Really, I am still alive, I promise

I just wanted to check in and tell you that I have not forgotten about the blog, its just that we were gone all last week at Adventure Camp and have had baseball playoffs this week. Add to that the fact that we lost our internet connection when we moved our desktop from one room to another.

So, I am still here, and I have so many stories to tell but they will have to wait till at Wednesday.

Rhyme Time

If you remember back last week, I mentioned that I spent a day in the ER with mystery illness, and that it was quite the ordeal. Well I shared my experience with a new friend Amy who happens to be "gifted" at rhyming, and well, if you dare, or happen to care, the following is her rendition of said horrible day. You've been warned.



Sometimes when you're ill
And you just want to cry,
You go to the E.R.
To find out why.

They poke you and prod you
But find no good excuse
They say, "Next we'll take pictures
but first drink some 'juice'."

The liquid's so nasty.
It makes your head spin.
And you'll wonder how smart girls
Let this madness begin.

They'll finish the scan
And then ask for x-rays
And you'll pray to the Lord
Just to finish this day.

And then all of a sudden
You'll give a great shout,
"Get me to bathroom!
This liquid's gotta come out!!"

A young tech will escort you
To your impending relief.
But only afterward tells
Of your aforementioned grief.

He says every so sweetly,
"My dear Mrs. Crum,
Though it goes IN your mouth,
The liquid comes OUT your bum."

And so you finish your evening
Embarrassed, face red
And though you're glad you're not dying,
You almost wish you were dead.

(Glad you are well and hoping you'll enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it. It was a challenge! Ha.)

In the Name of Love

As a mother you field all kinds of weird requests. Like the following:

• Nightly, I am asked to scratch my kids backs before they go to bed.
• My daughter likes to get "skin" when she needs comforting. "Skin" is simply her rubbing my arm, usually under the sleeve. Or sometimes she gets sneaky and tries to get up the back of my shirt and rubs my back with her hand.
• One son likes chocolate, the other not. Same goes for mayonnaise. So I make specialty sandwiches every day.
• "Mom, can _________ come over today?"
• "Don't tell Dad....Please!!!!"
• "Can I have $5 bucks?"

These are the usual at my house. But last night, actually VERY EARLY this morning I had the strangest request EVER.

My Daughter had awaken and joined my husband and I in our bed around 4am. That was not so unusual. But after about 30 minutes of tossing and turning she started to cry and this was her request, "Mommy, will you rub my feet, they are hurting?" I asked her to repeat herself, first to make sure I heard her correctly, and second to make sure she was awake. She repeated the same request, so at 4:30 AM ON A SATURDAY I sat in my bed and grabbed my lemon body butter from my night stand and rubbed away.

After a few minutes I grew reflective and started praying over her. I prayed for where her feet would take her in her life, that she go the way of the Lord. I prayed for her hands, that they would always be helpful. Her heart that it would always be kind. Her eyes that they would see truth. And right when I was about to end, I smoothed her hair out of her eyes, and then she made this request(she had been asleep), "Mommy, will you scratch my belly?"

Dear Friends, what is the strangest request you granted for love?

5 Things

Just for fun, since I do not want to clean my house:

5 Things I was doing 15 years ago:

1. Finishing up my Sophomore year at BIOLA University the Greatest Christian University in the country.
2. Packing for a girls getaway...to MAUI!!!! Good times, good times!!!
3. Getting over a breakup....one of those "unanswered prayers" a la Garth Brooks things.
4. Enjoying my 3rd year as a Swim instructor...best job EVER!!!
5. Probably wondering what life had in store for me...never imagining the true journey.

5 Things I was doing 10 years ago:

1. Enjoying my newborn son Jake
2. Chasing my 15 month old son Jared
3, 4, & 5. More of #1 & #2

5 Things I was doing 5 years ago:

1. Anticipating the arrival of our daughter.
2. Enjoying a surprise visit from my family from California
3. Taking our very first vacation, that was only us...as in not going to visit other family or going with other family...we spent 5 days in Florida...it was amazing.
4. Praying for my baby girl, we had some complications during the pregnancy and I was a wreck
5. Putting an addition on our house.

