Thankful

We had a lovely "American Thanksgiving" as they call it up here. I find that kind of funny, as I've never heard an American refer to "Canadian Thanksgiving." Of course it didn't feel anything like the holiday I'm used to, but we did the best we could. I made a turkey breast (we always end up with a lot of waste when I make a whole turkey for just us), stuffing, mashed potatoes and rolls. Nothing too exciting. I have so much to be thankful for, I definitely was grateful to have time to ponder on the many, many blessings I enjoy. I'd make a list, but I think I've made enough lists lately. There have been too many picture-less posts lately because... Our computer crashed. Crashed! I was in the middle of backing up all my pictures, but of course hadn't finished that yet. What a mess. We're still hoping that our computer guy can get all our files off the computer. Keeping our fingers crossed. Because if he can't, that will be several months of photos lost. I haven't printed a photo since August. All I've got is what I've put up on this blog (thank heavens for that).

But we have the laptop and so I can upload my newest pictures. I took some of the boys today. They are not edited (of course that is what I miss most of all...Photoshop) and so forgive me. I didn't realize how much I rely on my Photoshop!

So here are some more recent pics.

Sunday Night Brownies (licking the bowl is the best part!):

The pictures ended this way:
My birthday party at the Murdocks':

So Funny

I was reading a gal's blog today and found this story. It's the funniest thing I've read in a long time, I was laughing so hard I was crying.
I hope Kelly Anne doesn't mind me sending some web traffic her way, but man this is a good one. I just had to share.
http://www.sansomfamily.com/?p=282

Twenty-Six

I have been thinking of this litle diddy all day:

Happy Birthday to you
You live in a zoo
You look like a monkey
And you smell like one too.

Today, I feel that was penned just for me.

It's official. I'm on the "back end" of my twenties. Sliding faster and faster toward thirty. Oh, dear.

What I want for my birthday: Eight hours of uninterrupted, deep sleep.
What I'm getting: Another move. To Dallas. Texas. Yep, it's true. We've decided to accept the residency position offerred to Adam at Baylor-Garland and we'll be moving sometime in the next few weeks (after the holidays, as per my gentle command). I'll likely write more about that in the coming days, when it (hopefully) sinks in a little bit.

And now, 26 things about myself (this will hopefully excuse me from ever making a "100 Things about me"):

