God's Beauty

I have been a resident of Arizona for nearly 11 months now....and I am still amazed at how beautiful and magnificent the mountains here can be. It's like God just relishes the opportunity to paint them a different color each day....each minute even. Today was cloudy with promises and teases of rain. The skies were thick with rolling clouds....but mostly they just rolled on by. But as the sun set this evening...it was awesome. The mountains turn pink nearly every night and it is always beautiful and always short. The majesty of the color change only lasts a few brief minutes. But tonight....tonight was amazing. Tonight the sky was full of dark rolling clouds just hanging suspended over the tops of the mountain. And then the sun started to set and the mountains turned the DEEPEST shade of red....at first even being a deep, bright orange shade. I pointed it out to Jackie and we both exclaimed how pretty and different it was tonight. Then I stepped outside to call in the boys to dinner and I was struck speechless with the beauty I beheld before me. The orange was deepening to red...a fiery, deep, gorgeous red and then rising up into purple sky. It was hard to tell where the mountain stopped and the sky started. It was breathtaking. Jackie popped outside right about that time and all I could do was point. The scene had the same effect on her and the two of us, along with Jackie's neighbor just stood outside there on the corner, drinking in the most beautiful and amazing sight that I have ever seen. God painted one incredible and beautiful picture for us tonight. It was a treat to be sure and a vision I will treasure till my dying day. These mountains are magic. They are beautiful and sometimes I think they are just speaking to me. I see God's hand when I look at them...and I am humbled by the strength and artistry of my God. It is wonderful to have such beauty right here before me each and every day. A great priviledge to live here among it all. Life is good here in the desert....so very beautiful and so very good.

Time Marches On

The more time goes by, the happier I find myself here in Arizona. I am reminded daily of how fortunate I am to have ended up here in this amazing part of the country. I have been so richly blessed with an amazing group of friends...special, special ladies who hold such a near and dear place in my heart. I feel like I belong with them...that I am a part of a group. My phone rings again and I have lots of opportunities for coffee dates and play dates and lunches and camping trips and ladies weekends away. I just love it here and I love the people God has placed in my life. My friend Mary dropped by tonight. I had picked up her mail for her while she was out of town...she had forgotten to stop it and called from her trip and asked if I would mind. She just lives a minute up the road from me, so it was absolutely no problem. Not a big deal at all. I was thrilled to do it for them. She came by this evening to pick it up and brought me the most beautiful little candle. A thank you for picking up our mail gesture. I couldn't believe it. My heart was just gushing. It was just so sweet of her to think of me on her trip and to pick out something just for me....well, I will treasure it always. Grabbing her mail was no big deal at all...And she certainly did not need to do that. But it touched my heart deeply and as I sit here hours later, I still have a big smile on my face. Mary has quickly become one of my very most favorite people in this great state. We just seem to click. She is a very, very real person. She laughs easily and cries openly and hugs quickly. She is one of the strongest people I have ever met and faces life's challenges with such grace. It has been an honor to know her and I am thankful each day that God placed her in my life. Knowing her has just been a blessing and a treat.

We are all great here in the desert right now. The upcoming weekend holds a typically packed schedule with both boys having ball games in the morning....two different places of course. We haven't made it to church in a month as we have been out of town and doing various things. But I think we are going to plan to attend this weekend and get some things done in the yard as well. The weather has cooled down significantly and it is quite nice to spend time outside again. The kids go back to school on Monday and I head off to get the car in for it's first scheduled maintenance check up. Hooray! Busy, busy! Mom and Dad come to visit in two weeks. The kids are very excited. They get in on Halloween night. Will be here for a week. Oh....Max made the honor roll at school...all that worry! Ben had amazingly good grades as well. I just hope they can keep it up. Seems like they expect so much from these little guys this year. Must they grow up SO fast? Sometimes I just want them to stay little and sweet just a while longer. Instead they are growing so fast and learning so much and being handed so much responsibility. It is hard to believe the changes I see before me almost daily. Children are such a treasure. And they just don't stay little for long! Life is very good for us here in the desert!

Friends

I marvel at how my mighty God answers prayers so perfectly. It was not too terribly long ago when I was feeling rather displaced and lonely in this new state we are calling home now. Even though I have a lovely home here, and our children go to a wonderful school and are making friends, somehow, I have just felt so lonely. I have truly missed my life in Florida and mostly, my friends. I missed having someone to pick up the phone and just say HI to. There was noone here like that. Not that I had not met some really nice people....I have. But I had not really met anyone that I clicked with so to say. And as a result I just felt quite lost and quite alone and quite miserable. I had quite a pitty party for myself, really. And then, as I so often do when I just don't know what else to do...I prayed. I prayed fervently and whole heartedly for friends. I wanted someone to call up and say howdy to and someone to have coffee with and someone to laugh with and complain about husbands to. So I prayed for it with all my heart...that God would just send me a couple of friends. And would you believe...within days...they were there. Friends just started coming out of the woodwork. We started getting invitations to play and invitations for coffee and invitations to just hang out and go camping and all sorts of things. And I stood back the other day and surveyed this amazing group of women that God has placed in my life. There is a third grade teacher (Max's teacher from last year) who is kind and sweet and has a child just like mine, and there is an engineer, turned mom who has spent the last year watching her 9 year old daughter battle cancer, an amazing woman to be sure. Then there is my friend who was so excited about the article on nuclear fusion that she cut it out and keeps it in her purse. I have an ex-hippy turned pastry chef turned single mom in the corporate world friend. I have a friend who makes me beautiful baubles and is so sweet and down to earth and real you can't help but love her and her faith is just beautiful. And I just met another fantastic lady and though I don't know why....somehow I just know that she and I will be fast friends. Yes...God is so good. And as I stand back and survey these wonderful gifts, I can't wait to see what God is going to do with them and how we will be used in each other's lives. Each one of these ladies thus far has been like a beacon in the darkness for me. They have each already touched my life and filled needs for me like I never imagined. I think of them daily and I am just excited to see how our relationships will grow. I am so thankful for these ladies...each so different and yet, not so much so. I am thankful for a loving God that hears me and knows my needs and provides for me in such loving ways. I know that each of these women was handpicked for me. I cherish each and every one of their amazing selves. They have much to teach me, I know. And I am so excited about the journey and paths our lives will cross over the next few years. Thank you God for prayers heard....and answered. Life is good in the desert.

This was some of the scenery in the area we were camping...the red rock was so amazing...beautiful country here in Arizona! 

This was taken from our campsite....it was SOOOO beautiful here at Cave Springs. 

Chris and Tonya enjoy the view and the rest along the hiking trail. 

Outdoor Adventures

My family went camping this past weekend. We had the time of our lives. We were originally heading for Dead Horse Ranch State Park which is about 3 hours to 3 1/2 hours north of us. However, once we arrived there we found the place to be a bit disappointing. There was NO shade whatsoever and the scenery left a lot to be desired. So we struck out for destinations unknown at that point to see what we might find. We ended up between Sedona and Flagstaff at Cave Springs in the Coconino National Forest and it was SOOOO beautiful! It was paradise there. The scenery was breathtaking and the temperature was DREAMY!!!! We actually FROZE the first night as we had prepared for weather about 15 degrees warmer (at our original destination). However, after that first night we made a quick run to the Flagstaff Target and bought some long undies and we were in business, all warm and cozy and happy again. We enjoyed hot sausages and fried eggs with cheese danish for breakfast Saturday morning and then headed off for a rather difficult and definitely vertical hike! We climbed forever it seemed and the scenery was breathtaking. But Clara is weighing in several pounds heavier this year than she was last year and the hike was rather challenging....even if you were NOT carrying Clara. So we never made it up to the top....but I think we were probably close. But we had had enough and the boys were really tired. So we headed home and showered up (that was PURE HEAVEN!!!) and started slow roasting a pork loin for dinner. After that we shared hot roasted marshmallows and the heat of the fire before 3 kids were begging to go to bed. That is the greatest thing about camping. The kids are just exhausted from all the fresh air and playing all day. Once the little darlings were all tucked in Chris and I put our feet up by the fire and cozied up a bit. We got real sleepy REAL quick, so Chris headed out for the restroom while I stayed and watched the fire. While he was away I kind of gazed at the fire and got lost in it for a good few minutes. Then out of the corner of my eye I glimpsed a quick movement quite close to my chair and it was then that I realized that I had a SKUNK right at my feet and under my chair! YIKES! I sat very still and was not really worried about him. I knew that if I stayed still and quiet I would not have too much trouble. But right about that time that I became aware of mister skunk, Chris came stomping back from the restroom. I was trying to quietly and calmly get his attention so that he would kindly not startle the creature under my chair and get me sprayed with lovely eau d'skunk....he was heading my way quickly. But I did manage to call it to his attention and he was kind enough to get the lantern on for me and identify the location of our little visitor, who had moved by that time juswt behind my chair. AFter he moved just a bit more I was able to slowly move away and join Chris across the camp AWAY from the smelly little critter. That was my first up close and personal encounter with a skunk. I've never seen one before that wasn't roadkill. So that was kind of cool. The rest of our trip was great. We were much warmer the second night and all seemed to sleep a little better. We took our time getting home and are looking forward to our camping trip coming up this next weekend! Wish us luck! Life is good here in the desert!

My baby ballerina...how quickly they grow up! 

