Father’s Day! Two-thousand-twelve (twelve…twelve….twelve)

Nora and her second Father’s Day with her Daddy.  Rick and his second Father’s Day with his Colombian princess.  She wrote him a beautiful card, “Thank you for being my dad. I love you!”  Brought tears to my eyes when I think of how blessed she is to have him as her Daddy.

During church this morning, I realized for the first time that I’m thankful to another father…. in South America… who fathered a little girl who was destined for our family…. and destined to do GREAT things for eternity through her testimony.  A father whom I’ll probably never meet.  But a father whose life impacted our family GREATLY.  Thank you, birth father, for your precious gift to us.  I silently said his full name and prayed a blessing on him.

We spent the day with my Dad up at my parent’s house with most of our family (minus one child who was camping) and my brother’s family.  The line of cards was the longest I’ve seen in a while.  Lot’s of love and sentiments.  Our family is blessed beyond measure with godly fathers for generations!

At lunch, we all shared a memory of our dad… the stories varied from saving a daughter from swarming ants, to removing socks full of fleas, to cleaning up a crib smeared with *unmentionable* smelliness…. and those were the first three stories.  I felt like we were stuck in a Green Acres episode down on the boondocks.  Seriously?  These were the only happy Father’s Day memories???  I jumped in next with a story of my dad fixing the most amazing dinner, in my humble 5-year-old opinion, of popcorn and sliced apples.  I was SOOO impressed with his culinary skills!  More stories followed of kids being swung up on the roof and slammed into the side of the house first….. dad reading the Bible every morning…. being chased and tickled… being impressed with dad’s ice skating skills…. and dads who dressed up like a woman and Peter Pan (with tights).  It was all quite amusing.  Nora told the story of the day she met her Daddy and he cried tears of joy and almost made her cry and then he made a funny gulping noise.  (Love it!)

Dads play such a critical role in the lives of their children…. as examples and role models for their sons… and as admirers, protectors and guardians for their daughters.  Thankfulness permeates my soul as I realize the quality of the fathers in my family… solid men of integrity and strength through good times and bad.  All following the heavenly Father and leading the way to Him. Thanks, Dad.  Thanks, Honey.  Thanks, Rob.

So blessed!

 

First Time EVER!

(Image scraplifted from: http://kellishouse.blogspot.com/2009/07/handmade-card-tutorial_30.html )

Yes, it’s that time of year again…. Scrapping in the Pines, our bi-annual scrapbooking retreat for four days in the cool pine-covered mountains of Prescott, Arizona.  There are seven of us going….. but this time I’m packing GAMES!  Yes, you read that right… GAMES!  Yahtzee, Settlers of Catan, Ticket to Ride, 13 and Carcasonne!  We’ve never played games in Prescott! And movies, but we always take movies!

AND… please make sure you’re seated for this announcement… I’m not scrapbooking at Scrapping in the Pines!  I know!  Unbelievable.  I am making cards this trip.  I’m always a bit envious of my sister’s beautiful handmade cards that arrive in our mailbox several times a year.  Mine are usually handmade by a little Asian woman and purchased in a big box at Costco.  But after my third box of that type…. I have LOTS of baby and sympathy cards… but I’m fresh out of birthday cards … AGAIN  Enough! 

I scooted into Barnes & Noble tonight and bought a card making magazine….it cost as much as buying five cards at Hallmark, but it will be worth it’s weight in gold when I’m done.  All of my scrapping patterned paper, ribbons, buttons, eyelets, lace, trim, glitter, flowers and such will be making the journey.  Along with blank cards and envelopes.  I also resurrected the stamps, ink, embossing glitter, heat gun, and the metal embossing template!  What a blast from the past!  WAIT!  Inspiration just struck at this very moment… and you’re here to witness it first hand…. I can MAKE the envelopes!  Oh, sweet mother of baby Jesus, that is a great idea.  My aviator husband has all kinds of maps that will be perfect.  YES!

And so, it will be the first time EVER that this retreat should REALLY be called “Relaxing, Gaming and Crafting in the Pines.”  But we’re not changing the name after 15 years!

