Sparks and Firecrackers

So, it's a happy cry, right?

2010-11-12T23:24:00.000-07:00

Picking up Jonah from the last day of his second week of school had me tearing up. His enthusiastic voice and contageous smile were enough to bring on the rain, but that yellow folder grasped by his precious little hand, held the ingredients for my downpour!

Last Friday when I opened his yellow folder I was greeted by a cheerful note filling us parents in on the happenings of the week and introducing the new student, Joe. My little Joe. This had me bawling before I finished the note, and although I expected tears, I did not expect the amount that came!

Then, as if last week wasn't enough, I opened the yellow folder today and read about how the students listened to the stories The Kissing Hand and The Giving Tree, and then I got to see his beautiful art related to the stories. If you have a student and you don't know about The Kissing Hand, then you better get to the library and get yourself an education!

Also in his folder this week was a note about the happenings and an overview of how the student-led conferences are going to go next week. Us parents are asked to write a 'sweet letter' to our children, telling them how proud we are and how much we love them, etc. OMGoodness!! Seriously?! Are they trying to make all the parents cry like babies so our babies, who are growing fast enough as it is, feel like they are even bigger?!

I'm totally on to the school systems... They do not put the kids in school at age 5 because this is when they are old enough to handle the routine of school and being away from their parents,(because let's face it, they can't. They only 'pretend' they do because that is what 5 yr olds love doing; pretending.) They actually put them in at age 5 so the parents can get their crying under control before the kids develope a sence of embarrassment from the parent's affection and adoration. They do it for us! Could you just see the mess we would be if our 'babies' didn't start school until 10 or 11 yrs old?! And how much crying would happen then, if when they saw us after school, standing eagerly at our 'pick-up spots', they shunned us out of embarrassment becasue of our adoration?! Clearly the school systems enroll at age 5 to help train us parents so when the time comes that we are no longer cool in the eyes of our children, we can still pick them up from school, with our dignity in tact and our emotions under control, or severe lockdown in my case. Until then, I shall let the tears flow when I fancy a good cry because of the amazing person my baby is growing to be!

So, I read his note, looked over his work, and cried. A nice quiet, controlled cry. Joe was busy visiting with Sissy and Sammo, so he didn't notice. Good. I wiped the few tears that had managed to make their way onto my cheeks, pulled out of my parking space, and drove off. 2.3 minutes down the road I was thinking about what I had read and lost it. I was ~~crying~~ bawling, (it was a downpour) and had to get control of myself. A sweet soft voice from the backseat broke my cry-fest with a simple honest question.
"Mom, why are you crying?"
Because I'm so proud of you, my sweet-pea-pie-boy-face!
"So, it's a happy cry, right? Not a sad cry or a mad cry?"
Yes, a happy cry!
"Oh, good."

Wow! Starting, once again!

2010-11-09T15:49:00.001-07:00

I want to write more consistently and really make this blog a place to hold those daily memories that I treasure so and don't want to let go. (Or rather, lose, because that is what really happens when days trun into weeks turn into months, years, decades...)

My Sissy-Bear-Lovey-Pie-Sugar-Muffin-Angel-Crumb-Cake (Apple, for short)was born Aug 19th!! She is absolutely perfect and the most wonderful gift!! I love her! Although, who deosn't, really?? Her birth was both amazingly beautiful and terribly painful. Incredible. And I NEVER want to do it again. EVER.

Two weeks after her birth I began homeschooling Jonah with the help of the Idaho Virtual Academy! I loved it! For about three of the thirty-two days that we did it. We tried everything. And I do mean EVERYTHING. The kid hated it! And it surely didn't help that the school buses picked up and dropped off kids, right in FRONT of our house, more than four times a day. Yes, four! He begged me to go to 'real school' and to ride on the bus. He begged me every time he saw a bus. Four. Times. A. Day. Ugh!

November 1st Jonah began attending the Garden City Community Charter School!!! Yaaay!!! Yay for him, yay for me, yay for all of our family!!! He is happy as can be and jumpped right in like he never even missed a beat! His teacher is AMAZING and if I could get away with wrapping my arms around her and bawling like a baby, I so would! Our Papa totally has set this up and I'm sooo thankful!!

Today was my first day of volunteering as the class-mom and I loved it! It was sooooooo much better than being the home-teacher! Haha!

I'm in the process of starting my own Priemer Jewelry business!! Sooooo VERY exciting!! I am thrilled to be able to do this!! I know, I know... Some of you, rightfully so, are probably thinking, "What is she thinking? She has done started businesses in the past and then stopped. What makes this one any different?" Well, there are LOTS of differences and when I have time to post those, I will!

For now, I'm off to concure the homestead...

A community of people, not a society of individuals!

