Speaking of Trials: Pies and Saddles

Usually what determines our faith,

is when we witness some supernatural evidence

of God's hand in our life...

whether through the change of heart 

in ourselves or others,

a miraculous healing,

an answer to an unspoken prayer,

and those tender mercies spoken of by 

Nephi ch 1 vs. 20...

"...but behond, I, Nephi, will show unto you that 

the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom

he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them 

mighty even unto the power of deliverance."

There are many stories of faith derived from the early saints of the Church

especially noted are those who crossed the plains to reach their destination

of  Salt Lake City, Utah.

I recently heard this story from our Relief Society President,about a tender mercy--

There was an older woman travelling in a trek company.

She was so worn-out and poor-in-spirit

that she decided to stop where she was,

sit down and die in the wilderness.

When word of this got to one of her daughters,

that daughter walked back to find her mother.

On the way, the daughter found an apple pie 

on the side of the trail.
A miracle!

She picked it up, took it to her mother

and together they ate the pie;

then the mother finished her journey to Salt Lake

without incident, feeling God's love for her.

The RS Pres. shared another story from that time--

Orson Brown recorded :

In the fall he and his sons, Alex and Jesse, who had been members of the Battalion, went to California to collect from the government the pay for the Battalion. Winter set in before their return and they suffered terribly and nearly starved to death. The last few days they subsisted upon soup made by boiling the buckskin and leather from their saddles.

Did you get that?  They were sustained by eating boiled leather.

Apple Pie or Boiled Leather?

Each of the persons involved were in need of sustenance--

physically and emotionally.

All parties' prayers were answered--

they made it to their destination.

BUT

which would you rather have?

I know when I am faced with trials

that I pray over,

I want

apple pie.

But more often than not,

I'm boiling my saddle.

That is not to say,

I've never been given apple pie--

I have!

Oh have I!

Yet, many of my pleadings are answered

by a pot of boiling water--

as in,

"help your self."

Recently, I was having a time of it.

I had prayed about something specific,

and Mr W gave me a blessing.

In the blesssing,

I was told among other things to

 "be more optimistic"

"to have hope in the future"...

So for the rest of the week,

I tried to think of the blessings I have

to remind myself that yes,

I've had apple pie before.

I really wanted more apple pie.

But I was worried I'd be eating leather

whether I wanted to or not.

So I stopped thinking of apple pie altogether

and started thinking of ways to cook leather.

Just when I was about to start the boiling water,

I looked up

and there sat an apple pie.

Heavenly Father loves us.

And we may look around at others' miracles and wonder

where our apple pies' are...

where is God's hand in my life?-- we think.

I don't have the answer as to what constitutes a

pie day 

or 

a saddle day.

Is not the foundation of trust in our Heavenly Father
believing that He is aware of our needs,
and answers our prayers with complete
omniscience?--
that He knows when to send an apple pie
and when to send a pot of water
for our own good?


Yet, don't we look at someone else's apple pie
and wonder why we don't also have what they're having?--
 don't we wonder if the Lord is aware of us or loves us
to the same degree as another?
Do we remember that we are His children and that He doesn't have favorites?

Can we trust in His love for us...
even while we're eating our saddle
and wishing it were a warm slice of pie with a cold glass of milk?


Thoughts??? Do you eat mostly pie or 
have an acquired taste for leather soup?

Where Faith and Tragedy Meet--A Mormon Bishop's Death

Just yesterday, 

a Mormon Bishop was shot and killed 

in the Church,

with witnesses,

by  a deranged man whom no one knew...

because he was a Mormon Bishop.

He left behind a wife and six children.

When I heard this tragic news,

I couldn't believe it at first.

This tragedy hits close to home.

If you know anything about Mormons,

you know we are tightly-knit.

We are family...

distance does not divide us.

The fact that I do not personally know the Sannar's

isn't even relevant.

Our hearts are grieving with theirs

as though we are family.

The solace we have in these grief-filled moments 

is that we believe that 

families are eternal...

this knowledge gives us comfort and hope.

It helps us bear the waves of loss.

The grief is still felt.

The sorrow is palpable.

And one can wonder--

Where is Heavenly Father in the midst of this?

That is where faith is tested and proven,

and we have to trust that He is in control

and this family is known and loved.

Please keep this family in your thoughts and prayers.

Weekend Whatevs

Had a busy weekend.
Took the yahoos to Elitches on Saturday.
Lots of pics--but I can't find my camera.
So if'n I do...

