The Chips Truck

When we are driving home from preschool, I usually try to find things to point out to the kids, especially to keep Sarah awake. Last week, as we passed a grocery store, I pointed a Keebler truck (with one of the Keebler Elves on the side) and called it the Cookie Truck. The kids thought that was fun. Less than a minute later, we were stopped at the light and I noticed a truck with Doritos chips all over it. We were heading straight and it was turning left, to eventually be travelling in the opposite direction of us. I pointed the truck out to the kids, saying it was the Chips Truck. They thought that was even better than the Cookie Truck, maybe because they could see giant pictures of the Doritos chips all over it. The Chips Truck had the right of way and turned left, passing before us and heading the other way. Sarah says to me, "That way! Follow Chips Truck!" I'm not quite sure what purpose she had in mind, but I believe she may have had visions of her getting a large share of Doritos. Luckily, she wasn't too heartbroken when I decided not to give into her scheme.

My Thoughts Tonight

I'm sitting here listening to music Brad has downloaded and I just keep thinking how lucky I am to have him. I realize that sounds strange. Last night we were watching The Office (as you all know, my favorite show) and there was a song at the end that I loved, partially because of the sentiment of the show and partially because I think it's a fun song. Brad figured out the what the song was (I'd never heard it before) and downloaded it for me. He also found the You Tube video that they were talking about in The Office, which was something I was wanting to see also. This and a couple of weeks ago he had downloaded some Richard Marx music (yeah, we are talking old school there) after we had talked about how we both had liked his stuff. I always marvel at how perceptive Brad is and how he goes out of his way to do nice things for me. He even puts up with my rantings about our 2 year old's newest escapades that drove me near the edge that day - even on days when he's had a really bad day himself. I have this philosophy that we should strive to do things for our loved ones all year long, not just on holidays or special occasions when it's expected. I don't like the idea of an obligation. Brad is a huge example to me of that. He is always doing small things for me that make me feel truly loved, even with the small things.
I love you Brad! Thank you for the music and for all the simple things you do to let me know you care.

How I Love My Husband

Today is Brad's birthday and I've been thinking a lot the past few days about how lucky I am to have him. I truly believe he's my soul mate, if there is such a thing. I know we all think our spouses are "the best in the world," so I won't go down that road. However, Brad is the best for me. While we do seem to be on the same wavelength on so many things, we are different in enough ways to balance each other out. Somehow we always seem to meet in the middle and figure things out for the best. I love that about our relationship. He's also a wonderful father and does so much for our kids. I am so thankful to be with him and to live life with him. I thought about writing out all the reasons I love him, but I think that might embarrass him. Although, that would be fun. I've only seen him truly embarrassed once (that I can remember). He is just such a great person and I hope we have many, many, many more birthdays together.

Happy Birthday, Brad! I hope you have a wonderful day.

My Therapy Post

About five months ago I found out that one of my mission companions, someone I consider a friend and who had greatly influenced me in my life, had a brain tumor and was fighting for her life. They had discovered that Julie had the tumor while she was pregnant with her forth child two years ago. I am horrible at keeping in touch with people and it took her wonderful husband to track me down. With all that was going on, Julie wanted to reconnect with all her mission friends. I went to see her in March (I believe) and the changes were apparent. It had affected her body, her speech, and in a way her thought process. But she remembered so much, it was a wonderful visit. Then, a couple of months later I found out that none of the chemotherapy treatments they had tried on her were working, the tumor was still growing. She was given days to weeks to live. I visited her again, this time to say goodbye. It was a wonderful visit, but it brought sadness to my heart. She wasn't the same as I knew her yet she would remember some remarkable things. I will forever be thankful I saw her then. It would be the last time I would see her. Julie passed away today, she was only 36 - one year older than me.
I will never forget Julie, she was a big influence on my life. I had only been "in the field" for one month when she came to be my companion. She taught me so much about the practical side of missionary work - how to teach, the language, culture, rules, and how to work hard. She also taught me things to help me in life - charity, love, faith, hope, and so many others. She was my mentor and my friend. She showed love to all those around her. We were together for two months and then she went home, it was the end of her mission. I was lucky enough to get home from my mission just a week or so before she got married and was able to go to her wedding.
Long after we got home and keep in touch occasionally, I asked her to be a reference for me while Brad and I were trying to adopt. I knew that she would say what needed to be said to make sure that we were seen for who we were. I trusted and respected her. She was truly a wonderful person who loved all those around her. I know that she has touched so many lives, not just my own.
Now I morn her loss. I feel for her family. She has a wonderful husband who did anything in his power to make her happy in her last days. She has four beautiful children, the youngest is going to be two in a couple of weeks and probably won't remember his mother. I can only imagine what they have been through. My heart aches for them, but I am thankful for the knowledge of eternal families and what happens on the other side. Julie will be doing a great work, just not here on earth. She is also now with her mother who passed away a few months after Julie returned from her mission. I try to hold onto the good thoughts of that reunion and how Julie is free of any pain or discomfort. I also am lucky to have so many wonderful memories of her and to know she was a part of my life.

