A Weekend of Worship

*Note - I started this entry as soon after Easter weekend as I could, but never finished it while in Utah because of a bad internet connection. I guess it's better late than never. :)

I have been in Utah for a week now visiting my family, and letting them get to know Preston a little better. Gabe is on a business trip in Arizona so I thought it only fair for me to go on a trip as well. Of course I'm going to be gone longer than him but that's besides the point... This trip just happened to fall on Easter weekend which has become one I will never forget.

It is fun being around family for the holidays (even though I am missing a significant part of my family right now). We had a very full house with my older brother Tyler and his wife Mara here for the weekend as well as my brother Royce coming back from the Y. (Quick side note: Royce has officially turned in his mission papers and we are awaiting his call, stay tuned for the update.) On top of that my parents, my younger brothers Kyle and Bryant, Preston and I as well as a very small poodle are here consuming this three bedroom townhouse. Even though it's crowded it's fun to be together spending time just talking and having fun together.

Saturday we stayed in our pajamas all day and watched "Legally Blonde the Musical" if you haven't seen it, and enjoy the movie you should totally watch it, it's highly entertaining. Apparently MTV filmed it and showed it on cable, so it still might be available to see, if you have cable unlike us. I'm glad my brother keeps up with these kinds of things so I can enjoy them too. He had a friend T-VO (I don't know if that's how you spell it) it and record it onto a DVD for him. After many hours of laziness I went to take a shower while Tyler and Mara watched Preston for me. It was wonderful to feel like I could take my time and enjoy a few moments alone.

That night after we ate dinner a few of us had the opportunity to go see "The Redeemer" in the newly renovated Tabernacle on temple square. My dad and Kyle had to work and my mom stayed at home with Preston so it was just the rest of the kids going on a little field trip.

Of course we were a little late getting out the door and then weren't able to find parking for some time because there was a Jazz game that night, so when we finally did find parking and ran so we would get there before the doors closed. There weren't many seats left by the time we finally arrived, only some reserved in the middle and a few on the left hand side. If you have ever been in the Tabernacle before you'll know that the seats on the side are the worst because the overhang from the balcony and the poles holding it up get in the way of the stage area. But we were glad we were at least able to get some seats began to relax as we looked through our programs waiting for the orchestra to play and the choir to sing along when suddenly the people in front of us started standing up so I jumped up as well. I was sitting on the very end of the row next to the aisle and before I knew it there was a very tall, kind-faced man walking past me, surrounded by two, slightly shorter men. In a moment I realized that I was in the presence of a Prophet of the Lord. President Monson walked past me smiling and even looked at me with that twinkle in his eye. I have never felt the spirit so strong before. It was amazing for me to see this man up close realizing that he speaks to our Heavenly Father and was given the calling to be his voice in the Latter day.

I'm sad to say that I was worried about going to the concert in the first place because I don't leave Preston very often and he hadn't been sleeping well all week, but at that moment I felt peace come over me and realized that I was in the right place.

The concert was a beautiful tribute to the Savior with different parts containing scripture about"The Prophecy," "The Sacrifice," and "The Promise." As I listened to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and listened to the sacred words of the soloists I was able to gain a greater appreciation and love for my Savior and all that he has done for us so that we may once again live with our families in the presence of him and our Heavenly Father.

The night closed out with a sweet spirit and once again I was able to be in the presence of the Prophet, as well as Elder Nelson and Elder Perry as they left for the night. I was able to witness him speak to the little children just as Christ did while he was on the earth. As I saw him walk off into the distance my thoughts turned to my family and how grateful I am for each of them in my lives. I remembered that Heavenly Father sent my beautiful baby boy down to me which is the best gift anyone could ever recieve. I called my mom and told her of my experience and in turn she told me that Preston had slept like an angel the entire time.

The next morning we were able to continue with our thoughts of the Savior on Easter morning. Of course we began by getting ready for church and opening our Easter baskets. Here is a picture of Preston and I on his very first Easter. Of course Grandma had to get him bunny ears. They didn't stay on long, but he loved the eggs. He also enjoyed the hunt for Uncle Royce's Peeps. He is very determined to get what he wants... and is usually successful, for a minute or two anyway. :)Here is my Mom doing what she does best, working while every one else is playing. Isn't she cute? Thank you for the yummy ham and potato dinner mom! After going through our Easter baskets we went to Sacrament Meeting with my Grandma in Provo (yes, she's the crazy one). Here is a four generation picture, do we all look alike? Tyler, Mara and Royce came as well. Royce is holding Preston because they have matching plaid shirts and sweater vests. Royce calls it the Bob Dylan look. After spending some time with Grandma we went back to my parents ward just in time to help my mom in the nursery which Preston absolutely loved. After that we all had a wonderful Easter dinner with my Aunt Tami and her family as well as my other Grandparents.

