kEep'N iT rEeL

War of the Words

2011-12-28T08:12:00.000-08:00

My walk with Christ has never been straight, nor have I ever claimed it to be. To help get back on the path, I write verses on my bathroom mirror to remind me of certain things. Right now my three panel mirror has "Let your yes be yes. Let your no be no." (Matthew 5:37) scribbled on it. Yesterday morning, when I woke up, there was another verses scribbled in Eric's hand writing just beside mine. "Good people are good to their animals, the 'good-hearted' bad people kick and abuse them" (Proverbs 12:10). Needless to say, I was a little confused about it. I understand what it means, but didn't understand what Eric meant. So, I texted him to please explain the verse and who it pertained to. I then went about my morning getting ready for work in utter confusion.
Around 9 o'clock when Eric's break came around, he replied to my text.

"I just wanted you to feed the cats and dog. Luv you!"

Because that would have been much harder to say...

Boise State Thanksgiving

2011-11-29T15:58:00.000-08:00

For the Thanksgiving Holiday the Reel's ventured to travel down south to Boise to see my real dad. We arose bright and early Wednesday morning hoping for promising roads. Thank goodness they were dry the whole way down. Thursday was spent prepping, cooking and watching football. Friday we avoided the mass crowds, but did manage to make it into a Goodwill. All their stuff was 50% off. I love Goodwill shopping in other towns. The only other store we hit up was the Bronco Shop. We needed Bronco gear for Saturday's game. Saturday morning reared it's cold head and we had to get all geared up for the 12 o'clock game. Here's just a few snap shots of what the stadium was like. I handed the camera over to Trent since he was cold so he could be preoccupied to keep the cold off his mind. He managed to take 116 photos, mostly of Kellan Moore on the field and all the action plays...

Once the Bronco's finished up with a WIN, we fought the crowded streets of down town Boise and rested up at my dad's house. Sunday showed more promising weather, so we took off early back to Lewiston. Being down there for 5 days, the BSU game was the only time I managed to bring out the camera.

A Moment of Peace

2011-10-26T11:31:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday seem to be a bit hectic. I had to do a bunch of running around when I got off work. Trent's football practice, grocery store, and taxi-ing kids to the Jen-awea football game. I thought I'd spend some quality time with the youngest by carting her around with me. While at the grocery store, Eric texted me asking me to run to Home Depot to get a furnace filter. Not a problem, I was heading up that way. As we pull in to the Depot parking lot Caitrin chimes in with attitude.."Why are we here?"
I reply "Dad asked me to get a furnace filter, so we're stopping here."
Not losing the attitude, Caitrin tells me "I know you and Dad love each other, but seriously, he needs to learn how to do things on his own."
Pretty shocked by her response and not sure where that even came from, I told her that we were out and about and I have no problem running errands for Dad. We run in and get the furnace filter and a small package of batteries for the thermostat. Not thinking, I thrown the batteries in a bag and out the door we go. Heading home, she still had some "tude"..
Caitrin: You know what Mom? Your phone is WAY better than Dad's. You know what? He deleted all of his games off of his phone. Can you believe that? Even Zebra Paint! Of all games, Zebra Paint!
Me: Well, I'm sure he doesn't want you guys on his phone anymore. Don't know what to tell you. Sorry.

We get home to unload the groceries quickly because I have to get Trent from football practice. Caitrin starts crying because she wants to help. So I tell her to grab the closest bag which happen to be the batteries. She holds it up like a dead skunk.
Cairtin: Really, Mom? Really? Did you really think you needed a bag for this?
Me: Caitrin, just get in the house.

Rushing back out the door to get Trent, I kiss Eric good bye and tell him to have fun with Caiti. I see our German Shepard, Adella, sitting at the back door with a sad look on her face. So I pat my leg and tell her to load up.
Apparently that offended Caitrin "I want to go, too!"
Me: NO!
Caitrin: Why?!
Me: Because Adella doesn't talk!

Good News and Good Company

2011-10-06T15:02:00.000-07:00

Life with three kids is forever busy, and I realized that it's been forever since I last blogged. Summer has come and gone, and now fall is vastly approaching. I'm hoping with that, things will greatly slow down.

These past few weeks have been filled with lots of joy and blessings.

Last week my little sister, Missy, came up from Boise to celebrate my youngest neices' third birthday, and my other little sister, Jenni, drove over from the Tri-Cities to join in the festivities. I also got to meet Jenni's daughter, Mataya, for the first time. There were about five kids under the age of five. Once the clock struck 9pm, the tears started to flow, Jonnie and I knew it was bed time and ditched right out of there.

Earlier the same day of the birthday party, my mom's boyfriend George, proposed to her. So my mom will be getting married and I will once again have a step-dad. I have nothing ill to say about George. He's a wonderful man and it seems that he has brought my mother back to a life that we all thought was gone. He makes her happy and has graciously accepted 5 rogue kids as his grand kids.

A few days later, we found out that Eric's sister, Chaney, and her husband are finally expecting! They have been trying for so many frustrating years. They've have gone with the whole fertility circus, just to be let down every month. None of us were supposed to know but Eric's mom was too excited she had to tell everyone. Chris and Chaney were a little scared and didn't want to say much until their ultra sound two days ago. Low and behold, they found 2 little beans in her belly! We are going to be graced with another set of twins for Eric's family hopefully sometime in May. Everyone is over the moon!! I honestly can't wait! This will make grand baby 18 & 19 for the Reel Family...

Six years ago this past September was the last time I got to see my grandparents from my mother's side. They live in a travel trailer and go all over the place. A small family fall out had occurred and they just avoided this side of the states. When my sister and I pushed for amends, shortly afterwards we found out my grandmother had cancer. If that doesn't make a quick shove to forgiveness, I'm not sure what does. After her surgery and her getting used to a different life style, my grandparents agreed to head out this way. They arrived this week and we've spent every night at my mom's house playing catch up. It's amazing the traits and similarities that are found. Though my son favors Eric's looks, he favors my grandmothers habits. When they left six years ago, I had just found out I was pregnant with Caitrin. They hadn't meet her yet. The older four always talked about them, so when Caiti walked into my mom's house, she ran right up to my grandma, and said "HI, GRANDMA!! I missed you!!" It was the cutest thing. We are hoping the weather will cooperate this weekend and have a great big family barbecue.

I'm also hoping that I can find a little more me time and blog more often...

Conversations...

2011-08-06T13:19:00.000-07:00

Setting: Selected schools around the valley provide free lunch for children 0 - 18 years old. My sister likes to take all the kids down to the Junior High to eat so they don't eat her out of house and home. On this particular day, crispidoras were served. As my sister was driving back home, Trent was still gnawing on what was left of his.

Trent: Aunt Jonnie, what are crispadoras made of?
Jonnie: (not hesitating) Cat. Why?
Trent: What??!! (chucking the crispadora out the window)
Caitrin: I don't see what the problem is. You eat pig.
Jonnie: Why did you throw that out the window? I was only joking!! It's made from cow, hamburger, ground beef.
Trent: Aunt Jonnie, I don't feel so good.

She had to pull the car over from laughing so hard.

I'm not sure if I should be upset at the fact that Trent actually believed my sister, or concerned with Caitrin not caring that it could possibly be a domesticated household animal...

Conversations...

2011-07-11T15:20:00.000-07:00

Setting: We were packing up our trailer to head over to the coast to send the 4th of July with Eric's family. (More on that if I can find time to upload my pictures)

Caiti: Hey, Mom. Do you think.. I mean we'll be really good.. and not move.. I promise to sit still... Can we ride in the trailer on our way to the coast?
Me: Umm.. NO!!
Caiti: But, why not?!
(I didn't want to scare her, but I needed her to get the point)
Me: Well, let's just say that something happens and the trailer comes unhitched from the truck, you could get hurt really bad, and you might even die. So NO. Sorry kiddo.
Caiti: Yeah, I'd be pretty mad if I died.

Conversations

2011-06-20T14:53:00.000-07:00

Back in the summer of 2008, Eric was laid off along with 250 other boat builder here in the Valley. As a family we had a crash course in "need vs. want" real quick. We found that we didn't "need" cable and had it shut off. Though things are perfectly fine now, we still maintain that mentality and find that cable is among things we don't need. We watch movies in the evenings and that's about the extent of the ol boob tube.

This past Saturday morning Caitrin had woke up and stumbled onto the couch.

Caitrin: Mom, will you put in a movie for me?
Mom: Nope. It's "No TV Saturday".
Caitrin: You are so mean!
Mom: I know. But me being mean only means I love you. Isn't that right, Tarren?

Tarren's room is right off the living room. I knew she was trying to wake up and was hearing our conversation.

Tarren: Yea, well.. most of the time.
Mom: What's that supposed to mean?
Tarren: All the other times you're just PMS'ing.

The child obviously doesn't know how dangerous those words are.

As for Eric, he had to hold himself back from spitting all his coffee out..

First day of Summer Vacation...

2011-06-10T13:38:00.000-07:00

I came home on my lunch hour to find this...

He must have stayed up way too late last night celebrating....

Hard Lessons Learned

2011-06-03T15:42:00.000-07:00

Tarren has always been my sick child. She had many ear infections as a baby, had a bout with pneumonia, bronchitis, strep, and now with her hay fever she's had many sinus infections. All have been treated with various forms of penicillin. This last round must have done her in. She woke up Wednesday morning with a rash but only on her sun burned area from the weekend. By Thursday morning, the rash had spread to her entire body. At that point I knew it was the allergic reaction to the amoxicillen and hauled her in to the hospital. I was hoping to just go through Minor Care, but they pushed her thought to the ER because they were worried about her breathing. The doctor got her hooked up with a Z-Pack and told me to keep her doped up on Benadryl for the next couple of days. Poor kid, she says she's not in pain, but my heart breaks just looking at her.

ARMS

BACK

LEGS (her thighs are way worse)

Her poor hands, feet look just as bad.

Up River

2011-05-27T09:50:00.000-07:00

In the 4th grade, students learn about Idaho History. Being that we live at the mouth of the great Hell's Canyon, Lewiston student get to fund raise the whole school year to take an all day boat trip up the Snake River. Trenton alone raised over $200.00 for his class. Since space is limited, not all parents are allowed to go. Trent's teacher, Mrs. Roberts, has a raffle that each parent can purchase a ticket for $5 and only two entries per child. I bought two and put Eric's name on both (he's lived in Lewiston his whole life and has never been up the Snake). Trent and I had prayed every night that his dad would be drawn, and Eric was!! Last Wednesday was the first nice day we've had in a long while, and that just happened to be the day that was scheduled for the boat trip.

The boat driver had no objections about entertaining the kids, so during the heat of the afternoon he decided that he'd do "cookies" and splash any of the kids who sat in the back. Eric snapped some of Trent's turn...

Bracing himself....

..wait for it...

Trent claimed he had a BLAST!! (so did Eric)

Shout out to Coop Dog...

2011-05-24T16:35:00.000-07:00

Being busy with five children's activities I nearly forgot to say........

Happy Birthday to Cooper....

He turned 12 on May 11th, the day after my birthday.

Instant gratification

2011-05-23T15:10:00.000-07:00

Back at the beginning of the month, Eric had said that he wanted to go to Home Depot to look at what they had for our garden. Up until this point we had only tilled under the area we wanted to plant in and fertilized it. We had discussed what various plants we wanted and were they would fit best. When we got there I was grabbing plants left and right, throwing them in the cart. "I want these, and these, and ohh some of those!!" He was putting them back on the shelves as fast as I was tossing them in the cart. He had to explain to me what his intentions were, which was all seeds, no starts.

Me "Umm.. NO. I need starts"

Eric "Why?"

