With Dread

As I was driving past Sacajawea Park the other day, I noticed how frayed and faded the yellow ribbons on the trees had become. I remember 3 years ago when I drove that way every day and the ribbons were shiny and new and we thought this war with Iraq would be like the last one and what a great Independence Day parade we could have in July when all these heroes came home. Then all their pictures and flags and mementos posted by their loved ones at home got sunbleached and windblown and old, and some still weren't home. It's three years later and everything is a mess and people are still driving oversized cars, complaining about gas prices, criticizing the government, and forgetting about the hundreds of soldiers from thousands of little towns like ours with families who wait on edge and fervently pray for their return.

My little brother has been officially ordered to Baghdad for 15 months starting this June (read about it here). His second little baby is due this week and his darling wife is trying so hard to be tough. I make no bones about being a wimp and I have been crying all afternoon. We knew it was coming but somehow assumed that something would happen to make it not so, to keep him home and safe. Even now, I just keep thinking something has to happen, something will happen, he won't go, he can't go....It's like when Sam got called to serve as a missionary in Columbia and while he was in training, missionaries were shot in Bogota. I prayed he wouldn't have to go and he got an illness (allergy?) that kept him stateside and he didn't have to go to Bogota---he went to Chicago instead. I know it's unlikely this time and it will be a huge test for all of us to say goodbye to Matt and to pray him home safely. I just can't believe the war has come so close to home.

UPDATE: Monday--Mom tells me that Matt will have to leave in April, when the baby is only 6 weeks old. POOR AMIE! Dang the stinkin' Army! When I told Sam about Matt having to leave, Sam said, "I'll come up there and poke his eye out so he'll be half deaf AND half blind...then they won't make him go!" That made me laugh, but just for a minute. There is still a big fat sadness around here that makes February even suckier than normal.

Sicky

We tried to go to Helena to visit Matt & Amie & watch the Superbowl with them--again, we went, I was too sick, and we came home Sunday morning. I finally went to the doctor where they confirmed that (a) I am indeed 8 weeks pregnant and (b) I do have pneumonia. So I came home with a big bag of treats-- an Albuterol nebulizer, Tylenol 3, and a Z-pack of antibiotics. YUM! Rich has taken the girls for FHE with their Melin cousins and I have just taken my breathing treatment and half a Tylenol 3. Wish me a good, cough-free night and I'll be on the mend in no time! Pictures coming soon when I feel better.

UPDATE: Now it's Friday, and last night was my first semi-decent night's sleep. I feel better today, with only an earache, cough, and runny nose. My chest feels better and will hopefully be functioning soon (I haven't worked out since January 23rd). The girls are all better and my in-laws are taking good care of me. Thanks for the well-wishes.

Sleeping Angels

Addie & Heidi asleep at Aunt Jill's last Friday night....awwwwww.

Addie's Self-Portrait :"with a messy face & a rainbow"

Energy Levels

Although I am totally thankful to be sick this pregnancy because it's a sign of increasing growth hormones, I wanted to share my frustrations with you in graph form. I just noticed a bunch of dyslexic typos, so just excuse them and laugh along with me...
(CLICK to ENLARGE)

Laundry Room

While I was gone last week, Richard painted my laundry room floor, textured and painted the walls, painted and installed cabinets (his mom's old ones), and installed a sink. I chose the paint color for something else and told him to use it on the cabinets, but I am going to change it. I meant it to be a limey-celery green and it turned out to be a neon yellowish...? Anyway, it;s brighter and friendlier in there and I am excited to make it a good work space. There is also an ironing center and a sewing table (I need to get the sewing machines--there are 3 sitting there-- tuned up and well-stocked).I am going to find a funky shower curtain (think Target's "Swell" collection) to hide the furnace & water heater and hang up my vintage "Breakfast at Tiffany's" movie poster, just to make it bright and fun in there.
Here's how it looks from the food storage room (we are putting in shelves on the left between the cabinets and the wall) ...
...and from the door of the basement family room.

Tagged by Brent

Cousin Brent posted his Arrested Development Score on his blog yesterday, so I took the test and got results similar to Brent's. Geeks of a feather flock together! If you like the show, you should take the test, too.


