Open Journey

Taking a break.

2007-03-20T18:33:00.000-07:00

I will not be posting any more for a little while do to the fact that people don't seem to understand that this blog was a way for me to be excited , have fun, express myself.

2007-03-19T22:48:00.000-07:00

Blogger won't let me post on anyone's blogs. Says I don't exists, but it let me sign on here. hummmm.
They say that every bride knows what she wants....you just have to ask the right questions. I'm running out of time trying to figure out the questions. I have 7 weddings in the next several months. I want them all to be perfect for each one of my brides. I want this to be fun and enjoyable. I also have a reputation to uphold. You are only as good as your last event in this business.
For any one who misconstrued this post previously , I was trying to express that I was having fun with my sister Marissa's wedding stuff. That it wasn't about her. It was never meant to be mean or negative. I was trying to say that she wasn't any problem what-so-ever!!!! I have said I am sorry to her and to my knowledge we have worked it out.
I have new clients who want to see what I create. I have old clients with more children who I want their future business.
I closed another contract and got paid today. I needed to find some floral so we headed out.
Tonight I took the kids to the mall. Something we do only rarely. What a great time we had. The sales girl was so good at Bath and Body we actually bought stuff! The body sprays were on sale, only five bucks each. (we use them for air freshener) She said she had a coupon behind the cabinet that if we bought 2 she could give us one free. OKAY THEN! So we came home with 3 scents for the price of what one would have cost originally. This is something we never do. Maliea got a lotion for her hands in the Sweet Pea scent that she loves. I got Sensual Amber, Chaiya- Japanese Cherry Blossom and Quayde - Pink Grapefruit. Lydia got the Chocolatina book from Barnes and Noble! Lydia loves this story soooooo much. We have to check it out from the library at least once a month. So we spent like $25 and we all felt so good to have something. Money has been a little tight and it was really nice to just have an unnecessary treat. Oh and Thayne got a strand of fake bear grass which he loves to flick around and try to hit people with. It was what he wanted....really!

busy again

2007-03-13T22:59:00.000-07:00

It feels like it has been forever since I have had anytime to post or even read anyone's blog. I have been busy trying to work out details for my sister Marissa's wedding weekend. She is one of 6 current brides that I am working with. Tonight I just had another contract signed. 4 of these weddings are in May and I still have one of those weekends free. Marissa's colors are a moss (olive) green and chocolate brown which is yummy. Her invites turned out really well. At least our mom thinks they are great. We are trying out some new software as a trial run from elmsoftware.com It might be worth the money, it's a little pricey. The only draw back I see right now is that Michael is a computer hog and won't let me work with the program. He loves to do computer stuff. That is where he really belongs. He needs to find or create a job that he can work with them. He just glows and is full of energy when he is figuring out a program. I am off to search the internet for dark eggplant colored chair sashes. Hope you are having fun too!

my morning

2007-03-07T08:37:00.001-08:00

Lydia dressed in a purple tutu doing the ooompa loompa dances, off of the new Charlie and the Chocolate factory movie extras
Thayne's been up all night with a fever , which means I had no sleep and my blueberry bagel tasted a little like garlic.
One of my brides- to- be hates flowers of which she told me last night in an email (I've been working with her since Nov)
and I have a lot of invitations to put together this afternoon.
Yes, it will be an interesting day.

Almost but not quite

2007-02-28T21:44:00.000-08:00

Yes , today is Feb 28 and Tomorrow March 1 and somewhere in-between in the magical realm of time is our anniversary. This year I composed Michael a paper back book through www.mypublisher.com It turned out amazing! I will definitely use them again possibly for a large portfolio of my wedding stuff. The only thing I would change was the font. I tried to cram all of our magical poem and words to the song from our wedding ceremony onto the page. So we might need a magnifying glass when we are old. I did give Michael the book earlier in the month. I don't think he was all that impressed but I love it. If you would like to see it click here then add #787033 to the pass code. Even the picture that weren't that good turned out looking nice.

For those of you who were wondering...the nurse will not be back. Although we found her stethoscope in Maliea's bedroom the other day(?) and will return it to nurses network.

Just when you think.....

2007-02-22T13:40:00.000-08:00

...that things can't get any more bizarre.

We noticed the other day that our fairly new industrial sized bottle of vanilla extract was much much lower than it should be. I love to bake but it would be quite the feat to use that much. So then I checked out my other bottles. The orange (80% alcohol) was completely empty, bottle still in the cabinet; the raspberry had about 1/2 inch left; The almond and banana (40%) almost both gone. Hummmmmm. Well Michael marked the vanilla bottle label with where the level of vanilla was. We suspected the nurse.

Are you laughing? 'Cause we are. Bizarre as it seems apparently our nurse has been enjoying our extract. When she went to leave today, I noticed through the Walmart plastic bag she was carrying that she had several extract boxes. Then as soon as she is out the door I hear Chaiya scream and start hysterically laughing, "It is her!" Chaiya had immediately run to the kitchen to check the vanilla bottle out. Sure enough there was more than an inch gone. Check out the photo with the mark.

Unfortunately I needed to call her supervisor. I am not sure how else I could have handled this. I guess Lydia is an excellent judge of character.

Following her bliss

2007-02-18T21:52:00.000-08:00

Talked to Chaiya tonight. They are spending the night in Grants Pass,Or. She is tired, beat, burned and happy beyond all belief! The instructor said she was way past beginner level and they will ship the paperweights and other things she made home. All the guys really encourage her to continue and even looked up resources and classes closer to home for her on-line. I am so happy to be able to support her with her dreams!

Happy Valentines Day

2007-02-14T21:32:00.000-08:00

My husband is far away in Idaho having the time of his life visiting with old friends. Chaiya is with him having the time of her life because he is letting her drive everywhere!!!! My living room currently looks like a sweat shop with organza all over in strips everywhere as I try to sew them together for a ceiling treatment. Have a wedding reception this weekend. Hired staff. Hope everyone shows up.
Lydia has recovered from a very rough weekend and horrible Monday. Desating to 62 and grey isn't fun for any of us at all! She lost another tooth and can't wait until the toothfairy comes tonight. Lets hope the toothfairy remembers. Unlike Quayde's last one where that crappy toothfairy forgot 3 times in a row.
I am not really a person that cares too much about Valentines, I am not cynical or anything, it's just that my kiddos don't like cherry tarts. I made cherry tarts for years for them on Valentines. One year Chaiya was brave enough to tell me they hated them :) Oh well. This year they got chocolate which is better anyway. Except Lyd, Barbie gummies with hearts for her. Have a great one and remember the best valentine is loving yourself!

QOTD

2007-02-12T15:47:00.000-08:00

"My heart is beating a little faster!" Michael after returning from trying to teach Chaiya to drive in a parking lot for 45 minutes.

By the way, he was sweating pretty bad too!

2007-02-10T23:53:00.000-08:00

Tonight my dad dropped by to visit and spend time while waiting for my 15 year old sister to get out of a dance. We watched a short film from my new spiritual cinema circle selection. In the film a blind woman teaches a man to see from his heart. My dad barely speaking over a whisper says, "That's how my mom saw the world" He wiped away a tear he didn't want me to notice. I never really stopped to think how much he misses her.
Grandma Ruby has been my angel, my guardian, my comfort. During some really really hard times these last 10 years I have felt her presence so strongly some day (nights too) All I could share though....... tonight with Dad was that she's with me alot.

Mixed emotions

2007-02-08T23:00:00.000-08:00

Maliea is my sweet, pure, wonderful one. She is so loving and kind. I wish the world valued that as a talent. Today......Chaiya passed, Maliea didn't. It was their driver's permit tests but you would have thought it was much much more. Chaiya always shines in the 'worldly' view. Which makes her happy and guilty. Maliea feels she isn't good enough. My heart aches for both of them as they try to find their way in this big world. I definitely don't have better answers for how it can be easier on them or me.

Next....

