Why Am I Sitting in This Computer Chair?

I drove all day yesterday, and today drove another 4 hours today to get the kids back to their dad's house. My joints are stiff and I am still a little saddle sore from Wednesday's horseback riding. I would post pictures, but I think my camera is out in the van, and I have no interest in going out to get it. I am waiting for my dear husband to return home. He is on his way back from Missouri a day behind me.

It will be so nice to be together in our own bed again. Last night when I got the kids home and into bed (around 10:30), I crashed and remember nothing until the alarm went off at 6:30--and I felt like I had hours yet to sleep. We were active and worked hard while we were with Mike's parents (that's what it takes to have a lot of fun) and our nights were fairly sleepless. We had the babies in our room, and they did not do well with all the commotion.

Once again, my tiny party animals want to be part of whatever is going on. Napping was very difficult for them, and when we were finally able to get them to sleep, it was on a king sized bed--that's safe, right? Nice and big. Amelia bailed onto the concrete and hit a nightstand or something on the way down. She's got a black eye. She's not a black guy. (Say it out loud and it will make sense, but you still won't get it because it is a private joke.)

Anyway, the weather was great, if not a little chilly. The work on the bed and breakfast continues (at 7 in the morning while we were trying to sleep in it). It will be great when it is up and running. I hope all of you who are remotely interested in Midwest LDS Church History vacations stop there in the future. Check the Far West Missouri link on the right for more info.

Like I said, we went horseback riding, played with the donkey, fed the pig, collected and ate eggs from the chickens (2 1/2 dozen deviled eggs for Thanksgiving), shot skeet--or tried, played Mexican Train dominoes, ate, made food, ate, made food, ate, wandered on 40 acres, made trips "to town" took turns babysitting, and hung out with Aunt Marissa, Grandma, and Grandpa.

Oh yeah, we went to see Twilight. That was just for the five of us who have read the book, but have not already seen it. (Grandma and Grandpa went to the midnight showing on opening.) The theater itself was a big part of the experience. It is such a small town that the movie theater is a corrugated metal warehouse with used seats from some other theater that had long since outgrown them. There were only two bathroom stalls made from 2x4's and pressed board (the not even plywood stuff.) It only took about 10 minutes in the theater to get used to the smell of urine--that or I just began to subconsciously think of the tiny town of Forks as a stinky place. As far as the movie itself, I didn't like Edward at all. He is unique looking, and acted well enough, but he's totally not my kind of gorgeous.

The movie stuck really close to the book, so if you like the book, you should like the movie. For a low budget, independent film it was great. I wish they had spent a little more money on getting a really good makeup artist. That may have been half of my problem with Edward. Anyway, it was fun going with Lexi, Emylie, and Marissa. Mostly, I loved being with my husband. It is so rare for us to be able to do things together. I love him. Speaking of which, he is still on his way home, and I am not quite ready for his arrival.

Hope you didn't miss me too much while I was gone. Good to be back with y'all.

Decorations Are Up

The kids were here this weekend for the last time before Thanksgiving. Since we will be in Missouri for that, and it will be another 2 weeks after that before we are all together again, it was time to do our traditional put-up-the-tree Family home Evening. This year the kids and I crocheted a garland, instead of stringing popcorn.

I am so in love with my tree. It is full of red bows that symbolize being eternally bound to God through the blood of Jesus Christ, which purifies us, symbolized by the white garland. I still haven't bought the candy canes, though that will be generously interspersed among the other ornaments. They, of course symbolize the shepherd's crook, reminding us that angels came to the shepherds, announcing the birth of the Christ, and that Christ is, himself, the Good Shepherd. The remaining decorations on the tree include glass balls that make me think of the "worlds without number" that God has created.

Then, through all that, are ornaments that represent the years of my life. Some were school projects made by my children. Some we made together. Some are from friends and family. Each reminds me of a moment in time in this little life of mine.

When the kids helped me put the tree up and decorate it, it made more of a mess than anything. This is what it looked like on Tuesday afternoon.

A short time later, it looked like this. Once again, you have encountered a rare opportunity to see my house.

The wall was red when we moved in. It worked out okay, so we have not changed it.

