Twilight fans check it out......

My sister and her girls had a brush with fame this week..... they got to go to the set where they are filming Twilight!!!!!  Click on Tracey B on my blog roll to the right and scroll down to "twilight star gazing".   COOL!

Self Dressing....

Me "oh my Tori, that is quite the out fit."

Tori, "What it's stripes and stripes and pink and pink, it matches, so what?"

LOL.  We're off to the Dr's office like this for a strep test on liza.

Hoppy Easter!!

The Crew

Happy Easter

Savage Mill Ward Relief Society

Our church group did a service project for Breast Cancer Patients this month.  We made little pillows that go under their arms so that their surgery site doesn't chafe.  We made scarves and Book Marks, and Zipper pulls as gifts to these women.  They were donated to a support group that is associated with a hospital around here.  I was assigned to do the decorations and take photos.  I made this little movie to document it.  You can click on the movie in my side bar, or go here 

The Good Old Hockey Game....

( above photo courtesy of Kevin Logan Photography)

On Wednesday Brent and I were lucky enough to get to go and see the Calgary Flames play the Washington Capitals right here in Washington D.C.   We have waited and waited to see the Flames here, they only come every 3 years.  When we got the schedule and found out when they were scheduled to play we snatched up tickets straight away.  We got our tickets off of "Stub Hub" a site where season ticket holders sell their tickets that they don't want.  Our tickets said that we would be right by the visitors tunnel, and we figured that we would be somewhat close, but we really were RIGHT by the tunnel.  I was Kicking myself for not bringing my camera, as Brent's I Phone has the slowest shutter speed on the planet!!!! I tried to take pics of them coming and going, but they were going too fast, and for some reason not one of them would pose for me.  

In the above  picture you can see how close we were to the ice!  That's the old "Kipper" in net there, see how there are only 3 rows in front of us!!!  OH my!  We were actually a little chilly because we were so close.  It was a good game, score was pretty even, but as always they lost.  Brent and I have been to a whole lotta Flames games and they are really a pretty good team, but I guess we are the "Goochers", cuz we've only seen them win once!!   Before the game, I tried to get Jerome Iginla to sign one of Brent's Jersey's, but he just said, "Sorry..."  And kept walking.  And after the game, they were all FAR too mad about loosing to be signing stuff.   Too bad!  I don't know that we will ever get that opportunity ever again.  

They kept their sticks right there beside us, every one of them had their names on them, it was fun to see what each player played with.  In the first period one of their players broke a stick... (see it on the left there)  I eyed that stick all game, wondering who I needed to be sweet to in order to make it mine.  At the end of the game one of the team guys gave it to me, along with a practice puck, but I couldn't bring it home because behind me sat a little 6 year old die hard Flames fan.  He had on his little Jersey, and his mom said that they are from PA, and their home is full of Flyers fans, but this little guy has proclaimed himself a Flames Fan, and has his whole room decorated in Flames Decor.  It will make a nice addition to his room, even though my husband has not forgiven me for giving it away.  :-) 

And as gross as it may be, one of my favorite parts of the night was during the 3rd period,  when Brent and I could actually SMELL their hockey gear.  For those that don't know, hockey gear has a very distinct smell, we actually used to own a hockey gear drying rack, back in the days when Brent still played, and his gear would get put out on the deck to dry.  You can't wash the pads, etc, so they just end up being pretty stinky.  It was so funny, to be sitting so close to them that we could smell them.  Now keep in mind that this picture was taken with Brent's I Phone so there is no Zoom going on... This is it.  This is just how close we were.  Oh, it was such fun.  A totally different experience that close up.  :-)   

Thank you thank you thank you to Christina once again for being the baby sitter that night, as it took place on a school night, so there were no sitters.  Brent was on a Hockey High for about 3 days after this one.  It was a blast!  Totally worth the $$ that is for sure!

It takes a village to save a marriage...

(not that the marriage really needed "saving" but it's a catchy title don't you agree?)

Upon the generous offer of Christina, my sweet heart and I are headed off on a little road trip next week.  She suggested that we take some couple time and offered to take all 4 of my kids so that we could do so.  I decided that I should surprise Brent and set up a trip to Columbus, Oh.  Why would that be cool?  Because the Calgary Flames are playing there on Tuesday night!!!  First on my list of things to do, deal with the only conflict I had on the calender.  This was a sleep over that we invited Mia to.  I called Mendy to ask if we could switch houses and have the girls at her house that night, an idea that Mendy was just fine with, then when I asked her if she could pick up Liza from Christina's she so sweetly offered to have Liza for both nights.  Oh my, I felt so much better knowing that Christina wouldn't have all 4!  And now I knew that Liza would have a blast because she and her friend Mia are 2 peas in a pod.  (both a little crazy I must say)  and Liza will be delighted to be in such close quarters with Spencer too!  (watch those two Mendy.. :-))  I then got on line found great tickets to the game for a reasonable price and then hopped onto price line where I got us a hotel room in the Hyatt less then a mile from the stadium in down town Columbus for $52 / night!  (the room is usually $200/night)  I was pretty excited about this, then I looked for things to do in Columbus, and came up with next to nothing.  I am sure that we will be able to fill the time.  I then went to Massage Envy's website and found out that less then 5 miles from our hotel is a Massage Envy, and since I have a massage waiting for me (from my Christmas present) and it is only $40 to take Brent as my guest, I scheduled us massages for 9pm on Monday night.  It all fell together so perfectly, that that night I was bragging to my Visiting Teachers about my trip.  As I was bragging, I said the only thing is that Alex isn't going to be too terribly happy to be going to Eli's house, when Liza gets to go to Mia's.  As the words left my mouth, I wanted to reel them back in, because I realized that I was talking to Micha's mom, Nicole (Alex and Micha are real good buddies).  Nicole offered to take Alex, and I felt horrible, that wasn't my objective.  So I declined, telling her, that it was really okay.  I got a call the next morning from Nicole, offering again and saying that Micha would be delighted to have Alex come and stay, so agreed, and now Alex was scheduled to have the time of his  life too!  Now everyone was in on this except for my husband who had no idea.  

I told him later as a surprise, but that is a whole other story, to which I have pictures, and I will post later.    But I wanted to Thank my little "village" that stepped up and helped me trow together a dream 2 days for my hubby and I.  It will be a welcome break, and hopefully we will fill up Brents "tank" full of hockey fun!!

PS I posted a little video of Katie watching Dora, I think it is so funny..   The way she says swiper, oh man, and the look that she gives me as she tries to figure out why I don't just leave her alone to watch her show.  :-)

All is well, all is well

FINALLY got back new on the CT.  It was totally clear, must have been a shadow on the X ray.  Night sweats must be due to meds.  Will be tested for Hypo thyroid again in 2 weeks, hopefully we'll have the same good news.  :-)  Ah, what a relief.  My dental work is all caught up, the lung stuff is all over with, ahhhh.  So much better.  :-)

Friends

I have been thinking of all the things that I need to do around my house.  All those spring cleaning things that pop up after the holidays are over and done with and those clean em out instincts kick in.  I  have been meaning to de clutter my basement for weeks, and just keep not doing it.  As I made a little mental list tonight whilst I brushed my teeth, I thought, what is my problem, this is the exact same list I made a month ago, why isn't this getting done?  My conclusion..... I am an addict.  My name is Christie Wall, and I am addicted to Oxytocin....... no you sickos!  Get your mind out of the gutter.... did you know that when women spend time together, just paling around for a girls night, Oxytocin is released into their systems.  I read this article, and have heard it other places.  

