Pigs and Fortunes

Ben brought home a book he made at school. It is called My Pig Book, by Ben. The first pages are filled with words that rhyme with pig, and words that also start with 'p'. The last page has the printed question: Some people have pigs for pets. What would you do if you had a pig as a pet?

Ben's answer, as written: I wid cil it and mak a fut bol awt uv it.

Translation: I would kill it and make a football out of it.

Some of you may be worried about Ben (especially those of you who own pigs); but personally, I am incredibly impressed with his creativity, and ability to think outside of the box -- or pig pen, in this case!

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My fortune: You will do well to take a vacation travelling to the west.

Huh. Maybe there is something to those things, afterall.

To All the Girls I've Loved Before

A few years ago, while at a large family gathering, my sweet nephew stopped breathing. His mother had taken him upstairs to change a diaper, when all of a sudden he went limp. She looked down and he was already turning blue. She screamed, and several of us adults charged upstairs. When I saw his blue, limp body, I thought my heart would break, and I had never been so scared. He was just a few months older than Ben, which made the situation all the more real for me.

I was just standing there, unsure of what to do, or how to help, when my husband handed me the phone and said, "It's 9-1-1." Then he began checking my nephew. Immediately, I gathered my senses and took on a kind of detached efficiency mode. I calmly communicated the situation with the 9-1-1 operator, and gave her instructions to those helping with my nephew. I think I even went so far as to dictate who should give him a blessing.

Thankfully, this sweet little boy began breathing again, and is full of life and energy and happiness today!

I share this story with you as an extreme example of what happens to me when emotions are high, the pressure is on, and action is required: I become calmly detached and can be incredibly efficient when needed. It is my coping mechanism, to put a barrier between me and my emotions so that I can take care of the situation at hand.

I have become aware that I am once again in my detached-efficiency mode. Emotions are high: the heartache at leaving so many wonderful, dear friends who have positively impacted my life in so many ways; the excitement to finally be finished with James' indentured servitude -- to possibly gain more control over our time and schedules. The pressure is on: the stress of getting through these last weeks with a VERY intense schedule. Action is required: dealing with all of the arrangements involved with our move, the sell of our home, the purchase of another home, James' graduation, etc.

This is the longest I've ever lived in the same Ward in my adult life. It has been a fabulous experience! I feel like this Ward has been so patient and kind with me as I have grown up, and I have no doubt that they will continue to support and encourage each other in our absence.

It is difficult, with a barrier between me and my emotions, to adequately express to my dear sisters (and brothers) here just how much they mean to me. I guess I should have done it a few months ago, before the detachment set in. However, if I had the words to bridge the gap between me and my emotions, I would want to tell them each how their love and support through these last years has been invaluable; how their examples as they have endured trials and heartaches and challenges of their own have taught me so much; how their acceptance of me has helped me to accept myself; how I'm going to miss them, and how I will do double-takes again and again in our new town, when, for a split second, I think I see their face.

So, to all the girls (and boys) I've loved before, thank you! God bless you! And I(we) will miss you! (But not for another few weeks!)

Some Movies That I Wish I Owned

Bridge to Terabithia

Beautiful Mind

Dan in Real Life

Pirates Who Don't Do Anything

Hoodwinked

Stardust

Curious George

Steel Magnolias

Cinderella Man

The Snowball Express

Stranger Than Fiction

Hotel Rawanda

Life Is Beautiful



That's probably enough for now.

What are some movies that you would recommend??

CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES, COME ON. . .

We did it!!! We made reservations for a super-fantastic celebratory vacation!!! Thanks for all of your support/encouraging peer pressure/threats! It meant a lot to me!!

Now, as if that wasn't enough cause for excitement: (Drum Roll, PLease) We received an offer on our house today, and we are now under contract!!!!!!!! WAHOOOOOO!! Barring any problems with the inspection or with the buyer's financing, we have basically sold our home! Yay! What a huge burden lifted off of our shoulders.

Dream BIG!! Go Miniscule.

James and I have a history of settling for far less than we originally wanted. Let me give you some examples:

Example #1:
Before James graduated from Medical School, we had planned to go to Hawaii, or at least Disneyland to celebrate. We figured it was an exceptionally big deal, and that we should mark the occasion with some exceptional celebrating!

In actuality, rather than the exceptional celebrating we had wanted, we moved to our new home and worked until we were exceptionally exhausted fixing it up. We did eventually (meaning several months later) go to the local amusement park when we were given some free tickets.

Now, when you have Hawaii or Disneyland in your mind, it's really hard for even a good local amusement park to fill the expectation -- especially four months past due.

