The Museum

The field trip yesterday was great fun! We had enough adults along that we each only had charge of 3 kids and that was the perfect size group for touring. Also, we didn't have very much time to look at all the exhibits, but that worked out well with the attention spans of 4- and 5-year-olds. My group wanted to see the dinosaurs first, but it turned out at the end that their favorite exhibit was the "cave" where they saw gems and minerals. There were also lots of hands-on exhibits that were fun for this age group.

We looked at the Hall of Wildlife and I explained to Emmelia when she asked that the animals were real, but were dead and had been stuffed so we could look at them and see what they are like. So later when we came to the exhibit on Native American Cultures and saw a full-size dummy of a Navajo woman weaving a rug, Emmelia very sadly said "why did she have to die?". Ha! She thought the museum had killed and stuffed the poor Navajo woman so we could look at her. My kids are going to grow up to be authors of horror novels, I can tell already.

I decided, while looking at a camel that had been prepared like the humans in the BodyWorlds exhibit, that maybe I don't need to see that exhibit. I'm a scientist and all, and interested in anatomy and biology, but do I really need to see a skull cut into 3 slices with each slice in a different position? It's just.... odd. And although I respect that the people involved donated their bodies for this purpose, it still seems a little like going to see humans torn alive by wild beasts in the Coliseum. So maybe some other time. Besides, the lines on a Thursday morning were longer than lines for a ride at Disney World!

We know a small bit more, but not much

So the bummer is that the mass is still there. It didn't change much since the last CT scan, but now we at least have a plan for some follow-up diagnostics to figure out what we are dealing with here. Prayers and positive thoughts are still very much appreciated.

On the way home from the hospital yesterday, the Deac and I decided to stop and get frozen Cokes at Burger King. With that and a couple snack items, the bill came to $6.26. I gave the girl at the window 2 $5 bills. She gave me back 76 cents. When I mentioned it to her, she got the managers keys to open the register and give me the rest of my change. After much flusterment, she gave me 2 $1 bills. Sigh. Sometimes I really wonder what they are teaching in schools these days (I got my other dollar, by the way - just had to keep at it for a while to get the correct change).

And on a completely separate note, when the girls and I visited Emmelia's godmother & her kids in February, we snapped a photo of the two St. Raphael miracle girls holding an icon of St. Raphael of Brooklyn. I haven't been sure how to scrap it, but I decided to go with a simple layout featuring the troparian of St. Raphael as the journalling. I kind of like how it turned out (the text is a bit blurry because of the low resolution - sorry). In keeping with my new idea of re-using old kits, I re-used a kit my friend Christine made a while back, called "From Scratch." I used it once before on the layout for Maura's first day in the toddler room (guess that was a year ago, before I was posting them on the blog, so I can't link to it).

Tonight swimming lessons and tomorrow I'm going along as an adult helper as Em's pre-K class visits the Denver Museum of Science and Nature. I'm sure it will be a fun, if exhausting, day. Too bad I won't be able to sneak off and see the BodyWorlds exhibit... I'll have to look for an opportunity to see that another time when the kids are otherwise occupied.

God is good (worry not so good)

Every evening I try to read a portion of the Psalms. This is a spiritual exercise my father confessor encouraged me to begin practicing over 3 years ago. Every evening, read at least one verse of the Psalms, but never more than a chapter. I don't always manage every evening, and each evening the amount I have time to read varies. It's taken me this long to read through the Psalms completely once and get up to Psalm 91 again, which is where I began tonight. It never ceases to amaze me that no matter where I am in the Psalms, there is *something* that has an impact on some part of my life at that moment. Tonight I have been stressing out about how tomorrow's CT scan and doctor appointment will go. And here is the Psalm that was given to me to read in the midst of this worry:

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, who abides in the shadow of the Almighty, will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust." For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence; he will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand; but it will not come near you. You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked.

Because you have made the LORD your refuge, the Most High your habitation, no evil shall befall you, no scourge come near your tent.

For he will give his angels charge of you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the adder, the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.

Because he cleaves to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will rescue him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, and show him my salvation.

Mother's Day layout (finally!)

Yes, I finally got around to scrapping those great photos the Deac took of me and the girls on Mother's Day... I used Ginger's Blush kit again. I rarely use the same kit twice. I don't know why that happens, really. Generally I never use even half the papers and elements in a kit so I can always revisit it and make a new layout that looks different from the first. I think I have usually "moved on" to some other new kit by the time I would normally get around to using it again. But this is such a great kit with such beautiful colors that I'm not at all surprised it worked as perfectly for these photos as for the last one. The border, flowers and stitching are all done with Christine's "Simply Stitching" and "Totally Templates." Those tools really help nice layouts come together in a jiffy! And they are a lot of fun to work with, too.

