I Love Where I Live

Today around 4:00 Dan decided to go for a motorcycle ride, but then he decided he should wait for me to get off of work. That was a good thought. Some of you may remember, I love to go on the motorcycle. It's actually the place that I think and pray the most. I have nothing to do back there but thank God for the beautiful surroundings. There is no one else to talk to, so I may as well talk to the one who made it all.

This trip was especially beautiful because this one of the times in the year that everything is green and the wild flowers are blooming everywhere. The other especially pretty time of year is the fall, the colors are even more amazing then.

When we got to the look out point, here is the view that was waiting for us:

Also, McKenzie had her first set of surgeries today. She had a feeding tube put in her tummy and her lower eye lid done. She's doing very well and the surgery was successful. I'm going to Portland tomorrow evening with some friends for a girls' night away and then Saturday we will bring Bethany & McKenzie home! Please continue that she stays healthy and that there are not any complications.

American Idol: Top 5 Elimination

Don't watch if you don't want to know who gets kicked off!! :)

Tonight was bittersweet on American Idol. Adam made it to the bottom three, an old favorite of mine was back on stage, Taylor Hicks!! I love that guy and Matt went home. Yep, that's the bitter part of the evening. We knew it was coming but it's sad.




So, Adam in the bottom three tells me that America isn't completely crazy and maybe, just maybe, there is hope that he might go home before the finals.


The bottom three were Matt, Adam & Kris. Every week they do the bottom three and then at some point they let one of the contestants go back to their seats. I thought for sure it would be Adam, but no...it was Kris. So, bottom two are Adam & Matt. That gives me even more hope.

A side note: I was wondering who voted for Adam in our poll and, it was Amanda. It cracked me up! Go girl..she knows how to vote right!

Burdens

Any concern too small to be a prayer is too small to be a burden.

~ Corrie ten Boom

Pure Torture? How About These Movies?

Fox News posted this list of movies that are pure torture to watch. Do you agree?

• Basic Instinct 2
• Battlefield Earth
• Catwoman
• Gigli
• From Justin To Kelly
• The Postman
• Stop Or My Mom Will Shoot
• Striptease
• Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2
• Waterworld

I've seen Catwoman, The Postman, Stop or My Mom Will Shoot. I fell asleep during Waterworld. It was a long, long, long time ago.

They forgot to add "White Chicks". (Sorry, Dan.)

American Idol: Top 5

Tonight was Rat Pack night. I was not looking foward to this because I didn't think I would know any of the songs. It turns out I knew almost all of them. It actually was really good tonight!

Kris did The Way You Look Tonight and it was fantastic, although Simon thought it was "wet" whatever the heck that means. Allison did Someone To Watch Over Me and she did a really good job. I loved her hair tonight, she had black in with the bright red. Matt did My Funny Valentine. Simon even said that at that point he was the only believable and authentic performance. Danny did Come Rain or Come Shine and he was INCREDIBLE! Simon actually said that he was stellar, unbelievable and there to prove a point. Adam did Feeling Good. Dan loved him, I personally thought it was theatrical and over the top, but I guess that is just Adam.

I think the bottom three will probably be Matt, Allison and Kris. I really don't know who will go home, but I'm not taking any chances, I voted for Danny 50 times this evening.

On a sidenote: Amy, awhile back you mention that Adam was rejected by his own mom but I've been noticing his mom sitting in the audiance. I remembered that there was this guy who was raised by his grandma. Is this who you are thinking of? If so, you don't have to like Adam due to guilt anymore. :)

My Newest Obsession!

My name is Heather, and I'm addicted to flowers!

Seriously, I think I have a problem, although, it is a pretty one :) I have always wanted a pretty yard but have recently come to terms with the fact that I won't have one due to several reasons. One of the reasons is we have three dogs, the other is that our backyard is situated so that there is never any shade and it gets over 100 during parts of the summer and my flowers just die back there. We could plant trees and try other methods, but with three dogs it just doesn't work. We did put gravel in the backyard and turned it into a volleyball court and also put a fire pit back there, so that's fun.

I'm getting away from my original post. I've found that I really enjoy planting flowers, watching them grow and the last couple of weekends have been so beautiful that I just haven't been able to resist. So, here's the front of our house now. Last year the only flowers I had were the ones in the oblong wine barrel down on the ground. Now, look what I have done. I have my eye on a few more additions too!

