a friend. and pictures.

I recently met a new friend.

Micah met her and her husband, and after talking to her, said "my wife would like you."

He was so right.

We had them over last week, and Heather and I didn't stop talking from the minute they walked through our door. It's like we've known each other for years.

My new friend Heather happens to be a photographer. (a BRILLIANT photographer.) She is so sweet, too; after less than a week of knowing us, she offered to take our family pictures. I was giddy (jumping up and down in my computer chair giddy) when I saw the finished products:

Thank you, Heather! I'm so glad we're friends! And not just for the photography perks... :)

http://heatherannettephotography.com

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving was wonderful (isn't it always?). The food was delicious. And pretty, too.

Madison's favorite part was the mashed potatoes. Which she promptly dumped over her head following the taking of this picture.

My favorite part was my three-year old niece running around dressed like a pilgrim.

Or all the men hovering over the turkey.

Or what Madison calls her Uncle Doug.

Friday, we took advantage of some Grandma and Grandpa babysitting and did a little Black Friday shopping. (Last time we did this, we bought electronics for ourselves. This time, we bought baby toys, which I think was much, much more fun). Afterwhich, my dear sweet supportive husband allowed me to drag him to see the latest vampire flick.

I know millions of girls are swooning over this character.

But really, there's no competition.

My man is much more attractive, mumbles much less, can kiss me
without flinching, and has a decent tan. I'd take that over cold, hard and dead any day.

On that note,
Happy Thanksgiving!

A Tribute

I am thankful for so many things.

a wonderful loving husband. a beautiful healthy baby. family and friends.
my education. a home, food, health, and my faith.

But this Thanksgiving, I'm especially grateful for my mom.

More so than ever before. I guess because I'm starting to get a tiny glimpse of what she has done for me.

Everything.

I never realized how much work it is- being responsible for another human life. Having to be a caretaker and a housekeeper and a dietitian and the cook and the nurse and the teacher and the accountant and the taxi... She did all of those things so well, and she made it look so easy. And besides all that, she was and continues to be the best kind of friend anyone could ask for- forgiving when it isn't deserved; loyal, constant and unconditional.

I'm only beginning to understand what my mother has done for me in my life. But the more I realize, the more amazed I am by her. And the more thankful I am for her.

I love you, Mama.

A mother is a person who, seeing there are only four pieces of pie
for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie. -Tenneva Jorda

Madison

Does every mother think she has the most beautiful baby in the world?

I do.

Sometimes I just stare at her pretty little face.  And it makes her laugh.  Which makes her even prettier.

My wonderful and talented sister-in-law Michelle took these studio photos of Madison, and I just LOVE them!  I don't know how she does it- we showed up to Michelle's house grumpy and tired after several failed attempts at a morning nap, and she was still able to get Maddi smiling.  She captured every facet of her little personality.  I think they turned out just beautifully!

 

 

 

 

Thank you, Michelle!

http://glamsphotography.blogspot.com

I cheated.

Today I listened to Christmas music.

And I loved it.

I just can't wait any longer. Don't judge me, I sort of missed Christmas last year.

Happy, happy holidays!

7:13 p.m.

...time we put Madison to bed last night.

12:47 a.m.

1:09 a.m.

1:23 a.m.

1:55 a.m.

3:12 a.m.

5:37 a.m.

6:01 a.m.

...times Madison woke up last night. Screaming, mind you.

Oh little teeth, please come soon.

Remember in elementary school, playing games with your friends, if you messed up you could just say, "redo!" and start over?

I could have used a redo today. Several times.

You know those days when you just seem to do one really dumb thing after another? It's like you open your mouth and before you are even done talking, you know it was the wrong thing to say. And there's really no reason for you to be saying things like that. It's not like you benefit at all from it; all you get is that nice sharp pang of remorse knowing you just hurt the feelings of the people you love most. Then of course you try to smooth it over but really just start defending yourself, and inevitably end up making it worse.

Redo, please.

Thank heaven I married a patient man.

Just a little holiday cheer. Sort of.

An outdoor shopping center near us hosted a "Lighting of the Streets" event (ushering in the holidays type thing) this weekend. The live music was enough to get us there, but the carriage rides, free goodies and Santa were a bonus.

At least Micah and I thought so... meeting Santa turned out to be a rather terrifying experience for Maddi.

We even tried taking pictures by the nifty North Pole sign, but she was still pretty distraught. We finally got a halfway decent picture, five feet away from Santa (notice she's still wide-eyed with terror, poor thing).

