Dakota turns 17!

On Monday the 28th, Dakota turned 17 years old.  It took me this many days to even be able to blog about it.  It's unreal that he is so grown up.  Wasn't he just in his playpen yesterday?  There is no moment that can ever replace the way a mother feels about her first child at birth.  Dakota was absolutely the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.  Not that my other boys weren't the same, but still, you never forget that first time of becoming a mother.  And dang it, I'm feeling sappy about it all! 

Dakota was born in Bemidji, Minnesota.  The hospital was about 22 miles from our home in the woods in Becida.  My labor was induced at North Country Regional Medical Center, by breaking my water.  Figuring that it would be ten hours or so, Dr. Armstrong went home to have dinner.  He never got to eat it.  My complete labor was three hours long, and the nurse thought she would be delivering Dakota.  I remember that it was a record breaking evening for babies at the hospital.  There were even moms-to-be waiting on beds in the hallway.  In recovery, there were no private rooms.  Living in the middle of three Chippewa reservations, most of those babies were Native American.  Dakota had lots of dark hair and olive skin.  He fit right in with them.  When the nurses would bring him to my room, to this pale mother with red hair, they would casually check his name on his bracelet, trying not to let me see they were making sure.  It was so funny!

One of the best things about my memories of Dakota's birth is that my mom was healthy, and had flown there to be with us.  She watched him be born, and later called it one of the greatest moments of her life.  He is the only one of my handsome children that she was able to be with me at the birth.  I cherish that time in my heart.  She was 68 years old, a widow, and finally becoming a grandmother. 

I've got to stop before this becomes a novel.  This year, we had a family celebration with pizza, ice cream cake, and some movies.  Here are some pics.  Love you so much, Dakota!

A new week

Well, it has been a beautiful day today. 
Maizy is almost house trained.
I am almost recovered from the reaction to my Tetanus shot.
I still have the best children ever (It's my blog!)
Dakota is turning 17 years old tomorrow (B movie scream).
It's almost National Poetry Month.
I'm about to deluge this blog with sweet poetry.

I am thankful.

"The least of these . . ."

As I have said before, I usually try to keep things positive on this blog, but there is something I need to write here.  Last night at work, while shelving in the children's department, I saw a young man.  He couldn't be much older than Dakota, probably close in age.  His face was very disfigured and he was missing an eye.  I have no idea what happened to him, or if he was born that way.  He moved very quickly from shelf to shelf and kept his head down, so that no one would look at him.  He just wanted to get his book and leave as soon as possible.  My heart went out to him.  I thought of the burn victims I saw as a child, those that my dad had kept in touch with.  I remember how he told me that people would say terrible things to them when they were out in public.  What had been said to this young man?  How would it be to live life, feeling as though you had to protect others somehow, from seeing your face? 

Last night, I went to bed with a feeling of shame for all the little things I have complained about.  None of them seemed very important anymore.  How often we go through our days, stupidly unaware of how blessed we are, and blind to the suffering of those whose loads are so much heavier than our own. 

There is a quote. I can't remember who said it, but it goes something like this, "In the end, it won't matter how many prayers we said, but it will matter how many prayers we answered."

Pinewood Derby!

Tuesday night was our ward's Pinewood Derby, and Micah's first.  He won 2nd place, and received a trophy!

The best part of it is that he acheived this victory with a car he made himself.  We have always wanted this race to be about good sportsmanship and fun, not about who can have the best scientifically engineered car (mostly built by their father). 

It was a fun evening, and all the boys had a good time.  Yay, Micah!!!

This is not the greatest photo, but I think it's hilarious.  It shows all the concentration of kids and adults at the finish line.  Do they look like they are into the action?

The winners.  So much fun.

Moods

"The middle of the road is trying to find me.
I'm standing in the middle of life with my plans behind me.
Well I've got a smile for everyone I meet,
as long as you don't try dragging my bay
or dropping the bomb on my street."

                               ~ Chrissie Hynde (the Pretenders)

Maizy

On Thursday, we adopted a new member of our family.  She came from the good people at No More Homeless Pets.  She's a 9 week old Pug and Beagle mix, with a possible dash of German Shepherd (her father was from out of town:)  Her name is Maizy and she is a little ball of love and cuteness.  We are all completely and utterly exhausted from caring for her the last few days.  She is recovering from being spayed, so she has to be blocked off from our two sets of stairs.  After that, it's the house training, socializing, etc.  I'm sure most of you know what I'm talking about.  I think I must have been crazy to take this on, but watching the kids with her is a wonderful thing.  We did not exactly plan to be adopting right now, during a difficult time for our family.  Hopefully, this will work out well for all of us.  Here are some pics.

First outing and meeting with neighborhood kids

My love of quiet places

Wednesday morning, I took Carson to the school district in American Fork for a test he needed to take.  Doing K12 means that we sometimes have to do things a little differently, which is okay.  I had lots on my mind, and had time before I needed to go back and get him.  The school district is right by the cemetery, where my Grandpa is buried.  I decided to go there.  Then I decided to have a little talk with his headstone.  Then I decide to walk.  It was 9:00 in the morning, and no one around.  I had the whole cemetery to myself.  It was absolutely solitary and beautiful.  The little birds were chirping, and I was blissfully walking and reading headstones, and pondering my life.  I actually found some people I didn't even know were buried there.  On one of the headstones, there was an A.A. Milne quote carved into it.  Here it is:

"If ever there is tomorrow when we're not together . . there is something you must always remember, you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think, but the most important thing is, even if we're apart . . I'll always be with you."

Thank you, lovely peaceful hour.