Why I didn't want a dog: Reason #568

Because they bite.   

They bite ears.  

They bite the ears of little 6-year-old boys.  And they bite them so hard that it requires a trip to the emergency room and 10 stitches to put the ear back together again.

 

Mom telling him that he has to have stitches.

Okay, ya, that's owie.

Ah, Phineas and Ferb to distract him....why didn't we think of that sooner?!

Now that's a little more calm.  Thank heavens for anesthetic, The Disney Channel, and a really great doctor.

How many nurses out there would go out to the vending machine and buy her patient not only one package of Reese's PB cups, but TWO?!  Well, I know of at least one nurse who did.


The finished product.  And surely a scar to last the rest of his life.  Dangit.





I didn't want a dog.

I really didn't.

Oh, and I almost forgot.  It was Raegan and Haylie's birthday the same day.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my twins - born 4 years apart. :)
(At least their braces are kind of twin-ish.)
Raegan - 20, Haylie -16

Sorry, girls, that your special day had to take a back-seat to the dog/ear trauma.  Sheesh.

Martha: The Next Generation

Anyone who knows my two oldest daughters, Brooke and Raegan, know that they are emerging gourmet chefs.  Actually, I'm not sure I should use the word emerging.  Basically, they are gourmet chefs.  In my opinion, they have arrived.

These two girls are, for lack of a better word, obsessed with cooking.  Obsessed, I say!  When each has a birthday or it's Christmas or there is any opportunity for them to receive a gift, ALL they ask for are cookbooks.  When not in the kitchen cooking, they spend their free time pouring over cooking blogs and driving around town shopping for rare and exotic ingredients.  Their dream is to go to culinary school in New York City (and once they each come up with the $45,000 per semester tuition PLUS enough for NYC lodging , I'll gladly let them go).

I curse myself for not taking a picture of the cookbooks that Brooke checked out from the library a couple of weeks ago.  It seemed like there were hundreds of them.  Maybe thousands!  There were literally stacks and stacks and STACKS of cookbooks on our family room floor for two weeks. Nightly, she sat with her collection, pouring over each and every glorious page.

These girls fight over who "gets" to cook dinner.  They fight over who "gets" to make the dessert (and trust me, there is never a lack of desserts around this house!).  

(And, just for the record, I don't fight with them.  I am perfectly fine to sit back and have someone else cook our dinner.)

(Yip, this set-up pretty much works for me.)

Brooke and Raegan are not your average cooks and they do not cook average food.   They make things called Fesenjan (Chicken and Beets in Pomegranate Walnut Sauce), Harissa Baked Purple Hedgehog Potatoes with a Yogurt Mint Dipping Sauce, and Coconut Red Lentil and Chickpea Soup topped with Toasted Slivered Almonds, Feta Cheese and finished with a light drizzle of Olive Oil.

These are the kind of meals we eat at our house.

However, as delicious as these meals may be for us adults, I can say they usually do not sit very well with the little boys; Matthew (10) and Adam (6).  These boys feel greatly deprived of hamburgers, tacos, and spaghetti.  You know, BOY food!  Of which Brooke and Raegan never make!  

Until last night.  Brooke was feeling rather kind and generous towards her brothers and therefore decided it was "time to cater to the boys."  So, she made Matthew's favorite dish of all time: Lasagne.  

Lasagne with MEAT and OOEY-GOOEY CHEESE* and NOODLES!  

It was nothing short of little boy heaven at our house last night!

We quickly consumed half of the pan, being careful to save the other half for the boys' dinner tonight. Oh boy!  Were they ever looking forward to dinner tonight!

We set the pan, covered with aluminum foil, out on our back patio picnic table.  It was certainly cold enough to keep it there over night, and we do this all the time with leftovers.  When it's this cold outside, it's like "the world is our refrigerator!"

But this time it wasn't meant to be.  You see, apparently we have raccoons in our neighborhood who like to eat all of our neighbor's chickens.  And I guess now that they've eaten all the neighbor's chickens they have now turned to eating LASAGNE!

