INSIDE THE MIND OF MY FAMILY

In the apartment we're currently living in (not for much longer HOPEFULLY) the two exit doors are metal. It's great for leaving notes with a magnet and it helps to have some emergency numbers on there and some budget notes, shopping list, etc. But what I'm most thankful for is the fairly large sized dry erase board that is magnetic. On this board, I started a little "tradition" I guess you could call it. I write a question on the board and then make room for all 4 of us to answer the current question. Some of my questions have been "What do you love most right now"? or "What are 3 things you are thankful for"? or "If we had millions of money, what 3 things would you like to do"?
At first, I figured the girls' answers would be pretty shallow like I'm thankful for food or I love Gramma but they surprised me. I'm actually learning things about my 9 and 11 year old that I didn't know. Some things just shocked me to find out the depth of their thoughts for their age. My youngest answered the "if we had millions" question she wrote in this order Save for College, Save for a Rainy Day and go to Disneyland. Kamille has answered the Thankful question that she was thankful for her family(she's ALWAYS big on family)but she was also thankful for school and thankful she didn't have any bullies in her class. My husband has even gotten involved and has answered some things that I never knew about him.
So, I change the question about once a week. Just because someday my children may read this, I want to remind them what their hopes and dreams were at this age. So, from now on, I'm going to post the question that I wrote on the board here and when I post the next question, I'll share the answers my family provided. That way, if anybody actually reads this boring blog of mine, you can share some answers as well or start this tradition with your kids. I guess even if your child can't write, you could always write their answers down for them. So, give it a try...you might be surprised at what you find inside the minds of the people you live with.

The question at our house this week is:
"WHAT 2 THINGS WOULD YOU LIKE TO GIVE/RECEIVE OR DO FOR CHRISTMAS"?
See ya next week with our answers and hopefully somebody will take pity on our blog and share their families answers as well.

VETERAN'S DAY

It is unfortunate that my oldest nephew Ken had to return to his base yesterday and isn't able to be with us on Veteran's Day, nor is my nephew Kyle who is in California. Nevertheless, our minds always turn to these 2 young men who continue to defend the same thing that numerous others fought to defend before these men were even born. Today, we honor those who served our country. For some, the cost was their life. For others, the cost was a limb, or an eye, or mental torment that will never go away. Ken & Kyle, I have this to say: THANK YOU for defending the freedom we enjoy today and continuing the battle that was fought by men you've never met. To my father-in-law and my husband, I wish to say THANK YOU for being a part of that battle in your time. Thankfully, you've lived to tell about it, even though you don't want to because the horror of what you saw will never dim in your mind. To all VETERANS, I wish to say thank you for your bravery, your sacrifice, your strength to face things you never imagined, your drive to keep on going when going home was the only thing on your mind.

Today, if you see a flag, a yellow ribbon, a POW/MIA sticker, someone in uniform, a veteran who can barely walk in a parade, but walks with his head high and his feet march in tune with those beside them PLEASE give them the respect they deserve of standing, removing any head wear, and HONOR those here on earth and those who payed the ultimate price with their life to give you the freedom to read this blog, or walk down your sidewalk and wave to your neighbor, or go to your local grocery store and purchase items to feed your family. Think about all the things we do daily that we take for granted when in reality, we owe SO much to our veterans and our current soldiers. Just wanted to make any who read this think about what today is about the way it hits me when I think about it. To our current soldiers: Be safe, keep the faith, and THANK YOU!!!!!

BIG COUSIN & DAINEY: WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH, WE MISS YOU BAD, AND KISS YOUR PICTURES GOODNIGHT EVERY NIGHT. PLEASE BE SAFE AND COME HOME SOON!!!

GRANDMA-GREAT McINTYRE

This is my only living grandparent. I have no memory of either my mom's or dad's fathers and the only "Grandpa" I ever knew was the 60 year old bachelor my maternal grandmother married in her later life. So, with only one grandparent alive, she deserves a little tribute. This is my father's mom. Her name is Nellie McIntyre but all I've ever known her as was Gramma Mac. When my sister started having children, they started calling her Grandma-Great instead of Great-Grandma. It just stuck and now she has a couple great-great-grandchildren, so apparently, she's pretty great! She lives in Washington in a retirement home and is happy there. She has congestive heart failure and struggles some days. I should be shot to admit this, but I'm not sure if she's over 90 or coming up on 90 but I know she's one tough gal.
It is really hard to read what it says on the page below Gramma's face, so I'll type it here and not make anyone squint and get a headache. (I say that like anybody actually ever reads my blog! HA! HA!) Anyway, it says

Family faces are magic mirrors. Looking at people who belong to us we see the past, present, and future.

ANYONE UP FOR A HIKE???

