Day 51 - { snow days }

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I LOVE SNOW DAYS! Prayers of gratitude for TWO this week--yeehaw!!

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Day One - 1/10/11

We had over 5 inches (more than our annual average!) that fell all afternoon Sunday and then continued during the night. Not only was school closed, but DC got to be home from work, too! Heaven!

The boys got their chores done quickly, we had bacon and cheese grits for breakfast, and then they headed outside to play in the snow. I did the Walmart bag trick that I remember from childhood to keep their feet dry, and it worked great. :) DC was sweet to watch Roseberry so I could go out and get my exercise for a while playing with them.

A good friend from the ward surprised us by clearing our driveway with his earthmover. It was funny because we didn't recognize him with all the snow gear on, and were wondering what on earth the guy was doing on our driveway. It was probably a good 10 minutes before I realized who it was, and went over laughing and apologizing and thanking.

It was a productive afternoon of finances and budget, menu and shopping list planning, and Family Home Evening lesson preparing, all with a cozy fire going and Roseberry napping and the boys outside with DC. They came in happy and glowing and ready for something warm to drink.

For FHE tonight I did a special lesson honoring Hummer for his birthday. We had him answer the traditional birthday scripture question, and played the favorites game, and then made a list of 7 things we love about him. For the game DC had put together a fun DIY version of Balderdash, using words from the Spelling Bee study guide the boys have been using. We did "kipper", "muumuu" and "wasabi", the last of which resulted in yet another nickname for Roseberry. :)

Leftover birthday cake and ice cream for refreshments, and now DC is putting the boys to bed, with another snow day to look forward to tomorrow!Hummer just asked me to put Aquaphor on his hands, and I told him to ask Daddy because I am writing in my journal. He said, okay, and then made me promise I would write about that in my journal. :)

It's hard to tell in this picture, but have you ever noticed how a trampoline sagging with snow looks like a giant contact lens? :)

 

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Day Two - 1/11/11

This time we remembered to have the boys practice after their chores, and DC gave both Exacto and Fluffy violin lessons. I gave Fluffy a piano lesson. You know, I've heard lots of people say that they could never teach their own kids, and yes, there are moments when I wish I were paying someone and not having to worry about it. But then there are the times when I get to be the one to see that excitement when something new unveils itself in  their mind, or to see the thrill of a hurdle crossed and progress made. . . .

I went out into the snow again with them, to see and photograph the snowman of yesterday's construction in the vacant lot behind our property. The sun was shining brightly and there occasional gusts of wind, which made it seem quite different from yesterday's calm grey. Isn't it amazing how beautiful a blanketing of snow makes what is normally very drab?

DC made us macaroni-and-cheese egg patties for lunch, a somewhat kitschy but yummy meal from his childhood. I spent the afternoon working out a plan of action to help my Sunbeams - I guess you could call it my Gid and Teomnor strategy. Still leaning on those spiritual experiences to help me want to have a good attitude and do a good job. . . .

Tonight we went to a faux "workshop" meeting at city hall that had been scheduled a few weeks back, and was supposed to be specifically for the project on our street. It didn't happen, and so instead we found ourselves tracking down council members and trying to find out why. Nice. Our neighbors are trying to negotiate for a settlement but the city insists on appealing. It's starting to feel like Bleak House. . . .

my favorite photo from today

Coming back to our beloved sons and daughter and our cozy home and family scripture study was so soothing. I am sad that it's a "school night", but so grateful for these two extra days together!!

Yup, Snow Days definitely make it to the 100 Days of Gratitude list.

 

 

 

Day 48 - { the north wind }

“From the Gate of Kings the North Wind rides, and past the roaring falls;
And clear and cold about the tower its loud horn calls.
'What news from the North, O mighty wind, do you bring to me today?
What news of Boromir the Bold? For he is long away."

--Tolkien

Growing up as a desert rat, I remember hearing people groaning about the high temperatures in Tucson, and then inevitably someone would always say, "Well, at least it's a dry heat." I always wondered why on earth that made a difference. Then the DC Fiddler moved us to the South and, honey, I learned why that makes a difference. Poor Arkansas gets most of its weather from the gulf, I think. And that means wet heat.

