Where did I go?

I have had so many people ask me this past week or so where I have been as it has been so long since I posted on here.. Gee didn't know I was so popular hehehe. For the most part I was getting ready for our 12th annual Tri-Stake Finding Your Roots Seminar. We had the greatest attendance this year since 2002 so was VERY excited about that. But basically for the 2 weeks prior to that I was literally eating breathing and sleeping family history.. no wait.. I never slept so cross that one off! When I wasn't working on getting ready for that I have just been spending time with my family. I have been trying to not think of my surgery coming up in 2 weeks today. I developed complications from the last one and a part of me is hesitant about going through it again or even have more surgery. I am really dreading it. But this pain in my chest has got to get resolved. Very few people see the "real" me outside of my family and very close friends that know me but it sure has been difficult putting on a smiling face lately.

We went to our annual Pumpkin Patch. I was very very disappointed. We went to the place we normally go to. They had a petting zoo, a haunted house, a corn maze, a smaller maze for children, a refreshments place, a picnic area with a play place for children, a store that sold produce and homemade items. But there was new owners and they got rid of EVERYTHING other then the pumpkin patch. Everything. When we inquired they said it was too expensive to keep the animals and the gas for the tractor that gave the hayrides. DUH!! Do you realize that you are now going to lose customers who are going to go elsewhere? As it was while we were there 4 car loads of people came in, asked what happened and when told they just got back in their cars and drove off. But we stayed as we didn't know where another place was. It was ok and the kids all got pumpkins and that was the main thing. But next year we won't be going there! Plus they charged by weight of the pumpkin!! WHAT?? It's always been you paid $2.50 for admission and you got what pumpkin you could carry. Rip off!

We had our annual Trunk or Treat on Halloween and that was a lot of fun. I always enjoy going out trick or treating with the grandchildren :)We went to this one house that really had their yard decorated as a haunted place! I wish I had taken a picture of it. Well all the kids would walk up to the door and the adults would wait on the sidewalk but at this house just as the kids got off the driveway onto the entrance to the house Ghosts and skeletons "fell" out of the upstairs windows on ropes and a guy jumped out from behind one of the cars. Well one of the little girls just screamed and started crying lol. She came running to Lareta to be picked up. We thought ok well she is done trick or treating now but she just told Mommy to go with her. I guess the need for the treat was greater then the fear of the unknown :) Lareta asked the guy to take his mask off which he did and he was apologetic :)Then after we did that we headed off to our church where the trunk or treat is held. Basically the children play games for an hour or so inside the gym while the adults decorate their cars. Then the children go car to car to get their treats. It is a safe place for the children. They know the treats they are getting, parents don't have to worry about strangers and adults can actually make homemade treats without thinking it's a waste of time as parents will just throw it in the garbage can. It was a great night.

I am doing a Christmas Baking Exchange on December 2nd so am working on the invitations for that to hand out this weekend. I also am making Christmas ornaments for the staff at the Family History Centre so have been working on that this past couple of weeks.

I have been trying to keep busy which has been hard to do with this rainy weather. I know it's my bad time with my FM and I try and get ready for the season. I increase my Vitamin D to 2000mg a day and make sure I stay warm wearing socks and slippers in the house. I have been working on getting our heat bill down so we have been keeping our thermostat down but being a ground floor apartment it's on a cement floor so it's always cold. We have used our fireplace as well. Keith has firewood from his work so that has been nice. Last week at our granddaughter's sleepover we had a fire going. They thought we were camping and they wanted a tent set up. We compromised by letting them have their beds in the living room but they wanted to roast marshmallows. The only ones I had were the minis and there was NO WAY I was going to let them roast those. So I guess I better remember to get some tomorrow for their sleepover.

