hearts in my eyes

"Mommy? Me have hearts in my eyes for you" NoahBaker said yesterday morning & it was so awesome. Madeline had said that a few weeks ago, "Daddy, do you have hearts in your eyes when you see mommy?" It was the best. The answer...luckily... was yes. Sam's picture of 'Three Red Birds On a Branch In Winter' is now officially hanging above the fireplace. He feels like an "official artist" now. :)

1916-2009

Remembering Olen...1916-2009. It's hard not to have favorites at the nursing home; pictures from spring 2008.

He will be missed.

85 and counting...

Armed with my before picture and a smile I walked into the Community Center this morning for the Health Fair. Hopefully the word is out about what a great place Curves is to get fit!!! I know that I need daily inspiration with 60 pounds to go...but not having 85 feels pretty good.

damnit

Sam is on the couch telling one of his stories with his action hero figures; I pass by on my way to the kitchen. He is talking, talking, talking & I hear "damnit". I stop, turn around, "what did you say Sam?" I knew perfectly well he would repeat it, I was just buying time...thinking thinking thinking...."damnit" he says, straight face. Amy-Sam, you know that's a bad word right? Sam-Yeah, but I'm telling a story. Amy-It's still a bad word. Sam-But we are inside. Amy-Okay, these are the words you cannot say, inside-outside-or in any story you are telling: Damnit, Hell & Shit, got it? Sam-okay mommy. And on he went with his story. SIGH.Madeline decided to get married. She got on her wedding clothes, told all of us we could come & then Rob told her she wasn't allowed to get married...ever ever ever! She came over & talked some sense into him. It was sweet...Madeline is Hannah Montana, she is totally rocking out the show in her new gear.Meanwhile Miss Madeline has had so many outfit changes today I had to start taking pictures of her wardrobe choices...it is so fun being 4!

christmas

Christmas Eve afternoon...they are soooooo ready!

Once we were over at the grandparents Noah & Grandma finished the gingerbread train...

Christmas Eve was spent at Grandma & Grandpa's...the cousins 9, 7, 5, 4, & 4 watching out for signs of Santa.After our afternoon, evening, night filled with food, presents & great company we set out for home. Unfortunately Madeline had left her big pink hippo over @ grandmas. (Not bringing the hippo in the first place was the one struggle I just couldn't face on the journey of getting ready to go over with clean faces, wrapped presents, etc..) Madeline-after a long day- said there was no way she could ever sleep without it; we needed to turn around, yaddy yaddy yadda, we told her NO. She was very upset. Sam from the backseat re-assured her with, "Santa sees you, he knows that you left your hippo, he will probably just swing by grandmas house first & then drop it off when he comes to our place". Sigh. So phone calls were made & the drop off was completed...Santa left pink hippo by her stocking. Noah Baker on his way to wake up the big kids

*Sam (7) asked Santa for a Wolverine (Marvel comic book hero) costume or action figure*Madeline (4) had asked Santa for a tiger cub that purred when she would pet it or super hot pink SPY GEAR to spy on her brother SamHere she is with her spy gear and her tiger that purrrrrrrs...Zoe Ferguson is what she named the tiger cub *Noah Baker (2.5) asked Santa for a big red monster truck. Santa did not disappoint...it was a marvelous Christmas morning. We had guessed they would let us sleep until about 6AM & that is when Noah came in; I had just turned the coffee pot on when Sam stumbled through the kitchen. We told him to wake up Madeline & we will get started...suddenly it was 6:02AM & we were knee deep in tape & wrapping paper.By 7AM it was all over...

Bone Crusher

Sam's artwork for the day: Bigfoot Bone Crusher

This complete package is sold with:

*Emergency self destruct button
*Turbo boosters
*Full screen TV
*Satellite with two remotes
*Super fire pack
*Super turbo engine
*Tires that will go through and over everything
*Jumping abilities including tar pits
*Can break through buildings
*Tires that are 7-feet-tall
*Shoot laser beams
*The actual truck bed is 10-feet-tall
*Monster traction
*Has defense weapon like a saber tooth
This truck is related to 'Grave Digger' and 'Big Foot'; they are both very big monster trucks...

The End

remembering the ice-storm last year

With the weather report stating:

Thursday Night
Periods of light rain...light freezing rain in the evening...then periods of light freezing rain...light snow... sleet and light rain showers after midnight. Not as cold. Ice accumulation of up to less than one quarter of an inch. Lows in the mid 20s. East winds 5 to 15 mph shifting to the north 10 to 15 mph after midnight. Chance of precipitation 90 percent.

You can't help but think back to last December...pictures from the back yard:

The lilac bush bent over the lane almost to Mrs. Houghton's driveway...

