Amazing

Aren't They?

Merry Christmas to All

In an effort to simplify life I didn't send out Christmas cards this year and I didn't make goodie plates, but please know that you are all in my thoughts and prayers. May you have a very blessed Christmas.

My Thoughts on a House of Boys

My life is a life of boys. I have a husband who is all boy through and through, two sons who are also boy through and through and I also babysit 3 little boys.
Out of all the people I know I am the last person to have expected that my life was to be filled to such large doses of testosterone on a daily basis (add that to PCOS and you've got one hormonal scale leaning towards the extreme).
I love my boys but some days I can't figure out what I've gotten myself into. Take for example the threat that I issued last week in the car to one of babysittees:
"Hunter, I'm going to take that gun away if you can't be nice to people with it" ---------
Hmmm, how is it possible that those words came out of my mouth in that order, and how is that a reasonable threat, how is it possible to be nice to people when playing with a toy gun?
I love my boys but there are times when I wish that certain phrases didn't have to be uttered, (now that I've sat down to write about it, they are all escaping me).
Maybe someday Heavenly Father will see fit to throw in a little more estrogen to counteract the effects that the XY chromosomes are heaping upon me.

Party!

I think I'm finally recovering from the insanity that was my house on Saturday.
I decided to hold an 'appetizer and dessert tasting party'. The basic idea was to try out a bunch of the recipes that I have in my books under the guise of a Christmas Party. I was cooking pretty much non-stop from noon until 7pm when everyone came. It all turned out decent, I wasn't thrilled with all of it, but I guess that's the way it goes. The Whitmores, Haltermans, O'Learys and the Horrocks all came and we had a great time. If you missed it, you should be sad. There were some of you out there who I sent invites to but you never looked at them -- your loss ;)~ We'll catch you next year. I've posted the recipes along with the alterations I would make on my recipe blog -- follow the link on the side bar.

Thanksgiving

Our family had a very relaxing Thanksgiving, and I am grateful for that.

The boys and I went up to dad's on Monday (I flew with the two of them). I was superbly nervous about how this event would go, but they both were well behaved champs, and I enjoyed it.

I went out to dinner with a long lost high school friend on Tuesday night sans two cherubs. It was so good to reconnect with her and to catch up on each others lives and to know that we are still important to one another. Old wounds were healed and that was a huge relief to me.

A flew up on Thursday morning. We missed him a lot and I was relieved to not have to be a single mom any more.

Both of my sisters were there, and two of my brothers, as well as my grandma. My younger brother has two little ones, Dallin is 3 and he and E had a great time together. Dallin kept calling E 'friend', it was pretty cute. Bailey is 4 months old and a delightful neice to have. She's got big brown eyes and is super smiley. I love her!

My sister and sister-in-law and I braved Walmart and Target the day after Thanksgiving, it wasn't as frightful as I anticipated. The boys went hiking and had a great time.

We flew home on Saturday. I was sad to leave everyone behind, but happy to be home back to my own bed.

So aside from kids being a little under the weather for a few days and the fact that my dad has a dog and two cats, my sister bringing her dog and my brother bringing his dog (a post to come about why I do not want any animals...) it was a prime experience to reconnect with my loved ones and I am grateful for that.

Creativity Needed

Help! Does anyone out there want to take over the wallpaper on my page? I'm ready to move on from the colors I currently have.
Is this anyone's forte?

Literal Reader

The slip of paper showing us what E's primary sacrament meeting part was reads thus:
E: I help my mom to know I love her by drawing her pictures.

E, practicing his part with his dad reads his part:
"E dot dot I help my mom to know I love her by drawing her pictures."

He's such a smarty pants.

Wanted

Anyone living in a two mile radius of my house that is interested in joining a dinner exchange group with three of the most wonderful cooks in all of Laveen?

Deirdre, Jackie and I exchange meals for our families once a week and are looking for a fourth family to include. I know there are some out there who deliver individual meals every night, but the way it has been most convenient for us is to all meet up on Tuesday nights, rotating houses where we meet, and exchange dinners for the rest of the week. Sometimes it's ingredients and a recipe, sometimes the meal is complete and ready to go from the fridge to the oven, whatever is most convenient for the person providing it. Each meal feeds 4 adults. Including sides is optional. And the person whose house we are meeting at provides a 'hot and ready' on that night, meaning the meal is ready to be taken home and eaten that night. It really is a lovely time saver for my family.
We're accepting applications (please include a sample of your most delicious dish) until the position is filled ;) (the applications part is for fun, if you're interested email one of us!)

E's First Report Card

E got his first report card from Pre-K today.

In the comment section his teacher wrote:
"E is an energetic and kind child. An independent learner. Follows direction and enjoys helping others, specially the younger ones. Finds it difficult at times to concentrate on his work and finish it. I am trying to help him by motivating him to stay on task and finish his work."

The grading system is: C = Consistently, I = increasingly, P = Periodically, and S = Seldom
He got an I in:
Chooses appropriate work
Organizes learning activities
Demonstrates concentration
Displays a strong interest in learning and working
Individual work
Group Work
Completes cycle of work
Demonstrates persistence
Demonstrates sense of order
Awareness of and functions within reality
Ability to share
Sense of joy
Accepts guidance and direction
Exercises self-discipline
Shows responsibility for own actions

And he got a C in:
Copes with transitions and challenges
Displays confidence
Express feelings and needs
Relates well with peers
Joins in discussions
Participates and works appropriately in a group
Shows respect fo others and environment

No P's or S's!

Way to go E Boy!

Equation

This:





Minus This:




Equals This:

My happy baby has turned in to the above picture. I took his pacifier away for good just about a month ago and my sunshine has disappeared.

Sigh....

Would You Rather

This is a rather gross or uncomfortable game that the Young Women taught me the year I was a girls camp leader.
I've come to realize that some families are just good at odd things. For some reason I have been blessed with two boys who are exceptional at blowing their noses. I'm not sure how they learned this, but they do it with finesse. I am hugely grateful for this talent.
I babysit two little boys during the day who are both smart and good boys. Neither of them posses this knack. I tell them to blow their nose and they stand there, looking at me, while I hold the tissue over their nose.......... Having been spoiled with my own two boys, I find this completely annoying.
I have also discovered that I would MUCH rather change a messy diaper then wipe a snotty nose. I'm not sure why. I'm not one who gets grossed out by much. I've never been even a little bit squeamish (except for the scene in 'Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom' where the leading lady is in that tunnel full of bugs, just thinking about it makes me get the heebie-jeebies).

So here is my tag for you:
Give me two things that are completely disgusting or uncomfortable to you, and name the one that you would rather.

I would rather change a stinky diaper than wipe a snotty nose.

5

5 Years ago today:

I was 26 years old; I was sitting on my couch holding my sleeping baby:
he was 20 days old; and not due until tomorrow.

My mom died, she was 58 years old.

This post is mostly for therapy. I have three main focuses: my grief, my mom, and some complaining.

Grief is such a personal experience for the individual it belongs to, and this one is mine.
Just because today is the anniversary of the single most surreal experience of my life doesn’t make the wound anymore raw, I don’t miss her more today than I did yesterday or will in 42 days, next spring, or in 10 years. I miss her everyday, and mourn everyday. My heart nerve endings hurt, they’ve been cut with a butterknife, still, 1,826 days later.
One of the must hurtful, and honestly unintelligent questions or statements anyone could say to me regarding my sadness would be:
‘Aren’t you so grateful for the atonement (insert: eternal families, or any other church doctrine)?’, or ‘You’ll get to see her again after the resurrection!’
Well: ‘Duh!’ I am grateful for the atonement, and I do know I will get to see her again someday. But I want to see her today. I’m not good at waiting.

Part of my defense mechanism has been to forget specifics, I’m working on that, and these are things that are vital for me to not forget:

I love my mom.

