Your Memories

You have probably seen this on other blogs. It is a really fun idea.

Leave a comment on my blog of a memory that you and I have had together. (You can click on "comments" and then "anonymous" if you don't have a gmail account.) It doesn't matter if you've known me for a short time, or a long time, anything you remember!

Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. :) Ready, Set, GO!

The Big Two-Oh (20 Months Old)

It's been a while since I published a post. I'm back! Yesterday we took our little girl's monthday photos. I've done this almost every month on the 24th but I have to thank Anne and Spencer (and Katie and Jeremiah) for the term. I didn't know what to call them.

We had to wake her up at 5:30 in the morning because D was in the parade in his uniform and had to be there at 6:00. She handled the weird sleep schedule surprisingly well.

Little nap before the parade started


Right about 10:59 AM, the minute of her birth - my mom
is holding her and D's mom is on the far left.


She wanted the girly trike you see on the right . . .
at least until she remembered she could take her sandals off.


A yummy free fudgsicle on a hot day!
It did get on her lemon tree shirt, which makes me sad.

This is how Shboogoo has changed in the last month:

• She weighs almost 23 pounds.
• Her hair is getting longer, enough that I can put it in a little ponytail!
• Her eleventh tooth recently appeared.
• Talking. Lots of it. (Not all understandable, of course). Her vocabulary includes more than 60 words. She has little sentences like "I don't want to" and "my milk, mommy."
  
• We started having her sit on her Elmo potty seat; it's the kind that goes on top of the regular toilet. I'm so glad she has peed in the toilet four days in a row! If anyone has tips on the transition from diapers to underwear, please share.

Scripture Sunday

This section of scripture is another favorite of mine. It's from Moses chapter 7 in The Pearl of Great Price.

28 And it came to pass that the God of heaven looked upon the residue of the people, and he wept; and Enoch bore record of it, saying: How is it that the heavens weep, and shed forth their tears as the rain upon the mountains?

29 And Enoch said unto the Lord: How is it that thou canst weep, seeing thou art holy, and from all eternity to all eternity?

30 And were it possible that man could number the particles of the earth, yea, millions of earths like this, it would not be a beginning to the number of thy creations; and thy curtains are stretched out still; and yet thou art there, and thy bosom is there; and also thou art just; thou art merciful and kind forever;

31 And thou hast taken Zion to thine own bosom, from all thy creations, from all eternity to all eternity; and naught but peace, justice, and truth is the habitation of thy throne; and mercy shall go before thy face and have no end; how is it thou canst weep?

32 The Lord said unto Enoch: Behold these thy brethren; they are the workmanship of mine own hands, and I gave unto them their knowledge, in the day I created them; and in the Garden of Eden, gave I unto man his agency;

33 And unto thy brethren have I said, and also given commandment, that they should love one another, and that they should choose me, their Father; but behold, they are without affection, and they hate their own blood;

34 And the fire of mine indignation is kindled against them; and in my hot displeasure will I send in the floods upon them, for my fierce anger is kindled against them.

35 Behold, I am God; Man of Holiness is my name; Man of Counsel is my name; and Endless and Eternal is my name, also.

36 Wherefore, I can stretch forth mine hands and hold all the creations which I have made; and mine eye can pierce them also, and among all the workmanship of mine hands there has not been so great wickedness as among thy brethren.

37 But behold, their sins shall be upon the heads of their fathers; Satan shall be their father, and misery shall be their doom; and the whole heavens shall weep over them, even all the workmanship of mine hands; wherefore should not the heavens weep, seeing these shall suffer?

I love that this face-to-face conversation between Heavenly Father and a mortal was recorded so that we can read it and understand Him better. I love Enoch's description of Him in verses 30-31. I love that Heavenly Father says even the heavens should cry because people -- His children -- are suffering. He knows and loves every one of his children. I don't think any father would want his kids to kill each other, but it happens because Heavenly Father lets us decide what we will do, instead of making us obey. It is for our benefit that he wants us to choose Him (see verse 33). Our agency is essential to His plan for our happiness. I know that because He knows everything, He knows what will bring us the most joy.

These verses also remind me of this talk by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland.

Tag: "Things as they really are"

My friend tagged me with this before I went to girls' camp. I took the pictures on June 24, had a busy week after getting back from camp, and I was sick most of the day Saturday (basically a "24-hour flu"). By the way, D was really sweet to me and let me rest and read in our room -- actually he said I was in quarantine -- while he took care of Shboogoo. Those are my reasons for not doing this sooner; plus the fact that I couldn't find where on the computer I had saved the pictures.

These are the "rules" for the tag:
Take pictures of the following things just as they are, with no stopping to clean, straighten, or to wipe a child's nose: the kitchen sink, the fridge, the toilet, the closet, the laundry room, your favorite shoes, your favorite room, and your kids. Hopefully seeing these will help you feel better about not being a perfect housekeeper. (You're not perfect at it, are you?) The name I gave to this tag comes from Jacob 4:13.

I had already taken out the fridge drawers to clean them:

Our closet, with half of the door off because it isn't working right:
Laundry (and storage) room -- pretty packed, huh?:

My favorite shoes and my kid (who usually wears pants):

My favorite room, the living room, where I spend a lot of time:

I am now tagging (those of you who don't have kids can skip that part):
Sarah, Anne, Katie, Emily, Tai, Sheree, and Jackie

Independence Day celebrations

July 3: We went to a school that has free music and fireworks.

(I love my girl in this reversible hat!)

We'd been to the celebration before with my in-laws. We decided we wanted to go there this year and invite people to sit and eat KFC with us. Besides us, our group consisted of my mom and younger brother, my sister and her husband, D's dad and two sisters, and two old friends of D's family. We also ended up sitting right next to a family in our ward. D and I met their daughter who used to be in my sister's singles ward. There were tons of people there. The best part of the night was my little girl saying "wow" over and over as she watched the fireworks. It was funny that her attention span was shorter than the fireworks. The song God Bless the U.S.A. (the one that says "I'm Proud to be an American") brought tears to my eyes, like it typically does. I have a lot of history to learn, but I am very grateful for the people who have lived and died to preserve our freedoms. Our country has problems, but it is the best country in the world.

~~~~

On July 4th D had to work (starting around 5 pm) but first we enjoyed our second annual ward 4th of July Breakfast. He helped with the flag raising, so we were there from 7:30 until almost 11:00. Alex Boye, who is in our ward, sang the national anthem. The Primary kids decorate their bikes with red, white and blue (paper, ribbon, beads, etc) and ride down the sidewalk in a little parade. Shboogoo borrowed somebody's toddler tricycle for that. I can't believe we didn't get a picture of the three of us!

In the evening my neighbor took this one for me.

Two years ago: