Maudy Monday

Our day began very early because Brad and Cole got on the road at 6:00 a.m. headed for Florida.  I have called them several times today and thankfully their trip has been smooth and uneventful.  They will stay in Tallahassee tonight and arrive in Vero Beach sometime tomorrow afternoon.

Spencer is about the same....congested, super tired and mad that he is sick.  I will be taking him to either our pediatrician or our pulmonologist tomorrow.  Just need confirmation that Dr. Mom is doing all I can do.

We were excited that my mom and Papa came to see us today and brought their dog Missy.  Spencer and I both needed to see them.  Three months is entirely too long to go without seeing your mom.

Missy insisted on laying on Spencer on the couch.  I think animals are blessed with an ability to detect when someone is ill...that's one of the things that makes them so special.

Stay tuned for my list of differences, both good and bad, between Arkansas and California.  I reckon the list to be quite long.

"Even youths get tired and weary..."

~Isaiah 40:30 

I need to practice what I preach

Remember yesterday's post about change?

Uh huh.

How I am so much better at accepting change than I used to be?

Yep.

I just go with the flow, right?

Absolutely.

Wrong.

Unfortunately, I do still have moments of complete and utter anger when things do not go my way.

I have been so excited over the prospect of Brad and I spending next week in Florida; just the two of us.  The last time that happened was May, 2001.  It is very hard for us to find someone to stay with the boys who know the ins and outs of Spencer's ventilator.  Fortunately, Cole knows how to put on Spencer's mask and Spencer can do everything else.

Well, Spencer became congested and running a fever as soon as we crossed the Arkansas line Thursday night and is now sick.  Not sick as in we need to go to the ER but sick enough that I am not and can not leave him.  Ugh and sigh.

Brad and I have reworked our plan fifteen different ways today trying to figure out how we could both go to Florida while ensuring that Spencer is just suffering from allergies and that it won't get worse than it is.  Tonight, we came to the conclusion that the only way to guarantee that outcome is if I stay here and take care of Spencer and Brad and Cole head to Florida.

I always knew God had a sense of humor.

Let go and let God.

What's in a schedule?

I am trying to think of the person who has known me the longest besides my family and my husband.  Whoever they are, they know the way I used to be pre-Spencer's illness.  Controlling, schedule FREAK, determined for things to go my way, obsessive....just a few characteristics that I am not proud of.  I totally believe that through Spencer's illness God has shown me to let HIM be in control and I am just along for the ride.

Sometimes I miss my old ways.  I loved the days when I thought I was in control and knew exactly how my day was going to go.  There was a certain comfort in having my Daytimer attached to me at all times and having my schedule planned months in advance.  Ah, those were the days.

When Spencer was diagnosed with his brain tumor, I laid my Daytimer aside while we worked through those first weeks and months with our only goal being for him to live long enough to see his 4th birthday.  I naively thought that once he was better life would return to my regularly scheduled routine.  As time went on it became apparent to me that my time would be better spent living in the moment than three months in advance; treasuring the minutes with a smile from a sick child or a hug from my healthy child and reveling in life that was going on around me.

All those trials prepared me for the life we are living now.  There is a running joke with the boys when they ask me every morning what is on the agenda for today because they know that my current agenda is most certain to change before the day is out.  I love it that they are so flexible and adaptable and know that that trait will serve them well as they grow older.  

My agenda, once we made it back to Little Rock, was to sleep late, make dates with my friends, sleep some more, visit with my family, and more sleep.  I vowed I would not be getting back in my car for a lengthy car ride until June, July or August when we made our way back to California.  Well, SURPRISE!  I just threw my plan out the window because God had a different idea.  Much to our shock and relief, we sold our house in Florida (after having it on and off the market for the past 5 years) and the new buyers want to close Friday, May 4th.  So guess who is leaving Sunday and driving 19 hours to Vero Beach, FL?  Yep, Brad and I.  The boys refuse to get back in the car so my fabulous friend Carol and my mom will hang out with them.


So far today I have cleaned the bathrooms, washed clothes, rescued a lizard from Kobe's mouth, unpacked, killed a scorpion, started repacking, made my grocery list, vacuumed, and watched a snake slither across our driveway.  More excitement in four hours in Little Rock than I have had in three months in LA (well, almost)!


We had a thankfully uneventful drive home from California.  I am praying for the same for our quick trip to Florida.


What kind of excitement have you had today?


"Then you will look and smile, you will be excited and your heart will swell with pride..."
~Isaiah 60:5

Our week at a glance

This week has been kind of crazy even though we haven't been that busy.  I'm not sure what we did this week but it must have been something!

