Reminiscing...

When my sister and I were teenagers, we were asked to sing at a special church service.  The General Young Women's President, Sister Ardeth Greene Kapp was speaking and Lori and I both had solo parts in a song sung by a choir that we were part of.  That was back when I had a little bit of self confidence...I would never, ever, ever sing a solo now.  Before the meeting began, Sister Kapp met with the choir and wanted to know each of our names.

Later, as she was speaking, she asked that one of the choir members come forward and called Lori by name.  Anyone that knows my sister would not be surprised by that.  She just always radiated this special light.  Her friends jokingly said that people would get trapped in her aura.  So Lori went up to the front of this giant congregation of youth to stand next to this famous person from Utah.  Sister Kapp asked her if she had a best friend in the audience.  Lori said she did and Sister Kapp asked her what her friend's name was.  To my surprise, she said Shanon.  So Sister Kapp called me up to the stand.  I remember Sister Kapp being surprised to know that her best friend was also her sister.  I don't remember why she called Lori and I to the pulpit that day but I do remember feeling honored to be my little sister's best friend. 

October is breast cancer awareness month and I have been seeing all of the pink everywhere and the public service messages about breast cancer.  I watched this video this morning.  Barb was 28 years old when she found a lump in her breast.  She was diagnosed in October 2011.  Barb and her husband Brig made this video in December, shortly after Barb began her first chemo treatment. 

 

This brought back a memory of my sister.  Lori had long hair.  As she nursed her first baby, he would gently grab hold of her hair and run his fingers through it.  It became his security blanket of sorts.  When Lori was diagnosed with breast cancer a few months after her second baby was born, she found out that she would have to have chemo and radiation along with a double mastectomy.  When her hair started falling out, her, her husband, and little boy went out to the yard and he started cutting her hair as she sat there and cried.  Her son got upset at his daddy for cutting her hair and making his mom cry.  They saved her braided pony tail and he carried around his mom's hair for quite awhile after that.

 

The only thing about that video that kind of bothers me is the title because sometimes the brave don't have a future.  My sister was certainly brave.  She endured her trial and she endured it WELL! 

 

I can't decide how I feel about fundraising for breast cancer.  Part of me feels like there is a lot of funds raised that aren't used appropriately.  Part of me thinks that with as much money raised, there should be a cure by now.  Part of me is hopeful that one day there will be a cure.  I do like, however, that October is a month to celebrate the people that have been affected by cancer...those who have survived, those who fought a good fight but had to leave their families and friends sooner than any of them would have liked and those who live in honor of their loved ones that have gone.

 

So this day, as every other day, I celebrate my sister and cherish the memories I have of her.  I hope to be as brave and courageous to endure my trials as she was with hers.

I've Always Wanted To Live In England

Dear Gary,

Do you remember our family meeting where I said something like Jared and Emily have really been getting along well lately?  Well, they have made a valiant effort to prove me wrong today.  I won't go into all the details except to tell you that there was biting and punching involved...out in public...in front of people...who aren't our family.  It looked something like this only with real people who are our children.  We should probably leave the country.

This morning started off just like the last few.  Carson's internal alarm clock woke him up just as I got to the top of the stairs to wake up the fighters for seminary.  He really wanted to go into Emily's room to give her a hug but luckily Emily told him she would give him one downstairs or else he would still be lost in the clutter that is her room. 

He made sure they didn't miss their ride but then he came and crashed in our bed.  It's Wednesday...I can tell we are starting to lose our momentum from the weekend and now we are just plain tired.  Here are a few pics to show you how rough it was this morning.

 

 

The chocolate milk perked him right up and he got ready.  As we were sitting on the stairs, tying his shoes he pointed to my painted toenails with a smile on his face.  I asked him if he liked the red and he nodded, then he planted a nice, juicy kiss right on my cheek.  I didn't realize that all I had to do to get a kiss from my cute boy was to paint my toenails!  He left before Emily and Jared got home so he only got the mom goodbye. 