My Peeps

Last weekend I had the joy and privilege of speaking to the Arizona homeschoolers in a mid-year refresher.  We all found sitters and gathered together in a hotel in Mesa and can I just say that it is so energizing to be with your peeps.  We are all in the trenches together.  We are parents lacking socialization with other adults all day long because we’ve chosen to school our kids at home.  We laughed, we cried, we laughed some more.  We shared our victories and our struggles.  No matter how hard our journey seems, there is always one other family who has it WAY worse than we do… and it secretly gives us hope.  If they can keep on schooling, so can we! 

We listened to Tim Hawkins’ new homeschool song: 

and we laughed until we cried.  Happy tears with my peeps.  It doesn’t get any better than that.

As the evening progressed, there were door prizes, laughter, a Southwest buffet and then I shared our homeschool story…. the challenges, the kid that couldn’t read, my failures as a homeschool mother, the triumphs and what we’ve learned along the way.  It’s cathartic to give your testimony.  It not only gives hope to others, but you realize how God pulled you through your circumstances and you’re still alive to tell the story.

It was a good weekend.  And I’m ready to finish the homeschool year now.  Not quittin’ anytime soon.  Thank you, my peeps, for showing up and keeping me on my journey with my kids.

Classic Elderly Gentlemen

My daughter and I were out about town and, oh, did we have some good laughs brought on by some GREAT old men. 

We were entering Walgreens when we noticed a line at the register of four or five people… including a heavily tattooed young woman and an elderly gentleman.  The man either needed hearing aids or simply had a booming voice… which could be heard throughout the store as he commented to the young woman, “Darlin’, you’ll grow to regret them tattoos!”  Larisa and I both burst out laughing as we made our way out of sight.  I’m sure his comment and volume made that young woman’s day!  Classic!

An hour later, we were eating In-N-Out burgers in the parking lot and a silver old-school mini van pulls in towing a light green fishing boat.  The small type of vessel that holds four people on a good day, and three elderly fishermen on a sunny day like today.  Sitting in the middle of the boat was a while plastic lawn chair…. for back support, I’m guessing??  The men slowly climbed out of the van…. VERY slowly.  These men were in their 80s at least.  The tallest of the bunch exited the van and we had the pleasure of viewing his outdoor adventure attire:  camouflage pants and a white t-shirt that said “Shut Up and Fish!” on the back.  Another burst of laughter without forewarning.  Classic!

Old Dog Learns New Tricks

Here we are at our friend’s, Bruce and Connie, house in California… playing the train game Ticket to Ride.  Obviously someone just did something naughty…. you can tell by the faces in this photo. I’ve been friends with these folks for over 30 years.  WOW!  We still try to get together every year for a vacation of games, movies, laughs and more games.

 

In March when we were dealt the unwanted hand of “no more hockey” for our 13-year-old hockey-loving son, we cried for two days and then went to Bruce and Connie’s house for a week.  We needed the friendship… the laughs… the games.. the distraction from the life we’ve known for eight years that ended abruptly… and the life we thought we would be living for another eight years at least. 

 

While we were freeloading at their home, I learned two valuable tidbits from my friend, Connie. 

 

#1.  If you put parchment paper on the baking sheets while you bake cookies it makes your life easier, tidier, quicker and your cookies look WAY better.  She’s probably known this trick for years, but kept it a BIG FAT secret until this past March.  It’s only been two months since that miraculous discovery and I’m already on my second box of parchment paper.  Totally awesome!

 

#2.  Women who are slowly losing their sight REALLY should invest in a 10X magnifying mirror for the sake of their eyebrows.  I asked Connie for a mirror and she handed me this little gem.  I took one glance and was horrified at the condition of my blind eyebrow tweezing ability.  I have since purchased a purple $3 10X magnifying mirror at Walmart and my life is forever changed. 

 

There you have it.  Old dog learns new tricks.  It is possible.  (Makes me wonder what else Connie has been holding out on me???)