Monday, we met Michelle, Brooke & Brayden at American Girl to celebrate Brooke's birthday.  Holy moly, God knew what He was doing when he gave me boys because I could go CRAZY in this store!  How cool is all the girl stuff!

I had so much fun!  

Tuesday, Spencer worked out and Michelle and the kids and I ran.  Other than that, it was a pretty quiet day.

Wednesday, Cole, Freya and I hiked Runyan Canyon.  It was a gorgeous day and we hiked 4 miles in under an hour.

Thursday, Cole and I went for a 4 mile run, got lost, and ended up running a little over 6 miles.  I was sore the rest of the day and it confirmed that I really am not cut out of marathon material.

Guess who else was tired after our adventure?

Friday, Spencer worked out and the rest of the day was quiet UNTIL we were eating dinner and Spencer said he was going for a walk.  We live in a great neighborhood and I wasn't concerned about the length of time he was gone until I got this funny feeling up my spine.  I sent Cole and Freya out to find him and come to find out, he had gotten turned around and was lost!  Nice to know it runs in the family.  Anyway, he stopped and talked with a friendly lady who was out walking her dog and Cole and Freya found him.  Thank the Lord he is fine but I am done.  Pj's are on, I'm in bed and I am thanking the Lord for keeping all of us safe this week.

Looks like it will be a quiet weekend and then we are heading to Little Rock on Tuesday or Wednesday.  Can't wait to see everyone!

"I will lie down and sleep peacefully, for you Lord, make me safe and secure."

~Psalms 4:8

Sleep is Overrated

It seems the second I hit 45, I  quit sleeping through the night.  Did anyone tell me this would happen?  Yes.  Did I believe them?  Certainly not.  I am the girl who can sleep 9 to 11 hours every night and still take a nap during the day.  Oh well, since I have been awake since 2:46 a.m. I have updated Cole's resume on all the casting websites, updated my calendar with auditions for next week, cleaned the bathroom and am now updating you!  At least I am productive.

We are so close to being completely settled in at the new condo.  Today, I have to unpack the desk in our room and organize it for school and I am DONE!  Coppelia and I cleaned, culled and rearranged the kitchen yesterday and it looks fabulous.  I love cleanliness and order.  I definitely will take pictures this weekend to show you what a cute place it is.

Our new neighborhood is great and yesterday I went on my first long run since we moved.  I had a hard time staying on task because there are even more animals in this neighborhood than the other one!  Sorry, no pictures to share just yet but you can be sure I will be stalking them all with my camera next week.

Cole had two auditions yesterday...one for the tv show "Bones" and one for a national print ad.  Both auditions took place downtown LA so my driving skills were tested to the max.  I'm pretty sure I ran four lights, cut someone off trying to change lanes, blocked traffic to let someone out of an alley, got honked at twice and made two illegal u-turns...and that all took place just trying to GET to the auditions.  Don't ask me how the drive home went!  Ha!

I am so grateful that Spencer is self-sufficient and able to do what needs to be done while we are gone on various auditions.  Our goal this summer is to find volunteer opportunities for him  in Little Rock where he can share his experiences while also helping.  He would love to find something where he is able to help kids who are sick or something to do with sports, or both combined!  It will need to be something indoors as he cannot tolerate the heat.  I know God has the perfect plan for him and we are excited to see what it is!  If you know of anything, please let me know.

We have made tentative plans for the boys and I to head back to Little Rock the last week in April and spend the month of May at home.  Both boys have several doctor/dentist appointments and May is typically pretty slow in LA.  Seems like the perfect time to come home to see our peeps.

Well, guess I will go brew some coffee and watch the sun come up on the patio.  I hope you all have a fabulous day.

"When you lie down you will not be filled with fear; when you lie down your sleep will be pleasant."

~Proverbs 3:24

Condo and Sticks & Stones

Moving.  Not my favorite thing to do.  BUT...

I do love our new patio!

I will post pictures of the condo this weekend after everything is unpacked and in it's place. ;)

The trailer for Cole's movie Sticks & Stones will be shown at NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) this weekend in Las Vegas.  You can watch it here.  It is amazing. 

Since it is raining here (surprise!) it will force me to stay inside and finish unpacking instead of enjoying the beautiful weather outside.

I hope you all have a great day.

"He covers the sky with clouds, provides the earth with rain, and causes grass to grow on the hillsides."

~Psalms 147:8 

Wrestling with Angels

What an absolutely crazy weekend this has been!  Coppelia and I have definitely learned something.....never never ever plan to move on a weekend when you are filming a movie because things will not get done and you will drive yourself (and everyone around you) crazy.

So, we moved into the condo on Friday.  To say it was a harried day is the understatement of the year.  We fell into bed around 11:30 p.m. only to get up at 7:00 a.m. to be out the door by 8:00 so we could be on set in Malibu at 9:00.  Thankfully, with the early morning call time, there was no traffic.

