Anniversary

*The Workman Family in 2006*

Tomorrow is our anniversary. Rusty and I have been married for 10 years. A decade! How can that be. It seems like yesterday that William introduced us at the HORDE festival at Mud Island. We were so carefree and young. How could the years pass so fast. I guess it's because we've been so busy. We've had three children for heaven's sake. I think back on the people we were then. If I could whisper to that young girl that she would be a mother of three and living in Arizona in 10 years I think she would die of shock. It's so funny the places God takes you and the new person he molds you into being. I love this about God.





We have had a great marriage. I have been so blessed being married to such a wonderful man. We've definitely had our moments, but together we've handled them all, good and bad. We're better people and have a better marriage because of it. I'm so proud to be Rusty's wife, and I couldn't have dreamed of a better father for my children. I thank God everyday for bringing us together.





Living so far away from all of our extended family has offered many things for me. It has given me a chance to meet new people and see and do things I would have never had the chance to do. The one thing I'm most grateful for is the closeness it has brought to my little family. We don't have grandparents or sisters to call to watch the kids while we run an errand or go out to eat. We can't just drop by and have lunch or swim. We are on our own. While this is heartbreaking to us it has offered us a great gift. The gift of relying on each other. Oh, I can always call my mother when something is bothering me, but having only my husband to hug has brought us closer than I could have ever imagined.





I thank God everyday for everything in my life. Today I thank Him for a loving husband and a great marriage. May He continue to bless it and make it stronger everyday.

Just What Brothers Do!

John Russel has learned a new trick. One he's been trying to master for years now. A trick that he has admired his older cousins and even his Daddy do with boyhood wonder. What new little milestone has he reached, you ask? Well... the dreaded underarm poot! Oh how proud he is of himself. He does it constantly, so much that we've had to tell him he can only do it at home or in the car.

All the "boys" (Rusty included) have been sitting around trying to see who can make the loudest poot sound. Poor Will is only able to use his mouth. (Even though he uses his mouth on any surface that will make a sound) Rusty of course is still King of the poot sounds. I will have to say that John Russel is gaining on him. In a few years I think Rusty will be out-pooted.

Mae is, of course, utterly disgusted, as am I. She said, "Mama, Why do boys like to poot?" She then answers her own question, "I guess that's just what brothers do." I answer, "Yes, Mae. Sorry to say that they do." (Sorry William)

La, La, La La. La, La, La La.......

*I LOVE my Elmo shoes!!!!*

OK, Well I guess you can say I caved. Blame it all on having three children, or maybe moving to the west. Who knows. But, I did it. I bought Will some Elmo shoes. I know, I know. You would have never ever seen my other two children in such a hideous thing as tennis shoes with characters on them. I just couldn't resist, nor did I have the energy, the excited screams of delight at Will's first sight of these shoes. Oh Well.... they aren't that bad. They are New Balance, after all.

I do have to say, he does look cute in them!

It's Raining like Hail Out There!

*We love the rain!*

*OOOO! Hail!

*Our street/river*

*The flooded wash behind our house.*

The monsoon season is here. It rains almost every afternoon, now. I have written about this and all of the lovely creatures it has brought us. Yesterday, however, it absolutely poured. After about 30 minutes of straight down pouring I heard the tink tinkling of sleet on the windows. Mae and I went outside on our back patio to explore. It was amazing to see the little sleet balls bouncing off our rock yard. A few pieces even bounced onto the patio where we were standing. I told her it was hail. She was fascinated by it. We then looked out front and saw a small river rolling down our street. John Russel then joined in the fun. We all opened the front door, but we couldn't go far because of the sheets of water pouring off of our roof. We did see the little sleet/hail balls on the front mat that hadn't melted yet. We were all so very excited by such a sight. We then went upstairs to look out the back windows at the wash behind our house. You see, Arizona has washes where all the rainwater goes. We were told they fill up during the monsoons, but I just couldn't believe it due to the size of the washes. But, of course, the wash was filled to the brim with water. We couldn't believe it. These washes can be very dangerous and the streets flood due to the heavy rains. People get washed away in them all the time. On the news you will see people getting rescued daily. It's so very scary, so we don't venture out in the rain or in the afternoon for fear of getting caught.

Our neighbor came over in the middle of all the excitement. When she came in Mae informed her, "It's raining like hail out there!" Oh well, she was right on all accounts!

