SATURDAY HAPPENINGS

I slept good last night. I rarely takes meds other than my Synthroid. Deja was convinced that taking liquid Benadryl would help. Since I am still itching (1/2 of us are better and 1/2 are better but still itchy), I wanted to try it. I slept. I took the lowest adult dose and it knocked me out and helped with itching. Thanks Deja. Arielle and I took doses today too.

I woke up bright and early and headed for the yearly Parish Advisory Council Planning meeting at the chapel. Hoot! Hoot! This is NOT my favorite meeting of the year, but really it was painless. I've been at bases where this was a weekend retreat or 3 Saturday ordeal. Our group is great. No haggling. Some questions but really all focused on working as a team to come up with a budget that will help us fulfill our goals and mission on base. We had breakfast, lunch and were out of there by 1:00. Impressive. Our Sr. Protestant is a keeper - and I get to go home with him. LOL

Mike took me out to Coldstone on the way home. WHEW!

We got home and I was exhausted - I think more from the Benadryl than any lingering blood count....Stacia was sleeping. Mike took all the rest to the base's pool at the lake. They had a great time. They've been wanting to go all week but I wasn't pool ready. Josiah's been working all day. Jamin worked about 5 hours. I napped with Stacia.

Bre called. We discussed lots of things - including my chore card system. ::snort::

I had a few minutes before the family got home so I skimmed SHS mail and checked out Sidetracked Home Executives. I'm guessing that since I bought the book 16 years ago MAYBE they have some computer programs or something by now. I didn't get much time to look before....

the family returned home and we discovered a dead dove in the kids' pool. ARGH. Off to Sam's we went to buy bleach (for the pool) and milk (for the children). We checked out laptops - we bought the girls each a laptop when they graduated and need to do that for Josiah too. They gave us a free chicken - did you know they do that at closing time? I think that's the polite way of saying "Don't you think you should leave already?" LOL

Camera Geeks UNITE

Camera Geeks UNITE - or SOUND OFF - be proud of who you are!

So....we are a bit of a geeky camera family. That is what happens when two folks who were - either year book photographer, took zillion of photo electives in high school instead of calculus, worked in a photo studio - meet and marry and then have a large family! Try to parse that SENTENCE!!!!!

We refused to buy a digital camera because *we* could tell the difference between real photos and digital photos. We LIKED the ability of change "things" on our SLR cameras (Nikons and Cannons). However, in 2004 we switched to digital. We got a HP with a 12x optical zoom lens...we were happy but the lag time and such drove us nutty.

We then bought THIS camera. We love it. All our Nikon lenses will work on it, there is simply NO comparison between the point and click lenses and these lenses, there is NO lag time, the focus is quick - really it's like taking photos with a Nikon SLR. The cons: it is clunky, it is expensive and Mike worries about me lugging it to the pool, park, up a mountain etc., it is expensive.

Mike did NOT want to take it when he deployed. He bought this one. Office Depot allowed us to bring it back if sand ruined it. That's a good selling point. The girls each have one of these - they were on sale and we wanted them to SEND US PHOTOS! ::snort:: Everyone thought the photos on it were fine. Mike got home and brought it home so that I could have it in my purse. I imagined it would be much easier to take photos of my meals at a restaurant like some of you do (you KNOW who you are!) with THIS camera rather than the camera above. The pros: it's small, it has video, it's small. The cons: there is a noticeable second (maybe less) to focus, there is a noticeable lag time between when you click and when it takes the photo (maybe a second).

Our thought was that I'd use the small camera for every day. It would be fine to have in my purse and catch daily shots....saving the Nikon for those shots of glaciers, grizzlies, and water lilies. Then I noted at Cy's graduation that my photos were much more natural, well-lit, closer than some others I saw with smaller cameras.

I'm a nut. I know that. I took photos with both cameras today. Same times, lighting etc. Every photo I took - I took twice. You think YOUR kids say, "ah mom" when you grab a camera. I think there is a difference in the quality of photos. What do you all think? Am I just psychotic?

Cy and Mike checking out the car - with point and click

Cy and Mike checking out the car with Nikon

Josiah finished Jamin's book - called him in and said, "the great thing about reading this book is that I can punch the author for the ending!" ::snort:: with the point and click

Punching the author with the Nikon

I'll spare you more photos....this is representative. Is it just me? The Nikon seems to have truer colors. Also in punching 1 - they had to stay still and hold the pose....in punching 2 it was a real punch that I got in process. ::snort::
Now I'm not sure what to do...because though I love having a camera in my purse....I really want ALL my photos to be true to life. I want them all to be sharply focused and such....but maybe I can take both with me...and when I'm too lazy to pull out the Nikon I can whip out the Vivitar. Or I can whip out the Nikon with one hand for still shots and the Vivitar with the other for videos. What to do?????

