The Three Amigos!

Lori (my cousin-in-law)

Sue (my sister-in-law)

 Joe (my brother-in-law)

Don't you wish you had a hat like that?

Do We Make You Sick?

Last year when we went to Arizona, Mike's Mom got so sick of us she ended up in the hospital. Ok, that might not be quite what happened but now I am wondering. This time we took my sister with us. Guess what!? She started feeling a bit under the weather our last day there and after getting back to Wyoming, she also ended up in the hospital. She is improving but good grief! Is it us? Anyone want to vacation with us?

Arizona Photos, Continued

There is something so very beautiful about a rose.

 Sam was so happy to spend time with his girlfriend, Alaysha.

It was our first time to meet her so we enjoyed getting to know her a bit as well.

 These birds were perched next door to Carol's house.

I loved them!

Ash Wednesday & Lent in Two Minutes

Saguaro Lake

One of our days in Arizona we enjoyed a cruise... on water!  It's true! There are lakes in the middle of the Arizona desert and it turns out there are some not far from where we were staying in Mesa. Who knew?! Well, actually, Joe (brother-in-law) knew and at his suggestion we decided to go on a 90 minute cruise.

Now, if you've never traveled with someone in a wheelchair, you maybe haven't realized all the complications that can entail. We made sure ahead of time that this cruise was handicap accessible. There were many steps on the way down to the boat but there was a special route involving a hill, a long bumpy dock and a bit of faith to get Tina on the boat. Picture a boat tied to a dock. There is that gap between dock and boat that is kind of scary to walk across and I felt a bit nervous to push Tina's wheelchair over that opening. She, however, didn't show any fear at all. Being handicapped requires a good deal of courage I've learned.

Although everything is harder from a wheelchair, sometimes there are perks. That day it was nice that the captain let Tina and me board early. We got to sit right up front to enjoy the view!

The rest of the family had to wait in line.

Can you see them up there?

They eventually joined us and we all got good seats close together.

Sue and Joe (Mike's sister and her husband) were nearby.

For those readers who know them, 

don't you wonder why they don't age?

It's weird, really.

Sam was looking handsome.

As it turned out, this was a lovely way to spend a February afternoon.

The weather was perfect and the

views were stunning.

Our captain was quite informative.

He pointed out this rare saguaro cactus that had crested.

That is to say its arms had turned inward and were grown together. 

I was intrigued by this one that seemed to be growing straight out of the rock.

I never really thought of cactus as a lakeside kind of plant.

There were so many different colors and shapes in the rock formations.

Doesn't that look peaceful?

What a lovely afternoon...

Relaxing in the Sunshine

Not long ago Mike and I cooked up a plan to take my sister, Tina, away from winter for awhile. We picked her up from her home, just a few hours away from our own. We then drove to Rapid City, South Dakota and spent a pleasant evening in a hotel and relaxed a bit. The next morning we took to the skies and flew to Arizona in our search for the sun.

Tina gets around in a wheelchair. She does very well but I'm here to tell you that I think it must take a great deal of courage for her to go on such a trip. She has to submit herself to being strapped into a funny, skinny aisle wheelchair just to get to her seat on an airplane. It looked a bit scary to me! She handled it all with good grace, though.

We were visiting Mike's Mom (Carol) and one of his sisters (Sue) and her husband (Joe). They were so welcoming and gracious, they made Tina feel right at home. 

Early in the week Sue and I took Tina on a long walk around the neighborhood. When you are from Wyoming, it is such a treat to see all the things that grow in warm places! I think this was one of Tina's favorite types of cactus.

We all enjoyed this bottle brush flower.

There are a lot of these pretty little quails (I really don't know if that is what they are, but maybe?) around.

 I felt Tina needed to have her photograph taken by one of the pretty pool areas.

We didn't go swimming but maybe we should have.

There is even a ramp for a wheelchair to go easily down into the pool.

Maybe next time.

 Sue showed us this cool cactus.

Do you see it as a waving bunny?

When we walked back, we found Mike and Joe out enjoying the warm day as well.

While it was sub-zero in Wyoming...

...and while the Wyoming wind was howling...

We felt pretty fortunate to be relaxing in the sunshine.

Holy is the Lord by Chris Tomlin Lyrics

Blessings With Names

Recently Mike & I spent an evening with the little girls at their house while their parents were out. We didn't do anything out of the ordinary. We read books and played a bit. Elise requested an episode of Thomas the Train. As it started she said over and over "Thomas the Train" then "I will watch it!" Yep. She is into sentences big time now. She is so tiny, it seems odd to hear her be so verbal. She has a LOT of thoughts, though.

