Another Maggieism

At lunchtime today, Maggie looked at her plate and said, " Mommy, whenever I look at macaroni and cheese, my knee starts to hurt really bad and I cant walk very well." Huh???? After asking her several times what she said and it was repeated the same way each time, the mac n cheese was removed from her plate and all was well with the knee. Hmmmm....

Photo Bop

Taking pictures of kids always has its challenges. Ive found that a rather inpromptu gathering of children in an informal setting is less stressful than most and the kids can be rather helpful and cooperative...

My Favorite Hymn

I have been wanting to write about this for a while. I think about it frequently because I absolutely LOVE this hymn and think the lyrics are so touching.
It was written by a woman named Emma Lou Thayne and the music was originally composed by Jolene G Meredith.

You can see a video of the MOTAB singing the hymn here

I do like the version you can get from itunes much better though.

THE LYRICS:

Where can I turn for peace?
Where is my solace
When other sources cease to make me whole?
When, with a wounded heart, anger, or malice
I draw myself apart searching my soul?

Where, when my aching grows?
Where, when I languish?
Where, in my need to know?
Where can I run?
Where is the quiet hand to calm my anguish?
Who, who can understand?
He, only One.

He answers privately.
Reaches my reaching.
In my Gethsemane, Savior, and friend.
Gentle, the peace He finds
For my beseeching.
Constant He is, and kind.
Love without end.

This is a hymn that speaks to our day. "When Other Sources cease to make me whole." As we look around and see how people (and maybe ourselves) try to fill the voids in their lives and fix the pain they feel by turning to other people, alcohol, drugs, sex, money, material possessions, etc. As Dr Phil would say, "How's that working for ya?" The Savior is the only one who can truly understand what we are feeling. He has suffered every agony, every misery and, if we go to him, he will provide the peace we need in these times.


I've always enjoyed learning about how songs were created. The story of how this hymn was written is an interesting one. In 1971, the author and composer were asked to create a hymn for a Young Womens conference. They were able to write the melody in one phone call to each other!

The text had a deeply personal meaning to Jolene Meredith. The words for the hymn came from a very troubling time in her family's life. She had 4 children under 17 who had needs, she was facing a spinal fusion which would put her career teaching at the University of Utah on hold, one daughter was ill, and her husband had become Bishop of a student ward.

In 1985, the hymn was published in the new LDS hymnal. At that time she recalled the feelings she had when writing the hymn and how vital they were to her even then. Five months after it was published, a crowbar went through her windshield on the freeway, fracturing 8 bones in her face. During this time she faced a prompting for the searching that this song talks of and is grateful for "the unbelievably timely resurrection of the song that has helped so much in my own recent resurrection, a resurrection of what I might never have known without the trial and without the granted grace of the impulse to reach."

"In my Gethsemane, Savior, and friend. Gentle, the peace He finds" I love these words. This text is quite possibly the most sincere, honest testimony I have ever heard in song. I am struck every time I hear it and tears well up in my eyes knowing the truth of these verses. That when we go through our own Gethsemane, what we search for can only be found through the Savior. "Who, who can understand? He, only One." I am so blessed to know that Jesus Christ is my Savior and Redeemer. He can provide me with the calm and peacefulness that I desire when I am troubled. I need to remember this and humble myself before the Lord when I need him. How great it is that our Savior loves us so much! I cant wait to meet him again!

I Know You're a Nurse...

Tonight after Maggie and Alexander went to bed, Maggie threw a flashlight off the bed and clocked Alexander in the nose and cheek. Blood was pouring out of his nose when I ran back to determine was the screaming was about! As we three sat in the bathroom and Alexander held his nose, we talked about what happened. It was decided that the incident was a complete accident as Maggie didnt know that Alexander's face was where it was at the time. Hmmm. But she did say, "Mommy, I know you're a nurse so you could take care of it!" Im really not quite sure what to think of a statement like that from a four year old!

VACAY!