I’m the FOOL yet again

 

In case you’re new here at MSJ, my family is world-renown for the rubber band on the kitchen sprayer on April Fool’s Day.  I got blasted again this morning…. you’d think I’d have learned by now.  Hardy har har!  I guess I’m a slow learner.  The boys laughed hysterically… one even rolled on the floor holding his belly.  THEN they asked me to make them a special breakfast of egg muffins!  The nerve.  Being the nice mom, not the revengeful mom, I made the egg muffins.  But when I set them on the kitchen table I mumbled, “I sure hope there’s no plastic pieces in these.”  They quickly dissected the breakfast bounty before biting.

Next, one son uses the bathroom near the kitchen.  He returns to the kitchen table, but both boys are smiling like the Cheshire cat.  A quick perusal of the commode revealed a ketchup packet folded in half under the toilet seat, awaiting a victim’s hiney.  Hardy har har.  I threw it away.  An hour later there was a Taco Bell packet folded in its place.  Hardy har har, again.

At that point, I explained that the fool would be cleaning up any mess that fool cleverly caused.

Then Rick called me from work and asked if I remembered a job he told me about in Michigan.  This was a premeditated April Fools joke in the making commencing over three weeks ago.  He talked of the position, pay, home prices, etc. etc.  I rolled my eyes at the thought of Michigan.  No offense to the fine people of Michigan.  And I know they’re fine…. I’ve met plenty of them down here in Arizona in the winter months.  He proceeded to tell me that they did a phone interview and he got the job.  Again, I said “Hardy har har!  I know it’s April Fool’s Day!”  He was a bit surprised at my sharpness just after nine in the morning.  I told him I was wearing a wet bra from the kitchen sprayer to help me remember what day it was.

I hope your day was dry and taco-sauce-on-your-bum-free!

Joy!

Ok, I so laughed when I found this picture of a GUY wearing this shirt!  Live!  Love!  Laugh!  Scrapbook!

Tonight my sister flies in from Washington and tomorrow we leave for four days of scrapping in the pines of Northern Arizona.  It calms my soul and brings peace to my heart as I anticipate our next four days of relaxation.  Yes, we go twice a year.  Yes, we stay in a 1970s decorated cabin.  Yes, someone cooks and cleans for us.  Yes, we just stay in the cabin and scrapbook.  But we also leave once in a while for a hike or two… and we watch movies.  Girlie movies with love and romance and laughter and bliss.  See why I like this outing so much?  And we laugh.  Til we cry.  And then we laugh some more.  It’s basically an emotional release weekend without hubbies or kids.

This year I am prepared to work on a 2009 family album.  I usually do “event” albums of Christmas, or one holiday or vacation.  But I figured out that I don’t have the day-to-day photos in a book for all to see.  So I printed about 27 hundred photos from 2009 and I already made the first double page spread of each month.  I’m SO ready!

But first I have to unpack my suitcase… and wash my favorite comfy clothes.  Then re-pack my suitcase. 

I’ve given up making menus for my family for the time I’m away…. it seemed the more effort I put into making meals, schedules, grocery shopping, etc…. the more often the family went out to eat.  So now, I do nothing, other than replenishing the fruit bowl before I leave.  (I did that yesterday.) 

I will take my laptop, so I may blog, but no promises from this girl.  Nope.  There is only internet service if you drive to the front of the campground and sit in this one spot.  And even then, it’s iffy.  So, as I said, no promises.

Have a grand weekend.  I will.

Wrapped up in Elvis

Remember back a few months ago when I was celebrating the end of my boys’ hockey seasons??? (http://mysistersjar.wordpress.com/2008/03/31/the-fat-lady-sang-tonight/) Well, it all started again tonight.  <sigh> There I was in my cute, little silver flip-flops and denim shorts wrapped in a purple and lime green fleece Elvis blanket in the ice arena.  (Thank God someone left it in the van!) I’m trying excruciatingly hard to have a good attitude about this.  It’s a lot of driving… a lot of time away from the family dinner table… a lot of money…. but I knew all this when I married a Canadian hockey lover.  One of his first purchases five years before we had children was a pair of size 3 flannel Edmonton Oilers pajamas…. then we had a daughter first…. so we kept the Oilers jams in a hope chest for EIGHT years until our son was born… then two more years til they fit him.  I should have caught on that there was a slight addiction problem.  I’ve named it H.A.D., Hockey Attachment Disorder.  I don’t believe there is a cure at present.  I’ve been H.A.D.

