In Training

We've been busy doing stuff like this:

Using hammer and nails

Breaking the sewing machine into robot pieces.  Sure enough, Evy has a bag of parts to "build a robot."

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a *fabulous* time this Memorial Day Weekend.  We kicked it off with Evy's baseball game and Sonic with Grandma and Papa.  Saturday brought hours and hours at the pool.  And, no sunburns!

On Monday, we went and cleaned up my grandfather's burial plot.  Erik edged the stones and the boys added flowers and flags.  We then walked around the cemetery reading other headstones of soldiers that had served for our country.  Always an interesting conversation to have with the boys.

This weekend, I was able to go with my parents to the last walk through of our old high school.  I had a great time hearing stories from Mom and Dad about their times in high school, how they met, where Dad rode his motorcycle/popped wheelies with it/how it disrupted class, and how things were different or the same when they went there.

This is the stadium where Dad would practice his motorcycle stunts.  Of course, that was before the fancy football astroturf was put on the field.

They showed me where they lived in high school.  I didn't know this, but they lived right down the street from each other.  I found out where the fishing barge was where Mom worked . . . and where Dad went to see Mom.

Later in the weekend, I took the boys to the barge to show them.  The LOVED the fishing barge.  Evy just wanted to pull up a chair to each of the guys fishing there, sit a spell, and have a nice chat while waiting for a fish to bite.  We'll have to go back since the place is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

We ended Memorial Day Weekend with our own version of Sweet Dream Pie . . . laying out all the candy and "sweet" stuff that had accumulated in the cupboard since Christmas . . . anything we didn't eat by the end of the day got trashed.  YAY!

Pizza, swimming lessons, a DJ by the pool, dancing, lots of laughing . . . .

The last item of fun was rootbeer watching movie party with the family.  Those are classic times.

The Color Run--Austin

I signed up for the Austin 2012 Color Run (held in February) WAY before the Color Run became super popular.  A way to have fun with color, in Austin, with the kids, a total no brainer.

A 5K.  Each K you "run" you get showered with color.  At the end of the run, there is a Color Festival where you throw color up in the air and leave looking like a rainbow.

We packed our white clothes and the stroller.  We packed a CD player and our "running" CD to play through the event.  (AWESOME idea, by the way, people loved "running" with us.)

Well, they changed the venue to allow 6,000 runners instead of 2,000.

And it rained.  A.  Lot. the night before the event.

We look a little cold, but we are excited!

We have no idea about the mud pits and mud hills that we are about to conquer, we have no idea about all the lost shoes/getting stuck in the mud/falling in the mud, we have no idea how at times we were tempted to sit down and ask for a helicopter to come get us (it was only a 5k--but SOOOO much deep mud and high spots to get through), and we are about to find out how nice people were when they helped us the entire time through the mud.

They are running a bit late.  Glad the portopotties were right by us in line.

Well, when we got to our turn, the mud was like 10 inches deep.  And, it sort of went like these videos:

It was like Greek God messy with mud.
Stations ran out of color.
No one had any idea of the lurking path dangers under the mud.
People got stuck.
The van with the refill color got stuck.
Real runners couldn't run it.
No one had any idea of what was going on and how much further.
No color when you got to stations.
It was a hard morning.  I pulled Everett out of the stroller so that people could carry it over the mud.  He had to do some really hard work making it to the finish line.  Lost his shoes several times.  I carried him part of the way.  He was ready to regain his spot in the stroller when we reunited back with Erik.

While others were at the Color Festival, Sheila was cleaning the stroller wheels. Yes, the tires are under that mud. Mud=8 inches, tire=1 1/2 in

THE END!!!!!!! Poor kids. This one was rough. The weather and change in venue really made it unfriendly for the 14 and under crowd. My boys are ready to go home. Evy did run, walk, slough through mud for about 1/2 of the course. In the end, he had great FUN! Merritt enjoyed being carried in the stroller through the mud by dozens of people. Austin folks are so nice!

