Blch! Yuckitty Yuck!

Been.  Sick.  For.  Days.

Fever.

Cough.

Sore Throat.

Bronchitis.

Mega Meds!!!

Upset Stomach.

Diarrhea.

Cough.

Sniff.  Sniff.

Take care of yourselves out there!

Skype Christmas

Checking out the photo calendar Christa made for our family!

Skyping is the next best way to share Christmas!

Oh, and the boom truck was here Thursday lifting the trusses for the

Addition Update

This is the view out David's present window, looking into what will be his new room, and out of his new picture window. 

This is a view from the front of the house.  The addition is on the south side of the house.

Right now I hear the pitter patter of little feet, okay, not little feet, Mike's feet.  He's our builder.  So there may be more updates soon.

Making Soap

The other day, I bought supplies to make soap. I was going to give slices of Christmas soap as party favors at our White Elephant Gift Exchange. So I bought the soap, printed directions from Martha, and followed them to the letter!



This was the soap after I popped it out of the pan.

And this was the soap after I sliced it! Every slice fell apart into five pieces.

My first thought was to chuck it all in the garbage, but then I remembered those checkered soaps I've seen. So I chopped up the rectangles, put them in the pans, and poured more melted glycerine soap over the chunks.

Ta da! It sliced beautifully!

Some Saturday

The walls went up today on our addition.  Second floor to follow!

One of our living room windows came out!  Should be quite chilly for a few days.

This was what was completed today.

While the guys were working outside, Grace and I were inside creating beautiful cupcakes.

The cupcakes were served at Grace's birthday dinner party!

And as I write, our living room is a buzz with a fierce game of charades.

What I didn't get photos of were the two cuties we babysat today.  Their Daddio was in charge of the building.  We also had Christmas carolers at our door.  A big group of little children, all nervously holding candles and singing their hearts out.  So wonderful!

Thanksgiving

I am unashamedly stealing/sharing Danae's review of our time in Oklahoma!

A First

Jim's first-ever hunting trip.  He didn't shoot anything, but he sure looks good!

Progress

First a hole in the ground.  Then cement forms.  Then cement.  Today, lumber in the yard.  Tonight, it's snowing and should stop sometime tomorrow night.  Is that a problem?

Flirtations

Flirtations with sin abound. 
Flirtations to hold back the truth. 
Flirtations to keep what is not ours. 
Flirtations to go over the line of decency. 

Why is it when we are flirting with sin that we feel so in control?  Justifications spur us onward, that we are powerful enough to control the situation.  That "it's okay".

It is not.
We are not merely dancing with flirtations; we are engaged in a war.
A battle for our minds.
A battle for our hearts.
A battle for our lives.

Yet, I know One who has won the battle.
He offers me the same victory.

We are under attack.
But we will be victorious.

Friday Card

Boy meets Girl.
Girl wants to run like the wind.
She's had her share of heartache.
But she stays.
She discovers Boy's had his share of heartache, too.
So they both stay.
And learn to trust and love.
And that's a good thing.

Sonshine

Today I stopped at David's school for a quick PAC errand.  As I was leaving, the end-of-the-day bell rang, and kids were pouring from the classrooms.  One kid caught my eye.  My kid; tall, blonde, red sweatshirt.  Yep, my son.  Our eyes met, his filled with confusion as to why I was there.  I knew better than to act too excited to see him.  He would die.  Or at least he would pretend to die.  I think he really likes me, most of the time.

As he approached, I held up my fist for a bump, and asked "Do you want a ride home?"
"Nah" he said bumping.  He continued down the hall to catch the bus.  (Anyone else think it a little strange that he WANTS to ride the bus home?)  I was perfectly fine with that, knowing that the bus ride home is some strange sort of debriefing time for him.

Walking to my car I heard "Jaron! Jaron!" and I looked to see an elated preschooler hanging out of a parked car yelling to his older brother.  Jaron took off running toward the car, and the two boys embraced in a forever hug!

I thought how nice it would be to have someone be that excited to see me. 
I remembered that my kids used to be that excited to see me. 
I remembered how sweet it was to hear "Mommy! Mommy!"
Now I get a fist bump.
But I love those fist bumps!
It means we understand each other; I don't embarrass him and he knows I need to "hug" him.  Fist hug?
We are in a good place.
Mutually respecting each other.
That's my sonshine.

