Joanne Heim

Still no baby...

My sister's baby still isn't here. She walked around Home Depot twice today, doing deep lunges (which I'm sure looked kind of funny!); took a walk around her neighborhood; and did a bunch of grand plies while we cleared the dinner table.

When she showed up at 4:30 this afternoon for dinner tonight, we figured my guess of 4:37 p.m. today wouldn't be the winning guess. I suppose there could be someone out there who's had a seven-minute labor, but I doubt it!

Poor Kristen...she definitely looks ready to pop!

I woke up this morning...

...and thought the light seemed different. It was orange-y and too bright for 5:30 a.m. I walked downstairs and realized it was because there were almost eight inches of snow on the back deck. Yesterday, two of my tulips bloomed; today they're under snow. It snowed all day long.

I've done my best not to complain about it, but I think in talking about not complaining throughout the day, I've actually complained quite a bit. Shoot. I'd resolved not to complain about the snow any more.

I do have to say that the snowflakes today were some of the most beautiful I've seen. Each one was large and distinct--fairy tale snowflakes, I think. Perfect and shiny and small and so incredibly intricate. Sometimes the snowflakes are really hard to see individually--today was not one of those days.

So, thank you God for beautiful snowflakes!

P.S. Spring break begins tomorrow; Toben comes home from California tonight. No alarm clock in the morning. Hooray!

Parting words

I've been reading Roller Skates by Ruth Sawyer, which won the Newbery Medal in 1937. Once I finish it I'll write more about it over on The Newbery Project.

The illustrations in the book are wonderful, as you can see.

But I came across something while reading it the other day that totally reminded me of my mother. Lucinda's mother is leaving on an extended trip and this is how the scene is described:

Lucinda's mother flung after them the advice she thought was most important: "Don't forget Sundays--church or Sunday School--I don't care which you choose. Be mama's good little girl and try not to have tantrums. Write often in your diary, Oh, yes, and don't forget to put on your underdrawers by the last of October."

It made me smile, because for my whole life, my mother has said the same thing to me when leaving the house: "Be sweet and remember your manners." And if I was going to be gone overnight, the advice became, "Be sweet and remember your manners. And don't forget to put on clean underwear!"

I realize I don't have something that I say to the girls when they leave the house. If they're going to school, I usually tell them that I love them and to have a great day, but I'm thinking I may need to start carrying on mom's tradition. And I think "Be sweet and remember your manners" is pretty good advice.

16 feet under my table...

I'd invited Mom and Dad over for dinner tonight. Audrey requested asparagus, Emma wanted steak, and since Toben's gone I thought we should have others over to share such a yummy meal. Then Kristen and Ava rang the doorbell at 4:30, saying they'd decided to come for dinner too (she even brought her own steak since she came uninvited!), and Wade was able to come after work too. (Kristen left him a message on the way here: "Joanne doesn't know it, but we're going to her house for dinner. Meet us there.")

Kristen is very pregnant and due on Sunday. But she'd rather have the baby be born on Friday so we all put it on our calendars and blocked the day off! In the meantime, we need to get a baby pool going...

I'm thinking Saturday at 4:37 p.m. and a 9 lb. 2 oz. baby boy!

Sowing some seeds...

Look what I finally did today.

I've been collecting packets of seeds for a while now--from the grocery store, Wal-Mart, and wherever else I happen to be. I finally bought some seed trays last week and got some seeds planted this afternoon in order to get a head start on my garden.

I planted pumpkins--white ones and giant orange ones, beans, sugar snap peas, squash, carrots, sunflowers, and such. And I'm soaking some morning glory seeds overnight to plant tomorrow--scarlet ones and white ones to climb the back fence and the trellis over the back gate.

Once I get some regular potting soil, I'm going to plant some pots full of herbs too.

I'm waiting to put the lettuce and some other herbs directly into the flower boxes around the deck--so it'll be at least another month before those go in.

It was so much fun to play in the dirt...think I'll clean out the front flower beds tomorrow!

Too much fun!