Still Growing

My babies are now tall enough to reach what is sitting on the edge of the table. We spent all day out yesterday, so they didn't get much sleep. We started Anastasia back on physical therapy. We took her to the craniofacial specialist to see if her head was lopsided enough to warrant a molding helmet. The answer was no (Yea!) She reinforced my opinion that the asymmetry on the back of her skull was not as bad as most torticolis babies because she was a tummy sleeper.

That is kind of a pet peeve of mine. The "back to sleep" SIDS campaign promotes back sleeping like it is the cure for SIDS, when so little is understood about the "disease." What is not explained in the campaign are the behavioral markers, etc that make it a real concern. Infants of a healthy weight, at birth and through gestation who have active neurological responses are at extremely low risk. Each parent has to evaluate the information and their children for themselves and make their own judgement. Skull formation was much more of a concern to me than SIDS (before I even knew Anastasia had torticolis) and she preferred sleeping on her tummy. On her back I was at risk for not being able sleep for any length of time. Having twins and a history of very negative effects of sleep deprivation on my mental and emotional well-being, I made the best choice for me and my children. The most important thing to remember about medical "recommendations" is that they are based on generalized and incomplete data. Parents have to make intelligent choices about what is best for their specific circumstances.

Anyway, the specialist recommended aggressive therapy to get Anastasia's tilt straightened out and thought that everything else was great. Christen is her therapist. They (everyone in the PT dept loves the twins) were so excited to have the babies back and were amazed how much they have changed in the month they were gone. They put Kinesia tape on her neck like you saw on a few of the Athletes during the Olympics. I totally don't get how it works. I just hope it means that it will help Anastasia be an awesome beach volleyball player. Okay maybe that is a distorted notion of causal relationships. Still...

Oh, we had our first frost here last Sunday. We are having a roller coaster of warm and cool days, but it is all fantastic, cool fall weather. We got snow last year, so I don't expect it this year.

What to Say?

I haven't blogged for a couple of days, so it't time again, but I don't really have much to say. It is an all-the-kids-are-here weekend. Isaac is on a scout campout, but I fear lest he be rained upon and his tent blow away. It is getting very cold and windy out there. I did not realize how cold it was until I dropped him off. He should have brought an extra blanket.

A friend gave us a copy of the new World of Warcraft expansion. He is a devious, devious man, and I question the genuineness of his friendship, but I feel for his wife and will ever sympathize with her plight as a lonely WOWdow.

This weekend we are putting up the Christmas tree. Next weekend the kids will be here, we will hopefully be in MO for Thanksgiving, and we don't want to wait an additional 2 weeks after that, or I might as well be married to my ex who thought Christmas should wait for the passage of his birthday on Dec 7. Perish the thought!

In closing, there must be something I can say to remind you what a precious delight my babies are. Ah, yes. We have graduated to the forward facing car seat. They are now 10 months old and are demonstrating all the necessary skills to be part of our family (dance, rythm, and musicianship --on multiple instruments and voice, as well as remarkable intelligence with hints of athleticism).

I shall now go watch Napolean Dynamite, already in progress.

Day Trip With Kids

This weekend has been pretty full. I know it's Wednesday, but I was on a roll and didn't want the weekend to stop.

I was supposed to have the kids this weekend, but Emylie had an all-region choir concert (middle school) in East Texas in the town I lived in before I got married two and a half years ago. Rather than bringing them to Dallas, I picked them up from their dad and we had a day together--except for Emylie who was in rehearsals. We had a picnic in the park and played on the playground. Babies got to swing go down slides, and ride Merry-go-rounds. We went to the train station, played in a caboose, and watched the people load on and off the Amtrak. We just happened to be in the right place at the right time. We drove by the old house, which still hasn't resold, even with a paint job because it is such a crappy structure. It is a great house, but it has so many problems. I got to see the flowers I had planted were still thriving.

It was funny going back. The kids were a little nostalgic. "Oh! I remember that when we always used to..." But the first thing they said was something to the effect that I had sure moved up. It really is a crappy little forgotten town. There is a lot of work going on to renew it, but you have to have an entire community who cares, and when 3/4 of the population is in poverty, there just are not enough resources to care.

