Swine flu, Economic Upswing and Other Nonsense of the Day

I really try to keep up to date on current events. I really do. But, sometimes, I get the feeling that what we hear has been so sensationalized that it only barely resembles the truth.

Take for instance the whole business about the swine flu. Ok, so, there is a strain of flu virus that has mutated and it is like "no other" we have witnessed before. Cuba has closed it's borders to travelers, Mexico has closed all public schools and restaurants and I just read a report on how this pandemic could cause a total collapse in the world economy. But let's back up a minute. For healthy adults, this new virus will cause the exact same symptoms as the regular flu virus. Of the plus 50 cases noted in the US, all have survived without any lingering effects. The only death on record in the US was a little boy that had crossed the border from Mexico and was living in TX. Maybe I'm being short-sited, or maybe the media has just found one more event to exaggerate and cause panic.

Then there is the economy. Just two months ago we were reading reports that this is the worst economic conditions since the Great Depression. There was no hope in sight and we needed to bunker down and prepare for things to only get worse. Granted, foreclosures in our area are incredibly high and Matthew had just stopped openning his Charles Swabb account information when it arrived in the mail. But, then I read an article that Obama was being encouraged to send more positive reports to the American people to avoid overwhelming them with bad news. Within a week, I started seeing these reports that the housing market was showing an improvement, retail sales had demonstrated an increase in household spending and the number of jobless was decreasing. So, were things not really as bad as they were being reported or are we only receiving half of the story?

Finally, there is the coverage on the recent TEA parties. I'm all for these protests and am so excited to see a diverse group of people coming together to show the government how disappointed they are with the bailouts and excessive spending. But, then I hear a report on MSNBC that these are protests held by extreme rightist groups. No, that is false. That is an actual lie being broadcast to the mainstream public. CNN chose not to even cover the demonstration of thousands of Americans in cities across the nation. Is it because they choose to ignore any event that doesn't support their cause?

I studied journalism. I was taught to be educated about the issues, but remain unbiased. I was taught about the "4th Branch of Government" and the responsibility the media had to the country. I'm saddened to think that somewhere along the way this ideal has been lost.

I'm stepping down from my soap box now...hope someone is there with a step stool and a diet pepsi.

Little Visitor

The birds in Arizona are crazy. They roost in neon signs of strip mall stores, attack Matthew while he is on his morning jog and "meet" (see earlier post)regularly in our backyard. And although Abby does her best to scare them away, they believe that the waterfall in our pool was built specifically for them to bathe in. They also attempt to build nests in the palm trees surrounding the pool.

Apparently, one such nest tipped and spilled out four little baby birds. I don't know who was more excited - Anna Cate or Abby. I wish I had my camera ready so that I could have taken pictures of Matthew and AC trying to catch the little bird that came to be called "Angel". Matthew stood on one side of the pool fence wearing work gloves, trying to actually catch it, while AC ran back and forth looking for it and giggling with excitement. We did catch the bird and Anna Cate made a nest for it out of a shoe box with leaves and grass at the bottom. She then added little bread crumbs and a tiny cup of water. When "Angel" was safely in her new little nest, Anna Cate stood over it and sang her songs to "calm her down". <

Sadly, by morning, Angel was no longer with us. Anna Cate was very disappointed, but I'm glad we were able to experience the wonder of God's creation all the same.

Love and Respect

Recently, Matthew and I began a study based on the book, Love and Respect by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs. I always love when we do these types of studies because it strengthens our relationship and helps us to see the world through one another's eyes. This study is based on Eph. 5:33 in which men are commanded to LOVE their wives and wives are commanded to RESPECT their husbands. The basic premise being that each has a different basic need. Matthew has concluded that we really don't need to continue in this study, and after having discussed it, these are the reasons why...

1. We don't argue over little things. He may never put his bowl in the dishwasher after eating cereal, and I may never remember to buy him razors at the grocery store, but in the long run, these things do not matter. Therefore, we choose not to let them upset us or ruin the good thing we have going here.

2. We look for the best in one another. Matthew can act bossy and thoughtless. Sometimes he doesn't notice what needs to be done when it is right under his nose. I can be controlling and emotionally needy and have been known to blow things way out of proportion. But, we are both intelligent, responsible, caring people who always put our family first. So, when we get angry and feel disrespected or unloved, we remember that our actions are not truly reflective of our feelings. When I get angry, I remind myself of just how lucky I am to have such a wonderful man as my husband. And knowing how he sees me inspires me to be, well, a better version of me.

3. We talk. Honestly, this one is probably all for me, but I think it really is key to our relationship. I appreciate that Matthew trusts me and respects my opinion on all things, from motorcycles to conflicts at the office. I like when he sits and listens to me list my concerns about Anna Cate or our families. We discuss our thoughts on God, prayer, the recession and what type of tree we should plant next to the ficus. Sometimes we competely agree with one another and sometimes we are shocked by our differences, but we keep talking to better understand one another. Because we talk about the small things, we are able to talk about the big things and have learned that some of our best talks include apologies.

So, I hoped I haven't jinxed us. I know I still have so much to figure out about life. I may look at this in ten years and realize how much I didn't know about us. Which will be fine, I actually hope that we still have lots to learn about one another. At any rate, we're going to continue reading the book...just in case.

Our Favorite Quotes

Our life is filled with funny sayings these days, usually originating from Anna Cate. Here are some of our favorites...

Me: Why did you put a capital "T" in the middle of the word, silly girl?
AC: (shrugging her shoulders)That's the way I do it, that's just how I roll.


Me: Yeah, your granddaddy works for a company that makes vitamins for chicken producers to give to the chickens.
AC: Why? They're just gonna die anyway.


