Miscellaneous Monday

We had such a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. We just stayed home with our own family and lounged around, which was perfectly relaxing. Paul and Becca helped enough that dinner didn't seem like too much work, and even when EVERYONE was helping, we weren't bumping into each other in our new kitchen. Have I mentioned that I love our new kitchen? :)

I thought I had been doing really well on my gestational diabetes diet -- even with Thanksgiving -- but when I spoke w/them this morning they said I'll probably have to go on medication because my pre-meal numbers are high. I thought the main numbers were the post-meals, but I guess I was wrong. I can't believe how different/strict they are now with the numbers compared to what I had with Tyler, Zachary and Shayla. Sigh ...

We have a name list narrowed down a bit. I'm getting a little grumpy about names, because it's obvious we're going to have to use a name I don't love. Anyone else grow to love a name after they actually used one they didn't care for as much at first? Paul isn't willing to go with any that I really love, and I don't like most of his (I'd list them here to mock, but that isn't nice :), so we're stuck choosing a name that neither one of us really likes but neither of us hates. Sigh. Last night I MADE him pick one from my list to at least consider ... but since he already crossed it out twice I don't think it has a real chance. He says we have time, but I see a SIL and a friend who are both at the end of their pregnancies (actually, one has probably delivered by now!) and still don't have names. If we can't agree now, what makes me think we'll agree four months from now? Why is choosing a name so stressful anyway?!?

I guess I forgot to mention that Paul DID get the Christmas tree he wanted. Mind you, it's a bit shorter and smaller than our other tree, but not a Charlie Brown tree. Nope, a Paul Brown tree instead. :) I'm sure it will be in some of our Christmas pictures later this month.

Yes, our holiday decorations are up! It just gives the home a festive feel, and since I don't decorate for ANY other holiday, I figured we could do it the day after Thanksgiving. Next year we'll also drink yummy hot cider, but I nixed that this year since I didn't want my blood sugar levels to go out the roof.

I just saw a quote this morning that I'll post here, which I think is why I love the holidays so much:

"The outdoor Christmas lights, green and red and gold and blue and twinkling, remind me that most people are that way all year round -- kind, generous, friendly and with an occasional moment of ecstasy. But Christmas is the only time they dare reveal themselves." - Harlan Mills

May you all enjoy the spirit of the season!!!

Black Friday craziness ...

So Paul and I are crazy. You didn't need my blog post to tell you that one, I bet. :) We never intend to do any Black Friday shopping, yet a few times we have. This was one of those crazy years. Paul saw a fake Christmas tree -- with lights -- for only $20, and he has been wanting one of those for a long time. (Mind you, he wanted the kind with white lights, but after a quick poll of the kids he realized we HAD to get colored lights!)

We found several other things at ShopKo on sale, so we decided to go for it. Walmart also had jammies for only $3 per pair, and we stocked up on last year's and loved that price! (Although they shrunk, the kids had four pairs of jammies instead of only one.) Kmart had Legos buy two get three free. So, where to start?

We're not crazy crazy, just slightly crazy. We are not about to wait outside in the freezing cold to get into a store. ShopKo opened at 5 a.m., so we woke up at 5 a.m., got dressed and headed out. We got there at 5:15 and headed to get our items. Amazingly, everything we wanted was easily still there! (One thing we semi-wanted was gone, but hey, that just saved us $12. :) We had to wait in line for 30 minutes, but other than that it was a great morning of shopping. I forgot to mention that getting there at 5:15 meant some people were already leaving, so I got the parking spot closest to the door that wasn't handicapped! That's saying something since the parking lot was full and some people were parked on the street. Ouch!

So then we headed to Walmart exclusively for the jammies. We got in and found only one pair left for boys. Dang-o! They had some others, but we weren't sure of their price (one lady said $10). We were going to get them anyway since they came with a flashlight, slippers and a pouch thing. We had checked ShopKo's prices on jammies and found that even at 55 percent off they were $13. And we HAVE to get jammies for Christmas Eve -- it's tradition! :) In any case, the second we walked in the door Paul got in line, and I went to looking for the jammies. I found one pair for Shayla in the wrong place, so I grabbed those.

