the sky is pink

During my brief hiatus, we had a lot going on with the boys and cub scouts. Jackson earned his Wolf. Carter earned his Religious Knot, Webelos, and ... The Arrow of Light. Both boys have been working very hard on their scout stuff and we are very proud of them. And Taylor, my almost 13-year-old, is finishing his last merit badge required for Eagle. He is just one project away from being an Eagle Scout. (It helps that Joe is an Eagle Scout, which he earned as a 13- or 14-year-old. You would think after three boys in scouting, I'd know what I'm doing. But I don't. I have a lot to learn before Mason and Sawyer are old enough to join.)

(watching the funeral procession, taken via my cell phone) November 16, 2009 Joe and I just returned from the funeral of a young marine killed in Afghanistan. At the end of the funeral, the Marine’s father went up to the casket and tapped on it. Then he escorted the young widow out. After the church funeral, we went outside for the military proceedings. It was completely silent standing outside. The only sound was the giant American flag blowing in the wind. And the very hungry stomach of a person nearby. No one spoke. I could hear repeated taps. I couldn’t see what it was at first. Then I realized the taps were the feet of the Marines who were carrying the casket. Small, short, quick and precise steps in unison. Each made with exactness. As the flag was lifted off the casket, Joe pinched the back of my thigh and said, “behind us.” (He was still standing at “attention” so he wasn’t supposed to move or speak.) When I turned around I saw and heard the 21-gun salute. And then the bugle p...

(See. My hair does not look purple .) I was browsing through some blogs a few weeks back when I stumbled upon a cute, simple scarf . I thought, "Hmm. I'm always cold. It looks easy. I think I shall do this." And that was that. A few days later I slipped into the fabric store for Halloween fabrics and picked up some homespun cotton. And then it sat. I guess you can blame it on my fall because everything sat. And only absolute priorities were taken care of, like Halloween and a little girl's birthday . Everything that was non-essential was put on hold. Well, now that my knees are not grossly swollen anymore and are only grossly bruised now, I'm trying to get back to my regularly-scheduled life. And so I made it this week. Complete with the fringed edge. It does keep a neck warm. Random Updates: A Marine was killed this weekend in Afghanistan. He was from the outskirts of my town. It's very sad. While I did not know him personally, as a mother and the wife of...

Two years ago our family started Operation Service . Our goal was to serve a nutritious meal to some of our elderly neighbors. We have one widow and two widowers right on our little end of the street. They are so kind to us and our children. Some weeks are better than others with actually getting the meal out and delivered. It really depends on what I'm serving my family for dinner. If I prepare a roast, I always share. If I prepare a potpie with leftover roast, I only sometimes share. (I have to make sure there is enough to feed my own family first.) When I decided I wanted chickens, my plan was to make quiche as part of Operation Service. For some reason, older people love this bacon-cheddar quiche, as I have discovered through several family members. So yesterday afternoon, I decided to use some of the dozens of eggs in my fridge, and I set out to make quiches. Two, in fact. One to split amongst the neighbors and one for the children's breakfast. And while it was still war...

he loved me more than all the rainbows at his house. At first I didn't know what he meant. But I think I now do. I am forever grateful for three-year-old boys.

This morning's smoothie. Blackberry-banana-peach smoothie with cottage cheese . Carter's eye after being kicked with soccer cleats during a pregame soccer warm-up. (He was helping Jack's team warm-up and was the goalie.) Shoes? I thought they would be more red than they are. Oh well. I've never owned purple shoes before. These are this year's birthday shoes. A little tradition I started a few years ago when I saved up birthday money and bought shoes at a price I would never normally pay. Last year I bought the boots . These fun shoes are from two years ago. Hmmm ... I can't find any record of what I bought in 2007. I'll need to research this. (The day that I bought those faux-red-mostly-purple shoes they had a sale, so the shoes were $20 off. That's my kind of deal.) Oh, and my hair was almost purple-pink last week. I decided to color it and in the lighting it appeared to have a purplish tint. Of course I freaked out, but it was just my imaginati...

The kids went trick or treating on Saturday night. Taylor went with some friends from school. The other five went with our family friends. Taylor was something. I'm not quite sure what. He wore that cape and carried a sword. Jackson and his friend, Lorenzo, were soldiers. Carter was a scuba diver. Kallie (family friend) was Scooby - Doo . Mason was a zombie. (He decided to forgo the white and black face paint he wore for our church's trunk or treat last week.) Spenser was a witch. And Sawyer was Peter Pan. I only made a few of the costumes this year including: Peter Pan. I took the easy route and used green craft felt. I found a red feather for his cap. He wore a pair of Spenser's brown leggings under the tunic. They were supposed to be green, but we didn't have green. A witch. A store-bought black shirt with a black felt skirt (cut with a jaggedy hem) and an orange tulle "tutu" overskirt . She really wanted to be a witch. I tried to talk her out of it...

A beautiful girl in our house turns five today. And her gift of the day? Fifth disease . How's that for poetic justice? She woke up with the happiest attitude and the rosiest cheeks. One look at her and I knew. This is our first case of this virus. And it happens to the girl on her fifth birthday. We had a little birthday tea party for her yesterday with her girl cousins. I surely hope that we didn't contaminate anyone before her symptoms appeared this morning. (She never had a fever or any signs of being sick.) And here is the thrifted china I found back in the spring/summer. I figured she's want another tea party like last year . I love you, my girl. I hope your cheeks come back to normal color soon. Have the happiest birthday, my little love.