standing on the shoulders of giants- maxine thompson

i was recently tasked with presenting the my family story badge to kindin's brownie troop.  when i searched through family history stories, i was shocked by how much they touched my heart.  crying as i read,  i truly felt my own very fortunate circumstances are because i 'stand on the shoulders of giants'.  their lives and sacrifices have given me so much more than they ever had.  in particular, i was touched by the story of my great grandmother, Maxine, who sacrificed her own education in order to provide for her siblings.  truly it is a blessing from giants all the way back to great grandparents that both dave and i are blessed with good educations.  i trivialized her story a bit in order to make it relatable to the 8 year old audience (but i still almost cried while doing so).    

The cold toilet:

Maxine was Kindin's great, great grandmother.  Kindin never knew her but she lived all through my childhood so I knew her well.   Maxine was 1 of 10 siblings!  As a little girl, her family moved to SD when the government was giving away land for free.  Her family of 12 lived in a tiny, white house in Cavour, SD.   The tiny white house had 1 kitchen, 1 living room and 2 bedrooms AND a really cold toilet- an outhouse!  I remember going to see this tiny white house.  The floor was dirt and a wood burning stove took up a very large amount of space in the center of the room. 

Maxine was one of the oldest children and after high school she went to work to help provide for the rest of the family.  The younger 6 children were able to have college educations because of her. 

The tiny white house with a really cold toilet stayed in their family for a very long time.  It even became famous- as the oldest house in the county!  Maxine had a sister named Lucille who never moved out of that house.  She cared for her mother when she got old in the house and she cared for the youngest child, Dean, who was handicapped in that house.  She lived in the tiny house her entire life- she never moved!  The funny thing was that she did eventually build a bathroom onto the house but not a tub or shower- just an indoor toilet.  But, it still didn’t have any heat, so in the winter it was still... a very cold toilet!   And there are lots of jokes in Kindin’s family about the tiny white house with a cold toilet! 

dad's extracurriculars

dave is one committed father- 100% available to our kids with his playful and engaged interest.  and he is an impressively goal-oriented guy who undertakes a variety of creative extras with them. (call them "dad's extracurriculars" if you will.)  kindin learned to play the piano because of her time with dad.  kindin and jack have memorized the articles of faith because of their time with dad.  and most recently, i was shocked to find kindin indexing!

he correctly assumed she would love it and my heart is happy that he steers our children to such worthwhile pursuits!  

me mid- transformation

i have to document this rather mindless and mediocre shot of myself because i never want to forget the feeling i had when i saw this picture!  i was pleasantly surprised that sans clever camera angle and sans flattering filter, my face looked skinnier!  having recently abandoned my gym membership- opting instead for weight watchers meetings- i've lost 16 pounds.  (though i still have a ways to go,) i'm anxiously celebrating and remembering me mid-transformation.

halloween 2014

it was THEIR year to decide on costumes (meaning mom didn't nod, prod, or entice them with a thematic family costume) and while i do really love them matching, i also enjoy seeing them claim their character of choice.  Jack loved his made-by-dad costume, Elsa stayed in halloween garb for 3 additional halloween days, and Kindin wrote a love note to mom saying thanks for her glamorous outfit.  and it was a wonderful, chilly night enjoyed with grandparents and cousins.

We also held our yearly 'neighborhood monsters' cookie decorating party.

carved jack o lanterns and created pumpkin people for a school project

and attended the school's costume parade

 (i also reminisced about my own halloweens trick-or-treating with cousins with years cold enough to be driven from house to house and, as i do every year, missed phoenix where a warm halloween is even more magical!) 

'i heard it crack!'

just 30 minutes after dropping kindin off at a rollerskating birthday party, we returned to the rink to pick up our very tearful sweetheart.  a dim report, 'I heard it crack!' sent us racing to urgent care.  dad had his hands full holding her tight enough to prevent all movements, lurches, and bumps that worsened her pain while i attempted to problem-solve the pediatric, preferred provider technicalities.  to my credit, i did alright- considering my brain turns to mush when i'm in a fight or flight scenario!  i don't get fearful or wheepy but i freeze and although completely aware of it, i just can't seem to clear my head enough to complete a sentence or task.  (my mushy flight brain has come out before in two other scary situations for kindin- 1.) the time i accidentally locked her in the car as a toddler in the phoenix heat and 2.) when she hopped on the elevator alone in downtown san francisco)  

meanwhile, kindin handled a broken ulna with absolute grace.  her whimper was quiet- disappearing as soon as she was able to feel relief from lying on the doctor's table.  she was even making some jokes through it all.  and after her first dose of ibuprofin began to wear, she fully intended to just endure the pain.  within 24 hours, she was back to her grateful self- creating a month of service she can give to others as a result of all this attention she's received!  this pink lover is one amazing girl!