Saturday's Warrior

Today on the way to pre-school Matt asked me to play the Primary CD. (The songs the kids will sing in church in November.) I obliged and put the disk in the player.
"No mom! Not that song! The one that says, 'We thank thee O God for a Prophet that guides us on some Saturdays'!"
Woo-Hoo that made my day!! I had to correct him of course that it was Latter-days...

Soccer, Stitches, and Safety Helmets

I am about 2 weeks behind...

Well, I got the boys into soccer!! We started a bit late, but I think it will soothe the savage beasts (and help them to forget that mom missed the original cut-off!)    Ben is giving it his all and I think with some more practice he will get more "fluid" in his movements.  They won his 1st game and he was really exited!  

Matthew is thrilled to be able to start.  He has been watching Ben for the past 2 years and has been asking when he gets to play.  I thought he was going to pass-out from excitment when he learned he actually got to keep his jersey!  

On the 14th, Caitee wanted to "help" me make pancakes and eggs for breakfast.  She pulled a kitchen chair over to the counter and started to pull things out.  She tried to open a drawer that was directly in front of her.  She leaned back and the chair tipped backwards,  knocking her to the floor.  Then the seat rocked all the way over and smashed her in the face!  I watched the whole thing in slow motion, and yet it happened so fast I couldn't stop it.  The chair had put a nasty looking gash in her chin.  The blood was deep red.  Not a sight for the faint of heart!  I surprised myself with my very calm, "Spencer, you are going to have to take Cait in for stitches."

Sure enough my dirty, little princess received 4 stitches in her chin.  

You might think this was her 1st set.  But Oh, NO!  This is her 2nd set!  I think she has some personal goal to have one set for every year of her life.  Believe me you DO NOT want to tumble with this girly!  She is one tough little cookie!!  

We try to get together for playdates with families from our ward (church).  The weather has been unbelievable perfect, so we have been to the park quite a few times...anyway it was decided to meet up for a bike ride.  The older kids did not have school that day, so I was more than ready not to be at home.

Matthew had gotten a bike for his birthday back in April.  Caitlyn had her tricycle.  Ben did not have a bike.  The reason for this is because he would literally freak out when we tried to teach him how to ride a bike.  It was too much for Spencer and I's patience!!  We gave up a few years ago on that one...I digress.

I was feeling bad that he would be the only one without anything to ride, although he does have a scooter, it just isn't the same!  I wanted to get him a bike.  So on Thursday, we loaded up and headed to (quickly becoming my least favorite place...) Wally-World.  Taking 3 children into any retail store is another post all together!  

Long story short (oh! sorry, too late...)  Ben AND Caitlyn ended up with a new bike.  Because as I have mentioned before Cait can and will do anything before, better, and faster than her brothers!!  

I do not know if it because this area is so dang friendly or if everyone will experience this phenomenon. There is something magical in getting your 1st bike.  Everyone and I do mean everyone stopped and talk to us and we headed to the checkout.  People smile at you and give you thumbs up and are very excited for you to get to ride your new bike.  The kids basked in the limelight from the back of the store all the way to the parking lot.  It was like something you would see in a movie.  I don't even know if I am getting the feeling across, but I will never forget the way it felt - well, magical!  

Spencer taught Ben to ride his bike!!!!  It only took 1 night!!!  I am so proud of him for overcoming his fears!  (I am sure that there was some pressure of being the only 8 year old with training wheels!!)  He loves it!  She loves it!  They love it! Everyday the kids want to go out and ride.  And now I have a marvelous, wonderful new thing to hold over their heads if their rooms aren't clean!  (picture me wringing my hands in menace) Mwhahah!! 

I am going to post pics when Spencer gets home and reminds me how to get them off the camera and into this blog!!  (I would never survive without my techie husband.)

 

HAHAHAHA. Awesome.

"Without George Washington's teeth, we wouldn't have Bonaroo!"

--Posted by Spencer, not Roxann, but logged in as Roxann, but Spencer.... see?

