Midnight thoughts

-When the hubby is out of town. The house just feels different! Tonight the kids and I were on the couch watching TV and Owen said "Shhhh Mom I hear something. Turn down the TV" I just about jumped out of my skin. Like a little kid does when they are asked to walk into a dark kitchen. That freaked me out. I almost had to call the Nelsons--and have Zanda come sit with me, maybe all night. I'm sure she and and Bruce would have loooved that. (I love ya Zanda!) It was just his alarm clock going off. He must of confused the am and pm. I was ready to have everyone hid in the closet.

-Tonight on Top Chef, Hosea won. I realized now that its all said and done, I was secretly rooting for Stefan even though he has a very large hot head. (It must have been his accent) In a way I'm glad Hosea won, Stefan and Carla both have their own businesses, so now Hosea can start his own. But...we must not forget and I'm sure his girlfriend won't either, He totally cheated on his girlfriend. He's in trouble! That $100,000.00 might have really saved his behind on the home front. Na, Stefan won so many quick fires to not consider that in the last challenge was a mistake. A foreign man/with an accent/who likes to cook dessert! maybe that's why I was rooting for him. (Don't worry Brad, I love your Canadian accent!)

-I love living in a neighbor hood. Having kids over to my house to play with my kids is really the perfect picket fence picture for me. Its the cherry on the top for living in a real house. I have really enjoyed the EXTRA space. Another reason why I love living in a neighbor hood is the GREAT neighbors. (Note the name Nelson in the first paragraph)

-I can't get over how fun mid-winter break was. The weather was perfect. Today it basically rained slush and it rained all day long. Which I'm not complaining about, it was beautiful. I have always loved the rain. I'm just glad we had sunshine for break and rain now that school is back in.

-For those of you who want Girl Scout Cookies, I know a girl in Pebble Cove (N) who sells them. I saw all of the boxes in their living room. I would have no self control. Thin mints and Samoas are my favorite. What are your favorite? Did you know they have ice cream with girl scout cookies in them. Be careful though, one night...a long time ago and many skinny jean size smaller, my sister-in-law, Melissa and I ate the entire carton of tagalong cookie ice cream. When we were done we looked at each other like "Did you just eat all that" and laughed. Now we laugh harder.

-Lukie was sick today. I sat on the couch and held him most of the day. He is such a active kid. For him to slow down like that and to let me just hold him. Lets just say it was tender mommy moment. Aren't his eyelashes just so thick and black! Holy Cow! I'm thankful for the hours I got to hold my sweet little two year old.

-I thought of my sister a lot today. Her hubby is out of town for two possibly three weeks. She has two small children. Its hard when the hubby is gone. That was my life for two years, while Brad worked at the paper. Its hard work. I caught her at a tender moment when I called her and to hear her tears, I wanted to jump through the phone and put my arms around her....and bring her to my house...whip her into shape! (smile) I thought of old memories of us together growing up. I loved to go through your room. And boy would that make you mad. I also knew, no matter what you had my back. And, I think it was my fault the clutch in your Honda went out so many times. I love you my sissster!

Mid- Winter Break

How do you post after a special posting like that! I've got the best hubby ever!
This is a really long post. That's your disclaimer. I had to catch you up on everything.

Last week was Mid-Winter break. I had so much fun with my kids this last week. They were so good. They did their chores when asked, not too much sibling fighting, and we played hard!

We met up with my friends Tarja and Hannu at the ice skating center. Owen was able to get a lesson because his friend Eerik takes lessons there. So Jaeger and I went along. The boys had never before ice skated. Another motive...Owen can earn an arrow for cub scouts if he does it. Anyway we all get on the ice and Jaeger decides he is NOT liking it. Starts crying. They both tell me their feet hurt. I reassure them that's normal, your feet have to get used to it, just wiggle your toes to get out the stiffness out. Jaeger decides he is cold and wants to stop and starts crying louder.
I tell him, well lets go around two more times to see if he likes it then. the gate passes, and passes and he's like wait I want to go home. Now Owen is saying he wants to stop. So finally after 1/2 hour of this I take them to the bench sit them down and tell the to sit there and take off their skates, but I'm going back out. Tarja and Hannu sit by them and let me skate. So I'm having the time of my life. one, cause I do like to ice skate and second two grumpy kids are watching me have a good time skating. And I'm waving at them smiling from ear to ear. Trying to get the point across that this is really fun and they are missing out! On the side lines Jaeger is glaring at me. And both boys are not returning my eager waves.
So we go home and all the way home I kept saying to them "Man that was tons of fun. I really like to ice skate that was fun." and low and behold by the evening Owen and Jaeger individually said to me "Mom I think I like to ice skate, that was fun!" I'm thinking mission accomplished. We might try it again Saturday, to reinforce that ice skating is fun. This picture is of Tarja, Jaeger, Anne and Hannu.
I absolutely love them. They have been such good friends. They go back to Finland this summer...for good. I am going to miss them dearly. Thank goodness for the Internet. They will always have a special spot in my heart. Its hard to believe we met when Luke was just a baby. So for the record I'm dreading the end of July. I don't want them to go!!!