By the end of the weekend we were two happy but tired people.

The Tag About A Bag

A friend of mine had this tag on her blog with instructions that EVERYONE who thinks this is something fun to blog about should do it, so I am. In return I would like to do the same. Anyone who thinks this would be fun and is brave enough to reveal what is in your purse or bag right now, please do, I'd love to read them. :)

A couple of weeks ago we had a Relief Society Home Family and "Purse"onal Enrichment that I was able to attend. We were supposed to bring our own purse as well as one to donate to the battered women's shelter. The night started out with a wonderful talk on how different types of purses and bags play a role in each of our lives. The speaker also talked about how we clutter our lives with things that aren't really needed just the way we clutter our bags, which is a big problem of mine.

Afterwards we all had to go up to the front of the room and weigh our purses. A lot of women, including me, had their diaper bags even though they didn't have any children with them. Because Preston was at home I decided to take out half of the contents of my diaper bag before I left because it was overflowing (as always) and it still weighed in at 7 pounds. I ended up winning the prize for having the heaviest bag there. I don't know if I want to know how much it weighs normally.

Anyway, because my bag is always so full I thought it would be fun to find out what is always in there making it so heavy. So here it is, my bag... and all of its contents. Don't worry I was sure to clean out at least some of this stuff after I took the picture, but most of it is so essential...

an Ariel valentine my friend's 2-year-old gave Preston (on Valentine's Day)

a paper with random dates scribbled for my Utah trip

chiropracter appt. card for today

2 reciepts from Preston's doctor when he was sick

a paper that reads "Please Come to the Snohomish Washington Stake General Priesthood Meeting at the Stake Center Saturday March 22nd at 7 pm" - I obviously didn't put this in my bag

a baseball mitt teether

a toy stuffed chicken

a toy stuffed fish

an old non-working cell phone that Preston has claimed as his own

a Ty beanie baby cat

a butterfly teething ring

a blue and brown ribbon for Preston to chew on

five half pieces of gum (I only chew half at a time)

2 packs of Extra Polar Ice Gum, one with one piece left, the other with most of the pieces left

a gum wrapper

2 wads of dirty Kleenex's (from when Preston was sick)

1 wad of clean Kleenex's and the wadded wrapper they fell out of

1 pen

tide to go

neosporin but no bandaids, hmm...

2 Oral B brush ups in case I forget to brush, I've never actually used one of these

1 small package of floss in case anything gets stuck in my teeth at dinner

2 empty fruit smoothie chapsticks

1 pad of American flag post-it notes

a bottle of Motrin IB

my Mom's lipstick I borrowed and forgot to return the last time I was in Utah

lip gloss and case with mirror

a mushed package of Ritz Bitz crackers

a chocolate chip granola bar

3 wet wipes from red lobster

3 breast pads

1 pad just in case

my keys

a mostly empty water bottle

my wallet and it's contents (this would be another story)

a changing pad

wipes

3 diapers

duck smelly diaper bag holder and 2 refills

four binky's one binky case, and one binky holder (I was wondering where all of those went)

a toothbrush (for Preston to hold while we change his diaper)

an extra outfit and pair of socks for Preston

2 4-ounce packs of formula (this is funny because Preston won't even take a bottle anymore)

burp cloth

nursing cover upper

container with 2 and a half cheerios

bath and body works white tea and ginger body lotion (I don't recommend this flavor...)

