Everybody wants to be LOVED

Remember last spring/summer where I constantly bombarded you with stories of my perfect angel baby who didn't ever cry, even on 12 hour drives across the country. Remember how I bragged about never missing Relief Society or a sacrament meeting. Remember how you wanted to reach through the computer and hit me (in fact, looking back on those posts, I want to hit me...HARD). PAYBACK TIME. I love Lucy and she loves me. REALLY LOVES ME. The kind of love where she NEVER wants to leave me, and NEVER wants me to leave or even put her down. It's great and all until dishes and laundry (the continuing sagas of chores) are starting to take over and what once seemed like a short little mound of clothing to fold has now turned into Timp. Lucky for me, she also LOVES Paul (probably more than me). She is really fun at church too. She thinks church is all about FUN. You know, running down the aisles, out the door, in the gym. It's weird. She doesn't want us to hold her at church AT ALL but doesn't want us to ever put her down at home. Can someone tell me if it's frowned upon to fold your clothes in the mother's lounge during sacrament meeting?

We have a feeling this child will have a great time with Uncle Michael in the future too. She loves to be thrown around, hung upside down, and wrestled. We went to Jump on It (wall to wall trampolines) the other day; I tried to hold her and jump mildly, but NO; she got down on the trampolines and flopped and fell and was bounced all over the place, laughing all the while. I watched her for signs of brain damage all day.

POLAR OPPOSITES. My children. Sabrina started Primary and has made it pretty clear that she'd rather not. We keep talking it up, but she's pretty bright and can see right through our attempts. No toys, no snacks, no mom (I am the nursery leader). That's all she sees. She didn't fight us or cry, however; so we're calling her first week a success. I am thinking that I am going to love the age 4 based on how she's been lately. The other day I used my classic line, "Hey it's time to turn off the TV and use your imagination." (it's better than my other classic line, "If you don't turn off the TV, your eyes are going to fall out.") And wonder of wonders, she got up and turned it off without whining, pleading, or bargaining. She has been so pleasant and fun lately. She loves preschool and talks constantly about her friends there. She learned to write her name and Paul is absolutely in love with her signature. I'll leave you with a classic convo.

(Scene: in the car driving)
Mom: There's the temple.
Sabrina: Hey, there's the angel on top.
Mom: Yep, Angel Moroni.
Sabrina: He's playing music for the people getting married...so they can dance.

Wow, gold stars if you got to the end of this post.

Am I crazy to want to do this?

I've just heard about the Utah Valley Marathon to be held June 12, 2010. Perfect time of year for a marathon, perfect course (almost no uphill and a mild downhill the entire time), perfect scenery through Provo canyon and past Utah Lake, perfect location (no travel). All I need now is a training partner. Any takers?

Baby Eden

We had stake conference yesterday and one of our stake goals this year is to record one spiritual experience every week. This week my spiritual experience was very sad. My sister's friend Rachel and her husband Jeremy lost their daughter this week after only 10 days of life. She was born at 23 weeks and weighed 1 lb 1 oz. I had been glued to their blog for about a week and sadly on Saturday, I saw the news. Baby Eden's life reminded me of how precious life is, how eternal family bonds endure, and how we always need to trust in the Lord. I am also reminded of how incredible it is to be a parent and how thankful I am for my own little ones.


babyedenswenson.blogspot.com

Who Are The People in Your Neighborhood?

They're the people that you meet when you're walking down the street. An interesting thing happened last night. Paul and I had just settled into bed (at around 11:00...not bad for us), and I think I fell asleep and I know Paul did. Suddenly under my eyelids I could see some light flashing so brightly that I woke up. Our room was flashing blue. I looked through our blinds to see about 3 cop cars with a car pulled over in front of our building. Paul woke up, and together we watched as the cops searched for drugs with a dog. This is the ghetto, and I have thugs to thank for keeping us up way too late. And in the end they let the thugs go.

A New Addition

Sorry. I couldn't resist that title. I just wanted everyone to meet Grayson, (named by Sabrina) our new Zhu Zhu pet hamster. Who knew that this electronic rodent could bring so much joy and happiness to my children? I can tell you who knew...the Blackhursts. This was Sabrina's Christmas present from Kate. Grayson lets you pet him, cuddle him, drop him, and step on him. He doesn't bite, shed, eat (although the girls have tried), stink, leave messes, use your carpet as a bathroom, or need to be bathed. He talks to you and can even sleep for any amount of time you'd like. If we want to go out of town, no one has to care for Grayson (a hassle I remember from my childhood). In short, he's the perfect pet.


Here are Lucy and Sabrina sitting under the table waiting for Grayson to come to them.


And here are my two saggy bottoms lovingly watching Grayson together. There is just something about cute girls and their fake hamster that gets you right there, doesn't it?


Note: I really don't hate pets altogether. Emmy (the cat) and I had some really special moments in the past. It's just that there are two types of people in the world; those who love animals and those who tolerate animals. I happen to be the latter. I didn't choose this; I was born this way. No offense to those of you on the other team.

Back to Life, Back to Reality

Well, here we are. There seems to be so much to post about that I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by the amount of time I could spend doing this. So of course, I'm just going to highlight some things.

Christmas Program: Sabrina had a Christmas Program at preschool the week before Christmas. She was involved in all the singing until she spotted me in the audience. She spent the rest of the program half-way singing and pointing Paul and me and Lucy out to her friend, Jane. Classic.

Christmas: We had a great Christmas. Sabrina is the ideal child when it comes to gifts. She has a natural talent for enthusiasm that makes Christmas awesome for her parents. We got some great video footage of this, but in true form, I forgot to get out the still camera. Lucy toddled around it all, wondering what was going on. She'll discover that Christmas rocks next year. Christmas Eve was spent at the Ellison Family Christmas Party where the "Ugly Christmas Attire" contest was a lot funnier than I had imagined. We spent Christmas day with the Sampsons which was fun too. Sabrina got a late Christmas present in the form of a 102 degree fever that evening. After a few days of laying on the couch, she has made a full recovery.

The Break: Paul was home for a solid two weeks (well, except a few days where he had a project to work on) and we enjoyed having him around. We watched a movie almost every night, stayed up late (even for us), and slept in. I think I spent about 4 days in sweats after Christmas. We read, layed around, let the house go to the birds, and let the girls watch way too many shows. Paul did take Sabrina sledding one day, which he said was really fun. It was a nice break from reality, but it also feels good to be back on track.

Resolutions: We didn't make any. I've never kept a resolution for an entire year, so we decided not to worry ourselves with this. (Has anyone ever kept a resolution for an entire year?)

New Year's Eve: Sabrina slept over at Grandma Sampson's house and we went to the Ritchie's for dinner and games. It was a great time. The next day we went bowling with the Sampsons and had the Blackhursts over later that night for dessert and chatting.

Surprise Un-Shower: My sister Natalie is due in a few weeks with her 5th child. We wanted to do something for her so Shelley and I invited some of her closest friends and family out to eat to celebrate. I can't believe we pulled it off, and it turned out to be the perfect surprise. I am super excited for Baby Sadie to get here; since Natalie only produces beautiful newborns, I am sure she'll be gorgeous.

January: I want to know how others are overcoming January. This is the worst time of year, in my opinion, so if you've got something that gets you through let me know.