Sunday Stew - Main ingredient...Nora!

While I let the water boil (aka wait for the pics to upload...blogger is having issues) for the stew I wanted to make a few comments on previous post questions/comments:

My Hair:

I like it. I think I will go shorter. I did not color it, but am thinking I may need to join the ranks of the hair colorers ( I know it's not a word). I'm getting used to the bangs...a little. They hide the wrinkles on my forehead...and the random zits I've suddenly been getting this month. What will I have to do to get 38 comments again?

My Parents "shut-up" story:

That is SO TYPICAL of my parents to act that way. First of all, I never ever ever carried a key growing up. Even after we were all married I always knew I could get into my parents house somehow...even if they were out of town. Second, they don't scare easily. Of course they were startled, but their first reaction was concern for the girl. Like I said...typical. They are so easy going with that kind of thing and I'm sure didn't fear for themselves AT ALL. All I have to say is that the girl is so lucky that she chose my parents unit. There is nowhere else I'd rather go if I were in dire straights. They love and take in anyone.

My thumbs:

Here is the picture I promised you.

I know it's hard to see. I didn't have anyone here to take a decent picture for me. The picture shows it opposite of what it really is. My right thumb is relatively normal looking. My left thumb is much shorter and stubbier. Like I said, the funny thing is that the right is just like my mom's, and the left stubby is just like my dad's. Fun for me, but I do often get double takes and funny looks...especially if I'm getting a manicure or something.

Now on to the stew!

So, one of our good friends came in town for a conference and stayed with us for just one night before the conference started. Brandon is Sally's husband. (on my sidebar, but private...too bad for you). When he left in the morning I went in to strip the bed. This is what I found...

Who does this? Translation...what MAN does this? The bed was made with the sheets neatly folded at the foot of the bed. I had to show in the second picture how perfectly the fitted sheet was folded. I can't even fold fitted sheets that well. Sally always told me how helpful he was around the house but C'MON!! Needless to say, they are welcome to visit anytime...even if the bed is left unmade!!

Max LOVES avocados. He would eat three a day if I let him. So, what to do with all those avocado seeds? SPROUT THEM! Am I the only one who did this as a kid? Yes, it takes FOREVER for the initial sprout, but they are so much fun to watch grow.

Here is our little avocado garden on top of the dining room hutch! (don't mind the dust) Then a close up shot. Finally I took a few down to show the stages. So, if your looking for something to do with those avocado seeds (I know you've been dying to know) here is an idea!

Nora decided to use my new hair product (not cheap by the way) to smooth her dry skin. She is so cute even when she is getting in trouble!

Miss Ella Belle finally lost her other front tooth! You wouldn't think this could actually make her cuter, but it does!

Nora is becoming MUCH more comfortable in the water and cracks us up to watch in the bath. She spreads out and waits for the water to fill up and almost cover her face. Her body is all stretched out. It's so funny! If you look close, her left eye is still a little brown from the black eye incident! I'm getting a little worried now that it's been over two months!

Nora thought she would be really funny and put on some of Jack's undies. She was dancing around the room. Of course she had to still have her shiny purse in hand. In the second picture it's hard to see, but she must have picked up that when wearing these underwear, the hand must be placed in between the legs. She's learned from the best!

Happy Birthday Dave!! (February 27th)

OK, so I'm really late on this, but better late than never right?! RIGHT?! My brother Dave is 2 years and 5 days older than I am and I love him SO MUCH!! I just had to do a little photo tribute of some of our good times together. You can click on the pictures to enlarge if you so desire.

L to R: posing with our cute smiles, in the backyard with the clown sprinkler, indian and nurse for halloween.

L to R: Dave and my older brother Brian gazing at their new baby sister...ME!, don't you love face painting?, dave practicing his trumpet in my ear.

L to R: more halloween costumes, our first computer (an apple of course)...do we look suprised?, first day of 7th and 9th grades. (he was pretty much my idol at this point!)

