Cleaning Out and Going Through

We are getting pretty close to emptying this house.  But the upstairs' room still has some lingering boxes of my things that I've been purposely ignoring.

Until today.  I couldn't pass up Paul's offer to oversee Peter and Reuben's educational needs all afternoon.  But only if I would tackle the boxes upstairs.

Here are some of the highlights of what I found...

 Yes, I drew this.

I'm guessing it's either Ernie from Sesame Street

or my Dad.

He's got great hair like that.

Peter and Reuben had a good laugh.

Those are ribbony hair barrettes my Mom made me hanging in my face.

 This is from third grade and is a portrait of my Mom.

It goes with the following letter.

My favorite line is,

"I made this picture because I love you and Mrs. Toland made me!" 

Of all the awards I came came across,

this was my fave.

Look closer...

I passed the Parent-Tot swim class!

Phew!

That's a lot of pressure for a one year old.

I shredded old diaries,

laughed at letters from boys,

sighed at cards from Granny and Bob,

and relived the disappointment of not reaching 1000 on the SAT after two attempts.

It was a strange day.

A Letter to my Brother

My younger brother emailed me today.  And I emailed him back.  And then I thought I could post that email here so you could have a glimpse of what's going on in my small life.  Because I can't get to this space very often these days.  Twenty-seven days until a jet plane swoops us away.  A new blog will be started once I come up with a catchy name for it.

Hey David,

I hope your apricots were tasty.  Izzy is known for its fig production, if you ever happen to buy some figs.  We had an amazing, powerful time at a conference in AZ last week.  Met about a 150 people who are interested in Chickens like we are.  I loved hearing Chicken believers share from their hearts.  We pray for the spirit to use us and guide us.  I have a lot of peace about moving, even though we are still homeless once we get to Izzy.  I met a woman in the bathroom at the conference who said she'd take care of finding a place for us to stay while we look for a permanent home.  Workers in Chicken are pretty awesome about helping each other.  I'm hoping Mat Kearney makes a return trip to Chicken AND lets us know about it.

Paul's last Sunday is this next one.  Then we're appearing/meeting with tons of folks at our big supporting church a couple states over, then a Sunday off, then preaching at G'castle Church, then we leave 2 days later.  We have lots of dinner/lunch appointments with friends and family in the next month.  Our house is pretty bare.  I'm having a hard time letting go of children's books that I want to bring.  Homeschooling requires a lot of books, but books are heavy.  Paul keeps telling me I have to move more of our learning to online, which is true, but I still think a love of reading is encouraged by having books around.

We had a neat encounter with a Korean worker who wants to plant blueberries at her retreat center an hour from Izzy.  She offered us land to plant them.  I hope to write about it on my neglected blog.  I have much to write about, but I'm in a tired funk.  But!  Tonight a 70 year old lady in our town invited us for dinner and she specifically fried chicken livers for us - for the sake of my iron needs.  Ha.  I ate three, yes I did.  So I'm looking forward to much energy tomorrow.

How do you add a search for Izzy on your news feed?  That's such a great idea.  I check their weather about everyday.  It's warmer than here.

I miss you tons.  Thanks for writing.

Stacey

They Called My Name

Last time I wrote, I was visiting my parents in California.  So let's pick up from there.

My parents drove me to the airport, I checked in, and went to Gate 5.  About ten minutes later I heard, "Paging Southwest passenger Stacey Spenard.  Stacey Spenard.  Please somethingsomethingsomething."  I don't remember what they said because I was so giddy that my name was being called on the P.A. system.

Turns out my flight was being delayed indefinitely and I was going to miss my connection in Denver.  "So you'll have to reschedule and fly out tomorrow.  Here's a voucher to keep you happy."  Here comes my second favorite part.

I asked the Southwest lady behind the counter, "Can I use your phone to call my Mom and have her come pick me up?"  I felt like I was five years old.  It was funny.

So my parents turned around and came to retrieve me.  One more day in Cali, but at that point I was mentally geared up to go home and see my boys.  Flew out the next morning and here I am.

In other news...

• Paul submitted his resignation this week, giving the church sixty days notice.  Really, he gave them verbal notice two years ago that we would be leaving about this time.  Many were surprised when it became official.  The first weekend in March will be his last.  We've been here eight years.

