Motherhood and Musings:

Caution: Boys and Girls Coexist here

2009-04-13T06:55:00.001-07:00

Only in a house where boys and girls coexist will you find princess coaches hauling prehistoric, flesh-eating creatures.

Snow Much Fun

2009-04-09T12:13:00.000-07:00

We had a lot of fun during the last "big" snow storm. I'll post some pictures of the snow, itself, one of these days. That way those of you who live in the unbearably hot parts of the country can see what you're missing. =) Today, however, are pictures of my "kids" having fun in the snow. It was a great time!

A little hard to see here, but a sweet smile--Lucy is obsessed with the snow

Alexander took to the snow very quickly, even though he couldn't walk in it!

I love this picture!

More fun

Trying to walk, at least. He was a snow encrusted baby by the time he went in!

This was them, side by side, starting out...precious.

Hawaiian Chicken Salad

2009-04-07T10:07:00.000-07:00

Hawaiian Chicken Salad Boats--Mmmmmm!
Makes about 6 sandwiches
Total time: 35 minutes (if you don't have "help")
Light, refreshing, and a delightful twist on an old favorite!

Ingredients:

5 strips bacon, diced

1 1/2 baguettes, toasted

1/3 cup olive oil, divided

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 1/4 cups fresh cilantro leaves, packed down

1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, packed

1 Tbsp. fresh ginger, chopped

Juice of 1/2 a lime

3/4 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup plain yogurt

3 cups chicken, shredded

1/2 cup macadamia nuts, chopped

1 cup fresh spinach

1 cup fresh pineapple (a can of crushed works nicely)

Optional: 1 Tbsp Jalapeno, minced and

Red bell pepper, minced

Directions:

Preheat oven to highest broiler setting with rack in top position.

Saute bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove grease with a paper towel.

Slice top 1/4 off the baguettes and hollow out, removing the bread inside (make some homemade croutons?). Divide into 6 equal segments. Brush each piece with 1 Tbsp oil, season to taste, and broil on a baking sheet for 2-3 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Mince cilantro, mint, ginger, and lime juice in a food processor to make pesto. Add mayonnaise and yogurt and mix until combined well. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

Mix chicken, diced bacon, and nuts with pesto in a bowl, set aside. Toss spinach with a little oil and lime juice. If using jalapenos, stir with pineapple in a seperate bowl.

Layer on baguette by placing spinach on first, enough to cover base of bread. Next, add about 1/2 cup of chicken salad mixture. Garnish with pineapple or pinepple mixture and minced pepper, if desired.

Enjoy!

That means, YOU, Mary! =P

A Favorite Book

2009-03-28T17:47:00.000-07:00

There is no single book that we have read in our home more than "The Wheels On the Bus." It is the most beloved book that we own. I have more pictures of this being read than of any other reading time. I have to hide this book by day because Alexander can spot it nearly anywhere and will start begging for "'Bas' Peeeeez!" And he's never ready to be done. Here is one recent reading.

Alex moving one of the tabs (It's a moving book)

Lucy, singing along. Loud. Always loud. =)

Light Corn Syrup Substitute and Sweet Things

2009-03-27T14:55:00.000-07:00

My sister called me tonight and said, "I need Light Corn Syrup for a recipe, but don't have any. What can I substitute?" I knew you could make a substitute, since it is mostly sugar and water, but am loathe to guess for someone else's recipes. Messing up my own is one thing! So, I looked it up. It's very simple to make and, in an age where we are coming to recognize all of the detrimental effects that corn syrup has upon our health, and that of our children, I thought that I would pass this along for you to use as well! (Keep looking below the recipe for some of our Smith sweeties, too!)

LIGHT CORN SYRUP SUBSTITUTE
2 c. white sugar
3/4 c. water
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
Dash of salt

Combine all ingredients in a heavy, large pan. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover it for 3 minutes to get sugar crystals off the sides of the pan. Uncover and cook until it reaches the "soft ball" stage. Stir often. Cool the syrup and store it in a covered container at room temperature. It will keep for about 2 months. Yields about 2 cups.