2007-02-07T21:40:00.000-08:00

The last two night have been long... without much sleep. I call them Next Kid nights. In other words, Lydia needs suctioning , Quayde is throwing up, Thayne wants to nurse yet again. So I go from one child to the next serving their needs and trying to make them as comfortable as possible. Tonight I am hoping that it is not a Next night and that sleep will be my friend!

Finding Time

2007-02-05T22:21:00.000-08:00

I am a person that truly believes that we "talk" ourselves out of time. How many times a day to we think negative 'time' thoughts? Things like ,"Hurry, We'll be late" or " There just are not enough hours in the day" etc... I think that we create that lack of time. My dear friend, Kristi, knows I have been playing with time for years. I listen to my statements. I re-enforce the belief that I always have enough time to do everything that is important as often as I can. I usually can guess what the correct time is within a couple of minutes. I never wear a watch. I didn't keep a calendar/planner until after Lydia was born. Then it was a do or die situation so I had to. We do not have real television in our home. I think that is an incredible time waster. We do watch videos for school and fun occasionally. More than I would like, but it is 6 to 1 in this house sometimes. I always like to believe that I have more than enough time, it is a much happier/ joyful concept than lack.

I have been working with a lady for a church function. She needs to decorate for a conference for 280 women. It's a brunch with speakers. It has taken me 3 weeks to convince her she doesn't need to number the tables since they will be colored coded. I have made the choice to only email her and talk in person because if I am on the phone she will talk for over an hour and never get anywhere. I need to send more light and blessings her way! (improve my attitude) Years ago I learned a concept about phone calls...almost always you can get what you need said in 1 1/2 minutes or less. Then if you choose there is always the fun part of talking as long as you want.

Today I felt a huge shift as I dropped off the three older children to various destinations. The two older girls had babysitting jobs and Quayde went to a friends house. Homeschooling has been such a joy as I have never needed to be in a car dropping five kids off to different schools constantly. They are getting older though. The girls are going to test for their driving permits . Whoa! Am I really ready for this? Maliea legally doesn't need us anymore since she is over 18 but the process of growing up is still present.
I look in the mirror and the grey hairs are just starting to come in more than strays. I think the toddler is doing it! I'll be forty this year. So we will see how time and I stay friends as I think I really am a very vain person.

medieval birthday

2007-02-03T21:21:00.000-08:00

Quayde had 6 boys over for his party with quite the age range. Since he is a popular boy with lots of friends, we had to limit the party to a manageable size. Still it was wild at times. We started with colored stained glass window pictures, then juggling or the attempt. We then watched a video off of youtube.com of master jugglers to see how amazing they were. Our journey then took us to a choose your own medieval adventure, in which our first choices almost got our fingers chopped off for killing one of the King's deer in the royal forest and having our little sister die from hunger. Next we had to go out to find the dragon scales that a baby dragon had shed in the back yard. We played a game trying to break off our ball and chain we got when we were prisoners in the dungeon. Then we had another choose you own adventure where at the end we became master goldsmiths in the guild. Our supper at the banquet table was eaten with our fingers and consisted of grapes, cheese, bread and chicken legs. The boys got to keep their goblets that they drank "wine" from. On to slaying and eating the dragon and presents. As each child presented their present to King Quayde , he presented them with something from the royal treasure chest. They got a dragon egg (glitter putty), build your own knight figure, gold chocolate coins and royal ring pops. They also got to take home 3 of the dragon scales they collected earlier. Huzzah!

Before he is slain

2007-02-02T13:07:00.000-08:00

In a few hours the house will be invaded by knights of all shapes and sizes. I just finished Quayde's birthday cake. It didn't turn out as nice as I wanted but he loves it and that is all that matters. So I thought I would post a picture before it got slain by the king and his knights.

In the mirror

2007-02-01T20:43:00.000-08:00

Chaiya and I were comparing our reflections this evening. Scars, wrinkles, etc... When I made note of the fact Chaiya has a serious nose. Her reply," Yeah, So serious it could scrape the Titanic"

On another note ; I realized as I was exiting the truck this evening and looked at the moon that we have invited 6 boys over tomorrow night for Quayde's birthday and the moon will be full.
Off to make a dragon cake and say some protection chants or something for my sanity.

today's message

2007-01-30T22:09:00.000-08:00

So several weeks back, over a month ago I signed up to receive these fun little messages from the universe. They are from this great site www.tut.com and they are usually right on and joyful.
Today's message was this:
"If you could live this life over, Tracie, would you still want there to be the same challenges?
Loaded question, huh?
Yeah, you cherry-picked each and every one. And you knew exactly what you were doing."
In awe of you - The Universe

I was out buying peanut butter at Basha's for a $1 a jar and stopped to grab a bite to eat (by myself). The cashier lady knows us well and mentioned how surprised she was at seeing me without all the kids. I told her I escaped. I truthfully don't know her name , she takes our order maybe 2 times a month. She then expressed how wonderful she felt Lydia was and how happy it makes her feel when she sees Lydia smile. She then told me that she could feel how great of a spirit Lydia was. I honestly told her that Lydia has brought me joy every single day of her life.

So would I still want the same challenges? Are they really challenges or just joy in disguise?
I'm thinking they expand me and even with the sorrow, the joy is always there.

On someone's back windshield

2007-01-29T21:34:00.000-08:00

Today as I was driving through a parking lot I spotted someone's auto with the back windshield full of dirt and a message written in it.
This is what it said," I wish my boyfriend was this dirty"

2007-01-26T21:07:00.000-08:00

My wonders for the week:

Thayne's laughter
Quayde still asking me to tuck him in at night
Staying up until 1:00 am watching "tv" on the web with my husband
Maliea's smile
Receiving a surprise package from Nana full of scrapbooking supplies and paper
Finding the perfect valentines gift for Michael that was practical but with a little fun thrown in
Singing Lydia lullabies in the middle of the night
Enjoying the kids school work and learning myself
Watching Chaiya expand out of her comfort zone and buy a shirt in a bright color
Getting a happy call from my sister Marissa

QOTD

2007-01-22T18:07:00.000-08:00

Lydia to the nurse as she was leaving," Good Bye and Never Come Back!"

Winter

2007-01-20T20:25:00.000-08:00

We awoke to lots of snow! Quayde, Zack and Lydia played outside for most of the morning, okay they played well into the afternoon. They would become all frozen then come inside warm up, find new socks to place on their hands and run right back outside. Lots of fun. Thayne played yesterday afternoon as it was falling. This morning he was a great deal more cautious about getting cold.

11 years ago in the AM when the sun was just thinking about coming over the horizon. My Quayde was born. I was thrilled with my new boy. I hadn't a clue about boys. Not sure I do now. Quayde has kept me busy. He has grown into a sweet, thoughtful and loving young man. Who decided to lose his temper this morning and get into his first fight with some kids down the road. He was more angry with himself than anything else. It was quite the lesson for him. The fighting was definitely not in his nature as he sat in the snow and cried and cried until I came for him. On this day 11 years ago, I had no idea most of his childhood I would be raising him by myself. Boys need fathers! I did an excellent job.... but Michael's presence in his life has been an incredible miracle. Quayde is a gentle soul who loves deep and thinks of others frequently. It is a honor to be his momma. We are not celebrating with a party today, that comes in a few weeks. He did get a crazy frog dvd which he was thrilled with although he had to have the volume quite loud, that makes it all the more fun.

NaCl

2007-01-17T21:35:00.000-08:00

Yes ladies and gentlemen, Salt has been the topic of the day. We found a new book at the library called 'The Story of Salt" by Mark Kurlansky. Very fun book. Something we take for granted today literally ruled the seas in the past. After we spent part of the afternoon discovering all the ways that salt has affected civilizations, we went out and got some salt from France and some pink salt from the Himalayas. The grey salt was too expensive though, maybe next time.
Another absolutely incredible book we have been using for the older ones is "Uncle Tungsten" by Oliver Sachs. This is a fascinating book about chemistry! All set with Oliver as a boy growing up during WW II. Get it and read it for yourself for fun. I am loving it and we are only to chapter 5. Okay maybe I am a little off but this makes learning about metals and other elements way more interesting than Mr Caminsky ever did in high school. I think this might lead to some experimentation in the kitchen. On second thought I was the one who caught my hair on fire during class over the Bunsen burner. No one noticed until the next class which was Geometry, in which the teacher took one look at me, handed me a pair of scissors and said, "Take a friend to the bathroom with you!" It didn't smell very friendly either.