Amphibians and Car Keys

Yesterday, I made my usual rounds in the morning. Drop off Ben, drop off Spencer, drop off Matthew. On the way home with the girls, I noticed a "bump" up ahead in the road. As I drove closer I realized it was a turtle. I swerved to miss it. I only got a few feet and then my neurotic impulses kicked it. "I had to save that turtle! If I didn't go back, no one else would! I couldn't bear the thought of him getting squished! He would never make it without me!" I turned around, and pulled into the turn lane of Compton Road. (It's a pretty busy street, about 40-45 mph) I am flashing my brights at all the incoming cars to get them to slow down. Then I thought "This is crazy, I am going to get hit by a car, and leave my 3 children without a mom. To save a turtle." I did it anyway. I picked him up, put him on the other side of the road, came back, got into the van... and then got back out of the van, picked the turtle back up, and put him in the van. Caitlyn was very excited at this point. We were driving home with a turtle in the front seat!

I love where we live. We see horses, cows, donkeys, goats, turkeys, quails, and even a peacock and that's just taking Ben to school! I think it is really neat. Spencer is starting to make fun of me because I point them out to the kids all the time. I guess it's lost it's "newness" for him. I however am a Cali girl and it all seems so different to me.

Anyway back to Snake, the turtle (that's what the kids named him) We pulled some grass and set a pie plate of water into an extra Rubbermaid container I had. I just knew the boys would love to see him when they got home from school. He immediately climbed into the water dish and "took a bath" (Cait's words) The boys were really excited and have been showing and telling everyone that comes to the house, "We have a turtle, come see him." They fed him some celery and were thrilled when they saw him eat it. We are planning on letting him go over by the river. But for the last few days my kids have been in awe of their temporary pet.

We had a good day, I got the kitchen cleaned, even swept and mopped the floor! woo-hoo, we had friends over to play, had a yummy lunch (Thanks L!!) Went to load the girlies in the car to pick up M, and promptly locked myself out of the house! Wow, haven't done that in awhile!! Sucks! Called my hero/husband and he was able to get M from school and with some magic powers unlock the back door.

Moral of the story.... No good deed goes unpunished. Just kidding there is no moral, silly.

Remember.

Like any other day at the office, I settled into my seat and unfolded the mark-ups that I would be correcting for the day.  A old boxcar was in need of repair so I began the task of making the suggested changes to the drawing.  I don’t remember what time it was, but I remembered that I had to go potty and decided to heat up some oatmeal for breakfast while I was headed that way.  As I moved past one of the engineer’s desks, I heard his radio.  Just some frantic chatter, I paid it no mind.  Sounds like a fire somewhere or something.  I did my business and set about heating up my breakfast.  Now there were about 3 or four people gathered around the engineer’s desk speculating about something.  I couldn’t really hear what so I finished with the microwave and went back to my seat with my oatmeal.

Paul Gwatney, the design drafting supervisor was at his desk on the phone.  He finished his call and quickly put the receiver down.

“A plane crashed into one of the twin towers.”  He said in a matter of fact tone.  “My sister just called.  Come check out this picture”

Paul had pulled up a news site where there was a picture of a plane about to crash into the tower.  I remember how horrific it looked suspended there in the air like the angel of death.  It was macabre.  We made some small talk about it and I went back to my desk. My thoughts were only that it was probably just a horrible accident, a circumstance of chance or pilot error.  I had no idea what lay in store.

A few minutes later Paul cursed, “Another one hit the other tower!”  I didn’t know what was going on.  By this time, the whole office was listening to radios and the television in the break room was on.  It all happened so fast and suddenly; 0 to break-neck in an instant.  I opened my desk drawer and pulled out my cassette walkman.  I clicked the radio on and placed the earphones in my ears.  Immediately, I heard the crackly sputtering news from the AM dial.  No one really knew what was going on.  There was a lot of speculation.  I decided to see if I could get better coverage on the FM band.  I moved my finger over the switch and rolled the tuning dial.  Each and every broadcasting station was commandeered by its affiliate.  You couldn’t hide from the news.  I chose the station that came in the best, 98.9FM just as another frightening announcement came across the airwaves.  I heard the frantic reporting, heard the sounds from on the ground as the towers collapsed.  I was stunned. 

By this time, the reporters were guessing what had happened.  Reports rolled in that the airlines had been grounded.  Stories began to surface about missing planes, and where they were headed.  The White House, Chicago’s Sears Tower, any place of landmark and importance was given credence.  Then, they began to report the toll. They began to report the horrors and the terror of what had just happened.

