Bah Humbug Averted

So towards the beginning of the month of December I was definitely channeling some Ebenezer Scrooge.  But thankfully, due in part to the multiple visits from various Spirits of Christmas, I finally caught the Christmas joy myself.

My first Spirit of Christmas came in the form of my wonderful husband who pointed out the whole dead dreams ordeal.  Thankfully that light-bulb moment has turned my whole direction around.  I am dreaming again – just not putting concrete time frames on those dreams – but definitely working towards them again.

My hubby also sent me to Idaho to visit my side of the herd.  The 30 plus hours in a car with 5 kids fortunately didn’t do me in, thanks in part to audio books.  And I got the bonus of seeing my kids dress up for a family nativity.  Abner, T-Rev and my brother Zippy make quite the impressive beardless Wise men, don’t you think?

 

Santa even made a surprise appearance and Hope had to bend his ear and then some… I mean the girl would talk to him non-stop, even as he was visiting with her other cousins.  She nigh near snowballed him with question after question about reindeer and his sleigh and everything Christmas.  But seeing her so into the magic of Christmas helped me gain a little bit of that magic myself.

Then it was back to the house to see how many grandkids it takes to tackle grandpa.  I got a workout just watching the mini-wrestling match.

All in all it was a wonderful trip, full of family visits, elf previews of Christmas, lots of nummy-yummy treats, digit numbing cold snow, Christmas lights, Iron port drink from the local drive-in, and Love.

Then it was back to our Pacific Northwest home for Christmas.  It was by far our most simple Christmas but the kids handled the low volume of presents with not a single complaint.

My husbands parents nailed me with one of the best gifts,  a dream necklace and CD full of dream songs.  I keep them right next to my dream journal when I’m not wearing or listening to them.  My kids thought I was nutty when I started crying when I saw the thoughtful gift, and they are right, I am nutty.  But it was the perfect gift.

Christmas day would have been perfect had the car not broken down.  But we are used to these unexpected bumps.  I have to say the downer of that break-down was more than made up for by this miracle.

Remember my redneck kitchen?

Well my friend Good Enough’s Angel Husband decided to help rebuild part of our missing kitchen.  We salvaged the drawers and door fronts from our old cabinets and he built them into some more salvaged bases and painted them for us.

Poor guy had to endure me sitting in the kitchen, watching the cabinets go in,  grinning like an idiot cause I was so happy.   Wow, it’s beginning to look like a real kitchen again.

I love all the angels that made this year so special amidst all the unbloggable stuff.  Thank you Angels.  I certainly hope that sometime in the near future I can pay it forward times ten.  I would just love to share the happiness that they gave to me.

Angels, Dreams and Ding-A-Lings

So the last couple of weeks have been a roller-coaster. As with most families we have experienced the extremes of the season.  Angels popped in a couple of times to brave the Clutter Heap clean and decorate and help our family find some of the seasons joy.  It seems that Scrooge Mr. Murphy and his law also decided to take up permanent residence with us as well.

So without further ado… The Good,  The Bad, and well let’s just skip the Ugly. 

The Good:  Four Angels stopped by and helped me find the floor, even better they attacked and cleaned two of my bathrooms.  That act alone should insure Sainthood.

Another Batch of Friends showed up Monday and helped us Decorate, Decorate and Decorate.  The Kids loved it.  So did I because I was tempted just to decorate a tree and leave the rest of the stuff packed up.   Now I’m surrounded with reminders of  service and sharing and it feels like love to me.

As for Mr. Murphy… He prompted my teenager to put his feet on the windshield of the car and stretch.  So the single crack in the window became a spider web of cracks.  If I could knock some sense into the boy I would, but I don’t have a hammer large enough,  and I don’t want Child Protective Service knocking on my door for child battery, so I guess I’ll just have to deal him the way he is. 

Cha-Ching #1.

Since a broken windshield wasn’t enough, the next thing on his list was to cause the wiring in our portable swimming pool truck to go funky on the tail-lights.  And after we spent nearly $170 trying to fix the problem on our own,  we finally admitted we are auto idiots caved and took it to the dealer.  But the story doesn’t end there.  On the way to the dealer the radiator blew.

Cha-Chings #2 & 3.

