tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19553085777214616352024-03-18T22:02:10.036-07:00Sarah's Silly StuffSarah Bluehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18420097146485393526noreply@blogger.comBlogger200125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955308577721461635.post-81721066676684973642019-08-14T13:02:00.001-07:002019-08-14T13:02:03.662-07:00Carmex<div style="text-align: justify;">
A few weeks ago, the corner of my lip started to hurt a bit. I could tell that a cold sore was trying to start. For my body, the thing that works best to prevent cold sores is Carmex. It is a great product that has worked reliably for me for many years. So I went to my bathroom drawer to retrieve my Carmex. It wasn't there. Then I remembered, I had used the last of it a month earlier. </div>
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When I purchase soap, lotion, and lip balm, I typically purchase them in bulk. I put one out on the bathroom counter or in the bathroom drawer, depending on the item, then put the rest of the items in an overstock container under the bathroom sink. I checked the overstock container. No Carmex! I knew I had purchase at least one other little jar. I thought and thought about where that back-up jar could be. Then I remembered. When "J", a 14-year old young man, had lived with us last year his lips started to develop cold sores. I had given him my last overstock jar and had failed to purchase a replacement.</div>
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I went to my teenage daughter, asking her if she had any Carmex. Nope.</div>
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I went to my teenage son, asking him is he had any Carmex. Nope.</div>
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I would have to drive to the store. The corner of my lip was starting to have a prickling sensation and I knew I needed to get some anti-cold sore stuff on it quickly.</div>
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Then I remembered!</div>
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Dad always has Carmex in his top drawer!</div>
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So I ran back to my bedroom, went to Jeremy's dresser, and opened the top drawer. I searched through Jeremy's entire drawer. There was no Carmex. I was so disappointed. I was also confused. Dad <i>always</i> kept Carmex in his top drawer. He was never without at least one jar.</div>
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And then it dawned on me.</div>
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<i>Dad </i>always had Carmex.</div>
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Not Jeremy.</div>
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<i>Dad</i>.</div>
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As in, <i>MY</i> Dad. My actual father.</div>
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I started laughing at myself. </div>
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I have called Jeremy "Dad" for nineteen years. He has been "Dad" and I have been "Mom" for almost two decades. We started calling each other that when we became parents and were teaching our babies what to call us. But the "Dad" who always had Carmex in his top dresser drawer, that man's name is Dennis. </div>
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A week later, my Dad came to Yuma to visit. When I told my Dad this story, he laughed and laughed. He thought it was hilarious. He also had some sympathy. He's called his wife, my mother, "Mom" for about four decades now. They've had a few confusing episodes over the years too.</div>
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Such a funny thing. </div>
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My Dad did let me know that he DOES have a jar of Carmex sitting in his top dresser drawer back at his house. He also told me that he wouldn't have let me use his jar because I have "cooties". Silly man!</div>
Sarah Bluehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18420097146485393526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955308577721461635.post-49653564471598178362018-09-14T23:50:00.000-07:002018-09-22T23:53:16.808-07:00Anniversary MusingsI am usually a private person when it comes to certain things. However, I have been feeling impressed to share some thoughts. I have found that it is good to follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit.<br />
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The 21st anniversary of our family occurred this past week. In 21 years our family has grown from two people to nine people. We have lived in nine different homes in four different cities. We have had several heated disagreements over the years and we have had many wonderful times of great joy. The best piece of advice we got as we were preparing for marriage was this:<br />
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"Love one another. Love is a Verb." Love is not just some feeling of endearment or affability that you feel for a particular person. Love is work. Love is choice. When Jesus commanded us to love one another, He was not commanding us to be infatuated with one another. Love, in this context, was an action verb. Love is this context means to serve and help one another, to be kind and respectful to one another, to keep hanging on and being loyal and true to one another. The Commandment to love one another is vital in the marital relationship. There will be days when you honestly do not like the person that you are married to and you may wonder how you could have made such a terrible choice as to bind yourself to them. It is on those days and in those moments when things are hard that it is most important to remember what True Love is. True Love is service, helping, kindness, respect, loyalty, and fidelity to your partner. True Love sometimes requires sacrifice and often requires humility. True Love is hard work at times. Fortunately, True Love is usually rewarding work--though the rewards may take days, weeks, or even months to show themselves.<br />
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Jeremy and I have had ups and downs in our marriage. There have been days when we have both been ready to call it quits. And on those days we remember the advice we were given: Love one another. Love is a Verb."<br />
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Sometimes we've had to walk around the block a few times to calm down. Sometimes we've had to sit ourselves down in timeout. Sometimes we just had to ignore each other for a couple of days. But we always come back. We keep on Loving each other even on days that we don't quite Like each other. And that, I think, has made all the difference in our relationship. I think we are stronger today then we have ever been, both as a couple and as individual people, because we keep coming back. We keep trying. The Lord truly works all things for our good. He will turn our weaknesses into strengths, If We Let Him. He will lead us and guide us and walk beside us, If We Let Him. Because that is the other important part of all of this: The Lord needs to be a part of your relationship.<br />
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I hope this doesn't come off as preachy. As I said at the beginning, I have been feeling prompted to share certain thoughts. Celebrating Twenty-One years of marriage has made me a bit introspective regarding this topic.<br />
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Happy Anniversary Jeremy.Sarah Bluehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18420097146485393526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955308577721461635.post-16218950181234648802018-04-26T10:00:00.000-07:002018-09-23T00:10:48.186-07:00Open Letter<div style="text-align: justify;">
Dear Yuma County & Arizona Residents,</div>
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During the past week I have heard some very negative and very divisive statements regarding the #RedForEd movement. The thing that <i>astounds</i> me is that these negative and divisive comments are coming from <i>within</i> the movement and are directed toward other members of the movement.</div>
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Today some Educators chose to Walk-OUT to show their support of Education and their Students. Today some Educators chose to Walk-IN to show their support of Education and their Students. Today some Schools closed in order to support their Educators and their Students. Today some Schools remained open in order to support their Educators and their Students. The astounding thing is that there are people from <i>each side</i> who feel passionately, and vociferously, that the other side c<i>hose incorrectly </i>in how they demonstrated their support.</div>
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This divisiveness and negativity from <i>within</i> the movement brings to mind "The Butter Battle Book" by Dr. Seuss. Within that book, two groups (the Yooks and the Zooks who have a great many similarities to each other) become entrenched in a disagreement regarding the correct way to butter bread. It is a wonderful book that most Educators have read. I would implore our Educators to remember the tale of the Yooks and the Zooks and to apply its lessons in this situation.</div>
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Please have compassion and understanding for those Educators who chose to demonstrate their support in a manner different from your won. Please stop berating your colleagues or trying to shame them because you choose to butter your bread Butter-Side-Down and they choose to butter their bread Butter-Side-Up. <i style="font-weight: bold;">Both Choices</i> still give you a lovely slice of bread with a smear of butter. <i style="font-weight: bold;">Both Choices</i> give your mouth a treat as you chew and satisfy your tummy once swallowed.</div>
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So whether you and your colleagues decided to butter your bread today Butter-Side-Up or Butter-Side-Down, please remember that the important thing is that <i style="font-weight: bold;">Both Sides</i> chose to have a slice of bread with a smear of butter. Please be <i>kind</i> and <i>respectful</i> to your fellow Educators, even though they may have chosen to demonstrate differently than you. Each member of the #RedForEd movement is supporting the cause in the manner they think best for themselves and for their Students. We have enough opposition from without; Please stop allowing this movement to have division from within. Let's start supporting our colleagues in their choices even though they may differ from our own choices.</div>
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Please remember that we are Stronger Together!</div>
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Sincerely,</div>
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Sarah</div>
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Mother to a Bunch of Kids</div>
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P.S. I am not saying that the divisiveness within this movement is going to lead to a nuclear catastrophe. I am saying that the divisiveness is unnecessary and should be curbed.</div>
Sarah Bluehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18420097146485393526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955308577721461635.post-48042364312563658222017-08-04T20:14:00.003-07:002017-08-04T20:15:05.577-07:00Transplanting Trees<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The following post has sat, uncompleted, in my draft box for about eight years. It is about transplanting trees. I had initially written out detailed instructions for proper transplantation. I had spent several hours over a span of days writing instructions, drawing diagrams that I then scanned and pasted into the post. It was going to be great. I only had a few paragraphs to finish when my computer had a hiccup and the post was gone! I was able to recover a partially completed draft, but that was it. Everything else was lost. And I was too disheartened to redo the work. I put it in my draft folder. And there it say until tonight. I hope you enjoy. Changes and additions that I am making today will be in <i>italics</i>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I love fruit trees. Planting and maintaining them is one of the joys in my life. When we moved into our Yuma house, I planted several fruit trees. However, after living there a while, Jeremy began talking about adding on a family room...right were I had planted my apple trees! He told me not to worry about it, that we wouldn't be adding on for a few years, if ever.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The problem is, transplanting trees can be a tricky operation. Younger trees are easier to move and more likely to recover from the transplant. Older trees have more expansive root balls. They've also become accustomed to the ground in which they are planted. I have seen older trees that were thriving in their original location shrivel up when moved to a new location. In order to ensure their survival, we had to move the apple trees while they were still young. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We waited until the trees had gone dormant for the winter. A tricky thing in Arizona! Often, apple trees never fully go dormant in our warm weather. </span></div>
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<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429597365589036306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3EzOgAVqRtpCHDyj5vocZhQTIirHWuczqd1VwdeHjVE82Xya8HI0jn5aPPGEzTQmPJT2H1LZaAiQEL-ifFOwJIUrpwUqQHh_L2UjzJSoIoAM-sn9X00Fs9c2alD0BVkFZYLSUA60dIFj-/s400/P1030977.JPG" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 300px;" /><br />
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<i>Picture of the smaller apple tree. I mistakenly watered this tree a day or two before we moved it. I thought it would make the ground easier to maneuver. I was correct. BUT it also made the rootball heavier! All that water added a lot of weight to the rootball.</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRXp9G-KfmFvWmSdTbnFJfVkSEapBghLbTtCfY7LgO_6cwrunKUyA9J193BAZH57QVsq-Yg8p3xr_93K8bCrVbd8sFOfpIUyTo7EW8LtYFOScufcFk_Clr3mjHTCUbjEdwfuOyniCrvm6-/s1600-h/P1030991.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429600145025313762" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRXp9G-KfmFvWmSdTbnFJfVkSEapBghLbTtCfY7LgO_6cwrunKUyA9J193BAZH57QVsq-Yg8p3xr_93K8bCrVbd8sFOfpIUyTo7EW8LtYFOScufcFk_Clr3mjHTCUbjEdwfuOyniCrvm6-/s400/P1030991.JPG" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></span><br />
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<i>Benjamin (age 5/6?) and Grant (age 2?). They are now 13 yr & 10 yr respectively.</i></div>
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<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429597389174818098" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCVnPFVtMs7R2UwyNjFBybpxWDWCr_A0I-jiMPTu4Cmr0y7SjDf64U_rUALou59j5Fo4FbMmd6wZlqWB4F9ZWankvVT1FHV1OmiFk5SN0EuDxtE-5pYT49cEwAJkbU7WlORATV0KaxaJyB/s400/P1030979.JPG" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 300px;" /><br />
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<i>Picture of the larger apple tree. To safely transplant the rootball, first you dig a donut our around the rootball. Then you can get your shovel under it while keeping the rootball intact.</i></div>
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<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429597398625878338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8-eRfsAm5wMep8Pmzc75OYAd9VuKZZoJCbQLunmvo1Z1hub6YjtrxkRKCoqwFtf8hClMNkcmqCS9ZTxt6BwbFp1HVfGVS0vXrL2169adnVDp33NCG7r8UIkbLhS-NTTH1NY0IsToDPjh2/s400/P1030980.JPG" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /><br />
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<i>Keeping the rootball intact. This thing weighed several hundred pounds.</i></div>