balanced breakfast

So it's Saturday. 5:46 AM. I had hosted the Women's Auxiliary Meeting the night before. I didn't crawl into bed until the 2's. So in my sleepy state I remember looking at the clock & hearing Sam say to Madeline, "Let's just make a balanced breakfast and we won't have to wake up Mommy." "Yeah!"...she says. I'm awake, after hearing about a healthy breakfast thoughts of eggs, frying pans, toaster burns, the fridge left open for the next 30 minutes somehow kept me up. I just stayed in my spot & listened to what happened next. Sam very carefully instructed Madeline to get out the jelly, he will get out the bread & peanut butter. I hear Sam in the cabinet, I hear the PB being placed on the counter & then there was silence. I was expecting to hear the cabinet door shut, Sam hop down, etc... next I hear the loud crinkle of what sounded like a bag of chips. I hear the fridge shut, Madeline proudly announcing, "I have the jelly!" And then Madeline, "Ooooooh yummy! Do we get Cheetos?! " Sam says, "Yes, but we have to be very careful to not have handfuls, and we have to count out ten Cheetos very slowly, and put them on our plate in a row, and then we have to eat them last; because we have to have our healthy sandwich first." So I hear Sam getting the plates; Madeline is reaching for what sounds like utensils for spreading PB & J. I don't hear any crinkle of the chip bag for a few minutes. Once it sounded like all was done & they were digging in I got out of bed, walked into the kitchen, grabbed the camera & took a picture. I told Sam that his breakfast looked amazing.
He said it might make the menu at Sam's Diner. He's currently thinking of a name for it.

george

So this is George. Georgie. Curious George. George of the Jungle. George Frosty Ferguson is his actual name. Santa came a bit early this year & left us a tiny-tot-toy-rat-terrier.

Sam & George get along swimmingly; Sam is old enough to handle him with the perfect amount of fragility and fun.

Dad flew back late Friday night for the funeral; he is staying in Tarkio & came over Sunday to spend the day with the kiddos. It was wonderful to see him & fun for the kids to share George with Grandpa Curt.

Noah Baker & George have a great you chase me & I will chase you relationship. I can see that these two may get into some mischief...

Miss Madeline reading to George, going over their homework. She was actually singing one of her many daily songs about her brothers. :)

Santa

This morning we were pumped to see Santa...today! Izik was not so thrilled.

The time had finally come. We had filled our day with as much ice-cube painting as we could do in one day. We needed to go see Santa.

Madeline is just unsure what to think in general...

Hmmmm...

Madeline writing her secret Christmas list for Santa, on it she said, "A real pony".

Better luck next time~

This was my e-mail earlier today to my local MS Society chapter...

"This spring will be my second MS Walk here in Maryville.

I am eager to help out & most importantly I am anxious to support the Society's efforts with enthusiasm. Having participated in the past with K.C. walks I was disappointed with the lack of morale last year. Granted...it was snowing...but even more reason to give it our all! Though people on the street can not identify me as someone living with MS, it is impossible to separate this disease from my identity. For me, MS means an inability to decipher the slightest touch. Weakness in my right hand has changed all. MS is my wedding band slipping off because of my numb finger, and it's difficulty hooking my bra, using buttons and zippers. It was receiving a cane at 25 and needing Depends upon occasion at 30. I can identify and would love to volunteer my time; it's enthusiasm we need...and I've got it!"

I spoke with the new representative via phone for my local chapter regarding the upcoming (April is "upcoming" if you can believe that!) local Walk. He had called me. He asked if I had established my team yet & thanked me for participating last year, "those people with MS in your area really appreciate it" he stated. He thanked me for my offer to help, but assured me that there was a committee that has it all taken care of. I stated again, that I am happy to help with anything-doesn't need to be glamorous, it can be behind the scenes, I'm just happy to do so. Again me reassured me, at this point humbling me, that he will keep me in mind.

In that one quick very minor humbling moment I was reminded that I may not be the perfect fit for this occasion. And with that I'm glad that my first life reaction is, "What?! Not me? It can't be! But I'd be so great at that!" I much rather be surprised when I fail rather than expect life to always hand me lemons. Why never try? Why just assume that you won't 'get it' or that you 'can't'? Why just assume you aren't ready, qualified, capable, fearful of something new, fearful of rejection, just fearful. So thank you to all my Balcony People for helping instill that, "Of course I can do/try!" attitude.

So I will go on, and I will do my own community awareness and fundraising. And who knows, maybe they have all their ducks in a row & this walk will be amazing...regardless; I will be there and I will have a smile on my face & I will hand the MS volunteer the cow bell and show her the happy dance that she will need to do when I turn in my contribution form. This excitement was lacking last year. Maybe I will bring in my own happy dance background music.

night time cough...

Madeline came down with a nasty cough Wednesday night. So Thanksgiving was spent her & I starting our Christmas decorations & eating pancakes for lunch. The boys went over for the family Thanksgiving Feast & brought us home lots of delicious left-overs. Last night Madeline was having a really hard time breathing/coughing; so first Rob took her outside to sit on the swing while I was getting the boys ready for bed. We were hopeful that the cold air might help her breathing...

That seemed to help for a little while; but once she crawled into bed she was just miserable. Rob took a blanket, the humidifier, two small stools & the two of them were in a vaporizing tent.

She thought is was silly so it took her mind off of feeling miserable; meanwhile Rob was sweating buckets while having a great 'facial steam'.
It really helped quite a bit. I made Madeline some tea & while Sam was watching all the action from the top bunk he wanted to try some tea. I gave him a sip. In hindsight I so wish I had the camera to catch his facial expression during his sip of tea. Needless to say, I think it will be awhile before he will participate in tea-drinking.

The vapo-tent seemed to do the trick; she was starting to get very sleepy again...

4.5 years and a guitar later...

Today Madeline was strumming along, a song she had written herself, it had brothers in it, cookies & I think a "time-out" or two. The hat came first, and then as if it occurred to her that her outfit couldn't possibly be complete...came the guitar.
A picture of Mom around 2 years...