Wal-Mart

*Oh No! Not Wal-Mart, again!*

Why is it that when people go to Wal-Mart they feel like they can "come as you are"? We have been visiting Wal-Mart quite frequently lately due to it's close proximity and the great prices. I would much rather shop at our neighborhood grocery store, which I still do, but because of the prices I am drawn to Wal-Mart. It always fills me with dread to have to go. Don't get me wrong. I find lots of great deals, but the shopping experience is dreadful! People must feel right at home at Wal-Mart because they seem to show up in the craziest get-ups. I have found this commonality from one end of the country to the other. Literally. I have seen people wearing house shoes, children in PJ's (OK I did do this one time), and bathing suits. I have seen shower caps, hair rollers, and of course no make-up. I have seen greasy clothes, dirty clothes, and people with too little clothes. You name it I think I've seen it at Wal-Mart. Why is this? Who knows. Maybe it's the roll back prices or the constant disarray of the store. Maybe they feel like that if Wal-Mart doesn't put forth the effort, why should they. I'm not sure, but I find this so very interesting. Also, another thing I always encounter at Wal-Mart is a screaming child. (OK, I've contributed here, too) Anytime I'm shopping at the friendly neighborhood Wal-Mart I hear some child's blood curdling scream somewhere in the distance. Doesn't seem so friendly huh? I always wonder what they want or what happened. The sad thing is I don't even feel sorry for the child. My heart just aches for that poor mother trying to get through her Wal-Mart list as fast as possible.





Oh, I don't know. Maybe I'm the only person who's noticed these little things. I just find it so interesting, like some sort of social experiment. (The female humans rush to the store in houseshoes to provide for their family) Oh well, I guess I need to find my house shoes because I need to make another Wal-Mart run. If I can't beat 'em I should join 'em. Right? Shopping in house shoes does seem fabulous to me.

Peter Piper

The summer is drawing to a close. Well, not really, but school will be starting very soon. So, I decided to take the kids to Peter Piper Pizza. I thought this would be a good idea. Somewhere inside where the kids could eat, run and play. Better than the movies because they could be loud and different from the pool which we frequent almost daily. They also offer a lunch buffet. Even better. Off we go into Tucson with our neighbors. We were all excited to see what it was about. When we arrived at our destination we all piled out of the car. The children squealed with delight at the sight of a huge merry-go-round visible through the glass store front. I, on the other hand, first noticed the cafeteria style tables filled with more adults than children. Weird?

As we entered the restaurant it was helter skelter. The kids wanted to play the games immediately. The lights and sounds from the play area teasing them instantly. What hit me was the sight of the games that must have been around since I was a kid. Hmmm, interesting. I informed them that we would eat first. OK. We get the plates and filled them with pizza and then take a spot at one of the worn tables inches away from what appeared to be a man on his lunch hour. (I guess he couldn't resist the greasy pizza at all you can eat prices.) The kids scarf down one piece while turned around looking at all the games. The merry-go-round wasn't running and if Mae asked me one more time if she could ride it now, I thought I was going to scream. Finally, as fate would have it, just as the kids took their last and final bite of their single piece of pizza a girl started running the ride. They were thrilled. Then we made it over to the games. I couldn't believe some of them were still actually working. I think they each played every game 5 times. Will was content just pushing the buttons. The great thing about this was that a few games gave out a huge amount of tickets. The kids kept handing me the tickets which I would stuff in my diaper bag. We played about thirty minutes to an hour and then decided to "cash in". For those of you unfamiliar with these types of places you take your tickets to the counter and trade them for prizes. It's so ridiculous. They have these two cent toys that are worth like 25 tickets. They also have the teaser prizes. These much coveted items are something like a huge stuffed animal or an expensive action figure. Peter Piper had a Hannah Montana bedside lamp. (FANCY) Of course they are worth something like 6000 tickets. Something you could never achieve. And of course that's the exact item Mae wanted.(Hannah would look great beside her antique bed) We pooled all of our tickets and had an unbelievable amount. The kids had 275 each. Oh what to get. They each got about three things--all junk-- that they loved.

Isn't it funny how something that seems not so fun to an adult can be great for kids. They didn't notice how "old" or "yucky" the place was. They just saw endless fun and found it in the raggedy games and greasy pizza. We all should take this sort of attitude when faced with situations we find "not so grand". Who knows. You just might end up with a Hannah Montana Lamp!