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<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429598834940252194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf9mqIN39d3j18BG_jUyK8xD2uHGCVftmfIa47jBSv35nntMkTRWVmRqjEyJB74D_OjvvPpULWKyyu8S3GXF5PoxREAwcdqt1No9UB0Ar7bzbe-eH0yzsKPMwL2mkqQAlWsb4HlzSZ7VhZ/s400/P1030984.JPG" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /><br />
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<i>To give perspective, when we removed the tree with its rootball Benjamin and some of our neighbors got in the hole. It is a big hole!</i></div>
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<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429598847457121922" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVbYUho2JWfCLQyI2maQo9nhgby44ELNMyfVuXSbDVdvgxpV1asJyP4evTjoMDGmm3WmwMWkvFSkTBKSXUzeXQPHrwResND2dJtSfXYZS9DGXFB5J-Z8MY_24ZPBtZ44ocw9OQbSBKCqkP/s400/P1030985.JPG" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 300px;" /><br />
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<i>The rootball was so heavy and awkward to manuever. We called a bunch of our neighbors to come and help us. In order to keep the rootball intact, I wrapped a blanked around and under it. Professional people use canvas to do this part. </i></div>
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<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429598855521539474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn-I7GLTWHKlxguihM85VLWZcurDgmbWWcVRrI8JIZKi7-GYAqjwb642sM9ED0-OJy-QaaXvDiTbY9of7xt2l1IZiTMCI8SG6IxAtyIPSDWFgUr7PMFDl1QA9LvL_cmk-ut7EsWeYgfFou/s400/P1030986.JPG" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 300px;" /><br />
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<i>It took five grown men to lift the tree from the handtruck to place it in its new home in the front yard.</i></div>
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<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429600108728589698" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVjbDsOHlVq5YWtJC8h0vyVs6tUQ1tn2-TcUbs6ANqbyENofWphKvXqIEha7_OdoTG6B4FVGWvhx6dkvpxtwqLj7IQGsP39VAYodUni17F4OuvfYtBbX6BgSHDEzpoHpPdZYW7oTO-FvCq/s400/P1030987.JPG" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /><br />
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<i>At this point, the neighbor in the red shirt said something along the lines of: "I can't believe it took five of us to lift that tiny tree. I feel like such a wimp." Hahaha! He's not a wimp. And neither were any of the other guys that helped us. They were all great workers. Dirt just weighs a lot!</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvRYyp_-uO2FGFdAc4B0GGTGRwDzFqEIx1gN7aEKM8yAjpyTArfAtGhmssJPYJJIGAvaiHcVl4-uCkcpIbhKqQfP1XbZANsK0NTiLusMF7Zo0om2_GqtXu-BbKKNk8_vJcuRcOAnh5snGQ/s1600-h/P1030988.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429600121353875058" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvRYyp_-uO2FGFdAc4B0GGTGRwDzFqEIx1gN7aEKM8yAjpyTArfAtGhmssJPYJJIGAvaiHcVl4-uCkcpIbhKqQfP1XbZANsK0NTiLusMF7Zo0om2_GqtXu-BbKKNk8_vJcuRcOAnh5snGQ/s400/P1030988.JPG" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 300px;" /></a></span><br />
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<i>The large apple tree in its new home, waiting to be backfilled.</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOtF78Hi8weLyxBjSpquU5cVoapNSO_s2q2ghBJh3MU0Uf7CjV4DXLhOnv9u6cbZi-JiDMY5VfC17_niAq2w56lbSugoo9JFExbndQV6ACmXruqWplPG3OD7fbQSu_vRBxBqsNoAIWtF5F/s1600-h/P1030983.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429598826679031090" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOtF78Hi8weLyxBjSpquU5cVoapNSO_s2q2ghBJh3MU0Uf7CjV4DXLhOnv9u6cbZi-JiDMY5VfC17_niAq2w56lbSugoo9JFExbndQV6ACmXruqWplPG3OD7fbQSu_vRBxBqsNoAIWtF5F/s400/P1030983.JPG" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></span><br />
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<i>Baby Grant watching Jeremy backfill around the rootball. </i></div>
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<i>There were other pictures of the trees, along with diagrams. Sadly, those were lost all those years ago. We have since sold that house. The large apple tree still stands in the yard. Its trunk is quite thick now and it produces the most lovely little yellow apples. I hope the new owners will cherish the tree as much as I did. </i></div>
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Sarah Bluehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18420097146485393526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955308577721461635.post-16416843358755685622016-05-24T20:18:00.005-07:002016-05-24T20:18:59.514-07:00Generosity<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My two oldest daughters are signed up for their high school's travel-abroad trip planned for Spring 2017. They are primarily responsible for paying for this trip. The trip, plus passports, will cost about $3,500.00 each! I had <i><u>several </u></i>boxes of chocolate leftover from a PTO fundraiser. We decided to make chocolate part of <u style="font-style: italic;">our</u> fundraising plan. Jim, Monroe, and Beth wanted to help too. I was grateful because, in my experience, people are more likely to buy chocolate bars from cute little elementary students than from adult-sized high school students.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We've gone out a few times for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours each time. I am amazed at the generosity of my neighbors. Sure, we got several straight "No, thank you" responses. We got a few "I don't have any cash" responses. But for the most part the response was, "Of course! Wait a minute while I find some cash/change". These dear neighbors reached into their wallets. A few neighbors bought five or ten bars, depending on the bill denomination they'd found. More often they would buy only one or two bars. These neighbors were digging through their drawers and coin purses to find enough change to buy a bar. As I watched one neighbor present my child with a handful of change in exchange for one chocolate bar, I was overwhelmed by the generosity of my neighbors! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I know that in our present culture, cash is typically not kept on hand. We rely heavily on debit and credit cards. People don't have cash or coins. And yet, these dear neighbors dug deep in their pockets and drawers to find a stray dollar bill or a few coins--Just to help a fundraising kid succeed. I probably haven't adequately explained, but I am unsure what more I could write. I am simply and deeply grateful for the gracious generosity of my neighbors.</span></div>
Sarah Bluehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18420097146485393526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955308577721461635.post-22710208547449795982015-11-23T20:15:00.002-08:002016-05-24T20:19:45.137-07:00Good-Bye to the Piano Man<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We said good-bye to our Piano-Man Teacher tonight. He is a lovely man. He has worked with four of my kids for over a year. He had a talent for teaching chords, improvisations, and embellishments, in addition to the basics of piano theory and technique. He came to our house each week with such a cheerful and can-do attitude. It really was wonderful to watch the kids grow, under his tutelage, in their piano-playing skills.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">But, the kids are done. While they enjoyed learning with the Piano-Man Teacher, over the last few months their hearts have not been in it. I know that I could have buttoned down and forced them to practice more. I know that I could have provided incentives for their continued participation. I am consciously choosing not to. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Rose is in the high school choir this year. She has spent hours each day in vocal practice. She sits at the piano, not to practice the Piano Teacher's assignments, but rather to pick out the Alto part of the new choir piece she is learning. Her interests have turned from piano to voice. And I'm going to let her run with it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Nonny is still a percussionist in the middle school band. Between that and the rigor of her school courses, she is feeling a bit strained. She still loves piano and wants to continue to progress and learn. But she's at a point where she wants to concentrate on learning individual piano pieces rote. And I can help with that! So she has also opted to forgo piano lessons.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Monroe and Joe still love piano, but after a long day of sitting at school all they want to do when they get home is run and play. Sitting for another half hour or so to practice piano has become awful for them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The truth is, I felt kind of bad about signing them up for piano lessons in the first place. The reason... <u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">I</u> play piano and <u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">I</u> have taught piano. But when I tried to teach them some basics, they would get frustrated with me and with themselves. I talked to my Mom about it years ago. My Mom</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> is a talented pianist, but she didn't teach her own kids to play the piano. She had other people do it. Her reason...her kids (ie. me and my siblings) would get frustrated with her and with ourselves. When she first realized that, she and another piano teacher decided to swap kids. My Mom taught that gal's kids piano and that gal taught us piano. And surprise, surprise: the kids started learning the piano instead of getting into fights with their Moms.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Although I will miss the Piano-Man and the beautiful music he brought into our home, I think we'll be alright. He gave my kids the fundamentals. He encouraged them to find joy and fun in the piano, to not be afraid to make things up, and to not fall apart if you made mistakes. My kids may be done with the Piano-Man, but they are definitely <u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">not</u> done with the piano. We are going to restart piano lessons with Mom.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Wish us luck!</span>Sarah Bluehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18420097146485393526noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955308577721461635.post-30447195397808547332015-11-12T11:54:00.003-08:002016-05-24T20:20:55.406-07:00At Home Day<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Nonny's surgery went well. Her septum is now straight; Her enlarged adenoids are removed; and her nasal turbinates are reduced. She was amazed when the doctor removed the packing and she could actually breathe through her nose! That only lasted for a little while. The reason: due to the surgery, she can't blow her nose and she is having some drainage & bleeding. SO...she has gauze under her nose to catch the mess.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The surgery was Tuesday. I took the day off from work to stay with her and care for her. (Except for an excursion to the School Board Meeting in the evening.) Wednesday was Veteran's Day, so everyone was off from work and school. Today, Thursday, school and work resumed, so Dad, Rose, Joe, Monroe, and Jim are gone. I was supposed to go into work today. Baby comes with me and Beth attends preschool. But...I didn't think Nonny was ready to be left alone yet. So Beth, Baby, and I stayed home with her. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">She slept until about 9:00 a.m. When she woke up and saw us still here, she was happy and relieved. She did not want to be left alone, but also didn't want me to feel like I had to stay. Goofy kid! Some of her friends' parents work. She knows that it is a big deal for parents to stay home with sick kids and that jobs can sometimes be at stake. Lucky for us, my boss's main priorities are the same as mine...Our Kids! :) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Hubby forwarded the work phone to my cell phone. My work tasks for today are to monitor e-mails and update the business finances. Easy-peasy! I figured I'd work on those once the baby fell asleep. But while he was still awake, I thought: Since I'm home, I might as well start a load of laundry. Which took all of one minute. Then I looked at the dishwasher. It hadn't been unloaded this morning (a certain kid's chore). Usually I'd leave it for the kid to do when they got home, but our dishes are already backed up because our sink wasn't working for a few days. So I went ahead and unloaded the dishwasher, reloaded and started it, then hand-washed a load of dishes, and cleaned the sink. That took about ten minutes with Melanie's help. I also took a few minutes to pick up the kitchen and dining room floors. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">NOW...my house is still a big mess. It is far from complete. But I can feel the difference. AND it is kind of irritating because it took hardly anytime at all AND every job I did was supposed to have been done by a kid. EXCEPT, my kids didn't do those chores because the chores were too hard or too long or I always make them do the work. The funny thing is, while I was pregnant, I was too sick and tired to follow through on the kids getting their chores done. So my house slowly got grungier. And after I had the baby I was too sleep-deprived to even notice if the house was clean. And since going to work, by the time I return home in the evenings I am so focused on getting dinner made, kids' homework complete, scriptures read, fights resolved, etc., that I haven't stood my ground and made the kids actually get their chores done. And I've been too tired to get them done myself. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Today, staying home to care for Nonny and having my two youngest children with me, I was able to catch up on some housework while spending quality time with the kiddos. Now, m</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">y house has a long ways to go before it can be officially deemed "clean", but I can see that it's possible and I am recommitted to the priority of teaching my kids the value of Hard Work and Cleanliness!</span>Sarah Bluehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18420097146485393526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955308577721461635.post-54534908766680061272015-11-09T18:35:00.002-08:002016-05-24T20:21:27.387-07:00Jumping Back InWell, the best way for me to re-start blogging is probably to just Jump right back in and start writing!<br />
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Beth turned 3 in September. About three weeks later, she had surgery. It was a planned surgery. She had her tonsils and adenoids removed. Her tonsils were quite enlarged! She also had tubes put in her ears. The ENT told us that her one of her ears was so full of fluid that he had to get a second something-or-other to suck out the gunk that the first sucker-thingy couldn't remove. That news made me feel great. I had really been debating whether or not to go through with the surgery for a couple of months. I knew that she needed it, but at the same time...She is Just a BABY! Every time I looked at her and thought about her having general anesthesia so the ENT could do his work, I would feel awful. And it didn't help that the hospital has to go over all the bad things that could happen. At the end, I just had to grit my teeth and keep saying: This is what her body needs to function properly!<br />
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I am glad to report that she had a quick and full recovery.<br />
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Tomorrow, Nonny is having her turn with the ENT. She will have her adenoids removed, a deviated septum straightened out, and something done with the turbinates(?) in her nose. I am not a medical person, so I am not getting terms correct. Sorry about any confusion that creates.<br />