I love my gal time, I would pick that over any other activity.  I enjoy my crafts, I enjoy blogs, I enjoy reading and TV, I even enjoy hanging out with the hubby, not that I would always pick the girls over the hubby.... but there is just something about that girl time that I am hooked on.  This article talks about the benefits of Oxytocin and how it helps relieve stress, and can actually extend your life.  Some even believe that this is why Women live longer then men. "The release of oxytocin, especially in conjunction with estrogen, encourages them to seek out and nurture relationships.  As they gather friends and family around them, more oxytocin is released, creating a virtuous circle of comfort and support."  I loved the quote at the end where it says " As Marla Paul, author of The Friendship Crisis says: 'WOMEN NEED TO SPEND TIME WITH FRIENDS TO MAINTAIN THEIR BALANCE AND HEALTH.  FRIENDS ARE NOT A LUXURY.  THEY'RE ESSENTIAL."  The article closes with this paragraph (just in case you don't go and read it...)  "If anything, these warnings (women's heath, such as heart disease on the rise since women have tried so hard to climb the corporate ladders  that they have stopped being with other women on a friendly level) serve only to reinforce the belief of a growing number of experts that strong friendships are more important to health and longevity than anyone thought.  Dr Klein is unequivocal: "there's no doubt" she says, "THAT FRIENDS HELP US TO LIVE LONGER."  :-)   I love it!  Thanks to all my friends, near and far, related and not related for helping me to live longer, and happier.  What fun to feel justified in all my tomfoolery! And in now, wasting another 1/2 and hour sharing my silly findings with my pals on my blog. 

Things I don't want to forget

You know there are always things popping into my head,  memories that I hope I will never forget.   I thought I would make a running blog of these things as I think of them, kind of like a backward journal.   

I never want to forget...

... the day when Brent got down on all 4's and put a cow blanket over himself and went into little 18 month old Liza's room mooing.  She was very afraid, she stood frozen in her place and tried to yell for me but was so terrified that she couldn't get her voice to work.  Just this horse little "mom" squeaked out.  It was so funny.

...how Alex talked as a toddler.  Alex annunciated every single sound perfectly in each and every word he spoke.  It was the funniest thing.  He never spoke baby talk, he never had any silly words, he spoke clearly and perfectly from the get go.  

  ... the day when Tori (at about 18 months old)  woke up and stood in the kitchen and looked at the drapes horrified and muttered something about a frog as she pointed to the drapes.  Upon some questioning we realized that she had a bad dream about frogs in the drapes.  She was scared of those drapes for months.  

... the smoke alarm in our house in Maryland goes off if you leave the bathroom door open during a shower.  This terrified Tori, she would lay outside the bathroom door and cry and cry and cry for the first 6 months that we lived here... it was horrible.  

... when we lived in Philadelphia and Liza was about 2 she adored garbage day.  When she would hear the truck she would yell "it's my lucky day!!" and she would run to her huge bedroom window (it went clear to the floor) and she would watch as the big truck would pick up the dumpster and dump it all over the top.  The garbage man would have to get out to make sure that it picked up the dumpster right, so he would wave at her, and sometimes honk his horn.  They had quite the relationship.  Sometimes he would even shake it a few extra times, just for her.  

... as a toddler, Alex rubbed his head around a lot.  I don't know why, but it was not uncommon to find him rubbing his head all over the couch even into his preschool years.  One day he was crawling around board out of his mind, and decided to drop his nose down onto the carpet as he rubbed his face and crawled.  What a mess, he totally rug burned his nose.  Poor kid.  He didn't do that again though.

... When we lived in  Toledo, after Tori was born, I would sit in the rocking chair and  nurse tori while Alex was board most of the time.  One day he went in the "junk drawer" and got himself a pen, then came into the living room and stuck it between the carpet and an area rug.  Then he went back and forth from the kitchen to the rug in this fashion until he had constructed a very nice bridge with his pens.  All of them standing upright and propping the rug up just so.  

... Liza called oat meal "opee meal" for the first 3 years of her life.  She was always making up words, and still does make up words.  "Benchie" meant wobbly.  "Swop"mean hit.

... Katie called Chocolate "clocklate".  And she absolutely loves the stuff. 

... Alex, my boy who hates to eat meat, and will take a half hour chewing one small piece of meat had BBQ pork ribs for his first birthday and he pigged out.  

...  More to come as I think of them 

Over the monitor

Alex  "Tori, if you ever do that again, I am going to make a sign that says that you can't do that!"

Tori "Well too bad, cuz I can't read."

Alex "Well I'll tell you right now what it is going to say, it is going to say "WARNING!  STAY OUT!"  

1/31/08

Alex  "What is this mom, the house that doesn't do ANYTHING???!!!"

2/1/08

 Tori and her cousin in Oregon 

Tori, "okay, I'm gonna go..."

Abbie, "okay, but I just want to tell you one question."

