Random Conversations

It is snowing again. Ugh.

Merritt is sick. Ugh. Ugh.

We've been so healthy all winter long, so I suppose it's just got to be this way now that the weather is yo-yo-ing back and forth between warm and cold. Gets old though. One big benefit to Merritt's illness is that he is home during the day and we have lots of time to talk. I had put on a Baby Einstein DVD for the little kids yesterday so that I could IM my parents in France undisturbed for 30 minutes, and he watched it with interest. Afterwards he asked about the main character in the show, Vincent Van Goat, and why he had a bandaged "horn." I told him that the puppet was based on a real painter who cut off his ear and then painted a famous portrait of himself with a bandage on his head. Merritt looked completely confused at that story. "Why would anyone chop off his ear, mom? I would NEVER chop off my ear...or my hand either." I told him that the ear was for his girlfriend and his eyes widened. "His girlfriend? Why would he want to give his ear to his girlfriend? Then she would have three ears!" He looked pretty concerned about the whole matter until I explained that Van Gogh was crazy.

This morning brought on another round of question and answer. He asked me to tell something to Chad, and I explained that "Daddy already knew about it." I then told him that Chad and I told each other everything. "But you don't know everything," Merritt stated. I agreed that this was true. He then said, "Heavenly Father can tell you anything you need to know because He knows everything." So we talked about prayer and getting answers to our questions. He then asked me how pickles are made and why they are green. I explained the process from cucumber through pickling to the finished product in simple terms and he sat looking thoughtful. "Well, you don't know everything, but you do know a lot," he finally decided. I'm glad that my six year old is impressed by my five cent information on Vincent Van Gogh and pickles, maybe I'll keep the omniscient mom-thing going for a good while.

Spring Picnic

One of the many reasons why I love spring.
(Don't you love our dead grass? Give me some green please!)

Yoga

I'm a new devotee of yoga and have found it wonderfully helpful for my lower back...not to mention the fact that I can touch my toes now (I've never been very flexible). I love the peacefulness of the process - strike a pose - breathe deeply. I used to exercise at 9:30 in the morning, right after I put Grant down for his morning nap. Grace would come in and watch me stretch and breathe and stretch, and after listening to the DVD instructor a few times, she started to coach me saying, "Take a deep breath mommy. Be sure to breathe!" Then she'd pat me...so cute.

As he approached his 18-month mark in life, Grant began to outgrow his morning/afternoon nap - ah, such sorrow. I moved his nap back an hour and a half, and now I had a new spectator to my exercise routine...a spectator who became a menace after 1 minute. As I would stretch and Grace would chant instructions, Grant would climb on me, mess with my hair and crawl under my tummy all the while giggling hysterically. The last straw, however, was when he pooped in his diaper and then sat right next to my nose while Grace urged me to take deep breaths. I now get up at 5:30 am for some yoga peace and quiet, and though I do miss Gracie's help, the air is a lot fresher smelling.

In the Savior's Footsteps

Chad and I love to go to the temple together. I think we appreciate it more now because for years one of us would go while the other watched the kids and then we'd switch. Thanks to Jeannine's eagerness to help us with our babysitting needs, we can now attend as a couple. While my parents have been on their mission, we have been steadily working through the stack of family names they left us to do temple work for. I have had marvelous experiences performing this service in behalf of my own family.

For the past two months we have been sure to use one of our temple visits for sealings, which is an ordinance where families are bonded together through the priesthood for eternity. What a wonderful blessing...to be with our families for always! We have had the same sealer for both visits, a lovely man named Brother Wight. At the end of our most recent visit, Brother Wight thanked us all for coming and then quoted a beautiful poem, the message of which brought us all to tears. It is so wonderful, we wanted to share it.

Where Jesus Walked

If I could go to Galilee and walk where Jesus walked

And sit in tender grasses on the hillside where he taught.

If I could feel a gentle breeze that lifted from the sea

Where he chose the humble fishermen, how full my heart would be.

If I could sit and ponder on a rock that knew his hand,

Or walk along the seashore where his feet had touched the sand.

My spirit yearns within me, but it doesn’t seem my fate,

I’ll never walk where Jesus walked, I’ll never see . . . but wait.

I’ve worshiped in His temple, where I know he’s walked before.

Have His feet been down this hallway? Have his fingers touched this door?

Has He stood here in this very room and looked at what I see?

In the beauty of His temple I feel His love for me.

I close my eyes and picture Him, my worries melt away.

I do not need to go to Galilee or travel far away.

For my tender heart is filled with what He wants me to be taught

And my testimony burns within . . . I’ve walked where Jesus walked!

- Author unknown

I love the temple, I love the unselfish work of salvation that happens within it's walls, and I love my Savior, Jesus Christ, for giving me knowledge of the path of happiness in this life and eternal joy with my family in the next.

Beware the Wrath of a Sister!

I had to take Grant in for a well-child check-up and shots today. Lots of fun. I always feel so bad about the duplicity of those doctor visits...I mean, everyone is so nice and they give you stickers and suckers and the children feel happy and non-threatened UNTIL the all-business nurse marches in and sticks them in the leg three or four times. Doesn't this teach our children some kind of cynicism? Oh well, I digress. After Grant had been wrestled and pinned to the table and then given four shots in quick succession, he was, understandably, upset. Grace was watching the nurse with angry eyes and then ran up and hit her. "You made Granty cry!" she yelled. I didn't know what to say. On the one hand, she really shouldn't hit people, but on the other hand...well her anxious concern for Grant made me want to hug her while laughing hysterically. I settled for madly clearing my throat and giving the nurse an "I'm sorry" sort of shrug. Ah...sibling love!

A Night On The Town

This was the place. Really impressive.

This was the play. No, not The Phantom of the Opera...just Phantom. Still good though.

This was my date...not really. He was just at the theater too. SWEET!

Bad Monkey! (I guess that's technically a gorilla...)

Someone has been very bad...but I don't know what he did to end up in the slammer.

Tricky

Spoons are seriously tricky. What's a baby to do when he wants to eat soup but has to wrestle a spoon to get said soup in his tummy? Why, he dumps it down his shirt of course! (Where have you been?) That's saving it for later to you.