bullets

• We inherited an outdoor cat to solve our mouse problems from some friends who moved away.  Our outdoor cat has suddenly become an indoor-sleep-on-Rufus's-bed-22-hours-of-the-day-until-I-put-her-out cat.  My husband likes We like her though. 
• I've decided that my favorite daytime listening Pandora station is "70's easy listening" - there is rarely a song I don't love.  I know, I should work in a doctor's office.
• I'm seeing my sweet Squirt blossom at four and a half years old.  I agonized over the thought of him going to Kindergarten this fall, but now I think he's really ready.
• Two weeks ago a dear friend and I set up a "let's meet for dinner come hell or high water" night.  That night was last night.  It was blissful.  We ate lots of food including fried green tomatoes.  We talked and talked and laughed until the restaurant closed and then we walked to my car, I drove her to her car, and we talked for another 30+ minutes.  I left with a smile on my face.  It was a treat.
• Fifth grade homework sucks.  I hate that projects become MY work and I wind up caring more about his responsibilities than he does.  Then again, I thought that midnight feedings sucked until I was on my third and fourth child and then they were easy.  So maybe fifth grade will be like that.  Or maybe not.
• I hate the school science fair.  Please refer to my previous bullet.
• My kids are so hungry when they come home from school.  Today I have dinner prepared for them at 3:30 so we can eat for real and then a snack later.  I'll report back with how that works.
• One of my older children still wets the bed at night and I've gotten my hands on a "potty pager" to try to train the stubborn child out of the habit.  Last night was the dry run, except it wasn't dry, it was wet, more than once, and he hates wearing it.  I hate pee, so there.
• The first part of January was spent painting Mrs. Nesbit's room, and since we've lived in this house six and a half years and I've been looking at dingy not-so-white walls and ugly light fixtures in my bedroom, I just decided to push on through and paint that room too (which happens to be a rather large bedroom).  Ceiling, trim, walls, outlets, light switches, and light fixtures are all new now.  I was an aching, messy, paint covered, non-showering woman on a mission for an entire week, but it is done and I love it!  Now we are drooling over the thought of new carpet, and I hate to drool.
• Because I know you're wondering, our adoption paperwork is in the final stages and we look on track to leave for China on March 14th.  My waves of anxiety have started regarding our/her transition and I'm clinging to the proven fact that God works good through the hard stuff in life.  Not that I wish it to be hard, but I want more of God for sure, so pretty much I can't lose, right?
• The ski season has been a total BUST so far and I am actually praying for several big, powdery snow storms to crush our little town so that I can frolic on the slopes sufficiently before I bring a precious two year-old home from China.  Have you ever known me to pray for snow?  It's bad, people.

her story - part five

Go here for PART ONE.

Go here for PART TWO.

Go here for PART THREE.

Go here for PART FOUR.

Our journey to being matched with our daughter had resulted in fulfilling confirmations of our decision to move forward.  We shared the news to everyone we could think of and sometimes just sat dreamily with smiles on our faces while we felt the love in our hearts grow for our daughter.

I mentioned previously the "compressed air" feeling of my emotions toward her, but my man described it perfectly (and hilariously) during the days immediately after our announcement.  "I feel like the Grinch at the end of the movie when his heart starts pounding and his emotions knock him on his rear."

It starts about at about 1 minute 30 seconds in this clip.

Oh how I love my Grinch.

I was recently reconnected with an old high school friend who is adopting from China and was just matched with her daughter as well.  We have exchanged some emails and she told me that she found out the meaning of her daughter's Chinese name.  I realized that I had never even thought to ask about the meaning of our daughter's name, so I wrote to the person at our agency who is Chinese by birth and fluent in Mandarin to ask her to translate for me.

"Rough and tumble", "stands with a fist", or "takes no crap from brothers" would have been perfectly appropriate translations and would have made me confident that she will fit in around here just fine.

But the reply I received was more perfect than anything I could have made up.

Her Chinese name means "In the light of winter".

Seriously, if you've been around for very long on this blog, you know that we live in (what feels like) eternal winter.  Our summers feel like other regions' winters.  In fact, we don't really put out winter clothes away, we just take some shorts and t-shirts out to add to the mix.  We smiled when we realized that our sweetie was made for winter.

Predictably, the cold weather and snow started to blow into our mountain town and in the coming weeks, I had the chore of changing out everyone's summer and winter clothes (well, really just putting away shorts and sandals), including my own.

