My Hero

I met a true hero today. Author Richard LeMieux who wrote Breakfast at Sally's on a $5 typewriter at a local park while living in his car for 18 months. Mr. LeMieux was one of the homeless population in Bremerton, living in his car with his dog Willow the Wonder Dog, even while Jeff and I were bemoaning the difficulties of finding a house in our price range, living at our home on the canal and planning a wedding. It is entirely possible that we crossed paths with this gentleman and the other people in his book as we walked to the ferry to take Noah and Lydia to Seattle every other weekend. We may still pass them on our outings around Bremerton and Kitsap County. Jeff and I had the privelege of listening to and speaking with Mr. LeMieux today at the Port Orchard library and oh what an experience it was. This man has truly been given a mission by God and he is carrying it out with grace, dignity and humbleness. There were possibly 50 people jammed into the tiny conference room and overflowing into the children's library, all there to here his story. Some had read his book and some had not. All of us were greeted personally by him as we took our seats and he made eye contact with each and every one of us as he spoke. I have rarely experience such a meeting with a soul of his caliber. He would often tear up while sharing certain aspects of his experiences, but he did not hold back and was up front about his life and his personal trials, from his attempted suicide that was derailed by Willow, to his rejection by his children and wife and "friends". He talked about why people panhandle, what the stories of panhandlers who make thousands are really all about. Having been forced to panhandle, he said that the chances that one can make enough for a meal to feed oneself a decent meal, let alone the payment for a Lexus, are tiny indeed.

 Jeff and I were truly touched and if I could have afforded to purchase a copy of his book for everyone I know, I would have done it in a heartbeat. As it was, we purchased one copy for our church and I plan to stand up at next week's service and plug it shamelessly. As for the others of you, if you have not read this book, please, please, PLEASE do so.  It is in no way a difficult read or a particularly painful one. His prose is easy to read and his story does less to embarrass or depress the reader but rather focuses on the good in people, on both sides of the homeless issue. His stories often made me smile and on a few times laugh right out loud.  Since the publication of this book he has traveled to speak all over the world. He has been on CNN, FOX News, NPR, he has spoken in front of Microsoft Millionaires and is in the works to appear on Oprah in the future. He has also been working on several new books, one of which is a childrens book based on his dog, Willow, the Wonder Dog and the unconditional love of pets.

There, my commercial time is up.

Now onto the rest of our Sunday.

After spending almost 2 hours in the library while Jeff and I listened to Mr. LeMieux, the kids were ready for some park time.

Well, some of them were.

Notice Ben, having been spun off the Spinny-thing by his loving step-father.

He was ruthless.  And then, in true Pacific Northwest fashion,

the skies opened up and we had to run for cover.

Green trees, green trees, green trees......

Picture Catchup

Just a few random pictures from the last few weeks...

Like our temporary bathroom door.....the kids had fun with this one....

And Ben's discovery on his way home from school (it now lives under our porch and in the daisies...)

Mac's luminaria for his favorite teacher to be set out at the Relay for Life next month.

My newly filled (and de-hen/chick-ified) strawberry pot.

Newly planted seedlings in my mulitude of tiny pots.

Jeff's paint station. Bungee cords rule. Of course, since he was painting with spray paint, we now know where every spiderweb in the entire shop is.

Jeff's sick day.

Sammi and Baby Jack are ready for mommy to come home after her sinus surgery....

Mac in his "studio".

Catching up...

So last week was mostly just focused on getting my energy back. In the process, of course, I spread the joy and Jeff came down with The Cold. Yes, it gets capitals....it was that bad. I was able to cobble together a coaching staff for the game he missed (thank you, God, for parents who participate. I hope I am never again one of those who sit in the car....). It was kind of an ugly game, too. A real test of our parental responsibility to focus on the fun and not on the unfairness. Some of us passed with flying colors (thanks to being clueless), others of us had a harder time. Some of us failed miserably and I try  not to hold it against them.  Jeff was well enough to make it to the last game of the week on Thursday, barely, but thankfully, as the weather was beautiful and the kids were a joy! We have several, okay ALL, of the kids on the team who want nothing more than to be catcher AND pitcher. Some of them got their opportunity that night and boy was it fun to watch them out there! Talk about some big grins!!  We have determined that visiting grandparents are good omens, especially if the grandchild it pitching.

