Tagged Again

I was tagged by Jackie and this time I am supposed to list just 6 interesting/uninteresting facts about myself. After coming up with 101 things this may be difficult...


1. I am definitely a reader. I've always loved reading. This is largely due to my mom who read to me a lot and help me gain a love for good books. Ever since I was a kid, the epitome of relaxation for me has been to be sitting outside reading. In fact I remember one time when I wasn't very old being so absorbed reading a Babysitter's Club book by the pool (I still remember which one, too: it was Logan likes Mary Anne :) that I got one of the worst sunburns I've ever had. Right now, I am reading Bonds That Makes Us Free by C. Terry Warner, upon Luci's recommendation. I would definitely recommend it.


2. I have a very random taste in music. I like a little bit of everything. I especially love Oldies and classic R&B but I also like some rock, hip hop, jazz, opera, classical, and even country now because of Joe's influence. I also know a lot of random music trivia. This is because of my dad always quizzing me on who was singing every song we'd hear during our long trips to different places (he knows a lot of music trivia). Joe also knows quite a bit of music trivia and I was able to impress him with my knowledge on one of our first dates.


3. When I'm pregnant I have to give myself shots twice a day as a precaution against blood clots. I've never had a huge fear of needles like some people but I was never able to watch as the needle went in. That is of course difficult when you're giving yourself a shot so I've had to overcome it. It wasn't easy when I first started doing it. I even sat on my bed for almost a half hour once trying to psyche myself up to give one (Joe was willing to do it for me but I had to get over the mental block myself). I still refuse to watch when they are taking my blood, though. I hate watching blood come out. (Shiver)

4. Joe and I are big fans of The Office. It's pretty much the only show we watch consistently and we think it's hilarious. Elizabeth's favorite show is The Backyardigans and I must admit that I actually really love that show, too. In fact Joe and I probably like it more than Elizabeth. We especially love the music.

5. If I could wave a magic wand and be really good at one particular style of dance I would pick break dancing. I've always thought break dancing was so cool. I guess that's an advantage of growing up in Stockton, CA--even in elementary school there would be kids break dancing during recess and everyone would form a circle around them and cheer. Ah, those were the days.

6. I really, really love guacamole. So much so that I am going to make some right now. :)

As for people who are tagged, let's try Kelli, Stephanie, Lisa, Cindy & Mitzi. Sorry, if you've already done it.

Answered Prayer

As we were getting out of the car on Saturday night, the car door shut on Elizabeth's hand. Luckily, nothing was broken and she wasn't hurt too badly although it was bad enough to cause her pain all that night. She wouldn't let us put ice on it or even touch it so we just let her stay up late on the couch watching Cinderella to calm her down. When the movie finished and she was obviously tired, I tried to take her to bed but she refused to go and screamed while I carried her upstairs. I felt bad of course but knew that sleep was the only thing that would help her now. Anyway, she finally calmed down and we asked her if we could ask Heavenly Father to help her hand feel better. She said OK so we said our family prayer and Joe prayed that her hand would feel better and that she would be able to sleep well that night. Literally within seconds of finishing the prayer she was asleep. She was even asleep enough that we were able to take care of her hand and put some band-aids on. I was worried that she would wake up during the night and remember her hand hurt but she slept right through until 9am (which is unheard of for her). We told her about this the next day and she was very happy and excited. Hopefully she is beginning to gain a testimony of prayer. I know that this experience strengthened my testimony and reminded me of how precious Elizabeth is to our Heavenly Father and what a solemn responsibility I have to care for her. Ever since then, her hand doesn't seem to bother her much. What a blessing!

Costume Party

We had a great time at a Halloween party last night at the Rich's. Especially Elizabeth---she said the whole way home that she wanted to go back to the party and she didn't want to go home. Here are some pictures:

Our family in costume: a carrot, two bunnies, and Elmer Fudd

Elizabeth & Maddie
(Elizabeth is wearing my sweater because she spilled root beer all over her shirt :)

Friends
(from left: Iris, Libbi, Elizabeth, Scottie, (Brigham as the Man with the Yellow Hat) Maddie, and Camden)

Two cuddly animals: Emily as a lamb and Natalie as a bunny
(Stephanie--did you get a better picture of Emily?)

