This Thankful Thursday goes to the people who know how to "do things". I'm thankful for the technical people at work that know how to make my computer and email work right; for the people who know how to play instruments so well that they can teach my children to play; for the friends that are willing to come do electrical work in our basement; for my husband who builds shelves in our basement for storage; for my daughter who can teach me to use features on my cell phone I didn't know I had; for friends who have cooked yummy meals/treats and shared them with our family; for a painter that did a beautiful job on our high walls that we didn't have a ladder high enough to reach; and for a dad that can paint a beautiful picture that hangs on my wall.
So thanks to all who make my life better, easier & more beautiful!!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
Thankful Thursday...Friday :-)
Okay so I just realized it was Thursday yesterday...I'm off because of the holiday on Monday! :-) This one goes to my wonderful husband! I think I take for granted what a great guy he is and how lucky I got. For example, this guy cleans all our floors (wood & carpet) on a regular basis without being asked. I used to get annoyed when he would start cleaning them because I thought that was his way of showing me I didn't get to them fast enough. But then I realized (after a looooong time of being annoyed by it since he was "showing" me so regularly...) that he is cleaning the floors simply because they needed cleaning and not to "show" me anything. He just notices and cleans rather than notices and tells me they need cleaning! What a man! He is a hard worker, great dad, great husband and also a goofball that keeps life interesting. How lucky I am!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Insights into My Son
Nick's room has become increasingly more cluttered over the last few months to the point where I couldn't walk by and look at it one more time. :-) So we took advantage of the holiday from school Monday and set aside the morning to completely de-junkify his room. We started out with 2 large bags...one for garbage and one for D.I...as it turned out...we needed a few more bags for each. :-) But as we were going through every single item in his room I gained some new insights into my boy.
I already knew this at some level, but I gained overwhelming clarity of what a curious mind he has. As we went through the myriad of items from books on the human body, books on animals (ones that get into the science of why their bodies are the way they are and how they are built for survival), science experiment kits, bottles and other items he was saving to do experiments with, baggies of things he found to look at under his microscope (I won't go into any details here but some of it was disgusting...pure boy stuff :)), National Geographics given to him by my dad with pages marked on interesting facts about China, how animals minds work, how volcanoes erupt, books on survival and all his survival items he's bought with his own money, etc. (The only way I'd ever survive in the wilderness is to have him and his survival backpack with me!)
His love of music is very evident as well as his ipod and speakers are front and center on his night stand (playing loudly the whole time we're cleaning) and he has 2 guitars and 3 amps in his room of which he mainly plays 1 of the guitars using 1 amp but he refuses to let me put any of the other amps or guitar in the basement because they mean too much to him. :-)
I realized how much basketball means to him as he has both of his basketballs under his bed so they don't get ruined by the cold outside. He also has all of his trophies proudly displayed of his years on different basketball teams. He has a specific spot for his current teams jersey and the shorts he wears for the games each week.
But the thing I learned that softened my heart the most was the sentimental part. He has a small little treasure chest in his closet with everything he received on his baptism day to remind him of that day. (He still has everything from your talk Marci). But when I was holding back the tears is when he opened up a folder and showed me every note I've written him. He's saved every single one! That does a mom's heart good to see that of her 11 year old boy who is in the process of figuring out how to be independent and make this change from boy to young man.
So after 3 hours of de-cluttering, dusting, organizing, and vacuuming, his room was spotless, organized and inviting to be in again. It was worth every minute spent on it! Not only for the pleasantness of the room again, but for the insights gained! I highly recommend for every parent to spend a few hours in your childs room!
I already knew this at some level, but I gained overwhelming clarity of what a curious mind he has. As we went through the myriad of items from books on the human body, books on animals (ones that get into the science of why their bodies are the way they are and how they are built for survival), science experiment kits, bottles and other items he was saving to do experiments with, baggies of things he found to look at under his microscope (I won't go into any details here but some of it was disgusting...pure boy stuff :)), National Geographics given to him by my dad with pages marked on interesting facts about China, how animals minds work, how volcanoes erupt, books on survival and all his survival items he's bought with his own money, etc. (The only way I'd ever survive in the wilderness is to have him and his survival backpack with me!)
