Males

I grew up with five brothers, one dad and a neighborhood full of boys. Of course I had a mom and a sister as well, but this post isn’t about them—it is about MALES!!!!
I then turned around and married a man (imagine that) and then had five boys before I had my one little princess. God has a sense of humor: he had too.

This past year or so my one and only sister passed away from brain cancer. Then this summer the last of a long list of good girl friends moved away: all the way to the EAST COAST!! Then my mother died. I’m left with just one female friend: my eight year old daughter.
You wouldn’t think this would be a problem with my history of being around males, but it is turning into a big problem. The past couple of weeks have been very tough and I’ve had no one to talk to.

Just last night I had to clue in my husband as to how he has been distant and silent to me. I’ve sent him important emails asking for his opinion and I’ve received no reply. Yes, he has been very, very busy, but to ignore me, his wife, has been very hard on me—especially since I want to talk.

Today my son called me—HE CALLED ME—and after I answered his question “I’m leaving the store now, so in about 10 minutes” I then asked him how his day went (it was his 3rd day of classes at college) and I got the cold shoulder.

I know I won’t find girl friends from this blog because only three people read this blog--me, myself and I--but I need to vent because I need to talk and I have NO ONE to talk to! I’m surrounded by MALES!!!! Even my dog is a male!

I think I need some major chocolate now.

Why I have been absent

This is an article I wrote for my family newsletter. iI thought I would share it with you so you can understand why I haven't posted much. There are many factors, but this is just one.

Nellie Nadine Olsen Ostler

January 5, 1934 - July 28, 2008

My mom and best friend.

Within twelve hours of our family arriving home from the Ostler Family reunion and our extra stay in Utah, I got the dreaded phone call no one wants to get. "Doreen, mom's in the hospital. She just had a heart attack and isn't expected to live." That was about 6:45 in the morning, Friday, July 25, 2008. That day will always be one of the worst days of my life.

I had to spend the morning putting my family affairs in order and then left around 2 that afternoon. Coming home from a weeks vacation meant I had no clean clothes and I also had to get things set in order since I was going to have shoulder surgery in five days. I wanted to fly out of there, but as a mom I had things I had to do for my family.

As I was leaving Redmond I got a phone call from my brothers who were with my mom. They put me on speaker phone so that I could listen to the priesthood blessing they gave mom. Duane and Mike were also able to join through cell phone technology. What a blessing--literally; to hear and be part of that even though I was 228 miles away. That trip, though only 3.5 hours long, was one of the longest trips I've ever endured.

I don't even know how to write what I found when I got there. My mom was in a hospital bed just laying there. It truly wasn't the way I wanted to see my mom. She never did regain consciousness but I knew she was listening to us and if only her body was willing she would have hugged us all.

We stayed with her until Mike and Duane were able to get there. They flew up from the Phoenix area and got there around 3 in the morning. Oh, that was hard. All of us kids (minus Nadine) were there. We all needed some sleep so we went Lee's or Scott's to find beds and agreed to meet back at 7. I couldn't sleep. I think I got about 90 minutes of sleep that night. I showered and was back at her bedside by 6:30.

That day (Saturday) we decided to bring mom home. Arrangements were made and we brought mom home to Lee's house--her house. While we were all with her and arrangements were being made to get mom home, we planned her funeral and picked out her plot. Never thought I would have to actually do this. It felt like a dream. I would have called it a nightmare, but it was lovely, not scary or awful.

While at the hospital she started raising her hands and grasping the air like she was trying to grab onto something or someone. I hoped it was Nadine, her daughter; or Calvin, Nadine's son and mom's grandson; or Colbie, mom's great-granddaughter coming to show her the way. Who knows what that meant. Maybe it was her parents or guiding angels. I just know heaven was very close that day.

We stood vigil around her bed. Happy memories flooded the room. It was good to be in there and share wonderful thoughts about my mom and our childhood. Dale soon had to leave to go back home. I tried to stay awake as much as I could, but I was running on empty. Lee's kids said they would take the late watch and stayed up all night playing games. Since I was downstairs every time they got excited and talk or screamed a bit too loud, I would wake thinking this was it. It wasn't peaceful sleep, but it was sleep.

Sunday broke as a bright day in Richland. The sun was pouring into Lee's house and on my mom's beautiful face. Of course we moved her so she wouldn't get too hot or be uncomfortable. We continued with memories of our life with mom. I know my brothers' time is limited as they all are fathers and husbands with jobs that need to be done to support their families, but I do hope and pray that they will one day write down those memories that flooded the room over that weekend.

It was decided that the girls needed to give mom a bath. That was so very hard for me. Here I was the daughter giving my mom one of her last baths. It was very bitter-sweet. I truly wished I had climbed in bed with her and just held her. I thought it would be a bit foolish and childish, but as I type this I do have that one regret.

Mike and Duane had to leave to catch their plane home and eventually I did too (although I was driving home). I didn't want to leave but I had to. I had a family I needed to look after and surgery on Tuesday. Somehow I made the drive in under 3 hours. I think it was the Lord was being merciful to me because I didn't want to be alone with my thoughts and crying makes my contacts get gooey or fall out and I'm blind as a bat without them.

Monday was surreal for me. I waited around home waiting and waiting for the multiple phone calls in preparation for my surgery. I had been praying since my mom's heart attack for direction in regards to having surgery or cancelling it. After a wonderful blessing by all those wonderful priesthood holders by the bedside of my mom, I knew she would want me to have the surgery and I truly couldn't put it off. The pain in my shoulder was stopping me from doing wonderful things with and for my children. At the water park I couldn't join them in much of the fun because of the pain. I hated waiting for the phone call because mixed up in it may be the phone call I didn't want to take.

As Steve and I were trying to go to sleep (sleep was very hard to come by) the phone did ring. It was about 10:45. My nephew Ryan was on the other end of the line. His news was the news I didn't want to hear but knew exactly what he was going to say. My mom had gone home just moments before. He told me it was peaceful and she was still beautiful. My mom was gone and I felt so alone. Thankfully I had Steve to wrap me in his love.

The alarm woke me way too early since I got to sleep so late. Off to the hospital. I was hopeful that the surgery and subsequent drugs would help dull the ache in my heart and let me forget the pain. The surgery went very well. The doctor removed a calcium deposit about the size of the tip of your little finger from the middle of my muscle. He reattached the muscle (tendon or ligament--I'm not sure) to my shoulder bone and cleaned up my shoulder. I'm still not quite sure what all went on inside, but he said that he liked the results and that I should be 100% in a couple of months.

Recovery went ok. I threw up a few times in the hospital but that was all. I've found that anesthesia and I just don't mix very well. I don't think I even said 99 when they told me to count backwards from 100. Thankfully I had some powerful drugs for that Tuesday and Wednesday. It numbed the physical pain and let me sleep.

Kray drove me and a couple of the kids to Richland Thursday afternoon. Steve and the rest of the family came over on Friday.

Friday morning is a day I will never forget. I dressed my mother in her temple garments. Oh, she was, still is, a beautiful lady. They did her hair just right. Her dress (I had to pick out a new one since the one she wore was a little soiled--guess she went so many times that it got soiled and a bit worn) was very fitting. Just a little lace, just like my mom would say. "A little lace give it that feminine look, Doreen." While we were dressing her, I noticed that her fingernails weren't painted. She hated her hands because they always were so knobby from arthritis so she kept her fingernails painted so no one would notice her knuckles. My dear niece talked to the funeral director and it was OK for us to purchase some nail polish and they would paint her nails. How sweet of them.