L to R: The two of us right before he left on his mission, then my friend Ashley and I giving him a welcome home kiss when he returned!

Here he is with a few of his girls (he has 4). He's a great Dad and it's so fun to live by them.

Here they all are. Dave, Natalie, Andrew, Ashley, Lauren, Hannah, and Audrey!

Dave and his wife Natalie. Aren't they a gorgeous couple? Sure love these guys!

I feel so lucky to have Dave in my life. He is such a great person and brother. Here is 35 things I love about Dave:

1. He is handy.

2. He loves gadgets.

3. He's easy to be around.

4. He doesn't always have to say his opinion (unlike his little sister).

5. I'm always proud to tell people he's my brother.

6. He is very fit.

7. He actually WANTED to run the St. George marathon with Paul and I (who probably slowed him down).

8. He always makes me feel good about myself.

9. Growing up he knew how to tell me things in a kind way where I didn't feel bad about myself or question his love for me.

10. He's easy to talk to, but doesn't have to be the center of attention.

11. He looks so much like my Dad at the same age...so so handsome!

12. He's not needy.

13. He's got self confidence without being arrogant.

14. He loves music as much as I do.

15. He lives by me... and claims that he is glad!

16. He and Paul are good friends.

17. He is a great water skier and golfer.

18. He is a positive/optimistic person.

19. We have had a lot of similar experiences. (study abroad to Israel, working as Senate pages in Washington D.C., etc.)

20. He chose an awesome wife.

21. He's an awesome dentist.

22. He likes Tab.

23. He loves Hot Tamales, and Cinnamon Bears (only the sweets brand please).

24. He looked out for me in Jr. High and High School.

25. He let me sleep in his room on Christmas Eve growing up.

26. He is very non-judgmental.

27. He is a very hard worker.

28. He likes Nacho Libre.

29. He is decisive.

30. He is really accepting of all types of people.

31. He likes to buy things from infomercials.

32. He doesn't worry about what other people think about him.

33. He likes sushi.

34. He is so great with my kids.

35. He is and always will be one of my best friends.

I LOVE YOU DAVE!!

Here's a "shut-up" story for you (just think of Elaine on Seinfield)

My mom sent me a copy of what she had written about something that happened to them recently when returning home from a night out. I thought many of you may find it interesting, shocking, scary, and unbelievable! Here it goes:

We Live in a Secure Building

We live in a secure building …sometimes I’ve said it’s too secure, because it seems to be so much trouble to get in, that our children don’t ever come to see us here.

One quiet winter evening, on Friday, Feb. 22, 2008, Stuart and I returned home from an outing about 9:30 P.M. and as usual, Stuart dropped me off at the 3rd floor while he went up to the 4th floor to retrieve our mail. Since we live in such a secure building, needing a magnetic key to enter from the outside, and living on the 3rd floor, we usually leave the door to our unit unlocked. As I tried to enter our unit, I couldn’t open the door wider than about a foot, and something seemed to be blocking the entryway. As I tried again, I looked down and was immediately startled and pulled back. There in the dark, on the kitchen floor, blocking my way was a young girl…limp and looking lifeless. Shocked, I pulled the door back and looked at the door number to make sure I was really at my own unit. Yes, I was at 308. I opened the door again and the girl stirred slightly. At least she wasn’t dead!

“Are you alright”, I stammered? Thinking at first that it might be the young maid who cleans our building, I asked, “Where are you supposed to be?”

