And now it is November 5th...

Well..it's the morning after the election...and I feel like yesterday was a holiday or something. I'm tired, a little let down and I woke up this morning wondering what the next big event was.

Anyway...what's done is done. If you are not committed to pray for our new leader, the leader of the greatest nation on earth,then you have not read the scriptures very closely. He needs our prayers. He is young,inexperienced and has young daughters who need to be protected from the CRAP that comes with being the child of a president. I am SLIGHTLY encouraged by the fact that he has already chosen Colin Powell to help guide his policy. That turncoat! ;)

I must admit to apologize for a couple of things. At work last night we were trying to find election results online and when we realized Pres. Elect Obama was winning I groaned very loudly. Then when Kaitlyn and I stopped by Starbucks on the way home Kirsten said, "We could move to Canada." and I said,"Why? They're ALREADY socialists." Then I told her I was going to build a bunker in the back yard, plant a garden,and raise chickens so that when the do-do hits the fan we can hide. These were not right responses. They were not comments encouraging to my children. They were a knee jerk reaction spoken in fear.

See that's the thing. Some of P.E.Obama's policies SCARE me. The biggest one is his stand on partial birth abortion. BUT..his OTHER policies..the ones that conservative/republicans have been so quick to label as "socialist"...are of our own making!

If we were doing what WE were supposed to do..If WE were caring for the widows and orphans..If WE were taking care of the homeless..If WE were feeding the hungry..If WE were concerned with our countries educational system..If we would stop arguing amongst ourselves, as believers..about so MANY issues..If we were putting our tithes and offering into PEOPLE and not buildings and programs..If the latest "celebrity" cause OUTSIDE of our country were slightly less important that the tired and huddled masses INSIDE of our own borders..If WE were turning off our TV's and computers long enough to CARE about others..or to even care about our own FAMILIES...then our government would not NEED to step in.

And please, don't freak out. I KNOW that there are issues outside OUR country that demand our attention. I seem to remember a couple of world wars fought for such issues. Genocide IS an important issue. Clean water IS an important issue. But I can not help but believe that a STRONG nation...a nation who takes care of it's own...could make an impact on this world that we can not EVEN begin to imagine. As a mother I can not serve my family or take care of my children when my body is not functioning correctly. Why do we feel that we can serve the rest of the world when our own internal structure is diseased? As strong as our weakest link and all that.

We do it to ourselves..or we allow it to be done to us. We are NOT victims. A "better world" takes sacrifice. Sacrifice, that we as a nation, as a world, are just not willing to make. Our forefathers sacrificed many things..from a creature comfort that became the Boston Tea Party...to their lives...so that we could have the freedoms that we enjoy today. Some of which we are QUICKLY loosing. I can't help but believe that they would be horribly ashamed to see what whiners we have become.

I heard on the news yesterday why we vote on Tuesdays. It is because MOST voters had to travel overnight to vote. The leaders of the time did not believe we should travel on the sabbath. So voters left on Monday, voted on Tuesday and then were able to return to their homes and their duties there before the next sabbath day.

Sacrifice people. It's what love is all about. Love of our Father for his children. Love of the blessed for those less fortunate. Love of those privileged to vote... for the future of their country.

And yes..as you well know..I work things through with words..LOTS of words. This rant is for my own benefit. I am speaking to myself. If YOU gain any insight from it... I'm sorry ;)

October...highs and lows

"I like spring, but it is too young. I like summer, but it is too proud. So I like best of all autumn, because its tone is mellower, its colours are richer, and it is tinged with a little sorrow. Its golden richness speaks not of the innocence of spring, nor the power of summer, but of the mellowness and kindly wisdom of approaching age. It knows the limitations of life and its content."|
- Lin Yutang



Well..the kids aren't here and Jeff's not home yet. And as I sit here watching election eve coverage I have about thirty minutes to myself. So I though I would AT LEAST post my highs and lows of October since I can't seem to find the time to REALLY write.

Things have a been a little crazy around here. Jeff has worked a lot of extra hours in recent weeks. I just last week asked to go full time at the library. Kirsten is still enjoying Starbucks. Kaitlyn works 3-4 days a week and Keaton is, at this moment, at his last performance of Dracula at the high school. We were really proud of him. They don't pick many freshmen for their productions but he got a small role! We went and saw it the other night and it was quite good for a high school production. It was a small audience RIGHT on the stage with the actors. We were less then five feet from a lot of the action!!