Exams, birth and television

Today I had been scheduled to spend 12 hours taking a certification exam full of physics and regulatory questions to become a Certified Health Physicist. If I didn't take it, I was going to lose the hundreds of dollars I had to pay to apply and sit for the exam. But about a month ago, the Deac convinced me to call the office that administers the exam and tell them about my father's death and the Deac's illness... even though I rarely ask for special favors, I did call them and they gave me a one year extension! Whew! There is no way I'd be able to take the exam and do well today, especially with the stress of the Deac's follow-up CT scan tomorrow hanging over our heads.

This weekend I got to be a part of the birth of the first child of our friends Dcn. A. and M. M. did such a GREAT job laboring completely naturally and even began pushing before the doctor realized the baby was in a frank breech presentation. Apparently this isn't a horrible form of breech to be in terms of vaginal birth, but most doctors don't know how to deliver it and it can be a bit tricky. M. ended up being whisked out of the room and put under general anesthesia in the OR before you can say "caesarian section." But mom and baby are fine and little Leeza is already a breastfeeding champ. I feel really honored to have been a part of it, even if it didn't end *exactly* like everyone was hoping (except the healthy baby part - we got that most important hope granted).

At the end of our weekend, our television died. We turned it off last night and this morning it simply didn't turn on again. It's lasted 13 years - it was one of our first major purchases together as a couple. I remember we had to set up a credit payment plan to pay for the dang thing, and it's not like it's a plasma television or something. So now we seem to have conflicting emotions. Television is a daily part of our life. But neither of us is rushing out to buy a new one, either. Could it be time to join the Kill Your Television craze? But is life really better without TiVo'd episodes of Monk and Little Einsteins? We'll see. Of course it hits right when money is tight - story of our life. So - {hee} - maybe another tv payment plan is in our future.

Yeah, so tomorrow hopefully we'll know more about what is going on with the Deac. We're both wrecks from worrying. But God has a plan, for sure.

Planetarium layout

Oh, come on, you had to see this layout coming! It's a bit busy, but you can see why I had to use my friend Christine's kit. I tried to make the background look like you are looking through a telescope, but that may have complicated the layout unnecessarily.

Rainy here today. And that doesn't help my already low energy level. Sigh. Tomorrow I'm on another field trip with Emmelia to another swimming pool, then on Saturday there will be swimming/wading at her friend R.'s birthday party. We're definitely observing summer here! At swimming lessons last night, Maura (at just over 2 years old) declared "No, Mama, I swim by myself!" (!) and she also hit a major water-bug milestone of jumping into the pool holding only one of my hands - and going completely under each time. She LOVED that! I think she's definitely going to be my swimmer. Maybe next summer she'll motivate Emmelia a little more, since I have a feeling they'll be in the same swim level. ;-)

In other news, I finished up physical therapy for my back this week. I've learned lots of good stretches and exercises that I need to keep up with to make my back stronger and strengthen my "core." Just being more aware of how I am moving and lifting has already helped immensely. I really like how the physical therapist worked with my lifestyle and gave me ideas for squeezing some exercises into my busy life. Overall, it was a very good experience.

Last night, Emmelia and I finished reading "The Wizard of Oz"! We had a nice discussion about how different the book is from the movie before she went to sleep. And today I discovered something I was not aware of at the campus library - the Juvenile Stacks! I went over today and checked out the next two books in the Oz series - "The Land of Oz" and "Ozma of Oz". How great is that? Not only am I excited that I don't have to purchase the entire set of Oz books right now, I'm excited to get the chance to read some of these books I didn't get to read as a child. There are some definite benefits to having kids.

Planet Arium

Today I went along with Emmelia's class to visit the planetarium here on campus. It's hard to believe that I've worked here 14 years and this was my first visit (except I think we might've come here on our 5th grade field trip when I was 10). It was pretty cool!

They started off with a star show in the theatre, showing the kids different constellations and planets, and talking a bit about light pollution. Then they showed a movie on the overhead screen about Maia the plant-eating dinosaur. Although it seemed like an old show, they did a good job making you care about Maia while not anthropomorphizing too much. And of course dinosaurs are a favorite topic for 4- and 5-year-olds!

After the show, the tour was over, but a nice planetarium staff member volunteered to take the kids through the lobby exhibits, where they got to learn about light and shadows, night vision, look through a telescope, and operate a minature Mars Rover.

It was fun and I was very glad the girls and I slept in today to get us more caught up on sleep. I actually wonder how many of the kids were asleep before they made it back to the daycare center on the bus - they looked pretty tired eating their sack lunches when I left to walk back to my office.

