The "Local Wave"

Sunday after church I packed up the kids and started the the hour-and-a-half drive to my parents' house. Chad was scheduled to work 10-hour shifts to cover the Memorial Day crowds at Roosevelt Lake, so I decided to skip out on temporary single-mom experience. It's always so nice and relaxing to visit my parents. Bree absolutely LOVES her "Gamma and Papa." And my sister Danelle's old room is a Disney wonderland complete with Pooh's 100-Acre Wood wall murals, piles of stuffed characters, a hug bin of small plastic figurines, and a plethora of Disney DVDs. Bree spends most of her time in that room, coming out for the occasional bite of food or a ride on "Papa's Tractor."

Well, on the drive there I was marvelling about several things. I chuckled as I passed a car-full of old folks standing next to a large saguaro cactus to get their picture taken in Mammoth. I suppose a saguaro is quite a sight if you don't see it every day. And then as I got nearer to my parents' house I wondered, "Who in their right mind would live here? Whose brilliant idea was it to stake claim here?" Oh, yeah, that was my great-grandfather. And the family just stuck around. My mom escaped for about 25 years, but she's back there again. Well, I guess it is sort of pretty. The 'river' that runs under ground makes those dead-looking mesquite trees miraculously come to life every spring. I also wondered how long it will take for the I-10 Bypass highway to be built, providing some much-needed pavement to the road to my parent's house (it's about a 20-minute drive on a rough dirt road).
What makes me smile, though, is the way all the locals on that dirt road wave to each other as they pass. It reminds me of when I was a teenager and my friend Mackenzie invited me to Lopez Island (one of the San Juan Islands in Washington's Puget Sound). Mackenzie informed us that everyone on the island waves when they pass one another--so you better wave or else they'll think you're a tourist. (I was tickled that this custom was mentioned by Wikipedia!). So as I drove to my parent's, I waved to the other cars. Some of them waved too, and I knew they were locals. The cars that didn't wave were suspiciously clean, a non-local dead giveaway.
So, even though I'm technically not a local, I did live out there for like 7 months. So I figure that gives me the right to participate in the "Local Wave."

Today's Blessings

I woke up this morning to blessing number 1: it was 9:00am! I had slept through the whole night, which meant that Mason slept all night too--10 hours! I couldn't believe it! I don't always sleep that long, but I had been deprived the past couple of nights, so I'm ecstatic that he let me catch up.

Blessing number 2: my fax machine worked. This may seem insignificant, but the fact that my relatively new multipurpose machine, whose fax feature was never needed in the past, has been failing me in that area. As the RS president, I have to fax food orders to the Bishop's Storehouse every 2 weeks, and it is supposed to be a great convenience to be able to send these from the comfort of my home and PJs. It may seem silly, but it was causing me a great deal of frustration, and adding to the stress of my calling. I know the Lord is helping my fax machine. He's also helping me to not easily freak out and get overwhelmed by the small stuff!

Blessing number 3 actually came yesterday when Chad's doctor's office called and said that the MRI of his knee showed extra fluid, but no torn cartilage! We had been worried about the pain/stiffness/popping sounds from Chad's knee, and we were praying that there would be no cause for knee surgery. We're so thankful that some physical therapy and care will alleviate the problem.

Blessing number 4: the rain! The storms came in yesterday to save us from Wednesday's sunny and 95 weather. I've been enjoying moisture and temps not passing 60. It's funny how that has put me in such a great mood! I read my friend Mackenzie's recent blogging about how the rain makes her happy. When I lived near Seattle, I took the weather and green for granted, and now that I've been a desert dweller for 7 years, I will never overlook this blessing again!

So, if you ask me why I'm in such a good mood today, see above blessings!

Family Home Evening

This week FHE was at our house. After we ate our dinner of taco salad, Chad gave a lesson on the Proclamation on the Family, and then chaos ensued. This video was our attempt to give the kids a structured activity rather than let them tear the house apart! (Thank goodness for our wonderful Nursery leaders--Bree comes home singing songs I never taught her!)

He Remembered!

This is my third year celebrating Mother's Day as an actual Mom. Unfortunately, the past 2 years, although Chad got me some kind of gift or promise of gift 'round about Mother's Day, he forgot the actual day. This may seem petty to men, but this particular woman thought it was a sad oversight.

Well, this year Chad remembered! He set the alarm so he wouldn't sleep in (our church isn't until 11:00, so usually I wake him up after I've already showered and am getting myself and the kids breakfast). He made me a delicious breakfast of chocolate chip strawberry waffles and eggs. And then he gave me my gift--2 DVDs (Cheaper by the Dozen 1 and 2--how appropriate!) and the Twilight series. But the best part was his card--homemade with my scrapbook supplies, with a loving message inside. I had tears in my eyes as I read it; I don't think he's ever written me a love note before, and it meant so much!

So, even though Sundays are hectic for me with my RS calling, and Chad works from 3 to 9pm, I had the best Mother's Day ever (so far)!

PS--Bree 'made' me a card in Nursery. I guess it had little pom-poms for flowers, but she picked those off before I even saw it!

12.12.08

December 12th...the release date of the Twilight Movie (this is a pretty awesome movie clip, and has gotten me totally geared up for the film). I'm excited to see the movie, and I'm really hoping that Edward's character will come close to fulfilling my expectations...I have my doubts...

I just finished reading Stephenie Meyer's Twilight for the second time. Meyer has been selected as one of TIME MAGAZINE's 100 Most Influential People of 2008, a fact that I heard from my grandmother. So you know if my grandmother has heard of the Twilight series, in spite of the fact that it's a vampire romance novel for teens, it must be good!

I'm on a book kick after our Enrichment Meeting last night, a meeting of "The Finer Things Club," (a complete and utter success!). Since I haven't been feeling well the last couple days (the doctor didn't seem to want to prescribe me anything for my mastitis--I guess she thinks I'm faking?!) I've been taking advantage of the down time and getting some reading in. I'm over half-way through Key Lime Pie Murder, the latest loan from my friend Joanna's murder mystery with recipes series by Joanne Fluke.

Now I'd better get to work on my lesson for Relief Society on Sunday. I've got it outlined, but there's still some preparation to do. Then next Tuesday, my copy of Stephenie Meyer's latest book, The Host arrives in the mail. I can't wait to see what's in store for her adult readers!