Was told I am "fascinating"
by a sister in church yesterday that
I had no idea she even knew me.
So of course, I'm totally milking that for all I can
around the house.

Asked the Caboose if she thinks I'm
fascinating--
"YES!" was the reply.
Do you know what fascinating means, I asked.
Yes, you're like realistic fiction.

Hmmmm. Sounds about right.

Reading a book called
"The boy who came back from heaven"--
it makes me feel small and humble.
true story.
Yes, I'd recommend it.  But have some tissue nearby.
and an open mind.  I had to pry mine open thru the first couple
of chapters
and since then, it's been all good.

Both of my sons had bdays last week.
I could write entire posts about my love for them
but they already know that.
So I won't.

I had a rough week last week--
then I saw Heavenly Father's hand in my life
and remembered I am not alone.


Dean is moving from his host-home this week--
I'd love to blab all the reasons why,
but it really comes down to the fact that
we found a better place for his needs.
And we're grateful for that.

I was sitting in Church yesterday,
thinking about being invisible in our new ward
and what I can do about it--
then the word "serve" came to my mind.
And I asked the question:
Whom shall I serve?
And a name came to my mind.
So I am.
And it feels really good.

I'm heading out to lunch with some girlies today.
I wonder if they know I'm
fascinating?
Maybe I should tell them so they'll pay closer attention.
Wouldn't want them to miss out, ya know?

Eat, Pray, Love...an Avatar Experience

I'm not a huge movie-goer.
I think the last one I went to was
uh
uh
hmmmm
oh yeah,
"Diary of a Wimpy Kid".

That's not to say
I don't enjoy movies,
but rather,
I wait until they're on DVD
at Red Box to see 'em.

But there's this movie out
and it has my full attention.
fully.
Eat, Pray, Love.
I wanted to see it
even before I knew Julia Roberts
was in it.
I know, right?
And now that she's in it,
well, that made the decision for me--
I WILL see this movie
in the theater--
and I will spend twenty-six dollars for
popcorn and a Pepsi.

The whole idea that a woman
truly dropped everything
for HERSELF--
must touch a place in the rest of the
female population
like it does me--
in my head
I am yearning and screaming:
YESSSSSSSSSSS Oh YESSSSSSSS!!!
To go and do and be--
yes yes yes yes yes yes yes!!-- a thousand times yes!

There is this wonderment inside
that speaks curiously,
how come I never thought of that?--
followed by
dang it.

So I will live vicariously for two hours--
free of dishes,
free of carpools,
free of leftovers in the fridge that have turned
all squishy and brown,
free of my referee duties with the yahoos
free of the six cheetos in the back of my suburban
that have been there for two weeks...
and I will travel to exotic places,
and fall in love with life again
with Julia Roberts as my Avatar.
I will suck the nectar out of life
and then...

and then!--
the reality of MY Choices
will slap me upside the head
bringing me back to my body,
sounding something like a
Homer Simpson alarm clock--
DOH! DOH! DOH!--
and I'll check the backseat for those
six cheetos to be sure I'm really back
in my own body...
dang it.

I want to invite every woman I know
to go with me...
so we can all enjoy the fantasy together
and at the end of it share our camaraderie
with
"That looks nice and all, 
but I'm going home to a house full of my people
who love me n'  that's what really counts, right?
Right?"



What about You?
Are you In?
Are you going to see it?
Have you read the book?
I haven't--everytime I read "the book" before seeing the movie,
it messes with my head...ya know, parts are missing or rewritten to my dismay.
So I'm going with a totally clean slate.
If you live in the Springs, let me know!

Summer Love and Enterprise

Remember when I was rear-ended?

Last August?

Yeah,Floyd F&rmer’s Insurance finally ponied up

And like Bob Barker,

said,

Come on down!

So I took my big hunky Suburban to the

Car Collision fix-it shop

about two weeks ago,

to get his tailend repaired from

where a sassy little Subaru tried to take a chunk outta.

I handed the keys over

and then went across the street to Enterprise

where they put me into a Kia Borrego.

took me 7 days to remember the name—

I kept calling it a Biaggi

like the Italian restaurant up the street.

It was a blind date—

me and this Borrego.

At first, I was unimpressed—

smaller than my behemoth road beast

I felt insignificant on the road,

but 

it had Sirius Radio

dual airconditioner controls
I liked his sense of humor too,

kinda smart aleck--

when I barely touched the brakes,

I almost got whiplash.