His love of music is very evident as well as his ipod and speakers are front and center on his night stand (playing loudly the whole time we're cleaning) and he has 2 guitars and 3 amps in his room of which he mainly plays 1 of the guitars using 1 amp but he refuses to let me put any of the other amps or guitar in the basement because they mean too much to him. :-)
I realized how much basketball means to him as he has both of his basketballs under his bed so they don't get ruined by the cold outside. He also has all of his trophies proudly displayed of his years on different basketball teams. He has a specific spot for his current teams jersey and the shorts he wears for the games each week.
But the thing I learned that softened my heart the most was the sentimental part. He has a small little treasure chest in his closet with everything he received on his baptism day to remind him of that day. (He still has everything from your talk Marci). But when I was holding back the tears is when he opened up a folder and showed me every note I've written him. He's saved every single one! That does a mom's heart good to see that of her 11 year old boy who is in the process of figuring out how to be independent and make this change from boy to young man.
So after 3 hours of de-cluttering, dusting, organizing, and vacuuming, his room was spotless, organized and inviting to be in again. It was worth every minute spent on it! Not only for the pleasantness of the room again, but for the insights gained! I highly recommend for every parent to spend a few hours in your childs room!
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Thankful Thursday
For this installment of "Thankful Thursday" I am thankful for funny movies! :-) How GREAT is a funny movie! Not that I've seen one YET this week but I am looking forward to Paul Blart...Mall Cop coming out on Friday and I'm hoping it is as funny as it looks! There is nothing better than to sit in a movie theater with a group of girl friends (if it's a chick flick) or your husband and laugh hysterically. On a girls trip last year one of the highlights of the trip was seeing Baby Mama and laughing till my stomach hurt at some of those scenes. Then continually quoting the movie throughout the rest of the trip and laughing just as hard. I wait in anticipation of the next funny movie that will make me laugh out loud....there's nothing better! :-)
Monday, January 12, 2009
Don't Wait...
This is one of those lessons we learn in life that anything you feel the need to do...do it now! My kids told me a couple months ago that they loved the crossing guard that is right out in front of the school. (There's another one that's down the street a little ways.) But the one in front of the school was especially great to them because she was extra nice and very friendly. She obviously made enough of an impression on them that they told me their feelings about her. At the time I didn't even know her name but I waved to her whenever I was at the school and thought a lot about her dependability because she has been there EVERY DAY since my kids started there...come rain, sun, sleet, or complete blizzard as we often have here in the winter. She was ALWAYS there. At Christmas time I thought I should get her a little bag of candy or some kind of gift from each of the kids to thank her for how great she was. But because I take my kids to school when it's yucky weather and I couldn't just "send something with the kids" for her, I never got around to making the extra effort to stop and give her something. I just admired her dedication silently from my car as I watched her helping the kids across the street.
Last Thursday I was stopped in line in front of her big red stop sign and I was regretting the fact I never made that effort and watching how she talked to just about every kid that came across that street and again thinking she was great. That night, she died. We don't know how yet but she was only 34 years old with 4 kids (2 of which go to my kids school) but it was obviously sudden and out of the blue leaving everyone stunned. So I am left to kick myself for never making the effort. So my advice is MAKE THE EFFORT...DON'T WAIT. You never know when it will be too late. I know her name now...it was Erica.
Okay so now on a lighter note...Nick informed me the other day he wishes his last name was Black so he is now signing all his emails he sends me...Nick Black. What the heck is that about??? :-)
Last Thursday I was stopped in line in front of her big red stop sign and I was regretting the fact I never made that effort and watching how she talked to just about every kid that came across that street and again thinking she was great. That night, she died. We don't know how yet but she was only 34 years old with 4 kids (2 of which go to my kids school) but it was obviously sudden and out of the blue leaving everyone stunned. So I am left to kick myself for never making the effort. So my advice is MAKE THE EFFORT...DON'T WAIT. You never know when it will be too late. I know her name now...it was Erica.