Again, I just wanted to lay down by my mom, wrap her in my arms and wind back the clock. Walking away from the funeral home was one of the hardest things I did.

That night we did something I had emailed Lee about. I wanted to release balloons with notes from us--all of us--to my mom. Thankfully he agreed. My siblings may not know how many times mom and I did that while I was in young women's with mom. We would write our testimonies and put them in the balloons as we released them. I don't think she did that with any of my siblings, but she did with me. It was great! We had just finished dinner at Scott's and my mother's living siblings were able to attend with us. It was great to see them again. I had seen most of them at Nadine's funeral, but it was great to see them again.

We had a viewing Friday night. It was fun to see so many faces, but after 20 years I had forgotten most of the names. Faces were easy, but names came hard. I got to sit and chat with my second mom a good deal. Diane Allen is my best friend's mom and she was so kind to me back then and again that day. We chatted about old times and new times. It was great to see such warm and friendly faces from years past.

Saturday was the day of her funeral. I spent the morning scanning photos and documents from my mother. The kids went to Scott's office party. Then the dreaded time had come. I was asked to place the veil over my mom's lovely face. What an honor, but it was so painful. Just as I was about to cover her face, a hand touched my shoulder, my brothers were behind me. We all took one more moment to say good bye to our beloved mother. Then I placed the veil over her face and they closed the casket.

The funeral was wonderful. We tried hard to honor mom's wish and not have a sad drawn out funeral, but a party. Boy, did we try, but still the tears flowed, we just couldn't help it. Even though I had helped put the funeral program, I was still surprised that Kray conducted the first song. We had asked Anne to secure the pianist and conductors for the congregational songs and somehow she was able to get all the families represented (except Mike's). What a feat. Scott gave a wonderful Life Sketch of a lovely lady. I sang with my brothers the same song they sang at Nadine's funeral, Come Thou Fount. I was so glad to sing with them again, just like old times, only we were missing Nadine as alto and Mom on the piano. Anne steppe dup and played and Scott took the alto part. Our old Bishop, David Jepson, gave a great talk about how mom tried so hard to be like the Savior. Lastly all the grandkids and great-grandkids sang Families Can Be Together & I Am a Child of God to end the service. How wonderful that music is still alive all because of my mom.

Then off to the cemetery. All of my brother plus Mark and Steve were pallbearers and the first born male with Savannah (Mike's first born) were honorary pallbearers. How wonderful. The dedication was done by Mike and was so sweet.

Throughout the funeral there were seven roses on my mom's casket; six red and one white. They were for her seven children. The white one is for my sister. It was an honor to have Nadine's first born, Anne, represent her mother, my sister, at the funeral.

I'm honored to be part of my mom's legacy. I'm honored to be her daughter and to have called her mom. I loved her so very much and miss her every day.

Placing our roses on mom's casket.

Anne got to place Nadine's, a white rose, in her mother's behalf.

The seven roses!

Dale, Duane, Lee, Doreen, Scott, Mike & Mark

Mom's party!

Mom's siblings: Jimmy, Eugene, MeriLee & Don

If I had won....

Recently, Ok, it was like years ago, a family in Oregon won the super ball lottery and some 25 gazillion dollars. Our family has hit upon hard time just like about everyone in the country, and it got me to thinking, what if I was a gambling women and won the super lotto or some rich uncle that I didn't know I had (because I know all my uncles and not a one is rich, died and left me a gazillion dollars. What would I do with it?

Well here is a small list if I won 10 million dollars.

Give Uncle Sam his half--that means I only get 5 million--oh darn!
That leave 5,000,000

Pay off our house--I have no clue how much that is so I'll say 300,000
I really don't want to move. Not that I LOVE this house, but building one right now just isn't right. I save that for the cabin in the woods or the one by the beach when I find the right location. That is what the investment fund will be for.
That leaves 4,700,000

Put half of that or 2,350,000,in an investment account (what do you call those things) and let it sit
That leave 2,350,000

Put 40,000 in a college fund for each kid, so 40,000 x 6 = 240,000
That leaves 2,110,000

Put 100,000 in a vacation fun account to use once or twice a year
That leave 2,020,000

Do a little remodeling and landscaping around the house--let's say about $200,000
I need new carpet, drapes, windows & door, water softener (I hate our water), the back yard needs some major help, sport court resurfaced, new master bedroom suite, four bathrooms need updating, floors refinished, interior decorator and of course PAINT!
That leaves 1,820,000

Donate to the Perpetual Education fund in the name of my mother--oh, a nice round figure 500,000
That leave 1,320,000

Help out my family members who need it and I won't forget my husband side as well. Let's just say 500,000
That leaves 820,000

Boy do you go through money quickly when you are spending something you don't have.

I think a nice family car would be nice so 50,000
That leave 770,000

And I think I would take the rest and just let it sit in an account to grow.

One think I would let happen, I would let my husband find the job he really wants. I don't think I could have him living at home--he is too young for that--so I would let him--no MAKE him--find the job that he has always wanted.

Ok, I will share some of my secret indulgences I would have with the "let it grow" money.
Pedicures once a month
Message once a month (more if needed)
Dinner out at least once a week
Maid service
Season tickets to the Sounders FC
Photography classes
Cooking classes--real cooking

And that vacation fund:
Big White every winter
Take hubby to Europe and tour the castles
Take family to Hawaii for two weeks!
Disneyland once a year
Disneyworld at least once
Spring or fall road trip

But since I don't gamble...

Freedom

Editor's note:

I was asked to write a "patriotic" article for an upcoming LDS-NHA publication. It is supposed to be 500-700 words in length, but of course I couldn't help myself and I wrote more, about twice as more as they wanted. I really, really hate butchering my articles, but I had to for the publication but I really liked the article I originally wrote. Here is that article, the long one:

Freedom

By Doreen Blanding

Norman Rockwell painted a set of paintings called the

Four Freedoms

He painted these in 1943 in the midst of World War II. Our brave young men, who are now our great-grandfathers, were “over there” fighting for our freedoms. He painted these four paintings, Freedom from Fear, Freedom from Want, Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Worship in just four months. He was inspired by President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1941 speech about the four principles for universal rights: Freedom from Want, Freedom of Speech, Freedom to Worship and Freedom from Fear.

Since our family studied Norman Rockwell many years ago, I’ve taken a keen interest in his work. I’ve always loved his style of painting and loved the truthfulness, warmth, love and life he portrayed in each and every painting. As I look at these paintings I see four things that I want my children never to take for granted and to always treasure. Of course we have these freedoms because of the blood many generations have shed for us. From Nephi’s men to the soldier who fell just last week, they all have fought for the land of freedom.

The scriptures have promised us that this land will be the Land of Promise if we live righteously. “And now, we can behold the decrees of God concerning this land, that it is a land of promise; and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall serve God, or they shall be swept off when the fullness of his wrath shall come upon them” (Ether 2:9).

Our freedoms in the Land of Promise are predicated on our choosing to serve God. As Joshua said, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15) We get to keep the freedoms our forefathers worked out for us over 200 years ago because of our righteousness. It is my duty to see to it that my children are protectors of the Land of Promise.

“Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, to teach them to love and serve one another, to observe the commandments of God and to be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—with be held accountable before God for these discharge of these obligations.” (The Family: A Proclamation to the World)

I have the sacred duty of making sure my children are free from want, from fear and free to speak and worship as they will. As I homeschool my children I instill in them these freedoms every day and in every lesson. I have taught them that even if life gets tough we have Heavenly Father on our side and we shouldn’t fear. I remember sitting around the television on September 11, 2001, and thinking to myself as well as expressing to my children that we shouldn’t be afraid. We had been following the commandments of God and we will be protected and even if something were to happen to us we had been baptized and sealed together as a family. I knew that we shouldn’t fear what happened or what will happen, as long as we are righteous and obey the commandments. I still feel the same today and so do my children. We are truly free from fear.

The freedom from want is one that I feel strongly obligated to teach my sons. They will one day be the head of a household and have to provide for their family. I want them to be able to get and keep a good and honest job that will allow them to be good citizen, a wonderful father, a faithful husband as well as an obedient Priesthood holder. I want their families to never fear because their cupboard is empty or their father is gone. I only have one daughter and I want her to be able to choose a young man like the ones I am raising. I want her to never fear where her next meal will be coming from or if her family will have enough. That means I need to educate my children so that they can be good family members, citizens and spouses. I want my children to always live free from want.

The founding fathers put “freedom of speech” as part of the first amendment to the United States Constitution. They thought it so important that the citizens of the United States of America have the ability to speak their minds and hearts. It is upon this principle that the gospel was able to reach my great-grandfather in Alabama. It was on this principle that two young men in 1972 found my husband’s family and were able to speak their minds and hearts about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Thankfully both of these families join the Church and today practice the freedom of speech. I can attest that my children are not afraid to speak their minds and do so regularly. One day my sons and maybe even my daughter will be able to practice their freedom of speech as they take the gospel message to others who are seeking the truth. We are free to speak.

Along with freedom of speech, the first Amendment also says that Congress can “…make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” As our family has been studying different cultures the past few years, our hearts are sadden when we read about governments who had or still have laws dictating to their citizens what and who they will call their gods and who and how they will worship. As my family has studies our family history in our school we have found that our family has not always enjoyed the freedom of worship. In the 1840’s Norwegians didn’t welcome the Gospel of Jesus Christ and our family suffered greatly because of the persecution. In the 1500’s our family was thrown out of two countries for their religious beliefs and that same family was thrown out of England in the 1600’s because they worshiped differently than the government told them to. I never want my children to fear because of how they worship. We are free to worship.

As the United States of America celebrates its 232th birthday, think about the freedoms we enjoy. Not just the four freedoms that Norman Rockwell painted about, but the freedoms we get because we live in the free country we do. The freedom we get because we are serving the Lord and the freedoms we get because we are a Child of God. My family, like those in Normal Rockwell’s paintings, is free from want and fear, free to speak and worship and we are free to choose life, love, happiness and righteousness. My God always bless us with freedom forever.

My Love affair with Pharmacies

Ok, some stupid people make my job as a mother so much harder than it really needs to be. Those people are criminals and lawmakers. I'm not sure that is two different classes of people or if you lump them all into one big pile.

Today, I went to my lovely grocery store pharmacy and tried to get over the counter medication for some children in my house who are not feeling too well. The box of decongestant that I wanted was store brand (much, much cheaper--50% cheaper and that was before the sale price) and it had 48 pills in it so that it would last us longer than a day. After I walked down the medication isle and grabbed two tickets, I proceeded with my shopping. Went through the checkout lane and was told I had to go to the pharmacy. That should have been a warning bell! I should have given the tickets back to the lady and said, "Thanks, but no thanks."

The line was long. Seems like everyone in Redmond has something going on inside them that needed to be fixed today.

Got to the pharmacy counter and asked someone, whose first language wasn't English and couldn't understand me, how many of these boxes I could legally buy today and how long I had to wait to buy more. Of course we had to pull another pharmacy helper over to answer my questions--remember English isnt' her first language. Answer: I can by only one pill for the rest of my life, so iI better make it a good one.

Looks like in a month I can buy 96 pills (2 boxes of 48) and that is it. (WHAT? Wait, I have EIGHT people in my house. I guess we start rationing pills. I wonder how many Nintendo DS's I can collect. Maybe I can get a few Webkinzs as well.)

So I asked, "What does a family with more than one person do in a case like this?"

"Go to your doctor and get a prescription."

WHOA! Wait the last time I went to a family doctor for a check up my kids came down sick! I don't go unless I'm on my death bed because whoever goes in comes out worse--even with the prescription. Not only that, you know the wasted time sitting in a doctor's office? I've been doing it for over five years and I don't even want to begin to count the hours I've spent waiting for doctors and therapist.

The lady comes back and tells me that they are out of the 48 count box, but they have the expensive brand. (Well, DUH, no one wants to fork over an extra 50% for a brand name.) I told her no, I can't afford the expensive box. She then tells me they have the 24 count box, but only one. (Ok, that will last me into the next day or so. Maybe I should call Steve and have him hit another pharmacy.)

I tell her to go get it and my family will just pharmacy hop to get the rest. (Let the drug police come get me, I've got nothing to hide and maybe they will get the flu that the rest of the family has; that will show them!)

Before she walks away she tells me I need to fill out this form. I have to give my address, phone, birth date and my name. (I hope I wrote sloppy enough you can't read it.)

She comes back with the little box with the pills in the bubble forms that you can't get out. YIPPEE! I'm just thrilled. Now I get to fight with the stupid "safety packaging" in the middle of the night.)

The pharmacist come over and starts chatting with me. She told me that if I went to the doctor I could get a prescription for this. (I bite my tongue.)

She then told me that in Oregon you can't buy this over the counter. (I feel sorry for the moms just south of the Columbia River. I'm sure they can never find any pills in their pharmacies.)

She mentioned how sorry she was that a few idiots had to force laws like this on law abiding people. (I'm not sure she was talking about the idiots who make the laws or the people who do stupid things like take good drugs and cook them until they have bad drugs. I'll let this one pass.)

She then tells me that my husband can come in and buy some. (Ok, what good will that do? I just bought the last one. And if I hadn't purchased the last one wouldn’t the drug police notice two people at the same address buying dangerous drugs?)

She then goes on to tell me that the manufacturer of the drugs holds some back so the market isn't flooded with them and they can track them. (Oh, I feel so good doing my civic duty in giving them my address so they know exactly who is taking their drug. Just what I always wanted, my drug buying habits in a computer on someone's desk.)

Thankfully the little girl who doesn't speak English very well came back with my 24 count box. I feel better now. My children will sleep better tonight and maybe so will I.

OH, but wait, she needs to see my ID. She then writes down my driver's license number. (DANG! Now they can come find me. Serves them right when they go home with the flu, pink eye and our allergies.)

I swipe my credit card and the price is rung up. $2.71!
All that for TWO DOLLARS and SEVENTY ONE CENTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But I'm not mad. NO! I'm just thankful that law makers and drug makers are looking out for the families of America who are law abiding families who just on the off chance come down with something.

Oh, and don't get me started on the fact that our allergy medication is now OTC (over the counter). I doesn't bother me that 8 people in our house take one pill of Zytec every day during allergy season (some year round since the molds won't go away). No not at all. I just figured it out; for my family to stay healthy I will have to shell out $200 (or more) a month for this wonder drug. Oh, and when we go to the allergist, you don't come home sick.

Oh, and should we talk about how Microsoft has taken away my ability to use my local pharmacy because they want us to use one in Las Vegas? Right, like they know me or care about me.

My rant is over. I feel better and now can go prepare a healthy dinner for those in our family who aren't throwing up or too stuffed up to eat. Boy will I get to eat a LOT!