2010-05-30T15:44:00.005-07:00

May 30th and it's just now feeling like Spring has come to stay! Maybe all the May showers we've had will bring lots of June flowers!! The boys are eating Popsicles and the birds are harmonizing with the soothing sounds of the sprinklers outside. The ice cream cart music that rings through nearby neighborhoods is the sound of childhood happiness to all the young ears it falls upon. I'm enjoying the quiet as I write random pieces of writing that I will later try to fit into a collection of some sort.

I have been on partial bed rest(pbr) for seven weeks now. I began having contractions on April 12th, at 20 weeks, 6 days gestation. I rested for a week then began taking Nifedepine(Nif) in combination with the pbr at the recommendation of my midwife. I've been on the Nif for six weeks now. Being busy as a bee and social as a butterfly has made this resting period quite a tough trial of many things, patience and faith being the strongest of them.

I really began to get scared when the contractions, which were more painful than my labor contractions with my first two pregnancies, continued even after the extensive amount of rest and medication. As we approached 23 weeks I really began to get worried because just a little over a year ago my friend had gone into labor and had her little guy at 24 weeks, 3 days gestation. We watched him grow through photographs and journal entries from his parents, on the CaringBridge website. We, a community of people brought together because of this precious babe, prayed for the 110 days he spent in the NICU and continue to pray for him even today. Watching my friends go through this incredibly tough experience such a short time ago, still rings loudly in my heart. I've prayed for protection, wholeness, perfect health, and full term birth for Jeweliana, more strongly than what I would have had I not watched my friends' trial so closely. My birthday, May 6th, was an interesting day of emotions. It was on this day that I was 24 weeks, 3 days gestation.

On my birthday I wanted to shower by myself, and make myself look like a woman again. As all of you women reading know, a girl can lose her woman-ness when she can't shower and beautify herself. Imagine not being able to do these things not only because of feeling 'blah' and sleeping in, or because your bloated and don't care, but because you can't. I fell apart while I was alone in the living room on the couch, while my hub was in the kitchen making breakfast. (I didn't want him to know how badly I was affected by the situation and how sorry I was feeling for myself. On one hand I was truly grateful that here I was, not in labor, in the exact day of pregnancy the my friend had her son, 110 early. But the negatives really stood out because I 'felt' fine. I didn't feel sick, nor was I having hard contractions. It wasn't until I stood and walked, for any reason, that I 'felt' like anything was wrong. And because I hurt when I walked I rested much more than what pbr required.) I sobbed into my pillow until it was salty with tears, then I collected myself and embraced the reality that I was not going to get to do the things for my birthday that I had hoped. (Shower, dress up, go for a beautiful evening walk at the train depot with my handsome groom...) After crying about 'poor me' I focused on how things could be a LOT worse. My birthday turned out to be nice that evening. My hub shampooed my hair, polished my toes with my new bday polish, and loved me in such a beautiful unconditional way! He didn't 'love' me because I was beautiful or had something to offer him, he simply 'loved' me because that is what he does. He loves me!

This has been the most humbling of experiences that I've ever had to endure, for sure. I've had to have my hub lift me out of four baths in one day because the HOTT water was the only thing that could soothe my pain and I was incapable of getting out of the tub myself. I've had to go to the salon just to have my hair shampooed. I've had to have my mom help me shower when my hub was on business trips. I've had to have help cleaning my house. I've had to have a babysitter for myself almost constantly since this began. I've not made a meal in seven weeks. I've done less than a weeks worth of laundry over the last seven. I haven't been able to drive myself anywhere. I couldn't stand the though of using the wheelchair shopping carts at grocery stores. This is just a peek into what I've been going through to lean humility. I finally hit the reality wall when I had to ask my 18 yr old sister to 'help' me get in and out of the bath at my mom's because I was in so much pain that I had to get in the HOTT water. My 60 yr old grandmother lives with my mom and she has a shower chair that she used after a recent surgery. I used it to wash my own hair... it helped a lot. I was in only a moderate amount of pain when I got out of the shower. She offered to let me barrow it because she has been able to stand and shower for weeks. It's been nice. Then I finally got the nerve to try her wheelchair. She let me barrow it the day I called and I still have it. It has made things so much easier to deal with. I can go on walks with my family again! I can go to the store with my hub! I am at the library a couple times a week, again! I no longer sit in my house depressed that I cannot go on walks, or go places that my family goes.

Through this tough time I've had to suck up my pride and 'enjoy the ride'. It's not been easy, but it sure has been a lesson worth learning. The Lord created us to be a community of people, not a society of individuals, and going through this has helped me to see the prideful way that I was living as though I needed no one.

Thank You Dear Papa, for Your love and grace through this time of having to force me to rest. You have always been so gentle and loving with me, even in my most trying period of motherhood. I love You, Daddy, and love the way You love me! Amen! Amen! Amen!!!

