Cute Sierra

She's a good auntie/cousin, sister/niece, daughter, friend, student, granddaughter, person, employee, example, kick boxer, artist, Mormon, driver, baker, high heel wearer, smiler, girl.

Family Day

Today was family day at Rob's work.  This is pretty special because usually we can't go there, I think this was only the 2 or 3rd time that I've seen his desk :)  First we went to work. They did a really nice job and had fun activities planned.  They had a bouncy slide and a dunk tank, hot dogs and snow cones and face painting.  Each family could take their picture with the F-35 and we got to see where the magic happens.  The weather was nice and it was fun to visit with the people I knew and the kids were impressed with his desk of course.

The cube farm is funny, it screams "nerds work here" in the best possible way. The funniest thing is actually Rob's. He has a little Ohio State Garden gnome that sits on the cabinet outside his king size cube.  Well apparently the little gnome has quite an exciting life.  He gets kidnapped and taken on adventures.  On the board under the cabinet are pinned home made books of his journeys, with photos and funny captions.  Some show him blindfolded and buckled into the seat of a car, he has travelled to Annapolis, to bars, to football games, to museums, worn Michigan gear and visited homes and hotels.  There is a little ransom note left from one time he disappeared.  No girl gnomes were pictured although he has met various other creatures and shared many a pint.

After the official fun was over we stopped at the beach and enjoyed some unofficial fun.  It was very nice out.  The water was chilly but Grace didn't mind.  The kids played in the sand and we sat in our lawn chairs watching them, watching the waves and talking.

It was a good day.

You know you're a grandma when...

The high light of your day is seeing pictures and videos of the grand babes on Instagram!  Tate has the CUTEST baking a pie video which I would have happily pirated if I had the skilz, which I do not:(. Luckily I do know how to get photos so I could get miss PJ in her apple picking overalls!

Baseball

When our boy was small we put him in tee ball. He looked so cute in his little baseball pants and hat. He'd swing the bat wildly and lope around the bases with his little hat bobbling on his head. It was 3 seconds of cute sandwiched amongst an hour of mind numbing torture. I thought I hated it because there was no winning or losing, no keeping score and no outs. What??

So 5 years have passed and the memory had grown dim so when we were looking for a 2nd sport to fill a merit badge req, and branch out, and try to avoid our Sabbath day conflicts, and Bub said how about baseball I said sure.  I have come to regret that. Baseball is torture, and the games last way too long. He still looks cute swinging the bat.

Today during the game a boy at bat got hit by the ball in the groin. He went down and the coaches from both teams ran over, they dusted him off and slapped his back. He limped back to the dug out but not out of the game. Men are interesting. Having a man child is interesting. They steal your heart so completely, I remember looking at his newborn hands and thinking they were boy hands. They quickly learned to grab a ball, or a handful of hair. As he has grown the balls have gotten bigger and now his hands grip pencils tight doing calculations for school, they expertly tap a computer, and they carry chairs and laundry and other things for his old mom and dad. Soon they will pass the sacrament, grip the steering wheel of a car and reach out to lace fingers with a date (instead of me). 

When that newborn boy steals your heart a tiny spark of fear nestles in there too. First the fears are small: is he breathing, sleeping, eating? Then they are bigger: will his teacher know how smart he is when he wiggles in his seat, will he make the team, the grade, the aim to the toilet? Then they get huge: how will he stay clean in a world of sin? Will he be safe when he's not with me? Will he live up to his potential?
And the biggest worries of all: will he grow up just to die in combat? will the failing economy sustain his efforts to be gainfully employed and to raise a family of his own? will his life be better than his parents?

A spark of fear and rush of pride, a lot of prayers and a lot of chilly nights watching baseball/soccer/chess/robotics.