We were so fortunate to meet Matt, Vikki and kids, Paula, and their friends Martha and Peyton, and Mom and Dad at Myrtle Beach this year! We had a blast! The kids really enjoyed the ocean. It seemed they could walk out in it a long way before it dropped off.
The weather was fabulous! Hot and dry. Good Beachin weather!
Here are a few pics from our trip!

Building sandcastles was quite the group effort and these cuties contributed quite a lot
of their four year old expertise to the endeavor!

I think this pic is soooo adorable! The girls were in the outdoor shower and
Andrew was trying to find a way in! LOL!

Vikki, we are in TROUBLE in a few years!!!

The four of us Efirds! Maggie DID NOT want her picture taken!!! Bet ya couldnt tell!


Our last day! Sitting in the golf cart with Mammaw and Pappaw, ready to go home!
Kayleigh and Uncle Matt have their backs to us!

Another Maggieism

Yesterday I felt brave and took all three kids shopping and out to eat! I felt even braver to actually shop for myself!!! The kids have been working on using better words besides stupid, dumb, kill, etc... and Maggie caught herself while helping me shop yesterday. She started to say, "that's stup..." and then paused for a second and retorted "pendous!" I was so excited that a four year old could stop herself from saying one word and then come up with a great word like stupendous! Go Maggie!!! That is STUPENDOUS!!!

Rainy Days Are Made for Blogging

And I thought I was gonna get better at this!!! I really cant believe that I used to blog almost every single day! So much has happened it's hard to think about where to start to update. I am now working as a staff nurse in the Critical Care Unit. The Education job ended. It's kinda nice to have less stress and actually take care of patients. That's where my true love of nursing is, although I really liked the education portion of it. Im still involved with committees,etc and I think that will keep me just busy enough (actually probably too busy).

Maggie's last day of preschool was last Thursday. She had her end of the year program and I took the camera but couldnt get it to work. Technology. I think its the lens because I had used it earlier in the day with the another lens and it did fine. I think I'll charge the battery and see if it helps.

Maggie and her friend, Emma on the last day of Nursery School!

Alexander is pretty excited about his last day of Kindergarten. They get out on the 5th. The kids have big plans for the summer and are excited about their time off! I'm thinking about first grade already and wonder what that year will bring for us. Since I havent been too thrilled about Kindergarten, I am really hoping first grade is much better. But Im not feeling too positive at this point :(

Andrew continues to be the sweetest, most loving, huggiest little thing around, that is when he isnt beating on somebody or something. He has a great little personality that is developing before my eyes. I miss him and the other two when I work. I usually dont get to see them at all those days. This weekend all three will be visiting Bob in Blacksburg. Yikes! What will I ever do with myself?

A couple of weeks ago we had a rabbit nest in our garden. I didnt know it until Bella (our dog) started dragging them out of the hole and licking them all over like they were little puppies! I heard the little squeals and couldnt even figure out what they were at first! So little! So for the rest of the day we had these two little newborn bunnies in our yard and I couldnt figure out what to do with them. Andrew went outside in the early evening and I could hear the squealing again but it really didnt register what was happening until Andrew ran into the house and started yelling at me to come see the "kitties". I ran out and by the time I got out there Andrew was trying to pick one of them up and got really upset that I wouldnt let him hold his "kitty". I then scooped them up with a plastic shovel and put them back in the hole. After all of the "handling" these little bunnies got I am not sure the momma bunny wanted them back. :( Here are some pics I took of them:

How are ya doing?

Yes, it has been forever since I have written something even somewhat profound on my blog! I think I got blogitis or something! Just couldnt do it, but I want everyone to know that Im back in blogging mode!
How is everyone doing with their New Year's Resolutions? I really havent done much I have to say. Been better at reading the scriptures. When you ask yourself how you expect to receive the blessings that you ask for when you arent really doing your part to deserve them, it makes a difference in their importance! Also, I am preparing to get very organized. This may sound like procrastination, but I have this great friend who is a super organized person and she is going to help me get organized through daily planning!. I also just ordered this book, Getting Things Done by David Allen. I had been looking at getting a nice lateral file cabinet as well but my friend suggested that I read this book first because he writes a lot about the use of files. CAN'T WAIT! SO EXCITED! YIPPEE! So, that's pretty much my progress at my New Year's Resolutions. The photo things was pretty slow while it was so cold and blah outside but it seems to be picking up. I received my new lens which is super cool and I have some new filters to play with so, if anyone want their pics done, now's the time!!!!!!
Kid update: Alexander lost his first tooth last month. He was so excited! The tooth fairy came and everything!