DADDY GAVE US A GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-04-02T09:54:00.004-07:00

It's true! It's true!! The Lord answered my prayers of "Daddy, please pleeeeaaaaase give me a giiirrrrllllllllllll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" We are having a GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you, Lord and Daddy for Your overwhelming love and favor!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You make me dance and dance and dance!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm sooooooooooo glad I'm Yours!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Familiar, yet oddly unfamiliar!

2010-03-15T16:29:00.009-07:00

Reno was a quick trip, as well as SLC. We are nearly home from SLC, and the rather odd thing is that we are popping in to do some laundry and sleep for the night, then headed to Spokane in the a m... Going home is full of familiarities; the sights, sounds of cheering boys, smell of pumpkin candles, and yet this trip home feels so odd! We often pull up somewhere, stay for the night, then head out in the morning for our destination during trips to the different shows we work, but never have we pulled into our driveway with the expectancy to only sleep and then leave in the morning! It's a familiar, yet oddly unfamiliar feeling for sure!!

Happy night!!

FIVE GIRL DREAMS!!!!!!!

2010-03-12T13:21:00.004-07:00

I had my FIFTH girl dream last night!!!

I walked into an outdoor kitchen where there were lots of family and friends, then asked, "Where's my baby?" Someone handed her to me and as I held her in my right arm, I walked over to my mom sitting and a barstool, and said "It's my little girl!!"

It was very realistic and vivid! My little girl had a slightly squarish chin with a full head of sparce hair that was much lighter than my boys' and it hung about an inch below her neckline. Her eyes were about the color of Sam's... not quite blue, yet not quite green either! She was 4-6 moths old! I could see my mom's regrowth(roots) and I even thought to myself in my dream, "I need to color my mom's hair!"

We have our ultrasound in THREE WEEKS!!!!!!

Playing Catch-Up!!

2010-03-04T12:40:00.015-07:00

I'm terrible at this blogging thing!! Here it is... March 2010, and we've gone through two whole seasons since I last posted anything! Ridiculous!

So, I'm in Reno (which is only a hop, skip, and a jump from SPARKS, Nevada)until Monday. Monday we head to Salt Lake, where we will be for a little over a week. We are still traveling heavily as I had shared before.

We spent autumn in several places and it flew by as quickly as the leaves fall off the big tree in my husband's parent's front yard! (They have a huge tree in their front yard that drops all of it's leaves on one day! It's amazing! I have never seen anything like it before! So each year we get together the day after the leaves fall, for a day of leaf fun and have dinner after we fill about 22 large leaf bags completely full of the leaves!!! Their yard is quite small and when their tree decides to undress for the winter, their yard, their neighbor's yard on the west side of them, and half of the street in front of both houses is blanketed with leaves! That ground never even gets that much snow!! It's a Sparks' holiday all in it's own!!!)

We flew south for the winter...well, drove! We hit the road for Scottsdale, Az on the 17th of Nov. As you probably remember, swine flu was a huge hit during this winter. Our car show that we worked in Scottsdale was three days long, and horrible, financially speaking! The first day it was raining and all the locals stayed home. The second day the mayor had issued a statewide quarantine(ok, so I may be exaggerating a bit), and suggested that everyone stay home, indoors to prevent any more spreading of the piggy flu. So, most, being good citizens, followed suit and stayed inside. On the third sunny, beautiful day, the mayor took back what he had said, stating that the pig flu was apparently not as deadly as they had all thought and said that it was fine to go outside and enjoy! Phoenix, also a hop, skip, and a jump away, held their annual(I think)Cardinal appreciation merchandise sale thingy. So, turns out the Scottsdale car show sucked this year!

After Scottsdale we headed to Tucson to visit Steve's cousin, Jody, and some extended family! We shared Thanksgiving with them, and it was a lot of fun! We both feel blessed to be able to go visit during such a 'family' time of year!! We met Jody's parents, Grandmother, and aunt! Shared food and laughs, and his aunt even gave me one of her four week old puppies!! Sooooo cute! I began the NaNoWriMo contest the 1st of Nov, and finished with 50,166 words while we were staying at Jody's! He has been such a great host, both times that we stayed with him! He welcomes us in with completely open arms, making us feel that his home was ours while we are there!! It was incredibly nice and it really helped me to reach my goal of 50,000 words by the 30th!!! We will be joining him again this year, and I will not be NaNoing, so it should be even more fun!!

December was very interesting! We left Jody's on the 1st and went to Vegas for a two week Christmas show. Blessed by the Lord, none of my traveling family had been hit by the swine flu! Late Dec 1st I began feeling a bit under the weather. By Dec 2nd I was surely sick. I felt incredibly weak, had a terrible headache, nothing tasted good, I nearly passed out(from low blood sugar, I learned later), threw up eight times, and climbed into the hot bath with my clothes still on. Something was surely wrong! I however, had no fever, and everyone who had the swine flu had fevers. Maybe just the people flu. *shrug*

I was sick the entire rest of the Vegas trip, and still sick when I returned home. I had motion sickness while just lying on the couch! The motion sickness got so bad that sounds began to make me nauseous and this intense sicknesses lasted for over two weeks! During that two weeks we discovered that we were expecting another baby and that is what was causing the unbearable sickness!!! A precious little bundle!!