But the biggest single incident that proves Murphy has joined our family happened to Prince Erik and Evo-man.  They decided to kill some time between appointments and window shop at the mall.  While they were in the mall some huge Ding-A-Ling driving a 11 foot tall U-Haul truck decided to pull in a 7 foot tall parking garage, thus hitting a high pressure water line which burst and get this… of all the thousands of cars parked at the mall that evening only one car was affected by the jet blast of water.  OURS!  Resulting in dents in the roof and somehow water found it’s way in through invisible vents to flood the cars floor with a few inches of water.

Cha-Ching for Dina-A-Ling #4 

Ding-A-Lings should be banned from driving U-Haul vehicles.

So Yesterday, Prince Erik unsuccessfully tried repeatedly to get a hold of Ding-A-Lings insurer but we can’t wait to fix the car or the water can mess with it’s wiring or so the dealer told us.  So the car is at the shop.  I think the dealership might give us the most valuable customer award for frequent visits.

Cha-Ching for Ding-A-Lings Insurance #5

Mr. Murphy also talked Mother Nature into giving our area a deep freeze with no temperatures over freezing for nearly a week – resulting in two broken pipes.

Cha-Ching #6

And I tell you all this because…  I’m laughing.  They say bad things happen in three.  And since we are up to six I’m showing Murphy the door.  That’s right Mr. Murphy and Mr. Ding-A-Ling.  I’m laughing at you.  Sure you can drain every spare penny out of my bank account, but you can’t touch the Spirit of Christmas.  And the harder you try the more I’m going to laugh in your face.  And even though you are trying to get me down, get this, in the meantime just think of all the friends in blog land, eternally grateful that they are not us.  

Of course I know that in telling Mr. Murphy that I’m laughing in his face is like saying to him… Try Harder.  In which case, I’m knocking pounding on wood with crossed fingers (rather unpleasant) while I’m typing this because I don’t want to invite any more of the shenanigans.  I’m done with them.

On the good side.  I finished sewing the Nativity costumes for our Church’s Children’s Nativity Program.  They worked out great and I was able to make Mary, Joseph, Three Wise Men, the Inn-Keeper, Two Shepherds and an Angel for Under $100.   (Thanks be it to Thrift store materials, and a good serger).

  

O.K. I’ll go ahead and show you the Ugly.  Our Christmas Tree came this year with a gift.  A Mummified Frog of all things.

\

Now go enjoy your Christmas goodies after that fine fact.  I slipped the mummy in Mr. Murphy’s suitcase before I kicked him out the door.

I can’t wait to share with you an Honest-To-Goodness Real Christmas Family Letter.  It will be the best one we’ve ever sent.  Look for it soon.

Digging up Dreams

Light Blub Moment…. Ding, Ding, Ding, Ding,  Well Duh!

‘FawnDear, you’ve stopped dreaming.’ My husband told me yesterday and I burst into tears because, you know, I’m a deranged hormonal female he nailed it.

Since the unbloggable happened in July it feels like my soul has shriveled to the size of an old prune shut down.  I couldn’t pin-point why until until my Prince enlightened me with his wisdom.  He was dead-on.  I had stopped dreaming.  My motivation had gone from following my dreams to being a zombie mom on a schedule.  The pain of reality hurts less when you assume the zombie.

Dreams have been such a huge part of my life, my motivation for Improvement, Fun, Laughter and Magic.

So why did the dreams disappear?  Turns out, I unknowingly buried them, about a mile deep under bedrock, or so it seems.

I chatted with my Always Young and Gorgeous counselor about it yesterday and we figured that all the knocks I’ve received over the past year with the house and finances self-imploding and, of course, the bombshell unbloggable;  well it turns out that all of those negative things had been shooting down some of my more established dreams.  And after the pain of losing some of those cherished dreams I shut down and quit dreaming in an attempt to not suffer further future hurt.  And that stupid shutting down turned out to be me destroying even more my own dreams. 

Zombie life stinks, to the tune of finding 50 lbs. over the past few months, the the detriment of missing out on opportunities to live magically with my kids, and being extremely self-conscious of my rapid fall while trying to enjoy those precious, few moments I have with my Prince Erik.  I think I’ve found depression, self-imposed though it may be, and I don’t want it anymore.