None of these look fantastic, but I know in a few weeks they will have spread out and filled out their pots and when they do, I will take more pics :)

This pot is right at my front door

This is the only pot I had last year out front. Here is what it looked like then. This barrel is on the right side of my stairs.

My newest addition. I put this together Sunday night. It's my Mother's Day present! LOL! I had to buy it early because there are only two stores in town that have these barrels and once they are gone, they don't get anymore. It's on the left side of my stairs.

Looking at the house from the bottom of the stairs, along with our cat, Callie.

These pots are on either side of the stair case at the top. I was supposed to go back to the store and buy two flowers to go in my hanging baskets and I came back with enough flowers and pots to do two of these. I left them in the car so Dan wouldn't figure it out and made sure to have them in place before he got up the next morning. Pretty sneaky!

Here is the other one on the other side of the stairs. The pot that isn't really blooming yet are going to be full of daises! I can't wait, they are my favorite flower!

This is the view from one side of the porch

Here is the other side of the porch :)

Here is the view from the street.

I am sure I have bored you to death, but Reese was wanting to see my obsession.

None of this was here when she left 4 short weeks ago!

Stay tuned..American Idol tonight! Reese has a fun little poll going on to see

who we think will leave tomorrow.

iPod Shuffle

I had an optometry appointment today, and while my eyes dilated so the doc could stare deep into my soul, I started the iPod on shuffle to see what I came up with. It took awhile so I managed 15 songs. Here we go:

1. When I Grow Up by Nicole C Mullin
2. Tonight Tonight Tonight by Genesis
3. Author of Life by Phil Joel
4. See You by Shaun Groves
5. We Make Alot of Love by Harry Connick, Jr.
6. Easy To Love by HCJ
7. The Cinema Show by Genesis
8. Chanson du Vieux Carre by HCJ
9. Open Skies by David Crowder Band
10. Never Die by Creed
11. Easy To Ignore by Sixpence None the Richer
12. Child by Tait
13. Say It by Rihanna
14. Lord, I Don't Know (Live) by Newsboys
15. Words I Couldn't Say by Rascal Flatts

Hearing the Phil Joel song reminded me of a funny moment in Oregon a couple of weeks ago. I was talking to my Dad and brother, trying to remember the name of "that bassist that used to be with The Newsboys, you know the one that made a couple of albums on his own... the blond guy with the long hair?" My Dad gave me a goofy smile, "You mean Phil Joel? How could you not think of that right now?!"

My Dad's name is Phil, my brother's is Joel.

Duh.

Update! My American Idol tid-bit: if you need a reason to love my Matt, click here. This is the night I became his cheerleader!

Heather's 8 Things

Kayren over at Everythings Coming Up Daisy's tagged both Reese and I on 8 Things.


8 THINGS I LOOK FORWARD TO:
1. Summer, I love the heat
2. A good hike
3. A long bikeride
4. Girls weekend
5. An evening with Reese :)
6. A fun day with the kids
7. Flower shopping
8. Hanging out with my family


8 THINGS I DID YESTERDAY:
1. Held my tongue when I wanted to S-C-R-E-A-M at a client
2. Read blogs
3. Did laundry
4. Read my book
5. Watched American Idol
6. Took the kids to school
7. Read the book "Puff The Magic Dragon"
8. Had lunch with friends

8 THINGS I WISH I COULD DO:
1. Travel
2. Sing
3. Stay home with the kids
4. Run my own business
5. Be a doula
6. Adopt
7. Play the piano
8. Spend hours upon hours in a bookstore

8 SHOWS I WATCH:
1. American Idol
2. American Chopper
3. Jon & Kate Plus 8
4. Little People Big World
5. Man v. Wild
6. Dog The Bounty Hunter
7. 18 Kids and Counting
8. Little Bear

I'm not going to tag anyone, because, I don't know 8 people to tag :)

Reese's 8 Things

I've been tagged by Kayren at Everything's Coming Up Daisies. Rather than intending to post mine when the time is right and after I've found the correct picture (remember the high school year book picture post, Kayren?! I still intend to get to it...), I thought I should do this one right away.

Here's how 8 THINGS works:

1. Mention the person that tagged you.
2. Complete the lists of 8's.
3. Tag 8 of your wonderful bloggy friends.
4. Go tell them you tagged them!