People my mom loves:
The Savior
My Dad
Melanie
Jeff
Brent
Emily
Alicia
Brian

Jodi
A
Erica

Jodi
Jeffrey
Joshua
Jacob
Brock
Bella

E
M

Dallin
Bailey

My mom is fun and funny.
She is sunny, except for right upon waking. She used to sing a song (she didn’t remember all of the words) ‘Oh how I hate to get up in the morning! Oh, how I’d love to remain in bed! Someday I’m going to murder that bugler; someday they’re going to find him dead!’ She believes those words 100%. I remember on Sundays she would say she was going to go take a nap, and I would beg her not to, because she would wake up so cranky.
One time my sister Emily and I were playing “Don’t wake the dragon”, the gist of this game was to see how close we could get to the ‘dragons’ face without waking her (mom is the dragon). She was sleeping in our red high-backed chair in the front room and snoring (hence: the dragon), man-o-man could she snore! So Emily and I very stealthy, quietly approached said beast, creeping, trying hard not to giggle (I was about 4, Emily about 6), got inches from her nose, and ‘ZZZZZ’ out came the dragons fire (a long, loud snore), we screamed, mom jumped out of the chair, and we ran away laughing hysterically, I don’t believe mom found nearly as much joy in this game as we did.
Ironically, her hatred of waking didn’t stop the Stake President from calling her to teach early morning seminary, she loves that calling.
Mom loves to:
Dance.
Feel the wind.
Travel with my dad.
Watch fireworks.
Sing. For years she served as the sacrament meeting chorister. She would stand up on the stand grinning from ear to ear, trying to catch as many peoples gaze as possible and make them smile back. She believes that singing to the Lord should be a joyous occasion and couldn’t stand to see people with the hymn book stuck in front of their faces, with a dour look on their face. She would even stop the music and reprimand the crowd for not gladly singing.
She loves her grandbabies. One of my sweetest memories was going to her house after E was born; she was lying on the couch, very sick and asked to hold him. She held him up by her shoulder and gave him kisses. I didn’t get a picture.
She loves her friends and has an amazing way of making everyone feel like they are her favorite. Everyone is important to mom. I admire this talent hugely.
Mom loves to read, particularly the scriptures. Every morning I could be sure that when I walked down the stairs she would have them out.
May dad worked nights for most of my growing up years. She would have us ‘little’ kids climb into her bed just before bedtime and read to us. I remember specifically: Tom Sawyer, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, and Manx Mouse.
She can sew anything, paint anything, and cross-stitch anything.
She loves: Chocolate, Watermelon, and Tacos. She also loves Imperial Margarine. The first time A ever went to my parents house while we were dating, he opened the freezer and there were 16 pounds of Imperial Margarine. As disgusting as it sounds she put it on everything. She also made us a treat (that now that I know better I gag just a little thinking about it) it was Cheerios cereal with melted butter and salt, kind of like popcorn.
She loves Christmas. She always decorated our house for every holiday, and I do mean every holiday.
My mom can talk to me like no one else can, she can be silly with me, but is amazing at talking sense to me when no one else’s ‘sense’ makes sense. I can still hear her say when I’m being particularly irrational ‘Now, Alicia…’
When she found something she’s just learned especially interesting she would make the ‘huh’ sound, but not say it, more of a sound, and nod her head, but this nod is more of a whole torso nod. I mock myself when I catch myself doing the exact same thing.
For most of my teenage and adult years when we asked mom what she wanted for her birthday or Christmas she always, without fail said, 'Righteous Children.' I always thought that was the biggest cop out. Now that I am a mother I know it wasn't. That is the thing she wants most. And I can say, at least for 1/6 of that equation that we're trying our hardest.

I’ve learned why so many people have a tendency to canonize people after they die even if they were the most rotten person they ever knew. My mom is a good person, but she wasn’t perfect, but I’m choosing to remember the good.

I know without a doubt that it was not a coincidence that E was born exactly three weeks early, his due date being the day after she died. I got to see her hold him 3 times. This truly is the most tender mercy the Lord has ever shown me.

More than anything I remember that my mom knows the Savior lives, she loves Him, and followed Him exactly as she was asked: I can echo the sentiments of Helaman’s 2,000: I do not doubt my mother knew it.

Here is my complaint:
I can not be happy about this trial. Sure, I have learned so much from it. I am a different mother than I would have been had she been here to walk me through it. I am closer to my husband, whom I rely on for my emotional support, than I was when she was on earth. I have learned to transmit my longing to see my mother into a longing to see the Savior after His return; my focus is no longer on her, but on Him. And I am grateful that I have such a wonderful angel with me (Elder Holland's talk in conference was specifically for me).

If you are lucky enough to know my mom, please post a comment about her, I want to know your memories too.

I have heard time and time again that the Lord never gives us trials that we can’t get through, so I know I can do this. I just wish I couldn’t.

Happy Birthday to My 1st Miracle

Happy birthday to my biggest boy.

Five years old! I can hardly believe it. You're so big now, and smart, funny, happy, loving, you are a good boy with an amazing heart.

I remember so clearly right after you were born how there was just an overwhelming need in my soul to make sure that nothing bad ever happens to you.

You have such a huge spirit that I remember being overwhelmed with amazement at how it could all fit in to that little body of yours, it just filled the whole room up, it still does.

You are my favorite blond son!

I love you with all my pieces.

Unfortunately, my camera is broken, so I can't take a picture of you on your 5th birthday.

The Tire Gods Have it Out for My Family

We've owned our Buick since we moved to AZ. My dad gave it to us, it had just had new tires put on it about 7 months previous.
My first experience changing a tire was only 1 1/2 later (just a crappy brand of tires if you ask me), the tire just blew out on the freeway.
Then we got another flat about 3 months later, had to have that one replaced.
Then we replaced the other two 6 months later. (In case you're keeping track that is now about 17 months ago.)
For about a month we've been driving on a tire that is again going to blow any second, so we had all 4 replaced (a big ouch to the emergency fund).
Now today, I'm driving the truck (a completely different car, even!). I'm picking E up from school along with 3 little girls we carpool with, M was at a ward members house, I have Grant in the car, and we're going to get Cooper to bring him to our house to play. I pull up to the school and one of the dads waiting there says there's a hissing sound coming from my tire (I could hear it too, but what could I do?). I decide to take my chances and take it home. I'm about 1 mile from the first drop off point, on the Salt River bridge: flub-flub-flub, the tire is completely smooshed. I pull over to the side of the road, call AAA, they're sending someone out, they should be there in no more than an hour. An Hour! with 5 kids in the car (4 of whom are not mine). I call one of the little girls moms, she'll come get the girls (who are now screaming, sure that the truck is going to explode at any moment). I call Amberly to tell her that we won't be getting Coop any time soon. She says she'll come get E (she has 3 kids, Cooper (4), and two babies). I'm thinking to myself "It's one o'clock, M hasn't napped yet and I might not get home until 2? M is going to be one grumpy baby."
Amberly, being the super-woman she is, happily agrees to pick M up from Katia's house and let him nap at hers while her two sleep also. She really is a trooper.
After 25 minutes it occurs to me that Danny Stevens is at home and can come help me out, what a guy: he says he'll be right there!
AAA gets there after only 1/2 an hour, to my good fortune (I called Danny as soon as I saw the truck approaching, luckily he hadn't made it out the door yet), they jack it up, get the tool to take the spare down. Apparently the tool to take the tire off is specific to Chevy trucks and 1/3 of the tool is missing, so the spare is not coming down. Where would I like to be towed?
So here I sit at home, Grant is asleep while my two kiddos entertain Amberly, I have no car to get over there to pick them up (A had to take the Buick to work today), and since all the babies are asleep, it's best everyone just stays there.
All I have to say:
I'm grateful for Glenda, Amberly, and Danny. There is a reason why the church is organized the way it is, we can always count on our Stake members to help out.
I'm grateful to Maryjo, she's an amazing aunt.
I'm grateful for cell phones, I would have been up one swiftly moving creek had I not had one.
I'm grateful for prompt service.
I'm grateful to have vehicles that work well.
Thank you's I have to send:
One to Amberly, and a make up playdate at my house so she can have some quiet moments while her babies sleep.
One to Glenda for picking up the girls on her day off.
One to Danny for being willing to help a damsel in distress.

BTW: A was in a meeting all day, so I couldn't reach him to come help. I could have attempted to change the tire myself, but if I'd tried that first I would have been stranded for even longer with the kids in the car, since I wouldn't have been able to figure out that I was missing the tool piece, and then I would have put in a call to AAA and had to wait even longer, Amberly's babies may have been sleeping by then and she wouldn't have been able to make it out of the house, it could have been so much worse.

I've got an itch

And it's not the mosquito bite on my left leg.


I think my blood has been altered by the unbelievable bread in Paris. Before our European trip I never had quite this same need to move. To see the world! It sounds totally corny, I know. I thought once I'd been there, I'd be content, oh no, not so. I need to go back. I can't just sit here in my own little slice of heaven and be totally sedentary anymore. It honestly feels like my body is pulling me to go and have adventures, like my muscles are twitching with excitement.

Anyone up for a little jaunt?




I was watching The Sound of Music the other day and it made it all that much more inflamed (it's like arthritis, only not so achey, and not so bad for my health). Before going I was sure that there was no place that could really be that beautiful, but I was oh so wrong.

Seriously, religious opression must have been a real bummer to make the pilgrims move.

