Torture Loving

Yes, you read it right! Tonight, during family scripture study, Nathan, in his usual form, decided to go wild. So after chasing him down, I gave him to Ryan to hold. He did NOT want to sit still, so he turned it into a full blown temper tantrum - to which Ryan responded by lovingly hugging him on his lap. This just made Nathan even more angry - and he screamed and struggled to escape the hug. Then Abby, who was sitting next to him said, "I can't believe Dad is torture loving Nathan!". We all had a good laugh over that one (except of course Nathan).

Blogging Isn't So Easy

OK - so blogging isn't as easy as I thought it would be. I know - you awesome bloggers are thinking I must be some kind of stupid; but let me explain. I had figured that it would be great to be able to share, vent and archive our lives. But here is where it gets hard:

1. Time - I don't know what this word means anymore. It flies, and it eludes me at a supernatural speed. My kids (as I did when I was young) think that time drags, and are bored (until you mention there are chores that can be done). I think that someone hit the fast forward button, and forgot to stop it. I haven't blogged since February, or even read my friends blogs (which brings me great joy), since April.

2. Speech - I am not very eloquent. My friend's blogs are all so witty, clever, fun and heartwarming, and I can't seem to get it from my life to the page in a precise and coherent blog. Besides the fact that Ryan always laughs at me for mixing up sayings. An example of that is when I was writing the previous blog, I put that Nathan was in a full blown out temper tantrum. Ryan was reading over my shoulder and started laughing. He knows what full blown, and blown out mean respectively, but not together. I laughed at myself and changed it. I like to tease him by saying that "A rolling stone gathers no moss on the north side of the tree".

3. Privacy - OK, before you start laughing - it's not me. I am an open book. I will say it like it is, and feel that it is being honest. My husband, on the other hand, is an extremely private person. So I want to blog about everything, but Ryan feels our life should be private. I'm not very good at censorship. I'm not a gossip - except about myself. If something is shared with me privately, it stays in the vault. But with my own life, it's different. So I feel I am not being honest, without sharing all that is going on, which makes it hard to blog.

So you see my struggle. I am having the same problem writing my annual Christmas letter (as if it wasn't hard enough that I missed last year, and am trying to play catch up for the last two years).

The Reader's Digest Condensed Version

Hello friends and family! Here it is in a nutshell.

Baby Esther was born. Her announcements are still sitting on my desk! She was born Nov. 5, 2009 - and weighed 9 lbs. 2 oz. - 21". She is adorable and now coos and talks with everyone. I know all want pictures - but I have to use Ryan's computer to do that, and that is why none are out yet! Soon I hope!

Lucy's update is that she had another MRI - but this time an MRI Spec, on Thursday, Feb. 11, 2010. We are still waiting for confirmation on that. But preliminary report from her Neurosurgeon is that we don't have to rush into surgery, but still need to keep a close eye on it, as it is changing, and has a cyst around it. So, we will be having another MRI in three months.

Mom is alive. Mom was in a quad accident, which broke her clavicle and her leg (she had surgery on her leg with two screws put in), and fractured 5 ribs - all breaks and fractures on her right side of her body. While in the hospital, they put her on Cumadin (sp??), and she started having internal bleeding. They decided to do an endoscopy, and scheduled it for Saturday (a week ago). I got a call from the hospital stating that she was most likely going to die. I rushed down there (calling my siblings and her siblings). They stopped some of the bleeding, but then had to airlift her to San Francisco. They put two more clamps in, but at one point she almost died again. She is stable now - and they have transferred her to the Pines. She will have to do follow up care to take care of some more issues (Verisees and Liver disease). She doesn't have a phone - but they will bring the phone to her - the # is (530) 622-3400. After she is able to move a little more, she will be coming home to stay with me for a few months until she can care for herself.

I'm crazy, tired and grumpy right now, and the phone keeps ringing off the hook - so I will close now. That's the scoop, dupe! Hopefully pictures soon!

Still Alive!