Face painting, animal charades, smores in the fireplace, mattress surfing, tee shirt decorating, visiting farm animals, staying up too late, singing and playing games, putting on The Brownie Story as a skit, making fun flip-flops, stamping bandanas...the girls earned three thry-its and had a ball!

I'm totally pooped.

A camping we will go...

Audrey and I are off tomorrow to go camping with the Brownies...in Colorado...in March. And the forecast calls for snow and rain. Hmm...

I'm actually really looking forward to it. We're "camping" in heated cabins and we only need to be outdoors to walk to the dining hall, to have a campfire, and to go on a short hike. So it's not really as bad as all that!

The girls are all so excited and are looking forward to mattress surfing, staying up a little bit late, and singing around the campfire. They're also going to earn a couple of try-its, so there are some fun craft activities planned.

I'm all set to go (once I pack in the morning!). I went to the doctor this morning and got lots of medicine so I should be feeling MUCH better by the time we leave. Turns out I have a huge sinus infection. Uck. But I've got a bunch of antibiotics in me, some new medicine to unstuff my head, and it's already starting to help.

I'm glad I stayed to get checked out. My appointment was at 9:15 and by 10:15 no one had come in to see me. I'd told myself I'd wait for an hour and that was it, and just as I was getting up to leave the doctor came in.

What is it with doctor's offices? If we're late for an appointment, they get upset and require us to reschedule, so why can they make us wait for an hour past our appointment time to get seen? I'd like to think that waiting this long is an isolated event, but the last time I went to the same office I told myself I'd wait for an hour, and after 55 minutes the doctor came in.

I didn't bring a book or knitting or anything to do today, so it was a long wait. Next time, I think when they tell me the appointment time, I'll just ask if I should show up an hour later since that's been my experience the past two visits...

Camping pictures to come on Sunday when we get back!

The Robe

I first read The Robe by Lloyd C. Douglas about 10 years ago; a friend loaned me her copy when I promised on my life to return it. I bought a copy on Amazon the other day, and spent all afternoon on the couch happily wandering through Galilee and Capri and the Roman countryside in my imagination.

It's the story of Tribune Marcellus Gallio, the Roman solder who wins the robe of Jesus at the crucifixion. He is deeply affected by his part in the crucifixion of an innocent man and sets off on a journey across the Roman Empire to learn more about the man whose death he regrets. I love, love, love historical fiction and I love, love, love this book.

There are so many characters in history that we don't know enough about, and I often find myself wondering about these people who only get a sentence or two in history. I love reading what someone has imagined their lives to be like--and I so enjoy reading all the historical details that make it all come to life. Every once in a while I come across someplace I've been in books like this (the island of Capri!) and wish I could go back with the historical knowledge gained from books and see it with new eyes.

This book was also made into a movie in 1953 (I haven't seen it in years, but just ordered a copy!) that starred Richard Burton and won lots of Academy Awards. It was the first movie to be filmed in cinemascope (I think that's right). It's very much along the lines of Elizabeth Taylor's Cleopatra--grand scenes, huge cast, wonderful costumes, a little campy, but so fun to watch.

If you're looking for something to read, see if your library has a copy. It's well worth it!

Signs of spring

Spring sprang (sprung? springed?) at 6:07 tonight according the sign our school principal held this morning as we drove into school. I think he's right, because these green leaves were not there yesterday when I wandered through the yard.

And the basement got cleaned up over the weekend. Look how clean my crafty area is--all ready for me to be inspired and get creative.

There are daffodils blooming! None in my yard (these came from the grocery); I'll have to plant some this fall so I have can have my own.

The spring song from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is stuck in my head tonight--the one where "Ma Nature's lyrical with her yearly miracle: Spring, spring, spring!" All the brothers and their gals wander through the farmyard, singing and greeting all the baby animals. I've always wanted to live on a farm...

Anyway, Happy Spring!

SICK

Did I really thing I could take care of a sick kiddo for more than a week and not catch at least part of what she had? I must confess I did. But I was wrong. My nose hurts, my ears hurt, my throat hurts, my chest is tight...

I'm off to rest and drink hot tea and blow my nose until this passes.

