My Mountain Home

Next week Owen, Dylan and I will be making the long car ride home. The traveling is arduous but the feeling I get when I first glimpse my beloved Mount Timponogos is always euphoric. On the face of this mountain and in its canyons, I played as a child and throughout my youth. I had many spiritual experiences there and some of the most wonderful family moments of my life. Of course it will be awesome to reunite with our families, most of which have had some really wonderful additions (little miss Katrina, possible sister-in-law in waiting, new houses and jobs etc.) to celebrate; but to spend time in the rocky cradle of my nativity is always a healing renewal for my soul.

The Family Curse

A couple of weeks ago, one of my cousins contacted me and asked (among other things) for a recent family photo of my brood for a special book she was making for our Grandmother. I cringed when I read "family picture" because to date, we have never been able to muster a photograph together as a family. Usually, something like illness or a major break out or some other disfiguring thing happens. Dylan once cracked his head open just hours before we were to go ; another time, our car just plain wouldn't start.

I responded back to my cousin and said that we would send one. I pulled out the camera and my micro tripod and went to work. It's been so long that surely we could make it work right! First, we all had bright red cold noses. Then last Sunday Dylan apparently tripped over his own feet and slammed his face into the caster of the desk chair. He ended up with a bloody and slightly broken nose and a black eye.

Luckily Dylan is okay! It really freaked him out to see his own blood gushing out of his nose but once he got over the shock, he's been okay. He won't let me take a picture of him though because it's just too embarrassing to look like that in a picture. Sigh.

I decided to send a slightly outdated picture from 2003 (and you'll notice the finger smudge on the lens that makes even this picture fuzzy) which is the only time we were able to get a reasonably decent picture to happen.

This is our family curse, no pictures together! It's so frustrating and I hope that we'll be able to pull it off sometime soon!

Many Thanks

It's only appropriate that this week I extend my many thanks and gratitude.

Owen is on the top of my list. He's my Forever Family what can I say- I can't imagine a more handsome or calm fixture in my life. I'm so grateful that I was propelled by the Holy Ghost (and attraction) to marry him. What a great guy!

I'm grateful for Dylan. He's seriously a constant ray of sunshine that I love to be around all day (except of course when he's not being a CRF but a PITN).

I'm really grateful for my treadmill. Really! I love to be on it so much (especially at the gym with a high def flat screen playing HGTV super close to my face.) that sometimes I just want to stay on it forever. I guess it's because of the beloved endorphins that build up as I walk/run.

I'm so grateful for my sister Dinda. She's my on-call therapist and funnymaker- seriously such a hilarious woman! My bro's rock as well. I guess I'm the strait man in my family because all of my sibs are really, really funny.

My Mother and Father as well as my In-Law Mother and Father. I feel completely humbled by the immense sacrifices made by these wonderful folk. Life would be very different for me and my family without their love and support. It's the kind of gratitude that permeates my every day and propels me to do my absolute best as a wife and mother.

I'm grateful for being fortunate enough to have really awesome sisters'-in-law (Heidi and Sina if your keeping tabs :)). To me, they feel just like my flesh and blood. I'm also fortunate enough to have a Spencer in-law list of amazing individuals. I love all of you people who's name is on the family banner. How awesome are you!

How could any of us live without great friends? Friends you grew up with remind you of where you came from and keep you grounded. Friends you've gained along the way help you keep a sense of history, and the friends you hang with on a day to day basis is the spice of life!