Me "I need instant gratifications. I need to SEE it all"

Needless to say I had a small baby tantrum in the Home Depot Garden Department because I wanted to see greenery. After he brought me back to reality, he gave me his reasoning as to why it all had to be seeds, the price. It's quite a cheaper to purchase the seeds than the plant starts. Fine, I give in.

So, on the 7th of May, Eric planted my garden all from seeds, minus the tomatoes and strawberries (I wouldn't budge on those). Six days later this is what I got....

Thai Radishes

Spinach

Corn

Sugar Snap Peas

My strawberries already have green heads on them!!

Since then my carrots, chives, bell pepper, jalapeno peppers have all sprung up as well.

When one of your weakness's is patience, God gives you plenty of opportunities to practice it. I am now extremely grateful for the wonderful garden that I have in bloom. I just can't wait until they all come to fruition..

Welcome Baby Scotlyn

2011-05-23T14:38:00.000-07:00

On May 16th, Eric's little brother's wife finally went into labor with their 4th child. Scotlyn Camry Reel graced us with her presence at 9:53am weighing in at 8lbs 3oz and 20 in long. She was due to arrive on the 5th but thought she'd hang on for 11 more days...

Trent refused to hold her, I had to beg him. After I got some pictures he asked me if he could be done yet.

Caitrin and Tarren couldn't get enough of her.

This is grand baby #17 to the Reel Family.

F-I-V-E

2011-04-15T14:40:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, Caitrin Mae!

I can't believe you are 5!!!

Conversations...

2011-04-13T13:40:00.000-07:00

Setting: On the way home from Trent's baseball game. He played catcher (and he LOVES it!), this will be his third year playing that position.

Dad: Son, you did awesome out there tonight.
Trent: Hey, how much do you think I'd get paid if I played like I did in the Majors?
Dad: Well, let's just worry about the next game. I don't think the recruiters are out yet.

Those people...

2011-04-11T13:02:00.000-07:00

On the first Sunday of every month, our church has a meeting called Bridge Builders. It's about the direction of the church, leaders and ministries group up and discuss what's going to happen next and it's a HUGE potluck with yummy food. Eric and I attend because we are apart of two ministries, and let's face it, it's a night I don't have to cook dinner and have an awesome meal all for free.

Last Sunday was no exception and we attended. As our pastor was about to open up in prayer, my brother in laws phone went off. He hurried to ignore it and shut it down. Eric and I just chuckled. Not even two seconds later my phone goes off. I scrambled to shut my down as well. Not only did I get a dirty look from Eric, Pastor Brad thought he needed to shoot one my way, too. No sooner did I shut my phone down and Eric's blew up. At that point, Pastor Brad stopped and came over to our table and asked if everything was ok. He looked over to Tarren and said, "Honey, is your phone next?" With out missing a beat, "Nope, mine's in the car."

It was my mother just wondering what was going on and why she couldn't get a hold of anyone. The only reason Jonnie's didn't go off was because her phone was dead.

Yeah, we were "those people" at church....

Conversations...

2011-04-04T13:33:00.000-07:00

Setting: Trent had found a 1952 wildlife book. It talks about animals and their habitats. He found the pages on armadillos and read to me the expert.

Trent: Mom, it says here that they have four to six babies and all the same sex. Why would they say "sex"? That's not a good word to put in a wildlife book.

Mom: In this case son, it means gender. It means that babies will be all girls or all boys. Not a mixture.

Trent: Oh, why all the same?

Mom: I'm not sure. Sounds like a conversation to have with God. (I always say that when I don't know the answer and don't exactly have time to research it)

Trent: Or.. I could just Google it.

Yes, yes.. Why didn't I think of that?

Mother of the Year Award..

2011-03-28T09:25:00.000-07:00

Saturday evening found the Reel's at my sister's house watching a movie. Which wasn't all that exciting to the kids so they ventured off to entertain themselves. I figured all the kids were upstairs in my nephews' room playing minus Trent drawing and coloring at the kitchen table. Trent kept pestering me to come look at something. I thought it was his drawings. I told him he'd have to wait a minute because his timing is so impeccable, he had to chose the point in the movie where the mystery unravels its tangled web. Within minutes the movie was over and I got up to see what he was all excited about....

........THIS.............

There wasn't enough room on the table for her to draw, so she climbed up on the counter. Apparently it was soothing enough to put her to sleep. I was very THANKFUL that she didn't roll right off. I think I need to start putting a bell around her neck.

Jonnie speaking..

2011-03-25T15:12:00.001-07:00

Jonnie was to be the first speaker for Saturday morning. I tried to capture the moments leading up that point. I know that she was really nervous about speaking, so she was trying to make light of every thing. Christy Guinard and she are BFF's. So Christy was trying to keep Jonnie grounded.

Debbie Hoisington...a wonderful lady, came over to wish her good luck.

The theme of the retreat was John 15 :1-15

1 "I am the true vine. My Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch joined to me that does not bear fruit. He trims every branch that does bear fruit. Then it will bear even more fruit.

3 "You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain joined to me, and I will remain joined to you. No branch can bear fruit by itself. It must remain joined to the vine. In the same way, you can't bear fruit unless you remain joined to me.
5 "I am the vine. You are the branches. If anyone remains joined to me, and I to him, he will bear a lot of fruit. You can't do anything without me. 6 If anyone does not remain joined to me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and dries up. Branches like those are picked up. They are thrown into the fire and burned.
7 "If you remain joined to me and my words remain in you, ask for anything you wish. And it will be given to you. 8 When you bear a lot of fruit, it brings glory to my Father. It shows that you are my disciples.
9 "Just as the Father has loved me, I have loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love. In the same way, I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy will be in you. I also want your joy to be complete.
12 "Here is my command. Love each other, just as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than the one who gives his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command.
15 "I do not call you servants anymore. Servants do not know their master's business. Instead, I have called you friends. I have told you everything I learned from my Father.

Different speakers spoke on certain verses. Jonnie had verses 3 & 4. She used a a lovely word pictures when she described the verses. She said that as parents we have to teach our children how to wash their hands. We tell them that they need to lather the soap in their hands and create friction to get the soap sudsy to work into our pores to get them clean. But how many times have we caught our children putting soap on their hands and running them under the water faucet? That's what the word of God is. His words are the soap and to apply them to our lives we need to take action, create suds and work it in to our pores. And it's easy to just read the word and not apply what's said to our lives, just putting the soap on our hands and letting the water rinse it off. So how are you washing your hands....??

I was pretty proud to call her my sister. Afterwards we a little down time, so we ventured out along the river. Christy and Jonnie thought they'd be cute and play in the road. Photo opt!! I don't think she knows I'm posting this.....

O' Well!! :)

Women's Retreat 2011

2011-03-25T14:28:00.000-07:00

Every year our church puts on a Women's Retreat up river above Asotin at Snake River Rendezvous for a weekend. There are 8 cabins, a dorm and a lodge and they get filled to the brim every time (I ended up bunking up with Jonnie). I've not gone the last two years since I've placed a judgement on going. It just felt that every time I went, something bad happened. I removed the judgement and took a chance. I then found out that Jonnie was going to be speaking and I didn't want to miss that opportunity. Jonnie with her BFF Christy and me.

We headed out of town last Friday as soon as I got off work. These are a few pictures I took when I work up first thing Saturday morning. It snowed on the very top of the canyon. Very thankful we were below the snow line.

Our days were packed with worship, fellowship, and speakers. Both nights I don't think we were in bed before midnight just to be up early again. To call this retreat a relaxing vacation is very far from the truth.

Home

2011-03-11T09:31:00.000-08:00

Fifteen years ago, my dad was an EMT and a logger in a small subdivision south of Cascade called Smith's Ferry. My mom, a 911 Dispatcher for the Valley County Sheriff's Department. Times were hard for the Logging Industry then. My parents soon realized that we weren't going to be able to make it on just her salary alone. So they sought out other options. Thus her finding a position at the City of Lewiston Dispatch Center. We had no problems selling our 5 acres in the middle of nowhere and transferring to the Lewiston Valley. As a fourteen year old, I hated them for up-rooting me from the only place I called home.

Fast forwarding to present time, I still live in the Lewiston Valley, but that doesn't mean I miss home any less. (I still refer Smith's Ferry as home, I think I always will). Last weekend Eric and I made a unplanned trip to Boise to purchase some furniture that was too irresistible to pass up. We decided to head south through the Weiser route, but then we'd take our time coming up through Cascade and McCall. I asked him to stop in Smith's Ferry to let the dog out and for Caitrin to stretch her legs. Looking around, I saw very few things had changed. Still lots of snow and the roads were horrid. Here are a few snap shots of what used to be my home...

This is Cougar Mountain. Hiked around on it a few times, never saw a cougar.

Cougar Mountain Lodge. My bus stop every morning at 6:30am. It took and hour and a half each way to get to and from school in Cascade.

We lived two miles behind the Lodge, down river. Eric didn't want to try to attempt getting back to the house I used to live in since we had the furniture in the back of the truck. We didn't want to risk ruining it with mud and slush.

We didn't hang out for very long, the weather didn't look promising. Though the time was brief, I was satisfied in seeing where my roots once were established.

Photo Phun..

2011-02-17T14:33:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday I had to work the LCSC Basketball game for Inland Cellular. Since we were the VIP's for the evening, we got to hang out in the conference room above the court. My camera has a panorama setting so I thought I'd try it out. I know it's small, but it's neat nonetheless...

Flea Market Child

2011-02-14T11:59:00.000-08:00

With Tarren being 12, Eric and I feel she's old enough to keep an eye out for her brother and babysit her little sister for short periods of time. We tend to venture off to the grocery store sans the kids to avoid any meltdowns of wanting toys or really sugary cereals. Last Saturday was no exception. I think we might have only been gone 20 minutes.
When we pulled up to the drive, I saw Caitrin with her nose plastered to the back door window and tears streaming down her face. I rushed into the house to make sure everything was all right.

Mom: Bug, are you all right? What's wrong?
Caitrin: *sob* They *sob* said *sob* I was *sob* bought *sob* at a *sob* flea market! *sob*
Mom: If that were true, you were the best find I've ever found.

After picking her up and loving on her, I went in search of the culprits. They were hunkered down under a bed snickering. So when I went back into the kitchen to put the groceries away, I handed Caitrin a yummy chocolate chip cookie. When the other two saw what Caitrin got, they both came running to say they wanted one, too. I simply told them no. That the cookies were only for Flea Market Children, not Mean Biological Children. I can only hope that they learned not to pick on their little sister. But having four sisters myself, I kind of have a feeling it's only the beginning. Poor Caitrin, she's doomed....

Conversations....

2011-02-03T16:51:00.000-08:00

Setting: In Caitrin's room trying to find clothes for her to wear.

Mom: Pick out a pair of pants please.
Caitrin: You know, Mom. I had a dream last night that I got to wear my blue and black dress. (her recital costume)
Mom: Ahh, nope. It's cold out, I'm not battling this with you this morning. You are wearing pants today.
Caitrin: But my dream told me to wear the dress today.
Mom: I'm sorry sweet heart. Your dreams are a product of your over active imagination. No go. Get dressed please.

Surprisingly enough, no battle after that.

Photo Phun...

2011-01-28T15:07:00.000-08:00

Dance Recital

2011-01-27T11:23:00.000-08:00

So Saturday evening rolled around and every one's nerves were shot. Tarren from being scared (this wasn't her first rodeo, so I was a little annoyed), Caitrin for obvious reasons pertaining to mass stranger anxiety, and mine from, well... both the girls. Dropping Caitrin off, I hurried and got a shot of all the girls: Tarren, Caitrin, LeAnna & Hannah. Forgive me for the blurriness: horrible lighting + shaky me doesn't equal quality pictures but proof enough that my girls danced.

