Happy Birthday!!!

What? Are you kidding me? They are one? No way! How in the world did a year already pass? Holy moly. My little babies are one! And they aren't so little and babyish anymore. Unbelievable. We survived, and I admit that it's just getting better and better!

So... Happy Birthday to you, AJ and Jackson! I love you boys soooo much.

This slide show is a little long, but it's for the Grandparents. :)

The New Apostles

Here's a fun little ditty to help you remember the new apostles:

Simple Pleasures

Being oh-so-close to that doorknob:

Pulling all the diapers off the dresser and into the crib:

The beloved box, aka prize package, aka turtle shell, aka secret hut, aka rocket ship, etc. etc.

My little cell phone miracle

I'm a believer in modern-day miracles. I've never thought that things just happened by coincidence. Yesterday was no exception. While this was something very small, it still reminded me that our prayers are heard and answered.

Yesterday (Saturday) morning, I left early to drive downtown to meet with my CPA brother to do our taxes. He was going to be in his office on South Temple and 100 East. I was to call him from my cell once I arrived, so that he could let me into his locked up building (since it was Saturday). On my way, I decided to chat with his wife when we were cut-off mid conversation -- my cell phone had died.

Well, since I was driving Mark's car, I didn't have my charger. And while this wasn't the end of the world, it was mighty inconvenient. How was I going to let Danny know that I was there and needed to be let in? Where could I find a public phone (ever noticed that pay phones don't exist anymore?) on a Saturday when all the office buildings downtown are shut down and locked up for the weekend? So, as I drove nearer to his office, I decided to say a little prayer. I prayed for a miracle that my cell phone battery would have just enough charge that I could make one little call to my brother to let him know I was there. I truly believed Heavenly Father would do this for me.

I didn't get that little bit of charge. Battery - dead.

Hmm... what to do now? At this point, I was pulled up to the meter parking outside of his office. I thought I'd check the doors to his building, just to see if they might, marvelously, be unlocked.

Nope - locked.

So, I looked around, and realized that neither of the two bums walking down the deserted street would probably have a phone on them that I could borrow. Bugger. Once again, not a calamity, but highly tiresome.

As I walked back to my car, I noticed the car that was parked in front of mine at the curb. Sitting in the front seat of that car was a lady texting on her cell phone. Could it be? Why hadn't I noticed her before? I approached her, (hopefully I didn't scare her to death) and asked her if I could possibly borrow her phone for a quick call. She was very nice and generous and allowed me to use her phone. I got a hold of my brother and all was well.

In hindsight, I wondered, "What were the odds that there was a car parked there at that time (only one on the whole street besides mine)? And that the car just happened to be occupied?" Truly the chances were slim to none. And yet, there it was.

My little miracle.

My prayer was heard and it was answered. Of course it wasn't answered in the way that I wanted it answered. Lesson learned, again. And of course it was answered through another person. Second lesson learned, again. I'm just so grateful that I have a patient and loving Father in Heaven who does hear my prayers and does answer them, even if it's not in the way I expect it. I know this was such a small thing to the outside reader, but for me it was a sweet, gentle reminder that I am loved, I am heard, and that I am cared for.

Thanks, Julie!

I had a wonderful weekend in Ohio! Julie was such a wonderful and gracious host, and her kiddos are so stinking cute! I miss them already! I don't know that I was much help in getting her prepared to move, but we had fun visiting, going to the zoo (awesome zoo in Columbus!), watching movies and chatting all night long! Thanks, Julie, for letting me come and giving me a nice break from my daily routine!

Ava and Chase, 18 months old:

Ava with her gorgeous, blue eyes:

Chase:Mitchell:

Alex-ism

I keep a Word file of all the cute things that Alex says to me. Today he was on a roll. I think I added half a dozen entries to my file. I wanted to share one cute one, and one tender one:

I was singing, “You’re never fully dressed without a smile” this morning, and when I got to the end I sang, “Ooh, you’re never fully dressed; ooh, you’re never fully dressed; ooh, you’re never fully dressed without a… ______” And I didn’t sing the last word (smile) so that Alex could fill in the blank. He shouted out, “Shirt!” Yup kid…, you’re right. You’ve gotta have a shirt to be fully dressed!

Then, because I'd been gone for a long weekend, he was a bit clingy today. He started whining, “Mom, I want to hold you.” I said, “Ok.” And he said, “No, mom! I want to hold you in my arms!” Ahhh...

Greetings from Ohio

I am so excited to be in Ohio visiting Mark's sister, Julie and her family!  It was such a wonderful indulgent plane ride -- 4 hours of solid reading!!  (and we're not talking Dr. Seuss here!)  I'm finally finishing Eclipse.   I came under the pretense of helping out a little bit, but I truly feel like it's been such a nice break for me!  Thanks for having me, guys!  It's been great to bond with the kiddies!  I'll post some video soon for all the family to see.

Oh what a night...

I don't know if it's the snow on the ground, or the dark gray skies, but Mother Nature had our whole family fooled today on this April 1st that it was still winter. And man, our moods felt like a dark, dreary winter as well.

Alex didn't stop fussing all evening. It finally escalated in sending him to his room to sort things out as the babies bawled from a) being ignored while we dealt with Alex, and b) nursing their wounds as brother tipped them over, and over, and over again. Exhausted babies cried all through their baths, got mad every time we took away the remote control, and Alex continued sobbing since he lost some privileges, blah, blah, blah.... Needless to say, Mark and I were both at our wits end and ready to walk out the door, leaving those little needy creatures to fend for themselves.

After all was silent, I came to vent my frustrations on the keyboard.

And then... I read this. Be sure to listen to the words of the song...

Thanks for the little reminder.