Signs of Spring

Yesterday was the first day of Spring.  How can you tell it's Spring?  I'm going to list ways that it's possible to know that Spring has arrived.  

1)  95% of your friends on Facebook will post a notice that it is the first day of Spring.  This is for everyone who does not own a calendar or any other form of data advising them that Spring has arrived.

2)  For a week you will see notices on Facebook of what your friends are doing on Spring Break.  These may or may not be family-friendly notices.  They may or may not be appropriate for everyone to see.  

3)  People in the Midwestern part of the country will experience various ranges of weather.  This may be 70 degrees and sunny one day with two inches of snow the following day.  

4)  People will decide to clean up their yards.  This involves raking and bagging the leaves that should have been cleaned up last fall.  This might result in the discovery of a hibernating snake. Should this occur, the aforementioned person will quickly abandon any thought of cleaning up their yard.

5)  Shorts and flip-flops will appear.  This is wishful thinking as the shorts and flip-flops will probably need to be worn with a winter coat.  

6)  Daylight Savings Time has started.  This is a myth to trick people into getting up earlier than they really need to.  The sun is not going to shine for an extra hour just because you have set your clock ahead.  I say go ahead and sleep in and continue your regular schedule.  If you decide to go this route, please be advised that places of business do adhere to Daylight Savings Time - be certain you are not late for any appointments. Also, your employer will probably require you to show up according to Daylight Savings Time.  It's all a conspiracy to trick you into thinking you have extra daylight. 

7)  Your thoughts will turn to the beach.  You start to plan where you want to go for a beach break.  You find yourself googling places to stay on your beach break.  You hold off on contacting any family members yet regarding said beach break but mentally - you are there enjoying the beach. 

8)  You find that an entire day has passed and you are not sure what you did all day.  This is know as Spring Fever.  You are inside but want to be outside because you see the sun shining and you have been inside all winter.  As you are contemplating a walk you hear the weather man say "Colder weather on the way."  So much for that break.  No need to start a walking program now as it will have to be put on hold when the cold weather hits.  Better wait until it warms up and stays warm.  

9)  You decide that perhaps you should check out your summer wardrobe.  Upon doing so you will discover that someone has gone into your closet over the winter and made alterations to your summer clothes.  This results in a resolve on your part to loose some weight (probably won't happen as you have been trying to loose weight for the last 6 months anyway).  You also decide that you need to start an exercise program.  Best program would be a walking program.  Hmm.... refer to #8 -- that will have to wait for a while.  

10)  Windows are opened.  This is an attempt to freshen up your house.  It has been closed up for several months and you want to bring the fresh air inside.  Word of advise - if you turn off your furnace and open your window don't forget that it still gets chilly overnight.  Remember to close said windows so that you don't wake up in the morning to a house that is 50 degrees inside.  

11)  Be advised - any signs of Spring may be temporary.  There is no guarantee that Spring is here just because the calendar says so. 

With all that said - go ahead enjoy Spring - whether it is here for a day or if it is here to stay.  

 

A Series of Accidents

Gary and I took a short vacation this past week, hence no Blog post from me.  Gary had some vacation days he had to use up so we decided to go to Arizona and see the family out there.  We took the two grand kids here in Tulsa with us so the cousins could have some time together.  Keep in mind - this is four kids a year apart in age.  Remington, who turned 10 in January; Jimmy and Billy, who turn 10 this week, and Lily, who will turn 9 later this month.  One little girl - three little boys make for some fun times.

Let me share a little bit of the 'fun' times we had.  We arrived Tuesday evening.  On Wednesday afternoon, we took the kids to the park for some fun. As soon as we get out of the car the four kids take off running for the fence.  This is a fence around the ball field.  They want to 'jump the fence'.  I ask why and the response is "I don't know".  So the twins get to the fence, climb the fence and jump down.  Remington gets to the fence, climbs the fence, goes over the top, lowers himself part way then drops to the ground.  Lily gets to the fence, gets on top and stops.  I don't blame her - that fence is fairly tall, perhaps 8 feet.  The boys taunt her, 'Come on, Lily, don't be a girl!' Billy says, 'I'll push you".  He heads towards the fence and Lily jumps down.  

Accident #1: she landed wrong.  Poor kid, her foot is hurt.  Grampa takes her back to the house, puts an ice bag on her foot, gives her an ibuprofen and she takes a nap.  When she gets up we can tell the foot is swelling.  Much discussion between us grandparents and Aunt Tarinda about what we should do. We finally come to the consensus to wrap it, ice it, elevate it and see how it looks the next day.  It continues to swell but we decide it is a bad sprain and continue the aforementioned treatment.  Not easy to keep her off the foot as she wants to hang out with the boys but we do our best. 