Friday was ANOTHER gorgeous day and I could barely contain myself! Stuff is really starting to grow in the yard now and I uncovered some seedlings that Ben and I had planted earlier in the year that had been stashed in the sunroom, so I took the opportunity to fill some of my millions of little pots that survived the recent rash of garage sales and even got ruthless with the strawberry pot out front that was overflowing with Hens and Chicks. Okay, I am going to just say it. I do NOT like Hens and Chicks.  Apparently I am in the minority and I have to say that I tried to like them. I really did. I have even replanted some of them in my front garden, but I finally got over the guilt and pitched the rest in the garbage. There were TONS of them in that pot. It is a 3foot pot and every one of the little pockets was just drooling chicks. Ick. So I ripped them out and planted the leftover nasturtiums and marigold seedlings that Ben and I had planted.  Then, since I had four or five pockets left, not to mention the top, and the weather was STILL beautiful around 4 p.m. (not to mention that I was on my own, since Jeff had ferry duty and Mac and Ben were at their dad's), so I packed the dog in the car and headed to Ace hardware where I met a super sweet lady who helped me choose some trailing alyssum (i am a sucker for trailing alyssum) a miniature sunflower for the top and some really cute purple babies breath that can't go in the pot, but I had to have it anyway.  To top it off, when she saw me drooling over the gardenia by the register, she clipped off two blossoms with a wink and tucked them in with the rest of my purchase! How can the day get any better? Honestly??

Well, we did end the day at the canal, so I guess there was some wiggle room. 

The next day, I woke up (sun AGAIN!!) and walked my out-of-shape body down to Alderbrook and back, noting all the beautiful, happy flowering plants that were growing wild and healthy on the side of the road, that I had just barely kept myself from spending $$$ on at the nursery the night before. Absolutely beautiful. By the time I got back, Jeff had gotten up, moved out to the bulkhead and a sunchair, and then proceeded to fall back asleep. Thus started the pattern that he would play out for the rest of the day. Nap, wake, change to another chair/position, nap etc.  We did have a fun visit from Gary with the boys and the babies. While the older Washburns fished, the two younger ones and I played in the grass and sampled grass, oyster shells, styrofoam noodles and porked out on Gerber cheese doodles and hummus. Yum! By the time they headed home for naps, I was ready for one so joined Jeff in his rounds. By late afternoon we were both well-rested, well-read, and sunburned. It was awesome! Capped off the evening with some red wine, peanut M&Ms, and a game of Scrabble. Even Floki was pooped!

Sunday we woke late and headed back home, with a stop for some good coffee and a dog biscuit at our favorite coffee stop in Belfair.  Jeff then stayed at home and proceeded to get to work on the doors we have been replacing in the kids' hallway while I went to church so that I could help sell raffle tickets and get the scoop on what was happening with the rest of the world. I love our little church. Even though our pastor is on vacation, we always have somebody interesting to fill the void, and it is such a cheerful little building on a sunny day!  On the way home I picked up the boys so that we could later go back to church and help decorate luminarias that will be set out along the track during the Relay for Life next month. Mac especially enjoyed designing one for his 3rd/4th grade teacher, Mrs. Stevenson, who is currently battling cancer. Ben unleashed his inner Picasso with a set of watercolors and was a prolific luminaria designer. I basically just wrote the names and handed them over to his whim.  Then it was back home to strip down to our bathing suits and wash the car on the front lawn. Whoops, did I say "we". No way, it was beautiful, but I left that stuff to the boys. The best thing I think I have ever heard was Ben saying to Mac, "that was better than playing the Wii!!"  WHOOOP!!!

By the time Noah and Lydia got home Sunday evening, after a busy weekend with their mom, we were all thoroughly weekended out! Now, on to the rest of the week! The kids are continuing with the MSP, this year's version of the dreaded WASL.  I secretly think that most of them like it because I am encouraged to pack snacks for extra brain power.  Ben does tend to have a little more anxiety than the rest of them, but he and I had a discussion about it being the devil that causes him to feel nervous and make him think he can't do it. God wants nothing more than for him to be successful! So then we discussed ways to "get behind me, Satan"!  That was actually a fun discussion. He was able to tell me all about the ways that Satan tempted Jesus after John the Baptizer baptized Jesus and He went out to spend 40 days in the wilderness, and what Jesus told Satan to defeat him. I was so proud of him! Somehow, Lydia got in on part of the discussion so now whenever Ben says he is nervous, Lydia pipes up "Just tell that devil to get beHIND you!".  Hee hee!!

Mother of all Days

Okay, so it wasn't all that eventful unless you are going for number of naps possible in one day. I woke to coffee in bed care of Benjamin. Bless him. Of course, by the time I woke up enough to realize it was really there and not just a dream, it was cold. But I kissed him for it anyway.  Then I got a double duty breakfast of french toast (Ben) and omelet (Jeff). By then, I was ready for my first nap, but I muscled through a couple of rounds of Mario Kart with Mac and Ben, a much needed shower, and supervising the washing of the MOM-mobile

I think the boys got wetter than the car, but at least you can tell what color it is supposed to be.  Then it was off to Costco for a kitchen-free lunch (mmmmm, pizza!), the makings for dinner (flank steak! Yeah!!) and then, in order to rid me of all the pent up guilt I have garnered over the past few weeks, an hour at the dog park watching Floki do what he does best, slobber on other dogs! It was truely an awesome site to behold!

