I crack myself up

A while ago I made a double batch of chili. I froze some. Apparently I wrote on the plastic bag. Last night I was stressing and not focusing. I felt like I had 10 things to do and they were all top priority! I put the bag of chili in a sink full of hot water. At one point I flipped it over. The bag said, "Chill out - it's chili!" I laughed so hard I cried =) Stuff w/my mom still kind of sucks. Like my SIL and I were talking about, it's almost like we're sick of people asking. What should we say? We feel like we're too depressing to hang out w/anyone. I'm not telling people not to ask, please, it's nice, just understand if I give you a short answer. There are good times and bad, but I keep remembering that I'll take the bad times over losing my Mom any day! If you haven't already checked out the blog for more specific info, go over to http://carepages.com/visit and type my mom's name: Bonnie Conway. There's plenty of info there...I update that blog more than I used to update this one! Anyway, we are still doing fun/normal stuff like going to the zoo and having park picnics here and there...I just signed up to go to the pumpkin farm field trip w/Mo's preschool, so we're looking forward to that =) I'm grateful that DW is helping out around the house and allowing me to go to the hospital so often. We are still going to church every week - that's like our anchor right now. No matter what we will not miss that. This past weekend the new pastor talked about how we need more than that to get to our 'boiling point' but right now the only other spiritual food is some Bible time and P&W music! That's what we can carve time out for...for now. Anyway, just wanted to let you know that I will be MIA for quite some time now. I'll be sure to post some pics soon so you know I'm still alive and having fun, even if I look like a tired ghost!

Fall follies

We are sleeping outside tonight! Life has been so crazy around here lately that I didn't really want to at first. But hearing the absolute JOY in Mo's voice as we got our bedding in and changed into jammies was awesome! I'm just getting a flashlight and our pillows. But from the window in our room I can hear Mo singing a made-up camping song =) I'm not sure if he'll actually sleep out there, but...we'll see. Camping in the backyard seems so lame to DW and myself, but w/Mo it's like this huge adventure! Oh to have the perspective of a 3yo at times...

Update on Mom

Last night my mom pulled out her own breathing tube and used her toes to pull out her catheter! She is so sassy...today she asked my dad, "Please can you take this collar off?" (she's wearing a neck brace to stabilize her broken clavicle.) She said our names, she keeps asking to have her mittens taken off...one time I told her it wasn't the right time yet and she said, "The time is now!" She's ready to be done w/all this stuff, but she needs to go slow. Please keep praying that her progress is good but all in good time. I won't bother writing more, if you want you can check out the care page =)

Mom

Hey - I realized that I feel like I told everyone about my mom's care page, but I didn't put it here...
Go to carepages.com/visit and type 'bonniesblog'. I have been updating there more often and I doubt I will post much here anytime soon. Thanks for all the prayers and support - I know a bunch of you are on facebook and have posted well-wishes there =) It's awesome. Every time I see my mom I tell her about all the people praying and asking about her. It is definitely appreciated!

Urgent prayer needed

I don't know where to start - my mom is at the hospital and it appears she was hit by a car on her bike. She has a traumatic brain injury, 2 skull fractures, multiple pelvic fractures, cracked ribs...she had major brain surgery today on both sides. At best, she has a long road to recovery and at worst we could lose her. I'm sorry to be so blunt. I am still in shock I guess. But I know that many of you pray and I ask for prayer for my mom and my dad, too. My brother is taking it really hard, too. I don't know what else to say. I probably won't be around much. I will update when I can. Thank you for your prayers...they have no other evidence (besides injuries) of hit and run, but the doctors all agree that it must be. Scary. Please hug your family and tell them you love them...

Firsts

I just dropped my baby off at his first day of school. I am holding it together =) I wiggled a little and asked for an extra hug. I only swallowed hard once. I'm doing really good. I took some pics on the front stoop and by one of the apple trees. I didn't take my camera into the classroom, like some other parents. I decided we'd just enjoy the moment and not make any more fuss. Maybe next week when he feels a sense of ownership to the place, we'll take some pics. He was soooo excited to find trucks and diggers and toy cameras and a crayon box bigger than him =) I know there will be many stories about school today! And now I need to make use of this new child-free time and go do everything I've been putting off...wish me luck!

I am affluent

(For those of you who haven't heard of it, the acronym APLS stands for Affluent Persons Living Sustainably. I found this group of people who are like minded online and have enjoyed reading blog entries and discussion posts. The latest APLS topic has been defining affluence and I feel inclined to join in. Please understand that even though the presidential election is coming up, I am not attempting to 'politicize' this issue. I'm not trying to make you agree w/me or vote for some candidate or anything, I'm just hoping to give you a window into my mind. I meditated on this topic today and this is just a rambling post of my thoughts this morning...)

