we're done!

It seems like we have all been fighting something the past four weeks. Yucky eyes, coughs that make you cringe and sinus junk. The doc says the shot and pills will kick this but I'm not so sure. I guess if you wait long enough it will leave :) Our spring has been crazy weather ...snow....rain....wind.....snow.....snow... HEY isn't that the signs of winter? lol. this week is warm and breezy and wonderful. The babies helped me feel better with their chatter and craziness on Sat. and Sun. We grilled, ate strawberry shortcake and watched PopPop put guard rails around the new swingset that Uncle Ryan and Aunt Sarah gave them for Christmas. We are on countdown to summer vacation!!!! I look forward to late nights and later mornings!

Summer has offically started!

School has once again closed it's doors and so begins the wonderful season of summer. I spent this last year caring for Tessa, Truman and Brenna while Bev was at work. She usually helps with summer school but not this time! Hooray for me, that gives me nearly ten weeks to deep clean the house, get some more rooms painted and stay up as late as I want to! I am a true night owl for sure. One of my biggest projects this summer is a remodel job that I am getting bids on now. Our side screened in patio will become an all purpose room aka Derrell and my bedroom. Once we move in it will be time to begin moving Mom down here with us. Losing Daddy has been so hard for all of us and I don't want her to be alone in MO so the two upstairs bedrooms will be hers. I think it will be an adjustment but more for her. I am used to having the kids in and out most anytime and the noise can get crazy! so one more fits easy. This weekend is Memorial weekend and I am so proud to be the daughter, sister, neice, in-law, cousin,mother and wife of service members. They and their families have given with sacrifice to keep us safe to enjoy the simplest of things. We are grilling out, maybe playing in the water--our pool is OPEN! and just enjoying each other. Being grateful for freedom and even greater, being grateful for grace. Happy Memorial Day- hug a soldier!

a new beginning---- again!!!!

Blogging is not my strength but I do love to share my family and our days so I am attempting to post much more often then in the past! Let's say a post every week? That should be possible but most likely it will be a couple of times a month. We have had so much happen to us. Derrell was in Afghanistan for six months, Brenna was born, vacation to Branson, new floors put in throughout the upstairs, a new lawn started, a new shed to replace the one about to fall in!!!! so you see when life is this busy it is hard to find the time to post! I will try to go back as needed and put pics and stories up and try even harder to keep the current events documented. So let's see how good I do....... until next time!

Maple Memories

I have been scrapping for years. Usually, I would set up a table in the living room or take over the kitchen table and eventually I even took over one of the bedrooms as my craft room. It is always peaceful to scrap; it may not be quiet around me but the art of scrapping brings me peace. I found new friends when my favorite store ScrapFunattic opened. I was invited to a weekend event up at Maple Memories in McPherson. I hadn't scrapped away from home except at classes I took. I had no idea what to take so most of my stash went with me! I had so much fun. I didn't get much done but that weekend I developed new friendships and deepened those I already had. We laughed, ate and laughed some more. It was there I learned that facebook wasn't just for college kids and I really did need a laptop! The neighborhood around Maple Memories is so quiet and beautiful in the spring and fall. The house itself is inviting the moment we walk in. I really appreciate the ramp to roll all of our supplies right up and into the house. The bedrooms are uniquely decorated and very comfortable. I have been back several times and will be there again next weekend!

How Much More for Dad?

Daddy's patience was tested on Feb.9 at his appointment with Dr. Heading. The x-rays showed the bones had healed and the Dr. was about to release him for full rehab and walking. Mom mentioned how Dad was still taking the full amount of meds for his pain and was that normal? No must have been his answer because he ordered a CT scan immediately. Those results showed that the "bone" that had filled in the gaps where he was broken was actually mushy and needed more time and a new therapy (a sonogram type of machine used on his back for 20 min a day for about six weeks). He also wanted to reinforce the front of the pelvis with a strip of metal. That wasn't able to be done earlier because of the bladder tear and fear of infection. So back to surgery on Feb.19. That went very well the first 24 hours, then, the spiral began. Dad has had so much trouble with recovery from the anesthesia. He gets so sick and the meds hurt his stomach and they want him off of IVs and on pills and he can't keep down the food and then the pain increases...... So it takes time for him to get back into a smooth rhythm again. He had problems with swelling also this time but 10 days later he was released back to Cameron. So now here we are on March 4th and Daddy is back at KU. He has fluid and swelling around the incision. Dr. Heading is planning on surgery to repair a possible tear or bleeder tomorrow. Please keep praying. I know it will all end and Dad will be up and back to normal again but these setbacks are depressing for Dad and Mom. She puts up a great front but she is tired. Give her a call or send a note. Those little touches mean so much to her. I will post as I learn more.

Daddy in January and February

The time at Northland lasted four weeks. There Dad began eating again and all of his IVs were removed. Slowly he began to strengthen and regain some of his stamina. Mom spent every night with Dad at Northland because he was too weak to call for help. The staff there were nice enough but not as attentive as we thought Dad needed. My goodness, he could barely move by himself and they would leave him alone for a couple of hours at a time. Not too good when you hurt and can't find or reach the buttons to call for help. His next move came mid January to a rehab/nursing facility in Cameron. That made it so much easier for Mom. By then Dad was shifting around in bed by himself and feeding himself. Mom lives only 15 min. away so she was able to go home every day and sleep in her own bed! Dad only had to heal. The therapist would work on his upper body and leg strength with exercises. By the time Dad went in to have the stabilizer removed in early Feb. the Dr. was pleased with his muscle tone. Having that thing gone made Dad's recovery speed up and he was able to finally sit up at a 90degree angle and in a wheelchair. His attitude throughout has been remarkable. He is so positive and patient with the process.

Hidden Beauty

This post was resently sent to me, thank you friend.


It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?'

Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible.. The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more! Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this?? I need that now Mommy!

Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.' Hurry Mom, I'll be late!

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude -but now, they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, she's going, she's gone!?

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England . Jan ice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well.. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Jan ice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe .

I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: 'To Charlotte , with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. These bui lders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fuelled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything. (I have been studying this in my art appreciation class, some of these cathedrals took one hundred years to build, amazing! ~Janna)

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof, No one will ever see it. And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.'

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does.'

No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become. At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness.. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride.

I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for 3 hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'You're gonna love it there..'

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

Great Job, MOM!