St. Patrick's Day Parade

2009-03-26T07:28:00.000-07:00

We were blessed to attend our first parade this month! We went to Sioux Falls' St. Patrick's Day Parade, which, apparently, is a big deal in Sioux Falls! There were so many people there and they were all quite festively attired with wigs, hats, and such. Many people had their dogs there with green leis around their necks or many had even dyed there dogs' fur green! Yikes! We got to watch part of the parade from the boardroom at Daddy's office, which offered a great view, warmth, and easier corraling of small children. Here are some pictures from the day. I hope you enjoy!

Banana Blueberry Pancakes

2009-03-25T05:46:00.000-07:00

Alright, I know that I've been sorely remiss in keeping this up, so I'll try again. Here's a start!

A couple of weeks ago I was watching an episode of Jon and Kate Plus Eight (borrowed from Netflix) where they made Banana Blueberry Pancakes. Yum! I decided that we needed to try making some ourselves, so I experimented with this recipe; hands-down the best pancakes I've ever eaten! They're light, fluffy, and so yummy that you don't need any syrup (or really even butter, for that matter). My kids wanted a little "snow" on them, or powdered sugar, as most of the world calls it, but I think it was more the principle of the thing because they did not need it! You have to give these a try! I am going to experiement next with apple cinnamon, I think...

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups sifted all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, well beaten
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup butter, melted
2/3 cup mashed banana
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

This recipe will yield about 24 pancakes.

Directions
1. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

2. Add eggs, milk, butter, bananas and vanilla.

3. Stir until well blended and smooth.

4. Fold in blueberries.

5. Spoon large tablespoons of batter onto greased, preheated griddle or skillet.

6. Once bubbles begin to appear, flip pancakes only once.

7. Enjoy!

Lucy, Alexander and the Terrible, No Good, (Mostly) Bad Day

2008-09-30T18:13:00.000-07:00

Today was a bad day. A day this bad always reminds me of that book title "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day." Today was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. I don't know if I've ever even read the book, but, for me, the title says it all.

It started with a screaming child who prematurely woke up another (up until that point) sleeping child. Then I had two screaming children. It's the mathematical laws of children, as far as I'm concerned: if you have three children in a room and one of them is screaming, how many screaming children are there? Nope, not one, but THREE screaming children. That's lesson one in the mathematics of children. Although the day had lots of screaming (none mine, I promise), tears (okay, some of those might have been mine), and temper tantrums (ummmm...I plead the fifth...), there were many good moments throughout the day. This post is as much to remind me that there were good moments, as to share them with you! =)

In my Life Science class this week we studied collections: birds' nests, leaves, seeds, insects, and seashells were the main ones that we discussed. I suddenly remembered my own seashell collection, painstakingly labeled for 4-H about 20 years ago. This collection was labeled with love in a time, as I pointed out to my horrified students, when you couldn't just pull up the world wide web and use a search engine to do your work for you, but rather, you painstakingly looked up books at the library and poured over them, page by page, looking for what you needed. I recall this project with great clarity, for I have a large collection, one I love, and was quite proud of all of the work that had gone into it; it turned out fantastic. My class was properly awed as well. I had forgotten the universal fascination that seashells hold. They seem to transcend age, gender, social status, and more. Since my daughter was in need of distraction, I pulled some extras out for her to play with. Here is some of the fun that we had.

I am completely uncertain why, but Lucy was initially convinced these were hats!

We played with the sand that poured out and explored the different textures.

We stacked them in a great big heap.

We neatly stacked them like blocks.

We also went outside to enjoy the crunchy leaves that are starting to cover our lawn. Alex, in particular, enjoyed crunching these between his pudgy little hands, and trying to eat them. =)

"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!" ~Psalm 127:3-4

It's been 13 months, but who's counting?