When I got to Emylie, it was 20 minutes before she had to be lined up to get onstage. That was just enough time for me to find out that she needed black shoes and a skirt, which were not available at her dad's house. Fortunately, I knew where Wal-Mart was, dashed there, found the necessary items plus a dressy shirt for under $20 in 20 minutes. She was in the front row (I don't make tall kids). I was so glad to have been able to be there for her.

Afterward we went out for dinner and ate the pumpkin pie I had brought, which I spent an entire day making from scratch (including boiling down a pumpkin), because that is what Emylie always gets for her birthday. I gave her some art supplies as well. She has taken to sculpting. She is doing it "professionally" because her friends are willing to pay for the dragons she is making.

Isaac made it through a whole grading period at the top of his game. We are thrilled that high school has brought some maturity and responsibility. Funny thought: I have found a huge percentage of my friends from Whittell high school on Facebook. Many of them were freshmen when I was a senior. I now have a child that is the age I remember them.

Claire and Andrew are having a little trouble being away from mom as much as they are.

Babies just woke up, and I didn't do what I wanted to do while they were napping. Ah, well, such is the life of a domestic administrator.

Lighter

Political season is over. No more heavy discussions. This blog isn't about the big world, its about my little world and what matters most to me, so you get to see pictures today! Cheers, and Bottoms up!

Two weekends ago I mentioned a trampoline campout with the kids. Claire, Emylie and Lexi's friend Lynzee are on the trampoline. Mikey and Andrew are trying to cause mischief underneath it.

I don't know where Lexi was at this exact moment--probably getting more bedding. We brought out most everything we had so they would be super-snug.

It is fall here. These are the dazzling colors of our changing leaves. Okay, so its not New England. And, by the way, this is my new house. I also have.......a shrubbery! I don't like it. My arms and back were very sore from cutting it down by a third with loppers. No I don't have a hedge saw. Maybe I'll get one for Mother's day. Hopefully not, I'm just thinking of the year I got a lawn edger. Mike, however is not that kind of guy. Maybe we'll get one for Isaac for his birthday ;)
You will have to click on the picture to full size it to see my Halloween decoration on the porch. That pumpkin is now on a pot on my stove waiting to be mushed into pie filling.

Emylie had her birthday on Sunday, but this weekend is when we have her. She always gets a pumpkin pie 100% from scratch from me for her B-day. She is 13 and a full-on teenager. She is an amazing young woman. She has a profound intellect, being a studious observer. Her ability to observe makes her an outstanding artists. She is loyal to her friends and family and prefers one-on-one conversation to large social gatherings.

I heard a thunk and a fuss, but by the time I got there, there the sadness was gone. Amelia figured out how to climb into the toy box. Anastasia loves her toy sister.

Change

Yes, I'm very disappointed. I am anxious (in the anxiety sense) about what the future holds. However, I am calm and resigned.

Before McCain nominated Palin for VP, I had no interest in him, except as opposition to Obama. I expected that Republicans could not hold on to the Presidency with approval where it has been. It is just the cycle of politics.

The great advantage to Obama's win is that Mitt Romney can run again in 4 years, where if McCain won, he would run again in '12, and if he won Palin would be a shoe-in canditate in '16, blocking up 2 elections minimum, and possibly 3. And if there were that may succesive terms of Republican rule, America could not possibly sustain support for another term. As is, we get a break from the Republicans and get reminded of what America is like under Dem's, so we can appreciate a need for Republican balance.

Some are concerned that Obama meets the description of the Anti-Christ in Revelation. I am not convinced of that. I do find it interesting that in our post 9-11 world our country selected someone with some Muslim background and sympathies. I don't think that is wrong, as much as it is an interesting commentary about our perception of differences and enemies. During the Cold War and before, there was a national hype that was government and media supported about who was a danger to our country. If you even went to a meeting a communist attended, there was a huge shadow over your head, and you were considered a threat to national security.

Perhaps the McCain campaign percieved that Americans were still subject to communist hysteria (20 years after the end of the cold war, making legal voters who never knew that world) and reasoned that questioning Obama's associations would create fear and suspicion as in years past. They failed miserably in the campaign on so many counts.

I am glad we don't have that sort of xenophobic hype or stereotyping prejudice any more. But now it is like we are not allowed to have enemies. I am not talking about Muslims here, but Jihadists who have declared war on us. The social standard of tolerence need not apply there.

