Nightmares

Our little girl is suffering from nightmares almost nightly. The poor kid comes running to our bed, sometimes in tears, sometimes very quiet. I just want to crawl inside her brain and rip out all the scary thoughts (mostly about Ursula from Little Mermaid - she only saw the movie once or twice for that very reason). I remember when my brother Matt had nightmares about alligators and my parents bought him a stuffed alligator toy to sleep with that would protect him from any bad alligator. So far we haven't been able to find a suitable solution for Hilde. I sing her I am A Child of God while she snuggles down for the night and we take turns listing things that make us happy, or things that we love. So far, not much success. Any advice?

War and Peace

I have finally won the war. Despite having to renew the book twice, and then letting the overdue fines stack up as a weird way of "forcing" myself into finishing it, I have read War and Peace.

Dave found me asleep too many times to count with the book next to me on the bed or couch. He bought the mini-series in response to a request from his cousin Aaron's wife Katy, and it has been sitting on the mantle taunting me. But after many weeks, the saga is over. I now know that this is a Classic book. It masterfully weaves together so many characters that it would have been helpful to have a bookmark with short synopses of each character. Especially since everyone seems to have the title of Prince and be known by at least 4 names, mostly unrelated to each other. The version I read was 1135 pages, you read that correctly, I didn't type any additional numbers. Dave bought me my own copy about 300 pages in, but it was a different translation and when we compared them, the library version (translated by Constance Garnett) was far superior.

I like complex stories, I like historically based fiction and non-fiction. I learned a great deal about the wars between Russia and France from around 1806 through 1813. I realized early on that I didn't know Russian history or culture at all, so this was a great read for me. (I read Crime and Punishment in college, but that is about the extent of my Russian reading). What I didn't like was the last grueling 100 pages where Tolstoy goes on and on and on and on and on and on about his feelings on Napoleon (hates him - surprised?) and Emperor Alexander. He gives metaphor after metaphor to dispell any theory that may have been presented by a historian, a class of people he completely detests. I just wanted to sit Tolstoy down and say, you tell great stories, and you teach people a lot about historical events, so sit down and shut up. Keep your crazy rants to yourself! Since I can't say that to him, I'll just say to you, that it was a great book, but it could have been a few hundred pages shorter and I would have liked it even more!

Remembrance Day

Today our church service was Remembrance Sunday. I didn't know what a big deal Remembrance Day is, but I was duly impressed. There have been people wearing the Poppy symbol all around, and many people wore them at church today. Additionally, there are activities planned everywhere. Parades, moments of silence, etc. So here is what our church service consisted of today:

Opening Hymn: Battle Hymn of the Republic
Opening Prayer
Sacrament Hymn: In Remembrance of they Suffering
Sacrament
1st Speaker: An excellent talk given by a British woman on remembering Christ in our life
Intermediate Hymn: I Vow to Thee, My Country, here are the words as they were handed out to all of us (there wasn't any music so we followed as best we could, it was quite lovely):

I vow to thee, my country, all earthly things above,
Entire and whole and perfect, the service of my love;
The love that asks no question, the love that stands the test,
That lays upon the altar the dearest and the best;
The love that never falters, the love that pays the price,
The love that makes undaunted the final sacrifice.

And there's another country, I've heard of long ago,
Most dear to them that lover her, most great to them that know;
We may not count her armies, we may not see her King;
Her fortress is a faithful heart, her pride is suffering;
And soul by soul and silently her shining bounds increase,
And her ways are ways of gentleness and all her paths are peace.

Final Speaker - Our Bishop. He spoke about the famous November 11th, 1918, where the armistice was signed to end WWI, which is what Remembrance Day commemorates (and the other wars as well). It made me feel really grateful for all of the brave, stalwart, immovable Brits who took some amazing stands during the two great wars, and for all of the sacrifices they, as a country, have made throughout history.

Oath of Remembrance - read by one of or military officers in uniform, the whole congregation stood and remained standing until the closing hymn:

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

Followed by 2 Minutes of Silence.

Closing Hymn: The Lord is my Shepherd
Closing Prayer

It was a very moving service, and I was glad to have been there for it.

Happy Guy Fawkes Day

Enoch met me at daycare yesterday, very excited to tell me what he had learned.

E: "Mommy, mommy, Guy Fawkes tried to blow up the Houses of Pawliaments. He got a lot of gunpowder to blow up the Houses of Pawliaments."

Me: "Really, what happened?"

E: "He was caught. The police came and took him away to jail."

If you want to know more, click here. We didn't celebrate this year, but I assure you the rest of England did. Imagine 4th of July Fireworks mixed with summer bonfires in the middle of winter. And "remember, remember the 5th of November....."

Love Story

With Dave gone, it was time for me to catch up on a classic Love Story, literally. I have seen a lot of other "romance" movies where they make references to this one, so I thought it was probably worth the watch. It was rated PG, but that was back in 1971, so there was some non-PG content, noticeably language and "love". I can check this movie off of my "to see at some point" list, but you don't need to rush off and add it to yours. The soundtrack was a little over the top and the line that has become quoted often is "love means never having to say you're sorry." I guess this would be a great line for many out there, but to me, it is ridiculous. If you don't say that you are sorry to those you love, why would you apologize to those you don't? But the bigger question is, what part of my female psyche makes me want to watch shows like this when 9 times out of 10 I don't even like them? I guess it is the 10th one that makes all the difference.... So for the girls (and maybe even the boys) out there - what Love Stories are worth the watch to you?

ER Trip #1

My first trip to an Emergency Room in the UK was almost exactly the same as one in the US except for the ER is called E&A for Emergencies & Accidents, and the people spoke with British accents.

While making Sugar cookies, Enoch was allowed to sprinkle whatever toppings he wanted on to his. He decided he wanted mini white chocolate chips from our multi-sprinkle container. Apparently they were a little stuck because he decided to put his finger in it to get them. Unfortunately he wedged his finger in so tight that it was impossible to get it back out again. I tried pulling, twisting, and cutting it off using Pam cooking spray, olive oil, a hot bath, ice cubes, scissors and a knife. Enoch wanted to wait for daddy to come home on Tuesday to take it off, but I could see that wasn't a good idea. Finally I went to the E&A where they were better equipped and they had it off within moments (after only a 45 minute wait).

The skin had been pinched so tight that his finger was getting quite purple and a thick layer of skin peeled away the minute they took off the plastic. So when we got home I put on a spiderman bandaid to make it all better. Enoch did say that he'll never do that again!

Trick or Treat?

Halloween this year was a little crazier than in the past. First of all, I had three munchkins with me. Second of all, Dave was gone to the States for Jeff's wedding (which I hear was fabulous). Thirdly, it was on base - with about a zillion other kids and parents. Halloween has never been this big for us. Before I even got involved, all three kids had Halloween parties at their daycare programs. So, the night with me went like this:

Part I: Head to the Club for dinner, a bouncy castle (moon bounce for you Americans), and a Magic show.

Part II: Head to the gym for a carnival including games; crafts and our favorite - face painting.

Part III: Trick or treat around base housing. They had opened it up for the Brits as well, and it was a mad house. I heard today that a lot of people got separated from their kids in the madness and there was a lot of tears of little kids who were lost. Luckily we stuck together. Most times they were in a line 20 deep to get to the front door, but they had a blast. Enoch would weave up to the front instead of standing in line, that kid can really get whatever he wants, whenever he wants....