I am doing a family reunion for my dad's family next summer and just found out that the parish hall just became available. Whoever had booked it before changed their minds so I was VERY happy to hear that. We were going to have it at the other hall but it technically holds only 100 and I am thinking we are going to be about 130 so we would have been squished. And you can not dance the butterfly in a squished room! I have been working on that, lining up things for the children to do, enough activities to keep the adults occupied and doing everything I can ahead of time. I am really looking forward to that:) I haven't seen most of my cousins since my dad died 19 years ago. I wasn't able to attend my grandmother's funeral which was after that so a lot of my cousins are now grandparents so will be a wonderful gathering.

So that's about it for me. Same old same old different day :) Here are some pictures of the last month's activities :)


taking a break over lunch hour

I treated the staff to a surprise lunch

some displays


right in the middle of the afternoon classes the wireless went down so Keith and one of the other IT guys were hooking up the modem to hang from the ceiling so that the waves would bounce to the back of the building. At least I think that was what they were doing
href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi253gKa2GrWA7EARpAlOFslcgsUoWa5FgamX0I12P_g-RcXiLyOnAc3XGI4-fWNRQ2VQ4t-YcG0l4TTdXr4sH2Ykz0Nlu_Cuan1Xsmi3ktt1lRRzU6f0AlHnPEeNtGvBcQH52Fag/s1600-h/Staff-02.jpg">
men needed some help with putting on name tags

last minute instructions to staff

triple checking last minute things at 7am

grandkids and God

thought you might find this cute :)

Tonight's Dessert

This is dessert for tonight. Pretty cool huh?

Old fashioned v ersus new and improved

Yes I know I know!! Stop repeating conversations that I have with my grandchildren they are boring to everyone reading them hehehehe. Too bad.. my blog.. my stories lol..

Thursday's conversation between 4 year old Rosaleen and I as we are taking pictures of our little vegetable and herb garden that she has been helping me water and tend all summer. I took pictures and she wanted to see them on the little window on my camera. I have a Kodak Instamatic normal camera.

Click Click

R: Nana let me see
M: You can 't see, it's not that kind of camera
R: Yes just look in the window at the back

I show her the back... no window.. she ponders for a moment

R: then just hook it up to the computer
N: You can't hook this one up it doesn't have a spot to connect
R:Yes it does
N: no it doesn't
R: Yes it does
N: no it doesn't
R: Let me see

So I show her and she turns it around and around and I have to watch to make sure she doesn't open the door to ruin the film

R: SO how do we get the pictures out
N: We take them to the store
R:Why
N: Cause they can fix the pictures and then give us real ones
R: So the ones on your computer aren't real ones?
N (sigh) yes they are real just a different kind of real
R: So Nana just get Papa's camera he has a REAL real one that takes REAL real pictures (the emphasis on REAL is hers)
N: well Papa is at work right now and Nana wants to finish these pictures right now so we can take them to the store. I don't want to wait till he comes home
R: Nana you need a real camera
N:Yes I know I do but right now this is the one that Nana has and I like it and it works perfectly fine for me
R:well it only works if you are old fashioned

WHAT??? Where did she learn that word from and in that context???

Note to grown children of mine------

You will know that compared to your Memere's camera where you had to put in a NEW flashbulb for EVERY single picture you took my camera IS a new AND improved camera!!!

Tomato plants

Sage, Thyme, Oregano and Garlic Chives

Last of the Basil

Scoop of the Race

Well here I am .. the end of the race. It has been an emotional journey, a physically demanding grueling at times, physically painful most days but I persevered and was determined I was going to do it if it was the last thing I do. I was expecting to do it alone with Keith but then some of my children rallied around me. And that surprised me but will tell you why that was later. I picked up the run kits the day before and I noticed she put 2 t-shirts in mine and so I asked why I got 2, 1 of them pink. She said "Oh all survivors get a pink shirt". I looked her straight in the eye and said "In our family we are all survivors." She was stumped at that one.