 The actual fleece!!

Back to my excruciating good attitude.  I’ve decided that I must make the best of my Wednesday night drive time (one hour total) and my sitting time (one hour total).  (This is for son #2…. I’m not counting son #1… hoping that Dad will always be available for him.  His practices require driving for 1.5 hours and sitting for 2 hours…. TWICE a week.)  Having a good attitude.  Having a good attitude.  Having a good attitude. O.K.

So tonight, sitting on a freezing cold bleacher bench, I coordinated two of my four calendars, my month-at-a-glance purse calendar and my weekly To-Do calendar with check-off boxes.  (Yes, a bit anal here, but anal people get LOTS done.)  I have not found a pre-made week-at-a-glance calendar that is compact but still has 6-7 lines per day… so each January 1st I make my own out of a Walmart notebook.  This year’s was quite fat, so I’ve used pages in the back for various lists, secret codes, etc.  One such list I happened upon tonight that I haven’t read since I made it in March.  It is the list of stories for a book I plan to write titled Squeezing Laughter into a Leotard: Devotions for Above Average Women.  It’s about weight loss and weight gain and weight loss and weight gain and weight loss and weight gain and God.  I was a bench or two away from several other hockey moms and dads, but as I read the story notes I laughed out loud twice and constrained myself several other times, so they wouldn’t think I’m completely nuts.  This was the burst of energy and kick in the pants I needed to direct my hockey time.  My laptop will now be traveling with my to the Ice Den each week.  I’m itching to get started.

Can I just say that if you have a rapid metabolism and are mortified when you’re bloated and need a size 5 …. you won’t comprehend the stories I’m writing.  You may think they are humorous, but you will NEVER understand with compassion what people who struggle with their weight deal with minute by minute.  It’s like a being married to someone with H.A.D…. you don’t understand unless you’ve walked in my skates.

Wish me luck.. better yet pray for God’s voice to speak truth to a hockey mom wrapped up in Elvis on Wednesday nights.  :o)

?#8 from my Sister’s Jar – Smiles

“Don’t hate us because we’re beautiful!” ~ April Fool’s Day ’07

List ten things that make you smile. 

1.  A clean kitchen… especially after I’ve been away from the house and come home to a clean kitchen.  Ahhhhh.

2.  My kids laughing….. especially when it’s about something that is totally random.  I have etched in my mind a day when we had two guys come and trim our palm trees.  My two boys sat at the large, front window and burst into uncontrollable laughter with every palm frond that hit the ground.  Silly, but the memory still makes me smile.

3.  The movie line from Zorro when the woman is confessing that she has broken the fourth commandment, and Zorro, who’s hiding in the confessional replies, “You killed somebody?”  I don’t know why, but that is SO funny to our family.

4.  Deliciously stocked scrapbooking stores.  There is one in Mesa, Arizona to die for.  The paper room is larger than our master suite.  I think the name is Scrapbooks, Etc., but not positive.  It is the store where Heidi Swapp’s stock comes to from her manufacturer.  So EVERY blinging thing she created is there.  Excuse the drool.

