Shaved for Shad

Ever since the sons found out about Shad's cancer and learned that he was going to lose his hair they have talked about shaving their heads in his honor. Well, yesterday they decided it was time to take the plunge.

The oldest son was more committed to the idea, so he went first. The son-in-law was drafted to be the designated barber and he did a great job getting rid of a lot of hair. 

After the first swipe, there was no going back.
 

I think this is a funny picture.  It's hard to see, but there is one really long wing poking out of the oldest son's head.  It makes me smile.

Eventually there was no more hair on his head to shave

and Shad enjoyed watching the whole process.

All too soon it was the youngest son's turn.

You need to know that this son is VERY attached to his hair.  He takes great pride in it and works hard to make it look just the way he wants.

He vacillated for a little while, but eventually he decided he could let it go for a good cause.

I was smart and restrained his arms by his sides so he couldn't grab the razor out of the son-in-law's hand as he made the first few cuts.



In almost every photo I took of this son, he is looking up trying to see what is going on.  I find it entertaining.

When the hair was all gone, it was time to take a photo.



Shad wasn't too sure how he felt about his uncles gestures of solidarity, but they were feeling pretty good about their new looks.   (This was actually taken before either one of them had looked in the mirror.)

After they viewed themselves in the mirror, the youngest son determined that he was still the more handsome of the two and the oldest son pointed out that it was a good thing he could rock the look since his younger brother is already getting a receding hairline and might actually experience being bald in his lifetime.

Together they determined that there was still too much black stubble showing and they decided they needed to use a Bic and get an even closer shave, so today we held the second session of the head shaving experience.

It started with a lot of shaving cream

and then a nice shiny head.

The youngest son didn't trust himself with a razor next to his brother's noggin so the youngest daughter stepped in to offer her assistance.

You'll be happy to know that Shad has decided he likes his uncles new looks and appreciates their love and support.

I think they are pretty awesome uncles too.

Not wanting to be left out, all the girls in the family committed to shave their underarms in support of the hairless effort.

Fortunately, no pictures were taken of those shaving sessions.

Today I am grateful for

the opportunity to be all together in California.

the bonding moments that come with Shad's cancer.

after Christmas sales!

Saving Money, Wasting Time

Yesterday I was going to go to Target to buy some cat food before we left town.  Before I went I decided to go to a fun money saving blog that I check out sometimes called “Totally Target”  to see if they had any great deals listed.  There was a post about some good savings on Emergen-C and since our family is working hard at staying healthy so we can hang out with Shad I decided it was worth looking into.  

If I bought two packages I could get a $5.00 Target gift card.  There was a link included to a facebook coupon for $2.50 off a 30 count package of Emergen-C.  Print it twice and I could save an additional $5.00 off my purchase.  That sounded good so I cruised on over to facebook.  I  liked the Emergen-C facebook page and printed my coupons. I thought since I was on facebook I  should check out my friends updates so I did a little reading for a while. 

Oh, wait I was supposed to be going to Target.  

While I was on “Totally Target” I was reminded that I could go to the Target website and download coupons from there.  Perhaps I should check and see if they had any good coupons.  I headed to the website,  I couldn’t see the coupon button right away, but there was this week’s store ad.  I should probably look at what was on sale this week before I look at the coupons anyway, so I browsed through the ad.  Armed with my new knowledge I seriously began to search for the coupons.  I located them on the dropdown menu under more and started scrolling through the 17 pages. 

$1.50 off 2 packages of M&Ms  - those were on sale and Target has an “exclusive” peppermint  M&M flavor for the holidays.  I needed that coupon.

$2.00 off any holiday decorating item $8.00 or more – you can never have too many holiday decorations. 

5 coupons selected and I was ready to print but wait, it says I need to activate the coupon printer.  Oh right, I haven’t downloaded coupons from Target since I got my new computer.  Click on the download.  Yes, I want to run this program.  My coupons will print when I click next.  I clicked next and nothing. 

I tried it again and … still nothing. 

I went to my downloads and there was the program, but still my coupons aren’t printing. 

Back to the website. Perhaps if I just select print coupons again they will print.   I try that – “you need to activate the coupon printer”.  Argh!

I looked at the time on the computer.  Ought oh – I need to go buy my green beans and get them cooked before FHE group tonight.  I’ll just turn my computer off and maybe the download will update.  I can wait and go to Target tomorrow morning before we leave. 

So, this morning I once again go to the Target website, click on coupons and go to print.  Wait, all the coupons I selected are no longer on my list.  I get to go through the 17 pages of coupons looking for the five I wanted to print again.  Coupons located, select print.  “You need to activate the coupon printer.”  Yes I know.  Would you like to suggest how I do that?  I ask for the hubby’s assistance and he assists and still no coupons. 

About this time I remember that I have had a similar problem before in Google Chrome.  Perhaps  if I get on the internet using Windows Explorer  the program will download right. 

Close the internet, reopen the internet, go to the Target website, reload the coupons, click on the download, click on the yellow allow bar that appears at the bottom of the page, download, push next, hear the printer fire up and get ready to do the happy dance and then – No coupons. 

Wait, what is that yellow light on the printer.  Toner.  I guess it’s really time to put in that new toner I bought. Find the new package of toner, take out the old toner, wonder if it is really all gone this time, shake it all around, put it back in to try to get a few more copies, nothing, take the old toner out, put the new toner in and PRINT!