Next morning, Tarinda has a meeting and we are left in charge of the kids and homework. Oh, did I mention that all four kids are home-schooled?  Tarinda leaves a list for her boys and K.C. has given me a list for her two.  I call them down and tell them to get homework done.  Let's just say it's a good thing I don't home school them full-time.  I have one needing assistance with multiplication.  I turn around from helping Lily and one of the twins is gone.  I help one with area and perimeter and when I look up Lily is gone.  When questioned about where did the missing child go I am told "to the bathroom".  

One twin is supposed to do a test and says he can't do it because this is a major test for the year and his computer doesn't work right and he will have to wait to do it.  One twin tells me he is done.  When questioned he says he cannot do his homework because his brother is on the computer and they only have one computer.  Give me a break, I know you have more than one computer in the house.  Go do the reading your mom put down.  I am told that he already did his reading.  Grampa says bring me your book and let's see if you can answer the questions I have.  He is told I already answered them with my mom.  I advise he needs to read two new chapters in his book.  You are going to love this response.  "I can't.  We only have one book and one bookmark. I can't read ahead we have to stay together."  He was advised to read ahead.  

I consider that morning a success as the kids all had breakfast and brushed their teeth. 

Homework done, the boys head down to the tree house fort. Aunt Charlie has come over and the adults are sitting on the sofa talking when Billy comes in breathless.  "Come quick!  Jimmy is hurt real bad.  I left Remington with him."  My response:  "is this for real or are you just trying to trick me?"  "No, he really is hurt. A tire fell on him."  Me, "Where is he?"  "At the tree fort."  Me, "just how far away is this tree fort?  Do I have to go very far?"  I want to be certain that there is actual reason for me to make the trek to the fort. 

We head towards the tree fort and as we get close enough I see Jimmy laying flat on the ground.  Hmmmmm, maybe he really is hurt.  We get over there and ask where he is hurt.  It seems they tried to lift a small tire up into the tree and it fell down on his leg.  He has a bruise.  I ask why he is laying down flat on the ground.  Response?  "Well, I was sitting up but thought it might be better if I laid down."  OK - we now have accident #2 here.  Way to go, Grandma.

That afternoon we go to watch a Spring Training game.  Poor Lily, still has a swollen foot that we are keeping wrapped.  She has to hobble along.  It's a long walk from the parking lot to the ball field.  She is very slow.  Our solution was that perhaps Grampa should give her a piggy back ride.  He bends down and Lily tries to hop on his back.  He wasn't ready and falls down - sitting on Lily's sore foot.  She is hopping around going OW OW OW.  Charlie and I are laughing pretty hard as we see Gary sitting on the ground.  Finally we make it inside and position ourselves.  It doesn't take long for most people around us to move farther away.  Something about my family, four little kids, one teenage girl and two of the "Houston" girls together keeps people away.  Everyone one of them is LOUD!  We see that Grampa has deserted us too.  Hmmmmm not a good sign.  

Remington comes and tells me that his toe hurts.  I ask what he did.  He was running down the hill and kind of stubbed his toe but it bent backwards.  Can we now say accident #3?  It doesn't look to bad at this point.  Kids are getting hungry for snacks and we realize that Gary has been gone an excessive amount of time.  I finally have a "Gary sighting" across the field from us.   After snacks and the game and an even wider area cleared around us the game is called during the 9th with a tie.  Now to head back to the house.  

When we arrive at the house, I look at Remington's foot again as he is starting to limp.  Yep, it's starting to swell and is bruising.  Great!  We alternate ice packs between him and Lily.  Lily wants to get a bandage to wrap his toe but I explain that won't work.  I tell Billy that he better watch out, he's the only one not yet hurt.  

Yes, we had a good visit. I managed to retain most of my sanity.  The kids did hear the question several times, "What is wrong with you?"  I didn't feel to bad about that as Tarinda told me she asks her boys that all the time.  I think four kids so close together in age make for fun, hectic, memorable times.  

One small note:  I kept the percentage of injuries at only 75% for the little kids.  Grand daughter Cady spent most of the time in her room thus she was safe from possible injury (unless she fell off the stool as she applied her makeup and did her hair).  I'll save the rest of our trip for another blog.  

Here's a picture of the 'injuries'  Top left: Lily's foot.  Bottom left: Remington's toe.  Right: Jimmy's leg bruise.  
 

Grandma Mo

Haven't written for a while.  We've been kind of busy at work.  But I thought I should take time for a short post.  Remington is hanging out with me tonight and I asked what I should write about.  His recommendation was 'your mohawk'.  

I'm sure you're thinking, 'what mohawk?'  Well, I have natural curly hair.  I wear it short because otherwise it just gets totally out of control.  My hair appears to be a fascination for my grandkids.  It always has been.  My oldest granddaughter used to give me 'makeovers.'  She liked to 'do my hair' while we were in the pool.  She has straight hair and mine looks straight - for a while when it's wet. LOL  She always wanted to give me 'big hair.'  

