Disturbing signs....

In my head, I am not turning 38. When I think about age (which is rarely) I still feel like a young adult. However, reality can be cruel and truth can be brutal as I am reminded in small ways of getting older...wrinkles around my eyes, being "creaky" from arthritis when our weather changes, having a son old enough to drive and being called Ma'am. Sometimes, these reminders can be funny as well as brutal. I walked into my bedroom the other day and found these two items sitting side by side on the table under my window. (Thanks again for those cute curtains as a housewarming Colett...Love them!)

Hmm...sometimes looking good needs a little more help than just foundation! Made me laugh. We are fixing up our bedroom and I hadn't put everything back in the garage yet.

Gettin' it done...Joey style!

I wonder what it is about 12 year old boys that makes their rooms so incredibly toxic?
*I know that my sweet child bathes...and when forced to he even uses soap!
*I know he wears clean clothes, I have learned from having an older son, to make sure to inspect his feet, and to reiterate that clean clothing means clean socks too. Socks were not designed to be worn until they can stand alone and aloof from the world~driving the rest of us away from their previously white cotton goodness by the rank scent emanating from them. *Bedding is changed and washed often ~ probably even more often than most bedding because of his asthma.

All of that being said, I want to let you in on a little truth.....

Boy's rooms are SCARY!

There are little bits of wire, string and tape. Creations line the dresser, items are stuck up on the board. Little collections, precious to the mind of a 12 year old, dot the room, roosting in odd places, an open drawer, on the desk, under the bed...clothing slips unheeded from hangers to puddle on the closet floor. When encouraged to hang these back up, it provokes a stare and an eyeroll when your son thinks you aren't looking. Written on his expression you can read his thoughts like a book...really mom! Only the mindless masses hang their clothes, I want to be an original!

It is amazing how many things there are, washers, crazy glue, clay, pencils that are worn to the nib...the silly eraser on the end is longer than the wood. Encouraging a 12 year old to throw these out provokes a wounded look and the timeless protest, "I have plans for that! It is part of a _______!" (fill in the blank)

I was unsure if I was making any progress convincing my son that he needed to clean his room before it was deemed unsafe for human habitation. Apparently he came around to my way of thinking. I sent him in to clean his room the other day. He called out that he needed to prepare first. Here is what he had in mind......A helmet, safety glasses, gloves and a mask....I think I agree!

Picture Challenge

A while back my mother in law challenged several of us to go to our 6th folder on our computer and pick out the 6th photo. I was wondering what kind of photo it would be and assumed it would be one of the kids.
I was pleased and surprised to see that it was one of one of my favorite men! I love this picture of Shon. I think that he is a hottie and even after almost 16 years of marriage, he can make my heart beat faster just by smiling at me like that. He has the most beautiful eyes (sorry honey if that isn't a manly enough word). His cheekbones would make any model green with envy and I love that his hands are in the picture.
They are the most perfect hands in the world. His hands are large, when I hold mine up against his, my fingers barely reach the end of his palm. His fingers are long and slender...but very strong. I love that they are the hands of a working man, calloused, scarred and tough, yet they have a gentle touch when needed. I have watched Shon use his hands to build things for our family, fix our cars, work in our garden to grow food, play ball with his sons, make crafts with his daughter, fashion costumes and props for Scout Camp, rest on a young man's shoulder while he was giving him counsel, play computer games with our children, bless others, fold reverently in prayer, cradle babies and tenderly touch my face when he kisses me.
I think that Shon is pretty amazing! He is my best friend and I couldn't ask for a better husband. Oh, there is one other thing in this picture that I love...You can't see it though because he is sitting on it! I think that Shon has the cutest little booty...but I didn't think you wanted to see a picture of it. :-)

Time for change

Whenever spring is around the corner, I get restless. I want it to be warm, I want to be able to go outside and not freeze, I want to be in my yard! Since I can't do any of those things, I start looking at things in my house that I can refresh and change out. I love the challenge of taking something old and reusing it to make it new, different and my style. Like everyone else, we also have to add cheap, cheap, cheap into the mix. Any changes I make right now, pretty much need to come from items I already have. I looked around, hmmm, I want to finish my mural, but thanks to Montana weather, it is way too cold to have my windows open and since I am using latex wall paint, that needs to wait....Let's see.....Mmmm....I know! Let's get rid of the off white carpet! Oops, guess not, that definitely wouldn't be free. :-) Looking around, my eyes came across the chandelier over my kitchen table. I actually like the shape, but someone in the 80's gave it a weird faux stucco, stone type finish, in beige, ivory and white. Now I know that taste is subjective, but I will file that one under E for Eeeewww! Besides, it has always driven me crazy because no matter how much I clean it, it always looks dirty. Upon closer inspection, I actually like the texture, it reminds me of wrought iron. That made me think of the 87 cent bottle of black craft paint I had in my craft room, so I got up on the table and it only took about an hour to paint it and change it completely! It probably would have been faster to spray it, but this way I didn't have to take it down. I love the results! Sometimes, change is good...especially when you can do it for under a buck!