Ballerina Girl 

Going, Going, Gone

I was sitting outside with my children tonight enjoying the cool evening air when Benjamin came and sat down on my lap. It has been quite a long time since my baby boy climbed up on my lap as he is nearly 8 years old now. I was struck by how huge he is now and noticed that he is too big now to be able to comfortably snuggle into me. As a matter of fact he really didn't seem to be able to get comfortable on my lap at all. And so as I sat thinking and pondering on that thought I walked down memory lane a bit and remembered how easily he used to fit there and how snuggly he used to be. And I tried to remember the last time I scooped him up in my arms and carried him with me or held him or just snuggled with him like that. And I couldn't remember when it was....which tells me that it was quite a long time ago. And then I looked at little Clara. She is already three and growing like a weed. I had just remarked to Jackie at how much she had grown in the very short time since she and I had purchased the little dress she was wearing today. It is already getting short on her and is now well above her little knees....when I bought it she had PLENTY of growing room in it...but now she doesn't! She is already quite heavy to carry and I find myself telling her no when she asks to be picked up or carried. And I found myself wondering when the last time will be with Clara. When will be my last scooping her up to snuggle or when will I last carry her to the car or her little warm, sleeping body to her bed? And will I know that it is my last time? Or will the last time come and go unnoticed and unacknowledged until way down the line when I one day look at her when she is nearly eight and I wonder how in the world that happened? I am trying so hard to cherish these days and hold them a little longer and snuggle them a little closer because I KNOW that these days are short and nearly gone. Sometimes I am SO frustrated with the phases and attitudes of childhood. But at other times I am struck absolutely and totally with a love and wonder for them that I NEVER in a million years could have imagined. The spectrum of feelings involved with child rearing is truly mind boggling. I carried my baby girl upstairs tonight after her bath. And I snuggled into her and inhaled the fresh, clean scent of freshly bathed baby...and it was heaven. And I enjoyed every single step up those stairs and every single breath that I inhaled. Because I know that ALL TOO SOON, the night will come when my 8 year old daughter tries to sit on my lap and finds it all too uncomfortable and I will think back on the days when she was my baby girl of three and smelled like Mango Paradise bubble bath and always wanted to sit on my lap and be carried. You see...these are the days to cherish...the ones when they are still little and sweet and though, not always angels...always our babies! Time is marching on and is taking our babies with him! And even as I type this tonight they are going, going, going. Life is good in the desert. I am so blessed to have 3 beautiful and healthy children. And my heart is lighter and I know without a doubt that when Clara asks me tomorrow, "Can you carry this baby girl, Mommy?", that my answer will be "Absolutely!"

Bounce, Bounce

Okay...so the whole eight pound loss is not exactly sticking so to speak. I am bouncing all around...though still a lot lower than when I started. I bounce up today and then the next day I am down a little bit...then back up...then down a little. One of these days it WILL stick! I know it! I'm not too worried about it. I feel pretty good these days and know that it will take a good bit of time....that whole lifestyle change thing! They say that Rome wasn't built in a week. Well, neither was my big butt...and so it shall not be destroyed in a week either!

On a more fun note...Clara started pre-school today! She had her little backpack on her back and was all smiles as we headed off for her first day. I expected tears or stress as we parted ways...but when the time came for me to slip out she was waving wildly and saying "Bye, Mom!". She obviously was not experiencing the anxiety that I was so worried about. So now my baby girl is a school girl! She had the time of her life. She painted and colored and sang songs and had snacks and played on the playground and read 2 stories and played with Playdoh. I guess in the life of a three year old, it just doesn't get too much better than that, huh? She can hardly wait for Tuesday when she gets to go back! I am relieved to know that she had such a good time.

We met Ben's teacher tonight and I can honestly say that I really adored her! Super nice, really energetic and totally fun. Ben SOOO needed to have a great and fun year this year. She seems like a really fantastic teacher and I am really thrilled and excited for him and he seems to be really happy as well. Not really sure about Max's teacher yet. She seems really nice I guess. But I haven't really decided what I feel about her. Max seems to like her well enough, but only time will tell. Granted, 4th grade is a whole lot tougher than 3rd, and more is expected and the day to day stuff is more serious...I still just don't know about Max's teacher. His teacher from last year told me that I would just love his new teacher. But she did not place her own children there with this teacher and I wonder why not. If she is so great and all that. Only time will tell. I have no complaints at this point with any of my kids teachers. All is well in the land of back to school! Life is very good in the desert!

I'm Down 8!

So I am officially down eight pounds now in this calorie counting adventure. I would think that I would be overjoyed and feeling like such a hottie. But the thing is...I'm just not there. Now granted...things are looking a lot better now...MUCH better now. The scale is terribly kind to me each day and my clothes fit better. Do I think that they fit fantastic? No...but definitely better. It's just that I still see so much that can go. I don't think that I will hit any plateau soon...I just have too much to spare! I am not frustrated by the calorie counting at all...it isn't hard by any means and I am not feeling deprived in any way. I just thought that by the time I saw these weights on the scale it would all look a lot better in the mirror. I know I can go more...not one person, shy of Chris has even noticed any weight drop at all....which means that I have not lost enough to make any real difference. NOw granted, I will be able to breathe in most of my jeans this winter at this pace....but still...I was thinking that I would really see the results by this point. I guess I just have farther to go than I thought that I did! That's okay. I'm enjoying myself and making slow, but sure progress!

The kids are back in school now and Clara starts preschool on Thursday. She is very excited about that and can hardly wait to get there on Thursday. The boys both seem excited about the school year and seem to be making good friends all around. I just hope things go as well for Clara! Speaking of Clara. I got her little earring all turned around and fixed so that the back is in the back and the front is in the front again. It was no problem at all when I tried to do it this last time. I guess the few extra days really helped it stay open better. Now she is all fronts forward and ready for action. She looks SO pretty!

We are off to the gym tomorrow for the Get Ripped class and boxercise. Tomorrow's exercise burns about 800 calories for me! Hooray! Jackie is going with me and we are going to just tear it up tomorrow! Wish us luck! Life is good in the desert!

Backwards!

So, I mentioned previously that Clara had her ears pierced. It has been a week and 3 days since that momentous event. Well, last night when Clara took her shirt off one of the earrings got hung on her shirt and came out with her shirt. We heard this little tiny clink on the tile in the bathroom and I looked down and there it was. This is not supposed to happen at all. The earrings are supposed to be locking and should be quite difficult to remove. However, apparently Clara has a pair that is not so tight locking. It did not seem to hurt at all, but it did strike a chord of panic in our household. In a new piercing, if the earring is removed, the hole will close fairly immediately. And so we quickly tried to reinsert the earring into the hole...to NO AVAIL! It could not be done. So i was very disappointed and worried all night long about it. Clara was SO very excited about her earrings. So was mommy! And I was so disappointed in the setback. I imagined that we would have to let the hole heal over and that Clara would just have to wear one earring for 6 weeks or so and then get that one repierced. But when I called the ear place this morning I found that not to be the case at all. The girl there asked if I had tried to put the earring back in and I told her that I had tried. Then she asked me if I tried putting it in through the back instead of the front and I said no. So I tried that and guess what....it worked! Hooray. I was supposed to put it in through the back and then pull it out and put it in through the front...but I never could get it to work that way. So I finally just put it in from the back and slapped the back on the front. Then I called the girl at the piercing place and she said that if I bring her in in a few days she will help me turn it around the right way. That is a relief and we will have another week under our belt to heal a little more. But for now...her one earring is backward, but is thankfully in place and doing it's job. I imagine that there is no real harm in just leaving it in backward for the next 5 weeks....it works both ways! But I hate seeing her look so funny and I really miss seeing those tiny little blue studs at her earlobes. I see that on one side, and then a big gold back on the other! So in another week we will pursue having it fixed! Until then! We are backwards in the desert!

Dieting Diva!

Okay....so I have been having this horrific battle with a really nasty little 6 pounds for over a month now. I'm not talking about monthly bloating where the scale swings heavy for two or three days and then is back to normal. Things have definitely been sticking to the heavier side of the scale. No doubt about it. So I made sure that I was getting good workouts and lifting weights....still the scale is stuck and my shorts are tight. I got frustrated and picked up the Atkins diet again and lasted like a whole 2 days on it...I just CANNOT do that one. It makes me SOOOO unbelievably cranky. So then I just went back to the good old fashioned way of counting calories. I made it a point to write down every single bite and morsel that crossed these lips....every single one. And then after just a couple of days...guess what....results!!!! I am really into it now and it helps me SOOO much to see what my daily calories are at and to have to stop and think how a seemingly harmless "little" snack might impact my daily picture. Chris downloaded this really cool Calorie King calorie counter program for my computer. It gives you a two week trial period to use it for free...then if you keep it is costs you 30 bucks. It is an awesome program to be sure and I want to keep it forever. It has a huge bank of foods listed so all you have to do is click on them and add them to either your breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack list. Or, if a food you eat isn't on the list, it lets you add it and then it is there on your list for future reference. It keeps a chart for you of your weight and your measurements. It tallys your calories, takes into account your exercise (which you enter) and adjusts your calorie allowance accordingly. It also has a place to journal if you like to write about your eating and the feelings that go along with it. A really, really cool program. It is SUCH a help! I still have about 3 pounds to go and they are going to be tough ones I think. But I am VERY motivated and ready to be comfortable in my clothes. I DO NOT want to have to get into my jeans right now the way I am. I can get into them....but it ain't pretty....not to mention the fact that I really do need to be able to breathe in my jeans and right now that is not a realistic option! I do believe the summer has made me stagnant and bored. Too much time in the house...too much boredom. I confess....I find myself eating out of boredom. So.....I am very thankful for my calorie king counter which is keeping me SO in line right now and SO on target!

