Really, It's Me!

Well, I've been out of commission in more ways than one for awhile now. I can not believe how long it has been since I blogged!

There's wonderful phenomenon upon us in the Grand Valley. It is called fall! Maybe you've heard of it? Unless you live in Texas of course as we had for the last five years. The warm, rich colors on the trees and other foliage have been so breathtaking.

Two weeks ago I was finally able to return to church after being absent for basically the whole summer and September. YIKES! The joy in my heart to be in worship again and be able to start building relationships that were cut short with my prolonged absence.

I'm feeling better now. I'm on a medication that is leveling out enzymes and chemicals in my digestive track. Still struggling some but I feel like I'm getting my life back.

We went up on the Grand Mesa two weeks ago and played in the snow. Most people in GJ are waiting to have in their yards within the next couple of months. Not us. We proudly displayed our southern heritage by rushing to the first real snow fall!

I've pulled together a homeschool Brownie Girl Scout Troop that Trinity is a part of. I mourned over losing our Daisy troop in Texas so it was such a blessing to begin working with the girls again. I have 10 all together. Two I inherited from a public school troop that was overflowing and the rest are from our homeschool community. The are walking in our Veterans' Day Parade next Saturday. We're a month in and these girls are so amazing that we haven't even had to make troop rules or consequences yet. This is a picture of a portion of our troop from an event we attended a couple of weeks ago.

I put out my first newsletter for our homeschool organization at the end of October. It was one of the fullest ones in a long time. Twelve pages. I had so much fun and it blessed my heart to have something that was mine. I was so proud of the final product and Mark was really proud of me too. It goes out to over 200 families so it is a pretty big deal around here.

Trinity's arm is doing better. Dr. Friendly finally released her from his care this passed Tuesday. She can resume normal activities but he wants her to continue wearing the dynamic splint for two more months. That was encouraging. She has most of her range of motion back but still can't quite bend that arm like she can the other.

Our first Halloween here was so much fun. The weather was absolutely perfect as it so often is here. We did have some smokey haze come through from the California fires. You don't complain. You pray for those that lost their homes and loved ones and thank God for the safety of those you love and your home.The kids dressed up; Trini as a princess and Will as Thomas the Tank Engine. They were so cute. I guess we all say that about our kiddos. We bought Trini's dress at Goodwill and then she picked out the beading, sequins and ribbon for the bodice. Her mother sewed it all on and both of the kids got a lot of complements.

Mark and I took turns taking the kids around the neighborhood while one of us stayed home to hand out cavities, ahem ... I mean candy. Then we headed to our church building for a Trunk or Treat. It was nice. I especially enjoyed that I did not have to plan it, set up for it, nor clean up after it. Praise be to God!

I woke up this morning a day older than I was yesterday. Anybody want to explain to me exactly how that works? And why I actually feel older with the difference of one day?

First thing this morning I come into the office with my Frappuccino my DH left for me in the fridge. There's a sticky note with an arrow pointing to an icon. The instructions are for me to click and listen. Do you want to tell me what kind of man makes his wife cry on her birthday? I don't mean gentle little tears. Oh, no. I mean sobs and wailing. Wailing that makes his three year old run from upstairs to down checking on Mommy. The playing of this song is what evoked such emotion.

One Heartbeat at a Time
By Steven Curtis Chapman

You’re up all night with a screaming baby
You run all day at the speed of life
And every day you feel a little bit less
like the beautiful woman you are

So you fall into bed when you run out of hours
and you wonder if anything worth doing got done
Well maybe you just don’t know
or maybe you’ve forgotten

That you, you are changing the world
one little heartbeat at a time
Making history with every touch and every smile
Oh you, you may not see it now
but I believe that time will tell
how you, you are changing the world
one little heartbeat at a time

With every, “I know you can do it”
and every tear that you kiss away
So many little things that seem to go unnoticed
they’re just like the drops of rain
over time, they become a river

And you, you are changing the world
one little heartbeat at a time
Making history with every touch and every smile
Oh you, you may not see it now
but I believe that time will tell
how you, you are changing the world
one little heartbeat at a time

You’re beautiful, so beautiful
how you’re changing the world, yeah you’re changing the world

What kind of man does that??? The best kind of man I've ever known in my life. The most thoughtful, conscientious, loving man ... the best friend a woman could have and the best husband any wife could ever hope for. And he's mine ...

That would have been a really great ending to a really long blog. However, in the spirit of thrills and chills and shocks of Halloween, enjoy this next picture.

She has been asking to do it for over a year now. She mostly wanted to get it cut to send it to Locks of Love. She loved the idea of helping another child! I kept putting her off. A few months ago she brought it up again. I talked into waiting until after Halloween. Yesterday, November FIRST, she decided it was time.

I'm going to toot my own horn for a moment now. I was not in favor of this. She had no hair until she was almost 3 years old. It was very hard for me to agree. She wanted it. She wanted to something good. And to be honest, if you've never witnessed one of our hair brushing sessions, it's not a pretty thing. She gets hateful, I get mad, we both end up in tears. That's with detangling spray and all!

So I come to terms and agree, especially after my logical thinker says, "Mommy, it will grow back you know." I psyche myself up for it. Then all of sudden she starts having second thoughts. Here's where the amazing mom part comes in.

I proceed to talk my daughter into doing something I don't want her to do because I know she really wants to and just needs the encouragement and courage to do it. : ( She's cute as a button and brushed her own hair without any help from me this morning. This wasn't such a bad idea after all!