Catching up With Random Stuff

The summer flew by. There weren't many posts here by me. Thanks to those of you who keep checking in with me and commenting. It seems like we've lost so many bloggers, and it's sad. I can't come up with many posts these days, it seems, but I refuse to quit entirely - I would miss you all too much.

So it's time to catch up a bit - where did the last three months go? They went very very fast, with the 4 girls here quite a bit of the time. Besides camp and the family reunion, Hayley had a great get-away with her Girl Scout troop, in the Colorado Springs area. I really like the posing of this picture in the Garden of the Gods.

They also visited Cave of the Winds.

Both Hayley and Livi got the teachers they hoped for. Livi's is the same wonderful teacher Hayley had in second grade. We're thankful for this blessing. I didn't make it over to their house on the first day of school for the traditional picture with their new outfits. That's a first for me. We'll have their school pictures soon - everything hit the ground running once school started.

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A bit of catch-up on the twinnies:

They are absolutely so wonderful - except when they're not. They do have their moments - usually about 30 moments when they get going. But they are growing up so much - they just got "kicked out" of the church nursery on Wednesday nights now, because they're too old. It seems to be going well for them. At least they still get to see their favorite "Sandy" on Tuesday mornings during a new Bible study I've joined. They get to play in the gym day care when I have them, and they enjoy that too. My greatest fun is listening to them as they play and don't know I'm listening. They have such great imaginations, and it is so great to have a built-in always playmate.

Potty training - the bane of our existence. They are way old, IMHO, to be this far behind on this process. But they are stubborn little characters. We got so excited a couple of weeks ago when Emma took it upon herself to go several times a day for several days. She was so proud and so excited. Katie would have no part of it. And so Emma quit, too. They love wearing their cute little unders, and don't wet or dirty them all day, which is not a good thing either. What to do? What to do??

Growing up is such an adventure - and watching them learn is such fun. They want to do everything by themselves, which is a very good thing - but it takes so much longer. They've mastered the art of buckling their car seat belts - but it's quite the laborious process. For some reason, the door isn't allowed to close until they are finished. Shoes and socks - grueling, but such a big step.

They were evaluated for preschool and qualified, but unfortunately they are on a long waiting list. This is paid for by the school district because of their financial situation, but it doesn't do much good when there are too many others in the same boat and they can't get in. I was looking forward to a couple of mornings of freedom each week, but we're keeping busy and doing what we have to do.

A couple of funny things - suddenly Emma has begun calling us Grandmaw and Grandpaw instead of Gramma and Grampa. It is so cute. Last night they were staying here, as they often do. I couldn't remember which twin had which pair of jammies on, so I said, "Are you Emma or Katie?" Katie answers, with a twinkle in her eye, "Emma!" Little monkey - pulling fast ones on me already.

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Last Sunday Grandpa Dwight took the girls up to Rocky Mountain National Park in the afternoon. They had the greatest time, and Grandpa is so happy to have new hiking partners for years to come. The promise was for an all day camping trip (not overnight, but involving tents and cook-outs) today (Saturday), but the weather didn't look very promising up there this morning, so they headed to Denver instead. The twins have talked about "going to the mountains" all week, so I hope they aren't disappointed with a more urban adventure.

They stopped in Estes Park on the way down the hill to have a cone at a shop named "Hayley's"




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The other night when they were here, Grandpa played human basketball goal - and Hayley had just scored.




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My sis and I had a great Girls Night Out last Thursday - we were privileged to spend the evening listening to one of our favorite novelists - Laura Lippman. She was a fun speaker, and it was interesting to hear the journey her writing has taken her on. Speaking of books, have you read The Help? I have to say, I RARELY watch a movie based on a book, because it frustrates me so much how they mess with the plot, but this is one movie that didn't ruin the book. Well done.

If you've made it this far, thanks for hanging in there with me on this very long, rambling essay! Have a great week!

Random Ramblings and a Bit of a Rant

There are many things going on in my mind these crazy days of summer - lazy and hazy, as the old song used to say, do not apply. For me, the 4th of July is the beginning of the downward slide back to school days and a bit of routine again. At least we can hope.

Livi's been taking a reading class this summer, three days a week, for an hour. One day she brought home a book to read that brought back such memories. I remember this book so clearly from my childhood, and I haven't seen it since. I hadn't thought of it in a long time, but I enjoyed reading it with Livi. Does anybody else remember it?






Each brother had a special physical gift and they traded places with each other to save their lives. It was a fun blast from the past.

