font-size: large;">crickets </span>back into the grass so they can <span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-size: x-large;">RUN, RUN, RUN</span>, far away from Caleb!!!!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/301/1D9C1E4076258B8C529F18707E4471F5.png" style="background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00859627224189217912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941792012651369791.post-84469727508684671592010-06-17T14:28:00.000-05:002010-06-17T14:28:39.504-05:00Summer Reading<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">One of my favorite hobbies is reading. I <span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;"><strong>LOVE</strong></span> to read!!! I remember being the dork in high school literature/English class who couldn't wait to get the semester reading list. All around me were friends groaning and moaning about having to read this book or that book. Usually those friends would chose the book with the least number of pages (and read several) for thier assignments - not me - I wanted to read what I wanted to read whether it was 100 pages or 1000 pages. I read <em><span style="font-size: large;">Gone with the Wind</span></em> during the summer between 7th and 8th grade - fell in love with <em>Scarlett and Rhett</em>. Then I moved on to the Bronte sisters (<em><span style="font-size: large;">Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights</span></em>), Alexandre Dumas (<span style="font-size: large;"><em>The Count of Monte Crisco</em></span>) and other authors/books that I wish I could re-read again and again. But I keep finding new books that <span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">NEED </span>my time. When I was in college I would keep lists of books on my refrigerator throughout the semesters that I wanted to read when I had MY time back again and could pick up any book in the world other than a text book. The list grew and grew. I have conquered quite a few books from that long ago list and am working through the 300+ books on my current list <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/">here</a>. I also keep a running list on the side of my blog of what I have read, plan to read and am currently reading.....yes, dork queen, I know!!</div><br />
I like to read good literature books but sometimes I just need to read the no brainer, no thinking books. Put a book in my hand and I usually don't come up for air until I am at least half way through it or finished with it. It is sad that I can't control that strange habit ummm, or is it? <br />
<br />
Because I <span style="font-size: large;">love </span>books so much and want to spend any amount of time reading I decided long ago that I had to teach my own children that same love of books/reading - I succeeded with my daughter, <a href="http://thepinkfactor.blogspot.com/">Sarah</a>, who now has her own small library with almost 1,000 books of her own. After all, I did pay her to read classics while we were on road trips (beginning at the age of 10 and is another blog of itself). I am currently working on Caleb's love of reading....which is proving to be a little harder!!! Caleb loves books - as long as they are about spiders, bugs, fish, frogs, snakes, etc. He loves going to the library and checking out books - but only books on the above topics. He will fill his bag with at least 10 to 12 books each time but when I try to steer him towards books that I want him to read problems arise. Which brings me to the actual reason behind this post.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">This </span>is what I am <span style="font-size: large;"><em>reading</em></span> this summer:</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinm8Fl47xhig6x18yEIb532TJqdgoc3dXF4TImgAxGh9dK9eoJaHmm8AoQVv_-O5DjT87_IrcnKHwGDA0dFlLLCLnsAX2XDRv-nPPTZIwxvbX6vu28xbQYh1_qvX5z1-IHmz1n2HaO4KI/s1600/Sensory+Processing+Disorder+Book+Picture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" qu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinm8Fl47xhig6x18yEIb532TJqdgoc3dXF4TImgAxGh9dK9eoJaHmm8AoQVv_-O5DjT87_IrcnKHwGDA0dFlLLCLnsAX2XDRv-nPPTZIwxvbX6vu28xbQYh1_qvX5z1-IHmz1n2HaO4KI/s320/Sensory+Processing+Disorder+Book+Picture.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAF6rd8idbOhr5b6rkihn6BQkGwgkkov1Y6DvizaR_8PtRB7daPbWWdlQ195ABeDncuTkEFP1f_Tn9qGQlMyErJGOeYaErKQ5rRfjSAhe9AHfUje1YHwJpYi50PCoCKvQIeVP_Tdn1yZc/s1600/Out+of+Sync+Child+has+fun+picture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" qu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAF6rd8idbOhr5b6rkihn6BQkGwgkkov1Y6DvizaR_8PtRB7daPbWWdlQ195ABeDncuTkEFP1f_Tn9qGQlMyErJGOeYaErKQ5rRfjSAhe9AHfUje1YHwJpYi50PCoCKvQIeVP_Tdn1yZc/s320/Out+of+Sync+Child+has+fun+picture.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">I am learning how to deal with a child who has sensory processing disorder. I didn't even know this was a disorder until my pediatrician pointed it out to me at our last visit ("<em><span style="font-size: large;">I think Caleb has sensory processing disorder so I am going to write a script/referral for therapy</span></em>"). With Caleb I am expanding my mind once again. Learning new things about how to deal with obsessive compulsive disorders and now sensory processing disorders. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">I love my little guy</span>. <br />