Not much else happening. We went to church today and our Sunday school class, or ABF as they call it here (adult bible fellowship)had everyone divide into "committees", so to speak. You went to the area that you were most interested in working with, whether that was social, or service, or teaching or connecting new members, etc. I went to connecting new members, mostly because I still am not feeling connected. I told them all about our Round Table class in Florida. Half of them were very interested and totally recognized the value of the circle and being connected with a stationary group for a period of time. Then others, mostly the ones that have been there for a long time and are connected to everyone...they did not like the idea of having to sit in an "assigned seat". Wouldn't ya know it....the very ones who need it the least just don't get it. They think that just being greeted at the door is sufficient....never mind that noone may speak to that couple at all once they get past that greeter. Of course...people here do things really differently than people in the south. Sometimes I miss southerners SOOO much. Not always and not even terribly often. But when it comes to dealing with making people feel welcome...there is no place like the south. I guess that's about it. So I have a couple of weeks to come up with some ideas about how we can improve the way or class helps newcomers get connected. I am hoping to get a bit more connected as well in the process. People really do seem friendly enough here...but it seems to run only so deep and there are many more cliques than I imagined. There were a few back in Pensacola as well....but it seems even more so here. Anyway...

After church we came home and had lunch, put Clara down for a nap....spent a little "quality adult time" and just hung out at home. Then this evening we headed to Target, where I finally bought the jog bra that we actually went out to buy yesterday, but instead came home with a new car...which, incidentally, I love! I have to say that after having a minivan for the past 9 years....I SO love the feel of the SUV. I felt like a regular hot mama! It's just an awesome feeling. After the Target trip we came home and grilled out, the kids swam, we all ate outside and enjoyed the evening, Then it was baths and stories and bed for all the wee ones. I am reading the new Harry Potter to the boys. They love it and are heart broken if we don't have reading time. School starts Thursday...HOORAY!!!! I guess that is all for now. My ear is itchy. Doesn't that mean something in superstition land? Hmmmm? Life is good here in the desert...darned good!

New Wheels

We bought a new car today. We have been talking about doing it for a while now and had planned to do it this upcoming spring. The only problem is that we were not sure what vehicle we wanted. I did not especially want another mini-van...though with 3 children, there is something nice to be said about having more seats than one has children. With 7 passenger seating we are able to keep at least one seat between all the kiddos...hence, less physical contact, hence more peace. However. There are not many SUV's out there that will accomodate a family wishing to have that extra seating...save for a Suburban. We had talked a lot about and researched online the Toyota Sequoia...which is a really lovely vehicle....but REALLY expensive. I mean, like crazy expensive. None of the other Toyotas were really practical for us...but as Chris pointed out....the Sequoia cost just slightly more than half of what we paid for our first home! Ouch! So we decided to think about it some and continued to drive on down dealership alley, when we came upon the Ford dealership. Now, we always said that we would not drive a Ford...but while we were vacationing in Montana the past couple of years we rented the Explorers with the 7 passenger seating and we really liked them and said that we would consider one of those when the time came. So today we considered it. Ford has the "employee discount" promotional going on right now and there happened to be a rebate on the Explorers as well. When we started running the numbers we just decided to do it now, rather than wait. So we are now the proud owners of a cool blueish with tan trim Eddie Bauer Ford Explorer with just about all of the options available. I have to take it back next week to have the DVD system installed....but it's a great car. The two best things about it are 1. It is not a minivan and 2. We will be able to tow a small camper which we are planning to purchase in the spring. That was another huge factor in our search. We knew that if we bought a minivan the camper idea would be out...so we had to havve a vehicle with enough tow power. The Explorer just worked out nicely for us. As part of the deal we got 2 season tickets to the Arizona Cardinals football games. They play in Phoenix. I doubt that we will go, but we know that we should be able to give them away easily enough! All in all it was a busy day....an unexpected surprise to come home with a new car. When we set out this afternoon, the only thing I had really hoped and expected to come home with was a jog bra. I still did not get that....but the car is great!

Clara continues to be so sassy. I am having to really crack down on her hard with her sassy mouth and rude actions. She seems really aggressive with the boys...especially when she does not get her way. Rudeness in children is not a big favorite of mine...so we are really coming down hard on her. It seems to be getting her attention....we aren't over the hump yet....but we definitely have her attention. The boys go back to school on Thursday and I really feel like if I don't have them around then she will get better on her own. They seemed to genuinely miss each other after long school days last year...and they are definitely NOT missing each other right about now! They all need some much needed time apart. Only 5 more days!

No other news right now. We had lots of good rain tonight. I suppose that is pretty good news! It rarely rains here and when it does it is usually just a lightish sprinkle. But it really rained and stormed tonight. Gotta love that! Life is good here in the desert!

Winding Down

Summer is coming to a close here in the desert...or at least for the school-aged children it is. Our first summer here in the desert has been a good one...a hot one to be sure, but a good one. In just over a week, our boys will put on their new school clothes, throw on their backpacks and head back to the wonderful world of elementary school. Max will be a fourth grader and Ben a second grader. Clara would LOVE to go to school, however...I'm not quite ready to let her go. I think that she and I need just one more year of girl time before I let her go off into that great big world of pre-school. I think that I may put her into a little ballet class or something...but this mommy is not ready for preschool yet!

The monsoons have arrived here in the desert and that has been a kind of nice thing. They have not brought the kind of rain that I had anticipated...but it has rained and it has cooled things off. Most evenings are incredibly pleasant and bearable with cooler breezes either following light afternoon rains or preceeding the early evening rains. As I sit writing this, it is lightning frequently and I am enjoying hearing the distant rumble of thunder. The other night after the rains we went to the park and were there forever...it was glorious! It was so nice and cool and the breeze was magical. I snapped a really sweet black and white picture of Clara on the playground. It is one of my favorites of her...she had the sweetest smile that just lit up her whole face...seeing her like that just makes me smile.

Speaking of Clara...Clara got her ears pierced on Sunday. Her little friend Mallory, after MUCh debate and many chickening out trips FINALLY got hers pierced. Clara has been talking about it for some time now and has had one chickening out trip herself. But once she saw Mallory's ears she was ready! So we went Sunday right after church and had it done...just like that. She was such a big girl! She picked out the earrings she wanted (little light blue stones), sat up on my lap on the chair and was just great when they pierced her ears. She did not flinch or move or cry or even say ouch. She just sat there like an angel. And they had to do them one at a time as they only had one girl certified to do it. I could not believe how great she did! She looks so sweet with them. They really are so pretty. I keep catching them catching the light and sparkling so pretty. She was sassy today...and not sweet at all. She missed her nap as she had a friend over to play, so she was exhausted and out of control with her attitude this afternoon. But she still at least looked sweet with her earrings!

Chris is out of town in San Francisco. He and Todd are doing some hiking tomorrow and then Chris returns on Friday. So it is just me and the kiddos until Friday! I have no big plans for the days ahead...except for attending the new "Get Ripped" class at the gym. On Tuesday mornings it is all "above the belt" work and on Thursdays, all below. Today's class was quite painful! But it was great. I could tell that I was really working some muscles a lot differently than they are used to being worked. And I really need to change up my workout and get some variety anyway...so this class is exactly what I need. It is short enough that I can get it in and over with if I am in a hurry, but at a great time so that I can do another class behind it if i am not rushed. I have never done a boxercise class before, but hope to try one in the next week or so. Wish me luck! I'm attempting to "get ripped"!

That's all for now! Life is good in the desert!

Finding rainbows over the desert 

Captivating Clara 

A Prayer For My Children

I have had a trying week with my wee ones. It seems there is quite a bit of sibling warfare going on within the walls we call home. And so, in dwelling on that issue and digging into my brain coffers...I came to a realization. I want to do a prayer book for my children. I heard about it the other day from someone, though it was more in reference to scrapbooking...it would work other ways as well. What you do is choose a verse pertinent to that child at that time that really speaks to your heart...and you make that verse the prayer for that child for the year...or the month...or however long you feel necessary. You may end up praying several verses at a time for them. But as you pray them, you write them down for them. Then...when they are all old and wise and heading out into the world on their own for the first time, you present them with the prayer book. That way they can hold in their hands all of the prayers that you have prayed for them for all those years and know that God has had a huge hand in making them the people that they are. I selected the first verse...the same verse for all three of my children right now. The verse I will be praying for them for a while is Romans 14:9, "Let us always be seeking the ways which lead to PEACE and the ways in which we can SUPPORT one another." There has been both a lack of peace and support amongst my three children lately. So this is a wonderful jumping off point for us. Now, I just need to have the commitment and determination to remember to purchase the books and actually write the verse down in ink for each child. I recognize that I alone cannot raise these children. It will take someone MUCH stronger than I am to accomplish it if it is to be done right. I think it's a job that only God can do correctly. Oh, I have a huge part in it, to be sure...but God is the one who ultimately gives me the strength and wisdom to help guide their little feet onto the right paths. There is plenty more going on I suppose, however, I can't seem to muster the words to write about anything else...so I will just leave this blog at my verse. I think I will go now and lift up each of my little blessings in prayer. Peace! Life is good in the desert.