8 THINGS I LOOK FORWARD TO:

1. Fitting into the jeans I wore in Autumn 2007. I miss being that small.
   
2. Going back to school and, eventually, graduating with a degree.
   
3. Summer. It's time.
   
4. My morning cup of tea.
5. Dates with Tim.
   
6. Finding a way to effortlessly slip the word "Michiganders" into casual conversation.
7. Living without pain.
8. Falling asleep.

8 THINGS I DID YESTERDAY:

1. Laundry: I washed it in my tiny English washer then dried it on the line.
   
2. Walked to and from The Boys' school three times.
3. Took a shower.
4. Emailed Heather.
5. Sat and chatted with my friend Linda. She's so fun and funny!
   
6. Washed and moved the patio furniture.
7. Let Kiki play Bubble Breaker on my cell phone in return for her making Sloppy Joes for dinner. Sweet.
   
8. Fell asleep reading a book.

8 THINGS I WISH I COULD DO:

1. Fly.
2. Wake up one morning and automatically be trained in my chosen career field.
3. Chat with world leaders on my whim.
4. Afford to hire a full-time housekeeper and personal chef.
5. Eat whatever I wanted and never gain a pound over 125.
6. Invent "sleep concentrate", some sort of concoction that allowed a person to sleep one hour and feel like they'd slept 5. I'd take it and sleep 3 hours a night.
   
7. Finally get the packages I mailed to myself a week before I left America.
8. Be a vegan without having the temptations to eat meat and dairy.
   

8 SHOWS I WATCH:

Well... none at all, except little glimpses of the kids' cartoons now and then.

8 BLOGGERS TAGGED:

The first 8 who see this and want to jump on the meme bandwagon.

And With That, I'm Officially Old!

It's not so much age that makes a Mama old, it's how old her kids are. Now that I have two teenagers in the house, I'm old. But lest I make this about me...

Happy 13th Birthday, Kristine!!!

My sweet Princess got a special trip to the beauty salon a couple of days ago. I even let her skip school for the occasion. Here she is, post hair cut and color.


I love my girl so much. I pray The Lord blesses her with wisdom and grace as she walks through her teen years. Kiki, you light up my life!

Elimination Night: Top 7 (Again!)

If you don't want to see what happened on American Idol,

please don't read on!

Tonight was sheer torture. I'm not a disco fan and they brought on some frightening scary people, who in their prime I am sure were good, but now are...not so good! Sorry Kayren, no offense if you enjoyed it. Eventually I just had to pause the TV so I could fastforward.

I was surprised when instantly Lil Rounds went home. Usually they drag it out so long but she was the first name they called and immediately told her she was going home. The second one going home is Anoop. He has come such a long way, but it was time.

The bottom three ended up being Anoop, Allison & Lil Rounds. I have to say I was SHOCKED about Allison being there.

Kayren - For the last couple of years they have done theme weeks almost every week on American Idol and disco week is usually one of the themes. Also, I had a good laugh about disconnecting my hubby's cell service. That's not a bad plan at all. I just double checked with him and he did vote at least 25 times for Adam last night.

American Idol - Top 7 (Again!)

Are you guys sick of my American Idol play by play? At first I was doing it for Reese, but last week I learned that she can pretty much watch the whole show online. I debated about doing it again, but it's something to talk about so I decided to go ahead :)

Tonight was disco night, and we are still the Top 7 since they saved Matt last week. Lil Rounds started the evening with She's Every Woman, and I wasn't impressed. I really thought she would be one of the powerhouse singers but it seems like she holds back every night. Next was Kris. He did She Works Hard For The Money. It was amazing. I thought it was going to be terrible, but he made it his own and a few of the judges called him brilliant. Then onto Danny, my favorite! He did September and as always he did a great job. Allison did Hot Stuff. I like her, but didn't like the song. Adam did If I Can't Have You and it was okay...sorry, still don't get him. Matt did Staying Alive. It was okay, I'm not sure it will save him this week though. Anoop did Dim All The Lights and he did a fairly good job. I think he gets better all the time, but I'm not sure he'll make it another week.

I'm not into disco at all, or this era of music for that matter, so most songs were very unfamiliar to me. I really don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. I assume the bottom three will be Lil Rounds, Anoop and Matt with Lil Rounds going home for sure. I think it's a toss up between Anoop and Matt. After these bottom three go home it's going to be a pretty tight competition in my mind. I'm thinking that the finals will be Danny & Adam but who knows how America will vote.