Recently, while my parents were here taking care of my niece, the workers spent a couple nights with them at my sister's home. One afternoon, they wanted to go up to the Catherine Creek State Park and hike the trail up there. They called and asked if my girls and I would like to join them. We weren't gone all that long, but our time was very enjoyable and the girls had a blast.

The time of season is so amazing right now with the leaves turning different colors and the cool days that bring along with them Summer's last few little rays of sweetness.

When we got to the "top", it was very pleasant to be able to take in all that color and wonder. I've decided I'm SOOOO glad God created all of this beauty because humans just would never get the colors right like God does. The only downside is when you want to take a picture and it doesn't show what you actually saw with your naked eye.

M.C. & KEN

My oldest nephew, Ken, is home for 10 days on leave before he deploys again at the end of the year. This visit, he also brought along his girlfriend for part of the time. Her name is Mary Catherine but apparently, she goes by M.C. She's from Texas and she's an absolute hoot. She's beautiful, fun to be around, is always smiling, and if she can stand 5 days of this family, she's gotta be pretty tough, too. I took a couple pictures of them this afternoon, as they matched so cutely.

Ken, I want to take yet another opportunity to tell you how much I appreciate what you sacrifice for not only our family but for every American out there. I couldn't be prouder of you and Kyle if I tried. We miss you when you're away. Please be safe and come back home soon. You're in our hearts, thoughts and prayers. LOVE YA, BUB!!!!

M.C., I have to say you were a delight and we would LOVE to have you back in Eastern Oregon again someday. Hopefully, we'll get to come visit you when we make that trip to Texas Ken & I were talking about today. Safe travels back home to both of you!!!

WE STYLIN' NOW, MA!

My husband decided to surprise his "girls" today. He trumped up some reason why we needed to stop at D & B and before we left, all three of us "girls" had brand new boots. There is a little bit of a story behind these Fat Baby's. I've always worn lace-up Justin or Ad-Tec boots. Very comfortable, durable, and relatively inexpensive. When Fat Babys came out a few years ago, I thought they were absolutely THE UGLIEST things I had ever seen in my life. But, as time has went by, I've started coming around to thinking I might actually be able to like a pair. So, all 3 of us girls came home today with our favorite style and perfect sizes. This is the part where I should warn all of you that my 11 year old bought an 8 in womens and my 9 year old came home with a 6 in womens. Apparently, they inherited my big feet and my oldest inherited the long legs. So, anyway, here's the 3 of us sportin' our new treads.

I haven't posted in so long. We've been busy, life has thrown us a few curves (not necessarily bad ones), my oldest nephew is home on leave from the Air Force prior to being deployed to Iraq again, we dealt with my 11 year old breaking her arm and crushing the little "ball" on the outside of your wrist (which is called the styloid process for those of you who care) and to top it all off, Steve got the oinky-doink Porky Pig Fever Swine Flu. He was an extremely sick man for approx 5 days...that was the REALLY bad part. The first couple days and the last couple days, you just feel drained and weak and really tired. I, thankful, had been given the H1N1 nasal vaccine, but since it takes approximately 1 month to completely build up in your system, I was still susceptable and got sick, however mine was no comparison to my husbands. I had one day of feeling like just a good ol' winter cough, 3 days of "PLEASE just let me die" then the last couple days have just been the nagging cough. So, I hope all of you are staying as healthy as possible. We've got so many bottles of hand sanitizer, containers of Clorox wipes, cans of Lysol spray, anti-bacterial hand soap, and masks around here, it looks a bit like a pharmacy. But, thankfully, the kids didn't contract it (yet....or never, we hope) and we're all starting to feel human again. Will try to catch up some more on some posting later but this is all for now.

SEPTEMBER 11th

I'll never forget the phone call from my sister when the Twin Towers were hit. I had just finished feeding Keanna, who was about 4 1/2 months old, and Kamille was still asleep. I remember sitting in my recliner, playing with the rabbit ears because I couldn't afford cable, trying to get the channel that was the least fuzzy. I don't believe I moved from out of front of the T.V. that day, except for making lunch and using the restroom. Even hundreds and hundreds of miles away, I kept thinking to myself "please let them find just ONE more survivor" then news would come and I would plead for "just one more survivor".

Since my father was a police officer and ambulance attendant, both my parents stayed current as first responders, my husband is a Veteran, I have two nephews in the Air Force, one of who has already been to Iraq 3 times, and both my sister and I went to school to be EMT's, September 11th really means a lot to me.

..