He is absolutely <span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">darling</span> - <br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: x-small;">when he isn't having meltdowns.</span><br />
He loves to color coordinate our dinner plates in the cupboard. He wants the <span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><em><strong>red</strong></em></span> plates on top (so he can easily get them for his meals) then comes the <em><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><strong>orange</strong></span>, <strong><span style="color: yellow; font-size: large;">yellows</span></strong></em>, and<em> <span style="color: lime; font-size: large;"><strong>greens</strong></span></em> --<br />
isn't that sweet of him????<br />
<br />
He also doesn't like a change in schedule - <br />
if it is a stay home day (as he calls it) then <br />
I absolutely can't change things up and run errands <br />
(<span style="color: red; font-size: x-small;">meltdowns pursue</span>).<br />
<br />
He also loves to create patterns:<br />
"<em><span style="color: blue;">Mom, how about this (as he is trying to get out of brushing his teeth) I brush my teeth tomorrow, </span></em><br />
<em><span style="color: blue;">then I don't brush them the next day, then I brush them, isn't that a great pattern</span></em>?"<br />
<br />
Another thing my sweet guy <span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;">doesn't like</span> is water in the face. <br />
Yes, that creates problems with bathing and especially now while we are working<br />
on swimming lessons. <br />
<br />
So until next time, the doctor is out......learning how to be a parent of a child with SPD.....</div><br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/301/1D9C1E4076258B8C529F18707E4471F5.png" style="background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00859627224189217912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941792012651369791.post-17244133934345109892010-05-03T12:36:00.000-05:002010-05-03T12:36:37.829-05:00Just My Luck!!!!!!I am not really a supersticious person but sometimes things happen to make us question that.<br />
<br />
I needed to go to Denver for an Educational Research Conference since I am presenting a paper. I decided that I wanted to drive to Denver instead of fly. I love a good roadtrip and there is so much to see and do on the way there and back. The night before I am supposed to leave my car overheats and sweet hubby comes to rescue me...he checks it out for me and says everything is a-ok. So on Friday morning I am getting everything together and sweet hubby has to run some errands then comes home and decides that the truck needs an oil change along with a few other things he wants to check out. FINALLY, I am able to go pick up my sister, <a href="http://confessionsofamimi.blogspot.com/">Mimi</a>, and we head out....at 3:00 PM!!!! We are driving along I-40 minding our own business, laughing, talking and BAMM!!!! My truck starts overheating - this can't be happening - I HAVE TO GO TO DENVER!!!! AND, we are only about an hour outside of Little Rock -- so we pull over at the local small town WalMart parking lot. I call sweet hubby and tell him what is going on. He tells me to sit still and he will bring me a thermostat for my truck because apparently that was the problem all along...(question to myself --- why didn't he change it out before I left----oh, yeah, I am the wife who is last on the list -- haha).<br />
<br />
So we have an hour or so to kill while waiting on sweet hubby. There is a Bonanza across the street and we decide to go there for a bite to eat -- big mistake -- super yucky food!!! Then we decide to sit in the parking lot of Wally World and wait. I decided to go into the store to get a book then went back out to the truck to wait. While sitting in my truck waiting (Mimi had gone into the store by then) there were some very dark clouds coming in and then the tornado sirens are going off. I leave the truck for safety in the Wally World. I find my sister and we go to the back of the store to wait out the tornado (that didn't produce). We are quite awful too - you know more like teens- giggling at the oddly dressed people in Wally World on a Friday night (I mean where else do county people go on a Friday night - that is why there is <a href="http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/">this</a>). While waiting out the storm and walking around the back of the store sis tells me she wants me to look at a couple of things for her girls bedroom - one being a pink framed full length mirror. I reach out to look at it and it slips between my fingers/hand and CRASH on the floor. People around me are trying to distance themselves from me as fast as their legs will run!!! They are giving me that Oh, no you didn't look..........oh yeah, I did!!! That is when the county people of Wally World start laughing at me and telling me I will have 7 years of bad luck....I guess I deserve it for not being very nice to begin with!!! 7 years of bad luck - just my luck if I were supersticious!!!<br />
