Sunday Musings

I have two callings in my ward. I put together the bulletin and teach primary. I've had these calling for close to two years. I know what they entail. And yet...

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The Bishop just called a few minutes ago. He asked if I had a few minutes to talk to him. Those words immediately set my heart to racing. Thoughts of new callings or added assignments race through my mind. My anticipation/dread start to increase as this dear man waits for my answer. When I tell him that yes I do have a few minutes to talk to him, he merely gives me the names of the people speaking in church next week and my heart calms down. Hahaha!

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You would think I'd have gotten used to it by now. You would think that I wouldn't freak out just because the Bishop calls and asks specifically for me. I mean, I have been putting the bulletin together for quite a while. Maybe it has something to do with only receiving calls from him every third month. Whatever it is, the fact remains, every time my Bishop calls, my heart starts pounding. Haha! It also doesn't help that his daughter and my Anne are good friends. Sheesh. I have just never had this much casual contact with a Bishop before. And he is a lovely man...it just freaks me out a bit to talk to him. ;)

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My baby Jim is the happiest baby that ever did live. He smiles and coos and loves to be loved. As I watch this darling boy, I am struck by the scripture 1 John 4:19..."We love him, because he first loved us."

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When we smile at Jim, his whole face lights up. When someone talks to him and looks into his eyes, his whole face lights up. My kids have deduced that since he smiles at us all so much he must love us. I agree. But I think a lot of it has to do with that scripture. Baby Jim loves us because we first loved him.

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And speaking of scriptures, I'm going to give this one a try: Daniel 1: 3 - 16. I think I've written about this before, if not here's the story...

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A few years ago a wonderful woman taught a Relief Society Stake Conference lesson on the subject of Finding Balance in Life. It was a great lesson. She has used the story of Daniel and the Pulse consistently throughout her life.

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Research shows that it takes thirty days for a habit to form. But thirty days was 1) Too much time for her to waste if the thing wasn't going to work and 2) too much pressure for her to be consistent with and still take care of her family. Instead, she follows Daniel's advice and gives things a ten day trial to prove them. She'll try something for ten days, determine if it works in her life, if it is blessing or a hindrance. If it works, then she'll try it for ten more days. If it's still working, she'll give it another ten days. And after a few repeats, she's made the thing a habit. If the thing does not work, she's only used up ten days and not wasted a whole month.

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I am needing to implement a good exercise program. I have fifteen pounds I need to lose, muscles to tone up, and better circulation to encourage. Unfortunately, I don't have the strength to fully commit to an elaborate exercise routine, but I do have the strength to change my routine for a mere ten days. Yeah. I can handle ten days.

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I figure if I go in ten-day increments, I can be on my way to a fit and lean body in just a few months.

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Wish me luck. :)

Adios Amiga

My heart is feeling so sad and conflicted right now.

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This morning I attended my final CFT meeting with Miss Q. The Baby Jim and I took her, along with the remainder of her possessions, to the meeting. We had taken her dog and the majority of her belongings to her Mom's place a week ago. At the meeting, I turned in all of my paperwork, handed over Miss Q's birth certificate, social security card, and immunization records. Then I handed the darling girl back to her Mom.

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It was hard.

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Harder than I had anticipated.

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Handing over Mr. J was not this hard.

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I think a lot of that has to do with who took custody of Mr. J. He wasn't returned home. He was placed with his Great-Aunt. A marvelous woman. She works hard, maintains employment, is kind & compassionate, and has her head on straight. I really do not worry about Mr. J's physical or emotional well-being while he is in her care. She has proven herself strong and capable. I know he's okay. I know he's loved. I know he will be taken care of in absolutely every facet of his life.

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Miss Q's placement, I'm not so sure of.

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As I was turning things over and explaining different appointments and expectations to Miss Q's Mom, my heart grew heavy with worry. I've met with her Mom before. I know how her Mom is. I know that the woman does love her daughter. But actually handing over Miss Q to her care...It was hard to walk away.

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The only thing that is helping is knowing that this placement is what Miss Q wants

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The girl has wanted to return home so badly for such a long time. She didn't think it would be possible until she turned eighteen. She worked hard. And with a little help from our family, she was able to achieve her goal. She is thrilled to be returning to her Mother's care.

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And I am happy for her. Really. I am.

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I'm happy that she is getting her wish. I'm happy that she is happy. But I am also so, so worried.