My mom came in from WA a couple of weeks ago and brought my nephew Jarod with him. J-Rod to his hip hop Uncle Jeff ;) We got to go for a long ride in the mountains and catch the last of the fall color. BUT...Mom spent much of her time here sewing Raggedy Ann and Andy Costumes for Jeff and I....because she's just that kind of mom. I wore mine to a costume contest at work and WON!! Jeff then joined me in wig and face paint at a birthday party for one of our very best friends Noah. He turned a WHOPPING 29 years old!

As the holidays seem to crash down upon us I will try VERY hard to be more diligent in my posts.

OH DANG....I just remembered I need to do something about Christmas cards!!!!

ANYWAY....here's me list of highs and lows...which always makes me think about my dear..and very pregnant friend Kath. For without her I would have never began the monthly lists. Love you Kath!

Highs :)
1)A week long visit from my mom and Jarod and a weekend with my dad.
2)The kids fall break.
3)Saturday Night Supper Club with the Barnetts and the Cremisinos.
4)Halloween Potluck and Costume Contest where I won 1st place!
5)Noah's Birthday party.
6)Attending Keaton's performance in Dracula...which was technically Nov.1st..but it's my blog so I can do whatever I want!

Lows :(
1)My mom had to go home.
2)I REALLY miss my nieces and nephews at this time of year.
3)Ongoing money woes.
4)CONTINUOUS rhetoric from BOTH parties and NEVER ENDING political coverage and ads leading up to tomorrows presidential election.

5)The last of the fall leaves are loosening their grip..leaving the trees quite bare. They live such a short life. It seems but yesterday they were mere buds bringing us the hope of a much needed break from the winter cold and long days spent lazing in the sun with friends. Now they are gone...and the cool fall nights drive us indoors. I pray you take time to build a fire in the fireplace, play games with friends,read a classic book,build a puzzle, make coco or cider, and bake things which fill your home with the cool weather scents of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. For it is much easier to face the cruelties of winter..when huddled together with those you love.

Much love to you all!!!

Preparing for winter...

Change is a measure of time and, in the autumn, time seems speeded up. What was is not and never again will be; what is is change.
--Edwin Way Teale
For man, autumn is a time of harvest, of gathering together. For nature, it is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad.

The smile that flickers on baby's lips when he sleeps- does anybody know where it was borne? Yes, there is a rumor that a young pale beam of a crescent moon touched the edge of a vanishing autumn cloud, and there the smile was first born . . . .
--Rabindranath Tagore


When I write or cross stitch I like to sit on my bed. It's about comfort and putting my legs up...but it is also about the fact that our bed faces west..towards the mountains.

When I pull the blinds up I can look through a lovely frame of tree branches right out at the Sleeping Indian and Devils Dead. (Dang...I need to clean my windows!!)To my right I can see scrub oak on the hill behind us,one of our cherry trees and Kaitlyn's baby willow. I keep an eye him because he IS just a baby!!

I can also watch the birds...including couple of humming birds who like to stop and rest on the branches of our silver leaf maple...the dogs, a squirrel that runs up and down our fence,an occasional rabbit and right now small flocks of birds that use our back yard as a rest stop on their way south. I love it most when the mist hangs on the mountains and seems to muffle the chaos of everyday life. This will be the first winter Jeff and I have stayed in THIS room...so I am looking forward to our first snow. For years I have longed for a room where I could sit by the window and watch the snow fall quietly against the backdrop of the mountains.

The other day I am sitting here,on my bed,cross stitching and all of the sudden it sounds like there is some kinda crazy bird riot going on. The the dogs start barking. So I get up to look around and this is what I see....

There is about a hundred little black birds with iridescent heads blanketing the side and back yard. The "yelling" was coming from a pair of magpies that reside here. So..the magpies are tattling..the dogs are barking...the little birds are twittering at the magpies...the squirrel is running UP and DOWN the fence..and as I look at an angle towards the front...there are two rabbits running and jumping. One LITERALLY did a flip it was so angst ridden at the chaos these little blackbirds had caused in our usually very pleasant yard!! I tried to get a photo but as I opened the window the flock of birds flew away. :(

The whole scene was like something out of a wacked out Disney movie or something!!!