 

I spent the day rearranging stuff.  I'm not going to tell you what I am rearranging...you'll just have to be surprised.  I also learned the secret to making a pretty green smoothie.  Remember how I was wondering how people made smoothies that weren't a brownish color.  Well today, I learned how.  You use frozen peaches, a banana, a couple handfuls of power greens and a scoop of yogurt.  It wasn't bad either....for a smoothie with no extra sugar.  I think it would taste really yummy with a scoop of vanilla ice cream but that might be defeating the purpose of drinking a healthy smoothie.  Isn't it just lovely?! 

 

 

Tonight we had scouts and youth night.  Carson was so thrilled to find out it was finally the day to go to scouts that he jumped off the bus without even a thought to where Dad was.  Don't worry, though, he still misses you and wishes that you would come home already!!  Carson didn't want to leave scouts tonight and decided the best way to prevent that was to drop to the floor and go limp.  I love it when he does that.  Especially when there is a big crowd of people around to watch how I am going to get this limp kid out to the car. 

 

I really think we are going to have to leave the country!!

 

Love,

 

Shanon





The Trials of Being a Trooper's Daughter

Dear Gary,

The tides have shifted.  I managed to fall asleep before midnight (mere minutes before but I'm counting it as a victory) and Carson slept in until 5:45 again.  If only I had been able to sleep in past 4am....yawn.

Carson saw the kids off again this morning.  He's so cheerful and pleasant in the morning and his chatter prevented them from falling asleep while waiting for their ride.  I am sure they were grateful for that.  He made sure they got off to seminary like a good parent would....I stayed in bed because really....how many parents do you need to make sure they don't miss their ride?  One....I say, and since he was willing to do it (although not technically a parent), I let him.  After they left, he came into my room with a smile on his face and his green and red Power Rangers.  Our conversation went like this:

Carson:  Where's Dad?
Me:  In Houston.
Carson:  Why?
Me:  Why not?
Carson:  (in a mocking voice) Why not?!
**10 seconds later**
Carson:  Where's Dad?
Me:  In Houston.
Carson:  Why?
Me:  Why not?
Carson: (mocking me again) Why not?!

I decided to check my emails and FB and he saw the picture I have on my blog and wanted to look at it closer.  I made it big and we had this conversation:  He said "Mommy...gook!  (That's how he says look).  That's me!  Hair....(Then he runs his fingers through his hair and says) handsome....(not boasting...just stating the facts).  I guess when you've got your hair slicked back for family pictures you can't help but be handsome. :)  Just at that moment the alarm went off (wishful thinking, I suppose, to think I would have fallen back to sleep after the kids left for church and needed that alarm) and we had to quit admiring our handsome selves and get ready for school.  Just like yesterday, he was very happy to help and very happy to see Emily and Jared before getting on the bus and the first class send off.

I went back to sleep after Carson got on the bus and jokingly told Jared and Emily that I was too tired to take them to school and they needed to walk.  Jared and Emily are chomping at the bit to be able to drive so they decided that they would drive themselves to school.  I was this close to just giving in and letting them do it but my obedient, law abiding, state trooper daughter self kicked in and I got my lazy behind out of bed and drove them to school.  I hate my obedient, law abiding, state trooper daughter self sometimes!!

Everyone had a great day.  I made Double Chocolate Pumpkin cookies and they were really, really good!!  Too bad you weren't here to enjoy them.  Did I mention that they were really, really good?  Well...since this is supposed to be a love letter, I will tell you that we love you and miss you and are ready for you to come home.  Especially since you are Carson's favorite parent and I am ready for him to start visiting you in the wee hours of the morning!!  Maybe we'll even make more cookies!!

Love,

Shanon

I Think I Need A Pair of Daisy Duke Shorts

Dear Gary,

I couldn't fall asleep last night until after midnight (the axe murderers were really noisy) so I was really hoping that Carson would sleep past 2am and guess what!  He slept in until 5:45!  He came down with Emily and Jared and kept them company while they waited for their ride to church.  I went back to bed because I am the best of mothers.  I heard him walk them to the door, tell them goodbye and then it sounded like he locked the door behind them.  Then he got really quiet.  A few minutes later I got up to check on him because I remembered that sometimes he likes to go out on the front porch and wait for people (and give his mom a heart attack).  I found him sitting in the bathroom completely naked but with his school clothes ready to put on.  Such a responsible kid!!  He was pretty thrilled that I let him wear what he had picked out.  At one point he asked "Where's Daddy?"  I said "In Houston."  He said "Oh!"  That was that.  I think he might be starting to get it.  He was very good about putting his dishes in the sink and rinsing out his cup.