I told the Enterprise guy that I’d keep

Mr Borrego for a couple of days

but then I wanted to trade up for a

van or bigger SUV…

No problem he said,

Call back in a couple of days.

By the time I got Mr Borrego home,

I knew there’d be no phone call

no trading in…

Mr B was growing on me--
I was falling for him
and fallin' fast.

Seriously.

We went shopping together

Took friends out to lunch

Ran the yahoos to the YMCA--

Mr B amazed me with his smoothe moves

and light touch.

His engine purr was for my ears only

and his adeptness for parking in small spaces

impressed me so much

I secretly wished this love affair could go on

forever! Or until the warranty ran out.

The family loved Mr B as much as I did

and begged me to make him part of our family.

If only.

It was all I could do to not weep

when the fix-it guy called this morning

and said,

“Hey! Your vehicle is ready to go—and it looks good!”

No

NO

NO

I screamed (ok not really outloud)

I’m not ready to let go of this lovely rental.

Rental makes it sound so cheap.

Our relationship was the real deal.

I thought about taking pictures of Mr B and I together

But realized I’d just be hurting myself.

No, it’s better this way…

No pictures to look back on the way we were.

I had to have Mr B back to the Matchmakers Enterprise by 3:30—

I watched the clock all morning…this was harder than I thought it would be.

I waited until the girls came home from school and work

So they could go with me for moral support—

And I wanted Nana to meet the nice LDS-looking boy that works there too.

Letting go was going to be hard and I didn’t want to look like a lovesick fool

when it was time to leave.

I needed a quick break-up. 

No lingering by the high beams for me.

Our journey ended in the parking lot

where I handed over the keys to Mr B

and sadly looked over him one more time.

I wanted to remember him

just the way he was—

strong, sleek and silver…

and 33 miles to the gallon.

The Fix-It guy drove up with my

former trashed behemoth and

WOW!

Lo, and behold the old Sub was looking

Niiiiiiice…

New bumper and quarter panel,

New paint and cleaned inside and out.

He was speaking my language.

I got in and turned my big boy on.

He whispered sweet nothings

And we were back on like nothing

ever happened.

As I drove away,

I caught a glimpse of Mr Borrego

In the rearview mirror—

Not today my love

Not today.

We’ll always have Walmart.

http://www.kiaofelcajon.com/images/kia_models/2009_borrego.jpg

p.s. Five days until Sept 1st...I think I can I think I can...

What Kind of Blogger Are You?

The discussion amongst bloggers everywhere
revolves around the question:
What kind of Blogger are you?

I heard that a number of times at the
Casual Bloggers Conference last May,
in Sandy, Utah.
I've read it a zillion times on blogs--
believe it or not!

They all say,
Find Your Niche and Claim It!


There are Writer's Blogs
Cooking Blogs
Cupcake Blogs
Tablescape Blogs
Homemaking Blogs
Furniture Re-do Blogs
Homeschooling Blogs
Gardening Blogs
and heaven help me not to forget--
Photography Blogs!
There are as many blogs niches
as there are names in a phonebook!
And I love 'em all, every one!
But what about Me?
Cuz you know,
this is all about Me,
right?

I finally decided what I am--
A Life Blogger.
That's catchy right?

So, what do you blog about?
Oh, me? I'm a life blogger.
Sweet.  I like turtles.

See? Totally works.


I write about my yahoos.
About where I live.
About Seasons--both figuratively and literally.
About births--home and hospital.
About Home Staging and friends.
About my faith and how I live it.
And living and dying.
My crazy family and chickens.
My dog, Oprah.
Our favorite recipes.
How to tangle with your teenager and still laugh.
And my vacuum cleaner, Cinderella. !
No kidding.

That's my life, folks.
And I'm scribbling it down
while I can still remember it all.

Could I be called anything other than
A Life Blogger?
I think not.

What about You??
Find your niche yet??

Anticipating Another Season

As anxious as I've been to usher in Fall,
there's one in our house who is more excited than me
for seasons to change.

She's been tugging at my free time
to listen to her thoughts
as she sorts them out,
organizing as she goes along.

I listen as though
there's going to be a test later.
It's not that she hates the season she is in,
but is really wondering when the next season
is going to appear.

She's in the twenty-year-old Season.
The going-to-school-and-working-season.
The I'm-my-best-self-and-now-what-season.


