Family Home Evening a.k.a. the Emi & Annie Show

We enjoy having Family Home Evening. Especially when Emi is in charge! That girl is full of enthusiasm, creativity and energy. And when Emi focuses those wonderful traits of hers on Family Home Evening, we know we are in for something spectacular. And maybe a little bit time-consuming, which is not a problem if we start FHE 3 hours before bedtime.... (She takes Evening quite literally. I think that when she heads of to college, a perfect calling for her in a student ward would be FHE chairperson. If history is any indication, there'd never be a dull Monday night, that's for sure.) Really, when Emi announces she has something planned for us, we wait eagerly with baited breath to see how the evening will unfold. And I guess that may explain how dinosaurs and the North Pole became a part of the the story of Noah and the Ark.

Emi's great with using visual aides. Especially when they are composed of toys, like the Little People Noah and the Ark set. Annie's attention was captured right off the bat, I tell you! I am going to give you the condensed version of the dialogue between the girls from last Monday evening in the hopes that you may get a taste of our fun family time.

Noah's Ark adapted from Genesis 6-9

Emi: "What did the animals float in?"

Annie: "A fish tank!" After some correction from Emi, Annie added that "Noah built the ark because he thought it would be fun for the animals to go and play."

Emi explained about 40 days and nights of rain and the boat floating for a long time, and then she asked Annie to tell us about what happened after the flood waters receded.

Annie: "The ark ended up at the North Pole! Then the animals got out and the dinosaurs ate them!"

Apparently, some of the animals escaped the dinosaurs' hungry jaws because Emi then explained that the "animals became the very first zoo there ever was."

I guess after the zoo was established and Noah and his family got their feet back on the ground (pun intended!) they were able to reminisce fondly about the whole experience. Emi must have been reading between the lines in the Old Testament because she told us that Noah and his family said, "This was the best trip ever! Especially going in a home-made boat!"

This is the night we've waited for;
Always a treat we have in store!
We love each other more and more;
Every Family Night!

“Family Night,” Children’s Songbook of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 195

We can't wait until tonight!

Seeing Through a Glass, Darkly

For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. (1 Corinthians 13:12)

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. (1 Corinthians 2:9)

Hidden Treasure

I just put Annie to bed. At night, within a few minutes of being settled, she invariably screams for something. Again. And again. And sometimes, again. She needs a certain blanket, a specific toy. The night light needs to be on. No, it needs to be off. I forgot to turn on her ceiling fan. I didn't say, "...and don't let the bed bugs bite!" I've got to hand it to Emi: she's taught her sister some amazing excuses as to why she can't fall asleep.

This evening, I don't think I was more than two steps out in the hallway when I heard the shrieking. (She doesn't just call out. No. It's much more dramatic if she screams. Another thing she's learned from Emi.)

"Mummy! Muuummmyyy!"

I turned around and opened the door. "Yes, Annie? What do you need?" (I tried to keep the exasperation out of my voice, but I don't think I was too successful.)

Annie: "I need my special teddy bear."

Me: "Okay. Where is it?"

Annie: "It's over there." (Pointing to the dresser top, where this particular bear is supposed to live. Of course, he's AWOL.) I scavenged around her pile of blankets. Not there either. (And that was quite a pile, I tell you. If Annie can't sleep, I think it's because she might be a little too warm, what with being under her bedspread, her fuzzy blue blanket, AND her big pink quilt Grandma Opal made for her. That's why she needs her ceiling fan! But can I do anything about it? Only if I want to spend the next hour giving her back one blanket at a time so she'll finally zonk out.)

Me, wishing my sore throat, stuffed ears and headache were as good at disappearing as this particular bear is tonight: "Uh, no he's not."

Annie, showing her night-time colors now: "Look under the bed! Look under the bed!" Not there, either.

I fumbled through her bedding again. This time I emerged victorious! So I handed Annie her much-wanted bear and she promptly hugged him and then proceeded to bury him under the other 14 stuffed animals and dolls she has to sleep with. "Let's hide him under here, so I can't see him."

Aaarrgghhh!