We walked out the door to get him on the bus and decided it was cold enough that he needed a jacket so I ran back inside to get one.  Jared and Emily got home in time to see him off and Emily came running down the street with her arms out wide and blow kisses for Carson.  Jared came walking up with a blanket over his head and stood by the bus to see him off.  I was standing there in my pajamas waving and blowing kisses.  That kid couldn't have gotten a better bon voyage if he had been a soldier going off to war or a missionary going away for a few years!  We must have been quite the sight!  Luckily, it was still kind of dark outside but he was all smiles when the bus drove off.

Emily and Jared came in and Emily asked if she could have a piece of her birthday cake.  Jared told her "no" because her birthday was over and the rest of the cake was for his birthday.  Then they had a fairly long discussion about birthday days/months.  I think they finally decided that it is considered your birthday until the next person's birthday comes up which kind of stinks for you, Chris, and Emily since the three of you have others coming up on the heels of your special day.  After all that though, I think she was able to eat a piece of cake so all was well.

Emily got ready for school really quick and with my keys in hand headed out the door to wait in the car.  I didn't know that is what she had done until I started looking for her so she could empty the dishwasher.  I heard this really loud music outside and thought the neighbors were being kind of inconsiderate but turns out it was our family that was the inconsiderate neighbors because she was out in the car with the radio blaring at full volume.  I'm sure the neighborhood is happy that she shared her music with everyone. 

Do we have a rule about who sits in the front seat?  Jared swears that we have a rule that the oldest one home gets the front seat but Emily says we have never had that rule so it's whoever gets there first.  Last week, Jared got ready really early and was the one out in the car waiting (I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone) so that he could sit in the front but today Emily was ready early and claimed the coveted spot.  I can't remember if we have ever had a rule but Jared always just accepted that Kinsey got the front seat.  I thought it was kind of interesting though that when I dropped Emily off at school and Jared stayed in the car to go to the orthodontist that he didn't want to sit in the front.  Apparently, it is only important for him to sit in the front if it bothers Emily.  Hmmmm.......

It was a seat warmer and heater kind of morning and Emily had both turned on for me when I got in the car.  On the way to school we had this conversation:
Me:  Brrrr......
Jared:  What is the temperature?
Emily:  59 degrees.
Jared:  That is perfect!!
Me:  If you are a polar bear!
They then felt compelled to give me a lesson on the proper temperature that a polar bear is comfortable with.

As I drove over the big overpass to get on Mopac to take Jared to the orthodontist, I couldn't help but think about what it would be like to drive through the side rails and sail off to the road below.  Don't worry...I'm not suicidal...I think I just must have watched too much Dukes of Hazards in my childhood.  Do you ever think that way when you drive over it or is it just me? 

The birds have moved back into the bathroom vents.  They are contributing to my paranoia.  I think my heart may have stopped beating several times today.  It is really quiet in this house when I am the only one home....except when the intruders start making noise and they sound exactly like what I imagine an axe murderer sounds like.  I'm lucky to still be alive to write this.

Carson did not refuse to get off the bus even though you weren't there to greet him.  He was pretty disappointed though that there was no scouts today.  Everyone seemed to have a good day at school. 

Well...I think that's all.  I made a fancy dinner of store-bought pizza for tonight.  I know....you are sad that you are going to miss it, aren't you?  Too bad you have to go out for dinner tonight. :(

Love,

Shanon

Where Do You Keep Your Dry Mustard?

Dear Gary,

Today Carson slept in until about 4:30.  I'm not sure what was happening up there since I was too tired from the insomnia (did you know that every noise you hear could possibly be an axe murderer?) of the night before to walk upstairs but it sounded like he had a group of bowlers or a moving company bringing in furniture.  He must have come downstairs when he got tired of bowling and moving because I found him on the couch this morning.

