Just Some Pics

I love finding pictures I didn't know I had. These are just a few images floating around that I love. I hope that you enjoy them too.
Ryan built a simple sand box for the kids this summer. The kids LOVE it and so do the parents!

Literature

So I have been thinking about the stuff that I read. I like almost every genre and I am willing to read nearly anything HOWEVER I have noticed recently that I haven't read anything that is very happy. I mean there are happy parts to many books I have read but then again maybe art is once again mimicking life. Isn't life made up of snapshots of happiness mixed in with a great deal of enduring?
Is it an unreasonable expectation for me to want to read something light? Have a good chuckle? Some light things can be superficial and you know what that is ok. So I will list some of the happier/lighter things that I have read. Feel free to include suggestions.

1. Much ado About Nothing by: William Shakespeare ( I love the satire and confusion of this play. It is hilarious to see how some things never change even after 500years.)
2. The Importance of Being Ernest by: Oscar Wilde (Another play that is full of satire and wit. It is also a fairly decent movie.)
3. Pippi Longstockingg by: Astrid Lindrgen (Great story that show that our adult inhibitions are what often puts a damper on how life really should be. Oh how I'd love to be Pippi for a day.)
4. The Little Prince(Le Petit Prince) by: Antoine de Saint-Exupery ( This book again uses the perspective of a child to find joy in the small things. Although there are some SAD parts overall this is a life changing book and is even better when read in the original French. I found great symbolism in this book too.
5. Charlotte's Web by: E.B. White (You be the judge: happy or sad? I am conflicted about this one. I love this book but where does it fall. I lean more on the realistic rather than happy or sad. Happy for Wilbur, sad for Charlotte? Sad for Wilbur too? )
6. Tuesdays With Morrie by: Mitch Albom (Ultimately sad but what great perspective.)
7. The Last Lecture by: Randy Pausch ( Knowing that the author is now deceased this one again leaves me feeling like this is reality at its best. What a great message and overall I felt that it was worth my time and I felt good after reading it.


Feel free to suggest some books that I may enjoy that will lighten my mood. (FYI- I started Three Cups of Tea but the writing style was not that great and made it difficult for me to plow through. Plus I didn't find it that happy; inspirational yes. Happy I don't know.)

Just keep Swimming

I'd like to thank everyone who left a comment about my last post. I was doing a bit of emotional vomiting. It's all good now and mostly because of your gracious comments.
Thanks y'all.

Why bother?

So I often try to do more than I can or I should and often on behalf of my family. SO why bother?
Why do I talk to my siblings on the phone A TON? Why do I spend hours searching out my ancestors? Why do I keep journals for each of my kids? Why do I write letters to my husband? Why do I exhaust myself to make meals that kids don't eat? Why do I sew Halloween costumes? Why do I encourage health and education? Why do I even get out of bed?

Well here is why...because I have a firm belief that when you love people you give them your best even when they don't want it. You make the meals, clean the clothes, listen to the whining, advise, counsel and get NO pay and lose copious amounts of sleep in the hope that one day someone; anyone, will listen to you and realize that you do love them. And maybe if you are super lucky...maybe they will ALL listen!?! Not all at once and never all at the same time but cumulatively maybe it will happen.

Am I delusional? Possibly, but I have to hold to some kind of faith that my work does matter. That my lowly opinion has some importance- is this possible? That all of this is worth the sleepless nights, migraines, backaches, and the many more to come. This is what gets me through the weeks without a spouse. The days with cranky kids. And the months of worry about siblings.

So that is why I bother, because when I love people I don't hold back and I will give my all until there is nothing else to give. Not the smartest practice BUT more often than not that love is reciprocated and I am better because of it.

Spouses needed...or at least DATES

John, 28

David, 24

Jeane, 26,



Do you see these three AWESOME individuals??? Huh, do ya? Ok then these are three of my four available siblings and I would like some neices and nephews. Or at least some sibling-in-laws. (I mean seriously can you even just go on a date with them???)

