Tag #2--Tessa Lu.

My friend and former companionara on my mission, Crystal, tagged Tessa forever ago. So, here are 10 things you may or not know about my Tessa:

1. She likes to point at my tomatoes and call them "apples". Kay, that sounded weird, my tomato plants.

2. She had RSV when she was 10 days old and we drove up to Wyoming to get out of the smog infested valley that was surrounding us. I sat in the bathroom all night at that motel trying to get her to wake up and eat. She could barely breathe. It was a scary time and is weird to think about now.

3. She has this funny way of playing with her sister where, if Malia has something she wants, she will go find something to trade for it. She's already learned the life lesson that nothing is free in this world.

4. She really likes cheese.

5. She loves to imitate her big sister. The other day at church Malia was walking down the hall feeling the bricks as she walked along, as soon as Tessa saw what Malia was doing she moved over to the wall and started doing the same thing. I wish I could bottle those moments up (or at least have a video camera going)-- they're so precious.

6. Kay, now I'm going to reveal what a great and watchful mom I am, but in the last few days I have found Tessa's face covered in soap, lipstick, and marker--twice. She's obsessed with slathering her face with various substances. The stuff really never ends up anywhere else (knock on wood) she just loves to be a little makeup artist I guess.

7. Tessa's newest cute thing she says is "bless you mommy" or "bless you daddy" when we sneeze.

8. She loves to pray. She's usually the first one to fold her arms at meals and mimics the last word in every sentence through the prayer.

9. She has loved nursery so far. Malia took a good year to really feel comfortable being left. Tessa had a little bit of a hard time the first few weeks, but loves it now. Her teachers say she gets into the singing and actions the most out of all the kids in the class.

10. Well, shoot, I was just getting on a roll, it's fun to talk about your kids. But I'll finish by saying that Tessa is oh so snugly. Sometimes she'll just go up to Darrin or I, lay down on our shoulders and just let us hold her.

We love you Tessie Wessie!!

So, Tessa tags Connor, Kennedy, and Jefferson if their mommies want. :)

Dog Lake with my hubby...

Last Friday Darrin and I embarked on a much needed hike. The whole hike I was commenting on how much I missed this. Hello, we have free babysitters at the mouth of Big Cottonwood Canyon, why are we not out here like every second??? Oh yeah, schedules and all that. But we definitely are going to make more of an effort to get up there. There was a pretty rough part (for the lack of shape Darrin and I are in) towards the end of the hike. We took turns pushing each other up the hill. I know, pretty pathetic. But I was thinking how symbolic it was of marriage. I'll push you, you push me. Together we'll get there. Tired...yes, ornery....maybe, together...definitely. And let's try to enjoy the beauty along the way. OH THE BEAUTY!!! Along with looking into my children's eyes, nature leaves me asking the question how could one not believe in a Supreme Creator???


There was an article in the Mormon Times today that really put into words what I have been feeling lately. http://mormontimes.com/ME_blogs.php?id=1696 I was just put in as the 1st counselor in primary, as well as a more strenuous position of supervisor in my medical transcriptioning, and you know, being a mommy isn't exactly a lay down and rest position....so, needless to say I've been busy and seeming to get busier by the minute. But, through all this I have to say I feel more happy. Here's the ending of the article that pretty much sums up how I feel ...

Most people, Henri Nouwen wrote, are simply looking for ways to keep themselves entertained until they die. Entertainment, like so much else today, is just another form of stimulation. It will eventually leave you flat. Enlightened service, however, perks you up.You'll find that "peace like a river" the spirituals talk about -- a river that is flowing, powerful, dynamic, tranquil and deep. And when you find the latter, you wonder what you ever saw in the former.

Now, for reals, I know people that give a whole lot more service than me. Like the counselor I am serving with who's husband is the bishop and she has morning sickness while carrying her 5th child, or the woman I visit teach who is raising two disabled children as a single mother. My plate is nowhere near as full. But, I am thankful for all of the opportunities the Lord is giving me to "push a little harder" up my personal mountain. I truly do feel exhilerated.

Tag #1

My friend Juli tagged me a while ago and I forgot until recently when Crystal tagged Tessa.

Here's how this "Tag" works. List 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 surprising facts about yourself. Then tag 5 people at the end of your post.

3 joys:

1. When my house is clean. (I try to be joyful in between those rare moments as well).

2. When our family is together doing something fun. The other day we were on this four-way see-saw at the park and I remember thinking at that moment that my joy was at its peak thus far in my life.

3. Feeling close to the Lord.

3 fears:

1. I'll just get this one out of the way, SPIDERS!!! I've been held hostage for quite a bit of time by quite a few in my life. If I see one and watch it go under something I have to find and kill it before I can even think of going on with my life. When I was little I had to shine a flashlight down under my blankets to check for spiders before I would get in bed. Now I'm so blessed to have Darrin around for the majority of the spider sightings.