(And, of course, Toben left tonight for Chicago. Luckily he'll be back tomorrow and the girls are old enough to hang out together while I moan on the couch!)

Kids will out you every time...

My friend Stephanie called me after Emma's sleepover at her house to relate this conversation from their dinner together...

Emma (totally out of nowhere): My mama steals from church.

Stephanie: What?! She steals from church?

Emma: Yep.

Stephanie: What does she steal?

Emma: Oh, cups and stuff...

The last time we had communion at church I realized that the plastic communion cups are the perfect size for American Girl dolls. So I took our four with me instead of putting them in the box by the door. Come on, are they really going to wash a thousand little plastic cups and reuse them the next time communion comes around? I think not.

Reduce, reuse, recycle.

We were reusing before recycling. It made perfect sense to me, but all Emma came away with was that I "stealed" from church. Of course it didn't help that Toben walked the whole way to the car that day saying, "Ooooh...Mom stole from church!"

Turning thirty...something...

Happy birthday to me!

As I told the waitress at dinner tonight, I'm turning seventeen today. It made my mother happy--she told the waitress that makes her thirty.

So here are 35 things about me...

1. I broke my left thumb when I was six by slamming it in the front door of our station wagon.
2. I lived in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England during junior high school.
3. My first job after college was for a French software company in Paris.
4. I graduated from college in three years with two majors--communications and French.
5. My secret dream is to write a novel.
6. I have brown eyes.
7. One of my front teeth isn't real--it got knocked out when I was 11 after falling off a merry-go-round.
8. I speak French.
9. I got married when I was 19.
10. I loved being pregnant.
11. My favorite ice cream is chocolate.
12. I eat toast for breakfast every morning. (I'll have to blog about that some day...)
13. I love, love, love to read.
14. I would move back to England if I could get my entire extended family to move with me.
15. I can break an apple in half with my bare hands.
16. My first car was a Pontiac Fiero.
17. I would love to be a ballerina.
18. I hate to wear pantyhose.
19. My favorite piece of jewelry is my charm bracelet.
20. My nickname is Buddha.
21. I know how to do tatting.
22. I gained 70 pounds when I was pregnant with Audrey.
23. I love to write with fountain pens.
24. I wish my boobs were bigger.
25. I have my nose pierced.
26. I used to have my belly button pierced.
27. My toenails are always painted.
28. I love to write in my Bible.
29. I am 5'11".
30. I swam with dolphins at Sea World (a few birthdays ago).
31. I collect vintage tea cups.
32. My favorite television shows are M*A*S*H and Little House on the Prairie.
33. I wish all of my friends lived in my neighborhood.
34. I can tie a cherry stem in a knot in my mouth.
35. I'm not really seventeen.

(Aren't these flowers gorgeous? My friend Terri sent them to me from Hawaii.)

Turning one...

I can hardly believe I've been blogging for one year!

Wish I could print it all out to see how much it adds up to. I do love being able to look back on the past year, to see pictures and remember all the things we've done together as a family and to see how much the kids have grown up and changed.

And I've loved the discipline of writing almost every day--even on those days when I don't really have much to share. And, of course, it's been so fun to "meet" so many new friends through blogging.

So here comes year number 2...

First sleepover

Emma is away tonight--at her first sleepover. The house feels strangely empty without her and I miss having her under the roof. She called tonight to say goodnight and sounded like she was having a ball.

She's spent the night with family before, but this is her first sleepover with a friend. It seems like such a big thing for her to be doing; it makes me realize she's not a baby anymore.

Of course, she is six years old and has lost her first tooth and pierced her ears--all things that make her "almost a grown up" as she tells me every few days. Maybe it's because she's my youngest, but six on her seems so much younger than it did on Audrey. Maybe because with Audrey I didn't have anything to compare it with except where she'd come from; with Emma, I always know (well, sort of, anyway) what's coming next because Audrey seems so much older.

But even though she's "so grown up," she's still so little in so many ways. She crawls up in my lap any time I sit down; she loves to be held, picked up, and carried; she holds my hand wherever we go; she wants me to sing to her and tuck her in each night.

