How Do I Love Thee? And Thee? And Thee? And Thee?

So since Valentine's Day was on a Sunday, and we don't shop or spend money on the Sabbath, I needed a way to make the day special. Furthermore, I was looking for cheap fun.

I decided to cook a heart-shaped pizza and we drank homemade sparkling cider (one can of prepared frozen apple juice and one 2 liter of 7-up). We had raspberry sherbet, mostly so that Andy could eat it without worrying about his milk sensitive stomach. The thing that made the evening extra special was that we all ate by candle-light and toasted with our plastic cups. (This cool candle was a gift from one of my students back in the day.) K. was a little worried about it being too dark, so we ended up turning on a hall light to ease his concerns. A. and G. were full of compliments and toasts to me. They said it was the best day ever! So I think this will end up being one of those traditions that sticks. :) Always looking for those.

So who do I love? My sweet Andy. What a great friend and husband he is. :)

And my 3 boys. Who knew that I could handle THREE of them!?! But I can hardly imagine my life without them. They definitely keep me laughing and they maul me with hugs. Best Valentine's Day EVER!

The following are pictures of 4 year old G. He is getting so big and this was a Sunday a few weeks ago. He just looked great. The first picture is what he looks like when he's "put out". It took me a while to get him to look at the camera. He's funny that way. :)

I love the last one. I have said before he is my clever child. Just the other day, A. was chasing him through the house and G. dumped out a bag of toys to make a booby-trap. It would have been pretty effective had Andy not saved A. just in time. Clever, that boy... You can kind of see it in his eyes... lol

In the Laundry

NEVER, as a 14 year old girl could I ever imagined that today I would be doing loads of laundry that (I'm not exaggerating...) include 8 items decorated with Spiderman (with or without his many friends), 1 Scooby-Doo, 1 Mickey Mouse, 1 Kungfu Panda, 1 Star Wars, 1 Incredible Hulk, and 1 Buzz Lightyear. And that's just the Darks...

My Laugh for the Day

So this little guy pointed out a freckle on his leg when I was changing his diaper. I told him it was called a freckle and that I had them all over my face and arms. To which he says, "You have sprinkles all over your cheek." The closest I could get K. to say it right is "frinkles". So what can you do? LOL

My sister would ask, "Sprinkles of what??" ;) And if you know my sisters, you know which one.

Christmas "Fun"?

Ever imagine how the Holidays would be without one of these??? My family had been having flu symptoms last week and we were relieved to call Aunt Charlotte and Aunt Anna to tell them we thought it was over so they could still spend the night on Christmas Eve. They came over for dinner but during dinner A. and I got sick. They decided not to risk getting sick right before an airplane trip to Illinois. So they left. G. was so sad and frankly, I was too. We had so much fun planned and memories to be made. But what could we do?

We were feeling a bit better in the morning and had fun with all our new loot. Thanks Santa! I served my family lunch meat sandwiches and chips for dinner. (I know, wonderful mother, but I was taking it easy.) Right after dinner, I pulled out the sausage I had planned to use the next morning for belated Christmas Breakfast Casserole. It felt strangely "not cold". I put in a meat thermometer which came to 50 degrees, right out of the fridge. I was horrified to simultanously realize I had just food poisoned my family and that the flu symptoms were not contagious. Then I realized I may have food poisoned the aunts! And how much money would it cost to replace all my food? This was just getting worse and worse...

I sent my family to bed with pots and buckets, just in case and prayed we would make it through the night. Andy was the only one that got sick, but he was down for the count for 2 days. Sick in bed, achy, cold, and symptoms that polite people do not discuss online...

I contacted my landlord. (One silver lining, it isn't my responsibility to fix the fridge.) The repairman came on Saturday. Bless him. At first he told me he couldn't find anything wrong.

(On a side note, I wish there was a class for lay people about things you should know about stuff. Like how a garage door works, how you should use your dishwasher every couple of weeks in Arizona or it dries out, and how a refrigerator cools.) I felt like a dope when he told me I had blocked the source of cold air that comes from the freezer. He told me the top shelf was probably warmer, but my pickles on the bottom felt cold. But then I told him about the thermometer the night before. He wanted to see the temp of my pickles. We checked, and on the coldest setting on my fridge, they were 43 degrees. Your fridge is supposed to be lower than 40 degrees. So glad I didn't just let him leave.

He took another look at my compressor which was only half working and told me that my freezer was probably not working that well either. But at least everything was still frozen, so I don't have to replace those things.

The warranty guy was off for the weekend and if my fridge wasn't under warranty, we needed a new fridge. Cheaper to buy a new one than fix it. Found out yesterday, we need a new one. So now I just have to survive until Wednesday. My wonderful landlord even offered to take some of my next month's rent to replace some of the food.

My dear friend Bonnie, who is a kindred fellow Washingtonian, loaned me her mini-fridge. Without it, I think I would have lost my mind by now.