She looked up at me with groggy eyes and groaned, then pushed our door shut. I was shaking as I went to meet Stuart at the elevator door just around the corner. I told him what I had discovered, and we went back to our door and once again tried to open it. Now it was locked from the inside! “She’s got to still be in there, and she’s locked the door !” I said, “ I have been here in the hall by the elevator and no one has come out and it’s only been a couple of minutes since she closed the door.” Cautiously, Stuart unlocked our door and we entered the unit and flipped on the light. The girl was no longer on the floor and the rest of our apartment was dark. Not even thinking that someone else might be in the apartment, we went searching through every room. She obviously wasn’t in the kitchen or living room, Stuart checked the study, and the laundry room…not there. I checked the master bedroom, bathroom and closet, and then met Stuart back in our hallway to check the other bedroom. We couldn’t see her in the closet or on the other side of the bed – not even under the bed, but the mattress itself was askew about a foot and it looked like someone was or had been sleeping in the bed. Stuart pulled back the bedspread… discovering only bunched up covers. Then, he lifted the mattress to adjust it back onto the box springs, when out came a leg!

Stuart gasped and jumped back. As he caught his breath, we lifted the mattress and discovered the girl between the mattress and the box springs! She was lying there still as a corpse. She had no shoes and her unmatched clothing was on inside out. Her hair was straggly around her face and she was pale as a ghost. I called to her, shaking her slightly and saying, “wake up, are you okay?” I could see she was a young teenager and called to her again, this time saying, “Honey, you’ve got to get up, let us help you.” She stirred and I got her sitting up on the bed. She looked both groggy and frightened, and then started to cry. I led her out to the hallway in our apartment where Stuart put his arm around her and she leaned into him and continued to cry. I put the mattress back in place, and then helped Stuart lead her to the couch in the front room. We tried to find out where she was supposed to be and where she thought she was. Now I could smell the alcohol on her breath and knew she was in no condition to think rationally. She called out, “I promise I won’t hurt you…I promise.” Interestingly enough, I had never thought that she might hurt us, and told her, “we won’t hurt you either, and we just want to find out where you need to be.” She said she was there to visit her sister and brother in law who lived on the 1st floor. She gave us their names and we tried to lead her out the door. “I’ll be in so much trouble,” she said, ‘Don’t call the police, I promise I won’t hurt you.” She continued to cry and staggered out with us to the elevator where we proceeded to the 1st floor.

As we got out of the elevator, our friend, Bob was at his storage unit working, so we asked him if he recognized or knew this girl, and told him the name of the sister she was looking for. He didn’t know either of them, but looked in his directory for the name she had given us. No one by that name was listed in our building. She insisted her sister lived there, so we decided to knock on every door on the first floor. As we went to the first unit to knock, the girl once again panicked and said, “Don’t knock…I’ll be in so much trouble.” I had let go of her arm, and suddenly she bolted, and ran down the hall. I turned to follow her, but didn’t run. By the time I got down the hall, turned and gone down the second hall, she was gone. There was a doorway leading to the stairs and it was shut. I walked back to Stuart and Bob, and they suggested we just go back to our apartment, check for damage and lock the door.

After getting back upstairs, we checked and could tell nothing had been taken or damaged in the apartment, but I was not content to let things stand as they were…really I was most concerned about the girl and wondered what we should do about her. It was a freezing cold winter night…what if she had run outside and now couldn’t get back in where it was warm. What if she were not only drunk, but on drugs and needed something more than sleep to recuperate? How did she get in the building? Who was responsible for her? Should we warn our neighbors and even have them help us look for her? Should we just call the police? Finally I called back downstairs to Bob and he let me know that the girl had returned to their unit, thinking it was her sister’s place. Bob was taking more things to his storage unit, and his wife had been on the phone. Somehow the girl got the notion that Bob was holding his wife hostage and she was calling for help. The girl got frantic when Bob came back to “help” again. Once again she bolted, and Bob couldn’t find her. I decided I needed to tell other neighbors and get some help, and went to leave, when our phone rang. It was another one of our neighbors who said the police were here and wanted to talk to us.

When the police came up to our unit, they were with a few of our neighbors who had apparently heard about the trouble. Soon a young couple also showed up that identified themselves as the girl’s sister and brother in law. They are the ones who called the police. We told the police our story, and they let us know that they knew the girl and had dealt with her before. “She is only 17 years old and has some mental problems,” they said. The sister added that the girl is bi-polar, and is border line schizophrenic.” She is on drugs and of course tonight was drunk as well. They ask if any damage was done and how we were. We told them that we didn’t want to cause further problems for anyone and simply wanted to see that the girl got the help she needed. They all thanked us, told us that they had found the girl asleep on a couch in the clubhouse and had now sent her to the psyche ward at the University Hospital.