Seeing Inside

I have had a bad shoulder for a few months now. In fact I don't even recall when it started. I just know that I wasn't able to raise my arms over my head without pain in my left shoulder joint. That meant that I couldn't put dishes in upper cabinets, wash windows, throw a ball and hope that all the people I needed to hug were shorter than I. As any mother can testify, you need to raise your hands; mirrors don't magically clean themselves, dishes don't get put away and your sons soon get taller than you.

The pain got to be unbearable so I went to the doctor. The doctor sent me to physical therapy and it seemed to improve for a few months, but it then went down hill and it went fast. Back to the doctor I went. She was befuddled and didn't know what to do. After some pondering she wanted to have a MRI on my shoulder to make sure there wasn't a small tear in the muscles she was missing.

Off to the MRI machine I went. Thankfully the procedures isn't all that painful. I had some dye shot into the joint and then x-rays and the MRI done. It wasn't painful as much as it was uncomfortable. The joint was very sore the next day from all the excess fluid, and the pain was still there. She also referred me to a doctor who specialized in shoulders. The MRI film was sent to his office and the appointment was made.

As I this doctor examined me, he had me do a series of strength tests. I couldn't have failed worse! The slightest touch on my outstretched hand and down the arm would go. I was so weak. He ordered an x-ray and when the results came back he found the problem. I had a kidney bean size calcium deposit in my shoulder joints.

He took a long needle, filled it with stuff and then gave me a shot. He told me to move the joint around and that he would be back in 10 minutes. True to his word it was 10 minutes. He preformed the strength tests again and I did much better. He has to actually work a bit more to push my out stretched arm down. He told me to go home, use the arm as I would normally do, but recognize the it probably wasn't as strong as before the problem so be careful not to over do it, and then come back in 4 weeks.

I made that appointment and then went on my merry way.

That afternoon I had an enormous headache as the muscles relaxed and my shoulder was freed from being held together in a strange position. I just spent the day in bed, caught up on reading and tried not to think of the pain in my head.

The next morning I was able to shampoo my hair using both hands. Later that week I went swimming and for the first time ever I could do the crawl with both arms. I could do the racing back stroke. I could wash the mirrors in our bathroom (but I'm still going to assign them out) and I could put away a heavy dish above the counter!

I learned a valuable lesson that day. When things aren't going right and the things we are doing to make it right aren't working; look deeper. Look inside. You might be surprised at what you find. It also taught me that sometimes we need to go to specialists to find the problem. I also learned that some treatments just cover up what isn't working and never get to the root of the problem. We need to be careful as we examine what is wrong in our life. Why isn't it working? What might be the problem? Do we need someone else to look at it? Do we need to rest it, work through it or find an alternative? And how do we prevent it form coming back.

My calcium deposit might stay with me for ever, or it might break up and disappear. It could also require surgery to remove it. I haven't walked down that road. Right now I am just thankful to know what the problem is and that there are alternative solutions. I don't know what the future holds for me, but I do know I was taught a valuable lesson.

And these are the types of people who sit on juries...

This past week I was called to jury duty. There is a lot of hurry up and wait as the slow wheels of justice churn. While in the jury assembly room, oh and you are going to love this, I was talking to the lady sitting next to me about homeschooling and she asked me how much studying I had to do. I told her I did a lot of reading but I totally enjoyed learning so it isn’t a hardship. I then pointed to my book (a novel about WWII) and said, "I think this is the first time that I have continued my learning past the time my kids and I finished a unit." (I had previously told her how we finished WWII during the summer and this was more of a converstaion
continuer than truth.)

She then asked me two rather amazing questions.

“Well, who won the war?” which I answered trying to make my eyes and face look totally natural. I did have to explain who the Allies were.

Then she asked this one, “Why do you want to read a book when you already know the ending?” Very thought provoking! Very thought provoking, indeed!

Lets you see through the window of some of our fine citizens' mind. I’ll let you know if this novel has a different team winning the war. Who knows, the Axis' might have learned something the first time through, you never know. ~chuckle~

Now to top it all off on the jury biographical form we all had to fill out she put down that she had 4 years of college. I didn't graduate, yet, from college.
 

How time flies

Soccer ended and I was going to have loads and loads of time to make up for all the time soccer took up. WRONG! I just loaded the calendar with "stuff." Homeschool conferences, Christmas presents, running a home based business, school, driving everyone everywhere, and on and on.
Last night the kids informed me that there are 11 days until Christmas and I'm not ready! Plan and simple. I'm not panicky about the whole thing, in fact if Christmas was tomorrow, I wouldn't care. Somehow we would make it all work out. I don't have any of my shopping done--no money to do it. I don't have any baking or candy making done and again I don't care. Some reason the more Christmases I have the more I really don't care. I almost didn't even put up the trees. I guess I'm the Grinch this year or some Grinch came and stole my Christmas and I don't realize it yet!
Steve's business is having a grand Christmas, in fact a very grand Christmas! I'm so happy for him. But it has made his vacation non existent for the family. He is home, sort of. He sits at his desk tracking orders, phoning customers informing them of the problem with their orders (ie ruining their Christmas), running to his distributor, running to UPS, and boxing and boxing orders. He is going to bed late and sleeping in--lucky dog--guess it is his vacation.
I on the other hand am just plugging along.
For school we are starting biology, getting merit badges finished up, working on reading with Jessie, math for the rest of them and a huge report due just after the holidays. I've sent back a lot of "not good enough" papers to the boys. Boy were fireworks flying last night. Oh, well. They will learn. Of course in the mean time, I'm enemy #1.
My mom's health continues to decline and that is killing me!
Well it is time for me to go work out! That is the one thing that has been consistent, BUT only because I have to get my seminary study to class on time. I just wish it related in to lost weight. Not one pound! Oh how frustrating!!!!!!!

Ramblings...

It has been ages since I have written. Why I'm not writing is because my laptop that usually sits beside my bed has been used by a teen in a writing class and it isn't by my bed anymore and when it is, I just can't use it and then set it aside. I have to pack it up and get it ready for him to grab on the way out the door to class. Simply put, I'm lazy.

But that doesn't mean I don't have stuff to say. Oh no! I've got stuff rattling around in my brain. I do most of my best thinking in the car and therefore it never gets written down. When I get home life hits me square in the face and all is forgotten. Oh, well. You will just have to suffice with my incoherent ramblings of not being in the car.

Ok, and the other reason is time! I'm swamped, but not as bad as that last post. Soccer is over! YEAH!. I love the sport and am so ready when we start practice and part of me misses it, but come about 10-12 weeks of it, I'm ready for a break. This year's teams were great. My little girls team did a great job and kept their spirits up. I think they only won one game this year, but if you were to ask my daughter, she would tell you they won them all. That's all that counts. My boys team struggled all season with injury and sickness. It was a good thing I started with 17 boys. We won three games, but played like champions. The best part about this season as the make up of the kids. We didn't have any problems this year. They were all great kids. They paid attention and gave their all! I truly will miss them next year.

Now with all this time on my hands you would think I could update my blogs a bit more, but no! For some reason things just seem to continue in high gear. Oh, well. I guess I can't get caught with my hand in the cookie jar then!

I'll try to do better, but there are no promises. Maybe you will read my thoughts on excuses or teens or driving or living or cooking or schooling or well, whatever pops into my head.

What was I thinking

I have had a bunch of things run through my mind as of late, but I have had NO TIME to put them down. I truly have been running a mile a minute. Here is a little of what my weeks look like.

