Your Daily Fix

Have you had your daily dose of the sun? A couple weeks ago in Primary the other councelor was giving her presidency message during opening excercises. She mentioned that she had seen her neighbor outside with their little boy, and how her neighbor had said they go outside everyday with their son for at least 15 minutes so he'll get the vitamin D from the sunlight that he needs. Now, this isn't a news flash that we need sunlight everyday to get vitamin D. We've all seen the pictures of people who suffer from Rickets, and we know vitamin D helps our bodies absorb calcium and maintain bone density. But the councelor went on to make the obvious spiritual thought. I have thought about it a lot since then (and not for the first time) and really love the sheer simplicity of it. Everyone knows about the basic primary answers to any and all church questions: read your scriptures, go to church, pray. But, they really are important. If they weren't, then a lot of people would have wasted a lot of time preparing and delivering lessons and talks about them. What a waste. Good thing it wasn't all for nothing. We do need to do these things. Everyday we not only need our dose of the sun, but we need our dose of the Son (did you catch that? I know - super tricky). But I love the comparison (and I do realize that I am not the first person to make this comparison - I've just been thinking about it lately). If we don't get our daily dose of the sun, it will be harder for our physical bodies to grow healthy and correctly. Without our daily dose of the Son through scripture study and prayer it will be harder for us to grow spiritually. New research shows that vitamin D may also help protect our bodies against chronic diseases such as cancer, type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and autoimmune diseases. Getting our daily dose of spirituality helps protect us from sin and other bad choices that we could make. It helps us do the things we should do to increase our faith, and gain stronger testimonies, which will in turn help us to become more perfected, and it helps us avoid bad things. Who wouldn't want this kind of help. I know I couldn't get along without it.

I've Fallen And I Can't Get Up

Yesterday we had quite a bit of new snow, which was fine because Emma wanted to play in the snow, and what we had left was old and crusty. She was burroughing through the snow after falling down. Her snowsuit is so encumbering that at times she reminds me of the little brother in A Christmas Story. Here are a couple of videos of her playing.

A New Car...Finally

After our 11 year old Neon died last Monday (with a little help and encouragement from Eric), we decided it was time to get a new car. We searched online for new and used cars for about 20 hours in less than 3 days (I wanted to gouge my eyes out they were so tired of staring at a computer screen), and finally decided what we should do. We bought a new 2008 Honda Fit. We love Hondas, and they hold their value so well. The Fit is so cute and has tons of space inside. I'm a little jealous that Eric gets to drive it, but I guess it's only fair considering last time I got to drive the new car. Here's our new baby. You might need to wait for the spring thawout to actually see it. Here is a link to a photo gallery of Fits if you don't want to wait. http://automobiles.honda.com/fit/exterior-photos.aspx

Back Seat Driver

Recently Eric decided to teach Emma about red and green lights and what each means. At first it was really cute hearing her say "stop mommy" or "go mommy" at every light. Now she is saying it (chanting really) in between lights and as I approach a light and wants me to stop much more frequently and doesn't understand that when a light is red I still need to drive up to it rather than stopping half block away. She is a back seat driver in the making. Thank you Eric.

Emma the Great

Emma is starting to take after her dad in that she likes magic. She now has a magic trick that she'll do. At the start of the clip, she says "magic trick". So be awed and amazed as you watch the premiere performance of Emma the Great.

The Simple Things

Recently I've been thinking about the simple things in life. As we barely get over the mad rush of the holidays and the decorations etc. and start to pack up all our belongings, I've had moments of quiet which have let me appreciate some of the simple things that I can enjoy if I pay attention and let myself. Here are just some of the things that I am glad I can enjoy on a more simple level at times.

Emma:

I sometimes think I could sit and watch her play for hours. I love seeing her set up her train track and line up all the cars and pull them around. I love listening to her play with her pirate ship making pirates swab the deck, fire the cannon at the unsuspecting turtle and octopus, and having pirates walk the plank and splash into the water (with all the necessary sound effects). She has such a vivid imagination - it's fun seeing it develop. She'll sit and pretend to be on the phone or start counting everything she sees or naming all the colors around her. Lately she likes to spell words she sees around the house (she's usually nowhere close to an accurate spelling - but she loves saying the letters). She rides her horse or just sits and reads. Of course, all of this is done with a constant request for me to do it with her or to watch or to listen, but in between requests and times that I am actually engaged in doing something with her, I love watching her. I also love that she has a favorite movie - and I'm not even sick of it yet. She'll sit on the couch under her Nemo blanket with nemo under one arm and dory under the other and smile and laugh while watching...you guessed it: Finding Nemo, which according to her is called nemo dory shark bruce dude (the title keeps getting longer). I also love it when she gives me a hug and kiss for no apparent reason. Just earlier today I was sitting and playing pirate with her and she kept coming over and giving me hugs and kisses. I was definately not complaining. I love my little girl.

Eric:

As I've mentioned in previous posts, Eric and I don't always get a lot of time together. But when he is home, I love seeing how happy Emma is to see him. He misses her so much. He is such a good father. He always tries to include her in whatever he is doing. She just clings to him. I love just sitting on the couch with Eric and holding hands. It may seem boring to some, but just having a quiet moment with Eric when we can talk or just sit in peace brings me all the joy in the world.

