Emma-isms

My baby starts kindergarten tomorrow. After 12 years of being blessed to stay home with our 4 children, a new phase of life starts for all of us. So tonight as I was tucking Emma in bed, we had the following conversation:

ME: Emma, you're starting kindergarten tomorrow, and I will be praying for you all day. Is there anything special you want me to pray for?

EMMA: Yeah, I have this problem. When I blink I can't see.

ME: You mean you can't see when you blink? That's what you want me to pray for?

EMMA: Yeah, I think I may need glasses. But I don't need surgery.

ME: How about if you just don't blink?

EMMA: No, that's too hard. Good night, mom.

This conversation reminded me of 2 other recent Emma-isms. Just the other day we were going out on the town and we were going to do a lot of walking. I wanted the kids to wear good shoes with some socks. So, Emma came out of her room sporting her crocs. I know crocs are comfortable, so I didn't mind, but I thought socks might be a good idea since pebbles get lodged into crocs. Here was the conversation:

ME: Emma, we're going to do a lot of walking. You should wear some socks with those crocs.

EMMA: I am. They're invisible.

ME: Emma, without socks your feet will hurt after a while.

EMMA: Mom, I'm wearing my invisible socks. You just can't see them.

That response was so quick and witty that I actually let her get away with it. We went out, and she did not give one complaint the entire day. The invisible socks were amazing!

Emma said one other thing recently that cracked us all up at the dinner table. We were discussing the possibility of going to London one day. Emma's response: "If we go to London, do we have to use that English accident?"

See why I'm going to miss having my baby around all day???

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

Well, back into the frying pan.....we need to pass on our Congratulations to the big winners: TinaK was first to respond and BrendaM was first to carry out past the decimal point on the Fahrenheit conversions!! Where are the men, I ask?!?!?!?

Anyway, on our return trip, it was a delightful 21.5 C when we left the mountains. 20 nauseating minutes later as we were at the bottom of the mountain, it was 28 C. About an hour later as we were driving, the temperature reached 33.5 C. Then, an odd occurrence - a dark cloud loomed and strange dots appeared on the windshield. After consulting wikipedia (the internet's most reliable source of all information that anyone can edit from anywhere in the world!), I believe we saw rain drops!! Whatever the alien invasion was, the temperature dropped quickly to 28 C. But, fear not..when we hit our street, it was 35 C.

For those still wondering what it all means: Fahrenheit = 1.8 x Celsius + 32. Happy Computing as we keep dreaming of a white Christmas!

Beating the Heat

For the last couple of weeks, we have been sleeping with wet wash rags, ceiling fans and oscillating fans to deal with the summer weather. I (Mike)even used a "Blue Ice" pack from the freezer...it's quite relaxing if you sleep on your side: simply place under your arm and your body temperature drops immediately! Any other helps are gladly welcomed!

Well, our best way to beat the heat is to retreat to the mountains. We are about a mile high, though not in Denver! When we arrived for a few days of rest and focus, I noticed the temperature outside was 33 Celsius. 20 minutes later as we climbed out of the car, it was 23 Celsius. Lisa and Annie actually wore jackets this morning because they were cold!

For your homework, I am curious who will be the first to correctly calculate the celsius temperatures to fahrenheit!! I'll be waiting!

commitment

Many of you know that my mother has Alzheimer's Disease. Many of you, too, have a loved one who is affected by this disease. I want to share a clip with you about a man named Robertson McQuilkin. His wife also had Alzheimer's Disease, and the following clip is a small part of his story. His story is being told by Dennis Rainey, host of Family Life Today.

Rain

Yesterday showed promise of rain. It was mid-morning, and the dark clouds gathered and the winds picked up. It hasn't rained in months, and what a relief it would be to the sun-soaked land and to our souls as well. So we watched and waited.

It was early afternoon and the weather still held promise. The winds were telling us of a change, and doors were slamming all throughout the house as a sign. I studied the sky, and it sure looked like some other parts of the city might be getting rain, so we eagerly waited for the drops to fall in our neighborhood.

Late afternoon came, and I was still holding out hope. The overcast sky remained, a much-welcome change for this mid-August day. On my occasional trips to the balcony to enjoy the cooler breeze, I anticipated and begged the heavens to pour upon this dry and dusty land.