Me. Totally.

"I like to think of myself as an optimistic realist.  I know the glass is half full.  

I just want to know who’s been drinking from it and if I still have to pay full price."  

Robert Tetreault

Yellowstone Bison-Grizzly Chase Caught On Camera

Yellowstone bison, grizzly chase caught on camera | KBZK.com | Z7 | Bozeman, Montana

This is where I live. Well, not far from here.

Kale Chips? Make'm. Now!

Jim was a little worried when I was putting the salad in the oven the other night.  It wasn't salad.  It was kale.  The last time I ate kale I lived at 14251 Briarwood Terrace in Rockville, Maryland.  A very long time ago.  But Kale Chips are all the rage on some food blogs I frequent, so I decided to give them a try.

1 bunch of kale, rinsed and dried.  Tear leaves from stems.
2 Tbs. Olive Oil
1/2 tsp sea salt

Mix all in large bowl, rubbing the salt and oil into the kale.  Bake at 275 degrees for 12 minutes.

A fabulous new way to eat your greens!

Pumpkin Contest

At work we had a Pumpkin Decorating Contest.  This was my first year to enter.  The pressure was hugemongous!  Not sure why.  Except I really like to win.  Maybe you don't know that about me.  It's a problem. 

After perusing various pumpkin carving web pages, I decided to chuck them all and go practical.  I am really practical.  Maybe you don't know that about me.  It's a problem.

I figured I could decorate a pumpkin without carving it, so I could keep it through the holiday season.  Halloween holiday season.  Fall holiday season.  Thanksgiving holiday season.  Practicality definitely won out over winning a contest.  It usually does.  It's a problem.

So I set out to make the shiniest, blingiest, beautifulest pumpkin I could.  And thank you very much, I think I did.  I love my pumpkin.  I even gave her a name.  Gordgeous.  Yeah, I'm pretty punny, too.

Sad to say, Gordgeous did not win the contest.  In fact the winner, whose name will be withheld to protect the innocent (Andrea!) won by a landslide because her husband, whose name will also be withheld (Kris!) was sending his customers from his Fly Shop into the bank to vote for his wife's pumpkin.  We were just all so impressed that people would actually stop in their day, to come inside the bank lobby to vote for a Frankenstein Hunter Pumpkin.  I hope they enjoy their dinner at Santa Fe Red's!

Officer Andrew

Andrew has made it to Germany!  What a long trip, nearly 24 hours in route.  I missed him on FB chat this morning.  :(  But did get the message that his first job here will be as a security guard.  Oooo, I bet he'll look all handsome and all.  :)  I love a man in uniform.

I just have to smile that my son, the anti-establishment wonder of our family, will now BE the establishment.  He will do a great job.  I know that.  I am so proud of who he is. 

Ok, I have tears now.  Better go find a tissue.

Steal Me Away

Jim asked me to be ready to "go" at 3:00 on Friday.  He didn't have to ask me twice.  All I knew is I needed my toothbrush and my bathing suit.  That's all I needed to know.  Smile.

He picked me up from work at 3:00 sharp!  I was ready!  As we pulled out of the parking lot he said "Behind my seat is a gift bag for you".  Smile.

The bag was full of goodies, including a book to read, some snacks, some flowers, a lilac candle, a new magazine, and three greeting cards labeled with the time I was to open them.  Smile. 

We drove to Three Forks and made a stop for an Almond Bear Claw at Wheat Montana.  Smile.

We drove another hour or so, talking, sharing, tearing down walls.  Smile.

We arrived at our destination, here where a Romance Package was awaiting. Smile.

We got in the pool and talked more, and tore down more walls, and cried, and soaked and relaxed.  Smile.

We split a bison burger for dinner.  Then ordered our Romance Package Chocolate Covered Strawberries.

We smiled some more.

Early in the morning we slipped back into our bathing suits, and headed to the pool to watch the sunrise.  Smile.

We then ordered our Romance Package breakfast in bed.  Smile.

We drove back home, both standing out from behind our walls.  Smile.