These reading classes are held over lunch hour, and the kids eat lunch with their teacher. This is where the rant part comes in - free lunch is offered at several schools here in town. It is a nice thing for the kids - they get to see their friends, eat a good lunch, and it is free. But really not free. I could be called a hypocrite, because I have taken advantage of it on the days I have the girls. But I just don't quite get how this is possible when we are a trillion dollars in debt as a nation. But what bothers me more than that is the waste that goes along with the "rules and regulations." For instance, I wanted to take one lunch for the twins to lower waste. But they told me I'd have to buy a milk for the other one if I took only one lunch for two kids. I clarified with them that they'd prefer I throw away a lunch in place of giving me an extra milk. Adults have to pay $3.50 for the same lunch, which is fine. But you can't eat any of the kids' food rather than throw it away. And you can't take anything home with you, rather than throw it away. Seems a tad wasteful to me.

Changing subjects -- I think I started something the other day that has gotten pretty big. At least, that's what I suspect. I called the city because the street we drive down many times a week was looking very scruffy. When the houses were built and the street was put in, the homeowners along this street put their fences about 4 feet from the curb, and I guess the city landscaped it. It looked nice for years, but eventually the "decorative" rock began to disappear, the black plastic under it began to show and shred. The bushes and trees began to die, and nobody was taking any notice of it, seemingly. It was so ugly. There were also a couple of pine trees that Dwight had noticed were infested with a bug. I was so pleasantly surprised when they were out within less than week, cleaning it all up. It looks so much better. They also noticed some really bad sections of sidewalk that they replaced. Ever since, they have been out there every day putting in new handicap accessible curbs at the intersections. I wonder if, when they came out to check out the trees and bushes, they realized nothing had been done on this street for a long time, or if they already had this work scheduled. Either way, it's been a good thing.

Veering off the path even more - I have quite a few authors I follow as they write a book most every year. Mary Daheim is one of those - her books have been alphabetical, and she's been writing this series for 20 years now. She is up to V, Alpine Vengeance. I love it that you can go to a favorite author's web page and actually e-mail them a message. I have had several answer my messages. I wrote Mary with a comment about the latest book, and it began a lengthy back and forth conversation. She's quite the character and I'd love to meet her IRL. She surprised me with her willingness to not only answer my questions, but give me lots of insight into her journey through this series. What fun.

My family, meaning my birth family, has always had a favorite pasta salad for the summertime, particularly picnics. It must have originated with one of my grandmas, probably my mom's mom, Grandma Wildman. It is made with ring macaroni, made by Creamettes.



It's a simple salad with tuna, peas, celery, a bit of onion, and some Miracle Whip. And of course, a bit of sate, or my preference, seasoned salt. We have never been able to find the rings out here in Colorado, so any time we went to Minnesota, we'd pick some up and bring home several boxes. A few years ago they changed the shape of the box from the rectangular box (like Kraft Mac and Cheese), to this square box. That was okay, as long as the product was the same. When I didn't have any, I made the salad with little alphabet shaped pasta, but I haven't even been able to find them lately. Last summer, we picked some up when we were in Minnesota, and then my aunt sent us several boxes each (Mom, sis, and me). Now, the bad news - my aunt can't find them any more in Monticello, Minnesota. So so sad!!

We love this salad so much that my brother, who rarely gets it, putting a forkful in his mouth, stated, "Savor every mouthful!" Nothing fancy, simply delicious.




As promised, an update on the Dwight Carlson Park - come on over for a cookout any time! I have a couple of boxes of rings left, so I could make a ring macaroni salad - which our family calls "Minnesota salad."

The last iris of the year - one we never saw before - absolutely gorgeous.

I'm not very good at coming up with analogies with life in nature, but these shots of flowers and rocks brought these thoughts to my mind. When I saw this tiny yellow flower growing from this big rock, I immediately thought of how tough life is at times and how it sometimes feels like we're living in such a tough spot. But the fact that the flower is surviving and even thriving in this hard place gives me so much hope. Sometimes lately I have felt like this little flower! And God has helped me grow in this rocky place.







When I saw these beautiful flowers climbing this rock as they grow and spread, I realized that's how it is to get as close to the Rock of Ages as possible.



Hayley told me to take this picture - she has a good eye, don't you think?



Have a wonderful Fourth of July!

Catching up - Finally!