We went to a wedding reception Saturday--
a former missionary came back and married a young woman
from our area.
Darling couple.
It was a quick courtship/engagement for them,
from our perspective,
but from their's I'll bet time dragged along.

So Nana and I were talking about
what every almost 20 year old talks about--
young men and marriage,
right?
She's had the attention of some really neat young men.
But not the "right" one--
you know the one that feels like a warm sweater
on a cold day.
Not the one she has her sights on anyway.
Isn't there always the unreachable one?
Yeah there's one of those in her world.
Swooning is an apt word for Nana
when this one is around.
This girl who always has lots to say,
whose laughter is easy
and giggles are abundant--
turns into a mute
when a certain young man comes in the room.
She stands there with her teeth in her mouth,
smiling
with nothing to say--
nothing coherent anyway.
She openly admits she's "a mess" when he's around.
It's hilariously pathetic.

We joke that if "he" showed up at the door
and spoke of his undying love for her,
she'd say "yes" and beat a path to the nearest Temple!
Forget the bridal shower!
Nix the invitations!
Who cares about a wedding dress?!
We laugh at the ridiculousness.

Her words and emotions tethered together,
my counsel is
always
always
the same:

"Enjoy the season you are now in.
You're where you're supposed to be,
doing what you're supposed to be doing.
And whatever lay ahead of you
will be exciting and worth the wait.
Continue to prepare yourself for the temple,
because that's where the right young man
will want to take you and claim you forever."

And then, I giggle with her
over the possibilities of dreams coming true.
The what-ifs and all the silliness of this season
in her life...
My free time runs its course,
but this conversation hasn't,
so my ears are tuned to her channel
whenever she wants to think outloud,
I'm there.
Because this is what Mothers do, I think.
Because my own mother wasn't there for me
in any season.
Because I am a romantic at heart--
all gooey and mushy in the middle.
And when the next season shows itself,
it'll be just as lovely as the one we're in right now
and I want a front seat to it all.
every season has its own beauty,
yes?

Something Good

So remember St. Terry Alaskus?
A dear friend we've known for years
whom we've shared the Gospel with?
Yeah.
He's been reading, pondering, praying.
He's on the water's edge,
ready to take the next step in,
and all I can think about is that
Heavenly Father keeps His promises.

Book Reviews: "The Wednesday Letters" and "Catholic Roots, Mormon Harvest"

Nana told me to read
"The Wednesday Letters"--
she said I'd love it.
So I did.
Read it, I mean.
I did not love it.
It was okay and the message was not predictable.
But
meh
I don't know. It ended so weird that I had to re-read the ending
to make sense of it.  And then I made Mr Wonderful listen to me
sorta "de-brief" my self.
Can't say I'd recommend it to anyone.


"Catholic Roots, Mormon Harvest"
was written by Eric Shuster,
born and raised in the Catholic Church,
by parents who were devoutly Catholic--
working for the San Francisco diocese
among other things.
Eric also worked for the Catholic Church
and most importantly,
loved that faith with it's heritage and rich traditions
for most of his life.
His wife, used to be a Franciscan Nun,
no kidding,
before they met of course.
She graduated Magna Cum Laude from
the University of Saint Thomas
with a degree in Catholic Theology.

The book details their love of Catholicism
and the how's, why's and wherefores
of their eighteen-month conversion to
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
I have enjoyed reading this book very much.
The Shusters do not bash the faith of their fathers,
but show how they took from their roots all the best
that was there
and joined it with
the Mormon faith.
It is about as honest as can be...
and I can say that because I know these two wonderful people.
Eric and Marilyn are in our Stake.
They are loving, vibrant, knowledgeable about the Gospel
moreso than many LDS are--
they had alot to lose with their conversion,
so you bet they brought everything to the table
and in this book,
Catholic Roots, Mormon Harvest
they show that process in detail.
Lovely book
and I would recommend it to anyone.

Hide Your Stuff!

I don't watch alot of TV

butI do love TLC and Discovery and A&E Channels.
Last week one day,
the show, "Hoarders: Buried Alive" was on.
I had just told monsieur Boofus to clean his room,
and got the usual reply: "I know."--
so I called him downstairs as well as the other
mess-makin' fools.
"Sit down and watch this with me."

Daisie: "That's so gross."
Ari: "You'd kill us."
Boofus: "Sick."