• We are moving overseas in March.  You could call it a job transfer.

• Charlie celebrated his first time-out this week:

• Paul and I have a trip planned to go to an International T. Networking conference in Arizona next month.  It's totally focused on our future move.  Bonus that it's in Arizona in the midst of winter.  And double bonus that we paid for our plane tickets with Paul's voucher from flying in November and my voucher that I got this last trip when I had to fly out the next day.

• The upstairs' back room needed to be painted, so as a family we tackled this task.  The person who painted this room many moons ago, painted over striped wallpaper that we could see through the paint.  So we decided to strip the wallpaper and then paint the wall anew.

 Removing old wallpaper is fun!

 Reuben enjoyed using the scraper.

 Charlie took initiative to get a trash bag and pick up all the wallpaper bits.

I love intiative-takers.

 Hello Paul.

 Later that day.

The wall still has not been painted because...

like every 'easy' project we've attempted in this 1800's home,

the project always has an unexpected surprise that complicates our efforts.

The bare wall behind the wallpaper has cracks and divots and mega-unevenness that is going to require mudding.

Which is probably why the people just painted over the wallpaper.

• In our history lessons recently, we reenacted the Great Fire of London:

 In just a few days, four-fifths of the city burned because

the homes were so close together and made of wood.

 Poor London.

•  We've had lots of snow.  Peter & Bros. Snow Removal has made lots of dollars this winter.

 After a long morning of scooping snow,

Pete and Reuben went to play on this pile.

See Peter reclining on the mound?

•  Charlie, like his older brothers of yore, climbed his way into the snack cupboard.

 He's answering our question, "Where's Charlie?"

Apparently, he doesn't know.

• The kids go to youth group on Sunday nights.  Here's one of their very spiritual lessons:

 They wrapped Reuben in toilet paper.

 Looks like a piggy snowman.

•  Earlier this week I was tricked into going camping.  They said we'd be staying in a cabin.  They said we'd take turns preparing meals.  They said it would be lots of fun family time.  And I believed them.  'Camping' never came to mind... until I started packing.  The problem with camping is all the prep (work!) and all the cold (cold!).  I know, I'm a whiner.  Poor me, had to go stay in a cabin in the woods and hang out with family.  It was a really nice time.  Paul's parents and his sister's family came too, and we stayed in two large cabins.  With the cabins came arm bands to get into the indoor waterpark.  Three days of water play for the cousins, board games, and down time.

 Know this game?

Settlers of Catan with Papa, Peter, Paul, and cousin Benen.

And Nana keeping watch on the couch.

 Fascinated by the popcorn popper.

With Aunt Anna.

 Popcorn Party on the cabin floor.

With cousin Cecily.

• And I have a fun video demonstrating Charlie's organization skills.  But it won't load.  So maybe tomorrow.

An Update of my Knowledge

Here's what I learned today as a result of hanging out with my parents.

• Hillary Clinton is the shoe-in president of our country for the 2016 elections.  No need for any of us to vote.  According to the Rush Limbaugh show.
• Joe Montana really wanted to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers back in the day, but, alas, they turned him down.
• Joe was a "system" player and he's okay with that because it earned him several "system" rings.  Does that make sense to any of you besides my Dad?
• Mr. Montana's son does not play for Notre Dame any more and it makes him sad.

• A banana and dark M&Ms makes a really tasty snack.
• Spinning around on the bar at the playground can cause bruising to the back of the knee.  That never happened when I was 8.
• Sometimes plastic surgeons use their skills to change the identity of mobsters.  Thank you crime tv.  Castle, I think.

• Ok, I learned this on Saturday:  "Pavone" means peacock.
• I observed the footwear of many women as we waited at the City of Hope.  Lots of professional type ladies are wearing really big/tall high heels that make them walk in a very unnatural way.  The other end of the shoe spectrum here in So Cal are the casual ladies wearing warm fuzzy boots.  In So Cal.  It was 75 degrees.  Hm.
• I am a terrible hospital companion.  I.V. racks and syringes still make me weak, light headed, and nauseous.  It's embarrassing.
• The City of Hope is very near where I bought my motorcycle.  It was a cute red Honda Rebel.

Did you learn anything interesting today?