McKenzie

Remember this post? Not too pretty was it? I am so thankful that God did not leave us there. I am so thankful that even when we throw our fits and we ask why and get angry that he is patient with us. I am so thankful that we fell instantly and madly in love with her. She is beautiful, just the way she is. I love watching my children with her. I am amazed by the the love and understanding my children show to others that the world may not perceive as "normal" because they have had James and now McKenzie in their lives at such young ages. I do not think that if I had been put in the same situations as them at their ages that I would be as loving and as compassionate.

I went back and re-read my post and I was struck by my last paragraph

I also know that after the storm has passed, and the sun is shining, the landscape will have changed, all of us will have changed. We will have loved deeper then ever before, cried harder and prayed longer. Our family will never be the same. No matter what the outcome, we will have changed for the better, but right now it is painful and so very hard!

That is us! We have changed for the better and the landscape is beautiful here. McKenzie is a shining star. She is adored and loved. I can't imagine loving this little girl more than we do. There will be challenges ahead and there will be tough moments but we will all be okay.

I wanted to give you an update on McKenzie. She is doing beautifully. She coos, laughs, smiles, plays, holds her head up and has us totally and completely wrapped around her little finger. Bethany has been to countless doctors with McKenzie and they are all saying that she's right where she needs to be for a 5 month old. She may be slightly delayed, but she was also 6 weeks early and has had a lot to overcome in 5 months.

We do need some prayers as we are heading into her surgeries. On April 30th she will have a feeding tube put in her stomach and she will have an eye surgery which will reconstruct the lower lid of her "good" eye. Then on May 26th (Amanda's 14th birthday) she will have surgery on her lip and for the first time in her life we will get to see her without tape all over her face. We cannot wait for the process to begin for McKenzie.

Thanks for praying!

My Hometown

I've finally begun sorting through the pictures I took while in America. Not a small task, since my Canon had 314 pictures, and I'm not sure what my Sony CyberShot has. Seriously, I wish I had taken more. I should have had my camera with me at all times. There are so many shots I missed.

This is from the cemetery where Jonas is buried. Isn't it awesome? I wish it had been a clear, no-clouds day; a picture without the clouds would have been nice. In the distance is a cherry orchard, not yet in bloom.

My hometown, from the lookout by the park. The morning fog and low clouds were just burning off; you can see them in the distance. Across the river is the State of Washington.


Ian and I enjoyed a sunny walk by the river. I was experimenting taking black and white photos, thinking I'd enlarge them and hang them on my walls but now I'm not sure. I like the color ones better, but I didn't get very many.


Eagles' Caves overlook the west side of town and are as much a part of the town as the river is. Many infamous things- both fictitious and not- have taken place there.

I love my town!

Elimintation Night: Top 7

Don't Read If You Don't Want To Know What Happened :)

I have to tell you that when I first learned of the save on American Idol, I thought it was ridiculous. But, tonight, I'm glad they have it, and I'm glad they used it.

Tonight the bottom three was Anoop, Lil Rounds and Matt. I seriously thought that it would be Lil Rounds, I never imagined it would be Matt. But, I was wrong. It was Matt, and thankfully, they saved him. I grew to really like Matt by watching Reese, she really enjoyed watching him and I learned to appreciate his talent. He's really gifted, he's not always consistent, which is a big downfall for him so hopefully he can do well next week and stay in.

The bad news, next week two go home.

American Idol - Top 7

Okay, it's time for my weekly rundown of American Idol. Looking back this week, apparently this is all I'm capable of, considering I didn't do any other posts. So not good!

Anyway, last night was songs from movies night. I wasn't that impressed. The night started off with Allison. She did I Don't Want To Miss A Thing by Aerosmith. One of my all time favorite songs. Truthfully, I didn't like it. It sounded like it was too low for her range. Anoop did Everything I Do and it was great, I was really surprised at how well he did. Adam did Born to Be Wild. I have no comment. Danny did Endless Love and of course did an excellent job :) Kris did Falling Slowly. I have never heard that song but he did a pretty good job. Lil Rounds did The Rose, which always makes me think of Amy. I guess I'm just not a fan of hers either. She did okay, but it wasn't wonderful. And, Matt did Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman. It was pretty good.

Like I said, no one stood out as fantastic to me. I thought Danny and Anoop were really good and everyone else was just okay. I was looking around online because I couldn't remember what one of the contestants sang and I just found out that you can pretty much watch the whole show right here.

