In the clear!

I hope I didn't make you guys all worried about me all week over a couple bad days, but I just want to say THANK YOU SO much for all the kind thoughts and support! Your sweet comments have definitely brightened my days!

I love you GALS!

- Lucia

To: All my gal pals

I.O.U.
This blog post is redeemable for one item of your pick to cheer you up on a bad day.

- Babysitting so you can get out (go to the temple, take a nap, etc)

-A shoulder to cry on

-A chick flick, to borrow, or watch together

-A play date for some "mom" company

WHATEVER you need, I am at your service!

EXP. DATE: never

TMI * warning: if you are a GUY, you SOOO do not what to read this!*

* So, I'm giving you fair warning that this post is GIRL stuff, and by "stuff" I mean ... you know... stuff! Not very many guys read this, but if you are a guy, seriously, just stop here because this is more than you EVER wanted to know about me *











Okay, now that the guys are gone, I am just venting about being a girl. So, since I got married almost 6 years ago, I have had a grand total of 4 monthly visits from you know who. I should write a thank you note to Pregnancy and Nursing for staving off "the curse" for so long! You would think that by my age, I would be used to it, but it is still totally traumatizing! Granted, the whole messyness is irritating and uncomfortable, but when combined with the hormonal rebalancing, well, "irritating" is a gross understatement. Do you know that I almost burst into tears in the produce section of the grocery store today? What for? That's an excellent question. For which I have no answer and I can't even remember what I was thinking other than that my house was messy, and appearently the fruits and veggies seemed like something to cry over? Or maybe, it was empathy for the produce since I was feeling like a FRUIT today, and it was not pleasant.

Well, I obviously can't get out of this since we don't have any babies in our immediate future so I'll just have to rebuild my "How to deal" arsinal of tricks for conquering this little emotional hurdle. *sigh* Oh well.
So here's what I've done so far:
- reading scriptures
- visiting teaching (always nice, but I was definitly more harm than good with my toddlers running a muck!)
- do something productive (went to the store- hence the produce drama)
- treats (this didn't help, actually I think the high sugars and fats made it worse since my only clean pants are already too snug, and I do not need more mood altering chemicals in my system!!- mental note: AVOID brownies! Plus, they were not even very delicious.)
- took the kids to a quiet park


Will you PLEASE tell me what you do to feel better when you're overwhelmed, or feeling *blah* about life in general! I'd love some more ideas!

sunday slacker

I wish there was a way to skype in to church on the Sundays that my kids are sick! I think I have only averaged church like twice a month this winter. :oP I can't stand missing church- it throws the whole week off. Ah well, to everything there is the season, and with little kids, it is the season off drippy, germy noses.

I my gosh, you guys....

For the past week I have been LIVING in the world of twilight, and "holy crow" it has been so much fun! <--- Okay, isn't there punctuation stronger than an exclamation point here, because it has been ridiculously fun to read this series/saga/whatever you call it! (<-- oh, that's much better)
When I woke up in the middle of the night, I debated whether I should go back to sleep, or turn on the light and keep reading.
My shampoo just wouldn't rinse out fast enough, and the towel has got to be the SLOWEST way to dry off.
The water would not boil quick enough for the mac and cheese we had for lunch every day.
Snacking between meals was OUT of the question (not for the kids of course) because it was uneccesary time away from the book, what with the preparation and excessive hand washing to avoid the possibility of getting the book dirty. (but would you believe I lost 6 lbs this week from the Twighlight enduced dieting! funny huh?)
Meanwhile, the kids have loved having free rein of the toys all day, and my permanent presence on the toy room floor as their personal jungle gym/snuggle station.

*sigh* What a fun week!


Kudos to:
Tina for inviting me to see the movie, and then locating a copy of the book for me since I couldn't make it.
Christie for lending me twilight...
Amanda for letting me run over and borrow New Moon in the middle of the night, and...
Jessica for making a house call with the last two books!
and of course..
Stephanie Meyer for writing the awesome books, and ....

JASON for making me confused at all the "why can't all men be like edward?" comments I have heard/read. Isn't everybody's sweetheart that sweet?

Athen's favorite game to play while I am blogging!

On a sober note...

The follwing is an excerpt from the LDS Gospel Art Kit:

"Mary Fielding Smith was left a widow when her husband, Hyrum, was killed with his brother the Prophet Joseph. She had to care for not only her own large family but also several other helpless or ill people. Hyrum and Mary’s son, Joseph F. Smith, who would later become the sixth President of the Church, was only five years old at the time.