Soon, about quarter to 11 AM, the media announced that another plane had crashed into the Pentagon.  I had a sick “out-of-control” feeling in my stomach.  When was this going to end?  How much more could we take as a country.  Later we learned about the crash of flight 93. 

At about 11:30 our boss came in to talk to all of us.  He let us know that anyone who needed to could go home and admonished us to pray when we could.  We stayed and work; no sense in going home.  At lunch time I walked outside.  There were few cars on the street and I looked up to the sky that by this time was empty.  It was spooky and unsettling and a little too quiet.  I headed home like I always did for lunch.  I only had a little time to catch some news on the TV before I went back to work.

I listened to my radio for the rest of the day soaking up whatever information I could.  When I got home I watched the television to see what was happening.  I remember feeling sick about the whole mess.  Roxy at one point had us turn off the TV to get a break from it all.  The next few days were a dizzying blur of information, reports, corrections, rescue, death, and numbers.

But what I remember most was how we came together.  Everyone was kinder, more outgoing those days.  We all were shocked into an awakening of sorts.  We all remembered, if for a brief moment, how precious life was.  We remembered how much we needed to love our neighbor.  And most of all, we remembered how much we love our country.  Our resolve was strong and unwavering.  Over the next several weeks we saw politicians actually act as humans.  We saw the politics give way to humanity and common sense.

Sometimes it takes tragedy to bring people together.  We are all still human beings and even the most cynical among us find a heart when faced with adversity.  We are all, most of us, compelled to compassion and love for our brothers and sisters.  I know I’m starting to sound really sappy, but I just want all of us to remember what it felt like that day.  Remember where you were and what you did.  Remember that you cried for people that you didn’t know and for people that you did know.  And remember how we stood together as a nation, as a people, and as a family.

Mostly, remember those who gave their lives or were caught up in the maelstrom of violence and death.  Remember the sacrifice by those people who lost or gave and who still do on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan.  United we stand is not just a clever bumper sticker, It origins are in the speech given by a great president in a time of social and political upheaval.  President Lincoln said that “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” And later during the second great world war, it was a slogan reminding all of us to stick together and fight the good fight as one. 

I just thought that we should all remember today.

Today, Matthew and I wanted to be on the computer at the same time. Him, To play Ben 10 games on Cartoon Network. Me, To play Webkinz. (I know, it is sad) Anyway, He says to me...

"I am making myself the Dad. You are making bad choices. You are making Jesus sad!"

Wow! It sounds different coming the other way...

I feel bad because we are always blogging about M, I DO have 2 other children. I guess they had better start upping the comedy ante or they are not gonna get any screen time!

I also was pondering how it can not be a coincidence in what we name our children. In Mr. M's case, his middle name is for Spencer's Grandfather (Evan, in case you wondered.) He is my only child that looks just like his dad and his sense of humor is most definitely from that side of the family. It must have been divine inspiration!

That's what an older brother if for...

We have been back for a week from our "extended weekend", and I am still struggling to get back to "normal". First of all we are broke, and I mean my piggy-bank sounds like an dark, craggy cavern. I wonder if I hollered down the slit if I would get an echo...Oh sorry, just a side thought...Anyway, you get the picture. Secondly, our washing machine has given up the ghost, not bad for a $40 find 4 1/2 years ago. Well done, washer, well done. Thank you, I L for the use of your awesome, super capacity washer (I have got to get one of those!!) Thirdly, our dryer is apparently missing said friend, washer, and has started to mis-behave. If problem #1 did not exist then I would be excited to pick out a new washer/dryer. Why would I be "excited" about a washer/dryer? Is my life that sad? Yes! What number are we on, Oh, yes, fourthly (is that a word?), We have no food in our house and I have not been to the grocery store in 2 weeks (see problem #1). OK, I told you all this to get to this story...
One night over the weekend, we got some Chinese food for dinner. (#4) (not sure how that worked with #1) and we had a nice little sit down family meal at home. We were finishing up the meal, I handed out the fortune cookies and we each read ours out loud. I turned to Matt and he was chewing something.
"Matthew, what is in your mouth?"
"He told me to."
"What?"

he spits a wad of slimy white paper into my hand...
(sorry, those of you who are germ-a-phobes)

"Ben said I had to eat my fortune or it wouldn't come true!"