Today -- Nothing Deep

On my mind:
M insists on feeding himself. This morning it was Cheerios. I died just a little every time he took a bite and the milk spilled all down the front of him. I need to relinquish control here.
I was recently involved in an event which left me feeling moderately embarassed by poor performance (nothing risque, compromising or malignant, so stop thinking naughty stuff). I have half a mind to email the others involved and apologize to them, but I would hate to embarass the rest of the party, so maybe I should just suffer in silence (most of you will have no idea what I'm talking about, so please don't take any of our recent interactions to heart and assume I am speaking of you).
Finally started reading 'Breaking Dawn' -- two chapters last night, my husband and children may not see me the rest of the weekend if I pick it back up.
Bunco last night was well worth it.
Anyone interested in having an appetizer party? I sorted through my recipes last night and realized I have more recipes for appetizers than I do for any other food category. I think I've only tried 4 or 5 of the recipes. What on earth am I hanging on to all the rest for? I need to try the others. I'd cook, you just show up, how'd's that sound? No other purpose than for me to try my recipes and decide which ones to keep and which to toss.
My house is a mess. But I really don't care enough to do anything about it today.
Watched 'High School Musical' yesterday, I think it's a good thing I don't have girls. It was fine, I just would never be able to justify seeing it more than once.

Be Prepared...

...For a super cute photo of my youngest at the end of this post.

M at 16 months:

*Takes a tissue and 'blows' his nose, all by himself.

*He's a left foot tap dancing fool.

*Loves the vaccum, whenever I get it out, he runs around in circles squealing with delight.

*Still not a word out of this kids mouth.

*Give a cheesy grin just to make me smile.

*Runs to the bathroom everytime he hears the bath water start.

*Loves to push things, the grocery cart, the broom, the vaccum...

*Folds his arms to pray.

*Wants to feed himself, completely. Will often reject food that is offered to him by me, but give him his own fork or spoon, and suddenly, it's the most delicious item he's ever encountered.

*Punches the punching bag in our garage.

*Cleans up spills.

*Digs the dirt out of my plant (see post here about this poor things past woes) with silverware he snatches out of the dishwasher at every opportunity.

*Everytime E gets off the computer, he runs as fast as his little legs will carry him to try to beat E back to it so he can 'play' computer games.

*Woofs everytime he sees a dog.

*Leads the music during sacrament meeting, and raises his hand in sustaining or thanks.

*Try's to summersault when E does.

*Takes his pitching stance: two hands on the ball, held over his right shoulder, crouches down, wait for it, wait for it, wait for it..... release!

*Plays polo with his plastic golf club and any ball he can find.

*Sings in the Kazoo.

*Sticks his tongue out when he likes the taste of something and wants more.

*Boxes with A and E while wearing the oven mits as boxing gloves (A and E have their own boxing gloves).

*Holds a popsicle on the popsicle itself, rather than sparing himself the freezer burn by holding the stick, in fact, can't figure out how to eat the darned thing if he is holding the stick.

*Loves to catch a beat.

*Tries desperately to entertain us at all times (succeeds most of the time).

*Gives kisses.

*Rides anything that resembles a bicycle.

*Does his darndest to figure out how to make those legs of his jump.

*Climbs, climbs, climbs.

*Has a vendetta against the number and letter magnets on the fridge, they must all come off, no matter the cost.

*'Washes' his hair.

If you don't love this kid, there is something not quite right in the attic.

Camping Trip

We went camping over the weekend with our friends the Eagar's the Halterman's. It was so nice to get the heck out of the valley and up into the cool mountain air. The boys had a blast! It was M's first trip, and E's first trip with friends invovled. They both had an amazing time. It was E's fantasy come true, being able to play with kids all day long -- from the moment he woke up until the second he went to sleep. And M loved playing in the dirt and following the big kids around, of course consumption of dirt was a huge priority for him and unfortunately most of my pictures don't do the dirt goatee any justice.

I had fun visiting with Deirdre and Kendra and was so glad to be amongst trees. And aside from the mosquitoes, it was a better than average camping trip. I hope that they had as much fun as we did and will be willing to go back with us sometime.

Here are the pics:

Here is E in the hamock

M eating something random off the ground

E took this picture of his friend Jack

Poor Gavin was eaten alive by the mosquitoes, the white on his forhead is Calamine lotion

This is the fire pit that the kids built, and there are two paths leading up to it. Quite the engineering feat

First Day of School

E had his first day of Pre-K on Friday, I didn't get to post then, Friday was a super crazy day. But here are the pics of what he looked like his first day of public school:

Mosiah 2:17

"...When ye are in the service of your yellow beans..."
I think E has seen a few too many Veggie Tales movies.


For the real text go here.

$1.46!

On Tuesday night we had a girls night out with some of my friends from the ward: Kendra, Emily, Natalie, Kenise, Monica and I went to the Cheesecake Factory. Is it shameful for me to admit that this is the 4th time I've been to that restaurant since July 28? We had a delightful evening and ate yummy food. If any of you missed it, you should be sad you did. It was a hoot!
After the restaurant Kendra, Kenise, Monica and I went to Sprouts to get some cheap (but good) produce. I got a whole seedless watermelon for $1.46!
I LOVE SPROUTS!
Now, how to get them to our little section of paradise here in Laveen?....

Compliment and a Mystery

E came out of my bathroom and said, 'Mom, I really like your stripped toilet paper!'
(We have a different brand in our bathroom than he has in his). He's so flattering.

We have a case to a DVD from the library, and I've been scouring the house to find the DVD, it is no where to be found. I looked at my account on line, and it is not listed that I have it checked out.
This truly is a mystery...

Nine Years Baby!

Look at how young and svelte we were!
I love this man, I've been the happiest I've ever been since I've known him.
I'm not at all a sappy romantic, but he is, and I love him for that.
He is my happiness.
There is no one in the world I would rather be with.
He is handsome, funny, smart, talented, patient, kind, hard working, generous, levelheaded, confident, and a righteous priesthood holder.
He is a better father than I am a mother. A devoted son, and faithful brother.
He helps me with my faults, praises my strengths, and balances my weaknesses.
We have always been blessed in our marriage, we rarely fight, are best friends, and united in our desire to raise children that are righteous unto the Lord.
He is an amazing provider, even on days when he doesn't feel his best, he goes to work and blesses this home by supporting us financially. He makes it possible for me to stay home with our children, and cheerfully sacrifices the things he would like to have financially which are not in reach at this time so that I can do the work that we both know I was meant to do.
He honors my station as a mother, and stands beside me in the rearing of our boys. He never makes me feel like I am 'just a stay at home mom', his sons are too important to him to ever condescend my role in their lives.
He serves the Lord contently. There has never been a time when he has not put the Lord first. He knows that our home will be blessed by giving his all to the Lord's work. He is a completely devoted servant to our Savior.
There is nothing that I dreamed for as a little girl that I did not find in Adam. What else can I say? He's the best!

My Book Review Page

I'm always in the market for a new good book, but I find that they can be hard to just pick off the shelves as you're browsing through the library, and I thought there might be others out there who would be interested in seeing what others have read an liked, and thus maybe get some recommendations.
I've started a book review blog. The link is on the right side of the page. Right now it only has 2 books listed. I've finished both of those this last week. I'll add to it as I read more books. Up next: The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, by Alexander McCall Smith.
If there is a book you've read recently, that you liked, leave me a comment and I'll put it on my list of books to read.
I know, I know, everyone is going to write back that I have to read the last Twilight book, and I fully intend too... once I can get my hands on one without having to buy it. So, when one of you finishes, I would love to borrow it, if you're willing to send it my way...

Pineapple, Pink Eye, and the New Guy

Ma is in love with Pineapple:

For some reason Et named this tiger Pineapple. We bought him at the Rainforest Cafe and M adores him! He sleeps with it, carries it around, rubs noses with it, talks to it, hugs it, kisses it. It's pretty cute.

Both of my boys have had pink eye the last couple of days, it is a nasty, nasty bug, I can't wait for it to be done

I started babysitting a new little boy on Friday. His name is Grant, and he's great. He is almost two years old and is a very solid kid. He has a little bit of separation anxiety from his mom, but he gets better every day. The other little boy that I'm supposed to be watching is Hunter, and his dad drives a grader, right now there is not work for him to do, so he's staying home with Hunter until a work site calls him. E misses him, we're hoping he comes back soon.

Minutae

This post is 100% not meant to poke fun at someone's faith and their ability to pray as they see fit. I admire in a lot of people the ability to put their faith out there for the world to see, and hope that this post does not offend anyone in anyway, they are just my own personal feelings and would love feedback. If you are not LDS, I would especially love to hear from you, as I find incredible insight into how I should be growing my own faith more, based on your examples.