"Un-hunh.  Keep watching."

It's kinda like a train wreck--
you can't take your eyes off of it--
half-expecting to see someone
actually find the
"dead-Chinaman"
your mom used to tell you was probably
 under all the clutter in your closet!
And once you realize there are no dead bodies in the mess,
 then you wonder why
NOONE
has come up with a plan before NOW to get rid of that crap.
And in my mind, honestly,
I think hoarders have too much money
if they're able to fill a complete house as tho they're The Little Mermaid:
"Ya want thingamabobs? I've got twenty! But who cares? No big deal, I want more...."


If I were related to a hoarder,
this would be my evil plan:
Have someone take them out for the day.
Beg, Bribe, Pay a dozen or more of my friends
to come with me
and a huge dump truck...

yeah. you got it.

It's along the lines of  "it's easier to get forgiveness than permission."

"Oh you wanted all that stuff? Sheesh. Sorry 'bout that. Hmmm. Tell me what you're missing and we'll get you a new one. Here, maybe you should write it down."

Yeah, at our house, the rule applies:
If it's not valuable, or a sentimental token--
like baby blankets, awards, heirlooms, etc.,
and
If I haven't used it in a year
it's Outtahere!

Mr W's father was a Saver--
when he passed on, there were entire jars of shoe strings,
leather belts, tiny little bits of this-n-that--all organized mind you,
but so unnecessary.
Mr W says it's because they lived away from town,
and it was a chore to go to town,
so the thought was,
"Keep it, you might need it one day."

Well I've got any kind of shopping I want
five minutes from the house,
and once you get to my age
there's not alot of things I haven't
already got.
Ya know?

What about You?
Saver, Keeper, Use-it-someday-Hoarder?
or
Sell It, Toss It, Give-It-Away?
How do you decide what's worth keeping?

Interior Design...What's In, What's Out 2010

 I got a personal tour of the Parade of Homes last night
by the 11-times Design Winner, Karen Jones.
It was fabulous!
She decorates with classic tastes,
enduring, timeless style
to fit any budget
and promotes an easy lifestyle.

As we went thru three of her Parade homes,
she shared awesome insights,
tips, and the why's and how's she did things the way she did them.

I learned alot--
some of which I'll share here:
Choose a color palette from something that inspires you--
from a fabric or textile like a rug.
A home should feel like it has continuity through-out,
not chopped-up room by room.

Two color schemes she used:


 Benjamin Moore/Wheeling Natural (Main Paint)
Benjamin Moore/ White Chocolate (Trim)
Benjamin Moore/ Prescott Green (Hall and Stairs)
Benjamin Moore/ Gray Cashmere (Powder Room/Guest/Girls' Room)

Those colors were soothing, calm and accessorized with chocolate browns, a touch of red, and light blue--not baby blue, but that aqua-kinda blue that's everywhere.  The kitchen cupboards were a mix of cream and a deep walnut color.  I'm hoping she puts pics up on her site so I can show you.
*****************
In another house, she used this *color-scheme:

Devonshire/ it was a custom mix similar to Desert Sand by? shoot.  It was a warm gold. (Main Paint)
Kwal Paint/ Swiss Coffee (trim)
Sherwin Williams/Red Tomato (Powder bath)
Sherwin Williams/Wheatgrass (Kitchen Nook/ Guest Room Suite ( I just painted my familyroom that color!--and it was awesome to see that she used it too in a 1.8 million dollar home!)
Those colors were cheerful, but not overdone.  She accessorized with oranges, yellows, black, dark lime greens, deep browns and creams.

Trends that are Out/ What 's IN:
Veined, multi-colored real stone/ faux-stone countertops are OUT.
Solid-colored countertops are IN. And you don't have to use the same material on every surface in the kitchen--if you've got an island for example, you have have it made of a solid wood or travertine or something that contrasts but doesn't clash.
Animal Prints OUT.  Botanicals IN.
Short-loop (think Berber) carpet OUT.  Lush short shag is IN.
Matchy-match fabrics in any room OUT.  The Look of "collected or gathered" with a similar color is IN.
Raw woods such as Alder wood OUT.  Smoothe painted cabinets are IN.
Rustic is not as IN as French Country is IN.
Chandeliers are IN...and are what she calls "character pieces".
As are different types of doors...don't make every door in your house identical.  Add some variance to give the house character.
Keep your foundations neutral...like tile backsplashes, flooring, bathroom tiles--nothing dates a home like teal tiles in a bathroom--that screams 1990!  (I've seen that more times that I can count...IF you do have teal tilework and want to update your look but can't afford to rip out the tilework just yet, match it with chocolate brown and cream to tone the teal down.)
Faux-finishes and accent walls are OUT too.  Paint the whole room the same color. To change up a color, find a "dying place" like around a small corner to let the color die.  Or if you don't have that option, tape a straight line to cut it off.
Some of the places she shops for accessories/linens are around town: TJ Maxx, Home Goods, Hobby Lobby, Target, Marshalls.  And she gets some of her fabrics from even JoAnn's.