Then I had a stroke of brilliance: Go look near the cash registers where people put stuff they don't want while they're waiting in line. Doing this gave me another pair for Shayla and three pairs for Tyler. Score! Since the line was moving slowly, I decided to make another sweep to see what I could find, and I found three more pairs for Zachary. I was so happy! The only downer was that I got a Ben 10 pair for Zachary, and I know Tyler would LOVE those. But beggars can't be choosers, right? Paul was next in line, but I decided to make one more sweep in hopes I could get a little miracle.

Turns out I found an abandoned shopping cart that had Tyler's size of Ben 10 jammies. Seriously?!? I was so happy! Paul had already checked out, but an employee said we could switch the Spiderman ones for the others. And some lucky person will now get to find the size 10 Spiderman jammies (probably the last size 10 in the store at this point!). So, for $9 we got each of the "little" ones three pairs of flannel jammies. Sweet!

Kmart's legos were very picked over when we got there (an hour after they opened), so we decided to ditch that attempt. But overall we had a very happy Black Friday. (I liked it even more since I had Paul with me this year -- last year I went alone, and that just wasn't nearly as productive or fun. :) What a good hubby to wake up so early so we can get games and jammies for our kiddos! (I'll pretend that it wasn't driven by his desire for a new Christmas tree ... :)

Perspective

During these difficult economic times we hear of many who are struggling. My family has been blessed to overcome many of the difficulties facing families these days and are grateful for that. However, after reading a talk by LDS leader Dieter F. Uchtdorf I am reminded that even these economic times could be worse.

He relates his own experiences as a refugee near Frankfurt, Germany. His family were refugees for the second time in only a few years, and they lived in the attic of a farmhouse. They shared a bedroom and had one other small room. His parents were forced to do menial labor far beneath their abilities, but they did it to support their family. In fact, they got the whole family involved in the work, which President Uchtdorf says helped them from dwelling too much on the difficulties of their circumstances. What perspective! No bitterness for his childhood being "stolen" from him. No anger toward the kids who made fun of his East German accent. No, just appreciation for the personal growth and family bonds that were created.

I love how he talks about the importance of work and how "Work is an antidote for anxiety, an ointment for sorrow, and a doorway to possibility." He assures us that if our wagon gets stuck in the mud, God is much more likely to assist us if we get out of the wagon to push rather than just sit and merely raise our voice in prayer -- no matter how eloquent the oration.

So, as a mom I was thinking about this and wondering really if I "work" enough. He dispelled the thought almost as quickly as it came into my mind. "The righteous work we do within the walls of our homes is most sacred; its benefits are eternal in nature. It cannot be delegated," he said.

I am so grateful for church leaders who are so wise and caring. They are wise not only because of their life experiences and ages, but because they seek and gain wisdom from a loving, caring Heavenly Father. I hope and pray I will be able to give more fully to righteous work -- especially that within my own family.

Miscellaneous Monday

I can't believe Thanksgiving is already this week! I love Thanksgiving, so this should be a fun week. Not only do we think of our blessings, but we get to spend more time together as a family. I love that! We're doing Thanksgiving dinner alone this year, but we are getting together with my sister later to scrapbook. Sorry, mom, that you'll miss it. Somehow I don't think you'll mind since you'll have Rebecca and Dustin visiting ...

I started my diabetic diet on Friday. I don't think the nurse had much confidence in my ability to stick to the diet, because she said to let her know if I am consistently over 150. Mind you, the numbers are lowered each pregnancy. When I was pregnant w/the boys, I had to stay under 200, and with Shayla it was under 160. Now it's down to 120! However, so far I've been mostly doing it. I've been a few numbers over here and there, but I've never been over 125, and I'm impressed with myself. We'll see how well I do as the holidays ensue (we are making sugar cookies Wednesday). She said I will almost probably have to take medication this pregnancy. I will try hard to prove her wrong. :)

Speaking of healthy eating, my fitness challenge is over! I didn't win, but I lost 5 pounds in spite of ending the challenge nearly 22 weeks pregnant. I don't think that's so bad, especially since I did really bad a couple of stressful weeks. In any case, a new challenge with a few different rules will start Jan. 4, so please join me on my quest to get healthy! (You can see details at http://minus200club.blogspot.com/2009/11/new-challenge-new-rules.html)

By the way, I'm finally starting to feel pregnant. Is that just psychological now that everyone knows I'm pregnant? I started to feel the baby move VERY early this pregnancy (just over 11 weeks), and yesterday Paul felt him kick for the first time. I can't wait until he's moving around a lot more regularly so the kids can feel. Mind you, one of my boys was very concerned and asked why the baby kept kicking me. Obviously we're not supposed to kick! It was cute.