Tori "okay"

Abbie, "Torwe, do you know my friend *julie*? "  (* I couldn't understand the friends name)

Tori "Yup."

Abbie, "No you don't!  Bye! "

Tori "Hello?  Hello?"

2/1/08

While brushing hair...(which is always a fight)

Tori singing in a  c major scale "ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ........(then back down to c) ow, ow , ow, ow ow"

I laugh of course, who sings ow in a scale, up and back down????  Too funny.

Tori  "no mom, I'm serious!"

Me  "I'm serious too.."

Tori "no mom, I am seriouser then you!"

LOL!!!!

2/7/08

Wyatt during his weekend visit....

me "If you boys fight today, I am going to separate you for a 1/2 an hour and then you can get back together and try again."

Wyatt... "Miss Christie, do you mean fight, ching ching, or flight like argue?"

LOL!!  Ching Ching.... what a character.

2/16/08

Set the scene... I am in the kitchen tying katie's shoes.  She has brought them to me requesting that she be aloud to go outside with Chinook.  

Natalia  hollers from upstairs,  "Ka-tie! "

Katie says "not coming..." in the sweetest little voice.

Natalia having not heard her repeats, "Kaaaa Teeee."

Katie, a little louder  "not coming......"

Natalia "Katie!!"

Katie yells in the meanest voice I have ever heard her use "NO!"

I look at her as though to say...  whoh, what was that for....

Katie explains,using her hands to soften things up. "a shoe, a outside, a no!"  

LOL, so funny.. Katie will usually say coming... when you call her name, I thought it was so funny that she told her she is not coming, and that she understood the look I gave her and gave an explanation.   What a funny girl.

2/16/08

me: "uh oh, who dumped these cars?"

Tori "Eli did."

me "Eli, did yo dump these cars?"

Eli "Yes, no one was sleeping."

Me "Eli, we don't dump toys at Miss Christie's house.  You need to clean them up."

Eli "Oh, I feel to sick to do that."

Me "I am sorry you feel sick, but you need to clean up these toys"  (he is not sick at all BTW)

Eli "Oh, I just can't" Resting his elbow on his knee and dropping his heavy head into his hands.

Me, tossing cars into a pile from all over the surrounding area.  "Eli, you need to put all these cars back into the box right here, and then we can keep playing."

Eli "Miss Christie,  sometimes you are SO mean."

LOL!!!!

2/20/08

Brent and Tori often have quite a little chat as he tucks her in at night.  Here is how the conversation went tonight,

"Daddy, do you work tomorrow?"

"Yes, I do."

"Don't forget what our house looks like."

"I won't."

"Daddy, I have these bumps in my throat (touches her neck), are those bones or something?"

"Actually, they're cartilage, like what is in your ear."(wiggling her ear)

"How do you know that dad?"

"'cuz I'm a doctor."

"So because you're a doctor, you know everything?"

"No, not everything, just a lot about peoples bodies."

"Well, you should learn about other things, like what makes purple, and pink."

LOL!!!!!   This girl it pretty silly

3/2/08

Other things that have been said to Brent, or about Brent.

Tori  "Dad, do you live at our house?...(Pause) NAWWW (as though she was kidding with the question)  You live at the hospital!!"

Tori  "Mommy, is Daddy dead?"

Alex "Mom, is daddy part nocturnal?"

:-)

Needles, sweats, x-rays and CAT Scans.

