Expressing Gratitude - Day 7

My sister directly above me is 21 months older than I am. That meant we spent two years at each school together. While I found comfort in just knowing she was there, it wasn't until high school that we got to have (at least) lunch together.

I wanted that same thing for our kids which is why we started trying for a second baby when The Lime was 2. But Heavenly Father had other plans for us (because he's way smarter than we are) and we didn't get Doodlebug until The Lime was 4.

I was really nervous that with a 4 year gap between the boys, The Lime would be "too old" to play with his little brother. But Doodlebug has proved he can hang with the big boys. In fact, sometimes he seems like the big brother as The Lime yelps for someone to help him because Doodlebug is beating him up.

These two boys fight like it's going out of style but boy, do they also sure love each other.

My heart nearly explodes when they're sweet to each other and play nicely. I especially love hearing The Lime teach Doodlebug how to do something or helping him out. Like tonight, Doodlebug was having a hard time getting the toothpaste out and The Lime showed him how to squeeze everything down to the opening.

Or when The Lime finished his dinner first tonight and Doodlebug said, "Good job, Dieta!"

I see how much fun they have together now and can only imagine what it'll be like when The Lime is 18 and Doodlebug 14. Oh, the trouble they'll get into!

Expressing Gratitude - Day 6

I got home from work and checked the iTouch to see if there were any messages. My friend's due date was tomorrow and I had an inkling something might have happened over night. Unfortunately, there wasn't a message. I went back to sleep for a couple hours and woke up to a wonderful announcement!

"Lilly Joyce, 0625 this morning, 6 lbs 15 oz"

Doodlebug and I had to get new tires this morning which just so happened to be down the street from the hospital. After our appointment, we grabbed some pink roses (per Doodlebug), a card, and some treats and dropped them by for the new birthday girl and her family.

Is there anything more amazing than a fresh from heaven baby?

It made me think of my fresh from heaven babies and what a wonderful spirit they brought with them.

So pure, innocent, peaceful, angelic. An immense blessing I'm so grateful to have experienced in my own home and witnessed again this morning.

Expressing Gratitude - Day 5

The Lime has a mouth full of loose teeth.  On 10/26, he showed me how loose tooth F was and I was certain it would be out within the next 24 hours so I snapped one last picture with his two front baby teeth.

Of course, it didn't come out that day or the next or the next. He's been wiggling that sucker nonstop and we could even see the permanent tooth poking its way through the gum.

We Skyped with LaVor's parents tonight and The Lime was eager to show them how loose it was. Papa warned that if it still wasn't out by the time they get here, he'd yank it out with pliers.

So as soon as we finished chatting with them, I told The Lime we were getting it out TONIGHT.

Thanks to my mom's technique (as much as I hated it when it was being done to me), I grabbed a long string of dental floss, wrapped it around his tooth and pulled both ends until it snapped the tooth out.

The Lime hardly flinched and was more distraught over how weird it felt once it was out. I'm thankful for that brave boy who lets me inflict pain on him for his benefit.

I'm also thankful I snapped that one last photo of his cute little smile before his chompers come in. Because if his x-rays are any indication, he's going to inherit my huge teeth.

Expressing Gratitude - Day 4

I can't remember what initiated his interest but The Lime asked me who his great great grandfathers were yesterday. I happened to have my laptop close by so I opened up Family Search and I was able to not only show him names and birthdates of these men but pictures as well.

Great Great Grandpa Steenblik

Great Great Grandpa Phelps

Great Great Grandpa Neuenswander

Great Great Grandpa Evans

Great Great Grandpa Warmuth

Great Great Grandpa Siemsen

Great Great Grandpa Trimble

After I took my Christmas decorations down at the beginning of this year, I decided to redo a wall that I'd been feeling not so hot about. A couple of years ago, when I was making Primary visits with the president, we visited a home that had a wall dedicated to just old family photos. I thought it was awesome and wanted to do something similar in our home. I feel strongly about our boys knowing where they came from and recognizing the people who are rooting for them on the other side. So after Christmas, I thought that would be the perfect opportunity to display our family photos.

What an amazing time we live in that we have easy access to valuable information, including priceless photos! When else have people had the opportunity to view century old documents with a click of a button?

I love walking by this wall and seeing the faces of those who worked hard, pushed through trials, immigrated to an unknown land, and built a legacy that I hope my family can continue.

Expressing Gratitude - Day 3

The Lime turns 8 in less than three months and isn't exactly thrilled to be baptized. We aren't sure of his reasoning so we jumped at the chance to attend our friend's baptism so he could see how awesome it is.

As I sat in my seat, listening to the boy's older sister give the talk on the Holy Ghost, this scripture came to my mind:

"Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." 1 Timothy 4:12

What 11 year old girl can stand with such confidence and bare her testimony in front of a room full of adults? And what 8 year old boy can answer questions with confidence and recite Articles of Faith like the back of his hand?

Believers.

I'm thankful for examples of people who hold on tight to their faith, to the knowledge they know to be true, and who aren't afraid to share it.

I know I felt the Spirit on Saturday and I hope The Lime did, too.

Expressing Gratitude - Day 2

I logged into Facebook this morning and saw a post from Cost Plus World Market. They have a contest going on and were announcing clues for where you could find five golden llamas in their stores (near something round was the clue).

Golden llamas?!

An associate told me they might be transitioning from their elephant mascot to a llama but that's just a rumor.

I looked up when my local store would open (10:00) and made plans to be there right on time to ensure my odds of finding one of these golden llamas. Sure enough, we arrive at 10:02.

As soon as we walked in, the same associate notified me of their contest. "I saw it on Facebook this morning!" I squealed.

I casually tried to walk around the store, promising Doodlebug we'd look at the toys as soon as we found a llama. We headed to the baking section to look for something round. Nothing in the cake pans or plates, nothing in the cookie section, and nothing near the earrings. I thought there might be something round in the bath section but we were left llamaless.

That's when I turned the corner and saw this...

Something round!

And there it was...a golden llama hanging out underneath it. I might have felt like Charlie Bucket on Willy Wonka.

Doodlebug and I took the llama to the counter, exchanged it for a $50 gift certificate, and browsed the store for the next hour trying to find goodies we could bring home with us.

I'm grateful for simple things that make me happy; new dish towels, new ramekins, cupcake liners, a new pair of earrings, orange raffia, cookies, and a sign about pies.

I'm also grateful for anticipation, excitement, and being able to share that with others. I had a friend call me and say she was going first thing in the morning to try and find a golden llama. I can't wait to hear if she found one or not!

Expressing Gratitude - Day 1

13 years ago today, I went as far away from my comfort zone as I could imagine and started culinary school.

My entire life, I did what was comfortable. After high school, I attended community college because it's what I already knew and it was close to home. All of my jobs came about because someone in my family already worked there. Life was simple and that's what I liked.

But then this idea of culinary school came about and I was intrigued. After tours of the campus and interviews of acceptance, I decided to jump right in and embark on a new, and different, chapter.

The first day was a basic orientation. Chef Steve went over all the courses, distributed supplies and uniforms, and we were ready for our official first day on November 2nd.

Well, everyone else was ready. I went home and doubted my decision. I was scared, nervous, unsure, lacked confidence of my abilities, and wasn't sure I'd be returning to class. My mom said, "Nope! No way am I letting you pass up this opportunity!" and she made me go back the second day.

And I'm so grateful I did.

That experience finally made me feel like a big kid, despite being an "adult" for two years. I learned so much, and not just about baking but about myself. I realized I could do things that I thought were hard. I also made so many memories and friends and look back on the experience with fondness (minus the student loans).