Armed with my Target coupons (and a stack of previously printed coupons from a different website just in case any of those items are on sale) I head out to Target.  I collect the things I need and the things that I can purchase using my coupons fairly quickly, but I have want to take a quick circle around the store to check the endcaps on all the rows for clearance bargains.  Nothing today, so I move to the checkout line. Check out, hand the coupons over, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, get my $5.00 target gift card, pay and I'm on my way.  

I am reading my receipt as I walk away and I only see one of my Emergen-c coupons taken off.  I peruse the receipt again, yup, only one.  I look back at the register I just left, that now has a line 3 people deep, and head on over to customer service.  I explain that I had 2 coupons and only one rang up.  "Perhaps was the coupon $2.50 off two"?  I think about it, but no, I'm pretty sure it was off one.  The worker calls for assistance, another worker arrives and is sent to the register to retrieve the coupon. Apparently the coupons are locked in an extremely secure location in the cash register, but finally here he comes back waving my coupons victoriously.  Wow! I was right $2.50 off a single item.  I'll be  friendly and discuss the merits of couponing and what a great coupon that is.  I pocket my two dollar bills and 2 quarters and leave the store.  I load my purchases in the back of the van and I'm off, one step closer to heading to California.  

When I get home I remember I need to take my wallet in the house and put it in my bag to take with me to California.  While I'm at it I should also grab my stack of coupons and take that too so when I go grocery shopping I can save a couple of bucks.  I get the wallet, but can't seem to locate the coupons anywhere. Perhaps I put them in the back with my purchases.  I open the back of the van and check.  Nope, no coupons.  I look in all the bags.  Nope, no coupons.  I walk backwards in my mind.  Where was the last place I remember having the coupons.  I see then sitting quietly on the seat of the cart.  Do I remember getting them?  Not really.  They are probably sitting abandoned in my shopping cart.  Now, the big question - is it worth it to drive back to Target and hopefully rescue them?  Not really.  But wait, there were some good coupons that I know I will use.  It's only a couple of miles to Target.  That's silly though, the cart might not even still be there.  Yes, no, yes, no, and I'm back in my van headed for Target.  

I locate the coupons, right where I left them, turn around and once more head for home.  Who knew saving money could be so time consuming?  

Actually, I did.  

I may be good at saving money, but I am even better at wasting time doing it.

The verdict is still out on whether or not it is worth it, but it's what I do best and it's even fun -  most of the time.  

Today I am grateful for

a husband who likes to drive so I can just sit back and enjoy the ride.

a son who is willing to take care of things while we leave town.

the chance to be with Shad and his mom and dad again.  My mind is a lot more at peace about him when I am here.  

Missed Opportunities

Today I went to the library to pick up some books I had on hold.  As I approached the check out counter  my attention was drawn to one of the machines there.  What probably got my attention first was the LOUD wailing of a small baby.  I couldn't see the upset infant who was curled up in a stroller but what I did see made my heart happy.  The mother was standing there with 2 other children, a little boy about 3 was balancing on the step stool very seriously placing each book, from a tall stack, on the white square and waiting to hear the ding.  He couldn't work very quickly because his younger sister was also vying for space on the stool and was determined to move him out of the way.  The mom was being so patient, while trying to encourage the entire process along at a little faster pace.  Any attempt she made to assist was met with immediate complaints of "I'm doing it" and she would
step back and let her son do it.  I was proud of her control.

I quickly checked out, glanced again at the entertaining family while thinking "I'm glad I'm past that stage of my life" and walked out the door.

As I unlocked my car I had a strong desire to cry and I wasn't sure why.

I gave it some thought as I drove down the road to my next destination and I began to realize that I should have offered to help that young mother.  She was handling herself just fine and she might have declined my offer, but I stil should have made the attempt.

But even more than that I should have told that mom that I was glad she had chosen to be a mother.

That  I was happy she had made the effort to bring her children to the library.

That I appreciated her patience with her little ones when it would have been so much easier to move them aside and just check the books out herself.

I should have given her a pat on the back,

because mothers don't seem to get those very often.

I should have told her GOOD JOB!

and I didn't

and then I regretted it.

One of my favorite talks in the October General Conference was by Elder M. Russell Ballard and was entitled "Be Anxiously Engaged".

In this talk he encourages every man, woman and child to begin a simple practice.

"In your morning prayer each new day, ask Heavenly Father to guide you to recognize an opportunity to serve one of His precious children.  Then go throughout the day with your heart full of faith and love, looking for someone to help ... If you do this, your spiritual sensitivities will be enlarged and you will discover opportunities to serve that you never before realized were possible." 

I have been trying to remember to do this every day and have had some sweet experiences, but today I lost focus and missed an opportunity.

And I want to say I'm sorry.

I can't go back and change what happened today, but I can look forward with a desire to improve.

Hopefully next time my spiritual sensitivities will kick into gear just a little bit faster and I can feel that I have done my best to serve God's children that I cross paths with.

Today I am thankful for

parents who treat their children with patience and love.

a women who looked for an opportunity to serve and was prompted to organize a monthly family home evening group for the "empty nesters" in our ward.  Tonight was our first activity and it was so fun and uplifting to get together and eat, visit, laugh, talk of Christ and enjoy the Christmas spirit.

homemade orange rolls.  YUMMY!