Stix update

Ok, so I have some big news.

You know how I'm all, we live in the {relative}sticks now, and so while that is mostly grand, I miss certain parts of city livin' such as pizza delivery.

You might want to sit down.

We can get Domino's pizza delivery at our house.

OMG.

I was so excited when I first learned of this that I think we ordered it on Friday night for 3 weeks in a row.

This girl loves pizza so this was an event for me.

So, along those same lines, being a "sticks liver", it has also proven quite difficult to get any sort of decent Internet service. I had high speed where we lived before, so I know what that was like, making my current Internet reality that much more frustrating. For example, I watched a Lowe's video on preparing your floor for tile and the video claimed to be 5:34 but it took me about 15+ minutes to watch it. Start-stop-start-stop. I'm surprised I don't see that little twirly circle that indicates loading while I sleep.

Soooo, I have repeatedly called the closest to high speed around here company (DSL!) to see when/if/how I could get it. A common answer went something like, "Hmm, I really dunno, but you know, if you ever see a worker around there with a truck, stop and ask them! They'll probably know!".

Efficient.

So on the way home yesterday, I stopped by and was delighted to see the worker was not only a woman, but a grandma! When do you see grandma being the one to work on the utility box? Anyway, I told her my sob story, and she said, "well, there is an employee referral program, let me just get your name, number, and address, I'll make a few calls and see what I can do".

OMG.

I might get DSL in my house! I only had to make 8 phone calls to the company, and physically stalk the worker at the box, but it just might happen! Who knew?

My joy is unbridled.

Pizza delivery and the possibility of DSL  here on the plantation. It's been a good week.

Paralysis, broken

For some strange, unknown reason, I am completely noncommittal when it comes to making decisions about choosing pictures to hang on the wall. I have many great photos, some already printed out and resting patiently in the folder they arrived in, and other pictures still in the digital state, waiting for a decision to be made about them. Which one is the best? What size would I choose to finish it in? And then, what do I hang around it? Is it a single display or part of a collage? Where does it go? What kind of frame? And on, and on, and on....

I know this isn't rocket science. And, I know that once I've made the decision and hung the picture, I won't still fret that in the other photo I could have chose, the left arm was positioned a half centimeter to the left, making it a much more stylish picture. But yet, a full body paralysis engulfs me when I get anywhere near making these decisions, leaving me a twitching, drooling neurotic mess.

SO ALAS! I've had a breakthrough! Due to thoughts swirling somewhere in the realm of What have I done with myself this year? Have I accomplished anything?, I actually made a decision. I had 740 pictures Rob's sister Christie had taken from a vacation last June to scroll through and make decisions on. I knew I wanted to blow a couple photos of the boys up fairly big for the wall (very specific location, I know), and that's about all I knew, but I have actually placed an order and "masking taped" a spot that I think they will go.

This is huge for me.

Pictures to come of the final product. Giddyup.

Oh, Luke

A conversation with Luke today:

Me: "Well Luke, I sure hope tomorrow is a beautiful day, since today was cold and rainy."

Luke: "Actually, I hope tomorrow is a handsome day!"

Me: "Oh, why's that?"

Luke: "Because if it's a beautiful day, only girls can come out, but if it's a handsome day, boys can come out too!"

Oh, Luke, I do love thee.

St. Pat's

We held our annual St. Pat's party this past weekend. We decided to try a keg of Guinness on our guests, which I felt confident we would finish based on slightly higher attendance than last year and the knowledge of how late we went last year. Sadly, I must report we did not finish it but we gave it the old college try. And had lots of laughs in the meantime.

Always the best dressed for theme parties

Blessings

I just can't get my mind off one sick little boy.

I think intuitively, we all know we are pretty blessed. We've got a job, a family, our health, and don't have to wonder where our next meal comes from. We are so much better off than most of the world.

Yet, it's still easy to complain. Maybe your son  has turned into a teenaged girl. Maybe your kids won't sleep a wink past seven dot zero zero ever. Maybe you feel you are working so hard but not making much progress in your goal of losing weight. And really, such is life. And if we never speak of these things that are our thorns in our side, we are probably not presenting a true picture of our lives.

However, it often takes the catastrophe of another person to remind us of how minor our own struggles are. The obvious, of course, in the world is Japan right now and the chaos that has become their lives. For me right now even more so, it is the trials a small boy is undergoing.

The boy I shared my first kiss with, and was my first official boyfriend, but whom I remember more as a very good friend during those painful middle school years, has a son, who in many ways resembles my own. He is seven years old, has a peanut allergy, and loves Star Wars. However, unlike my son, he is fighting for his life. I recently learned of the situation through my sister and Facebook, and since reading his story, can't get him out of my head. My friend writes of this struggle in such a real, raw way, which I so admire, and which makes it almost impossible not to try to put yourself in his place and wonder what it feels like. To simply imagine the monstrosity it would be to have to watch your child writhe in pain from the medications and the side effects of fighting cancer, and not be able to do anything for him, is unthinkable. All the while, questioning if in the end the fight he faces daily will be enough to ensure his survival.

I pray that I might never have to endure such a thing, and give thanks for what I've been given. If you'd like to pray for Joey or read more on his story, click here.

Daily Five

I'll just share a few thoughts and blurry, fuzzed out pictures that have captured those thoughts over the last week or so.

As I finished drying my hair and watched Luke calmly looking at books and waiting patiently for me to finish so I could read or play with him, I had to marvel at his reality today vs. what I might have thought his future reality would be at about 18 months-2 years old. At that time, everything was a challenge. Every single diaper change turned into a writhing screaming battle. Every single clothing change. Every time his hair needed washed in the bathtub was a disaster. Trying to get his hair cut. Putting sunscreen on him in the summer. Transferring from a crib to a bed after I couldn't watch him fall out of his crib on his head again because of his strong sheer will to do what he wanted, and then sitting on a stool outside his door for sometimes hours at a time until he would stay in his bed at night.

I knew his will was strong, and wondered how we'd ever make it through with him when EVERYTHING.WAS.A.STRUGGLE.

And now, here he is:

That same boy who didn't seem to be able to handle 'being handled' back then likes to cuddle now, and sit and play games and read books for hours if you're willing. He is flexible when plans change, goes with the flow, and doesn't live by any rigid schedule.

And oh how I am enjoying him now.

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Speaking of rigid schedules, when the big one walks into our room at exactly.7:00.on the dot. every single day, including weekends, we sometimes send him to read or quietly watch T.V. while we sleep in lay there a little longer. Every Saturday he arrives in his robe, requests that we go nowhere all day so he doesn't  have to waste his day, and then later changes into his exact same Saturday outfit. He often makes a list of what he would like to do for the day and tapes it on the wall somewhere.

When I finally rolled out of bed Saturday morning, I was pleasantly surprised to see this:

They were watching the Dukes of Hazzard and {gasp} touching each other in a loving way leading me to believe we just might have a good day! It was a nice way to start our day.

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Today we got a March snowfall, and while everyone is certainly grumbling that they are so over it and ready for spring, I couldn't help but take in the beauty of the snowfall when I opened my curtains and looked out my bedroom window:

Naturally the picture doesn't do it justice, but every tree branch was coated with snow and it really was so beautiful. And, of course, with the higher temps and the snow being such a wet one, it won't last long anyway, so it was just a really nice gift in my opinion.