first blog post of 2016

Happy New Year! It's finally the year that I was going to marry my friend who I did marry almost twelve years ago. He had asked in high school, "Hey, if you're not married by 2016, will you marry me?"

It has been snowing ALL DAY here and hasn't stopped. It's so beautiful. We had a great Christmas season and enjoyed the December snow too.

I have been outside for a total of about two minutes. We stayed home from church because of First Girl feeling sick. (She is mostly better by now but starting Friday night she didn't feel like eating.) They've watched some Veggie Tales, and we had the TV off for a while, I played some Primary songs on the piano and sang along, we read a kind of long book together, and we saw some Mormon Channel videos on YouTube. Two out of three kids had baths; the other will need one also. The four-year-old hurt the six-year-old's feelings so I helped with that. I think we should probably call grandparents, after dinner. Oh, but a lot of clean clothing still isn't put away. I can do both at the same time.

I wasn't sure how to begin this blog post. Maybe I feel like I did then. I wasn't sure what this blog would turn out to be.

I think I want to have few if any public photos of our kids now.

What do I do with what's here already? I began blogging in 2007. I could slowly use the best posts to make digital scrapbooks that I would print, and delete them from Blogger. I don't want to change it to private.


Basically, I need to figure things out, how I can best spend my time. The ones I need to communicate and share with most are my family and close relatives. I have an email draft to finish that is a simple letter and photos for our parents and siblings to see. I have other places where I share photos now, but not publicly. And if I wanted to back up with Flickr again like I did a long time ago (I think mainly in 2009), that sounds like work and I would need a new login or account. I started a private Instagram account in October, and I use Facebook.

These are the measurable goals (resolutions) I came up with for 2016:

1. Turn off the lights to sleep by 11:00 p.m., and closer to 10:30 might be best. This is hard for me. 
2. Wake up by 7:00 and do first things first. But 5:30 is too early.
3. Start and end the day with personal prayer.
4. Read / feast / ponder from the Book of Mormon daily -- the verses on @bofm365. I feel peace every time. I'm glad that my husband is going to do it too!
5. Read more books this year than I did the last couple of years. (Only six in 2015.)
6. Work on postpartum doula certification for at least one hour a week.
7. Publish recipes on my whole foods plant-based blog.

That's probably enough to work on. :-) And that's how I will spend some of my time. I bought a little composition book to keep track of spiritual goals such as "✓ morning kneeling prayer".  I could get another little book for the other goals. 

Things are going well for our family. We'll be able to pay off most of our debt this year and we are so grateful. I / we will definitely spend time with new friends here too. I am looking forward to a vegan potluck next week.

I did not quite finish 360 BYU devotionals by the end of 2015 but I listened to 347! It was 360, not 365, because the idea came to me on January 5th and 360 is a nice round number. I am continuing until I have finished that goal. I listen while I get dressed, make meals, do chores, etc.

a little on faith, dreams, lists, and being musical

This is what I posted in a facebook group and it's how I have been feeling the last few days.

This is an exciting time to be on the earth. I definitely believe that "the future is as bright as [my] faith."

I believe we are in the last days, with both righteousness and wickedness increasing. There are things that frustrate me, and my husband and I each have our own ups and downs, but I have a lot of hope ("hope through the atonement of Christ"), and know that "if ye are prepared ye shall not fear." I want to help people, most of all my husband who is going through hard stuff, and our children, whom I love so much. I have big dreams for us. I want to do a lot and learn a lot. I want to be who my patriarchal blessing says I can be. I want to shine!

I was glad that my husband was with us for this April General Conference, not working that Saturday or Sunday. Another way I have been blessed with more closeness to the Spirit is through my #‎360byudevotionalsin2015‬ project I began on January 5th. It's really easy to find BYU devotionals from BYUSpeeches on YouTube. I listen to about one per day and I'm keeping a list of them.

Another list I updated today was my list of books I have read this year. I'm re-reading the manual from my CAPPA postpartum doula training, but since I didn't read every word when I got it, it's not on my list yet. I have about three other nonfiction books I am working on also, but mostly one called Fasting -- and Eating -- for Health.

Just yesterday I finished A Natural Woman: A Memoir, which singer-songwriter Carole King wrote. I didn't know much about Carole King before this, and now I want to become familiar with more of her music. It was an impulse library check-out as I walked past books on CD -- and it turned out that I was checking it out two days before her birthday! I listened as I cleaned the kitchen, and I think it took a few weeks, but I went through the last few discs, of twelve, pretty quickly. I'm impressed by a lot of the things she has done, including homeschooling, "encourag[ing] the best in people," caring about the Earth, and writing music while she had kids. I composed three piano solos, but all between the ages of 14 and 18, and none since then except for little songs with my kids, and I have not written those down. I thought about doing so the other day, but then forgot, so it's gone from my mind.