Who is Who?

My mom found a baby picture of me that we think looks a lot like how Sarah looks now. I'm posting that picture (I was 18 months old in it) and a picture of Sarah from about the same age. What do you think? Here they both are.

Zach Used the Potty!

Please humor me, but I am so thrilled right now. After months and months and months of trying to get Zach to use the potty, he finally did today. He is four years old and I was starting to really worry if he would ever want to use the potty. He would usually just ignore me, averting any direct eye contact, if I ever mentioned anything to do with the potty. And when I would try to sit him on the potty, I could tell he didn't like it (it was like he was just humoring me in sitting there). I thought it was hopeless and I was ready to find one of those Potty Boot Camps and pay someone help me out with it.
Then, today while we were shopping and I was looking at something else, he got very interested in the training potties they had. He especially loved one that had musical notes on the box and he knew from that it played music. I asked him if he would do his business (in little kid lingo, of course - I'll spare you all that) in it if I bought it for him. For once, he didn't avoid the subject. He told me that he would. I asked him multiple times and each time he liked the idea. So after calling Brad to make sure he didn't think I was going to just flush out money down the toilet (pun intended) getting a new potty (we already had one), I went ahead and got it.
After Sarah went down for her nap, Zach and I put the new potty together. I then showed him how it works and how to make it play music. He then wanted to try it and then keep trying to go. I finally let him go naked for awhile and told him to get on the potty when he felt the need. I'll be honest, I expected nothing from it based on all my past experience. But all of a sudden (and while I was on the phone with my sister-in-law) I hear the potty making music and there is Zach doing his thing. And he has done it four times since then! I'm running out of prizes in my Potty Prize Basket, although the last time he didn't even want anything from it.
I just had to tell the whole world about it, I guess whether you want to know about it or not. I'm just hoping and praying that this is a trend. Zach has always done stuff after the "normal" age for kids to do things, but once he does do something, he seems to really take off. I'm hoping this will be the same. Hurray for Zach!

The Way Kids Think

We splurged on Saturday and got chinese food. Ummmm. But that's not the story. I forgot and left one of those soy sauce packets that come with it out on the table (yeah, I know, I'm lazy). Zach picks it up yesterday and says to me "Look, it's brown rice ketchup." He calls ham fried rice "brown rice" and of course, it goes on top of that and it comes in a packet like ketchup. I thought that was the funniest thing. Hey, at least my kids entertain me, I guess.

Zach's First Soccer Game

I can't believe my little guy is growing up, but he played in his first soccer game last Saturday. He's only 4 years old and I guess that's the youngest you can be to play (they call it pre-kindergarten). We're really lucky that his coaches are in our ward, along with a few of the kids on his team. I wasn't too sure how Zach would take to it, he's not my aggressive, out-going one (Sarah has claimed that title in our house). But he seemed to like it. Now, there were no real soccer skills being used on the field - the kids are only 4 and 5 years old after all. But it was so fun to watch all these kids out there on the field running around and going after the ball. It was so fun (and funny) to watch. They don't keep score and that was good because most of the time teams were scoring on their own goals. The interesting thing we didn't know is that one of the coaches stays on the field with the kids. That was really cool. I'm really looking forward to our next games. I'm going to put some pictures here, but they are only a small sample of all we took (Brad and I took around 150 pictures between the two of us). You'll have to remember Zach is number 3.

Walking for the Race for the Cure

When a loved one gets diagnosed with a disease, it is really hard to know what to do. What do you say that's the right thing? How do you make sure to do the right thing? And how do you get over the hopeless feeling because there is only so much you can do? I've been through all of that and some days still do with my mother-in-law having breast cancer. So, when my sister-in-law mentioned us doing the Race for the Cure, I thought it was a great idea. It was something I could do. Now, I probably should have thought about doing it a long, long time ago with my aunt having been a breast cancer survivor. I hope I can blame that on youth and the fact that when I was younger, I didn't really think too much about stuff like that.
So here I am, I've decided to walk the 5K for the Race for the Cure. We've formed a team called Gummy's Guppies. It's named after my mother-in-law who's nickname is Gummy (it's a version of Grandma or I guess Grammy from when the oldest grandchild was first talking). I hope by doing this, I can do a small part of raising some money to help cure breast cancer.
The reason I am blogging about this is I'm trying to get the word out that I'm doing it and I'm also looking for pledges. I know that times are tight for everyone and I know I am really picky where my money is going (especially when it comes to charities). So, I have no expectations for anyone. I put this out there in case anyone did want to donate (even if it's just a few dollars) or if they even wanted to join our team. There is a 1 mile fun run or 5K run or walk. We'd love to have anyone.
If you are interested in donating or joining our team (or if you know someone who'd be interested), please visit my page with Race for the Cure:
http://race.komenslc.org/site/TR/Race/General?px=1013141&pg=personal&fr_id=1000

You Know You're Odd When. . .