I've been mulling over whether to post my feelings on this subject or not, and have decided to get it out there and hopefully group my thoughts and make some sense of my feelings here (read: I'm very nervous about actually voicing these opinions outside of discussion with very close friends).

While blog surfing I came across a post by someone (they are not in my link of friends, just so you know, and won't be tempted to look through those searching for the exact quote) who will remain anonymous, and they were saying that before they went grocery shopping they asked God to help them find the best deals that they could (very rough paraphrase of the situation), and lo and behold they ended up saving a ton of money. My first thought, was 'Wonderful!'. However, I have been struggling with this concept of praying over things that seem so insignificant in the grand scheme of eternal progression.

I am well aware of the fact that we are to pray over all things, but does it really matter if we save $10 on our grocery bill? Does this seem blasphemous of me? It seems that as long as this person feels they received an answer to their prayers, and thus increase their faith, then it's a good thing. But thoughts like this make me nervous because it seems to me such a fragile thing to base your faith upon. That faith of this sort is so flimsy to begin with that, say for instance, they actually ended up spending $5 more than they had allotted, would their faith be adversely affected because their prayer over grocery shopping wasn't 'heard', or answered in the way they had planned?

While I am grateful for a loving Father in Heaven who cares about our eternal well being, and love being able to develop a close personal relationship with Him as His daughter by constant prayer, would it be taking the name of the Lord in vain (as we close in the Name of Jesus Christ, thus using that prayer as He would) to pray about the minutae of life? Or should the sacred name be used for more important things? And if so, what are the more important things? I whole-heartedly know of the power of prayer and never in my life would I consider not including my Savior and Father in my everyday life, that is not my point, my faith in prayer is not floundering, so please do not misunderstand my intentions.

We are told in the scriptures that a servant who has to be guided in all things is a slothful and unprophitable servant. So how much are we required to figure out on our own, and how much are we to depend upon miracles? The purpose of this life is to figure out how to return to live with Him some day, and gratefully, we have the Holy Ghost to help us in this endeavor, but if we were constantly guided we would never have to learn for ourselves, and thus never truly progress, or have to exercise faith, and faith is ultimate strength, we would never become strong.

I guess most of my struggle lies in finding the appropriate balance of reverence and love for our Heavenly Father (praying over the 'important things') with finding the more intimate relationship as a daughter would have with her father (praying over the 'minutae'). Since my basis for understanding of the relationship between parent and child is founded in an earthly relationship, and thus not a perfect one.

There you have it: a buffet of my thoughts this morning.

Lemony Potatoes

1/8 cup canola oil
1/4 cup butter, melted
juice and zest of 1 good-sized lemon
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon dried dill weed
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
5 baking potatoes, peeled and cubed (or 8 to 10 red potatoes, not peeled, just washed and cubed)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
In a large bowl, stir together the canola oil, melted butter, lemon juice and zest, garlic, dill, salt and pepper. Add potatoes and toss to coat. Spread the potatoes out on a baking sheet and drizzle any remaining liquid from the bowl over them.
Bake in the preheated oven until potatoes are brown and crispy, about 45 minutes, stirring 1/2 way through cook time.

Really Good Ribs

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Use dry rub of choice, rub over approx 5 lbs of pork spare ribs.
Cook ribs in preheated oven 15 minutes, turn and cook an additional 15 minutes. Remove from oven, transfer to a slow cooker (I had to cut the rack in half to get it to fit), dump 1 whole bottle of your favorite bbq sauce over ribs. Cook on low 4 1/2 hours.
Remove from slow cooker and grill over medium heat about 6 mins. on each side, just to crisp the outside, basting with bbq sauce.

Yum-yum!

31 Years of Wisdom

Things I've learned in 31 years, some of it is serious, some not so:

1. If your brown sugar has hardened: grate it over a cheese grater.
2. An Austrian toilet bowl looks different than an American one.
3. Always accept an offered piece of gum/breath mint, etc. It may be the offerer's polite way of suggesting that you could use fresher breath.
4. Never ask a question that you don't want the honest answer too. And if you get an honest answer don't be offended by it.
5. Graham crackers dipped in orange juice = goodness.
6. Sink overflowing with dish detergent bubbles? Someone put liquid dish soap (not dishwasher detergent) in the dishwasher, and now it's a bubblin'? Sprinle said offending bubbles with table salt, it breaks up the bubbles, makes clean up much easier.
7. When choosing a pineapple do the top and bottom test: smell the bottom part, if it smells like a pineapple, that's a good sign. Pull out one of the top center fronds: if it gives way easily, another good sign. It will 99% of the time be delicious if these two tests are administered and passed.
8. Loving others is the easy part. It's liking that takes some practice.
9. The reason to have a clothes line outside: to keep electricity costs down. Arizona has ideal weather for this.
10. How to change a tire (picture me, pregnant, Ethan in the car, on I-5 between LA and Sacramento, about 95 degrees outside).
11. Friends keep in contact if they really care about you, that's why they're friends.
12. Naps are good.
13. It's easier to do chores right away rather than put them off: it really doesn't take that long, and the time you spend procratinating isn't worth the stress.
14. If you're not sure wether something is a prompting of the Holy Ghost, and the impression is not something that goes contrary to Gospel standards, follow the impression: all things good come from the Lord.
15. I can live without cable TV.
16. Cheese tastes best at room temperature. Austrian cheese is just plain terrible.
17. Driving off a cliff (even if it is only 3 feet tall), in a friend of a friend's mom's car that she bought for $300 is not a good idea.
18. Pull-up diapers are a big waste of money.
19. Fort Putnam is never open.
20. Boys who really want to kiss you will let you paint their fingernails green.
21. New Years Eve on Time Square is really cold!
22. How to say the alphabet backwards.
23. Noxema feels really good on a sunburn, but it also makes the sunburn worse after the cooling sensation disipates.
24. The reason why mom swore every year that she would not make anymore Halloween costumes, and then every year why she did it again anyway (I also learned most swear words from said lesson, as has Ethan).
25. How to train seeing eye dogs.
26. How to use the Paris Metro.
27. Sneaking a peek at your Christmas presents before Christmas morning, just makes Christmas morning anti-climactic.
28. Induction-heat cook tops are ultra rad!
29. The joy of coupons.
30. Storing onions next to potatoes makes the potatoes sprout eyes faster.
31. My faith is not dependant upon miracles. I've seen more miracles than I could think to share, I've also been blessed by not having several miracles given to me that I'd begged for. I still know that God lives, regardless.

It took me a really long time to come up with these tidbits of information. Perhaps someone will benefit from my somewhat miniscule amount of wisdom.

Patience

I have been striving for a really long time to develop this elusive trait.

Just this week I received a few epiphanies on the subject, thanks to an amazing prophet, whose name is so long that Moroni abbreviated it to: the brother of Jared.

In the book of Ether while the people of Jared are preparing to come to the promised land they first prepared by gathering their flocks and herds, and their families, and their friends families. Although Moroni doesn't say as much, (he didn't have many plates to work with, he had to create the Reader's Digest version if you will) this must have taken them a long time to accomplish! Only after they had worked does the Lord tell them of the promised land and promises that 'there will I bless thee and thy seed, and raise up unto me of thy seed, and of the seed of thy brother, and they who shall go with thee, a great nation. And there shall be none greater than the nation which I will raise up unto me of thy seed, upon all the face of the earth. AND THUS WILL I DO UNTO THEE BECAUSE THIS LONG TIME YE HAVE CRIED UNTO ME.' They traveled in the wilderness, being led by the Lord, which again, must have taken a long time. They came to the sea and they were in the land Moriancumer for 4 YEARS. Only then did the Lord instruct the brother of Jared to 'Go to work...' that's when he gave him the instructions on how to build the barges that would take them on their journey to the promised land. I'm not a woodworker by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm sure that building 8 barges that are the length of a tree is not a speedy task. After building the barges, the brother of Jared approached the Lord for answers to his problems, and each time, the Lord first made him prepare before receiving an answer to his pleas. Additionally, when the brother of Jared approached the Lord for assistance, he was specific to the things that he needed. When the Lord asked him: 'Therefore what will ye that I should prepare for you that ye may have light when ye are swallowed up in the depths of the sea?', the brother of Jared didn't expect Him to just somehow magically make things all better. He thought it out, worked, and presented the Lord with a way to solve his problem.

We learn in the Doctine and Covenants: For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward.