At the Finish Line. Erik really kept the energy going to get the stroller through all that mud (in some places like 10 inches deep). We had tons of help . . . and I always knew where Erik was if I listened for the "WHHOOO-HHOOOO!!!!" yell.

Know this looks like an optical illusion. My feet were so covered in mud that you can't tell where they are.

Erik and our niece went to the Color Festival while Sheila tried to help the boys.

On the bus to the car (Sheila walked the boys in the stroller back to the car and deserves special mentioning for that---yes, this is Sheila typing this . . . and Sheila got to the car WAY before the bus riders . . . and the walk to the the car was all uphill, seriously).  That walk, being exhausted with the kids CRYING and tired and muddy--I have no idea how long it took me--at least 30 minutes, has been the hardest thing I have ever done (aside from birthing Merritt with no medication).



The event, within the same circumstances, is not something I would repeat with my kids, ever.  People lost tons of shoes, hurt their feet, went to the ER, and just were unhappy.  It was supposed to be something that *anyone* could do . . . tell that to the lady whose daughter was in a wheelchair.  They got stuck.

I did write to the event leaders about my concerns.  I gave some suggestions.  They have actually used a couple of them in other oversubscribed races (these weren't brainpower suggestions, I'm sure other people made the same ones). 

We came out unscathed.  Our stroller didn't.  It is still in the garage waiting for some repairs.  It was good for Everett to experience doing something hard.  It was good for me to experience it with him.  And, it was just plain old AWESOME to see so many people rise above some pretty horrid circumstances.

In any case, I've got some sweet headbands and some rocking socks out of it!

In other cities, it went like this:

Just Take Some Time

We were at Chick-fil-A last week.  I really don't like the place because it screws up environmental print, but that has nothing to do with my post.  Despite my misgivings about product or marketing or how parents use the play area as a daycare center, that place *always* has the nicest workers.

There was a lady employee working each table to ask if she could take trash, get refills, or whatever.   She, well, bothered most people because they had to pull themselves from their phones or conversations to respond to her.  She did talk longer than is typically acceptable in our tech driven age of the "2 second HI" and her jokes were corny.  And, maybe, she repeated the joke to a table a couple of times.

None of that really matters as she was doing a great job, being courteous, caring, and trying to connect.

There was a group of adults that spanned a good portion of the tables, some supporters of a girls' softball team.  And these adults were older than I am.  Like grandmas and mothers in their late 40s, early 50s.

And, instead of responding to the employee's overtures of connection, they made fun of her.  They mimicked her, rolled their eyes at her, got up and walked away while she was in mid-sentence . . . and all this in front of their kids.

I was shocked, even felt like throwing up, as I saw all this going on . . . I felt like I was transported to some awful lunch hour in middle school.

She is someone's daughter.  Could be someone's sister or mom.  She *is* someone.  Not a nuisance, but someone.

Just take a couple of seconds, or maybe minutes for this lady, and say hi.

And children watch how people treat one another. 

I wish they didn't feel like they might be in such a hurry.  I wish that they put away the cell phone.  Have an open mind about interacting with other people.  They could make the difference for someone else having an awesome experience that shapes him or her . . . or be the influence that pulls that person in the opposite direction.

A couple of years ago, I was chaperoning a church dance.  There was a popular girl there . . . and she was asked by a not-so-popular guy to dance.  She did.  YAY!  As they were dancing the slow dance, she held her cell phone behind his head and texted the entire time, bored.  BOO! 

We need to teach our children to take the time to be nice, even to the not-so-popular.  Show them how to talk to people that are different than they are.  Teach them the value of interacting with other people.

We, as parents and stewards of younger generations, have to put more effort in doing this than those that raised kids in other generations.  Technology takes priority over most things these days.