What was REALLY interesting is this.... As I started looking around, at work, in the neighborhood etc...it seems that EVERYONE is just a little bit busier!! I'm not talking about regular busy...I mean that frantic AUTUMN kind of busy where everyone is "gathering nuts" and making preparations for that first snow. (Which is rumored to be this first weekend BTW.)I also find it interesting that you can actually chart the weather by the amount of books turned in at the library!!

We have a bit of that fall activity going on in our own home. I am baking and crafting more. ;) The dogs seem to be hanging out on the deck soaking up as much sun as possible. I NEED to get my bulbs planted and winterize the front yard!! The guys are doing some maintenance around the house trimming branches and such. Everyone is thinking about dragging out their sweaters. Kirsten is looking into classes at ACC for the spring semester. Kaitlyn just checked out a bunch of books at the library and Jeff is just counting every nice day a blessing before he has to put the motorcycle away for the winter.

Perhaps,even if you do not live in a place were the seasons show such drastic change,you should consider what steps you might take to prepare for winter. Be it a physical,calendar season...or a season of life.

Change of seasons...

With three teenagers...two of them drivers...two of them in High School and one recently graduated....our house officially has a revolving door.

It seems that no sooner has one of our children come home...that they are kissing me goodbye!

Kirsten works full time at Starbucks...she opens many mornings...and closes many nights. She is a social butterfly with many friends and pretty regular trips to dollar bowling night and Karaoke at the local coffee shop.

Kaitlyn is a Jr who drives her and her brother to and from school. She is a member of a couple of groups at school, works three days a week after and joins her sister on her social outings whenever she can.

Keaton is a Freshman who is a reading buddy for a third grader at the library and has a part in his high school production of Dracula. He,of course, joins his sisters as they run all over town and loves to sing whatever classic rock song that strikes his fancy at Karaoke.

I am very happy that my children are happy, healthy, active, productive and enjoy each others company as well as the company of their friends.

AND...I am torn between this happiness and the surprise/loss I still feel ever time my girls grab their keys and head out the door with their own money and their brother in tow.

BUT....I am also surprised at the peace I have when they are all out together. I know that Kirsten will make wise choices as to the safety of her siblings and that Keaton's shear size will more than likely keep strange young men from making unwanted advances towards his very pretty sisters.

I don't know what any of this means. I am just rambling about the change in our lives I am not sure I am ready for.

I guess I need to get ready huh?

ANYWAY...here are some highs and lows of September 2008.

Highs...
Kirsten turned 19 on the 16th.
Kaitlyn turned 17 on the 25th.
My mom came to visit.
Jeff and I went on a nice picnic in the mountain with our friends Kate and Noah.
We had our first night of Saturday Night Supper club with our friends the Anguianos and the Barnetts. Looking forward to more.
The new season of CHUCK started.
FALL FINALLY GOT HERE!!!!

Lows...
My mom's visit was only two days long due to a snafu at work.
I can not seem to do the "crafty" things I would like to do for my friends and family and it is SERIOUSLY bumming me out.
Kaitlyn was in a minor fender bender which was not her fault...but it really upset her.
Paul Newman died.

Home...

They say you can never go home again.

I say it depends on what you consider "home" to be.

I never had a physical home growing up. We moved a lot. Until we moved into this house in Castle Rock I had never lived anywhere longer than about a year and half.

Now...after nine years...I love our house. Not because it is huge or fancy or new. I love it because it is comfortable, because it holds lots of memories, because it has character, because the yard is big enough for all of our friends, because I can sit on my bed look out the window and see the sun set over the mountains.

But this is not my home.

Instead I choose to cling to another cliche'...."Home is where the heart is."...and my home is with my family.

My home is my husband...my children...and even though she lives in Washington State...my home is my mom.

Even though I am almost 42 my mom is still my mom. It doesn't matter how old I am,where she lives, how often we get to see each other, whether we agree or disagree or how long I have been married...my mother is still HOME.

It has nothing to do with how domestic she is...because she isn't really. It has nothing to do with the amount of kisses she showered me with as a child...because quite honestly I don't remember a lot of them, although I am sure there must have b een. And it has nothing to do with those "heart to heart" talks that at seem to be the centerpiece of so many mother daughter movies...because although we talk A LOT...the things we discuss aren't going to change the world.

My mother is HOME for the same simple reason my husband and children are. It is because of the peace that their love bestows upon my weary heart.