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To prepare for tomorrow's surgery, we have smoothie ingredients and popsicles in the freezer. I have ingredients for chicken veggie soup. We have lots of kleenex ready for her drippy nose. AND she has movies picked out for watching tomorrow afternoon. I don't think she'll feel good enough to actually watch the movies tomorrow, but she feels good that they are prepped and ready. :)<br />
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In other news, Joe turned twelve in October. He graduated from Primary and received the Aaronic Priesthood. It is a bit weird to think of him as a Priesthood holder, since he's still my squishy little baby boy. Whenever I tell him that he is still my little boy, he is quick to point out that he is almost as tall as me. I'm 5' 8". He is about 5' 5". I told him even if he does manage to outgrow me, I'm also going to call him my short, little boy.<br />
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<br />Sarah Bluehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18420097146485393526noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955308577721461635.post-51251443383654092782014-09-22T21:52:00.002-07:002014-09-23T07:39:24.987-07:00Bucks Beware!<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was born and raised in a city. Not a metropolitan city like New York. My city wasn't sprawling or congested. It was just a bunch of housing developments carved out of farmland. And the city slowly grew until it reached the borders of other cities. My city grew out, not up. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In each of my family's houses, my parents made sure we had a garden and fruit trees growing. I enjoyed working in the garden, for the most part. My problem with gardening as a child was my health. I had severe asthma and allergies. Being outside digging around with dirt and blossoms and grass could easily trigger an attack that would put me in bed for weeks. So I was typically relegated to inside tasks while the rest of my family was pulling weeds.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As an adult, with my asthma and allergies under <i>much </i>better control, Hubby and I have had a garden at each house we've lived in and as many fruit trees as we could fit in the yard. But we've always lived in the city. Our biggest property was a fifth of an acre, with our house sitting on a 1/3 to 1/2 of that land. And we managed the yard nicely and dreamed of living on a bigger parcel.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And now we are living the dream.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We started two years ago with three acres. Now we own FIVE! We purchased the two acre parcel that butts up next to ours. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We are doing lots of things with the land. We are growing in our skills as homesteaders, trying to live off the land and be self-sufficient.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This post is to document one of the Skills that I have recently acquired.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Through a mutual friend, we have met an expert on the care, keeping, and judging of goats. She and our mutual friend, who we discovered is also quite proficient in the care and keeping of goats, graciously came to my house to help me improve the care of our five goats. Those two sweet gals were not thrilled with what she found when they came to visit...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Most of the advice I've been getting from other people regarding the care of goats is WRONG! The good thing, they told me, is that I have Nubian goats and Nubians are hardy creatures. The gist of the conversation basically down to: "Sarah, if you had any other breed you would have killed them off months ago. Fortunately, you have Nubians."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I felt really bad about that, but they were kind and reassuring with me. I've since put a lot of what they told me into practice and am working on incorporating the rest of it over the next couple of months. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Then we talked about the quality of my goats. I know that two of my does are absolute mutts (I don't know the correct goat term for this, so am using the dog term) so I wasn't concerned about them. And I knew that our milking doe had some problems, after all--she came to us with mastitis and we'd battled that for months. So I knew she wasn't the best quality.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What surprised me was her assessment of my bucks. Fred, the bigger buck, has more meat goat traits than dairy. His bone structure is also off. But the big surprise was that they said Fred is super aggressive! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">All of the behaviors that I had translated as Fred being a shy goat are actually signs of aggression. Yowsers!! We watched Fred and George, the younger and smaller goat, for about half an hour, with the expert gal pointing out all of the aggressive behaviors and the bad body structure. Choosing a buck to breed with your does is a HUGE decision. You need to be sure that the buck has good diary characteristics or you can end up with a doe who is not a good milker. Of course, the gals said this in Goat Terminology. They also pointed out the wonderful qualities in George. That goat truly is a sweet goat. He likes people, he likes my children. And his body structure is dairy and healthier long term.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And so we had a decision to make: Sale Fred to someone else for either meat or the breeding of meat. OR Weather Fred.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After talking to Hubby, we decided to Weather Fred.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And that, dear friends, is the new skill that I have acquired: I know how to Weather a buck/buckling. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The gal did the actual banding while I held Fred still. That goat has GROWN since we got him in March. I straddled Fred at the shoulders and held on to his collar. He is a tall buck! Luckily, I have long legs. The gal was behind him with a banding tool. I have to tell you, although Fred is not yet full grown...his testicles are the size of a full grown buck. They were huge. It took some effort and finagling for the gal to get the band around his testicles. Fred was not happy with her messing with his boy bits. He tried jump and "buck" about, but I held that big goat firmly in place. I am super impressed with myself and my buff thigh muscles. Haha! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Anyways, that was a few weeks ago. Fred's testicles have shrunk and now look like a hairy pancake. Seriously. That is what they look like.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We're going to add a second band this week to finish the weathering process. They'll continue to wither and eventually fall off.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And so...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Bucks Beware! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I know how to Weather! ;)</span></div>
Sarah Bluehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18420097146485393526noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955308577721461635.post-64352216560954885402014-06-21T20:39:00.000-07:002014-06-21T20:39:01.236-07:00Patience<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hubby has wanted chickens ever since we moved to our country home. For Father's Day we surprised him with six chickens and a rooster. They're already a family, so we don't have to worry about too much infighting...the pecking order is already decided. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Jim, our four-year old son, has been waiting for the chickens to lay some eggs. Chickens tend not to lay for a while when they're moved to a new home. They have to get used to the new environment. After a week of waiting, today the chickens laid some eggs. This morning Jim collected two eggs. He was so excited! He showed them to every member of the family twice then went out to show the goats that the chickens had laid some eggs. After that he carefully placed them in the fridge, where he faithfully checked on them about every ten minutes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">This evening when I went out to milk our goat, Jim checked the hen house. There were four more eggs! He could hardly believe his luck. He ran inside, grabbed a basket, and carefully placed each egg in the basket. Then he went to the fridge, took the two eggs from this morning out and placed them into the basket. He sat down on our front stoop and gently placed the basket beside himself. I was sitting on the stoop too, cleaning mud off shoes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">After a few minutes sitting there with Jim and the eggs, Jim lets out a big sigh and says: "I just waiting and being patient, but these eggs not hatch yet."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I tried to explain to him that the chickens need to keep the eggs if he wants them to hatch into chicks in a month or so. He told me no, he would be patient and they would hatch today.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I love that he thinks if he is patient enough those eggs will hatch. I love the faith and logic of my sweet four-year boy! And I love that he is already developing patience at this age. Hopefully, he won't be too put off when those little eggs don't hatch. :)</span></div>
Sarah Bluehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18420097146485393526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955308577721461635.post-9338992102046847182014-06-10T10:11:00.001-07:002014-06-10T10:11:51.591-07:00Working Mom<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">I</span> just noticed that my user profile is outdated. I'm going to update that.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Currently it reads:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">"I am a Wife, Mother, Sister, and Daughter. I enjoy quilting, cooking, eating, service, gardening, and quality time with family & friends. :)"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">My occupation is listed at "Mom & Quilter". That has changed a bit.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">My location is "Vaudeville, Southwest, United States." I put that location in an attempt to maintain anonymity. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">As I was reading my profile I thought, Sheesh! What is with the random ampersand usage?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I am changing my occupation to "Mother, Homesteader, and Legal Assistant"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I seriously want to change to location. Vaudeville sounded cute and fun a few years ago. Now, it sounds lame. Haha! It's interesting how a person's tastes can change. Hubby's new job doesn't require me to be secretive online. So I might put on actual location in my profile. But I might not. I haven't decided yet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">As for the intro paragraph, I have no idea what to write. But I don't want to keep what I've got. It sounds too cheesy to me now. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Decisions, decisions. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">It's hard to write a concise paragraph that conveys to readers an accurate glimpse into my life. I guess if you really want to get to know me, you need to read through some of my old posts.</span>Sarah Bluehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18420097146485393526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955308577721461635.post-69002704501594419322014-05-20T22:04:00.000-07:002014-05-20T22:04:36.423-07:00Hello Again<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It has been a year and a half since I last posted. That is pathetic. The problem is I keep going back and forth on whether to post or not. Whether anyone really wants to read about my goings on. And then I start to feel really vain for wanting to post. But it truly is not vanity that brings me here. It is the thought that some of my family and friends from lands far away want to stay connected. And the way we connect is through blogs. So here I am again. Giving blogging another shot.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you know me at all, you know that I like lists. I think a list is a good way to catch you up to speed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">1. Many of the trees I planted last year died! It was very sad for me. I lost some citrus to frost. I lost my peaches to a bacteria. I lost my plums and apricots to the heat. I lost a couple apples to a Haboob. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">2. I have since replaced the dead trees. The new trees are doing much better. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">3. Today, I planted two almond trees. One is a Ne Plus Ultra and the other is a Nonpareil. They look pretty cute.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">4. We got goats. I have three Nubian goats. Desi is a 2 year old female. She is in milk currently. The kids and I have enjoyed milking her and using the milk in various ways. Fred is a 3 month old buckling. George is a 2 month old buckling. Those two boys are gorgeous! I am completely loving those goats. Some people warned that they smelled bad. But I have discovered that I like their smell. It reminds me of elementary field trips to the Phoenix Zoo and taking my own kids to that Zoo. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">5. Hubby started his own law practice. He has been busy getting things set up. The business is really rolling along. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">6. Rose will soon be graduating 8th grade and moving on to high school. Nonny will soon graduate 6th grade and move on to middle school. I am excited for them to enter this new phase of life. They are having mixed emotions: happy, scared, nervous, excited, overwhelmed, anxious, and so forth. It is kind of funny to watch them cycle through the emotions. I am SO glad that I am finished with that phase of life. It was a stressful time being a teenager! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">7. Jim has been attending speech therapy preschool. His poor little ears were having some issues. We got those issues fixed, but he's got to go to speech therapy to correct some things.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Well, that is a good start.</span></div>
Sarah Bluehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18420097146485393526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955308577721461635.post-21768438813438590482012-11-30T08:14:00.001-08:002012-11-30T14:24:13.842-08:00Beth's Arrival<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here is the first installment of my "Catch-Up" blogging. While I am sure you would all like to see detailed posts on the progress of our house renovations, yard improvement, etc., I assume that the first thing you'll want to hear about is the New Baby. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is a picture of me at 38 weeks. To preserve the memory, I want to note a few things.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1. I am normally 5' 7 3/4" tall. During pregnancy I tend to shrink an inch or two. It is pretty weird! The height loss returns by the time my baby is 3 months old.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhCc-BLIfAC0WqMkIxywBRy_noAclFKBAjLfEDZddCFPMPZV7Yt35dslCgkpdBNtSbOzv_XOaCL5V9AjPekMlGTEU0Z1mzwRlxY4DUs5lJ_sqo322k6S3LZFBoEy4hY2f_N5t3E024396W/s1600/P1100372.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></a><br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2. All of the baby books, pregnancy websites, and doctors' offices recommend that a woman gain between 25 and 35 pounds during pregnancy. With all six of my pregnancies, I have put on </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">between 50 and 65 pounds. My final weight during this pregnancy was 208 lbs</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">3. My hair was driving me nuts by the seventh month. The front parts kept getting in my eyes. When the back touched my neck, I got so hot and had problems breathing. I kept it in a ponytail most of the time, just so I could breathe properly. One day was particularly hard. I was ready to just get rid of it all! I was planning on a haircut like this...</span></div>