Okay I usually write things about the picture below the picture. But everyone does it above the picture. I'm thinking I might have things mixed up so I'll try it "your" way.

This is a weird and random picture, but its so funny. This is Savanah and I sleeping. She must have flip flopped right on me. I kid you not, we are both out for the night. Brad took the photo.

Aunt Stacey and Uncle Jeff and can't forget little Evalie came up Valentines weekend. The kids were so excited they camped out in the front yard with their lawn chairs and waited and waited for them to show up. Stacey and Jeff brought another couple and their daughter. They hung out in Seattle, while we got to watch the little girls. Evalie and Tonnalee (okay so I probably didn't get the spelling right, but that's how you say it anyway) They were so cute. I forgot to get a picture of them, but the kids had fun.

So here are the experienced ice skaters. Not pros yet... we'll have to work on it a bit more. They are all smiles here though.

This picture actually tells a story. So I'll tell you the story....This girl is named Cameron. Cameron always has the cutest bows. So every Sunday or every time Brad sees her he says something like this to her

Brad: "Hey Cameron are you wearing my bow?"

Cameron replies "No, this is my bow!"

Brad: "Can I wear your bow?"

Cameron: "Boys" or "Daddies" depending on the day "don't wear bows"

Brad: "Will you make me one so I can wear it?"

The conversation varies, but Brad always asks Cameron about her bows... the other night her mom and I and some other ladies were making bows and Cameron grabbed this bow stuck it on her head, and her mom says "Hey this could be Brads bow!"

So Brad here is the proof that Cameron made you a bow. Its very colorful, sure to match any and all colors you might be wear at the time. I'm sure if Cameron was right here blogging with me She would tell you, Brad that you can have this bow!

I had a GREAT Birthday!

This is from the family birthday party. Brad didn't even want me to get my own cake, nor did he want me to see the cake until the party. So he sent a good friend undercover and her special secret mission was to pick one up for me. It was perfect. Cheesecake Factory. My new favorite place to eat out. I was awarded the only birthday guest that night to actually take a picture of their dessert. Give me a break-I'm a blogger, I take my camera everywhere!

This has to be the cheesiest birthday smile EVER! But I don't care, it was so much fun. If the thirties are as much fun as this night was, then all is good. Time in this booth felt like it stood still. But when we looked at the clock and realized what time it was, and babysitters were waiting on us...oh man what a mad dash home.

Laura, Anne, Chanin

This is the funniest picture of the boys.

Timothy, Brad and Ben

And one more photo for the day....
Savanah has a new favorite spot to sit. Yes, can you believe it's the fridge. When it opens she darts for the fridge and sits right down. Then she takes out all of the condiments on the side. Look at her smile. She loves it, perfect little seat.

It was a choice afterall

It's important, I guess, to show the roots of how some things begin and come to be. While the story of Brad and Anne is told with a little giddy since I must brag about my ability to steal my future wife away from the cold grip of another, I will divert to what transpired long before this so that you get a perspective as to what kind of woman I was looking for.

I am trying not to sound braggish or anything, but this is a quasi present for my wife to see, read and know there is more to having her in my life than chocolate chip cookies every Wednesday night. So, please buckle up and hold on, it may start a little rough, but the climax of the story is worth getting to.

I returned home from my mission with the mindset that marriage was distant and somewhere in the in the furthest future. But, I learned differently. I was looking forward to going to BYU in Provo with a good friend of mine. I had ideas and dreams, philosophies as to what was going to happen. My friends were distancing themselves because I was leaving the small town for the bigger and better. I was out of there. I met with my Bishop and he spoke briefly over these plans, said some words of encouragement, then, to my astonishment, told me how much I was going to enjoy marriage. What? That was nowhere in the plan. I think he must have misheard me explain everything I was going to do. Surely marriage wasn't part of it. Anyway.

The following month, I couldn't stop thinking about this. Then I met with the Stake President. He was delighted that I was going to BYU and told me of his experiences and gave counsel, etc., etc. Then, he informed me that when I meet my wife, she will also enjoy the experiences that I will go through. What? He must not have heard my plans. I could have sworn that I didn't bring up marriage. He was getting rather old and must not have heard. I can't explain it any further.

But, this time, the counsel was a little more of a prompting. There was more to it and I had grasped it. I had heard what I needed to hear, but I couldn't quite accept it. I wanted to be difficult, really. Show that two could play this little game. Well, I went home that night and I prayed, "Lord, if I am supposed to get married, please send someone to Moses Lake because there isn't anyone here that I am interested in."

A few weeks later, I am at a bowling alley. This is the giddy part of the story. You may want to pause, maybe get something to snack on because its really good, like total romantic comedy good. I kid you not.

