A week of photographic memories

Autumn is one of my favorite times of the year... Right up there with winter, spring and summer! Halloween really begins the Holidays for me. When it starts to smell like football in the air and the weather cools below 100, I start getting the itch for...

Parties with friends and family.

Bon Fires and roasted marshmallows.

Pumpkins and Jack O Lanterns

Chili cook offs and caramel apples.

Costumes.

Trick or Treats.

Smells of Soup cooking in my kitchen.

It is the perfect beginning of smiles and fun to lead into a month a Thanks giving... and then on to the celebration of the birth and life of our most beloved Savior.

Her Big Fat Greek Tumor...

This is Jessica... the first born of all my nieces and nephews. She is the one that actually made me fall in love with my ever so handsome and fabulous husband. We were only dating when I met Jessica... and she was so delightful that I swore I must have offspring just like her... and the only way was to hook up with her hotty uncle. And so I did...

And it has been delightful to watch her grow... every step of her life has been a treat!

She was a spit fire child... full of life and spunk! As a toddler she danced in the mirror like nobodies business... I secretly wondered if she learned the hip thrust dance from her mother (who looks like Marie Osmond, or her father??? hmmm...)

We haven't lived too close for a loooong time. But each time I am blessed with an opportunity to be with Miss Jessica she impresses me more. Her sense of humor will kill you! Her style will leave you dreaming. Her testimony will lift you. Her competitive nature will bring out determination in you... her talents are endless... they leave you wishen'... and the tender love she shares with her baby brother will melt your heart.

This gal is one in a million... going somewhere happenen'... and I love that I get to watch it unfold.

I found a little video that I wanted to dedicate to Jessica and Beavis here.

I'm sending well wishes and love and hoping the babopsy went well...

May Beavis be without teeth or a spinal cord.

XOXOXOXO

Down but not out...

The day Cole was born I knew the child had something of a concrete boulder held on by a hefty neck in the center of his robust shoulders. The child un-mistakabley favored the stature and coloring of his maternal d.n.a. (though I have to admit that Nate's maternal grandmother was not exactly petite! I swear the woman could grip a basketball better than most NBA stars... Her hands were very large (and so soft) and when I close my eyes and remember such a woman I think of Zena the Warrior Princess.~ Regardless, Cole favored the likes of my father's ancestry. He is a Bird baby through and through!) He has a big head.! In nearly every photographic memory that we have of Mr. Cole (during the first 2 1/2 years of his life) he has a bruised knobby on either side of his frontal lobe just above his eye brow. Obviously this was due to enormous weight of his coconut making it inevitable that it would be the first thing to hit! The great news is that Coley has an unprecedented pain tolerance making most of those falls no big deal at all!

Well... rough housing and wrestling tournaments with his elder brother escalated over the years. Though one thing has remained: Cole still leads with his head and falls on it often. In fact, just this past Thursday Cole and McKay played a little too rough. Cole karate kicked up his leg. McKay grabbed it and yanked. Cole's other foot came up and head went down.... And then something new happened here at the Mecham house: Mr. Cole started screaming loud from BIG pain! He held his head tight! He didn't feel so well... and as he puts it, "I got my first concussion". Which I hope is his last concussion, but I'm certainly not planning on that!

Friday we went to the Doc since Cole couldn't go to school. (weird... not wanting to go to school) He broke to us the news. "Cole as a slight concussion. Just watch him. If it gets worse we'll have to order a CT scan." And so we went home with a gigantic bottle of bubble gum liquid Advil and berry flavored Tylenol and watched movies for the rest of the afternoon.
But headaches haven't gone away. And sometimes they seem worse. But usually only after lots of play. However, the Doc wanted a CT scan on Cole today. So guess where we went... E.R.!!! woo hoo!! Best part: Cole is fine. So it turns out that we just wanted to pay for an E.R. visit, a CT scan and alarm everyone in the hood which we live.! Good times... Cole will be learning empathy for all of those who suffer with frequent headaches for a while... No fun! But we are counting our blessings that it wasn't a bad brain bruise and his symptoms are incredibly mild from where they could be.

And to celebrate such grand news we carved pumpkins and partied! (more on the tomorrow!)

