A New Name

As I reflect on my latest blog entries, I'm realizing that I've unintentionally taken this blog in a new direction.

When I first started blogging a few years ago, my main purpose was to have a pace to share some of my photos. But I quickly realized i had plenty to talk about in my life, so I shared whatever random things I thought friends and family would want to know about.

If you're a regular reader of the blog, you'll know that it died down a bit when I found facebook and realized that it was much easier to keep up with the people I care about, that way, rather than through the blog.

Then, as our family entered our new journey of adoption, it occured to me, that I'll be wanting to write more than just a little status update now and then. Hence, The Revivial Of The Blog.

Now, as I write, I find myself thinking less about the day-to-day, and more about the journey of my heart. So... I've decided to change the title of my blog to better reflect where my thoughts are leading. I'm happy to have you join me as I travel on this journey. Maybe we can learn a thing or two together. :)

keeping up with the times

Well, i've gone & done it. Chris took me out last night & bought me a new fancy pants cell phone, to replace my dinky tracfone. We will be cancelling our home phone w/in the next couple days, so if you need my new phone number be sure to let me know! :)

The Night Life

When we got our dog, we put her food outside, right under our bathroom window. Shortly after, we realized we were going to have to bring the food inside every night, to protect it from the many animals who wanted to share with Shasta. What usually happens, though, is that we forget, until we hear an animal crunching the food outside, & then we have to scare them away, so we can grab the food really quick. Well, the other night, i looked outside, & found this guy.

He refused to be scared away! i made noises to scare him, & he just came closer! at one point, he started to walk away (finally!), so i opened the door to grab the food. As soon as he heard the door open, he turned around & came back! i'm sure he would've walked right into the house, if i had let him! this is him, standing on his hind legs to get a better look at me, while I took his picture through the window.

Over the last week or so, Ricky Raccoon has been replaced by a cute little Pepe le Pew. (I'm not about to take pictures of him! He might spray me!) and once, he brought his whole family of about five skunks! The other night, after we scared him away once, I looked out the window, to investigate a little noise outside. There was Pepe le Pew, having a stand off with Ricky! Pepe was fiercely guarding the food, so Ricky wouldn't get to it. Finally after several flicks of the tail, & some scratching at the ground from Pepe, Ricky turned around & walked away. I was kind of surprised, since raccoons are known to be kind of agressive. But i guess nothing compares to a little spritz of Stink.

a serendipitous misfourtune

You would think, that because I live in a beach town, I go to the beach all the time. But the unfortuante thing about *living* in a vacation area is that you're not vacationing. In the ten and a half years that I've lived here, I've probably been to the beach less than twenty times. Mainly because it's a pain to deal with four kids & all their stuff & all the sand they come home with. Again, not a big deal when you're vacationing, but a very big deal when you have a day's worth of To Do's, to do. I *have* decided, however that *this* summer, i'll actually spend some time at the beach. Now that my kids are a little older & can take care of themselves a little more, I think it will be easier to venture out.

So anyway.... yesterday, just as I was sitting down to do school with the kids, when my mom (who's in town for awhile) called to tell me that she was at the beach & had locked her keys in the car. So I loaded up all the kids & we ran out the door, in whatever we were wearing, to pick her up. Instead of going home, she decided to have a tow truck come unlock the car. As she was talking to them on the phone, we drove to starbucks & picked up some yummy drinks, & then drove back to the beach to wait for the tow-guy, who was about an hour away.