The needles have 2 meanings, one is that I got to learn how to knit last night, and I am so excited about it.  I have wanted to learn for quite some time and am glad that I had the opportunity to learn.  The other needles is a bit longer of a tale.  One of which I wanted to write down, more for journaling for me then entertainment for the "readers".  For about 3 months now, I have been having "night sweats"  at first I blamed it on the medication, actually I still kind of am thinking that is what it is, but here is the tale.  I went into the Dr's to have her switch my medications around and she ordered blood work, and a TB test just to make sure that she didn't miss anything.  She also ordered a Chest X ray.  I thought that was a little over kill, but after switching meds, and still sweating, I went for the Chest X ray.  The TB test was negative, and after 2 or 3 weeks on the new meds the results came back for the Chest X ray.  But not in the form of a phone call from my Dr.  I just got a letter that was a referral for a CT scan, with the reason for it being: abnormal Chest X ray.  This got me a little worried, so say the least.  When I finally got a hold of my Dr, she read me the results fro.,m the X ray, which said something about a 15mm  vague abnormality on one of my lungs.  She wouldn't even venture a guess of what they may find, she said there are WAY too many options.   I went in and had the CT scan done on Tuesday.  There won't be any results until Thursday at the earliest.  Brent wont even discuss the options with me.... he avoids the topic for the most part, saying the same things as my Doctor did, that there are just too many things that it could be.  The one thing that he did say is that if all these things are related, the sweats and the lungs, it would be either TB or Lung cancer.  The latter I am just so not likely to get.... I have no family history of it, and of course I don't smoke and have never been overly exposed to it, so that is so unlikely.  TB... I have no other symptoms, so that doesn't really make sense either.  Hopefully the CT will show that what they saw was nothing abnormal.  My blood work came back with low thyroid hormones, but there was some confusion there too, so she wants to re run my blood work and see if I need to be on Thyroid medication (this does run in my family, so that wouldn't surprise me).  For someone who has spent the last 10 years going to OBGYN's and Pediatricians, it is a little odd to be going in to the Dr and Labs so much.  It actually has me pretty spooked out.  When I think about it my chest feels like I have a 50 lb weight on it, makes it difficult to breath.  I am really hoping that the lung thing is nothing, and maybe the sweats are hormonal (like pre menopausal?).  Anyway, I'll post news when I have any.  :-)  

Memoir

One Of The Ninety And Nine

I am one of the ninety and nine, I'm not perfect, but basically I'm doing fine.  I have not lost my way, I have not gone a stray, I'm just one of the ninety and nine.  I am here in the heart of the fold, I'm not mindless, but I try to do as I'm told.  I'm not tempted to run and become the lost, I am here in the heart of the fold.  So why is my Shepherd coming this way toward me?  He's holding his arms out and he's callin' my name, yes he's callin' my name, but how, how could this be?  I'm just one of the ninety and nine, I have stumbled and fallen, but I've kept in line.  I'm not one He must seek, I'm not all that unique, I'm just one of the ninety and nine.  So why is my Shepherd treating me like a lost lamb?  He searching to find me, and he's holding me now, yes he's holding me now, and teaching me who I am.  So why am I feeling like I'm the only one here?  It's like I'm his favorite and he takes me aside, and he sweetly confides, these remarkable words in my ear, "You are one of the  ninety and nine, have you any idea how brightly you shine?  You are safe in this fold, and it's time you were told, that I know where you've been,  so I know where you'll be, because all of your life you've been following Me, you are more then just one of the sands of the sea, or just one of the ninety and nine.  You are mine, you are mine, you are mine, you are MINE!"  I am on of the ninety and nine.

(Michael Mclean "Ninety and Nine" )

I was tagged by Kellie and Corrine.

And I Tag: Tracey,  Jeri, Christina, Emily Wall, and Kristin

Here are the rules:

6 Word Memoir

1. Write your own six word memoir

2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you'd like

3.  Link to the person that tagged you in the post and to this original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere.

4. Tag five more blogs with links

5. Remember to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play!

Updates

Mmmm, Sooo full of emotions lately. 

On Thursday I did my Visiting Teaching, well half of it.... anyway, I got to have such a wonderful visit with Raquel, we always have such great conversation, and I alway leave feeling a resolve to do better at something.  Raquel is so great at giving  people sincere compliments, she is so kind.  I want to be more like that.  

 On Friday I got to go to the Ribbon outlet with Vanessa.  That was SUCH a fun day.
 who would have ever thought that buying ribbon could give you such a high.   It was so cheap I could hardly stand it.  I  enjoyed my chat time with vanessa as we drove out there and back.  It was fun to have the kids watch a movie all strapped in their seats while we gabbed for a few hours.

 It reminds me though that it won't be long before I am in Vanessa's shoes.  She has such a good attitude and is so strong through this, she is an example to me of how to make it.  I have spent a lot of time this week thinking about next year at this time.  In one year from now we will know where the Army will place us for the next 4 years of our life.  A little piece of me would love to join Nicole and Greg Jensen in Germany, but another part of me is scared to death to be alone there while he is at war.  A lot of me wants to stay here where I have my friends and network, but family is sooo far away from here, and houses are SO expensive!  I usually just tell myself that there is nothing that i can do about it, so stop thinking about it.  