Sooo... tired

I'm so tired these days. I've been having a lot of insomnia, probably due to stress, especially with the Deac sick. I'll be so glad when we know more about what is going on. Only one more week until the next CT scan and hopefully we'll know what we are dealing with and some of this stress will lighten up. But anway, the tiredness is getting to me. It makes it kind of hard to function at a time when I need to be strong because I don't have a lot of back-up.

Last night, instead of lying in bed unable to sleep, I had a better reason to be awake. We didn't get to bed until midnight because Emmelia's godparents stopped by on their way through town. It was *SO* good to see them and visit a bit, even if the kids were pretty owl-y by the time they left. They are getting ready to move even further away from us - it will be a 10 hour drive, so I don't know how often we are going to get to see them in the near future. Boo.

Tonight, Emmelia has a violin lesson, which will probably not go too well due to the fact that we haven't had a lot of time to practice lately and she was up until midnight last night. But after the lesson, I'm forseeing a nice early bedtime for everyone.

Tomorrow I'm going with Em's class to the planetarium and can't wait - I think it'll be loads of fun.

I haven't even been motivated to scrap much the past couple of days - that's how tired I am! LOL. But I did find the *perfect* kit (Blush by Ginger T.) to scrap that photo I posted of Emmelia yesterday.

Playing catch up

Even the idea of blogging has seemed overwhleming lately. I suppose the best thing to do is just to jump back into it and take it slowly at first.

Here's a great photo of Emmelia I captured last week when we met my cousin Beckie for dinner. She was in town for a work-related training so the girls and I joined her and her co-workers for burgers and ice cream on Thursday. Unfortunately, the Deac wasn't feeling up to going out that evening.

I went swimming with the girls THREE times in the past week. It's been fun. Once was swimming lessons, which both girls seem to enjoy much more this year. They are both happy to be in the water now. Last Friday, I used some of my volunteer hours from work to go along with Emmelia's pre-K class on a field trip to the local Rec Center. That was fun, but exhausting to have 16 4- and 5-year-olds hanging on me in the water for 2 hours. The next day, the girls and I met our friends T. and J. from my iVillage due date board at a fun pool up north. We had a great time, although Maura was traumatized at the end by the giant bucket of water that started pouring down on pool-goers.

This week I will be joining Emmelia's class for a field trip to the Planetarium and a trip to another local pool. And Emmelia's godparents are stopping by tonight for a short visit on their way through town. We are very excited to see them!

New layouts

Just one more quick post today to show off my newest layouts. I really like how each of them came out. What do you think of them?

(Remember you can click on them to make them show up a bit bigger.)

(page 1 of 2 page funeral layout):


(page 2 of 2 page funeral layout):


I used "Strawberry Banana Icecream" by Ginger Thibodeau for this one:


And for this one, I used the June "Bedazzling Birthstones" kit by Microferk Designs:

Happy Father's Day!

Father's Day began with a bang in our household when, after a sleepless night for nearly everyone, I took Maura to the Urgent Care to find she has yet another ear infection! I have a sneaking feeling we're on the path to a second ear tube surgery {{sigh}}. But she is feeling much better now that she has antibiotics and we ended up having a lovely day at home with each other. The Deac made his famous biscuits and gravy and we had sloppy joe's for dinner, along with some really delicious melon.

We had to get all the good meat eating in before the beginning of the Apostle's Fast on Monday. {hee}

One more thing...

Okay, just one more layout today. This was done for a sketch challenge over at Natural Designs in Scrapbooking and uses their new kit "Summer's Call". I caught this excellent picture of Emmelia using our friend Michael's amazing new Nikon digital SLR camera. I'm soooo jealous of this camera! If I ever win Powerball, it will be one of my first purchases.

By the way - the girls' school has a fundraiser going selling items from the Pampered Chef catalog. If you'd like to order something to help out, send me an e-mail!

Long time no see

It's not that I haven't thought of things I could blog lately, just that life is really overwhelming right now. And when I get stressed I tend to withdraw into myself. I haven't had too much extra energy to channel into anything extraneous lately.

I have found some time to scrap, though. I always seem to find that. Hey, it's cheaper than therapy! I'm even getting some ideas about a scrap album for the photos from our vacation last fall. I'd like to scrap those, but they've been too over-whelming. But a couple people in some of the galleries have been posting Walt Disney World layouts and it's getting me inspired.

Without going into great detail about topics in our life lately, I will just note that I've been doing a lot of Google searches on items such as:

• Signs and symptoms of lymphoma
• Sibling rivalry
• Causes and symptoms of UTIs in preschoolers
• Local field trip destinations
• Canine ear infections
• Treatment of seasonal allergies
• Gardening vegetables
• Aphids in ash trees
• Giant papillary conjunctivitis
• Lenscrafters locations (hoping they fix frames badly damaged by a kick from a 4-year-old)
• I'm sure there's more I'm not thinking of right now