Somethings I've learned from this whole deal:

~The Dr. IS going to send you to the E.R. for imaging. He just is...
~If eyes are looking good, there is no vomit, dizziness, loss of bowels, or ringing in ears it doesn't necessarily mean that there isn't a problem!!! (What?!)
~headaches can last up to several weeks or months
~Advil every 6 hours
~Tylenol every 4 hours
~Never take life for granted
~Not even hard heads are invincible
~running around like you are perfectly healthy and normal doesn't mean your concussion will go away... in fact, it makes the pain worse. So does continued wrestling with your brother.
~slight falls cause migraines when you have a concussion.
~you can take Cole down but it's pretty hard to take him out.

Can Ericka Play?

Every morning by 8:30 a.m. Cole is looking for somebody to play with... If you know Cole, this is progress... by atleast a half hour! If I don't deliver a friend by 8:35 he is on the phone.

Cole has two numbers memorized: Grandma Chrissy, and Ericka. This very morning I stood in the kitchen tapping my finger while my spelt bread toasted golden when Cole walked in with the telephone on his ear. He didn't speak for a very long time. Then he rolled his eyes 4 or 7 times and started to speak while pacing back and forth: "Hi Ericka just calling to see if you could play. We can play legos and swing and dress-ups and I really want you to come over because you're my friend and so I want you to call me back if you can come play and we would have really fun in the name of Jesus".... then he stopped and looked up at me with a total perplexed look on his face. I was trying not to laugh or (heaven forbid) make him feel stupid for what he had just said. Cole doesn't take lightly to degradation. And so I simply said, "amen". And he busted out laughing and yelled into the phone, "oh my gosh I can't believe I just did that!" And then he hung up and we laughed our heads off for about 5 minutes!

That kid... I tell you what!~ He is one fine little man! As long as he is mine will never be long enough.

A sweet little tale...

Jo Dee went to make a visit to the HAP HAP Happiest place on earth this week... and she graced me with an opportunity to care for three of her young ones. It was a solicited treat... A sincere request which was granted. I kept my kids home from school to play with the little ones today. They get along remarkably well. And so it has worked out beautifully!

The day went like this:

Wake up to kids playing joyfully. (after a quiet night, I might add.)... Feed kids breakfast. (they all ate well.) Bath. Dress. Begin home school assignments. (for Ms. happy Kate and Mr. Grant.)

Cole played cars with Rock and McKay kept the wii warm while waiting.

But there was a small problem.... Foot ball isn't a quiet sport... even on the wii. So McKay brought a little too much energy to the room for the moment. Cole and Rock were driving the cars feverishly along the hall walls and tile! The volume in the Mecham home was not exactly school like. So I simply requested that they (who were not doing school work) run along outside where those fabulous loud play noises belong so that the others could concentrate on their duties... and they did!

Kate finished her work quickly and happily joined the others. (everything for Kate is HAPPY!)

Mr. Grant plunged along and knocked his out in a timely manner as well.

But just before he finished little Rockwell knocked on the door.

"Mecham?" he called

(he addresses me "Mecham"... how is that for dreamy?!!!!) And since I can't resist such a call I tripped over myself to get to him. He was standing in the doorway with a disturbed look, awkward standing position, and wet spots in all the wrong places!

"Oops!", I said.

"Did you have an accident?" Knowing full well that there must be a grand explanation since this little guy hadn't even had one of these at my house in 3 days!

And then it was explained to me that since my request to "play outside so that the kids can get their work done" was interpreted as, "you may not come in this house until further notice." Mr. obedient couldn't hold it any longer. I admit, I took shame for this little accident considering the poor explanation of rules with my previous direction. I simply forgot how innocent and obedient little tiny people are. So we made quick work of changing clothes and cleaning off. And Rock joined back outside with the others all clean and new. Only to return moments later with a knock on the back door. Then realizing that it wasn't locked he opened it up and let himself in.

"Mecham?" he called,

"This is for you."

He handed me a flower. Lantanna... which I know he worked hard to find because we don't have lantanna in our yard and there is no way he can get over our back yard fence.

"Thank you for helping me." he graciously said.

I almost teared up for a moment. But I hugged him and told him how happy it made me instead. We hung it up on the fridge under a magnet to remind us how gratitude is so wonderful!

As Rockwell left to go back outside I watched with the biggest warm fuzzy in my heart for such a guy. And he had a little skip in his step too.

Then I remembered remarks President Robinson said to me earlier this week while attending a baptism for a mutual friend, "He must have the sweetest mother".

And it must be true. Because he was thoughtful and kind enough to show such sentiment... Undoubtedly, gratitude is a learned behavior... and he must have learned it somewhere.

A tale I hope to never forget.