Seeking A Chill

It is officially HOT here in the desert folks. I knew it would be. Don't think for a minute that this is coming as a surprise at all. But it is truly hot and I am starting to have these crazy fantasies about traipsing about under tall fir trees with a back pack and a sweatshirt! I want to take off and go camping where the HIGH is only 80 degrees and sleep in a tent and look up at the stars and feel CHILLY at night. I'm telling you....I'm even starting to feel rather fond about the idea of baiting up a hook and doing some fishing....which, just for the record, I don't really....do. As beautiful as the desert is, and I DO still think that it is truly beautiful--I feel rather cut off from it these days because it is simply too hot to be outside enjoying it at all right now. You just get in your car and get into the next fully air conditioned place you were heading to. It is even hot to swim in the hottest part of the day. But here's something...as hot as it is, and I assure you that it is quite toasty at 108 degrees most days here...our pool water is still COOLISH. By coolish I mean you can get in easy enough....you just can't stay too long because you start to feel like you might just freeze. I can't believe with the temperatures as hot as they are we still have any cold water at all...but we do! That has been a kind of weird experience for me. But anyway...I am longing for a shady, cool, CHILLER of a good time right about now. My new weekend fantasy...snow skiing!

This weekend is the Fourth of July...no real plans. We are getting together with some friends that work with Chris. They are a nice bunch, so that should be fun...I think.

I have been exploring a lot of new circles of friendship and just seeing where exactly I think that I fit in. Interestingly enough...I'm not sure I fit in anywhere here yet. I had lunch with two lovely ladies that I enjoy immensely on a chat with basis. We decided to have lunch the other day and it was a VERY interesting experience...though it has left me kind of wondering where in the world I fit into life. See one of these ladies is the bread winner for her family...a very beautiful and very bright lady. She has a little 2 year old that my Clara adores. This lovely lady, over lunch, whips out an article about the international Fusion project with Japan and France and the U.S. and could hardly contain her excitement over it. I thought...."wow, I saw that article in the paper and I just skipped right on over it!" Then the other lady....a really, REALLY neat person...VERY eclectic ( I seem to ADORE and be completely drawn to these folks) announces that she is reading some really wonderful book on the politics between the U.S and Europe, or something like that. And again, I was thinking...'wow! I don't think I would EVER pick up something like that that I didn't have to read for a grade!" So...what was MY personal contribution to the "tell us what you are reading" conversation? Well....nothing but smut. My latest read was a mediocre romance/mystery novel. Nothing deep or thought provoking or brainy about it...just smut. I went on to share that I was currently balancing my smut intake with a great book about being content by Linda Dillow (thanks, Lori!). It was a rather surreal conversation. I mean...when I went to lunch with these ladies I had no idea what in the world we would talk about....but I really had NO IDEA whatsoever that conversation might run along those lines. See, I am not a political person. At all. I don't follow politics and I don't have any interest whatsoever in starting to. I found myself questioning myself when lunch was over and examining myself to see just exactly what in the world I am all about. I am not about politics. Or fusion. I prefer a good romance novel anyday over all of that stuff. So in the end, I decided that I am not a very well rounded person. I cannot hold up my end of "those" conversations....can't even pretend to. And I also realized that I am not ever going to be one of those. It's just not who I am. I don't know why it has laid so heavily on my mind, but it has. I sat with the other mommies at Clara's swim practice and it wasn't long before I felt that familiar unfamiliarity with their lives. We move in totally different circles. They are power career women who drive Lexus SUVs and get weekly manicures and pedicures and massages and take weeklong vacations to California without their kids just to see friends and drink wine. They shop at OUTRAGEOUS places and spend INSANE amounts of money on frivolous things. They don't go home and cook, but rather they order out for pickup on the way home...and not McDonalds either deary....but full racks of baby back ribs and fancy salads and sushi and....you name it. They probably have maids at home to wash and iron for them and keep everything spic and span. Both had only one child...and as I sat there, the mother of three...it was another surreal experience and I marveled at how different my life is than theirs. I am not jealous....that's not it by long shot....it was just amazing to see how much I did not fit in to yet another group of women. It made me realize and be very grateful and thankful for the friends in my life. For the people who love me even though I don't know anything about politics and care nothing about fusion. It made me appreciate so much the ones who don't care that I paint my own fingernails and toenails and don't have someone do it for me. And that don't find it odd that my child does not spend at least some part of her week in pre-school. I'm still figuring it out here in the desert. Some days it seems easier than others. As much as I love it here, sometimes I truly miss the routine and certainty that was my life in Florida. I miss the predictability of the people that I lunched with. I miss just fitting in I guess. I am still finding my niche here. Though even I do not know what or where that niche will be. I sort of feel lately that I have no idea who I really am...or maybe it just seems that way because I find myself constantly evaluating the current circle of friends that I am in company with at the time and my "fit"to that circle, and why or why not it does or does not work. If I really get down to it I know who I am...I am the wife of Chris and the mother of Max, Ben and Clara. And those 4 people come before all of these crazy circles here. I am a great lover of the Lord and desire more each day to know Him better and to have a relationship with Him. I guess, that is where my focus really needs to be...with God and that circle! All theothers are bound to fall into place as soon as I just give God the chance to show me where I should be. Life is good in the desert....allbeit hot....it is good!

Saved by the Sunset

Chris and I did go out on our date last night, despite my aggravation level. And it was WONDERFUL! It was fun and relaxed and romantic beyond belief. We went to Outback and had steaks. I wasn't in the mood for anything fussy or fancy. It was delicious....simple, good, comfort food! Then we left and took a drive through the Saguaro National Park and just watched the sunset turn the sky a beautiful pink. The mountains are so beautiful against it...and the cactus look so cool as well. We drove for quite a while just taking in the scenery and the warm night and the peace and quiet. I can honestly say that Tucson is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. It is simply gorgeous here. Every single day I just marvel that we landed here and we live here amidst all of this beauty. I imagine, after being here for 7 months, that I might find the east coast...or anywhere that isn't the desert for that matter, to be very green and inviting. But I truly love the desert and the mountains and everything about it. I think that I just might really appreciate every single corner of the world a little more these days! Today was a good day. Ben was crabby...really contrary all day long, but for the most part the day was good and i enjoyed my kids. Life is good here in the desert once again!

AGGRAVATION!

I am having issues with my children. They refuse to develop any sense of responsibility whatsoever. Everywhere they walk is like a tornado or bomb went off. Mess, mess, mess. If they eat cereal, they leave the box on the counter and the empty and dirty bowl on the table. Is it SO hard to walk it over to the sink? If they get undressed, their clothes lie in a pile on the floor. If they play with something and move on...the toys lay there all discarded, right where they left them. It does not seem to bother them at all! I thought that if I gave thems ome chores and made them take responsibility for some of the mess, that maybe they would get a clue....but no such luck. Mostly they do a halfway job on the chores. I am forever dragging them back to the site and making them do the deed again and again until it is done right. I swear Max Roberts would lose his head if God had not securely fastened it to his shoulders. He loses EVERYTHING. Today it is a library book that is missing. I have torn this house apart and cannot find it anywhere. I have just about had it with these darned kids. This will be the third....THIRD library book that we have paid for in a month. The first one, Max spilled something all over and did not tell anyone...just returned it, so that we got this letter from the library. Mommy does NOT like surprises like that. Then, the second one Clara decided to take a black marker to. She was in big trouble for that and I paid for that one too. NOW....we have lost one and I have to say that I am really mad about that. I can't even begin to tell you how much it bothers me. I mean...even though I did not lose it...my child did and I take that too personally I suppose. They may be MY children, but I am sure that MY genes are not overly present in them. It seems that no manner of yelling or screaming or asking nicely or bribing or rewarding or punishing seems to get them on track. I look forward to them going back to school....but I DO NOT look forward to having to keep the boys straight with all of their assignments and projects. My two boys can make a person crazy with that. Chris and I are supposed to have a date tonight....I guess I need the stress relief and the chance to get away from them...but I'm so aggravated that I am not really in the mood to go out. How's that? I'm SO aggravated that I need a break, but TOO aggravated to take one. I had no idea when I became a mother that those tiny little babies could create this level of frustration. I am so stressed over it all that I am nearly nauseas. I think my kids are giving me an ulcer. I could use some meditation or something. Anyway, lots of complaining I guess today. In the big scheme of things, a 4 dollar library book is hardly the end of the world...it just happens to be one more thing on a really big load of other things! My prayer is for peace. Just peace. Not patience...I certainly am not praying for any more of that. Not even wisdom on this one...but for peace to accept the situation. Max is grounded until he finds the book. No t.v., no gameboy, no playstation. And no more library priviledges for a month....I don't know what else to do. Max doesn't seem overly concerned about the book....that makes me mad too. I told him that he will have to pay for the book out of his own money...he doesn't seem too worried about it at all...which makes me mad. He needs to sweat over it a little. GRRRRRRRRR. I am not good at this mom stuff. Life is aggravating here in the desert.

Was That You, God?

