home alone

John had to be an extra driver for a young mens camping trip tonight. He decided to take both the boys with him for the fun of it. It is 7:30 on a Friday night, I am home alone, the Mustang is in the driveway. Hmmmmmm. What to do???

humble pie

If you saw me this week than you know that I have been released from my calling in Gospel Doctrine and have been called as the Primary Chorister. I am less than happy about the change so I have been griping quite a bit. I have to apologize for that. Two nights ago I prayed that I could know that there was a reason for the change and that I could feel better about it. Last night I got my answer.
I went to enrichment last night and while I was complaining about the new calling one of our lovely sister missionaries said, "That is one of the most difficult callings in the church, but it is also one of the most important. You are teaching the kids gospel truths through music and those songs will stay with them their entire lives." I appreciated the sentiment but I wasn't molified. So on the way home I did what I always do when I am upset or frustrated. I called my mom. After commiserating with me for a little bit my mom said, "These kids need you to share your love of music with them. Not all of them will respond the way Sam and James do, but some of them will. The important thing is that you try to teach them to love music and love the primary songs." I hung up with my mom and actually felt a little bit better. Maybe this calling won't be as painful as I thought...
Then I talked to John. I explained my reasons for hating the calling (all selfish reasons, I assure you) and he called me on it. We got in an argument and while I was downstairs trying to fight the urge to strangle him, he was upstairs finding a way to help me feel better. He pulled out the Ensign from September 2007 and opened it up to Elder Bednar's talk, "Seek Learning By Faith."
It answered all of my questions and calmed all of my fears. One particular quote that helped said, "Learning by faith requires spiritual, mental, and physical exertion and not just passive reception. It is in the sincerity and consistency of our faith-inspired action that we indicate to our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, our willingness to learn and receive instruction from the Holy Ghost... The learning I am describing reaches far beyond mere cognitive comprehension and the retaining and recalling of information. The type of learning to which I am referring causes us to put off the natural man (Mosiah 3:19), to change our hearts (Mosiah 5:2), to be converted to the Lord, amd to never fall away (Alma 23:6)."
John won the argument and in the sweetest possible way. I am so lucky to have such a great husband and I am so thankful that Heavenly Father answers my prayers multiple times so that when I am too stubborn to acknowledge the answer the first two times he knocks me over the head with a third.

happy 1st day of spring!!!

In honor of the first day of spring the boys and I went to the Smith Memorial Playhouse with some friends from church and finished up the day with a free water ice from Rita's! Yum!

Happy first day of spring everyone!

counting my blessings

Saturday night as we collapsed, exhausted after a St. Patricks Day party, John looked at me and told me he loved me, how much he enjoyed spending time with me and how glad he was to have me back (meaning post depression not alien abduction back -- of course, one may argue that it amounts to the same thing). I don't talk a whole lot about John in my blog, mostly because I don't want to embarrass him. But today I realized embarrassment is good for the soul. So here goes.

Why I love my husband:

He is so kind and patient. While I was suffering through postpartum depression he comforted me and helped me through it. I was not a pleasant person for more than a year and although I am sure he may have wanted to kick me to the curb, he didn't.

• He is a great dad. He gets down on the floor and plays with the kids. He gives them his undivided attention and he takes the time to teach them new things. He acts like a goof just to see the boys smile. You can tell how much he loves our kids by everything that he does and says. He is definitely a proud papa!



• He works hard. He loves his job and spends a lot of time reading to keep his knowledge fresh. He is good with people, both his patients and his office staff and partner. He also works hard in his church calling. He dedicates so much time and effort into all of the organizations he supervises. I have been overwhelmed by how much he has grown in this calling and am a little sad (and also relieved) that he will (probably) be released soon.



• He is smarter than me... by a long shot! He always manages to keep me on my toes. It also makes me glad to know that I have him to rely on as my external brain. I seem to be losing brain cells as the days go by.

There are many other things that make my husband so wonderful and make me feel so blessed to be able to claim him, but I figure I have grossed everyone out at this point so I'll stop there... for now.

a la peanut butter sandwiches or how to feed a four year old

Help! For lunch and dinner Samuel only eats peanut butter sandwiches. I can't even remember how long this has been going on. It can't be healthy. Does anyone have any brilliant ideas of how to get a four year old to eat anything other than peanut butter?

my latest project

This is my latest project on top of keeping my house spotlessly clean so people can come and look at it.
I love making baby quilts! I had a couple of blankets that friends and family made when I was born that I cherished through my life. I had some blankets that friends and family gave to my boys when they were born. I enjoy watching them snuggle up with their blankies, feeling protected in the love that was spent in making them. I like to be able to give blankies so that my nieces and nephews and friends' kids can feel that same love and protection.
Of course, I don't have enough time and energy to make blankets for everyone I know who is having a baby (our ward is seriously a baby factory), but when I am able it is so much fun to do.
This blanket is intended for a friend who after years in the all boys club with me is finally having a girl!!! You can't really tell by the picture, but I tied it with little pink bows all over. So sweet!!

change

I understand the importance of change in our lives; for without change, we do not grow. But honestly, I am not a big fan. Our house is officially on the market and we are facing the reality of a lot of change and I am not sure that I am ready for it. I love our neighbors and our neighbor hood. I even love our house with all of its little quirks. Most especially, I love our ward. I am not ready to give up the wonderful people and the excitement and growth that comes along with a ward of mostly new members. I am going to be sad to say goodbye to our beautiful West African brothers and sisters and all of the dental student friends we have made who will also be moving away shortly.
Don't get me wrong, I am excited for the move (when it eventually happens, considering how slow the market is these days). I am excited for a new house and the challenge it takes to make it our own space. I am thrilled to move closer to John's work so we can get a little more time with him every day. Even a new ward with just one calling instead of three will be refreashing. I just hate that I have to leave part of my life behind in order to do all of this. I get so attached to the people around me that when we leave it feels like a part of me gets left behind with them. How many times can this happen until I don't have enough of me to keep together anymore?

smarty pants

The other day Samuel was telling John and I what he had learned in preschool. They had been studying some of the presidents because of the president's day holiday. He showed us a picture of George Washington and told us he was the first prophet, I mean, president. (His words, not mine.) Then he showed us a penny worksheet and told us that Abraham Lincoln was on the penny.
John said, "Did you know that he was the 15th president?"
Samuel looked at John and I swear he rolled his eyes as he said, "He was the sixteenth president, Dad."

Such a little smarty pants!!

tribute to Mr. Darcy

As much as I hate to admit this, I am a hopeless romantic - always have been, always will be. So it stands to reason that one of my favorite authors is Jane Austen.

Since January, Masterpiece Theater on PBS has been doing a tribute to Jane Austen by bringing all of her books to life. They have created new movies for each of the books except Pride and Prejudice (my favorite) for which they chose to show the incomparable A&E version with Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth. I have seen the Kiera Knightly film that came out in theaters a few years ago and while it was well done and I actually like some of the actors better in it than in the A&E film, no one can match Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. Heck, in my mind, he is Mr. Darcy. So for all of you doubters out there, one look should convince you. If it doesn't, give me a call and I will loan you my DVD set of the A&E Pride and Prejudice, after you've seen it you will agree, Colin Firth is the one and only Mr. Darcy.