Gingerbread Night 2008

The Silver Lining

The challenges and adversities I've faced in my life have taught me a very important lesson... that the Lord never gives us obstacles, without knowing we can handle them with His help or grow from them in the long run. It's taught me that in the midst of one of life's speed bumps to seek the silver lining. November has seemed to be one of those month's where there has been many reasons to reflect on that.

As mentioned in a previous entry, at the beginning of the month our car broke down. We thought it was the alternator which would require expensive repairs. The silver lining, it was the battery which was far less expensive to fix. Then my Nana and her stroke. A horrible and a humbling thing to happen. But there has been a silver lining. There has been an outpouring of love and concern on her behalf. And as you all know it gave me reason to go see her, which I will treasure always. All month it seems I've been fighting one sicky or another, leaving me feeling a little drained. The silver lining, is that the kids are happy and healthy as little horses. Sunday morning our basement and back yard started to flood. The plumber came out and tore up our yard. It was looking like it was going to be thousands of dollars to fix the problem and we were going to have to be without water for a few days. The silver lining, it ended up being able to be repaired for $800 instead of thousands and thousands and we were able to have water again by days end.

Even more of a silver lining, what better month for all of this to happen than the month of November. The month of Thanksgiving, the month of Gratitude. Our many blessings have been in the front of my mind as I've reflected on that. It has made seeking that silver lining so much easier when things threaten to throw our focus off track. We are blessed beyond measure. I know that as we gather together around the Thanksgiving table tomorrow, the challenges of the month will be forgotten. Because no matter what life tries to give or take away from us, we can always gather together and feel the warmth of the love between us and know that come what may, we will always have the very most important thing in this world...each other.

Eat Your Heart Out Dorothy

My brother is getting married next month and I needed an outfit. So with that as an excuse, I set out in search of sassiness and I found these...

Justin said they look like Dorothy shoes. (But he said that's not a bad thing, whatever that means?) She could only wish her shoes had been this cute. And you know what, Dorothy can't be the only one allowed to harness the sassiness of a pair of ruby red pumps!

Well, the mystery girl in the picture below is my cousin Jen. We have been told our whole lives how much we look alike. In fact when I was in Boise, my uncle walked right past me, before realizing it was me and said "Oh sorry honey! I thought you were my daughter!" So I was kind of surprised so many people didn't think we looked alike at all! Funny, huh?!

Let's Ask The Audience!

Just for fun...

Take the poll on the right.

How much do we look alike?

Multi-Taskin' Momma

I was running short on time this morning, but was starving. So I resorted to eating a bowl of cereal in the shower. I thought, 'Hey I can chew and wash my hair at the same time.' Sigh, I'm pathetic.

Husband Tag

-photo courtesy of Maryn-

5 things he Loves:
1. Little ol' me, of course!

2. His three, beautiful daughters.
3. An endless supply of good books.
4. Music...Paste, i-tunes, his i-pod, Pandora, they're all his favoritos!
5. Good food - can't say I blame him.

5 things on his To Do List:
1. Write, write, write.
2. Go to games, go to games, go to games... can you tell the basketball season has started?!
3. Take me to New York and get lost in the Met.
4. Write a book about his grandparents life. The best little orphan love story ever.
5. Go to Montana and learn to fly fish... he can't eat fish, but he wants to catch 'em.

5 Foods he enjoys:
1. Peanut Butter - and more specifically, it has to be Creamy and it has to be Jif.
2. Chocolate - Chocolate chips mysteriously disappear rather quickly around here!
3. Greek Easter Bread - it makes him very happy!
4. Homemade Strawberry Freezer Jam - he will not eat any other kind of jam/jelly.
5. My Chewy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

5 things you may not Know about him:
1. He has really nice feet - mine look like Fred Flintstones, so I've hoped our daughters would get his.
2. His hair grows ridiculously fast - I think he is part Chia Pet.
3. He loves to do the dishes - which you won't get a complaint out of me about.