We had to get up very early and be at the train station by 7:30am. Now you all know and have been reading how I have been training to do this 5K run in under an hour. I was so determined to do it. We had 2 little granddaughters who have been in training with me and they were determined to be doing this race. I thought that meant IN the strollers. Nah,... not so much. Anyway when we got there and although we were early somehow we were in the wrong spot at the beginning and when he headed off we were about 3/4 way into the group of over 13,000 people and it probably took 10 minutes just to get to the start line.

It also took us till about the 2K mark to get going. I really wanted to get moving but those little legs of the toddlers just would not meet my stride and they didn't want to go into the stroller. It was a RACE!! So the little girls actually did over 3K of the race on their own 2 feet.During the times that Keith and I could convince then to sit in the stroller with the promise we would run very fast, I would run ahead and then wait up ahead to wait for the others to catch up. At the 4K mark all I could focus was finishing under that 1 hour. I lost focus of why I was doing this. I lost focus of who I was with and what they had given up to be there with me. By the time these thoughts were coming up I was coming up over the Cambie Street bridge... as I crested over the bridge I saw paramedics doing CPR on someone. It brought me up very very short. They kept moving us along and when I got to the bottom of the bridge I told Keith I would wait there for the others and explained what had happened and how I was feelng. He said I would not be able to make my time and I said I already made my time. My children and grandchildren and my soulmate are here.. what's an hour in the grand scheme of things??

So he went off to the finish line so that he could film us coming across. I waited for about 20 minutes before I finally saw them coming down off the bridge. I felt sooo bad. Lareta was waddling like she was 9 months pregnant. When she reached me she told me how much pain she was in. I told her I had painkillers with me and said said she did too but it was in her purse in HER stroller that I had taken off with. I said why didn't you call me I would have come back but her cell was in the stroller was. In our stroller was our son's water bottles. I felt so incredibly bad. Here there 2 children had over come some HUGE obstacles to be there and I had not raced with them. But the race is over and I love them for being there. And next race I do and my family is there my goal is going to be walking arm and arm all in a row everyone finishing at the same time. So what was my time? 1 hour 24 minutes.



This was our team shot:
From far left: Senthia, daughter in law Linda with little Rosaleen in front of her.Son Jody with grandson Darien in front of him. Jody has special soles in his shoes and has incredibly bad knees and anjkes but he was there to do this race with his Mum. Then Linda said well if he was going to do it she would as well. Then it is me with Latitia and little Miranda in front of me. Keith beside me with our daughter Lareta holding baby Kloie with her and granddaughter Britnee on the far right. I had made shirts for some of the granddkids saying I support Nana and some with the same saying except saying of Nana and Gramma and their other grandmother died of breast cancer 2 years ago. Our children had I support Nana, Keith's said I support my Love and Soulmate.I made some for EVERY member of our family even for those that don't live here as I could not have done this without them. Ever.

Keith and I..if this ever happens agin hope you have a husband like Keith. There is NO GREATER love and supportive man then this one. None.

This is a picture of our son Jody, his wife Linda and daughter Rosaleeb


Pictures of our daughter Lareta and her children. I was so sad at the way I had left her behind :( She just had a newborn baby and had been on bed rest for about 4 months before the baby was born. She had dislocated pelvic joint which is still not healed and very painful and here she was to support me and I left her behind. I will remember that moment for a very long time.

tattoo that Rosaleen insisted i needed.. she called them Butterly Kisses :O








I racked my brain trying to figure out what kind of tshirt I could make for Kloie. She is so small nothing I wrote on the shirt would have worked then I thought UH HUH.. I transferred the pink ribbon on her little cheeky butt heheh



Time to go home and these kids were so tired. That was a long run for them!!