So how in the heck am I going to dig up my box of dreams?  I realized that yesterday was the first step.  Just realizing the extent of the damage was a place to start.  And I don’t want to be here anymore.  I want to Dream again!!!  And I want to dream now.  Who cares if life is raining unmentionables on me at this very moment,  I need to get back to the FawnDear that did this when the storms came.  I miss me.

Waking up from being a zombie is painful, emotionally and physically as I try to re-shed these layers of protective walls I’ve unconsciously erected over the past few months.

Young and Gorgeous told me what I need to do to start dreaming again.  I have to journal, blog, scribble in a notebook etc daily about my dreams. 

And I need to go through the motions of following those dreams even when I don’t feel the motivation burning in my veins.    She promised that if I at least started going through the motions again, those old dream muscles will start to wake up, get a little more feeling, reawaken from the zombie slumber etc.

Get this – She told me to put myself first.  That’s hard for me to do, especially when I don’t have enough hours in the day to even put my socks on.  Now I’ve first got to make time to physically and spiritually put my life in order.

I know she’s right.  Here’s hoping I’ve started the dream recovery process on this latest funk and am on my way to dreaming those dream once again.  I know they are there, just on the verge of my imagination.

Special thanks to all my bloggy friends who have been so patient with me as I went through this latest funk.  I can’t wait to experience joy again.  I promise my next post will be about fun stuff again.

Cat Envy

Our dog Itchy has developed some rather strange habits since Pumpkin – the Ninja Kitty joined the family.  I can only assume that Itchy is suffering from Cat Envy.

How Do You Know When Your Dog Has Cat Envy?

The Symptoms:

1.  The Canine suddenly loses interest in her big comfy dog bed and invades the kitten’s sleeping pillow (even though it’s too small) – befouling it with dog hair in an attempt to drive kitty from it’s sleeping place.

2.   Dog suddenly loses appetite for all things dog food related.  Would rather down a bag of cat food instead.  (Note to owner:  Feed animals in separate rooms insuring that the kitty doesn’t starve.)

3.  When your large Lab pretends to be an itty bitty wee thing and curl up in your lap.  You know for sure it is suffering from Cat Envy.

The Cure:

1.  Pay attention to the dog as well, otherwise it may start meowing.

My Hot Date, or so I thought

So I’ve had this hot date planned for a couple of months.

Purchased my tickets online the very hour they were made available (Yes, I’m that obsessed).

Outfit and accessories to match, cleaned and ready to wear.

Got extra rest the night before cause I knew I was going to be out all night tonight.

Even had a like-minded obsessed mom friend post a reminder on my front door.  Who cares if it gagged my teenage boys out.  Yes, the word ‘Ewwww,’ escaped their lips when they first saw it.  Prince Erik just sighed and rolled his eyes.

We all need time with our inner school-girl and I was so ready to spend that time with all my other   .   .   .    Can’t-Make-Me-Grow-Up Sist-Ah’s.

Alas…

When this morning rolled around, my cough had found me again, as had more achy muscles, and some nice chills.    The symptoms remained, even after I threw everything the Dr. had given me at them. I immediately knew I was going to have to miss out on the big festivities.

So I let my inner school-girl out and cried like a true drama queen,  Waaaahhh!, but not in front of the children.  Then I gave my tickets away and made my friends promise to go with me when I do finally feel like I can Scream, Giggle, Hoot, Cry, and Swoon without coughing.  Let’s pray that happens soon because I need me some brain vacation time and I need it bad.

And at this moment when my Obsession is playing out at midnight premiere’s, on movie screens, in my neck of the woods, I’m cuddled up on the couch with my alternative Hot Date -  Sweet Pumpkin – hoping that the ‘Eclipse’ Midnight Premiere get’s here before I know it.

Regardless,  I’m thankful for all the vicarious craziness played out by women just like me the world over.  It’s nice to know I’m not the only lady with the heart of a teenage girl masquerading in an old girl body.

And since I know how the movie ends – Yes, because I’ve read the book or listened to it too many times to actually count – let me know what you thought of it?  Don’t worry you won’t spoil a thing.  Just want some vicarious fun.

Enter a Post Title Here cause I can’t think of one.

I was away this weekend and all the sewing I was planning on doing, well, it didn’t get done.  Big Surprise (Imagine that Big Surprise dripping with sarcasm and you've got it right.)

