Monday, February 28, 2011

Introducing.....Rosa Parks




Last Thursday was biography day for the 2nd grade. Each of the kids got to pick a historical figure to research. They had to make a poster and then give an oral presentation to their peers while dressed up as their person. Katelund and I had SO MUCH FUN getting ready for this. In fact, when I dropped her off into her classroom (it was a little hard for her to carry her backpack and a poster while wearing my high heel shoes) one of the other moms said to me, "Whew, I am so glad this is over with." The pathetic part is that I was actually sad it was over. I LOVE doing stuff like this. It is what learning should be all about.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Beautiful and Not So Beautiful

Tonight we went to a baptism. Just like all convert baptisms, it was so wonderful to be part of and to see the joy and excitement on this brother's face. In fact, he even took a couple of minutes to bear his testimony at the end. At the very end, he said, "I am really looking forward to enduring to the end." It was beautiful.

But, that wasn't the only beautiful part of the baptism. The other beautiful part happened on our row as I looked over and saw Katelund. Prior to the baptism, I had told her that she should really pay attention to what happens so that she can begin to plan out who she wants to speak at her own baptism and what songs she wants to be sung. So during the baptism she opened up the program and began to write her own program. It was so sweet and so exciting for her. I can't believe that my first little baby girl will be 8 in six more months. During the entire baptism, Katelund's face was beaming as she thought about her very own special day with much anticipation.

The other beautiful part was during the Restoration Presentation given by the missionaries after the actual baptism took place. The Elder started to recount the First Vision and as he did so, Cloey leaned over and whispered in my ear, "Mommy, I love this story." It was such a sweet moment....beautiful indeed.

But all beautiful moments must come to an end. And mine surely did once I smelt Hailey's poopy diaper and had to run out of the room asap before I threw my dinner up all over everybody.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

It's a....

G
I
R
L


Yes, I'm serious. Yes, I'm excited. AND yes, we are going to go broke paying for weddings.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Why I think this baby is a boy...

Reason #1
There just can't be any other explanation as to why this pregnancy is making me SO STINKING SICK!!! It's ridiculous. Usually I am over my "morning" sickness by week 14. I am now 18 weeks along and TWICE this week I have projectile vomited all over EVERYTHING!! I'm not kidding. In fact, it happened last night. I just couldn't make it from my bed to the bathroom in time....therefore, I ended up spending the next hour with Cory (he truly is a saint) cleaning baseboards, walls, doors, and steam cleaning our MESS of a carpet. It was disgusting and horrible. The only explanation is that boys are so foreign to my body that all that testosterone is making me sick. Or....maybe this is my body's way of telling me that this is IT, the last pregnancy that my body can handle!! Of course there is always the possibility that it is another girl who is power packed with a lot of hormones (because heaven knows we are lacking in hormones and emotions around our house...yes, that is totally dripping with sarcasm) Yes, it is all worth it and I know, oh how I know, that it could be WAY worse. But being sick and changing dirty diapers all day is just not the best combination...especially when there seems to be no end in sight. On the bright side, I feel great in the middle of the day. It's just the morning and night.

Reason #2

I have been asked to be in charge of decorating for our ward's Boy Scout fundraiser on April Fool's Day. It is a ward activity and then some because they want this to be a huge event for the boys. Although at first I was a little bit confused as to why they would ask me (considering the fact that I have NO IDEA how to decorate for boy stuff) and since I don't have a boy scout myself, I came to the conclusion that this is all preparatory for the boy in my belly. It totally makes sense, right?! Or....maybe it is to prepare for all of my Eagle Scout son-in-laws. Who knows, but either way, I am SO EXCITED about it, especially since they told me to "go big". Those are my favorite words when it comes to decorating. My creative juices are flowing like crazy. Hmmm...maybe those creative juices will be the cure for my nausea.

Reason #3

I have been wearing A LOT of blue this pregnancy. This has to be my most logical reason. Don't you think??

Stay tuned because tomorrow is the big day!!!! THINK TAIL!!!!

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

One of My Deepest Fears


About a month ago, I had a horrible experience happen to me. It is kindof a long story so I'll just sum it up by saying that I thought something had happened to my dad. I thought I had lost him. It was absolutely horrible. When I finally heard his voice and knew that everything was okay, I felt overwhelming relief. My tears started flowing as I expressed my love to him and then after I hung the phone up all my emotions rushed over and I just sat and cried about what could've been.