Do you ever hear God's voice? I had a "God-breeze" today, as one of my dear friends would have called it. Actually....it was much stronger than a breeze...more of a major gust I guess. It was odd and I have wondered on it all day long. This morning after I took the boys to swim, I found myself starving....which is unusual, because I had the same breakfast that I always have, and I am never hungry just an hour later. But today I was hungry....and not just hungry, but famished. So I decided to run through McDonalds and grab a quick biscuit. The kids all said they weren't hungry and would rather go to lunch....and usually I would have just said okay, fine and done without....but today...I was just compelled....STRONGLY compelled to go on to McDonalds. So I went. And as I sat in the drive thru placing my order, a strange, little homeless seeming man approached my car and asked a question with his eyes and I just shook my head and looked the other way and he looked disappointed and walked off. When I paid for my food I mentioned that they had a homeless man harassing patrons at the drive through. Then, I got my food and proceeded to drive away. As I was doing so, I glanced in my rearview mirror and saw the man's back as he was walking down the road in the opposite direction. I pulled on out into traffic and got on my way, enjoying my biscuit all the way. And then the breeze came....or the wind, or the gust, or the gale. Whatever it was.....I was suddenly so incredibly convicted about the man at McDonalds. And I was convicted in such a way that I knew at once what I had to do. So I turned the car around right there....executed a U-turn in the road and headed back to find that homeless man with the sad teeth. I did not have to look long. I saw him from a distance and as my car approached him and I rolled down my window he looked up at me with a grateful smile and said "Hello". I asked him "Do you need something to eat?" I half expected him to say "No thanks, but I could use a couple of bucks", at which point I would have had to say not on your life and driven away.....but that is not what I heard. He simply said "Yes Ma'am, I do." I asked him what he would like and he said that a sausage biscuit would be good and maybe some orange juice. So I headed back into the drive through and bought that man a sausage biscuit meal with an orange juice. It cost $3.32 and I paid with a 5 dollar bill. Then I stuck the change down in the bag with the food and I gave it to the hungry man. He smiled so sweetly and thanked me again. Then he said "Bless you." And I said "You, too." Then he said "And Ma'am, one more thing....drive safely." And then I was gone. I drove away wondering why in the world I had done that...but then...like I said...the conviction, almost an audible voice, was telling me to go back to that man. And so I did. I don't know if it was the voice of God...I am inclined to think it was. It does not happen often to me, but from time to time, I feel like God really lays something on my heart for one reason or another. Sometimes I get to kick it around for while, but ever so often God lays one on me that requires my immediate attention and God seems to make it plain to me what action I am to take. I prayed for a hedge of protection as I approached that man and prayed that it was the right thing to do. I am pretty sure it was. Maybe that biscuit was that man's only meal today. Maybe his only meal in a couple of days. Maybe not....but maybe, just maybe it was. Maybe he will spend that dollar and change I dropped in his bag on booze or smokes...but maybe, just maybe he will buy a burger for dinner or a loaf of bread or some other nourishment. I don't know and it is out of my hands. All I know is that I helped a man today...how I helped, I am not sure. Maybe I just helped to fill his tummy...but maybe...just maybe I helped to fill his heart too. I know that he filled mine. It seems that every other thought today has been of that man. I don't know why I turned that car around....I only know that I feel like God's hands were on that steering wheel and I was just along for the ride. Was that you, God? Were you talking to me? How did I do? Did I serve the way You would have me to? Did I help the way You would have wanted? Your voice seemed so clear to me today. I wish it were that way every day. Use me, Lord to do your works. Let me be your vessel. May my hands, be your hands and my thoughts, your thoughts. You can take my wheel any day. Thank you for the breeze. Life is good here in the desert.

Summertime

Summer officially begins at 11:48 p.m. tonight. It was 109 degrees today and it felt HOT! There is a storm blowing in and the air just seemed hot and thick and heavy. We still have a couple of months of heat to go...but so far, so good. This being our first summer here in the desert we are not totally sure what to expect. Our summer is going well so far. The boys are swimming with the swim team and doing really well. They seem to be having a wonderful time and are improving their skills daily. They swim four mornings a week from 8:20 to 9:20 a.m. Then we dry off and head on down the street to the gym so that I get my morning workout in. By noon, we all feel better and are starved for lunch!

Today I had lunch with a friend that works with Chris. I enjoyed the "girl time" immensely! I left the kids with Jackie so it was just the two of us and it was fun, fun, fun. We had Mexican for lunch at a place I had never eaten at before...the food was okay, but the company was delightful. Heather is one of the few people I have gotten to know here that I feel like I halfway click with. We lead totally different lives. She is the breadwinner for the family and her husband stays at home with their two little ones. She has BEAUTIFUL babies. They have the prettiest eyes you have ever seen. So our lives are completely different...obviously. But I find that I still really enjoy talking with her and getting to know her more and more. I can't say that there are many others here that I have clicked with. There is another girl that I enjoy okay...but not as much as Heather. I guess as we continue to be here, God will continue to place new friends in our lives. It has been slow, but I am thankful for the friends thus far, as I feel like they are the long term type.

Things continue to go well for Chris at Ventana. He is working hard and loving it and we are expecting him to move up quickly. I am not sure exactly what that will mean for our family and our time together...but I am excited for him as this is what he has worked so hard for and went to school for. It is nice to see him challenged and happy and enjoying his career so much. It makes me really glad that we moved here. Life continues to be good and we are richly blessed here in the desert.

Blessings

My son's friend has cancer. She is eight years old and suffering from a very rare form of leukemia known as AML-M3. The prognosis does not appear to be very good and her treatments are not going very well at this time. Ashley is a lovely little girl who is trying so hard to just be a normal little kid. But much of her day is spent hurting and feeling sick and suffering. Amidst her "normal" daily things are squeezed in visits to various doctors for blood work and bone marrow biopsies and medication reviews. Her mother told me yesterday that it is looking as though Ashley is coming out of remission. They are so tired and frustrated and feeling helpless as they watch Ashley take on this tremendous battle for her life. And it is not a battle they can lose....at all. Her mother, Mary, also told me yesterday that now they want to run some tests on their four year old daughter, as she is having a lot of headaches. Apparently, there is some chance that Savannah may have this as well. I cannot begin to imagine what this family is feeling right now.

Which leads me to reflect on my own family. We have been blessed with not one, not two, but three VERY healthy children. Our biggest health threat is Benjamin's dairy allergy...which, while inconvenient and unfortunate, usually results in nothing worse than a pretty horrible tummy ache when we miss milk in something he gets ahold of. Within a couple of hours or so he is usually back to himself. I think about how much time we spend fighting with our children, over chores or petty fights amongst themselves or messes, or bedtime or whatever....while Kevin and Mary are spending every day fighting, not with Ashley, but FOR her. Knowing full well that months from now they may not have her with them anymore. I cannot begin to imagine even one day without my children. I cannot imagine what it would be like not hearing Clara announce each morning as she walks into my bedroom "Here comes the princess." Or not to have Max sitting at the table each morning pouring over the comics...or not to have Ben giving me those sweet hugs and telling me "I love you, Mom" throughout the day. The loss of any of them would be such an incredible void in our lives,in our family, that I don't know how we would go forward. My children are such a part of me and who I am...losing one of them would be losing a huge part of myself. Having them, knowing them, loving them....it is one of the greatest joys and gifts of my life. Sometimes I forget that. I get so caught up in the messes and chaos, that I can forget to consider the source of the mess and the blessings that those messes truly are. There are women whose homes are scrupulously clean...because there are no little ones there to mess it up....even though they have hoped and longed for and prayed for them. Women who would give anything for crayon on the wall and cheerios in the couch and dirty socks in the living room. Women who would give anything to have 3 extra loads of laundry, too many birthday parties and tangly hair on a three year old wiggly girl to comb out each night. Women who would wholeheartedly embrace the multitude of messes and chores and errands that come along with these little people we love so much. I imagine that Mary treasures every smile right now, every mess and every silly conversation with her daughter. I imagine that each day is seen as a gift like no other...and that each and every moment is being treasured. I am looking more closely at my own little people right now and treasuring them a bit more and hugging them a bit closer. I am trying to focus less on the mess and more on the magic. I am not unaware of the great blessing that they are in our lives. And I am moved to my knees in prayers of thanksgiving for their health. I am grateful beyond words that God entrusted these children to us and shared them with us. We have no promises of tomorrow...all we have is today. And so today I pull them close and hug them tight. I will overlook the poorly made bed and the dirty socks under it. I will treasure the sense of chaos that they bring and cherish the moments we share today. I will take out my camera and take each of their pictures... and know that I have been blessed so far beyond anything that I could ever deserve...and in ways that I never could have imagined.

I will pray continually for Ashley and her family and I will give thanks for the blessing that child has been in my own life. Because it is in her battle to live, that I am reminded to treasure my own life and the lives of my own children. I look at things a lot differently now, after seeing things through her eyes and her mother's eyes. Her life and her battle have changed my heart....so much for the better. Blessings are so abundant in my life and my home. I don't know why....but God is so amazingly good to me and I am so thankful....so, so very thankful. Life is good here in the desert...so, so good.

The Road To Recovery

The Roberts family in on the mend this day...though it has been a long and slow process to be sure! I feel back to my very normal self as far as my tummy goes...though I am now fighting back Chris's head cold. I have the sniffles, but other than that am not really ailing too badly. Chris and Ben, on the other hand, while definitely better...are still struggling. Chris is still battling an upset stomach and Ben is absolutely exhausted from his ordeal. His stomach also seems to be bothering him a bit tonight. Clara seems all better in the tummy arena...however, now has developed quite a nasty rash over her legs and on her arms. It is very red and blotchy...almost like something tried to have her for lunch! She woke up with it from her nap today. So we tucked Ben into bed with tylenol, Clara into bed with benadryl, hydrocortisone cream and motrin. Chris is already snoring on the couch at exactly 8:56 p.m....which we will leave me sitting here alone working until my own exhaustion kicks in. I can have more sniffles medicine in an hour, so I am planning to stay awake for a while more.

