Family

We had an extended family dinner at my Grandpa Horrock's house last night.  It was so enjoyable to see everyone and to catch up on each other's lives.  My kids don't see their cousins very often and so they had a great time visiting with each other as well.  

The kids were all fascinated with a "really old telephone" in the basement and they all had to take turns 'dialing' their homes.  I guess one child thought it would be cool to dial 911 to see if that works too.  It did.  

After calling our house, Isaac came upstairs to tell me all about it.  "Mom!  There is this really old phone downstairs that you have to stick your finger in the hole with the number you want and turn the dial!  And it works!  It is so sweet!"  

Sitting in my grandparent's living room, brought back so many memories.  Looking around the room at all of my family members, it was very evident how much time has passed, although it seems like just yesterday that I was a little girl fighting to be the one who got to sit near the heater vent (it put out so much heat and felt sooooo good to my year round cold hands!) or trying to keep out of the pathway of one of my three uncles who teased me mercilessly about being so skinny.  'String bean' was the despised nickname given to me by my mother's brothers.

But many years have gone by, and much has changed.  

For one thing, the family has grown to the point that being together in the house feels extremely crowded.  There are not only children and grandchildren, but several great-grandchildren as well.  

The uncles are more respectful of me and are my friends now instead of my nemesis'. 

Grandma is no longer with us- but her presence is felt so strongly when the family gathers.

My cousins, whom I remember holding as babies, are now in college and getting married.

But no matter how much time goes by or how many things change, I am so grateful to be a member of this great family.

I will be forever grateful for the captain of the football team who noticed the cute cheerleader- and grateful that the cute cheerleader gave that red-headed football player a chance.

I woke up today feeling a little down.  Maybe it's the clouds hiding the sunshine, or maybe it's the fact that I won't be feeling warm weather again for at least a week!   Whatever it was, I decided to make cookies.  For some reason baking is good therapy for me.  

                         It always amazes me that you can take a few ingredients....

                                             mix them all together...........

                         put them on a cookie sheet and pop them in the oven...........

                                        and end up with something so delicious!

But the best part is packaging them up and giving them away!  It's better for the heart and the hips!

One down, one to go!

I am nearing the finish line of what will probably go down in history as the WORST semester I have had since going back to college.

Anatomy.  The very word causes my shoulders to tense.  

It's not that the course materials are not interesting- I find the body and all of it's systems absolutely fascinating!  It's simply the amount of information that you cover and are expected to remember (ha, ha) in such a limited amount of time.

Once again, it blows me away to look at this text book sitting on my desk and realize that we have now covered everything.  I am in no way an expert on the body now, nor do I remember half of what I have learned.  Most of the topics we covered just barely scratched the surface of what there is to know.  Amazing!  And even more amazing is that there is still so much that we don't understand or comprehend about the body- things are being discovered and understood more every day.

The amount of time that is required and recommended that you put into this course also takes it's toll.  I think that is why a lot of people are caught off guard and end up needing to take this course over again.  I am not sure that many other classes are this intense- as far as prerequisites go.  But I surely felt it, as did my poor family.  I think I cooked meals only two or three times a week this whole semester.  The fast food industry has loved that fact.  I have not.  It makes me feel guilty.  But no one has complained.  Is that saying something about my cooking?  Hmmm.  The housecleaning left something to be desired as well- but I'll leave it at that.

I took my final in lab last night.  I'm not sure how I did, but regardless, it is over.  No more lab.  I was so happy to walk out of that lab after handing my test paper to my instructor.  Se la vi!  

I did have a interesting experience as I was taking the exam though.  We rotate through several stations where we answer two or three questions before moving on.  As I was taking my turn at the cadavers, I paused for just a moment and said a little thank you in my heart for the three individuals who donated their bodies to our lab.  As I stood there, paying my respects, thinking that these people were someone's grandparents, mothers, fathers, and friends, I became a bit emotional.  I think my instructor thought the tears were because I didn't know the answer to the exam questions, but they were really tears of gratitude for those bodies who were before me.  I can not tell you how much of a difference it makes to look at an actual body when compared to a picture in a text book.  They are such a valuable tool.  I was always so glad to see the respect that was shown to the cadavers by the students and instructors.  

