I wonder how many people have ever seen the Auroras Boreales?  I am sure many northern Canadian and Alaskians have seen them and the people in northern Europe....  but while we lived on Call Hill we were able to seem them on a couple occations.  They were the most amazing heavenly specticle I have ever witnessed.  The emerald and flecks of gold danced across the sky in a fluid mesmerizing way.  It was like watching colored oil in water roll and swirl right before our eyes.  The ribbons of spontaneous light cause everyone watching to become spell bound and held captivated by its majesty.  While we were getting ready to head inside because the show was becoming dim, Slayt, who was 4 at the time said it perfectly when he said "Thank you God, that was wonderful!"

Winter morning on East Valley

Crisp winter mornings
Quiet, serene, new
The snow squeaks as if it is crying under the weight of each step
A lone owl screeches as he takes flight and glides across the cold dim sky
In the distance a fox barks as he happily skips through the field in search of breakfast
Under the apple tree a doe stands as if in a trance and stares with large onyx eyes waiting to see if a threat is posed by this wandering intruder
Nestled under the cover of a fresh blanket of snow are field mice, snug and secure from the elements
Tunnels dug through the snow are like subways on which they travel, carrying food and warm bedding
As the sun creeps over the hill tops, the light causes the white fluff to glisten like diamonds which have been spread at random
Neighboring houses begin to stir with life
Lights flicker on in the windows as if its eyes are opening
Car engines begin to grumble and cough their existence
The calm of the early morning has turned into the assiduousness of another day

Have you ever had 'one of those days'?  We had one of those back in 2000 on April fools day.  
Before we lived in our house on the hill full time, we  used to go up there just to get away and hike.  There was a huge metal watering trough which the previous owners had left behind.  Ron had moved it to catch water coming off the roof and by April it was filled to the top.  The day we went up was a nice hot day.  The perfect day for the kids to splash in the watering trough.  Jake, Abby, Slayt and Justin all took turns dipping their head into the trough and splashing each other.  I believe they even were drinking some water.  Jake had just come up from dunking himself when something floated to the top.  It looked like a tiny little foot.  Hmmm, what would a foo.... "RON!!!!!!"    Ron came over to look at what had caused my panic and saw the horror on my face.  Floating to the surface of the water were tiny little mouse parts.  Occasionally a whole mouse would float to the top.  We quickly realized that the watering playground the kids had been playing in was a watery grave to hundreds of field mice.   Ron decided that the best remedy would be to drag the watering trough down the hill and dump it so it wouldn't be near the house.  He put a chain around the metal tub and hooked the other end up to his Chevy truck and proceeded to drag it across the hill to the perfect spot.   Ron turned off the truck and put the parking brake on and got out to unhook the heavy tub.  Just as he unhooked the tub, the weight holding the truck back released which caused the trucks parking brake to fail, sending the truck careening down the hill.  The only thing we could do was watch the truck plow through the grass and slam into a tree at the edge of the field.  At that moment, we all decided that the best thing for us to do would be to pile back into our van and call it a day.  We needed to make one stop and that would be to the store to buy a gallon of bleach for bathing in.

Mom, the dog just pee'd on me

We are a dog loving family on the most part.  There are the few exceptions to this rule however.  Ron and Jacob are not thrilled with dogs but they tolerate them as long as they don't need to be their care givers.  As a family we are also a camping family and there are no exceptions to this.  Everyone in the family loves to go camping and we usually try to do it every summer at some point, especially when the kids were younger. Quite a few years ago we used to go camping as a group with our church.  This one particular summer, Ron wasn't able to go for some reason and so it was just me and the kids.  Thinking that it would be a wonderful idea to take a protective element, we decided that our new puppy would come along with us.  I have no idea what I was thinking, because a puppy is worse than taking an infant camping.  
Justin had his own one person tent, I was in a bigger tent with the three little kids and Abby and Jacob was in a two person tent.  Guess who got stuck with the puppy?  Yes, that would be the dog lover hater, Jacob.  I justified it to him by saying that he was the only one with enough room in his tent.  He had a two person tent and Dory's blanket could fit nicely in there.  Jacob reluctantly agreed and took the dog.  Around one in the morning, I heard Jacob at my tent door saying "mom, mom, i need to sleep in your tent".  I asked him why and about died laughing at his reply.  He said "the dumb dog just pee'd all over me and my sleeping bag".  
Dory had done what most babies do and wet the bed.  Unfortunately for Jacob, it happened to be his bed also. 