One of my mom's cousin who I had never met had written to me when she found out I was doing the race. She called me a Warrior Woman and so this picture was just for her :)







It's been months since they told her about it
The darkness her body possessed
And the scars are still there in the mirror
Everyday that she gets herself dressed
Though the pain is miles and miles behind her
And the fear is now a docile beast
If you ask her why she is still running
She'll tell you it makes her complete

I run for hope
I run to feel
I run for the truth
For all that is real
I run for your mother your sister your wife
I run for you and me my friend I run for life

It's a blur since they told me about it
How the darkness had taken its toll
And they cut into my skin and they cut into my body
But they will never get a piece of my soul
And now I'm still learning the lesson
To waken when I hear the call
And if you ask me why I am still running
I'll tell you I run for us all

And someday if they tell you about it
If the darkness knocks on your door
Remember her remember me
We will be running as we have before
Running for answers
Running for more

Next year I will be training for the 60K race 4 day marathon. As well as the 5K one which I will do with my children and grandchildren and I will walk side by side with them and enjoy the blessings that come with being alive. And being with them. Hopefully you will ALL come join me for either of them. We need to end this disease. I will do it.. Will you do it with me?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0myvLD0zpAM

Thank you so much for listening to me talk about this race for the last couple of months. It has made the whole world to me! Thanks you

Race wrap up

Sorry I haven't posted about the race. They took team pictures there but I can't get them till the 8th so as soon as I can upload them I will do a detailed account for the event. Stay tuned to tomorrow!!

www.flickr.com

This is a Flickr badge showing items in a set called Keith and Sally. Make your own badge here.

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Wal Mart Super Centre

So Lareta and I finally got around to checking out the new Wal Mart Supercentre. I was supposed to pick up my runner kits but they weren't there yet so we decided to check the store out. We sis the tour of most of it.. then hit the tire section which made us both ill so we left that whole section away.

The bad points:
1. They had the air conditioning running at full blast freezing our buns off
2, The staff are not trained very well.. I asked one worker where they kept molasses and was told they didn't carry then.. weird.. then I end up finding it and showing him where it was

The good points:
1. It was great in the fact that we didn't have to climb in and out half a dozen times to go to different errands. Everything under one roof.
2. They have a choice for lunches other then McDonald
3.. They have a hair salon and a nail salon.The good points:
4. It is closer for me to drive there
5. Its closer then going to Guildford

Weould I ever go back. Probably not. I like my neighboorhood Safeway where they call me by name. I can walk there and it allows me to do just a few stuff at the store that I can carry hone. It would be a day truip in going and the would be able tio findhenn

Hallowe'en treats

I came across this info and thought some of you might find it interesting seeing as how all these treats are so temptingly displayed all over stores etc.. and if you are tempted after the actual Halloween to dip into your children's goodie bags for "just one treat" hehehe

I don’t mean to ruin everyone’s Halloween fun. It’s a great Halloween. And we all deserve a little treat now and then. And I’m not saying, “Don’t you dare stick that Snicker’s bar in your mouth!” I’m saying everything in moderation. Just for fun, let’s do a little math. Let’s say after your child comes back from trick-or-treating you raid his or her bag and gobble up four fun size snicker’s bars and a Reese’s Cup. Come on…you know it’s a realistic number. That’s a total of 400 extra calories in one night. Then, let’s say for the next four days you basically munch on the same amount throughout the day (darn those co-workers for bringing in their leftover candy)! Your excess calories for five days now amount to 2000. This is fun, isn’t it? Okay, a 135 lb person walking at a leisurely (think walking the dog) pace for one hour burns approximately 215 calories. So to cancel out the five days of candy munching, you will need to walk an extra 9.3 hours that week!

http://walking.about.com/library/cal/blhalloweencalories.htm

Those little Halloween candies looking at you from the bowl, little, bright colored and just jumping up with the sweet chocolate that you know that you love so much are very very evil. You know you want one, you yearn for one or two but as you try you just can not say no….or can you?

Halloween candy is some of the worst stuff that you can eat. It is small so you do not worry too much about the calories (even if you eat 20), it is high in saturated fat, and there is so much around at this time of year that it is hard to avoid. In fact it would be hard to find an office building anywhere in america that does not have a few bowls of Halloween candy lieing around on November 1st.