Church:

I've served in the Primary in some capacity for quite some time now. Right now I am serving in the presidency in my ward, and I love it. I love being in with the kids and talking about the Gospel in such simple terms and reiterating the importance of the basics. We tell the kids over and over the power of prayer, and how blessed we will be if we do something as simple as read the scriptures, and how much the Lord does indeed love us. You can get much deeper in discussions on these and other Gospel matters of course, but I have loved the gentle reminder that a testimony need not be based on these deeper aspects, but must in fact be based on the simple truths, the simple facts that are taught in Primary. My own testimony has been strengthened by my experiences in Primary, and it makes me excited for the time when Emma will be old enough to be there too.

Funniest Kids "Toy" (?) Ever!!!

I was looking through a magazine and they had some products featured for kids of different ages. I was curious about some cute animal lamps so I went to the website listed. They had some other cute things so I was browsing around when I stumbled upon the funniest thing I have ever seen. I nearly fell off the couch I was laughing so hard. Eric can attest that I was having a hard time breathing for a while. Anyway, no offense if anyone reading this has this product (and you'd have to tell me why you have it!!??), but if you want to see it, please follow this link or copy and paste this into your address bar and enjoy. Please brace yourself first and make sure you do not have a mouth full of liquid.
http://www.uncommongoods.com/item/item.jsp?source=family&itemId=16430

5 Years and Counting

Last friday was our fifth anniversary. Since we had a sitter for the entire night (thanks Mom!), we went out to dinner together and then stayed overnight at the Inn on the Hill, just up state street from the Church Office Building. This is where we stayed on our wedding night. It was so nice to get away and just have fun together. Our schedules lately have been so crazy that we hardly ever see each other, let alone without Emma (again...thanks Mom). We thought about going to see a movie, but decided to simply enjoy the time together playing pool and card games at the Inn. It was a great relaxing night. I feel so lucky to have met Eric and to have been with him for so long now. So many fun and amazing things have happened to us these past 5 years. I love him and Emma so much. I am so grateful for the promises of the Temple and that we will be together forever. Thank you Eric for your love and support and for giving me these past 5 years. I love you.

My Crazy Girl...chapter 3

Ok - this is the final installment in this series of posts. Emma just kept doing things that I wanted to share. I'm sure she'll continue to be silly, and I will continue to share that, but it won't be nonstop Emma posts.

Recently Emma has taken to trotting everywhere. It's sort of a mix between trotting and skipping. She does this all around the house. If we go anywhere and she is holding our hand rather than riding in a cart or stroller she trots then too. I don't know if it's just super fun or if she's forgotten how to walk normally. It's very funny to watch. It makes her seem like she's always excited. Maybe she is. I have been meaning to film her doing it for about 3 weeks now, and sure enough, as soon as I try she stops doing it the same way. So, this isn't perfect, but I hope you can see it alright in this very short video clip. (By the way, she's saying "jump" over and over - in case you don't understand 2 yr old -ease)

She also has almost mastered one of life's most time honored tests for coordination and skill. Behold the head pat and stomach rub as performed by Emma:

My Crazy Girl...chapter 2

Emma still sleeps in her crib, but one side has been taken down so it is essentially a regular bed. We thought it converted into a toddler bed, but instead it's meant to be used as a the headboard for a twin. For now, a twin doesn't really fit in her room. Well, it would, but we don't feel like rearranging things to make it work. Besides, most family knows that we won't be living here for much longer, so we'll wait until we're settled in our new place before changing her sleeping arrangment much. Anyway, I went to check on her last night before going to sleep, and she had moved around sideways and was shoved up against her bed rail. Wierd. I don't know what exactly about that postion was comforatble, but she seemed to like it. Here's what she looked like.

My Crazy Girl...chapter 1

Emma loves to read. If we would let her, she would read every day all day long. The only problem is that she likes us to read with/to her. That's not a problem really, just that we can't do it all day every day. She has lots of books, and many of them are more delicate from when I was litttle, books out of print, or just made out of paper that she might rip. We keep a lot of these books in separate bins in her room so that she'll only have access to them when we are watching her more closely or actually reading with her. Last night while she was playing in her room I heard a loud noise. I called her into the living room to see if she was ok and to see what she was doing. She trotted in with a book for me to look at with her. I looked at the book and realized it was one from these bins - aha! That's what the loud noise was. I went in and saw what she had done. She had pulled one of the bins part way off the shelf (and they're pretty heavy) and then completely ripped the lid off (which is supposed to stay on the container). Wow, what a strong and eager reader!

Happy New Year!!

Ah New Year's Day - the day when inevitably we all feel somehow compelled to make resolutions for the upcoming year. Why do we subject ourselves to this rather archaic practice? Not that it's not beneficial to try to better ourselves, but this is definately not a ritual that I look forward to. Almost all of us who make goals are just setting ourselves up for disappointment and failure in the weeks and months to come. Why am I being so negative you ask? I am simply being honest. I am calling for a change. Not a huge change, but rather a simplification of the inevitable. Instead of setting several goals, why not try only 1 or 2 that are possibly within reach? They should require at least a little effort, but should also be something that will make us better people - in the bigger picture. Let's forget about the tangible goals for once, and focus on the spiritual side of things. How about more frequent trips to the Temple, or reading in the Book of Mormon every day no matter what? I say these things because they are exactly what I need to work on. My specific personal goals will not be shared here, but they will be in keeping with what has been said. I am a classic example of a hit and miss with goals. I challenge you all to simplify your goals this year, and then work like crazy to attain them. Good luck and happy new year.