All this time I've been praying for patience -- a rather broad term-- just expecting the Lord to hand it over. Is something worth having if it's not earned? At this point I'm telling myself 'No'.
So while I work towards this virtue, I can pray for specific assistance, and will receive the Holy Ghost to help me, but the actual retention of patience will only come by hard work, lots of practice, and of course, more faith, and dreadedly -- time.

Got this from Jackie's blog

I liked this:

Here are the directions:
1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

Jumble

Need to feel like your life is great: just watch the TV show Cops. I am in awe of the way some people live their lives. I can't imagine having that much drama!

On one of my hibiscus plants, that I've been trying to nurse back to health after the freeze in the winter, has these mysterious white mites on them that look like they are covered in white powder (they're not aphyds, too big). If any of you are a gardener, or knows much about bugs, how can I get rid of these? I've been just flicking them off, but they keep coming back, and I'm thinking that they're not great for the poor little thing.

After 3 years of living in our house I've finally painted my bedroom. E is enjoying the week with his grandparents in CA, and I had one of the girls in the ward come over and watch M while I painted. We also moved the furniture around and realized that our room is a lot bigger than we thought it was.

I'm just this side of being a hoarder. I've built up a rather large stockpile of food storage, my deep-freezer is packed full and my pantry is just about there. Now I just need to bring myself to actually use it. I'm one of those people that when I buy something nice I hate to use it. But it's silly to not use it after I've paid the money for it in the first place. For instance, sometimes I buy yummy jelly at craft shows, and then never actually use it on say, a PB & J sandwich, I like to save it for when I make homemade biscuits or rolls (which is rare), so what's the point of buying it in the first place? Hmmm, how to get over this?

We got rid of our cable TV about 6 weeks ago, and I have to say I don't miss it at all! I'm actually pretty surprised by that. I thought I would be much more bored than I am. It's actually very refreshing, my house is a lot quieter than it was previously.

Things I Love About AZ

See, there ARE beautiful things in the desert:


The photography is not the greatest.

These are all in my yard. The first one: an Hibiscus. I LOVE orange Hibiscus. The second one, I have no idea what it is called, but we just planted this tree, and it has these wonderful yellow bell flowers on it (it's not the yellow bells bush, it will be a full sized tree one day...) and the third, again, I don't know the name, but I love looking out my kitchen window and seeing these beauties.

What are the pretty things in your yard?

Sharing-Shmaring

My mom used to sing a song that said:

"Oh how I hate to get up in the morning! Oh, how I'd love to remain in bed! Someday I'm going to murder that bugler. Someday they're going to find him dead."

She would wake up so cranky that on Sunday's if she said she was going to take a nap, we would beg her not to do it, for our own sakes.

This gene has been passed on to me.

Sleep is sacred, I take it very seriously, and I simply can not to relate to others who don't.

M is 13 1/2 months old and has been sleeping quite nicely in our closet. It is pitch black, and the clothing on the racks muffles the outside noise.

After our big trip I decided it was as good a time as any to move him in to E's room, as they will have to share growing up [we do have another bedroom, but I enjoy having a guest room (read: I'm a glutten for punishment)]. So we moved the crib.

I knew it would an adjustment, so E slept in the extra bedroom until the transition time is done. Monday morning I hear the sounds of playing and see this:

{Note: the little light indicating PM is not lit up}

Apparently, with all the toys being in E's room 5:53 AM is a perfectly reasonble time to greet the day. I did not embrace this fact with even a measure of glee.

Somehow, E ended up back in his room in the middle of the night, and they must have pow-wowed to ensure that I knew the joy that is pre-dawn rising.

So 6:30 AM saw me hanging black trashbags over the glass on their window (along with the blinds and curtains, it is pretty dark in there now).

Tuesday morning fared a wee bit better: 6:15 AM

Today: 7:05 AM

I know that for some of you these hours are par for the course, and from you I will probably receive little sympathy. But in my family 5:53 AM is only for activities such as the AUTOMATIC sprinklers going off so that the grass gets watered before it's too hot. Those digits were just not meant for human viewing.

Query: Would it be totally unreasonable for a 13-year old to be sleeping in his parents closet?

Update

Just to catch up:
On June 6th we headed out to California, to my in-laws house to spend a few days with them. There was a big gun show that A, my brother-in-law, my father-in-law, and E went to. They got to spend some time drooling over armaments that we will never be able to afford. They had a catch and release fishing pond there and E caught a cat fish, but was too freaked out by it to get picture.
My mother-in-law and I went down to Huntington Beach Pier and walked around, M loves being outside.
A flew home on Sunday night. He lost his wallet at the airport (luckily he'd taken his Driver's License out of it so he was able to get on the plane). So I called around and cancelled all of his credit cards. While I was on the phone with the last company, the airport police called to say they'd found it. When my father-in-law went to pick it up, it had everything in it safe and sound, even the cash that was in there.
On Monday morning the boys and I drove up to my dad's in Carson City, NV: no small feat to drive 10 hours with two little boys and one adult, I did stop three times to let them run around a little bit each time. I hadn't been there since November of 2006, the weather was perfect and it was so fun to visit with my sister and brother, it was the first time my brother met M. There is a part of me that would love to like living in Carson City, I just can't bring myself to do it.
I also got to visit with one of my favorite people in the world, Becky. She is the friend that no matter how long it's been since you've seen each other you just pick right back up where you left off. She is a delight, and her daughter is a gem.
On Thursday I packed the boys back up in the car (thank goodness for a portable DVD player and a bag of Dum-Dum suckers) and drove back down to my in-laws to spend a few days before coming home. I was planning to come home on Saturday to make it home for Father's Day, but I got the 24-hour bug and was up all night, so I took advantage of being with grandparents and let them take my kids for the morning while I laid around and relaxed.
We came home on Sunday and have been trying to catch back up with real life.
It was really nice to get out of the heat, to see the people I love. And I was totally shocked by how good the boys were in the car, E helped take care of M, and the amount of screaming was minimal, I dare say it was a pleasant experience.

M

He is pretty quick, this guy. I gave the boys each a bowl of Lucky Charms as a snack (I don't normally have sugar cereals, but it was so cheap!) I went in to take a shower, came back out, M had eaten all of the marshmallows and conveniently avoided the nominally healthy cereal part. If he accidently got one of the offenders in his mouth, he promptly spit it back out, and searched for a tastier morsel.

And a Microphone? -- E's Funny

Beck fans out there, this one is for you:

Yesterday in the car:

E: "I wish I had a turn table because I'm good at that."

Done

Have you ever been 'Done'?
Well today I am.
For too long I have been entertaining self-destructive, counter productive thoughts and feelings of inadequacy and unimportance. I would look at others around me and be mad at myself for not being as good as them. I would read other blogs that really are uplifting and meant to edify and just feel like I have fallen so short of my potential.
I have had a lot of very personal insights in the last few days regarding my worth to my Heavenly Parents and I have decided to be done coasting spiritually. I am who I am and I am not expected to be more, I'm just expected to be the best me that I can and not worry about how I measure to others, because there is no such measuring stick. I know that this may seem like a duh thing to most people. But for some reason I am just now learning. It probably won't be the last time in my life that I have to come to that conclusion, but for now, the lesson is still fresh.
When I think of coasting in a car I realize that the car has no acceleration and eventually it will stop. That is not going to be me.
Jesus Christ is my Savior. Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. Prayer works. And that is the reality of my faith.
I'm also done feeling like I am not of worth to people around me.
I don't have a lot of close friends in the Phoenix area but I do have a lot of friends, so I'm going to be okay with that. While I struggle with maintaing casual relationships one of my talents is being a very good close friend [it seems like those two would cancel each other out, but just ask those who are my closest friends, most of them didn't like me very much (read 'at all') in the beginning]. I thrive on strong friendships but the right one has not come a long yet, and that is just the nature of my season in life right now.
I have also felt that I have been poorly judged by some around me as a mean mother to E. The fact of the matter is that Heavnly Father sent him to me because I would be the best mother for him, and while I am not perfect at it I try everyday to do the things that will give him the tools to return to our Father in Heaven. I love him, he loves me. He is happy, smart, friendly, caring, polite, kind hearted, adventurous, the list goes on. We have a happy home, and he is not mistreated, so I am done caring what others might think of my relationship with him because we have a good one.
I am valued by my Savior, my husband, my parents, my children, my siblings, the Wolf Pack, My Fishbien (Hardt), and now myself.
I am officially -- Done!

What Would You Do?

WARNING! I USE THE PROPER TERM FOR THE MALE REPRODUCTIVE ORGAN IN THIS POST, IF THE USE OF THAT WORD OFFENDS YOU, SKIP THIS POST.

