It's the Attitude

 This is my tiny little granddaughter, Abby, who is dealing with very big medical stuff.  Today we drove 6 hours up and back to a hospital so she could have some procedures done.
 She should have been annoyed with sitting in a car seat that long and she certainly should have been upset with all the strangers poking and prodding her little body.
 Instead she smiled a lot and never complained, even while throwing up her lunch on the way home. (Sorry about your car James.)



I should be like her. But taller.

Just Run

  In the last six months I've traded in both of my old knees for new metal ones. I'm sure they're actually made of metal as I have set off the detector in our local courthouse the last three times I was there. I had a thought of showing the security guard my scars but apparently I look old enough to have knee replacements and not criminal looking enough for him to worry about it. (The reason for these abundant court visits is another subject entirely which I haven't figured out how to write about in a truthful but sensitive manner.)   About the knees - they are crazy amazing and I don't know why I waited to have them done.  They were jacked up for so long, that I had to re-remember how to walk, which if you think too hard about, actually confuses you even more.

  
  Standing in the kitchen the other day,  pondering my new abilities,  I suddenly had an idea.....I could run.  Not run like in a marathon, just run- as in across the kitchen. A few kids were standing around and apparently I had spoken out loud, so they urged me on with chants of "Do it Mom."  I gave it a try. Now I've had some awkward moments in my life but they were all topped by this attempt at what should have been easy. Not only did I not move fast in any way, but my body was doing some cross between the Tin Man and the Scarecrow. The crowd reaction was the kind of laughter that gets you choking because you can't stop. Feeling sorry for me I suppose, one of the boys sweetly said, "You go girl." 
  
  Not wanting to admit defeat in something that I have able to do since being a two year old, I have decided to perfect my running form while alone. Well, not completely alone.  Just as it starts getting dark I take the dog for a walk around the block. When I've checked to make sure that there's no one in sight, I run.  The first time I tried, my jerky movements  so startled the dog that he bolted, accelerating my speed. It took awhile to slow him down during which time I think I may have improved some what. 

 Warning to my neighbors - you may see something flash down the road but don't worry it's just me running - sort of.
   

One of a Kind

  Samuel and his best buddy Cole have been friends for a long time.  In all these years I have never heard them have a single disagreement or fight. 
  They like the same things and are both pretty much the most easy going kids I know.
  So was I surprised when we stopped by to pick Cole up and they were both dressed like this?
 Not at all.

How to Help Your Friend Turn 60

  I don't know how I got lucky enough to have a friend like Emmy, but I did.  

For my 60th birthday she sent me a letter entitled 60 Things I Love About Kate.
  
The reason she's such a great friend is, she choose that letter instead of the obvious 120 Things That Kate Needs to Work On.  
We all need a person who over looks what we think we are and sees the lovely in us. 
Hope you have an Emmy in your life!

Spring Farm Visit

  When a friend from church invited us to come see the babies on her farm, we threw down the books and headed out. The boys had never seen so many sheep and cows and the animals had never seen so many boys.

The lambs were kissable and cute.  






The boys loved the cows too, although they didn't get close enough to kiss one.






I think everyone left with dreams of being a farmer.

Slamming with Sam

  When you're a girl and your uncle, who is only 2 years older than you, lives across the street, you learn to play basketball like a beast. A very beautiful and sweet beast. Go Layla!

My Views on Healthy Eating

  James was talking to me about an article he read concerning "hidden sugar" in our food.  He said, "You know that there is as much sugar in flavored Greek yogurt as there is in a soda."  Now why he thinks I would be alarmed at that, I don't know. I buy chocolate chip frozen waffles and cereal with sugar and marshmallows.  (My grand-kids love to eat at my house because they have good moms that feed them healthy food.)  

  These healthy looking foods loaded with sugar are good for appearance sake.  I can eat one of these sugared up yogurts and nobody says anything. They might think that I'm heading out to yoga class after polishing one off. It's the whole image.

Now the Little Debbie Nutty Bar (umm umm good) I eat when nobody is around. I'll quietly rip off the paper and sneak  into the laundry room. If I put the uneaten half on top of the dryer, behind the detergent bottle, nobody can see it. To the family I'm just working hard at doing their wash. 

Pick your poison - they'll both make you die some kind of sugar death.  

Happy sugar death.

I Sniff Books

Yesterday I scored a stack of old Landmark history books in great condition. I bought them from a lady who has even more books than I do. So jealous.  As soon as I got out to the car I smelled them. They had that  slightly musty-nobody has read them in 20 years because they've been in a box in the basement smell. I didn't hate it.  And new books smell equally as great- especially books with slick pages and brand new text books. I've stuck my nose, literally, into my books since I can remember....starting with the Scholastic Books that you order from that little sheet and your teacher hands them out in class when they finally come in. Oh yes!  First you get a good whiff and then you read. It's all part of the literary experience.

Lesson in Futility

 When we put an addition on our house, I decided that with so many kids, we had to have a mud room.  I had visions of it looking like the picture above. 
Sure. I nailed it. Picture on the right.

Our mud room in reality has MUD. The kids never ever ever line their shoes up neatly. Wet gloves hastily thrown down have ruined the beautiful wood bench and the cat sleeps on who ever's coat is left lying around. I don't actually like to even look at our mud room. 

It would seem senseless to complain about this. The room is obviously doing what it was intended to do. Should you even try to make a mud room look beautiful?
I think about this and other oxymorons in my spare time.

Family Walk

    Now that it's a little warmer and a little lighter longer...it's time for family walks.  As soon as dinner is done everyone scrambles for their shoes and balls and we head out the door. My daughter Lane and her family join us and we stroll around the block to my mom and dad's house. Stroll actually is an exaggeration.  We meander around the block, throwing balls, waiting for little ones, taking turns pushing the stroller and holding the leash for the bad dog. When I snapped this picture it occurred to me just how blessed we are.  Four generations of our family all living next to each other. The oldest is my dad at 93 and the youngest is Aaron at 8 months. Sweet life!

Things You Shouldn't Have to Say

   Every now and then when I'm around a group of my boys I smell bad things. Mostly body odor. I usually say something encouraging like, "Oh my gosh!  You stink! Really?" This is not a matter of shame for my sons. They take some pride in finally being old enough to be offensive.  When I question them about the length of time since their last shower and they have to think about it...well, that's too long. Recently I asked one of the boys if he had deodorant and he said that there was one in the bathroom cabinet that he thought he had used. He thought. Upon questioning the other boys I realized that they considered deodorant something that could be shared. That's so beyond disgusting. Now everyone has their own, in their own color and with their name on it. I'm hopeful.

How Much Wood Could a Boy Chop Wood

 We have a couple of acres and lots of trees that need cleared and cut.  We also have a lot of boys that are best when busy.  We have found that when you leave trees and boys on their own they are not at their best. To remedy this, my husband provided work for the boys which, to their delight, included very sharp saws and axes. Nothing makes a boy more motivated than an element of danger.  They hurried through their school work each day to get outside and do the job. A month later we had a huge wood pile and some very proud, strong boys. Win-win!