Here are the calories for some Halloween candies:

Nestle’s Crunch - Fun Size 3 bars=210 calories
Peanut M&M’s - Fun Pack 2 bags=80 calories
M&M’s - Fun Pack 2 bags=180 calories
Snicker’s - Fun Size 2 bars=160 calories
Milky Way - Fun Size 2 bars=150 calories
Kit Kat - Fun Size 2 bars=100 calories
Hershey Chocolate Bar - Fun Size 1 bar=90 calories/ 5grams of fat
Reese’s Cup - 1 cup=80 calories
Butterfinger - Fun Size 1 bar= 100 calories
Twix - Fun Size 1 bar= 80 calories
York Peppermint Pattie - 1 pattie=70 calories
Twizzlers - 1 treat size pkg= 45 calories
Almond Joy - 1 snack size bar = 90 calories
Milk Duds - 1 treat size box = 40 calories
Butterfinger - 1 snack size bar = 100 calories
Milky Way - 1 snack size bar = 90 calories
SweetTarts - 1 treat size pkg. = 50 calories
1 Tootsie Pop - 1 pop = 60 calories
1 Tootsie Roll - 1 small roll = 13 calories

Note: Calorie content is based on 1 serving of Halloween snack or fun size packages, not full size servings found in the candy aisle.

If you are not worried about all of these extra calories over the next week that is fine, but if you would like to avoid Halloween candy and the calories that they offer here is a few tips.

1. Change the way that you think about the little Halloween candy. Most of us will associate these candies with childhood and that carefree feeling, instead think of them as something that will raise your blood sugar and make you jumpy.

2. Eat properly so you can stay away from Halloween candy. If you keep yourself on track for eating then avoiding the Halloween candy is easier because you will not be hungry.

3. Only buy the Halloween candy that you do not like. What may be tough for someone to resist may not be too hard for you to resist.

4. Decide what you are willing to eat ahead of time. Look at the list above, there are some good decisions that you can make that will stop you from making this a weight gain holiday by eating the right Halloween candy. I am a big fan of Tootsie Rolls and those are apparently OK to eat.

5. Just stay away. there is some willpower involved in not eating the things that we are not supposed to eat. Have some willpower and you can stay away from treats, it is only a one week holiday anyway, right?

Coolest invention in Tupperware

Ok .. now I don't normally go around giving free advertising to companies, well except for Epicure spices earlier, but these are the COOLEST invention since sliced bread. I was invited to a Tupperware show last year and went to check out for the social aspect more then I needed another plastic container. Well the rep demonstrated these so cool containers and how they keep produce forever. Well ok maybe not forever but for a long time, much longer then normal fridge crispers so thought what they heck. They had a special on buy one get one half price and another small one free or something like that so I invested in them.

No word of a lie they do save the produce for a crazy amount of time. Most of our produce would end up in the disposal as it would go bad before we could use it (thanks to my husband's insane addiction to Costco) but now we actually would use up all the produce. So I think great, next time I get invited to another one I am getting more. Of course I don't get invited. The smart thing would have been to just contact the company and buy some but then I would have been guilted into hosting a show and I didn't want to go there. Lo and behold a few weeks ago we went to a Baby Fair that one of our neighbors as an event planner was hosting and there was a booth from Tupperware! YEAA!!

I asked if they had these special containers and she said yes but only in the fall colors of yellow and orange.. hmmm mine are white and blue.. but thought who cares they are in the fridge so bought a bunch more.. now I just got back from the produce market and am going to happily store all my goodies in their own containers. What makes these containers cool is they have littel "flaps" that are either both closed, both open or one of each depending on what is stored in them. It's these little portals that allow the right amount of moisture in or not in that saves your produce. Check it out!