Go hunting

2007-01-11T21:19:00.000-08:00

Chaiya and I were discussing what I had learned over the last several days. This will come to no surprise of course to my friend Kristi.
The most blaring idea is that I seriously need some clothes! Okay I have plenty of hanging around the house clothes, but something has happened major time since Lydia was born. I have no nice wardrobe to speak of. I have no sense of style for myself whatsoever. So this is going to be an adventure.

And the winner is.......

2007-01-10T21:14:00.000-08:00

ME! Yes I won the grand door prize at the Wedding Merchants convention. Out of all those people there I got it. What you say? Free tuition for next years convention!!!!!!! This is worth over $300. I did the happy dance when they called my name.

Just for fun and wonder

2007-01-09T22:18:00.000-08:00

I've been at a Wedding Merchants Convention for the past two days, one more day to go. So I had a few hours in between the last seminar and the banquet tonight so this is how I spent my time.
Listened to the church bells ring out the time and a song
Had a photographer from Seattle stop me on the street to share his shot with me and get my opinion.
Acquired a new Baja Fresh cup (Kristi you understand don't you?)
Had a very attractive man flirt with me as I was crossing the street and he called me a jaywalker cause the sign had already changed.
Savoured a small Cold Stone Creamery ice cream
Wondered about an old crumbling building and what it was about 50 years ago.
Marveled at how many Christmas decorations are still up around downtown Phoenix
Took several pictures of some tourists who needed that extra person so they could all be in the picture
Went into SEVERAL fancy hotels and used all their bathrooms, to compare and contrast. The Hyatt has crappy bathrooms (pun intended)
Spent 1/2 hour talking with a homeless gentleman and tried to help him feel real again.

During the banquet I learned that I am NOT a barbie doll shoe girl.
Got completely out of my comfort zone and did a conga line to the song "Hot Hot Hot"

What did you do today that was amazing?

For Sunday

2007-01-07T14:49:00.000-08:00

Sunday is a quiet day, a slowing down day. I was inspired years ago by Sarah BanBreathnacht's book Simple Abundance. In one of her chapters, she writes about how important it is to have a sabbath whether you are religious or not. Like the seasons of the earth where winter is for a resting time for the earth, the sabbath can be our weekly resting time. If you are a religious person, you are commanded to "keep the sabbath day holy" but wouldn't it be more soulful to commit to yourself and your spirit to relax and refresh to start the week anew. To take the time of a whole day to reflect and get ready to begin again.
For just a few minutes today, click here and watch this movie and know that I am grateful that you are my friends and family. Thanks for being a part of my journey.

Forward

2007-01-05T21:27:00.000-08:00

I have been working on new main lesson plans , as requested by the older girls' ideas. Looks like we are going to explore the Tsars of Russia. Lydia will probably love trying to make the craft work we will be doing as it involves fake eggs. Maybe she will stop asking about Easter. We are going to start with Peter the Great, next week. I have a wedding merchants convention on Monday through Wednesday so the fun will be delayed until I get back. Quayde's birthday is coming up. I need to come up with a new fantastic idea since he shot down my medival theme. Can I do better than the pirate one of a few years back? I don't know. The pirate ship cake that had been attacked (fell apart) is going to be hard to top.
Thayne is laughing in the living room as I write this and that is one of my joys! I am grateful to have such happy children that get along so well!
Chaiya is signed up and paid for her Ventian glass blowing class in Oregon next month. The lady on the phone was wonderful to talk to. Now we just have to get her there.
I think I am going to reincorporate our evening candle and readings. I don't know how we got off track but it is always been a great closing to our day. Just looking for a few good books! As if that is hard.

Back to every day

2007-01-03T20:32:00.000-08:00

One reason I absolutely love the holiday season is that , believe it or not, it gives me time to relax. Relax from the "have to" stuff. It is a great excuse to slack . Like today.......it is no longer holiday time so I need to re-do all of Lydia's insurance stuff with all the medical supply companies and doctors. I need to catch up on contracts that need to be written etc... All the necessary stuff that it takes to keep all the kids' medical things up to date has to be done now. Whereas for the last two weeks , it could wait because it was holiday time. Boy that makes me smile.
Lydia has been asking over and over,"What's the next holiday?" For some reason she wants Easter to be next. I think this is her first year of really having a recognition of what holidays are and how fun it is to celebrate. So I am going to try and be like the great mom I was with Maliea and Chaiya and do more with celebrating like we did in the past.
Can I tell you how much I totally love this new house? I do a happy dance every day! Although I have a little way to go in making it more authentic (we have nothing on the walls yet), this house just makes me feel good each day. I love the copper color walls in the bedroom and for Christmas , Michael bought this amazing paisley comforter to go on our bed. It has little bit of orange running through it here and there and is perfect.
We are so excited about this new year. Chaiya will be attending a glass blowing class in Eugene, Or in February for a few days. She is so excited about this. We are working on getting her and Maliea passports so they can travel to Europe some time this year. With Michael's retiree status they can travel with him for free on military aircraft. Maliea is interested in EarthWatch expeditions and watching and charting orca whales.
I am hoping it will be an incredible year filled with wonder and magic for them.

For those of you who are wondering, yes we were able to pull off the surprise birthday party! 142 guests were invited and everyone kept the secret. The guest of honor was stunned and overwhelmed . It was a very successful party. I am hoping that it will open a new 'division' of We Do! We Do! Helping Randy was a lot of fun. Our gift to his wife was 12 of the top billboard hits of 1967, which we played during the party.
I am attending a Wedding Merchants Academy next week in Phoenix. I am hoping to learn new skills and gain new ideas for my business. Here's to a successful year!

I am going to be spending the next weekend working on homeschooling ideas to get Quayde and Lydia to have more magically and wonder inspired learning adventures. Having so many ages to homeschool sometimes is a big challenge. We found that Thayne at the library is quite a trip. He loves to run up and down the ramp! The librarians are very patient with us. God bless their souls. They smile and smile.

This evening's adventure is purple cauliflower that I found at New Frontiers. I'm off to eat some fun!

Happy New Year

2007-01-01T19:56:00.000-08:00

Wow! It's2007. Today Michael and I had the priviledge of attending (working) the most life-affirming, joyous, authentic Committment ceremony. The couples' real wedding is schedule for June in Wisconsion but the brides mother is quite ill and probably will pass prior to then. This couple created the most wonderful ceremony that I have ever attend. It was full of laughter and blessings, promises and tears. It was a great way to start the new year. It was a lot of joy to make their reception area beautiful. Even if we only had less than 48 hours notice prior.

I included this picture of my incredible husband just to make you smile! We hope 2007 is full of magic and wonder!

Merry Christmas

2006-12-25T21:33:00.000-08:00

Last night as I was writing the Santa letter to the kids I realize with a grateful heart that it was our first year in a very very long time that we have not had ANY traumatic hospital visits! Nothing bad occurred. We all were healthy. Lydia has done wonderful and Thayne is growing into a very active healthy non-stop boy. My heart is full of thankfulness for this. My children have an incredible man in their lives who chooses each day to be their daddy and love them. Right now we have a warm home that we feel safe in. Life is very good.
Our Christmas morning started after Quayde came in about 3 times full of excitement. We still have lots of wonderful gifts to open tomorrow. We celebrate all week long until New Years Eve. Tonight we watched a sad Christmas movie," The Christmas Shoes" it's based on the song by the same name. Drank apple cider, had pumpkin pie and enjoyed each others company. Michael now is glad that we will be able to get some sleep tonight after a long last week of staying up until 2 and 3 am trying to get things created.
I truly hope your Christmas was filled with the little things that make memories special. It's never the gifts we remember but the feelings and the things that we do with each other.
Merry Christmas!

really quick update

2006-12-24T22:46:00.000-08:00

Family party was great! Pictures of crazy women to follow later. I've had enough of hosting ex-husbands and their families. Oh the gracious one am I!!!!!!! We are now wrapping and assembling a great many odd shaped things. One benefit of waiting until the last minute is that the stores are eager to get rid of stuff so they clearance them. Lyd's big Santa gift, the one that Michael is swearing at currently was about 75% off it's original price. Thanks to everyone! You know who you are! Off to wrap some more. Seem to have misplaced (mis-hid) most of Chaiya's gifts. Hope I find them by morning.

