Crossing My Mind

Pet Pix

I'm posting this so Creative Little Daisy  can see my Abby cat.

This is Abby's nemesis, Curry...

He's sitting on a chair at my mom's house...forbidden territory.  But what Granny doesn't know, won't hurt her, right?

How I Spent My Convalescence

So, what does a gal do when she isn't allowed to do ANYTHING?  Well, for starters...

...I completed this jigsaw puzzle.  As a kid I loved doing those 1,000 piece puzzles.  Call this a blast from my past.  I'm going to glue the back and hang this in the laundry room of our new house.

As I posted earlier, my mom is here taking care of things...

...and making my kids clean like they've never cleaned before!!!

 

This is my youngest...all that's missing is the song, "Sing Sweet Nightingale" from Cinderella.

And what was I doing while my kids slaved away?  I was working on my puzzle, of course! I felt a little guilty, but I got over it.

 

Reflection of My Mom

(I love this picture of my mom and dad. It was taken shortly after they were married. I'm not sure what the red marks are. The picture has been kept in her small cedar chest.  My dad died in 1988)

My mom is coming to stay with us for a week while I recuperate.  My husband and boys are headed to SeaTac to pick her up.

I love it when my mom visits.  She enjoys going to my boys' baseball games and swapping wise cracks with my husband.  Its nice.  She also goes through my house like Mr. Clean on estrogen and steroids. And since I've been on bed rest, my house has become a sty!  She's going to have her work cut out for her.

My mom and I haven't always had such a great relationship.  When I was young she was abusive both verbally and physically.  But you know what?  God is so good!  Because of Him, I can honestly say my mom is my best friend. 

I was thinking about this last night.  I wonder how many times my mom wished she could pal around with me and go shopping, like we do these days?  We would sit and play solitaire together every now and then...I wonder how many other opportunities like that were missed because I was too busy exercising my 'right' to wallow in teenage angst?  You see, I had been wronged so I felt my anger was justified. I kept that anger for several years.

What I didn't know then, and she hasn't admitted, is that I'm sure she felt guilty.  I've spent a good chunk of my career as a mother overcoming my upbringing...I should say...hanging on to my anger and unforgiveness.  Because of that I have managed to make some of the same mistakes with my kids, only to a lesser degree.  But lesser degree or not, the guilt is unbearable.

My mom and I don't ever talk about those early years.  For a while I thought we needed to, but we don't. 

God, in His sovereignty, changed my heart. I literally woke up one morning and realized the only thing I wanted to do was love and enjoy my mom. 

I made her a quilt to celebrate. 

I'm a lot like my mom; something my sister often tells me (not always nicely, I might add).  But you know what?  I'm glad.  I bear it proudly.

My mom had to leave her family in Illinois when she moved to Colorado with my dad.  She had no help while she was raising four kids.  My dad, an accountant, was not involved much with the raising of us kids, especially during tax season.  But she did what she knew how to do; she ran our house like a tight ship.  She had to. I'm sure she longed for her family back in Illinois a lot of the time. 

I am like her in this respect in that my husband is in the Navy.  We have never lived near family.  I have had times when I had to be both mom and dad.  I've been lonely for a mom's wisdom on many occasions.  I've longed for the companionship of my sister.   

Over the years my mom has shown me that she can relate to my struggles as a Navy wife.  It is because of this that I have come to understand the struggles she went through as a young mother.  And while she never admits that she was lonely, I often wonder if it wasn't through loneliness that she, like me, learned to fine solace in being alone.

We are closer because our lives are so similar. I kind of like that.

So, how else am I like my mom?:

• I keep a nice clean house.
• I can multi-task like no other woman I have ever seen.
• I clean as I cook so when dinner is done, the kitchen is darn-near spotless.
• I know Pier One and Crate and Barrel are the best places to go for home decor.
• I view eating out at restaurants as part of life, not a luxury.
• I clean my dryer's lint screen every time I fold a load of laundry.
• I have a deep need to own every kitchen appliance and gadget known to the cooking world.
• I'm a right-wing conservative.
• I drink my tea straight. None of that "sweet tea" nonsense.
• I enjoy being by myself.
• I love watching movies.
• I, like her, married a man who loves golf and airplanes.

Well, her plan has landed. I can't wait to see her.

TMI, TMI

Been away from the blogosphere due to surgery recovery. Three 8.5 lb. babies + One five foot woman = A seriously compromised pelvic floor. 'Nuff said.

Thank you to all my friends and family for your prayers.

Pacific Northwest Spring

I will not stay up until 3 a.m. blogging, I will not stay up until 3 a.m. blogging....

Yea, right. The kids are in bed, and my husband is on the ship tonight. So here I sit in my big comfy bed with my laptop. Yep, I can smell an all-nighter. Here's to Bing Blogging. Seems to be the only kind I can do these days. Oh well, I didn't bring my power cord to the bedroom; that will at least limit my time to what the old battery can handle.

For all the clouds and rain the Pacific Northwest has dealt us, we are now getting our reward. The last three days have been beautiful.

We moved into our rental house last July. I didn't know we had these beautiful spring bulbs!!

March: In Like a Lion

What we woke up to this morning. Beautiful!

                                                                      

See anything strange about the photo below?