So now here I am, moving into my second trimester and things are sooooo much better! I'm mostly great, however I need to wear my motion sickness bracelets while riding in any vehicle. We are having our ultrasound on the 1st of April!!! I am soooo excited!! I want a girl soooooo bad!!! I think this one is a girl, because of a number of different things! Here is my list:

1.Sick! I wasn't sick with my boys!! And sick three days after conception!! Amazing!!
2.The many dreams surrounding my pregnancies!
a.Five girl dreams with my first boy. Then two boy dreams. The girl dreams were fuzzy pink floating dresses much too far away for me to touch. The boy dreams were crystal clear full color boy dreams that were undeniably from the Lord!
b.I've had four girl dreams with this pregnancy, thus far, and my friend of 15 years had a girl dream about me as well!
b1.I took the at home gender test and the results were yellow. When I woke from my dream I called my sister who had actually done the gender test and I asked her if there was a color chart and what the colors meant. She is having a boy and her test turned out green. She hadn't shared with me the girl color until after I had called her to ask. Yellow! Yellow means GIRL!!!
b2.We were half way through the pregnancy and were told that I had to deliver her so they could do some sort of procedure on her and then put her back in me to finish growing to term. I delivered her and Steve and I were walking through the hall, Steve holding her belly up in his left palm.(After sharing all of this with a trusted friend, she said that maybe possibly the girl dreams from my first pregnancy could have been prophetic dreams from the Lord and that the current dreams could be the Lord warning me about a possible problem with the development of the baby. She shared two personal stories of the same matter with me about her family, and encouraged me to pray. So we are praying!)
b3.My friend of 15 years sent me a text one day, not too long after these dreams, saying that she had had a dream about me. When I responded with question she replied with, "I dreamt that you were doing a craft project with your daughter!"
b4.A couple weeks after this, I dreamt that my mom-in-law had dreamt about my daughter, her granddaughter!
b5.Last night I dreamt of a girl, and when I woke this morning all that remained was the blissful feeling that I was being blessed with a daughter!! I however, cannot recall the dream!
3.I've been freeeezing this whole pregnancy!!! The moment I was pregnant with the boys I was sooooo hott!!!
4.The ovulation cycle and conception date are favoring a girl!
5.I've never been so ugly, nor had such a hormone problem!!!! I've always struggled with acne, but 54 pimples on my face at ONE TIME is definitely a record for me!!!
6.With both of the boys I had just a couple food aversions. This baby is sicken by EVERYTHING but ketchup and ranch! Ewww! I have hated both ever since high school, and I love them now!! Gross!!!!! Even ice cream makes this kid sick!!! :(
7.With both of the boys I had a terribly stinky overactive right underarm!!! My left never stunk and you could smell my right three blocks away! With this baby I've not smelled bad once! I just look baaaad!!!!
8.Also with both of the boys I had to shave nearly every day, otherwise my husband questioned where his leg ended and mine began when sleeping in the middle of the night! With this baby I shave about once every other week!!!

We get to find out the gender on April 1st!!! Stay tuned!!

To catch you up on the writing...
I'm planning on writing the ending to my NaNo novel this month, proofing and revising next month, and I do not know what a reasonable goal is for publishing, but I'll keep you posted!
I'm still planning on publishing my first children's book and having it available for purchase by May, 6th!!
For more on the writing please go to gracefullybroken.com where I have lots of info to keep you updated!!

Happy March!!

~Ruthilyn

June 28th 2009

2009-10-23T23:09:00.012-07:00

{Photos: Ron; Ruthilyn; Tiffani & Sammo; Jonah; Sammo}

This was the first day of our 6 week adventure! June 28.09. Chris(our friend/boss) likes to be efficient and 'kill two birds with one stone', so he scheduled his business trip(with Ron, another friend) at the same time as our trip to Cali. Their trip was only to last a few days, and ours 6 weeks. The 'second bird' is giving my hub some experience pulling the 35' RV with Chris in the truck to throw out any concerns Steve may have about pulling this monstrosity of a vehicle for 6 weeks!

The three guys rode together. My dear sister, Tiffani, accompanied us on this trip to provide us with a babysitter(and to get a sane break from family), so she rode with me! We split the up the boys to get a taste of what it would have been like had we only had one child, and although the quiet ride was nice, it can never happily replace the rambunctious boy-noise that comes from having lots! Jonah went with the guys, and Sammo stayed with us!