I came across a treasure that I received nearly 15 years ago to the day.  My dear friend Karen and I met early in our freshman year of college and have always been close.  On the outside, Karen and I can appear quite different.  She like bare feet, I like shoes to protect my soles.  She likes big cities, adventures, and risks into the unknown.  Me, I like small towns, well planned out trips, and certainly knowing what I'm getting into.

On the inside, Karen and I are quite similar and where we differ, we very much compliment each other.  We have shared many cups of coffee and bottles beer over the years sharing our dreams, passions, and lots of laughter.  I am so thankful that we have not lost touch in the 15+ years since we graduated from college and I'm sure that we will still be calling each other in 25 years to share laughter over the births of our grandchildren and sorrows over the loss of loved ones.

When we graduated from college, Karen chose to spend two years in the Peace Corps.  I remember being in the campus library when she came bounding in to tell me where she had been assigned.

"I'm going to China!!!" she told me with a hug and a smile.

And she did.  She spent two years in China at the foothills of the Himalayas teaching English to Chinese high school students.  Although my kids find it hard to believe, we didn't have email during those days, so Karen and I were faithful pen pals across that tremendous ocean.  In the fall of 1996, she mailed me a beautiful piece of artwork from her new home.

This beautiful scroll is a wall hanging that I have kept with me for 15 years.  I have moved it many times from one home to the next, and always had it tucked in a safe place.  In fact, my husband (the de-clutter freak) has suggested many times that I get rid of it because I've never had quite the right place to hang it.  I refused every time, saying that I didn't care if we never hung it up, I would keep it until my dying day because it was dear to me.

Little did I know how dear it really was.

As I was taking out my sweaters and putting away my shorts, I saw the scroll peeking out from the open bin from underneath my bed.  I have looked at it many times in 15 years, but this time I had new eyes to see it with.

The pink flowers and Chinese writing instantly made it the perfect centerpiece for Mrs. Nesbit's bedroom.  I was excited to bring it out and start planning her room around this precious keepsake.

But it gets better.

I have never detached the note that Karen sent with her gift.  I have read this note so many times, but again, with new eyes, I was able to see that God had planned this perfectly.

"October 24, 1996.  Laurie, I like to think of a piece of China hanging on your soon-to-be own apartment wall next to your photographs from all over the world.  The words at the top are a poem that talk about a man who is far away from home that misses his friends and family.  I cannot begin to express how much I long to have you near.  Think of how much I love you when you glance at the plum blossom.  My friend described this winter flower as 'the one that comes out when the others go away.' Always near you, Karen"

Immediately, my eyes filled with tears as the goose bumps formed on my arms.  In all the times I have read this note simply to feel close to my dear friend who has since lived far away from me, never did I dream that the note spoke of my daughter!

Joya will suffer grief in some form as a girl stretched between two continents.  Her love and loyalties will be challenged and distributed.  Although right now, she is lucky enough to be in a loving foster home from just days after she was found, the painful part of that is that she has no idea that she is an orphan.

When she is placed into our arms in a few months, she will not feel relief that she finally has a family.  She will justifiably feel confused and angry and ripped from the only family she has known.  The family she loves.

But we will wait for our little plum blossom to show herself.  We know that she is the winter flower that will blossom with us when the others go away.  We will patiently endure her emotions through the transition and growth into connection with her new family.

Her forever family.  Our family.

snapshots

By default, faceb**k has become my streaming blog.  But in honor of the giant winter storm that is blowing through my neighborhood today, I thought I should post some pictures and video of our winter.
Snow and skiing.  Skiing and snow.  That about sums it up.
Sauce, now called "Cannonball" on his ski race team - in the zone.
Even my little Squirt is up and running on skis this year.
Again - he loves an audience, so I have many pictures of Cannonball in the air.  He will wait at the top of a jump until someone is for sure watching him before he takes off.

This is the boy who won third place in the final state championships - and had a proud mama!

Oh, what is that I see?  Cannonball in the air again?  This time there is a ski coach laying under him to up the stakes a bit!
I actually skied about 15 days this season (compared to the 50+ that each man in my family has skied).  My dear friend Erin treated me to a free ski day at D**r Valley (normally too rich for my blood).  And that's Ashley in the middle.  She was about 12 months pregnant with cute little baby Cooper, so no skiing for her but she came and met us for lunch.  If she didn't she knew we'd talk about her the entire time ;-).
When a ski coach needs the kids to have a visual aid, here you go.
Kindergarten play dates take on a whole new meaning in a ski town.  Here's Rufus (on the right) with his friend Nathaniel "out playing."
Did I mention that we had more company than our cleaning lady I could keep up with?  Here's my dear friend Reeny laughing when Sauce tried to get her to go down a black diamond run with him.  Not a chance.
My sister Amy and her family were the first of our many visitors.  She is in pink getting dragged around the mountain by my maniacs.
And in case that wasn't enough - here is the moving picture version of those maniacs.  They are all Rockstars in my book.
AND - it is still snowing.  The end.

not a funny joke

18+ inches in the last 24 hours. Winter is alive and well in Park City.

