No Difibrillators Here!

So, I have been on a bit of a church quest here lately. Trying to find a church that really, really feels like home...without a doubt, where we are supposed to be. It has been a rather interesting journey so far. Last week I visited a church and they were preaching about having a disaster plan and what that meant for their church. I really expected to hear about getting right with God and making sure that we are ready to go when He calls us home. However...what I heard was how the church needed to budget money to buy defibrillators for the congregation there. Yes...that was the sermon. Not surprising, seeing as how the entire congregation was about 75 years old. Not surprising, but a bit disappointing! So this week we visited another church. My prayer was that I would hear (and recall) the Word of God in a way that really stuck with me and that the congregation would be somewhat younger than 75. God truly does have a sense of humor! In case you were wondering...He certainly does and I witnessed it first hand this morning. When we arrived there were several large screens up front and very quickly the service got underway. I noticed right off the bat that the music was a bit fast. Well...not so much the music...but more, the words. Like...there were just way too many words crammed into each score of music. WAY too many. So we only caught about every 15th word or so. Frustrating...but oh well. Then, on the third song, low and behold, the disco light came on and started spinning. That's right. The disco light. Chris and I exchanged quite a look at this point...we are hearing this music (it's like music on speed!) and taking this all in and now the lights are spinning for a totally like 70's, sort of Stayin Alive moment. It was so absurd that I just burst out laughing. Taking in the whole scene...the pastor also doubles as the lead drummer...who happens to have a very strong resemblance to a porcupine. He talks VERY fast by the way (which explains the music...which is ALL written by him personally!). One of the guitarist looks like the Dooby Brothers with his black hat and dark sunglasses. The other looks like Cowboy Bob with his hat and gigantic belt buckle. And everyone is rocking out to this totally fast worded music under the spinning disco light. Praise Jesus...what a scene it was! I really, really was chuckling at it all by this point. This was definitely NOT the defibrillator crowd! The message was fine. NOt overly deep. Scripturally rich, yes. But in the words of our Gigi (who went with us), we all got it the first time! The message was a bit simplistic to say the least. But thanks to the disco lights and the doobie brothers I am certain I will remember it for many moons to come. Needless to say...we will not be calling this one home. But we all shared a good chuckle and a more than a little bit interesting adventure today! WOW. Like...who knew? I have grown up in the Presbyterian church my whole life and never once...not one time have I encountered a disco light in the Sunday worship service. I might get one for my kitchen...kind of...you know...groove it up a bit. Thank you Lord for your wonderful sense of humor and leading me to this service that helps to put all the other many churches and services into perspective for me!

And Just a few More (aren't smiles just great?!)

And More Smiles

Playground Smiles

Snapped these while we were between races at Max's cross country meet today. I just LOVE their sweet, bright smiles! These days are moving so fast for us now. I want to remember these laughs and smiles forever!

Cross Country Draws to a Close

This afternoon was the final Cross Country meet for Max's school. The race was held at Columbus Park...the route was 1.85 miles long. Max ran it in 16:48! The boys team placed second overall and earned a great big trophy for the school! This was a fun season for Max and I know the running did him a lot of good! Here are some pictures from his big day!

Brain Dead Mondays

I have to tell ya...Mondays are just not really my day! I just can't seem to get my neurons firing quite fast enough to be high functioning on those days! It's just too hard to get back into the crazy swing that we call life after having a weekend of brain chill. And I have to say that this weekend was unusually generous in the area of brain chill! Thus, this particular Monday seemed SO much tougher! I managed okay...for the most part. Got lots of little piddly stuff done. Lots of catch up. Still not in the mood to work on that baby from Friday night...not sure why I just can't get myself fired up on that one...but anyway. Day went fairly okay...until I looked up and it was five minutes past the time I needed to walk out the door to drop off the kids to get to a surprise party for a friend. So we hightailed it on out of here. I dropped off the kids, picked up the husband (whom I had passed in all of his Evil Kinevil glory on the way home)...and headed out to where the party was. Only...where the party was was NOT where I was. It was at the OTHER location, clear across town. Now...I SHOULD have known that. I SHOULD have noticed on the invitation which location it was...but I missed that. And so...here we were at the totally wrong place on the totally wrong side of town. But hey...that's cool. But that was right when and where my total aversion to the other side of town TOTALLY kicked in and I made the split second decision that we simply were NOT going to go any further. Just like that. Chris looked at me...knew immediately that it was wise not to argue...and suggested that we just make it a date instead. So after some debate...we decided to head over to La Encantada and eat at Blanco, about which we have heard SO much. So that's what we did. My thoughts on Blanco? It's loud...the food is just so so...their outfits are just stupid that they wear...did I mention that it was LOUD?!!! All in all...I can't say that I recommend the place. I have no desire to go back...ever. I'm just going to wait till Mary gets back and then we're going to Mi Nidito. And I mean...LOTS! October is SUCH a nice month for coming back, no?! Anyway...nice night with hubby...even though it was totally not what it started out to be. Back home. As I tuck kids into bed Max produces one very, VERY gross set of p.e. uniform....I think it's been two weeks since it was washed since he kept on forgetting to bring it home! And so now...I get to stay up extra late tonight doing laundry so that he can have his uniform clean for class tomorrow. I think that sums up my Monday. Tuesday is a new and better day...I hope!