We went through the bedtime rituals, kind of an extended version I think. Let's just say Cordelia is a pretty effective negotiator. She sat so sweetly as I brushed out her curls and braided her hair for bed. I think that was when we were supposed to help her settle down for sleep.  We might not have done that so well. I blame Mike. He's the fun one.

We made time for silliness. We enjoyed lots of hugs and snuggles. I took photos of those little faces I love.

I looked over at Mike with the girls and I felt so truly content. It still seems strange to me to think of my high school boyfriend as a grandpa and me as a grandma, but I'm so glad we get to share this experience as well. 

Blessings... one named Cordelia and one named Elise.

The Horse in My Purse

I love this little girl!

She delights in giving to others.

She believes it is her job to "make the whole world smile."

Right now, her favorite joy (obsession) is My Little Ponies. I was at their house recently and she offered to give me one of her little ponies. Of course, I politely declined. Well, time passed and not long before I was leaving for home, I saw her near my purse. When she saw me see her, she looked a bit guilty. I wondered... but then I kind of forgot about it. 

Later, at home, her momma texted me that Cordelia had told her, "I may have put a pony in Grandma's purse."  That kind of giving and sharing comes so naturally to her. No, she's not a perfect little girl, but she's got a quality that really warms my heart. 

And that, my friends, is why I now carry a My Little Pony around in my purse.

Kingdom - Giraffe

And this one...

...belongs to me

Thanks for coming along to tour some of 

Maria's pieces from her show,

Kingdom.

I hope you enjoyed it!

Kingdom - Walrus

This is another of the large paintings...

... very impressive!

If you just tuned in, go here to see why I'm taking you all to an online art show.

Kingdom - Panda

This one was really cool!

You can't really tell but it is quite a large painting.

Kingdom - The Royal Family

Here are some photos I took of Maria and family at her art opening event.  They were like royals!

Cordelia, fashionable as always, was stunningly charming.

She and her friend, Sadie, played hide and seek and chase 

through the sea of legs, munching on cookies along the way.

And Maria...

...smiling and greeting people the entire evening, often with Elise on her hip.

That was so appropriate, given that she did much of the painting while actively mothering.

Click here to see what I mean.

Eric, an artist himself, was enjoying seeing his beautiful wife shine that night.

Elise spent her night moving through a sea of legs, looking for 

those attached to someone familiar.

Grandpa was happy to give her a higher perspective.

I had to show you a close up of the hat!

Is that a happy artist or what?!

Kingdom - Skunk and Sea Horse

I hope you are enjoying this art tour.

This skunk was a fun member of the Kingdom.

The Sea Horse was just too sweet, don't you think?

Birds of the Air

Matthew 6:26

New International Version (NIV)

26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.

(photo of artwork by Maria Rose from her Kingdom Collection)

Kingdom!

Last night we attended our daughter's first solo art opening, Kingdom. What an experience! I felt very proud to be the mother-of-the-artist.

I took a lot of photos and I will be happy to share some of them with you over the next several days. You are in for a treat!

These two were very popular. I wish I'd taken close-ups of each but I didn't. With so many people there, photos of the artwork were a challenge.

It was a wonderful evening. One of the biggest surprises for Maria was to look up and see her Aunt Karen and Uncle Gregg, who came from out of town. Gregg wasn't too cooperative when the camera came out but Karen was very photogenic. It was so sweet of them to make the trip.

It really was a nice art opening and such a big night for Maria. I think those who purchased her paintings will be so glad they did. I think they will enjoy their Kingdom friends for years!

Check back for more photos!

Notes From Work

I've had a cold this week. I wore a mask at work so I wouldn't share my germs with patients. I had a bit of a coughing fit and a coworker gave me a cinnamon candy to soothe my throat. Later, after more coughing, I realized my mask smelled really nice, rather cinnamony. I just thought you would like to know that.

One of the jokes I put up on my board this week said, "I was addicted to the Hokey Pokey but I turned myself around." Did that make you smile?

People who get motion sickness are more likely to have nausea and vomiting from anesthesia. Because of this, every day, over and over and over, I ask people about motion sickness as I take their health history. Usually, that isn't a very memorable question. One day this week, though, I accidentally changed it up a bit. I asked a MAN, "Do you have any problems with MORNING sickness?" Oops.

THEN, I was looking through some doctor's notes (not one of our doctors) that were in a patient's file. I cracked up when I read this...

    She is a well nourished, well developed male.

Uh, ok.