It was a really fun night. Thanks again guys!

Carving Pumpkins

We had a fun Family Home Evening on Monday. We had a lesson during which Elizabeth was actually semi-attentive (success!) and then carved pumpkins for our activity. Well, Elizabeth just colored on her mini-pumpkins and Joe and I carved. Here are the finished products. Sorry for the blurry picture but it was the only one where you could even see what mine looked like (mine is the one on the right). I guess I went for too much detail :).

New Pictures

Elizabeth and I matched yesterday so we took some pictures of it before church.
Here is a cute one of the girls in their jammies. Elizabeth is always asking to hold Natalie (which is getting harder and harder to do) and then she wants me to take pictures.

Some thoughts...

I have been feeling very blah lately and I'm not really sure why. I thought maybe if I got some of my thoughts out in words I could get a handle on it. The kids are in bed right now and I honestly don't know what to do with myself. Obviously there are things I could/should be doing like dishes, general clean up, etc., but I don't feel like doing those things right now. I think maybe I need a hobby. Still, I can't help but feel that most of the hobbies I would choose would be "good" but not "better" or "best" (see Elder Oaks' talk). But maybe that's OK for my "me-time". Maybe I just need something that will help me unwind during that time. Still, I feel that I'm kind of on auto-pilot too often, lately; like I'm just getting by in my job as a mother.

Maybe those of you from Wymount will remember Cynthia C. saying in a Relief Society lesson one Sunday that we should treat motherhood as our career. We should give it our all and try to excel. That really stuck with me. Raising these children isn't just what is taking up my time right now, it is my life's work and I should treat it as such. I suppose that what I need to do is just get on my knees and ask my Heavenly Father what it is that he wants me to do or do better. The problem with that is that then I'll actually have to do it :).

Do any of you ever feel like this? Thanks for letting me ramble a little bit. Hopefully this made sense.

Elizabeth Singing

Here is part of a video we made for Grandma Allen. Enjoy!

Messy dinners and days at the park

I just uploaded some new pictures I wanted to share. The first are of Natalie enjoying the goodness of sticky rice. It took forever to pick all of that rice off!
The next ones are of a fun day at the park we had recently with our friends Marjorie and Jared. The park we usually go to by our house doesn't have baby swings but this one did and Natalie had a great time swinging by herself for the first time.

First Tooth!

It's official...Natalie now has her first tooth popping up. I wasn't really expecting it although she has been a tad grumpy lately. Elizabeth didn't get her first until 2 weeks after her 1st birthday. I guess it had to happen eventually. Despite how I sound, I really am excited. I'm just hoping she won't learn to bite me with it :). Here are some pictures of Natalie doing her favorite pastime: clapping. She also loves waving hi and goodbye. She must just love using her hands. What will that mean for the future? Maybe she'll be an artist, a carpenter, or just use lots of hand motions when she talks. Probably none of these things but it's fun to wonder :).



I have to also post something funny Elizabeth said the other day (there's something new every day). She was asking me if she could watch a movie and I was saying no in a non-committal way to avoid a fight about it ("Oh..not now" or something like that) when she said, "No... say, I suppose you can" in her soft, persuasive voice. It's funny how kids repeat random phrases that you didn't really know you say. You definitely learn to watch yourself when you're a parent.

Getting ready for Halloween

I got Elizabeth and Natalie some Halloween shirts and decided to dress them in them on October 1st to celebrate Halloween coming up soon. As for costumes, we are still undecided. Natalie will wear Elizabeth's old bunny costume (poor girl--she'll always be wearing hand-me-d0wn costumes) and we don't know what to do with Elizabeth. If I want them to go together, someone suggested a carrot which might be cute and Elizabeth actually likes that idea. Any other ideas? What are you/your kids going to be?