2008-09-30T06:54:00.000-07:00

The "new" addition ~ pictured at 6 1/2 months old

Wow! I've known for awhile that I am in desperate need of redoing and updating my blog, but I realized this morning that it's been more than 13 months since I have updated it! Yikes!

In my great amounts of free time (hahaha) I have vowed to work on this! Please check back and bug me to keep me honest! To kick it off, here are a few new pictures!

Pajama Smiles

Kisses

I'm Going To Be What?!?

2007-08-25T15:47:00.000-07:00

Lucy wants to share her good news with all of you! That's right! Lucy is going to be a big sister! Isn't the surprise on her face perfect?

Baby number two is due March 7, and Mommy and Daddy are so excited, too! Currently baby is nearly 13 weeks old, with a fast heartbeat of 168.

Thanks for sharing in our good news!

Sweet Sunshine

2007-08-12T15:30:00.000-07:00

Here is our sweet sunshine girl today, in her nursery. She looks all bright-eyed and cheerful. Too bad mommy can't look that good, too, after being up until 3:15 am with a screaming teether. Ahhh, the kindness of youth! ;)

Smiles With Daddy

2007-08-12T15:28:00.000-07:00

Yet another picture with the proud Papa. He has to have an adequate number of photos to decorate his desk at work, so he always encourages me to continue my shutter-bug ways. Hehe.

Another Cute Sunday

2007-08-12T15:27:00.001-07:00

Another nice picture of Lucy and Daddy before church. She's finally getting enough hair to put more of those cute bows to use! Yea! =)

Post-Birthday Fun

2007-08-12T15:24:00.001-07:00

Here is Lucy with just a couple of her wonderful birthday gifts. A Build-A-Bear, a Jack-in-the-Box, and a dolly. She got so many wonderful things that there are too many to post. (Not to mention that since Lucy moves at the speed of light it's nearly impossible to catch many pictures of her these days...)

Lucy's One Year Old

2007-08-12T15:18:00.000-07:00

Lucy's birthday party was a day early, so we had to get a few additional pictures of the birthday girl on her actual day! Such a big girl!

First Birthday Party

2007-08-12T15:02:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures from Lucy's first birthday party. Her attack of her cupcake was a little lackluster, but she enjoyed opening her presents and was thrilled with all of her gifts.

Our Dog

2007-06-16T15:07:00.000-07:00

Another picture of "our dog," Lucy crawling around with a pacifier in her mouth--still in the package!

Hiding

2007-06-16T15:02:00.000-07:00

One of Lucy's favorite games is Peek-a-boo. As an extension of this, she also loves hide-and-go-seek. She will sit behind the curtains forever waiting for someone to come and find her. She just kicks her feet and giggles, thrilled with her hiding place. In this picture I managed to catch Lucy and Daddy behind the curtains together.

More Random Pretty Pictures

2007-06-16T14:57:00.000-07:00

Daddy's Little Helper

2007-06-16T14:53:00.000-07:00

Lucy is a very big help. Which is why Daddy is installing safety latches on our cabinets! =) Here is Lucy helping him install them, as well as gracing us with some of her smiles!

More Random Pictures

2007-06-16T14:49:00.000-07:00

These are some more random pictures of Lulu. She is obsessed with the lint roller. Why? That photo also shows off her developing summer tan! =) Why isn't Mommy tanning so nicely? Also, you've gotta' love the pictures of my daughter, the dog. She loves to crawl around with something firmly in her mouth--just like her dog, Daisy. And last, but certainly not least, more sleeping pictures. Yea! She's finally doing more of that sleeping stuff!

Happy Baby

2007-06-16T14:46:00.000-07:00

Whether Lucy is chewing on a toy, watching her doggy out the window, or sharing special reading time with Daddy after work, Lucy remains an extremely happy baby. We are so blessed!

Sassy

2007-06-16T14:44:00.000-07:00

Lucy having a blast in her "Sassy Just Like Mommy" pajamas!

