New Cut, New Clothes, New Calling

The past few weeks have been very interesting, to say the least. I finally got fed up with my hair, and chopped it all off. Sadly, I have no picture of the new 'do, but will wait for a good hair day and post one then. It's short, sassy, and I'm back to blonde after a 2 year hiatus from getting my hair colored. To go along with the spunk on the top half, I decided I needed some new clothes to fit the look. Thanks to my husband, I have a nice little stockpile of winter basics just waiting for the weather to calm down and cool off.

Of course, with all of this transformation going on, I couldn't leave out the most important aspect of my life, and that's the gospel and my testimony. A new calling came right in the midst of all of this, and really gave me a chance (I say gave, but it is still giving) to turn to the Lord in thought and prayer. I always appreciate opportunities that cause me to cast away my daily cares and focus on what's really important. So, what is this new calling, you ask? Primary chorister. I know that for some of you that sounds like lots of fun, and you're thinking, "Oh, you're going to LOVE that calling!" I'm sure that's true, but it's also the one calling I SWORE I would NEVER accept. Even as I was saying a reluctant yes, my mind was screaming NO!!! I was sad to leave my Laurels, and let's face it - performing for a crowd is really not my favorite thing to do. So, for many reasons, I cried for 5 days straight every time I thought about the task ahead. When I was sustained in Sacrament Meeting, I had to leave right after and go have a "moment" in the ladies room. After a sufficient mourning period, I set to work to find some inspiration online. I found a lot of great ideas, but still no inspiration. Then I came across the most wonderful blog, called The Children Sing. There was a particular post that caught my attention as I scrolled through her posts. In it, she quotes Zechariah 2:10, "Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord." She then says, "Would any of us refuse such an invitation by the Lord to sing? If the act of singing will bring the Lord to dwell with me I want to be the first in line! We can all sing together. Let's do it now and bring him quickly." That was it. That was the answer to my prayers. Over the past days, I have had a great peace about this new and daunting task. Every time I start to feel overwhelmed, I remind myself to "sing and rejoice." We are daughters of Zion, and we have so much to be joyful about. This is truly the right place for me to be right now, and I know that. I just felt like I needed to share that experience with you, more out of gratitude than anything else.

So upward and onward! I have puppets to make!

Dance Recital

So pretty!

Gorgeous curls, thanks to Auntie!

Uh, what's going on?

The whole troupe

Meet Oscar...Finally!

I've been meaning to introduce you to this little guy for a year now! Here's the story of how Oscar came into our family -

Our family dog Belle died last August, and it was a really difficult time for all of us, since she really was our "sissy." My parents were having a particularly hard time with the loss, and the next day my grandma encouraged my mom to stop and see a litter of beagle puppies that someone was selling. One thing led to another, and two days after we buried Belle we brought home not one, but 3 baby beagles! My mom got Emmy, my brother got Pogi, and we got Oscar! They are all from the same litter, and man - what sweet puppies they are! They get together almost every day to play, and each of their personalities fits perfectly with their families.

Here are some fun facts about Oscar:
- He is a total mama's boy
- He loves to snuggle
- He's the biggest of the three
- We call him and Emmy the twins, because their coloring is identical - every hair is the same!
- He loves eating his poop
- He has a terrible sense of smell, which is unusual for a beagle
- He loves Gibson and Georgia, and puts up with a lot of pokes and squeezes from them
- His favorite thing to do is go for rides in the car. Whenever we run errands that don't require getting out of the car (bank, car wash, etc) he gets to come with us.

























Being obedient.

















Wet face after playing in the water
























Happy 1st Birthday, Oscar! -June 20, 2010

Eye Candy

Kids Update

A little update on what the kids have been up to these past few months (these pictures are from the fall, obviously. My sister took them, and they're precious! They haven't changed much since then, except that Georgia's hair is about 3 inches longer. I'll post more current pictures soon.)



