this is why I write

It's so easy for me to forget moments, conversations, and interactions.  Sometimes I like to search for and read old emails.  Some of my very favorite emails are those exchanged between my sister and me.  Boy do we make me laugh, even five years after the fact.

I was indulging in this pastime tonight, missing her, and thinking about her, when I came across a paragraph I wrote about someone.  Sadly, I can't even remember what Oleg looked like, but I do remember speaking with him, in Russian, and smiling all the while.

I share it here because all the unrest in Ukraine, and so many other parts of the world, is breaking my heart right now.

We have to keep reasons around to smile, no?

Backstory: I was helping out my dad with some Ukrainians who were visiting UVU in the summer of 2009.  This is what I wrote Natty because she was out of country (meeting the love of her life) in Mexico.

Wednesday I took the Ukrainians swimming.  One guy, Oleg, was super funny.  We were waiting for the others to get changed into their swim attire.  He lifted up his shirt to reveal his hairy chest and says (in Russian, of course) "No one in America has hair like this, do they?"  


He was pretty hairy and yet I had to say, "No, people do have hair like that.  My dad has hair like that."  

So then he pulls down the back neck of his tee shirt to expose even the hairiness of his back.  "What about this?" he asked.  

"Um, yeah, my dad has hair just like that."  

He replies, "People with hair like this are good people.  Your dad is a good guy.  I'm a good guy too.  I met your dad last night and he really is a good guy."  

I was just smiling and said, "Yeah, yeah."  It was pretty funny.  He's quite the gregarious kid.  


Oleg, wherever you are, I hope you're still smiling.  Thanks for brightening up my life at least twice now.

the Skabelund love language of food

We've been home for almost a week now, but certain items in my fridge, freezer, and pantry remind me of the home-where-I-grew-up, or at least where I did much of my growing up.  I still have a fair bit of growing up to do.  

The food I am enjoying of late:

• peach preserves from Becky
• elk, thanks to Joli's tag, Dad's harvesting, and everyone's hands to break it all down
• blue cheese dressing made by Dad
• squash grown by Dad
• jars of peaches, pears, apricots, jam, applesauce, and sauerkraut canned by my parents

I often feel like Anton Ego or Marcel Proust when I eat any of this.  A bite of canned pear takes me back to Sundays after church when our standard lunch or snack would be cheese toast with canned fruit.  The elk evokes many fond memories of time spent on both a snowy mountain and in my parents' kitchen with my cousins, aunts, and uncles.

Above all, as I partake I feel loved.  I am blessed.

first 10K

Margie drove all the way from Arizona so we could run a race together.  Sadly it was pretty junky weather.  But we managed to have a good time despite the downpour.  Andrew and the kiddos tagged along since little H bear won't take a bottle and the race was about an hour away.  I pretty much have the awesomest friend, husband, and kids.  

We got soaked.  It wasn't raining too hard at the start of the race but that didn't last for long.  We ran in Malibu state park and ran through some of the place they filmed M.A.S.H.  Andrew and I finished watching all 11 seasons of it about a month ago, so it was lots of fun to see an old M.A.S.H. jeep and other stuff from the movie set that's still out.  

I had such a nice weekend with Marge.  I'm sad we don't live closer to each other, but I'm glad she's so kind enough that I've been able to see her twice this year.  She's a lovely one.  I also went to my first movie in the theater since "Les Mis."  We went and saw "Philomena."  It was pretty good.  Not my favorite ever, but I do love me some Judi Dench, and girls' night out is always restorative.

marmee and papi

are not my parents lovely?

i'm going through pictures as i work on our photo album 

and i had to share these gems.

i love all these shots of my parents 

because all these angles show how lovely they are.  

and how SILLY my ma is 

and how CUDDLY my pa is.

i certainly inherited nostril flaring from marmee.

 

have i really not written

since July?  yep, longtime, little old blog of mine. i feel i lack much creativity with words, and even thoughts of late, and so i just don't even try. alack.

but i did pour some of my creativity into my little ones' halloween costumes. i put some pictures of them on our family blog and i'll add one here that a friend sent to me.  i had fun making my little scarecrow and crow.  they are the sweetest kids around.  they're oh so tiring too, but this is the stage we're in right now.  hoping i can hold on to the dearest moments and write them down as best i can for they are a joy to me.

18 july 2013

Today started early as E woke up at 6:30.  The sound of garbage cans rolling against the rough asphalt disturbed his slumber.  My eyes and body craved more sleep but H was stirring as well, so up we got up.  Getting up does not equal waking up.  In other words, it took a while to wake up.  We all got moving eventually.  

We went on a walk up through the quiet neighborhoods and back home again to shower.  Rew left for campus and instead of going to the grocery store I let H sleep.  I feel like I'm always interrupting her naps by running errands or by getting E out of the house.  This resulted in no nap for me today because she woke up minutes after E crashed for his.  But I was glad for the one-on-one time with E.  we read, colored, and ate lunch together.  We also tried out our new camera. 

With E asleep for his nap, H and I got to do some pretty fine cooing and singing and smiling.  I also got the laundry started. E slept for almost two hours and we finished up the wash.  Rew returned home and I sunscreened up to go teach a couple swim lessons.  H was wailing something fierce by the time I returned.   Poor girl still won't take a bottle.

I fed her while Andrew made dinner.  We ate and then got ready to skedaddle so Rew could participate in and record his scripture roundtable (I adore his whistling at the beginning).  With the two cherubs in tow, I went to Kohl's with a ten dollars card.  We came out with a new puzzle for E.  I didn't have to pay anything.  Great, eh?  Then we went to Sprouts for some fruits and veggies.  After arriving home, H was hankering for another feeding, so I obliged while Rew washed all the dishes.  Scripture reading with E was next on the list and then stories and prayers.  

We've been struggling to know how to get E to stay in his bed, but Rew sat by his door and he finally fell asleep.  H went to sleep with no trouble at all.  I got a chance to look over my lesson for Sunday school and now I'm fighting to keep my eyes open.  Sleep sounds like a good idea.

the last day of june

this was what i was doing the day before we took off for utah.  

these kids wear me out, but they fill me with so much joy.