I actually was thinking Anoop might go home tonight but after last night, I have no clue. He did a really good job where some of the others just didn't do well. I think it could be Lil Rounds who goes tonight.

Everyone Needs Friends Like This

Everyone needs friends like Linda and Vicky.

Linda, when she called to check on Tim and the kids, was so surprised that I was home that she could only scream. Literally. She started screaming when Tim told her I was here and kept going for a bit after I got on the phone. If you don't have anyone to scream for you after a long absence, go find someone. It's priceless.

Vicky hugged me, stood back and said, "You've lost weight." That too is priceless, twice as much so when she repeated it the next day. Find one of these friends too.

Another sort of friend to get immediately is the sort that allows you to stay in her house for 6 weeks without a word of complaint. I have several friends who would likely do this for me, but this time it was Heather. A place to crash while visiting my sister and family is priceless, especially when the people I'm staying with are like family in every way but actual blood.

So many people took care of me, as well as my family, while I was away. Vicky, Linda and Javare' all took care of our kids when Tim had work responsibilities. Christina gave me incredible deals on Mary Kay products, Andreanna watched Ian for me, Billie Wii bowled with me for some lighthearted, stress-relieving fun, Holly offered her sweet smile and laughs over dinner out, and Hannah made me smile and cry and remember how blessed I am to have such a special sister. Mom drove me to the Air Force Base where I eventually got a flight out, Dad was his usual quiet and comforting self, Renato and Nancy took care of me as any parents would, and many more prayed for us during this time of separation.

Thank you.

Elimintation Night: Top 8

I was one off on the bottom three. The bottom three are Anoop, Scott & Lil Rounds. I'm so glad that Kris didn't make it there.

Scott is out. The judges were pretty stumped on if they should use the save or not, but in the end they let him go.

That's it for this week. So far my favorite is still in...Go Danny, so I'm really happy!

American Idol!

Okay for those of you that hate American Idol, look the other way because this post is all AI! My family and I are huge AI fans and while Reese was here she actually got hooked on it too, even though she didn't want too! Reese has never seen AI and we only thought she would be able to watch it once, as it turns out, she was able to watch it three or four times. Last night as I sat down to watch it, I really missed her!

So, here's a rundown, although maybe you've already searched the Internet looking for a quick fix. Last night was "sing a song from the year you were born" night. Danny was first, and he was awesome! He did Stand By Me. It was a strange arrangement, but Danny sounded great. Kris did All She Wants to Do Is Dance. Simon said it was forgettable, and unfortunately it was. I know how much you love him. Lil Rounds did What's Love Got To Do With It and sounded just like Tina Turner, she didn't change it at all. She didn't get much love from the judges. Allison did You Can't Make Me Love You by Bonnie Rait. It was awesome. Anoop did True Colors. I thought it was going to be terrible but he really did a great job. Simon said he was a singing yo-yo. One week he's great, the next he's not, then he is again. He even looked better last night. Scott did The Search Is Over by Survivor. He even played the guitar, but it was terrible, he screeched alot. Matt did Part Time Lover. He did excellent, some people gave him a standing O. And now on to Adam (yuck!), he did Mad World from Tears for Fears. Of course, I just plain didn't get it. For some reason, my TV didn't DVR it so I had to go find it online and apparently they ran out of time but Simon gave him a standing O. I love Simon, but I still don't get it!

There's your recap. Who do I think will be in the bottom three tonight? Scott, Kris & Lil Rounds. I sure hope Kris doesn't go home because he is great! I hate to tell ya this Reese, but I fell asleep before I could vote. If Kris goes, it could be my fault, although that would take your whole voting for Kris guilt factor away if he went away ;)

-Heather (somehow I erased my poor Pepsi can, it will be there next time) :)

Status Update

Go ahead, ask me if I'm still in Oregon. I dare you. 'Cause seriously, do you really think I'd be home after 5 1/2 weeks?! As it happens, I am still in Oregon. I was going to try to catch a flight today to Germany (where Tim is working this week, so he could meet up with me there) but you'll never guess what happened: the flight was canceled!!! Go figure!

Actually, Heather and I are such good friends that we're sharing a cold today. Isn't that generous of us? She's home from work for the second day and we're both flopped down on the family room couches watching tv in our jammies. She's humoring me and watching the Food Network. Or else she's too lethargic to change the channel...

UPDATE: Heather has influenza (as diagnosed by her doc) and both my possible flights for tomorrow (Friday) have been cancelled. Just another day in my new home.