David and I hastily squeezed in a date night yesterday and went to see “Slumdog Millionaire”. I know we are terribly late to this

party since it has already one every award available, but hey, we’ve got kids. We loved the movie but the poverty is what left the biggest impression. The absolutely horrendous, mind-boggling, over-whelming poverty that is shown left me devastated. Although the film is a “happy” movie with a sweet ending I left the theatre feeling more like crying than smiling. The first words out of my mouth to David were; “let’s adopt”. If I could rescue each Indian child from living in garbage I would. It was harder to watch that than the children starving in Africa – at least in Africa many are with their families. In Africa they may be victimized by weather, embargos by countries, or being suppressed by government but you don’t sense they are viewed as being less than human. In India it is the absolute disregard for the humanity of these people. The acceptance that it is okay that they live and are treated like packs of wild dogs that I found so disturbing. I’m not sure I’ll ever shake those images lose from my mind and I’m not sure I want to.

For my Mormon friends I want you all to know that it did not include any sex scenes or swearing (except in sub-titles and I’m not sure if that counts). This movie was a story about the eternal bonds of love, as well as a tale of two brothers, morality versus wealth, and the abhorrent poverty that we, as humanity, seem to accept every day.

Just when I think I’ve run out of things to say Lucy has more questions about God.

Lucy: Mama, who made the world?
Me: God
Lucy: How did he make it?
Me: Well, we don’t really know how which is why it is such a miracle
Lucy: Why is God invisible? and live in the sky?
Me: Well, he doesn’t really live in the sky and we can’t see him because he’s too glorious for us to see.
Lucy: Can you hear God talking in your heart?
Me: Yes, sometimes
Lucy: How?
Me: Well, if you are really quiet, and you ask God for help and you open up your heart you can hear what his answer is.
Lucy: Mama I want every Barbie movie because I want lots of Barbie stuff.

I think I’m getting better at these questions – as long as they don’t get any harder.

There is this little meme that has recently been floating around Facebook. It is a questionnaire that you are to ask your children. While Max was busy puking last week, Lucy and I completed the questions. Here are her answers. She is 5 years old. My comments are in paranthesis

1. What is something mom always says to you?
We can have drinks
(Wouldn’t CPS love to hear that?)

2. What makes mom happy?
When we listen to you and we don’t roll on the floor at your doctor

3. What makes mom sad?
That we don’t listen to you

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
you make funny faces

5. What was your mom like as a child?
You were like Maggie (Lucy’s cousin. At first I thought this was a strange answer but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I actually was a lot like Maggie)

6. How old is your mom?
4:30

7. How tall is your mom?
33 inches

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
watch movies with me (of course she couldn’t say read or cook or spend quality time together)

9. What does your mom do when you’re not around?
you clean up (so sad)

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
That you will always be my mommy forever!!

11. What is your mom really good at?
good at Lego Indiana Jones (Xbox and I must say that I’m pretty proud of my mad-ninja-video game skills.)

12. What is your mom not very good at?
bad at cooking (wow, I’m crushed by this)
sometimes you are good and sometimes you are bad but I still love you (thanks for that ringing endorsement Lucy)

13. What does your mom do for her job?
cleaning up, cook, school

14. What is your mom’s favorite food?
Ham (which is funny because I HATE ham)

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
When you play games with me

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Tigger

17. What do you and your mom do together?
we color (again she doesn’t mention oh “we read together” or “we make cookies”)

18. How are you and your mom the same?
We’re both girls and we like to paint fake people (yeah, I don’t know what this means)

19. How are you and your mom different?
Your big and I’m small, well, I’m kind of big

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
Because you say “you’re a good girl”

21. Where is your mom’s favorite place to go?
To the aquarium and to the store

Apparently I’m not spending near enough time bonding with my daughter.

We woke up at 9:00 for a 9:45 doctor’s appointment this morning. We ran the “fire drill” as I dressed everybody and shoved them out the door. On the way to the eye doctor’s office the following conversation occurred in the car:

Me: You guys want me to stop and get doughnuts?
Max: YES! I want leettle doughnuts
Lucy: No thanks. I’m not hungry
Me: Lucy, you aren’t much of a breakfast person are you?
Lucy: No, I like lunch because I can eat healthy foods.
Max: I like doughnuts
Lucy: But Max, doughnuts aren’t healthy. You shouldn’t eat them
Max: waffles?
Lucy: No, waffles aren’t healthy either. You should eat apples and bananas and, um, raisins
Max: pancakes?
Lucy: No, pancakes aren’t healthy either. You need to eat carrots.
Max: I like doughnuts. Chocolate doughnuts and leettle doughnuts (aka doughnut holes)

I could never be a nurse or a doctor because quite frankly people annoy me. However, I’m always overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity that come from people who serve in these jobs. Well, at least the good ones. Max’s pediatricians this past week and weekend were glorious. They were never curt, short, bad-tempered or treated us like idiots or annoyances that had to be tolerated. They did everything they could to keep us informed including calling us from home and well into the evening. Max’s nurses were sweet and tender and did everything they could to calm and reassure Max. Even the lab guy, who strolled in at 5:00 AM to take blood, looked at Max and I with sympathy and compassion.

So what do you give to somebody who quite possibly saved your child’s life? A watch? A car? A lifetime of indentured service? I decided on lemon cookies. I found this simple and easy recipe on My Baking Addiction and I think she might have gotten it from Kraft Kitchens. I don’t know, but I baked these babies up with Lucy and they turned out great. Plus, they packaged pretty. I’m thinking these might be fun for Easter this year too.

I don’t talk a lot about our church here because I guess it seems very personal to me. However, I LOVE our church and I wish I could take everybody there at least once. One of the things I love about it is how they’ve embraced technology and media and use it to spread the gospel. It is very cool. Well, our really cool pastors have started their own blog titled “PB&J”. This is actually their initials. I invite you to go and check out their site. They also post video podcasts and audio podcasts of the sermon every week if you want to listen to more. I love to download these and then listen to them while I work out. When I’m finished I feel like such an incredibly awesome human being.

Max and I are back home from the hospital and enjoying our white toast and Pedialyte spritzers. He is recovering slowly, but nicely. I’m hoping he may actually start eating sometime tomorrow. I’ve really appreciated all the words of support and prayers. It is always comforting to know how many people are surrounding you when you need them the most.

In the meantime I’m being featured on 5 Minutes For Books today. A little article that I wrote about boys and books. Wander over there and check it out. Interesting idea – what do boys read?

Max has been in the hospital since Thursday morning. It isn’t serious and indeed we’re very hopeful he’ll come home today. He caught the Rotovirus. That nasty, stomach-lurching, bowel irritating, poop generating, fever producing virus. It is the kind of virus that in a pretty healthy and stubborn 3 year old can wreck havoc. In three days Max has had 2 IV’s put in, 4 blood labs drawn, 2 throat cultures and 2 finger pricks. That would make 8 needles in 3 days. If you are a parent than you know exactly what this means; lots of time listening to my son scream; “NO POKEYS!! NO POKEYS!!” I wish I had something funny and interesting to say about this and perhaps I will after a couple of days. Right now, Max and I are busy plotting how to take out the night shift nurse who wakes us up EVERY TWO HOURS!! We hate that woman!