We have no big plans for Memorial Day weekend. Maxwell had a friend over to play today for a while. Lucas is a really sweet kid and we enjoyed having him around. He goes to our church and has the nicest parents ever. Not too long after he left, the rain set in and we have just been listening to it off and on ever since. Noone seems to be oozing energy on this stormy night. On the contrary, Ben was trying to sleep at the dinner table at 7 p.m. and Clara was asking to be put to bed. And as I already mentioned...Chris is doing his pre-sleeping on the couch as I type this. I think the food poisoning really took it out of all of us. Max is the only one of us who escaped unscathed. He is being amazingly patient with the rest of us as we try to summons our health and energies back. It is nice to know that we have nothing planned other than church tomorrow morning for the rest of the weekend. We will have all afternoon and all day Monday to lay around and get ourselves well again. Then we are off and running again on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, the boys will begin working with the SwimTucson swim team. They will swim at 8:20 each morning for 40 minutes. Then we will all head on down to the gym for my workout and then home for whatever the rest of the day holds. This will be the routine 4 days a week. We will see what becomes of that 5th day!

All in all, we are all well and life is good here in the desert. I am thankful for the fact that I made it 33 years without ever having food poisoning. I hope I make it another 33 years before I have anything remotely similar to it again! Until later!

Tummy Troubles!

Our whole family is recovering (albeit very slowly) from a nasty case of food poisoning. It was, I can honestly say, one of the worst experiences of my life...and I think that I prefer unmedicated childbirth to food poisoning any day. I was sure that I was going to die during both instances...however...at least when you get through childbirth you have something to show for it! Granted...the scale was showing 5 pounds lighter...but having Ben was an immediate 6 lbs, 15 oz. weight loss as well. I don't plan to do either ever again...but if I had to choose, I think I'm taking the childbirth...it was shorter too at only 9 hours! We are now at the 48 hour mark with the food poisoning, and though I am moving under my own steam and able to be a little bit productive as far as picking up the house and catching up on the laundry...I am feeling far from well. My stomach is still crampy and food has no appeal whatsoever. Poor Ben looks like a truck ran over him. Of all of us, I think he might have had the worst case. He was in pretty bad shape for most of the day yesterday. But he's a trooper and got up and went to school today....the last day of school. Which is more than I could have done I think. Then he went to evaluate for the swim team and swam like a trooper. He's just been laying around since we got home this afternoon...I can't really blame him. And I noticed that he hardly touched his lunch today. It was a rough ride for all of us...but especially so for him. Poor baby.

Other than trying to recover from our near death experience, not much is going on in our house. Today was the last day of school. I have very bittersweet feelings about that. I rather liked them being there and the routine that comes along with the school year. Routine is a good thing for me. So, I signed the boys up for the summer swim team with SwimTucson. They start May 31st at 8:20 a.m. This is a great thing for us. It will get us up and out of the house early...it's important to do everything early here in the desert! From the pool, we will head on down the road to the gym for my morning workout! We should wrap it all up and be home by 11:15 each day for lunch and afternoon reading (a MUST for my crew in the summer!) and swimming if anyone is up for it. The afternoons really cool down to nice and tolerable by 5 or so, so the evenings here are delightful. It also leaves the afternoons free for get-togethers with friends if all of our errands and exercises are taken care of first thing in the morning. I know the boys will miss their friends a bunch, but they exchanged phone numbers with several friends and hopefully we will make lots of playdates until August.

Tomorrow is our first official day of summer! No real big plans. Just trying to recover! Ben has a birthday party to attend tomorrow afternoon. It is at a cool bowling place called Bedroxx. I like going there and the kids are crazy about it. I hope to go to the gym in the morning if this darned tummy will let up a little bit. I'm still all crampy and sore and last night I did not sleep well. But tomorrow is a new day and I am hoping for the best...to have everyone back on their feet and ready for a fun filled weekend! Wish us luck! Life has been better in the desert for sure! But life is bound to look up!

112

For those of you who read this from time to time....NO, that is not my current weight! I wish! But it IS the temperature here in the town of Oro Valley yesterday. We are expected to see that or higher today. Wow! I have personally never experienced temperatures that high. Things are SO different here in the desert. I can honestly say though that it was not too bad...the heat. It was hot..no doubt. But it was not sticky and we did not feel like we were going to suffocate. It was really amazing. Even Chris was not complaining and he tends to complain about the heat early on! It is amazing how miserable humidity can make things! I will take 112 degrees here in the desert any day over 92 degrees in Florida!

We are off to church today (back at our rock and roll church) and then Chris has invited a friend and his family over to cook out tonight. We aren't totally sure they are coming and his wife and daughters just flew in yesterday afternoon. But they don't have much else to do as their moving truck is not coming for another 2 or 3 days...so they just might. They have a daughter the same age as Max and one that is 4 I think. I thought that they might enjoy getting to know some kids here as they don't have the benefit of school now for the summer...but I understand that the 9 year old daughter doesn't really like boys these days. Go figure! So maybe they will come or maybe they won't. Regardless, I think that we are going to grill out and sit by the pool no matter what.

I started smocking a dress for Clara Friday night. It is SO gorgeous! It is baby blue and sleeveless...and it is going GREAT!!! I am having a blast doing it and it really looks really good. Of course...I can point out every single imperfection for you, but if you don't know any better, the average eye will be clueless tot he imperfections! I am already looking forward to my next project, and I'm not even done with this one yet! My friend is pregnant right now so I think that I will take on a project for her next...maybe one of those ridiculously sweet bonnets and gown sets! It would be nice if she knew what she was having...but she is one of those stubborn types who just loves to leave us all in suspense! Oh well!

All is great here. Loving the desert, loving my house, loving my family! Sometimes life is just fantastic and the blessings are just pouring out all over the place and you can't help but rejoice and feel so thankful that you have it SO good. We don't just have it good...we have it GREAT! So...that's me right now....thankful and SOOOO blessed. Life is good here in the desert!

Friends Today

We had a busy day today running errands and on our way home I checked messages at home and found that Ben's friend Peyton had called and wanted to get together to play....and so they did. Peyton came over and swam and played. Chris and I got to meet his very nice parents and it was a great day as it was our first play date so to speak for the boys!

Chris and I are watching VH-1's top 10 one hit wonders. Come on Eileen was just shown. That is like my favorite all time song..ever! I pushed to name Clara Eileen, but Chris would not hear of it. I like the name Eileen...especially when it is set to such lovely tunes! Chris and I were just saying that we should have a "one hit wonder" party. That would be fun....play all the greatest one hit wonders like Micky and Come on Eileen and Tainted Love. What fun would that be! We are having a Luau party on Wednesday night with friends from Chris' office. It should be fun as he works with a fun group of people! We're going to hit the pool and chill the drinks and kick back and have some Hawaiian fun. Macarena! Oh my...I love that song! I'm going to end all of this and go on a music hunt! Adios...life is good in the desert!

Baby of Mine

Clara is convinced she is a baby. She insists on being treated and coddled and carried like a baby. It is a huge goofy game for her. I count it a great blessing that she, in her "baby state" has continued to use the potty and not insisted that she needs a diaper. I imagine she knows that that would just SO NOT happen in our house. Still...I'm glad she conforms! She refers to herself in the third person these days. If she is upset, she does not just say "I'm upset". She says "Clara is upset." And she tells me that "The baby is thirsty", meaning herself of course. So I hear a lot of Clara this and Clara that from her. She tells me that "Mommy loves her baby SOOOO much" and that "Mommy's baby is SOOOO sweet". I don't remember the boys ever referring to themselves in the third person the way she does...but it's cute and a phase that I know will be gone just as fast as I blink...which is why I sitting here now trying to get it all written down for posterity's sake. My daughter is a breath of fresh air. I adore all of my children...for all different reasons. But I guess I notice Clara the most these days. It could be because she is 2 that I notice her more...she is simply more requiring of my attention at this young age...it could be that she is a girl...but I don't think so. I think it is because Clara is a totally "in your face" little kid. She is not content to talk to you across the room. She wants to be on your lap, with your face held tight between her little warm hands, looking right into your eyes as she tells you something. She loves to be up in your arms and the complete center of your world. And in so many ways she is. I remember that Ben used to do something somewhat similar. He used to climb up on my lap and take my face in his fat little hands and put his nose up to mine and look right into my eyes and say "Hi Mommy". That would be it. Then he would get down and be off into his kid world again. It was sweet and I hope I remember it forever. How sweet he sounded and looked and felt there on my lap. Now he is huge and much too big for too much lap holding. A little here and there. Of my three children, sometimes I am sure that it is Ben who will have the sweetest and most tender heart. Although Clara is very sweet (usually) and very concerned with people's feelings...Ben has such a gentleness to him. Max is more of a black and white, right and wrong kind of kid. He looks out for his number one self and others may or may not receive any of his consideration. Thoughtfulness does not usually come naturally for him. He is a great kid...just wired completely different than the others. I guess that's God's plan...keep us always entertained with something new always going on with them. We are blessed to have them all and see them grow day by day. Challenging as they are at times...it has been an adventure that I would not trade for anything.

When it rains, it pours!