Book Review: *Saving the Fragments...

*Saving the Fragments by Isabella Leitener and Irving A. leitner*

This is the sequel to *Fragments of Isabella: A Memoir of Auschwitz* by the same authors. You can read that review here. Isabella is also the author a children's book we used this year in school: The Big Lie. I really do recommend the Big Lie for elementary students who are studying the ww2 time period. It is also one of the few remaining books from my Spring Reading Thing List.

In this book we travel with Isabella, Rachel and Chicha from the moment of their escape while on a death march to Bergen-Belsen until they arrive in New York and are reunited with their father.

I had never thought much of the unrest of the time. I'd never thought of the long road ahead for survivors who had no homes, family, and such left. I guess in most of the books I've read those months of searching for family, for a future were glossed over.

I found parts of this book to be bleak. I kept wishing that Isabella would meet Corrie ten Boom, or really the Jesus of Scripture. The book filled me with awe at the strength of the human character and yet with despair at how truly terrible humans can be. These girls went from the terrors of Dr. Mengele to the trial of attempted rape by liberating soldiers.

Book Review: *Morality For Beautiful Girls*

by Alexander McCall Smith

This is another of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series set in Botswana. It is also another one of the original books on my Spring Reading Thing List.

Obviously, I find the Yada Yada and the Nursery Crime series to be "funner" reading...but every time I pick up one of these books I find myself really enjoying it by about chapter 3. I guess they start slow for me. LOL

In this book Mma Ramotswe solves more problems...both her own and others. Mma Makutsi shapes up the two apprentices and the business at Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors, as well as solving her first really big case...finding "the" beauty contestant with morals.

This quote, so appropriate to Africa could also be said of W TX: " She knew that it was the perfect country - all Botswana knew that - but it would be even more perfect if the three hottest months could be cooled down."

Precious Ramotswe has the "perfect" storage place for importnant papers and checks...making me wonder if Mom learned this trick while living in Africa. I'll have to check. ::snort::

SHEW - sorry if this is depressing tonight.

It's been a week and that has made me think it's time to get my thoughts out, send an email to family and friends etc.

I also had two goodbyes today - which tend to make me introspective. I could have written one post a day for a few days...but I knew it was time to answer questions and share my heart.

Now if you came here to find the summer reading challenge and you are wondering WHAT you stumbled on to - simply click on the link below the graphic in the sidebar.

WHAT SHOULD I SAY????

I've been asked this a LOT. Often people who know I've had many miscarriages will write and ask what they should do when a friend is having a troubled pregnancy. I guess what you live you begin to get good at? Speaking from the perspective of one who has had six miscarriages....

I'm convinced that we as Christians need to learn to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice. So often, we think we need to FIX IT or have a magnificent doctrinally correct word....but grieving women simply need to know you care.

Recognize the importance and significance of her loss.

Simply say you are sorry.

Hugs. Prayers. But you really can't fix it....this may not be the time when she needs a multitude of words....let the Holy Spirit gently guide her and you. You can't imagine the hurt that we cause others when we say things that are simply "silly"....I always look at the motives...but I've thought how really - if your friend is going through this saying less, may mean more.

I have one friend who called and said, "What do you want me to say?" I told her that I wanted her to say she was sorry I was losing our baby. She did. She cried. I cried. I knew she was praying. I knew she had faith in the strength of my God and my relationship with Him - she didn't feel the need to "strengthen me" - she just wept with me.....

Really, instead of worrying about what to say...just BE...be a friend.

Family Memorial Service

Some have asked me to share....I hesitated because while I can choose to be transparent - my family's privacy is important and I don't want to violate that. I don't want them to feel that their life is lived in a fish bowl - well come to think of it they ARE Pastor's Kids - but you know - no more of a fish bowl than necessary. But I've thought I can share the "bones" of our service.

Wow - that one comment of Deja's changed things for us. We'd never had any type of service. We did this time. I had given Mike arrows and a quiver years ago. I had given him a new arrow to announce this pregnancy. He wanted to have a service with the arrow. I wanted to buy more small arrows to have a visible reminder....but I'm praying about a new memorial that I'll keep for the children we've lost.

THIS time we went out to the State park. We talked, Mike gave us each time to share our heart - and we did and it was precious. We laughed, we cried, we circled up. Mike read some verses from John 14 and Rev. We prayed.

Then we had one of the boys shoot the arrow into the lake.

It means a lot to me that we did this. It means a lot to have a place where we honored our little one. It helped. I don't feel like I can share any more details.