Jergen's intense moisture therapy lotion (what can I say, I have dry skin)

raspberry bath and body works hand sanitizer gel

Little Noses saline drops

infant aspirin

Aloha

The past couple of weeks I have been trying to teach Preston to wave. Every time we leave a room, or put a toy down I make sure to have him say bye bye and I will wave as he watches. A lot of times I do this while he is looking in a mirror so he can see himself as well. After a week or so he started wiggling his fingers on both of his hands but still didn't quite get it.
A few days ago he finally caught on and began bringing his fingers up and down every time I would wave to him, just like in this picture. Of course this isn't a recent picture (no thanks to our broken camera) but he really does look like that when he's waving. He always turns his hand toward himself and watches his fingers move. I wonder if it's because that is how my fingers look to him when I'm waving and he wants to make sure he does it right, I'm not really sure.
The past few days he's been waving constantly while he's in his car seat, or eating. I even saw him waving at the microwave this morning because he loves looking at the clock numbers. Obviously he still hasn't figured out the reason why people wave at each other. How do we teach a baby that we wave when we say hello, but we also wave when we say goodbye. If you think about it it's kind of a difficult concept. Wouldn't it be so much easier if we lived in Hawaii because ALOHA means both hello and goodbye. In fact according to Wikepedia "Aloha in the Hawaiian language means affection, love, peace, compassion, mercy, goodbye, and hello, among other sentiments of a similar nature. It is used especially in Hawai'i as a greeting meaning hello and goodbye. Variations occur based on circumstances when used as a salutation." Wait a second. Who knew something so simple could be so complex. Maybe hello and goodbye would be an easier concept to grasp. Who knows. I wouldn't mind living in Hawaii anyway...

A Nazi Missionary?

Meet my brother Royce, isn't he a stud?

This is the first time in years I've seen him with short hair. Why you ask? His 19th birthday is coming up this June so he is preparing to turn in his mission papers sometime this week. He just got his pictures taken this weekend by his best friends sister Vivien who is a great photographer.

Here is a picture Vivien took of them together, pretty good huh?

Now let me tell you a few random facts about Royce. His full name is Carlton Royce (named after my dad) but we have always called him Royce. When he was a baby he was really fat and never learned to crawl, he just rolled everywhere he needed to go, so we called him Rolls Royce which we thought to be fitting. When he was three years old my mom put him in a little mint green short suit that had matching suspenders, she took a picture of him that day because he looked in the mirror and said "I am the perfect man." I wish I had the picture to share but it's in a box somewhere in my parents house. He looks like he works out but doesn't. He's really good at sports but doesn't compete in any. Music is his passion. He's always been a goofy, fun kid with a lot of quirks and obsessions, among these are "The Office," The Beatles, the entire country of Canada (he can sing the entire national anthem for you, we'll see if he gets called on his mission there), his harmonica, "Bill and Ted" movies, Bob Dylan (who he is trying to look like in the above picture), and surprisingly Nazi's.

One Day Royce went to Goodwill and found this incredible authentic Nazi Uniform that was just his size. It even came with a hat and a helmet. Now this can't be taken the wrong way because he means nothing by it. Royce in no way supports the Nazi's or the horrific things they did. He just enjoys the looks he gets when he's wearing it, and the fact that it is a genuine uniform from the war. It's really only a German border guard uniform, but close enough. If you have ever seen the movie "The Producers" it's kind of like the "Springtime for Hitler" thing. He absolutely loves the part that Will Ferrell plays in the 2005 version. He is Franz Liebkind the crazy German bird man who wrote the play about Hitler and does the guten-tag hop, it really is a funny scene. Anyway, he's used his uniform as a Halloween costume for many years in a row, and showed up to get some of his senior pictures taken in it. One day when we were following some friends on the way to a Halloween party we had to stop at the side of the road for a minute and Royce got out of the car and acted like he was a policeman who had pulled over the car in front of us. He got a lot of stares from people passing by. Since then he has obtained a few more uniforms (not really sure how) which are kept safely stowed in his closet until the time is right.

Here is something he once wrote this about his uniform, it will help you learn a little more about his personality:

TO BE OR NOT TO BE

11:32pm Tuesday, Aug 28, 2007

"my brother and sister-in-law are in a musical production of the sound of music. the show opens on september the 14th. they were wondering whether or not i would like to be in it. what part would they have me play? a nazi of course. the perfect fit for me and my tyrannical ways. i am currently in the process of debating whether or not to take the part. on the one hand, i would be able to showcase one of my many nazi uniforms. on the other hand, i would have to miss multiple days of work. that equals less money. oh the pros and cons... tomorrow, well later today anyway, i will show my boss the rehearsal schedule. this calls for missing half of monday and friday at work. i don't think he would really care. i mean, seriously, i don't do anything anyway. so getting out of work really isn't the issue at stake here. the real issue is determining my decision. also, if i didn't do the play, that could benefit me as well. you see, on the closing night, i would wear my favorite uniform and sit on the front row. near the end of the performance i would jump on the stage and perform der guten tag hop-clop. this is an achievement that would not be possible if i took the part. the options are being weighed. i have just one final question. where is my agent to sort this stuff out for me? ugh." - Royce