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I told her to be sure to use me for one of her emergency contacts, especially since most times they want a contact who is not related or living in the same house. I told her to call me any time if she needed help and Hubby or I would be there as quick as can be. I've told her I love her and that I am planning on always being in her life.

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But I am so worried.

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And I kind of miss that crazy teenage girl.

Holy Nerd-dom Batman!

I think I might have to turn in my nerd card.

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Between entertaining the troops, transitioning foster kids to their new placements, and caring for my newborn, I completely spaced Comic-Con this year!

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I can hardly believe it. This is such a huge event. And I missed it. All the hype, all the pre-con interviews, all the new anime. Everything! I missed it all.

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I should mention that I have never attended Comic-con in person, but I have stalked the event online for years. There is so much great information that is available online pre-con.

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Last year I almost attended in person. I had finally convinced myself that buying a ticket and ditching my family for a few days was not a selfish thing. It was one of those "Take care of yourself so you can take better care of your family" things. But at the last minute (meaning two months prior to Comic-Con when the really good tickets were still available) I chickened out. Like many nerds, I do not look forward to fighting large crowds for a seat in each event. (I'm the type that will pay extra for a concert ticket to ensure a reserved seat.)

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I've spent the last week browsing the web for updates and reviews. While I am not an avid comic book fan, I do have a few that I follow. And it's always nice to see the new sci-fi and fantasy movie trailers.

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My favorite thing, though, is Anime. And this year's Comic-con had an Anime overload. All four days of the convention, Anime was streaming. They had three rooms set up with each room streaming different Anime from 10:00 am to midnight and beyond! What a treat that would have been!!

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Oh well. In other nerd news, a guy working on the Kepler mission has reported that the Milky Way could be home to 100 million Earths. Although preliminary and maybe not 100% accurate, the news is very exciting.

Ummmm.....Sorry??

Driving home from swim team with all the kids in the car, Anne starts yelling:

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"There's a dead guy in the road back there. A dead guy! Mom, Mom! We have to call someone. There's a dead guy. A dead guy!"

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At first we thought she was trying to prank us. She insisted she did see a guy lying in the road. So I flipped a U and headed back. Sure enough, there was a guy lying in the road who looked to be dead.

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He was passed out in a gutter with his bicycle halfway across his body. He looked like he'd biffed it while riding his bike and maybe knocked himself out. Another man in a red car had arrived just seconds before us. We both pulled over to park. While I instructed Rose to keep the air conditioner on and the doors locked, the red car man started to assess the guy. The guy was non-responsive. The red car man shouted for me to call 911. I grabbed my cell and hastily put in the call. The red car man kept trying to talk to the guy, using both English and Spanish. Spanish seemed to do the trick. The guy finally opened his eyes. The red car man told the guy, in Spanish, to lie still, we had called 911, and help was on the way.

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The guy freaked!

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He tried to sit up, but could only get his head off the ground. He tried to tell the red car man and I, in Spanish, that he was alright and to not call 911. Ummm....Sorry, but I already called. Meanwhile another car stopped to help. The lady passenger called through her window telling the red car man, in Spanish, that she had called 911.

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The guy freaked more!

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He dragged his body into a sitting position, staggered to his feet, picked up his bike, and started hobbling away. The red car man and I stared after him. As we heard the sirens drawing close, it occurred to the red car man that this guy might be an illegal immigrant. The red car man started feeling really bad, thinking he might be responsible for this guy getting deported. I started feeling bad too. We were just trying to help the guy, trying to make sure he wasn't dead or hurt. We weren't trying to turn him into to Border Patrol.

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Just then the emergency crew arrived: first a police car, followed by a fire truck and two ambulances. Yowser! The man had gotten pretty far down the road, but the policeman** tracked him down. I saw the policeman start talking to the guy, checking him out. A couple minutes later the EMT's arrived and took over the guy's assessment. The policeman then turned to red car man and I to get our stories.

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We told him what we saw. The red car man then voiced his concern that the man might deny help because he didn't have his papers on him and was afraid of being arrested and deported. The policeman chuckled. He informed us that immigration status wasn't the problem. The problem was the guy's alcohol intake. The guy had been passed out DRUNK!

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Ummmm.... Sorry guy. You were lying in the road, completely unresponsive. We thought you were seriously injured or dead-dead. We didn't realize you were dead drunk.