While Clarabelle is on the mend....finally, Ben is having his turn in the doctor's office. I decided to take him in today as he has had a persistent cough for weeks now. Not a bad cough...just persistent. I figured we were having allergy issues--which would be nothing new for this family. But when we got there the Dr. said he sounded really bad, but only on one side of his lungs. So, thinking he had walking pneumonia or Valley Fever, we were sent down the hall for a chest x-ray. Surprisingly, the chest x-rays looked okay...not perfect, but not horrible either. So, it was determined that he has some sort of microplasm infection and was placed on the same strong antibiotic as Clara was on...and not a cheap one either! I figured up that Clara's little respiratory crisis this past week cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $300. Ben is up to $70 so far. We will see how his crisis ends up in the end once we see if we have to return in 10 days or not. Kids can be REALLY expensive! Gotta love em!

I just carried Clara up to bed. She looked so sweet and peaceful as she slept in my arms here and just snuggled right into me as I carried her up the stairs. It made me think that I can't remember the last time that I carried my boys up to bed, asleep in my arms. I wonder if I will know it is the last time when it happens with Clara. Will I recognize that she is outgrowing the option of being carried up to bed while she snoozes away the night? Will I treasure it and commit every tiny detail of that last time to memory? I did know it was the last time when she last nursed. We had had a great deal of trouble in those last few months of nursing and I knew that it was time to end it. My third bout of mastitis left no doubt in my mind that it was time to move on. Clara was just over a year old. I remember sitting there just gazing into her eyes and holding her little hand and watching her smile up at me all happy and milky and unaware that she would never do this again. I knew she would never do it again...so I tried to commit each moment to memory...so that I might be able close my eyes and feel that moment one more time. I was not too sad about it since I had had SO much trouble to that point. The mastitis bouts were horrible and scary. Still, it was a little bit sad to know that this phase in our lives was coming to an end. I worried that it might affect our bond...though now I know that I shouldn't have. That child is SO attached to me. We are attached at the hip. Noone loves me like Clara does..noone. She lets me know it each and every moment of the day. She is my little chatterbox that follows me everywhere. She talks to me throughout the day and constantly tells me that she loves me...and that I love her, too. The way she says it is so sweet...the way she pronounces me, Mama...it is precious. I hope I never forget it. I want to remember how she says my name. I want to remember how she calls the toilet paper "pull tater". I want to remember how she calls her princess goggles for the pool her "gobbles". I loved the way she calls herself "Daddy's grill" instead of Daddy's girl. And I love the way she smiles when she says all of these things. She has the most beautiful smile. It is just sweet and fresh...and her blue eyes just seem to sparkle when she turns that big, beautiful smile on me. It melts my heart. She is such a gift. All of my children are and in such different and wonderful ways. So many times I wish I had slowed down and enjoyed my boys more. Just soaked up the little things, you know. Instead, we were always just looking for the next milestone and the next big step for them. Hurry, hurry, hurry...bring on the next phase. I am really cherishing Clara and her little phases. I feel like so many of them are just too short. I know that all of those milesones will come soon enough, will come whether or not I help it along. I know that soon enough, I will come to the startling realization that it has been a year since I last carried my sleeping baby up to her bed because she outgrew me. I just want to cherish and remember it. I hope that when I am an old lady with nothing but my memories, THAT is one of the memories I will have. I want to remember what it felt like to hold and rock my babies and have them lay all sleepy and trusting in my arms. Don't get me wrong. I hope I'll have TONS of memories when I am old and gray...I just hope that is one of them. Children are precious and I am thankful every day that we have ours.

Not much else in life going on around here. Chris is in San Francisco tonight. I am sitting around...catching up on my e-mail and blog. I am feeling thankful for my many, many blessings. Life is most definitely good here in the desert.

My boo boo baby with her GORGEOUS band aid! So pretty! 

Thank Goodness for Monday!

I am not usually a great lover of Mondays...with everyone having to jump back into routine and schedules and laundry and school and laundry and what not. However. I have to tell you that I greeted this Monday with open arms and spent hours over the weekend just willing it here. Clara was quite sick last week and through the weekend. It seemed for a while there that she would never turn the corner. We ended up in the E.R. on Friday night again...bless her heart...we thought she was never going to kick this thing. I had started to wonder if it could get any worse and then when I declared that it could not...it did. See, Clara started feeling better Saturday...not much, but some. And so we got out with her to run a couple of VERY short and low impact errands. When we returned her library books, she wanted to help to drop them in the hole. So I got her out of the car and let her help. Big mistake! On the way back to the car, she tripped and fell on the sidewalk, smashing her forehead on the concrete and split her head open. Nice little gash...front and center. I thought that it needed a stitch, but Chris thought not. I still think it did/does. But being as we had already had 2 trips of the emergency nature this week involving her, I hated to take her in again. I mean...enough already. So we bought a skin closure kit at Walgreen's and proceeded to tape her up so to speak and try to close the gap. I am hoping that it worked. Hoping, because I, as of yet, do not know for sure. We have not looked at or bothered it since it happened. We decided to clean it up good, tape it up good, and then let it sit for 24 to 48 hours before messing with it again to give it a chance to close up on it's own. I am SO praying that it worked and that we will not have to have any medical intervention. It would be rough on her.. and quite honestly, rough on me. On the bright side, she seems to be feeling much better today. She is happy and sassy and fever free. She has not required a breathing treatment in 13 hours now and seems most definitely to be on the mend. Praise God for that!

My Mother's Day weekend was nice...well, not the weekend really with all the fever and the new and improved forehead gash...but Sunday was nice. I took Max and Ben to church with me and Chris took Clara to Walmart to do the grocery shopping for us. So that was nice...I HATE grocery shopping. Then, I got everyone fed for lunch and down for a nap...well, just Clara down for a nap, and then Chris and I laid out by the pool while the boys played and swam. That was nice as the day was just gorgeous. Then I came inside and changed into my running clothes and Chris took Clara on an errand while I ran 4 miles on my new treadmill that Chris gave me for Mother's day! Then we put the kids to bed early and started watching a movie...Oceans 12. It was really good, but Chris and I were really pooped and could not stay awake very long. We were in the bed by 10 p.m. and sleeping like logs! Clara was up at 2:30 for a breathing treatment...but has not needed one since! I have to say that I have really never remembered being so glad to see Monday come! Hallelujah! Today has been good. I have gotten all caught up on the laundry...hooray! And got some vaccuuming done as well as the dusting of the downstairs. So all in all...today was good. We even went to the post office and to the library for new books and videos. So once again my friends, life is most definitely good in the desert!

V is for Virus

I just spent nearly 3 hours in at Urgent Care with Clara tonight. She was coughing horribly and running a high fever...all out of the blue. Whooping cough is going around so severely here, that I called the pediatrician to ask some questions. She thought Clara might have pneumonia and suggested she be seen in Urgent Care tonight...so off we went. Her temperature was 103 when we got there, bless her little heart. She was just burning up and limp and miserable. They gave her some Motrin to try to get the fever down and discovered she had an ear infection and major congestion as well...even though she has no outward signs of congestion at all. So we are on the big antibiotic Zithromax...which will clear the ear, and pneumonia should that end up being an issue...and the whooping cough...most importantly...it would clear up the whooping cough if that is what she had. So...I brought home a VERY exhausted little girl. I put her in some fresh jammies and gave her her first round of meds...she will need more tylenol at 10 p.m. and another Motrin dose at midnight. She is on limited activity status for the next couple of days. I just hope and pray that when she wakes up tomorrow, she is feeling a WHOLE lot better. She is very, very pitiful right about now.

Ben has a field trip to the zoo tomorrow. That should be fun for him. I have to make sure that he is all organized in the morning for that. He needs his hat and sunscreen and water bottle and a sack lunch...no lunchboxes tomorrow. He should just have a blast with his friends there tomorrow. The weather is supposed to be quite nice too! As for Clara and I...we will be sitting here at home, laying low and being quiet.

Chris is in New Orleans tonight. Out of town of course as we deal with this little Clara crisis. Hopefully this will be his last trip for a while now. We sure do like having him around here. And all heck seems to break loose when he is gone! That's the worst thing about it. As long as he is home...everyone is healthy and in one piece and life just trips on along. But as soon as he leaves, something major almost always happens! Just our luck!

Despite Clara's illness right now, life is good here in the desert. I am feeling more and more settled and feel like I am finding more and more friendly faces these days. I find myself looking forward to seeing all of these ladies again...it has been nice getting to know them just a wee bit.

No other news to speak of...that's all for us right now. Feeling blessed and just praying for our little girl. Life is good in the desert!

Whew!