I think I took my snow tires off way too early. Agree?

the podium

Although our mountain town keeps winter alive and well until late May, our ski season is coming to a close.

Our little men finished up their ski programs this weekend and our voices are a little hoarse from our cheers.

Rufus finished his program with the Cookie Race.  Notice the foil-wrapped cookie medal around his neck.  Coach Julia was awesome and really helped lay the foundation for his future in skiing.

 

Today The Hunter and Sauce had the final race with real times and medals within each age category.

The Hunter spent the day battling the barf and diarrhea bug, but mustered up the energy to get to his race and take third place in the eight year old category.

Coach Martin named his team of boys "Princesses" and worked these boys to the bone this season.

Sauce was visibly shocked to beat out every other boy in his age group to take first place.  Coach Justin sure sharpened his skills and their team had such a blast this year.

I did get to ski with my boys a few times this year.  Here we are on top of the world last weekend.

And, my world of men - my life and pure joy...

Just so you know, this is how it all starts.  Here's our little Squirt, giggling through his first experience on skis. 

I'm sure he's picturing the turns he will carve with his brothers someday.

a letter from a local

Dear Sundance Film Festival Attendees,

Contrary to your own belief, you are not the most important people on earth.

While we Park City locals appreciate our little ski town being on the map for all the glitz and glamour of the ten day movie-fest, I personally have had enough of your arrogance and oblivious attitudes.

I am well aware that this is a vacation for you, however, some of us live here and do have to get our children to school and shop for groceries and all the mundane, every day responsibilities that come with, well... life.  Therefore, it would be greatly appreciated if you would get off your phones while you are driving and pay attention to traffic lights, signs, and other drivers and pedestrians around you.

Along the same lines, please note that our traffic lights and turning lanes are not optional.  Like everywhere else in the good old U.S. of A, these things keep our world a slightly orderly and a little more safe for all of us to get around. 

Please don't sit in the center lane and then turn right just to get around the quarter mile long line of cars waiting THEIR TURN to turn on the next road.

Please don't sit in the middle of the intersection on a yellow light during a traffic stand still, causing me to miss my green arrow and waiting another five minutes to get where I need to go.

Even if you're late for your movie, the above still stands.

And, I know that sometimes you're strapped for conversation, but if you happen to sit next to me on the chairlift, please don't go on and on and on about how you make more money than you know what to do with and that you're really just a hippie in a rich man's life.

It makes me want to barf.

Lastly, coming from a girl who loves to shop for her colors, I thought I might clue you in on a little fashion detail.  Sundance tourists can be spotted from afar simply by your black jackets and movie star sunglasses.

Try to step out of your comfort zone in the fashion department next year.

And remember, red means stop.

Until next year,
A simple PC local

if I have any readers left

I have a file full of blog posts started, but not finished.

We have cruised through the Christmas break, not stopping or even slowing down as the new year passed us by like every other moment in time.

My poor blog has been virtually ignored for a few weeks, which is hilarious for two main reasons:

1.  This girl loves to write.
2.  I included my blog address in my Christmas cards this year, so any new readers that checked in here were bored silly.

So, here is my short novel to covered the omitted history:

Chapter One:
We had an awesome visit with my sister Amy and her family, as well as my mom.  It is tradition that we travel to them every summer and they travel to us every winter.  The boys love hanging with their cousins and Aunt Amy makes them laugh so hard.

Plus they give cooler presents than Mom and Dad do.

Not to mention the little ones get to go wild and crazy.

 

 

We did a little skiing, a little tubing, a little eating, gaming, bargain shopping, and a lot of laughing.

 

 

Plus, their family brought so many wi-fi gadgets that they crashed our router about 437 times in five days.

 

 

 

For the second year in a row, their trip coincided with Rufus's holiday preschool program.  Here's a snapshot of his five year old cuteness:

Chapter Two:
Family leaves and I spend seven hours getting intimately acquainted with an 1100+ piece Republic Attack Cruiser.

I would never admit that I had several extra pieces when I was done.  Or the height of my frustration when the boys picked it up the next morning and several miscellaneous pieces popped off.

Chapter Three:
We had a wonderful Christmas.  Presents all around!

