3 years post heart failure...THANKSGIVING

Every Thanksgiving these feeling well up in me now..Thanksgiving 2007 Sergio's heart started to fail...

That Thanksgiving in the hospital was probably the roughest, emotionally, of all days for me. The children were all spread apart..and here we were in rainy Seattle in a hospital facing a major giant. But I remember how God made provisions for us and how He made that Thanksgiving one of the best I ever had. First, my grandparents lived close to the hospital and visited everyday..they brought us a pumpkin pie. Then the Mormons (God love em) came and turned the gloomy waiting room into a glorious feast for the families left there over the holiday...I went to thank one of the older ladies and couldn't make it through without crying (crying now as I write this). She held me for a long time and told me she had been in my very shoes and knew what some turkey and mashed potatoes can do for the soul...there was only one TV channel working in Sergio's room that day..and the one movie that was playing was The Holiday..my all-time favorite holiday movie...I climbed into that hospital bed with Sergio..I had a full tummy and my favorite movie and a husband I thought I was going to lose...but for a moment..it was the perfect Thanksgiving...

Ingrid Michaelson - Maybe (Official Music Video)

Homeschool woes..

It was one of THOSE days!

You know the ones where you actually call the public school registration office to request papers to send your children away for 6 hours a day..oh, it was tempting. Then the Lord placed a phone call to me through a friend who reminded me that this is not the path I chose but is the one He chose...so I'm ready to mount the steed again in the morning...

Shepherding children is not for the weak!!

Sara Groves, "I Saw What I Saw"

23 children (2-7 yr. olds) in my Sunday School class today!!!! It was absolute guided chaos! We read some stories, ate rice crispy treat w/apple juice, stood in line and took turns jumping from a chair to a pile of bean-bag chairs on the floor, made "quilts" by gluing squares of fabric on an extra large piece of paper (very amazed at the ability of Anat's girls and Gigi's kids..wow), we then had a race to see who could fill their cup with water first using just a sponge, everybody got a prize for coming, we finished by feeding them all pizza before sending the angels to their parents..whew!! I'm pooped! Enjoying a glass of Merlot in my cozy jammies..

It was a good day!

Rosie Thomas - Red Rover

Noah is making dinner...pot stickers and egg rolls! Yum.





Off the phone with Sonia and she told me that after her mammogram last Thursday they called her back for something suspicious. With her sister Sandra just having been DXed she didn't want to concern any of us until she knew further. Thankfully after another test, all was well. But I've been a little weepy since getting off the phone. She is such a wonderful friend, and when I think about losing someone like her...whew! I'm so glad she is OK.





I'm meeting her at her house in the AM and we are taking the kids to the beach..meeting Veronica and her kids, too. Looks like it will be cooler weather, but I really can't wait to feel small next to the enormous ocean..makes me feel safe knowing that there are things so much bigger. The smell is worth a months therapy sessions... with Sonia and coffee I should be so lucky to have such a friend.

Ingrid Michaelson - "The Way I Am" Rap Remix on the BOB&TOM Show

November 9th 2010

House smells of warm spiced apples and downy (have been folding laundry all afternoon). Quiet. Littlest ones sleeping, waiting for older two and gorgeous man to come home from Bible Study at Montebello. A traveling brother from Europe is speaking.



Have started my Christmas movie list...you know, to get into the spirit. The Holiday, The Family Stone, Nothing Like the Holidays, Deck the Halls, A Christmas Story...the list is long. But it is only November, What are your all time favs reader? Is there one out there I have missed..you are challenged to find me a great movie!



Making my famous "Candy Apple Salad" this week. If you can call it a salad! It tastes just like a caramel apple but is easier to eat.



Chop 6 Granny Smith Apples,

stir in 8 oz. cream cheese

and 1/2 cup brown sugar.

Raid the kids Halloween candy,

and add 10 to 12 mini Snickers (chopped).

Thaw a tub a Cool Whip and fold in.

Refridg. until serving.

The Weepies - Gotta Have You (Audio)

Remembering three years ago to this weekend..Serg was in heart failure and admitted..the beginning of the long journey.

On this side of it, I still feel a little shell shocked. I wonder how these life altering circumstances change people. My friend from MOPS Calliegh lost her baby boy Matthew in a car accident this week. In a blink of an eye...gone. Words just fail in these situations when you want desperately to comfort. I did feel God during our ordeal, but have to be honest that since then, I've lacked the intimacy I once felt. I guess the trusting has become more risky...the realization that His plans are certainly not our own. And sometimes when you feel the closest to Him, tragedy strikes. Our mental deduction would lean toward a better life (more blessings) if we are following Him closely. !But we can not comprehend God who is every contradiction....

I'm still struggling...working out my salvation. Trying desperately to walk the path here. There must be more I need to know, something I'm missing. All the neat little boxes I used to love have not withstood time. And I could just keep making them, or I could jump into others boxes. It is certainly more safe. Black/White, Right/Wrong, Good/Evil...no room for gray. Life has structure and opinions fold neatly into one another. Then there is the one idea that shakes the little boxes...the people in the box start furrowing their eyebrows saying things like, you better be careful with that idea, it cracks the foundations upon which we stand. If you want to be one of us then this is our mantra...get in or get out. No compromise, no room for questions, no room for anger, no room for thinking.

Ranting at 10:49pm...better take my meds and go to bed..Night

So Much For My Sad Song

Another day with sore throat. Maybe the weather...40's last week, 90's this.

The kids are finally settling into their new surroundings. Things are calm and everyone is in a routine now. My sleeping pattern has been a bit off. Probably the naps in the afternoon. Need to not lay down to read when the boys do or I fall asleep.

So the interesting thing about Tourette's and Autism is the compulsion to say bad words. Luke is now 9 and Isaac 8...I'm hearing things like suck my balls, douche bag, son of a bitch, retard!!!!!!!!!!!! So I wash their mouths with soap...but it doesn't seem to be working. SO any other MAMA's have ideas, let me know! I think hard labor will be next on the list of punishments.

We bought a coconut and some pomegranates for the boys to investigate for this afternoon. They threw the coconut off the balcony with no luck. I wonder what the neighbors downstairs think. Eating pomegranates has proven to stain shirts...mixed opinions on the taste. Seems like a lot of work to eat!

We are loving our afternoons listening to Adventures in Odyssey and playing with Lego's. I have found that Luke will do ANYTHING (including reading) for a pack of Pokemon cards! YEAH!!! School is going better for him now that I found a hot spot! His overall moods have been very level...thank the Lord.

Boys begging to go to the pool...better be off.