Congratulations Butty and Flair!

Congratulations to Butty and Flair on passing their first test to become therapy dogs! Dan and Joshi have been working with the dogs toward this. Butty is such a mellow dog we figured that he would pass. Dan also took Flair along to see how she would do and acclimate her a bit. I thought she would fail with spastic, spinning colors. Flair is 14 months old and still acts her age. Not only did she do better than Butty, she was one of the top performing dogs of the day. Huh? My spazy Flair? Life is full of surprises. Now they have three more tests to complete. With the examiner, Dan, Joshi and the dogs will visit hospitals and a nursing home to see Alzheimer patients. After their certification, I am looking forward to visiting nursing homes with the children and dogs. Dan is looking forward to having Butty lay at his feet while he reads MRI's at work.

the sweet life

I am so spoiled by my family. Dan and the kids have really stepped up to the plate to assist their recuperating mother and wife and shower her with love and sweetness. At every little squeak of mine I hear Zaynr's voice, "Are you okay Mommy?" Tonight while Joshi helped me straighten my room, the boys made me rice crispies with green m&m's. I found it endearing because Dan knows I love those gooey sugar bombs. When we were dating I mentioned this fact in passing to him. The next day he stood on my porch with a plate of rice crispy treats for me. It pulled my heart strings a bit to think that this guy really listened to me then cared enough to make me these silly treats, (at the time I thought boys don't like to cook). After we were married I found out that it was his sister Kim who made them! I still love him anyway. I need to remind myself about all this sweetness before I gripe about little things such as socks, toys and books strewn through out the house.

As I hobble around the house I think of my sister-in-law, Tammi, who broke her foot in August around the same time I messed up my knee. The docs used screws and bone grafts to fix her foot. She needed to keep weight off the foot until it healed. Since then she has been hopping, sliding and also scooting around with a walker after her four, active, small children. I've had it easy!

blog correction

I did not mean to sound whiny in a previous blog about my last year. We all have bad days, good days, bad years and good years. Why not mention it? Who'd care. We are all in the same boat. What I meant to get across was that by realizing what my worst was I realized how blessed I truly am. It gave me perspective and appreciation for my life. I recognized that if that was the worst than I am spoiled and lucky. No, I am not wanting anymore "learning experiences." So there is no need for sympathy or sorry's; only think, "Heather has had a chance to grow stronger. She needed that for she was kind of whimpy."

Which Jane Austin Heroine are you?

With PBS showing the Jane Austin films currently in its Masterpiece Theater on Sundays I deemed this quiz totally appropriate and fun for all us Jane Austin fans. Thanks Michel for the inspiration. Click on the picture below and get back to me with your results!




Take the Quiz here!

life is good

Please vote in my poll on the top right of this page. Its something that I find interesting and have a theory on.

Dan is really going the extra mile in taking care of me post surgery. The man already spoiled me with his attentiveness before this so it maks me feel somewhat guilty giving in to all this service. He reprimands me whenever he catches me trying to carrying something, dabbling in the kitchen or trying to do any sort of cleaning. Doing some of those activities on two crutches really doesn't work too well anyway, yet I found that I can hop on one leg to get around the kitchen more freely. I do this when Dan isn't looking of course. It is a bit tiring and my hip is starting to ache, but maybe I'll get back some muscle tone in my good leg. Aside from my life long scars, my legs do not look like my own any more. Sigh.

At risk of sounding too negative let me say that the past year amd a half has been the crappiest in my life. Of course I couldn't write that the past year was the "crappiest" in the Christmas letter so I simply called it "dysfunctional." A lot of great and wonderful things happened during this time frame; I am only speaking generally. Before this, I do not think a thought such as "This stinks and is the worst ever," has ever occured to me. And if the last year or so of my life is my worst time ever than I have had a pretty darn good life. Yes, my life is good and I wouldn't trade it.

cute things

Zayne cracks me up sometimes and I just have to write about it. There are times when he does not speak like a normal eight year old with his word usage. Like this morning he was "transfixed" on his food. Sometimes he finds a situation "plausible." Once in awhile he mispronounces a word but uses it right. I think that it safe to presume that he gleans these words from his reading. Zayne likes to read a lot, an awful lot. If he gets in trouble we sometimes take away his reading privileges. Let it be known that the other side of this reading monster is a video game fiend. It is like his cocaine and there is never enough of it. But don't worry, we monitor the cocaine intake. I wonder why games and books can keep him rapt in attention while staying on task writing is so difficult for this cute little guy? Using the Institute for Excellence in Writing has helped tremendously with that challenge though. The program has helped him organize his writing details before putting them on paper.

Another thing about Zayne that makes me smile is watching and listening to him play. Watching children play in their very own fantasy worlds is always delightful, but adding sound to that just makes it even more endearing. Of course he does the typical guns blasting, bombs exploding and people yelling noises, but he also sings. It is more common to find Zayne playing by himself singing than playing quietly. What does he sing? Whatever is in his head be it of another’s composition or his own. He loves to rewrite songs to make the lyrics comical. It truly is adorable, especially because he has a higher pitch voice singing. He has done this for years. As a toddler he would often start singing in the mornings before even opening his eyes. That would melt any mother’s heart. For about a year we heard “Baa-Baa Black Sheep” and “The Farmer in the Dell” every day. Yet, he has no desire to sing in a choir or solo in front of others. I hope he keeps this wonderful singing habit for years to some.