The best part of the evening was this little slice of heaven:

Cheesecake on a stick! Congratulations, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, you are officially my favorite chocolate shop ever.

dinner. and a photo.

Tonight Micah and I attended a big, fancy networking dinner (hosted by the Business School) with a whole lot of important people. We ate foods I've never heard of on tiny little cocktail plates sans silverware (does that make it more fancy? Because it made me feel a little impolite...) and chatted with former Supreme Court Justices, owners of the Big Four Accounting Firms, and the like.

It was thrilling- mingling with these men and women who are so accomplished and prominent in their fields, to hear their perspective on life, opportunities and success. I was a little awe-struck, to be honest.

But what I liked most was talking to their spouses.

One cute old lady just couldn't say enough good about her accomplished husband. Her attitude was infectious; it made me want to share the wonderful man I married with the world. It made me want to do more to support him, to encourage him, and to inspire him. It made me think how excited I am for the experiences that lay ahead for us, and how grateful I am to be by his side through whatever opportunities come our way.

I sure do like him.

Post Script.

I kind of love this picture:

C'est la vie.

This morning I went grocery shopping at 7:30 a.m.

I even drove two cities north (where the stores have oh so much more selection than in our little college town) and it didn't take any longer than our usual local trip because there weren't many people on the roads. The store was practically empty, so I could zip up and down the aisles without worrying about crashing into someone, or battling to get that last box of cereal on sale, or waiting in ridiculous checkout lines. To top it off, the employees were all so cheerful and helpful.

Insert tangent: have you ever noticed how you can ask any supermarket
employee where anything is located and they always know exactly where it is?
They don't even miss a beat! "Aisle 4." "Aisle 10." "Aisle 17."
It's like they all have to take a test. It entertains me to no end.

I was in and out-with a week's worth of groceries- in 40 minutes flat. (Those with children understand what an accomplishment that is!)

It was Heaven.

I was so elated on the way home, I listened to the one radio station already playing non-stop Christmas music (I am usually a devout Wait-til-Thanksgiving's-over kind of girl). I made it back home before Micah even left for work, and gushed to him about how wonderful it was to have been so efficient and have the shopping done so early.

Then.

I unloaded.

And realized I had left bags at the store.

So I bundled up the kid got back in the car drove all the way back to the store (two cities away, this time in morning rush hour traffic) waited for twenty minutes in line at the customer service desk went back to the deli to get fresh meat because the bag I'd left there was no longer fresh waited in line again to switch the fresh meat with the left meat loaded up the car and drove home in more traffic.

And the whole ordeal encroached on naptime (not good).

Argh.

"books do furnish a room"

Most people have a room in their house they call an office. Or maybe a den.

I grew up with a library.

That extra little room at our house was always floor to ceiling books, with a computer stuffed somewhere in between shelves, almost an afterthought.

Every night you could find my dad there, reading in his rocking chair. I'm not home to see it on a daily basis any more- but I know he's there, every evening, rocking and reading. In fact, I'd bet he's doing just that right now.

My dad taught me to love books. He introduced me to the magic of the written word- how it can take you places and teach you things and expand your mind. Not a bedtime went by that he didn't read to me, and as soon as I was old enough to hold a flashlight under the covers, I'd stay up for hours reading on my own. He showed me that there's nothing more exciting than learning something new from a book. I'll forever be grateful for that invaluable gift.

On that note, this is where I've been finding Madison lately...



She will crawl into her room, pull down all her books from her shelf, and sit on the floor looking at them for fifteen, twenty minutes at a time. Several times a day.

Takes after her Grandpa.

PS: Remember the Dog? Yes, those are teeth marks in Maddi's wall.

Today I am grateful for:

Time to Remember.

I stayed home from church today (still sick), and because Micah was gone most of the day at meetings, it felt like any other day. Maddi and I pretty much went through our regular routine, minus Rachael Ray and plus a few bowls of Ramen. Had I not made the effort to play hymns on the iPod, I probably would have forgotten it was Sunday.

Which makes me kind of sad.

Sad to think that, even on Sunday- the Lord's day- I struggle to keep Him on my mind.

Micah came home and we talked about wanting to be better. Wanting to pray more sincerely, read our scriptures more, and do all the little (but oh so important!) things we struggle to do consistently. Because not doing those things has made us forget. Forget to recognize the way our Father in Heaven blesses us so richly and provides for us on a daily basis. Forget to thank Him and to show our love for Him by serving others. Forget to maintain the most important relationship any of us can ever have- a relationship with our Savior.