I spent Saturday split between hacking up a lung and visiting the doctor; all the while, getting evil looks from everyone in the clinic.  You’d have thought me a walking bomb.  Imagine the nurse trying to talk my pulse, and look down my throat, while standing six feet away.  They should have just donned some bio-hazard suits.  Then it was off to wait in line with a bazillion other sick people waiting to get their prescriptions filled.  Three weeks was way to long to have a cough and I had finally developed a fever so the Hubster ordered that I go visit the clinic.  What a fun day.

Broncitis again – Drat.  That’s twice in four months.  Not fair.  But I’m happily drugged up and hopefully on the mend.  I’m thankful for Drugs, and I’m thankful it’s not H1N1.

Knock on wood.  Okay, I’m pounding on wood hoping that one skips our family.  I’ve been out of action way to long and my house will self-implode with clutter if we catch any other nasty bug.

I had the most wonderful witty Family Christmas Letter ready to post yesterday, but the place I was staying at didn’t have internet service and the most ROTFL post I’ve ever written accidently got deleted.  Maybe, sometime later this week I’ll attempt to find that humorous magic and enthrall you with what a real Family Christmas Letter should read like.  Meanwhile I’m Thankful that I have Internet again.

Needless to say, after once again venting on the downers of the weekend.  I’m thankful it’s over.  Thankful for modern medicine, Thankful for watching umpteen episodes of ‘Clean House’ (you know building up motivation for when I can move again without coughing up a cow), and Thankful for my awesome Prince who did all the dishes tonight.  I’ll be even more thankful if someone wants to fold that mountain of clean clothes on my bed. 

Waiting…

Okay,  I knew that 0ne was wishful thinking.  I guess I’m thankful there is a pile of clean clothing instead of dirty laundry.   Thankful, Thankful, Thankful. 

Just Because.

Can I just say that I’m Thankful for my feather pillow.  It served me so well last night I feel asleep before I got my Thankful post in.

Thankful for a teenage son who washes the dinner dishes, Even when it wasn’t his turn, and even when he wasn’t even asked too.  Just Because.  Thanks Abner!  And No – He wasn’t trying to butter mom up to get something.  He was being nice – Just because that’s who he is.

I also have to add that I’m Thankful for 1/2 price days at the local thrift store. Pretty soon I’m going to have some fun re-purposed items to show you.  Tomorrow I’ll be practicing some of my mad sewing skills.  Wish me luck.  Maybe I’ll have some fun things to show you tomorrow.

Thankful for Freedom

I love Veterans Day.  I’m so thankful for the men and women of the military who have given their All – Past and Present.

Can I also mention my huge appreciation for the families who support their sons, husbands and fathers in this noble venture.  For those wives who send their husbands overseas – wow,  I think I’m just barely understanding their sacrifice.

Thank you veterans!  I owe my freedom to you and I won’t forget.

cOMpuTeR MalFunCTioN

Help! My laptop has been hijacked. By a furry Ninja.

At any given moment a little streak of orange lightning zips onto my lap and then steals the keypad right out from under my hands.

Apparently the tapping of keys denotes playtime to Pumpkin.

He has attacked my typing hands no less than four times today.

Maybe I should just give up trying so hard to post this story. See how he lurks as I try to edit photos of the Pouncer.

Okay, I give up. Pumpkin – have the computer.

Wait, what did the silly fur ball do now?

The solution is for Pumpkin to find another toy or…

Even better I should close this electronic contraption and play with the wee one. That and clean my computer screen. I didn’t realize it was so dirty.

So today I’m Thankful that Pumpkin – the Furry Ninja reminded me that petting a playful kitten brings way more smiles than checking the weather on the computer. It also reminded me that I need to be more receptive in playing with my other, non-furry children instead of checking to see who got voted off The Biggest Loser or DWTS. Playtime’s a coming kids, and you too, Pumpkin.

Future Tattoo Artist at it again.

So THANKFUL that the marker mess was confined to this area and not the walls again.

Drat!  And I thought being 4 would mean she had outgrown this phase.

My Best Friend Did What?

I’m thankful that twenty years ago today my best friend asked me to marry him.  Wow, Twenty Years!  And I’d do it again in a heartbeat.  Love you Prince Erik!