Last week

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUw6zOuE0Jc

I hope that link works out. This is my last week in training for the run. I still am looking for family and friends to do the run with me or walk with me or push a baby stroller with me. Or stand at the end of the line and cheer me on. This is the first race I have been in and although I am not going to be anywhere near the front I know with all the extra training I have been doing I won't be last. This week I will aim to do my 5k's in under an hour. That is my goal. Under an hour pushing the stroller with a 40 pounder. I am going to do it. One footstep at a time. Come on everyone... I know you reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally want to do this with me :)

It's for a great cause. No one woman every wants to hear those words "I'm sorry but you have breast cancer". One in 9 women this year will be diagnosed. Those are terrible odds. We need to do this. Will you help me in this fight?

Families are Forever

Yesterday I got a great surprise in the mail! The fact that it was in the actual snail mail was a surprise in itself hehehe. But it was a hand addressed envelope with a return address from Saskatoon. Now I only know a handful of people from there and none of them came from that address. The name was vaguely familiar but couldn't place it. After a few minutes of trying to think of who it was from ( I know I know why not open the envelope? I already said it was a surprise to get an actual letter that wasn't from my mom and I was prolonging the anticipation) I finally opened it.

Inside was a hand written letter (again a surprise cause who still writes and not type??) from someone in my family that had been told of my announcement to do the Run for the Cure. I had to re-read it to figure out who this was and had to go to my genealogy to realize she was the daughter of a sister of my maternal grandmother. I think that makes us 2nd cousins perhaps??? But she wanted to send her support with her words and sent a donation along for me to include.

Now you all know I don't do the crying thing. I have what Oprah calls an ugly cry, face gets all red and scrunched up, I can't catch my breath then it comes out in these huge old wrenching sobs,,,so over the years I have perfected the art of biting down on my molars and insides of my cheeks when I feel myself getting to that point and it passes. Well I felt it was safe to let go reading this letter because I was alone and after all who would see this mug turn ugly.

I also got an email from another 2nd cousin.. this one I did know as we have been exchanging family history info over the last couple of years... she wanted to let me know that she took my original email that I sent her to let her know I was running and she posted it on that side of the family's web site. Blew me away. These are 2 women not even from my generation. I don't know if I have ever met either of them in person. If I did it would have been at my grandmother's funeral if they were there. But both of them came forward to support me. One said that this disease has really struck our family hard and how wonderful it was that someone was going to stand up to it.

I don't know how much I can do but I am pretty loud!! And I may be only one voice but I can usually out speak or out talk anyone so I think I can use that talent to move this forward. It made me realize this week that families are forever.. no matter if you are several generations removed, or you have never met... we are for all time and eternity, through sickness and in health... and for today.. this week.. I am strong, I am invincible, and I will run for the women in our family.

Thanks Therese and Claire... you will give me strength next week!!

Vancouver LDS Temple

it's taking wayyyyy too long :( I should send Keith over there to build this. It would have been done by now. Man the days of not going to Seattle anymore is so close I can almost taste it! Oh wait.. that was ice cream from dinner I was tasting!

http://www.lds.org/temples/construction/0,11437,1940-1-594-0,00.html

Make a Smilebox photobook

Book Review #2: Strong at the Broken Places

This book is from Richard M. Cohen

I had planned on reading this book last as I knew it would make me delve into the very locked part of me that never comes out. But I also know myself very well and knew if I did not read it next I would never read it. I meant to do the book review last week but was busy planning Keith's 55 th surprise birthday party, our staff training, then getting this nasty mouth and throat infextion where literally was not able to take for FIVE days unless absolutely necessary!

Anyway the book review:

ok.. I am not an emotional person. I do my crying in private and never lose control. When I get a hold of a book, any book I just sit and read till the last page. This book took me forever to read as I kept having to put it down. It made me realize I was human, I had faults, I was not alone in my illnesses, that others are worse off then I am but most importantly I learned that I have a very large supportive family and how very blessed I am. I should be ashamed for keeping them always at arm's lengths. Anyone that has a chronic illness or is a supporter of a family member or friend who is chronically ill NEEDS to read this book. Must supply own tissues.