This is were my heart sang with JOY! Caitrin actually stepped out on to the stage and started doing the moves with the other girls.

When I saw her moving, I burst into tears. I couldn't believe that she DANCED.

As soon as the whole recital was over, she made she let the instructors know that she wanted off the stage and wanted to find her mom and dad.

It was promised to Caitrin that if she danced, even just a little, that I would take her and Tarren to Baskin Robins for whatever they wanted. I couldn't be more proud of them!! (They did get their ice cream on Sunday after church)

Dress Rehearsal

2011-01-24T13:42:00.000-08:00

Friday night was dress rehearsal for all the girls in the recital. I figured it would be the moment of truth for Caitirn. As soon as she saw the stage, she clutched to my leg with a death grip. I had to step back and make her spread her wings...
She just stood there, not wanting to let go of her instructor, Jamie.

Waiting was the hardest....

I wasn't sure if she saw me taking pictures, but I think this looks says it all...

Finally it's her groups turn to practice...

Wait for it...

There she goes...my heart broke into a million pieces...

It took all I had to not run up on stage and grab her. I wanted to hold her, tell her I loved her, I was so proud of her for even getting up on the stage, and she'd never have to do it again. But what does that teach her??

The owner of the studio, Holly, tried to get her to loosen up, it was a no go.

Then here she is with her sister and cousins after she was all done. All giggles and smiles. I didn't stick around for Tarren's rehearsal, I wanted to be surprised.

Photo Phun

2011-01-19T13:57:00.000-08:00

For Christmas Eric got me a REALLY nice camera. So nice in fact, half the time I can't figure out how to use it. Since I've been doing some experimenting, I've managed to take (what I thought) some neat pictures. I've come to the conclusion that I'm going to have a new blog label for these pictures.. "photo phun". Fair warning on the table right now... these photos won't have any rhyme or reason to them other than "just because"..... enjoy....

And as Caitrin has found out, she will be a likely victim for me...

Seahawk Fans

2011-01-19T13:42:00.000-08:00

This posting is a little late since the Seahawks have now been eliminated from the playoffs. But I wanted to show our support in our local (as local as it can be) NFL team. Eric has been a fan of the Seahawks as far as I can remember, but has refused to wear any of their logos. For Christmas this year, I went against his will and purchased a very simple shirt. He begged me to no take a photo of him, he didn't want any evidence of him being a fan... Caitrin is a very proud Sea-gal fan... even when Seattle doesn't have the ball, she shouts for them to make a touch down. I love her enthusiasm...
Trent and Jack will be die hard fans to the death. They even wore their Seahawk jerseys to their own football practices this past fall

Tarren couldn't care less of football, though she did receive a Seahawk hoodie for her birthday last year. She's like her dad, doesn't want to be seen in it.. kids..

Here's to next year for the Seahawks to go all the way. (Hey, don't laugh!! I can dream BIG)

Not getting it.. (part 2)

2011-01-11T14:08:00.000-08:00

The next morning it was decided that maybe Mom knew a little about a little and pants looked like a wonderful concept to the freezing temperatures. No battle on clothes, YEA!! But it seemed that the bed was more welcoming to all of us and we all ended up sleeping later than intended. I rushed out of bed, a little cranky that I over slept, trying to get the kids moving at a fast than normal pace.
As I topped the stairs from getting dressed, I saw Tarren standing in the middle of the kitchen pointing to the floor. I was a tiny bit scared to come closer to see what she was pointing at. When I inched closer, I saw Trent sitting on the ground, knees up to his chest, sobbing (like the dog had died. Fortunately the dog didn't die because she was sitting right next to him looking at him like he was crazy). Being that I was cranky, I honestly didn't show any sympathy, (which I feel bad looking back).
Mom: What is going on here? What is the problem?
Trent: (*SOBBING*) I CAN'T FIND THE MILK!!
Mind you, he was sitting in front of the refrigerator.
Mom: What do you mean "you can't find the milk'? Is there any in the fridge?
Trent: (Still Sobbing) NO!! IT'S NOT THERE. I CAN'T FIND ANY!!
Mom: (Still no sympathy) Son, there is no other place the milk would be. So if there isn't any in the fridge, I guess we're out.
Without missing a beat...Caitrin came stomping into the kitchen with her hands on her hips...
Caitrin: Yeah, there's no milk. I drank it all last night (insert four year old attitude here).

I redirected Caitrin back to her room to finish getting ready, told Trent that there was eggs and toast since cereal was not an option, and I rushed to get out the door for work, since it is the only place where my sanity is restored....

Not getting it... (part 1)

2011-01-07T14:10:00.000-08:00

When picking battles with Caitrin, I try to pick wisely. But not always is that the case.
The other morning Caitrin wanted to wear a dress. I quickly checked the weather, the projected high was supposed to 19 degrees. I asked her if she could please wear pants since it was supposed to be cold.
Caitrin: "NO! I NEED to wear a dress" I'm all about lessons learned.
Mom: "Fine, you can wear a dress but you HAVE to wear tennis shoes. I'm not budging on this."
Of course that was a battle in itself. But I stood firm. I again pleaded for her to wear pants.
Mom: "Babe, it's cold outside. Please wear pants today"
Caitrin: "Nope"
Mom: "Okay...I don't want to hear that you're cold."

In between me battling with a four year old, I was getting ready for work. On this particular day, I decided to wear nice pin stripped slacks, a hot pink jacket, and did my hair all nice and curly. I even wore jewelry!! I felt pretty.

Teeth and hair got brushed, coats gathered and we were out the door to daycare. We get situated in the car and Caitrin starts bawling.
Mom: "What's going on?"
Caitrin:"I'm COLD!!!"
Mom:" I told you it would be. I don't want to hear it. You chose to wear a dress, even after you were warned it's supposed to be cold. I think you'll live. I'm sure you are staying in for recess today anyways."

She settled down a little bit and we proceeded with some small talk. All of sudden, she starts bawling again.

Mom:"What's going on now? What happened?"
Caitrin:"YOU LOOK PRETTIER THAN ME!"
Mom:"What? Where did that come from?"
Caitrin:"YOU LOOK PRETTIER THAN ME!"
Mom:"Are you serious?! Babe you look pretty. Sissy did your hair, and your dress is cute. No one said you didn't look cute. You are beautiful."

It took all my self control to not speed to the daycare. It wasn't even 8am and I felt mentally and emotionally exhausted.

Merry Christmas...

2010-12-27T09:58:00.000-08:00

...From the Reel Family... This is all of Eric's siblings (and their spouses), nieces, nephews and one great nephew...

(we are actually missing 3 people, but who's counting?)

Daddy Day

2010-12-17T13:47:00.000-08:00

Ever since Eric came back home from working on the road, his shift has been four 10's with Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off. That means Eric gets all day Friday with Caitrin to himself. She has declared every Friday "Daddy Day". They have their special routine: she wakes up and snuggles with him while he drinks his coffee, the older two and I head off to school/work, they venture out to a local coffee stand, cruise the town paying bills/running errands, come home and veg out for the rest day (must be awful).

This morning, while enjoying my coffee, I watched Caitrin walk right past me and crawl up on Eric's lap. Without even being told, it's like she knew instinctively that it's Friday and it's HER day with dad. Once my cup was empty, I proceeded my routine of getting ready. All the while, those two continued to sit there and have their own little conversations, playing and giggling. I took a small moment to absorb what they were doing, and I couldn't help but feel a tinge of jealousy. But I know all to soon it will have to end.

I asked Eric what he was going to do next year when she starts school. He just shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. I could see by the look on his face he didn't want to come to that realization just yet either. I know he looks forward to that day just as much as she does.
One by one they all are slipping through my fingers as I try to hold on just a little longer.

Conversations...

2010-11-18T14:31:00.000-08:00

With these, it's feast or famine...

Background: When potty training Trent, he chose to sit down to go potty. And up until recently he continued to sit down. Which was really nice for me since I didn't have to be so grossed out when cleaning the bathroom.

I've mentioned before that our household has an open door policy, it's not always pretty...

Eric was walking down the hall to go to the bathroom. When he got to the bathroom (door was opened) he accidentally walked in on Trent. Apparently he was standing up, peeing.

Eric: Dude, when did you start standing up? You usually sit down.
Trent: When I became a man.
Eric: Okay???

At some point in time he's had a right of passage... just not sure when.

Happy 30th!

2010-11-17T15:19:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday, Babe! Enjoy your 30's!

Conversations...

2010-11-16T15:54:00.000-08:00

Back ground: We had parent/teacher conferences last week. When talking to Trent's teacher, she asked if he had a temper. I told her that he can blow up and it isn't pretty when he does. She mentioned that he had gone to the intervention room towards the beginning of the year in regards to his temper. I voiced that I was never notified of him being in trouble, (nor did he volunteer this information), and wasn't happy about it. When asked what he did, she just told me she couldn't remember and it really wasn't a big deal because it never happened again, whatever it was. So that night when Eric got home from work, we sat Trent down to ask him what went on...

Mom: Trent, do you remember towards the beginning of the year, when you went to the intervention room?
Trent: Yeah...
Mom: Sooo...what did you do?
Trent: I went there for wrong doings.
Mom: Yes, son. I know that. What did you do to get sent there?
Trent: Listen mom, that was the past and we are moving forward from here on out.

I just sat there, with my jaw dropped...
I looked at Eric wanting some help, he just shook his head and said "let it go babe, he does have a point."

Conversations...

2010-11-03T10:56:00.000-07:00

Setting: Driving to school with Caitrin in the back seat

Caiti: Mom, I want to be three again.

Mom: Why? You who cries every morning because you're not five.

Caiti: Just because...

Mom: "Because" is not an answer. Why do you want to be three again?

Caiti: Three was more passionate *sigh*

Really!?! Where did that come from???

Dance for Caitrin

2010-10-21T10:51:00.001-07:00

I thought I'd try it again this year. Last year, she was only in two classes before I pulled her out because she just stood there, petrified, the whole time. She PROMISED this year that she'd dance. Her problem is stranger anxiety. She freezes when people are around that she doesn't know. This has been an on going battle since she was 3 months old.

She was all excite to go, had been begging me all day if it was "dance time". When we got there, (no surprise), she froze. I had to peel her off of me just so she could stand in the middle of the room. It broke my heart because she had a tear in the corner of her eye the whole time.

At first, she had her back to everyone. As the class progressed she slowly turned to watch the other girls. About the last five minutes, she completely turned. There were a few times she looked like she was going to mimic the teacher, but then froze again. This was a huge progression from last year.

I explained the situation to the teacher and she said she'd keep at her. When class was all said and done, Caitrin expressed that she wanted to go next week. I won't be allowed in the class room, so we'll see how that goes. The recital is in January, I have a feeling my child is going to be "that" child that either just stands there, or is crying behind the curtain.

And then there is Coop...

2010-10-04T14:35:00.000-07:00

This is Cooper..... He didn't feel like wearing his tennis shoes or his cleats, soo..... flip flops are the next best thing before a game.
Trying to get his attention with a phone in his hand is like trying to pry a meaty bone from a starving dog...

But his team is undefeated... you got to give him that.

Conversations....

2010-09-16T16:10:00.000-07:00

Setting: The kids and I were in the car driving to school. Tarren had in hand all the paperwork one has to fill out when the kids go back to school.