Speaking of baby, I had a horrible dream last night that we left him home alone all day one day when we were busy. It was horrible! We put him in his car seat on the table and just left a bottle propped up to eat when he wanted. Yes, a newborn! I woke up feeling horrible. I mentioned it to Paul, who can't miss the opportunity for a joke. He said, "Now why would we do that? We wouldn't leave him in his seat -- we'd leave him in the crib!" Thanks, mister!

Shayla is finally officially potty trained! She only had 1 accident the whole time we were trying, but she'd hold it waaaaaaaaay too long! Now she's taking pride in going herself and she goes when she needs to. She also is dry already at nights, so we're totally and completely done with pull-ups. Hooray!!!

The funniest thing of the week happened yesterday while we were preparing dinner. Shayla came into the kitchen FREAKED OUT! I couldn't even tell what she was so upset about, but fortunately Paul could. She got new princess socks last week, and when she took one off it was inside out. Right before dinner she saw it again and saw it inside out and thought the sock was totally broken. (You know how they have all the threads and such on the inside? Apparently she hadn't learned that yet.) She came in VERY upset and crying and holding it out saying, "My princess sock broken!!!" Mind you, with her speech it was more like, "Frincess sock froken!!" Luckily daddy understood and we showed her that once right side out the sock was perfectly fine. Phew! That was close ... (I don't know why she likes that F so much. Yesterday she kept saying Grandma and Frampa. :)

And since I may not post again before Thanksgiving I thought I'd mention a few things I'm thankful for! I am so grateful for my family and the love I have in my life. I have a wonderful husband and kids who love me so much in spite of my imperfections. I have great parents who are the most unselfish people I know. I am so grateful that they raised me to love the Savior and to try to follow His example. I am grateful for the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which enriches my life even more than I probably know. I am grateful that our family will grow soon and that we have all been relatively healthy. I am grateful for Paul's job during these difficult economic times. And I am grateful for many, many, many other things that bless and enrich my life, no matter how big or small (a pillow is small, but I sure love having one!). I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

Clearance fun ...

I generally don't think to go check post-holiday clearance items, but this year after Halloween I happened to be in Walmart twice the week after Halloween. Apparently they way over-purchased for Halloween, because there were hundreds of costumes left. In any case, they got down to 95 percent off the last day I saw. Most of the stuff I bought was for 75 percent off, which means I got a few costumes for our stash for under $6 each. I also got several new wigs (always fun for crazy hair day!) for just a couple of dollars each.

In any case, here are my kids trying on some of the new goods. Shayla was very happy to get a new princess dress. This one happens to be HSM3 dress, but she has never seen or cared about HSM. As long as it's pretty and dressy, it's a princess dress:


Most of the women's costumes left were VERY short! However, I did find this one for Becca, which I figured she'd enjoy wearing next year. Even if she doesn't she'll now have her own costume for Shakespeare competition should she decide to do that again:


I always figured I'd have a blonde daughter. So far I've got brunette and red! But if I had a blonde daughter, maybe she'd look something like this:


Then again, probably not. Seems we don't generally have quite that much hair, which makes the next two pictures especially funny. (My kids can expect to never grow this much hair -- even combined -- throughout their lives!)

Zachary:


Tyler:


The wig Tyler is wearing is actually a very good match for Shayla's color. Let's just hope she doesn't ever decide to wear it that big. But I don't think she will, because big hair turned out to be quite a pain:

Random happenings

So, I was a little too busy and never posted my random thoughts and happenings for the week. So, you get it today instead. And it is RANDOM ...