At the end of a long day, when the world and all in it conspires against me....the knowledge that they are there to "shelter" me is just as good...and probably better...than a comfortable chair, well worn wood floors, a big stone fireplace, a winding staircase,a well stocked pantry, an craft room crammed with fabric, a library full of classics and a view of the snow falling gently against the backdrop of the great rocky mountains.

And if you know me at all...you know that is saying an awful lot.

With fall comes a messy house...

OMG...I almost forgot my HIGHS AND LOWS OF AUGUST 2008!!!!

Um...

Well...

Okay...

SO...Here's the deal...my highs and lows are really more like "bittersweets" this time.



1. Keaton started High School.
2. Kaitlyn got her first job.
3. Kirsten is working..but full time.
4. It's time to start my fall/x-mas projects... but I had to drag everything back in from the garage after our non-move so I could even get started.

There was ONE definite high and that was going to the Balloon Lift Off in Co. Springs with Jeff and the kids this past weekend. We've been going since Keaton was about three so it was really nice to go...just me, Jeff and the kids. Kinda familiar...and normal for a change!!

ANYWAY....I know I haven't been writing much. I am hoping with the cooler weather that as my "creative juices" start to flow...and I use the term "creative" VERY loosely... I will be inspired to keep up with the blog! My biggest problem now is trying to stay focused on ONE fall project. My mind and my hands just seem to flit from one thing to another without getting much done. Do I work on organizing my craft room, quilt, make dolls, cross stitch, work on x-mas cards,x-mas decorations,bake or plant iris bulbs???

I just don't know WHAT to do?!?!

I have a feeling our house is going to be a little...um..."unattended to" for a while! ;)

In the end... Rocky wins!

I don't seem to have any original thoughts to blog about as of late so I am just going steal from someone else today.

There are times in my life...and I have often said this to Jeff...where I can NOT seem to pick myself up from one "blow" before I am kicked in the teeth yet again. It is like a scene from ROCKY where he is just being pounded on...blow after blow...and blood and sweat and spit are just FLYING all over the place. Apollo Creed HAS NO MERCY!!! And it all occurs in slow motion.

As I was reading a devotional from Charles Spurgeon this morning I was pleased to find out that I am not the only one who suffers from this "syndrome".

So..because Charles was MUCH better with words than I...I leave you with this.


Deliverance Not Limited

He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee. (Job 5:19)

Eliphaz in this spoke the truth of God. We may have as many troubles as the workdays of the week, but the God who worked on those six days will work for us till our deliverance is complete. We shall rest with Him and in Him on our Sabbath. The rapid succession of trials is one of the sorest tests of faith. Before we have recovered from one blow it is followed by another and another till we are staggered. Still, the equally quick succession of deliverances is exceedingly cheering. New songs are rung out upon the anvil by the hammer of affliction, till we see in the spiritual world the antitype of "the Harmonious Blacksmith." Our confidence is that when the Lord makes our trials six, six they will be and no more.

It may be that we have no rest day, for seamen troubles come upon us. What then? "In seven there shall be no evil touch thee." Evil may roar at us, but it shall be kept at more than arm's length and shall not even touch us. Its hot breath may distress us, but its little finger cannot be laid upon us.

With our loins girt about us, we will meet the six or the seven troubles and leave fear to those who have no Father, no Savior, and no Sanctifier.

I got the "My kids are growing up" blues....

Being a parent is a strange and wonderful beast.

One day you are holding this little tiny thing in your arms and you can't IMAGINE what life is going to be like when they start walking...or talking....

MUCH LESS DRIVING THEMSELVES TO HIGH SCHOOL!!!!

No...Kaitlyn is not my first child to drive herself to school. Kirsten started that last year. Kaitlyn IS my first child to drive her AND her sib to school though.

It was hard enough on me yesterday as I watched Keaton drive off with his dad for the first day of his freshman year....without one moments hesitation I might add. TODAY as he drove off with his sister it was like some HUGE chapter of my life had ended.

SOOO...here I sit...after soaking in the tub for an OBSCENE amount of time...wondering, "What the HECK does a woman who's only goal in life was to be a wife and a mother DO when her last baby enters High School?"

I KNOW, I KNOW, I KNOW...this is NOT the end of my parental obligations. I KNOW they will still need me...BARELY. I know that the end of a chapter is NOT the end of the BOOK.

I JUST WANT MY BABIES BACK!!!!