Okay so now on a lighter note...Nick informed me the other day he wishes his last name was Black so he is now signing all his emails he sends me...Nick Black. What the heck is that about??? :-)
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Thankful Thursday
I know it's technically Wednesday as I'm writing this but I'm assuming no one is going to read this till Thursday since it's so late. :-) I'm stealing this idea from my friend's daughters blog...every Thursday's blog will be dedicated to something I'm especially thankful for. This week it's all about great friends. I am so thankful for friends who add so much to my life. Friends I can laugh with, cry with, share frustrations with, eat with, shop with, play games with, golf with, take girls trips with, play racquetball with, work with, live in the same neighborhood with, be in the same family/extended family with, share holidays with, etc. I have been truly blessed to have such great friends...some I get to see more often than others...and others I have fond memories of the times we got to hang out more. I'm thankful for the times my friends have been there for me when I needed them and for the times they let me be there for them. I'm thankful for friends who are blunt enough to tell me how it is (or how to drive) :-) and for friends who tell me what I need to hear. :-) So, here's to you...my wonderful friends!!!
Monday, January 5, 2009
A Few Highlights from 2008
Thank you so much for the comments on the first post. How fun!!
Well as most of us do at the beginning of a New Year I've been reflecting back on the year that just ended. Since my old computer crashed in December and I had to buy a new one, I just downloaded all my pictures from last year onto this new computer. So I thought I'd share a few highlights from the year. These pictures were supposed to be in reverse order going from the beginning of the year to the end, but they didn't drop in that way and I don't know how to change them. :-)
Brian and I went on our first Caribbean Cruise this year. We went for our anniversary with 2 other couples and had a blast!! As I'm typing this it's a blizzard of snow outside my window and I'm REALLY wishing we were back on that beach! We are very grateful for grandparents who love our kids and helped us with them while we were gone!
Hailey had her first piano recital this year and it took every once of courage she could muster to participate in this. But she learned that feeling your heart beat out of your chest doesn't actually kill you. :-)
Nick turned 11 this last year and he had a Fear Factor birthday party...those are brownies with plastic bugs all over them for his cake for the party. Some of the challenges were a "goldfish transfer" where they had to transfer with their bare hands as many live goldfish they could from one bucket to another in 60 seconds; a fish tank full of plastics bugs and a thousand live crickets and they had to put their hand in and pull out as many plastic bugs as they could in 30 seconds, and other fun eating & gross challenges.
The kids and I tried to follow Brian's running example and we ran the 5k for Lehi City Days. Nick and I ran another 5k in Alpine a few weeks later...Hailey decided running wasn't her thing. :-)
Nick received his Arrow of Light Scouting Award.
Hailey turned 9 and she had a Survivor Themed birthday party. We divided up in two teams and had several eating and relay type challenges. The team that won got to extinguish the other teams torch at the end.
Brian ran his first full marathon this year (after several 1/2 marathons) and finished in 4:09. His goal was to finish in under 4 hours so even though he was happy to have finished, he's signed up for it again this year to try to reach his goal. Crazy man!!!
This is my favorite thing I received this year...even though I had to give it back. :-) Nick took his basketball trophy and drew the picture he taped to the top of it (supposed to be me) and wrote on the paper he taped to the bottom "Award for being the best mom." He left this on my nightstand for me to find when I went to bed. So sweet!!!
Brian's 1/2 marathon in Moab...we always look forward to spending the weekend in Moab every March...Brian runs then we spend the weekend hiking and hanging out. Unfortunately he didn't get drawn in the lottery to run this race this year so we're going to miss it for the 1st time in several years.
Bryson turned 15 last year...at this point we had about 1 year till he started driving...now we have about 2 months...AAAAWWWWWW
Our generous neighbors gave Brian and I 2nd row Jazz tickets and I was so caught up in taking pictures and listening to the coaches talk to the players I forgot to watch the game. :-)
We always go to the BYU football games and after the season we got to meet a lot of the players. Nick and Hailey are with Harvey Unga in this picture...one of our favorite players.
So, those are some of the highlights of 2008. I can't believe another year has passed. My mother was right when she said the older you get the faster the years go by!!!!!