Another Week Gone By

I have been 36 for exactly one week now. So far, so good. It's been a busy week, but then...aren't they all?! I already blogged about my Monday last week...my birthday! Tuesday brought pump class, body flow class, orchestra practice for Ben and parent conferences at Painted Sky for both Ben and Clara. The news was all good! No surprises. I have bright kids...they don't always apply themselves (mostly Ben)...but it's all there and they are doing rather well this school year. Wednesday, brought more Orchestra practice for Ben, my first run since I broke my toe, and a trip to the eye doctor for me. As for my run...it was awesome. I managed five miles right out of the chute. No pain in the toe...no problems! Then I headed to the eye doctor for a little check up. Sure enough, my prescription had changed a bit (I suspected that it had!) and so I have new glasses in the works as I type this! There was one little disturbing side note to that visit...the doctor informed me that in the next 3 or 4 years I will probably need BIFOCALS! And I'm like..."Um...excuse me? WHAT did you say?" Followed by immediate thoughts of "We'll just see about that!". So...I think that was like...my first old lady hit. My parents have bifocals...at least my mom does. I think she was pretty old before she got them. I'm quite certain it wasn't when she was in her 30's! Oh well. Aging is such joy. Moving on to Thursday...Thursday is my pump class, immediately followed by my flow class. Then after a super quick shower and lunch it was time to pick up Ben and Clara. They had early release ALL week due to parent conferences. Then...the best part of the week...my new DESK was delivered! HALLELUJAH! I have work space now! I have been using the world's teeniest and most disfunctional desk ever for quite some time. My small flat monitor sat on it, along with my keyboard, a tiny skinny lamp and a picture frame. And the entire surface was covered. No room for a sheet of paper or anything left over. Working at it was quite a challenge. I always ended up having to pull a chair over to me to put papers on...or to drop papers all around me on the floor..or make little balancing stacks on the arm of the couch right behind me. But now...I have a BIG, beautiful computer armoire...so I can close the doors on my creative disaster! And I have PLENTY of workspace and a keyboard at an awesome height now. It's lovlier than I can even tell you! Friday was just Friday. I had a picture appointment. It was early release again...Max had a meet at Los Mesquites and did not get back until 7:30 that night. Ben slept over at a friends house. I ran again...just 4 miles on Friday as my butt was screaming sore and not really appreciating every step I trudged forward! Oh...and I got a call from Northwest hosptal Women's center to come and do a session...so I headed out at 10:15 Friday night to do that. This session was for a 16 year old couple, baby was 31 weeks with Trisomy 18. I'm not sure if baby survived delivery, but she was no longer living when I arrived. The young parents seemed pretty shell shocked. I now have a couple hundred pictures to edit and photoshop and then assemble into a slideshow. So that's a task for this week for sure. Saturday was my Bodyjam class and then Bodyflow (have I mentioned that I just LOVE that Bodyflow class?!!). Then we hit the house hard...me cleaning...Chris with outside projects. It was a VERY productive day for sure! After all of that...we didn't know what to do with ourselves. So we ended up picking up sandwches at Quizno's and heading over to the park for a picnic and playing. The kids just loved it and had a fantastic time. Then we made a quick home depot and target stop and scootled on home. And then...it was Sunday. Sundays are the ONLY day I ever have even the slightest twinge of homesickness for Florida. And it isn't for Florida so much...not the state...not the people...but our church there. Oh, I miss it more than words can say. We have been in the desert now for almost three years and still really feel that element missing in our lives. We found a nice enough church. The people are amazing and so kind and so nice and just altogether awesome. But the preaching is just not doing it for me. Iam looking for something in it that I just don't find here. I want a sermon with strong scriptural backing. I want to know where that scripture came from, who it was written to...what it means. And THEN...I want to know what that means for my own self today. How can I take that information into today with me? I guess what I really want is something to chew on through the week. Not just a general message. Sometimes it seems like pastors here are afraid to really dig deep and get to the meat of the matters in scripture. I just want a sermon that will prick at my brain over the next few days following that sermmon...one that makes me look at my life and my heart and my walk with the Lord and pushes me to get myself back on track. I want to LEARN something I didn't know. See things differently. I don't want to just hear a scripture and someone's general thoughts on it. I still remember sermons from 3 and 4 years ago from Olive...and I have trouble recalling sermons from the past two weeks here...let alone years. I thought we might move along to a little plant church that is starting out this way...but I don't know that that is the answer for us either. I am just going to keep praying about it...but as my friend pointed out...this might be my wilderness time as far as my church and spiritual life is concerned. Maybe so. Maybe not. I visited yet another church yesterday. It sucked. That's all I have to say about that. And so...my Sunday saga will continue I guess. More than ever, yesterday I was missing our church back at home. Oh to have just one more Sunday there! But oh well.

