For My Mom...

I didn't write this but I couldn't have written it better!

I love you, Momma!!

For Mom

For those who are lucky to still be blessed with your Mom, this isbeautiful. For those who aren't, this is even more beautiful.

The young mother set her foot on the path of life. "Is this the long way?" she asked.And the guide said "Yes, and the way is hard, and you will be old beforeyou reach the end of it. But the end will be better than the beginning."But the young mother was happy, and she would not believe that anythingcould be better than these years. So she played with her children, shefed them and bathed them, taught them how to tie their shoes and ride abike, and reminded them to feed the dog and do their homework and brushtheir teeth. The sun shone on them and the young Mother cried, "Nothingwill ever be lovelier than this.

"Then the nights came, and the storms and the path was sometimes dark,and the children shook with fear and cold, and the mother drew themclose and covered them with her arms and the children said, "Mother, weare not afraid, for you are near, and no harm can come."And the morning came, and there was a hill ahead, and the childrenclimbed and grew weary, and the mother was weary. But at all times shesaid to the children, a little patience and we are there." So thechildren climbed and as they climbed they learned to weather the storms.And with this, she gave them strength to face the world.

Year after year she showed them compassion, understanding, hope, butmost of all......unconditional love. And when they reached the top theysaid, "Mother, we would not have done it without you."The days went on, and the weeks and the months and the years, and themother grew old and she became little and bent. But her children weretall and strong, and walked with courage. And the mother, when she laydown at night, looked up at the stars and said, "This is a better daythan the last, for my children have learned so much and are now passingthese traits on to their children."

And when the way became rough for her, they lifted her, and gave hertheir strength, just as she had given them hers.One day they came to a hill, and beyond the hill they could see ashining road and golden gates flung wide. And Mother said: "I havereached the end of my journey. And now I know the end is better than thebeginning, for my children can walk with dignity and pride, with theirheads held high, and so can their children after them."And the children said, "You will always walk with us, Mother, even whenyou have gone through the gates."And they stood and watched her as she went on alone, and the gatesclosed after her.

And they said: "We cannot see her, but she is with us still. A Mother is more than a memory. She is a living presence. YourMother is always with you. She's the whisper of the leaves as you walkdown the street, she's the smell of certain foods you remember, flowersyou pick perfume that she wore, she's the cool hand on your brow whenyou're not feeling well, she's your breath in the air on a cold winter's day...She is the sound of the rain that lulls you to sleep, the colors of arainbow, she is your birthday morning. Your Mother lives inside yourlaughter and she's crystallized in every tear drop. A mother shows everyemotion... happiness, sadness, fear, jealousy, love, hate, anger,helplessness, excitement, joy, sorrow... and all the while hoping andpraying you will only know the good feelings in life. She's the placeyou came from, your first home, and she's the map you follow with everystep you take. She's your first love, your first friend, even your firstenemy, but nothing on earth can separate you. Not time, not space... not even death!

Rising from the dead....

I haven't posted much lately...

And no, it's not because I went back to work last week...it's because I caught the virus Abby (and then Josiah) had. I've been downright miserable...and pretty much asleep for the last 48 hours. School starts tomorrow, and I sort of have to be there as I am the teacher! So pray for me...that I will get well, and fast!! (I am feeling a little better already...)

And Heather, I'm not ignoring the fact that you tagged me...I'm just too tired to think through all those questions! I'll get to it soon!

That thing called customer service...

I had a remarkable experience today,
a truly remarkable experience...but I have to tell you what led up to it first.

Four days ago my six year old daughter came into my room in the middle of the night with a raging fever.

She slept pretty much non-stop for the next four days and her symptoms got much worse...prompting me to take her to urgent care, who then sent me on to the ER. It was over six hours later when Abby was finally discharged from the ER with three prescriptions and strict instructions that if the Zofran didn't help her keep her other medicines down, we would have to admit her to the hospital for IV fluids and antibiotics. She is a very sick little girl right now.

Now, Zofran is a very expensive medication and one that I was afraid the pharmacy might not have in stock. I have a pharmacy I like to go to because the people that work there are very helpful and have gone above and beyond for me in the past...but this pharmacy is a distance from my house, and an even greater distance from the hospital. I like this pharmacy so much that I have their number programmed into my cell phone, so I called to ask if they had these prescriptions in stock before I drove up there. The manager assured me they did and said he would see me when I got there. It was 5:30.