Sleep

2007-06-16T14:42:00.000-07:00

I had to include this picture of Lucy sleeping. Not simply because it is a cute picture but because I never get this kinds of pictures anymore. She's not that sleepy little baby anymore!

The Pink Coat Pictures

2007-06-16T14:40:00.000-07:00

Lucy in her pink coat at a very cooold outdoor graduation party. She had just discovered the deliciousness of Nilla wafers--and that she could fit an entire one in her mouth! No dainty little bites for this princess!

Random Pictures

2007-06-16T14:34:00.000-07:00

This post involves many different random pictures including one with Mommy (which almost never happens), Lucy's first picture as a "cheesehead," one with Aunt "Na-na," Father Rader, and some other fun times and silly pictures.

First Oreo

2007-06-16T14:31:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of a special Smith Family tradition: Eating the first Oreo! Lucy took to them with great relish and no one was a bit surprised considering how many Mommy consumed during Lucy's gestation! =P

"Farm" Girl

2007-06-16T14:27:00.001-07:00

Lucy looked so cute in these hand-me-down overalls (although a lot like a hayseed) that I just had to get some pictures of those Baby Blues!

Sunshine Baby

2007-06-16T14:20:00.000-07:00

Another sunny day outside in May with Mommy, Daddy, and Daisy the dog. Daisy loves to help Lucy explore and "supervises" her exploring. Daddy taught Lucy how to blow dandelion seeds in the backyard--as if we didn't have enough weeds to contend with! =)

Sunglasses Girl

2007-06-06T05:54:00.000-07:00

Lulu loves sunglasses. If you put them on her she will "put" them on you--but then it's her turn again! Since this picture was taken we have purchased her a little pink pair of her own. Now I don't have to worry about mine being broken!

Pretty Pink Boots

2007-06-06T05:49:00.000-07:00

Here Lucy is showing off here "pretty pink boots." These boots are actually to go with a fun Fall outfit that I have for her, but Lucy has been so curious about these boots that I finally put them on. Although she was initially a little unsure of how they felt on, she warmed up to them quite quickly. Now she keeps going into her room to find them and tries to put them on her feet. She laughs whenever she sees them! That's my Princess Cowgirl! =)

The Cleaning Bug

2007-06-06T05:45:00.000-07:00

Lucy has the "cleaning bug." I am hoping that she keeps it up as she grows up! (Particularly in those teenage years!) Lucy is very good at putting things away where they belong. Lucy also uses nearly anything cloth, and even some paper items, to "clean" the surfaces in my house. The other day I found her cleaning the floor with her dolly! Here she is cleaning the front of my stove with a pot holder.

Mother's Day--The Sane Portion

2007-06-05T14:56:00.001-07:00

Here are Lucy and I a bit more cleaned up than in the prior photos. Happy Mother's Day!

Mother's Day Breakfast

2007-06-05T14:50:00.000-07:00

Justin was away this year for Mother's Day, but Lucy endeavored to make it a special and memorable first Mother's Day for me. She started out by making me breakfast. =) She made Kix A La Floor. It was spectacular, as you can see by the photos! She and Daisy were even kind enough to clean up afterwards. Lucy flung the cereal as far as she could, and Daisy frantically ran around gobbling up the offerings.

More Flower Fun

2007-06-05T14:47:00.000-07:00

Her is Lucy having more flower fun in our backyard! Mommy just snapping up the photo ops!

Great Grandma Time

2007-06-05T14:45:00.000-07:00

Lucy, Mommy, and Daddy are lucky enough to have Great Grandma living nearby. They got to do "Grammy sitting" duties for a weekend and went to stay with her. Here are Lucy and her Great Grandma sharing an early morning pj snuggle.

Standing Sweetheart

2007-06-05T14:41:00.000-07:00

Lucy seldom plays sitting down (or still) these days. That would be too tame for our little standing sweetie! Here she is in another sweet summer outfit, showing off her standing skills. (But notice she's not showing off a tan? =P Poor thing has Mommy and Daddy's coloring, for sure!)