1. I always answered "a teacher" when asked what I'd like to be when I grew up, although deep down all I wanted to be was a mother and a wife.
2. Marriage and motherhood is so much harder than I thought it would be. I'm pretty sure I would've made a better teacher ;)
3. I have to have socks on when I sleep. This drives my husband crazy. (crazy in a bad way, not a good way)
4. Most of my pet peeves relate to driving. Like people that can't drive and have no business operating a car that turns into a weapon when they are behind the wheel. That is a pet peeve of mine. More minor ones include talking on the phone while driving, tailgating, and stopping at a yield sign. I have an idea for an invention that is a mandatory phone or walkie-talkie in every car that you can call from your car and chew someone out. I think it's going to make me millions.
5. My great passion in life is photography. I think about it constantly, especially while I am driving. I am usually trying to find a great place to take pictures, or I am thinking about my latest work and thinking about how to improve it. I haven't had many photo shoots in Canada, but the reasons are too personal for a blog. But I think I am really good and I also think that my potential has yet to be unleashed on the world. Look out world.
6. I am sarcastic pretty much all the time. That makes it really hard to blog, because you can't read sarcasm.
7. My lists are a little too wordy.
8. My husband and I met at a singles ward Valentine dance in San Antonio, Texas. He knew that night that we were going to be married. I didn't know, however, which made it a little awkward when he told me on our second date. Let's just say that he's lucky that there was a third date.
9. I believe that our greatest blessings are also, by nature, our greatest challenges. I really, truly believe that nothing worthwhile comes easily (I know, that is SO cliche, but it's also true).
10. I went to BYU for a short time in 2000. I failed nearly every class and that was because my social hours were from 11 pm to 5 am. Every night. I am not joking, although my parents wish I was. I have never been more irresponsible, and I loved every minute of it.
11. My most prized earthly possession is my wedding ring. Adam picked out the stone specifically for me because it is a unique square-shaped diamond with a star cut inside. He explained it this way when he proposed: "This star represents you. You are my north star." It is probably the most romantic thing he has ever said to me. I think of that every time I look at my ring. I positively, absolutely love my wedding ring.
12. All of my grandparents are still alive, and I was fortunate enough to know five of my great-grandparents. I am very, very blessed when it comes to family. I love each of my special, wonderful relatives and get teary-eyed just thinking of how much they mean to me.
13. My favorite dessert is creme brulee. Mmmmm...
14. I used to imagine that I was always on TV, that people were always watching me. As a child, if I were doing the dishes, I would inevitably be in a commercial where my charm was used to sell dish soap. It's probably a good thing that my parents never caught on to how much I love(d) attention. They might have let me try acting, and then who know where I'd be?!! I could have been Lindsay Lohan. So thanks, Mom and Dad.
15. If I have a choice, I will usually buy jewelry or shoes or a purse. That is because these are the only things that I don't get depressed looking at the size. It's a fat girl thing.
16. I used to love the snow. That was when I lived in Texas and snow was a novelty. Then I moved to a place where it snows a lot, and I have had to scrape the windows in my car, and wear sensible winter shoes, and try not to fall every time I walk outdoors. Snow is no longer a friend of mine.
17. My favorite vacation spot is Mexico, likely because I really haven't been anywhere else. I loved the Playa del Carmen, where Adam and I honeymooned. Mostly because we were on our honeymoon. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to go there as "seasoned" married people. People who sleep for fun at night. Hmm.
18. I love, love, love that my boys both have my blue eyes. My eyes are the only thing I've ever been vain about. And, luckily for me, my best feature will not get fat, get saggy, or fade. I feel pretty lucky about that.
19. I am a stickler for table manners. It drives me crazy when people don't follow the simple ones. It has always bothered me that Adam doesn't stand up when a lady arrives at or leaves the table. But I realize that I did not marry a southern gentleman cowboy who studied manners and ettiquette (oh man I cannot spell that) just for fun. Oh well, he has other, more important qualities. If he read this, he'd probably ask me if the Savior would do it. If the Savior would not do it, then neither will he. And he's got me there.
20. My favorite quote is this: "Greatness is best measured by how well an individual responds to the happenings in life that appear to be totally unfair, unreasonable and undeserved." (Elder Marvin J. Ashton) I have tried to be great.
21. I have been blessed to know some of the most wonderful, Christ-like people in all the world. That has been the greatest consequence of all our moves.
22. I am still in touch with most of my high school friends and they continue to be some of the most amazing people I've ever met. I'll always be grateful for those friendships that stand the test of time.

23. I am totally addicted to Diet Coke. Well, not addicted, but I sure do love the stuff---the glorious, teeth-rotting, headache-inducing, up-all-night, delicious stuff.

24. (this is getting hard to think of things!) My worst quality: I cannot keep a clean house to save my life. My best quality: Hmm. I'll have to get back to you on that.

25. My favorite ways to spend "me" time: photography, scrapbooking, enjoying (not creating) beautiful art, and I love the great outdoors. I love rock climbing too, indoors or out.

26. Drum roll, please.... The greatest gifts I've ever received were people, not things. Well, people and my Nikon D200. That was also a really great gift.

Whew! Is anyone still reading after all that?!? haha

Something Fun

Come see what my mom made for us...I think it's so funny...then make one of your own!
http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9514788240