Well as most of us do at the beginning of a New Year I've been reflecting back on the year that just ended. Since my old computer crashed in December and I had to buy a new one, I just downloaded all my pictures from last year onto this new computer. So I thought I'd share a few highlights from the year. These pictures were supposed to be in reverse order going from the beginning of the year to the end, but they didn't drop in that way and I don't know how to change them. :-)
Brian and I went on our first Caribbean Cruise this year. We went for our anniversary with 2 other couples and had a blast!! As I'm typing this it's a blizzard of snow outside my window and I'm REALLY wishing we were back on that beach! We are very grateful for grandparents who love our kids and helped us with them while we were gone!
Hailey had her first piano recital this year and it took every once of courage she could muster to participate in this. But she learned that feeling your heart beat out of your chest doesn't actually kill you. :-)
Nick turned 11 this last year and he had a Fear Factor birthday party...those are brownies with plastic bugs all over them for his cake for the party. Some of the challenges were a "goldfish transfer" where they had to transfer with their bare hands as many live goldfish they could from one bucket to another in 60 seconds; a fish tank full of plastics bugs and a thousand live crickets and they had to put their hand in and pull out as many plastic bugs as they could in 30 seconds, and other fun eating & gross challenges.
The kids and I tried to follow Brian's running example and we ran the 5k for Lehi City Days. Nick and I ran another 5k in Alpine a few weeks later...Hailey decided running wasn't her thing. :-)
Nick received his Arrow of Light Scouting Award.
Hailey turned 9 and she had a Survivor Themed birthday party. We divided up in two teams and had several eating and relay type challenges. The team that won got to extinguish the other teams torch at the end.
Brian ran his first full marathon this year (after several 1/2 marathons) and finished in 4:09. His goal was to finish in under 4 hours so even though he was happy to have finished, he's signed up for it again this year to try to reach his goal. Crazy man!!!
This is my favorite thing I received this year...even though I had to give it back. :-) Nick took his basketball trophy and drew the picture he taped to the top of it (supposed to be me) and wrote on the paper he taped to the bottom "Award for being the best mom." He left this on my nightstand for me to find when I went to bed. So sweet!!!
Brian's 1/2 marathon in Moab...we always look forward to spending the weekend in Moab every March...Brian runs then we spend the weekend hiking and hanging out. Unfortunately he didn't get drawn in the lottery to run this race this year so we're going to miss it for the 1st time in several years.
Bryson turned 15 last year...at this point we had about 1 year till he started driving...now we have about 2 months...AAAAWWWWWW
Our generous neighbors gave Brian and I 2nd row Jazz tickets and I was so caught up in taking pictures and listening to the coaches talk to the players I forgot to watch the game. :-)
We always go to the BYU football games and after the season we got to meet a lot of the players. Nick and Hailey are with Harvey Unga in this picture...one of our favorite players.So, those are some of the highlights of 2008. I can't believe another year has passed. My mother was right when she said the older you get the faster the years go by!!!!!
Sunday, January 4, 2009
We'll Give This A Try...
I've never really considered starting a blog because I wasn't sure what I had to share that would be any different from what everyone else is sharing. How interesting really is my life? But then the thought came to my mind that "it's okay to be ordinary". I've always heard that acts of "heroism" are ordinary people doing extra-ordinary things and even though I have yet to be a hero of any kind...other than maybe to my kids by getting them a Wii for Christmas...I am just fine being "ordinary". I have a wonderful husband and family that I love, I have the best friends anyone could ever ask for, I have a part-time job that I thoroughly enjoy and allows me to be home with my kids before and after school, and I am surrounded by great neighbors...what more can a person ask for? But even at that I have the normal ups and downs that we face in this life and therefore why not share with friends and family who can share my joy in the "ups" and lend support in the "downs" through my very own blog. :-)
We had a great Christmas and it was especially nice to have Bryson (my stepson) spend it with us. It's been a couple years since we've had him for Christmas so we were very happy about that.
We had a lot of fun taking pictures for our Christmas Card!
Temple Square with friends
Opening presents with cousins
New jammies and blankets for Christmas
We had a great Christmas and it was especially nice to have Bryson (my stepson) spend it with us. It's been a couple years since we've had him for Christmas so we were very happy about that.
We had a lot of fun taking pictures for our Christmas Card!
Temple Square with friends
Opening presents with cousins
New jammies and blankets for Christmas
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