Tarren: Mom, what does "custody" mean?
Mom: It means who the child resides with. Like if parents are divorced, who does the child live with most of the time.
Tarren: But you checked "both parents".
Mom: Yeah. You guys live with both dad and I. We both have custody of you.
From the back seat...
Trent: Mom, I don't want you and dad to get a divorce.
Mom: Well, okay?? It wasn't on the books for today, but I'll see what I can do.
Trent: Okay. Thanks. *smiling*

You got to let them think that they have some decision making power every now and again.....

Conversations....

2010-09-09T16:15:00.000-07:00

Background: Ever since I can remember, I've had a mole in my armpit. I've had it checked out, the doctor said it's benign. I never saw a reason to have it removed and I was never self conscience of it until now.....
Setting: I'm in an under shirt and jammie bottoms, not completely dressed for work but getting ready. I have my arm raised curling the back of my hair. Caitrin just so happens to walk by the bathroom...

Caiti: MOM!! You have a nipple in your armpit!!
Mom: What? No, it's my mole. Get out of here.
Caiti: Well, it's the biggest mole I have ever seen.

Thank you child. I couldn't have cared until now.....

Back to School...

2010-09-07T13:23:00.001-07:00

Back to school

To prove to Dad I'm not a fool

I've got my lunch pack up

My boots tied tight

I hope I don't get in a fight

Ooohhh

Back to school......

Conversations...

2010-09-03T09:35:00.000-07:00

I've been had a handful of these in the archives:

Setting: The kids and I were discussing what we were going to do for the long weekend.

Mom: Hey, you guys. How about walking the falls again?
Tarren: What falls?
Mom: You know.. The Elk River Falls.
Tarren: No, we've already seen those falls.
Mom: How about the Palouse Falls? We've never been there.
Trent: How about Twin Falls?
Mom: Sorry dude. That's in southern Idaho. We aren't driving that far.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Setting: Tarren was watching me get ready for my work day. Her bedroom is across the hall from the bathroom. I had bent down to pick up the brush I had dropped and both my knees and ankle popped.

Tarren: What was that?
Mom: That was my knees and ankles popping. That's what happens when you get old.
Tarren: You aren't old. Dad's OLD!
Mom: What do you mean "Dad's old"? He's only 6 months older than me.
Tarren: Yeah, I know. He's thirty this year. That's OLD!

It's nice to know that I have about 9 more months until I'm OLD!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Setting: I was getting Caitrin ready to go to daycare. I was talking to her about her older siblings getting ready to go to school.

Caiti: Do I get to go to school with them?
Mom: No, sorry babe. Not this year.
Caiti: (*WHINE*) So when do I get to go?
Mom: Next year. When you turn 5.
Caiti: (*WHINE*) It's taking FOREVER to turn five!!

She is in such a hurry to grow up, it kind of breaks my heart.

Gear Handout

2010-08-24T10:11:00.001-07:00

August marks the beginning of Football Season for the family. On Saturday families congregated to Airport Park to pick up the gear for their rambunctious boys, mine included. Cooper was the first to enter into the football era in our family four years ago. Trent got his year last year and now Jackson steps up to the bench. We got VERY fortunate. Trent and Jackson ended up on the same team.

These two can not wait to dominate the field. The Wildcats went undefeated last year and they hope to grab that title again this year.

Boys have to be boys and bang their helmets together. Their first game is September 4th. I can't wait.

Conversatons...

2010-08-20T14:23:00.001-07:00

This past week Eric's sister, Chaney, came into town to visit. I've been kid less for the last 2 day because they have been staying with his oldest sister, McKinlie. McKinlie has a set of 14 year old twins and a 13 year old, all girls. They LOVE to play with Caitrin, dressing her up and doing her make up. Yesterday when we went up to McKinlie's house. Caitrin ran up to the door greeting us with crimped hair and BRIGHT blue eye shadow.

Caiti: Mommy, Dad.. Don't I look pretty?
Eric (bugged eyed and grimacing): Oh, yes. Very nice.

Through out the evening we hung out and had dinner, sat around and talked. When it was getting time for us to leave, we asked the kids if they were coming home or staying another night. Of course staying another night. Eric found Caitrin and told her she should go wash the make up off because she looked too grown up.

Eric: You can wear more make up tomorrow when you wake up. I'm sure one of the girls would love to redo your make up. But make sure that you wear hot pink eye shadow and black lipstick, ok?

Caiti: Uumm, no dad, that's not what is in style.

Heaven help me......

Strawberries!!

2010-08-11T14:01:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of spring, I invested in some of those hanging strawberry planters. I figured what the heck. I haven't had a strawberry garden for the last 4 years, what would one more year be? I have picked a few here and there, but this is the first batch where a lot have come through.

Caiti told me that I was the "best mommy for making strawberries"

She wasted no time in consuming them.

Tubing

2010-08-02T09:06:00.000-07:00

My sister just recently acquired a boat. So naturally we did what any sane person would do when it's blazing hot out... go play on the water.

They loved every minute of it!!

12 Years

2010-07-29T07:51:00.000-07:00

Happy Anniversary, Babe.

Happy Birthday, Jonnie!!

2010-07-28T08:33:00.000-07:00

Today my sister turns 31.

Thanks for being the greatest!

A new definition....

2010-07-22T10:22:00.000-07:00

...... to Scary Mary hair

Sorry, babe. I had to do it.

Happy Birthday TRENT

2010-07-20T08:02:00.000-07:00

Today my favorite son turns 9. Where does it all go??

Alacca

2010-07-19T11:14:00.001-07:00

For the past 4 years I have sent Tarren off to Harpster, Idaho to a Church/Bible Camp called ALACCA. This was the first year for Trent and Jackson. The week's lesson was dressing yourself in God's Armour. So of course they all had to make armour for themselves.
What makes the best armour? PAPER PLATES!!

The boys had too much fun. I didn't even get out of Kooskia before they were both catching up on much needed sleep.

2010-07-15T16:32:00.000-07:00

What do you do when your cousin in playing in the District Championship for All Star Baseball and they are winning 25-0?......

.... Yep. Just chill in a tire and drink a slushy......

Tossing around the idea..

2010-07-14T07:59:00.001-07:00

With our anniversary coming up in a couple of weeks, it got me thinking of renewing our vows. We were planning on doing it for our 10th, but with Eric being laid off, money was on the tighter side. We decided to do it for our 15th. I know that it's still three years off, but I could get some planning done ahead of time, right?

*thinking of the Lewis-Clark Hotel... have to make sure it has AC since it will be done at the end of July
*I don't want a "wedding cake"
*I'm thinking of yellow and orange (for summer) Eric isn't liking it, and I don't look good in yellow.. so subject to change
*I really like Calla Lilies-trying to incorporate those into a bouquet
*I don't want a "wedding dress" Just a simple summer dress
*I have three people in mind to officiate the vows
*not sure what kind of food to have... a meal? or horsd'oeuvers? (sp?)
*How big to I make the guest list?

Any suggestions would be helpful. Eric and I didn't do the whole wedding thing, the court house seemed like a good idea at the time. I'm thinking of getting a notebook and just scribbling ideas for the next couple of years.
Honestly, I have no clue what I'm doing.......

Conversations...

2010-07-13T13:16:00.000-07:00

Setting: Trent and I were in the car listening to Positive Life Radio. One of the lyrics to a song was "Jesus conquered the grave".

Trent: What does "conquered the grave mean"?
Me: Jesus died for our sins and that if we believe in him, we never die. (trying to keep it short and sweet)
Trent: Oh. Am I the son of God?
Me: Well, not THE son of God, but a child of God and a brother in Christ
Trent. Oh. Who named Jesus?
Me: The angels told Mary what to name the baby.***
Trent: Oh. Was Mary an angel?
Me: No
Trent: Oh. Can you have babies in Heaven?
Me: I don't think so.
Trent: Does God have a dog?

At this point, I was ready to bang my head on the steering wheel. The child did not take a breath in between questions.
I told Trent if Heaven meant that God had a dog, then yes, I'm sure there are a few up there hanging around.
I finally arrived at the pool and was glad to drop him off. I needed a moment of silence.

***Thinking back now, I think the Angels told Joseph what to name the baby..

My name...

2010-06-21T09:24:00.001-07:00

K-A-E-L-E-N-E

At a young age, I had come to terms that my life would be full of people mispronouncing and misspelling my name. In school, when the teacher finally said my name right, I knew it was going to be a while longer for them spell it correctly. I can't remember a time when I wasn't patient with people trying to learn my name, and I usually gave grace when I had to repeat it for the ump-teenth time. I remember one time in Junior High, the school secretary went as far as to tell me that my mother had spelled my name wrong, and that my name IS Karlene. That didn't fly very well with my mother, I think the secretary got a phone call the next morning.

Coming out of high school and into the real world, it didn't prove to be any different. I continued with my patience and having grace, it was just inevitable.

Fast forwarding to yesterday: I called my biological father to wish him a Happy Father's Day. I've made mention before that I don't really have a relationship with him due to his drug usage in the past. I don't hold it against him, I have forgave him, but the critical parts in my life when I needed a father, he wasn't there. And due to the drugs, this demeanor is almost child like anymore. Repeating what I just said, or having to dumb down a good part of the conversation just so he can understand what I'm saying.

Our conversation was very basic:

How are you?.. Good. How are you?

How are the kids.. Getting big.. Good

Nothing very intimate, but somehow in the midst of our conversation it turned to email addresses. He and my step-mom want to say in better contact with us kids. Fine, I'll give you mine, you give me yours. I tell him my email address is my name, first letter of my last name, at sign and inland cellular dot com. He slowly starts to spell my name.. K-A-L-E-E-N-E. I interrupt him, laughing a little thinking that he was joking.

Dad, that's not how I spell my name. ( I have never altered my name)

Well, I just named you, your mom did the spelling... K-A-L-E-N-E.

No, dad. I have another "E" in there.. K-A-E-L-E-N-E. Then an "R" , at inland cellular dot com.

After going another 3 rounds, I think he finally got it. At that point, I was highly frustrated. I just wanted to get off the phone. We said our good-byes and he made a handful of promises that I know won't ever happen. Unfortunately, I've learned that my dad's words never carried much water. My sister saw me hang up the phone with great haste. She asked how our talk went. (She has a much stronger relationship with him than I do since she had to go live with him in her wilder days) I told her as good as to be expected. I explain how he went about not spelling my name correctly. I know she was trying to justify his memory loss, why he is the way he is... I know, I know.. drugs. I guess I just don't understand, I never did them.

Later that night, I talked with Eric about the way I was feeling...mixed. Should I be upset?..Let it go?...Should I even care?

Eric told me that I had patience and grace with everyone, even complete strangers, why not give some to my dad. He deserves it too. So, I woke up this morning, still a little torn. As the day goes on, I'm slowly letting it go. I have a feeling it's going to be a few more days for it to be out of my system... I just needed to get it out in writing.

Grass!!

2010-06-03T09:34:00.000-07:00

I guess it's silly to be excited about a little foliage. But you have no idea what we have endured to get thus far..... We bought our house from a little old Jamaican lady who was a HOARDER. Our back yard literally had five sheds and our carport was boxed in for more storage. I think we took 4 loads to the dump before we actually got to move in. At some point in the backyard's life time, there were beautiful trees, we never got to see them. We inherited stumps that were made in to shrines. There were all sorts of rock gardens every which direction. Our first attempt to have a back yard was to remove all but one shed. We then burned out the stumps and removed wheel barrows upon wheel barrows of rock.

Around the second year, we thought we'd be able to till under and reseed. Our tiller hit more rock and GARBAGE. She buried her garbage in the back yard. But first she was so kind as to lay the black plastic down, throw her garbage on then bury it with dirt. That took us all summer to dig up and remove. In the mean time, the kids had hay days with shovels, dug trenches, holes and race tracks.