In early evening, just before the sun set, a few drops fell right on our street. It was a silent rain. You could barely see it, you definitely could not hear it, but if you stood in the open you could feel it. I held my arm off my balcony and felt five drops sporadically hit my skin. And that was it. The rain evaporated from the street as quickly as it fell. Ten minutes later there was no sign of rain. Just overcast skies.

The rest of the evening brought in a little cooler weather, but the people and the land are still crying out for rain. All day we were teased with hope but only received a drop of relief. This is where I live.

Let. it. rain.

The World According to Emma

Emma is getting so excited about starting kindergarten in a few short weeks. To impress us as parents, she is showing off her ever-growing vocabulary. For example:

1) While recently having a friend spend the night, she was trying to explain how they were going to sleep on the love seat which folds out into a double bed. Well, when Emma explained it, she said, "Guess what?? We get to sleep on the love couch!" Not to be outdone, only a few days later....
2) It was a Sunday and I was shaving before we headed out the door. Emma walked by the bathroom and saw me. She asked if she could watch and quickly got the stool as I was splashing water on my face. Once as close as humanly possible, she asked me, "Dad, when are you going to put the whipped cream on your face?" I asked, "What whipped cream, Emma? I don't shave with whipped cream." "Yes, you do, Daddy! You know, the white stuff that you scrap off your face!" she replied.

Well, as you can tell, Emma is well on her way to becoming a Fulbright scholar........though we are sad that our baby is going to school!! :-(

uncle, eggs, and heat

Has it really been 3 weeks since my last post? To my faithful friends who check this blog, I'm impressed that you checked in again that by chance you might find something new. Here we are!

Here's a basic recap on the past few weeks. The highlight is that Uncle Brad came to visit. That would be single, bachelor Uncle Brad that the girls are perpetually trying to set up with one of their teachers, neighbors, or any cute girl in the 30-something range. We did some sightseeing with Brad, fed him lots of local food, and took a 3-day trip to a more villagey location.

Other than Uncle Brad visiting, the rest isn't very exciting. Our refrigerator broke down completely (yeah, the brand new one we bought in April '07). When that happened, I had to distribute my food in 4 different refrigerators at friends' houses. The repairman came, looked at it, and said he couldn't fix it that day. We survived on pb&j, and he returned the next day and got her up and running again. I recollected my food and now it's nice and cold. It's really nice and cold in the back where it actually freezes the food. Like ice on my veggies. Should I call the repairman again?

Did you know that if you get eggs at a market (they are not refrigerated there), and you put them in the fridge where they get cold, and then your fridge breaks down and the eggs get warm again, that no one gets sick if you eat them once the fridge gets repaired and they're cold again? I had a local tell me they'd be fine to eat. I took her word for it, and no one got sick. It was risky, but everyone was fine (eggs are not cheap here).

Other than Brad visiting and the fridge breaking down, I guess the only news (which really isn't news), is that it is just blazing hot! I daily have to remind myself why life is better without air conditioning. I'm reteaching my body that heat is good. I'm actually learning lots of tips on how to stay cool. So, here are my summer tips for staying cool:

• Don't open your windows if it's higher than 80 degrees outside. Opening a door or window on a hot day is like a blast of heat from the oven. No kidding! It's actually cooler with the windows closed.
• Wrap a blue ice pack in a washcloth and sleep with it like a little teddy bear.
• Spritz sheets with cold water before going to bed.
• Avoid the oven or stove! We have a gas stovetop, so when it's on there's an open flame going in our kitchen. We eat salads, sandwiches, smoothies, etc. About twice a week our dinner is sandwiches and a fresh smoothie (juicy fresh fruits from the market mixed with yogurt).
  
• Go to the air-conditioned food court in the mall...linger for a very looooong time.
  
• Eat outside in the shade. It's cooler than inside the apartment.
• Have lots of squirt gun fights.
• Fans are your friends.
• Reminisce about summer camp and how much fun it was to be in that cabin without air conditioning. Just think...our kids get the same experience without the expense of camp.
• Reminisce about your freshman year in college in the only dorm without air conditioning and relive all those precious memories before graduating to the other side of campus.
• Know that sweat is cleansing your body from toxins.
• Have contests on which melts faster in the kitchen...a piece of ice or a tablespoon of butter. Time the results and the loser buys ice cream.
  
• Keep a positive attitude and know that fall's around the corner.