Me and Cali

So here I am in California.  I've eaten an In-n-Out cheeseburger, three ice cream bars and one avocado, knitted four dish cloths, walked ten miles, slept ten hours every night, driven in traffic nearly everyday, been spit-up on by baby Cadence, and have been introduced to crime television shows.  I've also hung out with very important people - the true reason for this trip.  And I have photos all ready to show you, but I can't get them uploaded.  Let me try again...

Okay, so I was able to post them over on facebook, including an exclusive video of my acrobatic feats of amazement.

I came out to help with housework and hang out with my mom and dad who are recovering from my dad's stem cell transplant.  The bonus is that my sister also came to visit with her new baby.  So we've had some unique family time.  I got to go with them to City of Hope, where my dad is being treated, and meet a few of the people who helped save his life from leukemia.

What I've learned from this trip is that I need to persuade my therapist to prescribe unto me a quarterly trip to visit my family.  It is so restorative.  Special family time, perfectly temperatured sunshine, no children to care for or cause me to wake before my ten hours are up, familiar places and food, no children to care for or...  It's just so nice.

Now I pause to express my love, appreciation, and greatest gratitude to my husband who is home with one vomiting child and two highly active children.  Isn't he wonderful?  He is.  So is his mom who is also caring for our children many days while I'm not.  A break in parenting is so golden.  Thank you, thank you!

Time for football tv and the beginnings of another dishcloth.

...You Make Lymeade

Remember that one time when I had Lyme Disease?  That was a neat two weeks.

Much to my consternation, it seems that I am, after all, losing my mind on my own accord.

Paul and I were sitting in the office of the infectious disease doctor last week.  (My primary doctor found that I had Lyme Disease, started me on antibiotics, and referred me to this infectious disease doctor who I saw two weeks later.)  He had read over my history, squinted at my last round of blood tests (including the ones that showed I tested positive for Lyme Disease), poked my body hither and yon, then turned to us and said,

"You do not have Lyme Disease."

Paul and I laughed in aghastment.  For two weeks I had been reading books and websites about Lyme.  The more I read, the more symptoms I recognized.  What's that one thing some people are?  Hypochondriac?

Know what I have?  Nothing.  Know what's wrong with me?  Nothing.  Know what's causing the fatigue and such?  Nothing.

His official diagnosis is: You are tired.  And he validated my symptoms by saying, "What you're feeling is real.  You are tired."

And this is my favorite part...  He said something like, "You're going to drive yourself into a mental situation if you try to search out more answers for why you're tired.  Don't do it.  You are healthy.  You are tired.  You will feel better."  He just gave me the freedom to stop trying to fix myself.  Just be tired, lady, and one day you won't be tired any more.

So, People of the World, this is when you offer all your insights as to what is really wrong with me and how I need a third opinion.  Ready...go.

While you gather your thoughts about that, I will further express how I feel.

Well, first, I feel tired.  (ha - tired, but still funny)

Nextly, I keep wondering to myself, sometimes with tears of frustration:  HOW IN THE WORLD DO I MAKE MYSELF FEEL UNTIRED?  It's been nearly a year full of tiredness and I can not find the little toggle switch to flick it from "tired" to "not tired".  I think it broke off.  The Doctor of Extensive Knowledge said I need to work through the tiredness and get back to exercising.  That's it.

Some have suggested that this is my subconscious way of declaring that I do not want to move to Chicken (ever been there?).  Others have offered that maybe Satan is working hard to slow us down and discourage us from moving to Chicken.  And a third opinion has been that perhaps God is testing and strengthening my faith, determination, and character as we prepare to... move to Chicken.

I kind of like the "You are tired" one.  I did pay him a lot of money to make that statement.

But, you know, one gets a lot more sympathy when she has a real diagnosis like Lyme Disease.  I'm kind of missing it.  Who cares if you're tired?  Everyone is tired.  For real.

So here's to my way up out of the sloggy tired mind and into the rejuvinated go-get-em...

Ohhh, trying to creatively create that sentence just exhausted me.


But, look!  Here's our annual family picture at Turkey Run.

 Tired shmired.

When Life Gives You Lymes...

Hello Peoples of the World!  I've missed you.

While I was washing dishes tonight, several thoughts came to mind that I deemed blog worthy.  But now that I'm here they have escaped me.  So I will just type and such until things come to me.