As I walked away from this exam, I felt grateful for what I have learned, for the experience that I have been so blessed to have, but most of all, grateful to be done!

I have one more final to go and then I will close the book on this chapter of my schooling.  What's next?  Physiology!  

Feeling like a poet today!

It's winter outside my window,

What happened to the Spring?

My furnace bill should be going down

But I'm still blasting the dang thing!

I'm one test down, two more to go

I hope I make it through

If not, I don't think I'll be a nurse

Will have to find something else to do.

Ian's shots were pretty bad

And now he's got the hives

His leg is swollen, hot and red

He keeps asking if he'll die.

The house was cleaned just yesterday,

But now its a big old mess

I don't know why I bother

It's just adding to my stress

The taxes are done, in the nick of time

And we didn't have to pay!

Well, the State took lots, the Fed's did not

A small refund is on the way.

We're out of potatoes, we're out of eggs

It's time to go to the store

Nothing in the cupboards

Better get some more.

Time to get back to studying

Nerves, eyeballs, and blood

Thanks for checking in on me

And reading all this crud!

OUCH!

I have an hour to kill before I can register for my next college course for Fall semester.  It's 11:00 p.m. and I have never felt so tired.  It's probably a terrible idea for me to be blogging when I am in this state, but I am too tired to study.  So here goes.

I took Ian to his well-child Kindergarten checkup today.  He was so excited to go to the doctors.  He met me at the door when I got home from school this morning, all dressed and ready to go.  He said, "I am so upsided to go to the doctors!"   (Have I ever mentioned that Ian has his own unique vocabulary?  It includes, upslide down (his version of upside down), head-egg (head ache), upsad (upset), and many others that I am too tired to think of at the moment.)

Anyway, we got to the doctors office, checked in, got him weighed and measured, eyes checked (it looks like he might have one bad eye), and got him changed into his little gown.  

The doctor came in, did all the check up stuff and then asked him if mommy had told him that he would be getting some shots today?  He shook his head no- it seems that I had forgotten to warn him of this.  

I have to say that I am a bit torn by this one- to tell or not to tell.  On one hand, if you tell your child, they get all worked up and worried and it makes the whole appointment a lot more stressful for everyone.  On the other hand, it's not very nice to spring something like that on them.   But I chose not to tell him and this is how it went down.

He got up on the table, ready for his shots, the nurse came in, plopped the 3 syringes down, told him that she was going to give him a shot in each arm and one leg.  I held his little hands and told him to look at me because he was eyeing the needles.

The first one went in- his face went from a nervous smile, to a frown, to full out crying.  

The second shot went in, he cried, "I don't want anymore!".  

By the third shot, he was sobbing and saying, "I don't like the doctors!"  VERY LOUDLY!

Later, when Isaac got home from school, I heard him telling him about his ordeal.   After giving Isaac all the gory details, he said, "I thought I liked shots, but then I got shot and I don't like them.  I cried and cried and I don't like the doctors now."

It was a pretty traumatic day for all of us.  For me, feeling so sad for my little boy, for Nicole, who went with us- it just brought back all kinds of feelings and emotions from when she had to have 3 nurses hold her down when she got her shots-last year!  (just kidding- that was at her kindergarten checkup, she only had to have ME hold her down last year), and for Ian, who has discovered that the doctors is not always a fun place to go to.

Wait until you are older my son....should I warn him about the colonoscopy now or later?

Happy Easter from our home to yours!

Birthday Boy

"I can't believe it's my birthday today!",  was a phrase heard many times from our little birthday boy.  He has been patiently waiting for his this day to arrive asking everyday "How many more days until my birthday again?".

I hope it was everything he wanted- he seemed to have a great day, having a birthday party at "Chuck E. Jesus", as he lovingly calls it, and out to dinner at T.G.I Friday's to 'have a cup of dirt'.