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<img alt="" class="rg_hi uh_hi" data-height="224" data-width="224" height="224" id="rg_hi" src="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS-j3ZUWcbrjqTsYcNH6kZu17xAPzq8ItVYOt9MX6W562oS6Awaeg" style="height: 224px; width: 224px;" width="224" /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">The only reason that it didn't happen is that during pregnancy I get motion sick easily. And that bad day with my hair was also a bad day for me motion-wise. I was getting nauseous from walking. There was no way that I would survive a car ride. And so my long hair stayed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">And yes, I do see that my hair is down in the first picture of this post. And yes, having my hair down in that picture does look contradictory. What you need to know is that I took my hair out of its ponytail so that Hubby could take a picture to document my big, preggo belly and the length my hair had grown. As soon the picture was taken, I threw my hair back up into a ponytail so that I could breathe.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Since I have a history of having big babies, my doctor suggested that I be induced a week early to keep this baby's size down a bit. I do not like inductions. I much prefer to go into labor on my own and told my OB as much. Hubby agreed with my assessment with one caveat. He asked that if I didn't have the baby by Week 39 that I be induced. The reason? He was going to be out of town on business for most of Week 39. He didn't want to miss the birth. I didn't want him to miss the birth either. Hubby has the important task of distracting me from the pain of contractions by telling me stories. Lots of stories. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">So we set up a tentative induction appointment. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">After Weeks 37 and 38 passed with no baby the tentative appointment became a for-sure appointment.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">It worked out fine. The appointment was on a Sunday afternoon. The same Sunday as our Ward's Primary Program. I was happy that to attend the program. I love watching the children sing and bear their sweet testimonies. This year Anne, Joe, and Cakes participated. They all did a great job! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">My parents came out to see the Primary Program then watch the Grands while Hubby and I went for the induction. My Mom snapped this picture just before we left for Church. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"> It's the last picture of our family with five kids. The next family picture will have SIX Children!!!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_pRjI8BDDKiv3Xe-lzuuMpE82OKbvxFUXI4hzMFYTr-u4xscdoKVtABvYKQz_RnU-Ef0KM0PcTnrtiLsNsx_mPvZZiDC_BCK9iM91zuC7Gfl0Uox0y4I5r33-zo4VJg1NBzZTxnIdcwW-/s1600/P1100382.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_pRjI8BDDKiv3Xe-lzuuMpE82OKbvxFUXI4hzMFYTr-u4xscdoKVtABvYKQz_RnU-Ef0KM0PcTnrtiLsNsx_mPvZZiDC_BCK9iM91zuC7Gfl0Uox0y4I5r33-zo4VJg1NBzZTxnIdcwW-/s1600/P1100382.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Birth stories are quite personal, so I'm not going to share many details here. The details I am willing to share are:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">1. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Miss Beth was born in her amniotic sack. The nurse said it is very rare and considered lucky.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">2. She was born at exactly 11:00 am. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">3. She weighed 8 lbs, 12.1 oz. and was 20 1/2 inches long. She has lots of dark brown hair and gray-blue eyes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">4. Hubby didn't cut her umbilical cord. He cut every other child's umbilical cord. The reason he didn't get to do it this time was that a nurse delivered our sweet baby girl and kind of freaked out. And the other nurses were kind of freaking out about how fast Miss Beth came and had to hurry to get stuff ready and in all their rushing about, they bypassed Hubby and me completely. They didn't even hold her up so I could see her! They just whisked her away! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I didn't even know if the babe was for sure a girl. I had to ask. My doctors and midwives in the past make a big deal about holding the baby up so the Momma can see the babe and announcing "You have a BOY!" or "You have a GIRL!" And nobody did that. They were to busy trying to get the medical trays ready.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">All I can say to that is, I told you all that I go fast! I told you to get ready. I told you the baby was coming. You chose to ignore me. You implied I was being melodramatic. You kept telling me that it didn't matter if this was my sixth child because every labor & delivery is different so I really didn't <em>know</em> what was going to happen and that <em>you</em> knew how labor really progresses since you'd been a nurse for so many years. Give me a break!! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">There were many other problems, but I don't want to get into those. Enough ranting and complaining. Let's move o</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">n to happy things. :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Hubby took this picture shortly after birth.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaNEaJRSdScv_YmNn6W07O5MW0vzYwXBjNdgQfpkyoFQ3pbb8ib0xN-gyxjx6ZTU353PUQCY8lwGnhX-B2KW3JVPPPfycavtJnKZWnSDHVGatX5ZQXHgEYy53DD_SXPF7qoQjXEY3ieIJX/s1600/2012-09-17_11-06-51_23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaNEaJRSdScv_YmNn6W07O5MW0vzYwXBjNdgQfpkyoFQ3pbb8ib0xN-gyxjx6ZTU353PUQCY8lwGnhX-B2KW3JVPPPfycavtJnKZWnSDHVGatX5ZQXHgEYy53DD_SXPF7qoQjXEY3ieIJX/s1600/2012-09-17_11-06-51_23.jpg" width="225" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">This picture was taken later that day. Miss Beth is BEAUTIFUL! She has dimples in both cheeks. We know this because she started smiling on her first day of life. :)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpRqfS6fwca9rKjXBCdnO_ZzhWkF1-4xZCtKE-IDNev29IijI2gNXgvHn8LtoPeUa0FZPi-pjvo-JMtp6wVKLne_fvEl4VMSNRhacXMFAwbjA1uCBzEaxHfI1oaLYMIltASUpeHAgdqzPS/s1600/IMG_1091.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpRqfS6fwca9rKjXBCdnO_ZzhWkF1-4xZCtKE-IDNev29IijI2gNXgvHn8LtoPeUa0FZPi-pjvo-JMtp6wVKLne_fvEl4VMSNRhacXMFAwbjA1uCBzEaxHfI1oaLYMIltASUpeHAgdqzPS/s1600/IMG_1091.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">In the evening, Hubby brought the kids to see their new little Sister. Cakes and Joe got to hold her first. They were quite enamored with her. :)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCve-OQtDU3J5MrNv-aH0Jss7dCN0LwFRFsDDb8oJFeLUujDpftr0dXdSH8g78Xw4GSMbq5wRNpyTZFwNRGlHTCzOMWgML2raJKP5nPtOWYM2jh6M0LbDhuAtcQp8HXZvXigBkKbLBrMTC/s1600/P1100407.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCve-OQtDU3J5MrNv-aH0Jss7dCN0LwFRFsDDb8oJFeLUujDpftr0dXdSH8g78Xw4GSMbq5wRNpyTZFwNRGlHTCzOMWgML2raJKP5nPtOWYM2jh6M0LbDhuAtcQp8HXZvXigBkKbLBrMTC/s1600/P1100407.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Anne held her next. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaW2mloSdYfnVi-eaWwNWMKc1qJ3pHrbsN5sXkEsQx-2U6cWk8LSkF0c6o6BE2JawAaLnVkKtHaCtCX12iOs-xJezaLS1PNuSsbMciT_JwaB9qRlq8d6tjvM4J2mA05K6VlTRqV1Zf2pOx/s1600/P1100411.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaW2mloSdYfnVi-eaWwNWMKc1qJ3pHrbsN5sXkEsQx-2U6cWk8LSkF0c6o6BE2JawAaLnVkKtHaCtCX12iOs-xJezaLS1PNuSsbMciT_JwaB9qRlq8d6tjvM4J2mA05K6VlTRqV1Zf2pOx/s1600/P1100411.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Then Rose's turn.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgEi6rTQRRQuJtYEmd7CBGgyEj_g7hsWHWM-c0TvKS2SZekkRYawYK84TPMdAsaxkrcPMPowVoDETweS_BupxYvOVjxZYOK2bde0pbyJLsCRUVC1OK3koj9lMQH13ZWoZopQqQyBD1C5nS/s1600/P1100413.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgEi6rTQRRQuJtYEmd7CBGgyEj_g7hsWHWM-c0TvKS2SZekkRYawYK84TPMdAsaxkrcPMPowVoDETweS_BupxYvOVjxZYOK2bde0pbyJLsCRUVC1OK3koj9lMQH13ZWoZopQqQyBD1C5nS/s1600/P1100413.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Jim came in the room and headed straight for me. He looked at his new Sister, but didn't want to hold her. He just wanted to snuggle up next to me. That dear boy missed his Momma and was so happy to see me. :)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3l1TpAom2o-U9aW8jD2TqHKaC7GEhHjtrcUGSwCL98VTmyPD8awX5ggHpTV2SzlFaAEWFaPJTaAeV739C2a2wcPJky_4kSXdHpd-_PpvMKQ1mxLcFdZ_rRcsmsol1wuIVn06GoHKZzjAp/s1600/P1100415.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3l1TpAom2o-U9aW8jD2TqHKaC7GEhHjtrcUGSwCL98VTmyPD8awX5ggHpTV2SzlFaAEWFaPJTaAeV739C2a2wcPJky_4kSXdHpd-_PpvMKQ1mxLcFdZ_rRcsmsol1wuIVn06GoHKZzjAp/s1600/P1100415.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">(I don't like pictures taken of me in the days after I give birth because I look so haggard and drawn. I don't usually let Hubby take any of me. But I had to have one of Jim all snuggled up next to me. I adore that sweet little boy.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">We are thrilled to have this newest addition to our family! Welcome, Welcome Miss Beth! We love you dearly!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrOu6GtgDYnH9OvqWdKNz2A3V8NISjFAB0A0Iyk0JTeGa1qAgymu8OuQPZ79-6N6grQdWn0ALkB_AuA3bRO3tQYVG0uEZy2oHEjvWCy1woBfqrEowEHSbE7CprzDHzFwGjgzGA7C22ecVm/s1600/IMG_1112.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrOu6GtgDYnH9OvqWdKNz2A3V8NISjFAB0A0Iyk0JTeGa1qAgymu8OuQPZ79-6N6grQdWn0ALkB_AuA3bRO3tQYVG0uEZy2oHEjvWCy1woBfqrEowEHSbE7CprzDHzFwGjgzGA7C22ecVm/s1600/IMG_1112.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">One last note, Beth and I were discharged from the hospital the day after her birth. Hubby took us home, spent about an hour getting us settled in, then left for his business trip. He was gone for the next three days. Yowsers, that was tough. My parents stayed long enough to get all the kids tucked into bed, but then they had to leave too. Fortunately for me I have two fantastic daughters! Anne and Rose took turns staying home from school to help take care of Jim and Cakes while I recovered from labor & delivery. Those two girls are turning into lovely Young Women. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It has been three months since I have posted any updates. Three Months!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">While I am planning on doing a complete update covering those months, an update that will span several blog posts and include lots of photos, for now I only have time to type up a quick and brief update.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">The events and activities of the last three months mostly fall under one of the following categories...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">1. Four children in school, which means: three different school schedules to work around, three different bus schedules, 1 orchestra member, 2 band members, extracurricular activities, fundraisers, and more.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">2. Fixing up our new house which is falling apart. This poor little house has not been cared for in several, several years. There are so many things wrong with it. We keep thinking we've got things fixed and done, then something else breaks. It has been quite overwhelming at times. The only thing that got us through was my parents. I am so fortunate to have a Dad who knows how to fix just about anything! My Mom is his trusty helper/planner. The two of them are a great home improvement team and they have graciously come to our little town several times over the past few months. FYI: the drive is 3 1/2 hours one way. T</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">hey have been absolute life-savers for my sanity!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">3. A new baby. Our sweet baby girl Beth arrived in mid-September. My life has since been filled with trying to figure out a new baby (each one is different and each one likes to be held certain ways or to sleep in certain positions, etc. It takes lots of trial and error to figure out the preferences of a new baby) and trying to get enough sleep to properly recover from labor and delivery. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I will be posting more detailed updates in the following weeks. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Until then, Happy Thanksgiving!!</span></div>
Sarah Bluehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18420097146485393526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955308577721461635.post-4665849615644923332012-08-20T13:10:00.002-07:002012-08-20T13:11:01.580-07:00Yard Progress, Part 1<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">First off, Hubby was able to fix our washing machine last week. Hooray! I really am grateful for the easy accessibility of having a working washing machine in my home. It makes life so much easier! Especially when children are sick and bed sheets need to be washed immediately, which is what happened just a couple days after Hubby fixed the machine. It was so nice to just throw the bedding in the washing machine and have the yucky smells and sicko germs be gone.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We have been working hard on our yard. The yard is the WHOLE reason we bought this property. We're not sure the exact size. The title company has it listed at 2.98 acres. The irrigation district has it listed at 3.09 acres. The exact size doesn't matter at this point. The point is...we have lots of land to play with!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There was a lot of work to be done with this property. The acreage was covered with obnoxious weeds with deep roots, pitted earth, cow patties, and garbage. We took out so many loads of garbage! Two or three truck-fulls were loaded with just metal. METAL! Ei-yah! Those loads went straight to the recycling center. We also took several loads of garbage to the local refuse dump. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This picture is of the Northeast corner of the property. It's been cleared of trash. Only the weeds, cow patties, and pits remain.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNvx1ISJFCGBBdDUaFahGijxslPwaIP1LdlOoVEo1741LqjUPXYna2e6y8_5fdvQzm-4wWni_sRCYrlMlj983Sj_e5QWYRZgRMAubY_qP_ANIkSLYlOv5h_-SLqEwTv8-RRTIMMWd6g4Jv/s1600/P1090780.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNvx1ISJFCGBBdDUaFahGijxslPwaIP1LdlOoVEo1741LqjUPXYna2e6y8_5fdvQzm-4wWni_sRCYrlMlj983Sj_e5QWYRZgRMAubY_qP_ANIkSLYlOv5h_-SLqEwTv8-RRTIMMWd6g4Jv/s320/P1090780.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">This is a picture from the Southeast corner of the property. The East side of the property was not as bad as the West.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEm3Sii7SPGBfxPdFOjcsYtJMSonC9u_z4iX1PjU68qh10ODZfmWxGFi2cd1QnZzZBd7067AtxThVMWvDnCToVL0Fr3tViM7oXTrJt1QrTgzpCXxa9aBzgNpAcd1SQqo5uE_fLBGcofu5d/s1600/P1090698.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEm3Sii7SPGBfxPdFOjcsYtJMSonC9u_z4iX1PjU68qh10ODZfmWxGFi2cd1QnZzZBd7067AtxThVMWvDnCToVL0Fr3tViM7oXTrJt1QrTgzpCXxa9aBzgNpAcd1SQqo5uE_fLBGcofu5d/s320/P1090698.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Jim loved helping dig.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5utd64WqI9D41v5z3b-qzCRsNMWB1h7j7Q4zQ-ZOqeLo8gAuhsarZ3q2Oq8tW8HSSdBf6XRHjdMOdu9dNTZ_DNh6eSLNSrCDuPdYS4QLG5OH3-776woa06wqRY4hU4g140eq1C0gmzzsa/s1600/P1090947.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5utd64WqI9D41v5z3b-qzCRsNMWB1h7j7Q4zQ-ZOqeLo8gAuhsarZ3q2Oq8tW8HSSdBf6XRHjdMOdu9dNTZ_DNh6eSLNSrCDuPdYS4QLG5OH3-776woa06wqRY4hU4g140eq1C0gmzzsa/s320/P1090947.