Brent and I went out on Friday night and had a couples massage (Brent's first professional massage).  He loved it and was hooked right there.  His first comment after the masseuse left the room was "Man, I got you a good Christmas present!"  :-)  Funny guy.  

On Saturday Brent worked all day, and over night so the kids and I stayed home and cleaned and cleaned.  Saturday was an emotional day as well.  Saturday was the 3 year anniversary of the passing of Brent's mom.  Always a somewhat somber day, as is her birthday...  we call and receive calls from grandparents down to siblings, all checking on each other, reminiscing the good ol' days.  I miss her so much, and wish I could just call her, and chat, just for a few minutes.  I was thinking on Saturday how I used to call and complain to her about little things that Brent did that made me mad, and she would always apologize for him, and tell me that she thought she raised him better then that.  :-)  It was nice to have someone who would say such sweet things when I was mad at HER son, she could have been so defensive and she could have tried to justify his behavior, or work it out for us, but she never did.  She just told me how sorry she was, and too his fall for him, blaming it on how she raised him.  Now, looking back, I wonder if I hurt her feelings, if it made her sad when she did that.  She never seemed to be upset by it, my guess is, that as an experienced married woman she knew that it was just a young couple working out the kinks.  Often times I see or hear my children do things and I think of how much she would have loved to have seen them do this or that.

 Sleeping babies was something she loved.... well, children in general, she even liked them awake!  More then once I heard this woman squeal with delight "oh!  She's poopy, let me change her!"  She loved to have that child all to her self, even if it was with stinky pants.  She LOVED to rock her grandkids and I would pay just about anything for the chance to see her rock them again.  Some times i feel like she is around and just the other day Katie said, "Hooray, Hooray."  just like mom used to say to the kids, and I know that I don't say that.  It made me wonder if she was close by.  I miss our morning phone calls.  She used to work nights in the NICU and we would chat in the morning before she went to bed, I loved that.  And you know, she never ever ever told me she was too tired to talk, even if I accidently called her when she was sleeping during the post work days.  She would always say "No, Christie, don't feel bad, I always want to talk to you."  Gee, I miss her.   I talked to Grandma Davies (Shirley's Mom) and she and I decided that it should be like missionaries, we should be aloud a phone call on Christmas and Mothers Day!  It would make me so happy to hear her voice.  So Saturdays thoughts were locked up in Mom.

This Morning I got a phone call from my sweet friend Jeri, asking me to come and pick up the stuff for sharing time because she is going to the hospital.  She had been spotting and thought she better go in.  (for more details, I am sure she will blog about it)  Any who, then I spent my day worried about Jeri, and wondering if she and baby were okay. (Which they are, and also still together)  Jeri has been put on FULL bed rest, so that'll be fun for her, for about 2 days!  Then it will be a waiting game.  This whole thing has brought memories of the whirl wind that was Alex's birth, and all that it entailed.  The shock of realizing that this is it, we are having a baby WAY earlier then we thought!  And then the crazy crazy crazy, of running between the hospital and home while he was in the NICU.  We will pray for our baby girl to stay in her nice warm spot for a few more weeks till her timer is a little closer to popping.

Today our friends Felicity and Nathaniel came home from their 6 month trip to Germany, it was so fun to see them at Church, but even more fun to have them over for dinner. We have missed hanging out with them!  And we are so excited that they are back home. Again the thoughts of our service time have come back up as we chatted with them about Germany, and more wondering about what's next.  

I made Jen R.'s Cinnamon Rolls today, those brought about happy feelings as I LOVE the frosting.... MMMMMM.  They also brought on a bit of a tummy ache.  :-)  

My head hurts from all the emotions and thoughts, and I still need to make a grocery list for tomorrow.  We can't possibly go ONE MORE DAY with out milk!

Brent"s Blog

I got this email from Brent today..... I thought it was right to post it here:

"If I had a blog, all the girls in the ward would be reading about how excited I am about our date tonight.  I love you."

Cute boy.  :-)