Holland Has Tulips

Occasionally, I am asked, "What's it like to be the parent of a disabled child?" Honestly, it's really not that much different from parenting any child. We visit a few more medical specialists than most parents probably do, and we're still working on the potty-training, but being a parent is being a parent. I think we all just take a deep breath and dive on into the task and hope we come out all right when we're finished.

There are times, though, when I feel the heartache and frustration that comes with having a child with a disability. The heartache may be more for Annie and the frustration more for me, but I'm not sure. And sometimes I feel a little unsure of myself, and maybe even a little alone. Today I received a much-needed reminder in the mail. We received a newsletter from our 9-P Minus group and decorating the margin on the third page was a small black and white photo of a simple tulip: underneath were the words, "Holland has tulips." Read this essay and I think you'll understand why those three words mean so much to me.

Welcome To Holland

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."

"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean, Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It’s just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.

But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.

by Emily Perl Kingsley

Sometimes I forget and need the gentle reminder that Holland has tulips.

Around My Block

I changed the title of my blog to Around the Block a few weeks ago, as you may have (or not) noticed. A clever play on words, isn't it? Well, today while I was driving to my house, I thought to myself, "My neighborhood is my 'block.' What makes this neighborhood unique or interesting?" Okay, this thought actually popped into my head when I turned the corner in front of the house where the guy mows the lawn in his bathrobe. And that is one thing that makes this neighborhood what it is.

Then there's the house up the street where they faithfully hold a garage sale every three months. At least. They seem to have a never ending supply of stuff. It must be breeding in the basement. Don't most people just give the stuff they can't sell to some place like Goodwill and breathe a sigh of relief that finally all their junk is gone?

Of course, a description of our neighborhood wouldn't be complete without a mention of the house where some former neighbors swore some "big stuff was going down." Our neighbor said to me "They are under surveillance. Haven't you noticed the utility trucks that are always parked by that house?" Well, that was seven years ago. The same people still live there. The utility trucks are long gone. The only visible change is that the house no longer has dark pink trim. It's now mint green.

Do recall me mentioning the neighborhood rooster? We are in the city limits. And the rooster is, too. It seems that particular yard is sacrosanct.

And I can't forget Ethan. That kid is hell on wheels! And feet. Heck, if he was walking on his hands, I'm sure he'd still leave a trail of mayhem behind. Ryan says we have to move before Ethan hits his teenage years.

These, my friends, are only some of the things that set my block apart. You should really come and visit!

En Aranjuez Con Tu Amor

Okay, I've put this off for a few days - all right, a month or two. But I am ready to play along now. See Jennifer, you knew you could count on me!

As you can see, I've been tagged. (And people say we don't get enough exercise in this age of technical convenience. Sheesh....) Well, the instructions don't look too crazy, so here I go!

1. Put Your iTunes/music player/cd player/radio on shuffle.

2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.

3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER WHAT!!! After you've answered all of the questions, tag three other people to do the same themselves!

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
Come Undone - Duran Duran

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
Romance - REM

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Criss Cross - Thelonious Monk

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?

Miss Clare Remembers - Enya

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?

Paint the Sky With Stars - Enya

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?

Autumn Leaves - Danny Wright

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Touched by the Hand of God - New Order

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR PARENTS?

Circus Envy - REM

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT FREQUENTLY?

Jeru - Miles Davis

WHAT IS 2+2?

The Man I Love - Benny Goodman

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Synchronicity 2 - the Police

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?

Pinch Me - Bare Naked Ladies

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?

Falling for the First Time - Bare Naked Ladies

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Party - Boston

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?

Grace - Erasure

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?

Cloud - Junko Ueno Garrett

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING? (Um, there was no dancing at my wedding. I guess this explains it.)

Play the Blues and Go - Duke Ellington

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?

Little Church - Miles Davis

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?

Thieves Like Us - New Order

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?

What's the frequency, Kenneth? - REM

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?

Heart Beyond Repair - Harry Connick Jr.

WHAT SHOULD YOU POST THIS AS?

En Aranjuez Con Tu Amor - Miles Davis

And now it's your turn!

I have to tag three other people? Do that many people read my blog? Okay, if you are reading, I tag Ryan, Randall and Adrienne.