One of your children came in from church this morning saying that the other one of your children had punched the first child in the stomach.  I asked why they did that but they didn't seem to think you needed a reason.

They made waffles for breakfast but didn't offer me anything but the mess to clean which was fine I suppose since I don't like eating in the morning.  They did offer to unload the dishwasher for me though and since I hate that job, I gladly took them up on the offer.  Oh, when I say they offered to do it, I mean that I told one of them to do it and he did it without complaining and then I heard the angels rejoicing!

They convinced me that I NEEDED to watch this video about what a fox says.  I frankly have never been too concerned about what a fox says but apparently it causes some people quite a bit of angst hence the video production.

It does have a catchy tune, I suppose.

On the way to school, I remembered that we hadn't said family prayer yet so I asked Emily to say it.  As she started saying the prayer, I closed my eyes and was just about to fold my arms when I remembered that I was driving.  Then I said "oh....I guess I shouldn't close my eyes" which is a very irreverent thing to do (talking) during the prayer.  Emily started laughing and then asked that I be blessed with a good night's sleep tonight.  They still seem to think I am a bit sleep deprived for some reason.

After taking the kids to school, I decided to tackle the mountain of laundry that I have been ignoring for awhile.  Good news....I found the lost pool key in the pocket of your swimsuit.  Bad news...that key has been missing for about a month.  Surely, I am not such a bad housekeeper it took me a month to wash your swimsuit?!  Anyway, I managed to get all of the laundry folded while watching Emma (a great movie, by-the-way, if you like Jane Austen.)

Carson had a great day at school but refused to get off the bus when he found out that you were STILL in Houston!!  I bribed him with a snack and scouts so that the long line of cars behind the bus didn't have to wait any longer.  I wonder if the bus driver wonders why Carson will only get off the bus when his dad is home?  He also had a good time at scouts and is getting to be quite the basketball player!

I have had a song in my head all day after watching the video of the dad and his little girl singing a duet to take her mind off of the fireworks.  It's a cute video and it makes me smile but the lyrics have been bothering me all day.  It says "I know you belong to somebody new, but tonight you belong to me."  So....if you belong to somebody new, shouldn't you still belong to them and not wait until tomorrow to belong to them again after tonight?  Just wondering.

As I was turning out all the lights tonight, I glanced over and found this:

I guess we are keeping our dry mustard on top of baby oranges now.  Don't ask me why we do these things.

So...that's about it.  I hope the axe murderers don't get me tonight!

Love,

Shanon

There's More Than One Way To Skin A Cat

Dear Gary,

Today we had a discussion about healthy food.  You know I am the expert on that subject!!  Emily wanted to know if I had any ideas for a healthy snack so I suggested she cut up some celery and carrots or maybe a banana.  She didn't like the banana idea because fruit gets too mushy by snack time.

She went into the kitchen for a few minutes and came back with bite size pieces of celery.  I always think of preparing celery by cutting a stalk into thirds and then cutting those into skinnier pieces so the bag of bite size pieces surprised me and I started laughing (I might possibly be sleep deprived).  She had a perfectly logical explanation for the way she cut up the celery and I thought she just might be a genius!!  You know how when you bite into a celery stick it gets all stringy?  Well bite size pieces solve that age old dilemma!  See!! Genius!!

I asked her about the carrots but she said that she didn't do them because you have to skin the carrot, and then cut the carrot and phew, just way too much effort!!  I had never heard anyone say that they needed to skin a carrot and that got me laughing again (see....sleep deprived!!)  She asked me what I would call it and I said that I always peel a carrot.

So...as we drove to school we were having a very deep discussion on whether you peeled a carrot or skinned a carrot.  Jared had to add his two cents in and agreed with me although rather than be nice about it, he said something like "Well...that's just weird!!  You don't skin a carrot!"

I agreed and said that you skin a cat not a carrot!!

Then, Jared said "No....you skin a potato and peel a carrot!!"