We have been teaching E that it is not appropriate for anyone to touch his penis. And if they do he is to yell, 'No!', and run to tell mommy and daddy. That we will never be mad at him if they do.
Here's where the problem lies:
When he and M are taking a bath together M will, occasionally, brush up against the general area of the groin (and sometimes actually accidentally touch his penis). And E, dutifully, yells, "No! Mommy, M touched my penis!" This happens, inevitably, at least once per bath time (so we're talking at least 5 times per week). I used to tell M that he's not allowed to do that, but then it would happen again and again and again. Now I just try to explain to E that M doesn't understand and that he can't help it, he's just a baby.
I'm afraid that E will get the idea that if this were to happen in a real situation where it was an actual threat that it wouldn't be taken seriously and that it would be pointless to come and tell me or A.
How would you handle this situation? They love bathing together so it's not really an option to not have them together, that's just mean. It appears that this is just my fate, to be constantly tell a 1-year-old not to touch his brother's penis.
Any thoughts?

European Vacation

M's Birthday!

Well, I'm a few days late with this post.

M turned 1 year old on Monday! Happy Birthday to my baby!

I can't believe it's already been that long.

We had a little party on Saturday night with a few friends over, we had dinner and of course gave M his own cake. He was not at all interested in that. He took a few licks of icing then dumped the rest off of his tray onto the floor!

Some accomplishments at this point:

He's a complete walker

He's got six teeth (4 on top, 2 on bottom)

He l-o-v-e-s balls, chips, being outside, dancing, anything with buttons, A's punching bag, taking walks in the stroller, 'helping' empty the dishwasher's silverware basket, his brother, playing the piano, and lots of other things I can't think of off the top of my head.

I am blessed to have this little man in my life, he's a joy!

I Am Grateful For E

I have felt very strongly that I need to post how grateful I am for E.
We had friends visiting on Sunday and she commented to me 'Is E always that obedient?', the answer is yes, he is always that obedient. He's a good boy.
Last night at dinner he said, 'Mom, you're great'. A asked him, 'Why is mommy so great?' E said, 'Because that's how Heavenly Father made her'. A few seconds later he said, 'He made you great, and me to be with you.'
Another one of E's good characteristics is he's very honest. Even if he knows he's going to get in trouble he tells the truth.
He loves to learn.
He loves to read the scriptures, after we're done with our family scripture reading at night he asks, 'Okay, so what did Nephi say?'
He's very creative. On Sunday he'd gotten into trouble and thus was not allowed to watch any movies. All day he was thinking of ways to get around this predicament. He would say, 'Well, daddy can watch a movie today, he's not in trouble.'
He's very enthusiastic. If he knows that something exciting (or just moderately so) is imminent, he will say cheers, jump up and down, etc.
He wants to be the best at everything.
He loves to 'be the expert' at things. Yesterday he was helping me make a cake. He was the expert at turning the standmixer on, and I was the expert at telling him when to turn the standmixer on.
He has an amazing memory.
He's very caring. One day M was making me crazy. I said, 'M, I just can't handle you right now' and walked away. (He was crying about something, I'm not sure what.) E jumped up and said, 'I can handle it!', got M's pacifier and stuck it in his mouth.
He has a very tender heart. We watched the movie, "Charlotte's Web", (the live action one, not the cartoon), and he sobbed when the spider died.
He loves to help.
He is kind.
He's polite, he almost always remembers to say Thank You. Oftentimes after he's had an exceptionally fun day he'll say 'Daddy' (or Mommy), 'Thank you for taking me to...' (fill in the blank).
He loves to talk; most of the time I would label this under the things I could do with out. Today, however, I am choosing to recognize that this is a positive. He loves to interact with people and express his love for them. And this is also a way to satisfy his curiosity about the world around him. The day he received his blessing from A when he was about 3 weeks old, A told him that he is 'A curious, curious boy', words have never been more true about E.
He values friendships more than any other kid I've ever seen.
He is very healthy.
More than anything, E is a miracle. He blesses my life everyday. He loves me, his daddy, and his brother. If I were to post every one of E's incredible attributes this would be a post too long to bother reading.
He's a JOY.

10 More Days Until 1-Year Old!

M took his first 2 steps on Sunday and has been practicing this new mode of self-propulsion. Everyday he gets a little more daring and goes further distances. He still crawls most of the time, but loves to walk especially when he's chasing a toy.