I'm so excited for her to be doing a new thing, but I'm also kind of sad because we can never go back. How time flies...

***

Audrey is feeling much better, but she had a low fever this morning and is still coughing some. Think I'll keep her home again tomorrow. I want her to be feeling 100 percent better before coming up against any other illnesses flying around school. And I really like having her home with me!

Sick kid

Poor Audrey was up in the night, complaining of a terrible headache and not being able to sleep. She ended up in bed with me, with a 102-degree fever. She's not having the best of luck with sleepovers! I think she felt extra bad because she wanted to be with Christine instead of quarantined in my room.

We filled her full of Tylenol and such, and she recovered for much of the day, but her fever's back tonight. (Why do fevers always strike at night? Everything always seems much worse in the dark.) She did rest in bed and on the couch all day (though no naps), and I think we'll go to bed early tonight.

Yucky stuff is flying around school--so many kids are absent and throwing up in the hallways. The girls have come home everyday this past week with reports of how many kids were gone or sick. Not good.

All that to say...wash, wash, wash your hands...and then wash them again. I think that's all we can do to try to stay healthy--other than staying away from school and cocooned at home for the next month!

Girls, girls, girls!

We have a houseful of girls--Audrey and Emma are each having a friend spend the night and the house is filled with giggles! We've been out for pizza, played tag, walked along the creek, jumped rope, been to Target for new toothbrushes (one friend stayed after a playdate and so she doesn't have anything for a sleepover), and the girls decided they really needed some matching clothes.

Toben is awesome with little girls--and such a softie. He took such a great delight in wandering through the girls section and helping them pick glittery shirts for spring. He's a great dad of girls for sure!

I'm off to start the little girls on Flipper, and to check on the bigger girls who have locked themselves in Audrey's room to be alone! Silly, silly girls!

(Oops, the big girls have emerged to watch Flipper too!)

Green things

See...there really are green (and blooming!) things in my yard. Almost makes all that snow seem not so bad...almost.

Hooray!

A Wind in the Door

My brain's not working quite right tonight--so I can't remember if I posted about reading A Wrinkle in Time recently. Anyway, I read it, loved it, and wrote about it over on The Newbery Project (see the link on the left).

I ordered the next book in the series (love those used books on Amazon for a penny!) and finished it today. I loved this one just as much as the first. Of course, I read it with a pen in hand to mark my favorite parts. (Somehow I can't really read a book anymore without a pen in hand. It's making it harder to read books from the library!)

In this book, Calvin and Meg go on an adventure to save Meg's little brother, Charles Wallace, from a mysterious illness. Here are some of my favorite quotes:

To Calvin: "Your assignment is to wait without question."

In response to Meg's desperate need to why she must pass certain tests to help her brother: "We don't have to know everything at once. We just do one thing at a time, as it is given us to do."

To Meg in the midst of questions and panic: "All that is required of you is to be in the Now, in this moment which has been given us."

There are lots of other great things in the book, but those three quotes spoke the loudest to me.

Waiting can be such a hard job--yet it's something we are required to do, especially in walking with God. Love that song: "Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord."

So often I want to know everything all at once. To understand how and why all the pieces will fit together. But obedience happens by taking one step at a time--if I knew everything I think I'd rush ahead and miss all there is along the way.

And being fully present in the present moment is a daily goal for me. Not to worry about yesterday, tomorrow, or two hours from now, but to pay attention to what's right in front of me at the moment.

If, like me, you haven't read these books since the fourth grade, it might be time to read them again!

***

Okay, I realize I've been bad about posting pictures. It's bothering me! I need to take pictures of the spring-y, Easter-y things in the house, the new fabric I bought today, and the one grape hyacinth that Janna and I found blooming in my backyard today...

Spring is coming...eventually!

Daisy and I have been on a walk for the past two days now. And my tush is feeling it already. Hmmm....can you say out of shape?! It's been so great to be outdoors and not worried about my nose falling off from frostbite. Thank you, Jesus, for 60-degree days!

