Bypassed

The fire moved southeast and passed us by. The house smells like smoke and the sky is gray and ashy, but thanks be to God we are all fine.

Bless the firefighters who have been up all night defending our homes and may they continue to be successful as the fire threatens other parts of Palmdale!

New Fire Photo

Here is the current situation, as viewed from Lindsey's window. The power of nature is astounding...makes one feel very small and insignificant.

Fire!

It's big, it's moving fast, and it's too close for comfort. Please pray for all of us who are in the path of this beast.

Above is the current view from Lindsey's bedroom window (a bit blurry, but you get the idea).

My mother in law, who lives about a mile and a half away from us, was just evacuated, so we are preparing to go as well. No small feat for a family of our size, to be sure.

Hopefully it won't come any closer. Hopefully the ring of fire fighters waiting for it at the bottom of the hill will knock it out before it threatens us. Hopefully no one will lose their lives or their homes.

Off I go, to decide what goes and what stays. Talk about a grounding prioritization! I'll keep you all posted, of course...

Sibling Rivalry

Today Joey and Lindsey spent a decent amount of time trying to outdo eachother as to who had the better school schedule.

Joey goes from 8 to 1:55, Lindsey from 8 to 3. They have (I think) the same number of school days in a year, but Joey starts earlier with longer vacation times throughout the year.

As they argued the merits of their particular situations, it became evident that they were near parity. It came down, finally, to that extra hour or so that Lindsey has four days out of the week (she gets out early every Friday).

I explained to Lindsey that her extra time must be so that religion could be taught, as she goes to a Catholic School. Public schools don't teach that subject so they can have a little less time. I went on to assure her that Joey, too, had religious instruction, but with me in the evenings. Therefore, I tried to help them conclude, they ultimately had the same amount of time in school each year.

Joey, not one to lose any argument at all, quickly came back with, "Ha! My religion only takes us 15 minutes, so I win! You have an hour!"

Lindsey gnawed on that for a few moments. Then, with her voice reflecting all the desperation of a sinking sailor, she wailed, "Maaaaawwwwm! You HAVE to make Joey's religion longer!"

Yeah, I'll get right on that. So they can find something new to compete over.

Vacation

Sorry for the very sparse blogging, folks, but I am enjoying some time off with my family in Northern California. We are on our annual visit to Marin County where some of our kids are attending Bible Camp at St. Rita (our former parish), Joey is at another week of football camp, and I am hanging out with the three little ones being domestic in someone else's house (which we all know is WAY more fun than being domestic in our own homes!).

It has been a really great week. Tony turned five on Monday and is enjoying his new Buzz Lightyear suit immensely. We are staying with his godparents so it was extra special to spend his birthday with them. Tuesday we had dinner with friends from my Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream days and had so much fun catching up.

Yesterday Jay and I went to mass at a church in Sausalito where we had heard our former pastor (the one who brought me into the church and baptized my first four children) was now retired. Luckily, he was presiding and we got to visit with him for awhile after mass. It was so good to see him and we were happy to learn how well things are going for him now. He prayed over me especially for my total healing.

Today the kids went to the beach on Tomales Bay where they saw dozens of jellyfish washed up on the shore. Sam, especially, had fun with that. Tomorrow Joey will visit Angel Island (his camp ended today and was a great opportunity for him to work out at wide receiver before hell week begins with his regular team on Monday) with a friend.

Jay is working from here and enjoying lots of peace and quiet to do so in the detached cottage at our friends' house. I am cooking, cleaning, doing laundry and taking the kids to the playground. Best of all, I'm watching lots of chick flicks with my dear friend Tina and eating way too much dessert. My carb reduction plan is reduced this week, and I'm totally OK with that.

I hope you are all enjoying your summer and I will try to get back into a more regular blogging routine when I return home on Monday.

Blast from the Past

Remember this guy?

Clearly, the picture is not that great, as his head is cut off by the tree, but I had a toddler and a three year old on the loose, so cut me some slack...I did what I could!

Bella, who is newly potty trained (thank goodness), had me turn off the I-10 in a hurry on Saturday to make a pit stop. Imagine my delight when I found the famous "world's largest" dinosaurs that I remember so well from my childhood. I didn't even know they were still around! I would never have thought to even look for them, much less realize that we were anywhere near them. So, thanks to Bella for her urgent bathroom visit that sent me down memory lane.

What was I doing on the I-10, you may be wondering? I dropped Lindsey off at camp in the San Jacinto mountains, somewhere inbetween Hemet and Palm Springs. I went through Hemet on the way up so I decided to go through Palm Springs on the way back. I'll be heading back on Saturday to pick her up. Which way to go, which way to go?

Perhaps the dinosaurs will help me decide!

Just for Fun

A friend sent me this optical illusion. Give it a try if you have some time to kill!

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Fond Memories

Sam, Joey and Jay are in Marin County this week so the boys can attend football camp. Joey is staying with a friend he is still in contact with from his kindergarten and first grade days at St. Rita School, so Jay and Sam are enjoying lots of time together, just the two of them.

This morning Jay took Sam out to breakfast at a coffee shop where we nearly always had breakfast after mass on Sundays. Sam (who was just turning 4 when we moved) remembered the place right away. He surprises me constantly with how much he remembers from his early years in Marin.

This quote demonstrates just how well he recalls it:

"Oh, I remember this place! Joey tied my shoelaces together and I fell down right there!" As he said this, he pointed enthusiastically to the exact location in the restaurant where he hit the ground.

Now, I remember the place more for the waffles, but we all have our favorite memories, right? How nice for Sam that he can relive that one.

So Tired

Dishes make me feel like this too. I totally get it.

What I don't get is how she managed to stay on the stool after she fell asleep. When I first walked in the kitchen and saw her like this my heart stopped!

I'm thinking that perhaps I missed a few "I'm tired" cues that would have led me to put her to bed before it came to this. But since I didn't, we now have this great picture!

Marriage By The Numbers

Years Married Today: 15
Children Born: 7
Children Loved But Not Born: 1
Communities Lived In: 2
Houses Owned: 3
Dogs Loved (or Endured, depending on which one of us you are): 2
Other Animals Housed: 2 cats, 1 hamster, 1 guinea pig, 4 fish
Trials Endured: A Few
Trials to Come: Only God Knows--but we'll survive them together!
Blessings to Count: Innumerable
Duration Ahead: 'Till Death Do Us Part

Happy Anniversary, Jay--I love you!