So world I am sending this out there. I admire these three people SOOO much and I know that there must be 2 girls and a guy that would appreciate them even more than I do. These three are absolutely amazing. John & Jeane have master's degrees and David is pursuing that too. (They are way smarter than me.)

John is a deep thinker and is fiercly devoted to his friends and family.(FYI can cook like any great German and yet speaks spanish fluently.)

David is fun and makes everyone smile. He loves his family and is full of surprises.(Yes he has curly hair and speaks swedish.)

Jeane is AMAZING!!! She loves books even more than me and is a great aunt/mom to my kids. She knows how to handle a gun- but doesn't own one....yet. She is a huge Bare Naked Ladies fan and a devoted convert of Michael Buble-my bad influence!

So there you have it people.... I want the resumes to POUR in! Forward this post to all of your single friends and siblings. LEts get these kids married.

Homemade for Christmas...

OK so I have four children and 2 nieces and 4 nephews, 4 in-law siblings and 2 in-law parents who will all be HERE- well at the in-law parents'- for Christmas. (I also have my parents and 4 siblings but they are easy.)
To the point...I want to MAKE-yes I am insane- the Christmas gifts this year. With a VERY tight budget this seems best. I already have most of the girls either planned or made. (YAY!) However that leaves me SEVEN boys to plan and follow through with. So any ideas? I am already planning on wooden blocks, anything else??? What about Rubber-band guns?
Bean bags?
I-Spy bags?

What about the adults? Any ideas? Pot holders? Sachets? I dunno?
If you have any ideas and know where I can find instructions let me know.

Thanks in advance.

NOBEL PRIZE a joke

OK I am a bit ticked off -again- at the Nobel Peace prize committee. First off Pres. Obama won the peace prize today. Don't get me wrong, I don't think he is a bad man BUT he hasn't even been president a year yet and if Saturday Night Live is saying he has only accomplished "diddly" and "squat" then WHY did he get this peace prize? Is making promises the way that one gets this accolade? I mean seriously if that is all then I promise if I ever become a billionaire I will end worls hunger!!!

This is not the first time that I have been ticked at the committee. When Al Gore won he beat out a woman (Irena Sendler) who smuggled jewish children out of the ghettos in suitcases.

So here I say OPRAH has done more for peace then the current president and I hope that he lives up to this honor.

Just FYI here are some of the past winners:
http://nobelprizes.com/nobel/peace/peace.html

By the way Ghandi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. NEVER won the prize.

Edited on 10/14: Ok so I still don't think thatPres. Obama had earned this prize YET however he was very humble about the situation. Hopefully Norway will get it one day...or not. Whatever!

BOOKS, books, books

Ok so I am a bookaholic. If my house burned down I would lay in the fetal position for months mourning the loss of decades of books- both purchased and inherited. So in honor of the love of books I wanted you to all know about this AWESOME website.
www.paperbackswap.com
On this site you swap books(paperback, Hard back & audio) with other members and all you have to pay is media mail rate (abt. $3). I love it already and found a new way to unload duplicates and books I will probably NEVER read again. Maybe this new found site came at the perfect time. After helping my grandmother move TONS of books I just concluded that it is past time to downsize.
So here is to a book swap. (By the way they do DVDs and CDs too)

Family Pics

So taking family pictures is something that I would really love to do more often but it never quite works out. You get everyone dressed and something seems to always go awry. Since we have a photographer in the fam and I'd rather not pay a fortune to get my pictures done we torture ourselves and do the whole timer thing and then someone moves or talks or looks at the stupid goose on the grass or picks there nose yada yada yada... BUT despite all the junk that we endured yesterday we got some cute ones and it is amazing how fast these kids are growing up.

I hope that you enjoy these because we did, even if it wasn't perfect it was fun.


Look at our little peanut all grown up. (Last in diapers YAY!)


Lady killer- not that girls even exist unless they have an interesting observation.


