is it worth it??

Thanks to inspiration from my good friend, Sandy,

I decided to try Walgreens again.
~
Tyler went with me
(a date, you know)
so we were able to use 2 - $10 coupons.
When it's all said and done
I spent $15.76
and got
$68.71 worth of stuff - tax included.
Which
is pretty good, I think.
Not nearly so good as most people write about,
but nothing to sneeze at.
~
Here's where it gets tricky, though.
I spent well over an hour trying to figure out what to buy.
We spent another hour in the store trying to find everything.
Then
another half hour at the register....
feeling my stress levels rising....
We will use everything we bought,
but we certainly didn't need all of it.
so
is it worth it?
at this stage of my life
I honestly don't know.
Right now,
my time is every bit as valuable
as Tyler's hard-earned money.
I'd really like to make it work
but
I've sure got to get faster
and
so do those darned cashiers!

space

we’re shrinking
~
I set the table yesterday evening
for just our family;
we’ve had guests for every sit-down meal since ‘the weddin’.
(‘Set the table’
what an odd phrase!)
Anyways
we had way too much empty space!
So much so
that we could actually
take out the leaf
for the first time in years.
I won’t.
Mostly cause I’m lazy that way
but
our in-house family
would fit comfortably
at a measly
5 foot table.
That sorta makes me sad.
*sigh*

presenting....

Mr & Mrs. Luke H----

All throughout the planning
and re-planning
of the wedding
we kept reminding ourselves of what was important:
that Luke and Lana get legally married
that God was glorified
and that people
(both guests and the bride & groom)
be blessed.
I'm pretty sure all of the above happened.
~
Thank you Lord, for your faithfulness

I want to look at my flower

The flowers are here!

We all pitched in to cut the stems

and get them in water quickly.

Lana had to run to Paul's

to buy another bucket!

We've got about a thousand daisies

200 delicious smelling roses

and 100 belles of Ireland

FUN!

I had to call my sister

(she'll be arranging all these tomorrow)

to tell her our porch looked like a florist shop.

~

The weather was just perfect,

a bit cooler than it's been

and a gentle breeze.

nice!

~

I called the flower company

to find out if there was anything special I needed to do;

I certainly don't want to ruin

several hundred dollars worth of flowers!

In her Columbian accent,

she told me that they were exhausted from their travels

and 72 hours without a drink

and all I really needed to do

was give them water

and let them rest

in an air conditioned room for a few hours

before removing their 'jackets'.

I wondered if

perhaps

I should offer them a ginger ale, too.

the dress

is finished!

not quite the 'way ahead of time'

that I was going for

but

it's done nonetheless.

I'd do a happy dance

but I just don't have the energy

real

I do not consider myself to be a writer.

Oh, I dabble a little….

I once wrote an article for a little women’s magazine.

Never did submit it…..

I write this blog as a gift to my family

Memory stones, if you will.

I try to recount old memories while adding the new ones.

If other people enjoy reading our stories

well, I’m grateful

(although - I do wonder why?!)

Not terribly long ago

after reading one of my posts

Lana said,“That sounded just like Sharon Randall.”

Boy did I get the big head!

~

As her Mother’s Day gift to me this year

Lana bought tickets for us to see

Sharon Randall!

Her column appears in our Monday paper

and Lana and I both enjoy

both

her writing style

and

the content.

She just writes about life

and she does it in such a way

that her readers can really identify with her.

Several years ago

our newspaper subscription expired.

In a stupid move on the part of the SWTR,

Sharon’s column was no longer in our paper.

I couldn’t get a super deal to re-subscribe

(my limit is $1.50 a week, although I prefer $1)

So we just quit taking the paper;

without Sharon Randall on Mondays,

why bother?

~

Tyler asked me before we went

“So what is it about this Sharon Randall?

Is she some big conservative Christian writer?”

I thought a minute.

“She’s real.

She can make me laugh

and

cry.

Sometimes with the same article.

Is she super conservative?

I don’t know.

(she does live in Las Vegas of all places)

But I certainly think she’s a christian

and she's an excellent writer.”

~
We weren’t disappointed!

While we didn’t find Sharon to be an exceptional speaker

we did find her to be exactly as we expected.

Real.

She was gracious and humble.
She looked exactly like her picture.

She was funny.
I think she may have been a little frightened by our mayor.

But mostly

she was real.

Sharon shared something her grandmother always said:

Always be yourself.

Never pretend to be what you aren’t,

or to know what you don’t know.

~

One of the greatest compliments to me

is

“You are real”

(said in a positive tone, of course ;-)

Well,

that

and

“You write like Sharon Randall”

Thanks, Lana!
It was a great evening
and one of my best Mother's Day gifts.