By the time we got home, however, I could go no farther, I think I made it to the rocking chair on the front porch,

but soon moved to a towel on the front lawn (did I mention it was sunny and in the upper 60s? God does love us Mommies!!!) After moving twice to escape the shade, I then picked up my towel and staggered to the sun porch to continue my nap until a HUMONGOUS bee required Mac to start flailing away at it so that it wouldn't land in my mouth (apparently I was snoring).  At that point, I figured I had appropriately appreciated the sun, so moved into the living room and hit the couch where I stayed, immobile for a good two hours. Or so I have been told. Okay, to be fair, I was SICK!!! No voice, no energy, and no shortage of love for the people who allowed be to be such a sloth on My Day. I apparently wore them out with all of my demands.

I was a little more energetic in the day leading up to this, however. My mom and dad decided to do a quick turn around, having just landed in Spokane after a week in Washington DC with my brother and sister-in-law on Tuesday, so that they could be in Port Orchard to catch one of Ben's baseball games on Thursday, spend the day with "the better half" (sorry, Kevin, even the guy at Costco said so) do GoodWill and Thrift store haunting, and then breakfast at the casino on Saturday with GG and Grandpa,

where my boys learned the basics of how to be good children, like how to earn their own way....

and how to spend it....

After that, my parents had to  head home for their churchly duties and hopefully a well-deserved day of rest for Mother's Day (hope you got at least one nap, mom!).

Saturday night, Jeff and I, along with Annette and Gary, left the boys and the little ones with the babysitters (but don't tell Mac, he was there for "support") and went out for a night of food and festivities at the Little League Auction. Well, the good thing is that there was a no-host bar. So just enough alcohol flowed to keep things from being tragic, but in these days of economic penny pinching, asking people to dole out big bucks for luxury items such a swimming pool full of Dollar Store items, well...it just ain't gonna happen. There were some really NICE items there as well. Massages, jewelry, baskets filled with espresso machines and coffee items, fishing trips, tickets to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ride Along with the Port Orchard Police (which honestly, was accompanied by a platter full of Jell-O Shots) and while I am sure people spent what they could, I have a feeling that there were some MAJOR bargains being acquired that night.  The four of us pooped out early as my Motrin was wearing off, and we couldn't afford anymore drinks let alone to actually bid on anything.

In closing, I got to spend my time with some of my favorite mothers, and those I didn't get to see, I hope I at least got to talk to, text with, or e-mail (thank God for technology, I wouldn' t have had time for my naps otherwise!). At the very least, know that you were in my prayers of thankfulness this weekend. God Bless!

A Mouthfull

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=WUQYJ77qa50

Things That Make Me Happy

I was lying on the living room floor this morning bemoaning the fact that it was so covered in dog hair, (as was I after a less than stellar attempt at doing situps,) that it was too windy outside, that I didn't want to work anymore this morning, that I didn't feel like doing laundry, that all I wanted to do was run away to Good Will and spend money that I didn't have (because I didn't want to work anymore), when I rolled over and noticed the reflection of water on the ceiling. There was a moment of panic, and then I realized that it was the reflection from the birdbath just outside. I laid there for several minutes just watching the wiggling reflection and I realized that I was just plain enjoying watching it. Simply watching the reflection of water on the ceiling was changing my attitude about my day. Suddenly, I was pondering the fact that such a simple thing could cause such an almost manic change in attitude. So then I got to thinking about what else has the power to do that. My obvious answer was prayer, but upon second thought, I realized that not even that was a sure thing. Sometimes I believe God just thinks He can do more good with my miserableness than he can with my joy. So I set about thinking again, what are practically sure-fire things that will change my mood from one of selfish misery to one of joyful thankfulness? Well......

 There is the obvious.... SUNSHINE. But sunshine added to other things, like water, or fall leaves...

One of Ben's irrepressible giggles....now and then....

A happy pet....

The appearance of organization in my house....

A child's clean room....

Ok, that's an old one.

Being able to connect with old friends and have it be like you never went anywhere for 20 years....

(That's Gretchen, from 4th grade and Erin from 5th, by the way)

A peaceful moment in my house when I know exactly where and what my kids are doing (and I'm okay with it)

This picture just makes me happy....period.

I think this is going to be an ongoing posting subject. I find that I have been thinking about it for the past several days (yes, I started this about two days ago.....)