Her sister and brother in law apologized and thanked us and went back to their unit. (Which was on the 4th floor, which is the main entry from the east side of the building, which makes it seem like the first floor.) They had just moved in two weeks ago, and therefore weren’t in the directory, nor did they know very many people. The young girl had come to tend for her sister!!! (We didn’t know what condition the girl was in when she came to tend, nor where she got the alcohol that got her drunk, but at least we knew the girl was now in a safe environment.) I kept thinking to myself…what if we had gone to bed not knowing she was between the mattress and the box springs!!! What would we have found the next time we changed the sheets?

Even though we “complain” that we live in a building that is sometimes “too secure”… I think we’ll keep our unit door locked from now on!

Happy Birthday to Me!! (March 3rd)

(Sing this to the Happy Birthday song)

Happy Birthday to Me
I'm now thirty three
I have such a blessed life
And here's why, you'll see!

33 Reasons I LOVE my life!!

1. Paul - he is so supportive and encourages me in all my crazy pursuits (marathons, school, etc.).

2. Ella - my "sunshine girl." She is SO GOOD! Her smile and personality are a joy.

3. Jack - my tender hearted boy. I am amazed daily by this kid. I don't deserve him.

4. Max - my tornado. He has so much energy and interest. I love seeing the world through his eyes.

5. Nora - my baby girl. I am determined to keep her from growing up. She's so girlie, fun and sassy.

6. My parents and siblings - words can't even describe how much I love them. My childhood was a gift.

7. My in-laws - marriage has brought so many wonderful people into my life and the life of my siblings. I'm so glad we don't have to be born into the same families to be related.

8. Great friends - I've always been blessed with great friends who inspire me and make me want to be better. That is no exception here. I had such wonderful, thoughtful gifts, calls, notes, and events from friends that made my day!

9. Good books - I love "experiencing" things through others eyes. I hope it has made me a more aware and compassionate person.

10. Our hot tub - there is nothing like heat, ice-water, and good conversation to make me happy!

11. Good health - I am in better shape now than I ever was in High school.

12. The older I get the less I care about what people think about me. That's scary since I think I've always been pretty good about that. At this rate, I'm going to be like those sassy grandma's who just say it like it is when I'm in my 40's.

13. I have a Mac, and thanks to Paul I now have an iphone (for my b-day). YEA!!!

14. Freedom - As I get older I realize more and more how grateful I am for the blessing of living in America. I love the constitution and truly believe it was an inspired document written by inspired men.

15. It was 78 degrees today, the trees are blossoming, and I've taken my kids to the park 3 times a week for the last month.

16. DVR - It actually has made me watch way LESS T.V., and I don't have to endure commercials.

17. Primary - Have I mentioned this before? :) I am SO in love with my calling at church I can hardly stand it! Children are SO MUCH closer to God than we are. I am so grateful to work with these precious little spirits. And to think that I went up to my room and BAWLED after I received the calling...I was so ignorant!

18. Internet - I love that I can Google anything and usually get an answer. My life is SO much easier because of computers.

19. Blogging - it has allowed me to journal, scrapbook, keep a family history, and keep in touch with friends and family all in one fail swoop! Hooray for less guilt over not doing those things!

20. All my kids sleep through the night in their own beds! All you Moms of young kids know how wonderful this is. Of course a part of me wishes I was as nice as my SIL who truly enjoys having her kids safe and snuggly beside her. If I liked it then that would be great, but I can't sleep a wink with them in bed with me. Am I selfish or what?!

21. I can stay home with my kids. I love being able to be there for the little everyday things. I like that my kids expect me to be there for them and that I'm the first one they look to for answers.