My Sweet Girls

 This past weekend Bethany, Christa, and Danae all descended on Granny and Grandpa's to help them sort some personal belongings for a big move to Ohio.  We all still seemed to have things stored at G & G's, and they really didn't want to take it all with them.  So the girls spent a weekend helping.  I just love these three.  They are so helpful, so caring, and they so love old things!  Especially things worth more than their weight in gold in heritage and memories.  They all have written about it.

Bethany Keena indiana + sisters + grandparents = an exciting day to look forward to!


From Danae:

I took a special trip this past weekend to visit my grandparents in Indiana (Hi Granny and Grandpa!). They are preparing to move to Ohio soon and Sister Christa and Sister Bethany and I all made the trip to help them organize and pack and take some of their family treasures off of their hands.

We had such a wonderful time listening to old stories and trying to figure out if things belonged to our great great grandma or our great great great grandma. We also ate wonderful food, played Sequence, and watched old family videos.

We all got some really wonderful treasures. Granny was worried about the weight of the car and I think Christa and I were just worried that all of our treasures would not fit. But, thanks to Christa's awesome packing skills we all made it home with a stuffed to the brim trunk. 

And from Christa, one of our family photojournalists...

This is Bethany in Grandpa's band uniform from college.

Vanilla and Chocolate

Flag with 48 stars

Granny's Trophy

Well-Behaved Toddlers!  

Thanks  girls, for being amazing daughters, and granddaughters!  I am so thankful that you are mine!

Criminal Record

As Andrew is preparing to leave for Germany, I periodically ask him questions.  Only periodically.  After all, he is 21, and surely he knows all the questions to be asking right? Right.  Everything seemed to be in order and he was just waiting on an email with his travel plans in it.  So Saturday I asked if he had heard anything from Germany.

"Yeah, I got an email with my travel itinerary in it.  Then I got another email saying something had showed up on my criminal record that they were going to have to 'look into'."

"Really?" I asked being careful not to ask too many questions.  I did raise my eyebrow though, and probably my voice intonation, as well.  I'm sure he knew I had a barrage of questions just waiting to fly off the tip of my tongue. 

"Destruction of village property," he said.

"OH, you're kidding!  That's on your criminal record?!"

(Insert here the condensed version of the story of a 17-year-old that got cut off in traffic, and swerved onto the sidewalk, toppling a concrete planter.  Again, toppling is the key word here.  There is no room in this account for the word "destruction".)

So for three days we have waited to hear whether Andrew will get to go to Germany.  Never mind that he has lost his roommate, his apartment, his job, and his cat.  Ok, never mind the never minding of those things.  That's a pretty big dealio.

Today while I was at work, I got a text from Andrew.

"i am going to germany. whew. i can breathe again".

I'm pretty sure I would have overused exclamation points in that short text.  But exclamation points or not, we are all excited for Andrew.  He leaves Sunday.  This Sunday.  For thirteen months.  Thir. Teen. Months.

My reply text?

"Oh! I am so happy for you. and a little sad for me.  But mostly happy for you!" 

That put it perfectly.  Happy for him.  A little sad for me.  Mostly happy for him.

What did you do at 10:10 on 10/10/10?

I saw on K's FB page that she had just gotten back from a "10:10 on 10/10/10 Party".  Fortunately I am two time zones behind her, so I had the heads up, and the clear impression that I should, also, do something at 10:10 on 10/10/10.  Clearly it is too late for a party, especially since I am tired, already in my jammies, and can hardly keep my eyes open.  So, that leaves me 25 minutes to decide what to do. 

Road Trip

These two will be getting in a car tomorrow with their mother and aunt.  They will be going to the great-granny's house for the weekend.  They will be driving for twelve hours.  Pray for them, that their mother and aunt will behave for this very long trip! 

I live here!

Where's Waldo?  

Ok, not really, it's Kris. 

He and Jim got to spend the whole day on this river.

Catching and releasing.

Sportsmen.

Overheard in the Church Lobby

"Hey, Alex!  How's it going?  How's married life?"

It's great, man!  Great!"

Yeah?  That's good!

You bet!  Today when I got home from work, she had burgers grilled and ready!  Marriage is totally worth it, even if just for the food! 