This Week

We had an eventful week, nothing too exciting, but here goes:
*We had our weekly lunch with Adam's mom, and his brother John and his wife Kari. Really fun. SO GLAD that John and Kari moved to Calgary recently, it's been too fun to have them here.
*Like the good wife I am, I took all of Adam's church clothes to the dry cleaners (I don't do this often, just a couple times a year, usually I wash things myself). Didn't ask for prices, was SHOCKED when my dry cleaning was $168. I can think of a million things I'd rather do with $168. Oh well. Note to self: Ask how much your dry cleaner charges BEFORE dropping off clothes.
*Speaking of money I hate to spend, our vacuum died. We had to buy a new one. I hate buying things like that, which must explain why I still have my very basic clothes iron that I bought for $7 when I went to BYU seven years ago. It still works, so thanks, Walmart.
*Aidan has recovered from his cold but now has an eye infection. That is just so strange to me, because none of us (or anyone we know) has had an eye infection recently. Luckily he's not in any pain, just has nasty drainage. It's gross. Got drops from the foreign doctor at the walk-in clinic. Adam had already told me that it could be an infection or a blocked duct. But the doctor felt it prudent to say: "We would be worried that it could be from an STD, such as gonorrhea or chlamydia (I hope I didn't spell those right) that he would have picked up as he exited your vaginal canal." I nearly burst out laughing, but instead just assurred him that I have no STDs and for that matter, had a c-section so passing an STD would be nearly impossible. But it was totally worth hearing the India-born doctor say that. Definitely blog worthy.
*Nate is doing MUCH better. Thank heaven for that. He's mellowing out and I do not feel the need to beat him anymore (just kidding!)
*Last night we took Nate to see the Bee Movie. Really cute movie. I'm not sure that Nate was as entertained as Adam and I -- we thought it was pretty funny, though. I just wish they'd put in more of Chris Rock's character. I think he can hold his own against Jerry Seinfeld any day. Definitely a fun one for kids and parents, too!
*We might be heading to Salt Lake for Christmas. I'm trying not to get my hopes up, because that would be a dream come true! I absolutely love Utah. So I'm crossing my fingers.
*And just to test who reads this blog, I have a big deal thing to tell you about: Adam is headed to Dallas this week to interview for a job. If you are shocked/excited/confused/angry about this, post a comment so I know you've been here.

Thanks for reading! Cheers!

I Heart Vampires

So I've officially jumped on the bandwagon. Perhaps I'm one of the last ones. This week I read all three of the Twilight series books. In four days. 1800 pages (give or take a few) in four days. That is sooooo unlike me (at least since eighth grade). But I was hooked. I finished the first one in a matter of hours and the second one the next day. The third one I spread out over two days because I realized I'd been neglecting all responsibility......
So I'm a dork now, just like all of my friends who have been talking these books up for months. Now it's my turn. If by some chance, you're reading this and you haven't read the books, stop reading my blog and go buy the Twilight series books. Do it now. You won't be sorry, in fact, you'll love escaping into the world of Bella and Edward. So much fun. And don't let the vampire thing hold you back---after you read these books, vampires will seem as normal as roast beef dinner on Sunday. ;)
And while you're here, if you have read the books, let's have a little book club meeting. Let's talk archetypes--did you think of the comparison between Edward and the Savior? Did you relate to Bella at all? Which Cullen would you want to be? Would you make the same end choice as Bella (which boy would you choose? I'm not sure I would have chose the same one...) Anyways, I can't wait to get these onto the book club list here in Calgary. So much to talk about.

Ode to Nate

Daddy and Nate in the NICU (Feb/03)
2004

Spring, 2005. Dallas YMCA gymnastics

December 2005, Utah

Malibu, May 2005

Halloween 2005, Kansas City

November 2006

December 2006

September 2007

Okay, so that last post was a little sad. I was getting Nate a snack when I realized that I need to do a post about how great a kid he is. I think I need to remind myself of all the great things he does and all that makes him so great. So, at the risk of being a little self-indulgent (isn't that what blogs are for, anyways?) here goes:

*From the beginning, Nate has always been a happy, social kid. Everywhere we go, he makes friends. Even at the grocery store. His line is always: "Hi. I'm Nate. I'm four. How old are you?" and he says this to kids and adults alike (which can be a little awkward, especially with the adults.). I believe that he has been blessed with this gift so that our many moves have been less difficult for him. He loves being around people.

*Nate is a bright kid. We were really nervous when he wasn't really talking much by age 2 or so. But once he started, he's never stopped! He's so curious about the world. He has many questions, some which surprise me by how thoughtful or insightful they are. He knew all his letters at a really young age and would "read" to me when we were driving. "That sign says S-T-O-P. That means stop. S-T-O-P means stop, Mom."

*Now, he can write all his letters and all his numbers. Imagine my surprise when one day at church he wrote all the letters on a piece of paper and handed it to me. We'd never even worked on it, not once. I still don't know how he did that.

*He can count to 100, not missing a single number. He is obsessed with numbers and asks us, "What number is this?" all the time. For instance, he'll say, "What number is 2,0,0,0?" to which we'll reply "That's two thousand." He'll then say, "Oh. Two thousand has three zeros after a two." He does this all day. When we're driving past houses, he reads the house numbers. Gets on my nerves sometimes, but I'm so glad that he's noticing the world around him.

