Sisters

I wanted to talk for a minute about sisters.

Now as most of you know, I'm not an expert on this subject, mostly because I don't have any. So, one might get the impression that I don't know very much about them. "One" might be mistaken. Even though I do not have blood sisters that my mother gave birth to on this earth, I actually have many.

I have 6 that grew up 5 houses away from me. The oldest was my best friend, and all the other ones were annoying....at that time. A short example:

When I would go to their home, it was fairly chaotic sometimes. My friend and I would go outside on the trampoline (usually at night) to escape from all the little ones. When they would come out and want to jump and hang out with us, we would tell them that no one under 12 was allowed on the tramp, and anyone younger could be eaten by the monsters on the grass around the tramp. They would cry and run back to house for safety of course, and we would remain happily outside ALONE! (They, much to our dismay, remember these evil activities and have received extensive counseling on the subject.)

Now that they've all grown up, I love, absolutely love to be with every single one of them. They are the closest thing I have to real sisters.

I have 3 sisters at my old job in Utah. I spent 10 years working with them. You spend more time at work then you do at home, awake, so you get to know people. I consider these women my friends, my mentors, my sisters. They are honest, loving, truly good people and I love them.

I believe I have 7 or 8 other sisters in Utah, that I met at work, or in my ward.

I believe I have 4 that I've met here in California. Wow, was it hard to find friends here. It was much harder to be away from my sisters in Utah than I ever thought. I wasn't quite the "lone wolf" I thought I was. But once you find them...life is so much better.

I have 2 beautiful daughters. Macie is 14 yrs old, and Gabby is 7 and a half months.

When we first brought Gabby home, Macie didn't really want much to do with her. (What fun is a little lump that doesn't talk anyway!)

As the months go by, Macie spends more and more time by her sisters' side. She gives her her binkie, toys and her bottle when she drops it.

She laughs and talks with her, and lots of times just watches her. I wonder so many times if Macie knows things about Gabby that we don't, and vice versa. They seem to have such a connection already. Gabby looks up at her and just smiles. Her eyes light up and she knows that's her sister.

I love that connection... I love knowing they're going to be there for each other. I love knowing that each of them has someone besides Todd and I who will always be on their side. I love that they're sisters.

I'm sure in the future they will get on each other's nerves, and probably fight. But in the long run they will be forever connected to one another.

I love my sisters so much, and feel very lucky to have them, but I also love that my daughters have each other... real sisters. Which ever kind of sister you have....love em!

The Home of the Brave

Memorial Day. A day to remember all those who have gone before us, especially those who have died in the service of our country. I am so greatful for those men and women who risk their lives daily for us.

My father served in the Vietnam war. He experienced things with his fellow soldiers that men are not supposed to. The human body is not designed to go through such tragic, and gruesome things. Your mind changes, it has to, to survive. Some souls don't come back from it. The lucky ones do. My dad, like countless others, watched his friends get shot and sometimes killed. He was shot in the leg, and got Maleria while in Vietnam. He received the Purple Heart. He never talked about the war. The few things I do know about it, I asked him specifically. I was always so proud that he was in the war. Any time the subject came up I always told people what he did, with great pride. Now that I think about it, I'm not sure if he knew that.

If you've experienced the loss of someone in your life, you know that you don't need a specific day to remember them though. We think about them always. Sometimes you wish you could just forget for a little while, to make it easier.

My dad didn't die in a war, but he died just the same. He died fighting a losing battle with his body. During his sickness he overcame things he shouldn't have, just like in the war, and kept going. I've never witnessed such fighting for life.

I look at life different now. I hold onto it tighter. I cry more, whether because I'm happy or sad. I try to tell people how I feel about them. I say thank you more. I try to be better.

There is a song on my blog called "Let go now Daddy". Oddly enough, this describes my life with my father almost exactly. The only difference is I was on the phone in California, not in his hospital bed telling him to let go. It is a beautiful, touching song, that makes me cry. I miss him so much.

The Legend Continues...