Example #2:
As our 10th Anniversary approached, we felt we should do something BIG to celebrate (sound familiar?). We discussed options such as flying our family out West, and leaving the kids with our parents while we had a get-away; or flying one of our mom's out here to watch the kids, while we had a get-away. Places such as Prince Edward's Island, the Great Smokey Mountains, Bryce Canyon, etc. were discussed.

In actuality, we did get away over-night one night when a dear friend offered to watch our kids. We went one exit away from our home and stayed in a hotel. This was several months before our actual anniversary. For our actual anniversary, I did an inexpensive make-over of our bedroom. Not terrible, but not Prince Edward's Island, etc.

Example #3:
This is a bit less dramatic, but it reflects the pattern. It had been a long week for both of us. We were tired, hadn't seen much of each other, and wanted a date. We were feeling pretty poor, so we decided that we would eat dinner at home, but then we would go to a restaurant for a yummy, decadent dessert.

In actuality, by the time we ate dinner, it was about time for the kids to go to bed. The thought of trying to enjoy an outing at a restaurant with tired/grouchy kids was daunting. So, one of us got the kids put to bed, and the other one went to the grocery store and picked up a treat.

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Why do I bring all of this up now? Well, because in 8 1/2 weeks, James will complete his residency program!! Five absolutely gruelling years -- all that we've been working for (professionally) for over nine years! A REALLY.BIG.DEAL, right? Yup.

Guess what sorts of possibilities we have been throwing around? Airplanes, hotels, rental cars, Disneyland, LEGOland, Sea World, San Diego Zoo, . . . you get the idea. I should be REALLY excited, right? Yea, sure.

I know I'm being immature, but I'm already pouting about the big celebration that will never come to pass. I guess I better just suck it up, and accept reality: I'll see you all at the local Target . . . maybe we can each pick something from the dollar section.

Relationship Advice from a Six Year Old and Other Stories & Random Thoughts

Ben's finger got an awful infection recently.
As a result, I've made several calls to his daddy, while he was at work, to ask advice. Granted, I call him more often than just about infected fingers, and sometimes, I just want to hear his voice. Often, when the kids and I call, he is unavailable, and we just get his voice mail.

At the end of one of these "advice" calls, I told him I loved him and hung up.

Almost immediately Ben says, "I know how we can talk to Daddy more on the phone."

I said, "Oh, yeah? How?"

Ben replies, "Stop just telling him that you love him. Then, when he sees his phone ringing, he'll be, like, 'Oh, this must be important.' And he'll answer."


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We were eating lunch at Sam's Club yesterday, when I saw Brianna's whole face light up. I followed her gaze to see what had made her so excited and happy. I was surprised to see a grizzly-looking older employee with a beard, who was completely oblivious to her. I wondered why he was making her so happy.
The mystery was solved when she said, loudly, "Ho! Ho! Ho!"

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So, we've had a few people come and look at our home. The feedback we've received is this:

"We like the home, but not the area." and "We like the home, but aren't sure it's big enough for us."

So, in an effort to sell our home, I am having it dug up from the foundation, placed on a VERY large flat-bed trailer; moved to a more posh area of town; and having a new wing thrown on while in transit.

I think it will work.


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The other day, Ben brought me an egg timer -- you know, the sand in the hour-glass type? -- and told me that every time it ran out of sand, it was spanking time. I told him I didn't want to spank him for no reason. He assured me that that was just the way this worked. Sure enough, he'd watch the sand, and every time it ran out, he'd come over to me and stick his little bum out. I'd resist and he'd insist, until I finally gave him a gentle swat. This scene was repeated many times over the course of the afternoon. . . . Maybe Ben knows something that I don't know. Hmmmm. . . . .

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Brianna plays sooo cute with her doll babies. She pretends to feed them and put them to bed; she walks them in her baby stroller, and takes them shopping with her shopping cart. It is very fun to watch her little nurturing self.
A few days ago, she had put her doll down for a nap. After a while, she walked into the kitchen holding the same doll, and said something that I distinctly understood to be, "The baby has woken up from her nap!"
As she turned and headed down the hall, I heard her exclaim, "Whoo-ee! Stinky!" Then, she laid the baby down, and pretended to change it's diaper!

My Sweet Babies!!

Oh! How I love these two precious, little souls!!

I'm not sure what they built here, but it looks cool!

Just hangin' in the front yard.

I thought this picture was a classic! It's sure to be included in Brianna's wedding video!

Happy 6th Birthday, Ben!!

I can hardly believe my little boy is six years old! He is growing up so fast. I am so glad Heavenly Father sent him to our home!