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Hope you feel better soon. Although I'm sure the blaring sirens are doing nothing to help with that...

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**Funny thing, I had just seen the responding policeman that morning at the county sheriff's office. He was dropping of some papers while I was getting my fingerprints for my clearance renewal card. He remembered seeing me too. Haha! I love living in a small town. :)

Score!!

A few weeks ago, while reading a fun blog, I was introduced to Bountiful Baskets. I've heard the name before, but didn't know how to join or if their was a group in my area. The blog included a link that I followed to get mucho information. After scoping out the site, I registered for an account and put in an order. What did I get??

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For a mere $15 I got:

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1 Cantaloupe

1 pint Blueberries

5 Navel Oranges

8 Peaches

1 Large Bag of Green Grapes

7 Bananas

1 Bunch of White Asparagus

1 Head Romaine Lettuce

2 Green Bell Peppers

12 oz. Cherry Tomatoes

7 Ears of Corn

2 Yellow Squash

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SCORE!!!

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And all of it was fresh and fabulous! Not everything was immediately ripe, which was perfect for our family. We were able to eat the ripe fruits and vegetables the first few days giving the other items the chance to ripen to perfection.

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This was so great.

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They also had "additions" available. For $20 I got 12 pints of blueberries. PINTS! In my local grocery store, 1 pint of blueberries runs $4 or more. I also added a bread order. Five loaves of whole wheat, handmade bread for $10. I was quite nervous about the whole process. I thought for sure there was a type on the screen, or that the food quality would be poor. But No. Everything was great. The blueberries were fresh and fabulous. The bread was great too.

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Everything was so yummy and the whole experience was wonderful. I showed up an hour before pick-up time to volunteer. It was such fun. A truck arrived with boxes of the fruits and vegetables. Two rows of seventy baskets were lined up on the sidewalk. The volunteers took the boxes and divided the fruits and veggies among the baskets. When I told my kids about the experience, they quickly asked to accompany me the next time...if I went again. Haha! After such a great experience and after receiving so much quality food for such a great price, how could I not go again! :)

First Harvest & Beaches

Joe planted a garden a few months back. He has faithfully watched over and watered his plants. His excitement as each seed burst through the soil was a delight to see. His enthusiasm never dimmed. The end result of his hard work: a thriving artichoke plant, several sunflowers, and a gorgeous pumpkin vine. Joe harvested a couple artichokes. Steamed and dipped in a light hollandaise sauce, they were delicious! Joe decided to experiment with the rest of the artichokes. He wanted to see what they would look like when they bloomed. They look gorgeous! The choke turned an electric purple and softened considerably.

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Joe and Hubby harvested two pumpkins from the vine, which they used to make pumpkin pie. I have no pictures of the pie. Hubby served it up for breakfast and not a slice was left. The only picture I have is of the pumpkin pieces prepped for baking.

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The sunflowers are still growing. We have about ten in all. Their seeds should be ready for harvest in a few more weeks. Hubby has been looking online for the best way to harvest and toast the seeds. We are all looking forward to that harvest.

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While Hubby and Joe tend the garden, I take care of the trees. My fruit and citrus are doing extremely well. No fruit this year, but only because I plucked off all the blossoms and tiny buds before they could grow. My trees are too young to be having babies. Their trunks and branches can't support the weight properly. I also didn't want any of the trees' energy used up on producing fruit when that energy could be used to strengthen roots.

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My Indian Laurel has been in dire need of trimming, but with my pregnant belly, I couldn't climb up the tree to get the job done. Last weekend I was finally able to complete that task. I deftly climbed the tree, cut away dead branches, and thinned out live branches. I didn't get as much done as I would have liked, but after two hours in the tree, my out-of-shape legs were getting a bit shaky. I thought it best to end while I was still capable of climbing out of the tree.

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My children were quite concerned with the number of branches I removed. After a quick lesson in thinning and future growth, they thought I should remove a few more branches from the top. Haha! Maybe next week.
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This the pile of branches left after filling our garbage to the brim. It took two more garbage days to get rid of them all.