Monday:
5:00 AM up I get
5:50 to take Kray to seminary and run to the gym to get a good workout. Unlike last year, this isn't a great workout because I don't have enough minutes, but it is a work out. Steve tries to join me in the gym, if he is up soon enough.
7:15 hopefully we are pulling into the drive way and I start making breakfast. We are going to try something new this year: breakfast together. We are doing this because trying to get dinner on with all of us home is next to impossible. Keep reading and you will know why.
7:30 we are supposed to be sitting down to breakfast, but I'm not that fast at getting breakfast on. Thankfully I have until 8:00 or we can do scriptures while it cooks and then breakfast.
8:00 family scripture time
8:30 Portuguese. Once again Steve is trying to teach us Portuguese.
9:00-11:00 Piano lessons and try to get in some personal one on one teaching
11:00-12:00 Lunch
12-2:30 Together school (right now we are learning to cook and finishing physical science)
2:30-5:00 PE at Gold's gym. I'm hoping now that I can get a work out in while my kids are at the kid fitness or swimming. So far it is working.
5:00 Get out of the pool and get dressed
5:30 take Matt to soccer practice and head home, unless I have to stay to bring him home. Hopefully Steve will make the trip up the hill to pick him up.
6:30 arrive home from dropping Matt off and start dinner and get the kids to start their evening chores (a never ending and seldom winning battle)
7:30 arrive home unless I got to come home earlier.
7:30-8:00 Dinner as a family and start of Family Home Evening. We have to start it at the dinner table or we won't have it at all.
8:30 Struggle to get the kids in bed.
9:30 Try to get myself into bed.

Tuesday:
Start that all over again and pick up at 9:00
9:00 get the older three off to Writing Class, younger three stay home to work on school work (yeah, right) and piano lessons.
9:30 writing class for the older three and time for me to correct papers and maybe get a page or two read in my novel.
11:00 Writing Class over.
11:30 arrive home
11:30-12:30 Lunch
12:30-2:30 together school
2:30-4:30 work out like on Monday, just a bit shorter
5:00-7:00 soccer practice--Jessie's and Chris'
7:30 arrive home and try to come up with something for dinner. Steve doesn't come home for dinner on Tuesday, so it is just me and the kids. It makes for some different dinners. Fight with kids about getting their daily chores done.
8:30 struggle to get kids in bed.
9:30 Try to get myself in bed, but I won't go to sleep until Steve comes home.

Wednesday:
Start the all over again and pick up at 9:00
9:00 the kids have about 30 minutes to ask questions before I leave for my weekly Women's Study Group.
9:30-11:30 Two of my teens and myself go to Women's Study Group. My two teens (who rotate) help baby sit while I enjoy a wonderful class. This year I've been asked to teach a few classes so I'm also trying to put in some major scripture study with all the other stuff I have to do.
11:30-12:30 Lunch
12:30-2:30 Together school
2:30-4:30 PE at Gold's gym
5:00-6:30 Mike's soccer practice
7:00-8:30 Cub Scouts. Scouts and Young Men's (thankfully it is on the way home from the soccer fields). I either stay around the church to help out or go home and try to get a dinner on. Steve can't go pick them up because there are 5 at the building and only 4 seat belts, so he either comes to get my car or I go and get him.
8:30 dinner
9:00 struggle to get kids in bed
10:00 try to get myself in bed and drop asleep quickly because I'm so exhausted.

Thursday:
Start Tuesday all over again, only this time, ALL the kids come with me. I'm correcting papers again when not helping the three younger ones with their school work.
11:30-12:30 Lunch
12:30-2:30 Together school
2:30-5:00 work out like on Monday
5:30 head up the hill to take Chris to his soccer practice
6:00 either stay because Steve isn't going to come get him or go home and try to get a dinner ready.
7:30 arrive home and serve dinner
8:30 get kids in bed
9:30 get myself in bed

Friday:
Start with the morning routine
9:00 look over school work
9:50 head out to my "job" of gleaning and take two teens with me.
2:00 come home and try to unwind and check in on the kids who stayed home
2:30 take Kray to Mini Mountain to work
5:30 pick him up and take Matt to soccer practice
7:00 bring Matt home
7:30 arrive home and start dinner
8:30 try to get kids in bed
9:00 try to get myself in bed as I have a heavy Saturday

For the month of September and October I will spend from 8-5 at the soccer fields every Saturday. Kray is reffing and earning a ton of money. Jason is helping me as a second parent and a ref. Mike, Matt, Chris and Jessie are playing and I'm coaching Mike and Jessie.

Now, this all is just what is supposed to happen. Of course I can't just leave it alone. I have to have therapy once or twice every week. I try to put them at 7am to get them out of the way, but it does make for a very jam packed day. We also have other things happening in the evening. Order of the Arrow for Kray, book club, game night, roundtable, moms night out, meetings etc. and I don't have a piece of sanity left.

During the month of September I haven't spent one Monday at home as I have been driving to and from the Tri-Cities for dental appointments. Oh, well. At least I have a plan.

Well, it is now 10pm and if I don't get to sleep I'm not going to make it through a Thursday.

Let Them Take Your Picture

My friends,

My heart is breaking because my sister finally passed away yesterday morning (August 15). After a long six year battle with brain cancer she has finally found her rest. It is amazing how even knowing for six years this day would come, it still is very hard.

I have been selected to put together a slide show of my sister's life, but like many of us moms, she was the one behind the camera and the pictures are all of her children. I believe that is the way it should be, BUT..

As Nadine leaves behind very young children (she had 9 of which the youngest is just 10), there are very few pictures of her. With today's digital age, PLEASE let them take your picture. You can always hide in a file marked "for when I'm gone", but my dear sweet nieces and nephews have few pictures of their mother as their mother. Not many pictures of her childhood-but that is because of money and technology. Today we have little excuses for the lack of pictures since we can down load them from our digital cameras for free! Make that file TODAY and fill it. It is a beautiful day to go and take pictures.

I know I don't like the way I look. I'm fat, still have pregnancy mask face and always will unless I want to undergo laser treatment, my hair is usually a mess, but those are just excuses. You have them too and they won't hold water when you are gone and no one will care one bit!

Please let them take a picture of you today. You can always hide it until you are gone and you won't care anymore, but your children will appreciate that snapshots of your life.

And don't forget to write in your journal today! Tell them that the sun is shining, you love them and you are doing this because you love them and want them always to know you love them. You never know what may happen in the next 10 minutes. They don't care for the headline story. They want the everyday little stories that make up you and your life. It also might help to spend each Sunday writing one little story of your childhood. They will so much appreciate the little snippet. As my mother is in the middle of Alzheimer's I'm so glad she wrote them down. And my only hope is that my children enjoy the stories I wrote. Now just to let them take a picture of me (but first I'm going to go do my hair).

PLEASE!

Oh, it is ok to add a child or two-they are your jewels, now aren't they-and no proper mother would have her picture taken without her jewel near by-if not on!

Hey make it a homeschool project-learn a little photography-your kids will thank you and remember it doesn't cost if you have a digital camera!

PLEASE!

What have I been doing lately?

What a loaded question! First off, I've been very busy putting on homeschooling conferences. In March, I put on a teen conference for the LDS homeschool youth in the Seattle area. It was a huge success! Then in May, I did my 8th LDS homeschool conference. It too was a success. I was very pleased with the presenters, vendors and other little bits of the conference. I'm not sure I will do it again because the numbers continue to drop.