And do you know what the real kick in the teeth is. They DIDN'T even look back!!! Oh..wait...they did....they pointed and laughed at me standing on the porch, in my PJs, holding my camera with terrified look on my face and tears in my eyes. No, really....they pointed and laughed....ask them.

Of course...my kids have NEVER looked back. They would leap out of my arms to go into the church nursery. They ran to the bus stop. They jumped out of the car in carpool, waving back over their shoulder as they caught up with their friends. They hugged ME and told ME not to cry when they went off to camp. And now they LAUGH at me as Kaitlyn drives off with my baby boy and leaves me here all alone. I have been told that all of this mean that Jeff and I have raised wonderfully confident individuals.....

Whatever.

If I had known THAT was what we were doing I would have switched tracks and started raising whiny, clingy, Mama's babies!!!

YEAH RIGHT!!!!

This started out as something different...

I don't really have much to say today.

BUT...I was poking around the Phillip S. Miller Library Website because I thought I should know more about my place of employment. When I decided to look at the history of the library I found this quote from March 1942....

"It is hoped by the committee that in these times of sacrifice and worry, when many of our usual forms of recreation are abandoned, that many people will seek and find the books in the library a source of unexpected relaxation and entertaining pleasure."

I don't know why but I found this quote strangely moving. You must remember...we had only OFFICIALLY been at war for few months in March of 42...but the effects of the war abroad must have been weighing on America since the Germans invaded Poland in 1939.

NOW...read this quote again very carefully...."when many of our usual forms of recreation are abandoned".

Think about that VERY carefully. It holds a TOTALLY different meaning in 2008 and than it did in 1942. People did not have television or computers or cell phones...if they even had a phone. Cars were a luxury item, there was no central air...and there were parts of the country in which people still used outhouses. People did not shop for groceries the way we do now,as the war drug on there was rationing of gasoline,sugar,steel and rubber... among other things...and a cup of coffee was less than a dime. AND..we did not have Amazon or a Barnes and Noble on every other corner where we could purchase books by the armload.

I "find the books in the library a source of unexpected relaxation and entertaining pleasure". every day. But I wonder what it must have been like then. How many people DID turn to books as a form of escape or relaxation. What books were they reading....

The Moon is Down
The Robe
Dragon Seed
See Here Private Hargrove
And Now Tomorrow
Brave Men
Forever Amber
So Well Remembered
The Song of Bernadette
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
The Little Prince

These were just a few bestsellers during the war.

I don't know...I just found it interesting to think about...it was a different time...A time before space travel or the Internet. A time before celebrities were heroes just because of their celebrity. Our heroes were soldiers...as were the people who gave up the simple pleasures of sugar and travel and stockings..the ones who planted victory gardens as their husbands and sons went off to war.

This did not begin as a commentary on war...but I think it might be worth mentioning that we once again have soldiers fighting on another continent and we give up NOTHING because of it. We still drive and bake and watch TV and spend 6 bucks on a cup of coffee and 10 bucks on a movie and watch stupid sitcoms in our air-conditioned houses WHILE surfing the web AND talking on our cellphone.

MAYBE...JUST MAYBE...that's why our soldiers are still fighting a war that we have almost forgotten. A war in which soldiers are still dying.

I DON'T KNOW...It's just a thought...maybe one we should ALL be considering.

And MAYBE...JUST MAYBE...we could remember to say a little prayer for our soldiers and an end to this war each time we pump gas, or drink coffee.....or pick up a book.

Thanks to all of you who have served, are serving and will serve our country.

Highs and Lows of July 2008

Well...the summer has FLOWN by and we are now 4 days into August!!! HOW DID THAT HAPPEN!?!?

ANYWAY...Highs and Lows

Highs...

My Uncle WIllard, Mom and cousin Frank came to visit and we got them for a WHOLE WEEK!

My bro Matt came for a visit the VERY next weekend.

I re-established contact with my cousins son through Facebook.

The DeGraffenrieds were here from Mexico.

Have I mentioned lately how much I absolutely FREAKIN'...beyond all ability to not only voice but to comprehend...LOVE MY HUSBAND.

HighISHness...

Got to see Hellboy 2!
Read tons of books.
Several Mini Motorcycle ride with Jeff

Lows...

Everyone always has to leave.

Grammy was in the hospital.

The Fourth of July kinda sucked.

Our financial situation is still in the crapper.

