A Day at the Oil Ranch

Where everyone can take a turn milking Daisy the cow.
Lily preferred just petting her, and Zach said it looked "too squishy to touch", he said he would let me! haha. So I showed them how its done, I think they were impressed. But then Zach wanted me to milk the horses.......ahhh, city kids.
We rode a train,
and peeked in on the barn animals.
They actually started out really brave, "come on Lily, let's go pet them"
Lily...wait a second, they're looking at us!
abort, abort!
We also took a hayride out to the field to feed the cows. WOW. That was an experience. They gave the kids pellets to feed the cows before we left, but as soon as our wagon rolled into the pasture, the cows knew what was up. They stuck their heads into the wagon trying to get to the food (ummm, we were sitting on hay bales). Imagine a wagon full of about 30 kids screaming and chucking pellets to the cows. We got slimed by hungry cow noses, but after a few minutes of panic...the kids realized that cows don't bite and had fun watching them eat our seats. No really, I didn't even have a hay bale to sit on after the cows got to it.


I think Zach and Lily were starting to get the hang of farm life after that, so they decided it was time to ride the ponies. They were pretty proud of themselves!

And of course, we grabbed a pumpkin on our way out.
It was such a great little day with our ward playgroup. My favorite part was probably the drive out to the the ranch. After we got off the highway, the country roads were soothingly familiar to me. One thing I really miss about my old home is how I lived so close to "civilization" with every conceivable store within 5-10 minutes, but I also enjoyed the idyllic scenery of rolling hills and pastures and farms. I didn't realize how much I need both. I rolled down our windows, turned off the air conditioner and turned up the "classic country" station. It felt good.

Bitter and Sweet

The following story most certainly does not paint the prettiest picture of me, or my mothering skills. But I'd like to record it, because it has made such an impact. It's been a little rough around here the past month or so. So many things. To give myself credit, sometimes, I feel blessed with the patience of a saint. Maybe it is from my years of teaching...no matter your anger, you just CAN'T get mad...you find ways to deal. Throw things, break things, hurt your sibling, scream in public and I will calmly address the situation. Which is why it is always so disappointing that the times I truly loose my cool, it is usually about something minor. It's just me...my own stresses that betray me. And it was one of those days a few weeks ago. To be perfectly honest, I can't even remember the infraction, it was so insignificant. But I found myself yelling at Zachary. Mean mom face...shouting...threatening words...squeezing his arm... menacing. When I take myself back to that place, I recognise I just FELT out of control. And then it happened. Zach looked up at me with the saddest expression, and as calmly as he could he said, "Mom, please don't talk to me like that." pause. ton of bricks. I heard the Lord's voice. No really, I can't adequately describe the feeling that what Zach said was actually a message from the Lord. I quickly apologized and sent him from the room. I sat on my bed to cry. I felt the full weight of my responsibility, and sometimes failure, as a mother. And almost as instantly as I had been rebuked, a peaceful feeling came over me. Words fail. But I was taught again about my Heavenly Father's love for me individually. I felt his approval of my offerings as a mother, and His patience with my shortcomings. Because of His Son, I can try over and over again. It was a whirlwind of emotion, but in the end I felt hopeful, encouraged and loved. Just a little lesson for the day from my Heavenly Parent. The kind of lesson that I too, hope to pass on to my little charges.

Lily-lou-do is quintessentially two

Today at her well child check-up, she saw a stapler covered with bright stickers behind the desk. When she could not HAVE said stapler, the realization sent her into a screaming tantrum that forced her to flail her body on the floor and roll around in front of the other patients. When the doctor came in, she eyed him suspiciously but remained uncharacteristically quiet. Going through the checklist of questions, he said, "is she putting more that 2 words together to create sentences?" and apparently, the suggestion that she might not be, offended her. She promptly piped up, "I jump on the colored boxes (she then jumped from tile to tile on the floor) and I have a Dora sticker!" The doctor turned to me with a surprised look, "so she's a rocket scientist, and I guess I'll skip the motor development section!" Later, as I explained to her that she might have to get a shot today, she grabbed her little thighs and cried, "Mommy, they NOT cut me!" (lucky for her they were temporarily out of Hep A vaccines). But unfortunately, she did have to have her thumb pricked. She screamed over and over to the poor lady collecting her blood, "YOU'RE HURTING ME, YOU'RE HURTING ME!". I didn't know who to feel worse for. Luckily the pain was short lived, and once she had her sparkly band aid on, she looked up at me with those big blue eyes, red with tears, and said, "soda now?" Yes my little love. You earned it.