5 Things on my To-Do list today:

1. Frost a birthday cake for a friends party tonight
2. Sweep the deck
3. Get a new inspection sticker on my van
4. Go to Walmart
5. Get in the Word

5 Things I like to do:

1. Read
2. Cook
3. Hang out with my family
4. Float in a swimming pool
5. Find a great bargain

5 Things I love to eat

1. Artichokes and Asparagus
2. Medium Rare steak
3. Strawberries and Angel food cake
4. Dark Chocolate
5. Cheese-any kind but American

Top 10 5/30/08

10. New favorite coffee creamer : CoffeeMate Italian Sweet Creme
9. My niece, affectionately called "The Beast" counting to 10 all by herself she's only 1 1/2.
8. Tomatoes and squash on my plants in the garden!!!!
7. Starbucks, twice in one week.
6. Napping
5. The Cubs winning 2-1 in the 10th...Go Gubs Go!!
4. Surviving the news that my sister, who lives right behind me, is moving 90 miles away in six months...I think that "the Beast" will have to stay here though.
3. Cooking with my daughter.
2. Playing Marco Polo with the family ALL WEEKEND....so much fun!!!
1. Jake getting his FIRST base hit last night!!! I have to admit that I kind of lost my mind and became one of those crazy moms...it was wonderful.

That Sparkle in His Eye

I just had a conversation with my Grandmother about my brother Sam. We have both been praying for him for so long, that it is still hard to believe that our prayers have been not only been answered, but they have exceeded out wildest imaginations. I had shared with her my conversation with him on Mothers Day, and how it was REALLY him I was speaking to...not some shell of my brother...but really him. She told me that when she saw this photo of him, that she felt the exact same way...that Sam was back. She could see it in his eyes. I knew exactly what she was talking about, so I wanted to share it with you and give God some glory.

The sparkle in his eye is not a sparkle at all. It is LIFE!!! He has his life back, and we as a family will be forever grateful.

Catching up

Hello there, you long lost and deserted friends. I am the worst kind of blogger, I know. Somehow, selfishly I let my life get in the way of our relationship and I am truly sorry. Here is quick re-cap of our last week.

Thursday: I spent the entire day in the ER. I know it was inconsiderate of me not to bring you all along for the ride. But believe me, there where things happening in that exam room that you REALLY did not want to be a part of. In the end, it was a mystery illness, and although they wanted to admit me for overnight observation, I opted for my own bed.

Friday: Mostly spent recovering from a fore mentioned mystery illness. Then, eventually got with the program and got the family all packed for our weekend away. Somehow, everyone had plenty of underwear. That evening, we went to Jared's ballgame, funny, but I can not remember if we won or lost. Then we hit the road and headed to the outlaws house.

Saturday: The kids and Jeff spent the day in the pool, I spent the morning sleeping and eventually made an appearance. The pool felt great, and just being away from our own house was vacation in itself. We played "Marco-Polo" ALL DAY...every couple of hours changing the rules to spice it up some.

Sunday: re-read Saturday except add me to the entire days activities.

Monday: re-read Sunday.

Tuesday: Re-read Monday, but add a shopping trip by my lonesome. I went to Michael's to get all the stuff for camp in a few weeks. I am in charge of crafts...and on a side note I am really NOT that crafty. So I will keep you updated on that. After I returned, we made one last dash for the pool and ended of course with Marco Polo. Then we loaded up the van and headed for home...with a stop at Starbucks on the way. We got back into town just in time for Jared's ball game, it was good one. We were down 2-0 the whole game until the 5th inning...Jared tied the game with a beautiful hit, and then we kept it going and ended up winning 4-3. Good times!!!

Starbucks side note: I am a bargain shopaholic. I can feed me and the kids on the McD's dollar menu for less than ten bucks. I never pay full price for anything that I can wait on, and then get on sale. I am known for going into Dillards(which I could not afford at retail price) and get $700 worth of clothing at 75% off for less than a hundred bucks and then have the kids summer clothes for next year...and vice-versa for winter. So, when the opportunity arises to indulge at Starbucks...I do on occasion. That has since taken a whole new meaning since all the kids now have their favorites too. So, a few times a year, I go from feeding the fam at McD's for less than 10 bucks to getting Blended Cremes and Frappacinos for twenty....not including the husband who swears that he would have to physically stop being a man to order a drink that you can not get in a small, med or large. He swears it is un-American to say"tall, grande or viente" Never a dull moment.

Here's to many more Summer Days...especially, since today I am house bound cleaning the castle.

Tuesday