Mary and her family left Nauvoo in 1846. Joseph, then seven, drove “one of the ox teams from Montrose [across the river from Nauvoo] to Winter Quarters,” which was about 200 miles (see Joseph Fielding Smith, comp., Life of Joseph F. Smith [1969], 131).

In the spring of 1848 most of the Saints were leaving Winter Quarters to travel to the Salt Lake Valley. Mary determined to go with them. She had no money, no oxen, and no provisions, but she relied on the Lord and managed to reach the starting point with seven “almost ready” wagons in her care. When the captain of the group to which Mary was assigned saw Mary’s situation, he told her she was foolish to attempt the journey. He said she would be a burden to the company the whole way. Mary calmly replied that not only would she not ask for his help but “that she would beat him to the Valley”! (Don Cecil Corbett, Mary Fielding Smith: Daughter of Britain [1966], 228).

And so the long journey began. Nine-year-old Joseph and his 15-year-old half brother John cared for the cattle and helped guide the huge oxen along the trail.

Despite hardships, it seemed Mary’s group would make it to the valley. Then one hot day, one of Mary’s best oxen collapsed. The wagons behind Mary’s were forced to stop. It looked as though the ox would die. The captain came and declared that the ox was dead. He said he would have to find a way to take that wagonload the rest of the way and that he had known all along Mary would be a burden.

But Mary’s faith never faltered; she “went to her wagon and returned with a bottle of consecrated oil. She asked her brother Joseph and James Lawson to administer to her fallen ox” (Corbett, Mary Fielding Smith, 237). So Joseph Fielding “knelt, laid his hands on the head of the ox … , and prayed over it.” When the prayer was finished, a moment passed; then, to the astonishment of the onlookers, the stiffened ox stirred, gathered his legs beneath him, stood, and “started off [pulling again] as if nothing had happened” (Corbett, Mary Fielding Smith, 237).

Not far from the end of the journey, some of Mary’s cows were lost. While her stepson John went to find the cattle, the captain ordered the rest of the company to move on. Mary waited for John and prayed he would be able to find their cows. Then a sudden rainstorm came, and the company that had moved ahead was thrown into confusion. The cattle scattered, and it took all day to round them up. Meanwhile, John had returned with the lost cows. The Smith party moved forward, past the rest of the company, and on into the valley.

Mary had kept her word. Her courage and faith had led her family across the plains and finally into the Salt Lake Valley, 20 hours in advance of the captain who had tried to discourage her."

I couldn't help but think of this story this weekend as we prayed over a washing machine. I'll spare the details of why this was such a big deal for us, but suffice it to say, it was the veritable straw to the camel's back. And when the washing machine came back to life- so to speak- yesterday, error codes gone and working great, I couldn't help but drop to my knees and pray.

I am thankful for this tender mercy.

"And after I had traveled for the space of many hours in darkness, I began to pray unto the Lord that he would have mercy on me, according to the multitude of his tender mercies."
1 Nephi 8:8

Yummy!

Bugga sent the kids a box of Chocolate lollipops, which they loved, of course!



Even Athen decided he needed one too, when I wasn't sneaking him a lick, the other kids were.

The funniest thing was that Athen was sure that anyone else eating one, meant they must have taken his away, so even when he had his own to hold, he would CRY and cry if I was eating one too. He has one in this picture, but is still sure I took his.

What? The zoo is free today?

Yes that's right, the zoo was free last Wednesday so we HAD to go! Here are some of the highlights!

Love that $1 train!

It was so much fun, and we got to see and play with everything we wanted before the rain started sprinkling down. The rain was perfect too, seeing as it gave me an easy explanation for why it was time to go home, even though it was time anyways. The fact that I did not have to be the villain that ruined the fun by saying its time to go was a definite plus!

Saturday is a special day..

...it's the day we get ready for Sunday, but along with that, we have a few other things to get done today.

• Buy fruit for the relief society birthday breakfast. CHECK
• Help set up the breakfast. CHECK
• Eat yummy breakfast with great gals. CHECK
• Go on visits. CHECK
• Wash the smashed bannana and lasagna residue off the couch covers. CHE- not done yet, but I SO love being able to throw these kinds of messes into the washing machine, and as soon as I move the current load to the dryer, I will be doing that.
  
• Break up the war that brooklyn and diego have declared on each other today. CHECK.
• Early naptime. CHECK!
• Sigh about how lovely it would be to have a furnished dream home and new car in Sonoma.
  
• Clean my house for just in case the HGTV camera crew pops by this week to tell me I won their 2009 Dream Home Sweepstakes. - Whoa, I better get to work.