Pool Time

2007-06-05T14:37:00.000-07:00

Here is Lucy's first pool time. She loves the water, but really wants to be able to stand in it, much to mommy's consternation. Lucy therefore spends a lot of time standing outside the pool playing "potsy-potsy" with the water on the inside. =) She loves the water, though!

Lucy's Drawer

2007-06-05T14:35:00.001-07:00

Want to know where all of the "good stuff" in our house is hiding? Just ask Lucy! She loves to check out the contents of boxes, drawers, cabinets, closets, showers (watch out!), basically anything that can be opened and closed. Since this pitcure we have finally gotten safety latches on many of our cabinets, but at this time our kitchen was still "free range!" This is Lucy in her drawer--the one that is actually mommy approved!

Sunshine Explorations

2007-06-05T14:31:00.000-07:00

This was one of the first really warm days of Spring. I couldn't wait to put Lucy in this outfit and take her into the sunshine! Lucy loves being outside and she loves flowers, even fake ones! So take her outside and let her check out some flowers? She's thrilled!

Dutch Smiles

2007-06-05T14:27:00.000-07:00

I call these photos "Dutch Smiles" because the outfit Lucy was wearing has windmills and wooden shoes on the smocking. Isn't she cute? I love after-nap pictures. They're always sooo happy!

Just Another Sunday

2007-06-05T13:58:00.000-07:00

Just another Sunday dress that Mommy and Daddy had to have a picture of! This was also during Lucy's "key" phase. She was obsessed with keys for awhile. She has, thankfully, grown out of this stage!

The Toilet Paper Bandit

2007-06-05T13:49:00.000-07:00

Ahhh...Here we go. Another marathon Blog update. I keep saying, "my blog is a perfect way to keep people updated with pictures of Lucy and our life!" And yet I only update it once every month and a half! *Sigh* I am hoping that since I will only be working a few hours this summer that I can keep you all updated a bit more frequently. I'll do my best at least!

Here's the beginning of the catch up session, though. This one is about the "toilet paper bandit." About a month and a half ago Lucy made the miraculous discover of "fun on a roll." Perhaps you are more familiar with this item under it's other name: toilet paper. To my daughter, however, it fondly remains "fun on a roll."

Easter Fun

2007-04-10T15:34:00.000-07:00

Christ is Risen, Alleluia!

We wanted to share our Easter joy with you. Our cute little "somebunny" had fun with her first Easter basket and looked so pretty in her Easter finery. She looked just as cute in her comfy play outfit that proclaimed "You Crack Me Up!" with a just hatched chick on the front. We all had a lot of fun with the holiday. We hope that you did, too!

Now We're Caught Up!

2007-03-30T15:40:00.000-07:00

Lucy fell asleep sucking on the doughy end of a piece of pizza. It was pretty funny because she was very into the pizza and then her eyes got heavy and she was gone with pizza still in her mouth!

Whew! The 9th post of the day, but I had to get you all caught up on her pictures! I hope you've enjoyed them because we sure had fun taking them! Love to all!

Fun Times

2007-03-30T15:34:00.000-07:00

Lots and lots of fun times.
I thought that you might enjoy seeing some of her different fun activities! Outside, inside, with the Puppy, with Daddy, proud smiles...this post has it all! =)

Pretty Sundays...

2007-03-30T15:31:00.000-07:00

Little Miss Lucy had on this pretty dress for Church on Sunday. She was pretty tired by the time we came home but still made a pretty picture sleeping...

Little Ladybug

2007-03-30T15:27:00.000-07:00

Perhaps one of my favorite of Lucy's outfits, her "lil' ladybug" outfit. She was as sweet as this outfit last weekend and we had a blast. As you can see from the first picture she even had fun trying on Daddy's baseball cap!

