Check Yourself...

It is interesting to me how this world works. My sweet Hazel is having surgery tomorrow and I have taken my usual road of tough mother. I am calm, collected and organized. Filling my days and nights with covering my commitments. I am dotting my i's and crossing my t's. Young women's? Covered, Tennis team and court times? Check. Boys carpools to practices, school and playdates? Check, check.

Then, suddenly it begins to happen...reality. The hospital calls and goes over the final details. Times to check in, time of the surgery, etc. Then, I am me again.

Do you know what the most amazing thing about all of this is? That is when the phone calls pour in. Today I had so many phone calls of well wishers. Many were expected, but many more were very random in nature. The crazy licorice lady from across the fence called...what kind of memory does she have? (she throws packages of licorice to the boys when they are playing basketball. Without fail, you are out there and whooooosh, comes the licorice.) Family call and make sure there is nothing to do. To tell the truth, sometimes I just had to let it go to voicemail.

I just went out to the garbage can and there was a care package on the front porch. It had goodies and a stuffed toy for Hazel. The package was from a new friend in the neighborhood, the friendship beginning with the Young women calling. I really do not know her well. She has a daughter Hazel's age and an older daughter who had heart surgery when she was young. The card was very sweet and at the end she told me to read 3 Ne 17:21-24, as her husband had instructed her to do before their daughters surgery. I immediately read it and have been filled with emotion since. I know that my Hazel will be fine and I have always known that, no matter how much I know that, it still doesn't make it much easier for me. Tonight I really have seen that the opposite of fear is love and the love I have felt from all the calls and well wishes is pushing my fears aside. Thanks to all of you...

Pumpkin Patch

This year we had a little pumpkin patch in the backyard. It was the perfect thing to take over the flower beds. At least that way we didn't have to see any of the weeds anymore!! It turned out the pumpkins liked the spot as well. We ended up with 15 or so. We also had gourds and cantaloupe back there. Today we harvested the pumpkins. Here are the farmers themselves!!

A side note about the cantaloupe...one day we are out playing and we notice some moment in the vines of the cantaloupe. There were mice eating our cantaloupe!! Needless to say, we pulled them out.

Oh, the quiet of my house!

This is what i love about being mom. School is back in and for three mornings a week I have a little time to myself while Miss Hazel takes a nice morning nap. This morning, for instance, I got a little visting teaching in early, look at that, I am totally overacheiving for my standards. Since my house is still clean from an enrichment activity I hosted last night, I have a few minutes.

let me go off on a tangent for a minute. After reading eriks blog I know that going off on a tangent is perfectly acceptable. I am on the enrichment commitee in the ward and let me tell you that i consider this a non-calling. It is where they put someone when they want to know if they are going to be an active member or something like that. Anyway, I am not the best about going to the meetings. may be I just am sinking to my own expectations. So, I don't go to meetings. One morning the leader and the counselor show up on my doorstep at 7:50 am. I forgot to say it was a saturday morning. of course I was not going to answer. But, Zachary thought he would be the helper he always is and help me out. I go downstairs in my bed head just to let them know they had aroused me from my slumber. that did not seem to phase them at all. they had there calendars. we would like to have a cookbook tasting party and we heard you have a great gazebo and would just love it if we could have it here. what date works for you? The event was last night and it was a great success. many people came 30 or so, which is HUGE for our ward...

Another tangent. in comparison, i was "asked" to host a cookie exchange (dont ask) in December and i went through the same preparations except i was 8 months pregnant. They had warned me to just expect 5 or so. Zachary was excited. We waited about 45 minutes and then I decided to declare it an official zilcho turnout. Zachary said, "mom, where are all your friends?"

So, today is my recovery day I am enjoying a Coke and thinking about catching up on my DVR. If I am folding laudry then I cant feel guilty, right?

We lost the tooth today! I had almost forgotten about our wobbly tooth until this morning Zachary yelled, "my tooth came out!" This is the first experience with the tooth fairy and we are all, myself included, interested in how much one tooth is worth...

"My tooth is wiggly!"

Whether you call it wobbly or wiggly, it is a fact, there is a loose tooth at the Alder home. At first Zachary was nervous thinking that he needed to brush it right away...for sure it was going to fall out because he hadn't brushed well enough.

I am really trying to figure all of the picture posting out, so you will be overwhelmed with new pictures today...Erik, since you and Lyndsay are the faithful. I am really embarrassed when I read your eloquent blog. Actually, hopefully it will motivate me, right?