I've tried terribly to enjoy driving, but unless there is a stick to shift, I'm afraid that I'm rather bored by driving and it lulls me to sleep, more often than not. (That's why I'm a writer and not a driver!!) Anywho, a while into our drive my sis and I were having quite a difficult time keeping my eyes on the road, so I radioed the guys with the two-way, calling in for back-up! Ron was fantastic and traded me places right away! I slept in the backseat of the guys' truck(in rather odd, uncomfortable positions) while my darling sis lent her ear to Ron's chatter! [Those of you who know Ron, know he does not chatter, and are laughing at this thought!] After a couple hours of very beneficial sleep, I was primed and ready for the long haul, or rather...what was left of the haul! We arrived in Reno and slept for the night!

The following day is recorded under 'Monday, June 29th, 2009' further down on this blog! Happy reading! ~Mama Sparks

Summer of 09

2009-10-23T21:43:00.020-07:00

So, it's been a while to say the least! A lot of life has happened since I last wrote! I'll try to fill you in without overwhelming you!

The last time I filled you in was in June!! JUNE!!!!!! It's October now!! I need to make some sort of commitment right now to post at least once a MONTH! Maybe then, my following will grow!! This is ridiculous!! Ok! I'm done! just had to get that out! Now I can begin again, fresh and new!!

In May the Lord sent me an invitation to give up sewing! In June I said 'yes', and you can read about it here! [Just a little info that I found really helpful...right clicking the link will give you opening options such as opening link in a new tab! When you are as non-computer-savvy as I, these tips are things to dance about!]

It was also in May that my hub shared the news that we were going to be gone for 6 weeks straight and that we'd be traveling like carnies for two years! (That '!' was birthed from Sarcasm and a smart guy named Alec.)

We left for our 6 week adventure in June. July flew by and we were back home by the second week of August! I'll be adding pictures to the blog, to tell this story, soon!

We were home for four weeks and back on the road quicker than we could believe! September 9th we drove to SLC for a fair, and returned home the 21st. Home never looked so good! ...or smelled ...or sounded ...or felt so good!! ...it even tasted the best it's ever tasted! (Yes, I stole a lick once the kiddos were back inside, out of sight. No worries-I have not taught them how to read quite yet, so my secret is safe... for a while anyway.) This was officially the worst, which then makes it the longest, trip to date!! It seemed like two y e a r s. So bad, in fact, that the boys and I (mostly I) opted to sit the next week's show out! With that, Steve was home for a week, and then off to Sacramento, alone... We [happily] bid him farewell and waved like madmen (again, mostly me) as he drove out of sight! With three less travelers and no diapers to change, his trip was shortened by two days, and he was home in a flash!

{All this talking has dried my throat. *sip* Ahh! That's better!}

We leisurely enjoyed the following two weeks together, and again decided that the boys and I would stay home for the next show. Which is happening now. As I write this. And is only a two day show!! My hub will be back home before we wake on Sunday!! And just in time for church...if we went to a normal church. But then we'd have to be normal.

So, there it is. Well, not really. But most of it, anyway. That's how our summer of 09 flew by(and druuuug on).

There is also more about how I really began to focus on my writing and how I created a website with the help of my friend, David! Please, do not waste your time reading it. (Unless you are enjoying a cozy cup of joe or a delightful glass of wine!)

Thank you for reading my life; at least the parts I choose to share with you, anyway!! I'll add photos soon..and will post before the winter sets in!! ;)
~Mama Sparks

Stepping back for a look, I can see that this is a bit overwhelming, and I have an impulsive urge to apologize. But then I smile, because I realize that you have just got a real taste of me! I am often overwhelming!!! Cheers!!!

Sunday, June 5th, 2009

2009-08-16T17:39:00.009-07:00

Happy Christ Birth Day to my 18 yr old sister!!! Tiffani accepted the Lord today!!! We went to Harvest Valley Church today, our first Sunday in Pleasanton. The worship was amazing as well as the sermon which spoke of 'freedom'. After the sermon, Pastor Derrick offered a time of prayer and accepting the Lord. Tiffani was praying beside me, and sensing that the Lord was doing something wonderful, I peeked over at her on my left. She was so beautiful as she stood, arms folded, hands holding her heart, head slightly bowed, and tears framing her face. She was nodding to the Lord, and I gave them a moment before I approached.
"Do you want me to pray with you?", I ask. She answered 'yes' with both her mouth and her head.
I was so overcome with joy and thanksgiving for the Lord, that I joined her in tears, and we made our way to the front for some prayer with some of the older women! I could barely keep from jumping up and down! I was soooooo excited! I have been dancing with the Lord for nearly 6 years, and was soooo happy that my sister has decided to cut-in! LORD, YOU ARE WONDERFULLY AMAZING!!!!!
After praying with Tiffani, Kyra introduced herself to us, (that's what I love about the body of Christ-no need to know each other to share a life-giving prayer! Kyra prayed with us first, then introduced herself!), and we talked for a bit. After learning that we were going to be here for three weeks and wanted to be involved, she invited us to their Tuesnight worship and their Wednesnight life group. I was very excited to know that the Lord wasn't going to let us drift away while here in California!

