Finally!!

I woke up last night to the sound of rain pounding against our windows. So far today, we've had hard rain, horizontal hail, snow, wind gusts up to 50 mph, dark clouds, sunbreaks...just about every kind of weather you can imagine. As Mom says, welcome to Spring in Idaho. Spring? This is spring? It seemed so wintery. Here's what it looks like now.

There's a window in our kitchen that looks out over the flower bed where I planted some bulbs last fall. All winter, all I've seen is the bark chips. And there's a lot of them. Every day, I look out the window, hoping to see a bit of green sneaking up through the brown. After today's weather, I figured that today was not the day. But, oh, look at what I found!

They grew!

This is my first time planting bulbs. As some of you know, I did not

inherit my mom's green thumb.

But, apparently, I can put something in the grounds, and it will grow!

The trees are trying their hardest to believe that spring it on the way.

Some perennials coming back from last year.

WELCOME SPRING!
So glad you decided to come for a visit!

Emma's Fieldtrip

Emma's preschool class took a fieldtrip today to the Discovery Center. It was a lot of four-year-olds running around pushing buttons. They had a blast. Some of it was too old for her, but she didn't mind at all. As long as there was a button to push, she didn't care if it was creating an electrical charge, changing the color prism or testing her hearing. There were a few exhibits that were her favorites.

Both she and Wyatt really enjoyed the grocery store. Checker Amy was quite speedy. I'm thinking she could replace quite a few of our checkers at the nearby Fred Meyers! Here's Emma giving her money to Amy after all of the groceries were scanned and "bagged." The part that confused her a bit was when we told her to put them all back on the shelves after she paid for them. I'm curious to see what happens the next time we go grocery shopping...will we have to put them all back after paying?

She LOVED how the air would grab the ball from her hands and throw it up in the air.

I think she stood still the longest for the tornado. She doesn't know what a tornado is, so she wasn't afraid of it...watching it move around mesmerized her.

Here is she looking at a part of a dandelion in the microscope.

Both Emma and Wyatt enjoyed throwing different weighted objects onto this fountain of air. Some would hover above the air and some were so light that they would shoot out of the exhibit. Wonder how I could rig one of these up here at the house...I could see hours of entertainment!

Beautiful days ahead

I haven't looked at the forecast lately, but I feel that there are beautiful days ahead. This weekend was a perfect end to the week. Friday, after Bob got home from work, the kids and I convinced him to put on jeans instead of pajama bottoms. He'd been up since before 4 a.m., but he put on his jeans and came outside with us. It was in the 50's and was simply beautiful.

Emmalee tried out the tennis racket she received for Christmas. We are all looking forward to lots of hours on the courts this summer.

I think this one wacked Bob pretty hard...if she connects with the ball, she's got a
pretty good arm.

Ryan and Bob played catch for a while. I love to see the two of them outside spending time together. The guys normally got fishing once a year for the annual fishing weekend with Grandpa, uncles and cousins. This year, however, since we're back in God's country (as my Dad would say) we plan on going fishing as often as possible. Ryan received a tackle box complete with tackle for his birthday...he's spent the last three evenings organizing it.

Here's me and my sweetie. Ryan took the photo for us, but Emma really wanted to be in it. You can see her little head hiding behind the tennis racket that's sneaking into the picture.

That evening Mom came to spend the night. We enjoyed BBQ chicken with bacon and cheese, roasted asparagus, and hummus with homemade pita chips. Yum! After dinner, Bob was kind enough to watch the kids while Mom and I took a quick trip to the book store and the scrapbook store. Saturday morning found Mom, the kids and I at the YMCA by 9 a.m. The kids had a blast playing in the pools. Emma and I went back and forth between the kiddie pool and one of the larger pools. Ryan passed one of the swim tests, so he was able to go on the slide. He must have went up that thing 35-40 times. There were quite a few stairs to climb to get to the top, so he was exhausted by the time we left. Mom treated us to a yummy lunch afterwards. Watching my kids eat, you would think that I never fed them. It was quite entertaining. Then a quick trip to the mall and then back home. Sunday was a quite day with morning and afternoon meeting and meeting Daddy for lunch.

