Favorite Gifts: Day 3

Gift Received: April 15, 2005

Scott was released after about 6 weeks in the hospital, on April 12, 2005.  One of the best days of my life.  April 15th is right up there among the best days in my life as well.  Ginger's inspired idea came to life on that day.  Family, friends, neighbors, community, strangers- all came together to lift our family through rough times.  Everyone made "the longest journey".  Whenever I wear that t-shirt I remember that day and the faces that were there.  I was overwhelmed by the scope of it all.  So many people, so much stuff, so much time- all for us.  Amazing.  

One of the gifts we received that day was this mini-van.  We were driving our Hyundai at the time with the 3 kids stuffed in the back seat and Scott's wheelchair jammed in the trunk.  We were "makin' do".  A sweet friend from our newlywed days, whom I hadn't spoken with in some time, made several phone calls until she got the answer she was looking for, and secured this van for us.   It had 60,000 miles on it.  We are selling it this week and it has over 140,000 miles on it.  It took us to doctor's appointments, countless therapy sessions, Grandparents houses, California, and the grocery store.  Its brought home new babies twice, taken kids to soccer games, been fishing and camping, and parked in the sprinkler. (It's only been pulled over twice- in 5 years! And only 1 ticket.) It's been kept running by a selfless neighbor, who serves others endlessly.  This van was more than a gift in a tough time, for me it represents the enormous power for good we each have inside of us.  I am sad to see it go, but I will never forget it, or that day.  

Favorite Gifts: Day 2

Christmas of 2005 I received this red box with a tassel on it from Chloe. She's very thoughtful and loves to buy gifts for others.  The timing of this gift was perfect.  My heart was hurting and heavy that year.  Inside the box I pulled out this little glass angel holding a red heart.

The angel was beautiful, but the message in the box is what meant the most.  The little card inside reads:

Angel Worry Box

The Angel in this box

Is the guardian of your heart.

Give her your worries

and your fears,

So hope and peace can start,

Keep this box nearby you,

And know how much she cares,

For when you need love and joy,

Your angel will be there.

Sis helped me remember my worries and pain are not mine alone.  He is always there for me. Waiting for me to turn to Him. One of the most beautiful, timely gifts I've ever received.

Favorite Gifts: Day 1

I decided as a Christmas countdown I would list some of my most favorite gifts I've received.
I've actually been thinking about this for some time and have a little list going in my head.

Received: August 2009

From: Aidan

Last August we went to Yellowstone.  The first day we hit a "shopping" area (West Yellowstone) Aidan hit the ground running. He had money and he had to buy something.  We were all seated outside at the pizza joint in town waiting for our food and Aidan talked someone into taking him into a store.  He was gone a few short minutes and came out beaming.  His excitement shown in his every move and he watched me intently as I pulled his purchase from the sack.

A statue of 2 gray wolves.

I thanked him and my eyes got a bit teary.  The very first thing he bought and it was for me.  It melted my heart. I loved how excited he was to buy something for someone else.

When I am old and some of my great grandchildren find this treasure I hope they don't question my taste, but rather find this story and realize how beautiful this gift is to me.

A Gift? For Me!

Asher came home from school the other day with a question, 

"Guess what I made in computers today?"

I don't know. What son?

"A coupon book for you!"

You have my attention.

He had practiced his typing and made me a nifty book of 8 coupons.

The expiration dates range from 3 days to 30 days.

So I've been busy turning these things in so as to not waste this thoughtful gift :)

I was very impressed with how well my son knows me.  The coupons are as follows:

This coupon is good for 20 mins. of playing with your hair.

This coupon is good for 2 days of 30 min. foot rub.

1 week of fun with friends.  (He would be watching Grace)

This coupon is for 3 days of cleaning the house. (It would probably take that long to get it clean)

This coupon is good for 1 hour of a nap. (again, babysitter)

This coupon good for 30 min. foot massage. 

This coupon is for 1 back and foot rub for 30 mins.

This coupon is for a 2 hour nap. 

So I was ready to trade in another coupon tonight.  I handed one to Asher and one to Chloe.

"What, I didn't make those coupons Mom" Chloe says.

Don't you accept competitors coupons? I replied.

Turns out she does.

lucky me.

What a thoughtful boy.  3 down. 5 to go!