Mon. June 29th, 2009

2009-08-16T17:23:00.005-07:00

Living like carnies, we travel from city to city, selling our product in a booth. Six weeks lay ahead of us, as the RV is in tow. We began our adventure yesterday, leaving Boise in the early afternoon, and sleeping in a Reno parking lot last night. Driving straight through with two fc's could prove to be explosive for the Sparks! The fc's are buckled into opposite ends of the backseat with my sister, Tiffani, separating them. Laptop open, she plugs in the first movie of our trip. We're leaving Reno. It's Monday, June, 29th. Destination: Pleasanton, Ca.; for a few weeks anyway.
"I spy with my little eye" fills the driving time after the movie expires. Excitement fills the truck as we arrive to our temporary address. Two days of traveling, twelve hours of driving, and another hour of getting the RV situated for living, and we are finally ready to really begin our adventure! Hello Pleasanton, California!

Thursday, the 14th of May, 2009.

2009-05-19T09:47:00.004-07:00

I have mentioned that my 4 yr old firecracker has become quite aware of the long drive to Cali, but did I mention how much he despises it?! He screams, even when you suggest driving to California. He dreads so much about the drive; the loooooooong roads, sitting up in his car seat when he wants to lay down to sleep, and being confined by straps when he wants to stretch out and run, are just a few of the reasons for his protesting.

Thursday, the 14th of May, 2009.

Smart relations!

2009-05-13T12:45:00.004-07:00

My 4 yr old fc has become quite aware of the long drive to California and back. As we were looking at the lizard photo on the blog today, Jonah pointed out how long the lizard's tail was and related it to the length of time it took to drive back home! So smart!

The ups and downs of 4.30.09.

2009-05-13T00:37:00.006-07:00

Thursday April-30-09 Jody's house.

Our last night at Jody's house held quite a range of emotion.

We pulled the dune buggy out of the kitchen and into the living room to discover the flat tire that was producing much more resistance than the carpet. Our excitement was robbed by the disappointment of our finding. Jody popped the tire off and ran down the road to fill it up for some temporary enjoyment. He returned victoriously, and brought back with him, the excitement that had so quickly been depleted from the hearts of us all. Having regained our enthusiasm, we proudly marched down the steps to our much anticipated adventure...to ride the dune buggy!

God Made Dirt, so Dirt Won't Hurt!

2009-05-13T00:28:00.004-07:00

Thusrday April-30-09 Jody's house.

Time sure flies when you're in the dirt! Running! Jumping! Playing! Such fun! The miles of what seemed at first to be God forsaken desert, proved to be a God-blessed playland for the boys! All of them! Already it's Thursday evening, and we've been having so much fun that we've forgotten to take the dune buggy out! We need to do that as soon as we are done with dinner!

Loads of Fun!

2009-05-13T00:06:00.007-07:00

Tuesday April-28-09 Jody's house.

The fc's have been loving the fun out of Uncle Jody! From tickle-tag in the house to playing cars in the dirt, there isn't much Uncle Joe wouldn't do with them! Sammo even found pleasure out of reading the cookbook with him! I'm sure that by now he was looking forward to Tay being there even more than my fc's were!

Wednesday April- 29-09 Jody's house.

Two little firecrackers + one 6 yr old = loads and loads of fun!
Taylor joined us today, and the three of them never stopped running until total exhaustion wiped them out! Tay reluctantly got up at 6am the next morning to go to school, while my fc's fully recharged with well over 8 hours of sleep. Tay got home around 4pm, ready for sleep, and the boys greeted him enthusiasm, toys, and a plan for the evening. After lots of moans, for opposing reasons from both parties, they came to an agreement and were found sitting happily together in the glow of the television screen, video game controllers in hand. They all won! Tay got to rest and the fc's got to play!

Lizard Grub!

2009-05-12T23:38:00.008-07:00

Monday April-27-09 Tucson, Az. Jody's house.

We awake to a house already warmed by the morning sun. It feels like noon. I search for my phone among the bedding, and check the time once I find it. 6:58am. What?!? Not even 7am, and already the heat has filled the bedroom! Jody will be home in an hour and a half. Steve begins breakfast, and I jump in the shower.

By 8:30am, we Idahoans are roasting and the natives are just beginning to crawl out of their slumber and stretch in the warmth of the sun. Jody stepped outside for a moment, and was calling Steve to the door in whispered excitement before he even had a chance to close it. We quickly made our way to the door, fc's at our heels, and were halted by Jody's 'shhhhing' and pointing arm. We followed his pointing arm to the rock yard where we spotted the source of his excitement.

