Bappy Hirthday to Mama's Number One

(This picture was last year's birthday--I'll try to post some of this year's soon!)Today is a special day--my sweetheart turns 34! He continues to insist that that's just a vicious rumor, but it's true. :) On his birthday, allow me to praise and extol him for a while. (It's not bragging if it's true, right?) My darling is truly one of the greatest men I have ever known. You will never meet a more thoughtful, loving person. He really cares about other people and is always doing things to help. This may not sound romantic, but last night he spent a half-hour bleaching the toilet and scrubbing all around it after a little crisis that occurred. I offered to do it and even changed my clothes to grubbies, and he wouldn't let me. And this is after 10 years of marriage! To me, that is real love. We still argue about who's going to take the car without A/C, trying to get each other to take the nice car! :) He makes sure we have a date every week, and often plans creative things for us to do together. He reads with me at night, often choosing something that he knows I would really like to read (right now it's "A Tale of Two Cities"). :)

My darling is a wonderful father. He puts the boys to bed every night when he's home, making sure Exacto and Fluffy set out their school clothes for the next day, and brushing Hummer's teeth, and reading them all a story. He takes them on "Super Kid Dates", often these are bike rides with just him and one of his sons. He is gentle and compassionate with me in my expectant state, patient with my moans and complainings, and quick to offer to let me go lie down for a while.

My sweetheart is a man of faith. He lives what he believes. And he is decidedly in the minority wherever he goes, being a "family man" and a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am so proud of his standing up for family whenever issues have come up, for always asking for Sundays off even though he rarely gets them, and just for his being willing to be different from everyone else as we strive to raise a strong family.

To top all this off, my husband has amazing talents. I consider him a genius in many respects, although it has taken me years to get to know him well enough to see this quality because he is modest TO A FAULT. I've tried to encourage him to be a little more forthcoming about his abilities, but it just is not natural for him. To really know how gifted he is, you have to hear him play the violin (of course) but also the piano! without music! You have to hear him improvise silly songs with the boys. You have to hear him discuss the great violinists and teachers of the past, about which he is deeply knowledgable but will never admit it!! :)

You'd think that such an incredible person might be kind of stiff or unreal, but DC is also one of the funniest people I have ever known. He has a wacky, one-of-a-kind sense of humor. He still catches me off-guard sometimes by making me laugh hysterically about something he says. This humor has really helped keep our marriage fresh through difficult times and helped lighten the stress of child-rearing.

Happy Birthday to my "Number One Boy", my eternal companion and best friend forever! I love you, and thank Heavenly Father for letting you be my life!

A Day at the Memphis Temple

Our ward had a temple trip to the Memphis Temple this past Saturday. The youth did baptisms, and many of the adults did endowments and sealings. We left around 6:15am, and I did a session while DC watched the boys, then I watched them while DC did sealings (the session was too full!). It was a wonderful day. The boys are always excited to go to the temple, and it's so nice to have the time to visit with my Sweetheart in the car (usually on the way home, when the boys tend to fall asleep.) We stopped and got an ice cream treat on the way home, which DC commented would be a great tradition for temple trips. :)
It's great to have a temple so close. Before the Memphis Temple was dedicated, our stake members traveled to Dallas, 6 hours away. When we lived in FL, it was a 4-hour drive. I remember driving down when I was very pregnant with Fluffy, in our van that had no A/C. Then waiting at the temple with Exacto and trading off, except there was no air-conditioned stake center nearby for him to play at. It was much harder. And yet, as soon as I walked through the doors of the temple, I felt so close to Heavenly Father. That made it all more than worth the effort! I love the temple! I rejoice in the blessings that come from the ordinances performed there!

Elegy to a Deflated Exercise Ball

It was a yellow ball, with rubbery spikes.

It was always in the living room. (yikes)

The boys were taught to leave it alone.

Oh, why did I ever let it roam.



It was given to me by a dear, good friend.

Alas, one day, it reached a sorry end.

For Hummer's wrath did wax sore

When he was asked to pick up his toys off the floor.



Woe betide the yellow ball.

Hummer's countenance did fall.

He issued threats in his three-year-old fury

And found a push-pin in a hurry.



I was in the kitchen making lunch

When suddenly I had a hunch

That Hummer was all-too-quiet for good

I looked up and by the ball he stood,

Dreaded push-pin in hand.



Alas for my yellow exercise ball,

Deflating slowly in the hall!

Our comeradeship was all too brief.