Wish I Had Video of This

I was tired this morning.  Usually when it's 5:45 and time to take Scott to the bus I really don't have any thought about it- I just get up.  Today I had an internal battle.  I just wanted to stay in my warm bed snuggled with my baby.  You see she was the 2nd child to climb in our bed last night.  The first one left me with  soaking wet pants and part of my shirt.  Lucky for him his bed was still warm and dry and so he climbed into new pj's and got in it.  I got to use the old "cover it with a towel and pretend like you're not laying on urine" trick for the rest of the night.     fun.

I did get up and got Scotty off to the freezing cold bus stop.  After I got the kids off to school and Grace down for her nap I laid on the couch by Cole while he studied his Spanish (okay, he was watching Diego, I just call it language immersion to feel better about it).  It was fabulous for a long while, especially because my phone was off the hook, unbeknownst to me.  Then I heard a very loud knock at the door that woke me from my slumber.  My instincts told me it was an adult and then I remembered the "sheetrock guy" (friend of the Insulation Guy) was coming to repair that crack.     crap.

I jumped off the couch to run upstairs and put on some needed support system under my  pj.'s before I answered the door (Cole was working on unlocking it, but it's really hard). Still in a half asleep daze in my glasses and oversized pajamas I hit the hardwood floor which was covered with a silky backdrop and  SLAM!  I went down on my right elbow.  It was so loud.  And all I could think was "I bet he heard that and is wondering why I won't come to the door".  My elbow was all bruised and had some skin slicked off.

I straightened my glasses, put on my bra, and answered the door like it was all good.  Wish I'd had some video footage of that fall.  We'd all be laughing.

The Drama is our Reality

Scott and I played a game of "top that" in the car on the way home from the bus stop.  I was pretty sure my day was far crazier (for lack of a better word)  than his.  So I began my long dissertation of what went on in my crazy day.
Breakfast
Drive kids to school
Treadmill
Shower
Grocery Store
Jump car of lady in her p.j.'s parked next to me
Lunch
V.T. Reports
Start rolls
Bake chicken

 With the best of intentions I contacted a company to blow insulation in my attic (for free) if we met the standards.  It is also my "cooking day", which means I cook for our family and 3 others.  Chicken Gnocchi Soup and Maryam's rolls were on the menu.  I go that started when the insulation man showed up.  Nice guy.  He headed to the attic access in Chloe's room which is where he encountered a black widow in her closet. Nice.  He killed it. Okay, not so bad.
He kicked around up there, then nearly fell through my ceiling (slight dramatization) when he stepped on the sheetrock instead of the walkway.  A 3-4 ft. long crack appeared in my ceiling and Cole asked if the man was "taking our ceiling down".  He quickly called a sheetrock guy to come fix that on Friday.  We do not qualify for the free insulation there. BUT WAIT, there's another attic access in the boy's room that goes to a different part of the attic.  He heads in, and the conversation is as follows:
Insulation Guy's Helper: Wow, it's cold in there
Me: Yeah, I can feel that cold air just pouring out of there.
Insulation Guy: Um, yeah, there's snow in here.
Me: WHAT?! Snow? Like what?
Insulation Guy: Want me to get some for you?
Me: Yes.
Insulation Guy: Hold out your hand.
I go to the access and Insulation Guy drops a SNOWBALL the size of a tennis ball into my hand.

What the? Okay, so that would make your house cold.  Why did we insulate with snow?
Really. Why is there snow in my attic. His best guess is it is blowing in through an attic vent.
Good news is we qualify for insulation up there, but we'll need to take care of the snowing in the attic problem first.

I am now late to get 4 dinners prepared, but I rushed through it, burnt my hand, Grace hit her head twice (into Cole's head), delivered dinner, and picked Scotty up at the bus stop.

Now, honestly.  What would you rate that?  Pretty crazy.

Here's Scott's day, or rather a poignant moment in his day:

He was headed into the JFB building on campus.  It was a double set of doors.  As he entered the first set one of his wheels didn't grab.  They just spun.  Then one grabbed, but unfortunately the other didn't.  This sent him careening into the metal door brace.  When he hit the brace it pulled on the recline lever on his rental Jazzy.  This sent him into a complete recline.  Picture feet up in the air.  Then it ripped the recline lever completely off.  With the lever completely removed the chair shut down.