A well camouflaged lizard had just caught his bright orange spider breakfast, and we had the privilege of watching him enjoy! Joe and Sam we sitting on the steps trying to see what the fuss was all about. The 5 feet that separated them from the feast may as well have been 50! The camouflage was amazing! Once they discovered him, their entertainment lasted at least 10 minutes! They were captivated! Seeing the lizard was awesome, but the opportunity to see him devour a spider was absolutely incredible!

They were sooo excited they could hardly keep their excitement from exploding into a loud roar! However, they managed to keep it in and it bubbled within them making their bodies bounce uncontrollably, shaking the freestanding steps!

We took lots of photos and discovered two things: I need to get a better camera, and Jody needs to get internet access so he can email the amazing photos, he took with his camera, to me!!!

What fun boy-stuff the dirt brings!!!

Dirt!

2009-05-12T23:01:00.010-07:00

Monday April-27-09 Tucson, Az.

We arrived at about 1am and could see nothing but dirt for as far as our headlights would shine. Dirt roads. Dirt driveways. Dirt yards. Dirt! Dirt! Dirt!

Steve's excitement rose just as quickly as my need for a shower. He could taste the fun from within the confined space of the pickup cab, and I could feel the dirt enveloping my body as though metals shards to a magnetic host. With each rotation of the large truck tires, another layer of dirt settles on my skin and another fun adventure enters Steve's mind.

He's dreaming of dune buggies and dirt bikes. I'm anticipating rich steamy fragrant lather sliding down my body, taking the layers of dirt with it. He's greatly looking forward to introducing our little fc's to the wide open spaces of boy heaven! I'm greatly looking forward to reuniting them to a nice hot bath!

As I long for my loofah, we approach Jody's house. The dirt from the road led us up the driveway and kissed the foundation of the house. Half the front yard is dirt, and the other half is decorated with rocks and stepping stones, in hopes of forming some sort of boundary for the yard. As we get out of the truck, and make our way up the dirt driveway/yard, we notice that aside from a few brown patches of dried brush and the rock yards, there is no distinction between road, driveway, or yard. We are completely surrounded by dirt!

We go inside-Steve filled with the excitement and anticipation for the sun to rise and the fun to begin! I am filled with the excitement and anticipation of loosing 10 lbs of dirt when I jump into the steamy red-hot shower! Inside we find a dune buggy! Excitement pours from Steve, and I can taste a little hint of it on my tongue! I can't wait to see the boys' expressions when they are riding it with him!

We all go to bed excited for the dirt that awaits...even me!

Bakersfield Friends

2009-05-12T21:38:00.012-07:00

Sunday April-26-09 Bakersfield Ca.

Last night in the hotel lobby Jonah and I met Somer and her two kiddos, Nickole and Jacob! God put them in the room next to us, and we planned to hang out after her children had their baths! We quickly became friends as the three kids jumped on the bed in the hotel room, and we chatted about life. It was our last night in Cali, as we were headed to Arizona after the show closed this evening. They were there because of some unfortunate things going on with their home, but what a blessing in disguise, for if they hadn't come to stay, we wouldn't have met them!

We went to church with them this morning, and then to McD's for some apples and fun! After several trips to the bathroom, and lots of laughter, we headed to the park, first stopping by the hotel for some park-appropriate attire. Somehow, a skirt wasn't designed with the intention to chase kiddos in the playground!

We had fun chatting between the frequent sprints to stop the two year olds from running into absolute misfortune. Sammo tested my sprinting ability(and my heart strength) when he went climbing the curved ladder made for a teenager's leg span, and put in place just to insure parental supervision of anyone under four foot. It was so unbelievable that it should have been caught on video! He started climbing, and I started sprinting. With each rung that was left behind as he climbed, I ran harder and faster. Buckets of sand were flung into the air as my feet dug into the ground, propelling me closer to my child. He reached the horizontal section of the ladder just as I slid into arm's reach...he lost his grip and his body slipped through the fifth and sixth rungs, and I caught him! A collective sigh of relief was heard throughout the park-all from parents in sprint position ready to intercept, had I missed! His top half fell fist, and the only thing left holding the rungs when I caught his belly in my arms, was his left ankle. He would have landed on his head and neck. Praise the Lord for that burst of Super Mom Power when our young are in danger! I can't run that fast to save my own life! Good thing I changed out of that skirt!

After the excitement had died down we were handed a ticket for free pizza and an entry form for a basketball drawing. The local Calvary church was doing a youth outreach, so we went to check it out(mostly to take advantage of the chance to sit for a moment of rest!) We met some really nice teens, and all four of the kiddos had their names put in the drawing. After some time to down some pizza and visit, Nickole was asked to draw the name of the winning child, from the tub of names. She drew Samson's name! What fun! Steve was wanting to get the boys a basketball, and now Sammo had won one! Thanks Nickole! You are excellent at drawing names!

