Giving Thanks...L

Around this time last year, The Lime and I started attending Storytime at the mall. The girl who ran it was quirky and had a distinctive voice, which made listening to the stories interesting, at least for me. The Lime was more concerned about all the toys that surrounded him (it was at Pottery Barn Kids). A few months later, the girl announced that she was moving to Oregon and that would be her last week. That was also the last time we attended.

Many months went by and I somehow remembered that we had Storytime at our library. The first week we visited, I'm not sure what I was thinking, but we were shooting for the 11:00 class. We got there about five minutes early and I didn't notice all of the parents of the older kids, waiting outside of the room. We marched right in sat down right in front, joining in on the Hokey Pokey. When the song was over, the woman leading the class said goodbye to all of the parents and infants and all of the toddlers that I had just zoomed by were now walking in with their parents. We're Storytime crashers.

That was the last time we stayed for the entire class. The Lime now likes to run around, clicking all of the computers and occasionally looks at a book. His favorite thing is to return the books on the conveyor belt and check-out the new books with the scanner (so my child).

Why I didn't take advantage of this free entertainment before, is beyond me. Thank you, library. And thank you for the cement balls out front. The Lime loves to climb on them and then jump off, just like the ones at Target.

Giving Thanks...K

I thought it was appropriate that "K" fell on Veterans Day and that my family's most recent veteran is Keith.

In some ways, I feel like Lieutenant Dan from "Forrest Gump" in that there's generations of men in my family that served their country in the military. I've always been proud of our history but thought it had ended with my dad. When my sister married a military boy, I felt another round of pride but also fear. With our country being at war and him already serving a tour in the Middle East, I knew it was a possibility that he would be deployed again.

And when he was, we was professional about it and humble. He doesn't care for the bells and whistles; just wants to do what he signed up to do, which was to serve our country and provide for his family.

I admire Keith for his strength, hard-working attitude, kindness, willingness to serve, love, and selflessness. We're lucky to call him ours and reap the benefits of his sacrifice, as well as all the other men and women that have given their time and lives, so we can be free.

Giving Thanks...J

When LaVor and I first started dating, a good chunk of his friends were on missions (maybe that's why we started hanging out...he was bored). Within the first half of our relationship, each one of them came home and I suddenly had to share LaVor. That didn't go over very well and we broke up.

Thankfully they're all nice guys and didn't harbor any ill feelings towards me, like I did them. I suppose I had some growing up to do and soon realized that they weren't my enemies but rather people that helped shape LaVor into the person that I fell in love with. In due time, I had a soft spot in my heart for them, too.

Jason and familia

So when I was in the ER (read the previous post) and needed a blessing but LaVor was out of town and my dad couldn't give it to me by himself, LaVor called for reinforcement.

Uncle Johnny lovin' Aunt Becky

LaVor was in Fresno on a business trip so he called Johnny, who was driving home from work with his brother. Before LaVor could explain the situation, John's phone died so LaVor called Jason. Jason said he was also on his way home and had just passed John and his brother on the freeway. They somehow communicated with each other what was going on and drove straight to the hospital, where they assisted with the blessing. Despite smelling like vomit and looking like death, I was so appreciative of their concern and willingness to help.

Then there's Uncle Jared, who I had MAJOR issues with (I had to share LaVor with him the most). I was not very nice to him but he continued to love me. So much, that I just couldn't take it anymore. How could you not love this guy?

I can say and do dumb things which would cause awkward situations with anyone else, but not him. And have I ever mentioned how much The Lime loves him? Any time we see someone on crutches, he says, "Yike Uhnle Yared?"

Heavenly Father knew we needed a John, a Jason, and a Jared in our lives. And a fine set of friends they are.

Giving Thanks...I

I love Metlife's fax back option

My Wednesdays and Fridays are spent getting dental insurance companies to pay for services that they don't think they should have to pay for. It's created a love/hate relationship for me.