When I got to the pharmacy it was 6:10. The pharmacy was closed. I was floored...and I was devestated...if I didn't get this medication I would have to admit my daughter to the hospital, something neither of us wanted to do. I walked back to the pharmacy in a slight daze...I had JUST talked to the manager on the phone and he said NOTHING about them closing soon. I got back there and the manager was cleaning up and closing up the register so I asked him if there was a Fry's pharmacy (I can only go to certain pharmacies with my insurance) that was open past 6PM. He told me that the one next door to the hospital (that I had JUST LEFT) was.

I nearly cried.

In frustration I cried out to him, "I JUST called you to see if you had the prescriptions I needed, WHY didn't you tell me you were about to close before I drove all the way up here?!?"

His response is the remarkable part. He replied to me, "Oh! It's you! I'm so glad you came back here...I waited to see if you would come..." He opened the gate to the pharmacy area and let me in. He filled my prescriptions, including, once again, going out of his way to deal with my insurance company that required a prior authorization for the Zofran and didn't want to cover it. He made sure they understood that this medicine was for a sick little girl who just got out of the hospital. (They ended up covering it) He walked out to the OTC medicine area and made sure I found the right kind of cough medicine. He did all this with a smile and willingness that put me at ease in an already stressful situation. HE understands the meaning of customer service in a world that doesn't take the time for others much anymore. I, for one, am extremely grateful.

I will take the time to drive to that store again, despite the fact that I have one just a few minutes from my house.

Why?

Because in a crazy fast paced world of uncertainty a little kindness, and some great customer service, goes a long way!!

Could Josiah be any more thrilled? 

Catch a wave and you're sitting on top of the world!! 

Heading out for that perfect wave! 

I Miss the Beach...

I have just gotten home from being on vacation in California...and boy, am I glad to be home!

My husband's brother (who has also deserted California) asked him one day..."is there anything you miss about living in California?"

His answer was besides family and friends, NO!!

But that question got us thinking...we miss the trees, we live in very neutral tones here in the desert...we miss cool nights (as it's 100 at 10:30 PM right now!)...I miss the beach...

Although, I recently had an experience that might cross that beach thing off my list.

During our vacation, my husband and I had the privilege of sneaking away overnight without any children to La Jolla...which is a beautiful little beach town just north of San Diego. We went kayaking and got to see some of the most beautiful things in God's creation. We saw sea lions from about 10 feet away, we saw magnificent kelp beds that are home to dozens of amazing creatures, we saw magnificent caves, one of which is rumored to be a smugglers cave...We went to a beautiful dinner and stayed in a lovely hotel...and the next day set out for the beach with our boogie boards in hand to enjoy the surf and walk around the tide pools. We didn't actually get in the water, it was too cold for our Arizona blood but we had a perfectly lovely time, and I relished every minute of it...but you know what?

I missed my kids. I missed their wonder and how "cool" they would think the tide pools were. I missed the exuberation as they chase and run from the waves crashing on shore. I couldn't stop thinking about how much they were missing.

Does that make me wierd? I think it just probably makes me a mom...

So as we crawled home on yet another California freeway (see my blog from a few days ago...) we made plans to take our kids to the beach...to share with them the wonder that we experienced on our little getaway.

We decided (based on our freeway experiences) to take the kids a little closer to home...to Laguna Beach to play in the waves and then we would drive down the coast a bit to Dana Point to see the tide pools there. It was a perfect plan.

But it was not to be.

Oh, we got to Laguna Beach just fine. Trudged out onto the sand with 20 tons of stuff needed for four children at the beach. I trudged back to take my three year old to the potty. We ate sandy sandwiches for lunch and soggy chips for a snack. My oldest daughter compulsively wiped every bit of sand from her body and laid on a towel trying to stay "not sandy," my six year old wandered off at least once causing me a slight heart attack...and have you ever tried to reign in the joy of a three year old at the beach? It's totally exhausting!

But when we first arrived, it was that moment of nirvana...out there, in the deep, was the perfect wave...not too big, not too far out...just perfect for teaching my two oldest children the fine art of boogie boarding...my husband retreated to somewhere far back in his childhood as he re-lived the bliss of catching the perfect wave. Bethany rode in once, got tumbled by a wave and decided that was enough for this year...Josiah looked at the waves, looked at the board and decided to wait until he was a "teenager, mom"...(he did eventually ride a few little waves into the shore) but my husband...he was in heaven...he was out boarding for over an hour.