Me and the Queen of England

"Dad" had just laid down for a short (and well deserved) snoozer, but don't you know, wherever dad is....fun is too!
I got home from the park the other day and a big white sack from one of those good, good, bad stores was sitting on my table. Inside was a familiar site. The note. We've left notes for each other since we were 16. On cars, in lockers, under pillows. Great memories. I remember coming out of basketball practice one cold winter night and there was a note on my car. It said, "check behind your tire before you drive away...love you". Sure enough, a single rose and a carton of eggnog stashed in the snow beneath my door. Life's gotten busy with adult responsibilities and parenthood, and the note game has slowed significantly since we were young and crazy in love. But I felt all those crazy in love feelings yesterday just seeing that green paper, and his handwriting...it said, "Ha, ha, ha...it's not here. Now the fun begins, your toaster is somewhere in the house. Good luck. love Dave." My toaster!!?? A week ago Dave said he had all these credit card points, and just for fun, what would I buy? In my mind, as long as you never pay interest, credit card points are like monopoly money...free. I think I scared him with how quickly I rattled off 3 or 4 extravagant purchases I would make. Then I asked him..."what would you buy?" Funny how my answers involved 1 item, and his more like 7 or 8. This is actually one reason I love my husband. SO not trendy, SO not concerned with things money can buy (unless maybe you're talking about land, or hunting equipment). He's a good and constant reminder for me...my balance. Which is why, bless his heart, when he stood at that checkout counter and the saleswomen from England nodded approvingly, he probably whimpered inside. To anyone else, what she said would have been the clincher, proof of a good purchase. But to my sweet Dave, when she declared in her thick accent, "Why the Queen of England has this toaster!", it only reaffirmed the silliness of such a thing. All I can say is that I FEEL like royalty and it has absolutely NOTHING to do with my new appliance.

Run-in with Ike

preparations
You think they knew a hurricane was coming!? No way, they spent the evening exerting lots of energy per usual.
And they thought it was WAY cool to use their batman and princess flashlights ALL NIGHT!
oh, and sleep in the closet too.
I have to laugh at these pictures I took around 1am, when I thought the winds were kicking up. I was getting excited...HA! NOTHING compared to the winds at 4 am - 6 am...sheesh! I didn't even leave my hallway during that time for fear my windows were going to blow in, truly, I was scared! So there are no pictures of serious hurricane winds!
Of course, no hurricane could stop our enthusiasm for breakfast! Its amazing how good hot food tastes when there is no electricity! :)
Our apartment grounds were littered with shingles, trees, branches, metal roofing pieces, fencing, and all sorts of other debris.
Trees took a major beating, that is, if they were even standing when it was over.

A building in our complex. Luckily, our particular building did not experience THIS much roof damage. These poor people had tons of water damage.
These next few photos are businesses that are within walking distance from our home. Damage and flooding.
And remember THIS little tree outside my bedroom window?...
she didn't fare too well.

