Today Is the Day!!

Happy 3rd Birthday Audrey dear! What a year we have had. Today was the best birthday I have ever experienced and it wasn't even mine! We were busy, busy, busy - and happy. Audrey went to gymnastics, had a great time. She was able to spend time with family and PARTY! Did I mention phone calls? I never thought I would hear Audrey run out of juice when on the phone but she did...toward the end of her phone calls she would tell the person she was talking to that she only had one thing to tell them. It was hysterical from my end.

Her wishes for today - (1) Order Domino's pizza (2) have a light blue cake with chocolate frosting and chocolate chips (I used M&M's instead - blue of course) (3) watch Bolt after dinner. We never did get to #3 because she realized there were presents today!!!

My three wishes for her through this year (1) continue to stay healthy (2) grow and mature educationally (3) know how much she is loved. Audrey you have brought so many joys to our lives. You will forever be our little girl.

Is Anything Ever Free?

For some time now we have been discussing Nathan beginning piano lessons. When we began talking about it Nathan was probably too young so we decided to wait. This summer seems like a great time to get started. Only problem, we do not have a piano. So when some friend from church announced they had a piano sitting in their garage that they were looking to get rid of, we jumped at the chance.

Ryan and some friend spent an entire Saturday morning getting the piano to our house. We were so grateful to our friends for spending their time and energies getting the piano in. The hardwood floor did get scratched in the process. it isn't too bad, just not great.

I called a piano tuner to come out (who said that he would look at it to see if it would be able to be tuned without charging) and tune the piano. He showed up, took half of the piano apart and then gave us the diagnosis - it is tunable but would need $2,500 worth of work. He said we could place it on Craigslist or call large item pick up (which by the way would have cost $100). As we could get a newer, nicer piano for probably less than the needed repairs on our free piano. He charged me $35 to give us this diagnosis - recanting on his free offer (maybe I am being bad but I bet if we didn't live in the house we do he wouldn't have charged anything).

So, what happened to the piano?

It went up in flames!

Yup, we burnt it to a crisp. It saved the $100 large item collection fee. Thanks Joe!

My Attentive Gift Giver

Nathan is a sweet, compassionate boy. He pays attention to things going on around him and he is constantly thinking of others. I asked Nathan what he would like to get his teacher, Miss Cody, for Christmas. He immediately said that he wanted to get her earrings because she wears them. I told him that could possibly get too expensive and instead asked what she likes to do. Again, he answered quickly without having to think too much - "she loves to go on hikes." Okay, Nathan what could we get her to go along with hikes? "We could get her a water bottle." That is a great idea. Do you know what her favorite color is? "Yes, she loves yellow. Lets get her a yellow water bottle."

I was so impressed with how attentive he is to his teacher's interests. I called Ryan (he is in MI for his annual Michigan State football game check out this clip to see how State did: www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfrB57SKPO0) and told him about our compassionate gift giver. He too was impressed as Ryan claims he does not have the skill for buying gifts.

After an hour or so I then asked Nathan what he would like to get for Mrs. Bowman, the teacher's assistant in his class room. "I think we should get her sun glasses." Why, doesn't she have any? "Yes, but she is a grandma and can't see very well."

Priceless, that is all I can say.... I guess we have a little tweaking to do.

Heart Surgery

My dad had heart surgery on September 16th. He had several blockages which resulted in a triple bypass. The 16th was also my older brother's 32nd birthday. All I could think about that day was the fact that two of the most important things in my parent's lives occurred on the 16th of September - they brought their first child into the world and they underwent an extremely difficult procedure to save my dad' life.

Thankfully everything went well with the surgery. He is in the recovery process which will take some time. He is looking forward to being released from the hospital but he is instructed to stay home for a month after he is released. I am sure my parents will both be going stir-crazy by then!

Other Side of the Road

My dad was admitted to the hospital yesterday because of chest pain. After some testing it was determined that he had a heart attack a day or two before he went in. He was transferred from one hospital to another last evening.

Immediately I started texting my mom all of these things she may not have thought about and not to worry about contacting me that I would get my info from my brother, etc. Then it hit me, I just need to sit back, let her make decisions and wait for information in whatever manner I receive it. One of the things I disliked the most was when people told me what to do, think, what to remember, etc. So, for now I sit on the other side of the road. It is amazing how helpless one feels over here, when the road is more than ten hours away....

My Boring Life

Sometime ago, probably a year or so ago, I mentioned that I wanted my boring life back. Last weekend I came to the realization that we are close to being back there.

I was all worked up last weekend, after we came home from a Labor Day picnic. I wanted to know what we were going to do that night and what activity we could incorporate. For a couple of hours I thought about going to a movie, or out to dinner, or having some friends over, something...I just wanted to be entertained. After I realized it was getting too late to make any plans I started thinking about the things I needed to be thankful for. (Now don't start thinking that I am so good. You see, I was forced to think about these things.)

After some thinking (and settling down about being home for the rest of the evening) I was grateful that we were all together. Audrey wasn't in the hospital, we weren't being forced to be here or there for a calling or school activity, we could just be together. It was wonderful to make dinner at home as a family and go to bed on time. Nathan and Audrey also think being home is the best thing ever. I know that at some point they will get the same itch I have and want to be entertained, want to be out doing something or having friends over. So, for now I will relish all of the time I have to spend with my children that still like being home and spending time with me.