Ratings out of 5 stars: *****

Word of the Week

So today is Tuesday... well ok it's after 2 am Wednesday but as technically I have yet to go to bed it is still Tuesday..so here is a conversation between 2 granddaughters tonight at dinner. Rosaleen is 4 and Miranda is 3. It's usually sleepover on Tuesday nights which is why they are here having dinner. Keith and I are done and are in the loving room watching tv. The 2 of them won't stop talking to even eat. At once point the conversation begins this new turn:'

Miranda: Nana I'm full
Nana: No you are not you hardly ate your dinner you need to eat more

dinner continues

few minutes later
Miranda: Nana my tummy hurts
Nana: Let me see your plate.... sees plate.... no you have to eat the rest of your yellow and green beans and half of your meat that you sucked all the applesauce off... away she goes back to table

Rosaleen: I know why your tummy hurts
M: why
R: Cause you have poopinjestion (Spelt as it sounded!!!)
M: what's that Rosaleen
R: It's when your food turns into poop
M:EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW no it doesn't!
R: Yes it does
M: Nana does food turn into poop?
N: Yes Miranda it does
M: as she looks at her plate.. this doesn't look like poop this looks like beans and meat
R: no it turns into poop in the tubes in your stomach
M: I don't have tubes in my stomach as she lifts her shirt up and says "SEEEE"
R: You can't see it but it curls around in your stomach and as you eat more food it pushes old food into containers like the ones in your fridge but these ones are soft and smaller

SIDE NOTE: Keith has a pillow stuffed in his face and tears running down his face and I have one hand covering my mouth and my other hand pinching my nose tight cause when I am laughing hard I do this nasty snort no one should ever hear

R:...then when the old poop gets shoved in these containers and you don't eat enough vegables and fruits even the ones you don't like and taste like poison that your mom and dad give you to eat you have to eat them cause they help to push the old poop out.
M:No they don't
R: yes they do
M: then what happens?
R: then the poop gets hard and that is when you get poopinjestion and then you can't go in any other people's bathrooms cause it takes too long to come out and it really hurts so you have to go home and go upstairs and sit there and make funny faces to push the poopinjestion out then you will feel better. You never want to get poopinjestion it's not nice
M: Daddy gets poopinjestion the other day

SIDE NOTE:Everything to Miranda is "the other day"

M: Daddy goes to the bathroom all the time and makes funny noises.. when I go home tomorrow I will tell him he has to eat his vegetables and fruit so he doesn't get poopinjestion anymore.

R and M: Nana we don't want to eat anymore.. as they come around the corner into the living room
R: PAPA!!!!!! STOP!! You are squishing the pillow on your face like on the movie.. stop it Papa
M: Nana Papa is crying he needs a kiss to make his owie all better
Me: Keith stop laughing hysterically you are scaring the girls as he slides off the recliner onto the floor finally being able to laugh out loud from having laughed into the pillow repeating the same word over and over again....poopinjestion...

you gotta have a sense of humour in this house or you would go slightly insane

By the way in case you wonder what I do in the middle of the night here is a pic of me that Keith took sneaking behind me scaring the daylights out of me.. notice the time? Always working on our big Seminar coming up on Oct 18th. Don't you just love my Pooh Jammies???

Question 2

But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.
~ 1 Corinthians 13:13 ~

Last week's affirmation was the first of a three-part series. It began with my recalling having read somewhere or been told by someone that, when I die, I will come face to face with God and that He will ask me three questions. I have given these three questions a great deal of thought, and in fact I think about them at some point almost every day. I don't think the questions will be posed as a pass-fail, congratulations-you're-in or sorry-but-you're-outta- here kind of test, but rather as part of a "welcome home" conversation between God and me, an "I'm-so- glad-you're-finally-here!-Tell-me-all-about-it!" chat, the kind of excited, breathless exchange one might have with a family member after returning from a lengthy trip to faraway lands.