And so ...we are back to Monday again. Back to the grind, back to the schedules, back to the errands...back to life as we know it! Time sure flies when you are so completely overscheduled that you don't know which end is up! Thus is life! On a VERY bright note...our Beth Moore bible study starts this week! 9 ladies this go round! Many of them brand new to our little group. God is so good and has blessed this little study of ours. We are all so excited and ready to dig into the word with Beth! We are doing Believing God this time around! Have a great week!

Happy Birthday to Me!

I am 36 years old today! And a wonderful day it has been for sure! For starters, I got a bright and early phone call at 6:00 a.m. from my dearest friend Mary in London! It was wonderful to hear her bright and cheery voice on the other end of the line and to share a few minutes of much needed catch up and conversation! THEN, I got treated to pumpkin lattes and pumpkin cream cheese muffins by my dear friend Angelica at Starbucks this morning! Thank you SO much for that yummy treat! THEN I went and bought.... dah tah da...RUNNING SHOES!!!! Yep...it has FINALLY been six weeks since the whole nasty little toe meets up with the hitch incident...and so I finally get to run again. HALLELUJAH!!!!!! Really...HALLELUJAH! THEN...(the treats just go on and on, don't they?!)...THEN Jim and Jackie called and took me out for a birthday lunch of yummy Mexican food (my favorite!). And now...well, now I am sitting here blogging about all of this with a great big smile on my face and a very full tummy and just a sense of total and complete satisfaction with my life. I mean...how awesome can a life be? God has been so amazingly good to me. I have been reflecting on my last 36 years and thought about all the paths my life COULD have taken and all the pits I COULD have fallen into and all the different ways my life COULD have turned out....but for the grace of God. It is awesome how He has just held my hand and walked me through these paths of life and kept my feet where they needed to be. He has blessed me again and again and again. I am living EXACTLY the life I wished for growing up and being EXACTLY who I wanted to be when I grew up. How AWESOME IS that? I never dreamed of being a corporate big shot or wildly succesful or rich or anything remotely like that. I dreamed of being a wife and a mom...a mom who got to stay home with her babies and raise them up...and I have been able to do just that. I prayed for that and was given EXACTLY that. What more could a person hope for. Never in a million years did I imagine a talent like photography...never! Yet...here it has been given to me and I am awed at how that has developed over this past year. It is just mind boggling. God is so, so, SO good to me and to my family. I am just blessed to bits this morning! And so...even though I am another year older...a few hairs grayer...a good six pounds heavier (and a very stubborn six pounds they are!)...I have never been happier in my life. I have a husband who makes me feel like the most special person in the world. I never doubt for a second how much he loves me. I have three beautiful and healthy children who are just awesome and smart and showing new and neat talents each and every day! I have a job that is so totally fun and awesome (I mean...really...what other job do you know of where precious babies just smile at you for an hour at a time?!). And I am just reveling in the countless blessings of my life on this...the first day of my 36th year on this earth. So Happy Birthday to Me! What more could a girl ask for?! Life is so, so good here in the desert!

Faking Fall

I played with a new fall set in my studio tonight. Clara was very cooperative and so sweet to help me out a bit. I DO so love that girl of mine! While I was out Thursday, I gathered up hay bales and pumpkins and sunflowers and lots of fall leaves. (Note to self...those hay bales are MESSSSSSSYYYYY!) Not that you'd find fall leaves around here! Anyway. I put together a nice little fall set. Or I liked it at least! And my favorite part? The leaves. I basically created a connecticut or vermont feel with my leaves...I just HAD to bring in some fall. I think these 103 degree days are getting to me and I am now urging fall to arrive! And there is no real "fall" here. The leaves don't change colors. Hardly anything even has leaves! And there is no real drastic drop in temperature...though I am fully aware that it WILL indeed cool off here soon! So I just created fall for myself in there tonight...and I have to say...I liked it! Isn't that girl of mine just the cutest thing ever?!

Chris' Adventures in the land of Gobble

I just got this e-mail from my dear husband who is off on, yet another work adventure. This time, to Istanbul, Turkey. Now...when I traveled abroad with him last year, he tended to make me nervous in his adventursomeness (is that a word?). Believe me...there were a few tense moments traveling with him in France and Italy with our three small children. At one point, I swore I would NEVER travel anywhere with him again...EVER! Anyway. I got this from him this morning...and it was just too funny not to share...and just so much like my Chris! So...on his behalf...I am posting his entry here with Chris as my guest blogger! Enjoy!

