6 months to live

A while back my sister in law posed the question "What would you do if you had 6 months left to live?" on her blog. I started thinking about it today as I was holding sweet Amelia.

I think the first thing I would do is try to impress upon my children my love and testimony of the restored gospel here upon the earth. I would let them know that they can get answers to their questions from the scriptures, and that Heavenly Father hears and answers prayers. I would bear witness to them that if they follow the prophet and listen to the promptings of the Holy Ghost, they will be okay. I would record my experiences with trials and blessings for them to read and glean faith from.

Secondly I think I would plan a family vacation. One that the kids would love.

Next, I would go on a week long vacation with Mike only.

I would spend my time making memories.

I would sit my children down and tell them that Daddy would look for another Mommy to take care of them until they could be with me again. And that they should try their hardest to love her and obey her and make her laugh.

I would also try to make a special "Love Quilt" for each of them, so that when they needed a hug from me, they could wrap themselves in their blankets and feel my arms around them.

Wow, I could go on and on. I would want to write letters to everyone who has touched my life, and see as much of my family as possible. I guess this might end up being too much!

But writing this reminds me that I need to write a LOT of things down in my journal before they disappear from my memory and that the little moments through each day are forming my children. Who they will become. I need to be better at expressing my faith and better at looking past the mud on the carpet, to the child who is excitedly telling me something.

the Neighbor of the Year Award

goes to ...... (drum roll, please)

Mrs. Anderson !

Our next door neighbor has three small dogs. They all suffer from "little dog syndrome." You know, having something to prove to anything that moves. Or doesn't. (Contrary to popular belief, fences CAN be intimidated.)

Anyway, I loathe these dogs. They bark nonstop, push down the rotten boards in our fence and run around in my backyard. This often prevents my children from even playing back there. We've tried all sorts of tricks to dissuade them, but to no avail, and the people who live there are never home. I've spent far too much of my life moaning about them and scheming about how to get rid of them.

Today I had my chance.

Ding, dong! I opened the door to a good Samaritan who had found a poor lost puppy in the area and was wondering if I recognized it? She had tried calling the number on the tag and had gotten a disconnection message, had knocked on a number of doors, and was about ready to take it to the pound. It was the mangiest, most despicable one of the bunch.

The moment of truth had arrived....I hesitated....."It's my neighbor's dog," I heard my mouth say. "They're not home, but their gate is always unlocked. I'll walk over with you." With each step my head was screaming, "What am I doing? What am I doing? What am I doing? It'll probably be a week before they even miss the dog."

The gate clicked shut, the woman left with a flurry of heartfelt thank-yous, ("You know what happens to them at the pound! I just couldn't bear it! I have my own dog at home, and I know how happy I would be if someone returned him safely!"), and I went inside and plopped down on my couch with a resigned sigh. I could already hear the dog barking out back.

At least I've got a clean conscience, right?

WANTED: Dangerous Boys

We've all heard of this best seller. It's time to combat the "playstation culture" and bring our boys outside...get their creative juices flowing. Build a thing or two.

Well folks, no purchase necessary. We're livin' it.

I walked outside this afternoon and was met with this sight:

We used to have a small red, wooden table in the backyard. There also used to be an extra fence board leftover from some repairs. We now have headstones made with love, by Jacob.

(Sorry if the picture comes across as totally creepy!)

**This conversation ensued. My voice, incredulous; his voice, very matter of fact, shrug the shoulder type....

Me: How did you do this?!

J: I just busted up the boards with some big rocks, and pried apart the table.

M: I mean, how did you nail the boards together? Where did you get the nails?

J: They were just in the table. All the boards were connected by nails, so I just pounded them out backwards with a rock and then put them where I needed them.

M: They are so sturdy!

J: Yeah, I just had Andrew hold the boards still while I was hammering.

M: So what are they?

J and A : HEADSTONES !!

J: Remember? I wanted some for this Halloween so our yard could be really creepy like Daniel's! (our neighbor) I know you aren't really a fan of "creepy," so I thought I would just make them myself!

He then demonstrated how he had laid the fence board over one large rock and then repeatedly thrown other heavy rocks until the board broke where he wanted it to.

So there you go. Headstones in an hour. Only primitive tools required.

Sunday Suits

We often have huge battles on Sunday morning because the boys want another play day, not a church day. But we know Jake's weakness....dressing up. So let's just say we play to his vanity and then let his leadership "skills" bring Andrew into the picture. Mike helped them out this morning and we loved how it all turned out. They clean up nicely, eh?

Happy Valentines Day!

I LOVE Valentines Day. Everything about it! I have so many people to love, and I am so grateful for that. Here are some fun pictures of those who really melt my heart.

My mom made this dress for me when I was a baby, and now Amelia gets to wear it! Isn't it cute? The perfect Valentines party dress for my little love button.

These two are in love. Andrew wants to hug "Chubby Cheeks" and kiss her all over, and if Amelia is not hungry, Andrew is the one that her eyes always follow.