Those eyes spell lots of trouble in about 10 (or 2) years. What a beauty!


Hello my name is danger and I like to eat rocks with my face!


Thing 2 and Thing 1...they like each other- sometimes.


Sundance, Butch, Bonnie and Clyde. They only look innocent!



Ten years of marriage, eleven years together and a ton left to go.

Labor Day

So for the past 3 years we have gone with some of our friends camping near Leadville, CO. It is great! It is so nice to have the kids out in nature and playing with people you trust to look after and discipline your kids if need be. I LOVE IT! Not to mention we get to have church out in the woods. I am so grateful for these opportunities.
Here are just a few pictures. Again my kids think that going to the beach means a glacial lake in the mountains- oh well.

Actually finished something

SO... you know how you always have good intentions about crafty stuff but then it usually sits for months if not years before it gets finished. WELL... I actually finished something and on time too.
So a few months ago I was with my partner in crime- my sister Jeane- at JoAnn fabric store and I decided hey I think I should make my new niece to be a baby quilt. This is quite the feat considering I have about four quilts already in the works and none are done yet. DOH!
BUT with the impending delivery I had a definite deadline. So today before the newest Norris arrived I finished the binding and popped it in the mail. ( I think she was waiting for me to finish before she finally arrived.)
So here is the finished product for Camilla Sue (by the way her brother is Spencer)...I hope she likes it but I know that I think it turned out pretty darn good.

30 is AWESOME

The Big day was bound to be great due to the fact that on Wednesday I got a surprise visit from my old roommate Angie. I've known Angie since June 1997 so longer than I've know Ryan and it was great to see her and her family.
So on the big day last Thursday (Aug 27th) two of my dear friends took me to work out and swim with them before Ryan wisked me away on a trip to remember. With the help of my super sister and some awesome friends the kids were taken care of so the cares of everyday life were gone.
First we stopped for dinner in Fairplay, CO. We found this amazing little Italian place tucked away where no one would find it without stopping to ask for directions. The meal was super yummy and then we were off to our final destination, Buena Vista, CO.
The drive from our home through Fairplay to Buena Vista was beautiful. (I realized that there is so much of Colorado I have yet to see.)

As we got closer to our lodging we had an adventure trying to find this 100 year old cabin but we were finally successful. Thankfully it wasn't too late because we had an early morning.
So on Friday Ryan had a day packed with activities to check off the old "bucket list". Activity number one- RIVER RAFTING! I have never rafted before and I thought why not. As per instructions from my mom I wore a helmet but the water was low so not too much danger but tons of fun! Our guide was great and it certainly was a work out! I will definitely raft again and hopefully with the kids in tow at least once.
After rafting we ventured into town for a lite lunch and then back to the cabin to change for the next activity...Sunset Horseback ride. I love horses and there is nothing like seeing the world from the back of a horse. It was relaxing and enjoyable to watch dusk approach over the mountains. It was also great to have a shorter horse- only 15 hands- that made the dismount much easier.


After 2 hours on horseback we decided dinner was in order. So more yummy food and then onto the Mt. Princeton Hot Springs. This was a great way to end the day because although we weren't sore while riding after was an entirely dfferent story. Man was the Hot Springs relaxing. God's hot tub I like to call it. 104 degree water in one pool 90 degree water in another pool and then smaller natural pools right beside the creek to help you appreciate the need for both hot and cold water.

After another good night's rest and much needed after a jam packed day we went for a morning haike to Agnes Veil Falls. Only about half a mile and totally worth the burning muscles.


It was a great way to start our morning before we went to the local antique stores and then drove up to Leadville.
As the day wore on I was ready to see the kids again and relieve my sister and my in-laws. By about 6pm we were nearing home and I was grateful to have had this time alone with my super awesome husband. To be able to share our thoughts uninterrupted and to talk about what is most important to us and our family was a great end to our weekend away...Or so I thought.