A couple of days after this experience, Cloey woke up from a dream one night in utter hysterics. I, again, thought the worst had happened. I thought that something horrible had happened to Katelund and that Cloey had woken up to it (part of my paranoia from losing my brother...my sister woke up to find him dead in his crib). But, after calming her down I found out that she had just had a bad dream. A dream in which I had died.

Although it has been weeks since these experiences happened, it has really affected both of us. I find myself thinking more often about my dad. I have randomly texted him just to tell him I love him. I have called him for no reason at all, other than to hear his voice. I have realized that although I am no longer a child living in my parent's home, I will never outgrow my daddy.

Last night, Cloey snuggled up next to me on the recliner after Family Night, and expressed her love and gratitude for me. Then she told me that I can't ever leave her and that she will never go to college because she doesn't ever want to be away from me (something I will definitely remind her of when she is 18 and dying to get out of our home). :) Although I know that someday she and Katelund will both be wonderful mothers, I hope and pray that they will never outgrow me. That they will always need their Mommy just as I still and always will need mine.

I think in many ways that losing a parent is one of my deepest fears. I remember having those dreams like Cloey where my mom dies. They were HORRIBLE!! But the crazy part is that they would be just as horrible today as they were then because no matter how old I get I still need to know that my parents are there for me. I still need my mommy to tell me that everything will be okay (just as she did yesterday when we talked on the phone) and I still need to see that look of approval in my daddy's eyes as I accomplish something that he considers to be great. The older I get the more amazing my parents seem to be. Although, I know that families are forever and that I will never really "lose" them, not having them here with me in mortality has and always will be one of my greatest and deepest fears.

Friday, February 18, 2011

My Sense of Community

*Yesterday I was reading a particular comment that a friend made on a blog. She expressed her feelings about the need to broaden our definition of community in terms of how and whom we help. She made this comment in reference to her sister who is doing this wonderful thing. She has signed up to be a sponsor for a little boy named Karl who lives in India and is part of the Rising Star program (click here if you want to read more about this). Although I have not contributed money to this, I think it is a wonderful thing and I am all about passing along the word to others.

*This morning Katelund asked me to write a check out for $1000 to turn in for Jump Rope for Heart. She talked to me about how we will help save lives by doing so AND if she is one of the top sellers in the school she gets to be on Extreme Homemakeover (they are building a home here close to us in Georgia this week). So, I sent her and Cloey to school with a check for $10.

*There is a family that belongs to our church who was without a heater for the winter. So Cory gave them our little portable heating unit so that at least one room could be warm.

*When we hear about all of the countries across the world who are trying to overthrow their governments and create change within their country, we say our prayers for them and thank God for the freedom in which we are so blessed with in our own country.

*Last week when the girls' school did a can drive for families in need, the girls took bags full of cans.

*As my heart yearns to be in the school on a more regular basis volunteering in my children's classrooms and working for PTA, I just can't bring myself to drop Hailey off at someone's house for hours during the week. She is MY baby and she will grow up WAY too quickly. So for now, I will volunteer not as regularly but still play a very active role in my children's education.

*Recently, when I found out about the education disaster that is happening in Texas, I wanted to pack my bags and protest on the steps of the capitol building. But instead, I listened and comforted my sister as she told me about all of her concerns and fears for her job in the school and for her children's education.

*As I watch the decline in morality and virtues all around me, I hold my children a little tighter and use every opportunity to teach them what is right.

*Yesterday as I watched Oprah (well only the first half, the other half was not something I cared to watch) and folded clothes, I was brought to tears by the generosity of two older sisters who have a kitchen in Nashville where they spend their days cooking and taking food to the homeless, less fortunate, or home bound. Then I cried even harder as Oprah surprised them with Kroger's gift of filling their kitchen with food for a year.

I would LOVE to do something like this in my city. I would love to donate millions of dollars to children in India, Africa, and every other poverty stricken country. I would love to donate $1000 to wonderful organizations like Jump Rope for Heart. I'd love to buy heating units, change education, raise my voice in political circles, provide food for a family for a year, etc.... But I can't.