*****

What a wonderful weekend it was.

*****

And now, tonight as Bob and the kids are sleeping, I sit here with a heavy heart. I received two e-mails today that made me sad. For totally different reasons. There are two people that I care very deeply for that are in my thoughts tonight...I feel like there should be something I can say that would help them. As I've been baking cookies this evening, I've been formulating a reply to one of the e-mails in my head. I feel like there is so much I could say to justify what I believe...to maybe make them understand and believe too. But that's gotten me into trouble in the past. I know that I cannot make someone believe or have faith. That can't come from me. So, I've learned that it's often better to say nothing at all and just pray.

So happy to be posting #140!

I'm so happy to be back on my blog! It seems like it's been a long time since I've posted. I've so enjoyed catching up on all of the wonderful blogs on my sidebar.

******

First and foremost, I'd like to direct everyone here

Please pray for this sweet little boy in Texas. He received severe burns

from a burning barrel accident.

We pray that he fully recovers.

*****

About 3:00 in the afternoon on Valentine's Day, I called Bob and asked him, "Sweetums, would you rather have waffles or prime rib for dinner tonight." There was silence. I just knew that he was quickly comparing the two, deciding which sounded better after being at work since 4 in the morning. Hmmmmm... Finally, he was able to make up his mind. Waffles!

Just kidding...he chose the prime rib. So, we spent Valentine's evening at Max and Amanda's.

They sure can cook! If you're ever in a position to do so, please invite yourselves over for dinner at their house. Delicious!

Afterwards, the kids flew (crashed) WWII planes on the flight simulator, Bob slept soundly not two feet away, and the rest of us played Cranium. Chris was staying at their house, so we played girls against guys. Poor Amanda was handicapped (her partner), so she lost. Sorry, Amanda!

*****

I have a wonderful friend with a February birthday (several actually).

I made my first apron without a pattern and box of cards that holds 10 homemade cards.

(if any of you crafters would like a template for the box, please let me know)

One of these days, I've gotta make myself an apron. Mine are just plain and boring! Something like this has gotta make cooking more enjoyable, right?

*****

Congrats are in order for the new mommies-to-be.

Here and here and my sisters-in-law in Pendleton, OR and Michigan.

Can't wait to meet the new little ones, and Bob is so happy that there will be babies around to soothe my baby cravings!

*****

Something funny Emma said today...

I was getting ready to drop her off at school after doing the same with Ryan. She turned to me and said, "Mommy, you dropped both of your children off at school (yes, she really does talk like that sometimes). So you'll be at home alone. Do you think that you'll be brave to stay home alone like I'm brave to go up high?"

I love that she was concerned that I'd be scared to be home alone.

Little does she know...

*****

We received some good news on Ryan today. When he was in the first grade in Beaverton last year, he was tested for their TAG (talented and gifted) program. He was not accepted because his reading comprehension was not high enough. His teacher here recommended that he be tested for our district's GATE (Gifted and Talented) program. I met with the school this morning, and am so pleased to say that he's been accepted. His reading comprehension level is now at 8th grade level and other portions of his reading test were at 10th grade level. In order to meet the criteria, the Full Scale IQ must be at or above 124. He was tested at 132, which means he meets the criteria for the Highly Gifted program. For this year, he'll be bussed to another school once a week where he'll be in a class with just 12 second and third graders and two teachers. The class will be much more hands-on and have more advanced material for him to work on. For next week, we'll either continue as we are now with him attending the other school once a week and moving up one grade for some of his courses, or we have the option to enroll him full-time in the GATE school. We are so glad that he'll be challenged

a bit more in school.