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">In addition to clearing garbage, we had to get rid of all the trees on the property. I told one friend this and she was SHOCKED! She just couldn't believe that <strong><em><u>I</u></em></strong> would be getting rid of trees. Haha! I am a big tree-lover. However, I firmly believe that a tree should have a purpose...Fruit, Shade, Climbing, or Beauty. Only one tree on the property fulfilled one of those purposes: A Palo Verde in the Southwest corner of the property was beautiful. Unfortunately, it had to be removed. Palo Verdes do NOT like a lot of water. And it was sitting right next to the irrigation covert. As soon as we start irrigating, it will die from too much water. I checked into having it transplanted to the front of the property. I had two different tree companies come out to give an opinion and a bid. Neither would move it. They both told me that it wouldn't survive the transplant. So sad! It was a pretty Palo Verde too!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">The other trees on the property were nasty, pokey Mesquites and useless palm trees. A friend with a tractor plucked out all the Mesquites. We cut them down and hauled them to the refuse dump. As for the palm trees...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Two palms were about seven foot tall with a diameter of two feet. We referred to the palms as the "Small Palm Trees". Hubby decided to remove those himself. Please note the tall weeds in the forefront of the picture. The back of the property was covered in those. They have deep, deep roots and nasty stickers on them that not only poke your skin, but then set it to itching. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Hubby used his good old Chevy Pick-up and a big chain to remove the two small palms. He looped the chain around the trunk, hooked it to his truck back, and started pulling back and forth.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm_g2DR4wohl3nrkeBdeMQ_urtjfxJzBjOYqDM0rxTDRz_SbHE4mLWl8BUnhcl4jcOJLkQnAm6jYwX0KvfSEwE296A3kIjmW5I8mIaZ7t006jt3wtzV62JkmLrCRXg0hfCbF3WJ5zm_PNG/s1600/P1100093.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm_g2DR4wohl3nrkeBdeMQ_urtjfxJzBjOYqDM0rxTDRz_SbHE4mLWl8BUnhcl4jcOJLkQnAm6jYwX0KvfSEwE296A3kIjmW5I8mIaZ7t006jt3wtzV62JkmLrCRXg0hfCbF3WJ5zm_PNG/s320/P1100093.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Being a big pregnant gal, my job was to sit several yards away and tell Hubby which way to pull. It was pretty fun watching the trucks tires spin and the tree teter. The job was harder than Hubby had anticipated. Even though palm roots don't spread out too far, they DO cling to the dirt around them. The first palm took about an hour to remove. Here's Hubby and Joe after they got the first palm out. They hauled it to the front of the property by the trash bin.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZT2Ib2n_Vs3ENDdV_jNRdwvkUUC5y9BGrtglpapyYqcBEftRBVqmse89xSg94UJ88DOtA1HMqKrysIDRA4YlGTcK6bfmygKWZigoqJod7LfO67x7n78QSzjpuYHO6YeMQSci22FvbUMhh/s1600/P1100095.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZT2Ib2n_Vs3ENDdV_jNRdwvkUUC5y9BGrtglpapyYqcBEftRBVqmse89xSg94UJ88DOtA1HMqKrysIDRA4YlGTcK6bfmygKWZigoqJod7LfO67x7n78QSzjpuYHO6YeMQSci22FvbUMhh/s320/P1100095.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwz5XKGjGIYgf7zH6RPygg_w5U_0hSvGyxbKnMjR0A8LCsMsT0YYwKRebQ3_UXaGgq837zvmuHmh9WSW-Pale0JazzDW3jt-76dIXSxe9AtHsvwQGr9fqMbYZnt_NX4WPElMHijqUwXdrH/s1600/P1100096.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwz5XKGjGIYgf7zH6RPygg_w5U_0hSvGyxbKnMjR0A8LCsMsT0YYwKRebQ3_UXaGgq837zvmuHmh9WSW-Pale0JazzDW3jt-76dIXSxe9AtHsvwQGr9fqMbYZnt_NX4WPElMHijqUwXdrH/s320/P1100096.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Waving "Hello" as they drive by me.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWSbu71aM52cPDzawkhWab19Sm36-dGocMcv9QW7WSWgi8z5JhyKS2t4Lgln1yULmdllL_XwYaX-Xvryogq4e4Vfj9t_oXtg_kOadsVVW3OSkA5C1yYqS7CqskDzV_3UWBFMNXmeWlEqU1/s1600/P1100097.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWSbu71aM52cPDzawkhWab19Sm36-dGocMcv9QW7WSWgi8z5JhyKS2t4Lgln1yULmdllL_XwYaX-Xvryogq4e4Vfj9t_oXtg_kOadsVVW3OSkA5C1yYqS7CqskDzV_3UWBFMNXmeWlEqU1/s320/P1100097.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYCpLqAviyprnqDPn2mpFeqUtf0lW85Fqwt-Y-W6UakWYPclOWe4HYAM8lcGJjWAhFc0ZElT3HG5ph_3XnM-ECXu8qNjeu9AFU1C5iZ4qMZXXF5c8pqPe3MuSilWKVMGBnbB-OXUclRsMW/s1600/P1100098.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYCpLqAviyprnqDPn2mpFeqUtf0lW85Fqwt-Y-W6UakWYPclOWe4HYAM8lcGJjWAhFc0ZElT3HG5ph_3XnM-ECXu8qNjeu9AFU1C5iZ4qMZXXF5c8pqPe3MuSilWKVMGBnbB-OXUclRsMW/s320/P1100098.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">The second palm was more stubborn. It did NOT want to come out. Part of the problem is that it had grown in to the fence. That palm tree took about two hours to pull. During the process, Hubby tweaked his back again. Poor guy! He took it easy over the next few days, and, fortunately, his back healed up fine.</span></div>
Sarah Bluehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18420097146485393526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955308577721461635.post-66190255285417957032012-08-09T11:06:00.002-07:002012-08-09T11:07:09.602-07:00Washing Machine Woes<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My washing machine hates our new house.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is a fancy Samsung with all sorts of sensors built in to ensure the perfect wash. Hubby picked it out special just because of those special sensors. He has been so happy with his choice. It worked fine at our old house. But the thing does not work well here.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The problem? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Well water!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our washing machine, with all its fancy sensors, despises the well water.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We've tried all sorts of different remedies. None have fully worked. Our last resort was to unplug the hot & cold water hoses and manually add water to the machine after it ran its initial scans. Then during the rinsed cycle, we would manually add water again.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It worked for a whole two days. And then it stopped. I don't know what happened, but the sensors are not loving our little trick and so have gone on strike.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hubby says that he will get it fixed this weekend. I told him that, at this point, I'd rather he just buy me an old-fashioned washboard. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img height="287" id="il_fi" src="http://www.survivalsolutions.com/store/media/Sanitation/washboard_full.gif" style="padding-bottom: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;" width="380" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I've wasted three hours this morning trying to get ONE load of laundry washed in that finicky machine. If I had a washboard, I could have had ALL my laundry washed in an hour.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Oh well, Hubby is going to give it one more shot this weekend. In the meantime, there is always the laundrymat. :)</span></div>Sarah Bluehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18420097146485393526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955308577721461635.post-50685865055170584762012-07-05T17:50:00.001-07:002012-07-05T17:51:24.553-07:00Fixing It Up<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We've spent the last few months in limbo trying to purchase a run-down house in the county. On June 18, everything finally went through! The loan funded, the title recorded, and the keys were officially turned over to us.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We had done many renovations on the house during that time, trying to get it fixed up enough for a lender to agree it was worth the risk. We got the well running, installed a new water heater, put on a new roof, put in new carpet, fixed a faucet, fixed a door, fixed some walls, put on baseboards, removed three abandoned vehicles from the property, removed several truckloads of garbage from property, added a ground wire for the electrical, fixed a few jerry-rigged electrical problems, installed a couple light fixtures to replace the naked & exposed wiring that had been left behind, and crossed our fingers that those things would be enough.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thank heavens it was!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But now that the place is ours, the renovations have kicked into high gear. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here's what we've been working on the past few weeks:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Taking more garbage to the dump.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuCATJTLwH0BCVs1ESTUIzCuLbL3RDQezu87IMp4DUX0MSDfPvTxkC3q0YTRW4ub-6JUjqSoEjhr7qtRtQ6kWNJoFyAtQvJ-LJDhgaG_h2TAXkVaOT5QVSZCmJrTLE2b3RCZiwDG32dof1/s1600/P1090777.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuCATJTLwH0BCVs1ESTUIzCuLbL3RDQezu87IMp4DUX0MSDfPvTxkC3q0YTRW4ub-6JUjqSoEjhr7qtRtQ6kWNJoFyAtQvJ-LJDhgaG_h2TAXkVaOT5QVSZCmJrTLE2b3RCZiwDG32dof1/s320/P1090777.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ripping out the bathroom. Please note the dirt. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A gopher had been living under this tub...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBmwVMOMUNQqFVO2tFWTjbgARCnEx75yTq2xcL3Ra36yFqzp-npMKGgOqjKKr1I9GB8pdVp45_x9loCL65wY3KLzuc1gWhLvp2bO0cIdpDuO87hIxvfK74gwbN8UrRxIZMIqcW_6z3ruyT/s1600/P1090782.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBmwVMOMUNQqFVO2tFWTjbgARCnEx75yTq2xcL3Ra36yFqzp-npMKGgOqjKKr1I9GB8pdVp45_x9loCL65wY3KLzuc1gWhLvp2bO0cIdpDuO87hIxvfK74gwbN8UrRxIZMIqcW_6z3ruyT/s320/P1090782.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Finding honeycomb & a dead beehive in the bathroom walls.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid1WJ0wJdgn138zfcP6KfEdQWRITfjTWeBWYL657IcJob6qBVtSLrV_1EdGZreyvSagTFpDhMBwPNfjkN9jKMbE7qHWLn7Eoy7iBrju7xQrzrRQslmCJD8PTZCiZMyNmIgLLP7S6noYfjb/s1600/P1090789.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid1WJ0wJdgn138zfcP6KfEdQWRITfjTWeBWYL657IcJob6qBVtSLrV_1EdGZreyvSagTFpDhMBwPNfjkN9jKMbE7qHWLn7Eoy7iBrju7xQrzrRQslmCJD8PTZCiZMyNmIgLLP7S6noYfjb/s320/P1090789.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Taking another load to the dump.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIiJRgEjbxKlEVnXij4WZaXKzhfdOvPaxkHuqAyb6XiGjGjQ6i-zaIrqkFiH2uZnQu5k2Yl5mhLD9FEdXcQkjf0eUz_RmfPmIF0maE41lKYOgB3XJY-022YTsu7Xyje7bWv652LAH6-2Er/s1600/P1090790.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIiJRgEjbxKlEVnXij4WZaXKzhfdOvPaxkHuqAyb6XiGjGjQ6i-zaIrqkFiH2uZnQu5k2Yl5mhLD9FEdXcQkjf0eUz_RmfPmIF0maE41lKYOgB3XJY-022YTsu7Xyje7bWv652LAH6-2Er/s320/P1090790.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Taking time out to nurture the garden at our current house.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Those are giant pumpkin vines around my kids.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3JCzJaIWq0sPaF28CpTex1QBpg-MV0i654EtFt_GDJi7J6wGSC2UAvMikE6vKr8IWPh6BJLtYhcSToIRCZA28CJjK645ZapjJ6LRPhyphenhyphenJqWitM9JfH5_b3KM3X2poGW54P7Rpm5tbXTCkn/s1600/P1090796.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3JCzJaIWq0sPaF28CpTex1QBpg-MV0i654EtFt_GDJi7J6wGSC2UAvMikE6vKr8IWPh6BJLtYhcSToIRCZA28CJjK645ZapjJ6LRPhyphenhyphenJqWitM9JfH5_b3KM3X2poGW54P7Rpm5tbXTCkn/s320/P1090796.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ripping out the kitchen cabinets. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Please note my rounding belly.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSa8VSy-kDx5SNGJBqx54ICnxzBPK7KdR6CGOGe7X2BaXD2mlz1_kQDhuIvuZI6SW16yeBhwemTO2BjNSOFy0PsS21SYrwJ3Aqev_aIaj-U7SYZK4zo0A54Kab8wOTCwCecbXpP6bq7Ch4/s1600/P1090801.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSa8VSy-kDx5SNGJBqx54ICnxzBPK7KdR6CGOGe7X2BaXD2mlz1_kQDhuIvuZI6SW16yeBhwemTO2BjNSOFy0PsS21SYrwJ3Aqev_aIaj-U7SYZK4zo0A54Kab8wOTCwCecbXpP6bq7Ch4/s320/P1090801.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Getting a 2-Yard bin for trash. That's right people...I have a BIN!!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkI4crv1nH0gD-0hI_ftE8leAWoejif5KOb526CHhD3Wvc4r-otE2g3rPGcayqAqhyIDGPx0LpzyrWiUvkdCAT-bCl2zESvkHig1psX7w7GIZx8wHiA5S5p8sxr2xun3DY1s43HRwqCepE/s1600/P1090808.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkI4crv1nH0gD-0hI_ftE8leAWoejif5KOb526CHhD3Wvc4r-otE2g3rPGcayqAqhyIDGPx0LpzyrWiUvkdCAT-bCl2zESvkHig1psX7w7GIZx8wHiA5S5p8sxr2xun3DY1s43HRwqCepE/s320/P1090808.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Turning into a ghost painting the ceilings & walls at the county house.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3whj4KhURCE9ZoeeUzmRpFXSrO9HHl6RtZEnka5x-M5WFBPleOC5Qhqpln5dGjmsAprjw376oxmVzHgmhM6qM5SPtb9e9fCsS6IRQpYZnx-Grk9YD15DzTB-e4PaPEj25fg5JqmPxlo5O/s1600/P1090816.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3whj4KhURCE9ZoeeUzmRpFXSrO9HHl6RtZEnka5x-M5WFBPleOC5Qhqpln5dGjmsAprjw376oxmVzHgmhM6qM5SPtb9e9fCsS6IRQpYZnx-Grk9YD15DzTB-e4PaPEj25fg5JqmPxlo5O/s320/P1090816.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Painted living room.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcaC3MyjOAAGmzuroRfHhu2LR976EsNi5ON3Veo2nuzyhbxCjc7K4oyMhcpcqJz2r2K2f52ttkiaUON8giwox2C0-NZWbEHdWNA7AKTkBFiJRpKYU3eVg2n_5D-kOCWxT9fWVjcTWfvMCI/s1600/P1090825.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcaC3MyjOAAGmzuroRfHhu2LR976EsNi5ON3Veo2nuzyhbxCjc7K4oyMhcpcqJz2r2K2f52ttkiaUON8giwox2C0-NZWbEHdWNA7AKTkBFiJRpKYU3eVg2n_5D-kOCWxT9fWVjcTWfvMCI/s320/P1090825.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Installing new bathroom pipes & fixtures.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyH6FOdRu9jLVoJDvZntssDCdlkrHUSObHDMLBUt1m0bYgIppTSRZt3rbW3CJ0nqQwvrr1z1j9PJD7FwfHzpkFAI87Em-5K2WiDZdqEL1NtGcHvRD2GpbSWSgRQbltl9INLh2zxcUDp50f/s1600/P1090834.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyH6FOdRu9jLVoJDvZntssDCdlkrHUSObHDMLBUt1m0bYgIppTSRZt3rbW3CJ0nqQwvrr1z1j9PJD7FwfHzpkFAI87Em-5K2WiDZdqEL1NtGcHvRD2GpbSWSgRQbltl9INLh2zxcUDp50f/s320/P1090834.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Framing in a unnecessary, heat-increasing window in the kitchen.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzyHcxY9fo6XmrBHvGBR-Mt5kS5p12SwlrlUghSMB9gxQMhsMGkXlES44WyeWFEy3LAX0YlG4PSuZ7r91VBgu7-WoV-tCP5VlebDw2DiHChZJCv5hyphenhypheno70ybhqbmkNxTYDoXZA1f_0T3hjP/s1600/P1090839.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzyHcxY9fo6XmrBHvGBR-Mt5kS5p12SwlrlUghSMB9gxQMhsMGkXlES44WyeWFEy3LAX0YlG4PSuZ7r91VBgu7-WoV-tCP5VlebDw2DiHChZJCv5hyphenhypheno70ybhqbmkNxTYDoXZA1f_0T3hjP/s320/P1090839.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Cleaning up blood after the windowpane shattered, injuring my dear neighbor.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZT-J7OA9Rk178s13H6PBLpyEfz-vKB6ltlaJ8-BNBOZDXaw2LPEsOg7hVM6U7wfabL9mtb-AO0FFiNQ68pQNR4CwURfL56OASqFFGn7VV2S4ZZfzC4f8VhBeSuqlImljgud5q3GPdLm3X/s1600/P1090842.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZT-J7OA9Rk178s13H6PBLpyEfz-vKB6ltlaJ8-BNBOZDXaw2LPEsOg7hVM6U7wfabL9mtb-AO0FFiNQ68pQNR4CwURfL56OASqFFGn7VV2S4ZZfzC4f8VhBeSuqlImljgud5q3GPdLm3X/s320/P1090842.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Still framing in the window.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqtx1bY3Ca9QWxBhtI5a9BnvoQB-mqc9XlcuE2S8VUeIENKAUVdiV_M_ZSEqCEBvLBSr2pvFjyrEfPtS3UAJLiBLNR9C1vU01FCuJ80-LupFcSRhYynv1ARAwcTF4uh_XjJ9T0BC9_Rf8w/s1600/P1090846.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqtx1bY3Ca9QWxBhtI5a9BnvoQB-mqc9XlcuE2S8VUeIENKAUVdiV_M_ZSEqCEBvLBSr2pvFjyrEfPtS3UAJLiBLNR9C1vU01FCuJ80-LupFcSRhYynv1ARAwcTF4uh_XjJ9T0BC9_Rf8w/s320/P1090846.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Installing new cabinets in the kitchen.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMCK174-rYSv9OyK2JOKzbCtTaxuC1q97STKhMEDLDi-feCbuyrJoamxT2arsPtk2wJ2TbravaXqS1bqKCquA1XdXMh9JgWBab_KqAiU6Bnrbwz9YpvuNLsoEmI-RMDjtL-nOkASVfVvGL/s1600/P1090848.