And then it hit him.

Our car key was in his pocket when he went into the water, and now it wasn't. I think maybe a shark took it, or the Loch Ness Monster, or the perfect wave...but whatever the reason, we no longer had the only key to our car.

Now, this is no ordinary car key. This car key has a computer chip in it that has to be specifically programmed to our car. And we didn't have the code. Well, to make a very long story a little shorter...my father drove down to the beach and rescued my mother and I and the two youngest children, while my husband (with the two oldest kids) had our van towed 40 some odd miles to Norwalk to get this key made. To the tune of $150!!

Some beach trip.

Thankfully, it doesn't end there. We decided to try to end our trip on a happy note and took the kids...without any stuff...to Dana Point...to the tide pools. They got to walk in a cave, and they got to pick up hermit crabs. And we took about a hundred pictures of shells they were dying to take home and couldn't. And we ate lunch at Taco Bell and had a thoroughly lovely last day in California. We didn't even hit traffic on the way home.

But it doesn't end there either.

When we got home (to Arizona) there were two checks in the mail. One was a refund from our state taxes telling us we had overpaid them (The IRS RETURNS money when you overpay them? Who knew?) and the other was a refund from a hospital bill from 2 or 3 years ago...again saying that we had overpaid them. It was well over $150. Isn't God good? Those checks were sitting in our mail before we ever lost that key. He knew what we needed long before we needed it...He always does.

And once again I am free to love the beach, to miss the beach, and to long to visit it once again. For it's beauty, for it's majesty, and for it's overwhelmingly powerful reminder that God IS God. And He is good.

Insanity on I-10

Let me begin with a sincere apology for those of you who actually LIVE in California, not because I'm afraid I will offend you (I might) but because you LIVE in California!!

I always know when we've hit "the city," as my son likes to call it. The drivers on the freeways of California tell me in very certain terms. I know I'm in California when:

1. I turn on my blinker and the car in the lane next to me immediately speeds up so that I can't get in front of HIM when I change lanes.

2. I get flipped off for going only 20 miles OVER the speed limit in the fast lane.

3. I get flipped off for going only 20 miles OVER the speed limit in the SLOW lane.

4. I have to pay money to drive in the carpool lane.

5. I have no idea which lane to be in for a freeway on-ramp or off-ramp because they make absolutely no sense...half of them are on the right because they are a clover leaf entrance, the other half require a left turn. I'm sure there are signs that tell you ahead of time which way to turn but you can't read them because they have been "tagged" with spraypaint.

6. I have to come to a screeching halt because traffic was moving along at the speed limit (albeit #3 is still in effect) and suddenly comes to a complete stop because the lane just disappeared.

7. Did I mention getting flipped off for going only 20 miles over the speed limit in the slow lane?


I grew up in California...I learned to drive in California...and I suppose at one time I drove like every other Californian does. Either the drivers in California are getting worse, or I'm getting old...

And on that note, I have to go risk my life on the freeways of California once again to get to the fourth party of the weekend...Pray for me! I'll need it!!

Will I ever not be tired?

These days I find myself absolutely exhausted, absolutely all of the time. Will I ever not be tired?

I'm beginning to think the answer is "not this side of Heaven!"

Tomorrow I am taking the final exam in a class I have been in for the last two weeks. It is an intensive phonics program. I will come out of it with three college units and a certificate saying that I am certified to teach something I have been teaching for several years now. I guess now I can do it the right way!

I did learn a few things.

I learned a new approach to spelling dictation that might help my students become better spellers and therefore better readers. Time will tell.

I learned that if you try really hard you can tie pull-apart cherry twizzlers into figure 8 knots with your tongue while saying the six sounds of the phonogram "ough."

I learned that when you drink as many diet cokes in the last two weeks as I have you will run out of grocery money before the week is up.

I learned the precise meaning of the word "palacial" and was labeled by one of my co-workers as a "geek who loves words" because I already knew what a manse, skein, and berth were.

And now I must go back to studying the meaning of task analysis, massed and distributed practice, attention management and the precise meaning why we double a consonant after a single vowel when adding an ending that begins with a vowel. And I must ask myself if anyone really cares why?

And then I will sleep. But I will wake up tired!

Abby was Baptized today! Rejoice with us!!