THIS is what was left of our half-pan of lasagne.
 (And how thoughtful of said raccoon to not eat ALL of it.  What a nice raccoon to
leave us a few, dry, licked-clean noodles.)

THIS is the aluminum foil which was found several feet away, cruelly sliced by the raccoon's paw and carelessly thrown to the side of the sandbox.  Just look at that
perfectly guilty paw print!

I guess the world is no longer our refrigerator.  

And I guess the boys will be eating Farrow with Red Cabbage and Lemon-Scented Quinoa for dinner tonight.

*Addendum: My aforementioned daughter has informed me that the "Ooey-gooey cheese" was actually "Ooey-gooey TOFU mixed with a bit of cheese.  Such sneaky, sneaky girls.

The best of men

The phone call came early this morning.  And when I heard it ring, I knew.

I knew and I didn't want to answer it.

John's dear father had just passed away only minutes earlier. 

The emotions right now are hard to figure out.  

There is happy.  So happy for him.  He is finally free of the painful body which has kept him captive for the last 8 months.   Happy that he is finally with his parents and his brother.   It's been so many years since he has been with his mother.  The thought of their reunion is overwhelming to my mind.  

Then there is sad.  Sad for us as we are left behind, missing him so much that it physically hurts. Missing his wisdom, his smile, his laugh, his excitement over the car he has been restoring for as long as I can remember.  Missing him wearing his leather jacket that says, "Handyman Club of America, Lifetime Member."  Missing our "Flying Dutchman."  Missing everything about him.

Just missing him.

I just can't quite figure out what to feel.  And my heart is so full that I feel it will explode.   I thought if I typed out these feelings, that somehow it might help me to feel better.   I hope.

When Raegan returned from India in August we took her to see Opa in the care center.  She hadn't seen him since he became sick with that really ridiculously rude cancer.  I am so happy I grabbed my camera as I ran out the door.  The photos we have of them together are priceless.

This morning, when I told little Adam that "Opa died" he got a surprised look on his face, then he lay his head on me and after thinking for a minute said, "Well, it's kinda good because he won't ever die again and he's getting to see Jesus."

Is there anything more true and correct and beautiful than that?  Opa IS getting to see Jesus, and because of Him, our Savior Jesus Christ, Opa will never have to die again!

There isn't a more beautiful thought in the world.

up and running

Raegan's India blog is now up and running! So, if you want to see some pretty cool pics and read about humongeous bugs, birthday cake, lice infestations, homemade caramels from mom, hissing chameleons, and adorable Indian children then click here.

*Raegan with Brooke White last Fall.

i love technology

"Yes, I love technology,
But not as much as you, you see.
But I still love technology,

Always and forever.
Always and forever."

The first time I watched Napolean Dynamite, I just could not figure out what all the fuss was about. It was fine and kind of funny in some spots and I laughed, but only a few times. But then I watched it the 2nd time and Oh. My. Cow. It was a different movie! This is when I learned the meaning of ROTFL. I have no idea why it changed for me, but it did and the 3rd time was better and the 4th time even better and the 5th......

So....

one of my favorite parts of the movie is the end, after the credits are done rolling. Kip's love song to his bride is unsurpassed in classic-ness. Click here to relive Always and Forever it in all its awesomeness.

So....

Raegan is in India for the summer. She just left this last week. Our communication with her has been spotty at best. But last night we were actually able to hook up with her on Skype.

Skype. What a glorious thing. Who's idea was that anyway? Who is responsible for the greatest invention of this half century? I want to shake hands with, hug, kiss this person. I. Love. Skype. I could actually SEE my daughter, SEE that she was well, SEE that she was ALIVE. It was one of those monumental moments for a mother.