Here's a picture of our future home. Pending the big win, of course.
( courtesy of HGTV)

Thank YOU!

100 ways I have been blessed by the kindness of others:

1. You always kept the cookie jar stocked for our visits.
2. You read to me even when I was plenty old enough to read for myself, just because I liked to hear what was so funny about the book you were reading.
3. You took an entire week of leave from work every year to help wrangle immature kids putting on a play.
4. You always let me pick something special from the produce section at the store.
5. You made me a fort under your desk.
6. You always had glazed doughnuts ready to eat after church on fast Sunday.
7. You still get me extra presents and say they are from Santa.
8. You bought me piano lessons.
9. You took me out on sister outings
10. You scratched my back before bed.
11. You let me come have the time of my life at your house two summers in a row.
12. You gave my shoulder rides.
13. You let me come to school with you when I was 5. It was so GREAT!
15. You proudly brought me to work each year for bring your daughter to work day.
16. You drove me everywhere!
17. You made me lemon pepper chicken, even though it was the most expensive kind.
18. You made me alien finger puppets, and a crochet space ship to play with on the big move to California.
19. You always took me out to the latest Disney movie, and then to whatever restaurant had the matching kids meal toys for my birthday.
20. You had me over just to teach me how to make pineapple upside-down cake.
21. You wouldn't let me quit at young womens when I wanted to.
22. You welcomed me like I was already a loved member of your ward.
23. You brought a bag of surprise christmas presents, more than once.
24. You made sure I had babysitting jobs so I could pay for my fancy show choir.
25. You took me to my first job interview, and told me it would be fine.
26. You wrote me the sweetest card when I had Brooklyn.
27. You are a stranger, but you brought me back to shore when I got caught in a rip tide after the life guards went off duty. (sorry mom and dad, I didn't think it would do any good worrying you about that at the time :) )
28. You listened to the spirit, and saved us from many things.
29. You made is mickey mouse pancakes.
30. You took me to Disneyland.
31. You took me to Disneyland, too.
32. You took me to sea world.
33. You took me to the zoo, and bought me an annual pass.
34. You got me treats at the snack bar where you worked.
35. You took us swimming all summer.
34. You took me out to try a blizzard, and didn't mind when I wanted a dipped cone instead.
35. You are SUCH a great friend!
36. You made crustless pumpkin pie for us to share. yummy!
37. You sat next to me in seminary, and have been my friend ever since.
38. You came to my choir concert.
39. You four snuggle me every day!
40. You planned the coolest prom.
41. You made my prom dress.
42. You whipped up my pretty purple formal in a matter of hours.
43. You helped me add sleeves to my choir dress.
44. You didn't think you were too mature to be friends with a teenage girl.
45. You gave me a home/family for a summer, and a job for 2 years.
46. You treated me like a sister.
47. You always did fun things with me, like gluing a puzzle to a water melon.
48. You and I made the craziest cakes.
49. You cried with me when I had a broken heart.
50. You never embarrassed me with the "let's just be friends" line, but actually showed me you wanted to be friends by your friendship.
51. You were the BEST roommates.
52. You let me use the extra meals on your card when my 1 a day meal card was empty.
53. You were patient when I had no idea you were asking me out.
54. You prepared pretty much everything I needed for college.
55. You made me quilt for school.
56. You sent me a lot of letters when I went away to Rexburg.
57. You are the reason this list had to be 100 instead of 50.
58. You didn't tease me about falling on my rear while puddle stomping.
59. You made me the cutest valentine.
60. You invited me, my roommates, and FHE brothers to thanksgiving.
61. You had me over for Sunday dinner every week.
62. You gave that scruffy looking boy who came to take me on a date a good, long stare, just like a dad would have.
63. You made me beautiful cedar chest, just like the ones you made for your daughters.
64. You pitched in and tied up many loose ends to make my reception beautiful.
65. You helped in the kitchen for HOURS without being asked.
66. You helped me pack up my room for college.
67. You invited us to Washington for EFY.
68. You made us feel like family, just because we were renting your basement.
69. You have treated me like a real daughter since the minute we met.
70. You cooked me a bag of chicken to keep in the fridge, so I wouldn't have to cook meat when I had morning sickness.
71. You always said positive things about my piano skills, even though I rarely practiced enough.
72. You spent the first 5 minutes of my piano final helping me figure out how to get liquid foundation out of my carpet.
73. You didn't date a million other girls while you were dating me.
74. You took me to Yellowstone with your family.
75. You were, and are patient when my emotions go hormonally haywire.
76. You went to the store in the middle of the night when I was craving steak and ranch dressing.
77. You made an extra point to tell me I was beautiful when I was pregnant.
78. You took off work to come to prenatal appointments whenever possible.
79. You taught me how to drive.
80. You deal beautifully with my nervous back seat driver habits.
81. You make dinner when I haven't thought about it, and it is past 6:30.
82. You always help me organize something when you visit.
83. You gals went on walks with me every morning.
84. You are a great visiting teaching companion.
85. You are so proud of that funny little associates degree I got.
86. You all take a nap at the same time so I can nap with you.
87. You frequently call to chat. I love that.
88. You are always up for something fun.
89. Your cute laugh makes me laugh.
90. You promised to be with me forever, and you mean it.
91. You let us use one of your air conditioners in the HOT summer.
92. You take care of me when I'm sick.
93. You always have something nice to say.
94. You always tell me when you like a comment I make.
95. You let me go to Spain to sing.
96. You are the sister I never knew I was missing.
97. You treat me like a daughter, instead of a pesky in-law.
98. You will drive any distance to visit us.
99. You brought me on an impromptu adventure to see MoTab.
100. You have done 100,000 other things that I can't put all here, and that many more that I don't even know about.

