Blessings

Lots of rain. The earth has received a pretty deep drink over the last few days in northern IL. And for the first time in a while- NO SNOW. Spring is coming!

New friends Sarah, Danny and Jackson who had us over for lunch today. Sarah is originally from Petoskey where we first became acquainted with her family- whom we adore, by the way. Serendipity smiled upon us and when we left MI we moved into Sarah's stake. Sarah's mom, my dear friend Jeanette, made sure to set us up. Sarah and her crew live about 40 minutes from us. But today we had a Stake Conference which put us in their neck of the woods. They graciously hosted us and our nap deprived children for a delectable lunch. It was so great getting to know Sarah and Danny better. And the kids loved playing with Jackson and all his toys. I just wish we lived closer. Sarah is the kind of gal I could hang out with all the time.

Old friends Over the last couple of weeks, we have been in contact with lots of old friends through letters, email, and phone calls. We love and miss them, every one.

Witnessing the process Our Stake presidency was reorganized this weekend. It is an amazing and inspirational process. I am grateful to have raised my hand to give thanks to the outgoing leadership and then to sustain the new. It always builds my faith to see the priesthood in action and to hear their witnesses of the inspiration they received. 

Our big kids We hate how fast they are growing up. But having bigger kids makes it possible to do things as a family that we couldn't do before. They are simple things. But they make a difference to me. Our family home evenings feel more meaningful now that Grace is able to participate more. Our family prayers feel more important to me now that the kids recognize the place they have in our daily life. Even our fun nights are more fun. Friday night, in lieu of a date night, we had a pizza and movie night with the kids. Of course, Grant didn't watch the whole movie. But we spent a couple of hours together eating, talking, laughing and having fun. 

afternoon walk discoveries

We found a precious remnant of last spring amongst the buds of this year's spring.

Gracie made it clear that she still l-o-v-e-s to throw rocks. This was a big obsession for her when she was Grant's age.

Grant can run without tripping over his shoes now. Even with a snack in hand.

"Tiger tracks!"

get over it-or not

There are some things about my life that I have decided to accept and get over. One of these things has to do with this boy and his blanket. They are inseparable and that's that. It is a behavior I fought for quite a while. Every morning, I made Grant leave the blanket behind in his crib. Every morning he cried and screamed about it. Every morning he was grouchy until his nap when he could be reunited with the beloved bedfellow. Then we would start the whole thing again after nap time. Finally, lightning struck my brain and I thought, "What is the big deal?" The blanket came out of the crib and we've all been much happier. It does not come in the car or to Church. But it goes everywhere Grant goes while we are at home. And I wash it at least 3 times a week.

Another thing I've gotten over recently is my issues with needles. I'm a big wimp. It has been a challenge made worse by the fact that I have tiny deep veins which are useless for purposes of I.V.s and blood drawing. On one of my blood tests a couple months ago, I went through every nurse in the office. They tapped out both arms and both hands. One nurse suggested trying my feet. Another nurse suggested they send me to some other clinic where they deal with drug addicts and are more used to these kinds of situations. Finally, a saintly woman found a good spot. I've had to go in for these blood draws so much lately and had been fretting over them every time. I have to take the kids with me which is an added stress. But the amount of exposure to the experience has had a positive effect. Today I went in for my 300th blood test. I noticed this morning that I wasn't nervous about it. They even sent the rookie nurse in to stick me. She had to fish around a little and I was totally unbothered by it. 

Now on the other hand... there is recent reality of my life that I refuse to get over. It would seem that Grace is incapable of taking me seriously unless I have transformed myself into an angry, fiery, two-headed, yellow-eyed monster. I ask her nicely multiple times. I suggest other things for her to do. I give her warnings. She doesn't respond until I'm loony with impatience. There is a part of me that is ready to give up and just be that crazy mom all the time. But a bigger part of me wants it to be better for both of us. So I put me in time out too.

from the archives

I'm reorganizing all our digital pictures. I think I've finally decided on how I want to organize and archive everything so that it will coincide with our blog books (a.k.a. our family scrapbook) and the kids' keepsakes. It has been really fun pouring through the last 4-5 years' photos. We've done a lot and I am reminded that we have been very blessed. 

Here's a look at what we were doing in the March of 2005: We had been married about 10 months. I was 2-3 months pregnant with Grace and felt sick to my stomach every waking moment. Looking at these pictures actually brought that annoying nausea feeling to the back of my throat. In a strange attempt to exert some control over my body I had my hair chopped off. 

We made a trip to St. George to watch Cori's sister, Tiffany. She runs track for SUU and had a meet around her birthday. Cori's grandparents were there already and the rest of the family went down. We made a big weekend of it. While there, Cori and I visited my mission president. Man, I love those guys.

This was taken at BYU's planetarium. They had a special night for the MBA students. We saw a presentation in their spherical theater and then got to look through the fancy telescope. Not many came so it was almost like having the place to ourselves.

Chillin' at Cori's Mom's house. We went up for Sunday dinner a lot. I really miss that.

I love this picture. Not because it is a good picture of me, but because of all the other things that are in it. It is a great representation of our lives at that moment. I'm working on a project for my bookbinding class. In the lower right corner is a Chile travel guide. We were making final preparations for our big trip to So. America that we took just after school let out. Next to the travel guide are some graduation packets. I was weeks away from finishing my degree. Just out of frame: 1) my pile of French and Mayan art books resting on a nearby chair. I was in the throes of FR 321- advanced grammar, and a HUM 400 level course on Mayan art and culture. 2) Cori's side of the table complete with his laptop - that we would have to replace later that summer, a stack of newspaper - he had to read the WSJ everyday for one of his classes, and another big stack of books and binders full of businesses cases. Every night these were our stations. I remember my dad telling me that this was a great time of life for us. We were really busy, but things were simple. I can see that now. It is fun to look back.

While Grant is napping Gracie is "working"

sticker club

Several weeks ago, Grace got a cute letter in the mail inviting her to join a sticker club. It took a little bit of work --but not much money-- to participate. Today Grace got a letter in the mail from a girl in AZ who sent her a packet of puppy stickers. The first fruits of her labors... Sticker club has officially been dubbed the "greatest thing in the whole why-old (world)." Thanks for the invitation, Emma!

Blessings

Hide and seek in the laundry

Healthy kids.

Only one house payment. The Petoskey house is sold!

Warm(er) weather next week.

A husband who helps me with house work.

The Visiting Teaching program.