Well, see there.  The phone just rang and someone needed to know if they could use the church Fellowship Hall tomorrow.  "Um, yeah, let me just look at the church's master calendar hanging on my kitchen wall here..."  But really I jogged faster than my body wanted to move, across the street in the rain to check the calendar.  It's free tomorrow, in case you were worried I'd leave you wondering.  Except now it's not.

Picture by Reuben.

He was really amazed by this sunset.

This is for Carly.

Know what we're watching?

Anne of Green Gables.

My sons' future wives can thank me with gifts of fair trade chocolate.

I have been reading L.M. Montgomery's journals and they are so fantastic.

(She is Anne's author.)

She tells about which characters and stories are based on her real life,

and how she cried and cried the day of her wedding because she was not marrying for love.

 Then she moved away to live in a rural part of Canada with her new husband who was a pastor.

She is me!

Except I married with overflowing amounts of love.

But!

A pastor's wife in a small foreign town who has all these expected duties

and can't really confide in anyone because then her life becomes the town's latest gossip!

Ah.

We are kindred spirits born a hundred years apart.

Read it with a box of kleenex.

WWI affects her strongly and there's the part about baby Hugh and the parsonage does not have a bathroom and...

He is so lucky to be the third child.

Never would I have let a two-year-old play with weapons.

My heart melted oowey-gooey when Paul bought this mini sword for him at the feast.

It was a moment of tender father-son sweetness.

Peter and Reuben had both made their much-anticipated, thoroughly-considered sword purchases

and Charlie was left empty handed.

We did not plan to buy him a sword too.

He's two!

Oh, but he wanted one like his big brothers and Paul, so sweet, felt this in Charlie.

And he bought one.

I am feeling oddly sentimental about it, Charlie's first sword.

And a rare spontaneous purchase by Paul.

It was love.

And I love love.

Speaking of love.

Here we are.

Hanging out at our Saturday night church.

We were either waiting for the masses to exit the building,

or we had arrived early and... I have no idea why I took this picture.

Can you sense a bit of scatterbrainia in me?

It's okay.

I now have a diagnosis for my brain fog, memory loss, muscle weakness, and deep lingering fatigue...

One day whilst traversing the trails of Turkey Run,

a mite of a tick poked me with his teeth

and delivered into my body the poison of Lyme.

At least we think that's what happened.

I never saw the tick or the bite

but apparently I have Lyme Disease.

Because that's what my latest blood work showed.

While I am not looking forward to dealing with the late stages of this disease,

I am thrilled

THRILLED

to have a name for the way I feel.

I am NOT losing my mind on my own accord.

It's the tick's fault.

So, tips?

Who's had Lyme Disease?

Carolına and Me

The drive to South Carolina was so pretty.  I really liked driving through the Appalacia Mountains.  We drove there Thursday, met with folks all day and night on Friday, met with more folks on Saturday and drove home.  I brought my camera and here are the only pictures I took...

I only took them because Paul was so excited about it.  The guy driving the car was munching on a snack and looked quite bored.  We smiled and waved at his cameras.  So look for us on Google maps.

We didn't get to experience much of the S. Carolına culture ın our short tıme there (and my keyboard just swıtched over to typıng ın Turkısh so the dots on the letter ı have dısappeared).  But here ıs what I know - ıt was humıd and we were warned about scurryıng cockroaches and we had breakfast at a place called The Lızard Thatch or somethıng lıke that.  And I learned that USC ıs not a cool college ın So Cal but the Unıversıty of South Carolına and they play good football.  Oh!  And all theır tea ıs sweet tea - the kınd that ıs thıck lıke syrup and makes you say Whoo!  And they stıll talk about how they lost The War.  Whıch made me thankful that I grew up ın Calıfornıa and do not have to claım allegıance to the North or South - the Cıvıl War was somethıng that happened Over There.  But serıously I cannot understand the Southern mındframe of racısm and whıte supremacy and realızed I have always just consıdered myself on the Northern Team.  Thıs opınıon I just kept to myself whılst there.

But the purpose of our trıp...  We met wıth an organızatıon that helps pastors start churches around the world ın places where there are no churches.  We have already joıned an org that does thıs but ıt ıs now mergıng wıth thıs S. Carolına org so we are checkıng out thıs new org to see ıf we want to merge too.  The conclusıon- we are not so sure.  Whıch ıs frustratıng.  So we are prayıng.