The other big thing is we are remodeling our kitchen. I can't wait to have my sink back! We have been doing a lot of the work to save on the cost, but we still have our "handyman" helping us. At this writing the cabinets are in, sub counters are on and it looks WONDERFUL! We didn't move any walls and just redid the layout and at least tripled my cabinet space and made the counter space more usable. The appliances are laid out in a much more logical and usable way. See the pictures here.

The other thing that I have been doing for 8 straight weeks is coaching soccer, or watching it! All six of my kids played spring soccer this year. Kray and Jason were on the same team and usually rotated the goalie job. They each did a great job. Mike was on a very young team and they struggled all season. They did not win or even tie a game ~frown~. I coached his team again this year and will do so again in the fall. They got to play on the new turf fields at Marymoor. Matt was on a great team this year and seemed to have fun every week. I never got to see him because I was coaching Mike's team. Chris was on a great team which was coached by Kray. Yes, Kray is coaching youth soccer again this spring. Jessie played again this year and I was able to coach her team as well. They were such cute girls and I loved coaching them. To add to this mess, Kray was also a referee for the first time this year. He reffed as much as he could and earned a goodly sum. All this added up to four nights every week at Marymoor Park. Mondays and Wednesdays I was there until 7:30. And on Wednesdays I also had to run kids to the church for scouts! It made for very interesting evenings.

Somewhere in all that Kray had an Eagle board of review and passed! YEAH! My first Eagle Scout!

As I type this we are in the car coming home from a 10 day vacation in Yellowstone! What a trip! It was a BLAST! I think we saw about everything you could see in the park. The only road we didn't get to go down was the road that lead southwest out of the park. We even managed to get to the Grand Tetons for a look. What a spectacular part of the world. It is truly magnificent! I can't wait to get home, down load all the pictures and do a proper write up.

Well, I guess that is what we have been doing for the past few months and why I haven't written--I literally drop in bed at night and before the light is out, my eyes are closed and my mind is in dream land.

Some Good Stuff

The other day my six year old daughter came into my room just after putting her down for bed with the February 2007 issue of the Ensign. It was crumpled and looked well read. She handed it to me and said, "Mom, I think you need this issue. It has some good stuff in it." She started to walk out and then turned around and said, "It has really helped me and I think it will help you."

I think she is right!

Our History isn't Sanitized

In our study of just the American history for the past few years we have learned that our history is full of woes as well as wonderful and pleasant things. There is no way getting around the brutality of human struggles and their nasty outcomes.

There is no way you can sanitize what really happened. People murdered each other, fought amongst their own, enslaved them too. When you add "mother nature" into the mix it can get even more nasty.

There was an email I read from another homeschooling mom who was mortified that when she watched a documentary about Colonial America there was a rather violent accident shown in graphic detail. She is very upset that her young children saw it and wanted to know if there was a place to go and read previews that would tell you how violent a documentary is. Of course there is not such website that I have found that does something like this, but if we want to sanitize our history then we need to stop teaching truth. What she needs to do is to preview the DVD before she shows it to her children.

There is no way that you can sanitize our history; what happened, happened. When we go about changing things then we run the risk of repeating history because we don't know history and therefore can't learn from it.

Right now my children and I are studying World War I and the times that surround it. The United States had a huge influx of immigrants during the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the families who came were extremely poor. Throw that into the industrial revolution and you have a recipe for disaster and that is exactly what happened. America had small children working, terrible housing conditions, poor wages, sweat shops and unsafe work conditions. This all was awful.

About this time photography was booming and so today we have a lot of pictures from that era. Film was just coming into its own and so we have moving pictures that we can watch as well. As my children and I are watching what really happened back then, I'm glad the movie producers and book editors have kept real life in the documentaries we have seen. I want my children to know about child labor, how awful war can be, how awful life without an education is and how hard many of the immigrants had to work just to put food on their table. I want my kids to really know what history was so they don't repeat the bad stuff and learn from the good stuff.

After all the Bible is full of pretty violent and "icky" stuff and yet, we are asked, if not commanded, to read. Why? So we can learn from the good and bad stuff. Life isn't sanitary, it is messy, but we all need to know about reality. As Miss Frizzle says, "

Lessons I learned from my deck

My wonderful family has owned three homes and has built four decks.

A Firm Foundation

Our family has a tendency to buy a home and then build a new deck shortly after we move in. We bought our first house and promptly tore down the 3x3 "deck" and build a beautiful 900 square foot deck. Ok, we hired a friend to build the deck, but we were involved in building the deck. Soon after that we sold that house and moved into a new house. With in a couple of years we build a new deck. This time because it was a second story deck we left this to professionals, not only because it was above a garage but also because it was part of a major remodel of our home.

Three years later we are again pulling down a deck and putting up another deck. This deck, the main one off the back of the house, was in desperate need of a new top. The builder of the home, but on shoddy decking. As we pulled the decking off, we found the foundation to be strong, firm and well constructed. This was in stark contrast to the decking we pulled off. Our children, old enough to help now, got into the act of pulling the decking off and hauling it over to a pile of garbage. We added to the foundation and with the help of a friend (he had the tools and the contractor discount) build a marvelous deck.

Well, we find ourselves in a new home with a deck that on the surface looked wonderful. It was pleasing to the eye. It even had a hot tub on it. When we had the home inspected we found that what was pleasing to the eye wasn't necessarily structurally sound. The gentleman who built the deck didn't use proper tools or proper engineering techniques. We knew then that the deck would have to come down.

This summer it is our project to take down and rebuild a deck that is not only pleasing to the eye, but also structurally sound. This is hard work. For a little over a week, the boys (two now in their teens) and I have been taking hammer, saw and muscle to the deck to pull it apart. I should add that unlike the other decks we have built, this one proves to be a bit more challenging. It is (or was) a three tier deck with the top deck attached one floor above the ground. It also has a hot tub which required a tender touch. To complicate matters even more, the deck's edge also hangs over a rock wall that goes down another 10 feet, so at one part of the deck you are some 20 feet into the air. But, what really scares a mother is that as we took this deck apart we saw what truly poor engineering went into the construction.

At one point in tearing down the railings, my son swung his hammer up to knock the top rail off and the whole corner post just snapped off. As we examined the 4x4 post we realized that the previous homeowner had cut off a huge 3x3 chunk of the post off and just used finishing nails to hold the post onto the deck. After swallowing hard and making sure my son was still firmly standing on the deck, I made a mental note of thanking Heavenly Father for keeping that son on the deck and my family from not knocking that railing off though out the year that we have owned this house.

As the days progressed and the deck came down piece by piece I couldn’t help but think of the many decks we have built as a family and how this all relates to two very important aspects of my life.

The first aspect if that of the gospel. In the first house there was nothing to pull down so we built something from the ground up, and left it to professionals to do. Much like when we are first learning the gospel, we build from the ground up with a firm foundation. If it is done well with all the professionals working together you have a thing of beauty and usefulness. The second deck was much like the first. That third deck, had a firm foundation, but it just needed to have a new decking and while we were at it, we added to the foundation and built a bigger and more useful deck. I see this as those wonderful teen years. We have a firm foundation, but sometimes our decking is lacking a little. By removing the decking and replacing it we make something wonderful and beautiful, sometimes we even add a little more to the foundation to make it more useful; just like when I got married.

Now this last deck, unfortunately is like many people in and out of the church. The deck is pretty to the eye, but when you inspect it you see many shaky posts, cracked foundation, post only held on by finishing nails instead of galvanized nails or deck screws. Unfortunately, it takes a lot of work to tear it down and even more to build from the ground up. It is much easier to build correctly from the start.