QOTD

2006-12-24T22:45:00.000-08:00

Michael on step 15 of 27 in assembly, " Ahhh come on you can give me more of a hint than that"
talking to the instruction pages
We'll see how long the Santa gift takes to be assembled tonight

santas working

2006-12-21T02:10:00.000-08:00

Really quick as it is 2:00 am. Michael and I have been up creating and designing things for the kids for Christmas. I think he is having as much fun as I! Both ex-husbands are coming , quite the shock. Sisters are coming, quite the happy surprise. Santa is still trying to figure things out but the elves have the stockings set and stockings are what it is all about on Christmas morning here!

Second QOTD

2006-12-11T08:17:00.000-08:00

Chaiya: " I think I've been reading too much Shakespeare, I'm starting to dream in Shakeperian"

QOTD

2006-12-11T08:16:00.000-08:00

Quayde to Michael," Dad, are you okay with something that you don't know where it's been?"

New neighbors

2006-12-07T20:58:00.000-08:00

Today I relinquished to the fact that the futon was never going to fit in this new house. We placed a free sign on it and just a few hours later our neighbors two doors down were singing our praises. They are having 10 extra people sleeping at their home this weekend and it was just what they needed. Yeah! Then they invited us down to see their miniature Christmas village that is set up all year round! We learned all kinds of interesting things about the surrounding neighbors which was very enlightening. We also learned that our address is wrong. It was supposed to be 426 but got listed as 416 which screws up everyone coming to our street. Yes, we had to chose the odd ball property. This probably explains why the 416 is in three different places and is very prominent.
Last night Lydia and I tried to get out some Christmas decorations and then Thayne broke several light globes and with glass everywhere, we gave up. So as of right now the extent of holiday spirit that Lydia and I could muster is in the form of a foil snowflake hanging above the entrance to the porch.
Our new neighbors Art and Joann assure us that our neighbor Rich, right next door, puts out enough holiday to accommodate the whole neighborhood.

2006-11-28T21:25:00.000-08:00

It might be okay if we were just moving a family of seven but we are also moving a homeschool and a homebusiness. This is the reason we are still sorting through stuff. I think that refrigerator is the cleanest it has ever been and with the cold weather I am betting that the carpets that were shampooed today will gather icicles overnight. Can't wait for Friday when this has to be done and keys turned in.

2006-11-27T21:21:00.000-08:00

Sorry for no posts. We are still moving and some things have gone a little off. More info later. We are sleeping in a nice warm home though and are very happy. Michael said it was like waking up in a expensive hotel. Thayne fell and broke his nose but is recovering well. It is getting a tad bit on the chilly side so we are completely grateful for our new home.

Keys

2006-11-14T22:02:00.000-08:00

Last night Michael had an appointment to do a walk through of the house and the man never showed! Nothing irritates me more than a broken committment dealing with our time. Michael finally got a hold of the man and rescheduled for this morning. So we made bet about what we thought Neil looked like based on his voice. We were both right. We have had a strong feeling this guy is not totally on the up and up. He claims to be doing all this for his "very, very, close" friend. Michael and I researched everything on this house, the owner, etc... So Michael purposely mentions the owners wife's name. Neil lets it slip that he has never met the wife. Then realizes what he has said.
We did the walk through, got the keys (YEAH!!!!) and will probably not see Neil again. He states as he is walking out that the owner would definitely want us to do whatever it takes to make it our home. Hello...YES! That's all the permission I need to start painting. There are lots and lots of nail holes in the walls that need to be repaired. Even with two windows open this morning, it was still warmer than the home we are in now. So we laid on the floor and the kids ran around and around, in and out of bedrooms and bathrooms. I think it will work.

Sunday

2006-11-12T22:17:00.000-08:00

As many of you know I am the children's music director at our church. This Sunday was a major deal..we had our year end program showcasing everything the kids have learned and all the songs that go with our theme. It was incredible! We have a significant portion of Spanish speaking children and so part of our program was in Spanish. We had them sing a main song with the English-speaking children joining in(in Spanish). I am betting that we didn't get the words all quite correct but the Spirit that was felt there brought lots of people to tears. I had large posters that I held up from the back to try and help us and the Bishop was chuckling watching me try to juggle it all. Oh I love that man, he is a great leader! It was a wonderful Sunday and the children were even reverent until primary time when they had had quite enough of sitting still for lessons etc.. I am so pleased with how hard each one of those kids worked to learn their parts and to sing their best. It is such a joy to be their music leader.

Grateful

2006-11-11T20:25:00.000-08:00

Tonight I need to run to Walmart to replace buns we needed for our supper, the mice ate the others. So Lyd and I jump in the truck for a quick trip. I run into a woman I haven't seen in longer than five 1/2 years. We weren't really close friends back then just casually knew each other. We stop to chat, then she smiles and says, "I can't tell you how happy I am to see Lydia" She tells me how inspired she was by Lydia's strength and how amazed she is to see Lyd so grown up. We spend a time chatting about other menial things for about 15 minutes. As we go to leave she says," It was great seeing you again but even more, it's great to see Lydia ."
Sometimes I am overwhelmed by the grace of having Lydia in my life , sometimes I forget when she won't shut up about Barney or please go to Walmart.
Thanks Melanie for reminding me.

warm and safe

2006-11-11T17:44:00.000-08:00

I sit in this broken brown chair watching as the leaves are desperately clinging to the tree outside. The wind is whipping through these logs reminding us that winter is approaching quickly. I most certainly understand that perspective is rarely reality but am convinced that the mice have ganged up in force to show a might of strength before we leave. We have not winterized this house at all since we are soon to leave it, it is colder inside than out. Chaiya says we must move in the day we get the keys to our new home. I remind her that we have renovation to do before she has a room. She says she will sleep in a closet as long as it is warm.
I haven't packed a thing. It is like I am in a state of non-belief until we have the keys. This will be a much quicker move than any of the others I have done. NO I don't want help. Not that I don't appreciate the offer. For me, moving is like a closing of a book and starting of a new one. I need to personally toss out all the little things, it is refreshing and healing. When people come in to help move you and just toss everything into boxes, it is without care to the soul of the home. My husband hates it. He is used to the military coming in, boxing everything up, and heading out in a single day. They even box up any trash that has not been disposed of. I know it probably make no sense to anyone else but myself but this is how I enjoy moving.
I will only miss this house a little; I think I will miss the possibility that I had hoped this house would become for our family. The preserve was wonderful for our backyard but the creatures, the cold, and the discontent was not what our souls needed here. The construction and new "driveway" make us feel unsafe. A home should be always a safe place. I am so looking forward to creating that in our new place.