Obviously, I am no longer talking about Barack Obama. He is not a professed Muslim. Rev. Wright's church was bible based (if only tenuously). Yes we need to love everyone and accept their differences. What is tragic is the extrapolation beyond that that it is not okay to disagree with others; to stand up for your personal convictions. The extrapolation worsens to a modern philosophy that there is no right or wrong to defend or fight against, respectively. If we would just give up all our ideals and convictions or avoid sharing them we could have world peace, the philosophy continues. Loving the sinner means being required to love sin. Loving our international neighbor means accepting opressive leaders in the name of peace. Again I stray from my original topic to clarify that when I think of social demand for acceptance of sin, I am thinking of things like homosexuality and abortion, which I certainly don't associate with Muslims or even terrorist who abhor those sins as well. The whole philosophy I am discussing at this point is radical leftist atheism (which with the modern doctrine of evolution--not Darwinian evolution--to me qualifies as a religious creed.)


Back to my original intent: Dennis Miller said on Monday that if Obama won he would not spend the next 4 years bad-mouthing the president, even though he is a 100% McCain supporter. He is tired of criticism and negativity. I totally agree. Of course, since the media is always more kind to a Democrat, it won't be too much of a problem. Still we can only weaken our country by being more unkind to and critical of our leaders than we are of our enemies--even when our leaders have brought us to victory over our enemies. Sickening.

It is time to heal and pray that despite liberal leadership, the body of Americans will have an increasing sense of morality and decency. Our economic future depends on it. The over-riding theme of the Book of Mormon is 'Inasmuch as you keep the commandments of God, living with faith in Jesus Christ who should come, you shall prosper in the promised land of the Americas.'

There is much more to be said about that, but I have micro concerns of my own for today.

Revealed

I was sustained yesterday as the Ward Music Director. I had been substituting in Primary, leading the childrens music as a long term sub and was loving that. I was hoping that I might permanently be called to that. Instead, I have to work with the adults. I am supposed to select songs for the main congregational meeting, direct them, and select special numbers as well as direct the choir.

This is the first calling I have had (including Visiting Teaching) since before the babies were born. I am really glad to be doing something. I think people think it is so hard to have twins that they have been afraid to ask anything of me. Silly. In fact, that probably contributed to my decision to write a religious themed musical theater production. I was really tired of not doing anything and decided it was time to take initiative myself, and not wait to be asked. Now I have that on my plate and have been given an additional assignment. But when it is something you love, it never feels like work.

Ugh! I Cheated Myself

I am sitting here dressed, hair fixed, makeup and Cookie Lee accessories ;) on with an hour before we have to be at church, which gives me time to feed and bathe babies and remind my husband about 20 times that it is time to get ready.

But thank goodness I had a little extra time to check my computer before the babies woke up because the clock indicates that I have TWO hours to be ready for church. Of COURSE it's daylight savings time! I could have slept another hour. My blessed husband, who did not go to sleep until 3;30 because he was playing World of Warcraft gets a one hour respite from my nagging. I get to blog, the babies get a long bath, and the rest of the kids will just be doing what they would anyway at the homes of their other parents.

Yesterday I went to the CORSA club meeting with Mike and the babies, Cash (who is the actual member of the club) Arren and Scott. CORSA is for owners and afficcianados of Corvairs. Again, everybody loved the babies, not only because they are adorable, and there are two of them, but they are magnificently behaved. One of the ladies chatted with me for at least 15 minutes about her grandsons and aunts who were twins.

Somebody said to me when I was pregnant with the twins, "When you have twins, you have to listen to everybody's twin stories." It's true. Everybody knows twins are cool, and they want to let you know that they are somehow connected to that coolness. "I have sisters who are twins." My aunt... My brother-in-law... My best friend's sister had twins. My godson married a twin. etc, etc. It doesn't bother me, and I don't blame them. You kind of get the same effect with pregnancy, but because it is more common than twins, there is not quite the degree of fervor.

It is Fast Sunday and I have plenty of time to think about how I'm not eating breakfast. I am fasting for God to guide Americans as they make their decisions about the presidency and other leadership. Time to let the babies splash in the tub.