Last summer, Eric was on the road with DeAtley and I had three kids to keep busy. I had no time for back yard duties. Unfortunately it was over ran with puncture weeds. When Eric came home in October, he did his best at getting them out. We figured we'd have to wait another full year until we got all the goat heads.
This spring we diligently worked at pulling all the weeds and puncture weed starts. Eric then got the bug to till. It went smoothly and he laid seed. After a week and a half of impatiently waiting, we have out first starts. It's funny how Eric and I lean on the fence and just stare. I FINALLY get a back yard and with grass that the kids get to play in.....

Cooties

2010-05-26T11:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, when I got home from work and Caitrin came running up to me hugging my leg.

Caiti: Mommy, Mommy! What do you do when a boy kisses you?
Me: (taken back a little) You slap that boy and tell him to keep his mouth to himself. Wait, did some one kiss you today?
Caiti: Yes, Killian did...twice.
Me: Well, how about we don't do that anymore. You don't need to be kissing, you're too young. Eric, what did you tell her.
Eric: I told her that if she was kissed, she had Cooties.
Me: (looking at Caitrin) Sorry, kiddo. Looks like you have Cooties.

Not thinking anything of what I said, I turned my attention to Eric and we started talking about our day. Eric stopped and asked if what he was hearing was Caitrin crying in the back ground. I stopped and listened.. sure enough she was in her room bawling.
As I rushed down the hall to see what the matter was, I saw her taking her coat and scrubbing her face and her tongue.

Me: Caiti! What are you doing? What's wrong?
Caiti: I don't want Cooties, Mom!

CRAP! Can you say "Heartbreaking"?

Me: Oh, Caiti, you're alright. You want to know what gets rid of Cooties? Go-Gurts. Let's go eat a Go-Gurt.

She seemed content with the remedy. I had to call the school and let them know that some kissing has been going on, and that if she ends up smacking a boy, I apologize in advance. I guess I better pay better attention as to what I tell her from now on.

Conversations

2010-05-10T12:01:00.000-07:00

Setting: Caitrin and I are in the bathroom, and she's using the potty. (I've mentioned before that we have an open door policy at our house.. really no privacy.) I noticed that she had a perplexed look on her face.

Mom: Caitrin? Are you ok?

Caiti: Yeah... (sighing).. I don't think I'm going to eat anymore.

Mom: What? Why?

Caiti: Because. If I eat, I have to poop, and I'm tired of pooping.

So many times the child has left me speechless....
This also coming from Caitrin who told me a couple months ago that peeing was a "complete waste of her time."
Sorry, babe, it's unavoidable.

Windstorm 2010

2010-05-04T10:41:00.000-07:00

By the good graces of God, my house was spared. The only damage to the house was the front section of the gutter.

When I called Eric to let him know that our tree had fallen, I told him that I was blocked in the carport. I was unable to go anywhere. His reply "Where did you need to go?" THAT"S NOT THE POINT!!!

My car only had mud on it from the leaves being wet and dirty. No scratches!

This is the bull pine that stands between our house and our neighbors. The bricks we raised during the windstorm. I'm contemplating calling a tree faller and getting that bad boy down. I really don't want it falling on the neighbors house, since it's on our property.

Of course Caitrin had to have her picture taken next to the root ball. We aren't sure what we are going to put in place of the ornamental cherry tree. Eric's thinking another tree, I'm thinking a front porch. I said many prayers last night as the wind storm continued. I woke up to find that God heard me.

Skinny Jeans

2010-04-14T08:23:00.000-07:00

I have mentioned before that at work, we hand-me-down clothes from all of our kids. I'm not above free clothes. So when a gal came to me and asked what size Trent was and that she had a bag of pants out in her car, I jumped all over it. She had told me that there was a pair of jeans in that bag that were "skinny jeans". I cringed at the though. My reservations on those kinds of pants go in the same category as spandex, they should be outlawed. But... if Trent liked them, I'd bite my tongue.

When I brought them home, I told Trent to try them on, not mentioning that they were skinny jeans. He seemed excited that he got new clothes. When he came into my view, he had a look of disgust on his face.

Mom: What's wrong, they look like they fit you. (I thought they looked horrid, but it's what he thinks, right?)

Trent: UUmm.. NO!! Theses are skinny jeans. I look like the Jonas Brothers, and I am not gay!!

I snapped my head to Eric. He just had a smile on his face as if to say "that's my boy."

Those pants got quickly passed off to the next unsuspecting victim... my sister's house to my nephew.

Sick day

2010-04-05T12:49:00.000-07:00

Today I stayed home with Caitrin and Eric. They both weren't feeling very well. Learning from 2 and a half kids ago, you don't leave a sick kid home with a sick dad. The equation just doesn't add up. Caitrin wanted to take a nap in her Cottage... I didn't have a problem with that. We inherited this Cottage from some friend of ours, their girls our grew it so they passed it down to us.
We got her all snuggled in with pillows and blankets. She didn't ask to have any of her dolly's, teddy's, of stuffed animals with her. Oh no.... she had to have the real deal......

What's a cottage without a trusty guard? Adella would be so lost without her kids.

"High Heels" (????)

2010-03-30T15:41:00.000-07:00

For Easter, we went out and got the girls their Easter dresses, and of course we had to get shoes/sandals to match. Since Trent has taken a growth spurt every two weeks for the last 3 months, I knew the boy needed some nice clothes and shoes too. When we went to Payless, he saw the Airwalk version of the Converse All Star shoes (and much cheaper too!). He had to have them!! They were on sale so we agreed. Now the girls aren't allowed to wear their shoes until Easter. With Trent, I gave the go ahead just because he needed shoes and they weren't anything fancy.

The other night we went to Wal-Mart. When I say "we" I mean Eric and I, plus 5 kids in tow. And mind you it was around the 8pm hour. Surprisingly we made it through our trip with no one crying, hitting, screaming or knocking any endcaps over. (Yes, this has happened many times). As we were leaving through the "Exit" doors, people were trying to come in, going against the currant. Trent had noticed that it just rained and there were mud puddles everywhere. While the people were coming at us, he seemed to be doing a dance on his tippy toes and what looked like the potty dance.
Kind of annoyed I asked him what the heck he was doing.

In the middle of the crowd of people he cried " I don't want to get my high heels wet!"

Eric and I just put our heads down and pushed through, hoping no one in the crowd recognized us.

Trent didn't want to get the white parts dirty after the rain.

Advice from a (almost) 4 year old....

2010-03-30T10:08:00.000-07:00

Since it's spring break here, I told the older two kids that they had to have their rooms cleaned if they wanted to go anywhere this week.
Yesterday when I got home from work all the chores, including their rooms were done. I had a sense of satisfaction.
This morning as I was getting ready for work, I noticed that Tarren's room was a mess again. I kind of scolded her in letting her know that it hadn't even been 24 hours of her room being cleaned and it was right back to where she started yesterday morning. Caiti over heard our conversation and thought she had to chime in.

Caiti: You know Tarren, (with her hands on her hips) when you take things out and play with them, you should ALWAYS put them back. And that way your room will never be messy.

Here's a snap shot of Caiti's room......

She's got the "do as I say, and not as I do" part down really well.

Highlights

2010-03-08T09:47:00.001-08:00

I have been promising Tarren a haircut for a while. Time just flies by and I didn't realize that her hair was that bad with major dead ends. She has been begging for highlights since her birthday back in October.I was kind of torn at the decision... Is she too young? Eric and I talked it over and decided that she's a very responsible girl, and does a lot for us in helping around the house. She deserves to be rewarded. She knew of the haircut, but the highlights were a surprise to her. She was shocked. I asked her how she wanted her hair, if she wanted bangs, thick or thin chunks? She didn't know what the heck she wanted.

I informed the lady that I didn't want thick chunks in her hair, a weave would suit her just fine. I didn't want her first highlights to look totally hoaky. Then Tarren asked me is she could have bangs. I, for the most part, don't do bangs with the girls, it's one less thing for me to deal with. But she's old enough to make some decisions in regards to her body/hair, and she's well old enough to take care of her own hair.

And the final result is.......................................

Needless to say, she was very excited on how her hair turned out. Dad claims that she looks just a little bit older, which saddens him.

If only.....

2010-02-11T10:45:00.000-08:00

For Christmas Tarren received some sample shampoo and conditioners from Bath & Body Works. She had rediscovered them last week and decided to try them. The particular one she wanted to try out was some sort of stress relieving serum... I didn't pay to much attention to it other than it being in pretty green bottles.

This morning while I was in the shower getting ready for work, I saw the bottles and thought I would try them out. They smelled good.

In our house, we have an open door policy, so Tarren came into the bathroom while I was showering.

Tarren - Mom, are you using my shampoo and conditioner?
Me - Yeah, they smelled good. Sorry, I should have asked
Tarren - That's okay, do you like them?
Me - Sure.
Tarren - Did it take away all your stress?

The thought was genuine and sincere because she knows about my high stress levels lately, but I had to smile and reply "yeah, some of it".

Oh to be 11 years old, and be so naive to the thought of a simple bottle of shampoo and conditioner taking away all your problems. I'm not ready to take away her rose colored glasses, yet.

Go Saints!!

2010-02-05T08:18:00.000-08:00

I dug this picture out of my wallet, so it's a little worn. As you can see, we've been Saint's fan for a long time. This is Trenton when he was about 2, close to 3. It also helped that Eric's parents were living across the river from New Orleans at that time.

Note: He is nowhere near blonde anymore... that makes me sad.

Tarren's Recital

2010-02-02T12:55:00.000-08:00

Tarren's recital was a little over a week ago. (Just a lil late on posting). This was the first one she had ever been in. The paper called for her hair to be "half up and curly". I called Jonnie in to do Tarren's hair since I never quite learned how to do mine, I always had her. I think it took close to an hour. As I dropped Tarren off at her class room, I ran into one of my nieces, Hannah. You can't tell Tarren is nervous at all.
I didn't get any pictures of the dance routine because I have a camera that would just take really dark pictures. We were in the far back corner, so no matter how hard I tried nothing was coming out worth a darn.

She was given flowers by her Grandma Hart. I absolutely LOVE this picture. With Tarren being 11 going on 25, I don't know a thing about a thing or two. We constantly fight. So when I held up the camera to take the picture, she quickly gave me a kiss. Affection is few and far in between with her, I only pray that it's a pre-teen thing she's going through.

Dentist... Again....

2010-01-13T12:43:00.001-08:00

Caitrin had to go in again. She had a molar that the whole back half broke off. They basically had to do a baby root canal on her.
She just sat there to whole time, watching Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. We were done in 20 minutes. Now if I could get this kind of treatment when I go in for my check ups.

Conversations

2010-01-11T13:01:00.000-08:00

Being with Eric over the last 12 years, you would think by now that I would respect some of his anal retentiveness. When it comes to him building/crafting things, he's a perfectionist, it HAS to be square. His socks have to be a certain height, the top button of his pants have to be aligned with his belly button, pens must ALWAYS have caps, and the bread clip on the loaf of bread is to be put back....no exceptions.

I chuck the pen caps because I use the pen to keep my hair up and as for the bread clip, it goes right in the garbage. I'm a twist, spin and tuck kind of gal, with that said this is how our conversation went on Sunday morning while making breakfast:

Eric: Babe, where's the bread clip?
I think my blank stare and no response was enough to tell him that I tossed it.
Eric: (jokingly) WOMAN!! You wanna die?
Me: If it means that I meet Jesus today, sure.
Eric: You know, I think Jesus and I are a lot a like.
Me: Really? Do tell. (thinking "this ought to be interesting")
Eric: Well, I think Jesus is a bread clip kind of man. He'd want you to put the clip back on the bread, too.

