Ten Things I'll Miss About Texas

1. The trees! Now, not all places in Texas have trees but my part of Texas does and it's got a lot of them. I remember coming home from school in Utah and my eyes would just relax - taking in all of the amazing green. It is a definite sight for sore eyes. No matter what time of year here - it's GREEN.

2. Southern Hospitality - how nice Texans are. I love that when you are standing in line at the grocery store it is perfectly normal for the people waiting in line with you to strike up a conversation. Not to mention the people you meet on walks or at the park! And when the lights turn yellow it doesn't mean that a million people speed through - they actually slow down and stop!

3. Bluebonnets. I know these grow other places but I don't think they grow anywhere in such huge numbers. There's nothing like the never-ending fields of bluebonnets lining the highways each spring.

4. My familia - when I grew up we were thousands of miles away from our nearest cousins or grandparents so I never knew what it was like to really know them. I always thought people who were friends with their cousins were weird. Several of us Arntsen kids ended up back in Texas by my parents and it has been great. It feels so good to have other people love your kids too. And my kids are BIG fans of their grandparents...

5. Texan Pride - Is there another state that feels such an amazing amount of pride about there state? Do people from other states where their state flag on a t-shirt or put a patch of it on their backpack? Or hang the actual flag in their window? I remember my roommate Mary asking me if the statement, "Don't Mess with Texas" was meant to be a joke. Umm...no, DON'T mess with Texas! And I'm pretty sure only Texans say a pledge of Allegiance to their state flag after the National one. "Honor the Texas flag; I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state under God, one and indivisible."

6. My places. I grew up here so there are some streets and locations that are just dripping with nostalgia. I had a really happy childhood filled with summer evening street games and homemade spook houses. It's always sad to leave the locations that mean so much. Especially when your parents don't live there anymore so you can't go "home" to them anymore.

7. Texas History. I have to admit I'm pretty proud of this state's history. I still think the six flags over Texas is pretty cool and my heart still swells when I hear stories of Sam Houston, Davy Crocket and all of the guys at the Alamo.

8. Even though most days I hate the humidity, sometimes I actually kinda love it. It's just fun to step outside on your porch in the evening and hear the crickets chirping, the frogs croaking, and be able to cut the air with a knife. It makes me feel like I'm right in the middle of a Harper Lee novel. Which leads me to...

9. Down here people put lawn chairs out on their drive ways and porches in the evening and sit. And eventually other neighbors wander over with their evening drinks in hand and sit and chat. I remember in the summer sitting in the Gerhardt's driveway, smelling Nancy's wine, and listening to all of the adults talk in between our bicycle races in the street.

10. Last but not least - our friends. We have been blessed by so many great friends down here. Texas makes good people. We will miss them all so much but the blow is definitely softened by the fact that some of them have blogs so we can keep in touch.

Who's that girl?

Gosh, I felt so hot. I was 13 or 14 and was sure if my mom would only let me got to Glamor Shots at the mall - the pictures would prove my astounding beauty and I would immediately become a famous model/movie star. Needless to say that did not happen. Though I think I know why . Look closely and you'll see my mom did not take me to THE glamor shots...she took me to the ripped off version at Olan Mills. Ah-Hah! I would have been way hotter at Glamor Shots...if only my mom hadn't been so cheap.
This is my sexy face - I guess something like, "blue steel". It's totally working for me.

My mom said to the lady as she dropped me off, "Just don't make her look like some sort of hooker!" I love my mom. Though I wish the girl would have heeded her request.

To vaccinate or not...

TIME magazine has a REALLY interesting article on the subject. It doesn't answer the question of whether or not every one should vaccinate their children but it discusses the topic with more clarity then I've seen before. It also raises a hard question about whether the needs of one child is more important than the needs of the whole community. Of course as parents we're gonna look out for our child, but there are some real consequences of that. Check it out. (BTW - Megh - I still think your decision not to vaccinate Flynn was right.)

Being a parent in our day is difficult because of the wealth of information out there. There are people who are going to tell you your child will die if you do this or if you don't. And because we are able to hear so many stories on the news, on tv, or just on the internet, we can become paralyzed with fear and end up not doing anything. I mean, sometimes I feel like if my child misses his nap he's going to grow up to have a lower IQ and be obese. There are so many studies "linking" things that we forget what is going on in real time. If my kid misses his nap today he's going to be tired - end of story.

These studies can tend to make you feel that you either have no control over your health or happiness OR that you've got some hyper control over it where every single thing you ingest or touch will affect you for the next 50 years. So as parents we feel a heavy burden to make sure our kids are not coming into contact with ANYTHING that might potentially harm them down the line. Sometimes it just makes me want to go eat a handful of charcoal and inhale the fumes from burnt plastic wrap. Does anyone else feel like it's becoming too much? It seems like the stress caused by all of this information will shorten your life span by just as much, if not more than, the thing they are warning against. Don't get me wrong - I believe that this society has got it all wrong in the way we should live, but I think we have to be REALLY careful that we don't let fear motivate our daily activities. I mean, I just read a story today about someone's daughter who died from choking on an apple. Does that mean my kids should not eat apples? Or that I should only let them eat them when we sit knee to knee? There's a part of me that wants to say yes to those things - but I can't live that way. I just can't. I'd have to get on more medication if I did...

In the end, I really think the trick it to have a garden, exercise, spend less time with media, and have faith that you will live as long as the Lord wants you to.


p.s. No that is not a picture of Peter up above - it's from the article.

How's Megan?

I saw Tyan tonight and she commented on how I haven't posted in a while and she's right, I haven't. It's only because I'm feeling a little like this...

Honestly, there are many moments lately when this image of poor Nick Nolte comes into my head because it is exactly how I'm feeling. Down to the amazing attire. Maybe Nick wasn't driving under the influence - maybe he was just driving home from the grocery store in a minivan with three screaming boys in it? You would think that your older children would show you some mercy when you are holding a screaming infant in your arms, but they don't. So, often, I scream back. At the older ones - not the baby.

I went for a walk last night for "exercise" and every time I saw a bench I thought, "Maybe I could just sit for a while. I wonder how long I'd have to be gone before they'd coming looking for me?" Yesterday was a particularly special day.

Some days are better than others. And those others are quite interesting. But we're getting the hang of things around here. Not really, actually. How could we be when we're moving in two weeks?!!! Oh well, I'm glad we're moving so I can't complain. Well, I just did, but I shouldn't. BUT it's all ok when I get to kiss chubby baby cheeks and see first time smiles.