The other aspect is that of education. As a homeschooling mom and someone who has a keen interest in knowledge and education, it stuck me how often we have shaky educational foundations. Shimming up the pillars that hold up our knowledge, we try desperately to act and be knowledgeable, but many times it is transparent to those who are in the educational field. Life isn't necessarily easy with a firm educational foundation, but it sure makes it much easier to add to your knowledge when the whole foundation doesn’t need to be pulled down. It is still even better when we start out with a firm foundation for our education to be built upon.

I honestly pray that my children, as well as myself, are like that first deck we built, firm foundation with the proper tools used and proper materials. Life isn't necessarily easy, but it sure does making changes and upkeep all that much more enjoyable and easier than it is to start all over and tear something shoddy down. I know because my body hurts and I'm so exhausted.

Priesthood Equals Love

Priesthood Equals Love

As I was in bed wracked with a fever, chills and pains and my husband away with two of our sons on a trip, my six year old daughter was left to play nurse maid to me. Her older three brothers left her alone to do the job since she was doing such a fine job. As I woke with her little hand on my forehead she noticed my eyes open and whispers ever so lovingly that if I wanted she would call daddy and he would fly home because he loved me. I smiled at her and told her that I could wait for his return in the next day or two and that I would be just fine. She then said, "I know where daddy keeps his love oil and I could call our home teachers."

This of course brought back a memory of just a few weeks ago when she was climbing on the counter to get to a pack of gum I had place on the top shelf. She noticed my husband's vile of consecrated oil sitting up there as well. With a smile she climbed back down, handed me the pack and slyly told me that she knew where Daddy's Love Oil was kept.

My husband returned shortly with our two sons very late the next night and as I lay in bed next to him, I couldn't help but think of "Daddy's Love Oil." My eyes filled with tears and my heart with love as my mind recalled the times when "Daddy's Love Oil" was used in our home.

Seldom to I recall who the other Priesthood holder was and I'm not sure it matters. Neither do the specific words come to mind. But I do remember the feeling of love and peace that accompany "Daddy's Love Oil." I remember the time it was used just hours after our oldest son was born. It had been a very difficult birth and he had some injuries that needed heaven's help to heal. All of our six children suffered from life threatening jaundice at birth and "daddy's love oil" was used to speed the healing process. There were other childhood illnesses and accidents that needed "Daddy's Love Oil" to be used. We had chicken pox ravage our poor babies, a knife wound, a knocked out front tooth, stitches over the eye and on the head that all were made better with "Daddy's Love Oil."

One time I do recall very vividly "Daddy's Love Oil" being used was four years ago after a very nasty auto accident. My husband and a neighbor blessed me to "be made whole in the Lord's due time." I think that was the only time I ever recall specific words to a blessing.

Sometimes "daddy's love oil" wasn't necessary as the blessing was one of comfort and peace. When the children start a new school year, when they head off to scout camp, when life has one of us beaten and we need some extra direction. When a child is blessed, baptized, confirmed, or when the Priesthood is given to a son. We don't need the "oil" part of "Daddy's Love Oil" but we do need his love.

I never recall the words spoken in one of these blessings, but I always hear my husband says a phrase that tells me it truly is "Daddy's Love Oil." "Our Heavenly Father love you, knows you and is watching over you."

Elder Hales said, "A loving Father in Heaven has sent his sons and daughters here to mortality to gain experience and to be tested. He has provided the way back to him and has given us enough spiritual light to see our way. The priesthood of God gives light to his children in this dark and troubled world. Through priesthood power we can receive the gift of the Holy Ghost to lead us to truth, testimony, and revelation. This gift is available on an equal basis to men, women, and children." (Ensign, Nov.1995).

Our Father in Heaven sent us here and gave us the Priesthood so that we could feel of His love when we need it the most. The Priesthood is truly "Daddy's Love Oil," and I thank Him for giving it to us and for a husband who is worthy to use it to bless the lives of my children and our family.

RAC

Readers Anonymous Club

This club is for those individuals who:

• Find that the best date in the world is dinner and a book store.
• Spend hours in the library searching the stacks.
• Have a book on every table and in every cubby hole in their house.
• Stash a book in their car.
• Download books on their PDA so they can read while waiting at the grocery store, dentist office or in traffic.
• Find their over due fines at the library are a line item in their family budget.
• Can not pass a book store without thinking, "How late will I be if I just take a minute to breathe in the smells."

Please attend as many meetings as necessary to meet your level of addiction. The meeting schedule is as follows:

Our regular meetings are here at our head reader's home on the second Thursday of every month. For those who need just a little extra help we hold a second meeting on the third Tuesday of the month. For those who still need help we have a third meeting and that is held on the fourth Wednesday of every month.

The first week you are supposed to go to the nearest book store and leave your purse, wallet and all forms of cash, check, credit cards, debit cards, first born at home. (You are free to bring your driver's license, but that is all.) You are then to walk through the shelves and not touch a thing. If you fall off the wagon and touch something you are to drop every thing, rush to the nearest pay phone and call 1-800-I CAN'T STOP. The nice lady on the other end of the phone will chew you out. (Cell phone calls are ok, but because of caller-id we prefer a payphone so in real emergencies we can send the book patrol to your location and perform CPRM--Critical Prying of Reading Material and save your soul.)

For those who want a printed copy of the schedule, please use this handy guide.

First week: book store walk through
Second Thursday: mild addiction
Third Tuesday: moderate addiction
Fourth Wednesday: heavy addiction

Mild addiction can be proven by counting the number of book shelves in your home. If you use those shelves for decorations, then please move on, this club is not for you. If you have one set of book shelves and you know what is on those shelves and have read 50% of those books (children's book shelves are not included) then you have a mild addiction. Please join us on the second Thursday.

Moderate addition can be proven by counting the number of book shelves in your home. If you have between 2-5 shelves and you know what is on those shelves and have read 75% of the books then you have a moderate addiction. Please join us on the second Thursday and third Tuesday. We can help.

Heavy addiction is easily spotted. These people can not pass a book store or library without stopping and usually have to have someone else drive when going down town. These people have over 5 book shelves at home. They usually have books stashed in every cubby and on the floor. These people know what "the reading room" really is and have asked their spouse if the bathtub could be removed and a lounge chair put in its place. These people are in desperate need of help and RAC can do it. Please make room in your schedule to attend all the meetings listed. You can beat this with the help of RAC!

Hopeless addiction is those who are beyond the "heavy addiction" classification. You can spot these people. They can recite the opening line of Pride and Prejudice, War and Peace, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Little House on the Prairie, etc. They have a "library" in their home as well as a well stocked "reading room." They are known to disapear for an hour in the reading room. They fall asleep with their glasses perched on their nose and a book in their hands. They know the number of every local book store. They know the URL to every book buying website and would NEVER think of selling a book at a garage sell, Ebay or heaven forbid, give one away. When purchasing books as gifts, they often buy an extra for themselves. You can always spot one of these hopeless addicted book lovers a mile away.

We have personal one-on-one daily counseling sessions. You are to check in every morning with your counselor so that your addiction can be broken little by little. You are to turn in every library card, every frequent buyer card from all book stores and we will install a web block on all book store sites as well as take away your book buying credit cards. We work closely with your loved ones to see that you kick the habit and are book free. We strongly encourage you to attend the weekly meetings as well as call your counselor daily, if not drop by for a quick visit.

