Quote for the Day

Brad called me today after he'd taken the girls to school to share a story about Mallory. He said that he had her stand on the sidewalk while he walked Bethany around to get in the car. When he came back for her, he picked her up and she started patting his back and said, "I love you Daddy." Then she shocked him with this: "Daddy, those birds are freaking me out." He was so startled, so he asked, "What?" She said, " You know, don't you see them? Those birds are freaking me out." (the black birds hang around for winter) He and I shared a good laugh when he told me about it. Neither of us had ever heard her use that phrase before, but, yeah....she probably learned it from me, as did Bethany. Oh, well...it's not a bad word in my book. (Although the women who play for the Pembroke ward basketball team would beg to differ....when I used it during a basketball game several years ago, the whole bench started screaming at me for using foul language. Me?! In a church game?! Puhlease. I turned to them and said, "freaking is not a bad word." So there. ;)

Dedicated Runners

A few weeks ago, my sister Heather visited for the weekend. Some of you know her, but in case you don't I'll tell you a little bit about her. She is an elementary music teacher (and assistant band director at the high school) in Maryland, less than an hour and a half drive from our home. She is a temple worker at the Washington DC temple. She is an amazing friend and sister. She is also an inspiration to anyone who wants to get fit. She has worked extremely hard to reach her goal weight, and is doing things for the first time like running races and training for a half-marathon. (Brad is supposed to run it with her, but his training is kind of inconsistent.) When she visited our home Brad agreed to run with her, even though we were getting some serious snow accumulation. I had to take some pictures because they looked so cute as they got ready to take on the snow and ice. ( I know cute isn't a word they'll appreciate, but they really did look cute. :) When they got back from their run, they were covered with snow...Brad's eyebrows had melted by the time I took the picture, but check out Heather's hair. People think they're crazy running in this weather, but they really have no choice. We are having a real winter with snow every week, sometimes everyday. We've had 8 snowdays just in February and 3 2 hr. delays. Heather has about 5-6 feet of snow outside of her house and has had more snowdays than we have. But, the training must go on......

Just Because....

Brad and I are pretty laid back about Valentine's Day, so we do our usual date night and sometimes we exchange cards. No biggie. Brad would ignore it entirely if I agreed, because "it's not even a real holiday." I don't entirely disagree with him. Besides, we have date nights every week and he lets me know everyday how much he loves me. A few weeks ago, we were having a rough patch with Mallory and her tantrums. It was a preschool morning and she was refusing to get ready and was screaming and crying. I had just woken up, and since I'm not a morning person, it just rubbed me the wrong way. But, Brad carried her to the car and delivered her to preschool where she immediately stopped her tantrum upon entering the building, walked off with her teacher and proceeded to play her little heart out for 2 hours. That afternoon the doorbell rang and a man stood there with a flower delivery. I was so pleasantly surprised. It included Gerber daisies and what looked like little red lilies (though I'm not sure they were), which are my two favorite flowers. The card read, "just wanted you to know how much I love and appreciate you. Your Loving Husband." I called to thank him and asked why he'd sent me flowers, and he told me that he knew I was having a rough day and wanted to do something special for me. How sweet is that?! I have decided that I would much rather receive flowers on an unexpected day than on Valentine's Day. But, that's just me. :)

I absolutely loved how colorful the arrangement was....especially during our white, white winter.

Bethany turns 7!

I couldn't believe seven years had passed since I held my firstborn in my arms - January 31, 2003. These seven years have been the best ever because she made me a mommy. I never could have understood the happiness and love of parenthood without the arrival of this miracle. I'm thankful everyday for her. Here are some characteristics of and thoughts about my 7 yr old Bethany:

• She has been smiling since the first week of her life, and when she gives you a real smile - not the forced, unnatural one that started appearing in photographs at around the age of 5 - she can melt your heart and lift your spirits better than almost anyone or anything.
• She has had a ton of hair since before she was born, and I had the heartburn to prove it. She had lots of dark hair with highlighted tips, and even though everyone said it would fall out, it never did. She has had more than a few haircuts and donated her hair twice to Pantene Beautiful Lengths.
• She has been the little mother around here since the day she met Mallory. Though she gets frustrated with her from time to time, she is generally patient and loving, helpful and sweet. When I'm trying to get Mal to do something she doesn't want to do, Bethany always tries to encourage her to do what is right and offers to help her, too. She is an amazing big sister!
• She was the first grandchild born into my family, and she nicknamed my dad "papa deer" when she was 2. Why? Because he was deer hunting over Thanksgiving week that year, and my girls still call him that to this day, only now it's "grandpa deer".
• Any teacher or coach she's ever had, at preschool or church, has loved her. She listens, tries hard, helps others and is a delight to be around. (their words, not mine) You always wonder what your child will be like for other people, and I don't worry about her at all.
• She wants to try and learn every sport imaginable, but is afraid to learn to swim or ride a bike. (We're working on those.) She is teachable and coordinated, and I love watching her play on and be a part of teams.
• She is very, I repeat - VERY, afraid of fire. She has nightmares if she even hears someone talk about fire.
• When she bleeds, or someone around her has an injury or cut, she can pass out. She always warns me with the phrase, "my eyes are getting fuzzy, mom." I got a phone call from her school a couple of weeks ago because they thought she was having a seizure. She had actually passed out because she got a paper cut on her finger, tiny paper cut I might add, and when the substitute teacher didn't cover it fast enough with a band aid or have her sit down, she started to shake and sway and became unresponsive. The teacher picked her up and ran down the hall to the office where the principal and other staff were quite concerned about her until they talked to me. Whoops. Now they know. :)
• She is sensitive, funny, talented, spiritual, and a beauty and wonder in my life. She has taught me what it is to feel unconditional love.

Bethany decided she wanted the number 7 candle, AND seven individual candles. (sometimes she reminds me of a 14 yr old, so it was fitting. :) They barely fit on the cupcake, but she blew them all out with one breath. Wow!

Can you guess the theme? I was glad I splurged on this banner because it was so bright and colorful. We'll use it again, I'm sure.

Brad is holding his grand-niece, yep - I said grand. Her name is Lily, and she's adorable.

Gift opening time is her favorite part, I think.....she got a paper cut on the first card and I got to it before her "eyes got fuzzy", thank goodness.

One of B's favorite gifts, a personal water cooler that she is gracious enough to share with little sis. Good choice, Grandma!

Sweethearts

As I sat in sacrament meeting yesterday, I had a sweet experience with my daughters. We were singing the closing hymn, and I don't even remember what it was now, but for one of the first times ever Bethany was trying to read the lyrics and sing along with me. She had her head close to mine and her arm around me, and as I looked down at her in admiration I realized there was another sweet voice coming from my right....Mallory. She was sitting up as tall as she could and trying to sing along with the congregation. She got some of the words right, and tried her hardest to keep up. I tried to soak it all in and was reminded of how fortunate I am to have two miraculous, beautiful, healthy daughters. And they love to sing, and are reverent during the prayers (usually), and they make each day brighter for me and for the other people in their lives. Oh, how I love them!

Got it back!

Quick update....I got my purse back! It's smelly and dirty, but I should be able to carefully wash it and use it again. Yeah! The State Police said that everything in it had been handled too much by the city police, so it would not be useful as evidence. All of my keys were still in it, the shot records and a spa gift card, too, but my pictures of the girls were mostly ruined. Brad has copies of most of them, though, so it's all good. I knew that women would understand the frustration. :)