Now lets talk about my haır.  I lıke ıt.  I can style ıt on Monday, freshen ıt wıth the flat ıron on Tuesday and agaın on Wednesday.  Who loves a cute low maıntenance haırstyle?  I do.  Here ıs the pıcture you have been waıtıng for.  It was taken whıle I was at the Malıbu Soap Awards thıs afternoon.  I really lıke how my wardrobe attendant matched my dress to my eyeshadow.  She ıs so good.

Cute rıght?

To bed now so that tomorrow we can traverse Turkey Run - do scıence experıments wıth Paul (who has taken over scıence for me thıs year!!!) - shop for grocerıes all by myself - and accomplısh some ıtems on my to-do lıst lıke add Charlıe to our wıll to make sure he gets hıs part of our mıllıons and maybe get passport pıcs for Reuben and Charlıe.  Whoo!

For Charlene and Peter

Hello Charlene.

And, hi Peter.

This is for them.  Because they want to know.

So we're back in the regular life of the Paul and Stacey family.  Such things are happening like...

• I had most of my hair removed yesterday.  It was one of those cleansing haircuts that took off half of a ruler or so.  No picture.  Yet.  It was my stylist's attempt to redeem my look after I cut my own bangs like a sneaky five-year-old with a pair of blunt scissors.  About a month ago I tried to do the thick bangs look.  But mostly I just ended up pinning them back.  Because the first day I styled them down and I came out of the bathroom, Paul said in aghast confusion, "Who are you?"  That really helped my self confidence.  So I just had all the rest cut off too.  So in about six months or so all should be fine and grown out.

• We are in our third week of homeschooling with three boys in the house.  Charlie is doing well as the third child.  I work with Reuben at the coffee table, Peter works independently at the counter in the laundry room, and Charlie plays with the wooden train tracks, lines up the plastic bugs, dumps out all the pattern blocks, and eats Cheerios.  When I'm done with Reuben he gets to play and I go work with The Pete.  We'll call it The Perfect System.  

• Except that this totally fails when I try to teach Peter and Reuben something at the same time.  Like Bible time.  Holy Canoli.  Charlie recognizes this as Party Time Pow-Wow on the Couch and does his best to fully antagonize Reuben, the weaker-willed of his two choices.  So today, to fully disclose my weaknesses, I found myself reading the very Word of God to my children, then yelling at them (Reuben) in frustration that they (Reuben) could not answer my questions because they (Reuben) were not paying attention because Charlie the Younger was in his face hitting him with a vanilla-filled balloon left over from the last science lesson.  You know what I did?  I canceled school.  Right then.  Because I could see that something was not right with this situation.  Later in the day I figured out what was wrong, apologized to poor Reuben, discussed solutions with Peter, and will give it a retry.  Perhaps tomorrow.  But I also realized that I am really tired today.  Which leads me to my next point.

• I am really tired today. That anemic sort of tired that I'm not supposed to be anymore.  Boo.

•  I was going to say "enough about me," but I have more!  I am taking Perspectives.  Which probably means nothing to you.  What it means to me is that every night I am spread out on my bed with four books (two of them equal in size to a So Cal phone book), a pencil, and a highlighter as I read and read and read.  And read.  Then I have to answer questions and email them to my Grader.  Gosh, it is hard for me.  And I'm going to have to go ahead and blame it on my anemic brain.  I'm supposed to be all better.  My doctor said six months.  It's been six months.  But I still cannot read deep topics.  My brain can't focus.  I read and reread the questions and have no idea what they are asking.

• And you know what?  Two weeks ago I emailed my university to see about finishing my graduate degree.  I was three classes away from an MA in Education and was kind of feeling like finishing it.  They must have received an email from my doctor saying not to let me take any coursework because of my shaky mental status.  The university said it's been over ten years since I took my other classes and now none of those classes count.  I'd have to start all over.  Nice cover.  They knew I'd fail and they didn't want that smearing their reputation.