For those who have successfully beat their addiction we have developed a program just for you. In the laboratories of many universities across the states a new "patch" has been newly developed. We find great success with the "patch," but with anything we find that this can be abused as well. Therefore when you have graduated to the "patch" we request that you come to the second Thursday meetings so we can monitor your progress.

Some may recognize the "patch" as the library card. But it is much more than just a library card. It is a privilege for those who have gotten their habit under control and are no longer controlled by their addiction.

For those who abuse the "patch" we suggest that you attend the second Thursday meetings and come support those who are struggling. This is a habit that is very hard to break, but with your help you can help those who are just beginning their journey to freedom.

If you fall off the wagon and take control of your children's or spouse's library card, we can handle that as well. We hate to do it, but we do have special scissors that can slice through the tough consumer plastic that the cards are made of. Just remember you can not be as bad as one member of our club. She is so addicted that she had control of her children's library cards. That made for a total of six library cards! Thankfully her husband has not given her the information from his card so she can't use it as well. Her library is very generous in that they allow 20 holds per card and a maximum of 100 books checked out per card. She is in the "Hopeless" program but she is getting her addiction under control. We just hope and pray that she doesn't get her dog a library card.

Not every one will recognize that they have a problem. If you know of a loved one who has a problem, you too can call 1-800-I CAN'T STOP and an emergency intervention can be held in your loved ones behalf. Special scissors are brought and cards are cut up.

This is usually a genetic trait passed down from generation to generation. Unbeknownst to many parents they have passed this addiction on by purchasing books or even bequeathing books in their will to their posterity. You can be the one to break the cycle. It can be done.

A Typical Meeting:
We meet at 7pm for refreshments and chit chat. At 7:30 we all sit down, introduce ourselves and admit our problem. Many find it appropriate to tell us what they have been reading. We find that this can take up most of the evening, but we find it very therapeutic if we share our feelings about the plot, characters, author and whatever. It helps in the cleansing process. Yes, this sounds like a book club discussion, but we try hard to put the focus on how one can survive a day without reading. We know it is tough, but we think it can be done.

Sometimes we get to the topic of the month. Last month was "Reading while driving: Is it really more dangerous than drinking while driving." This month is "Closet Reading: Is it really bad for your eyes?" We have invited a ophthalmologist as a guest speaker. He will be bringing in some very fashionable reading glasses for those of us who need to update our reading accessories.

Book exchanging is strictly forbidden while at the meeting (but who knows what goes on outside).

Meet the "Head Reader" (President) of our club
I'm Doreen and I have a problem. I'm addicted to books and reading. I feel naked without a book to hold. I feel that back packs should be standard issue for every piece of clothing. I feel that one can never have enough book shelves and they should be standard in every home across the world. Reading rooms need to be built into every home. I feel libraries unfairly penalize me for returning books late. I believe that only good books should be written and stocked in libraries across the nation. I believe there is no room for sloppy or poorly written books. If you find one it is your duty to destroy it. I believe that as your Head Reader it is my duty to warn you of poor books and steer you clear of them. I am still a hopeless addict and I'm trying hard through daily counseling to beat this addiction. I believe that everyone should belong to at least three book clubs and if they can manage a fourth then they are a better person than I. Library cards should be issued upon birth and card numbers assigned for life, much like social security numbers. I believe that there should be a library down the street from my home. I also believe that only those who read books should work in book stores. All librarians should love little children. Reading should be the 11th commandment. There should be classes in school that teach children to love reading.
I’m Doreen and I have a problem. I'm addicted to books and reading. Excuse me, but I have to find a library book, the fine is reaching double digits and I need to find it before my husband gets the bill. I do hope to see you at a meeting soon.

The White Van

My heart still races when I think about what could have happened…..

On February 1st I had the privilege or running the music class carpool. I met the four little girls at neighbor's house and ran them to music class. I was going to use the hour to run to the grocery store and get much needed bread and food for my family. As I pulled into a parking spot and reached between the seats for my purse, it wasn't there.

I had a choice to make. I could go back to the music class and wait out the hour by either reading a book or taking a much needed nap, or go home and retrieve my purse and blow off the grocery shopping. Oh, that nap sounded so good! My 5:15 alarm is taking its toll on me.

Then the feeling came over me that I needed to get my purse. So I called (why my phone was in the car I'm not sure) home to make sure it was there. It was so off I went.

As I drove up to my house, I noticed a white mini van parked across the street from my house. I thought nothing of it. I drove just a bit pass my house so that I could back into the drive way like I normally do. As I did, I looked at the driver. It was a male, with his window down and he was staring at my house. I thought that very odd. I then started to back up. As I did so, he sped off. He was so quick that he kicked up a few rocks.

I quickly parked my car and ran to the street to see if I could catch a license number. No such luck, he was gone!

As I walked back to my house, I noticed that my garage doors were wide open, kids were on the trampoline and another son was on the basketball court shooting hoops. I also got that icky mommy feeling that all is not well and that we needed to remove ourselves from home.

I called the children inside and explained to them that they were all coming with me to finish running the girls home from music class. I received a bunch of moans and groans. I don't blame them, bouncing on the trampoline and shooting hoops was much more fun than sitting in the van waiting for four giggly girls to finish with music class.

I had to explain to them what just happened. Their attitudes changed. My oldest son even suggested that we say a prayer. Of course I had already said about 100 prayers, but he was right, we needed a family prayer.

We made sure the house was locked and went on our way.

As I talked with my eldest, who was shooting hoops, he said that he saw a white van go past our house and then come back, then pass it and come back again. He only noticed it because he had Alex, our dog, with him and he went crazy barking at the car. He thought, like me, that it was some sort of service van looking for a house number.

I do not know what might have happened and I really don't want to think about it since all those awful TV shows, news reports and unpleasant thoughts are not what I want walking through my mind. I just know that I'm thankful for living a life close enough to the spirit that I could hear the whisperings even when it was something I really didn't want to do (that nap still sounds so wonderful). I am so thankful that my sons were willing to go along with me and realize that they too were feeling the same promptings and that we were better off in the car together being bored than at home in harms way. I am thankful that our oft repeated prayer to "have a safe day" was answered. I am thankful that my son was listening to the prompting and asked that we have a prayer. I'm thankful for a Heavenly Father who loves us enough to watch out for us. I'm thankful that I am able to write this from the comfort of my home with seven people I love dearly scattered throughout this house. And yes, our doors are locked tight tonight!

OH What a Beautiful Day

Today we did it again! We went skiing as a family. We didn't get to go to Big White like we all would have hoped and loved to, but we got to go to The Summit just an hour east of our home. It was a BEAUTIFUL day! I didn't do as well as last time on skis but I had a BLAST! I skied with Jessie the whole time and we had so much fun. She was the energizer bunny and kept wanting to go and go and go. The last run, I just couldn’t do it. Not only were my legs screaming at me, but the light was such that I couldn't see the terrain. I also had little kids falling apart on me as it was snack time. Mike had taken a bad fall and was in really bad shape and really wanted to get off the snow, put some food in his tummy and call it a day. I guess "mom duty" is never over even for some play.

Here are some pictures. Hope you enjoy.

Picture above: I'm the tall one, in orange boots (those are just in case I get lost--you can see orange better in the white snow).

Picnic lunch under the blue skies!

Jessie posing for dad.

Just no time - or too Polite

I have had many things to say, just no time to say them. I sometimes think "one of these days" and it never gets there. And when I do have time, I can't say what I want to because who knows who will happen upon my blog and what I have to say will offend them. I have had quite a few incidences lately that really have made me think and want to write about something, but I restrain myself for fear of hurting people's feelings.