Just one of those "Bird Flies into the House" Kind of Days

I should have known what kind of day it was going to be when Brian and I were sitting at the counter this morning reading the newspaper and eating breakfast and a bird literally flies right into the house and up to our bonus room. Brian had left the sliding door open when he let Rocko out and instead of Rocko coming back in, a bird does. It startled the heck out of both of us and we both dove behind the counter (with me screaming and Brian saying a few choice words...starting with the word "Holy" - it is Sunday after all). The first thing we said after we stopped screaming and then laughing was, "Let's get Nick!" We ran downstairs and woke him up and had him grab his "net" he made (which by the way is a pillowcase duct taped onto a stick - only Nick). :) Then the 3 of us headed up stairs to the bonus room. The bird was frantically trying to get out the window and kept backing up and flying directly into the window then flopping back on the floor. Brian told Nick and I to stand in the doorway in case the bird tried to fly out of the bonus room while he went over to open the window and take the screen out. Ummmm....yeah right I'm going to stand there and keep a bird from leaving a room...did he just meet me or what about me tells him that I'm the right person to keep a bird from leaving a room???? So when the bird made a beeline right at my face to get out of the room I did the polite thing and dropped to the floor behind Nick and used my son as a human shield to protect me from the bird...as I am screaming of course...yep, mom of the year right here...and allowed the bird to leave the room. Brian could not believe we let him get out of the room since he had asked us not to..yes, shocking!!!! Brian and Nick ran downstairs to find it and couldn't see it anywhere. I was still upstairs and could see it hiding behind my flowers on top of the kitchen cabinets. So Brian had Nick open the sliding door as wide as it could go and Brian coaxed it out of hiding with the "net" and out it flew.

So here's what I've learned...when you start the day with a bird flying into your house, you know it's going to be "one of those days." It kind of went downhill from there. My lesson didn't go very well at church, the dinner that I spent a long time preparing was DISGUSTING (it was a new recipe I was trying), and the chocolate cake (from scratch...another new recipe) that I made to make up for the disgusting dinner was equally bad...seriously, who can screw up chocolate cake????? I'm ready to go to bed and start over tomorrow. And luckily we're going OUT to eat tomorrow...thanks for having a birthday Marci! :)

Never Thought I'd See the Day

The unthinkable has happened! Nick has slaughtered TWO of his chickens. He had to kill the first one because somehow it damaged its leg severely and all of his research told him to put it out of its misery. So he gathered a group of friends and prepared the scene and when it came time to chop the head off, he couldn't do it.:)  So another brave friend stepped up and offered to do it for him and you should've heard these boys screaming like girls as the head flew off and the body started flapping around...I'm feeling a little queasy even writing about it. And no, I was not outside watching this, but I was watching through the blinds at an angle that I couldn't see the head become separated from the body. But Nick stepped right in while all the other boys were running the other direction and did what he had to do to make sure everything was contained in a bucket. Then he proceeded to de-feather it, etc. to get the practice since he decided we are going to eat a few of his chickens...WHAT??????

So yesterday he and a couple buddies (the rest were apparently traumatized to the point of not coming back for the 2nd one) prepared everything for the 2nd slaughtering (that's such a harsh word).They built a fire in the fire pit and put a big pot of water on the grate to get it boiling to soften the feathers once it's dead. They decided to kill this one another way (which Nick researched of course) but I'm not going to say how because I think it's even grosser but apparently the way some farmers do it. Once again, when it came time to do the actual killing, Nick couldn't do it so another brave friend stepped up. But once it was dead, Nick took over and proceeded to de-feather it, and everything else to prepare it to one day be the centerpiece of our dinner table. As you can see from the picture below...it was a pretty stinky process. Deep down I understand that this is where ALL chicken comes from and I eat chicken all the time, but after watching and hearing about all of this I'm really not sure that I'm going to be able to eat this one...I'll let you know.

Words to Live By

The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary. 

Opportunities

One of the things I love most about the youth program at our church is the opportunities it provides for these kids. Last week we had a dance festival for all the youth in our stake and even though there was a lot of grumbling from the kids I think it turned out to be a good experience for them. We've been practicing this Charleston dance for a couple of months now and some of the girls even helped make their own outfits.

Nick loved this activity because he got to dance with a cute girl. :) Hailey thought her partner was great but this is not something she loves to do...dancing in front of an audience. :) But after it was all over she was glad she did it.  

The Dash

Something to think about...

The Dash


I read of a man who stood to speak
at the funeral of a friend
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
from the beginning...to the end.


He noted that first came the date of her birth
and spoke of the following date with tears,
but he said what mattered most of all
was the dash between those years.


For that dash represents all the time
that she spent alive on earth
and now only those who loved her
know what that little line is worth.


For it matters not, how much we own,
the cars...the house...the cash.
What matters is how we live and love
and how we spend our dash.


So think about this long and hard;
are there things you'd like to change?
For you never know how much time is left
that can still be rearranged.


If we could just slow down enough
to consider what's true and real
and always try to understand
the way other people feel.


And be less quick to anger
and show appreciation more
and love the people in our lives
like we've never loved before.


If we treat each other with respect
and more often wear a smile...
remembering that this special dash
might only last a little while.


So when your eulogy is being read
with your life's actions to rehash,
would you be proud of the things they say
about how you spent your dash?