Well, Remington likes to pat my head. He says it's 'bouncy'.  He asked me tonight if he could give me a mohawk.  I told him sure, why not.  So he went and got the hair gel.  He found a container of "bed head".  Not sure why we had that but we did.  He proceeded to take this and arrange the middle of my hair into a mohawk.  He worked hard to get it to stand up straight.  He then decided that my new name would be Grandma Mo.  

 Here's a picture of me and my hairdresser. 

Childhood Favorites

Remember when you were a kid and how simple life was?  Simple things brought you pleasure.  I've compiled a small list of simple childhood pleasures that I enjoyed.

1)  Camping out -- didn't have to be in a tent.  Just grab a blanket and a pillow and some snacks and head outside.  First 'campout' of the summer was always pretty close to the house but we expanded our horizons as summer wore on. 

2)  Laying on your back and watching the clouds drift by.  Hours could be spent this way. I am prone to motion sickness and if I laid there to long I would be dizzy when I sat up.

3) Jump rope -- this is fun - nothing else to say about it - it's just fun

4) Coloring -- I still love to color. If you don't have a color book then just make a 'scribble' picture.  You know -- take a crayon and draw all over the page then color in the design.  I do this a lot.  Something soothing about coloring.

5) Tea Parties -- these are so much fun -- I enjoy them more now than when I was a kid.  I had three brothers - I don't think we had tea parties.  That's a shame - they missed out on a lot. 

6) Reading -- I loved reading as a kid.  I still love reading.  I get lost in the book I am reading.  I live the book I am reading.  I sit there all chilled as I read about the snow storm that has the early settlers stranded in their cabin for weeks.  When I finally pull myself out of the book I am surprised to see that it's 80 degrees and sunny.

7) Hide and Seek -- this was so much fun -- the great outdoor - so many places to hide.  Trying to sneak back to 'home'. 

8) Secrets -- Not bad secrets - just secrets -- whispering in someones ear -- "I know what we're having for dessert but you can't tell"  Just sharing a secret with someone creates a bond.   

9) Walking in the Woods --- I loved, at our house, to go down to the creek and then follow it to the other end -- this was probably 3 -4 blocks in length but you went down a hill and then were in a valley like depression that meandered around corners.  Up each side of the hill was 'civilization' - even the main highway leading through town - but in the creek you were away from all that trees on both sides blocking out everything.  It could be dangerous jumping over the creek and you could only cross over at certain points. 

10) Fishing for minnows -- not sure why we wanted them but at my Granny's we would go down to the creek (it was a little bit farther than at my house as Granny lived in the country) and wade in the creek and try to catch the minnows. 

11) Fishing -- I had a cane pole I used at the pond. We would dig up some worms and head down to the pond.  I dont' remember that we ever fried up anything we caught there but I spent a lot of time at the pond with my dad and brothers.  Later on it was hand-fishing -- what a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Take some time to enjoy some of these childhood favorites now that you are an adult.  Share them with your child or grandchild or even on your own.  Get away from the 'rat race' of everyday life and enjoy something simple.  You won't regret it. 

From My Bag

If you read my blog you know that I like to write.  You also know I like to write poetry.  I usually have numerous ideas floating around in my head.  Sometimes these ideas make it to the notepad on my phone or on slips of paper.  Every so often I take these slips and add them to a file in my Dropbox called In Progress.  I have a lot 'in progress'.  Now my In Progress folder can be anything from a line or two that popped into my head and I want to expant on, to almost an entire poem or story that just needs to be finished.  Sometimes the ending stumps me.

I have a couple of different tote type bags I use to carry things in back and forth to work, church etc.  Depends on how much I want to take with me that day.  Today I brought one I hadn't carried for a while.  I decided to clean out all the papers that were in there.  Most of it was trash of course. This is a picture of the bag.  Everyone in the family had one at one time.  Charlie and I made them for a family reunion. 

I did however find one poem in progress that I had forgotten about and one completed poem.  Good thing I'm in the process of organizing all my writing into Dropbox.  That's exactly where these two gems went.  I will share with you the completed poem.  And I will try to get busy and finish up some of those 'in progress' ones. 

“I AM WITH YOU”

There is no testimony without the test.

We must strive to do our best.

It’s a battle we must fight

As we strive to do what’s right.

 There is someone who is nearby

Who always hears us when we cry.

You are not in the battle alone.

Jesus sits upon the throne.

He knows our sorrows and our fears.

Whenever we call, He will hear.

The road may be long and hard to climb,

But He will not leave us behind.

 Stumbling blocks may cross our path,

Do not worry, they won’t last.