<br />
Oh, yeah, I did make it to Denver and I will be presenting my paper this afternoon and then heading out back home to my sweet family baring no bad luck on the way home......<br />
<br />
For now the doctor is out......hoping to avoid running into a black cat or walking under a ladder or opening an umbrella in the house....well you get the picture!!!!<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54487/301/1D9C1E4076258B8C529F18707E4471F5.png" style="background: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px;" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00859627224189217912noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8941792012651369791.post-48619246388201860232010-03-18T17:35:00.000-05:002010-03-18T17:35:44.234-05:00Caleb's Best Friend<div style="text-align: center;">I am not a pet person. There I said it. But my kids love pets. </div><div style="text-align: center;">When Sarah was 4 I decided she needed a dog. </div><div style="text-align: center;">Big mistake on my part!! </div><div style="text-align: center;">I got her a little white puppy. </div><div style="text-align: center;">She loved that puppy. I didn't. </div><div style="text-align: center;">That little puppy was like having 3 kids at the same time. A LOT OF WORK. </div><div style="text-align: center;">We didn't keep him long....he found a new home. </div><div style="text-align: center;"> Then when Sarah was about 14 she brought home a baby kitten from a visit with her cousin. </div><div style="text-align: center;">It was her birthday. </div><div style="text-align: center;">She didn't ask me. </div><div style="text-align: center;">I relented and let her keep him. </div><div style="text-align: center;">She still has that cat (Oliver)--- he is the devil, no seriously, he is a crazy cat. </div><div style="text-align: center;">I DO NOT LIKE THAT CAT!!! </div><div style="text-align: center;">I honestly believe that Oliver is schizophrenic. But that is another blog by itself. </div><div style="text-align: center;">Needless to say I didn't want anymore pets. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">But I have an almost 6 year old boy......he loves animals of all kinds. </div><div style="text-align: center;">He captured a couple of bugs with his bug catcher and called them his friends. </div><div style="text-align: center;">Very Sad.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I like pets that don't live at my house:</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBTWZyejdSHxZUJXlCoUY3ztQNruKkp84b42k-DNcIpUwWV8bg775Nzp7weCQq0hD2uSapzEDrWM2AnNnlNQAh4RNVvp-LsxE4Z3JJQcFBFgvcfmWQBXE7QwLeV8PUJlCghiFsonbb1Po/s1600-h/Mimi's+camera+Caleb+013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBTWZyejdSHxZUJXlCoUY3ztQNruKkp84b42k-DNcIpUwWV8bg775Nzp7weCQq0hD2uSapzEDrWM2AnNnlNQAh4RNVvp-LsxE4Z3JJQcFBFgvcfmWQBXE7QwLeV8PUJlCghiFsonbb1Po/s320/Mimi's+camera+Caleb+013.JPG" vt="true" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Aunt Betty's bird lives in Florida -- I don't mind visiting him.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiibPbqCQ6jHiQq_9ALEf8J3w4gHx1UylVenC_rfqVd2sme2BwEZ9-sp0sH1KFl-i8XQeb7R-p7hzk7dl2W1S1rVd1dEJonCvp4fjdGIWrBd8R-qBolOD5ChNxqc390sHGMfQLlwsOc28w/s1600-h/Mimi's+camera+Caleb+791.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiibPbqCQ6jHiQq_9ALEf8J3w4gHx1UylVenC_rfqVd2sme2BwEZ9-sp0sH1KFl-i8XQeb7R-p7hzk7dl2W1S1rVd1dEJonCvp4fjdGIWrBd8R-qBolOD5ChNxqc390sHGMfQLlwsOc28w/s320/Mimi's+camera+Caleb+791.JPG" vt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My cousin's dog, Harry. I don't mind him visiting us.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2-CHDj9xr1Gg_ue22CoRiKxy1BO1M5VCTo4YZQHtP5_4YrX5Pr-uTxZl8VuHFXztNvDJI_Q82dwGGPnswCvHEabwnmpPmbVYC_seiQsBhmtacBPmw8y0xid3XD2_n2CUWTyBoJJ8l7w8/s1600-h/march+2010+050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2-CHDj9xr1Gg_ue22CoRiKxy1BO1M5VCTo4YZQHtP5_4YrX5Pr-uTxZl8VuHFXztNvDJI_Q82dwGGPnswCvHEabwnmpPmbVYC_seiQsBhmtacBPmw8y0xid3XD2_n2CUWTyBoJJ8l7w8/s320/march+2010+050.JPG" vt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I think stuffed animals make perfect pets.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">No mess.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">No fuss.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">But Caleb wasn't buying any of this. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">He asked for his own puppy. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Then he asked for his own kitten.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I explained to him that we could visit Mimi's kittens anytime:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6R72NPKPZ9SrXbGdScZo7jdlPhvYXhe3ckDt42Zqr9MstwEB1zj9EHqZnYHfLkNGHFPMnkcjGUFsEZFbg2gRkFfCSP0Wd-trNCrPkkFc-VWqKW6MURyIjl4Lmbb-jylCh7qkOs5RhdFc/s1600-h/mimi+caleb+2nd+try+152.