I end my list with the thing that is the most important and central to me. I'm grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and it's life changing and life saving impact on my life. It is a hallowed and sacred thing to me so I'm inclined to keep it at that. I wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving. :)

A Note from Diet Island

Some of you may know that this month I've moved my consciousness to Diet Island in order to try to lose weight. What? You've never heard of diet island? Well, let me tell you about it! It's the place you send your thoughts whenever you eat anything. On diet island, there's only thoughts of luscious raw veggies, visions of yourself looking svelte in a swimming suit , and near romantic thoughts of your treadmill. One thing that all of us on diet island do is eat things that might not be our first choice. In example, today for lunch I had a vegan tofu "chickn" patty on whole wheat bread. It smelled divine while I baked it. The chihuahuas were intoxicated and begged mercilessly for a taste. (If any of you have ever encountered a tiny begging chihuahua you know that they simply can't be denied!) I threw them both a yummy taste and to my surprise, they both spit, it, out! I mean, the animals who have been known to eat unidentifiable molding items in the alley turned my lunch down flat. Then, to add insult to injury, Chimi took his bit and successfully smeared it down his back as he rolled in it! HA! I think that tonight for dinner I might take a trip to the mainland to eat something that a dog wouldn't roll in.

Prop 8 and things

I know this is a post that many would scope the title and leave. I know, we're all tired of this topic but my dear mother sent me an article that was beautifully written and contains a Christian message. That is to say, there is no criticism or blame just truth. Here's a link if you're interested: http://www.meridianmagazine.com/lineuponline/081117battle.html

Now on to the "things" part:
I want to thank those of you who read and responded to my last post. It really meant a lot to me to have such support and agreement. Sometimes I feel that I've been ministered to and that others have truly mourned with me., this was one of these times. With Dylan's adoption as well as this latest one, I feel very vulnerable because I really don't feel that I'm worthy of the immense blessing of being able to have children born to and sacrificed by others.

I don't know if you remember me speaking of her, but Dylan's birth mom is a stellar individual. It took me years to come to grips with the Lords will in Dylan's placement because I could see in her so many attributes and talents that were far above my own. Since then, I've come to realize and accept that we may not always (or ever for that matter) be able to understand God's will. It's just not a part of this world. We can however, accept it and find peace in bending our beliefs and will to match his.

I know that there is a little one that is meant to be in our family out there right now. There are some very sacred events that happened when Dylan's birthmom was pregnant with him that makes it impossible for me to believe anything else but that he was always meant to be my son. I've been experiencing the same thing in the past year with very similar experiences that helps me to know that despite the ridicule and disdain that I feel from my neighbors; and the freaked out ambivalence I feel from my friends at church, this is right and my son is on his way.

Okay that was totally tangential. Sorry. Next week I promise to write something happy and fun and light to read. Thanks for the love all!

Every Child Deserves a Loving Family

Yesterday afternoon our little neighbor boy friend came over to play with Dylan. Upon entering our house he asked excitedly "So did you buy your baby today?" Owen roared with laughter and I felt totally annoyed but also curious about the question. I said "No, we aren't buying a baby we're adopting one. There's a difference. Who told you that we were buying a baby anyway?" He said "My mom. She told me that people who can't have a baby buy one off of a bratty girl who went and got herself pregnant and doesn't want her baby."
Well. That's ONE definition adoption! I'm still reeling from this coarse description. I guess I'm just hyper sensitive about how we are obliged to have a family. It's been many years that we've evolved our own definition of adoption. The first was that adoption was a way that Heavenly Father looked out for his little ones who were coming to the earth by mistake. The second definition was that certain children were foreordained to be with certain parents and Heavenly Father in his infinite understanding provided a way for all of this to happen. The third definition is that all families are sacred. Every family unit deserves immense support from many people and government to be able to succeed. Perhaps all of these definitions are correct in various circumstances. I know that so far, all of them have applied to our own family. Right now I feel that we are unofficially parenting the little boy that I mentioned above and his older sister. They come to our house right after school and we provide snacks, protection, activities and occasionally, dinner. Why do we open our home up like this? Because we hate to have these beautiful children totally unattended while their mother is obliged to work for several more hours. It's something that all of us have done at one point or another to various degrees. It's just how we all take care of one another in a community. I guess you could say that we all "adopt" one another at various times because we feel each others need. I don't know, what do you think?

