Seasons Change

What better way to welcome a new season than to change up your bedding.

Welcome Fall. I'm glad you're here.

Homecoming 2010

Homecoming has come and gone. Forgive me (Nicole) for being so behind in getting this post up.

Nicole and I shopped for a couple of hours before coming across this dress. She instantly fell in love with it- and who can blame her, it's darling!

There is a funny story to tell about it though. Remember back in the day, when you would go to a dance, how you would hold your breath until you saw that no other girls were wearing the same dress as you?

Well, as it turned out, the ONLY other girl wearing the same dress as Nicole that night happened to be a girl in her very own group.

Group pictures.

Need I say more? It's a good thing Nicole sees how trivial these things are. She just laughed.

Another dance, another memory. And only one more Homecoming dance to go. These high school years are going by so fast!
**Nicole with her date, Juan.

Two Brothers Apart

Just in case any of you are having the same 'issues' with your children getting along and loving each other (is it the fact that they are 5 years apart in age or the fact that they are boys or that fact that they are 6 and 11 or that fact that they are siblings and that's just how it is? sigh.), I want to share something with you.

The other night, things were particularly sad around here, and it just happened to be family night. So in a flash of inspiration, I turned to the trusty MormonMessage's For Youth Channel on YouTube for help. This is what I found.

It has worked wonders.

It made my boys think about their relationship (ok, mostly the 11 year old is thinking- the 6 year old just reacts to how he is treated by big brother) and wow, I am loving the changes I see.

It is amazing how powerful family relationships are. This video does a wonderful job of pointing that out.

Enjoy.

*Warning: It's a two hankie watch

Sore

Erik bought the P90X DVD's.

He asked me if I wanted to join him.

I couldn't let him show me up.

Cuz I'm in way better shape than him.

I lasted until halfway through the lunges.

He lasted a full 10 minutes longer than me.

Two days later, I still need help getting up off the potty.

As for Erik. He's moved on to disc two.

I'm just going to stick to walking.

Ouch.

Friends

A few months after moving into our first home, I was attending choir practice when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to the woman behind me, who introduced herself as Wendy. She said that she wanted me to know that if I ever needed a babysitter, she had a daughter who would more than love to watch our little Nicole.

A week later our family was invited over to Wendy's house for dinner. And to this day, 16 years later, she remains one of my dearest friends.

Wendy was and still is a woman who always had much to do, but she made you feel like you were the best part of her day when you stopped by to visit.

Nicole and I would often find ourselves walking a few houses down to Wendy's house to spend the afternoon. I would sit at her kitchen table while she loaded the dishwasher, ironed a pile of laundry, or mopped her kitchen floor.

The whole time she would happily visit with me, listening to what was going on in my life, and would often share her wise opinion with me. Wendy is 11 years my senior and I always looked to her for advice (and still do!).

We spent eight very happy years being neighbors to our dear friends. There were many dinners shared, game nights, movies watched and even a few camping trips. We were treated as family and were invited to many of their extended family events and came to know and love them as well.

I still remember the day we told them we were moving to another house, to another part of the valley. I tried to reassure Wendy, who had tears in her eyes, that we would still be close and would remain dear friends forever.

She wisely said, "It's just not the same."

I look back on that time with such fondness, wondering sometimes why we ever chose to move. Life was simple back then. I seemed to have so much more time to sit and visit with friends.

I am happy to say though that we still remain dear friends. There have been times when our lives have gotten busy and we haven't been as good at keeping in touch as we should. But when we do, it's as if no time has passed since we last saw each other.

I am grateful today for dear friends. I have been blessed with a small number who hold that title. Some I get to see more often than others. But I think about them often and feel so very fortunate that they are part of my life.

Thank you my friends, for your love, your advice, your time, your smiles, your thoughtful gifts, your service, your texts, emails, and comments. I want you to know that I do not take any of these things for granted.

What would we do without friends?

Money

Isaac is a determined boy. When he sets his mind to something- he stays focused on it until he has accomplished the task at hand.

Last week, he asked me what he could do to earn some money. Don't you love it when your kids ask you this question? Oh the possibilities!

I handed him a rag, a step stool, and the Windex and sent him off to clean six windows- inside and out!

When he was finished, I handed him a crisp $5 bill. He was thrilled!

I expected the next words out of his mouth to be, "Can we go to WalMart?"

