Christian's Blogtion

I thought I would post real quick to advertise Christian's Blogtion (on-line auction). They have a lot of really great baby gift items that are perfect for baby showers (I go to A LOT of baby showers, so I like to be stocked up on these!), jewelery, homemade truffles, and even a Kindle! Of course, there are lots of other items as well. The prices are fantastic, too- I was very surprised they were not much higher. I ended up bidding on way more items than I originally intended- I couldn't pass the great items up!

Anyway, click HERE to check it out.

Christian has severe brain damage due to a drowning accident and I have been following his story. 100% of the sales will go to his treatments. For more about his story, go HERE.

Family Field Trip

It has taken awhile, but we are finally at a point where we feel like we can go to public places as a family- outside of the park or Chuck E. Cheese, of course.

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One of our first family outings not to a kidzone:

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BYU vs. Air Force Game in Colorado Springs

(also the furthest we have driven as a family since Claire was born).

The drive should have taken us an hour. So, we left 2 hours early- with it being Sept. 11 and the game at the Air Force Academy, I thought for sure they would have a really cool pre-game show and they would definitley have a fly-over and I didn't want to miss it.

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I was right about the fly-over. It occured just before kickoff. While we were in our car.

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It took us over TWO hours to get to the game! We were on the freeway literally going an average of 3 mph or less. We ended up being 15 minutes late to the game. It is definitely debateable if we will go again because of that torture.

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So, we get to the game and Audra spotted it. Within 10 seconds she saw it. I have never known anybody sitting so high in the bleachers to see it so fast.

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What did she?

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This:

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Down 100 stairs and in the furthest stretches, she spotted the kidzone. I should have known we would be dealing with bouncy rides even at a football game.

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So, we went down and spent 45 minutes waiting in line for her to go on two rides. We missed the entire third quarter and all of the halftime show.

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But, tell me honestly: could you have turned down this face? Well, we couldn't either.

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She made a new best friend on the swings while I stewed over missing my BYU game.

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Finally, it was time to go back and watch the game.

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Thankfully, we were armed with lots of illegal fishy crackers- don't tell anybody we snuck them in.

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In the end, it wasn't much of a game. BYU lost 35-14 in very unimpressive fashion. But, it was a successful family adventure- we might even do it again someday. Maybe.

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Busy Week

Lately I have realized that my vision of what I WISH I was doing and what was actually happening are two completely different things. Here are some examples:

My vision of the wife/mother I want to be #1:

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A beautiful home-made warm breakfast made every morning.

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My reality:

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Cold cereal for all.

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My vision of the wife/mother I want to be #2:

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Perfect body and in perfect shape.

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My reality:

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My vision of the wife/mother I want to be #3:

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Perfect, thoroughly uplifting scripture study on a daily basis.

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My reality:

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My vision of the wife/mother I want to be #4

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Beaufiful home storage/home production techniques.

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Reality:

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But this last week I have finally begun to conquer some of these challenges. In this past week I have:

1. Made pancakes for breakfast ON A WORK DAY for the first time in our entired married life.
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2. Started jogging again. Granted, it is for less than a mile and only takes me about 8 minutes- but it is a start.
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3. Bought a book that clearly explains Isaiah and am delving into the scriptures and learning more than I have in a long time
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4. Made homemade grape juice from Concord Grapes from a grape tree in Ben's parents yard, made homemade chokecherry syrup from chokecherries in our backyard, and planted 2 apple and 1 cherry tree in our backyard (OK, in reality Ben's dad was incredibly generous and did 100% of the work in the actual planting of the trees).
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Maybe next I'll start cleaning...

Movie Night

Growing up, every Friday night was movie night. We got 2 movies and Little Caesar's Pizza, made caramel popcorn, and watched movies as a family. (One family favorite was "The Gnomemobile- I really want to get it to watch with the kids but can't find it anywhere- anybody have any suggestions???)

Movie night is something I have been anxious to start with our family. Last night, Ben decided it was time. We watched half of "Ice Age." (Well, Ben and the girls watched while I cleaned- such is the life of a mother, I guess) It was really funny- Ben snuggled with the girls. Claire sat MESMERIZED the entire 40 minutes we watched! Then, the girls would laugh at the silliest things. For instance, Audra thought the saber tooth tiger was hilarious. She kept saying, "that's not a tiger!" and laughed histarically for at least 5 minutes straight. It was so funny!

We didn't make the caramel popcorn or get the pizza- unfortunately, Ben is not a fan of either. So we will have to adapt our old traditions to meld into our new ones- the joys of having your own new family. Hopefully I can find The Gnomemobile...

