Our Recent Scare

Wednesday morning I got up, took out a pot, poured the appropriate amount of water and oatmeal in it, and turned the burner on high. Then I turned on the lights in the kitchen (it was a grey day) and also in the dining room. After a couple of seconds, the lights turned off - the electricity in our house was out.

For those of you who don't already know this, we've got MAJOR construction happening on our street right in front of our house. The electricity going out was just another frustrating part of the progression. David went down and asked the construction workers how long it would be before we had our power back. They said it would "...probably be a couple of hours." So we decided to go put some more piano lessons signs up around town. We spent the next couple of hours doing that. We took the kids to Carl's Jr. for lunch on our way home, and I thought, Wow! All these french fries... I'm going to have to make sure Charlie gets some fiber in his diet today... like, oatmeal. That's when I almost shouted, "OH NO!" David looked at me, wondering what the heck I was wrong. "I forgot to turn off the burner for the oatmeal before we left! What if they've turned the power back on!"

We RACED home, and as we drove up our road toward our driveway, a PGE truck was heading our way. We motioned him to stop and to roll down his window (nobody drives more than 10-15 mph because our road is all torn up). We asked him if he'd just now turned back on the power for the houses in the area, and he looked confused as he said, "Ummm, no... I turned it on a couple of hours ago."

We skidded down our driveway and up to our house! I jumped out of the car, and ran into a smoke-filled house. I could barely make out the objects right in front of me, and coughing all the way to the stove, I turned off the burner and ran the pot outside. I ran back into the house, and (again hacking uncontrollably) I began opening every single window and door in the house. I then went back outside, and deliver the news that there was miraculously no fire. My throat, however, was on fire for the rest of the day... and everything in the house (curtain, couches, rugs, walls, cupboards, clothing in our walk-in-closet, etc.) held the stench of smoke. Needless to say, I took the kids to my parents' house for the rest of the day while the house aired out.

So... when people say that "... construction is so annoying..." -- I know exactly what they're talking about!

Charlie Moments

Charlie's been saying some really funny things lately, so I thought I'd blog about them. Even just thinking about them makes me chuckle.

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Last weekend Charlie had had his cousins over for a sleep-over, and they'd watched Toy Story. Well, there's this part in that movie where Buzz Lightyear jumps off of Andy's bed in order to prove that he wasn't just a toy, but that he really was THE Buzz Lightyear. To prove it, he was going to show all the other toys that he could really fly. Now, right before he jumps off, he shouts, "To infinity and beyond!" Okay, so I was sitting on one end of the couch the other day, and Charlie was on the opposite end. He stands up, puts his arms up in the air (kind of like Superman), and shouts, "To be funny and BEYOND!"

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Today I was folding laundry on my bed when Charlie walked in with a tape-measurer. I asked him, "What are you doing, Charlie?"

He said mater-of-factly, "I'm measuring the bed."

I said, "Oh, okay." He continued to do just that. He measured the side, then the hight.

I asked, "How big is it?"

He smacked his lips (the way one does when trying to get a horse to start walking) and answered in as grown-up of a voice as he could, "Eight years old."

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Summer

Wow! What a busy summer this has been! It's weird that it's been so busy, but I can't exactly pinpoint WHY we've been so busy (lol... so sad!). But anyway... I thought I'd just post some pictures since I really don't have much to say.

Lately we've had lots and LOTS of stuff going on! No, I mean it! Here's what we've had going on in just the past WEEK: Last Tuesday I taught piano lessons from 4 to 6, and after that we had our last practice (after 3 MONTHS of rehearsals), Thursday we put on a performance of classical music for the family, friends and community. Also, David's parents came into town that day, and also my sister's family! Okay, so Friday was a juggle of spending time with my sister and getting ready for a birthday celebration with David's parents that evening. Also, David's sister's family arrived, and later that night his brother arrived! Saturday we went over to have "breakfast" at 11am with my parents and sister's family (David's parents went back home early in the morning). That same night we had another rehearsal to do! Sunday we went down to Silverton for my grandpa's 80th birthday party. Every Monday night we lead and host a Jus training meeting. Ummmm... yeah... this is what we've been doing.

