Odometer reading...

I was in the car (where I tend to spend most of my time) and looked down and noticed my odometer reading....198765! Yes, that would be 198,785 -- my car is a really great car and I can't wait to actually turn over the soon to arrive 200,000 but I thought 198765 was kinda cool.

Happy Friday, all!

Fall for Mrs. G

Old First Church, Bennington, Vermont established 1762

Current Sanctuary shown above completed 1805 and still holds services.

My dear friend, Mrs. G over at: http://lifeatnumber17.blogspot.com/ has a lust in her heart for Autumn. The kind of Autumn not generally found in the deep south. She longs for the Autumns I experienced while living in NY...the kind where you can wear wool and layers and look oh, so L.L. Bean (comfortably).

When we lived in NY one of my favorite weekend haunts was Bennington, VT. Also, the home to Bennington Pottery http://www.benningtonpotters.com/potters-yard.html ; and some dandy shopping, though not quite as dandy as in Manchester, VT http://www.manchesterdesigneroutlets.com/.

Well, Dear Mrs. G here is some Fall in Photo for YOU!

Autumn colors are creeping in....

Blinded by the Light at the end of the Tunnel!

Oh my, oh my it is almost done! My horrid and completely mind numbing (or maybe the problem is that my mind is already numb) Math Class is almost over. Torture of torture...what beasts of the Math Department created this class?

Those of you who have been reading my journal for a bit know I am a "non-traditional" student and this term have been taking a Math class (college algebra/statistics and a bit of finance thrown in for fun) and it hasn't been pretty. I have whined, cried, yelled and shown many other less than flattering behaviors while attempting to master this class. My DH now says he understand why DS#2 acts like he does! Wha? Is that helpful??? I think not!

Anyway, my Final (comprehensive -- of course...lest we forget the vast uses for matrix applications) is this weekend. I have it figured out...I only need to make a 66 to get a B in the class. Isn't it amazing that I have the math skills to figure out precisely what the least amount I can score on the final and get a B but can't figure out the class? Something is so wrong with THAT!

September 11th

Written in DS#2’s baby book:
Where were you? Between 8:45 and 9:03…we (dh, ds#2 and myself) were standing outside taking photos to remember how happy we were…little did we know how much our world was changing. Our lives changed along with the world.
Tuesday, September 11, 2001 was a beautiful day. It was warm and the sky was as blue and clear as I can remember. DH and I were excited to be taking DS#2 to his first Doctors appointment that morning.

As we readied ourselves for the trip to the Dr., the morning news had a breaking story about a plane hitting one of the World Trade Center Twin Towers in NYC. We watched the photographs being telecast in awe and wonder at such a freak accident.

Before leaving for the Dr.’s office we took Baby outside on the front stoop to take some photos of him. He was so tiny and perfect. I felt so happy and good. All was right with the world.

Upon entering the examination room our Pediatrician walked in with tears in her eyes and said, “They have bombed the Pentagon!” We were in shock, and then learned that the plane we had seen hit the World Trade Center Tower wasn’t an accident and there had been a second plane to hit the other tower. In a few short minutes 3 planes became hurling, death machines for thousands of people. There was even more sadness to come as another plane was crashed in Pennsylvania as part of the same attack.

Our world was under attack. After leaving the Dr.s office I rode in back with my new baby and cried. Fear was there…fear for our country, our way of life, my new baby, my sweet other children…fear of the unknown. We had no idea where these attacks had come from or where they would hit next. There was fear and anxiety on what we should do next to prepare for what ever terrible turn came. DD and DS#1 were in school and we wondered if we should go in and get them from school.

The next few hours held little comfort as we watching in horror as the two landmarks of the western world fell with 1000s of people trapped inside. I was so scared and all we could do was pray.

It was the day that the world stopped turning…a day when we all stopped and stood still.

Little did I know that a year later I would find myself holding my precious 1 year old and commemorating the 9-11 attacks in our new home in NY. It was a surreal experience and yes, I took pictures. It was as if I wanted the photos to prove that this attack didn’t stop us or our great Nation. It may seem odd that I included the horrors of the 9-11 attacks in DS#2’s baby book but I need for my children never to forget and know that the world changed for them…that day.

Our church showed this preview for a documentary on the Crosses that rose from the 9-11 rubble and it was a wonderful reminder that God is right there and right here...in the center of it all. He knows, He remembers. Please take the 9 minutes to watch this and see His signs of hope...http://www.worshiphousemedia.com/index.cfm?hndl=details&tab=MM&id=5536

God Bless the U.S.A.

5 years ago....

Five years ago something amazing happened. God blessed us with the arrival of a 2nd DS. He was the missing piece of the puzzle we didn't even know was missing...thankfully God did.

Today my little baby turns 5. I don't think I have ever seen anyone so excited about a birthday; for days that is all he has talked about. FIVE is a big thing, ya know!

DS2 is just an amazement to me. Maybe that is because I have always known he was the last, maybe it was because his older siblings (5 and 10 years older) have shown me how fast this time of childhood goes; maybe it was because I always felt I missed so much with his older brother because of the months I spent in a bleak existence resulting from a severe case of post pardum depression; maybe it was because on the night he was born he stared up at me for hours as I sang "Open the Eyes of my Heart, Lord" to him (we still do that); maybe it is because he was in my arms as the horror of the 9-11 attacks unfolded and I cried, wondering what kind of world he had been born into. Or maybe, I just love him for his true green eyes!

He is a character X2. He always keeps me on my toes and thinks in ways I can never anticipate. I love this little boy.

I took cupcakes to his preschool today as part of his birthday celebration. I cried as I left. It was the last time I would bring cupcakes to preschool for a birthday...next year he will be in "big school". Of course, I will still bring goodies for his birthday there but it is somehow different. I am so happy for him and his accomplishments but my heart aches knowing he is one day closer to adulthood.