Rudy

Living in Utah makes it hard to find missionary opportunities. People at the grocery store are talking about their bishop or you go to Walmart and hear people talk about what their ward is doing for an activity. The gospel is everywhere here in Happy Valley, which is good in a lot of ways, but it certainly lacks the diversity that the real world offers. I served my mission in New Jersey (10 years ago, can you belive it's been that long?!!) and it was so cool to have a missionary moment last night. The Elders asked to have a discussion at our house. It went well. First off, everyone was on time and everyone showed up! (Most of my investigators would cancel or forget or change their mind, and it was rare that we could teach in a member's home). Anyway, we met Rudy and his wife, Kim, and they were so nice. Kim is a member, but just hasn't gone to church in a long time. She is happy for Rudy for wanting to take the discussions and it's helping her come back, as well. Anyway, everything that we talked about tonight Rudy was so accepting of and willing to commit to (law of chastity, reading scriptures, coming to church, paying tithing). And he's getting baptized on Feb. 10th. He has a few concerns, but how cool to see his excitement and desire to want to be better and find the truth. Sometimes it's interesting to look from someone else's perspective at the gospel and what we believe. I just read back what I wrote and I feel like I'm writing in my missionary journal again! Cheeesy! But I really am happy to be a part of someone's conversion. I'll keep you posted on Rudy! We're taking him to church with us on Sunday!

My Boys

I know I talk about them a lot, but they consume my life, so that is that. And I love them. Here are a few funny things that happened these last couple of days. Max and I were in my new craft room (!!!) and Lukas was watching cartoons in the loft. He was being so quiet and I kept calling his name to see what he was doing. He never answered, so after a few minutes I grew suspisous that he was up to something, so we went to go check it out. Well, he had taken Max's binkie (sneaky) and had fallen asleep standing up...well, his head was laying down on his little rice heating bag. Poor fellah! He never takes naps anymore, so for him to fall alseep on his own, standing up, in the middle of the day, he must've been really tired.

Tonight when we were getting the kids ready for their bath, I was downstairs doing laundry and Pat was (I thought) getting them ready for the bath. I heard Max cry and went by the bathroom...he had fallen in with is clothes on! He was so upset. Lukas was trying to help him, but he was just so sad. It was cute and pathetic and funny! Pat had run to get something and that's when Max fell in. I'm so glad he was just wet and not hurt or something.

Then, the other night I was helping the kids get to bed and I read to them and then tuck them in and sing some little primary songs or church songs to help them fall asleep. I ran downstairs to get something for them and I could hear Lukas in the baby monitor singing "I Am A Child Of God" to Max. It was so cute. I think I read about Michelle's Rex doing the same thing. It is so sweet to hear that! I tried to catch it on video, but they discovered me and it was all over! They really do love sharing a room and being close. I hear them giggle sometimes and they make each other laugh. I love that.

One more thing about Max...He started saying "mmeeeee" and "Ta dah". Like I'll ask, "Who wants to go to the store with mommy?" and Lukas will say, "Meeeee" and then Max will chime in "meeee". It is the cutest thing ever! And one night we were driving home and the kids were in the back saying, "dah da daaaaaaaaaaaa" like "ta dah", but the extended version. They seriously repeated it the whole way home (and we were in the car for 30 minutes). I think Lukas actually fell asleep and Max just kept going all the way home. I put Lukas in bed and he sort of woke up and said, "ta dah" and then fell asleep again. And then Max was in his crib for several more minutes saying it over and over until he fell asleep. They crack me up!

President Hinckley

I was so sad to hear about President Hinckley last night. What an amazing man he was! I always wanted to meet him in person, but I never got the chance. Sad! At least now he is with his sweetheart. He has done so much for the Church and what an awesome prophet! It will be sad not to hear him or see him anymore. I remember on my mission hearing him speak at Madison Square Gardens. I heard his voice and knew he was called of God. He will be missed.

The Truth Hurts!

