Drop....Light

I was trying to decide if this post should be labeled "Good to the Last Drop" or "Let There Be Light" because we made some major progress on our basement this weekend. All of the walls and ceilings are painted (and not in one color) and all of the electrical work is done and functioning. It is awesome!

Flashback Friday - Arches National Park

The spring after we were married (2004) we visited Arches National Park in Southern Utah. We (by we, I mean Michael) took quite a few pictures, but these are the best of the bunch. I am glad we took the time to stop and spend some time in one of God's many wonders.

The Best Membership Ever

I've mentioned before how much I have enjoyed having memberships since having children. One day it dawned on me, I have had the best membership for most of my life: a library card.

When I use this membership I go places I never would have dreamed of going: worldwide, outer space, historical, and imagined. I can visit some places over and over again. I can choose to go to different destinations with the same person (author). I get to learn new things about science, myself, history, sewing, designing, geography, nature, how things work, and much, much more. I can enjoy music and listen to someone else read a story to me.

The best part is that as long as I respect and care for the materials offered at my local library, it is all free. I love the library!

Professional Family Pictures

"Why Men Should Not Have Action Figures"

I saw this picture the other day and I couldn't believe the size of what looks like a dead possum. I couldn't figure out what the animal was. I mean the picture looked like this:

Then I clicked on the picture and enlarged it to get a better look. That is when I realized what I was looking at was not a giant possum after all. Just a regular sized possum "pinned" by two action figures. I felt rather bright after realizing that, but it sure was good for a laugh.

What EMTs Make

My friend, Naomi, shared this. It helps put a little perspective on life and "making" things other than money. Reading this made me value what I "make" every day in our home more.

"Oh you're a EMT, that's cool. I wanted to do that when I was a kid. What do you make?"

"What do I make? I make holding your hand seem like the biggest thing in the world when I am cutting you out of a car. I can make 5 minutes seem like a lifetime when I go into a burning house to save your family. I make those annoying sirens seem like angels when you need them. I can make your children breathe when they stop. I can help you survive a heart attack. I make myself get out of bed at 3am to risk my life to save people I have never met. Today I might make the ultimate sacrifice to save your life. I make a difference, what do you make?"

Justin Beiber

One day after school, Benjamin and I had the following conversation.

B: Mom, do you know who Justin Beiber is?

M: Yes, Benjamin.

B: Do you like him?

M: No, I think he is annoying.

B: Do you like his songs?
M: No, that is what I think is annoying about him.

B: Okay, I don't like him either.

Funny kid. And, for the record I find his songs annoying because they get stuck in my head REALLY easily and I can't get rid of them even by singing another annoying song. That, and sometimes I can't tell whether he is singing or some girl is singing the song.

Benjamin's Race

At the beginning of the school year, Benjamin's school had a fundraiser race. Since I don't run, I was not interested, but Benjamin was. So we went over to the school bright and early one Saturday morning so Benjamin could run in a 3K. He did a great job, and while he didn't finish first he focused on what he did do. He told me he kept moving even when he felt like he needed a rest, he walked for a little bit and then ran again, he beat the Chik-fil-a cow who was running the race with the kids, and he had fun. I love seeing moments like this for him when he tells me about the things he has learned about approaching the variety of situations life presents us with.

Happy Halloween

Top 10 things my kids love about Halloween:

1. Wearing their costumes (all day some years.)
2. Going trick or treating.
3. Carving pumpkins.
4. Making Halloween decorations for our house and front door.
5. Decorating Halloween shaped cookies.
6. Parties
7. Picking out their own pumpkins at the store.
8. Corn mazes (short ones), pumpkin patches, barnyard boo, and other such activities.
9. Scooby-doo and Casper movies.
10. Eating candy and cookies.

Kitchen Table, Refinished

In May, I picked up this kitchen table for free because it looked like this with a variety of other dents and dings:

It was suppose to look like this:

So I took it apart, sanded it down, stained, and varnished it to look like this:

The Nightmare Express

We went on a train ride the other night. The Nightmare Express to be exact, but this particular train ride was geared to all ages and so the whole family was able to go and enjoy the ride. There were all of the usual ghosts and goblins but it was a much less scary experience than the typical haunted house.

We road a train around a small compound, through a series of tunnels with spooks and haunts, and back to the station. While we were waiting in line we saw 5 monsters making faces on a TV screen, 22 glowing carved pumpkins, 2 talking skeletons, 1 life-like owl, Disney's headless horseman show, 2 gargoyles, and a quick presentation about what to expect while riding the train. Additionally, we found approximately 38 "Jacks" between waiting in line and riding the train.

One of the many "Jack"s we found.

Benjamin thought the whole thing was hilarious! Bekah was very brave and held on to me tight the whole ride. I don't know who was more startled by the actors jumping out, her or me, and at the end she exclaimed, "That was soooo scary! I never want to do that again!" Though she did have to tell me about how brave she was until bedtime that night and all the next day. I didn't realize the impact my whispering in her ear about how she was being so brave even though some of the spooks were scary had on her until I heard her tell me about it over and over again. Our older two kids are so different when it comes to experiencing life even when they enjoy a lot of the same things. I am starting to like one of my least favorite times of the year, Halloween, thanks to our precious children.

Neighorhood Trunk or Treat

We had a lot of fun at the trunk or treat, but the best part was when we started checking out candy at home. I was holding a box of Junior Mints in my hand and Ryan crawled up and stole them. Michael tried to retrieve them by offering a box of Nerds in exchange. Ryan, however, had a different idea. He held the Nerds in one hand and the Junior Mints in the other and proceeded to shake them. He shook them at the same time and realized they each made a different sound. Then he alternated shaking one and then the other until we finally distracted him with bedtime. I love watching his little mind work. As Michael said, "That was almost worth the whole trunk or treat activity tonight."