We went to Jacob's party at school. This really was such an exciting day for me as I was growing up. It was fun to watch Jake go through the same process of picking the perfect Valentine for each member of his class. You can't give anything about love to a girl you don't like in that way, and you have to find the coolest card for your best friends.

Here's Jake enjoying the "sweetness" of the day!

And this is the guy I am madly in love with. We are such a great match. I would've never guessed this as I passed him in the halls in high school - but it's true!
Not to use a sappy movie line, but it really is exactly how I feel:
He completes me.

Ewww!

A few days ago we had a nightmarish trip to the grocery store. Long story short, Jacob pushed my buttons (and the cart into a woman) and I, for the first time, was that mom in the grocery store. In a snarling, threatening, none too quiet voice I commanded him to, "Stop it!"

On the way home I talked to him about how awful I felt talking to him that way in front of people and that I just wasn't sure what to do with him. etc, etc.... He realized how his misbehavior had affected the rest of us and felt bad about it, so when we arrived home and Amelia was ready to eat, he offered to put all the groceries away so I could feed her.

As I sat in the other room he would occasionally ask me where to put something. He had been working in the fridge on produce and then asked where to put the roast. I told him the bottom shelf.

Fast forward to today - three days later. I am quickly chopping vegetables and tossing them into the crock pot. I have much to do and am in a hurry. Then I go to look for the roast. You already know the end to this story, I'm sure, and I wish I had at the time. Would've saved me almost a half an hour of turning the refrigerator and freezer inside out!

Yes. As I sat down to think where I would be if I were a roast, I remembered that Jake had put away the groceries. I opened the pantry, and there - in the back on the bottom shelf - was a roast. Aughh! Fortunately there was no smell yet, and NO MAGGOTS! Quick trip to the trash can and then the grocery store set everything back on track.

Maybe I should slow down on the quest for independent children, eh?

Random Thoughts

Okay, so this is my second post today. It is cloudy and dark outside, and cozy and quiet inside, and there is nothing (that I am acknowledging) to do.

Random thought #1: My boys like to play chess. This conversation took place this morning as I was getting ready for the day and Andrew was setting up the chess board.

A: "Mom, do the frowny faces go next to the king and queen?"

Me: "Ummm...."

A: "Just say yes or no."

Me: thought bubble - this is embarrassing, I don't know.

The other night we had a babysitter come over and when we got home and asked her what they had done she told us that Jake taught her how to play chess, and then they played until bedtime.

Thought #2: I'm sad that Mitt Romney is out of the race. I didn't agree with his every platform, but I had full confidence in his ability to make good decisions as a president and do an excellent job running the country.

Thought #3: Amelia is so cute!!

Money in the Wind

On Saturday I went over to give a final goodbye to my friend who was moving away. As I sat on the porch of my "born and raised in Texas" friend, I was struck by how different all my friends are.

We were sitting on her back porch, with a mess of kids running around whooping and hollering as they "shot" each other with play rifles. Two big dirty dogs were lying at our feet, beer bottles were here and there, and her husband and his brother were playing horseshoes - wearing Wranglers, no shirts, and camouflage baseball caps.

At one point these guys left to gas up the truck in preparation to go, and when they came back, they tossed my friend one of about 5 large lottery tickets. She excitedly started rubbing away with a coin, and started jumping up and down and screaming that she had won 70 bucks. Then her husband laughed and said it was a good thing, because they were 50 buck tickets. I laughed and dismissed the comment, and was excited with my friend.

THEN.....she lays the ticket on the patio table. "$50" is what I read in the upper right hand corner . "What the...?" (to steal a phrase from my boys). They sell 50 dollar lottery tickets?!! I wanted to instinctually shout out, "Who buys these things?!"

But I already had my answer. My friend does......and I love her anyway.

Wowzers!

Where have I been!?

The flu knocked us down for about two weeks as it ran it's cycle through everyone...yes, even Amelia. Then I had about 230 loads of laundry to do, crusty bowls of soup to unearth from the depths of the boys garbage pit, er, bedroom, and all the other stuff that comes with jumping back into life after having been absent for way too long. Luckily when I got time to catch my breath, Mr. Sunshine came for a visit. Yes sir, 80 degrees in February.

I got the bright idea to take the boys and a few of their friends to the park - by myself. So we zipped over to one of our favorite big parks, the doors slid open and the boys disappeared into a park that probably had 80 some people running around. Turns out everyone had the same idea. Amelia needed to eat right then, so I sat down, nursed, and commenced giving myself whiplash as I tried to keep an eye on 5 different boys running in 5 different directions. Whew!

The next day we went to a birthday party. I made little Robin Hood costumes for each of the boys. It was so fun to just mess around with a big block of fabric and have it turn into something recognizable. The boys were in heaven.





Anyway, things are looking pretty good for this Texas family again. Yeehah!