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6R72NPKPZ9SrXbGdScZo7jdlPhvYXhe3ckDt42Zqr9MstwEB1zj9EHqZnYHfLkNGHFPMnkcjGUFsEZFbg2gRkFfCSP0Wd-trNCrPkkFc-VWqKW6MURyIjl4Lmbb-jylCh7qkOs5RhdFc/s320/mimi+caleb+2nd+try+152.JPG" vt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">But he wanted his own kitten who would love him.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">So what was I to do?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I began the search. I hoped the thought would go away.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It didn't.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We found his new best friend online and went to pick her up.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA_8WkGtRpX3VA2cyggohyphenhyphenn5AUT68QitHktRs5OlfFvEN_RNvjr4GJlwv1tzKk2hA12RTV_voG5qpOoARNGTjYzaeZ1qkppYCN-6gX6RVvIavhP9fJfuewrIS8StPHaDRr1f0WyB8sOAc/s1600-h/march+2010+053.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA_8WkGtRpX3VA2cyggohyphenhyphenn5AUT68QitHktRs5OlfFvEN_RNvjr4GJlwv1tzKk2hA12RTV_voG5qpOoARNGTjYzaeZ1qkppYCN-6gX6RVvIavhP9fJfuewrIS8StPHaDRr1f0WyB8sOAc/s320/march+2010+053.JPG" vt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">On the way to Whitehall to pick up the new friend.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Caleb is demonstrating how we must hold this new friend. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Very carefully.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU3x6KPwMtsNO1MCEG0d1cfgMnEXRswGwzApk04Qm6aLWkoBxIcklIdsc7ZW_QzBTlnvWV5THEap6NKTcNyToZj_HLFe2ZzTtnediR4_S78VQbaYgp345l6cLKeSdNasyuMaSx4g67sRs/s1600-h/march+2010+051.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU3x6KPwMtsNO1MCEG0d1cfgMnEXRswGwzApk04Qm6aLWkoBxIcklIdsc7ZW_QzBTlnvWV5THEap6NKTcNyToZj_HLFe2ZzTtnediR4_S78VQbaYgp345l6cLKeSdNasyuMaSx4g67sRs/s320/march+2010+051.JPG" vt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Since it was a last minute decision when we found her</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I didn't have a carrier ready.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">So we used a box.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqdPFjBHPPpc4c9FDR77TILlO3idyPzCgKuGaQ6qzkIo475uA5LfnSdAGAe3obktcr__lhSuRUZfXy54DPS3LYhig_l2mgeNo1QQ9XhdTUyWRb5o2R-mDAv4KQCKYDfMilfKpQ5r1VSpk/s1600-h/march+2010+057.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqdPFjBHPPpc4c9FDR77TILlO3idyPzCgKuGaQ6qzkIo475uA5LfnSdAGAe3obktcr__lhSuRUZfXy54DPS3LYhig_l2mgeNo1QQ9XhdTUyWRb5o2R-mDAv4KQCKYDfMilfKpQ5r1VSpk/s320/march+2010+057.JPG" vt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">He named her Ella.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">She is 2 months old.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And they love each other already.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Ella follows Caleb everywhere.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I found them here last night:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZzdy-i3-R5J-vJjfFvIAkO4lASMYbwRZ6o7We4fmj9eV2VGukPBP_JPQfWmzbT83NBvAI4FfchNHYnrMLQakv9gKFv6c-e8nPQzpB-AYeDAUlyHxETK04r4pZg0ZnV3bpz80-loHf3EI/s1600-h/march+2010+059.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZzdy-i3-R5J-vJjfFvIAkO4lASMYbwRZ6o7We4fmj9eV2VGukPBP_JPQfWmzbT83NBvAI4FfchNHYnrMLQakv9gKFv6c-e8nPQzpB-AYeDAUlyHxETK04r4pZg0ZnV3bpz80-loHf3EI/s320/march+2010+059.JPG" vt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Cuddled up together in my bed watching TV.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbDsqC99d-4wd8mM0v89SomPTTMNwZDUzexHUMg0cng8LbGqq4LyL_QGL5XleLtValocR1_CUc3B4Cao2tzfvMVFHz-qZ8nwFp9VKotIyWeipsY0shJ-wxHIcwnQ5Cy1OZc8JZrctxzKc/s1600-h/march+2010+056.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbDsqC99d-4wd8mM0v89SomPTTMNwZDUzexHUMg0cng8LbGqq4LyL_QGL5XleLtValocR1_CUc3B4Cao2tzfvMVFHz-qZ8nwFp9VKotIyWeipsY0shJ-wxHIcwnQ5Cy1OZc8JZrctxzKc/s320/march+2010+056.JPG" vt="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Caleb told me last night - Ella is my new best friend.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I am Ella's daddy now.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We have to be careful when we walk through the house or we here:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">SHHH, Ella is sleeping and you will wake her up.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Talk softly so you don't scare Ella.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I have to say Caleb has totally surprised me here - he takes very good care of Ella.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">He feeds her. He makes sure she has water.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">He even wanted to give her a bath last night.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Thank goodness Sarah caught him while he was running the bath water.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">He hasn't touched the litter box yet....oh, but he will eventually!!!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">For now the doctor is out.....praying that Ella is normal....since one crazy cat is enough for me...</div><br />
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