• I now know I would have failed because my Grader for this Perspectives course returned my first two lessons with a C and a D and the words, "Good effort."  What?!  Doesn't she know I graduated top (TOP!) of my class with ropes around my neck and awards in my pocket?  I don't get C's and D's, lady.  Except, apparently, now I do.  Why even try, you know?  My brain has become mush.  I imagine it a lumpy oatmeal with bits of browning banana and swirls of brown sugar.  But, as is my tradition, I will do my best.  I will!  And I will try to be only a little humiliated when I see my Grader in class, and only cry a little that my best is no longer an A. 

• So, enough about me.  Peter wants to go to an overnight lock-in at the church we go to on Saturday nights.  My first reaction is, "Will he be molested?"  Would you think that too?  It's a church, so it should be safe.  But, I know better than that.  But, do I keep him from all such activities until he moves out and I can no longer protect him?  Seems unlikely and unnecessary.  That is my dilemma.

• Next dilemma.  Peter is going to try out for the county swim club next week.  He's looking forward to learning the breaststroke and butterfly, and how to dive off the starting blocks, and how to do a flip turn, and how to win 22 gold medals.  And do you know what my brain thinks?  "Will he be molested in the locker room?"  And then, "What is my problem?"  Why do I keep worrying about protecting my sons?  I know.  It's because it happens.  And it makes me feel so helpless.  Any thoughts there?

• Paul and I are roadtripping to South Carolina later this week.  Ever been there?  Me neither.  Sadly, we are making a super fast trip and we won't get to enjoy the Smoky Mountains that we'll be driving through.  In the dark.  And in the rain.  We're driving eleven hours, staying there one day, and driving back eleven hours.  Why would we do that?  Because we have a meeting.  It's an important meeting that will shape our future work with our future group in our future place.  You know what I'm saying?

• My sister and her uber cute family are visiting my parents this week.  And it made me wish that Paul worked for an airline so that I could fly to California any time I wanted.  Paul?  Honey?  Let me show you a picture of this baby that I'm not spending time with tonight because Someone is in the wrong profession.

Wouldn't you work for an airline so your wife could hold this baby whenever she needed to?  You would.  I know.  Thank you.

Thursday Thoughts

Did you know there are people in Latvia who visit this blog?  Yah.  And in Japan, Turkey, Russia, France, Germany, and Australia.  I think that's amazing.  Merhaba, G'day, and Konnichiwa!

Also, I was inwardly concerned about the transition of Peter being home all the time when school got out in May.  How am I going to handle three boys?  This is new to me.  Well... It has been wonderful.  It's like Peter and Reuben have been making up for ten months of lost playtime.  They play and play and wrestle and laugh and create.  And Peter loves little Charlie.  He reads to him and builds train tracks for him and helps him however needed.  So great.

And now here's our dinner menu for this week.  All new recipes.

• Middle Eastern Stew - lentils and veggies
• Raspberry Chicken Salad - with lettuce from our garden
• Chicken Primavera - using the dreaded broccoli - maybe the boys like broccoli now - ha
• Roast Beef Pocket Sandwiches - like gyros - had today and Peter and Reuben declared them too spicy, which was a mystery to me
• Spicy Beef Salad - I scanned the meat section for flank steak.  I don't know what that is, but they didn't have it.  So the nice meat lady handed me a hunk of beef that she said would work.
• Spinach Melange - I don't remember what this is, but I picked it to use up the spinach in my freezer.  I'm fully expected the boys to revolt.
• Orange-Yogurt Salad - a jello with mandarin oranges - to make up for the spinach
• Mom's Chili - not new, it's my mom's recipe - needed a comfort food in there

Um, Charlie has a fever today.  Whisked him to the doctor via two-lane country roads.  It's one of my favorite drives out here.  About 35 minutes through the farmlands with little hills that flip your stomach.  About seven minutes in (way before the hilly part) I heard that horrific sound in the back seat... I needlessly said to Reuben, "Did Charlie just throw up?"  Oh, the carseat, you know?  And I didn't have a change of clothes for him.  I just kept driving.  Maybe it would go away by the time we got there.  And here I sit typing with throw-up still on my shoulder.  That's how veteran mom I am.

As for the literature I am reading these days... The Lost Daughters of China has captivated me.  It would be an interesting read for anyone, but having been through the international adoption process I am totally bonding with the author as she retells her adoption story of her two daughters from China.

