The joys of GPS

So, I had researched the dance places, becoming very familiar with their locations and class times, especially the one where we signed Katie up.  Their address number matched their phone number, which made it easy to remember.  So the day we decided to go, Melanie came with us so that Rachel and Mary could stay in the car but be close in case Rachel needed to eat.  We got a late start (big surprise), and Bryan was taking Grace and Jack to soccer training.  We headed out to Summit (2 miles from our house?).  I knew from looking at the map, it was in that general area.  We drove down one side street and then another.  I said, “I’m pretty sure the number is 1190, and I think the street is Erie.”  We tried plugging the name into the GPS to find it and then tried the phone number.  After 10 minutes of driving around, I apologized to Katie.  Then, Melanie suggested we call Dad and have him look up the directions for us.  We pulled over and called.  Dad looked up the address for us.  I said, “But we HAVE the address…”  Melanie looked at me like I had three heads.  Then she said, “Why aren’t we putting the address into the GPS?”  Um…

A moms gotta do what a moms gotta do

Katie is FINALLY signed up for dance classes.  This was her major request/birthday present LAST March.  We took her the first week, signed up, let her try it and found out the dress code.  Then life took over, so Sunday we were scrabbling to rush out to Target to get leotards and tights.  We made it (thank you, Mom, Sara, Oli and Melanie!) and got two sets “just in case.”  In this house, “just in case” is usually a necessity.  Tuesday morning Katie got up and right into her dance outfit.  She was so excited (forget that she had 10 hours before class)!  She was holding Rachel for me at one point close to lunch time.  All of a sudden, I hear, “Mom, she’s spitting up all over me.  Great, now I need to change.”  I responded (trying to minimize outfit changes to decrease the laundry load), “How bad can it be?  We’ll just wipe it off.”  Then I looked at her – head to toe and many places in between.  Ugh.  She wasn’t exaggerating.  So she went upstairs and put on the back-up outfit.  After school, we were all doing some chores.  Grace said she smelled bleach.  I hadn’t used bleach that day, so I shrugged it off (first mistake).  A little while later, she said it again.  Then Katie came over to me to show me something.  Her leotard is black, I should mention.  So I look at her and notice her tummy was rust-colored).  Like it had been bleached… Uh-oh.  At this point, there wasn’t time to get another one (mental note: TWO back-ups next time!), and there wasn’t time to wash the first one.  So I did the only other thing I could think to do – I had her get a black sharpie and started coloring!

As we were getting coats and everything on, I looked up at Grace and noticed her soccer practice shirt had the same tell-tale rust color.  Out came the trusty sharpie! 

And, no, I still haven’t figured out where the bleach was (does dry erase board cleaner bleach?!?  It says, “Non-toxic”)…

A snippet of life

Today was a play date day.  Katie has been looking forward to going to Josephine’s house all week.  She was being picked up at 9:30AM.  We got up with the older kids, got the dishes and clothes and some work done.  Katie had snack at school and wanted to bring popcorn with M&M’s mixed in (well, she actually wanted to bring Goldfish, but we didn’t make it to the store to get them), so I stayed up making popcorn and loading it into bags.  I had it all ready for her to take with her as she was then going to school with Josephine.  Feeling pretty good about how productive we had been all morning, we came downstairs about 9:20 to answer the phone.  Then we saw…

Goliath had gotten into the bag of popcorn.  Luckily, he only got two of the bags.  So I quickly made a bag of microwave popcorn (the rest was stove-popped, but you do what you need to do).  As I was finishing remaking that bag, Mary came running through the kitchen – naked – saying she needed to go potty on the potty seat.  Ok, let’s do that then.  I get her on the potty and the doorbell rings.  Josephine and her mommy and brother were here pick up Katie.  I get Samson downstairs and let them in.  They had a wonderful present for Rachel and yummy cookies for us.  No sooner had I opened the door, Mary runs out of the bathroom yelling, “Hi!  I NAKIE!”  Ok, at that point, there was nothing left to do but laugh.  Such is life!

Here’s the irony: due to a leaky ceiling, school ended up being canceled.  We REALLY enjoyed LOTS of popcorn all afternoon!  And maybe Mary will be potty-trained sooner than we expect.  And I will treasure these moments because way too soon, the house will be too quiet and the craziness will only be a memory.  (remind me of that the next time…)

Honoring Aunt Patty’s memory

We said good-bye to my aunt Patty this weekend.  She was one of my dad’s “baby” sisters.  She fought a brave, long battle against colorectal cancer.

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/nwitimes/obituary.aspx?n=patty-mazzon&pid=138239512 

She was an amazing woman.

My aunt Nancy (Mom’s “baby” sister), who is a wonderful woman!, sent me this devotion:

It is based on John 14:1-4. A cool website for finding scripture really fast is Biblegateway.com.

"The other night I did something that every parent has done dozens of times. I carried my daughter to bed. Five-year-old Sara fell asleep on the floor, and I picked her up, carried her up the stairs, and put her in bed. Why? I knew it was time for her to rest and I knew that rest was better up there than down here.

Doesn't God do the same? Doesn't he, knowing more than we, carry us to the place of rest he created? For God, death is no tragedy. In God's economy, the termionation of the body is the beginning of life.

Can you imagine if Sara's sisters objected to my decision to carry her upstairs? "Don't take her. We'll miss her. Please keep her here so we will be all together".

How would I answer? "Oh, but she'll rest so much better in the room I have prepared for her. Besides, you'll be coming up yourselves soon."

By calling us home, God is doing what any father would do. He is providing a better place to rest. A place he has "prepared for us."

Heaven is not mass-produced; it is tailor-made.

By the way, I've often thought it curious how few people Jesus raised from the dead. He healed hundreds and fed thousands, but as far as we know he only raised three. Why so few? Could it be because he couldn't get any volunteers? Could it be that once someone is there, the last place they want to return to is here?

Max Lucado "A Gentle Thunder"

As the last line of Aunt Patty’s obituary says, to honor her memory, show your loved ones how much you love them.  I know I’m trying very hard to do just that!

Christmas 2009

After church on Christmas Eve, the children bring the baby Jesus to the manger and sing, “Happy Birthday.”

Rachel was the best little present of the year and is definitely the “pass-around” size!

  Mary likes to try to match her sleeper to Rachel’s.  This is our attempt at finding Waldo, as Melanie puts it!

Mary loves her Santa dress!

 

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas full of love!

Christmas programs

Grace had a wonderful program right before Rachel was born.

Her class wore their jammies as their costumes.

Jack’s program was on Rachel’s birthday.  Everyone made except Rachel and Mommy and Grandma J (who had to work).

Jack had a dancing part.  He was dressed to look like a person from France.

 

The other part of the program sang about the story of the nativity.