It was a great tour.
I asked Karen where one should Start with a home makeover...
she said, "The entry, the place guests see first, and then where your family spends the most time.
And don't start in one area and go to the next. Finish one room completely before moving to the next. It'll make your husband happy."
I'm thinking about painting the front room and entry that Desert Sand color because I saw it in the 1.8 million dollar house where my wheatgrass was and I loved it.

*Karen's website has not been updated with pics from this years' Parade of Homes b/c it doesn't end until the 22nd.  But check back for her wonderful ideas!

Where We Went N' What We Did

Ingredients for a Boiled Baggie Omelet:

Into Ziplock:

2 eggs

some shredded cheese

2 TB pre-cut frozen diced onions

1/2 slice chopped lunchmeat (ham or turkey)

1/4 c o'brien-style hash browns frozen

salt and pepper to taste

SHAKE

SHAKE

SHAKE

Drop into pot of boiling water.

Boil until done, about 8 minutes.

Best part? No clean-up.

Yeah, that's what I'm talking about.

I Fell In Love with Fall a Long Time Ago

Do ya see it?
Un-hunh.
Right there.
Photographic evidence.


Ever since I laid my eyes on those yellow leaves,
a battle has ensued in between my ears.
I'm ready.
So so stinkin' ready 
to get out all of my Fall stuff...
to break out the red dishes
and the orange/golden/ placemats,
the harvest wreath and rust candles,
and I wore a long-sleeved shirt yesterday.
Long-sleeved.
key word: Long.


But it's not TIME yet--
have to wait until Labor Day.
I think I need a Count Down to Fall Calendar--
Twenty Days...
I think I can
I think I can
I think I can.


What about you?
When did you Fall in love with Fall?
What are you excited to do when we get the "GO!" light?
As a nod to Cherie at Bakow's Bubbles,
get out your crockpots and then! go over to the 
Crockpot Lady's Blog: 365 Days of Crockpotting...
good stuff, Maynard.


Fall is intoxicating to my senses...
Twenty Days Til Fall....

Well that was a BIG FAT OOPS!

In an effort to make more room in my Google Account for pictures,
I thought,
"Hey, Self--just go in and delete some."
And I did.
And then I noticed the tiny message that said
if I deleted them there
they'd be deleted from my blog.

Dang.

That's Just What We Do, Right?--a Birth Story

I have tons of pictures from our camping trip--
it was,
as my yahoos like to say,
Epic.


And as I was uploading said pics on Saturday morning,
there was a disturbance in the Force,
such that, I didn't finish.
I'd just gotten out of the shower,
dressed,
hair still wet,
and honestly, I was poking around
not gettin' a darn thing done.

Camping wears me out a bit,
so I get pokey afterwards.
We were set to go to Elitches in Denver
for the day,
and honestly, I was hoping we could postpone it
til next weekend.
Instead of getting ready to go,
I was on my bahooey at the pc
putting together a blog for a
Celebration of the 15th Anniversary of
 The Family: A Proclamation to the World.
I'd just finished it,
when the phone rang--
it was my cohort-in-crime, Nan
wanting to know if I'd be interested in
being a doula at a hospital birth
for a mutual friend (M.) of ours'
daughter-in-love (Mama Joy*)...
whose due date was August 24th.
Heck yeah! I'm in!
Right then, she got another call--
"Hold on a sec, I've been waiting for this call." she says.
She's gone for a couple of minutes,
returns and says,
"That was M.--
it seems Mama Joy's water has broken.
Can you go over right now?"

I grabbed my shoes,
ran a comb thru my still-damp hair,
and thought to bring my scrubs and doula stuff,
just. in. case.