AC: I feel like those pressinism people, Mom, I can't focus! (Impressionism artists)


A song on Christian Contemporary Radio contains the lyrics, "I'm free to be me, you're free to be you"
AC: Mom, what does this song mean?
Me: Well, it means God mades us a certain way and we shouldn't let anyone tell us to be different from the way God meant us to be.
(a 15 second silence passes)
AC: So...it's ok if I pick my nose.

Somedays Anna Cate likes to ride her bike alongside Matthew as he goes for his jog. On a recent trip, she fell and skinned both knees...
Matthew: Anna Cate, you gotta be more careful. Pay attention to what you're doing.
Anna Cate: You don't know how hard it is to be a little girl, whose riding a bike with two hurt knees...that are bleeding and have her Dad mouthin' at her!

Anna Cate: Mom, come here, look! They're meeting! That means they are going to have a baby!
(On the Wii SimsAnimals game, the animals "mate" by rubbing noses and then they have babies. AC didn't recognize the word "mating", so she just thought it said "meeting".)

"I promise to be perfect for the rest of this week...but, I'm not making any promises about next week."

"I'm not all the way over it, I still think you are an evil genius." (What AC said to me after a recent argument we had.)

"You're driving me sane!"

AC: "hee, hee, it looks like a little weenie!"
Me: "What? Do you mean bikini?"
AC: "Oh, yeah, bikini."

Anna Cate and I were snuggling and giving one another kisses. She pulled back and I asked, "Is my breath a little stinky?"
She answered, "No, I just wanted to see your beautiful face."

"I don't throw up, I just get conscious." (I think she meant nauseous)

The Magic in Everyday

I like to think I have maintained some of my childhood wonder. I still giggle at silly jokes, I still love to play hide-and-seek and I still jump whenever someone touches my feet. But, experiencing everyday, ordinary occurrences through Anna Cate's eyes shows me how much I have lost in the whole "growing up" process.

Take for instance, the class field trip that I chaperoned yesterday. We rode on a big yellow school bus. To me, it was loud and bumpy. Anna Cate and her friend spent most of the ride peeking over the seat in front of them so that they could see themselves in the driver's mirror, laughing the entire time. Then there was the squirrel. We're waiting in line to ride the train and there are 15 children lined up along the rope watching, what looked to me, to be a common grey squirrel. As we stopped to watch the elephants, I called AC over to look and she yelled back, "Just a minute, Mom, I almost caught this bird." But, the biggest smile and deepest laugh I heard all day came when she and the other children were running and chasing one another around. Nevermind the lions, or the wallabys, or the spider monkey, she laughed hardest when a classmate almost tagged her and she barely escaped by running in the opposite direction. Finally, as we were waiting for the other groups to gather so that we may leave, we made the mistake of standing near a pond filled with koi. Before we knew it, our group of children were laying on the rocks watching the fish. As other groups joined us, every child managed to find a place to lean over so that they were almost nose to nose with the fish. One mom looked at me and started to suggest that we move the children at the exact moment that Anna Cate got the great idea to throw some popcorn in the pond as food for the fish. Another round of giggles and excitement ran through the rest of the group. The mom just looked at me and said, "Well, next time we come, if the fish are dead, we'll know not to let our children feed them popcorn".

Sometimes, I think we try to fill our child's life with these "big" moments, we try to give her all these wonderful memories of "cool" experiences. And, maybe, what she really needs is for us to just stop and appreciate the small, ordinary things that she most enjoys. In doing so, maybe we can rediscover some of the wonder we once had, too. So, I'm including a picture of Anna Cate's big success of the week - her sprouting plants. To me, they just look like weeds, but to her, they are something she has created and provided for...which really is pretty exciting!

Believe in Your Dreams

Anna Cate is a huge fan of Hannah Montana just like every little girl between the ages of 5 and 10. So, when she began seeing previews for Hannah's first big screen movie, it was understood that we would be seeing it. The movie opens with Hannah Montana singing her hit, "The Best of Both Worlds", which is Anna Cate's life theme song. She was so excited that she literally had trouble sitting in her seat. She continued to laugh and dance the whole movie.

But, watching the movie was not the best part of the day. The best part came after we got home. Immediately after entering our home, AC quietly ran upstairs. I didn't think anything of it until I realized she had been up there for over 15 minutes and that she was very quiet. I called up to her and asked if she was okay and she answered by saying the she was getting into "disguise". She came down the stairs in her pageboy hat, holding a pencil and piece of paper. She was "working on her song". She sat at the desk and continued to sound out words and make marks on her paper. Her song was entitled, "Be What You Want to Be" and it contained verses and lots of "ohhh's" and "ahhh's". She had even included little arrows to remind her when to go up a note, when to go down a note and when to hold a note.

As I stood and watched her, my heart melted for this little girl. She has no doubts that she may not succeed. The idea of failure is so foreign to her. She truly believes that if she wants something, it will happen. I admire that trait in her and want to protect it for as long as I can.

Motivation Behind This Blog

Recent events have demonstrated that my memory is simply not what it once was. Add to that the guilt I feel over the unfinished scrapbooks upstairs and the desire to remember these day and what you get is this blog.

Incredibly, Anna Cate will be turning six next month. I can't believe the journey we have all experienced since I met Matthew in the garage with a little strip displaying a "plus" sign in September 2002. As a family, we have shed more than a few tears, spoken more than a couple angry words, sang a few hundred silly songs and laughed (out loud) everyday for almost seven years. But, most importantly, we have grown together. Sometimes I think Matthew and I have learned as much from Anna Cate as she has from us. We are a work in progress and this is my attempt to journal the steps we take together.