Taking a Step Back

‘Two steps forward, One step Back’.  How often does that phrase cross our lives.  I’ve discovered that taking step back can mean two different things.  One is indicative of a setback, failure, or an unwelcome detour in a journey to a specific goal or destination.  The other meaning, which I happen to Love, is to take a step back, as in to pause to evaluate a situation or gain a broader perspective.  It’s not meant to be a super quick step but more of a pondering one.

Life with six kids can become quite hectic, quite quickly and so all consuming, that taking those step backs can quickly skip my mind.  But when I do remember to take those steps back, magic can happen.  I can see the sparkle in my four year olds eyes, or listen to the excitement in my eighteen year olds voice as he tells me about some of the fun projects he is working on.  From that occasional step back, the kids transform from mommy’s energy-zapping, messy whiners to amazingly unique and talented growing wonders.  And I feel so awed that I’ve been blessed enough to be the mother of such precious spirits.

Sometimes in life when I’ve neglected taking those steps back on my own, then inevitably, some higher power compels me to take them by throwing those other (setback) step backs at me.  Ever notice how, when getting your feet knocked out from under you, all of the sudden life’s priorities become crystal clear.  Material possessions, trips to events, and worrying about what your friends think, all of the sudden becomes unimportant.

This morning things were getting busy, hectic, and the mama bear/snapping turtle in me was coming out.  Grouchy nit-picking  isn’t too much fun, it usually means I’m only seeing the negative, messy whiners.  Don’t know what happened, but somehow I was instantly in that step back mode.  I don’t recall how I go there, but thankfully I was there.  I instantly noticed that Princess was getting ignored even though she tailed around everyone bigger than her just looking for love.  So I forgot the dishes, laundry, to-do list for Prince Erik and I hugged a Princess and sat and talked with her for a while.

So today I’m thankful for those step backs.  And when I’m in an extremely generous mood I’ll also thankful for those darn (setbacks) step backs because they get me to the same place.  However, it’s better to humble myself  in the first place, than it is to be compelled to be humble.

So those little step backs are not all that bad after all.  I need to take them more often.

while the other is more of

It’s raining, it’s pouring

I know the Pacific Northwest is known for it’s rain.  But normally our rain is more of a constant drizzle.  Today however, we had a rip-roaring, gully-washer of a downpour without the gully washing of course.  It was a-coming down here like someone opened the power-washer on full, a couple of different times today.  The sheets of water were pounding down so hard on the roof I was convinced the hard rain would pull down branches off of trees.

So today, I am soooooo Thankful that wretched hole in our roof was patched last summer.  Otherwise I would have been running around with buckets in the front room stemming the incoming waterfall.  So thankful my roof is leak free.

That way I can just sit in a comfy chair, watch the torrent outside the window and dream of beings who love this type of weather.  I imagine there were some fun baseball games going on in the mountains today.  Oh, my depraved, guilty obsession knows no bounds.

I normally would have taken the heavy rain as an occasion to dance in the rain.  See what a skinny thing I was last year.  UGH to this year!  But this silly cough isn’t letting go so the rain dance will wait, until the next downpour.

I’m loving and so Thankful that my messed up house is still weather safe in a storm. 

Missing Fur ball

We we had our first Pumpkin scare today.  Earlier in the afternoon I remembered Hope chasing our new ninja kitty through the house.  I have to constantly remind her to be gentle and not carry him around so much. 

Pumpkin however is getting wiser by the day and now uses his lightening quick reflexes to try and allude her smothering hands.

After about 15 minutes of Cat and Mouse Hope (although to be honest she was the Cat in this scenario), Hope came up to me and informed me that she had lost ‘Pumpkin’.

We couldn’t find the little fur ball anywhere and I was starting to panic.  Imagining Hope had accidently off’d the poor creature wasn’t out of the realm of my imagination.  My kids have unintentionally shorted the lives of many a family pet.  Like rocks through fish tanks (air-drowned fish), forgetting to close the hamster cage door (starved escaped hamster), and one poor kitty that got flown into a wall by a nameless three year old boy (The kitty didn’t survived the crash). 

So seeing my kid’s unintentional track record with animals I was more than a little freaked out.  Because we all love Pumpkin. 

Needless to say, we  tore the house apart looking for the little guy.  I was ready to call a duct cleaning guy and have him come fish a kitty out of the air vents under the bathroom counter, Yes, I was that desperate to find the little creature.