The house where the filming took place was one street off the ocean in a tucked away neighborhood called Rustic Canyon.  It was a beautiful, tree-lined street with eclectic houses that were almost completely obscure behind all the flora and fauna (do squirrels count as fauna?).  As soon as we arrived, look who greeted us...

Baby sweetsie!  The owner's of the house had sequestered him upstairs and he was sitting on the balcony begging for someone to save him.  I wonder if his name was Rapunzel?

I am intrigued by each set we are on and every time, I learn something I didn't know (which is not hard since I really don't know anything.).  This movie is about a husband and father who spends all of his time working and forgets about his dreams he had when he was young and how, ultimately, he finds his way back to those dreams.  Cole is in the opening scene of the movie and plays the son of the main character.

Getting ready for the first take.

Cole's faux mom and dad.

Filming took all day (10 hours) so I did some exploring while I waited.  This house was tucked between two streets and the only way to get to it was by 46 steep stairs from the street above or between two houses and down a long walkway from the street below.

The steps to the street above.  Can you imagine carrying groceries, kids, bags, etc. up and down these stairs every day?  When we saw the stairs, Cole and I both said the same thing..."Cue the music from the movie "Rocky" and let's run these stairs!"

From the street above, you can only see the top of the house...

...and you can not see it at all from the street below.  It reminded me of "The Secret Garden".  It was very cool.

When we finally finished filming, Cole and I stopped and got pizza and headed home.  You would have thought we bought the pizza in Texas because it was HUGE...

This is one slice and there were eight in the whole pizza.  Guess we will be having pizza for a couple of days.

We fell into bed at 11:30.  Easter services tomorrow and then the final filming day for a student film.  Aren't we blessed to be able to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

"But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.  He is not here, for he has been raised, just as he said.""

~Matthew 28:5-6

The move

How do you know you have moved all day and still don't have everything where you want it?

When this is dinner.

"I do not cease to give thanks for you when I remember you in my prayers."

~Ephesians 1:16

You want me to climb what?

Cole decided that our hikes lately haven't been extreme enough so this morning, we headed to the most difficult trail for Runyan Canyon.  We arrived at 9:00 a.m. and the weather was perfect....beautiful blue skies and a nice cool breeze.

This trail took us up and down three steep cliffs and then back over them to get back to the car.

The view from the first peak.  Gorgeous.

On the second peak is a prayer box.  I guess once you get this far, you really need to start praying that you make it back to your car!

I wasn't too excited to see this sign on the third mountain but I knew that since I smelled like a dead goat, no snake would even get close.

Heading up the third mountain to get back to the car.  I don't even think this cutie broke a sweat.

We did the hike in one hour and we didn't even have to call 911 to send the helicopter to save me!  Can't wait till we go again next week.

The rest of the day was spent packing and getting ready for the move tomorrow.  We saw the condo for the first time tonight and it is

F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S!  It is going to be so great to have more room.

"...rooted and built up in Him and firm in your faith just as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness."

~Colossians 2:7

It has been one of those days

This morning started off as one of "those" days.  You know the ones.  That by 10:00 a.m. you are ready for a do-over.

Yesterday, Michelle and I took the kids to play miniature golf, which is always fun.  I didn't want to lug my purse around on the course so I put my driver's license, my phone and my key fob in my pocket.  When I put my pj's on last night and cleaned out my pants pocket, I knew something was missing but couldn't figure out what.  When I got ready to leave to go hiking this morning, I realized it was my driver's license that didn't make it back in my billfold.  I dumped all the dirty clothes on the floor.  No dl.  I tore my car apart.  Nope, not there either.  I called the miniature golf office in hopes someone turned it in.  Uh huh.  Ugh.

When we went hiking, Vickey drove (since I am not legal to drive without a dl) and we hiked around Hollywood Lake and the Hollywood sign.  I have a SPIBELT (can't remember what it stands for) that I wear for working out which holds my key fob, my phone and identification.  I also stuck $20 in my belt this morning thinking that we were going to stop to get Cole some Gatorade.  Halfway through the hike I realized my $20 bill was not in my pouch.  I guess it fell out when I took my phone out to take this picture...

Cole and I double backed and looked for it with no luck.  Another sigh.

Spencer has had such a hard time with Algebra lately and today was no exception.  I am pretty sure the banging of his head on his desk could be heard several streets away.  Unfortunately, he is cursed with my ability for math which means he doesn't like it and doesn't understand it at all.


The good news is that I finally found my license.  It had fallen between my seat and the console in my car.  So much for a thorough search of my car but yeah for finding it!