I just stared at him. Highly confused.

Me: You want to know the difference between you and Jesus? He's forgiven me for tossing the stupid clip and every other time I do it again.

He had no come back.

A man with a boy's toy......

2009-12-28T14:03:00.000-08:00

I know that Eric was a little annoyed with me when he asked if I had bought him a Christmas present and I had told him yes. He gave me the evil eye. I explained to him that you just couldn't have one without the other. He seem confused, but that's all I said. So on Christmas morning when we were handing out the presents, I told Trent to take one for him and the other was for his dad and they had to open them up together. If you can't tell, Eric was a little giddy when he opened his NERF dart gun.
Through out the rest of the day, I was finding weird things around the house. In my bathroom, on the tub wall, on the tile was a black circle. On my window above the kitchen sink, in the fogginess of it was circles drawn all over it with numbers in side the circle (like a target). The cats were nowhere to be found, and the dog was laying on her bed in the corner behind the recliner(which she never does).

That's because these two were running around the house shooting at moving targets, and all the targets they had drawn on my walls and windows. My big screen TV has little circles from the suction cup darts. When Eric was annoyed with whatever the kids were watching, he'd shoot at the TV. When he'd get up to get a drink of water from the kitchen, he'd slink around the corner and shoot at the window, there was no end.

I am now finding darts in my laundry, in the dog water bowl, the bathroom tub, you name it, I'm sure there is one there too.

Boys will be boys..........

Boredom

2009-12-14T14:40:00.001-08:00

I booted the four older yahoos out of the house on Saturday afternoon so I could clean and actually feel like I was making head way. I'm quite impressed that they all got along long enough to conjured up a make shift teeter toter. It was cheap entertainment for all of about a half an hour. I also warned them to not come into the house complaining of slivers in areas where the sun doesn't shine, they would have to get them out themselves.

(Please excuse the desolate back yard. We are trying to kill all the puncture vines, so therefore we have to kill the whole yard for 3 years.. Yeah dirt!)

Are we really that bad?

2009-11-30T13:32:00.000-08:00

Thursday night we went to Eric's oldest sister's house to have our 3rd Thanksgiving meal of the day. Eric's sister has been known for her fine taste in alcohol and likes to have a good time. So needless to say, I gorged myself with not only turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing and pumpkin pie, I partook in the drinking festivities as well( I don't do it very often, so it doesn't take much for me to be walking on my lips). Since Eric gets along with this said sister, we ended up staying there until 2am just reminiscing of the "good ol' days".
I knew that my sister wanted to do the Black Friday thing, and was really hoping at that point that she would have forgotten to set her alarm. That didn't happen. She called me at 4:15am and begged me to take her to JC Penny's. Though I felt like throwing up the whole entire time, I humored her. I only spent $40. I told her that I wasn't going to take her anywhere else, she'd have to drag her husband to do whatever else she needed to do... I was in no condition to be around crowds, afraid of loosing my dinner from the night before.
When I got home, I noticed that the girls were awake. I begged Tarren to appease Caiti, make her a bowl of cereal, let her watch whatever she wanted.. I didn't care right then, I just wanted to go back to bed.
Thinking I was on the home stretch of entering the deep sleep zone, I heard a blood curdling "MOM!!!" from the top of the stairs.
With my head buried in my pillow, I yelled "WHAT!?"
" Is it Amy Day?" (meaning does she go to daycare)
My head still buried "NO!"
" Sooo... that means I have to spend ALL day with you and Dad?" (I kid you not, she emphasized "ALL")
I then popped my head out of the pillow and looked at Eric. He had his head buried because he was laughing so hard.
Gritting my teeth I replied "Is there a problem with that?"
Sensing my tone, I think she adjusted hers. "Why are you so angry mom?"
Still gritting..."Do you have a problem staying with Mom and Dad?"
Making herself sound so innocent and sweet "No, I just don't know why you are so angry?"

I didn't get to go back to sleep right then, I had to wait until the afternoon to steal a nap.

Really?

2009-11-19T14:27:00.000-08:00

This morning Caiti graced us with her presence around 5am. Usually that's my time with Eric, getting coffee made, making his lunch, adult conversations without being rudely interrupted... the normal stuff all parents dream of. I couldn't get her to go back to sleep so, I just threw in a movie and went about my morning chores.
Around 7:30am, we were driving down the road to go to Daycare/Preschool.

Caitrin: Mom, I'm tired (yawning)
Mom: (with a hint of attitude) You should be, you've been up since 5.
Caitrin: You don't need to get cranky with me.

Really?
In that moment of silence, I heard her roll her eyes.

You know you're a mom when......

2009-11-17T14:31:00.000-08:00

.... you bring your lunch to work in a Shrek Tupperware container and the milk in a pink dinosaur thingy (I'm not even sure what that's called). Yes.. I have been made fun of all day......

Fall days

2009-11-02T10:06:00.001-08:00

Our neighbor has a really BIG English Walnut Tree in the middle of his yard. The kids love to play over there because our tree isn't so big with quite so many leaves. The neighbor really doesn't care that the kids play in the leaves or that I scavenge all his walnuts... less he's got to do.

3rd times a charm.....

2009-10-30T11:54:00.000-07:00

This has been an on going adventure for Caitrin... going to the dentist. We have attempted two times before this and all she did was stare at Dr. Folsom. He talked sweet to her, bribed her with treats and toys just for her to open her mouth so he can count her teeth.. nope, still a no go. But today was different some how. She talked to him about what she's going to be for Halloween, how old she is and she even opened her mouth!
Of course she got a prize from the goody box, a new tooth brush and a baggy of other dental paraphernalia.

We are the champions.....

2009-10-26T13:49:00.001-07:00

...... The title pretty much sums it up.........

Wildcats went undefeated the whole season 6-0

Sorry it's a little blury, everyone was fighting over who got to touch the trophy.

An awards ceremony and banquet for these lil guys will be later this week. Of course Trent is the one in the middle #16. He's already itching for next year...........

Look A Like.....

2009-10-13T13:19:00.000-07:00

When I was little my mom would dress my sister and I the same ALL the time. We were only 20 months apart but close in size. I swore I would never do that to my kids.

At my work, my co-workers have kids aging from newborn (as of yesterday) to 20 something. We all bring in the hand-me-downs and rifle through it to see what we want. I received a bag yesterday of clothes that could possibly fit Trent. It just so happened to have a hoodie that Caitrin got as a hand-me-down from a different co-worker months ago. So of course when Trent came upstairs with his hoodie on, Caiti had to run in her room and change her clothes to match. I swear to you, I did NOT dress them the same today.

Go Wildcats!!!

2009-10-12T14:51:00.000-07:00

This is Frank the Tank with Trent. He is Trent's Defensive Line Coast. He unfortunately wasn't at this last Saturday's game in Colfax. Someone in his wife's family had passed away and they had to fly off to California. Frank is a big kid himself, and I was worried that the kids weren't going to do well with him being gone. He usually gets the kids hyped up to play. But I was wrong......

It was soooo cold in Colfax at 8am. I want to say it was in the teens. Trent is #16 and is hunkered under one of the assistant coaches. He has learned that if he stays under one of their wings, he gets more playing time. Smart kid because he's played about three quarters of each game. Trent almost recovered a fumble, but when he reached out to grab it, he ended up pushing it out of bounds. Good play though. The Wildcats played their hearts out. We won 30 to zip. Our fifth game and the boys are undefeated. We have a bye next week and the week after that they play at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow for the championship games. They couldn't be more excited.

After the game, Coach wanted to give them a pep talk and express how proud he was of them.

I love this picture of Trent looking up at Coach, just eating everything he's saying. It was funny to watch Trent when they won the game, he galloped around the field like a jumping jack rabbit with his hand in the air pointing the number 1 sign and of course a smile ear to ear.

Of course Dad made it down to watch the boy play. There wasn't enough blanket or hats on us to keep the cold out.

Conversations....

2009-10-09T13:03:00.000-07:00

Background history .. Anyone who's around me knows that I can put my hair up with a pen (writing utensil). I twist my hair like so, weave the pen through like that and ta da.. my hair stays. On this particular day, I put hair up with said pen.

Setting: All of us are in Eric's pickup heading to Nezperce. All three of the kids were in the back seat coloring or drawing of some sort.

Caiti: Mom I need a pen.

Mom: You have crayons, use those.

Caiti: No, I NEED a pen. Trent has one, so I need one

Mom: Sorry, he's got the only pen. You'll just have to wait, or use your crayons.

Caiti: (with attitude) You have one in your hair, let me have that.

Mom: No. I'm not taking my hair out. Deal with it.

Caiti: Well, your hair looks weird any ways.

Eric, of course is trying to stay on the road from laughing so hard. I look at him and ask, " At what age do they learn manipulative remarks?" His reply.... "Apparently at 3."
She never got the pen.

The phone call...

2009-10-08T14:37:00.000-07:00

Last night I cried. Not bad tears, tears of joy and confirmation. And to understand, I'll back up a little.
It's been a rough 5 months. Eric has been out of town, and it's hard raising OUR 3 children with little help. The busy sport schedules, staying in Asotin for 2 hours a night, 3 nights a week to save on gas, trying to get the girls to their dance, and trying to maintain the house, laundry and dishes. No easy feat. Stress has been high again due to talks of layoff. There are 6 plant with Eric's company and 2 of them got shut down this week due to no bids or jobs for them to go to, Eric's plant not being one of them. But no one was talking of where the next site would be, not knowing if there was one at all. How cruel this economy can be.
This past Sunday at church, I lost it during communion. I realized that like a lost sheep I had strayed from God, and thought that I could do all of this on my own. I apologized for my straying, and thanked Him for never letting me go, and that whatever His will is, He has promised to take care of my family. We have lived through two lay offs and survived by His good graces and if a third is to come, we would survive again.
Early last night, I was dog tired and ended up crashing in Eric's chair with Caitrin in my lap. I was waken around 12:30am by my phone ringing. Eric used to call me when he got off work, between midnight and 1am, but it was a 50-50 chance that I would answer, so he just gave up a few weeks ago. Realizing that it was Eric calling me, I better answer it since he hasn't called me that late in a while. He apologized for waking me, but he had some good news. (I wasn't sure if he was being facetious or not, I wasn't quite awake) My instant thought was that he had been laid off. He asked me to guess what pit they were going to next, in my sleepy stupor I told him I didn't know. I could tell he was smiling when he said "Pullman". That means that he's coming home! The Pullman Pit is close enough that he doesn't have to live in his trailer, and he'll be home every morning (since he works the night shift). But I don't care, I will get to see him every day. Not two days out of every seven, or two days out of 14. I asked him how soon and he said that they should be moving by the end of this month. Being with this company for the last 7 months, I know that Pullman can get yanked right out from underneath them, but I'm riding on the faith that the good Lord knows that I'm in need of my husband and He's bring him home to me.
After the phone conversation, I put Caitrin to bed and I meandered to mine. I just laid there and cried. I'm sure it was out of joy, relief, and knowing that God had answered my prayers. When I woke up this morning, there was a new vibe in the air and a little skip in my step. God is good.
***I do need to throw in credit where it's due. My sister has also been my saving grace in all these hard times. She has taken the kids to their events if I had a scheduling conflict, and she has fixed many meals for the kids and I. She has been my sound wall, when I couldn't talk to Eric and my shoulder when I felt times were getting a little to hard. I would be truly lost without her***

Football

2009-10-02T11:21:00.000-07:00

As I have mentioned, Trent is in football this year. He plays for the Clearwater Football League. Full gear, full tackle. It's so awesome to see these little people run the whole length of the field and cream each other going for the ball. You might say that is brutal for an 8 year old, but I'm a firm believer in letting boys be boys. This was when they played in Pullman against the Colfax Bulldogs. Their standings were 2-0. He's pretty smug about his winnings. And for a first year, he has had a lot of playing time.

