Our Easter Celebration

Easter is my favorite holiday.  I enjoy it because it occurs during my favorite season of the year, spring.  I also like it for the meaning that everyone has a chance to be better.  Just like the spring bulbs that have survived the winter and are being born again, this is similar to the message of Easter.  We too can repent and be born again.  There is hope for warmer days ahead and hope for life. 

These are my crocuses.  They are the 1st to bloom.

As many of you know my husband keeps a busy schedule.  He wanted to fit in a shift at Centre Life Link Easter weekend and I wanted to be with him on Easter Sunday.  We decided that he would take a Saturday shift and we could be together on Easter Sunday.  The boys and I had planned to spend Good Friday and Saturday with my folks.  However Parker was running a fever, so we postponed our visit to Grandma and the cousins. 

We attended church together and had good meetings.  There was a special musical number in sacrament meeting.  The speaker, a woman, pointed out it was the women that saw the resurrected Christ first.  It was their job to go and tell the others. 

Our family Easter Picture.

We came home and I prepared a nice meal.  I now try to take pictures of the foods we eat to put on my Pampered Chef facebook page. 

Cornbread crusted Spanish Mackeral cooked in a tomato sauce, served over angel hair and home grown green beans. 

We finished off with buttermilk chocolate bunny cake. 

The following weekend we headed to Grandma's.  One thing we did was have an Easter egg hunt. 

On your mark get set, go.

And while the big kids were out gathering eggs, Leland was playing with marble works. 

Speaking of new births, check out these baby ducks.

And a brand new baby calf.

And all this playing with cousins and Easter egg hunts left 2 boys needing a nap.

Blue and Gold Banquet

The Cub Scouts meet just down the road at the Warriors Mark United Methodist Church.  One night Jim came home and asked Parker if he wanted to join the Boy Scouts.  He told Parker that they would do fun crafts and learn skills.  I was a little leery that it was just one more thing for me to do, one more place for me to have to run to.  Jim took responsibility of helping Parker and going with him.  Preston even tags along and can't wait until he is old enough to join the tiger scouts next year.

I don't know what is considered the normal rate of advancements in the cub scouts.  Parker has already received his Bobcat and Wolfe Badges.  He joined last September. 

Parker has a great leader that has been in scouting for the last 30 years, so you know that he has a love for the scouting program. 

Parker enjoys going to scouts every week.  And some of those "crafts" that they have made have been more than just cutting paper and gluing it together.  They made picture frames out of wood, marshmallow shooters, leather flash light holders and a wooden basketball game type of thing that had a back board and a ball that you tried to shoot into the hoop.  Sounds pretty awesome to me.

We had the Blue and Gold Banquet 2 weeks ago.  I have attended these banquets in the past, but this was the 1st time that my son was participating.  It was wonderful to see everyone in their uniforms, especially the older boy scouts with their collection of badges. 

Speaking of badges, I had made the decision that I was going to iron on the badges instead of hand sewing them.  The fabric is so thick that it really hurts my hands to try and work the needle through the patches.  Being the quilting and sewing person that I am, I had some heat and bond that I thought would do the job.  I cut the bonding material and then ironed on the patches.  Well half way dinner I could see the patches were not adhering as well as I would have liked them to stick.  I will have to find another way of securing the badges to his shirt.  Here are some pictures from the evening.

 Don't these 2 look they could pass as brothers or cousins?

Everything in scouts is family oriented, so the whole family is involved when they get a new badge.

Is there a Dr in the house?

Last night was the Spring Banquet for Centre Life Link, the EMS station that Jim volunteers so much of his time.  I was more than ready to have a nice evening in return for the all lonely evenings that I spend doing homework by myself and putting the boys to bed by myself.

The event was held at the local country club in State College.  And this local country club has joined forces with the Ramada Inn, I knew we were in for a culinary delight.

The first item of the evening was what to wear.  I have seen some of these EMT girls.  They definitely eat their Wheaties for breakfast being able to lift litters with bodies on them.  As I have experienced from the past, some women go all out and get a fancy cocktail dress to wear.  Others throw on a pair of Dockers and they are dressed up.  When I asked Jim what he was wearing, so that I might dress appropriately to be on his arm he hadn't thought that far ahead. So much for his help.


Jim decided on a shirt and tie accompianed by his "Law and Order" sweater.  In case you were wondering what I call the "Law and Order" sweater, here you go.  Jim's sweater is minus the badges. 

This is what I decided on.

We were dressed very appropriately for the evening.  And the clothing went from extremely casual to cocktail dresses.  I saw a lady in jeans and there was a gentleman in jeans and sweatshirt.  There were a few ladies in super short, glittery cocktail dresses.  In fact one of the girls at our table, her coat was longer than her dress. 

Speaking of our table, we were the oldest ones at the table.  We were surrounded by college age volunteers, who drink their calories and have the metabolism to keep up with their large plates and drinks. 