So.....

here is Raegan last night as we Skyped (this pic taken of our computer screen with a cell phone - you can see me and Haylie in the bottom corner). She gave us a tour of where she is staying. She turned her laptop around and showed us her room, her roommate, the bathroom - complete with squatter toilets and bucket showers. She went out front and showed us the big elephant statue. She took us up the stairs to the rooftop and showed us the view. We could hear the strange Indian birds squawking in the background. We could see the sweat on her forehead. I could see food stuck in her teeth! (Which actually turned out to be a dirt spot on my computer screen. Oh well, I'm sure if she'd HAD food in her teeth I would have been able to see it.) And all this from HALF WAY AROUND THE WORLD!!!

Yes, I love Skype.

I love technology!

Doesn't she look good?! Healthy, happy, and ready to work her butt off for the next three months!

she did it!

like mother, like daughter

To my darling daughter Raegan,

I PROMISE that next time you are going to a school dance I will NOT be sewing on your dress while your date is sitting upstairs waiting. I know, I know - he was waiting for a long time. A really long time! Yes, I do remember this exact same thing happened last year for the Sweethearts Dance. Next time I will have your dress done days, no, weeks in advance.
(I just figured that since I only had the sleeves to make and sew in it, well, that should only take a few minutes...shouldn't it? *sheepishly*)

And..... I didn't know there were other people waiting in the car! Yes, I can totally understand the "look" they gave us as we finally emerged from the house. And I am sure the following conversation took place....
"Oh finally! Here they come. What the crap took them so long to get out here?!
Oh no!! Great. There is Raegan's mom wielding her dang camera - now we have to wait again for her to take pictures. Hello Raegan's mother, do you think that we have nothing better to do tonight?!"

Yes Raegan, I remember telling you about how my mom would be desperately sewing on my high school dance dresses while my dates would be waiting downstairs in the living room. I would stand next to her at the sewing machine freaking out and completely panicked! I knew I would never let that happen when I, Maryanne, was sewing on my daughter's dance dresses.

Well, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, does it?! Sigh.
(Note to my mom...sorry mom for ever getting upset or frustrated or mad at you for not finishing my dress before my date got there to pick me up. That was just soooo wrong of me. I KNOW that you were doing your absolute best and with all you had to do as a mother, it was absolutely amazing that you were still willing to make me a dress!)

Sorry Raegan. Sorry Alec. Sorry people waiting in the car. I'll do better next time. I promise. No, I pinky-promise.

an experience of a lifetime

The girls have been back from Peru for almost 2 weeks now, and in that time we still have not seen all of their photos! Yes, they took that many. I finally have few minutes to sit down and post some.


Machu Picchu. Brooke and Raegan say that the pictures don't even begin to do it justice. What an amazing place! And see that really tall mountain behind them? It's called Waynu Picchu, and they climbed to the very top of that thing!

Here they are about one bazillion feet up on the top of Waynu Picchu. Certainly not for those who are a just a little bit squeamish of heights (ie: my husband).

In my previous blog I told about Ida, the woman for whom the group build a new home (and her 6 children - the father left them). Ida's oldest son is serving a mission for the Mormon church which is a huge sacrifice for them. Ida earns a very meager amount of money by washing other people's clothing in buckets. Here is the front of her old house. It was literally crumbling apart. It had one room. That's it. One room with no plumbing, no kitchen. Pretty much no anything.

This was their toilet. It sat behind the house in the dirt with no water connected to it. It emptied into a sewer line, but they would have to dump buckets of water down it to get the......stuff to go down. Ida not only now has a working toilet but has an entire bathroom IN her house with running water.

Inside Ida's one-room home. This picture shows pretty much everything they own. It had all been pushed to one corner of the room so that the group could get in and start working on the new house. Notice the picture of Christ with the children taped to her wall. This family has so little, but yet they have more faith than imaginable.

Brooke with one of Ida's daughters.

Raegan with four of Ida's six children.

Their group was riding in a bus one day when Brooke suddenly could smell something really yummy. She looked over and saw this truck packed full of CILANTRO!

Then, out of no where, this kid pops up in the middle of it!

Apparently there are dogs in Peru. Lots of dogs. Lots of stray dogs. Lots of really UGLY stray dogs. Everywhere. (Too bad they didn't get a photo of the one with the mohawk.)