Here's a little of what I wrote down from Carole's memoir. In probably the first chapter she said, "the first piece of furniture in my parents' home was a piano." I really liked the last part of the final chapter. She was talking about her mind jumping from one thought to the next as she was performing for an audience. She realized that she had thought music was keeping her from having a normal life, but then while performing understood that "for me, music is normal life."

I'm very confident with music, sightreading, and performing. I was able to be in our ward's talent show last month, and today I will play piano for a few ladies who will sing in sacrament meeting. The song is Oh, How Lovely Was The morning -- a new (2005) tune to the LDS hymn Joseph Smith's First Prayer. Some of those big dreams I have for my life are related to music. It's part of normal life for me as well.

how I started 2015

It's past my bedtime, on the first day of the year. I am frustrated that I was trying to cut or undo something and the whole draft I'd written a few hours ago disappeared! Well, I'll start over. :0)

My friend Shelly, whose kids I babysit twice a week, had a fun New Year's Eve party with healthy food. The five of us went, so my husband was able to meet the others that I had met at a potluck back in August (he worked that Saturday). I didn't already know Amy and Nate, though. All five families including us brought our kids, who played on scooters and decorated hats while most of the adults played Five Crowns.

What I really want to write about was the great things about this January 1st. Right at midnight we were home in bed and had a quick kiss, then for fifteen minutes we continued what we were each doing. He watched videos on the iPad, and I finished reading my book: Christmas Jars by Jason F. Wright.

Soon after I woke up I was kind of depressed for a minute about the way I feel in the morning and all the time. Chronic pain. I didn't cry and snowball it like I did yesterday, though. It's so good that D and I have each other. We've talked about what we want to do this year and it will be good. For example, we are determined to pay off our debt. Anyway, knowing it's now 2015, I remembered that I had thought that in 2014 I would get rid of my constant headache. I did try more than a few different tests and treatments and stuff throughout the year but I need to be patient with what I'm currently doing (my doctor prescribed myofasical release, the medication gabapentin, and flonase (I don't think the last two are doing anything for me, at least not yet)). And I am going to keep searching, too. Neil Nathan, M.D.'s book Healing Is Possible: New Hope for Chronic Fatigue, Fibromyalgia, Persistent Pain, and Other Chronic Illnesses is giving me some things to think about.

A little bit after that, I played my piano for the first time this year. I chose Worthy Is The Lamb That Was Slain / Amen from Handel's Messiah. I bought my copy of the book while in college, for a performance with hundreds of other people; I will never forget that experience!

A few days ago was also really nice, when I played the piano to wake up our kids. That day it was the suite from Forrest Gump. Many years ago I had to tape the spine of this sheet music to hold it together. I played it in a talent show when I was in junior high.

Let's see . . . also, I let the girls watch Netflix a lot today while D was working. I watched some of my own as I cleaned the kitchen and stuff (using the iPad while they had the TV on). The show I'm binge watching is Gilmore Girls. I never saw any of it until the middle of December. 

In the morning I pondered and wrote down some things I need to do (some of them are resolutions) and had some good gospel study time. I worked out, took a long shower, and eventually we accomplished our chore checklist.

Oh! Third Girl made me laugh harder than I had in a long time. She can be pretty funny, but doesn't do this kind of thing as much when she's away from home. You won't fully appreciate it because you can't hear her tone, and I don't remember it all, but that's okay. I was with her as she sat on the potty. It was bedtime, when we always make her go, and I said that I wanted to hear her pee. Then we talked about something else, or I kissed her knees. Then suddenly she said in her voice that's higher than her normal voice, "You hear someping?" And I thought she meant her peeing, but she quickly says, "Butterflies?" As if they even make a sound! Oh, man, it was hilarious.

favorite August 2011 photos

More from this August {I already blogged about the girls' curtains, the day D reenlisted, and the Saturday at the park . . . The pictures of the grownups in our family are in those second two posts}.

 

L at my chiropractor's office.

Swimming at our old rec center.

Here are about half of us who were at book club

in my friend's gorgeous backyard. We only do

dinner once a year. It was so fun! Our book was

Gift from the Sea and one of the ladies had

picked shells for us when she was at the beach

in Oregon. {I should have taken a posed group

shot, but at least I have this.} The only problem

was that I got sixteen mosquito bites.

 I love taking the kids to this library. It is

beautiful outside (they called this "the jungle")

and inside (next two photos).

 Shboogoo informed me, "That's the spout the

spider came out."

This is right outside our apartment.

After church, August 14.

Breakfast one morning was steel-cut oats (and

I think I was able to sneak in some walnut

pieces and/or ground flax seed) and fresh

bananas, strawberries, raspberries, and

peaches. I ate the same except that my fruit

was blended with water and spinach in

a green smoothie.

Second time swimming in our pool.

