It's like this...

“Tears are words that need to be written.” - Paul Coehlo Smart man. Excellent writer. A friend of mine on FB shared his picture and this quote, and it resonated with me. I often find I write best when I am in distress. It's as though my muse needs my pain to be called forth. Ah, what a sadist, my muse. Christmas this year made me feel a bit off kilter---but not in a bad way. Ok, I did have a horrible case of vertigo which began Thursday night while hubby and I were out on a date. :::gasp::: Yes, we took our annual date. I thought I was managing quite nicely, he told me he thought I'd taken drugs. I guess what I hear about people drinking and trying desperately to act sober must be true. You don't fool anyone. So I've been on some drugs to help me defeat the vertigo, which make me sleepy. Apparently I passed out and missed most of Christmas Eve at my sister's house . Yay me! On Christmas day we had the sister missionaries over for dinner so they c...

"You're ridiculous!!!!", my 14 year old daughter sneered at me. "Why are you SO over protective??" We'd just spent a chilly five minutes on the porch arguing. She had refused to hand over her precious cell phone, and I wasn't allowing her to open the door and go into the warmth until she had done so. She asked me how long I was going to keep her phone. I told her two days. "NO!" "Hand it to me." "NO! I don't see why I have to!!" She is fourteen years old, she probably didn't see the reasoning behind my demand she turn over her cell phone. But it's my job to teach her. "If you don't hand it to me, you're going to lose it for longer than two days." "NO!!" "Trust me, I mean it. Give it to me." " NO!!!!!!! "Fine, you've lost it for a week now." "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" "Yes." "FINE!", she bellowed at me as she t...

I was sitting in a dark room Friday morning when my phone buzzed. I looked at the alert and CNN informed me that there had been a shooter at a school in Connecticut. Closing my phone, I looked up to heaven and said a prayer in my heart for those in harms way. I had no idea of the scale of this tragedy at that moment. I was at Seattle Children's Hospital watching the brain waves of my youngest child as they moved across the monitor during her EEG. She was sleeping peacefully, all wrapped up in white gauze with wires protruding out of bandages. I gave a sigh and silently thanked my Father in Heaven that I knew where my child was and that she was safe. As the day progressed, more of the tragedy came to light. I wept for the families, the children, the first responders who would have to process this unimaginable horror. Openly crying in front of my children and hugging them each time they came near me. I work in our school district. This hits close to home. What happened a...

We did it. Well, WE didn't do it, our vet did. He wasn't too thrilled to be taken somewhere in the kitty carrier though. Professor Tubbington had his lil nuggets removed yesterday. This will take care of a few things, namely his aggressive behavior with the other cats, his tomcat tail (EW) and his desire to do his business anywhere he feels like it. Due to those three issues, he's been an outdoor kitty since the summer. Plus, we are being responsible kitty owners by taking him out of the gene pool. And it makes Alli very happy to have her baby back in her arms and snuggling with her at night. Bobo is not thrilled. Now he's no longer top of the cat heap in the house. He has to share. He's not big on sharing. He'll just have to adjust. My girl Cassie isn't doing too well. We're not quite sure what's going on with her. We were told that all her 'tumors' were benign, but that doesn't mean they aren't affecting her...

Yesterday afternoon we took Ashley and Alli over to Belluvue Festival of The Nativities and saw something so beautiful it touched our hearts. There were over 500 nativity scenes, representing over 44 countries, set up in the Stake Center behind the Temple . It was interesting to see the unique cultural differences in each nativity. It was incredibly touching. I took some pictures... I hope you're touched by them as well. Here are my two youngest and most beautiful daughters. Ashley Rose and Allison Marie. Oh how I love these girls. Alli was the one who really wanted to see all of the nativities. She LOVES Christmas so very much. And here are the nativities... My apologies for the poor quality of the photos. There were over a hundred lighted Christmas trees...lights everywhere. One room was called The Christ Room. Paintings, drawings, statues and other unique items outlining the life of Christ were set in...