It is such a nice day and the sun has been shining a little. I should be getting the kids ready to go out somewhere and enjoy it. Instead, I am excited to stay inside and do laundry. We finally had some money saved up to get new washer. The sad thing is that we only had our last washer for around 5 years and when we bought it, we though we were buying a really nice one that would last us for a long time. But it started leaking a couple of years ago. But, I thought, we can put up with a little water on the floor, there is tile there after all and it wasn't going anywhere but the laundry room. Then a few months ago I was in the basement in our utility closet (which is below our laundry room) to find the leaking water was going through the baseboards upstairs and slowly trickling down the unfinished wood downstairs. OK, maybe it was time for a new one if it was starting to affect my house. Plus, last year when we were looking for a new dryer, we would mention to the sales people we had a Maytag Neptune washer and we'd like to pair a dryer with it. We got nothing but a negative reaction to the Maytag Neptune line, saying it was the worst out there and people had nothing but problems with them. Even when we went out to buy our new one, the girl who was helping us decide what one said the only line she had heard anything negative about was the Maytag Neptune. So, apparently, it was time.
I'm a little odd though, I love to do laundry. I think it's the organization and structure of it all. I hate all other housework, but I seriously like doing laundry. So getting a new washer is like getting a new toy to me. Brad was teasing me last night because I just kept doing loads of laundry and it wasn't "laundry day" (yeah, I try to do it all on Wednesdays usually). I told him that when he got his new camera, he wouldn't have just set it aside and stared at it. So, I'm having a fun time today using my new toy. I wouldn't say it has too many bells and whistles (it does play a song when it's done), but I'm really enjoying it. Maybe I'm wearing off on my kids though. Zach came in while I was starting a load this morning and asked if he could watch it (it's a front loading washer with the "window" in the door). I decided to stay with him and I sat down, putting him on my lap. Sarah of course eventually had to see what we were doing and ended up on my lap too. There we were, the three of us, watching clothes being washed. It only lasted about 5 minutes, before the kids were bored, but I enjoyed it. I know, I'm pretty odd.

Frosty

Saturday we had some more snowfall. It wasn't a lot, only probably an inch sticking on the ground. Zach decided he wanted to play in it and it seemed to be perfect timing. Sarah was down for her nap and Brad was going out to do a quick shovelling of the driveway. By the time I got Zach into all his snow gear (which seemed to be overkill, but I figured it would keep him dry at least), Brad was nearly done shovelling. Zach was having a blast just walking around the yard and making the occasional snowball. When Brad got done, he was making a snowball to discover it was perfect for rolling. So, his first idea was just to see how big of a snowball he could roll. As it got bigger and harder to move, he decided that a snowman was in order. So, we ended up with a nice sized snowman. Zach really got into helping after he saw what his dad was up to and helped out to make the snowman happen, including making sure he had a face. Brad asked Zach what the snowman's name should be and Zach named him Frosty. I guess that shouldn't be a surprise. It was a lot of fun to watch them doing it. I actually surprised myself by staying out there so long watching, I hate being cold. But Zach was enjoying himself a lot and it is always fun to see the world through his eyes.

Just Give That Boy a Microphone . . .

Zach gave his first talk today in Primary. It's hard to believe that he's a Sunbeam let alone now giving talks. There were two other Sunbeams before him who were to give the opening prayer/Article of Faith practice and a scripture. Neither one was up to doing it, it was just too scary. So their moms did it for them. Then there is my Zach. He went right up there and had no problem talking into the microphone. In fact, he was being quite loud and was practically eating it (not that I haven't seen that before). I actually felt like the only reason he needed me there was because he couldn't read his talk and needed someone to tell him what to say.
Now I have a theory as to why Zach has no fear for talking in Primary into a microphone. First of all, for quite a few months now he's been talking into pretend microphones with Grandma Carmack. Next, Grandma Judy and Grandpa Bob just got the Wii game Rock Band. Those of you who aren't familiar with it (which I have to admit I wasn't until I saw it in action), you can play drums, guitar, and even sing with it (and it has a microphone). Zach absolutely loves playing with it and will sit there and try to sing along with the songs. He's even been singing some of the songs from the game around the house, which includes Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer," Jimmy Eat World's "The Middle," and Michael Jackson's "Beat It" (of course this one is coming out as "Eat It" when Zach sings it, so maybe I should give the credit to Weird Al Yankovic). We sure get a kick out of that, it is so cute.
Zach is certainly a character and we just love how he is so into these things. He is definitely a really fun kid.

My Boys' New Haircuts

I thought I'd share some pictures of my "boys" with their new haircuts. They got some very short buzz cuts in support of Brad's mom who is going through chemotherapy for breast cancer. It was funny because although I knew they were planning on doing it, it was a surprise to have the come home with them done (I had stayed home with Sarah who may or may not have a cold, so not a good idea to visit family with possible germs). Thanks to my sister-in-law Kristi who always does a great job with our haircuts. I think they both look great and I'm glad they did it.

Zach

Brad