First Charity Project

Every year our ward has a service project where we spend the morning working at our local food bank. This year we decided to bring Dylan along. We projected a 50/50 chance of chaos. I couldn't have been more proud of Dylan than I was today. He rolled up his sleeves and got to work along with the "big boys" from the young men organization. About half way through, they called us in to the break room for a snack of donuts and milk which was the bawm for a 6 year old kid. Dylan was super impressed at how "cool" it was to work in a warehouse with all of the forklifts and large open spaces. Of course at the end there was a bit of a tantrum because Dylan didn't want to leave. Screaming and crying asside, it was a wonderful experience. I feel bad that I have underestimated Dylan's capacity for service up to this point. With little kids, I always expect the worst possible behavior in such situations. I guess I'm so use to the daily battle to get Dylan to clean his room or do anything resembling "work" that I thought that this was his static response to all work. I forget how pure and good children are when it comes to serving others. Dylan asked if we could come back and do it again to which I heartily replied yes! I'm really thankful for the opportunity our family had to work together for the good of others today. I guess now I'm going to have to get off of my duff and plan opportunities for service more frequently for our family.

The Food Bank

Today, dispite my injuries, we went to our Wards annual service project at our local food bank. This year we decided to attempt to take Dylan along. We are so proud of how grown up he was! The work was easy and he got a kick out of working with the "big boys" from the young men. At the end,

Happy Birthday My Owen!

November 5, 1974 at 12:16 a.m. in St. Louis Missouri, Owen Richard Spencer was born to Richard and Margaret. Owen was to be their 3rd child and first born son. He was a beautiful baby (see below) and a strong personality in the Spencer family. Throughout his life, Owen has carved out his own unique path and has always had a strong testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Owen has been a great blessing to friends due to his ability to accept and love others unconditionally. His example and love has helped his closest friends to return to full fellowship in the church (something that many would not have expected). Owen was a mighty missionary and a talented student as a young man. As a therapist, he has been a powerful and positive influence to those he has served in this capacity. For the past several years, Owen has been a stellar husband to me and a wonderful father to Dylan. I guess the message that I would send to you all today is that I'm eternally grateful for Owen's existence. I can't imagine life without him.

Happy Birthday Owen, we're so glad that you're here!

Owen at 1 month old.

Owen at around 8 months old.

3 year old Owen.

Halloween Pictures

Here's a smattering of the fun we had celebrating Halloween this week. Dylan and Owen were Ghostbusters and I went as a mom. I wanted to dress up but ran out of fizzle after getting everyone else ready.

Dylan (wearing the jack-o-lantern shirt from grandma) and Julianne playing super dog and super cat.

Dylan begging at the trunk-or-treat.

Noah ,Dylan and Amberlee at the trunk-or-treat.

Striking a pose pre-trick-or-treating with our neighbors, Noah and Amberlee.

Dylan and Owen outside the Science Spectrum as ghostbusters (Owen has been slimed!)

The pumpkins.



Closeup of Dylan's pumpkin. Dylan told me that his jack-o-lantern was going to be SO scary that my eyes were going to pop out then my head was going to pop off!

Close up of the witches cave.







P.S.

Here in Lubbock, gas prices dropped down to $1.96 a gallon! That's one good thing about this recession.

I Love Democracy!

WOW! Life has gotten so crazy for us lately that blogging has taken a backseat. That being said, I had to quickly share an experience we had this week. Dylan was very excited about the voting process-to the point of nagging his parents. Owen and I took Dylan with us to early voting so that he could see what it was all about. He was very upset when he learned that he was too young to actually vote! (They did let me take him with me while I voted and he actually cast my vote by pushing the button at the end which made him a little happier.) I decided that this was a wonderful time to explain what a blessing it is for us to live in a democracy and what that means for every American. I actually got choked up while I was explaining this to him and was surprised at just how tender and strong my feelings were about it. Dylan said "So it's pretty important?" Yeah baby, it is.