So Emily sent me this email, which I have to share b/c it is TOO true and TOO funny. I hope you get a good laugh out of it! It's a little long, but worth reading. --------------------------------------------------------- Recently, I was diagnosed with C. A. A. D. D. --"Child Activated Attention Deficit Disorder" This is how it manifests: I decide to do the laundry. As I start toward the laundry room, I notice that there are cheerios all over the floor and my car keys are in the cereal bowl. I decide to pick up the cheerios before I do the laundry. I lay my car keys down on the counter, put the cheerios in the trash can under the counter, and notice that the trash can is full. So, I decide to take out the trash. But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox when I take out the trash I may as well pay the bills first. I take my checkbook off the table, and see that there is only one check left, my extra checks are in my desk in the office/playroom, so I go to my desk where I find a sippy cup full of juice. I'm going to look for my checks, but first I decide I should put sippy cup in the refrigerator to keep it cold. As I head toward the kitchen with the sippy cup, a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye --they need to be watered. I set the sippy cup on the counter, and I discover baby wipes that I've been searching for all morning. I decide I better put them back in the bathroom, but first I'm going to water the flowers. I set the wipes back down, fill a container with water and suddenly I spot the TV remote, one of the kids left it on the kitchen table. I realize that after school when they go to watch TV, I will be looking for the remote as they fight over who lost it, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where belongs, but first I'll water the flowers. I splash some water on the flowers, but most of it spills on the floor. So, I set the remote back down, get some paper towels and wipe up the spill. Then I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do. At the end of the day: the laundry isn't washed, the bills aren't paid, there is a warm cup of juice sitting on the counter, the flowers aren't watered, there is still only one check in my checkbook, I can't find the remote, I can't find the wipes, and I don' t remember what I did with the car keys. Then when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all day long, and I'm really tired. I realize this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for it, but first I'll check my e-mail. Do me a favor, will you? Forward this message, because I don't remember to whom it has been sent to. Don't laugh --if this isn't you yet, your day is coming.

Another Week Gone By

I can't believe it! This week went so fast! And what do I have to show for it...Let me share:

• Lukas (my picky eater) ate his peas and LIKED them!
• We went to the movies with the Norton's (and took the kids with us-BIG MISTAKE) and a lady actually walked up to me and yelled and said my baby was being too loud—it was actually Lukas she was referring to (Max was being good at the moment). Lukas was just running around, he wasn’t even being noisy! RUDE! And it was a matinee w/ only 10 other people in the theatre.
• I took over Lukas’ old room and now it’s MINE. Hello crafts!
• Every night I have tried and failed at getting Lukas to stay in his bed all night. And I've been very grouchy because of it. Argh!!!
• After a couple of very rough nights with the boys, Pat got a babysitter (his momma) and took me out for a date. It was much needed. Thanks babe!
• My friend Emily and I have started a Girl's Day--every Tuesday we get to hang out and do something fun. It's our playdate...not for the kids, but for us! This week we exercised together and went to the Quilted Bear! I love girlfriends!!!
• I actually got my visiting teaching done! YAY!
• My exercising streak continues! And mostly because we bought a STAIRMASTER! I am so in love with it! We found one cheap cheap cheap on KSL and now we're the proud new owners. It's the best having one in your house to use at your convenience! I am bound and determined to get in shape! I'll have to say my sister inspired me. She got a stairmaster awhile ago and so I had to have one b/c she is the coolest and I always want what she has! Plus, this piece of equipment is my favorite b/c it really kicks my butt and makes me sweat!
• My calling is "Activity Days" for primary. It's for the girls 8-12 years old. We get together every other week and we do activities so they can earn their "Faith In God" award. It's really fun and this week we had a dental assistant come talk to us.
• It's Potty Time! I love it and I hate it, but I got so sick of changing Lukas' diapers that I told him, "NO MORE! It's time to do it yourself!" I gave him his pull-ups and a box of Kandoo wipes, a potty book w/ flushable noises and showed him what to do. We don't call it potty-training, we just say he's learning how to change his diapers. He hates being potty trained. This is actually working. He has his little routine, and even though he still goes in his diaper, he takes care of it himself. Eventually I think he'll figure out that he needs to stop going in his diaper and start going in the potty, but for now, this is a HUGE HUGE HUGE step forward. (sorry if this is too much detail for those of you w/out kids...)