What I CAN do are the small things, and maybe someday I can even do something big. Something that will change somebody's life or even just make it a little bit better. In the meantime, my sense of community is mostly centered around my little family and what happens within the walls of my home. Yes, I probably should broaden my sense of community, but when all is said and done, there is NOTHING so wonderful or so great that I can do that could compensate for failure within my own home and with my own children. So for now, I'll spread the word, donate $10 here and there, give cans, volunteer when I can, pray, teach, and make my little community the best that it can be.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Downhill

Ever since Valentine's Day my week has gone downhill. I'm not sure why but here are a list of possible reasons....

-I washed a load of laundry on Tuesday without knowing that a roll of toilet paper had somehow been dropped into the washer. Yes, a WHOLE roll. And, it was not just a small batch of clothes I was washing, it was a HUGE load (you know, the kind where you push the limit of the washer because you don't want to do laundry all day long?). Needless to say, I have been cleaning up little pieces of toilet paper from EVERYWHERE and I still have about 6 or 7 shirts and pants that I just don't know what to do with. AHHHH!!!

-There is still toilet paper falling from the tops of our trees from our house being toilet papered AGAIN a couple of weeks ago. I'm totally okay with the youth rolling our house if they need something to do, but seriously, the day before it rains???!!

-This morning I sent the girls off to school after being totally irritated and snappy with them for taking WAY TOO long to get ready. Yes, they did make their beds and they did go to school dressed BUT I'm pretty sure they didn't brush their teeth or brush their hair. I was also sick of fighting Cloey on her outfit today so she went to school in a wrinkled dress mismatched tights and her hair...oh her hair!!! Our blow dryer died last week so the girls and I have been without for way too long. I need to go buy one TODAY!!! The girls went to bed last night with their hair wet and apparently Cloey must have gone through some kind of crazy night sleep in order to have the do that she woke up with. I wouldn't be surprised if her teacher sent a note home asking if everything was okay.

-I'm totally stressed about upcoming travel plans.

-My house is a disaster AGAIN and I'm so sick of cleaning this week.

Wow, this is a really depressing post isn't it? I do feel a little better now. I guess I'll go and pick off some more shreds of toilet paper.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Valentine's Day is....


A rose delivered to our sweet neighbor next door who lives alone and my girls helping me finish off my secret Valentine project with a "heart attack".

A special dinner at the "Love Restaurant".

Looking out the window while making dinner and talking to my Grandma and seeing the people who mean everything to me.

A surprise "Valentine bath" at the "Love Spa" waiting for my girls after dinner.

An amazing massage for Cory after the girls were in bed.

A small gift waiting on the girls pillows after they got home from school.

Flowers from Cory that said everything and so much more. (Click here if you want to read why pink tulips mean so much to me.) Plus a card that made me bawl like a baby.

Valentine's Day is all about the small things. The small moments and gestures that remind me of what is most important. The small things that make my heart swell up and burst with joy.

And just because it was SO FUNNY, here is a comment made by Cloey yesterday while we were driving...
Cloey "Mommy what is that guy called that shoots his arrow at you and if it hits you, you fall in love?"
Me: "Cupid?"
Cloey: "Yes, cupid. Well I think he hit me with his arrow because I'm in love with _____ (I promised her that I would keep it a family secret). :)

Monday, February 14, 2011

the perfect thought for a favorite day

“The greatest lessons’ we are to learn are lessons which help us distinguish between what is important and what is not. What is important almost always involves the people around us. Often we assume that they must know how much we love them. But we should never assume. We should let them know. Wrote William Shakespeare, “They do not love, that do not show their love.” Despite the changes which come into our lives, may we fill our days as much as we can with those things which matter most. May we cherish those we hold dear, and express our love to them in word and in deed. Send that note to a friend that you’ve been neglecting. Give your child a hug. Give your parents a hug. Say, “I love you” more. Always express your thanks. Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved.” -President Monson

A 50's Valentine










On Friday, the girls had their Valentine parties at school. Katelund was SO EXCITED for her 50's sock hop. I spent Wednesday and Thursday making her a poodle skirt. I had SO MUCH FUN doing it, especially when I saw the excitement on her face. She was the cutest 50's girl there (you may think I'm biased, but I'm pretty sure I'm spot on about this one) :). Katelund is the perfect daughter to have as the oldest. She loves her little sisters so much. In fact, I honestly don't know what I would've done if I didn't have Katelund to help me so much with Hailey. She's AMAZING with her! But, above all things...I think my very favorite thing about Katelund is her laugh. She has one of the cutest most contagious laughs I've ever heard. I LOVE it and I LOVE her!