Creepy Crawlies

Home Schooling is awesome! I adore teaching Dylan and allowing him to exhaust me with a million questions about a topic that he's really interested in. (Seriously, thank goodness for the Internet and a great public library at these times!) For science we're focusing on animals for the next few weeks. This past week we studied arthropods in particular. As a part of my lesson plan, I thought that it would be fun for us to look up some "scary" looking bugs which proved to be quite amusing for both of us (and hopefully for you as well since that's what this post is about!). So without further adieu, here's our top three creepiest crawlies:


Here's the Potato Bug. Also known as The Jerusalem Cricket or my favorite, Nino la tierra (Child of the Earth) because it's face is thought to look like that of an infant. It's "song" sounds like someone playing the bongos badly (which we did with relish). It lives primarily underground and only comes out at night to eat dead plant matter. Honestly, could you imagine encountering this large insect in the middle of the night? SCAAARRRY.





Here's our friend the Golden Orb Weaver. This massive missus hails from Australia. The adult female is usually about 6 inches wide (about the size of your face if you're wondering) and has been known to eat birds! Although the bite of this giant arachnid won't kill you, it will make the flesh around the wound die and fall off of your body. SPOOOOOOKY.

Our final crawlie is the African Millipede. Although totally harmless, (note the kid under this guy) just the thought of such a large and multi crawlied myriapod on this boys face makes us shudder and cringe. YIKES!

I hope all of you have a great Halloween this week!

New Glasses

At Dylan's annual check-up, he had a hard time with the basic eye screening so I took him to an Optometrist. We found out (sadly) that Dylan has significant eye sight problems and probably has had since birth. As a result, Dylan has been inducted into the "Glasses Club". He said to me "Mom! Now we're a glasses family!" I guess so.


After the exam we went to chick-fil-a to play. Dylan insisted on wearing the little disposable sunglasses that you get when they dilate your eyes. Dylan told the kid he was playing with "I just found out that I'm blind! I have to wear these glasses forever now." To which the kid replied "HOLY COW! I've never known a blind kid before!"
When we went to pick out frames some of the funnier declarations Dylan made were "Too up and down." "Too squarish." "Too roundie." and my favorite "AAAAARG! I LOOK LIKE LARRY KING!" which made everyone there laugh. (Owen surmised that Dylan knows what Larry King looks like from his appearances on various PBS kid shows.)


When we walked out of the Eyeglass shop Dylan said "WHOA! Everything looks so weird!"

Wonderful Qualities

I was challenged by my sister-in-law Heidi, to list 5 wonderful qualities of each of the members of my family including myself.

Here goes:

Dylan: 1) Intelligent. Super smart kid from the womb.
2) Intuitive. He can pick up on nonverbal vibes like a grown up.
3) Creative. He draws, writes poetry, and comes up with some really funny stories!
4) Empathetic.
5) Hilarious! I have scars on the inside of my cheeks from biting them when what Dylan has said is inappropriately funny.

Owen: 1) Tenacious/ Persevering. The man can stick it out!
2) Confident.
3) Pragmatic. He keeps my drama in check.
4) Even tempered. Again, he dilutes me.
5) Passionate. In work, hobbies, parenting and marriage.

Rebecca: 1) Compassionate
2) Artistic
3) Nurturant
4) Bold
5) Hard Working

There you go. If you'd like to make a list please do! It made me see how blessed I am with the men in my life.

Einstein or Eddy?

The Punkin' Festival

Today we decided to get out and enjoy all of the various fall festivities around the county. Here's a few pictures from our travels.