I also read a book on yoga that's not worth mentioning really.  It was trying to convince to me to be all weird.  I just want to do the exercises, thanks.

And I've made several attempts to get through John Holt's How Children Learn because many in the homeschool world think it's a must-read.  I must be missing something.  I'm totally not enthralled.  It just seems like common sense, but I keep reading bits to try to find the fascinating part.

And in closing, Charlie gained a pound and is up to 22 pounds.  He'll be two in a few weeks.  I love that he's smallish.  I can still hold and cuddle him easily.  But I noticed that he's filled out his footie pajamas.  The last time he wore them the feet would drag and frustrate him.  But tonight they're almost too small.  Just like that.

And my main man Paul cleaned up the vomititious carseat.  Love.  He loves me.  He's here next to me reading about a sultan from the Ottoman empire.

And, I'm taking a trip to California soon.  God has been so gracious in providing all the major details.  I'm still waiting on one - it's a major one according to Peter...  Legoland tickets.  Their website is so silly.  Seventy-five dollars.  Ha, funny Legoland people.  Surely someone in, say, Latvia knows how I can get them cheaper.  Anyone?  Oh, what I need is a reader in Denmark.

Our Twelfth Anniversary

Back on May 6th...

(I realized as I organized this post that...

if one is blogging about a date then...

she's not going on enough dates,

youknowwhatI'msaying?)

In our driveway, headed out.

Giddy to be going out with an empty back seat.

Where to?

Turkey Run...

 Getting ready to hike trail nine.

It's the farthest out and we only hike it without kids.

Which is twice now.

 Surprise waterfall

 Trying to take a self-portrait with the waterfall,

but we keep blocking it.

Everybody to the left.

There.

 Cute in grey.

Lunch at the Inn.

I'd like another pot roast melt please.

 After lunch and lounging in the lodge

we found this shelter house and watched the rain.

 Here's a tour of the little shelter house in the big woods.

 Trying to start a fire with our car lighter.

No go.

But you could imagine.

 Cheers with our elder-approved bubbly, Martinelli's.

Thanks again to Debbie for giving us a day together.

I love my man

and love spending time with him.

He is my favorite.

I think it's amazing that there is a person who knows me really well...and likes me, you know?

Like, he wants to be with me always and forever.

That's a lot of overlooking my long list of faults.

I can trust him

and talk about whatever with him

and be all different kinds of personalities around him

and he likes my sass
(Sass.  With an "S")

and he's patient when I'm an emotional mess.

And look at his smile.

And his eyes.

I love his hands.

He has good hands.

Hi sweet man.

I love you.

A Dreamy Day

Happy Anniversary to my main man and me.  We were romantically betrothed twelve years ago.  It was sweet.

Today was sweet too.

My dear, dear mother-in-law gave us the day to go.  To go away and be just us while she spent the day with three high-energy boys.  It's a strange feeling to just be he and me.  And we loved it.

We went to Turkey Run State Park and hiked trail 3 to trail 10 to trail 5 to trail 9.  It sprinkled a bit, but the thick forest worked as our umbrella.  Two hours of talking and holding hands and just being he and me.

Then we went to the inn there for lunch.  Pot Roast Melt.  So yum.  Tender beef, swiss cheese, grilled onions, rye bread.  With mint M&Ms Debbie gave us just before we left.

Part three was spent in the lodge.  We, being uberly nerdly, sat on a couch with our shoulders snuggling... and read.  No one was trying to crawl up on our laps, or pull us into another room, or need... anything from us.  We could just be, you know?  Parenting is great.  It's special and fulfilling.  But a break from parenting is also great and special and fulfilling.

So on to part four of our dreamy day...  As we left the lodge it started to rain so we drove to a shelter house with a picnic table to share our annual bottle of Martinelli's.  The rain turned into a thunder storm, but we were very dry and snug in the shelter.  Paul tried to use the cigarette lighter from our car to start a fire in the fireplace, but it wasn't hot enough.  But you could imagine how cozy that would have been.  We sat on the table sipping from wine glasses we brought from home and enjoyed the sound of the rain and the little peeks of sunshine that came and went.

And then we drove home.  Charlie and Reuben, who had not seen us for seven whole hours, came running and squealing to us at the door.  Sweet boys.

