Easter Eggs!

We had some fun coloring Easter Eggs on Thursday!

While it looks like Doug and Mary are both being careful to color half the egg, they both dropped the whole egg into the cup eventually... It was definitely not on purpose... Thankfully both were planning to put darker colors on the other side so we could salvage the whole thing...

We're not exactly artists in this family, so this is the best it got...

Maybe there's hope for us. At Walmart's clearance sale today I found a set that supposedly you can put faces on. We'll see how that goes, although it's not like anyone will remember that I said I bought it a year from now so if they don't turn out I just don't have to say anything at all.

Well time to get the kids from school. Maybe today I'll have time to put up Christmas and the boys' birthdays, but you shouldn't hold your breath.

It's Official...

I'm OLD and CRANKY...

It's true.

I've been trying to deny it, but really it's probably been coming on for a while now.

What brought me to this realization? No, my birthday wasn't this week. That was way back in December, and it wasn't even one of the BIG decade birthdays. I've got a couple more years before that. (Of course if my older sister keeps turning 39 I may never hit 40 either. I mean, who wants to be older than their older sister.)

So what brought me to this realization was...

Friday night Doug and I went to see Hunger Games. We were excited to see it. I mean we LOVED the book and its sequels. Plus everyone kept saying how closely it follows the book. That's always good, right? It was even supposed to be better than Harry Potter, which is good. I really stopped liking those movies at about #3 and haven't even seen the last few of them.

But Hunger Games was different... That's what "everyone" said, right? So in prep I even read the book this week before we went.

So excited and yet so disappointed...

I found myself calculating all the differences from the book while watching the movie. I won't even attempt to outline them, but seriously they threw in the riot in that doesn't actually show up until the 2nd book? We can't just have District 11 send Katniss a loaf of bread??? I really liked that part in the book. I could go on and on, but I'll spare you.

Worse still... I spent most of the movie feeling nauseated and dizzy. Nope, it wasn't the stomach flu. It wasn't food poisoning from the meal we'd enjoyed at Subway before the movie...

I find myself wondering if Hollywood only hires camera men/women who have ADD or if the editors just have ADD themselves. If not ADD, are they all just suffering from a bad sugar high??? Seriously, can't the camera just sit still once in a while? Does it really have to jump to a new point of view every 2 seconds?? Before my eyes can even adjust they're moving on again. Wait, did I say moving on? That makes it sound like it could potentially be a smooth transition. Really it's more like the camera was mounted on the back of a kangaroo.

However, it seems I'm the only person with these complaints. Everyone else talks about how great the movie was, which leads me to believe...

I'm just OLD and CRANKY... Sigh...

Technology...

Sometimes technology makes your life easier. Sometimes it's just a big pain in the neck...

Unfortunately, today is not one of the make my life easier days.

Today I'm fighting with my scanner. For some reason it doesn't like my 2010 tax return.

I know what you're thinking... Why would someone want to scan their 2010 tax return??

Well, no one WANTS to, but sometimes you HAVE to.

Like when you're trying to refinance your mortgage and you're self employed so you can't just fax a couple paystubs for them to verify your income. You've got to fax the whole dumb tax return for the last 2 years... So annoying.

So now instead of using my handy document feeder to scan it all without touching the scanner again I'm sitting here doing it manually page by page by page by page by page (well you get it)... The document feeder just wants to crush up about every other page.

I suppose if I'm forced to find a silver lining, at least my 2011 return scanned easily...

Now let's just hope it's all been worth it and we actually qualify to refinance. Otherwise I'll have to be mad at the whole mortgage/banking industry, and let's just say lately I'm not a huge fan of theirs.

In other news, my 3-year-old decided to heed my advice just now and ask for a snack in a polite voice instead of whining or yelling...

P.S. While typing this blog entry I had to get up about 5 times to add a new page to the scanner...

Merry Christmas!

To spread the good cheer from the season here's Alex singing the songs from his school concert. I left the video camera at home that night, but it's easier to hear him anyway. As you'll see, distractions still occur, even without a crowd of people standing up in front of me to wave to their kids and grandkids as would typically happen at a school concert.

We wish you all a Merry Christmas, especially Mom and Dad in Mexico and the Flakes in Russia. We miss you all and hope you have a wonderful Christmas.

101

Amazingly I've made 101 posts to my blog. I felt it deserved something big to honor it, but I'm not creative enough. So sorry. The best I can do is give you a cute picture of Adam in the snow. We've had a lot so far this year.

But, Mom, I'm Hungry!

My office is one of the most frequently used rooms in our house. Why? Because this is where I earn my living so this is where I'm at for several hours a day.

My office also contains the guest bed. So when my kids are hanging around (which they frequently do) it's like the bed is a magnet. They simply can't stay off of it. It's not a new bed or even a somewhat old bed. It was a gift from my parents' house when they got a new bed and moved their old bed to a guestroom and gave us the old bed that was there. (I think they got tired of the air mattress that we had before that.)

Today I told Adam to stop jumping on the bed for what must have been the millionth time. (No, I don't know the exact number, but it's got to be way up there.) His response... "But, Mom, I'm hungry."

Clearly you can't expect a 3-year-old to stop jumping on the bed if he's hungry!!

Good thing he's adorable. So adorable in fact that I think the lady behind us at Walmart yesterday was about to buy him some cheap (yet expensive) toy that they stick by the checkout lanes...

Bethany

A few weeks ago the world lost a dear, sweet girl. I met Bethany several years ago at church. Bethany had many physical and mental disabilities, but she was always so happy and full of hugs that she couldn't help but make you feel good. About four years ago I was blessed to work with her in young women's and got to know her even better. I was expecting Adam at the time, and she was SUPER excited for him to arrive.

Doctors claimed she'd never make it to age 6, but she defied them all by living 19 wonderful years. She will be missed by all but by her family the most.

As I pondered her life at her funeral I couldn't help but be grateful for the knowledge I have of the resurrection. All the struggles and limitations she had here on earth won't be an issue for her. She'll be able to do all the things she wanted to do but couldn't. I love that!!

Inside the funeral program there was a beautiful poem that I'm going to share. It was decorated with princesses.

Heaven's Very Special Child by Edna Massimilla

A meeting was held quite far from Earth:
"It's time again for another birth."
Said the Angels to the Lord Above,
"This special child will need much love."
Her progress may seem very slow,
Accomplishments she may not show
And she'll require extra care
From folks she meets way down there.
She may not run or laugh or play
Her thoughts may seem quite far away:
In many ways she won't adapt
And she'll be known as handicapped.
So let's be careful where she's sent
We want her life to be content.
Please, Lord, find the parents who
Will do a special job for you.
They will not realize right away
The leading role they're asked to play
But with this child sent from above
Comes a stronger faith and richer love.
And soon they'll know the privilege given
In caring for the Gift from Heaven.
Their precious charge,
so meek and mild
Is Heaven's Very Special Child.

I'm sure Bethany's family had many struggles and life was not always easy, but they were always so patient and loving with her. They truly were amazing people blessed with an amazing girl.