Lost Treasure

* There's treasure at the end of every raindbow*

I was having a major clean out moment yesterday. I cleaned out my drawers and rearranged my closet. (It's outlandish the stuff that I found and have held onto for so long.) As I worked on my closet I noticed my little red purse hanging on a hanger. This purse came with Will's diaper bag. When I wasn't using his bag as my purse I would use the little red one. It is very small and doesn't hold much. I haven't used it since I've been here, having adopted another one for those rare occasions when I get to go out by myself having no use for the diaper bag. I worked around it for awhile sorting dresses here, filing t-shirts there, and hanging pants over there. Then I thought, "You don't belong here, little red, you belong on the top shelf with the other purses." So as I took it off the hanger it felt heavy. I new right then it was filled with treasure. What treasure could a purse hold, you may ask. Oh let me just tell you. I have a habit of not cleaning out my purses when I move on to another one. I take the essentials out-wallet, keys, favorite lipstick of the time, but I leave whatever I don't need in the old one. So I sat down in the floor of my closet to find a comfortable spot for looking through my time capsule. I new that this little red purse was going to take me back in time to the person I was a few short months ago. I think the last time I used this purse was around November or early December. I unzipped the zipper and purse smell drifted up to my eager nostrils. It was filled to the brim. Here is a list:

A Target and a Starbucks receipt from early November of last year.

A business card from some friends that started their own children's party business.

A little piece of paper that John Russel had written his name on.

A key chain from Hope's Women's Ministry.

A snowman eraser.

An iridescent plastic mauve beaded necklace.

Two pens.

A mint from Abuelos. Also a wrapper for one of those mints already eaten.

A note from a girl from my old job asking for some CEU hour forms.

An orange starburst.

A medicine top.

Two sample of Eucerin Calming Cream.

Two barretts. (one for me and one for Mae)

A red pacifier.

I tube of lip gloss.

Two stickers from Hope's children's ministry received when I put the kids in, but failed to return. (How did I get my kids out?)

And then (I've saved the best for last) a fortune from a fortune cookie that says........

"You will move to a wonderful new home within a year."

You may think all of this is crazy nonsense, but I loved looking in my purse. Each item took me back to November or early December of last year. It's so funny how little things can do this for me, but they can and did. I had the best time yesterday. After looking at all of these precious items I did the unthinkable. I placed all of them back in little red and placed it all on my top shelf. Now, maybe in a few months, or years I'll pull little red back down or find another discarded purse and loose myself in my old found treasures.

Clean up, clean up. Everybody do your share!!

*Will playing outside*

Today is clean up day. On Mondays I try to clean and get the house back in some sort of order. I got the vacuum out to start my normal routine and started upstairs today to try something different. Now, the carpet in my house is crazy. I guess it's because it's so cheap. I don't know, but after every room I have to clean out the little compartment that holds all the dirt and fuzz. So I take a grocery sack and empty the bin in it. After I did all the rooms and hall I started on the stairs. The stairs are a back breaker, literally. I have to balance the vacuum while I use the hose attachment to suck up the dirt, lint, and of course the night night strings off of the stairs. When I get to the bottom (only two stairs left) my vacuum goes out. Oh, Man! Now, the vacuum has pulled this little trick on me before. I guess it gets over heated from all the carpet fuzz and just says, "Enough already." So, I abandoned that job and left the vacuum at the bottom of the stairs. Feeling defeated I decided to tackle a little laundry. As I was putting the kids clothes away I admired their beds. Mae and John Russel are in the habit of making up their beds in the morning. (A side effect from having our house on the market for so long--Hey, at least one good thing came out of it.) John Russel's attempt was good, but lacked the neatness that will hopefully come with age. I was proud of the try. Then I noticed Mae's job. It was perfect. The sheet and blanket were pulled up and perfectly tucked in. Her quilt was even on all sides and the pillows perfectly placed. Amazing! Beaming with pride, I remembered what my Memaw would say to me after cleaning up. She would tell me how smart I was. This I always thought was so silly. "It doesn't take intelligence to clean up," I told myself. Now, with Mae's simple act, I get it. No, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to make your bed, but how nice it looks and how pleasing to others. How smart it is to make others comfortable and feel welcome in your personal space. This says so much about a person.