Like I said, "That's what older brothers are for."

Ben's Baptism Part 1

Well, there we were. Thursday morning we all got up and proceeded with last minute packing, arranging, showers, etc. The kids got a little restless as we made our final preparations to go back home for Benjamin’s baptism. The kids were good. Too good. I asked them all to go potty and they complied eagerly. One by one, I strapped them into their seats. Roxy and I made final rounds of the house, turning off lights, shutting doors, making sure that the house was secure. And so we started out of the driveway and onto the road. A tiny voice crept into our ears from the back of the van.

“I have to PEEee!”

2 miles later, we stopped at McDonalds so that Caitlyn could pee. The rest of the trip was largely uneventful. As we got out onto the open road, the kids immersed themselves into their gaming apparatus’s and Caity looked on, bored. I saw her in the rear view mirror. She grimaced. I made note of it to Roxann who then prompted her to open her travel bag and get her crayons and coloring book out. We did not stop again until we had reached the northern half of Kentucky. We stopped for potty and lunch. It took too long. I noted that we had lost about 40 minutes. Roxann reminded me to relax as she always does and off we went. We made it all the way through St Louis without a potty break. But I had an agenda that would soon prove to be the downfall of my good timing.

There are two things that we do not have in Tennessee that should be required by any state. These things are Chipotle Burritos and Quick Trip. I conspired to find a QT to stop at for potty break… and a sweet, sweet eggroll. I reasoned that we would stop, but at the very last moment. As we passed St. Charles, I realized that there were no Quick Trips until Columbia. I was foiled. What was worse was yet to come.

Roxann let me know that she had to pee. So did Caity.

“Kingdom City is close.” I pushed on not really knowing how far it was. I had remembered seeing a sign, but couldn’t remember how far. I continued on, trying to push the envelope of distance as far as I could. Finally, it was too much for poor Caitlyn. She began to whimper. I looked desperately for an exit but found none. I pulled to the side of the road. We brought her potty chair. Roxann jumped out, grabbed the chair and rested it on the cooler. Caitlyn was pleased with herself. She thought it was exciting to pee right there in the car on the side of the road in the middle of Missouri. We packed it all back up and started back on the highway. ½ a mile later, I saw an exit. D’oh!

Again, I pushed on trying to make up lost time. Roxann turned to me. It was over. I found the nearest exit with a gas station. I was defeated. We did stop in Columbia for gas at the QT. I was excited. I finally had my drinky and my eggroll.

As we neared Oak Grove the sky started to get dark as the storm ate the horizon. By the time we got to Blue Springs, the heavens had opened and the downpour was torrential. I reasoned with myself and with Roxann on how to carry on in the low visibility and pouring rain. We exited at Woods Chapel as we heard the hard repetitive pinging of hail. Looking for cover, we found it at the BP station right there off thehighway. Seeing an empty pump under the awning, I moved quickly to secure it.

There we sat, watching the rain and hail, assuring the kids that everything was OK. Then we saw it. In front of the garage was a half collapsed canopy. The man under it was trying in vain to keep It up. Roxann looked at me and said, “go help.” So I did. I ran out and asked him if he needed some help. He did. So I stood there, holding up the tent poles futily while he and his wife gathered up the cooking supplies and hastily threw them into the back of his maroon Cadillac. When we were done, we introduced ourselves to each other. He graciously thanked me and we ways. I sloshed back to the car. There was not a single spot on my body that was not soaked. I reached over and change the controls to heat as the A/C was making be cold. We finished the last 3 miles to Grandma and Grandpa’s house. Mark and Bo helped me unload the bags and I got into dry clothes. It was good to see everyone. I was re-introduced to nieces and nephews and got some time to catch up with a few of my siblngs. We got the grand tour and as we have always done, we sat at the table and had dinner. Not as the whole family, but there with Bo, Merilee, their kids, and Mom and Dad. It was familiar, warm, and pleasant. I felt relief as we all settled back into each other's lives. Home again. Home at last.