The Lazy Dayz of Summer....

It's summertime. I will not be "guilted" in to thinking I have to fill every moment of every day with a task of some sort.

Last summer my children and I spent every waking moment making sure our house was clean so that we would be ready to show it at the drop of a hat. We never got to sleep in. We didn't do anything fun. We were slaves to this house and the thought that we were going to be moving at ANY time.

This summer we are taking a break. We sleep late when at all possible. We play games..together...or alone. We watch movies sometimes. Mostly...we're just hangin'.

Don't get me wrong. We're still busy. I am trying to get adjusted to a new job and a new schedule. Kirsten has a new job at Starbuck's with more hours and a tighter routine. Kaitlyn and Keaton have more responsibility around the house. We laid sod. I dug up and separated a few hundred iris bulbs. Jeff is keeping up with the yard. We've moved our rooms around...and when it gets a little cooler we will be painting ALL of them. The kids all had physicals and I DID finally post a chore list to keep us all a bit more organized.

Last week we had family visit. We went to Garden of of the Gods, spent a day on the South Platte, the kids went swimming,climbed the rock(Castle Rock that is), had a weenie roast and played games with their friends and cousin Frank.....ALL IN ONE DAY. We went to Rocky Mountain National Park on Friday. The kids spent Sat on at the Colorado Ren Fest ate pizza at Pizza Hut, hung out at sonic and played a game with the fam. We saw TWO movies...and in our spare time...we played more games and talked. A WHOLE summer packed into six days!!!

In my opinion....everyone just needs to chill.

Summers used to be spent sleeping late,riding bikes, swimming at the pool, playing in the sprinkler, going to the beach or river, reading tons of books, digging in the dirt,eating tons of watermelon, and playing games with your friends on the street until after dark... and camping....lots and lots of camping.

Our need to fill our children's every waking hour with sports, music lessons, expensive vacations which have to be "one upped" every year, computers,cell phones, cable TV and what seems to be the need to have an ADVENTURE every weekend....has robbed us of what summertime is all about. Rest...fun...family.

Guess what??...School starts in a little over three weeks!!!

We might get a weekend camping trip in...plant some bulbs in the garden....read a few dozen more book. But mostly we're gonna be lazy until the very last minute of the very last day.

Randoms thoughts about working in the library....

After many years of volunteering at the kids school libraries I have now graduated to working at the PUBLIC library...for MONEY!

Yeah...don't laugh...working in the library is not only a lot more complicated than you might think it is....it is also a bit more exciting than you think it might be.

Anyway...Here are just a few random thoughts about my first two and a half weeks.

1. It is hard for an avid reader to work in the library because all they want to do is look at all of the books they have never heard of and might want to read.

2. People REALLY need to teach their children how to act in the library!

3. The computer bank...as wonderful a public service as it is...needs to be moved into a room with doors that close. You know how it is when you and your friends sit around a computer watching "Charlie Bit My Finger"...or better yet those old guys MIMICKING "Charlie Bit My Finger"...and you're all laughing and saying "watch, watch!". Yeah...not so conducive to a quiet library atmosphere.

4. There are slackers EVERYWHERE you work. Shelving books is hard, involving a lot of bending, crouching and restraint...cause you don't want to hit those parents how haven't taught their kids how to act in the library. So, if you want to slack...find a job somewhere else.

5. Shelf reading sucks. This is where you go along and make sure EVERY item is in it's place. Not so much fun when everyone you work with is obviously as OCD as you are. Next time I'll try to make sure I pick an area where the slacker has been working.

6. The library is the busiest place in Castle Rock...except for Wal-Mart.

7. It is really a stupid idea to have a mini-coffee shop in the lobby of a library...a place into which you are not allowed to bring food NOR coffee.

8. We have the most AWESOME automatic conveyor which not only moves your books from the drop slots...but also SORTS them into the correct bins, after reading a chip placed inside the back cover of each book with it's "eye", so that we can then shelve them. It is AMAZING...and I think it should have a name. No one else in the back seems to be as excited as I am about the robotic qualities of this wonderful machine though!!

