Happy Little Spring Scene

I really wanted to share some nice little pictures of our nice little spring in Idaho, but my daughter Lisa's pictures were much better. So, go over to her space here and see.

Babies

I've had my grandbabies here for a couple of days. Nathan is 2 and loves to drag his grandma around the house by her index finger. "Come on Grandma!" We play with blocks and find fun pictures on the computer and torment the cat with the laser pointer. It's worth it to see the cat go crazy trying to catch the darting red light because Nathan's belly laughs are contagious.

Zachary is 2 months old tomorrow. There's nothing more cuddly than a baby. His bright eyes and delicious little body just make him fun to watch and to hug, kiss, and hold.

I like the sign my mom has in her house.
"Your grandchildren are your reward for not killing your children."
I agree.
Life is good.

Halp, please

I want to do an illustration for my art blog that is on the theme "Spring".
What should I do?
Kites?
Umbrellas?
Nest of eggs?

I don't really want to do tulips because they are too cliche.
Does anyone out there in my wide vast readership have any other ideas?

Hats

Today in Primary I had them play a game of "Hats".
I had in front of the room a bunch of hats. I chose one child at a time. They came to the front of the room, chose a hat and then we had to sing the song that was inside the hat in the manner of the hat. For example:
Cowboy hat - like a cowboy
Tiara - opera style
Drum Major's hat - marching band
Hard hat - using tools
Ski hat - shivering and freezing
"Lion" hat - growing
Baby hat - like a lullaby
there were a couple of others.

All I can say is you've never lived until you've heard 40 kids sing "Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree" opera-style.

Remembering Norman

March 18, 1928
That was the day my Dad was born.
May 12, 2008
That was the day he died.

When someone you love dies from a long wasting disease, like cancer, it is sometimes difficult to remember him as he was before the disease started the decline. Most of the time when I've thought about my Dad in the 10 months since he passed on I've thought about the horrible times, watching him gasp for breath for days until they finally placed a trach on him and then cleaning it out for him numerous times as he spent 21 days in the ICU. His peg tube, his pic line, and all the other paraphernalia that goes along with cancer. The hallucinations that he had. The look on his face only days before he died that tore at my heart. I knew he was frustrated and scared and helpless in the face of what was happening to him.

He did his best to stay positive, though. He loved the nurses who cared for him, he loved the people who visited him, and he did his best to keep a happy face. I know, though, that when he thought no one was looking he would break down and cry. My friend Scott was in the perfusion room with him one day. He was getting his own treatment and probably looked like he was asleep. He told me not too long ago that he watched one day as my Dad laughed and joked with the nurses as they got him set up for the treatment. Then later, when he was alone, my dad broke down and cried.
I'll never forget what he used to always say as we took him to the doctor. Every nurse and doctor would ask him how he was doing, and without missing a beat he would say, "if I was doing any better I couldn't stand it." I'll never forget that because just 2 days before he died he said it to the hospice nurse as she came to check on him.

So, I've had 10 months of thinking about all of that and now today, on the anniversary of my Dad's birth I've decided that I will now remember my Dad from before. I'll remember the good and the bad, the fun and the not so fun. I'll remember the float trips he took us on, the anger on his face when I disobeyed him, the impatience he had, the snoring I heard as I came in late. I'll remember the "Normanese" he spoke, the way he told jokes (that were only funny if you knew the joke because he messed it up so badly), and all the other times that being his daughter for 50 years gave me.

In short, I won't remember how he died, I'll remember how he lived!

I gave this painting I did to my Dad last year on his birthday. It is acrylic painted on a wood panel.

I owe, I owe, so it's off to work I go.........

This week I’m flying solo at work. My office mate has flown to Iowa to visit family and won’t be back until a week from tomorrow. I really don’t mind working alone. I kind of prize quiet and don’t miss the soft music she sometimes plays when she’s here.
Mike is going to Bozeman this Thursday evening and won’t be back until Sunday. He and the principal are going to a conference. The following week, on Thursday, Abby and I will be headed to Logan Utah where Abby will be photographing her first wedding. I’ll be going along for moral support. It will be nice to get away for a couple of days, too.
We’ve got an appraiser coming to the house this Thursday so that our refinancing can go through. We’ve only lived in the house 20 plus years and we might actually get some things in it finished AND our monthly payment will go down, AND we won’t have to pay that much longer because we’re going to a 15 year loan. Win-Win-Win
There are some things that have to be done before the appraiser comes, though. I’ll work all day here and then scoot off to home and work all night there. I may even be able to squeeze a little homework in, too.

Temples