Lotsa babies . . . .

Since the kids got out of school, I have been watching two squirrels in our back yard. I have actually been surprised at how close I can get with Dexter before they scamper off.

This morning we have had the pleasure of watching mommy and daddy bring their little ones into the open for the first time. We have a wood pile in the field that has little squirrels peaking from it. They come a couple of feet into the open, sit for a minute, and then dart back to the safety of the wood. There are probably anywhere from 5 to 8. It is hard to keep track as they are scampering all over. Here are a couple of pictures. I'm not sure you can see them very well, but we tried!!!





This one is on the wood next to the green post.




Here's another picture of him




Here's one of mommy or daddy with two babies in front. This is a nature's version of "Where's Waldo?"




On the wood again.





Here's one of a little in the grass. Can you find it?

I want my baby sis to come and take care of me!!!!

The kids pitched the tent in the front yard a few days ago. I remember the days when we "camped" out in the front yard. The kids have been taking turns "camping" all week.

Last night at 10:00 p.m. as Karsten and I ran down to the shop to close trailer windows to an impending rain storm I thought of the kids in the tent. I couldn't believe they were still out there with the lightening and such. I had fleeting thoughts of bringing them in. Surely a little rain couldn't hurt anyone. It is an experience they'll remember. After all, I remember spending hours listening to the rain and being told over and over again not to touch the sides of the tent.

Off to bed I go, still listening to the rain at 11:30 p.m. Time rolls by and at 1:00 a.m. the front door opens and in walks the first victim. Kaela was soaked, freezing and crying. She had awakened in a puddle of water. Taken care of, warm clothes and in bed.

Back to bed I go. Still dodging the sleep-fairy, I put my relaxation tape in and settle down to what I hoped would be quiet slumber. At 2:30 a.m. I hear the door open and the last of the shelter seekers stagger in. So much for plans. Shania couldn't understand why she was sweating so heavily until she realized her playing cards were floating in water next to her. Logan was desperately trying to find other blankets to sleep with because all of his were off his bed and now were pretending they were life rafts saving all the sleeping bugs from drowning in the tent.

After settling the kids down, getting books, games and cards laid out to dry, all back in dry clothes and snuggled in bed, I was off to bed yet again.

It is amazing how the mind and body can still function after counting the patterns on the inside of your eyelids for countless numbers of minutes. Well, function is a bit of an exaggeration, but at least I'm physically in the upright position.

I'm jealous of my little sis. Sympathy for her ailments, but jealous nonetheless that our baby sis is there to help her. I think she should just finish her business in Utah and then move on to Cali to give care here, head down to Texas for her duties there, and then return to Montana. I'm sure her husband will understand. After all, he has her for eternity!!!

I'm an ogre!!!

I know I am the only parent that won't allow my kids to wear pajamas, slippers, bathrobes, sweats, dirty clothes, ripped jeans, or the like to school. I have come to accept the fact that I am medieval in my thinking, certainly not "up with the times", and archaic. I am backwards in that my children have to be dressed to go to school, their pants have to stay at their waistlines, their shirts must have sleeves and have to amply cover their belt loops, there must be enough material in their shirts (whether it is thickness or amount) to wipe up a 1/2 cup of spilled water, shoes need to be tied, hair has to be combed and I need to see their eyes, not to mention their clothes are boring because they are clean and the graphics "are for babies."

My boys are being stifled because their hair is above their ears and off their collars, aren't allowed to have tattoos (even fake ones), or piercings. My girls live in a convent because they can't wear makeup at 12, have to wait to pierce their ears, lingerie (and we all know what I mean) is not appropriate over clothes or under for that matter, and it isn't cute to wear shirts that show the color of their bra or low-rider pants that have turned all the girls into plumbers.

Yes, I am of the monster clan. They can't play video games rated higher than "E", they can't watch TV rated higher than "G", they have to have a language filter on all their movies, they don't have all the latest hand-held gadgets, and alas we are in the dark ages because they don't have a TV in their room and the computer is password protected.

But, I wear my "ogre-ness" with pride. I had ogres as parents and I think I turned out okay. So, here is a cheer to all of us ogres out there. May we live long, polish our horns, sharpen our claws, oil our muscles, and raise the meanest monsters we can!!!!

Demons out!!!

Gremlins came to visit and reeked havoc on my piano. A couple of weeks ago I was playing and two keys in the middle of the piano were sticking together and playing at the same time. An irritation, but livable. If you pounded hard enough, they would un-stick for a couple of measures and you could keep playing.