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMCK174-rYSv9OyK2JOKzbCtTaxuC1q97STKhMEDLDi-feCbuyrJoamxT2arsPtk2wJ2TbravaXqS1bqKCquA1XdXMh9JgWBab_KqAiU6Bnrbwz9YpvuNLsoEmI-RMDjtL-nOkASVfVvGL/s320/P1090848.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Installing counter tops too.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN6THko5DccM9kfg6dNijwUZXv8-ij-OWYdB4bx6wqGGn8XCGAyrkmzzx9hpWmC45Wb8f6BYdQsVdD8bIq82sSBCzdb7OC9r7aB1KtpV5J92egnzfHHiBS3Gl6U9lCle-UDZZ61smd4o7P/s1600/P1090869.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN6THko5DccM9kfg6dNijwUZXv8-ij-OWYdB4bx6wqGGn8XCGAyrkmzzx9hpWmC45Wb8f6BYdQsVdD8bIq82sSBCzdb7OC9r7aB1KtpV5J92egnzfHHiBS3Gl6U9lCle-UDZZ61smd4o7P/s320/P1090869.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Having a yard sale. Necessary when moving to a house 700 sq. ft. smaller.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg13i7fMseQ0NPcCkJHUgp20TqQ6sbZXf0P8JTYLMdByBGA-nLT716O_5HEQbZBQrmx1tQbBSgv-IUvIG8B7g7BRTWxybnBDeAEXrCvCswZYp6xr15D_MHo_PR8NZ3eqh2WLM1hyphenhyphen82n5RF4/s1600/P1090883.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg13i7fMseQ0NPcCkJHUgp20TqQ6sbZXf0P8JTYLMdByBGA-nLT716O_5HEQbZBQrmx1tQbBSgv-IUvIG8B7g7BRTWxybnBDeAEXrCvCswZYp6xr15D_MHo_PR8NZ3eqh2WLM1hyphenhyphen82n5RF4/s320/P1090883.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Moving a HEAVY tool shed to the new house.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Please note the Dad in the blue shirt. He is instructing his sons to </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">hold on tight and not die. They are sitting on the front of the ATV </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">to add weight so the thing won't pop up.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGSx70fKxe82fKkYzaB4idsnPQX2_qG7eKYwmaRWCx9ytwL35bqhgjKc9nRkCgkkZ0GKwhqlYGtwu5KZUlpgIkHA0XLRWthufNtfG1_Yb4HHaCfgu7hJLNdc6sRKxT8bRLChdito5f7u9J/s1600/P1090896.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGSx70fKxe82fKkYzaB4idsnPQX2_qG7eKYwmaRWCx9ytwL35bqhgjKc9nRkCgkkZ0GKwhqlYGtwu5KZUlpgIkHA0XLRWthufNtfG1_Yb4HHaCfgu7hJLNdc6sRKxT8bRLChdito5f7u9J/s320/P1090896.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am happy to report that no one died...yet.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hubby and I have been very blessed with loads of help from family and neighbors. We appreciate the time and efforts they've spent on our behalf.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Unfortunately, the work is only halfway done...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Wish us luck. :)</span></div>Sarah Bluehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18420097146485393526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955308577721461635.post-21266475489568628772012-05-24T18:03:00.002-07:002012-05-25T07:42:52.398-07:00Another Quick Update<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It seems like all I have for lately is Quick Updates. Sorry about that. Life has just been crazy and anytime I <i>do</i> have some down time...I take a nap. :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Obviously I can't catch you up on three months worth of happenings quickly. So I will just make note of the few big things that are happening in my life.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1. Student Teaching is DONE! Hooray!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2. I have officially graduated from Northern Arizona University with a Masters of Elementary Education. I earned a 4.0 GPA and completed all requirements in only 17 months. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3. I have decided that I <i>hate</i> school and never want to step in another one as long as I live. Haha! I'm sure I just need a break, a BIG break. I might go back when I'm 50.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">4. I'm pregnant. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am 23 weeks along and having a little girl in September. And yes, that means I was in the beginning stages of pregnancy <i>while</i> student teaching. It was not fun being prego sick, student teaching, and pretending all the while to be happy and healthy, but let me tell you...I rocked it. No one at that school had any idea I was pregnant until I was 16 weeks along. <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(side note: my cooperating teacher insists, after the fact, that <i>she </i>knew I was pregnant before the 16 weeks. my unspoken comment: yeah right.)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">5. I attended Wood Badge. I have wanted to go to Wood Badge for the past ten years! It was different than what I was expecting. And they gave me homework!! No one said anything about homework before I went. It's probably good that they didn't, because I was sick of school by then and wouldn't have gone.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Anyhoo, it was quite the adventure.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">6. We're moving.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We're not moving to a different city. Just a different house about two miles away. It is in the county. It is lots smaller than our current house. It only has three bedrooms. It is in poor condition. So why are we doing it??</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That darling, crumbling little house is sitting on THREE acres of IRRIGATED land. It is very exciting. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Adios, Amigos!</span>Sarah Bluehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18420097146485393526noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955308577721461635.post-39165764435515564722012-03-21T22:17:00.001-07:002012-05-25T07:43:21.029-07:00New Residents<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Last year, I don't remember when, Hubby built us a <i>huge</i> compost bin. My dear brother made his wife a composter that has a turner built in. Ours is not so fancy. It is made of cheap wood. It is rectangular with a hinged lid and you must turn the compost yourself. I drew up the design and Hubby built it. It is perfect for our family and I am quite enamored with it!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In late January, I was in the backyard watering the compost. In Arizona, watering your compost helps it to break down better. As the water began to soak in, I started seeing movement. Now, this is a typical phenomenon when I water. You see, crickets and beetles love to live in my compost pile. And lizards love to hang out on the edges to catch the crickets and beetles as their dinner. So usually when I start watering, the bugs and the lizards start hightailing it out of the bin.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This time the creatures moving around were field mice. I quickly dropped the hose, ran into the house, and started yelling directions. Hubby and the kids started grabbing tupperware and ran outside. We turned the hose back on and started flushing out the mice. I watered the kids corralled and Hubby caught the mice. We ended up catching SEVEN field mice!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Flushing out the mice while Hubby catches them.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSe4nzkMSKShx86yattwNG2j0NJeSdag9ayNKrpsjaTMT-InD8KduC5EdShWoWbhD-x6KqnCY-bvqQ5w4Ga2bZvBQjeXu-FzhA27P399n_OQLbUVn8Vu06okH04-q1xZadGx6LkLXdjSNI/s1600/P1090078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSe4nzkMSKShx86yattwNG2j0NJeSdag9ayNKrpsjaTMT-InD8KduC5EdShWoWbhD-x6KqnCY-bvqQ5w4Ga2bZvBQjeXu-FzhA27P399n_OQLbUVn8Vu06okH04-q1xZadGx6LkLXdjSNI/s320/P1090078.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The girls had friends over. After this experience, their friends</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">declared our house the funnest place they had ever been. Haha!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNkbH3-0ef1vzj5PowcD4mLSOVW4yWgFtIB9fLu86j7URgbFME-7b_68_HsA3WUUAdJdrncT6HdDLdBNWfVv7lDXW1wv5cgW10YzHHzoJNvcF67icl_hgRwgYKBO4Wy_fLSx0-bpkrEkSo/s1600/P1090080.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNkbH3-0ef1vzj5PowcD4mLSOVW4yWgFtIB9fLu86j7URgbFME-7b_68_HsA3WUUAdJdrncT6HdDLdBNWfVv7lDXW1wv5cgW10YzHHzoJNvcF67icl_hgRwgYKBO4Wy_fLSx0-bpkrEkSo/s320/P1090080.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We emptied the mice into the big container. There are six mice in the big container!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">I dumped the seventh one in after snapping this picture.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7CPG9bNNsnSqEbRGZwxk558Gu_NTS9LeD20zQt00P485KF8TiK7EY9tkXhStRzOG4R4dIvJEjE3MpcSDNf4oZY20JcKh_hP13oRUWZuAZqsdLzmyLrq59lXXfCvjiF53UTJlqHD5w8pkL/s1600/P1090082.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7CPG9bNNsnSqEbRGZwxk558Gu_NTS9LeD20zQt00P485KF8TiK7EY9tkXhStRzOG4R4dIvJEjE3MpcSDNf4oZY20JcKh_hP13oRUWZuAZqsdLzmyLrq59lXXfCvjiF53UTJlqHD5w8pkL/s320/P1090082.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Well, I thought seven mice, that is quite the family. I turned off the hose and commended the kids on their hard work and non-squeamishness. (I truly appreciate when people don't freak out about bugs, mice, or other creatures.) However, Hubby was not done. He went to the garage and came back with the pitchfork. We use the pitchfork to turn the compost. Hubby or I will do this once or twice a month, depending on how much we've added to the pile.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hubby thought that there might be more mice hiding on the bottom. He was correct! As he started turning the compost over, more mice started darting out. We ended up catching SIX more field mice! It was kind of funny because those mice at the bottom were pretty smart. They tried to hide on the outer sides of the compost bin, covered by the hibiscus flowers. I hosed and hosed them to get them to come out then Hubby caught them. It was fantastic!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The kids thought we should keep all <i>thirteen</i> of the mice. They and their friends started talking about how wonderful it would be to have the mice as pets and how they could have babies so then we would have even more field mice. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dear children, YEAH RIGHT!!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Of course, being a Mom who is trying to teach her children respectful speech, I respectfully explained the reasons we could not keep the field mice. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hubby had some ideas for disposing of the mice... The kids were a bit upset about to hear his ideas. Miss S practically flipped out. It was kind of funny hearing this fifteen year old girl, who was only a few minutes earlier saying how gross the mice were, now acting as though we would be terrible murderers if we disposed of the mice. Goofy kid!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Anyhoo, I told the kids that I would take them to a pet store so that people who wanted field mice as pets (*wink, wink*) could buy them. Out of earshot of all the kids, I called around until I found a pet shop that was willing to take them as "pets". </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Rose wanted to come with me. Here we are about to get in the car. We left the last six mice in the tupperwares because the field mice in the large container were jumping like crazy to get out. And let me tell you, Field Mice Jump High!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLRAVUKI_NhgiEfn0S3iTWwoWXTEsTG8IDcx8POcJBFQe8wuZl7BFqO4gvXfBQB-fh8KXehZTRwDTpq4GQiT76O34QACC9gdESSRyI-vxw_bz-v3IGmKHtOHe4SsimHSNxSiDSI6pWhylV/s1600/P1090085.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLRAVUKI_NhgiEfn0S3iTWwoWXTEsTG8IDcx8POcJBFQe8wuZl7BFqO4gvXfBQB-fh8KXehZTRwDTpq4GQiT76O34QACC9gdESSRyI-vxw_bz-v3IGmKHtOHe4SsimHSNxSiDSI6pWhylV/s320/P1090085.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A gal at the pet store carefully dropped each mouse into a glass container. She ended up losing one of them. The mouse was getting pretty aggressive and tried to bite her. It was one of the larger mice. She told me that she has been bitten by the white pet mice plenty of times, but she knows where those mice are from and that they have no disease. She didn't want to take a chance and get bit by a field mouse that was carrying who knows what.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I don't blame her.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">She told me not to worry because they leave out poison so the mouse wouldn't last long on the run.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Rose didn't hear that part. I had sent her off to look at the kittens and snakes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Twelve mice in their temporary home.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYKEm3CqszQjyev8qp3BdErqmG3jZcMLyt7MStnH8f3c4uhmQwCONuJIURLHnczStT1kzritIDmnU7wURbNEt4GKonKSZlgG5dOFJZLlUB7uZkwgsaqVUARLPpbZzfmdE_NiE8QuNIwk4l/s1600/P1090089.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYKEm3CqszQjyev8qp3BdErqmG3jZcMLyt7MStnH8f3c4uhmQwCONuJIURLHnczStT1kzritIDmnU7wURbNEt4GKonKSZlgG5dOFJZLlUB7uZkwgsaqVUARLPpbZzfmdE_NiE8QuNIwk4l/s320/P1090089.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1ngWosIH4NtFQ_NAZCLO9Eo9L7sQ9Zr-YOdYo4TmDT-On1zWS1D1PnxhghKCjZ0LU5WNZ33tMkoMayCgXnRvSEazBDPvZOBtHWkWkCbWy3xqvmJU4pd2ULj_llcIndbaEPQgwkB-obEbZ/s1600/P1090090.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A close-up of the field mice. See the mouse whose coat is darker? It's darker because it is WET! That was one of the mice that we had to drench in order to catch.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMe2qVOHjgpYdgVVhOlOJJf6xMmoyBj3CHKrS4_Q7CuZj01H-Rfk8BqdTPhCrJ5db0Y69jwQ73iyaLBBi0WJR1iBnN9KCGv1KOUqvM9usinlXRHzbYoCxqK7hrMlLXsQLL-W5C30rzhmp2/s1600/P1090091.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMe2qVOHjgpYdgVVhOlOJJf6xMmoyBj3CHKrS4_Q7CuZj01H-Rfk8BqdTPhCrJ5db0Y69jwQ73iyaLBBi0WJR1iBnN9KCGv1KOUqvM9usinlXRHzbYoCxqK7hrMlLXsQLL-W5C30rzhmp2/s320/P1090091.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm not sure how many of the field mice are still in the pet shop. I know for sure that the owner took three home that evening. She had a pet snake that was looking for some new playmates... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ssssshhhh! Don't tell me kids. ;)</span>Sarah Bluehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18420097146485393526noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955308577721461635.post-84539756145593728502012-01-29T18:03:00.000-08:002012-01-29T18:03:07.598-08:00Quick Report<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have set my timer for five minutes. I am going to type as fast as I can to give you a quick report of our family's lives. Here we go:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1) I have been student teaching for three weeks. It is not at all what I expected it to be. I don't want to bore anyone with the details. I think one word sums it up nicely: Politics! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have not dealt with politics in a long time. I kind of forgot they existed. I kind of assumed that everyone was nice and wanted everyone else to succeed. And I'm kind of finding out that my sunny outlook on life is not realistic. Bummer!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2) Dropping my children off at a daycare has been one of the most emotionally challenging things I have ever done. Hearing my baby Jim crying for me and knowing that I have to walk away and go to work was SO hard! By the time I got out the door I was crying too. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After three weeks he is not crying as I leave him. But he does start crying tears of relief every time I pick him up, which is almost as bad as him crying when I left. I mean, crying tears of relief kind of leads me to believe that he wasn't sure I would BE returning to pick him up. And that is a heart-wrenching thing to think.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3) Hubby started a new job three weeks ago. He says that he is alright, it's just a major learning curve. He also said that maybe I could start using our real names and tell you what his real job is, since he needs clients and all...