When we got to our house to see my sister she was all mysterious and said that she had really cleaned the house and that I had to keep my eyes closed so that I could be surprised. When I opened them I was more than surprised I was shocked. Standing in my kitchen were some of our closest friends and MY MOM. Ryan had planned a surprise party for me! And my mom had flown over to help Jeane with the kids and to be here for my 30th birthday. It was the perfect ending to a perfect weekend...well up until all the kids and I got strep. Oh well there really is opposition in all things! Still a little bacteria won't ruin my birthday. Just means I get to be lazy a little longer and be justified;)

So 30 is great and I can't wait for 31 and beyond!

3 Days to Go

Yep only thre days left before the big 3-0 ! I am actually excited! Ryan has a getaway planned for us and I am so stoked. This will be our first time away for a few days without kids since the number one kiddo came along. I only have a vague idea where we are going- somewhere only 3 hours away where we can go rafting. Who knows but I am so proud that Ryan has been able to keep the secret this long.
Thankfully I have a super duper sister and friends who are going to help me get the kids taken care of.
Weird to think that this will be the eleventh birthday that Ryan and I have spent together, I can't wait for more to come.
I think my 30's will be great. Not problem free but just full of possibility and being able to say we aren't having more bambinos makes the 30's seem that much more bright. No months on end where I am no good to anyone. Hopefully my plan to spend the thirties recovering from the 20's will work out too. To be healthier at 35 and 40 than I am right now will be a dream come true.
So here's to me. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I made it and I am still semi-sane....I think :)

If I had a Thousand dollars....

So what would you do with $1000? Maybe buy something you've been waiting for? Maybe take a trip? Pay off some debt?
Well let me tell you what I did with a thousand dollars...and in just one week. EXCITED? Oh I bet you are...anticipation just killing you?
Wait for it....
In one week I spent nearly $1000 on car repairs that HAD to be done. Fun, huh? Bet ya never thought about that huh- well maybe ya did. And the best part of it all was that I do not have said $1000 to spend on such things. So I guess that new breaks were my 30th birthday present a month early. (Thanks Mom & Dad)

So here's to hoping that I don't have to spend that much money in a week for a while- oh wait the mortgage is due next week. So much for that idea. DANG!

Most Poignant Movie EVER!

So I watched The Boy In the Striped Pajamas just now and it was...sad, poignant, disturbing,tragic. I don't know how to describe it.
I have always been a bit of a WWII junkie. I want to understand how it happened, how people were deceived, what led to the people of the world turning a blind eye, etc. Maybe I just want to be able to see it coming next time- if you think there won't be a next time read some history.
Anyway this movie makes me want to read the book and prayerfully consider when I want to expose my children to this part of history. I know that in the next two years Michael will be learning about WWII but I need to be able to let him know the truth without scarring him for life. Maybe I will watch this with him when he is 12 or so.

Maybe the movie upset me so much because I know it could have happened AND more because I have an eight year old (the age of the characters in the movie). I'm not saying that I didn't like the movie BUT I am not sure you should like it. It gave me pause and it made me think and if you really want to know the details of the film they are on the internet.

Summer Fun with PICS

So we have done some fun stuff this summer and now I will show the pics to prove it.

First was a wonderful ballet recital for the princess.



Baseball anyone?

Family fishing...boy were they yummy!

We went to a pay pond near Fairplay Colorado with Grandma and Grandpa Norris. It was fun and even the little guys had a good time even PEANUT. He found a nice little hole full of water to play in and became adequately soaked and so happy. Ah the joys of childhood!



We even got to the cabin for the first time in THREE years. It was hard to believe that neither James or Will had been to the cabin before. It was great- except the mosquitoes who tried to carry us off.
I wouldn't mind having a life that simple again- oh wait I never have had a life that simple. Oh well these glimpses are great!
I mean who wouldn't want to see this everyday. Just looking at these pictures is relaxing- boy do I need to do that!



We got to see real life pelicans floating down the green river:



We Hiked...well until it started to pour...and hail.



