Good Bye

Photo courtesy of smartkids

Good bye old friends...

This almost killed me. I had no inkling of how difficult it would be to go through our children's books. We are firm believers in "pay it forward" and decided to go through our books and donate the ones that the kids had outgrown to our school. We have several teachers barely out of college and thought it might help them build their classroom libraries. They were excited, the kids were excited and I was...until we started. It was hard. Every book we picked up, seemed to have memories attached to it. Of course we kept the favorites, and most of the hardback books. We definitely were not left with a dearth of books, given that we have so many that we have broken more than one bookshelf. :-) But still, slow death by papercuts....

We are readers. My kids love to curl up together and read. We like to pick quirky books to read together as a family,and we all have our own favorites. We try to keep one night a week in the winter put aside when all we do is read our books, the kids and I in the same room, everyone sharing a bowl of popcorn and excerpts from our current reads.

I know all of that will continue. But still...It killed a little part of me.

I know that we kept the kid's favorite books.

I know it was a good thing to do, and hopefully teaches my kids the principle of giving to others.

I know that other little children will enjoy those books and hopefully catch the love of reading.

But still...somehow, super-imposed over that humble little box of books were visions of my chubby babies sitting in my lap learning to read those books. Time moves so quickly. Good bye old friends....

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Really!?! Can you say OCD?

Sometimes I just have to laugh at myself. We are getting our house ready for sell and thus painting out some of the stronger colors. I am very picky about how I paint and edge. The previous owner had painted the master bathroom indigo blue. I like color, but it was too much for me. We had painted it out a light oceany (yes that is a word...at least in my world!) grey but you could still see where some of the indigo paint had barely splashed up onto the ceiling. Let's just say, it bugged me. Shon came home to find me painting the blue out with this teeny-tiny make-up brush. The look he gave me was so funny!

He thinks I am getting too OCD about painting the house....OCD...I just think that those are nice letters in the alphabet. Nice letters that are out of order, maybe I should put it on my list of things to organize...then I will highlight it so that I know that it has higher priority...Should I color code them so that they are easier to find, or maybe just file them under alphabet...hmm, maybe, I should do that right after this post instead of sleep...What am I doing still posting? I have to fix the letters! Shon, me OCD? I have know idea what you mean. :-)

Simple Pleasures

Sometimes life hands us simple pleasures unexpectedly. Like little gifts we open them and with childlike unabashed happiness...and just plain enjoy them. With Shon-O's new job, he travels the Eastern Montana district weekly. Every couple of weeks, he needs to spend the night up there. We went into the job knowing that. What we didn't know is that his boss encourages him to take me with him sometimes. GIFT! How fun is that? Even better, since it it a work trip, lodging and food is covered. GIFT! We are close enough that we don't have to worry about the kiddos, GIFT! We have great friends and relatives in town who think it is fun to have them for the night, GIFT! Recently, I went with my cute guy to Glendive and Sydney. Guess what? There were several more gifts! I have a handsome man, with arms long enough to take this photo, GIFT!

Beautiful scenery, with that huge Montana blue sky. The building on the right was a really cool old church with weathered boards. I wonder what life stories happened inside? Hmm...firmly placed under, GIFT!

Quirky things you see at gas stations. Glendive had tonnes of things about dinosaurs and a huge dinosaur museum. Apparently someone had a sick (but funny) sense of humor and altered this statue. Laughter, GIFT!

We went to the first annual Tomato festival. It was held in the community center. There was a band, and tables set up with taste tests for all things tomato. (Surprise!) Salsa, sauces, juice and desserts. Who knew? There were also lots of homemade treats and crafts for sale. Sweet and simple fun, GIFT!

Why the key? First off, who sees this kind of key in a motel anymore? It was a clean, simple motel with the most comfortable bed. While Shon-O saw his people, I stayed in the room and....did NOTHING! I worked on some cards, watched mindless TV, and took a long shower. While I wouldn't want it to be my life, sometimes it is just nice to know that your family is happy, your hubby is doing what he loves, and I was just able to sit and relax, GIFT! I will probably go with him every other month, unless he needs me to teach at one of his trainings. Look around you, and it is amazing how many gifts pop out at you.

Paparazzi

What to do in the car during those long hot rides? On a recent trip to Cowley Wyoming we played a rousing round of a little game mama likes to call "Paparazzi!" I think that they won this round. I have to be a little bit quicker with my picture takin' finger. Next time my pretties...I will win! :-) Toby impersonating the headless horseman

Alex as a rock head

Shon~O couldn't move since his hands needed to be on the wheel. I love a sitting duck target.

Joey is too quick for me....

Lissie impersonates a human pretzel in order to avoid her picture.

Let's see, practice now, 1...2...3..CLICK! Gotcha!

A Scout is...

A while back in my "Back to Blogland post, I had mentioned the following item with the promise of more information to follow.

4) Many hours of prayer, and discussions, leading to my sweet hubbie following a dream, which means a location change for us ~ More to follow.

It has been a crazy couple of months, after 15 years in the heavy haul trucking industry as a sales broker, thanks to the recession my husband had the opportunity to change his job.

Security is never easy to give up. Never. However, sometimes we take a leap of faith and sometimes we are pushed into it. Regardless of the way we move into it, change can be brilliant.

I hated to be obscure in the blogland post, but we had applied for a job and were waiting to see whether or not Shon was chosen for the post. It was hard to do, because at the time we thought it might entail us moving. We decided to go for it though and were blessed in a way that we didn't expect. The original job was in Missoula, and midway through the process, they asked if we would be willing to stay in Billings. After deep consideration that took all of 2 seconds, our answer was YES! So the process went on, paperwork, background checks, verbal interviews, written tests and finally....(although to give them credit it all moved pretty fast) we found out.....