This past Friday brought the north wind, and with it a blessed aridity that helps this Arizona girl feel like life in Arkansas is again well worth living. Rosebud and I headed out to meet the boys walking home from school. Doesn't she look quite the intrepid stroller adventurer in this shot? :)

Nothing like a blue sky and streaky clouds and a drop in temperature and humidity to make me very, very happy. Something about the fresh clarity of the air makes me feel like exercising and cleaning (gasp!) and doing all sorts of healthy, productive things that make me whiny when it's humid. It's like spring fever, except it hits me in the fall here.

. . . . .now it's five days later, and back to the soggy warmth from the gulf. It's okay, though. That delicious foretaste of autumn lingers with me and I know it will be here to stay before too much longer.

Isn't it amazing, this dynamic, beautiful world Heavenly Father created for us? I hope there are still seasons in heaven. As long as I live in the South, though, the north wind will still be my favorite.

Day 46 - { "Our Christmas Eve Miracle", part 3 }

~ read parts 1 and 2 here and here ~

"And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you today."

~Exodus 14:13

Heavenly Hands, Greg Olsen

We sat there for a while as I cried and we tried to decide what to do. I was ravenously hungry, and DC gave me some of the food he had brought for his own sustenance at the hospital. I had only a little bit of water left in my handy hospital water bottle, and realized that if I were to be able to take my painkiller I had better save the rest.

We looked at the Interstate ahead in helpless frustration. I-30 eastbound was a parking lot. I-30 westbound, the direction we needed, was completely empty because of the police-block. Suddenly a helicopter flew overheard right in that direction, and I called out, “Please, take us with you!!”  DC chuckled good-naturedly at his rather strange wife. Finally we decided to head back towards Little Rock, wondering aloud if maybe we could find a different way home that was open.

After heading back the wrong way, I thought I saw a car going on I-30 westbound. I called to DC to pull over. We pulled over in an abandoned gas station, and looked more closely. No, there were no cars getting through still.

I completely lost my composure at this point. I was filled with anxiety and fear over what would happen to us if we were stranded -- a three-day old baby in a cold car, with very little food and water, and the pain that I had to stay on top of, somehow. . . .I was sinking into complete panic. Poor DC had to be the strong one—I couldn’t even form a coherent sentence from crying too hard. He finally said, “I think this would be a good time to say a prayer.”

I don’t remember anything that he said. But I will never forget the unmistakable peace that settled on me during that prayer. I stopped crying. Chris stopped praying. Both of us sat there silently. Rosemary had been sleeping this whole time. It was now 1pm. Neither of us knew what to do still.

DC said, “Maybe if we head back towards Little Rock, we’ll see a way to turn around and go back the right way.” I said, “Okay,” and we started out again. He went onto the ramp that said it went to Little Rock.

And here’s the part that neither of us can explain.

After a minute or two of driving in those roundabout ramp-things, suddenly we found ourselves on the access road on the other side of the freeway, heading towards home! And we were past where the police had blocked it off!

I gasped, “How did we get here?!” DC said, “I have no idea.” And I said, “Well, keep driving!”

We were eight miles from the exit to our house. In stunned amazement, we drove past eight miles of stranded cars completely stopped on the other side of the freeway. Past news trucks and broadcasting towers sitting in the middle of our side of the freeway. Past deep water on both sides of the access road.

It was the most surreal thing I have ever experienced. As the miles passed, DC said, “How are we doing this?” And I said, “I don’t know. Keep driving!” I felt like I knew exactly how the Israelites must have felt, passing through the Red Sea on dry ground, with walls of water on either side.

I kept praying fervently, “Please let us get home. Please let us get home.”

Finally, unbelievably, we got to [our town]. As I saw the familiar parking lot of the Walmart by our house, I thought to myself, “Now that we've made it here, Mom and Dad could even rescue us in the Suburban if we needed.” But, we kept driving.

The main streets of [our town] were very clogged with people trying to get through to the state highway, an alternate to I-30 that was also supposedly closed. As I continued praying non-stop we crawled through, inching along through the traffic, till we got to our neighborhood.

We pulled onto our street. Still praying. And then into our driveway. I started crying again, this time out of sheer amazement and gratitude. It was now 1:30pm, time for my next dose of medicine.

With rain falling, instead of the lacy flakes of snow I had envisioned, I joyfully unbuckled Rosemary from her carseat and came inside to the excited shrieks of our sons, and the amazed tears of Mom and Dad.

Oh, how good it was to be home! I felt like now there could be any weather outside and I would still feel peaceful and happy! Exacto and Fluffy and Hummer all gave hugs and kisses to us and their sweet new baby sister, and they and my parents listened in grateful joy to our story. I told my boys, “Your prayers got us home today.”