In graduate school, I had the pleasure to work with someone that knew everyone.  I mean everyone.  As we would walk from building to building from appointment to appointment, he could talk to everyone and knew whose aunt was sick, who had a son that was playing baseball, and who needed an extra compliment that day.  We had arrived on campus on the same day . . . and, yet, he had become a part of the lives of so many people.  He cared about people.  I had the pleasure of meeting his parents a couple of years later and found the reason why . . . his parents cared about people.  When you walked into their home, you became another family member.  And, although, I do believe that there are personality traits where being a "people person" is part of what you are naturally born with . . . this family was more than that.  They put active energy in connecting with others.  They take the time.

I have no "people person" acumen to brag about . . . I am a shy person.  I have to put constant effort in social situations.  I get busy.  So, last week's visit to that chicken place was a meaningful reminder for me.

I am making a more concerted effort to:  Just Take Some Time.

Lady Employee:  Know how to get rid of varnish?
Me:  Um, no?
Lady Employee:  Take out the "r".
Me:  (a moment to figure it out)  HAHAHAHAHA!

And, bless me, that joke is still giving me the giggles.

Playing with Friends

We've been exploring new parks, going to the Frank Buck Zoo, and doing our best to soak up outside weather with friends before it gets hot.  A friend of mine, Kadi, took these pictures during a trip to the Frank Buck Zoo. 

(BTW, I always dress my boys in orange when we go out to places like this.  And, if they have a matching orange shirts, even better.  I can always spot their orange shirts if they get too far away from us.  And, it is another chance to use Longhorn fashion, and brainwash discuss the awesome school that UT is.  Merritt likes wearing his "hook'em shirt".)

Kadi was sooooooo helpful with Merritt while Evy was in the hospital for his video-EEG.  Here is a picture with Merritt and his friend sporting some 'staches we sent with him one day.

Chills and Thrills

Believe it or not, I have been trying to update the blog.  I've worked on it bit by bit for the past week and didn't actually finish one post, but several are in progress.  The reason(s), well, typing, time, and picture uploading ease with Blogger.  We are in a lovers' spat, so to speak.

So, I'm thinking about changing at least my format here to keep me going along with some kind of documentation.  I'll figure something out.

Evy has a couple more baseball games this season.  He is constantly grabbing his mit and ball to practice any chance he can get.  He and Merritt are also getting into the swing of swim lessons.  I'm still swimming, with a splint.  I look particularly awesome since I have to cover my splint with a sock and my stroke is disjointed and slow since I can't really *swim* with one arm.  But, hey, I'm swimming, right?  Erik has been a substitute for his work's volleyball tournament teams.  The boys and I go to his games to play in the sand and run around , um, cheer him on to victory.

We recently went to Galveston for Erik's birthday weekend gift.  An amazing time!

Mother's Day was very fun last week.  Crepes (YES, he made them), chocolate covered strawberries, my boys, gerber daisies, seeing my mom and sister and aunt, and a lovely note from my boys.  Erik took on a mammoth task in putting together the Mother's Day gifts that our church gives out. He did a lovely job with it, and I don't think that in the history of Mother's Day Church gifts that anyone has put more time and thought into it than Erik did this past year.  He is a very nice guy.

We have been busy with friends and playdates.  Our schedule is about to shift since Merritt just said goodbye to his speech therapists for the summer.  Such lovely ladies.  I'm working on a summer schedule for the boys to make sure I work on Everett's adamant request to learn to read.  We'll have some schooling, lots of field trips, pool trips, and mammoth effort to stay away from sunburns and heat. 

Facebook Tidbits-

April 17

Today is Evy's last day in The Heard school. We've been coming once a week for two years and love it. Not only can the teachers keep pace with Evy's questions, but you get to park under trees like this that have *hundreds* of butterflies feeding at once on the blossoms. An awesome sight to see!

April 20

To the Thoughtful Person who found and placed Evy's baseball mitt under the pavilion and to the many people who saw it and left it laying there after we lost it: Thank you!

It was great to get the mitt back after being resigned to buying a new one, but it was even better to talk about a real life example of someone having integrity.