2006-11-08T13:58:00.000-08:00

Mercury

2006-11-08T13:52:00.000-08:00

Today we made these really cool viewers so we can see Mercury transit across the Sun. It will take several hours so we are charting the transit. Here are some pictures of our initial trys. We have since improved our viewers by putting one of them in a larger box. We can even see sunspots. It's really fun! This is why we homeschool. For more info go to: http://spaceweather.com

Not for the squeamish

2006-11-08T00:47:00.000-08:00

My poor sister Ginny has been going through everyone being sick at her house. I think I would take that over what I just finished cleaning up.
For days now I have been saying..."this house smells wrong!" no-one listens. Tonight Michael came home from work and stated he believed something had died behind the refrigerator. Yes in-deed!!!
So continuing on with Mousecapades.......I do sincerely hope this is the last I have to deal with them before we move.
Not only one dead mouse but two.
Michael and I pull the fridge out and he locates the first one, starts to place it in a bag then stops to look at it's decaying body.
Within seconds he is throwing up in the trash can. He can't stop. I run the mouse out to the dumpster. It's not pretty underneath that refrigerator. It's 15 minutes til midnight. It has to be cleaned.
Michael pauses heaving long enough to point out that there is another dead mouse further back.
Out come the long tongs, the ones we use for the shrimp at weddings. Yes...we threw them away.
The second mouse is not nearly as rotted as the first. It takes me a bit of careful maneuvering to get it out from behind the fan. Oh this is so what I wanted to be doing at midnight.
Then the floor clean up. Even though I have not gotten any nasty on my hands at all, I am still feeling the need to wash and wash. It took Michael quite awhile to stop throwing up and he did hold the light for me while I was getting the second one out and cleaning.
He still is my SuperHubby, even if he can't stomach dead mice.
Bet none of those Stepford wives would be doing this.

Martha is a Stepford....

2006-11-07T14:18:00.000-08:00

....I am not! Spent way too much quality time with Lydia trying to dye cupcake batter into toooo many colors, only to have Chaiya point out that in the movie it was just the frosting. Lydia was very happy and we all have colored tongues!

Deep Trouble

2006-11-07T08:20:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I need a mommy movie and our local library has a great selection of different documentaries and a variety of videos to borrow. On our most recent foray to the library I selected the latest version of The Stepford Wives with Nicole Kidman. As I awoke this morning, I found Lydia watching "my" movie. She is convinced I need to make colorful cupcakes like the Stepford wives make. It seems that she was highly impressed by the spotless homes and all the yummy goodies in the kitchens. I think I am probably the farthest thing from a Stepford mother! So she told me I MUST make the colorful cupcakes today and she even got out the pans.
This is the child who concerns me the most.
Lydia is so smart she is already getting on the internet and downloading games that she wants to play. She signs into Chaiya's IM and email and then Chaiya's friends believe that Chaiya is being rude by not answering them.
Lydia hides things! Her distraught siblings are coming up with all manner of their property missing. Lydia is too blame.
Yesterday she was encouraging her little brother to get into the cabinet. Thayne just has to point and try and Lydia comes to aid and abet. This is trouble. I can already foresee the future. Her brains , his height.....deep trouble!
p.s. but she is just so darn cute.

Halloween lab

2006-11-02T19:27:00.000-08:00

here's a picture of our fun halloween lab room that we decorated.
Dried fruit makes great dried body parts, cabbage for a brain and a fennel bulb with a little red food coloring was so impressive that the YC biology teacher even complemented me!

Smoki Pueblo miracle

2006-11-02T19:17:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we transformed the Smoki Pueblo from a tacky kachina laiden area to one that was fit for a wedding reception. Someday I will have a camera that will capture how magical these things work out. One wonderful touch was having the couples' parents and grandparents wedding pictures line the fireplace mantle. It was a really lovely evening!!! Including the moose antlers.

Smoki miracle cont...

2006-11-02T19:15:00.000-08:00

Smoki miracle

2006-11-02T19:14:00.000-08:00

2006-10-31T20:43:00.000-08:00

I have a bad relationship right now with this blog...I have been trying to upload pictures for two days now with no luck!!!!!:(
So quick summary and I will try again tomorrow morning. Went to "Conversations With God" movie...go see it, if for nothing else to get a perspective on being homeless. There were several times I cried for him, especially the first time he ate from the dumpster because his hunger overcame his pride. We will definitely buy the dvd.
Smoki Museum wedding a big success! Antlers CAN be hidden with a large floral display.
Tonights Halloween party was okay. We had fun decorating part of a little room with a witches lab complete with beating heart.
Pictures coming soon.

Goodbye to Warren

2006-10-24T23:45:00.000-07:00

This afternoon was an old high school friend's funeral. Warren Parks was a person who truly lived his life. He sang, flew, explored and loved fully in his life. We first became friends years ago in our seminary class and we both shared a love for music in Choraleers together as well as many many other classes. At our last high school reunion we sat at the same table and reminiscence about where life had taken us. He invited Michael to work at the air show with him and made Mike feel welcome.
Warren and his wife Betsy had a list of places that they wanted to get married all over the world. So each year they would travel to one of these places and renew their vows.
His death and the others that were in the airplane was tragic and reminds me how everything in one's life can completely change in a few moments. Warren's family are members of our ward at church and his sister Corrine is inspiring in her own right. She struggles each week with her walker down the hallway but always has a smile and always contributes to the lessons. I am feeling a little sad for their loss. I am also feeling grateful for my family and the time we have together each day.

For Thanksgiving

2006-10-24T10:21:00.000-07:00

This will be my new kitchen for Thanksgiving. We will get the keys on Nov. 15th and of course try to move and get settled in by Thanksgiving. hahaha. Our new home has a wonderful deck all along the back stepping down to a white picket fenced grass area. Did I mention the jetted whirlpool sunk-in tub in the master bath? Okay so we are all a little excited mostly because it means we will be warm this winter. We will not be embarrased to have people come over because the living room is colder inside than out, as it is in this house. Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!
Now I have to get back to work....pulling off a miracle this weekend transforming the pueblo over at the Smoki museum.

QOTD

2006-10-15T19:32:00.000-07:00

"Dad , you've made a mess" Chaiya pointing to the chocolate milk mix on the cabinet
"Oh, I thought you meant out of my life" Mike's reply

Possible new home

2006-10-14T21:29:00.000-07:00

As most of you know , we have been searching for the perfect house to move into. In hopes of staying warm this winter it has been quite the quest. With five kids, homeschool, homebusiness and then regular family life sometimes finding the right home is difficult. We had a home we liked a few weeks ago , the tile was incredible inside, but the bedrooms were just too small and we couldn't make it work. I got a really strong impression last Wednesday to drive past that house again even though I knew it was already rented. So following inspiration, I headed down the road. The house right next door to it was up for rent! This home has a backyard that is wonderful with a full deck around the back of the house. A brand new remodeled kitchen and a bathroom with a jetted sunk in tub. We will know next week if our application is approved. Keep your fingers crossed.

Fireworks in Oct

2006-10-14T21:25:00.000-07:00

We just watched an amazing display of fireworks. Yes, I know it's October and we have no idea why they were shooting off fireworks from the Prescott Resort. It was a good 20+ minutes of lots of different colors and designs; some I haven't even seen before. What a happy happening right outside our living room window. Very fun!

Love or hate

2006-10-12T10:24:00.000-07:00

I've had a little trouble with Blogger and posting lately so here I try again.
In light of the Amish school shooting and the forgiveness of these sweet people; I have been contemplating a great deal about love and hate.
A couple of weeks ago a friend of my son Quayde was visiting and ask me if I hated President Bush. At our homeschooling group his mom has expressed strong opinions about this. I was surprised by his question as hate is not something I even think about.
My answer to him was that even if a person "deserved?" to be hated, that person would need our love , blessings, prayer and light even more than someone we liked. What good does it serve anyone or any home or any culture if we have any form of hate in our hearts? A person can not be pro peace if they even entertain hate. If we consciously incorporate Love as a daily intention towards everyone we met what a better world we could create! I truly believe hate is a learned trait, hate has to be taught. Not a single baby comes to this world with that inside. Letting go of the grudges, letting go of the emotion that creates contempt, turning to love and forgiveness should be a daily conscious process.
So this week I have been searching inside to see if I have secretly harbored any grudges or dislike that I need to release to help create a more peaceful world. 'Cause don't we all want love more than hate?

QOTD

2006-10-09T16:43:00.000-07:00

Lydia: " Whose coming , whose coming?"
Me: "no one"
Lydia: " Then why is Chaiya cleaning up?"

what

2006-10-07T11:12:00.000-07:00

Thayne actually slept for part of the night. He has been up for a week with teething and not feeling very well. So he is taking a nap right now, I want to go join him. I haven't had a good night sleep in awhile either. Lydia woke up this morning saying that she is going to high school and when are we going to drop her off. Last night we had fun making caramel apples, for Lydia we took a fruit roll up thing and wrapped it around so she could enjoy one also. Quayde is chomping on the leftovers. Chaiya is wrapped up in a blanket reading Shakespeare and Maliea is all dressed up wanting to go somewhere but not knowing where. It's a Saturday, there is lots and lots of stuff we could do but we are all sitting in this cool living room, just sitting here not accomplishing anything.

