My Heart...

The late afternoon sun had warmed her room. Tiptoeing quietly inside, I shut the door and curled up on the bed. The sound of her soft breathing was the only noise in the room, but to me, no symphony has sounded sweeter. I lay beside her, watching her dream her princess dreams, hesitant to wake her but knowing I must. One tiny perfect ringlet lay against her velvet cheek, and I thought, God did this. He gave me this girl. He saw the desires of my heart and entrusted this precious little person to me. He knew she was the piece that would make us complete. No other girl but her, no other family but us.



The leather of the couch was cool against our skin that evening. In his ever-deepening voice, he gave a play-by-play of the day spent at the water park with his friends. I so love this, this time with my boy, hearing about his friends and their antics. This tall, handsome young man is the same baby boy who once burrowed into the space between my neck and shoulder to take his rest. It's hard to reconcile this strong, bronzed, confident teenager with my toddler who thought Barney and his daddy were the greatest things ever. This person who will be a man in the eyes of the law in a few short years was, just a few short years ago, a sweet, cuddly little boy. He was my first, and for many moons, my only. He was the prototype, the one I got to practice mothering on, who helped me get my on-the-job training. As he pulls away from us in degrees, spreading his wings and gaining some independence, he will always be one of my greatest joys. No other boy but him, no other family but us.

That's Miss Blogger to You...

It was a hot, humid July evening in Idaho. The sun was still beating down on those of us gathered in the park to celebrate our friend's birthday. There were hot dogs, tacos, chips, laughter, water balloon volleyball, and lots of little kids--all the ingredients for a great time.


My husband and I felt a bit out of place since the only people we knew out of the approximately 25 people there were the Birthday Girl, BG's husband, and their two kids. We had been sitting at the picnic table quietly talking to our host for about ten minutes when he decides that introductions are in order. A very pretty lady happened to be getting a drink right by us when our host, BG's husband, my former friend, loudly announces, "Hey, you should meet Missie! She's a blogger too!"

And in that moment, the Lord received a prayer in which I requested the Earth open up and swallow me whole.

For the lady he introduced me to? Has like a REAL BLOG. Where she writes beautiful, thought-provoking, profound posts about actual subjects. Oh, and accompanies them with professional pictures--that she takes. Of course this has to be the very first person that I am ever introduced to as a "blogger." Absolutely of course...

She very politely asked me, "What is your blog name? What do you write about?" or at least I think those were her questions. My brain was still short circuiting at that point, busy planning a very painful demise for BG's husband, who from now on forever shall be known as Mr. Big Mouthy McTraitorPants. (I am just kidding. I won't actually call him that EVERY time I see him.) I mumbled something like "You really don't want to come by my blog. Seriously. It's not very good and I do alot of talking about my kids."


(Can I just remark on my stupidity? Here I am, typing on my laptop, and I stopped to open up my cell phone to CHECK THE TIME. BECAUSE IT'S NOT LIKE MY LAPTOP HAS A LITTLE CLOCK IN THE CORNER OR ANYTHING. Some people!)

She was very nice and took my blog information, and has even stopped by. I had somewhat gotten over my embarrassment by the time we came home on Saturday night and then...I looked at her blog. Um, yeah. I kinda felt like one of those people on American Idol (patooie! hate that show!) who gets up to show off her singing ability only to find out one of the guest judges is the featured soprano at the Metropolitan Opera.

To all five of you who regularly stop by here, I would like to say thanks and that I am sorry. I will try to make the content better in the future. Or try to at least HAVE content. Or maybe just be content. I forget.

But for now, I will revel in my title of "Blogger." You don't have to bow when you see me. A simple nod will do.


p.s. Did y'all see I have two followers? TWO! And I am not related to either one of them! One is a friend from college, and one I had never heard of before until I saw she was a follower! I have people, people! Now I am off to work on our secret handshake.

How Much Do I Stink???

Seriously. Who writes a post about why she likes to blog and then doesn't blog for about two months? Sheesh. If I were my own employee, I would totally fire me. Or put me on notice. Or write me up. Or at least look at me with very scrunchy eyebrows and huff about how lazy "some people" are.

Things are good here in my little corner of the world. We went on a great family vacation to Northern Idaho in early June. We stayed and played around Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls, traveled through some Indian reservations, ate at little out of the way places, splashed in rivers, fished, went to a small fair--just did things with no agenda, no timetable, as it occured to us so we did. Our last day, we went to Silverwood Amusement Park and had a blast. It was nice and relaxing and wonderful and when can I go again please thankyouverymuchokaybye.

The rest of June was taken up with planning Alison's fourth birthday party (which was so fun), Roger's birthday, and Father's Day. Squeezed in there somewhere was a thirty six hour trip to San Diego for a one day conference. That was fun, but hectic, and always leaves me so tired afterwards.

July has been hot here in Idaho. As in bake a potato on the sidewalk hot. This should not be so, my friends! July is supposed to be pleasant, August is supposed to mirror the surface of the sun. We spent the Fourth at my inlaws' house in the mountains about two hours north of here. It is always so nice to go up there and just hang out. They have a wonderful huge porch that is just perfect for sitting in the shade with a cold drink and watching the birds, deer, or ATVers go by. Also in attendance were the Super Grandparents (my fatherinlaw's folks) and my mom, so it was a mini-family reunion in addition to Festival of Constant Eating.

This week, we are headed to a different mountain range for a few days. Some friends of ours rented a house and invited us to come join them. We are so looking forward to it. We haven't been to this little mountain town for about five years. It is quaint and peaceful and such a beautiful drive getting there. We leave Wednesday morning and will return Friday.

For a week in August, I will be heading to California for work. While I am looking forward to getting in a little shopping while there (Crate and Barrel, I love you! Call me!), I am dreading the long hours and the time away from the family. My husband is so good, can I tell you? To handle the kids for a week at a time while I rush off to work is the mark of a good man. And usually, the house is only a tad messy when I come home. (no, you can't have him, he's mine. Go get your own.)

I usually enjoy about a day or two away from the fam, but at about Day Three, the loneliness and longing sets it...and that's about the time I start eating for comfort. This time, I am determined to not be carrying some extra California weight on me when I come home.


I miss those of you who are my blog-only friends...so check me out on Facebook. I update there very regularly, but seem to forget about here. Why? Because I stink. Sorry. :) Check in here and let me know how you are!

And now, lest you forget whose blog you stumbled on to, let me post some obligatory pictures of my kid...wait. Never mind. All the pics are on Roger's computer. Huh. Well, you are spared for now.