But today, I will focus on the love part.

The Lime was (and still is) an expensive addition to our family, and it started from the very beginning. Thanks to our insurance, we only had to pay 15% of his entrance fee.

Last December, I came down with my first case of the stomach flu and had to go to the emergency room because I thought I was dying...ended up just being dehydrated. The three packets of fluid cost me an arm and a leg. Thanks to our insurance, we only had to pay for the arm.

The Lime likes to get slivers in his feet and infected hangnails. Without insurance, his treatment would be hundreds of dollars. I write checks for 20% of that.

Life would be expensive if it weren't for insurance.

And I wouldn't have a job if they were loosey goosey with their payments.

Giving Thanks...H

It was a Spring evening, and I was driving home from work, listening to Live 105. They were playing a new song that I instantly fell in love with. As soon as the song finished, I text messaged them and said, "Who was that?!" They replied with, "The Lumineers". I was hooked.

                           photo by Mark Sink

My favorite line of said song? "I belong with you, you belong with me, you're my sweetheart!" I sing it and think about my two boys. And the lyrics somehow ended up on my living room wall.

The band was in Sacramento a few weeks ago, and had it not been a work night, I would have gone to the show.

And I'm sure I would have had goosebumps as I sang my little heart out to "Ho Hey".

Giving Thanks...G

Talk about four eyes

I have a wonderful sense of direction that I contribute to being observant to the things around me. I can't tell you street names but I can give you landmarks.

But sometimes you need to know street names. And I have a hard time seeing those little letters, especially when it's dark. So while I was driving in an unfamiliar neighborhood earlier this week, I was so grateful to look over and see my glasses sitting in the center console of my car.

Looking back at blog posts from 2009, I realized it's been almost four years since I've had my eyes checked. I can certainly tell my vision is changing, too, by the squinting I've been doing. Plus I'm getting a little bored with my plain black frames.

I'm thankful for Optometrists that prescribe me glasses, Costco for selling me cheap glasses, and the actual glasses so I can see where I'm going.

I feel like I'm channelling Thelma in the picture above

Giving Thanks...F

It was at our pre-Labor Day weekend festivities where I snapped at my mom. Everyone was getting ready to leave but we hadn't devoured the dessert that my sister and I brought. LaVor mentioned that I needed to tell people to wait and start serving but they weren't listening. As I went back inside to get something, my mom suggested the same thing LaVor did and I was pushed over the edge. "I KNOW!!!" is what I told her. She looked at me, shocked, and said I didn't need to get upset. I replied with, "LaVor just told me the same thing!" Really sweet, eh?

It's a good thing she's a forgiving person and I finally learned how to apologize. I cornered her later on that evening and told her I was sorry for biting her head off. She shrugged her shoulders and said not to think about it for another second.

There's been a gazillion moments where I've had to seek forgiveness. And that is not something I enjoy doing.

Except once.

I had done something awful and could not shake the dreadful feeling that I dealt with for days until I succumbed to the promptings that I needed to humble myself and ask for forgiveness. I knew it was something I had to do but that darn thing called pride kept getting in the way. Literally, the second the words "I'm sorry" left my mouth and I heard "it's okay", my heart no longer ached, my mind was cleared, and I could move on.

President James E. Faust said, "If we can find forgiveness in our hearts for those who have caused us hurt and injury, we will rise to a higher level of self-esteem and well-being. Some recent studies show that people who are taught to forgive become “less angry, more hopeful, less depressed, less anxious and less stressed,” which leads to greater physical well-being. Another of these studies concludes “that forgiveness … is a liberating gift [that] people can give to themselves.”

I am grateful for people who forgive me for my shortcomings, no matter what pain it might have caused them. I am thankful for a Savior who suffered for my shortcomings. And I am thankful for a Heavenly Father who forgives me and takes another chance on me, each time I ask for his forgiveness.

The chalk drawing my mom did at Chalk It Up!