We've had a few things up in the air this week that are just stressing me out! First of all, we are changing insurances on January 1 (not by our choice, but by Paul's employer), so we've been trying to figure out whether or not we can continue our prenatal care w/the same group we've been seeing. They offer a "continuation of care" option that allows you to pay in-network prices for out-of-network doctors/hospitals (which ours is), but they have to approve it and have the out-of-network doctors/facilities approve it. Only problem is that you can't even apply for it until you're in their system, which is January 1 -- my third trimester! Ugh! So, I've been trying to get answers on that and really haven't gotten many.

I'm feeling comfortable that it will all be approved -- not only will I be in my third trimester, but I have gestational diabetes, which is considered a risk. I'm so hoping so, because none of the hospitals here will let anyone do tours of their maternity wards b/c of swine flu paranoia. I'm so totally sick of that by now!!!

The other thing is that we've been trying to refinance, which has been a lot more stressful than any other refi we've ever done. I think I mentioned our appraisal came in VERY low (giving us "credit" for only about 1/3 of the cost of the addition), which made us think we couldn't do it. Then our mortgage broker said he'd work with us to make it happen (he's awesome -- and I don't just say that because his wife reads my blog :), so we were planning to do it, even though we would have to pay out of pocket for some closing costs and extra for our taxes due to our escrow being $500 short. (Lots of info I'm leaving out, but just know that it kept appearing that we would have to bring in more and more money because of that stupid low appraisal that I still don't believe or respect.) In any case, the last straw happened when we found out our payoff amount was more than we expected (who knew they added an extra month of interest and mortgage insurance?), so we thought we couldn't do it ... but turns out we're going to anyway. Seriously, it has been a roller coaster, and it's what made me really regress (I mean REALLY regress) on my fitness challenge. Oh well. I'm going to do another in January if any of you would like to join. (Details here.)

Anyway, the refi will be a HUGE blessing, because our new insurance will cost us $100 more per month, and the refi will save us about $85 per month. Phew! BTW, it's not the insurance itself that costs so much more, but the higher plan we're going with to pay for baby. Cheaper overall but a lot more per month. In 2011 we will be able to go back to the plan we're on and reduce our premiums by $100/month again. Babies are expensive! Good thing they're worth it. It always makes me miss our GroupHealth (HMO) where we had babies for only $250 total no matter how long you stayed in the hospital, whether or not you had epidurals or c-sections, etc. And the hospitals were nice -- Zachary was born where Bill Gates takes his wife to have babies. :)

So, speaking of babies, early this week I "got" to go get tested for gestational diabetes. My numbers are a little high, so they want me to take the 3-hour test. I asked to opt out and just say I have it. I mean, if I've had it for three pregnancies now, is it really possible (without any weight loss) to NOT have it this time? I'm a little bummed, because in the past they always waited until the third trimester to check. Now I'll have four months of finger-pricking and watching what I eat. Overall it's good for me and baby, but what a pain! This brought about more phone calls to find out if my insurance covers me receiving the diabetes education they provide when you're diagnosed. It's so sad that after an hour on the phone it doesn't feel like I'm any closer to an answer than I was before I called! (They said diabetes education is covered, but UVRMC isn't. I know UVRMC is covered, so I'll go and hope I don't have to spend a bunch of time on the phone figuring out our bill. Don't you just love insurance?!?)

So enough of the stressful. On to the fun/happy ...

Monday Tyler asked me if I thought his loose tooth was loose enough to pull out. I asked him if he could just pull it out himself. He tried and out it popped. I think it surprised him that he actually pulled out his own tooth. In any case, he was VERY happy to think the tooth fairy would be visiting. In addition to making a sign to put on his bedroom door, he put this on his dry-erase board: (Click on it if you can't read it)

The blue thing in the upper left corner is a copy of the book/pillow we own that has a compartment for his tooth for the tooth fairy to find (which is right below the dry-erase board). So cute! I'm guessing the thing on the left is a light saber. This is only his fourth tooth to lose, so it's still very exciting.