So there he was.
Stuck in the doorway of the building in a reclined Jazzy with no power.
He waited for 15 minutes until someone noticed his plight and offered to help.  He somehow got out of the recliner and had help walking to the nearest bench. His chair was forced out of the doorway.  He called the lovely company that rented him his awesome Jazzy and they showed up 1.5 hours later to repair it.  He waited patiently on that bench the entire time. The chair can no longer recline, but at least it still runs.

What the?
Is this for real?
We should be making some serious money on the hilariousness that we call life here at the Browning's.

My favorite part about this day was that as I pulled up to pick Scott up at the bus stop, nearly in tears, I watched as he and his good friend Aaron ran (or drove) straight into this huge snowpile.  Aaron jumped in and flew over it and Scott rammed that blasted Jazzy right into the side of it.  The tears became laughter.  Good times. good times.

p.s. The Chicken Gnocchi Soup was GREAT!  I'll post a recipe on Anderson Appetite tomorrow.:)

Powerchair Woes

The bearings in Scott's powerchair are going out.  Not a good thing.  The fear of being stranded somewhere on campus in this weather sent Scott to his repair shop hoping for a speedy fix.  It will be around 6 weeks.  not speedy.
But, the "good" news is that they will rent him a chair while his is getting fixed.
We drove in to pick it up this week.
It was taking  awhile for the man to find us a chair when the sweet receptionist told me they only had 2 options really.
1. Nice chair, similar to Scott's. Downside: Urine soaked pad.  That's right. Someone had un accidento in this chair and they cannot remove the smell.  I suggested a power washer. 
"Tried that" the receptionist quickly replied. Remove the pad? "Sorry, permanently attached".  Okay, so what's option 2.
2. A Jazzy.

We went with the jazzy.  Unfortunately it is built for a much shorter wider person than my husband.  He got in it and the headrest hit him in the shoulder blades.  His knees were closer to his chest.  Bonus number two was that it only has one speed.  I'd say it's a medium fast.  Scott's chair can fly, but it can also go very slow.  Yesterday Scott said he "bounced off four walls" when he took the speedy Jazzy in a restroom at school.  You should see me try to load it onto the lift.  I've run over myself twice. But, it's much slower to get all they way across campus.  It also doesn't handle well in snow.  The slightest bump and it just high centers.  He's had to make detour after detour to avoid getting stuck.

To add injury to insult- Scott slipped on our wet garage floor yesterday while getting in the car and slammed his face into the side of the car.  OUCH!
"It doesn't hurt so much here, or here, but here!" he said in his best Chris Farley impersonation.
He has a bump behind his ear, and his face is bruised.
He may have also bruised his neck meat.

Note to self: Find a squeegee on a long stick.

Reminds me when he first used a powerchair and he did 360's in the driveway while singing "Round round get around I get around.  Ohohohohoh".

Gotta love that guy.

Sorry no pictures.  The man does have some pride.

Clear Creek 2009

When I went in to meet Chloe's teacher at the beginning of the year she listed all the great things that 5th graders got to do.  On that list was Clear Creek.  "What is that?" I asked.  It was an overnight camping trip for all the 5th graders, she explained.  The boys went up one day and then the girls the next.  I signed up immediately, knowing my Chloe would not spend the night without me, and really I felt kind of strange sending her off to some camp I knew nothing about with a teacher I just met.  So Clear Creek arrived on Dec.1st.  We loaded up our sleeping bags and headed up towards Scofield, somewhere I had never been.  Whenever I drive through those little towns I kinda want to live there.  There was a lake, people out ice fishing, little tiny houses and mountains all around.  We did get to stay in "cabins" packed with bunkbeds.  It was nice and toasty inside those cabins, but freezing outside.  They did lots of activities; made bracelets, made picture frames, made robots, tie dyed shirts, played team building activities, did skits and campfire songs, had a movie night, and went on a nature hike.  The girls had a great time.  Not a lot of sleep, but a lot of bonding.  I liked the idea that these 5th grade girls got to spend time getting to know each other, and maybe making a new friend.  I enjoyed spending the one on one time with Chloe, and I'm glad she's not embarassed to have me around yet.