Nirvana

The other day I finally experienced one of Owen's favorite restaurants, The India Palace. It's a place that Owen and the other "lab rats" from Dr. Mumma's lab go each week for a lab meeting. It was totally a new experience for me. When we walked in, there was no menu, no waiters or daily special boards. In fact, I felt like we'd arrived at an informal pot luck dinner party. The food was laid out family style and we could sit wherever we pleased. Occasionally, the turban clad proprietor came around to fill our water glasses. There is punjab music playing in the back ground as we feasted on jasmine rice, naan, palak pakoras, various dals, chaat, and lobia. It was delicious! The problem was that about half way through my meal, I began to feel like I was in a total trance. Maybe it was the heavily spiced food, or the music or both. I don't know, but I felt totally relaxed and like I needed a nap right a way! At one point Owen looked at me and started laughing. He said that the exact same thing happened to him the first few times that he ate there. I guess that his reaction to the restaurant is a favourite anecdote in Mumma's lab. Is this the typical Native Utahan's reaction to authentic Indian food? It does make me wonder...

General Conference

This past weekend (as most all of you know) was General Conference. It was really wonderful. On Sunday we decided to make use of the new video stream offered online and stay home. Unfortunately the stream didn't work (we presume caused by the high volume of users) so we ended up just being able to listen. General Conference brings such a calm and reassuring spirit into our home. It truly is like a tall drink of cold water in a parched desert. Dylan is usually a spiritual barometer for our family and the fact that he was sitting quietly (as in NOT talking constantly) and listening (albeit while playing with Lego's) says a lot. We had some really big revelations about the course our family should take and all left with a resolve to live the gospel more fully. What a blessing General Conference is!

The Corn Maize

Here are a few pictures I took on Dylan's first field trip to the corn maize. I just love being around so many little kids at once. It was SUCH a fun trip!

The Garage

One of my favorite places in our home is the garage. If I'm feeling overwhelmed, I always find myself in the garage sitting on the step leading into our home. It comforts me to be there. This room is the only one that is totally utility in nature. There is no pretense or careful planning of color, placement of furniture or any other decor. There is a beautiful unfinished wall lined with mismatched plastic containers keeping our seasonal and sentimental clutter in check. Our well used garden tools gleam in the light of the bare bulb lighting the room. There is a place to recycle, a place for tools, chemicals and other aids, and a place to store items used to make fun with the family. This is how I wish I could run the rest of my life; walk away from the frill minutia and in the vein of Thoreau- live simply by brushing off the nature to adorn.

To Ve(gan), or not to Ve(gan) that is the question!

I am not a hater of all militant meat eaters but I eat vegan on most days. The reason is that I've found that it's a wonderful way to treat and prevent several health problems (like bleeding ulcers, migraines, and ba-donk-a-donk) that I deal with. The problem with this lies in my growing desire to feed my family vegan in order to address some of their various issues as well. (Don't get me wrong, we none of us are dieing, it's just easier and less expensive to prevent rather than treat.) Owen and Dylan both heartily eat their veggies and fruits but if I dare to serve a meal without meat or other animal products, I get many rueful looks and comments. I have begun using meat flavored tofu, tempeh, and other meatless meats in place of cooked animal with great success. Owen and Dylan usually can't tell that there's a difference and no one suffers the consequences of eating too many animal products. Owen still fights my determination to vegan-fy the whole family. He has made his feelings clear with the wearing of this shirt... I remain undeterred.

Dylan had a fabulous birthday yesterday! Our many thanks to those who participated or sent gifts. The above is an incomplete rough draft of the scrap pages that I'm putting together but I wanted to at least share a gist of our celebrations. I'm very sick today so I will also postpone sharing all of the details until later.

Birthday Dylan

Dylan's other best friend, Zeek announcing that the cake was finally bubbling.
Bubbling lava/ Indiana Jones cake. Yum!
Dylan and one of his best friends, Julianne
Dylan with his big birthday grin right before leaving for school.

Dylan-xs

Dylan often gets up earlier than 6am to draw. This morning's picture was of his future baby brother. He called him Dylan-xs or extra small. Dylan has been instrumental in helping us decide on the age group/ sex of the child we will be adopting and so he felt that he should be able to name his new brother. I told him that we were not going to call our new brother Dylan extra small but another name that is just his. This did not make Dylan happy but by the time we were walking to school, he'd accepted it.

