Happiness is..

1)Fitting in to jeans that I bought before I was pregnant with JULIA. I have never been able to wear them and now they fit like a glove- yahoo! I have never been one to make too much of a big deal about my "shape" especially in the past 3 years; bearing children takes its toll, but I must admit I am super excited to be fitting into these jeans. And to be able to do it WITHOUT exercise is a huge plus! I know changing my eating habits have made a big difference, plus the nursing. I over heard a woman at church who obviously just found out she's pregnant, complaining about BEING fat, not going to be fat, but being. Mind you she's can't even be a size 2, and I'm not exaggerating. I wanted to strangle her!!!! Umm, yeah it must be soooo stressful to be able to get pregnant and then have to worry about being fat!!! I would give up these new jeans in a heart beat to be able to get pregnant. It's all perspective though, I know.
2) Getting answers to prayers. I met a lady at the park yesterday who is looking for someone to babysit her little girl one day a week. I have been stressing about how I can bring a little extra moolah into this household, and this is perfect. I told the lady this would be an answer to my prayer and she said it was meant to be because she never stops at the park. I can see the Lord's hand so clearly in this and it makes me so grateful. He blesses so abundantly when we keep our covenants.
3) Teaching Julia to ride her bike. There are a lot of moments of frustration, but when she peddles for more than 5 seconds, we both get so happy and excited. She has a lot of determination in her, after freaking out she always calms down and tries again, Im so proud of her. She teaches me how to calm down, she so so so very sweet, I love her with all m y heart! Too bad its so hard for her to push the peddles forward, she always wants to go backwards, then her foot slips off the peddle, man its rough. But it was way nice to to go to the park and have Lauren in her walker too, I thought that was such a great idea. When its beautiful here the whole world feels right.

4) Little Miss Lauren CRAWLING and standing. It is just so cute cute cute! She has been expressing a very sweet personality too. I love this new squinchy smile she gives, she totally has a sense of humor and laughs all the time. She is tough & a bit jealous though, she wants EVERYTHING her sister has- even me and my attention. If I didn't feel so bad for her with this marathon teething she's got going on I might be more inclined to let her cry; on the other hand I love this baby girl so much sometimes I feel like I could implode and there isn't a chance on earth I'm not going to indulge this sweetheart!
5) The Heffalump soundtrack. I've always hated Winnie the Pooh, but that movie and music have totally won me over, the girls love it too (of course). Julia especially likes it when I sing "Little Mr. Roo" to her. She is my little mr. roo and I don't want her to grow up too soon. This stage of make believe cooking, drawings and colorings delivered hourly with such pride, and singing "Weggie Tales" in her microphone to everyone that has a ticket is just precious and I LOVE it!!!
So that's my happiness right now!

Uncle Luke in da house

My brother and his girlfriend came this weekend, it was good times. I love how I don't have to get all worked up when he comes, the plus to having brothers is they don't care if your house is messy. He is so easy going, its great.
Julia adores them. She loves playing hide-n-seek with them, having Luke hold her upside down by her ankles, and pretend to be monsters. Lauren is still getting use to the idea of being held by people she's not familiar with. She's such a mama's girls, and yes I am soooo fine with that!
After picking him up from the airport I took him to the, and I quote, "Most exciting restaurant in the world". I'm quoting the restaurant there. Actually folks, it was one crazy crackpipe place, but Luke loved it. CASA BONITA: a Disneyland style restaurant fully equipped with the chain separators for long lines (ironically there was NO line), cafeteria style way to get your food, and decorated like a Pirate's of the Caribbean South of the Border. There was a huge two story waterfall that set the stage for two "actors" (I use that term VERY lightly) to put on some kind of wild west show where for the finale one guy falls into the pool at the bottom. The subsequent shows are just that same guy doing flips, and then one with a giant gorilla that gets loose and runs around the restaurant, much to Julia's concern. So glad I took Luke and not YOU.
The rest of his stay was not quite as exciting since Colorado decided to show off it's ability to be butt freezing cold in September. Luke & Ryan went to a Rockies game (see his blog), and Saturday we checked out Boulder.
Today Colorado is redeeming itself with bright sunny skies and a forecast of upper 70's. YES!! There is a little worried voice inside my head warning me winter may be more off a shock than I anticipated. Hopefully it will be more fun than anything. We'll adjust. This is what we wanted, when it snowed in Vegas we thought it was great. When it didn't snow in Vegas we thought what the heck are we doing? We need seasons. Now that we got our seasons we just have to learn about them and how they make us feel, good and bad.

A learning moment...