Oh, how overwhelmingly thankful l felt to Heavenly Father for giving us this special miracle! Not only had He brought us the long-cherished hope of a new baby in our family, but He even made sure we were home for Christmas Eve, as our sons had prayed.

No helicopter needed.

 

I will love thee, O Lord, my strength.

The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust. . . .

In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears. . . .

He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters. . . .

The Lord liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted. . . .

Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O Lord, . . . .and sing praises unto thy name.

~Psalm 18

Day 44 - {Zion in central Arkansas}

I'm still here! And everything's fine with the sweet baby (still kicking away in there)! I'm so sorry to have such a long break in my blogging. Things have been just a leetle too beezy. And there's not much sign of them slowing down! Only 19 more days till my scheduled C-section. . . .

Meanwhile, though, I want to keep writing and sharing with you the amazing blessings that we continue to receive. I am so grateful to my loving Heavenly Father! He is so good to us!

The next few posts will be "Days of Gratitude" posts, although they are a bit behind, chronologically. :)

So let me tell you about my awesome ward family (local congregation):

Did you know that the Promised Land is in Arkansas?

I didn't either, until we moved here! :)

Our ward is enormous geographically, taking up the entire county. You can drive from one end to the other in about an hour and a half. Compare that with our first ward in Utah after we were married, where it took up less than a city block, and we could walk to any member's home! There, the temple was a 10-minute walk away. Here in Arkansas, it's a 2 and 1/2 hour drive.

Though we have many good friends here of other faiths, the Mormon strain of Christianity is decidedly in the minority here. But the resulting bond between ward members here really makes us start to feel like family! Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings are like mini-family reunions. :)

I love, love, love my Sisters in the ward here.

Let me show you what they did for us a few weeks ago. . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

My trunk as I left for home (not all of the gifts would fit--three are in the cab!)

 

I love you so much, Sisters! Thank you for the wonderful shower for a 5th baby! Y'all are rockstars. :)

Day 30 - { DC's job }

This one is a BIGGIE!

And I really, really do appreciate this right now.

While most people go to work, DC goes to play. :) He rehearses and performs with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and one of their resident quartets, and in turn receives regular checks all year round. It is a truly beautiful thing.

During our 8 years of married student life, we often wondered if we were chasing an impossible dream. < cue "Man of La Mancha" theme > :)

Could a person REALLY support a family doing music for a living? Or would we end up paying off student loans with some menial labor job, and regretting our choice to shoot for the moon?

Once DC started in on the professional orchestra audition scene, our fears only increased. It is a brutal world. You work your little tail off learning excerpts and concerto movements, you pay to get yourself to the audition, they listen to you for a few minutes, and then you are either advanced to "the next round" of several, or you are unceremoniously sent home with the 30-100 other musicians you were competing with. It can be so debilitatingly frustrating. DC auditioned for many orchestras over the course of two years before landing the position here. He met many other brilliant and talented violinists, many from the great conservatories, who were sent home as well after 5 minutes of playing in the first round.

Can you imagine what it feels like to have spent months preparing (no, years, really!) and sometimes hundreds of dollars getting yourself to an audition, only to turn around and go home completely empty-handed? And then do that over and over and over. . . . And this for a position that may only pay a schoolteacher's salary or far less. (There's a HUGE variety in payscale for orchestra musicians). It's way too easy to start feeling a little cynical and hopeless.

His mentor Igor Gruppman said once that landing a position with a professional orchestra is like winning the lottery. It is just so unpredictable what can lead someone to win over so many other amazing players.

How grateful we were to "win the lottery" in May 2004! We were euphoric for months.

So what exactly DOES a professional orchestral player do?

Well, here in Arkansas, a professional orchestra player is part celebrity-performer / part music-"evangelist". The evening and weekend work consists of rehearsals and performances downtown. 

 

                                                DC on far right (the one with the gorgeous profile :)

 

The weekday work is mostly traveling with the quartet to elementary schools all over the state to give demos and "instrument petting zoos". The ASO has an award-winning outreach program to introduce children to classical music and to help them fall in love with it.

It really is an awesome job. Part of the time he's doing what he loves, and the rest of the time helping to teach children to love it, too.