What shall I do to the little thief?



Dear reader of my humble blog,

Please comment and advise me in my fog!

"Our cells divided and grew to the beat of her heart"

I've been reading Jane Clayson Johnson's book "I Am a Mother", and I just love it! She used to be one of the anchors for the CBS Early Morning Show, but is now a full-time mom. Almost every page has a quote I would love to share on this blog. :) Today I will share one that particularly struck me, as I am currently carrying a little one inside me. It made me realize that I'm already influencing my new little son before he's even born!

"Author, obstetrician/gynecologist, and women's health expert Christiane Northrup, M.D., says, 'Our mother provides us with our first experience of nurturing. She is our first and most powerful female role model. It is from her that we learn what it is to be a woman. . . .Our cells divided and grew to the beat of her heart. Our skin, hair, heart, lungs, and bones were nourished by her blood, blood that was awash with the neurochemicals formed in response to her thoughts, beliefs, and emotions. If she was fearful [or] anxious. . . , our bodies knew it. If she felt safe, happy, and fulfilled, we felt that too. . . .
"Every daughter contains her mother and all the women who came before her. The unrealized dreams of our maternal ancestors are part of our heritage' (Mother-Daughter Wisdom, 3)."

First Day of School

To My Child

You are the trip I did not take.

You are the pearls I cannot buy.

You are my blue Italian lake.

You are my piece of foreign sky.

--Anne Campbell

Last Day of Summer

Saturday (8/18/07) was our last day to enjoy summer break as a family, as the boys went back to school today. (DC still has another week at home! yay!) So we planned a Family Game Day--really more like a Family Game Hour or Two. It was great! We played Sardines and In the Manner of the Adverb and then Drop the Marshmallow in My Mouth. Here is some multimedia entertainment for your enjoyment from that last game:

It was just as much fun to be the one dropping the little gems. . . .

Score on Craigslist!

We are excited because we just got a sweet deal (we think) on Craigslist on a glider rocker. Behold the pictures from the original posting. . . . .

It was being sold for $30.The seller suggested reupholstering it. Yes, I thought that was a good idea. :)

Well, when she dropped it off today (very nice of her), it was a LOT dirtier than the picture shows. It smelled of smoke. There was pet hair all over it, and lots of pink markings from an ambitious young artist. But there was a shining hope in the dark clouds. From a hole in the upholstery I could see blue underneath.

I started ripping. . . . . And to our joy and amazement, underneath was this!

Yippee!

A magic eraser took care of the pink marker on the wood, hopefully Febreeze will take away the smell of smoke, and I rubbed the whole thing down with antibacterial wipes.

I think we have ourselves a glider rocker! Yay!

Now we just need to put it in the "Baby's Room." I'm going to gulp down my pride and show you exactly why it's not in there YET. . .

The Baby's Room. (Poor baby!)

Fluffy's SuperKid!

This is Fluffy at Chick-fil-A last Saturday. When half the town was there. :)
Tonight we had FHE. Hummer was on "Share", and he sang the ABC's song for us, twice, both times to enthusiastic applause. :) Fluffy gave a sweet lesson on Following the Savior, with Daddy's help. He used lots of pictures, and bore his testimony at the end. It was wonderful to hear him! He's really growing up.

We played "I'm going to Target" for the game, and it took FOREVER to get through the whole alphabet. Exacto was on refreshments, and he and Daddy made pistachio pudding with granola in it, and whipped topping on top. Yum.

Fluffy said his "SuperKid things":

"I like Daddy because of his wheelbarrow rides.

I like Mommy (pause) because of her nice, warm hugs.

I like Hummer because he gives me free cars sometimes.

I like Exacto because he's my best friend.

And I like Ms. Dickens. . . ." (here's where we always cut him off, saying, okay, you're done!)

He continued, "And I like me because I'm me." (with a sunny smile)

A blog of my very own

I've been itching to try this for quite some time now. Here goes! Only time will tell if I actually keep this up long term. . . .

As of this posting I am 27 weeks along with our fourth little boy. Exacto is 9, Fluffy's 6, and Hummer is 3 and 1/2, and they are such a blast. I'm going to include one of my favorite pictures ever of me with them, even though it's a bit old by now. This was taken at Christmastime a couple years ago, and the boys are wearing the matching pajama pants I made for them (one of my first sewing projects ever).

Between all the moments of aggravation and tiredness and hard work, there really is true joy in being a mom. I love my boys!!