4. He gets free sandwiches at the Subway by our house, since the manager thinks he is kind of a big deal. Hey, being a real life Ray Ramono has to have some perks, right?!
5. He never pees with the door open.

5 Places he's lived:
1. Sacramento, California

2. Grand Prairie, Texas
3. Portland, Oregon
4. Vancouver, Washington
5. Currently kickin' it in A-Town.

5 Quirky things about him:
1. He can't stand to be the passenger in a car - he prefers being the one in control.
2. He is obsessed with maps, directions, and shortcuts.
3. He hates 'what-if' questions - I love them, but he rarely humors me by answering them.

4. Whenever he gets on a plane he profiles everyone around him in case things get rowdy.
5. He bites his fingernails to the nubbins.

5 People to tag:
1. Jen Nagel
2. Elisha Knudsen
3. Hayley Jones (Soon to be, husband for you!)
4. Tina Fussell
5. Sarah Swanger

Lulu's First Bite

Clever Kathleen

It seemed the days preceding Halloween this year were especially busy for the Young Crew. So go ahead and pass out the bad parent award, but we never got around to actually carving our pumpkins this year. Whoops. I was feeling bad about it until my friend Kathleen came by the other day to bring her daughter Ivy over for a play date with Brynnie. Kathleen is one creative gal. She gave me this cute welcome sign to rub onto my otherwise neglected pumpkin. Sassy huh?! Kathleen started a company called Cut It Out Creations a couple of years ago. I've fallen in love with all the things you can do with her customized creations. Here's just a few of the things she's done for me.

When I named my children, I knew I probably wouldn't find their names on little trinkets in souvenir shops. So it's nice to have a way to personalize things for them anyways! These are the covers of the mother's journal I keep for each girl and an art board in the girl's room.

Kathleen can make stuff as big or as little as you want it. So filling up a specific space is no problem. I just love President Hinckley's "Be's" and wanted to display them over a doorway in the kitchen. I also have a personalized Family Home Evening board in the works too! I can't wait to see how it turns out!
Thanks for jazzing up my pumpkin Kathleen! Thank you also for letting Ivy come play with us! Brynna thoroughly enjoyed her time with her banana sharing buddy! Your little woman is welcome in our home anytime!

My Man, Ray.

I've been having heavy doses of my man, Ray LaMontagne, lately. He is hands down, my favorite artist. His voice is soulful, sexy, and authentic... just the way I like it. His music speaks for itself. Just one amazing voice and the instruments blending together. If you haven't heard his new album 'Gossip in the Grain', check it out. As expected, it's a total goody.

South Pacific, Anyone?

Please folks, be nice, we're not professionals.

But what's bathtime without a round or two of

'I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair'...

... and it just wouldn't be complete without a little 'Happy Talk'!

...and please ignore Brynna shoveling bathwater in her mouth. I don't know how many times I've told that kid how gross it is! Sick!

Family Is Everything

It's amazing the difference one can make in the lives of many. That truth was reconfirmed to me in Boise this past week again and again. I can't even begin to express how good it was to be there. To see my Nana. To see all of her children gather around her and be there with love and support. We weren't sure if Nana's stroke would take her from us or not. She was certainly ready to pass to the other side. She told us in her broken and fragmented words about a light, how she had to wait, and how she wished that she could die. But as the days passed it came to seem that it was not yet time for her to walk into the light. I find myself wondering what it is that she is left here to do. Her frail, little, eighty-five year old body has so much work to do just to do the simplest of things we take for granted everyday. But I know with out a shadow of a doubt that the Lord is mindful of her and has a plan.