As more and more snow melts, I realize there's a lot of yard work coming. I keep forgetting that we've only been in our house for just over four months and the only yard stuff we've done thus far is to rake the fall leaves and mow the grass. (Okay, the only yard stuff Toben's has done--I didn't do a thing!) I cannot wait to putter outside. There are some green things coming up around the deck--bulbs of some sort. I hope they're tulips and daffodils and crocuses and hyacinths. Wouldn't that be fun?!

The girls and I have been talking about what to plant in our gardens. The previous homeowners built two raised beds and once they're filled with dirt, we're going to plant a garden. Lettuces (lots--so there's enough for us and the bunnies who live under our deck), green beans, zucchini, rhubarb, lots of herbs, pumpkins, and maybe some carrots (strictly for the bunnies--I can never get carrots to grow quite right!).

Along the back fence I'd love to plant some raspberry and blackberry brambles and let it grow all wild. It would be wonderful to have enough to make jam, but if not, the girls would have a ball picking and eating them all summer.

Last summer didn't feel like summer at all--with packing, being out of town for Toben's job, moving, and such. I'm excited just to be home this summer. Our neighborhood has a pool (and so does Mom and Dad's) so we'll be there a lot too. I can hardly wait!

(It's funny, I don't ever remember thinking that my parents must have looked forward to summer vacation as much as I did as a kid. But something tells me that parents may actually look forward to it MORE than their kids. At least Toben and I do!)

Phew!

Oh it feels good to sit down! Ever have those days where you get to the end and realize that you've not sat down all day?

Daisy and I did get out this morning for a great, long walk--her second since December! It was so much more fun than it's been in the past since I've now joined the rest of the world and have an ipod. It is so cool! Toben has one, the girls have little shuffles, but this is my first. I cranked up the music and bopped through the neighborhood, singing my heart out. What fun! (Of course, I'm sure the neighbors think I'm weird, but oh well!)

Then I cleaned house for HOURS. But I kept plugged in and sang my way through mopping the floors, dusting the furniture, washing windows, and cleaning bathrooms. It was almost fun.

And before I forget to mention it, yesterday FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE DECEMBER I could see ground in my front yard. This is huge progress! It's supposed to be warm again tomorrow so maybe even more snow will melt.

This afternoon was Brownies too. We earned the "Ready, Set, Go Camping" try-it. (We're going camping at the end of the month and they are beside themselves with excitement.) It's one Audrey has earned before and Terri and I did for our girls last year, so we breezed right through it. The girls were hilarious in coming up with ideas of how to use bandanas when you're camping, and they laughed and laughed while rolling up sleeping bags in a relay race. They learned how to tie knots and then made "Smart Soup" to have on hand for camp snacks.

Smart Soup (mix in a huge stock pot and have each girl add an ingredient and give it a stir)

box of Cheerios
craisins
raisins
yogurt-covered raisins
M & Ms
mini marshmallows
mini pretzels
peanuts (unless you go to a peanut free school like us!)
chow mein noodles
--and whatever else you can think of (dates, dried apricot chunks, fruit loops, and so on)

The girls love it and it's a great snack for hiking. (And you can tie it up in your bandana along with your water bottle, loop it to your belt and keep your hands free for climbing up rocks!)

We also learned some great camp songs--Waddelacha, Dum Dum, Baby Duck, and The Milk Song. Even though it makes me a little tired to think about it, we're going to have fun!

***

Sorry to have been absent for such a stretch; I've really been trying to rest more and blogging is the thing that got cut out over the weekend. I did put up spring/Easter decorations on Friday while I babysat Ava. She ran all over the house looking for bunnies. I figured that if I can't make it be spring outside, I can at least create spring inside!

P.S. Happy (late) Birthday, Heidi! I can't wait to see you in April... (and the postman took your package today so it should be there in a few days!)

P.P.S. Happy Birthday, Janna! I'm so glad we're friends!

Time to rest...

I had a great day--amazing time praying with moms at school this morning, a great radio interview in studio this afternoon/evening, and I'd love to share, share, share. BUT, I need to unwind, to put on my jammies, to get into bed, and rest.

More soon.