I'm going to admit it. I wasn't nervous in the least about hurricane Ike. I figured that growing up in Missouri with severe storms and the chance for tornadoes, had prepared me for anything a hurricane could do (at least do to someone living 50 miles inland). I guess I likened people's hysteria to my experience living in other states when a "thunderstorm" would roll in... and people would talk about it for days. I'd turn my head to snicker thinking, "pah-leese, it's not a thunderstorm unless the thunder actually KNOCKS pictures off your wall, and having random trampolines and swing sets show up in your yard is just a part of a spring shower!" So...I'm a bit humbled. And while I still consider large tornadoes to be supremely frightening with their unpredictability and 200-300 mph winds, I've learned that hurricanes have some things going for them too. For instance the sheer SIZE of Ike was incredible, and the length of time that the violent winds blew was amazing as well. And honestly, I think I'm good now. I don't need another hurricane experience...
It's been a long week. But we are so lucky to have power. Only 40% of people in the 4th largest city have power. I'm sure the national news is mostly done covering the hurricane, but living here is another story. I am so intrigued by all this hurricane clean up and aftermath. Just the other day I went to pick up some groceries from a nearby store that had reopened. It was 7:20pm, I walked into the store (past the guards they hired to keep the peace) and there were no more shopping carts. I walked back out to get one from the parking lot, and as I approached, 15 ft from the doors, they closed them and said they were done selling groceries for the day. shoot. Also, did you know the roofers begin their day at 5am? Its actually not too difficult to sleep when you get used to the hum of generators and the pop pop of roofing guns...just minor annoyances. The memories I will take from this storm are pretty cool. It was so crazy to drive around that first night after the hurricane and see NO lights...anywhere. weird. And what about the mile long line for the ONE McDonald's drive thru that had reopened...crazy. I am looking forward to the lifted curfew, no more gas lines, working stop lights and just "normalcy" in general...but until then, I have to say, I am impressed with Texas. I don't know how long we will call this state home, but I think I've "bonded" with the idea of being a Texan through this crisis. Lots and lots of good people live here!

Birthday Bash

We always seem to get the ball pit out for birthdays...its a big hit, always!
Party friends
Lily was unhappy with the first candles we tried. They were the sparkle kind...we had to switch before she was willing to blow them out! :)
A little reassurance from brother never hurts.

Happy Girl!


ummm cupcake pops!

This photo was taken right after I asked Zach if he wanted to help me clean up from the party.
The soda pop had little "L" labels to celebrate the birthday girl.
SHE however, was FAR more impressed with the glass bottles, and the fact that she got her OWN!
loved it to the last drop!
Dave and I found this little antique doll cradle on craigslist, our gift to Lily. We fixed and painted it up. So cute how delicate she is with her babies who now sleep in this little bed.

As I got the pictures ready for this post, I couldn't help but go back to last year.
I felt really sentimental as I looked at that chubby little baby face, who was eating her cake for the first time. So much has happened in only one year. I also realized that I have been keeping this blog now for more than a year. It makes me really happy. Lily came into this world just a little thing, weighing only 5.10. And, she has always stayed a little bug, at least physically. But she more than makes up for her small size with her big personality. She is not a shy thing, and can make everyone around her laugh with her antics. I love that whenever we walk into church, she exclaims in her LOUDEST voice, "JESUS!". (I think this is because no matter what door we enter through, there is always a large picture of Christ!) haha. Lily is FAST. There is a paved trail by our home that we walk sometimes at night. One time around the track is 0.64 miles. As hard as it is to believe, Lily ran the ENTIRE track without stopping. I was jogging just to keep up with her. The girl's got energy. I love that when Lily knows shes done something cute she scrunches up her shoulders and face and eyes into a big smile, waiting for the laughs. Lily is kind and she is learning to share. I love my daughter. I love the chance I have to raise a daughter. Boo boos and injustices in the world incite a dramatic response, but then again, it seems that truly thoughtful and tender moments are much more pronounced as well.

Happy Birthday sweet sweet Lily!

anticipation...

My little Lily bee turns 2 on Friday!

**i. love. my. children's. birthdays.**

Think I actually like them more than my own...ohhh the anticipation. I get so excited thinking about THEIR wonder and amazement on this special little day! During nap time today, I did a little trial run on the cupcakes for her party. I've eaten FAR too many. yum.

And, not to bring down the happiness quotient of this particular post, but I honestly wanted to thank you, my friends, for your lovely praise and encouraging words. There have been a few gloomy days overhead lately (don't worry, someday when it sorts itself out a bit...I'll record it), your thoughtful comments and random emails have been a bright spot. truly.