Of course, all of this has happened in between Charlie and Sydney playing and playing and playing some more with all their cousins! It's been so cute, and I wish they could play with their cousins like this all the time! Talia and Jacob brought their kids' pool down with them, and Charlie's had an absolute BLAST playing in it! And he's also had soooooooooooooo much fun having Rebecca and Todd's kids to play with while they've been here! I don't think he'll know what to do with himself after they go home tomorrow... oh, he'll be so sad... and board!

Friday night we put our kids to bed at my parents' house (and then spent the evening playing Wii-bowling... so much fun!) Anyway, it was a wonderfully weird experience to wake up on Saturday morning to no crying, no changing diapers, no getting kids their breakfast, etc. We slept until we felt like getting up, got ready to leave, and then left. Simple. Easy. Quick. These are words I've almost forgotten the meanings of in regards to leaving the house (lol). Wow! What a blessing my parents have been to us!

So off to Seattle we went to visit Stephen. We had a blast! It was a really fun weekend!

Date with Mommy

Charlie was having a pretty sad day a couple of weeks ago, and so I decided to take him on a "date" to the mall. We went to one of his favorite places in the mall: the goldfish pond in the center of the mall. Then I took him up the escalator, and purchased some "dip-n-dots" for him. This was a new experience for him, and he charished every bight! He insisted on stopping, lounging on a bench, and people watching (lol)

Memorial Day Weekend

Our family went to Idaho for Memorial Day weekend (for 6 days!).  We had so much fun!  Part of the way there, I took my camera out to take a picture of Charlie and Sydney, and -- well, it was COMPLETELY out of battery!  Argh!  How did I miss that one?  I'm normally really good at remembering to recharge my camera the moment it says that it's low, but I missed it this time :-(   Anyway...

It was so relaxing to just BE on the expansive beauty of 160 acres of northern Idaho.  I mean, as we arrived we could feel all of the stressful cares of home melt off of our shoulders.  Imagine being on a prairie with slightly rolling grassy hills.  You look toward the north and north-east, and you're looking at a small mountain covered in evergreens.  You look toward the west and south-west, and you're gazing upon more green luscious plains that are far below you where cows, sheep and other such farm animals graze on delicious brilliant green grass.  It was so peaceful being there.

David and I had such a wonderful time reconnecting with his family.  I, as well, had some really good individual visits with Mary, Jessica, and Rebecca.  It felt so good to hear and share the ways God has been working in each of our lives!  Also, this was the first time Todd and Rebecca met their little niece, and I think they thought she was adorable!  (No partiality coming from me, of course... lol).

Oh, yeah!  And while we were visiting, I did Karaoke for the FIRST TIME EVER!!!  It was SOOOOOOOO fun!!!  Jessica and Darin had a Karaoke machine on loan from a friend of theirs, so we all sang!  Some of the song choices were hilariously inappropriate, but it made us all just die with laughter.  Everyone sang solos, and Stephen and David sang a couple of duets (including "California Girls" by The Beach Boys).  David and I also sang a duet, Jessica and Darin sang a couple of duets, and the little girls sang a TON of songs (they all have such beautiful voices).  We all had an absolute blast, and now I'm on the hunt for a karaoke machine (lol).

On Sunday we went up to Sandpoint to visit Talia and Jacob, Kayla and Patrick, and all 5 little boys.  It was so good to see them!  I had really good heart-to-heart talks with Talia and Kayla (I only cried ONCE about Theo, so that's not TOO bad), and Charlie got to hike to the river with Patrick and the other boys.  It was too short of a visit, though, I must say (only about 4 hours)... but I guess, as I've been told, "Be thankful for what little you have, and maybe more will come."  I suppose that applies here, although I cried on my way back from Sandpoint because I miss my sister so much (sigh).

All in all, we had a really great time in Idaho, and we can't wait until we're able to make another trip out there!