Got taken for a ride.

I was picked up at the Grand Bazaar at eleven in the morning and the driver offerred to drive me to the airport after checking out of the hotel. He asked me the flight time and since it was 4 hours until taking off he suggested a "slightly" longer but more scenic route. Though a tingling sensation told me otherwise, I agreed to his proposal.

The driver's name was Umit which rhymes with Zoom It and he quickly decided that he and I are very good friends. At one point he stopped the car and asked me to sit in the front seat so we could talk more freely. He told me that Ramadan had started on Wednesday and it means that he cannot eat or smoke in daylight hours. I asked him if he could drink and he replied that he is Islamic and he is not allowed to drink alcohol but can drink water. He asked me if I drink and I told him that yes I drink and my favorite is red wine. He said that he likes white wine better but that his favorite is Raki (90 proof local stuff). I raised my eyebrow and he put his finger to his lips and said "shhh". Then he rolled down the window and lit up a cigarette. Umit informed me that there are 3000 mosques in Istanbul. Each time we passed one he averted his eyes and lowered his cigarette below the windowsill. Umit also repeatedly asked me to recall his name which I could not decide was because he wanted to be sure to that I permanently imprint our friendship in my mind or if "Umit" is Turkish for something completely hilarious but totally inappropriate.

For the first half hour we hugged the shoreline of the Bosphorous in what I am pretty sure is the opposite direction from the airport. I pointed this out to him but he did not think it was a big problem since we are great friends and all that and commented that I had "plenty time - no problem". I remember reading somewhere that the Mediterranean translation of "no problem" means the complete opposite. I asked him to stop at an ATM because I was concerned I did have enough cash to cover the fare. After completing the transaction he asked me how much money I took out. Then he good-heartedly slapped my leg and told me that since it is Ramadan I should give him a good tip.

An hour and a half after leaving the hotel we arrived at the airport.
The fare on the meter was 116YTL ($90) which is about twice what it should have been if not for the detour around the Bosphorous to the Black Sea. But then he pushed a button and the fare changed to 180YTL ($130). I called BS on that and he told me that since I was given a city tour that a flat fee was applied to the total. We argued about this for a minute but of course I got nowhere.

To make things worse he had convienently pulled the taxi past the terminal drop-off zone so that I could not flag the police. Finally, he asked for his good tip. I told him that the best tip I have is to take the bus when in Istanbul. Then I grabbed my stuff and dodged all the incoming traffic back to the terminal.

By the way the taxi number was 34 TBU 16. I wonder if it was the same as Trevor's magician buddy (who turned a 100YTL bill into a 1YTL bill in front of his eyes) or if all of the drivers in Istanbul are so friendly.

At least I got a receipt for my experience.

Chris Roberts

Back to School

Here are some fun pictures I did of Clara celebrating back to school. I think she is just SO cute!

My Love Language

Today is Labor Day. And so far it has been wonderful! Of course, it is only 9:30 a.m...but still, it's been great to this point. It started nice and early at 5:30 a.m. when we had to get up and take Max to cross country practice. They run at 6:30. I had planned to take him and walk behind his group (since I still have two weeks and 3 days before I can run again!)...But when the alarm went off at 5:30, Chris announced that he wanted to take him and run with his group. So he headed off with Max and I got up and got moving a bit. I decided to seize the cooler morning temperatures and as soon as Clara was stirring I grabbed her up and headed out the door with her in the jog stroller (breakfast onboard) and little Oscar in tow. We struck out on one of my most favorite routes...and were off to Stone Canyon. We kept a pretty decent pace, considering it was my very first exercise like that in over three weeks since the toe-meets-the-hitch-in-a-most-unfortunate-way incident. Once we reached Stone Canyon, we stopped for a brief couple of minutes so Oscar could have a drink of water, me too, and then we headed back out the way we came. Now. Oscar was doing pretty well, considering this was his first walk of any length. He was starting to slow down, but was still holding his own. Well, before we knew it we were making the turn onto Vistoso Highlands Dr. Almost the home stretch. As we headed down the road, suddenly, there was a car pulling over to the side of the road...and lo and behold...it was my Chris and Max...just heading back from cross country practice. And they had...Pumpkin Spice Latte for me!!!! Yes. The ultimate treat. This time of year is absolutely, HANDS DOWN, my favorite time of year. Why? Not because it is any bit cooler. Not because the leaves are changing. Not because there is any rain. No...it's my favorite time of year because it is the start of Pumpkin season. Pumpkin lattes and pumpkin cheesecake. Pumpkin muffins and pumpkin yogurt. Yum! And so pulls up my dashingly wonderful husband with none other than my favorite drink ever in his hand. And my heart just melted (the rest of me was pretty much already melted from the heat and my walk)...that man SO knows my love language. And pumpkin lattes are my love language all the way! At this point, I threw poor little tired Oscar into the car with Chris. Clara also declared that she was hot and headed home with Dad...so that left me...alone...hot, steaming Starbucks in hand, empty jog stroller, Jesus just a blasting in my iPod. I can't tell you the strange looks I got the rest of the walk home. Everyone seemed to have a "Hey...you forgot your baby." look on their faces! I didn't care. I looked like an idiot in 100 degree weather with hot Starbucks and that empty stroller...but it was just fantastic and I felt so utterly loved and special all the way home!

