More pictures from Idaho....

While we were in Menan, there was a huge brush fire. I'm not sure how many acres were destroyed, but it was pretty big. The wind was really blowing, whipping it out of control. Eric's brother Nic, who is a volunteer firefighter, was called in to assist. They were forced to evacuate several homes. Here are some crazy cool pictures from that day....

Heidi, my master-photographer-in-the-making, took these for me, as I was busy making dinner. I was jealous that I didn't get to do some as well! These were all taken just down the road from Eric's parents house.

Jane Austen Fight Club

This is just too awesome!

FINALLY.....

I am finally getting some pictures posted from our trip to Idaho!

Eric decided his parents were in desperate need of a new front porch. So, with the help of his brother Nic and cousin Danny, they constructed this beautiful new deck while we were there.
It took three days, and several trips to Lowe's, but the finished product was well worth the effort!!

The kids had so much fun with cousins!!!

And we took the opportunity for some family pictures, despite the windy conditions.

With twelve children of various ages, I'd say we got a pretty good shot of everyone!!! The last picture we were able to get of everyone together had three fewer kids. We're a growing bunch!

Idaho Fun....

Need I say more????

More pictures from the trip to follow.....

The Blind Side (winning me over)

I am a strange one when it comes to movies, especially the feel-good, motivational type. I almost always dig in my heels, not wanting to watch them. Part of me detests the cheesiness, and part of me dreads the inevitable upheaval of deep emotions that I encounter as I continue through the story.

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Yet, despite my unwillingness, I almost always love them.

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"The Blind Side" was no exception.

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I have put off watching it now for many months, despite hearing its praises from friends and strangers, even my teenage daughter. Heidi said it was"really good," with the emphasis only a teenager could add.

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So I gave in and rented it. As I was watching it last night I laughed more than I expected, cried just as much as I anticipated, and was thoroughly moved and entertained. It truly is a must-see.

The story, which amazingly is based on the lives of real people, really touched me. It made me ponder about what this world would be like if everyone befriended and helped inspire just one person. It would truly be a different place. And then it made me consider my own life. Have I been reaching out to those in need who are around me? Am I paying attention to the whisperings of the Spirit, prompting me to act when I might otherwise look the other way, or make that phone call another time? Have I hugged my children today and told them that I love them and am so proud of them?

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There can never be enough movies like that.

Summer Haircuts

Elise has needed a haircut for a long time. I love her long hair. It is so pretty, but it is always in the way. I pretty much always have it back in a ponytail to avoid the hair-in-the-mouth lunch mess, not to mention the baby-fine snarls which are almost impossible to get out!

However, Elise is not the easiest client to work on. I am usually the hairdresser who is trying to chase her head around, chopping it shorter and shorter just trying to make everything even. This time I decided to let the pros do it!!

So Elise had her first professional haircut! I wish I had my camera with me, she was so cute sitting in that huge chair! And yes, the poor stylist had to do a lot of running around the chair, chasing her turning head. Don't worry, she got a big tip for it!
The picture doesn't do it justice. This is what it looks like after three hours of wrestling at church! Still pretty cute, though! She looks like the little French Madeline character in the children's book.

Erica had her share with the scissors as well! Only this time I braved it myself. She got some new bangs, a little too short I would say, but that's what happens when Mom resorts to doing it herself! I saved what came off, such perfect little curls! How I love them!

OCD

I have a thing with numbers.

I like even numbers. I don't like odd numbers unless they are divisible by five. However, being a prime number does not give an odd number enough bonus points for me to like it.

I hoped and prayed that my kids would be born on days with numbers that I liked. Who wants to constantly have to remember a distasteful number?! Eric was born on the 23rd in 1971 of all years, which was almost a deal-breaker. Of course, I had already fallen in love with him before I knew about his unfortunate numberage, so I chose to overlook the fact.

My kids cooperated pretty well. All except for Ethan, that is. His birthday is September 7th. Considering he was ten days late, however, I was eager to welcome him whenever he would come! Luckily, he also had a fantastic year to be born in....2000! Who wouldn't like that?!

Having a pattern that involves the numbers is major bonus points! My girls almost made a pattern with their birthdays, and I still cringe to think how close they came!! Heidi was born on March 15th, Elise on April 15th, and Erica on.....May 14th.

My phone number growing up made a fantastic pattern. It was 336-5325. Notice the 3+3=6, 5-3=2, and 3+2=5! I loved that phone number!!! My parents still have it, by the way.

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Numbers are not my only thing.

I also have a thing with colors.

I like a lot of different colors, but a good color combination is vital!

At work we mark our instruments with colored bands to indicate which room they belong in, or which set-up they go with. The whole system is a great idea. It keeps us organized and gets our instruments back to our rooms in a timely manner. I have run into a few problems with this system, however.

In January I started a new job, and was able to start some new instrument set-ups for my room. The unfortunate part of this was that I was assigned a color I absolutely detest for my instruments. It's this terrible bright green. Not cheary apple-green, or mellow sage-green, it's a nasty dirty green that doesn't look good with anything. Yuck.

But then there was the coup de gras. Our hygiene trays each have a three-color combination to quickly differentiate between each set-up. And some of them were so hideous!!! I mean, who wants to see the bumble-bee colors (along with this ancient brown-colored tape to add further insult) over and over and over....?! I couldn't handle it!! Every time I got that tray I would grumble and gripe to myself, until I finally started just putting it back. I refused to use it anymore. Let the other hygienist who chose to band this unfortunate set so grotesquely, use it instead!!

Now some of these bands have been in place a loooong time. When instruments are autoclaved over and over again, the bands start to discolor and eventually get brittle and break. This happened on a few trays, so I started to reband them. And then I noticed how great the new ones looked, so I couldn't help but banding the rest of the group so they all matched. Then I started surrepticiously banding them in my own color combinations!! Then I had to reband all the instrument sets so that they all matched and looked good!

This took me several days, here and there, rebanding another set-up. I didn't think anyone was really noticing, or cared for that matter, until I started noticing my coworkers laughing at me. "Uh oh....she's banding again!!"


And then one of them asked, "I wonder if OCD is contagious?"

Update

It's been a little while since I last posted. It's been hard to know what to write about. Some of my emotions and feelings seem a bit too personal for such an open forum, so I have avoided writing anything.

I wrote a letter to my unborn baby. I have heard that it can be therapeutic to write a letter to someone you are grieving over, so I thought I would give it a try.

It's a good idea. I recommend it to anyone. It felt so good to voice some feelings and questions, without fearing the response from someone who doesn't understand. I cried as I wrote it, and wondered if it would do more harm than good. But then as I read through it afterward, I felt like a burden had been lifted, even if only a little bit. Every time I read it now I feel more and more at peace.

So, things are definitely improving. Thank you for everyone's interest and concern. I have, at times, been so overwhelmed when friends and family have talked with me about how they experienced something similar. So many women, but hardly anyone ever talks about it. I hope you know you can talk to me about it. There is a special bonding in knowing that someone else understands your pain and crazy confusion of emotions!

Tomorrow I am going on a fun little adventure with my friend Janelle. We are going down to Seattle to attend a dental conference together, and like last year, are staying the night downtown. It should be fun and I am really looking forward to the trip! Hopefully I will have some crazy-fun, child-free adventures to write about in my next post!