Baby Shower Advice

I went to a baby shower yesterday.  A sweet youth worker at our church is expecting Baby #1.  And she's 24.  Who does that anymore?  (Well, besides Christa!)  I just smile when I see W and her husband.  They are young.  They are hard working.  They love my kids.  They love to do things for others.

The shower was well attended with nearly 20 ladies.  She got alot of nice gifts, always a help with those new Little Ones.  At several points of the shower, the hostess asked anyone that wanted to to share some advice with W.  She had no takers until nearly the very end.  And even at that point, I just couldn't come up with any advice.  Really?!  I suppose I'm a bit timid in group settings, especially those that include people I don't know, about sharing advice, especially since the jury is still out on a couple of my kids!  :)  Several spoke about the importance of praying with your children, keeping them on schedules (to which I had to bite my tongue!), consistent discipline, knowing your child, but I suppose I appreciated the lady that said "My advice is to listen to others advice, then go with your own instinct."

Yes, listen to others, but let your heart speak the loudest.  I guess that's true of a lot of things in family life.  Not just how to feed, discipline and raise your children, but also how to let them go.  Some people wonder why I'm not a basket case with my chicks strewn out all over: Chicago, Tulsa, Colcord, Germany, and living with a Muslim family.  Sometimes my heart screams at me "THEY ARE TOO FAR AWAY!"  That's when I realize my heart is solely consumed with itself.  Mostly my heart tells me that they are fine adults, capable of making the best decisions for their lives.  So I will continue to listen to others, sometimes I have no choice!  :)

I will listen to others, but let my heart speak the loudest.

Garage Sale

Andrew and Emily are moving out of their apartment, so yesterday we had a yard sale.  They didn't have a whole lot, so maybe a "driveway sale" is more accurate.  Some of the highlights of the day were: 
1:  Having Em spending the night with us, and waking early Saturday morning to her smiling face!  I miss her.
2:  Wishing we had donuts, over and over. Even though neither of us really like them, it just seemed like the right thing to have for a yard sale day.
3:  Watching Em dicker prices as people offered less than the marked price.  She was a tough cookie!
4:  Em laying down in the middle of our street in protest of "Drive By" shoppers.  I told her I totally do the same Drive By Yard Sale Shopping, too, so I understood.
5.  Getting chastised by Em when I donated some goblets to a ladies church group.  She deducted $12.00 from my total. 
6.  Humiliating Andrew and Em by using the binoculars that were for sale to watch the shirtless roofer on the house across the street.  They said I was not being sneaky enough. I say "What roofer?"  It's just so fun seeing my kids squirm!

We didn't make a lot of money, but sure had a lot of fun!

Country Music

When I was a kid, one thing I loved about my Dad was his love for country music.  I only got to listen to country when I was with him.  I have vivid memories of a concert he took me to.  We saw Loretta Lynn and Jerry Lee Lewis.  That inspired me to save my allowance to buy what may have been my very first album, a collection of country favorites!  I listened to that album until I had every word memorized, including Lynn Anderson's "I've Been Everywhere, Man!"  Watching The Porter Wagoner Show and Hee Haw was a welcome diversion from my suburban life style!

Well, I can add country music concert #2 to my list.  Last night Jim surprised me with tickets to the Brad Paisley concert.  Brad Paisley in Bozeman?  That's a long way from Nashville!  Justin Moore and Darius Rucker were on the concert stage as well.  Just a couple of observations, and forgive me if I state the obvious here.

1.  I'm pretty sure there was not a cowboy boot on stage.  Now, Brad had on what looked like work boots, and he was indeed working.  But there were no slick look-how-pointy-these-sweet-foot-covers can be.  I love cowboy boots, that's all I'm saying.  Guess you don't have to be a cowboy anymore to sing C&W.
2.  Concert fans love to stand, rather than sit.  I guess if I wanted to stand for three and half hours, listening to three guys croon-and-holler isn't a bad way to keep my mind off the fact that I'm standing for three and a half hours.
3.  Concert fans also like to sing along.  Loudly.  Hmmm, so why aren't they on stage?  I really don't care if know every word to every song.  So do I, pretty much, but you don't hear me belting along off tune with Brad and the boys.
4.  There is still something very exciting about all the lights (albeit they be lazer), smoke, and loud noise!
5.  There is still something very romantic about snuggling with your love to all the love songs.  Smile!
6.  I was still star struck, cowboy boots or not. 
7.  Brad Paisley is an amazing guitarist.  Even if his weapon of choice is usually an electric guitar.  Can you say "Whiny"?
8.  I love that my rock-and-roll husband has finally seen a small glimmer of country music light.  I guess my rocking to Queen and his singing along with Brad is proof that after nearly thirty years of marriage indeed, you do become each other.