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Except my timer just went off!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sorry!!!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Sarah Bluehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18420097146485393526noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955308577721461635.post-74622915503510481852012-01-07T23:00:00.000-08:002012-01-07T23:03:54.752-08:00Bravo, Mr. President. Bravo!<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As I was reading the news of the day, I came across this article:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jan/7/us-redefines-rape-count-more-people-victims/">http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jan/7/us-redefines-rape-count-more-people-victims/</a>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">President Obama and Vice President Biden are helping our country to take a step forward in the fight against violent crimes! The Associated Press reports:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">"The Obama administration says it is expanding the FBI's more than eight-decade-old definition of rape to reflect a better understanding of the crime and to broaden protections."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have seen the devastating impact that rape can have on an individual. I've worked with women who have been raped, been friends with women who were sexually abused as children. The way that a girl or woman starts to define themselves by that horrific event in their life. And the bitterness and self-loathing that can occur when the responsibility for the crime is pushed back on them or when the crime is not taken seriously.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Throughout history, the punishment for rape has varied greatly. Some rapists have been viewed simply as playboys, whose charms women just can't refuse. The thought-process here is that the woman <i>wanted</i> it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Other times, rape is viewed as a proposal. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Remember that </span><a href="http://sarahssillystuff.blogspot.com/2009/11/quick-review.html" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">terrible book</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> I read...Tess of the D'Ubervilles?? Tess was supposed to marry her rapist. What a frightening prospect!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In many Greek stories, the woman raped was faulted. Think of the story of Zeus and Europa. Their relationship started with a rape. But it's okay because he is a god?? And she went on to have his children?? Because being raped by a god and getting pregnant makes rape a perfectly fine activity??</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In another Greek story, a god, Poseidon, comes upon a beautiful mortal woman worshiping in the temple of Athena. The woman is so beautiful that he cannot help himself and immediately ravishes her...In the Temple! Athena, the Virgin Goddess, is furious that her temple has been desecrated with sex. But does she go after her uncle? Does she blame him? Nope. She blames the girl, punishing her by turning her beautiful long hair into writhing snakes. Yep. Poor Medusa was raped and instead of being comforted, her hair was turned into snakes and any guy who looked at her was turned to stone. Serves her right for being so beautiful...GAG!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dinah's story in the Old Testament follows Tess's pattern of proposal. Dinah's, daughter of Leah and Jacob, sister to the Twelve Tribes of Israel, rapist thought to marry her. Her story is found in</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Genesis chapters </span><a href="http://lds.org/scriptures/ot/gen/33?lang=eng" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">33</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> and </span><a href="http://lds.org/scriptures/ot/gen/34?lang=eng" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">34</a>.<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> While her father seemed willing to go along with the marriage idea, her brothers had different plans. You can read the story yourself. The main point here is that the rapist is actually punished in this story...And quite extremely at that! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(By the way, I thoroughly enjoyed this <a href="http://www.scripturestudies.com/Vol4/D9/d9_ot.html">scripture study's</a> insight into that story. Much food for thought.)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Early America viewed rape similar to Levi and Simeon. It was a crime that ought to be punished. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I could honestly go on and on as the examples and variety of consequences are plentiful throughout history. But the topic is quite painful for many people, and I don't want to draw out this terrible thing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What I want is to state emphatically that rape is not something the victim </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">wanted</i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. It is not, and never should be seen as, a proposal to marriage. And it is </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">not </i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">the fault of the victim.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The article gives details of how the definition is being revised and expanded:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">"The revised definition covers any gender of victim or attacker and includes instances in which the victim is incapable of giving consent because of the influence of drugs or alcohol or because of age. Physical resistance is not required."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This revision by the FBI is HUGE!!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Many states have taken great strides in the past decades to broaden their definitions of rape. They have expanded their protection of the girls, women, boys, and men who fall victim to this heinous crime. They have made the punishments more severe for the perpetrators. Their efforts have led to a decrease the incidence of rape.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am so pleased that President Obama and his administration are updating their definition. It has been a long time coming and is a positive step forward in the fight against this atrocious crime. Bravo, Mr. President! Bravo!!</span>Sarah Bluehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18420097146485393526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955308577721461635.post-20082945589112078392012-01-03T08:00:00.000-08:002012-01-05T11:42:01.464-08:004-H Fun<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We signed up to participate in 4-H again this year. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Rose and Anne signed up for Cooking, Sewing, Photography, Shooting Sports, Arts & Crafts, and Rabbits. Miss S signed up for Shooting Sports and Rabbits. I informed all three girls that Rabbits were out of the question this year. I will be student teaching in the spring and cannot be their chauffeur to all the rabbit events.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Joe and Prof. X signed up for Cloverbuds. This is the group for 4-H kids who are too young to compete. They have a new leader this year and she is turning out to be FANTASTIC! She wants the Cloverbuds to have a thorough 4-H experience so she has arranged for them to participate in a ton of different events. It is wonderful!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here's what they've all done so far:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><u>Cloverbuds</u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Joe & Prof. X toured a seed sprouting facility. We saw acres upon acres of baby plants: lettuce, cabbage, artichokes, celery, broccoli, and more! The place was a dream. The month before the boys (& Rose) painted pottery at a local studio. This was a combined activity with the Arts & Crafts group. The Cloverbud leader is also the Arts & Crafts leader! She has planned for the two groups to do an activity together once every other month. Very fun!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The most recent Cloverbud activity was a tour of a local bakery. I was informed halfway through the activity that is was also an Arts & Crafts activity, so Anne & Rose were invited. Tough luck for them. Fortunately, they were at other activities that Saturday so didn't feel bad about missing the bakery tour.</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The boys in their baking aprons</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Reading the recipe</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Rolling out their dough. Prof. X <u>chose</u> that small pin. Goofy kid!</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Joe decorating his cookie</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Prof. X showing his decorated cookie.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Can you tell he's been taking bites of the frosting?</span></i></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Shooting Sports</span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Miss S., Rose & Anne are working on perfecting their aim every other Saturday using air rifles and bows & arrows. No pictures.</span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Arts & Crafts</span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The arts & crafts leader is also the Cloverbud leader. She is lovely. On the Arts & Crafts side, she has arranged for 4-H members to paint pottery at a local studio which was then fired. Anne was sick for this activity. Rose painted a Halloween monster mug.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The other activity they had was to decorate t-shirts. They used iron-on pictures, puff paints, jewels, and more, to jazz up the plain white tees. The end results were crazy! </span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Cooking</span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Rose & Anne have experimented with pancakes. Their leader had them try different kinds of flours and rising agents. They also made some sweet potato pancakes and vegan pancakes. Then they tasted all the varieties to see the differences. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For their meeting just before Christmas, they baked all sorts of cookies. Their leader told them to pick out any recipe, but no chocolate chips allowed! She wanted them to try new things. Anne made sugar cookies and Rose made toffee bars. Rose's toffee bars were Excellent! She used the recipe that I used growing up and the bars turned out delicious. Poor Anne's cookies were not so good. In all the excitement of baking, she forgot to add the baking soda, and the baking powder. It is amazing the difference that a teaspoon of each can make!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><u>Sewing</u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Rose & Anne have done nothing. The youth sewing instructor they had last year did not return. The main sewing instructor, who took all the advanced sewers last year, flat out refused to take any new students. So the girls were left with no instructor. Except, I know a little about sewing and my leader status finally went through... So I volunteered to be the sewing instructor for my girls and any other potential sewers/quilters. We haven't done anything yet. We will have our first meeting in January.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><u>Photography</u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Rose & Anne have been meeting once or twice a month with the photography leader. She is helping them become familiar with the cameras, teaching them how to set up shots, and other photography related things. One of the things she has stressed is the need to Practice, Practice, Practice! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here is evidence of the girls' practicing:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Photos of Desert Flora at local park </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Photos at Wal-m's Garden Center</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> I think they are off to a good start. :)</span>Sarah Bluehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18420097146485393526noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955308577721461635.post-75664494903724065492011-12-22T15:39:00.000-08:002011-12-22T15:59:31.401-08:00Say What?<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I took Joe and Anne to see the pediatrician for their annual check-up. This is their first Well Child Check with this doctor. Doc wanted to do a TB test on both kids. They were less than thrilled, but bravely held still for the nurse to administer the skin test.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Two days later we returned to the Doc's office to have the tests read. Joe and Anne both tested positive for TB. Hooray! The nurse was quite taken aback. I told her that their dad always tests positive too. The nurse started laughing then. "Lucky them!" she said. "They never have to get that yucky skin test again." I agreed. They are lucky kids! Hahaha!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Anyone who has ever tested positive knows that the next step is a chest x-ray. The x-ray shows if the individual really has TB or if they are a false-positive-reacting-type person.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So we head downstairs to the imaging lab. The gal at the front directs me to sign in on the "Walk-In" side. I ask her how long the wait is. She tells me about thirty minutes. I say alright, we'll go ahead and do this now. And I sign in. Then </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have this odd conversation with her...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Gal: "You can sit down." <span style="font-size: x-small;">(pause)</span> "I call you right now."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Me: "You'll call me right now? Great!" <span style="font-size: x-small;">(and I stand there smiling at her)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Gal: <span style="font-size: x-small;">(looking at me weird)</span> "You can go sit down. I call you right now."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Me: <span style="font-size: x-small;">(still standing there) </span>"Oh good. Here's my insurance card. Did you want my driver's license too?"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Gal: <span style="font-size: x-small;">(slightly exasperated for reasons unknown to me)</span> "No. You go sit down. I call you right now."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Me: "Wait. What? You want me to go sit down?"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Gal: "Yes." <span style="font-size: x-small;">(smiling cause she thinks I understand what she is saying now) </span>"You go sit down. I call you right now to get your information."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Me: "What? You'll call me right now. Well, I'm here. Here's my information." <span style="font-size: x-small;">(and I try to give her my insurance card again)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Gal: <span style="font-size: x-small;">(looking exasperated again)</span> "No. Go sit down. I call you right now."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Me: <span style="font-size: x-small;">(really feeling confused because why in the world am I going to sit down when she is calling me <i>right now)</i></span> "Why would I sit down? You said you are calling me right now."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Gal: "Yes. Right now I call you. Go sit down."