So we had a crazy Christmas, one that will definitely be remembered. I am grateful for kind landlords, repairmen willing to come on the weekends, that my babies didn't throw-up too much, stores that are close, and that I actually live in a time where we have electricity and refrigerators. And I am grateful that we are almost at the end of this trial, because I am tired...

Fasting

In his church class two weeks ago, A. learned about fasting when you pray for people. In our faith, we fast the first Sunday of the month for 2 meals and donate that money to the church to distribute to those less-fortunate. We also use that opportunity to consider those that may need extra faith and prayers going their way. A. was very excited and told us all about it on the way home. He wanted to do it this last Sunday.

On Sunday morning, I woke him and asked if he was still planning on trying it. He seemed really concerned and started talking about this boy in his class at school. It took me a while to understand why S. was relevant to whether A. would fast or not. S. is in a wheel-chair and I am not sure why, because he wasn't in first grade. A. told me that he told S. he was going to fast that he wouldn't be in a wheel-chair anymore. (Could he be more sweet and believing in the power of God!?!) S. probably didn't understand A.'s intentions because S. told him not to fast for him. So my 7 year-old was concerned that he didn't have a reason to fast, so should he still do it?

I assured him that he could come up with something else to fast for. He mentioned praying for everyone in the whole world that is sick. I told him that usually we try to be a bit more specific. So he decided on some people to pray for.

At church, he got a little hungry the first hour. Andy told him that he was hungry too because he was fasting, and then A. remembered and sat back down. He fasted the whole 3 hours and told me afterward that he was doing OK. He didn't even rush to the kitchen for lunch when we got home. We went to his room to close his fast with a prayer. He prayed and just said, "Bless all the people I am fasting for."

Andy and I were planning on having him start fasting when he is baptised on his eighth birthday and only one meal for a while. I told A. that and asked him if he wanted to wait until his summer birthday, or fast again in January. He told me he wants to do it again. I am so proud of him. What an awesome kid! :)

Moms, for a Good Cry, Read this...

http://themeanestmom.blogspot.com/2009/11/kindness-of-strangers.html

We Thank Thee...

A. gave this talk in September in church to all the children 3-7. I love how it simplifies what I believe about a living prophet on the earth today. I am thankful for the prophet's guidance in these days. It helps me know how to guard my children from the many things that could rob them of peace and security.

"Last weekend, my family went camping. It got very dark after the sun went down. My dad brought a flashlight so we could see through the darkness. It would have been really hard to find our way without the light.

We live in a world with lots of darkness. Satan wants us to get lost so that we cannot find our way. Heavenly Father knows we can't make it on our own, so he sent a family to help us. But to see which way to go, he gives us a Prophet.

A prophet is a man that speaks to Heavenly Father and teaches us what to do to go to live with Heavenly Father again someday. The prophet has all the keys of the Priesthood to lead Christ's church. He shows us how to follow Jesus and walk in His light. He will speak to us at General Conference next month. It is important that we listen carefully to what he says so we know what Heavenly Father wants us to do. We can share his counsel with our family and follow his instructions and all he says.

I know that President Monson is a prophet and that he teaches us what we need to know. If we follow him, our family can go the right way and get closer to our Heavenly Father."

http://mormon.org/mormonorg/eng/basic-beliefs/the-commandments/follow-the-prophet

So here is a bit of what President Monson taught this October.

"My beloved brothers and sisters, I greet you this morning with love in my heart for the gospel of Jesus Christ and for each of you. I am grateful for the privilege to stand before you, and I pray that I might effectively communicate to you that which I have felt prompted to say.

A few years ago I read an article written by Jack McConnell, MD. He grew up in the hills of southwest Virginia in the United States as one of seven children of a Methodist minister and a stay-at-home mother. Their circumstances were very humble. He recounted that during his childhood, every day as the family sat around the dinner table, his father would ask each one in turn, “And what did you do for someone today?”

The children were determined to do a good turn every day so they could report to their father that they had helped someone. Dr. McConnell calls this exercise his father’s most valuable legacy, for that expectation and those words inspired him and his siblings to help others throughout their lives. As they grew and matured, their motivation for providing service changed to an inner desire to help others.My heart is full now as I speak of the experience and contemplate the lives which have been blessed as a result, for both the giver and the receiver...

The words from the 25th chapter of Matthew come to mind:
“Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”

My brothers and sisters, may we ask ourselves the question which greeted Dr. Jack McConnell and his brothers and sisters each evening at dinnertime: “What have I done for someone today?” May the words of a familiar hymn penetrate our very souls and find lodgment in our hearts:

Have I done any good in the world today?

Have I helped anyone in need?

Have I cheered up the sad and made someone feel glad?

If not, I have failed indeed.

Has anyone’s burden been lighter today

Because I was willing to share?

Have the sick and the weary been helped on their way?

When they needed my help was I there?

That service to which all of us have been called is the service of the Lord Jesus Christ. As He enlists us to His cause, He invites us to draw close to Him..."

http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-1117-27,00.html