2. Losing a child. I'm sorry to go from something so trivial to this. This really would be the hardest most unbelievably painful trial to go through in this life.

3. I really fear the thought of my parents getting old. Dementia is a frightening disease to me and one that I hope I never have to experience. But, the fear of #2 and #3 is so greatly aleviated by the knowledge of the resurrection. For that I am grateful.

3 goals:

1. Grow a tomato to its juciest, redest (is that a word?) state.

2. Go to Hawaii with Darrin someday...he really needs to experience this, and I need to experience it again, this time with a special boy to walk hand in hand down the beach. :)

3. To learn digital scrapbooking...anyone into this who wants to teach me??

3 current obsessions/collections:

1. The song Welcome Home by Radical Face.

2. I'm collecting lots of food and toothbrushes with the couponing I'm getting into. It's super fun.

3. I'm kind of obsessed with reading other people's blogs and admit to being a total blog slacker myself.

3 surprising facts about myself:

1. I lived in Russia once in 1998 and again in 1999 teaching English. I have some of the fondest memories of my life in those two semesters.

2. I like hospitals. I enjoy being a patient and would love to be a nurse someday...the human body amazes me to no end. You can find me many times not being able to sleep, watching Discovery Health. The human body is A-mazing.

3. I never went to the same Elementary for more than one year in a row. But, my mom promised I would go to the same junior high and high school and she kept her promise (although I still moved 3 times during that time---it was still within the boundaries). Thanks mom. :)

Kay, now I tag Crystal, Lisa, Christy, Laura, and Ashley if you guys want, I'd love to read em.

Mason Jennings' youngest fans...

My girls belt it out to this song (Sacred Place) and Fighter Girl whenever we play them in the car. It makes me happy.

Aaahhh this is the life...

Said Malia the other day while swinging on her grandparent's new patio swing. Where does she learn this stuff??? But, I'm now saying the same sentence as I sit here eating my seedless watermellon in my basement, cooling off after a late evening walk around the local high school track with the family. It was really fun. Malia and Tessa loved to "race us" (we started with a stroller, but they wanted in on this exercise business as well, and who am I to stop their ambition). I don't know why we hadn't walked at the track before. It's nice not to have to worry about the kids running into the street and other sources of stress, such as having strange people honking at you and the like. I think we'll do it again soon.

So, what really got me in the mood for documenting my life today was taking a close look at my tomato plants---I have a row of 9 of them. I would surely upload a picture if I could find my camera cord, which, well, don't get me started on the lack of organization currently taking hold on my sanity. But, imagine in your mind me stooping down looking closely at the yellow petals, one by one, assessing every square inch of them...when "aaaahhhh Malia!! come here!!!! There's little green round things growing on them!!" She ran over, we hugged, we literally jumped up and down holding onto each other. I really hope no one was watching, as there are quite a few windows that can see into my yard. If they were I hope they got the laugh they needed for the day and that they've moved on. The girls have been helping me water them and shovel a scoop of manure on them now and again. This is our first garden and we only have tomatoes this year. But I can't wait to have a whole plot of salsa growing some day with some pumpkin, zucchini, etc. thrown in as well. Aaaaahhhh life is good.

Pictures to come. Also, please pray that I didn't just jinx my poor little plants.

Why I love my job

Hi, my name is Alicen and I am a medical transcriptionist. So, daily I learn new words and I just had to share my newest discovered word--who knew 'crapulence' was a word?

What a fulfilling profession I have pursued. And in case you were wondering the definition for your curious little mind, it is not pertaining to what you think (though it could lead to what you think, I guess) here it is:

1. Sickness caused by excessive eating or drinking.
or
2. Excessive indulgence; intemperance.

I think I'm way too easily amused.

Kay, I'll get back to work. Darrin is going to read this and see that I was working really hard while he was at the park feeding the ducks with the girls. ::waves:: Hi honey, I'm getting back to work. :)

Please allow me to vent

Just two. That's all, I promise.

1. Fellow movie patrons: Please don't take a child that looks to be about 3 to a PG-13 movie...especially one that is by nature very scary and intense. It is a proven fact that young children that age cannot differentiate between that which is fictional and reality. Darrin and I went and saw Iron Man yesterday and while I (surprisingly) enjoyed the movie itself, the experience was a bit uncomfortable due to my reaction to the 3-year-old-looking child sitting in the row in front of me. At various times I almost broke out in tears, trying to hold back the urge to reach over the seat and cover the little boy's eyes. Please don't put any other mothers through this torture. Please.
2. Dearest store checker at my neighborhood Maceys: When I bring my own bag to the grocery store to do my part in going green, please don't proceed to put the "cold" food in a plastic bag inside of that bag. It really is okay if the cold food touches the not-cold products. I am almost positive there will not be some kind of thermal catastrophe inside of my bag due to the different temperatured items making contact with each other. Please know, it took a lot of mental energy to remember said bag and the fact that you totally nulled and voided my efforts makes me feel that that very precious mental energy was a complete waste.

Thats all.