While we waited, kids went and splashed in the waves, - zachy & evy stripped down to their undies, & Chloe wearing a very serious black dress with fur trim - what a sight! And Mom and I forgot about all of the many things we had to do that day, and relished the moment. What a special time, for us, being forced to sip starbucks on the beach, & enjoy eachother's company. :)

I definately need to make it a point to go to the beach more often.

poor evy

So our family has started a sunday evening tradition of going up to a cliff over the ocean & watching the sunset. It's always beautiful & peaceful. But every day at the end, when the very last little drop of sun disappears behind the mountains, Evy busts into tears because she can't see the sun anymore. it's just so dang cute! :)

Checking In

Lots going on in my life right now, which is why i haven't had much time to post. Kinda funny...when i have lots of time to write, there's nothing exciting to talk about. but when i have lots to tell you about, there's not time. :)

So... our friends who are going to England as missionaries have been delayed, so they've come to live in our house, until they can get their visas in order. I've really enjoyed this whole communal living thing. :) They have 2 little girls, 5 and 2; and all the kids just love playing together. And Shelley and I have someone to keep eachother company while we do the housework. Then in the evening, after all the kids are in bed, we hang out & play games. so fun! :) But until they leave, i'm just not going to have as much time on the computer.

In other news, we went to Yosemite last weekend & had a blast. We spent 6 hours hiking 4.5 miles up (& down) a waterfall. it was a LOT of work & got a bit dangerous in a few places, but it was SO fun!! Most impressive, is Zachary who did all that hiking w/out anyone carrying him! the next day, he informed us that he didn't want to do it again, because his "feet just got so tired, and I was so sweaty" :)

Here's a picture of us, after hiking 1 mile to the bottom of the waterfall, before starting the BIG hike. See how we all look happy and energeitc? :)

We took a break about half-way through our hike. This waterfall is just above the one that we were hiking to.
Here it is! vernal waterfall! If you look closely, you can see the double rainbow at the bottom. :)

More pictures to come. :)

This weekend, i'm going to a Ladies' retreat at church. i'm looking forward to that. I always enjoy getting away & having time to myself. I'm taking a car full of 4 other women, so we should have lots of fun. :)

And on the church subject, we've started anther class, going through the book, "Emotionally Healthy Spirituality" by Peter Scazzero. The title makes me cringe, but i think it's going to be really good.

In addition to all that, Mom's planning to come back next Friday. She's feeling like she needs to be here to help take care of Grandma. She's planning to stay here for several weeks. I'm looking forward to seeing her again. :)

That's about it everything, in a nutshell. Some day my life will slow down a little more, & i'll have the time to check all of your blogs, & update this one more frequently. :)

a happy birthday, and other things

what a crazy busy month we've had! sorry i haven't been posting much. i've started several posts, but never had the opportunity to finish them. Last Thrs. was Chris' birthday. He worked part of the morning & then took us to Diseneyland w/some friends. Came home late that night. lots of fun, but tiring. Sunday evening, we left right after chruch, for a track day. we brought our same friends with us and enjoyed a nice mini-trip with each other. here's a photo of chris:

Mom's been in town for the last few weeks. My grandma was recently diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease. The doctor doesn't expect her to live more than a year. But Grandma's praying that God will heal her. Mom canceled her flight home last Monday to stay an extra week with Grandma.

In addition to all that, we've had a few very fun game nights; lot's of VERY late night talks with our new friends; lots of prayer and seeking God for his call on our life; and lots of time serving at church (those of you who know us well, understand what a miracle that is, in itself!).

I could probably write a novel just about what's been going on with us in the last month, but that's a very brief summary in a VERY small nutshell. feel free to call or email if you'd like more details. :)

Happy Birthday!

Today is my blog's birthday. my first post was one year ago today. makes me feel all weepy and sentimental.

update: Mom emailed & asked why I was being weepy & sentimental. So i thought i'd put your minds at ease & let you know that I was just being sarcastic. :)

Rubbing it in

For those of you who are sick of your ice cold winter, and are waiting desperately for spring, I thought I'd let you know that it was 80 degrees here yesterday. :~P

Is four a lot?

I get my share of people asking me questions about my kids, like, "are they all yours?" and that doesn't phase me much. when you have four little kids running around in every direction, it can seem like a lot. But today... we ran into a man at the pet store, & he asked if they were all mine (in a much more incredulous voice than most people), and when I said yes, I think he was truly shocked. And then he said, "you need to be taking more cold showers!" (can you believe it??) but it didn't stop there.