Lucy Discovers the Outdoors

2007-03-30T15:23:00.000-07:00

Lucy has finally gotten to start enjoying the out-of-doors. For your enjoyment: her first time playing on the deck with Mommy, playing by the deck, and her first touch of grass!

T-R-O-U-B-L-E spells Lucy

2007-03-30T15:17:00.000-07:00

Here she is in action--getting into trouble and finding her favorite "mommy things" to play with. The objective? My measuring tape!

Proud Little Lucy

2007-03-30T15:12:00.000-07:00

Lucy is so proud of her ability to pull herself up on everything, cruise, and climb. Here she is showing off her sweet, proud smile in her crib.

Fun at the Park

2007-03-30T15:04:00.000-07:00

Lucy has gotten to enjoy the park several times now since we've had an unusually early spring here in SD. She loves the swings, kicking her legs constantly and giggling as she's swinging through the air. She also thinks that the slide is a blast, although she prefers to go do "by herself" rather than in someone's lap! Enjoy!

Silly Hats

2007-03-30T14:58:00.000-07:00

There's nothing quite like a silly hat to make a day seem brighter!

Snow Storm Fun

2007-03-04T20:45:00.000-08:00

We were stuck inside for a few days during a supposed "blizzard." The weather was, indeed, bad, although perhaps not as severe as everyone was envisioning. However, Daddy got to be home from work, so we had fun! You'll see Lulu trying on another summer dress (over her pajamas), drinking water from Daddy's glass (she loooves this), and playing with toys in her comfy clothes (okay, pj's). If you look verrry closely you might even see a tooth. Enjoy! I know we did!

Spring Is Coming

2007-03-03T19:55:00.000-08:00

As I sat at home after one too many days of cold weather and endless drifts of snow, I started to feel itchy for sunny weather; depressed by too many wool sweaters and layers of warmth. So to cheer myself up, I decided to try one of Lucy's summer outits on her and take pictures. I hope these pictures will cheer you, as well, with their promise of warmth, sunshine, and many out of doors walks!

Happy St. Valentine's Day!!!

2007-02-14T19:34:00.000-08:00

Hello All! Happy Valentine's Day! Lucy's outift number one for Valentine's Day advised you to "hug her." Don't you wish that you could?

Here are Lucy and Mommy when Lucy was in outfit number two. =) The first one fell prey to a poopy diaper!

Sweet Stinker!

Smiles By Wire Link

2007-02-07T18:42:00.000-08:00

Happy Wednesday All!

I wanted to post this link where it would be easily accessible to all! These are some of Lucy's 6 months photos that I had taken at JC Penney's. The clarity of the web photos is poor, but you get the idea! She hammed it up a bit, but refused to really smile for any of them. Not that I blame her since she was running a fever...poor thing! She was greatly amused by the silk flower, though!

To get started, click below and enter your Customer Name (Molly Smith)

Lucy Pictures-Smiles By Wire

Life Should Be Curious, Fearless...And Creative

2007-02-05T19:49:00.000-08:00

As I watch my daughter become acquainted with the world around her each day, I am reminded of how much there truly is to discover in our world. It is so amazing to watch her become her own person, full of enthusiasm that refuses to be dampened! While it is certainly true that we do lose the "wonder" of childhood, I think that it is far more dehibilitating that we lose our curiousity, creativity, and courage. Upon this epiphany I realized that there is much God wants to teach me through my daughter; I need but to listen.

These thoughts came to me in meditation recently as I have been contemplating some career pursuits that would require me to "go out on a limb" of sorts. Some of these pursuits would put me at risk for failure in some measure. I find myself realizing just how unwilling I am to face that possibility. Then I contrast myself with my pure, innocent, trusting daughter. Lucy never considers failure; she does not even recognize failure as an option. Lucy keeps trying until she obtains her goal; until her failure becomes success. Once success is acheived, does anyone even remember the "failures" along the way? Then what is there to be afraid of? I need to learn from her courage. The only thing lost if I do not try is what could have been...success.