Raising a boy , a man.

this and that

My back is getting better.  Yay.  It's been slow but I am happy to report that I can do chores again  Sort of.  The children have actually been quite helpful the last few days.  Well Ethan and Grace have been.  Ethan has been my laundry helper.  He puts  the load from the dryer into a basket and takes it to my bed and dumps it.  He takes the wet load out of the washer and puts it in the dryer and puts in a dryer sheet, then he loads up the washer and balances it and puts in soap and starts it.  All those steps.  By himself.  I should have hurt my back earlier...or faked it. He's done everything I've asked the first time.  Nice.
Lu has also been helpful..and she hasn't even asked me to pay her for her efforts.  Nice.
Hannah...well, she's not so good at chores.  We need to keep working on that I guess.

I saw the surgeon this morning.  He doesn't think I need surgery.  I have some weakness in my right foot so we are going to watch that and hope for some improvement in the next couple of weeks.  If not I'll get an epidural steroid shot.  He said that this kind of problem often resolves itself in 6-8 weeks.  So there you go.  I have been so surprised by al the people I have learned of who have back problems of one kind or another.  And at the vast variety of advice I have been given regarding back care.  See a chiropractor, what ever you do do NOT see a chiropractor, see a surgeon, DON'T see one, eat egg shells, stretch forward only, stretch backwards only, apply heat, apply ice, wear magnetic brackets, walk, swim, bed rest, etc.  Crazy.

While I've been down I've been about to read a lot, and watch more TV than I'd like to admit. I read one great book called "Global Mom".  Really loved it, it was so beautifully written and smart, and so engaging.  It's about a family that has lived extensively abroad.  Read some not so great ones too.  I watched Thor for the first time, and Now You See Me and I don't know what else

Grace has been doing lots of crafts by my side, which is fun.  Ethan's working on scouting and science fair stuff (somewhat reluctantly), Hannah has been on line shopping.  We've adapted to a more at home pace..I am looking forward to more activity.

When I get bored I go onto Royal Caribbean's website and browse through the excursions available on our cruise.  Can't wait to go with A&K, V&R.  So looking forward to that.

I can't believe it's almost Oct.  Can't wait for General Conference.

Weekend

Yesterday Nana and Abba took the girls to the Air and Space Museum.  They all had a good time.  Ethan refused to go, his loss.

We had what ended up being a bit of a stressful weekend.  This morning before Nana and Abba left they counseled with us about some things they thought we should do to help our little ones behave better.  Their input was welcome as we know that Grandparents are an invaluable resource and no one else has a greater desire for the children's well being, or a greater love for the children than their parents, and grandparents.

Tonight we had a family council and presented the "new" plan to them, which is really a recycled old plan, or Rev Q as I like to call it.  It's a daily effort with many ups and downs, this parenting gig.

Becky went to stake council for me this morning.  I didn't go to church although my back is eeking it's way back to health.  I am anxious to learn what I need to do to make it strong and healthy and to avoid future problems.  In the meantime I am, with humility, accepting help and trying to heal and hoping to do things differently in the future that will make life better for us all.

That is all.

Fair Day

Today is the first fair day since we moved here that I have not taken the kids with Colleen to enjoy all the fair fun.
Hannah went with Chelsea though.  They were there all day and rode rides and ate funnel cakes & ice cream and had a great time.  Hannah came home pink cheeked and tired.
Grace also got to go.  Abba took her.  They started with her Brownie duty which was to be a display hostess for a half hour long shift.  Then they ate pizza and funnel cake and rode rides and played games.  Lu had a fun time.
Ethan didn't want to go at all so he stayed home and played soccer in the backyard.

I had my MRI this morning.  I have two bulging disks.  L2 and L5.  This stinks.  I have an appointment with a surgeon next week, this does not mean that I am having surgery though and in fact my back continues to make improvements each day.  I don't know how this will all turn out but I am happy that the pain is less each day and am looking forward to good health and the ability to serve my family and in my calling and community well.

Meanwhile I have been very grateful to Nana.  She has come to help out and is here every day doing the things that need to be done.
Also last night we were able to have our presidency  meeting by telephone.  We have lots of good things planned and I am grateful for the ability to press forward even from bed.