Losing Wisdom

I have a bone to pick with whoever it was that decided we needed to have wisdom teeth. Why would we have teeth come in that more than 90% of the time need to be removed? And why make them so that they become more difficult to remove as we get older? And why make a tooth that will decay even if it hasn't come in and isn't really exposed to anything damaging?

So I had to have a wisdom tooth, my last one, surgically removed last Thursday. It was my last one and the one that hadn't ever broken through. I have been putting it off for years, having been told by a former dentist to wait until it came in. Well, that wasn't the best advice.

So after going through the painful process of being numbed - I hate the shot in the roof of my mouth - it began. Only for the dentist to tell me that he was having problems getting a hold of it because it was the consistency of cookie dough from the decay. After some very uncomfortable pulling, yanking, and pushing, the decision was made to bring out the big guns. He ended up breaking the tooth into pieces to remove it. I kind of wish he'd have done that to start with. It would have been a much quicker process. So one wisdom tooth and the wisdom that came with it later....I got home, the numbness started to wear off, and the pain set in. Even taking prescription painkillers barely took the edge off the pain. I spent all day in bed just trying not to cry. I have a pretty high pain tolerance, but I had already been through a sore jaw from a cleaning and a couple of fillings the week prior. My mouth had taken all it could.

So I'm a few days post surgery, and my mouth is still a little swollen and sore. I'm beginning to wonder if I'll ever be able to brush my teeth without my gums bleeding near the extraction site.

But at least I will never have to have another tooth surgically extracted from below the gums ever again. Just don't be surprised if I'm a little slower than I used to be. I just lost my last bit of "wisdom"!

Any girl would be jealous

I've always wanted curly hair. When I was little, it took a jar of Dippity-Doo and half a can of hairspray to get my hair to hold enough curls for one of my ballet recitals. A perm was gone in about a week. As I got older, my hair started to get curly and when I got married, it was finally starting to look like I'd get the curls I wanted. Then I had a baby. Now it's just a little bit of messy, uncontrollable wave, but nothing like the curls I'd love to have.

Andrew got my strait as a stick hair from my childhood. It used to get a little flip when it would get too long, but not anymore. Straight, straight, straight.

Then there is Luke. I don't know where he got it, but he's got the curliest hair. When he gets out of the bath tub, tight curls cover the top of his head. And they are beginning to spread to the back, too. It's just not fair! I want those curls. :o) And I'm sure he's going to grow to hate them someday. If they stick around, he'll probably want to cut them off.

And here I am, drooling over those curls that any girl would love to have. And did I mention his eyelashes fall in the covet-worthy category, too? He got those from his dad. Thick, long BLACK eyelashes.

I'm going to go repent of coveting my kid's hair and eyelashes now...

Leaving Your Mark

So, anyone who knew me back in my glory days of high school would tell you I was relatively shy, stuck pretty much to my own little group of friends, and tended to blend in with the wall. I wasn't popular, but I wasn't anything else either. I just was. I got along with pretty well everyone, but didn't really have a huge circle of friends. And to be honest, I didn't think I would have had a lasting impression on anyone. I learned otherwise yesterday.

I got an email from a woman that I went to high school with. It was a simple, short email. The subject heading was "Thank you!" It went on to say how this person was grateful for me doing all the work when we were science lab partners because she didn't and couldn't understand what was going on. And how much she admired my ability to grasp the concepts and help her out with them.

Now, I have to admit, I only vaguely remember her being my lab partner in Chemistry my junior year nearly 16 years and half my lifetime ago. I have no recollection of doing all the work or really of grasping it all that well. Chemistry involves a lot of math and I'm not very good at math. It didn't mean enough to me for me to remember it. But it must have meant something to her. Her thank you made my day. I've been feeling pretty lousy the past week or so. That little thank you shone a bright ray of sunshine into my day.

This just testified to me of how important it is to act as a disciple of Christ at all time and in all things because I never know who may be watching or listening to me. Something that I think is unimportant may leave a lasting impression on someone. So my challenge to myself, and to all of you, is to be the best person you can each and every day. Treat everyone you meet with kindness and respect. Let your light so shine that others will see the image of the Lord in your countenance. And to thank the people in your life who have meant something to you or impacted your life in some way, no matter how long ago it was. We all need to know that what we do makes a difference, even if it was something so simple that we don't remember it.

Halloween Festivities

So I know I'm a little late posting this and have once again been MIA, but I'm hoping I'm back on the band wagon again.

For Halloween this year, we went to our ward Trunk-or-Treat the night before Halloween. It was a lot of fun and for the first time ever, we actually handed out candy instead of just swiping everyone else's. The only problems I encountered were that the older kids' costumes were a bit overwhelming and scary for the little kids. My 3 year old doesn't understand that it's only fake blood or fake facial piercings or that the boy dressed like a girl is actually a boy. Considering it was a church function, I was a little disappointed in our youth. If you want to be grusome and ghoulish, save it for non-church festivities. Okay, off my high horse. My other problem was that many of the older kids came around for seconds and thirds of candy before most of the other kids had been around once. Come on you guys, you don't really need all that candy. I started to cut them off after the second or third time around.

Halloween night, we went to Clayton's sister's house. She lives in a pretty upscale neighborhood. She had her golf cart on steriods hooked up to a trailer with hay bales. They took the kids Trick-or-Treating on the hay wagon. Andrew had a blast. The only mishap we had was one episode of jumping off the wagon before it had stopped. Crazy enough, he landed on his feet and took off running.

So, what did the kids dress up as, you ask? I had a very handsome fireman and one crazy, cute monkey!

My Little Firefighter

Recently, the Florence library had a special story time. They invited the local fire department to come and talk to the kids. They learned about firesafety. They got to see a firefighter dressed up in all his gear. They gave all the kids their own fire hat.


And the best part for the kids, they got to tour a real live fire truck. Andrew had such a fantastic time and it has inspired him to be a firefighter for Halloween.

For a little boy, this was a dream come true!