Chapter Four:
New Year's Eve poker game until 4:15 a.m.  Ouch.

The silver lining was that the Sweeney's kept all the cash when everyone went home.

Pete was not happy about that:

Neither was Rob:

This crazy hat indicated who was the dealer and it made us all laugh:

Our friends David and Darcy joined our Park City gang and tried their hand at poker. 

They claimed that it was their very first time, but we were all quite suspicious when David won the battle to the death against Christa.

Here is a peek at the action at the table.

David arrived cash-less, so Kenyon and I paid his mighty $5 buy-in at the table.  He then insisted that I keep his winnings.  That's pretty much how generous he and his family are.

I'll still think twice before sitting down at cards with him again!  I think his quick study took everyone by surprise.

The End.

We now return to our regularly scheduled blogging.

p.s. might you leave a comment and let me know you're still out there?

clearly, I'm not ready...

But it is definitely on its way.

the time of year I could skip

Ten months out of the year I love where we live.  I would be very sad if we had to move from our town, our neighborhood, or our house.

March and April are the outlaws.  I am done with winter.  I'm done with snow.   I'm even done with skiing (the men in this house are not, however).

I'm done with snow tires and using the snow blower.  I'm done with icicles and I'm done with high heating bills.  I'm done with snow boots and winter coats.

As a result, I have gone into survival mode.  Hubby is out of town from Monday through Friday this week and I am anxious for some time out of the house...

by myself....

with my winter coat on, of course.

As I'm sure all ten of you have noticed, I've been ignoring the dishes the laundry the vacuuming the children my blog.  Night time comes and you'll find me in the fetal position zoned out on the couch (with blankets over me, of course, because it is still WINTER!!!).

There have been plenty of bloggable moments going on around here, but I just have not mustered the energy to write about them.

Like just this morning when I accidentally swung a gallon of apple juice off a lower shelf of the fridge and smacked Squirt square in the face with it... yes, his mom gave him his very first bloody nose.

Mother of the year, I tell ya!

There have been birthdays and ski races and did I mention snow?

I'm turning the corner though.  So expect my next post to be a bunch of random bloggy thoughts.

You missed me, didn' cha?

brrrrrrrrr!!!

I'm glad we had a full and fun summer because it was 31 degrees with frost on my deck this morning!

I just jacked up the fans on the fireplaces and have them at full blast to break the chill in the air.

That's what we get when we live in the mountains!

Good bye summer, we'll miss you until you return.

a long week

Sauce looked out the window on this morning of MAY 1ST and said, "Awwwww! What's wrong with summer?"

Yup, a balmy 24 degrees and two inches of snow greeted us. That was after I thought I was going in to wake my sweet baby boy at a little after seven and found him happily playing in his crib COVERED IN BARF (I spared you a picture of this one). The poor thing got sick sometime in the night and had it from head to toe and if that was not enough, he had a poopy diaper that could be recorded in the history books. Still, nothing bothered him as he greeted me with a smile. After nursing and a light breakfast, he waved "night night" and went back to bed for a 4+ hour nap.

I can't wait for the rest of the boys to get it too!

It is the end to a long week - my beloved has been at a sales meeting in Las Vegas since Monday and will not be home until tomorrow night. I'm sure it's been long for him too, just in a non-barf filled, non-snow covered different way.

APRIL 24TH!!!!

I might have to go on Prozac. Really, I'm a mountain girl and I love winter and all it offers us here in our little ski town - BUT - the resorts closed almost two weeks ago! We've had intermittent sunny days when the snow has been melting and the boys have been out riding their bikes and playing street hockey. I even killed my back two days ago shoveling off over two feet of cement snow left on our back deck so that we could put our patio furniture out and sit in the warm sunshine - even if the backyard still has snow up to my butt.

This is what I woke up to this morning (and the picture didn't capture the snowflakes actively falling!!!)



The weather forecast does say that we're due for some warming up next week and doesn't show another storm rolling through - I'll believe it when I see it. From next year on, hubby and I have officially decided that when the resorts close, we are immediately taking a week to go down to southern Utah or Arizona to pick up a sister wife defrost. I'm D-O-N-E!!!

Out like a lamb???

Is the lamb in the March poem supposed to symbolize something white? Cuz, that's all I see it connecting to around here.

This picture doesn't do justice to the white out we've had ALL DAY today. And yes, that is about five feet of snow and ice on my neighbor's roof in the background. I have one word to say about it, but since I'm a good Christian girl, I'll refrain from typing it.... I'll just say it a lot after the kids go to bed.