Walk As If You Have A Secret.....

When I was in college, my partners in crime (the Blonde Brigade) and I would devour delicious quotes and wait for opportunities to dazzle someone (or just ourselves, which was more often the case) with our wit.

Well, my dear husband returned from his trip to Boston and in his eagerness to make amends for his *ahem* indiscretion when leaving, he showered me with what a wife loves most: Praise. (Well, it falls somewhere on the list that includes diamonds, chocolates and flowers.)

Anyway, while basking in such panegyric and deciding that maybe Ryan's not such a lummox after all, a favourite quote came to mind (from a black and white film - watched with said group of blondes - the title of which I can't recall), "Walk as if you have a secret. You are beautiful. You are loved." Don't we all just need to feel that way every once in a while? So I guess I can forgive Ryan's....omission last Monday since he reminded me of a wonderful arcanum, too long since recalled.

Since I am being sentimental, I may as well continue my stroll down memory lane with this:

You Know You Travel Too Much....

You know you travel too much when you leave the house and head straight to the airport WITHOUT FIRST SAYING GOOD-BYE TO YOUR WIFE!

Prison Is Fun

If you read my post yesterday, you will know that last night the girls and I took a little field trip to Lansing (not Fort Leavenworth, as I may have implied. They don't have rescue dogs at the brig.) Apparently, the state pen is an exciting place to be. As we rounded the tall chain link fence topped with barbed-wire and followed the road beside the thick stone wall to the state-run facility, I said, "Well girls, this is it. This is prison." Annie responded by shooting her arms straight up in the air and shouting, "YESSS!"

The Defiant One

Today Annie got off the bus with a frown on her face - an angry frown, not a dejected one. And a sad face drawn on her hand. Uh-oh, I thought. Not again!

Let me back up and tell you that yesterday, one of Annie's teachers called me from school to see if I could get Annie to listen and obey. Uh, right. I tried, I'll say that much. End result? My kindergartner had detention yesterday during recess!

Needless-to-say, we (Ryan, Annie and me, with Emi piping up now and then) talked a lot last night and this morning about listening to our teachers and making good decisions and how we feel happy when we make good decisions and sad when we make bad decisions. So of course Annie got out of the car this morning telling me she would obey her teachers.

Back to this afternoon. I looked at Annie's scowling face and asked her if she had a good day at school. She glared at me at me and answered, "No. I was in trouble." So I asked some questions to determine exactly what Annie did (or didn't do, as the case turned out.) Well, Annie summed it up well enough with these words, " I wouldn't get off the floor. I had issues!"

We're headed to the Big House...

Tomorrow I am taking my girls on a little adventure - to prison! Seriously, that's where we are headed. The question is, who is coming back.....?

Avid readers who have kept up with this blog might have a sense that Ryan doesn't really care for our dog, Tessa. I told him that when he no longer traveled as much (he was sometimes gone for three weeks out of four) we could get another dog. And since he got a promotion recently, he should be around a little more. But we are not getting a replacement dog, just a friend for Tessa. And Ryan. That said, I can explain why we're headed to the big house.

The state penitentiary is located about 20-25 minutes away and there is an animal rescue program, called Safe Harbour, in operation. Prisoners take care of the dogs - house-break them and train them - and then the animals are adopted out. Some of you non-locals may have even seen a blurb about this program a few years ago. I'm pretty sure it made national headlines when the woman running the program fell in love with a prisoner and smuggled him out of the pen in the Safe Harbour van.

Anyway, we saw a few dogs on their website that we want to meet and even though Ryan has another engagement tomorrow evening, Emi, Annie and I are going to go meet these dogs. Don't worry, we're taking our own trusty guard dog with us. My question about these Safe Harbour dogs is this: will these dogs guard if a criminal enters a home, or will they wag their tails and assist? Stay tuned for the continuing saga of Ryan's Quest for Another Dog.

Presidential Endorsement

Disclosure: I used to be a Republican; I'll never be a Democrat.

After weighing the 2008 presidential candidates, their running mates and campaign positions carefully, I've come to the following conclusion.



Buy your "We're Screwed '08" Bumper Sticker here