However, this year, 9-11 took on just a little different twist for me. Unfortunately, our Fire Chief here in Union lost his father on Sept. 5th. Not only was he the Chief's father, he was also my neighbor for 8 years and you couldn't have asked for ANYBODY better to have as a neighbor. There will be a memorial service for Bob tomorrow morning. I have seen first hand now, after this situation, about the "brotherhood" or the "bond" that firefighters, medics, police officers, etc. have formed. We were all very worried about our fellow medic, several have helped out, several have offered help, some of us have jumped in and taken up some tasks that allowed the Chief to be with his family instead. What makes this even more real to me is Bob was in the Army as well as the Air Force. He served our country, then when he retired, he continued to serve in this community, by being foster parents, adopting kids, being involved in different community services and committees. He talked to my oldest nephew at great length before he entered the Air Force and when I would see Bob around town, he always asked about Ken. So folks, whether you have no time to think about this, or you found yourself shedding a tear somewhere along the way today thinking back to the day when our freedom was jeopardized, or you have or are a soldier currently serving our country, please just remember that we lost a LOT of people from this earth that day, and several of those losses were people who were trained to go in and do the best they could to save, to protect, to rescue or just hold hands of the injured. I spent my day at a High School Cow Cutting competition with one other EMT. People asked us "How'd it go?" I always reply "A boring day in our world means somebody else had a great day!!! Let's hope for some more boring days!!!!!!
Hope all of you found your own way of remembering what we, as Americans who enjoy our freedom, think about when we see a flag, or a soldier of any type in our community, or those who have left family, spouses & children, never to return.If you're in the mood to cry(male OR female)and have a box of Kleenex ready, then go here for a song with a child's voice doing a narrative.

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL-Aug 31, 2009

Well, the day finally came...the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!! YAY!!!!!! I know I'm not winning any "Mother of the Year" awards for saying I was counting down the hours, but it is rather nice to have a break after a very busy summer.

Both girls got the teachers they wanted. Due to the size of our town and budget cuts, 4th and 6th grades were the only classes that had 2 teachers. But, thankfully, both girls are happy with who they got. Since 4th, 5th, and 6th grade are in a separate building across the street from the main grade school, it certainly made an impact on me when both girls came out of the same building.

It's SO hard to believe that my oldest will be entering Junior High next year. Thanks to our new-found friends G & K for some really cute clothes that the girls insisted on wearing today. You couldn't have picked any better!!!

My oldest, Kamille, just got home Sunday night from Boring I convention with my parents and my sister and niece.

My youngest, Keanna, will be going for the weekend of Boring II with my sister. This is the first time either of them has been away from each other more than one night. So, it was a big experience. They both did fine, although each night when Kamille called home before lights went out in the dorm, her excitement seemed to fade, little by little, and by Saturday night all she could talk about was coming home.

It was a real wake-up call to me just how much my babies are growing up. I can't believe how tall Kamille is getting. She is built like her mother--all leg--and she's going to catch me very soon, I'm afraid. She's already wearing a women's size 7 shoe at 11 years old.Kamille met a very special friend while at convention. "A" is the daughter of a man who was great friends with my late brother. I have MANY fond memories of laughing and watching Tim & Larry's antics. I'm so glad that "A" & Kamille hit it off so well. She came home with "A"s address and I'm sure there will be some letters back and forth. Also, Kamille got to get reacquainted with my Dad's mom, GrammaGreat Mac. Kamille has seen her before, but it's been a LONG time and her health is failing, so I'm glad she and Kamille were able to spend some time together. I'm hoping Keanna might get to see her, even for a short time, when she goes up next weekend.

So, that's pretty much what's been going on in our world. I did receive a VERY special package in the mail from here and a little note that made my day. The package was the headband I won from her little giveaway. Unfortunately, I believe my youngest has confiscated it. She absolutely loves it, Cassie.

Oh yeah, and we also acquired a new member in the household. We named "her" Ethel, but then found out "her" was a "him", so now his name is Ichabod or "Icky" for short. I call him Mr. P.I.B. which stands for Pain in the Backside because he's full of life, seems to think he rules the roost, and absolutely LOVES clean laundry to stretch out in for his afternoon nap. Our male border Collie has had cats in the household before, so he's pretty mellow about the whole thing. However, our little female Collie/Lab mix is just not sure what to make of the new occupant. There has been some nose scratching and lots of growling going on. They'll eventually get over each other....or not!It's great to always catch up with those of you I follow. Sorry it's been so long since I've posted. I'm still trying to conquer that National EMT test and it's consuming my time as well as the canning and harvesting from our 3 gardens we planted at different locations this summer. There is NOTHING better than fresh vegetables, salad, etc. from treasures we've grown in our garden. My husband thinks he's going to luck out and get just enough okra for me to do a jar of pickled okra. It's technically not warm enough to grow it here, and for the longest time, it didn't appear we were going to be successful, but we've learned a lesson in patience.

WHAT WAS I THINKING?!?!?!

Have you ever had a really good idea then afterwards think wow, that was the dumbest thing I could have done!!!! However, in this case, it really was a good thing, but there were a few moments that tested my patience. We went on a short 3-day camping trip last week, so we decided to let the girls invite their friends (who happen to be sisters) along for the trip.