Speaking of exciting, one month from today my brother gets married! That means in less than one month from today I get to see my parents!! HOORAY!! It will be awesome to see them right before Christmas, but hard to send them away again. At least we get 2 days with them. :)

I'm beginning to feel like we will NEVER agree on a boy's name! Our lists are so totally different that it's like we are from different planets. I'm going to stress about it until we have a name chosen, so hopefully we'll agree on one soon. (I guess this should have gone up with the stressful stuff after all. :)

And the good news to end the week is that Paul and I get to go to the BYU football game this Saturday! Hooray! Hilary's parents got enough tickets for her family, but since they can't all come Paul and I get the extra tickets. It will be a blast -- I'm just hoping we don't freeze! Go BYU!

It's no joke ...

... our baby boy is due on April Fool's!



He is currently 7 inches long and 11 oz. Crazy they can see so much info when they're so small!

I was thinking a sonogram on Friday the 13th would be perfect for a baby due on April Fool's, but they wouldn't let me schedule it then because they wanted to make sure genetic counselors were available since I'm so old! Huh?!? Apparently I've crossed the age line, so now there's a lot more concern -- for them, not for me. :) I refused the genetic counseling, which gave them a mini stroke, but they recovered and got to the ultrasound. We could obviously see he is a boy -- I could tell before they even told me. That's a first. :)

Now for naming a boy. They're tough, and Paul doesn't like a thing! I'm going to go crazy until we have chosen a name. I'll let you know when we do!

Subliminal messages

Thanks for all your input on the temple pictures. I'm guessing Becca would like any that we ordered, but I think we're going to go ahead and get #2. Paul says I should let anyone know if they want a copy of #1 to just send me $20 ... ;)

Anyway, we have something fun to share. But I thought I'd see how good you are at puzzles/subliminal messages. I hinted at it in a previous post ... here.

Need more hints? Look at #2. Then look at #5. Put the two together and you should have SOME kind of guess ...

Miscellaneous Monday

Time to start another week. Is it really November already? Does that mean I have to spend money for Christmas soon? Oh, bother ... (And Becca, don't read this post unless you want a Christmas surprise ruined! That's right. Stop reading right now ...)

Yesterday was our annual primary program. Turns out this year I couldn't see either one of my kids. Zachary was behind a 10-year-old, and Tyler wasn't on the stage and not tall enough for me to see over the heads. I realized that it's just not nearly as fun to see the primary program when you can't see your own kids. Oh well ... they've got a few more years left in primary for me to try again.

I did have a laughing fit in the middle of it, though. There were too many elements that just combined and gave me the giggles. (I'm hoping I wasn't too obvious -- if Heidi didn't notice then I wasn't, right?) Anyway, the first speaker (a 6-year-old) mistakenly announced to the congregation that he had just peed his pants at the end of his talk. He is such a cute boy, and I sure hope he's not traumatized from speaking in public from his experience. That wasn't enough to set me off.

But then I made the mistake of remembering a story I had just heard from another lady in the ward about her son who was really upset he couldn't remember the words. She said he ran down to her crying (he was probably like 8 or something), so she told him that she learned in high school choir that if you can't remember the words to just mouth the word "watermelon" over and over. He was appeased and went back up to try it. The next song they did in sign language, but he proudly mouthed over and over the word watermelon, even though nobody else was singing. Pretty funny. That got me laughing.

Then to top it off, my laughing distracted Paul, who then started to sing with the kids during the next song. We were way in the back, so he was definitely the only one singing. Through my laughing I had to tell him he wasn't supposed to be singing. I guess 3.5 years in primary programmed him to be singing, even when you're distracted by those around you. So that made me just about burst out laughing. I contained myself and got control. Phew!

Yesterday afternoon we headed up to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. I can't remember if I mentioned that our family has a plan to visit various temples and look for symbolism on the exterior of the temple. We also want to give our kids the chance to touch the temple, because there was a conference talk in April that encouraged kids to do that, because "as you touch the temple, the temple will touch you."

We knew it was Sunday, a day when the temple isn't open, but we figured that'd give us a little less commotion. What we didn't expect was that the gates were locked and there was no way to get onto the temple grounds. All the temples we've lived near (okay, Provo and Seattle) both lock the gates for cars not to enter, but leave openings for you to walk onto the grounds. Oh well ... we looked from afar and touched the fence. We also drove to the Jordan River temple and it was impossible to even walk around with the gates locked. I guess we'll have to do that one another day.