Three hours later, Pumpkin saunters around the corner, pauses to stop stretch and yawn, then jumps up into my lap like nothing ever happened.

The sly little ninja kitty had successfully secluded himself in a secret location somewhere in the craft room.  I take that as a hint it’s become cluttered again. 

Sneaky little fur ball.

On my clutter quest I did clean off this.

And after thrifting a few more items it became this.

Sorry about the glare.

Wasn’t it the other day that I just posted that there were 100 days until Christmas.   Imagine then my shock when I saw this today…

No way is it half way here and I find myself in the predicament of only still needing to do 100 days worth of stuff.

I’m on it.

But today I’m Thankful that ‘Pumpkin – the Ninja Kitty’ didn’t meet it’s demise at the hands of Hope.  Whew!

Reminders

Can I just say that a couple of days on the couch being lazy recuperating and watching TV has opened my eyes to a couple of shows that I find motivational.  I haven’t ever seen the show ‘Clean House’  before but if there was ever a makeover reality show I could benefit from it would be that show.  Can someone please nominate me?  Please?  I promise I could supply some really nice before pictures.  Just ask Ethel?  She comes in weekly now to help me find the floor.

I’m sorry but when you can’t even walk through your garage because stuff is piled so high then you know you need help.  Granted the garage is the last place I will organize in my house – the last dumping ground.  The place of buried hobbies, memories, camping gear, rodent infested food storage crap.  I keep telling myself I’ll get there. 

Someday.

After I feel better.

So today I’m THANKFUL for reminders like ‘Clean House’, that help me remember that I don’t always want to be a Pack Rat Hoarding Hippo.  So not only did it remind me and motivate me but I moved my achy phlegm filled body (sorry I know you didn’t need that visual) and actually did something about it.

No I didn’t tackle my whole house, or even an entire room,  forget about even a single closet.  I tackled the entry way table.  You know because if people see my immaculate entry way and front room then they won’t be clued into the the clutter monster lurking within.

And no I didn’t move the mess elsewhere.  I thrifted a couple of things, overflowed my recycling bin and put the other items in their proper place and…

Tomorrow I think I’ll watch another episode of ‘Clean House’ and then I’ll attack the entry bookshelf.

Baby steps.  Baby steps.  I’ll get there.  Meanwhile I’m Thankful for Reminders.

Thankful to do Nothing

So I’ve been a bit under the weather for a couple of days.  And today I did absolutely nothing but lay around, read magazines, and sip spiced hot cider.  Even though it stinks to be sick, it’s a little nice to have a good excuse to by lazy.  Took pictures, but misplaced my camera.  And I was so looking forward to sharing some of that spiced hot cider with you.  So I’m thankful for a lazy day.

Now I’ll be even more thankful if this cough leaves me soon.  

Sunrise even in a Storm

I realize that my blogging has suffered dramatically because of the Unblogable.  And as it dominates the majority of my life it’s hard to think of other blog topics.  But I don’t want to lose touch with all my wonderful blogger friends and family.  So I’m committed to posting a Thankful thought with you every day of November.

This morning as I was taking my oldest down to catch the commuter bus to his work I stopped dead in the driveway and then dashed back into the house to grab the camera.  These pictures don’t do the colorful beauty of a morning sky the justice it deserves.  But the brilliant pink and peach hues reached halfway across the entire skyline.

Normally the saying goes… ‘pink skies in morning mean sailors take warning’.  A storms a brewing.  But since it seems we are already in the mist of a storm, I found such beauty in the stillness and marvelous beauty strewed across the heavens.

The light of hopes springs eternal.   So I’m thankful for a beautiful sunrise.  Yes there is beauty even in the midst of the storms of this life.

The Fuzzy Pumpkin

Well Halloween has come and gone and I’m sure a lot of those carved pumpkins have started growing fuzz or some moldy form or another.  We’ve a totally different type of pumpkin fuzz growing in our home.

It came from some of our angel benefactors that helped contribute to our sanity over the past few months.

Meet the newest member of the herd.

Introducing ‘Pumpkin’, our fuzzy new kitty.

Pumpkin has wrapped his little furry body around all of our heart strings very quickly.

 

Even Itchy is enamored.  I’m sure Itchy is still in shock that Pumpkin doesn’t hiss and swat like our last cat Spo0ky did.   And as an added bonus - their furry coats kind of match.

