The Story of Tinkerbell and her Mama

This is Lindsey and in her cute little hand is Tinkerbell. We recently went on a camping trip with my sister and her family. It was awesome! Could not have wanted a better place. There was a full kitchen and fire pit area that overlooked a mountain and surrounded by a creek that feed into a larger river. It was beautiful! Well, the first morning we were there my husband and all the kids were walking along the river...and there on the rocks near the river was a pathetic, half dead looking little bird. So what did they do...RESCUE it!!!

Well after about the first half hour most of the other kids got bored with her and started doing other things but my Lindsey Girl had found her baby... she all on her own, took care of this baby bird for the next 2 days, feeding her wet dog food every 30 minutes. She quickly named her Tinkerbell or "Tink". After the first 24 hours the bird looked amazingly well. Was hungry all the time and satisfied when Lindsey fed her. She started jumping out of the box we had her in and had to change out the transportation box - a large dog kennel was all we could find. Yup you heard me, a LARGE dog kennel for a 2 inch bird. She had a castle!!

So upon bringing her home, we had to have a better bird cage - mom (me) scoured Burlington for an inexpensive bird cage. I found one...and Tink had her new home.
We were able to keep Tink "alive" for nearly a week and then one morning she never woke up.

And I actually think it was my fault...but we won't go there.

My Lindsey girl was SO upset. She cried for a half hour straight and we had an opportunity to talk about death one more time this year. The awesome thing was Lindsey asked to read the bible to find comfort. We came across John 16:20, "...you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy...Now is your time for grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy"

It was so fitting and she quickly started to recover mentioning Tink every once in awhile.
The next day we made a special burial box and buried Tink in the back yard.

Notice the princess tiara...only for Tink!

What is it about men?

MEN

...just the word makes me sigh and think uh, hmmmm.

(I know this pic doesn't quit show what I wanted.)

"they" have written all kinds of books like "Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus" - which I have not read. I have heard the phrase "Men are like spaghetti and women are like waffles"...that too may be a book.

They, men, truly are a conundrums!! I had the odd experience of seeing, mostly hearing, 2 men in their "guy" time. I am almost having troubles articulating what I think and feel after having seen that.

1) Of course they talk about the things that are of interest to them -I assume. Many topics included beer, motorcycles, food, women (we won't go there), "different" friends etc. But the biggest thing I noticed is that when they were working on and talking about their specific motorcycle. They could not talk about another topic at the same time. Every time they talked about something other than the one motorcycle they had to stop, stand, talk and only after their story could they resume work on the motorcycle. The only thing that they seemed to be able to do while talking was drink beer. Finally, 4 hours later they finished what they were doing with their bike.

2) The other thing that I observed was that men can and will scratch WHATever and WHENever they please. They will burp, fart and pee outside in front of WHOMEVER they want. As though walking the 30 feet inside to use the bathroom was too hard. And this seems to be a multi-aged thing. My husband once told me a long time ago of his friend whom is in his 70's that on a visit here at MY house peed in MY back yard...when the bathroom was literally a stone throw away... And my husband...get this...felt honored!!! HONORED! As though it is a right of passage of some kind. You have finally reached manhood or considered to have a place of manhood if you have friends PEE in your yard.

You never see girls doing that unless they are in the woods and have no alternative. Best friends will rarely pass gas ... notice that - PASS GAS -in front of each other...and you know we all gotta do it! I have heard stories of men who have just started working together and will fart any time the urge strikes. Anytime...I'm not kidding. Makes me wonder what actually will embarrass a man.

3) I have observed on numerous occasions a man will take something apart, put it back together and almost always have parts left over and sometimes a handful, A HANDful of parts left over. What is that? To me that is concerning...I guess not so much if it is something little and it works fine afterwards...but lets say ... a car. Uh, shouldn't those parts be put back...and if one man does it do ALL men do that? Are there garages with barrels full of left over parts that never find their rightful place or owner? And then what happens to these parts?

But what AMAZES me most is that these same men as far off as mars as they can be are the same men that can sweep us off our feet and cause us to devote our lives to. They are the same men that dance with their daughters and hold you tight at night. The same men that pick up their sons with full pride. They are the same men that with strong hands build our homes and a soft touch that melt our hearts.

See...a conundrum!

Laura ;)

Organizing the Unorganized

At least we are trying. This past week I have had the pleasure of having the queen of organized - here to help the unorganized. I start out organized but this past year or so has taken me for a loop and I suddenly felt overwhelmed and suffocated by my own home. It was time for action. Time to DE-CLUTTER. Who do you call ...clutterbusters - my mother...of course! And she deserves the title of Queen of clean.