And we roughed it when bathing boys.




There was even some swimming in a glacial lake. BRRR! Poor kids they think that this is what the beach is always like :( Oh well one day they'll learn the joys of a WARM beach. Maybe?

Oh Hail!

So I took the kids out today and while we were out our weekly plauge struck the POOR garden. Now we all know why Parker wasn't settled earlier. DANG!

This just makes me mad because if I wouldn't have weeded the weeds would have gotten the brunt of everything and my back would still be functional. STINK!

Pray that our food survives this stinky weather. Can't I have rain without HAIL?

What if...?

I've been reconnecting with alot of people from my childhood and my past and I realized something. I don't think that I am who I once was. I mean maybe it's because life changes a person or because difficult-and sometimes BAD- situations occur and you can't be who you once were. ( Does this make sense?)

I guess that I wonder how close I'd be to those I grew up with if I lived nearer to them.

I left home over 12 years ago. I've been married for nearly ten years and so much changes a person. I find that I am much more introverted than I was as a teenager and young adult. I find myself slightly cloistered with not too many really close friends and I wonder when did this happen or was I just kidding myself all along.

There was a time that I could talk to anyone, anywhere and now I barely ever put myself out there. I once could tell anyone about the faith that I so strongly have but now not so much. I once could stick up for myself in any situation and now I only stand up for myself if it's a medical situation or for my spouse and kids.

What changed?

I think that I am an extrovert trapped in an introvert right now. I so badly want to get out there and go to it BUT with all that is going on I don't have the energy to be all things to all people when I am barely ME.

I wonder if anyone else ever considers these things??? I want to be the best of then and now. I want to have the wisdom that I have gained with the exuberance of those years. Maybe it is hard to put myself out there with those outside of my belief structure because I am looked at as the baby- I am the youngest mom at school and the youngest person on our block. And let me tell you that as an oldest child this is annoying! I have more to offer than I get credit for and even with all of my faults I know stuff and I am willing to learn. Anyway that's enough wandering through my cobweb ridden mind.

Just think about it though. What if...?

Imobile

So it has happened again. The effects of carrying 4 children has once again bit me in the butt- literally. My sacroilliac joint dysfunction(SJD) has flared up and Ryan is in Alaska until early NEXT Sunday morning- STINK!
(For those of you who don't know what SJD is it is a condition where the ligaments...never mind just go here if you really want to know http://www.spineuniverse.com/videos/sacroiliac-joint/ )

So anyway because of this lovely flare up I walk like an eighty year old and I even have my cane- cool as it may be- to help me along. It really stinks. Sleeping is nearly impossible, sitting isn't comfortable, and standing is ok as long as I don't have to bend. Without Michael and Christi everything would be in complete turmoil. They get the boys out of the cribs they help me lift them in their cribs. They fetch my cane and pick up things I can't. They are super awesome.

I think that this is God's way of saying hey stupid I told you to BE STILL! Well here's my humility. Dang! Who thought child bearing would cause my warranty to expire. I mean I'm not thirty for a whole month and a half and my warranty is blown. But then again it was blown three years ago so whateva!

When it rains...

I swear can't stuff stay static for a while. I mean today the mower broke, when we just got it tuned boy are they gonna get an earful from me! NOt to mention we are trying to beg the employer to keep us from chapter 11. Plus we have to get a new roof and oh who knows what else is gonna happen before the end of the week. NOt a good start to July huh?

SERIOUSLY.... I loved going to Ryan's family cabin BUT the only problem is that we have to come home. We can't stay in awe of the beautiful creatures and scenery God hid in remote parts of Wyoming-can we? It was great to watch the kids fish and play games and read and hike in the rain and try to jump in with the fish and swim in a glacial lake not knowing that beaches shouldn't feel like they are 50 degrees-brr!

I could turn around and go back if money wasn't so necessary. STINK! Anyway we had fun and I will put up pictures soon. I hope.