Gibson is doing really well in preschool, and is growing up to be a really handsome little guy. He is, for the most part, an incredibly easy-going and happy little boy. He turned 5 in January, and can't wait for kindergarten. It's hard to believe that we're there already! We discovered today that he doesn't really like needles - here's how: I had an appointment today to get a shot in my shoulder. My grandpa came, along with Gibson. The doctor came in and did the shot, and when he left I noticed Gibson was laying on the floor.

Me: Gibson, let's get going.
Gibson: No, I just want to lay down. (I pull him up and make him stand)
Nurse: Hey buddy, you look really pale. Do you want a drink of water?
Gibson: No, I'm ok (eyes roll back and he passes out on the floor!)
Everyone around: Holy crap! He totally passed out! Ensuing laughter.

He came to pretty quickly, then went out to the lobby where he proceeded to throw up.

Gibson: Blaaaat (that's the sound of him puking)
Me: Are you ok?
Gibson: Now THAT feels better. (eyes roll back and he passes out in the chair)

My grandpa picked up his limp little body and carried him out with his arm around his stomach, his body flopping over. Another throw up in the parking lot. Set him in the car, and try to make him understand that he CANNOT throw up in the car! He slept in the car, and about 15 minutes later he woke up, good as new, and said that he really didn't like that doctor and he never wants to go there again!

So that's the funny story of the day. I wanted to make sure to write that one down!

As for what else he's up to, he loves monster trucks and robots, is learning to play the Wii, still loves to draw and read, and just have a good time with his family. His best buddy is my grandpa, and he loves every minute he gets to spend with him. He also loves playing with our dog, Oscar. He hates long sleeves, and likes his hair to look like a T-Rex, whatever that means. He is very compassionate, and has an extremely tender heart. We joke that to discipline Gibson you just have to give him the stink-eye, but with Georgia you have to pull out the big guns and really get in her face. They are SOOO different!! Speaking of our little princess (of darkness!)...



Georgia is HILARIOUS. And I was totally kidding about the princess of darkness thing. She has a personality as big as her hair, and lets everyone know it. She loves playing with dolls, pushing dolls in the stroller, feeding dolls, changing doll diapers, putting dolls down for naps, giving dolls baths...notice a trend? She also loves talking on the phone (which is usually a calculator, block, or other rectangular device). Mostly she talks to "Goppa," my grandpa Gary. Typical conversation:

Ning Ning! Hey Goppa. Sup? Yo-kay? Good. Oh Goppa. Uh funny. Uh happen? Yo-kay? I kiss it. Mwah! Ok goppa. Yuh-you. See yater. Bye Goppa. Ning Ning!

And so it goes, over and over and over again with only slight variation. Because she's the little mommy, she is very bossy. I wonder where she gets the idea that mommies are bossy? But she's sweet as candy and gives the best kisses. She can count to 10, and sings the first and last parts of the alphabet. The whole H-S thing continues to illude her. She loves "rocking out" in the car with the music up loud, jumping, wearing jewelry and "peppess" (princess) shoes, hitting Gibson, and standing in front of the TV just to be annoying.

So that's a little bit of an update on the kids! More to come at some point, I'm sure!

Update

Happy New Year! Since my last post, not much has happened and yet so much at the same time. On the job note, Lu will be going back to Sprint next week in their retail division. This has been a hard thing for me to swallow, and I'll tell you why -- 2-1/2 years ago, Lu decided to leave Sprint after 4 years of working there because they made it clear to him that he was not going to be promoted out of his sales rep position because he was "too valuable where he was." That was really discouraging, so when a manager position came up at AT&T he jumped on it. We knew we had done the right thing and made the right move. Then a year later, he was laid off and moved over to Qwest. Again, right thing/right move. Then a year later, laid off again. Darn corporate downsizing!! Anyhoo, we are right back to where we left off at Sprint, albeit one rung lower on the ladder since he is only going to be a rep and not a lead. So for a while I was a little upset that we worked so hard to get away from Sprint and into a company that would provide opportunities for advancement only to end up back at Sprint!! But I've been praying a lot and at this point I know that this is exactly where Lu needs (and wants) to be. It's a significant drop in pay, but he'll be happy and that's what is most important right now since the last couple of years have been pretty miserable. We are just really grateful that the opportunity came up - it was really random and definitely meant to be! (side story - we went to Costco for a hot dog and ran into a girl Lu used to work with at the Orem Sprint store. she is now the manager in Orem, and asked what Lu was up to. Lu told her about the job situation, she said "wow, crazy timing, we are hiring in January, if you want the job it's yours. random for 2 reasons - #1 she lives in Orem and was only in American Fork because she was picking up her son's friend, and #2 both of our families had a hankering for a hot dog on the same night at the same time!!)