Travel Log

So I'm just now starting to feel back to normal, still a few glitches in the system, but overall, much better.
Our trip was absolutely amazing, I could go on and on about all of the fantastic stuff that we did, I'll just hit the highlights to cover the bases and leave the funny-to-us-but-would-probably-not-be-quite-as-great-to-the-rest-0f-the-world out.
We flew on Thursday, March 20th in the morning from Phoenix with A, Me, my mother-in-law Sabene, my father-in-law Roger and my brother-in-law Matthew. We had a layover in Atlanta and arrived in London on the morning of Friday, March 21st. It was so pretty, I thought it was amazing how the daffodils seem to grow wild, they were just planted in random spots, on the side of the road, in the parks but not really in a flower bed. We got a taxi and A went to get in the passenger side -- oops, that would be the driver side, we really felt like Americans then. We stayed at a Marriot hotel in the Swiss Cottage neighborhood, which is really not near anything, but it was very close to the nearest tube station, so that made it very convenient for us. That day we went and road on the London Eye, it was really cool to be able to see so much of London from up there. We also saw Big Ben on the way there. We hadn't eaten anything really that day so we stopped in a pub for fish and chips. After that we went to Oxford to do some window shopping (the airlines lost my in-laws luggage, so they needed to pick up a few things to hold them over until their luggage got to the hotel). We went back to the hotel pretty early that night because we were all so exhausted from the flight.
The next morning we went to tour the Tower of London. A says this is one of his favorite things of the whole trip. It really was fascinating, everyone who had been to London told us this was something to see, and they were right. We could have spent hours and hours there.
That afternoon we went to see the play Les Miserables. I'd seen it a couple of times before, but none of A's family had, so it was a treat for all of us. The actors were amazing, and as always the play was excellently done. We went to Picadilly Circus to do some more window shopping.
A had seen that the brand of Rugby ball the the pro-teams used is called 'Gilbert' so he decided he wanted to get a Gilbert Rugby ball. We asked around and were given directions of how to find a Rugby store. Well, we ended up going on a wild goose chase to find this crazy thing, and never did end up getting one in London, but we did end up finding a pizza place in Soho, very chic.
Sunday morning we got up and took the tube to church. It was funny how many members of the ward were American. After that we went up to Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park to walk around for a few hours, we saw the Peter Pan statue. We also went to Speakers Corner, which was very interesting.
The next morning we got up and took the train under the English Channel via the 'Chunnel' to Paris. The city is so beautiful, with amazing architecture and history. I was so excited to finally be there. The weather was more agreeable that morning than it had been in London. We walked down the Champs Elysees to the Louvre and saw the Mona Lisa and a lot of other paintings that were HUGE! I couldn't fathom how the artists were able to paint things so big and keep everything in perspective. We then walked down the Seine River to the Eiffel Tower, we took that elevators up because it had started raining and was pretty windy by then. But the view was still unbeatable. We took a cab back to our hotel and walked to a brasserie that was down the street for dinner. We were staying on a street called Rue de Fabourg, St. Honore which I guess is similar to Rodeo Drive in LA, it was pretty up-scale shopping.
The next day the boys went to Disneyland Europe and Sabene and I went on a cooking/shopping tour. We had our own personal tour guide (Christine) who took us to an open air market where we looked at all kinds of yummy food and we bought a few little items. Paris has different open air markets in different locations everyday of the week except Monday, and I think possibly Sunday, but don't quote me on that one. After that she took us to the original Hermes store. We saw some beautiful, but very expensive handbags, scarves, designer clothing. It was amazing. After that she took us to a cooking school. Our personal chef was named Dominque. We made an avocado mousse with smoked salmon, arborio rice with chicken, tomatoes and scallions, and for dessert marscapone cheese with dried cranberries, fresh bananas and apples. It sounds like really simple food, but it was really good. After we ate our lunch we went up Montmartre to do some more shopping. Christine took us to this wonderful fabric store, it had 6 floors, and as you went up a level the quality of the fabric became better and better. We saw some really beautiful material, we were in hog heaven. I saw the most beautiful fabric I've ever seen in my life. It cost a mere 70 euros per meter (keep in mind that there are about .60 dollars per every euro right now), needless to say, I didn't get any of that fabric, but it really was beautiful. After that she took us up the the church called Sacre Coeur. It was amazing pretty, it sits up on a hill and over looks all of Paris, it was fabulous. After that she took us back to our hotel for the evening. It was one of my favorite days of the trip.
The next day we took a bus tour to the Palace at Versailles. I'd always dreamed of going there and it was really fun to see it in real life. It is enormous! To go in a tour the Kings and Queens apartments and Hall of Mirrors was really fun. The rest of the day was spent doing a little shopping, and resting. A finally found his Gilbert Rugby ball. Sabene and I walked up to the L'Arc de Triomphe, which was surprisingly close to our hotel and we hadn't known it.
That night we took the sleeper car night train to Berlin. It was really fun to do that and to wake up to that beautiful country. It was really refreshing to be in Berlin. It's not as much of a tourist town as London and Paris so there were fewer people on the street, but it was still a big metropolitan city that had plenty to do. We went to the famous Berlin Zoo. Which was great because the animal enclosures don't really have big fences, there are just these big pits that separate you from the animals, so it looks like you are on the same level as them. That afternoon Roger took a much needed nap after all the walking that we had made him do and the rest of us went to do laundry, not terribly exciting but a necessity.
The next day we went to Checkpoint Charlie, The Brandenburger Tor which is similar to but smaller than L'Arc de Triomphe (I thought is was cooler than it though because it seemed more accessible than the later), and the Holocaust-Mahnmal which is 2711 cement blocks that honor the Jews that were killed during the Holocaust, it was pretty modern-arty, but I found it moving.
That afternoon we took the train down to Stuttgart, then rented a car and drove to Elwangen, a very small town where Matthew lived for part of the time he was on his mission. We stayed with a local family there. It was really fun to be with real people and feel how they lived. The dad was really funny. He is Croatian so he speaks Croatian, German and enough English to talk to us. He loves the US and anything that has to do with cowboys! It was pretty funny. They made us breakfast on Saturday morning then we went over to a little town (I don't remember the name of the town) where they have a lot of outlet stores that we went shopping in. It was really charming to see this quaint little place. It was also beautiful to have a rental car to see Germany that way. It is a beautiful country.
The next day we went to church at the branch in Elwangen. The services were all in German, but the people were very friendly, most spoke English and talked to us and really welcomed us.
After Sacrament meeting we took the train into Salzburg, Austria.
I found the reason I went to Europe in Austria. What an amazingly beautiful country! It was so green, there were mountains, meadows, trees, lakes. Truly a thing for pictures. Salzburg is basically a tourist town. It is the town where Mozart was born, it has the oldest documented restaurant in Europe, it is where the Sound of Music took place, amazing old town center, beautiful church, a massive fortress set on top of a huge rock, a gorgeous river in the middle. Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful. I could go on and on about how much I love Salzburg! If I had to choose just one of our destinations to go back to it would hands down be Salzburg.
On Monday we walked around old-town Salzburg, saw a beautiful Dome Cathedral, lots of quaint little shops, I fell in love (if you can't tell). That night we went to a dinner show where there were musicians who played Mozarts music, and there were singers to perform a few parts of his famous operas.
On Tuesday we went on a bus tour that took us to all of the different Sound of Music sights, they gave us lots of Sound of Music movie trivia (I could probably tell you lots of things now that you probably didn't really want to know). But it was fun to see the different places they used and remember the scenes that they were in. They also drove us up into what is called the Lakes Region to see some amazing homes and lakes. It was very fun. That afternoon we walked up to the fortress to have a look around.
The next morning we took it pretty easy until the early afternoon when we got on yet another train to go to Munich.
We didn't do any touring in Munich as the hotel we were staying in was near the airport, which is not located near anything else, really, in Munich. But it was fine because we were all so tired and really ready to come home.
Thursday we caught our flight that again had a lay over in Atlanta and then we came home.
I was so excited to see my two boys! I missed them so much but they were taken really good care of by my fabulous sister-in-law and my brother. E had a ton of fun with his cousins and M was his same old happy self. He grew two teeth while I was gone, but I can assure you I'm not sad to have missed that teething.
It was an amazing once in a lifetime trip. I am so glad that I did it. It was very fast paced, and packed with fun. I think if I did it over again I would only make minor changes that I won't bore you with now. I hope I didn't gloss over everything too much for you, but I think this post is just about as long as it ought to be.
There are a few final things I'm going to say.
French bread is so incredible. After we got back I ate some perfectly palatable bread from a local market, and it made me think: 'You've been a great contestant, thanks for playing, but better luck next time'. I don't think I'll every look at 'artisan' bread quite the same. There is absolutely no comparison.
European chocolate really is superior to American, don't know why, it just is.
Doner. If any of you have ever been to Germany, you will know what this means. I think Adam found his long lost best friend in this deliciously wonderful food. It's pronounced durner. Basically they take this huge piece of either beef or turkey, roast it on a spit. Then they take this shaver thing, cut thin strips off, put it with some lettuce (which they call salad), tomato, onion, cucumbers, peperoncini, feta cheese, and a yogurtish sauce on a sort of pita bread thing. Yikes! It's scrumptious! I don't know if A is going to be able to live his life in quite the same manner now that he has had Doner.
Also, the ice cream is so much better than ours. I don't know why, it just is g-o-o-d.
I have a new appreciation for being allowed to use a public toilet without having to pay for it.

I'm back

Well, I know some of you are waiting with baited breath to hear about my European adventure. I'm sorry to disappoint, but I've had the flu and strep throat all weekend. I will post when I've got the energy, right now I'm pretty wiped, sorry!

Happiness

I found all of these clips hugely insightful (the ones listed under Happiness 101), please listen to them and give me your take on the ideas presented:

http://60minutes.yahoo.com/segment/140/happiness

Lessons Learned Through Teaching

Conversation with E last Friday morning. It was gray-skyed but not really showing any hopes of rain.
"Mom, I want it to rain."
"Well, you need to ask Heavenly Father to send us some rain."
(E goes inside to say a prayer for rain.)
"Mom, why isn't it raining yet?"
"I don't know."
"What is Heavenly Father doing up there?"
"I'm not sure, but sometimes we just have to be patient and wait for Heavenly Father to help us."

Later that afternoon it was pouring.
"Look mom! Heavenly Father heard my prayer, it's raining!"

Sometimes I learn more by listening to E's example than by trying to figure out life on my own.

Great book, M, E's funny

I just finished reading the book, 'Still Life with Rice', by Helie Lee. This is not a book I normally would have chosen for myself, but my aunt recommended it. It turns out I really loved it. I'm a bit of a boo-hoo-er, so it was a tear jerker to me. But sometimes that can be hugely therapuetic. It also really helped me appreciate so much in my life, my husband, my kids, food, shelter, safety, the United States, just to name a few.

M was sitting behind E when he was reading a book, E tossed it over the shouler, and my poor angels face caught it...


Please ignore the messiness, I probably should have at least changed his shirt before I took this picture, but I figure it just adds to the patheticness of it all.

And finally, E's most recent funny:
While we were at my in-laws house, my father-in-law was teasing me about something, and he said, "Parlez-vous Francais?" To which Ethan responded, "Stop calling my mommy names!" What a good son I have, rushing to my defense, he's a keeper!

And the Answer is...

Prince John from Robin Hood.
Shellie, I owe you an ice-cream. When would you like a date?

Quote

I will buy a Coldstone Ice Cream for any of you who can identify the Disney villian who said this:
"Taxes! Beautiful, Lovely: Taxes!"
Why this silliness? We did our taxes over the weekend and are getting a return large enough to pay for our trip to Europe! Hooray!
For you avid bloggers out there, I've decided to cut back on my blogging habbit. I will probably only be posting once a week, and then only if there is something really worth posting.
I've decided that much of my frustration with life and my children is a direct result of my poor prioritization. I'm going to focus more on the things have eternal consequences.
But don't worry, I'll still be checking in occasionally.

Well Worth Reading

My uncle sent this to me. It was a BYU devotional that President Hinckley gave in September 2007. I can hear in my mind him saying these words. Well worth the read...