Even in the midst of the scare, Nana was unifying her family. She brought them together. I saw my Uncle David while I was there, whom I'd never met. He has been away for so long and it was my sweet Nana that brought him back into our lives. I hope to stay. It felt that way. It felt like he would. It was so good to hear my mom and her sister and brothers telling stories and memories of their life together growing up. I've always felt family was everything and so it bothered me that someone was missing from the picture. But seeing them together, I felt that hope coming alive again. That the family can be complete. It's the way Nana would want it.
When I heard the news about Nana, I knew it was in the Lord's hands and that Nana has lived a life worthy of returning to His presence. But I was upset at the thought that I may never get to touch Nana's hand again. I may never get to feel her soft skin and look into her eyes again. Justin, being the amazing man he is, told me to go to her and not give it another thought. He would stay and keep things going on the home front so I could be there. I'm so, so grateful that I was able to. I was able to sit by her side, hold her hand, stroke her hair, kiss her face, and look in her eyes. I know that if she went tomorrow, she would know how much I love her and I'm grateful for that.

She got to meet Lauryn as well for the first time, and what a joy it was to be able to see the brightness that she brought to Nana's world. My mom's cousin Linda and her husband Steve came to visit her in the hospital. Steve, who suffers from Lou Gehrig's disease, is bound to a wheelchair and can not communicate without pointing to a piece of paper to spell out what he wants to say. He told my Nana with tears in his eyes "Mary, there is still much joy in life." What a powerful moment and what a powerful message. He hadn't given up. He was still seeking and finding the joy in life. As I watched Nana react to Lauryn and to my cousin Spencer's little girl Amelia I saw what her joy is... it's her posterity. It's her children, her grandchildren, and her great-grandchildren. Nana's presence in our lives gives us more than we could ever give back. But it's my hope that as a family we continue to rally around her, and lift her up, and help her find that joy. I hope the barren walls of her hospital room is flooded with cards and pictures and little paintings from tiny hands as she fights and works hard to be here with us. I hope we can help her find the joy and know she is here for a reason. And I hope that when it is her time to go, for us, her posterity, there will be no words left unsaid and no regrets. That she will know of our love for her and that we all will be living lives she would be proud of. I know our family can be together forever. Let us each do our part.

My Nana had a pretty bad stroke yesterday. She is in ICU now and I will be flying out to Boise tomorrow morning to be with her. So, I probably won't be on the computer very much for the rest of the week. Please remember my sweet Nana in your prayers!

Stinkin' Luck!

Last night when I was taking my contacts out, one ripped in half right on my eyeball. Darn it. So this morning I loaded up Brynna and Lauryn into the car to go to the eye doctor to get a new pair of contacts so I wouldn't be stuck wearing my glasses. But when I turned the key in the ignition, it made a weird noise and died. Darn it. My friend Laura came to give us a jump, but it didn't work. Darn it. Now the tow truck is coming to take it to the dealership. Darn it. Sigh, so now I have a useless car and am stuck with wearing glasses. Brynna and I decided maybe if we made some good angry faces we would feel better...

It worked! I can always count on my Brynnie for a good silly.

Happy Halloween!

Last night, the girls had a blast getting all dolled up for some trick-or-treating fun! Maryn and Brynna were butterflies and Lauryn kept the tradition alive of being a little bumblebee for her first Halloween. The girls had said they wanted to go trick-or-treating in Grammy and Gramps neighborhood, so off to Marietta we went! The girls had a great time, with the exception of when Maryn was racing down someone's stairs and took a nosedive from about 10 steps up! She landed in the bushes kind of startled but quickly brushed it off and was back in the pursuit of some sugar-laden goodness. We told her that her butterfly wings must have helped her flutter down!Our three little bugs!

I don't even want to know the mischief those two are planning.She's trying to say 'Trick-or-treat, got any milk?' Grammy and the girls taking off! We don't call her 'cheeks' for nothing. Counting the fruits of their labor!This bee's had it for the night. Yes folks, she will actually cry if provoked enough! Maryn's fancy butterfly hair. Brynna's fancy 'do. When you're a squirt and only allowed to wear make-up once a year, why not go all out and have fancy hair too?!