Wednesday, February 09, 2011

Three Stories about Cloey


I took this picture of Cloey when I was eating lunch with her at school...which is why you may notice the food stuffed in the side of her cheek. :)

Story One...On Sunday, our ward held a fast for missionary work. Although I cannot fast, due to my current pregnant state(not prego...I know, I'm so weird, but I hate it when people say I am prego or any other slang term for pregnant. If you want to be prego, fine...but I am pregnant). Whew, I'm glad I finally got that out. :) So anyways, back to my story. I was trying to encourage my girls to be part of the fast. I told them that with the new time change for church, it works out perfectly for them to begin fasting with just one meal. They can fast breakfast and then eat lunch before church. Immediately, Cloey jumps on board with this idea, but Katelund is still hesitating with her decision. I told Cloey how proud I was of her for wanting to be part of fasting and what a blessing it will be for her to begin practicing the law of the fast now, while she is still not accountable for doing so. With that being said, she smiled and walked over to the pantry. She opened the door and said, "so then I want to eat ramen noodle". Apparently, she thought that she was "fasting" breakfast by eating ramen noodle (a lunch food) instead of breakfast foods. She was not so thrilled about her decision once she realized that fasting breakfast meant not eating anything, even lunch food, until it was lunch time.

Story Two...Cloey is learning about money in school. The other day she found a nickel on the ground. She was so excited! She wanted to go to the store right away and buy something with it. I asked her if she remembered how much a nickel was worth. She said, "yes, it is 5 cents...so that means I can buy 5 things at the store." If only that was really how it worked.

Story Three...Everyday when I drop the girls off in the morning, I remind them to do something nice for someone else that day. At dinner time (or many times as soon as they get off the bus) they report to me what service they performed that day at school. Cloey has really gotten into this. Her acts of service have gotten bigger and bigger. It started with helping a friend up when she fell (which happened like everyday for a week or so) and then it went to talking to somebody new or playing with a new friend at recess. Now it has gotten to the point where I have to be careful what she is wearing or what she takes to school because if her friends tell her they like her hat, or bracelet, or food, or whatever else, she gives it to them. Although, when I first found out that she had given away her cute little hat that kept her warm when she was walking home from school, I was not so happy. But then as I saw how excited she was to do something so nice for someone else, I couldn't help but be happy with her. She has such a tender little heart. No wonder we are told in the scriptures to become like a child.

Tuesday, February 08, 2011

In just ONE year...











...you have completely WON my heart!!!

Tuesday, February 01, 2011

Random Pictures/Stories


I am seriously blessed with some of the greatest friends ever!!! One of my friends, Natalie, went to California for the month of December (her husband was doing an intense rotation in his residency) to be with her mom. She brought me back this delicious box of chocolates. She had no idea how much it would mean to me. You see, Sees chocolates was one of my Great Grandma Childs' favorite things. She would send our family a box every year for Christmas. The last time I had Sees chocolate was my last Christmas at home. She has since passed away. When I saw this box of chocolates, the memories of my Grandma Childs came flooding back to me. Oh, how I loved her and oh how I LOVE a delicious box of chocolates (unfortunately they did not last long).


I told Katelund and Cloey that I would sign them up for whatever they wanted to do in the spring. The top three choices were....dance, t-ball, or soccer. I'm pretty sure that their final decision is soccer, but you never know, the final decision seems to change everyday. Can't you tell from the picture how indecisive Cloey is???

This last picture was a great idea that I stole from my mom when she was here helping out after Hailey was first born. Each day that the girls would leave for school with their room clean and their beds made, she would leave a piece of candy on their pillow. They would get so excited to run into their room after they got home to see what candy she left them. I LOVE this idea!!! Yes, my mom is a genius!! So, I decided to start this idea up again. It's amazing how motivating this is for them. In fact, this morning we were almost late for school because Katelund was finishing up making her bed. It just doesn't get better than that. :) I decided to have a little fun with it and also make them practice reading at the same time.

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