9. Batgirl was a librarian.

10.Our library gets an average of a dozen BIG bins of books and at least 10 crates of books couriered in EVERY morning from other libraries. WHICH MEANS...if your library doesn't have the book you want you put it on hold and get it from any other library in your library district...AND...if NONE of your district libraries have it...they might be able to BORROW it from another county...OR...they might put in a request to BUY that book for your library. Which begs the question..."Why do we as Americans BUY so many books?" Unless we are in a book club and need MANY copies of a book...OR...we want them for our book collection. Why not just check a book out from the library. OH...I know...because we are LAZY...and it is easier to buy a book when we are at the store or order it on line than it is to go to the library and look for it!!! BTW...the library will take your old books when you are done with them.

11. When library employees go on break...they read...books they have checked out from the library!!!

and now for my final random thought about the library....

12. Your public library is an AMAZING place with SO MANY MORE RESOURCES than you can ever imagine! There are not just books, books on CD and now books on MP3...there are DVDs and magazines and story time for the kiddos and private rooms you can reserve if you need a quite place to study or need to hold a meeting and old maps you can look at and history about your area and graphic novels and comic books and music CD's...which btw, I am pretty sure people are checking out and ripping. Why else would you check out 10 or 20 CDs at a time?!?!

BUT...even if there were only books...there are books written about EVERY subject you could EVER imagine!!! It has TOTALLY opened up a whole new world of thought for me as to what I might want to read!

Seriously...I swear I shelved about book last night about knitting a sweater for your hyperactive lab while cooking it a meal in 30 minutes or less!

(I wanted to make a couple of corrections to this blog now that I have been at the library awhile. 1)You CAN bring food and drink into the library now. And 2) The slacker isn't so much a slacker...they just have their own way of doing things.)

Highs and lows for the past two months.....

Well...so much has happened since last I wrote that I don't even know where to start.

SOOOO....I think I will just give you my highs and lows for May AND June..... since I missed May.... and then see if I can ease back into things.

Highs.....

Kirsten's graduation
Graduation parties.
My parents week long visit.
Chris and Grey's surpise visit for K's grad.
End of school.
Noah and Kate's wedding.
Seeing Mamma Mia with the girls.
Jesse and Kate's wedding...different Kate. ;)
Sleeping late.
New job at the library.
Jeff quitting second job.
Picnic at river with friends.

My heart...He is as constant as the Rocky Mountains and my true love. I do not know what I would ever do without him....and if you are reading this God....I never want to find out!

Lows.....

Parents went home.
Grammy's ill health.
Inability to deal with lack of connection with my friends and family.
Continued lack of financial stability.

So there ya have it! These few words can not even begin to describe the joy I had at watching our oldest child graduate....or seeing some of our favorite people united in marriage. So I'm not going to try. There have been so many pictures, mentions in blogs and postings on facebook, I am SURE enough has already been said. Like anyone is even reading this anyway.

Beatrix Potter would love it here....

I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in. ~George Washington Carver Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. ~Albert Einstein

Although our home is just two minutes off of the freeway we are situated at the mouth of a small canyon. This creates a situation which feels like we are way out in the country when we are not.

One of the great things about this is that we tend to get an unusual amount of wildlife "traffic" right in our own backyard.

We are entertained on occasion by the wacky antics of the neighborhood squirrels. We have looked out the back door while eating dinner and seen deer right on the other side of the fence. We hear coyotes at night. Jeff caught a HUGE bull snake on our front sidewalk a few years ago. I have had to dodge more than one baby rattler while walking and we even had a bear running through the neighborhood several years ago.

But on a DAILY basis...we have bunnies and birds. Birds and bunnies....we have PLENTY of.

A couple of Sunday's ago I returned from a wedding shower to find a visitor. A bunny which Jeff and Keaton had caught. We don't usually catch wild animals so I was a bit surprised that Jeff had allowed this until he explained to me where he found this teeny tiny bunny.

It was under the lawnmower. More accurately....he ran OVER it with the lawnmower....WHILE he was mowing the grass. This bunny was so very tiny that Jeff was able to pass over it and the blades missed it!

We of course let it go. Jeff thought that maybe I would like to keep it since I had just recently fallen in love with a bunny at the pet shop. Then I reminded him that our dog Benji is a ratter...and has been known to wipe out nests of baby squirrels and even entire families of endangered mice.

TODAY....I went out to get the mail and as I walk back up the front steps to find that a bird has built it's nest right on the porchlight!!

I am fairly sure that this nest belongs to a family of finches that returns to our yard every Spring. We always know that the flowers will be blooming soon when our little red headed leader brings his harem of ladies to nest in our yard. Last year they built a nest in Cousin It right next to our front gate.(Cousin it is what we call our bush. When we moved here nine years ago it was about the size of a small child and looked just like cousin it from the Aadams Family.)