George Michael

You scored 67% smart, 43% creative, 76% refined, and 23% odd!

How's it going, little cornball? You seem to be very intelligent and very refined. You know what's good and bad for you, and you always try to do the right thing no matter what the cost is to you. You may get momentarily confused sometimes, but your genius brain always finds a way through it. You are sure to be successfull in life.

Side note: I just posted this entry about 4 times, and each time I put in the link to the test, it erased the rest of the post. So if you want to take the test, clikc on Cousin Brent's link over there and use the link from his blog. UGH!

Random Pix

As usual, I didn't take many pictures in January, but I found some on my camera worth posting. Once the snow melted, dad got back to work at the ranch. We went down to pick up some cabinets for the laundry room (which are stored in the barn) and Addie helped Grandpa unload the truck at the burn pile.
Here's how the ranch & river look in winter.

Heidi and Addie enjoying their pets today (2/01).
FERRAL CHILD: When Heidi had pneumonia, we had her sleep with us to listen to her breathing, but once she got well, we put her back in her own bed. The first night, she threw that tantrum to end all tantrums between 1am and 3am. We ended up just shutting her in her room and trying to sleep through the wailing. When she wok up in the morning she looked like this. We had put her down in a blanket sleeper (those zip-up one piece warm jammies) in her bed, and we found her on her floor with her drawers emptied, wearing only a silky slip around her waist.
I tried to take a picture and introduce you to our family pets, but Dory the Betta fish is always hiding. Anyway, this is Dory (hiding in the grass) and Gary the Snail in their Spongebob Squarepants tank. Addie & Heidi got them for Christmas.

Bits of News

I am back from a little vacation, cut short by a wicked Norwalk Virus (or something like that). Rich wanted to get some construction work done on the house and I wanted to visit my sister, so I went down to Sandy, UT on Wednesday morning and he stayed and made me a gorgeous new laundry room. I had planned on staying longer and he had planned on doing the bathroom, too, but I got super sick. So once I could hold my head up, I started the drive home (there is nothing worse than being sick away from your own bed). I was sad to miss out on some of the stuff I had planned with my sister, but I didn't want to stay and be a big puking, germ-infested burden, either. So we are home safe and sound. I still feel weak and icky, but I will post some photos of the house progress soon.

Three items of news:

1. You may remember this post in which I felt so sorry for Justice O'Connor...well, today is her lucky day! She can finally retire for reals because the dumb senate finally approved her replacement, Judge Samuel Alito. Although Alito is not a shiny super star like Roberts, I think he's qulaified and will not disappoint. I do not think he will lean too conservative--I hope all of the justices will act as justices and not politicians. Anyway, congratulations to my girl Sandra D.

2. I just saw that Coretta Scott King died today. That made me sad, but also happy for her. She was a dignified and lovely woman. I like to think, as I always do when a widow or widower dies, that there has been a sweet reunion, and that her husband is proud of the life she led without him for 37 years.

3. We are, again, expecting a baby. I wanted to wait until I had conclusive medical results that things are going well, but I am super-nauseated and tired, so that should tell me that things are at least more normal than last time. I am 51 days along today--7 weeks last Sunday, and due September 18th. Yay....

More later--the natives are restless.

BACK TRACK: January 3, 2006

Since poor Heidi ahs never beent o a zoo, we thought we'd go to the Reid Park Zoo in the middle of Tucson on Tuesday morning. Addie & Heidi both loved watching the animals. We waited for the lions to wake up, watched the elephants eat, and heard some crazy monkeys singing a funny song. Heidi was really excited about the big orange fish we saw ("Nemo! Nemo!"), too. It was a really fun day. The girls couldn't get enough of the elephants; Heidi called them "Dup-dup-dee" because she has watched too much Pooh's Heffalump movie, where the elephant sings a song with his name and it goes "Lumpity-Dumpity-Dee."
Addie rides the bronze elephant
These polar bears were my absolute favorite thing when I was a little kid. I thought it was so cute how they played with their ball and rolled around in the water. Now they have added a new underground view where you can see them under water. It's really cool, and so fun to take my girls to see the exact things I loved when I was their age.