TRUE TO THE FAITH
By President Gordon B. Hinckley
The principles outlined in the 13th article of faith should serve as a pattern for our lives.
What a unique institution this is. Coupled with its associates in Hawaii and Idaho, it is a leader both academically and spiritually. How fortunate you are in the opportunity to attend here. Many others wish to come here but are unable to do so.The magnificent physical plant, together with a great faculty, makes it an academic jewel. But the end product of all of this, of course, is you—you thousands of aspiring young scholars.I agree that it is a grinding experience to earn a degree here. But the result is something of which you can be extremely proud.The by-product of your academic achievement will be a bundle of ethical, moral, and spiritual values. These are summarized in our 13th article of faith: “We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men” (A of F 1:13).This is a short and simple statement, but its implications are enormous.
WE BELIEVE IN BEING HONEST
We cannot cheat. We cannot do anything of a dishonest nature. We make a pledge with ourselves to be scrupulously honest in all that we do. This is not always easy.In matters of honesty, there are no shortcuts—no little white lies or big black lies. There is only the simple, honest truth spoken in total candor. And I think there is nothing more honest than good, hard work.I was recently introduced to Ed Viesturs. Ed has climbed Mount Everest six times and has reached the summits of the world’s highest mountains without the use of supplemental oxygen. When asked how he did it, he said, “It is just hard, hard work.” To accomplish his feat, Ed actually had to climb one mountain twice. The first time, he was forced to turn back just a short distance from the top and did not feel that he could honestly claim the summit.An article in a recent issue of Fortune magazine indicated that wewill achieve greatness only through an enormous amount of hard work over many years. . . . The good news is that [our] lack of a natural gift is irrelevant—talent has little or nothing to do with greatness. . . .. . . Nobody is great without work. [Geoffrey Colvin, “What It Takes to Be Great,” Fortune, vol. 154, no. 9 (Oct. 30, 2006), p. 88]Years ago there was a merchandising institution that carried as its motto “Honesty is the best policy.” In recent years we have seen a veritable parade of business executives who have broken this trust with their dishonest acts and have been sent to prison.
WE BELIEVE IN BEING TRUE
This is different than honesty. It means that we stand tall, look the world straight in the eye, and march forward. It means that we are true to the faith of our fathers. In the words of Evan Stephens:Shall the youth of Zion falterIn defending truth and right?While the enemy assaileth,Shall we shrink or shun the fight? No!True to the faith that our parents have cherished,True to the truth for which martyrs have perished,To God’s command,Soul, heart, and hand,Faithful and true we will ever stand.[“True to the Faith,” Hymns, 1985, no. 254]I have mentioned before the experience of my youth when my brother and I would sleep outside during the summertime. We would lie down in the bed of a big farm wagon and gaze into the heavens. The whole sky seemed to move—all but the North Star, which remained in its permanent and predictable place.It was a thing of stability in a world of shifting values. It became an expression of a desire to pattern one’s life after the Polar Star, this astronomical wonder, to be true and dependable—true to God, true to self, and true to fellowman.William Shakespeare said: “To thine own self be true, / And it must follow, as the night the day, / Thou canst not then be false to any man” (Hamlet, act 1, scene 3, lines 78–80).
WE BELIEVE IN BEING CHASTE
I observed a very interesting thing the other day. In Salt Lake City, early on a Saturday morning, the Key Bank Building was brought down with a series of well-placed detonations. It all happened in three or four seconds, with a great cloud of dust that rolled to the northwest. The process is called an implosion, in contrast with an explosion.The building was constructed nearly 30 years ago. I suppose construction extended over a period of at least a year, maybe two. Now it was gone in seconds.That, my friends, is the story of so many lives. We nurture them ever so carefully over a period of years. Then we find ourselves in highly charged circumstances. Mistakes are made. Chastity is compromised. There is an implosion, and a ball of dust is all that is left.I was reminded of this when I recalled a young man and a young woman who came to my office. He was a handsome boy and she was a beautiful girl. They were university students. Their future looked bright and beautiful. But they gave in to temptation. Now they were going to have a baby. Their dreams of the future literally collapsed. They would be married. He would work at a low-paying job with the meager skills that he had.Tears filled their eyes as they talked with me. But there was no escape from the reality that faced them. Their lives had suffered an implosion, and a tower of dreams had come tumbling down.Do not let this happen to you. Do not sell yourself short by compromising your commitment to morality. You are, each one of you, children of a divine Father in Heaven. You were created after His design in the image of your Creator. Your body is sacred. It is the temple of your spirit. Do not defile it with sin.Now, hearkening back to the illustration of the tower that collapsed, I remind you that in its place will be constructed a new and beautiful building. Similarly, those who have transgressed can turn to their Redeemer, our Savior Jesus Christ, and, through the power of His Atonement, be made clean and new again. The Lord has said, “Be faithful . . . ; succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees” (D&C 81:5).Understand that you are being chased. Satan is chasing after you, and you had better run as fast as ever you can.
WE BELIEVE IN BEING BENEVOLENT
What does this mean? It means that we are kind, thoughtful, reaching out to those in need at all times. The word literally means that we are doing good. The very word, derived from the Latin bene, denotes reaching out to those in distress and need and assisting them in any way possible.We believe in being benevolent as individuals. The Center on Wealth and Philanthropy has ranked Utah at or near the top in terms of charitable giving (Second Annual Survey by Boston College Center on Wealth and Philanthropy, Nov. 16, 2006).We believe in being benevolent as a church. Our humanitarian efforts reach across the earth—most of which are devoted to the assistance of those who are not members of the Church. Never forget that it is through the benevolent and faithful donations of tithe payers around the world that your education is subsidized at this university. How grateful we all should be, and how liberal in giving we should be according to our ability.
WE BELIEVE IN BEING VIRTUOUS
This may have nothing whatever to do with sexual morality; that is covered by the word chaste. Virtuous, in this case, I believe, means having strength—the strength to do whatever needs doing. Great virtue comes in doing well and consistently the everyday, often rather tedious tasks of life. Blaise Pascal said that “the strength of a man’s virtue should not be measured by his special exertions, but by his habitual acts” (Pensées [1670]).Your virtue will be attained through deliberate practice of those things that bring strength and purity to your life—such things as prayer; consistent study of the scriptures; timely payment of your financial obligations, especially an honest tithe; careful adherence to the law of health, which we call the Word of Wisdom; and faithful observance of all the commandments of God. These and other goodly practices performed on a habitual basis will yield great virtue.
WE BELIEVE IN DOING GOOD TO ALL MEN
This is no easy thing. It requires mercy, self-discipline, and determination. The Lord has told us that we must even reach out in forgiveness and love to those who despitefully use us. All men deserve our respect.A story is told of the Prophet Joseph Smith, who served as both a judge and the mayor of Nauvoo. He was confronted with the case of Anthony, a man of African descent and a former slave. Anthony was accused of a rather serious violation of the law. When Joseph confronted Anthony, he pleaded for mercy, indicating that he needed the money from his illicit activities to purchase the freedom of his child, who was still living in slavery. Joseph expressed his sympathy for Anthony’s plight but insisted that the law must be observed and that a fine would have to be imposed.The next day, in a sincere effort to do good to his fellow man, Joseph gave Anthony a fine horse that he could use to buy the child’s freedom.God is no respecter of persons. All are deserving of our consideration. Love and mercy must be the foundation principles of our relationships.Have you ever heard of Dr. Norman Borlaug? Relatively few have, although he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970. Recently, at the age of 93, he was given the Congressional Gold Medal.The Wall Street Journal recently carried an editorial on him, but I have not seen his name in any other publication. The Wall Street Journal pays him this remarkable compliment: “He has arguably saved more lives than anyone in history. Maybe one billion” (“Borlaug’s Revolution,” Wall Street Journal, July 17, 2007, A16).Think of that for a moment. Then unroll the scroll inscribed with the names of the great benefactors of mankind.Dr. Borlaug first came to notice when, in 1944, Mexico was in the throes of a famine. Stem rust, a fungus, was devastating the cropland. The doomsayers, of whom there are always many, predicted starvation.But Dr. Borlaug rolled up his sleeves and went to work. He developed a new strain of rust-resistant wheat. He worked on fertilizers and irrigation. A miracle happened. The harvest became so great that farmers began to market their wheat internationally.He then turned his attention to Pakistan and India. In China, the Philippines, and Indonesia he did for rice what he had done for wheat in Mexico. He is one of the great pioneer scientists of our time, largely unknown and unsung.I have never met him. I suppose I never will. The only things I know about him are what I have included here after reading the Wall Street Journal’s brief editorial. But with that meager knowledge, I salute him and honor him. The whole world is in his debt.Now, my brothers and sisters, there it is. I am now in my 98th year. I have been around a very long time. I have seen much of life, its triumphs and its failures. I am convinced that there are more triumphs than failures.The Prophet Joseph wrote a remarkable statement when he penned those few words that make up the 13th article of faith. As we ponder them, reflect on them, thoughtfully and carefully consider them, they will become guideposts of our lives. If we do so, we shall be better people. Life will be challenging but more interesting, and the blessings of the Lord will come upon us, for we shall be doing what He would have us do.

This article is adapted from a devotional address delivered in the Marriott Center on Sept. 18, 2007, by Gordon B. Hinckley, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.Send comments on this article to magazine@byu.edu.