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After all that hard work, we needed some fun! My sister and her kids along with my Mom came for a visit. It was nice seeing my family. The first night they were here, we headed to the riverside beach. My kids love that beach. We've gone down many times before. My dear sister held my baby so that I could take the bigger kids down the river. Hubby had his hands full watching Mr. J. I gave the big kids a good lecture about hanging on to floaty noodles and sticking together because the river was deep and had a strong current. Then I took them out to the middle, all the while reminding them to hang on and stick together. I don't know what happened since the last time we came, but the river was only two feet deep! A bunch of sand had washed in and settled on the bottom. We thought it would get deeper eventually, but no. It got shallower in some parts. Haha! My kids and I just laughed and laughed about it. The cousins didn't know any different and had a grand time being pulled down river..

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FYI: Friday morning Mr. J left our home. He is now living with his great-aunt. It was a smooth transition, for which we are very grateful. His Auntie is a lovely woman and we are thrilled that he will be with family.

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Here's the kids before they hit the water. Notice Cakes and his cousin already at the river front.
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The next day we drove to San Diego and played in an Ocean Beach. FUN! My kids love going to the ocean. It's nice that the three oldest are strong swimmers and have proven themselves trustworthy on our outdoor adventures. We went over the ocean rules, then they were free to run wild.

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The high in my home town was 116 degrees. San Diego was an overcast 65 degrees. That made for a chilliy day at the beach. Despite the cold, my girls stayed mostly in the water. The boys preferred to play in the sand.

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Baby Jim and I hung out on the beach. I brought along our camp chairs. I took one, my sister and mom took the other two. Of course, we didn't stay in the chairs for long. My one little nephew quickly claimed Grammy as his wave-hopping buddy, while my sister clambered after her other children, and I had my toes buried over and over by Cakes.

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Despite the cold, we had a blast! We only ended up staying two hours. I know my kids, after getting some food in their tummies, would have been happy to stay for another two or three. Cakes was the funniest. As we were leaving, he tried to hide himself in the sand so I wouldn't see him. Goofy kid! He thoroughly enjoyed the sand. It was wonderful sand, so soft and smooth. It felt wonderful on my feet. I think our next adventure will be to the Sand Dunes. I mentioned that to my kids. Rose and Anne agree that we can't go to the dunes until we have quads. Hmmm... I'm not willing to buy any, but I know a few places in town that rent them. ;)

Adjectives

While pregnant, I spent a lot of time thinking about names. I poured through baby name books and spent hours searching online. Even after Jim's birth, my mind kept mulling over various names, origins, and meanings.

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Then one night, while running on fumes and nursing my baby, I had the funniest thought. I thought I should change my name to fit my moods. Like the Smurfs and Dwarfs had done before me, I would change my name to an Adjective! Unlike those fictional characters, my moods are more dynamic and change over time. That meant that I would need to change my name at least once a day, probably more!

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Here are some names that would have been appropriate for me during the last two months:

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Sleepy ~ five hours of sleep doesn't cut it, especially the five hours is broken into two or three segments. Sure...2 + 2 + 1 = 5, but it's just not as restorative as a solid five.

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Grumpy ~ sleep deprivation following a drastic weight loss can wreak havoc on one's patience

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Weepy ~ sleep deprivation following a drastic weight loss can also wreak havoc on one's emotions

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Happy ~ my Baby Boy is a smiling maniac! he has been smiling since day one and started laughing at two weeks. it's hard to stay grumpy or weepy with the dear boy smiling at me.

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Dopey ~ sleep deprivation turns my brain to mush and renders my speech incomprehensible. luckily Hubby understood my mixed up vocabulary and weird hand gestures.

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PigPen ~ there were many days wherein I used my allotted shower time to take a nap instead. my soft bed was so tempting. I decided sleep was more important than general cleanliness. (this name is from Peanuts)

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Sneezy ~ a change in the weather kicked my allergies into high gear. nursing prevented me from taking certain medications.

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Hefty ~ this one totally applies! honest, it does! it requires a lot of muscle to take care of a newborn plus parent my four children plus two foster kids. I used both physical strength and mental strength.

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Clumsy ~ fortunately, I only bonked my toes and elbows and never the baby. Phew!

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Greedy ~ I was starving after giving birth and starving for eight weeks afterwards. I have been eating anything and everything. whatever I can get my hands on. food, glorious food!

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Slouchy ~ nine months of pregnancy bending my spine caused me to lose an inch off my height. sheesh! between visits to a chiropractor and massages from Hubby after birth I regained the inch, but an quickly losing it again due to my hunched stance while rocking, nursing, and holding the Baby Boy.