2008 In Review

The beginning of 2008 had us recovering from one surgery to replace the battery in his Vagal Nerve Stimulator



and then getting the long fought off feeding tube.


(I also whined about Little Man's seizures and his horrible behavior during Christmas break. At least some things don't change! I am whining again about those things this year!)

I learned how to knit and proudly showed off my mad knitting skillz!




I tortured my doggy



In Feb it snowed and snowed!



We had fun with Little Man's tube and I did some lobbying on Capital Hill. I got to meet K,J, their three busy children and the bump that would turn into TWO more!

I learned about pole dancing



and sadly about how mean even Mormon women can be. (sigh)

We enjoyed the outdoors in March

and walked with the cougars!

We fired a worker on Little Man's team.

April found us celebrating Little Man's weight gain and general good health. We also added Percy Pump to our family. I traveled out of state for a job interview and got a chance to meet with my paternal grandmother who I haven't seen in more than 30 years!



My grandmother passed away just a few weeks later, so I can't find words to express how grateful I am to have been able to reconnect with her.

May brought spring to Utah.

Also my grandson/great nephew had a long hospital stay, and I had a chance to be a good family member.

In June, I told how Pygmy Child almost met her untimely end to a wild animal!
I also talked about my love and grief for my beloved Little Man.

We went to a wedding and Little Man had ANOTHER surgery, but no overnight stay, thank goodness!

We also celebrated June Bug's first birthday!




July brought hot weather



I made Little Man a slideshow celebrating his 11th year.

August brought us our newest granddaughter, the Squid



Bald Man and I celebrated our 28th wedding anniversary! 6 children and 3 grandchildren, WOW!


In Sept I bought myself a new camera (A Nikon D60) and played with pixels!

We also took the boy camping which was..., um, okay.

In Oct I tortured my dog some more





And I went to two meet and greets and gained a bunch of dear bloggy friends! Mwah! You know who you are!

My mom got really sick, and scared the heck out of us, (thank goodness she is doing better) and we found out my young niece has cancer and won't be with us much longer. I am glad Oct is over.

November found me starting and successfully finishing Nablopomo! Yay for me! I also went to go for an all too short but reassuring visit with my mom and family. I also won Mission Monday!

December found me torturing my dog for your enjoyment in Hairy Christmas!
in California, enjoying the blessing of being loved by wonderful people and the torture of dealing with my autistic son in new surroundings. There were vultures




and ocean sunsets.



The very best part of Dec? Having these two for Christmas!







The year was far from perfect and I don't think I would ask to repeat it, but if you ask me, the year was filled with far more blessings than anything and I feel fortunate to be loved by so many wonderful people. And that my friends, includes you!

I don't make resolutions for the new year, I will just do my best to meet my challenges with courage and fortitude and to be tireless in counting my blessings. Thanks for being along for the ride, it makes it so much more fun when you are with me!

Tired and Frustrated

Sorry, no Mountain Monday today. I suppose that gives you an idea about how things are here. I have had Little Man and his intense needs for 20 days pretty much by myself as of today. I am just worn out and I have lost my patience by the end of the day. You can forget walking the dog or getting the pictures taken, there were very few moments today for me to even breathe. I did get a shower about 3 or so. And a nap, which was very nice. I had the boy plugged into the DVD player and I just snuggled up next to him in bed and snoozed. I am sad because Brown Boy and Pygmy Child go home early tomorrow, I can't go to the meet and greet because it is in the morning, and the next week yawns in front of me, bleak and empty of any fun for me. Boo hoo hoo! I am very whiny tonight, and I don't blame you for not wanting to read this. Don't worry, I will be my sunny self again soon, but not tonight.

Happy Holidays

From our house to yours!!!





This is our very first picture of Bald Man and me with our grand daughters!

Mountain Monday, Currier and Ives Edition

Geez! It has been snowing and snowing and snowing here. It was snowing lightly when I got out to take some pictures, and as usual I am blown away by the beauty that surrounds me every day. Looking at the world around me through your eyes reminds me how blessed I am to live here. I swear, it looks a Currier and Ives painting outside my window. I am sure you will enjoy these. Don't forget to check back later for Hairy Christmas Part 6.
























The only downside to this breathtaking beauty is driving in it. Ah well, I suppose you can't have everything!

The Bad News

Mountain Monday will be up later, no worries there, along with a helping of Hairy Christmas. BUT

#1.I washed my cell phone in my pants! It is currently hospitalized in a bag of minute rice, and I am hoping it recovers. I haven't ever done that before.
#2.Little Man has had seizures the past few nights again. It makes me feel sick to my stomach when I think about it.
#3. The boy is out of school for winter break, so my ability to get anything done will be seriously curtailed.

Hairy Christmas Part 5

"I," said the Sheep, with the curly horn,
"I gave Him my wool for His blanket warm;
He wore my coat on Christmas morn."
"I," said the Sheep, with the curly horn
(The Friendly Beasts)




(I recognize that few people "happen" to have a full sheep's fleece to dress their dog up in, but actually, the fleece is what started my whole thought process on Hairy Christmas. Jack, while not terribly amused by the photo process, is rewarded handsomely for his participation. As soon as the offending costume is removed, he is back to his happy little self)

Hairy Christmas Part 4

1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.
2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

Here!