Yep, that's green grass under our snow covered tramp!! No wonder Washington is called the "Evergreen State".

Happy Birthday Nate: A Poem

      

 

What do you do with an independent kid?
How do you know when they need you?

I think parents of independent children were supposed to be equipped
with some sort of radar or early detection device.

I must have been in the restroom when they were being issued.

He looks so small-but he's very brave
He's walking out to his first baseball practice this season
This is his fourth season
His brothers have taught him well

He's the youngest brother
He's good at sports
Excellent in fact
He has to be
He's the youngest brother

If you want to play, you have to keep up

When it comes to the Bible
He's our resident expert
He worries about his salvation
He's afraid of hell
Smart kid

There is no time for needing mom-
even though he does.

He'll never ask for help-
even though he should.

There's no time for sitting and snuggling-
the boys are running out the door.

He's our Nate
He'll tell you like it is
King David had a Nate
He knew what he was talking about

Nate and I butt heads a lot
The most, in fact
But he wants be with me
And I with him
Iron sharpens iron

He doesn't have a lot of friends
He doesn't need a bunch-he says
His are built in
A cord of three strands

Things I've learned from Nate:
Lawyers are born, not made
Eye glasses are a pain
The youngest shouldn't go to bed early
You've got to sacrifice your body to catch the ball
Little boys see themselves two and a half feet taller than they really are

No, I don't always know when Nate needs me
But that's okay
God knew what I needed
And I got Nate

 

Our Double-Didget Midget

                                                             

 

Well, it has finally happened. All of our kids are in the double digits. The youngest turns ten tomorrow.

I can hardly believe it.

As I muse on his life, I am struck by how different his childhood has been from his older brothers. From the time he was six months we have been on the move. His memories aren't of Winnie the Pooh and planting in Mom's garden. His memories are of boxes, beaches, Mom finishing college, airplanes, deployments, and moving vans. My only consolation is that, being the youngest of three boys, he has spent his young life diligently trying to keep up with his brothers. I truly don't think he laments the absence of Pooh Bear and those missing Hallmark moments I grieve over. He's just been counting down the days until he gets his BB gun.

Around here the tenth birthday is a pretty big deal. It's the "Gun and Bible" birthday. The birthday boy gets his first real leather Bible, his first BB gun (I'll pause to let the irony sink in...), and his military ID. He also gets to chose the meals for the day, have a friend spend the night, and be the center of more attention than anyone has the energy for. Yep, it's a biggie.   

Our agenda for tomorrow is as follows:
Pick friend up and shoot baskets at the YMCA
Mom's homemade Buffalo Wings
Frappacinos from one of the many corner coffee shacks around here
A round or two of indoor Putt Putt.(We'd golf outside but we DO live in the Seattle area, don't ya know.)
Krispy Kreme donuts
Thomas Kemper Root Beer
The movie National Treasure (an old favorite) with popcorn and Nerds.

I've scheduled mine and my husband's angioplasties for Monday.

Compared to the Gaggle-of-Kids parties  I've had the misfortune of attending, this will be a pretty laid back day.

Oh, and I finally bought one of those red plates that say, "You are special today." He'll be giving it the maiden voyage. And why not? He is special.

Happy Birthday, Tate! We love you!

Life North of the Needle

I'm not good at using my blog as a journal. I'm a essay sort of girl. But a friend said I need to, "Just blog." Whatever that means.  I'll give it a whirl...

I'm headed back to Oklahoma City on Monday to look at a house. We, the boys and myself, will be moving back there in July. The house has 5 acres, a barn, chicken coop, and dog kennels. Call me Green Acres...Lord, what are we thinking?

Actually, we've wanted land for a long time. We've raised three boys on a city block for the last 5 years and it has made my skin crawl. Boys do not belong on city blocks!!! They need to be able to catch something on fire without the neighborhood watch dog committee writing you up. 

I'll also have my hair 'fixed' in Oklahoma. That's not a red neck term, I truly mean FIXED. The lady I went to here in Marysville turned my hair a lovely brassy shade of orange. Not exactly what I went in for.  House hunting is merely an excuse for going back and getting my hair repaired, according to my husband.

He'll be the head teacher while I'm gone. He'll have a nice detailed schedule. I'm not worried, he'll probably do a better job than me. I think skiing is on their agenda while I'm gone. What schedule???

Life here in Washington is strange. We go to bed late and get up late. We used to get up rather early in OK but here, because of the incessant cloud cover, it's still dark at nearly 8:00 am. I'm in agreement with my boys, why get up early. We don't go outside much here either. It is constantly wet. We do have a membership to the YMCA but I have to admit, I'm pretty lazy when it comes to getting us down there. I need to change that. The boys like raquetball and basketball. And I do like to workout...once I get there.

Navy life is different here as well. Being with the boat community has been an experience neither me nor  my husband care to do again. We both really miss the squadron. Jeff really misses flying.

The Lord did give us a great temporary church family here. The teaching is the most solid I've ever been under. And the youth ministry actually points the kids toward Christ and not toward the nearest pep rally. It's truly amazing. I tried to be rather standoffish and not make too many friends. But, much to my chagrin, the women  I have met and fellowshipped with are very articulate, funny, and down right enjoyable. Curses!

Well, how did I do? Was I "Dear Diary" enough to hold anyone's attention?