My huge apologies to everyone for falling off the face of the earth (or so it seems to those not close by). I am alive. Esther still hasn't come. I think I am just to busy for her to come or something. I am going non-stop everyday. I will do some updates soon. I need to add some more Disneyland pics - first day of school - Lucy's baptism - kids' birthdays - etc. Lucy has another MRI coming up Nov. 13th - so I will have to update that as it happens also. And of course, as soon as Esther graces us with her presence - I will update that as well!

I do appreciate all your thoughts and prayers for me and my family, and I am sooo sorry that I have been a ghost personally. I just drop into bed each night, physically and emotionally exhausted - unable to blog, email or chat on the phone.

I know they say that on a plane, you need to secure your own mask first, before helping others with theirs - I just haven't mastered finding the time. So, for now, I am running around putting masks on everyone else, and hopefully soon will have the time to put on mine (or in other words, have time for myself to meet friends for lunch, or chat on the phone). Until then, please be patient with me, and don't give up on me!!

Proud Mom Moment....

So, the other night I had gone to bed, and Lucy came into my room with a very sad look on her face. She walked over to me with her fist clutched, and opened it to show me that she had broken the arms off of this little frog statue that Emmie had made for me. She started crying and said "Mom, I'm sorry....I broke your frog. I was playing with it, and tried to move it's arms. I'm sorry." I explained that although I was very sad that it was broken, that I was very proud of her for coming and telling me, and not trying to hide it or lie about it. I also explained that she had someone else to apologize to, since Emmie had made it. She was mortified and didn't want to have to tell her.

I called Emmie in, and Lucy started crying again, and relating the story. Instantly...and I mean without ANY hesitation, Emmie took Lucy in her arms, and said "It's OK LuLu, we can fix it. It will just take a little glue." and she comforted her sister with complete love and compassion.

Things that make you swell with joy inside!!! :-)

Better Late Than Never! Disneyland Photos

Ok, so I am bad about uploading photos - because we store them on Ryan's computer, and I am always blogging from my computer. But yesterday the PhotoPass Disk arrived from Disneyland - so here are a few of those photos.....

Nathan is OBSESSED with Cars. He would watch it all day if I would let him. He plays with them constantly. So when he saw Lightning McQueen "in person" - he ran up, and just like a little man, started checking him out all over. It was so cute - that the Disney photographer just went nuts clicking away. This is just one of many.

Here we are on the last day - Lucy's birthday, for a family pose. Everyone was getting pretty worn out by now.

These photos are pretty large Jpegs - so I will add more later, from Ryan's computer. There are some really cute ones!! So check back again!

Will I ever escape homework???

Remember when we were in school, and we would think "I can't wait until I am out of school and an adult, so I don't have to do homework anymore!"?

Then we grew up, and realized that life had other things for us to take the place of homework. The sad thing is - once you have kids - you have homework again! My mother never had to sit and do homework with me, and now my kids have so much homework, I spend all afternoon doing homework once again!

The worst part is, that these teachers don't take into account, that the more kids you have, the more homework you have! I am exhausted by the end of the day! Poor Lucy, we were working on her homework immediately from when she came home from school, finishing just in time for dinner, pjs, brush teeth, scriptures, family prayer and bedtime! Just so she can wake up, and go to school, come home and start the vicious cycle again. There isn't any free time to just be a kid - or a parent for that matter!

Luckily, Emmie is pretty independent with her homework, and I rarely have to help her (except on those occasions where she procrastinates, and announces at bedtime "Oh, I forgot, I have a huge science project due tomorrow" - and we scramble to help her put something together. Mind you, I do NOT do their homework for them, I am a "Mean Mom" through and through. But I do sit with them, and ask questions or give explanations to help them do it themselves.

Abigail's homework will start next week - and she is only in Kindergarten.

This is not to mention the swim and dive that we do, to try to help Em towards getting a scholarship for college.

All said and done - I wouldn't trade my kids for anything in the world! I love them so dearly, and can't wait for Esther to join our herd!