Back to the bowling alley. I and a friend arrive. I've got on kacki cargo pants and a blue, button up shirt. Apparently, so does my friend that came with me. There is a blonde in the group of friends I am meeting up with. I don't recognize her, of course, I don't recognize anyone else in the group either, but for some reason, I wanted to be there. The blonde, she's got a date it appears. That's fine. The great thing about bowling is, it takes you away from your date for a brief period so you can try and prove you are one of those professional bowlers with the polyester pants that almost match the polyester shirt that was in style around 1973 and 1997. Give it time, it'll come back. Anyway, I don't quite know how I managed this, but when the date got up to bowl, I found myself next to the blonde. "Hey, I'm Brad." I was smooth, very smooth. "Hi, I'm Anne." Date's back and I'm out of there.

The evening was revolving like this. While he bowls, I pry him away from his date. She's not into him anyway, well, she might be when I accidently spilled pop in my lap, wait, she accepted it as a simple faux paus, and I saved myself with a witty, "how am I going to hide that!" comment. It was good. I kept the door open. I am working it. Date isn't coming back. He'll understand later. The date and I became friends at college, it's all good. We exchange phone numbers and things are moving.

I asked Anne to marry me about two months later and we were married inbetween semesters in December of 1999. Why am I telling you this? Well. Today is Anne's birthday and I have always thought about how we met and the circumstances of who placed her there. Anne was visiting Moses Lake from Utah and she came up for that visit around the same time I was meeting with the Stake President. I had a choice, and it was the best choice I have ever made.

That is my tribute to Anne; to be the best choice I ever had. She is the best cook, best mom, best confidant, best audience, best critic, best stylist, best barber, best surprise artist, my best friend. It would be impossible for me to say anything on this milestone for her that doesn't let her know she is on the pedestal for me to look at and admire, appreciate, adore, idolize, amuse, and most of all, to know she is the one I got to say yes to.

Enjoy this milestone, not as a notice of getting older, but as an understanding that to me, you are the best choice I have ever made. Happy Birthday. I love you more, most, forever, always and eternity ... I said it first!

Favorite Picture & Shoes

Okay this has to be my favorite picture right now.

Owen, Lucy, Savanah, Luke, and Jaeger.

Tonight at dinner part of Owen's prayer went like this "...please help me to run real fast around the cones in P.E. tomorrow with my new shoes" My kids go through shoes so fast. It seems I am always buying new shoes. I bought Owen a pair of Sketchers, thinking they would be a better brand than Walmart or Target....nope. You know how the bottom plastic part comes from the bottom up by the toe, it now flaps.
*Does anyone have the secret with keeping kids in shoes? A magic pair out there that will last longer than three months?

Please tell me if you've found a pair that lasts...

Taken Over!

My bed got taken over! Look at how many kids are in there. I think this night one or two were on the floor and as soon as Brad and I got up they got into the bed. Amazing... Lucy, Jaeger, Luke and Savanah
Savanah is going to wake up the sleepy heads. Check her out she is having fun.

Savanah is a pointer.

New Hair do!

I cut Lucy's hair a week or so ago and today I went and got mine done. This is our new hair...
This is a funny one of Lucy's...I curled it for church and after taking it out, it went all over the place.

And here we are...Ta da!!! Lucy was fascinated that I went to a Salon and got mine done. I think she just thought I'd sit in the bathroom like I did hers. My experience was a little different. She asked the lady a bunch of questions. And thought the chair was cool cause it went up and down. They even had a dog in the shop, so she kept asking for the dog treats.

I fell off the ban-wagon

My interpretation of falling off the ban-wagon is getting pneumonia. For a couple of weeks I've been stuffy and congested and not feeling well. It all got out of hand and went south really fast. Last week I had to call Brad home from work. I just couldn't take care of the three little ones at home. But I did successfully get the older ones to school...on time! I barely had the strength to open the garage door. I was really sick!

Brad and his Dad gave me a wonderful, very specific blessing. It said my body would be healed. And that is what happened. I am feeling so much better and getting back my strength daily.

Brad did a Great job being Mr. Mom. Thanks for caring for me, Brad! But he just couldn't take anymore days off work. So my Mom came up from Ut to help out. I've had a lot of help from Brad, my Mom, wonderful delicious meals from sisters in the ward, people have invited my children over for play dates, and a dear friend who brought flowers to cheer me up. I love you all. Thanks for all the prayers too.

Now that I'm better, I can say "Dang I was sick". And am Thankful my Heavenly Father blessed my body to recover. I'm thankful for the priesthood. The same priesthood our Savior held when He was on the earth, restored by Joseph Smith, and so we have it today. My husband is a holder of that priesthood and with his earthly Father was able to give me a blessing with that power, from Heaven. I had a little miracle happen in my life. Healed by the power of God! I am Thankful for the knowledge that I am a daughter of God. I know God hears our prayers and our pleads and knows our hearts. I've felt the Holy Ghost this last week in my life.

I've officially climbed back on the "ban-wagon" (I'm not really sure what that is, actually)
But, I'm back!