We also have a family of Chickadees that nest in our Spruce every year...but they are not quite as social as the finches...and a blue jay that sits in the apple tree right out our back window and sings all of the time. Yesterday I watched as a couple of Stellar Jays tried to chase an annoying Magpie off of our phone lines out front.

I don't know....these things may seem commonplace to you....but I am constantly amazed at the personality with which these little creations are endowed.

The Morning Star....

I started a blog because someone suggested I should. Something about me needing to share everything.... ;)

I love doing it...but sometimes there are things I want to share and I know that not everyone has the time to read yet another blog.

Today is one of those days.

So if you got this in an email....and are now reading it online and suffering some weird sort of de ja vu I apologize.

I am sharing yet ANOTHER quote from Spurgeon with you. If it encourages just ONE person the way it encouraged me then I feel the effort to post it here as well as in an email it is well worth the effort.

It ties in so well with what our Pastor's wife, Diane, shared on Sunday. She speaks every Mother's Day and Jeff and I always look forward to what she has to say. This year she spoke on stress...and about being in the "right before"....and I have already had the opportunity to share what she spoke on with several people.

Jeff and I know we are not the only people in our "circle" who are experiencing SEVER stress at this time. Ours may not be the same as yours...or your FRIEND who is experiencing stress....but stress is stress.

If you are going through a hard time. TELL SOMEONE!!! Let them help to lift you up in prayer when you are unable to do it yourself. Let them hold your hand, give you a hug, take you to coffee.

What the enemy would LOVE most is for us to be separated from our SPHERE. He does not WANT us to fellowship...to speak of our problems. He WANTS us to hide in a dark room where he can whisper his lies.

So....Read this. Read it several times. REALLY READ IT. Soak it in. Dwell on it. And then tell me you are NOT amazed buy not only it's simpleness...but it's poetic nature....and it's TRUTH!!!

And I will give him the morning star. (Revelation 2:28)

It is best to see Jesus as the sun; but when we cannot do so, the next best thing is to see Him as that star which prophesies the day and shows that the eternal light is near at hand.

If I am not today all that I hope to be, yet I see Jesus, and that assures me that I shall one day be like Him.

A sight of Jesus by faith is the pledge of beholding Him in His glory and being transformed into His image.

If I have not at this hour all the light and joy I could desire, yet I shall have it; for as surely as I see the morning star I shall see the day. The morning star is never far from the sun.

C. Spurgeon

MD08

MOTHER'S DAY 2008

This was my Mother's Day!!

We went to church and our pastor's wife Diane spoke as she does every Mother's Day. It was good because everyone was open and transparent.... from Jesse as he led music until the very end. Truth,fellowship and prayer what more could you ask for.

THEN THERE WAS IRON MAN!! We went right after church and stuffed ourselves with popcorn as we watched Robert Downey Jr. be AWESOME!! What more can you ask for....a superhero movie, with great acting and an actual storyline!

Then on to Papadeaux where we stuffed ourselves some more with seafood and dessert. When we were leaving Kirsten said, "I think I am pregnant.....with a food baby."

And...last but not least when we got home Kirsten....the one with a job....(no offense Kaitlyn ;).. had purchased three tickets to Mama Mia, the musical, and will be taking me and Kaitlyn on May 27th as my Mother's Day present!!! She's so grown up....even though we had to sit in the car yesterday morning and wait for her to run back in and brush her teeth! In her defense...SHE caught the oversight...it's not like we smelled her breath or anything.

Highs and Lows of April

Most glorious night! Thou wert not sent for slumber!~Lord Byron, Childe Harold

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I am thankful for the mess to clean after a party because it means I have been surrounded by friends. ~Nancie J. Carmody

This pic is proof that no matter WHAT ....Kirsten can work the camera!

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The artist is nothing without the gift, but the gift is nothing without work.::: Emile Zola :::

So....my highs and lows for April 2008 are.....

Highs...

1. Jeff came home for good! No more working in Washington.

2. Kaitlyn's wins second prize in art show!

3. Kirsten's Prom Night!

4. Kate's wedding shower!

5. Meeting Connor and spending a bit of time with Nick and Brittney.

Lows....

1. Money Woes
2. Missing my mom