We shared excitement and good lessons(as it was hard for Jonah and Nickole to accept that Sam had won), and then Somer and I had spotted the Lord's saving grace! We were tired of running, but knew our time together was nearing it's end, so we didn't want to leave yet. Just a hop, skip, and a jump away, was the fenced in tennis courts! Wonderful!!! The kids could run and bounce the new bball, and we could sit in the shade and chat some more! It was quite nice! They played and ran and bounced and played and sat and played and bounced some more until Steve called and it was time for us to pick him up and start our journey to Arizona!

Nickole and Jonah had to be torn apart. Jacob and Samson are two, so they didn't care much that we were leaving. Somer and I exchanged info and thanked each other for the new friendship. We drove off, Sammy passed out from the fun of the day, Jonah asking if Nickole could come to our hotel room to jump on the bed, and me thankful that the Lord loves me enough to connect me to a sister 800+ miles from home!

We picked up Daddy, played for a short time, packed our life back into the truck, and headed to Jody's house in Tucson Arizona, almost 600 miles away!

Caniforna!!!

2009-05-12T21:14:00.008-07:00

Wednesday April-22-09 Neither here nor there.

As the sno-capped mountains fade in the rearview and California sits on the horizon, Jonah's excitement grows! "Yeah, Caniforna!", he screeches with enthusiasm from his carseat! I think he's even more excited than I, about going on this trip with Daddy!

We decided yesterday, to go with Daddy on this 14 day trip to California and Arizona! Preparing a family for a 14 day, 4 hotel, 1 family reunion trip takes more than a few hours, and that was all we had! We left our house in an upside down cluster of laundry and stuff, and quickly found caregivers for our dog and fish, all in the time it takes one to eat and shower! Yikes! I have quite a treasure of mess that patiently awaits my return. But until then, I shall share in my 4 yr old fc's explosive excitement for Caniforna!!!

Sparks Will Fly!

2009-03-27T13:03:00.010-07:00

I am, by nature, a Princess. I love pink, and anything that sparkles. I prance, because walking is for 'norms'. And I hold up my pinky whenever I drink from my tea cup. The flip side of this wonderful blessing that I am, is not quite as dainty or beautiful. Do NOT fluff my ruffles when I'm tired, nor push any of my buttons, or simply hope for anything of me at all! ALWAYS bring sweetened coffee when waking me, as I am made of sugar and need to be refilled every day! And NEVER EVER try to pick a fight with me, for I fight to win! This is me in a nutshell, or rather a pumpkin!

Somehow, my hubby, the norm that he is, doesn't quite understand this. I began my first job in 4 yrs and 9 months, on Wednesday, the 25th of this lovey month of March. I got home about 6pm, spent about two hours on the phone and playing with my little firecrackers, and then the rest of the evening with my hubby. I do not have to be back to work until Monday, so I have a beautiful four day weekend that lies ahead of me! My Dear Hubby, however, must be to work at noon on Thursday, the 26th. So, we wake on Thurs, enjoy lounging around in jammies, playing online, watching cartoons...just chillin. I have plans to clean our palace after he leaves for work, as he'll be gone for 10 hours, and I have nothing planned for the day. ~You must know that Princesses do NOT clean! They have servants to do this for them. Real ones do anyway.~

DH is a little upset because I still haven't cleaned any of the palace, and he's cleaned almost all of it, by now! He gently asks, in that sweet way that DH's do, if I would tidy up the palace. I happily said "Of course!" with a little skip in my prance as I made my way to the stove to retrieve my breakfast ~my butler is on vacation~!

That was obviously NOT what he wanted to hear. He immediately made some snide remark about how my job wasn't really work, and that I needed to get off my lazy something or other, I don't quite remember, all I heard was that my job wasn't really work. How dare him! This Princess spent eight looong hours listening to an employee handbook being read verbatim by a mono tone voice! NOT WORK?!? What does he know?!!! It's not like he has to sit for eight hours a day...he gets to stand and excitedly talk to hundred's of people for an average of 10 hours a day! I'd like to see him do my job! He wouldn't survive three hours!

His snide remark bit me quite hard, so I snapped back with, "What do you want from me?! Do you want to fight?! Let's fight!!!" He walked away saying, "I don't want anything from you." ~I was of course happy, because Princesses are quite happy when they win!~

I attempted to eat my breakfast, but couldn't. I felt soooo bad for the way that I had treated him. My DH works sooooooooooo hard for me and our firecrackers. The least I could do was get off my lazy bum and give him a clean palace to come home to!

He came to kiss me goodbye~I wouldn't have kissed me goodbye after that~ and I apologized to him as he leaned in. "I'm sorry for being such a Princess and picking a fight with you." Then we both held back our laughter and he said, "That's just what Princesses do!" He laid one one me with that comment and we both came away laughing!

It's wonderful when sparks fly in both directions!!!