"Are you Catholic"

"no."

"a good little Mormon girl?"

"nope." (if I were a bad Mormon, would that make a difference?)

akward pause while he tries to figure out why on earth anyone would have "so many" children.

Finally I said, "We just love children."

that shut him up.

but sheesh! It's only four kids! it's not like I had 15 or 10 or even 6! And later in the conversation, he tells me how he had 3 boys. so what's the big difference between 3 and 4?

Anyway... like I said, lots of people comment on my "many" children, but this guy's tone of voice & attitude showed that was really bothered by it.

When he asked if they were all mine, I shoulda said, "Yes... all but this one, I just found her in the next isle over. I think she'll make a great pet, don't you?" >:)

She went walking and leaping and praising God!

Most of you are familiar with my neice, Katie. When she was born with severe brain damage, the doctors only gave her a year to live. But Jesus & Katie didn't think that was quite long enough. So Katie blessed our family with her presence for many years.

A little over 15 years later, on December 28th, Jesus decided that Katie's work on earth was done, and freed her from her body, so she can join the dancing in heaven. :)

Wish I could shimmy like sister Kate....

Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh

last night, as we were getting ready to go to a meeting at church, all our sinks got backed up & water started pouring out of the dishwasher. We got it all under control, & planned to call the plumber this morning. But before we had the chance, it all errupted from the dishwasher again. The plumber came out & de-clogged our pipes, & looked under the dishwasher to see if there was any damage to the wood floors. while he was looking, he discovered that our dishwasher is leaking, which he won't fix. So we have to call an apliance guy to come take care of the. Also, there's no water *under* the dishwasher, but it's gotten under our sink cabinet. And we can't get to it unless we cut a hole in the bottom of the cabinet. So it's just sitting there, seeping into the wood floors. and it's not just any water... it's stinky, garbage disposal, been-sitting-all-night water. And every time i walk near the sink, the stinky water seeps out between the cracks of wood. The plumber was very encouraging & let me know that the smell is just going to get worse.

So, for any of you who were thinking of getting hardwood floors (heather) i would be sure *not* to put it anywhere that might get wet, like your kitchen.

On a lighter side, I told the plumber how i have the utmost admiration for plumbers & how they deal with other people's nastiness for a living. So he was kind enough to share his most disgusting experience with me, which was at the morgue. Since I've never dealt with the business of death before, he explained that they have an embalming table where they drain people's body fluids & cut their hair & fill them with embalming fluid. Well, apparently, the table drain got clogged & he was called out to fix it. He said it's the only time he had to run outside & gag because the smell was so bad. YUCK!

Other names...

okay... here's another fun one... thanks, Linda. :)

1. YOUR REAL NAME:
Karina \

2 YOUR GANGSTA NAME:
Karizzle

3. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (fav color and fav animal)
Lavender Dolphin ooh.. sounds more "hippy" then detective. :)

4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME):
Anne Freeman

5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: Vankajau

6. YOUR SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd fav color and fav drink)
Green Hot Chocolate? eew!

7. YOUR WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother's middle name, and father's middle name)
Lois Louis. hee-hee

8. YOUR GOTH NAME: (black, and the name of one of your pets)
It's a toss-up between Black Bubbles, Black Hermie, and Black Bob

Picture Day!

Every year, we go to The Picture People to get our photos done. They're not the best in the world, but they have cute poses & they're cheap. I get a membership every year which gives me lots of discounts. Well, our membership was going to expire in a couple weeks, so i called to make an appointment, & found out that they closed down! Well, i've got no clue where else to go, so we decided that just for the year, we'd drive an hour & a half away, to the nearest picture people, so we could use up our discounts.

anway... thought you'd like to see the pictures.

These are from last year:

And this year:

Zachy was very shy. Every time the camera people got him to smile or laugh, he would turn his head & hide. Finally, i told him that I'd give him a penny if he smiled. :)

Me & Chris pretending to love each other. :) They told us to kiss. I held it for about 3 seconds & then burst out laughing. I mean, really. How long could *you* sit there & pretend to kiss with a camera in your face? made a cute picture, though. --way better than the kissing one.