Yesterday, I sat down those two keys weren't sticking anymore, but further up the piano about five were. What in the world? I thought I was going crazy.

The piano tuner came today and my gremlins have been discovered. Bless my pointed, little children's hearts. They were shoving pencils down into the mechanisms. Major sighs of relief. Now I have to think of REAL good punishment -- 50 lashes with a wet noodle.

Yesterday is gone . . . Tomorrow never comes. . . Therefore, you're stuck with today. So get with it already, would ya???

Wow, I'm such a philosophizer, doncha thunk???

Whoever coined the phrase, "Yesterday is the past, tomorrow is the future, today is a gift that is why it is called the present" -- or however it goes -- must not have had kids, bad hair days, cars that won't start, leaky roofs, yards full of stickers, white socks now dirty from walking on floors (inside the house -- icky!!!), smeared toothpaste on mirrors and counters, garbage strewn all over from neighbors animals -- and then leaving their mountainous deposits in lawn . . . Dexter might step in it and sink up to his neck). Not to mention running from kid to kid trying to catch projectile discarded stomach contents and all the other lovelies that go with it!!!

I think someone once said something about cherishing the moment because when it is gone you will long for it (like to ask them if they'd like to spend a day at my house so they can relive those glory days) . . . and stop and smell the roses (impossible with a clothespin on your nose) . . . and this too shall pass (I've had enough of the passing, thank you very much) . . . and when you look back you will wonder where the time has gone (I know where the time has gone, I charted every minute waiting for the blessed angel of sleep to knock the lights out of my kids).

In retrospect though, there is a silver lining in every cloud. I got to sit on the couch holding my babies and not feel guilty about "wasting time." I didn't have to cook because it wouldn't be eaten anyway. The energy level was quite low and there was minimal fighting. No one complained when they watched a movie they'd seen "one hundred times." Andrew didn't complain when he was late for scouts because ice cream was the food of choice. And, I got to go to bed early with the sickies.

I received an e-mail reply to my last earth-shattering blog post about waking up and saying "thank you" -- already in conversation with Heavenly Father. What a magnificent thought. I'm thankful for a new day to stop and reflect on the gift that I did have yesterday of "setting myself aside" and focusing on those things that truly matter. Will my kids be malnourished because they had ice cream? Nope! Can I open windows and air out my house? Yup! Can I sit and hold my babies when they are full of energy and it isn't "cool" to be sitting with Mom? Nope! Are their brains going to rot out of their heads because we did nothing but fry our eyes staring at TV, computers, or games all day? Debatable, but Nope!

And, above all, they are off and running today. Yesterday is already forgotten. It is true . . . Cherish the moments -- they can seem eternal, but are gone in a flash. Stop and smell the roses -- even if they are rotten and stinky -- at least it means your nose still works!!!!

Writing for the sake of writing -- nothing to say!!!

Ever sit down to your computer and that little voice in the back of your head tells you that you should be writing something interesting, there has to be something worth talking about, how boring can your life be, journals -- what are they for again, and who cares anyway. Well, that is me. I looked at all those cute blog designs and figured that if I changed my blog design then at least I'm exerting some effort.

Then I saw that you could print out your blog in journal fashion and I thought how pathetic life can be sometimes.

Then that little voice inside of me slaps me across the face and repeats some of the things I heard at Women's Conference a couple of weekends ago. "Aren't you glad Heavenly Father doesn't get tired of making one more daisy?" "Aren't you glad Jesus Christ didn't get tired and complain about one more healing?" Set priorities, do those NEEDFUL things and not necessarily those things you think you SHOULD be doing. OOOHHHH, I need to repent.

So, I have decided that I will look for at least one thing of beauty each day and point it out to my kids. Heaven knows I spend enough time in the car there has to be something beautiful out there. At which point Karsten pointed at himself and said how much further do I have to look???? He has a good point. Hopefully if he combs his hair just right he can cover it. Kidding aside. The beauty is right in front of me and sometimes I look over the fence to see what is growing over there.

Don't try and outrun the spirit. And, move forward by slowing down. In Doctrine & Covenants 109, this section is the dedicatory prayer to the Kirtland Temple and a great section in learning how to pattern our homes after the temple. It emphasizes the need to organize, prepare and establish. I spend a lot of time establishing and not enough time organizing and preparing.

Repent, repent, repent. Wow, I'm thankful for another day.

And -- let me try this again!!

This is the solo part! Pretty darn good for only 6 months!!!