Zzzzzz

I got so much sleep last night! I feel like a new woman and just had to share. Gracie had been having trouble sleeping through the night ever since our Thanksgiving trip and Grant is still just a little lad... but last night Gracie slept from 7:30PM-8:00AM and Grant slept from 10:30PM-6:30AM. This I can do.

And when I ran the spellcheck on this paragraph I saw a message rarely seen by my eyes: "No Misspellings Found." I should sleep like this more often!

Blessings

• My mom. This Monday was an awful, no-good, very bad day kind of day. When I'm having days like these, I can pick up the phone and my mom still knows how to make everything better.



• My Grandma Bettie and Mama Jo are safely in Nevada. For about a year now, plans have been in the works to move these two precious ladies to Gardnerville to be closer to my parents. Attempt #1 had to be aborted, but attempt #2 was a success.



• Sharing my testimony in Church today. Usually sacrament meeting is a little interesting because of Grant's feeding schedule and because Cori sits on the stand- leaving me with a hungry baby and a busy toddler. But Grant slept in this morning changing his schedule up a little, and Gracie was happy to run up onto the stand with me to be with her dad. It was strengthening for me to share what was in my heart.



• An afternoon in a quiet house. Right now all my babies (Cori included) are sleeping. I should probably be sleeping too. What a waste of free time when there are dishes to do, food to cook for or Branch activity tonight, scriptures to read, and Christmas music to listen to.



• The First Presidency's Christmas devotional tonight. I love this broadcast. Its the best way to bring in the Christmas season.

The Reason

"We bear testimony, as His duly ordained Apostles—that Jesus is the Living Christ, the immortal Son of God. He is the great King Immanuel, who stands today on the right hand of His Father. He is the light, the life, and the hope of the world. His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come. God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son."

The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles

Tagged

So, I've been tagged a couple of times to complete a little list of things about myself that I've not posted before, or that are strange or largely unknown. I hope my dear friends won't mind if I combine their requests and bend the rules a little. Here is a list of 7 things about me that you may or may not know. If you feel like telling the rest of us about yourself in similar fashion, consider yourself tagged, and leave a comment on this post letting us know that you've accepted the challenge! I'd love to learn more about you.

1. Though I've spent my life dreaming of travel in far off places, I find I'm becoming some what of a home body. I think this is due mostly to having children now, and the reality of traveling with kids is not an easy one. I'm so grateful that I've had the opportunity to travel as much as I have. I'm so lucky to have a husband who loves travel as much as I do. We've taken off on some pretty cool adventures. But the more I see of the world, the more I love being in my own space, on my own schedule, with my own babies. (That being said, I'd still be willing to drop it all for two tickets to Europe. I'm not completely cured. Just very happy in my more home bound state)

2. I have an unnatural fear of bees. Once, while stopped at a traffic light, a bee flew into my car and I actually tried jumping out. My seat belt restrained me, and I fought it. It must have been quite the scene. The light turned green, cars were honking, I was still frantically trying to free myself from the seat belt... The most pathetic part of it is that I've never actually been stung. Its probably not that bad, right?

3. I'm so anxious to see the good in people that I often overlook their flaws. Though this sounds like a good thing, its gotten me into trouble more than a few times. There is such a thing as righteous judgement.

4. Twice in my life I really wanted to quit the piano. I will be eternally grateful to my parents who didn't give me the choice.

5. I've never been good at spelling. Through the last few years of elementary school I was in a Gifted and Talented Education program (G.A.T.E. to any of you who endured So. Cal. schools back in the day) and I thought I was pretty hot stuff. We had a spelling test at the end of each year--only ten words taken from a larger list. Those who scored 100% on the test got a special t-shirt that could be worn on Fridays. I coveted those shirts my whole childhood and never got a-one. My sixth grade year, my last chance for redemption, I misspelled the word 'sentence'. So bad. To this day, I cannot do anything without sending it through spell check. Even when I hand write notes, I double check words in a Word document.

6. My favorite color is the hue that is created by late afternoon sun on a field of wheat. It makes me feel happiness, longing, joy, peace, and completion all at the same time.

7. I talk to myself a lot. Out loud. Really, I do. If you could be a fly on the wall while I cook, you'd think I was auditioning to have my own show. When Gracie catches me in the act, she'll tug on my pants and calmly say, "Mommy, stop it."

Wordless Wednesday: Double Feature

Happy with his Dad

Nap time vs. Lunch time

She enjoyed that whole apple with eyes wide shut

Wordless Wednesday: Baby Grant Sept. 24

Blessings

* Seeing the first snowfall before leaving for our Thanksgiving holiday.

* Being able to travel across the country to visit with family. It isn't cheap. It isn't easy. But we are grateful that we can do it. Why does Michigan have to be so far away?

* 3 1/2 wonderful days at home in Gardnerville where we were able to witness and participate in Jared's ordination to the Melchizedek priesthood. This was so important to me, and I will always be thankful that I could be there.

* Seeing Grandma Bettie (my grandmother) and Mama Jo (my great-grandmother) in UT. Due to some last minute changes in Thanksgiving plans, we got to drive out to UT for the second half of our trip. My mom's sister and her family were there (minus only one cousin--we missed you Daniel). Its the first time in at least 15 years that we have all been together like that.

* Getting both of our families together for Grant's blessing. All of my immediate family, including those just mentioned, and all of Cori's- except for Damien and his fam- got together at the hotel we were staying at. One of Cori's uncles was in town with his family and they were able to make it as well. My dad rented the conference room for the evening and we ate dinner together and had a wonderful time catching up with everyone. It was amazingly special to be together like that to officially welcome Grant to the world and the Church.

* Being back home again. The kids are getting back onto their schedules. Grant is almost sleeping through the night. We've got a lot of work to do. Its good to be home.