I had a "Mommy Payday" yesterday. Its that little yet proud, warm fuzzy moment when your child shows you that he actually is internalizing your teachings, she is expanding on them and making them her own, you glimpse the adult they are becoming and all of which reinforces to your heart that your are doing a good job with your children. Zayne and I were talking about faith for a cub scout badge. When asked if he knows of anyone who has displayed faith he smiled, put his arms around my neck, sweetly looked into my eyes and said, "You Mommy. You have faith in me for when I grow up. That is why you do school and read with us. You know, for when I am older and on my own." My heart almost burst at his words. I hugged that adorable child like I hadn't seen him in a week. Those dear words came on a bad homeschooling day. I actually had thrown in the towel and opted to read books with the kids on the trampoline while basking in the sun rays of a rare warm winter day.

A few days ago I asked Zayne to eat something more filling than a piece of toast for lunch. He lovingly replied, "But Mom, I like to put Grammi Jam on my toast because I think of Grammi while I eat it. And it fills me with love." I let him eat the Grammi Jam and toast.

Joshi is my writer and always has been. She was "writing" books before she even knew all her letters. She has probably filled more journals in her 10 years of life then I have in my 34 years. We are still working on our spelling and grammar, but she too has improved with IEW. Her problem was opposite of Zayne's; she could write on and on forever. IEW has helped her focus her writing in a more concise manner.

Writing poetry is another one Josi's periodic pastimes. Yet, heaven forbid I try to give any pointers or teach anything about poetry writing. You might be wondering how we can homeschool with that attitude. Fortunately the attitude doesn't flow over to all subjects.

Joshi is into her horses, stuffed animals (all over her bed and snuggling her at night), tea parties and the Redwall book series by Brian Jacques. The audio books really hold her affection. Brian Jacques and his Liverpool cast do a fabulous job bringing his books to life with their creative voices, drums and songs. The only problem with this obsession is that she has begun to talk with the characters' accents and terminology and at times comprehending her is awkward. Yet, it still is adorable. Dan drew the line last night when she was talking like that during family prayer. She got into the tea party thing because Felicity from the American Girl book series likes them. I has ben rather nice having my mint tea brought to me.

Still Dreaming

So here we are at post sugery again. Things gratefully went well. The doc trimmed up a bit of scar tissue and found what was agitaing my meniscus so much, a broken staple from the last surgery. He replaced it with three stitches. Hopefully everything will be fine now. I told the folks in the OR that I do not want to see them again.

While I am a bit sore, this recovery is way better than that of the October surgery. Knowing that I have to be non weight bearing with this knee, thus on crutches for 3-4 weeks, seems like nothing now. I'll just continue to dream about MTB'n, skiing, running, carrying and rough housing with my children.

Disclaimer: If anything sounds to funny here its the Vicodin talking, not me.

disney surprises

Disclaimer: I am still on pain meds from the operation yesterday so there will undoubtedly be plenty of mistakes here.

Last week we took the kids on an early morning breakfast outing with Uncle John. Well, that is what we told the Joshi and Zayne. We got some breakfast and went to the airport to eat. The kids were so confused. Zayne thought we were dropping Uncle John off. Johi did not know what to think. I asked them where in the world would they most want to fly to. "Utah," was the reply. I should have known. We explained that we were going to Disney World in Florida. It took a little while for it to sink in for Joshi really did not react. While walking through security they were disspointed to find out that their extended family was not coming. They were both thrilled to be surprised when Aunt Wendy, Chad and Cousin Lexi showed up that night at the condo. Our children are so hungry for their family members out west.

Jan and Kirk generously offered to let us use a time share week for our stay in Orlando. The Marriott we picked was the best for families. They had three pool areas with different attractions, a water slide, a spalsh park with water guns, dumping buckets , fountains, a pirate ship with more water guns, more fountains, and slides. There was also an 18 hole putt-putt course, ping pong, billards, foosball, checkers, and a basket ball court. The staff had daily activities to entertain the children as well. And for me there were three lakes, rocking chairs and birds to enjoy. It was amazing. Plus we were just 10 -15 minutes from all the attractions.

We had a great week watching the the joy burst from our children as they acted their ages at these magical parks that bring out the child in us all. Dan and I decided that we needed to do this trip before our children got any older and lost enthusiasm for riding rides about Poo Bear or Dr. Suess. At times Joshi appeared that she was trying to hold her little girl in, but the little girl kept sneaking out anyways. She is becoming such a big, tall girl, mentally and physically. It was great to see Joshi and Zayne love their cousin Lexi and I loved to be with my sister Wendy. We ended the week with a great surprise for Joshi nd Zayne. Our dear friends, Paula and Howard Smith with two of their children, Rhiannon and Trevor, drove up 4 hours to play with us at Disney. When Joshi saw them there she said with a smile, "Pinch me, I must be dreaming." My children absolutely adore Trevor and Rhiannon so this time spent with them was a highlight of the trip, and I too loved being with Paula. She is the type of friend that loves you for what you are, quirks and all. I wish more people could be more like her.

The video clip is when Joshi, Zayne and Lexi were picked to participate in the Lion King show.