My oldest and her hubby arrived in the very early AM hours this morning. The day has been filled with many sibling visiting back and forth, my darling grandbabies filling the house with laughter and running feet. Right now I am too tired to be very chatty, but don't worry, there will be many pictures and stories in the upcoming days.

Because

Because Jami asked. Little Man's seizures, after they increased his Vagal Nerve Stimulator, (go ask Dr. Google if you don't know that is, I don't have time for a bunch of links) and the increase in his Depakote is currently seizure free again! Whooo hooo! As for his bone marrow, at one week post increase it looked fine, we shall see what the next few weeks bring us. Thanks for asking!
My oldest and shortest child arrives today, I can hardly wait! We are leaving Winnemuca in a moment, with its' bed and free wireless. Bye! See you in a few hours back in Utah.

Hale and Hearty in Winnemuca!

It was 28 degrees in Sac this morning!!! What is up with that??? My friend we were staying with accused us of bringing Utah to California. It almost never freezes that low in Sacramento and generally it is a disaster. People have exposed pipes everywhere and are just not prepared for very low temps.
Bald Man didn't get finished last night, so we got a late start out of Sacramento today. We stopped when Little Man started to lose his mind. I figured I was not up to getting into Utah really late, (early in the AM) not getting enough sleep, but still needing to get up with Little Man in the morning, sleep deprived and grumpy. I would much rather get a good night's sleep tonight, get up early, drive the rest of the way home, and arrive rested and not as grumpy. That way we can get stuff put away before Pygmy Child and Brown Boy arrive. It has been more than a year since I have seen my oldest child and her hubby, I can hardly wait!
We had the carpet cleaned while we were away, so that one is checked off my list, thank goodness. Thought I would drop you a line from the not so small town of Winnemuca. They have a Walmart here now, so they are moving up in the world. They also have free wireless where we are staying, so I am all kinds of happy. I might get caught up on some blog reading tonight, who knows?

Antithesis

Hello from Cali! Rain, rain, rain. Regardless of the rain, and the distance involved, I am ever committed to you. And for your viewing pleasure, I have these!





















Little Man LOVED the ocean. He took his shoes and socks off and in spite of the cold, he had such a good time. It was a blessing and a pleasure to watch him smile, laugh and enjoy himself so much. We are rarely in a place where Little Man has a chance to explore with little supervision.
I also got to meet some fellow bloggers, but those stories will take more time than I have right now. TTFN (Ta ta for now, in Tigger speak)

Only in California!

We were driving, Fiber Mama and me, and I told her, she had to stop! Look at that! She didn't stop. I kept saying, no, you have to turn around now, we have to go see that critter in your neighbor's yard. She finally, humoring her bizarre and very excited guest, but also saying at the same time I was mistaken, because why would that thing be in the neighbors yard? Well, she finally got her huge van turned around and I had my camera with me, and well, see for yourself! IN the neighbors yard. :::::shaking my head:::::
If you can't see it well, click on the pic to make it bigger, cause you ain't going to believe it!





So this big ole vulture is sitting in a teeny tiny tree, couldn't have been more than 4 feet tall and just spindly. Reminded me of another vulture!



Why? I don't know. But I can say, only in California, even the buzzards are lone wolves!

Postcard

Having fun in Calfornia, the weather is nice, wish you were here!

Can You Settle An Argument?

This is a weird question for an LDS couple to be asking, but at the same time, I am sure you will understand why we don't already know the answer to the question and why we have no why of chasing down the answer. So I turn to you, my wise, worldly and bloggy friends.
When a "lady" pole dances professionally, does she or does she not keep on some clothes? Bald Man said no, he thinks they do it naked. I say they do have some clothes on, cause, EWWW! and OUCH!
Our only frame of reference is CSI:Vegas, but the "ladies" in the show are all fairly covered. Bald Man says they can't show someone totally naked on TV and I say it is cause, well they wear something, no matter what.
So, which is it? Clothes, (I am using the term loosely) or not? Help a nice Mormon couple out here!

Mountain Monday Without The Mountains

It pretty much snowed all day here. I guess our long, delightful fall is over. The clouds covered the mountains all day, so you will have to make do with regular ole nature pics from today.






I am enamored pictures of paths and roads. I don't know why, but I am. Perhaps it will become my trademark pic? Who knows?















I am afraid Hairy Christmas will have to be postponed for a while. We are making like the Joads and heading for Cali-for-nigh-a for a week or so. Bald Man has some work there and I have some friends and family there. But fear not! I won't have too much fun since my Little Man is along on the trip too. We have to return by the 18th when Pygmy Child and hubby arrive for Christmas. It is rather nice that I have to just hang up any Christmas prep and go with the flow off to Cali. If you live in the Northern part of California, shoot me an email if you want a get together, I love meeting my bloggy friends. Poor Jack, he will have a little vacay from the torture, but I will be sure to continue on when I get back, because I have some fun things in store for him.
Happy Birthday today to the Princess, I can't believe how old my kids are getting!

Hairy Christmas Part 3

Matthew Chap 1:19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.
20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

Hairy Christmas Part 2

Luke,chapter 1: And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her