Maggie is miss princess diva. Matt and his daughter, Ashleigh (who is also 4) came to visit earlier this month and they had a blast together!




Andrew is now 18 months and quite the busy little guy. He is still as sweet as ever but can be a handful, esp. when I am playing the organ at church (thanks Sis Fordham!)!

Oh, and it did finally snow a measurable amount this month! The kids had fun playing in it.

Cute Quote

Maggie after her Sunday School lesson today: "Xander, we aren't cannibals yet because you are just 6 and I'm just 4." I think she meant to say accountable!

Quote of the Day

Maggie, out of the blue: "Mommy, the next time you have a rotten banana in your purse, I'll give you my purse."

The 4:30pm News

Bob taped the 4:30 pm News on Sunday evening. Let me know what you think of our production!!!
(You have to turn the sound way up to hear)

More Vaccinations

I have been remiss in getting Andrew to the MD to get his regular checkups and vaccines. I missed the 12 month visit. He went today and in 3 days he will be 16 months! It doesnt help that we are on the Bob Sears Alternative Vaccine Schedule and only get 2 shots per visit. Now we are WAAAY behind. Of course this is okay with me. I detest what the pharmaceutical companies put in vaccines. I dont care that vaccines arent a big money maker with these companies. Ethically and morally they should avoid these terrible chemicals that fill up the vials our children's shots come out of. Today I chose the Prevnar against the Pnuemococcal virus and the DTaP (Diptheria, Tetanus, Pertussis). They are both inactive vaccinations but they both contain aluminum. If you havent read one of my past entries on vaccines, this metal is toxic esp to the brain. The DTaP vaccine also contains mercury (poison is you ask me) and fourmaldehyde (yes the stuff that preserved the dead kitties in biology class).

I have to say that I have learned a lot in the years that I have had children. Poor Alexander was the guinea pig I suppose. I didnt know much and therefore, he got all the shots in the order the American Academy of Pediatrics suggested. He probably received a dose of Tylenol before some of his shots and I just didnt think this was an option! WHAT WAS I THINKING????

There are a couple of reasons why I dont give Tylenol to Andrew before his shots. The first is that it can mask a possible reaction to the vaccine. I would prefer to know soon after he gets the shot if he is going to have a reaction than 3-4 hours later when the Tylenol wears off. The second reason is because Tylenol itself has "toxins" in it that have to be "detoxified" by the liver. In combination with all of the toxins the vaccines contain, a little body can be overwhelmed and not be able to clear these unwanted chemicals out of the system. So unless it is extremely necessary and Andrew is very uncomfortable, I dont give analgesics before or after.

Just as an FYI, you can give large doses of Vit A and C several days before your child receives his/her vaccines, feed them an organic diet, and push more fruits and veggies and vitamins to help your child cope with the ingredients of these vaccines.

I am not opposed to vaccines. In general they are good. I am against not vaccinating because of the risk it poses to the innocent. I dont know the details of this story but here is the jist of it: A family in the midwest a few years ago went on a trip to Europe and were exposed to the Measles virus. Upon returning they got together with their community home school co-op where many of the children were un-vaccinated. An outbreak of measles occurred and many were very sick. At least one of the children died. While measles is a not very common in America, it is in EVERY community and pediatricians have seen the most horrific cases of it which are branded in their minds, forcing them to plead with those of us who want to delay the vaccine a little while. Andrew's pediatrician would laugh at me right now because of the conversation we had today. Anyway, I know I have written this before, but just be educated about this stuff. Because I know I wasnt for a while and I wish I had been. Happy vaccinating!