Pumpkin even allows Hope to carry him about like a rag doll without a bawl or bite. 

Even the boys have to take turns cuddling the little fur-ball.

 

Pumpkin’s a scooter too.  He has a lightening quick run which causes him to do some major slipping and sliding into walls.  I’m sure he will get used to our hardwood floors soon.   But it is quite comical to see him skating across the floor.

He as been dubbed ‘Pumpkin the Ninja Cat’, for his ability to scale walls, furniture and even water (we did try to bath him).  His super stealth reflexes were not diminished even after having his little talons clipped.    But he uses those reflexes only for good (our merriment).  I’m sure we will have to figure out how to teach him that scaling furniture may not be in his best interest when he is older and less adorable.

This year – no Halloween theme.  Even more sadly, I didn’t get around to repurposing costumes like I usually do.  I did spend less than $100 on costumes.  But sadly I did buy the girls theirs from mass marketed, poor quality will be guaranteed to rip apart after two wearings, party stores. Never again.  Overpriced pieces of junk.   I would have loved to have made them like in years past.  But it wasn’t to be this year.  Princess went as Silvermist the Fairy,  Lea was a Candy Corn Witch and Hope was Sleeping Beauty.

They were escorted around town Trick or Treating by a Beardless Prince Erik.  And that little Santa belly was really a fanny pack holding all valuables and a few extra treats.

 

Sadly I didn’t monitor the candy intake and by the end of the night the girls were in desperate need of a sugar de-tox.

The boys costumes were less imaginative and really simply.  Orange shirts that read, ‘My Tee-shirt beats your costume anytime’.

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday.  Bring on my Thankful month.

Today.  I’m thankful Halloween is over.  Whew!

Magical Transformations in the Making.

So this week was much better.  Wa-hoo!  I felt so good I even busted out the old sewing machine and started a new project using this thrifted humongous wedding dress that I stole for $9.99.

 

All that material and beading… You’ll never guess what magical transformation I’m endeavoring to tackle with it.

I can’t wait to show you the finished projects.  I’m giddy with excitement every moment that I squeeze into working on it.

The kiddo’s don’t have school today so I’m letting them sleep in a bit.  But when they get up we are going to have some fun. 

My baby turned 4 this last week and I’m still in shock over it.  Don’t know whether it’s the shock from surviving four years of one of the most active, energetic wonders born on the planet or…

Could it be four years of rubbing shoulders with a miracle that leaves me bursting with joy every time  she hugs me.  My little Hope has taught me more about God’s love than nearly any other person I know.

So I’ll take the frantic exercise in discovering what she’s up to any day;  because it means another day of living with a true miracle and angel.

I do however, think it’s high time I taught her how to play with babies.  She’s always holding them upside down.

 

Future grandkids beware if I don’t.

Guess what else?  I saw Fuzzy-Wuzzy the bear again on Wednesday night as I was coming home from my Scripture Study Meeting.  Had my camera in hand and everything.  But the darn thing was on the wrong setting and he lumbered into the tall grass before I could get it right.  So I snapped this picture when I got home instead.  Our rickety fence was very haunted looking and even though I’ve been meaning to get out and fix it, I think I’ll wait until after Halloween since it lends itself to an eerie atmosphere.

 

When I was little I loved the fact that George and Mary Bailey renovated an old home for their own.

 

I’ve often dreamed of buying an older character home and making it mine.  Who’d have thought that I’d be living that dream with my very own newer home.  I’ve watched it crumble around me to the point where I think it has a mind of it’s own.

Lately though, the scary abode hasn’t been so scary.  (Knock on wood, because I’m not begging for something new to break down.)   I’m actually starting to get excited again about reclaiming all of it’s broken parts.  Dreaming of claw foot tubs, farm sinks, cream cabinets, tiled floors, and fresh paint.  The home is 18 years old and it might take us another 18 years to scratch up the money to reclaim it – but I feel it will happen.   

Now I’m off to play with the kids and dream of course.

Miracles All Around!

My cousins survived this today.

Picture from KSL news coverage in Utah.

Click on the picture to see the story.  A two story home leveled by a propane blast and they were in it and SURVIVED.  Miracles never cease. 

Please keep them and my Aunt and Uncle who are serving a mission in Scotland in your prayers.