Lucy can play with the same small toy over and over again, all day long, and yet she still thinks up new and (apparently) fascinating things to do with it. Just this morning she decided that she will now play with her Drop N' Roar Dinosauer with her feet. (Above) She had a grand time moving the different parts about with her toes, watching the activity from a reclining position while chewing on a teething toy. Now I'm not positing the need to start using our feet for completing tasks (although a very entertaining way to kill some time), but rather that sometimes life will only provide different answers with a little creativity! In short, sometimes ya gotta look at things from a different angle! The same location and position usually provides the same view...all of the time. I need to color outside the lines, or at least redefine where the lines are. I need to learn from her creativity.

I think that we all wish we spent more time indulging our curiousity in good pursuits. It's important to learn a new skill, figure out what makes people tick, attempt something a little bit outrageous. We need to feed our curiousity to avoid becoming stagnant. It is truly this static existence that robs us of the joy life has to offer. I need to imitate Lucy's curiousity.

Of course, I don't plan to start putting every item that passes through my hands into my mouth, or touching people faces, pulling their hair, licking their watches, or scratching every possible surface with my nails. I'll leave those methods of exploration to Lucy! However, Lucy is God's little reminder to me to live life! Be courageous! Take chances! Use your intelligence and skills! Don't be afraid of what you can do! She is God's reminder to me that the same way He is watching over her in her living life fully and with confidence, He is also watching over me.

2007-01-28T18:10:00.000-08:00

I'm finally doing it! I'm starting to use my blog again. This will be where I will post pictures, updates, and general ranting and raving about everyday life. I look forward to sharing with all of you!

Money, money, money...

2005-10-13T08:13:00.000-07:00

With gas prices fluctuating up and down these days, money, or at least the cost of things, has been weighing heavily on everybody's minds. (Or maybe it's just poor law students???) =) However, while I was busy being concerned about how the increasing price of gas and foods was affecting my carefully planned budget, another hideous price caught my attention: the price of medical care. May I just say, "Eeeeeeek!"

Now, if you're like I was up until a couple months ago, you probably are blessed enough to be covered by insurance. If you've been that way for some time, then you might not even actually know how much the fees are at your doctor's office. I know that I seldom paid attention to the cost of office visits; I only had to pay a $20 co-pay, so I really didn't give it two thoughts. However, I recently was moving out of state, so I wasn't working and wasn't covered by insurance. Fortunately/Unfortunately, God saw fit to make that window of opportunity the time for Justin and I to conceive our first child, and then, sadly, also lose that child through miscarriage. We ended up in the Emergency Room because sometimes cost can't be an object when health is on the line. Yikes! We only had an Ultrasound and bloodwork done, never actually saw a doctor (he just looked at my chart) and still was hit with a bill from the doctor for $335.00 and an additional one from the hospital for $1500.00. Ouch!

Now, at the time I just shrugged this off as the price to pay for emergency care. The next day, I tried to make the prescribed follow-up visit with a doctor. The doctor wanted $300.00 for me to walk in the door, and any tests were additional. Also, he refused to take me until I could show proof of insurance. What?!? I have since found that this is the "norm" in the area in which I live. I am horrified to think about all of the people who don't have insurance. What do they do? I know what I ended up doing to ensure that I got good care: I flew home to South Dakota. The cost of my ticket home $335.00 and the cost of a visit to an OB/GYN $164.00 still did not total what they wanted here even if they would have agreed to see me! (and I got to see my family) Praise God for simple SD!!!

The question that this begs, in my mind, is what is healthcare heading towards? Are we going to end up in a situation where, without insurance, you cannot be seen except by an institution that participates in a sliding scale, such as Planned Parenthood/State run clinics? Are we looking towards a situation where only the insured or very rich can get "the best" medical care? Are we forcing the poor to want a national healthcare system, such as in Canada? It seems as if doctors are forcing the people's hand in one undesirable direction, or another. We need to ask these doctors why they became doctors. Was it to help people? Or only to make money?

