Sunday, April 26, 2009

My Sweetheart




Each of my children have term of endearment that I use to refer to them. My sweetheart is my middle child Michael. If you know him, you will know instantly why this is his moniker. He is such a mild and sweet, sugary, little guy. He is a charmer of girls and has been from a very early age. He prefers to hang with boys that are older than him, 'cause they are cool and inspiring I guess. When he was born we were expecting another girl. My first intuition was that he was a boy and my heart sunk when the Dr. told me it would be another girl. Two weeks later I was filled with joy at the prospect of having another girl who would be able to wear all the pretty dresses that Bailey had worn. Trivial, maybe, but I was just so sure it was a boy. So two weeks before he was born, a thought raced across my brain. What if it's a boy? Everyone was convinced it was a girl and my question was brushed off. I said, "shouldn't we pick a boy name just in case?" David didn't even want to discuss it. So, I started thinking of boy names just in case and came up with Michael James. Michael after my mother's father and James after Dave's mother's father. Whenever I broached the subject of the possibility of the baby's boyness it was as if it was just pregnant delusions. No one said yeah or neah about the name they didn't worry about it 'cause it was gonna be a girl. He picked the most perfect day to be born. He arrived at dawn on Easter Sunday, 2000 at our home in Bozeman, MT. Weighing in at about 11lbs or possibly more. When the midwife saw his obvious non-girlness she gasped and whispered, "don't say anything". When I beheld my son I sighed and said, "Oh, it's a Michael." This is how the love story between my sweetheart and I began.


This year for Michael's birthday we went to the zoo. We packed our lunches and headed out for a day of fun. He was sure to bring his binoculars to get a closer look at the animals. His favorite animal that day was the okapi which is like a cross between a giraffe an a zebra.





We bought nectar and fed the Lories. They are funny little parrots. One was giving Michael love bites on his ear.





We saw the baby ducklings. We got ice cream and then went to eat our lunches before...



riding the train.

Michael just HAD to sit in the last car. It was a wonderful time. After all this we ran some errands before we had dinner and fun at Chuck E. Cheeses. It was a day for him and I think we all enjoyed it. I love my sweetheart more and more as he grows.

Happy Birthday Mikey!

Conversations From Here to There: Roller coaster

The following occurred during the drive home from the movies last night. We were headed South on 410 and taking the interchange to 10 South. There is a huge ramp there that goes way up and over all the other roads.

Mom: Ooooh, this is the roller coaster ramp. I was planning on taking my Mom on it when she came. It goes so high and is just like a roller coaster.
Joey: Yeah, it's fun.
Mikey: I like this one.
Dad: Oh, yeah?
Mom: Yeah, it makes my tummy flip over when we go over this part.
Mom and three kids: Whooooooooaaaaaaaaahhhh!

Joey: That was fun, let's do it again backwards!!!!

Monday, April 13, 2009

Flowers, Feasting, and Fun!!

Easter has come and gone, and though most of the traditions are from ancient pagan rituals, we try to have a little fun and remember the sacrifice of Christ for us. We had house guests this weekend and it was great. Whenever we spend time with our adopted family, the kids are rambuncious. Then when the company leaves, they mope and cry and say how much they miss the company. We had a very relaxed Easter this year. Selina came down on Friday night and I put her to work right away helping to clean the church. Then we made Resurrection cookies as an activity for the children during the evangelistic meetings being held there. The cookies flopped and I had to remake them at home and bring the results to church the next day. Sabbath was good except that three of the Sabbath School teachers for the young classes were gone or home with sick or injured children. I helped out a little with the younger kiddos improv style. After Church, we headed down to the River Walk for a walk!

Sunday the kids were up and wanting to dig into their Easter baskets, but they had to wait till they finished the wonderful breakfast David made! Waffles, turkey bacon, and juice! We spent most of the day hanging out in pajamas, eating snacks, playing video games, or Farm Town.

Then we worked at preparing a marvelous and wonderful feast! We made Salmon and Asparagus on the grill. Selina made her fabulous to die for macaroni and cheese, fruit salad, and garlic mashed potatoes. For dessert we had cake and my famous triple berry cherry pie. It was awesome and delicious.

We topped off the fun with an egg hunt for the kids and then spent the last moments talking and singing or watching Veggie Tales.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Conversations From Here to There: Encyclopedia Miketanica...

Bailey: Mom, have you ever heard of Chinese Dogheads?
Mom: What?
Bailey: Dogheads.
Mom: Chinese Dogheads?
Bailey: Yeah.
Dad: You mean like those scary dragon dog things in front of the buildings?
Bailey: No, they were people.
Mom: No, I never heard of them. Are they in your story?
Bailey: Yes.

Mikey: The Chinese Water Deer looks like a dog.
Dad: Thank you Encylopedia Miketanica.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

The view from my back door.

We have been working to improve the view from the back door lately. When we moved here everything looked brown and hopeless. Here are some pictures of our latest attempt to bring something beautiful and green into our back yard. We noticed the birds getting drinks from a bowl I had placed under one of the downspouts and thought they might like their own special place.

Here are some pics of the kids helping move the extra dirt because we don't have a wheelbarrow.

Even before the edging and plants went in, Mikey commented, "Wow, it looks so nice, I could stand here all day and just look at that!" Everyone pitched in to complete the project.

With the edging, with the pebbles, and then we let the plants loose. I want to get some flowers too, maybe marigolds or something else.

So the view from my back door is improving day by day. Hope yours is too.

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Hugo and Eleanor



Here is a smart little friend I made this afternoon. Isn't she a beauty? I turned on the hose to give my plants a little drink and turned around to find her sneaking in to get a drink from the leak at the faucet. I watched her look for just the right spot to get a drink. When she realized she was being watched, she scooted to the outer edge of the hose so she could make a hasty escape if needed. I dashed into the house to grab the camera as I wanted to catch her beauty for all to see. I began to snap a few pics and she told me her name is Eleanor and insisted that this was her good side. She turned and posed so I could capture all her splendor.


She returned to the inner part of the hose to get another drink when I noticed someone else on the fence. It was Hugo, her boyfriend. He was green with envy at all the attention I had given to Eleanor.

He said he was far more beautiful than she. He insisted I take his picture and even showed off his flashy red throat. He then stomped away with his nose in the air.










Eleanor apologized profusely for the rudeness of her boyfriend and thanked me for my hospitality. Then she vanished quickly around the side of the house without a trace. I am hoping to entertain them both again in the future. Hopefully, Hugo will warm up to us. Only one question remains in my mind, what kind of lizards are these?


Friday, April 3, 2009

My Hero

After spending most of the night with children who were suddenly sick in a projectile way, I feel like the walking dead. Usually, David gets up and prepares for his day, gives me a hug and a kiss before he leaves, if I am sleeping in, or we chat together in the kitchen before he leaves. This morning the only recollection I have of his morning routine is the front door closing and locking. Sometime later, I heard the door chime and thought, David left already, who is downstairs? Only one of us slept through the night long battle with yuck, Joey. So I was thinking what is Joey going into the garage for. Then I heard the lock. I was already in motion at this point to see what was going on. I checked the window and Dave's car was there. My fuzzy brain said, but I thought he left already. So, I leave the bedroom and look to the bottom of the stairs and who is there? My hero, holding a McDonalds latte for me. He had gone to work and returned to check on all of us and make sure we would be ok. He brought Joey and I breakfast. So I am taking the opportunity to brag about my man. Now if I could only think of a way to show him token of my appreciation...