A Lot of Random Stuff

Since I am trying to procrastinate cleaning as long as possible, I thought I would post some pictures of what we have been up to lately.


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This is a picture of Audra with her "babies." If you ask what their names are, they are "Baby" and "Baby." They are quite often "sick" and she has to give them medicine, sing to them, and put them to sleep a lot. (I know this because I am the doctor, and I am the one who prescribes such measures. Though, they must not be working since they continue to get sick).
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Then this is Audra sleeping. She is now putting just about everything she owns in bed with her to sleep with. It is pretty funny, but I can not imagine it is very comfortable.
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In a previous post, I mentioned how Audra had nicknamed Claire, "Guppy." We have enjoyed this and encouraged this. The other day, however, Audra said, "No, her name is 'Poopy'." We nixed that name and have ceased encouraging her further in naming Claire. We could possibly nickname Claire "nonononononon" since now she goes around church and the house saying that constantly, however.

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In other news, my Dad goes in for surgery on Friday to remove his tumor. If you could please pray for he, my mom, and the surgeon we would all greatly appreciate it!!!!

And one last thing: is anybody else having problems with Bloggers editing????? It is driving me crazy how it keeps changing the formats and not posting what I have typed in the format I have typed it in. Any suggestions????

Now off to clean...

Who Is Cuter?

Answer: The one with the red shirt.

I Can Do Hard Things

A friend introduced me to the blog of Patrick and Ashley. They are a couple who lost their 18 month old daughter about a month ago in a drowning accident (I know...always these horrible sob stories). But, Ashley just posted this and I thought I would share because I LOVE what she has to say, and it is a great reminder that when times are tough, we CAN get through it! With the Lord's help, we CAN do ALL things!
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So here is her post:

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My friend shared her so called "motto" with me. "I CAN DO HARD THINGS." I say it to myself over and over everyday.
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Life is hard, but we must endure it. Sometimes I feel sorry for those around me trying to support me. I know they try to figure out how I'll react to different situations beforehand. But I must admit that predicting the outcome must be nearly impossible, because I have no idea how I'll react until I'm in the moment.
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There have been some places I knew would be difficult to visit without Preslee. The first night back from PCMC, Pat begged me to visit the canal. After much hesitation, I took Pat's hand and walked outside his dad's house with him. As we approached the canal, the anxiety and fear quickly disappeared and we were both filled with a strong peace. I felt almost as if Pres was saying, "mom and dad I was just fine." At that moment I was able to forgive myself for going out on a date that night and not being there for her when she needed me most. This experience taught me that avoiding the places which make me think of Preslee isn't going to help me in any way. So these last couple of weeks I've geared up and visited many of the places that I have sweet memories of her. I tell myself, "I CAN DO HARD THINGS" right before I go in. Sometimes I am able to do it, and other times I leave with tears streaming down my face. But then the next time I go doesn't seem so hard.
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Or it's those times that sneak up on you when you never expect it- and for a split moment you forget she's gone. Like when I went to Subway and found myself ordering extra extra olives, because Preslee loved olives! Once I sat down to eat it, I started collecting them to give to her when it hit, she's not here...
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So yesterday as I left zumba, I noticed I had missed a call from Pat's brother Jamie. He isn't a morning person so I knew his wife Linsy, who is almost a week over due, must be in labor! She was and had checked into EIRMC, where Preslee was life-flighted the first time. The thought of that hospital brought back strong emotions. I stewed over the information and wondered if I could handle going to the hospital, and to see a new baby. Lately, I haven't wanted much to do with any babies. Then suddenly the phrase popped into my head, "I CAN DO HARD THINGS."
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When I walked in and saw little Ivy, I was overcome by so many different emotions. I immediately longed for my baby. My arms literally ached to hold Preslee. As Ivy was handed to me, I felt such a peace. I could have held her all night. Newborns come with just a little bit of heaven and for a moment I felt as if I was holding the next best thing to Preslee. She has a strong little spirit. Then I was filled with such a hope that Pat and I won't be empty nesters for long. Even though I know the next baby won't fill the void, it will definitely help.
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When you find yourself in a difficult situation remember the phrase, "I CAN DO HARD THINGS." It's possible. Life is hard, we just have to learn how to plow through it.
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We couldn't be happier for Jamie and Linsy to experience Parenthood. She's beautiful. Welcome to the fam Ivy! We love you!
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Me again...sigh! When times are tough, I am going to remember that: I can do hard things!!!!