I picked up Nan on the way,
cuz I didn't know Mama Joy's address and Nan didn't either
but knew how to get there.
When we arrive,
Mama Joy is fretful--
red nose, watery eyes, trembly lips...
I gave this new acquaintance a good hug
and assured her that things will be okay.

After just a few questions,
it sounded certain that her membranes had spontaneously ruptured--
she'd made a call to her hospital and they told her to come in
of course.
Mama Joy hadn't packed her hospital bags yet...
thinking she still had two weeks,
so we quickly came up with a necessity list of things to grab,
and also made a call to see if she could get a
priesthood blessing before leaving--
and within minutes two dear friends were over
to do just that.
Mama Joy was calm afterwards,
as was her young husband, Papa J.

I met them at the hospital
and after a bit of time in the triage,
she was admitted and given a room.
She wasn't having any good quality contractions,
the doctor had already prescribed pitocin
within the hour
if labor didn't progress.
So we took a stroll down the halls
and within 35 minutes,
her ctx were three minutes apart!
YES!!

Mama Joy's goal was an un-medicated birth...
and let me say,
she was awesome!
She'd not taken a single birthing class,
but listened to every direction and counsel I gave her
and acted in every way
with purpose and focus.
Her sweetheart was exactly the same--
he learned to breathe with her,
massage her,
comfort her with encouraging words
after some coaching from me,
I found him to be a wonderful helper for
Mama Joy.
For 20 minutes of every hour,
she had to be on the fetal monitor...
but as soon as she could get off that,
she was moving--
walking the halls
in the shower
in the jacuzzi
standing at a high counter, leaning over it,
while Papa J did hip compressions,
swaying her side to side
helping that little baby move down.
When she had to be in bed,
I used aromatherapy lotion,
tranquil mint
to rub her feet which she loved
and was able to relax so much
that it looked like she was sleeping
between contractions!
We kept her hydrated so well
that she didn't have to have an IV...
tho she did have a hep-lock just in case.

When she was showing signs of transition,
(trembling, vomiting, change in emotion)--
the nurse checked and she was 9 cm dilated!!!
YES!
Within minutes she was complete!
YES YES YES!!!
She got a nice
"rest and be thankful" phase--
where her body stopped contracting for a few minutes.
At that time,
I coached her on what to do next
to bring the baby down
and how to push for the delivery.

She did it exactly as I said,
and twenty minutes later,
she delivered a perfect seven pound
baby boy!

The nurse staff was awesome,
and we all worked together so well.
I loved it
and they did too.
Mama Joy and Papa J. declared,
"we couldn't have done it without you!"--
but they could've and
they would've done it just fine,
ya know?

After family arrived
a few hours later,
hugs went all around
and it was time to go.
As the family was expressing gratitude
for my time and service,
I smiled and said,
"Isn't that what we do?"

I went home a happy doula.

I love what I do.
And to have the opportunity to be a part of a sacred event,
a birth,
is as much a blessing for me
as it was for them.

What lingers for me, even today is this:
I didn't wake up yesterday morning
planning to be at a total strangers'
birth...
that was a total gift
to me.
ya know?
We all have talents and abilities
to bless other people's lives--
I have been on the receiving end many times,
and to be able to pay it forward
to step up with just a moment's notice
is one way I can express my talents in purity
and truly feel those warm fuzzies way deep inside.

And get this!!
This morning, my Nana called--
she's in California visiting.
She doesn't have her own car,
but she wanted to go to church.
So she called a meetinghouse,
and whomever answered the phone

picked her up
took her to church
and another family took her back to the hotel
afterwards
and offered their services to her while she's in California--
a meal,
a place to stay,
a ride to the airport next week...
whatever she needed...
because as they said to her,
"That's just what we do."

Yes,
Yes it is.

*Mama Joy is not her real name. But she was a Joy to me!)

Where Heaven Kisses the Earth

Mount Hallet

Rocky Mountain National Park

This is our land.

This land where Heaven bent and kissed the flowers

And made a Fortress of Rocks.

This land where our children wander down paths

and scale the boulders with new friends

where they have pinecone wars

and where

Their feet embrace the land

and giggling is the language

of the mighty giants.

 Like the whisper of a mother,

the trails bid us to come,

to breathe the mountain air,

to tread the paths where'er they lead us....

because like everything else here,

we're never disappointed;

We're reminded of Home.

Nothing is sweeter.

This is our land.

We are,

in the same instant,

the children

and 

the caregivers

of this glorious lovefest.

We're Singin' In the Rain...