April 24

Evy (5) is teaching Merritt (3) how to make a pb&j. (The pb jar will never be the same but they both ate lunch today!)

April 27

Finally figured out the best hardware.

Merritt: (with the happiest smile). I am *so* *so* happy!! I love my swing! Thank you!

Totally worth the headache.

May 1

Evy is running around the house! This is the most he has been excited about something in a long time. What are we doing? Today is the first day of formal instruction in teaching him how to read.

May 12

Off to buy some fox urine. For real. We've got rabbits nesting in our car engine.

May 14
I declare the red fox pee as a success. The ever popular spots for rabbits on our lawn have not been frequented since the application. Even scared away a dog who was in mid-poop on our lawn when he got a wiff of it!

May 16

It is 10:05. Merritt, sitting by his door, is making tooting noises on his arms and giggling hysterically. Feel free to join in on his late night comedy.

May 18

It is 10:33 pm. Merritt is finally going to bed. Whaa?

Instead of snuggling with a cute puppy tonight, he is taking his container of 3 June bugs with him. One dead, two alive.

Mother's Day and a Remedial Realization

March 2012

It has been a doozy for me for the past several months.  Seriously.

I am finally at the end of the tunnel, coming out of the worst of it.  Physically, I am still limited but am able to do more each week.  Like, today, I used the *real* vacuum cleaner to clean up the living room.  Please pull yourself off the floor from fainting in awe.

This weekend is Mother's Day Weekend.  At the beginning of the year, as I was planning the special music selections for Sacrament for our ward, I was prompted to have a group of women perform on Mother's Day.  And, was prompted to have them sing, not just a random song, but "Come Take a Little Hand."  So, since the past couple of months have been filled with making it happen--from getting the music approved, to recruiting women to sing, to our practices, I've kind of been thinking about Mother's Day for awhile.

I've written about Mother's Day previously on this blog.
In 2008
In 2010

 I have always been inarticulately grateful for my miracle boys.  Right now, Erik and the boys are sleeping in a tent on the living room floor.  All three of them are snoring away, loudly.  I love it! 

The reality is pretty clear. I have had the children that I am to have at this point.  I don't have this driven feeling that "there is one more child out there for our family" or the "our family is complete feeling" as some women have.  And, as I come across women that complain about their children or bemoan the fact that they can't help but get pregnant all the time . . . well, I just find myself in a place of not understanding, again. 

As comments are made around the number of children people have and the idea that a woman with more children has more worth than that "lessly numbered woman" . . . well, I get all twitchy again.  Worth is never tied to a number, a race, a gender, an education level, or a haircolor.  We are each of infinite worth.  I *know* this.  And, yet, anger and doubt still creep in when I think of what I really want to do and the reality of what I can do.

Yesterday, while collecting dirty laundry, I had an impression of truth that most of you will think is remedial.  Most of my quest in understanding my struggle with infertility has been around, "Maybe God just doesn't think it is the right time."  An inherently flawed notion since it lines me up for the idea that *sometime* in this life will be the "right time." 

Yesterday, a whisper with a strong feeling of confirmation and contentment:  The blessings and challenges that come to families that have many children are not the blessings and challenges that Heavenly Father has in store for you in this life. 

And, for the first time, ever, I felt at peace with my infertility.  Even, excited at being able to understand and put to rest the feelings of churning or turmoil that I experience with not understanding.  I am ready to let go, to embrace being different, to be okay with the phrase "you only have two . . . ."

Yesterday, as I walked down the stairs with the boys' laundry box, I was in awe.  Maybe, I have finally matured to a point that will bring lasting peace with accepting that it is fine that a most deep seated desire will be unfulfilled in this life. 

I will most likely never know why I was prompted to pull an awesome group of women together and sing a specific song on Mother's Day.  But, I do know that my Heavenly Father loves me and the plan that He has for my life is best for me.  That He has other blessings and challenges in line for me and that they are the blessings and challenges that I need to experience.

At least, that is the best way I can describe it right now.