Captain Huggyface

One of the secret joys in my day is watching PBS with Dylan. One show that Dylan has really been into is Word Girl. Word Girl is a superhero who fights crime with the use of big words. At the end of the show, the commentator asks Word Girls side kick, Captain Huggyface, to show in action what this or that word means. When Captain Huggyface receives praise for being correct, he does a dance. It's the sort of dance I've actually ended phone conversations to watch- its that funny to me. Here's a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ni_8ZEoBm0A

Reply about pictures

Due to the response of my latest post, I wanted to comment further on the pictures that we lost. Thankfully most of the pictures that were lost had a duplicate or I had scanned into our computer. Only 6 pictures survived and they were ones from the day we sealed Dylan to us in the Provo Temple. I think that it's remarkable that those were the only ones unscathed (and coincidentally the only ones that I can't find the picture CD for). The one's that were the most painful to lose were the baby pics of Owen and me. Luckily there were only a few of those. I'm usually very conscientious of the care of pictures and would never put my beloved scrap bag into the garage. Unfortunately, we've been moving everything around lately and I had put it out there temporarily which is why I didn't remember about it when it began to rain. I'm still really sad about losing all that stuff but it's gone so I might as well get over it. Everything we own is really just future garbage anyway so I just threw out some of the stuff sooner than expected.

Lost in the Flood

This morning I braced myself and commenced the cleaning out of our recently flooded garage. It was a mess! Excising mold, funk and rot was the order of the day. Among the things destroyed were our sleeping bags, some little kid toys, and worst of all, my scrapbooking bag. In it contained scores of pictures from mine and Owens childhood, professional pictures of Dylan, beautiful paper etc. As I combed through all of the pictures trying to find any that were salvageable, my mind wandered to those who's wake of destruction is much more severe than mine. The people of East Texas who are dealing with the devastation of Hurricane Ike. The things lost? Much more than mere pictures. Homes, cars, family members... I read a story in the news that reported that at least 17 people are missing- presumed to have been washed out to sea. At that moment I wished so badly that we had the resources to rush down to Huston, don work gear, open our wallet and do something. Unfortunately all that we have to offer is prayer so I prayed with all the energy of my soul that the hearts of those who have enough to give would be softened. That humanity would reach out to our brothers and sisters who have lost so much. It really humbles me to think of how blessed I've been in my life to not have suffered such loss and I pray that those who have lost everything will be able to find respite, comfort and healing.

Tagged!

Okay, So I haven't had much time for thoughtful introspection, it's been a furor of getting the next thing done on our list to become a foster home! My sister-in-coolness, Michelle, tagged me so I'm going to play...

Six Random things about me:

1) I have an action oriented mental picture of every name I know (i.e. If you say Owen Spencer to me I instantly visualize Owen kneeling across the marriage alter drinking a diet coke giving me a big thumbs up, if you say John McCain I see an old man in army fatigues swinging a lasso screaming "YE HAAA!!!" I don't know why- I'm just warped! and yes, you can email me to ask if I'll share my metal picture of you but I may not share it:D)
2) I'm a HUGE opera fan! I'm too poor to actually watch a live opera but I love my cd's (yes I still listen to cd's. I know, wake up from the dark ages right!)
3) I really want to live in South America at some point. Preferably for several years.
4) I secretly (not any more I guess) wish that I were Asian.
5) If I were to work full time outside of the home, I would want to be a landscape designer.
6) I often have dreams about roller skating.

Heidi, Tashina, Elizabeth, Robin, Owen and Angie You've been Tagged!

Here are the rules:
1. Link the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post.
5. Let the tagged person know their life is ruined by posting on their blog.
6. Confirm to the tagger (me) that you've posted.