Drum roll please......Ta da! Shon is the newest District Executive for the Billings Montana Office. What does that mean? I have no idea! Loll! I don't know his exact duties at the moment, but I do know that my husband embodies all that is good about scouting and I am so proud of him. It isn't often we get to live our dream and get paid to do so! Congratulations Honey!

Art rocks!

Way, way, way...(add a few dozen here) back in time, I went to school to become an elementary teacher. My specialty was to be reading readiness and learning challenges. Life changes our plans sometimes though and although I did my student teaching I did not end up in the classroom as an educator. Now, looking back, I am not sure what kind of teacher I would have made. I have been thinking a lot about this because as Toby gets older, Shon and I have talked about me possibly going back to work. Sooooo, 20 years after graduation, the question comes up, what do I want to be when I grow up? :-)

Many thoughts spring to mind, most of them involving either artwork or museum research. One other job appeals, but unfortunately I think that they are a dying breed. Art teacher. I love art. I love kids, I love to see kids get excited about art.

No matter the size of our houses that we have lived in over the years, we have always had a dedicated art space for our kids. I think that is why I can always leave my art supplies out without fear of them being touched.

In this house there is an odd closet type space at the bottom of the

basement stairs. We finally decided to make that the kids art space. There are all kinds of fun things in there. I don't care how messy it gets while in the middle of a project, after all, everyone should get a little messy when they are in a creative frenzy! Afterwards, the kids know that if they clean up, I will constantly restock it.

Here is the cute paper project that Lissie made the other day. Her cousin Natalie was over and they recreated themselves in paper. I know it sounds sappy, but it made my heart happy to see them so content and busy for HOURS making clothes, their dolls and houses. I loved how creative they were with layering paper, and using different textures for the hair, door, rooms etc. It brought back memories of when I used to play with paper dolls. Check it out.

Paper Lissie is going for the smoky eyes and bee stung lips this summer...

Livin' the life in a paper world.

Everything a paper preteen could want! I think that some of these items are not so subtle hints, like the paper laptop, cell phone and i-pod. :-)

Paper Lissie, I think she can only walk in one direction though....she has a huge wardrobe now, and although you can't see them, stylish undies and even a belly button.

A fabulous door.

Time to sleep....zzzzzzzzz....
Time to wake up!

Glue, paper, pipe cleaner, sequins, beads, glitter...doesn't it make you want to come over and play!?! ART ROCKS!

Worth Dying For...

A wise lady named Eleanor Roosevelt once said,

"Lest I keep my complacent way I must remember somewhere out there a person died for me today. As long as there must be war, I ask and I must answer was I worth dying for?"

A young Sgt. named Terry Lynch was buried yesterday. Only 22, he freely gave his life on June 29 in Wardak Province, Afghanistan when an "improvised explosive device" exploded near his vehicle. Do I know him personally? No. Although I was impressed by the number of medals he had earned in his young (and short life) None of those things moved me to blog. No, when I read about his death, the thought that struck me, was, here was this young hero, who by all accounts was very loved by both his friends and the men that followed him. A hero described by terms such as
"young man who was as serious about serving his country as he was playful and fun-loving in spirit."

"All-American boy"

"Hardworking. Playful. Trustworthy. Sincere. Outgoing. Dedicated."

"loved cars, grease, dirt, firecrackers, paint ball and mischief"

"I wanted to give back to my country," he said in explaining his decision join the Army."

"determination" and "dedication to his country"

Wow, that is pretty humbling. He had already served two tours of duty. He was only 7 years older than my Alex when he died.

After his funeral, the community was invited to be part of a flag processional that would line the streets all the way from the church the funeral was held at to the cemetery. My three younger kids and I went down with some of our big flags to participate. Alex unfortunately wasn't able to go do to health.

I was so proud of my kids, standing tall, my boys wearing their scout uniforms straight backs saluting the cars in the funeral procession. I saw the faces of his honor guard. I saw them salute my boys back. And I saw those men with tears rolling down their faces while smiling to see my children. I took this picture before it started, somehow, it didn't seem right to cheapen the moment and take them during.

Why am I blogging this? I am not really sure except that the poignancy of seeing my children standing there holding the flags so proudly touched me very deeply. I truly hope that I can be someone worth Sgt Terry Lynch's sacrifice.

Dreams of Daring Do....

Remember when you were a child and your imagination was so vivid that daily life paled in comparison? With distant vision, you left behind the myriad mundane chores that filled your day and created a world, indeed many worlds, peopled with adventure, boldness, color and EXCITEMENT!
*Your bed became a covered wagon with the help of a sheet..(really, who needs them under blankets when they have so much potential!)
*Crackers became the manna that explorers live on...
*A closet was not a place to store clothing and other sundry items, but instead it was a time capsule, a hide out, a rocket into outer space...
*Outdated clothing, carelessly discarded by the older (unimaginative) set, became anything you needed, evening dress clothes, tawdry threads weakly glimmering, shine once again as ballgowns, pirate plunder and medieval finery...
*Cardboard, not a earthly and humble carrier of objects, but instead, the material of castles and playhouses, walls and sleds...

How do you build a dream? A few recovered boards, a few brand new boards, a plan and the imagination of a little boy....

Toby turned nine in June (gasp, my heart just skipped a beat...my baby NINE!) We mulled over many things that we could give him. He is a sweet but quirky child. (Go quirks! They add strength to your character!) Although he gets along with everyone I know and plays well in many different forums, other than basketball, he just doesn't care about many of the things that other little boys do. He already has a hoop...so we were stumped until we thought about how much he loves pirates...and since every little boy needs a place to build imaginary empires, sail through the seas and have adventures beyond measure, that made us think...put them together and you have our birthday hide out designed just for Toby!