This is an alpacka. And yes, it is real. I love how it's just standing there - so astute and serious!

At the Lima, Peru temple where they did baptisms (all in Spanish, of course which Brooke said was so cool!).

Before Brooke and Raegan left for Peru, we had a conversation that went something like this:

Me: "Now girls, I trust you to be wise while you are in Peru. You remember when your cousin Zach went on this same trip last year? And we saw the picture of him hanging foolishly off of the cliff, dangling hundreds of feet above the ground?"

Them: "Yes, mom of course we remember seeing that picture of Zach, and of course we would never, EVER do anything like that. That really is something you do NOT need to worry about. We are not that crazy!"

Fast forward to night before last, as we are looking at Brooke's Peru pics on her laptop.

Brooke: "Oh! Oops. (As she quickly turns her laptop away from my viewing).

Me: "Brooke, what is that? What are you hiding from me?"

Brooke: "Nothing, just a bad picture. It's okay, you don't need to see it."

Me:"I want to see it. Show it to me."

Brooke: "No."

Me: "Uh, yes....show it to me now!" I then grabbed the computer and that's when I saw it. My two children hanging wrecklessly off of a cliff. There they were, dangling dangerously in the air over what appeared to be thousands of feet above the gnarly bottom. And it just so happens to be the exact SAME cliff that their cousin hung off of last year!

Me again: "What the.......?! You promised me!"

Brooke: "Mom, it wasn't a big deal. Really it wasn't. We were just walking along and I saw this cliff and I said to Raegan, 'Look, it's the same cliff that Zach dangled from - let's do it!'. It really isn't nearly as bad as it looks. I promise, mom, it was no big deal!

(Although apparently there was a Peruvian tour guide up there who, upon seeing their ridiculous behavior, started blowing his whistle at them to NOT DO THAT. They did climb back up, but of course not until they had their picture. Sigh....)

Some of my favorite photos (that Brooke took - she made me write that).....

salkantay, peru

Brooke and Raegan lay a stone walkway in the village of Salkantay, Peru. (Elevation 15,000 ft.)

Brooke told me how adorable the children are in Peru. And look how right she is! These two little girls just melt my heart. She said that she wants to bring ALL of them all home with her. I reminded her that she will have 2 empty suitcases when she travels home (they had donations inside), so she should be able to fit at least a few kids in them to bring back with her ;)

peru.....week one

Brooke and Raegan are in Peru for 2 weeks doing humanitarian work with Eagle Condor. Their experiences this past week in Trujillo have been both amazing and humbling. Their group built a home from scratch for a woman named Ida. She has 7 children (no father involved). She lived in a one room house (if you can call it at house) with one bed for all 8 of them. Her son is currently serving a mission in South America which is a HUGE sacrifice. He would be the only one to be like a father, to work and bring in money. So with him not there, the situation for Ida and her children is deprivable.

Ida's old house in a heap.

The work has begun. Plumbing is set (Ida has never had indoor plumbing, not even a working toilet), a new floor is poured, and the framing goes up.

Amazing to see these kids frame this home, most of which have never had ANY experience with this.

Brooke and Raegan painting the outside of Ida's new home.

Finished!

From their group leader, Adam:

"The best part of the day... we cleaned up the project, packed up the tools and gathered in Ida’s new kitchen. As the tears began to fall, she thanked each and everyone of us and told us that the Lord blesses those that serve. She said she knows this because the reason she has this new house is because her son is serving a mission and the Lord is protecting her family while his is gone. As we said our good-byes, she hugged everyone of us and now we are all a little better off."

Ida Pretell with her children.

Raegan and her group paint the front of a shop belonging to the Asmat family. They painted it a lovely "mango" color and installed a new awning above the entrance.

The job is now complete. Standing in front of the store with the owners, the Asmats.

Brooke eating a tiny Peruvian banana. This cracks me up because Brooke hates bananas! Oh well, when in Rome..... er, I mean Peru.....

Peruvian women selling at the local market.