Tagged!

Five things I was doing 10 years ago:

1. Starting my final semester in Nursing school.
2. Corresponding with Bob through pretty much only phone calls (dark ages).
3. Living with my parents while in school.
4. Weighing about 2o pounds less.
5. Teaching piano lessons and working at Massanutten ski lodge.

Five things on my To-Do list today:

1. Kick some RMH a**.
2. Look for a new job and a babysitter.
3. Spend some time with my kids, esp Maggie.
4. Go to Target.
5. Wash the rugs in the bathroom.

Five snacks that I LOVE:

1. Hershey kisses! (Dont mind if I do, thank you!)
2. M & Ms
3. Martins BBQ potato chips
4. Homemade Chocolate Chip cookes
5. Chocolate, period (yes, I'll have another, thanks!)

Five things I would do if I were a Billionaire

This, surprisingly, is a hard one!!!

1. Pay for my parents to take a cruise around the World, then buy them new cars to cruise around in and then let my Mom redecorate her house (her favorite).
2. Shopping Spree for my friends and me (includes the Coach and Prada stores)! Then manis and pedis and a private Twilight showing with Rob Pattinson sitting right next to me!!!!
3. Build a charter school for this area and supply it with the best of everything, all the while donating money to the public school system.
4. Hire some peoples to help mes out (maid, trainer, prn nanny, organizer, etc.)
5. Start my own business and hopefully provide jobs to many.

Thanks for tagging me Jennie!
I tag Dianna, Allie, Deb F., and Sarah L.

The 6 o'clock news!

We had such fun tonight at the TV station in Harrisonburg- WHSV! Val Thompson is in our Branch Presidency and he and his wife are so very cool. I told him that Alexander loves to report the weather and sports and news all the time, and that he printed off the list of news people at the station and pasted his picture in there with the rest of them! So, he invited us down to the station to see a LIVE 6 o'clock show and meet some of the tv personalities and some behind the scenes! It was sooo cool! We got to sit up next to the main desk and see everything as it happened! It was really neat! Did you know that the weather screens are not actually behind the weather reporter but that a green wall is? All of these things Alexander found very intriguing. He was a little nervous at the time, but gave the entire news, weather, and sports report in the car on the way home and has talked and talked about it ever since.
Thanks so much, Val (and all the rest of the WHSV team)!

Alexander the Sports Director shuffling his papers with Val!

Alexander on the monitor doing the weather report! I screwed up this
picture with my flash- DUH!

Tracey, the meteorologist with Alexander in front of the green wall!
Check out the monitor behind them!

Val, you guys hiring?

Finally Some Resolutions!

I think I have finally come to the realization that resolutions are needing to be made and now is the time to do it. We hung out at home all day today. It was very cold and rainy so TV football was so much more appealing than the store, although I do get joy from driving around in my car (oddly and fortunately enough). Anyway, I think that the lack of hustle bustle had me thinking about sitting down and getting started on the resolutions. Better late than never!

1. As always, I need to be more organized. I am of the mind set that you can do anything if you are super organized! Since this is such a generalized goal, as my friend, Jennie said to me, you have to make smaller goals in order to achieve the big one (or something like that). So, subset organization:

1a. Find places for all of the toys. Toys have homes and preferably when they go home, I cant see them. I may need to purchase another toy chest for the mass these three have accumulated. Also, it's important that the kids know where their toys go when they go to bed so they can put them away efficiently.

1b. Figure out what to do with the papers. Does everyone else have this problem? Mail, school papers, bills, newspapers, receipts, art, magazines, etc... The magazines need to be gone through every two weeks and I will have an organization system for everything else with labels (thanks to my new DYMO). These will be in one of my baskets. I hope this works! I think this is probably my BIGGEST ORGANIZATION PROBLEM and will be the most difficult to conquer.