Ok, so that takes care of the job update. Christmas was great, the kids had a ball. Our camera is broken however, so we don't have any pictures until we get together with other family members and see if they got some of the kids. It was a really simple Christmas, but we got some amazing gifts nonetheless. We got patio sets, dishes, movie gift cards, an awesome cookbook for me, tools for Lu, and the kids of course got spoiled beyond necessity. It was fun to eat and play and rest over the long weekend.

I am really excited for the new year. It's a new opportunity to make myself a better person, mom, wife, sister, daughter, and friend. It's a chance to learn new things, master old things, find discipline, joy, hope, laughter, and strengthen my testimony. I can eat better, exercise better, love better, sleep better. Speak nicer, look nicer, be nicer. Be more productive, be more organized, be more helpful. Focus on the bright side, focus on the Savior, focus on learning new things every day. The last year was challenging, and no doubt 2010 will bring new challenges. But I'm optimistic about what the future will bring, and look forward to putting as much time between me and 2009 as possible!! Good luck to you all in your resolutions! Bye for now!

Here I Am

It's been a long time, I know. And I've had several of you ask where I've been for such a long time! Truth is, I've sat down at least a dozen times to post something, but words just haven't come. It's not that there's nothing going on, it's just that I haven't been in the best state of mind lately. Let me explain, without sounding like I'm griping or at all ungrateful for the life that I live...

The bottom line is that I'm tired and overwhelmed and a little bit defeated. The past few months have been difficult for a lot of different reasons, with work and bills and other obligations. Lu found out last week that he's being laid off as of tomorrow (the 12th). Work is hard right now because I really miss my kids and I hate that I have to work to make ends meet. I feel like we work so hard with nothing to show for it (I'm speaking in worldly terms here - in the terms that matter, we are richly blessed). There are certain things that are just out of reach, and frankly - I'm bitter. I'm bitter that I have to put my kids in daycare and every day I see women dropping hundreds of dollars on Botox. I'm bitter that Lu works his butt off every day so his supervisors can play golf and he's the one that's dealt the short stick. In some ways I know that things happen for a reason, and I know that everything works out - I do. But right now the journey is, let's say, a little harder than I prefer.

That being said, I am SO grateful for the healing power of the Atonement. Even though I obviously have some feelings that I need to work through, there is still a peace that I feel when I pray for comfort, guidance, and sometimes just the strength to make it through the day. Our challenges are so unique, and I recognize the heat of the refiner's fire. I'm getting quite used to it actually. Sometimes I wish I could just learn what it is that I'm supposed to learn already and be done with it. Other times I see clearly the path that I'm taking and I'm okay with it.

Even in all of the financial/employment turmoil that we find ourselves in, we have a lot to be grateful for. I have found a lot of joy in my life despite some of the challenges and disappointments, and I've been blessed with amazing family and friends. I guess if I'm going to be stuck in this rut for the rest of my life I will at least be in good company!

I'm sorry for the lapse in communication. As you can tell, I've been working on a few things that still need some thought, prayer, repentance, and a little bit of surrender. Over the next little while I'll post some pictures and tidbits about the kids (they are growing so fast!) and all of their shenanigans. I've been keeping up with all of your blogs, however, and it's fun to see all that you've been doing. So many pregnancies! Crazy! I'm really jealous. Anyway, don't think less of me for my bad attitude. I'm working on it, I promise!