Kids will be kids

I don't know if it's boys, or just kids in general, but my boys were on one yesterday. I was trying to get some stuff done and they were in Pat's office creating a huge mess! Max LOVES when things spill and he'll just run and start smearing both his hands in whatever it is. If it's food, then he'll start shoveling it in his mouth, too. Here they are getting into the binder and paper clips. And Max also walked off with a bag of goldfish crackers and decided it would be fun to spread those all over, too. I left for a second and when I came back to clean them up, they were all gone! Max had eaten them all! Lukas decided it would be fun to put mousse in his hair (thanks to Daddy showing him how) and when he thought there was too much, he used hand soap to wash it out and said, "I put lots, lots, lost of it in my hair, and now I'm washing it out with shampo". I had to just laugh. He wanted to leave it like that, but I made him rinse it out. The picture doesn't show all the suds, but believe me, they were there! Oh, and Lukas found one of my old purses and thought it was the perfect toy bag, so he stuffed it full of toys and walked around the house. These guys keep me on my toes. BUT they did go to bed last night without much of a fuss. Lukas loves sharing with Max, and I think Max is starting to get used to it. Sadly, it didn't last all night b/c Lukas came in our room at 3 a.m. and Max woke up with a yucky diaper. So, no solid night's sleep, but we're working on it and each night seems to get a little better!

Things that happened this week...

For my sake, I am going to start posting our weekly happenings. I wanted to copy Mindy's blog (my sister has a section titled "funny things to remember this week" and then she puts funny things that happened or that her kids did, I LOVE IT!) b/c it's easy to forget the things that happened during the week.

• Max fell and his eye met the corner of the coffee table (he's ok, just bruised).
• Lukas actually went to Sunbeams and had fun w/out crying!
• We moved all of Lukas' stuff into Max's room, so they are officially sharing! And Lukas slept in his own bed all night long (one time).
• Now I have an empty room all to myself (hello craft room)!!
• We went to Nicklecade this weekend and had tons of fun.
• Pat turned in his nursing application to the U of U.
• We went to Nana & Papa's house to play (snowmobile, sew, blog, hangout, make cookies, play).
• We celebrated Jaden's 6th b-day in Payson (Jaden is my niece).
• I actually found time to exercise this week!
• In the middle of dinner, Lukas excuses himself and says, "sorry, I have to go now. my movie's on".
• Max has an endless runny nose and learns how to wipe his own nose (but really only makes a slimey mess).
• We made 'Shrink-A-Dinks'. I forgot how cool those are.
• 
• My BF Emily came over and hung out w/ me while our husbands were working/busy and she helped me redesign my blog! I'm addicted now.
• Emily and I took our boys to storytime (Lukas was at preschool).

Sleeping Woes

Lukas decided he wanted to share a room with Max and many of you suggested that it might help his night-time anxieties, so we put Lukas' bed in Max room (Lukas didn't want to be in his 'scary' room anymore). Sure enough, it has helped Lukas. He still asks about monsters and sometimes comes into our room at night, but it is tapering off. (THANK YOU for all your advice). Although now, Max, who used to be my great sleeper is waking up during the night and won't go down so easy!!! I fix one problem to find another! It took me almost 2 hours to get both boys to sleep tonight! There has got to be an easier way! I want to cry...Mostly because I'm tired and I woke up early to get ready for church. Those of you that have kids that you just put in bed, say goodnight and walk away better be grateful! I feel like I'm going to lose my mind. I spend all this time getting one asleep and then the other wakes up and both are awake and the process starts all over again! I know it will take some time to get them used to each other and I have to keep telling myself that soon they will be teenagers and it will take a bullhorn to get them out of bed in the morning. **sigh** Someday I'll look back at this and, well I probably won't laugh, but it will be a faded memory.

Welcome "Bluey"

We'd like to announce the fifth member of our family...our new fish named Bluey. We've debated wether or not to get a dog for quite some time and I'm just not ready for that kind of committment. Maybe when the boys get older and can help out more. Plus, Pat is really allergic to animal hair, so we'd have to get a dog that doesn't shed. In the meantime, we have wanted to get a pet and we decided that a fish would be the best first pet. It's a Betta fish and they are pretty easy to take care of. Lukas is excited to have a fish and it was hard picking a name. He first wanted to call it "Cougar" and then "Utah" and somewhere he heard the name Michael and liked that, but he really liked Bluey since his fish is blue. So Bluey it is!