Long live rock-and roll!  (Errr, I mean country music!)

Power School

So, our school district has an online website (is that stating the obvious?  Online website?) where parents can access their children's grades.  I'm still trying to decide if this is a good thing or not.  At least in my case, if I access G&D's grades regularly, I then feel somehow responsible for their grades.  Should I?  When the grades are low, I am all over their backs about bringing them up.  If they are good grades, well, they should be, so no big deal, right?  I don't know.  When A,B,C,D, and E were in school, I'm sure I had no idea what their grades were until report card time.  As it should be, right?  Then once every grading period the wrath of mom and dad came down on those with poor grades.  Now it seems like a continual annoyance.  "What's going on in math?"  "Did you turn in your science journal?"  "Why do you have a D in Art?  Who gets a D in Art?  How hard can Art be?"  The grade chatter is always running through my brain.  So, for my own sanity I have told G&D I will check Power School only once a week.  Then the wrath of mom will only blow once a week.  Grrr!  That still doesn't seem right.  When I was in school, I hated school, and the whole grading system.  Guess I still do.

What's New

So, I guess I took a little break from blogging.  Here are my three excuses: 1) I have no idea where the camera cord is to transfer photos to the computer. 2) I've been kind of busy, or lazy, or apathetic.  3) I don't get enough time on the family computer to do anything other than "business".  You know checking email, checking facebook, checking recipes.  So in an attempt to bring you up to speed, I will simply list significant (mostly) things that have happened in the last four months.

1.  School was out, not one day too soon!  We were all relieved to be free of homework for the summer.
2.  Bethany came to Montana for the summer, working at the church's day camp, falling in love with this place, and making this place fall in love with her.
3.  We took a family vacation to Portland, ate Tillamook ice cream at the factory, loved on Uncle Wayne and Aunt Dana, and won Bingo at a church bbq.
4. I had a 50" flat screen tv installed for Jim for his 50th birthday.  What a great surprise!
5. I have worked up to one hour on the elipitical machine.
6. I was elected as Women's Ministries Deaconess at church.  I'm so excited to be back in the saddle.
7. We gave Duke, our dog, away.  No doggie doors and no fenced yard = one frustrated dog and four frustrated people living with said dog.  He is now in a good home, with a friend dog to play with.
8. Suffered one broken front window, five screens, and roof damage from a terrific hail storm.
9.  Andrew has accepted a job at Edelweiss Lodge and Retreat center in Germany.  Leaves October 17th.
10.  Emily is moving in with a family from Saudia Arabia.  Free room and board for an English speaking presence in their home.

See, you really haven't missed much, have you?  :)  But I bet you do miss photos.  I may actually look for that cord soon.

While the cat's away...

Women's Expo

I went to the Women's Expo at MSU today.  Their ploy to get me there?  "Get the back of this page stamped by all the advertised vendors and you could win..."  I could win some great stuff!  And I am such a sucker for free stuff!  A dog toy, a free one-hour massage, a sonic toothbrush from Oral B, a 5-piece kitchen set, a half-hour helicopter tour of the Gallatin Valley, a two-night stay at a lovely ranch, the ever-present Mary Kay gift basket, and more!

I went, alone (pitiful pity party) and walked around for over an hour.  It wasn't crowded at all, I suppose due to the ultra wonderful Bozeman weather today.  So the vendors were anxious to tell you about their wares.  Everything from hand-painted high-heel pumps to tickets to a boxing match.

There was a fashion show, modeled by apparent college students.  The ogling from all the women when one male model took off his shirt had me questioning "Where exactly do I live, again?!"

I suppose the highlight of the Expo for me was the free chair massage!  Why do I fall for these "Here's-a-free-massage-but-you-need-to-listen-to-a ten-minute-explanation-of-why-you-need-chiropractic-treatment" deals?  Because I will do nearly anything for a back massage!  I probably really do need chiropractic treatment and will get right to that as soon as I read through all the informative pamphlets I picked up today!