1i. Alexander's papers. I have to say this child is a maker of lists and a hoarder of paper items. He makes calendars and lists and prints out lists and schedules and all sorts of things and wants to keep it all. Never wants to throw anything away. Maggie is clearly not that way and thinks more like I do. Is this the Venus/Mars thing working so early? Anyway, we have employed many different ideas to deal with Alexander's paper/list/schedule fetish but I think the system we have now is working. We are just going to have to go through all these papers at least weekly and decide which ones he needs and which ones he can toss. This is probably not as bad as I make it sound. He has gotten the hang of making piles of "keepers" and "tossers" and has been tossing quite a bit lately. Go Alexander!

1c. Use my calendars diligently. I am the queen of "I'll write that down later" and then it never happens. I have a portable calendar/planner for work and one on the wall for the family. Combining the two can be challenging but is a must so everyone is wehre they need to be and also, that the kids have babysitting lined up. To my own credit I am pretty good at getting the schedule down. What I like to do with the calendars though, is write down the little things. Like an new tooth or a wiggly one, or what we did that day. This is what I need to work on. I just tend to forget when child #2 started eating baby food to sleeping through the night (did that ever happen?) if I dont write it down and it is sooo much easier for me than keeping a journal. So I need to work on this.

1d. Clothes: Why does it always seem like we have piles of clothes the kids have outgrown! I guess 'cause we do! I need to be getting rid of the clothes, have seasonal clothes available for the kids to pick out (at least the older two); matching socks, shoes that fit, hairbows, and all those accessories in one place and color coordinated. Also, the outfits need to be paired because when someone else takes care of the kids (like Bob) they have some trouble figuring out which shirt goes with a certain pair of pants and stuff like that. I like to match up everything when I put it in the drawers so this is rarely a problem.

1e. The garage. Man, I do NOT want to do this one. NOT AT ALL but it needs to be done. The only good thing about this goal is that I can wait until it gets warmer to actually begin to tackle it!
We have a large garage and right now our car cannot fit in it because it has a swingset in it, tons of bins of clothes and decorations, among other stuff. Just stuff. Need to go through it all and get rid! Anyone need some used laminate flooring? Got that too! In fact, she just let me know if you're looking for something because, we probably have it! LOL!

Wow! That's a lot! Do I need two resolutions? I can think of about 20 but number
2. is gonna be BE MORE PRODUCTIVE WITH THE COMPUTER! Yes, limit my facebook time. Check my email less frequently and give myself a timed computer time during the day. I LOVE the computer and have ever since I actually got on it and started doing design stuff in college. But a lot of the stuff I do on it these days is time wasting. And that, I dont need.

3. Become the spiritual person I want to be. This includes studying the scriptures daily, reading up in preparation for Sunday classes, saying daily prayers with family and personally without falling asleep in the middle, creating a better environment in the home, and going to the temple.
I'm not sure what the world holds for us but it isnt looking very good. I would like my family to be prepared!

4. AND, along the lines of preparation, I need to get my 72 hour kits updated and get our food storage organized. I like the list that my Dad has that tells you things to buy every month so that you arent overwhelmed when you think about all the items that you need to get a good 30 day supply of needs. I need to post this list on my fridge and be vigilent about shopping for them each month. I need to make a system of organizing all this stuff so that we can rotate the oldest and newest. I think a black sharpie will work wonders!

5. The last resolution I will make for myself this year is to refine my photography hobby! My goal is to post new picts that I have done on location every month! And I am always looking for guinea pigs so if you want your pictures taken for free, just let me know! Im trying to find my style and I have so much fun doing this!

OKAY! I did it! My NY resolutions before February or even Jan 15! Awesome! I am excited to get started with all of these goals and hopefully I can feel like I am accomplishing something and growing as a person!

Splashing lessons

Me yesterday: "Tomorrow starts a busy year with school and piano lessons and swimming lessons!"
Maggie: "Do I get to take swimming lessons, too, or SPLASHING lessons!!!" (Bursts into laughter)

Loomis family (cause I cant spell Loomis plural)

What a special opportunity to take some photos of the Loomis fam in their home Thursday!

Such a gorgeous family-inside and out