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Me: <span style="font-size: x-small;">(comprehension slowly dawning on me)</span> "You keep telling me you'll call me 'right now'. 'Right now' means this very instant. Is that what you mean? That you are calling me 'right now'? Or do you mean something else? How long do you mean when you say 'right now'?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Gal: <span style="font-size: x-small;">(looks like she is trying to be patient with me cause I obviously don't understand plain English) </span>"Yes. Right now. Like five minutes I call you right now. Go sit down and I call you right now."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Me: <span style="font-size: x-small;">(feeling really confused) </span>"Oh. Okay, we'll just go sit down."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Gal: <span style="font-size: x-small;">(sighs in relief that I have finally left her counter)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My Dear Friends, Can one of you please explain to me when the meaning of "Right Now" changed from "this very instant" to "In five minutes"?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hahahaha!!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Living in the town I live in, I should be used to the idiosyncrasies that exist. But I tell you, this "right now" one is brand new to me. :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />Sarah Bluehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18420097146485393526noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955308577721461635.post-48345239653201939972011-12-20T12:00:00.000-08:002012-01-07T06:57:35.779-08:00Autumn Catch-Up, Part 3<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Grammy and Grand (my mom and dad) came for Joe's baptism. We were all very happy to see them. At one point during the visit, Grammy made a comment about us coming to visit them and spend the night at their house. I didn't think anything of it...until Monday morning. Cakes had his backpack <i>stuffed full</i> of underwear, socks, pajamas, shirts, shorts, and shoes. He even packed his toothbrush! He had interpreted Grammy's comment as a personal invitation to spend the night with her. He was sure that she was coming to pick him up soon. I tried explaining to him that she was not coming to get him today. After thinking it over, he decided to carry the backpack with him so he would be ready when Grammy came. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Cakes checking the mail, Jim right behind </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Autumn-time in our town means the arrival of Hot Air Balloons! Our town has an annual balloon festival. The skies before and after are filled with hot air balloons getting ready for the festival. It is a beautiful sight to behold.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Lone hot air balloon </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have been teaching preschool in my home for the past few months. My students were Cakes, Miss S, and two neighborhood boys--T & D. I threw a little party for them a few days before Halloween. Unfortunately, D was sick! His mom left a message saying he had been throwing up. I thought he had the flu. His mom told me later that he had been to his brother's Halloween party the night before and got a ton of candy which he promptly sat down and ate...ALL OF IT! That's why he was sick! Hahaha! Poor guy. What a terrible way to learn the valuable lesson of Moderation in All Things.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here are the kids who <i>weren't</i> sick. They wore costumes, ate cupcakes, played, told spooky stories, and generally had a good time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> <i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Miss Nita: princess vampire, T: Tigger, Cakes: ninja, Jim waiting</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">patiently for his cupcake while his mom takes a picture</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Rose, Anne, Joe, Prof. X, and Miss S are members of 4-H. This is my kids second year in and Prof. X and Miss S's first year. Members of 4-H are required to do so many hours of service each year in order to qualify for fair. This year we opted to do "Trick-or-Treat-So-Others-Can-Eat". I'm a certified 4-H leader (only took a year to get my paperwork finished. Grrr.) so I organized the service project around my schedule and my home. It was great! So convenient. :) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In addition to my kids, about eight other kids showed up. On the last Tuesday of October, we passed out flyers detailing the food drive. On the following Saturday, we went door to door collecting food. We ended up getting a few hundred pounds of dry and canned food donated. Rose and I took all the food the our town's community food bank. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> <i><span style="font-size: x-small;">4-H members, with Cakes & Miss Nita improperly using their pillowcases.</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Part of the haul. The truck bed was filled by the time we were done.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Thanks to everyone in our neighborhood for donating so generously!!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And then it was Officially Halloween!! The kids were allowed to wear their costumes to school. They were so excited! Look at all that red. The kids did not plan that. Just a happy coincidence. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Anne: Devil girl, Prof. X: Red Ninja, Rose: Red Riding Hood</span></i> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Poor Joe threw up the night before. He had to stay home and miss his class party. I thought he would be really bummed. That sicko didn't even mind! The thought of eating candy made him want to die!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Joe chilling out on the couch. Happy to watch cartoons and NOT eat candy. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That night we had a party. On Sunday the kids and I hand delivered invites to the neighbors on our adjoining streets. We invited them to our house for hot dogs and chili. When we lived in Mesa, our neighborhoods used to have block parties. In the first neighborhood we lived in <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(remember--we lived in two different houses in Mesa. A small 3-bedroom then we upgraded to a small 4-bedroom.)</span> one neighbor would have a hot dog roast on Halloween. Every one in the neighborhood was invited to come to his front yard and eat. Lots of neighbors stopped by to eat and visit. It was wonderful! In our second Mesa neighborhood our street had a block party once a year. We counted it as our neighborhood watch party. Since our house was in the middle of the street, our driveway became the home of the party for three years. It was wonderful!!! It was a chance for neighbors to get to know one another. I knew every neighbor on that street and they knew me. It makes a difference!! There is a certain bond that develops when neighbors know each other. They start to care for and watch out for each other. Lend helping hands and so on.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hubby and I were hoping to cultivate a neighborhood bond on our new streets. We have lived here for three years and have yet to see some of the neighbors. Wanting to remedy the situation, we invited the neighbors for dinner Halloween night. We had hot dogs, buns, ketchup, mustard, relish, jalapenos, diced onions, chili with beans, potato salad, lemonade, and water bottles. Basically, we had a ton of yummy Halloween food!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Joe wanted to see the neighbors. We donned his transformer costume and hung out in the front yard. I managed to get Jim's D.J. Lance costume on, but the boy <i>hated</i> it! Not that he has anything against D.J. Lance. Jim loves that guy! Jim's problem is with changing clothes in general. He does not like the transition from one outfit to the next. It is kind of funny and kind of annoying at the same time. By the end of the evening, Jim did not want to take the costume off. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Jim and Joe waiting for neighbors to arrive.</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7_eyyikY9fPlyI3QK3hGpumhU1eYnRevrHSiOUqrU2bxvp5A3xGOmKEXMAgoxe8YJ7TbcNoXtLIoRGPDJeDjIxofqTt-3CDhC7y2heSdE0Nh7ZXnLNje3xr54kXON_pvlUB02D5E8Jgdi/s1600/P1080419.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7_eyyikY9fPlyI3QK3hGpumhU1eYnRevrHSiOUqrU2bxvp5A3xGOmKEXMAgoxe8YJ7TbcNoXtLIoRGPDJeDjIxofqTt-3CDhC7y2heSdE0Nh7ZXnLNje3xr54kXON_pvlUB02D5E8Jgdi/s320/P1080419.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Rose, Joe, Anne, neighbor M, Miss Nita, Cakes, & Hubby</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>waiting for the hot dogs to finish on the grill.</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUmTzFE_iJa6OFLmxBjk8GGK5ThdhFaYq0JyEioFNoCkded3BfpOKRe8wHQK57E87co25xl2Mc80Wk30sMLbh-tb0tA7UdJglz8meNLIQX8uuG9Qlwj3AqNQlwYGopnpeLeFmtLpiuY4GJ/s1600/P1080421.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUmTzFE_iJa6OFLmxBjk8GGK5ThdhFaYq0JyEioFNoCkded3BfpOKRe8wHQK57E87co25xl2Mc80Wk30sMLbh-tb0tA7UdJglz8meNLIQX8uuG9Qlwj3AqNQlwYGopnpeLeFmtLpiuY4GJ/s320/P1080421.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Cakes helping pull the cooler to the drinks table while Hubby grills hot dogs.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Hubby grilling up a ton of hot dogs.</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlnSlL2QieJw4tt0mOQm681wG8VupI2-fRa_Dl9kXyXbaFd-Nral_XxCKN7HX1zXWFTIv6TFoZHYZ8kLmusm00l2JbsIfhUcjZR_o1L_WOLJNwS6a_4KmVyUuALy9y7I6JnQCosvzS6H2g/s1600/P1080427.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlnSlL2QieJw4tt0mOQm681wG8VupI2-fRa_Dl9kXyXbaFd-Nral_XxCKN7HX1zXWFTIv6TFoZHYZ8kLmusm00l2JbsIfhUcjZR_o1L_WOLJNwS6a_4KmVyUuALy9y7I6JnQCosvzS6H2g/s320/P1080427.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Rose's dear friend Sarah and Prof. X</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Miss Nita and Cakes chowing down</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Neighbor M showing her empty basket</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Neighbor boys coming to chow down.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Considering this was our first attempt at throwing a neighborhood block party, I think we did alright. Some neighbors were vary wary of us. Others could not quite believe that we weren't charging for the hot dogs. There are a few things that we will do differently next year. But overall, it was a good event! We met several neighbors and had a great time eating and visiting, which is exactly what we wanted! :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Moving on from Halloween...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Cakes has been in that weird transition phase for about a year where he doesn't want naps, but still kind of needs them some days. It has been hectic at times. It has also been hilarious at times. Cakes will insist that he is not tired, but then I will find him conked out in the funkiest positions. One example is him snoozing at Joe's baptism. Here is another zany position. I'm including both shots to give the full effect. I sure love this little boy!</span></div>
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<br />Sarah Bluehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18420097146485393526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1955308577721461635.post-3969849719900808572011-12-19T08:09:00.000-08:002011-12-19T20:43:42.578-08:00Joe's Baptism!<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Joe was baptized on a Saturday in October 2011. He is now an official member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It was an exciting day. Many family members traveled for many hours to attend Joe's baptism and show their support. It was lovely seeing all of them. Here are a few pictures from the day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Joe in his new suit, pre-baptism. Isn't he such a handsome and happy little boy?!</i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Joe with his parents (me & Hubby!)</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Three Generations: Joe, Hubby & Papa</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Joe sans jacket</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Joe up-close</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I tried to use this opportunity to take family photos. I figured it would be easy since my children would be dressed nicely and there would be extra adults around to take the picture and help ensure every kid was smiling and looking in the same direction. The family picture idea was a fail. We did manage to get 1 decent picture, but I don't want to use it because Cakes and Jim aren't facing the camera and Rose is in the middle of licking her lips.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Only decent shot of my darling family</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I also tried taking individual head shots. Surely if only one person was involved I could get a picture with that person looking at the camera and smiling. Wrong. The kids either 1) would not hold still or 2) gave me weird half-smiles half-grimaces. On the bright side, I did get some good candid shots. Just nothing I could use for a Title Page in the kids' memory books.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Cakes flying around the front yard.</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Jim being held in place by me.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Cakes chilling by Hubby's feet</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our Stake Primary Presidency was in charge of the baptism set-up, so we didn't have to leave our house until twenty-til. It was great not having to worry about showing up early to fill the font, set out chairs, play prelude music. Our only job was to Show Up! Hooray! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There were four other kids being baptized. The cultural hall was pretty packed with all five children's family members. I have no idea why, but it appears that I did not take any pictures of Joe & Hubby in their pre-baptism whites. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It was wonderful seeing my dear Joe baptized. I am so happy that he made the decision to accept Jesus and follow his commandment to be baptized. It was also thrilling to then see him confirmed a member of the Church and receive the Holy Ghost. Both ordinances were done by Joe's father (Hubby!).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">About twenty minutes in to the baptism service, Cakes fell asleep. All that running around before the baptism and not holding still for pictures tuckered the little guy out. Best part of Cakes falling asleep: the odd position of his body! Check it out...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After the baptism, my parents took loads of pictures of the extended family that showed up. I'm hoping to get copies of those soon. The pictures I took afterwards were of my darling son.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Just looking at this picture is filling me with so many emotions! Astonishment that my son is old enough to be baptized. Nostalgia thinking of the sweet baby boy he was and how much he has grown. Pleasure in knowing that he has a strong testimony. Pride in his striving to always choose the right. Sadness that time seems to be slipping by so fast. And through it all I have an overwhelming love and admiration for this sweet, sweet boy!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am thrilled that Heavenly Father sent this choice son to me. I am humbled that he would entrust me with the great responsibility of nurturing and guiding such a stalwart soul as Joe. I am so happy to be a part of his life!!!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Sarah Bluehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18420097146485393526noreply@blogger.com1