I did get my page stamped and turned it in, so they should be calling anytime with my wonderful prize!  Stay tuned!

UPDATE!  i won free one-hour massage at the Expo!  My name was called over the loud-speaker and a lady from my church went to claim it for me.  She said "That's my pastor's wife, can I take it to her tomorrow?"  And they let her!  Yay!  

Been A Little Busy

The last few weeks have included a spring break mission trip to Spokane, packing and cleaning our Powder River house, closing on our Sweetgrass house, moving, unpacking, a week in Chicago/Indiana, more unpacking.  So I thought I would just check in to let you know I had not fallen off the face of the earth.  I love our new home.  This is the only photo we have of it right now.  Broken cameras = limited shots.  Once we are settled a bit more, we will take some more photos with Jim's phone (pathetic!) and share the inside with you as well. 

A Mother's Heart

My heart has just been breaking lately, for one of Mine that is really having a hard time.  Just can't get a break.  People all around are demanding.  They don't ask enough questions.  They have expectations.  They frustrate Mine.  And Mine frustrates them.  I am not frustrated.  Only broken hearted. 

New Photo

We finally got our photos back from the photographer that took them at Christmas time. Thus the change in my blog photo. These are still our seven, and they are still standing. A little larger than before, because I can't seem to figure out how to make it smaller. Oh, well. The change is good!

T.M.I. Warning: "Female Issues"

I had my annual physical and all that stuff this week. I've got good news and bad news.

Iron levels=fine. Good news.
Cholesterol = 212. Bad news. Cut down on fatty foods.
Arthritis screen= negative. Good news.
Triglycerides= high. Bad news. Cut down on sugar.
Thyroid= normal. Good.
Pap smear=inflamed. Bad news. Retest in 6months. (I've seen this before!)
Blood count= good.
Weight= like I'm going to tell YOU! Hit the gym!
I'm post-menopausal= Good news.

In case you didn't get that last item, and I had to ask twice, I'm through the change! According to the websites I've queried:

"There are many things to love about being post-menopausal. There is a light at the end of the tunnel of heavy bleeding and hot flashes. No more Kotex pads or Tampax! No more worry about pregnancy. Most women find their voice and have no qualms about raising it. This does not happen overnight of course, and for many women it takes time to stop feeling bad about speaking up — but they realize they have nothing to lose and much to gain!"

So, as much as I love seeing that light at the end of THAT tunnel, I was more curious about the finding their voice statement. Today, I thought I'd give it a whirl. Jim and I were driving and I pointed in the direction he needed to turn. You must know that he hates when I do that, and I really don't do it to irritate him, I do it so we won't miss the turn. After I pointed, he explained that he WAS going to turn there. I simply said, "I think I have missed my calling in life, I should have been a GPS!" He agreed and said "I should tell people I've had a GPS for 28 years!" We laughed and I said "You know, one of the avantages of being postmenopausal is that I may just find my voice." (Smile) I'm sure he's really looking forward to that!

S.T.R.E.S.S.E.D.

Doc says I seem to have a lot of symptoms of stress. Without getting into all that, I thought is might be worthwhile to spell out things I just could be stressed about.

Started a new job that I just don't quite have down yet.
Two adult children living at home and the changes that brings.
Real estate search; trying to find/move into a new house.
Exercising, then pain OR not exercising, then guilt.
Staying on track with the kids school work and grades.
Slipping and sliding on roads for weeks at a time.
Expectations of others.
Dealing with crazy mood swings.

Stressed? Maybe....

Date Night

Jim and I had a fabulous date last night, thanks to the generous folks at CRU. Several weeks ago Jim spoke at CRU and was given a thank-you gift. It was a gift certificate to Looies Down Under, a somewhat posh restaurant in downtown Bozeman.

This is what I ordered...

Seabass filet rolled in black sesame seeds, sautéed and served on a bed of carmelized bananas, topped with sliced mangoes and a soy, lime, fresh ginger sauce. Oh, and the orchid was edible, but who needs to eat flowers when you've got all this? There was also a very unnecessary side of garlic mashed potatoes, but I'm sure you've all seen those before!