I'm thankfully counting the days until I will be insured again: 4 days to go. But, it made me so very conscious of what a decent little chunk of America has to go through every day. The farmers in SD are very lucky that they still can recieve great medical care, even if they're not insured; other parts of the country aren't so lucky. What are we going to do about it?

Celebrating the Little Things...

2005-10-02T19:23:00.000-07:00

I felt the need to be deep today. No, not deep enough to ponder the Creation of the world, or the Meaning of man's existence, but just deep enough to think about the things that I need to change about my life. Just deep enough to think about who I am and where I'm going. I began to think about the blessings in my life; I have so much to be thankful for! I spend far too much time evaluating my life by all of the big things that go wrong in my life. I could fill more than one blog with complaints; there is no need to question that. But I started to think about how I no longer celebrate the little things in life. These are the things that really make life feel worth living: The sun shining on my face, the wind whispering through my hair, the rain clattering on the windowsill. The marshmallow s'mores over a fire, running in the early morning, when everything is fresh and new, catching snowflakes on your tongue, and building snowmen. These are some of the little things in life.

I am not sure when we lose this beautiful and child-like ability to find joy in the drippy ice-cream cones of the world. We no longer know how to live in the moment! When we were young we were so thrilled by an ice cream cone! We enjoyed being allowed such a treat, and enjoyed them to the max! We were not even concious that it was dripping on our pants, nor did we care. We just sat back, relaxed, and enjoyed that ice cream cone. Now that we are grown we might still enjoy the ice cream cone, but we are more concious of the dripping (these slacks are dry clean only!) or the price (they want HOW much for an ice cream cone?). Now we have lost the ability to just enjoy the ice cream cone as such, and be thankful for such a sweet "little thing" in life. For me, as a child, it was always Dairy Queen's Oreo Blizzard. Now, they don't have these sweet little babies where I live and quite frankly, I miss them! The last time I ate one I probably obsessed over the price and over how many calories I was adding to my hips. It's very rare to be able to just chuck all of your responsibilities in a corner and enjoy those little things.

Today I longed for a Blizzard. If I'd had one I wouldn't have cared for once about it's impact on my hips; I would have just enjoyed. I'm reminded of a saying that I really love, but had forgotten to live: "The good stuff is in the details." This introspection complete, I was led to think about all of my complaints that are so petty when weighed against their alternatives in life; it made me feel more thankful about the more humdrum aspects of life. I'm thankful that I have dishes to eat off of, even if I do have to wash them all by hand. I'm thankful that I have a bathroom to get ready in every morning, even if I have to constantly clean it. I'm thankful for my dog, even though she "talks" a lot and drives my husband crazy. I'm thankful for my husband, even if I have to clean up after him all the time (I'm very thankful that he was able to break me out of the bathroom when I got "trapped" in it--thank you, sweetie.). I'm thankful for the roof over my head and the bills that pour in every month, even though I have to work hard to pay for them; I still can. I'm thankful that I can fall asleep every night with a soft pillow under my head, and a prayer in my heart. Thank You, Lord.

Oh, and the next time you have an ice cream cone, just enjoy.

2005-09-30T13:45:00.000-07:00

Justin and Molly

In the beginning...

2005-09-30T13:03:00.000-07:00

In the beginning there was a man and a dog--and a job and dirty dishes and stuff, but that's beside the point. That man and that dog were the beginning of my little family. That man's name is Justin, and that dog's name is Daisy. I realized that my life essentially revolves around them at this time, so I thought the title for this blog to be rather apt. (At least, I prefer to think that my life does not revolve around my Hermit Crabs or the dirty dishes. What a sad, pathetic little life... Who am I kidding?!? I am writing down my life on a Blog!) Anyways, that's the beginning. So now I have a man, a dog, and a blog. Life is good.