Coop is in the same league but they will never play against each other. Coop is in the 5th &6th division and Trent is in the 3rd & 4th division. Boy they do look good. Last weekend Trent was to play at Martin Stadium in Pullman. He came down with the flu. It was all he could do to sit in the stands and watch his team mates play. When he got up enough energy, he'd get his helmet on and stand by the coaches (can't be on the field without the helmet). His team won that game and the Wildcats are now 3-0 and we have our seat in the championship game. Tomorrow he plays in Kendrick. He's not a 100% recovered from the flu but he's going to try his best. It's been killing him not going to practice and sitting on the side lines. Not to mention Dad has been getting a kick out of coming home on the weekends just to watch Trent play.

Conversations

2009-09-21T11:27:00.000-07:00

Setting: I'm in the shower getting ready to go to Trent's football game. The kids are still kind of waking up or running around getting their bowls of cereal.
Caitrin barges in to the bathroom...

Caitrin: Mom! I have to go to the bathroom!
Mom: Okay.. go. No one is stopping you.

I hear her situate herself and can already tell that there is some attitude in the works.

Caitrin: (sighs)... this is a complete waste of my time.

I just peek out of the shower curtain to look at her in bewilderment.

What do you say to that, because I'm at a loss?

Conversations... (it's been a while)

2009-09-16T14:55:00.000-07:00

Setting: The girls and I are at the Asotin Football field watching Trent practice his football for 2 (very long) hours. Caitrin wanted to "mess" with my hair. Anything to entertain a 3 year old. I am playing a game on my cell phone.

Caitrin: MOM!! I told you to sit still!! (as she reefing on my head)
Me: I didn't move. You're the one moving my head.
Caitrin: I know.

She starts "combing" my hair with her fingers. Of course she's pulled out a handful of my hair. I winced in pain at one point.

Caitrin: Oh Mama. Don't be scared. It's okay.

I just grin and bear it, thinking myself "oh, I'm not scared, just afraid of loosing all my hair"

It's nice to know that if all else fails she could get a job at Helga's House of Pain.

Life's lil updates.......

2009-09-10T13:22:00.000-07:00

In the past three weeks it has been non-stop.
First off, Dad came home from Coeur'd Alene on Tuesday. Should he have?.... No. His check out weight was 205. There really isn't much left of that man. With him coming home, I don't feel he'll get adequate therapy and most likely being the stubborn mule that he is, he'll end up driving the therapists away. I found out some horrible things that happen to him while he was in Kootnia Medical Center. They weren't changing his feeding tube regularly, so at one point he went 10 hours with out any food, in the mean time they kept pumping him full of his insulin. They missed his pain meds on a handful occasions, then they had the gall to say that he was a difficult patient and was combative. Eric's older sister Chaney is a nurse. When she requested his charts, they refused. So she called up Kathy, Eric's step-mom, to have her permission, they also refused them to her as well. Needless to say Chaney called and reported the hospital. The physical therapist that they assigned to Dad was an elderly, over weight women who only wanted to sit and scalded Cal every time he got up and wanted to walk around. Eric ended up turning her in and they removed him from her charge. I'm sure that's why Dad wanted to come home, figured he'd get better help at home. We aren't sure if his memory will ever be 100%. When we asked him the date he replied with " October 25, 2005". He kept calling Eric "Christian" (Eric's older brother), and Dad couldn't remember that Eric had purchased a new truck back in May. Eric's not happy that I haven't taken the kids up to the house to see Dad. Honestly, and maybe I'm being selfish, I don't want them to see him that way. That's not Papa. His jaws are still wired, but he's able to speak only with great effort and he's got a huge bandage where the hole in his throat was. I just don't want them to have that memory.

Trent has started football. His first official game is this weekend in Moscow. He had a Jamboree this past weekend, where they play all the teams in 15min segments. It's really cool to watch little boys run around and just tackle the heck out of each other. Do I have pics? Of course. Do I have my camera? That would be a BIG no. I left it at Eric's second cousin's house in Oregon.

Which brings me to the Reel Family Reunion this past weekend as well. It was in Estacada, Or. Just south east of Portland. Very beautiful. We met family I've only heard about. Eric's dad is a "Junior", so when he was growing up he was called "Butch"(I still can't figure out why). So when introducing ourselves, we had to say we were "Butch's" kin. Honestly annoying to all of us, but we put up with it for a couple of hours. "Butch" was also the black sheep of the family and had the black mark painted upon his forehead, so it bled on to all his offspring. We all felt awkward and out of place. We were the largest clan there, 7 adults and 9 kids all from "Butch". Eric's real mom was there, and she being the ex-wife, I'm sure she felt a little awkward as well, but she still considers them her family.
We had a good time in Portland though. On the way home we stopped at the Falls. Eric wasn't a happy camper since we always stop there heading out of town. I didn't care. The last time we were there, it was cold and snowy. Different season, different scenery.
Eric is Ellensburg awaiting to go to Goldbar, which is an hours drive our of Seattle. He's getting further and further away making it harder for him to come home on the weekends. From Goldbar he's supposed to go to Olympia. I think that'll be fun, I'll be able to take the kids to the coast and Eric's sister will only be a few hours out of the way. But all this is subject to change at the drop of a hat, so we'll see what they say tomorrow.
Right now I'm just trying to get through yesterday. Life is very busy with football practice, laundry, homework, and making whatever little time is left for me.

The Walden House

2009-08-24T14:12:00.000-07:00

Eric and I were kind of freaked out about finding a place to stay when we went up to see his dad. I googled all the surrounding hotel/motels coming to realize that it was going to be an arm and a leg to stay the night. The cheapest place was $85.00. I guess I'm cheap and couldn't see paying that much just for a bed and a hot shower, but whatever it took to see Cal, we were going to do it. When I asked Eric's sister where they were staying so we could stay close, Chaney told me about The Walden House. All she told me was that it was ran by donation, it had 9 rooms, and a community bathroom. I cringed at the thought. Seeing some of the Ronald McDonald houses growing up because of my sister always in the hospital, I didn't think that this was going to be any better. All they wanted was $25.00 a night plus a $5.00 cleaning fee. Seems very reasonable but what else was I bargaining for? When we decided to head to bed around midnight Friday night/Saturday morning, we went to the house where we had a reservation. I just kept saying to myself.."How bad could it be?? How bad could this be?" Pulling up, it was a beautifully lit house with a well manicured lawn. Our room was upstairs, so we tippy toed up stairs. Observing to the layout, the house was gorgeous. The rooms were large, (ours had two twin beds, not sure if all the rooms were that way), the common room was tidy, the kitchen very welcoming. The bathrooms, we did have to share with all the guests in the house, but you had to clean it every time you used it. I'm sure it was a lot cleaner the your local Motel 6. When we settled in, I asked Eric if he wanted to sleep in separate beds, or try to snuggle into one. He said that he sleeps every other night without me, he wasn't going to that night. Needless to say, it was a restless one. I felt like I was going to fall off my end, and Eric felt the same.
Checking out, I got a better lay of the house. There was common room upstairs, a spacious common room on the main floor with a wall of books, and beautiful fire place. In the kitchen, the little old lady had tea, coffee and cookies out for everyone. I was more then impressed. I was okay with paying $30.00 for the night when all we did was sleep and shower. I will definitely recommend The Walden House to anyone.

Stubborn Mule

2009-08-20T14:18:00.001-07:00

This wonderful man is Calvin Edward Reel. It's Eric's dad. On Monday evening he was in a four-wheeler accident. I received a phone call at one in the morning saying what had happened and even at that it was all very sketchy. A lot of questions were left unanswered. At 4am I received another phone call that they had done a CAT scan on him and it didn't look so good: broken shoulder, collar bone, multiple puncture wounds on the upper right hand side of his back and the whole right side of his face was pretty much smashed. The only question I could get out was if he was coherent or responsive. I needed to know that he was still "in there". They told me that he'd squeeze your hand if you were talking to him. By this point they were waiting for the orders for him to be life flighted to Kootenia Medical Center in Coeur d'Alene. Through out the day we had small updates here and there, but nothing to say much of anything. He underwent surgery Tuesday night and that's when I found out what all had happened.

(Calvin with all is son's, except for the lil lil guy)
Cal decided it would be fun to ride off on his four-wheeler by himself. Eric's baby brother, Justin and Eric's nephew Dagen were fishing in the creek when they heard a loud commotion. They turned to see what it was and saw that it was dad's/grandpa's four-wheeler that had flipped. Unfortunately it was those two that had found him. No one knows what had caused him to flip, a pot hole, soft edge, we may never know if Cal can't remember. Dagen and Eric's oldest brother Christian had to carry Dad out and he was then taken to Orofino Hospital.
The injuries that he sustained were pretty much all upper body, face, neck and shoulders.
The surgery revealed that he had to have two metal plates placed under both of his eyes, a metal mesh plate placed behind the right eye to keep it in place, they had to wire his jaw shut and they had to do a tracheotomy because his nasal cavity was smashed and he wouldn't be able to breath. Thus they put in a feeding tube as well. The doctor's fixed and set his shoulder and collar bone. The multiple puncture wounds on his upper back were from the collar bone breaking and stabbing him through the skin 3 or 4 times as he rolled.
(Cal and all the kids and the grandkids)
Yesterday, the doctors made him wake up to try to breath on his own. In that man's stubbornness, he tried ripping all of his tubes out. That's the ornery man that I know.
His eyes are swollen shut, his mouth wired shut... he has no form of communication to any of us other then squeezing hands that are holding his. I am being told that he hears you, and that's all. I haven't seen him yet. Honestly, I'm scared to. I will be leaving work early tomorrow and staying the night up there. I can't imagine how Eric is doing with all of this. The plant that he's working on, the supervisor went on vacations which left him in charge. He felt obligated to stay, only going on the fact that dad's injuries weren't life threatening and it's only the waiting game. Eric is leaving work tomorrow from Yakima and heading straight up.
The bleeding in Cal's brain has stopped and their is a lot of bruising, but they are promising no permanent damage. Their main concern right now is his eye sight. He could end up with double vision, deeming him "disabled". The reason I call him a stubborn mule is because on Tuesday, Eric's older sister, Stacey, called up to his room and actually got to talk to Dad. She had asked him if she needed to come up there to say good bye to him. He just laughed, and if you know Cal, you know what laugh it is, and he said he didn't know what everyone was worried about. When Stace relayed that information, I knew the good Lord wasn't done with this man yet... THANKFULLY. He is truly one of the better men in my life. Many prayers are needed.

11 years and going strong

2009-07-29T08:50:00.001-07:00

Today marks 11 years for Eric and I. Looking back on our journey,( I say this because it hasn't been all rainbows and cupcakes), I realize how far we have come. If you can imagine a marriage rockier then the Rocky Mountains and stormier then the Gulf in hurricane season, that was us in our first five years. Any possible means of destruction to a marriage, it was done. Not just by one party but both. These last 6 years we have been cleaning up our path of destruction we created. I feel that our marriage is now stronger then it ever has been and I honestly believe it's because I have let the Lord back into my life. I see things with a different light and only want to make things better. Though our marriage is far from perfect, we don't waste our means on material things. We realize what we wasted for 5 years, and what matters is our time to and with each other.
Trying to recall all our anniversaries, I think we've only exchanged cards and had a dinner to ourselves here and there. Nothing big. (On our 8th, we spent OUR day at Eric's little brother's wedding where Eric was a groomsmen. Yes, that's right, his little brother got married on the same day as us. Talk about me being pissy.. salt in an open wound........) I wanted to renew our vows last year being our 10 year mark, and I wanted to do it under the eyes of the Lord, since we were 17, signed off by both of our parents in the court house by a justice of the peace. But Eric was laid off at the beginning of that July, and so yet another test of our marriage was set upon us. I can proudly say that today marks another mile stone and that test has come and is now gone. I just wish he was here with me so I could appreciate US all that much more. Happy anniversary, Babe. I love you.