As I finished putting the clothes away, I was shocked by the sudden roaring at the bottom of the stairs. The vacuum sputtered back to life. Soon the downstairs was vacuumed and the kitchen cleaned. I still have more to do. Laundry is calling out to me from the dryer as we speak, eager to be folded. I guess it's never really done. Is it? But, hopefully if someone stops by or perhaps when Rusty gets home, they will enter my personal space and feel welcome. How smart I feel!

Here Comes The Rain Again!

The monsoons are here. The rainless days are over just like everyone told us they would be. The rain comes usually every evening and with it many other surprises. You wouldn't believe the insects that have come out with the rain. I don't know if they've been hibernating or if the water has somehow caused them to multiply, but I don't ever remember being so annoyed by them. The moths are insane the way they flock to the porch lights. There are also these little beetle like bugs that will light on you without you knowing it until hours later when you feel this light little tickle. We have since discovered that the big "cockroaches" that I wrote about earlier are actually palo verde bugs. They supposedly come out of the mountains when there is a fire there. All I know is ....EWWWW! Also there are so many frogs. We are used to these, but to see them hopping around and to hear them at night is amazing. What I find most interesting about the rain is the sky. I think it's because you can see for miles around. The cloud formations are truly outstanding. It's something that you can't quite capture in a picture. Sometimes you will see huge black rain clouds that are surrounded by white cumulus clouds with another part of the sky just as blue as a hydrangea blossom. Then you may see a rain shower coming down a few miles away with the sun shining down on you like it hadn't rained for a year. The clouds love the mountains, too. It's so wonderful to see them swirling around the mountains like smoke. I will never get tired of looking at this amazing phenomenon. Then there is the lightening. We call it God's fireworks. It is like nothing you have ever seen. Huge streaks shatter across the sky making zigzag patterns that light up the earth below.

I never knew I would enjoy looking at the sky like this. I've never been a weather watcher, but in this new environment I feel like a weatherman in a wonderful dream. It is truly mesmerizing. God has given us another gift to savor in our wonderful new home.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

This picture is so funny to me. I was trying to get the kids to pose with their circus "stuff" so I could add it to my story about the circus I was planning to write. Even though we had a blast at the circus I thought this silly picture told a much better story.

The three children seated on the couch are posing for their mother. Look around and you'll see all the little details that make up their life. First you may notice the elephant cup and circus hat the two older children are wearing. They obviously are very proud of their circus trip. Then your eyes may drift over to the youngest on the couch. Why is he so upset? Well, the answer quite simply is that he wanted to hold the elephant cup. Then you may notice they are wearing pajamas. They have just awaken from their night after the circus. Yes, those are sponge bob PJ's Will is wearing! (Hilarious!) The eldest child, you may notice, is wearing footy socks from a previous foot injury. He must wear these silly things to keep his wound clean. (Even funnier!) Then you may notice the messy counters in the back. This is not from lack of cleaning from the mother of the house. These counters seem to attract objects like a magnet. It could be anything as you can see. You may notice the wipes. They were place there to remain out of reach of the curious two year old who delights in pulling every single one of them out of the box to "clean" every surface he can find. Right beside the wipes is a library book to return along with the TV remote control placed there by the Mother of the house in order for it not to be eaten by the couch. There are also some unidentified papers that the Father of the house deemed too important to throw away, yet he will not put them in a more appropriate place.(Like in the garbage!) You may notice a green hairy blob over on the left hand side of the counter. That is Froggy, Mae's beloved stuffed animal of the moment. She, unfortunately, was forgotten after breakfast.

This small snapshot has captured a small moment of the lives of these three individuals. As you can see, "A picture is worth a thousand words." (All hilarious!)

Your a Grand Old Flag!