Unshakeable Faith

I finally got the call on my laboring mom...it was finally time...her baby girl was making her way into this world. I went in to the hospital...not at all sure what to expect. Once again...I left a changed person...different than the girl that walked in there. This family was amazing. So full of faith and a love of Jesus. Shortly after I arrived, their pastor arrived. A neat guy...I think from the Lutheran church. This was the first family I have worked with that had scriptures ready, at hand...had a favorite hymn, had specific verses that were meaningful to them. You could not help but feel the love of God in that room. There were smiles everywere. Smiles that marveled over how cute this baby's nose was...and how perfectly formed her little hands and feet were. There were no tears. Just smiles and sweet times of holding this precious little one. After a bit, their children arrived, fresh from school. They delighted in looking at her tiny hands and tiny toes and were so curious about her ears and her hair and her eyes. Mom was so amazing with them all...asking them if they remembered where their baby sister really was...with Jesus they all sang out as they acknowledged that what they were holding was only a body, and not the precious little soul that was waiting for them in Heaven. They seemed so excited over the prospect of meeting up with her there in Heaven one day. And through all of the explanations...smiles. It was a beautiful time. I watched their nine year old son hold and rock the baby. He sat in the rocker and rocked and rocked and rocked her. So gently, so sweetly. The baby of the family, a three year old little angel of a gal...was facsinated by everything there...the baby, the curtain in the room, the strawberries that came in Mom's lunch, the cheesecake on her tray! She lit up the room and we all added our own smiles to hers. There was so much love in that room. And so much contented joy. The kind that can only come from our Lord above. I honestly don't know how people without any sort of faith can get through a situation like this. I don't know how they can possibly cope or find the strength to move ahead. But this family has found SUCH strength. And such peace. It was truly a pleasure and an honor to be there and be a part of those moments. A pleasure and honor to capture and preserve them. It was truly an amazing day...one I am again...ever so thankful for in more ways than I could ever express. Lord...you are so good. So merciful. So generous and caring. Thank you for your peace and your presence in our ever changing lives. Amen.

Phone Calls in the Night

I just received a phone call from Northwest Hospital Women's Center. There is a mom who will deliver a baby some time in this night...a baby who lost her little heartbeat at some point in this past 24 hours. I knew of this mom. Was asked about our services a short time ago by our pediatrician, who happens to be one of mom's best friends. But I had every hope that this family would be able to at least meet this little one...face to face...even if just for a short time. But that is not to be the case. This little angel will never draw her first breath. She is already in the hands of Jesus...without ever spending even a moment here on earth with us. It is nearly 10 p.m. and this mom is, even now, laboring to bring forth this child...a child they so eagerly anticipated and were so excited to have. They knew early on, that there were most likely some problems...some Down's and other issues. But the news got worse as the months progressed and they knew that this little one would be born with something fatal and not live long at all...if at all. And now...they know for sure that they will never know even a moment of her life...for she has gone on.

Fast forward....it is now 9 a.m. on Thursday morning. I am still waiting for the phone call that never came last night. I checked in with the breavement coordintator on that floor and she said that mom is not even close to delivering. And they had thought she would go so quickly...since this is their 5th baby. But that is obviously not to be the case. So...I am going to head on into the world and try to have a somewhat normal morning. I am heading to the gym...with no plans of being all sweaty...Cell phone in hand...and if progress is made...I will be close by. Though I have to say...that normal is just not possible with all the thoughts I have going through my head and the prayers I have going for this poor family. I can't imagine what this mom is grappling with as she passes these hours by, ever so slowly. Just waiting for a chance to hold and say goodbye to the little angel that has already said goodbye to them. It's a heavy morning here. To be sure. Prayers for this mom...prayers for this dad...prayers for this family who has to say goodbye without ever having the chance to say hello.