Now, I have to confess that I almost didn't write this post. Shamefully I have been guilty many times of complaining about this very blessing. (Usually about the killer schedule during the season. Oh yeah, and the pay could of course be higher--I think everyone feels that way about their job, though, eh?). But as I see how tenuous so many jobs are right now, and knowing well that the music industry is hardly considered a realm of stable employment, I have felt very humbled and grateful.

It's not a perfect situation, and someday we'd love to have him teaching full-time at a university somewhere, and performing only part-time. But for now it is a miraculous blessing, and we thank Heavenly Father for it.

It has enabled us to buy a house, provide necessities for our chiquitos, and best of all, given us hope of a lifelong musical career for DC. Those of you who know him probably can't imagine him doing anything else.

Biker Boy

I have a new hero. And it's Hummer. Guess what he did today?

First of all, let me set the scene. From the National Weather Service today. . . .

Sound like a good day for a bike ride? I don't think so either. But I had already PROMISED the boys that today when their chores were done, we would ride our bikes down to a park about a mile and a half from our house.

You know how it is when you PROMISE something to your kids.

When they were finished, and it was about 10:30am, I thought, "Well, it's still morning, and we'll drink lots of water, and DC can be our on-call emergency pickup vehicle." :)

So we set out, just the three of us. (Poor Fluffy did not finish his chores and had to stay behind. We could hear his screaming and tantrumming from inside as we drove off).

Exacto is a pro. He even knows to stop and do turn signals when necessary.

I am a pudgeriffic semi-pro (picture pending). I have to walk my bike up the big hills, and tend to wobble a lot when I try to signal.

Then there's Hummer. He's still on training wheels. I thought for sure that with the heat and the distance combined, we would be calling DC in a matter of minutes to come get Hummer.

So we set out, just the three of us.

(I didn't take this picture. I was too busy maintaining my balance while going approximately 1/2 mph alongside Hummer and his training wheels.)

Sweat was pouring down our necks, and we couldn't even take advantage of the downhills because of the sweet 5-year-old who kept braking every couple of seconds so he wouldn't get too fast.

I was so amazed when we all actually made it to the park. Exacto and I made a beeline for the shade, and I called DC to come get us. ALL of us! Meanwhile Hummer stayed on his bike, yelling for us to start riding home. When I told him Daddy was coming to get us because we were thirsty and hot and tired, he got mad and said he wanted to ride his bike home.

DC and Fluffy arrived. Exacto and I jumped into the A/C gratefully while our bikes got wedged into the van by my Darling. Hummer ignored our calls and took off back up the huge hill by the park.

I was so completely impressed. Not only was he having to pedal 2-3 times as many rotations because of his tiny wheels, but his rear tire lacks tread, and half the time it spins instead of moving forward.

We followed along in our Wimp-mobile, making sure he was safe, and all of us exclaiming in awe at the achievement unfolding before us. (It was totally a "Chariots of Fire" moment--so cool!). With sweat pouring down him (his shirt was drenched) he kept trundling that bike up the hill till he made it!

By this point, Exacto and I were feeling humbled and inspired (plus our sweat had mostly dried due to the beautiful air-conditioning in the van), and we decided to join him for the rest of the way home.

That kid made it! He biked THREE MILES on a teeny bike in horrible heat! And then he came in and was so cheerful and sweet.

I do have a picture of that. . . .

Wordless Wednesday

 

 

 

 

~Mama

Answers to your questions!

*Ike*

Mandy was curious to know how many hours our family has spent in our "tornado" closet since we moved to AR. "It seems like there's very frequent storm weather in your area--I guess we're both in regular "storm watch" areas of the country now ;) Does tornado weather happen seasonally, and if so, does it coincide with hurricane season?"

Well, we do have tornado sirens here, that go off every Wednesday at noon for testing. In fact when Becky was here, and she and Fluffy heard them go off, and she asked him, "Do you know what that sound means?"

Fluffy responded nonchalantly, "Yep! It's Wednesday." :)

So anyway, they go off on other days, too. It seems to happen when there has been warm weather, about to be hit by cold weather, or vice versa. I've heard that there's KIND of a tornado season, from about March through November, peaking in April, but I've also heard of January tornadoes. A couple of years ago we had some just after Thanksgiving. It was very odd.

Hurricanes tend to spawn tornadoes, yes. But we don't have to worry about hurricanes like you south Floridians. They tend to have died down a bit by the time they make it up here. (Whew!)