22. I live so close to my brother. Dave and Natalie are the best and it has been so nice to live by at least one member of our family after 8 years far away from anyone!

23. I live in a place where people might actually want to come and visit. TRANSLATION - please come and visit.

24. I've been able to travel to France, Italy, England, Israel, Jordan, and Egypt! And I'm just getting started!

25. That each new day is like a new chance...to do better...to be better...to live better.

26. That I don't have to do my taxes anymore. I did them for the first 11 years of our marriage.

27. I truly love to see other people succeed. I am genuinely happy for others and am NOT a jealous person at all.

28. That I have different thumbs. One looks just like my mom's, and one just like my dads. (I'll add the picture later) It freaks some people out, but I LOVE it.

29. Convenience. I live in such a great area and so many things are conveniently located. I know that sounds like a weird thing to love about my life, but as a SAHM of small children it makes all the difference in the world. I'm not a spender by any means, but the things that do see my money are the things that make my life easier, not necessarily prettier!

30. Finally realizing that it's all about the journey...not the destination. Keeping that in mind is a struggle many days, but I think I am really starting to "get it."

31. Amazing examples in my life. The list could go from prophets, neighbors, family members, friends, etc. There are so many good people on earth that it gives me a lot of hope.

32. 33 years of experience that has taught me more and more of who I am and what I want to be. I'm still in search of how to be the best me, but I'm so grateful for all the things I've gone through in my life that have brought me here.

33. My Faith. I don't at all mean to be preachy, or force my religion, but I have to be honest and say that it is the cornerstone of my life. I get so much inspiration, motivation, support, love, education, and fulfillment from my church. I am so grateful for forgiveness and the example and atonement of Jesus Christ.

Let's hope I'm just getting started on adding to this list. I love getting older...or should I say wiser!

RIP - Sammy Hammy Oct 2006-Feb 2008.

Our first pet Sammy Hammy (aka. Houdini) passed away peacefully on February 28th 2008. He was a good hamster who spent his days sleeping, and his nights scheming his escapes. He was successful many times in his attempts. We were always overjoyed when we found him in unexpected places. Sammy preferred the guest bathroom and made that his official vacation destination after trying out the master bathtub, Nora's closet, upstairs bathroom cupboards, and the master closet.

He is survived by his mourning family. Ella took the news particularly hard.

She and Sammy had a special bond that is immortalized by the T-shirt she got shortly after he joined our family.

We will miss you Sammy. Thanks for the memories.

M - A - X

Sunday March 2nd was my main man Max's 4th birthday. I love this kid so much and I'll try to explain a little bit why here:

M Marvelous, Mischevious, Macho, Maddening, Magnificent, Mysterious, MINE!

A Adorable, Alert, Alive, Animated, Adventurous, Aggressive, Amused, ALL BOY!

X X-tra loving, X-tra energy, X-tra smart, X-tra funny, X-tra loud, X-TRA SPECIAL!

These pictures crack me up because they are SO TYPICAL MAX!! Or should I say Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde?

Max requested Pizza for his dinner and Paul thought I looked "so Betty Crocker" and he took these pictures. I had to add the second one because I wanted to point out my gracefulness in closing the oven with my foot. I wish I could say I made that lovely stuffed pizza from scratch, but I'll have to give the credit to Papa Murphy. I seriously LOVE THAT PLACE! I just picked it up the night before and kept it in the fridge until it was time to cook. VOILA!

I was laughing SO HARD when I took this picture in Wal-Mart the other day. Max insisted on bringing these toy glasses with him in the store. They once had dark lenses in them and were part of the "Cops" set he got for Christmas. Anyway, he wanted me to take a picture of him, so I did with my phone. When I saw the result I was ROLLING because he looks just like his Grandpa Colin!! I swear there is a picture of Grandpa with some large dark rimmed glasses and the nice buck teeth when he was about 10 or so. I've always thought he was the spittin' image...now I KNOW he is!!