Now this fun silly kid with many obsessions has cut his hair and is preparing to serve a mission for our church. I am sure that he will be a great missionary because of his determination of love of the gospel. I know that he will soon make his work as a missionary his number one obsession. We're going to miss him while he's gone, but know that he is where he needs to be serving the Lord wherever he is called.

Tears and Toenails

This week has been a crazy one. Preston started acting really funny on Sunday night when we were trying to get dinner ready for some new friends in the ward we had invited over. He didn't want to play, he just kept crawling over to me crying and pawing at my legs to be picked up just like my poodle Elliot (he was named when we got him) used to do when I was growing up. It's amazing how similar children are to pets in some respects. :) See what I mean?

They both have the same stare.

Anyway, he had a fever on Monday and by Tuesday night it had risen to over 102 degrees. Gabe was able to get a ride to work from a guy down the street so that I could have the car to take Preston to the doctor on Wednesday. We had a rough night so I was glad I didn't have to get Preston up early and put him in the car to get Gabe to his vanpool pick-up spot by 5:45.

The doctor told me that Preston had croup so they gave him a steroid to open up his throat. She also told me that the second night is usually worse which proved to be true when he was up every two hours and it took us an hour to calm him down and get him back to sleep every time he woke up. It wasn't fun to say the least. He still had a fever on Friday as well as goopy eyes (gross, I know) so I took him back to the doctor and she told me he had an ear infection and a sinus infection, I feel so bad for him. At least he's now on antibiotics and doing much better, but now he's refusing to nurse unless it's the middle of the night. He just bites me every time I try, I don't know what to do... at least he'll eat peas and cheerios I guess.

All of this leads to another problem, now I have Mastitis which is a kind of breast infection. I got it when Preston was a week old and I swear it was worse than giving birth. Luckily this time I caught it at the beginning and my temperature only got up to 102.3 before I was able to get an antibiotic. I'm just lucky to have such a wonderful husband who has been taking care of us even though he's not feeling very well either, mostly from lack of sleep. He even brought flowers home to me on Thursday because he knew I was having such a tough time. :)

On Friday, before all of this mastitis junk I was feeling much better because Preston slept well the night before. He also took a long nap in the morning so I was able to shower which was very exciting because I didn't even get dressed the day before. He just kept sleeping so I was able to do my hair, and he was still sleeping... so for the first time since before he was born I was able to paint my toenails. I know this might sound silly but it was the best feeling in the world! I was so excited I would have taken a picture of my pretty paint job for you but unfortunately our fairly new camera stopped working this week on top of everything else.

Before Gabe and I got married my mom and I would go together to get pedicures every once in a while. This all started because my aunt who is a manager at a flower shop in Salt Lake talked us into it and we got hooked. Since I don't have any recent pictures of us together, here is one from my wedding where I'm fixing her hair I think, we're such girly girls. You can see my dad on the left side too.

Anyway, ever since I got married and moved to Washington I haven't had a great urge to get pedicures because it was something my best friend (my mom) and I do together and it's no fun going alone. Which is why my toenails have been lacking in beauty ever since, especially when I was pregnant and my belly got in the way.

Even though this has been one of the craziest weeks of my life, I'm glad that I was able to do something at least semi-productive and everyone is slowly but surely getting better so I know the end is near.

Real Love

Real love is not measured in terms of moonlight...

and roses,

but in terms of who will care for you when you are old.—Russell M. Nelson

Personally, I think Gabe's old man picture turned out better than my old lady picture... I sure hope I look that good when I'm old. :) Maybe it's the hair that makes me look younger or something.

I found this website called the Face Transformer where you can see what you would look like if you were a different age or race. I think they even had a gorilla man on there just in case you ever wondered what you would look like as a neanderthal. You should check it out.

In all seriousness though, I think this quote has a great message and I'm so grateful that I have a loving husband that takes care of me now, and will continue to love and care for me throughout our lives (even when I look like that), with some romance mixed in too. I love you Gabe!