My sister....

2009-07-28T14:43:00.000-07:00

... turns 30 today. Where do I begin with her.... She is my only biological sister out of all of us girls. We aren't quite 2 years apart. Growing up we were the poster children of sibling rivalry. We NEVER got along. I remember when I was younger, thinking that I was going to go to school clear across the county to get away from her. And just maybe, if she was lucky, I'd send her a Christmas card. We were actually separated when I was 13. She had to go live with my biological father because of her "unruly" behavior. She grew up in and out of hospitals due to her bad asthma, so I was always stuck doing her chores because she would conveniently have an "asthma attack." Things changed drastically when I found out I was pregnant with Tarren. She moved her and her now husband up here to Lewiston to be closer to me. We have since then developed a unbreakable bond. We don't go a day without calling each other and knowing what's going on. Her kids are mine, and mine are hers. We have a lot of the same beliefs. so raising the kids isn't a chore for either one of us (though 5 kids are hard to handle at any given moment). This morning when I called her to tell her Happy Birthday and remind her that she was 30, she sweetly reminded me that I'm not so far behind her.

I should also throw out there that she shares her birthday with our biological dad. He is turning a whopping 54. She has our dad's and grandfather's name sake; my grandfather Johnny George, my dad Johnny Michael, and my sister Jonnie (pronounced Johnny) Katherine.

So here's to you Jonnie. Of all those times we tried to kick the poo out of each other, I'm glad we didn't end up killing one another. Hope you have a great birthday! I love you.

Coping.......

2009-07-22T10:05:00.001-07:00

Since the older two are gone to church camp in Orofino for Faith Tabernacle, I've been trying to occupy Caiti. Monday night was quite nice. We gave the dog a good bath and then we settled down to watch a movie. By 7pm, Caiti fell asleep and I found myself waking up around 8:30pm on the couch. I took advantage of the whole situation and packed her up and we went to bed. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with her last night until I heard on the radio that the Aquatic Center was having family night from 6 to 8 and it only cost $10.

So I called up my nieces and asked if they wanted to join me. My oldest niece brought my great-nephew who is one, and we had a great time. So for $10 we got 7 people in, not bad I say.

I took Caitrin with the intentions of her passing out early. I figured that all that running around and swimming would tire her out. Not so much. We ended up staying up until 11pm. It must have been the all the sleep that she got the night before.

Happy Birthday Trent

2009-07-20T16:32:00.000-07:00

Today is Trent's 8th birthday. This morning he woke all excited to leave for camp in Orofino today. But when we got to the bus, the mood changed. He had tears pooling up and his eyes were red. He asked me to say a little prayer with him to help him be brave and strong. I sat and waited for the buses to pull out and leave to let my own tears fall. He has never been this long without me, so it was kind of hard on mama as well. I felt bad because I called Eric bawling. He just laughed and told me to enjoy the craziness that the little one is going to give me. I promised Trent that when he got back on Friday, we'd have a Transformer birthday party for him. I just hope and pray that he'll have a good time. Poor kids, I miss them already.

Conversations

2009-07-16T10:14:00.000-07:00

Setting: We were in the car listening to the radio. The song Life is a Highway, by Tom Cochrane came on. At this particular time, I didn't know that it was Tom Cochrane who sang it.
I saw Trent staring at the radio in disgust.

Mom: Hey, what's your problem?
Trent: They're singing this song wrong.

It took me a minute to understand what he was talking about. He has grown up with the Disney movie CARS, in which Rascal Flats (sp?) sings the song, so it didn't sound quite right, to him.

Mom: Oh. Umm... This is the original song. The first time the song came out. Long before you were born. Rascal Flats re sang it so they could play it for the movie.
Trent: They still aren't singing it right. Who is it?
Mom: You know, bud, I'm not sure. But I can find out later today.
Trent: It's probably a bunch of senior psychopaths.
Mom: Senior psychopaths, huh?
Trent: Yea, a bunch of old people.

I just shook my head...

Growth Spurt

2009-06-15T14:33:00.000-07:00

With school being out for the kids, Trent has spent a lot of time at my sister's place. My nephew, Jackson, and Trent are joined at the hip most of the time. They get along really well. ( More then I can say for the other 3). Friday night I had told Trent that he had to come home. I hadn't seen him in a few day and I wanted to spend time with him. He wouldn't have it. When I told him it wasn't an option, that didn't go over well either. Needless to say that when we were at home, he did everything in his power to give me MAJOR attitude. By 6 o'clock, I was done with it. I sent him off to his room. It is very like my son to challenge me. By that I mean, he'll come to the top of the stairs and sit and make noises, he'll come up from his room saying that he has to go to the bathroom or needs something to eat or drink, anything to see if I'd forget that I sent him to his room.
The girls and I were just veg-ing on the couch. Around 7:30 it hit me that Trent had not challenged me, or gave me any more attitude. I went down the stairs to check on him, make sure he didn't make an escape out the window to his friend's house ( I wouldn't put it past him). When I entered his room, he was snuggled under is covers. "Well....??" I thought. I just chalked it to him not getting enough sleep at my sister's house.
The next morning, I woke early to read my book (I'm reading the Twilight Series.. again). 8 o'clock Trent came wondering up the stairs after a good 12 hours plus of sleep. As he reached the top, he stretched. While I was watching him, I made a mental note that I thought he looked taller. No big deal, all my kids have legs.
He did his morning routine of going to the bathroom and when he came out, he just stood in the hallway staring at his feet, or it could have been the floor. I'm not sure. He looked at me kind of confused.
"What?" I asked.
"Mom, I feel taller" he said puzzled.
" Okay, come here." I guided him to the hall way where we measure the kids on a regular basis. I had noticed that Eric just measured all the kids on May 9th.
I backed him up to the wall and was blown away. He has grown a full inch since May 9th.
There goes the pair of pants I just bought him before school got out. I guess I should have noticed something was up when he started to eat me out of house and home. I have a sneaking suspicion that he's going to be taller then his dad. What's a mother to do...?

Conversations

2009-05-30T07:31:00.000-07:00

Setting: We were driving home from my sisters house. Caitrin and Tarren were in the very back seats and Trent was in the middle row in front of Caitrin. Mind you, all three of them had been bickering with each other ALL day.

Caitrin: Hey, Trent. (no answer) TRENT!
Trenton: What!?
Caitrin: I have a water bottle and it's not yours. (with the neener neener attitude)
Trenton: Caiti, I know it's yours and I don't care.
Mom: That's enough you two. Caiti, we all know that's your water bottle, so stop trying to pick a fight.

A few minutes go by....
Caitrin: Hey, Mom. When you and me get home, I'm gonna pick a fight with YOU.
(No surprise there, the child is bull headed)
Mom: Really? I'm going to tell you right now to chalk that one to a loss.

Caiti just smiles. You know her wheels were turning.

I swear I'm going to check myself in to the 5th floor on her 13th birthday!!

Inseparable

2009-05-25T21:45:00.000-07:00

Memorial Day 2009

2009-05-25T20:45:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to go back up to the falls since last year. With the gas prices SO high last summer and Eric being laid off right after the 4th of July, we really didn't go anywhere or do much. So I BEGGED him to take me up to Elk River for Memorial Day. He graciously agreed. I asked my sister and her family to accompany us. All the boys rode up in Eric's truck and the girls all road up in my car. (Please don't ask me what the deal is with the sticks in the mouths, I have no clue and it just doesn't end here... you'll see.)

All these kids are such posers. There were many fallen trees on the trails. I'm glad that I opt not to bring the stroller. I would have ended up carrying it more then pushing it. Caiti Bug was a real trooper.

This was at the lowest falls. I didn't take a picture of it, but there were people swimming and playing around at the bottom of water fall. It was still a little too cold for me.

This was the Middle Falls. The tallest of all three. There is a game trail that you can take to the very top of it. My parents made me take it when I was 14. When the kids are a little older, I'm sure I'll do the same. There were people all over those trails.

My sister and I. Need I say more.

Like I said earlier, Caiti was such a trooper. It's a total of almost 2 and a half miles round trip, by this point we had about a half a mile left to the parking lot. She trucked all those steep hills and narrow trails. If you have taken that trail, you'd know it's not a straight stretch.

But what's going to Elk River without scoping the town. There were many trailers and truck trying to hit the road and head back into town.

And you can't go to Elk River without going to Huckleberry Haven and having their famous Huckleberry Ice cream. It's the best. I highly recommend it. They had a Huckleberry pie in there for sale, it ran for $21.00, or $7.00 a slice. We just settled for the ice cream.

After the ice cream we went up to the lake for some fishing. Caiti had other ideas. The boys weren't happy with her since she was splashing around and "making noise". She didn't care and apparently the water wasn't too cold for her.

I guess it wasn't fair, 3 boys and 1 pole. I didn't think we'd have enough time, so I didn't bring the others. I'll know better next time.

Bug and her dirty face. I swear it's a magnet for the dirt. All in all we had an awesome time. It was really relaxing and I honestly didn't feel rushed. We did what we liked, took our time. We had no where we had to be at any given time.

As soon as the Cedars open up, I'm sure we'll be taking another trip up that way.

A boy and his toy

2009-05-23T16:26:00.001-07:00

Eric decided that this was the weekend that he'd bulldoze the backyard.

Yeh for me!

Trent's first game

2009-05-20T19:47:00.000-07:00

Tonight was Trent's first game. He's still in Farm League, which is pitching machine. I'm hoping we'll be able to go up to live arm next year, but we'll see. He seemed a little gun shy of the ball, but relaxed once the game got going. When he was up to bat for the first time, he did strike out. The second time proved to be better, he got on base but never made it home due to outs. Just like last year, he's being groomed to be a catcher. He absolutely loves it. Of all the kids catching, he was the only one that would scoot close to home plate. All the others were clear at the back stop. We have told him that the ball isn't going to hurt because of all the gear, that's what it's there for. Get in front of the ball.

Papa decided to grace us with his presence. In doing so, he out right spoiled his grandchildren. Caiti Mae being his princess, got hoards of candy. He spared no expense with the girls, buying them nachos, gatorade, suckers, laffy taffy, and other sugar crap that I yelled a him for. His excuse is that they are his to spoil and I have to back off.

Here is his pouring (literally) sugar in to Caiti's mouth. I had to turn away, it made me sick. Eric told Dad that he was going to be on night duty with her, since she's going to be bouncing off the walls.

I would like to think that our boys won, but being in Farm League, they don't keep score. Both teams hit and fielded well. It's a lot better to watch then T-Ball, that's for sure. Tarren has her game tomorrow. It seems like every night this week is designated for a game or practice, but that's not different then any other week. Poor Caitrin, she's going to spend every spring and half her summers growing up at the ball fields. A ball field brat.

Conversations

2009-05-19T20:52:00.000-07:00

Setting: Eric and I are sitting in the living room just relaxing. I told the older kids to hop into the shower, and told Caitrin to go to her room to get her jammies on. Her room looks like a bomb hit it. I just haven't had time with all the softball practices and games to make her get in there to clean it.
She comes out whining and crying.

In the highest, whiny voice possible " I can't get my jammies..... it's too dangerous"

You think......