And sweet Debbie for caring for them.

And sweet man who loves me abundantly.

Merhaba, As It Were

Hello!  I miss you.  How are you?  You could tell me.  I would listen.  And respond.

Oh.  As I reread that upper sentence I wondered if my subconscious psyche was revealing the shallow sadness and loneliness I sometimes feel in this space because most of the time this is a one-way conversation.  Wow, that's pretty deep for a rainy Saturday morning.  So let's make this Say Hi To Stacey Day.  Fab ideas you have.

In other nonessential news...

My hemoglobin is up to 13.5, which is cause for a jog around the block or a dusting off of the workout videos because that's back in the normal range.  I should be feeling great!  But I'm not.  But one day I will.  Let's say... Thursday.  Thursday will be the comeback day.

This day, in one point five hours, we will drive north one hour to a university town to meet up with some manti-cooking Turks.  I have a pic of actual manti I saw once...

Peter and Reuben have their Turkish soccer jerseys on, Paul is walking around speaking random Turkish phrases to himself, and I... I am looking forward to making new local Turkish friends and eating their delicious food.

But first I must go dry my hair.

And tell you that, although it is 40ish today, it will be in the 80s by Wednesday.  Aha!

Rambles

Really?  You don't have any camera suggestions for me?  This blog is quite dull due to the lack of photos, which is a result of needing a new camera, which I'm going to fully accredit the blame to you because you haven't told me about your camera.  "We came here to meet girls and dance.  And we can't meet girls until we dance!"  You know what I'm saying?

I want one with a viewfinder and a rechargeable Lithium battery.  It doesn't exist.  Except for the one I currently own that is not for sale anymore because I bought it seven years ago.  Most just have a screen on the back, but it's impossible to see what you're taking a picture of when it's sunny.

But maybe they have fixed this faulty feature.  Maybe you have a camera with a screen that doesn't go black with the sun's glare.  Maybe you should tell me which camera it is so I can buy it and thus improve your life with photos on my blog.  See?  Win, win.

In other news... I am sitting at home with a fevered baby whilst Paul, Peter, and Reuben are spending the day in The City.  Oh, I love going to the city.  I've been looking forward to this Spring Break Day of Family Fun... visiting with friends, exploring the new exhibits at the Children's Museum, holding hands with my man, going out for dinner, and a little clothes shopping.

Instead I've done laundry and dishes, wiped Charlie's nose twenty times and given him Tylenol, picked up the mail and eaten leftovers for lunch.  Ho hum, twiddly dum.

Next topic... I enrolled Reuben in school for fall.  It's my backup plan in case I never feel the opposite of tired again.  Then last night I wrote out what our day of homeschooling would look like with Peter doing 4th grade and Rube doing Kinder/1st grade.  It can be done, of course... by a mother with full stores of iron.  So we'll see.

Peter is going to take part in a summer science enrichment course sponsored by the Gifted and Talented program in our school district.  It's led by a high school science teacher and includes a trip to Chicago.  I'm not convinced that Peter is "gifted and talented", perhaps he was just given an excellent academic foundation by an extraordinary teacher in the perfect educational setting.  Ha ha ha, I crack myself up.

If I don't keep writing, what will I do next?  Get a drink and watch the latest episode of The Amazing Race, I guess.

But first, a Happy Birthday to Riley!  Welcome to the Five-Year-Olds club.  Current members are Reuben, Samuel, Gigi, and now Riley!  I would show you cute pictures of them all, but, you know... that whole camera thing.  And to be fully truthful, these cousins live in four different towns in three different states and have never actually all met each other.  But you can imagine how cute they'd be playing ninjas and princesses all together.

Okay, good-bye.  Hope you're having a more thrilling, less lonely day than I am.

Cookies, Ketchup, and Eyewear

This is how Charlie likes to spend Quiet Reading Time...

Researching cookie recipes.

Getting a different perspective.

Here's how Reuben likes to use the cookie sheet.

Charlie discovered ketchup.

He likes it a lot.

Here he's dipping Honey Nut Cheerios in it.

 

Reuben and Pete are big pirates fans.

Rube recently made us matching eye patches.

So we practiced making pirate faces.

Very fierce.

Culinary arts, music, fine arts, history, and drama.

Preschool play is very educational.