*He loves the movie Cars, Toy Story, the Backyardigans, and Little Einsteins. He loves to play with Legos, cars, and ride his bike.

*He is a loving little boy. I love his hugs and kisses, and he's very sweet with his little brother. Aidan probably gets more than his fair share of love ;)

When Nate was born, he spent five days in the NICU. That was scary for us. I was so grateful to have him then, and I'm grateful to have him now. I hope to never take this precious child of God for granted. He is what his name means: "Blessing from God."

Heaven Help Me

Okay, so I know this is normal...and I know I'm not the only mom that has ever experienced this, but my first born is driving me crazy! He was doing pretty well for the first couple of weeks after Aidan was born (and I thought--look at me! I've prepared him so well, what a great mom I am!) Then, he got sick and it's been downhill from there. He hasn't shown any aggression toward the baby (quite the opposite in fact...he's been overly loving) but Adam and I are feeling all the effects of a boy who is feeling out-of-place. His new phrases are: "But I WANT TO!" (which he feels is a reason to get to do, eat, or say whatever he wants) and "NOW!" (which he adds to the end of any request or demand--lately it's been more demands than requests).
So, I'm at the end of my rope. (What is that saying? Tie a knot and hang on?) Can any of you relate to my insanity? Because the catch is this: If Adam or I are too harsh with him when he acts out, it actually gets more intense, the whining gets to a much higher level, and then I just want to run away. But the fear is that if we allow the behavior in any way (the whole "ignore it and if he sees it doesn't get any attention, it will stop" theory), that he will start to think that we are okay with him acting totally awfully. I used to think that I was a pretty good mom. In real life, Nate is generally a really, really good kid. But lately I've been thrown into "survival mode" and I HATE that!
Okay, enough of that. I'm sure a lot of you are saying "Been there, done that" and I'm sure things will even out soon. I suppose I wouldn't be so cranky over it IF I was getting more than two hours' sleep at a time and IF I wasn't sick and IF the baby wasn't sick, too. This too shall pass.

Heavenly Father to me: "How badly did you want another baby?"

Halloween!

Aidan in his Halloween outfit...."I Vant Your Candy"

(thanks for the outfit, Nana!)

Hello, Brother!

Aidan was a dalmation for Halloween! It kept him warm!

Too Much Trick-or-Treating!

Nate doing the traditional "dump-and-sort"

Some funny things said by Nate on Halloween:

"Oh, Mom, I LIKE Halloween!"

"I don't want to go to that house. It's spooky." (good thing, too, because there was someone hiding in the bushes trying to scare the kids)

(near the end of the night): "I am done. I have enough candy now."

Ward Party

Nate and his buddies Alden, Liam & Jackson
The mayhem after the pinata was broken...
Nate is in the middle of the pile-up

The loot!

On Tuesday our ward had a great Halloween party. Thanks to Amanda for heading it up (with help from her wonderful committee, of course) We had such a good time. Adam and I didn't dress up this year. It's hard to get into the Halloween spirit when your spouse says "Bah Humbug" ...or whatever the Halloween equivalent is. We lost all our Halloween costumes in Hurricane Katrina, and since then I haven't had the energy to make or buy new ones. But anyways, Nate was dressed up of course, so he represented the family. Next year we will have to get into it, because no one bought our explanations of our "costumes" : "Super Dad" and "a desperate housewife."

The party was a blast, though. I mostly loved seeing all our ward friends dressed up (some were extremely creative!) They had a haunted house, a pinata, games, a costume contest, and dinner. It was quite an event!

Halloween at Preschool!!

This is Nate's class at their Halloween party. I loved that most of the girls were princesses or fairies and each of the boys was a superhero or hero of some sort. They are a fun group of kids. And check out Nate, I mean, Superman. He'd wear that costume every day if he had the choice. But he doesn't have the choice. Because I am a mean mom and make him wear clothes. I thought it was funny that he'd pretend to fly and kept yelling "Su-per-man!" at every one that asked him who he was. Funnier still that he's never seen a Superman movie, cartoon, or even an episode of Smallville. Where do they pick these things up???

Fun Playdate

Nate had a fun playdate with some new friends this week...thanks for playing with us Austin and Ella (and Alivia too!) And thanks, Alysha, for meeting us in such a fancy restaurant. ;) We just wish you didn't live in Edmonton...good thing you still visit Calgary often. Looking forward to your next visit!