Dentist

Time for Brooklyn's check-up and Diego's first trip to the dentist chair.

Brooklyn held super still for the x-rays, exam, and fluoride treatment. However, she was expecting the fluoride to REALLY taste like strawberries, but I guess it wasn't what she expected because when she saw this picture, she said it was like "a gross strawberry that died."

You wont see Diego in that chair, since the 10 seconds he opened his mouth for the dentist to count his teeth had me too busy to take pictures. He was fascinated enough to stay and watch Brooklyn's check-up.

Thanks to the nice staff, and this great treat basket, I'm hoping Diego's next trip will be a little more productive!

No cavities!

Draper Temple Open House

The kids were SO excited about the open house for the new temple in Draper! First we watched a quick video at the church where we parked, then we were bussed to the temple. After the tour, there were cookies and water in the visitors center, then a bus ride back to the cars. It was quite the adventure for the kids!





In case you didn't catch that, here are their favorites:
Brooklyn: Um, the bus that we're on right now.
D: To see all the cows and where people could get baptized.

There are not REALLY cows inside the temple. The 12 oxen that hold up the baptismal font represent the 12 tribes of Israel. Here's roughly what it looks like:

Thoughts: How morbid can I be?

So, I was daydreaming the other day about going to Time out for Women. Cherrie Call would be performing, and by some fantastic twist of fate, I would get to sing one of her songs with her. And I would remember all the words and be so familiar with singing it(from all the times I sing her songs in my car, and while putting the kids to sleep, of course) that it would actually sound decent. Granted, not as cool as Cherrie Call herself, and even in my daydream I imagined people thinking "some people think they can sing, but probably shouldn't", but still it was adequate enough that it wasn't completly mortifying, and Cherrie was nice and very encouraging.
Very quickly, my mind gave me the reality check of "YEAH RIGHT! Not unless you contract advanced terminal cancer and someone in high musical places pitties your tragic existance enough to call in huge favors" And the daydream part of my mind agrees, "Yeah, that's probably true."
Which brings me back to the title. How morbid! Luckily, some other secondary reality check in my brain kicked in, "You can't live your life secretly hoping for someone else to make your life what you want it to be. Make -A-Wish is for people who don't have enough life left to pursue their own dreams, YOU have plenty of life to pursue talents and dreams. You just have to get crackin'!"

So of all the times I have thought of the terminal cancer scenario, this was the first time the other, clearly more healthy thought had a say in the discussion. Which brings me to something I have been thinking about a lot. Watch your thoughts! I've been trying to monitor my thoughts and really try to take control of what thoughts I let hang around, and what I should be pushing out. The Make-A-Wish idea that has been an icon on by brain's desktop is getting a little click and drag to the recycling bin, which will be emptied. Ooh, my brain as a personal computer...now there's a metaphor i'll be exploring. Decluttering the desk top, defraging the drive, anti-virus software, ... so much potential there. I just can't resist a good metaphorical hiatus.

it starts...

Can I borrow your purse, because I emptied it out?

-Brooklyn

And the grammy goes to...