I had never heard of anyone skinning a potato either but he had a perfectly logical to him reason why you would skin a potato...."those potato skins (NOT PEELS) piled up high.  You wouldn't call them a pile of potato peels, would you?!"  Well, actually that is what I call them and again he said "well, that's just weird and WHO WOULD SKIN A CAT?!!!"  "WHY WOULD YOU SKIN A CAT?!"

Well, where I come from you peel a carrot, you peel a potato, and you skin a cat!!  Then I got the giggles about the way Jared had reacted to skinning a cat and couldn't quit laughing.

Then a fire truck drove by and Jared asked me if I had heard that the fire truck engine harmonized with the song playing on the radio.  So I started humming like a fire truck would hum and he said that fire trucks do not hum.  So I sang like a fire truck would sing but apparently fire trucks don't sing either.  So, then I made a vrooming noise like a fire engine in perfect harmony with the song and he said "that's almost it just less throaty!!"  Well, that just cracked me up even more!

So, as they got out of the car they kept giving me weird looks and were very concerned with the state of my mind because they both said "Mom....We think you should go home and take a nap!!"

Well, you don't have to tell me twice!!

In other news, Carson found his cleavage shirt before I had the chance to accidentally lose it.  He really likes it and was very upset that I would not let him wear it to school.  He's pretty sure that if you were here we wouldn't be having these discussions.

The cleavage shirt

I hope you aren't struggling too much in that quiet hotel room.

Love,

Shanon

Love Letters

Awhile back, I read about a lady whose husband would travel to his family's ranch in New Mexico to work, and while he was there she would write letters to him on her blog.  I always thought they were so sweet.  Gary has never had to travel for work (which is such a blessing) but he has just started a new job and left for Houston on Sunday night for a three week training ( he does get to come home on weekends).  While he is gone, I thought I would write him letters on my blog.  We have been explaining to Carson that Daddy was going to Houston for job training and I don't know....I just don't think he's getting it!

Dear Gary,

This was a conversation I had with Carson at 2:30 this morning (that's AM, people!!):

Carson:  Where's Daddy?
Me:  In Houston.
Carson:  Why?
Me:  Why not?!
Carson:  Home soon?
Me:  Yes....he will be home on Friday.  Now GO TO SLEEP!

This was the conversation I had with Carson at 5:30 this morning:

Carson:  Where's Daddy?
Me:  In Houston.
Carson:  Why?
Me:  Why not?!
Carson:  Home soon?
Me:  Yes....he will be home on Friday.  Now GO TO SLEEP!

This was the conversation I had with Carson at 6:00 this morning:

Me:  (Waking him up because their ride hasn't come) Come on Carson, we have to take Jared and Emily to seminary.
Carson:  Noooooo!!  Bus!!  School!!
Me:  We'll come right back and get ready for school.
At this point their ride gets here.
Me:  Grrrrrr!
Carson:  Where's Daddy?
Me:  In Houston.
Carson:  Why?
Me:  Why not?!
Carson:  Home soon?
Me:  Yes....he will be home on Friday.  Now GO TO SLEEP!

Conversation with Carson at 6:30 this morning:

Me:  Carson wake up...it's time to get ready for school.
Carson:  Grumble...roll over...sleep....snore....sleep....snore
Me:  Big heavy martyr sigh....

Guess how I feel about this.

Love you but if you ever leave me you get the kids,

Shanon

This was Gary's reply to me because he is always nice:

You are a saint and will receive a crown of glory for this!!!!  It will be well deserved!

 

Love,

Gary

 

And my reply to him because I am always a ray of sunshine:

 

No....if I were a saint, I would cheerfully hug him and reassure him and explain in great detail why his daddy abandoned....ummmm....had to go off to do training for his new job because he loves us so much and wants to provide for our family.  Then we would cuddle and I would help him to feel safe and secure.

That isn't exactly what happened. #itshardtobecheerfulandlovingat2:30inthemorning

 

Love,

 

YourcrowniscrookedShanon

 

And his saintly reply:

 

You are right. I guess this is the process of "becoming" saints. Which is also the right path to be on:)

Love you,
Gary

Doesn't that just fill your heart with thoughts of love and kindness...maybe even a few butterflies and unicorns?!