During one of my walks with our girls, we saw

these flowers. They were huge!

 Shboogoo set up the mermaid Barbies like this.

They are in better position for push-ups

than the humans are.

 Sitting on our patio wall eating lime fruit bars,

probably right after a walk because it was hot

outside by the time we were done. I really 

loved the summer season this year!

old hat, new hat

{This post is brought to you by the letter H.}

At preschool a few weeks ago, the mom in charge taught about the letter H and read us Old Hat, New Hat.

Do you know the book? It is one of their family's favorites. I think I had read it many moons ago, so it was fun to see. He goes into a store to buy himself a new hat. After trying on lots of unique hats, he leaves with his original hat because he prefers it.

The whole time I thought of my husband, and how this is a metaphor of my dating life. He was the first boy who asked me on a date. Then during the next six years I had a date or two each with probably twenty or thirty other guys. Most of those dates were enjoyable, but there was rarely a mutual attraction. Their personalities weren't quite right for me. I learned that none of them had what I wanted because they weren't him. With him I have been myself, and I have always been comfortable talking to him about anything. We're happy if we're just in the same room. He makes me laugh every day that I'm with him. He even thinks that I'm funny. By April 2003 we knew we wanted to be a couple forever, and we knew Heavenly Father approved. After his Basic Training at the end of that year, my boyfriend and best friend became my fiance. The best thing I ever did was to marry the first boy that asked me out. Old hat.

~~~~~~~

In case you were wondering, during preschool the kids also tried on hats, hopped through hula hoops, and made gingerbread graham cracker houses. The three babies sat in the living room together and looked cute (that's what they do).

fun at the library {9/25}

We hadn't hung out at the library in quite a while. For the hour or so that we were there, Shboogoo had a blast. In the kids' bathroom there are tiles painted by children. We saw one with a hand about Shboogoo's size, and that 3-year-old has the same name as her, too! L liked looking at the model aircrafts that hang from the ceiling in the children's area. Two 7-year-old girls befriended us and were very interested in the baby.

This is a little blurry, but only because she was putting the blanket on her sister, which was the reason I wanted to take the picture.

She (Shboogoo) makes this face a lot, and I love it.

L looked so small sitting here (she isn't able to sit yet without leaning against something).

Getting ready to check out; she needed all of these and wanted to carry them. Right after this we saw Melanie, my last visiting teacher partner, with her 11-year-old and her 3-year-old. She helped me get my kids in the car. She is such a sweetheart.

reading (next) to Baby Lily

On a day this month when she really wanted to keep her jammies on instead of wearing clothes (now she often chooses a dress):




*******
P.S. two things:
1) I'm working on {as in, going to start soon ;)} the homemade gifts for you 4 who commented.
2) Please vote in my poll -- the more votes, the better.

After some cleaning, VACATION pics!

{disclaimer: this is going to be a long post.}

This was where we stayed, in the casita (little house) behind Aunt Sandy's house.

Too cold to swim.

Saturday

We had a late breakfast at Denny's, explored Snow Canyon State Park, and got Panda Express for dinner because we couldn't find anything else we both wanted. Also that night we played the card game Up and Down the River (similar to Zing!) at cousin Brandon's house with him, his wife Val, and Sandy. (I was shocked that I ended up winning.)










Sunday

Went to church with Grandma (where we were the only ones under the age of 50 or 60) and had lunch and relaxation time at their house. Poor Grandpa is recovering from a foot injury. After a delicious dinner at Aunt Sandy and Uncle Chris's, D put Shboogoo to bed in the casita and we all played Apples to Apples for a couple of hours. Brandon and Val and their boys left before we started playing it; again, we didn't get any pictures of them. Nobody played the Steinway. I definitely should have.

Jordan, Heather (3 members of her family and a friend not pictured), us, Sandy, Chris

Monday

Breakfast at Fairway Grill, a slow walk through the neighborhood, and lunch with Grandma and Sandy -- and a terrible server -- at Cracker Barrell. After that, we saw Skyler and his wife and daughter (forgot to take pictures), then let Shboogoo take a nap in the car like we had to do Saturday. I bought myself some new sunglasses that I love. We were finally hungry enough to bring take-out from Mr. Cebollin back to the casita. While our tummies were full we read books and watched a little TV.

Shboogoo handed her dad the crayon box and said, "Here ya go. I put my food in there."

Tuesday

Short walk/run for each of us, leftovers and a pomegranate for breakfast, watched President Obama's inauguration, saw the St. George temple grounds, ate at In-N-Out (tasty but not the healthiest). Guess who didn't sleep at all during the trip home? I'm so glad she finally napped starting at 6 pm back in her own room.

When we got out of the car I saw this plant and immediately thought of this lovely shot.

Squishing her cheeks was her own idea -- a quiet, fun one that didn't frustrate us like the no-sleeping idea.