And Evy finally smiles!

Very Cool

Mom just sent me this video. So creative!! I would suggest watching it "big screen." If you click on the picture, it'll take you to youtube, & then you can view it large from there.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Costco been selling Christmas items for about a month now. The kids & I have taken to singing Christmas carols through the aisles every time we go. But the rule is that it's only Christmas when we're on those aisles, so we have to stop singing as soon as we walk out. :)

The Problem With Namesakes -or- The Psychology of a Name

we, in America tend to reserve The Middle Name as a place of honor. If there's someone you admire, but don't really care for their name, you just stick it in after your child's first name, and whenever your child asks, you can tell them all about the great person that they share names with. In theory, this is a great idea.

But here's the problem:

All you moms out there know that the only time you really use a middle name is to give you some more syllables to say when you're child is in trouble & you're trying to get their attention. So the only time your child hears this name of honor is in a negative context. This certainly doesn't go very far to nurture feelings of admiration for The Distinguished Person.

And the other problem, which I'm facing now: We gave Evelyn the middle name of Jan, after my mom. Not only does she have a place of honor in my life, but she's my MOM. --you know, like the person you never talk back to, no matter how mad you are. So there's Evelyn, getting into trouble, and I'm snapping, "Evelyn Jan! you stop that this second!" (or something to that effect) And every time i use that tone of voice with the name, *JAN*, something just grates on me. And instead of feeling strong and authoritative, i feel like *I* should be getting in trouble for talking to my mom like that. It's very disturbing. It even bothers Chris.

So I have a new idea. Instead of naming our children after the people we love & admire, we should name them after someone bad... I think if I said, "Evelyn Jezebel!" it would add a little extra umph to my "mean mommy voice". And every time she heard, "Jezebel," she'd think "man, I don't want to be like that!"

OR, we could only say their middle name at positive times, "oh, Evelyn Jan! it was so thoughtful of you to give all of your candy to your brother." and then when they get in trouble, and we need a lot of syllables, we can just throw in as many middle names as we need to, to make an impact. like: "Evelyn John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt don't you ever throw scissors at the cat again!"

A is for Apple

This week, in school, the kids are learning about apples. So when I was at the store today, I bought one of every kind of apple. Then I brought them home, and we tried a little bit of each. It was very fun. It's really interesting how different each apple tastes. Had a been a good homeschooling mom, we would have charted how they tasted, what they looked like, and which ones tasted best. But I didn't think of that until affter the apples had been eaten.

But here's what *I* found out, for any of you may be hunting for the perfect apple:

Royal Gala: Delish! :~P crisp and sweet, w/an extra fun little extra taste that I can't describe. My favorite.

Southern Rose: also crisp and sweet. my 2nd favorite

Braeburn: mildly sweet and sour. And not as crisp

Honey crisp: crisp and tart - but not like a Granny Smith.

Granny Smith: crisp and SOUR --Gideon's favorite. :)

Red Delicious: used to be my favorite until I tasted the first two. Compared to them, it's only a little bit sweet. --but on the bland side. Crisp.

Fuji: used to be another favorite, but compared to the others, it's soft and a little bland --just a touch of sweetness.

Pacific Rose: my least favorite. crisp but very bland. No point in tasting that one. --which was disappointing, since it was one of the most expensive in the store.

Gideon enjoys his Granny Smith

A challenge

I just joined a new group in flickr called "The Six Word Story" The idea is to title your picture with a six word story. Here's a clip from their page:


Ernest Hemingway was once prodded to compose a complete story in six words. His answer, personally felt to be his best prose ever, was "For sale: baby shoes, never used." Some people say it was to settle a bar bet. Others say it was a personal challenge directed at other famous authors.


This was very thought provoking to me. What great stories can *you* tell in six words?

celebrate

happy Vegetarian Wednesday! ;~)