What more could a little boy ask for?

Happy Birthday Ian!  

What a Circus

It was a fun morning at the middle school watching Nicole and her friend perform in their school's talent show!  Great job ladies!

My Mountains

As I type this, I am sitting on my bed looking out my window.  I am looking across the valley at the snow capped mountains that I love.  There are mornings that I lay here watching the sky as it turns from black, into a water color painting as the sun comes up.  And as beautiful as the colors are, it's those mountains that take my breath away.

Their outline is the first thing I see when my sleepy eyes wake and the last thing that I see as my heavy eyes close at the end of the day.

My mountains.  

I look at Mt. Olympus and memories of my dear grandmother, who is buried at the foot of this majestic mountain, come flooding back to me.  As I look over at Mt. Timpanogos, it's my parents who come to mind.  I wonder how they are doing- if they are safe and happy. 

I have hiked in these mountains, spent time camping in them.  Spent evenings roasting marshmallows in them on dates when I was in high school.  Spent leisurely time enjoying them with my children and other loved ones. Up on one of my beloved mountains was the place that Erik and I first talked about getting married.

I feel safe when I look at them.  I feel protected.   They help to orient me in a world where I sometimes feel lost.  I feel close to my Maker when I am wandering through their trails.

I am grateful to live in this valley.  I love visiting other places, I really do, but when I see those mountains, I know that I am home.

Cheer leader in the house!

The results are in and she made it!

It was a crazy day waiting.  I think I sent her around 100 text messages while she was at tryouts to find out what was going on....we were so anxious here at home.  She finally sent a text for me to come and get her and that they would post the results in one hour from that time.  That was the longest hours of our lives!

Nicole brought home a friend, who had also tried out, with her.  They played American Idol Karaoke trying to distract themselves.  I heard them saying things like, "I don't think I made it, I hope that I made it, I don't want to make it if you don't make it"- in between all of the songs that they sang.

We had Chinese for dinner that night and I had the girls open fortune cookies- and told them that maybe their fortunes would tell them if they had made it or not.  They both got fortunes that were quite positive.  Nicole's said something like, "Your hard work will soon pay off with a great reward.", and her friend's said, "Your talents will soon be recognized by many.", or something like that.  Funny.

The hour finally passed, we piled the whole family in the car and drove over to the high school for the big moment.  The girls turned off their cell phones on the drive over just in case someone found out before they did and told them if they had made it or not.

As we pulled up to the front doors where the results were posted, there was a crowd of girls and mothers already gathered there.  Some were jumping up and down screaming and hugging each other.  Some were crying and hugging girls who had obviously not made it.  Nicole and her friend were so nervous to even get out of the car.

They finally got out, went to the door and soon joined the girls who were jumping up and down screaming and hugging.  A good sign.  We let out a sigh of relief, got the camera out and started snapping pictures of the moment.

Nicole made the Sophomore Cheer leading squad and we are so proud of her and very excited for what is ahead for her!

Congratulations Nicole!

Go Colie, Go!

Not sure how much my heart can take.

The past few days have been full of ups and downs, tears and laughter, cheers and dances and lots of sore muscles.  

Nicole is trying out (as we speak) for the CHHS cheerleading squad.  

She has worked so hard learning the cheers, jumps and dances and now it all comes down to this moment.  

When I picked her up from school this afternoon to get ready, she burst into tears.  She was a bundle of nerves.

As a mother, I wanted to make it all better.  I tried to calm her down by helping her with her hair, encouraging her as she practiced, and praying with her before I sent her on her way.

It's so hard to watch your child work so hard, to want something so badly, and to not be able to do much more than pray for them.

She is an amazing girl who would make a great cheerleader.  She has the ability to light up a room with her smile and personality.  But who knows if this is the path her life will take.  I'll guess we'll find out in a few hours, but if not, there will be something else just as wonderful, if not more, that will allow her to have the opportunities she seeks.

We're on pins and needles waiting to hear how things went.  Good luck Nicole!  We are cheering for you here at home.  We are your biggest fans!