The house is really quiet... leery like. The air conditioning turned off @ 71 degrees (nice!) and since it is awfully late the street outside is empty of traffic. A sound I don't hear too much. And the kids... they opted for a camp out in the back yard. Tents and all... You've gotta love a papa who will set up camp in the back yard... and join them! So I can hear things like the fridge running and the clock ticking.... and an occasional helicopter flying over head. Usually I'm sawing logs by now. But I had one last thing to say before I lay my weary body to rest for the night...
I awoke this morning to two of my favorite boys on either side of me... McKay on the right and Cole on the left. My other favorite had already slipped out to work for the day. I knew it was going to be a good day. I peeped over at McKay who was cozy... still dreaming and then to Cole. He was looking at the ceiling fan twirl with a mighty big smile on his face and beams shooting out of his dancing eyes. If I had a super power to see inside his mind I am certain it would have viewed a party of ideas that circulated that creative mind. I knew he was planning something fantastic! I smiled and without missing a beat he said, "the only way I can get the tigers to stop is to let them shoot holes in me". I erupted into laughter... "Where did you hear that?", I squeaked out... "'Kelly's heros', mom... it is a goody", he whispered back. I knew it was going to be a great day!
But as the day went on, and as some days do, two little buddies sometimes find something to disagree on... this time McKay thought it was inappropriate that Cole slapped him on the back really hard. Go figure?! Cole was quite upset because he didn't mean to... "I just didn't know my own strength." And in a moment when I was determined to be stern as to pound into this child's head that we do not hit (except when we are defending ourselves which he surely was not) ~ and I even had stern intonations and serious eyes ~ Cole said, "Why don't you stop with the negative waves." To which turned my mad facial expression to one of trying not to laugh and my serious eyes began dancing even though I tried to make them so serious like... So I put my hand over my face to hide it... and peeking through my fingers I saw Coley staring at me with that same smile he had first thing this morning... while patting his naked belly. "Cut it out buddy! I'm trying to be mad right now!" I exclaimed. And without missing a beat he replied, "why don't you say something righteous and hopeful for a change." And so it was that I busted out laughing and told him to hurry along and stop hitting his brother.... or he was in big bad trouble... (because that is serious you know!) And he tripped off happy as a clam... and he took me serious because he and McKay played all day long together without one more disagreement. And now they slumber together at a camp out with papa.
And so it is that I'm thinking I should watch this "Kelly's Heros" movie that is so influential in my young son's vernacular. Maybe I could learn a line or two... I hope he wakes his papa up with one of his liners in the morning... It will be a great day!

My neglectful blogness

( This pic has nothing to do with my post... but it is autumnish... and I love it.)

Dear Blog,

You are but one young year old... You remind me of my journal.... (which you are). I make commitments to record my stories for future memoir... but I oft let the business of life take me captive. For these reasons, I have been neglectful. And also because I've been reading like a dog... "Jesus the Christ" (again... so good) and "The Great Apostasy" (again... so good) and "The Continuous Atonement". (boy howdy... All things pink was not kidding when she highly recommended that one... so good.) And since I'm on a pretty rocken' roll, I just bought "The Blessings of Abraham". I'm sure it will be so good.

I have been absent with my nose in a book or two or three... and also planting my garden. Tomatoes are up... Just harvested 2. Cucumbers are growing gangbusters. Lettuce is still alive. Mint. (what to do with mint? I planted it so I could say that I have mint in my garden. Don't know how to use it yet! I read that it repels some pests. I'm banking on it!) Pole beans are growing even though I planted them 4 days after the last recommended day. We will see... Peppers~ They have been in the ground for a while now... and they aren't dead but they aren't growing. Interesting. Italian Parsley is beautiful. (dear Lord, Thank you for that stuff... I love parsley. You are good to me. Love, Becky) Chives are still under ground... as in seeds haven't sprouted up yet. Neither have the onions. But I'm in LOVE with onions... and chives... so I know they will come up. The squash. I've dreamed of squash gardens.... and mine is growing. I planted sweet meat, zucchini, and Florette squash... and when it all gets rolling if there is still room, I'll plant acorn and spaghetti. Did I say, I love squash? I love squash in all its forms. (Fresh, of coarse!)

So where was I... Sorry about not blogging. If you were an infant child you would be dead from neglect. I would be incarcerated for abuse. And then my garden wouldn't be growing. You are, however, a space for me to deliver my thoughts... and I still have some. Stick with me....