Well people I have to say, Indiana did not disappoint! I thought this was a great movie! Harrison did look a little older of course, but it was almost like 20 years had not past since the last one. I loved the story, with all the same twists and turns. I thought it was very entertaining! You should all go see this movie, however I do think there were a few parts too scary for little kids. Live long Indiana!!

Friends

I want to talk about my fabulous weekend with my two best friends from Utah, Stacey and Heidi. They came to visit me for the weekend on May 15th. Because of technical difficulties with my camera, they have all the pictures. So when they send them to me, I will write about it. Love you both, p.s.

The Man, The Myth, The Legend.

Hello....

"Da-da-da-daaa, da-da-daa, da-da-da-daaa, da-da-da-da-daa!!!" Well here it is, the long awaited, highly anticipated, fourth and final installment of Indiana Jones. We get to embark on more adventures from the charmingly shy, incredibly brave, brilliant archeology professor Dr. Jones.

Yes, this time Indiana is a little older, 66 to be exact, but has anything really changed? He still looks fabulous without his shirt on, still has great wit, and still make most women between the ages of 25 to 105 melt.

Oh the times we've spent together, Harrison and I. Through my favorite flicks like:

Then there were some misses: Hollywood Homicide and 40 days and 40 nights, but I found ways to look past those minor mistakes.

There was a time when I believed Harrison and I could have been good together. He had just gotten divorced, and I thought that I would move up to Wyoming, help out with some housework, teach him the gospel, and have him fall in love with me. It seemed like a well executed plan to me. (The other option was getting lost in the mountains so he could come rescue me in his helicopter... this one seemed easier and less tramatic for me.) Well while I was packing my things I learned he was seeing someone. I expected some drop dead beauty, who was smart and shy. Harrison, although a talented actor, is very shy. He does not like to be in public or do interviews with the media. I know these things because you should be insightful about the one you love. I soon discovered it was Calista! Really? I mean REALLY, Harrison?

I backed out gracefully. It was the classy thing to do. I did not want to make it hard on him to choose between us.

Now I've found my "Indiana Jones" and I no longer have the same fire for Mr. Ford. I can and do however, still enjoy his movies.

I will be seeing this movie on Saturday, and will report with my findings.

Sweet Potato!

Well here we are, Gabby's first sweet potato! As you can see she enjoyed herself immensely. Amazingly enough, I believe she actually ingested more than what is on her tummy.

We followed it up with a little bit of prunes. One can never have too many prunes...

She is as amazed as I am that she got clean. You gotta love a good bath with a rubber ducky!

Mother's Day

May 11, 2008
Well technically, this was my first (real) Mother's Day. I was with Macie last year, but I don't usually refer to myself as her mom. She has a mom, so sometimes I think I'm just the lady that takes care of her and loves her. It's still weird to think of myself as a mom. Sometimes I look at Gabby and have to remember actually giving birth to her to believe she's mine! I'm so grateful for my 2 girls! What an adventure these last two years have been. I've learned a lot about quite a few things, but especially motherhood. WOW! It's wonderful and terrifying at the same time. It can be tiring and exhilarating in the same hour. I feel like I always appreciated my mom, but now I do on a different level. You just never stop working. Even when you physically stop, your mind keeps thinking about what you've got to do or should be doing now. I'm not sure how moms continue to stand up at the end of the day. I guess those are the times when your children say or do something amazing... or not. When they say something that touches your heart, or smile in just that way that only they can. Then you realize that the Lord has given you a gift that you will work tirelessly, until you cannot move or speak any longer, to make them into their best selves. We are blessed to be moms.....

Todd and I met in April 2006. Todd's aunt thought we should meet, and after much speculation by both of us, we did. Todd lived in Denver, so I flew up to meet him one weekend. Our first day together was spent flyfishing the Arkansas river. Todd is a great fisherman, and I was trying to impress him and not embarrass myself. I was a quick study however, and before I knew it, 7 fish had visited me that day. I sent them happily along their way, after posing with a few! It was fun! The entire weekend was wonderful and in a little over a month we were engaged. I was literally swept off my feet by this wonderful man. We were married Oct. 7, 2006 in the Salt Lake Temple.