That's about how I feel at the end of this day at the end of this weekend. It ended up being SO busy and fast paced. I am WIPED out! My feet even hurt tonight. We headed to church this morning. Sunday School went really well. I had several nice folks to talk to and enjoyed it a lot. Then Jackie met me there and we went to the worship service. It was okay...but I got paged to the nursery to get Clara in the middle. When I got there she had been crying and was all upset and couldn't seem to calm down. I took her into church with me and she fell asleep in my arms and slept through the service and all the way home and all the way to Jackie's and even slept a few minutes after we got to Jackie's house. I left her and Max there while I took Ben to a birthday party. It was TOTAL chaos! 20 kids turned out for a pool party. IT was crazy. I was SO tired and SO ready to leave when it was over! When I got back to Jackie's I found that Clara had wet her pants 3 times! She also wet them right before we left for church this morning. So I spent the rest of the day with her making sure she sat on the potty every 30 minutes to reinforce the no accident mantra. She seemed tired and went to bed quite easily. The boys...not so easily. Honestly...those two cannot follow simple directions to save their lives. Ben is fairly decent about following through on things...but Max...God love his soul...he can't remember ANYTHING for more than a few seconds. You send him to do something and then 15 minutes later he comes back...but he didn't do what you sent him to do. He doesn't even remember what it was you asked him to do in the first place. I have a saying with him. IMMEDIATE OBEDIENCE! It is the only way he can get things done. If he thinks to himself, "I'll do that in a few minutes.", then it NEVER happens because he has about a one minute retention for instructions. He is a procrastinator to top it off. And on the off chance that he actually does begin the task you gave him...he RARELY completes it. He somehow manages to get off task halfway through and never comes back to it. He just forgets what he was doing. So when he picks up his laundry...he usually gets distracted halfway through so that he may take downstairs his shirt and shorts...but not his socks. Or if I put his things in a pile for him to take upstairs...he may pick up the gameboy and the hat, but not the Spiderman car or the bouncy ball. And he could easily carry all of it...so that is not the issue if that is what you were thinking. No. He simply forgets what the task is halfway through. Is it making me crazy????? ABSOLUTELY!!!! Anyway. Tomorrow is a new day in a new week...so wish me luck! Chris will be home tomorrow night. Hooray! Oh...church was a good thing today. It felt like going home. I guess that really is where we belong after all. Life is good...albeit exhausting...in the desert!

Weekend Blues

This week has flown by. It has been in a busy week....more going on than usual for us. Also, Chris got back into town from France Sunday night and so we spent all week trying to catch up on the weekend that we missed together. Getting the new treadmill took 3 days really. One evening to go and look and pick it out, the next to assemble it after we picked it up and got it home, and the third evening to get all the wires all hidden and things all professional looking. Also, on Thursday night we had an invitation for a get together with some of Chris' coworkers. They are a super nice bunch of people and we had a really fantastic time with everyone. And so we blinked and it is Friday...which is usually Happy Day at our house, only not so much so today. Chris had to fly to Vancouver this weekend for a conference for work and won't be back until Monday night. So the kids and I are on our own for the weekend. It's not so bad I guess. We actually have several things to do this weekend so we won't be too terribly bored I suppose. Still, we miss seeing Chris a good bit. Tomorrow we are going to the park for a picnic with a couple of ladies that Chris works with. They both have children right around Clara's age. And Heather and Shauna are super nice people whom I have enjoyed getting to know...so that will be lots of fun. That is the only thing happening on Saturday. Then on Sunday, we are going to church and Sunday School in the morning and then Ben has a birthday party invitation for a pool party Sunday afternoon. Jackie is going to watch the other two rugrats while I go with Ben. That will last until after 4. Then we have to get it together and get everything that we need together for school on Monday and dinner and baths and what not. And before we know it we will be awaking to Monday and will hit the floor running for another exciting week. Next weekend, Chris' brother Todd will be visiting with Jackie from California. he usually tries to get home every Mother's Day....which by the way reminds me that I need to get cards in the mail for Cindy and my mom by Monday or Tuesday. I am excited about seeing Todd, but it will be another weekend that I either don't have or have to share Chris. I hate that. I am feeling PRETTY selfish with the hubby right now. Oh well. We shall make it and before we know it we will probably be sitting around staring at each other and wondering what we were thinking being all wishy washy about missing each other! Life is good here. I ran my first 4 miles on the treadmill this morning. It felt good. Though I did not sleep well AT ALL last night. I think I woke up about a hundred times. I think I might just have been really excited about my first treadmill workout and the plans that I made after that workout that I just didn't sleep. Needless to say...I was EXHAUSTED today and did not think that my coffee was EVER going to kick in this morning. It FINALLY did. After the 3rd cup! I laid down with Clara for a few short minutes this afternoon and got a bit of a second wind this evening. Though as I sit here I can feel myself winding down. And so...I am going to scoop up my little princess and throw her in the bed and head that way myself. Life is good in the desert. In the words of Martha Stewart...it's a good thing!

My desert crew in their Sunday best! 

Clara and Mommy just passing the day in the desert air conditioning! 

D is for Desert

I am learning lots of things about living here in the desert. For one....8:30 a.m. is WAY too late and too hot to go running with a 30 pound toddler in the jog stroller. Can you say HEAT STROKE??? All the water and sun visors in the world can't fix that one. Luckily I am a FAST learner and will not attempt that feat again for several months. That discovery actually led to my Mother's Day gift for this year....a brand new treadmill. It's a real beauty! It gets here tomorrow and I can't wait to have it here to use! It is a Nordic track with all sorts of bells and whistles. Chris also bought me a 15" flat panel t.v. to mount on the wall in front of it so I can be entertained while I crank out my 4 miles each morning. I think this is the most awesome Mother's Day gift I could have gotten....MUCH better than the scale I got for mother's day the year I was pregnant with Ben!

I saw my first rattlesnake of the season. It had tried to cross the road just up the street from our neighborhood, but luckily, someone ran over it! It was a big one! It was an eye opener. I know it is snake season...but yikes! There are no really good snakes in Arizona. If you encounter a snake, the chances are quite good that it is going to be one of 4 different types of rattlers. None of those little garden variety green grass snakes. I feel really happy that that rattler got run over. I know that there are still several thousand out there right in my general vicinity....however...that is one less that I have the chance to encounter...and I am WILDLY okay with that. I am NOT a snake lover. I am not a snake liker. The only snake I care to encounter in any shape, form, or fashion is a dead snake. PERIOD. I think that my most favorite months in the desert are going to be the cooler ones where there are less chances of encountering desert critters like rattlesnakes, scorpions, tarantulas and what not. Right now it is just getting hotter by the day and things get onery when it gets good and hot. Bring on October!

All else is good in the desert. I am going to a MOMS club meeting tomorrow morning at the park with Clara. I hope it goes well and we get to meet some people. I have been really lonely lately, but I really feel like that is all about to change. God is smiling on me...I just know it. I am happy, happy today. No real reason...life is just good I guess. God is good and is good to me.

Ben begins testing for the gifted program tomorrow. Not sure what to think of that. I think one gifted kid in this family is enough right now. But we'll at least see what they have to say about him.

I guess that is all for now. Incidentally...I am holding steady at 150 pounds this month. One morning I bounced up to 152...but have been hanging at 150 ever since. I think Chris is right. I gain all my water weight during ovulation. Hmmmmm. I hope the fact that I only hit 152 this month means I managed to knock off 2 pounds with all my hard work at the gym. Maybe it does...maybe it doesn't. We shall see soon enough! Buenas Noches!

Saturday Revisited

So today did not turn out quite the way that I thought it might. For starters...the birthday party we went to wasn't today after all. I had the day wrong. I ASSUMED that it would be on Saturday. Aren't most kid's parties on Saturday? They are back East. Not so here. The party is on SUNDAY at 12:15....not Saturday. So now, our church attendance will be a bit messed up as we have already told this family that we would be there. Had I known that it was on a Sunday I don't think that we would have accepted the invitation. Oh well. So instead of doing the party thing we decided to come on home and make the grocery list. But before heading off to Walmart, I thought that it would be nice to lay by the pool and soak up the sun a bit first. So I headed out there to relax for a few minutes and was quickly followed by Ben and then Max and then Clara. We got all changed into suits...sunscreened up and equipped with hats. I settled myself on my chair and we were out there....no kidding...5 minutes when a huge clap of thunder hit. Now, I have heard that Arizona lightning is very impressive, but I had no intentions of finding out about that with my kids in the pool. So out we all got and headed back inside to change clothes. We cleaned up and did some housekeeping stuff....Vacuuming, the usual. Then we headed to Walmart to take care of the grocery situation. After we got home we had a quick and nutritious meal of cold cereal and yogurt and then headed outside to play frisbee. This was made a bit difficult by the wind. But we played anyway until 7 p.m. when we headed inside for showers. As we came in the first major lightning began. And YES!!! Arizona lightning truly is impressive. It was a bright purple color...not white like I am used to seeing. Bright purple and it traveled horizontally instead of toward the ground. It was beautiful. And when it started it had just gotten dark, so it was really bright and obvious. I really enjoyed the show...Clara...not so much. She did not care for the big storm at all. Anyway...we sat in the dark, she and I for quite some time watching the storm blow through and then it was off for baths and finally....bed time! I DO SO LOVE bedtime. That hour when everyone is safely tucked in bed with heavy lids and the house gets this quiet over it...and things just slow down. Especially mommies! I have three great kids, but I would be lying if I said that I did not look forward to putting all three down for the night. I love them, I cherish them, and I thank God for them each and every day. But I love to put them to bed each and every night. Today was busy and not at all what I had planned. But it was a blessed day. I was reached out to and touched by a sweet and dear friend from Pensacola. It was just an e-mail...but it was nice to know that she thought of me and thought enough to tell me so. I am blessed to have such good friends. Admittedly, I have been very lonely since we moved here. And many of the people that I had counted as friends prior to our move have not since had the first e-mail or card or note for us to let us know that we are missed in any way. But my real friends still keep in touch. It does not seem to matter what my address is...they still reach out and I know that I am loved by these dear friends. And so in that arena...I was SO blessed today. And the nicest thing about those friends is that no matter how much time or distance there is between us....it's like we are still right there together when we talk. I love that about my friends. I am so blessed in my life. Life is good in the desert.