2006-10-03T22:15:00.000-07:00

I just want to wrap her up and run away far, far, far, far from doctors. It's been one of those Shindell visit days. Of which we had to pay $30 to the office because they weren't able to get secondary insurance referral. Add on, that the dolly to tow the van that broke down in a very bad part of Phoenix cost $105.00. Some psycho homeless woman at lunch had told me all her gang attack stories about 1/2 hour prior to the van breaking down. It still being close to hell hot down there. Started my period in Big Lots as we were waiting the 2 hours for Michael to come save us.
The positives: Lydia is a wonderful girl who is incredibly patient and sweet; who now owns a magical light up wand for being so good, The most fantastic Michael who doesn't mind coming to save us always and continually, and a amazing sunset as we were driving home towing the broken down van.

QOTD

2006-09-28T21:45:00.001-07:00

"Who knew her halo would hide the horns" Chaiya referring to Lydia this evening

Where

2006-09-26T13:01:00.000-07:00

I love days when the sky is so incredibly blue and the clouds look like they were just painted by God. Oh by the way I saw Him this morning in Chandler at McDonalds two tables and a booth down. Where have you seen Him today?

Searching for a new home

2006-09-24T22:23:00.000-07:00

We went and looked at a possible house to rent on Friday but the master bedroom was so small one could barely fit a queen sized bed in it. Since Lydia and Thayne need to be with us and all of Lydia's medical equipment, there is no way it would have worked. Darn, because it had really incredible stone tile in the living and dining rooms and a huge family room on the bottom floor. The backyard even had a huge oak tree with ivy everywhere. After thinking, meditating and praying I knew there was no way we could squish into it. So we continue looking as Autumn and the cold approach. Perfect house, Perfect price, Perfect time is coming with much grace and ease.

Fun at the Fair!

2006-09-22T20:30:00.000-07:00

Went to the fair on Thursday, everyone had a lot of fun!

Question

2006-09-19T22:51:00.000-07:00

My question for you tonight.....Yes you...is this; Are you really happy? Are you feeling joy and lightness in your daily activities? Or are you "comfortable" existing?
So you haven't made the commitment to BEing joyful. hummmm
Is it because maybe you are thinking it is too much work or life's circumstances are just weighing you down too much?
Let's start with this; list ten things that made you happy today. If you can't do ten write down five.
Here's my list:
1. Lydia - This amazing angel blows me away everyday with who she is. Tonight she imagined a string of silk into a frog, a necklace, package wrapping etc...
2. Free makeup samples - Costco gave out makeup samples and I have been having fun experimenting with new colors and what Quayde called 'wrinkle release' cream :)
3. Being Creative - I love being expressive and creating beautiful things.
4. English Toffee Tea - A simple luxury in a mug
5. Good Music - My very best friend burned me new cd's!
6. So of course this next one has to be SINGING AT THE TOP OF MY LUNGS!
7. Manifesting - still surprises me and makes me smile every single time things just appear.
8. Being able to gift- I love to send just because gifts
9. Uplifting movies- Ones about having the courage to feel and live triumphantly again
and
10. The dancing / playing mice who are running around like mad and scurrying everywhere in this living room of mine. ( I know I still need to rid our home of them tomorrow!)

I want to know what makes you happy today... what makes you smile and laugh. Let me know!

The time is now

2006-09-17T20:24:00.000-07:00

In the quest for BEing......the time is now.
So my birthday came and went. Unlike other years I have not had the opportunity to take some time for myself for contemplation and reflection.
I find this time of my life is one of whirling winds. I am the mother of a toddler again at 39. An active toddler. He and Lydia are an amazing pair and this next year will be full of laughter and joy. At the same time I find that my friends are moving on past early motherhood chores, finding their passions, taking time for their needs. I am not envious just curious. Curious as where the winds are taking me and how I am creating this path in my journey.
Here's a wonderful site....go down about 3/4 of the way to watch the little film. Consider pre-ordering the book and dvd for yourself, friends etc... It helps little ones like Lydia to have a special "wish" granted. Several of my online campomelic family friends have been able to go on Make-A-Wish trips. Some of their kids have died in the past year and half. These trips make incredible happy memories for them.
So onto the quest of BEing.......being real and having a blast doing it.

Mom?

2006-09-17T19:11:00.000-07:00

Conversation this evening.......
"Mom, Is that a pancake on the floor?" Quayde asks from the top of the stairs
"What?"
"Where?"
"There on the living room floor by the couch."
I go to investigate, worried because it has been quite a while since we have had pancakes. Leaning down I realize that Thank Goodness it is not a pancake but the bun left over from the BBQ chicken sandwiches from earlier today.
So I go to ask Michael if he knows about this.
"Oh Yeah, Lydia was playing with the pancake turner and squished her sandwich"
ME: "So WHY WAS IT HALF WAY UNDER THE COUCH?????"
Michael: " Probably because it was thin"

additional comment

2006-09-17T19:10:00.000-07:00

It's not just the bun I found out....no it's the complete chicken sandwich! Mike's proud she beat it so thin.

Just listen

2006-09-13T20:09:00.000-07:00

When the universe presents a concept to you over and over in the past two weeks from lots of totally different sources, its time to sit up and listen so you can pay attention to the messages.
My best friend Kristi has been playing with the concept that our culture seems to focus on the I Must : Have then Do then Be which should be reversed. First we need to Be then Do then the having just flows to us. So she wrote in her blog about it, then the audio book I am listening to mentions it, then two other sources are screaming it to me so I will start paying attention. Then today I am surfing the web looking up homeschooling stuff and come across this concept again with a GREAT definition of BEING. So it is like this; BEING translates into why we are here.
BEING = Born to Expand the Infinite Nature of God.
So come play some more and visit this site to have daily insights and inspiration that will lift you, surprise you and take you on an adventure.

popularity

2006-09-11T20:19:00.000-07:00

Today after the plumber has once again gotten the roots cut out from the pipe ( this is a every six months type thing) I am very grateful for a toilet that flushes, bathtubs that drain and sinks that can have running water!
Teenage girls should never worry about popularity... just wait several years and get married and start having children. One is never unpopular again. In fact you become so popular that you barely have room to breathe, go to the bathroom or eat anything again. It has been a day!

Serious love/hate relationship

2006-09-10T23:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Quayde ran in the house all excited. He had been down at the creek and there was a great blue heron. He got Maliea and they spent a good part of the next couple of hours down watching it eat , exploring and playing in the water. Today the toliets and bathtubs are all backed up again!!! I hate this house but I love that the kids can play and explore nature in our backyard. I am so sad that this house couldn't be a home that we needed. But the weather has already started to change slightly and we are trying to figure out how in the world to stay warm here this winter without $450+ electric bills like last year. There are days where I sit and love the green trees out the window and feel at peace; but the rats, mice, bugs, sludge, leaking roof etc.... and etc..... make me angry. I wish I felt like it was time to move but I haven't felt that impression yet...still waiting.

virtual money

2006-09-07T22:55:00.000-07:00

Today I had $750.00 to spend at the prosperity game. So since I value time and I need order I made the choice to have a professional organizer come and fix , clean and place in order my office. Virtually of course. But......who knows what I am creating.

The begging

2006-09-07T22:50:00.000-07:00

Chaiya today came and begged, " Please mom, I promise I will never forget what a villianelle is! Just don't make us finish trying to write one." Later.... " I know why they named it a villianelle" Okay so after making them suffer just a little longer I decided to be nice and made sure they knew exactly how to write one, just in case some college class someday will require it.