 

*Horses*

Okay, okay. I have to admit I was baiting Becky in my post about the horses.

Here's the story.

We were driving from Provo to Snowflake for the first time after my parents moved there in 1997. DC and I were newlyweds and I was expecting Exacto, having recently found out he was NOT a girl. (One of the great shocks of my life).

We had never really driven on the reservations before, and it was a bit of a culture shock, especially for Becky, apparently. (See, Becky, I told you you should have told this story yourself! ha)

If any of you have been fortunate (or not) enough to drive across the Rez, you know that it is beautiful. It is also tedious.

We passed many, many cows. Then we happened to pass a single, white horse. Becky exclaimed enthusiastically, "Look! A horse!" Yes, the big excitement was seeing a horse. After all, it had been only cows and bush after scrubby bush for many hours. She has never lived it down. Bless her heart.

Incidentally, things only got worse from there. Our car battery went out just before Chinle, and we ended up having about 7 hours'  leisure time to just sit and appreciate the scenery!

*A Good, Cleansing Friend*

Mom asked about my cleaning product of poignant fame. Yes, Bar Keeper's Friend is a gem. You know that great non-stick spray (Pam) we use for everything  nowadays? You know how it leaves that hideous brown speckled stuff cemented onto your dishes? Well, BKF gets it off! It also takes off rust and cooked on stains, without scratching. I first discovered it in a catalog of Amish stuff (it's been around for a while).

They do sell it at Wal-mart, though! Yippee!

You'll love this stuff. Try it sometime.

*Cranford*

Becky asked about which books Cranford  is based on, so she can read them. I want to read them, too, so I was glad for the impetus to look it up! Here we are. . . .

Cranford, My Lady Ludlow, and Mr Harrison's Confessions

 

*background*

Mom noticed my new background. Thanks, Mom! :)

Let me just say that when I first put it up and proudly showed my sons, they started giggling hysterically. "It's your PAJAMAS!"

Yes, it's true. The pajama bottoms I wear almost every night just happen to have a pattern I drool over (good thing it's dark most of the time I wear them, eh?) :). So I took a picture, tweaked it a little in Photoshop, and now you get to feast your eyes on my nightwear!

Ho, dear.

 

  ~Moma

Ike takes its toll

We had tornadoes on the ground in our county yesterday and spent some exciting minutes in our "tornado closet" under the stairs. Thank goodness DC was actually home this time!

We went to bed to the sound of high winds and hard rain. It sounded like the siding was going to be torn off our house!

A sunny, breezy day greeted us the next morning. Things looked just beautiful outside! Weird, huh? Especially when we see some of the stuff that's happened in Houston. But there has been damage here, too, evidently.

It's hard to say for sure, but just from people we know, it sounds like there are lots of power outages here. Church has been cancelled because there's no power at the building. Bishop said it probably won't be back on till the end of the week. DC has been on the phone all morning, checking on people and letting them know about church.

We are grateful to have passed through this one unscathed! Our hearts go out to our southern neighbors who have not been so fortunate this time. Mom, is there any word from Aunt MaryAnn?

Better get back to preparing for "church at home". . . . :)

Our new Gustav-proof landscaping!

Arkansas is a breathtakingly beautiful state. We love living here.

 

 

There are downsides, though.

 

Ahem!

(To see what past storms have accomplished in our yard, visit my posts about the April 3 tornadoes here and here.)

Fast forward four months.

When we came back from our visit out west last month, I woke up the next morning and looked out my bedroom window to see this:

Yes, the city had finally come to fix what should have been fixed before developers were ever allowed to build here. Yay! (?)

They're planning to install a new culvert under the road that will go under our front lawn and out the side where we already have a drainage ditch. They have put up a temporary chain link fence because they say it won't be done for several months. (Joy.) Hey, don't get me wrong, though. I am GLAD they are fixing the problem! We got about SIX INCHES of rain in two days last week from Gustav, and had no flooding in our yard. Yippee!

Meanwhile, here's what our front yard currently looks like, as seen from the street:

(This picture was taken just after a rainstorm on 8/20/08)

We'll see how it handles Ike this weekend. . . .

First Night of Fireflies

It's been very humid and hot today--definitely feels like summer. Tonight we saw the first fireflies this year!

A Visit from SuzieQ - Outings

TARGET

 

WALK TO SCHOOL PLAYGROUND

 

 

DOWNTOWN / STREETCAR