*****

So, there's my update for the past week of silence.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend.

We are enjoying beautiful weather here...sunshine and temps somewhere in the 50's.

I'm off to clean house (Mom's coming to spend the night), pick up Ryan and then do a

little bike riding with the kiddos.

On conquering fear

Just after starting preschool in September, Emma was at the large play structure that the preschool uses for recess. It was a day out of school for the older kids, so it was quite a bit busier than normal. Partway through the kids' 15 minutes in the play structure, Emma came down crying. The teacher could not figure out what had happened and determined that she must have gotten scared up on the top level. If you know Emma at all, and as she'll tell you, she's not afraid of anything! That changed that day. What had happened is one of the school-aged girls had hit her when she was playing up on top. Now, if you ask her about it now, she'll tell you that a "big, huge, girl hit me over and over again." The incident has grown in her mind, and she has refused to go up to the top of the play structure ever since.

*****

Today, she conquered her fear.

Ryan had the day off from school, and he had never been there to play. So, we spent about 1/2 hour there before it was time for Emma's class to come in. As soon as she saw him, she ran up and grabbed his hand. (I cannot believe that I forgot to bring my camera!!!). She led him over to the climbing wall that leads up to the top level. At every turn, he was there for her. I watched as he shielded her from the other kids, as he gave her a push to help her get up through a hole in the ceiling, as he held back the big swinging bags so they wouldn't hit her in the face. They played together for 20 minutes...the entire time up on the top level. Both of them had smiles...big smiles...that showed how happy they were.

*****

Sometimes, the kids drive me nuts with their bickering and fighting. But, it's times like these that touch my heart. The times that they help each other out, the times they play together, the times Ryan will talk to Emma in the voice he uses just for her...asking if she needs help.

*****

Thank you, Ryan, for helping Emmalee overcome her fear today.

Valentine's Day through the years...

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

happy valentine's day to all

What I'm Thankful For Tonight

Cassie listed ten things she was thankful for and then asked what we were thankful for.

I'm sure tomorrow's list will be completely different...at least I hope it will.

Tonight, I'm thankful for...

the kids' bedtime

cold medicine

soft kleenex

flannel sheets

a good book

my sweet husband who tells me to go to bed

sore throat lozenges

one last conversation today with both Mom and Dad

comfortable sweats

and the reassurance that this,too, shall end.

*****

As I head to bed, I think of the tournament game that our volleyball is playing...started three minutes ago. Good luck, and I'm sorry I couldn't be there. I hope your are

victorious tonight!

We had a mostly fabulous weekend. While Bob lived at the office, the kids and I played. On Friday, Emmalee and I headed over to Mom and Dad's. Ryan stayed the night with Uncle Anonymous and Aunt Amanda. She babysat the two boys for the evening. On Saturday, Ryan went to the Warhawk Air Museum in Nampa for a Lego Workshop. He said that he enjoyed it...the teacher talked a lot, but he got to build a motorized machine that shot tires across the room. Then, Dad picked him up and they went trucking until late Saturday night. He spent Saturday night with us at Mom and Dad's.

Friday night, Mom, Emma and I spent the evening at a dear friend's brand new house. What a gorgeous place! It was so welcome and inviting...you just wanted to take your shoes off, grab a cup of tea and a soft comfy chair and spend the evening. I have something that I want to make her for a housewarming gift, but I couldn't make it until I saw the colors in the house. So, I made her a card box with a perpetual birthday calendar inside.

****

Saturday morning found Emma sitting in a ray of sunshine.

She discovered that she could see the little drops of water sparkle in the sun if she stuck out her tongue and blew. (Normally, I'd tell her to stop, but in the name of 4-year old curiousity and a photographic moment, I didn't this time).



*****
When Emma outgrew her Little People toys, I almost handed them down.
Mom was very smart in suggesting that we leave them at her house.