Someone else! And that is just fine- not really going for a grammy these days- or any days in the future, for that. But man, have I told you that I really love music (and apparently hyphens)? Which leads me to another goal I have that I forgot to mention with my resolutions: Writing music! The only thing I have ever written was a very simple piano piece for 6th grade theory class. Writing an actual song is going to be a bit more challenging, but I just have to do it. I know I need to be developing musical talents, I know it! It's not just that I enjoy music, and that it relaxes me, and absolutley touches my heart, and can change my mood in minutes, and song lyrics stick to me like nothing else. Those are all fine, but what really tells me that I need to be active in doing musical stuff is the very real and unrelenting ache in the bottom of my chest when I taste the sweetness of other people's musical gifts.

When Jenny Oaks Baker (she's about my age you know?) played the violin BEAUTIFULLY and I realized she was good enough to attended Juliard* (*whoa!) at the age of 19:Impressed in my head, tiny ache in my heart.

When Cherrie Call stood on stage and played guitar and sang some of my favorite songs that I didn't know were by her, and sounded just as amazing in person as on CD: My heart was uplifted, and yet ached, and I wanted to hear more.

When Janice Kapp Perry, the woman who wrote the first song I ever sang in public, and a LOT of the songs I sing to my babies, sang to us and told us how she hadn't written a song until she was older, and various other musical heights she reached that she never fathomed would be part of her life : I was inspired, I never thought of writing a song, I felt determined and achy, but excited!

So i've been brainstorming songs, and the more I do it, the more ideas I get. I am nowhere near being piano literate, but practicing gives me musical insight too. Same with the little bits and peices I am learning about guitar. I'm excited to see what comes of this new goal. It's so intriguing!

And it has been occuring to me that the way my brain functions almost completely in metaphors, though occasionally random, might be just right for coming up with lyrics.

That's it for my thoughts, no news, but I do have a reccomendation for silliness: I did my hair in a completly crazy way to make the kids laugh while doing our chores this morning, and it made the chores a little less tedious, and a lot more giggly.

Watch out for "The Man"

You think you know a person.

(the official story is not nearly as exciting as the creative assumptions. Jason's office was used for interviews today.)

resolutions

1. Learn family history indexing. A friend of mine boasted(with every right!) of indexing the most records in our stake at one point. I don't know enough to really know the feasibility of blowing the current record out of the water, but i'm going to try. Might as well make it fun right?

2. No sweets for 2009. ( an 80 calorie/day limit for really special occasions)

3. Do something every day that doesn't have to be re-done the next day. So far i've actually enjoyed picking my poison, so to speak. I've emptied my vaccum, cleaned out the filter, cleaned under the entertainment center and couches, and gone to the dentist, just to name a few. As you can see, some days are less laborous than others.

what are your resolutions?

It's almost time! Camera's are ready!

Get seats before they are gone!

THERE HE IS!!

Brooklyn with "oh-rock Obama", the president of the "nided states"

We loved the inauguration, and I really loved the president's speech. It is amazing to me that 12 years before Jason was born, interracial marriage was illegal. And yet yesterday, I could watch that inauguration with my beautiful interratial babies, and be tasting the sweet fruits of the courageous and loving acts of people like Matin Luther King Jr.

I thought of a video clip where MLK Jr. was telling about an amusement park that his family often passed by, and his little girl always wanted to visit. Just like when we pass Lagoon, and Brooklyn is awestruck by the huge colorful rides; kids are drawn to stuff like that. And then he went on to say that their little girl kept asking about it and trying to figure out why they had never gone. They had sheltered her from the truth as long as they could, but their answers weren't enough, so they were forced to exlpain. Brooklyn knows that when she is bigger, she will be able to go to Lagoon, and she mentions it each time we pass, and my heart sank as I thought of my little angel, and tried to fatham how you would go about explaining to someone so young and full of love and innocence that the people didn't like her brown skin, so she couldn't ever go. Can you even imagine? I feel so grateful that I never have to have that conversation with her, she will not live under the shadow of such blatent and systematic hate. And this little blip of a glance at the past gives me a greater appreciation for the bitter steps that thousands of others took, that changed the course of their future, which is my present.

I have high hopes that we will have courage to face the hard choices of OUR day, from the very small to the very large , and that we will likewise witness miracles great and small, and go on to leave our little ones a world with an increasing amount of love.

2008: in 24 words.

December: Hi Santa!
November: Diego's "snow"
October: Complete Incredibles


September: Family Night
August: Summer outings

July: Baby fun



June: Lost Camera!


May: Watching rockets

April: Welcome Athen
March: Egg Hunting
February: Hello Utah!

January: Farewell Georgia.

The BEST invention!

There has got to be a way to install one of these in our yard, better yet, in the toy room! It's like when you were a kid and wanted to build a house with trampoline walls- someone did! Brilliant!
Diego LOVED this thing!