I am so sorry it has taken me so long to update you on things around here - especially DC's post-surgery status. The surgery went very well, but was more than I knew it was going to be. He ended up staying two days and nights, which to me seems quite unusual these days. He went to my folks' place for the next three days for some quiet recuperation. My mom's super at this sort of thing - DC says she has a servant heart, which is true. Both his mom and mine are that way. We are so blessed.

We brought him home just in time - my dad looked absolutely horrific when I went to pick DC up. His face was red and his one eye was almost swollen shut. He didn't want to go to the doctor - thought they'd do an MRI and he didn't want that. He thought it was some backlash from a fall - two weeks ago (which he didn't tell us about, BTW). I told him that seemed unlikely to me and he REALLY needed to get to the doctor. Later that afternoon they finally took my advice and went to the ER, because their doc was out of town. Diagnosis - shingles! Two weeks later, it was worse yesterday. Poor Dad.

DC spent the rest of the week in bed, with lots of loving attention from the littles - he missed them so much.




DC returned to work the next Monday, and was pretty tired the first few days. But he's doing great now. He can't lift over 10 pounds for another month at least.

Things are going as well as they can with the chaos. It's hard work getting the big girls to school in the morning, getting homework done in the evening, getting them to bed once and for all (the littles are great bed-goers!), doing all the baths, etc. etc. They're wonderful kiddoes - but pretty loud! There's not much listening to lovely Christmas music and relaxing with a cup of tea this year. We did get the tree up last Friday. That's all so far. They are so excited about the tree. Feisty asked me in a whisper during church the other day if Santa would find them this year.

The littles are growing up before my very eyes - their language is increasing every day. They are incredibly smart, just like their big sisters. It's amazing to me what they can do at such an early age. Care Bear's hand-held Leapster game system is a big hit with Katie --

She's also quite the little builder with Legos.

Last Tuesday was Grandparents' Day at the big girls' school - doesn't seem possible it's been a year since I posted about it. I doubt there are too many of us grandmas who had to arrange for babysitting in order to be able to attend this event! I forgot my camera in the morning for Feisty's turn, but had it with me in the afternoon for Care Bear's. CB told me she was in a skit and needed some props and a costume. We spent the evening putting it together - but in actuality, there was no time for the changing needed, so she just used a makeshift cane. There were 13 - yep 13! - skits. Most kids didn't project very well and it was a LONG hour. But CB and her partner were the grand finale and they were the only ones who performed without a script and who really used their voices well. The class also sang a great Thanksgiving song.

Kev was here for Thanksgiving, thanks to the gracious gift from an uncle that enabled him to get a horrendously priced ticket. It was great to have him here, even briefly. His trip back was not fun - beginning at 1:00 am (only ticket we could find), and ending with his luggage back in Philadelphia with him in Maine. Thank the Lord, they delivered it to him the next afternoon. That's always so scary, because he has lost luggage before when he went to Mozambique and never did get it back.


On December 9, Sema is going to Africa for a month to visit her family. Guess what we get to add to the mix? Yep - their dog! The fact that all the girls are scared of dogs adds a bit more drama than I'm looking forward to. Hopefully they'll bond quickly!




As usual, I've been reading at the gym, and some early in the morning during my quiet time. Here's what I'm enjoying right now --




Our pastor has been quoting from this book, Crazy Love, and others by Francis Chan, so I thought I'd better get on board and read at least this one. It's stirring and convicting. Kevin says he got to hear him speak when he was in school at Biola University. I'd love to hear him.




I'm really looking forward to getting into this one and learning about Kirk Cameron's spiritual journey. I have a lot of admiration and respect for this young man.





Mary Beth Chapman has written an autobiography that will have you laughing one minute and crying the next. I don't know why I always end up on the machines at the gym when I get to the tearful parts - people must be really wondering about me as I sniff through my routine. The part about the loss of their sweet little Maria will really get your heart. Highly recommend this one!

Reading and singing are therapeutic for me, as you all know. The community concerts will be next week on Friday night, Saturday afternoon and night, and Sunday afternoon. Then the next week we'll go sing for two senior citizen groups - including the place where my MIL lives. That will be fun.

The church cantata is the same Sunday and this one is causing me some stress - never before have I stressed over the church music! Our new director thinks we can all memorize the 9 songs - and quite a few of us are proving her wrong. But she's not giving up! I'm actually a wreck about this, and am feeling quite inadequate at this moment. No amount of listening to the CD, singing along with it, singing with the choir has made those words stick in my overloaded hard drive. It's taking the joy out of the music for me. Please pray for me if you think about it!

Have a wonderful week!

Please, somebody stop this merry-go-round . . .

. . . I'm getting dizzy!