U of U Nursing Program

So even though Pat has his Bachelor's degree (Exercise Sports Science) and has been a Realtor full-time for two years now (and doing awesome) he wants to do MORE! He has been taking some classes to fulfill his pre-reqs and has officially applied to the U of U Nursing Program!! If he gets accepted, he will start in May of this year and go 4 semesters. He is so excited and has wanted this for a long time. He won't find out if he's accepted for about a month, so until then, cross your fingers for us!! Ironically enough, one of Pat's favorite movies is "Meet the Parents"!

Life

The past couple of weeks have just gone by and what do we have to show for it? There are some days that are so busy, but then someone asks, "what did you do today" and you think...I HAVE NO IDEA!! That is us lately. Not that I'm complaining. Lukas is back in preschool and things are back to our routine. It's hard to want to do much because it's so cold here. I don't like snow I've decided. I like it for Christmas and to play in every once in awhile, but I don't like the salted streets and having to shovel our walk or get the car heated up to go to the grocery store. Guess I should embrace it and roll with the punches. I've been worried about Lukas lately. It seems to me that he is having anxiety issues. He doesn't like it when I have to leave him at preschool or for sunbeams. He cries and throws a huge fit when I leave him. Eventually he's fine, but I thought he had outgrown this phase. And every night he complains about monsters in his closet and under the bed. We do the whole "monster spray" thing and I do my best to comfort him (leave a light on, tuck him in, read him stories, sing songs, happy thoughts), but he inevitabley wakes up during the night and comes tearing into our room, scared. Then we're so tired, we just let him sleep with us, which means I get NO room b/c he has to sleep so close to me and Pat sort of takes up the whole bed anyway. I ended up on the couch last night b/c there was just no room. I don't know what else to do for Lukas. I don't know if it's normal, or if Lukas is really having anxiety about something. If anyone else has gone through this and has helpful hints, PLEASE help!! Other than this phase that Lukas is going through, life seems to be pretty good. I forgot to mention that Max had quite the fall last week. He was just walking and fell right on the corner of the coffee table. I didn't think it was that bad, but the cut was pretty deep. We thought about taking him in to get stitches, but it was small and so we mended it with TLC and a butterfly bandaid. He is doing better, but got quite the shiner. He's a tough kid. Then that same day, Lukas bumped into Max and he fell onto something and cut up his chin. It was not his day. He's fine now, though.

Mr. Max

I have been teaching Max a little bit of 'baby sign' to help him learn to communicate. Just the other day he did "more" and "all gone". It is so cute to see him do it and understand it! He already does "milk", squeezing those fat hands together so fast when he sees his bottle! It's so cute! And he is starting to say words. Everything is "uh oh". And he throws his hands up when he feels he's done something that is worth saying "Yeeeaaah!" for. It's cute. I was showing him pictures of our family and he says "mama" "dada" "nana" "papa" and then I showed him my sister's family and he said "kars" for Karsten! It was so cute! He is just a little tank that rams into everything and falls over and head-butts, so it is fun to see him understanding the world around him. He makes me smile and laugh daily! On the same note, Lukas says the funniest things. The other day he was acting like a baby (as he often does, so that he can get the same attention that Max gets). Anyway, I was asking him if he was a baby and he said, "No Mom, I'm not a baby anymore! I'm a KID. I'm your little sweetheart". It was so funny.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! 2008

I am so excited to start a new year. There is just something about a fresh start that gets me motivated to do better and be better! I just sat down and finished my list of goals. I listed 7 and can probably think of 5 others that should be on there, but I don't want to get discouraged and not accomplilsh any of them. So this is the year! I can feel it! It's going to be a good one. I love getting organized and excited about life. Sometimes I feel like there is so much that I need to improve that it feels like, "why try"? But I heard something once that stuck with me. "Do a little more tomorrow than you did today." I get easily overwhelmed and frustrated b/c I want to be everything all at once (a good mom/wife who is patient and put together and cooks great meals and does her visiting teaching/scripture study/FHE lessons/temple attendance and shows up to church 10 minutes early with well-groomed kids who are potty trained and well-behaved and that live in a spotless house that is organized and the laundry is always done...ok you get it). I am trying to get out of that frame of mind and just improve the me that is already here. Baby steps. I compare myself way too much to others and that is not good. I don't have to be anyone but ME! And I'm learning to appreciate that and accept it and LOVE it! Thank you to all you who inspire and uplift me! This is the year!!!!!!!!!!!!