The food was amazing.  The menu consisted of cheese and crackers, veggies and dip, salad, pasta salad, potato salad, roasted red potatoes, rice pilaf, baby carrots and green beans, vegetarian lasagna, chicken breast, roast beef, rolls and an assortment of cake for dessert. 

There were door prizes that had been donated by local businesses.  One of the prizes was from Trader Joes, was a resuable shopping bag filled with goodies from their store.  The crowd was not very excited about this environmentally friendly gift.  I would have loved this gift.  One of the gifts was for a hotel night stay went to a young man that brought his parents to the banquet.  That brought quite a laughter from the crowd. 

There must of been 100 people there.  It was great to see so many people that support the local ambulance. And to know there were several supporting spouses and partners in the room.  I thought about this, it would be the perfect time to have a medical emergency with all of those EMTs in the room.  The coroner was even present, so there wouldn't be long wait to be declared dead.


It was a really nice evening.  I had a small realization of the importance of the work Jim is volunteering for.  Sometimes I just see the lonely side of things.

Rhythm

Rhythm is a Dancer.
I got Rhythm.
The Rhythm of Life.

Just a few songs with the word rhythm in them. 

I tried a Zumba class 2 weeks ago.  I had been meaning to for quite some time, but just never really put it on the calendar.  I quite enjoyed myself.  It was a good workout and I felt wonderful afterwards.  The music was fun and upbeat.  The instructor was great.  She has a lot of confidence to direct a class in front of a wall of mirrors.  It was in front of these mirrors that I realized that I think I am a better dancer than I am.  As I looked around the room some ladies are better than others.

Everyone was very welcoming and accepting.  It didn't matter how old you are or what shape your body is in.  I did wear a green shirt my first day and so did 2 other ladies in the class.  They did joke about green being the color of the day.  No one was judgmental on my lack of coordination on some of the moves.  I am pretty good with footwork, but when you throw in rotating hips and arms it becomes a little more complicated.  

This all made me think of a comment my mother made many years ago.  My sister, Rebecca was 3 and I was 16.  She pointed out that my sister had better rhythm at 3 than I did at 16.  Does this mean the ability to keep the beat is a born gift?  Or is it something that can be learned? 

Keeping the beat is really something that I struggle with in playing the piano.  I wonder if this has anything to do with the rhythm I have within me.

Anyway I am not giving up zumba, dancing or playing the piano.  They are all things that I enjoy.  And I hope with more practice that I become good at zumba.  I may look funny on the dance, but I am having a good time.  And that is all that matters. 

Finding a good Doctor

We had to make a trip to Danville a few weeks ago.  Danville is about a 2 hour drive from house.  It is huge.  The parking lot is so big that you park your car and can ride the shuttle to the door, and they have 5 different locations that one can be dropped off at.  It is where you can go to see a specialist.  Our trip was for my son Parker, age 7.

Parker was seeing a GI specialist.  He had been seeing a doctor for a few years, but I felt the doctor didn't listen to me.  I requested to see a different doctor.  The new doctor's name was Dr Sabri.  I was a little nervous when I saw his name, fearing that there would a language barrier with this guy.

When the doctor and medical student walked into the room, Preston gave a hug to the medical student.  They dr then asked where his hug was.  He welcomed Preston's hug.  He listened to me explain our situation.  He asked Parker his opinion.  When it came time for the exam, Parker was very nervous.  The dr was finished before Parker even realized it happened.  He then explained the how and why to me.  I felt comfortable with him, because instead of just telling me what to do he explained why.  He also used terms that I could understand.  I think we have found a good doctor.

As I am talking about drs, I want to expound upon a few other positive encounters  I have had.  I love our pediatrician.  He is goofy and gets on the kids levels when he is working with them.  When I have gone in and was very worn down by my sick children he showed compassion to me, and this made me feel wonderful.  When I was undergoing my cancer treatments and afterwards, he takes an interest in my health.

My medical doctor typically runs behind schedule.  The reason for this is that she listens to her patients and wants to know how they are really doing.  She is observant to them and their needs.  I have been one of those patients that needed vent my frustrations and concerns and she listened.  I don't get mad when she runs behind, I just realize that someone else needed her attention.  I also realize if I am in a hurry to get in and out, I will request another doctor in the clinic.

My surgeon who is so skilled with the knife, that after time my scars are almost invisible.  This is truly a gift.

My oncologist who is very thorough with me.  This gives me peace of mind that he is covering all of my basis's.  And he makes jokes.  That always eases the tension of a doctor's visit.

My OB who was in tune to do a complete exam and not gloss over a breast exam.  He too listens and answers all of my questions, even the ones that are embarrassing.  And he was great at coaching me during delivery of Preston.

And my radiation doctor, well actually I prefer the PA.  She is so personable and showed great compassion to me when I needed it.

I have been so blessed to have good doctors in my life.  I am so grateful for their skill and knowledge and their willingness to take care of others.