I LOVE to chop wood!!

If we went looking for the girls, the creek was usually where we'd find them.

My husband soon learned that when you are camping with 5 females, the best thing to do is hide in the tent with a good book. He occasionally wandered out for food and helped with the dishes, but other than that, he decided there were better places to be. Poor guy......NOT!

Besides being scared to death of the cow/calf pairs that would occasionally wander into our camp area, a double bed-wetting incident, and some arguing before the youngest and oldest of each family finally paired up, it was rather calm. We did pack in a hurry Tuesday though, as it started thundering and raining and it has rained non-stop since we got home. Guess we picked the perfect days.

Here are just a few pictures, some that I went here to make fancy and just a few shots of what we've been up to lately.

These pictures are a mixture of two camping trips. On one camping trip, we had a couple show up in the camp spot next to ours. I took this picture (and got their permission to post it)

because they were just the perfect portrait of peace and serenity. We visited with them and two total strangers have become very kind friends who we now keep in contact with. My girls kept asking if G & K were going to come back the second trip we took. Unfortunately, no matter how much we twitched our noses and waved our magic wands, they wouldn't appear in their camp spot, but we sure thought about them a lot.

Keanna & Kamille

SISTERS & FRIENDS....It don't get much better

Hanna and Neki

Our tent with the "Kiddie-Condo" and the "secret tunnel"

Sitting around the morning fire reading books

Sorry I haven't posted in a long time. We have been camping a lot, and I'm still studying to take my National test and preparing the girls to start school. So, we've been busy but I still read all my favorite blogs regularly and keep up to date on all of you. Take care all. Enjoy whatever or wherever your summer involves. Hope you are all having fun.

THE END

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

For the past 36 years, I've spent Father's Day with my Dad at Parma Convention. I've only missed one year to attend my step-daughter's High School Graduation.

I thought it would be fun to pull some pictures out of the archives and post them along with my hopes that ALL FATHERS had a wonderful day, filled with family, memories, and happiness.

I came to the realization recently that the older I get, the less it bugs me to be compared to my Dad. He turned 70 last December and his age is beginning to show a bit. He doesn't go quite as hard as he used to and there are certainly more naps than I ever remember taking place. He was the driving force behind my joining the volunteer fire department and driving myself to pass the EMT classes as he was involved in both and I remember many stories from both experiences. My Father is a very strong man. He has been through many experiences that should have taken his life, but he pulled through. He stared cancer in the face and won. He lost his only son and not only made it through but carried Mom along the way. He takes such good care of Mom with her Parkinson's Disease. He works harder now that he is retired than he did before retirement. He's a pretty amazing man.

In tribute to Dad, I thought I would share some of the sayings I heard over and over again and find myself sharing with my children. Some of them are gems of wisdom. Some are cute and have been shared amongst family with smiles and laughter over the years. Some are things that I still haven't mastered completely but feel they are very smart advice.

#1 Pick your friends, don't let them pick you

#2 It's OK to be different, if different is right.

#3 If it don't move, move it anyway.

#4 Kill 'em with kindness.

#5 Check, double check, re-check and check it again.

#6 When you borrow something, return it in better condition than when you borrowed it.

#7 If you don't have the cash to buy it, you don't really need it.

#8 You're actions are a direct reflection of your family--proceed with caution.

#9 If you have to work for something, it will mean more to you than if it was handed to you.

#10 Life isn't always going to be fair, fun, or kind.

#11 There is ALWAYS somebody watching you. (I'm pretty sure he was referring to God, but I'm convinced they always had somebody spying on me, as well.)

#12 If some thing is worth doing, it's worth doing right.

#13 Make the most of every day.

I'm sure there were more that I can't bring to mind at this moment, but these are the one's that stick out in my mind. Some of them are probably "universal" meaning the rest of you heard them growing up as well, but they are worth repeating.

I've become a firm believer in this thought: The more you disliked your parents growing up, it meant they were doing a good job of raising you with solid values. I hope my kids feel the same way someday.

Dad, since you're NOT into technology, I doubt you'll ever see this, but just in case you do, I want to leave you with this thought. I appreciate the hard work ethic you instilled in me. I'm grateful for how strict you and Mom were. I'm proud to be your daughter and feel it is a compliment when someone says I look and act like you.

Thanks for all the sacrifices you've made over the years. Thank you for supporting me and encouraging me when I was afraid. Thank you for helping me see the difference between right and wrong. Thank you for persevering in the face of adversity. Thank you for letting me see you cry as it helped me realize you were human and it was OK to show weakness sometimes. Thank you for teaching me to have fun (did it ALWAYS have to be at my expense???) and for teaching me to love. You are truly an amazing man.

!!! I LOVE YOU !!!