Me nursing Lauren in the car at the post office: "Julia don't stare"
(A mom was getting her OBNOXIOUS children out of the car and trying to keep them by her and help her carry in a package.)
Julia: "Im not, Im just looking at them." (nose pressed up against the car window)
ME: I know, that's starring"
Jules: "Ooohhh"
I left it at that, but a few minutes later...
Julia: "Im oh-nee watching them" (funny she said that cause they were gone. Must have been thinking about what I was trying to explain to her)
Its so funny how kids learn. I started thinking how we know the difference between looking, starring, and watching, but its hard to explain to a 3 year old.
We were "purple girls" yesterday. A fun way of getting Julia dressed, she wanted to stay in her jammies, so all three of us wore purple shirts- I LOVE having girls!!!!!

This would be a great shot

That's what we said over and over this morning as we went to the "Wag n' Tail" event and FORGOT our camera. (When I say we forgot the camera, I mean RYAN did) We were up and out the door by 8:30 to go down to this beautiful area right off the freeway where it turns out is an open dog park and there are trails and everything. The event was F-U-N! Moby got to act like a dog that has a family that cares about her and was just as happy as a dog could be. Made us feel good. She got a frisby and free bag of doggie croissants, what a lucky dog. Jules had a blast chasing her and being concerned about her getting too far ahead of us. She really like that "Moby's best friends" were there. Her new jeans kept falling down, they're a little big, and it didn't help that dad assisted her in putting a bunch of rocks in her pockets!!! It was way cute though! Lauren, our smallest dog lover, looked cute as a pumpkin in an orange fleece Halloween shirt and pink beenie. She LOVES dogs and had a great time on my hip.
We then headed to the fabric store and I got some flannel and batting, I am going to attempt a rag quilt for Julia's bed, PRAY FOR ME!

9/11

This year's anniversary of 9/11 had such an impact on me. I was glued to the t.v. and CNN's website where they showed the attacks in real time- freaky! There was part of me that just wanted something different to happen, that the broadcast would have different results, like "everyone escaped before the buildings fell" or "the firemen put out the fire", crazy I know, but I just couldn't help it. In the end what it did was give me a clear perspective on how blessed I am. I wanted to do something in honor of those people who lost their lives, and the families who have gone through hell and back. What could I do? I finally decided just LIVE. DO something that day because I have my life, I have my family, and I don't live with terrible grief and opportunities taken from me. So we went into Denver picked Ryan up and went to a park to have lunch together. It was so nice! An absolutely beautiful day and it felt wonderful to be with Ry in the middle of it. Thinking of all the husbands/ daddies that were taken on that day kills me. We are so so so lucky and blessed to have Ryan. After lunch and little stroll through a sweet park, the girls and I headed to the zoo. I'm proud to say we tore it up! The ONLY thing we didn't see were the gorillas and orangutans. We went everywhere in that park and the girls were so good. Lauren can really enjoy it now. I think when she saw the polar bear she said "dog". It was the same sound she makes when she sees Moby, VERY VERY cute!!!

Love this picture, even though its a bit blurry. It was taken back when we were all sick, but I think it captures the essence of Ryan's dadness. He loves his girls so much, its so sweet. He is in Montana right now. Our day is going well, thankfully! We went to the library and right now both girls are napping. I think when they get up we'll go to the park, gotta kill some daylight, and its ridiculous for me to live so close to a park and not go all the time! It is a gorgeous day. Last night I was reflecting on how bad I would miss Ryan so we sat up and talked, he had me gasping for breath I was laughing so hard!!! He was telling me about people he works with, funny stuff!

Tomorrow I go to Julia's class, Im really excited. It will be interesting to see what the little kid does for 2 1/2 hours, she never tells me! She always says, "I can't amember mom!" I'm sure I'll have lots to report!

Weekend Update

We got our family picture taken- STRESS! They turned out good, but it took a lot of effort. Here is what Lauren was doing while I was taking a shower. For some reason it is so much harder to take a shower with two kids instead of one. She's such a cutie!! Everything she plays with she puts up over her head and behind her back, hence the tp around her neck like a boa. Back to the pictures- It was hard to get both girls smiling, plus Lauren's teething seemed to kick into high gear while we were there. ( I forgot to give her tylenol before we left. ugh!) Oh well. Our M&M picture is adorable! Lauren is crying in it, but even that looks cute. I just love our little family!!!!
Saturday I was so excited because it was full of possible fall festivals, well I think we must not have gone to the good ones, because they were kind of lame. First was the Gingerbread Shoppe, doesn't that sound cute?? It was advertised as Christmas craft fair, what it really was was an old lady jewelry convention with some random smelly decorations, custom cutting boards, and painted lightbulbs that looked like penguins with Santa hats and scarves on. Hmmm, I don't know what people in Colorado think of when it comes to Christmas, but that was not mine! We then hit an elementary school's fair. The best thing I say is Ryan LOVED the DJ. He was playing David Bowe when we got there, Jack Johnson while we were there, and Rolling Stones when we left. Julia got a rockin tattoo that says PRINCESS, so all was not lost. I warned her the tattoo would come off in the bath, well that night as Ryan was getting her ready she brought in a bottle of glue and a thing of tape and told him it was for her tattoo so it wouldn't come off. She's so funny!!
It's so beautiful here. The trees are starting to turn color, I put my fall decorations up, there is a crispness in the air. Coming out of church today was so nice, a cool September afternoon- HEAVENLY! I want to make pumpkin bread today, really I just want to eat it. Strangely the caramel apples in the stores are not appealing to me this year, maybe I o.d. on them last year- a pregnancy craving! :) Can't wait to go to a pumpkin patch!!!
Ryan is going on a business trip to Montana this week he leaves Wednesday morning and comes home Thursday night- might not SOUND bad, but Im dreading it! I NEED him so much each night! He's such a relief when he walks in the door. I think I am going to try and make a couple dinners and freeze them so that will at least be easy. I love being married to my best friend, love that I can't wait for him to come home each day, not just to help with the girls, but because I love talking and laughing with him too. He makes me feel great about myself as a woman and mother, and that is so wonderful to me! I'm so blessed!