Toby loves to play basketball. Whenever the weather permits, he is out there. After school, I forget and start to pull into the driveway, he asks me to move the car so he can "shoot some hoops". He is really good too, easily sinking 7 out of 10 shots.

Come out, come out where ever you are....

Spring has hidden from us, playing peek a boo once in a while by teasing us with a couple of 50 degree days and then smacking us upside the head with snow. Yesterday was 50+ degrees of spring like beauty. LOVED it! Today was okay, kind of cool, but since I was creating wall art for Lissie's room in my craft heaven, I could ignore it. Tomorrow is the day that I need to run all of my errands and wouldn't you know it? SNOW! Seriously, it is becoming a four letter word. :-) I love the snow, when I can stay at home and watch it, but not so thrilled to be on the roads. I thought I would pull some pictures of my flowers out, dust them off and remind us all what warmer weather looks like!

New Beginnings

On Wednesday, we had another milestone in our lives. In our church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) our children leave primary at the age of 12 and enter either the young women's or young men's organization. Each year in YW, there is a ceremony called New Beginnings that helps welcome the girls who are turning 12 and spotlights the girls already in the program. Shon had scouts with the boys, so I went with Lissie. We enjoyed a wonderful program, and I watched with bemusement as my little girl grew up before my eyes. She was easily the tiniest one there, even with among the other 11yr olds. The older girls were so welcoming and Lissie was perfectly comfortable with them. Her YW leader is Sister Myrna Hammer, we have worked with her in other callings and she is so nice, I know Lissie is in great hands.

Modern technology, latter day miracles

This last year has been a difficult one in part because of our two oldest son's health problems. Joey has had severe asthma since he was a toddler, resulting in over 20 hospital stays, some of which have included numerous days in ICU. Thank goodness we live in a time where we are able to have many of the machines used for treatment in our home. Alex's health troubles are a year old. He has ulcerative colitis, a very painful condition that results in brutal bleeding ulcers in his entire digestive tract. He is one of the small section of people that get it when they go into puberty and the body starts to grow and change. Every time he has a growth spurt, it sets it off. He gets horrible cramps, throws up and when it is severe he bleeds internally. He can't eat many foods and has lost a great deal of weight. Our goal is to get him through the next several years of growth. When he gets out of puberty, things should level out and he can lead a more normal life.


As a result of all of this, both boys miss school. I have been able to tutor them thus far, and they have great attitudes, but they are both getting to the age where I can't help with their math. Joey will have missed a month of school, both due to being sick (with reactive airway disease, he can get pneumonia in about 36 hours from a bug that will cause us a minor chest cold) and the fact that they decided to paint his ENTIRE school in February, yes February in Montana....hmmm....who thought that was a good idea? Needless to go into detail, but he reacts very badly to the fumes and can not be around them. Alex has been too weak and ill to be able to cope in a regular school setting. We also run into the problem that two of the medicines used to control his disease, compromise his immune system. Due to his illness, we have had to pull him from school for the entire spring semester. So, all in all, things in that aspect are kind of sucky. It makes me angry that I can't make things easier for my kids. I know that I can't get depressed about it, they mirror my attitude when it comes to their illnesses. Sooooooo........


I decided to try and look for silver linings and found a huge one. Alex works with tutors everyday. The Skyview high school set it up. Two teachers work with him, the goal is to keep him caught up so that when he is well enough he will be able to stay in the same grade as all of his friends. Strangely enough, his tutors are men that were a teacher and the vice-principal when Shon was up at Skyview 20 years ago. Small world! Here is Alex with one of them.



Joey's school set up UVOO. I don't know what it stands for, maybe hallelujah I don't have to teach math!! Well, maybe those initials don't add up. :-) It is a web cam that links Joey to his classroom. I still teach his other classes, but twice a day he logs in, and can interact with his class and teachers.

The right side of the screen is what Joey's friends see, and the kids on the left are some of the one in his group. There is no lag time and they can adjust the volume or tilt the screen for ease. Wow! Miracles come in every shape and size!