I am Mel and I am affluent.

I wake up, on top of two different kinds of mattresses and under a pile of blankets (I'm always cold!). Some people in my own community sleep on the floor. I stumble to the bathroom and remember people I have met w/o indoor plumbing. I can hear my son coming down the steps. Our house has 4 bedrooms for 3 people. It holds all our stuff and then there's a garage which holds even more. Some people don't have a vehicle, bikes, clothes, toys, and random other stuff so they don't need all the space. Other people just don't have the means for the stuff or the house. I think about Moses. We wanted to have a baby so bad and struggled w/infertility. We had lots of doctor appointments, tests, medications...some people don't have access to medical care at all, much less good medical care. When the little guy was born, we received sooo many nice gifts! We took a lot of those things we 'needed' for granted, I'm sure. We open the cupboard that contains 4 boxes of cereal, discuss other options like eggs, home made granola, or toaster waffles. None of this stuff was hard to obtain or make. The grocery store is 5 blocks away and they never have empty shelves. We are never hungry or lack ingredients to make basic dishes. After breakfast I flip on Sesame Street. Moses has picked up a lot of colors, numbers, shapes and concepts like frustration, surprise and imagination w/help from that show. He is a kid who will never be denied an education. He is so smart already and we have many options to further his education. We go to the library a lot. Some people never see that many books in their lifetime! I start the water in the tub so it gets hot. It's clean and flows freely. I can 'afford' to let it run. We wash dishes, pick up toys, play games, ride bikes outside...there are material things everywhere. My husband is at work, a job he is adjusting to. We can't complain, he works around a 40 hour week and makes a decent salary, a huge salary by many others' standards. Rarley does he need to put in extra hours and it never crosses our minds for either of us to find other employment. His working conditions are so good, he is comfortable, safe, and healthy. The schedule is such that he doesn't have classes on Weds, so it makes the week go fast. He also gets summers off. When I think of the vacations we have taken... and the material things - I'm overwhelmed. In Mark 10:21, Jesus spoke of selling everything and following him. What if we did that?? How much money would we have?? $100,000 - maybe twice that? Who knows?? What would I do w/all that money? Jesus said to give it to the poor. Who are they? I think of orphans, mostly. A lot of you know me and my heart for children, so I guess that's why. I never thought of myself as rich. Affluent. But if there was a price tag on everything I have ownership of, if I think of all the blessings in my life that aren't even material things...well, there's a reason I called this blog The Good Life. Even on the worst day, I know in my heart of hearts that I have it WAY better than most. Where does this leave me? I should be in a perpetual state of thanks. That word doesn't even begin to explain the way I feel. I choose to thank God for my blessings in prayer, I sing His praises b/c He provides for me and my family. I am Mel and I am affluent.

This rocks!

A nearby town posted this article in their newspaper...
http://www.sheboyganpress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080904/SHE0101/809040484&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL
I thought this idea was awesome! Our church has a really large 'backyard' if you will and I am thinking of trying to bring up this idea next year. I know lots of people who like to garden but say they don't have the space or hate pulling weeds. If we all did it together, it might be fun! You know how it is when you work w/people whose company you enjoy and it doesn't seem like work? =) If you can stick around 'til spring, stay tuned!

A tale of 2 songs

So these 2 songs have really been 'it' for me lately. The first one really reminds me that God is enough. I freak out and feel like I'm not good at anything b/c I don't have what it takes or someone to help or any experience or whatever! But God is enough. I have it all as long as I have Him.
The second song is totally different. It helps me energize and think about how I'm not alone and God has put many people in my life to remind me that this is not all there is. The lyrics are not Christian, but they could be if you just fudged a her to a Him and stuff...
Anyway - thought I would just do a stream-of-consciousness-what's-playing-at-Mel's-house type of post...

Hmmm...

Are we weird if we put smoothie in our scrambled eggs and then let our son dip those eggs into BBQ sauce? He's going to be the one kid at the lunch table who will eat anything I'm sure! We were attempting to make green eggs (like in the book, which we just read) w/o dye. Smoothies are green....and then I used some basil too, but I just tore it up and tossed it in. Now that I know what basil looks like, I don't actually think it's crummy looking spinach and toss it in the smoothie! I wanted so bad to make pesto...I'm going to look it up now but I thought I'd just share the latest adventure into eating more veggies =)