Thanks to all of you who have prayed and cared for us over the last few days. DC's surgery went very well - I thought he'd be released by now, but not quite yet. He'll go to my parents' house for a few days for peaceful rest - not available here too much. My mom loves to be the halfway house from surgical procedures to home.

Add in a funeral - they never come at opportune times, do they?? I always count it a privilege to play the organ for the homegoing of a saint. I am so thankful for a sister and a sister-in-law, one who has no grandkids yet and one whose grands are far away. They have relieved me by caring for the twins 3 times already this week. My sis has also picked up the big girls from school every day this week. Talk about servanthood in action.

This week one day I posted this on Facebook - it touched a spot in my spirit and seemed to do the same with others. I want to share it, because it's where I'm living right now.

No man ever sank under the burden of the day. It is when tomorrow's burden is added to the burden of today that the weight is more than a man can bear. Never load yourself so. If you find yourself so loaded, at least remember this: it is your own doing, not God's. He begs you to leave the future to Him, and mind the present. -- George McDonald

I always like to share with you all what I'm reading. One of the books I'm almost finished with is Carol Kent's third in the story of her life-imprisoned son. This one is about the joy that can come in the midst of unimaginably horrible circumstances, and how God can use ANYTHING for His glory. If you haven't read these books, please, for your own sake, buy them, borrow them, get them from the library - you'll never regret it. The first one is When I Lay My Isaac Down, and the second is A New Kind of Normal.

I really love this verse Carol used as the basis of this book, from Romans 9:33 in The Message:

Careful! I've put a huge stone on the road to Mount Zion,
a stone you can't get around. But the stone is me!
If you're looking for me, you'll find me ON the way, not IN the way.

Another book that I'm reading at the same time, with my devotional time in the mornings, is by Sheila Walsh. It is also hitting home with me.


I've started this one by Condoleeza Rice, but haven't gotten too far into it yet. I think it'll be great - I saw an interview with her when the book came out. She's a classy lady, to say the least.


Halloween has come and gone (yay - not my favorite "holiday"), but I had to dress the littles in their costumes for at least 3 days to get the maximum enjoyment of watching people's reactions. It's so much fun to make folks' day better. These were taken when we went to our library day - this is an enormous tree that is growing in the space between the gutter and the sidewalk on this very old street downtown - it's far to big for where it is, but I'm glad nobody's cut it down.





After library time, we went out to visit Great Grandma - they love the aquarium in the lobby. Side note - if you want to have a good feeling kind of day, take some little darlings to a place where really old grandmas and grandpas live - it lights up their lives.



I didn't get pictures of the big girls in their costumes this year, but we did have our own little personal jack-o-lantern pattern.




On an entirely different topic. I have never been a thrift store shopper - the only reason being that I don't have the patience to search for treasures in such a large amount of stuff. I have had great success finding cute clothes for the girls, but never for myself. However - the other day, I was passing by a rack of tops when this wonderful jacket caught my eye - my size, which is very unusual to find. Everyone I know who has good luck at thrift stores is a tiny person.







I had the shirt at home which matches the ribbons precisely. It is such fun to wear and I've had so many compliments. I have a friend who is raising yaks and she was really interested when she saw the brand name in the collar - Yak Magik. I looked it up on Google and found this information:

Yak Magik has its origins in the search for extraordinary places, people, and things. Months spent exploring the high peaks and valleys of the Nepalese Himalaya led to a deep appreciation of the people and culture of Nepal. That appreciation led to great friendships and business partnerships manufacturing novelty jackets in the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal. Almost 30 years later we continue to develop our uniquely beautiful jackets with these amazing artisans.

Yak Magik is fine tailoring, one jacket at a time, not assembly line production, and features complex fabric manipulating, top-stitching, and piped seams.

I wrote an e-mail to the company in the state of Washington to ask how old my jacket might be. They wrote back (pretty neat) and said it was probably made 15 years ago. I love it. It's a treasure.


I love this picture I took of the last full moon, outside my front door.





Finally - our first little snow storm yesterday. The girls were so excited to put on their new boots and head into the white yard. After school they made a snowman - it amazes me how much the littles like to be outside in this stuff.








Well, this turned out to be quite the rambling post - I hope you find a part that makes it worth wading through! BTW, I am continuing to sing in the community choir, plus the church cantata (both on the same week-end, as it turns out), and enjoying. It'll be a challenge to get there this week with DC not at full capacity. I'll have to ruminate on that problem.

Have a wonderful week-end.