5.  Reading funny stories.  Which is probably why I get a thrill out of writing funny stories, so others can smile.  I am reading Sound the Trumpet by Gilbert Morris currently set at the time of the Revolutionary War.  Larisa gave it to me for Valentine’s Day.  Anyway, I read a line last night that made me giggle out loud.  One of the characters is teasing a servant girl and she strikes him with her fist and says, “You — you blacksmith!”  He replies, “Blacksmith?  What kind of cussing is that? Maybe I better teach you something a bit stronger.”  O.K., it’s not quite as funny today.  Maybe I was tired last night.  :o)

6.  April Fool’s Day Memories.  For the fourth year in a row, I have been the victim of the April Fool’s Day Sink Sprayer Prank.  And 3 of the 4 years, I fell for it.  It started with Rick using a rubberband to hold down the trigger on the kitchen sink spray nozzle.  Then when the unsuspecting soul comes to turn on the water, they get sprayed.  The first year, I came into the kitchen and asked Rick, “Why is your shirt all wet?”  The kids were beside themselves with hilarity.  He set the trap and then fell into it.  However, the following 3 years, I have sprayed myself.  This last year, I walked into the kitchen and asked, “Why is there water all over the floor?” and then sprayed myself.  :o)  I then glanced over and noticed Larisa’s pjs were soaking wet too. 

7.  My husband doing the Bibleman dance.  He started this years ago…. to the soundtrack for the Bibleman show.  He turns backwards and puts his arms up in the air and shakes his booty incredibly fast.  I just laughed at the memory after I typed it. 

8.  Blooming flowers in my weedless yard.  Because of all the rain we’ve had, the weeds are, well, growing like weeds.  We have weeded about 70% of the way around the backyard.  But the colorful purple pansies, the royal blue lobelia, the yellow daisies and the hot pink Sweet William honestly make me smile.  God did good when he made flowers.

9.  Listening to my boys interact and play together…. at least when they’re being nice.  I think it is so cool that my boys are such close friends.  It was always our goal to have them fight back to back, defending each other, instead of face to face.  So far, so good.  They are so creative and I love hearing them make up stories or retell jokes.  They both appreciate humor.  They have a mental book being compiled of the 100 funniest things they have done.  Totally makes me smile.

10. When kids say the darndest things.  I always appreciate a good Mom story of something funny her kid said.  Kids are so imaginative and creative with their use of the English language!  When Larisa was 2 1/2 she was putting a puzzle together on the kitchen floor.  I noticed she was fitting a piece in the wrong place and I mentioned that it didn’t go there.  She hit it with her little fist and said, “Yep, it do.”

What makes you smile? 

?#3 from My Sister’s Jar – Grateful List

List 10 things you are grateful for.  Write the first 10 that come to mind.

1.  My crock pot.  I got it for Christmas probably 15 years ago from Dad and Mom Crosby – but I have gone through use/non-use phases.  I’m in a use phase currently.  Dinners done by 9 a.m. and the house smells scrumptious.

2.  Air-conditioning.  Hello?  We live in the desert… in Phoenix… the only place hotter is hell.  The inventor of a/c has a statue in the capital building.  Right on!

3.  Elastic.  Think where we would be without it!?!  Everything we wear “under” includes it.  It has magical qualities… like making a size 24 body into an 18.

4.  Taco Bell.  Where else can you get all of your daily caloric needs met in one meal for only $3.69?  It’s quick… it’s cheap… they have diet Pepsi.. and it’s Mexican.  Aaaahhhhh.  (Dined there yesterday.)

5.  Books…. really good books that take me away from the here and now… to the 1850s in a covered wagon with 1/2 naked Indians visiting… baking biscuits over the campfire… sharing them with the Indians.

6. Sales Racks.  There is something satisfyingly triumphant about buying $82 pants for $12.27.  It’s almost like you cheated the big guys somehow…. sweet victory!

7.  Rick Coming Home Every Night.  I look forward to his arrival every day… starting at about 9:30 a.m.  I look to the clock every other hour ’til his keys plop on the entry table.

8.  Laughter.  It truly does make you feel good.  I love laughing and making others enjoy a belly laugh.  Jill is really good at those.

9.  This Journal w/52 prompts. I haven’t written freely in years.  No spell check.  No grammar boo-boos.  Just me and the pen and pages waiting for an adventure.

10. Flowers.  I simply love them.  Vibrant colors.  Soothing aromas.  I love fresh-cut flowers on my kitchen table.  It just sings “a Martha Stewart lives here”….  (which is a good thing.)