Poetry and homeschool

2006-09-05T23:14:00.000-07:00

Today we discuss how to create a Villianelle. Not an easy task. 6 stanzas, the first five have to be triplets and the last stanza a quatrain. The 1st and last lines of the first stanza are the last two lines of the last. The first and last lines of all stanzas must rhyme. The 2nd line of every stanza must rhyme with every other 2nd line. Oh and..... the first line of the first stanza must be the last line of stanza 2 and 4 and the last line of the first stanza must be the last line of stanzas 3 and 5.
Okay... Got all that.
So the older girls' challenge for the week is to finish the villianelle that we started today. We have the first stanza complete. So that's half the poem right?

Come play

2006-09-03T21:13:00.000-07:00

I receive a newsletter email from a copy writing marketer every week. Most of the time its 'buy my workshop stuff' but this last week she passed on an incredible site. It has a free game about being abundant and having prosperity in your life. This was right up my alley as I have used several of the principles from the site in my life. If you are ready to have some fun,(yes your money relationship can be fun) and maybe change your relationship and have more flowing to you check out this site and play! I am having my older girls play as a homeschool assignment. I was a little surprised by my first choice to spend $100.00 Feeling the need to create more order in my life with plastic shoeboxes that have labels.

are you tired of wedding stuff yet?

2006-09-03T21:04:00.000-07:00

Yes we had another wedding reception this weekend. The bride, Kimberly, literally screamed out loud when she saw the room. She was so happy. This was a difficult style to work with as she had moved the date from Oct to Sept 2. It was a Fall theme with these huge topiaries. Even though I hate doing cakes beyond all. I made this one. The bottom layers are fake. It look like the picture she wanted.

our little trip

2006-09-03T20:53:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we headed out on the 25th to Pima / Thatcher area to do a wedding. ON the way we stopped at a little Catholic shrine to do some letterboxing and at Besh Ba Gowah to explore.
I had taken the kids about 8 or 9 years ago on a PLAN field trip and wanted to go back. It is a great deal of fun and you get to climb in and explore. If you are ever headed to Globe area stop by there for an hour or so. It was only $3.00 for anyone over 12. Chaiya and Maliea remembered so much about what we learned there when they were little. It was a testament of how well family-based education works! Our last day in Safford we quickly went hunting down a letterbox before we headed home. The stamp was of the cotton plant and we were only the third person in their notebook.
It was a fairly enjoyable trip. Very nice to travel again. I miss being on the open road.

More pictures

2006-09-03T20:49:00.000-07:00

Pictures from letterboxing and trip to Besh Ba Gowah

2006-09-03T20:39:00.000-07:00

peach and black

2006-08-29T23:16:00.000-07:00

I haven't downloaded the pictures from our letterboxing or Besh Ba Gowah but we all had a great time! The wedding was a lot of work but really enjoyable. Here's some pics of what we did.

Tomorrow

2006-08-24T23:24:00.000-07:00

We're off to Pima / Thatcher tomorrow at 5:00 am for the Goodman wedding. Stops for letterboxing and a visit to Besh Ba Gowah in Globe for the trip there. Lydia and Quayde are thrilled to be able to stay in a hotel again. Did you know it is almost impossible to find a bathing suit for a teenage girl at the end of August? Finally after 4 stores and multiple clearance racks I found one. Maliea will be a happy girl if it stays sunny enough to swim. Off for an adventure!

more wedding stuff

2006-08-22T23:28:00.000-07:00

Tonight's creation was a mailbox for the guests to place any cards for the couple. I personalized it by printing their names on a magnetic sheet then glueing the cording around it. I can just take it off and replace it with a different couple later. This was a lot of fun.

2006-08-21T21:20:00.000-07:00

Finished some of the floral for the wedding this weekend. It's really sad though.... They have had a member of their family die this week so they must do a funeral the day before. I hope that we can bring a little sunshine for them by making the wedding beautiful.

Lydia

2006-08-20T16:17:00.000-07:00

Today in Church , Lydia's class had some kind of lesson on obeying.
They had a substutite teacher who gave them badges that they were supposed to write their names on. Lydia apparently either didn't like the lesson or just doesn't like the idea of obeying. She didn't write her name ...she wrote NOP.

2006-08-15T11:45:00.000-07:00

We listened to two different perspectives on slavery, the South and Civil War yesterday. Audio books are wonderful tools for homeschooling. The one called "To Be A Slave" was incredibly interesting. The authors took quotes and sources from all different people from books, Library of Congress resources etc... to compile the various narratives. Growing up out here in the West , my perspective of prejudice, civil rights, brutality etc.... was all history. When I went to meet Mark's parents for the first time in Tennessee (1987) and got stuck downtown when a Klu Klux Klan rally was about to begin, I literally went into shock for days. Are we not more educated, more intelligent, more loving? Hate is not something I ever want my children to use in their daily life. It would be wonderful if they never experienced it at all. I find that with all the politics around border patrolling and illegals that our culture just has created a new form. I think it is really fear that helps create the hate. Children learn from our example, our opinions, our way of life. If we really really want to have world peace be a possibility in our lifetime, we need to start in our homes. Is the spilt milk worth screaming over?

before and after

2006-08-11T10:14:00.000-07:00

We had a lot of fun doing this one. It was supposed to be outside in a courtyard area but the weather forced us to do it inside. Okay so Michael and I really wanted to do it inside anyway. :) sorry pic are reversed of before and after

2006-08-09T09:04:00.001-07:00

Saturday was crazy. My sister called with a message from a teenage girl wanting to know when we were arriving to set up chair covers for her sister's quincenera. I hadn't ever heard back from these people after our original call three weeks earlier. NO Contract, NO anything. So I quickly called her to find out what was going on. She wanted 200 chair covers with pink. I had 160 on hand of one style and 125 of the other. I told her we would do the best we could. Of course I only had 80 pink sashes. 2 hours later we had pretty chairs with every other one with a white sash. Shawna came and helped iron them as we placed them on the chairs. I just put the full length ones along the outside and it worked! The facility didn't even have 200 chairs and they communicated with the Moose Lodge as about as well as they did with me. It was very interesting but they paid me $250 in cash.
We are just busy busy busy here. Having a wedding reception tomorrow evening that we can't decide if it will be nice enough to do outside. The backdrop which is black iron can't be seen very well with trees behind it , like they want..so I am trying to come up with a solution. If it is inside :) there's my solution! Found some really cool food umbrella's at a thrift store yesterday!! Today is all about fun and creating. I'm off (well we all knew that) ....to make beautiful stuff.

The new Maliea!

2006-08-03T23:02:00.000-07:00

Maliea first spent 2 1/2 hours in the dentist chair this morning and then she had to go back in the afternoon for another hour in the dentist chair. Then she emerged with a deband bag full of all the candy etc... that she hasn't been able to eat for three years! What interesting dentist that give kids all they were deprived of. It was a long day for all of us but especially Maliea who had to go through a lot! She was just beaming today.
She has been quite the trooper through all of this and now she looks amazing! We still have quite a bit of dental work to go through but at least she can see progress.
It's a happy smile!

My day

2006-08-02T23:34:00.000-07:00

My sister had post about what a toddler eats..well its definitely true around here. Today I took a bolt, green chalk, a piece of plastic, 2 wrappers, foil and a myriad of other small objects out of my son's mouth. He constantly is finding things, digging in the garbage and calling remote objects off of shelves to place in his mouth. NONE of the other kids ever were this bad. I didn't just "forget" I know that they weren't I've kept journals since I was 12.
I am feeling very overwhelmed today. We stopped to drop off Zack who spent part of the day playing and Lydia pulled out her trach tube. By the time I realized it, I was in the drivers seat , her in the back... her stoma had started to close. Needless to say I had to do some unpleasant necessary stuff to get that tube back in. No trauma internally but plenty externally. So.... now we are keeping an extra eye on her. Lydia acted like no big deal. I am not pleased.
So I came home at 8:45 and started cleaning the entry mud/library room which my loving husband didn't even notice as he walked through it.
It is starting to look like the outdoor wedding on the 10th might be indoors if the weather report stays the same as it is right now.
Tomorrow is a banner day.. Maliea gets her braces off!!! She is very very excited. So we are headed to Phoenix bright and early tomorrow morning. As soon as we get back I will try to post a picture of her new smile for everyone who supported us in this. WE ARE TOTALLY GRATEFUL!