The good thing about the Oquirrh Mountain Temple, though, was that I was able to get a photo. Becca saw some cool photos of it in a Deseret Book magazine, and she really wants one for Christmas. Only problem is that those photos are $100 each! No thanks. So, I took my own and did my own distressing to print for her for Christmas. Problem is I can't decide which edits look coolest. Please let me know which you like best: #1: Mostly black and white; #2: Partial color; or #3: Full color.

#1:


#2:


#3:


Good news is that Becca rarely reads my blog, so she shouldn't have this surprise spoiled. But I figured I better put the disclaimer at top just in case. Thanks so much for your input. When did I ever get so indecisive?

Have a great week!!!

The Family is of God

So, I complained about the torture of having to help Paul in Primary. What I failed to mention is that it wasn't complete torture. :) I was able to sit with them in sharing time when they were preparing for the upcoming primary program (this Sunday).

I am familiar with most of the primary hymns, but in the past few years I notice the programs include several songs that aren't in the book. When they sang one on Sunday, it just touched me. Mind you, we have this on CD with all the songs for the program this year, and we listen to it almost every time we are in the car. But somehow I've never really listened to it or thorught about the words:

Our Father has a family. It's me!
It's you, all others too: We are His children.
He sent each one of us to earth, through birth,
To live and learn here in families.

(Chorus)
God gave us families
to help us become what He wants us to be --
This is how He shares His love,
for the family is of God

A father's place is to preside, provide,
To love and teach the gospel to his children.
A father leads in family prayer to share
Their love for Father in Heaven

Chorus

A mother's purpose is to care, prepare,
To nurture and to strengthen all her children.
She teaches children to obey, to pray,
To love, and serve in the family.

Chorus

I'll love and serve my family and be
A good example to each family member.
And when I am a mom or dad, so glad,
I'll help my family remember

God gave us families
to help us become what He wants us to be --
This is how He shares His love,
for the family is of God

(Words and music by Matthew Neeley)

I feel so blessed that Heavenly Father put is in families. You look at His creations, and they aren't all this way! Some hatch and live alone; others are nurtured for a couple of years and then leave to be on their own. As humans we are nurtured for 18 or so years before leaving home, but our nurturing and family relationships continue throughout life!

I was so blessed with wonderful parents. They took what they were given in life and made life better for their children. I am eternally grateful to them for this. They are the most unselfish people I know, and anyone who has met them would agree with me whole-heartedly.

I have seven siblings, and I realize what a blessing a large family is. I can't imagine my life without any one of them in it. There are definitely some who would not "naturally" be friends if we weren't siblings, which makes me even more grateful that we were put in a family together. After all, according to this song, God gave us families to help us become what He wants us to be. Not what I want to become, but what He wants me to be. And all of my family has influenced me to be who I am today, and I hope my influence on them has been a positive one. (Of course after this song I'll work on that a little more. :)

My "new" family -- my wonderful husband and four kids -- is also a huge blessing that makes my life so happy and complete. Sometimes I just am amazed that now I'm the mom. Seriously, I'm not wise enough or unselfish enough to be doing this! But this song reminds me that my goals are to nurture and strengthen my children, especially in the gospel. If I can teach them to love and to serve, then I will be a success as a mother. No pressure, huh?

In any case, I look forward to the primary program this weekend, and I'm sure this song will touch me even more as I have pondered it throughout the week. The family -- with all of its parts of mom, dad, and children -- truly is of God. After all, it is one "small" way in which He shares His love. Thank goodness!

Nine years ago today ...

... was the day I married my sweetheart. This was even better than 10 years ago today when I was in Hawaii with my bff Hilary ...

In any case, it's amazing that it's been nine years. Sometimes it feels like we've been married for 30 years (in a good way), and I just can't imagine life without his love.

So, to honor the nine years, here is a list of my nine favorite memories with Paul (but not necessarily in any order):

1. Your surprise proposal. I knew it was coming, and yet you still surprised me. I couldn't have imagined it happening any more perfectly ...