Making them Understand

Tonight, it has been an all out battle and attempt to make our son, Max...understand why we will most likely NOT be participating in the "optional" Tuesday morning runs for cross country. The main reason for our lack of particpation is that it starts at 6:30 a.m. Which...happens to be the time that Chris is already down at the gym doing body pump...which would leave the task of getting him there to poor old mom. Now...I don't really have a problem with 6:30....except that Clara does not usually get up until closer to 7 a.m....and I am sure NOT going to wake her any earlier to face an already long day at kindegarten. He is having a hard time grasping why I can't just leave my VERY newly turned five year old home alone in the bed to be gone a good half an hour to shuttle him where he wants to be. He insists that Ben is capable of taking care of her...however...I object to leaving my baby at home and refuse to consider it...so Max is not so happy with me tonight. Oh well. I have a special place that I file complaints like that! Actually...since today was his very first practice...I have a feeling that he might wake up so sore from today's run that he might actually thank me for my deep and wonderful wisdom tomorrow morning when he is trying to move! Those runs can really sneak up on your muscles!

On another note...we had a little get together for Chris' job to attend tonight. I find that some of them require a GREAT deal of concentration. Tonight was one of them. It was a get together for an intern that Chris has had. He is from France...and speaks with a heavy French accent. The people hosting it...also from France...more french accent. Their good friends and another couple that works with Chris...from Germany...so also a strong German accent to process and digest. And my favorite little dude amongst the group...from India. And you guessed it...strong, strong Indian accent. And just for the record...his girlfriend (who I adore) is Polish and speaks with a rather strong Polish accent! And so...all in all it was a night of INTENSE concentration as I processed all of these foreign accents and the english that came disguised amongst it all! Utterly exhausting! And none too pleasant when all you really wanted to do was curl up and go to bed about 5:30 this afternoon....NOT go off to accent central! Today was a really, really, really long day and I was SO dragging by 5:00 this afternoon. SO dragging. Anyway. My brain is fried now from trying to sort out the night's conversation and contribute to it in an acceptable manner. So very tired now...DEFINITELY NOT interested in getting up at 5:45 to take Max to school so he can run. No siree...Mom has issued the veto on that one. We are sleeping all the way to 6:30 a.m and that is THAT! The END! Amen. God Bless America. Thank you for coming.

Another Week, Another Weekend

Well...we are now getting ready for our third full week of school. Time is flying. Lots of progress this week. There have been way fewer battles with my dear Max in the mornings...a lot less yelling, a lot less chaos. We MIGHT just survive the year yet! Lots of new challenges though coming up! For one...Max has decided he is going to run cross country. Now...this is an excellent choice for Max. Chris and I had long since decided that Max needs to be in a sport where he competes mainly against himself...he is NOT a real team player. He's a fast little guy and I happen to think the running will do wonders for him. So this is a good thing. Sort of. A bad thing as well. As far as I can gather (Max forgot to bring home the information sheet...imagine that!...Max forgetting something!) this team practices Monday, WEdnesday, Thursday AND Friday afternoons. Apparently Tuesdays and Saturdays are optional. That's all fine and good...except that it is about to be prime camping season...and if Friday practices are mandatory...that will be an unfortunate event, if you catch my drift. Also bad, in that it will mean I have to drive up to Coronado every day at 5:15 to retrieve him. Now...there is an activity bus he can ride home...but that would mean the poor kid leaves every morning at 7:30 and would not get home again until 6:30....long day. Can't do that. So I will go and fetch him home. Which should make dinner preparations rather interesting! I also learned (thanks to dear friend Vicky!)...that the girl who happens to have QUITE the interest in my Max, and whom I have LONG since deemed NOT wife material...just so happens to run cross country. Hmmmm. This should be interesting.

To further complicate life in the Roberts house, Ben has chosen to play an instrument. He has been very undecided as to what he wanted to play. We attended the band and orchestra meeting and got all the information...but Ben still did not know what he wanted to play. He kept going between the violin and the clarinet. I explained that one belonged to the band and one to the orchestra...which happen to practice on quite different days and at quite different times....so he had to narrow it down. So Saturday, we headed to the music store. He announced, by the way on Saturday morning, that he had made his decision. I asked him what it was and was expecting to hear either clarinet or violin come out of his mouth....however....he said he had decided on the FLUTE! Now...how special is that? I have to tell you that my protective mommy bells went off at that point because...let's face it. The flute is a girls instrument. Boys just don't play it. They just DON'T play it. The clarinet...okay...at least it is a cross over instrument to the saxophone...but the flute. Nope...girly all the way. So I was alarmed. But kept that to myself and went off to the music store to let him further explore his possibilities. The first thing Ben tried was the flute. The guy there kept telling him how totally cool it would be if he played the flute. I point blank asked him if it was because he would be the ONLY BOY playing one? He looked a bit sheepish and did admit that the flute had a reputation as being a girl's instrument. Anyway....by the time Ben got his hands in the right place on the flute...his poor neck was going to need to grow several inches in order for his mouth to reach the mouthpiece...so he gave up on his flute dreams. (Thank goodness)! Then he looked at the clarinet and declared that to be "the one". I said "okay...so you don't want to even see the violin then?" And he said..."Well...okay, as long as I'm here." He held the violin and then announced that that felt the best. I think he counted the strings and thought...Hmmmm, four strings....or....9 buttons on the clarinet...I'll take the strings! We'll see how this goes! Anyway. The violin selection defines him as an orchestra student and he starts practice on Tuesday afternoon, right after school. So I pick up Clara at 1:00 and then get to go right back at 1:50 to get Ben. Then he goes BACK to school at 8:10 the next morning....and I don't get Clara there until 8:40. So...long story short...I basically move back into my car this week. This seems to happen every year. I just live on the go! Fun, fun, fun. Thank goodness we don't have a sport going this season...NOR are we going to add one. Life is crazy enough as it is.