Instead, he plopped himself down at the computer and logged on to a 'how to' video on YouTube. And what was it he wanted to learn?

How to do Money Origami.

And he has barely left the computer since. (I do send him off to school each day- just in case you are wondering.)

And since the day he discovered Money Origami, there is money laying around the house, folded into airplanes, animals, and many other shapes. Who knew dollar bills could be so entertaining to an 11 year old boy?

Yesterday, he expanded his use of raw product to include my printer paper- which I'm not as excited about.

But now he can create things like this.....and look! The original $5 bill! It has not been spent- (truly a miracle when it comes to Isaac) but it has been folded and refolded to the point that it will never lay flat again. Poor money.
But that's Isaac. He's mastered Money Origami and now it's off to something else. I'm only slightly afraid to see what it will be. :)

Have a great weekend!

A Friend

Nicole came home from school yesterday deflated. It had been an emotionally rough day for her. As she sat at the counter and shared with me all that had gone wrong, the phone rang. It was her good friend asking if he could bring over the math homework sheets that she needed. He said he would be right over.

A few minutes passed and the doorbell rang. Nicole got up to answer it while I unloaded the dishes from the dishwasher. I heard the door open and then I heard a high pitched voice, squealing? crying? laughing? I wasn't sure.

Before I could turn to investigate, Nicole shut the door and came around the corner carrying her math papers and an Oreo shake, tears streaming down her face, unable to even speak.

Her friend, who knew of her bad day, had brought her all time favorite treat in hopes that he could somehow make her day a little better.

She folded into my arms in a tearful heap and cried for a few minutes. And then she was fine. As she lifted the first spoonful to her mouth, a smile was on her lips.

I love what Elder Marvin J. Ashton once said, "A friend is a person who is willing to take me the way I am but who is willing and able to leave me better than he found me."

And that is exactly what this friend did for Nicole. It was a beautiful thing.

All That Is Left

It's the final moments before the sun sets on another lovely weekend. Each one passes too quickly for my likings. I begin the weekend with anticipation for the many possibilities that are before us. And when it is over, I am always a bit sad to see it end.

As we were eating dinner tonight, Isaac exclaimed, "Mom! You should take a picture of the dinner on my plate for your blog! You could talk about the awesome dinner we had tonight!" When he could see that just talking about our dinner was not quite enough he went on to say, "Someone should say something funny so Mom can have a reason to blog."

I didn't take the picture, but it got me thinking later, as I was cleaning up the dishes. As I looked at this plate with the crumbs all over it from the pie that Isaac had made, I decided that I needed to take the time to write before time has passed and I have forgotten what made life meaningful around here.

I have learned that it's much easier to write about the pie while it is in front of my face than to try to remember what it looked like by examining the crumbs on the plate.

Finally

At the request of my family, "Will you PLEASE blog already?", I am forcing myself to sit down and give a little update of what's been going on around here.

As for me, I am back in school, taking pathophysiology and LOVING it. I am also volunteering two days a week at a local hospital. One day in Med/Surg the other in the NICU. I adore both areas- from the patients to the nurses- I love them all.

Nicole is loving cross-country. She runs a race every Wednesday and Saturday and just can't seem to get enough of it. I think her head needs to be examined. A little snapshot of her in her last race....always the cheerleader.

We are now the proud owners of yet another calendar. This one is 20"X24" size so it should do the trick. I love that it's a wipe off- I don't love that I forgot to leave enough room to put the name of the month above the calendar. Oh well.
Now that the days are getting shorter and the mornings are cooler, I guess that it is time to say good-bye to summer.....
And hello to Fall. Do you notice the subtle changes? They are hard to see, but now it looks like a pumpkin has thrown up all over my house- lots of orange. :)
My favorite new addition to my Fall collection. A sequin and beaded pumpkin. Sequins are so underrated.
We are also gearing up for Fall Flag Football with the two boys- it starts tonight, and another dance for Nicole (Homecoming) is just around the corner. Pictures will be coming soon!

As for the Mr., he has been busy working and scouting it up with the 11 year old scouts in the ward.

All is well.

What fun things have you been up to?

Anchor

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AWRHBHDVlQ

You must watch and listen. Mindy Gledhill is one of my favorites and she's recently come out with her new album, Anchor. I can't get enough of it.

Enjoy!