We spent 3 full days taking everything out of every cabinet, drawer and counter and sorted, compiled and tossed. And then re-organized in a much better way.

We have worked on more cabinets than these of course and these aren't even the impressive ones...but I am not finished. It will take me a bit to finish. It took us 2 days just to work on my kitchen and surrounding area. You have to make a mess to organize and then put the organized piles away. Very long process.

Of course we timed it perfectly...for the heat wave of the century. As we cleaned and organized the house got hotter and hotter and it felt like a sauna. I swear we set the record for who could sweat the most. There was no glistening here...I tell you. In fact I sweated more than I think I have ever seen a man sweat. Rolling and dripping sheets of salted water...it was gross! If there was a spot in the Genus World Records we would have taken first place hands down. And no pretty pictures here ...more like black mailing pictures! Don't get any ides.

Now I just need to finish and start figuring out my home school room ... that is a new adventure we are preparing for this year. More to come on that I am sure.... have a great day!

Laura

A New Ride...

...well here it is. Our new ride! This past week or two have been a bit stressful. My van blew it's transmission and the next day I got a virus on my computer...which sent me over the edge.

but we got a car... I loved my van - could haul ANYTHING! - had tons of room for things and people and we used it all the time like a truck. So we are are trying our luck with a Volvo wagon...Andy and I both have this thing about white cars with tan interior...we love them! I am not so sure why...but you will find us both drooling at nice white cars as they drive by. I know it's weird but I guess I should be thankful that we are in the same boat on this one.

So it's not new...and it's a wagon...but I am hoping I will love it! Anyone got a cute name for it?

And yet again...

Since I am new to this blogging thing - I am assuming it is all like writing in a diary only with eyes...I guess for that reason I need to be careful what I say but I still want to be honest...

This has been a week of sand paper people, as my friend Sash says...and you know that is the best visual for it. It seems harsh... and although this person isn't always sand paper...sometimes they are fine and sometimes harsh sandpaper but it happens enough that this visual fits very nicely. This week I had many opportunities with someone that rubs a bit rough on me at times and has left scars over the years but I need them in my life so badly. I am thankful to report though that we are on a road of recovery. I am speaking up to the hurts that come out of their mouth and we have ventured on a mutual journey to doing things differently, catching those things that hurt when they hurt and finding new ways to express ourselves towards each other. It will be a long and uncomfortable at times journey ... but well worth it! So there is hope there!

And now just this morning from a different piece of sand paper...I feel as though my heart has broken and a seed of bitterness has rooted...I can't let it but I feel it at the moment. Lord, help me. Honesty - is important to most people. It is the very fabric of my being. It is almost impossible for me to lie...even the few times I have tried I tell on myself almost instantly.
I grew up with my charmer birth father leaving me early. Every word was a promise that was ALWAYS broken. I learned early that he is not to be trusted and the toll that has taken on me is big and the mark on my very being is raw to this day.

So when I have people in my life and specifically this person...say or do something that even comes close to my father...well, that is what has happened in a BIG way today. I feel as though I cannot recover, we cannot recover - yet I know I MUST. I MUST forgive. Forgiveness...the salve that heals the broken heart.

Laura

Blog...what?

Hello, and welcome to my first blog. I promise this will not be the most AMAZING thing you have ever read. In fact it may be the most borring. But it will be me and it will be honest. I am not even sure I am a "bloggy" type person. But I thought I would give this a try since my friend Sasha suggested it and I find I enjoy most things that Sasha says I will like. I feel a great kindred heart connection with her however 2 people couldn't be more different from each other. Kind of makes you say hhhmmm.

Anyway, I consider myself a pretty computer savy person. I catch on quickly and know a little about alot of things. So when I started this little blog adventure - since they stated it would be easy to start...I thought Awesome! I can do this. But I find customizing your template...NOT EASY! Maybe my learning curve on this is enormous but OMGosh!

How do you get the cute backgrounds and styles? And Edit Html...what??? I would hate to think I would fiddle with that and then knowing me...murphy's law queen would some how encode the makings of a bomb and the next thing I know FBI type officials would be knocking down my door.

My hope is that once I figure this out I will provide fun and thought provoking blogs. But whatever they end up being - they will be me and they will be honest and probably filled with typos - they seem to plague me. I am nothing if I am not honest. Honesty is probably one of the most important things to me.

Anyway, if anyone has some advice ... do let me know!!

Laura