Another Surgery

Each time I take Danny to one of his doctors, I'm always amazed at how easy it is to forget that nothing is routine about his appointments.  Today we had to go to Elmira for his eye doctor appointment.  Danny has been seeing Dr. Morello since he was just two weeks old and we are very confident with him.  Dr. Morello is a pediatric Opthomologist and is very knowledgeable with Daniel's disabilities so it is worth the hour and a half trip.   Today we got the news that Danny would be having his fourth surgery on his eyes in a month or so.  Moebius Syndrome, one condition Danny has, causes Strabismus.  Daniel's eye problems are further complicated by his brain abnormalities.  Normally kids with Strabismus have one surgery to straighten their eyes and that is all they need because the nerves that connect to the muscles in the eyes and go to the brain figure out they need to now keep the eyes straight.  In Danny's case, there are no nerves or very few nerves that work in his eyes.  The ones that do work don't work in conjunction with the other eye and that makes it virtually impossible to keep his eyes straight just by the nerves "talking" to each other like normal eyes.  So this time the doctor is going to completely detach the muscles on the outside of his eyes and hope that there won't be any tension pulling them back.  As we have been told before, there are no guarantee that this will be the last surgery.   Maybe this one will do the trick, who knows.  All we can do is pray and wait until next time. 

Oh no she di n't.........

In an earlier blog I had written about my daughter Abby.  We have a great relationship and she is a pretty good girl.  Being 16 can pose some attitude problems for some teenagers, but honestly, I haven't had many troubles.  Perhaps that is because she used to give me fits when she was younger. 
When abby was about 2 or 3 we thought she had swallowed some money.  Being the dutiful mother, i whisked her away to the ER to get an x-ray.  Sitting in the room, waiting her turn, Abby gave the appearance of a sweet little blonde headed angel.  I could have sworn  I overheard the nurses plotting my death so they could take her home because she was so adorable.  All that would change the minute the x-ray tech took her in the room to get a picture of her stomach.  I'm pretty sure my little angel not only woke the dead in the morgue with her screaming, but she gave the nurse trying to hold her down a nervous breakdown.  It took 4 nurses and me trying to hold her down just for a simple x-ray.  After about ten minutes of this game they decided that if she had swallowed any money, she was no worse for the wear and  could go home.  As soon as the nurse told us we could go home, Abby tucked her horns back into her head, put on her halo and gave the nurse a huge smile. 
Fast forward ten years......  Abby was about 12 or 13 and had wanted to get her ears pierced for a third time.  My answer was a definitive No.   Assuming my precious angel would abide by my wishes, I didn't give it another thought.  Any smart mother would know to never assume a NO answer would deter a teenager.   However, I have never been accused of being mentally sound.  As it turned out, one particular sunday morning my mother sense kicked in.  Mother sense is a lot like spider man sense.  When this kicks in, we not only have eyes in the back of our head, we can climb walls when needed.  It is a scientific fact.  Across the room, I noticed something shiny on my daughters ear.  In a flash, I was at her side and pulled her hair away to get a better glimpse.  I do believe my blood instantly boiled because in her ear was a third hole!  Now, most mothers would have waited until after church to beat their child.  I on the other hand believe it is unfair to  torment the child with fear and trepidation of what is to come.  So, I beat her there on the spot.  No, no, no....... Actually, I didn't beat her.  I did something worse.  I whispered in her ear that if she didn't get up from her seat and go take that ear ring out of her ear I would rip it out right then and there.   Thankfully she didn't test my resolve and immediately got up and did what I had requested.  Other than a few well done eye rolls, she didn't appear to be too upset.  Until recently, Abby hasn't challenged me in that area.  Last weekend she texted me while she was at the mall to ask if she could get the tip of her ear done.  I reluctantly said yes and as it turned out she came home without it done.  There really could be worse things she could ask me to do, or not ask me and do them anyway.  I pray that Abby will always know that she can come to me with any request or problem and it will be received with honesty and love.  So far, so good.

Colors of Spring

Spring is like the beginning works of a masterpiece painting.  Just like the canvas being stretched onto its frame to prepare for the painting, is the freshly tilled soil being prepared for the life which will spring forth.  The tender shoots eagerly wait for their time of arrival onto the canvas; at the appointed hour, they burst forth with colors to delight every eye.  The stems are like the delicate yet sturdy brushes an artist uses to bring the picture to life, with the ends dipped into every sort of color imaginable.  Canary yellows become the soft and round bulbs of daffodils, the deep pinks with sprikles of electricity burst forth into Deptford Pinks. Varying depths of purples, from soft lavenders to bold magenta occupy the crocus and tulips.  As colors flow into view, new and wonderful possibilities for the end result emerge.  A person annot guess what the final painting will look like, they can only wait and see what natures artists reveal.