2006-07-23T23:34:00.000-07:00

As much as he has complained and been thoroughly exhausted I really believe that Michael has been deriving deep deep satisfaction from this concrete side job he has been doing (okay he even took pictures). The money definitely has made a difference to him but it is a great deal more than that. The down side has been that I haven't seen him a whole lot and that he truly is wiped out when he gets home. He now has a tan that is darker than my skin and might soon actually pass as a native. Today at church he got an offer for another side job, building a house, that he is considering. The biggest conflict he is having is that this is so out of HIS realm of belief about what a job is or the "proper" way to earn money. The good ole' USAF strikes again. Thinking out of the box is not something that I believe my husband comes by easily. Poor guy, thrust into our little bubble here and pop goes the rest of what he knew about how life works.

As I have been meditating and praying about what I have been feeling both physically and emotionally, I came across a solution which of course has been staring me in the face for the last year. My iron levels are way way to low again. Not that I ever got them up to an acceptable level in the first place. The fatigue, headaches, anxiety, bruising etc..... are all back to the classic symptoms that I had last summer. Somehow I think that my body should just work. That it should just automatically bounce back. That I can put it through whatever and it should just know what to do. I guess this is the first revelation that as one's body gets older it just doesn't bounce as well.
I am still so struggling with sadness over wanting everything to have been so perfect with Thayne's birth. We had an ambulance fly past us the other night after we went out for dinner and I was immediately flashing back to our ride last year and why don't they get better shocks on those stupid trucks?! It must go so much deeper because I work and process and there is this deep sorrow that doesn't go away. I am not sure how to touch it and journey through it.

Everyday Lydia keeps asking,"Are my teeth coming in?" I assure her they are but we can't see anything there yet. We picked up a book on Venice so Chaiya can start dreaming and creating her vacation there. She will probably have the map and every cool place memorized before she goes. Hostels are about 37 to 45 Euros which are really reasonable. Quayde had a great time camping. Apparently boy will be boys and they had some fun with making shaving cream faces on each other while sleeping.
On to a new week of work and play and discovery. Maybe sleep.

balance?

2006-07-22T09:56:00.000-07:00

It's morning.....I feel like I have been run over by a truck. My "babies" haven't been sleeping in the night. Suctioning, hurting feeting, needing to nurse etc... I have been trying to work after nine at night when the house has settled down and the little ones are generally asleep. The down side is I am not getting into bed until after midnight and this isn't working. I am trying to find a balance between everything I do. I forgot I don't believe in balance.
It is impossible. My life works great when I don't try to pretend that one can have a balance and accomplish everything. I actually get tons and tons accomplished when I just flit and fly from one thing to another and I feel better about life and myself.
So I started this "I need balance" stuff, out of guilt. I let it creep in. Maybe I wasn't being a good enough mom or wife or friend. Maybe we weren't doing enough as a family. Maybe I wasn't supporting everyone enough blah blah blah.
So I am looking at a "new" school year without a plan or a clue, I've got this business which has gotten off to a fairly good start but it's a lot of work, I've got a house which needs to be de-cluttered and cleaned, I've got 5 kids and a husband who all need me, etc.......
That doesn't even count the heavy grace stuff in my life like Lydia and Maliea's extras.
With additions of other things.
I am thinking I need to get back to what works for me even if it is definately not what other people do.

two home , one to go

2006-07-20T15:59:00.000-07:00

The girls arrived home from camp yesterday afternoon. Sweet words to my ears were from Chaiya," Mom you were so right about the hike , it was awful" and then she said she wanted me to write fake doctor's notes for all her friends who have to go next year. Quayde is gone camping tonight and through the weekend with a family from our church. Maliea was so happy to be back in her own bed but she loved camp. She said that popular and her name actually came together this year and she had so much fun. This was her last year to go so I am so glad it was so successful for her. Only a couple more weeks until seminary and public school starts again so I need to get our act together to figure out school for ourselves once everybody is home.

GO HERE!

2006-07-19T11:05:00.000-07:00

I love stories that make me smile, make me believe in the capacity of creating wonder, make me laugh out loud and have hope. Please take time to go to this site and smile and think outside the box about what you could do with your life.

yesterday

2006-07-18T10:50:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I scrubbed the floor in the dining room twice (thanks to Thayne), played playdough, playmobile and shaving cream fingerpaint, made homemade whole wheat pancakes and pasta dishes, washed lots of tablecloths from event over the weekend, read stories and did a hmsch lesson on weird plants, talk to client about changing dates :/, emailed two other clients, changed a lot of diapers, went to dinner and then Walmart shopping for diapers and milk, had alone time with husband and I still don't feel like I got enough done.

It is finished!

2006-07-17T10:36:00.000-07:00

We left to drive out of our driveway and to our amazement!!!!!! there were no cones, no flashing blinking things, no torn up roadway! Oh my goodness we actually had no backup beepers, no backhoes, no big CAT machines anywhere near. I am still in shock. It was incredible. They were there all there earlier and now although it's been a full 11 months the road in front of our home is finished. The so called driveway is a very fancy full paved and striped thing passing about 10 feet in front of our walkway. The city has no intention of leaving Willy his property. They claim eminent domain and he has been fighting them in court for years but they made the "driveway" a little tooooo nice for him to have any chance of getting to keep his property. Our Bishop is losing his land also. They have given him less than a year to get out. Eminent domain there too. A new county jail will be placed. Do we ever really own our property if the government can just come in and take it and not compensate for it?

2006-07-16T11:16:00.000-07:00

On Friday morning Chaiya left for a 7 mile hike and then off to camp and Maliea followed to camp on Saturday morning. The powers that be let Maliea go this year even though she is over 18. That was really nice! She has hit that awful transition age and we have no clue where it is all going. I need to trust more that she will find her way and it will be just perfect for her.
So Michael is working a side job doing concrete forms and Home Depot and that leaves me, Quayde and the little ones to our own devices. We snuck out of the house late last night before Target closed and had fun buying things like playdough and flying toys. We found we can sit on our porch at night and its so dark that the glow in the dark necklaces we have can be whipped around and make all kinds of wild and fun shapes. Thayne has figured out how to stand up in the middle of the floor by himself and then he laughs sooooo hard he falls back down. It's been fun watching him accomplished all the little things.
Okay latest place to go on the web www.hotmomsclub.com It's about feeling good about yourself and not falling into the I'm a drudge thing that happens sometimes.
My best friend left to go to another Hendricks certification! Soon she will need a wall just for all the things she is certified in. Have fun in CA Kristi!!!! I know she said its for work but I think CA minus kids plus shopping sounds like fun to me.
Got a whole lot of portfolio pictures put into an album to show brides to be but still have lots of work to do. Need to update/re-do some of my website pages. My August weddings all have black in them hummmm and one is outside.
We are going to have fun today and maybe go to the arts and crafts fair on the square.

Wednesday Night Movie

2006-07-12T23:53:00.000-07:00

Old Yeller
Quayde is now sad and afraid to go outside because some animal might have rabies and come attack him. Chaiya ever cynical just thought it was corny.

QOTD

2006-07-11T23:57:00.000-07:00

"Mom I don't think you can handle 6 kids!" Quayde as he is shutting the door to our room as Michael and I are seriously kissing on the bed.

So many problems

2006-07-11T16:46:00.000-07:00

This wedding had little disaster after little disaster!
The cake collapsed and the baker was desperate so I gave her some of the flowers to match the table, it didn't taste that great either. Carrie and I got to "play" in it after it was all over. Haven't you ever wanted just to grabbed big chunks and make a mess? We did!
It was very late starting. The groom was too busy playing with his new stereo system that he bought that he didn't realize what time it was and wasn't dressed at all; at 10 minutes after it was supposed to start.
One of the flower girls had a major melt down and refused to be in the wedding at all. This was just the start.
All in all a quite interesting day!