Which makes me wonder. How do you forget the One who created you and preserves you from day to day, lending you breath?* Life is busy, I keep telling myself. But that's no excuse.

So here's to remembering.

"I recorded for my children to read, someday in the future, how I had seen the hand of God blessing our family... I wrote down a few lines every day for years... As I kept at it, something began to happen. As I would cast my mind over the day, I would see evidence of what God had done for one of us that I had not recognized in the busy moments of the day. More than gratitude began to grow in my heart. Testimony grew. I became ever more certain that our Heavenly Father hears and answers prayers. I felt more gratitude for the softening and refining that come because of the Atonement of the Savior Jesus Christ."
-Henry B. Eyring, "Remember What the Lord Has Done"

*(Mosiah 2:21)

Today:

Micah spent the morning building troughs for llamas at a local Hare Krishna Temple.
In the snow.

What a man.

Maddi and I stayed quarantined at home in our pajamas all day, because (despite all our best efforts, immunizations, and two cans of Lysol) we still managed to come down with a nasty cold.

Today I also discovered that I like watching The Antiques Roadshow. Especially that long awkward moment after the appraiser says how much a piece is worth and the owner celebrates and then they wait for the camera to move on. Really, it made my day.

P.S. Thank you, Campbells, for your wonderful Chunky Chicken Noodle Soup.

resolution

Remember this post? Well, it was a nice thought I guess. (Blogging consistently, I mean.) In the last three months I've been anything but consistent.

Every few days, Micah will ask me, "have you updated our blog yet?" Not that he's nagging or anything, he just likes to read my silly interpretation of our ordinary life. Which makes me feel all kinds of good about myself. Thanks, Love.

Well, last night I told him I am officially going to start posting every day.
E v e r y s i n g l e d a y.

He didn't believe me.

I can't blame him; I mean, look at my track record. But I took that as a challenge, and now I'm making myself accountable to all of you, too.

So far I'm one for one!
Except, I posted twice today, so technically I'm two for one. Ha.

and then we installed child locks.

This Just In!

Madison has been mimicking signs for things like "milk," "eat," and "more" for a while now...

but today she finally connected that she can use those signs to communicate her wants.

She pulled up on my leg, smacked her lips, and signed "eat" when she was ready for lunch. She woke up from her nap and asked for milk. She signed "more" (very enthusiastically) when I started to put her cheerios away during snack time.

It's like somebody just flipped a light switch in her little brain.

Oh, happy day.

the best apple dip ever. really.

There's something about Fall that makes me want to bake things.

I'm not sure if this qualifies, because there's actually no baking involved, but it was just too good not to share. Thanks to my friend Vanessa (who always has delicious goodies for us when we come to her house) for this fabulous recipe!

Cream Cheese Apple Dip:

1 8 oz pkg. cream cheese* (I recommend getting whipped cream cheese, it's easier to mix)
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

*I suppose you could use fat free cream cheese or Neufchatel, but I figure all the apples cancel out the calories, right? :)

Beat until smooth and dip to your heart's content.

I eat it by the spoonful...

Well said, John Wayne.

Micah has just six months left of school before he will be graduating with both his Bachelor's AND Master's degrees in Information Systems. (I am so proud!)

Which means right now he is in the thick of applications, career fairs and interviews. For a real job. In the real world. It's all very exciting.

Last week, he was invited to fly to San Antonio for a second interview with USAA, a company we have both been very impressed with. He had a wonderful experience and we are waiting anxiously to hear back about the possibility of an offer.

Micah has had several other interviews, but this one was my favorite.

...because we prepared for it by watching this:

It was a little long (I'm pretty sure I was asleep for 80% of it), but actually proved to be quite quotable:

" There's right and there's wrong. You gotta do one or the other. You do the one and you're living. You do the other and you may be walking around, but you're dead as a beaver hat."

Words to live by.

This is Halloween...

I'm kind of a Scrooge when it comes to Halloween.

I'm just not that into dressing up.
Or traipsing around the neighborhood in the cold in the dark.
Or scary movies.
And I'll take home-baked goodies over candy any day.

But I have to admit: I loved Halloween this year, and all because of this little darling:

Doesn't she make a cute Tinker Bell? Personally, I think she's better than the original. But then again, I may be a little biased.

We had a wonderful night with some dear friends, who open their home to us every year.
Oh the food. the games. the happy company.
Really, it's one aspect of Halloween I look forward to all year long.

And now, with a little one to dress up, I'm actually excited for next Halloween!

Dear Daylight Savings Time,

My baby's schedule doesn't give a hoot about you.