I still need to get myself to the gym in all of this. I have a new obsession with the BodyFlow class! Amazing! LOVE it! I have Tuesday and Thursday mornings blocked off for that right now (and Tuesday nights, and Saturday mornings!). Oh...I got word today that I am supposed to volunteer on Monday and Wednesday afternoons in Ben's class. I have no idea when I am supposed to help in Clara's class. AND...I would still LOVE to WORK in all of this at some point. So. Life is such fun these days. Busy as all get out. But moving faster than I could have imagined!

Remember those days when your kids were little and they got up each morning and watched Barney? Ate cheerios for breakfast....played outside for a while and were just FACSINATED just by even being outside? And then they had a little lunch (which they could barely stay awake through!...and took a good solid two hour nap...then played outside a little more, or read stories with you and ate dinner and then went to bed? If your little ones are still there...hold fast to those days. DO NOT rush them. Cherish them. Cherish the pace of the wee ones. Life is SO crazy and so nuts when they move on from that. Just cherish those days. If your baby takes a nap...enforce that nap and cling to it...schedule the whole world around it. That is my only advice. Cherish the days when you can just be home with your babies...your apple juice, your play doh..and your Barney! This mommy is longing for those days. How very sweet they were! Ah...but alas...on with life!

Roll Over!

That's the new trick I taught our puppy, Oscar! He mastered it effortlessly...just a couple of quick sessions! However...I think I have created a little monster! He is now just throwing himself into rolls all over the house to get treats. It's the funniest thing. I had him practicing his "down-stay" a bit ago...and we were going for a full minute. Well, 45 seconds into the stay, Oscar got discouraged and impatient waiting for the treat...so his little butt is wiggling and I know he's getting ready to come out of this and ruin it...so I give him one more admonishing "STAY"...at which point he looks at me and proceeds to roll over. Of course, he is expecting a treat for his new awesome little trick...which of course, I give him...he's just so darned cute! I thought I would move on to another trick for him...maybe "sit pretty"...but every time I try to work with him on it...he just lays down and rolls over. So I think I'm going to have to let him get this one out of his system a bit before we add a new one! And maybe he just doesn't want to BE pretty! Maybe we should go for a trick with a manlier title...like "be handsome" or something. Maybe he would do that! He's too funny! In the meantime...every time he thinks I am looking at him he starts rolling! So...that's what's going on in the Roberts house today!

A New Volunteer Opportunity

I was approached yesterday by another photographer in Florida, who has started a bit of a volunteer organization (another one) and was asked if I was interested in being a part of it. Apparently, this young lady went through the crisis pregnancy center when she was pregnant with her child and through them was able to get her feet on a good path and was able to go an to deliver and raise her precious daughter. What she saw there and the people she met made quite and impression on her. And so she is now starting a program with these centers...gathering volunteer photographers who would be willing to go into the hospitals for these moms who ultimately choose life and do a session for them and give them a free 8X10. They are presented with the gift package when they first come into the center...earlier in their pregnancies...in hopes that those moms will try to imagine what that session might look like, or what their babies would look like. And the hope, is that in imagining that, they might just choose to have that baby...to bring that little miracle into this world, instead of abort. I think it's an awesome idea...something neat for a new, insure mother. Something precious to treasure. So...I think that I might join in on this one. I was just thinking yesterday morning how neat it would be to be called into the hospital to do a happy session. When the hospital calls me now, it's not happy. I'm going because someone is losing, or has lost their precious baby. How neat to be called because someone is welcoming one! Actually...what I really, really would like to do, is to be able to photograph a birth experience. Not the birth really itself....but all that goes on around it. Dad comforting mom through labor, watching the clock, the work and exertion of pushing, Dad's face the first time he sees his new child...the tears of joy that inevitably come. Just to be there and document it all....that would be amazing I think. That is truly capturing and documenting one of the most important and amazing moments in a family's lives. Can you imagine what that slide show would look like? I wish I had one! The only pictures we have from my deliveries are just a couple of me laying there waiting for delivery looking like a beached whale. And then the few that Chris took while they weighed and cleaned Max up. Fewer of the other kids! I would love to have the pictures of my day that I have in my mind. But...oh well. We will see how it all pans out. I think it's a neat mission and gift...and I do so love those new mommies and babies!