Yesterday was filled with so much fun. We went on a little parade that went around the lake in our neighborhood. The kids were all decked out in their 4th of July best. It was at 7:00 am, due to hot weather. Little did I know that it was going to be so humid. "Humid," you may say, "You don't remember humid!" Well, I guess it wasn't that humid, but my body is not used to any moisture in the air, so any little bit combined with this hot sun just about steamed my skin off. I had forgotten how much my face sweats with the humidity! Oh, Well. It was fun for the children. We then had breakfast and it was back to the clubhouse in our neighborhood for fun and games. They had the little train out. (I think we took turns riding it with Will a total of 5 times!) They also had those bouncy slide things for the kids as well as face painting and air brushed tattoos. (John Russel of course had to get the biggest one tattoed to his neck) The kids had a blast while Rusty and I stood with our faces glowing from the sweat! After lunch and naps, we were off to a party that a guy from Rusty's work was having. The kids (all 4 including Rusty) went swimming and definitely livened up that party. Everyone was laughing and really amazed at how well they all took to the water. I think everyone was most amazed at the perfect form of Mae's cannon ball as she splashed into the pool soaking one of Rusty's co-workers in the process. Thank goodness they were a jovial bunch. They really did seem to enjoy all of the action brought forth by the Workman children, even though I wanted to crawl under the patio table and die. The host had cooked ribs and all the usual accompaniments were served. I have to say that's when I really missed home. All and all a good time was had by all. The kids were exhausted and went straight to sleep right at their usual bedtime. We didn't get to see any "live" fireworks, due to the monsoons creeping in, but we did see them on TV, much to Rusty's horror. (I think he would have been thrown underneath the jail here if he attempted his usual fireworks show)

We all had a great, fun day. It was nice spending the day with our family and new friends. Happy 4th of July everyone!

John Russel's Toe

We've had another crazy day here at the Workman house. I decided that today would be a great day to stay in and get some much needed housework accomplished. I had cleaned the bathrooms and was folding some laundry when I heard a huge CRASH! I ran in the den to see my little monkey dish in a million pieces on the floor. Will had thrown a toy right at it knocking it off the table onto the tile floor. I made the kids sit on the couch while I attempted to pick up all the pieces. I moved the chairs swept the floor, then moved the table and swept some more. I then swept the carpet and then went over the entire area again hoping to get all the little tiny shards of glass. Then I decided to take a bath. I was thinking I would mop the floor when Will took a nap. That was my plan. Then I heard blood curdling screaming coming from the den. John Russel came running in the bathroom holding his foot screaming the entire way. I looked down and it was covered in blood! "Oh, No!" I thought, "What in the world!" He then sat down and I got a towel to put on his foot. He then said, "Go get the glass before someone else steps on it!" I thought, "Yes, right." I couldn't even think clearly through my panicked state. Now, I'm not one to usually panic at things like this. I'm usually in control, but this time... Oh My! I then ran to the den, stark naked mind you, to retrieve the piece of glass before it butchered someone else. When I made it back to John Russel, only seconds later, there was a puddle of blood on the floor. I then threw on clothes and carried him to the car. I told Mae to grab Will's shoes and get to the car. As I climbed into the driver seat I thought, "Now what! Where do I go?" I didn't know how to get to the closest Minor Med. So I called my neighbor. No answer. I then called Rusty and frantically told him what had happened. He then told me to hang on while he tried to find out the best place to go. In the meantime, I called our pediatrician's office. They told me to go to the closest Minor Medical office. (the pediatrician is 30 minutes away) Rusty called back and told me to go to St. Mary's hospital. I thought, "No, I don't want to wait in an emergency room." So, I called the pediatrician back and they told me to come in. The entire tense ride was nothing short of crazy. John Russel would get quiet and I would look back at him to see if he was OK. He would then say something outlandish like only a drama queen would. Something like, "Oh, I never want to see the color red again!" Rusty met us there and took John Russel back to see the doctor. A few minutes went by as I sat on pins and needles. I was just asking myself, "Why didn't I go back with him," when I heard the screaming. I looked up and the girls behind the desk looked up at the same time. I instantly recognized those cries like only a mother would. I could have crawled out of my skin! A few minutes later they emerged from the back, Rusty carrying a smiling John Russel. John Russel proclaimed, " Mom, I was so brave!" I thought, "Oh, really?" Needless to say three stitches later, all is again right with the world.

It only takes something so minor (thank goodness) to shake you to your core. Even though it was only three little stitches, I realize how quickly a normal day can turn. It makes me realize how vulnerable we all are, and at the same time how strong. Thank goodness everything is going to be alright. John Russel's stitches will come out next week and we now know where the hospital is in case of a huge emergency.

He's doing great, and is so proud of his stitches. He wants to call everyone and tell them his story. So if we haven't talked to you yet, give us a call. You'll get to hear the story in his words while I have a much needed glass of wine!