2. Operation Snuggle. Who knew that our joke on President Jenkins would end up (as he says) as a joke on us when we really got together. We started dating on April Fool's. Best joke ever played on me if it was one. (But if it IS a joke, you're doing well at keeping it up now for 9+ years ... ;) Should we tell anyone what we have planned for next April Fool's?

3. Our trip to Disneyland last year. Who knew that one day WE'D be the parents taking the excited, cute kids around to all the rides? And who knew we'd ever be able to afford such an awesome vacation! It was a blast and was perfect to do together.

4. Our wedding day. Of course, how could it not make the list? I always wondered if I would be able to feel totally and completely loved by a guy (apparently I had self-esteem issues after all?), but I felt total and complete love from you. Now this is getting mushy ... sigh ... :)

5. The three days our kids were born. Okay, this could count as three memories, but I'm running out of numbers here! You are an awesome Dad, and I love to watch you play with the kids and make them laugh. Let's have more, eh?

6. Our argument about the bar. I don't know why that still cracks me up so much, but why in the world did we have an argument about where that dumb bar was anyway? I guess it was the only landmark of how close we were to home. (And you should be grateful to this day that I really didn't know exactly where that dumb bar was, anyway!)

7. Your spider dream. How many other women have had the chance to watch their husband think he's having a standing-up seizure in the middle of a dream? I still can't tell that story without laughing ...

8. Our first house. The day we moved in was exciting, then stressful (with the fire), and then touching when you went and bought me flowers because you knew how mad I was about that stupid house fire that made our brand new home stink like smoke! (BTW, for everyone else, there wasn't major damage done, but cleaning it up took longer than the entire move itself! I still owe you, Christina, for grabbing a box that was on fire and getting it out of our house! Thanks!)

9. All those late nights we spent playing games with Aleshia. (The doughnut runs you two made at 1 a.m. were nice, too. :) The three of us were great friends back in our single days. You wouldn't propose to her to keep her from going on a mission, so she left us. I guess without her the only thing left to do was to start dating, get married, and have me 8.5 months pregnant to welcome Aleshia home ...

There are so many more good memories I could include, but who -- other than us -- wants to read them? Turns out maybe you ARE my type after all ...

Miscellaneous Monday

So, we have some exciting news here! Paul and I are going to be doing scouts together! He has been in primary basically since we moved here, and I have been a Webelos leader just as long. However, I got moved to Bears and Paul got moved from teaching primary to doing Bears with me. We are both very excited about the change and about doing a calling together -- we've never done that.

Mind you, he's enjoyed Primary -- he just doesn't know anyone in the ward still. :) He's switched around every year to new classes, which keeps it new and fresh. This year he has had the 8-year-old kids. He lost his partner to the Elders' Quorum presidency several weeks ago, and in the meantime they've just had subs sitting in with him. Sunday was his last week teaching this class, and they asked me to sit in with him during this last week.

I don't know what my problem is lately, but the last couple of years I have dreaded being called into primary. I thought it was going to happen last month when I was replaced in Webelos, and I got really sad about it. Then I decided I'd buck up and do it, because someone has to! :) Fortunately, however, they came up with this new idea of us doing Bears together. So, I could easily handle one week, right?

Nope. It was torture! Before the lesson even started we had two different girls crying for two different reasons -- none of which made any sense. And Paul gave them time to tell all their Halloween stories before the lesson so they could concentrate when he was teaching. He informed them this would be his last week, and they got all emotional and irrational. That part was funny. "I'm never coming back to church!" "I'm going to a different class!" "I'm not going to talk at church anymore -- I'm just going to sit here without saying a word!" (BTW, I'm sure the new teacher only WISHED any one of them would stop talking ...)

Paul started into the lesson, and I was sure time was almost up. I figured we had probably about five minutes left, but I didn't have a watch. I asked Paul what time it was, and he said, "36 after." WHAT?!? Twenty-five more minutes? How?

Paul laughed -- he's used to the timing and the kids not listening nearly as well as they should. I would go nuts. Maybe one day when my kids are older I'll get SOME patience back? Hopefully so. In the meantime Paul gets quite a kick that I asked him -- at 36 after -- if we were almost done with the torture ... Sigh.