He was lost but now he's found

Last week around the time the rains started, we lost our kitty. We were all concerned but I kept hope that he had found a loving person to take him in that he liked better than us. This morning as we approached the front door of Dylan's school, we noticed a cat trying to get into the school and being shooed away by the principal. It was our kiwi! Dylan and I were really happy that we had found him! I brought him home and he ate for a full 10 minutes. Poor little thing was lost outside all this time in the rain and cooling weather... it really makes me sad to think about it. The chihuahuas were happy to see him. After some dog/cat banter, they all cuddled up on the couch for a nap.

The 100 Year Flood

We had a 100 Year flood here in Lubbock this past Thursday. It was caused by Tropical depression Lowell. It is said that Lubbock has never seen rainfall of this magnitude anywhere on the history books!

The 100 Year Flood

Lubbock received 7.5+ inches of rain this past September 11th. It was called a 100 year rain storm as there was no rain totals recorded ever that high. The preceeding pictures were taken at various times during the day. Ultimately you'll notice that our beloved playground at maxy park was completely submerged in water.

TEXAS!

Today on our way home from school I asked Dylan what his favorite part of today was and he told me that it was saying the Pledge of Allegiance. This intrigued me and I asked him if he could say it for me. He did, with his hand on his heart. Then came from his lips this:
"Honor the Texas flag; I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state under God, one and indivisible." I was surprised! I actually knew the Texas pledge but hadn't thought about it in 6 or 7 years (since I was working in the school system). For those of you who don't know, Texas is actually the Republic of Texas (since 1835) and as such, can fly its flag at the same height as the American Flag (although no self-respecting patriotic Texan would ever do such a thing!) Texas became a state under annexation or bypassed the territorial phase of statehood (which to my knowledge is the only state in the union to do such). Here in West Texas, American pride runs deep, Texan pride runs deeper! I believe that placing hand over heart as little children has a lot to do with that. So I'll close this post in the spirit of things "REMEMBER THE ALAMO!"

Scrap book stuff

The Someday File

Have you ever heard of the "someday" file? We all have them. They're created when something unpleasant/ intense/ or annoying happens in our lives. You or someone around you (because there's always someone there when these things happen) will say "Someday You'll look back and find this funny or sweet or special." These words are uttered because there doesn't seem to be an appropriate response to what just happened. Yesterday I added to my someday file. We had to purchase a certain type of fire extinguisher to have in our home in preparation for the fire marshals visit for a fire inspection (Yup, it's required for foster care). It was not cheap! Dylan was enamored with it- he just stared at it and stroked it lovingly for most of the afternoon. Several times Owen and I had to remind him that a fire extinguisher is not a toy and that he shouldn't touch it to which he would reply "But mom, we have to test it out so that we can practice for a real fire!" This is where I made my mistake- I pointed the instruction panel out to Dylan and said "Sweetie, we don't have to actually try it out. The instructions are right here if we ever needed to use it see." Dylan said "OH COOL!" and read the instructions over and over out loud to himself. After a while it seemed that he was getting use to the presence of such a cool thing and was losing interest. Not true. I literally left the room for 30 seconds when I heard "SHSHLLLOOOOOOO" I ran back into the living room to see the whole room coated in yellowish white dust. Dylan was standing there holding the extinguisher with an impish grin, the exhaust hose of the extinguisher was still smoking. He had totally emptied it requiring us to replace the extinguisher. The house was a mess and I discovered that I'm totally allergic to the contents of a fire extinguisher!

Oh well. Someday I'll look back and this will be funny to me.