The first question was "What did you learn?"
The second is "How much did you love?"

I think that what God will want to hear is whether I came to understand that love really is what this life is all about, that it's everything, pure and simple.

Pure and simple. Love everybody. Nothing complicated about it. Yeah, right.

Love is the most important lesson we are sent here to learn, and it is far and away the most difficult. I struggle with it every day, as I'm sure most people do. Let's be honest here. There are a lot of people who are downright difficult - if not impossible - to like, much less love. For example,
just yesterday my neighbor...

Well, let's just say it's a good thing I don't have to have this conversation with God today (at least I don't think I do; today's not over yet) because I clearly have a long way to go in learning about love. I guess I can only share how much I have loved to this point in my life; after that, I will tell you what I hope to be able to say to God when I graduate from this cosmic classroom and finally meet the Head Master.

Let's see. How to begin. How much have I loved so far?

I have loved my husband like one can only love one's truest, best friend, the better part of myself, mirror of my heart, the one who has given my life passion beyond romance, my partner on this journey, the witness to my life. But I guess I don't need to tell You, God. You know the rest, and readers (not to mention our kids)
might find it a little icky.

Speaking of kids, I have loved my children with an unconditional, fiercely protective, overwhelmingly joyful and sometimes deeply painful love that no one but a mother could understand. I would literally give my own life to save theirs. Oh, yeah. For a minute there, I forgot. That's how You love us. And You did that, didn't You?

I have loved my family and my friends, even though this one was really hard sometimes. I mean, do You remember that time my brother...oops. Sorry.
Look who I'm telling!

I have really, really tried to love everyone, God, but just yesterday, this woman at the post office...

Okay. Now you see how far I still have to go. Better skip right to what I hope will be my answers to the question "How much did you love?" by the time I am called upon to answer it. Here is what I believe He will want to hear:

I have loved my neighbor as myself, and I have learned that everyone is my neighbor. I have loved every person who has ever hurt me, and I have loved them hard, because You taught me that love in the face of anger and terror is the most powerful, unstoppable, undefinable force in the universe.

I have loved countless scroungy puppies and kittens and old, tired, sick dogs and cats and every precious creature that lives and breathes upon this earth. When I have witnessed cruelty to any living being, I have stepped up and done everything in my power to end it because that is love in action, and love without action to back it up is, well, not love.

I have loved this planet, our Mother Earth, that sustains us, and I've made every effort to learn how to care for her and live in a way that gives back to her more than I take.

I have loved this life You have given me and been blissfully and gratefully aware of every breath I have taken, every sunrise and sunset, every shooting star, every spring, summer, winter and fall, every, every, every...

I have loved my body because it is the temple of my spirit, the house I live in, my transportation and armor on this journey. I have given it nourishment, activity and rest and cared for it as I know You wanted me to. I have had to learn to love it although it causes me great grief and a lot of pain on any given day and just when my limits up of how much I can handle with my body I get slammed with something else. I mean seriously, who else do you know gets infected with Lyme's Disease, Fibromyalgia, debilitating disc disease and now Cancer. Am I still to believe that I can handle everything I am given? But I knew it was my temple and I had to take care of it, I started exercising, eating healthy, lost 150 pounds, all good stuff and still I struggle. But I try and take care of this temple the best I can.

I have loved the unlovely and the unlovable, the hated and the hateful. I have loved
with no second thoughts, no regrets.

Perhaps hardest of all, I have learned to love myself. You know what that's all about, Lord, so I guess I don't need to explain.

But You, God, You I have loved without measure, and my fervent prayer, now that I am at last in Your presence, is that I have lived my life as a small but worthy reflection of Your love for me.