Every time we go to the farm, she pulled out the farm and dollhouse
and plays with them for hours.
*****

Later, Mom and I went into Ontario for some shopping. For those of you who haven't been there in a while, there is real shopping there. Stay away from the Wal-Mart side of town
and head to Main Street.

Emma had a playdate with her favorite friend, Ember.
Look here for the awesome photos her mamma took on their 1 1/2 hour country walk.

*****

Sunday started out great...but it's why it was a mostly fabulous weekend. Just before morning meeting while Mom was getting lunch ready to cook while we were gone, she turned and heard her knee pop. We left her in the chair with ice and a tangled mess of yarn to straighten out.
When we got home, she couldn't put any weight on it and couldn't bend it backward. So, she and I headed to the ER. She didn't damage any bones, but they are concerned about soft tissue damage. She has to see an orthopedic surgeon this Thursday to determine what damage was done and if surgery is needed. Poor Mom! She hobbling around on crutches now.
*****

Last night was our second month of card night. It was at my house, and the theme
was "guy cards." There were six of us...and here are the fabulous cards that were created.

Today, Emma and I are having a lazy days. I'm in my sweats, she's in her pajamas and we're all fighting colds. It's gorgeous outside...clear blue skies and sun melting the last bits of snow. I think I might go find a ray of sunshine to sit in while I finish my tea.

*****

Recipe for

Golden Honey Mix

5 cups Honey Nut Cheerios

1 cup pretzel sticks

1/4 cup peanut butter

2 tbsp marg or butter

1 cup raisins

1 cup honey-roasted peanuts

Heat over to 350. Mix cereal and pretzels in large bowl. Heat peanut butter and margarine to boiling in 1 quart saucepan, stirring occasionally; pour over cereal mixture. Toss until evenly coated. Spread in ungreased rectangular pan, 13x9x2 inches. Bake uncovered 10 minnutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from overn; stir in raisins and peanuts. Spread over waxed paper, cool two hours. Store in airtight container.

**I double the amount of peanut butter to make sure it's extra peanut buttery. I also add once cup of chocolate chips after it has cooled. Be sure to stir every 2 minutes or

it will burn on the pan**

Are you feeling lucky today?

Lucky you!

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me!

My choice. For you.

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!

2- What I create will be just for you.

3- It'll be done this year. (might be a little while)

4- You have no clue what it's going to be. It might be homemade cards, a pin cushion, some small, some large, maybe even a scrapbook. I may bake you something and mail it to you.

Who knows? Not you, that's for sure!

5- I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

Don't worry, my imagination is not the great!

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog.The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did will win a homemade gift by me! Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!

So....who will be the first 5 people?????

Is it a gift?

Last night

Wednesday night

Gospel meeting in Nampa, about 20 minutes away

Bob...at work since before 6 a.m. ...back at work at our computer

It would be me and the kids...alone

Grumpy, tired kids

We'd aleady had three meltdowns...and that was the older one!

Late dinner...still had to get baths.

***

Called Mom and asked a silly question.

"Do you think it's ok to just stay home tonight?" after whining about the grumpy kids,

the stay-at-home husband, driving alone on the back roads.

She laughed.

She declined to answer me with a direct answer.

Instead she said, "You know, I can't tell you what you should do. But, I can tell you that,whenever I've felt like that in the past and decided to go anyway, I always heard something I needed to hear."

So, we went, the grumpy kids and I.

We sat in the front row. The kids sat quietly and drew.

I took notes...and almost felt sorry for those that were there because it seemed as if

Chris and Jay were speaking only to me. Would there be anything for anyone else?

Yep, another silly question.

So glad we went.

***

So, here's my question for the day. But I don't think it's a silly one.

Are mothers just born smart?

Is it a gift that they receive at a certain point in life?

Will I receive the same gift someday?

Will my kids look back and appreciate the times I told them no?

Will they appreciate the times I let them figure it out on their own?

I hope so!

***

Thanks, Mom.