Hold the course, steadfast and true.

The road you’re on is not new.

 Take comfort from the words you read.

Know that He answers every need.

He spoke these words as a friend.

“I will be with you to the end.”

 

Written by:  Kathie Marrs

                      July 28, 2010

 

Anchor In My Life

 Anchor  When I looked this word up in the dictionary it is listed as being a noun (five definitions for this), a verb (six definitions or examples).   It also listed four idioms for this word. 

Anchor - short definition - device dropped by chain, cable or rope to restrict motion.  A person or thing that can be relied on for support.  To hold fast. 

In church we are talking about Being the Body. We have a commitment to each other.  The thought that keeps circling around in my mind is an anchor.  What is the anchor that holds our church together?  What is the anchor that holds me? 

We are a part of a team and we need to be the anchor for each other.  You don't climb a mountain by yourself.  You are part of a team and you connect yourselves together.  In the event that the lead person (or any other member) should fall, the rest of the team would then become the anchor that would be the life line for the fallen.  This takes commitment from every member.  If you fail to hold the rope in place for the person on the end it could end in tragedy.  As part of the team, you encourage each other.  You have to be a willing participant.  Someones life is dependent on your actions. 

Do we look at our relationship with Christ this same way? Do we make Him our Anchor.  The One whom we can rely on for support to always be there.  The One who will hold us fast?  By the same token, are we the anchor for the ones we come in contact with?  Are we willing to share our faith with others and be their anchor?  This means putting yourself on the line.

Cross the room, cross the street - get out of your comfort zone. Share your faith with everyone you come in contact with. Do this by sharing your testimony.  Everyone has one - it comes from the tests you have gone through. Did it make you a better person?  Did you learn something that you are able to share to help someone else going through the same test?  Don't like to speak in front of people?  How will they know that Christ died for them if you don't tell them?  

It means you make the time to check on others, encourage them as needed in whatever way is needed.  It's an investment of yourself.  It has to be intentional.  It doesn't just happen unless you make it happen. 


Bottom line -- I know that Christ is my Anchor.  He keeps my path steady.  He keeps me from drifting in the wrong directions.  He is a constant on whom I know I can depend.  There is never a question of whether or not He will be there. I want everyone to have that same stability in their lives.

Be the one to make waves, share your faith and become someones anchor. 

Food for Thought

What's your favorite food?  Mine would probably be fettuccine Alfredo.  I should have been Italian.  I love pasta and sauces.. the saucier the better.  Not good for me though so I have been trying not to eat as much.  :(

Is there a certain food that makes you think of your childhood?  Mine would probably be macaroni and cheese baked in the oven.  Granny made this and it was sooooo good.  Another food that makes me think of my childhood?  Oatmeal and hot tea.  That's what my brothers and I had a lot for breakfast - especially during the winter.  Our parents both worked and left for work early.  We would make our own breakfast before going to school.  Usually it would be a pot of oatmeal and a pot of hot tea. Just what we needed to make that long trek to school.  LOL -- if you knew me as a kid you know that we lived 'spitting distance' from the school.  Not a real long walk for us for sure.  It got longer when we moved up to Junior High and High School. 

Another childhood favorite would be shoestring potato chips and black cherry pop.  Good stuff.  Didn't get this at home but Uncle Peno would buy it for us when we went to eat with him and Grampa on Friday nights.  Gooood stuff.  Also had circus peanuts and cockle burr candies.  Oh the good stuff. 

Have I made you hungry yet?  Oh there's more.  Anyone want a fried bologna sandwich?  Or how about root beer barrel candy?  You might think I was hungry from reading this blog.  LOL  Well, I just finished a snack of celery stalks and string cheese.  Not quite what I would have had when I was a kid but it still tasted good.

Actually what brought about this blog was the fact that I just packaged up the tenderloins that Gary and I prepared last night.  Looking forward to eating some of these later this week for Gary's birthday.  Where I come from tenderloin is pretty common.  You can get it at most restaurants.  The tenderloin two to three times the size of the bun.  However, it is hard to come by if you aren't in the Northwest section of Missouri.  I couldn't get it when I lived in Saint Louis or over in the Panhandle of Texas and Oklahoma or even here in Tulsa. 

When I visited my brothers a few years back we were talking and I mentioned that I sure did miss tenderloins as I could not get them.  Guess my brothers still spoil me.  They went out and bought a pork loin, sliced it up, pounded it out, dipped and breaded it and then fried it up.  Oh man did that taste good!    Since then Gary and I will periodically buy a pork loin at Sam's.  We then set up a production line and cut, pound, dip, and bread anywhere from 25-35 tenderloins.  We freeze them individually then bag them up.  Yummers!  Everyone in the family looks forward to them. 

So here's to good food and to my brothers.