I Don't Ever Want to Forget These Days...

Never uploaded a movie before, but I think this one is worth it. At least for my sake. This was taken today -- a Sunday afternoon. Homework is done, chores are finished, and the kids were told to "find something to do!" Before I knew it they all came up with their "outfits" on, turned on some music and just started dancing and dancing. I grabbed my camera and shot. Totally unpolished, obviously ;-), but that's what makes it darling to me. I praise God that they are still such good friends; love spending time together; and come up with some great activities that don't include a tv or a computer. You made my day, Kiddos!

It's Gone!!

Whew -- glad to have that little part of my life over with. We finally got that little tooth out yesterday. Not an easy task and I see now why it was so hard for her. Because of the fact that there was no adult tooth coming up underneath it pushing it out (it was already completely grown in behind it) there was still quite the root left there. So, after two really hard pulls it came out, left a huge gapping hole, and bled quite a bit. My sweetie let out quite a scream (pretty impressive for Prae!) and then after the initial pain went away hugged and hugged me thanking me over and over. She was so relieved to have it out of her mouth and likes the fact that she can now start eating on that side again. There's got to be a lesson in this one for me! Let see: I guess doing hard, painful things can actually make you feel a whole lot better once the hard part is over and done with. Easy to say, hard to remember and follow through with when the time comes. I pray I will.

To Pull or Not to Pull...

Ugh!!! This parenting thing is a lot harder than my parents made it look!!! Prae has a loose tooth. It is no ordinary tooth, though. Her adult tooth has fully come in behind it and the two on each side of it are sort of corraling it in, if you know what I mean. So, a number of months ago she came to me asking me to pull her tooth -- that in and of itself was a miracle. I tried and failed -- TWICE! I didn't have a good grip and that puppy just didn't want to let go. So she is SOOOO gun-shy!! I went to the dentist thinking he would totally help me out, be the bad guy and get that silly thing out of there. NO. He proceeds to tell me that it will fall out on its own right in front of her! I explain my worries about her not brushing well there b/c it hurts, the length of time it has been loose, and the fact the she NEEDS more space in there to help the other teeth not be so crooked. He still seemed reluctant, but said he would do it if I wanted him to and all the while Prae is squishing my toes silently begging me to wait. So we wait... Last night we decide we are getting that thing out. We tried for an HOUR. We got the dental floss around one side of it around the back and started down the other side when she lost heart. The tooth moved, it hurt, so that was that. I tried every tactic. Calm, nice, funny, stern, encouraging, demanding, forcefull, etc, etc, etc. We decided to quit when she worked herself into such a frenzy that her hands and feet started feeling numb. I'm assumming from lack of oxygen!? Does it need to come out? Do I leave it alone, not make such a big deal about it, and let it fall out? HELP!! Any ideas out there???

P.S. I wonder if I just "stole" this pic. off the web. Are there any rules about that...

I KNEW I wasn't going to be good at this...

Well, I'm back :-). A month later, but I'm back. So many times I've thought, "I need to blog that...", but am unable to get to the computer. I think this calls for a laptop!! My daughter would be thrilled *grin*.

Today Eli left for a two day retreat with Leadership Rapid City, a class he is taking through the PD. He is going with two other guys from the dept. and I know they will have a great time, although he wasn't so sure :-). Before he went he had to take a personality test online and send his results to the key speaker. The site was open to anyone, so I took it too! The outcome was hilarious. Eli was described as a "Mastermind" and it fit him to a T!! Said only 1% of the population have this personality, they tend to be very introverted, like order, will think things through ALLLL the way to the end and not only that, but will have a plan a,b,and c in case the first plan doesn't go well. They don't immediately rise as leaders, but will do so when they see inadequate leadership happening; then they will step up and get the job done correctly. Like I said, "to a T"!!!

For me I didn't think it was exactly me, and Eli wasn't so sure either, so he went through and retook the test for me *grin*. We both got the same outcome. They described me as a "Performer". Marilyn Monroe had my personality...as did Ronald Regan --ha!! Parts of it were definitely true: love to have fun! Am the one to brighten the place where they are. A negative side is instead of dealing with problems, we prefer to just ignore them, thinking that they will just go away. Very much a people person and get great joy from spending our time with them.

None of this was new to either of us, but it's just fun to see how answering a bunch of questions can really show what our personalities are and point out how very DIFFERENT Eli and I are from each other! I know God did that for a reason and to me, it just shows how much we need each other to "complete" each other and together we make one!! People as serious as he was described as NEED someone who "just wants to have fun"!! And people who would rather ignore the obvious sometimes, NEED someone to come around and pull them back to reality and the real issues.

So all-in-all it just confirmed in my mind How Great My God Is! We didn't date very long (well, we didn't even have our first date until after we were engaged) and for sure didn't have both of our personalities all figured out before we were married. But GOD knew we needed each other. And even though our differences drive us CRAZY from time to time, I rest in the fact that we are GOOD for each other, we NEED each other and our lives wouldn't be near as FULL without each other!

I love you Honey!!!