I have a lot on my mind with the move on Friday and several friends needing prayers sent their way and I love how God is constantly reminding me that He cares about my lost driver's license and $20 when so many people have so many real concerns.  Aren't we blessed to serve a God who thinks all of our problems are important?  Yes we are.


"You of little faith, why did you doubt?"
~Matthew 14:31

What was that noise?

Rattle rattle.  Scratch.  Shake shake.  I woke with a start at 3:58 a.m. to hear the kitchen window vibrating.  It took me a minute to figure out if I was dreaming or if there really had been a sound.  I waited.  Yep, there it was again.  Now what?  I crept out of bed to the kitchen door (we keep it closed at night because of the traffic noise).  Do I have anything to defend myself against an intruder?  Gun?  No.  Baseball bat?  No.  Can of silly string?  Unfortunately, no.  So, I grab my cell phone.  It's the next best thing, right?  I slowly open the door.  I don't see anyone climbing through our window so that was a good sign.  I creep to the window.  Still nothing. I have the I-torch app on my phone which is not just a light...oh no, it is a 250,000 mega watt light that will illuminate the moon.  I turn it on and quickly shine it into the alley outside the kitchen window.  There stood Mr. Squirrel looking guilty and startled.  I am pretty sure he messed in his squirrel undies.

Needless to say, I couldn't go back to sleep so I sat in the kitchen and watched a DVD on my laptop with my headphones.  By 9:00 a.m., I was running and by 10:45, the boys and I were leaving to get haircuts and run errands.

I have to remember not to work on the boys' school schedules while I am visiting with people...any people.  Yesterday while I was on set, I typed up the quiz and test schedule for this week and somehow I combined their schedules and the end result is that the boys are passing papers back and forth & trying to figure out whose is whose.  Then Spencer said, "Remember Mom, you are not good at multi-tasking."  What?  Are you kidding me?  I am a wife and a mother so obviously I AM good at it.  Ask any woman that is a mother if she can cook and clean up after the dog while making sack lunches and scheduling pick ups for baseball practice and also remembering that she needs to pick up the dry cleaning and get the oil changed in the car.  And that is all before 8:00 a.m.!  But I will admit that my multi-tasking may not extend to visiting with other mothers while making a schedule for Algebra and Science tests.  Well, we can't be great at everything.


I started sneezing when I got home from my run this morning and I thought I had snuffed a bug up my nose (it has happened!).  As the day wore on, I continued to sneeze and then my head stopped up.  By this evening, I knew I was coming down with something so Vickey supplied me with some goodies...

Here's hoping it works fast.  I do not have time to be sick.


The NCAA Championship game is on tonight so guess where Spencer is...

He and Brayden are hanging out watching the game and texting.


Our friend, Freya, received FABULOUS news tonight...she has booked a regular spot on a new series entitled "Hemlock Grove"!  She will be filming in June & July in Pittsburgh, PA.  Oh my, everyone went nuts in celebration when we heard the news.  All these kids work so hard so anything they book is well-deserved.

So cute.


We are keeping Brayden tonight while Brooke is on set filming a webisode.  I think I will lay down when he does.  Here's hoping the Theraflu is a miracle drug.


Have you had an exciting day?


"Shout for joy to God our source of strength."
~Psalms 81:1

Fun Weekend

I can't believe the weekend is over!  Where did it go?

Our weekend was chocked full of work and fun.  Saturday was cold and rainy so we spent the morning doing laundry and cleaning up the apartment.  Cole had an audition Saturday afternoon and then Saturday evening, the girls from "Sticks & Stones" came over for a cookout.

Kate, Nichola and Madalein are so much fun and they are good sports. We ran out of forks so Nichola and I ate with two plastic knives!

Today was beautiful but chilly (60 degrees) and very windy.  Cole was on set all day filming a short film.  It was a great group of Southern moms from Mississippi, South Carolina, Alabama, Texas and of course Arkansas.  Meg was the only one originally from California but she fit right in with all of the wacky southern humor.

The kids had a blast and I am sure there will be a "Papercuts & Heartbreaks" (name of the movie) reunion in our future.

I put a roast, potatoes and carrots in the crockpot before I left this morning so the apartment was smelling good when we got home.  Michelle made pancakes and bacon for dinner and Cole decided he wanted to eat with them so all the kids had pancakes and the adults had roast.  I love a relaxing Sunday evening after a busy weekend.

We have decided to move to a bigger condo with Coppelia and Freya. We are renting a three bedroom/three bath condo about two miles from our apartment so we will all be moving to the new digs on Thursday.  We love our friends at the apartment complex but we are looking forward to more room and less money spent on rent.

Did you have a fast & furious weekend or did you get a chance to unwind?

"A little sleep a little slumber a little folding of the hands to relax."

~Proverbs 24:33