Behold Your Little Ones

This week for FHE we decided to introduce Dylan to the art of conducting a meeting. Yesterday I sat down with Dylan and let him pick the lesson topic, the songs, a scripture and an activity. Then I went over with him the typical protocol of introduction, asking people to help with prayers etc. We didn't think that this experience would be more than just an introductory learning exercise for Dylan and that Dylan would need lots of help. Tonight came and Dylan took charge! He performed the act of conducting a meeting like a pro! It was clear that Dylan felt the importance of Family Home Evening and his roll in tonight's meeting. Owen and I just looked on with amazement at our little son's natural leadership abilities! This isn't an experience that is new to me. I am constantly impressed at the instinctual spiritual abilities of little children. Yesterday in primary a boy of eight gave a very comprehensive talk on the gift of the Holy Ghost that was clearly given with the help of the Holy Ghost. There have been many times in a quiet moment that a child will utter a comment that is so pure and powerful that you know that this little person is being inspired by a Heavenly Father who knows an loves all of us. It is such a blessing to be associated with little children and to be blessed to be a mother despite my lack of fertility! It is an honor to be Dylan's mom and to help him discover his talents and develop his abilities. I am really looking forward to the time (which is approaching very soon) that Dylan will be a big brother and good example to other children in our home.

Do you CPR?

Last night I went to receive my CPR/ First Aid certification because it is required to become a foster/adoptive parent. The instructor started the class asking all of us to tell the group our names and the reason that we were taking the class. Not one of us said that we were doing it just because we felt it was a good thing to do. This really bothered me, though I wasn't sure at first why. As I sat mulling it over during the class and then again this morning when I was washing dishes it occurred to me that this is a small example of a common problem with the society that we live in. Why do we always shy away from getting involved? I've come up with a few reasons but that's not the point of this entry. I stand on my soap box to admonish those less selfish/ more socially aware than me to consider CPR/First Aid as a way to reach out to humanity in a proactive/ preventative way. Wouldn't it be great if we could assume that wherever we were, there were individuals who were willing and able to help us or our children right away if something awful happened? I think so.

1-2-3!

This morning was a 1-2-3 morning at our house. One as in the first day of Kindergarten. Dylan was excited and literally bouncing off the furniture and walls. I was fighting back tears and Owen was fighting back overly excited cheers. Dylan has gone to school before but there is something symbolic with Kindergarten. Dylan is now a "grade schooler" and has entered into a new phase of his life. Owen didn't get why this was so sad for me or all of the other women I've been talking with lately. I'm actually on my way out to take flowers to other grieving mothers who's first child's first day of school is also today. Women know! It's a big deal when your first little one moves from your lap to the classroom.

Today is two because Dylan lost his second tooth while eating breakfast. (I've read that children lose their teeth in the same order and manner that they grew them. If this is the case then Dylan might be eating really soft food for a while; as a baby he cut his first four teeth all within two weeks! Time will tell.) Luckily this time Dylan didn't swallow the tooth, but he was thoroughly disgusted and lost his appetite. Poor lamb.

It's a three day because it's the third time that I've taken Dylan to his first day of school. This is a task that never gets easier. Pictures, admonitions, hugs and tears. I guess it's all par for the course. It is also a three day because our three pets are driving me bonkers! Kiwikeahi (that's kitty's name) and Chimi play like they're fueled on crack! The moment it seems that they might settle down, Eddy eggs them on again. It's cute for the first few minutes but then it just gets on the nerves. I hope all of you who had a first day of school are surviving!

New Family Member

This weekend we added Mr. Kitty to our family. Actually, we adopted him from another family in our Ward who can't (or don't want to) take him with them when they move. He has been neutered, declawed, and fully immunized. That is the only reason Dylan and I were able to convince Owen that kitty needed to live with us. The trouble is that we're having a hard time deciding on a name. We've narrowed it down to four:

1) Kiwi

2) Keahi ("fire" in Hawaiian)

3) Jager ("hunter" in Dutch)

4) Arancione ("orange" in Italian)

If you have a preference, please let us know (via comment) because we need to call him something... I'nt he just the cutest lill thang?! SMOOCH! We love our new kitty! (The Chihuahuas are still ambivalent but they'll be loving him completely by the end of the week I'm sure.)