Doing Good

SO we had FHE last night because we kinda forgot Monday was Monday since the traumatic weekend we had. (Glad to report we're all better- yay! Even Lauren's foot has a nice scab, the doc says it will be gone in no time.) I planned to give a lesson on the Holy Ghost, but Julia saw the pictures of Easter and wanted to hear/ help me tell the story of Christ's last days. It was way cute, she gets so into it. (Ryan took her to a baptism Saturday, and she soaked in so much! She totally knows you get baptized when you're eight, not that she understands when 8 is, but she knows Jesus was baptized, heck she knows what baptized is! Anyway, sorry I keep skipping around, so we're having FHE and I start talking about the Holy Ghost and using a candle as an object lesson. Julia seems into it, Lauren was squirmy (glad Ryan was holding her), and as we end Julia says, "I haf tell Jesus someing. Jesus I wan a cat." Oh my gosh, I about died laughing! That girl is CRAZY! Where did that come from? Actually it goes back to the Saturday baptism when Julia told Ryan she wanted a cat and he said no. Isn't it funny how their little brains work! Yeah she better pray for a cat, because it will take a miracle for us to ever get one of those creatures.
Now speaking of miracles, can I just say there have been some pretty incredible things going on in this house and in this body of mine. Talking to Candace about it on the phone helped me even more to understand the magnitude, she such a spiritual person and I am so grateful for her in my life! Everyone needs a person like that, especially when you're a convert and there aren't family members to talk to. I read my scriptures yesterday, just right smack dab in the middle of the day with the girls playing in front of me. Told Julia I had to read my scriptures and I'd play in a minute. Thought I had to do it when I thought about it, and doing it in front of the girls is setting a good example right? Didn't finish a chapter, but got something out of it. Last night I remembered a promise I made to HF to act on a prompting I felt, writing a letter to someone in Vegas, not exactly sure why, but felt I needed to. Anyway, blessings galore this morning! Can't wait to call some of ya and let you know all about it!
Gotta focus on today's good now.

Injuries abound

It all begins with a walk I took with the girls Wednesday. I thought I felt a bug on my face and swatted it away, guessing I probably would have a lovely mosquito bite right on my head that everyone would think was a huge zit. Later that night it itched, so I was right. Thursday woke up with a BAD pain in my neck, didn't think the bite and the pain were related, until around 3pm when I looked in the mirror and saw my forehead was the size of a softball! I figured then that my neck was probably a lymphnode pain and that I was having a reaction to the bite. Yeah, Friday I woke up and the swelling had lent itself to my right eyelid, I went to the doctor and all he said was take Benedryl. I HATE IT WHEN DOCTORS TELL YOU WHAT YOU ALREADY KNOW! What a waste of money! On top of looking like the elephant woman, I had been on about three hours sleep because Lauren is teething something terrible. (She better be getting them all at once, because the poor babe just can not sleep.) Well I can't very well put her down or she wails, so I was draining Julia's macaroni and cheese while holding Lauren and accidentally poured the water on Lauren's foot! I knew immediately what happened and just kept thinking "God no, please don't let this be bad." It was though, I whipped her sock off and skin came with it, oh, I couldn't believe it! I put it in cold water right away and just held her singing wheels on the bus until she was in this comatose state. I took her foot out of the water and she jumped and cried and then I tried to put it back in the water and she cried harder, I was just sick! I prayed and called the doctor. When I took her in they said it should be ok, put some sulfur cream on it that numbs it and wrapped it up. MY POOR BABY! I felt terrible, I didn't really cry untill Ryan got home, and then I just felt it all. What a terrible day. She's been fine ever since, a rough night, but I think it just might be the teeth still. On top of it all we were supposed to get our family pictures taken today! I'm very glad to report there have been no more catastrophes in the last 24 hours, so hopefully our Labor Day will end on a good note. We changed Lauren's bandages and she didn't even cry, sooooo thankful for that! If she would just sleep now for more than 30 minutes at a time life would be great, oh yeah and if this swelling around my eye would GO AWAY!