Blooms at Last

I do not have much of a green thumb, and I usually end up killing any plants I buy or am given. However, I have managed to keep alive an African Violet that someone gave me after one of my miscarriages. It was blooming when I received it, and it bloomed once before Ryan was born, but it hasn't bloomed in the four years since. I was about to give up on it when lo and behold, I was watering it last week and saw blooms pushing their way to the sun! I don't know why exactly, but I almost cried. It now has more than a dozen fully opened and more on the way. I guess maybe the window I put it in when we moved is its happy place.

Date Night

Since we have moved, Ed and I no longer have any friends nearby on whom we can call to watch our kids so we can have a "date night" or some time alone together. So a couple times a month we take the kids to McDonald's. They play on the play structure, and we talk or play a game while they're having fun. It's not very romantic, but it's better than nothing!

Gone

Even though we had to content ourselves with viewing it on television, it was pretty spectacular to watch the Trojan Nuclear Power Plant cooling tower implosion this morning. We had hoped to watch it in person, especially since we only live 10 miles from the site, but they had access pretty well blocked off to everyone except those who live within view of the tower. We were at Trojan Park a couple weeks ago, and it was neat to watch them drilling holes for the explosives from a large crane. I've included several links to footage in this post (some of which take a while to load), but Fox News 12 probably has the best montage of footage I've seen so far.

We drove by the site several hours after the implosion on our way to Mt. St. Helens, and it was strange to see vacant sky where the tower once stood. It sure does improve the appearance of the lake and park though! I can't wait to go back and get some pictures of the new landscape.

On a side note for my family, the implosion was done by Controlled Demolition, Inc., owned and operated by the Loizeaux Family. I've been thinking about Miss Loizeaux recently, mostly wracking my brain to remember her first name...Linda? My most lasting memory is of her leaning on the podium in front of the class, twisting her engagement ring while she stared out the window daydreaming about her fiance (Ken, was it?) and their upcoming wedding. I also distinctly remember her making a point the first day to teach me the Spanish word for twins, gemelos. I wonder what she's up to these days?

For my other readers who are wondering what in the world I'm talking about, Miss Loizeaux was my high school Spanish teacher and she also had my twin brothers in her seventh grade class that year.

Mother's Day Prayer

As I was enjoying a rare and blissful pleasure this morning, an uninterrupted shower, I was praying and thinking about Mother's Day. I find it peculiar that now that I am a mother, I don't have the unreserved joy on Mother's Day that I had once thought I would enjoy once I attained the illusive title, "Mommy."

Maybe the joy is muted by the memory of the many babies I never held or the lingering scar of years of infertility and childlessness. Maybe it's the knowledge that this day holds pain for some that are precious to my heart. I think of those who fear they may never know the joy of raising a child, those whose arms are empty because they loved a child selflessly enough to trust another mom to give what she cannot give, those who are separated from their mothers by death or estrangement or many miles, those who find it hard to celebrate a mother who seems unworthy of praise, those who don't have food or shelter for their children, those who are suffering the pain of watching a grown child make devastating choices, or those who fail to be the kind of mother they know God is calling them to be.

Still, as I enjoyed a pancake breakfast prepared by my husband this morning, I was overflowing with joy. It is a breathtaking privilege to look around the table and see the beautiful faces of two children I have been given the honor of raising. I am joyous this morning because of sticky hands and obnoxious noises that come from my two charges, and I thank God with all that is in me, again, for making me a mommy.

For those who are on the painful side of this day, I want you to know that you are not forgotten, you are loved and needed by many. And I prayed for you today.

Calling All Imperfect Mothers

I have featured the blog Holy Experience before, but I had share today's post, A Shepherd's Mother, as well.

Thanks, Ann, for sharing your life with the rest of us "pilgrims."

Yard Sale

Ever since we knew we were going to be moving, we have been planning to have a yard sale. The one snag was that we moved in the dead of winter. It had been raining for months, and it continued to rain for months after our move. At last it seems that spring might be here to stay, though it isn't consistently very warm yet. So we opened up the boxes of things that we had packed up especially to sell, drug out tables and sorted, marked, and piled things for days before our two-day sale.

It turned out to be a gorgeous day on Friday, and we sold $455 worth of stuff that day alone. We awoke Saturday to rain, so we rearranged our tables and turned our yard sale into a garage sale. We ended up making $300 on Saturday, and the bonus was that someone hauled away our very ugly old couch that we had stuck out on the curb with a "Free" sign on it!

We made enough money to pay Abby's last medical bill (we paid off Ryan's entire surgery bills last month!) and to hire someone to grade our yard in preparation for topsoil and grass. You'd think I'd learn by now and quit worrying about getting bills paid. God is so faithful to provide!

Movie Recommendation

We watch practically no television, largely because we can't find a show that's worth watching. We do watch quite a few DVDs, most of which are ones we own. Once in a while we will brave the video rental store and see if we can find a movie to watch. This past weekend I waded through an astonishing amount of vile films until I stumbled upon a movie that looked safe and intriguing enough to rent. Turned out to be fantastic! It's called I Am David, and it's about a little boy who escapes from a communist forced labor camp after World War II and travels across Europe on his way to Denmark. If you're wanting a clean, interesting, and different movie to watch this weekend, I would highly recommend it.

Week 11

It was another week of lackluster effort as far as losing weight goes. I didn't lose or gain again this week. Hubby and I are taking this week off from even trying. His mom fell and broke six ribs, we've had car problems, and it's just been too hectic trying to coordinate all our schedules, help his mom, and still stay on program. Sigh. We hope to be back at it again next week.