the other dress

It's not nearly as important as THE dress
but still
for some reason
the mother of the bride
is supposed to have some really nice dress.
I kept waiting to shop
'cause
you know
I was going to loose a ton of weight
and be skinny
in like 2 weeks time.
hah
After getting fussed at for my stupidity
I started shopping
and shopping
and
shopping.
Have I ever mentioned I hate to shop?
and I really hate
to shop
for
clothes

for myself!
anyways
I finally found it.
~
my sweet friend Sara

took me yesterday.
After trying on several ugly dresses
I told her I'd save us some time
if I'd just quite trying on dresses
I didn't like.
I mean
what's the chance of
gagging while it's on the hanger
and loving it
once I got it on?!
At some point
she suggested I try petites.
Umm
I'm not that short!
ummm
maybe I am.
~
I wanted something
made of a shimmery fabric
'cause I didn't want any beads
that could scratch my sweet baby.
It is.
I wanted it to be something I could nurse in
without undressing in the bathroom.
It is.
I wanted something somewhat tailored
so I wouldn't look
any fatter than I am.
It is.
and if it wasn't too much of a bother
I wanted it to be comfortable.
It is.
Thank-you Lord for your provision.
I'm sorry I doubted.
oh
and I'm really sorry about not looking sooner.
~
and
thanks for precious friends!!

ahoy, matey

sailing the high seas

at DTC's Family Corporate Day last Saturday.

oddly enough

we were the only family that dressed up

wonder why?!

soothed

I am stressed.
I can not even begin to describe
how stressed I am.

~
I was standing by the sink
straining a batch of
Green Stuff
- as difficult as it is,
life goes on
even when your baby girl
is getting married in two weeks.
And when you are about to run out of green stuff
you have to make more
like it or not -
~
So anyways
I’m standing by the sink

pouring my oil through a strainer
t e n s e
reviewing
and adding to
my list of things to do.
And I hear it.

Water.
Rippling.
Like a fountain in the distance.

It was the swimming pool.
And I could feel myself loosening up.
~
Thanks, my love.
It wasn’t put in for me
And the timing was absolutely horrible
(who puts in a swimming pool
while simultaneously preparing for a wedding?!)
But it helped soothe me
when I was just about to go over the deep end.

sleeping beauty

She doesn’t really cry;
It’s barely even a fuss.
Just enough noise to let me know she’s a tad hungry.
I pull her warm sleepy body over
and kiss her sweet head

and tell her how much I love her.
I probably I shouldn’t.
I’m pretty sure all the ‘sleep experts’ say
to refrain

from kissing your baby in the middle of the night.

And I know they say to never talk to her!
But I can’t help it.
She’s just so yummy.
I usually end up kissing her several times.
Until she reminds
me with a nuzzle and a searching mouth
of why it is I’m awake and kissing her in the first place.
~
I don’t really mind the night nursings
Well
when the baby is waking up every 20 - 40 minutes
all night long
and takes longer to get back to sleep than he sleeps…..
that
gets old pretty fast
But
3-5 times a night
for just a quick
topping-off the tummy?
Doesn’t bother me much at all.
Sure
my sleep is interrupted.
But I’m usually more patient during the night
than I am during the day
when I’ve got a big ole’ list of things to do.
Someday soon
I won’t have any bald heads to smooch on in the middle of the night.
As much as I’d like a good 7 hour stretch of sleep
I’m going miss these
middle of the night
tank-fillings.
Both baby’s
and
mine.

my little satisfied sweetie

~

this is part of an e-mail

Tyler sent me in November of 2004

Jeremiah was almost 1.

He wasn't nearly as good of a sleeper as Lily is.

I'd been pregnant with Josiah

for about 4 months.

When I get tempted to be selfish

and want more sleep

I re-read it

Last night you and Jeremiah melted my heart.

You are so sweet to him.

I was so tired and my body hurt

(I am sure you could say the same thing).

Anyways, I was just laying there listening

to the most wonderful conversation between you both.

Thanks for taking such good care of him and

teaching him to be a loving person.

~

Thank-you, Tyler!

3 on the 3rd

I really struggled with having to have a c-section this time.
With Jeremiah, it wasn’t quite so bad;
I was just so thrilled to actually be having a baby
after years of secondary infertility
that having a cesarean was no big deal.
With Josiah
I was just as excited to be having a baby
but I really did not want him to have to go through
surgery
to get out.
God’s plan is so perfect
and babies benefit when they come the way He designed.
I begged my doctor to let me go naturally.
That was met with an absolute
not up for discussion
NO
If I’d merely had a previous c-section
I’d have argued with her
and insisted on a vbac.
But since I’d had a myomectomy
and had not found a single shred of evidence
that supported a vaginal delivery after uterine surgery
we went with her wisdom.
~
I knew something was up.
Six weeks before Josiah was due
Brandon and I were sitting on the floor in front of the fridge
watching Josiah do some amazing acrobatic stunts
in my belly.
After the show in the kitchen
I noticed Josiah didn’t move nearly as much as before.
I’m not a worrier
but it’s fair to say I was pretty concerned.
I’d lay down and do the kick test often.
He always moved just enough to pass the tests.

I felt like something wasn't

'right'
~
after Dr Lukasek cut me open
She started counting
One… two… three…
The umbilical cord was wrapped around Josiah’s neck
four times.
He very likely would not have survived natural childbirth.

Josiah is an absolute delight.
He’s not a people person like Jeremiah
but still
he makes everyone smile.
He is grateful.
He protects girls.
He likes to sing.
He adores his siblings
and is Papa’s shadow

Josiah

you are a treasure

and I love you to the moon

and back

Happy Birthday

the girl gets around

nothing is safe
anymore

~
yesterday

I found Lily

in the dog crate

and in the bathroom

~

and you can see

she's quite troubled

after

shutting herself in small spaces

NOT