No Worries

Mother Nature finally arrived...putting my mind MOST at ease. I never EVER even think that could be a possibility for us...but this time...well, it was actually crossing my mind and totally messing with my brain! But all is good now. Back to normal. Back on schedule. Peace in my valley again!

Weekends Go By Too Fast!

Well...it's Sunday night. Back to school first thing tomorrow morning. The weekends sure do fly by! We accomplished much this weekend. For starters, Chris and I did a new class at the gym on Saturday...BodyFlow. It's a yoga/stretching class. It was amazing. Awesome. Challenging. Painful to be sure. And the best part of it (besides getting to do it side by side with Chris), was that at the very end, there are nine, that's right, NINE blissful heavenly minutes where you just LAY THERE, relaxing, eyes closed...pure heaven I tell you. I don't know when I have felt that wonderful after a class. I cannot wait to go back on Tuesday night...neither can Chris! We both officially now own a yoga mat...not something I ever saw myself owning...but I really, really, REALLY loved this class. After the workout we all managed a nice little nap...not too long, not too short. Just right. Then Chris and I dropped the kids off at Jackie's and we headed into town to do a little bit of shopping. This is always more pleasant and accomplished MUCH easier without the kids along. So we hit the mall, and a couple of other places and then had dinner out at the Mexican place. Then picked up the kids, bathed them and put them in the bed! On to Sunday. We got up...took care of some house chores (much to my children's dismay). Maxwell learned how to sort laundry and get it started in the machine. Then we headed off to church. I ended up helping out in the two year old class. That one is NOT my favorite. I adore two year olds...individually...but a whole class of them and all their drama and chaos just make me nuts. On a whole, that group of little ones is just wildly uncooperative. The boys anyway. The girls were fairly delightful and listened a good part of the time. But those boys are just stinkers. And when one is stinkin' the others just fall in and add their own stink to the pot. The girls will listen, but the boys just DON'T. They have their own agenda. And by the time you get them anywhere near the area and activity you need them to do...it has taken so much time that the girls have now abandoned ship and have also gone off to do their own things. There was MUCH crying and more temper tantrums than I could count. I spent most of the morning just thanking God that my own little ones are past that age! Really, really, really thanking God that they are past that age. After church we headed straight to HOme Depot. When we bought our appliance last month, we got them at a great discount by waiting a couple of extra days to buy them...so much so, that we decided to go ahead and order our window treatments for the family room sliding glass door. Now...this is a particularly obnoxious sliding glass door as it is so huge. A special order case...of course...which is always especially expensive. But we set out today to get those ordered! In addition to saving 10% on all of our appliances, we also got $250 in Home Depot gift cards as some sort of promotion they had connected to appliance sales. So...gift cards in hand we ordered our track shade things and they SHOULD arrive on or about September 3rd. We shall see! I am VERY excited about having these up before winter comes again. When it is cold outside and it gets dark so early, that huge glass door always feels like a huge black hole in our room. It will be nice to be able to pull these blinds closed and feel like there is still some warmth in this room. After Home Depot, Chris got started on clearing out some tree branches that he cut down a good few days ago. He got them all chopped into small and manageable pieces. We filled the trash to busting and then another 5 big black garbage bags on top of that. While he took care of that, I took care of inside tasks, like dishes and clutter, etc. On a down note...Mother Nature has NOT arrived per schedule. AND...I have spent the last two days being rather nauseaus. Pure coincidence I am sure. Pray with all your heart that that is the case. Chris has had a vasectomy and I have been on the birth control pill until just this past week. I am not planning to take them anymore from here on out. However...there is this nagging little situation where Mother Nature really should have put in an appearance...yet has not. And I have this general all the time queasy feeling going nearly all the time. Except when it all of a sudden spikes like crazy and I run to the bathroom and actually get quite ill. That has only happened once (yesterday)...but it certainly got my attention. I can't be pregnant right now. That's all I have to say about that. I feel certain that God knows this and would not allow this at this point in my life. I can't go there. I can't do that. I just can't. Pray for a swift and sure arrival of Mother Nature. Very, very swift would be just fantastic! That's all the news here. We are back off to school again tomorrow. So much fun, so much work...most likely, so much yelling about 7:20 a.m. tomorrow morning trying to get Max out the door. Don't you just love Mondays?! Weekends are just too short!